Nation unhappy at slow progress of war crimes trial

The nation is disappointed at the slow rate at which the ongoing trial of those accused of crimes against humanity is progressing, said National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) Chairman Prof Mizanur Rahman yesterday.
"As the International Crimes Tribunal is unique, there are no prior incidences to rely on and so it requires support from experts. But advice from experts were not implemented properly which led to slow activities," he said while talking to journalists after the inauguration programme of a moot court (legal debate) competition in the capital.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in partnership with Dhaka International University organised the competition titled “8th Henry Dunant Regional Moot Court Competition” at Brac Centre Inn.
Earlier in the programme, Mizanur Rahman said, "Bangladesh as the host country of the competition has a special significance because the war crimes tribunal is trying the accused instead of the international court."
"I invite emerging lawyers from South Asian countries to attend a session of International Crimes Tribunal and share their observations with us," he added.
On recent violence at Ramu, he said it was the result of failure of intelligence agencies and local administration.
“Withdrawal of officer-in-charge of Ramu Police Station makes no sense. It was proved that he was involved in fuelling the incident. He should be interrogated now,” he said.
The NHRC chief said the Ramu violence should be investigated without considering any political affiliations.
“Those who committed the crime are criminals. They are against the values of our Liberation War. All political parties should understand this and should try them based on neutral investigation,” Mizanur Rahman added.
Marc Achermann, head of delegation of ICRC in Dhaka, among others, spoke.
Six law schools from India, Iran, Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh are participating in the competition. The winning team from the regional contest will qualify for the Asia-Pacific round to be held in Hong Kong in 2013.