Thousands in Bangladesh war crimes protest |
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Tens of
thousands of protesters rally across country, calling for convicted Jamaat-e-Islami
leader to be hanged.
Last Modified:
07 Feb 2013 18:56
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Protests were
held in more than a dozen cities, with demonstrators calling for a harsher
sentence [Reuters]
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Tens of thousands of protesters have rallied in cities across Bangladesh
for a third consecutive day, demanding the execution of a religious political
leader who was sentenced to life in prison for war crimes committed during
the country's 1971 war of independence. The sentencing of Abdul Quader Mollah by a war crimes tribunal on Tuesday for charges including murder, rape and torture was the second verdict in trials that have reopened the wounds of Bangladesh's struggle to break away from Pakistan. Mollah, 64, is the assistant secretary-general of Jamaat-e-Islami, the country's largest religious political party. Public outrage was fuelled by bloggers and activists using Facebook and other social media websites who called for mass protests. Protest leaders have called for activists around the country to converge on Dhaka on Friday for a mass rally. Demonstrations were held for the third day running on Thursday in more than a dozen cities, including the capital Dhaka, Chittagong, Sylhet, Rajshahi, Rangpur and Khulna. Thousands of people poured on to Dhaka's Shahbag Avenue, vowing to continue their protest until authorities agreed to their demand to execute Mollah. Police blocked nearby streets and diverted traffic. "We won't go home until we are satisfied," said student Shams Islam as the crowd sang patriotic songs, beat drums and burned effigies of the Islamist leader. "We are not only pushing for justice, but also reminding our political leaders that the nation can unite and stand together for a genuine cause," said another activist, Abdul Latif. "Shahbag has become a model for unity, especially for the young generation aspiring for a happy and prosperous Bangladesh," he said. Bangladesh became part of Pakistan at the end of British rule in 1947 but broke away in 1971 after a war between Bangladeshi nationalists, who were backed by India, and Pakistani forces that cost 3 million lives. Some factions in what was then East Pakistan opposed the break with Pakistan, and numerous abuses were committed during the nine-month war. Jamaat denies accusations that it opposed independence and helped the Pakistani army. |
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Thousands in Bangladesh war crimes protest
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http://www.aljazeera.com/news/asia/2013/02/201327181442185887.html
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Tens
of thousands of protesters rally across country, calling for convicted
Jamaat-e-Islami leader to be hanged.
Last
Modified: 07 Feb 2013 18:56
|
|
Protests
were held in more than a dozen cities, with demonstrators calling for a
harsher sentence [Reuters]
|
|
Tens of thousands of
protesters have rallied in cities across Bangladesh for a third consecutive
day, demanding the execution of a religious political leader who was
sentenced to life in prison for war crimes committed during the country's
1971 war of independence.
The sentencing of
Abdul Quader Mollah by a war crimes tribunal on Tuesday for charges including
murder, rape and torture was the second verdict in trials that have reopened
the wounds of Bangladesh's
struggle to break away from Pakistan.
Mollah, 64, is the
assistant secretary-general of Jamaat-e-Islami, the country's largest
religious political party.
Public outrage was
fuelled by bloggers and activists using Facebook and other social media
websites who called for mass protests.
Protest leaders have
called for activists around the country to converge on Dhaka
on Friday for a mass rally.
Demonstrations were
held for the third day running on Thursday in more than a dozen cities,
including the capital Dhaka, Chittagong,
Sylhet, Rajshahi, Rangpur and Khulna.
Thousands of people
poured on to Dhaka's Shahbag Avenue, vowing to continue
their protest until authorities agreed to their demand to execute Mollah.
Police blocked nearby streets and diverted traffic.
"We won't go home
until we are satisfied," said student Shams Islam as the crowd sang
patriotic songs, beat drums and burned effigies of the Islamist leader.
"We are not only
pushing for justice, but also reminding our political leaders that the nation
can unite and stand together for a genuine cause," said another
activist, Abdul Latif.
"Shahbag has
become a model for unity, especially for the young generation aspiring for a
happy and prosperous Bangladesh,"
he said.
Bangladesh became part of Pakistan at the end of British rule in 1947
but broke away in 1971 after a war between Bangladeshi nationalists, who were
backed by India,
and Pakistani forces that cost 3 million lives.
Some factions in what
was then East Pakistan opposed the break with Pakistan, and numerous abuses
were committed during the nine-month war. Jamaat denies accusations that it
opposed independence and helped the Pakistani army.
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Protests erupt in Bangladesh after war-crimes verdict
http://edition.cnn.com/2013/02/06/world/asia/bangladesh-protests/index.html?iref=allsearch
By
Farid Ahmed for CNN
February
7, 2013 -- Updated 1225 GMT (2025 HKT)
Bangladeshi police detain a
suspected Bangladesh
Jamaat-e-Islami activist during a nationwide strike in Dhaka
on February 6, 2013.
HIDE
CAPTION
War-crimes
verdict rage in Bangladesh
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- The demonstrations began Tuesday, when Abdul Quader Mollah was sentenced to life
- He was found guilty of 5 of 6 charges, including crimes against humanity
- He declared he is innocent and cursed the judges in court
- Four people have died in related violence in the port city of Chittagong
"We've taken additional measures
across the country to heighten security," State Minister for Home Affairs
Shamsul Hoque told reporters.
The demonstrations began Tuesday,
when an International Crimes Tribunal sentenced Abdul Quader Mollah, assistant
secretary general for the Jamaat-e-Islami party, to life in prison.
The Jamaat-e-Islami party had called
for a two-day general strike across Bangladesh beginning Tuesday, and
demonstrators clashed with police and demanded that ruling party officials
scrap the trial process.
The government on Tuesday evening
called in paramilitary troopers to maintain law and order in Dhaka
and elsewhere as deadly protests erupted after the verdict.
Jamaat-e-Islami protested the verdict
as demonstrators -- including some from ruling party alliances -- took to the
streets demanding the death penalty for Mollah.
"We've deployed troopers from
the Border Guards of Bangladesh to maintain law and order," Hoque said.
Hundreds of Dhaka University
students took to the streets in the capital's Shahbagh Square, where they were joined
by other city residents in protests that began Tuesday.
Home Ministry officials said
security forces were patrolling in Dhaka and other major cities, including in
the large southeastern port city of Chittagong,
where at least four people were killed Tuesday during clashes between police
and supporters of Jamaat-e-Islami.
Police opened fire and shot tear-gas
shells to disperse the protesters, who torched and otherwise damaged more than
100 vehicles in major cities.
Jamaat-e-Islami said its members
would continue to protest; many of its leaders are behind bars facing charges
of murder, arson, looting and rape stemming from the war of independence in
1971.
They said the war-crimes trials,
which began after more than 40 years of independence, was done with "ill
political motive."
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina showed
no sign of backing down, saying the trials would be completed at any cost.
The government, which promised in
its election pledges in 2008 to complete the war-crimes trials, set up the
tribunals in 2010.
Amid tight security, a three-member
panel of judges of the International Crimes Tribunal-2 delivered the judgment
against Mollah in a crowded courtroom on Tuesday.
Mollah, 64, was found guilty of five
of six charges, including murder.
They included crimes against
humanity, tribunal Chairman Justice Obaidul Hassan said.
After the verdict was read, Mollah
stood from the chair on which he had been seated and cried, "Allahu
Akbar!" (God is Great!)
He declared he was innocent and began
to curse the judges and the government.
He then pulled a copy of the Quran
from his pocket and held it in front of him, saying that the judges would one
day find themselves on trial in accordance with the holy book's law.
Lawmakers of the ruling party
alliance criticized the verdict in parliament and asked the prosecution to
appeal for the death penalty.
Mollah, who was the chief of the
students' wing of Jamaat-e-Islami in 1971, is the first Jamaat-e-Islami leader
convicted in a war-crimes case by the tribunal.
On January 21, the same tribunal
sentenced to death the first war crimes convict, Abul Kalam Azad, alias Bachchu
Razakar.
Bangladesh
had been the eastern portion of Pakistan
until it gained independence in 1971 in a war that killed 3 million people.
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