The historic verdict
Thursday, 24 December 2009
Capt. Husain Imam
THE Appellate Division of the Supreme Court in its historic judgment on November 19, 2009 upholding the verdict of the high court division to hang the killers of the father of the nation, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, by the neck until death, has, no doubt, been able to free themselves and their institution, the judiciary, from the stigma of not being able to deliver justice for unduly a long period of time for one reason or another.
The verdict will certainly help regain the confidence of the people in the country's judicial system which had at times suffered casualty either because of political brinkmanship or due to lack of moral standing of some of our judges.
And for Sheikh Hasina, as the daughter of Bangabandhu and chief of a party that he left behind, it is not only a repayment of debt to her father, it is also a fulfillment of the promise that she had made to her electorate during her election campaign in the last national election held in December 2008.
And for the nation, the verdict has been not only a great relief from the most despicable shame and disgrace it has been enduring for the last 34 years, it has also to act as the most effective weapon to remove the biggest obstacle to establishing rule of law in the country.
The gruesome killing of Bangabandhu along with his entire family members (except Sheikh Hasina and Sheikh Rehana, who were by luck abroad at that time) in his own house on the dark hours of August 15, 1975 and the four national leaders in jail custody within months was a disaster from which the nation could never recover.
The killing, an outcome of a well-planned conspiracy hatched by the defeatist forces both at home and abroad, had plunged the nation into a dark valley of lawlessness, so deep as to take it a long, long time, 34 years, to be precise, to come out of it and see the ray of light. In this long period of darkness, the country had seen, inevitable as it had to be by law of nature, a series of political murders that saw tragic death of hundreds of patriotic sons of the soil.
The planners, the perpetrators and the beneficiaries of the mayhem did not stop killing Bangabandhu and his nearest kith and kin only. They also killed the four national leaders, his close political associates, who led the war of liberation on his behalf and gave us an independent country.
The conspirators and the beneficiaries did not stop there either. They rewarded the killers by arranging diplomatic postings abroad, passed a bill in a rubber stamp parliament of their own making indemnifying the killers from trial in any court of law, and tried to turn the course of country's history by rehabilitating the anti-liberation and communal forces in the national politics.
It is the strong vigilance of the democratic and secular-minded people of the country and the leadership of Sheik Hasina and her party that the defeatist forces have never been fully successful in fulfilling their sinister design.
The November 19 verdict of the Supreme Court on Bangabandhu's murder case is bound to dampen the spirit of the anti-liberation forces and frustrate their design of having a 'Sonar Pakistan' (Golden Pakistan) in the garb of Bangladeshi nationalism. It should serve as an eye-opener to those who thought that justice could be denied simply by resorting to the tactics of delaying the process.
It should also put to shame those in the international community who had accepted the diplomatic postings of these self-confessed killers, those who had and are still sheltering the fugitives. The only way they can get rid of the sin committed by patronizing the killers is by repatriating them to face justice.
The verdict, a true reflection of people's will, if properly executed and followed by fair trial and execution of other political killings, is bound to start a beginning of a new era of politics where political killings and extra constitutional adventurism will take a back-seat.
But as I said, it was the beginning of a new era of politics in the country. The honourable judges have done their jobs and removed the biggest obstacle to establishing rule of law. It is now the responsibility of the media, the civil society, the professionals and the political parties, specially the grand alliance under the leadership of Awami League (AL) chief Sheikh Hasina, to finish the unfinished task of establishing rule of law and fulfilling the dream of Bangabandhu and the millions of martyrs who sacrificed their lives for a Sonar Bangla, based on four principals of democracy, socialism, nationalism and secularism.
The responsibility lies even more on Awami League, because it is still the single largest political party in the country which represents the vast majority of the people who are historically democratic, secular and progressive in thinking.
It will be, however, futile to think that, with the verdict of the Supreme Court, the road to democracy or, for that matter, the road to peace, prosperity and rule of law for which the ordinary people of this country have time and again made so much of sacrifice, has become smooth as silk.
On the contrary, the road is still rough and thorny as before and the journey is still long and arduous. The defeatist forces may temporarily hide or go into hibernation but it is for sure that they will continue to conspire and wait for the opportune moment to strike as they did in 1975.
The only option for the government as well as all the pro-liberation and progressive forces of the country is to keep the people with them and remain ever vigilant against conspiracy of the evil forces.
The writer is a retired merchant navy officer
THE Appellate Division of the Supreme Court in its historic judgment on November 19, 2009 upholding the verdict of the high court division to hang the killers of the father of the nation, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, by the neck until death, has, no doubt, been able to free themselves and their institution, the judiciary, from the stigma of not being able to deliver justice for unduly a long period of time for one reason or another.
The verdict will certainly help regain the confidence of the people in the country's judicial system which had at times suffered casualty either because of political brinkmanship or due to lack of moral standing of some of our judges.
And for Sheikh Hasina, as the daughter of Bangabandhu and chief of a party that he left behind, it is not only a repayment of debt to her father, it is also a fulfillment of the promise that she had made to her electorate during her election campaign in the last national election held in December 2008.
And for the nation, the verdict has been not only a great relief from the most despicable shame and disgrace it has been enduring for the last 34 years, it has also to act as the most effective weapon to remove the biggest obstacle to establishing rule of law in the country.
The gruesome killing of Bangabandhu along with his entire family members (except Sheikh Hasina and Sheikh Rehana, who were by luck abroad at that time) in his own house on the dark hours of August 15, 1975 and the four national leaders in jail custody within months was a disaster from which the nation could never recover.
The killing, an outcome of a well-planned conspiracy hatched by the defeatist forces both at home and abroad, had plunged the nation into a dark valley of lawlessness, so deep as to take it a long, long time, 34 years, to be precise, to come out of it and see the ray of light. In this long period of darkness, the country had seen, inevitable as it had to be by law of nature, a series of political murders that saw tragic death of hundreds of patriotic sons of the soil.
The planners, the perpetrators and the beneficiaries of the mayhem did not stop killing Bangabandhu and his nearest kith and kin only. They also killed the four national leaders, his close political associates, who led the war of liberation on his behalf and gave us an independent country.
The conspirators and the beneficiaries did not stop there either. They rewarded the killers by arranging diplomatic postings abroad, passed a bill in a rubber stamp parliament of their own making indemnifying the killers from trial in any court of law, and tried to turn the course of country's history by rehabilitating the anti-liberation and communal forces in the national politics.
It is the strong vigilance of the democratic and secular-minded people of the country and the leadership of Sheik Hasina and her party that the defeatist forces have never been fully successful in fulfilling their sinister design.
The November 19 verdict of the Supreme Court on Bangabandhu's murder case is bound to dampen the spirit of the anti-liberation forces and frustrate their design of having a 'Sonar Pakistan' (Golden Pakistan) in the garb of Bangladeshi nationalism. It should serve as an eye-opener to those who thought that justice could be denied simply by resorting to the tactics of delaying the process.
It should also put to shame those in the international community who had accepted the diplomatic postings of these self-confessed killers, those who had and are still sheltering the fugitives. The only way they can get rid of the sin committed by patronizing the killers is by repatriating them to face justice.
The verdict, a true reflection of people's will, if properly executed and followed by fair trial and execution of other political killings, is bound to start a beginning of a new era of politics where political killings and extra constitutional adventurism will take a back-seat.
But as I said, it was the beginning of a new era of politics in the country. The honourable judges have done their jobs and removed the biggest obstacle to establishing rule of law. It is now the responsibility of the media, the civil society, the professionals and the political parties, specially the grand alliance under the leadership of Awami League (AL) chief Sheikh Hasina, to finish the unfinished task of establishing rule of law and fulfilling the dream of Bangabandhu and the millions of martyrs who sacrificed their lives for a Sonar Bangla, based on four principals of democracy, socialism, nationalism and secularism.
The responsibility lies even more on Awami League, because it is still the single largest political party in the country which represents the vast majority of the people who are historically democratic, secular and progressive in thinking.
It will be, however, futile to think that, with the verdict of the Supreme Court, the road to democracy or, for that matter, the road to peace, prosperity and rule of law for which the ordinary people of this country have time and again made so much of sacrifice, has become smooth as silk.
On the contrary, the road is still rough and thorny as before and the journey is still long and arduous. The defeatist forces may temporarily hide or go into hibernation but it is for sure that they will continue to conspire and wait for the opportune moment to strike as they did in 1975.
The only option for the government as well as all the pro-liberation and progressive forces of the country is to keep the people with them and remain ever vigilant against conspiracy of the evil forces.
The writer is a retired merchant navy officer