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| Shahbag Protest of 2013 | |
|---|---|
 Demonstrators in Shahbag on February 2013 | |
| Date | 5 February 2013 (2013-02-05) to Present |
| Location | Projonmo Chottor, Shahbag, Dhaka, Bangladesh Protests in 64 districts of Bangladesh 23°44′18″N 90°23′45″E / 23.73833°N 90.39583°E / 23.73833; 90.39583 |
| Caused by |
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| Methods | |
The Shahbag Protest of 2013 in Bangladesh is a gathering of some thousand protesters in the Shahbag area of the capital city of Dhaka, Bangladesh, that began on Tuesday, February 5th, 2013 in Dhaka, Bangladesh, with the demand of capital punishment for Abdul Quader Mollah and the other accused war criminals of the 1971 Liberation War of Bangladesh, in general, but due to confusion regarding leadership (even though the ruling party, Awami League, claims the protest as their own, many have joined the protest who don't support any particular political party and are unaware of the complicated legal and/or constitutional provisions and procedures involved), the specific demands of the protesters and how to achieve them are not yet clear and is a popular topic in the media, the talk shows and the academia.
Legal Issues
It is not a protest about bringing the accused to trial but a demand for some specific punishment. It still remains to be clarified as to how it is that the protesters want the government to influence the verdict of a court, how it is that a court can be bound by a some pre-decided non-judicial verdict, or whether being accused itself is a sufficient criterion for guilt. The government has promised to start fresh trials with provisions for death penalty for the accused this time, but this gave rise to further concerns among the intellectual circles of Bangladesh as to why the initial trial was not conducted under such provisions. A second trial would conflict with the basic principle of law that a person cannot be tried twice for the same offense. For some, a more viable option that is left is for the prosecution to appeal to superior courts, and wait for the judges there to take the sentiment of the protesters into account. Nevertheless, even that would be a matter of time, and many are finding it difficult to ascertain as to what could immediately be offered to the ongoing protests.
Historical Context and Development of the Protest
Abdul Quader Mollah was charged with abetting the Pakistani army; actively participating in the 1971 atrocities in Bangladesh; rape (including the rape of minors); and mass murder of Bangladeshis in the Mirpur area of Dhaka during the Liberation War of Bangladesh. In 1973, he, along with others, was pardoned as part of a general amnesty issued by the Awami League government at that time, headed by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman due to some legal complexities surrounding the issue. After forty years, the present Awami League government under Sheikh Hasina resumed the trial of some of the accused by setting up a special tribunal, naming it the International Crimes Tribunal, to win back the support of the public amidst massive dissatisfaction regarding Awami League rule since 2009. On February 5, 2013, the International Crimes Tribunal of Bangladesh sentenced Mollah to life in prison after he was proved guilty in five out of the six charges against him. Within hours of the verdict, an online community, Blogger and Online Activists Network (BOAN), whose activity has been praised by the present government, successfully managed to publicize its event to protest the verdict, to be held at Shahbag, primarily with the help of the social networking site Facebook. Initially members of the Chhatra League, the student wing of Awami League started the protest, but soon was joined by many neutral people who wanted revenge for the 1971 war time activities of Jamaat e Islami, and also by passive but curious observers, or those who just wanted to be a part of the protest never mind its agenda, when the mainstream media covered the protest at Shahbag nationwide through the TV channels, with statements such as "the nation is getting united in the manner of Tahrir Sqaure". The protest has continued since then.
Views About the Protest
Opinions vary regarding motives, the method and the outcome of the protest. In Bangladesh, there are many who are supporting the protest strongly, many of whom are ordinary citizens, while many are also supporters of Awami League. Those who do not want the government to hijack the protest for their own purposes have tried to prevent government officials from speaking in the protest. But government supporters are also active and have physically injured a female protester for trying to prevent a government official to speak in the protest.
The second group of people are supporters of Jamaat-e-Islami, who are openly denouncing the protest as a plot instigated by the ruling Awami League to neutralize political opponents and to divert anti-government sentiments before the coming of the next general elections. They are affirming their democratic right to participate in politics, which, many protesters believe, they do not have. They claim that the initial tribunal set up by Awami League was not fair enough, proven by the abduction of defense witnesses by law enforcers, and the sensitive information regarding the trial process leaked when a Skype conference of the chairman of the tribunal went public. They claim that their few central leaders have been accused retrospectively for crimes committed by many localized individuals during the 1971 wars. They also claim that the passing of the life sentence in the initial trial was intentional and influenced by the government, as a protest supporting government cause was what the government wanted most to achieve from it, which would eventually enable them to achieve not only the elimination political opposition, but also to show public support for it, as well as neutralize massive anti-government sentiments that arose during their rule since 2009. They claim that the breadth and scope of the protest are being highly exaggerated and publicized by elements of the government, and some have even threatened the government with civil war.
A third group of people have appreciated the spirit of the protest, but believe that singling out only the capital punishment of the criminals of 1971 among hundreds of other issues bothering the country today would be an immature policy to adopt and would only benefit the cause of Awami League, when in reality the major cause of the crisis in Bangladesh today are the activities of the two political parties. They believe that all issues haunting the country should now be put together and the energy channeled towards a real change in national politics.
International coverage
Since 2009, under Awami League, Bangladesh has suffered some downturns in international relations, and it is yet to be seen how the international community reacts to the protest at Shahbag. Till date, international media has tried cover the situation in Bangladesh and Shahbag through a more neutral perspective.
- Cite error: The named reference
bbcnews-1was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - "Shahbagh grand rally demands ban on Jamaat", The Daily Star, 9 February 2013
- "Cry for Jamaat ban". Bdnews24.com. 8 February, 2013. Retrieved 9 February 2013.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - "Vow to boycott Jamaat institutions", The Daily Star, 9 February 2013
- ^ "Protesters demand death for Bangladesh war crimes Islamist". Reuters. 6 February, 2013. Retrieved 8 February 2013.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) Cite error: The named reference "reuters-1" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page). - "Thousands in Bangladesh war crimes protest". Aljazeera. 7 February 2013. Retrieved 8 February 2013.
- "Summary of verdict in Quader Mollah case", The Daily Star, 6 February 2013
- "OUTRAGED", The Daily Star, 6 February 2013
- "Verdict not acceptable", The Daily Star, 6 February 2013
- "Verdict surprises some top jurists", The Daily Star, 7 February 2013