NSA DOCUMENTARY BANGLADESH

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NSA DOCUMENTARY BANGLADESH

Bangladesh high court declares largest Islamist party illegal

• Jamaat is one of two main opposition parties


• With ban, it can’t take part in upcoming general election


• The petition says Jamaat is religiously-steeped


• The potential for violence is all-too-real

Dhaka, Bangladesh (CNN) — Bangladesh’s high court has declared the country’s largest Islamist party, the Jamaat-e-Islami, illegal.

Jamaat is one of two main opposition parties and a constant thorn in the side of the ruling Awami League.

With the declaration, Jamaat will not be able to take part in the country’s upcoming general election — certainly welcome news to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

But such a ruling can also reignite a fresh round of political unrest in the South Asian nation.

Drumbeat gets louder

Jaamat enjoys considerable support, particularly in rural areas. And periodically, it will summon the masses to swarm the capital city, Dhaka, as a reminder.

But in recent months, the drumbeat to ban Jamaat has gotten louder, especially from progressive groups that point to the party’s role during Bangladesh’s struggle for independence in the early 1970s.

Between one million and 3 million people were killed in the nine-month war.

In 2010, Bangladesh set up a court that it called the International Crimes Tribunal to bring to justice those it accused in the massacre.

Among those the court has convicted of crimes against humanity are several top Jamaat leaders.

Jamaat acknowledges that it opposed Bangladesh’s struggle for independence, but it has decried what it calls a smear campaign.

It has also questioned why the ruling Awami League is only now pressing forward on war crimes trials when it didn’t do so while in power during the 1970s and 1990s.

A petition to ban

The court case calling for its ban resulted from a petition filed in 2009 by Bangladesh Tariquat Foundation, a Sufi organization that wants to make Bangladesh a secular nation.

The petition said Jamaat is a religiously-steeped political entity that actively worked to undermine the independence movement.

The Awami League has sided with those calling for a ban.

“We’re examining all possible ways of doing it,” the law minister said in February.

Fear of violence

But the fear of violence igniting from such a ruling is all-too-real.

Every time one of Jamaat’s top leaders have been convicted by the war crimes tribunals, angry Jamaat supporters have clashed with police.

Since February, at least 150 protesters have been killed and at least 2,00 wounded in such clashes, the Human Rights Watch said in a report released Thursday.

The group laid the blame on security personnel using excessive force.

CNN.com Recently Published/Updated

Bangladesh high court declares largest Islamist party illegal

Bangladesh Islamist Leader Sentenced to Death for 1971 War Crimes

DHAKA — A Bangladesh war crimes tribunal convicted and sentenced a top Islamic party leader to death on Wednesday as his supporters clashed with security forces in different parts of the country.

Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mojaheed, 65, secretary general of the Jamaat-e-Islami party, was convicted on charges of genocide, conspiracy in killing intellectuals, torture and abduction during the country’s 1971 war to break away from Pakistan, lawyers said.

(Reporting by Ruma Paul; Editing by Robert Birsel)

NYT > Global Home

Bangladesh Islamist Leader Sentenced to Death for 1971 War Crimes

Bangladesh violence over war verdict

16 July 2013 Last updated at 03:35 ET

Anger spilled out onto the streets on Monday after the verdict

Police have clashed with thousands of protesters in Bangladesh a day after the conviction of an Islamist party leader for war crimes, officials say.

Ghulam Azam, leader of the Islamist Jamaat-e-Islami party, was jailed for crimes committed during Bangladesh’s 1971 war of independence with Pakistan.

The clashes came amid a nationwide general strike.

Police said they opened fire after protesters attacked a policeman in Satkhira district in the south-west.

One report says that two protesters were killed as police opened fire during the angry demonstrations.

Police quoted by the AFP news agency say that angry crowds went on the rampage in Satkhira attacking police with sticks, machetes and throwing homemade bombs

Political violence

Continue reading the main story

Bangladesh independence war, 1971

• Civil war erupts in Pakistan, pitting the West Pakistan army against East Pakistanis demanding autonomy and later independence


• Fighting forces an estimated 10 million East Pakistani civilians to flee to India


• In December, India invades East Pakistan in support of the East Pakistani people


• Pakistani army surrenders at Dhaka and its army of more than 90,000 become Indian prisoners of war


• East Pakistan becomes the independent country of Bangladesh on 16 December 1971


• Exact number of people killed is unclear – Bangladesh says it is three million but independent researchers say it is up to 500,000 fatalities

• Bangladesh’s watershed moment


• Key defendants


• Article that changed history

The court found Mr Azam, 90, guilty of five charges including conspiracy, incitement, planning, abetting and failing to prevent murder and sentenced him to 90 years in prison.

He faced more than 60 counts of crimes against humanity for his role in setting up militia groups which carried out atrocities during the war.

Mr Azam has consistently denied the charges, which his supporters say were politically motivated.

He was the fifth person to be convicted for alleged war crimes committed during Bangladesh’s bitter independence war. Previous verdicts for former Jamaat leaders have led to deadly protests involving party supporters.

More than 100 people have been killed since January in political violence sparked by verdicts handed down by the International Crimes Tribunal.

Pro-government groups have also taken to the streets demanding death sentences for those being tried, accusing the tribunal of being too lenient.

On Monday Jamaat called for a general strike to protest against this latest verdict, as did another group who wanted to see the death penalty handed down, the Daily Star reported.

Human rights groups have said the tribunal falls short of international standards.

The exact number of people killed during Bangladesh’s nine-month war of secession is unclear: official Bangladeshi figures suggest as many as three million people died, but independent researchers suggest the death toll was around 500,000.

BBC News – Asia

Bangladesh violence over war verdict

Bangladesh Sentences Former Islamist Party Chief to Life

DHAKA — A Bangladesh war crimes tribunal convicted and sentenced a top Islamist party leader to life imprisonment on Monday, as violence broke out across the country between police and his supporters.

Ghulam Azam, 91, the former head of Jamaat-e-Islami party, was found guilty on charges of planning, conspiracy, incitement and complicity to commit genocide and crimes against humanity during a 1971 war for independence from Pakistan, lawyers and tribunal officials said.

It was the tribunal’s fifth conviction since January.

(Reporting by Nandita Bose and Ruma Paul; Editing by Robert Birsel)

NYT > Global Home

Bangladesh Sentences Former Islamist Party Chief to Life

Bangladesh Sentences Former Islamist Party Chief to Life

DHAKA — A Bangladesh war crimes tribunal convicted and sentenced a top Islamist party leader to life imprisonment on Monday, as violence broke out across the country between police and his supporters.

Ghulam Azam, 91, the former head of Jamaat-e-Islami party, was found guilty on charges of planning, conspiracy, incitement and complicity to commit genocide and crimes against humanity during a 1971 war for independence from Pakistan, lawyers and tribunal officials said.

It was the tribunal’s fifth conviction since January.

(Reporting by Nandita Bose and Ruma Paul; Editing by Robert Birsel)

NYT > Global Home

Bangladesh Sentences Former Islamist Party Chief to Life

Bangladesh garment sales soar despite deadly incidents

The clothing tag on a boy’s shirt which is made in Bangladesh is shown after purchase from a Walmart store in Encinitas, California, May 14, 2013.

Credit: Reuters/Mike Blake

Reuters: Top News

Bangladesh garment sales soar despite deadly incidents

Wal-Mart will not sign Bangladesh accord

1 of 2. The clothing tag on a pair of jeans by Wal-Mart’s brand Faded Glory, which is made in Bangladesh, is shown after purchase from a Walmart store in Encinitas, California, May 14, 2013.

Credit: Reuters/Mike Blake

Reuters: Business News

Wal-Mart will not sign Bangladesh accord

Bangladesh prayers for collapse dead

14 May 2013 Last updated at 09:24 ET

The BBC’s Sanjoy Majumder reports from the site of the Rana Plaza in Dhaka

Continue reading the main story

• Factories and buyers


• Confusion over numbers


• ‘I cut off limbs to save lives’


• Profile: Rana Plaza owner

Thousands of mourners in Bangladesh have held prayers for more than 1,100 people who died when a garment factory building collapsed last month.

The mourners in Savar, near the capital Dhaka, were joined by relatives of some 100 people who are still missing.

The army had earlier ended its search for bodies and handed the site to the local authorities to clear up.

Meanwhile, some major world retailers have backed plans to improve the safety of Bangladesh’s clothing factories.

The deal requires them to conduct safety inspections and pay for repairs.

Many in the crowd held pictures of their missing relatives

Asking for salvation

On Tuesday, large crowds gathered in Savar to mourn the victims of the collapse – Bangladesh’s worst industrial tragedy.

Soldiers, police and firefighters stood solemnly together with relatives of the victims during the Islamic prayer service.

They raised their cupped hands to ask for the salvation of those who died when the eight-storey Rana Plaza building came crashing down on 24 April.

At least 1,127 people died when the eight-storey Rana Plaza collapsed on 24 April.

The collapse is the latest in a series of deadly incidents that have focused global attention on safety standards in Bangladesh’s export garment industry, which is the second biggest after China’s.

Hundreds of factories have been forced to close by recurrent worker unrest sparked by the disaster, officials say.

The government has since announced steps aimed at improving conditions. That includes raising the minimum wage for industry workers and making it easier for them to form unions.

Deal deadline

Meanwhile, some European fashion retailers – including Hennes & Mauritz and Inditex, which owns Zara – have signed up to the legally binding agreement called the Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh.

The deal includes regulations on safety inspections and requires retailers to pay for factory repairs.

Two labour groups are behind the pact and the deadline for retailers to sign on is 15 May.

Discount clothing company Primark and UK supermarket chain Tesco have also signed the agreement.

About 60% of Bangladesh’s garment exports go to European retailers.

However, major US firms including Gap Inc, Walmart and Sears have said they will not sign the agreement, throwing its impact into question.

US retailer Gap said it would only sign the accord if changes were made to rules on how disputes were resolved.

BBC News – Asia

Bangladesh prayers for collapse dead