From: mkaziz@vela.acs.oakland.edu (KHALED AZIZ)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.bangladesh
Subject: Re: The question of justice...(was: What the hell is going on?)
Date: 9 Apr 92 20:51:02 GMT
Organization: Oakland University, Rochester MI.


 (Shakil Waiz Ahmed) writes:
> 
  Let me begin by stating  that I have never supported Jamaat and do not
  have any intention to.
> I believe that Ghulam Azam should be tried, and presumably he will be
> found guilty and punished.

You think so? Why wasn't he tried before? Why the government had to wait
for  21 years before arresting him?
 
> The petition in question demands the "fashi" of Ghulam Azam.  If I
> were to sign it, I would be demanding the hanging of an accused
> criminal.  What amazes me about the almost universal support for the
> petition is that people are guilty of the same short-sighted reasoning
> that leads to certain groups blindly demanding Ghula Azam's freedom.
> The petition is not demanding Ghulam Azam's *trial*.  Indeed, that would
> be redundant since a trial is planned in the near future anyway.  The
> petition is demanding his "fashi!"  Who are we to decide on his
> punishment?

We are not diciding anything here. We are demanding the punishment we think
he deserves. It wouldn't have beed necessary if the legal system functioned
properly in our country. We have to remind our government that we, the
people, want to see Golum Azam punished. And "fushi" is the proper punishment
under Bangaldeshi Law for a murderer.

>  Have we become a court of justice?  What are we basing
> our decision on?  Have we investigated the evidence at length and
> reached a judgement based on it?  Or are we basing our decision merely
> on hearsay?  In a fair trial, the court will examine the evidence in
> detail and will be in a legitimate position to make a judgement.
> Presumably, there is enough evidence against Ghulam Azam that the
> proper decision will be reached.

Since we (at least many of us who grew up in Bangladesh) have 
some idea about how the legal system works there, we feel it is necessary
for us to create pressure on the government to let the legal system
work smoothly. How do you know the trial would be fair? Remember, our
president himself visited Golam Azam to seek his blessing before he was 
elected.Keeping this in mind, can we rely on the government in this
perticular issue? Also remember, without Jamaats support, it would have
been impossible for BNP to come to power. We cannot be sure that the
government would not create pressure on the Legal system to save Golam
Azam.
 
> Demanding someone's "fashi" on emotional grounds is a classic example
> of lynch-mob justice.  What is the petition intended to accomplish?  I
> sense people will argue that it democratically represents the opinions
> of the majority, a reflection of mass mentality, if you will.  But we
> all know how easily public opinion can be swayed based on a few
> "facts" or even rumors.  Witness the recent Gulf War where someone
> turned into a universal scapegoat overnight.  We don't want someone to
> be punished for the wrong reasons!  We want him to be punished for the
> *right* reasons.

You are absolutely right. We want him to be punished for the *right* reasons:
 for killing thousands of intellectuals, for supporting Pakistan
during the war, for staying in Bangladesh without a visa and for leading
a political party in Bangladesh without being a citizen.

> There may be many crimes he committed that we are
> not even aware of.

We are not interested in the other crimes he might have commited. The
crimes listed above should be sufficient for a death penalty. 


> Do we want
> Ghulam Azam's punishment to be an outcome of mob hysteria for outher
> countries to look at and ridicule?  Or do we want it to be a shining
> example of how war crimes should be dealt with in court and punished
> through the proper legal channels?

You make me laugh. I think we created the ground for other countries to
look at us and ridicule us by not punishing the war criminals right away.
What do you mean by "proper legal channels". Do you realize that you are
talking about "BANGLADESH" here?

> There was recently a huge mock trial of Ghulam Azam in Bangladesh.
> What was that supposed to accomplish?  All it succeeded in doing is in
> stirring public sentiment at a very large gathering, a very dangerous
> move in our country.  When a real trial is scheduled to take place
> soon, what is the purpose of a mock trial?  Do people have so little
> faith in the legal system?  A mock trial is equivalent to making fun
> of the court, ridiculing the authorities, while stirring mob
> mentality.

I think the mock trial is a golden example of how intellectuals can play
their role and make the legal system work properly. Why was Golam Azam
arrested? Would the government dare to arrest him if this trial was not
arranged? And what do you mean by "when a real trial is 
scheduled to take place soon, what is the purpose of a mock trial?" I
think you are missing something here. For your information "the real trial"
which is to be arranged is the outcome of the mock trial.
 
>  The Supreme Court was well within its jurisdiction in
> ordering the arrest of the rabble-rousers who staged this unnecessary and
> dangerous mock trial.

Please don't try to confuse the readers with false information. The Supreme
Court never ordered the arrest of the brave  intellectuals
(rabble-rousers in your language). It was ordered by some low level court.
For your information the Supreme Court overruled the arrest order recently
(Does that break your heart?). The Attorny General of Bangladesh also 
submitted his letter of resignation in protest of the arrest order which
was not accepted by the prime minister.

>  It is indescribably embarrassing for me as a
> Bangladeshi that hundreds of lawyers, the very representatives of law
> in our country, chose to protest this decision with violence.  These
> lawyers were hurling chairs in the Supreme Court, protesting for
> something that had no legal basis in the first place.  How can
> *lawyers* believe in a mock trial?  Shame.

I feel  proud of these lawers. I think they have the potential to
make the legal system in our country work properly and make it ignore external
pressures.

Finally let me ask you a question. The mock trial, as you know, was
arranged by "Ghatok Dalal Nirmul Committee" led by Jahanara Imam. She
lost everything for our freedom ,her husband , her son. I  still remember
these lines from her diary "Ekattur er Din Guli" -"Ja. Toke desh-er
jonno korbani dilam." She said this to  Rumi, her son, who deicided
to join the Mukti Bahini. This bengali mother sacrifised everything she had
for the country. Can how imagine how does she feel when she sees all these
criminals, responsible for her sons death, roaming about free without
suffering any punishment?

 These crimanals have the nerve to say "What we
did in '71 was right." We should be ashamed of ourselves for not doing
anything about these butchers before. We should be ashamed to see that
Jahanara Imam, inspite of having millions of sons (us, the young generation)
has been forced to do this herself. It was our duty and we failed to do
it. We should atleast have the courtesy to express our support.

-Khaled Aziz