Jamaat-Indicted

Bangladesh indicts Islamic leaders for war crimes By JULHAS ALAM Associated Press DHAKA, Bangladesh -- The chief of Bangladesh's largest Islamic party and one of his deputies were indicted Monday for alleged crimes against humanity committed during the 1971 independence war against Pakistan. A special tribunal set up by the government to deal with charges of crimes against humanity indicted Matiur Rahman Nizami, the chief of the Jamaat-e-Islami party, on 16 charges, including genocide and murder. Another tribunal indicted Abdul Quader Molla, a deputy of Nizami, for his alleged involvement in crimes against humanity. Nizami's trial will begin July 1, while Molla's starts June 20. If convicted, they could face the death penalty. Bangladesh - with help from India - won independence from Pakistan in 1971 after a nine-month war. Bangladesh says Pakistani soldiers, aided by local collaborators, killed some 3 million people, raped about 200,000 women and forced millions to flee their homes during the war. Jamaat-e-Islami openly campaigned against breaking away from Pakistan during the war, and several party leaders now stand accused of collaborating with the Pakistani army in committing atrocities. Nizami and Molla, who have been in jail since last year, are among five top Jamaat-e-Islami leaders and one former party chief accused of crimes against humanity. The former party chief, Ghulam Azam, also is in jail awaiting his trial, which begins June 5. Two other people, including a current member of Parliament, face similar charges. A three-judge panel headed by Justice Nizamul Huq indicted Nizami after prosecutors said he was responsible for the deaths of many academics, journalists and doctors just two days before Pakistan's army surrendered on Dec. 16, 1971. Nizami has been accused of masterminding the abductions and systematic killings of people sensing an imminent defeat. At the time of the war, Nizami was president of Islami Chhatra Sangha, then the student wing of Jamaat-e-Islami. He also served as a Cabinet minister from 2001 to 2006 under then-Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, who now heads the main opposition party. Separately, another tribunal indicted Molla, one of the assistant secretaries general of the party, on six charges, including genocide and conspiracy. He was widely believed to be behind the killings of many villagers near the capital, Dhaka, in 1971. Jamaat-e-Islami - a key partner in Zia's former government and now the chief ally of her Bangladesh Nationalist Party - says the charges are politically motivated. Authorities deny the claim. Zia, the longtime political rival of current Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, has called the tribunal a farce. Hasina, in turn, has urged Zia to stop backing those who she says stood against the nation's quest for independence and allegedly aided Pakistan's army in committing serious crimes. International human rights groups have called on the government to ensure that the tribunal is free and impartial. New York-based Human Rights Watch has called for changes to the tribunal, including allowing the accused to question its impartiality, which current law prohibits. Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/05/28/2820628/bangladesh-indicts-islamic-leaders.html#storylink=cpy

Sea Victory

Bangladesh wins sea claim battle with Myanmar March 14, 2012 09:41 PM By Julhas Alam

(The Daily Star :: Lebanon News :: http://www.dailystar.com.lb) DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP): Bangladesh's foreign ministry said Wednesday that the U.N.'s International Tribunal on the Law of the Sea has recognized the South Asian nation's claims to a full 200-mile (320-kilometer) Exclusive Economic Zone in the Bay of Bengal. The verdict issued Wednesday in Hamburg, Germany, settled a long-standing dispute between Bangladesh and neighboring Myanmar. Bangladesh, angry over Myanmar's claim of rights to the disputed sea area, filed the case with the tribunal in 2009. Myanmar had claimed that its maritime boundary with Bangladesh cut directly across the Bangladesh coastline, severely limiting Bangladesh's maritime jurisdiction to a narrow wedge of sea extending about 130 miles (200 kilometers). Myanmar, which shares a 170-mile (275-kilometer) of land border with Bangladesh, also claimed that the tribunal lacked jurisdiction to award continental shelf rights beyond 200 miles (321 kilometers) from either state's coast. But the tribunal rejected both of these arguments. "The judgment is final and without appeal," Bangladesh's foreign ministry said in a statement. The verdict is seen as an opportunity for energy-starved Bangladesh, which is seeking new sources of gas amid a forecast that its current reserves will run out by 2014-15. Last year, Bangladesh signed a production-sharing contract with U.S. energy giant ConocoPhillips to explore for gas in the virtually unexplored deep waters of the Bay of Bengal, but its area of exploration was limited because of the maritime dispute with Myanmar and India. In 2008, Myanmar escorted South Korean gas exploration company Daewoo International Corp. into waters also claimed by Bangladesh. Both countries deployed their navies and ended the standoff with top-level diplomacy. A similar case is pending with the tribunal over disputed waters with India. The verdict of that case is expected in 2014. (The Daily Star :: Lebanon News :: http://www.dailystar.com.lb)