|
Leading
News
Nation celebrates 37th
Independence Day
Staff Correspondent
The nation celebrates the 37th Independence and National
Day today (Wednesday) with a renewed pledge to safeguard
sovereignty, consolidate democracy and attain economic
emancipation of the people.
In the wake of the brutal crack down on the night of March
25, 1971, on the unarmed people of the then East Pakistan
struggling for self-right under the leadership of
Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, came the proclamation
of independence and the war of liberation started.
The country was liberated after nine months of bloody war
with the Pakistani army at the cost of supreme sacrifice
of lakhs of people. The government has declared the
Independence Day as a public holiday. The government,
different political parties, socio-cultural organisations
and educational institutions have drawn up elaborate
programmes to celebrate the Independence Day.
A 31-gun salute at dawn will herald the advent of the Day.
National flags will be hoisted atop government and private
buildings on the occasion while government and
semi-government buildings as well as other public places
will be illuminated with colourful lights. The President
and the Chief Adviser will place wreaths at the National
Mausoleum at Savar early in the morning.
On the occasion, President Iajuddin Ahmed and Chief
Adviser Fakhruddin Ahmed have given separate messages
paying deep respect to the martyrs of the liberation war.
In his message President Iajuddin Ahmed said the historic
Independence Day and National Day is a glorious day in our
national life. "On this solemn day, I recall with deep
respect and pay my homage to the martyrs of the liberation
war who made supreme sacrifices for our independence in
1971," the President said in his statement.
Chief Adviser in his message said the glorious
Independence Day and National Day is an auspicious
occasion in the history of our nation. "The glorious
liberation is our greatest national achievement. For this
achievement to be meaningful, sustainable and effective,
it is a very important to bring the fruits of the
independence to all citizens," in his message the Chief
Adviser said.
Meanwhile, major political, social and cultural
organisations have chalked out elaborate programmes in
observance of the day. National leaders as well as scores
of people from all walks of life will place floral wreaths
at the Jatiya Smriti Saudha at Savar on the day.
Newspapers have published special supplements while Radio
and Television are putting out special programmes
highlighting the significance of the day in the life of
the nation. Special prayers will be offered in mosques,
temples, churches, pagodas and other places of worship
seeking divine blessings for the peace and progress of the
country.
A children’s rally will be held at Bangabandhu National
Stadium and an arms exhibition at the National Parade
Square. The destitute children will be allowed to visit
the children’s park in the capital on the day free of
cost. Improved diet will be served in jails, hospitals,
orphanages and vagrant homes across the country.
Government won’t set agenda
Dialogue between govt and political
parties to open soon: Ghulam Quader
Rabiul Islam
Communications Adviser
Ghulam Quader on Tuesday said the much-awaited dialogue
between the caretaker government and the political parties
will kick off soon to create a congenial atmosphere for
holding the stalled ninth parliament election by the end
of 2008. "The government would not set any agenda for
dialogue with the political parties", said the
communications adviser while answering queries from
newsmen at the secretariat yesterday. However, he noted
agenda for the much-talked about dialogue would have been
set after the dialogue had started. "We will want to know
agendas of the political parties", he added.
Asked whether the government would make any concession if
the political parties demand, regarding the on-going
anti-corruption drive, Quader said the society will say.
The society must say how far the government should make
concession, he repeated, adding "you will also opine".
Quader said the government is in no way opponent of any
quarter. Asked whether the state of emergency is under
control of the government as the incidents of violating
emergency take place frequently, the communications
adviser claimed it is under control. On withdrawal of
emergency to enable the parties to start political
activities, he said the state of emergency would be eased
gradually. Referring to a print media report that the
communications adviser is in the committee to initiate
dialogue with political parties, Quader said, "I have also
read about it".
Following the anti-corruption drive and subsequent arrest
of top political leaders on charge of corruption by the
caretaker government after its assumption of power on
January 12, 2007, a gap between the government and the
political parties has been created. To bridge the gap and
to create a congenial atmosphere for election, the
government decided that it would hold dialogue with the
political parties ahead of the parliament election.
Chief Adviser Fakhruddin Ahmed in his address to the
nation announced that his government would soon open
dialogue with political parties for transition to
democracy through holding free, fair and neutral
elections.
AL
preparing to launch issue-based agitation
Sahidul Islam Rana
Awami League is taking
preparation for a mass movement with a view to realising
some demands including immediate release of party
President Sheikh Hasina and her proper treatment in the
USA.
As part of issues for the movement, AL will include the
demand for arresting price spiral of the essentials, said
a competent sources adding ahead of this, AL is trying to
gear up their organisational activities at all levels and
the next Working Committee meeting, scheduled to held on
March 29 (Saturday), would decide the agenda of the
view-exchange meeting with leaders of divisions and
districts from early April.
Talking to The Bangladesh Today, an influential presidium
member said, "If the present Caretaker Government fails to
press home the above mentioned demands within the earliest
possible time; there will not be any alternative except
waging demonstration in the streets."
He said, "We have patience but the party men and mass
people will not tolerate this for long. On the other hand,
AL, in principle, has decided not to participate in any
election without the release of the detained party chief
Shiekh Hasina."
"The partymen are waiting for the directives of the AL
high command," he observed.
An AL working committee member, requesting not be named,
said "The final decision will come out after the
completing the exchange-views-meetings with the leaders of
six divisions and district-level leaders."
Terming the next central working committee as important in
the prevailing situation, a former AL minister said, "The
present situation is different than that of previous as
‘reformist’ leaders have already changed their stand due
to the strong protest of the ‘loyalist’ who want to see
Hasina a free leader."
Without mentioning anybody’s name, he said, "They
(reformists) were bound to return the main stream of AL as
the rank and file of the party are frequently demanding
the directives for movement to free the party chief.
Besides, the loyalists assaulted some leaders at Dhamandi
AL office last year while they were leaving after an ALWC
meeting."
Referring to the discussion meeting at Engineers’
Institute, Bangladesh, on March 18, the AL leader said, "A
senior leader while delivering his speeches faced the
outrage of leaders and activists of some front
organisations - who were chanting slogans demanding the
release of Hasina and for direction of movement."
AL sources said, considering all these, they are going
forward very carefully. Prior to going for agitation
movement, they are reorganizing the front organizations
which remain virtually inactive soon after the
promulgation of the Sate of Emergency and frequent arrest
of the political leaders and activists across the country.
Meanwhile, acting AL general secretary expressed grave
concern over the health condition of detained party Chief
Sheikh Hasina, now undergoing treatment in capital’s
Square Hospital.
Demanding immediate and unconditional release of Hasina,
he further said, "The Caretaker Government should consider
our letter written to the Chief Adviser requesting her
treatment abroad as per the recommendations of doctors as
early as possible.
Govt
weighing the issue of war criminals’ trial : Moeen
UNB, Dhaka
Army Chief of Staff General Moeen U Ahmed on Tuesday said
the government is considering the issue of holding trial
of the war criminals of 1971.
"Whatever the people will want will be done," he told the
media in response to a question whether or not the war
criminals will be put to trial, just as he finished his
address to a reception of Freedom Fighters contingent at
the National Parade Square.
General Moeen urged all to work together to achieve
economic freedom as he said, "although we gained
independence, economic emancipation is yet to attained."
Earlier addressing the freedom fighters’ contingent that
will participate in the Independence Day Parade tomorrow
(Wednesday), he said many works remained to be done for
the new generation.
Referring to five challenges like twice floods, cyclone
Sidr, increased fuel and commodity prices on international
market, General Moeen, whose force is backing the present
caretaker government, said those challenges were overcome
as people had worked unitedly.
The Army Chief observed the main problem now facing the
country this year is the soaring prices of food-grains. To
face this problem, the country has no alternative but to
boost production.
Barapukuria
graft case
Khaleda, her former ministerial colleagues, others to be
quizzed
UNB, Dhaka
Related files and documents of the Barapukuria graft case
filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission are being reviewed
by the investigation officer before he goes for seizing
them and questioning the accused, including detained
former premier Khaleda Zia and 15 others, and the probable
witnesses.
"Yes, investigation officer (IO) Monirul Huq is reviewing
the files and documents at the moment before seizing the
necessary ones. Gradually, he’ll also question the accused
and probable witnesses, and record their statements," a
competent source told UNB.
Responding to a query, the source said, "Yes, Khaleda Zia,
the prime accused, and her former ministerial colleagues
will be among those to be questioned at some stage of the
investigation."
In reply to a question, the source said having reviewed
the related files and documents, the IO would issue
notices to the accused and the possible witnesses for
recording their statements. "Those in jail will be
questioned there."
The seizing of the files and documents is likely to begin
next week, the source said adding that after reviewing the
files and taking statements of the concerned it would be
determined as to who would the accused be of and who would
be the witnesses to the case. On February 26, the
anti-graft watchdog filed the case against Khaleda Zia, 10
former powerful ministers of her cabinet and five others
for embezzlement of about Tk 159 crore through awarding
the Barapukuria Coal Mine deal to the highest bidder
instead of the lowest one.
Former finance minister Saifur Rahman, ex-BNP secretary
general and LGRD minister Abdul Mannan Bhuiyan, Jamaat
chief and ex-industries minister Motiur Rahman Nizami and
its secretary general and ex-social welfare minister Ali
Ahsan M Mujahid are the heavyweights among the ministers
of the immediate-past coalition government sued by the
Anti-Corruption Commission.
Back Page
WASA takes up
10-yr Project
to improve Service
Firoz Mamun
In order to realise the
vision of the WASA to provide smooth water supply to the
city dwellers, the organisation has taken a 10 years
long-term projects. "The long-term projects include
setting up new water treatment plants, repair and change
of WASA's distribution lines, development of sewerage
system and setting up of a waste water treatment plant,"
talking to The Bangladesh Today WASA Managing Director
Raihanul Abedin said on Tuesday.
He said the long-term projects need an estimated cost of
US$ 550 million which will be aided by Asian Development
Bank and World Bank. "Besides the WASA is waiting for
final nod from DANIDA for implementing the proposed second
phase of Sayedabad Water Treatment Plant. Earlier, a team
from Denmark finalised the joint appraisal for
implementing the second phase of the Sayedabad Water
Treatment Plant, estimated to cost about Taka 729 crore,"
the WASA Managing Director added.
"The condition of sewerage and drainage system, pump
houses and water treatment plant is in bad shape. The
sewerage and drainage system of WASA which was set up
during British and the then Pakistan period, have become
antique and most vulnerable, we are going for total change
of those lines" Raihanul Abedin added.
While talking to this correspondent an official of WASA
said WASA is in a quandary and no immediate end to its
crisis is in sight. "The situation is unlikely to improve
unless the government and donor agencies invest in this
sector adequately. As WASA is not on priority list of the
government and the donor agencies as well, the manifold
problems of WASA are likely to persist," he said.
The WASA will need Tk 3000 crore to bring the whole city
under sewerage system for smooth passing of human waste
and garbage. The WASA is now running with only 30 per cent
of requirement of its sewerage system. If the government
and donor agencies do not take initiative to solve the
problems permanently and run the organisation effectively,
the people will continue to suffer, the source added.
Besides, the deep tubewells remain out of order sometimes
and the condition of water treatment plant at Pagla is not
satisfactory.
Meanwhile, the capital is facing a serious water crisis
due to frequent load shedding, drastic fall in ground
water level, faulty distribution pipelines, and illegal
connections. The water crisis has aggravated following
deterioration in the power crisis across the country.
"After implementation of the second phase of the Sayedabad
water treatment plant, and another water treatment plant
in Khilkhet some fifty per cent of the total volume of
water supply will be ensured", the official of WASA said.
Now the WASA supplies about 180 crore litres of water
everyday against the demand for 210 crore litres in the
capital and the Narayanganj town. As 88 per cent of water
is pumped out through 403 deep tubewells from the
underground, the water level is falling drastically. To
reduce the risk arising out of pumping underground water,
the WASA has decided to use more surface water. Within
five to six years a new water treatment plant will be
constructed at Khilkhet. Water will be brought from the
river Meghna for treatment as the water of river
Shitalakhya and Buriganaga have become polluted and
contaminated .
The sources said as the water of the rivers Narhai,
Debdholai and Balu carrying industrial waste, chemicals
and sewage rolls down into the river Shitalakhya, the
second phase of the Sayedabad plant will have to shift its
water intake point if the situation does not improve. The
water of the Shitalakhya will become untreatable by the
Sayedabad Water Treatment plant within the next five to
ten years if the government does not take any steps to rid
the river of industrial waste, chemicals and sewage. Since
the first phase of Sayedabad Water Treatment plant
project's inception in 1998, the level of pollution in the
river has increased manifold raising serious concerns
about the Sayedabad treatment plant's capacity to treat
water for drinking.
Moulvibazar gas field likely to have 50pc additional
reserves
UNB, Dhaka
International
oil and gas company Chevron on Tuesday hoped its three
dimensional (3D) seismic survey at Moulavibazar gas field
may lead to a 50 percent increase in gas reserves.
The US-based company's Bangladesh chief Steve Wilson
indicated the prospect at a briefing to newsmen at Westin
Hotel. He said the survey is extremely important for
Bangladesh in view of the nagging gas and power crisis.
"We believe the additional gas may bring electricity to
million houses in Bangladesh which are facing a severe gas
and power crisis," he said.
Steve would not disclose the present reserves of gas in
the Moulavibazar field under Block 14. Around 70 million
cubic feet (mmcf) gas is now available per day from the
field.
"The reserve position would be reported to Petrobangla
along with development plan on completion of the seismic
survey," he added.
About the on-going 3D survey in areas covering the
environmentally protected Lawachhara forest Steve assured
that it is carried out without causing harm to the living
birds and animals.
Giving a brief description of the survey he said in every
step clearance is taken from the departments concerned
including the environment and forest.
"We'll do the survey only on the existing trails in the
forest where a minimum number of manpower work only during
daytime. Equipment light and man-potable will be used. No
tress or branches shall be cut nor there will be noise".
He added: "We're fully aware of the environmental
sensitivity and committed to work in an
environment-friendly manner … Monitoring team will always
be present during the survey."
Steve further said after the survey, directional well
would be drilled, if needed, to avoid the forest area to
extract gas.
Chevron's external affairs director Naser Ahmed was
present at the briefing.
Crime
20
arrested, firearms, drugs recovered in city
UNB, Dhaka
Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) members arrested 20 people,
including three women, and also seized two firearms and
heroin from BNP Slum at Agargaon in the city on Tuesday.
As part of their ongoing anti-terrorism drive, a
100-member team of RAB-2 raided the BNP slum at about 9am
and arrested its 20 residents.
During the three-hour drive, the elite forces also
recovered a foreign-made pistol, a pipe-gun and four
rounds of bullet and also 1,400 small packets of heroin.
Trader shot in city, Tk 3.50 lakh snatched
UNB, Dhaka
Muggers snatched away Tk 3.50 lakh from a scrap trader
after shooting him at Kalabagan in the city's Dhanmondi
area on Tuesday noon.
The injured trader was identified as Yusuf, 35, son of
Abed Ali Mollah. He resides at 153 Kathpotti in
Mohammadpur area.
Police said three muggers, riding on a motorbike,
intercepted the bicycle of Yusuf when he was returning
home after selling scrap items at Mitford area at about
11:30 am.
They demanded his bag, which was carrying the money, but
being refused by him, the muggers shot fire on his chest
and run away with the bag, leaving him seriously injured.
Yusuf was admitted to Dhaka Medical College Hospital in
critical condition. A case filed with Dhanmondi police
station.
Alleged killer of editor Kamal Uddin held
BSS, Jessore
Police arrested an absconding accused at Barandi Mollapara
area in the town on Sunday.
The arrested person was identified as Jahangir Hossain, 35
son of Quader Molla of Bhaturia Purbapara.
He was an accused in weekly Hoq Protibad editor Kamal
Uddin Hossain murder case but absconding since the case
was filed.
Police said on secret information at mid-night on Sunday a
police team raided the area and arrested him.
Kamal Uddin was killed on June 1 in 2007.
After the incident, Kamal's brother filed a murder case
with Jessore Kotwali thana.
Tk 8 crore drugs destroyed
BSS, Chapainawabganj
Members of Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) destroyed drugs worth
Tk 8 crore at its local camp on Monday.
Executive magistrate SM Jahangir Hossain, commanding
officer Lt. Colonel Mizanur Rahman, civil surgeon Dr
Shafiqul Islam and inspector of Narcotics Department AN
Kazi Nurunnabi were present.
The destroyed drugs included 7,209 grams of heroin, 527
grams of morphine and 9,241 bottles of phensidyl.
BDR personnel recovered the drugs during the last four
months.
Woman strangulated to death
UNB, Khulna
A woman was killed by unidentified assailants at her own
residence at Meher Ali road in the city's Iqbalnagar area
Tuesday morning.
The dead was identified at Sakhina Habib, 50, wife of Ali
Hossain.
Police said miscreants entered into the house of Sakhina
forcibly in absence of the other family members and
strangulated her to death at about 11:00 am.
Family sources said her daughter Nijhum, who married to
Rana few days back, returned to her parents following a
conflict with her husband.
Later, Sakhina filed a case against Rana under the Women
and Children Repression Prevention Act with Kotwali thana.
"She might have been killed following the incident,"
police said. A case was filed this connection.
One to die for killing girl
BSS, Chapainawabganj
One person was sentenced to death by a court here for
killing a girl about two and a half years ago.
The convict was identified as Mohammad Shamim, 18, of
Dewanjaigir village under Shibganj upazila.
Judge of the district Women and Children Repression
Prevention Tribunal Hrishikesh Saha delivered the verdict
in a crowded courtroom on Monday.
Following his confession, police recovered the body of
Ankhi.
Father of the victim Amirul Islam filed a murder case with
Shibganj police station in this connection.
After examining the witnesses and evidence, the judge
handed down the verdict.
Seven members of Aggyan party held
BSS, Chittagong
Members of Chittagong Metropolitan Detective Branch Police
arrested seven members of inter district Aggyan party
after conducting raids in two separate residential hotels
in the port city at 2:00 am last night.
The arrested members of Aggyan party were identified as
Nurul Islam, 34, son of Nur Nabi, Nakalpara of Tajgaon in
Dhaka, Liton, 32, son of late Nurul Islam, Mirpur, Dhaka,
Mohammad Imran Hossain, 25, son of Ibrahim, Ramgonj of
Laximpur district, Mohammad Ashad, 27, son of Rezaul Karim,
Badda Dhaka, Mainuddin, 50, son of late Kawza Ahmed,
Sudaram of Noakhali district, Mohammad Shah Alam, 30, son
of Basu Patwary, Begumgonj of Noakhali and Riaz, 39, son
of Ahmed Ali, Horipur Sadar area of Noakhali district.
Separate teams of Detective Branch Police, raided Hotel
Herocity, at Alkaran area of Kotwali thana and Hotel Al
Faruk, at Doublemooring thana in the port city at 2:00 am
last night and arrested the miscreants.
Huge quantity of medicine used to make people senseless,
recovered from their possessions.
Police said, the arrested persons are the organised
members of the inter district Aggyan party.
Body recovered
A Correspondent, Chapainawabganj
Police recovered a body of a young man from Golaper Hat
under Shibganj upazila on Monday.
Source said local people found a dead body of a nonentity
young man aged around 23 from a mango tree garden inside
at Golaper Hat village area under Shibganj upazila in the
district on Monday morning.
Later, they informed the Thana police. A squad of Shibganj
Thana police reached the spot and recovered the dead body.
According to the post mortem report, the young man was a
Muslim and mantally ill. He came there 3/4 days before his
death.
]In this connection a GD was filed with Shibganj Thana.
The body was cremated on administration permission.
Four jailed for life in murder, rape cases
UNB, Laxmipur
Four people, including three of a family, were convicted
and sentenced to life term imprisonment in rape and murder
cases by separate courts here on Monday.
In the first case, the Additional District and Sessions
Judge Court sentenced three people, including a father and
a son, to life in prison on charge of killing a man.
The lifers are Mohammad Ullah, his son Azad Hossain and
their relative Abdur Rahman, son of Amanatullah of
Gangapur village in Sadar upazila. Of them, Abdur Rahman
was tried in absentia. According to the prosecution, the
convicted persons had stabbed their co-villager Tajul
Islam to death following a land dispute on April 27, 1998.
After examining the records and witnesses, Judge AKM
Jahurul Islam pronounced the punishment. In another case,
Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunal Judge
Mohammad Mujibul Kamal sentenced a man to life term
imprisonment for violating a woman.
The convict, identified as Naju, 35, son of Abdur Rashid
of west Bigha village in Ramganj upazila, was tried in
absentia.
The case history in brief that Naju violated the women of
Brahmanpara village, on October 15, 2003.
Terror held
UNB, Barisal
Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) arrested a listed terrorist
alongwith arms and ammunitions from Charkawa village in
Sadar upazila on Monday.
Acting on a tip-off, the RAB team, led by ASP M Shahed,
raided the village and arrested Kalu, also former
president of Charkawa bus owners' association.
Editorial
26th
March – A day of Mourning and a Day of Celebration
26th
March is first and foremost a day of mourning for the hundreds
of thousands of lives which were sacrificed for the
independence of this Nation. Starting from this day in 1971
and continuing for the next nine months, the best, the
brightest and the bravest of our people decided to take up
arms and fight for our Nation; many of them did not return
from that war; many more were injured, tortured, raped and
subjected to the most inhumane treatment. In all, the toll
runs into an estimated 3 to 4 million dead and disabled, all
for the realization of a dream, a hope and an aspiration
called Bangladesh. 26th March is also a day of celebration
because for the first time in our history, starting from that
day in 1971, we as a Nation decided to declare our
Independence and fight a war for the realization of a
Nation-state; it’s a day of celebration because 9 months later
our resolve, our determination and our sacrifices brought for
us an independent Nation-state. The great question is: 37
years later on 26th of March 2008, how do we evaluate our
sorrows and our joys, both as individuals and as a
conglomerate?
To an appreciable extent we have progressed materially like we
have never been able to do in our entire history; we have
communication infrastructures spreading and connecting every
corner of our Country; we have more educated people then we
had anytime before; we have industries which provide ever
increasing employments to our people; we have a vibrant young
population eager to seek employment and prosperity any where
in the world and we have an agriculture which can produce
bumper crops inspite of devastating natural disasters. But on
the other side of the coin we still have an economy unable to
provide for the basic needs of food, shelter and health for
the majority of our people; we have a society which does not
respects universal values of human rights; we have a politics
which is corrupt, confrontational and divisive; we have a
physical environment which we have so contaminated that we
have little clean water to drink or clean air to breath in and
lastly we have repeatedly forced on ourselves forms of
government and governance which are authoritarian and
unresponsive to the demands of our people.
In this 37 years of journey of nation-building what we have
lost most is our “Spirit of Freedom”; it is difficult to
define, but it exists and tells us that we are a Nation
because we have willed it so. That “Spirit of Freedom” has
helped us through a millennium of trials and tribulations,
through privations and mass starvation, through foreign
conquests and exploitation and lastly through the mindless
carnage of the War of Liberation through which we acquired our
Bangladesh in 1971. In loosing our Spirit of Freedom we have
lost much of our freedoms: freedom to speak and to write,
freedom to form and disband governments but above all freedom
to live and die as human beings. What is more, we have allowed
our Spirit of Freedom to be sapped and that is why we cannot
protest against tyranny and injustice, we cannot protest
against exploitation and against the curbing of our rights as
humans and as citizens of an independent Nation-state.
For ages, we the people of Bangladesh have been suffering
social, political and economic deprivations of all sorts, the
most telling of which is the deprivation of our liberties and
freedoms. Forced to live in conditions dictated by “others”
and to think in alien, often contradictory moral and ethical
standards, we as individuals and conglomerates have long
forgotten to reason. At times we have even refused to be
rational, for to be rational is to take cognizance of the
harsh realities of our lives; realities the recognition of
which would make the very act of living unbearable for us.
Thus we are sunk in apathy and frustration hoping for
‘something to happen’ to pull us out of the pit and lead us to
a bright new future, but that is not going to happen, not
unless all of us together invoke that Spirit of Freedom in
ourselves like we once did in 1971.
Analysis
Reflections on Bangladesh
after Independence
Independence Day is both a critically important
event and a process. It signifies the fundamental meaning of
the nation.
Ripan Kumar Biswas
Today’s
Bangladesh rich history and culture and its landscape, which
is dotted with a vast network of peaceful villages, came
through a selfless sacrifice and unrelenting determination of
freedom-fighters that had great courage and conviction.
Full liberation is the dream of everyone in the world. To
achieve liberation in all respects man dreams, imagines,
thinks, plans, works and dies in the world. But this is not
quite the Bangladesh where lives were sacrificed; blood was
shed for in 1971. Freedom-fighters had fought gallantly
against the enemies to free the motherland and to establish
democracy, secularism, and Bengali nationalism.
To become the world’s 139th independent nation, Bangladesh
suffered genocide by Pakistani army, which killed approx. 3
million people, raped 40,000 women, burned hundreds of
villages, and brutally murdered intellectuals. On March 25,
1971, the Pakistani Army launched “Operation Searchlight” to
eliminate the Awami League and its supporters in East
Pakistan. The goal was to crush the will of the Bengalis.
“Kill three million of them and the rest will eat out of our
hands,” said the then Pakistan President Yahya Khan.
Independence Day is both a critically important event and a
process. It signifies the fundamental meaning of the nation.
Independence Day has always had two meanings for everyone. One
is a very patriotic meaning of being grateful that someone got
people here and they are glad others took care of securing
that for them. Independence Day reminds every Bangladeshi of
the struggles of the leaders, thinkers and the
freedom-fighters of every community and religion who devoted
their lives to this noble objective. Needless to say,
Independence Day on March 26 in Bangladesh, is first and
foremost a day for gratitude.
There is no denying that things in Bangladesh today are not
the way they ought to be, let alone what they promised to be.
After the bloody war of independence which secured an
independent state from West Pakistan, the nation’s first top
two executives — Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and Ziaur Rahman were
assassinated. Between 1974 and 1990, the country was governed
largely under states of emergency or martial law. True things
have been changed. But after 37 years, is Bangladesh out of
autocracy or enjoying the fruits of independence!
After 37 years, people of Bangladesh are facing a mortal
challenge while they are remembering the supreme sacrifices
and gallantry of the country’s bravest and enlightened people.
The nine-month-long genocide ended with the killing of
teachers, writers, journalists, professionals, and social
thinkers which was the last part of the Yahya-Tikka-Niazi
blueprint. But till now, is Bangladesh free from any
blueprint? Secularism, democracy, scarcity of essentials,
freedom of rights even tolerance, and communal harmony are
being thrown overboard today.
Political independence is not a primary. It rests on a more
fundamental type of independence: the independence of the
human mind. It is the ability of a human being to think for
himself and guide his own life that makes political
independence possible and necessary. The political parties in
Bangladesh put the country across an insurmountable political
divide. A democratic political system is inclusive,
participatory, representative, accountable, transparent, and
responsive to citizens’ aspirations and expectations.
Politics, like much else in Bangladesh, has always been
characterized by violence.
Although democratization is not a linear process that moves
from an authoritarian to a democratic regime, Bangladesh has
gained it after the sacrifice of the life of Dr. Shamsul Alam
Khan (was joint secretary of Bangladesh Medical Association,
died November 27, 1990), Noor Hossain (a worker of Awami Jubo
League, died 1987), and with many other injured participators
in an anti-autocracy movement on December 6, 1990. But after
37 years, Bangladesh is without its freedom of movement,
freedom of assembly, freedom of association, freedom of
thought and conscience, freedom of speech, freedom of
profession and occupation, or Rights to property, which were
the issues of liberation war and its spirit and aspirations of
independence.
Functioning of government is another important factor for
democracy. If democratically based decisions cannot or are not
implemented then the concept of democracy is not very
meaningful or it becomes an empty shell. Member of the
opposition’s parties, parliamentary committees, or even from
the ministries can hardly play a vital role for any major
decision in Bangladesh. Bangladeshis’ latest suffering in food
crisis, may give strength to a general feeling that democracy
should be restored. Food-price inflation, at around 11%, is
already the biggest grievance of most Bangladeshis.
War crimes evoke a litany of horrific images to everyone’s
mind. The worst war crimes in the annals of history in 1971
were not simply possible by the state-sponsored Pakistani army
against Bangladesh. People suffered such attempted
extermination with the help of local allies. So much is
certain, that no civilized society, any more than a society at
peace, can allow unpunished criminal activities like war
crimes.
It’s not obviously unethical or illegal to demand while the
sector commanders of eleven areas of Bangladesh along with
millions of Bangladeshis in their recent convention at
Bangladesh China Friendship Convention Centre on Friday, March
21, 2008, vowed to put the war criminals on trial by any means
so justice can prevail in the society.
Of course the main agenda of the caretaker government is to
hold a free and fair election, but this is high time to
initiate legal actions against the war criminals and the trial
is more important than the ongoing crackdown on corruption. If
these criminals go unpunished, there would be recurrence of
such crimes in the country and no political government will be
able to bring them back under trail as because they will be
obviously associated with such groups or persons.
While millions of Bangladeshis are paying their heartiest
gratitude to those freedom- fighters and expecting that each
and everyone, who fought in the complex and challenging
situation and sacrificed their lives, should be highly
respected and taken care of when they need; very often it is
regular to see the sufferings, humiliation and deprivation of
freedom-fighters. Some of them are rickshaw-pullers, slum
dwellers or even beggars. Most of the countries in the world
respect their freedom-fighters and senior citizens for their
great contribution towards the country. Government must give
special priorities for those great heroes.
Although the government is considering a proposal to increase
the monthly allowance of the freedom-fighters from Tk 600 to
Tk 1000, which is not of course enough, the rich individuals
or public organizations can respect the freedom-fighters by
helping them financially. Thirty seven years are perhaps a
short time in the life of a nation to resolve its identity
issues, but it cannot be denied that Bangladesh is at a
crossroads and must act before it is too late.
(Ripan Kumar Biswas is a freelance writer based in New York.
Dateline: New York; March 24, 2008. E-mail: Ripan.Biswas@yahoo.com)
Future
of Power
For those who want to climb the ladder of science and
technology much needs to be explored and invented.
Sundeep Waslekar
I
was recently at Waterloo, a small university town about an
hour’s drive from Toronto, Canada where my friend John English
has recently established the Center for International
Governance Innovation (CIGI) with support from Jim Balsillie,
founder of the Blackberry communication system. The occasion
was a CIGI conference on emerging powers.
While the academicians at the conference, signaled the arrival
of India, Brazil, South Africa and Mexico as the new powers,
based on their share in global GDP and military expenditures,
they missed what was happening around them. (The academicians
also mentioned China but I believe that China is not an
emerging power. It has already emerged as a major power.)
Canada is emerging as a major centre of innovation in the
future. Both, Arnold Toynbee and Paul Kennedy have
demonstrated in their well-researched history books that the
countries, which innovate, rise while the countries that
overspend on military, decline. The fall of the Western Roman
Empire 200 years before its Eastern counterpart, despite a
relatively greater distance from external aggressors, was due
to a difference in technological innovation and the quality of
governance.
The Canadians seem to understand this well, without pretending
any claim to a future great power status. Waterloo provides
the maximum number of recruits to Microsoft every year. The
founders of Blackberry have set up CIGI, an institute for
research in theoretical physics, hoping that Canada of the
future will make major breakthroughs in physics. The Governor
of Ontario keeps personal charge of the department of research
and innovation, indicating how important this portfolio is in
provincial politics. The entire Waterloo region is promoted as
a centre for research and development and the provincial
government is going all out to attract investments from high
tech companies.
More significantly, the Canadians have launched a quiet
revolution for clean energy. I met my friend Nicholas Parker
after several years to find that he has set up Cleantech
Venture forum to bring together venture capitalists and small
entrepreneurs exclusively in the field of clean energy. The
big Alberta energy companies are focused on research and
development for clean energy in the future. Soon after my
visit to Waterloo, the federal government announced a new
immigration policy to attract talent from other parts of the
world.
Besides Canada, we see emphasis on innovation in the
Scandinavian countries. I flew from Toronto to Stockholm for a
dinner with Dr. Michael Nobel, the chair of the Nobel Family
Society. This family provides the Nobel prizes in the memory
of Alfred Nobel, Dr Michael Nobel’s great granduncle. Now Dr.
Michael Nobel is in the process of creating an award in the
memory of Ludwig Nobel, his great grandfather and brother of
late Alfred. The new award will be for innovation in energy.
Of course, the Nobel prizes merely symbolize the spirit of
innovation in Scandinavia. It is a part of the world where
several large and small companies have concentrated on
technological research and innovation in governance. Nokia and
Eriksson are famous companies in the communications sector.
But there are several other technological experiments going on
in agriculture and energy, medicine and metallurgy.
Interestingly, Canada, Sweden, Norway and Finland, with less
than 1% of the world’s population among them, play an
important role in the institutions of global governance. Their
nationals hold key positions in the World Bank and various UN
agencies. Their representatives lead many multilateral
committees and set the global agenda more effectively than
most other countries in the world, except of course the P-5
powers of the Security Council. As these countries win the
technological race, their importance in trans-national
commerce and the global economy is bound to increase in the
future.
China has taken a clue from these developments. A few months
ago, the government in Beijing identified five universities to
be brought up to the level of the best in the world -
including Harvard, Stanford and MIT, especially in the field
of science and technology. The Chinese know that low cost
goods can help attract investments and raise income in the
short run but it is not the solution in the long run. Of
course, the Chinese have a serious problem in their rural
backyard. If they fail to manage it, their aspirations may
disappear in a thousand revolutions.
For those who want to climb the ladder of science and
technology much needs to be explored and invented. Sir Martin
Rees, a leading British scientist, has come out with a
succinct book, Our Final Century, which lists what science has
yet to achieve. According to Sir Martin, it is too early to
conclude that there are only three dimensions or that the
earth is the only planet with biosphere. We know the history
of time from the second moment after the big bang but it
remains to be discovered what happened at the first moment and
just prior to it. We know how life was created from one cell
to multi-cell entities to the Cambrian explosion yet we do not
know how the first cell came into being. Most dramatically,
Sir Martin warns that it is too early to conclude that our
biological evolution is complete. With the advent of
biotechnology and nanotechnology the human species may evolve
into semi-machines capable of proliferating and
self-reproducing in the outer space, and perhaps beyond our
solar system.
Some of these ideas may be the stuff of science fiction, but
sometimes what might appear impossible to imagine might be a
reality sooner than we would expect. In 1937, a group of
leading American scientists failed to predict the rise of
nuclear power, computers and the Internet.
With such a track record, of experts in predicting the future,
some of Sir Martin’s fantasies may not be fantasies after all.
The countries and companies that make a breakthrough in new,
cheap, clean energy or the viability of outer space life or
all purpose medicine are bound to be more influential than the
countries that seek to gain a piece of territory here or there
or throw out one or two small time dictators out of power. If
I am looking for future power players, I would worry less
about expensive weapon systems which are more likely to turn
obsolete before they are ever used and keep my eyes and ears
open to find out what comes out of the theoretical physics
research institute in sleepy Waterloo.
(Sundeep Waslekar is the President of Strategic Foresight
Group.
Source: www.strategicforesight.com)
Comment
Pakistan’s new Prime Minister
Had Benazir Bhutto
lived, it would have all been much simpler. The leadership
vacuum in the Pakistan People's Party after her assassination
was never more obvious than when the time came to choose a
Prime Minister. That it took more than a month for the PPP
after winning the February 18 election to make a decision on
this is a reflection of Asif Ali Zardari's abundant caution in
balancing his own ambitions as the leader of the single
largest party with the dema nds of various sections within as
well as the interests of its coalition partners. His plans for
the future may have had something to do with the sidelining of
party stalwart Makhdoom Amin Fahim, a respected leader in
Sindh. Amid rifts in the party as several names popped up for
the premiership, Syed Yousuf Raza Gillani represented the
widest consensus. The former Speaker is respected for doing
five years in jail on controversial corruption charges under
the Musharraf regime. He belongs to Punjab but is acceptable
in Sindh because of his family connections to the Sufi saint,
Musa Pak. The sulking Mr. Fahim had fewer objections to him
than to the others in the race. Mr. Gillani is from southern
Punjab, so the Pakistan Muslim League (N), the PPP's most
important coalition partner, does not see him threatening its
strongholds in central and northern Punjab. In any case, he is
not the kind of party leader who will or can challenge the
political authority of Mr. Zardari.
The Prime Minister-elect has certainly raised democratic
spirits by committing himself and his government to protect
the 1973 Constitution, strengthen democratic institutions,
ensure the independence of the judiciary and the media, and
work to make parliament a sovereign body. The swift removal of
the barricades in front of the houses of deposed Chief Justice
Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry and other superior judges under
house arrest in Islamabad is a sign of things to come. There
is little doubt that Mr. Zardari as well as PML (N) leader
Nawaz Sharif will have a substantial say in the running of the
new government. With three other parties in the coalition -
the Awami National Party, the Muttahida Quami Movement, and
the Jamiat-e-Ulema Islami - it will be virtually a national
government. This can enable the widest possible consensus on
the crucial problems that face the nation, of which terrorism
and extremism top the list. Of course, there is the challenge
of dealing with President Pervez Musharraf. Pakistan's
mainstream political leaders have shown they can sagaciously
unite on critical issues. There will be plenty more situations
in the coming days when their democratic credentials and
capabilities will be tested. Their time starts now.
Source:
www.hindu.com
Viewpoints
The Disintegration
of a Society
Therefore for Bangladesh and its society, it
has to go back to its roots and start all over from there, if
it is to prevent its own disintegration; the roots which were
planted during its War of Independence.
Mahmud Ur Rahman Choudhury
Arnold.
J. Toynbee in his monumental work “The Study of History”
analyses the rise and fall of civilizations. In Toynbee’s
introduction to his work, he identifies ‘civilized societies’
and not nations or periods as the only intelligible unit of
historical study. The definition of the words ‘civilized
society’ as opposed to ‘non-civilized society’ however,
remains problematic throughout his work. The importance of his
work lies not in definitions but in his having created a model
for the study of the rise and disintegration of societies. The
importance of his work is further magnified if one uses his
work as a model to study any particular society, identify
factors that could cause its disintegration and perhaps
suggest measures, which could revitalize and rejuvenate the
society.
My attention to Toynbee’s work has been drawn by ongoing
debates in and outside Bangladesh regarding “reforms” to
revitalize what is practically a ‘failed state’, a ‘failed
nation’ or a state with a ‘failed government’. If one is to
accept the authority of Toynbee, then this whole debate about
failed state, nation or government becomes irrelevant because
state, nations or governments are really not ‘intelligible
units of historical study’. These are but instruments whereby
societies delineate and regulate themselves. It is therefore,
much more fruitful to study the ‘Bengali society’ and see what
condition it is really in. Without going into a potentially
explosive debate about the definition of Bengali society, I
simply restrict and reserve my inquiry to that portion of the
Bengali society presently bound by the geographical limits of
the state of Bangladesh.
Toynbee has identified many factors for the rise, decline and
disintegration of societies. I will take a very limited
selection of the factors to see what has happened, and what is
happening to Bangladesh. I have also taken certain liberties
with definitions and terms and their meanings used by Toynbee,
for the purpose of simplicity and topicality. The following
paragraphs contain my analysis.
The Mechanicalness of Mimesis.
The word ‘mimesis’ means to mimic, copy or emulate. Toynbee
has, in brief this to say: “The only way in which the
uncreative majority can follow the leadership of the creative
leaders is by mimesis, a mechanical and superficial imitation
of the great and inspired originals. This unavoidable shortcut
entails obvious dangers. The leaders may become infected with
the mechanicalness of their followers and the result will be
an arrested civilization; or they may exchange persuasion for
compulsion. In that case, the ‘Creative Minority’ turns into a
‘Dominant Minority’ and the eager followers turn into an
‘Alienated Proletariat’. When this happen the society enters
on the road to disintegration. The society loses its capacity
for self-determination.” The following section illustrates
ways in which this came about in the case of Bangladesh.
The ‘Bengali’ culture and society was in the making for at
least 300 years starting from the 17th century. It really came
into its own in the late 19th and early 20th century when a
whole plethora of a ‘creative minority’ emerged in both
cultural and political fields, some of whom received worldwide
recognition. Their appeal and their following were universal
in the sense that they were acting as part of the Indic
culture and politics. It is worthy of note that their
Bengaliness did not prevent them from doing this. In fact,
universalism provided them with a much wider field of activity
and influence. Particularism emerged only after the division
of the sub-continent into the states of India and Pakistan in
1947.
Soon after the Partition of 1947, a vocal ‘Creative Bengali
Minority’ emerged in the state of Pakistan. The creative
minority’s appeal was comprehensive including linguistic,
cultural, social, economic and political. Mimesis’ was almost
instantaneous, that is, within a period of 25 years the
following had coalesced into what could be termed as a
‘nation’. The creative minority that made this possible were a
dozen individual centered on the charismatic personality of
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, who was soon to be termed ‘Bangabandhu’.
The period leading up to the Liberation War & its aftermath is
too well documented to go into & discover any new insights.
What is insightful is a study of social-psychological aspects
during this period. In an attempt to create, a nation out of a
society Bangabandhu & his colleagues exchanged the path of
Persuasion for Compulsion. They perhaps did this to arrest the
chaos following a war or were persuaded to do this by the
prevailing regional geo-politics. What ever be the reasons,
the creative minority had now turned into a ‘Dominant
Minority’. At the same time, there was an ongoing conflict
within the dominant minority itself, which culminated in the
murder of Bangabandhu, his family & many of his closest
colleagues. The political vacuum thus created was immediately
filled in by a new minority, headed by General Zia Ur Rahman,
which was more dominant then creative. Mimesis of this new
dominant minority was more mechanical then spontaneous. As is
the case with all dominant minorities, internal conflicts also
led to the murder of General Zia Ur Rahman. In both the cases,
the populace in general formed a ‘silent majority’ perhaps
because neither of the dominant minorities had time enough to
be so coercive that the population turned into ‘alienated
proletariat’. General Ershad and his coterie did that
effectively within the next 9 years.
Throughout the decade of the 1990s, the two dominant
minorities of the Awami League (AL) & Bangladesh Nationalist
Party (BNP) not only pursued a policy of ‘compulsion’ against
the followers of each other but also employed extreme forms of
coercion and violence. At the same time, the leaders
themselves became infected with the mechanicalness of their
followers thus arresting growth, creativity and losing the
capacity for self-determination. Mimesis took the extreme form
of ‘hero-worship’ where huge monuments were built to the two
‘martyred’ leaders of the two dominant minorities and show of
respect to the dead became massive ‘public spectacles’.
Meanwhile the populace was divided into two exclusive
conglomerates of ‘alienated proletariat’; alienated within
themselves & from each other. This brought about a complete
breakdown of social controls established over 3 centuries of
‘socialization’. It was now possible for individuals & groups
to eliminate each other in the most brutal manner possible at
the slightest provocation. It was now possible for the state &
its coercive instruments to be employed for maintaining &
expanding the narrow, limited interests of whichever dominant
minority grappled its way to ‘state power”. It was now
possible for diverse vigilante groups to function with the
active support of the state; it was now possible to speak of
murder, rape and dacoity as being ‘within tolerable levels’.
Thus we see that the Bengali society started its process of
growth in the 17th century, rising to its apogee with the
establishment of the state of Bangladesh, then declining &
finally entering ‘the road to disintegration’ at the turn of
the present century. The complete process of disintegration
will perhaps take a decade or more. Toynbee’s analyses of
disintegration of societies clearly points to the fact that
once disintegration starts, the process can take a short or
long time to complete depending on various factors.
New Wine in Old Bottles
Toynbee had this to say: “Ideally, each new social force
released by creative minority should beget new institutions
through which it can work. Actually, it works more often then
not through old institutions designed for other purposes.
However, the old institutions often prove unsuitable or
intractable. One of the two results may follow; either the
breakdown of the institution (a revolution) or their survival
and the consequent perversion of the new forces working
through them (an enormity). A revolution may be defined as a
delayed and consequently explosive act of mimesis; an enormity
as a frustration of mimesis. If the adjustment of the
institutions is harmonious, growth will continue; if it
results in a revolution, growth becomes hazardous; if it
results in an enormity, breakdown may be diagnosed.”
Now let us see how Toynbee’s theory of “New Wine in Old
Bottles” applies to Bangladesh. The creative minorities of the
17th, 18th, & 19th centuries were fully aware that they were
unleashing new social forces, which required new institutions
to work. Therefore, they set about building these new
institutions in the form of linguistic structures, cultural &
social norms & behavior but above all laid the foundations for
educational methods & institutions and experimented with the
formation of new social and political groups. Unfortunately,
all this was cut short by the partition of 1947 purely along
religious lines. In the eastern part of Pakistan, the breakup
of the continuity of institution building resulted, in just 25
years, in a revolution and the formation of Bangladesh.
Bangladesh was therefore, from its birth, burdened with two
partial sets o£ institutions: one, which emphasizes
Bengaliness and another, which emphasized Pakistaniness. Had
the Bangabandhu and his creative minority realized these
historical facts and allowed the revolution to continue, much
as Mao Tse Tung did in China, new institutions to canalize new
social forces would have been formed and harmonious growth
would have been possible. Unfortunately, he chooses the path
of ‘enormity’, that is, he compelled the new social forces
unleashed by the birth of Bangladesh to function through old
institutions. This resulted in his death and the occurrence of
another quasi-revolution which brought to the fore another not
so creative but highly dominant minority. Thus, twice, mimesis
was frustrated and enormities were created. Under the
circumstances, social breakdown became almost a mathematical
certainty.
Idolization of an Ephemeral Self & institutions.
Toynbee has this to say: “History shows that the group which
successfully responds to one challenge is rarely the
successful respondent to the next”. Idolization is a passive
means of ‘resting on ones oars’ and is resorted to when a
group has run out of steam of creativity. By repeatedly
emphasizing on what has already been created, the group wants
to maintain its dominant position by diverting attention away
(at least temporarily) from new challenges facing society.
Idolization has the added advantage that mimesis becomes more
mechanical, thoughtless and automatic. In the case of
Bangladesh, the AL creative minority, which was instrumental
in bringing about the independence of Bangladesh, failed to
meet the challenges of a post-independence Bangladesh. We have
seen in earlier paragraphs how new wine was poured into old
bottles. The dominant minorities that have governed Bangladesh
since independence have all taken idolization to extreme
levels. Thus, human institutions, created by humans for other
humans such as the constitution, the parliament and courts are
“noble”, “sacred”, and “great”; leaders both dead & alive are
“noble”, “great” and “infallible”. Today, the dominant
minorities of AL & BNP have turned into nemesis of creativity
by taking idolization to this extreme because both are failing
to meet the challenges of disintegration of a society.
The Suicidalness of Militarism.
Having discussed the passive form of “resting on ones oars”,
we now turn to the active form of aberration summarized in the
term militarism. Soon after the independence of Bangladesh,
the murder of the entire dominant minority of the AL sparked
off a wave of militarism. The replacement dominant minority (a
military junta) placed increasing emphasis on uniformity,
unity, order, duty, disciple, etc in action, expression and
thought. Militarism had taken the usual form of symbolizing
the independence & patriotism of the nation in its armed
forces little realizing that the armed forces are but a
minuscule component of the society with limited utility &
functions. This was a suicidal attempt at staving off the
rapid disintegration of Bangladesh society. That it was
suicidal can be gleaned from the fact that the gun with its
power of death rules every aspect of life today. The
‘alienated proletariat’ employs the gun for economic gains;
the ruling ‘dominant minority’ employs the gun to get rid of
the alienated proletariat and the competing group of dominant
minority. Increasingly, social control can only be established
through deadly force. The proliferation of laws passed by
Parliament does not aim at providing security to or
maintaining existing social norms but at justifying and
excusing the use of organized violence against an alienated
proletariat. Thus, militarism is not a cause but an effect of
advanced social disintegration. With its emphasis on
uniformity, militarism is a true nemesis of creativity.
Archaism & Futurism.
Archaism is an attempt to escape from an intolerable present
by reconstructing an earlier phase in the life of a
disintegrating society. Archaizing movements generally either
prove sterile or transform themselves into their opposite
namely Futurism which is an attempt to escape the present by a
leap into the future. In Bangladesh, both the dominant
minorities of the AL & BNP have resorted to both Archaism &
Futurism. The AL is more archaic in that it refers more to its
past of a highly successful social & political movement and
the “glorious” liberation war is a constant theme in it public
utterances; it is also futuristic in that by evoking the past
it expects to ‘motivate’ efforts at building a “Golden
Bengal”. The BNP is more futuristic in that it often talks of
a Bangladesh as progressing toward the new millennium. At the
same time in competition with the AL, it is inventing a past
by re-interpreting historical facts & events. Extreme forms of
archaism & futurism inhibit the flourishing of new creative
ideas and the society remains either sterile or under pressure
from other factors, disintegrates. When two opposing points of
view are presented with a proselytizing zeal, it leads often
to conflicts within social groups, which accelerate the
process of disintegration. This is what seems to be happening
to Bangladesh.
Having seen what is happening and why, we need to look at
solutions for Bangladesh. Unfortunately, historians including
Toynbee and Gibbon are wary of predicting the future. The only
exception to this rule is Hegel who in his ‘Philosophy of
History’ predicted the end of history by claiming that the
rise of the Germanic civilization was the apogee of human
achievement & history will no more be made because there would
be nothing more to achieve. Within a century of Hegel’s
prediction, much of the western world lay in ruins of a
devastating war and everything German came to be regarded with
abhorrence. Not taking any lessons from the folly of Hegel,
Francis Fukuyama in the 1980s predicted a second end of
history claiming everlasting universalism for American liberal
democracy & capitalism. Within 2 decades after Fukuyama’s
prediction large portions of the world in Africa, Asia and the
Middle East are feeling the brunt of the American brand of the
end of history.
Philosophers, starting with Plato and Aristotle, on the other
hand have felt no qualms in devising formulas for perfect
social systems. These utopias are beyond the reach of mortal
humans who have to deal with ever-changing time-space
environments. It is the perceptive, practical politicians like
Lenin and Mao Tse Tung who can change existing social systems
and devise new ones which suit the times and the
circumstances.
The strength of a society or civilization rests on the
foundations on which it was built and on its universalism. For
example the Greek city-state civilization survived for only a
few centuries but its ideals and ideas were so universal that
much of these were taken over by the Romans and later
transferred to Western Christian civilization which continues
to dominate the world today. But if there is anything that
history teaches, it is that no society and no civilization is
everlasting, permanent. History also teaches that a particular
society or civilization exists to provide the greatest amount
of benefit and satisfaction to its members; when it ceases to
provide that, it loses its capacity for self-determination and
starts on the road to disintegration. Therefore for Bangladesh
and its society, it has to go back to its roots and start all
over from there, if it is to prevent its own disintegration;
the roots which were planted during its War of Independence.
(The author is the Editor of
The Bangladesh Today)
Opinion
Iraq: US Exit May Not Lead to an Orgy of
Violence
Gwynne Dyer
It is
five years since President George W. Bush launched the
invasion of Iraq (March 20). Can Iraq emerge from this ordeal
as a place where people lead reasonably safe and happy lives?
The American troops will leave eventually, and probably quite
soon, but that is unlikely to be followed by an orgy of
violence. The civil war has already happened, and most
formerly mixed neighborhoods and villages are now exclusively
Shiite or Sunni. That, as much as the "surge" in American
troop numbers, is why the civilian death toll has dropped
significantly over the past year.
Between four and five million Iraqis have fled their homes
(out of a population of less than thirty million), and most of
them will never be able to return to those homes. But half of
them are still in Iraq, and most of the rest are in
neighboring countries and will ultimately have to return. They
will eventually find somewhere safe to live, and they will
start to rebuild their lives.
Lebanon's tragedy was largely self-inflicted, and the various
sects had more clearly defined identities before the war
began, but it is what happened after the shooting stopped
there in 1990 that concerns us. Most of the refugees found
somewhere to live, the shattered buildings were rebuilt or
replaced, and within ten years a reasonably healthy economy
emerged from the ruins.
With oil at over a hundred dollars a barrel, Iraq certainly
has the money to rebuild, even if oil production has not yet
recovered to the pre-invasion level. And there is now a kind
of democracy in Iraq, although it is heavily distorted by
sectarian and ethnic rivalries - not all that different from
Lebanon's democracy, in fact.
There is little chance of another strongman like Saddam
seizing power in Iraq, because power is now so widely
distributed among the different factions and militias. Iraqi
democracy may even survive the departure of the American
troops.
So was it all worthwhile, in the end? That is a different
question, because the implicit comparison is between the
future of the country as it is now and the conditions that
reigned five years ago when Saddam Hussein was still in
charge. Even that comparison yields an ambiguous answer, for
Saddam's Iraq was a secular society where people were safe
unless they trespassed into politics, and women enjoyed an
unusual degree of personal freedom. But it is also the wrong
comparison.
This was the trick that the old Soviet Union played endlessly,
comparing the wonders achieved under Communism with the
horrors of poverty and oppression under the czars - as if
Russia would have stayed forever frozen in 1917 if the
Bolshevik Revolution had not happened. The Chinese Communist
regime plays the same game now, pretending that it would still
be 1948 in the country if they had not seized power. It's
utter nonsense, and that applies to Iraq, too.
Saddam was only executed a year ago, so he probably would
still be in power today if the United States had not invaded
Iraq, but he was not going to live forever. It's not possible
to know what would have followed him had he stayed in power
and died a natural death, but would it have involved hundreds
of thousands of Iraqis tortured, shot or blown up? Would it
have led to the permanent alienation of Sunnis and Shiites?
Probably not. In the meantime, Saddam posed no serious threat
to his neighbors, as his army was largely destroyed in the
first Gulf War of 1991 and never rebuilt (due to sanctions).
He posed no danger at all to the United States, since he had
absolutely nothing to do with Al-Qaeda (as was confirmed by a
recently released Pentagon study of more than 600,000 Iraqi
documents captured after the US invasion).
The real question is what will Iraq be like twenty years from
now, and what would it have been like in twenty years if the
United States had not invaded. But it can never be answered,
because that alternative future was cancelled by the invasion.
Source:
www.arabnews.com
International
Tibet govt-in-exile
says about 140 dead in unrest
AFP, Dharamshala
Some 140 people have been confirmed killed in a Chinese
crackdown in Tibet, the prime minister of the Tibetan
government-in-exile told AFP on Tuesday.
"It is about 140," said Samdhong Rinpoche. "This is the
toll till last evening and includes the whole of Tibet."
The new toll from protests and unrest was up from 130
confirmed deaths announced on Monday morning and 99 last
week.
"It is from our own sources in Tibet," said Rinpoche in
Dharamshala in northern India, the base of exiled Tibetan
spiritual leader the Dalai Lama.
The figures included fatalities from Tibetan areas in
provinces such as Gansu and Sichuan, he said but did not
provide details.
China has reported a total of 20 dead in the recent
unrest.
The state news agency Xinhua on Saturday said Tibetan
rioters killed 18 "innocent" civilians and one police
officer during protests against Chinese rule in the
Himalayan region's capital Lhasa.
There was further unrest on Monday with Xinhua reporting
at least one policemen killed and several more wounded in
a riot in Sichuan province.
Protests, which began two weeks ago on the anniversary of
a failed 1959 Tibetan uprising against Chinese rule,
erupted into deadly violence in Lhasa on March 14.
They have spread to other parts of China with significant
ethnic Tibetan populations in the biggest challenge to
Chinese control of Tibet in two decades.
However independent verification of the casualties has not
been possible with Chinese authorities strictly
controlling a huge swathe of riot-hit areas and denying
foreign reporters access.
China has accused the "Dalai Lama clique" of orchestrating
the violence ahead of the Olympic Games in August. But the
Dalai Lama has called Beijing's charges against him
"baseless" and repeatedly said he opposes violence.
He is demanding greater autonomy and has called for an
international probe into the unrest.
Bhutan heralds first day as democracy
AFP, Thimphu
Bhutan
awoke Tuesday as the world's newest democracy, after a
landslide election win for a party led by an ex-premier
who has pledged to boost development-and happiness-in the
Himalayan nation.
Almost 80 percent of Bhutanese voters, urged on by their
beloved 28-year-old monarch who often appeared more keen
to bring down the curtain on a century of absolute
monarchy than his subjects, participated in Monday's
historic polls.
The landmark vote was first proposed by Bhutan's royal
family to peacefully transform the small Buddhist kingdom,
wedged in the mountains between massive neighbours India
and China, into a constitutional monarchy.
The Druk Phuensum Tshogpa (DPT) or Bhutan United Party
made an unexpected clean sweep by winning 44 of the total
47 seats for the lower house in what had been seen as a
tight two-party race, the country's election commission
said.
The landslide results even stunned the winning party,
which differed only slightly from its rival-both parties
are staunchly loyal to the royal family and both promised
to stick with Gross National Happiness to measure growth.
"The margin is overwhelming. It places a heavy burden on
us. Expectations are very high both from the people and
the king," Yeshley Zimba, one of the party's winning
candidates from the capital Thimphu, told reporters
Tuesday.
"We will be guided by the past but now the process will be
a democratic process."
DPT leader Jigmi Thinley-a two-time former premier under
the previous royal governments who holds a master's degree
in public administration from Pennsylvania State
University-was expected to be the new prime minister.
Lebanon’s presidential vote postponed for 17th time
AFP, Beirut
A
parliamentary session to elect a Lebanese president has
been postponed from Tuesday to April 22 amid continued
deadlock between rival political leaders, the speaker's
office announced on Monday.
"Parliament speaker Nabih Berri has decided to postpone
the session to April 22 at noon (0900 GMT)," his spokesman
Ali Hamdan told AFP.
The decision marks the 17th time since September that a
parliament session to elect a successor to pro-Syrian head
of state Emile Lahoud has failed amid a standoff between
the Western- and Saudi-backed government and the
Hezbollah-led opposition, backed by Syria and Iran.
"The speaker has said that he certainly will move up the
session if a political agreement is reached beforehand," a
statement from parliament's secretariat said.
The Lebanese presidential crisis is expected to top the
agenda at this week's Arab summit in Damascus. Regional
heavyweight Saudi Arabia has announced that it will send a
low-level diplomat to the meeting in retaliation for what
it says is Syrian obstruction to the election of a
Lebanese president.
Iran seeks weapons-grade uranium enrichment: Cheney
AFP, Washington
Vice President Dick Cheney
on Monday said Iran was developing a uranium enrichment
program for military purposes.
"Obviously, they're ... heavily involved in trying to
develop nuclear weapons enrichment, the enrichment of
uranium to weapons grade levels," Cheney said in an
interview with ABC television transcribed by the White
House. Cheney, however, did not mention on what he based
his accusation.
The United States and its European allies have led efforts
to pressure Iran into freezing its disputed uranium
enrichment work, a process that can be used both to make
nuclear fuel and the core of an atomic bomb. Tehran
insists its program is peaceful.
The UN Security Council recently imposed a third set of
sanctions against Iran over its refusal to halt its
nuclear activities.
Washington has stepped up pressure to halt Tehran's
uranium enrichment program ever since a US intelligence
report in December said Iran did have, in effect, a covert
nuclear weapons program but that it was stopped in 2003.
The report, which the White House interpreted as
confirming its suspicions about Iran's secret ambition,
increased skepticism over Washington's warnings that began
after the Iraq war did not yield the weapons of mass
destruction the US had predicted.
Meanwhile, US Vice President Dick Cheney met Monday with
Turkish leaders who told him they would not send more
troops or money to Afghanistan for now, a senior US
official told reporters after the talks.
"They were certainly, I think, happy to look at, to see
whether there was any possibility of more they could do,
but (offered) no immediate short-term commitments," the
official said on condition of anonymity. He spoke after
Cheney, in Ankara on the last leg of a nine-day overseas
tour, met with President Abdullah Gul, Prime Minister
Recep Tayyip Erdogan and chief of general staff General
Yasar Buyukanit.
Washington has been pushing its NATO allies, including
Turkey, to step up help to rebuild war-wracked Afghanistan
and crush the Taliban Islamist militia ahead of an
alliance summit in Bucharest, Romania, in early April.
Last week, Turkey's Foreign Minister Ali Babacan said
Ankara will soon decide on whether to send more troops to
Afghanistan, a day after Buyukanit opposed the idea,
saying that his forces were already busy fighting
separatist fighters of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers'
Party (PKK).
In all three meetings, Cheney "got great expressions of
support for the US backing in their fight against the PKK
and how helpful the United States had been both with
Turkey but also between Turkey and Iraq," the official
said.
A key issue was how to battle the rebels while "trying to
be sensitive to, obviously, the delicate political and
security situation that exists in Iraq and trying hard to
avoid any problems that would add to existing stresses on
the Iraqi political balance," the official said.
"All the Turks he met agree that Turkey needs to work-not
only with the Iraqi central government-but they need to
work with political forces and political leaders in
northern Iraq as well," the official said. |