War crimes trial initiated to establish rule of law: Barrister Shafique

DHAKA, Nov 17, 2012 (BSS) - Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Barrister Shafique Ahmed today said the trial of war criminals has been initiated to establish rule of law in the country.

"We have to come out of the bad culture of getting away from the justice after committing crimes and the trial is a big step towards this direction," the minister said.

"Those who have committed crimes against humanity including mass murder and rapes are being brought to justice and there is no mercy for them," he added.

The minister also urged the people of all walks of life through the media to express their disgust towards those culprits.

The law minister came up with the observation as the chief guest in a workshop organized by Bangladesh Legal Aid Services Organization, supported by Justice Sector Facility Project under the Law and Justice Division at a city hotel.

The workshop titled "Accessible and Responsive Government Legal Aid Service: Issues and Option" was attended by district judges, chief judicial magistrates, other legal officials and officials from NGOs.

State Minister for Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Advocate Md. Quamrul Islam, MP, UNDP country director Stefan Priesner, chief technical advisor of JSF project Christian Eldon, and National Legal Aid Services Organization (NLASO) director Syed Aminul Islam spoke on the occasion, among others.

Bangladesh is a democratic country and with the aim of establishing and strengthening the rule of law, the present government is working hard, Shafique said.

The minister added that in order to ensure poor people's access to justice, the previous Awami League government enacted the Legal Aid Services Act 2000 (LASA). Thereafter, NLASO was established to implement the government legal aid programme across the country.

Shafique said the pace of the activities of the NLASO almost
came to a halt during the tenure of the last government. But the
present government again activated the organization for the sake
of the distressed people and UNDP is helping the cause all the
way.

Terming the present government as the government for the poor, Quamrul Islam said it has established social security net for them among many things.

He urged the people concerned to include those, who are willing to help the poor from their heart, in the legal panel of NLASO.