Cabinet approves truth commission ordinance
Courtesy New Age 26/5/08
The military-controlled government on Sunday approved a proposal to set up a controversial truth commission to let people voluntarily admit to their corruption, deposit ill-gotten wealth to the exchequer and seek mercy, an official said.
The council of advisers at a meeting with chief adviser Fakhruddin Ahmed presiding, approved the proposal for setting up the commission called ‘Truth and Accountability Commission’ under the Voluntary Disclosure Ordinance 2008.
The government will appoint the commission as soon as the president, Iajuddin Ahmed, promulgates the ordinance.
An adviser, who attended the meeting, told New Age that the council had given final nod to formation of the commission to deal with corruption.
Politicians termed the move a ‘travesty of justice’ saying that it proved that the government had bowed to high-profile corruption suspects. The government defends the decision saying it aims at putting an end to the vice.
Besides launching the anti-graft drive targeting mainly the politicians early last year, the government has been considering formation of the commission hoping that many people with ill-gotten wealth would confess to their crimes to take the advantage of not being punished.
According to the ordinance, the commission would exist for five months but the proceedings it would draw during its tenure
would continue until disposal of the cases, said Anisul Huq, one of the framers of the ordinance.
The proposed commission would be composed of a chairman, preferably a retired chief justice or a retired judge of the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court, and two members – to be selected from among persons not below the status of a retired major general of the armed forces or a retired secretary to the government or an eminent citizen.
Persons willing to disclose voluntarily their ill-gotten wealth will be exempted from prosecution and imprisonment subject to surrendering the property or corresponding amount of money with the state exchequer, according to the proposed law.
The person must apply to the commission for mercy in prescribed forms giving details of their moveable and immovable property and other information.
A person already charged with or convicted in a corruption case will not enjoy the benefit of the provision, according to the draft.
The commission will have the authority to summon any persons believed to be involved in corruption or found to be involved in corruption on the basis of such disclosures. It will also have the authority to confiscate the ill-gotten wealth.
The commission will not generally sentence anyone making disclosure of their corruption to any prison term. But violation of the commission’s directives will constitute an offence punishable with imprisonment for a maximum five years.
Persons disclosing their corruption will be debarred from national or local elections for five years, holding any public office, executive positions in any collective bargaining agents, associations or banks or financial institutions.
The proposed law makes a provision for giving information of others involved in the process of corruption, and the commission could launch investigation on the basis of the information.
The government launched a crackdown on serious crimes and corruption in February, 2007 and detained more than 200 high-profile suspects, mostly politicians from two major parties – Bangladesh Nationalist Party and Awami League.
Two former prime ministers, Khaleda Zia and Sheikh Hasina, are among the top leaders detained by the government.
The administration, with an aim to rid the next parliamentary polls of evil influence, also reconstituted the Anti-Corruption Commission, Public Service Commission, Election Commission, and Judicial Service Commission.
It has also proposed setting up of several other commissions, including a human rights commission and an information commission.
‘The commission will be lenient to people voluntarily disclosing their corruption’, Hassan Ariff, the law, justice and parliamentary affairs adviser, had told reporters earlier.
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