Serving justice: Would transitional justice meet its goal in Nepal? (S. Binodkumar Singh, South Asia Monitor)

http://southasiamonitor.org/detail.php?type=n&nid=17930

Hasina's challenge: Asserting Bangladesh's secular identity (S. Binodkumar Singh, South Asia Monitor)

On May 11, 2016, Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI) amir (chief) Motiur Rahman Nizami, who had masterminded the formation of the ruthless militia Al-Badr that unleashed terror against Bengalis in erstwhile East Pakistan, killed unarmed civilians, raped women and destroyed properties during the Liberation War of 1971, was executed at Dhaka Central Jail. Nizami was sentenced to death on October 29, 2014, by the International Crimes Tribunal-1 (ICT-1) after being found guilty on 8 of the 16 charges brought against him. The four charges which brought with them penalty of death included involvement in the killing of intellectuals; the murder of 450 civilians, and the rape of 30 to 40 women in Bausgari and Demra villages in Pabna district; the killing of 52 people in Dhulaura village in Pabna district; and the killing of 10 persons and rape of three women in Karamja village in Pabna district. He was also sentenced to imprisonment for life on four charges of involvement in the killing of Kasim Uddin and two others in Pabna district; torture and murder of Sohrab Ali of Brishalikha village in Pabna district; torture and killing at Mohammadpur Physical Training Centre in Dhaka city; and killing of freedom fighters Rumi, Bodi, Jewel and Azad at Old MP Hostel in Dhaka city

http://southasiamonitor.org/detail.php?type=emerging&nid=17132

Persisting Madhesi trouble bodes ill for Nepal (S. Binodkumar Singh, South Asia Monitor)

On April 6, 2016, cadres of United Democratic Madhesi Front (UDMF) comprising of the Upendra Yadav-led Federal Socialist Forum-Nepal (FSF-N), the Mahantha Thakur-led Tarai Madhes Democratic Party (TMDP), the Rajendra Mahato-led Sadbhawana Party (SP) and the Mahendra Raya Yadav-led Tarai Madhes Sadbhawana Party (TMSP) protested the visit of Minister of Forest and Soil Conservation Agni Prasad Sapkota by greeting him with black flags in Rautahat district. The agitation by the UDMF cadres began on July 1, 2015, by burning the copies of the preliminary draft of the constitution in the capital, Kathmandu, as it failed to incorporate their demands. The Madhesis are demanding redrawing of the boundaries of the provinces in the Himalayan nation as proposed in the new constitution and restoration of rights granted to Madhesis in the interim constitution of 2007 which, they claim, the new constitution has snatched away.

http://southasiamonitor.org/detail.php?type=sl&nid=16412