The New Nation - Internet Edition

Staff Reporter

Members of the families of martyred intellectuals, political leaders and freedom fighters demanded trial of the war criminals and for that they recommended the Government to constitute a special tribunal.

Shamoli Nasrin Chowdhury, wife of martyred intellectual Dr Alim Chowdhury said on December 14 in 1971, three members of Al-Badr came to her house and took her husband with them and killed him.

She mainly blamed Jamaat-e-Isalami for committing war crimes saying Jamaat leaders organised Razakar, Al-Badar and Al-Shams and committed war crimes. She demanded trial of them.

It may be mentioned that on 14 December 1971 about 5000 intellectuals of the country were killed by the Pakistani Army with the help of the local collaborators seeing the inevitable defeat of them in the war.

In 1972, cases were filed against the razakars for committing the notorious killing of the intellectuals by the members of martyred families and they were punished too but they were freed on December 30, when the Collaborators Act was cancelled.

Eminent journalist and freedom fighter Shahriar Kabir said war criminals could be identified by the issues of the Jamaat's mouthpiece the Daily Sangram of 1971. In 72 about 62 cases were filed against the war criminals. War criminals could be identified, he said, by going through the papers of these cases.

Kabir urged the government to constitute special tribunal for the trial and punishment of the war criminals.

Meanwhile, Communist Party of Bangladesh and its student wing Bangladesh Chhatra Union also demanded trial of the war criminals by constituting a special tribunal.

In a statement CPB president Manjurul Ahsan Khan and General Secretary Mujahidul Islam Selim said the statement of Mujahid was a conspiracy to make the country achieved by 30-lakh martyrs' blood into a communal 'New Pakistan'.

They demanded ban on Jamaat's right to politics in the country for their involvement in war crimes.