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Joint forces put
above the law President pens Joint Drive
Indemnity Ordinance Star Report The government yesterday indemnified
all persons for all their acts during the countrywide
joint drive against crime. A special cabinet meeting
approved an ordinance styled Joint Drive Indemnity
Ordinance 2003 yesterday afternoon, giving legal cover to
the acts done during the drive by the joint forces and
civil administration between October 16 and January 9.
President Iajuddin Ahmed signed the ordinance last night.
"It is necessary and pertinent
in the interest of the people to indemnify all the
persons, including the members of the armed forces and
law enforcers, for all the acts done during the joint
drive from October 16, 2002 till the working day of
January 9, 2003," says the ordinance. The ordinance
precludes any move to seek justice in the court of law
for custodial deaths and human rights violations during
the countrywide clampdown on crime. In the next parliamentary session,
the ordinance would be placed in the form of a bill, Law
Minister Moudud Ahmed told a press briefing at his
ministry last night. "The ordinance was issued after
working hours," he added. When asked whether the
indemnity contradicts the fundamental rights guaranteed
by the constitution, he said, "There is a provision
in the constitution to provide indemnity." This is
the second indemnity in the country's history after the
infamous ordinance of 1975 that indemnified the persons
involved in the killing of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur
Rahman, his family members and others on August 15, 1975.
The Khondker Mushtak Ahmed government, which came to
power following the bloody coup, issued the 1975
ordinance. Later, the ordinance was ratified in the
parliament in 1979 with the fifth amendment of the
constitution that gave legitimacy to the military rule of
Ziaur Rahman. In 1996, however, the parliament repealed
the infamous indemnity ordinance. The Joint Drive
Indemnity Ordinance 2003 says no one can seek justice and
no complaints can be lodged against any person involved
with the joint drive for any arrest, death, torture,
violation of rights and if any damage of physical, mental
or financial nature between October 16 and January 9. In addition, no complaints can be
lodged against the person or persons who had ordered the
Operation Clean Heart. And if cases or proceedings were
filed in any court regarding any act during the joint
drive it would automatically be cancelled, the ordinance
says. The government launched the
Operation Clean Heart on October 16 through an order.
Members of the armed forces, paramilitary Bangladesh
Rifles (BDR), police and ansars are engaged in the
anticrime drive.As many as 44 people have died in custody
and hundreds have been injured since the drive began,
sparking off criticism for human rights violation. The joint forces have so far
arrested more than 11,000 people, including some 2,400
listed criminals. Human rights violation by the army
during the drive has also become evident following
several cases filed against some army personnel for
torture and deaths of innocent people. The drive will continue but the
scope and nature of the joint forces will change, said
Moudud. However, he did not elaborate. Victims
of lesser justice All this because they all died in torture after arrests during the ongoing Operation Clean Heart and that the perpetrators have been indemnified; they cannot be tried in the courts of law. There are 44 bleeding hearts today, doubly denied. There are many more, probably thousands, who will carry the scars of torture after arrests but will never know how to heal the wounds. Mehnaj Hossain Anjana, widow of Abul Hossain Litu (32) who allegedly died in army torture on October 28 in Dendabor, Nabinagar of Savar, filed a case with a court seeking justice. The court ordered the Savar Police Station to investigate the case and there were some progresses in the probe. But the ordinance promulgated on Thursday has put a lid on the investigation and sealed the fate of getting justice in the court of law. Now, Anjana with her two-and-a-half-year-old daughter Raisa Tahmina Hossain, asks, "Where would we go to seek justice for the killing of my husband? Why won't I get justice?" "The government should declare Bangladesh a 'barbaric state'. There is no law, no court of justice here. There will not be any trial, even if anybody commits murder," she said. "The indemnity ordinance proves that the joint forces committed misdeeds during the drive. So, the government should have enough guts to confess the crimes and try the killers. And it should apologise to the nation for the act," Anjana, a student of business administration at Dhaka University, said yesterday. She finished her final exams yesterday. Till January 8, 44 people died, several thousand sustained severe injuries and several hundred crippled during the drive of the joint forces styled Operation Clean Heart that began on October 17. Abul Hossain Litu, 32, is one of the 44 who allegedly died in custody during the drive. Litu is known to be an innocent youth, who had a small poultry farm in Savar near Dhaka, trying to eke out a living for his daughter and wife. But on October 28, members of the army raided Litu's poultry farm, tied him blindfolded to a tree, and allegedly beat him to death. However, the ISPR on October 28 claimed that Litu was a member of the Seven Star group, a crime cartel of the city. It further claimed that when an army team went to the Dendabor, Nabinagar of Savar to haul up the criminals, Litu jumped off the rooftop of a two-storey building and fell on a boundary wall. Then, as claimed by the ISPR, the army team rescued Litu in a 'fatal condition' and took him to the Combined Military Hospital (CMH) where he died. However, the army claim lacks proof. Anjana filed a case with the First Class Magistrate's Court on December 15, seeking justice for the killing of her husband. In her appeal to the court, Anjana said army troops led by one Major Kabir beat her husband to death. The court ordered the Savar police to investigate the case. Officer in charge (OC) of the Savar Police Station and investigating officer of the case KS Abdullah told The Daily Star yesterday, "I have achieved some progresses in my investigation. But after promulgation of the indemnity ordinance, I have stopped the investigation." The ordinance says no one can seek justice and no complaints can be lodged against any persons involved with the joint drive for any arrests, deaths, tortures, violations of rights and any damages of physical, mental or financial nature between October 16 and January 9. And any case related to the Operation Clean Heart filed with any court would automatically be cancelled, the ordinance says. Terming the ordinance a barbaric one, Anjana said, "If justice can be blocked through an ordinance, then what is the use of having courts?" "Prime Minister Khaleda Zia knows better what it feels to lose the near and dear ones. Her husband was killed in the hands of some army men and for that, 12 army officers were sentenced to death. So, why won't I get justice for the killing of my husband? " she asks. Litu's sister Umme Kulsum says, "Did the government take the people's consent to call out the troops? The government has to take all the responsibilities for the killings." Equally enraged was Tahmina Akhter Urmi, wife of Rashedul Hasan, who died at the Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) on November 7 after the army handed him over to the police. "I have no longer any place to demand justice for my husband's killing," Urmi told The Daily Star at her Tejkunipara home in the city. "Is it a country of lawlessness? Law enforcers are killing innocent people like my husband and the state is indemnifying their acts! Is it possible for any country where justice prevails?" she asked. The army picked up 30-year-old Rashedul Hasan, an assistant film director, from his residence on November 2 and handed him over to the Tejgaon Police Station on November 7 when he fell ill. "I wanted to file a case at the time. But as my neighbours expressed fear of harassment, my father-in-law decided to file a case after the pullout of the army," Urmi said. "Where will I go now for justice? I don't beg alms. I beg justice. Now I seek justice from Allah." She demanded that the ordinance be repealed and the door to justice be kept open. Arif, cousin of Rashedul, said, "This crackdown on criminals means nothing more than killing innocent people. Did they arrest any top criminal during the drive?" Away in Sylhet, Ali Hossain, brother of Jamir Ahmed, who was picked up by the joint forces and later died in army custody on November 29, put his misfortune to poverty. "We are poor and that is why justice is not for us," he said. "My brother was severely tortured to death by the army and later, we were just informed of his death." Talking to The Daily Star yesterday, the family members of Jamir said they thought of taking legal action against the army following the death. But they did not dare do so because of threats from the army. "But now, the chance of seeking justice is blocked for ever," Ali said. His mother is still in a shock from the death of his son and weeps silently holding Jamir's photograph. Ali, a homeopath doctor, said his brother was a carpenter and was not involved in any criminal activities. "Still we do not know why he was picked up and killed." Jamir, 32, was picked up from his village residence at Raigarh about three kilometres off the Golapganj upazila headquarters. He was tortured by the army on the Dattarail High School playground on November 29 morning. Within hours, he died and his body was handed over to the family. Police however claimed Jamir was taken to a hilly area for arms recovery. And he tried to run away and died, according to them. But his family members claim that the merciless torture on Jamir at the school playground was witnessed by hundreds of local people. Jamir was the father of one son and two daughters. After his death, his wife is now living with her parents. Local people said Jamir had links with a criminal well known as an armed cadre of the ruling party's student wing. However, police claimed that Jamir was a listed criminal and charges were pressed against him in two cases of abduction, extortion and attempted murder. In Chittagong, Jahanara Begum wants justice for the murder of her adopted child and "will wait for the opportunity in future if I cannot seek justice during the tenure of this government." Her son Abu Tarek Rubel was picked up by the army on December 16 afternoon. Rubel died few hours after being released from custody. "We want justice for the murder of my only child. Let whoever be the killers, whoever be the instigators or whatever be the motive behind the instigation, I want proper justice for the death of my innocent son and punishment to the persons responsible for the killing," said Jahanara. After the death of her husband in 1996, Jahanara had all her dreams revolve round Rubel whom she brought up with all her love and care. Jahanara said her husband Abul Kashem made a fortune staying in Karachi, Pakistan for four years and Abu Dhabi for 31 years. He left behind all the property including a huge building at Charandwip, some seven kilometres off Boalkhali upazila headquarters, huge land property and bank savings for Rubel. "Now who would reap the fruits of our long hardship and enjoy these property?" questioned the bellowing mother. Witnesses said the troops, acting on a wrong tip-off, nabbed Rubel at around 4:00pm on December 16 when they were on a drive to arrest notorious dacoit leader Shawkat Hossain Zhantu, known as "Zhantu Dakat". The troops allegedly tortured Rubel dragging him into a pond and beat him up mercilessly. Critically injured, Rubel died at local health complex at around 9:00pm. They further alleged that three members of 'Emdad Bahini', rival group of "Zhantu Dakat", deliberately misled the troops about Rubel saying that he was an associate of Zhantu. Rubel failed in the SSC examinations last year and was preparing to go abroad. Local people believe that Rubel's enemies had their eyes on his huge property which might have led to his tragic death. But neither the motive nor the identity of the persons having hands behind the after-custodial death could be learnt. And these would never come out in the open if Rubel's bereaved mother cannot initiate a lawsuit against the murder, they observed. A general diary was recorded with the Boalkhali thana in connection with Rubel's death. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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