Sagar Biswas :
The government is set to amend the International Crimes Tribunal [ICT] Act apparently to pave the way for prosecuting the Jamaat-e-Islami for its crimes against humanity committed during the Liberation War in 1971.
The proposal to amend the act is likely to be placed to the Cabinet in the month of February for approval, official sources said on Thursday.
At present, the investigators and prosecutors dealing with the 1971 war crimes are working on the matter against the backdrop of some critical observations made by the ICT in a number of verdicts against top leaders of the said organisation, they said.
“The amendment of ICT Act will be placed in the Cabinet in February. In fact, the law is going to be amended keeping provisions to prosecute and ensure punishment of the said organization,” Law Minister Anisul Haque said on Thursday.
There is widespread speculation that the legal move could ultimately lead to ban the organization [Jamaat-e-Islami], which had unleashed a reign of terror across the country, as an auxiliary force of Pakistan Army in 1971.
When asked whether Jamaat-e-Islami would be banned under the law, the Minister said, “The amended law is not to ban the Jamaat-e-Islmai. It is totally under the jurisdictions of court. The court will say whether the Jamaat will be banned or not.”
“At present, I can tell you that there will be some provisions to penalise the organisation. Of them, the confiscation of the fixed assets and other properties will be in the law. The Finance Minister has already said about this. I will talk to him over the issue,” he clarified.
Referring to some provocative statements of BNP leaders, the Law Minister said, “We will not allow anyone to play football with our Liberation War. We are examining the draft of a law to prevent vilification of the Liberation War and distortion of its history. The law will be enacted very soon.”
He said, “We have heard the logic of Ghatak-Dalal Nirmul Committee about the matter when they came to the Ministry [on Thursday] for an elaborate discussion. It needs more conversation with other relevant bodies before formation of the law.”
What will be the punishment provisions in the law? The Minister said, “There are such laws in different countries across the world. We will verify those laws before setting up the penalties. So far as I know this law will be formed keeping similarity with the Holocaust Denial Law in Europe.”
Pointing finger at BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia, he said, “Question is still there about her [Khaleda] staying during Liberation War. Whereas, one of her party leaders demanded the list of three million martyrs. It was not possible to prepare such list of martyrs by any country of the world …”
“Why they [BNP] did not prepare the list when they were in power? So, we think there needs a law to prevent the denial of historic facts,” the Minister said.
Sources close to the Law Commission told The New Nation on Thursday that a draft of the law is likely to be submitted to the Law Ministry and Liberation War Affairs Ministry in February for scrutiny.
The Law Ministry would further invite recommendation of the Law Commission in this regard. Everything will be finalized after the Law Commission Chairman ABM Khairul Haque returns from abroad in mid February.
At first, the Law Commission Chairman ABM Khairul Haque revealed a plan for such a law on December 24. The Commission, in its meeting on December 23, had decided to formulate the draft of a law to try anyone making anti-Liberation War remarks.
ABM Khairul Haque disclosed the plan after BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia, while speaking at a discussion on December 21, cast doubts over the number of people who sacrificed their lives during the Liberation War, claiming the figure is disputed.
On Monday, the Dhaka Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Court summoned Khaleda Zia to appear in the court on March 3 in a sedition case in connection with her remarks on the number of the 1971 Liberation War Martyrs.
