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Business tycoon Giasuddin Mamoon
sentenced to 10 years in prison
His fugitive wife gets 3 years
UNB, Dhaka
Already-convicted controversial businessman Giasuddin Al
Mamoon was again on Thursday sentenced to 10 years in
prison for amassing wealth illegally and concealing
information about his fabulous assets.
A special court trying high-profile corruption suspects in
the current interim period delivered the judgement, also
sentencing his fugitive wife to 3 years’ imprisonment.
Shahina Yasmin, Mamoon’s wife, was tried in absentia and
convicted of abetting her husband in protecting the
ill-gotten wealth.
In its judgement, the court also fined Mamoon Tk 10 lakh,
in default to suffer one year more in jail.
Besides, the court ordered the government to confiscate
his illegal wealth worth some Tk 111 crore to the public
exchequer.
Mamoon, who is facing a dozen criminal cases, was
officially arrested on March 26 last year. Earlier on June
7 last year, a special court jailed Mamoon, a close friend
of detained BNP senior joint secretary general Tarique
Rahman, for three years for non-submission of his wealth
statement to the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) within
the given time.
Besides, on July 3 in 2007, the first additional
metropolitan sessions judge here had sentenced the tycoon
to 10 years’ imprisonment in an arms case.
Tarique, his wife, mother-in-law
to be charge-sheeted Sunday or Monday
More cases likely to be filed against
Tarique
UNB, Dhaka
The Anti-Corruption
Commission on Thursday approved the submission of charge
sheet in a case against detained BNP senior joint
secretary general Tarique Rahman for hiding wealth
information and amassing property disproportionate to his
known sources of income.
His wife Dr Jobaida Rahman and mother-in-law Iqbal Mand
Banu will also be charge-sheeted in the case. "The charge
sheet would be submitted either Sunday or Monday," a
competent source told UNB.
"The Commission on Thursday approved the submission of
charge sheet against Tarique Rahman for acquiring wealth
worth Tk 2,74,93,087 (about 2.75 crore), including
concealment of information of assets worth Tk 2,16,48,087
(over Tk 2.16 crore)," ACC director general (admin) Col
Hanif Iqbal told a Commission’s regular briefing.
He also said Tarique’s wife and mother-in-law would be
charge-sheeted, as it was proved during the investigation
that both of them abetted Tarique in trying to prove the
ill-gotten Tk 35 lakh was indeed earned legally.
The charge sheet would be submitted under sections 26(2)
and 27(1) of the Anti-Corruption Commission Act, 2004,
section 109 of the Penal Code and section 15 of the
Emergency Power Rules, 2007, he added.
The ACC spokesperson also said more cases, if needed,
would be filed against Tarique subject to availability of
information. "It wasn’t said anywhere that this was the
only charge against him (Tarique). If needed and if
information are available, more case or cases will be
filed," he said.
Replying to a volley of questions, he said a supplementary
charge-sheet, if necessary, would be submitted or separate
cases would be filed against the detained BNP leader, also
the eldest son of detained Prime Minister Khaleda Zia.
On September 26, 2007, the anti-graft watchdog filed the
case with Kafrul police station against Tarique, his wife
Dr Jobaida Rahman and mother-in-law Syeda Iqbal Mand Banu
for concealing information of assets worth about Tk 4.23
crore and acquiring wealth worth about Tk 4.81 crore
beyond their known sources of income.
The case was filed under sections 26(2) and 27(1) of the
Anti-Corruption Commission Act 2004, section 109 of the
Penal Code and section 15(D)(5) of the Emergency Power
Rules, 2007.
Following the filing of the case, ACC assistant director
Taufiqul Islam investigated the case and submitted memo of
evidence (investigation report) on January 13 this year.
Since then, the report has been scrutinized long and hard
by the Commission before approving submission of the
charge sheet.
Tarique is in jail since his arrest on March 8, 2007 from
his cantonment residence. Since then, 12 cases have been
filed against him, including one by the ACC.
SSC
exam begins
DU Correspondent
The Secondary School Certificate (SSC), Dakhil and SSC
vocational examinations under nine education boards began
throughout the country with a record less incidents of
unfair means on the first day.
Some 117 examinees were expelled on the first day
examinations across the country. Sources said 8 students
were expelled under Rajshahi Board, 2 under Chittagong, 14
under Dhaka, 5 under Barisal, 4 under Comilla, 3 under
Jessore, 11 under Madrasah and 70 under Technical
Education Board. There were no reports of expulsion under
Sylhet Education Board.
English 1st paper (compulsory) of SSC, Quran Majid and
Tajbid of Dhakil and English 2nd paper of SSC Vocational
examination were held on the first day, Thursday.
Education advisor Dr Hossain Zillur Rahman made a surprise
visit to four city centres- Dhanmondi Government Boys
High, School Government Madrasah-e-Aliya, Agrani Girls
High School and Government Laboratory High School.
During the visit, the advisor expressed his satisfaction
observing the environment of the halls and said the
government is determined to ensure copying free
examination.
This year a total of 10, 13,301 examinees registered to
appear at the SSC and its equivalent examinations against
10, 33, 367 last year.
Of the total, 7, 47, 545 examinees registered to sit for
Secondary School Certificate examinations under seven
education boards, 1, 83, 381 for Dakhil examination under
the Madrasah Education Board and 82, 375 for SSC for
vocational examination under the Technical Education
Board.
Of the total, 5, 41,191 are male and 4, 72, 110 female
examinees. The examination will continue till April 27.
Four Advisers hold unscheduled Meeting
Staff Correspondent
Four Advisers to the
Government on Thursday held an exclusive meeting for about
two and half hours at the commerce adviser’s office to
discuss some important issues including price hike of
essentials. Sources said the advisers may have discussed
the much-talked about issue of dialogue with the political
parties. Commerce Adviser Hossain Zillur Rahman, Law
Adviser A F Hassan Ariff, Communications Adviser Ghulam
Quader and LGRD Adviser Anwarul Iqbal attended the
meeting.
Before starting the meeting of four advisers, the commerce
adviser told the newsmen that it was not a scheduled
meeting. Asked what issues to be discussed in the meeting,
Zillur said, "The issue of price may come up in the
meeting". On whether the issue of dialogue will be
discussed, he didn’t reply anything and kept quiet on the
issue. Newsmen were waiting for the advisers to come out
of the meeting and to talk to the media but the advisers
didn’t face the media.
While the commerce adviser was getting into his car,
newsmen attempted to talk with the adviser on the issues
discussed at the meeting with his colleagues. Zillur said,
"We have discussed about the price of essentials and
excessive price hike of rods". Due to abnormal price hike
of rod, the activities of annual development programme
(ADP) have come to a stand still, he regretted. Asked
whether the advisers discussed the issue of dialogue,
Zillur said, "I will not tell any thing about it and I
will miss my flight to Chittagong". While talking to The
Bangladesh Today, the commerce adviser said, "I will not
tell any thing about dialogue".
Communications Adviser Ghulam Quader A few days back 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. He also said the
government would not set any agenda for dialogue with the
political parties.
Salary
Increase of Govt Employees
Staff Correspondent
Government will increase the salaries of its officials and
employees in the next budget.
After a meeting of advisory council committee on ‘salary
fixation’ held at Secretariat on Thursday, Finance Adviser
Mirza Azizul Islam disclosed this to the waiting
journalists. Food adviser AMM Shawkat Ali, LGD Anwarul
Iqbal and Cabinet Secretary Ali Imam Majumdar also
attended the meeting. "Considering the fixed income groups
who are facing the worst situation due to abnormal price
hike, government will increase the salaries of its
officials and employees by 10 % to 20 % in the next
budget. But no final decision is yet to be taken by the
government. We are considering the issue seriously" the
Finance Minister said adding there are discriminations in
salaries of different government officials and employees.
According to the government statistic during the last one
year price of coarse rice was raised by 61 per cent, wheat
by 80 per cent, lentil by and edible oil by 50 per cent.
Simultaneously prices of other essentials commodities are
also increasing abnormally. According to state-run Trading
Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB) prices of all varieties of
rice have become double.
The government at different times took various initiatives
to control the unabated price hike but it totally failed
while TCB also failed to provide positive news about the
price of essentials. Not only government staffs and
officials but also salaries of the non-government
employees and officials did not increase keeping pace with
inflation. As a result those who depend on monthly
incomes, are now passing inhuman lives with their family
member. The fixed income groups are facing severe
financial hardships and struggling to bridge the gap
between their income and expenditure.
On the other hand, unchecked price of essentials, has
triggered widespread hardship, worry and discontent among
the people across the country. People from all walks of
life expressed their grave resentment and anger over the
sky rocketing price of rice.
Besides, braving strict vigilance, importers,
whole-sellers and retailers have started hoarding
essential commodities including rice, wheat, edible oil
and lentil along the bordering areas. All efforts made by
the Government to stabilise the kitchen market went in
vain as it totally failed to bring the situation under
control. As a result people are worried over serious food
crisis. People specially middle class and low income
groups in large number are now gathering at BDR operated
markets for buying rice at different places in the city.
According to sources the retailers are blaming the
whole-sellers and the whole-sellers are blaming the
importers for the abnormal rise of rice price. On the
other hand some 16 big business houses, the main importers
of rice from India are blaming the government and the
government is saying it does not have any control on rice
price.
EC
taking all-out preparation for polls : Shakawat
Staff Correspondent
Election Commissioner Brig General (retd) Shakawat Hossain
on Thursday ruled out any speculations of not holding the
stalled next general elections, saying ‘ the EC is taking
all-out preparations targeting the next parliament
election. So, there is no doubt about holding the election
as per the road map." Shakawat Hossain was talking to
newsmen at his office yesterday. Besides, the EC has
included some provisions in the code of conduct regarding
the polls to ensure accountability and transparency of the
candidates for all elections.
According to the new rule, the EC would be able to cancel
the nomination of any individual if it finds any candidate
providing false information in the nomination forms, he
observed. He said, "the elections of four city
corporations and seven municipalities would be held
between April 22 and May 29 and these elections must be
held as per the new rule which is expected to reach to the
EC within a week from the ministry concerned."
About the on going voter list, EC Shakawat said, " the EC
has already completed the enlistment works of five crores
and 16 lakhs voters and by the end of June, we would be
able to complete the voter’s enrolment work and then we
would publish the final voter list. We are satisfied with
the progress of voter listing work and the field level
works will be completed by June."
Asked whether the EC’s decision to hold the local
government elections will hamper the EC’s road map or not,
he said, " the EC will not do anything which would
obstruct its road map towards the next parliament
election. We also realize that it is difficult to run the
country without an elected government. We are feeling the
necessity of democracy and that’s why, we are working hard
to hold the parliament election as per our road map."
Regarding the revision of nomination form, Shakawat
Hossain said, "The EC is going to revise the candidates’
nomination form and this time it will be more informative
and all the future elections including the national ones
would be held as per the newly introduced form which
includes details of the candidates. Besides, they will
have to disclose details regarding their source of income,
election expenses and so on." "The EC will form several
investigation bodies to investigate the allegations
against the candidates participating in the elections and
if it is proved that any candidate has given false
information, subsequently the EC will cancel his
nomination, "EC Shakawat observed. He further said, " if
any member of parliament is found guilty for submitting
false information through concealing anything after the
polls, the EC would request the Speaker of National
Parliament to cancel the membership of the accused MP."
He said, "Before publishing the gazette of result of any
election, the EC has the authority to cancel anyone’s
nomination, and in terms of local bodies election the LGRD
ministry would take action against any selected candidate
if EC’s investigation can prove allegation as true one."
Asked if the armed forces would be deployed in the
upcoming local government election or not , he said, " the
armed forces have been deployed across the country since
the formation of caretaker government in January last
year. There is no instance of holding elections in the
country without the assistance of the armed forces."
Back Page
Price of Iron-rod
increasing Daily
Staff Correspondent
The government is concerned
about the abnormal price spiral of iron rod-- one of the
most essential construction materials. Commerce adviser
Hossain Zillur Rahman said this while talking to newsmen
after a meeting with three advisers on iron rod price hike
at his office on Thursday. The advisers were Local
Government and Rural Developmnt adviser Anwarul Iqbal, Law
adviser A.F. Hassan Arif and Communications Affairs
adviser Ghulam Quader. The inter-ministerial meeting was
held to discuss the unusual price of the construction
material and means of solving the problem. The commerce
adviser said, he is going to Chittagong soon to have talks
with all concerned in this regard with a view to finding
out solution to the problem. The government will take
necessary steps to stabilize the market of construction
inputs soon.
After remaining stable for last one month, iron rod price
has started increasing again, seriously hampering the
country's construction works. The price of per metric ton
of 60 grade iron rod increased by Taka 4,000 over the last
ten days. Per metric ton of BSRM-made 60 grade iron rod is
selling at Taka 69,000. However, KSRM-manufactured iron
rod of same quality is selling at Taka 67,500 per metric
ton. Price of per ton of 40 grade iron rod has also
increased by Taka 4,000. Price of per metric ton of 40
grade iron rod increased from Taka 60,000 to Taka 64,000.
According to relevant sources, price of per metric ton of
this construction input is increasing by Taka 500
everyday.
Under this circumstances, different government agencies
have already started monitoring the market of this
construction material. The members of these agencies are
investigating the cause of sudden price rise of iron rod
so that the government can take effective steps to bridle
the price hike of the construction item. The country needs
a total of 30 lakh metric tons of iron rod every year. The
local demand for iron rod is fulfilled through importing
billet and scrap ships from abroad to manufacture iron
rod. But the importers and manufacturers of this product
are increasing the price of the construction input
abnormally on the plea of price hike in the international
market, it is alleged.
Govt
decides bring CHT under mobile phone network
Digital phone exchanges also in
consideration
UNB, Rangamati
Chief Advisor
of the caretaker government Dr Fakhruddin Ahmed on
Thursday announced government decision to introduce mobile
phone network in the backwoods of Chittagong Hill Tracts,
primarily in the three municipalities of Rangamati,
Khagrachhari and Bandarban.
The government decision met a long-cherished demand of the
people of the Chittagong Hill Tracts, once troubled by
tribal insurgency that was tamed following the December 2,
1997 peace accord.
Dr Ahmed said setting up digital telephone exchanges in
Upazilas of the three hill districts would be considered
provided availability of resources.
During his first visit to Rangamati in the CHT since his
assumption of office, the head of the interim government
hoped that within next month, a final decision on manpower
would be taken for establishing three judge courts in the
three hill district headquarters.
Dr Ahmed announced the government decisions in an
opinion-exchange meeting with government officials, elite
and people of different professional groups of the three
hill districts at Rangamati Tribal Cultural Institute
Auditorium in the morning. The meeting was organized by
Rangamati district administration.
Special Assistant to CA for CHT Affairs Ministry Raja
Debashis Roy, Chittagong Divisional Commissioner Hossain
Zamil and DC Rangamti Nurul Amin also spoke at the
meeting.
CHT Regional Council Chairman Jyotrindra Bodhipriya Larma
alias Shantu Larma, Army Chief General Moeen U Ahmed and
GOC of 24 Infantry Division Maj Gen Mohammad Abdul Mobin
were present on the dais.
Chairmen of the three Hill District Parishads,
representatives of businesses, small entrepreneurs and
women community, members of the Advisory Committee on CHT
Affairs ministry and tribal headmen took part in the
exchange of opinions. The Chief Advisor assured that the
government would soon take decision to increase the
allowance of tribal headmen.
Dr Ahmed said objective of the present government is to
ensure socioeconomic and cultural progress of the CHT
people, who need to maintain peace and discipline. He
observed that the unfortunate situation that was created
in the CHT in the past was overcome to a large extent
today.
He noted that all people of this region irrespective of
ethnicity, language and culture and religious beliefs are
citizens of Bangladesh.
"We want to create such an environment wherein all people
will contribute to the advancement of the country by
maintaining cordial relations, mutual trust and
confidence.
"Let us proceed towards the path of shared prosperity
through mutual trust by discarding the thorny path of
mistrust and doubt," he told his audience. The CA sought
cooperation from tribal and on-tribal people of the region
to make a success the transition to democracy through
holding free, fair and neutral election next December to
build a corruption-free prosperous and enlightened
Bangladesh.
Dr Ahmed later left Rangamati in the afternoon for
Bandarban where he will stay overnight and visit some
tribal areas tomorrow (Friday) morning before return to
Dhaka.
Crime
10 held,
phensidyl seized from ‘Coffin’
BSS, Rangpur
Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) arrested ten alleged
criminals, seized a 'coffin' containing a huge quantity of
phensidyl, and other contraband goods during the past 24
hours in three northern districts, RAB sources said.
On a tip-off, a special RAB team from Joypurhat camp
challenged a Dhaka-bound microbus (Dhaka-Cha-11-2066) from
Potnitola frontier at the Kagmari Bridge point on the
Nazipur- Badalgachi road under Badalgachi upazila in
Naogaon at 9:30 pm last night.
The RAB found in the microbus a 'wooden coffin' covered
with clothes and five persons wearing Islami caps and
having 'Tasbis, Golapzal and Agarbati. They were
apparently praying for the 'dead' by reciting holy Kolema
and other verses of the Holy Quran.
The elite force opened the 'wooden coffin' and was
surprised observing that the `coffin' was specially made
of 404 bottles contraband phensidyl for trafficking those
to Dhaka in a bid to avoiding eyes of the law enforcers
adopting the unprecedented manner.
The RAB seized the phensidyl and microbus and arrested
five persons Abdus Sattar, 35, and Abdul Hamid, 40, of
Shariatpur district, Motaleb, 45 of Patuakhali, Jalal, 25
of Chandpur and Babu, 25 of Naogaon districts.
Earlier, RAB rounded up Golam Mostafa alias Manju, 38, of
village Hilli Mathpara under Hakimpur upazila in Dinajpur,
from Puranapoil point on the Hilli-Joypurhat highway under
Panchbibi upazila in Joypurhat and seized 22-gram heroin
from his possession.
The RAB arrested 'Agyan Party' members Mozahar, 40, Kafil,
43, and Abdul Barek, 30 of different upazilas in Joypurhat
from in front of Saodagor Medical Hall in Joypurhat town
with some chemicals for making people unconscious.
The elite force also caught assistant teacher Monwarul
Islam of Brahmonikunda High School in Pirgacha upazila of
Rangpur red- handed when he was taking Taka 500 from each
SSC examinee while distributing admit cards among them.
After filing separate cases in these connections, the RAB
handed over the arrested persons and seized contraband
goods to the concerned police stations, the sources said.
1,342 arrested in capital
UNB, Dhaka
Police arrested 1,342 people in separate drives across the
county in the last 24 hours ending at 6:00 am Thursday.
During the countrywide drive, three firearms and two other
weapons were also recovered, said a release of police
headquarters.
Meanwhile, 28 motor cycles were seized for not having
valid documents and 254 cases filed in this connection.
Fake SSC candidate held
in C’nawabganj
A Correspondent, Chapainawabganj
One fake SSC candidate, Yakub Ali (20) son of Yunus Ali of
Natun Billsimla in Rajshahi district was arrested from
Shibganj Model High School centre under Shibganj upazila
in the district on Thursday.
Source said Yakub Ali was attend the Shibganj Model High
School centre as a SSC candidate Anwarul Islam (reg:
774871) of Balutungi High School under Shibganj upazila.
But he was caught by a running teacher when checkup his
admit card. Police produced the fake SSC candidate before
the court while the court sent him to jail on Thursday. A
case was filed with the conceded police station in this
connection, police sources said.
The correspondent also adds: BDR jawans seized one
kilogram of heroin from Diarmanikchar frontier in Sadar
upazila Tuesday night.
BDR sources said two Indian smugglers entered into the
Bangladesh territory along with the heroin at about 9:00
am.
Being chased by the BDR members, the smugglers run away to
India leaving the packet of heroin on the border area.
Later, BDR personnel seized the heroin worth about Tk 1
crore and deposited it to the battalion headquarters.
Mother kills own children
UNB, Panchagarh
An insane woman chopped to death her two minor children at
Haradighi village in Tetulia upazila Thursday.
Locals said Chehari Begum, 35, hit her two children Dulal,
6, and Iti, 3, indiscriminately with a spade while feeding
them in the morning, leaving them critically injured.
Hearing hue and cry by two children, neighbours rushed to
the spot and rescued them.
Dulal and Iti died on the way to the Sadar Hospital.
Local people caught Chehari, wife of day labourer Tajmal
of the village, and handed over her to police.
Victim's father and other inmates were not present at the
house during the incident.
11 including drug peddler, fugitive netted
BSS, Brahmanbaria
Police arrested 11 persons including drug trader and an
absconding convict from different places of the district
on Tuesday.
The arrested were identified as Kamal Khan, 20, son of
Ekram Khan of Shitalpur under sadar upazila, Badal, 32,
son of Israil Miah of Badeswari, Al Mamun, 20, son of
Siddiqur Rahman of Madhyapara, Waliullah, 25, And Ahad
Miah, 20, son of Shahid Miah of Dariapur, Shahid, 70,
Nazrul Islam, 60, Shafique, 20 son of Nazrul Islam, Baten,
28, son of Abdul Awal, Yar Khan, 40, and Musa Miah,40.
They were sent to jail hajat when police produced them
before the court.
7 drug peddlers held, phensidyl seized
BSS, Rajshahi
Members of the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB)- 5, in
anti-crime drives, arrested seven alleged drug-peddlers
and seized 442 bottles of phensidyl from different areas
in Naogaon and Rajshahi districts during the last 24 hours
till this afternoon, RAB sources here said.
On a tip-off, a team of the elite force conducted a sudden
raid on Nazipur village under Patnitala upazila in Naogaon
and seized 404 bottles of phensidyl and picked up five
persons in this connection after searching a Dhaka-bound
microbus.
The arrested persons were identified as Abdus Satter, 35,
Hamid, 40, Motaleb, 45, Jamal, 25, and Babu, 25.
The RAB members also rounded up two other drug-peddlers
identified as Rotan, 18, and Mahmud Hassan Ripon, 20, with
38 bottles of phensidyl during a sudden raid on Bulanpur
area under Rajpara Police Station in Rajshahi city.
The arrested persons and the seized goods were handed over
to the concerned police stations after recording separate
cases in this connection.
3 busted, smuggled jute seeds seized
BSS, Joypurhat
Members of Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) during a drive on
Monday morning arrested three persons and seized 3,700 kg
contraband smuggled Indian jute seeds from a truck.
Acting on a tip-off, members of the elite force
intercepted a truck at Sultanpur point of
Dinajpur-Parbitipur road under Parbotipur upazila.
They arrested truck driver Abdur Rashid Mondol, helper
Hafizur Rahman and Sohel Rana.
145 arrested in Rangpur
BSS, Rangpur
Police in separate drives arrested 145 people from
different places in all eight upazilas of the district
during the past 96 hours till this afternoon, police
sources said.
The arrested persons include absconding convicts and
warrantees, accused in different cases, dacoits, cheats,
brokers, drug-peddlers and traffickers, criminals,
antisocial elements, thieves and suspected criminals.
Police also seized huge quantities of smuggled ganja,
fermented wine and phensidyl, stolen goods and other
illegal things during the raids.
Police arrested absconding convicts Mokshed Ali, 30, who
bears death penalty for killing a girl after raping her,
seven-year term convict Nazrul Islam of village Ashratpur,
convicts Rafique, Majnu and Golam Robbani form different
places during the period.
Besides, police arrested passport brokers and cheats
Ariful, 30, Hasanur, 23, Hasib, 23, Ziaul, 28, Liman, 25,
and Mahmudul, 25, while they were cheating common people
in the city promising them to provide passports.
Police also arrested notorious drug traffickers Nasrine
Begum, 45, Tarazul, 35 and Manik, 38, and seized huge
quantity of ganja and wine from their possessions and also
arrested notorious thief Lavlu form different places
during the raids.
Of them, Kotwali police netted 36 persons, Gangachara 13,
Taraganj six, Badarganj eight, Mithapukur 21, Pirganj 24,
Pirgacha 10, Kawnia nine and DB police arrested 18
suspected criminals during the period.
The arrested persons were sent to jail hajat when police
produced them before the concerned Rangpur courts, the
sources said.
Editorial
The
War on Hunger
Now
that the Independence Day celebrations are behind us, we can
all get back to that ongoing war against hunger; not that
there was much of an official celebration of the Independence
Day with the Emergency Government deciding to invite the
Jamaat-i-Islam to all official functions and everyone else
determined to boycott those. Our emphasis on equal
opportunities are all in the wrong places and at the wrong
time and this applies as much to invitation cards for national
functions as to the ongoing war against hunger referred to at
the beginning of this editorial.
The Chief Adviser has formed a committee headed by himself to
"provide income support" to the people so that they can tide
over the bad economic times prevailing now. Nobody understands
what this "income support" is all about; is the government
going to provide money to the millions of people suffering
from severe economic privations? Or is it going to provide
them with subsidized or even free food? Or is this committee
all about increasing the wages of government employees,
leaving the rest of the nation to fend for itself? We have no
dearth of committees and all of them are unable to solve, for
the last six months, our economic woes of inflation, food
shortages and high food prices; so how is one more government
committee going to solve all these when right now we are all
standing at the very edge of disaster?
In a recent discussion on the upcoming budget, a number of
newspaper editors posed some very relevant and searching
questions and suggestion to the Finance Adviser and to a panel
of high government officials regarding the ongoing economic
crisis. The Finance Adviser and his officials seem to have
answers to every question making the editors wonder whether
these officials were living and talking about the same
Bangladesh in which some 150 million people are barely able to
keep their bodies and souls together or were they talking
about a different Bangladesh.
The Emergency Government is unwilling and perhaps unable to
further subsidize food and fuel but at the same time it is
reluctant to cut expenditures on unproductive sectors such as
the military and the ever expanding bureaucracy which could
allow it to continue providing subsidies to food and fuel at
least for the next couple of months. The Government is also
unable to implement last years ADP because of the "rise of
prices of construction materials" or so the Finance Adviser
said. So why have an ADP at all if it cannot be implemented?
Why not divert all this money to food and fuel subsidies, at
expanding the OMS program throughout the Country rather then
restricting them to a few cities, at expanding and bringing in
more people under VGF, and food-for-work and other such
programs.
Government is all about providing services to the people, not
about balancing account books. Right now our people need our
Government to provide them with the wherewithal to survive and
if the government is unable to do that, it is not a government
that the people will want and demands for the removal of such
a government are becoming increasingly strident. Reforms and
anti-corruption drives are good so long as there is enough
food in peoples stomachs; people will be unable to stomach
such things if they have to are made to pay the price for that
in hunger and starvations.
Water crisis and WASA
The WASA is reported to
have taken up a ten-year programme to ensure smooth supply of
water to the city dwellers. The long-term project includes
settiung up of new water treatment plants , repair and
alteration of WASA's distribution lines, development of
sewerage system etc.The cost of the project is estimated at US
$ 550 million which will be provided jointly by Asian
Development Bank and the World Bank.
This report on WASA's development initiative has come at a
time when the city has been going almost dry with a severe
water crisis hitting hard millions of people. In the capital
Dhaka, only 45 percent of the dwellers have access to safe
drinking water as the people living here need 2000 million
liters of water per day, but get 1400 million liters only and
the deficit stands at 600 million liters. The shortfall is
attributed to deficiency in production, system loss, theft,
wastage and misuse of water. It appears to be a cruel joke
with the city dwellers that the WASA authorities are talking
of a giant long term project instead of taking urgent steps to
redress their sufferings by ensuring smooth supply of water.
Any long -term project to ensure regular water supply is
welcome, but the authorities should give priority to
addressing the existing water crisis first. They should not
forget that right now most of the city dwellers do not get
adequate water while in many areas water supplied by WASA is
contaminated. They should also keep in mind that it will not
be fair to expect the suffering people to wait for years for
smooth water supply. They want water now and WASA must do the
needful to meet their demand.
Analysis
Why Wilders will lead us all
into the wilderness
European citizens are free, but wrong, to blame
their problems on immigrants.
Dr Terry Lacey
Geert
Wilders, the Dutch M.P, who has planned to release an
anti-Islamic film this month will never lead his followers to
the Promised Land. He does not promise milk and honey. He can
only deliver civil strife. He is living politically on the
very conflict he claims to want to prevent. The more extremist
the reaction to his provocations, the more happy he will be.
He needs extreme reactions like alcoholic needs a drink. He is
part of the problem. Not part of the solution.
There are three good reasons why the Muslim reaction to his
provocations needs to be measured and intelligent. First not
to fall into the trap of giving him what he wants. This
implies the need for new approaches if the Organization of the
Islamic Conference (OIC) and others are to play an effective
role in combating Islamaphobia. Second because the growth of
right wing extremism, racism and anti immigrant feelings
against a background of economic and social problems is a
wider phenomena which worries Europeans. They do not want to
repeat the history of the 1930s. Thirdly because all religious
movements have a common interest to avoid that religious
symbols are desecrated or that this gives an opportunity for
their religious identity to be hijacked by political
extremists claiming to defend them.
The decision of Network Solutions, the US internet service
provider, to suspend the proposed host web site for the movie
and investigate possible legal contraventions is a sign of a
new approach. So is the Netherlands Court Case to ask if there
is any legal reason to ban the film. The new emphasis is on
whether existing laws may be broken on racism, breach of the
peace, or provocation of religious or ethnic groups. This is
appealing to secularists and other religious groups to help
establish legally that there have to be some reasonable limits
to free speech to avoid the deliberate provocation of
religious conflict. European citizens are free, but wrong, to
blame their problems on immigrants. They are free, but wrong,
to oppose Turkish membership of the EU because it is a Muslim
country, although this would make the EU stronger
economically, socially and militarily, precisely helping to
avoid the clash of civilizations that extremists seek. They
are free to criticize each others religions or beliefs. We
should all be better informed on what different religions
really say and how this is applied in a modern context. But
the contextualization of religion in modern multi cultural
society is the responsibility of religious leaders and must be
improved.
Many years ago I studied a small Rastafarian
political-religious splinter-group in Jamaica that
contemplated, in the early 1960s, poisoning the public water
supply on the grounds that the oppressors had water taps and
the oppressed did not. They fought a small brief uprising,
little known outside of Jamaica. They were inspired by the
Book of Revelations in the Holy Bible. I stress that most
Rastafarians did not support this and we know the Rastas
better for Bob Marley and the reggae music that was and is the
cry of the sufferers and the poor for the Promised Land. I was
also in the Gaza Strip when an extremist Israeli settler
attacked a group of worshippers in a mosque in Hebron.
Whatever arguments must be resolved between Israel, Arabs and
Muslims are political issues covering human rights, land and
water. The shared theological roots between the three great
religions of the Middle Eastern Holy Books remain undeniable.
The dreadful lessons of anti-semitism tell us what happens
when a religious or ethnic group finds itself abandoned to
intolerance. At the start of the Spanish Inquisition moderate
and liberal Christians, Jews and Muslims in Andalusia were
oppressed together and persecuted Jews found refuge and were
welcomed in the Ottoman Empire protected by a tolerant and
cosmopolitan Islam.
Extremists seek to divide us and to promote conflict.
Moderates seek to draw out the best in all our religions and
cultures. In the end intolerance does not discriminate and
history tells us that to ride it is to ride a tiger which will
one day turn and bite you. The Wilders of this world would
lead us into the wilderness for ever. If we learn to share the
milk and honey then we can make the Promised Land together.
(Dr Terry Lacey is a development economist who writes from
Jakarta, Indonesia, on modernization in the Muslim world,
investment and trade relations with the EU and Islamic
banking. E-mail: terrylacey2003@yahoo.co.uk)
Pakistan's
New Premier: Non-Confrontation?
President Pervez Musharraf has termed the convening of the new
parliament as a historical event and expressed confidence that
Pakistan would continue to make progress on the path of
democracy and economic growth.
Dr. Abdul Ruff Colachal
The
new democracy wave unleashed in Pakistan by the February poll
has created a temporary premier. Son of Alamdar Hussain Gilani
who served as a provincial minister in the 1950s, the
55-year-old Yusuf Raza Gillani, a post-graduate in Journalism
and former minister and Speaker of Pakistan, has been elected
prime-minister of Pakistan on 24 March 2008, possibly for 3-4
months until the leader of PPP Asif Ali Zardari becomes
constitutionally eligible for the top executive job. That
would include Zardari winning a parliamentary seat in a
by-election. Ms Bhutto's widower is still the PPP's most
powerful figure, say analysts.
Gillani won the parliamentary vote by an astounding 264 votes
to the 42 of Chaudhry Pervez Elahi, a former chief minister,
fielded as a mere formality to oppose the PP-PML (N), although
president Musharraf wanted to elect the premier unopposed.
This is the first time in 12 years that the PPP will head the
government. "Democracy has been revived due to the sacrifice
of Benazir Bhutto, Gillani said, my past experience in
parliament has shown me that if you want this country to work,
the parliament must be supreme, constitution must be sacred
and rule of law enforced. We will struggle for the supremacy
of the parliament and make it supreme in all policymaking
because it reflects the wishes of the people."
President Pervez Musharraf on 23 March pledged his full
support to Pakistan's new coalition government led by his
political opponents, who have vowed to take on the embattled
US ally. Musharraf, speaking at a military parade marking
Pakistan's national day, hailed the start of what he called a
"real democratic era" in the country, plagued for months by
violence linked to Al-Qaeda and Taliban militants. When asked
how the new government would handle Musharraf, the 58-year-old
Gilani, a low-key but stalwart aide to Bhutto and her husband
Asif Ali Zardari, replied: "I will follow the constitution."
He has vowed to pursue the mission of Bhutto, who was
assassinated on December 27. The PPP emerged as the biggest
party in the February elections.
In the 342-member National Assembly is yet to meet to debate
on the issues. With the release of judges, the coalition
government appears set for a non-confrontation, as far as
possible, with Musharraf.
The PPP nominated Gillani as its candidate at the weekend.
Minutes after being elected by MPs, as his first step, New
Pakistani PM Yusuf Raza Gillani has ordered the release of all
judges detained by the previous government under emergency
rule. President Pervez Musharraf sacked dozens of judges in
November and most have since been freed from detention.
Earlier the Supreme Court filled with anti-Musharraf judges
and lawyers was set to rule on whether his re-election as
president was legal.
The new premier also announced that Mrs. Bhutto's murder would
be investigated by the UN. With this Gillani has fulfilled a
second pledge which was to seek a resolution calling for a UN
investigation into the assassination of former Prime Minister
Benazir Bhutto.
Gillani is much admired within the PPP. It is his loyalty and
his disdain for politicking within the party that has earned
him the nomination for prime minister. He resisted pressure
from President Musharraf to desert the party, refusing to do
any deals with him. Gillani was perhaps the only man among the
top leadership who did not badger Zardari for this or any
other position, says one PPP insider. "This along with the
fact of his proven loyalty has earned him the nod. In 1995,
Gillani issued instructions for the release of
parliamentarians detained by his own PPP government. When the
interior ministry refused to oblige, he had the matter brought
on record - a quite unprecedented action.
By his own admission, Pakistan's new Prime Minister, Yusuf
Raza Gillani, has not been one of the "good boys" who has
followed the bidding of President Pervez Musharraf. The regime
tried to coerce him into joining many of his Pakistan People's
Party (PPP) colleagues in switching sides. But Gillani refused
to do a deal with Musharraf and his loyalty is much admired
within his party. He went to jail in 2001, serving five years
following a conviction over illegal government appointments
during his term as Speaker of parliament between 1993-96. In
October 2006, Gillani's prison term was set aside by the
Punjab High Court. The sentence was passed by an
anti-corruption court formed by President Musharraf as part of
what he termed measures to cleanse politics. He wrote a book
while in jail and the book was well received across the
country.
Gillani's election as Prime Minister needs to be welcomed, for
it has, hopefully, moved forward the process of Pakistan's
transition to a strong and unhindered political rule by taking
the nation away from turmoil and chaos. "Today, democracy has
been restored thanks to the great sacrifice of Benazir
Bhutto," Gillani said in his first speech to parliament. "We
didn't get here out of charity. This moment came because of
struggle and martyrdom," he said. "If we want to run this
country we have to establish the supremacy of parliament and
constitution and rule of law. The independence of judiciary
and media is a must for progress of the country," he said.
Few are likely to disagree with President Musharraf that any
confrontation between institutions would be disastrous for the
country which is facing a number of serious challenges. It was
abundantly clear from the tenor of the speeches made on the
floor of the House by the leaders of the four-party alliance
that they did not want to provoke any clash. Despite the votes
cast for the new Speaker and the Deputy Speaker, signaling
that the alliance now commands a two-thirds majority there,
the speeches delivered by its leaders were sober and indicated
restraint. While they vowed to restore Parliament's supremacy,
there was no direct reference to Musharraf's Presidency.
Similarly Dr. Fehmida Mirza vowed to act as a custodian of the
House who is to remain above party politics.
Obviously President Musharraf, though elected by
constitutional means for a full term, was badly weakened by
the February poll that has strengthened the forces nurturing
animosity against him. PMLN Chief Nawaz Sharif repeatedly
asked Musharraf to vacate his presidency.PPP-PMLN combine will
have to wait for Musharraf's present term to end before asking
him to quit. Any further aggressive stand on the issue could
create unnecessary tension and suspension of the present
government by the president.
All political parties should understand that no ego is bigger
than solidarity, security and stability of Pakistan. They
should bear in mind that nations ignoring the sensitivities,
objective realities and imperatives of the era are unable to
achieve stability, solidarity and security of their countries.
Gillani should prove equal to the task ahead. Confrontation
can be avoided if President Musharraf also reconciles with the
new ground realities. While he has treated the previous
National Assembly as a mere executive body's forum, he has to
realize that this time he has to deal with a House of an
altogether different type.
There are indications that the alliance partners might
reconsider their position regarding President Musharraf. In
case he is not willing to do so, he still has the option of
exiting peacefully. A perception has grown that instead of
reconciling with the ground realities, he still wants to
retain the Presidency with full powers assumed through the
17th Amendment. Further, to achieve this purpose, he is trying
to find a way out to subvert the mandate given by the voters
to the four-party alliance. The alliance leaders have
complained of attempts to divide them and claim that these
continue unabated. The President has advised the opposition
that instead of giving priority to their peculiar interests,
they should keep Pakistan first in their minds. It is time
that he also acts on the advice to avoid confrontation that
can be harmful for the country.
President Pervez Musharraf has termed the convening of the new
parliament as a historical event and expressed confidence that
Pakistan would continue to make progress on the path of
democracy and economic growth. PML (N) Quaid's Mian Muhammad
Nawaz Sharif says the parliament and the incoming coalition
government will take decisions in national interest without
being influenced from abroad. The collective wisdom and
capacity of the entire political class will be on test. Prime
Minister Gilani will have to handle all this as the chief
executive of the country and also go many steps beyond to
provide hope to people for their future. This is not going to
be easy but given the display of sanity and maturity so far by
the leadership of the mainstream coalition partners, it should
not be impossible especially if the new prime minister gets
the support of all sections of society.
Bulk of Pakistan's media has incited the new premier to take
on Musharraf, the only spanner in "democracy' in Pakistan.
But, to their disappointment, a showdown with the presidency
in National Assembly (NA) no more appears inevitable.
Pakistani economy, security, re-independence of Kashmir,
suicide bombings, the war on terror, the insurgency in
Balochistan, inflation, unemployment, food and power crises
are vital issues o be taken quite seriously by the government.
Gillani will have the daunting task of bridging the gap with
the presidency, holding together a large coalition and
tackling violence and severe economic problems. The world is
keenly watching how Pakistan would prove itself a true
parliamentary democracy by respectfully fulfilling the mandate
of the people to serve them better. Also, speculation is rife
that Gillani will only be a stop-gap premier until Zardari --
who is not an MP -- becomes eligible to stand for the post by
contesting a by-election in May. It is quite likely that
Zardari would not ease Gilani out even if and when he gets
elected to the NA.
(Dr. Abdul Ruff Colachal is a Research scholar, School of
International Studies, Jawaharlal University, Delhi 110067)
Opinion
Hope floats
Another
intervention in Gujarat to reinvestigate riots, but can the
state redeem itself? Can justice be done in and by Gujarat?
Six years after the state was torn apart by communal riots
under the Modi government, the accused are still unpunished,
and the survivors lead their ruined lives as the state openly
abandoned its constitutional duty by them. Earlier, the
Supreme Court had transferred the critical Best Bakery and
Bilkis Bano cases out of Gujarat, after the patent lack of
progress and subversion of justice within the state. And now,
respecting the National Human Rights Commission's plea, a
special investigation team combining IPS officers from Gujarat
and outside will take over 14 of the most pressing cases of
violence in sites like the Gulbarg Society (where former
Congress MP Ehsan Jaffrey was killed), Naroda Patiya and
Sadarpur.
Gujarat's lower judiciary, police and administrators have so
far showed themselves unequal to the task of settling these
cases. As history shows us, the most unthinkable acts are
carried out as routine tasks by those who participate in
destructive systems, without being individually sociopathic.
In case after case, evidence was tampered with, trails
destroyed, and witnesses made hostile. The Modi government
chose to take the issue as an affront to Gujarati honour to
have external judgment passed on it. And by transferring these
cases out, the Supreme Court made a scathing statement on the
rule of law under the Modi government in Gujarat, but one that
simply gave up on the state and its institutions instead of
holding it accountable for the systematic communal violence
and its aftermath.
The composition of the special investigation team indicates a
softer approach, including three IPS officers from the state
and two retired officers, including a former CBI director. The
credentials of the team are reassuring - one of the Gujarat
officers, Geeta Johri, was responsible for the revelations
about the Sohrabuddin fake encounter case; and if they can
conduct their inquiry without being swayed or pressured by a
hostile ground situation in Gujarat, the state's institutions
have a chance to finally do their duty. If the administration
and police can weed out the criminal collusions within
themselves, then extraordinary interventions by the Supreme
Court will not be the only recourse for Gujarat's victims.
Source: www.indianexpress.com
Viewpoints
Democratic Games
To his credit, the PM's first official act
after being elected was to release the judges who remained
incarcerated without reason along with their families.
Ikram Sehgal
Easily
the most popular pastime in Pakistan till recently was the
guessing game who would be PM, the swearing-in of PPP's Yusuf
Raza Gilani made that into a fait accompli. Unless something
quite extraordinary happens, and there is always that
possibility in Pakistan, the electoral process will stand
completed well before mid-April 2008. The delay in calling the
various Assemblies and forming Provincial govts is grist for
conspiracy theorists, of that particular ilk many abound in
the country. To his credit, the PM's first official act after
being elected was to release the judges who remained
incarcerated without reason along with their families, a major
blot on our sordid history. On their release the heavens did
not fall!
MQM's joining of the grand coalition "unconditionally" is a
stunning coup for Asif Zardari, probably always part of his
gameplan. Without co-opting the MQM's urban majority, a
successful PPP govt of Sindh is possible but difficult.
Keeping the political representatives representing the
majority in the economic gateway of Pakistan out in the cold
would have been counter-productive, if not outright stupid.
MQM's entry into the grand coalition despite Mian Nawaz
Sharif's strong reservations is significant. Co-existence with
the MQM would be a compromise; do politicians let self-respect
stand in the way of political convenience? Mian Nawaz Sharif
should be careful not to be accused of racism, have we not
learnt any lessons about ethnicity since1971? PML (N)
presently is a regional party confined to the Punjab; Mian
Sahib needs Asif Zardari more than Asif Zardari needs him.
Mian Sahib should avoid confrontation putting him in
opposition in his own Punjab stronghold, can his party afford
five more years in the cold?
Outstanding leadership, particularly during crisis conditions,
requires good advice from a competent inner circle, with
media-savvy political whizkids like Hussain Haqqani around,
Zardari could not be better served. Mian Sahib also has
excellent advisors, of course Ch Nisar Ali Khan should
reconsider why he got Lt Gen Ali Kuli Khan superseded in 1998,
and the repercussions thereof for nearly a decade. After the
death of his PSO, Lt Gen Ghulam Ahmad (GA) in 2002, Musharraf
unfortunately gave greater weightage to loyalty over
competency, and has suffered since by getting lousy advice.
In persevering with the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO),
the blackest of black laws, the President kept his part of the
bargain and withdrew all corruption cases, mostly affecting
Asif Zardari. This spells reciprocation and Asif Zardari is
not the sort to renege on any deal. With political pragmatism
in mind rather than engaging in confrontation, is it
politically possible for Zardari to deliver? One can
understand Mian Nawaz Sharif's enthusiasm in getting rid of
the President, his enthusiasm in restoring the superior
judiciary wholesale is less understandable given that the
Charter of Democracy of early March 2007 requires all judges
who took PCO to be removed, that was very Ch Iftikhar-specific.
Many of the judges who did not take oath under PCO-2 (Nov 3,
2007) did take oath under PCO-1 (March 30, Jan 30, 2000).
I last met President Pervez Musharraf on Friday 25 Jan 08,
when he very kindly graced my traditional "Pakistan Breakfast"
at the World Economic Forum (WEF) Annual Meeting 2008 at Davos,
Switzerland. Among the 325 guests present at eight in the
morning in an event (the fifth consecutive since 2004) meant
to project Pakistan were many of the world's elite in govt,
business, media, academia, NGOs, etc, dignitaries included
Rupert Murdoch, George Soros, Martin Sorrell. In my
introductory remarks I requested the President to join me in
playing golf and going fishing in the near future, while
smiling away that broad hint he fielded very sensitive and
tough questions quite coolly. While perceptions about the
internal situation in Pakistan were solidly negative, the body
language of the very knowledgeable audience of world leaders
gave him favorable vibes. Notwithstanding Musharraf's present
predicament, due recognition must be given in ably presenting
Pakistan's point of view whenever and wherever possible.
An oil "grant" from Saudi Arabia notwithstanding, the
Coalition will still be put to great strain during the summer,
the initial internal challenges being economic, bread, water,
electricity, etc, force-multiplied externally by the world
recession into protests in the streets. Suicide-bombings will
only add to the political turmoil. Co-existence and
cooperation rather then confrontation must be the order of the
day.
Frankly I, for one, did not believe that he would hold free
and fair elections on Feb 18 and/or see a peaceful transition
to whoever won the elections. This was hardly possible in the
presence of the army-officered intelligence agencies and the
known preparations to rig and manipulate the electoral
process. I was wrong! While the separation of army officers
from governance and politics was why transparent and clean
elections took place, it was on specific and unambiguous
orders from Kayani. However it is Pervez Musharraf's legacy
that will record the most free and fair elections in
Pakistan's history (counting 1970) and a smooth transition of
executive power to his diehard opponents, some of whom are
baying for his blood. Peaceful co-existence with such a lot is
hardly possible! Top US officials John Negroponte and Richard
Boucher are on an urgent visit to Islamabad to get a first
hand look at the political transition and talk to the new kids
on the block. Their major concern must be Pakistan's future
stance on the "war against terrorism". It is in our interest
to continue fighting the war relentlessly but we must do it
our way, hopefully with US cooperation.
Whether Musharraf has secured his Presidency because of the
NRO, the blackest of black laws, is still a matter of doubt.
He must dispassionately evaluate his future. Can he curb his
penchant for interfering in governance in the new democratic
era? Can a leopard change his spots? When clause 58 (2b) goes,
it will clip Musharraf's wings! As for staying in the Army
House, by rules he can for six months into retirement i.e.
mid-May 2008. The present army hierarchy will probably not be
as petty when Musharraf refused a mere two-months extension in
the CGS House (which the new CGS Aziz was not even going to
occupy) to his senior course-mate Lt Gen Ali Kuli Khan when
Ali's new house was only a couple of months away from
completion.
One would strongly recommend Pervez Musharraf go out on a
high, I say this as a friend. Taking great liberty in
paraphrasing Marc Antony in Shakespeare's Julius Caesar, "the
evil that men do is oft forgotten with their exile, only the
good remains after them". Over time the people of Pakistan
will remember his successes and forget his excesses, the
people of Pakistan are very good at this! Pervez Musharraf
should do so on his own terms while he still has plenty of
residual goodwill left. While it is not easy to let go of the
trappings of power, self-respect requires this rather than be
humiliated further. He must not allow his family, on
outstanding behavior throughout his incumbency, to be
subjected to this. Pervez Musharraf owes this to his legacy,
to the uniform he has worn with pride, and to the nation.
(Ikram Sehgal is an internationally renowned columnist and the
Editor of the Pakistan Defense Journal)
Tourism and socio-economic mobility
A rapid expansion of international
tourism has led to significant employment creation. For
example, the hotel accommodation sector alone provided around
millions of jobs worldwide last year.
Mohammad Shahidul Islam
A
community, with a sense of feasting and merry-making, long
ago, created interest for people to gather to spend time and
buy their products. Townsfolk realized that visitors from afar
would need places to relax. Someone knew enough to organize
events to represent culture and heritage. That person was a
creative thinker. He knew that merry-makers would pay to watch
the sun rising as well as setting.
Visitors created opportunities for the host communities.
Entrepreneurs entered the scene to ensure sustainable
festivals and the market place was the result. The community
got a commercial centre. Lodgings became inns and eateries.
The sun could be trusted to rise and sink without fail. This
was the place where tourism was born.
It was the simple model of tourism development. But it has
gone a long way since. It became big business. Tourism
developers know marketing. Their marketing activities include
recruitment as well as the creation of products that entice
the tourists to linger their visits and seek leisure
activities that cost them their money. But people love to
spend for all practical purposes; tourism development and
tourism promotion is the same thing. Promotion is an element
of marketing.
Economic developers are good at marketing also. In areas of
the world where the Industrial Age has ended, there is only a
semantic distinction between tourism developers and economic
developers, in terms of how they function to create prospects.
In fact, industrial developers in North America only began to
change their identity to "economic developers" about three
decades ago. Most people worldwide still think of economic
development in terms of industrial development.
Economic developers, who switched towards industrial
development often, refer to themselves as community developers
when they are engaged in activities related to building local
infrastructure. Economic developers often refer to themselves
as product developers when they are oriented toward tourism
development and engage themselves in readying their
communities. Splitting economic development activities into
"industrial" or "tourism" is of little importance until it
causes confusion for those who own opportunities and have
decisions to make that affect locations or expansions and
start-ups. The smaller is the community, the more important it
is for the local economic developer to be capable of
addressing the needs of all types of prospects.
Entrepreneurs are more likely to be involved in
tourism-related product development than corporate executives,
responsible for relocating or expanding operations.
Entrepreneurs are also more likely to be unfamiliar with the
nuances of the economic development process as it relates to
finding resources and assistance. Entrepreneurs, investors and
property or project developers are needed for a "whole"
tourism-related prospect.
Tourism expenditures as well as the export and import of
related goods and services generate income to the host
economy. It can stimulate the investment necessary to finance
growth in other economic sectors. Some countries seek to
accelerate this growth by requiring visitors to bring in a
certain amount of foreign currency for each day of their stay
and do not allow them to take it back at the end of the trip.
Government revenues from the tourism sector can be categorized
as direct and indirect contributions. Direct contributions are
generated by taxes on incomes from tourism employment and
tourism businesses, and by direct levies on tourists such as
departure taxes. Indirect contributions come from taxes and
duties levied on goods and services supplied to tourists.
A rapid expansion of international tourism has led to
significant employment creation. For example, the hotel
accommodation sector alone provided around millions of jobs
worldwide last year.
Tourism can generate jobs directly through hotels,
restaurants, nightclubs, taxis, and souvenir sales, and
indirectly through the supply of goods and services needed by
tourism- related businesses. According to the WTO, tourism
supports some 7.0 per cent of the world's workers.
Tourism encourages the local government bodies and autonomous
organizations to improve infrastructure like water and sewage
systems, roads, power supply, telephone and public transport
network, all of which, in turn, contribute to local economic
activities, and better living conditions for the populations.
Tourism revenues are often used to measure the economic value
of protected areas
Other local revenues cannot be easily quantified, as not all
tourist expenditures are registered. Tourism also creates
informal employment for street vendors, informal guides,
rickshaw pullers and others. The positive side of informal or
unaccounted for, is that the money is returned to the local
economy with a multiplier effect, as it is spent again and
again.
The government's plan for changing Bangladesh Parjatan
Corporation (BPC) into National Tourism Authority (NTA) could
revolutionize the total tourism scenario in the country. The
NTA would be given administrative power to monitor hospitality
and tourism business as well as promotion and exploration of
tourism in Bangladesh. Revenue earning would help boost
socio-economic mobility and generate employment opportunities
even in remote areas. Tourism in Bangladesh can now be
expected to get a real professional touch to facilitate real
tourism development. Tourism will grow rapidly.
(Shahidul Islam is a tourism professional. Email:
mohd-s-islam@myway.com)
The Iraq War Continues With Lie
After Lie After Lie
Comment
It has been a war
of lies from the start. All governments lie in wartime but
American and British propaganda in Iraq over the past five
years has been more untruthful than in any conflict since
World War I.
The war began with just such a mistake. Five years ago, on the
evening of March 19, 2003, President George Bush appeared on
American television to say that military action had started
against Iraq. This was a veiled reference to an attempt to
kill Saddam Hussein by dropping four 2,000lb bombs and firing
40 Cruise missiles at a place called Al-Dura farm in south
Baghdad, where the Iraqi leader was supposedly hiding in a
bunker. There was no bunker. The only casualties were one
civilian killed and 14 wounded, including nine women and a
child. On April 7, the US Air Force dropped four more massive
bombs on a house where Saddam was said to have been sighted in
Baghdad. "I think we did get Saddam Hussein," said Vice
President, Dick Cheney. "He was seen being dug out of the
rubble and wasn't able to breathe." Saddam was unharmed,
probably because he had never been there, but 18 Iraqi
civilians were dead.
Cheney was back in Baghdad this week, five years later almost
to the day, to announce that there has been "phenomenal"
improvements in Iraqi security. Within hours, a woman suicide
bomber blew herself up in the Shiite holy city of Kerbala,
killing at least 40 and wounding 50 people. Often it is
difficult to know where the self-deception ends and the
deliberate mendacity begins. The event which has done most to
shape the present Iraqi political landscape was the savage
civil war between Sunnis and Shiites in Baghdad and central
Iraq in 2006-07 when 3,000 civilians a month were being
butchered and which was won by the Shiites.
The White House and Downing Street blithely denied a civil war
was happening - and forced Iraq politicians who said so to
recant - to pretend the crisis was less serious than it was.
More often, the lies have been small, designed to make a
propaganda point for a day even if they are exposed as untrue
a few weeks later. On Feb. 1 this year, two suicide bombers,
said to be female, blew themselves up in two pet markets in
predominantly Shiite areas of Baghdad, Al-Ghazil and Al-Jadida,
and killed 99 people. Iraqi government officials immediately
said the bombers had the chromosonal disorder Down's syndrome,
which they could tell this from looking at the severed heads
of the bombers. Sadly, horrific bombings in Iraq are so common
that they no longer generate much media interest abroad. It
was the Down's syndrome angle which made the story front-page
news. It showed Al-Qaeda in Iraq was even more inhumanly evil
than one had supposed (if that were possible) and it meant, so
Iraqi officials said, that Al-Qaeda was running out of
volunteers.
Source:
www.arabnews.com
International
US says it wants to
work with new govt of Pakistan
AFP, Washington
Top US envoys are in Pakistan to show Washington intends
to work with the new government in fighting extremism,
while still working closely with President Pervez
Musharraf, a US official said.
Deputy US Secretary of State John Negroponte and Assistant
Secretary of State Richard Boucher flew into Islamabad for
talks Tuesday focusing on Pakistan's cooperation in
efforts against Al-Qaeda and Taliban militants.
"It's really to reinforce with the new government that we
look forward to working with them, certainly talk about
our interests and certainly we're going to hear back from
them on their interests," State Department spokesman Sean
McCormack told reporters.
Parliament picked Yousuf Raza Gilani, a key aide of slain
opposition icon Benazir Bhutto, as premier on Monday and
he will lead a coalition of Musharraf's opponents who won
general elections last month.
"Our primary interest there is helping the Pakistani
people broaden and deepen the political and economic
reform process that has begun in that country and also to
work with them to combat the threat that exists to
Pakistan and the Pakistani people as well as to us and
others in the region from terrorists and violent
extremists," McCormack said.
"These two things are linked in our view," he added.
Asked whether Washington could ever support negotiations
with rather than military action against extremists, he
replied it was important to listen to the new government's
views.
"Let's hear what they have to say first rather than try to
play this game in public, that's the reason why the deputy
secretary went there to talk to this new Pakistani
government and political leadership how they see the way
forward," he said.
Negroponte also expects to meet with Musharraf, whom
Washington still views as an ally, McCormack said.
But he did not say whether Washington considered him
indispensable when asked to repeat an adjective used here
in the past.
"He's clearly an important person in Pakistani political
life and he's done a lot of very positive things for his
country and put them on an important course for its
greater political and economic openness," McCormack said.
"Those are the kinds of questions that I think ultimately
have to be answered by the Pakistani political system, but
he remains somebody that we have worked with and will work
with closely," McCormack said.
"He's a good friend and ally of the US," he added.
Musharraf, a general who seized power in a bloodless coup
in 1999, became a key US ally after the September 11, 2001
attacks, siding with the United States against Al-Qaeda
and the Taliban in neighboring Afghanistan.
70 percent of Afghans without safe drinking water: Govt
AFP, Kabul
About 70
percent of Afghans do not have access to safe drinking
water, a government minister said Tuesday at the opening
of the first of a chain of hydrological stations to
monitor water supply.
"Only 30 percent of people have access to the safe
drinking water while in rural areas it's only 15 percent,"
Deputy Minister for Energy and Water Shojaudin Ziaie said
at the event at Qargha dam just outside Kabul.
The Qargha hydrological station is the first of 174 to be
erected across Afghanistan to measure water resources,
including rainfall, as well as water quality and levels,
Ziaie said.
The 6.8-million-dollar World Bank funded-project will help
scientists collect data about water resources over a
period of about two years.
After three decades of war, Afghanistan is one of the
poorest countries in the world and lacks basic
infrastructure for its people. It is also plagued by
drought, with UN officials warning last month of new water
shortages with winter rains and snowfalls not as heavy as
necessary.
Junta chief calls on army to crush destabilizing forces in
Myanmar
AP/UNB, Yangon
Myanmar's junta chief marked Armed Forces Day on Thursday
by urging soldiers to "crush" anyone attempting to
destabilize the tightly controlled country. Senior Gen.
Than Shwe made the comments in a nationally televised
speech after an annual military parade to mark the
holiday, which celebrates the army's strength.
Foreign media were denied visas to cover this year's
event, which falls on the six-month anniversary of the
junta's deadly crackdown on Buddhist monks and
pro-democracy protesters. The September crackdown sparked
global outcry and revived demands for the junta, which has
been in power since 1988, to make democratic reforms.
Than Shwe did not address the crackdown in his 15-minute
speech, which focuses every year on the military's role in
maintaining order in Myanmar.
Instead, the junta chief called on his troops "to join
hands with the people to crush internal and external
destructive elements sabotaging stability and progress of
the state." He made reference to the junta's announcement
last month that it will hold the country's long-awaited
constitutional referendum later this year, followed by a
general election in 2010 - the first specific dates for
its so-called "roadmap to democracy." "The draft
constitution has been completed and the constitutional
referendum will be held in May," Than Shwe said. "Handing
over of state power can be done after multiparty elections
... in 2010."
Critics have denounced the junta's draft constitution as
designed to cement military rule. The drafting process did
not include detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi,
who is often accused by the junta of trying to destabilize
the country, an accusation also directed at Western
nations.
The 75-year-old Shwe stood for an hour under the glaring
tropical sun Thursday as he reviewed 13,000 troops and
delivered his speech, putting to rest rampant rumors about
his declining health. Military top brass, diplomats and
local journalists also attended the event, which was held
at a massive parade ground in Naypyitaw, the remote
administrative capital the junta relocated government
offices to in 2005.
Iraqi PM gives militants ultimatum
BBC Online
Iraq's Prime Minister Nouri
Maliki has given Shia militants in the southern city of
Basra 72 hours to lay down their arms or face "severe
penalties".
Mr Maliki issued the threat on the second day of a
government offensive, that has left at least 46 people
dead.
The leader of the main militia, the Mehdi Army, says Mr
Maliki must leave Basra and start negotiations. The
clashes have spread elsewhere with rockets fired at
Baghdad's Green Zone, causing a number of injuries.
Many Iraqi towns are under curfew. Unrest in Basra has
been stoked by a variety of militias and criminal gangs.
But the government's unspoken intent is to stop it falling
under the sway of the Mehdi Army, led by the radical young
cleric Moqtada Sadr, BBC Middle East analyst Roger Hardy
says.
As night fell, Basra was quieter, after a second day of
intensive fighting, concentrated on the districts of
Gazaiza, Garma, Khmasamene, Hayania and Maqal.
Meanwhile, a Pentagon official said reports from the Basra
area indicate that militiamen had overrun a number of
police stations and that it was unclear how well the Iraqi
security forces were performing overall. The official
spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not
authorized to discuss the matter publicly. Al-Maliki, a
Shiite, remained in Basra to supervise a crackdown against
the spiraling violence between militia factions vying for
control of the center of Iraq's vast oil industry, located
near the Iranian border. The events threatened to unravel
a Mahdi Army cease-fire and spark a dramatic escalation in
violence after a monthslong period of relative calm.
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