Justice delivered

They committed vicious crime against the nation and now at last they are paying the price

The execution of Matiur Rahman Nizami, commander of the Al Badr during 1971 and the architect of the mass murder of the Bengali intellectuals on the eve of the Victory Day, takes the nation one more step towards closure. The execution of Nizami and his cohorts are in no way acts of revenge. They committed vicious crime against the nation and now at last they are paying the price. In many ways their crimes are of more serious nature than those committed by the Pakistani soldiers.
The Bengali war criminals supported the soldiers, formed militia forces and indulged in worst possible atrocities against fellow Bengalis. In more than four decades they have never admitted their guilt or displayed any signs of repentance or remorse. The aim of the trials is not only to punish the perpetrator, but to recognise the rights of victims and survivors as real people with real rights, and to help ensure these horrors cannot occur again by establishing credible and effective institutions of justice and protection.
In this particular case while justice was delayed it was not denied. We believe that nothing was done until recently is itself a terrible injustice. The process has also proven to be fair. Those convicted have a right to appeal. One convicted criminal, Ghulam Azam, got clemency from his death sentence and was allowed to die a natural death in prison because of his advanced age. Some critics, both at home and overseas, have also complained about the application of the death penalty. The death penalty is legal in Bangladesh, as it is in many other countries, including a majority of states in the United States.
If you kill one person in Bangladesh, you can receive a death sentence. And for orchestrating the murder of three million people applying the death penalty cannot be termed as unjust in any way. Unresolved issues in history have this unsettling way of popping up every now and then. It is not for no reason that the Nuremberg trials happened; where would Germany as a country stand today if it joined the ranks of denial, calling the past dead?
The victims of horrendous abuses in Bangladesh going back decades should be the first concern of anyone interested in the defence of human rights and the support of the rule of law.
Bangladesh is trying to ensure justice to its people. We sincerely hope that the rest of the world sees the light of truth and does not fall prey to lobbyists and propaganda machines of vested interest groups.

Justice delivered

They committed vicious crime against the nation and now at last they are paying the price

The execution of Matiur Rahman Nizami, commander of the Al Badr during 1971 and the architect of the mass murder of the Bengali intellectuals on the eve of the Victory Day, takes the nation one more step towards closure. The execution of Nizami and his cohorts are in no way acts of revenge. They committed vicious crime against the nation and now at last they are paying the price. In many ways their crimes are of more serious nature than those committed by the Pakistani soldiers. The Bengali war criminals supported the soldiers, formed militia forces and indulged in worst possible atrocities against fellow Bengalis. In more than four decades they have never admitted their guilt or displayed any signs of repentance or remorse. The aim of the trials is not only to punish the perpetrator, but to recognise the rights of victims and survivors as real people with real rights, and to help ensure these horrors cannot occur again by establishing credible and effective institutions of justice and protection. In this particular case while justice was delayed it was not denied. We believe that nothing was done until recently is itself a terrible injustice. The process has also proven to be fair. Those convicted have a right to appeal. One convicted criminal, Ghulam Azam, got clemency from his death sentence and was allowed to die a natural death in prison because of his advanced age. Some critics, both at home and overseas, have also complained about the application of the death penalty. The death penalty is legal in Bangladesh, as it is in many other countries, including a majority of states in the United States. If you kill one person in Bangladesh, you can receive a death sentence. And for orchestrating the murder of three million people applying the death penalty cannot be termed as unjust in any way. Unresolved issues in history have this unsettling way of popping up every now and then. It is not for no reason that the Nuremberg trials happened; where would Germany as a country stand today if it joined the ranks of denial, calling the past dead? The victims of horrendous abuses in Bangladesh going back decades should be the first concern of anyone interested in the defence of human rights and the support of the rule of law. Bangladesh is trying to ensure justice to its people. We sincerely hope that the rest of the world sees the light of truth and does not fall prey to lobbyists and propaganda machines of vested interest groups.