WE echo the prime minister’s spirit in thanking the youth for raising their voice against the 1971 war criminals and seeking adequate punishment for those accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity.

The youthful surge imbued with the liberation war ethos has been greeted throughout the country as manifest in the spontaneous participation of people on Shahbagh Square. Indeed, the moral force that they represent has stood the nation in good stead at different … points of history. It is our … hope that they would not only live up to but also add to their glorious heritage.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina speaking in parliament said, “the tribunals would deliver judgment according to the law, but they should consider people’s expectations while giving verdicts on war crimes cases”. The [prime minister] has also endorsed the six-point demand that [the] Shahbagh protestors submitted to [the] speaker of the Jatiya Sangsad.

The Prime Minister has implied … that since the demands are before the government and the JS, let the matters be left to them to decide and act on. Already, a legal amendment is said to be on the anvil to provide equal opportunity to the plaintiff and the defendant for appealing the verdicts.

The students have done a great job, and public will has been demonstrated most eloquently. Now the legal process should take its course. We have set up tribunals and initiated a legal process under the law of the land. We couldn’t emphasise more the principle that must be kept uppermost in the mind that [the] image of the tribunal and its independent working shouldn’t be even unwittingly compromised or impaired, justice being the common goal here.

Therefore, we are calling for a dignified drawing of the curtain over the first phase of what is likely to be a long drawn out process. It is in a high spirit that the youthful protestations have been greeted. …—(Feb 12)