Impunity a licence for crimes

People of Bangladesh will decide how long the ongoing trial of the perpetrators of 1971 crimes will continue, observed visiting Canadian lawyer William Sloan.

“People of Bangladesh have to decide how many people will be prosecuted -- you can prosecute 10 or 100 people. Criminals of Second World War are still being prosecuted after many decades. The government can continue the trials here also,” he told The Daily Star in an interview yesterday.

The eminent jurist and also a human rights activist came to Bangladesh to attend the silver jubilee and the seventh national conference of the Ekattorer Ghatak Dalal Nirmul Committee at the capital's Institution of Engineers, Bangladesh (IEB).

“If criminals escape from the country, people will not say forget about them. Rather they will seek justice. Impunity is a licence for committing crime,” Sloan added.

While talking about the trials of war criminals in Bangladesh, he said, “I didn't observe the trial procedure. What I followed is the general process. I have travelled so many countries…with the issue of human rights…it's not just about Bangladesh…it's about human rights.”

Everywhere people want justice, the trials of the war criminals must be ensured, he advocated.

“Morally, I should not support capital punishment but it doesn't mean the legal system is wrong,” he said. Some form of punishment has to be implemented as well as justice in order to move forward, he added.

“If no measure is taken by some government…it will affect people's psyche,” he mentioned. “It is so important to establish the rule of law for holding the society together.”

Sloan was 18 during the 1971 Liberation War. He was a staunch supporter of the country's independence.

“In 1971, I supported Bangladesh. I stood in front of the Canadian parliament with a placard.” He said as a refugee lawyer he started working with Bangladeshi refugees in Canada from 1985. “I love Bangladesh. I love Bangladeshi people.”

Asked about the emergence of right-wing political parties, Sloan said this is not something new but rather has been going on for decades.