Govt firm on forming Truth Commission

Law Adviser Mainul Hosein yesterday said differences of opinion regarding the formation of the proposed Truth Commission will not deter the government from going ahead with the initiative.
"To the best of my knowledge, the government is actively considering forming the Truth Commission despite differences of opinion," he told reporters at the Secretariat.
He made the statement when reporters asked about the fate of the much-talked about body, which would receive confession from people accused of corruption and decide financial penalties instead of sending them to jail. the issue has already generated public debate.
"There are differences of opinion, which is not right. It is creating confusion to some extent," Mainul said.
He brushed aside any uncertainty regarding the formation of the commission due to the confusion.
He said at first the government was considering forming the commission only for businessmen so that the complaints against the businessmen could be dealt with quickly and they could go on with their businesses and continue their economic activities.
But many people and the media raised question as to why only the businessmen would have access to commission, why not the politicians, he said adding that the government has decided to allow the politicians have access to the commission.
The government wants to repatriate the sum of money that have been siphoned off abroad. The Truth Commission is needed to make that happen, said the adviser.
The draft proposal for establishing the commission has yet to reach the law ministry, he said.