Govt working to protect democracy, ensure justice for all: PM Hasina

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Thursday said her government is working to secure democracy, establish the rule of law and ensure justice for all.

“We have a target to protect democracy and establish the rule of law in the country as the people will get justice,” she said.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina The prime minister said this while inaugurating the newly constructed 12-storey modern building, Bijoy Ekattor, of Bangladesh Supreme Court, joining virtually from her official residence, Gonobhaban, in the capital city.

The inaugural ceremony was held on the Supreme Court premises in the city in the morning.

The prime minister said that her government is trying to ensure justice for all sections of people.

“We’re working to make sure that all including the tortured women, children and acid victims get justice,” she said, spelling out her government’s various measures for overall development of the judiciary.

Mentioning that they have taken steps to implement Article 116 of the Constitution, she said her government has allocated separate budget for the judiciary and formulated necessary rules to split judiciary from the executive body.

The prime minister said they had taken initiatives to make the judiciary further strengthened and ensure effectiveness of the constitution after assuming power in 1996.

Sheikh Hasina hailed the justice department for pronouncing the verdict that declared the governments, occupying the state power by violating the country’s constitution, as illegal.

“I personally believe that the democratic rights of the people of Bangladesh have been secured with the verdict,” she said.

Earlier, a video documentary on the newly constructed building having all modern facilities was screened at the function.

Chief Justice Hasan Foez Siddique, Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Anisul Huq and Attorney General Abu Mohammad Amin Uddin, spoke on the occasion.

Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Secretary Md. Golam Sarwar gave the welcome address.

Former chief justices, justices of the supreme courts and eminent lawyers, were present on the occasion.

Sheikh Hasina said her government has relived the people from the culture of impunity with holding the trial of the assassination of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and war criminals.

“We are empowered to stop the culture of impunity by the people’s mandate,” she said.

The government of military dictator Ziaur Rahman introduced the culture of impunity after enacting the indemnity ordinance to stop the trial of Bangabandhu killing, she added.

Ziaur Rahman also gave the killers of Bangabandhu impunity and posted them to foreign missions as a reward while establishing the war criminals in the politics after releasing them from jails, Sheikh Hasina said.

She continued that Ziaur Rahman’s wife Khaleda Zia followed the footprints of her husband.

The prime minister thanked the judges of the lower courts and the higher courts for pronouncing the verdict in the Bangabandhu killing case.

“We have got justice as the courts took courageous role and we have been able to execute the verdict,” she said.

Referring to her return to the country after six years of forced exile, Sheikh Hasina said she even couldn’t lodge case for the killing of Bangabandhu and most of his family members on 15 August 1975 due to indemnity ordinance.

The prime minister said Ziaur Rahman came to power illegally following the path of Pakistani military dictator Ayub Khan while Ershad followed Zia.

During the regime of Zia, she said that as many as 19 to 20 coups were carried out whose victims were armed forces officials, political leaders and the masses.

Spelling out her government’s various measures including enactment of necessary laws, infrastructures construction, increasing salaries of the judges and ensuring their security, she said, “We want Bangladesh to go ahead on the right track and people get justice.”

The prime minister said her government has undertaken a project for complete digitisation of the judiciary under the supervision of her Information Technology Affairs Adviser Sajeeb Wazed Joy.

She said they are set to establish a law university as per her government’s initiative to build specialised universities across the country.

She also said assistance from the justices and lawyers will require formulating an appropriate curriculum for the university.

Sheikh Hasina said she has already asked the finance minister to allocate money for building a record room to secure the court related documents.

The prime minister, however, stressed the need for keeping both the hard and soft copy of the documents.

She said they have a plan to build a modern mosque on the Supreme Court premises.

The prime minister said her government is also considering making better arrangements for the lawyers across the country as they have modernised all the 64 district courts.

She said that her government is building Bar Council Bhaban for the lawyers.

The prime minister said they have formulated the law “The Legal Aid Services Act, 2000” aimed at giving legal services to the litigants who are incapable to seek justice.

She said they have transformed Bangladesh into a developing nation confronting many hurdles.

The prime minister also sought cooperation from all to build a prosperous and developed country free from poverty and hunger as envisioned by the Father of the Nation.