Bangladesh interim government chief Muhammad Yunus said on Thursday that his administration was not planning to ban ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina‘s Awami League.
However, Yunus said those individuals in the Awami League who are within its leadership role and face accusations of committing crimes, including murder and crimes against humanity, will be tried in Bangladesh’s courts.
He also said the government has not ruled out referring Awami League leaders to the International Criminal Court in The Hague following a UN fact-finding mission that reported potential crimes during the July uprising, reported Dhaka Tribune.
“It is very much on the table,” Yunus said.
He made the remark while meeting a delegation from the International Crisis Group led by Dr. Comfort Ero on Thursday.
He informed the delegation that the group had set two possible timelines for elections.
Explaining the dates, he said if political parties seek a limited number of reforms before elections then the country will witness December polls.
He said the election will be held in June next year if a large reform package is desired.
“We have no reason to change the election dates,” he was quoted as saying by Dhaka Tribune.
The International Crisis Group officials praised the arrest of Rohingya insurgent leader Ataullah.
He is the commander-in-chief of the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army.
Apart from Jununi, police arrested 10 others while conducting a raid in the Narayanganj and Mymensingh regions of Bangladesh.
More than 1 million Rohingyas, who fled from neighbouring Myanmar, are currently staying in Bangladesh as refugees.
ARSA
ARSA is a group that operates from Myanmar’s Rakhine region.
In the region, mostly Muslim Rohingya people have faced persecution.
The group came to light on August 25, 2017, after attacking around 30 police and army posts in Rakhine state, killing 12 people.
The incident triggered a ruthless military counter-attack that forced 740,000 Rohingya to escape to neighbouring Bangladesh.
After the prosecuted Rohingyas took shelter in the squalid camps of Ukhiya and Teknaf, ARSA members have been continuing their targeted killing missions in the camp directed by its commander, reported The Daily Star.
(With inputs from IBNS)
