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Fierce clash between police and
Islamic group
Staff Correspondent
A fierce clash between Islamic political party activists
and police at Paltan crossing left at least 150 people,
including journalist, policemen, businessmen and activists
injured.
Of them, around 30 policemen including two high officials
were critically injured. They are now under treatment at
Rajarbagh Police Lines Hospital while around 50 people at
Dhaka Medical College Hospital and rest of the injured
persons were sent to a private hospital for treatment,
according to sources.
According to sources, around two thousands of Islamic
activists led by Fazlul Haque Amini and ATM Hemayat Uddin
leaders of the organisations brought out a procession from
north gate of national mosque after Juma prayers
protesting the National Women Develop-ment Policy 2008.
The activists of different Islamic political parties
including Ahokamy Shariyah Hefajat Committee, Islami Ain
Bastobayan Committee, Islami Oikya Jote and Chhatra
Jamiyat of Bangladesh took part with the procession.
At first, the activists of Chhatra Jamiyat of Bangladesh
brought out a rally cordoned by police from the north gate
of the mosque at about 1:35 pm. At one stage a group of
activists started pelting stones targeting the members of
law enforcing agencies without any provocation.
In a bid to foil their procession, police launched an
attack on the Islamic activists. Following the attack the
activists became furious and also launched counter attack
on the law enforcers. The situation turned into a battle
filed within a moment.
Soon after the incident, additional police official
equipped with water cannon rushed to the spot and brought
the situation under control after five hours of their
efforts.
During the clash, the traffic movement from Dainikbangla
crossing to Paltan crossing via north gate of the national
mosque was disrupted till 6 mp from 1:30 pm.
Reformists to take Delwar, Hannan
and Goyeshwar in dialogues
Saifur’s acts thwarting
unity process: Hannan Shah
Staff Correspondent
Acting Secretary General of
BNP's pro-government splinter Maj (retd) Hafiz Uddin Ahmed
on Friday announced that he would go for any dialogues
taking Khandoker Delwar Hossain, Hannan Shah and Goyeshwar
Chandro Roy along with him.
The reformist faction of BNP from now will represent the
party in any dialogue with government or with the Election
Commission (EC) as the High Court discharged the writ of
Begum Khaleda Zia clearing the path of the
government-backed splinter to go ahead.
"It is a victory of BNP. There might be dispute among the
party senior leaders but for that the party cannot suffer.
The party must remain united to ensure wining the next
general election," Hafiz told newsmen after receiving
greetings from a group of Chhatra Dal at his Banani
residence yesterday.
"There is no alternative to party unity and we are
continuing our efforts to reunite the party," he said,
adding, "we would do whatever is necessary to reunite the
BNP. Our leader Saifur Rahman has already talked to some
senior leaders of Delwar-led faction and we want to sit
for dialogues taking Hannan Shah and Goyeshwar along with
us."
Hafiz urged the JCD members, who are outside their group,
to join it. "We do not believe in politics of power, but
if we return to power JCD workers will be evaluated and
meritorious students will be put in right place." The
reformist leader urged the government to take necessary
steps to bring an end to the politics of extortion and of
tender by students.
In describing their organisational strength, Hafiz said,
"We will organize a rally of 20-30 lakh of party workers
in the city on first of May if the government permits."
Meanwhile, BNP Chairperson's Adviser Brig (retd) ASM
Hannan Shah, who is a Khaleda loyalist, although his
relation with Delwar Hossain has become bitter, on Friday
admitted that M Saifur Rahman phoned him on Thursday as
part of the process of reconciliation in BNP.
Talking to newsmen at his Mohakhali New DOHS residence,
Hannan Shah said, from now onwards he will have to rethink
to contact Saifur Rahman as his deeds and words are not
same. "When he phones me he speaks with all modesty in
favour of unity, but later he does activities which
thwarts the unity process."
Hannan, however, said BNP's grassroots leaders and workers
would give the verdict as to which is the legitimate BNP.
"I along with Khandoker Delwar Hossain will go to the
field level party workers to seek their verdict as the
court verdict has disappointed many."
Hannan Shah has long been working for reuniting the party
but had been compelled to backtrack as the Khaleda-appointed
Secretary General Khandoker Delwar Hossain disowned
Hannan's stand.
Output
of major Rabi crops much higher than previous year
UNB, Staff Reporter
Amid apprehension of a severe food crisis and tight global
supplies, official data showed that there has been a
bountiful production of Rabi crops this season across the
country, indicating that Bangladesh has potentials to
achieve food autarky.
"Most of the Rabi crops, including potato, wheat, pulses,
mustard, maize, onion, chilli and garlic, exceeded their
production targets this year. And the outputs are much
higher than that of the previous year," Dr Shahidul Islam,
director (field service wing) of the Department of
Agricultural Extension, told UNB.
He said the bumper production of Boro and Rabi crops would
cast a positive impact on the turbulent foodgrain market.
According to data provided by DAE, farmers produced over
10 lakh mts of wheat on 3.74 lakh hectares of land across
the country, up 2.5 lakh mts than last year's output.
Dr Islam said they had set the wheat production target for
this season at 8.40 lakh mts from around 4 lakh hectares
of land against last year's output of 7.65 lakh mts from
3.73 lakh hectares.
Over 80 lakh mts of potato were produced on 5 lakh
hectares of land this season against the DAE's target of
70 mts from 4 lakh hectares. This was over 28 lakh mts
higher than previous year's production.
According to the DAE data, over 52.77 lakh mts of potato
were produced from some 3.77 lakh hectares of land last
year.
Around 3.43 lakh hectares of land were brought under maize
cultivation this season and the output is expected to
exceed 20 lakh mts, which would be 7 lakh mts more than
the target. The maize harvest is still going on.
Last year, the farmers produced some 11.26 lakh mts of
maize from 2.9 lakh hectares of land.
Dr Shahidul Islam gives all the credit to the farmers for
their hard labour as they usually do and their strong will
for the bumper production of Rabi crops at a time when the
world's major foodgrain-producing countries tightened
their supplies amid sharp fall in output across the world.
He also attributes the bumper production to favourable
weather, prolonged winter, relatively less attacks by
natural disasters and above all increase in land fertility
after the successive floods that washed away toxic
materials from croplands.
He said the DAE had set a target to bring about 3.80 lakh
hectares of land under mustard cultivation with a
production target of 3.80 lakh mts against last year's
output of 3.68 lakh mts from 3.78 hectares land.
But the farmers cultivated mustard on 5.47 lakh hectares
of land this season and achieved a bumper output of around
5.60 lakh mts, nearly two lakh mts up than last year's
production.
Among the pulse varieties, the farmers have had a
bountiful production of moong and maskolai that also
exceeded last year's output. But lentils and Khesari are
the only Rabi crops which could not attain their
production targets due to rain during cultivation, Dr
Shaidul Islam told UNB correspondent Abdur Rahman Jahangir.
This season the DAE set a target to produce 1.35 lakh mts
of lentil from 1.29 hectares of land while 1.92 lakh mts
of Khesari from 2.75 hectares of land, but the farmers
harvested some 1.31 mts and 1.65 lakh mts respectively.
The farmers produced a huge 10.25 lakh mts of onion from
1.52 lakh hectares of land this season against last year's
9 lakh mts from 1.54 lakh hectares.
The farmers also have had a bumper production of garlic
this season, but the figure is not available as its
harvest is still on, Dr Islam said.
This season the farmers brought about 1.73 lakh hectares
of land under chilli cultivation and also expect a bumper
output of over 2 lakh mts, which would be 30,000 mts more
than last year's production. The chilli harvest is
expected to be completed by mid-May.
Besides, the farmers saw huge output of winter vegetables
of around 65 lakh mts from 4.52 lakh hectares of land
across the country.
Although the country has had bumper outputs of most of the
Rabi crops, Dr Islam is worried whether the farmers would
get the fair prices of their agricultural produces. "Our
farmers are very hard-working but they're deprived of the
due prices for various reasons, mainly the intervention of
middlemen. If they get the due prices, they'll obviously
cultivate Rabi crops on larger scale in the future," said
Dr Islam.
He said Bangladesh is a land of agriculture and it has
every prospect to achieve food autarky. "To make that
happen, we need to give more attention to the agriculture
sector."
High
prices bedevil people despite CA’s assurances
Fahmida Rahman Karobi
The government measures including vigilance of joint
force, frequent meeting between concerned authorities and
business community, increase of BDR-operated fair price
markets to reduce price of essential commodities specially
rice, have failed to create impact on the kitchen market
as on Friday most of the essential commodities in
different markets of the city and its suburbs were selling
at high rates.
"I had thought as the Chief Adviser is visiting different
areas in the capital and its suburbs and assuring people
that price of essentials specially rice will come down
within very short time. Now I am confused about his
assurance. We are the worst sufferers as we find no way to
cope with the situation. We had also thought that during
the rule of caretaker government, prices of essentials
would decline but our dreams faded away," talking to this
correspondent expressing grave concern a group of people
told The Bangladesh Today yesterday.
Continuous price hike of essentials specially rice, atta,
edible oil, lentil and baby food have pushed the poor and
common people to the wall. On the retail market coarse
rice was selling at Tk 36-38 per kg, fine quality rice at
Tk 38 to Tk44 and one kg wheat was selling at Tk 44.
Edible oil was selling at Tk 110 per litre, local lentil
at Tk 88-90, mugh Tk 68-70, anchor Tk 50 and Sola 60 per
kg on Friday. The prices of powdered milk would rise
further in the coming days, the shop keepers apprehend.
Expressing grave concern and frustration over the prices
of rice, atta, edible oil and powdered milk, the city
people said if this trend continues, they would not be
able to sustain. Prices of fish, vegetables and onion went
up during the last week and the prices of vegetables went
up in third week of the month with no sign of coming down.
According to market sources one kg sugar is being sold at
Tk 40 per kg. Ginger sold at Tk 80 per kg over a couple of
weeks. In the same way, local variety of onion sold at Tk
18 per kg while the imported one (Indian) at Tk 16 per kg
in the retail markets.
Fish and vegetable sellers on Friday said that generally
supply of fishes and vegetables used to fall during
summer. So, it was the reason for rise in prices. Some of
the retailers failed to give satisfactory explanation for
the unusual high prices of the commodities including
ginger, sugar, onion and fish. At fish Markets, price of
hilsa fish shot up abnormally as many people yesterday
came to market specially for buying hilsa ahead of Pahela
Baishakh while local ruhi and katla (less than 500 gm) was
priced at Tk 180 per kg.
While this correspondent visited New Market's kitchen
market, some retailers said a group of hoarders created
artificial crisis by building up stocks. Besides as there
is no price list of the essentials in the shops, the
retailers and the shopkeepers charge indiscriminate rate
and extract extra money from the buyer's everyday.
"We can not say whether the price of essential will
further increase or come down as we are passing critical
juncture during this present caretaker government. The
business community are also facing serious critical
situation as they are being harassed in many ways by the
government," the retailers and the shopkeepers said.
An employee of a non-government organisation said
successive governments come with many commitments from
time to time and go but economic condition of the poor and
common people who depend on monthly or daily earning do
not change.
TCB-public
limited company
Staff Correspondent
The government is considering transforming the Trading
Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB) into a public limited
company in order to contain price spiral of essentials
through reconstituting the state-owned organisation.
Sources in the commerce ministry said, abnormal price rise
of essential commodities in the local market, despite
different government steps in this regard, is causing
serious instability in the society. So, to ensure
stability in the market of essential items, the government
wants to establish an effective organisation. That is why,
the government is actively considering taking initiatives
to transform the TCB into a public limited company so that
the public organisation can play an active role in
containing prices of essential commodities.
TCB sources said, currently, the public office has a fixed
deposit of Taka 80 crore.Its total estate including
movables and immovable amounts to around 250 crore. There
is no board of directors in this corporation for long. So,
the office has to work depending on the decisions made by
the ministry of commerce as the TCB cannot reach any
decision in the absence of its board of directors.
Sources said, the TCB will not have any officials by the
year 2010 to run its normal activities and all the posts
of TCB officers will fall vacant as recruitment process in
this office is closed for long.
At present the TCB has a total of 181 officials and
employees. Though the public corporation is allocated
around Taka 8 crore every year, now the office virtually
fails to do anything in stabilizing the unstable market of
essentials.
Since independence, the TCB played an important role in
building the country. The corporation used to import over
100 commodities to meet the internal demand and export
around 23 products abroad.
The main task of the TCB is to import consumer products
from international markets. But during the period from the
year 2002 to July 2005, the organisation was not allowed
to import any commodities from abroad. A TCB director, who
whished to be unnamed, said the office imported
commodities worth Taka 510.55 crore in 2000. The amount of
imports decreased to Taka 95.91crore during the year 2001.
At the same time, exports of Bangladeshi commodities also
decreased. In 2000, the TCB exports amounted to Taka 1.74
crore while the amount decreased to Taka 17 lac in 2005.
The existing administrative structure is not good enough
to face the unstable situation prevailing in the local
markets. So, the TCB has to be reconstituted to enable it
work effectively.
Back Page
Discussion to save
Buriganga
Staff correspondent
Experts, environmentalists'
local leaders on Friday asked the government to implement
the taskforce's recommendations for saving Buriganga River
from severe pollution, immediately.
TIB Chairman and BAPA President Professor Muzaffar Ahmed
and Water and Rivers experts were speaking at a civic
discussion held at the national press club yesterday.
They said in the face of massive drive by different
agencies, the musclemen and land grabbers leave the banks
of Buriganag, but when the drive become inactive, they
start arriving and encroaching Buriganga again as the
recommendation made by the taskforce are not implemented.
They observed water pollution in the Buriganga has taken a
serious turn due to dumping of industrial chemicals, flesh
and blood of tanneries, human wastages and indiscriminate
grabbing of the rivers' banks, threatening millions of
people living on the banks with serious health hazard and
a loss of their livelihood.
"The past government approved a recommendation of
taskforce to restore navigability of Buriganga River and
maintain its flow but implementation of the recommendation
has gone to cold storage. The task force recommended
eviction of illegal establishments from the banks of
Buriganga, environment preservation, dredging and some and
other necessary steps," they said.
Expressing grave concern over the water pollution, they
called upon the government to take necessary measures to
free the river water from pollution and encroachment
immediately.
The scenario is even bleaker in the villages along the
rivers thousands of families living in Zinzira,
Modhyerchar, Wasspur, Basila, Looterchar, Sadarghat, Demra,
Sharulia and Kanchpur are suffering , breathing polluted
air and using polluted water of the river which has become
the dumping zones of industries and Dhaka City
Corporation.
Pollution in the river has rendered totally barren
hundreds of acres of agricultural land and also destroyed
the rivers ecosystem. Once famous for variety of local
fishes, the rivers have no aquatic life right now.
They said dredging of silts, wastage and eviction of land
grabbers from both banks are needed for augmentation of
these rivers to increase water flow because this will
reduce water quality deterioration in and around Dhaka,
improve navigation and recreation, help groundwater
recharge and check the wetlands from being dried up.
Muzaffar Ahmed said a community based initiative will have
to be taken to protect the river. "The community will be
responsible to oversee all sorts of initiatives taken by
the government. They will also enquire about the
expenditure of development projects," he added.
Baghabari
Power Plant Scam
Westmont refutes allegations of forgery
UNB, Dhaka
Westmont Power (Bangladesh) Ltd, accused of forgery in its
power plant capacity and money laundering, has offered a
third-party independent test to determine its plant
capacity.
There is an allegation that the Malaysian-based company
has fraudulently inflated its capacity to 90 MW from its
actual cap acity of 60 MW.
A Joint Forces team, led by Army, reportedly identified
the forgery in a recent capacity test in Westmont's
Baghabari Biyoyer Alo plant.
The team also found that the Westmont in connivance with a
group of unscrupulous officials of the Power Development
Board (PDB) prepared bills on the basis of the inflated
generation capacity and received Tk 324 crore from the
government in excess electricity bills.
A number of national dailies have already run stories on
the allegations against the Westmont Power.
Refuting the allegations, Westmont issued a statement
urging the authorities to form an independent expert team
to launch an investigation into the reported allegations.
The statement, signed by its lawyer Barrister Abdullah Al-Mamun,
said Westmont is now injecting more than 85 MW of power to
the national grid.
"The allegation brought against the plant that it is
generating only 60.7 MW of power is absurd and cannot be
relied upon and we're open for any form of enquiry and
verification of the present generation of capacity of the
power plant," the statement said.
It said the yearly capacity test of the machine is
conducted as per terms of the Power Purchase Agreement (PPA)
within one month of major overhaul of the machines as per
the operating procedures set out by the equipment
manufacturer.
"It's impossible for any form of irregularity during the
capacity test as all the readings are recorded by the
machine," it added.
Poor spend 75% of income on Food: WB President
Staff Correspondent
World Bank Group President, Robert B. Zoellick on Thursday
said in Bangladesh, a 2-kilogram bag of rice now consumes
about half of the daily income of a poor family.
"In just two months, rice prices have skyrocketed to near
historical levels, rising by around 75 percent globally
and more in some markets, with more likely to come. A
2-kilogram bag of rice -now consumes about half of the
daily income of a poor family. With little margin for
survival, rising prices too often means fewer meals,"
Robert B. Zoellick said at an opening press briefing at
the WB-IMF Spring Meetings 2008 held at Washington DC
according World Bank.
He said in the U.S. and Europe over the last year, we have
been focused on the prices of gasoline at the pump--$2.50,
$3.00, $3.50 and more. "While many are worrying about
filling their gas tanks, many others around the world are
struggling to fill their stomachs, and it is getting more
and more difficult every day. In many developing
countries, the poor spend up to 75 percent of their income
on food. When prices of basic foods rise, it hits hard,"
the World Bank President said.
"This is not just about meals foregone today or about
increasing social unrest. This is about lost learning
potential for children and adults in the future, stunted
intellectual and physical growth. Even more, we estimate
that the effect of this food crisis on poverty reduction
worldwide is on the order of seven lost years. So we need
to address this not just as an immediate emergency but
also in the medium term for development," Robert B.
Zoellick said.
"Meetings such as this are usually about talk. Words can
focus attention. They can build momentum. But we can't be
satisfied with studies and paper and talk. This is about
recognizing a growing emergency, acting, and seizing
opportunity, too. The world can do this. We can do this.
We can have a New Deal on Global Food Policy," he added.
First, for the immediate crisis, the international
community must fill the at least $500 million food gap
identified by the UN's World Food Programme to meet
emergency needs. Governments should be able to come up
with this assistance and come up with it now.
He said we need to expand and improve access to safety net
programs such as cash transfers and risk management
instruments to protect the poor. "We need to increase
financial support for short-term needs, restructuring
existing projects and fast-tracking grants and loans where
needed," he added.
"We must make agriculture a priority. The Bank has
announced that it will double agricultural lending for
Sub-Saharan Africa over the next year, from $450 million
to $800 million. IFC, our private sector arm, will be
boosting its agribusiness investments across the value
chain of product," he said.
Pak govt set to undo Musharraf media curbs
AFP, Islamabad
Pakistan's new government Friday moved to lift harsh
restrictions on the media that were imposed by President
Pervez Musharraf under a state of emergency in November, a
minister said.
Information minister Sherry Rehman introduced a
parliamentary bill proposing an end to curbs on live
broadcasts and punishments for journalists ranging from
heavy fines to imprisonment and confiscation of equipment.
Rehman, formerly the spokeswoman for slain opposition
leader Benazir Bhutto, is part of the new government that
took office last month after trouncing Musharraf's allies
in elections.
"The amendments will remove the entire apparatus of
restrictions imposed on the press," Rehman told reporters
outside the national assembly, or lower house of
parliament. Under the laws introduced by Musharraf,
reporters currently face jail terms as well as a
five-million-rupee (82,000-dollar) fine for any live
programme or publication that "defames" him, the army or
the government.
Images of terrorist activities, including the aftermaths
of the rash of Islamist suicide bombings that has hit the
country in the past year, were also banned. Several
private news channels were also taken off the air for
several weeks under the state of emergency that Musharraf
imposed on November 3 and then lifted on December 15.
Rehman, herself a former journalist, said that Musharraf's
regime had imposed "silence" on the media instead of
improving its own performance, adding: "We will do no such
thing." "We will put our own house in order and we will
allow the press to broadcast not just live telecast but
all that they feel fit to broadcast," she said.
Crime
Man gets
life for violating girl
UNB, Kishoreganj
A tribunal here Thursday sentenced a man to life term
imprisonment for violating a minor girl.
The tribunal also fined the convict M Sajjad Ahmed, son of
Manikuddin of Chandpur Moddhyapara village in Kotiadi
upazila, Tk one lakh, in default, to suffer five years
more RI.
According to the prosecution, the convict violated the
seven-year-old girl and a class three student of Kotiadi
Primary School taking her to upazila parishad compound on
December 2, 2002. A case was filed.
After examining the records and witnesses, Judge of the
Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunal GMS
Farid handed down the verdict.
Man awarded 2-yr jail in drugs case
UNB, Khulna
A court here Thursday convicted a man and awarded him two
years rigorous imprisonment for possessing drugs.
According to the prosecution, a team of Narcotics Control
Department arrested the convict, Masud Sheikh, along with
11 bottles of phensidyl syrup from Deana area of the town
on November 9, 2006.
A case was filed and police after investigation submitted
charge sheet against him. After examining the records and
witnesses, Judge of the Assistant
Sessions Judge Court-3 M Shahidul Islam handed down the
verdict.
OMS dealer arrested
BSS, Brahmanbaria
Members of the joint forces arrested a dealer on charge of
irregularities in Open Market Sale (OMS) programme at
Ananda Bazar of the district on Thursday.
Police said, Babul Mia was arrested while he was selling
rice three kg per head instead of five kg under the OMS
programme.
Robbers loot valuables
UNB, Narayanganj
Armed robbers looted valuables worth Tk 3 lakh from the
house of a businessman at Bairandi village in Araihazar
upazila early Thursday.
Police quoting local people said the gang numbering 15/20
stormed into the house of businessman Hashim at about 4:30
am and confined his family members in a room at gunpoint.
At one stage, the gang stabbed Hasim's son Mamun with a
sharp weapon, leaving him critically injured. He was later
rushed to the Dhaka Medical College Hospital.
The robbers took away valuables, including eight tolas of
gold ornaments, from the house.
A case was filed with the police.
Notorious terrorist held
UNB, Madaripur
Rapid Action Battalion arrested a notorious terrorist from
Kalai Darderer char village in Kalkini upazila on Friday.
Acting on a secret information, a RAB team raided the
house of Kashem Talukder, 50, a top terror of the area,
early in the morning and arrested him.
Police said he was wanted in 17 murder, robbery, rape,
extortion and other criminal cases.
3 arrested in connection with murder case
UNB, Comilla
Three people, including a drug peddler, were arrested here
on Thursday by police in connection with the businessman
Shaheen murder case.
Police said they arrested the drug peddler Alamgir of
Uttar Rampur village in Sadar Dakkhin upazila and Milon
and Monir of the same village suspecting their involvement
with the murder.
Businessman Shaheen of Bagmara Bazar in the upazila was
slaughtered near the local bus terminal by terrorists on
the night of March 27, this year. A case was filed with
the police.
Earlier, police detained three other people for
interrogation.
Firearms recovered,
garments products seized
BSS, Satkhira
Police recovered a pipe gun and one round bullet in an
abandoned condition from Jatpur area under Tala upazila of
the district on Thursday.
Police said, workers of a shrimp gher of one Din Mohammad
found the arms while they were digging soil on the roads.
Later, they informed police in this regard. Being
informed, police recovered the firearm and bullet from
there. A case was filed with Tala thana in this
connection.
The correspondent also adds: Members of Bangladesh Rifles
(BDR) seized garments products worth about Taka 20 lakh
here on Thursday.
Acting on a tip-off, a BDR team raided on a truck at
Taltola in Satkhira and recovered the garments products.
The goods were being smuggled into India.
The garments products included pants, tee shirts, genjee,
jackets and various types of pants for children.
4 women get life-term
UNB, Faridpur
Local courts, on Tuesday and Wednesday, sentenced four
women to life term imprisonment under the Narcotics
Control Act.
District and Sessions Judge M Abdul Majid on Wednesday
jailed Taslima Begum Lata, 22, of Barisal for life term
and also fined her Tk 2,000. The convicts are Monwara
Begum, 28, Helena Begum, 27, and Momena Begum, 40. All of
them hailed from Chanpur village in Chuadanga district.
According to the prosecution, officials of the Department
of Narcotics Control arrested them along with 13.8kgs of
phensidyl syrup on February 28, 2006.
Bombs recovered
BSS, Jhenaidah
Members of Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) recovered two
powerful bombs from Arappur Jhinukmala Abashon project
area in the town on Wednesday.
Acting on a tip off, the elite force raided the area and
seized the bombs from the project area near Mrittika
Bhabhan.
It was suspected that the bombs were kept there by the
terrorists to use those for their purpose.
Two firearms, bullets recovered
UNB, Satkhira
Rapid Action Battalion members recovered two firearms and
bullets from a fish enclosure near Sundarbans area in
Shyamnagar upazila on Wednesday morning.
Acting of a tip off, a team of RAB-6 raided Chunkuri Fish
Enclosure of Abu Bakar Siddique and recovered a pistol,
one gun, six rounds of bullet and a Chinese axe.
Sensing presence of the elite force, owner and employees
of the enclosure fled the scene.
RAB filed a case against Abu Bakar of Sultanpur village in
Sadar upazila under Arms Act.
101 arrested
BSS, Rangpur
Police arrested a total of 101 persons including criminals
on different charges from various places of all eight
upazilas in the district during the past 72 hours till
Thursday morning.
Police said the arrested persons included listed
terrorists, drug smugglers, addicts, gamblers and accused
persons in different cases, rapists, drug-peddlers,
muggers, thieves, extortionists and other anti-social
elements.
Police also recovered huge quantities of narcotics
substances including ganja, phensidyl, locally produced
wine, stolen and robbed goods and other illegal objects
during the drives.
Kotwali police arrested 35 persons, Gangachara six,
Taraganj seven, Badarganj four, Mithapukur 21, Pirganj
two14, Pirgacha three, Kawnia seven and DB police arrested
four persons during the period. The arrested persons were
sent to jail hajat when police produced them before
different Rangpur courts, police said.
15 held, drugs seized
BSS, Joypurhat
Police in separate drives, arrested 15 persons on various
charges from different areas in five upazilas of the
district on Tuesday.
Police said the arrested were absconding convicts and
warrantees, accused in different cases, dacoits,
drug-peddlers and traffickers and suspected criminals.
Police also seized 126 bottles of phensidyl and others
illegal items during the raids.
Members of narcotics control department another drives
recovered 250 grams of ganja in abandoned condition.
The arrested persons were sent to jail hajat when police
produced them before the concerned courts of Joypurhat,
the sources said.
Daring dacoity
BSS, Noakhali
A dacoity was committed at Char Hazari village of
Companiganj upazila in the district on Tuesday.
Police and locals said a gang of dacoits numbering 20 to
25 stormed in the house of Tajul Islam, an American
expatriate by breaking open the collapsible gate.
They held the inmates of the house as hostage at gun point
and looted gold ornaments, foreign currency and other
valuables. Additional police super of Noakhali Anwarul
Islam and Office-in-Charge of Companiganj police station
Ramzan Hossain visited the place on the following day.
Tajul Islam came to Bangladesh recently to visit his
ancestral home.
Drug peddler busted
BSS, Sylhet
Rapid Action Battalion (RAB)-9 arrested a notorious drug
peddler from his house at near the Khogerkhola Tableg
Mosque of South Surma in the city on Wednesday.
The arrested was identified as Babul, 55. He was involved
in different crimes include drug business since long time.
Local people demanded several times to the local
administration for necessary action against notorious
Babul. During the drive his accomplices managed to escape
the scene.
5 held
BSS, Brahmanbaria
Police arrested five absconding accused of several cases
from a residential hotel of the town on Monday.
The arrested were identified as Mozibur Rahman, 37,
Emdadul Haque, 30, Baten Member, 52, Alauddin Member, 40,
and Golam Mostafa, 40.
Editorial
Yet Another British Minister in Dhaka
Since
the last few months the British are showing an excess of zeal
in what is happening in Bangladesh and this is evident from
their sending two ministers to Bangladesh within just two
months. This time round their Home Minister has visited
Bangladesh and more or less expressed the same concerns and
sentiments that their Foreign Minister did, when in Bangladesh
in February 2008. Besides the Western World's routine
injunctions on democracy, the British appear to be laying
emphasis on counter-terrorism. In the words of Ms. Jacqui
Smith, the British Home Minister, "We value our
counter-terrorism relationship with Bangladesh very highly.
Sadly, both our countries know the horrors of indiscriminate
terrorist violence and have seen the damaging effects of
extreme ideologies which only nurture division, fear and
suspicion. Bangladesh has shown commitment to tackling
terrorism and we welcome recent success in making arrests.
There can be no room for complacency, however. It is important
also to address the root cause of radicalization".
Let us take the British Minister's point of view one by one
and see how much of reality she is expressing. The British are
the only ones insisting that there are extremist-terrorist
threats to Bangladesh and by extension to the UK which has a
large Bangalee-muslim population; Jamaat-ul-Mujaheedeen
Bangladesh (JMB) and their gang of criminals were an "event"
and not a "process" and their short-lived activities can in no
way be equated with "horrors of indiscriminate violence" that
the USA and UK are facing.
Historically, Bangladesh and its population have never
subscribed to extreme ideologies - political, religious or any
other form. This is quite evident from the fact that communism
during its hay-day could never establish itself in Bangladesh
when during the same time-frame West Bengal and other states
in India were entirely enamored with communism in its most
radical forms; West Bengal has a communist government in full
control for the last two decades. This is also quite evident
from the fact that Jamaat-e-Islami, a radical religious
political party, could never get more than a dozen seats in
our Parliament for the last two decades. The Jammat-e-Islami
is the same party which had helped Pakistan carry out a
genocide in 1971 and yet inspite of that we Bangladeshis have
allowed them political space knowing fully well that they
would not be able to make much headway. It is in fact the USA
and UK which are appeasing the Jamaat by holding dialogues
with them and providing them with certificates of being
"moderate democratically minded Muslims". So where really does
the British Minister see in Bangladesh, "the damaging effects
of extreme ideologies which only nurture division, fear and
suspicion"?
As for addressing "the root cause of radicalization ", it is
the UK which must address the root cause of radicalization in
their own Country, since they have in the past faced
religion-based (Protestant-Catholic) violence in Ireland for
centuries and are now presently facing radical-Muslim violence
from their own Muslim populations. So what has all this
radicalization in UK to do with Bangladesh? Nothing really,
except that the West, in this case the UK is looking for
scapegoats and we in Bangladesh happen to be available and
vulnerable at this moment to this scapegoating exercise.
The point of fact is that whenever USA and their surrogate UK
begin emphasizing on counter-terrorism in any country, that
particular country comes under a serious threat of
intervention by these two. We are seeing what is happening in
Afghanistan, Pakistan and much of the Middle-East and
therefore, we must not allow ourselves to be duped into
becoming surrogates for the West in fighting a war which is
theirs and thereby making our peaceful and peace loving Nation
into a battlefield for causes which does not trouble us in the
least.
We have said this before and we are saying this again: the USA
and UK maintain a physical presence of their intelligence
services in Bangladesh and that presence must not be allowed
to convert itself into a "government within a government"
dictating our domestic and foreign policies, neither must
Bangladesh encourage UK ministers to come to Bangladesh to
express their "We value our counter-terrorism relationship
with Bangladesh very highly". If indeed such a relationship
exists, that must end too, otherwise soon we will have
terrorism and US and UK counter-terrorism along with it.
Analysis
People's representatives for
people's interests
People also firmly believe that emergency can
not be a permanent solution for any problem and civil society
can not be run by commanded system.
Ripan Kumar Biswas
A
good intention possesses completely, or in a high degree, if
it serves the purpose for which it is intended. There can be a
great deal of hope, more than ever before, in the ongoing
battle against corruption and volatile political practices to
keep Bangladesh alive if everyone practices "good" till the
end.
According to the Chief of Army Staff in Bangladesh, General
Moeen U Ahmed, the way army has discharged its responsibility
in the past and is doing presently, is all with the good
intention to see the honest and competent leadership come to
power to govern the country. "As patriotic citizens, the army
is extending round-the-clock cooperation to the caretaker
government and certainly the army is not part of the
government," General Moeen reaffirmed army's intentions,
steps, and desires to the nation through the editors of
national print and electronic media at the Army Headquarters
on April 08, 2008.
The army chief further assured everyone along with the leaders
of the different political parties that there would be no
deviation from holding national poll as per roadmap by
end-December and there would be nothing but democratic rule in
Bangladesh. His remarks came just after the detained former
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina expressed her apprehension over
holding of the general elections in time and restoration of
democracy. Like her, on Monday, April 07, 2008, Jatiya Party
chairman Hussein Muhammad Ershad also expressed the similar
uncertainty at a press briefing at its Banani party office.
Bangladesh has a history of military takeovers. On December
16, 1971, Pakistani forces surrendered, and Bangladesh was
born. Although the new country became a parliamentary
democracy under a 1972 constitution with four basic principles
nationalism, secularism, socialism, and democracy, but its
democratic journey had been interrupted several times.
Bangladesh's history from 1971 was marked by political
instability and economic difficulties and was governed
intermittently by martial law between 1975 and 2001 and now
since January 2007 there is the Emergency rule.
Although the emergency rules have placed serious limits on
civil and political rights, and have severely diluted
constitutional protections of individual rights, but the
recent ongoing state of emergency, which was triggered by
weeks of pre-election opposition protests and violence on
January 11, 2007, was welcomed by ordinary Bangladeshis, many
of whom want a return to normalcy after the violent political
standoff that has wrecked the country. People were upset to
see the same tainted politicians and their cronies in and out
of the government during the last sixteen years of our
experiment with parliamentary democracy.
During the two months prior to the takeover by the caretaker
government, the country had experienced unending riots and
widespread demonstrations in which more than 60 people lost
their lives, millions of dollars in property was damaged, and
the economic activities in the country came to a squealing
halt.
Like Chief Adviser Dr. Fakhruddin Ahmed, people believe in the
present role of the Bangladesh Army in maintenance of the
country's law and order in order to bring the nation back on
the right track. Their relief and rehabilitation activities in
the wake of two consecutive floods and cyclone last year or
their logistic or technical support in the crucial work of
voter listing and national identity cards are obviously
praiseworthy. People believe like the army chief that army
will neither follow Pakistan or Thailand or previous takeovers
in Bangladesh but will help in the maintenance of democracy,
through transfer of power to the elected representatives and
holding a free, fair and transparent election by December
2008.
Starting with 2,193 member team to monitor peace in Saudi
Arabia and Kuwait during the first gulf war in 1991,
Bangladesh Army started its peace keeping activities
throughout the world. As of February 2008, Bangladesh remained
the largest contributor with 11,200 troops in the UN
Peacekeeping forces. In those missions, sometimes they worked
to curb inter border terrorism or to clear illegal dwellings
and establishments or they worked to restore democracy as they
know how much it is important for a civilized society.
People also firmly believe that emergency can not be a
permanent solution for any problem and civil society can not
be run by commanded system. The recent remarks of former Chief
Adviser and Chief Justice Habibur Rahman "that military
involvement in politics and administration is likely to affect
the country and the military equally adversely," are very
meaningful and logical. The US authority recently expressed
the same political theory to the Bangladesh Ambassador in US
Humayun Kabir.
However, failures of the past elected governments cannot be
used as excuses to keep the democratic process suspended.
People do believe that only democratic governments can truly
represent the people and their interests and that they can
solve social, economic and political problems of the country
as they will be under constant watch and pressure and bound to
look after the interests of the people.
(Ripan Kumar Biswas is a freelance writer based in New York.
New York; April 10, 2008.E-mail: Ripan.Biswas@yahoo.com)
Afghanistan, Pakistan and NATO
Any large-scale outside military
intervention in Pakistan's tribal areas would be disastrous
for the Pakistani state and US interests and would not provide
a lasting solution to the problem.
Karl F. Inderfurth
Washington,
DC - The NATO summit meeting in Bucharest this week comes at a
critical time for the 26-member alliance and its mission in
Afghanistan. It also comes at a critical time for the one
country that can make or break that mission: Pakistan.
NATO is collectively holding its breath as the Musharraf era
comes to a close, replaced by a new and uncertain civilian
political leadership and accompanied by a continuing rise in
extremist violence. A month-long surge in suicide bombings has
put the country on edge. Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, NATO's
secretary general, said during his recent visit to Washington
that as soon as the new Pakistan government is in place, he
would travel to Islamabad. After Bucharest there is no better
destination to reinforce NATO's Afghan mission.
Afghanistan and Pakistan are inextricably linked. There can be
no successful outcome for Afghanistan if Pakistan is not a
part of the solution. The future stability of both depends on
the development of an effective regional strategy to counter
and uproot the Taliban and Al Qaeda sanctuary in Pakistan's
tribal border areas. Despite Pakistan's counter-insurgency
efforts over the last four years (or lack thereof, according
to the critics), the Taliban and Al Qaeda have developed a
stronghold in this region that bolsters the Taliban's
capabilities against coalition forces in Afghanistan, poses a
direct threat to the Pakistani state itself, and facilitates
Al Qaeda planning and execution of global terrorist plots,
including those directed against the United States.
What can be done about this interconnected set of problems?
Countering cross border infiltration is the immediate
priority. The Trilateral Afghanistan-Pakistan-NATO Military
Commission is an important mechanism in this regard. So is the
strengthening of the US military presence along the Afghan
side of the border, which the latest US Marine contingent now
arriving in Afghanistan will assist, as will the opening of
the first of six joint US-Afghan-Pakistani military
intelligence centers along the border.
Washington also needs to work more closely with Pakistan in
joint counter-terrorism operations. The possibility for
collaboration exists, as evidenced by the missile strike in
North Waziristan earlier this year that killed the senior Al
Qaeda operative Abu Laith al-Libi. But these operations are
highly sensitive and politically charged in the tribal areas
and must be pursued through quiet behind-the-scenes efforts
with Pakistan political and military leaders.
In addition, any large-scale outside military intervention in
Pakistan's tribal areas would be disastrous for the Pakistani
state and US interests and would not provide a lasting
solution to the problem.
A more effective strategy involves working cooperatively with
Pakistan's new leadership to integrate these areas into the
Pakistani political system and, once they are secure, provide
substantial assistance (along with the European Union, the
World Bank and other donors) to build up their economy and
social infrastructure. As Pakistan's ambassador, Mahmud
Duranni, says, what is needed in these areas is a
"multi-pronged strategy. That is, military force, development
and empowerment of the people. Using force alone is not the
answer."
Over the longer term, the region requires a new compact that
addresses Afghanistan and Pakistan's political, economic and
security concerns and seeks to neutralize regional and great
power rivalries. To accomplish this, the United Nations should
convene an international conference attended by all of
Afghanistan's neighbors and other concerned major powers, a
task that should be added to the agenda of the newly appointed
UN envoy for Afghanistan, the Norwegian diplomat Kai Eide.
The goal would be a multilateral accord that recognizes
Afghanistan's borders with Pakistan (the Durand Line of 1893
is still in dispute); pledges non-interference in
Afghanistan's internal affairs; affirms that, like the
Congress of Vienna accord for Switzerland, Afghanistan should
be internationally accepted as a permanently neutral state;
and establishes a comprehensive international regime to remove
obstacles to the flow of trade across Afghanistan, the key to
establishing a vibrant commercial network that would benefit
the entire region.
And such an agreement would have another positive corollary -
it would provide the basis for the eventual withdrawal of US
and NATO military forces from a stable and secure Afghanistan.
(Karl F. Inderfurth, a professor at the Elliott School of
International Affairs at George Washington University, served
as US assistant secretary of state for South Asian affairs
from 1997 to 2001. Source: International Herald Tribune, 1
April 2008.Copyright permission is granted for publication.)
Tibet, Palestine and Western hypocrisy
Uri Avnery
LIKE
everybody else, I support the right of the Tibetan people to
independence, or at least autonomy. Like everybody else, I
condemn the actions of the Chinese government there. But
unlike everybody else, I am not ready to join in the
demonstrations.
I support the Tibetans in spite of it being obvious that the
Americans are exploiting the struggle for their own purposes.
Clearly, the CIA has planned and organised the riots, and the
American media are leading the worldwide campaign.
It is a part of the hidden struggle between the US, the
reigning superpower, and China, the rising superpower - a new
version of the "Great Game" that was played in Central Asia in
the 19th century by the British Empire and Russia.
Tibet is a token in this game. What is really bugging me is
the hypocrisy of the world media. They storm and thunder about
Tibet. It seems as if the Tibetans are the only people on
earth whose right to independence is being denied by brutal
force. But are not the Kurds in Turkey, Iraq, Iran and Syria
entitled to the same? The inhabitants of Western Sahara, whose
territory is occupied by Morocco? The Basques in Spain? The
Corsicans off the coast of France? And the list is long.
Why do the world's media adopt one independence struggle, but
often cynically ignore another independence struggle? What
makes the blood of one Tibetan redder than the blood of a
thousand Africans in East Congo?
Again and again I try to find a satisfactory answer to this
enigma. In vain. Immanuel Kant demanded of us: "Act as if the
principle by which you act were about to be turned into a
universal law of nature." (Being a German philosopher, he
expressed it in much more convoluted language.)
Does the attitude toward the Tibetan problem conform to this
rule? Does it reflect our attitude toward the struggle for
independence of all other oppressed peoples? Not at all. If
Immanuel Kant knew what's going on in Kosovo, he would be
scratching his head.
The province demanded its independence from Serbia, and I, for
one, supported that with all my heart. This is a separate
people, with a different culture (Albanian) and its own
religion (Islam). After the popular Serbian leader, Slobodan
Milosevic, tried to drive them out of their country, the world
rose and provided moral and material support for their
struggle for independence.
The Albanian Kosovars make up 90 percent of the citizens of
the new state, which has a population of two million. The
other 10 percent are Serbs, who want no part of the new
Kosovo. They want the areas they live in to be annexed to
Serbia. According to Kant's maxim, are they entitled to this?
I would propose a pragmatic moral principle: Every population
that inhabits a defined territory and has a clear national
character is entitled to independence. A state that wants to
keep such a population must see to it that they feel
comfortable, that they receive their full rights, enjoy
equality and have an autonomy that satisfies their
aspirations. In short: That they have no reason to desire
separation.
That applies to the French in Canada, the Scots in Britain,
the Kurds in Turkey and elsewhere, the various ethnic groups
in Africa, the indigenous peoples in Latin America, the Tamils
in Sri Lanka and many others. Each has a right to choose
between full equality, autonomy and independence.
This leads us, of course, to the Palestinian issue. In the
competition for the sympathy of the world media, the
Palestinians are unlucky. According to all the objective
standards, they have a right to full independence, exactly
like the Tibetans. They inhabit a defined territory, they are
a specific nation, a clear border exists between them and
Israel. One must really have a crooked mind to deny these
facts.
But the Palestinians are suffering from several cruel strokes
of fate: The people that oppress them claim for themselves the
crown of ultimate victimhood. The whole world sympathises with
the Israelis because the Jews were the victims of the most
horrific crime of the Western world. That creates a strange
situation: The oppressor is more popular than the victim.
Anyone who supports the Palestinians is automatically
suspected of anti-Semitism and Holocaust denial. Also, the
great majority of the Palestinians are Muslims (nobody pays
attention to the Palestinian Christians). Since Islam arouses
fear and abhorrence in the West, the Palestinian struggle has
automatically become a part of that shapeless, sinister
threat, "international terrorism". And since the murders of
Yasser Arafat and Shaikh Ahmed Yassin, the Palestinians have
no particularly impressive leader - neither in Fatah nor in
Hamas.
The world media are shedding tears for the Tibetan people,
whose land is taken from them by Chinese settlers. Who cares
about the Palestinians, whose land is taken from them by our
settlers?
In the worldwide tumult about Tibet, the Israeli spokespersons
compare themselves - strange as it sounds - to the poor
Tibetans, not to the evil Chinese. Many think this quite
logical.
If Kant were dug up tomorrow and asked about the Palestinians,
he would probably answer: "Give them what you think should be
given to everybody, and don't wake me up again to ask silly
questions."
Uri Avnery is an Israeli writer and peace activist with Gush
Shalom. This article is publised in arrangement with Palestine
Chronicle. A larger version of the article is available on
www.PalestineChronicle.com.
Source :www.khaleejtimes.com
Viewpoints
Geert Gone Wild
These are real issues that warrant serious
discussion. While European Muslims seek equality, the state
pushes national identity.
Moushumi Khan
Cambridge,
Massachusetts - The best that can be said about Geert Wilders'
production, Fitna, is that it is aptly named. Fitna, which
translates as strife or unrest, is exactly what Wilders seems
to want to instigate with his montage of mayhem. If, as
Wilders asserts, he is trying to protect the western
civilization from the ravages of Islam, he would do well to
first understand the religion that he criticizes.
Out-of-context Qur'anic injunctions juxtaposed with images of
carnage are not Islam. Nor do they address the legitimate
issue of Muslim integration. Neither is Wilders' Islamophobia
wholly representative of Europe's relations with Muslims.
While pundits argue over whether Fitna violates hate-speech
laws, people of good will should ask what they can do to
increase love in our shared humanity.
Even a cursory viewing confirms that the film is not artistic
expression. Fitna is not art - it is cinematic violence masked
as political commentary. By opening and closing with the
controversial cartoon of the Prophet Muhammad's turban being
ignited, Wilders adds insult to injury. He caricatures his
supposed Western freedoms and objectivity by exploiting the
real suffering caused by extremism.
Watching the entire 15 minutes exposes an uncanny similarity
between Wilders' inflammatory rhetoric and that of fiery
preachers caught on tape. Each mirrors the other's intolerance
and blanket censure. Neither leaves room for dialogue or
debate. Each assumes the sanctity of their message and shares
tactics of incitement with the other. Wilders is as
reactionary as those he condemns.
Perhaps the bleached blond Parliamentarian hopes his "warning"
will cause his countrymen to send their Muslims packing. He
would serve his constituents better by striving for dialogue
rather than settling for strife.
Putting aside Wilders' amateur video, Europe's struggle to
integrate Muslims into the economic and political mainstream
is not new. Muslims have been in Europe for generations, but
it is not their religion that alienates them from the
mainstream. Europe must figure out how to transition the
children of guest workers into equal citizens. Its dependence
on immigrant labor should be reconciled with its democratic
principles.
These are real issues that warrant serious discussion. While
European Muslims seek equality, the state pushes national
identity. As Islamic practice is brought into the public
sphere, tensions arise as to the limits of Europe's
multiculturalism. The more Muslims assert their rights of
citizenship, the more the boundaries of European liberalism
are tested.
The Dutch and the world need true leadership, not
fear-mongering politics, to help chart amicable relations
between Islam and the West. All Muslims should not be held
accountable for the sins of a few, especially as the
majorities are law-abiding, responsible participants of their
societies.
While Wilders' fear of change is understandable, his abuse of
immigrants is not.
In stark contrast to Wilders' divisiveness, others are
addressing Europe's changing demographics from a more
constructive perspective. One such example is the Focolare
Movement started by Chiara Lubich, an Italian Catholic who
recently passed away. Unlike Wilders, Lubich reacted to a real
unrest, that of the aftermath of World War II, by trying to
improve her community through shared humanity, stressing how
the concept of "love thy neighbor" can be lived out in daily
life.
With Lubich's leadership, the collaboration between Focolare
communities and people of a variety of religions has
demonstrated that it is possible to build bridges of
understanding, respect and love. Any visit to the Focolare
community outside Florence, Italy will confirm that everyone,
including Muslims, is not only accommodated but also welcomed.
Ultimately Wilders misses the opportunity to analyze the
underlying social unrest he warns against. Rather than taking
the bait and overreacting, the best antidote to Wilders'
provocation is to learn more about each other and embrace the
fact that there is no inherent strife between Islam and the
West. Now is the time to look for constructive ways for Europe
and its Muslims to live side by side as good neighbors.
(Moushumi Khan is a lawyer and a Zuckerman Fellow at Harvard
University. Source: Common Ground News Service, 8 April 2008.
Copyright permission is granted for publication.)
Not
by visa alone
Tensions between the two countries are far less than before
and there is a pronounced desire to come closer to one
another.
Kuldip Nayar
FORMER
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is touching upon subjects which
leaders in his country and India intentionally avoid. His
suggestion to Pakistan to unilaterally lift restrictions on
travel by Indians is bold and timely.
Tensions between the two countries are far less than before
and there is a pronounced desire to come closer to one
another.
The Muslim League, which Nawaz Sharif heads, is concomitant
with fanatic elements. Some have strong anti-India views. For
him to ignore their bias is courageous. The hardheaded
politician that he is, his ears are plugged to the ground. He
is convinced that the average Pakistani wants to befriend
India. He tested this sentiment when, some years ago, he swept
the polls against the late Benazir Bhutto on the plank that
the vote for him was a vote for friendship with India. She had
then taken an opposite stand.
Nawaz Sharif has said that Asif Ali Zardari, co-chairman of
the ruling Pakistan People's Party, also supports his
proposal. Mr Zardari or any PPP minister should come out with
some statement to confirm their support.Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh, whose visit to Pakistan is awaited anxiously
by Islamabad, said a few weeks ago that he was ready to travel
to the other side provided there was something important to
sign. The abolition of visa can be worth a visit.
While in the wilderness, Benazir Bhutto had come to the
conclusion that India and Pakistan should sink their
differences - a realisation that came to her father Zulfikar
Ali Bhutto towards the end of his life. He would even say that
he was sick of going to the chanceries of the world. Had
Benazir been alive she would have taken the initiative to
normalise relations with India.
She told me in London during an interview that she wanted a
'borderless' subcontinent. She also had Bangladesh, Sri Lanka
and Nepal in view. Her wish boiled down to a common South Asia
with joint trade, business, services and investment.
The hitch may be from the Indian side. India believes that it
is a target for terrorists who are 'trained' in Pakistan. New
Delhi's fear was initially focused on the infiltration in
Kashmir. But it has now spread to other parts of India, more
recently because of disclosures following raids on Simi
(Students' Islamic Movement of India), a banned organisation
of Muslim students. Some have reportedly made a clean breast
of their 'design' to attack key installations and people in
high places.
They have also admitted their involvement in several blasts,
including the one in the Samjhota Express. New Delhi also
claims to have proof that Dawood Ibrahim, an underground don,
planned and executed the bomb blasts in Mumbai in 1993. Some
recent incidents of violence have also been linked to his men.
Since the 'hand of Pakistan' is seen in all these incidents,
India is chary of abolishing the visa regime. Its fear is that
terrorists will come through the border, although it is naïve
to believe that they use normal channels to enter the country.
Some terrorist organisations may be operating from across the
border, but it is also an established fact that there is an
indigenous crop of terrorists in the country.
True, during the interrogation of the Simi men and those of
Dawood Ibrahim, an ISI link was alleged. But there is no
getting away from the fact that extremists among Muslims in
India have emerged after the killings in Gujarat.
Another hindrance in the way of normalisation may be the BJP
which once took the credit of leading its prime minister's bus
to Lahore. The party has re-adopted its old anti-Pakistan
posture and the ideology of Hindutva. Friendship with Pakistan
does not fit into its anti-Muslim approach. The party believes
that its anti-Pakistan stance will go down well with the Hindu
voter in the Lok Sabha elections due in less than a year.
I see the merit in Nawaz Sharif's proposal if people-to-people
contact is in the thousands. Only then will the cobwebs of
misinformation and the age-old hostility go. This cannot be
done unless the two countries pledge not to use violence to
settle their disputes. It is unfortunate that the Tashkent
Declaration did not lead to the abandoning of violence. Lal
Bahadur Shastri, did not sign the declaration until General
Mohammad Ayub Khan wrote in his own hand the words, 'without
resorting to arms'.
Neither country may sign a 'no-war' pact which has its own
connotation because of their past history. But they should
renounce violence in solving bilateral issues. Using
terrorists to destabilise a country is worse. Both countries
are at the mercy of terrorists at present. Both would do well
if they were to join hands to curb terrorism not only in India
and Pakistan but also in the whole of South Asia.
Asif Zardari's suggestion to keep Kashmir aside for the time
being is worth pursuing. We have made no progress in the way
we have gone about it in the last 60 years. Had there been at
least free trade between the two countries, there would have
been economic interdependence, lessening the space for
bickering. Trade ultimately develops into economic ties. The
feeling of interdependence comes into play. There is give and
take. Once this feeling gets hold of the people, they go
beyond disputes. At least differences are understood in the
spirit of accommodation, not antagonism.
One regrettable thing has been that contacts have generally
been at the level of the elite where prejudice has political
dimensions. Once business and contact come down to the level
of ordinary traders and ordinary people the spirit of
togetherness develops. Were this to happen, the picture which
some politicians, bureaucrats and journalists have painted of
each other's country would change.
Ultimately, the abolition of visa, however desirable, may be
of little use if young minds continue to be polluted. India at
least is not guilty of rewriting history. Unfortunately,
history in Pakistan begins with the advent of Islam in the
subcontinent. What about Moenjodaro, Harappa and Taxila? The
subcontinent has a long history. Our separate identities are
important. But they cannot be at the expense of the history
and traditions which we have shared for hundreds of years. The
abolition of visa alone cannot bring about this spirit.
The writer is a leading journalist based in Delhi.
Source: www.dawn.com
Opinion
Not by quotas alone
India is already running thin on meeting the
aspirations of its young citizens
for quality education.
By
any measure Ashok Thakur v the Union of India will be a
landmark in India's social history. The Supreme Court on
Thursday upheld the Central Educational Institutions
(Reservation in Admission) Act 2006, saying it did not violate
the basic structure of the Constitution. Therefore, the
consequences of the legislation, passed unanimously by
Parliament, will now flow: 27 per cent of seats in Central
institutions of higher education will be reserved for socially
and educationally backward classes (SEBCs). The court has,
however, added a rider that this quota be made unavailable to
the "creamy layer" among SEBCs and that the government review
the policy in five years. In one stroke now, the country will
usher in a comprehensive measure of affirmative action to
widen access to higher education. It will, most immediately,
test the preparedness of the government to deliver on the
provisions of the legislation, and also on its promise to
increase the number of seats in these institutions.
It takes a determined attempt to remember the street
confrontations of the early '90s to see how far this country
has come in accepting the need for affirmative action. Then,
the government's announcement that it had accepted the Mandal
recommendations had set off a churning in Indian politics.
Today, a political and social consensus holds on the need to
deepen equal-opportunity measures. This is not to deny that
there is anxiety amongst large sections of the population that
a door may be closing on their aspirations for quality higher
education. There is. But that anxiety would have been present
even if quotas for SEBCs had not been announced.
India is already running thin on meeting the aspirations of
its young citizens for quality education. Take, for instance,
the All India Institute of Medical Sciences. Each year, it
takes just over 40 students for its MBBS programme. Whether
half those seats are reserved or a quarter would not alter the
fact that four dozen places annually for India's best medical
education is pathetically limited. So it is in different
proportions at the IITs, the IIMs, our law schools and our
universities.
These are shortages born of apathy, and they make salient the
popular perception of a clash between equity and excellence,
between meaningful equality of opportunity and merit. Those
are false choices. Excellence is unattainable in a society
with inequities. A programme of affirmative action would
therefore be incomplete without expansion and improvement of
our higher education system.
Source: indian express. com
International
Nepal endorses
peace, but tough challenges seen ahead
AFP, Kathmandu
Crucial polls in Nepal that had been plagued by
pre-election violence have passed off smoothly, but
analysts warn it is too early to declare peace has truly
broken out in the Himalayan nation.
The election Thursday saw a strong turnout, a sign that
voters wanted to give their resounding backing to efforts
to turn the page on a decade-long Maoist revolt.
It was also a major achievement for the Maoists: in the
run-up to the polls they were under fire for bullying
voters, but polling day passed off surprisingly peacefully
with only sporadic violence reported.
"I congratulate the people of Nepal, who have demonstrated
their commitment to democracy by turning out in large
numbers to vote," said Ian Martin, the head of the United
Nations' peace mission in Nepal.
"Election day was conducted by and large in a peaceful and
orderly manner," he said. In all three people died in
isolated incidents on polling day, far lower than feared.
When the full results emerge over the coming weeks, Nepal
will have a new 601-seat assembly that will tear up the
country's past status as a Hindu monarchy and rewrite a
new constitution from scratch.
But analysts say this process-from the counting of ballots
to the eventual expected sacking of unpopular King
Gyanendra-will be no easy ride for a country that has a
history of political instability.
"Holding the constituent assembly election was a big
challenge, but the ones ahead are bigger," cautioned
Sudheer Sharma, editor of the weekly news magazine Nepal.
The key, he said, was for Nepal's two biggest mainstream
parties and the Maoists-the once bitter foes who signed a
peace pact in 2006 -- to see through their often awkward
marriage of convenience.
"All the parties have their own road maps. If the harmony
between the big three parties breaks, it will be a huge
hurdle," Sharma said, referring to the Nepali Congress,
the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist)
and the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist).
Strains could start to show shortly after the votes have
been counted, said Rhoderick Chalmers, Nepal's country
director for the Brussels-based International Crisis
Group.
"The very first challenge will be to get to the end of the
counting process and have the major parties accept the
results," said Chalmers, echoing UN concerns.
This could be toughest for the Maoists, who have to
reconcile rival factions within the party-those ready for
realpolitik and those still married to the revolutionary
dogma that fuelled their "people's war."
If that dichotomy is resolved, the new Constituent
Assembly will then have to grapple with what to do with
the king.
"It is not really specified what is meant by
'implementing' a republic. Some individuals or small
parties might try to shift the goalposts and reopen the
question of whether the monarchy should be abolished,"
Chalmers said.
The king, who ascended to the throne in 2001 after
much-loved former King Birendra and most of his family
were massacred by a drunk-and-drugged crown prince, has
become widely unpopular.
But he can still count on support from sections of the
army and Hindu fundamentalists who see him as an
incarnation of a Hindu god. Even if he does get the boot,
some prominent politicians say keeping some kind of
symbolic monarch would be a useful way of preserving the
neutrality of Nepal-a country sandwiched between competing
Asian giants India and China.
Japan extends NKorean sanctions: Minister
AFP, Tokyo
Japan on
Friday extended sweeping sanctions against North Korea for
another six months, saying the communist state has not
shown progress in impasses over its nuclear drive and
abductions of Japanese.
The sanctions-which ban all imports from cash-strapped
North Korea including money-making goods such as clams,
crabs and high-end matsutake mushrooms-were set to expire
on Sunday.
Foreign Minister Masahiko Komura said Japan was ready to
lift the ban at any time if North Korea makes progress.
"The extension is for another six months," he told
reporters. "But Japan may end part or all of the sanctions
even during that period if North Korea takes concrete,
positive actions over the abduction, nuclear and missile
issues."
Japan has tense relations with North Korea in part due to
the communist regime's kidnapping of Japanese civilians in
the 1970s and 1980s to train its spies.
North Korea returned five abductees in 2002 and says the
case is closed. Japan insists that more are alive and
being kept under wraps.
Japan imposed the sanctions, which also include a ban on
all port calls by North Korean ships and visits by North
Korean officials, after the communist state tested an atom
bomb in October 2006.
The association of Korean residents in Japan who support
Pyongyang harshly criticised the extension of the
sanctions, saying they put little pressure on the North,
formally known as the Democratic People's Republic of
Korea (DPRK).
"Sanctions have absolutely no impact on the DPRK," said
Nam Sung U, vice chairman of the association, Chongryon.
"Instead, the Japanese government is using sanctions as a
disguised way to violate the human rights of North Korean
residents here. We are extremely angry," he told
reporters.
Japan is home to more than 600,000 Koreans whose ancestors
or themselves either immigrated or were forced to come to
Japan during the colonial era. At least tens of thousands
of them are believed to be loyal to Pyongyang.
North Korea last year signed a six-nation deal to abandon
its nuclear weapons in exchange for badly needed energy
and economic aid, security guarantees and diplomatic
benefits.
No free speech on Myanmar constitution: Suu Kyi's party
AFP, Yangon
Myanmar's pro-democracy party said Thursday |