Dhaka protests Turkey statement on Mir Quasem execution
Expressing dismay over Ankara’s reaction on the execution of war criminal Mir Quasem Ali, Dhaka today said that such reaction is tantamount to interference in matters pertaining to a sovereign state.
“This also does not help foster bilateral relations that exist between the two brotherly countries,” the protest note contains, according to a press release issued by the foreign ministry this afternoon.
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The Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued the note verbally to the Turkish Embassy in Dhaka following a press release published on the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkey on September 4 where Turkey expressed sorrow at the execution of Mir Quasem Ali, who is convicted of crimes against humanity and genocide during the Liberation War of Bangladesh in 1971.
Given the genesis of the establishing of the International Crimes Tribunals (ICT-BD), it was expressed that through these trials against the perpetrators of war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in 1971, the long cherished aspiration of the nation will be fulfilled, justice ensured, rule of law upheld and opportunities for true reconciliation will be created, the note said.
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The note verbale elaborated the crimes perpetrated by Mir Quasem Ali, one of the central commanders of the infamous Al-Badr militia force in 1971, who was involved in the commission of offences of war crimes and crimes against humanity, including planning, instigating and executing genocide, murder, abduction and torture in Chittagong during the Liberation War of Bangladesh in 1971.
The verdicts against him had been handed down through an independent, fair and transparent judicial process, with full access given to national and international media and without any political interference, said the Foreign Ministry press release.
It also said the Prosecution produced irrefutable oral and documentary evidence proving charges against Mir Quasem beyond reasonable doubts. The defence lawyers of Ali had been given unimpeded access to the proceedings of the court throughout the trial process.
The ICT-BD trials took solely into consideration the crimes committed by Ali during 1971 and was not at all based on his political identity or affiliation.
Earlier on Sunday, the Turkish Foreign Ministry in a press release said: “We have learned with sorrow that the death sentence issued by the International Crimes Tribunal in Bangladesh against Mir Quasem Ali, Key-Financier and Central Executive Council Member of the Jamaat-e-Islami, has been executed in Bangladesh.”
“We stress once again that the wounds of the past cannot be healed with these methods and hope that this wrong practice will not lead to separation among the brotherly people of Bangladesh,” the Turkish Foreign Ministry release also read.