War criminals irrespective of their political affiliations will be brought to book, Information Minister Hasanul Haque Inu said on Wednesday.
“All the war criminals whether they belong to Awami League, Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal, BNP or Jamaat-e-Islami, will be tried at International Crimes Tribunal for their crimes against humanity committed during the 1971 Liberation War ,” Inu said.
The minister was speaking at a press conference at the Press Information Department to dispel the confusion created by opposition leaders over the trial on war crimes trial.
The information minister also called upon the BNP and Jamaat to cooperate with the ongoing process of the ICT as political parties and refrain from creating confusion and propaganda over neutrality of the trial process.
He said the primary initiatives to try the war criminals had halted on August 15, 1975 after the assassination of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
He said the Martial Law Authority had repealed the Collaborators Act in December 31, 1975.
Responding to a question on why the trial of war criminals had not taken place in the last 40 years, the minister claimed late president Gen Ziaur Rahman had stopped the process of the trial during his tenure by cancelling the Collaborators Act.
Several thousands accused had been released and the operation of 73 tribunals had stopped during his tenure till 1982, Inu informed.
Inu also claimed that Gen HM Ershad after assuming power had also stopped the trial process of war criminals.
He said BNP had followed the same policies of Zia and Ershad and stopped the trial process during its tenure from 1991-1996 and 2001-2007.
After assuming power in 1996, Sheikh Hasina had taken initiatives to stop the process of pardoning accused persons by scrapping the Indemnity Ordinance.
Hasina also took initiatives to try the killers of Bangabandhu and finally the death sentence to five killers executed.
Referring to Skype conversation between Justice Nizamul and an expatriate, Inu said those involved in hacking will face legal action after proper investigation.
Source:The Daily Star