Judicial process must be followed in war crime trial, says Duncan
Thursday, 15 July 2010
The visiting British junior minister for International Development Alan Duncan has said the war crimes must be tried through a judicial process, not by a political process.
The minister said that all political issues should be settled in parliament and not through destructive activities.
He was briefing journalists at a city hotel Wednesday, reports bdnews24.com.
About the trial of alleged war criminals and recent arrests of Jama'at top leaders he said, "This is an internal matter of Bangladesh. I cannot make any comment on this. But I can say in broader term.
"Broadly speaking, I appreciate the fact that even though it happened 40 years ago and opinion still runs very high about what happened in 1971, the key thing is that a judicial process must be followed", said Duncan who arrived Monday on a two-day tour.
Duncan is the first British minister to visit Bangladesh after the new coalition government headed by David Cameron came to power in May.
The minister came to visit the development projects funded by the UK aid.
The UK's Department for International Development spends 150 million pounds sterling every year in Bangladesh.
Mr Duncan met Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, leader of the opposition Khaleda Zia, Foreign Minister Dipu Moni and civil society representatives.
The minister said that all political issues should be settled in parliament and not through destructive activities.
He was briefing journalists at a city hotel Wednesday, reports bdnews24.com.
About the trial of alleged war criminals and recent arrests of Jama'at top leaders he said, "This is an internal matter of Bangladesh. I cannot make any comment on this. But I can say in broader term.
"Broadly speaking, I appreciate the fact that even though it happened 40 years ago and opinion still runs very high about what happened in 1971, the key thing is that a judicial process must be followed", said Duncan who arrived Monday on a two-day tour.
Duncan is the first British minister to visit Bangladesh after the new coalition government headed by David Cameron came to power in May.
The minister came to visit the development projects funded by the UK aid.
The UK's Department for International Development spends 150 million pounds sterling every year in Bangladesh.
Mr Duncan met Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, leader of the opposition Khaleda Zia, Foreign Minister Dipu Moni and civil society representatives.