Try 'em in special or military tribunal

Liberation War heroes, political leaders and civil society members yesterday urged the caretaker government to try war criminals under special or military tribunal, not under existing laws.
They said the existing laws might not ensure punishment of war criminals, as it would be hard to prove their misdeeds 36 years after the Liberation War.
"Anti-liberation war forces held arms against our army, therefore they can be tried under military tribunal or court martial," former chief of army staff Gen Muhammad Mustafizur Rahman Bir Bikram said at a roundtable discussion at the Col Taher Auditorium in the capital.
Muktijoddha Somonnoy Parishad (MSP) organised the roundtable discussion.
Presided over by MSP Chairman Abir Hossein, the meeting was also addressed by Bangladesh Liberation Force Commander and Awami League (AL) leader Tofail Ahmed, Commander of Sector-11 Maj Gen (retd) AKM Shafiullah Bir Uttam, Commander of Sector-8 Lt Col (retd) Abu Osman Chowdhury Bir Uttam, Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal (JSD) President Hasanul Haq Inu, General Secretary of Communist Party Mujahidul Islam Selim, former deputy governor of Bangladesh Bank Khandoker Ibrahim Khaled.
"It would take a long time to try the war criminal under the existing laws; therefore, the war criminals should be tried under special or military tribunal," Gen (retd) Muhammad Mustafizur Rahman added. He urged the army chief to try the war criminals under the army penal code.
Maj Gen (retd) AKM Shafiullah, also a former lawmaker, in his speech urged all to be united against the anti-liberation forces.
"They [anti-liberation forces] are our enemies as they worked against our Liberation War," said Shafiullah also a former army chief, adding, "They have also violated our constitution as they spoke against our Liberation War."
He demanded arrest of the war criminals and their trial.
He said it would not be effective to file cases against the war criminals individually, that is why the government needs to take initiatives in this regard.
Lt Col (retd) Abu Osman Chowdhury in his speech said, "War criminals and anti-liberation forces dared to make comments against our Liberation War because of the silence of our political leaders who were in power in the past."
Tofail Ahmed urged the government to ban religion based political parties and the war criminals from taking part in the elections.
"If suspected corrupt people can be arrested, why not the suspected war criminals?" Hasanul Haq Inu said. He urged the government to form a special tribunal and appoint prosecutors to try the war criminals.
Meanwhile, Law Adviser Mainul Hosein yesterday said some quarters are trying to obstruct the activities of the caretaker government by raising the issue of trial of the war criminals.
Refusing to shoulder the responsibility of trying the war criminals, Mainul said those who were in power over the last 36 years but did not try the war criminals should themselves be brought to trial for their inaction.
The caretaker government has the constitutional duty of holding a free and neutral election, but it has had to embark on a mission to establish good governance too, he said while addressing a briefing on Bangladesh Code, a compilation of all laws.
Asked if there is any international pressure for not trying the war criminals or if the government is afraid of Jamaat-e-Islami, Mainul said, "The caretaker government is not afraid...This is not the question of fear. This is the question of judgement, intelligence and wisdom.
"We are performing a very difficult duty but some politicians and others are trying to create obstructions by raising the issue now," he said.
Those who could wait for 36 years for the trial of the war criminals can also wait for two more years, Mainul said, adding, "This is not the right time to say all about this. You will know why they [politicians] did not try the war criminals in the last 36 years."