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Leading News
SC sanctions
trial under EPR after 3 months’ stalemate
Tk 3 crore extortion case
against Hasina and others
Staff Correspondent
The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court has sanctioned
trial of the Tk 3 crore extortion case against Sheikh
Hasina, her sister Sheikh Rehana and their cousin Fazlul
Karim Selim under the EPR in the Special Court.
A full bench of the Appellate Division comprising Chief
Justice M Ruhul Amin and six other judges passed the order
by rejecting the High Court verdict which had halted the
trial of the case under the EPR in the Special Court.
After this judgment, any offence committed in the past is
permitted to be tried under the Emergency Power Rules.
On February 6 last, the High Court halted the proceedings
of the case following a petition filed by Sheikh Hasina
and later the government filed an appeal against this
order. After hearing the appeal for eight days, the SC
rejected the HC judgment saying, "Appeal is allowed."
At the same time, the SC passed a similar order permitting
trial of three cases against Tarique Rahman, one case
against Arafat Rahman Coco, two cases against Ruhul Quddus
Talukder, one case against Amanullah Aman, one case
against Nasiruddin Pintu, one case against Mirza Abbas and
one case against Abdul Quddus Mandal.
In reaction to the SC verdict, Barrister Rafiqul Haque
said, "this order is a matter of sorrow for the whole
nation. It has infringed fundamental and human rights and
rule of law. We cannot accept the order. The Appellate
Division has become a diabetic centre. We anticipated that
the SC will wake up but by this order has proved that the
country is not going as per rule of law."
Barrister Shafiq Ahmed said, "this verdict has introduced
another black chapter in the history for allowing the
lower court to continue the trial of the extortion case
against Hasina under the EPR. This order has been passed
flouting the fundamental rights guaranteed by the
Constitutional. We have about 50 years' experience in
legal practice and we apprehended such a judgment. As part
of silent protest against such incidents, the Supreme
Court Bar Association will not give farewell to the
outgoing CJ M. Ruhul Amin who will go on retirement on May
31 or felicitate the new CJ."
The case was filed on June 13 by Managing Director of East
Coast Trading Pvt Ltd Azam J Chowdhury against Hasina and
others with Gulshan police station for allegedly extorting
Tk 2.99 crore and 65 thousand for awarding a contract of
power plant at Siddhirganj in Narayanganj. In connection
with the case, Sheikh Hasina was arrested on July 16. The
same day, the case was placed under the emergency power
rules (EPR).
Three months' ago the position of the case was that the
Special Court framed charges against Hasina and Selim in
their presence while against Rehana showing her fugitive
in the case under sections 384, 385 and 34 of the Penal
Code, 1860 for demanding and realising extortion money and
common intention behind the offence. The evidence of
plaintiff Azam J Chowdhury was taken partially and from
this stage the trial of the case will be started again.
Media
Under Pressure
Mahmud ur Rahman Choudhury
The topic I am going to touch upon is
not as innocuous as the heading for this commentary. In an
independent Bangladesh the media - in its various forms
and in the broadest sense - has always been under pressure
to "conform" by every government, be they civil, military
or military-backed. More often than not, every government
has attempted to manipulate, coerce, intimidate, muzzle
and restrict the activities of the media and those who are
connected with it. Nonetheless, the media, inspite of
these often unwarranted constraints, has by and large,
been able to fulfill its professional function of
providing news and analysis, so necessary to build up
public awareness, opinions and education about key issues
of national interest.
Under this Emergency Government, things are no different
than they were during other past governments, that is, the
government, its various agencies and its intelligence
services are out to intimidate the media to conform to
what it considers to be "proper and patriotic". This time
round however, attempts at "controlling" the media have
reached such ridiculous extents that individual
journalists, reporters, correspondents and news editor are
receiving telephone calls, from person purporting to be
from the DGFI, and are being told to publish or not to
publish this or that item of news and television stations
are being handed over lists of whom to invite for talk
shows and what to discuss during those talk shows. Under
the circumstances, editors of newspapers gathered in the
Press Club on Thursday, 08 May 2008, to express their
concerns, frustration and anger at a state of affairs
which does not permit them to carry out their professional
tasks and at conditions which do not allow for free
expression and a free press guaranteed by the
Constitution.
What this Emergency Government is failing to realize and
understand, is that conditions and mindsets have changed
from what they were even a decade back. Young people, born
and brought up in an independent Bangladesh are well aware
of both their rights and duties and are not ready to be
cowed down by intimidations or coercion; a vast majority
of people who call themselves "journalists" consists of
such young people who do not fear "fear". So, even in the
short term "media muzzling" is not going to work out; the
quicker this Government and its military backers
understand these facts, the better it would be for all
concerned, saving a lot of aggravation all round. If this
Government cannot take the media with it, it would also
not be able to take the Nation along with it - that is the
hard lesson this government will have to relearn or would
have to pay the price for it in terms of loss of public
support and a shameful downfall notwithstanding all its
military backing.
GATCO scam case
ACC approves charge sheet against Khaleda, Coco, Saifur,
Mannan, Nizami, 19 others
Sahidul Islam Rana
Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has approved a
charge sheet against detained BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia,
her son Coco, Saifur Rahman, Mannan Bhuiyan, Motiur Rahman
Nizami and 19 others in the much-talked-about GATCO scam
case.
This was stated by the Director General (Administration)
of ACC, Colonel Hanif Iqbal at his office soon after a
meeting of the anti-graft watchdog on Thursday.
After the investigation into the much-talked-about the
Global Agro Trade (Private) Company Limited (GATCO) scam
case, it was found that some 24 accused - including the
then Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia, her youngest son
Arafat Rahman Coco and eight ex-ministers- in
collaboration with each other violated tender conditions
in appointing GATCO for container handling at Dhaka Inland
Container Depot (DICD) and the Chittagong Port ICD yard
despite its lack of experience and skills, causing a loss
of Taka 14,56,37,616.92 to the government exchequer.
Besides, the investigation also revealed that Arafat
Rahman Coco and Ismail Hossain Saiman, son of former BNP
minister Akbar Hossain, also got Tk 2,19,99,736 financial
benefits in this connection.
On September 2, ACC Deputy Director Golam Shahriar
Chowdhury filed the case against Khaleda Zia, her younger
son Arafat Rahman Coco and 11 others for corruption and
irregularities in awarding the contract to GATCO for
container handling. Later, on Sept 17 of last year, as per
the appeal of investigation officer (IO) Jahirul Huda and
considering the importance of the case, lodged with the
Gulshan police station, the ACC approved placing the case
under the Emergency Power Rules (EPR), making the accused
not entitled to bail.
Sources said, deposition of about 50 people including
former ministers, cabinet purchase committee members and
bureaucrats have been taken in connection with the GATCO
scam case. After more than eight months enquiry, the ACC
has finally approved framing charge sheets against 24
people for their alleged involvement in the scam.
The other accused include: former finance minister Saifur
Rahman, former LGRD minister Abdul Mannan Bhuiyan, former
industries minister Motiur Rahman Nizami, former
agriculture minister M K Anwar and former land minister
Shamsul Islam, former health minister Dr Khandaker
Mosharaf Hossain, Ex-commerce minister Amir Khasru Mahmud
Chowdhury and former energy minister AKM Mosharraf Hossain
and former secretary Julfikar Haider Chowdhury.
US
wants democratic government in Bangladesh next year
Staff
Correspondent
United States wants to see a democratically elected
government would be running the country next year.
"Democracy in Bangladesh is important for US. So we hope a
democratically elected government will run the country
next year," after a meeting with Foreign Secretary Touhid
Hossain at his office, Assistant Secretary of State for
South and Central Asian Affairs Richard Boucher told
reporters on Thursday.
Richard Boucher arrived in Dhaka yesterday on a two-day
visit. He also called on Chief Adviser Fakhruddin Ahmed at
his office and Chief of Army Staff General Moeen U Ahmed
at Army Headquarters, Dhaka Cantonment Thursday.
Replying to a query, Boucher said that he talked about how
the Election Commission and the caretaker government would
make sure election happened in time. "We look forward to
the statements of Chief Adviser and the Election
Commission to reassure the people that the process is on
with proper guarantee".
He also said that the United States wants to see
guarantees for democracy in a long term from the Election
Commission, Human Rights Commission, Anti- Corruption
Commission and Civil Service Commission because the people
of these institutions can guarantee stable democracy.
He called for the judicial and police actions to keep
people safe from terrorism. He said stability of democracy
cannot be achieved without stability.
"We have a very broad agenda that speaks of the desire of
the people of
Bangladesh. We want restoration of democracy and economic
development that would lead to a peaceful society," he
said.
Meanwhile, US State Department Coordinator for
Counterterrorism Ambassador Dell L. Dailey had a positive
and productive meeting with Home Adviser M.A. Matin
yesterday. Ambassador Dailey and Home Adviser Matin
discussed issues relating to counterterrorism. In
particular, Ambassador Dailey discussed ways that law
enforcement agencies in Bangladesh and the U.S. can
further cooperate on the global war on terror. They also
discussed the current state of anti-terrorism assistance
(ATA) programs in Bangladesh, which are funded by the U.S.
Department of State.
Later he called on the Law Adviser A.F. Hassan Ariff and
discussed a range of bilateral issues. The Law Adviser
briefed the Ambassador on the status of pending
legislation in Bangladesh that would strengthen laws on
money laundering and terrorist financing. The Ambassador
emphasized the importance of passing this legislation to
ensure that Bangladesh has the legal tools it needs to
fight terrorism and other financial crime.
Schedule
for the general election in October: EC Sakhawat
Staff
Correspondent
Election Commissioner Brig General (retd) Sakhawat Hussain
on Thursday said the EC would announce the schedule for
the stalled ninth parliamentary election after publishing
a complete voter list in October next.
Besides, the EC has extended the time-limit of
registration of the political parties with the commission
from June to October next, he said.
Sakhawat was talking to newsmen at the EC secretariat
yesterday.
He said, "The ongoing voter list will be completed in
October and then the schedule will be announced for the
stalled national election after completing all out
preparations. If we want to hold the general elections as
per the road map by the end of this year, the EC will have
to announce the schedule within October."
About the political parties registration with the EC,
Sakhawat said, "The electoral laws would be finalized
within this month and then the registration of the
political parties with the commission would be started."
He said, "As per the road map, the registration process
has to be completed by this June, but it cannot be done
until the completion of electoral laws, so the time-limit
will be extended allowing the political parties to
register with the EC even until the announcement of
schedule for the polls. EC thinks that the political
parties should be allowed enough times needed for their
preparations to complete their relevant works before
coming to the commission for their registration," Sakhawat
said.
He said all the political parties have given their consent
for being registered with the EC and there is no dispute
over this matter.
He said the draft on electoral laws will be sent to the
law ministry by Sunday next.
Asked about withdrawal of restrictions on political
activities, Sakhawat said, "We will discuss the matter
with the government for lifting the restrictions on
political activities, so that the political parties can
carry out their activities needed for being registered
with the EC."
About the demarcation of the constituencies, He said, "the
constituencies will be created on the basis of population.
Every voter will be able to caste his vote in that center
where he had cast his vote earlier."
Release
of Khaleda
BNP local leaders to submit memo to CA
Staff Correspondent
BNP's district and thana committees all around the
country will submit an 11-point memorandum to the Chief
Adviser through the DC and TNOs of their respective
districts and thanas demanding release of Begum Khaleda
Zia, Tarique Rahman and all political detainees.
The memorandum will also include the demands for lifting
state of emergency to pave the way for creating a
congenial atmosphere for holding the election,
announcement of a specific election date, ensuring fair
prices of essentials and introduction of rationing system,
revoking EC's decision to delimitate the constituencies,
stoppage of interference on the judiciary and on the media
and withdrawal of cases against the party workers across
the country. The party will submit the memorandum from May
11 to 15 from across the country.
Moreover, the party will observe one-day fasting programme
on May 16 and will offer special prayers after 'iftar'
seeking divine blessings for the country and its people.
The party Secretary General Khandoker Delwar Hossain
announced the programme at a crowded press briefing at his
Nam Bhaban house yesterday. Khandoker Delwar Hossain also
cast his party's strong protest against framing charge
sheet against Tarique Rahman. Terming the charge sheet a
cock and bull story, he said, "The charge sheet was framed
with an ulterior motive."
Announcing the programme, Delwar Hossain called upon his
party workers across the country to make the prorgamme a
success. "BNP's all thana and district committee will
submit an 11-point charter from May 11 to 15 to the Chief
Adviser through the TNOs and DCs of their respective
areas," Delwar said adding, "The party has also chalked
out programme to commemorate the death of its founder
Ziaur Rahman on May 30. The programmes include hoisting
party and national flags at half mast atop the central
party office, offering munajat at Zia's grave and holding
discussion meeting."
Meanwhile, the recent remark of acting Chairperson of
pro-government reformist faction M Saifur Rahman that his
post has become infractious following the affidavit by the
four standing committee member with the High Court has
created a huge controversy inside the faction. Sources
said, Saifur Rahman would not return home soon from
Singapore. However, he did not bestow his charge upon
anybody to run the party which caused a great resentment
among the senior leaders of the reformists. Besides, a
group of reformists want Lt Gen (retd) Mahbubur Rahman and
Chowdhury Kamal Ibne Yusuf to be next acting Chairperson
and acting Secretary General respectively. Lt Gen (retd)
Mahbubur Rahman called a press briefing yesterday, but it
was cancelled at the eleventh hour.
Back Page
Price escalation
leaves 30m hungry
Staff
Correspondent
Abnormal price escalation
has increased the number of hungry people to 30 million-up
by 50 percent from the previous level, said speakers at a
discussion on 'Stop Price Hike, Save People' held at the
National Press Club yesterday.
"During the last one year prices of food grains shot up by
50 to 150 percent but the income of poor people and
service holders has not risen. As a result it is very
difficult to sustain the poor and service holders," they
said.
AL presidium member Suranjit Sengupta, Dr Abdur Razzaque,
Shirin Akhter, M.A Mannan and Sheikh Sahidul Islam took
part in the discussion.
They said silent famine or hidden hunger is prevailing
throughout the country although common people don't think
the country is facing food deficit.
"Advisers of the interim government including Chief
Adviser and army chief are always saying there has been
bumper production of boro crops and there is no food
deficit in the country. Besides, they are also assuring
people of that the price of rice or food grain will come
down soon. But panic is still gripping the people as they
are not seeing similarity between government's assurance
and current market price of rice. It is proved that the
government does not have any control over the market. If
this situation continues, more people will have to
starve," they observed.
"To ensure smooth supply of food and other essentials,
government will have to introduce rationing system.
Simultaneously the size of the Annual Development
Programme (ADP) should be enhanced and the projects
included in it will have to be implemented," they said.
Suranjit Sengupta said if the political government does
not govern the country the price of essential would not
come down.
"We are calling upon the government to hold a free, fair
and credible election and hand over the power to people's
mandated democratic government. Otherwise, the situation
will continue to deteriorate," he said.
12,000
BD workers passing inhuman life, languishing in jails in S
Korea
Staff Correspondent
At least 12,000 Bangladeshi workers are now passing
inhuman life or languishing in jails in South Korea due to
faulty work permit and expiry of tenure of visa.
"A large number of people especially the youths, who were
sent to Korea for jobs through different local manpower
recruiting agencies, are the worst sufferers. Local
manpower agencies are realizing money three times higher
than the actual rate and are sending these youths to Korea
illegally. When job seekers with false visas arrive in
Korea, they were arrested and sent to jail. Even many of
them are hiding to avert arrest and passing their days
without food," a group of Bangladeshi expatriates in Korea
told The Bangladesh Today on Thursday.
According to sources, around 12 thousand workers are now
working in South Korea. Of them, at least 80 percent of
workers are passing inhuman life as the date of their
visas has already expired. Due to this reason, many
workers are now behind the bars passing inhuman life
there.
A group of dishonest recruiting agencies are collecting Tk
7 to 10 lakh in the name of processing papers. However,
the authority fixed Tk one lakh for processing papers
including plane fare, the sources said.
Despite massive drive against all irregularities, a good
number of manpower recruiting agencies are still running
their business and collecting huge amount of money from
innocent people under the very nose of the administration,
the sources claimed. They are also issuing fake visas
without any clear evidence and legal work permission
abroad, the sources added.
Kabir who returned from Korea earlier, told this
correspondent, there is no legal process to go to Korea
since 2004. But the agencies with the help of their
brokers are processing working visas of different foreign
countries including Korea. Without knowing this, many
people are still going to Korea for jobs and facing
difficulties as they have no any clear evidences in favor
of against their work permits.
"Due to severe hardship in Korea, a good numbers of
workers died there in the last few years but the authority
did not give us clear information about the unexpected
deaths. Even the Bangladesh government is yet to take any
steps over the issues," Kabir said.
Submarine cable to be privatised
Staff Correspondent
Government is thinking to privatise the submarine cable
system in a bid to increase capacity of Bandwidth.
"Process is on, to privatise the submarine cable. If the
submarine cable is handed over to the private sector,
alternative Bandwidth will be added with the existing
service ," BTRC Chairman Major General Manzurul Alam (retd)
told at a discussion on "Telecom and ICT Industry in
Bangladesh: the Past, the Present and the Future" held at
Bangladesh Enterprise Institute in capital on Thursday.
He said cable setup between Chittagong and Cox's Bazar,
often remains cutoff. "With a view to resolving the
present problems, BTTB and Power Grid Company of
Bangladesh (PGCB) singed a contract recently. If the cable
is detached or damaged, it would continue the net
connection through line, provided by PGCB."
Referring to the price of Bandwidth, the BRTC chief said,
"We will sit with BTTB Chairman immediately to reduce
bandwidth's price.
Manzurul Alam said, "Initiatives have been taken to launch
satellite both individually or in joint-venture as we
don't have our own satellite. If the satellite is launched
the rate of bandwidth will come down. As a result, we
would not have to hire foreign channels," he added.
"The government wants to provide its service to people
rather the commercial usage," he mentioned adding "So we
are welcoming the world's latest technologies.
Process is going on to launch the satellite and it will
take four to five years for launching this satellite."
People passing days in fear
Barapukuria
coal-mine area subsides
with huge jolt, loud bang
UNB, Dhaka
The Barapukuria coal-mine area is feared to experience a
major soil subsidence in its southern part as a big bang
accompanied by a huge jolt scared local people on
Wednesday.
According to a report received here from the mine area,
the villagers heard a loud bang with a huge jolt for a few
seconds at about 9pm Wednesday at the Kalupara Bara Raipur
Mouza of the coal-mine area. Even part of the area
subsided slightly to about 1-1.5 feet. Coal-mine experts
say that the subsidence is an obvious incidence in any
underground mining during coal extraction or after
extraction.
They said when an area of a mine experiences subsidence,
it becomes unsafe for living and normally that area turns
into a pond. The local residents got frightened with the
unexpected huge bang and jerking, and many of them passed
sleepless night.
Following the incident, top officials of the Barapuria
coal mine visited the area on Thursday morning and briefed
the local residents about the incident.The Barapukuria
coal mine is the country's only mine that was developed
through underground mining method.
A Chinese company developed the mine with a depth of 350
metre and is now extracting about 2,500 tons coal a day. A
250-MW power plant was set up adjacent to the mine to run
it with the extracted coal. A senior official of the
Barapukuria coal mine told UNB that they feared that a
major subsidence might occur anytime at the coal mine
area, particularly on its southern part. He mentioned that
the mine was advanced about 500 metres towards the
southern part under ground that is likely to have caused
this subsidence.
He also said a similar incident was recorded last year on
an area beside the Bara Rampur Mouza.
Rabindranath a source of inspiration: CA
UNB, Dhaka
Chief Adviser Dr Fakhruddin Ahmed on Thursday said
Nobel-laureate poet Rabindranath Tagore remains a great
source of inspiration in the nation's all-out efforts for
establishing a superstition-free, knowledge-based
developed society through a rigorous transition.
Inaugurating national-level celebration of the 147th birth
anniversary of kabi-guru Rabindranath, he told the
function that Bangladesh is now engaged in a tough task of
building good, balanced and well-arranged society and life
through transition along a problem-strewn rough path.
He noted that the great poet raised his voice against
ultra-nationalism, repression and snatchers of human
rights. "Rabindranath called for freedom of knowledge and
soul rising above superstition and narrowness," he said.
Crime
2
little girls violated
Our Correspondent, Chapainawabganj
Two little girls were raped in different areas of
Gomostapur and Shibganj upazila in Chapainawabganj
district recently.
Sources said student of class 'III' Shirina Khatun, 7,
daughter of a daily labour Seraj Uddin of Malpur village
in Parbortipur union under Gomostapur upazila were raped
by one Nuruzzamal, 32, son of late Lutfar Sardar of same
village at a corn field on Tuesday night.
Victim's father was not able to file a case in fear of a
BNP leader and local UP chairman, Sardar Lutfar Rahman,
and his associates.
Besides, another sixteen years old girl, Rupa Khatun,
daughter of Moktar Hossain of Tarapur Pandit Para under
Shibganj upazila was raped by Subed Ali, 35, son of late
Momjed Ali of the same area on Wednesday morning. A case
was filed with Shibganj Thana.
Husband to die for killing wife
BSS, Jhenaidah
A man has been sentenced to death by a court here for
killing his second wife in Sadar upazila of the district
in 2007.
The convict was identified as Asalat Hossain of
Gopinathpur village under the same upazila.
Judge of the Women and Children Repression Special
Tribunal Mafizul Islam delivered the verdict on
Wednesday.
The court, however, acquitted Aharannesa, first wife of
Asalat Hossain, as charges brought against her were not
proved.
According to the prosecution, Asalat Hossain married to
Maryam Begum of Gopinathpur village. It was his second
marriage. Earlier, Asalat Hossain had married to
Aharannesa.
Since his second marriage, Asalat Hossain had been
demanding Tk one lakh as dowry from Maryam Begum and he
used to torture her frequently. On the night of February
14, 2007, Maryam Begum was beaten to death by Asalat
Hossain and his first wife Aharannesa.
Shakera Khatun, mother of Maryam Begum, filed a case
with Jhenaidah police in this connection.
After investigation, SI Sikdar Motiar submitted
chargesheet to the court. The judge after examining 21
witnesses handed down the verdict.
Farmer killed over trifling matter
UNB, Sherpur
A farmer was stabbed to death by his rivals at
Sonyasibhita village in Nalitabari upazila Tuesday
night.
The dead was identified as Amir Ali, 45. Sources said
Amir Ali's wife and his neighbour Tofazzal Hossain's
wife locked into an altercation over a trifling matter
on Monday.
In a sequel to the incident, Tofazzal and his men
swooped on the house of Amir Ali the following night and
stabbed him with sharp weapon, leaving him critically
injured. He succumbed to his injuries on the way to
Mymensingh Medical College Hospital. A case was filed.
‘Adam Bepari’ gets 3-yr RI
Meherpur Correspondent
A main known as 'Adam Bepari' (human trafficker) was
sentenced to jail for four years Rigorous Imprisonment
(RI) and fined Tk 20 thousand in default 3 months more
RI on charge of emblazing money in the name of sending
people abroad for job.
The story in brief, the 'Adam Bepari' named Muktar Ali
son of Zamiruddin of village Amdah under sadar upazila
of the district took Tk 1.20 lakh from one Rayhan, son
of Foyjuddin of the same village, for sending him to
Malaysia for job. He failed to send him to Malaysia.
Later, Rayhan filed a cheating case against him failing
to get money back. After examining the records and
witnesses the Chief Juridical Magistrate, Mahfuzur
Rahman, found him guilty and handed down the above
verdict.
Two jailed in
abduction case
Meherpur Correspondent
Two persons were awarded seven years RI and fined Tk ten
thousand, in default one year more RI by a court here on
Wednesday in an abduction case. According to story in
brief, one Rolex, son of contractor Anwarul Islam Badol
of Hetel Bazaar of Meherpur town, was abducted by
abductors, Salam Pappu and Pavel, of the town on October
28, 2006.
After examining the records and witnesses the District
and Session Judge, Taposh Kumar Dey, found them guilty
and handed down the verdict. One accused, Dhuku, of the
case was acquitted from the charge. Public Prosecutor
Advocate AKM Shahidullah on behalf of the state while
Advocate Kamrul Hasan for the accused pleaded.
6 fugitives arrested in city
UNB, Dhaka
Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) arrested six fugitives
accused in a murder case along with arms and ammunition
on Wednesday in the city.
Acting on a tip-off, a team of RAB-2 arrested Mansur
Ahmed Mohan alias Suman, 23, Kamruzzaman alias Kamrul,
28, Munna, 38, Parvez Hossain alias Rony, 22, Jasim
Uddin, 26, and Sona Miah, 35, from different parts of
the city in raids between 1:00 am to 2:00 am. Following
their statement, the elite forces raided a house at
South Paikpara in Mirpur and recovered one revolver, one
pistol and ammunition from inside a wooden showcase kept
under the stairs of the 3-storied building. On April 21
this year, the arrested people allegedly gunned down a
man and injured two others in Adabor area of the city.
3 extremists held
BSS, Bagerhat
Three extremists were arrested while they were trying to
collect extortion from a businessman at Syed Moholla
village under Fakirhat upazila in the district on
Tuesday night.
The arrested extremists were identified as Zulfiqar Ali
Ripon, 38, Mehedi Hasan Bipur, 27 and Selim Mollick, 32.
A case has been filed against them under the Special
Powers Act. Police said one of the three extremists,
Zulfiqar called a businessman named Kazi Masud using his
familiarity with him and invited him to come to a place
near Kazi Azhar Ali College. As Kazi Masud responded to
Zulfiqar's call he detained Masud at his house and
demanded extortion. At one stage the extremists
threatened Masud's wife Fatema Yasmin over telephone
that if she failed to give them Tk 50,000 they will kill
his husband Masud. Fatema informed the matter to the
Officer-in-Charge of Fakirhat police station.
A team of police raided the house of Zulfiqar at Syed
Moholla village at midnight on Tuesday and rescued Kazi
Masud. Police arrested three extremists and seized two
mobile phone sets from their possessions. Police said
the arrested persons are listed terrorists and accused
in a number of cases including murder and arms case.
Mobile court realises Tk. 42,000 as fine
in Sylhet
BSS, Sylhet
Mobile courts, in separate drives, realized Tk 42,000 as
fine from different business institutions in the city
and Golapganj upazila on Tuesday.
BSTI sources said the mobile court led by UNO Begum
Badrun Nahar conducted drives at grocery shops, jewelry,
restaurants and welding shop and hardware shops in the
different parts of the city including Baluchar area. The
court filed 10 cases against the shop owners for
malpractices and realized Taka 25,000 as fine from them.
Another mobile court led by UNO Khalilur Rahman
conducted similar drives at Dhaka-Dakkhin Bazar under
Golapganj and filed eight cases and realized Taka 17,000
from the owners of the business institutions.
69 persons arrested
BSS, Rangpur
Police in separate drives during the past 48 hours
ending at 8 pm last night arrested 69 persons from
various places in the district.
Police said the arrested included alleged criminals,
muggers, listed terrorists, cheats, absconding convicts,
murderers, thieves, drug traffickers, extortionists,
absconding accused and warrantees. Police also recovered
phensidyl, locally produced wine, ganja, narcotics
substances, lethal weapons and other illegal goods
during the raids, the sources said.
Of the arrested, Kotwali police picked-up 35 persons,
Gangachara police six, Taraganj police one, Badarganj
police three, Mithapukur police nine, Pirganj police
six, Kawnia police five and DB police arrested four
persons during the drives. The arrested were sent to
jail after producing them before different courts, the
sources added.
Editorial
Bumper Harvests, Boro Procurement and Prices
The
good news of bumper crop harvests, this season, is not
reaching the farmers or the consumers. Rice prices in the
markets have come down by a couple of Takas per Kg and have
stabilized there, which is to say that prices of the cereal
still remains out of the buying capacity of the majority of
the people of the Country. On the other hand, farmers are
selling paddy and rice at Tk 13 to Tk 14 per Kg and Tk 24 to
Tk 26 per Kg respectively, which means that farmers are not
getting the remunerations they ought to have and are barely
able to meet their production costs. This discordance in
prices has happened because traders, merchants and middlemen
have gone out and procured paddy and rice directly from the
farmers much before the harvest time, perhaps by advancing
loans to them at exorbitant rates of interests and farmers are
now forced to sell their crops at much below the prevailing
market rates. These traders, merchants and middlemen are
winners in two different ways: one, they have purchased the
produce at much cheaper rates and are selling them at much
higher rates and two, they have established a monopoly on the
market by which they will be able to dictate higher prices
till at least the next harvest.
Meanwhile, the Government procurement of Boro is going its
usual slow and bureaucratic way with most farmers unable to
reach the procurement centers and therefore, selling the rice
or paddy to the traders, merchants and middlemen who reach out
to them directly, to their fields. Large-scale government
procurements were envisaged with three premises in mind: (1)
the government would build up a large reserve of cereals to
meet the need for food during such times as bad harvests and
natural calamities, (2) provide the farmers with such
remunerations which would not only meet their production costs
but also allow them a profit which would encourage them to
continue cultivation of paddy and (3) be in a position to
intervene in the market, by releasing quantities of rice from
stocks, when supplies are short or when markets are being
manipulated. Unfortunately the Emergency Government is
jeopardizing these premises by being unable to implement the
procurement program in a planned and organized manner. The
upshot, of this government lack of acumen and efficiency, will
be an unstable cereal market where prices will continue
rising; traders, merchants and middlemen will control and
manipulate the market and consumers and farmers will continue
to suffer.
Bumper harvests by themselves are not panaceas for our food
shortages and high prices. One example of how bumper harvests
do not benefit anyone, if the market is lop-sided, is the
recent potato crop. Farmers produced so much of potatoes that
it outpaced the capacity of the market to absorb it whereby
massive quantities of the produce are rotting and no amount of
advertisements are able to persuade anyone to consume the
massive extra quantities. As a result, farmers are not going
to cultivate potatoes to the same extent that they did and
next season we will be facing shortages of potatoes with
consequent high prices. What is most necessary is that the
Government streamline the procurement, storage, supply and
distribution chain so that it's a win-win situation for
everyone - the farmers, the consumers as well as the merchants
and traders. As it is, the benefit is going to a mere handful
of traders, merchants and middlemen.
Crisis of Life Saving Drugs
A
report on The Bangladesh Today informed that about 750 drug
stores in eight upazilas including the district town of
Faridpur are facing severe medicine crisis as there was no
supply for the last few months. Due to high production costs
and lack of raw materials, owners of many drug manufacturing
companies had been constrained to scale down their production,
and most of the drug traders do not know the actual cause of
the short supply of medicine. Whatever the reason behind the
shortage of medicine in the district, the government must pay
special attention to it. Millions of dollars are earned
through export of medicine and thus the pharmaceutical
industry is contributing to the national economy. We export
medicine but fail to meet domestic demands, quite an irony!
This also proves that country's health care system is not
doing enough for what is required.
The report also adds that relatives of the patients are forced
to buy various life saving drugs at higher prices than the
prices labeled on the packets of medicine. As it has always
been seen greedy businessman quite promptly manipulate the
situation but the government and the concerned people must
look into the matter as many suffering lives are at stake.
According to the sufferers, for the last two months, there has
been almost no supply of some vital drugs, including the
inhaler of asthma, saline and Cytolin for the treatment of
asthma, various brands of cholera saline, Vitamin-C, Ascobex,
Paracetamol, Entobex, Omnivit, Momvit, Pedosin and
Informet-500. Life saving drugs, medicines and injections
including diarrhea and cholera saline are hardly available
hindering the treatment of patients.
Drugs crisis in Faridpur is only the tip of the ice berg; it
is almost the same all over the country. Drugs prescribed by
the doctors are not easily available in the innumerable drug
stores. It will surely be sad and regrettable if people die
without being treated or without medicines. The health
department should do more and take effective measures to
ensure smooth supply of medicines at every corner of the
country at purchasable cost.
Analysis
The Unsolved Question: Human-Nature
Relationship
Apparently, environmental problems are
associated with poverty. In this sense, no other option exists
than to overuse resources.
Mohammed Abdul Baten & Ronju Ahammad
Humanity
is a major force in global change and shapes ecosystem
dynamics from local environment to the biosphere as a whole.
Moderate United Nations projections for the growth of the
world population and consumption show humanity using double
the bio-productivity of the planet by 2050. Reaching this
level of consumption may be impossible, however, as the
natural capital being used to enable this overshoot may well
be depleted before the mid century mark. Now the question
arises: are we friend or foe of environment?
Apparently, environmental problems are associated with
poverty. In this sense, no other option exists than to overuse
resources. Worldwide changes of forests, farmlands, waterways,
and air are being driven by the need to provide food, fibre,
water and shelter to more than six billion people. In fact,
it's simply a matter of survival. In many cases, however,
resource degradation is simply the result of human kind's
insatiable desire to produce and consume leading to wilful
short- term greed and corruption with no heed for the future.
But, most unfortunate thing is that the nature is giving
negative feedbacks to human behaviour more abruptly and
devastatingly than before; complementary situation is now
turning to a rival state. No doubt, poorer part of the world
is the most affected by nature's cruelty. Adverse impacts of
climate change namely tropical storms, floods, and droughts
are greater in developing countries and least developed
countries. Between 1990 and 2020, 94% of all natural hazards
related death occurred in developing countries.
The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MA) presents how human
exploited nature unsustainably and made an asymmetrical
relationship with nature. In fact, humans have already
converted nearly a third of the total arable land area of the
world, almost 3.8 million hectares, to agriculture and urban
or built-up areas. Most of the remainder is too dry for
agriculture or inaccessible. Between 1960 and 2000, the demand
for ecosystem services (benefits provided by ecosystems) grew
significantly as world population doubled to 6 billion and the
global economy increased more than six fold. To meet this
demand, food production increased by roughly 2.5 times, water
use doubled, wood harvests for pulp and paper production
tripled, installed hydropower capacity doubled, and timber
production increased by more than half.
Water scarcity and land degradation are already severe enough
to reduce yields on about 16 percent of agricultural lands,
especially cropland in Africa and Central America, and pasture
in Africa. The average annual growth rate of cereal production
in developing countries has dropped from 2.5 to 1 percent per
year over the past 35 years. The use of two ecosystem
services, capture fisheries and freshwater, is now well beyond
levels that can be sustained even at current demands, much
less future ones. At least one quarter of important commercial
fish stocks are over harvested. From 5 percent to possibly 25
percent of global freshwater use exceeds long-term accessible
supplies and is now met either through engineered water
transfers or overdraft of groundwater supplies
In the last few decades, approximately 20 percent of the
world's reefs were lost; an additional 20 percent was
degraded. In the Caribbean, 80 percent of coral has been lost
in recent decades. Additionally, approximately a third of the
world's mangrove areas were lost.
The number of species on the planet is declining. Over the
past few hundred years, humans have increased the species
extinction rate by as much as 1000 times over background rates
typical over the planet's history.
Since 1750, the atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide
has increased by three times, primarily due to the combustion
of fossil fuels and land use changes. Approximately 60 percent
of that increase (60 parts per million) has taken place since
1960.
As I mentioned earlier, poorer countries are mostly affected
by environmental variability. Bangladesh is one of the most
vulnerable countries to several natural hazards; and hazards
often become disasters because of geographical setting, poor
planning, weak infrastructure, high population density, and
technological insufficiency to early warning system. For
instance, when Hurricane Andrew, a powerful category storm,
struck in Florida in 1992, it caused devastation valued at
26.5 billion and 23 people lost their lives. An equivalent
tropical cyclone SIDR that ravaged Bangladesh in 2007 resulted
in over 4000 deaths, loss of over 50,000 cattles, displacement
of millions of individuals from widespread tidal surge and
damage of one third of the Largest Mangrove forest ( The
Sundarbans) including its unique flora and fauna( Data
compiled from newspapers reports).
What should we do standing in front of nature's rage? What
would be our future? Sustention or collapse of the current
civilization? Though it is difficult to answer all these
questions, yet it is obvious that all agree to the point, our
present trends of resource use will result worse future. It is
late but not too late to restore the relationship between
human and nature. Efforts to stem current wrecked resource use
system and avoid to ecosystem collapse must take into account
the slow response times of human population and
infrastructure. Innovative approaches to meet human needs
should encourage not only at individual level but also at
national to global level. In one sentence we can say, we
should be the steward of nature and be rational in resource
use. In this perspective, what would be the basis of Human-
Nature relationship is best illustrated by The Surah 55, The
Holy Quran, where the Almighty announces "Most Gracious is
Allah, who reveals Himself in the Quran, in man's intelligence
and in the nature around man. Balance and Justice, Goodness
and Care, are the Laws of His worlds……."
(Mohammed Abdul Baten & Ronju Ahammad; Master's in Ecosystems,
Governance and globalisation, Stockholm Resilience Centre,
University of Stockholm, Sweden.
It is Time to Wake Up
The Messages the whole world is getting is not sunny for our
caretaker Government whether it is army backed or not…
Manwar Khan (P. Rumi)
Recently
while attending a Seminar in North America one of participants
from University of San Diego came to me during the coffee
break and threw a question "How well is the Bangladesh Army
running the country?" It took me the whole coffee break to
enlighten him that it is nothing but a caretaker government.
As our conversation prolonged, he pointed out some
controversial issues. Eventually I had to agree that it
appears to be an army-backed government.
The Messages the whole world is getting is not sunny for our
caretaker Government whether it is army backed or not…
Right after the state of emergency was declared on January 11,
Dr Fakhruddin Ahmed was appointed as the chief of caretaker
government on January 12, 2007. The caretaker government then
announced that their primary goal was to hold a free and fair
election. Corruption was identified as the biggest enemy to
holding such fair and free election. Thereafter, the caretaker
government launched their unprecedented massive drive against
large-scale individual graft. The joint forces and other law
enforcement agencies had arrested a good number of political
figures and businessmen after the state of emergency was
declared.
Without any doubt a very good beginning has been made and it
seems the government no longer wants Bangladesh to be
identified as a corrupt country. To make this drive
successful, the interim government reconstituted the ACC in
February and appointed former adviser to the caretaker
government and army chief Lt General (retd) Hasan Mashhud
Chowdhury as the chairman of the ACC. The former ACC chairman
Justice Sultan Hossain Khan and two commissioners--Prof
Maniruzzaman Miah and Maniruddin Ahmed--resigned from their
posts in the second week of February. On April 18, 2007,
Fakruddin's government announced the Anti-Corruption
Commission (Amendment) Ordinance aimed at rooting out high
level corruption and stopping the manipulation of organized
crime over politics.
The caretaker government seems to have taken another step
forward towards implementing minus-two policy and arrested
former prime ministers Khaleda Zia, and Sheikh Hasina, and
charged them with corruption. Both the leaders have denied the
charges pressed against them and told the court that the cases
were not only fabricated and motivated but it is also aimed at
forcing them out of politics. Being citizens of Bangladesh, we
have the right to know if the Caretaker government is carrying
out any hidden agenda to get rid of these two political
figures. Can this government provide assurances that their
steps pose no danger whatsoever to democracy? As long as this
government does not set the record straight, people are not
going to trust them.
Recently we saw in a newspaper, one of the country's eminent
lawyer and ex-minister Dr. Kamal Hossain commenting on some
individuals who were seeking the release of Khaleda Zia and
Sheikh Hasina "The people who are calling for detained
politicians to be set free should be identified as their
associates". I think this is the part where we would say "What
are you talking about?" These two leaders have not been found
guilty of any crime by any court of law yet. So, are these the
kinds of comments which should come from a respectable person
like Dr. Kamal Hossain?
Unfortunately till January 1/11 situations Dr. Kamal Hossain
was himself entrenched in political and linked to the lots of
people he now spurns. In 2005 during city's mayor election he
flew to Chittagong just to campaign for ABM Mohiuddin. That
day in a big election rally at Laldighi Maidan he said "Mohiuddin
has devoted his life for your (people of the port city) cause.
As mayor twice (also incumbent mayor), he proved it and made
Chittagong a beautiful city with your support. It is now your
duty to elect him once again," (Fri. May 06, 2005- The Daily
Star). If we are not mistaken he is the person who was seen in
the same stage with Sheikh Hasina, Sheikh Selim, Mayor
Mohiuddin several times and recently moved the court on behalf
of Mohiuddin Chowdhury who is in jail for a graft case. Does
Dr. Kamal Hossain really think "Someone is to be found guilty
by association"- then I think it's time to consider his
standing.
He is not the only one to be blamed, there are other so called
'reformist' who were once associated with the politicians and
were involved in corruptions but now do not miss the
opportunity to belittle their erstwhile political colleagues.
This proves that political opportunists are still trying to
justify their existence even when country is under the state
of Emergency. They do not hesitate to use their words as
weapons when they are in trouble, twisting those to their
purpose, obscuring the truth with double meaning. This group
never does anything that doesn't benefit them in the end. I do
not know any other way to say it, but the truth is they change
their color when question of survival arises and they cannot
be trusted.
Nobody will claim that this government is on a rock-hard
constitutional ground. This is not an elected government. Base
of this government are commitments to protect this nation from
some severe injustice and corruption and to conduct a free,
fair and transparent election for the people of Bangladesh. We
realize that this government has been trying hard, but
unfortunately this is not a grammar school, efforts do not
count, "A" will only be given for results. Preparation for an
election is in progress although public is still in doubt
about it and this government couldn't make much progress in
reforming the political parties. Other than splitting the
political parties and sending some high profile politicians to
jail, this government did not do much that is noticeable.
No question about it that fundamental rights are now being
trampled under the state of emergency. Thousands of people
have been arrested during this government's regime that has
created terror. The whole world is getting the message that
human rights situation in Bangladesh continues to deteriorate
for last 10 months. Putting the head in the sands is not going
to help this government - it is the time to wake up.
(Manwar Khan is working for the Ministry of Service Alberta
with the Government of Alberta, Canada. He can be reached at
e-mail: manwar.khan@gov.ab.ca. Phone: 780-427-1793)
Opinion
Iraq: US is Digging in for the Long Haul
It doesn't look as though
Americans in Iraq are going anywhere anytime soon. Officially
Iraq's sovereignty was handed back to its rightful owners
years ago, which means the occupiers remain in the country at
the invitation of the Iraqi government. OK, try not to laugh!
Fact is the occupying power is digging in for the long haul
and there is little the Iraqi leadership can do about it even
if it wanted to. When challenged about their supersized,
superfortified embassy sprouting on prime land - which one
must assume was sequestered rather than gifted by Iraq - and
their mushrooming permanent military bases, the Americans cite
the postwar German/Japan models.
In other words, they are saying the victor has a perfect right
to hang around the necks of the vanquished in perpetuity. In
this case, I don't blame Arab governments for refusing to send
their diplomatic personnel into the jaws of danger merely to
hobnob with Iraqi officials for the purposes of affording them
legitimacy when, as we know, the real decision-making takes
place in Washington.
It could be that the Pentagon's new plan to transform the
so-called Green Zone into a walled-off oases of 21st century
Western luxury is, in part, an attempt to lure reluctant
ambassadors into lending credibility to the game with their
mere presence and encourage their own diplomats to put their
lives on the line.
According to the Associated Press, the US has a $5 billion,
"five-year development 'dream list' to create a zone of
influence around the new $700 million embassy to serve as a
kind of high-end buffer for the compound". In fact, it is now
likely to cost more than $1.3 billion as we know from an
emergency supplemental funding request delivered by President
Bush to Congress in 2006. The article quotes US Navy Capt.
Thomas Karnowski, whose team conceived the plan, as
explaining, "When you have $1 billion hanging out there and
1,000 employees lying around, you kind of want to know who
your neighbors are. You want to influence what happens in your
neighborhood over time."
Unfortunately, we still don't know the purpose of such a
gigantic embassy, dubbed "Fortress America" that will house
1,000 permanent staff, a 3,000-strong security contingent and
a substantial Marine detachment over 104 acres. To give this
context, it is six times bigger than the UN headquarters in
New York. But we do know that it will contain its own power
station, water and sewage treatment facilities, school, office
buildings, apartment blocks, clubhouse, swimming pools and a
cinema.
So how did the US take possession of 104 acres back of prime
real estate smack in the center of the capital? Surely, the
Iraqi government lodged its objections. Certainly the British
would be up in arms if, say, the French decided Hyde Park
would be a suitable site for its diplomatic mission and it's
doubtful the Egyptians would acquiesce to any extension of the
US Embassy that would demolish their historical upmarket
Garden City district.
Yet, according to reports, an interim Iraqi government
actually transferred these 104 acres to the US in 2004 lock,
stock and barrel. This is scandalous. No government would
willingly sign away their people's assets, let alone to an
enemy responsible for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of
its innocent citizens. This is just another indication that
the Iraqi leadership is not in charge. Returning to the Green
Zone, Capt. Karnowski envisages shopping malls, luxury condos,
state-of-the-art hospitals, an amusement park and five-star
hotels featuring in the blueprint.
The Marriott is already signed up, he says, although Marriott
International is reluctant to confirm or deny this claim. Are
we, therefore, to construe that the Green Zone is slated to
become a sort of embassy extension where Americans, elite
Iraqis and visiting dignitaries can pretend they're in
Manhattan, at least when they are not actively ducking rockets
and mortars?
It's surely bad enough that the Americans effectively
destroyed Iraqi culture during the 2003 invasion when they
stood back as museums were looted and libraries ransacked. Are
they now going to be allowed to superimpose their own
"culture" onto Iraq's very heart?
Moreover, there is something horribly elitist about this plan.
What about the rest of Baghdad that is still suffering from
power outrages and still resembles a war zone in parts?
Source:
www.arabnews.com
Viewpoints
Effecting
Reconciliation
One of the major casualties of the crisis engulfing
Pakistan since Mar 9, 2007 is objectivity, especially among
the intelligentsia and the media.
Ikram Sehgal
Announcing
May 12 as the date for judges' restoration, Mian Nawaz Sharif
confirmed one of the sticking points had been resolved; judges
inducted because of PCO-2 would remain in the Supreme Court
(SC) and the Provincial High Courts. Mian Sahib said he had
agreed only so that those affected adversely by PCO-2 could be
restored to the Benches. A constitutional amendment is
necessary, among other things to raise the number in the SC
from 17 to 27. In a discordant note the Pakistan Bar Council (PBC)
has categorically refused to accept those judges who took oath
under PCO-2. Why does everyone hesitate to elaborate the
Charter of Democracy signed in London in 2006? What is the
difference morally between the judges who accepted PCO-2 and
those who accepted PCO-1? Come to think of it, did even
respected Justice Fakhruddin Ebrahim twice take oath (one
optional and the other compulsory) under Zia's military
regime? One is sure he definitely refused the third time
(1981), retiring as a judge of the Sindh High Court (and adhoc
Judge of the SC) four years into Martial Law.
The first priority should be to restore the judges who did not
take oath under PCO-2, thereafter a neutral 6-9 member
Judicial Commission composed of retired eminent justices of
the stature of Ajmal Mian, Afzal Zullah, Fazl-e-Karim (from
Punjab), Salim Akhtar, Mamoon Qazi, Zafar Hussain Mirza (from
Sindh), Mian Ajmal, Fazal Elahi Khan (from Frontier) and
Amirul Mulk Mengal (from Balochistan) etc should screen all
the incumbents without exception, whatever it takes to have a
genuinely neutral squeaky-clean judiciary. Many other
excellent judges who could be in the Commission, e.g.
Fakhruddin Ebrahim, Nasir Aslam Zahid, Saeeduzaman Siddiqui,
Wajihuddin Ahmad, etc, have unfortunately already forcefully
expressed themselves.
Mian Nawaz Sharif has tacitly (and correctly) accepted that
the Asif Zardari contention has practical logic. A five-member
Committee (now less Justice Fakhruddin Ebrahim who resigned on
a point of principle) is now busy with the preparations viz
(1) the seniority of the judges (2) the period of the Chief
Justice's (CJ's) tenure (3) constituting of the SC Benches
(presently the CJ's sole prerogative) etc. The package of
amendments must be made into law before the restored judges
actually sit in the Courts again. Zardari faced a lot of
vilification in the media for standing his ground. If the
legal lacunas are not thrashed out, instead of superior courts
we will have a fish market. Giving way to reason and
exercising patience, the heavens did not fall!
Apprehension is whether the May 12 deadline can be met. As
things stand today, it will not be! May 1 should be marked as
a watershed for Pakistan, our leaders came of age. Zardari
would have lost politically if he had conceded, by not walking
out of the coalition and agreeing to extend the deadline, Mian
Sahib has also not lost. In not blinking Zardari won, in not
walking out the Sharifs won. If politics is the art of
compromise, pragmatism is the soul of politics. What is to be
seen is whether this win-win situation can be cashed in.
The Presidency was already celebrating a gridlock,
anticipating a meltdown of the Coalition. With the coalition
by playing dumb, the Establishment's ability to manipulate the
course of political events has been emasculated and minimized
for the future, still not eliminated altogether. The present
arrangement requires leaving the President presently in place;
the moot point is how much of his wings being clipped will
Pervez Musharraf tolerate? The fluidity of the transition
stage requires national reconciliation cannot be exclusive of
President Pervez Musharraf, at least for the time being.
Despite major blunders (trying to get rid of the ever-loyal Ch
Shujaat Hussain only adds to the list of gaffes) leading to
the present crisis, Musharraf provides continuity as well as a
check and balance, will he stay within his constitutional
role? Only a constitutional package will spell out the
parameters of Presidential authority. Those railing about
article 58(2) b forget that he has not used it in his tenure,
at least two of his civilian predecessors did.
Mian Nawaz Sharif is in a Catch-22 situation, pushing Zardari
too far, would send him lock, stock and NRO into the
beleaguered camp of the President, reviving his fading
fortunes. On the other hand Mian Sahib cannot be seen to be
condoning Musharraf's continuity. For the greater public good
in the longer term, political statesmanship must be able to
buck public demands in the shorter term. Mian Sahib has shown
courage in taking the pragmatic but responsible route. Is it a
coincidence that by not contesting in the Bye-elections Mian
Sahib has virtually announced his intention to be the next
President of Pakistan?
The close aides who surround Mian Nawaz Sharif during his
deliberations are all directly elected representatives in
contrast to Asif Zardari's close aides who are indirectly
elected. In many ways Asif Zardari is out on his own in taking
decisions for the PPP, the PML (N) decisions are also one-man
but these are collegial, at least that is what the public
perception is. Zardari has mitigating circumstances, the
brutal assassination of Benazir Bhutto was not only a setback
for the party it put the entire country at a critical
crossroads. When instant decisions have to be taken, one
cannot afford that issues be debated till death.
One of the major casualties of the crisis engulfing Pakistan
since Mar 9, 2007 is objectivity, especially among the
intelligentsia and the media. Instead of dispassionate
statement of facts, wholesome debate and objective conclusions
thereof, the heart has overwhelmed the logic of the head.
Those who shout loudest for freedom of expression want to deny
it to others. One cannot do right all the time, similarly one
cannot do wrong all the time, those who caution sanity are
accused of motivated bias. Instead of simply casting
aspersions on so-called "wired" businessmen and journalists,
the favors made to them by the regime should be made public.
Making vague innuendos cleverly avoids giving opportunity to
take them to court for false allegations and defamation. And
let us not restrict this challenge to exposing favors only by
the last regime; it would be interesting to go regime by
regime as far as back 30 years when Gen Ziaul Haq took over!
The lawyers have conducted a magnificent struggle for over a
year; they are very close to achieving their objectives. Since
the two major political parties represent the aspirations of
the majority of the people, whatever solutions they carve out
should be accepted by the legal community. By agitating
further they risk giving anti-democratic forces opportunity to
create mayhem. Adventurers have always taken advantage of
civil turmoil, real and/or perceived this could happen again.
Having shown great courage and fortitude in support of their
contention, do the lawyers have the maturity to compromise
despite extenuating circumstances? National reconciliation is
the need of the hour to meet the multi-faceted
multi-dimensional challenges. In the approaching economic
crisis and food shortages, the poor and impoverished are in
imminent danger. Pakistanis must circle the wagons to present
a united front against adversity approaching us, steadily and
surely.
(Ikram Sehgal is an internationally renowned columnist and
the Editor of the Pakistan Defence Journal)
Living Conflict, Writing Peace
In exchanging stories, Palestinians will see what the
Holocaust meant to the Jews, and the Israelis will see what
the Nakba meant to the Palestinians.
Ibtisam Barakat
COLUMBIA,
Missouri-My story with art started when I met Alef, the first
letter of the Arabic alphabet. That was in the aftermath of
the Six-Day War. I was at a school-turned-shelter, and there
was a chalkboard.
Chalk and dust from which Alef was born gave me a lasting link
to the creative process. And the messy nature of dust that
Alef lived in mirrored my own untidy and dusty life. I found a
friend, who was like me-small, playful, a refugee from paper
to paper, having no home. But Alef would never leave me and
would always listen.
As a grown up, writing became the center of my life. It gave
me my voice, and helped bridge my inner world to the larger
one around me. I see two kinds of writing: one with pen on
paper, and one with actions on life. Both are tools for
leadership through understanding. Both reveal to me the
contents of my mind and heart-what I should learn or unlearn.
Last spring, my book Tasting the Sky: A Palestinian Childhood
(us.macmillan.com/ tastingthesky) was published. The war and
growing up under occupation had broken my world. I used
writing this book to pull many pieces of my childhood
together.
The response to Tasting the Sky has been as gratifying as the
experience of writing it. Readers from a wide variety of
backgrounds, including Palestinian and Jewish, expressed their
appreciation for a story that kept its gaze on humanity. I
spent last year traveling and speaking to audiences.
Among the many questions audiences asked was the recurring:
what can people do to solve the conflict in the Middle East?
My thinking about this issue is highly informed by the art of
writing and story, a discipline that requires the presence of
a clear narrative, dialogue, voice, realistic characters and
careful word choice. It's an art that encourages respect for
and empathy with all members of the story, in order to make
room for their voices, narratives and personalities. If our
story for the Middle East is to arrive at peace, the plot must
cultivate peace in the lives and hearts of all its characters.
I hope that Tasting the Sky contributes to the Palestinian
narrative, which has been glaringly absent from America's
story about the Middle East. The majority of books on
Palestine are rather political and do not emphasize culture,
art, creativity, beauty and education. They are devoid of the
rich humanity of the Palestinian. This absence has led to an
imbalance of perspective, and a muddled understanding of what
it actually takes to affect healing and positive change in
Israel and Palestine. It has therefore created a climate of
hopelessness, and limited the possibility of a constructive
discourse.
Ending the occupation is a key step toward ending the
conflict. Palestinians need freedom from being occupied, and
the Israelis need freedom from being occupiers. But alone,
ending the occupation will not bring long-term peace. What's
needed is a broad perspective that regards - with complete
respect and equal measure - the humanity of both Palestinians
and Israelis. We must offer our stories to one another without
blame or attack, but with a desire to understand that the pain
of our harsh histories has made it difficult to see the
possibilities. We've been unable to see that kindness is the
shortest path to both peoples' dreams.
In exchanging stories, Palestinians will see what the
Holocaust meant to the Jews, and the Israelis will see what
the Nakba meant to the Palestinians. We will discover that we
have similar feelings and struggles, that there is nothing
wrong with either the Palestinian or Jewish peoples. What is
wrong is the oppression, be that of the Holocaust, the
occupation, or any violation of humanity. And together we can
work to repair our world by sharing our truths like we share
food-nurturing trust and friendship in our communities.
Above all, stories build empathy, which is at the heart of all
ethics: do unto others as we would have them do unto us.
Perhaps Alef, the first letter of both Arabic and Hebrew, can
lead the way to our hearing one another, and healing one
another. Perhaps together we can master more and more the art
of humanity, as we tell our stories of waiting and hoping, of
doing our best, of despairing, and then of working together to
restore trust-writing on paper and on life with an alphabet of
kindness and long-term peace.
(Ibtisam Barakat is an author, poet and educator. She grew up
in Ramallah, West Bank, and came to the US to intern at The
Nation magazine. Source: Common Ground News Service, 1 May
2008.Copyright permission is granted for publication.)
Comment
The Writing on the Wall
A
combination of apparently unrelated events this week have
confirmed the writing is on the wall for America's long-term
military commitment in Iraq.
First, the U.S. government has announced it is pulling out
3,500 troops that were deployed there over the past year and a
half under Gen. David Petraeus' surge strategy.
Second, it has been reported that in all, 30,000 "surge"
troops will be pulled out of Iraq by July.
Third, those pull-outs will followed by a 45-day
"re-evaluation" of Iraq policy by U.S. decision-makers.
Fourth, the sweeping Democratic wins this week in two
previously invulnerable Republican congressional districts in
Illinois and Louisiana confirmed that GOP is facing an
annihilating disaster - quite possibly their worst
congressional drubbing since 1936 - in the 2008 U.S. general
election.
And finally, following his sweeping win Tuesday in the North
Carolina Democratic primary and his strong showing right
behind Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., in Indiana, Sen. Barack
Obama, D-Ill., looks to be on the brink of securing the
Democratic presidential nomination. And of all the three major
remaining candidates, Obama is the only one who offers any
serious prospect for a major U.S. policy change including
almost total troop withdrawals from Iraq.
That is not to say that such sweeping changes are guaranteed
if Obama wins the presidency against Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz.,
who has already locked up the GOP presidential nomination. In
a number of comments, the junior senator from Illinois has
indicated that he believes his room for strategic maneuver on
Iraq may be limited.
Obama has clearly and happily been far less prone to fake
macho nuclear-weapons rattling threats than Sen. Clinton has
resorted to in her campaign. But the pattern of his choice of
foreign policy advisers, while cautious and moderate, has
certainly been traditional and mainstream.
Nevertheless, the end result of this week's dramatic political
developments in the domestic U.S. political arena is that
Obama, after weeks of difficulty, primarily over his long-time
association with his old pastor the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, has
rebounded strongly and now looks certain of being his party's
presidential candidate.
Meanwhile, Sen. McCain continues to hang tough in his
conviction that the United States needs to stay in Iraq for
100 years if necessary. That means the Iraq war looks like
remaining one of the two fundamental issues the presidential
election will be fought on - along with the crisis-stricken
U.S. economy. Obama looks likely to beat out McCain on both of
them. The Arizona senator remains obstinate committed to old,
tried-and-failed policies that have long lost the confidence
of the American public.
Obama is also sure to exploit the windfall bonus McCain has
given them by ostentatiously making the notorious Norman
Podhoretz, the godfather of the neoconservatives who pushed
through the invasion of Iraq and subsequent catastrophically
bungled occupation, his chief foreign policy adviser. As we
predicted six months ago in these columns, 2008 looks more
likely than ever to be a year of epochal change in U.S.
policies on the Middle East.
Source: www.middleeasttimes.com
International
Myanmar survivors
emerge desperate for help
AFP, Labutta
Thousands of shell-shocked survivors of the Myanmar
cyclone emerged Wednesday, desperate for food and water
after trekking for days through flood waters littered with
the bodies of the dead.
An AFP reporter who reached the remote southern delta
hardest hit by the storm, which left more than 60,000 dead
or missing, said there was virtually no food or fresh
water in this ruined town blanketed by the stench of
death.
Global pressure continued to mount on Myanmar to open up
to foreign aid, with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon
appealing to the junta to facilitate the arrival of
disaster relief teams and distribution of badly-needed
supplies.
UN humanitarian chief John Holmes said Myanmar was facing
a "major catastrophe", with the death toll likely to rise,
and urged the junta to expedite the process of admitting
foreign relief workers.
Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi's National
League for Democracy said survivors were in "urgent need"
of foreign assistance, but the White House said the
secretive generals still had not responded to its offers
of help.
Holmes said a World Food Programme plane was expected to
arrive in Myanmar early Thursday-five days after Cyclone
Nargis washed away entire villages in one of the world's
poorest nations.
In the devastated town of Labutta, witnesses said
survivors spent days picking through murky water strewn
with the festering and bloated dead, desperate for
shelter, food, water and medical care.
"They have lost their families, they have nowhere to stay
and they have nothing to eat," one witness told AFP.
Another said: "We can't sleep at night, because we can
hear people shouting at night. Maybe these are the ghosts
of the villagers." Witnesses said Saturday's storm,
packing winds of 190 kilometres (120 miles) per hour, had
left the region submerged under six-metre (20-foot) waters
higher than the tree-tops-and left countless corpses
rotting in the tropical heat.
Aid workers for Doctors without Borders reported that the
cyclone had destroyed 80 percent of buildings in the
worst-hit parts of Myanmar.
After days of criticism aimed at the generals who have
ruled the former Burma for nearly half a century-and who
have hesitated to let in foreign relief workers-aid began
moving into the country more quickly.
Apart from the WFP plane, the UN's Office for the
Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said another
flight would leave at the end of the week from southern
Italy, with 25 tonnes aid and several staff on board.
OCHA said the WFP had already been able to distribute some
food aid in Yangon, and aid has also arrived from Thailand
and China.
But the UN refugee agency said 22 tonnes of s |