14-party accepts verdict

The ruling Awami League-led 14-party alliance has accepted the Supreme Court verdict commuting Jamaat leader Delwar Hossain Sayedee's death sentence to jail until death for war crimes, the party leadership said.
“We are accepting it showing respect for the court, and we have no alternative to accepting the judgment,” said party spokesperson Mohammad Nasim, “Though people's expectation has not been reflected in the verdict, and we also wanted capital punishment.”
 The opposition BNP, however, refrained from making any comment as it had done over the previous verdicts of the international crimes tribunals on some other senior leaders of the Jamaat-e-Islami, a key component of the BNP-led 20-party alliance.
Some of the party leaders said over the phone that they would keep a close watch on the political development the latest verdict would lead to.
"We are not sure what is going on. We are hearing many things in the political arena and regarding the entire [war crimes] trial and so we have to keep a close watch on the situation. Time will say everything," an adviser to BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia told The Daily Star.   
BNP standing committee member Lt Gen (retd) Mahbubur Rahman could not say what the party's view was of the verdict, but shared his personal belief that everyone should respect the final verdict of the court.
The verdict will not be an issue for the BNP as the people know what its position is regarding the whole matter of the war crimes trial, said the party leader, adding that it could not create any distrust between the BNP and the Jamaat as both parties had committed themselves to bringing back democracy in the country.
BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia's adviser Shamsuzzaman Dudu said the opposition could not make any comment, as it was yet to get a copy of the judgment.
However, he said, "The verdict will cause many events in the political field of the country.”
Standing committee member MK Anwar refused to say anything about the verdict.  
Meanwhile, the ruling alliance came up with their observations about the judgment after a meeting of its components at Awami League President Sheikh Hasina's Dhanmondi office yesterday noon.
Emerging from the meeting, Nasim, Awami League presidium member and health minister, said people had expected to see maximum punishment of Jamaat Nayeb-e-Ameer Sayedee.
He rejected any secret deal between the Awami League and the Jamaat. The court is independent, and it is not fair to interfere in court's jurisdiction, Nasim added.
Regarding today's and Sunday's hartal that the Jamaat announced in reaction to the verdict, Nasim said the Jamaat would not get public support and that they all would resist such negative activities politically.
After the meeting, Workers Party General Secretary Fazle Hossain Badsha, however, said his party was not happy over the verdict.
Besides, the alliance of the Communist Party of Bangladesh (CPB) and Bangladesher Samajtantrik Dal (BSD) expressed their resentment over the verdict, saying it had frustrated those who wanted capital punishment of Sayedee.
A statement signed by CPB President Mujahidul Islam Selim and General Secretary Syed Abu Zafar Ahmed and BSD General Secretary Khalequzzaman says there is no alternative to creating mass awareness of the spirit of the Liberation War to ensure the highest punishment of war criminals.