Abdul Quader Mollah execution leads to violence in Bangladesh

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/dec/13/bangladesh-execution-mollah-jamaat-islami-violence

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Bomb blasts, arson attacks and clashes with police broke out in Bangladesh on Friday following the execution of a senior opposition politician.

The wave of violence will further worry observers already concerned by the prospect of chaos in the unstable south Asian state ahead of elections in early January.

A United Nations special envoy recently visited Dhaka, the capital, in a bid to bring deadlocked political parties closer together and halt the slide into violence.

But the unrest – which reportedly included sectarian attacks on homes and shops belonging to members of the Hindu community – will dampen any hopes of a quick solution to the stand-off in the populous and poor Muslim-majority country.

Five people were reported to have been killed in street battles between security forces and supporters of Abdul Quader Mollah, a senior official in the Islamist Jamaat-e-Islami party (JI), who was hanged on Thursday evening following a conviction in a controversial special court for war crimes committed 42 years ago.

Mollah, 65, was the first person to be sentenced to death by the International Crimes tribunal, a court set up three years ago by the government of prime minister Sheikh Hasina, who leads the Awami League. All of the defendants are accused of involvement in the killings of intellectuals, political opponents and secularists in the brutal war of independence in 1971, during which the nation broke away from Pakistan.

The tribunal has been criticised by human rights activists and legal experts as deeply flawed. Most of the defendants are opposition members, leading to charges that the process is politically motivated.

Though the decision to hang Mollah drew widespread condemnation from political allies and international human rights groups, many in Dhaka celebrated. Hundreds took to the streets, shouting slogans and waving the national flag.

"It is a great gift to me as person, and it is consistent with the spirit of our liberation war," Selina Hossain, a writer whose family was tortured during the conflict, told Reuters news agency.

Mollah was buried in the early hours of Friday in his home village in the southern district of Faridpur. He was convicted of killing a student and a family of 11 and of aiding Pakistani troops in murdering 369 other people.

Hasan Jamil, Mollah's eldest son, told the Guardian the execution of his father was "a political killing".

Memories of the conflict – in which up to 3 million people may have died – remain very much alive in the country of 160 million, the world's third largest Muslim state, albeit one with a broadly secular political culture.

"[The execution] is also a symbolic honour to the souls of 3 million martyred people," Hossain said.

Mollah's execution is a gamble for the government, which appears confident that security authorities can and will deal with any unrest. Chaos surrounding elections in 2007 eventually led to military intervention.

The unrest threatens to cripple Bangladesh's economy, notably its £14bn garment industry, which employs more than 4 million people.

Senior officials in the Awami League say the party is determined to go ahead with the general election, set for 5 January, though the opposition, led by Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) head Begum Khaleda Zia, says it will not participate unless an interim government is installed and Hasina steps down.

Leaders from both parties were expected to meet late on Friday for a third round of talks to break the political deadlock.

There are widespread fears that the government might declare a state of emergency if there is widespread unrest.

Mohammed Shahiduzzaman, a security analyst and a professor of international relations at the University of Dhaka, said: "This execution will create a lot of emotional outbursts among people who might think that Awami League is actually using it to create anarchy to … impose a one-sided election or state of emergency."

Officials close to Hasina say the tribunal is "apolitical" and its aim is simply to "heal historic wounds".

Shafiqur Rahman, acting secretary general of JI, called for calm in a video statement after the execution of Mollah: "Our martyr leader Abdul Quader Mollah has conveyed through his family to all that he would not like anyone being killed in revenge for his killing. Instead he urged his colleagues and countrymen to ensure the fall of this oppressive government through organised and peaceful protest."

Rahman is said to be "underground" and not speaking to the media because of "security threats", according to Tajul Islam, a lawyer who represents JI.

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