Law Commission ready with draft law to stop Bangladesh War history distortion

The Law Commission has prepared a draft law that aims to punish those defaming Bangladesh’s Liberation War and to prevent distortion of the war history.

Commission Chairman ABM Khairul Haque, a former chief justice, briefed President Md Abdul Hamid of the draft law on Tuesday, the latter’s Press Secretary Joynal Abedin said.
 
The demand for such a law had become increasingly strident after BNP chief Khaleda Zia last year expressed doubts on the actual number of Liberation War martyrs.
 
Justice Haque had later said they would formulate a law to prevent distortion of history.
 
Law Minister Anisul Huq then said the government would consider it once the law was recommended.
 
A delegation of the commission submitted their annual report for 2015 to the president during the call on at the Bangabhaban, Abedin said.
 
He told reporters that Justice Haque had informed the president of the aspects of their report, causes of complications in court cases, and solutions and opinions recommended by the commission to deal with them.
 
on his part asked the Law Commission to take initiatives to formulate time-befitting laws and update the old ones.
 

Speaking at a discussion on Dec 21 last year, Khaleda expressed doubts on the official figure of three million people died during the 1971 war.

Three days later, another BNP leader, Gayeshwar Chandra Roy, drew more criticism by saying the intellectuals killed during the war had died like ‘fools’.

After several similar remarks came from the BNP, the demand for a law in Bangladesh similar to ‘laws against Holocaust denial’ had risen.

Denial of genocide of ethnic minorities and of Jews by the Nazis during World War II is a punishable offence in various European countries.

Justice Khairul Haque earlier had said the new legislation will punish those who will speak against the Liberation War and martyrs, and in favour of the perpetrators of genocide in 1971.

Ekattorer Ghatak-Dalal Nirmul Committee has also demanded that the law should take retroactive effect so that offences committed before the promulgation of the Act can be tried.