Many
people in the country rejoiced this week as one of two special courts
prosecuting alleged war criminals convicted a former leader of the largest
Islamist party and sentenced him to death.
Abul
Kalam Azad, a former member of Jamaat-e-Islami, was found guilty on seven of
eight charges against him, including murder, rape, looting and arson, and sentenced
in absentia.
The
Islamic cleric who used to appear regularly on state-run and private television
channels, is thought to have fled to Pakistan when the war crimes tribunal
announced charges against him in April last year.
The
tribunal’s verdict on Azad, announced January 21, was widely hailed in local
media and celebrated by people across the country.
Such
joy over the prospect of a death by hanging is understandable in part because
many in the country have waited decades to receive justice for atrocities
committed during Bangladesh’s War
of Liberation from Pakistan in 1971.
The
conflict saw the deaths of an estimated three million people, the rape of about
200,000 women, widespread looting and arson attacks, and the displacement of
nearly 10 million people to neighboring India, according to government data.
Atrocities
committed by military forces on civilian populations were widespread because
they were helped by local collaborators – particularly, by members of
Jamaat-e-Islami, which opposed secession and saw independence and separation
from Pakistan as an implicit attack on Islam.
Those
tensions began with the partition of India in 1947 and have persisted ever
since, causing political and economic turmoil that continues to plague
Bangladeshi society and inflame religious conflict.
But the
justice celebrated this week in Bangladesh is
something of a mixed bag.
Since
its creation three years ago, the tribunal has been criticized by rights groups
for not meeting international legal standards and concerning itself with
retribution rather than justice.
To
date, nine party leaders from Jamaat-e-Islami and two from the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party have been charged with war crimes, but both
parties have dismissed the proceedings as unjust and politically motivated.
The
nation’s ruling Awami League (AL), which led the push for independence, has
made the war crimes tribunal a centerpiece of its administration.
But the
AL has played more on public emotions rather than the strict demands of justice
in a nation struggling to follow through on the promises that shaped its drive
for independence.
Amid
the outpouring of joy over this week’s verdict, one might be tempted to see
progress towards a post-extremist and more democratic society, as well as a
vindication of the AL’s administration under the leadership of Prime Minister
Sheikh Hasina.
That
would be a mistake. Much of the support for the tribunal has been linked to the
tragedies of the war years that left few families untouched. Moreover, many
have also seen the trials as an effort to put an end to the religious extremism
that was for so long promoted by parties such as Jamaat-e-Islami.
But as
continued dissention in the country over the tribunal shows, rooting out
extremism is more easily hoped for than accomplished. And it is unlikely to
proceed primarily from a flawed tribunal.
Until
pluralism and tolerance are embraced by all members of society, Bangladesh will continue to struggle with political and sectarian
conflict.
The Third Eye is the pseudonym of a journalist and commentator
based in Dhaka
