Column
Jamaat’s politics: four decades ago and now
The country is once again witnessing rampage and attacks unleashed by the Jamaat activists in Dhaka, Chittagong, Rajshahi, Dinajpur and other places with incessant bomb blasts and torching of vehicles. Their violent and subversive activities remind the people of what they did four decades ago when they perpetrated inhuman brutalities killing innocent people, destroying their homestead and raping women to suppress the freedom movement and foil the birth of independent Bangladesh. This also substantiates the fact that Jamaat believes in resorting to violence to reach its desired goal.
Four decades earlier Jamaat stood against national interests by siding with the occupation forces of Pakistan and committed heinous war crimes and crimes against humanity. Now when the Jamaat’s top leaders are facing trials on war crimes charges, the party activists are resorting to wanton acts of destruction of both public and private property, violence and lawlessness to pressurize the administration to abandon the war crimes trial. Their main target of attacks is members of law enforcing agencies. On the first day of their attack on January 28, Monday, more than 40 police personnel were grievously injured. The attackers were targeting the Secretariat. This implies that their attack was directed against the very foundation of state of Bangladesh and for this purpose they chose the same methods that they adopted four decades ago to suppress the country’s freedom movement.
The war crimes tribunal has already pronounced its first verdict and awarded death sentence to former Jamaat leader Abul Kalam Azad who is now on the run. Apprehending that similar fate was awaiting other Jamaat leaders who are now facing trial, the Jamaat-Shibir activists have become desperate to create lawlessness and anarchy in the country by unleashing orchestrated violence to scuttle the trial for genocide of 1971. They have openly announced that they will not accept the verdict of the special tribunal and asked all the Jamaat-Shibir members, workers and sympathizers to remain alert and be ready to stir up an irresistible movement to create havoc and anarchy in the event of any ‘unreasonable’ tribunal verdict going against senior Jamaat leaders.
Live footage of the Jamaat’s activities on TV screen reveal that the Jamaat-Shibir activists were fully prepared to take advantage of the lack of preparedness on the part of law enforcing agencies to take appropriate measures to pre-empt violence. The fact that these activists were able to coordinate their attacks simultaneously in a number of places across the country speaks about the level of planning that went into it. The charge of intelligence failure brought
by the Finance Minister is worth considering and it needs to be probed how violence could be perpetrated in a high security zone such as the Secretariat.
Jamaat is recognized by the Election Commission as a political party and as such it is expected to have faith in the country’s constitution and the rule of law. If the accused Jamaat leaders are found innocent and exonerated by the tribunal they will be released. But if they are found guilty and convicted through a due process of law the party should accept the verdict. By accepting the verdict the party can get rid of the stigma attached to it since Bangladesh emerged as an independent state. But the violent activities its activists are resorting to are a clear indication that the Jamaat is not a democratic party.
Bangladesh is a democratic country where the people have full faith in the rule of law. The government will have to take stern measures against the Jamaat as its activists are indulging in acts of wanton violence to derail the ongoing war crimes trial and by doing so they are demonstrating their disregard for rule of law and posing challenge to the state. The government needs to take all necessary steps to uphold supremacy of the constitution and rule of law.
Jamaat is a constituent of the BNP led 18 party alliance. In the present situation, BNP should clarify its stand and explain why it is extending support to the Jamaat in proliferating violence in the country. BNP’s image as a pro-liberation party has eroded to a large extent for its silence and inability to take a clear position on this issue.
