BANGLADESH

A fire at Nimtoli in the old part of the city on Monday gutted a polythene factory and damaged property and valuables worth about Tk 40 lakh.

Resulting from an electric short-circuit, the fire raged through the factory for an hour from 3:00pm until fire fighters brought it under control.

"The fire originated from power fluctuations at a polythene factory called SM Telecom," said fire service deputy director Mizanur Rahman.

The place where the fire broke out is the ground floor of a residential five-storied building, and no casualty has been reported, he added.

The fire brings back the horror the country experienced back in June, 2010 when more than 110 people were charred in a fire that engulfed several houses and shops in the same locality.

"I fear Nimtoli tragedy may revisit if reasons causing this type of fire is not attended properly," said Babul Hossain, a second-floor resident of the building.

The war crimes tribunal will hear the prosecution on Mar 29 countering Jamaat-e-Islami guru Ghulam Azam's petition for discharge.

The International Crimes Tribunal, set up to deal with crimes against humanity during the 1971 Liberation War, deferred indictment order of BNP MP Salauddin Quader Chowdhury to Apr 4 and extended the bail of another BNP man Abdul Alim.

The three-judge tribunal, headed by Justice M Nizamul Huq, ordered the prosecution to begin placing formal charges against Alim on Apr 24. The court ordered the prosecution to submit the formal charge, witness testimonies and other documents to the registrar's office by Apr 1 for the defence to collect them by Apr 2.

Justice Huq told Salauddin Quader's defence counsel Fakhrul Islam the newly appointed member of the tribunal, Justice Mohammad Anwarul Haque, would also have to agree with the indictment order.

"So he needs to become familiar with the proceedings of the case. Once he has perused them and familiarised himself with the case, we shall pass the order."

The tribunal chairman, thus, deferred the order scheduled business for Tuesday by a week.

As regards Jamaat's former chief Ghulam Azam's case, his senior counsel Abdur Razzaq has concluded countering the prosecution's arguments in support of the formal charges against the 89-year old retired politician by way of moving a discharge petition.

Prosecutor Zead-Al-Malum prayed his arguments be heard on Mar 29 since the prosecution needed to have extensive work done on the petition. The court granted his prayer just before breaking for lunch.

Razzaq has been arguing that certain charges against Ghulam Azam do not have the necessary details as prescribed by the tribunal's own rules and pleaded that those charges be dropped.

The main contention of the defence arguments was that, contrary to the prosecution's claims, Razakar, Al Badr, Al Shams and such fronts mobilised by Jamaat and its student wing, the Islami Chhatra Sangha during the Liberation War, do not constitute auxiliary force as defined by the tribunal's laws.

He said that these fronts had to be under the direct control of the Pakistan military for them to be regarded as auxiliary force. Razzaq has also argued that charges against Ghulam Azam were vague and did not show any direct link between atrocities and his lectures.

Razzaq has also held that the inordinate delay of 40 years between the alleged time of commission of the crimes and bringing forward the case against Azam pointed to malafide intentions.

He had said it was only because the Jamaat has become a formidable political force that these war crimes charges were being levelled against its leadership. Razzaq represents the entire Jamaat leadership at the war crimes tribunal.

JAMAAT GURU IN ICT

On Dec 12, the prosecution brought a 52-point charter of charges against Azam and appealed for his arrest. Later, following the orders, charges were re-arranged and presented to the tribunal on Jan 5.

He was produced before the tribunal by its order on Jan 11 and sent to jail on the same day. Since that evening Ghulam Azam has been shifted to the prison cell of the Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University for better treatment considering his delicate health.

Azam had allegedly led the infamous 'Peace Committees' and collaborated with the Pakistan Army during the Liberation War. He also spoke in favour of Pakistan to the Middle Eastern countries during the war, according to the prosecution.

He stayed in London for seven years after 1971 and returned to Bangladesh in 1978 during Gen Ziaur Rahman's rule. Having led Jamaat for long, Azam retired from active politics in 1999.

Prime minister Sheikh Hasina said on Tuesday she was grateful to foreigners who had supported the causes for the birth of Bangladesh in 1971.

"It is a singular honour for me to be in your midst at this solemn ceremony of awarding Bangladesh Liberation War Honour and Friends of Liberation War Honour to those who we owe a debt of gratitude for our hard-earned freedom," she told a function organised to honour the foreign friends at Bangabandhu International Conference Centre.

"We owe you our sincerest gratitude, and profound respect," she said.

"In our pride, the foreign contributors to our liberation war in 1971 have been equal partners," she added.

President Mohammad Zillur Rahman and the prime minister gave the awards to 76 of the foreigners who stood for Bangladesh in the fight against Pakistani forces in 1971. Many had raised their voices against repression, genocide and put pressure on then the West Pakistan.

While India took bold steps in support of Bangladesh's struggle, many foreign politicians, diplomats, artistes, authors, journalists and students from across the world had come forward to back Bangladesh's causes for freedom in the face of widespread violation of human rights and war rules.

Representatives of heads of state or government of eight countries received the Liberation War Honour from the president.

Bangladesh, then the eastern wing of Pakistan, gained independence through a nine-month bloody war that ended with the surrender of thousands of Pakistani soldiers on Dec 16, 1971. The war cost the lives of about 3 million people while about 200,000 women were raped and nearly 10 million people took shelter in refugee camps in India.

Foreign minister Dipu Moni helped the president and the prime minister give the awards on Tuesday.

The chief justice, ministers, advisors to the prime minister, MPs, chiefs of the three forces and top government officials attended the programme.