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CEC comes under fire by AL, BNP
His voluntary resignation demanded
UNB, Dhaka
The Election Commission
headed by Chief Election Commissioner Dr ATM Shamsul Huda
came under fire by major parties like BNP and Awami League
for the CEC’s controversial remarks and plan for holding
upazila polls before general election.
Talking to reporters, acting Awami League president Zillur
Rahman said the CEC’s imbalanced statements created doubts
about the holding of general election by the December
deadline.
Zillur said, "Neither the caretaker government nor the
election commission has any right to organize the
local-body elections before the parliamentary polls." He
demanded that the Commission announce the specific date
for elections and holding the national elections without
delay.
Awami League presidium member Suranjit Sengupta reaffirmed
Awami League-led 14-party alliance’s stand for holding the
general election first. He said after installation of an
elected government, the local elections could be held
within months’ time
Likening the Commission’s plan to hold upazila election
before parliamentary polls to such an awkward act as
putting the cart before the horse, Sengupta pointed out
that during the two-phase dialogue with Awami League, the
Commission had never raised or discussed the matter of
upazila elections.
However, he said a decision regarding the upazila polls
could be reached on the basis of consensus between the
government and the Election Commission and political
parties.
BNP joint secretary general Goyeswar Chandra Roy said CEC
Huda should resign voluntarily before the raising of
demand for his resignation as he said the CEC "lost his
neutrality through his partisan remarks".
Talking to reporters at his house, Roy wondered how the
CEC could say the incumbent election commission is the
product of Awami League’s movement and how he could say
that Abdul Mannan Bhuiyan was illegally expelled from BNP.
The BNP leader blamed the Commission for creating the
present deadlock over its dialogue with BNP through
sending the invitation letter to a ‘wrong address’. The
invitation was given to the rebel faction of the
immediate-past ruling party.
"The Election Commission itself has created crisis in
implementing its roadmap for election," he said, adding
that people want a neutral election commission.
Roy said BNP has been run for last 29 years on the basis
of the present party constitution. It will not be right to
speak beyond this constitution.
He observed that confusion has been created among the
people about the holding of parliament elections as the
commission now plans upazila
elections.
Power outage hits hospitals
Staff Correspondent
An eight-hour long power
outage at the city’s four government hospitals, caused a
death of baby boy and intensified sufferings to the
hundreds of patients who were under treatment at those
hospitals. The three-month old ill-fated child has been
identified as Tofique Hasan, son of Litu Ahmed of Magura
district. Litu admitted his son at the Shisu Hospital with
serious illness. Following deterioration of the baby’s
condition, physicians referred him to the Intensive Care
Unit (ICU) where the child died due to power disruption
According to hospital sources patients specially under
treatment at Intensive Care Unit (ICU), Coronary Care Unit
(CCU) and other emergency units at Dhaka Shishu Hospital,
Suhrawardy Hospital, the National Institute of Traumatic
Orthopoedics and Rehabilitation (NITOR) and the National
Institute of Cardio Vascular Diseases (NICVD), were facing
the worst situation when the electricity went off at about
6 AM. Electricity supply resumed to these hospitals at
about 3 pm.
Talking to this correspondent Residential Physician,
Azharul Haque said the hospital has only a generator for
emergency department but most of the time it remains out
of order. "So we failed to provide electricity supply to
the ICU. Besides, around 471 patients are now under
treatment at the hospital, also suffered as there was no
electricity. We were also compelled to suspend some major
treatment for the patients. It was a dreadful time for
both patients and the physicians," he said.
At least 40 patients infected with various complicated
diseases were under treatment at ICU and CCU at the four
hospitals during the time. Besides, a large number of
patients at other emergency department had to face a
critical condition. Soon after the power outage, panic
started gripping the patients, their relatives and the
physicians as darkness engulfed the hospitals. Lighting
torch and candle, physicians gave treatment to the
patients at various important departments and units.
Following the electricity disaster, transmission of oxygen
and blood to the patients was badly hampered. As a result
many patients became alarmed about their lives; even the
physicians of the respective hospitals were also very
tensed as they could not understand what they ought to do.
A DESA official said the supply of power was cut off when
a cable caught fire. However, he did not say in detail
about the cause of power failure. Replying to queries
Director General of Health said the normal activities
would be hampered if power goes off.
International
Women's Day observed
Staff Correspondent
With a fresh vow to establish women’s right, the country
on Saturday observed the International Women’s Day. This
year the theme of the day is "Investment for development
of women and girl child."To mark the day government,
non-government institutions and women organisations
brought out colurful processions, held discussion and
cultural programmes in the city. Women around the world
are celebrating the International Women Day as they are
fighting for equality, justice, peace and development.
In the morning, Chief Adviser Dr Fakhruddin Ahmed
inaugurated the International Women Day-2008 programme at
the Osmany memorial hall organised by the Ministry of
Women and Children Affairs.
At a discussion held at Dhanmondi, Bangladesh Institute of
Labour Studies called for a national convention to protect
women’s right at work place. Speaking on the day, former
Advisor to the Caretaker Government Sultana Kamal said, "A
vested quarter is always active to keep women vulnerable
at work place and we all should work together to resist
them." She urged the working women to gather more strength
by uniting themselves.
Women and Gender Studies Department of Dhaka University
observed the day amid colorful procession, poster
exhibition and discussion programme. Teachers and students
of the department brought out a colorful procession on the
campus in the morning, carrying placards and a banner to
raise awareness about the equitable rights of women.
Odhikar, a non government organisation, held a discussion
meeting to observe the day. Acting Director of this
organisation ASM Nashiruddin Elan said that democracy is
the best tool to raise the voice of women. He emphasized
lifting of state of emergency immediately in order to
create an environment for free and fair election and
restoration of fundamental rights including the rights of
women.
National Female and Child Advocacy Forum observed the day
amid rally, discussion meeting, prize giving ceremony and
cultural programme. National Garments Workers’ Federation
arranged a press conference to mark the day. Overall
situation of women workers of the garments sector, their
problems and demands were highlighted in the press
conference.
Unrest
in city’s Apollo Hospital
Doctors, nurses stage demos protesting job cuts
Staff Correspondent
Hundreds of doctors, nurses and other employees of
capital’s Apollo Hospital on Saturday abstained from
working protesting the alleged job cuts of 150 some people
including doctors. This sudden work abstention of the
physicians, nurses and employees interrupted patients’
healthcare and intensified the suffering to the patients.
Some of them were seen leaving the hospital for treatment
to other places, said a witness. The agitating physicians,
nurses and other employees also staged demonstration at
the Hospital premises from 8am to 5pm to press home their
a charter of demand, including reappointment of the
terminated officers and employees, removal of Chief
Executive Officer (CEO) Dr Ed. L. Hasen CHE and Nursing
Director Michel C Haul of the hospital.
Talking to The Bangladesh Today, Mosiur Rahman (employee)
said, "There are some 1443 manpower - including 57 doctors
- in the Apollo Hospital. Of them, around 1300 people
joined our ongoing demonstrations yesterday. And we will
not return to duty until the demands are met." Preferring
anonymity a doctor said, "The authority shows us loss in
running the hospital. But if they want to terminate our
services, they must abide by the Service Rules. The
management cannot do whatever they wish."
"The Apollo management is using force on employees to sign
resignation papers", he alleged, demanding "The
authorities must follow Labour Laws and provide
compensations alongwith all fringes benefits before
terminating an employee."
Meanwhile, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Dr Ed. L.
Hasen CHE, was not available for comments in this
connection; even the Deputy General Manager Mohammad
Sohrab Hossain declined to tell anything to this
correspondent over phone last night. However, General
Manager of Media Relations Giasuddin Ahmed said,
"Following standard rules, the authorities have decided to
retrench some 200 surplus staff for the development of the
hospital facilities".
"All of them will get termination benefits as per the
Service Rules," he said adding, "Hospital authorities
proposed to sit with the protesting employees to resolve
the crisis but they didn’t respond at all till the filing
of the report at 8pm on Saturday."
AL
backs trial of war criminals
Staff Correspondent
Speakers
at a discussion in the capital have called upon the
pro-liberation forces of the country to get united to
realize the demand for trial of the war criminals of 1971
and implementation of the spirit of Liberation War. The
discussion meeting on the "Liberation War and Bangladesh"
organized by the Freedom Fighters Co-ordination Council at
CIRDAP on Saturday. Demanding exemplary punishment of the
war criminals they said, without bringing the war
criminals to justice the spirit of war of liberation
cannot be implemented in the country.
Awami League presidium member Amir Hossain Amu said
fighting against the enemy unitedly, the nation freed the
country from the colonial rule of the than Pakistan. The
nation must get united again to press home their demand
for trial of war criminals of 1971. AL leader Tofael Ahmed
said it is a matter of great regret that the freedom
fighters of the country were taken to jail in handcuffs
when the war criminals were moving using national flag on
their cars and jeeps during the rule of former BNP-Jamaat
alliance government.
Along with the then Indian government, the former Soviet
Union also played a vital role in different international
organizations in favour of the Bangalee nation in 1971.
Indian Deputy High Commission to Bangladesh Ms. Mukta D.
Tomer, Counsellor of Russian Federation Embassy in Dhaka
Sergei Alexander Popov and Counselor of Royal Bhutan
Embassy to Bangladesh Ugen Dorgi also spoke at the
discussion.
Back Page
Council of Advisers
Law and Order Disruption Crime Act extended
BSS, Dhaka
The council of advisers on
Saturday approved the proposal for amending the Law and
Order Disruption Crime (Speedy Trial) Act-2002 to extend
its term for another two years from April 10, 2008.
The approval was given at a meeting of the council of
advisers held here with Chief Adviser Dr Fakhruddin Ahmed
in the chair. The present term of the act is due to be
over on April 9 this year. The council also approved the
amendment to the National Hajj Policy-2007, the work plan
for Hajj-2008 and the Hajj Package completing all
formalities for the next Holy Hajj in advance. It also
approved in principle the Public Property and Budget
Management Ordinance-2008 placed by the finance division.
Following a detailed discussion on the proposal, the
council asked the finance division to place it again at
the next council meeting after necessary review.
Besides, the council approved a proposal for extending the
relaxation period of the conditions for attaining certain
level of educational qualifications by the teachers of
registered non- government primary schools without
arranging competency test due to the stay order of the
court.
With this approval, time for the relaxation period has now
been extended up to June 30 this year. Advisers and
special assistants to the chief adviser attended the
meeting. Cabinet secretary, press secretary to the chief
adviser and secretaries concerned were present.
Biman to have new aircraft on lease
UNB, Dhaka
Biman Bangladesh Airlines
Limited is likely to have in its fleet a Boeing 747
aircraft on lease within a couple of weeks.
"All the necessary procedures in this regard have been
completed and we'll come to know by Monday when the
aircraft will arrive in Dhaka," a senior Biman official
told UNB.
He said Biman has struck a deal with Nigerian origin Kabo
Air for taking the aircraft from it on lease. The aircraft
will be delivered under 'wet lease' system under which all
the staff and crewmembers will be provided by Kabo Air.
Biman will simply supply fuel.
Set up in February 1980, Kabo Air started operations in
April 1981. The company stopped operating domestic
services in 2001 and now focuses solely on Hajj flights
and international charters. Traffic rights have been given
to Kabo Air for operating scheduled services to Rome,
Nairobi and N'Djamena, but have not been used so far. Kabo
Air met the requirements set by the Nigerian Civil
Aviation Authority (NCAA) for re-capitalization in May
2007.
Dogged by aircraft shortage, Biman is having problems in
operating flights to 18 countries although it has Air
Service Agreement (ASA) with 42 countries. Biman converted
into public limited company on July 23 last year and
started its journey on August 1.Bangladesh's aviation
industry is growing about 7.5 percent a year. But Biman
can carry only 31 percent of the total passengers due
mainly to aircraft shortage.
Currently, Biman has only 11 old aircraft in its fleet.
Many of its planes get frequently grounded for technical
glitches due to its aging fleet, which has only
old-generation aircraft aged between 17 and 29 years,
except two. Such grounding of planes is wrecking havoc on
its flight schedule, chipping away its market share.
Biman presently own three types of aircraft-four DC10-30s,
four F-28s, and three A310-300s. Production of DC10-30s
and F-28s has been discontinued because of their lack of
viability in business. Out of the four DC10-30s, three are
29 years old while the other is 17-year old, the four
F-28s are 31 years old, and two of the A310-300s are 11
years old while the other is 7-year old.
Army still backs me: Musharraf
AFP, Multan, Pakistan
President
Pervez Musharraf said on Saturday that Pakistan's powerful
army was not "distancing" itself from him following the
defeat of his political allies in elections last month.
Musharraf, who seized power in a coup in 1999 and stepped
down as army chief in November last year, said claims of a
rift between him and the military were being spread by
people trying to destabilise the nuclear-armed nation.
"It is absolutely wrong that the army is distancing itself
from me. There is no truth in it," Musharraf said at the
inauguration of a state television station in the central
city of Multan. It was the second time in two days that
Musharraf, a key ally in the US-led "war on terror,"
touched on his relations with the 600,000- strong
military, which has ruled Pakistan for more than half of
its 60- year existence.
Musharraf faces the prospect of a hostile parliament after
the parties of slain opposition leader Benazir Bhutto and
former premier Nawaz Sharif won the February 18 elections
and formed a coalition. On Friday Musharraf, who until
then had kept a low profile since the elections, said that
the army could not forget him. "It is my army, it is the
army of Pakistan. It cannot forget me," state media quoted
Musharraf as saying at an official function in the
southern city of Jacobabad.
Musharraf's remarks follow a statement by the new army
chief, General Ashfaq Kayani, vowing full support to the
elected government while saying that any split with the
president was not in the country's interest.
Miseries of female garment workers
Staff Correspondent
Leaders of the National Garments Workers Federation (NGWF)
on Saturday alleged that a total of 20 lakhs female
garment workers are not being able to enlist their names
in the new voters list as steps have yet to be taken by
the authorities concerned to include their names as
voters. They also urged the caretaker Government to make
special allocation in the next budget to provide the
female garment workers with residential facilities, on
government lands to ensure their housing.
At a press briefing in the Dhaka Reporters Unity (DRU),
NGWF President Shahida Sarkar in a written statement said,
"The women garments workers are playing a vital role in
building the national economy but the government yet to
take any steps to ensure their economic and social rights.
Besides, most of them are yet to enlist their names in the
ongoing voter lists." She said, "Many garments owners are
not paying salary to their workers as per the tripartite
agreement but the government is not taking any steps
against the garments owners in this regard." She said, "It
is very difficult for the garments workers to have meal
twice a day with their limited income. Besides, sufferings
of the female workers are intensifying day by day as the
prices of daily commodities are increasing at an alarming
rate. Most of them are leading an inhuman life."
Crime Watch
Two top terrors
produced before court
Staff Correspondent
The two top listed terrorists, handed over to Bangladesh
by Indian CID police on Saturday, were produced before the
Chief Metropolitan Magistrate court on Saturday which
granted eight days for their questioning.
The CID team led by inspector, Shyamol Chowdhury, produced
them before the court of magistrate Shamsunahar amid tight
security masers at about 3 pm seeking ten days remand. The
court granted eight days for interrogation.
Earlier, on the basis of secret information, Kolkata
police arrested Imon from his flat at Ghalib Street in
Kolkata on December 6 last year, while the other
terrorist, Ishaq Ali, known as second-in-command of dacoit
Shahid, was arrested from Bengal Guesthouse of Puri in
Orissa state on January 20 this year.
The CID team led by additional special superintendent of
CID police, Abdullah Aref went to Benapole at about Friday
to take back the criminals. India has so far handed over
seven Bangladeshi top listed and most wanted criminals in
three phases.
West Bangal CID officials, Border security force (BSF) and
Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) officials were present when the
two criminals were handed over to the Bangladeshi CID
team.
Three arrested, firearms recovered
Staff Correspondent
At least three criminals were arrested by Rapid Action
Battalion (RAB) and a good number of firearms with bullets
were recovered from their possession in the capital on
Saturday night.
According to sources, acting on a tip-off, a patrol team
of RAB-10 led by Major Golam Mohammad Russel went to
Samsabadh under Katwali police station at about 11 pm and
arrested Emran, 24, and Royal, 20, alleged terrors of the
area.
Later, the law enforcers along with them raided a house
no-22/32/35 and recovered two revolvers, one gun, 42
rounds of bullets and huge amount of arms preparing
equipment were recovered from there.
Besides, on the basis of secret information, a team of
RAB-1 went to Idris Road under Ashulia police station at
about 11:30 pm and arrested Mazed, 25, while he was taking
preparation to commit crime. One pistol with two rounds of
bullets and two magazines were recovered from his
possession.
The arrestees were engaged in toll collection showing
firearms and are accused in several cases including
extortion, RAB sources said.
Man allegedly kills wife, son
UNB, Narayanganj
A depraved man allegedly killed his wife and son in sleep
at Shahimasjid Khanpara in Bandar upazila on Friday night
following a scandal over an extramarital affair.
The victims are Rabeya Begum Sonia, 22, and her
two-year-old son Sojol. Sources said day-labourer Abdul
Karim, hailed from Noakhali district, got married with
Sonia, daughter of late Shamsuddin of Jamaipara area in
the upazila, after an affair with her four years back. But
the philanderer developed an extramarital affair with a
garment worker, which embittered their conjugal life. In
recent times, the couple used to quarrel with each other.
Moreover, they said, Karim often asked Sonia to bring
money from her father's house. "As she failed to bring the
dowry, Karim used to torture her," it was alleged to the
police. Sonia went to her father's house along with her
son in Jamaipara area a month back following a merciless
beating by her husband. But Karim's mother brought them on
Friday. On information, police recovered the bodies and
sent to hospital morgue. Police said, "Karim might have
strangled his wife and son to death and fled home."
Dacoits kill
house owner
UNB, Sunamganj
Armed dacoits stabbed a house owner to death while looting
cash and valuables from his house at Alamkhali village in
Doarabazar upazila early Thursday.
Police quoting local people said the bandits, numbering
7/8, stormed into the house of Phul Mia at about 1:30am
and looted cash money, five tolas of gold ornaments and
other valuables at gunpoint. The robbers, at one stage,
stabbed Phul Mia, 54, indiscriminately when he tried to
resist them, killing him on the spot. Later, while fleeing
with the booty, local people, hearing the hue and cry by
the family members, chased the bandits and caught two of
them.
They later handed over the two robbers - Abdul Kadir, 40,
son of Amjad Ali of the village and Ershad Ali, 30, son of
Mohdir Ali of Mourasi village of the upazila - to police.
A case was filed.
Two robbers beaten to death, one injured
UNB, Gazipur
Two robbers were killed in a mass beating while another
was injured at Bringraj village in Kaliakoir upazila early
Saturday. Police said a gang of robbers, numbering 8/9,
swooped on the houses of Arfan Miah and his neighbour Ali
Hossain at Bringraj village and looted cash and valuables
worth over Tk 1 lakh at about 3:00 am.
They also beat up four house inmates including Arfan Miah
when they tried to resist them.
Hearing shouts of the family members, villagers rushed to
the spot and caught three of the robbers while others
managed to flee the scene.
They beat the robbers indiscriminately and handed them
over to the police this morning. The injured robbers -
Anwar Hossain, Kabir Hossain and Judge Miah - were
admitted to Kaliakoir Health Complex under police custody
where Anwar and Kabir died later. Of the injured house
inmates, one named Kamrul was also admitted to the upazila
health complex.
10 get 14-year RI
BSS, Nilphamari
A court here sentenced 10 persons to 14 years rigorous
imprisonment each for extracting stone illegally from the
Teesta river on Thursday.
The convicts were identified as Gulzar Hossain, Lakkhi
Charan Roy, Abdul Latif, Delwar Hossain, Abdul Malek,
Nowab Ali, Syed Ali, Mojibur Rahman, Tayaz Uddin and Badu
Mamud. District and Sessions Judge Sharif Mohammad Lutfar
Rahman delivered the verdict in a crowded courtroom. The
court also fined the convicts Tk 5,000 each, in default,
to suffer six months more in prison. The prosecution
story, in brief, is that Tobarak Hossain, officer of Water
Development Board of Dalia, filed a case on April 25,2005
accusing 17 persons for lifting stone illegally from the
Teesta river.
After examining the witnesses and evidence, the judge
handed down the verdict. Seven of the accused were
acquitted by the court as charges against them could not
be proved.
RMG factory owners harassed by miscreants
NTKC, a Korean export oriented garments factory at Konaban,
Gazipur seeks help from a local terrorists, says a press
release.
Two Korean investors Jung Mm Kwak and chairman, Mr. Lee,
jointly started the knitting dyeing garments factory on 12
bighas of land 10 kilometers from the Zia International
Airport in Dhaka. Purchased from a local landlord costing
Tk 200 crore since 1994. About 3000 local male and female
workers regularly work there.
A numbers of locals alleged union members enter the
factory occasionally and unlawfully claim money and scrap
materials during the period of Awami League and BNP helped
by the law and forcing agencies.
It is mentioned here that two of NTKC workers were
suddenly attacked by the so call terrorist with the help
of staffs and damaged about Tk two crore of factory
machineries.
It took a handsome amount for the treatment and help for
recovery of the two NTKC wounded workers. As a result the
factory faced disturbance and was compelled to pay
demurrage of Tk 10 crore for late shipment purposes.
Journalist sent to jail on extortion charge
UNB, Chandpur
Abdul Awal Rubel, district correspondent of RTV and Dainik
Amader Samoy, arrested on charge of extortion on
Wednesday, was sent to jail hajat Thursday. When produced
the chief judicial magistrate court ordered to send Rubel
to prison rejecting his bail petition. Acting on a
tip-off, police arrested Rubel while he was taking Tk
8,000 as toll from BCL leader Jafar Iqbal Munna also a
contractor, at a local restaurant in the town. Munna said
Awal was demanding Tk 50,000 from him since last few days
threatening to publish a report against him.
Fertiliser seized
UNB, Mymensingh
Police with the help of local people seized 33 sacks of
urea fertiliser in Dhobaura upazila headquarters on
Thursday while being smuggled out for sale in the black
market.
Police said community police and local people halted three
rickshaws while carrying 16 sacks of fertiliser and
informed them. Later, Dhobaura police with the help of
local people recovered 12 sacks of fertiliser from the
kitchen of the nearby house of Abdul Jalil, 2 sacks from
the kitchen of Tulu Mia and three sacks from the house of
Hakim.
Police also arrested Hakim, 35, rickshaw-pullers Billal
Hossain, 25, Azizul Huq, 15, and Nure Alam, 25, in this
connection. Another report from Jhenidah adds: Detective
Branch (DB) of police arrested two drug peddlers along
with 2 kgs of hemp from Hat Gopalpur check post in the
district Thursday.
Terrorist held
UNB, Jhalakati
An alleged terrorist was arrested along with 21 bottle of
phensidyl syrup from his house at Nekati village in
Rajapur upazila on Thursday night.
Sources said a team of Barisal RAB-8 tactfully arrested
Sumon, 22, a cadre of notorious 'Mijan-Morshed Bahini',
along with the phensidyl syrup from his house at 8:30 pm.
On Friday morning, Sumon, wanted in a number of criminal
cases, was handed over to the police.
Editorial
The Politics of
Sickness
All
of our political leaders now in jails are suffering from
various types of illnesses and all of them are demanding to be
sent abroad or to be allowed to go abroad for better
treatment. That speaks volumes about the condition of our
health-care systems; both government and private, on which
nobody has any confidence, most of all our political leaders
who have encouraged and invested in the development of such
corrupt and incompetent health-care to cater to the needs of a
population of 150 million people. That also speaks volumes
about our political leaders who demand and get the best in
everything leaving the rest of the Nation to make do with the
least. It is these political leaders who have brought us to
the edge of ruin and destruction in every sphere of our public
and private lives. Mr. Abdul Jalil, the Secretary General of
AL has been provided parole to go abroad and get himself
treated and undoubtedly he will spend millions to get that
treatment. What about Jalil, the rickshawpuller, whose kidneys
too are non-functional? Who is going to provide him the
wherewithal to get treatment to which he has as much right as
Mr. Jalil, the General Secretary of AL.
When our media personalities talk of humanitarians grounds and
rights, they talk about the privileges of the few rich and the
powerful; they do not talk about the rights of the millions on
whose sweat, toils, tears and blood, the few become rich and
powerful.
But that is all beside the point, what is to the point is
political necessity and expediency. Just a month or so ago the
jail authorities as represented by the DIG and IG Prisons,
have been quite insistant that jail rules and procedures do
not permit a prisoner to go abroad for medical treatment but
now suddenly the authorities have discovered rules which allow
for any prisoner to go abroad for medical treatment provided a
medical board or a team of doctors recommends so. This about
turn in the interpretation of rules is not in the least bit
surprising to observers of the political scene.
The Emergency Government wants a way out or an exit of the
mess it has created over the last year and a half. All
attempts at creating alternative politics and leadership have
failed, forcing this Government to fall back on AL and BNP or
either, to be able to hold the much publicized elections in
2008. At the same time the Government is apprehensive of
withdrawing the Emergency for fear of widespread unrests. What
better way could there be but to allow these “sick” political
leaders to go abroad and parley among themselves and with
others (more than a hundred) already in hiding abroad who have
been “allowed” to escape the anti-corruption dragnet weeks
after the Emergency was declared. These political leaders, it
is hoped, will come back with a solution “acceptable” to the
Emergency Government, followed of course by the much touted
dialogue between the Government and the political parties. The
question of acceptability will rest on one factor alone :
Whether the politicians are willing to provide a blanket
“ratification” of everything this Emergency Government has
done? If the outcome of this “politics of sickness” is not
favourable to the power that be, prospects of election will be
receeding fast and prospects of the Emergency continuing would
increase exponentially. The “fear factor” of the Emergency
continuing might convince many of these politicians to concede
to the viewpoints of the backers of this Emergency Government.
In any case, the 150 million people of this land have nothing
to look forward to. Talks of reforms and anti-corruption are
just that - talks and the people will have to continue living
and dying with their deprivations and miseries as they have
always done for centuries regardless of who ruled - the
British, the Pakistanis or the Bangladeshi moghuls.
Handing over of
criminals by India
Two
top Bangladeshi criminals -Sanjidul Islam Emon and Ishaq Ali-
were handed over to CID by India on Friday. Earlier, India had
repatriated, in two phases, five Bangladeshi criminals-
Mohammad Rafiq, Mohammad Babul alias Jewel and Habibur Rahman
Taj, Ibrahim and Lamba Selim. Many other criminals are still
staying in the neighbouring country to evade arrest and
punishment.
It is a good gesture on the part of India to hand over the
notorious criminals to Bangladesh authorities although there
is no extradition treaty between the two countries.
Bangladeshi criminals cross over the border to evade arrest
whenever the law enforcers step up the drive against them and
settle down in India, specially in Kolkata city. Some of them
stay in luxurious flats, rented or even purchased, there and
in some cases run businesses. Strangely, most of them maintain
contact over cell phones with their accomplices in Bangladesh
and indirectly continue their criminal activities through
their cohorts. Press reports suggest that many of the fugitive
Bangladeshi criminals threaten businessmen here over phone and
force them to pay tolls to their local agents, who are also
rising criminals.
The move taken by the Bangladesh authorities to bring back the
fugitive criminals from Kolkata to put them on the dock is
undoubtedly a good step and so is the positive Indian response
to it. We hope that the process will continue to bring the
criminals to justice and thus check crimes and violence. In
this regard, we want to stress that smuggling of small arms
and explosives from India to Bangladesh should be stopped
through mutual cooperation between the two countries to
strengthen the drive against crimes and criminals here.
Analysis
Limitations of Participation
Violates Basic Norms
of Democracy
There has also been local and international pressure against
the heavy repression on the restrictions on political
participation in the recent months.
A Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission
The
present military backed caretaker government of Bangladesh has
banned all political activities since the state of emergency
was proclaimed on 11 January 2007, which supplemented the
Emergency Powers Ordinance-2007 and the Emergency Powers
Rules-2007. This ban was partially lifted by the government in
a gazetted notification, which came out as an amendment of the
Emergency Powers Rules-2007 that was published on 9 September.
The amendment allows political discussions specifically on the
internal political affairs of the concerned parties, and the
issues of the national parliamentary election. Only 50 members
of the concerned parties are allowed in a closed door meeting
in Dhaka and the media can broadcast the news in regular
bulletins. However, they are restricted from airing the live
proceedings.
An unofficial translation of the amendment is available below
(as the authorities have not published an English version):
“The government, according to the power given in sub-rule (1)
of rule-3, has relaxed the prohibition on organizing meetings
by any political parties, on the following conditions, that
are:
(A) The meetings of the political parties can be held in the
jurisdiction of the Dhaka metropolitan area;
(B) The decisions of holding meetings of any political parties
must be informed to the commissioner of the Dhaka Metropolitan
Police 24 hours prior to the scheduled time;
(C) Not more than 50 members of the concerned political party
will be allowed to participate in the meeting;
(D) In case of participation of more than 50 persons in any
meeting, permission must be taken from the Ministry of Home
Affairs before, at least, 48 hours of the scheduled meeting;
(E) The meetings shall be arranged in a homely environment
inside the central office, or in residence of any member of
the concerned party, community centre, hotel or restaurant
situated in the Dhaka metropolitan area;
(F) Any of such meeting cannot be organized in an open place
or under any temporary shelter in an open place;
(G) Only the issues relating the party’s organizational
affairs and the national parliamentary election can be
discussed and decided, and no other issues beyond these can be
discussed and decided;
(H) No person other than the members of the political parties
can participate in the meeting;
(I) The workers of the media will be remain present only for
the purpose of collecting news;
(J) The proceedings of the meeting cannot be broadcast or
telecast live by the electronic media, but the news or video
footage can be broadcast as part of the regular bulletin;
(K) Usage of any kind of loud speakers, which the sound of the
discussions and proceedings of the meetings can be heard by
the general public outside the meeting, cannot be applied in
the meetings.
Explanation: ‘Political party’, for the purpose of this
notification, includes any of the factions of any political
party.”
The present military backed government, which has been
propagating a reformation in the democratic practices relating
to the political activities in the country, made the above
mentioned amendment following consistent pressure from the
Election Commission and the political parties that were
supposed to hold meetings between each other regarding the
overdue general elections. There has also been local and
international pressure against the heavy repression on the
restrictions on political participation in the recent months.
However, in this amendment the government has first of all
deprived the majority of the population of participating in
political discussions by limiting the number of the
participants to 50. Secondly, the political discussions are
confined to the capital, thereby leaving any other part of the
country and the rest of the population beyond any scope of
participating in the discussions.
By stipulating the number of the participants the government
neglects and denies the basic norms of any kind of reformation
that democracy itself requires views from all walks of
society. And without the participation of the respective
communities in various localities there cannot be any
democracy, let alone any kind of reformation of the said
institutions or political parties. On the other hand,
representation of a particular urban area does not reflect the
views of the citizens living in the country and who do not
have the capacity or convenience of residing in the capital.
This is another limitation which is a fundamental
contradiction of the concept of democracy. It appears to be
nothing less than a deliberate authoritarian approach of the
military-backed government.
This approach is a clear violation of the standards and norms
of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR)
which Bangladesh as a state party to.
The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) urges the Bangladesh
government to lift the state of emergency completely
regardless of any kind of ban on the political discussions
with any kind of discrimination to the citizens. Without equal
participation of the common citizens there will be no
reformation possible to strengthen the democracy of the
country.
(The Asian Human Rights Commission is a regional
non-governmental organization monitoring and lobbying human
rights issues in Asia. The Hong Kong-based group was founded
in 1984.)
Climate
Change from 55 Million Years Ago (!)
Natural climate variations, which tend to involve localized
changes in sea surface temperature, may have a larger effect
on hurricane activity than the more uniform patterns of global
warming.
Mohammmad Shahidul Islam
The
common people may firmly believe that climate change is the
most recent issue as some devastating hurricanes and cyclones
keep hitting different countries of the world for last few
years. But it becomes wrong while some new findings regarding
a phase of rapid global greenhouse warming have been
disclosed. It says that global greenhouse warming took place
55 million years ago (!). This period of climate change is
regarded as the best fossil analogue to current and future
greenhouse warming.
Analogous to the Earth’s current situation, greenhouse warming
55 million years ago was caused by a relatively rapid increase
of CO2 concentrations in the atmosphere. This phase, known as
the Paleocene-Eocene thermal maximum (PETM), was studied using
sediments that accumulated 55 million years ago on the ocean
floor in what is now New Jersey.
The new study shows that a large proportion of the greenhouse
gases were released as a result of a chain-reaction of events.
Probably due to intense volcanic activity, CO2 concentrations
in the atmosphere became higher and the ensuing greenhouse
effect warmed the Earth. As a result, submarine methane
hydrates (ice-like structures in which massive amounts of
methane are stored) melted and released large amounts of
methane into the atmosphere.
This further amplified the magnitude of global warming, which
comprised about 6o C in total. The study is the first to show
such a chain reaction during rapid warming in a ‘greenhouse
world’.
The new research confirms that global warming can stimulate
mechanisms that release massive amounts of stored carbon into
the atmosphere. Current and future warming will likely see
similar effects, such as methane hydrate dissociation, adding
additional greenhouse gases to those resulting from fossil
fuel burning.
Last year, the same group of researchers showed in Nature that
tropical algae migrated into the Arctic Ocean during the PETM,
when temperatures rose to 24oC. Current climate models are not
capable of simulating such high temperatures in the Arctic,
which has repercussions for the predictions of future climate
change. In addition to Al Gore’s presentation, this type of
research shows what a greenhouse world looks like, including
palm trees and crocodiles in the Arctic.
Natural climate variations, which tend to involve localized
changes in sea surface temperature, may have a larger effect
on hurricane activity than the more uniform patterns of global
warming, a report in Nature suggests. In the debate over the
effect of global warming on hurricanes, it is generally
assumed that warmer oceans provide a more favorable
environment for hurricane development and intensification.
However, several other factors, such as atmospheric
temperature and moisture, also come into play.
It has been analyzed that climate model projections and
observational reconstructions to explore the relationship
between changes in sea surface temperature and tropical
cyclone ‘potential intensity’ - a measure that provides an
upper limit on cyclone intensity.
The researchers found that warmer oceans do not alone produce
a more favorable environment for storms because the effect of
remote warming can counter, and sometimes overwhelm, the
effect of local surface warming. “Warming near the storm acts
to increase the potential intensity of hurricanes, whereas
warming away from the storms acts to decrease their potential
intensity,” Vecchi, a climate change scientist, said.
Their study found that long-term changes in potential
intensity are more closely related to the regional pattern of
warming than to local ocean temperature change. Regions that
warm more than the tropical average are characterized by
increased potential intensity, and vice versa. “A surprising
result is that the current potential intensity for Atlantic
hurricanes is about average, despite the record high
temperatures of the Atlantic Ocean over the past decade.”
Soden, a global warming researcher, said. “This is due to the
compensating warmth in other ocean basins.”
“As we try to understand the future changes in hurricane
intensity, we must look beyond changes in Atlantic Ocean
temperature. If the Atlantic warms more slowly than the rest
of the tropical oceans, we would expect a decrease in the
upper limit on hurricane intensity,” Vecchi added. “This is an
interesting piece of the puzzle.”
“While these results challenge some current notions regarding
the link between climate change and hurricane activity, they
do not contradict the widespread scientific consensus on the
reality of global warming,” Soden noted.
(Mohammad Shahidul Islam is a Freelance Contributor.
Email:
mohd-s-islam@myway.com)
Comment
Don't Be Afraid Of Mr Hyde
K Subrahmanyam
The
CPM general secretary has delivered an ultimatum to the UPA
government to choose between going ahead with the nuclear deal
or staying in office. Though the Left has talked about
withdrawing support if the government went ahead, thereby
reducing it to a minority, there is no indication they have
thought through the consequences. They appear to be playing a
game of brinkmanship and expect the government to blink first.
It is obvious that the Left's objective was not so much to
torpedo the deal itself but to allow the government to proceed
with the deal and then humiliate it both domestically and
internationally.
If the government is to yield to the Left's blackmail at this
stage, it will lose all credibility. In that event, the
Congress will be ridiculed by its opponents in the coming
elections, which is only a few months away. If the Left could
allow the government to proceed with negotiations with the
IAEA to save its face, why are they now trying to rub the
Congress's face in the dirt? They could have objected to the
deal in 2006 and withdrawn support. The fact they did not do
it then shows that their target is not the deal itself but the
ruling coalition. Let us look at the objections that have so
far been advanced against the nuclear deal. US assistant
secretary of state Richard Boucher has clarified beyond all
doubt that the Hyde Act was a domestic legislation of the US,
the main function of which is to allow the kind of cooperation
in the civil nuclear field with India envisaged under the
nuclear agreement between the two countries. While the Hyde
Act binds the US government, it has nothing to do with India.
India is bound only by its agreement with the US.
There are some perceived contradictions between the Hyde Act
and the provisions of the nuclear agreement according to
opponents of the deal. They focus attention on those
provisions and refer to the statements of US secretary of
state Condoleezza Rice that Washington will support nothing in
the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) that is in contradiction to
the Hyde Act. However, there are clear rulings by the US
Supreme Court that according to Article VI of the American
constitution, treaties made by the US will be the supreme law
of the land. The nuclear agreement will be approved by the US
Congress after its clearance by the NSG. Since that would
happen later than the earlier Hyde Act, the legal position
will be that the nuclear deal constitutes the last word of the
US Congress, superseding what had been said in the Hyde Act.
The Hyde Act itself has three major sections: a section on the
sense of the Congress, one on the statement of policy and a
third on waiver authority, Congressional approval and other
incidental matters. The first two sections are not binding on
the administration and are essentially meant to placate the
non-proliferation lobby. The crucial bit is Section 104 on the
waiver which authorises the US president to enter into civil
nuclear cooperation with India prescribing certain conditions.
Besides this, the section also deals with certain restrictions
on nuclear transfers to India.
What India needs at present is this waiver which would then
enable NSG to agree to their waiver on the ban on nuclear
trade and cooperation by the international community with
India. Once this waiver is finalised and the US Congress
approves the nuclear agreement, that will be irrevocable. Then
India will be able to deal with Russia, France and other
countries on nuclear technology and materials import. Section
106 of the Hyde Act deals with this nuclear exemption coming
to an end if India detonates a nuclear device. The nuclear
agreement says there will be consultation between the two
parties whether the circumstances leading to the termination
of the agreement resulted from a serious concern about a
changed security environment or as a response to similar
actions by other states which could impact on its national
security. This provision ensures that if India were to conduct
a nuclear test, the nuclear cooperation won't be terminated
automatically, but there will be consultation between New
Delhi and Washington.
At this stage, India's attention should be on getting the
nuclear deal passed by the US Congress after the clearance of
the IAEA safeguards agreement and the NSG waiver. Once the
nuclear agreement passes the US Congress, the Hyde Act
provisions contradictory to the deal need not bother India.
Those provisions may cause some worry when we are to negotiate
contracts for US reactors. That will be another day and at
that time India can press for amendments to those provisions
of the Hyde Act which govern equipment supply if the US wants
Indian business.
At the moment, it would be extremely imprudent to miss the
opportunity to get the waiver from the ban on nuclear
cooperation imposed by the US Atomic Energy Act, 1954 through
congressional approval of the nuclear agreement. The Hyde Act
controversy is a red herring put forward by those who had
always opposed India's civil and strategic nuclear programmes.
The writer is a strategic affairs analyst.
Source:www.timesofindia.com
Viewpoints
Faces of Burma's Refugee Children Behind Prison Bars
In Burma, there is no environment where the
majority of parents can feed their children at home or where
there is no "right to food to live".
Ahmedur Rahman Farooq
On
Feb 14.2008, Saw Yan Naing of The Irrawaddy News ran a report
along with an AFP's picture of some children of Burma standing
behind bars with other detainees in a crowded detention cell
in Mae Sot, Thailand, saying that thirty-one Burmese illegal
migrants-including three children and 18 women-were arrested
by Thai police on Feb 12 after smugglers transported them to
Ranong Province in Thailand.
It is not a question of whether it is legal or illegal to put
these children in a crowded detention centre - but the point
that raises a grave concern at first sight is - why are these
children there. Everybody knows, Burma is burning. About 57.6
million people of this resource-rich country of 678,500 sq. km
are groaning under the reign of terror of unbroken military
rule for nearly half a century. The military rulers have burnt
down the hopes and aspirations of tens of thousands of people
. Hundreds of men, women and children run everyday to
neighboring countries either to escape the brutalities of the
army or to get rid of hunger. They do not know what awaits
their fate in exile. But everyday they flee their motherland
which has been turned into an earthly hell.
They know, their journey to the unknown destination is full of
dangers ranging from starvation, thirst, detention, drowning
or death, but the flow of escape of these distressed human
beings continues unabated in search of safety and food.
Sometimes, these ill-fated men, women and children cross the
border in heavily loaded cargo boats of smugglers and
sometimes in the tank of oil transport trailer without having
fresh air or water or food. There are innumerable cases of
tragic deaths of those fleeing people onboard due to the lack
of food and water in the deep sea after being adrift for many
days or weeks due to the failure of engine boat or due to the
loss of traveling direction.
In a free world, childhood connotes happiness and innocence. A
child brings endless bliss and joy for a family and a ray of
hope for a nation. Children are considered as the future of a
nation. There are enough mechanisms in a free world for
children to let them grow spiritually, materially and
physically so that they can become worthy citizens of a
country. If they are healthy, if all of them receive education
and live within a comfortable and safe environment, these
elements will indicate that a nation has progressed.
Children need a world where they can laugh, they can play and
they can grow with all qualities which make them worthy
citizen of a country and when grown up, they can bring peace
and prosperity for themselves, for their family, for their
society or for their country. They need to live in a world
where their voices are being heard. They need a world which is
fit for children from all aspects and where all children will
have the same rights and are of equal worth, where every child
will have the right to have his or her basic needs fulfilled,
where every child will have the right to protection from abuse
and exploitation and where every child will have the right to
express his or her opinion and to be respected.
In fact, these are the things which have been codified into
different international laws or conventions. Through, the
ratification of 1989 UN Convention on Rights of the Child, the
international community agreed that some basic rights of
children must be guaranteed. It is a very comprehensive
document with regard to every aspect of rights of a child. The
core of the Convention is described in Article 3: " In all
actions concerning children, whether undertaken by public or
private social welfare organizations, courts, administrative
authorities, or legislative bodies, the best interests of the
child shall be a primary concern."
The above paragraph demonstrates that all agencies of the
state and private sectors must consider and accord priority to
the interests of the child. Although the Convention does not
define the interests of a child, it indirectly indicates that
a child should have an upbringing in an environment in which a
child can develop his/her full potentials in adult life.
Common sense dictates that the fundamental interests of a
child lie in the right to nutritious food, shelter, primary
health care and education. If all these aspects of a child are
cared for, the child will emerge as a worthy citizen.
But the faces of these children in the picture stir a sense of
extreme helplessness. It makes clear that they are the
children of a country which is not fit for children to lead a
normal life. In fact, Burma is a country where innumerable
children are living in a state of utmost miseries, cruelties
and inhumanity. In other words, it is the grinding militarism
which has pushed them to the worst level of wretched life - a
situation which has compelled them to be illegal immigrants or
break the law or whatever.
In Burma, there is no environment where the majority of
parents can feed their children at home or where there is no
"right to food to live" . Whenever people in extreme
hopelessness and despair, facing nothing but repression, try
to get themselves out of this situation, the military rulers
strike them from all directions. They have destroyed the
livelihoods of the majority of people in Burma. Only a handful
that are close to the military regime and others who take part
in keeping the machinery of repression alive obtain some
benefit from the situation. Together with destitution,
destruction of livelihoods and widespread poverty there has
also been the destruction of the entire political system and
the administration of justice.
It is a country where there is no scope for majority of
parents to safeguard the rights of the children even within
the purview of the family. Their parents can not save them
from starvation and can not find ways for medical treatment
when they are sick. The cases of associating children with
baby food and innocent smiles are a matter of rarity there.
Children die at the lap of their parents due to hunger and
malnutrition. The tears of the parents roll down the cheek
seeing their crying children, battered and bruised, physically
and emotionally, every other day, but they have no way to
prevent it.
While the people in the state organs of the military rulers do
everything to protect their own children, they do not consider
those of the common people as human beings. And at the same
time, they kept no doors open for the common people to let
them know how to raise, not to mention care for, their
children. From being made to sit on the floor at school in
many cases as semi-human beings, to being punished or beaten
inhumanly, children get the raw end of every deal. The
mechanisms which can sow the seeds of inspiration in the minds
of the children have been devastated.
Only time can speak when these children can return to a
position where they can fall asleep in the lap of their
mothers in peace and without fear, where they will find a
place which they can call their home, where they will get a
school where they will learn all the lessons of civilized
human society, where they will get a world which will be free
of terror or screams of traumatized human beings and where
they will find a world as has been portrayed by the English
Poet William Blake in his poem "A Cradle Song".
(Ahmedur Rahman Farooq, Chairman, Rohingya Human Rights
Council (RHRC). Address: 2975, Vang i Valdres, Norway. Media
Contact: +4797413036 Email: rohingyas.rhrc@yahoo.com,
rohingyas.rhrc@gmail.com )
Good Morning, Hamas
The administration of Mahmoud Abbas stands on feet of clay -
American and Israeli feet.
Uri Avnery, uri-avnery
We
Israelis live in a world of ghosts and monsters. We do not
conduct a war against living persons and real organizations,
but against devils and demons which are out to destroy us. It
is a war between the Sons of Light and the Sons of Darkness,
between absolute good and absolute evil. That's how it looks
to us, and that's how it looks to the other side, too.
Let's try to bring this war down from virtual spheres to the
solid ground of reality. There can be no reasonable policy,
nor even rational discussion, if we do not escape from the
realm of horrors and nightmares.
After the Hamas victory in the Palestinian elections, Gush
Shalom said that we must speak with them. Here are some of the
questions that were showered on me from all sides:
Do you like Hamas?
Not at all. That does not prevent me from speaking with Hamas
people, as I have spoken with other people with whom I don't
agree.
It is said that Hamas was created by Israel. Is that true?
Israel did not "create" Hamas, but it certainly helped it
along in its initial stages. During the first 20 years of the
occupation, the Israeli leadership saw the PLO as its chief
enemy. That's why it favored Palestinian organizations that,
it was thought, could undermine the PLO. It is ironic that the
Israeli leadership is now supporting the PLO in the hope of
undermining Hamas.
Did the Hamas election victory show that Islam was on the rise
among the Palestinian people?
Not necessarily. The Palestinian people did not become more
religious overnight. It is the reaction of the young Arab
generation to the failure of secular nationalism to solve
their national and social problems.
If so, why did Hamas win?
There were several reasons. The main one was the growing
conviction of the Palestinians that they would never get
anything from the Israelis by nonviolent means. Also, the
corruption in the higher Fatah echelons had reached such
dimensions, that the majority of Palestinians were disgusted.
Hamas, on the other hand, was considered clean, and its
leaders incorrupt.
Can one reasonably expect the Palestinians to overthrow Hamas
themselves?
As long as the occupation goes on, there is no chance of that.
An Israeli general said this week that if the Israeli Army
stopped operating in the West Bank, Hamas would replace Abbas
there too. The administration of Mahmoud Abbas stands on feet
of clay - American and Israeli feet.
But how can one reach a settlement with an organization that
declares that it will never recognize Israel and whose charter
calls for the destruction of the Jewish state?
All this matter of "recognition" is nonsense, a pretext for
avoiding a dialogue. We do not need "recognition" from
anybody. When the United States started a dialogue with
Vietnam, it did not demand to be recognized as an Anglo-Saxon,
Christian and capitalist state. If A signs an agreement with
B, it means that A recognizes B. All the rest is hogwash. And
in the same matter: The fuss over the Hamas charter is
reminiscent of the ruckus about the PLO charter, in its time.
That was a quite unimportant document, which was used by our
representatives for years as an excuse to refuse to talk with
the PLO. Who remembers that today?
What should we speak with Hamas about?
First of all, about a cease-fire. When a wound is bleeding,
the blood loss must be stemmed before the wound itself can be
treated. Hamas has many times proposed a cease-fire, Tahidiyeh
("Quiet") in Arabic. This would mean a stop to all
hostilities: Qassams and Grad rockets and mortar shells from
Hamas and the other organizations, "targeted liquidations",
military incursions and starvation from Israel. The
negotiations should be conducted by the Egyptians,
particularly since they would have to open the border between
the Gaza Strip and Sinai. Gaza must get back its freedom of
communication with the world by land, sea and air.
If Hamas demands the extension of the cease-fire to the West
Bank, too, this should also be discussed. That would
necessitate a Hamas-Fatah-Israel trialogue.
Won't Hamas exploit the cease-fire to arm itself?
Certainly. And so will Israel. Perhaps we shall succeed, at
long last, in finding a defense against short-range rockets.
If the cease-fire holds, what will be the next step?
An armistice, or Hudnah in Arabic. Hamas would have a problem
in signing a formal agreement with Israel, because Palestine
is a waqf - a religious endowment. (That arose, at the time,
for political reasons. When Caliph Omar conquered Palestine,
he was afraid that his generals would divide the country among
themselves, as they had already done in Syria. So he declared
it to be the property of Allah.) Hudnah is an alternative to
peace. It is a concept deeply embedded in the Islamic
tradition. A hudnah can last for dozens of years and be
extended without limit. A long hudnah is in practice peace, if
the relations between the two parties create a reality of
peace.
So a formal peace is impossible?
There is a solution for this, too. Hamas has declared in the
past that it does not object to Abbas conducting peace
negotiations, on condition that the agreement reached is put
to a plebiscite. If the Palestinian people confirm it, Hamas
declared that it will accept the people's decision.
Why would Hamas accept it?
Like every Palestinian political force, Hamas aspires to power
in the Palestinian state that will be set up along the 1967
borders. For that it needs to enjoy the confidence of the
majority. There is no doubt whatsoever that the vast majority
of the Palestinian people want a state of their own and peace.
Hamas knows this well. It will do nothing that would push the
majority of the people away.
And what is the place of Abbas in all this?
He should be pressured to come to an agreement with Hamas,
along the lines of the earlier agreement concluded in Makkah.
We believe that Israel has a clear interest in negotiating
with a Palestinian government that includes the two big
movements, so that the agreement reached would be accepted by
almost all sections of the Palestinian people.
Is time working for us?
For many years, Gush Shalom was telling the Israeli public:
Let's make peace with the secular leadership of Yasser Arafat,
because otherwise the national conflict will turn into a
religious conflict. Unfortunately, this prophecy, too, has
come true. Those who did not want the PLO, got Hamas. If we
don't come to terms with Hamas, we shall be faced with more
extreme Islamic organizations, like the Taleban in
Afghanistan.
Source:www.arabnews.com
International
Israel on alert,
Gaza braces after Jerusalem killings
Islamic organisation condemns attack
AFP, Jerusalem
Israel was on alert
and Gaza braced for reprisals on Friday as crowds mourned
eight teenagers killed by a Palestinian gunman at a Jewish
religious school in an attack claimed by the Islamist
Hamas.
Residents of the impoverished Gaza Strip were bracing for
punitive Israeli military strikes after the attack which
shook the faltering peace talks and provoked strong
condemnation from around the world.
Thousands gathered in Jerusalem for the funerals of the
teenagers killed in the attack carried out by a
Palestinian resident of occupied east Jerusalem, who
sprayed automatic gunfire at the students before being
gunned down by an army officer late on Thursday.
Police arrested more than 10 relatives and friends of
25-year-old Alaa Hisham Abu Dheim of the Jabal al-Mukaber
area, where a mourning tent draped in Palestinian and
Hamas flags was set up.
The attack, the first in four years in Jerusalem, was
claimed by a senior official of the Islamist movement,
which refuses to recognise the Jewish state's right to
exist.
"Hamas is responsable for the attack. The Ezzedine Al-Qassam
Brigades will officially claim the attack at the right
moment," the Gaza official told AFP on condition of
anonymity, referring to the group's armed wing.
Thursday's attack came after a surge in violence that left
more than 130 Palestinians dead in and around Hamas-run
Gaza in eight days. Three Israeli soldiers and one
civilian were also killed in the same period.
The army sealed off the occupied West Bank and Israeli
police declared a "general state of alert." Israel's main
ally, US President George W. Bush, led a global chorus of
outrage, but the UN Security Council failed to agree on a
condemnation amid Libyan opposition.
The students-most of them 15 or 16 years old and including
one US citizen-were shot dead at the Merkaz Harav Yeshiva,
a theological school in predominantly Jewish west
Jerusalem. Another nine were wounded.
The Islamic world's biggest political bloc on Friday
condemned the killing of eight Israeli teenagers in a
Jerusalem religious school, saying it abhorred "violence
and terror."
In a rare reaction to an anti-Israeli attack, the
57-member Organisation of the Islamic Conference expressed
"grave concern over, and condemned the recent killings of
students in the west Jerusalem," a statement released here
said.
OIC Secretary General Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu also
"reiterated the position of the OIC against any act of
violence and terror anywhere in the world," the statement
added.
Benazir’s party tells army to stay out of Pakistani
politics
AP/UNB, Islamabad
Pakistan's
army must stay out of politics, the party of slain former
Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto said as it worked to build a
government that can strip its ex-military president of
much of his power. President Pervez Musharraf, meanwhile,
urged the victors of Feb. 18 elections to "stop
politicking and move toward forming a government." He said
parliament would be convened within a week and a half.
"I promise that if peace is maintained, I will support
whichever coalition is formed," he said Friday.
Bhutto's party won most seats in the elections, that were
supposed to return Pakistan to democracy after eight years
of military rule. Musharraf's allies fared badly.
Negotiations are still under way on forming a coalition
government but the winning parties appear on a collision
course with the former army strongman, which could herald
fresh turmoil in a country under attack from Islamic
militants. During his tenure, Musharraf entrenched the
military's say in policymaking. He imposed de facto
martial law last year in order to secure a new five-year
presidential term for himself - with the public backing of
his fellow generals.
A spokesman for Bhutto's Pakistan People's Party welcomed
a pledge on Thursday from Musharraf's successor as army
chief to "stay out of the political process."
But he said the value of that commitment "lies in how
sincerely and effectively it is implemented."
"While hoping that the army would stay out of politics,
the party (will) watch keenly whether it really stays
out," spokesman Farhatullah Babar said in a statement.
Generals have governed Pakistan for more than half of its
turbulent 60-year history. Coup leaders like Musharraf
insist that they stepped in to save the country from
incompetent civilian governments. But they have proved
reluctant to relinquish control. Musharraf said after his
tearful retirement as army chief in November that his
hand-picked successor, Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, would
still owe him loyalty.
But Kayani has moved to distance the army from politics,
and opposition warnings that the military's intelligence
agencies would rig last month's parliamentary vote to
ensure victory for the unpopular president's allies proved
hollow.
Myanmar junta refuses to amend charter barring Suu Kyi
from polls
AFP, Yangon
Myanmar's ruling junta
Friday flatly refused to amend its proposed constitution,
which bars democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi from
elections, while accusing a UN envoy of "bias" against the
regime.
The information minister, Brigadier General Kyaw Hsan,
made the remarks during his meeting with visiting UN envoy
Ibrahim Gambari, according to state television.
Gambari arrived here Thursday on a mission to press the
regime to include Aung San Suu Kyi in its plans to hold a
constitutional referendum in May and multiparty elections
in 2010.
Any hopes for progress in his talks appeared dashed by the
information minister, who gave no indication that the
regime would waver from its own plan to build what it
calls a "discipline-flourishing democracy."
"It is impossible to draft the constitution again," Kyaw
Hsan flatly told Gambari, according to state television.
The minister also made a scathing criticism of Gambari's
performance as a mediator, accusing him of "bias" in
favour of Aung San Suu Kyi for releasing a letter from her
after his last visit here.
In the letter, she had declared her willingness to enter
into a dialogue with the regime aimed at national
reconciliation.
"You have acted outside your role as a mediator" by
releasing the letter, Kyaw Hsan said.
"Most people have criticised you for showing a bias. Some
also believe that you wrote this letter in advance and
released it after negotiations with Ms Aung San Suu Kyi,"
the minister said.
"The statement you released was a danger that could have
harmed the recent peace and stability of the country," he
said.
"It is important for the mediator using good offices not
to have any intention of orchestrating events," he added.
"There is no justice in attacking us with pressure from
all sides," he said. "The United Nations should stand
honestly, without any discrimination on anything."
Gambari is on his third visit to the country since the
regime launched a deadly crackdown on pro-democracy
protests last September, killing at least 31 people
according to the United Nations.
But the political landscape has shifted enormously since
his last visit in November, following the surprise
announcement one month ago of the regime's election plans.
Malaysian polls decide future of fundamentalist Islamic
state
AFP, Kota Bharu
The future of Malaysia's
only state held by the fundamentalist Islamic party was in
the balance Saturday as voters decided whether to switch
to the multi-racial coalition.
A win in the Muslim Malay heartland of Kelantan would be a
major boost for Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi whose
Barisan Nasional coalition is expected to lose some of its
majority in the federal parliament.
Analysts said the race between the Pan-Malaysian Islamic
Party (PAS) and the coalition, which has promised billions
of dollars in investment to the impoverished northern
state, will go down to the wire.
"I am very confident of winning if there is real democracy
in Malaysia and there is transparency in the system,"
Kelantan Chief Minister Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat said after
casting his ballot in the state capital Kota Bharu.
Dressed in his trademark white flowing robes and turban,
Nik Aziz warned against a vote for Barisan Nasional, the
14-party alliance dominated by Malays who make up 60
percent of the nation's population.
"If BN takes control, they will dismantle everything we
have done and there will be mixing of the sexes and the
removal of halal practices," he told reporters.
"PAS should retain control because we have done a good
job, honoured God's word and carried out Islamic
doctrines," said the chief minister who is also the
party's spiritual leader.
Political banners-the blue-and-white of the Barisan
Nasional and green-and-white PAS flags-that have festooned
the state were drenched in seasonal rains as voters walked
along muddy village paths to polling centres.
Elderly Kelantanese women in traditional headscarves and
flowing outfits walked alongside young relatives in jeans
and shirts.
Kelantan is the last remaining stronghold for PAS after it
suffered a decline in popularity in recent years, and it
rules the 45-seat state legislature with just a
single-seat majority.
The party of Islamic scholars has changed tack, dropping
the hardline rhetoric that alienated voters in 2004
elections and focusing on bread-and-butter issues such as
inflation and social welfare. Elsewhere in Kota Bharu,
Awang Adek Hussin, who is leading the BN's charge to
retake Kelantan, was in a confident mood.
Bush, Putin discuss NATO summit
AFP, Moscow
Russian President Vladimir Putin and his US counterpart
George W. Bush discussed an upcoming NATO-Russia summit in
a telephone conversation Friday, according to the White
House and the Kremlin.
It was the first publicly disclosed conversation the two
leaders had since Putin protegee Dmitry Medvedev became
Russia's president-elect in a landslide election on March
2 -- and both sides were stingy with details.
"The heads of state examined questions on the
international agenda, particularly in light of
preparations for the Russia-NATO Council meeting," a
Kremlin statement said.
The White House did not mention the exchange until
questioned, and national security spokesman Gordon
Johndroe would only say that "they had a good conversation
ahead of the NATO summit."
Putin is planning to attend the meeting in Bucharest on
April 2-4, which will take place on the sidelines of a
full NATO members summi |