Oct. 4
BANGLADESH:
Let justice roll down like water
Renowned Bangladesh's preacher Delawar Hossain Sayedee has been reprieved of
death penalty. His capital punishment ruled by the International Crimes
Tribunal (ICT) was commuted to life imprisonment by the Supreme Court stirring
debates whether there was a secret pact behind the scenes between the ruling
party, Awami League (AL) and Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) Bangladesh, although it was
vehemently ruled out by the former.
The ruling party, according to its election manifesto, has been trying many for
war crimes and framing charges against many more which are allegedly
politically motivated.
There are reasons to suspect a secret deal. The 1st and foremost possibility is
that the government wants JI to fend off Khaleda Zia-led Bangladesh Nationalist
Party (BNP) in order to sap BNP's strength in its agitation against the
government. Sayedee is a key JI leader. Sayedee's punishment has been commuted,
even though other JI leaders were previously sentenced to death by the ICT for
identical crimes against humanity committed during the war in 1971.
For instance, the much-talked about trial of Abdul Quader Mollah generated much
heat when he was first sentenced to life for similar crimes and then given
death by the Supreme Court. ICT's verdict had provoked countrywide protests
allegedly sponsored by pro-Awami League people popularly known as "Shahabaghis"
forcing the government to amend the ICT law, which allowed complainants against
war criminals to appeal to the highest court and accordingly Supreme Court
found Mollah guilty of genocide and converted his life sentence to death. He
was the 1st person whose death penalty was carried out.
Surprisingly, the Supreme Court increased Mollah's punishment sending him to
the gallows while Sayedee's death sentence was reduced to life. It raised
questions if the ruling party is trying to appease JI to lure it away from the
BNP-led alliance in order to weaken the anti-government protests, which are set
to gain steam following the nationally and internationally unacceptable Jan. 5
general election in which more than half of lawmakers were elected uncontested,
as the major political parties including BNP boycotted it. There are apparently
serious flaws, government influence and pressure in the trial proceedings of
war criminals raised by the United Nations and human rights bodies since it is
the government which has appointed prosecutors, investigators and judges, some
of them were allegedly associated with mock trials of these war criminals
staged during 1990s.
There was a Skype scandal in which conversations between ICT's presiding judge
Mohammed Nizamul Huq and Ahmed Ziauddin, a war crimes expert of Bangladeshi
origin living in Brussels were exposed. This eventually compelled Nizamul Huq
to resign.
There were neither international judges nor international lawyers allowed to
participate in court proceedings. Even, renowned lawyer and expert on war
crimes Toby Cadman was denied entry visa to witness the trial proceedings
transforming ICT into a "domestic war crimes tribunal."
Bangladeshis are no doubt in favor of trials of crimes against humanity. But
they are distracted when these war criminals are being tried through less than
fair means in the absence of recognized international principles and
procedures. Unfortunately, what is happening, suggests predetermined trials.
(source: Opinion, Shamsul Huda, Arab News)
SINGAPORE:
Death penalty the lesser of 2 evils
The death penalty is essential to the operation of our society's legal system.
("Calls to abolish death penalty 'do not focus on victims of drug trade'"; Sept
27) It serves as a symbol of deterrence and goes a long way towards showing
Singapore's zero tolerance for actions that compromise the well-being of our
people and nation.
Some may argue that in our evolution into a First World society, the death
penalty is redundant, demonstrating a barbaric culture and a lack of
forgiveness for those who have erred and committed acts that go against our
society's values.
The proposition for our death penalty system can be equally justified, though.
Without it, drug offenders, murderers and other offenders of heinous crimes may
well threaten the safety and lives of our friends and family.
We could try to rehabilitate offenders and hope they will not repeat the
offence, but this would ultimately be futile when faced with hardened or
relentless criminals. Both our people's safety and our economy would be at
stake.
With no death penalty, the distribution of drugs would have detrimental effects
on workforce productivity and on our children, our future generation. How can
Singapore sustain itself then, especially in this globalising world?
That said, I am not advocating the permanent use of the death penalty. Many
Singaporeans may not see it as the ultimate solution to crimes such as murder
and drug trafficking, although its benefits appear to outweigh the costs, even
if marginally.
Until we find a better solution, with less moral conflict, to serve the same
purpose as the death penalty, it remains the lesser of 2 evils.
(source: Letter to the Editor, Louis Lau Yi Hang, Todayonline.com)
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