Mollah's execution has given peace to war victims: Bangladeshi poet

Renowned Bangladeshi poet Quazi Rosy has hailed the execution of Jamaat-e-Islami leader Abdul Quader Mollah for war crimes, saying the verdict has finally delivered justice and peace to the victims of 1971 liberation war.

"This is an achievement for us and the entire nation is united. The outcome of this verdict will bring peace to the people who sacrificed their lives for the liberation," said Rosy.

Jamaat leader Abdul Quader Mollah was hanged on December 12, the first war crimes execution in Bangladesh. He was accused of collaborating with Pakistani forces, who were eventually defeated with India's help.

Protesters from Jamaat and its student wing, Islami Chhatra Shibir, attacked members of the ruling Awami League party in deadly reprisals after the execution, while hundreds of people staged vigils in the capital Dhaka to celebrate his death.

Bangladesh's International Crimes Tribunal has exposed divisions in society over what role Islam should play and the strong public reaction to its verdicts have raised fears that young Jamaat members are being radicalised.

The 1971 war, in which an estimated three million people died in nine months, is a festering wound not only for those personally affected, but also many young Bangladeshis.

Mollah's execution has worsened tensions that were already running high, threatening to cripple Bangladesh's economy, notably its USD 22-billion garment industry.

Meanwhile, expressing contentment over the verdict, Rosy lauded the judicial process in the country for the stand against the war criminal.

"I am very happy that this government has finally taken this stand and Quader Mollah was executed because had it failed to do so, no other government could have implemented the verdict," she added.

A Bangladesh court in August had declared Jamaat-e-Islami as illegal, effectively banning it from a general election due early next year.

The ruling that the registration of Jamaat as a political party conflicted with the country's secular constitution immediately triggered violent protests by party supporters.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina of the Awami League and the Bangladesh Nationalist Party's (BNP) Begum Khaleda Zia have dominated politics in Bangladesh for more than two decades, and mutual suspicion bordering on hatred has blocked attempts at reconciliation between them.

Hasina wants to do away with a tradition of introducing a caretaker government to oversee elections, even if it means running unopposed.

The crisis has raised the prospect of a return to emergency rule, last imposed in 2007 and ending two years later with elections that saw Hasina win a landslide victory, partly on a promise to pursue war criminals.

Both sides have held talks in Dhaka, assisted by the United Nations, and Hasina is under international pressure to find a solution. But these are faint glimmers of hope amidst the gloom.