Photo: Arif Hafiz
For as long back as I can remember, we, the people of Bangladesh, have suffered from what can only be termed an inferiority complex. From the very inception of our nation, we were branded as a bottomless basket case by the much esteemed Henry Kissinger. Barely a decade ago, our cricket team was an easy pick for other, more experienced teams to bash around a little. Maybe this is where our innate self-esteem issues come from as a nation. As many people much better than me have pointed out, we do have the tendency of not realising the value of something until a first world country gives it their seal of approval. From consumer products to community leaders, from popular culture to political ideals, everything needs a nod from the West before it can earn our appreciation.
When you add this aforementioned tendency to the frequent and unfortunate double standards that many first world countries employ when it comes to us, some very frustrating scenarios come up. Sometimes the powers that be presume to tell us how we should feel about our own past, and what we must do in the present to make sure that we have their precious approval. This tendency probably became clearer than ever in this past year, with the whole world watching the proceedings of the International Crimes Tribunal, forever reminding us that the process must be transparent and of international standard, although no one ever took the pains to clarify what exactly that entails. Why must this aspect of our penal code be given international approval? Is the rest of the penal code already vetted by these people? How exactly do we ensure this international standard? I wonder if anybody ever went as far as to suggest the British and American observers to be present during the trials. I would not be surprised.
The last year has been a roller-coaster ride for people like me, who grew up reading about our history, the Liberation War, and spent the early 2000s at least a little depressed by the fact that Jamaat-e-Islami, a party that never even wanted a sovereign state of Bangladesh, were partners in power and even held a few ministries. We went through those dark times fearing what these people had in mind for the future of Bangladesh, and I doubt that even the most optimistic of us ever imagined that in less than a decade some of these powerful people would be behind bars, finally about to face charges for their actions during 1971 against the interests of this nation, and against the innocent people of Bangladesh. But it did happen. Starting in 2009, one by one the big names of Jamaat, people with countless allegations of collaborating with the Pakistan Army in the genocide and war crimes, started being charged with crimes against humanity. For the first time in more than 30 years, the people of this country saw a new hope.
Photo: Arif Hafiz
The war crimes trial process finally reached its penultimate stage late last year, when one by one the verdicts started being announced. Earlier this year, on the 5th of February, the whole country was shocked and bitterly disappointed when Jamaat leader Abdul Quader Molla was sentenced to life imprisonment instead of death. In what has now become a part of history, thousands of people spontaneously came together at Shahbagh to demand nothing but death for the heinous crimes that Quader Molla had even been proven guilty of. For weeks, people gathered at Shahbagh, making it clear once and for all that this generation is not indifferent to these issues, and that we will not settle for anything less than the highest possible penalty.
It was around this time that many of us noticed a curious thing. International media started reporting news of how people in Bangladesh are demanding the death of an Islamic leader, or an opposition leader. I know that those labels are true, but sometimes the worst kind of misinformation is the partial truth. Sure Quader Molla was an opposition leader, and despite my great doubts as to his knowledge of and sincerity towards Islam, let us also accept that he was an Islamic leader. However, neither of those are reasons why he was facing trial. He was facing trial for the murders and plunder he carried out in his youth, in 1971, with sheer brutality and no remorse. If Quader Molla then had a change of heart and became a stand-up comedian, it would make no sense to say “Bangladesh demands death of stand-up comedian”. I refuse to believe that BBC and CNN do not understand this. I sense foul play.
This became more evident four days back, when we first heard news of Quader Molla’s execution being imminent. Suddenly the whole world was looking at us. The United Nations reminded us how inhuman capital punishment is. The same United Nations was not so good with words during 1971, when Tikka Khan boasted that he will paint East Pakistan red with the blood of the Bengalis. The same United Nations does not remind many other nations how their actions are inhuman and tyrannical. As if that was not enough, the United States intervened, and United Kingdom actually sent one of their ministers to Bangladesh, someone who had a clear agenda other than talking about the upcoming elections, that of trying to stop us from meting out the death penalty to a man who did not even accept our right to independence and massacred hundreds for dreaming of a free nation. It was depressing and unsettling. Most peers I met were terribly letdown at how all the mighty powers of the world seemed hell-bent on not letting us have our due justice, completely forgetting the countless other injustices in the world, many of them perpetrated by some of the very governments reminding us to be humane and urbane. It hurt how we could not even aspire to justice, just because we are a poor third world nation.
In times like these, what a country needs is a leader who will stand like a wall and keep out those who would not let us have our rights. Such leaders are not easy to find, and I for one mentally prepared myself to hear how the death penalty would eventually be revoked for humanitarian reasons. But then everything happened at such an unbelievable pace. First the court said there is no scope for review, and that very evening all the arrangements were made for the execution. At 10 pm on 12th December, the sentence was carried out. The first ever war criminal to be executed, 42 years later and despite great odds. The whole world tried everything, from misinformation and propaganda to outright pressure. Even now some media mention how Bangladesh hanged an Islamic leader. No, we hanged a butcher, a man who took perverse pleasure in murder and torture. We hanged an enemy of the state. That he happened to be an influential member of an Islamic party is a problem for the party, not for this country. And even now when we smile, we do not smile at a death. We smile that finally, this poor, small nation, the basket case of the world, has managed to stand tall and earn justice for the wrongs it had once suffered.
There is no shame in giving credit where credit is due. I consider myself fortunate that at this trying time in our history, we had Sheikh Hasina as our prime minister. I am proud of how she stood up for what she knows this nation demands. I am proud of how my prime minister was polite, but firm in her conviction that justice will be served. I am proud that for at least one night, we set aside being the poor, tiny nation that anyone can push around, and stood our ground and took what is ours by right.
I do not understand much of politics, and I will be the first one to admit that the Awami League rule has left a lot to be desired, a lot of very valid grievances. Yet I cannot shake the belief that fifty years from now, if I am still alive, I will not remember any of that. I will remember how for just one evening, our prime minister made us feel like giants who can resist any force in the world. I will cherish the memories of how for just once, we had a prime minister who did not listen to United Nations, United State, United Kingdom, or any other powers united in their demands that we let go of our rights. Just once, we had a prime minister who listened to her people, to their hearts, to their hopes and dreams. We had a prime minister who valued us more than any power in the world. For one evening, our prime minister fought back the whole world and got us what we wanted. That is how I will remember Sheikh Hasina for a long time to come.
– See more at: http://opinion.bdnews24.com/2013/12/14/subtle-pride/#sthash.UgI1jfnM.dpuf
For as long back as I can remember, we, the people of Bangladesh, have suffered from what can only be termed an inferiority complex. From the very inception of our nation, we were branded as a bottomless basket case by the much esteemed Henry Kissinger. Barely a decade ago, our cricket team was an easy pick for other, more experienced teams to bash around a little. Maybe this is where our innate self-esteem issues come from as a nation. As many people much better than me have pointed out, we do have the tendency of not realising the value of something until a first world country gives it their seal of approval. From consumer products to community leaders, from popular culture to political ideals, everything needs a nod from the West before it can earn our appreciation.
When you add this aforementioned tendency to the frequent and unfortunate double standards that many first world countries employ when it comes to us, some very frustrating scenarios come up. Sometimes the powers that be presume to tell us how we should feel about our own past, and what we must do in the present to make sure that we have their precious approval. This tendency probably became clearer than ever in this past year, with the whole world watching the proceedings of the International Crimes Tribunal, forever reminding us that the process must be transparent and of international standard, although no one ever took the pains to clarify what exactly that entails. Why must this aspect of our penal code be given international approval? Is the rest of the penal code already vetted by these people? How exactly do we ensure this international standard? I wonder if anybody ever went as far as to suggest the British and American observers to be present during the trials. I would not be surprised.
The last year has been a roller-coaster ride for people like me, who grew up reading about our history, the Liberation War, and spent the early 2000s at least a little depressed by the fact that Jamaat-e-Islami, a party that never even wanted a sovereign state of Bangladesh, were partners in power and even held a few ministries. We went through those dark times fearing what these people had in mind for the future of Bangladesh, and I doubt that even the most optimistic of us ever imagined that in less than a decade some of these powerful people would be behind bars, finally about to face charges for their actions during 1971 against the interests of this nation, and against the innocent people of Bangladesh. But it did happen. Starting in 2009, one by one the big names of Jamaat, people with countless allegations of collaborating with the Pakistan Army in the genocide and war crimes, started being charged with crimes against humanity. For the first time in more than 30 years, the people of this country saw a new hope.
The war crimes trial process finally reached its penultimate stage late last year, when one by one the verdicts started being announced. Earlier this year, on the 5th of February, the whole country was shocked and bitterly disappointed when Jamaat leader Abdul Quader Molla was sentenced to life imprisonment instead of death. In what has now become a part of history, thousands of people spontaneously came together at Shahbagh to demand nothing but death for the heinous crimes that Quader Molla had even been proven guilty of. For weeks, people gathered at Shahbagh, making it clear once and for all that this generation is not indifferent to these issues, and that we will not settle for anything less than the highest possible penalty.
It was around this time that many of us noticed a curious thing. International media started reporting news of how people in Bangladesh are demanding the death of an Islamic leader, or an opposition leader. I know that those labels are true, but sometimes the worst kind of misinformation is the partial truth. Sure Quader Molla was an opposition leader, and despite my great doubts as to his knowledge of and sincerity towards Islam, let us also accept that he was an Islamic leader. However, neither of those are reasons why he was facing trial. He was facing trial for the murders and plunder he carried out in his youth, in 1971, with sheer brutality and no remorse. If Quader Molla then had a change of heart and became a stand-up comedian, it would make no sense to say “Bangladesh demands death of stand-up comedian”. I refuse to believe that BBC and CNN do not understand this. I sense foul play.
This became more evident four days back, when we first heard news of Quader Molla’s execution being imminent. Suddenly the whole world was looking at us. The United Nations reminded us how inhuman capital punishment is. The same United Nations was not so good with words during 1971, when Tikka Khan boasted that he will paint East Pakistan red with the blood of the Bengalis. The same United Nations does not remind many other nations how their actions are inhuman and tyrannical. As if that was not enough, the United States intervened, and United Kingdom actually sent one of their ministers to Bangladesh, someone who had a clear agenda other than talking about the upcoming elections, that of trying to stop us from meting out the death penalty to a man who did not even accept our right to independence and massacred hundreds for dreaming of a free nation. It was depressing and unsettling. Most peers I met were terribly letdown at how all the mighty powers of the world seemed hell-bent on not letting us have our due justice, completely forgetting the countless other injustices in the world, many of them perpetrated by some of the very governments reminding us to be humane and urbane. It hurt how we could not even aspire to justice, just because we are a poor third world nation.
In times like these, what a country needs is a leader who will stand like a wall and keep out those who would not let us have our rights. Such leaders are not easy to find, and I for one mentally prepared myself to hear how the death penalty would eventually be revoked for humanitarian reasons. But then everything happened at such an unbelievable pace. First the court said there is no scope for review, and that very evening all the arrangements were made for the execution. At 10 pm on 12th December, the sentence was carried out. The first ever war criminal to be executed, 42 years later and despite great odds. The whole world tried everything, from misinformation and propaganda to outright pressure. Even now some media mention how Bangladesh hanged an Islamic leader. No, we hanged a butcher, a man who took perverse pleasure in murder and torture. We hanged an enemy of the state. That he happened to be an influential member of an Islamic party is a problem for the party, not for this country. And even now when we smile, we do not smile at a death. We smile that finally, this poor, small nation, the basket case of the world, has managed to stand tall and earn justice for the wrongs it had once suffered.
A lot of experts have pointed out that the quality of the prosecution often left something to be desired. In particular, the last minute fiasco about Jamaat lawyers asking for a review seems to have caught the prosecution lawyers by some measure of surprise. Even during the trials, there had often been cases when it seemed like they had not thought things through, the biggest example of which would be the predicament they landed in on 5th February since the prosecution was unable to appeal for a higher penalty. I am no expert, but I do know that at times the delays and false starts feeling very frustrating. Maybe if we had ensured that things are more airtight, international parties would have less quarter to pressure us.
There is no shame in giving credit where credit is due. I consider myself fortunate that at this trying time in our history, we had Sheikh Hasina as our prime minister. I am proud of how she stood up for what she knows this nation demands. I am proud of how my prime minister was polite, but firm in her conviction that justice will be served. I am proud that for at least one night, we set aside being the poor, tiny nation that anyone can push around, and stood our ground and took what is ours by right.
I do not understand much of politics, and I will be the first one to admit that the Awami League rule has left a lot to be desired, a lot of very valid grievances. Yet I cannot shake the belief that fifty years from now, if I am still alive, I will not remember any of that. I will remember how for just one evening, our prime minister made us feel like giants who can resist any force in the world. I will cherish the memories of how for just once, we had a prime minister who did not listen to United Nations, United State, United Kingdom, or any other powers united in their demands that we let go of our rights. Just once, we had a prime minister who listened to her people, to their hearts, to their hopes and dreams. We had a prime minister who valued us more than any power in the world. For one evening, our prime minister fought back the whole world and got us what we wanted. That is how I will remember Sheikh Hasina for a long time to come.
Source: Bd news24