THE trapdoor that opened in Dhaka, the Bangladeshi capital, early on November 22nd not only ended, by hanging, the lives of two prominent opposition figures. It also brought nearer to a close the work of the International Crimes Tribunal, a domestic court which the prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, set up over five years ago to prosecute heinous crimes committed during the country’s war of secession from Pakistan in 1971.
A proper accounting of that war’s atrocities was needed. But the tribunal was flawed. It flagrantly violated defendants’ rights and was susceptible to political meddling. For Sheikh Hasina, however, it has all been worthwhile. She has settled scores that date back to the struggle for independence. And she has gravely damaged the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) run by her arch-enemy, Khaleda Zia.
Telling no tales
The first of the two dead men, Salauddin Quader Chowdhury, came from a well-connected family. His politician father had, before independence, acted on occasion as Pakistan’s president when the strongman, Ayub Khan, was absent. Mr Chowdhury himself was close to Mrs Zia, twice...Continue reading
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