After lapse of long 39 years the nation has taken yet another critical task of holding the trial and punishing the perpetrators who committed crimes against humanity during Bangladesh's war of liberation against Pakistan in 1971.
An estimated three million people were murdered and two million women raped by the Pakistani occupation army in collaboration with their local lackeys.
The Pakistani army raised the auxiliary forces of Razakars, Al Badrs and Al Shams who also killed brightest sons of the soil to denude the nation of intellectuals and scholars. Apart from killing and raping, they looted and burned property and houses of freedom-loving people during the nine-month war.
After taking the office, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's government started initiating the move to try the perpetrators as it was also one of the major election pledges of her ruling Awami League. In the first session of the present parliament, a resolution was passed unanimously to hold the trial of the war criminals.
On March 25 this year, a day ahead of the Independence and National Day, the government constituted a three-member tribunal, 7-member investigation agency and 12-member prosecution cell.
After overcoming initial teething pains during the pre-trial process, things have gained momentum. On July 25, the International Crimes Tribunal issued warrants of arrest against four top Jamaat-e-Islami leaders in a 1971 case of crimes against humanity.
A three-member tribunal headed by High Court judge Nizamul Huq issued the warrants after hearing on a petition from the Chief Prosecutor of the tribunal. The two other members of the tribunal are Justice ATM Fazle Kabir and retired district judge AKM Zaheer Ahmed.
Jamaat ameer Matiur Rahman Nizami, secretary general Ali Ahsan Muhammad Mujaheed and senior assistant secretaries general Muhammad Qamaruzzaman and Abdul Quader Mollah were shown arrest in a mass killing case in Mirpur in 1971. All the four are already in jail custody in other criminal offences.
The top brass Jamaatis are facing charges under section 3(2) of the International Crimes Tribunal Act 1973 for genocide, murder, rape, torture, loot and arson committed in 1971. Passing the order, the tribunal directed the police to submit on August 2 the execution report of the arrest warrants.
As the tribunal began the proceedings, Chief Prosecutor Golam Arif Tipu submitted that the four accused should be arrested or detained for the interest of fair and effective investigation into the allegations against them. He, however, did not mention the political identity of the four top Jamaat leaders.
Tipu said told the tribunal that if the accused are not detained in connection with the crimes against humanity, they might impede the investigation process after getting release on bail in other cases and can flee the country to avoid the trial.
The tribunal interrupted the Chief Prosecutor time and again asking him to speak on the specific offences perpetrated by the accused. In response, Tipu said that the investigation agency already found prima facie evidence of the involvement of the accused in offences like genocide, killing, rape, looting and arson in connivance with the Pakistani occupation forces.
He said the four accused joined hands with the Pakistani army as members of auxiliary forces like Al Badr and Al Shams. The hearing lasted for 24 minutes.
Attorney General Mahbubey Alam along with his law officers was present to witness the proceedings of the tribunal, first of its kind in the judicial history in Bangladesh.
Three platoons of police and plainclothes detective police were deployed in and around the tribunal to maintain security. The seats of the observers almost remained vacant on the first day of the tribunal's proceedings against the war crime-suspects.
From the first day proceedings at the tribunal it appears that the prosecution ha not yet completed its investigation and collected sufficient evidences and documents to put up a strong case against the Jamaat leaders.
Indeed, it is a Herculean task to collect evidences and documents of genocides, rapes, loot and arson occurred 39 years ago. During this long period, many ups and downs had taken place in the country's turbulent political history.
With the assassination of the country's founding leader Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and ouster of his elected government in 1975, the country was placed under military and quasi-military rulers. During this period the country's Constitution was heavily wrecked radically changed the basic structure and fundamental principles of State.
Consequently, the religion-based politics was revived through the 5th constitutional amendment allowing Jamaat-e-Islami and other religion-based parties to return to politics during the Zia's rule.
During the Ershad era, this Jamaat leadership launched joint or simultaneous movement against the Ershad regime for democracy. They held several meetings overtly or covertly with both Sheikh Hasina and Khaleda Zia on the questions of unseating Ershad or realising the demand for non-party caretaker government in '90s.
What is most stunning feature of the politics is that Jamaat-e-Islami now put on duck shared the State power as a principle ally of BNP from 2001-06. Nizami and Mujaheed who had directly opposed the liberation were inducted in the Khaleda's cabinet as full Ministers and flew the national flags at their official cars and residences. Wasn't it a mockery with the millions of martyrs who laid down their lives to free the motherland?
However, with the twists and turns of the history, Nizami- Mujaheed clique is now facing the music of what they had done 39 years ago. After this long period of time they never ever had dreamt that they will have to stand before the court to give the answer to their actions.
Before being arrested both Nizami and Mujahid and their political guru Prof Ghulam Azam time and again admitted that they had opposed the Bangladesh's independence and sided with Pakistan. They said that was their political decision and after 1971 they accepted the impendence. Once Ghulam Azam pleaded 'sorry' for his party's wrong decision in 1971.
But the 'wrong' political decision and the crimes against humanity meaning murder, rape and arson is two different issues. A political party may take a wrong decision but it can not go for criminals offences.
However, the Jamaat leadership always refuted the allegation of the crimes against humanity. In support of their contention, Nizami and Mujaheed insisted that there was no case of crimes against humanity filed against them in the post-independence Bangladesh. Rather, they argued that slain Prime Minister Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman declared general amnesty to those who opposed the liberation and pardoned 195 war of prisoners of Pakistan through the tri-partite Delhi agreement signed by the Foreign Ministers of Bangladesh, India and Pakistan on April 9, 1974.
It is true that Bangabandhu declared general amnesty but he did never ever pardoned those who were responsible for murder, rape, loot and arson and there were many cases involving these offences. With the assassination of Bangabandhu and change of political scene, the episode was changed and the cases were not pursued.
The history suggests that war criminals of World War II are still being prosecuted in the western world.
Now the point is whether the investigation agency and the prosecution cell are quite competent to come up with substantive evidences to prove in the tribunal that Nizami and others had hands in the killing, rape, loot or arson. Every citizen believes that they were involved in those crimes but it must be proved with facts and evidence in the court of law.
Recently, Law Minister Barrister Shafique Ahmed told the Deputy Commissioners at a meeting here requested to collect evidences of war crimes from their respective areas and sent those to the investigation agency and the prosecution. The authorities also sent such requests to foreign governments, international media and archives to help the tribunal trying the crimes against humanity.
The United Nations and some foreign countries that have expertise in holding trial of war criminals assured the Hasina's government of giving technical assistance and advice to carry out such trial.
Indeed, no foreign country or human rights bodies opposed the trial but they always insisted that the trial must be conducted in transparent manner complying with due process and international standard. They say it must be a legal process not political one.
After the issuance of the warrants of arrest against Jamaat leaders by the tribunal on July 26, the US embassy in its reaction said any individual arrested and charged with a crime should be treated fairly and accorded the full range of legal protections that meet international expectations for transparency, fairness and due process.
"Such issues should not be politicized," a spokesperson for the US Embassy in Dhaka told UNB news agency. He said "The issue of accountability is important…We are closely following the government of Bangladesh's attempt to address issues of accountability."
The British High Commission in Dhaka in a similar reaction said "We fully understand the desire of the government of Bangladesh and many Bangladeshis to hold to account those who may have been guilty of war crimes during the war of independence. Important that war crimes trials are seen to be fair and neutral and process conforms to international standards."
The High Commission says the British Government would also wish to see all those arrested treated in accordance with international standards.
In line with the expectation of the international community, the Bangladesh government also expressed its firm commitment that the due process and international standard would be maintained and none will be tried from political consideration.
So onerous responsibilities lie on the investigation team and the prosecution cell to put up the cases with strong evidences and documents. It must be taken into consideration that the accused will have their lawyers to defend their clients. Besides, there may be observers from foreign countries to witness the proceedings.
Therefore, lack of seriousness and home work on the part of the prosecution might boomerang at the end of the day. One should remember that former Jamaat chief Prof Ghulam Azam came out with flying colours after winning his Bangladeshi citizenship case defeating the government in the Supreme Court.