By KUNA
New Delhi : International human rights body Amnesty International (AI) has called upon Bangladesh’s military-backed caretaker government to try its war criminals — who allegedly joined hands with the then Pakistan government during the countrys liberation war in 1971.
AI wanted the present government to initiate the process of trying the war criminals at the earliest, AI secretary general Irene Khan told reporters at Dhaka Saturday night, news agency Indo Asian News Service reported Sunday.
Khan said she would share with the caretaker government AI’s experience in Latin America, Cambodia and Africa on trial of war crimes. “To my own feeling, this is a window of opportunity to initiate institutional reform that can turn the trend this country has suffered from.” Khan also called for an independent judiciary, initiating police reforms, existence of a strong national human rights commission and right to information act.
“A state of emergency and human rights violation are not the same. AI will ask the government to lift restrictions on freedom of expression with special emphasis on freedom of media, protection of rights workers, and freedom for those working for poverty, environment and women rights issues to organise people,” she said.
The AI delegation would focus on rule of law with special attention to institutional changes needed for protection and promotion of human rights, Bangladeshs leading English daily The Daily Star reported today.
Khan will discuss the human rights issues with the government, political parties and civil society. She will meet Chief Adviser to the caretaker government Fakhruddin Ahmed, Foreign Adviser Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury, Law Adviser Mainul Hosein and possibly Army Chief General Moeen U Ahmed.
Khan’s visit will bring back into focus the issue of trial of war criminals, which has been a long-standing demand of the Bangladeshi civil society and intellectuals. The Bangladesh Election Commission is considering a demand to bar those accused of war crimes from contesting polls in future, the news agency said.