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US Active again in BD Politics
US wants free, fair, credible,
participatory elections by Dec 2008: Geeta Pasi
Staff Correspondent
The Charge-de'-Affairs of
the United States, Geeta Pasi, has said that they want the
upcoming election in Bangladesh to be held not later than
the end of December, 2008.
Addressing newsmen after a two-hour views-exchange-meeting
with Awami League leaders, the US Charge-de'-Affairs on
Sunday hoped that the present government should do
everything required for holding a free, fair, credible and
participatory election in time.
The meeting, held at the acting AL President Zillur
Rahman's Gulshan residence yesterday morning, discussed a
number of common issues including the current political
situation.
The US representative in Bangladesh also underscored the
need for the bilateral dialogue between the Caretaker
Government and the political parties to resolve the
crisis. "As we know, the political parties have an
important role to play and with that role, they have also
the responsibilities of moving things forward to hold
elections," Geeta Pasi observed hoping that political
parties are taking preparations for the next step towards
holding free and fair elections scheduled to be held by
the end of the year. Appreciating some steps of the
present government, the US Charge de' Affaires Pasi said,
"The US government has supported the Election Commission
announced electoral roadmap. We support CG's roadmap in
implementing the reform of the Independence Election
Commission, Anti-Corruption Commission and separation of
Judiciary from Magistracy."
Replying to a query about the detained ailing AL president
Sheikh Hasina , Geeta Pasi said, "During the discussion,
we also touched about Sheikh Hasina. It's a matter before
the court and we did touch on that." Meanwhile, acting AL
general secretary Syed Ashraful Islam said, "The US is
also concerned over the health condition of the former
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina." "Geeta Pasi wants
everything, including the trial of Sheikh Hasina, to be
carried out upholding the Human Rights," Ashraful said
adding, "They (US) want to lift the State of Emergency
prior to the election." Among others, Zillur Rahman, Syeda
Sajeda Chowdhury, Amir Hossain Amu, Abdur Razzaque, Tofael
Ahmed, Suranjit Sengupta, Motia Chowdhury and Kazi
Jaforullah were present at the meeting. Later, Geeta Pasi
held meeting with leaders of Bangladesh Nationalists Party
(Saifur faction).
bdnews 24 adds: Pasi also held a one-hour meeting with BNP
reformist leader Saifur Rahman at his Gulshan home on
dialogue with the government. After the meeting, Saifur
told reporters: "I had discussed the political situation
and election process with the US envoy." "We told her that
parliamentary elections should be held in September before
the local government elections," Saifur said. "If the
elections are delayed, the situation will deteriorate due
to the price hikes of commodities and economic slowdown."
"The situation may become normal if power is handed over
to an elected government as soon as possible," he said.
Elections as per Roadmap: CEC
Staff Correspondent
The Chief Election
Commissioner, ATM Shamsul Huda, on Sunday said the
Election Commission is not taking the demand of political
parties into cognizance rather it will continue its
efforts to hold the general election as per the road map.
All the political parties including AL and BNP demanded of
the EC to hold the parliament election first, the BNP has
already demanded the resignation of CEC.
The CEC was talking to reporters at the EC secretariat
after a meeting yesterday.
Replying to a question, the CEC said, "We are working hard
to hold the stalled general election as per our roadmap
and nothing would be able to derail us from holding the
election, whatever the people say, we have no confusion
about it as the EC must reach its main goal through
holding a free, fair and credible election as per its
plan."
Asked whether EC has any plan to hold Upazilla elections
before the national polls, Shamsul Huda said, "We are yet
to take any decision in this regard, but if any proposal
comes from the government, the commission would discuss
about it. We are now focusing on the elections of four
expired city corporations and seven municipalities."
He said the political parties have not opposed the EC's
plan to holding polls of the city corporations and
municipalities before the stalled ninth parliamentary
election.
Asked about his resignation demanded by some political
leaders, the CEC said, "Any political leader may demand my
resignation and it is his right, but I do not want to say
anything more in this regard." Meanwhile, the CEC refused
to make any comment on BNP saying, "We would not give any
statement regarding BNP".
About the yesterday's meeting, CEC said, "we have
discussed the outcome of second round dialogue with the
political parties. We are examining the proposed
Representatives Peoples Order (RPO) in the light of the
outcome of dialogue and we would send it to the cabinet
after holding the dialogue with BNP."
Hannan
Shah under Fire for Unity Move
Taib Ahmed
BNP Chairperson's adviser Brig (retd) ASM Hannan Shah gets
flak from the Chairperson, Begum Khaleda Zia and M Saifur
Rahman for his unilateral move to reunite the two warring
factions of BNP. According to sources, the detained
Chairperson, Begum Khaleda Zia, did not give the nod to
Hannan Shah's move. "Begum Khaleda Zia said nothing about
Hannan Shah's move; rather she insisted on following the
party Constitution in whatever is being done," Masud Ahmed
Talukder, a counsel of Begum Zia who met her recently,
told The Bangladesh Today, adding, "she also cautioned
about any move that might go against the party
constitution." Talking to The Bangladesh Today, another
counsel of Begum Zia said, "I have to talked to Masud. He
told me that Begum Zia was not interested with Hannan's
Shah's move."
Acting Chairperson of the reformist faction in BNP, M
Saifur Rahman, on Sunday rescinded Hannan Shah's unity
move outright reiterating, "we will not cancel the 29
October meeting." "I have got Hannan Shah's draft
resolution of unity. According to the draft we have to
relinquish the proceedings of the standing committee
meeting held on October 29. We cannot do so. What remains
if we cancel the meeting," M Saifur Rahman retorted in
reply to a volley of questions from reporters about
Hannan's Shah unity move.
He was talking to newsmen after meeting the US Charge
D'affaires, Geeta Passi, at his Gulshan residence. "The 29
October meeting was held to uphold the democratic values
in the party. It can never be allowed that the party's
activities will be at standstill in absence of the party
Chairperson," Saifur said adding, "We want to come out of
this situation. What is the point of holding a dialogue
with other faction if we cancel our 29 October meeting?"
"Moreover, there is nothing specific in the draft about
the party reforms. The draft says the party Constitution
will be amended in line with the opinions and views of the
councilors. We know what the councilors will say. They
will see, 'we will abide by whatever Begum Zia will do.'
We do not want such council," Saifur said.
Saifur Rahman also demanded holding of national elections
before the local government saying, "the country will have
to face more and more crises if the general election is
not held much earlier." "The election commission is
progressing well. They will complete the tasks of voter
list by June. Then the general election can easily be held
in September," Saifur said.
Personally
Not in favour of Polls
under Emergency: Ghulam Quader
Staff Correspondent
Communications Adviser Ghulam Quader on Sunday said he is
not in favour of holding the national election under the
state of emergency. "Personally I am not in favour of
holding election while the emergency is in force", said
the Communications Adviser while answering queries from
newsmen at the secretariat yesterday.
He strongly mentioned the most acceptable election in this
country was held under the state of emergency. Asked when
such election was held in this country, without giving any
detailed account, Ghulam Quader referred to the election
which was held in 1970. By relaxing some sections of the
Emergency Powers Rules, the parliament election can be
held, the Communications Adviser noted.
Meanwhile, Law Adviser A. F. Hassan Ariff at a weekly
briefing at the Secretariat said the state of emergency
would certainly have to be withdrawn ahead of general
election scheduled by the end of 2008. He also informed
that the issue to withdraw the state of emergency is being
discussed as a whole so that the EPR is withdrawn before
the national polls. The issue to withdraw the state of
emergency is emanating from people, from all strata of the
society as the stalled ninth parliament election scheduled
to be held by the end of 2008 is drawing near. But the
interim administration is yet to decide when the state of
emergency would be withdrawn, sources said. Briefing
newsmen, Ghulam Quader touched upon various issues
including the post-Sidr infrastructure development and
dialogue with the political parties. On dialogue with the
political parties, he said the Government would hold
dialogue with the political parties in line with its road
map after the Election Commission had finished its
dialogue with the political parties on electoral reforms.
Regarding the Election Commission's stalemate on dialogue
centering inviting pro-reform faction of BNP led by
Hafizuddin, Quader said the dispute would be resolved
soon.
On whether the Government is setting conditions to send
former Prime Ministers Sheikh Hasina and Khaleda Zia
abroad, Quader said, "I don't know whether the Government
is putting conditions or not to send them". About the
train service between Bangladesh and India, the
Communications Adviser said, "I hope the train service
will start on the first day of Bengali New Year".
However, everything depends on India as it is yet to give
the final approval to start the train service soon, he
said adding, "We have done our part and send it to India
to do their part".
Pak
opposition parties agree to form govt
AFP, Islamabad
Pakistan's two main opposition leaders agreed Sunday to
form a coalition government, and urged President Pervez
Musharraf to convene parliament without delay.
Asif Ali Zardari and Nawaz Sharif signed the agreement
at a news conference here after a fresh round of
coalition talks following last month's general election.
Zardari is the de facto leader of Bhutto's Pakistan
People's Party (PPP), which won the most seats in the
February 18 ballot and, along with Sharif's Pakistan
Muslim League-N (PML-N), trounced Musharraf's political
allies.
The parties agreed to form a coalition government and to
reinstate judges sacked by Musharraf during his
emergency rule in November last year, Sharif said,
reading from the joint declaration.
"The leadership was of the firm opinion that the
coalition partners are ready to form the government and
the national and provincial assemblies should be
convened immediately," Sharif said.
Zardari said they would stay on the road to democracy.
"We feel that the country is on the verge of making
history. This was also the desire of Benazir Bhutto and
we also intend to stick to road to democracy; we are
aware of the problems that the country is facing,"
Zardari said.
Musharraf, who faces the prospect of a hostile
parliament, Saturday urged the incoming government to
leave politics aside and focus on good governance,
economic management and peace and stability.
"We need a stable government and peace in society," he
said, adding, "These are basic requirements to run the
country's affairs."
Back Page
Trends of
Terrorism in Bangladesh
Staff Correspondent
International coterie is
hatching conspiracy to brand Bangladesh as a militant
country in a bid to use its land as transit point for
serving their interest to destabilise the southeast
region, said Rohan Gunaratna, Head of the Singapore based
International Centre For Political Violence and Terrorism
Research
"International circles are trying to involve Bangladeshi
people in terrorism activities in the name of religion
aiming at using the land as a strategic point as the
country is located between the two mega-power states China
and India. So they are now very much active to tarnish the
image of Bangladesh showing different arguments," Rohan
Gunaratna said while he was addressing a dialogue on
"Trend of Terrorism in South Asia" held at Bangladesh
Enterprise Institute auditorium at Gulshan in the city on
Sunday.
He said if the government fails to stamp out religion
based terrorism, the country will face a situation like
Pakistan after five years as the international circle is
very much active to turn Bangladesh into a terrorist
country although 99 per cent people of the country are not
involved in terrorism or any criminal activities.
"Government should clarify about the definitions of
extremism and terrorism. It should be cleared Islam does
not allow extremism. There is no significant number of
terrorists in the country but a very few people are
involved in extremism," Rohan Gunaratna added.
Brushing aside US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice
remark that Harakat Ul-Jihad-i-Islami-Bangladesh (HUJI-B)
as a Foreign Terrorist Organization, he said Bangladesh
extremists don't have any linkage with the Foreign
Terrorist Organization.
"According to my research, there is no connection of
Islami Dawati Khalafi with HUJI-B. But the US government
has enlisted Islami Dawati Khalafi as the alliance of HUJI.
As part of conspiracy to brand the Bangladesh as militant
country, they did it. Before making such list, the US
government should consult with the Bangladesh government,"
Rohan Gunaratn.
Imtiaz Ahmed Professor of International Relations
Department of Dhaka University, said at first Bangladesh
government should identify the real groups who are
involved n terrorism and extremism and later prepare a
list to take action," he added
He said simultaneously government will also have to aware
of new terrorists and watch their activities closely to
address this burning issue.
"Country's existing education system should be reformed.
The brilliant and talented students will have to be
encouraged to study religion based subject. If the good
students are admitted in religion related subject, they
will understand better about the religion. As mediocre
students study religious subjects, Islam is being
misinterpreted," Imtiaz Ahmed added.
NBR to appoint PSI audit firm
UNB, Dhaka
The National Board of
Revenue (NBR) is likely to decide on appointment of PSI
audit firm at its Proposal Evaluation Committee (PEC)
meeting on Thursday.
Only one audit firm, M/S National Marine Consultants Inc,
out of three contenders' submitted bids, remains alive in
scrutiny by PEC. It will now evaluate the bid of National
Marine Consultants.
"The bid may be rejected if the audit firm fail to pass
the technical fitness in the next meeting as per
guidelines of the Public Procurement Regulation (PPR) of
the government," a senior official of NBR told UNB.
The government had decided to appoint an international
audit firm to scrutinize the price quoting of the
Pre-Shipment Inspection (PSI) companies against the
backdrop of suspected import-inspection scam.
Three international audit firms, two from USA and one from
EU countries, submitted tenders invited by NBR.
The government's revenue authority has been trying to
appoint an audit firm to ensure check and balance in the
function of the PSI companies for a couple of years. But
NBR has so far failed due to some legal complications and
tight procurement policy of the government.
The government has taken the move considering the
importers' complaints about harassment and delay in
getting their consignments after import valuation by the
PSI companies.
Recently NBR unearthed irregularities of PSI company M/S
Cotecna Inspection SA in importing luxury vehicles.
The government appointed four PSI companies in September
2005 for a three-year term to continue with the provision
for compulsory pre-shipment inspections introduced in
2000.
The companies are Cotecna Inspection SA, SGS (Bangladesh)
Limited, Bureau Veritas BIVAC (Bangladesh) Limited and
Intertek Testing Limited.
They were appointed to help the customs department, which
lacks sufficient logistic support and skilled manpower in
carrying out inspection of volumes of imports.
53,710 die of cancer annually
Speakers at workshop
BSS, Dhaka
As many as 53,710 people of the country die of different
types of cancer annually while 84,074 people are being
affected afresh.
Presently, there are nearly eight lakh cancer patients in
the country. Of them 62.4 percent are male and the rest
37.6 percent are female, this was revealed on Sunday at a
workshop on 'Health education and promotion with
stakeholders and journalists'.
It said most common cancers are found in lung, respiratory
track, mouth, ovary and breast.
The seminar was jointly organized by Bereau of Health
Education (BHE) of Health Directorate and Bangladesh
Centre for Communication Programme (BCCP) at Mohakhali
here.
Participating in the seminar, high officials of the Health
and Family Welfare Ministry said that 12.5 percent of the
total deaths of the country causes due to various
cardiovascular diseases while 6.2 per cent die of
diabetics.
Health experts at the seminar said health consciousness,
including having balance diet and maintaining a healthy
lifestyle, could reduce 80 percent of heart diseases and
diabetics and 40 percent of cancer.
They said the media could play a strong role in creating
consciousness about health education by presenting
in-depth and objective reporting.
Participants also underlined the need for opening a media
cell at every health-related government and non-government
organisations for ensuring free flow of information for
the journalists.
Health and Family Welfare Secretary AKM Zafarullah Khan
addressed the seminar as the chief guest while Director
General of DGHS Prof Dr M Abul Faiz spoke as the special
guest.
Chaired by Chief and Line Director of BHE M Anwarul Islam
Khan, the workshop was addressed also by BCCP Director
Mohammad Shahjahan, Joint Secretary of Health and Family
Welfare Ministry Dr Anwar Hossain Munshi, Additional
Director General of DGHS Dr Hosne Ara Tahmin and Deputy
Chief of BHE Nur Mohammad.
Dr Mostafa Zaman of World Health Organisation (WHO), Prof
Mahfuzur Rahman of NIPSOM and Biman Kumar Saha of National
Nutrition Programme presented separate keynote papers on
the impact of different diseases while President of Jatiya
Press Club Shaukat Mahmood presented a paper on the
importance of media coverage.
A good number of journalists and stakeholders of the
health sector from every districts of the country took
part at the workshop.
DU to sack 8 teachers
UNB, Dhaka
The Dhaka University authorities are likely to sack eight
teachers as they failed to resume their jobs after
completion of their sanction leaves for higher studies
abroad. The DU Leave committee, the body to approve study
leave for university teachers, at a meeting on Sunday
recommended the Syndicate to cancel the jobs of eight
teachers.
The meeting was held with DU Vice Chancellor Prof SMA Faiz
in the chair at his office. Deans of all faculties were
present at the meeting.
Two months ago, the DU authorities served notices to 26
teachers who did not join the university after finishing
off their study leaves. Sources said, 12 teachers have
already submitted their resignation letters to the
university authorities and the syndicate.
On November 20 last year the DU authorities posted a list
of 96
teachers on its official web site who are indebted to the
university for around Tk 1.69 crore and requested them to
repay the money to the authorities.
Crime Watch
Poura chairman held for torturing women
UNB, Natore
Police arrested Bonpara Pourasabha chairman and BNP leader
Saturday night on charge of torturing his stepmother and a
maidservant.
Sources said poura chairman Sanaullah Noor Babu also BNP
poura unit president following a family feud beat up his
stepmother Momta and domestic help on February 29, leaving
them seriously injured.
After the incident, Babu's father Dr Saber Ali filed two
separate cases on Thursday against him.
On the basis of the complaints, police arrested Babu at
about 8pm.
Mother, daughter suffer serious acid burn injuries in
Gopalganj, Mar 9 (UNB) - A woman and her daughter
sustained severe burn injuries as miscreants hurled acid
at them at Jalirpar village in Moksudpur upazila Friday
night.
Police quoting local people said following a land dispute
neighbor Tulu Bagchi along his cohorts threw acid on Milan
Mondal, 47, and her daughter Laxmi Mondal, 12, when they
were gossiping sitting on the veranda of their house at
about 8pm, injuring them critically.
Local people hearing the hue and cry of the victims rushed
to the spot and admitted them to Moksodpur Health Complex.
A case was filed.
Man arrested on charge of smuggling
UNB, Pirozpur
Police arrested personal assistant of a UP chairman at
Mahmud Kathi village in Sarupkathi upazila on Thursday
night while he was smuggling government relief rice and
fertiliser.
The arrested was identified as Shakhawat, 30, personal
assistant of Atghar Kuriana Union Parishad Chairman Zakir
Hossain Nanto.
Police said local people caught Shakhawat red handed while
he was smuggling eight sacks of government rice and four
sacks of fertiliser by a boat and informed them.
Police later rushed to the spot and arrested him. A case
was filed.
WDB officer busted for taking bribe
UNB, Khulna
Joint forces arrested an official of Water Development
Board in Koyra upazila of the district on Sunday afternoon
on charge of taking bribe.
Police said Shashank Kirtania, 40, section officer of WDB
was arrested from the premises of his office when he was
taking Tk 10,000 as bribe from a contractor promising him
manage a contract.
Shashank was handed over to the Koyra police station
later.
Clash leaves 30 injured
UNB, Bagerhat
At least 30 people were injured in a violent clash between
two rival groups of people over a trifling matter at
Shashan village in Mollahat upazila on Saturday.
Police said an altercation ensued between Nishikanta of
Shashan village and Faruq Sheikh of neighboring Babu Danga
village in Naragathi upazila of Narail district on Friday
night over hair cutting in hairdressing salon of
Nishikanta.
As a sequel to the dispute, supporters of Nishikanta and
Faruq swooped on each other at about 11am on Saturday
triggering chase and counter-chase and exchange of
brickbats, leaving 30 people injured from the both sides.
Later, on information, police rushed to the spot and
brought the situation under control.
Meanwhile, additional police forces have been deployed in
the area to avert any untoward incident.
Four gamblers busted
BSS, Comilla
Police arrested four gamblers at Bareswar village under
Burichang upazila of the district on Saturday.
Police said the arrested persons were identified as
Rafique,36,Monir Hossain,40,Swapon,26, and Zaher,42 of
Bareswar village.
A case was filed with respective police station in this
connection.
34 including criminals netted
BSS, Rangpur
Police arrested a total of 34 persons, including notorious
criminals from various places in the district during the
past 24 hours till this afternoon.
Police sources said the arrested included notorious
criminals, cheats, listed terrorists, absconding
murderers, muggers, thieves, drug traffickers,
extortionists, absconding
accused and warrantees.
Police also recovered a huge quantity of phensidyl,
locally produced wine, ganja, narcotics substances, lethal
weapons and other illegal goods during the raids, the
sources said.
Police arrested notorious mugger Sultan Ahmed, 20, drug
traffickers Sadulal, Rafikul, Wahed, Mahfuz, Nuru,
Mohammad, Roich, Ali Hossain from different places in the
district and seized 46 kg ganja from their possessions.
Of them, Kotwali police arrested eleven persons;
Gangachara four, Taraganj one, Badarganj four, Mithapukur
seven, Pirganj three and Kawnia police arrested four
persons during the period.
The arrested were sent to jail after producing them before
different courts today, the sources said.
Two held, phensidyl seized
BSS, Meherpur
Members of the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB-6) arrested two
drug-peddlers with 300 bottles of phensidyl from Garibpur
village close to frontier area under Gangni upazila in the
district last night.
The arrested were identified as Abdur Rashid, 35, and son
of Salam and Tanjirul ,28, son of Farman Ali. Acting on a
tip-off, a team of the RAB raided the area and arrested
them with the phensidyl. A case was filed with Gangni
thana in this connection.
Five gamblers netted, Tk 63,550 recovered
BSS, Rangpur
Detective Branch (DB) of police arrested red-handed five
professional gamblers and seized huge cash amount and
other inputs for gambling here last night.
Police said a special DB police conducted a sudden raid in
Keranipara area in the city and arrested the gamblers
red-handed and seized Tk 63,550 in cash from their
possessions while gambling there. The arrested gamblers
were identified as: Saiful Islam, Abdul Haque, Zaowad,
Manik and Tapan, all aged between 25 and 30 years of the
same areas. DB police filed a case against the arrested
persons and handed them over to Kotwali police station
from where they were sent to the jail hajat after police
produced them before a Rangpur court today, the sources
said.
Two convicts held
BSS, Rangpur
Police arrested two absconding convicts from different
places in the district at separate drives conducted last
night, police sources said.
The sources said Kotwali police arrested notorious
criminal and absconding convict Motiur Rahman, son of
Khabir Uddin of Robertsonsganj area in the city and Kawnia
police netted convict Mohammad Alam, son of Sofur Uddin of
village Thakurdas.
Both of the arrested convicts had been absconding for a
long time after being punished for various terms by
different Rangpur courts in their absence.
The arrested convicts were sent to Rangpur Central Jail
when police produced them before different courts today,
the sources said.
Bombs recovered
A Correspondent, Madaripur
Members of rapid Action Battalion (RAB)-8 recovered even
bombs from a residential area at Amirabad villege under
sadar upazila on Saturday midnight.
Acting on a tip-off the law enforcers raided the area and
recovered the bombs from the spot and later handed them
over to the local police.
None was arrested in this connection.
A case was filed with the thana.
Editorial
Disagreements between EC and the Government
There
have been recent reports of disagreements between the EC and
the Emergency Government regarding the holding of local
government elections before the national polls. Possibly the
comments of the Adviser for LGRD, about the intentions of the
Government to hold elections to upazillas by May 2008, sparked
off these disagreements. The EC has claimed that it is not
aware of the need of holding upazilla elections before the
national elections; the CEC and other Commissioner are
insisting that they would stick to their announced road-map
for national polls. The political parties, mainly the AL are
adamant that the national elections must take precedence over
local government elections which they consider to be
unnecessary distractions.
Many observers of the political scene are already skeptical of
the EC’s ability and resolve to stick to its schedule since it
has been unable to hold its proposed dialogue with the BNP,
the other major political party. Everyone is united in the
opinion that this particular problem with the BNP has been
“created” by the EC and that the EC is using “the matter being
in Court” as an excuse for stone-walling on the issue. On
Friday, 7th March 2008, the CEC commented that the ‘Doctrine
of Necessity’, which debarred the mainstream BNP from joining
the EC dialogues, was not his “brainchild” but was infact
suggested by the legal advisers of the EC. Such comments are
not going to absolve the CEC from the responsibility of having
put into effect a ‘doctrine’ which does not exist in our laws
or in our Constitution. If indeed a “Doctrine of Necessity”
were in vogue or in force it could be used to justify any act,
action or measure however unjust or unfair it might be; in
fact such a doctrine would over-ride every other law or
constitutional provision. Therefore, we are of the opinion
that the EC’s actions and its justifications were not well
thought out, neither were the ramifications and implications
studied.
True it is that the EC had to take a decision as to which
faction of the BNP it ought to hold talks with but that could
more easily and less controversially be resolved by a study of
the BNP’s constitution and if that were not enough, the EC
could well have invited both the factions of the BNP to a
dialogue with it, playing as it were, a mediatory role. That
would have been more in keeping with the status and dignity of
the EC. As it is the EC has laid itself open to accusations of
being partial, discriminatory and unequitable in its dealings
with political parties – the very things which it is
constitutionally bound to avoid and discard. Not only that but
the EC has also involved itself to all sorts of murky legal
squabbles with the dissatisfied faction of the BNP, which it
would have been best to avoid in the interest of holding a
free, fair and acceptable election this year-end.
As for the disagreements between the EC and the Government,
this is not something new that we are witness to. The
immediate past EC too had disagreements with the immediate
past care-taker government and matters had reached a stage
where all the key personnel of the EC had to be forcibly
jettisoned and replaced by the present incumbents after the
Emergency was declared. The present disagreements, we hope,
will not reach an impasse stage where both the EC and the
Government feel they have no further room for maneuverability
and the one or the other has to go. After all, we cannot
continue indefinitely with this merry-go-round of changes in
ECs and governments. We want elections and representative
governments, not this spectable of squabbles between different
institutions of the State.
Analysis
Post Al Qaeda Terrorists can
be Defeated
Al Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) had nothing to do with 9/11. It is a
consequence of an American/British invasion based on a
misleading reading of the intelligence that Iraq possessed
weapons of mass destruction.
Jonathan Power
It
is almost unbelievable that Senator John Cain has tried to
play the Al Qaeda card against Senator Barack Obama.
Cautiously, Obama had said that “if” Al Qaeda is forming a
base in Iraq then the U.S. will have to take action. McCain
seized on the word “if” to scorn Obama’s ignorance.
But Obama was exactly right to talk carefully and McCain, who
appears to want more war and the extension of war to Iran, was
very much off the mark.
Al Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) had nothing to do with 9/11. It is a
consequence of an American/British invasion based on a
misleading reading of the intelligence that Iraq possessed
weapons of mass destruction. AQI is not popular in Iraq and if
the American forces withdrew, Sunni insurgents, who loath the
organization because it has brought in foreign jihadists and
massively attacked civilians, would probably drive it out.
According to Professor Christopher Layne of the George W. Bush
School of Government at Texas A and M university, writing in
the latest number of World Policy Journal, “Most U.S.
Intelligence officials and outside experts reject the argument
that an American withdrawal could result in Iraq becoming a
base for operations against the U.S..” Nothing would more pull
AQI’s sting than a fast withdrawal of Iraq troops. It would,
moreover, undercut the anti-Americanism on which, until
recently, the organization has thrived.
Indeed, as time has passed and Al Qaeda has done its dirty
anti-civilian deeds in places as far apart as Jordan and
Algeria, not to mention some of the various European
atrocities, the organization has lost its allure to most
Muslims. Even in the west of Pakistan, where it is supposedly
holed up, it is losing popular support- witness the steep loss
of votes for the local Islamic militant parties in the recent
Pakistani election.
Although the war in Afghanistan has now become bogged down it
is true that the Americans and their allies have made a huge
dent on Al Qaeda. Its capabilities have been severely
degraded. As Marc Sageman, a former CIA case officer, writes
in the current issue of Foreign Policy, “The key is to
accelerate this process of internal decay. This need not be a
long war, unless American policy makes it so.”
Sageman’s other point is that the cutting edge of world-wide
terrorism is no longer Al Qaeda directed. It is autonomous
individuals or autonomous small cells- as were recently
convicted in Spain- who have no tangible links with Osama bin
Laden, even though the authorities try s hard to research such
links. This new face of terror, according to Sageman,
“consists of would-be terrorists, who, angered by the invasion
of Iraq, aspire to join the movement they hail as heroes. They
form fluid, informal networks that are self-financed and
self-trained. They have no physical headquarters or sanctuary,
but the tolerant, virtual environment of the Internet offers
them a semblance of unity. Theirs is a scattered,
decentralized, social structure- a leaderless jihad.”
These online forums, which promote the image of the terrorist
hero, give new recruits guidance and instruct them in tactics.
The true leader of this violent social movement is not bin
Laden but the collective discourse of half a dozen influential
fora. Al Qaeda itself doesn’t know who these people are. Each
disconnected network acts according to its own understanding
and capabilities.
When, in October 2005, British police broke down Younis
Tsouli’s door they were acting on information that he had
traded emails with men planning a bombing in Bosnia. To their
surprise, when they examined his hard drive, they found they
had stumbled upon one of the most infamous cyber-jihadists in
the world. Angry at the war in Iraq he had uploaded videos of
beheadings and suicide bombings and from his bedroom in a
leafy London district he became a crucial global organizer of
online terrorist networks, posting links to bomb-making
manuals and guiding recruits to jihadists sites
Thorough police work can crack these movements, just as the
Baader Meinhof Gang, Italy’s Red Brigades, Carlos the Jackal
aka Iilych Ramirez Sanchez and the Basque ETA and Ireland’s
IRA were diminished by persistent police efforts.
Many of the on line terrorists have an urge for
self-promotion. Younis Tsouli boasted, “I am one of the most
wanted terrorists on the Internet”, and that can give them
away. It is also important not to place these terrorists in
the limelight in order to publicize another “major victory” in
the war on terror. Spain’s recent police press conference was
counter-productive. Arrested terrorists should be allowed to
fade into oblivion, not become public martyrs inspiring
others.
The McCain’s of the world live to stir things up- macho meets
macho. Obama’s quiet approach combined with extra computer and
intelligence resources for the police is the way to go.
(Jonathan Power is an internationally renowned freelance
columnist. Copyright Jonathan Power. Dateline London; March
8th, 2008. E-mail: JonatPower@aol.com or phone +46 706 510879)
Towards
normalization: Ahmadinejad in Iraq
Iran wants to be seen to be playing a positive role in Iraq
and Ahmadinejad made it clear he believes Iranian and Iraqi
stability are mutually dependent.
Dr. Abdul Ruff Colachal
Leading
a large delegation that includes Foreign Minister Manouchehr
Mottaki, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad arrived in
Baghdad on 02 February for the first-ever visit for two days
by an Iranian president to Iraq, a nation that was once Iran’s
bitter enemy and with which it fought a 10 year-long dirty
war. Iran and Iraq are both led by Shiite Muslims, though Iraq
has more Sunnis than Iran. The two countries were hostile to
each other and fought a long and destructive war during most
of the 1980s. “Iran has no need to intervene in Iraq. It is
friendly to all groups in Iraq. Isn’t it ridiculous that those
who have deployed 160,000 troops in Iraq accuse us of
intervening there?” Ahmadinejad is quoted as saying.
Ahmadinejad said Iran wants to reopen the historical ties
between these “brotherly” nations. He sought to reassure
Iraqis ahead of the trip that Iran is not fueling violence in
Iraq.
President Mahmoud said his landmark visit to Iraq opened a new
chapter in “brotherly” relations between the two countries,
which were once bitter enemies. Ahmadinejad is the first
Iranian president to visit Iraq. The Iranian president said he
was “truly happy” to be visiting an Iraq “without the
dictator” Saddam Hussein. He said the people of Iraq were
going through “tough” times. “But as we know, the Iraqi people
will overcome the situation and the Iraq of tomorrow will be a
powerful, developed and unique Iraq,” a smiling Ahmadinejad
said. “A united, powerful and developed Iraq is in the
interests of all countries of the region,” he said. “Six years
ago there were none of these terrorists. When the others
stepped foot in this country and region we find a foothold for
the terrorists,” he told reporters late on 02 March, referring
to the U.S.-led invasion of Iraqi in 2003… Nations are
dissatisfied with the rules that now dominate the world. They
want justice. The nations of Iran and Iraq are front-runners
in establishing justice, morality, kindness,” he said in
comments carried by Iranian state television.
The Iranian leader went from Baghdad’s airport to a meeting
with Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, a Sunni Kurd speaking
fluent Farsi, who gave him a red-carpet welcome. “We had very
good talks that were friendly and brotherly. ... We have
mutual understandings and views in all fields, and both sides
plan to improve relations as much as possible,” Ahmadinejad
said in a news conference with Talabani at the Iraqi
president’s residence, located across the Tigris River from
the new U.S. Embassy in the fortified Green Zone. Talabani
said the two discussed economic, political, security and oil
issues and planned to sign several agreements later. But he
said the issue of borders, including the disputed Shatt
al-Arab waterway between the two countries, was not discussed.
The news conference appeared to end abruptly after a reporter
asked Ahmadinejad about the People’s Mujahedeen Organization
of Iran, which was allied with Saddam during the bitter 1980s
war between the two countries. The group has opposed Iran’s
Islamic republic and has operated out of Iraq. The U.S. and
European Union list it as a terrorist organization. Talabani
interjected, saying: “This issue has been discussed earlier
and the presence of those as a terrorist organization is
constitutionally not allowed. We will endeavor to get rid of
them out of the Iraqi territory soon.”
Ahmadinejad had announced the dates of his visit in advance,
landed at Baghdad International Airport in daylight and drove
through the capital, albeit in a heavily guarded convoy, on a
relatively quiet day. In contrast, Bush’s visits are typically
a surprise and involved trips mostly to U.S. military bases,
like his journey to an air base in Unbar province last
September. Ahmadinejad, a Shiite himself, visited the shrine
of Imam Mouse al-Kati around midnight. He travelled in a
motorcade under tight security through Baghdad’s streets to
the shrine in the northern Kazimiyah district.
Many Sunni Arabs, who were dominant under Saddam Hussein,
resent the Shi’ite rise to power in Iraq and believe Iran
controls Iraqi Shi’ite leaders and is arming Shi’ite militants
to attack them. In mainly Sunni Arab Falluja west of Baghdad,
protesters marched through the city waving banners saying “Get
your non-Arab hands off Iraq”. Both Iran and Iraq are run by
Shi’ite majorities, but while Iraq is largely Arab, Iran is
mainly Persian. In the holy city of Najaf, historically the
centre of Shi’ite learning, Ahmadinejad’s trip was welcomed.
Ahmadinejad’s two-day trip illustrated one of the unintended
consequences of the 2003 U.S.-led invasion. “We believe that
the major powers who have come to the region from thousands of
kilometers away should respect the will of nations and leave
this region. That’s the best service they can offer these
nations,” the Iranian leader told reporters after meeting with
Iraq’s president. “Six years ago, there were no terrorists in
our region. As soon as the others landed in this country and
the region, we witnessed their arrival and presence,” he said
after meeting Abdul-Aziz al-Hakim, the leader of Iraq’s
largest Shiite political bloc.
There has been a lot of symbolism during this visit, and not a
lot of substance. But the symbolism is important. Iran wants
to be seen to be playing a positive role in Iraq and
Ahmadinejad made it clear he believes Iranian and Iraqi
stability are mutually dependent. Iran also has ample
instability to contend with already - to the east, across the
border in Afghanistan. His trip was as much about symbolism as
it will be about cementing economic and political ties between
Iran and Baghdad’s Shia-led government as well as an attempt
to improve the security situation in Iraq.
The trip not only highlights his country’s growing influence
on its Arab neighbor in the post-Saddam Hussein era, but it
also serves as an act of defiance toward the U.S. It will be
closely watched by the US that refuses to vacate Iraq and
Afghanistan. Iraqi officials have urged Washington and Tehran,
which have not had diplomatic ties for almost three decades,
not to use Iraq as a proxy battleground to fight out their
differences, which include a row over Iran’s nuclear
ambitions.
Many Iraqis call upon the United States and Iran not to make
Iraq a field for their struggle. Ahmadinejad asked the foreign
forces to leave Iraq and the region. The visit sends a clear
message to Iraqis that the Iranian influence in the country is
significant and enduring. But at the same time, he doesn’t
want to threaten the Iraqis. He doesn’t want to threaten Gulf
States who fear that Iraq will be an Iranian satellite. The
visit is a strong show of support for the Shia-dominated
government in Baghdad. It, according to Ahmadinejad, opened a
“new page” in relations between the Muslim neighbors and in
the region. By establishing good neighborly relations with
Iraq, which is under US occupation, Iran is eager to show that
it is an influential player in Iraqi politics which the United
States can ill afford to isolate or ignore. Ahmadinejad, a
vehement U.S. critic, will want to highlight to Washington
Iran’s close ties with the Iraqi government, led by Shiite
Muslims, Iran’s dominant religion. The visit indicated the
strong Iranian influence in Iraq but said he hoped it would
decrease tension between the two countries.
Ahmadinejad also may be trying to bolster his support back
home. His performances in and out of Iran are seen as
referendum on the Iranian president, who has come under
criticism from all sides in his country for spending too much
time on anti-Western rhetoric and not enough on economic
problems plaguing the country. The Iranian president may
welcome a foreign policy success to distract attention from
the economy and double-digit inflation before a March
parliamentary election that will test his popularity and
indicate his chance for re-election in 2009.
The US game-pan in the region has always worried the nations
there. As it is known, Afghanistan and Iraq continue to reel
and pose threat to US supremacy. US president Bush seems to
consider now, after ignoring it for too long, the advice of a
section of Washington based strategists to go for
rapprochement with Iran and Syria in order to solve the Iraqi
explosive situation and shift the military equipment to
Afghanistan to concentrate on Muslims fighting the invaders
there. This offers credence to the belief that US is
encouraging Iran-Iraq ties and delay invasion of Iran for some
time, if not shelve it totally. However, what matters for Iran
is that all indicators point to the seriousness of an upcoming
US offensive on Tehran, although the UNSC sanctions against
have been shelved for the time being at the instance of Russia
and China.
All said and done, it is only Iranian leader Mahmoud who now
speaks up against US unilateralism and the unipolar trends it
showcases in international affairs, particularly in Islamic
world. Even Saudi King, who as a mediator for Palestine state,
has greater stake than Mahmoud in checking the onward march of
the US-led forces in Islamic world, takes no concrete steps to
find a lasting solution to Palestine cause and ensure peace in
the region, seems to be highly obliged to Washington and hence
drag their feet on the issue.
(Dr. Abdul Ruff Colachal is a Research scholar, School of
International Studies, Jawaharlal University, Delhi 110067)
War
and Peace, the American Army Way
The revised
Army Field Manual tries to ensure that the failures of Iraq
will never be repeated.
Rosa Brooks
Another 100
years of US troops in Iraq? "Fine with me," GOP presidential
contender John McCain said in January. McCain, who's famously
irascible, was presumably exaggerating. His point, he
clarified, wasn't that he actually foresaw another 100 years
of war, but that US troops may retain an important role in
Iraq that goes on for many years after direct combat
operations end.Don't like that idea? Get used to it. Because
in many ways, McCain's comments are squarely in line with the
latest US Army doctrine.
This week, the army released a new version of FM 3-0, the Army
Field Manual on Operations. It offers what the army - which is
not an institution prone to exaggeration - calls "a
revolutionary departure from past doctrine." For more than 200
years, the army has had two "core missions": Offense and
defense. FM 3-0 adds a third: "Stability operations," better
(if more controversially) known to the public as nation
building.
Remember the 1990s, when disgruntled army officers waged a
muttering campaign against the Clinton administration's
decision to send them to Haiti, Bosnia and Kosovo, on the
grounds that real soldiers ought to spend their time fighting,
not acting as peacekeepers/cops/prison guards/civil
administrators? Things are different now.
The Sept. 11 attacks, Afghanistan and Iraq changed a lot of
minds about the value of what the military once marginalized
as "OOTW" - "Operations Other Than War." The rise of Al-Qaeda
helped demonstrate that the many varieties of human misery -
poverty, chaos, repression, civil conflict - also happen to be
perfect breeding grounds for extremism and terrorism. And our
experience in Afghanistan and Iraq made it painfully clear
that winning the peace matters as much as winning the war.
The US military has always been exceptionally good at war
fighting. In Iraq, for instance, defeating the military forces
of Saddam Hussein took less than a month. But we all know what
happened after that.
By adding stability operations as a new core mission, the
revised Army Field Manual tries to ensure that the failures of
Iraq will never be repeated. FM 3-0 foresees future army
forces fighting when fighting is called for - but troops also
will work as needed to ensure civilian security and provide
"emergency infrastructure reconstruction, humanitarian relief
(and) political, legal, social and economic institutions that
support the transition to legitimate local governance."
Stability operations will be integrated into army planning and
training at every level and will take place across the "full
spectrum of conflict": That is, such activities may be
preventive (intended to keep an unstable society from
collapsing), or coexist with traditional war fighting, or
occur in the aftermath of a conflict.
Imagine! If the White House and the Defense Department had
seen Iraq in those terms from the beginning and committed
resources accordingly, thousands upon thousands of Iraqi
civilian lives might have been saved, the insurgency might
never have gotten off the ground, Al-Qaeda in Iraq might never
have gained a footing and the United States might have a lot
more friends in the world today.
So FM 3-0 is welcome, and overdue.
Source: www.arabnews.com
Viewpoints
Global Warming -
Building Ecotopia
As with most great ideas, the idea of Ecotopia
took a while to catch on and build momentum, but 33 years
after Callenbach's book, mini-Ecotopias are springing up all
over the world.
Chuck Hall
Thomas
More's seminal 1516 work, Utopia, presented his vision of the
perfect society. Since that time, many have attempted to
create their own version of Utopia. One of my favorites was
conceived by Ernest Callenbach. His 1975 work, Ecotopia: The
Notebooks and Reports of William Weston. Callenbach's book is
the story of a skeptical reporter who visits a Utopian village
built on the principles of sustainability. As the title
suggests, Callenbach calls his ideal society 'Ecotopia.'
As with most great ideas, the idea of Ecotopia took a while to
catch on and build momentum, but 33 years after Callenbach's
book, mini-Ecotopias are springing up all over the world. His
original vision predicted a separate country, independent of
the United States, consisting of Washington, Oregon, and parts
of Northern California. Today, the Ecotopian ideals are
sweeping those areas. There are also Ecotopian communities
throughout the world in places like Vancouver, British
Columbia, Nimbin, Australia, and Newcastle, South Africa. It
has indeed become a global movement.
The founding principle of the Culture Artist Organization is
that of transformative change towards a more earth-friendly
way of life. A 'culture artist' is an individual who is
working towards consciously transforming the culture into a
more sustainable one. Such individuals endeavor to make
positive, proactive changes in as many aspects of their
lifestyles as possible to move towards the Ecotopian ideal.
When enough culture artists join together in a community, it
is my belief that an Ecotopia will naturally follow.
A more sustainable lifestyle is good for the planet. We can't
continue to use resources without renewing them, so a
non-sustainable lifestyle will eventually lead to economic and
ecological disaster. Therefore a sustainable lifestyle is
inevitable anyway, one way or another, if the human race is to
survive in the long term. I like to think that we as a species
have the wisdom and foresight to make this change consciously
and deliberately rather than having it forced upon us due to
circumstances caused by our own neglect and shortsightedness.
There is also a beneficial side effect of a more sustainable
lifestyle. Research shows that human beings need nature.
Nature enhances our peace of mind and our sense of wellbeing.
If we design communities and lifestyles that are more
environmentally friendly, we make room for more nature. So we
reap the benefits in our personal lives.
Imagine for a moment that you have a giant magical eraser.
Suppose you could erase the current culture, the one that
relies on rampant materialism and non-renewable resources.
What if you could start over? What changes would you make in
your own lifestyle in order to live in a more sustainable way?
How would your home be different? How would your
transportation be different? What about your diet, your
clothing, or the products you use on a daily basis? What
assumptions about day-to-day life could you change?
In the coming weeks, I'll be examining the sort of changes
that could be made within our culture to move it towards a
more Ecotopian lifestyle. As always, your questions, feedback
and input on this series will be welcome!
(Chuck Hall is a freelance columnist writing on
environmental & climate change issues. You may contact Chuck
by email at: chuck@cultureartist.org).
A sleepless night on
a sleeping berth
This is my first experience of climbing onto the fixed upper
berth of a train in Bangladesh---a sleepless whole-night
journey on a precarious bed I am not going to forget in the
rest of my life!
Maswood Alam Khan
I
am perhaps one of very few among my friends and colleagues who
enjoy journeying the whole night away by train spending double
the amount of time needed on road. My friends may guess I
eschew bus journey in favour of a cushy chair by Sundarban
Express train to save money---which is not true. At times I
spend a substantial amount of money for a sleeping berth in a
single air-conditioned coup of the train that leaves Dhaka
Cantonment Railway Station at 7 in the evening for a 10 hour
journey to reach Khulna before break of dawn.
The other day, the only accommodation in the sleeper of 'Sundarban
Express Nishitha' I could get was Upper Berth No 4 in a
non-air-conditioned first class compartment on my way to
Dhaka. This train leaving Khulna in the evening is very old
and shabby compared to the new train that leaves Dhaka in the
evening: both of Sundarban Express Nishitha service running in
opposite directions.
The train left Khulna around 8 in the evening. Sitting on the
yet-to-be-occupied lower berth number 1, I was scanning the
whole compartment accommodating six berths: three lower and
three upper, each not more than 3 feet wide. Lower berth no 2
was occupied by a young officer of Bangladesh Navy who was
leading a big group of coastguards boarding the same train to
Dhaka in preparation of ceremonial march for our Independence
Day on March 26, the lower berth no 3 by an officer from BDR
who was also leading about 200 BDR jawans in the same train on
way to their new place of posting at Chittagong Hill Tracts,
and the upper berth no 6 by an employee from Bangladesh
Railway. Both the lower berth no 1 and upper berth no 5 are
still vacant which are soon to be occupied by passengers from
the next Jessore railway station. I was helplessly looking at
the upper berth no 4 fated for me and was wondering how I
could climb up to the bed without any ladder visible.
From Jessore railway station a newly married couple entered
our compartment to occupy their berth numbers 1 & 5, one atop
the other, and I immediately stood up to leave their berth and
to start my odyssey on my upper berth no 4. I have had
marvellous experiences abroad of travelling on sleeping
berths, both lower and upper, in long distance trains. But
this is my first experience of climbing onto the fixed upper
berth of a train in Bangladesh---a sleepless whole-night
journey on a precarious bed I am not going to forget in the
rest of my life!
Primarily for the purpose of making night-time travel restful
sleepers are provided by passenger trains and many businessmen
and executives who don't like to waste their daytime on
travelling appreciates the time-saving advantages of
comfortable overnight travels sleeping on berths. Moreover,
sleeping accommodation offers an ascetic traveller the
possibility of obviating one or two nights of boarding at a
hotel.
Trains in America or even in India offer a wide range of
choice as to sleeping berths which are basically two
seats---one facing forward and the other backward---converted
at night-time into the combination of an upper and a lower
berth, each berth consisting of quite a specious bed screened
from the aisle by a heavy curtain to ensure travellers'
privacy. Those berths are dismantled at daytime by some
release gears to turn them into settees. Lest a sleeping
traveller slides and falls down from his berth, heavy-duty
'bed guardrails' with locking devices are affixed protecting
the entire length of the berth, especially of the upper one.
Measures on privacy and safety are meticulously ensured in
sleeping booths of overnight trains as I found in Singapore
and North America. Oh no, not in the upper berth number 4 of
Sundarban Express I was clambering on exerting all my hands
and feet, stepping on a side rest of the lower berth, grabbing
the handrail on the wall and breast walking the torn out
cushion of my upper berth---an athletic feat impossible to
achieve on the part of a man or a woman heftier or older than
me.
All the five pairs of eyes in the compartment perhaps enjoyed
with some sadistic pleasure my struggles for safety and
comfort in my loft. I didn't mind at all their ogling at my
acrobatic movements; but what really pained me was a chuckle
of delight the young lady---the only female passenger with
us---gave me when I missed to catch the blanket that fell on
the floor from my berth.
What however really filled me with dread was a prospect of my
falling out of the loft and hitting my head on the floor in
the absence of any effective guardrail. Upper berths are
supposed to be guarded with detachable guardrails made of
tubular frames covering its full length to keep a passenger's
mind safe and secure so that he won't be tumbling onto the
floor during the night when the speeding train would be
swaying and rocking. The so-called guardrail attached with my
berth end, instead of the middle, covered only one-fifth of
its length and the rickety guardrail, devoid of any locking
device, swung freely back and forth. Instead of standing
perpendicular the rail rests at a slanted position, like the
back of an easy chair, giving a psychological illusion that
the guardrail has already been bent by wear and tear and is
about to give way under a pressure.
But what truly surprised me was the aplomb with which the
Railway guy jumped to and from his upper berth number 6. I
could not figure out how he with a slight tap of his toe on
the slender edge of a side rest of the lower berth could
negotiate the vertical climb effortlessly whisking his hefty
body onto the upper berth without even holding the handrail.
And what more burned my heart was the composure of his body
language and the cool with which he wrapped his body with a
blanket and sank immediately into a deep slumber on a berth
similar to mine.
In case I tumble down, I imagined, I should not allow my head
to fall first. So, on the side where the slanted guardrail is
affixed I set my pillow whereon I rested my fatigued head. To
avoid the glare of the ceiling light I rolled sidewise facing
the wall of the compartment and made some futile attempts to
sleep while a procession of wayward thoughts was creeping into
my mind amid the roaring but rhythmic sounds of the wheels
clattering on rail tracks and the locomotive driver whistling
the powerful horn while speeding his engine at full throttle.
A loud ouch from a female voice suddenly perplexed me! As I
turned around I found the new husband massaging the ankle of
his wife. She was hurt somehow. I advised the husband to
switch the light off with a view to allowing them a semblance
of privacy and myself a chance to sleep in the dark. The young
boy in his late twenties and his wife in her early twenties
looked and sounded a happy couple. The boy seemed a very
caring husband. I was pretty sure the husband would climb up
to sleep on the upper berth number 5 facing mine and would
advise his wife to enjoy a trouble-free sleep on the lower
one. Surprisingly they decided that she would climb up and he
would lie down, maybe on some privacy consideration. Obviously
I was eager to see her athleticism compared to mine as she was
preparing for her climb. But it was disturbing to see her
husband's excessive care to help her ascend by a push from
backward the way a basketball player carefully pushes the ball
onto the rim.
It was already a quarter past one at night and I could not
sleep even one iota. The BDR guy sleeping on the lower berth
just beneath me woke up after about an hour to go out of the
compartment perhaps for smoking. He was investing his full
strength to pull the handle of the sliding door by his right
hand, but the door was too jammed and needed further force to
be opened. He had to brace himself against something solid to
gather higher strength. So while pulling the sliding door by
his right hand his left hand reached for the side of the upper
berth number 5 to push in the opposite direction; but his left
hand involuntarily slipped onto the free-swinging guardrail
that slammed on the forehead of the young lady in deep sleep.
The compartment reverberated with another loud ouch from a
female voice. God saved it was not fatal. The caring husband
razed like a bristled lion. Had the BDR guy not been in his
uniform a cantankerous quarrel would have ensued. The BDR
officer humbled himself so much by begging him for an apology
that the husband's raze melted away in no time. I wondered why
railway engineers did not solidly weld the guardrails as
permanently fixed if adjustable rails with locking device were
really costlier.
If such was the situation of a railroad sleeping car in North
America stars of many passengers would have been in the
ascendant. A lawyer would have rushed to this lady with an
affidavit for her signing only with no obligation to pay any
legal expense. The lawyer himself would have presented her
after a few weeks a fat cheque of a few hundred thousand
dollars extracted from the railroad authority as compensation
on filing a damage suit against improper safety measures.
"Safety first" and "Quality, uncompromising" are two
catchphrases that are boldly declared by posters pasted on
walls of factories and other workplaces in a developed
country. Germany would not have risen as a developed nation if
Germans compromised with quality in their workmanship.
Efficient guardrails of a sleeping berth may sound like a
requirement of low priority in our country when scores are
dying from road crashes due to our violation of laws. But
unless we can imbue every Bangladeshi with a sense to ensure
total safety and quality everywhere and at every stage---no
matter it is securing a shaft to an engine or repairing an
electric circuit---a small negligence on the part of a petty
handyman may cause a giant system collapse.
(Maswood Alam Khan;General Manager, Bangladesh Krishi
Bank.E-mail: maswoodalamkhan@gmail.com)
Comment
Listening
to the voice of reason
To err is
human, we are told. But to commit the same disastrous mistake
within a short period is unpardonable.
Less than two summers ago, Israel launched a 34-day war on
Lebanon to retaliate for the kidnapping of two Israeli
soldiers by elements of the Islamic resistance group Hizbollah.
This Israeli incursion ended in a fiasco and the resignation
of the Israeli defence minister and the army chief of staff.
An investigation by an Israeli commission, which was disclosed
partially, accused Prime Minister Ehud Olmert of "severe
failure" in exercising judgement, responsibility and caution
at the outset of the war. It added that Olmert acted hastily
in leading the country to war in July 2006 without having a
comprehensive plan. But, surprisingly, no action was
recommended against his continued tenure.
More than 1,000 Lebanese, most of them civilians, were killed
in that war and nearly a million were displaced. In turn, over
160 Israeli soldiers and civilians lost their lives, about
2,000 were wounded and anywhere between 300,000 and 500,000
people were displaced.
Undeterred, Olmert did it once again, again without much
success, when he and his wily Defence Minister Ehud Barak, who
aspires to replace Olmert one day, ordered last week a
military incursion into the northern parts of the Gaza Strip
where over 1.5 million Palestinians have been living under
Israeli siege since last June. The Israeli action was said to
be in retaliation for the frequent shelling of a southern
Israel town, Siderot, hardly amounting to more than
pinpricking by the wayward rockets from Gaza.
This Palestinian area, ruled by Hamas, an Islamist group that
has won the last national election, suffered heavy losses in
life in the five-day incursion. Nearly 120 were killed, about
half of them children and women, a situation which has earned
international, but not US, condemnation, because it was seen
as "excessive" and "disproportionate".
If nothing else, this invasion has virtually nipped in the bud
the Palestinian-Israeli peace negotiations launched in
Annapolis with an impressive turnout of representatives from
some 50 states in support of this belated effort shepherded by
the Bush administration.
More than 100 days - an American yardstick for judging the
success or failure of a governmental undertaking - have passed
since the meeting, without any movement in the talks. In fact,
Israel has not lived up to any of its commitments under the
so-called roadmap, particularly the elimination of roadblocks
or the dismantling of settlements in the occupied Palestinian
territories.
Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad has recently
complained publicly about the lethargic pace of the
negotiations.
Source:www.jordantimes.com
International
Islamic party wins
Malaysian polls: PM’s future bleak after poll shock
AFP, Kuala Lampur
Malaysian Prime
Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi faced mounting calls to
quit Sunday after his ruling coalition suffered a
humiliating setback in elections seen as a referendum on
his leadership.
A visibly exhausted Abdullah conceded there was a question
mark over his future after the Barisan Nasional coalition
turned in its worst ever results Saturday, losing its
two-thirds parliamentary majority and four states.
Asked if the outcome was a vote of no confidence in his
leadership, which has been criticised as weak and
ineffective, Abdullah responded: "Maybe. There are a lot
of messages from the people."
"There is no pressure at this time," he said when asked if
he faced calls for him to resign.
But pressure did come, notably from former premier
Mahathir Mohamad, who handed over to Abdullah in 2003
after two decades leading the United National Malays
Organisation (UMNO) which dominates the Barisan Nasional
coalition.
"My view is he has destroyed UMNO, destroyed the BN (Barisan
Nasional) and he has been responsible for this," Mahathir
told reporters.
He suggested Abdullah should resign, and admitted he had
made a mistake in selecting him as prime minister.
"I think he should accept responsibility for this. He
should accept 100 percent responsibility," he said. "I am
sorry but I apparently made the wrong choice."
Mahathir has previously said he never intended for
Abdullah to serve more than one term, and that he should
have opted instead for influential deputy prime minister
Najib Razak, who is now leader-in-waiting.
"The problem is we (the government) have become so
arrogant," said Mahathir, who has been angered that
Abdullah dumped several of his pet projects. "We suppress
any opinion that we do not like and they begin to believe
in their own reports which are not actually consistent
with what is happening in the country."
Abdullah won 91 percent of parliamentary seats in the 2004
elections, but analysts said he was being punished this
time for high inflation, rising crime and mounting ethnic
tensions.
He has also faced flak for failing to act on election
promises to eradicate corruption.
Former deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim, who has now emerged
as the opposition figurehead a decade after he was sacked
and jailed, said the results defeated the "myth" that the
ruling party was invincible.
"I can see some leadership turmoil happening in UMNO. They
will have to reinvent by focusing on leadership change,"
he said.
Bridget Welsh, a Southeast Asian expert at Johns Hopkins
University in the United States, said it was a "very
tense" time for the party as it digested a vote that was a
mandate for reform.
"The factions in UMNO are already asking for Badawi's
resignation and this is a very significant development,"
said Welsh, who is currently in Malaysia.
Myanmar rejects UN proposal for observers at referendum
AFP, Yangon
Myanmar's
junta Saturday refused to accept foreign observers at a
referendum set for May, further dimming any hopes for
reforms to bring democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi into
their elections plans.
The rejection came just hours after UN envoy Ibrahim
Gambari was allowed a rare meeting with the detained Nobel
peace prize winner and top leaders of her National League
for Democracy (NLD) party.
Throughout Gambari's visit, the military has rebuffed
international pressure to bring Aung San Suu Kyi and the
NLD into its election plans, while casting an accusing eye
at UN efforts to mediate a dialogue between the two sides.
Gambari offered UN technical assistance and help with
facilitating observers at the planned referendum when he
met Friday with members of the commission tasked with
organising the vote, according to state television.
Thaung Nyung, a member of the commission, rejected the
offer, saying the referendum was a domestic affair.
"We have enough experience, but we take note of your
offer," Thaung Nyung said, according to state television
late Saturday.
"Holding the referendum on the constitution is within the
country's sovereignty," he said. "For internal affairs in
the past, we have never had observers from outside."
The commission answered few of Gambari's questions about
the referendum and declined to give an exact date for the
balloting, saying only that it would take place on a
single day, state television reported.
The information minister, Brigadier General Kyaw Hsan,
told Gambari on Friday that the junta would not make any
changes to the constitution going into the referendum, and
then accused the envoy of bias in favour of Aung San Suu
Kyi.
State media gave no details of Gambari's talks with the
democracy leader, but broadcast images of their meeting.
She dressed in a traditional red longyi, and appeared
serious in their conversations.
Aung San Suu Kyi has spent 12 of the last 18 years under
house arrest, and is allowed little contact with the
outside world. Her image, and even her name, rarely
appears in official media.
Mideast peace talks to resume next week: Parties
AFP, Jerusalem
Peace talks between Israel
and the Palestinians will resume next week after being
temporarily halted by a fierce Israeli military campaign
against the Hamas-run Gaza Strip, officials on both sides
said on Saturday.
The negotiations "are set to resume during the course of
next week," a senior Israeli official told AFP.
"We have always said these negotiations should continue,
because we distinguish between the terrorists of Hamas and
the moderate Palestinians of the (Palestinian) Authority,"
he added, speaking on condition of anonymity.
For his part, an official from the Palestinian Authority
of moderate president Mahmud Abbas said a "resumption of
negotiations is expected on Wednesday."
Earlier in the day, Abbas had said that despite the
Israeli attacks, which have left scores of Palestinians
dead in the past two weeks, peace is the only way forward.
"Despite all the Israeli attacks we call for peace and we
are keen on peace built on international legitimacy,"
Abbas said in a speech at his Ramallah headquarters to
mark International Women's Day.
"There is no other way but peace."
But Abbas said several issues must first be resolved, such
as the status of east Jerusalem, which the Palestinians
want as capital of their future state, the problem of
refugees, Jewish settlements and prisoners held by Israel.
"We want a just and comprehensive peace agreement," Abbas
said.
On Sunday, Abbas suspended talks in protest at massive
Israeli army raids on the Gaza Strip over the past week
aimed at stopping rocket fire from the territory.
More than 130 Palestinians were killed in the attacks,
including children and other civilians, as well as two
Israeli soldiers and one civilian.
Tensions were heightened ever further on Thursday when a
lone Palestinian gunman opened fire on students at a
Jewish religious school in Jerusalem, killing eight and
wounding nine more, before being gunned down himself.
Indian minister rejects snap polls amid US nuke deal
trouble
AFP, New Delhi
India's foreign minister
Saturday ruled out early polls after new threats by the
government's communist allies to withdraw their support if
the ruling party concludes a nuclear pact with Washington.
Describing the leftist bloc's warning as a "known
position," Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee said: "I do
not visualise that anybody is thinking of early elections.
"None of the coalition partners or coalition supporters
are talking of early elections," Mukherjee told NDTV news
channel when asked about the possibility of snap polls,
saying the government wanted elections "in due time".
National elections are due in just over a year and neither
the minority Congress-led coalition nor their communist
allies, who provide crucial support in parliament, have
been eager for early polls.
Congress has suffered a string of drubbings in state
polls, while the communists are in trouble in their
strongholds of West Bengal and Kerala. But analysts say
Congress may be preparing to face the electorate sooner
rather than later by presenting a budget last |