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Leading
News
Political Dialogue Soon
Staff Correspondent
Government will commence the much-awaited national
dialogue with the political parties as well as the civil
society leaders towards the end this month.
"Preparation to hold the national dialogue with the
political parties and others is going on. The dialogue
between the government and political parties will start
soon. I think the dialogue will begin by this month.
However, it is yet to be decided when and where the
dialogue will take place. The government is now examining
the modality of the dialogue but no committee has yet been
formed in this regard," emerging from the
council-of-advisers’ meeting held in the conference room
of the cabinet division at Bangladesh Secretariat Chief
Adviser’s Press Secretary Syed Fahim Munaim told reporters
at a press briefing on Wednesday.
Replying to a query, he said Chief Adviser Fakhruddin
Ahmed will lead the dialogue as he earlier announced that
government would start dialogue with the political
parties.
When asked about the stock of food grains, Fahim Munaim
said there is a sufficient stock of food grains.
"The ministry of Food and Commerce have been asked to
brief the newsmen about the latest information of
essential commodities including food grains. Government is
trying its best to resolve the present problems," the CA’s
Press Secretary said.
He said the council of advisers decided in principle to
amend some provisions of Bangladesh Export Processing Zone
(BEPZA) 1980 Act and Export Processing Zone trade union
and Industrial Laws. The meeting also decided in principle
to amend Non-government plot and flat Sale and Purchase
Ordinance 2008, he added.
Concealing information in wealth
statement
ACC lodges case against DCC Mayor, his wife, 2 kids
Staff Correspondent
The Anti-Corruption
Commission (ACC) on Wednesday filed a case against Dhaka
City Corporation (DCC) Mayor Sadek Hossain Khoka, his wife
and two children for concealing actual information in his
wealth statement earlier submitted to the anti-graft
commission.
Samsul Alam, Assistant Director of ACC, lodged the First
Information Report (FIR) with Ramna thana accusing them of
acquiring wealth worth about Tk 17.57 crore beyond known
sources of their income and concealing information of
assets and properties worth about Tk 10 crore, sources
said.
The co-accused of the case are: his wife Ismat Ara, son
Ishrak Hossain and daughter Sarika Sadek.
In the complaint, the ACC official said, in the wealth
statement, Sadek Hossain Koka submitted the statement of
movable and immovable assets and properties - including 11
houses and flats, eight plots and land property - of him
and his family worth about Tk 10.04 crore.
"The wealth statement, earlier submitted on December 6 to
ACC, doesn’t match with the exiting movable and immovable
assets and properties," he added.
Here it may be mentioned, Khoka, also the President of
Dhaka City BNP, is one of the 35 corruption suspects whose
names appeared on the ACC’s last list published on October
4 last year. The DCC mayor was issued notice asking him to
submit his wealth statement to the anti-graft watchdog on
November 18, 2007.
Meanwhile, talking to The Bangladesh Today, the DCC Mayor
said, "I don’t know details about the case. Even I didn’t
receive any papers from the ACC till date. So I cannot say
anything in this connection."
Asked, "Can I say the case lodged against you and three
others of your family is false, baseless and fabricated?"
the influential BNP leader said, "I don’t want to say
anything just now. I will talk to my counsel. I must
continue the legal battle in this connection."
Present
image of business community not satisfactory: Finance
Adviser
Staff Correspondent
Finance Adviser A. B. Mirza Azizul Islam on Wednesday
called upon the businessmen not to tarnish their image
through adopting unfair means to serve any petty interest.
"The present image of the country’s business community is
not satisfactory as many of them have already been accused
of widespread corruption. So, you should not involve in
anything which can tarnish your images. Create a suitable
business climate in the country; he said this at the
launching ceremony of ICCB Business Directory held by the
International Chamber of Commerc-Bangladesh (ICCB) at the
Bangladesh-China Conference Centre on Wednesday.
"In the past an unholy alliance existed between the
corrupt politicians and the businessmen. For this,
Bangladesh could not achieve its expected level in the
economic sphere. That is very unfortunate for the country.
So, the government has taken some initiative and brought
some fundamental changes in the country to create a
propitious business climate by establishing the Regulatory
Reform Commission (RRC), Better Business Forum (BBF). The
situation of Chittagong port is improved as the sea port
has been freed from all sorts of corruption and
irregularities and this is an example of the government’s
good will to create a congenial business environment in
the country.
He mentioned that the government is considering importing
power from the neighboring countries to meet the country’s
demand for power.
About the newly launched ICCB Business Directory, he said
the publication of the directory is a milestone of the
business sector in the country.
"It can play a constructive role. The present nature of
economy, investment climate of the country, and the
diverse field of Bangladeshi economy is described in the
directory vividly" he added.
Newly elected FBCCI President Anisul Haque sought
government’s cooperation for running business in the
country.
"ICCB will play a vital role in investing in the country’s
different sectors. It is a miracle that despite political
unrest before January11 in 2007, natural disasters like
cyclonic storm Sidr and two times devastating flood, we
are progressing economically.
Kamaluddin Ahmed, Executive Chairman of Board of
Investment (BOI) said public and private sector
partnership can take many good initiatives to enrich the
economy with prosperity. So, a good negotiation between
these two sectors is very essential. This book will
provide many business related information to the
entrepreneurs.
ICCB president Mahbubur Rahman said the geographical
location of Bangladesh has encouraged the people to invest
here. The country is poised to become a regional hub where
activities relating to assembling, manufacturing, trading
and services, would be some of the areas that are picking
up over the years. Bangladesh has the potential to be an
entry port to the region with great possibilities like
Singapore.
126
ex-BNP loyalist & reformist MPs united statement
Reformists returned to mainstream: Shahjahan
I did not shift from my stand: reformist Khaiyum
Staff Correspondent
Some 126 former BNP MPs both
from loyalist and reformist factions on Wednesday alleged
that a certain group is plotting to constitute a rubber
stamp parliament under the instructions of World Bank, IMF
and some other foreign powers.
The ex-MPs brought the allegation through issuing a
statement which was read out at a press conference held at
the Nam residence of BNP Secretary General Khandoker
Delwar Hossain.
"A certain quarter in the government is trying to make
Bangladesh politically dependent and plotting to
constitute a rubber-stamp parliament under the
instructions of IMF and World Bank," BNP Organizing
Secretary Mohammad Shahjahan told the briefing adding,
"The BNP will resist such move by any means and the party
workers are prepared to sacrifice anything for the sake of
country’s democracy." The statement, which was read out by
BNP joint Secretary General Selima Rahman, bitterly
criticised the government for pressing charges against
party senior joint secretary general Tarique Rahman, his
wife Dr Zoabaida Rahman and mother-in-law Syeda Iqbal Mand
Banu. The statement said, "it is an expression of
political vengeance and evil ploy to tarnish images of Zia
family." The ex-MPs also demanded immediate withdrawal of
the "false" case against them.
Otherwise, they warned that they would mobilize movement
to save Zia family, symbol of country’s nationalist
forces, at any cost.
Meanwhile, this correspondent got conflicting statements
over the inclusion of the names of the reformist ex-MPs in
the list. When asked, Mohammad Shahjahan said, "We have
included only those names who have agreed with us." On
referring to having name of Ali Newaj Mohammad Khaiyum in
the list, Shahjahan said, "Khaiyum told me that from now
onwards he will work with the mainstream party."
Contradicting Shahjahan’s claim, Khaiyum told The
Bangladesh Today, "I know nothing about the statement
issued by 126 ex-MPs and I do not know how my name was
included that list."
In reply to a question, Khaiyum said, "I am still working
in favour of bringing necessary reforms in the party
aiming at making BNP a democratic and thus popular
political party in the country."
Sources in the party said, the joint statements by the
ex-MPs from both faction are being issued aiming at
strengthening the hand of anti-Delwar group in the
loyalist camp, who are desperately in favour of taking the
reformists back in the mainstream. "This is happening in a
bid to strengthen the hands of those who want to reign
supreme in the loyalist camp and their ultimate plan is to
take the reformists back in the party as Khandoker Delwar
does not want to do so," a pro-Delwar ex-BNP MP told this
correspondent.
Hasina
to be produced before court today: DIG Prisons
AL demands Hasina’s release, send USA for treatment
Staff Correspondent
Detained Awami President Sheikh Hasina was taken to the
Square Hospital for her routine medical check-up and
examining her eyes on Wednesday morning. And after about
three hours, the former Prime Minister was further sent to
the makeshift jail.
Talking to The Bangladesh Today, Deputy Inspector General
(Prisons) Major Shamsul Haider Siddique said, "The former
Premier was brought to the Sqaure Hospital at about 8.15am
and later she was taken to special jail at about 11am.
During three hours a five-member medical team, including
specialists, completed her routine check-up and examined
her eyes but they did not change the prescription."
He said, "Her health condition is quite well. Her blood
pressure and pulse is normal. The complication in Madam’s
right eye has improved while the left one remains
unchanged."
Replying to a query, DIG Prisons said, "The AL President
will be produced before the Special Court today (Thursday)
for a hearing in connection with the ‘Barge-Mounted Power
Plants’ case.
Meanwhile, Hasina’s personal aid Dr Hasan Mahamud claimed,
"Our Party Chief said that about 25 percent vision on her
left eye has been damaged. She has been facing severe
problems in her ears." He was talking to the newsmen after
the meeting with the detained AL President inside the
makeshift jail yesterday.
Meanwhile, acting AL President Zillur Rahman demanded of
the Caretaker Government to ensure her better treatment in
USA after freeing Hasina unconditionally.
Addressing a post-‘Hunger Strike’ meeting organised by the
Jubo League (JL) at Bangabandhu Avenue’s AL Central Office
on Wednesday,
Chaired by the JL Presidium member Dr Mizanur Rahman
Chowdhury, the key leaders of AL urged the authorities
concerned to reinstate democracy in the country through
holding a free, fair and credible Parliamentary Election
as soon as possible.
The AL leaders called upon the partymen to prepare for the
upcoming movement saying, "If the army-backed government
considers our patience and appeal for Hasina’s release as
our weakness; they must face dire consequences in the near
future as the whole nation is eagerly waiting for her
release."
Economists'
Apprehensions
Amena Khatun Urmee
To bring the economy on the right track and to remove the
sufferings of the common and poor people caused by
skyrocketing price hike of essentials, Government should
hold national election within the stipulated time frame in
a bid to achieve people’s trust, country’s renowned
economists suggested.
Talking to The Bangladesh Today on Wednesday, economists
Muzaffer Ahmed and Atiur Rahman said as the country’s
economy is already in recession, and the continuous
abnormal price hike of essentials is worsening the
situation further, multiplying the miseries of the people,
the government should hold general election to overcome
the situation otherwise the poor will be worst sufferers.
"There is no alternative option to holding general
election. If the government can assure the people that the
parliament election will be held in due time, businessmen
and investors will be encouraged to run their business and
invest in different sectors respectively," Muzaffer Ahmed
said.
He said the Government is facing serious problems
following the economic recession globally. "Our export
position is not in a good shape. On the other hand, we are
concerned about the foreign aid," he added.
Replying to query about borrowing US$ 220 from the
International Monetary Fund (IMF) for the support of
(Balance of Payment) BoP, he said government should use
its foreign exchange reserve for importing food grains.
"If the government borrows money from the International
Financial Institutions, government will become more
loan-dependent which will result in another disaster
situation.
Regarding government’s move to increase the salaries of
government officials and employees, Muzaffar said instead
of increasing the salary of government staffs, government
should introduce rationing system otherwise people who are
working in different non-government organisations will
also be worst sufferers.
"Rationing system should be introduced soon, otherwise the
country might face a famine like situation which may
hamper the government’s plan to go forward with its
mission and vision," he added.
Talking to this correspondent echoing the same argument
economist Atiar Rahman said government should bring back
people’s trust first by holding general election otherwise
no initiative will bring good result.
"Despite sufficient foreign exchange reserve, I don’t
understand why Government is taking loan with high rate
interest; government will have to return the loan with
high interest in due course of time. Only then the
government will realize, today’s decision is right or
wrong," replying to a query he said.
Atiar Rahman said at first the government will have to
procure rice and later it should keep a close vigilance on
distribution, otherwise it would have to face tough
situation in future. "The government will have to import
adequate rice to ensure proper and smooth supply. After
boro harvesting, it will have to concentrate on producing
more food grain", he told this correspondent.
Five
of a family killed
UNB, Barisal
Five people of a family were killed when a truck plunged
off the road and ploughed through a roadside house at
Batajorh Baishkhola in Gouranadi upazila early Wednesday.
The deceased were identified as Khokon Mondal, 28, a
van-puller, his wife Tapati Rani Mondal, 23, younger
brother Ratan Mondal, 11, mother Radha Rani Mondal, 48,
and grandfather Biren Karmakar, 60.
Police said a Jhalakati-bound truck carrying poultry-feed
from Savar skidded off the Dhaka-Barisal highway and went
straight into the wall of the house at about 4:30am as the
driver lost control over the steering.
Back Page
Anarchic Situation
in City’s Markets
Ainul Haque Royal
An anarchic situation is
prevailing over city's markets' management due to lack of
proper implementation of Dhaka City Corporation (DCC)
regulations in this regard.
As per the DCC rules, no allotment will be given to anyone
except merchandisers and at least a distance of one
kilometer has to be maintained between the two city
kitchen markets. But these rules are not followed at all.
According to sources, there are 109 DCC kitchen markets in
the city. Besides this, hundreds of kitchen markets were
setup illegally in and around the capital. Local
influential leaders and organisations in connivance with a
section of dishonest DCC officials and employees setup
these markets, violating the DCC rules and regulations.
The relevant DCC officials are apparently reluctant to
keep these authorised markets neat and clean so that the
customers are attracted by these markets and not compelled
to go to the unauthorised kitchen markets for shopping.
Due to this, most of the DCC kitchen markets are being
left by the small traders for want of customers.
The Nawab Yousuf Hasan kitchen market of old Dhaka has
already been transformed into a hardware and machinery
market as the kitchen merchants failed to run their
business due to lack of customers and infestation of the
extortionists.
While visiting city's Maghbazar Kitchen Market, Khilgaon
Taltola Bazar, Kalmilata Bazar at Tejgaon, Rayar Bazar and
Noya Bazar, this correspondent found poor presence of
customers and dirty environment.
Besides, a certain quarter in collaboration with a section
of lease-holder is collecting huge amount of money from
the small traders in the name of shop rent. They are
collecting extra around Tk 400 without any money receipt
where as the rent is fixed at Tk 126 per month. Not only
that they also collect toll from retailers in the name of
different national or local festivals.
Anwar Hossain Shikdar president of Dhaka Mohanagar Fish
and Kitchen Market Trader Association told this
correspondent that most of city's kitchen markets were
illegally occupied by a gang of local DCC commissioner.
They are not involved with such business but are alleged
in several cases including murder. Not only that they took
control of the supply of water and electricity to the
markets and charge intolerable rent of electricity and
value of water from the businessmen.
Two
new Fertiliser factories to be set up
One in northern region, the other in
Funchuganj
Staff Correspondent
The government has decided to set up two more Urea
Fertiliser factories with the total production capacity of
10.5 lakhs tons per year to resolve the existing
Fertiliser crisis.
Special Assistant to Chief Adviser for Industry Mahbub
Zamil disclosed this at a press briefing held at the
conference room of Industry Ministry in the morning on
Wednesday.
Mahbub Jamil said, " The government plans to set up the
new urea Fertiliser industries and feasibility study is
going on in this regard. One of these will be set up at
the country's northern region and the other in Fenchuganj
of Sylhet." Replying to a questioner, Jamil said, " if
these two Fertiliser factories can go for production soon,
it will reduce present Fertiliser deficit from 13 lakh to
3 lakh tons per year as locally the country would be able
to meet the demand to a large extent."
He also said, "The present caretaker government is hoping
to inaugurate the construction works on these Fertiliser
factories as it has taken all-out preparations regarding
this and some international financing organizations
including China Exim Bank and Czech Republic has already
shown keen interest to finance in this regard to help the
Bangladesh government procure the equipments needed to set
up the Fertiliser factories."
It may be mentioned that as per the Agriculture Ministry
statistics, the total demand of Fertiliser in the fiscal
year 2007-08 is 28.18 lakhs metric tons while the
government-owned Bangladesh Chemical Industries
Corporation (BCIC) has the capacity of 15 lakhs metric
tons showing a deficit of 13 laks metric tons. He said the
rest of the Fertiliser demand will be met from Karnafhuli
Fertiliser Company and imports from abroad.
Jamil said, "We have already procured 4 lakhs tons of
Fertiliser from KAFCO and more than 6 lakh metric tons of
Fertiliser have been imported from abroad. Besides, around
1,22,500 metric tons of Fertiliser will be procured from
outside the country by next June."
The Special Assistant also informed that the government is
going to sign an inter-state agreement with the three Gulf
states and to do this a three-member delegation led by
industry secretary Nurul Amin is likely to visit the three
countries-Saudi Arabia, Qatar and United Arab Emirates
soon.
Encouraging the farmers to use the DFP and TSP for their
high production, Jamil said, "the farmers should use DFP
Fertiliser instead of urea as it has more productive
capability. May be the cost of these items is more than
the urea that is widely used in our country. Most of the
developed countries are using the DFP and TSP Fertiliser
and they are getting much better production."
Finding no other alternative, the farmers are compelled to
use urea in Bangladesh as the country is always in grip of
Fertiliser crisis. "For making the TSP and DFP Fertilisers
available to the farmers, we are also going to sign an
agreement with Morocco for importing raw materials for TSP
and DFP Fertiliser factories in Bangladesh."
Asked whether the government has any plan to withdraw the
subsidy given to the Fertiliser, Jamil said, " The
government is giving a total of Tk 2,800 core as subsidy
for procuring urea, but the government yet to take
decision in this regard and the agriculture ministry will
decide in this respect."
Biman officials submit wealth statements to taskforce
UNB, Dhaka
Over 5,000
officials of Biman Bangladesh Airlines Limited, both in
and out of service, have submitted their wealth statements
to the army-led national taskforce against serious crimes.
Sources at the national airlines, now turned into a public
limited company, said the taskforce on February 12 asked
the Biman officials to submit their wealth statements. The
taskforce, which is under the supervision of the National
Coordination Committee on serious crimes and corruption,
is now scrutinizing the wealth statements. "Some of the
officials are being questioned over telephone while a few
have been asked to provide documents against their wealth
statements," a Biman official told UNB. He said the
taskforce would submit the short list of corrupt Biman
officials to the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) for
taking necessary action.
According to the Biman sources, some 1,800 members of the
Biman, who went into retirement under its Voluntary
Retirement Scheme (VRS), would not be left out of the
clean-up drive.
The investigators are collecting information about them
and will ask them to submit necessary papers and documents
to substantiate their wealth statements.
Biman Bangladesh Airlines in the middle of last year
offered its employees golden-handshake option under the
VRS as part of the government plan to turn the national
flag carrier into a public limited company (PLC).
Launching of Asian Development Outlook-2008
GDP to increase at 6.0pc in current fiscal year
Staff Correspondent
ADB Country Director Hua Du on Wednesday said the GDP is
likely to increase this Fiscal Year as the country is
expected to reap bumper Boro production this year.
She was speaking at a press conference during launching
ceremony of the Asian Development Outlook-2008 at its
office in the capital yesterday.
She said, "Turning to Bangladesh, natural disasters have
worsened growth and inflation indicators. But, uncertainty
created among investors by the country's intensive
anticorruption drive has started to ease. GDP growth is
forecast at 6.0% in FY2008. In FY2009, GDP growth is
forecast to improve to 6.5% due to growing external and
domestic demand and a recovery in agriculture. Inflation
is projected to rise to 9.0% in FY2008 before moderating
to 8.0% in FY2009. Despite a higher trade deficit, the
current account is expected to show a surplus of 0.7% of
GDP in FY2008 and 1% of GDP in FY2009."
She also said sustaining higher growth and reducing
poverty in Bangladesh in the period ahead will require,
among others, large investment in physical infrastructure,
especially power and transport. Greater effort will also
be required to lift agriculture productivity to sustain
food self sufficiency in the face of increased threats
from natural calamities intensified by climate change.
Replying to a question, she said, "It is a great challenge
for the caretaker government to control the price spiral
of daily commodities. Besides, inflation is also another
concern for the government."
Crime
Muggers
hack rice trader in the city
UNB, Dhaka
Muggers hacked a rice trader failing to snatch Tk 27.40
lakh from him near Krishi Market of Adabor in the city
Wednesday afternoon.
Police said the gang, coming in a microbus, intercepted
Azizul Haque, 50, owner of Maa Bhandaria Rice Agency of
Kushtia when he was going to Islami Bank, Krishi Market
branch, for depositing Tk 27.40 lakh.
As Azizul resisted them, the muggers hacked him with sharp
weapon indiscriminately, leaving him critically injured at
about 2:45 pm.
But they had to leave the place with empty hands as local
people rushed to the spot hearing the hue and cry of
Azizul, who came to the capital to collect money from the
wholesalers.
The injured businessman was rushed to the Dhaka Medical
College Hospital. A case was filed with Adabor police
station.
CID to press charges in Aug 21 attack by April
Bdnews24, Dhaka
The Criminal Investigation Department will press charges
by the end of this month in a case involving the 2004
grenade attack on an Awami League rally, a top official
said on Wednesday.
"We have almost completed our investigation. We will be
able to submit the chargesheet this month," CID chief
Javed Patwari told reporters at Bangladesh Police
Headquarters.
Unidentified attackers hurled several grenades at the
rally outside the Awami League headquarters on Bangabandhu
Avenue on Aug 21, 2004, leaving at least 22 people dead
and hundreds of others wounded.
Awami League president Sheikh Hasina narrowly escaped the
attack, and AL with its allies had blamed the then ruling
BNP-led four party coalition for the attack.
The process of investigations into the grisly political
violence has changed course several times since the
attack, but the interim government now says it has
unearthed the culprits. The name of radical Islamic group
Harkatul Jihad has emerged prominently as being behind the
attack, and police have repeatedly claimed that the
group's chief Mufti Hannan had admitted that his people
conducted the attack.
Inspector general of police Nur Mohammad, who also talked
to reporters during on Wednesday's briefing, said: "We
will take measures against the police officers who had
earlier neglected the investigation."
Two BD top terrors arrested in India
UNB, Jhenidah
Two Bangladeshi top terrors who went into hiding in India,
have been arrested from a house at Banagram in West
Bengal.
The arrested were identified as Shahin, 35, of Diknagar
village in Shoilakupa upazila here and his accomplice Abu
Taleb, 32, of Kalidaha village in Mirpur upazila of nearby
Kushtia district.
Acting on a tip-off, Banagram police raided the house on
Monday and arrested them, but their another accomplice
Mukul, 33, managed to flee the scene.
When contacted, Shoilakupa police confirmed the incident
and said they took shelter in neighboring India after the
launching of Anti-terrorist drive by the caretaker
government. Police said Shahin, a cadre of the outlawed 'Sramajibi
Mukti Andolan, was wanted in some 30 murder and other
criminal cases, filed with different thanas here and
neighboring Kushtia and Meherpur districts. They were kept
in custody of Banagram police.
Brother kills younger brother
UNB, Bagerhat
A man killed his younger brother over a trifling matter at
Putikhali village in Morelganj upazila on Sunday.
The deceased was identified as Russell Shikder, 9, son of
Amir Ali Sikdar of the village and a class II student of
Putikhali Govt. Primary School.
Police said an altercation ensued between Russell and his
elder brother Shafique over eating biscuits by Russell
from their shop in the evening.
At one stage, Shafiq threw a sharp knife at Russell, which
hit him on his head, leaving him critically injured. After
the incident Shafique went into hiding. Russell was rushed
to a local clinic where he died. Police recovered the body
and sent it to the hospital morgue for autopsy. A case was
filed.
12 bombs recovered
BSS, Pabna
Rapid Action Battalion (RAB)-12 recovered 12 hand bombs
from Nazirganj area under Sujanagar upazila in the
district on Tuesday.
Acting on a secret information, members of the elite force
raided the house of one Abdus Samad in the area at around
4:00 pm and recovered the bombs from a small hut adjacent
to Samad's house in an abandoned condition.
None was arrested in this connection.
Upazila agri officer held while taking bribe
UNB, Comilla
Barura upazila Agriculture officer Nurul Islam was
arrested by police while taking bribe from a fertiliser
dealer on Monday.
Police said Nazrul Islam demanded Tk 3,000 as bribe from
local fertiliser dealer Jamaluddin for issuing allocation
paper in his favor.
Being repeatedly pressed by him Jamaluddin finally agreed
to give the money. But he also informed the matter to the
police.
Later as per the instruction by the police Jamaluddin went
to the agriculture office along with the money at about
1:30pm. Later, while handing over the money to Nazrul
Islam police in plainclothes arrested him.
A case was filed.
One Indian busted, heroin recovered
A Correspondent, Chapainawabganj
Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) arrested one Indian citizen
and recovered heroin from Radhakantopur in Chapainawabganj
on Tuesday.
Sources said one Indian citizen; Pandob Ghosh (30) son of
Bhushon Ghosh of Shinggabad Tilason village under Horipur
Thana in Maldah district entered into Bangladesh illegally
with heroin. A squad of RAB-5 conducted drives in
border-belt area, Radhakantopur under Gomostapur upazila
in the district and arrested the Indian citizen with 450
grams of heroin worth about Tk 50 lacks from Khanpara
village.
A case was filed with Gomostapur Thana in this connection.
3 suspected drug-traffickers held, phensidyl, scrap
materials seized
BSS, Rajshahi
Members of Rapid Action Battalion (RAB)-5, in anti-crime
drives, rounded up three alleged drug-peddlers and seized
phensidyl and scrap materials from different
areas in four northern districts during the last 24 hours
till this afternoon, RAB sources here said.
On tips-off, they rounded up the drug-peddlers identified
as Milon Sarker, 32, Johurul Islam, 29, and Badsha Mian,
20, and seized 178 bottles of phensidyl during three
separate raids in Gaibandha, Dinajpur and Chapainawabganj
districts.
The RAB forces also seized 30 kilograms of copper and
brass scrap materials, which were supposed to be smuggled
out to India, during a sudden raid in Bulanpur area under
Rajpara Police Station in Rajshahi city. However, none
could be arrested in this connection.
The arrested persons and the seized goods were handed over
to the concerned police stations after recording separate
cases in this connection.
Editorial
Back to Confrontational Politics
With
the BNP and the AL threatening to launch mass movements and
agitation to free their detained leaders, the Emergency
Government and these two political parties are heading fast
towards a confrontational situation unless of course the
Government opts for a discussion with these and other
political parties to try and find a way out of this impasse
but the Government seems to be in no hurry to do that.
The food and price crisis has severely eroded public support
for the Emergency Government. The Government’s anti-corruption
drive against the chairpersons of AL and BNP is not “holding
much water” either as the government has neither been able to
convincingly charge them for corruption nor yet institute a
transparent process of ensuring justice; people are beginning
to believe that the whole thing might be a ploy to keep these
two ladies out of politics for good – these two factors
together has placed the Emergency Government at a severe
disadvantage vis-à-vis the political parties. One can thus
understand the Government’s reluctance to bargain with the
political parties; after all what is it going to bargain with
and about when the AL and BNP are intransigent on their
demands to see their leaders released from jails
“unconditionally”. Ultimately of course the Emergency
Government will have to release Khaleda Zia and Sheikh Hasina,
either voluntarily or per force of circumstance, if there are
to be any elections at all.
If the Government is hoping that the much expected “bumper”
crops would somehow relieve them of their economic and
political dilemmas and swing public opinions to their side, it
is making a very big mistake. We have seen what happened with
bumper potato crops: farmers were forced to sell them at far
less than production costs, middlemen and traders hoarded them
and the consumers continued to pay high prices; nobody won
except middlemen and traders. The same thing is going to
happen to rice as well, particularly if the Government plans
to procure rice in large quantities to “build up stocks”, thus
withdrawing large quantities of the cereal from the
supply-distribution-market chain.
Political pundits as well as the common people are beginning
to wonder what this Emergency was all about and what has it
really been able to achieve, if the Nation is pushed and
pulled into a hostage situation between the agitating
political parties on the one side and the Emergency Government
on the other, particularly now when people are taking a
beating from an economy in the doldrums; memories of 2006 are
still too vivid to forget. One is then left to wonder what
next?
What next are three options: One, the Emergency Government
continues on its course and is forced out of office through
mass agitations and movements, followed by another Caretaker
Government and immediate elections; Two, the Emergency
Government immediately holds dialogues with political parties,
mainly AL and BNP, releases Sheikh Hasina and Khaleda Zia and
goes for elections and Three, following political
disturbances, the Military declares Martial Law and brings in
a period of prolonged instability. The people neither want
confrontations nor Martial Laws; they want elections and that
too as soon as possible. If the Emergency Government is
cluefull, it ought to opt for option Two.
Trial of war criminals
As
the demand for the trial of the war criminals continues to
gain momentum at home, the Adviser for Foreign Affairs Dr.
Iftekhar Ahmed raised the issue during his discussions with
the United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki moon in New York
on Monday. While appraising the topmost UN official of the
Bangladesh government's efforts and neutral position as
regards the next general elections, the adviser informed him
of the strategic aspect of the possible trial of the war
criminals. He termed the trial of the war criminals as a
demand of the hour and sought UN cooperation in this regard.
It was not clear whether the foreign adviser raised the issue
formally. But that the issue came up during the discussions
with the UN chief after 37 years of the Bangladesh Liberation
war during which the war criminals committed the crimes
against the state and the humanity, was itself an important
development. It is more so, because till recently the Chief
adviser of the caretaker government had been saying that it
would not be possible for them to hold the trial of the war
criminals due to lack of enough time at hand.
However, the foreign affairs adviser's remarks in New York
indicates that the government stand on this issue may have
changed following the assertion by Army Chief general Moeen U
Ahmed on March 25 that the trial of the war criminals was
under the consideration of the government. This is an
encouraging development as the demand of the trial of the war
criminals is a national demand. The people in general and all
the political parties except Jamaat are vocal in favour of
this demand. Showing respect to the popular demand the
government should immediately initiate the process of the
trial of the war criminals by constituting a tribunal and
forming a commission. If time runs out for the government to
complete the trial it may be concluded by the next government.
Now, the beginning is the prime need and so the government
should start the process.
Analysis
A Tribute to Justice Murshed
Mr. Murshed was an eminent jurist and one of
the noted constitutional lawyers of this sub-continent.
Justice Latifur Rahman
On
the occasion of another death anniversary of the former Chief
Justice Syed Mahbub Murshed, it is imperative that the
educated youths and lawyers of this generation be familiar
with his ideals. His contribution to the cause of independence
of judiciary and rule of law was indeed great and a great
hall-mark of his relentless pursuit as a Judge and a lawyer.
Mr. Murshed was an eminent jurist and one of the noted
constitutional lawyers of this sub-continent.
Late Murshed was born in Calcutta in the early part of this
century in a family, which was considered to be amongst the
most distinguished in Muslim Bengal. His father Syed Abdus
Salek was a member of Bengal Civil Service. His mother
Afzalunnessa Begum was the sister of Sher-e-Bangla. A. K.
Fazlul Huq.
Syed Mahbub Murshed studied at the Presidency College,
Calcutta and graduated with Honours in Economics in 1930. He
obtained his M.A. and LL.B degrees in 1932 and 1933
respectively from the University of Calcutta. Having secured
First Class in law, he enrolled himself as an Advocate in the
Calcutta High Court in 1934. Later in 1939, he was called to
the Bar in England by the Honourable Society of Lincoln’s Inn.
He was the only student from British India who secured an
Honours in the Bar Final Examinations that year. On his return
from England in 1939, he built up a leading practice as Senior
Advocate of the Federal court to the then Pakistan and joined
Dhaka High Court Bar. He was elevated to a Judge of Dhaka High
Court Bench in 1955. Mr. Murshed also acted as an ad hoc Judge
of the Supreme Court of Pakistan in 1962. Finally in May 1964,
he became the Chief Justice of the then East Pakistan High
Court.
Some of the judgments delivered by Syed Mahbub Murshed, as a
Judge of the High Court of East Pakistan, in the early sixties
were justly considered to be landmarks in the history of
constitutional law. These include Abdul Haque’s Case, the Pan
Case, the Basic Democracies Case and the Case of Lt. Colonel
G.L. Bhattacharja. These judgments are still considered as
historic precedents for his excellent exposition on
constitutional law and on other fields of general law.
Some of his judgments referred to above truly reflect the fact
that Justice Murshed was a man of independent thinking and
spirit. He earned people’s respect and high esteem for his
uncompromising role as a Judge. At the same time, he
contributed significantly to the increase in society’s
confidence in the judicial system of the country.
In 1958, when Martial Law was imposed in Pakistan, the
judiciary stood up to resist military rule. This resistance,
by the judiciary was spearheaded by two eminent judges,
Justice Kayani of West Pakistan and Justice Murshed of the
East. As Chief Justice of East Pakistan during the Ayub and
Monem regime (1964-67) he held aloft the banner of the rule of
law and effectively protected the threatened liberties of the
citizens. He was considered to be, in the words of an eminent
lawyer, late Birendranath Sarker, the guardian of the rights’
and liberties of the minorities in Pakistan during the latter
part of sixties. He was a secular if there was one.
Justice Murshed was a great scholar in Arabic, Persian and
Urdu and, of course, in English and Bengali. It was a matter
of great joy to listen to his speeches, his eloquence was
extraordinary. He was a keen student of literature, philosophy
and history, particularly of the Mughal dynasty in India. His
speeches were replete with literary allusions, which gave them
a beauty and a depth not easily found in orations by others.
We are aware of his role during the mass upsurge of 1969. In
1971 he finally refused to collaborate with the occupation
army, despite pressures brought to bear upon him. Justice
Murshed resigned from high office of Chief Justice in late
1967 to organize the defence of Agartala Conspiracy case in
which Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was the principal
accused along with others.
From the early days of his professional career Justice Murshed
was greatly influenced by law givers and professional men of
learning. He was influenced by the profound learning of
Aristotle, Plato, Imam Abu Hanifa, Justinian, Francis Bacon
and modern giants like Holmes and Car-dozo. From his speeches
that we still remember, as many of his generation do, we get a
deep sense of philosophic introspection and erudition. There
was no mistaking the fact that he was a man of great learning.
Today in Bangladesh, we are in dire need of men like Justice
Murshed. Justice Murshed never claimed that law turns society
into a moral gymnasium. But he believed that if it is allowed
to take its normal course, it certainly can prevent society
from degenerating into breeding ground of crime, lawlessness
and disorder. He believed the contribution of the Judiciary to
the building up of a welfare state, lies largely in the
maintenance of social security and solidarity, broad based on
justice and law and guarantee of the fundamental, rights,
without which civilized existence is impossible. He believed
that the final cause of law is the welfare of society.
On his assumption of the office of Chief justice of the High
Court of East Pakistan on the 15th of May, 1964, Justice
Murshed delivered at a full Court Reference about the role of
judiciary in a free country. Let me quote from this speech,
“The judiciary is in a high sense the guardian of the
conscience of the people as well as the law of the land. It
sits aloof and detached from the political arena or the seats
of executive business, away from the storms and stresses which
so often assail them. Its decisions are, therefore, more apt
to reflect unbiased justice and traditional impartiality than
political expediency and arbitrary action. Justice has nothing
to do with expediency or the dictates of political exigencies.
It is rooted and grounded in the fundamental instincts of
humanity in respect of equity and good conscience. This is why
our Holy Prophet has said that one hour of justice is worth a
hundred prayers.”
In the same speech, he quoted from the Poet Ghalib, which in
translation reads “Stop me if I take to a wrong road, forgive
me if I make a mistake”. As a Judge, Murshed was conscious of
human follies, foibles and shortcomings. He believed that no
one is infallible not even a Supreme Court Judge. And that is
what he expressed in that full court reference in his
concluding remarks: “Human as I am, I may make mistakes, but,
there will be no lack of honesty or sincerity of purpose even
in the errors that I may commit.”
Mr. Murshed believed that no man is above the law and no man
is below it. In his dinner speech of the Dhaka High Court Bar
Association on the 26th June, 1964 at Hotel Sahbag, he
mentioned the case of Ashby Vs. White, a case of the early
18th Century, in which Chief Justice Holt laid down the famous
dictum: “Indeed, it is a vain thing to imagine a right without
a remedy.” His statement of the rule that wherever there
exists a “legal right”, there also exists a remedy for any
infringement of such right is a re-formulation of an old Latin
maxim.
From the judgments of late Justice Murshed we find that he
believed that from the Prime Minister down to a constable or a
collector of taxes, everyone is under the same responsibility
for acts done without any legal justification. He believed in
the concept of due process of law wherein he enunciated that
no person shall be ‘deprived of life, liberty or property
without due the process of law’. The contribution of Justice
Murshed towards the establishment of rule of law is unique. In
one of his judgment, he opined that a government which could
make laws at its own pleasure and determine the extent of its
own infraction of laws would not be a government under the
rule of law. He believed that the govt’s powers must be
limited by law; the citizens have a core of rights that the
government is bound to uphold and should actually be made to
uphold.
Living in the early years of the 21st Century, the legal
community must bear in mind the great contributions that have
been made in the field of law of negligence. It has come to
dominate the whole field of civil liability. There has been
tremendous growth in the law of tort, negligence and damage
all over the world. In particular, there, has been remarkable
extension of liability of professional men, government
officials and public authorities for their unlawful misdeeds.
The lawyers must approach the court of law to redress the
grievances of innocent citizens of Bangladesh.
Let the members of the legal profession, Judges, media, public
officials, political leaders and academicians act together to
establish a stable Bangladesh where people can flourish in the
manner late Justice Murshed dreamt and thought of.
(Justice Mr. Latifur Rahman is a former Chief Justice of
Bangladesh and also the Chief Adviser of one of the past
Caretaker Governments of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh.)
Badr vs Sadr in Iraq
Sadr sees things differently. Members of his Mahdi Army have
grown increasingly frustrated with what they say are targeted
attacks by U.S. and Iraqi security forces.
Greg Bruno
The
recent explosion of intra-sect violence (NYT) in Baghdad,
Basra, and other Iraqi Shiite strongholds has ominous
implications for the U.S. and Iraqi governments. The
reemergence of fighters loyal to cleric Muqtada al-Sadr
threatens to reverse security gains since an additional thirty
thousand U.S. soldiers flooded Baghdad in 2007. Dozens have
been killed and hundreds wounded in the fighting. The uptick
in violence also comes as presidential candidates debate the
long-term U.S. commitment to Iraq and the White House
contemplates a pause in troop withdrawals . Baghdad,
meanwhile, has more immediate concerns. Prime Minister Nouri
al-Maliki, who ordered the Iraqi-led operation in Basra, faces
political peril if he fails, argues Radio Free Europe/Radio
Liberty analyst Sumedha Senanayake. Indeed, some experts say
the future of Iraq is as dependent on the successful
resolution of intra-Shiite fighting as the defeat of Sunni
extremist groups like al-Qaeda in Iraq.
Whether Maliki and his beleaguered government have the clout
to permanently quell the strife is far from certain. After
nearly a week of clashes, Sadr ordered his militia to halt
operations on March 30, and calm returned to Baghdad and Basra
soon after. But McClatchy reports Iranian intervention had a
significant role in securing the ceasefire, prompting some
experts to suggest Maliki’s political standing has suffered.
Qassim Daoud, a former national security adviser and Shiite
party leader, says Maliki’s failure to disarm the militia
leaves his government “in a weak position” (NYT). Maliki’s
troubles may not be the most important aspect of the
stand-off, however. CFR Adjunct Senior Fellow Vali R. Nasr
tells CFR.org the true players in the dispute are Sadr and
rival Shiite cleric Abdul Aziz al-Hakim. Both control powerful
militias, and both command important political blocs in Iraq’s
evolving power structure. “Maliki is completely irrelevant” in
the dispute in the south, Nasr says.
Hakim’s Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq (ISCI) and associated
militant wing, the Badr Brigade, have a history of clashes
(FT) with Sadr’s Mahdi Army. In a November 2007 report, the
International Crisis Group assessed the rivalry as a class
struggle between “the Shiite urban underclass,” represented by
Sadr, and wealthier Shiites in Baghdad and the holy cities,
represented by ISCI. Washington has thrown its weight behind
Hakim, who has close historic ties to Iran (including siding
with Iran’s mullahs during the eight-year Iran-Iraq War). Some
observers see the recent violence as an attempt by Hakim to
reshape the political landscape ahead of provincial elections
(VOA) slated for October 2008, while Sadr’s militia has
returned to arms as a countermeasure.
The recent Shiite fighting follows a pledge by the Iraqi
commander in charge of forces in the south to clear militias
from Basra, the country’s economic hub and only major port.
During a flyover of the city on March 25, Maliki justified the
deployment (Independent) of fifteen thousand army and police
officers: “We had to do this, because Basra was experiencing a
brutal campaign from internal and external gangs targeting its
security and stability.”
Sadr sees things differently. Members of his Mahdi Army have
grown increasingly frustrated with what they say are targeted
attacks by U.S. and Iraqi security forces. (The U.S. military,
meanwhile, says Iraqi forces are targeting “outlaws” backed by
Iran). Sadr, whose February cease-fire extension appears to
have come undone, called on followers to practice civil
disobedience (Alsumaria) in protest of such treatment. They
don’t appear to be listening. “The cease-fire is over; we have
been told to fight the Americans,” one Mahdi Army militiaman
told the Christian Science Monitor. Such bluster could have
lasting implications for Iraqi security. Maliki’s focus on
Basra could lead to a Shiite backlash, especially in cities
where the Iraqi government is weak (TIME). Brian Katulis, a
senior fellow at the Center for American Progress, writes that
U.S. efforts in Iraq have only “masked tensions between rival
groups competing for power.” The solution, he adds, is to
leave reconciliation to the Iraqis.
(Greg Bruno is a Staff Writer for Council on Foreign
Relations. Source:www.cfr.org)
Comment
Arab League must change
It
is high time for the Arab League to take a good deep look at
itself to see what it has been able to accomplish since its
founding, then weigh its successes versus its failures.
The Damascus summit was the 20th of its kind. Twenty times
when leaders of the Arab world got together to exchange more
animosity, reaffirm their mistrust of each other, drag the
affair out over two or three days (actually, one summit held
in the Moroccan city of Fez lasted all of 15 minutes); and
leave a little bit more depressed than when they arrived.
Otherwise, the typical scenario is: they meet, they put up a
false pretense that there is such a thing as an Arab entente,
Arab unity, or a truly common and unified Arab cause.
For the sake of television cameras, of which the Middle East
now has an abundance, and for the press photographers - one
must not forget the front pages of government-run newspapers
must carry the obligatory larger-than-life image of their own
leader - there are polite exchanges, large smiles and firm
handshakes. But once the press has been carefully distanced,
the microphones and television cameras duly turned off, it
becomes a different matter altogether.
Syria and Saudi Arabia disagree over Lebanon; Egypt and Syria
disagree over Lebanon; Lebanon and Syria disagree over
Lebanon; as does Jordan; as do other countries.
Syria for its part disagrees with Jordan over Iraq. And Iraq
disagrees with Syria over, well, Iraq.
Numerous countries disagree with Syria over its own
rapprochement with Iran, long considered if not an enemy, at
least not a friend of the Arab world. And this is just
scratching the surface.
Anyway, you get the drift. For the sake of keeping up
appearances, they issue a final communiqué. The Damascus
communiqué contained "a warning" to Israel to refrain from
"excessive policies against Palestinians." Does that mean that
non-excessive force against the Palestinians is acceptable?
A sure sign that your summit is derailing becomes apparent
when the "voice of reason" is none other than that of Libyan
leader Colonel Moammar Gadhafi.
One may recall that until quite recently the Libyan leader was
considered by the United States and its European allies to be
one of the leading supporters of international terrorism. But
as Bob Dylan said, "The times, they are a-changin'." And it
may appear that Mr. Gadhafi has also changed.
And the leader, as he likes to be called, was seen cautioning
his fellow leaders that unless they change, they risk being
overthrown like former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein
"One day, you will see yourselves in a similar situation and
at that time no one should blame [anyone] but himself, because
we did not work sincerely to build a strong and unified Arab
nation," Gadhafi said, at the opening of the two-day summit.
"Each one of you hates others. Syria is not on good terms with
its neighbors, while Libya has stronger ties with Italy than
it has with Tunisia or Egypt," he said.
"No notable development has come out of this summit, as has
always been the case with previous summits," Gadhafi added.
Perhaps it is time to revisit the whole concept.
Source: www.middleeasttimes.com
Viewpoints
Moscow Diary:
President-Elect Medvedev speaking…
Russian President Vladimir Putin, who opposes
their accession bids, has accepted an invitation to go to the
summit, which President George W. Bush will also attend.
Dr. Abdul Ruff Colachal
Russian
President Vladimir Putin’s chosen successor to the Kremlin,
Dmitry Medvedev seems to have begun to get into the shoes of
his mentor, albeit on a trail basis, by slowly asserting the
Kremlin’s diplomacy in international arena even much before
officially taking oath as Russia’s most powerful man.
Throughout his several years of working in Kremlin, he has
never shown his grip over the foreign policy matters and has
been busy with special projects and other domestic economic
issues.
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) leaders meeting
in Bucharest from April 2-4 are expected to consider requests
by the two former Soviet republics’ pro-Western leaders to put
their countries on the path to membership. Russian
president-elect Medvedev maintained pressure on NATO on March
25 not to grant membership to Ukraine and Georgia, saying a
week before an alliance summit that it would undermine
European security. “We are not happy about the situation
around Georgia and Ukraine,” Medvedev told the Financial Times
in an interview. Ukraine and Georgia are lobbying NATO to
grant them a Membership Action Plan (MAP), which is seen as
the first step towards joining the alliance. Washington has
said it backs their bid, but some NATO members in Europe are
cool on the idea.
Speaking in his first interview since he won a March 2
presidential election, Medvedev questioned why Ukraine was
seeking NATO membership when a large part of the population,
mostly in the Russian-speaking east, opposed the idea. “It is
a thing that is hard to explain when the overwhelming majority
of citizens of one of the states, like Ukraine for example, is
categorically against joining NATO but the government of that
state conducts a different policy,” he said. “It is precisely
this that is a question of real democracy. At the minimum, in
situations like this it is the done thing to hold a
referendum,” said Medvedev, who will be sworn in to take over
from Putin, his mentor, on May 7.
Russia has been quite critical of NATO and in fact has asked
the military alliance to wind up because its main target, the
Warsaw Pact consisting of USSR and East European block of
nations does not exist now and there is no reason why NATO
should not be dismantled like wise, since there is no threat
from Russia or other members of the former Warsaw Pact. The
NATO insists that threat percepts are always there, not
withstanding the fact that Warsaw Pact is out of existence.
“We consider that it is extremely troublesome for the existing
structure of European security. No state can be pleased about
having representatives of a military bloc to whom it does not
belong coming close to its borders.” Moscow feels the
extension of NATO would endanger the security situation of
Russia and its neighborhood.
Engaged fully with domestic problems of new Russian Federation
that became the successor state of the former Soviet Union,
Russia was powerless during the 1990s to prevent NATO
expanding to include a number of eastern European states which
during Soviet rule had been in Moscow’s sphere of influence.
Now, its confidence restored by an economic boom and Putin’s
assertive foreign policy, it is determined to prevent the
alliance moving even closer to its borders by taking in
Ukraine and Georgia.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, who opposes their accession
bids, has accepted an invitation to go to the summit, which
President George W. Bush will also attend. If he goes, Putin
will be the first Russian president to attend a NATO summit
for six years. But Russian political analysts say he may
cancel the trip if it appears NATO members will use the summit
to award MAP status to Georgia or Ukraine. Bush is due to
visit Ukraine before the summit and met Georgia’s president
for talks in Washington last week. He said after those talks
that he backed closer ties between Georgia and NATO
organization.
In Brussels, a spokesman for NATO said the alliance was aware
of Russia’s concerns about expansion. “NATO’s position is
quite clear: democratic states in Europe have the right to
aspire to, and work towards, NATO membership. It is their
choice, not NATO’s,” he said. “NATO’s door is open to them and
these two democracies have indicated their desire to move
closer to NATO.” Russian officials say their entry to NATO
could lead to the United States stationing elements of its
nuclear arsenal on Ukrainian or Georgian soil, threatening
Russia’s security and upsetting the delicate strategic
balance.
USA argues against that perception saying that Moscow is
unnecessarily getting over worked on the issue. As it stands,
Russia, as before, would go for a compromise formula that
offers some advantages to Russia. Other wise, Kremlin, though
a veto wielding UNSC member, has no levers to stop the NATO
move forward bringing the military cover right up to Russian
borders. President Putin is also angry with USA over its
resistance to Russia entering the WTO and he failed to achieve
that objective even as the chairperson of G-8.
(Dr. Abdul Ruff Colachal is a Research scholar, School of
International Studies, Jawaharlal University, Delhi 110067)
A
vote for change, a vote for peace
The major parties are all committed to abolishing the monarchy
in the CA's first sitting. And a federal republic also figures
prominently in their manifestos.
Siddharth Varadarajan
Even if the Maoists do
not emerge victorious, the forthcoming Constituent Assembly
elections will cement their role as both a key driver and a
stakeholder of a new Nepal.
On April 10, the Nepal peace process which formally began in
2005 with a 12-point understanding between seven parliamentary
parties and the Maoists will enter a decisive stage with the
holding of elections for the Constituent Assembly (CA).
Up for grabs are 240 first-past-the-post (FPTP) and 335
proportional representation (PR) seats, with the remaining 26
members of the 601-strong CA to be nominated by the Prime
Minister. Every voter will be given two ballots, one listing
candidates contesting the FPTP election from their particular
constituency and one listing parties in the fray for PR seats.
The major parties are all committed to abolishing the monarchy
in the CA's first sitting. And a federal republic also figures
prominently in their manifestos. This is the new mainstream
the Maoists can justly take credit for creating. For a party
which walked out of parliament to launch a "People's War" in
1996 when its list of 40 demands - including the establishment
of an inclusive, federal republic - was rejected by the other
parties and the monarchy, this is a spectacular achievement by
any yardstick. Across the country today, campaigning is in
full swing. This reporter spent eight days travelling through
15 constituencies across Sunsari, Morang, Jhapa, Kaski, Palpa,
Kapilbastu, Dang and Banke districts. While it is impossible
to predict the outcome, it is clear that the three major
national formations contesting all the FPTP and PR seats - the
Nepali Congress (NC), the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist)
and the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist) (UML)
- will poll strongly. In the Tarai region bordering India,
parties claiming to represent the Madhesi people will attract
a sizeable number of votes, though not necessarily FPTP seats.
While voters are unwilling to speak explicitly about their own
preferences, a common refrain I heard in Kathmandu and all the
districts I visited was that "people are saying the Maoists
should also be given a chance." Indeed, the former rebels'
official slogan of "You've seen everyone else before, now see
the Maoists" has struck a chord with ordinary people. "I don't
know how the voting will go," Shankar Kharel, the owner of a
small clothing store in the western Tarai town of Nepalganj,
told me, "but the Maoists have an appeal because they are the
only new force." In Tansen, a town in Palpa district where a
Maoist attack on the security forces in 2006 destroyed the
historic Durbar building, Meghnath Thapa, a cobbler, said,
"the Maoists should be given a chance. I am 90 per cent sure
they will win." Uphill battle But the former rebels face an
uphill battle. The FPTP system favours established parties
with existing political networks and familiar candidates. And
though the CA election involves a "mixed" system, the parties
are campaigning in pure FPTP mode, which is bound to hurt
newer players like the Maoists. "I am now going around
introducing myself to the voters," said Rajkaji Gurung, the
30-year-old Maoist candidate from Kaski-2 constituency. Asked
how the switch from armed struggle to open politics had been,
Mr. Gurung said, "we were not only for the gun. We were also
fighting for political issues. So after the peace process,
going to the people on a purely political basis is not
difficult." Though he did not say so, it was clear that old
ties of ethnicity and kinship - so much a part of South Asian
electoral politics - were also being drawn on by his party:
Shortly after I interviewed him, he went on to speak at a
well-attended meeting of the Gurung community.
Gurung, who still uses his nom-de-guerre 'Karan', was
underground for more than 10 years. And critics of the Maoists
say old habits die hard. "The Maoists have traditionally had
an armed mentality and they have not yet freed themselves
fully from this," K.P. Sitaula, Nepal's Home Minister, told
this reporter in an interview at his constituency in the
far-eastern Jhapa district. This is the reason their activists
were resorting to intimidation of other parties, he said, a
charge Maoist leaders strenuously deny. In the 1999 elections,
the NC and UML (including the erstwhile breakaway Bam Dev
Gautam faction) each polled 37 per cent of the votes, up from
33 and 31 per cent respectively in 1994. Past performance,
however, is of little help in predicting the election outcome
this time around. Not only have the Maoists emerged as a
formidable electoral contender but the rise of Madhesi
political formations will eat into the sizeable share the NC
has traditionally enjoyed in the Tarai. A plausible scenario,
therefore, is for the Big Three to poll between 20 and 30 per
cent each with a likely distribution being 20-25-30. But who
will come first is important, because the largest party would
have the right to lead the multi-party coalition which will
govern Nepal until its new constitution is finalised. In
Kathmandu, the received wisdom in both diplomatic and elite
circles is that the Maoists are going to poll poorly and will
be able to win at best 10 or 12 per cent of the seats that too
only by resorting to large-scale violence. But this may be
wishful thinking. Random evidence of working class support for
the Maoists - many taxi drivers in the capital, for example,
openly proclaim their support for them - is explained away as
the product of intimidation. One theory I heard was that taxi
drivers display Maoist stickers in their cars to protect
themselves from the YCL. Another theory is that taxi drivers
do not fear the YCL but have put up Maoist stickers to protect
themselves from the traffic police, who presumably fear the
YCL. (For the record, I did not meet a single taxi driver who
agreed with these theories). Despite the fact that the former
insurgents are waging an energetic campaign everywhere and
their activists and leaders exude the same confidence as those
of other parties, the Nepali media's stock analysis is that
the Maoists are running scared. 'The Maoists either want the
elections cancelled or will do anything to disrupt them' is a
frequent comment one hears. One diplomat told me his biggest
fear was that the Maoists would do poorly and may launch some
kind of "urban insurrection." So secure are the foreign
legations in this assessment of theirs that little thought is
being given to the possibility of the Maoists coming first,
second or even a creditable third. And even less attention is
being paid to the one place from where the threat of
disruption is the greatest: the Palace, with its subterranean
links and shady connections. To a certain extent, this
attitude is a reflection of both the Maoists' earlier track
record of violence as well as of a discernible bias in current
local and international media coverage. Allegations of
poll-related violence involving the Young Communist League (YCL)
or Maoists are printed prominently, while incidents in which
Maoists are attacked are downplayed. On March 18, for example,
when a candidate of a smaller left party, the Janamorcha, was
shot dead in Banke district in the Tarai, a prominent human
rights organisation, the National Election Observation
Committee, declared that the assassins were Maoists. This
allegation received banner coverage. Three days later, when
the Banke police arrested the killers who were affiliated to
the Jwala Singh faction of the Jantantrik Tarai Mukti Morcha,
the news was relegated to the inside pages. Expressing his
frustration at what he said was the bias of the media, Maoist
leader Prachanda pointed out last week that 55 unarmed Maoist
cadres had been killed since the peace process began,
including several during the election campaign itself. In an
interview to The Hindu, he expressed the fear that an
exaggerated picture of Maoist violence was being painted by
circles influenced by the Palace in order to justify delaying,
cancelling or otherwise disrupting the elections. "Please look
at the statistics. In Rolpa, Kapilbastu and elsewhere, it is
our cadres who have been targeted and killed. If voting is
free and fair, we think we will come first. If we do not,
obviously we will respect the verdict."
Though media accounts of clashes involving the YCL might well
be blown out of proportion and reported in a one-sided manner,
the fact remains that the Maoists have a serious perception
problem. Certainly, the remark Maoist leader Baburam Bhattarai
made recently about his party's defeat leading to a fresh
revolt was seen as evidence that the former rebels were still
not ready to accept multi-party democracy. Asked what it is he
meant to say, Bhattarai told The Hindu that his intention was
not to threaten an insurrection or a new phase of "Peoples'
War". "The Constituent Assembly, federalism, restructuring of
the Army, a republic which guarantees the rights of all
peoples including the Madhesis, janajatis and Dalits - all of
this is our agenda - and if we are not in the CA to lead it,
this agenda simply won't be implemented," he said. "If the CA
is unable to deliver on all these fronts, then clearly the
conflict in Nepal will resume one way or another." Bhattarai
said "class struggle" would continue if the agenda was not
implemented but this did not mean an armed struggle or
insurrection. Others echo the same fear about the consequences
of the CA failing to live up to popular expectations. "If we
do not manage the issues of the ethnic groups, it is not
possible to manage stability," Vinda Magar, the NC candidate
from Kaski-3 told me. "The CA will have to address the voices
of the Dalits, janajatis, women. If not, it will not be
possible to have peace." Another candidate, Rabindra Adhikari
of the UML, echoed the same sentiment. Whatever the outcome,
it is clear that the three big parties will have to stick
together after the elections, he said. "We have worked as
partners till the elections and will do so again after. Our
party does not want two parties to gang up against the third.
Neither should the UML and Maoists try and weaken the NC, nor
should we and the NC try and weaken the Maoists. I think we
all have an equal stake in the future of Nepal."
Source:
www.hindu.com
International
Key climate
decision should wait for new US president: UN
AFP, Bangkok
A global decision on how much rich countries should slash
their greenhouse gas emissions in the next decade should
be made after the United States has a new president, the
UN climate chief said Tuesday.
Yvo de Boer, head of the UN Convention on Climate Change
which is chairing talks in Bangkok, said the highly
sensitive issue should be thrashed out next year, after
the US elections in November. "There are some topics which
it makes sense to leave for later in the process, for
example what sort of targets or commitments are
industrialised countries going to agree to," he told
reporters.
"That is something which is perhaps more sensibly
discussed with a new administration."
Under President George W. Bush, who will leave office in
January, the United States backed out of the Kyoto
Protocol, the landmark pact on cutting emissions whose
obligations expire at the end of 2012.
Bush argued that the treaty was unfair by making no
demands of developing countries. But the three major
candidates vying to replace him have all pledged tougher
action on global warming.
Frustration with the current US stance grew so great
during landmark talks in Bali, Indonesia, in December last
year that American delegates were booed during the
conference's closing hours.
All participants eventually agreed to reach a new pact on
post-Kyoto commitments by the end of 2009. But the Bali
Road Map contained no explicit mention of emissions cuts
for rich countries.
The United States is pushing for fast-developing nations
such as India, China and Brazil to sign up to binding
carbon emissions cuts, while Europe is leading calls for
rich countries to slash emissions by 25 to 40 percent by
2020. De Boer said US participation had so far been
positive at the Bangkok talks, which aim to lay out an
action plan for negotiations toward next year's pact on
halting the ravages of climate change.
"The US is very much engaged in the process here. That
doesn't mean that we immediately have consensus and
everybody is ready to sign up to a final deal," he said on
the second day of the Bangkok meeting, which ends Friday.
He said the US delegation has been "constructive" in the
Bangkok talks, including by putting forward an idea on how
to organise key parts of the discussions on reaching a new
treaty.
De Boer, who has warned that time is running out to forge
a new pact on global warming, said he was encouraged with
progress in the Thai capital.
"We could potentially have had a big fight over the
agenda, we didn't. We could potentially have had a fight
over the fact that very interesting meetings are happening
in parallel. We didn't," he said.
"I take from that a sense that countries really want to
get down to work, rather than fight procedural wars."
Iraq PM proclaims Basra assaults a ‘success’
AFP, Baghdad
Iraqi Prime
Minister Nuri al-Maliki said on Tuesday that a crackdown
on Shiite militiamen in Basra was a success and that
10,000 extra troops would be recruited to keep order in
the southern oil hub.
His statement came as officials said the toll from a
military assault the premier ordered on Shiite militias a
week ago had helped propel the March tally of Iraqis
killed to 1,082, the highest monthly total since August.
Figures obtained by AFP from the interior, defence and
health ministries showed that 925 civilians, 54 soldiers
and 103 policemen were killed-up 50 percent on February's
figure of 721.
Of the Iraqis killed, around 460 were casualties of a week
of bitter fighting between Iraqi forces and the Mahdi Army
militia of Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr which began in
Basra but quickly spread to other Shiite areas of central
and southern Iraq and to Baghdad.
Maliki said he had decided to implement a seven-point
programme in Basra following "the stability and success of
the security plan which achieved the aim of imposing law
in the city and restoring normalcy."
The new plan includes boosting security forces in Basra by
recruiting 10,000 new troops, restoring services, imposing
a strict check on vehicles without licences, building new
houses for the poor and turning government-owned palaces
into tourist destinations.
Later Tuesday Maliki returned to Baghdad after personally
spearheading the assaults in Basra.
"We went to Basra after its people complained of criminals
who targeted the governorate's security, its men, women,
clerics, doctors and engineers," he said in a statement
broadcast by state television.
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