Voice of Bangladeshi Bloggers

Bangladesh surrendering to a hungry sea

noreply@blogger.com (Maskwaith Ahsan) — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 01:00:00 +0000

By 2025 one-thirds of Bangladesh is set to disappear under water. Tropical cyclones formed in the Bay of Bengal and accompanied storm surges take the highest human toll in the country. Between the melting Himalayas and the Khasi-Jaintia Hills in the north and the rising Bay of Bengal and Indian Ocean in the south, Bangladesh faces the risk of extinction. Barely a meter rise in sea level will swallow the entire coastal zone of the country and force upon the world a refugee problem beyond solution.

This coastal zone comprises 47,201 square kilometers, which is 32 per cent of the country’s total landmass (almost 5 sq-km more than that area of Denmark). Bangladesh is one of the most crowded nations in the world, with 35.1 million people living in the coastal areas alone. Half of them survive below the darkness of the poverty line. Fishing, agriculture, tourism and shrimp and salt farming are their main sources of livelihood. The mangroves of Sunderbans provide subsistence to 10 million of them. They have never known any other way of life.

If the land vanishes from under their feet they will have nowhere to go; the rest of the country is already bursting at the seams with a density of 1000 people per sq-km. Ironically, Bangladesh contributes a minuscule 0.06 per cent to the global carbon emission, but will have to pay the price with a minimum of 35.1 million lives if the world continues to be the way it is.

On top of this unimaginable tragedy, the gradual rise in sea level is reducing fresh water availability through salt intrusion. Whatever landmass escapes drowning will be largely rendered uncultivable. The initial stages of this salt water contamination forced people to switch from rice cultivation to shrimp farming. For that Bangladesh has had to pay a very high premium: loss of staple food production and hence food insecurity.

The world was a witness to the wrath of Tsunami in areas devoid of mangroves. Bangladesh avoided Tsunami but wasn’t lucky enough to counter Cyclone Sidr. The fact that the fall of Sunderbans will result in loss of biodiversity and a productive eco-system is altogether a separate tragedy.

In the aftermath of the death and destruction left behind by the category-4 Cyclone Sidr in 2007, the courageous people of the coastal belt tightened their belts to give life another start. Little do they know that a one-meter rise in sea-level is ultimately going to turn them into environmental refugees.

As Bangladesh is a small player in the emissions politics, there’s not much it can do to mitigate the effects of green house gasses. What it can do, and is trying so, is to find ways to adapt in the short term. In the long term if global warming is not halted or reduced significantly, Bangladesh could disappear by the end of the century. There’s only so much a country with extremely limited resources can do to protect the future of its people.

For this coastal community there are three matters that require immediate attention: sustaining aquatic livelihood, managing agriculture and building homes that can survive the rise in sea level.

The livelihood of fishermen can be ensured by finding salinity tolerant species of fish and by adopting advanced fish-farming techniques.

For farmers, floating agriculture in low lands must be introduced and popularized. This soil-less farming includes dried hyacinths piled on a floating structure and seedlings planted on it. Salinity tolerant aforestation must be made a part of this attempt.

The third is to ensure construction of houses that can stand the tide of time. In the coastal areas of Bangladesh, houses are usually built on walls of earth, but these dykes are constantly threatened by erosion. With a one-meter rise in sea-level, flood waves can go up to 9 meters. The dykes need to be raised significantly.

One ray of hope remains in indigenous attempts to channelize huge silt and sand from upstream areas to flood-prone and low-lying belts. Experimental efforts in this field gained Bangladesh 600 acres of land in Beel Bhaina, 55 kilometers upstream from the Bay of Bengal. The once flooded area is now cultivable. But a silt diversion programme along the entire coast will be very costly. It requires not only the will of Dhaka, but also foreign assistance in terms of funds and technical expertise. However, even if that is all made possible today, silt diversion alone will not be able to help the people of Bangladesh hold out against the wrath of nature for long. Not only can silt shift with time, there is the additional threat of river flooding when mountain ice begins to melt more sharply.

For the survival of Bangladesh, a two-prong strategy is urgently needed; modifications can come later. In the south, the construction of barriers or levees along the Dutch model, and in the north digging strategic water channels to reduce river flooding. This would have to be accompanied by the construction of well-placed reservoirs for holding the extra fresh river water that could be used for down-river cultivation.

Even the contemplation of such a huge project requires international intervention. The world community must come together and help Bangladesh with funds and expertise to adapt to the effects of climate change. Bangladesh alone cannot avoid the looming threat of death by water.

Moulana Abul Kalam Sued for War Crime

noreply@blogger.com (Deshi Blogger) — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 14:40:00 +0000

Source: Daily Star
April 21, 2009

A case was filed yesterday against Moulana Abul Kalam, alleged commander of Al Badr Bahini in Faridpur during the Liberation War, and his brother-in-law on charge of committing war crimes.

Bhakta Ranjan Biswas, son of Madhab Chandra Biswas of Purura Namopara village, filed the case with a Judicial Magistrate's Court against Kalam alias Bachchu Mia, 65, of Saltha upazila and his brother-in-law Mohammad Kazi, 60.

Kalam, the chairman of non-governmental organisation Bangladesh Masjid Council, hosts an Islamic programme 'Apnar Jigyasa' on private TV channel ntv.

Magistrate Motaharat Akhter Bhuiyan received the case and directed the officer-in-charge of Saltha Police Station to investigate it.

According to the case statement, both Kalam and Mohammad Kazi, who joined hands with Pakistani occupation forces, were engaged in killings, looting, rape and arson during the liberation war in 1971.

They also formed peace committees in various areas in the district.

The accused along with 10 to 12 armed men entered Ranjan's house and Kalam shot dead Ranjan's father on the first day of Bangla month of Jaistha in 1971. Kalam also killed Gyanendra Biswas, son of Rajendri Biswas, at his house the same day, alleged the plaintiff.

They set the nearby house of Montu Bakshi on fire with gunpowder and also killed Ohab Sardar, Md Tuku Molla, Kanchu Fakir, Abdul Molla of Kumar Kanda village, Hachen Mia, Baru Khatun of Alampur village, Abdul Omed Molla of Keshabdia village, alleged the complainant.

Kalam also fired shots at Lal Mia of Alampur village, who survived the attack and is still alive, said the plaintiff.

Earlier, another case had been filed under the Collaborators' Act against Kalam alias Bachchu with the Boalmari Police Station on March 23, 1972. He had been on the run for long after the liberation war.

Faridpur Muktijoddha Sangsad Unit Commander Abul Fayaz Shah Newaz told The Daily Star that Kalam alias Bachchu, who had been involved in killings, looting and arson in Nagarkanda, Saltha and Boalmari in 1971, should be arrested and tried.

Faridpur Sadar upazila Chairman advocate Samsul Haque told The Daily Star that Kalam is a 'known war criminal' and must be brought to justice.

UN Welcomes War Crime Investigation

noreply@blogger.com (Deshi Blogger) — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 04:56:00 +0000

UN provides welcome support to Bangladesh war crimes investigations
Source: Amnesty International
April 7, 2009

The government of Bangladesh has sought and received UN assistance in its efforts to investigate and prosecute crimes against humanity and other serious violations of human rights and humanitarian law committed in 1971. Four international war crimes experts, Louis Bickford, Priscilla Hayner, Bogdan Ivanisevic and Alexander Mayer-Rieckh, have been named to assist the government.

Amnesty International welcomed the news, having called on the Caretaker Government and political parties in January 2008 to address impunity for violations carried out in 1971 in the context of the independence war.

"The failure to seek truth and justice for crimes against humanity and other serious violations of human rights and humanitarian law committed in 1971 has encouraged the persistent nature of impunity in Bangladesh," said Irene Khan, Amnesty International's Secretary General.

Demands from civil society for the investigation of the crimes committed in 1971 have been gathering momentum in the past few years. Past governments have taken no action to investigate or prosecute these crimes and no official commission has been established to provide a comprehensive account of the events of 1971.

The Bangladeshi government is also reported to have asked Pakistan and the US, which supported Pakistan during the war, to provide Bangladesh with particular documents related to the war and evidence for the trial.
The exact number of people killed by the Pakistan army and their collaborators during the 1971 Bangladesh independence war is not known. Most estimates put the figure at around one million and a further eight to ten million people, both Hindus and Muslims, fled Bangladesh in search of safety in India.

Among the dead were tens of thousands, possibly hundreds of thousands, of farmers, fishermen, villagers and factory workers. The forces also targeted intellectuals, Hindus and women. According to some reports, an estimated 200,000 thousand women were raped during the conflict.

To date, no one has been brought to justice for these crimes

"I hope that the initiative to seek UN assistance to address the 1971 war crimes marks the beginning of a process to heal the wounds of this war in the national psyche," said Irene Khan.

Karma Chameleon Salah Uddin Shoaib

noreply@blogger.com (Deshi Blogger) — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 22:03:00 +0000

Karma Chameleon Salah Uddin Shoaib, sorry,
Sunita Paul, get your act together please. -Sajjad Jahir

After a lot of soul searching I decided to write this narrative just to let you know loud and clear my assessment of Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury. Like a meteorite, he rose to the limelight of world’s attention. In the global arena, he became the defender of freedom and human rights and a vocal champion of Bangladesh’s rapprochement with Israel.

I did not hear much about Mr. Choudhury until a few years ago, when I first saw his name in a few web based journals. Nowadays, I see him everywhere, in US Congress’s website, in Youtube. Suddenly Salah Uddin Shoaib became Jim Carrey’s Bruce Almighty. Unfortunately at a closer look this “almighty” does not come across as an intellectual, nor does he appear to be a human rights crusader. I feel he is just a “Karma Chameleon” (to quote Boy George).

How Salah Uddin continues to fool a sizable portion of world’s influential people, is still a puzzle to me. His career in Bangladesh shows his checkered past. If you look into his resume, you will see his service for two notorious individuals. From 1995 to 1999 he worked as the Founder and Managing Director of A-21 TV. This TV station was owned by Aziz Mohammad Bhai, a notorious smuggler and a Mafia don of Bangladesh. Mr. Bhai is no more living in Bangladesh as he had to flee the long arm of the law. It was alleged this tycoon had connection with Islamist Jihadists of India. My clear point is anybody with a little bit of ethical mindset would never work for such a questionable character. We should not skip another gem from the resume. In 1995, Mr. Shoaib Choudhury translated an Iranian book in Bengali “The Rise and Fall of Pahlavi Dynasty”. It is quite evident from the resume that in order to finish the project he had to work closely with the diplomats of Khomeini’s Iran. What a checkered past!

In the resume anyone will see Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury served Inqilab from 2001-2002. This paper was owned by a very despicable individual. He is Maulana Mannan, an Islamist leader. Mr. Mannan was alleged to be the mastermind behind intellectual and professional killing during Bangladesh War of Independence. Like Radovan Karadzic, he changed his façade and became a media mogul. Any Bangladeshi with a little sense of dignity would never work for such a crook. While working for Maulana Mannan’s Inquilab newspaper, Salah Uddin Shoaib constantly hurled epithets on secular activists of Bangladesh. He called Shahriar Kabir, a notable human rights activist, a Mossad agent. Mr. Kabir still has the documentary evidence to prove that. Not only that, Salah Uddin Shoaib virulently attacked Saleem Samad also. Now the question is why and how he was kicked out of Inquilab? Wasn’t he an Islamist to the teeth? In the resume he claimed he was ousted from the conglomerate because of his refusal to attend a pro-Saddam Hussain rally. It is beyond anyone’s comprehension how an intelligent and ever alert person like Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury missed this important piece of information that Inquilab was funded by none other than the Iraqi leader Saddam Hussain himself! The story is something like this. Salah Uddin was sent to Singapore to purchase major equipments for Inquilab Television. Instead of purchasing the tools he pocketed the money. Sources say, after the management found out the grand theft, they were starting to take legal measures. In the meantime something happened. What is that?

This is my satirical chain of events that led Mr. Choudhury to the world of bright stars. One night an angel told this dedicated Islamist to be the lone bridge builder between Bangladesh and Israel. He asked the angel what ought to be his modus operandi to attain this noble objective. The angel replied he should make an attempt to travel to Israel carrying hard copies and discs of sensitive documents. Salah Uddin complied. Any tenth grade kid in Bangladesh may be aware that it was dangerous to carry documentation while going to Israel, which was still a forbidden country. Salah Uddin Shoaib is a computer savvy man. He must have known the art of digitizing hundreds of pages of documents. So, why carry those discs and papers to the airport? Isn’t it like this “Arrest me! Arrest me! I am going to Israel with lots of papers”. It goes without saying that the conman was arrested at the Dhaka airport in no time.

That particular incidence came to this juggler like the manna from heaven. He drew big outpour of support from the world’s mightiest and wealthiest of nations. He got a “pro bono” lobbyist within no time. Salah Uddin Shoaib became a widely known name in many parts of the world.

Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury, the human rights crusader and defender of Israel’s right to exist showed his other side of talent. He had been the founder and publisher of a trashy tabloid BLITZ, whose main motto is to sensationalize events. His primary enemies are the liberal intellectuals in Bangladesh. Salah Uddin had special grudge against activists who demand trial of 1971’s war criminals. He cannot go alone in his diabolical venture. Like a ventriloquist, he created a character named Sunita Paul. Many times this “Sunita Paul” did the dirty game for Salah Uddin Shoaib. Unfortunately, Salah Uddin Shoaib did not do a good job in creating a make belief background of this Paul lady. Anyone would burst into laughter seeing the image of Sunita Paul, said to be born in Kochin, India. The picture looks so fake it seems he might have decided to insult the average reader’s intelligence. Wait a second! This Sunita Paul, who is more knowledgeable about Bangladesh than any veteran journalist of that country is caught red handed in a cookie jar! What am I talking about? I found a wise blogger noticed “Sunita Paul” adept in plagiarizing other people’s works. See for yourself at doctorsglove.

Sunita or Salah Uddin Shoaib, how long will you fool people and continue to have the last laugh?

Bangladesh fights rampant corporate corruption

noreply@blogger.com (Deshi Blogger) — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 03:23:00 +0000

Source: The Christian Science Monitor
By David Montero
April 1, 2009

For years corporate corruption has thrived as an open secret in this poor congested nation, a force as destructive as the cyclones that ravage the coastline and the arsenic that poisons people's drinking wells. Last week, Bangladesh's newly elected government took its first high-profile swipe at the problem.

Arafat "Koko" Rahman, the son of former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia and a prominent businessman, was formally charged with laundering nearly $2 million in kickbacks, including $180,000 from Siemens Corporation, the German electronics giant. Mr. Rahman and his brother Tarique, although allegedly at the center of many corrupt deals in Bangladesh, were considered untouchable between 2001 and 2006, when their mother held office. The charges against Arafat Rahman are the first involving foreign bribery and could result in a jail sentence of seven years if he is found guilty.

The case highlights a determined move by Bangladesh's government to root out corruption at the highest levels, while tracing its sources through financial institutions and multinational companies abroad. In so doing, it also sheds light on the little studied dark side of international business: the practice of foreign bribery, whereby some of the world's richest companies directly contribute to instability in the developing world by paying off corrupt governments.

"This issue of foreign companies using bribery to get contracts has been a kind of public knowledge," says Iftekhar Zaman, the executive director of Transparency International Bangladesh, the Bangladesh chapter of the Berlin based anti-corruption watchdog. "It's a failure of the companies to oblige the rules and regulations, but it's also incumbent on the government to be able to prevent those avenues of corruption."

The case against Siemens portrays a typical pattern for graft here. Between 2004 and 2006, as mobile phone use soared in Bangladesh, Siemens was pushing for a $40 million telecommunications contract with the Bangladeshi government, according to a case filed by US investigators against Siemens. To outbid its competitors, it hired a Bangladeshi consultant with links to the Prime Minister's son, as well as the telecommunicatons minister and at least four others. A payment of $180,000 was arranged and sent to Arafat Rahman's Singapore bank account, according to public statements made by Siemens as well as the case filed by Bangladesh's Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), which is tasked with investigating graft and preparing charges.

"Over a period of time, as we were investigating some of our cases, we could see that, yes, Siemens ... was paying money to some of our people here. This was all put into a bank account in Singapore, so we had to get the cooperation of that government," says Hasan Mashhud Chowdhury, the chairman of the ACC.

It is not a problem specific to Bangladesh. Corporate foreign bribery is a thriving global business, according to studies by the World Bank, which estimates that foreign companies annually pay $1 trillion in kickbacks to corrupt government officials. Two weeks ago, as Bangladesh brought charges against Arafat Rahman, Royal Dutch Shell Corporation reported that it was under investigation by US authorities over allegations that it bribed officials in Nigeria.

The victims of such bribery are not only the companies that lose out. There is growing awareness that bribery can have a direct, destabilizing impact on developing countries. The case of Bangladesh and Siemens suggests how that could work: In court documents, Siemens admitted to paying bribes not only to Arafat Rahman, but to Bangladesh's former telecommunications minister. That minister was Aminul Haque, who served between 2001 and 2006. Mr. Haque in turn was sentenced in 2007 to 31 years in prison for patronizing the Islamic terrorist group, Jama'tul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB).

According to cases filed by the government against Haque, the court ruled that he used JMB as a political tool to eliminate members of political opposition groups beginning in 2004. But by 2005, JMB took on a life of its own and launched a national campaign of violence that left dozens dead. Today Haque is a fugitive, but the group he patronized continues to operate underground and is suspected of involvement in the bloody mutiny that rocked Bangladesh last month.

While there is no direct evidence showing that Siemens' bribe money went to JMB, observers in Bangladesh contend that the possibility of a link underscores the dangers of foreign corporate bribery.

"Many of the [multinational companies] don't care who they're giving money to. They don't try to find out what effect it will have on the life of ordinary people," contends Sultana Kamal, the director of Ain O Salish Kendra, a leading human rights group based in Dhaka. "They should be very careful about it."

Amid growing public awareness and public outrage, Bangladesh's government has in recent years acted with force. In the past two years, the ACC has launched hundreds of investigations into some of the most prominent ministers and businessmen in the country – including the sons of Khaleda Zia. Both brothers were arrested in 2007. They are currently on bail as more charges are framed against them.

"To have Khaleda Zia's two sons and powerful higher ministers accused ... was really the first major cleansing process that started," says Mahfuz Anam, the editor of The Daily Star, Bangladesh's most influential English-language newspaper. "Now, we are far from the end of it, but it's gotten started."

122 Terrorist Groups in Bangladesh

noreply@blogger.com (Deshi Blogger) — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 04:01:00 +0000

Source: Daily Star
April 2, 2009

Law Minister Shafique Ahmed yesterday said as many as 122 organisations are involved in terror activities in the country.

Addressing a workshop on 'Anti-Terrorism Act 2009' he said Qawmi madrasas are turning into breeding grounds of religion-based terrorism.

"They are not following the Quran, the Shariah and even laws of the land," he said adding that religious militancy goes against the spirit of religion and Islam.

"The education ministry is conducting a survey on madrasas and it is rational to bring all madrasas under government's control," he said.

The workshop was organised by Bangladesh Enterprise Institute (BEI) at its conference centre at Gulshan in the city.

Shafique said Qawmi madrasas will get government facilities if they come under the government's control.

The law minister said the religion-based terrorism began in the country after 1975 when changes were brought to the constitution through martial law proclamation that opened the door of religious politics.

"It would not have been so easy for fundamentalists to take to terrorism if the 1972 Constitution had remained intact," he added.

The minister said, "If the article 38 of the 72 constitution is restored religious political parties automatically would cease to exist."

Without clarifying the question whether the government would restore the constitution of 1972, he said, "Wait and see; the government is only two and a half months old.”

Regarding the madrasa education he said modern education should be introduced in madrasas so that madrasa students could also compete in the job market, business and other fields.

He said merging the money-laundering act with that of the anti terrorism act would help the government fight Islamist militancy as money laundering is linked with terrorism.

Differing with some points of the law minister former adviser to the caretaker government Maj Gen (retd) Moinul Hossain Chowdhury said, “It is not the amendment to the constitution rather it is the economic problem that gave rise to militancy.

"Moinul said the reasons behind Islamist militancy lie with the gulf of difference between rich and poor, our education system, unemployment and overall law and order situation.

BEI President Farooq Sobhan, former IGP Nurul Huda, former adviser to the caretaker government Shafi Shami also spoke.

Bangladesh blocking free expression

noreply@blogger.com (Deshi Blogger) — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 04:11:00 +0000

Bangladesh blocking free expression
By Rater Zonaki
Source: UPI Asia Online
March 26, 2009

Hong Kong, China — Freedom of expression and freedom of the media have become key issues around the world, especially with the advent of the Internet, which has broadened the opportunities for innumerable individuals, institutions and communities to express their views without restriction.

Bangladesh has not yet been able to connect the majority of its population with the Internet, however, because of outdated policies and practices. Corporations, non-government organizations and private institutions are more advanced in the use of information technologies than are public institutions.

Public officials are too lazy to check their email regularly. Sending an email to an official address is unlikely to get a response. On most occasions emails are bounced back to the sender.

There are three reasons that Internet communication is ineffective. First, a serious shortage of electricity means that local Internet servers cannot be maintained without interruption in many places. Secondly, the lack of computers with Internet access in many parts of the country means the habit of online communication has not taken hold in Bangladesh. Thirdly, an email does not carry a bribe to a public official, so there is no incentive to respond through this medium.

Moreover, many people who do have Internet access are not yet accustomed to checking their email even once a day. The sender of the message must inform the recipient by telephone to check the email if it is important.

At the same time, there is also a small group of people who cannot think of passing the day without checking their email.

During her election campaign Sheikh Hasina, who is now prime minister, pledged to build up a "digital Bangladesh." She has followed through on this by holding Internet conferences with activists of her party and selected citizens. But so far, the majority of the people can only hope that access to this modern technology with its ease of communication will be expanded to the whole nation, instead of only to politically chosen persons.

Journalists and the print and electronic media always come to the forefront to raise their voices on behalf of the voiceless persons everywhere in the world. The standard of freedom of expression in a country can be judged by its press and the protections afforded to journalists.

Since colonial times Bangladesh had been nourishing freedom of expression as a right belonging to its people. The media contributed immensely to the country’s independence movement and its quest for sovereignty. There were a number of journalists among the 3 million liberation martyrs.

In theory, according to the Constitution of Bangladesh, freedom of expression is enshrined as a fundamental right. However, in reality the opposite is true. Under every regime journalists have faced threats and intimidation and media have been subject to censorship. The atmosphere created in the country compels the media to practice self-censorship when it comes to reporting abuses of power by the armed forces and leaders of the ruling political parties.

In the past decade, a number of journalists who have failed to practice self-censorship have been victims of assassination. The families of these journalists are still waiting for justice; there are allegations that respective governments have provided impunity to the perpetrators of these crimes.

Prior to the parliamentary election in December, 2008, the Bangladeshis expected that an elected government would realize the importance of freedom of expression and protect those in the media. The Bangladesh Awami League also made its pledges in this regard. Ironically, after the election the government has been found reluctant to respect the rights of the press.

For example, the editor of an English national daily newspaper has been under threat for weeks for being too outspoken. His car was chased by six gunmen on two motorbikes in Dhaka on the evening of March 5. Luckily he was not in the car at the time; his driver escaped with his life by speeding off.

A complaint was registered with the local police concerning this incident, but the authorities have not been able to arrest any of the gunmen nor have they taken any initiative to protect the journalist. On the other hand, a politically powerful person reportedly suggested that the journalist "control" his views.

Bangladesh should be facilitating freedom of speech and encouraging its people to express their views independently, without fear or favor. If the conscientious segment of the country's population is held at gunpoint, the future is bleak for the nation and the aspirations of its people.

The government should not fail to protect the journalists who speak out for the ordinary voiceless people. It should extend to the people affordable information technology of the current century, and encourage its active use by public officials.

If the nation wants to achieve progress in terms of democracy and infrastructure, it needs more than just election pledges.
______________________________________

(Rater Zonaki is the pseudonym of a human rights defender based in Hong Kong, working at the Asian Human Rights Commission. He is a Bangladeshi national who has worked as a journalist and human rights activist in his country for more than a decade, and as editor of publications on human rights and socio-cultural issues.)

Bangladesh: Investigate Torture Allegations

noreply@blogger.com (Deshi Blogger) — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 04:22:00 +0000

Bangladesh: Investigate Torture Allegations
Source: Human Rights Watch
March 25, 2009

(New York) - The government of Bangladesh should take urgent steps to ensure that those detained in connection with the massacre of 74 people at the Dhaka headquarters of the Bangladesh Rifles (BDR), the country's paramilitary border guards, on February 25, 2009, are not subjected to retribution, including extrajudicial killings, torture, and other mistreatment, Human Rights Watch said today.

An apparent mutiny by members of the border guards against their army officers left 55 senior army officers and 19 others dead, including the director general of the border guards and his wife. The government, police, and army have begun parallel investigations into the incident. As of March 24, 693 border guard personnel had been taken into custody.

Human Rights Watch urged the government to conduct a transparent and swift enquiry to identify those responsible for the killings and to prosecute them in civilian courts.

"The massacre has shocked Bangladeshis and deserves the condemnation of the entire world," said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch. "But the government should resist demands and threats from the army for summary justice and ensure that all those detained are treated properly."

At least five border guard members and an Islamic imam have died in custody. According to press reports, the authorities claim that the men either committed suicide or died of heart attacks.

Relatives of Mobarak Hossain, one of the detained guards, have publicly alleged that he was tortured to death. Sources at the Dhaka Medical College morgue have told the media that his wrists, arms, knees, and shoulders were swollen and badly bruised. Human Rights Watch has received credible information that several other border guard members in custody have been brought to hospital with signs of torture.

At least 1,800 guard personnel who escaped from the headquarters during the 33-hour standoff are said to be in hiding. While some may have been involved in the attacks, others could well be important witnesses, too afraid to come forward.

"Bangladesh's security forces regularly use torture to obtain confessions," said Adams. "The government should ensure that there is a prompt and independent investigation of these deaths and all other allegations of torture."

While those responsible for the massacre should be brought to justice as soon as possible, Human Rights Watch said that the government should respect its international human rights obligations by ensuring that all suspects are treated properly, detained only in official places of detention, have access to lawyers and family members, and are tried in a judicial process that meets international fair trial standards.

The border guards are not members of the army, and the organization reports to the Home Ministry instead of the Defense Ministry. But Law Minister Shafique Ahmed has stated that those accused of involvement in the massacre may be tried by a military court martial. The United Nations Human Rights Committee has said that the jurisdiction of military courts, if used at all, should be restricted to offenses of a strictly military nature, only when committed by military personnel, and only when the military courts provide full guarantees of a fair trial. The committee oversees the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), to which Bangladesh is a party.

"After this massacre and as angry as senior army officials are, there is little or no chance that those accused will get a fair trial in Bangladesh's military justice system," Adams said.

Look back at 1971

noreply@blogger.com (Deshi Blogger) — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 04:45:00 +0000

This is an hour-long documentary on the Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971 presented by the ATN Bangla. Watch it here:

Bangladesh to set up war crimes tribunals

noreply@blogger.com (Deshi Blogger) — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 04:27:00 +0000

Bangladesh to set up war crimes tribunals
By Parveen Ahmed
Source: Indpendent on-line

Dhaka, Bangladesh - Bangladesh is setting up war crimes tribunals for long-delayed trials of people accused of murder, torture, rape and arson during its 1971 independence war, with the death penalty possible in some cases, officials said Wednesday.

Bangladesh began war crimes trials in 1973, but they were halted in 1975 when the nation's independence leader, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, was assassinated in a military coup. Subsequent governments failed to address the issue, despite repeated calls for justice from war heroes and families of those slain.

Rahman's daughter, current Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, pledged during her election campaign to prosecute war criminals. In January, Parliament passed a resolution for their quick trial.

Speaking ahead of the nation's 39th Independence Day, Law Minister Shafique Ahmed said the process of holding the trials has already started. One or more tribunals would be set up for quick trials under a 1973 act outlining prosecution and punishment for people accused of genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and other crimes under international law.

Last week, the government issued an order barring war crimes suspects from leaving the country.

An inter-ministerial meeting Wednesday discussed the formation of tribunals and appointments of prosecutors and investigation agencies, State Minister for Home Affairs Sohel Taj said.

"The investigation process has begun. The trials will begin soon," Taj said.

On March 26, 1971, Bangladesh - then East Pakistan - declared its independence from West Pakistan, following years of perceived political and economic discrimination.

Official figures say Pakistani soldiers, aided by local collaborators, killed an estimated 3 million people, raped about 200 000 women and forced millions more to flee their homes during a bloody nine-month guerrilla war. With help from neighbor India, Bangladesh emerged as an independent nation on December 16, 1971, with the surrender of the Pakistani army in Dhaka.

A general amnesty was declared after the war for collaborators who were not directly involved in heinous crimes. It did not cover those who had specific charges or evidence of crimes against them. - Sapa-AP

Hunted in Bangladesh, Suspect in Britain

noreply@blogger.com (Deshi Blogger) — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 04:18:00 +0000

Hunted in Bangladesh... the terror suspect freed twice by courts in Britain
By Fay Schlesinger
Source: Mail On-line
March 26, 2009

Faisal Mostafa, pictured in 2002, is facing allegations that his orphanage was in fact an arms factory and terrorist training camp

A British charity worker twice cleared of terror charges in this country is being hunted in Bangladesh after explosives were seized at an orphanage he founded.

Security forces there claimed last night that the orphanage set up by Dr Faisal Mostafa, from Stockport, was in fact an arms factory and terrorist training camp.

Mostafa ran Green Crescent, a charity that provided humanitarian aid to families in Bangladesh and Pakistan.

The Charity Commission, which awarded it charity status in 2004, last night launched an inquiry. Its chief executive, Andrew Hind, said: 'The matter is of serious concern to us.'

Mostafa, who has a PhD in chemistry from Manchester Polytechnic, was known to security forces in Britain, having been cleared of conspiracy to cause explosions with intent to endanger life at Birmingham Crown Court in 2002.

Six years earlier, he had been cleared at Manchester Crown Court of involvement in a bomb plot campaign.

In July last year he was caught at Manchester Airport trying to board a plane to Bangladesh with a pistol and bullet parts in his luggage.

The father-of-three was given a suspended sentence. On Monday Bangladeshi security forces raided the orphanage Mostafa set up and the attached Muslim school on the remote island of Bhola in South Bangladesh.

Lieutenant Colonel Munir Haque, from the Rapid Action Battalion, said: 'We found small arms - about nine or 10 in total - plus equipment to make small arms, about 3,000 rounds of ammunition, two walkie-talkies, two remote control devices and four sets of army uniforms.

'We also found enough explosives and other equipment to make several hundred grenades. We found some ordinary Islamic books, but others that are in line with extremists like Bin Laden.'

He said there were 11 children between the ages of 7 and 8 at the compound.

A teacher and three caretakers were arrested but Mostafa, who is in his mid-40s, was not there.

Police in Bangladesh said they were searching for him.

K M Mamunur Rashid, another officer in the raid, said: 'It is a big Madrassa and we have so far gathered that this whole compound is being used for militant training.'

Mostafa's father, speaking from his home in Stockport, last night strongly denied that his son had any involvement in terrorism. The 73-year-old, who did not want to be named, said: 'This is all an exaggeration.

'He just wants to help children. He is a British citizen and has been in this country since 1969.'

Green Crescent, set up in 1998, last year had an income of £63,000 for 'long-term educational and health projects'.

Saeed Mahmood, of Stockport-based charity Human Appeal International, said: 'Faisal comes in every few months about mainland projects in Bangladesh. We only work with organisations that are registered with the Charity Commission so we had no idea about these allegations.'

A spokesman for counter-terrorism think-tank Quilliam Foundation said: 'If Green Crescent has been involved in militant activity, this will reflect very poorly on the Charity Commission, particularly given that Mostafa, the head of the charity, had previously been put on trial twice for terrorist offences.

'Ineffectiveness by the Charity Commission in identifying and tackling extremist charities leads to the British taxpayer directly subsiding militancy.'

Militants' 'ammo factory' busted

noreply@blogger.com (Deshi Blogger) — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 02:15:00 +0000

Source: Daily Star
March 25, 2009

In a chilling reminder of how the militants are still alive and kicking, the Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) yesterday unearthed a mini-ammunition factory inside a madrasa-cum-orphanage in a remote village of Bhola.

During the bust, they recovered a huge cache of firearms and ammunition, explosive substances, four pairs of German-made uniforms and booklets on jihad, Moulana Moududi and al-Qaeda founder Osama bin Laden.

Besides, the elite crime-busters arrested four suspected militants--Abul Kalam, Abdul Halim, Jasim and Moulana Mohammad Russell.

The raid was still on as of filing this report at 1:00am.

Earlier at night, the coastal district's Superintendent of Police Azizur Rahman told The Daily Star that the arrestees did not yet disclose their organisational identity. But the materials seized suggest they are lined to a banned Islamist group like Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB).

Following up leads, a team of Barisal Rab-8 had been keeping a close watch on Green Crescent Madrasa in Ramkeshob village under Borhanuddin for the last one week.

Then at around 11:00am yesterday, they stormed the building that stands on a four-acre land.

The seizure list includes nine firearms, 2,500 bullets, 3,000 grenade splinters, an explosives blaster, 200 gram gunpowder, bullet-making components and equipment, two walkie-talkies, two bows, two remote control devices, binoculars and a book on how to operate firearms.

Pretty well furnished, the seminary has no signboard. It drew attention of the neighbourhood, but few knew it was a militants' den capable of making improvised explosive devices (IED) and assembling ammunition.

Rab officials said they suspect it might have been used for training militants.

Lt Commander Mamunur Rashid who led the operation told The Daly Star that the madrasa, launched recently, is circled by a trench-like canal to keep off the locals.

In the daytime, the occupants would use a hanging bridge over the canal to get in and out. But they would remove it at night-time so no-one could gain access to the premises.

Referring to the items recovered, Mamun said, "We've found materials needed to assemble bullets. They include percussion caps, cartridge cases and bullet heads. And all these are made in the UK.”

About the blasting machine, Mamun said it is a military item that can detonate wired-up explosive devices planted in the distance. It is usually used in training on how to explode bombs.

"The recovery also indicates they [the militants] have all equipment necessary to make IEDs," he continued.

In primary interrogations, the arrestees told the Rab officials that they were recruited by one Moulana Mohiuddin.

They also said Faisal Mostafa, a Bangladeshi expatriate in London, has been financing the madrasa.

He is nephew of former BNP minister and ex-lawmaker from Bhola-3 Major (retd) Hafizuddin Ahmed.

Faisal, who has been living abroad for over two decades, often comes to Bangladesh. Now he is on a visit to Chittagong.

His father Golam Mostafa, Major (retd) Hafizuddin's cousin, too is settled in London.

Contacted, Faisal's father-in-law Shahidul Haque Naquib Chowdhury, who was the founder president of Bhola BNP, said they are shocked to know of the arms haul.

As far as he is concerned, he continued, Faisal and a few of his friends have been running an NGO named Green Crescent. Their organisation is headquartered in Doulatkha of Bhola.

He said the building has been constructed on a piece of land that he sold to Faisal. He was told it would be used as a vocational training school for orphan children.

The Rab team hauled in 11 students of the madrasa for questioning. But they could not capture Kajal, caretaker of the building, as he has gone to Chittagong with Faisal.

The students told the Rab officials that the madrasa is only a month old.

Those involved in the operation said they can tell from the interior and exterior and tile floors that a handsome amount of money had been spent on construction of the building.

Travel ban on Bangladesh suspects

noreply@blogger.com (Deshi Blogger) — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 03:55:00 +0000

Travel ban on Bangladesh suspects
By Mark Dummett
Source: BBC News, Dhaka

The government of Bangladesh has banned people suspected of war crimes during the 1971 war of independence from Pakistan from travelling abroad. It says these people, who are accused of collaborating with Pakistani troops, will face war crime trials.

Among them are leaders of the largest religious party Jamaat-i-Islami - the main rival of the ruling Awami League. Critics say it is a ploy to destroy Jamaat-i-Islami, none of whose leaders has been charged with any crimes.

But two party leaders have already been prevented from leaving Bangladesh.

One of them told the BBC he had not been given any reason for this, and that the government was violating his fundamental rights.

'Last chance'

The Awami League came to power in December, promising to tackle the issue which has haunted and divided Bangladesh since independence.

The new government says it wants to punish those who helped the Pakistan army's brutal attempt to hang on to what was then Pakistan's eastern province.

The government says some three million civilians died and 200,000 women were raped.

The Pakistan army was blamed for most atrocities. But local militias, some allegedly linked to the religious party, Jamaat-i-islami, were accused of helping them.

Many collaborators were jailed, but the issue was quietly dropped as consecutive governments preferred not to reopen old wounds.

Awami League supporters say the government's pledge is the last chance for the generation which lived through the war to see justice.

NGOs under scanner for 'funding militancy'

noreply@blogger.com (Deshi Blogger) — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 02:11:00 +0000

NGOs under scanner for 'funding militancy'
Govt to scrutinise activities of NGOs okayed during Mojahid's stint
Source: Daily Star
March 19, 2009

The government will scrutinise activities of the NGOs that got approval during the rule of the BNP-led four-party alliance government to see if those have any involvement with funding militant activities.

"When Mr Mujahid [Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mojahid, Jamaat-e-Islami secretary general and former social welfare minister] was in charge a number of new NGOs popped up," Finance Minister AMA Muhith told reporters at his secretariat office yesterday. "If we look into these NGOs, we might get to know something new," he added.

"There are some investments in the country that patronise militant activities," Muhith noted but did not identify such investors.

He said the NGO Bureau scrutinises the sources of foreign funds of the NGOs and from now on the scrutiny would be made more intense. "The government will also see if there are other sources behind these foreign financing sources," he said.

"There is an international network against terror financing. Bangladesh has not completely become a part of that network, but the government is trying," Muhith said.

Bangladesh Bank is trying to get membership of the Egmond Group, which deals with international financing and money laundering.

"The caretaker government initiated some moves to stop terror funding. This will be strengthened further," Muhith added.

During the rule of the four-party alliance government the NGO Bureau listed 473 local and 25 foreign NGOs. Since 1990 it has approved 2,367 local and foreign NGOs that run on foreign funding.

Following the 2005 countrywide bomb attacks by Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB), the then BNP-Jamaat alliance government took up drives against Islamist militants.

Intelligence agencies had already reported that certain Middle East-based NGOs were funding terrorism, but the government did not take any action against those.

Intelligence reports categorically recommended banning the Kuwait-based Revival of Islamic Heritage Society (RIHS) and taking action against a number of other Middle Eastern organisations found to have links with Islamist extremists.

In 2002, the US Department of State blacklisted some RIHS offices, citing their support to Osama bin Laden and al-Qaeda.

But the alliance government used to entertain RIHS top leaders.

The RIHS chief was on a visit to Dhaka during the August bomb attack of JMB and he met three cabinet members.

Intelligence had also reported that militant group Ahle Hadith Andolon Bangladesh (Ahab) also receive such funding. Ahab chief Asadullah Al Galib himself talked about receiving funds from NGO Ar-Rib.

The banned Harkatul Jihad, responsible for a number of gruesome killings and grenade attacks, also receive foreign funding. Intelligence reports said the JMB spent roughly Tk 60 lakh a year for maintaining its fulltime leaders and cadres, and Tk 1-5 crore for buying explosives and firearms and executing attacks.

Other suspected NGOs include Rabita Al-Alam Al-Islami, Al-Muntada Al-Islami, Society of Social Reforms, Qatar Charitable Society, Islamic Relief Agency, Al-Forkan Foundation, International Relief Organisation, Kuwait Joint Relief Committee, Muslim Aid Bangladesh, Dar Al-Khair, Hayatul Igachha and Tawheed-e-Noor.

These NGOs have been operating in the country since the 1990s.

Meanwhile, Bangladesh Bank Governor Salehuddin Ahmed yesterday said the central bank has intensified monitoring at commercial banks to find if there is any link between suspicious transactions and militants, reports UNB.

"We are examining the transactions afresh," he told reporters after attending a workshop styled "Micro-insurance and Poverty" at Palli Karma Shahayak Foundation Bhaban at Agargaon.

The central bank is also exchanging information with institutions like the Anti-Corruption Commission to identify the suspicious transactions, the governor added.

Bangladesh army: victims and victimizers

noreply@blogger.com (Deshi Blogger) — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 03:51:00 +0000

Bangladesh army: victims and victimizers
By Rater Zonaki
March 18, 2009
Source: UPI Asia

Hong Kong, China — The bloodshed at the headquarters of the Bangladesh Rifles, who protect the country’s borders, on Feb. 25 and 26 was initially labeled a mutiny. Since then more information has unfolded, and the media have termed it a massacre and a mass assassination. The BDR soldiers killed around 60 army officers, from the rank of captain to major general.

The death toll is reportedly 73, which includes six soldiers of the BDR, three pedestrians, the wife of the director general of the force, and a retired colonel along with his wife. The rest of the victims were officers, and one soldier, of the Bangladesh army. Four officers are still missing since the incident.

Separate civilian, police and army investigations are ongoing, some including experts from the United States and the United Kingdom. At the same time the nation is busy commenting and analyzing the reasons behind the killings. As political parties debate the causes and consequences, measuring the success and failure of the authorities in accordance with their own interests, the government has launched “Operation Rebel Hunt” to catch the culprits.

The public image of the armed forces has been very mixed. Whenever there are floods, cyclones or other devastating natural disasters, the government calls on the army to conduct relief work and engage in disaster management. During such times soldiers and officers are perceived as diligent and brave, helping to restore calm and hope.

The people have applauded the army’s humanitarian efforts for decades, because they have helped the common man. Other than that, as the day-to-day functions of the armed forces are not directly related to the public, people do not see the army at close quarters.

However, many Bangladeshis have experienced the bitter side of the army, which is far different. People have witnessed their crackdowns on political opponents, social activists and human rights defenders and read of their arbitrary arrests, detentions, torture and extrajudicial killings. They have also observed that such offences have not been thoroughly investigated and that the perpetrators have not been brought to justice.

For example, on Oct. 16, 2002, the government of Prime Minister Khaleda Zia deployed the army across the country in the name of "Operation Clean Heart," which continued until Jan. 9, 2003, to crack down on illegal arms and criminals.

During the 86-day crackdown, around 11,200 people were officially arrested and detained in custody; 2,500 people were listed as criminals and about 300 as suspects by the police. Around 2,000 different types of arms and 29,700 rounds of ammunition were recovered. Although more than 50 people died in the custody of the armed forces, their deaths were officially termed as "heart attacks."

In reality, an additional 8,000 people were arrested and detained, and all who were detained were seriously tortured. Who was responsible for such illegal actions, which affected the ordinary people financially, socially and physically? What kind of affinity could people have with the army in the light of their brutal actions?

The past two years under emergency rule have created new records of brutality at the hands of the armed forces, which have illegally arrested, detained and tortured thousands of people. Officers of the Bangladeshi army were the dominant perpetrators in almost all cases.

Allegations of extortion by the army have also surfaced where businessmen and industrialists were kidnapped and ransoms demanded. Such people were allegedly detained on fabricated corruption charges, intimidated and tortured in custody till the ransoms were paid.

Compared to the army, the BDR soldiers are more closely in touch with the public, at least in the cities they protect along the more than 4,000-kilometer-long border, under the leadership of the army.

Still there are corrupt BDR soldiers who allegedly allow smugglers to transport goods in and out of Bangladesh for personal benefit. While the beneficiaries of such illegal trade appreciate the soldiers' “supportive" role, the majority of the common people believe that the BDR protects the territory well.

Following the tragic killings on Feb. 25 and 26, the government immediately announced it would give one million takas (US$14,620) as compensation to each of the families of the army officers that were killed. Yet it completely ignored the civilians that died, for more than a week.

Only after the media reported the slip-up did the authorities announce they would give 200,000 takas (US$2,924) to the families of the civilian victims. Such discrimination, which has prevailed for decades, makes people wonder why civilians are considered less human than the armed forces.

The government must reconsider the fairness of such decisions. The armed forces should also rethink their actions during "Operation Clean Heart” and similar crackdowns, when politicians provided them impunity at the cost of huge grievances to the people.

The army officers should also reflect on their image as brutal giants during the state of emergency. The military should understand and accept that the Parliament has the right and responsibility to discuss such issues openly. They should accept that they are not above the laws of the land.

It is easy to vilify the BDR soldiers for the violence of the February killings. But one must not forget that this force represents at least 67,000 Bangladeshi families. It is important for the nation to look beyond political games and find the truth behind the February massacre.
___________________________________

(Rater Zonaki is the pseudonym of a human rights defender based in Hong Kong, working at the Asian Human Rights Commission. He is a Bangladeshi national who has worked as a journalist and human rights activist in his country for more than a decade, and as editor of publications on human rights and socio-cultural issues.)

Terrorism in eastern South Asia

noreply@blogger.com (Deshi Blogger) — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 03:45:00 +0000

Book review: Terrorism in eastern South Asia —by Khaled Ahmed
Armed Conflict in South Asia 2008: Growing Violence

Edited by D Suba Chandran & PR Chari
Routledge 2008
Source: Daily Times

The book deals with the unpleasant side of the significance of South Asia. It has two articles on Pakistan, one on sectarian violence, the other on violence in the Tribal Areas. It has one article on Afghanistan and its luckless population who has been given to understand they have never been conquered, while, looking at their suffering, one would have wished they had been.

There are two articles on India’s internal movements gone haywire and one on Bangladesh’s vulnerability to Islamic terror. Nepal nurses its communist violence and Sri Lanka struggles with its long-gestation ethnic war.

In the northeast of India, a cluster of small states (Manipur, Assam, Nagaland, Tripura, Meghalaya) have been convulsed with ‘freedom movements’ become violent. Out of the five, the first three are giving trouble still and violence there has actually increased after a ceasefire agreed by the Indian army in 1997.

If Pakistan had been watching, it would have learned that ceasefires with terrorists only give them time to regroup and form bigger armies. Also there are some other lessons that Pakistan and Afghanistan should have learned from India’s experience with terrorism since the 1950s.

One big lesson is not to glamorise the misfortunes of tribal nations gone wrong after suppression. One myth that Pakistanis are guilty of fabricating is that the Pakhtun never give up fighting and have never been conquered. They mouth this obscenity while standing in front of camps where Pakhtun women and children go through history’s worst brutalisation.

Listen to what the article Northeast: Island of Peace and Ocean of Conflict by Bibhu Prasad Routray says: ‘The Naga separatist movement, which had begun before Independence, is based on the premise that Nagas have been historically independent, unconquered by anyone and, therefore, India has no right to subjugate them’ (p.153). The rest of India should be grateful that it has been conquered.

The British had kept the tribes in the northeast as areas under special dispensation, but that arrangement became the trigger for Naga National Council (NNC) in 1947 asking for independence, greatly encouraged by a referendum in 1951 that had 99 percent of the Naga population saying that wanted to be independent under their leader AZ Phizo. New Delhi jibbed and sent in the army. Phizo fled to London never to return. After much fighting, in 1975, the Shillong Accord got the Nagas of NNC to accept the Constitution of India, but the NNC split and formed Nationalist Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN) to continue fighting. Later this too split and the splinters became even more radical.

Insurgency in Assam, the source of much of India’s oil and gas, began in 1979 under United Liberation Front (ULFA) demanding a sovereign socialist Assam that would stop refugees from Bangladesh from coming in and upsetting the population balance in favour of the Bodos in Assam.

After ULFA went terrorist it liaised with the Naga terrorists nextdoor, but the Indian army hit back and the ULFA leaders fled into Bangladesh where they fell under the spell of ISI and DGFI of Bangladesh and ULFA got itself well supplied materially and financially (p.155). (India got RAW to meddle in a similar ‘liberation’ movement in Balochistan as a tit for tat ‘signalling’ to Islamabad.) The Bodos too are struggling since the 1980s for Bodoland in Assam and often become nasty.

Manipur is also convulsed because the centre delayed making Manipur a state in 1947. The terrorist outfits here, including an Islamic one protecting Muslims, pose as liberators and have joined up with the rest of the north-eastern rebels. Manipur is a bad case with 20 such outfits operating. The state of Tripura, not so violent, is a victim of migration from unstable Bangladesh; and Meghalaya would be called peaceful if it wasn’t a conduit for terrorists to-ing and fro-ing into Bangladesh.

It is shocking how like Pakistan Bangladesh is when it comes to Islamic terrorism. Smruti Pattanaik in her paper “Bangladesh: Islamic Militancy and the Rise of religious Right” reveals the pattern in events that flowed from the August 17, 2007 bombings in the country. Terrorism was the work of Banglabhai in the north who wanted to create a Taliban-like state under Jagrata Muslim Janata Bangladesh (JMJB) and Sheikh Abdur Rehman of Jamiat Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB), both erstwhile members of the student wing of Jama’at-e Islami. The Bangladesh National party (BNP) of Begum Zia took the Jamaat-produced radicals under its wing and denied they existed.

JMB’s Rehman visited Pakistan in 1999 to take training in Azad Kashmir. Banglabhai was already said to be a veteran of Afghan jihad wanting to recreate it in Bangladesh. When they began killing people, as in the case of poet Shamsur Rehman in 1995, the BNP denied it vociferously, blaming the killings on India and America. This BNP did despite the fact that Jama’at warriors had rebelled against the Jama’at acceptance of women as leaders. The other spinoff from Afghan jihad was Harkatul Mujahideen Islami (HUJI) which was funded by the Arabs whom the state allowed to have linkages with the two above rising stars of Islamic violence.

The BNP just wouldn’t own up to terrorism in the country till foreign pressure got it to catch and prosecute Banglabhai and Rehman, only to see them condemned to death by a court. Then neither of the two mainstream parties would support the call for their execution. This was somewhat like Pakistan’s parties who don’t want to even acknowledge the reality of Al Qaeda and Taliban terrorism in Pakistan. It was the caretaker government, supported by the army in 2001, that finally executed the two mass killers of Bangladesh.

BNP leader Begum Zia’s son Tariq Rehman was running his own shadow government in Dhaka and gave protection to the killers. Needless to say, the Islamic killers hated Awami League and India with equal fervour. Later some BNP leaders, including a minister Aminul Haq, were put under trial and got long sentences in jail for killing opponents through Islamists.

The money for Islamic terror comes from the Arabs in the Gulf. There are 15 local Islamic NGOs and 34 foreign Islamic NGOs in Bangladesh. They give no one any accounts, receive their money through hundi and are supposed to dispose of 200 crore takas (p.196).

London Muslim terrorists gave JMB £10,000 for killing innocent people back home; and terrorist Rehman got big money from Rabita al-Islam, Kuwait, for doing the same job (p.200). Religious leaders who run these dangerous organisations regularly visit the Middle East for Zakat and collect huge sums which they often embezzle, but their Arab benefactors don’t seem to mind that too much.

Bangladesh has actually completed the transition from being a moderate Islamic state with strong local cultural tinge of tolerance and is now more like Pakistan, strongly Deobandi and Wahhabi in its new intolerant and violent character. Like Pakistan its politicians don’t want to mess with the madrassas and mullahs and risk their lives.

Pitifully, when the people at large were asked who was doing terrorism in a country crawling with 12,000 active killers, the survey showed 80 percent saying it was an unnamed ‘neighbouring country’ (read India); and, just like Pakistan, responded unreliably according to their politically divided civil society credentials.

More than a mutiny

noreply@blogger.com (Deshi Blogger) — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 03:37:00 +0000

More than a mutiny
Saurabh Shukla
March 7, 2009
Source: India Today

The plot of senseless blood letting in Dhaka is thickening. And as the two-month-old Government of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina battles to bring stability to the country following the barbaric killing of over 140 top Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) officers along with their family members in Dhaka on February 25, reports of a Pakistan-sponsored plot to assassinate her are gaining credence.

Increasingly intelligence is uncovering that the original plan was to assassinate Hasina and army chief Moeen U. Ahmed on February 24, but due to lack of coordination, the required ammunition couldn’t be smuggled into the Durbar area at the BDR headquarters where Hasina had gone a day before the mutiny. The plan was reportedly hatched at the behest of the ISI which is concerned with Hasina’s moderate outlook.

On February 25, a group of BDR junior commissioned officers, lined up the top brass of Bangladesh’s border guards and killed them. The brutality of the killing was shocking as the bodies of the officers and their families were dumped into manholes and mass graves. While some of the ringleaders of the coup and their accomplices have been arrested, over 1,000 BDR personnel have been charged by the Hasina Government.

A confidential report prepared by South Block suggests that Pakistani intelligence was behind the mutiny. The report claims “both Indian and some international intelligence agencies have received indisputable proof of the involvement of Salauddin Chowdhury—an influential BNP MP and a long standing Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agent of influence in Bangladesh with a strong criminal mafia nexus—in the entire episode”.

Chowdhury, a prominent shipping magnate, was a close associate and parliamentary secretary to former premier Khaleda Zia. His name also figured in the Chittagong arms haul in 2004, in which a lethal cargo of arms was unloaded for terrorist activities in India. But Chowdhury has denied such charges.

However, exclusive details available with India Today suggest that intelligence agencies had intercepted a telephone call from Pakistan’s defence attaché in Dhaka, Sajaad Rasool, to a contact in the Pakistani consulate in Dubai. Another intercept revealed Rasool was in contact with Chowdhury.

According to sources, the Pakistani defence attaché monitored the situation from the Gulshan area of Dhaka and was in constant touch with his handlers in Pakistan.

In fact, on February 25 he knew the precise details about the plot unfolding inside the BDR headquarters in Pilkhana. At 12.30 pm, Rasool made a call to the ISI headquarters in Islamabad reporting that DG BDR Major-General Shakeel Ahmed had been killed.

The big question is, how the Pakistani defence attaché knew what was happening inside when even senior officers of the Bangladesh Army and the Government were in the dark. Other intercepts that confirm the involvement of the ISI, include a series of phone calls made by some key Jamaat-e- Islami (JeI) leaders to their ISI contacts in Dubai, London and Islamabad updating them on the operation.

According to the report, the BDR was used by the plotters because resentment has been brewing in the lower ranks. Besides, the aim was to ensure a takeover by pro-Pakistan elements in the Bangladesh Army. So smooth was the planning that no intelligence agency got a whiff of the plot. Chowdhury allegedly used a former DG of BDR, Major-General Fazlur Rehman, as a frontman to instigate the troops.

Chowdhury is suspected to have paid Taka 40 crore (Rs 30 crore) to Fazlur Rahman, who in turn is said to have paid Taka 5 crore to four deputy assistant directors of BDR. While almost 400 sepoys were paid Taka 5 lakh, the key among them were paid Taka 50 lakh each, according to the report.

For India that has a vital stake in the stability of a moderate regime in Dhaka, the developments were worrying. In fact, on February 28, India had begun preparations to evacuate Hasina. External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee was in touch with Hasina and assured her of Indian support. Sources say New Delhi alerted Dhaka.

Following this, Hasina was taken to a Bangladesh Army safehouse. Two teams of commandos were kept ready at a forward air force base in Tripura and another one in Kolkata. But when the situation turned around with the Bangladesh Army backing Hasina and the mutiny quelled, the plan was shelved.

But the big question is why the ISI plotted to destabilise the Government. The reason is, compared to the fundamentalist regime of Khaleda Zia, Hasina’s government is considered to be moderate and has cracked down on Islamists. Sources say Pakistani intelligence fanned the conspiracy as it feared that many of its key assets could be tried for war crimes committed in 1971.

The Hasina Government had moved a resolution in Parliament last month to punish criminals of the 1971 war, something her party had promised in its election manifesto. Sources say JEI leaders Amir Rahman Nizami and Ali Ahsan Mujahid, who are alleged war criminals, provided logistical support to the mutiny.

The ISI plotted to kill Hasina as Islamabad has been uneasy with the Hasina regime’s policies and it’s perceived proximity to India. In fact the crisis in Dhaka should be another reason why India and Bangladesh should work together closely, especially on security issues. Besides, India has to align with the international community to ensure the stability of Hasina’s regime which is pivotal for India’s security concerns.

Experts say that New Delhi and Dhaka should use this opportunity to sensitise the world that Pakistan is the fulcrum of terrorism, and till its agencies, like the ISI, are neutralised, the world, beginning with our neighbourhood, cannot be free of terrorism.

Sinister designs to portray Bangladesh as a “Failed State”

noreply@blogger.com (Maskwaith Ahsan) — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 09:45:00 +0000

The recent events that left in its wake a trail of death, destruction and irrefutable damage to the reputation of the Armed Forces in Bangladesh, has instigated my nether senses. The diabolical conspiracy by pitting the country’s 200 year old paramilitary forces, the Bangladesh Rifles (BDR), against the ranks of the professional military unit, Bangladesh Army who embodied their command structure, once again points clearly to an attempt by the Fifth Columnists to destabilize the security apparatus of the country and to prove beyond any reasonable doubts the tendentious attempts of a group of subservient local clique to tarnish the image of our Armed Forces. Or is it a greater international conspiracy by agent provocateurs hatched to create a bloodbath in a disciplined, well organized state supported forces that have long been the cornerstone of our defense and security? A long drawn out plan and intense preparation must have been in place. Who started it? Who funded it? Who directed it? The preliminary diagnosis showed a possible external link which was trying to drive a wedge between the Bangladesh Army and BDR. The command structure of BDR is entirely manned by the Army officers and by destroying it the BDR will become dysfunctional. This will weaken Bangladesh Armed Forces as being the sole line of defense and also deprive trained border guards manning country’s porous borders through which extremists encroach into the mainland.

From the morning of 25th February, 2009, when the durbar was in session, armed people entered the hall brandishing heavy combat weapons – a phenomenon not seen in any of the armed forces informal gatherings. As if on cue, four gunmen accounted for the Director General Major General Shakil Ahmed, and the mayhem began. Soon a core of fifty to hundred gunmen started rounding up officers, young and old, and summarily executed them. The senior officers did not have the time to react, aghast at seeing own soldiers resorting to such a cowardly and dastardly act. Out of 179 officers of all ranks only 32 managed to survive, and that too, because their orderlies had hidden them and found it difficult to kill them in cold blood. The carnage did not end here. Afterwards, these brutal, murderous rag tags slowly walked up to the Officer’s quarters and brought out the inmates – men and women, children and old and set their quarters to fire. Before that, many of these animals pounced on whatever expensive items they could find and looted gold, ornaments, jewelries, money.

In a revelry befitting the medieval bloodthirsty marauders, these armed miscreants then arrogantly got on top of the towers of the main gates and sporting red bandannas over their heads proclaimed in a nebulous fashion why they have revolted on the megaphone to the passerby people, waiting journalists and administrative officials. Many of them had their face covered but they would only be very happy to have their presence felt in the electronic media, “Mama, see I am on the Television.”Not to show off their murderous intent, they would scorn at all the Army officers and tell the public to remain at a distance or else, we shoot off again. They couldn’t say who their leader was, but the fact that the DG, DDG and the Project Director of the Daal Bhaat programme had siphoned off enormous amount of funds that was to be their benefit money and so on and so forth. Also important was their oft repeated pejoratives about all Army officers and that they should not be in the command structure of the BDR. Rather, BCS officers should be appointed for the running of BDR. The cruelty, the deprivation, the poor ration, the insufficient pay, the rankdowns on flimsy pretext was getting a bit too much for them. Their backs were pinned to the wall. They had no other alternative.

At first, the local media played up the rebel tune. So effective was that pitch for their propaganda that soon it was reverberating in the supportive slogans of the general public in Gates 1 and 2. It seemed like an old history of deprivation, privation and humiliation and the class problem of officers and jawans, the have and the have-nots etc., the dialectics of the state and the people that rack our inner souls from time to time. The practical issues of wages, perks and budget, rewards and benefits, promotion, pension and last if not the least: the behaviour of ranked senior officers towards their junior or non ranked subalterns, especially in the context of 21st Century.

Had all these been the issues for a aggrieved hopelessly poor all rank formations who had revolted for fairness, justice, good behaviour and a few certain rewards for their hard work, how are the attacks on innocent women and children and non officers justified? Nay, the mutinous rebels got more audacious. After all, they got more than they desired. They won prime time TV spot, public adulation and sympathy, “motherly love” from the Home Minister and even a private “durbar” with the Prime Minister who granted them an instant “General Amnesty”. The conspirers must have been tearing their hairs for such a colossal faux pas. Had the officers not been killed and incarcerated, it could have easily been the greatest hostage taking of all times and a total humiliation and inefficiency of the BDR management, or should I say, a “command failure”.

The Government of Bangladesh, who had just taken over power 50 days backs, was initially reacting to damage limitation. It had more time later to find out the causes but for now, they had to talk to the rebels and heel them down. The Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina also tried brinkmanship. So the tough option of a military strike first was ruled out. The Home Minister, Sahara Khatun, was an active livewire, trying to fan up the flickering light of hope through negotiations and building a buffer between the rebels and the hostages. The chief Whip, Mirza Azam and Jahangir Kabir Nanak, MP did commendable jobs in engaging the rebels and not let them take potshots at passing pedestrians. The political dialoging got more wind in its sails and drew out throughout the night, but it did not make the rebels surrender.

By the next morning, two bodies were found in the sluice gates of the sewarage outfall of the Hazaribagh area. It was that of a Colonel Mujibul Huq and a Lieutenant Colonel Enayet of the BDR. Both of these officers were at the forefront of the “Daal Bhaat” programme last year and according to some disgruntled jawans, were responsible for misappropriating huge funds from the programme along with DG. People and the reporters were now asking all sorts of questions to the rebels: How many prisoners do you have? Where are they? Are they alive or dead? Where is DG Shakil? The answers weren’t unequivocal; and by the afternoon time, many of the BDR jawans abandoned their posts and started telling the truths. They talked about a possible massacre and shooting down of most of the Army officers in the Durbar Hall and then burying them in unknown spots. This had happened all in the first day and that they were forced to join the rebels or face certain death. A few officers and their families were also released after talks with rebels and they narrated of harrowing times in the last 24 hours. The PM then came on the Television and declared no harm would come to those who are willing to lay down arms. On the other hand, if the rebels fail to do will be dealt with severely.

The speech worked like a tonic. Thousands of incendiary soldiers surrendered their arms expressing full confidence in the PM. Thousand other fled through the back doors with the evacuating public. By this time, the Home Minister, IG Police, DG, RAB had all entered the premises of BDR and saw the first glimpses of the wasteland followed by a bevy of newsmen, servicemen, medical personnel, Fire Brigade and curious onlookers. All night long, worried relatives of the Army Officers kept an all night vigil against all dying hopes.

At the end of all this, we have nearly a hundred and a quarter of the best professionally trained Army officers dead; some as highly ranked as Generals and Colonels. It cannot be just over petty increase in salaries or better working conditions or rationing or what have you. It wasn’t as if 10,000 soldiers mutinied at the same time but a band of just a few trouble mongers who set the forest on fire. This was indeed challenging times for the newly elected democratic government.

The government did not delve in strategic risk analysis but crisis management through political tools. It did not call on international terror experts and hopelesslessly compromised intelligence which was already on the anvil. The Prime Minister should not have met the rebels in person. However, it did defuse some of the tensions when the equanimity and firm resolve of the daughter of Bangabandhu puzzled the mutineers. For the first 24 hours the government was vulnerable. Non state actors were having their ways; their powers may have been quite consolidated because BDR units were rebelling all over the country. The international borders were left insecure. It looked that the final objective was going to be met beyond their expectations. A head on confrontation between the Army and the BDR was in the offing, the heavy air of suspicion was tearing the nation apart, Dhaka and the whole country was filled with rumours of an impending military take-over. The Prime Minister’s office with the Press Secretary, the Home Ministry, parliament members were passing sleepless nights in anxiety.

However, things started turning on its head from day 2. Many of the rebels were recanting now. Some of them started fleeing. The so called leaders of the revolt were busy in their negotiations to have their demands met (mainly to seek government protection from a military assault). The government machinery grinded unabated with a humongous task of co-ordination from the PM’s office with the press, Armed Forces Directorate (the PM is also the Defense Minister and Commander in chief of Armed Forces in Bangladesh), PID (civilian information cell that gives govt. press releases and communiqués), Home Ministry, Foreign Ministry, Law Ministry and all the other related organizations – Police, Fire Service, Ansar-VDP (civilian defense). The opposition also participated and expressed solidarity and unity with govt. and line agencies. All this dealt a further blow to the militant BDR mutineers. As the clock ticked by, the ultimatum to strike was very much on the cards. The government started mobilizing the Army. The Army had taken position from Day 1 in the vicinity with its field guns, mortars and machine gun batteries but kept its measurable distance and restraint awaiting higher authority orders. Now the tanks were coming in and encircling the Peelkhana sprawling complex in all directions. This had unnerved the mutineers even more. A clash with the Armed Forces would mean inevitable death.

While this entire whirlwind was blowing, the international observers were also watching developments in the BDR intensely over the channel transmissions. The Indian and Pakistani media were particularly keen observers, especially India with which Bangladesh shares a 2000 km border, much of it being barbed wired and cordoned off to prevent cross state infiltration. Two of the TV channels and the largest publishing house in Kolkata, the AnandaBazar Publications Ltd. came out with a connection of the BDR attack with the latest Mumbai terrorist strikes. It believes that the planning had taken place from cells in Pakistan and transmitted to their sister organization in Bangladesh, mainly the Harkatul Jamia Islamia or HUJI with training cells conducted by ISI operatives. Many such speculations of an international link had been rife and the presence of a grey van laden with 20 crates of arms and clips in front of the BDR Durbar Hall is a growing testament to it.
Some instigators who were supporting the rebels from outside Gate 3 and conducting processions until Thursday afternoon on Day 2 were also under the microscope. Who are these people? Where did they come from? Why weren’t the rebel soldiers shooting at them? Right now, all these answers remain unsolved.

The immediate task would be to restore confidence and take charge. Already some of the peripheral mutiny has died down and the mutineers returned back to their border outpost. Once the border is secure, the HQ will have to get back its command structure which was decimated in the February 25 rebellion. A new Director General (DG) has already been appointed. A strong investigation committee has been constituted to find out the reasons for this mutiny headed by the Home Minister and this committee will submit its report in 7 days time. The escapees and the plotters and their ringleaders will be brought in and interrogated to see if any international connection with terrorism exists. The perpetrators of this heinous crime will then subject to the sternest punishment according to the law of the land. At least that may bring some peace and justice to the near and dear ones of the slain innocent officers.

There are so many lessons that need to be learnt here. The security apparatus need to remodeled and revamped. The securities of VIPs have to be strengthened. Institutional security and defense mechanisms need to be understood and personal safety has to be beefed up. Now the state level activities will have to be pro-active with the help of national and international defense analysts and strategists. The counter terrorism aspect will also have to be strengthened and finally, intelligence gathering nationally, regionally and internationally will have to be co-existent and co-ordinated. An overall policy that is commensurate with international policies in the “War on Terror”, UN charters and regional counter terrorism laws and regulations will have to be chalked up by local and international experts. Care must be given so that constitutional provisions of this country is not over stepped and no clause that compromises our sovereignty as an independent nation is breached.

Does Bangladesh military deserve impunity?

noreply@blogger.com (Deshi Blogger) — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 04:08:00 +0000

Does Bangladesh military deserve impunity?
By Rater Zonaki
Source: UPI Asia On-line
February 10, 2009

Hong Kong, China — Bangladeshi members of Parliament and the media have been speaking out against the former military-controlled emergency government, now that a new elected government is in place. They are demanding the prosecution of members of the military forces responsible for arresting and detaining high-ranking politicians, and subjecting them to physical and mental torture in custody.

Abdul Jalil, general secretary of the Awami League, which is now the ruling party, has demanded a parliamentary probe into such detentions. The veteran politician could not help crying while describing the torture he underwent in a detention center operated by the armed forces. He said around eight armed men had come to his office, blindfolded him and taken him away in a waiting car. They identified themselves as members of the Joint Forces.

Jalil was detained in custody where he was physically and psychologically tortured for five consecutive days. He was later paroled for treatment abroad, and after returning to Bangladesh, managed to get bail from the Supreme Court.

Another member of Parliament, Mahiuddin Khan Alamgir, has also described his arrest and torture in a number of articles, interviews and talk shows. He has declared his intention to sue the chairman of the Anti-Corruption Commission, Lt. Gen. Hassan Mashhud Chowdhury, and other members of the armed forces for torturing and treating him inhumanely in detention.

Barrister Moudud Ahmed – who was minister of law during the former Bangladesh Nationalist Party-led regime and lost his seat in Parliament in the recent election – has also been trying to convince people through the media that he was a victim of brutal torture and degrading treatment in the custody of the armed forces. Moudud also announced that he is writing a book on his life in prison.

However, Moudud’s hue and cry about custodial brutality appears to be aimed at personal or political gain. In fact, Moudud was law minister when the government validated actions of the armed forces during Operation Clean Heart, an 86-day crackdown on political dissenters in late 2002, which resulted in 58 deaths in the custody of the armed forces. The government termed all these deaths as "heart attacks."

More than 10,000 ordinary citizens were illegally arrested, arbitrarily detained and brutally tortured under fabricated charges by the military-dominated law-enforcement agencies. Moudud, as the minister for law, justice and parliamentary affairs, issued an ordinance to ensure blatant impunity to the perpetrators in January 2003, which was then enacted by Parliament.

Moudud and his government ignored the people's fundamental rights, especially the right to life and liberty. Later, he was a victim of the same treatment.

Talking about human rights, as Jalil, Alamgir and Moudud are now doing, is rare in Bangladesh’s political circles. This discussion conveys a message to ordinary victims that some politicians now understand the taste of pain. At the same time, their stories support claims made by human rights defenders that the armed forces and law-enforcement agencies operate torture cells.

The real picture of brutality by the armed forces and the police is much more severe than the stories of these three politicians. Ordinary citizens have long suffered immeasurable atrocities at the hands of the military during the state of emergency and the police during previous regimes.

Now the incumbent law minister, Barrister Shafique Ahmed, is talking about the "doctrine of necessity" as a means of justifying the actions of the military-controlled emergency government. Speaking of the armed forces, he told the media, "You cannot say all their actions or activities were within the bounds of the Constitution …Whatever they did, they did responding to the necessity of the time. So we are not giving legal cover to all their actions, we're not validating all their ordinances."

This raises the question as to whether the illegal arrests, detentions, torture and killings were a "necessity of the time." Are the present politicians ready to accept the armed forces' actions even though they defied the Constitution? Isn’t the so-called "doctrine of necessity" merely an excuse to once again grant impunity to the perpetrators of injustice, with the permission of the present government and at the demand of the armed forces?

It is not convincing that those now in power can accept and explain the former government’s brutal and unconstitutional actions under the "doctrine of necessity." Why can’t people like Moudud and Shafique face the truth behind the recurrent take-over of power by the armed forces?

Will the current batch of politicians also surrender to the armed forces instead of taking effective action to stop such brutality forever? Why is there no effective resistance to keep the soldiers in their barracks?

The door must be closed forever on the armed forces’ ability to take over and abuse power. The ruling party could start now by using its absolute majority in Parliament to criminalize torture and repeal Article 46 of the Constitution, which allows Parliament to grant impunity to state officers for any action, however brutal, taken to “restore order.”

The demand for justice by a few senior members of Parliament has aroused the interest of the people. But ordinary people will treat such demands as mere political rubbish unless the politicians follow through and effectively punish the perpetrators.

(Rater Zonaki is the pseudonym of a human rights defender based in Hong Kong working at the Asian Human Rights Commission. He is a Bangladeshi national with a degree in literature from a university in Dhaka. He began his career as a journalist in 1990 and engaged in human rights activism at the grassroots level in his country for more than a decade. He also worked as an editor for publications on human rights and socio-cultural issues and contributed to other similar publications.)

War criminals barred from leaving country

noreply@blogger.com (Deshi Blogger) — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 02:31:00 +0000

War criminals barred from leaving country

Govt alerts agencies concerned but no list prepared

Source: New Age
January 31 2009

The government on Friday ordered all agencies concerned to bar the suspected war criminals from leaving the country. ‘All relevant information about the war criminals have already been sent to the agencies concerned asking them to guard all points so that the war criminals cannot flee the country,(The Newage)

home minister Sahara Khatun told reporters after attending the 23rd annual conference of Bangladesh Law Association at the Annex Complex on the premises of the law faculty of Dhaka University.

The home minister came up with the statement after Jatiya Sangsad on Thursday night approved unanimously a resolution seeking speedy prosecution of the 1971 war criminals.

The minister refused to give the list of the war criminals barred from leaving the country.

‘Why ask for details,’ Sahara told reporters and walked away.

A high official of the home ministry, however, said that the ministry was yet to prepare a list of the war criminals.

After 1972, the government has not prepared any list of the war criminals, said another high official.

Immigration officials at the Zia International Airport and Benapole Land Port told New Age Friday evening that they had not yet received any such instructions.

A home ministry official said a general instruction was issued to the authorities concerned not to allow any suspected war criminals to leave the country. He, however, added that no list was sent to the authorities.

Law minister Shafique Ahmed also said that the home ministry had issued instructions to the authorities concerned in this regard after being asked to do so.

The government in 1972 prepared a list of 37,000 war criminals and they were also sued.

The process of trial and conviction was, however, impeded by a general amnesty for the collaborators, declared by the then prime minister Sheikh Mujibur Rahman on November 30, 1973.

Under the general amnesty, about 26,000 of the 37,000 people held or convicted under the Bangladesh Collaborators (Special Tribunals) Order 1972 were released. While the amnesty did not apply to those charged with murder, rape or arson, most of the collaborators, especially the bigwigs involved in abduction and other general collaboration charges, were released. A large number of persons charged with murder, rape or arson, including known collaborators, were also released.

The collaborators order was finally revoked on December 31, 1975 and almost all of the collaborators convicted or indicted were released in the early days of the regime of Ziaur Rahman.

The War Crimes Facts Finding Committee, a research organisation, on April 3, 2008, unveiled a list of 1,597 war criminals responsible for genocide, rape and other atrocities during the Liberation War.

Of those on the list, 369 are members of Pakistani military, 1,150 are their local collaborators, including members of Razakar and Al Badr [forces formed to aid the occupation army] and Peace Committee, and 78 are Biharis.

On December 23, 2008, Bangladesh Muktijoddha Sangsad published a list of 600 war criminals responsible for mass killing, rape and other misdeeds during the country’s Liberation War.

Sector Commanders Forum, a platform of war veterans, on November 4 made public their preliminary list of 50 war criminals, which includes Jamaat-e-Islami amir Matiur Rahman Nizami and its secretary general Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mojahid. It also demanded trial of war criminals under the International Crimes Tribunal Act, 1973.

The opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party on Friday said that the party would back trial of war criminals if it was ‘properly’ done and was not politically motivated.

BNP secretary general Khandaker Delwar Hossain said the demand for trial of war criminals had their moral support and none should have any objection to it.

Grassroots level leaders of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami on Friday asked the leadership of the party to take ‘legal protection’ against the government’s move for trial of war criminals.

When asked if the members of the central Majlish-e-Shura, highest decision making body of the party, had discussed the parliament’s decision on the ‘immediate trial of war criminals’, a central secretary admitted, ‘A number of delegates raised the issue. They advised the Jamaat leaders to take legal protection.’

Addressing a law association conference, state minister for law, Quamrul Islam sought cooperation from the members of the Bangladesh Law Association and the countrymen, especially lawyers, in the trial of the war criminals, a major election pledge of the present government.

‘This move of the government would be successful through a bold and unique role of the judges and the lawyers,’ he said.

Bangladesh: New Government Should Act on Rights

noreply@blogger.com (Deshi Blogger) — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 06:03:00 +0000

Bangladesh: New Government Should Act on Rights
Make Commitments at Next Week’s UN Meeting in Geneva
January 29, 2009
Source: Human Rights Watch

(New York) - The new Awami League government of Bangladesh has a unique opportunity and the responsibility to address major human rights problems that have been ignored by successive governments, Human Rights Watch said today in a letter to Prime Minister Shekh Hasina.

The letter makes specific recommendations for reform on subjects such as extrajudicial killings, torture, arbitrary detention, corruption, and the role of the Rapid Action Battalion and Directorate General for Forces Intelligence.

"The new government has a large majority and a public hungry for reform," said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch. "We look forward to the government using the strong mandate the prime minister and her party have obtained to tackle the very serious abuses that Bangladeshis face at the hands of the security forces and others."

Human Rights Watch urged the government to use the February 3 session of the UN Human Rights Council to show the priority it places on addressing longstanding human rights problems by making concrete and specific commitments. Bangladesh is one of the countries whose rights records will be scrutinized in February under the council's Universal Periodic Review mechanism.

"How the government responds to recommendations for human rights progress at the Human Rights Council will be an early test for the new government," said Adams.

Bangladeshi war criminals in the USA

noreply@blogger.com (Deshi Blogger) — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 03:25:00 +0000

Audacity of the supporters of Bangladeshi war criminals in the USA

During 1971 Bangladesh's war of liberation, a handful of hardcore Islamic militants carried on genocide in Pakistan occupied Bangladesh. In the name religion, they helped the brutal Pakistani army to perpetrate mass murder of innocent citizens and rape of women. Mr. Abul Kalam Azad is one of such notorious war criminals. Unfortunately, that despicable mass murderer is now a "respectable Islamic scholar" in Bangladesh. This happened because of certain historical events. On August 15 1975 the founding father of Bangladesh, the secular nationalist leader Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was assassinated along with his family members and other party members in a pro-Pakistani military coup. After the coup, the country suddenly went to pro-Pakistani (to some extent soft on Islamism) direction.

Abul Kalam Azad and many brutal Islamist killers of 1971 emerged from their hideouts. Some of them were inside the country living underground. Some of them were living in countries like Saudi Arabia and Pakistan. After 1975, the country of Bangladesh witnessed the expansion of Islamist and war criminal lobby, which were rejected by the people in 1971. One after another Bangladeshi military generals with a pro-Pakistani political persuasion ruled the country with iron fist. On the one hand they curtailed democratic freedom to a large extent, on the other the war criminals of 1971 were given enough opportunity to organize and strengthen their constituency. Thus Bangladeshi Islamist lobby gradually got a strong foothold in a number of Western countries. It goes without saying, their tentacles reached the heartland of the United States. That is why, Abul Kalam Azad does not have any problem visiting USA quite frequently. He was in this country in August of last year (2008)(source: deshivoice).

He is back in USA a few days ago. On January 24th, 2009 he had the golden opportunity to give a speech in the Muslim Community Center mosque in Silver Spring, Maryland. Presence of a few demonstrators in front of the mosque let him know loud and clear that his fundraising activity to strengthen Islamist lobby will not go unchallenged.

On 25th January, 2009, this killer of 1971, was invited to speak in a Mosque's Fundraising Dinner in New York. The program was scheduled in a basement of Tajmahal Restaurant, in Hillside, Jamaica, New York. Before the evening the place was crowded by expat Pakistanis and Bangladeshis. In the meantime a number of expatriate Bangladeshi activists staged a demonstration outside the restaurant. One after another activist was rendering speech detailing the war crime this "Islamic scholar" committed in nine months of 1971. As one of the concluding speakers was finishing his speech, a few supporters of Abul Kalam Azad started to hurl insults to the speakers. They were quite amazingly accompanied by another very notorious mass murderer of Bangladeshis, now a US citizen, Ashrafuzzaman Khan.

A scuffle broke out between the two parties. One of the activists was seriously injured. His nose was bleeding visibly. In the meantime the police came to scene. One of the supporters of Abul Kalam Azad/Ashrafuzzaman Khan was arrested. An updated report says, the "Islamic scholar" could not make it to give his fundraising sermon. The owner of the restaurant, a freedom fighter of Bangladesh war of liberation, did not mind to cancel the event thus losing six thousand dollars in this economic crisis period.

Below you will find the first link to the press conference of the activists regarding the incidence. Please note, the speeches were given in Bengali:

Now you will see the link to the scuffle and police intervention:

Dr. Yunus, is anything but a skilful person!

noreply@blogger.com (Deshi Blogger) — Sat, 24 Jan 2009 03:21:00 +0000

The Nobel laureate, Dr. Yunus, is anything but a skilful person!
Dr. Shabbir Ahmed

The tyranny and misrule of Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and the fundamentalist Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) for the duration 2001 through 2006 had help create a bad image for the politicians in general in Bangladesh. A good number of educated people in nation of 145 million harbor a very negative impression about politicians. This negativity had become so ingrained among our educated people that many of them prefer grouping all political parties and politicians under a same set and within a single pair of brackets. To them, there is no iota of difference between Awami League (AL) and BNP. Likewise, they do not find any difference between Mrs. Sheikh Hasina and Mrs. Khaleda Zia even though they possess totally different educational and political background.

In the aftermath of one-eleven, all the politicians in general were subjugated through intimidation and torture. The military-backed caretaker government went an extra mile to mix all good and bad apples and put them all in one basket.. The snobbish urban educated elites tried to portray all the politicians as bad apples. These opportunists thought that it was their time to undermine all the politicians and take the opportunity to gain power through a top-down process. They are too comfort-loving impatient people who do not want to take time and build the support base through a time-consuming bottom-up political process. In fact, they prefer support from the civil-military bureaucracy for getting to the helm of the power in a quick fashion.. After one-eleven, a group of urban educated elites wanted to take events in their favor by snatching the victory of the people who brought down the Khakeda-Nizami- Tarek controlled caretaker government under BNP-appointed President Dr. Iajuddin Ahmed.

Bangladesh’s only Nobel Laureate, Dr. Muhammad Yunus, took the lead to snatch the victory of the democracy-loving people and paved the way for the urban elites to capture the power. During the emergency rule under the army-backed caretaker government, it was a free pass for Dr. Yunus to float a political party and talk about his politics while many veteran politicians were trying to avoid arrest by taking shelter under a so-called reform process.

Dr. Yunus and his associates’ perceived strategy was to use a negative propaganda and vicious campaign against the popular political leaders for capturing power. In this effort, Dr. Yunus had surpassed all. His remarks were so severe and caustic that he labeled all the politicians as corrupt at one point of time. He did not want to separate those who did corrupt practices by abusing the government power and those who did not. In fact, a vast majority of politicians never did govern Bangladesh but they were eager beaver to assume power bypassing the normal way, viz., building a grassroots organization. Also, since these folks have never run the government, they were never mired in corruption; therefore, it was very easy for them to say that they unlike AL and BNP politicians are clean as a whistle. Unfortunately, Dr. Yunus colored all the politicians as “black.” In his analyses, there were no white or gray colors. A few politicians at that time requested him to distinguish between colors and distinctively identify black, white, or gray. Dr. Yunus maintained his silence but continued "building" his party. During the Cold War era, it was relatively easy for the urban elite forces to take a side and get support for clinging to power with the help of civil-military bureaucracy. Now the condition is not the same as it were in 70s and 80s.

Under the backdrop of the present geo-political condition, Dr. Yunus and the urban elites could not able to strengthen their political base, if there were any, even with the support from the civil-military bureaucratic forces. He had to give up his short-lived ambition for political power in a rather pre-mature fashion. Thereafter, many events and drama took place. Finally, an election was held on December 29, 2008in which Awami League alone secured about three-fourth majority in the parliament.

It was a matter of great surprise to see Dr. Yunus in the oath-taking ceremony of the winning political leaders, whom he bluntly and indiscriminately labeled as corrupt. Did he make a false statement about all the politicians? Has he changed his position about the politicians? Maybe, he has changed his views about politicians because he has many businesses to run for the poor people through his Grameen Bank and Grameen cell phone. He has a business on yogurt (Shakti dai) as well. For all his businesses, he might need support from the government formed by the politicians he tried to undermine not too long ago. As an intelligent businessman, Dr. Yunus has probably shifted his position like a skilful politician and by attending the oath ceremony of the newly elected politicians he proved it again that he is a very clever businessman.

Would ‘Kokogate’ spare Khaleda Zia’s family?

noreply@blogger.com (Deshi Blogger) — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 03:19:00 +0000

Would ‘Kokogate’ spare Khaleda Zia’s family?
By A.H. Jaffor Ullah

Khaleda Zia has every reason to consternate when all the major global news network such as Reuters, AP, AFP, etc., are reporting that her youngest son, Arafat Rahman Koko, is in the thick of an extortion operation centered in Dhaka during 2002-2006 when she was the PM of Bangladesh. For better or worse, let me call this investigation the Kokogate. Bangladesh has never experienced anything big like this and trust me, when it will be over, there will be casualties. This investigation has the underpinning of quite a few foreign governments who are very eager to see that the culprits who ran this extortion scheme are taken to task.

The timing for the U.S. government officials to visit Dhaka could not have been better. The newly elected government of Hasina wants to put an end to political extortion and the U.S. authorities know that it will be easier to make the extortion case against Khaleda Zia's son right now than say a year ago when a caretaker government was running the country.

Khaleda Zia had it too good when she was running the country from October 2001 to October 2006. She let her eldest son, Tarek Rahman, run a parallel government sitting in ‘Hawa Bhavan’, while her second son, Arafat Rahman Koko, an “accomplished” businessman run the business side of the family. How good things could be for Zia family. Political power, money, they have everything. But like any side story of Mahabharata, all the power, all the misbegotten wealth, could not keep the family in high standing.

Khaleda Zia suffered a catastrophic defeat in December 29, 2008 parliamentary election. She never offered her concession speech to the victor, Sheikh Hasina. To add insult to injury, she said that the election was rigged on the face of all the newspaper report that which stated that this was the most fair election this nation of 145 million ever had. Hundreds of foreign observers also had opined that the election was peaceful and fair and there weren't any violence on the day of election.

Khaleda Zia's worst fear may come true now that the foreign governments’ agents are in Dhaka to brief the ACC, the chief corruption fighting wing of the government, and other agencies of Bangladesh government. It was very convenient for her in old days to say that her family has many political enemies and all the allegations are false and politically motivated. However, Bangladeshis are not in a mood to listen to her vituperation.

Most newspaper editorials published in Dhaka had commended the works of foreign government. Bangladesh's people are also most eager to see that the $ 200 million, which Khaleda Zia’s “smart” son with so much business acumen had extracted from German company Siemens, find its way to return government treasury. China Communications Construction Co, a giant port builder in China also bribed Khaleda Zia’s son, Koko, to obtain a lucrative construction job in Bangladesh. It seems as if Khaleda’s two boys became Mr. Ten Percent in the heydays of Khaleda rule!

I see a parallel between what happens in low-income urban minority families in America with that of what happened to Khaleda Zia's family. Simply driven by greed many young men in urban America get involved in illegal drug business. They willingly take the risk, earn fast buck, and give part of the easy money to their single mother who gladly accepts it only to find a few days later that her son was gunned down by the rival gang in a turf fight. Well, something almost similar happens to Khaleda Zia family.

The two sons of Khaleda Zia get involved in making easy but illegal money because they know very well that as long as their mother is in catbird seat of power in Bangladesh, they could extort money from foreign companies who want to do business in Bangladesh. It will be laughable if I hear that Khaleda Zia was not aware of her sons' involvement in all these misadventures. Now she will have to prepare herself to pay the penalty for the sin of her sons. I sometimes wonder if General Zia were alive today, how he was to react to his sons’ follies.

The heart of the problem the Zia family is facing these days lies in the fact that these folks are not educated at all. People go to the seat of higher learning to open their mind and learn from the follies made by powerful people throughout the history starting from antiquity. A truly educated person won't do what Koko and Tarek have done most willingly. They simply thought that they are untouchable. Did not Khaleda Zia warn them about their high risk misadventure when they were abusing power that emanated from their mother? In my judgment, Khaleda Zia bears some responsibility in this fiasco.

Please do compare the performance of Khaleda Zia's family with that of Sheikh Hasina vis-à-vis influence peddling and making tons of money with it. Unlike Khaleda Zia whose family is into hedonism and making gobs of money to sustain such worldly pleasure, Hasina Wajed gave education to her two children. Also, I am yet to see a bona fide complaint made against Hasina Wajed’s two kids in respect to making easy money by influence peddling. Lately, in the Internet I read some unsubstantiated allegations, which stated that Sheikh Hasina’s son has business of worth $ 300 million. The last I know that Hasina’s son was employed and then he went for grad school. A person who has assets over $ 300 million won’t work under another person or will not go for a master’s degree. Until no confirmation comes, I would characterize this mere a mudslinging to redirect our attention from emerging Kokogate.

From various news reports on Kokogate I learned that besides Khaleda Zia’s two sons quite a few BNP ministers from 2001 to 2006 are also partners in this extortion scheme. The ACC officials in Dhaka are tightlipped about the identity of this crime syndicate. During Khaleda Zia’s reign these politicians thought no power inside Bangladesh could ever touch them. But sadly how wrong they were!

The ill-gotten $ 200 million, which was laundered by various financial institutions, is now ensconced in a bank in Singapore. This rumor about Khaleda Zia’s sons depositing millions of bribe money in Singapore bank was circulating in various South Asian websites in the Net for more than a year but when 2 U.S. government agents from Washington DC came to Dhaka to investigate the laundered money, many heads were turning in Dhaka. Also, there is a deafening silence in BNP camps and that includes Khaleda Zia herself.

In a just society no crime should ever go unpunished, but then Bangladesh never aspired to have a just society. Even then, a crime committed by Khaleda Zia’s two illiterate sons is not going to go unpunished. I am hoping the wheel of justice would turn finally and the sons of Khaleda Zia and their sidekicks from BNP would rot in jail. This time the authorities should not treat them as VIP. They have committed a serious crime when they thought they were above the law. Now harsh reality is setting in. The take home message is — no one is above the law.

There should be learning for Khaleda Zia too. She failed to educate her sons and that was not all. She let loose her boys to control the government and sell favors. Many sidekicks gathered around Khaleda Zia’s boys and we learned that they were all unsavory characters like her sons. Together, they became a crime syndicate of high order. Their profligate lifestyle in Dhaka during Khaleda’s rule was talk-of-the-town. Thus, when Tarek Rahman’s sidekick, Mamun, was arrested in early 2007, it became a very hot topic of conversation both in the media and in drawing rooms.

In summary, the revelation that Khaleda Zia’s “smart” businessman son Koko had ensconced a cool sum of $ 200 million in Singapore Bank is making news allover the world. This money was not hard earned, but came as manna from heaven. Thanks to Khaleda Zia for paving the way to heaven for her sons. During her “difficult” reign, dollar bills were literally falling from sky but it was for her two sons and a bunch of cronies. The payback time nears now. Who says – crime pays? Similar to single mothers in Brooklyn, Bronx, and many other cities in America, who found it out that the crime spree of their kids did not last long, Khaleda Zia will also learn the same bitter lesson rather belatedly. Nobody is above the law. Those two notorious and profligate boys of Bangladesh’s ex-PM Khaleda will this time learn a lesson of lifetime. The bread of deceit was sweet to Tarek and Koko; but afterwards their mouths shall be filled with gravel. Need I say more?

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Dr. A.H. Jaffor Ullah, a researcher and columnist, writes from New Orleans, USA
E Mail : jhankar@bellsouth.net

Breaking the silence

noreply@blogger.com (Maskwaith Ahsan) — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 22:18:00 +0000

Breaking the silence

By Maskwaith Ahsan

It's no longer a dream. Breaking centuries of silence, the women of
Bangladesh have finally stood up to contribute to society alongside men.

The pioneer of Bengali women's emancipation, Begum Rokeya, in the
early 20thcentury wrote
*Abarodhbasini* (Women Inside the Door) based on the misery and distress of
women in the patriarchal society of that time.

Holding onto her dreams, Begum Rokeya also wrote *Sultanar Sopna* (Sultana's
Dream).

Overcoming all social and religious barriers, 21st century Bangladesh has
finally started to realize and live up to that dream. Bengali women are now
visible. They can be seen holding and living up to their leadership
responsibilities in every viable walk of society. Keen to contribute to
national progress, such women are moving ahead with quality and competence.

Bangladesh hopes that its society will finally be able to breathe change and
develop radically due to the dynamic presence of women in the government and
political arena.

A total of 23 constituencies were triumphed over by female candidates in the
December 29, 2008, parliamentary elections. These include the heads of both
the major political parties, Sheikh Hasina Wajed and Khaleda Zia.

A record number of 56 women had contested Bangladesh's ninth general
elections. But what is really significant and surprising is the fact that
women legislators have been selected for key positions in the newly formed
32-member cabinet. This reflects the kind of change that has the potential
to bring balance and harmony to society.

The head of Awami League, Sheikh Hasina Wajed, has become the prime minister
of the country for the second time. And leader of the main opposition
Bangladesh Nationalist Party, Khaleda Zia, will be the countering force. The
two female leaders have led the country by turns since 1991.

The new and refreshing aspect of the latest government chessboard is the
presence of women on other powerful posts as well, like that of the foreign,
home and agricultural ministers.

Dr Dipu Moni will be Bangladesh's next foreign minister, Advocate Sahara
Khatun the new home minister, and Motia Chowdhury will head the agriculture
ministry.

Another female politician Begum Munnuzan Sufian has been appointed State
Minister for Labour and Employment.

It needs to be mentioned here that veteran politician Motia Chowdhury earned
success fighting for the rights of farmers as Agriculture Minister during
the Awami League-led government of 1996-2001.

The people of Bangladesh voted for change and they have their hopes pinned
on these women leaders to bring in a new era of prosperity and development.

(end)