Jamaat-e-Islami recognises 'Independence War' of 1971

Dhaka, Oct 21 (PTI) Fundamentalist Jamaat-e-Islami
(J.I.), which opposed Bangladesh's 1971 independence from
Pakistan, has overnight changed its party's constitution
acknowledging the 37-year-old 'Liberation War', visibly to
comply with the revised election law, reports said Tuesday.

A crucial ally of former P.M. Khaleda Zia's Bangladesh
Nationalist Party (B.N.P.) and partner in the past B.N.P.-led
four-party rightwing government, J.I. made the major changes
in its constitution allowing non-Muslims and women to be its
members.

It has also renamed itself as "Bangladesh
Jamaat-e-Islami" instead of "Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh" to
get registered with the Election Commission under the newly
amended Representation of the People Order (R.P.O.) for
mandatory registration with the Election Commission.

The changes came as the J.I. and B.N.P. applied for the
registration at the last minute as an extended election
commission deadline expired yesterday while several
socio-political groups including Sector Commanders Forum have
long been demanding J.I. leaders be brought to justice on
charges of war crimes with the Pakistani troops.

"Many people say that the constitution of Jamaat-e-Islami
is unconstitutional. This is not right. We have made a few
changes in the constitution to comply with the Election
Commission's regulations," J.I. leader Muhammad Quamaruzzaman
told newsmen late Monday.

He said the party also replaced the words "Allah's law"
with "social system based on Islamic justice" in the revised
J.I. constitution, and such a social system will be
established if Jamaat is voted to power.

J.I. was constitutionally banned for years in the newly
independent country for its anti-liberation activities and
collaboration with the invading army in 1971.

J.I. in its revised constitution has also democratised
the party functioning curtailing the party chief's absolute
power to pick the district unit presidents.

The new R.P.O. came as part of a massive reform campaign
launched by the current regime demanding secular outlook of
the political parties and incorporating options allowing
voters to cast no-vote in ballot and sought to ensure exercise
of intra-party democracy, eight-point disclosures including
financial statements of contenders and scrapping of front
organisations of the parties to be qualified for the polls.

But analysts and media reports feared the major parties
changed their constitutions just as a 'cosmetic makeover' to
meet the election commission criteria as they had to tailor
their constitutions in a hurry to comply with the new R.P.O.

Most of the parties, other then few left leaning ones,
initially had readily rejected the new election law saying
that bringing any change to constitution required endorsement
from the council sessions, which they found impossible to hold
with state of emergency still in force.

Both Awami League and B.N.P. leaders said their front
organisations would now be working as 'associate
organisations' as per respective constitutions of their own
while the overseas units of the party will be functioning as
per laws of the foreign countries concerned and constitutions
of the units to comply with the R.P.O.

"We are changing the party constitution under
compulsion," B.N.P. secretary general Khandaker Delwar Hossain
earlier said.

J.I. chief Motitur Rahman also said that they earlier
changed party constitutions several times and "we will do it
again, as we don't want us to be out of the track."