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Leading News
Govt high-ups reported to
have met Hasina, Khaleda
CA expected to address nation this evening
Staff Correspondent
Chief Adviser Fakhruddin Ahmed is expected to address the
nation today (Monday) evening.
This was stated by Communication Adviser Major General
Ghulam Quader, LGRD Adviser Anwarul Iqbal and Commerce
Adviser Hossain Zillur Rahman after a meeting held at the
Bangladesh Secretariat on Sunday.
"It is expected that the Chief Adviser will address the
nation tomorrow (Monday) evening. His address is ready and
he will specify the guideline about the formal dialogue
including withdrawal of the state of emergency and ban on
indoor politics in his address. As you know earlier on May
5, we had told you (journalists) that the Chief Adviser
would address the nation within a week. On Monday the time
will expire, so we should wait for tomorrow, Monday,"
He said on behalf of the government the political parties
will be invited through letter. "Sending letters we will
invite the political parties for the proposed dialogue"
Ghulam Quader added.
Talking to reporters Hossain Zillur said dialogue must be
successful. "There is no alternative to successful
dialogue," he said.
Replying to queries about fate of two detained former
prime ministers Awami League President Sheikh Hasina and
BNP Chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia, the Commerce Adviser
said government is attaching importance how to make the
proposed formal dialogue with the political parties a
success. "It is not the two leaders, but the eagerness of
the parties which would make the dialogue a success," he
added.
While talking to journalist LGRD Adviser Anwarul Iqbal
said the Chief Adviser will address the nation tomorrow
(Monday) and you will listen to it.
Besides the political parties, representatives from the
civil society will also be invited to the formal dialogue
Earlier, five advisers assigned to coordinate the
pre-dialogue talks between the government and the
political parties, business community and the
representatives from the civil society, accomplished their
task on April 29 and on the basis of the outcome of the
dialogue, the advisers prepared reports and
recommendation. Following day, the advisers submitted the
recommendation and report to the council of advisers
through Chief Adviser
As the nation is eagerly waiting for Chief Adviser's
address to the nation, some representatives of the
government are reported to have met the detained Sheikh
Hasina and Begum Khaleda Zia quietly on Saturday night in
a bid to reach an understanding on the holding of
successful dialogue and free, fair and credible election.
However, it is not known exactly what was discussed in the
reported meeting but speculations are rife now that there
has been some progress. The indications are available that
the government emissaries have strived to persuade both
Hasina and Khaleda to instruct their party leaders not to
do anything that may hinder the election process.
MiG-29 case hearing deferred to May 19
Wage movement to realise demand for polls
schedule: Hasina
Staff Correspondent
Detained Awami League President Sheikh
Hasina on Saturday called upon her partymen to do whatever
it is necessary to press home their demands, especially
polls schedule, within the shortest possible time."There
is no alternative but to wage movement for assisting the
present Caretaker Government towards the election in the
changed situation," observed the former Prime Minister.
Hasina was talking to her counsels during a hearing on
charge-framing in the MiG-29 warplanes graft case at the
Special Judge Court in the Parliament Complex yesterday
noon."Know the agenda of the government and take necessary
steps to make the upcoming dialogue between the government
and political parties meaningful," her lawyers quoted
Hasina as saying.
Referring to prevailing situation, the former premier
said, "The country is facing a very critical juncture.
With a view to overcoming existing crises, the only
solution is to hold election as early as possible. Hasina
claimed a deep-rooted conspiracy is going on to demolish
her political career through making her guilty in
different fabricated and false cases. She called upon her
partymen to remain united and work together for the next
general election.
Earlier, the AL chief was produced before the Special
Court led by Dhaka Divisional Judge Golam Mortuza Mojumder
in Sangsad Bhaban from the makeshift jail at about 10am.
After hearing arguments from both sides - state and
defence- of the counsels, the Special Court shifted the
date of hearing on May 19 due to absence of former army
chief Mustafizur Rahman, another co-accused in the MIG-29
scam case, on his deteriorated health
condition.
Abdullah Al Zahid, an official of the now-defunct Bureau
of Anticorruption (BAC), lodged the case on December 11,
2001 with Tejgaon thana against seven, including Hasina,
alleging malpractice in purchasing some eight MiG-29
warplanes in 1999 while she was in the Government. Later,
AL presidium member Begum Motia Chowdhury yesterday
reiterated her party demand that AL would take part in the
next general election under the leadership of detained
party president Sheikh Hasina.
She was addressing a condolence meeting of late AL leader
and English newscaster in the Btv Rashida Mohiuddin at
Dhanmondi AL office in the capital.
HC to hear today
Writ petition filed
challenging constituency delimitation by the EC
Staff Correspondent
A writ petition has been filed before the High Court
challenging the legality of delimitation of constituencies
by the Election Commission in a stage when 80 per cent of
the voter registration is complete.
After the writ having been filed yesterday, a Division
Bench comprising Justice Syed Mahmud Hossain and Justice
Farid Ahmed partially heard the writ and fixed today for
further hearing.
Former MP of Dhaka-2 constituency, Abdul Mannan, filed the
petition on Sunday praying for halting the EC secretary's
gazette notification regarding constituency delimitation,
barring further proceeding of delimitation and issuing
rule nisi asking the EC why such delimitation shall not be
declared illegal. The contention of the petitioner is
based on four grounds. Firstly, the EC can delimitate the
constituency before voter registration so that a person
can decide in which constituency he will be a voter but in
reality the EC delimitated the constituency at a moment
when almost 80 per cent voter registration is complete.
Secondly, the EC delimitated areas as per census report of
2001 which is backdated because in course of time around
15 per cent population increased. So, conducting
delimitation in 2008 as per the census report of 2001
proves mala-fide intention of the commission.
Thirdly, in the name of delimitation the EC has changed
the constituency number but only parliament is authorised
to change the number of constituency.
Fourthly, the EC delimitated area on the basis of
population breaking the administrative territory of an
upazila or a district and such dismantling of
administrative area is not permitted by the Delimitation
of the Constituency Ordinance 1976, although the EC claims
it has delimitated as per Article 125 of the Constitution.
Finally, the petitioner alleged that the EC flouted
Article 123 of the Constitution which asks for holding the
general election within 90 days but the long-drawn
procedure of area delimitation is a bar to holding the
election within the stipulated timeframe.
Hannan-Mannan
secret parley
Aggrieved Delwar to avoid Hannan Shah in coming days
Staff Correspondent
The trouble-torn BNP has once again become embroiled in
complexities as the loyalist faction itself has been
cleaved into two groups again over the issue of unity.
Following Hannan Shah's unilateral meeting with expelled
BNP Secretary General Abdul Mannan Bhuiyan without
consulting party high ups, Khandoker Delwar Hossain and
his followers has decided to avoid Hannan Shah in case of
taking party's policy-level decision.
BNP Chairperson's adviser Brig (retd) ASM Hannan Shah and
joint Secretary General Goyeshwar Chandro Roy sat in a
secret parley with Khaleda-expelled Mannan Bhuiyan on
Thursday evening and discussed about the unity issue. The
meeting has sparked a huge controversy in the party and
Khandoker Delwar has been aggrieved with Hannan Shah. When
contacted, both Khandoker Delwar Hossain and Rizvi Ahmed
declined to comment anything on the issue. Against this
backdrop, Khandoker Delwar Hossain on Sunday held informal
talks with some ex-MPs to devise next course of action.
The loyalist leaders and workers have long been
questioning Hannan Shah's proactive role in case of taking
the reformist back in the party. Doubt has further been
fuelled after Hannan-Mannan meeting as Hannan Shah held
the clandestine meeting at a time when the organizational
strength of the reformists has started waning following
Saifur Rahman's confessional statement. "What is the point
of holding meeting with Mannan Bhuiyan especially when the
reformists are losing ground. Moreover, nobody can take
decision regarding the fate of Mannan Bhuiyan as it is
completely a matter of the party Chairperson," an ex-MP of
pro-Delwar camp, who wanted not to be quoted, told The
Bangladesh Today. "The doubt about Hannan Shah's motive
was growing from when he spoke of army's presence in the
government-sponsored dialogue and with his meeting with
Mannan Bhuiyan, it has now been proved that in whose
favour Hannan Shah is working," the ex-MP said, adding,
"from now onwards, the party will avoid Hannan Shah
strategically in any party affairs, as we cannot forbid
him directly due to some unavoidable reasons."
Meanwhile, BNP has started taking signature of the party
leaders and workers across the country in the 11-point
memorandum which will be placed before the Chief Adviser
through DCs and TNOs by May 15 demanding Begum Khaleda's
release and lifting state of emergency to pave the way for
creating a congenial atmosphere for holding the election
and announcement of a specific election date, ensuring
fair prices of essentials etc.
Council
of Advisers approves legal amendment
allowing diplomatic job-holders to marry foreigners
UNB, Dhaka
The Council of Advisers of
the caretaker government on Sunday approved legal
amendment allowing diplomatic job-holders, or any
employees of the republic, for that matter, to marry
foreigners.
As a result of approval to the Public Servant (Marriage
with Foreign Nationals) (Amendment) 2008, BCS Foreign
Cadre officers can marry foreign nationals with the
permission of the President.
A meeting of the council of advisers with Chief Adviser Dr
Fakhruddin Ahmed in the chair approved the Ordinance
amending the Public Servant (Marriage with Foreign
Nationals) Ordinance 1976.
Under provision of the 1976 Ordinance, government
employees could marry foreign nationals with the
permission of the President, but in a section of the
ordinance there was an embargo regarding marriage of the
employees of the Foreign Ministry with foreigners.
Following approval of the Ordinance, which incidentally
came in the wake of the marriage of a diplomat with a
foreigner, there will be "no legal discrimination in
marrying foreign nationals by employees of the republic",
it is stated in the objective of the legal amendment.
The meeting also gave final approval to the Securities and
Exchange (Amendment) Ordinance 2008 amending the
Securities and Exchange Ordinance 1969 to make the law
guiding the stock market up to date.
Under the new ordinance, the period of trade suspension
has been extended to 45 days and another 45 days, if
necessary, from the existing 14 days and another 14 days.
In the ordinance a provision has been included that, if a
person or institution is accused of an offense, the person
or the institution will have to give bank-account
information to the probe committee to be formed by the
Securities and Exchange Commission.
There is a provision that a portion of the fined money
from person or institution for violating the rules of the
SEC will be compensated to affected investors on the basis
of the level of losses. Presently, the fined money is
deposited with the fund of the SEC.
The council of advisers also approved in principle the
Bangla Academy Ordinance 2008 aiming to make the
institution more dynamic and time-befitting.
Members of the Advisory Council attended the meeting at
the CA's office. Cabinet Secretary, CA's Press Secretary
and Secretaries concerned were also present.
Back Page
FY09 budget to
estimate 17% revenue growth,
9% inflation, 6.5% GDP growth: Finance Adviser
UNB, Dhaka
Revenue earnings have been
estimated to grow by 17 percent next fiscal year compared
to the target of the outgoing fiscal year as authorities
are busy preparing the budget for 2008-09.
The revenue estimate was based on the nominal GDP estimate
of 6.5 percent and inflation at 9 percent during the next
fiscal, Finance and Planning Adviser Dr Mirza Azizul Islam
told reporters at the Planning Ministry on Sunday.
Earlier, he had a meeting with senior NBR officials,
including its chairman Muhammad Abdul Mazid, on specific
budgetary proposals to be placed early next month.
"The target is not too much considering the estimates of
nominal GDP and inflation that aggregate 15.5 percent,"
the Adviser said, replying to a question.
The revenue target for the current fiscal year was fixed
at Tk 43,850 crore while the earnings during the
July-March period stood at Tk 31,300 crore, registering 24
percent growth over the corresponding period of the
previous fiscal and 70 percent of the total target.
Authorities expect the revenue earnings of the current
fiscal year to exceed the target for the first time.
The Finance Adviser said he asked revenue officials to
make the tax-structure more business-friendly, reduce
discretionary powers of the tax officials and simplify
procedure so the taxpayers could pay tax easily.
At the same time, he instructed the officials to increase
revenue earnings through tax.
Replying to a question, the Finance Adviser said the
income tax exemption limit for an individual taxpayer was
increased substantially in the last budget from Tk 120,000
to Tk 150,000.
Moreover, increasing the exemption limit has to be made
considering its relation to per capita income.
"If per capita income is Tk 300 and exemption limit is Tk
200, how the revenue target will be achieved," he said.
SCF
calls for banning war criminals from polls
Staff Correspondent
The Sector Commanders Forum (SCF) has called for declaring
war criminals and parties and persons who opposed the
liberation war as disqualified for participation in all
types of elections.
In a meeting with the Election Commission (EC) on Sunday
the leaders of SCF also urged the commission not to
register those political parties whose manifestoes are
contrary to the basic spirit of the country's
constituency.
The SCF delegation led by Air-vice Marshal (retd) AK
Khandoker met the Chief Election Commissioner ATM Shamsul
Huda and had a hour long meeting with the commission where
the heroes of the liberation war requested the commission
to include a provision in the proposed electoral laws
banning the participation of war criminals in any sorts of
polls.
In his address of welcome, CEC ATM Shamsul Huda said, "The
EC cannot ban any political parties or individual until he
or she is convicted by any court. The EC has not enough
evidence required for banning or declaring anybody
ineligible to contest in the elections, we need to send
enough information to the concerned returning officer, if
we want to cancel nomination form of any individual."
Major General (retd) KM Shafiullah said, "There are a lot
of evidences of war crimes in the hands of the government.
We want that those people, who were involved in
anti-liberation acts during our liberation war, should be
barred from participating in the polls. To do that, the EC
has to include some provisions in the proposed electoral
laws banning the participation of the war criminals in the
country's politics."
Lieutenant General (retd) Mir Shawkat Ali said, "What is
the EC's stand regarding banning the war criminals from
participating in the elections? Every one in the country
know who are the war criminals and opposed the liberation
war."
Responding to a query, CEC Huda said, "War criminal issue
is a political one, so the government has to come forward
in this regard. If the government takes any decision about
the war criminals, then the EC can implement the decision.
We can only suggest to the government to take decision on
this issue. But the final decision should be taken by the
government".
Huda also assured the SCF leaders that the EC will not
register those political parties with the commission if it
finds anything in any political party manifestoes which is
contrary to the constitution.
BD-TATA talks on investment begins after 2 yrs
Staff Correspondent
The government has begun talks with the TATA again on the
company's proposed 3 billion dollars investment in
Bangladesh, after a two-year break.
But the Indian company wants to wait for the new coal
policy to invest in its proposed steel, fertilizer, power
and coal mining projects in Bangladesh as the Country is
now in grip of gas scarcity.
Allen Roseling, Executive Director of TATA, said this
while talking to newsmen after a six-hour-long closed-door
meeting with government officials at the Board of
Investment (BOI) office in the capital on Sunday.
About the outcome of the meeting, he said "We have had a
fruitful and effective discussion with the government
officials of Bangladesh. But we can not proceed with our
previous plan to build a gas-based industry in Bangladesh
as the country is facing serious gas crisis nowadays."The
company is not making haste to invest in the country as
resource perspective has changed recently, he said.
Referring to the proposed coal policy, the Executive
Director of TATA said the company is looking at the new
coal policy to take a decision regarding its proposed
investment in Bangladesh. New coal policy might create
more investment opportunities in this country, he hoped
adding but the company will not be able to set up its
steel plant here if adequate gas supply is not ensured.
Answering to a question, he said, the company has no new
proposal at this moment to place.
When asked, executive chairman of Board of Investment
Kamal Uddin Ahmad said the existing gas situation,
availability of resources and government decision
regarding foreign investment have been discussed at the
meeting. The BOI has informed the Indian entrepreneurs of
progress in gas exploration in the Bay of Bengal, he said.
Responding to a question, the BOI executive chairman said
he is hopeful about more foreign investment in Bangladesh
as the country has huge manpower and propitious tax
policy.
Tamim stresses on farm subsidy
Bdnews24, Dhaka
The chief adviser's special assistant, M Tamim, Sunday
stressed keeping up subsidies to farmers despite any hike
in fuel prices.
"In developing countries, the agriculture sector is given
subsidies on diesel. We must give subsidies to the
agriculture sector in our country," Tamim told reporters
in his office.
Tamim, who oversees the power, energy and mineral
resources ministry, said: "It will be impossible for us to
import fuel on loan if prices are not adjusted." "The
amount of subsidy may exceed Tk 10,000 crore if we
continue to pay subsidy this way. Our projected estimate
for subsidy this year was up to Tk 7,000 crore," he said.
He said the price of refined oil on the international
market rose to $155 a barrel. "We bought the same fuel at
$145 last time."
A litre of diesel that cost Tk 75 sells at Tk 40 in
Bangladesh.
"We pay the highest subsidy in diesel. But the use of
octane dropped," he said.
"Bangladesh needs 24 lakh tonnes of diesel a year. It is
no longer possible to subsidise diesel this way," the CA's
assistant said. Tamim said the government had not yet
taken any decision on hiking the fuel price.
Earlier, finance adviser AB Mirza Azizul Islam had said
that there was no alternative to increasing fuel prices to
match the prices on the international market. On Sunday,
Tamim said: "A final decision on when the price will be
hiked at what rate will be taken after having talks with
the people concerned."
He warned that any oil price hike would influence the
prices of all products. "In the backdrop of an increase in
oil prices, reasonable prices of essentials have to be
ensured." He stressed a meeting with business and civil
society representatives to discuss the matter.
Tamim expressed concern over what he said was smuggling of
fuel. "It is a big problem. Fuel is being smuggled out to
the area where the price is relatively high." The CA's
assistant said fuel import hardly rose. Annual demand for
fuel averages 37 lakh tonnes.
Crime
SI closed for mugging
UNB, Sylhet
A Sub-inspector (SI) Of Kotwali Police Station was
closed to district police lines on Friday evening for his
alleged involvement with mugging.
Sources said Sylhet Metropolitan Police Commissioner took
the action against the SI Chand Mia after he was found
guilty in preliminary investigation. A gang of snatchers
swooped on a filling station owner Abdul Quader at Taltal
in the city and took away cash Tk 4 lakh from him at
gunpoint on April 29.
Police arrested five people in this connection. During
interrogation the arrested people told police that SI
Chand Mia was also involved with the snatching.
UP Chairman arrested, 2 firearms, 4 cocktails recovered
UNB, Pabna
A UP Chairman was arrested along with two firearms and
four cocktails at Goyeshpur union in Sadar upazila on
Saturday night.
Police said a team of RAB and police arrested chairman of
Goyeshpur union Ibrahim Ali, also vice president of
district Jatiyatabadi Kriskak Dal, from his residence at
night.
As per his statement, police along with Ibrahim Ali went
out to recover his hidden firearms and found two shutter
guns and four cocktails beside a pond at Goyeshpur union.
In another incident, two people were arrested along with a
revolver and eight rounds of bullet at Sagarbaria village
in Faridpur upazila on Saturday night.
The arrested were identified as Lal Chand and Sajedul
Pramanik.
Sub-Assistant held for misappropriating govt subsidy
A Correspondent, Rangpur
The joint force of Rangpur camp held a sub- assistant
agriculture officer on Saturday night on charge of
misappropriation and irregularities of huge amount of
subsidy money meant for buying diesel allotted for the
farmers at Mithapukur upazilla.
Police sources disclosed that Abdul Wadud, a sub-
assistant agriculture officer who was in charge of
Kafrikahal union of the upazila, misappropriated a huge
amount of diesel subsidy money meant for the farmers.
He adopted irregularities and corrupt practice while
disbursing the money among the farmers. He also enrolled
the name of the fake farmers instead of real one in the
subsidy list in the process. So, a number of real farmers
in the union were deprived of the subsidy money.
The deprived farmers lodged a written complain to the
Mithapukur Upazilla Nirbahi Officer against Abdul Wadud.
Later, the joint forces arrested him on Saturday night and
handed him over the concerned police station.
Upazilla agriculture officer, Golam Mostafa filed a case
as a plaintiff accusing four person on charge of
misappropriating government money meant for diesel subsidy
for the farmers. The accused includes- Abdul Wadud, sub-
assistant agriculture officer Azizul Islam, an official of
Upazilla agriculture office, Akhibul and Faqrul, locals.
Ohidul Islam, the officer in charge of Mithapukur police
station admitted the fact. The police are also conducting
drives to hunt other criminals down, he added.
10 held, cocktail, drugs seized
BSS, Rajshah
Members of Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), in different
anticrime drives, arrested 10 suspected criminals
including seven drug-traffickers and seized cocktail,
heroin, phensidyl and ganja from different areas in five
northern districts during the last 24 hours till on
Saturday afternoon, RAB sources said.
Acting on a tip-off, a team of the elite force arrested
two persons identified as Dulal Hossain, 26, and Khairul
Islam, 40, with 14 cocktails during a raid at Mollatola
village under Chapainawabganj Sadar upazila. They picked
up the drug-traffickers identified as Moznu Mian, 35,
Nazrul Islam, 45, Nazirul Islam, 50, Monsur Rahman, 25,
Sirajul Islam, 35, Ashraful Islam, 25, and Dulu Mian, 40,
and seized 500 grams of heroin, 26 bottles of phensidyl
and seven kilograms of ganja during six separate drives at
different places in Rajshahi, Joypurhat, Naogaon, Rangpur,
and Chapainawabganj districts.
They also arrested an alleged certificate-forger
identified as Jakir Hossain, 26, with three forged
certificates during a raid at Komorpur Bazar area under
Gobindaganj upazila of Gaibandha district red-handed.
In another raid conducted at Bulanpur area under Rajpara
police station in Rajshahi city, another RAB team seized
70 kilograms of copper and brass scrap materials, which
were being smuggled out to India. However, none could be
arrested in this connection.
After recording separate cases in these connections the
arrested persons and the seized goods including the
contraband drugs were handed over to the concerned police
stations.
Bandits loot cash, valuables injuring 5
UNB, Sylhet
Armed robbers injured five people and looted cash, gold
ornaments and other valuables from a house at Palpur
village in Chhatak upazila of Sunamganj on Saturday.
Police said the gang, numbering 10/12, swooped on the
house of local trader Anfar Ali by breaking the door open
at about 2:00 am.
They held the house inmates' hostage at gunpoint and
looted, cash Tk 1 lakh, 7 tolas of gold ornaments and
other valuables worth about Tk 3 lakh.
The hoodlums beat up the house owner and his four family
members mercilessly as they shouted while the bandits were
fleeing with the booty.
Of the injured, Anfar Ali, 55, and Aziruddin, 50, were
admitted to Sylhet Osmani Medical College Hospital in
critical condition. A case was filed.
Drug peddler held, heroin worth Tk 1 cr seized
UNB, Benapole (Jessore)
Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) members arrested a drug
peddler along with heroin worth about Tk 1 crore from his
house at frontier Sadipur village here on Sunday.
Acting on a secret information, a team of RAB-6 raided the
house of heroin smuggler Tariqul at about 4:30 am and
arrested him along with 1 kg heroin which was kept inside
a sack of paddy.
The elite force said Tariqul was engaged in smuggling
heroin into the country from India since long.
60 including suspected criminals arrested
BSS, Rangpur
Police in separate drives arrested 60 people including
suspected criminals from different places in the district
during the past 24 hours till this afternoon, police
sources said. The arrested persons include absconding
warrantees, murderers, accused in different cases,
drug-peddlers and traffickers, gamblers, abductors,
antisocial elements, thieves and suspected criminals.
Police also seized good quantities of smuggled ganja,
fermented wine and phensidyl, stolen goods and other
illegal things during the raids.
Of them, Kotwali police picked up 17 persons, Gangachara
six, Taraganj two, Badarganj two, Mithapukur seven,
Pirganj 13, Pirgacha seven and Kawnia five and DB police
arrested one person in the drives. The arrested persons
were sent to jail hajat when police produced them before
the concerned Rangpur courts, the sources said.
Current nets worth Tk 70 lakh seized
UNB, Jhalakati
Current nets worth about Tk 70 lakh were seized in
separate operations on Saturday.
Jatka Protection Task Force Committee, district
administration and fisheries department conducted
operations in Sugondha, Bishkhali and Kumerkhali rivers
and seized 50,000 meters current nets. The seized nets
were later burnt in College Kheyaghat area of the town.
Editorial
Submarine cable and illegal ISPs
BTRC's plan, to give
the submarine cable to private hands to increase bandwidth
capacity, will not be a wise one. There is no argument over
increasing the bandwidth but what will we do with it if it
does not reach the people. Where as the undersea cable has
remained grossly underused because of weak management and
marketing of the resource by the BTRC, the current initiative
by the agency cannot be appreciated. Only 14 per cent of the
24-gigabite per second cable is now in use. Troubles that
internet users face at the end of each line are not originated
for its being in hand of the government. The 349 already
authorised companies including BTTB who provide internet
connectivity in 16 different categories such as call centres,
international gateway service providers, international
connection exchange service providers, international internet
gateway service providers, pre-paid card service providers,
mobile operators, national PSTN operators, ISP category A, ISP
category B, ISP category C, ISP category D, VSAT providers,
VSAT providers with HUB, VSAT users, DDCSP and zonal PSTN
operators do not maintain the standards according to the
guideline provided by the BTRC. The quality of the service
falls only because of the lack of relentless and
uncompromising monitoring and supervision of the BTRC over
these private agencies. According to an ICT specialist of
World Bank, the tele-density is expected to go up to 80 per
cent of the population in Bangladesh by 2012. Therefore, if
the government fails to tighten its regulatory grip over the
rapidly expanding sector it will turn worse. At present this
Telecom sector contributed over one per cent to the gross
domestic product in 2007.
Dr Zafar Iqbal, professor of Shahjalal University of Science
and Technology (SUST), told the press that IP telephony is a
"promising technology and the government should come forward
to make this technology available to the people. Our existing
submarine cable has a huge bandwidth and we'll be able to
utilise it properly if IP telephony service becomes a reality.
IP telephony will also open the door of other IP-based
services to the country". It is also worth mentioning that
SMW-4 cable has a capacity to handle 120 GB bandwidth, of
which Bangladesh currently subscribes to 14GB. The BTTB has
already cashed in more than Tk 200 crore revenue through the
rental of bandwidth. An internet subscriber has to pay Tk
20,000 a month for above 2 mbps (mega bits per second)
dedicated internet connection to BTTB. But in India, a
subscriber pays hardly Tk1,800 (BDT) for the same connection.
The BTTB will earn nearly Tk 200 crore from this cable in
fiscal year 2007-08. The annual operation and maintenance cost
of the cable is about $1.5 million. All these statistics show
a promising future of the ICT sector, but at the same time it
also connotes that BTRC is yet to get seasoned with the
technology, harnessing most out of it and implementing a
billing rate that can bring people of all level in a single
network. As technologies do not have any nationality, it
should be made accessible to all.
ISPs are providing connectivity for all interested wholesale
and retail users of bandwidth through the submarine cable
system within the framework of the Bangladesh
Telecommunication Act 2001. Compared to other countries,
Bangladesh is a late entrant to the world of IP telephony.
Worldwide traditional phone technologies are being replaced
with IP-based operations. In the developing world, many
companies have converted their antiquated PBX system to IP
PBX. Policies and its implementation are needed so that the
people get easy and cheap access to IP telephony system. Thus,
the market monopoly of the existing cell phone companies, who
are not willing to cut down call charges, can be eliminated.
A report in The Bangladesh Today stated the fact that
thousands of ISPs operate mostly in the urban areas of the
country, do not have legal documents and are doing good
business with out providing any standard and quality services.
About 179 ISPs are enlisted with the Bangladesh
Tele-communications Regulatory Commission (BTRC) whose
services and performance are not yet up to the mark. On the
other hand, people in the ISP business blame the current power
crisis which is the core of all problems and sabotaged or
scraped optical fibre cables worsen the situation. Most of the
ISPs are functioning and doing a profitable business without
any legal papers authorised by the BTRC and thus depriving the
government of taxes.
Optical fibres are used in the submarine cables that do not
continue up to the whole sale and retail markets. Other than
the research centres and commercial agencies almost all the
domestic households are being connected through copper cables.
Thus the bandwidth is decreased affecting the service and its
clients. ISPs that provide the copper connections have
acknowledged the fact but they intentionally do it to lessen
bandwidth loads to make more money. On the other hand, the IP
address provided by these ISPs, which is supposed to be used
by a single user, is given to four to five users. They make
lucrative money illegally in this way depriving the domestic
users of the high bandwidth. Therefore, BTRC must deal with
these illegal functions and irregularities on an urgent basis
and punish the culprits.
Another crucial area is the rural level coverage of online
facilities. At this moment most of the ISPs do not have wide
network coverage in rural areas. It is still expensive and
inaccessible to the common folks of these areas. The country's
over all development will be hindered if the rural areas are
left untouched by the blessings of scientific advancement.
Analysis
Food crisis needs green revolution
The program like "Let us grow crops to develop
Bangladesh" should be implemented right away and should get
the full support of every one.
Mohammad Shahidul Islam
Climate
change is setting to trigger cyclones, droughts, heavy rains
and floods in unpredicted places at unpredicted times round
the world. Recently Myanmar has been the victim of climate
change. This in turn keeps affecting food production.
Consequently there is prevailing food shortage for the poor,
the down-trodden, those who are affected by wars of life and
livelihood. So what is the way out to face climate change?
We, as a global neighborhood, should continue to exist, share
the new techniques to grow more food. Immediately, what all
the nations of the world should do is to establish economic
links on a regional basis, assess the demand and supply of
essential food products in those regions and start moving
towards producing more and more essential foods by encouraging
youngsters to get interested in agriculture and food
production..
There is an overwhelming imbalance between the specialization
of technology based education and the agro-industry based
education. What the love of the land brings for food
production has been erased off with the large scale,
extensive, mechanized farming methods. Together with this,
small scale farming and the bond between the land and man
should be re-established for the better performance in food
production.
The food that is produced in countries that have food
shortages should be distributed within the country before the
production is exported elsewhere. There are instances and
experiences of farmers going without enough rice and fishermen
going without enough fish for their families because these are
exported for the consumption of unknown people in unknown
countries.
It is a heartbreaking blunder that we failed to conserve our
own important crops. Rice, estimated by the United Nations
Food and Agriculture Organization as the world's second most
consumed food, is our staple diet. But potatoes and many other
imported food items are also in demand now. The colonized
local cuisine has been making things really difficult for the
masses.
Rice is the staple food of Bangladesh and many Asian
countries. Today a kilo of rice is priced at BDT 35 to 50/-
why can't our peasants get a huge income as a big demand is
there for rice in Bangladesh? So, immediate measures should be
taken to give the pride of place to agriculture which helped
Bangladesh become the granary of South Asia like the golden
era when Shayasta Khan ruled over this beautiful country.
Though foreign employment, garments and telecommunication have
become major sectors that contribute enormously to the economy
of Bangladesh, the fact that agriculture was the back bone of
our economy should not be forgotten or ignored.
There are many reasons why agriculture should get back its due
place in Bangladesh. First and foremost, Bangladesh is ideally
suitable for cultivation in terms of geography.
The country has got many places where different climatic
conditions help crops such as paddy to grow luxuriantly.
Secondly we Bangladeshis have got the habit of consuming rice
for many centuries. "A hungry man is an angry man" this axiom
clearly points out that it is futile to talk about anything
when a person is hungry. Development and prosperity are
compelled to be kept on the back burner when a nation faces a
food crisis.
The whole world in general and the Asia in particular are
inching towards famine. Therefore it is high time meaningful
steps were taken to make this country self sufficient in the
field of food which is one of the basic needs of the human
beings.
The program like "Let us grow crops to develop Bangladesh"
should be implemented right away and should get the full
support of every one. Competitions in the field of cultivation
at village, Thana and district level could be organized to
encourage more participation of the general public. This will
indeed help increase the food production in the country.
It is pertinent to know the real causes of this food crisis
which has affected not only Bangladesh but also many nations
in the world. Some of them are beyond our control while others
can be controlled if all of us work collectively. One of the
biggest barriers that make a massive contribution for this
crisis is fuel. The price of petroleum keeps on escalating. No
country can confront this menace which holds back the
development of the world. Hence only things that can be done
by us are cutting wastage and using cheaper types of energy.
(Mohammad Shahidul Islam is a Tourism Worker. Email:
mohd-s-islam@myway.com)
A War of Words with Iran
Some experts speculate Iran wants to ensure a Sunni-led
government never returns to power in Iraq. Others suggest Iran
favors a kind of managed chaos in Iraq, to keep the U.S.
military busy.
Greg Bruno
Accusations
regularly fly between Washington and Tehran about their
involvement in Iraq, but the past few weeks have seen these
charges take a more specific turn. The U.S. military in recent
weeks has accused Iran of arming Shiite militias inside the
war zone. What's more, an unnamed U.S. official told the New
York Times that Hezbollah, the Lebanon-based terrorist group,
has been training Iraqi fighters at a base near Tehran. The
government of Iran, meanwhile, has pulled out of a fourth
round of bilateral talks over Iraqi security to protest what
Tehran calls the "massacre" (aj-Jazeera) of innocent civilians
in Iraq by U.S.-led forces. The Pentagon says it is only
bombing fighters suspected of receiving Iranian backing.
Caught in the middle of the diplomatic fracas is Iraq's
Shiite-led government. After months of mounting U.S. claims of
Iranian interference, a delegation of Iraqi lawmakers traveled
to Tehran to discuss new evidence (Reuters) said to implicate
Iran in cross-border meddling. The alleged links, amassed by
the U.S. military but so far classified, are said to include
proof Iranian manufactured weapons are being used to kill U.S.
and Iraqi soldiers. A military official told CFR.org on
background last month recent weapons caches uncovered include
rockets with serial numbers traceable to Iran. Charges of
Hezbollah-staffed training camps, in particular, have some
urging action: John Bolton, the former U.S. ambassador to the
UN, says any camp harboring militants should be targeted by
"military force" (Telegraph) to show the Iranians "we're not
going to tolerate this." But mixed messages from the Iraqi
delegation highlights Baghdad's balancing act in juggling
relations with competing powers (LAT). Ali al-Dabbagh, an
Iraqi government spokesman, was quoted by an Iranian news
agency as suggesting claims of Iranian interference were
"speculation" (Fars). Dabbagh later told reporters he was
misinterpreted, and said Iraq is forming a committee to
investigate allegations of interference (Armed Forces Press
Service).
For the United States, pointing a finger at Iran is seen by
some analysts as an attempt to rally support for Iraqi
government forces at a crucial moment. The government this
year has challenged militias loyal to firebrand cleric Muqtada
al-Sadr and reports from one Baghdad neighborhood suggest
popular support for his Madhi army-which the U.S. alleges
receives Iranian aid-may be slipping (Longwarjournal.com).
Residents of Sadr City, the 2.5 million living in Baghdad
slums that is a base of Sadr support, are fleeing escalating
violence there (NPR). The U.S. and Iraqi governments also seek
to isolate Sadr, the Shiite Iraqi cleric who is thought to be
studying in the Iranian religious city of Qom. The cleric
refused to meet (RFE/RL) with the Iraqi delegation during
their visit last week.
Some experts speculate Iran wants to ensure a Sunni-led
government never returns to power in Iraq. Others suggest Iran
favors a kind of managed chaos in Iraq, to keep the U.S.
military busy. But lackluster U.S. intelligence on Iran makes
some of this a guessing game. As Kenneth Pollack of the
Brookings Institution writes in the Nation, "Iran is putting
money on every number of the roulette wheel." Complicating
matters are ties between Iran and Iraq's Shiite politicians,
many of whom spent the Hussein era in Iran.
Despite Iranian vows to halt bilateral security talks, some
channels remain open. Senior U.S. officials in Baghdad have
received back-door communications from Tehran (WSJ) in the
recent past. An International Crisis Group report suggests
such negotiations be brought to the front door. The report
concludes that lasting stability will require "engaging in
real diplomacy with all Iraq's neighbors, Iran and Syria
included."
(Greg Bruno is Staff Writer for the Council on Foreign
Relations. Source: www.cfr.org)
Don’t stand and stare
All Arab nations have
agreed to recognise Israel fully if it will comply with key
United Nations resolutions.
Jimmy Carter
The
world is witnessing a terrible human rights crime in Gaza,
where a million and a half human beings are being imprisoned
with almost no access to the outside world. An entire
population is being brutally punished.
This gross mistreatment of the Palestinians in Gaza was
escalated dramatically by Israel, with United States backing,
after political candidates representing Hamas won a majority
of seats in the Palestinian Authority parliament in 2006. The
election was unanimously judged to be honest and fair by all
international observers.
Israel and the US refused to accept the right of Palestinians
to form a unity government with Hamas and Fatah and now, after
internal strife, Hamas alone controls Gaza. Forty-one of the
43 victorious Hamas candidates who lived in the West Bank have
been imprisoned by Israel, plus an additional 10 who assumed
positions in the short-lived coalition cabinet.
Regardless of one's choice in the partisan struggle between
Fatah and Hamas within occupied Palestine, we must remember
that economic sanctions and restrictions on the supply of
water, food, electricity and fuel are causing extreme hardship
among the innocent people in Gaza, about one million of whom
are refugees.
Israeli bombs and missiles periodically strike the area,
causing high casualties among both militants and innocent
women and children. Prior to the highly publicised killing of
a woman and her four children last week, this pattern had been
illustrated by a report from B'Tselem, the leading Israeli
human rights organisation, which stated that 106 Palestinians
were killed between February 27 and March 3. Fifty-four of
them were civilians, and 25 were under 18 years of age.
On a recent trip through the Middle East, I attempted to gain
a better understanding of the crisis. One of my visits was to
Sderot, a community of about 20,000 in southern Israel that is
frequently struck by rockets fired from nearby Gaza. I
condemned these attacks as abominable acts of terrorism, since
most of the 13 victims during the past seven years have been
non-combatants.
Subsequently, I met with leaders of Hamas-a delegation from
Gaza and the top officials in Damascus. I made the same
condemnation to them, and urged that they declare a unilateral
ceasefire or orchestrate with Israel a mutual agreement to
terminate all military action in and around Gaza for an
extended period.
They responded that such action by them in the past had not
been reciprocated, and they reminded me that Hamas had
previously insisted on a ceasefire throughout Palestine,
including Gaza and the West Bank, which Israel had refused.
Hamas then made a public proposal of a mutual ceasefire
restricted to Gaza, which the Israelis also rejected.
There are fervent arguments heard on both sides concerning
blame for a lack of peace in the Holy Land. Israel has
occupied and colonised the Palestinian West Bank, which is
approximately a quarter the size of the nation of Israel as
recognised by the international community. Some Israeli
religious factions claim a right to the land on both sides of
the Jordan river, others that their 205 settlements of some
500,000 people are necessary for "security".
All Arab nations have agreed to recognise Israel fully if it
will comply with key United Nations resolutions. Hamas has
agreed to accept any negotiated peace settlement between the
president of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, and
Israel's prime minister, Ehud Olmert, provided it is approved
in a referendum of the Palestinian people.
This holds promise of progress, but despite the brief fanfare
and positive statements at the peace conference last November
in Annapolis, the process has gone backwards. Nine thousand
new Israeli housing units have been announced in Palestine;
the number of roadblocks within the West Bank has increased;
and the stranglehold on Gaza has been tightened.
It is one thing for other leaders to defer to the US in the
crucial peace negotiations, but the world must not stand idle
while innocent people are treated cruelly. It is time for
strong voices in Europe, the US, Israel and elsewhere to speak
out and condemn the human rights tragedy that has befallen the
Palestinian people.
Jimmy Carter, a former president of the United States and
recipient of Nobel peace prize, is founder of The Carter
Center. He was the architect of first Arab-Israel peace accord
between Anwar Sadat of Egypt and Menahim Begin of Israel.
Source: www.khaleejtimes.com
Viewpoints
Modern Revolutions Taking Power Today
Revolutions have always promised much, delivered some, but
have typically fallen short of the dreams and aspirations of
those who make them.
John Foran
Since
the English Civil War in the 17th century, the word
"revolution" has raised the hopes of many for a better world,
all the while earning the hostility of the haves and scaring
the powerful. Is this still true today, after the Cold War,
with the coming of globalization and the rising perils of life
on the planet? Though none of us can find the answer, as we
move toward an uncertain future it seems wise to reflect on
what we do know about revolutions.
Defining Revolutions
As a scholar of revolutions, the best definition I have come
across is that of Harvard sociologist Theda Skocpol, whose
States and Social Revolutions: A Comparative Analysis of
France, Russia, and China (Cambridge University Press, 1979)
really inaugurated the serious study of the subject in the
United States. Skocpol argued that "[s]ocial revolutions are
rapid, basic transformations of a society's state and class
structures; and they are accompanied and in part carried
through by class-based revolts from below" (page 4, emphasis
added). This definition, while not perfect or unambiguous,
underlines the constellation of three factors - political
change, economic and social transformation, and mass
participation - as the hallmarks of revolution. It doesn't
prejudge the means of a revolution-though the French, Russian,
Chinese, and most of the other great revolutions of the
twentieth century in Mexico, Cuba, and Nicaragua involved
either armed insurrections or guerrilla wars, there were still
revolutionary movements that initiated revolutionary
transformations without resorting to violence. The election
that brought Salvador Allende's Popular Unity coalition to
power in 1970 or the 1979 toppling of the Shah of Iran through
massive unarmed street demonstrations and a determined general
strike in the oil sector are both examples of peaceful
revolution.
Our preferred definition also allows us to see how rare such
thorough revolutions have been in world history, as the
following nine cases from seventeenth-century England to the
simultaneous 1979 events in Iran and Nicaragua constitute
virtually the entire set of successful social revolutions
("success" here defined as taking power and holding onto it
long enough to start the deep transformation of polity,
economy, society, and sometimes deeply held cultural
orientations). One might add Guatemala from 1944 to 1954,
Bolivia between 1952 and 1964, Jamaica under Michael Manley
between 1972 and 1980, Grenada 1979-83, and the more radical
anti-colonial triumphs in Algeria, Vietnam, Mozambique,
Angola, or Zimbabwe to the list. However, it would still come
to less than 20 social revolutions in the last 300 years. One
revolution every fifteen years or so across the entire world
is not much of a trend. There have been, of course, many more
attempted revolutions, and another handful of what we might
call mere political revolutions, as in 1911 China, 1986
Philippines and Haiti, 1994 South Africa, or Zaire in 1996.
However most of these cases were of the toppling of a monarch
or dictator without deep social change. The dismantling of
apartheid in South Africa has the greatest claim to a social
revolution, but the majority of the population still waits for
the arrival of deep social and economic improvements. Finally,
there have been a few influential experiments with revolution
from above, such as the nineteenth-century Meiji Restoration
in Japan, Atatürk in 1930s Turkey, Nasser in 1950s Egypt, or
the progressive generals who ruled Peru between 1968 and 1975,
which have led to profound social change but lacked the
popular participation that makes a social revolution so
noteworthy. Additionally, since the overthrow of revolutionary
communist states in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union (which
along with Iran broke the mold of left-wing liberation
movements in some fascinating new ways), we have witnessed the
purely political revolutions of Georgia (the Rose Revolution)
in 2003, Ukraine (the Orange Revolution) in 2004, and
Kyrgyzstan (the Tulip Revolution) in 2005. These "colored"
revolutions were forms of popular mobilization, often
supported by outside interests, which promised radical liberal
reforms, open elections, and redress of internal corruption
including alleged electoral fraud of incumbent political
elites.
Therefore, these definitional issues matter, if we are to seek
meaningful patterns among cases, and try to find some general
threads of one kind or another, in the historical record and
the contemporary world. Such questions as whether revolutions
must be "progressive" to qualify as such, do they have to be
brought about by masses and not elites, and whether
ideological change is a necessary component of revolutions,
hinges on one's definition. Personally, I shall argue that
revolutions must be "progressive" movements of the masses,
often, if not always, resulting in ideological change.
Causing Revolutions
Ever since Alexis de Tocqueville's penetrating reflections on
the French Revolution, scholars have sought to answer
questions about what causes revolutions, and revolutionaries
have sought to learn how to start them. Common sense has
suggested such economic preconditions as inequality and
poverty; political factors such as exclusion, repression, and
autocracy; and cultural considerations such as the spread of
radical, liberatory ideas from freedom/democracy to
socialism/social justice, to which fulfilling God's plan for
the world may now be added. Marx thought they were produced by
the contradictions of a capitalist economy, political
scientists such as Samuel Huntington have stressed
dissatisfaction with incumbent power-holders, sociologists
from Theda Skocpol to Charles Tilly and now a new generation
that includes Jack Goldstone, Jeff Goodwin, Timothy Wickham-Crowley,
and many other worthy scholars have advocated different
combinations of economic, social, political, and cultural
factors. Scholars still disagree over the weight to be
accorded to large-scale, impersonal structural factors such as
the world economy versus planned human agency as causes of
revolution (Skocpol argued famously that "Revolutions are not
made, they come," while others - including many
revolutionaries - have placed their faith in commitment,
courage, and luck). Scholars also disagree on how to balance
the causal primacy of internal national conditions versus the
political and economic pressures emanating from international
sources during the course of the revolution.
Clearly, many theories are possible. My own research on some
three dozen twentieth-century Third World cases, where all but
the English, French, Russian, and Eastern European revolutions
have actually occurred, offers yet another combination of deep
causes. Based on such research, the coming together of five
factors at a given time has shown to produce a heady
revolutionary moment. First, a society must have passed
through a generation or more of social and economic change in
which some measures, especially aggregate ones such as per
capita income, foreign trade, industrialization, and
urbanization have increased dramatically. At the same time
that conditions for the majority of the population stagnate or
deteriorate in terms of housing, nutrition, health,
employment, and other quality of life measures (the technical
name for this process in the Third World is "dependent
development").
The second structural feature is political. Revolutions have
tended to occur in societies located at polar ends of the
political spectrum. Not surprisingly, monarchies, colonial
powers, and dictatorships have generated desires for social
and political participation and freedom from repression, and
in so doing, provided solid targets around which broad
coalitions of social forces may rally. But paradoxically,
those Third World polities that are completely open to the
free play of political competition through elections, in which
the left has a genuine chance to win, such as in Chile,
Jamaica, Guatemala, or Iran in 1951, have also opened the door
to the coming to power of revolutionaries through the
electoral channel. We may now add the string of left-of-center
elected governments in Latin America, in Venezuela under Hugo
Chávez, Brazil under Lula, Bolivia with Evo Morales, and the
Frente Amplio in Uruguay to this list, though not all are
finding the will or capacity to try for a social revolution
once in power (here Chávez leads the way at the moment).
The third long-term causal factor in all revolutions to date
has been the ability of revolutionaries to build and tap into
strong political cultures of opposition. These are formed from
an amalgamation of the subjective experiences of a population.
These include their memories of past struggles, lived
experience, and emotions; the circulation of some kind of
revolutionary ideology (the most popular have been democracy,
socialism, nationalism, and radical forms of religion, such as
Liberation Theology in Central America or radical Islam in
Iran); less formal but equally powerful "idioms" that people
use to express their grievances ("Tierra, Pan y Libertad!" in
1910 Mexico, "Death to America!" in the streets of Iran in
1979, "social justice" in many of the movements today); and
finally coalescing in some form of organization that brings
diverse people together. Successful leaders and groups have
been able to tap these currents and use them to mobilize
people out of their daily routines and into the risky
adventure of making a revolution.
The last two factors are conjunctural - they help explain why
revolutions happen when they do. One is that the international
balance of forces has to be favorable to the revolution; for
example when the regime's outside supporters (a colonial power
or, in many cases, the US) is unwilling or unable to intervene
to stop the revolution coming to power. This can happen for a
variety of reasons: distraction by other crises, divided
counsels about what to do, a falling out with the dictator. An
example was the human-rights based foreign policy announced by
Jimmy Carter in 1977 that weakened the position of both the
Shah in Iran and Somoza in Nicaragua. The second conjunctural
factor is an economic downturn, a recession, or worse, on the
eve of revolution: this can be the straw that breaks the back
of compliance for key groups, from workers and peasants, to
struggling middle classes, and sometimes even for elites. In
my book, Taking Power: On the Origins of Third World
Revolutions (Cambridge University Press, 2005), I apply this
five-factor approach to most of the cases of successful
revolution in the twentieth century, and use it to explain why
others have failed in various ways.
Do Revolutions Make Life Better for Those Who Live Through
Them?
Revolutions have always promised much, delivered some, but
have typically fallen short of the dreams and aspirations of
those who make them. Third World revolutions have always had
to contend with First World hostility, from the US-backed coup
that killed Salvador Allende in 1973 to the subsequent
interventions in Nicaragua, Grenada, and elsewhere. In
addition, Third World economies are vulnerable to economic
pressures of all kinds, and must undo decades of exploitation
with the limited resources at their disposal. A third factor
that limits their outcomes has been the fragmentation of the
broad coalitions which are instrumental in bringing them to
power, as different constituents seek different changes and
often seek to eliminate their former comrades from power.
A few revolutions have lasted and delivered lasting changes:
the Chinese Revolution for some decades improved life for
hundreds of millions of peasants, until the Communist
leadership opened the economy to global capitalism while
quashing those who sought to democratize the regime at
Tienanmen Square in 1989. The Cuban revolution lives on, even
as Fidel now passes slowly from the scene, having achieved
remarkable gains in literacy and education, health and life
expectancy, nutrition, culture, sports, and employment; its
Achilles heel has been the twin burdens of the US embargo
(remarkable in view of the ability of the United States to
live with the far more threatening Soviet Union and Chinese
communists for decades) and Castro's reluctance to allow free
expression to the children of the revolution. Nicaragua,
Chile, and Grenada all did well in their first stages, before
their experiments were cut short by US-imposed embargoes, war,
and coups. The balance sheet is mixed, but the evidence
suggests that revolutions can improve people's lives in
relatively short time-spans if given the chance to thrive and
a bit of luck.
Can the Revolutionaries of the Future do Better?
What future is there for revolutions in the twenty-first
century? I have engaged colleagues to ponder this question in
such projects as Revolution in the Making of the Modern World:
Social Identities, Globalization, and Modernity (co-edited
with David Lane and Andreja Zivkovic, Routledge, 2008);
Feminist Futures: Re-imagining Women, Culture and Development
(co-edited with Kum-Kum Bhavnani and Priya A. Kurian, Zed
Press, 2003), and most tellingly perhaps, The Future of
Revolutions: Rethinking Radical Change in the Age of
Globalization (Zed Press, 2003). The older strategies of
seeking national power through armed struggle seem to be
yielding attempts to take power through elections, most
notably in Latin America, as noted above. History suggests
that such governments will achieve the most when they are
pushed by a well-organized civil society from below, and when
they find ways of working together that can perhaps articulate
a regional response to the negative impact of globalization.
Deep social transformation is also being sought in more local
settings, most notably in Chiapas, where the Zapatistas have
fostered community empowerment, taking some of southern Mexico
out of the neoliberal model through self-organization among
the indigenous and empowerment for women in particular. A
third route lies in the emergent notion of a global
revolution. Embodied in the vision and activism of the global
justice movement, as it seeks to slow down the process of
corporate globalization from above and illuminate the contours
of an alternative globalization, one supported by
life-affirming values and dedicated to making a more peaceful,
democratic, sustainable world based on social justice.
The revolutions of the future may therefore look quite
different from those of the past, and one hopes that these
many efforts at new forms of radical social change could prove
more lasting, and generous, ultimately, redefining what
success looks like. The people of the planet deserve nothing
less.
(John Foran is Professor of Sociology at the University of
California, Santa Barbara. Source: www.harvardir.org)
Opinion
For Freedom’s Sake
The
Delhi high court has quashed criminal proceedings against M F
Husain for allegedly hurting public sentiments through some of
his nude paintings. The court has rightly labelled these
charges "baseless". But, more than the verdict it's the manner
in which the court dismissed the charges against the
91-year-old artist that deserves praise.
The single-judge bench of Justice S K Kaul came out forcefully
in favour of freedom of expression and tolerance, values that
are integral to the Indian Constitution. The court has rightly
said that tolerance is vital in "large and complex societies
like ours where people with varied beliefs and interests
mingle". It made the obvious point that nudity is not only
part of contemporary art but was central to ancient Indian
art. The judge also had strong words for the complainants whom
he labelled as "ignorant" puritans who were threatening to
take the nation back to the "pre-Renaissance era".
The worrying thing, however, is that there still are criminal
cases pending against Husain. While we hope these will be
dealt with in the same manner as in the Delhi high court and
soon, such frivolous complaints need to be nipped in the bud.
Justice Kaul in his ruling has asked magistrates in lower
courts to "prevent vexatious and frivolous cases" from being
filed. He is right. There are far too many instances of lower
courts issuing warrants without verifying the validity of the
complaint. In the recent past, we've had a Jaipur magistrate
ordering the arrest of Richard Gere for kissing an Indian
actress at a public function. And petitions are regularly
admitted in courts against famous people for allegedly showing
disrespect to the Indian flag.
By entertaining these frivolous petitions, the courts end up
causing needless harassment to those against whom the
complaints are filed. Sometimes it can cause much more than
inconvenience. There is no reason why an artist of Husain's
stature should be holed up in Dubai for fear of being arrested
if he entered India. The Supreme Court had earlier cautioned
lower courts against issuing warrants without verifying the
validity of the complaint. The complainants in many of these
cases are publicity seekers. There should be penalties to
actively discourage publicity hounds. Furthermore, why should
courts admit such petitions when they are burdened with a case
backlog of huge proportions? Of the estimated 27 million
pending cases, the vast majority is before lower courts. In
such a situation, there is every reason for lower court judges
to exercise discretion and throw out flippant petitions.
Source: www.timesofindia.com
International
Myanmar claims
‘massive turnout’ in referendum
AFP, Yangon
Myanmar state media said Sunday there was "massive
turnout" in the country's national referendum, which the
military regime held the previous day despite widespread
damage from Cyclone Nargis.
Polling hours even were extended in some places to let
people cast their ballots in the referendum, which was
held Saturday in most of the country, the official New
Light of Myanmar newspaper said.
"The referendum was held successfully ... with massive
turnout of the citizens," the paper said in its
story-which made no mention of the storm or the 60,000
people left dead or missing. The country's secretive
military leaders went ahead with the vote to ratify a new
constitution, which critics say is intended to entrench
the military's grip on power, despite intense
international criticism.
The regime, deeply suspicious of foreigners, has refused
to allow in foreign aid workers to help cope with the
catastrophe, which has left an estimated 1.5 million
people in need of emergency relief.
Amid complaints about the slow relief effort, the
government went ahead with the vote except in the
districts hardest hit by the storm, which barrelled into
the nation's southern delta on May 3.
Formerly known as Burma, the country is one of the poorest
and most isolated in the world-and has been ruled by the
military since 1962.
Aid groups say it is essential to get foreign aid experts
into the country as soon as possible, including personnel
with disaster expertise, and that more people could die
unless supplies reach the neediest quickly.
The regime has said it welcomes aid from abroad but that
it must supervise deliveries itself.
In a separate story, the New Light of Myanmar said that
foreign aid has continued to flow into the country and
that it was being delivered to hard-hit areas "by
helicopters, by car and by boat without delay."
Meanwhile, a BBC online report says, rice prices have
risen for a sixth consecutive day as global supplies
continue to be stretched by cyclone damage to crops in
Burma.
With worldwide demand also at a record high, the cost of
rice rose as much as 5.1% to $23.45 per 100lb in
electronic trading on the Chicago Board of Trade.
Cyclone Nargis hit Burma on 3 May, killing tens of
thousands of people in the main rice-producing areas.
Rice prices had already hit all-time highs after some weak
harvests. The price of US long-grain rice - the global
benchmark - has now risen by almost two-thirds since the
start of this year.
This increase has been replicated around the world, with
Thai and Indian rice prices going up by similar amounts.
'Aggressively buy'
The higher prices have been exacerbated by a number of key
producing nations moving to set limits on rice exports to
try to guarantee sufficient domestic supplies and calm
internal prices.
After long silence in fear, some in Myanmar start to speak
out
AFP, Yangon
Aung Aung says he would not normally vent his anger openly
in Myanmar, where the eyes and ears of the country's
strict military rulers are believed to be almost
everywhere.
But fear of the junta is being eclipsed by fury over the
government's inept response to the devastating
cyclone-which has left many without food or water more
than a week after the tragedy struck.
"People are hungry. They have no clean water to drink.
They are falling sick. The just want to vent their anger,"
the 25-year-old taxi driver said, speaking unusually
freely to a foreign visitor.
"They have nothing else to lose now."
After nearly half a century of brutal rule, suffocated by
a 400,000-strong military and its feared intelligence
wing, most people in this blighted country are careful not
to be critical of the government.
But since Cyclone Nargis hit on May 3, killing tens of
thousands of people and leaving 1.5 million more facing
hunger and disease, victims have seen little help from the
government.
And they are furious.
In the ravaged town of Pyapon, in the Irrawaddy delta
which bore the brunt of the destruction, one farmer whose
precious rice stores were destroyed said the only aid he
had received so far was a single bowl of beans.
"Do they expect me to survive on this?" he told AFP.
"Government officials didn't even bother to come and offer
us consolation."
From Myanmar's main city of Yangon to the devastated
southern delta hardest hit by the storm, people from all
walks of life-monks, workers, elderly people and
housewives-rushed to talk to a visiting foreigner.
With many here able to listen to foreign news bulletins on
short-wave radio, stories of the junta's refusal to allow
foreign aid experts into the country have infuriated the
population.
"Foreigners want to help, why stop them? We need help. We
need water and food," said 28-year-old Nye Nye, who lost
her sister in the disaster and watched her house blow
away.
"I am angry with the government," she said. "I lost
everything. I am hungry and going in search of
food-coconut or bananas to fill my stomach."
Hu’s visit to Japan a ‘complete success’
AFP, Beijing
Chinese President Hu Jintao's visit to Japan was a
"complete success", Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi said on
Sunday, in a further sign of the warming relations between
the traditional rivals.
"President Hu Jintao's warm spring visit opened up a new
phase for China-Japan strategic and mutually beneficial
relations, and was a complete success," Yang said in a
statement posted on China's foreign ministry website.
Hu's five-day visit-only the second ever by a Chinese head
of state to Japan-ended on Saturday and saw both sides
commit to closer ties, although there were sporadic
protests over Beijing's rule of Tibet.
"Both sides confirmed that China and Japan are cooperation
partners, with neither side posing any threat to the
other, and that they will support each other's peaceful
development," Yang said.
On Wednesday, Hu and Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda
agreed to start regular summits to ease decades of tension
coloured by Japan's past militarism.
The two sides also agreed to push forward full cooperation
in finance, information, trade, investments, small and
medium-sized enterprises and intellectual property
protection, Yang said.
They also pledged joint efforts to maintain peace and
stability in Northeast Asia, Yang said, and agreed to
strengthen cooperation in climate change and environmental
protection.
Despite the optimism, progress in resolving specific
disputes seemed slow, including over lucrative gas fields
in the East China Sea.
China's clampdown in Tibet also overshadowed Hu's visit,
with thousands of protesters demonstrating in Tokyo on his
arrival Tuesday.
The new spirit of friendship between Beijing and Tokyo
makes a stark contrast to the atmosphere just a few years
ago.
China broke off high-level dialogue with Japan during the
2001-2006 premiership of Junichiro Koizumi, citing his
insistence on visiting a shrine that venerates Japanese
war dead including war criminals.
Free detainees or face demos, Malaysian activists say
AFP, Kuala Lumpur
Malaysia's ethnic Indian
activists Sunday warned the government to provide medical
aid to one of its leaders and free those detained under
tough internal security laws or face more street rallies.
More than 50 protestors from Indian rights group Hindraf
blocked the entrance to a shopping mall at the iconic
Petronas twin towers in downtown Kuala Lumpur to demand
medical attention for P. Uthayakumar, who is diabetic.
Uthayakumar and four other members of the rights group
Hindraf have been detained under the tough Internal
Security Act (ISA) since December after holding an
anti-discrimination rally.
"This gathering is to send a clear message to the
government," Hindraf coordinator S. Jayathas told
reporters.
"If (the government) deny (treatment to Uthayakumar and do
not release the ISA detainees), then we will have a bigger
gathering, that is definite," he said.
Hindraf leaders angered the government last November with
a mass rally alleging discrimination in Malaysia, which is
dominated by Muslim Malays.
Mounting anger within the Indian community was said to
have been a factor in the government's drubbing in March 8
polls where it lost its two-thirds majority in parliament.
Opposition lawmaker Sivarasa Rasiah, who turned up to
support the event, said the government should release ISA
detainees unless they had proof to charge them in open
court.
"As far as I am concerned, one day under ISA detention is
too long, one ISA detainee is too many," he added.
Close to 300 policemen were deployed outside the busy
shopping mall to control the protestors, with watercannon
vans and riot police waiting nearby.
Hindraf supporters carried posters showing a weak-looking
Uthayakumar behind bars as the crowd yelled, "Abolish the
ISA" and "Freedom."
Similar protests were held in six other locations through
the country, organisers said.
Rights groups say 70 people, mainly alleged Islamic
militants, are being held under the ISA.
Parts of the ISA date back to the British colonial era,
when it was used against co |