A citizen's group campaigning for putting alleged perpetrators of the 1971 war crimes on trial yesterday asked the government to arrest some of the branded war criminals before formally commissioning the trial.

It also asked the government to roll out a roadmap on the trial process of war criminals by September 30, and threatened to wage a movement joining hands forces with social, cultural and political organisations, otherwise. "Arrest those immediately, who the countrymen know about, who had been directly involved or abetted in the killings, rapes and lootings," Kabir Chowdhury, president of the Ekatturer Ghatak Dalal Nirmul Committee, said. "Outside [the prison] they pose threat to the country as well as to the peace and stability," he told the first session of the emergency representatives' conference of the committee.

A nine-point draft proposal was placed at the conference that included publication of the list of war criminals. Mohammad Golam Rabbani, Ajay Roy, Shahriar Kabir, Muntasir Mamun, Ferdousi Priyobhashini, Jeyad Al Malum, Shirin Banu Mitil, Syed Mahbubur Rashid, Salma Haque and Kazi Mukul were present at the conference held at the Supreme Court Bar auditorium in the capital. "I hope I will be able to see the trial of war criminals in my lifetime," said Rabbani. "The government is saying since April that the trial will start from the next day, next week but that next is yet to come," said Shahriar Kabir.

"It is beyond me, why the work has not started after the prime minister said that the proposal was passed in parliament. Then is the ministry defying the prime minister's order?" "The government has no preparation against the propaganda of Jamaat-e-Islami. We offered our assistance, but still the government is not interested. Now we are left with no option other than waging a movement," he added. Jamaat, the country's biggest religion-based political party, is accused by many of having opposed independence and complicity with the Pakistani army in killings, rapes and other atrocities.

The nine-point draft proposal include allocation of the old High Court building instead of the proposed house on the Abdul Gani Road to set up the tribunal and appointment of skilled, honest and pro-independence people as tribunal judges, investigators and lawyers, regardless of their political identity. The proposals also include not inviting war criminals to any state function, not giving them visa to go abroad, closure of financial organisations run by them, re-introducing the constitution of 1972, forming commission and publishing white paper to investigate persecution of minority communities during the rule of 1996-2001 BNP-Jamaat government, the grenade attack on Aug 21, 2004 and 10-truck arms haul in Chittagong.

The Awami League-led Grand Alliance government took the initiative to try the war criminals after assuming office in January. But the Committee and the Sector Commanders Forum - an organisation of commanders of the nine-month war - have been critical of the procrastination in the trial process. Around 3 million people died during the 1971 war at the hands of the Pakistani army and local collaborators, official records say.

-The Independent