At long last, the ten-truck arms case has wound up after the court in Chittagong handed death sentences to the accused. Lutfozzaman Babar and Maulana Nizami are the big ones netted in the case. If higher courts uphold the verdict, these two along with the other 12 will have to walk the gallows.
As usual, we have reactions coming in from all quarters. Whatever the outbursts are for, it is true that there have been attempts of ferrying the sophisticated arms and ammunitions to a destination through Bangladesh.
As in all cases of smuggling or cross-border trading, there has to be two or more parties involved in both sides of the border with a strong set of connections.
The entire episode of this high voltage arms consignment is dangerous for Bangladesh. The outlawed groups are vigorously carrying out their activities in the hills of our country. Long stretches of land in the eastern and south-eastern frontiers are still not safe for many.
We have our Shanti Bahini cadres and ULFA activists on the other side of the border. These groups will cause the government worry and trouble for as long as they exist.
With war-loving and deprived groups actively working to disrupt the mainland peace, we cannot expect to have our boundaries clean and safe. They never will be.
The infiltration of mercenaries and the regular exchange of stealthy visits by unlawful personnel of these underground parties are hard to prevent.
We can ill afford to drop our guard and invite threats to our sovereignty. Bangladesh should take up the issue with its neighbouring countries, and take initiative for joint action against the clandestine groups that operate in the fringes.
Against such a backdrop, the ten trucks that were caught with weapons of various descriptions emanate an ominous signal for the nation. It took 10 years for the verdict to be delivered. Proceedings were holed up all this time.
Whether persons found guilty were actually guilty shall remain a debate. But trial has taken place, and the verdict has been given.
We need to have the wheel of justice moving. Rule of law is not sufficient, as it is the rule of justice that should be made visible. While meting out punishments to the guilty, we must be vigilant not to harm any who are innocent.
Past killings, be it gunning down of political leaders, or inconsequential murders, have not received the kind of attention they deserved.
From the lowest to the uppermost tier, the suspects were either let off the hook or kept unfastened as long as possible.
There are reports of hardcore criminals set free from jails as per directions of powerful quarters of the government.
Even the much talked about killings in crossfires should not go unaccounted for. An innocent does not deserve an accidental death.
The culture of impunity should go, plain and simple. The guilty ought to get the treatment they deserve. We must try and establish the rule of justice to heal the wounds of those who are victims of the mindless savagery of the perpetrators.
All crimes committed need to come to light, especially if these are state-backed acts. Killings or abductions over the last 42 years ought to be brought to light in the right perspective. And those who did not receive any trial, or a fair trial, should be given attention by the authorities concerned.
Killings, abductions, and the maiming of political opposition or social rivals that started during the liberation war went on, even after the liberation of the country. Instead of practicing tolerance and patience, we slipped into the politics of hatred and envy. Today, we are living with a system dangerously out of control.
Siraj Sikder, Bangabandhu Shekih Mujib and his family, four Awami League leaders, Khaled Mosharaf, Ziaur Rahman, General Manzur, SMS Kibria, Ahsanullah Master, the bomb blasts at Udichi and Ramna, the grenade attack on Sheikh Hasina, and innumerable political and social murders need to be dealt with in earnest.
Maybe it is time we take up the trial issue of the 195 Pakistani army officers who committed mass murder and other war crimes in 1971.
Again, trials ought to be kept as unsoiled as possible and not motivated by political vengeance, even though most of the cases taken up and dealt with have political odours.
We can shape our justice system into a reliable institution which the people will happily look up to each time the judge strikes the gavel and pronounces the verdict against the culprit.
People would like to see trials of those cases that are still pending for years get underway. Let these be less political and more evenhanded.
This government has the opportunity to start the practice of fair trials, and set an example for posterity. Does it have the will?