Investigations into the activities of sixteen war criminals and
collaborators of Pakistan military junta during the
Bangladesh liberation war of 1971 published on 26 March 1994
What happened in Bangladesh between March 25 and December 16, 1971 epitomized the spirit of the human will as well as man's unlimited capacity to be brutal towards fellow men. Rarely in the history of mankind have a people displayed so much heroism and suffered so much pain within the space of so short a time as the people of Bangladesh did.
The magnitude of the genocide committed by the Pakistan army and its local collaborators, particularly para-military forces set up by fundamentalist political parties, is incomparable in modern-day history. Not since the extermination of six million Jews by Nazi Germany between 1933 and 1945 has the world witnessed a genocide as horrifying in its intent and as wide in its scope.
Indeed, the intensity of the genocide by Pakistanis and their collaborators in Bangladesh surpassed even that of Adolph Hitler in central and eastern Europe. The UN Human Rights Commission (UNHRC), in its 1981 report on the occasion of the 33rd anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, stated that the genocide committed in Bangladesh in 1971 was the worst in history. It is widely accepted, both in and outside Bangladesh, that a total of three million Bangalees were killed by Pakistani troops and their local allies. The UNHRC report said, even if a lower range of 1.5 million deaths was taken, killings took place at a rate of between 6 to 12 thousand per day, through the 267 days of carnage. This made it the most intense genocide in history.
The struggle of the people of Bangladesh for their legitimate socio-political and economic rights, for their right to self-determination, took on the shape of an armed war of liberation only because the military rulers of Pakistan chose to make it so. Since 1947, when the territory that today constitutes Bangladesh became the eastern wing of Pakistan following the partition of India, the Bangalee people have struggled to retain their distinct cultural identity and political freedom.
The people's struggle that followed the non-violent political path, in the best Gandhian tradition of the subcontinent, culminated in the 1970 election victory for the nationalist party, the Awami League. The League's sweeping victory, winning over 75 per cent of the votes and 98 per cent of the parliamentary seats in East Pakistan, was an expression of undiluted popular backing for the party's programme of autonomy. But, unwilling to grant East Pakistan autonomy or allow the League to form the government at the centre on the basis of its absolute majority in the national parliament, the military junta ruling from across 1,000 miles of Indian landmass in West Pakistan, unleashed a genocide horrifying in its eventual aim. As has been documented by countless authors and journalists reporting on the event in 1971, the aim of the military campaign was to terrorise and expel a large number of Bangalees particularly followers of the Hindu religion, depopulate vast areas, colonise the land by bringing in non-Bangalee settlers and put in motion a process to thoroughly deform the culture of the people, which was a blend of ancient Hinduism, Buddhism and Islam.
The resistance of the people, aided by India, prevented Gen. Yahya Khan from carrying out his Final Solution to the Bangalee problem, in the same way as the Allied resurgence on the battlefield from the summer of 1942 onwards thwarted Adolph Hitler's designs to exterminate the Jewish race and enslave the Slavic peoples of the east.
However, unlike the Jewish people or the nations of Europe, justice has eluded the people of Bangladesh for 23 long years. The Pakistani war criminals, who had surrendered to a joint Indo-Bangladesh force on December 16, 1971 on the basis of the Geneva Convention governing treatment of prisoners of war, were able to get away with their crimes. The international community, which had a duty to see that war crimes and crimes against humanity were investigated and the culprits brought to justice, showed little interest in the Bangladesh case, despite obligations under UN covenants. A tripartite agreement in 1973 between Pakistan, India and Bangladesh paved the way for the release of all 93,000 POWs, including the 195 officers suspected of having committed war crimes. Bangladesh, which had already put legislations in its statute books to facilitate trial of international crimes such as acts of genocide by its own nationals as well as foreign forces, was left with little choice.
This was followed by a limited amnesty declared in the same year for local collaborators, but this did not cover anyone against whom charges of war crimes or murder, rape, arson and looting could be brought. The pardon, urged upon the government by Amnesty International, applied to those against whom serious charges could not be brought. The 1972 Collaborators Act, designed to facilitate arrest and trial of accomplices as well as of local perpetrators of the genocide remained in place.
However, following the overthrow of the post-independence government in 1975, a dramatic change appeared to take place in official policy towards the issue of the 1971 genocide. The Collaborators Act 1972 was repealed, all those leading war criminal-suspects who had fled the country and lost citizenship rights, were invited to return, which they did. Even Golam Azam, leader of the Jamaat-e-Islami and widely regarded to be the principal war criminal among all local collaborators of the Pakistan army, was allowed to return to Bangladesh. Instead of facing arrest and charges, Azam was allowed to quietly begin reorganising his party. Overtly communal political parties, which opposed the independence of Bangladesh and backed the Pakistani military in its genocidal campaign in 1971, were all made legal again, with opportunities to "win" seats in the national parliament. Some war criminal-suspects such as Abdul Alim, Maulana Mannan etc., were even inducted into the cabinet. One senior collaborator, Shah Azizur Rahman, even became prime minister in the cabinet of president Lt. Gen. Ziaur Rahman (1977-1981).
The downfall of Lt. Gen. H M Ershad (1982-1990) and emergence of a democratic dispensation in 1991 gave rise to hopes that the question of the genocide would be finally settled through the dispensation of justice. But those hopes were dashed again when Jamaat-e-Islami openly declared Golam Azam to be its Ameer or Leader on Dec 29, 1991. Since his return in 1978, Azam has worked mainly behind the scenes, while he remained, officially, a Pakistani citizen. The announcement of Azam's assumption of the office of Jamaat's Ameer caused the people's anger, pent-up under oppressive political climate for two decades, to burst. Demands for Azam's trial for war crimes became a national cry. But the government first prevaricated, then refused to heed the demands.
The formation, on Feb 11, 1992 of the National Coordinating Committee for the Realisation of the Bangladesh Liberation War Ideals and Trial of Bangladesh War Criminals of 1971, intensified the popular campaign. The Committee was formed with the participation of 72 political, socio-cultural and trade union organisations, women's, freedom fighters' and student groups. The Committee acted as a platform from which people from across the socio- political spectrum could voice their demand for justice.
To establish, symbolically, the people's verdict against Golam Azam, a People's Court trial was held at the Suhrawardy Uddyan (field), the largest park in Dhaka, which is also historical as this was the ground where Pakistani commander Lt. Gen. A A K Niazi signed the surrender instruments on Dec 16, 1971. The popular verdict was guilty, on 12 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity.
But the government remains unmoved, despite obligations under UN declarations. The UN General Assembly in its resolution no 3074, passed on Dec. 3, 1973, stated, "War crimes and crimes against humanity, wherever they are committed, shall be subject to investigation and the persons against whom there is evidence that they have committed such crimes shall be subject to tracing, arrest, trial and, if found guilty, to punishment".
There is no attempt to investigate the war crimes of 1971 by the government of Bangladesh. The duty therefore has fallen on the shoulders of the people themselves, who have already made their judgement on Golam Azam known through the People's Court. The next step was investigation into the 1971 activities of other suspect collaborators, to establish whether war crimes trial proceedings ought to be initiated against them.
With this aim in mind, the National Coordinating Committee announced on Mar 26, 1993 the formation of a National People's Enquiry Commission, to investigate the 1971 roles of eight collaborators. This would be the first phase of a series of such investigations, eventually leading to probes into 1971 crimes of all suspect collaborators. The formation of the Commission has the 1973 resolution at the UNHRC in Geneva clearly in mind. The UN Human Rights Commission said then, "These thousands of Bangalees who lost their lives in the torture chamber, their millions of widowed wives and orphaned children, and those who survived, have the right to expect that those responsible for these despicable crimes would not escape justice".
But they continue to escape justice, despite UN assertion that "Every state has the right to try its own nationals for war crimes against humanity", made in the 1973 Principles of International Cooperation in the Detention, Arrest, Extradition and Punishment of Persons Guilty of War Crimes and Crimes Against Humanity, adopted by the UNGA in December. If it is the right of every state, then it is the people of those states who have the right to demand and receive justice, through trial of persons suspected of having committed war crimes against humanity. International covenants, laws as well as the Bangladesh Constitution itself speak of the people's right to such trials, indeed the necessity for punishment of crimes of genocide to make sure that such crimes never occur again.
Jahanara Imam
Convener,
National Coordinating Committee for Realisation of Bangladesh Liberation War Ideals and Trial of Bangladesh War Criminals of 1971.
26 March 1994
Introduction
ON MARCH 26, 1993 a long-term programme was announced at a rally in Dhaka to investigate into the activities of front-ranking collaborators of the Pakistan army during Bangladesh's War of Liberation in 1971. The programme, announced by the National Coordinating Committee for the Realisation of the Bangladesh Liberation War Ideals and Trials of Bangladesh War Criminals of 1971, envisaged a step-by-step approach to unearthing evidence of complicity of all collaborators in war crimes, crimes against humanity, killings and other criminal activities.
The programme was announced to mark the first anniversary of the trial of Jamaat-e-Islami supreme Golam Azam by a People's Court. The programme announced on Mar 26, 1993 selected eight leading collaborator-suspects for investigation by an independent body named the National People's Enquiry Commission. The eight selected for investigation in the first phase of the Commission's probe were: 1) Abbas Ali Khan, 2) Maulana Matiur Rahman Nizami, 3) Mohammad Kamruzzaman, 4) Abdul Alim, 5) Maulana Delwar Hossain Sayeedi, 6) Maulana Abdul Mannan, 7) Anwar Zahid, and 8) Abdul Kader Molla.
The People's Enquiry Commission was formed to investigate into the activities of the eight during 1971, and establish the ground for initiating war crimes trials. The 11-member Commission comprised of: Begum Sufia Kamal (poet and chairperson), Shawkat Osman (writer), Dr Khan Sarwar Murshid (former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Rajshahi), Debesh Chandra Bhattacharya (former justice of the Supreme Court), K M Sobhan (former justice of the Supreme Court), Shamsur Rahman (poet), Dr Anupam Sen (professor at the University of Chittagong), Dr M A Khalek (professor at the University of Rajshahi), Salahuddin Yusuf (member of parliament), Air Vice Marshal Sadruddin (former chief of the Air Force), and Shafiq Ahmed, Bar-at-Law (member of the Supreme Court Bar, and coordinator of the Commission).
The formation of the People's Commission maintained the momentum as well as the continuity of the movement against all fascist, communal and anti-freedom forces in Bangladesh. The movement, which had began with the symbolic trial of Golam Azam by the People's Court on Mar 26, 1992, has spread quickly to all parts of the country. The people of Bangladesh have become vocal in their demand for the trial of Azam and other war criminals, collaborators and killers of 1971.
The People's Inquiry Commission went to work with this popular feeling as its source of inspiration and strength. The Commission gathered and analysed information on the activities of those who collaborated with the Pakistan military in 1971, and opposed Bangladesh's War of Liberation.
In recent months, cadres of the Jamaat-e-Islami and its camp-followers have been waging a violent, brutal campaign against those agitating for trials of war criminals; leaders of the movement have been issued death threats, grassroots campaigners have been killed, meetings and processions held to demand trials of war criminals have been attacked. In the final analysis, it appears the Jamaat and its allies are engaged in a long-term conspiracy to obliterate all the gains, in terms of socio-cultural freedoms, national identity etc., of the Liberation War.
Against such a backdrop, the Commission felt it imperative that leading collaborators, killers and war criminals of 1971 were brought to trial. This, the Commission felt, was necessary to safeguard the independence and sovereignty of Bangladesh, to uphold the spirit of freedom, and to ensure the safety and liberty of the people of Bangladesh. In addition, the Commission has attempted to provide a moral and legal pointer for the government to follow.
With this objective in mind, the Commission carried out widespread investigation into the past activities of the eight persons named on Mar 26, 1993, in the first phase of the enquiry. A 40-member Secretariat, comprising mainly of lawyers, journalists and writers, was formed to assist the Commission in its task (see Appendix B). The probe was conducted on the basis of information gathered from documents of the war period, authoritative books written on the war and genocide, newspaper reports of the period, and written statements sent by witnesses from various parts of the country. In addition, fresh, previously unpublished information was also gathered through field investigation in the home districts of the eight accused or where they operated during 1971.
The Commission had to cope with some serious obstacles during its probe. The Commission discovered that a great deal of document dating to the genocide period had been destroyed. Government officials showed a total unwillingness to make available whatever information there is in the archives (in the absence of any Freedom of Information law, government functionaries did not feel obliged to give the investigators access to official files).
Furthermore, the Commission found the current situation in the home districts of the accused to be particularly worrisome. In these areas, ordinary people are not only haunted by the memory of 1971, they remain frightened and suffer from an acute sense of insecurity.
During the war, .the religious minority Hindu community were the principal targets of the brutalities of the Pakistan army and their local allies such as the Razakar and Al-Badr paramilitary forces and other collaborators. Even after independence, the Hindu community had to face unfavourable socio-political climate and were victimised by communal elements. As a result, many Hindu families who suffered immense physical
and material losses in 1971 have left the country in recent years.
Under such circumstances, the Commission had to gather information from their neighbours. Many families who lost near and dear ones or suffered torture at the hands of the Pakistan army and its allies wanted to provide information on the condition of anonymity only, while others did not dare to do even that. All were worried about the safety of their lives and livelihood.
As a result, the Commission's probe has revealed only a portion of the entire scope and range of the crimes committed by the eight under investigation. The Commission believes that the true extent of their crimes is far wider than that revealed through this report.
The Commission analysed all the information gathered by members of the secretariat. Although the information thus gathered represents only a fraction of the total range of activities of the eight men in 1971, the Commission nevertheless believes it to be sufficient to justify initiation of war crimes trial proceedings.
The Commission took the decision to compile the investigation report after scrutinising and fully analysing all the information made available. The report was prepared by a competent team, supervised by Shahriar Kabir, which included university teachers, writers and journalists such as Asif Nazrul, Mizanur Rahman Khan, Julfikar Ali Manik, Fazlur Rahman, Probhas Amin, Shahiduzzaman and Eemon Sikdar. The People's Inquiry Commission approved the report before being published.
The Commission has presented the report, in a summarised form, to the Steering Committee of the National Coordinating Committee and requested the latter to publish the full report in a book form. Below is the summarised version of the report, with details of information against the eight accused:
The Accused and the Evidence
Abbas Ali Khan
ABBAS ALl KHAN currently holds the second-highest position in the Jamaat-e-Islami, the largest and most powerful fundamentalist political party in Bangladesh. Until Golam Azam was officially declared to be the Ameer (or Leader) of the party, Khan acted as the chief.
Khan's role in 1971 was against the independence of Bangladesh, and against the spirit of Bangalee nationalism. At the time he was the deputy chief of Pakistan Jamaat-e-Islami. Khan gave leadership to para-military forces such as the Razakars, Al-Badrs and Al-Shams, all formed by the Jamaat and like-minded parties in cooperation with the Pakistan army.
The principal aim behind formation of these three forces was to provide battle-field support to the military, gather intelligence about local resistance groups, identify and eliminate Bangalee nationalist elements, and carry out raids on villages involving mass killings, rape, arson and lootings. The Pakistan army enjoyed direct assistance from these para-military forces in its campaign of genocide, which resulted in the death of three million unarmed people of Bangladesh.
Abbas Ali Khan abetted and encouraged the Pakistan army's genocide through speeches at countless rallies, statements to and articles in newspapers etc. Khan also played a leading role in the central "Peace Committee", which was set up to directly and indirectly assist the Pakistan army's campaign in Bangladesh. The "Peace Committee" formed branches all over the country, manned by local leaders of Jamaat and camp-followers. These committees acted as the political wing of the three para-military forces and played an active role in assisting Pakistan army's attempt to brutally suppress the Bangalee people's struggle for freedom in 1971.
Members of the Razakar force under Khan's leadership were given powers equal to those of the regular armed forces. The Razakars, after a short course of training, carried out widespread killings, rapes and looting in villages.
According to reports in the press during 1971, Khan became a minister in the cabinet of Quisling governor M A Malek, after taking part in a series of stage-managed parliamentary by-elections. The seats put up for by-elections were all held by members of the Awami League, the nationalist party which won a landslide victory in the 1970 general elections. The seats were declared vacant by the Pakistan military junta after the Awami League was banned on Mar 26, 1971.
Khan assumed the office of the minister for education in Malek's puppet government on Sept 17, 1971. Golam Azam, one of the principal war criminals of 1971, congratulated this cabinet and said, "I hope this cabinet will be able to do more than what the 'Peace Committees' have been able to do so far" (source: Speeches and Statements of Killers and Collaborators of 1971, by Saiduzzaman Raushan, page 45).
On page 47 of the same book of compilations, Raushan quotes Azam as saying at a reception given by Dhaka city branch of the Jamaat in Hotel Empire that, "Jamaat-e-Islami considers Pakistan and Islam one and the same. So, Jamaat members would not consider life worth living if there was no Pakistan. That's why Jamaat is working to bring back confidence and sense of security among the people by working through "Peace Committees", by sending leaders to join Razakar and Al-Badr forces, and through other means. With this aim in mind, Jamaat workers have compelled two senior leaders to become ministers".
On Nov 25, Abbas Ali Khan said in a statement, "I have no doubt that the Indian army has began a shameless aggression in several fronts under the guise of the Mukti Bahini with the despicable aim of swallowing East Pakistan (The Mukti Bahini or liberation army, formed by Bangalee nationalist civilians and Bangalee members of the Pakistan army who rebelled after the military crackdown began on the night of Mar 25, 1971). Our armed forces alone cannot carry on this war. It is the duty of every citizen to strengthen the hands of our soldiers and help save the dignity of our dear Pakistan" (source: ibid, Raushan).
In the same statement, with an oblique reference to Bangalee intellectuals and freedom fighters, he called on people to "stay alert against people engaged in anti-state and destructive activities. Help the armed forces and the 'Peace Committees' to eliminate these elements".
On Dec 10, just four days before the killings of intellectuals reached its peak, he said in another speech, "In the Battle of Badr, only 313 Muslim troops faced over 1,000 Kuraish, and were victorious. Today, 130 million people (the then population of West Pakistan and Bangladesh combined) are fully prepared to defend this sacred land. Our enemies are the rumour-mongers, the agent-provocateurs and those who propagate in favour of India or that imaginary country Bangladesh. You have to beware of these enemies. Smash their poisonous fangs at the first opportunity. Join hands with our Razakar, Al-Badr and Al-Shams forces and dedicate yourself to the task of saving the country" (ibid, Raushan).
Governor Malek formed several sub-committees in December to strengthen the war effort. Khan was put in charge of the information sub-committee, along with A S M. Solaiman.
Khan continued to propagate against Bangladesh even after 1971. In 1980, while addressing his first post- 1971 press conference, Khan showed no remorse for what he or his party had done. Instead, he said, "We did the right thing in 1971" (source: The Killers and Collaborators of 1971 : An Account of Their Where about, compiled and published by the Centre for the Development of the Spirit of the Liberation War, page 63). Even today, Khan continues to conspire against the independence of Bangladesh and against the Bangalee national identity of the people. He continues his efforts to turn Bangladesh into a second Pakistan.
Maulana Matiur Rahman Nizam
MAULANA MATIUR RAHMAN NIZAMI of Pabna district in the north-west of Bangladesh, is currently the secretary general and leader of the parliamentary party of the Jamaat-e-Islami.
Nizami carried out a wide range of activities against the war of independence in 1971. At the time he was president of Jamaat's youth front, the Islami Chattra Sangha (ICS, or Islamic Student's Organisation). Under his direct supervision, and leadership, the Al-Badr force was set-up to eliminate freedom fighters. Nizami was the commander-in-chief of the Al-Badrs.
The principal aim of the Al-Badr, as a para-military force auxiliary to the Pakistan army, was to turn the Bangalee people into a populace, which would believe in Pakistan and the Islamic philosophy of life from a cultural and political viewpoint.
Leaders of the Al-Badr drew-up the blue-print for the murder of hundreds of Bangalee intellectuals across the country. On their orders, hundreds of such prominent men and women of letter and crafts were murdered throughout Bangladesh including Dhaka. Horrifying tales of these killings by the Al-Badr under Nizami' s command have been published in many newspapers and journals at home and abroad.
Nizami exhorted his followers through speeches as well as articles in newspapers. In one such article in the party mouth-piece daily Sangram, he wrote, "The day is not far away when the young men of Al-Badr, side by side with the armed forces, will defeat the Hindu force (enemies) and raise the victorious banner of Islam all over the world, after the destroying the existence of India" (source: Daily Sangram,Nov. 14, 1971).
On April 12, 1971, Nizami joined Azam and other leading collaborators such as Khan A Sabur etc., to lead a procession in Dhaka to declare support for Pakistan. The procession, under the banner of the "Peace Committee", ended with a special prayer for the survival of Pakistan (Daily Sangram, April 13, 1971).
In Jessore south-west of Dhaka, Nizami addressed para-military troops at the district headquarters of the Razakar force, and said, "In this hour of national crisis, it is the duty of every Razakar to carry out his national duty to eliminate those who are engaged in war against Pakistan and Islam" (Daily Sangram, Sept 15, 1971).
People in Nizami's home district of Pabna have brought allegations of direct and indirect involvement in killings, rape, arson, looting etc.
One such person is Aminul Islam Dablu of Brishlika village under the Bera police station (in Bangladesh, all administrative units below the level of districts are organised under a police station, hence all sub-districts are called Thana, or PS). Dablu told the Commission that his father M Sohrab Ali was killed on the orders of Nizami. Dablu further said other people of the area, including Profulla Pramanik, Bhadu Pramanik, Manu Pramanik and Shashthi Pramanik were killed on Nizami' s orders. He said there were several eyewitnesses to those killings.
Abdul Quddus, a freedom fighter from Madhabpur village in Pabna, once spent two weeks in an Al-Badr camp after being arrested. He witnessed plans being discussed and drawn-up by the Al-Badr men under supervision of Nizami, to carry out killings, arson, rape etc.
On Nov 26, a Razakar commander named Sattar guided Pakistani troops to the Dhulaupara village where 30 freedom fighters were subsequently killed. According to Quddus, Sattar carried out his activities under Nizami's orders.
Quddus told the Commission he was able to attend a secret gathering of Al-Badr, which was also attended by Nizami who gave instructions about elimination of freedom fighters. In that meeting, houses of Awami League supporters and possible bases and safe-houses being used by freedom fighters were identified. Quddus said, Nizami gave orders to finish off Awami League supporters and destroy bases of the freedom fighters.
The day after the meeting, Al-Badr forces in cooperation with Razakars, surrounded the village of Brishlika and burnt it to the ground. Quddus said Nizami himself bayoneted to death one Bateswar Shaha in Madhabpur village, situated under Sathia PS, which is now part of the parliamentary constituency where Nizami won a seat in 1991 with a slender majority.
Similar allegations against Nizami was brought by M Shahjahan Ali of Madhabpur village. Ali was captured by Razakars along with several other freedom fighters. The Razakars then proceeded to torture the prisoners with bayonets, finally using long knives to slit their throats. Twelve freedom fighters were slaughtered in that manner, but Ali miraculously survived, although he has a deep scar along his throat and is permanently paralysed.
Ali said one prisoner was burnt alive after being doused with petrol. He said all these killings of prisoners were carried out on Nizami's order.
Muhammad Kamruzzaman
MUHAMMAD KAMRUZZAMAN is currently the Assistant Secretary General of Jamaat-e-Islami, Bangladesh. He is the former executive editor of the party mouthpiece Daily Sangram, and presently editor of the weekly Sonar Bangla.
Information about his anti-liberation activities and complicity in war crimes in 1971 have been gathered from newspapers of the time, authoritative books on the history of the war and from testimony of eyewitnesses and victims. In 1971, Kamruzzaman was the leader of the Islami Chattra Sangha in the district of Mymensingh, and he was the principal organiser of the Al-Badr force, which was first formed in the nearby area of Jamalpur.
An article in the Daily Sangram on August 16, 1971, said, "A rally and symposium were organised in Mymensingh by the Al-Badr to celebrate the 25th independence day of Pakistan. The chief organiser of the Al-Badr, Muhammad Kamruzzaman presided over the symposium held at the local Muslim Institute. According to a wire service report, speakers at the symposium issued strong warnings about those involved in the conspiracy to destroy the country"
In the research-based historical book, Killers and Collaborators of 1971: An Account of Their Whereabouts, compiled by the Centre for the Development of the Spirit of the Liberation War, more light is thrown on the role of Kamruzzaman in 1971: "As soon as Al-Badr was formed in Jamalpur as a volunteers' organisation, the Jamaat leadership realised that their student wing could be turned into an armed force, and used as a special squad to carry out killings of intellectuals, in addition to carrying out general war duties. First, activists of the Islami Chattra Sangha in the entire district of Mymensingh were organised as the Al-Badr and given weapons training. Kamruzzaman was in charge of this organisational work. Within a month, Kamruzzaman incorporated all the cadres of the ICS into the Al-Badr" (page 111- 112).
One Fazlul Huq of Sherpur area, father of a martyr, told the Commission that sometime in June or July in 1971, his son Badiuzzaman was taken away by an 11-member Al-Badr squad led by Kamruzzaman. Huq said his son was taken to the Pakistan army camp in nearby Ahmednagar and murdered. After independence, the late Badiuzzaman's brother Hasanuzzaman filed a case at the Nalitabari police station, with Kamruzzaman as the principal among the 18 accused in the murder of Badiuzzaman.
In the same Sherpur area, one Shahjahan Talukdar told the Commission that cadres of the Al-Badr kidnapped his cousin Golam Mostafa on August 24, 1971, in broad daylight. Mostafa was then taken to the local Al-Badr camp, which was set up in a house on Surendra Mohan Road of Sherpur town. After brutally torturing Mostafa at the camp, Al-Badr forcibly took him to the nearby Sherry Bridge and shot him dead. Kamruzzaman was known to have ordered the killing. Many others in Sherpur confirmed that the killing of Golam Mostafa was carried out on Kamruzzaman's direct order.
Allegations of torture at the Al-Badr camp in Sherpur were also made by Tapas Shaha, a former student leader of the area. He said men, women and youth of the area used to be taken forcibly to the camp where Al-Badr cadres under direct supervision of Kamruzzaman used to carry out gruesome acts of torture.
For instance, one Majid, at the time an elected office-bearer of the town council, was taken to the camp and kept inside a darkened hole for a whole day.
In the middle of May, the then head of the Department of Islamic History and Culture at Sherpur College, Syed Abdul Hannan was paraded through the streets of the town, totally naked, with his head shaven and a "garland" of shoes around his neck. Kamruzzaman and his cohorts dragged the professor around the town in mid-day, beating him with leather whips as he was dragged, Tapas Shaha told the Commission.
Ziaul Huq, a former town leader of the Awami League said, he was taken by three Al-Badr men on August 22 at around 5pm. He was then kept at the camp for two days, in the darkened hole. He said, the camp or torture centre was being run by Kamruzzaman. He was released after being told to leave the area, otherwise he was told he would be killed, Huq told the Commission.
Emdadul Huq Hira, a former freedom fighter and currently a leader of the Jatiya Party, said his home was burnt down by Pakistani troops who were being guided by Kamruzzaman. He told the Commission that the troops set up five bunkers in the premises of his home, and used a litchi tree in the courtyard to tie up prisoners before shooting them dead.
Another eyewitness Musfiquzzaman, currently a teacher at the Haji Jal Mamud College in Sherpur, said that homes and business establishments at Tin Ani Bazar were looted in the middle of August in the presence of and under the leadership of Kamruzzaman.
One eyewitness, who worked as a driver of trucks, which were used to carry troops as well as prisoners and dead bodies said, that Kamruzzaman guided Pakistani troops to the house of a freedom fighter identified only as Honta. The troops burned the house down, the driver said.
There were also allegations that Kamruzzaman organised and led robbery gangs in the area.
Abdul Alim
A former minister in the cabinet of late president Lt. Gen. Ziaur Rahman (1977-81), ABDUL ALIM served as the chairman of the "Peace Committee" in the district of Joypurhat in the north-west of the country during 1971. Information about his war crimes and anti-liberation activities have been gathered from newspapers of the period, historical books and from testimony given by those who suffered.
Immediately after independence, mass-circulation daily Dainik Bangla published a report on Jan. 12, 1971, under the headline "Brutality of the aggressors have put to shade even the killers of .the Middle Ages". The report said that leader of the Joypurhat "Peace Committee" Abdul Alim of the Muslim League party was once asked, soon after Pakistan president Gen. Yahya Khan had declared an "amnesty" for those refugees who had crossed into India, if members of the Hindu community would face any problem returning to their homes. "In reply he (Alim) said, 'There is no amnesty for them, the moment they return they'll be handed over to the armed forces'. That was an unbelievable comment. If an educated person could harbour such thoughts, then it is fairly easy to gauge what sort of attitude the lesser-educated or illiterate collaborators had towards members of the religious minority community. In effect, those handful of Hindus who came back after Yahya's cosmetic amnesty, never the saw the light of day again".
Another piece of evidence against Alim is given on page 38- 39 of the compilation by the Centre for the Development of the Spirit of the Liberation War. It says, "Abdul Alim himself carried out execution of Bangalees by lining them up in rows and then shooting them. Besides, there are many allegations of Alim killing Bangalees by bayonet charges".
The same compilation titled Killers and Collaborators of 1971: An Account of Their Whereabouts, carried a photograph from a newspaper of the period, which showed a beaming Alim standing beside one Major Afzal of the Pakistan army. Sitting on the ground were a number of freedom fighters, blindfolded and with their hands tied behind their backs. "These freedom fighters were paraded through the town and later shot dead. After liberation, the people of Joypurhat caught Alim and put him in a cage an as exhibit", the caption in the book explained.
Dr Kazi Nazrul Islam of Joypurhat, son of late Dr Abul Kashem, told the Commission that on July 24, 1971, Razakar forces and Pakistani troops raided his father's home and took the latter away. This was done on the orders of Abdul Alim, he said.After torturing Kashem throughout the night, the Razakars took him to Alim at the "Peace Committee" office. Kashem was then sent to Joypurhat police station, and finally to Pakistan army camp at nearby Khanjanpur. On July 26, Kashem was murdered on the order of Alim. Kashem's decomposed body was discovered in a sugarcane field a month later.
The killing of Abul Kashem on the orders of Abdul Alim was confirmed by many others in the area, including elected village council chairman of Bomboo Union Molla Shamsul Alam.
Molla Shamsul Alam, an eyewitness to the activities of Alim, narrated the tale of one freedom fighter, Fazlu who was captured by Pakistani troops after a fire-fight. He said the Pakistanis took Fazlu and two other prisoners to Abdul Alim at the C O Colony hall room. Outside, Alim stood on truck and said to supporters gathered there, "Fazlu's father is a friend of mine. I had repeatedly asked him to dissuade his son from this path, but he didn't. Today he has to be to given his punishment, and that is death. I ask you all to find out those who still talk of Joy Bangla (Victory to Bengal, war-cry of the freedom fighters), in your neighbourhoods and beat them to death".
Fazlu and others were then taken to Alim' s house where they were put through inhuman torture. Later they were taken to the killing grounds in Khanjanpur and murdered.
Molla Shamsul Alam also alleged in his testimony that Alim carried out killings of poor members of the Garoal community. In April 1971, Pakistani troops arrested 26 Garoals and took them to Alim's house. They were kept there for three days, taken to Khanjanpur and killed.
Alam further said that Alim used his house as a recruitment camp for Razakars during 1971. Recruitment of Razakars was one of Alim's duties.
Alam said that in April, Pakistani troops surrounded the Hindu area of Koroikadipur village in Joypurhat and massacred 165 men and women. This raid was carried out on the orders of Alim and Jamaat leader Abbas Ali Khan, he said.
In addition to allegations of murder and torture, there are accusations of rape against Alim. Shamsul Huq, an elected village council chairman, said that Alim always justified acts of murder, rape etc., by Pakistani troops and Razakars. According to Huq, Alim used to say "troops do these sort of things at war time. This is not a fault. We have to accept it in the interest of the country".
Shamsul Alam, an associate professor at Joypurhat College, said that Alim and his cohorts once paraded 26 captured freedom fighters around town on trucks before the prisoners were put to death. Before killing them, Alim put the prisoners on display at Joypurhat College playing field, where he told the students, "You can all understand the fate of these prisoners. They are all going to die. If you students join the Mukti Bahini, then your fate will be the same".
Idris Ali said he entered his home-town Joypurhat on Dec. 5 along with other freedom fighters. They captured the "Peace Committee" headquarters the same day, and discovered various documents, including lists of intellectuals earmarked for elimination. Among the documents was minutes of a meeting held on Dec. 4 and presided over by Abbas Ali Khan, then a minister in the East Pakistan cabinet of Quisling
Governor Malek. The minutes bore Alim's signature.
There were many other eyewitness reports by local inhabitants of the killings, torture and repression carried out in the area by Alim.
Maulana Delwar Hossain Sayeedi
MAULANA DELWAR HOSSAIN SAYEEDI is currently a member of the Jamaat-e-Islami's Majlish-e-Shura or central committee, During 1971, Sayeedi took active part in the organisation of Razakar, Al-Badr and Al-Shams forces in his own area of Pirojpur in the south of the country, in order to assist the Pakistan army.
Sayeedi was not associated with any political party in 1971, but conducted his activities in his individual capacity as a 'maulana' or Islamic scholar. There are allegations that he actively helped the Pakistani forces in their campaign of killings, lootings, rape, arson etc., by forming local para-military forces. During the war, he along with four associates formed an organisation called "Fund of the Five". The principal aim of the organisation was to loot and take over property of freedom fighters and Bangalee Hindus. He used to sell these looted property and conduct a profitable business from the sales proceedings.
Allegations against Sayeedi were made by Mizan, a former Freedom fighter. "Sayeedi gave direct assistance and encouragement to Pakistani forces during the Liberation War. He personally looted houses of Hindu families at Parer Hat area in Pirojpur, citing religious strictures as justification of the repression on the Hindus. He broke into the shop of a Hindu trader named Madan and carried all the goods off home. Sayeedi set up shops by the ferry port near Parer Hat with goods looted from shops at Shaheb Bazar market. People of this area still have not forgotten Sayeedi's treachery". (Quoted in the monthly magazine Nipoon, August, 1987).
Abdur Razzak Khan, an advocate in Pirojpur, told the Commission that Sayeedi forcibly took over the home of a local Hindu, Bipod Shaha, and continued to live there during the whole period, He said Sayeedi used to draw-up lists of suspected freedom fighters in the area and supply the names to the Pakistan army camped nearby. Khan also claimed that Sayeedi supplied young girls, abducted from nearby village homes, to the Pakistani camps. Sayeedi acted as guide to the Pakistani forces in their destructive and murderous raid on Parer Hat ferry port. According to Khan, Sayeedi also forced young men of the area to join the AI-Badr force, and any refusal usually led to the killing of the objector.
Similar allegations were brought against Sayeedi by Ali Haider, a member of the Supreme Court Bar and currently a leader of the central committee of the left-leaning Ganotontri (Democratic) Party. He told the Commission that the brother and other relatives of one Himangshu Babu were killed with the direct assistance of Sayeedi. He also said that Ganopati Halder, an accomplished student known in the area for his academic acumen, was also killed by Sayeedi.
Haider said Sayeedi was involved in the killings of many social workers, intellectuals and student leaders of the area. Mid-ranking civil servants posted in the area, who were suspected of sympathising with the cause of Bangladesh, were also picked out to be murdered. One Bhaguathi, accused of supplying information to the freedom fighters by Sayeedi, was tied to the back of a motorcycle and dragged for five miles before being killed, he said.
A former elected village council chairman of the area, M Alauddin Khan, told the Commission that mass killings of intellectuals and students took place in the area at the instigation, encouragement and direction of Sayeedi. He brought further accusations of lootings, particularly of property of local Hindus, against Sayeedi.
According to Beni Madhab Shaha, Sayeedi and his associates kidnapped and killed Abdul Aziz, a non-commissioned officer in the para-military East Pakistan Rifles (the force had joined the freedom war enmasse as soon as Pakistan army operations began on Mar 25). Sayeedi and his men also kidnapped and killed others, including Krishna Kanta Shaha, Bani Kanta Sikdar, Tarani Kanta Sikdar, Beni Madhab Shaha said.
Sayeedi and his cohorts carried out repression on the daughters of Hari Sadhu and Bipod Shaha, she said. Sayeedi, after looting the home of the Talukdars, a locally-influential Hindu land-owning family, kidnapped 25 women from the premises and sent them to the Pakistan army camp.
There are allegations that Sayeedi was involved in the killing of sub-divisional police officer (SDPO) Faizur Rahman, father of Humayun Ahmed, a renowned writer and professor of chemistry at the University of Dhaka. The allegations were brought by Sufia Haider and Ali Haider Khan, daughter and son-in-law respectively of Ahmed. They said Pakistani troops killed Faizur Rahman with the assistance of Sayeedi and his associates, who then proceeded to loot the property of the author's father.
Maulana Abdul Mannan
MAULANA ABDUL MANNAN, the president of the Jamiat-e- Mudarressin, an organisation of teachers of madrasas (special schools for Islamic learning from primary level to Grade 12) and owner of the daily Inquilab, the country's second-highest circulated newspaper, was one of the key collaborators of the Pakistani army during the 1971 War of Liberation.
A minister under General Ziaur Rahman after 1976 and then in the cabinet of president H M Ershad, Mannan was also associated with the killings of the intellectuals. He hails from the Devipur village of Faridganj thana under Chandpur district. Mannan's area of anti-liberation activity ranged from Faridganj area in the eastern district of Comilla to Dhaka. In 1971, he was one of the top leaders of the so-called Peace and Welfare Council that was set up to aid and abet the Pakistani occupation forces.
During the war, Maulana Mannan issued several statements in favour of the mass murders being committed by the Pakistani forces. In a statement published in newspapers on 27 April 1971, he said: "Patriotic people of East Pakistan have now come forward with crusading zeal to uproot the armed intruders and the secessionists. With the active support of the people, our brave armed forces have taken control of all the
places." (Source: Killers and Collaborators of 1971: An Account of Their Whereabouts, page 77).
On September 27, 1971 Maulana Mannan, then president of the Madrasah Teachers' Association, led a delegation of the association to a meeting with Lt Gen A A K Niazi, the Zonal Martial Law Administrator for Zone B (East Pakistan) and Commander of the Eastern Command. The maulana gave a copy of the Quran to the general and told him: "We are ready to cooperate with the army for Pakistan's security and to enhance the glory of Islam". The General responded: "Ulamas (Islamic scholars), madrasah teachers and other patriotic citizens can protect the communications network and uproot the anti-state elements'. General Niazi assured full cooperation to them in organising voluntary groups like the village defence forces to face the Indian spies. After the meeting, madrasah teachers and students were inducted into the Razakar, Al-Badr and Al-Shams forces and given military training. (Source: ibid page 77-78).
Maulana Mannan had direct involvement in the killing of eminent physician Alim Chowdhury. The wife of the late physician, Mrs Shyamoli Chowdhury, and his younger brother Abdul Hafiz Chowdhury informed the Commission that some members of the Al-Badr had gone to their house on December 14, 1971. Prior to that, the Al-Badr men had spent about 45 minutes at the residence of Maulana Mannan, the then a tenant downstairs. They took away Alim Chowdhury who never returned.
In the third week of December, Abdul Hafiz Chowdhury filed an FIR (first information report) with the Ramna police station in Dhaka. Police nabbed the absconding maulana from the Azimpur area of the city. Mannan gave a confessional statement that three members of the Al-Badr who were his students picked up Dr Alim Chowdhury.
Mannan had a very close relationship with Brig. Kashem and Capt. Kayum, two key men in the Pakistani army who coordinated the slaughter of the intellectuals. The two officers had come to Mannan' s ground floor apartment only a month ago on the occasion of an Islamic festival at 2:30 am. (Source: ibid page 78)
The story was published in the daily Dainik Bangla in December 1971 under the headline "Where are those three devils?" The History of Liberation War, a government publication, recounts the story in its eighth volume. (Source: ibid page 79).
The Razakar forces organised by Mannan unleashed a reign of terror in Faridganj under the leadership of Khalilur Rahman, an elected chairman of the local village council. They killed innocent Faridganj people, raped their women, burnt their houses and looted their property.
Worst of all, according to popular accounts, Mannan's men took advantage of the situation to wipe out his political opponents, killing them after torture. The Commission got the details of the torture and murders from Aminul Huq Master, president of Thana Action Council in 1971 and the then general secretary of the Awami League's Faridganj chapter, M Abdul Jabbar Patwary and Abdul Awal, both members of the action council.
In their written deposition, they said: "Maulana Mannan's Razakar forces, acting under his instructions, killed innumerable Bengalis in Faridganj including Awami League leaders Abdul Majid Patwary, Haider Box Patwary, Ahmad Ullah Khan, Ishaq Khan, Sultan Khan, Aminullah Khan, local primary school headmaster Nibaran Chandra Das, Haren Chandra Das, Ansar Abdur Rab, Abdul Matin Saut, Sekandar Bhuiya, Abdus Sattar Bhuiya, Upendra Chandra Kannaker, Jageshwar Bhoumik, Mainuddin Khan, Abdul Odud Khan, Habibullah, Eshaq Mir, Akkas Miah, Abu Taher, Ayatullah, Hashim Khan, Hare Krishna Das, Jagabandhu Das, Madan Krishna Das, Nagendra Chandra Kabiraj and Govindra Chandra Das. Hasmati Begum and Arafati Begum, both from the village of Prattashi, were killed after rape."
Abdul Kader Patwary, son of martyr Haider Box Patwary, of Keroa village near the Faridganj market, said that political enmity between his late father and Maulana Mannan dated back to the time of local elections organised by military dictator General Ayub Khan in the mid-1960s. In 1971, Mannan's men came searching for Kader. As the son was not available, the Razakarmen picked up the father, the mother, the brothers and sisters. All but father Haider Box returned home. After three days of torture, Haider waskolled. Said Abdul Kader: "My father was killed on instructions of Maulana Mannan."
M Abdul Jabbar Patwary, son of martyr Abdul Majid Patwary, told the Commission: "Razakars swooped on our house on the night of July 3, 1971. They took away my father Abdul Majid Patwary to Faridganj (thana headquarters) with his legs fastened by ropes. From 10 at night on July 4, they began torturing my father. The Razakars uprooted his beard strand by strand; Later the Faridganj police station officer in charge Oziullah told me that the Pakistani major contacted Maulana Mannan in Dhaka several times after my father was taken there. The major told Maulana Mannan at the time of first contact, 'The man you wanted is with us'. The last time Maulana Mannan ordered 'kill him'. Around at 1 am. on that night he was killed."
M Wajiullah, a businessman from Chandpur, also recounted the story of Abdul Majid Patwary's killing. He was also taken there by the Razakar.
On December 27, 1971 Maulana Mannan was handed over to Ramna police. He was released after influential quarters had intervened. He went into hiding.
A report published on May, 1972 by the daily Dainik Azad and headlined 'Help nab this cannibal" said: Abdul Mannan, the so-called maulana (Muslim cleric), a former general secretary of the Muslim League, a crony of the Peer of Sharshina (a religious leader known as a hated collaborator of the Pakistani army), an organiser of the Razakar-Badr forces, the mastermind of innumerable murders especially in the Faridganj area, is still at large. He is the one who organised the Razakar forces in Faridganj three months after the Liberation War had begun. He had a hand in killing Abdul Majid, the prominent Awami League leader from Faridganj, and Dr Alim Chowdhury of 29/1 Purana Paltan, Dhaka.
Anwar Zahid
ANWAR ZAHID, a leading member of the pro-China East Pakistan Communist Party, (Marxist-Leninist) in the 1960s and a member in the cabinet of president Ershad in the mid-80s, was a collaborator of the Pakistan army in 1971, and acted as an intelligence gatherer for the military during the war.
The probe conducted by the Commission secretariat revealed that Zahid had been working as an informer of the military since the 1960s. Zahid visited West Pakistan in early 1960s, and held series of meetings with military intelligence officials, and received a sum of 500,000 rupees as payment. This information was given to the Commission by Nurunnabi, a former party colleague of Zahid, and Lutfe Alam, a close friend. His association with military intelligence became known within his party circles and he was later expelled from the EPCP (M-L). But he maintained contact with leaders of the party and the EPCP (M-L) later collaborated with the Pakistan army during the war of 1971.
Lutfe Alam, an advocate at the High Court, told the Commission that when the National Awami Party (NAP) led by veteran left-wing campaigner Maulana Abdul Hamid Khan Bhasani, decided to boycott the 1970 parliamentary polls, Zahid and some of his friends resigned from the party. Zahid' s complaint was that if NAP boycotted the polls, then the nationalist Awami League would win, which would lead to the break-up of Pakistan, turning East Pakistan into a province of India. Pakistan military intelligence had similar analysis about the elections and prospect of a League victory.
Zahid became an active informer of the military once Bangladesh's war of liberation got going. Aktar Jahan Begum, the landlady of the house were Zahid lived as a tenant in 1971, said, "Zahid was fanatically against the liberation war. Officers of the military used to regularly visit his house, and stay till late at night. Our neighbours, frightened by Zahid' s close association with the military, asked my husband to tell him to go and rent another house. When my husband asked Zahid to leave, he got very angry and threatened to tell the army. After that, Zahid did not even pay his rent regularly. We could not say anything out of fear. Since they rented a part of our house, and we lived in the adjoining part, his wife and children used to visit us regularly. His wife Laili told us that there were regular secret meetings with army officers and leaders of political parties opposed to the liberation war in her house. Laili said Zahid was particularly friendly with one Major Siddique Salik. There were other officers, like Major Malik, Captain Chowdhury etc., who visited their house regularly".
Jamal Nasser, son of the landlady, said, "I used to be friends with Zahid's daughters Shoma and Antu. They used to always brag about their dad's friendship with army officers. Shoma also said that Zahid used to have regular rows with his wife over his hobnobbing with army officers. Shoma said her mother often called Zahid a 'killer' and a 'crony' and other names".
One Atiqur Rahman Khan was a neighbour of Zahid at the time. His son Syed Ahammad Khan told the Commission, "Zahid used to always propagate against the liberation war and tell us to join the Razakar force. I used to visit his house regularly and often saw leaders of political parties and army officers having meetings there. I got meet Major Salik personally".
It is apparent from the above testimony that Zahid used to conduct his intelligence work through Major Salik. Siddique Salik was top intelligence officer, who worked under the guise of the military's public relations officer.
Haider, a journalist working for the daily Jahane Nao, a newspaper published during the war period, said Zahid once organised a reception party at the National Press Club in honour of this Major Salik. "Zahid was the first to invite Salik to the press club, to facilitate gathering of intelligence about the freedom fighters from working journalists", he said.
Prior to the liberation war, Zahid was the chief reporter of English-language daily The People. The editor of the paper, Abidur Rahman also told the Commission about Zahid' s closeness to intelligence officers, particularly Salik.
During the war, Zahid also worked as a supplier of provisions to the Pakistan army. This was confirmed by Haji Selim, son of Sobhan Sardar, a prominent wholesale businessman at Shyam Bazar, a major wholesale outlet of perishable items. Selim said, "Zahid used to buy large amounts of goods from our shop. My father told me that Zahid was a journalist, who was now engaged in supply work for the army, after the army burnt the paper down. He collected all his supplies from our shop".
One indication of Zahid' s anti-liberation activities came from a small item of news published in the daily Purbadesh, on Oct 12, 1971, which informed its readers that "the general secretary of NAP Mashiur Rahman and former joint secretary Anwar Zahid met with leaders of the Pakistan People's Party in Dhaka on Oct 11 Monday. Maulana Kawser Niazi, publicity secretary of the PPP said that the talks had been fruitful".
It may be mentioned here that the PPP, like the Jamaat-e-Islami, also backed the Pakistan army's campaign against the people of Bangladesh.
Abdul Kader Molla
ABDUL KADER MOLLA, currently the publicity secretary of the Jamaat-e-Islami, was known as a "butcher" to the Bangalee people in the Dhaka suburb of Mirpur during 1971. Mirpur at the time was mainly populated by non-Bengali Muslim migrants from India, many of whom were among the most ardent champions of the Pakistan army's actions in Bangladesh.
One of the largest mass graves of people butchered by Pakistani troops and their allies was discovered in the Shialbari area of Mirpur after independence. Local people told the Commission that Molla was behind the killing of thousands of Bangalees in Shialbari and Rupnagar areas of Mirpur during the war. According to local inhabitants, Molla began his killing spree even before the army had begun its operation.
On Mar 6, a public meeting was arranged in front the Ceramic Industries plant gate at Mirpur Section 6, to press for demands of the Bangalee people. As the people raised the nationalist slogan Joy BangIa (Victory to Bengal), narrated M Shahidur Rahman who was present at the meeting, Kader Molla and his gang attacked the meeting with swords, machetes and other sharp weapons, injuring many.
M Feroze Ali, a resident of Block B of Mirpur Section 11, told the Commission that his brother Pallab Tuntuni, an 18-year old student, was killed on the orders of Kader Molla. The young man had been active supporter of the nationalist leader Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's call for non-cooperation movement against the Pakistan government from the 7th of March, and that was why his name was pencilled into Molla's hit-list.
On Mar 29, Molla's hitmen kidnapped Tuntuni from another part of the city and took him to Mirpur. The boy was then dragged from one part of Mirpur to another, and back again, with his hands tied behind his back. At a big playing field used usually for major religious congregations, Tuntuni was tied to a tree and left for two days. Later, Molla' s men returned and chopped off the boy's fingers. On April 5, a week after being kidnapped, Molla ordered his men to shoot Tuntuni dead. The boy's dead body was left dangling from the tree for another two days as a warning to others in the area, before being taken thrown in a mass grave with seven other bodies, Feroze Ali said.
Another eyewitness to Molla' s criminal activities in 1971 was M Shahidur Rahman Chowdhury. He told the Commission that Razakarmen under the command of Kader Molla brutally murdered woman poet Meherunnessa in October in Section 6 of Mirpur. He said one Shiraj, who lived in the poet's home, lost mental balance at the sight of the murder. Shiraj still suffers from psychological disorder, Chowdhury said.
Witnesses further told the Commission that Molla organised local non-Bengali people of Manipur, Sheorapara, Kazipara areas of Mirpur into armed groups under his own command. With these forces, Molla organised killings of thousands of Bangalees at various killing fields of Mirpur.
Conclusion
THE INVESTIGATION conducted by the National People's Enquiry Commission has proved the legitimacy of the demand for the trial of the eight accused. It has been established that they can be tried under domestic as well as international laws, on charges of war crimes, genocide, crimes against humanity, conspiracy, abetment and complicity in criminal activities.
The historic war crime trials of Nuremberg and Tokyo form the basis for all international laws regarding trials of war criminals. After that, various covenants, declarations and human rights documents of the United Nations have laid stress on the need to ensure trial of war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Because of this moral obligation to ensure trial of war criminals, many countries of the world have enacted their own laws regarding such crimes. In Bangladesh, the International Crimes (Tribunal) Act was enacted in 1973 to ensure trials of war crimes, crimes against humanity, against peace and perpetration of genocide.
The 1973 Act describes any action which imposes war on a people, killings, rape, torture, detention, destruction or looting of property or aiding and abetment of or complicity in or conspiracy to commit these crimes, for reasons of political beliefs, religious faith, race, language and culture, as war crimes, crimes against humanity and peace, and genocide.
The Act has provisions for the formation of special tribunals and it makes it permissible for the use of newspaper reports of the war period, written documents such as books etc. as evidence. The Commission, after scrutinising the evidence against the eight accused and the relevant laws, have come to the conclusion that these war crime suspects can be tried under the International Crimes (Tribunal) Act and relevant sections of the Bangladesh Criminal Procedure Code.
In order to safeguard the independence and sovereignty of Bangladesh, it is necessary to bring these killers, collaborators and war criminals to justice. Today, Bangladesh has a democratically elected government in power. The government and all opposition political parties are talking about establishing democracy in the country. The Commission believes that it would not be possible to establish democracy, rule of law or human rights, by avoiding the trial of those who participated directly or indirectly in the Pakistan army's campaign of genocide, rape, arson, looting etc. On this score, the principal responsibility to ensure trial falls on the shoulders of the government. Only the government has the power to ensure the trial of any crime.
The Commission recommends that these trials take place under the provisions of the International Crimes (Tribunal) Act of 1973. In addition the Commission recommends that all laws relevant to the subject, which have been repealed in the past, be revived and arrangements be made so that trials can take place under those laws as well.
Sufia Kamal
Chairperson
National People's Enquiry Commission, Bangladesh
Dhaka, 26 March 1994
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