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DE RUEHKA #0120/01 0331017
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FM AMEMBASSY DHAKA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 8235
INFO RUCNCLS/ALL SOUTH AND CENTRAL ASIA COLLECTIVE
RUCNISL/ISLAMIC COLLECTIVE
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON 1957
RUEHGO/AMEMBASSY RANGOON 2744
RUEHRH/AMEMBASSY RIYADH 0415
RHHJJPI/PACOM IDHS HONOLULU HI

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 04 DHAKA 000120 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR SCA/PB, DRL, AND S/WCI 
DEPT PLEASE PASS PEACE CORPS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/04/2018 
TAGS: PGOV PREL PINR PTER KDEM PHUM KAWC KISL BD
SUBJECT: PARLIAMENT VOTES FOR BANGLADESH WAR CRIMES TRIBUNAL 
 
Classified By: Ambassador James Moriarty, reasons 1.5 (b&d) 
 
SUMMARY 
------- 
 
¶1. (C) The new government must immediately take steps to try 
those suspected of committing war crimes during Bangladesh's 
1971 war of independence, said a resolution the Awami 
League-dominated parliament passed unanimously January 29. 
Those pushing for the establishment of a war crimes tribunal 
are generally former pro-independence combatants and Awami 
League supporters, who claim the issue played a major role in 
the party's recent electoral victory. Some players go beyond 
a desire to punish war criminals and instead seek nothing 
less than eliminating Jamaat-e-Islami (JIB), the nation's 
largest Islamic party, from the political process. 
Representatives of Islamist parties who were pro-Pakistan in 
1971 could face charges. A very sensitive issue which has 
been highly politicized for decades, the war crimes question 
could potentially divide the nation further along its 
already-deep Islamist-secular fault line. It might also drag 
in other regional and international players, including 
Pakistan and Saudi Arabia. End summary. 
 
THE GOVERNMENT: MOVING RIGHT AHEAD 
---------------------------------- 
 
¶2. (C) On January 29, the fifth day of parliament, the Awami 
League-dominated body unanimously approved a resolution 
calling upon the new government to take "immediate measures" 
to try those responsible for war crimes in 1971. The war 
crimes issue featured prominently during the recent election 
campaign, during which senior Awami League leaders 
--including Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina -- publicly stated 
their intention to revisit the issue if elected. Sheikh 
Hasina termed the issue "a national demand," noting 
Bangladesh would review the experience of other countries 
before deciding the precise form its own prosecution would 
take. Francesc Vendrell, chief of the UN Secretary General's 
high-level panel formed for the recent parliamentary 
elections, said during an early January visit that it would 
be up to the new government to take up the matter with the UN 
Secretary General and "make it clear what they want the UN to 
do."  The UNDP resident representative and other foreign 
envoys later reiterated this view. (Note: To date, the 
government has not approached us on this issue * perhaps 
because of our well-known policy of maintaining contact with 
JIB. End note.) In a potentially inflammatory public 
statement, on January 31 the newly-appointed Home Minister 
Sahara Khatun told the media she had taken steps to prevent 
"war criminals" from fleeing Bangladesh. 
 
JUST WHAT HAPPENED IN 1971? 
--------------------------- 
 
¶3. (SBU) Bangladesh's War of Independence began March 25, 
1971 when Pakistan launched a bloody crackdown against 
Bangladeshi civilians and ended on December 16, 1971 when the 
Pakistani commanding general signed an instrument of 
surrender on behalf of some 93,000 Pakistani troops. Exactly 
what happened between those two dates -- in particular the 
number of dead -- is still the subject of controversy. Those 
advocating for war crimes trials allege that 3 million 
Bangladeshis died during the nine months of conflict. A 
Pakistani commission appointed to look into allegations of 
misconduct by Pakistani troops concluded in 1974 that 26,000 
civilian deaths had occurred. Representatives of 
Jamaat-e-Islami (JIB), Bangladesh's largest Islamic party - 
whose senior leadership has long been reviled by many as 
'collaborators' and 'war criminals' - claim that less than 
100,000 Bangladeshis died and that a significant proportion 
of those were pro-Pakistani local 'collaborators.' 
 
¶4. (C) As the new nation confronted the myriad challenges 
post-independence, there was little done to gather specific 
information about alleged atrocities. Indeed, it seems the 
whole process of dealing with alleged war criminals quickly 
became overshadowed by political squabbling over other issues 
and quietly ground to a halt. Many Bangladeshis today believe 
the GOB lost the moral high ground when it agreed to 
repatriate Pakistani POWs as part of the 1972 Simla Accord, 
which brought the Indo-Pakistani conflict to a close. 
 
¶5. (SBU) The Awami League government enacted a Collaborators 
 
DHAKA 00000120  002 OF 004 
 
 
Act in January 1972, followed by an International Crimes 
Tribunals Act in July 1973. The former targeted collaborators 
and the latter, members of "armed forces, defense or 
auxiliary forces" for commiting crimes against humanity, 
genocide and war crimes. Some 37,000 Bangladeshis were 
detained under these acts between 1972 and 1975. The Awami 
League government subsequently amnestied 26,000 held for 
relatively minor offenses. Some 11,000, linked to cases of 
murder, rape, arson or looting, remained in custody, and the 
courts handed down about 750 sentences in connection with 
these cases. After the 1975 assassination of Awami League 
president Mujibur Rahman, his successor, Ziaur Rahman, 
abrogated the Collaborators Act and amnestied all remaining 
prisoners. The International Crimes Tribunals Act of 1973 
remains in force, and some have argued it should be the basis 
for future prosecutions. 
 
THE SECTOR COMMANDERS' VIEW 
--------------------------- 
 
¶6. (SBU) A group of retired military officers who commanded 
the newly-formed Bangladeshi Army and the 'mukti bahini' 
(freedom fighters - an independent guerrilla force formed by 
Bangladeshis) during the 1971 conflict established in 2007 
the Sector Commanders Forum (SCF - 
www.sectorcommandersforum.org). About half a dozen of the 
1971 sector commanders are active and formed the SCF in 
response to what they termed "regrouping by collaborators" 
over the years. "Today, these collaborators have regrouped in 
Bangladesh as several ragtag religious fundamentalist 
parties, whose only agenda is to oppose any move made by the 
people towards becoming a modern, democratic and religiously 
tolerant nation," claims the SCF website. 
 
¶7. (SBU) A number of former freedom fighters, including 
individuals who are now members of the SCF, had established 
the Liberation War Museum (www.liberationwarmuseum.net) in 
Dhaka in 1996. The primary purpose of the museum is to 
document the nine-month period of the war and commemorate 
those who fought and died in it. (Note: The exhibit on 
international reactions to the conflict includes the 
declassified text of the April 6, 1971 strongly-worded 
dissent cable sent by then-U.S. Consul General for Dhaka 
Archer Blood, criticizing the hands-off USG approach to the 
conflict. The USG has provided support to the museum in the 
past through the Ambassador's Fund for Cultural Preservation. 
End note.) An affiliated committee, the War Crimes Fact 
Finding Commission (which has overlapping membership with the 
SCF), focuses on finding and preserving documents that may be 
used in a war crimes trial process. 
 
¶8. (C) The SCF argues that the 1971 war was fought to assert 
Bengali identity against Pakistani cultural and economic 
oppression. On the side of right are the 
secularist-nationalists who fought and died under this 
banner. On the side of wrong are those who supported 
Pakistani imperialism and were responsible for atrocities. 
The SCF claims that chief among the latter are senior leaders 
of Jamaat-e-Islami, although a museum trustee also accused 
representatives of other parties, including Salahuddin Quader 
Chowdhury, a Member of Parliament and senior member of the 
BNP. 
 
¶9. (SBU) The SCF claims the conflict led to the death of 
three million Bengalis, the rape of more than 200,000 Bengali 
women, and the flight of 10 million refugees (who fled to 
India to escape the fighting). According to the SCF, local 
collaborators joined one or more of several entities which 
aided and abetted the Pakistani military in its campaign to 
subjugate the Bengali population: a paramilitary force known 
as Razakers; volunteer militias known as Al Badar and Al 
Shams; and Peace Committees, which served community outreach 
and other purposes for the Pakistani administration. 
 
¶10. (C) During the caretaker government period (2007-2008), 
sector commanders did not highlight their strong ties with 
the Awami League. After the new government took office, 
however, these ties became more apparent. The sector 
commanders are led by A. L. Khandker, a retired Air Vice 
Marshal who served as Deputy Chief of Staff of the 
pro-independence forces in 1971. Khandker won a seat in 
parliament on the Awami League ticket and Sheikh Hasina named 
him to a cabinet position (Ministry of Planning). Khandker is 
but one of a large group of AL bigwigs certain to use their 
 
DHAKA 00000120  003 OF 004 
 
 
new-found influence to pursue the war crimes issue. 
 
THE JAMAAT-E-ISLAMI VIEW 
------------------------ 
 
¶11. (SBU) The JIB does not deny it sided with Pakistan in the 
1971 conflict. "We had our reasons," one senior JIB leader 
told Poloff, going on to explain that with the existence of 
"a big common enemy like India" it would have been better for 
the two sides of Pakistan, both Muslim, to have remained 
united.  In a memoir written by a JIB member during his 
imprisonment from 1971 to 1973 on charges of collaboration, 
the author denied that there had been any attempt by West 
Pakistan to impose an alien culture on Bengalis.  He argued 
East Pakistan had been insular and parochial, claiming the 
creation of Pakistan had led to industrialization, which 
threatened the interests of the Bengali elite who led the 
liberation effort. "Old customs and superstitions were 
gradually breaking up, people were beginning to understand 
the advantages of modern comforts; polished floors were being 
substituted for mud and sand; bamboo being replaced by 
cement, porcelain taking the place of brass (...) An air of 
cosmopolitanism filled the atmosphere. Bengalis (...) were 
being forced increasingly to come into contact with 
foreigners whose ways and judgments were so different (...) 
It was this that appeared to be a threat to the Bengali way 
of life. A reaction against it developed in the form of 
xenophobia which really was a mask for the feeling of 
inferiority which the Bengalis experienced in relation to 
outsiders." 
 
¶12. (SBU) Many critics believe JIB followers still owe their 
primary allegiance to Islam (or to Pakistan) rather than to 
Bangladesh.  Secular nationalists allege that JIB has never 
publicly apologized for its pro-Pakistan stance in 1971, a 
fact that continues to play against the JIB in the court of 
public opinion. Acknowledging only that mistakes might have 
been made, the head of JIB, Matiur Nizami, told reporters 
recently that "A political decision may be wrong and 
unrealistic, but we were not involved in any criminal 
offenses." When asked about the possibility of a formal 
apology for JIB's 1971 position, he said "If we feel it 
necessary that we need to speak again, come up with a clearer 
statement, we will give one." The party may also consider 
sidelining controversial senior leadership in upcoming 
internal party elections, according to anonymous party 
sources quoted by media January 31. A senior JIB 
representative told Poloff January 29 the party was "in two 
minds" at the moment -- still deciding whether to face the 
issue legally and politically once and for all, or whether to 
continue to resist its revival. 
 
¶13. (SBU) While generally denying allegations of war crimes 
against its members, JIB also remains opposed to the idea of 
initiating war crimes trials at this late date. "Why now, 
after nearly 40 years?" said one senior JIB representative. 
Awami League was in power from 1996 to 2001 -- why did they 
not pursue the issue then? he asked. The whole thing is 
politically motivated and will only serve to divide the 
nation. Further, he added, thousands of Bengalis were killed 
by the mukti bahini as collaborators and thousands more of 
the dead were pro-Pakistan Bihari (Urdu-speaking settlers 
from West Pakistan) resident in Bangladesh. He opined that 
the investigation would reveal that no-one's hands were clean. 
 
¶14. (SBU) JIB leaders also point out that only one member of 
JIB was among the 750 individuals convicted during the 
anti-collaborator sweeps in the early post-conflict period. 
All others were either not detained, not charged or received 
amnesty. If they were guilty, it surely would have been 
apparent then, JIB argues.  JIB claims proposing war crimes 
trials insults the memories of both Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and 
Ziaur Rahman, who granted the general amnesties and believed 
Bangladeshis should forgive and forget. JIB leaders also 
point out that Mujibur Rahman granted clemency to 195 
Pakistani soldiers charged with war crimes and permitted 
their repatriation immediately after the conflict. Surely 
that clemency should continue to set the standard for 
Bangladesh, they say. 
 
ONLY ISLAMIST PARTY SPEAKS FOR JIB 
---------------------------------- 
 
¶15. (SBU) JIB's major political ally, the BNP, has indicated 
 
DHAKA 00000120  004 OF 004 
 
 
publicly it has no objection to the prosecution of war 
criminals, if done transparently and fairly. Only the small 
Islamist party, Islami Oikya Jote (IOJ) -- also a member of 
the BNP's four-party alliance -- has publicly supported JIB. 
Indicating the potential of this issue to divide the nation 
along religious/secular lines, an IOJ spokesman has asserted 
the innocence of JIB leadership in recent media interactions. 
 
HOW AND WHERE SHALL WE TRY THEM? 
------------------------------- 
 
¶16. (SBU) Opinions vary as to how and where defendants should 
be tried. The SCF and its supporters favor setting up a 
tribunal under the authority of the existing International 
Crimes Tribunal Act (para 5 above) and stress the need for 
international participation (preferably the UN) to ensure 
transparency and depoliticize a deeply-politicized process. 
According to SCF chief A.K. Khandker: "If the United Nations 
is involved for this trial, the trial will carry credibility 
and once the United Nations is involved, no political party 
coming into power will be able to stop it."  In meetings with 
UN officials, the Prime Minister and Foreign Minister have 
publicly sought support for the establishment of such a 
tribunal. 
 
¶17. (SBU) At the more extreme end lies the Ekaturrer Ghatok 
Dalal Nirmul Committee (Committee to eliminate killers and 
collaborators), also known as the Nirmul Committee.  This 
group was formed in the early 1990s. In 1992, the Nirmul 
Committee convicted alleged war criminals in a series of mock 
trials in Dhaka that resonated powerfully with many; the 
BNP-led government of the day charged with treason 25 of the 
intellectuals who organized the trials. Committee 
representatives reject the idea of direct international 
involvement in a Bangladeshi war crimes process, asserting 
this is a Bangladeshi matter that should be settled by 
Bangladeshis, under the International Crimes Tribunal Act. At 
the very most, the UN might send observers to monitor the 
trials, committee members said. JIB opposes allowing war 
crimes trials at all; if trials must be held, however, a 
senior JIB representative said, they should entail 
substantial international involvement. 
 
COMMENT 
------- 
 
¶18. (C) As the Awami League tries to implement its &vision 
20218 the party keeps getting dragged back into the 1970s 
and into issues such as war crimes, the trial of Sheikh 
Mujibur Rahman,s assassins, and the broader question of 
Bangladesh's "secular" nature.  Some also go beyond a desire 
to punish war criminals and instead seek nothing less than 
eliminating JIB from the political process. JIB officials 
have publicly committed to playing a constructive role in the 
opposition in the coming years -- driving them underground or 
against the ropes as an institution in the name of war crimes 
could well be counterproductive for both the Awami League and 
the democratic process. 
 
¶19. (C) The issue of war crimes has been highly politicized 
for decades in Bangladesh. It has the potential to divide the 
nation further along its already-deep Islamist-secular fault 
line, as well as drag in other regional and international 
players. JIB and others are likely to play the issue as 
anti-Islamic in Bangladesh and elsewhere, and at least one 
JIB representative has mentioned the possibility of JIB 
soliciting moral and other support from Saudi Arabia. 
Conversations with JIB representatives also indicate the 
party is likely to make an effort to ensure regional 
stake-holders such as Pakistan (the origin of a significant 
number of war crimes suspects) play a role as the process 
moves forward. 
 
MORIARTY