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Leading News

Reforms in political parties
Staff Correspondent

Political leaders, member of civil society and different professional bodies on Monday said reform in the political parties is a must before holding general election as the existing political system is source of all evil things.
This was stated at a discussion on’ political reform for democracy’ organized by the Citizens for Good Governance at National Press Club in the city. Gono Forum President Dr. Kamal Hossain, TIB Chairman Professor Muzaffar Ahmed, Awami League presidium member Suranjit Sen Gupta, Jaitya Party presidium member GM Quader JSD president ASM Abdur Rab, BNP leader Sadeque Siddiqui and Taleya Rhamn addressed function.
However, Suranjit Sen Gupta differed in this saying there is no urgency in bringing reform in the political parties, it is a continuous process. "At first government should hold election as early as possible. The process of reform has been stated and it would reach its goal in due course of time. So it would not be wise to delay the scheduled election in the name of reform," he added.
Dr Kamal Hossain said political reform is needed to save the people of the country from murder, bombing, extortion and other criminal activities which are patronised by the politicians for their own interest.
He said the political leaders should reform their parties hurriedly in order to expedite the election as reform is a precondition for holding such election, adding, "I can help prepare draft rules for political reforms which may be enacted by the government and followed by the political parties."
Chairman of the TIB, Prof Mozaffor Ahmed, said, "The political parties must be reformed before holding any election as the country was champion in corruption for several years. But the reform should not be enforced by the government. Rather the parties should be reformed on the basis of the opinion of the common people and party activists of the grass-roots level."
He spoke on the need for change in the mindset of the political leaders saying their minds should be changed to the extent that the object of their politics would be to help people and nothing else.
GM Quader said, "The political leaders have lost their character as they made their parties a corporate house where some leaders are its owners and rest are their employees. To change this situation, it is the responsibility of the Caretaker Government to compel the politicians to reform their parties; otherwise, they will not do so."
Dr Badiul Alam Majumder, secretary, the Citizens for Good Governance, said "In the past the political leaders indulged in nomination business, murder, rape and other criminal activities. So, Citizens for Good Governance will go door to door, influence the political leaders and the government to ensure reforms before the election."

Election issues discussed
CEC meets CA

Staff Correspondent

The Chief Election Commissioner ATM Shamsul Huda on Monday met Chief Adviser Fakhruddin Ahmed at CA office at Tejgaon in the city and discussed various issues relating to holding free, fair, credible and acceptable parliament elections within the time fame.
After its independence on January 29, the Election Commission (EC) Secretariat, the CEC for the first time yesterday held a 45-minute closed door meeting with the CA on holding polls to five city corporations in April, under the emergency regime and other election related issues. However, the outcome of meeting was not known.
"Today, Monday, I shall not say anything about the outcome of the meeting. The discussion held between the EC Secretariat and CA, would be briefed to the media tomorrow, Tuesday afternoon," the CEC told waiting journalists in front of CA office.
The CEC along with two other Election Commissioners Muhammed Sohul Hussain and Brig Gen M Sakhawat Hussain (retd) talked to the CA and discussed holding the polls to the city corporations of Dhaka, Rajshahi, Khulna, Sylhet and Barisal and its draft protocol for appointing election commissioners, according to sources.
Earlier, before leaving the EC Secretariat for Chief Adviser’s Office, the CEC said it is not possible to hold election under the Emergency.
"How is it possible to hold election under the Emergency Power Rule? The political parties should be allowed to work for election. There is no change in EC’s road map announced by it earlier aiming to hold a free, fair, credible and acceptable election. Certainly the parliament election will be held within 2008," replying to a volley of queries, the CEC said.
The meeting discussed the draft ordinance which was recently approved by the cabinet to free the EC Secretariat from the control of the Prime Minister's Office (PMO).
Meanwhile, in the morning, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary Donald A. Camp met with CEC at EC Secretariat in a positive and productive meeting.
He reiterated the U.S. Government's willingness to provide support to the Election Commission and looks forward to the seeing the realization of the Bangladeshi peoples' dream of a democratically elected government by the end of this year.
It may be pointed out that the Election Commission Secretariat has been putting pressure on the government to lift or relax the state of emergency in a bid to create a congenial atmosphere where leaders and activities would be able launch political campaign for taking part in the up coming different elections including general and city corporation.
In the middle of last year, the Election Commission had said it would begin holding the polls to different local government bodies in January this year but it failed to hold the polls in scheduled time.

  GATCO case
ACC to submit charge sheets against Khaleda, 12 others

Sahidul Islam Rana

Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) will submit charge sheets in the container handling case against detained BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia, her son Coco and eleven others within a day or two.
Talking to The Bangladesh Today, a competent source, preferring anonymity, said, "The investigation into the much-talked-about the Global Agro Trade (Private) Company Limited (GATCO) scam case has already been completed."
"A charge sheet has already been framed against some 13 persons - including former premier Khaleda Zia, her younger son Arafat Rahman Coco, three members of the tender committee and four directors –and it will be submitted within a day or two," he said requesting this correspondent not to ask anything more in connection with the case.
Meanwhile, replying to a query, the Chairman of the anti-graft commission, Lieutenant General Hasan Mashhud Chowdhury, also hinted to the newsmen during a press conference at his Segun Bagicha office in the capital on Monday that you would be able to get a new message very soon regarding the GATCO case ACC." "The investigation into the GATCO case has already reached in the final stage," the ACC chief added.
Here it may be mentioned, Golam Shahriar Chowdhury, a deputy director of the ACC, lodged a Tk 2.19 crore graft case (container handling case) against Khaleda, her younger son Arafat Rahman and 11 others with Tejgaon police on September 2 last year.
The ACC official in his complaint said, the accused in collaboration with each other violated tender conditions in appointing Global Agro Trade (Private) Company Limited (GATCO) for container handling at Dhaka Inland Container Depot (DICD) and the Chittagong Port ICD yard despite its lacking experience and skills, causing a loss of Tk 1000 crore to the government exchequer.
Earlier, as per the appeal of investigation officer (IO) Jahirul Huda and considering the importance of the case, lodged with the Gulshan police station, the ACC on Monday approved placing the container handling case under the Emergency Power Rules (EPR), making the accused not entitled to bail.
Meanwhile, in the press conference, Hasan Mashhud Chowdhury said, "Nobody will be spared from the trail process even if any corrupt individual gives back his or her ill-gotten money or wealth confessing misdeeds."

 Provide loans to SMEs: BB Governor
UNB, Dhaka

Bangladesh Bank Governor Dr Salehuddin Ahmed Monday called upon PKSF and partner NGOs to provide loans to the SMEs at lower interest rate as banks and financial institutions (FIs) are reluctant.
"Our financial structure is for the top borrowers only," he said, expressing dissatisfaction over the unwillingness of banks and FIs to reduce interest rate for SMEs and becoming pro-active to help them prepare loan appraisals.
The Bangladesh Bank governor was addressing the inaugural session of a start-up workshop on ‘Finance for Enterprise Development and Employment Creation (FEDEC)’, an IFAD-supported project of Palli Karma-Sahayak Foundation (PKSF), at the PKSF Bhaban. The project costing US$ 57.8 million, including IFAD support of US$ 35 million, is a part of the government’s effort to develop micro-enterprise, create employment and help reduce poverty.
Around 118,000 micro-entrepreneurs will get loan facilities of US$ 53.7 million through PKSF and its 118 partner NGOs to expand existing business or start a new business under the project. The project activities will include loan facilities for micro-enterprises, market-chain development, training and project management activities.
Dr Salehuddin stressed the need for financing to the micro-enterprises as well as the small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to achieve the poverty reduction targets. He gave special emphasis on lending for the SMEs as they are the missing middle having very limited scope to get financing either from the banks and FIs or from the micro-credit organisations.
"The central bank has also a role to play to fit the missing middle in the financial structure," he said, adding that Bangladesh Bank has been trying to do so recently.
He called upon the commercial banks and financial institutions to become pro-active and provide loans to the SMEs at lower interest rate and help intended borrowers prepare their loan documents as well as advised to consider cash flow-based lending instead of collateral. The Bangladesh Bank governor also called upon PKSF and its partner NGOs to lend at low interest rate. He said BRAC charges very high interest rate from the micro-entrepreneurs. He advised PKSF and the partner organisations also to make the small entrepreneurs aware about the facilities available for them, as they are unaware of the facilities.
PKSF managing director Dr Quazi Mesbahuddin Ahmed, PKSF DMD Parveen Mahmud, project coordinator Mohammed Fazlul Kader and IFAD representative Nigel Brett also spoke at the meeting.

IFC keen to invest in Bangladesh
UNB, Dhaka

  Visiting IFC executive vice-president Lars Henrik Thunell Monday said the financial corporation is thinking how they can invest in Bangladesh infrastructure development, including construction of the proposed Padma Bridge.
The top executive of the International Finance Corporation, a member of the World Bank group, made the remarks when he met Chief Adviser Dr Fakhruddin Ahmed at his office. The Chief Adviser said Bangladesh heavily needs investment in infrastructure development, particularly for communications and power sectors, for the country’s rapid economic progress.
He thanked the IFC for establishing Bangladesh Investment Climate Fund (BICF) for providing advisory services in its efforts to improve the investment climate in Bangladesh and the country has already been benefited from it. He said the IFC can also play an important role in telecommunications and ICT sectors and can help in health sector and construction of four-lane Dhaka-Chittagong Highway.
He said they can also extend support in potential export-oriented sectors.

Donald Camp : Lifting of emergency, early election
Staff Correspondent

The visiting US Principal Deputy Asst Secretary of State, Donald Camp, on Monday observed that lifting state of emergency as soon as possible and holding an earlier election will bring good for Bangladesh.
"The US’s stand on Bangladesh is very clear that the sooner the state of emergency is lifted the better it will be for Bangladesh and the sooner the election can be held the better for Bangladesh," the US Deputy Asst. Secretary for South and Central Asian Affairs told newsmen after meeting with Foreign Adviser Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury at his secretariat yesterday.
"We understand the caretaker government is carrying out important reforms. Reform is important and those reforms will have to be institutionalized," Camp said adding: "the US and Bangladesh are good friends. The US has been supporting all the efforts of the caretaker government. We look forwards to holding the election by the end of this year and returning to an elected government of Bangladesh and towards transition to democracy."
Responding to a query about Bangladesh’s chance of getting access to US President’s Millenium Challenge Account (MCA) Fund following the Bangladesh’s crackdown on corruption, he said, "it is most important for Bangladesh to take every effort it can to end corruption. Any government, which wants to participate in the Millenium Challenge Account and Millenium special programme, needs to have good governance and good economic governance and freedom from corruption."
When asked about the trial of the two former prime minister, Camp observed, "any trial of this country as well as that of two former prime ministers must be carried out in conformity with the due processes and in line with the constitution and the laws of Bangladesh."
In reply to a question, he said, "our main concern is that all civil liberties will be protected in Bangladesh. It is general acknowledgement that Bangladesh has a legacy and tradition in civil liberties, freedom of press and freedom of all civil rights and I think Bangladesh government realises it."
Terming the meeting successful Chowdhury said, "we have talked about all the issues we need to maintain to strengthen the relation between the US and Bangladesh. We talked of market access of RMG to the US market. We have worked together in the past to bring stability in this region. Most important thing is that we need to further strengthen linkages in order to advance in common interests.
"We want to reduce dependence on aid. We want to go for other forms of economic development and activities such as trade and investment. The US is very supportive and I have every confidence that it will continue to remain supportive," Chowdhury hoped. In his two-day’s trip to Bangladesh, Camp met the Chief Adviser, Fakhruddin Ahmed, the Chief Election Commissioner, ATM Shamsul Huda, and the Chief of Army Staff and other key personalities.

Back Page

BD yet to take EU export facilities
Staff Correspondent

Bangladeshi entrepreneurs are failing to promote export to European countries by making proper use of the European Union offered-export facilities through complying with the relevant EU rules as they are not fully aware of them.
This was stated by speakers at a seminar on "How to Access European Market for Promotion of Export," organied by the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry at its office on Monday.
The EU import policy and rules and regulations should be well-known to the Bangladeshi traders so that they can ensure high standards of their products during the period from manufacture to export, they said, Bangladesh is lagging behind the other least developed countries (LDCs) in promoting export abroad because of failure to abide by the relevant international rules.
In the fiscal year 2006-07, Bangladesh exported US 6306.36 dollars' worth of commodities to the EU member states which was some 51.78 percent of the country's total annual exports. But the quantity of country's exports to the European countries was too small compared to exports from other least developed countries to EU countries, they observed.
In 1968, the United Nations Conference for Trade and Development (UNCTD) recommended the creation of a "Generalised System of Preferences" (GSP) under which industrialised countries would grant trade preferences to all the developing countries.
Under the UNCTAD recommendations, the EU first introduced its own GSP scheme in 1971. But the Bangladeshi entrepreneurs are in dark about it. They are trying now to understand the GSP though other LDCs have been availing themselves of the full range of the GSP facilities for 37 years.
Laying stress on introducing branded products in Bangladesh for promotion of export, they said brand image plays an important role in export growth. Branding Bangladeshi products with particular identity will help flourish the country's export sector rapidly as branded products are very popular across the globe.

Efforts to stop fertiliser smuggling
BSS, Dhaka

Members of the law enforcing agencies have been asked to remain alert against smuggling out of fertilizers through the common borders, including that of the Myanmar.
The army, navy, police, BDR and the Coast Guards will launch joint drives in the border and coastal areas to resist smuggling out of fertilizers since the price of the agri-input has gone up in Myanmar and India compared to Bangladesh.
The directive was given at the 14th meeting of the Advisory Council Committee on the Law and Order held in the conference room of the Home Ministry here.
Adviser for Home Affairs Major General (retd) MA Matin presided over the meeting. The meeting was attended by Adviser for LRGD and Cooperatives Md. Anwarul Iqbal, Law Adviser A F Hassan Ariff, Works Secretary ASM Rashidul Hye, inspector general of police, director general of Coast Guard and DMP commissioners and concerned officials.
The meeting, among others, discussed theft of transformers, smuggling out of fertilizer and evictions. The meeting also directed the concerned authorities to increase vigilance on the garment sector.
Later briefing the newsmen, additional secretary of Home Ministry Dr. Sheikh Abdur Rashid said that the meeting discussed the law and order in the country and was told that the over all situation has improved.
The meeting also decided to evict the illegal occupiers from the Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University area. The outdoor department and the emergency department of the hospital will be established there after eviction. It was also decided to carry out eviction to retrieve 474 illegally occupied plots from Rupnagar at Mirpur. The meeting elaborately discussed the theft of transformers and was informed that the detective branches were working to find out the culprits.
The Power Development Board and the Rural Electrification Board have been instructed to fix the transformers with electric poles by wielding.
The meeting was informed that about 33 thousand acres of government land was recovered from illegal possessions.

  Transparency and accountability in public expenditure
BSS, Dhaka

Finance Advisor Dr. AB Mirza Azizul Islam on Monday said the present government is firm to ensure transparency and accountability in public expenditure.
"Transparency and accountability hold the key to good governance as far as public expenditure is concerned," he said while speaking at the launching ceremony of the Public Finance Foundation (PFF) and Integrated Budget and Accounting System (IBAS) at Bangladesh China Friendship Conference Centre here. Under the Ministry of Finance, the government introduced the PFF with an aim to bring the government officials, obtaining their degrees on financial management from home and abroad, under one umbrella.
The adviser said the PFF will create opportunities for the officials to be placed in the areas as per their skills and enable them to contribute to areas of their specialization to sustain the ongoing reforms in public financial management.
Besides, the PFF will also help the government imparting training to government officials with a view to making them more skilled.
On the other hand, the IBAS has been introduced allowing the government officials' access to all budget and accounts related information from just one source linking the public offices over a Wide Area Network (WAN).
IBAS has been designed for recording and control mechanisms for managing the receipts and expenditures of the government within a short span of time from the capital to district level. A total of 62 districts of the country have been brought under this network. IBAS was developed by the Financial Management Reform Programme (FMRP) of the Ministry of Finance under the financial assistance of the Department of International Development (DFID), UK and Royal Netherlands Embassy (RNE) in Dhaka.
Finance Secretary Dr Mohammad Tareque, Controller General of Auditor of Accounts AMM Sanaul Haque, acting representative of DFID to Bangladesh Sarah Sanyahumbi, joint secretary of Ministry of Women and Children Affairs Ekram Ahmed and project director of FMRP Ranjit Chakrabarty also spoke on the occasion chaired by Arastoo Khan, Joint Secretary, Finance Division.

Shop owners block
road at Kalyanpur

bdnews24, Dhaka

Shop owners of Kalyanpur BRTC market Sunday blocked Mirpur Road for two hours protesting the state-run transport agency's notice on them to vacate the market.
Police charged batons to disperse the protesters, Mirpur police chief Mohiuddin Mahmud said.
Protesters said up to 25 people were hurt as police attacked what they said was a peaceful protest.
Five were arrested, they said.
Mahmud said they had arrested Azizur Rahman, Arifur Rahman and Mohammad Liton people from the scene and filed a case.
Mirpur police sub-inspector Ezazul Islam told bdnews24.com that shop owners took to the street in the morning and blocked the road halting traffic for two hours.
Kalyanpur Byabshayi Bahumukhi Somobay Samity Limited in a press release, signed by Nasir Uddin, said BRTC wanted to evict them defying the court order.

Crime Watch

Killer nabbed at Kalayanpur
Staff Correspondent
RAB personnel arrested Selim, an alleged killer, from Kalyanpur in the capital on Monday.
Earlier on Friday, Belal, a Grameen Phone official, was stabbed to death by a gang of snatchers in front of Kalyanpur Girls School and College when he was going to his house in the area by a rickshaw at about 4 am on return from Rajshahi by a night coach.
Acting on a tip-off on Monday, a patrol team of RAB-4 raided Porabari slum under Mirpur police station at about 1 pm and arrested Selim, 20. RAB officials also recovered a sharp weapon and clothes of the victim from his possession.
During interrogation, the arrestee confessed that he along with his accomplices including Saju, Azim and Sapan, the members of an organised snatching group, murdered Selim when he was refusing to hand over to them all his belongings.
Besides, on the basis of secret information, a team of RAB-2 raided the house of an alleged heroin trader Anni at Ganaktuli Colony under Hajaribagh police station at about 12.30 pm and arrested Moktar Hossain, 24, while he was taking heroin.
After searching the house, one kg heroin worth about Tk 45 lakh was recovered, RAB officials said.
Cases were lodged.

Arms factory unearthed
UNB, Bagerhat
Police in a drive recovered a fake arms factory at Paschim Sonalikhali village in Morelganj upazila Sunday afternoon and seized a foreign-made firearm, ammunition and arms making materials from the factory.
Police said local people held a miscreant, Masum Sheikh, at Putikhali in the upazila Saturday night and handed over him to the police.
Later, as per his confessional statement police raided Sonalikhali bazar in the afternoon and arrested arms manufacturer Enayet Khan.
According to Enayet's statement police unearthed the arms factory and recovered one firearm, ammunition and arms making materials from the factory and his cowshed.
The recovered materials include a foreign-made revolver, 101 bullets, eight gun-butts, 10 barrels, 30 springs of gun, four triggers, a drill machine and two gas cylinders and three iron cutting machines.
Police said Enayet had long been supplying firearms among the local terrorists and forest bandits.

Statue of Vishnu recovered
A Correspondent, Manikganj
Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) 4 members recovered a touch stone of Vishnu, worth about Tk 20 lakh weighing a quarter kilograms, from Kumrail Area under Dhamrai municipality in Dhaka and held three smugglers on Monday.
The arrestees were Abdul Mannan (40), Khorshed Alom (50) and Anisur Rahman (55).
On information, RAB members contacted Kotu Miah and set an agreement to buy the statue, RAB-4 sources said. As per agreement they went to his house at Kumrail at 11:00 am and recovered the invaluable artefact.
A case was filed with Dhamrai thana police in this regard.
Two including a female arrested, pistol seized in Gaibandha.

Teak timber seized
A Correspondent, Comilla
About 200 sq. ft. teak timber were recovered from Padwerbazar Hazari Feeling Station area on the Dhaka-Chittagong Highway in Sadar Dakkin upazila on Monday.
Acting on a secret information, members of the local forest camp led by officer Md. Safiul Alam Choudhury DFO Comilla and Station officer Musaraf Hossain raided a timber laden Truck (bearing no-Mouli-11-0398) recovered the timbers.
Sensing the presence of the forest team the smugglers managed to flee. A case was filed.

Clash leaves 25 people injured
UNB, Thakurgaon
At least 25 people were injured, four critically, in a fierce clash at Motra village in sadar upazila Monday.
Sources said the clash ensued between the supporters of Raypur UP chairman Nurul Islam and ex-member Tofael over ownership of a disputed land in the morning that left 23 people, including five women, injured. Both the groups used lethal weapons during the clash.
Thirteen of the injured people were admitted to sadar hospital. Condition of Abul Hossain (55), Enamul (28), Babul (42) and Saleha (42) were stated to be critical.
Police visited the spot. Separate cases were filed.

68 arrested
BSS, Rajshahi
Police arrested 68 persons including two alleged drug-peddlers on various charges from different areas in city and nine upazilas of the district on Saturday and Sunday.
Police sources said of the arrested 28 were rounded up from different areas in the metropolis while 40 others from nine upazilas of the district.
Police picked up the drug-peddlers identified as Rabiul Islam, 28, and Abdur Rahim, 42, with 45 bottles of phensidyl and 25 litters of country-made liquor during the raids at different places in the city.
Separate cases were filed against the arrested persons with concerned police stations.
Traffic police lodged 89 cases under the motor vehicles ordinance and seized ten motorbikes without registration during drives against the non-registered motor vehicles from different parts of the city during the time.

Two held with firearms
UNB, Gaibandha
Detective Branch (DB) police arrested two people, including a woman, and recovered a firearm at west Kamarpara rail station in Sadullapur upazila Saturday night.
Acting on a secret information, the DB men raided the area and arrested notorious dacoit Habibur Rahman Habia who was wanted in a number of robbery and other criminal cases.
Later, following his confessional statement, the law enforcers raided the house of his father-in-law at the same village and recovered a pistol from the house. They also arrested his mother-in-law Kariman Bibi.

Wife burnt alive by husband
UNB, Magura
A young housewife was allegedly burnt alive by her husband at Khamarpara village in Shripur upazila early Saturday.
The victim was identified as Prarthana Biswas (24), wife of Asitbaran Biswas of the village.
Police said Asit following a family feud beat his wife mercilessly and at one stage set her on fire. She died on the spot.
On information, police recovered the body of Prarthana and sent it to hospital morgue for autopsy.
Police also arrested the killer husband. A case was filed.

Man killed in Savar
UNB, Savar
An employee of a jewelry shop was killed by miscreants at Nayabadi in Savar pourasabha Saturday night.
Police Sunday recovered the body of Shanta Datta (22), and sent it to
hospital morgue for autopsy.
Police said Shanta, was working at the jewellery shop of his brother-in-law Subash Das since long and he used to stay at the shop at night. On the fateful night he went to sleep at 10:00 pm after the closing the shop. But next morning Subash went to his shop and found the shutter open and also found Shanta missing. Later, the body of Shanta was recovered from a nearby place. No cash and gold ornaments were looted from the shop.
Police suspected that Shanta, resident of Manikganj Sadar upazila, was strangulated to death.
Six local night guards were detained in connection with the killing. A case was filed.

Editorial

Human Rights Watch Report 2008
 
The World Report 2008 of the Human Rights Watch has castigated the Emergency Government for widely violating human rights. Elain Pearson, Deputy Director for Asia of the Human Rights Watch has said that there were widespread allegations against security officials of arresting, detaining and killing civilians. It is true that Bangladesh's human rights record, under successive governments, is nothing to be proud of but to contend of widespread "arresting, detaining and killing of civilians" is to present a picture of complete chaos and breakdown of the system of
law-enforcement which is really far from the truth and the realities of Bangladesh. Exaggerated reports of such organizations as the Human Rights Watch send alarm bells ringing in all the wrong places and more often than not do not serve any useful purposes besides of course providing justifications for garnering in more funds for such organizations. Government of countries like Bangladesh often react negatively and defensively to such alarmist reports and in the process of refuting such reports, real facts and issues are either suppressed or more often simply pushed underneath, out of focus.
We had occasions to discuss about various human rights issues in these columns, the last being an editorial on "Tortures in Custody" published on 19 January 2008. Our studies clearly indicate that human rights abuses by law-enforcement agencies are endemic but public and government awareness about these abuses are increasing and the Government is progressively taking measures to arrest such extra-judicial and extra-legal activities as tortures in custody and unlawful arrests ad detentions. More importantly and alarmingly, human rights abuses are perpetrated more by the people in general than by law-enforcement agencies as numerous daily reports in the media indicate - it is to this aspect that more attention needs to be paid.
Coming back to the World Report 2008 and the last comments of Elain Pearson regarding journalists being threatened by the Army and intelligence agencies and regarding journalists and politicians being scared of the Army, we need to point out that certain sections of journalists and politicians are certainly under threat but not because of their opposition to the government but because they are themselves involved with all sorts of corruption and are scared of just retributions. In general nobody is under threat or scared, if anything people are more vocal and outspoken than ever before; one has but to see and hear the various TV Talk shows and read the editorials of newspapers like the New Age and The Bangladesh Today to grasp the point.
Bangladesh's human rights records are no better of worse than many other states such as India, China, Burma, the USA in Iraq ad Afghanistan, Israel in Palestine and Lebanon and NATO forces in Afghanistan, but somehow states like Bangladesh come in for the worst "bashing" when human rights reports are published by Western-based human rights organizations.

Int'l Counsel for Sheikh Hasina

Sheikh Hasina or more appropriately the AL has collared an "international" counsel by the name of Professor Payam Akhavan whose antecedents, knowledge and experience regarding our laws and legal and judicial system are open to question. We have a whole battery of highly qualified and experienced lawyers protecting the legal interests of Sheikh Hasina, so why this need for an international counsel?
The gentleman in question, Mr. Akhavan had a lot to say about a lot of things despite his professed intent of not coming to Dhaka with a "political agenda". Nonetheless, most of his comments were highly charged politically; for example he was talking about allowing the judiciary to function without political interference, he was expressing opinions regarding the campaign against corruption and he was talking about the people of Bangladesh deciding who their leaders are besides of course stating his opinions on the legal merits of the case against Sheikh Hasina.
As it stands, Mr. Akhavan's visit has served no other purpose besides bringing in a few headlines in newspapers because he had no opportunity to stand up in court for Sheikh Hasina, not having a "license" to practice law in Bangladesh. Such stunts are good for a little bit of "media milage" but more or less raises ire and resentments of the common people because of the following reasons : (1) It denigrates the status and ability of our own lawyers and legal systems, (2) It shows that our political leaders are not really concerned or bothered about the much talked about "image" of the Country but are more interested in transient advantages provided by the media, and finally (3) It shows an utter lack of reality and practicality of our politicians and political parties in getting a "foreign counsel" who has no license to practice law in Bangladesh. Thus once again we are presented with a "spectacle" with no practical utility by one of our major political parties.

Analysis

Law in the Culture of Poverty
 
A responsible and self-regulating legal system is the need of the day in the culture of poverty.

Kamal Wadhwa

The culture of poverty as seen in parts of the Third World is fundamentally a culture in transition and hence, subject to a disproportionate share of violence and mayhem in its midst. The legal institutions present in the culture of poverty harkens back to a not too distant past when they catered to a small minority of people most of whom enjoyed a favored status and a valid locus standi before the Law. It is in the present context of widespread poverty that the legal institutions in the culture of poverty fail to meet the test of relevance and applicability because at last the teeming masses have come to the fore and need immediate relief for their grievances from the courts. The legal institutions as presently constituted cannot cope with the pressure of numbers and hence justice is delayed and denied. And because the system of jurisprudence present in the culture of poverty does not incorporate native wisdom and cultural lore, justice dispensed by conventional forums is faulty and full of foreign social and cultural elements. The ongoing instance of violence and disorder are only an indication that the neo-colonial system of jurisprudence has failed to bridge the chasm between the privileged few and the dispossessed many. The rule of law is a mirage and will remain so until the root problems of the legal system are addressed forcefully and promptly.
One of the basis problems with the legal system in the culture of poverty is that legal education is cumbersome and extends over a prolonged period of time. As a baneful consequence, law graduates expect a high income upon completion of their studies and starting practice. These novice lawyers can barely survive on the paltry fees dished out by poor litigants. These fees often do not even cover the cost of stationery and typing used in preparing briefs.
The end result is that lawyers tend to prolong litigation on the flimsiest of pretexts. Justice gets delayed and hence denied. Moreover, in view of the meager fees paid by poor clients, the services rendered by counsel are of poor quality; drafting is shoddy and careless and lawyers tend to ignore the full needs of their clients. They merely collect their fees and treat their briefs in a careless and cavalier fashion. As a result, poor litigants never get good counsel or proper legal redress. As a practice, poor clients are treated with disdain and contempt by their lawyers.
The legal system in the culture of poverty is faulty on other counts too. The adversarial system of jurisprudence present in the culture of poverty is expensive, cumbersome and time-consuming. Litigation stretches over years and years so that the ends of justice are thwarted. Appeals to higher forums are granted on the most specious of grounds as are adjournments. Since there is a large backlog of cases burdening the courts, corruption becomes rampant as clients bribe court officials to advance their hearings before the due dates.
The adversarial system of jurisprudence inherited from the colonial era is full of other flaws too. In the contemporary systems of law prevailing in the culture of poverty, poor litigants are often represented by government lawyers at public expense. This free legal help is more often than not rejected by poor clients as a matter of pride and self-respect because of the fear of getting sub-standard service. Generally, most poor people never approach the courts for redress of their grievances and the purpose of justice is thus defeated.
Because of poor remuneration available to lawyers in the culture of poverty, the legal profession does not attract the best of talent from the society at large. Only needy and badly-educated youth take to the law. Since these lawyers do not have any independent source of income, they necessarily must survive on fees procured from poor clients. Fees, not the ends of justice, become the dominant motive in a lawyer's life. These needy lawyers in time become harsh, greedy and exploitative. They do collect fees but cannot do justice to their briefs in the courtroom. Poor clients are thus worse off than before and many will drop their cases midway because they cannot afford the cost of prolonged litigation.
Poor and needy lawyers as a rule lack self-confidence in dealing with authoritative judges. They also do not have an adequate grasp of the language of the courts. Unable to overcome their inhibitions, they often "freeze" in the courtroom, especially in important cases. Moreover, they are servile and fawning and attract the judges' contempt.
Judges in the culture of poverty are poorly-paid, over-worked narrow specialists. When complex and important cases come before them, they cannot grapple with their intricacies. The end result is recourse to amicus curiae or "friends of the court" for competent and appropriate advice. This imposes huge monetary burdens on the court finances.
Moreover, when wealthy lawyers argue in the courtroom, judges are easily awed by their good breeding and manners and hence become quite lax in granting adjournments and other favors too. These privileges are not easily granted to poor lawyers.
The State in the culture of poverty does not allocate sufficient funds to the courts to ensure their proper functioning. This means that judges are badly paid, court libraries are ill-stocked with law books and courtrooms are housed in damp, stuffy and antiquated buildings.
Since much jurisprudence in the culture of poverty depends on binding precedents in support of arguments, judges may be compelled to award wrong decisions as they may have ignored the facts of the case on hand. Then, too, jurisprudence in the culture of poverty is grounded in the language and traditions of the colonial era and is not based on scientific precepts. Lawyers, judges and other professionals assisting them are generally ignorant of the sciences and mathematics. Briefs and court decisions run into tomes as a consequence.
In view of the paltry resources available in the culture of poverty, there is no adequate number of law chambers to take in new lawyers. Without this infrastructure, poor lawyers in time become "street lawyers" who do their work near tea stall by the roadside. Since many fresh lawyers do not have access to senior counsel to guide them during their formative years, these lawyers do not succeed in gaining enough experience or income to make it to the top echelons of the legal profession. Those who do manage to get seats in law chambers have to fork out hefty sums for the right to sit in such chambers. Individual lawyers are generally ill-equipped to take up litigation on their own as they lack access to clients or infrastructure such as law libraries, apart from odd crowded and congested court library.
There are other shortages too present in the legal system in the culture of poverty. In this culture, there are few, if any, practitioners of private international law. Those lawyers who do specialize in this branch of law command undue attention and inordinate income. Occasionally, legal work involving elements of international law has to be farmed out to overseas-based specialists leading to huge monetary burdens on clients.
Foreigners who are convicted of committing offences in the culture of poverty are summarily dealt with and they face long and excruciating court battles. Common offences such as pedophilia and drug trafficking that are overlooked if committed by domestic citizen, attract stiff and exemplary punishment if committed by foreign nationals.
Simply put, there is too much rule-making and not enough law in the culture of poverty. This results in quibbling in the courts and ineffective enforcement of genuine laws. Relations between lawyers and the enforcement agencies are often strained with the result that both work at cross purposes thereby undermining the ends of law and justice.
The enforcement agencies and court officials such as bailiffs do not have a long reach; legal notices and summons are easily ignored if the offenders reside in remote or faraway places. Similarly, rural areas have little or no access to law or justice because legal institutions are located in the urban centers and their services do not penetrate the hinterland.
The most fundamental problem underlying the legal system in the culture of poverty is that it is inherited from the colonial period and has few native roots. Essentially, such a legal system was meant to protect the vested interests of the colonial power. Hence, it has scant application to the culture of poverty where at last the teeming masses have come of age.
The legal system in the culture of poverty largely uses the alien language of the colonial power thereby denying the masses the means to appreciate and understand the workings of the court system. This language barrier also denies them access to any legal education. The rural masses are often cheated and exploited on this count. By and large, the legal system caters to a narrow minority in the urban centers of the culture of poverty.
Basically, the legal system in the culture of poverty cannot serve the ends of law, i.e., justice, because of the absence of responsibility in-built within the system. And there is no broad overseeing authority or ombudsman to oversee the functioning of the courts. The rule of law is destined to remain a mirage unless suitable and timely action is undertaken to stem the rot. More and more native wisdom and savvy must be incorporated in the present system of jurisprudence so as to have a broader reach and significance to the culture of poverty.
There is not much of a sense of realism in the legal system as presently constituted in the culture of poverty. Judges and legal professionals to a large extent are highly learned but unaware of the vagaries of the day and circumstances prevailing in the society at large. As a consequence, the legal system is slow to respond to the shifting realities of everyday life and the novel stratagems adopted by well-heeled criminals to escape the clutches of the law.
Law and rule-making by the Legislature in the culture of poverty is slow and dogged by apathy and inertia. Litigation is rarely time-bound. And there is no educative machinery to make the public aware of new laws passed by the Legislature. Since law-breaking is almost endemic to the culture of poverty, enforcement is slow and often non-existent on account of the shortage of trained personnel in the enforcement agencies.
The role of the Press is limited and circumscribed in the culture of poverty. Since newspaper and magazine circulation is limited, it cannot act as an educative medium to impart law awareness apart from reporting on the workings of the courts. Even reportage on the day-to-day functioning of the courts is scant and faulty and the public remains largely ignorant of the law.
Law and order remain a perennial problem in the culture of poverty and the courts are by and large mute witnesses to the mayhem around them. Police excesses abound as a result and the rule of law is subverted.
Lawyers too often instead of aiding the course of justice, actually thwart it. Since Bar associations in the culture of poverty are loosely-organized, poorly-funded and inadequately-staffed, there is no foolproof system to check malpractices by lawyers. In general, lawyers have a bad image and reputation in the culture of poverty. Far from being noble professionals as enjoined by their code of ethics, lawyers are arrogant, offensive and exploitative.
It is indeed sad to observe that the Bar associations have not set any guidelines for the fees charged by lawyers. In the present context they charge as much as they can get out of clients. In the matrix of poverty surrounding them, they cannot appreciate the financial limitations of clients and this leads to much acrimony and haggling thereby reducing the levels of service rendered to poor litigants.
Since the democratic framework in the culture of poverty postulates an independent and free judiciary, there is no motivation on the part of the legal system to change except upon exhortation by the Executive branch of government. The Bar associations are themselves largely forums for routine matters, not remedial action. Law commissions from time to time come out with copious reports on the functioning of the courts but there is no executive and binding authority to take effective action.
A responsible and self-regulating legal system is the need of the day in the culture of poverty. Otherwise, the courts run the risk of being overloaded by cases with no quick disposal in sight. Lawyers have to be disciplined by their respective Bar associations to adhere to their own code of professional conduct. And without a smooth and cordial relationship with the enforcement agencies, the courts stand to lose out in the long run as more and more clients turn away from them.
Since the problems of the culture of poverty are far greater than client-based litigation, there is a compelling need for a committed judiciary that will take up public interest litigation. But who will take up public causes in the culture of poverty where there are so many money-hungry lawyers looking for cheap fees?
Given the fact that hordes of new graduates are entering the legal profession each year, it is imperative for the legal system as a whole to take stock of its predicament. Otherwise, its members may soon descend from their lofty perches and join the ranks of the educated unemployed. A lofty and idealistic system of jurisprudence risks being brought down to the gutter if it cannot come to terms with the limitations and restrictions inherent in a resource-less and destitute environment that is the culture of poverty.

(Kamal Wadhwa is a former assistant editor of Lex et Juris-The Law Magazine. His articles, book reviews and poems have been published in leading Indian periodicals and several in overseas publications, notably the UK Law Journal.)


 Healing Separation

One thing becomes clear in this current paradigm: there can be no Partnership model in the world of politics and social justice until we understand the qualities of feminine power, which can bring balance to masculine power.

Lila Sophia Tresemer

FLINDERS ISLAND, Australia-In October 2006, a group of women from the Holy Land gathered in Colorado to co-create a Middle Eastern village experience-living, eating, and learning together. The women came from a wide variety of backgrounds: Jewish (several were religious, others secular and some pagan), Arab (Druze, Muslim, Christian and pagan), as well as women from the US with a range of cultural identities.
The premise of this group was not to focus on divisive identity politics, but on what we have in common: our humanity, our caring for life, our empathy. And while we were deeply unified in our perspective as women, we also explored the disparities in how each cultural group perceived being seen by "the outside world." By naming these generalizations and confining narratives of our cultural and ethnic identities, we diluted their potency-enabling us to dissolve our separations and deepen our mutual-understanding.
Part of this process was to feel into the nature of separation-understanding it in the context of the social, political and physical reality of Israel/Palestine. Aiding us was Rianne Eisler's model of the Dominator culture, which is described as using separation, force and violence as tactics of control, e.g. torture, terrorism, tearing apart families, creating the "other" as enemy.
To understand the Dominator paradigm, we had to view it dispassionately, without judgment. It is simply the way of the world at present, and it is entirely possible for the paradigm to shift towards one of Partnership. By Dominator we were not implying or bashing a male-dominated gender system; this model is just one way of understanding the most recent cycle of human development. It is a model that reveals great imbalance between masculine and feminine influence.
One thing becomes clear in this current paradigm: there can be no Partnership model in the world of politics and social justice until we understand the qualities of feminine power, which can bring balance to masculine power. We started our exploration of Partnership by asking: what keeps women from being stronger, and rising into feminine power? What is feminine power? How do we begin to heal the wounds that keep the feminine disempowered?
The end of our 10 days together culminated in a theatrical ritual representing the impact separation and walls have on personal power and freedom. The scene was set up as an improvisational piece, a ritual dedicated to healing separation.
A group of women played dominator stereotypes, and constructed a wall of fabric, ordering the other women into two arbitrary groups, one "green" and one "orange." Jews, Arabs and Americans were on both sides. All were told not to speak, not to smile, not to engage with the 'other'. This exploration was really about the impact walls have in creating division, isolation and loneliness. The women easily accessed the emotions of the symbolic conflict, which were amplified by not speaking. No one stormed the wall; no one broke the rules; no one became violent. Indeed, the first response was one of acceptance and resignation to the familiar-they knew what walls feel like, and at first they simply adapted to its limitations. On either side, the women gathered to tend to each other and commiserate in their separation.
Then something erupted. From acceptance, discussion, and commiseration, a force of will appeared as several rose simultaneously to challenge the wall and its keepers. At first they were repelled by the "dominators," and cycled back into the familiar realms of feeling and thinking about it. But the will arose again, and the women, aligned in their determination and collective will, brought down the wall.
Some of the Jewish and Arab women still clustered in their cultural groups, feeling the internal walls that existed between them. Good friends who had never spoken about their differences as Jews and Arabs suddenly spoke of their pain and sorrow. Gradually, bridges were built-bridges of caring, tenderness and empathy. The energy of the enactment diminished naturally, as we spoke about what had happened.
Something profound remained in the room. For the first time in ten days, we were sitting in a circle that felt truly whole. Unseen walls had come down. Something mysterious had, in fact, changed the quality of authentic expression and communication, reflecting the power of ritual and theatre. The women returned to the Holy Land and began to work more effectively together, from a place of common ground and intention. Over the last months more circles, and hundreds of women, have continued to meet and work together in the power of Partnership.
"Shaped by systems thinking, the partnership worldview teaches that in complex systems, small causes can produce extraordinary effects. Where islands of partnership are created, hope blossoms and the creative cycle spins larger and larger ripples…" (Alfonso Montuori and Isabella Conti).

(Lila Tresemer is a playwright, photographer, ceremonialist, minister and co-Founder and Facilitator of The Path of the Ceremonial Arts. This article was written for the Common Ground News Service. Source: Common Ground News Service, 31 January 2008, Copyright permission is granted for publication.).

Viewpoints

Independent Judiciary, in what sense?

Presumably, the Indian honorable judges don’t consider Muslims worth any attention. That is called independent judiciary!

Dr. Abdul Ruff Colachal

Former Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry, as usual, has demanded the resignation of President Musharraf and asked to leave the chair for the former CJP to occupy. In a country where a tough and fierce battle has been going on for power among various aspirants’ parties, this ambition by a former CJP is not unwarranted. But he insists that judiciary must be independent. Here lies the crux of the judicio-political matter. “.. How can there be democracy if there is no independent judiciary?” asks the deposed chief justice of Pakistan who, having been removed on charges of corruption and nepotism by Musharraf, has also described President Musharraf as an “extremist general” for sacking him and 60 other top judges.
But the notion of independent judiciary is highly disputable. In the USA the President has enormous power to get what he wants out of judiciary. Historically, judiciary more often than not upholds the government actions, its agenda on domestic as well foreign policy. Chaudhri’s argument makes one wonder, if he wants the judiciary to deal with cases according to its own whims and fancies, outside the frame of Constitution as some adjustment, as it happens   in some countries, or do exactly what the government “expects” from judiciary on case by case basis, depending on the mood and situations prevailing in the county, as in India, with regard to the issue of rebuilding the Babri Mosque destroyed by anti-Islamic forces that both ruled the country and also colluded with the Congress Party in power?
The Apex judiciary (Hon. Supreme Court) of secular India is too sensitive about its Hindu identity, traditions and Hindutva moorings. In this largest democracy supposedly committed to secularism and equality before law, judiciary is known to take position depending on the flow of the wind. In cases related to Muslims it takes cues form the government network. Judges in India are too sentimental about Hinduism and are keen to protect Hindutva vestiges at any cost. Regarding Sethu Samudram project, the court was too sentimental about Hindu beliefs about the existence of Sri Ram. In cases relating to animal fights during festivals, the judges rule that Hindu sentiments have to be kept in mind by those who organize such festivals in Tamil Nadu and animals should be respected. With regard to reconstruction of Babri mosque and the related Indian government fraud played on Muslim sentiments, the judges are keeping discreet silence. Presumably, the Indian honorable judges don’t consider Muslims worth any attention. That is called independent judiciary!
Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry also criticized the president for keeping him and his family under house arrest for the last three months. But the same complaint force Musharraf to lift the special security for Benzir Bhutto leading to her ghastly murder. Chaudhry has sent copies of his complaint to diplomatic missions of the US, the European Union, Britain and France. Chaudhry also complained that comments made by President Musharraf during a recent tour of Europe that he was “corrupt and inept” were slanderous. “Is there a precedent in history, all history, of 60 judges including three chief justices being dismissed and arrested at the whim of one man?” he asked. He described his treatment at the hands of President Musharraf as an “incredible outrage” committed by an “extremist general” who is supported by the West. 
Chaudhry was sacked when President Musharraf imposed emergency rule in November. Lawyers have held numerous protests against President Musharraf. His dismissal came as the court was preparing to rule on the validity of President Musharraf’s re-election. It is argued that Chaudhry had a reputation for taking a firm line on government misdemeanors and human rights abuses. Earlier, he had gained a reputation for taking up investigations into the highly sensitive issue of the disappearance of political activists allegedly detained illegally by the security forces.  “What the general has done has serious implications for Pakistan and the world,” Chaudhry said in a statement. “Some western governments are emphasizing the unfolding of the democratic process in Pakistan. That is welcome, if it is fair”. But asking Musharraf to hand over power to him looks some what odd. Former CJP should ponder over the intricacies involved in judgment delivery in countries where the state effectively controls the justice administration to its own advantage and the judges themselves are biased against a section of the society, like Muslims in India.

(Dr. Abdul Ruff Colachal is a Research scholar, School of International Studies, Jawaharlal University, Delhi 110067)

Bush’s last hurrah

Indeed, Bush's rendition of the current state of Iraq was far more optimistic than reality on the ground in Baghdad and the rest of the country.

Claude Salhani

MUCH of the 53 minutes it took President George W Bush to deliver his last State of the Union address - with 70 rounds of applause interrupting its delivery - the president spent a good portion talking about Iraq.
But if you expected the president to voice regret for the deaths and destruction caused by the war, you are betting on the wrong man. There was no hint of remorse in his voice, no look of sorrow for the destruction which befell Iraq and its people. Quite the contrary, Bush remained adamant that he had done the right thing. Still, compared to previous speeches, the president's address this year was more toned-down, lacking the usual catch phrases, as in the past when the president called North Korea, Iraq and Iran the "axis of evil". Although Bush warned "the United States would not rest until this enemy has been defeated".
But Suzanne Maloney, a senior fellow with the Saban Center for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institution, described Bush's speech as "a much more sober and realistic discussion of the foreign policy challenges facing America". Maloney did have some problems with Bush attributing the surge to the real shift we have seen in Iraq, saying, "There has been a shift, but I think we can recognise the shift is as much a product of a change in decision-making calculus by some of the key actors, particularly Sunni militias and Shia militias."
In fact, the shift of allegiance among many of the Iraqi Sunnis is primarily due to the fact that the United States simply bought their loyalty with US dollars. As an Iraqi journalist recently told me, "In the long run nothing has been solved in Iraq. We are still very much in a wait and see mode. Anything can happen."
Maloney also noted, "We are not seeing any real carry-over in terms of political progress. Most of the really hard issues for Iraq remain unresolved at this time."
Indeed, Bush's rendition of the current state of Iraq was far more optimistic than reality on the ground in Baghdad and the rest of the country. The president painted a far prettier picture than what is really going on in Iraq, describing the Sunnis, Shias and Kurds as "beginning to come together". He made no mention of Mosul, to where violence seems to be shifting.
On the question of a US troop pullout from Iraq, Bush did not give a completely honest assessment of the situation. The president said that 20,000 US troops were to come home in the months ahead. Yet what he left out of his speech was the fact that even after the withdrawal of those 20,000 soldiers and Marines, the number of American servicemen and women serving in Iraq would remain higher than it was before the "surge".
The Middle East peace talk came almost as a footnote. On the Middle East, Maloney said: "The peace process was almost an afterthought in the president's speech. In fact, other than saying that it was high time a democratic Palestine can live in peace next to a democratic Israel, there was little substance in the president's mention of the Middle East's longest running dispute.
"The administration has relied on a set of poorly drawn assumptions on the formula for peace, which would change the nature of the region and change the nature of decision making," said Maloney. Bush refrained this time from attacking Syria, whose regimes Washington has accused in the past of supporting anti-US forces in Iraq and of interference in internal Lebanese affairs, including pointing the finger at Damascus for the assassination of a dozen anti-Syrian Lebanese politicians and prominent journalists who were killed in Lebanon over the last two years.
Hiam Nawas, a political analyst based in Washington who follows developments in the Middle East, explains, "If we are to resolve the Lebanese issue, engaging Syria is crucial." Bush instead concentrated on Iran, which he accused of developing ballistic missiles with ever-increasing range and of continuing to develop nuclear weapons. Bush said, "The Iranian regime is there to oppose freedom in the Middle East." The president however did differentiate between the regime and the people of Iran with whom he said United States has no quarrel.

Source: www.khaleejtimes.com

These walls that divide us

In Rafah today, men and women swarm across a breach in the wall at the border, "hungry for freedom, for fuel and other things".

Feryal Ali Gauhar

The beloved sun did not rise when they threw up the wall.
How long eyes have searched for it and are still waiting!
Can the eyes themselves be lost?
Could the wall have gouged them out?
- Mahmood Darwish
THE six-metre high metal border wall erected by the Israeli government around Rafah in 2004 stands like a sentinel in the desert between Sinai and the Gaza Strip, ruptured and rusted, a festering wound in the body of a nation disenfranchised and violated for 60 years.
Subjected to the violence of colonisation and then the brutality of dehumanisation, the people of Rafah live divided lives, like many Palestinians who have left homes built by ancestors in the ancient land of biblical Judea and Samaria.
The history of Gaza is the history of the people of Ashkelon and Ashdod, and Gaza is the city which saw the birth of Goliath, defeated by David in a battle signifying the victory of the powerless against the powerful.Today, the people of Rafah fight another war, against a state which has literally imprisoned them within the confines of the coastal strip which saw massive relocations of Israeli settlers in 2006, a move made to 'appease' the peace process. And what of the peace process today? Israel's blockade of the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip was designed to cripple a population which is seen to be complicit in attacks on Israeli territory and citizens.
On Jan 22, the Security Council met in an emergency session to consider a call for ending the Israeli siege of the Gaza Strip. The open meeting was requested by Arab and Islamic states amid an international outcry at what the European Union termed the "collective punishment of 1.5 million residents". Cutting off fuel to the territory's only power plant plunged Gaza into darkness, forcing doctors to choose between saving the lives of newborns or those undergoing heart surgeries.
Israel also blockaded the provision of food and medicines in a replay of the tragedy of Karbala. Today, it appears that the conflict pitting Imam Hussein against the forces of tyranny is reflected around the Muslim world, gaining more significance in a world echoing with chants of democracy and human rights and heaving with growing inequities of power and wealth. Perhaps the walls that divide us are not just erected to keep some in and others out. Perhaps these walls are meant to divide us permanently into those who wield power and those who are compelled to submit to it.
In his autobiography Out of Place, Edward Said talks about growing up as a Palestinian whose people were battered and then displaced by the British Empire which was in a crisis at the time. He learnt that as an Arab, he was the subject of a long history of imperial stereotyping and misrepresentation.
As a student of literature he learnt of the ineluctable and energising connections between culture and politics, with Gramsci and Foucault taking a central position in his intellectual growth. Both philosophers and theorists of social hierarchies and institutions, these giants inspired Said to write a book exploring the various ways in which knowledge about the 'Orient' was produced as a prelude to and a corollary of the conquest of these territories: "My contention is that without examining Orientalism as a discourse one cannot possibly understand the enormously systematic discipline by which European culture was able to manage and produce the Orient politically, sociologically, militarily, ideologically, scientifically and imaginatively…"
Said's seminal work Orientalism needs to be considered seriously today in order to dismantle the walls which have divided the world into conquerors and those who are conquered, the 'sub-human, barbaric native' of Africa, Asia and Latin America. It is only by considering the narrative of the 'other' as valid and legitimate that we can begin to deconstruct the prejudices and the contempt with which we perceive those who are not from 'among us', whether that community happens to be the conquered subject or the warring tribal fiercely protective of territory and historical imperatives which strengthen that claim.
Just over a year ago, on an off-Broadway stage in New York I watched a young woman play out the life of Rachel Corrie, the American activist who died trying to protect the lives and properties of Palestinians in Gaza. Watching this courageous production put together by Alan Rickman, I thought back to the days in London when I would come across Vanessa Redgrave at meetings held in solidarity with the Palestinian people. She had befriended me and would take me home to her flat, cooking for me in a kitchen which held the warmth and love of a woman committed to causes of humanity and peace.
When the London production of this play was cancelled, Vanessa condemned the pressure to suppress the truth. I share her words: "If this cancellation is not transformed we would be complicit, all of us, in a catastrophe that must not be allowed to take place. This play is not about taking sides. It is about protecting human beings, in this case, Palestinian human beings who have no protection, for their families, their homes or their streets. Rachel Corrie gave her life to protect a family. She didn't have or use a gun or bomb. She had her huge humanity, and she gave that to save lives."
In Rafah today, men and women swarm across a breach in the wall at the border, "hungry for freedom, for fuel and other things". In New York, the neo-imperial alliance between Israel and the United States ignores the warnings of the United Nations Relief Works Agency which has run out of plastic bags used to distribute food aid to 860,000 Palestinians living in Gaza. And while bulldozers breach walls in the desert, more walls are erected to ensure that the divide between those who rule and the ruled remains firmly incised into the fabric of our fissured history.

Source: www.dawn.com

International

Suicide bombing kills 11, injures 92 in Sri Lankan capital
AP/UNB, Colombo

A female suicide bomber attacked the main railway station in Sri Lanka's capital, killing at least 11 people and wounding 92 others on the eve of the country's celebrations Monday for the 60th anniversary of independence.
Military spokesman Brig. Udaya Nanayakkara blamed the separatist Tamil Tiger rebels for the attack in the heart of Colombo. Telephone calls to rebel spokesman Rasiah Ilanthirayan's office were not answered.
The blast came a day before planned celebrations across much of the country Monday for the 60th anniversary of Sri Lanka's independence from Britain.
Nanayakkara said the bomber got down from a train and then blew herself up.
"I was near my counter and I heard a big blast. When I looked behind I saw a policeman bleeding," said Ravindra Pinto, a ticket inspector at the station.
"As I took him and rushed out, I saw many men and women on the ground," said Pinto, who was not wounded in the blast.
Nanayakkara said 11 people were killed and 92 others wounded in the attack.
Earlier Sunday a grenade exploded at a zoo on the outskirts of Colombo, wounding at least four people, the military said.
The U.S. Embassy in Colombo issued a statement advising American citizens to avoid unnecessary travel in an around the capital through Sri Lanka's independence celebrations Monday.
A day earlier a bomb on a bus killed 18 people, mostly Buddhist pilgrims, in the central town of Dambulla, about 150 kilometers (90 miles) northeast of Colombo.
The rebels have been fighting since 1983 for an independent homeland for Sri Lanka's ethnic minority Tamils after decades of being marginalized by Sinhalese-dominated governments. The fighting has killed more than 70,000 people.
The military said Sunday that fighting between troops and rebels along the front lines surrounding rebel-held territory in northern Sri Lanka killed 32 rebels and two soldiers. The rebels could not be reached for comment on the military's claim, but the two sides routinely give differing casualty figures.
More than 700 people, including many civilians, have been killed in intensified violence since the government withdrew from a cease-fire with the Tamil Tigers last month.
The United States, the European Union and India all list the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam - as the insurgents are officially known - as a terror group.
 

Opposition in Pakistan to step up poll campaign
AP/UNB, Islamabad

Benazir Bhutto's party said it plans to launch a vigorous campaign for Pakistan's Feb. 18 parliamentary election once the 40-day mourning period for the slain opposition leader ends this week.
Campaigning for the crucial election all but ceased after a Dec. 27 suicide attack killed Bhutto during a rally in the northern city of Rawalpindi, promoting authorities to postpone the balloting for six weeks.
U.S. and Pakistani officials blamed the assassination on Pakistani militants with al-Qaida links. The government repeatedly urged parties to avoid big public rallies as extremists were believed to be planning more attacks.
Despite the warnings, officials of Bhutto's Pakistan Peoples Party said Sunday that her husband, Asif Ali Zardari, would lead a series of "mammoth rallies" after the mourning period ends Thursday.
Another major opposition party, the Pakistan Muslim League-N of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, was also expected to step up the campaigning.
Sharif returned from exile in November to lead a campaign against President Pervez Musharraf, who ousted him in a military coup eight years ago.
Western nations hope the elections will help bring stability to this nuclear-armed country as it battles rising attacks by al-Qaida and Taliban militants. The violence is undermining public support for Musharraf, who quit as head of the army last year amid calls for him to step down.
Babar Awan, a senior member of Bhutto's party, said the opposition will reach out to voters across the country in rallies expected to begin this week in Sindh province, her party's stronghold.
Awan demanded that the government provide security for Zardari and other candidates. Some opposition leaders have accused the government and intelligence agencies of complicity in the Dec. 27 attack against Bhutto. Her followers have accused Musharraf's government of failing to protect her.
Javed Iqbal Cheema, spokesman for Pakistan's Interior Ministry, said all police and security agencies had been ordered protect all candidates.
Sadiq ul-Farooq, a senior member of Sharif's party, claimed other opposition figures were being targeted for assassination to disrupt the election and "perpetuate the tyrannical rule of Musharraf."
Parliament re-elected Musharraf in October but needs a two-thirds majority in the 342-member body to stave off any impeachment bid. Bhutto wrote in an autobiography to be published next week that she had been warned that four suicide bomber squads, one led by Osama bin Laden's 16-year-old son Hamza, would try to kill her.

US, Iraqi troops kill 11, capture 64 suspects in Iraq
AP/UNB, Baghdad

U.S. and Iraqi forces killed 11 suspected militants and captured 64 others in two days of raids across central and northern Iraq, officials said Sunday.
Iraqi troops killed eight suspects and arrested 28 overnight in Salman Pak, about 25 kilometers (15 miles) south of Baghdad, Iraqi police said. They also sei