War trial hopes go thru' hoops

As Bangladesh observes the 40th Victory Day today, the pace of the trials of war criminals still falls far short of people's expectations.
Families of martyrs are still clamouring for justice.
The trial of the war criminals is being delayed; there is a lack of manpower and a systematic approach compounded by poor logistic support.
Experts and people dealing with war crimes committed during the Liberation War criticised ministers' bold remarks about the time of the trials' completion, saying their comments sent the wrong message to the international community that the government has control over the trial.
Families of martyred freedom fighters too called for a stop to the passing of such politically motivated comments and ensuring logistic support and adequate manpower to expedite the trial.
"The government and its ministers must understand that it is the tribunal that has the authority to comment on the trial period and the accused. The tribunal is independent and it has nothing to do with the statements of political leaders," said Shahriar Kabir, president of Ekattorer Ghatak Dalal Nirmul Committee.
MA Hasan, convener of War Crimes Facts Finding Committee, said, "The trial is neither to take revenge nor to persecute members of any political party. The trial is for restoring the values for which millions of people laid down their lives."
They also blamed lack of proper diplomatic efforts to get evidence and the accused hiding in countries like the USA and the UK. They said these criminals are operating as fund collectors for fundamentalist organisations across the globe.
Law Minister Shafique Ahmed, however, expressed satisfaction over the progress of the trial.
"We are proceeding in the right direction. If we want to try every war criminal employing a huge manpower, the whole process might fail. We will advance gradually and the manpower is adequate for the current volume of work," he said.
He also mentioned that the government has already received evidence from abroad and many pieces of evidence were collected through diplomatic efforts.
The war crimes tribunal currently has about 40 staff in total including three judges, seven prosecutors, 15 investigators and 10 administrative people. The tribunal is reportedly dealing with cases against 12 war criminals at the moment. In the Nuremberg trial where Nazi war criminals were tried, 52 lawyers dealt with the cases of just 24 major war criminals.
Allegations are rife that the lawyers do not attend office regularly and at least four of them are still pursuing private practice.
"The work has to be done in the same spirit that our people fought the Liberation War with. It is not everyday office, it has to be done with utter dedication," Shahriar Kabir said.
The War Crimes Tribunal does not have a research cell or library yet even though the main work of the tribunal is based on research. The main requirement for the trial is the knowledge of relevant international laws, not forensic reports or data.
"The entire matter of the trial should be knowledge-based and maintaining international standards requires study of international literature about such trial. A research cell is essential," said Shahinur Islam, War Crimes Tribunal registrar.
While rumours and controversies are everywhere in the national and international arena about the trial and its historical background, the tribunal is still to get a fully-fledged public relations department, let alone a website and online archive containing all documents and papers related to relevant laws, history and government decision on the issue.
Investigators and prosecutors at the tribunal said the issue of war crimes trial is unique even in this sub-continent and they will need more time, as they want to ensure international standards of the trial.
Meanwhile, experts on such tribunals demanded formulation of witness protection act, sufficient training for the tribunal staff and holding of mock trial and discussions to get well prepared for the legal battle against experienced and world-reputed lawyers the anti-liberation war forces are planning to bring in.
Against this backdrop, Ekattorer Ghatak Dalal Nirmul Committee is planning to take to the streets if the government does not solve the problems of the tribunal by this month.
Shumon Zahid, son of martyred journalist Selina Parvin, said they are confused to see the pace of the tribunal's progress, adding, "The government should be very careful about the trial."
For instance, every step of the Nuremberg trial reflects the ultimate care of the authorities concerned in preparing the ground. Even the location of the trial was fixed through detailed discussion.
Nuremberg was chosen as the trial site since it was considered the ceremonial birthplace of the Nazi Party. Berlin was made the tribunal's official home due to a request of the Soviet Union while France was made the permanent seat of International Military Tribunal.
At the war crimes tribunal in Bangladesh, all its investigators do not have their own rooms let alone a library, room for storing evidence, research, foreign guest reception or press meet.
As there is no library, there is no librarian. And naturally there is no system for cataloguing the pieces of evidence or information flowing in.