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Leading News
CG has no intention to impose
dialogue on Hasina, Khaleda: Commerce Adviser
Staff Correspondent
Caretaker Government has no intention to impose on Awami
League President Sheikh Hasina and BNP Chairperson Begum
Khaleda Zia any dialogue between them-they will have to
take their own initiative for such dialogue.
"Any dialogue will not be imposed on Sheikh Hasina and
Khaleda Zia. If they think such dialogue is necessary to
be held, they will have to take initiative and then the
government will facilitate the dialogue," Commerce Adviser
Hossain Zillur Rahman said at the secretariat after his
recent return from USA visit on Thursday.
In a query whether he held any meeting with Sheikh Hasina
during his recent visit to USA, Hossain Zillur Rahman said
"We are expecting progress in our politics and we would to
like to resolve all crisis through discussion, dialogue
and consensus and thus we are maintaining communication
with not only top leaders but also others."
He said the dialogue between two leaders involves many
preparations because the dialogue between them is not
aimed at a mere dialogue but it has to be successful.
"It is not a matter of two leaders, there remain other
members of their parties and they should discuss with each
other internally. We (the government) are also thinking
and working from our point of view."
To bring consensus in some important issue after the
parliamentary election, dialogue between two leaders is
necessary but before this feedback is being taken from
dialogue with grass-roots people. He said the government
is studying the real expectation of those people. He
reiterated that dialogue with grass-roots public would be
continued.
About allegation of counsel for Sheikh Hasina that the
government is maintaining double standard as to her bail,
the Adviser stated that Hasina's bail is not being
interfered with and the role of interim government in
these issues is transparent.
Meanwhile, Sheikh Hasina' physician said her arrival at
the Country is being delayed due to treatment of her ear
and after installing hearing aid she will be kept on
observation for two weeks and finally she may come back
home on October 17 or 18.
In recent development-in the face government lawyers'
opposition September 29 has been fixed for judgment on
bail petition in Noor Ali's extortion case while bail
petitions in NIKO and barge-mounted cases are likely to be
filed on the same day.
EC to announce schedules
for JS, UZ polls 1st week of Nov: Shakhawat
Staff Correspondent
Election Commissioner Brig General (Retd.) Shakhawat
Hossain on Thursday said the commission would announce the
schedules for parliamentary and upazila elections in the
first week of November.
He spoke to a group of reporters at his office yesterday.
He said, "The commission would announce the schedules for
both the parliamentary and upazila polls by the first week
of November. In the schedule, date for submission of
nomination papers for both the elections will be the same,
but the dates for scrutinizing may not be the same."
He said the hearing on delimitation of the parliamentary
seats would begin on September 29.
"The hearing on re-demarcation will begin from October 29
and if anything is delayed due to re-demarcation, the EC
have nothing to do in this regard. We have filed the
petition in the appellate division against the High Court
verdict." he said.
He said the EC has made plan to extend the polling centers
during the next general elections. "At present there are
35000 polling centers across the country. But the EC
decided to increase 10 per cent of the existing polling
centers to facilitate the increased voters for casting
their votes smoothly. In the last local polls held on
August 04, the voters turn out were beyond our
imagination. The EC thinks that in the upcoming general
elections, more people will go to the polling stations for
casting their votes. Besides, in December, the day time is
less than other time of the year. So if we increase the
total polling centres, it would be helpful for the voters
in casting their votes in time."
Replying to a question, the Election Commissioner said the
upazila elections would be held on December 24 and 28
across the country and he declined to say whether these
elections would be political or not. "I can't say anything
about it," he said adding that the voting centers for both
the Parliamentary and upazila elections would remain same.
Shakhawat said the EC would use the transparent ballot
boxes in the next parliamentary elections and the steel
made non transparent ballot boxes will be used in the
upazila polls. "There are about over 3,000,00
non-transparent ballot boxes in the country."
"The voting centers located near the residence of
influential candidates will be cancelled and relocated to
hold the ensuing polls in a free and fair manner," he
said.
The EC has also agreed in principle to arrange for casting
of postal ballots by the officials on election duty.
AL anxious
about Hasina’s security
Apprehending
militant attacks in polls
Staff Correspondent
Awami League (AL) is anxious about the security of its
party President Sheikh Hasina and also apprehending
atrocities centering the upcoming general elections lined
up for December 18.
Acting AL General Secretary Syed Ashraful Islam expressed
his fears while talking to the newsmen after hour-long
meeting with acting British High Commissioner Duncan
Norman at his NAM flats residence in the capital on
Thursday noon.
"Militant outfits, like Jama'tul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB),
are still active across the country. Only through giving
capital punishment to some outlawed kingpins, the
militancy cannot be stamped out. We have information that
militants might launch attack on our party Chief at the
time of electioneering. Evil forces are trying to foil the
upcoming general election," observed the AL spokesman.
Asked about the symptom of such attack, he said, "The
vested quarter which doesn't have faith on democracy and
believes in religious-based communal politics is the main
threat to Hasina's safety. Militants are liable to destroy
any institution."
Replying to a query, Syed Ashraful said, "As the acting AL
General Secretary, I didn't get any invitation from the
government with regards to the meeting between AL
President Sheikh Hasina and BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia
till date. After getting formal invitation, we would
finalise our stand. We are ready to sit for the talks for
the greater interest of the nation but we have to be clear
first about the ground of dialogue."
About the media reports on the letter of Sheikh Hasina
from the United States to the party policymakers in Dhaka,
Ashraf denied saying, "Neither he nor the party office has
revived any e-mail nor written letter of Sheikh Hasina. So
far as I know, I did not see any such letter to anybody.
It seems to me that businessmen and an eminent lawyer are
very much interested to hold the meeting."
While his attention was drawn to his meeting with British
HC representative, the AL leader said, "Britain also wants
free, fair and peaceful polls. Like us, the British
diplomat in Bangladesh is apprehensive about untoward
incidents and militant attacks in the election period.
They are also worried about the safety of people as
professional terrorists and political hoodlums might be
more violent during that time."
The AL spokesperson urged the Emergency Government to
ensure special security measures for the former Prime
Minister Sheikh Hasina and other important political
leaders of the country.
Agencies add: Talking to the reporters, acting British HC
Norman said, "I came to meet the Awami League acting
General Secretary to convey three messages. These are: the
two major political parties must participate in the
elections, violence and excesses must be shunned and
democratic institutions have to be strengthened."
"The national parliament and the Election Commission have
to be made more effective. I'll convey the same message to
the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) too."
The British diplomat said, "Bangladesh has its share of
bloodied political past, which is not good for its people
and the land."
Asked if a level playing field had been readied for the
polls, he said, "We think people must have the opportunity
to choose their leaders and governors."
British High
Commissioner hopes free, fair JS polls
Staff
Correspondent
Acting British High Commis-sioner Duncan Norman on
Thursday said the British government expects that the 9th
parliamentary election in Bangladesh scheduled to be held
in December 18, will be fair and free from violence and
all political parties will contest it.
"We expect that a violence free Jatiya Sangsad election
will be held in Bangladesh with the participation of all
political parties. As part of a courtesy call, I have met
BNP Secretary General Khandoker Delwar Hossain. Earlier in
the morning, I also called on Awami League for discussing
latest development in the country's overall situation,"
Duncan told reporters after meeting with Delwar at NAM
flat residence in the capital Dhaka.
Talking to journalists he said the British government is
also expecting that the next elected democratic government
will continue the reform activities taken by the present
caretaker government.
"On behalf of BNP, I have been told that the government is
yet to create a level playing field for holding a free,
fair, credible and acceptable election in the country,"
the British acting HC said adding, "I have requested BNP
to take part in the parliamentary election."
After an hour-long meeting with the Acting British HC, BNP
Secretary General Khandaker Delwar Hossain told reporters
that we have informed him about our party stand.
Delwar said, "We have discussed our three point demands.
These are: 1) the government will have to create a level
playing field for holding an impartial election. 2) The
government will have to do everything for holding a free,
fair and credible election scheduled to be held December
18 and 3) the government will have to overcome the
obstacles about registration with the political parties,
demarcation of constituencies and some sections of revised
RPO."
"We hope the government will consider our demands and take
necessary steps so that BNP would be able to participate
in the ensuing elections," he added.
Among others, BNP standing committee member Dr. RA Gani,
Tanvir Ahmad Siddique, Khandaker Mahbub Uddin Ahmed, Joint
Secretary General Nazrul Islam Khan and office Sectary
Rizvi Ahmed were also present at the meeting.
ACC
approves more charge sheets
Charge sheets yet to be
framed against Hasina, Khaleda
Staff Correspondent
One year has elapsed since submission of wealth statements
by Sheikh Hasina and Begum Khaleda Zia but charge-sheets
have not been filed yet against them due to snails pace in
investigation.
"Charge-sheets against Sheikh Hasina and Begum Khaleda Zia
have not been framed yet due to incomplete investigation
into their wealth statements which were submitted to the
Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) last year. The
investigation works remain under process. After completion
of this task, necessary steps will be taken," ACC's
Director General (admin) Col Hanif Iqbal told reporters at
a weekly press briefing at the commission headquarter on
Thursday.
Meanwhile, the anti-graft watchdog has approved the
submission of charge-sheets against former BNP MP as well
as Partex group chairman MA Hashem, Hasina's ex-assistant
secretary AFM Bahauddin Nasim and building inspector and
former collective bargaining agent (CBA) leader Amir
Khasru for hiding wealth from their statements and
accumulating properties illegally.
The Commission gave permission for submitting charge-sheet
against MA Hashem for amassing wealth worth over Tk 17.11
crore which was beyond his known sources of income.
Earlier, on December 5, 2007 a case was lodged with Ramna
police station against him in this connection.
Charge-sheet has been filed against AFM Bahauddin Nasim
for suppressing information about wealth of Tk 3.61 lakh
from his wealth statement and amassing wealth of about Tk
22.82 lakh beyond his known sources of income. A case was
lodged with the same police station against him on
November 21, 2007.
Apart from these, the commission has given approval of
charge-sheet against Amir Khasru and his wife Parvin
Akhtar. According to the FIR, he in association with his
wife Parvin Akhtar amassed properties worth over Tk 88.45
lakh which was beyond their known sources of income. On
March 20, 2008 a case was also lodged with Ramna police
station.
On the other hand, filing of case against Fazlul Haque,
former chief engineer of Road and Highway department and
his wife Suraiya Haque, sons SM Saidul Haque, Fayzul and
Aminul Haque Shamim has been permitted for hiding
information from their statements of wealth of Tk 5.25
crore and amassing properties worth Tk 14.16 crore beyond
their known sources of income.
ACC DG (admin) said the commission approved the issuance
of notices to Nurul Amin, retired customs officer and
Sahidul Alam, assistant engineer at Kishoreganj upazila
parishad directing them to submit their wealth statements.
Replying to a question, he told the ACC has so far
forwarded 79 applications to the Truth and Accountability
Commission (TAC) and another 31 applications including
that of political bigwig, businessmen and government
officials are waiting to be sent.
US
Congress backs ‘generous economic support’ after JS polls
UNB, Dhaka
The US Congress on Wednesday unanimously pas-sed a
resolution urging US President George W Bush to consider
extending generous economic support to Bang-ladesh upon
completion of an internationally accepted free and fair
election before the end of December 2008.
The US House of Represen-tatives in its resolution HR 1402
titled "Supporting a transition to democracy through free,
fair, credible, peaceful, and transparent elections in
Bangladesh" made this request to the US President.
The resolution recognizes the caretaker government's
initiatives to eradicate corruption from all levels of
government and society through institutional and policy
reforms.
The House also urged all political parties in Bangladesh
to participate in the elections so that democratic
government in the country could continue the fight against
corruption and intensify efforts for institutional and
policy reforms. In this connection, the US Congress
welcomed the caretaker government' s initiative to hold
dialogue with all political parties and civil society
organizations. In the resolution, the House of
Representatives members expressed their strong support to
the restoration of democracy in Bangladesh. Congress also
urged the government of Bangladesh to lift the state of
emergency and allow free and fair elections to occur.
Most notably, first time ever, the congress urged the US
President to make democratic transition in Bangladesh a
"high priority of United States foreign policy". The
congress affirmed willingness of the United States to
provide assistance to Bangladesh in its quest for a
peaceful transition to democracy. The resolution was moved
in the influential Committee on Foreign Affairs with
co-sponsorship of as many as 41 Congressmen. Congressman
Joseph Crowley, who is also co-chair of Congres-sional
Bangladesh Caucus, sponsored the resolution.
The Embassy of Bangladesh in Washington DC worked closely
with Congressman Crowley and other Congressmen to get this
resolution passed, according to a message received here on
Thursday.
Observers believe consideration of a resolution on Bang-ladesh
at these last rema-ining precious hours of the current US
Congress speaks for itself about how the US is going to
recalibrate its foreign policy priorities vis-à-vis
Bangladesh in the days to come. Chief Adviser Dr
Fakhruddin Ahmed, who is presently attending the 63rd
session of the United Nations General Assembly, welcomed
the initiative of the US Congress and stated that this is
indeed a recognition of the creative efforts undertaken by
the democracy loving people and the government of
Bangladesh to strengthen democratic and accountable
governance, which could serve the interest of the common
men and women. He once again expressed resolve of his
government to hold free, fair and credible elections in
Bangladesh on December 18, 2008.
Back Page
Extortion
by criminals, police reaches peaks ahead of Eid
Staff Correspondent
Extortion by armed criminals and a section of dishonest
police personnel has reached its peak in the capital ahead
of Eid-ul-Fitr.
In the name of various organisations or introducing
themselves as the activists of different political parties
including Awami League and BNP, the criminals in groups
are visiting different shopping malls, business
organisations, footpaths and the counters of long-route
coach services, collecting tolls as Eid bonus.
On the other hand, the police personnel deployed at
different points to prevent extortionists and criminals
are also engaged in collecting tolls. A handful of
extortionists, with the help of the law enforcers, party
leaders and local musclemen, are involved in such
extortion in all bus routes, sources said.
In fact, this is clear extortion and it is going on in
full swing across the country specially in city from
highway to footpath and from supermarkets to the offices
of business tycoons who have meanwhile stopped attending
offices to avoid toll collectors.
According to sources, the worst form of extortion is now
going on in the markets and city bus terminals. Although
the police have been deployed everywhere to check
extortion, people are hardly spared as a section of police
are also involved in the activities of extortion.
Shopkeepers silently pay toll to avoid hassle and
harassment. Meanwhile, extortion is rampant in three
inter-district bus terminals at Gabtoli, Sayedabad and
Mohakhali.
They are also allegedly demanding over telephone huge sums
of money from selected people and threatening them with
dire consequences if they ignore their demands.
According to some of the persons who were issued threats,
the extortionists identified themselves as associates and
cadres of some listed top criminals. Some of the
extortionists even dare to enter some offices and business
houses with the demand for money.
The alleged criminals also threatened the persons
concerned not to contact the police. So the businessmen
and long-route coach owners are helpless in one sense.
Not only in capital Dhaka, the incidence of extortion,
toll collection and profiteering is also on the rise
across the country in the month of Ramadan causing much
suffering of the common people.
Transport workers alleged the traffic policemen are also
making quick money ahead of the Eid in the name of
checking papers. The organised gangs, backed by
influential political leaders, are allegedly collecting
lakhs of Taka as tolls from the terminals.
Price
of powdered milk may rise
Staff correspondent
Following the banning of some brand powdered milk imported
from China, the shopkeepers in the city as well as
throughout the country, have started charging high price
of other imported powdered milk.
Meanwhile, in an inter-ministerial meeting government
asked the concerned authority and importers to withdraw
the banned powdered milk from the markets. These brands
are Yashili 1, Yashili 2 and Sweet Baby 2 brands. The
government has also asked the people to keep away from
selling and purchasing of these products.
Taking this opportunity, a section of shopkeepers are now
also trying to increase the price of powdered milk Cerelac,
Babycare, Nestle, Lactogen, Mami, Febimilk, Primavita,
Diploma, Dano, Anchore, Kwality and Nido.
Talking to this correspondent Nazrul Islam, a government
physician said "These contaminated milk is very harmful
for the babies."
Another Gynecologist named Samina Chowdhury told The
Bangladesh Today that not only this melamine contaminated
powered milk affect the babies but these also causes
serious health hazard to pregnant women. "This milk
destroys the foetus and damages kidney. It is very much
dangerous as it also causes death to babies," she added.
Meanwhile, parents specially the poor, low income and the
middleclass are failing to get milk to their kids due to
skyrocketing price of baby food.
"It is a very much sorrowful matter to me when I fail to
buy powered milk for my kids. Instead of feeding milk, my
baby boy is being fed powered rice or suji. As a poor
father with very little earning how can I give milk to my
son? I want to feed milk to my son," expressing utter
disappointment a Dhaka University fourth class employee
said.
Talking to this correspondent, shop owners in the city's
grocery market, cautioned that baby food might experience
a further price rise in future as the government does not
have any control over the market.
As all baby milks are imported from Australia, Denmark,
Korea, India and other countries and the government
imposes a significant amount of tax and duty on these
items, the prices go up, they said adding, " If government
does not impose tax on baby foods and takes action against
the syndicate , the price will fall."
Fruits
costly this Ramadan
Imported varieties
dominate markets
Staff Correspondent
Prices of all kinds of fruits this Ramadan have gone
beyond the buying capacity of common people although most
of the Muslims love to see fruits at everyday's Iftar.
Traders said the prices have almost doubled due to high
demand in the holy month of Ramadan.
"Although piaju, chhola, beguni and jilapi are the most
popular iftar delicacies, the fast breaking meal is never
completed without fruits as it is healthy and refreshing.
That is why during Ramadan fruit sales increase," said a
fruit vendor at Purana Paltan in the capital.
"Every year we struggle to survive during Ramadan. But
never in my lifetime I have experienced anything quite
like this," said a retired banker from Mirpur.
"Fruits are normally luxurious items for the poor. Now
taking fruits is unthinkable for them due to high price.
Poor man's apple, guava is also out of their reach. A
moderate piece of this fruit now cost Tk 5," said Abdul
Awal while shopping at New Market.
During a visit to city's main fruit markets it was found
that consumers were mostly purchasing dates and banana.
Date is the most preferred item during Ramadan. Date costs
around Tk 100 to Tk 250 a kg depending on the quality.
Banana, used to be the cheapest source of nutrition, whose
price has also increased despite a good supply during this
time of the year. A dozen bananas were sold around Tk 30
and Tk 35 two month ago now sells at around Tk 45.
To avoid the price heat of the market, consumers are also
opting for some cheaper fruits like pomelo (jambura),
papaya and the white-fleshed melon (bangi) although their
prices have also increased. The price of jambura is around
Tk 30 to Tk 40 per apiece. A papaya costs around Tk 50 to
Tk 70 and melon cost Tk 40 to Tk 50.
Grapes, the most expensive fruits, cost Tk 280 to Tk 300 a
kg while apple is selling at around Tk 100 to Tk 140.
Australian orange costs Tk 100, Indian ones Tk 80 while
Mandarin costs around Tk 120 a kg. Price of pomegranates
is between Tk 200 and Tk 220 per kg.
A rare item Mango still attracts only a segment of
customers with well-off wallet. One kg mango cost about Tk
180.
Traders said consumers are even substituting popular
fruits with not so popular one like golden apple (amra).
"Children do not like the fruit. But still I bought it, as
we must have fruits on the iftar plate. Fruits are more
refreshing than all the greasy foods that we usually eat,"
said Mohammad Ali, a resident of Azimpur Staff Quarter.
Traders claimed that the Bangla months of Bhadra and
Ashwin are off-season for local fruits, which push the
price hike.
"This is not a season for local fruits in Bangladesh.
Ramadan sales this year is mostly dependent on imported
fruits but the supply have not increased as per demand of
the holy month," said a wholesaler at Badamtoli wholesale
fruits market, adding that many fruits now grow throughout
the year but not enough to meet the current demand
BDR
set to wrap up Operation Dal Bhat
BSS, Dhaka
Paramilitary Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) troops are set to
wrap up their much-appreciated Dal Bhat operations this
week after 18 months of market interventions, facilitating
supply lines and price competitiveness to arrest soaring
food prices.
"We are going back to our primary tasks of guarding the
borders as the price situation is now largely stablised,"
taskforce commander of the Operation Dal Bhat Colonel
Mujibul Huq told a press conference at the BDR
headquarters here on Thursday evening.
Huq said 225 makeshift BDR outlets of essential
commodities would be closed down at 5 pm on September 28
as "we want to go back to our primary role".
Asked if it was an abrupt closure of their market
operations, Colonel Huq said they wanted to wrap up the
operations at the end of Ramadan when the government asked
BDR to continue their market intervention until this holy
month.
The paramilitary troops were called out to intervene the
food market to reduce the alleged attempts of price
manipulation by intermediaries against the backdrop of
global production shortfall and yield losses in the
country due to subsequent floods last year.
The taskforce commander said BDR was quitting the scene
leaving two suggestions from the experience it gained over
the past 18 months with recommending "constant government
monitoring" of the market and secondly the development of
cooperative markets to check attempts of price
manipulation. "The two steps will keep the market static,"
he said adding that these would not go against the free
market policy.
Of the total 225, BDR was running 100 outlets in Dhaka,
110 outside the capital while the rests were mobile units
constituted especially for the month of Ramadan.
"We were running our Dal Bhat operations targeting the low
income people at a critical time . we got allout
cooperation of the media during this period and we are
also thankful to different government ministries, Dhaka
City Cooperation (DCC) and others concerned" Huq said.
The paramilitary troops traded essential food items of
worth Taka 400 crore in 18 months on the "no loss, no
profit basis."
Crime
Two most wanted
ringleaders killed in encounter
UNB, Faridpur
Two "notorious terrors" condemned for the killing of a
journalist and a student leader were killed in an
encounter with tough-going RAB crime-combatants in the
town early on Thursday.
The deceased were identified as Babu Kasai, 40, and Sabbir
Hossain Jahangir alias Galakata Jahangir, 38, both
residents of this district headquarters.
They were both condemned to death in separate cases of
murder of Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal leader Firoj Ahmed of
Alipur village and journalist Badal in the town
respectively, official sources said.
Both were fugitives and warranted by police.
Later, the High Court commuted their capital punishment
into life-term imprisonment following separate appeals.
Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) sources said a team of RAB-8
moved on information that two groups of terrorists were in
a clandestine meeting inside the abandoned Khanpur Textile
Mill on the outskirts of the town at about 3am.
"Sensing the presence of the elite force, the miscreants
opened fire, forcing them to fire back, which triggered a
20-minute gunfight," says a RAB account of the shootout.
Amid the late-night fighting, a team of army-led joint
forces surrounded the area and later recovered the
bullet-riddled bodies of the two fugitives from the mill.
Their cohorts fled the scene.
Three firearms and bullets left behind by the terrors were
retrieved from the spot after the gunfight.
The bodies were handed over to their guardians at noon
after the postmortem done at Faridpur Medical College
Hospital. After namaj-e-janaza, they were buried at Alipur
graveyard in the town.
Babu, whose cadres had launched a gun-and-bomb attack on
journalist Prabir Sikder on April 20, 2001, was wanted in
eight criminal cases while Jahangir was sued in five
cases, police said.
The ringleaders tried to reorganize their 'bahini's
(gangs) after they came out from their longtime hideouts.
So far, six notorious terrors on police list have been
killed in such crossfire during encounters with
law-enforcers in the district alone.
Man shot, Tk 10,000 looted in city
UNB, Dhaka
Muggers shot an employee of a Grameenphone distributor and
looted Tk 10,000 from him at city's Maghbazar area on
Thursday.
Witnesses said a gang of three muggers swooped on Mohammad
Milon, 25, and looted the money after firing at him at
Wireless Rail Gate at about 1:00 pm. Milon, who sustained
bullet injuries in his right chest, was admitted to Dhaka
Medical College Hospital.
Professional murderer killed in shootout
UNB, Jhenidah
An alleged professional killer was killed in a shootout
between his cohorts and police at Char Muraridaha village
in Sadar upazila early on Thursday.
The deceased was identified as Raju, 37, son of Rafiq of
Charpara village under Sadar upazila in Magura district. "Raju,
a professional killer, was wanted in a number of murder
cases," police said.
Acting on a tip-off, police arrested Raju from his
residence at Chaklapara in the town at about 3:20 am
yesterday.
As per his confessional statement, police conducted
operation at nearby Char Muraridaha village along with
Raju to recover hidden firearms.
AS soon as police reached the spot, accomplices of Raju
opened fire on the law enforcers forcing them to fire back
triggering a fierce gun battle. "Raju while trying to flee
was caught in the line of fire and died on the spot," said
an eyewitness.
A police constable also received minor injuries during the
encounter. Police later recovered a shutter gun and 14
rounds of bullet from the spot.
Youth chopped to death
BSS, Dhunot
A youth was chopped to death at village Kurigati under
Dhunot upazila in Bogra district in the very small hours
on Wednesday, police sources said.
The sources said some miscreants chopped Saiful Islam, 24,
son of Alhaj Zesarat Ali of the village while the victim
was sleeping in an open room of their under-construction
house and left the place ensuring his death.
Inmates of the house later found the body of Saiful, who
was serving as a metre-reader of the Rural Electrification
Board (REB) of Raiganj REB Office in Sirajganj district.
Being informed, Dhunot Thana police rushed to the spot on
Wednesday morning, recovered the body and sent it for
conducting autopsy to a Bogra hospital.
Saidul Islam, younger brother of the victim, filed a
murder case with Dhunot Police Station.
2 held with VGF rice
BSS, Netrakona
Kendua upazila police arrested two rickshaw-pullers and
seized about 850 kgs of rice meant for relief from their
possessions at Chirang Bazar of Kendua upazila on
Wednesday.
Police said, the rice was allocated by the government
under its Vulnerable Group Feeding (VGF) programme for
distribution among the poor people of Chirang union of the
upazila.
Acting on secret information, a police team led by UNO of
Kendua upazila Obaidur Rahman and OC of the police station
Genendra Muhan Sikder rushed to spot and caught the
rickshaw-pullers namely Bakul Mia, 25, and Nurul Haque,
32, red handed.
Meanwhile, a case was recorded with Kendua Police Station
against four persons including the two rickshaw-pullers,
chairman of Chirang UP.
Nurse beats pregnant patient
Our Correspondent, C'nawabganj
One diarrhoea patient, Nargis, 32, who is also 8-month
pregnant, beaten by staff nurse Rehena during under
treatment at diarrhoea ward in Chapainawabganj Sadar
Hospital on 18 Sept noon.
Sources said Nargis was admitted in critical condition at
Chapainawabganj Sadar Hospital and saline was pushed in
her pulse by specialist doctor. Later, staff nurse Rehena
coming from woman ward and attacked upon Nargis. Cleaner
Ranjon and attended relatives of others patient saved the
victim patient Nargis.
But hospital authority did not take any action against
Rehena till now. Besides, Nargis submitted an objection
letter to DG (Health), DNS, Deputy Collector, Civil
Surgeon and Residential Medical Officer for justice.
JMB man nabbed
UNB, Khulna
A member of outlawed Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB)
was arrested from Zahidur Rahman road in the city on
Wednesday evening.
Acting on a tip-off, detective branch of police arrested
JMB cadre Tanvir Ahmed, 26, from a house at about 5:00 pm.
He hailed from Satkhira district. Mother of Tanvir Ahmed,
however, claimed that her son is a businessman not a JMB
activist.
Drugs seized
UNB, Jessore
Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), in separate drives, seized
heroin, Indian medicine, phensidyl and hemp here on
Wednesday.
A team of the elite force seized 600 grams of heroin from
the houses of Mostar Ali and Jalil Sarder at Sadipur
village in Benapole.
They also seized 770 packets of Indian medicine from
Bankra Bazar in Jhikargachha upazila and 2.5 kgs of hemp
from Purapara Bazar in Chougachha upazila. Besides, a team
of Narcotics Control Department, seized 1 kg heroin and 47
bottles of phensidyl from Sadipur village in Sharsha
upazila and arrested phensidyl peddler Shahjahan.
KL leader killing case
Six jailed for life
UNB,Comilla
Six people were sentenced to life imprisonment by a
special court here on Thursday on charge of killing
Krishak League (KL) leader Abdus Sattar two years ago.
The convicts are Jahangir Alam, Titu, Mokbul Ahmed,
Mokaddes, Gaziur Rahman and Saiful Islam of Uttargram
village in Burichang upazila of the district. The court
also fined them Tk 5000 each, in default, to serve six
months more in prison. All the accused were present on the
dock while the verdict was delivered.
According to the prosecution, Jahangir along with his
associates had attacked their co-villager Sattar,
Agriculture Affairs Secretary of Rajapur Union Krishak
League, at his home with weapons on Dec 2, 2006 following
a dispute over a plot of land. Severely injured Sattar was
first admitted to Comilla Medical College Hospital.
As his condition deteriorated, he was shifted to Dhaka
Medical College Hospital, where he died on the following
day.
After the incident, the victim's brother Abdul Jabbar
filed a case with the police station against the six
people. Police submitted a charge-sheet against them on
April 9 last year.
After examining records and witnesses, judge of District
Special Tribunal Shamsun Nahar Begum handed down the
verdict.
Editorial
Why is the gas
sector in crisis?
On 24 September 2008,
The Bangladesh Today carried the news of the gas sector being
in a crisis with the Petrobangla finding no immediate options
to manage the situation. That news is not much of a
consolation to anyone particularly the industrial and the
power sector who are all desperately hungry for fuel to
produce electricity and run industries. With no other
economically viable alternative available, gas is the only
resource on which both the power and the industrial sectors
have become heavily dependent over the last two decades.
Also over the last two decades, Bangladesh has neither been
very careful nor very meticulous in exploring and exploiting
this single natural resource of utmost importance to the
Nation. Lacking expertise, Bangladesh was forced to lease out
both exploration and exploitation to foreign companies mostly
US who have not only wasted a huge amount of gas through
carelessness but have also established a stranglehold on this
now very valuable resource. More importantly, it is these
foreign companies who are privy to data of how much gas
Bangladesh really has and from time to time as per their
requirement these foreign companies tell us how much of gas we
have in which field. One such example is the Bibiyana gas
field whose initial reserve was estimated by Chevron at being
2.5 to 3 TCF, but now that estimate has been revised upward to
being double of original estimates.
The problem is right now Bangladesh is facing a severe energy
crunch which is severely affecting not only industries but the
entire economy and the lives and living of common people;
telling us now that we have double the reserves of initial
estimates is not going to meet our immediate needs and demands
of power. Besides all the sufferings caused by lack of
electricity, Foreign Direct Investments have fallen by as much
as 16% over the last one year because Bangladesh is unable to
ensure the availability of power to the industrial sector.
Its not just foreign companies who are causing all the concern
about gas; its our own lack of management in distribution of
the resource coupled with massive corruption in distribution,
marketing and billing, which is the major cause of concern.
All of this cumulatively has led to the present crisis in gas
and the power sector and at this rather critical stage one can
only comment that the "crisis" is man-made and has to be
resolved through bold decisions implemented aggressively but
here too politics have intruded into the matter and it is
unlikely that any further policies in this regard can be
expected from the present Emergency Government leaving it to
the next government, hopefully an elected one, to tackle a
critical issue. Meanwhile the Nation would continue to suffer.
The missing big fish
The Truth and
Accountability Commission (TAC) appears to be on the hunt for
the missing 'big fish' who allegedly committed offences or
irregularities in the financial sector or elsewhere but were
not availing themselves of the opportunities for appearing
before the commission for clemency. The Commission chairman,
Justice Habibur Rahman Khan, has expressed his frustration
that no 'big fish' has appeared before the commission to
confess to their graft and seek clemency to avoid criminal
proceedings against them. 'Where the big fish have all gone,
we got only small fry….' said the head of the TAC constituted
by the Emergency Government to allow corrupt people to seek
mercy giving back the ill-gotten assets to the exchequer.
Briefing newsmen on Wednesday he said it should be
investigated how they managed to be exempted from the present
anti-corruption drive as TAC received only 252 petitions,
mostly from lower-ranking public servants, confessing to their
grafts. He asked, 'Are the bosses of these petty offices all
clean? Have the big shots never been involved in corruption?'
He indicated that the timeline for seeking mercy will be
extended till October 30.
It may be pointed out that 10 of the petitions to the TAC for
clemency came directly from individuals, 73 came through the
Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) and 166 through the National
Coordination Committee on Serious Crime and Corruption. The
commission has completed hearings in 103 cases. The commission
will issue mercy certificates so that the individuals, who
have confessed voluntarily to their grafts and deposited the
illegal chunk of the wealth, do not face criminal charges in
any court or face any investigation. In fact, according to
experts, the guiding spirit behind the formation of the TAC
was apparently to help some alleged corrupt people get
clemency and escape punishment. But the point to be noted is
that the number of people approaching the TAC is scanty in
comparison with that of the corruption suspects. In view of
this the TAC chairman has genuine reasons to be frustrated.
Also same is the case with the general people who had thought
during the early days of the anti-corruption drive after 1/11
that corrupted people would be brought to justice, but now see
their hopes fading. It is assumed that many influential
corrupted person have neither appeared before the TAC nor have
they faced legal proceedings.
Meanwhile, the chairman of the Anti-Corruption Commission
(ACC) Hasan Mashhud Chowdhury has refused to accept that the
ACC has failed in its mission and said ''We have not lost hope
or given up the drive. There is no lack of sincerity in our
activities." His spirit and commitment are laudable, but in
the given circumstances there is perhaps very little scope for
being hopeful about the success of the war on anti-corruption.
Besides, There was never anything to be optimistic about the
success of the TAC and so there is nothing new in the
frustration of its chairman now.
Analysis
Failures of international law and the
Security Council’s tyranny
The United Nations is doing all kind of things, but not the
most important ones, like: uniting people, maintaining
international peace and security, developing friendly
relations between nations, among others.
Ivan Simic
In
relation to recent global events; wars, invasions of lands,
conflicts between states, political scandals, recognitions of
new states, there is one phrase that everybody likes to use,
that phrase is called international law.
International Law
International law is the term commonly used for referring to
the system of implicit and explicit agreements that connect
together nation-states in commitment to recognized values and
standards, differing from other legal systems in that it
concerns nations rather than private citizens.
International law can be referred to three different legal
disciplines, these include: public international law, private
international law and supranational law.
The most interesting is the public international law or "Law
of Nations", since it involves the United Nations
(International Court of Justice and Security Council),
International Criminal Law, Geneva Conventions, Vienna
Conventions, World Health Organization, International Labour
Organization, International Monetary Fund, among others.
Public international law concerns the structure and conduct of
states and intergovernmental organizations. In its most
general sense, international public law consists of rules and
principles of general application dealing with the conduct of
states and of intergovernmental organizations and with their
relations among themselves, as well as with some of their
relations with persons, whether natural or juridical. Public
international law establishes the framework and the criteria
for identifying states as the principal actors in the
international legal system.
In relation to the devastating international political scene,
some main bodies of the public international law came to
question, these include: the United Nations (International
Court of Justice and Security Council) and the International
Criminal Law.
Going back to the evolution and practice of these human
organizations, it is pertinent to remind ourselves of the
manual guide for the conduct of modern day international law.
The United Nations
Multilateral diplomacy, as practiced at the United Nations
provides the forum for exchange of experiences, conducting
negotiations, exchange of thoughts in a culturally-diversified
arena. Unfortunately, however, the United Nations has not
lived up to the expectations of its founding fathers.
It appears that the United Nations is doing all kind of
things, but not the most important ones, like: uniting people,
maintaining international peace and security, developing
friendly relations between nations, among others.
Since the formation of the UN in 1945, almost every Charter of
the UN has been breached. There have been approximately 182
wars around the world since 1945, including most recent South
Ossetia War. Currently, in contemporary days there are 32
ongoing wars which are being fought, these include: Sri Lanka
Civil War, Second Chechen War, War in Afghanistan, War in
Darfur, Iraq War, War in Somalia, age-old
Arab-Israel/Israel-Palestine (including al-Aqsa Intifada)
conflict, among others.
In addition, the UN became a war combatant itself. There have
been two major wars authorized by the Security Council; the
1950 Korean War, and the 1991 Gulf War. States that breach
resolutions have different fates. The Korean War was the first
war in which the UN participated. Iraq was swiftly attacked
after failing to comply with a Security Council resolution by
withdrawing from Kuwait.
However, the US, the United Kingdom, Russia, Indonesia,
Morocco, Turkey, among others have been in breach of several
resolutions, sometimes for decades, without having had any
action taken against them.
The United States as a member state, permanent member of
Security Council and founder of the UN was involved in over
100 international military conflicts since 1945, some of which
were: Vietnam War, Korean War, Gulf War, and ongoing wars:
Iraq War (Second Persian Gulf War), War in Somalia, War on
Terrorism (Operation Enduring Freedom); Afghanistan,
Philippines, Trans Sahara, among others. If we look through
world history for the last fifty years, we can see that no
country has been involved in as many military conflicts as the
United States has.
Similarly, under the United Nations Charter, Charter I,
ratified by the US and therefore binding on it, all the UN
member states, including the US are prohibited from using
force against fellow member states, except to defend against
an imminent attack or pursuant to explicit Security Council
authorization.
However, some member states of the UN were attacked by other
UN members, these include: Iraq (the US invasion of Iraq),
Afghanistan (the US invasion of Afghanistan), Former
Yugoslavia (the US led NATO bombing of Yugoslavia), Georgia
(South Ossetia War and Russian interference), Panama (the US
invasion of Panama), Kuwait (Invasion of Kuwait by Iraq),
Somalia (invasion of Somalia by Ethiopia), among others.
The UN and its Charters were established "to save succeeding
generations from the scourge of war"; however, since its
formation, around 38 million people lost their lives in
various wars around the globe. Unfortunately, the final number
of the war victims will never be known. The UN failed to
maintain peace.
The UN Charters was also breached by some member states with
their recognition of Kosovo, as well as with recognition of
South Ossetia and Abkhazia. There is no such thing called
"special case" or "precedent" in international law.
International law, Charters of the UN and sovereignty and
territorial integrity of a member state has to be respected by
all member states equally and without any exemptions.
The Security Council and Power of Veto
The United Nations Security Council power of veto is
frequently cited as a major problem with the UN. Key arguments
include that the five permanent members (the US, the UK,
Russia, China and France) no longer represent the most stable
and responsible member states in the United Nations and that
their veto power slows down and even prevents important
decisions being made on matters of international peace and
security.
For example, the Security Council passed no resolutions on
most major Cold War conflicts, including the Soviet invasion
of Czechoslovakia and Afghanistan, and the Vietnam War, among
others. Resolutions addressing more current problems, failed
also, such as the conflict between Israel and the
Palestinians, the US invasion of Iraq and Afghanistan, South
Ossetia War. There has been a constant cause of friction
between the General Assembly and the Security Council, as
almost all of the wars was not endorsed by the UN.
Nonetheless, the current Security Council power of veto is
irrelevant. With the General Assembly's adoption of the
Uniting for Peace resolution 337A in 1950, it was made clear
by the UN Member states that:
Resolves that if the Security Council, because of lack of
unanimity of the permanent members, fails to exercise its
primary responsibility for the maintenance of international
peace and security in any case where there appears to be a
threat to the peace, breach of the peace, or act of
aggression, the General Assembly shall consider the matter
immediately with a view to making appropriate recommendations
to Members for collective measures, including in the case of a
breach of the peace or act of aggression the use of armed
force when necessary, to maintain or restore international
peace and security.
In fact, on the other hand, this resolution looks irrelevant,
since it was not used to maintain international peace and
security when Security Council failed.
The United Nations was set to be a democratic organization, to
represent all nations equally, however, today, after 63 years
of existence, the UN has not changed, and continues to
represents the interests of the governments of the nations who
formed it and not other nations.
Knowing that the five permanent members of the Security
Council, who are all nuclear powers, have created an exclusive
nuclear club whose powers are unchecked, the General Assembly
(which has true international representation) with all its
members can easily withdraw from the UN.
It is very straightforward, why should members of the General
Assembly or better to say members of the UN pay annual fees of
millions of dollars to the UN when they have no rights, they
are not even protected from any military aggression by another
member state, as was seen in the past. It was, also reported
that the US, a permanent member of the Security Council is
seriously thinking to withdraw from the UN. In addition to
withdrawal, there were some proposals to expel the United
Nations Headquarters from the US territory and the City of New
York.
The International Court of Justice
If we look at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), there
is not much to say. The Court decides in accordance with
international treaties and conventions in force, international
custom, and the general principles of law and, as subsidiary
means, judicial decisions and the teachings of the most highly
qualified publicists.
Generally, the Court has been most successful resolving border
delineation and the use of oceans and waterways. While the
Court has, in some instances, resolved claims by one State
espoused on behalf of its nationals, the Court has generally
refrained from hearing contentious cases that are political in
nature, due in part to its lack of enforcement mechanism and
its lack of compulsory jurisdiction. The Court has generally
found it did not have jurisdiction to hear cases involving the
use of force.
In relation to the UN Charter XIV, Article 94 of the UN
Charter, there are some obvious problems; if the judgment is
against one of the five permanent members of the Security
Council or its allies, any resolution on enforcement would
then be vetoed. This occurred, for example, after the
Nicaragua case (Case Concerning Military and Paramilitary
Activities in and against Nicaragua (Nicaragua vs. the US),
when Nicaragua brought the issue of the US's non-compliance
with the Court's decision before the Security Council.
Furthermore, if the Security Council refuses to enforce a
judgment against any other state, there is no method of
forcing the state to comply.
In practice, the Court's powers have been limited by the
unwillingness of the losing party to abide by the Court's
ruling, and by the Security Council's unwillingness to impose
consequences. Simply, the ICJ does not enjoy a full separation
of force, with permanent members of the Security Council being
able to veto enforcement of even cases to which they consented
in advance to be bound.
The International Criminal Court
Relating to the International Criminal Court (ICC), as of
2002, the Office of the Prosecutor had received around 2800 so
called "communications" about alleged crimes in at least 139
countries. After initial review, however, the vast majority of
these communications were dismissed as obviously outside the
jurisdiction of the Court. As of August 2008, the
International Criminal Court has launched investigations into
just four situations: Northern Uganda, the Democratic Republic
of the Congo, the Central African Republic and Darfur (Sudan).
Several other situations have been subject to intensive
analysis, including Afghanistan, Chad, Colombia, Cote
d'Ivoire, Georgia and Kenya.
The Office of the Prosecutor had received around 240
communications in connection with the US led invasion of Iraq
in 2003, which alleged that various war crimes had been
committed; none of these allegations had survived.
The UK, Australia, and Poland (countries that invaded Iraq
with the US) are all state parties to the Rome Statute which
established the International Criminal Court (ICC) and
therefore their nationals are liable to prosecution by the
court for the violation of any relevant international criminal
laws. Because the United States is not a state party, the US
nationals cannot be prosecuted by the court (except for crimes
that take place in the territory of a state that has accepted
the court's jurisdiction, or situations that are referred to
the court by the United Nations Security Council, where the US
has a power of veto).
In July 2002, the United States threatened to use its Security
Council veto to block renewal of the mandates of several
United Nations peacekeeping operations, unless the Security
Council agreed to permanently exempt US nationals from the
Court's jurisdiction.
A resolution to exempt citizens of the United States from
jurisdiction of the ICC was renewed in 2003 by the Security
Council Resolution 1487. However, the Security Council refused
to renew the exemption again in 2004, after pictures emerged
of US troops torturing and abusing Iraqi prisoners in Abu
Ghraib. Shortly, the US withdrew its demand.
As part of the US campaign to exclude its citizens and
military personnel from extradition to the ICC, the President
Bush administration has been approaching countries around the
world seeking to conclude Bilateral Immunity Agreements, or
"Article 98" agreements. So far a hundred countries have
ratified this agreement. Countries that have ratified the Rome
Statute and signed Article 98 breached their obligations under
international law.
In 2008, the US President George W. Bush signed into law an
amendment to the American Service-members Protection Act (ASPA),
to eliminate restrictions on Foreign Military Financing (FMF)
to nations unwilling to enter into Bilateral Immunity
Agreements (BIAs) shielding the US nationals from the
jurisdiction of the ICC. This Act authorizes use of military
force to free US nationals from the custody of the ICC.
Some of the communications received by the Prosecutor alleged
that crimes had been committed on the territory of states
parties to the Court, or by nationals of states parties: in
such cases, the Court may automatically exercise jurisdiction.
Other communications concerned conduct outside the
jurisdiction of states parties: in these cases, the Court can
only act if it has received a referral by the United Nations
Security Council or a declaration by the relevant state
allowing the Court to exercise jurisdiction.
We have not seen the Security Council referring to the court
regarding genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes,
except in situations such as Darfur, and non-state country
Cote d'Ivoire.
However, the Security Council established two ad hoc
tribunals: The International Criminal Tribunal for the former
Yugoslavia (ICTY) and the International Criminal Tribunal for
Rwanda (ICTR).
The ICTY has been established by the Security Council, acting
under Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations, but,
it is not clear how a tribunal could be considered a measure
to maintain or restore international peace and security. Also,
the ICTY budget is not entirely financed by the UN, but also
by private entities; some 14% is being privately funded and
the remainder is being provided by the UN. This private
co-financing might prove a problem concerning the Tribunal's
independence and fairness.
The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) is an
international court established by the United Nations Security
Council in order to judge those people responsible for the
Rwandan genocide and other serious violations of the
international law performed in the territory of Rwanda, or by
Rwandan citizens in nearby states. So far, this tribunal is
proven to be the most efficient.
On the other side, we have not seen ad hoc International
Tribunals for Iraq, Afghanistan, Vietnam, Chechnya, among
others. This is because of the permanent five power of veto,
or maybe, there are no funds available for new ones, since
these two costs too much.
In this story we have seen just a fraction of the devastating
situation in international law, and if this trend continues
there will be no mechanism to prevent and discipline any
crimes committed by anyone.
Maybe, the hope is in the General Assembly, but only if the
General Assembly, as apparent last resort for international
law, acts and establishes serious mechanism which will carry
out grave verdicts against countries and individuals who had
breached Charters of the UN and international law.
If necessary, these shall include actions to be taken against
countries such as: the United States, the United Kingdom,
Russia, China, France, among others. As well as, against
individuals/Heads of States, such as: the US President George
W. Bush, former US President William Bill Clinton, Russia's
President Dmitry Medvedev, former Prime Minister of the UK
Tony Blair, President of Eritrea Isaias Afewerki, former Prime
Minister of Australia John Howard, among many others.
(Ivan Simic is a freelance columnist writing from Belgrade,
Serbia)
Rifkah and my mother
Think, "I hate the occupation, I hate cancer, and I hate our
desperate need for this city and the hospital."
Tala A. Rahmeh
Ramallah
Today was the first time in the past seven years that I
entered Jerusalem legally. I have a green West Bank
Palestinian ID, which means that since the 2000 intifada
started and the wall was built, I'm forbidden from entering
any part of Israel as well as Jerusalem, which is only 20
minutes away from my hometown of Ramallah.
However, this hasn't stopped me from going there. I would
climb sandy hills opposite to Qalandia checkpoint (the main
checkpoint at the entrance of Jerusalem), hide behind
buildings from the sight of the Israeli soldiers, and sneak
into Jerusalem. The danger was worth a chance to get into the
town for the day, walk through the Old City, and be in the
world on the other side of the wall.
It was also important for me to see Israelis, to be able to
interact with them and see them stripped of the army uniform;
it was important for my sanity, and a necessary need to
destroy the image of a collective nation of green-uniformed
monsters.
Today was different. I was given a permit to accompany my
mother to the hospital for her chemotherapy, a treatment that
is not available in Ramallah or any other Palestinian city in
the West Bank. Basically, cancer gave me the green light to
step into Jerusalem.
The trip started very early in the morning. As we got to
Qalandiya checkpoint where Israel controls movement between
Ramallah and Jerusalem - and which is now more of a border or
terminal than a simple checkpoint - we had to prepare our
green IDs and permits, walk through a metal detector, and then
hold up the IDs and permits to a glass window for the Israeli
soldier behind it to see and enter our information into a
computer. As I stood there with both my hands holding my
papers against the glass, I could only think, "I hate the
occupation, I hate cancer, and I hate our desperate need for
this city and the hospital."
As we walked through the border, there was an empty vast
space. We crossed and looked for a cab to take us to the
hospital, and the first question the cab driver asked was,
"Green [Palestinian] or blue [Israeli residency] ID?" When the
answer was green, we had to take an alternative and much
longer route to the hospital. The colour of our IDs determines
which roads we can and cannot drive on in and around
Jerusalem.
The hospital was huge; it consisted of a number of old
buildings. It was the typical Israeli hospital, metal
detectors and Israeli flags at the entrance and on the inside,
large pictures of the "pioneers" of the state of Israel. It
was nothing very unusual. The structure of the Israeli society
could be clearly understood by walking through the hospital
halls. The janitors were Palestinian, the doctors were
Israeli. On the oncology floor there were renovations underway
and the workers were, of course, Palestinian.
The oncology unit was very neat and had a lot of nurses, and
after we talked to the doctor we headed to a section to get
the IV and start the chemotherapy. Soon after we found out
that the pharmacy did not approve my mother's insurance
because it was being paid by the Palestinian Authority. What
came next was a bureaucratic fiasco to get the insurance
cleared, but one person came to our rescue: Rifkah.
Rifkah is an Israeli nurse, probably in her thirties, who
works full-time in the oncology unit and administers medicine.
She was one of the few in the entire unit who spoke English,
and she fought half the staff to get my mother's insurance
approved. She stood in front of my mother, opposite to the
administration desk responsible for approving the medicine,
and yelled in Hebrew at a couple of employees who were in need
of an additional signature to get the dose ready. She kept
checking up on my mother for the entire day to make sure got
the attention she needed and to make sure all her questions
were answered.
The oncology unit in Shaare Zedek hospital in Jerusalem is one
of the very few places were Palestinians and Israelis are
humane to one another. There was so much kindness and
friendliness going on. Everyone on that floor felt the need
for a connection, and forgot about the walls, checkpoints and
hatred that exist outside.
A few of my friends, my aunt and I sat around mom for the few
hours. While the medicine was slowly creeping into her blood
stream, we talked about cancer; Jerusalem; positive energy;
Washington, DC; my apartment; and a million other topics.
Conversations in the chemo lounge were conducted in Arabic,
English, Hebrew, and sometimes even Russian, and no one seemed
to mind the weaving of words in all accents and languages.
When the treatment was over Rifkah came to say goodbye to my
mother. Mom asked her if she would be in tomorrow, but Rifkah
said that unfortunately she had taken the day off. "No! It's
my bad luck you won't be here," Mom laughed. I knew that
during that brief moment, my mother forgot the checkpoint, her
aggravation with Hebrew - the language of the occupier - and
the endless days of curfew and only remembered Rifkah, the
helpful nurse, who made her day slightly easier. Before going
back to Ramallah, we took a stroll up the Mount of Olives, and
through the Old City. Jerusalem didn't seem that cozy,
familiar, or breathtaking, but I couldn't help but think that
somewhere in West Jerusalem sits an old hospital where
understanding and perhaps even a strange form of love
persists.
(Tala Abu Rahmeh, born in Amman and moved to Ramallah in 1994.
She has a degree in English Literature and Political Science
from Birzeit University, and is now pursuing an MFA in
Creative Writing from American University in Washington DC.
Source: Common Ground News Service)
Viewpoints
Terror and the economy
Success in the war against terrorism will only be possible if
our intelligence apparatus is geared to giving "actionable
intelligence" to law enforcement agencies.
Ikram Sehgal
Terror
is stalking the land; nothing can be more symbolic than the
Marriot bombing of Sep 20. In the first flush some have
compared it to 9/11, maybe not on the scale but certainly in
relevance, given that it took place on a special day for
Pakistan. Within Islamabad's high security zone, security
measures were at their highest level. The timing (and the
route) took into account the grey hour after Iftar. Give the
devil his due, and that is not a pun, the penetration was
exceedingly well planned.
While a determined terrorist will invariably get through,
there is certainly a security failure here. This is not meant
as an aspersion but as an objective observation. Evaluating
the ability and the expertise available and given that our
intelligence and law enforcement agencies are trying their
best, our best is unfortunately not good enough to deter the
crass motivation driving the terrorists. We must accept that
our security apparatus is woefully ill-equipped and inadequate
to cope with what we are presently facing. We must still cope
with possibly more such terrorist attacks against "soft"
targets in our major cities.
The Marriot was targeted for maximum impact, not only for
human and material damage but to deliver terrorism's special
message of murder and mayhem, duly carried live by the
international media across the globe. The economy is already
under severe pressure because of the gap between our import
requirements and foreign currency availability,
force-multiplying the constant depreciation of the Pakistan
Rupee. This was a major psychological blow to foreign
investment. With casualties among expatriates, the Marriot
bombing achieved all terrorist objectives, would investors
risk sending their representatives to Pakistan? The country is
fast becoming a no-go place for sports, well on its way to
becoming a no-go place to do business or business with. One of
the lessons from the video-footage of the Marriot bombing is
that private security guards badly need adequate training to
counter terrorism. Diplomats and multi-nationals use private
security, an important factor for the economy. Without
extensive damage control, expect long-term adverse
repercussions to the economy. One must eulogize the stance and
fortitude of Sadruddin Hashwani, owner of Marriot Hotel chain
in Pakistan, a symbol of courage in dealing with both the
human tragedy and material damage, his presence at the
devastated site almost around the clock meant he led from the
front in coping with the challenge, that he promised to
re-build the devastated premises in a short time is symbolic
of the resilience of Pakistani business community. Marked
success in the war against terrorism is only possible by a
change in perception of our internal situation. The Catch-22,
success in this war is only possible on the bedrock of a
stable economy.
President Asif Ali Zardari had a successful meeting with
President Bush Jr on Tuesday in New York. In a roundabout way
Bush Jr committed the US to respecting Pakistan's territorial
integrity, something his Secretary Defense Robert Gates was
not subscribing to in a hearing the same day before a select
Senate panel in Washington. While one is not privy to the
Zardari wish list, it should have included, viz (1)
recognition of Pakistan's sacrifice in the war against
terrorism (2) emergency economic aid to Pakistan to shore up
our precarious economic situation, focusing mainly on oil and
food security (3) relief for our energy deficiencies by giving
us access to nuclear technology and materials (4) necessary
helicopters and high-tech equipment for mobility and real-time
intelligence to the Pakistan Army (5) barring US ground
incursions into Pakistan (6) barring Predator strikes except
with absolute Pakistan collaboration with concrete evidence
about high-value targets (7) targeting those militants
fighting Pakistani forces in FATA, e.g. Baitullah Mahsud can
be taken out any day if the Americans really want to (8)
reining in Indian intelligence operating in Afghanistan from
carrying out acts undermining Pakistan's sovereignty (9)
eradicating poppy fields in Afghanistan and eliminating heroin
laboratories being run by Karzai's associates (10)
re-organizing US forces under a unified command as recommended
by military specialists (11) support Pakistan in making FATA a
Free Trade Zone (FTZ), organizing a Marshal-type plan by
expanding the Reconstruction Opportunity Zone (ROZ) concept
and (12) helping put able-bodied Afghans in refugee camps into
special camps to stop them from crossing the border to
reinforce the Taliban.
National Security consists of State security and societal
security. State security means protecting territory, thereby
integrity and sovereignty of the State and the institutions
that guard them. Societal security stands for identity; it
incorporates the various freedoms that the citizens enjoy, of
belief, speech, association etc and the protection of the
infra-structures that support those freedoms, etc. Societal
security should take precedence over State security, in
Pakistan there has been militarization of society because of
long periods of Army rule. When the vital organs of the State
come under threat, in a democracy (as opposed to military
rule) citizens are willing give up some of their freedoms as
seen in the enactment of the US Patriot Act by the US
Congress. A responsible media balances the loss of those
freedoms. In Pakistan, the media seldom exercises that
maturity, freedom being more akin to licence. When Pervez
Musharraf needed the media most at the fag end of his rule,
the media turned on him with a vengeance. Some sections of the
media even glorified terrorists, not out of intent of
glorification but as a knee-jerk opposition to Musharraf's
rule, with sensationalism meant for more viewer attention.
Such licence directly threatens national security.
Pakistan must ensure viz (1) all the intelligence agencies are
well coordinated by a National Intelligence Board functioning
under a full-time National Security Council (NSC), one with a
non-political role (2) raising a composite force dedicated to
fight terrorism, drawing its officers and men from the Army,
police and para-military forces, alongwith direct recruitment
(3) using high-tech methods including CCTV and container
scanners on all highways, particularly those heading into
major cities (4) educating the media about the adverse effects
of glorifying terrorism and terrorists (5) make a concerted
drive to get people support across the broad spectrum of
stakeholders and (6) ensuring good governance and speedy
justice at the grassroots level.
There is a desperate need to re-vamp our strategy to tackle
the situation, differentiating the Army's counter-insurgency
operations from the war against terrorism, primarily the
domain of civilian law enforcement agencies notwithstanding
the binding link between the two blurring the difference.
Performing far better than previously, the Army has militants
on the run, the remedial impact of counter-insurgency training
as well as battle experience gained over the years. The war
being waged against militants in FATA, Swat and Bajaur must be
speeded up. We need to fully exploit the grassroots of local
policing, relying on their extensive homegrown network to
ferret out potential terrorists. The disconnect between the
agencies and the feed available from the local police is an
enormous hole in our defences against the bad guys. Success in
the war against terrorism will only be possible if our
intelligence apparatus is geared to giving "actionable
intelligence" to law enforcement agencies.
(Ikram Sehgal is an internationally renowned columnist and the
Editor of the Pakistan Defence Journal)
Happy World Peace Day!
By declaring the International Day of Peace, the UN devoted
itself to worldwide peace and encouraged all of mankind to
work in cooperation in pursuit of this goal.
Mohammad Shahidul Islam
The
first Peace Day was observed in September, 1982. The United
Nations General Assembly, in 1981, declared in a resolution
sponsored by Costa Rica, the third Tuesday of September (the
opening day of regular sessions of the General Assembly) as
the International Day of Peace committed to commemorating and
promoting the ideals of peace.
In 2001 a resolution was passed by the General Assembly
sponsored by the United Kingdom and Costa Rica to give the Day
of Peace a fixed date and to declare it as a global
'ceasefire' day.
The resolution runs as follows: "Declares that the
International Day of Peace shall henceforth be observed as a
day of global ceasefire and non-violence, an invitation to all
nations and people to honour a cessation of hostilities for
the duration of the Day...
"Invites all Member States, organizations of the United
Nations system, and non-governmental organizations and
individuals to commemorate, in an appropriate manner, the
International Day of Peace, including through education and
public awareness, and to cooperate with the United Nations in
the establishment of the global ceasefire."
In 2002 the General Assembly officially declared September 21
as the 'permanent' date for the International Day of Peace.
The "Peace Bell" is rung at UN Head quarters to mark this
event. The bell was cast from coins donated by children of all
continents and is considered a symbol of global solidarity.
Gifted by Japan, the inscription on its side reads: "Long Live
absolute world peace". International Day of Peace is observed
annually across the globe in every country but not so
colorfully in Bangladesh.
By declaring the International Day of Peace, the UN devoted
itself to worldwide peace and encouraged all of mankind to
work in cooperation in pursuit of this goal. During the
discussion of the UN resolution that established the
International Day of Peace, it was suggested that Peace Day
should be devoted to commemorating and strengthening the
ideals of peace both within and among all nations and peoples.
We now live in an age of terrorism amid tales of atrocities
committed by malevolent masterminds that dominate the
headlines of print and electronic media worldwide. They make
use of violence and the threats of violence for pressing
political demands and try to gain the upper hand vitiating the
society and estranging the people.
Atrocious crimes like terror and massacres of people by
man-made bombs are not something new to be talked about. Their
consequences generate strong feelings of indelible fear that
the people are unable to dispel. We witness images and news of
terrorism in countless news channels and feel a deep sorrow
for all those who fall prey to atrocious attacks in different
parts of the world.
Wars and conflicts are widespread. Attempts should be made to
cast off and bury the hatchet that exists between various
groups by preventing and resolving conflicts thereby
eliminating hostilities for creating and establishing harmony
and equality between the various groups. The prevailing
injustices should be addressed and justice restored to people
through negotiation, mediation, arbitration, community
conferencing, collaboration, international law or military
action as the last resort.
Nations that have found peace should help the less peaceful
ones by sharing knowledge, food and other resources.
Strategies for developing youth can help our future adults
from repeating the mistakes that they have committed and that
have led them to war.
We have to bear in mind that a large amount of money is being
spent on fighting wars and on armaments like guns, rockets and
nuclear missiles. The world will cease to exist if no action
is taken urgently on behalf of the vast majority lying within
the horns of dilemma and crying out for peace. Multiple
factors have contributed to the outbreak of war. In a nutshell
they are greed, starvation, Third World debt, the environment,
dictatorships and terrorism.
In the middle ages, crusades or religious wars created panic
among the peace-loving people of Europe. It is repulsive and
thought-provoking at the same time that religion has been used
as the means by fanatics, extremists, thieves and soldiers for
promoting their own vested interests. But we should obviate
that major religions believe in peace and respect for
fellowmen and their rights for their own individual and
collective existence.
Peace starts from within. The way from passion to peace is by
overcoming one's self. Where there is peace of mind, there is
inner strength. There are many ways to promote peace and
perhaps the best way to promote it is within us. It is a
gradual and wonderful event which take place because
compassionate people are encouraged to help others and
discover the joy of peace. Helping others directly enhances
our personal peace and well-being.
The members of United Nations Organization (UNO) have pledged
themselves to maintain international peace and security. The
states agree to cooperate in promoting such political,
economic and social conditions as may facilitate the
achievement of these objections. It aims at maintaining
international peace and security, developing a spirit of
co-operation and friendly relations among the nations,
promoting and encouraging respect for human rights and
fundamental freedoms, solving international problems of
economic, social, cultural and humani |