| PRIME MINISTER'S SAUDI VISIT Hidden agenda got priority Amanullah Kabir
The hidden agenda was seemingly more important than the officially announced one that usually included manpower export and other bilateral issues. Twice postponed earlier, her first visit abroad since her ascendancy to power three months back, was thought to have become urgent by her government's flamboyant policy-makers who want to be sure that their regime would not fall from the grace of the Custodian of holy Makkah and Madina, the converging points of the Muslim ummah, if the war criminals are prosecuted, as many of them enjoy Saudi blessings and support as politicians and religious leaders. War crime trial deferred When asked a senior cabinet minister preferring anonymity told an English daily only hours before the Prime Minister's departure on Monday night, "We will of course seek their (Saudi government) support in trying the war criminals in our country." Meanwhile, during the office hours on Monday, State Minister for Law Advocate Quamrul Islam told the journalists in a stunning announcement that the Government had deferred the formation of the investigation agency to probe into war crimes and finalisation of the list of prosecutors since the Prime Minister and the law minister would stay away from the country. Enormous exercise The ministers and the state ministers of the Ministry of Law and the Ministry of Home Affairs along with the officials concerned made an enormous exercise throughout the day on Sunday on the two crucial issues holding several meetings among themselves and with the Prime Minister only to announce the Government's final decision the next day. But the weary policy-makers suddenly came to senses that such a sensitive announcement prior to the Prime Minister's visit to Saudi Arabia might backfire creating an adverse impact on the cherished scheduled talks with the Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud on April 21, and refrained from making public the decisions on appointment of the investigation agency and formation of the prosecutors cell on the plea that they were yet to be finalised. Barrister Shafiqe Ahmed, now the law minister, had told me privately at a TV channel talk show just a day before his swearing-in that it would be difficult if the Saudi government was reluctant to cooperate. So the process of trial of war criminals is expected to take a different dimension when the Prime Minister returns home understandably with an undercurrent impression from her talks with the Saudi King, who is not supposed to remain uninformed about which persons the Government has listed as identified war criminals. If the issue becomes a thorn in the relations between the two countries, the Government may have to face a diplomatic tangle. In any such a situation the Saudi government will have the leverage to build up pressure on Bangladesh by manipulating the situation since Saudi Arabia is not only a major manpower importer but also a donor country. Socio-political scenario Several ministers of the Government have said more than once that only the identified war criminals will be tried and the Government is determined to complete the trial by next December, probably before the Victory Day. But before the findings of investigation and framing of charges, a clear scenario cannot be expected as to what will be the emerging socio-political situation, because the war criminal suspects are mainly and mostly politicians of Islam-oriented parties and groups as well as religious leaders who have inherently a socio-political clout in the country. However, according to the latest information received from Riyadh, the outcome of the meeting between the Prime Minister and the Saudi King was not as encouraging as was expected. The Saudi government, as Foreign Minister Dr Dipu Moni in her cautiously worded interview with the electronic media said Thursday night the Saudi government offered a good gesture short of assurance that they would consider the Bangladesh case when and where such manpower would be required, but did not lift the earlier restrictions imposed during the caretaker government regime. Besides, the Prime Minister had exclusive talks with the Saudi foreign minister for more than half an hour. |
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