Helper killed, truck hijacked

Helper of fertiliser-laden truck was killed, driver badly wounded and the truck hijacked by highwaymen at Majheera in Bogra early Sunday showing alarming rise in highway robbery.

A rice-laden truck from Naogaon was hijacked from Tongi on Friday night raising the number rice-laden trucks hijacked to 15 and killing of truckers to 5 during the last one month.

The police said the truck with 350 sacks of urea from Bhairab Fertiliser Factory was destined to a Bogra warehouse on Saturday night. On way, four to five armed robbers intercepted the truck at Majheera about 2:30am Sunday.

They held driver Sabuj and helper Masud at gunpoint, tied their hands and legs, gagged voice with cross tape in the mouth and left them in the cabin of the truck.

The robbers drove the truck to Natore where the fertiliser was unloaded at a private warehouse. They drove back the empty truck through Nagarbari-Bogra Highway and left it near Brammakopalia Bridge in Ullahpara upazila.

In the morning the Ullahpara police recovered the body of Masud and rescued driver Sabuj in semiconscious state along with the truck. Both Masud and Sabuj hailed from Birkedara village of Kahalu upazila in Bogra.

Source : New Age

Divisional tree fair begins in Sylhet

Sylhet divisional tree fair began on Sunday on the Government Alia Madrasa premises in the city.

The divisional forest department and district administration jointly organised the campaign and fair.

The Sylhet City Corporation mayor Badaruddin Ahmed Kamran inaugurated the fair.

Speakers at the programme said that more forestation was needed to keep the country's ecological balance and reduce the adverse impact of the global climate change.

The divisional tree plantation campaign and tree fair would remain open for all from 10:00am to 8:00om till July 22.

Source : New Age

Road blockade by students halts traffic movement

Traffic movement on Chapainawabganj-Sonamasjid land port highway in Chapainawabganj Sadar upazila remained suspended for two hours on Sunday due to road blockade by students.

The police said that Palli Bidyut authorities on Wednesday disconnected power supply to Chapainawabganj Polytechnic Institute on charge of not paying arrear power bill.

Being deprived of power supply in last five days, the residential students of the institute came out on nearby road at Baroghoria crossing at 9:30am and blocked the road by burning tires.

Being informed, the police went to the spot and brought the situation under control.

Source : New Age

Woman killed in Srimongal road accident

A woman was killed in a road accident at Uttarsur on Dhaka-Moulvibazar Highway at Srimongal in Moulvibazar on Saturday night.

The deceased was identified as Joyanti Rani Debnath, 40, wife of Ranjit Debnath of Sandhani residential area in Srimongal town.

The Srimongal thana police said that a speedy bus ran over Joyanti Rani when she was crossing road on the highway at about 10:00pm of Saturday night, leaving her dead on the spot.

Source : New Age

Businessman kidnapped

A businessman was kidnapped by miscreants at Sorojganj Bazar in Chuadanga Sadar upazila on Saturday night.

The victim, Faruk Hossain, 27, a grocery shop owner and resident of Shambhunagar village in same upazila, could not be rescued till filing of this report at 5:00pm on Sunday.

The police detained two people—Sona Mia and Siddik—for interrogation.

The police said Faruk and other businessmen were returning their homes after closing their shops at 10:00pm when armed miscreants intercepted them near Lokaigari maidan.

Later, the miscreants set free others, but they kidnapped Faruk.

Receiving information, the police launched drive for rescuing the victim.

Source : New Age

Khagrachari demands gas from Semutang on priority

People from all walks of life staged a demonstration at Khagrachari on Sunday demanding gas from the Semutang field before its feeds the national grid.

They said that Khagrachari should get gas from the Semutang field on priority.

They also called for scrapping the production sharing contract the government recently signed with Conoco Philips for offshore gas blocks.

 They protesters called for strengthening Bangladesh Petroleum Exploration Company so that the state owned enterprise could explore new domestic reserves to produce oil and gas.

Bikashita Nari Network vice-president Basanti Chakma, woman leader Namita Chakma, district bar association president Taib Ali, Khagrachari upazila chairman Shan-e-Alam, Nasiruddin Ahmed and JSD leader Zahidur Alam, lent support to programmes of the oil, gas committee at Khagrachari as well as in the capital.

United People Democratic Front president Prasit Bikash Khisha and general secretary Rabi Shankar Chakma in a statement said that Chittagong Hill Tracts must get gas from Semutang before it feeds the national grid.

They said that though ruined by Kaptai Hydel Project, CHT got no power generated by it.

They said that the hill people were being evicted from their homes again for the production gas from Semutang.

They said that they would go for tougher programmes to realise the hill people's share in Semutang gas.  

Source : New Age

12 hurt as BCL, JCD clash

Twelve students were injured in a clash between Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal and Chhatra League at Janab Ali College at Baniachong in Habiganj on Sunday.

The clash took place over establishing their supremacy.

Upazila JCD office was also vandalised during the clash at noon.

The police later brought the situation under control. The injured were admitted to Sylhet Osmani Medical College Hospital.

Source : New Age

Ethnic leaders critical of draft forest law

National minorities of Sylhet on Sunday alleged that most of the social and cultural activities practised by them as a part of their livelihood have been defined as crime in the draft Forest Act (Amendment) 2010. 

Addressing a press briefing at the National Press Club, leaders of Greater Sylhet Indigenous Peoples Forum said that such definition could be misused by the concerned authorities as the act does not respect century-old distinct social custom, culture and livelihood of the minorities.  

GSIPF president Pidison Pradhan alleged that the government did not consult with the national minorities before drafting the act.

He also pointed out that as Bangladesh is one of the signatories to Indigenous and Tribal Populations Convention-1957, the government should have arranged a meeting with the national minorities before making the draft.

Answering a question, Pidision said, 'We voluntarily asked the government to sit in a meeting. But the government did not pay heed to our demand. Without necessary amendment in particular sections, the act will hamper our total social and cultural system.'

Stressing the need for 'clear explanation' on the Act, the minority leaders placed several demands including immediate arrangement of a meeting with the national minorities and curtail the authority of the forest officers as envisaged the draft act.

Khasi Social Council president GP Suchiyang, secretary Phila Patmi and Bangladesh Monipuri Somaj Kallyan Samity vice-president Ananda Mohan Sinha, among others, also spoke at the briefing.   

Source : New Age

Islami Andolan announces fresh protest programme

The Islami Andolan Bangladesh has announced to hold demonstrations on July 6 and 9 at Muktangan in the capital against arrest of its activists during the half-day general strike imposed by it in the city on Sunday.

The party called the general strike to protest removal of the phrase 'absolute faith and trust in Allah' and insertion of secularism in the 15th amendment to the constitution. However, no activity of the organisation in support of the strike was seen in the capital.

Party secretary general Yunus Ahmad announced the protest programme at a news briefing in its office in the afternoon. The programme also includes holding demonstrations at upazilas on July 4 and 5 and at district headquarters on July 6 and 7.

Earlier, the party called another general strike across the country for July 10. The party's presidium member Mosaddek Billah Al Madani said, if the government did not reinsert the phrase 'absolute faith and trust in Allah' in the constitution, reinstate the caretaker government system, and release its arrested leaders, the party would go for a one-point movement of ousting the government.

The party secretary said their central office in the capital had been cordoned by the police throughout the six-hour general strike. He also alleged that the police arrested 70 activists of the party on Sunday at different parts of the city.

The party's Dhaka city unit president ATM Hemayet Uddin and Islami Chhatra Andolan secretary Mainuddin Jahangir were also present at the briefing.

Source : New Age

Probe committee finds poor construction of guide wall

The committee to probe into the landslide at Batali Hill, which killed 17 people on Friday, primarily found that the mishap was a result of poor construction of the guide wall.

Ahsan A Elahi, chief of the committee who is also an additional deputy commissioner, told reporters during a visitto the site on Sunday that the guide wall was not constructed properly, adding that the experts would be able to ascertain the real cause of the disaster.

'There was no hole at the wall to pass water from the hill, which might have caused the accident creating extra pressure on the wall,' he said, adding that they would recommend formation of a technical committee to ascertain the real cause.

The committee, which was formed on the day of the accident, was asked to submit its report by seven days.

Seventeen members of five families, including five of a family and four of another, were killed on Friday morning in a landslide and wall collapse at the southern portion of Batali Hill at Ambagan in the city.

Source : New Age

Attacks on oil, gas committee protesters during hartal condemned

Political parties, rights defenders and academicians in separate statements criticised  the Awmi League led government for its intolerance towards others' opinion demonstrated during brazen attacks and blanket arrests of oil, gas committee protesters during Sunday's hartal.

They said that the brazen attacks on the protesters unmasked the government's fascist intolerance towards other's views.

They demanded immediate release of the protesters.

In a statement, 63 rights defenders and teachers of different universities condemned the attack on protesters, especially on women, and their wholesale arrests during the hartal.

They said that every conscious citizen has the right to protest against the government for its irregularities or any action contrary to the people's interests.

 by the state is the democratic right of every conscious citizen.

They said that the tactics applied to infringe democratic right of the citizens exposed the fascist way of governance.

In the statement they protested against the government for obstructing the demonstration of the protesters and their wholesale arrests during the hartal called by National Committee to Protect Oil-Gas, Mineral Resources, Power and Port in support of its demanding for scrapping gas production sharing contracts with Conoco Philips.

They said that the citizens' national committee has been working for a decade to safeguard Bangladesh's national resources from plunder.

The committee, they said, had taken only peaceful programmes to oppose anti national deals.

'We condemn planned barbaric attacks on the protesters, especially on women, and their wholesale arrests,' they said.

Prominent among the signatories were Justice Golam Rabbani, Professor Akmal Hossain, Firdaus Azim, Hameeda Hossain, Dalem Chandra Barman, Helal Uddin Khan Arefin, Shahidul Alam, Meghna GuhaThakurta, Khushi Kabir, Shirin Huq, Rahnuma Ahmed, Geetiara Nasrin, Omar Tarek, Amena Mohsin, Ainun Nahar, Nasrun Khandkar, Raihan Sharif, Masood Imran, Selim Reza Newton, Manas Chowdhury, Sayed Ferdous.

Condemning the attacks and arrests, Communist Party of Bangladesh president Manjurul Ahsan Khan and general secretary Mujahidul Islam Selim said the actions exposed the government's fascist attitude.

Such repressive action, they said, would fail to keep the citizens away from the path of movement for safeguarding national resources as it did in the past.

Workers' Party of Bangladesh president Rashed Khan Menon, MP, and general secretary Anisur Rahman Mallik condemned the attacks and the arrests of the demonstrators and demanded their immediate release.

They also demanded scrapping of the anti-state contracts signed with Conoco Philips.

Jatiya Mukti Council president Badruddin Umar and secretary Faizul Hakim criticised the regime of Sheikh Hasina for the dictatorial action on the oil, gas committee protesters.

The United People's Democratic Front president Prasit Bikash Khisha and general secretary Rabi Shankar Chakma in statement condemned the wholesale arrests and barbaric attack on the protesters by cordoning off the offices of political parties during the hartal.

They said that the real face of the government was exposed by its aggressive action against the protesters intended to hide the contents of the production sharing deal.

They said that the people cannot accept any deal that compromises national interests.

The Biplabi Communist Party demanded immediate release of its general secretary Saiful Huq and 18 other leaders.

Democratic Youth Forum, the Pahari Chhatra Parishad, and the Hill Women's Federation condemned the attack on the protesters during the hartal and demanded immediate release of the detained activists.

Source : New Age

Limon in Jhalakathi court to face charge under Arms Act

Limon Hossain, the 16-year-old college student who lost his left leg after being shot by a member of the Rapid Action Battalion on March 23, appeared before a Jhalakathi court on Sunday to face a charge under the Arms Act.

The court, transferring the case to another court, deferred the date of the hearing to September 15.

Limon left Ganoswastha Hospital in Dhaka on Saturday noon in a rented microbus and reached Jhalakathi town on Saturday night to face the charge at Special Tribunal-1 in the case lodged against him by the RAB.

Limon, accompanied by his family members, stayed at a residential hotel in the town and appeared before the court at 10:30am on Sunday.

Faruk Ahmed, judge of Special Tribunal-1, recording the attendance of Limon at 11:30am and transferred the case to Special Tribunal-2.

Advocates Abdur Rashid, Abu Ahmed Faizul Kabir of Ain Salish Kendra, Nasiruddin Kabir, Nasimul Hasan, Manik Acharya and Akkas Sikdar, appearing on behalf of Limon in Special Tribunal-2, appealed for acquittal of Limon from the charge.

Advocate M Alam Khan Kamal, special public prosecutor of the special tribunal, appealed for deferral of the hearing of the charge-framing procedure as the other seven accused in the same case had not yet surrendered to the court or been arrested.

Md Siddikul Arefin Chowdhury, judge of the tribunal, after hearing both the sides deferred the date of the hearing of the case to 15 September, 2011.

Sub-inspector Arifur Rahman, the investigation officer of the two cases lodged by the RAB against Limon with Rajapur thana, submitted two separate charge-sheets on April 24 against the eight accused under the Arms Act.

The charge-sheet against Limon was given under the Juvenile Crimes Act as he is a minor, and against the other seven, all allegedly members of the Mizan-Morshed gang, under the Penal Code.

On May 19 Jhalakathi's senior judicial magistrate transferred the case filed against Limon to the Special Tribunal, for fixing the date for hearing on June 9.

M Faruk Ahmed, judge of Special Tribunal-1, fixed the next date of hearing on July 3 in the presence of the accused.

After attending the court Limon visited their village home and then started the return journey to Dhaka at about 4:00pm on Sunday afternoon.

The next date of the hearing of another case against Limon, lodged by the RAB, at Jhalakathi's senior judicial magistrate's court for allegedly obstructing the RAB when they were discharging their duty, was fixed on July 19, said Advocate Nasimul Hasan.

Source : New Age

Govt to launch food safety, horticultural crops project

The government in cooperation with USAID will soon launch a project titled 'Food Safety and Horticultural Crops' in the country to help ensure food security.

A workshop on the launching of the project will be held at Hotel Radisson in the capital July 16-18, said a PID handout on Sunday.

The idea of launching such project came recently when the agriculture minister, Matia Chowdhury, visited Cornell University of the USA at the invitation of Ronnie Coffman, director, International Agricultural Programme of the university.

Bangladesh Agriculture Research Institute director general M Rafiqul Islam Mondal also visited the USA with Matia.

Source : New Age

Polls under AL govt not final: CEC

The chief election commissioner refuses to say with a finality that the Awami League government will oversee the next general elections in two and a half years' time even though caretaker governments are obsolete.

Commenting on the 15th amendment to the constitution that the president signed into law, ATM Shamsul Huda said on Sunday, 'What do you think, the issue has been finalised? I haven't spoken to anybody on the matter. What I gathered from newspaper is that the issue apparently is still open.'

'The prime minister is still telling the opposition party (BNP) and the four-party alliance, 'Come, let's talk',' he told reporters.

Parliament passed the 15th constitution amendment bill into law on Thursday, annulling the caretaker government system, amid strong protests by the opposition BNP-Jamaat alliance. The parties separately called a 48-hour hartal for July 6-7 demanding reinstatement of the non-party government.

The amended constitution says elections will be held on the last 90 days of an elected government's term. Parliament will not hold any sessions at that time, though it will not be dissolved. The cabinet will perform routine duties and cooperate with the Election Commission in holding the elections.

The prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, after passing the amendment bill said legitimate claims from the opposition would be taken into consideration.

The CEC thought the issue of next election was still a political one and thought it inappropriate to comment on it before the issues were finalised.

'We still see the issue as wide open. Everyone is saying, there is nothing final in politics.

'The Awami League general secretary says this is art. Now we don't know what further colours this art will get. We will know when the art is complete,' he said.

Huda said the EC would decide its course of action after the decisions are finalised.

Source : New Age

Tarique’s charge framing moves to July 25

Charge framing in the money-laundering case against Tarique Rahman, the eldest son of BNP chief Khaleda Zia, has been shifted to July 25, deferring it for the third time.

Judge Mohammad Mozammel Hossain of Dhaka's Third Special Judge's Court passed the order on Sunday following a plea from lawyers of Tarique and his business partner Giasuddin Al Mamun, another accused in the case.

The court, however, did not give any order on the appeal from special counsel of the Anti-Corruption Commission, Mosharraf Hossain Kajal.

In the extension petition, the defendant's lawyers mentioned that a petition on the case's being taken into cognisance was under review with the Supreme Court.

Dhaka's Senior Special Judge's Court on May 5 this year took into cognisance the charges against Tarique and Mamun in the case and set May 19 for pressing the charges.

The trial will continue under the 2002 Money Laundering Act as per a Supreme Court order, not under the revised one of 2009.

The ACC filed the case on October 26, 2009 and pressed charges on July 6 last year.

According to the case, Tarique and Mamun channelled funds worth over Tk 204 million out to Singapore between 2003 and 2007.

The fund was taken in bribes from Khadiza Islam, director of Nirman Construction Limited, for helping it bag contract of an 80MW power plant at Tongi.

After his arrest on March 7, 2007 during the state of emergency, Tarique secured bail and flew to London with his family for medical treatment on September 11, 2008. He has since been living there.

The BNP senior vice-chairman has 14 cases against him, filed for corruption and extortion.

Mamun is currently in jail.

On the other hand, Khaledas youngest son Arafat Rahman was jailed for six years and fined Tk 190.41 million on June 23 for siphoning off SGD 2,884,000 and $932,000 to Singapore.

Ismail Hossain Simon, son of former BNP shipping minister late Akbar Hossain, is the co-accused in the case.

Source : New Age

JS panel wants action against 62 drug manufacturers

Only 12 of the 168 drug and medical equipment manufacturers properly follow the quality control policy of the World Health Organisation, the parliamentary standing committee on health ministry found.

The panel on Sunday also recommended legal action against 62 pharmaceutical companies for flouting the quality control policy of the World Health Organisation.

The committee made the recommendation after discussing a probe report on the activities of pharmaceutical companies prepared by a sub-committee.

The panel chief, Sheikh Fazlul Karim Selim, said 18 companies did not follow the policy at all, 34 companies have anomalies in abiding by the policy and 10 companies partially abided by it.  

'We have asked the ministry to take immediate action against the 18 companies which do not follow the policy at all,' he said.

The sub-committee formed in 2009, submitted its report to the committee at its 16th meeting held at parliament building.

The sub-committee headed by Nazmul Hasan carried out the investigation on 168 companies.

Selim said the report showed 17 drug producers were closed now, four companies produced veterinary drugs, three companies produced intravenous syringe, two companies produced various gas used in medical services and 15 companies produced raw-materials for drugs. 

The committee sources said they would further discuss on the report in its next meeting.

The committee also discussed about a number of equipment purchased for different hospitals and the crisis of manpower to operate them. It suggested purchasing equipment which could be operated by the existing manpower.

The committee also suggested the ministry to create an unit for repair and maintenance of the medical equipment. 

The minister for health AFM Ruhal Huq, state minister Mujibur Rahman Fakir and members of the committee Mohammad Amanullah, MA Mannan, Matiur Rahman, M Anwar Hossain, Nazmul Hasan and ZIM Mostafa Ali attended the meeting.

Source : New Age

15th amendment now law

The president, Zillur Rahman, has signed into law the Constitution (15th Amendment) Bill, 2011, a government circular has said.

The much-criticised bill was passed in parliament on June 30, in absence of the opposition, repealing the non-party caretaker government system.

Source : New Age

President, PM greet Obama

The president, Zillur Rahman, and the prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, have extended their warm felicitations to the US president, Barack  Obama, on the occasion of Independence Day of the United States of America which falls today.

The president, in his message, said, 'I am confident that the bonds of friendship that so happily exist between our two countries will continue to be deepened in the  days to come.'

In her message, the prime minister said, 'I believe that the deep bonds of partnership that Bangladesh and the United States so happily share will continue to flourish in the coming days. May the friendship between our two nations grow stronger.'

Source : New Age

50 hurt as rivals clash in B’baria

At least 50 people were injured in a clash between two rival groups at Bitghor village in Sharail upazila on Sunday.

The police said there was a long standing conflict between newly elected member of Panishwar union parishad Izzat Ali and ex-member Mobarak Ali over establishing supremacy in the area.

On Saturday, Mamun Mia, supporter of Izzat, was beaten up by his

rivals.

In a sequel to the incident, supporters of both the groups equipped with homemade lethal weapons attacked each other, leaving 50 people injured from both sides Sunday morning.

On information, the police went to the scene and lobbed 16 rounds of tear gas shell in a bid to quell the situation.

Of the injured, eight were admitted to general hospital while the rest took first aid from local clinics and hospitals.

Additional police have been deployed in the area.

Source : New Age

Bomb attack on BNP procession injures 5, including TV cameraman

Unidentified miscreants on Sunday threw a crude bomb on a procession of the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party in the city, leaving at least five people injured, including a cameraman of a television channel.

Witness and police said five crude bombs were exploded one after another in front of the procession led by BNP joint secretaries general Amanullah Aman and Rizvi Ahmed when it reached Bijoynagar Water Tank area.

The procession brought out from the party's central office at Naya Paltan was on its way to National Press Club. 

Soon after the explosion, the processionists started to run for cover creating panic in the area.

The injured included Manzur Rahman, cameraman of private television channel 'Somoy' and Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal joint secretary general Amiruzzaman Khan Shimul.

Police arrested one from the spot in connection with the bomb explosions.

BNP acting secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir at a press conference at the BNP chairperson's Gulshan office alleged that the ruling Awami League-backed terror groups launched the attack.

Protesting at the attack, Fakhrul demanded exemplary punishment of those involved in the bomb attacks.

Mirza Fakhrul termed the incident an 'attack on democracy'.

The BNP spokesperson claimed a total of 20 party activists were injured in the attack including Jatiyatabadi Jubo Dal president Moazzem Hossain Alal and party education affairs secretary Khairul Kabir Khokan.

Source : New Age

One shot dead by robbers in Lakshmipur

A teenage boy was shot dead and his uncle injured by robbers at North Hamchadi village in Sadar upazila early Sunday.

The deceased was Dipta Pal, 17, son of Kartik Pal of the village.

The police said breaking the collapsible gate a gang of armed robbers entered the house of Kartik Pal and kept the house inmates hostage at gunpoint at around 3:00am.

When Dipta and his uncle Kanchan Pal tried to resist the robbers they shot at them, leaving them critically injured. They were taken to general hospital where the attending doctor declared Dipta dead.

A case was filed in this connection.

Source : New Age

CPJ impunity index ranks Bangladesh 11th

Bangladesh was ranked 11th in the Impunity Index of Committee to Protect Journalists  for 2011, as in the previous year, with the murders cases of five journalists remaining  unsolved for  years.

The position remained unchanged for two successive years but the rating improved slightly with another year passing without any fresh unnatural death of journalist, said the report of the US based organisation. 

But the rating improved this year to 0.031 compared to previous year's 0.044.

According to the CPJ's 2011 Impunity Index, posted on its website on June 1, Iraq topped among 13 countries with 92 unsolved cases and a rating of 2.921. 

The other 12 countries chronologically are Somalia with 10 unsolved cases with a rating of1.099, the Philippines with 56 unsolved cases and a rating of  0.609, Sri Lanka- 9 cases with 0.443 rating, Colombia- 11 cases with 0.241 rating, Afghanistan- 7 cases and 0.235 rating, Nepal- 6 cases with 0.205, Mexico-13 cases with 0.121 rating, Russia-16 cases with 0.113 rating, Pakistan- 14 cases with 0.082 rating, Bangladesh- 5 cases with 0.031 rating, Brazil- 5 cases with 0.026 rating and India- 7 cases and 0.006 ratings.

The index, which calculates unsolved journalist murders in percentage of each country's population, found conditions in Bangladesh had slightly improved   while it worsened in Iraq, a country with a rating far worse than anywhere else in the world.

The index showed that deadly anti-press violence continued to climb in Mexico, where authorities appear powerless in bringing the killers to justice.

The CPJ report shows that from Somalia to Mexico, journalists avoid sensitive topics, leave the profession, or flee their homeland to escape violent retribution.

CPJ's annual Impunity Index, first published in 2008, identified countries where journalists are murdered regularly and governments fail to solve the crimes.

For its latest index, CPJ examined unsolved murders of journalists that occurred from January 1, 2001 to December 31, 2010.

Only 13 nations with five or more unsolved cases are included on the index.

Cases are considered unsolved when no convictions have been obtained.

According to the CPJ, impunity is a key indicator in assessing levels of press freedom and free expression in nations worldwide.

CPJ research shows that deadly, unpunished violence against journalists often leads to vast self-censorship in the rest of the press corps.

Source : New Age

People did not respond to strike: Tuku

State minister for home affairs Shamsul Huq Tuku on Sunday said that people did not respond to the half-day strike in the capital called by the national committee to protect oil, gas, mineral resources, power and ports.

'There were traffic on the roads as usual, people moved freely and  shops and markets were open during the strike,' he said.

He also claimed that the oil-gas body had foreign connections and got aid from abroad.

He, however, failed to give any clear answer to the reporters when asked whether he had any report from agencies or would instruct any agency to investigate on the allegation against oil-gas protection body.

Tuku said that the idea

came from observing the activities of the organization.

He also said that the organization was protesting against the government's every move for exploration and extraction of oil, gas and coal by foreign companies.

'As we have no capabilities to explore and extract these resources by our own means we have to seek help from foreign companies to ensure energy supply,' he said.

The oil-gas body on June 18 called the half-day hartal for July 3 demanding cancellation of the government's deal with ConocoPhillips for oil and gas exploration in the deep sea hydrocarbon blocks 10 and 11 on the ground that the deal would go against national interests.

Amid protest by activists, experts and different professional groups, the government on June 16 signed a production-sharing contract with ConocoPhillips which has a provision that would allow the company to export 80 per cent of the total marketable natural gas, if Petrobangla allows it.

About the strike observed by Bangladesh Islami Andolon on the same occasion, he said that the Islamist organization was trying to establish Islam like Pakistan did or as Moududi wanted.

He termed the Islami Andolon-called strike as illogical as Bismillah

and Islam as state religion were retained in the Constitution.

He also said that as Islam was not secure in the hands of Bangladesh Islami Andolon similarly oil, gas and other mineral resources were not secure in the hands of oil-gas body.

On June 30, Islami Andolan Bangladesh secretary general Yunus Ahmed announced a daylong general strike for July 3 in the capital to protest against what they called was the removal of 'Absolute Faith and Trust in Allah' from the Constitution through the 15th amendment passed by the parliament on Thursday.

About the strike called by Bangladesh Nationalist Party on July 6 and 7, Tuku said that the opposition did it to save Arafat Rahman Koko and Tareque Rahman from the legal action for their corruption. 'BNP called the strike to save Zia family,' he added.

BNP on Sunday called a 48-hour general strike for July 6 and 7 protesting 15th amendment to the Constitution which cancelled the caretaker government system for holding national elections.

Source : New Age

Libya rebels poised for push towards Tripoli

Buoyed by French arms drops and intensified NATO air strikes on the regime's frontline armour, Libya's rebel army said it is poised for an offensive that could put it within striking distance of Tripoli.

The rebels' announcement late on Saturday came as a prolonged deadlock on the battlefield prompted mounting pressure from countries outside the NATO-led coalition for a negotiated solution to a conflict that has dragged on for four and a half months.

South Africa, which has taken a lead role in mediation efforts, said that the president, Jacob Zuma, would hold talks in Moscow on Monday with representatives of the International Contact Group on Libya as well as Russian officials.

Rebel fighters are readying an advance out of their hilltop enclave in the Nafusa Mountains, southwest of Tripoli, in the next 48 hours in a bid to recapture territory in the plains on the road to the capital, spokesman Colonel Ahmed Omar Bani said.

'In the next two days the (revolutionaries) will come up with answers, things will change on the front line,' he said.

The rebels had pulled back last week from around the plains town of Bir al-Ghanam, some 80 kilometres from Tripoli, in the face of loyalist bombardment.

But last week France made a series of controversial weapons drops to rebel fighters in the Nafusa Mountains and NATO has bombarded loyalist positions around Bir al-Ghanam and elsewhere on the frontline around the rebel enclave.

In Gharyan, another Libyan government stronghold near the mountains, NATO aircraft struck eight targets over the previous four days, the alliance said on Saturday.

In its daily report for Saturday, NATO said it had launched a total of 52 strike sorties over Libya, hitting a tank near Gharyan and three armoured vehicles near Zlitan, also on the Nafusa frontline.

Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi reacted furiously to the French arms drops to the rebels, calling on his supporters Friday to go and retrieve the weapons.

The French foreign minister, Alain Juppe, insisted that the arms were meant only to defend peaceful civilians from Gaddafi's forces and thus fell in line with UN Security Council resolutions on the conflict.

As Turkish foreign minister Ahmet Davutoglu visited the rebel capital of Benghazi on Sunday, Turkey's official journal said Ankara was definitely pulling ambassador out of Tripoli and adopting fresh sanctions against Gaddafi's regime.

Turkey, the only mainly Muslim member of NATO and an important regional player, has gradually taken a hard line against Tripoli, after at first criticising the Western air strikes.

There was no immediate confirmation from Moscow of the talks between Russian and South African officials and representatives of the NATO-led coalition but both countries have been outspoken advocates of a negotiated solution to the conflict.

The foreign ministry in Pretoria said the talks in Russia would include all members of the so-called International Contact Group on Libya but could provide no further details.

The Kremlin said in a statement late Saturday that Zuma and President Dmitry Medvedev held a telephone conversation in which they agreed on a 'personal meeting in the closest time' but gave no details on when it would take place.

Source : New Age

2 killed in violence over UP polls

At least two persons were killed and 50 others injured in violence ahead of Sunday's polling in 52 unions for electing new local councils.

Reports reaching the capital indicate the violence took place on Saturday night.

United News of Bangladesh reported from Habiganj, a villager, who was injured in post poll violence on June 27, died on Sunday raising the toll to two in the village Ruhitnosi in Lakhai upazila of the district. Police said at least 30 people were injured in clashes between rival groups on the day.

Earlier, at least 31 people were killed in violence in the second phase of the staggered union parishad elections, which began on May 31, amid stray clashes, intimidation and snatching of ballot boxes. The elections are set to end on July 5.

According to the Election Commission, 25 unions would go to polls today.

New Age correspondent in Tangail reported that two persons were killed and 20 others injured in separate clashes in two unions in the district.

An 18-year old villager Kawsar died in violence at Sohodevpur union between law enforcers and supporters of a defeated member candidate. The victim hailed from the village Sultia.

Another villager, 32-year old Kalachan was killed in violence when the supporters of councillor candidates fought at Narandhia union in Kalihati upazila. The victim hailed from the village Goria.

The police said that after the unofficial results were declared at Sultia centre in Shodevpur union they were going to the upazila headquarters at about 8 AM with ballot boxes.

They said that on the way supporters of the defeated member candidate Amzad Ali tried to snatch away ballot boxes from them, demanding recounting.

At one stage, the unruly supporters attacked police and they had to fire several rounds of bullet to disperse the mob triggering an hour long chase and counter chase that left Kawsar dead and left 20 people injured, nine of them policemen.

The injured were admitted to Sadar Hospital and upazila health complex.

At least one of them, Harun was shifted to Dhaka Medical College Hospital after his condition deteriorated.

In another incident, supporters of two councillor candidates clashed in Narandhia union leaving Kalachan dead.

Magistrate Tanvir Ahmed was injured when the two groups vandalised his jeep.

New Age correspondent in Pabna reported that an assistant presiding officer and a chairman candidate were jailed and fined for violating the election code of conduct during the voting in Goyeshpur and Dapunia unions in Sadar upazila Sunday.

In the morning, a mobile court, led by executive magistrate Shahina Akhter Sumi sentenced assistant presiding officer Dewan Mazharul Islam to serve imprisonment for a year for negligence of duty and irregularities at the polling centre at Goyeshpur union.

Court sources said he was handed the punishment for working as an agent of a chairman candidate violating the election code.

In separate case in the afternoon, she instantly tried chairman candidate Hasan Imam and fined him Tk 5,000 for violating the election code during voting at a centre in Dapunia union.

Source : New Age

Govt sees no reason to say anything on Manmohan’s remarks

The government on Sunday said that there is no reason to issue any statement in response to Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's recent controversial remarks on Bangladesh, according to foreign secretary Mohamed Mijarul Quayes.

'I think there is no need to issue any further statement as the MEA (India's Ministry of External Affairs) and the High Commission have issued statements in this regard,' the secretary told reporters after an hour-long meeting with India's High Commissioner Rajeet Mitter at the foreign affairs ministry. 'I have seen the statements of the MEA and the High Commission.'

When approached by New Age to comment on his meeting with the foreign secretary, Rajeet Mitter declined to say anything. 'The secretary will tell you if he wants to.'

When asked whether he had discussed Manmohan's statement with the high commissioner, the foreign secretary said, 'I'll neither confirm nor deny it.'

During an interaction with five print media editors on June 29, Singh was asked by a senior editor to comment on the situation in the neighbourhood of India.

'Well, our neighbourhood worries me a great deal, quite frankly,' replied Singh.

'…with Bangladesh, our relations are quite good. But we must reckon that at least 25 per cent of the population of Bangladesh swears by the Jamiat-ul-Islami (sic) and are very anti-Indian, and are in the clutches, many times, of the ISI…' Singh told the editors.

'So, the political landscape in Bangladesh can change at any time,' added Singh.

Singh later drew flak from both politicians in Bangladesh retired Indian diplomats.

When asked whether he had summoned the Indian high commissioner to the ministry, the secretary replied, 'Who said so?'

When asked about Manmohan's statement, the secretary said, 'It did not come to me.'

When asked whether the government was 'convinced' by the statement of MEA and high commission, he said, 'I 'm not saying this. You check with them (Indian side).'

In a damage control exercise, India's Ministry External Affairs on Saturday said that Singh's remarks about a section of the Bangladeshi people being under the influence of ISI (Pakistan's intelligence agency) were by 'no means intended to be judgemental'.

'Our attention has been drawn to some off-the-record remarks attributed to the prime minister during his interaction with editors in New Delhi. It is clarified in this regard that these attributed remarks were by no means intended to be judgemental,' said the Indian High Commission in Dhaka in a press release on Saturday.

The high commissioner was at the ministry to discuss the details of the three-day official visit of India's external affairs minister, SM Krishna, scheduled to begin on July 6, and the documents scheduled to be signed, said Quayes.

'We have discussed whether we need to make any adjustment in the programme because of the hartal,' he said.

They also discussed Krishna's scheduled calls on President Zillur Rahman and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, he said.

When asked whether there was any reason to defer Krishna's visit, the secretary said, 'We are on track so far.'

This attempt at clarification by Indian side was necessary for many reasons, not the least of which is that several Indian dignitaries, including Manmohan Singh and Congress Party president Sonia Gandhi, are expected to visit Dhaka by September this year.

Source : New Age

Thaksin sister set to be first female Thai PM

Yingluck Shinawatra, who is set to be Thailand's first female prime minister, is a political novice whose biggest asset is also her most controversial — her family name.

She is widely seen as a stand-in for her older brother, the fugitive ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra who lives in exile after being ousted in a 2006 coup and describes Yingluck as his 'clone'.

With nearly all the votes counted, their opposition Puea Thai party had won a clear majority with 263 seats out of 500, well ahead of prime minister Abhisit Vejjajiva's ruling Democrats with 161.

Abhisit conceded defeat and congratulated Yingluck Shinawatra.

The photogenic 44-year-old businesswoman has run a polished campaign, defying sceptics who said the initial excitement over her nomination as the main opposition candidate for prime minister would soon fizzle out.

A smiling Yingluck arrived at Puea Thai headquarters after Sunday's vote, clad in bright purple, to be mobbed by jubilant supporters, but modestly declined to declare an outright victory despite Abhisit having conceded defeat.

'People are giving me a chance and I will work to my best ability for the people,' she said, adding that her party had contacted one potential coalition partner.

With her groomed appearance, relaxed demeanour and carefully choreographed stage routines, Yingluck — 18 years junior to her controversial big brother — proved a hit on the campaign trail.

'There's no question she's getting a bounce from excitement over the idea of Thailand having a woman prime minister, the novelty of a fairly young, attractive candidate, and because the Democrats are running such a lacklustre campaign,' said Thailand expert Michael Montesano.

And on top of that is her name — a big plus in the eyes of Thaksin's fans but a turnoff for supporters of the establishment.

'She could have been a potted plant and that would have been true,' said Montesano, of the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies in Singapore.

Yingluck said while campaigning that she and her brother were similar in their approach.

'We are alike in the sense that I have learned from him in business and I understand his vision, how he solves problems and the way he built everything from the beginning,' she said.

Thaksin remains a hugely divisive figure in Thailand. He was ousted in a 2006 military coup and fled the country in 2008 before a court sentenced him in his absence to two years in prison for corruption.

He is still adored by many rural and working class voters for his populist policies while in power, but is reviled by the ruling elite who see him as corrupt and a threat to the revered monarchy.

Yingluck herself, however, is seen as a fresh face largely untainted by scandal. Accusations by her political foes that she lied in court to protect her brother appear to have had little impact on her popularity.

In contrast to British-born premier Abhisit who is criticised for lacking the common touch, she has refrained from negative campaigning, instead focusing on her policies and stressing the need for reconciliation after years of unrest.

'She's able to look natural in front of big crowds in a way that the prime minister just cannot, no matter what he does,' said Montesano.

Yingluck was born on June 21, 1967, into one of the most prominent ethnic Chinese families in northern Chiang Mai province, the youngest of nine siblings.

Until recently president of Thai real estate firm SC Asset Corp, she graduated in political science from Chiang Mai University and earned a masters degree in public administration at Kentucky State University in the United States.

She returned to Thailand to work for one of Thaksin's companies as a trainee in the early 1990s, going on to take various positions within her brother's business empire.

Yingluck is a former president of the mobile telephone unit of Shin Corp., the telecoms giant founded by Thaksin that was at the centre of a scandal over the tax-free sale of the family's shares in the group in 2006.

While her business credentials are well known, observers say she has given few concrete clues about what kind of leader she would be.

'She is at the moment sticking by what Thaksin has asked her to do in a very detailed way,' said a Bangkok-based Western diplomat. 'I don't think we have yet seen what she is capable of.'

Source : New Age

Govt wants to talk with oil-gas committee

The government has taken an initiative to make the National Committee to Protect Oil, Gas, Mineral Resources, Power and Ports understand the necessity and importance of the deal with US oil company ConocoPhillips for oil and gas exploration in two deep-sea blocks.

The Awami League-led government claimed that since the goal of the committee and the government was the same — to uphold the interest of the country — the difference of opinion could be ironed out after holding a dialogue, said sources in the government and AL.

AL's presidium member Obaidul Kader, after a meeting with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Saturday, phoned up the convener and member-secretary of the committee and urged them to sit for discussion with the government to pinpoint points of disagreement and take a decision in this regard.

The committee neither accepted nor rejected the proposal, but demanded a formal, written invitation to the dialogue.

Committee sources said

that a representative of the Prime Minister's Office on Saturday also met the committee's member-secretary, Professor Anu Muhammad, at the Communist Party of Bangladesh's office and told him that the prime minister had expressed her interest to talk with the committee.

Both Kader and the PMO's representative requested the committee's leaders to withdraw Sunday's hartal but they expressed their regret, saying that it was not possible to do so at such short notice.

'After meeting the prime minister I made phone calls to the committee's leaders and urged them to talk to the government,' Kader told New Age on Sunday, adding that it was logical that the government should first ensure the fulfilment of the domestic demand for gas.

He also said that if the aim of the government and the committee was same, they should not find it difficult to reach an understanding.

Kader also said that although the committee rejected the request for withdrawal of the hartal as it was made at the eleventh hour, the possibility of holding a dialogue has not been diminished.

'The deal was signed with a private company, not with a representative of the US government, so it will be not difficult to amend any clause, if necessary,' he said.

The high-ups of the government, however, claimed that the deal was signed in accordance with the national interest and it was important to find and extract gas in the shortest possible time because there was a risk of the gas being siphoned off by neighbouring countries through pipelines.

'We want to find gas as early as possible,' said a top government official, adding that there was no possibility of holding formal talks with the committee at this moment.

Agriculture minister Matia Chowdhury told New Age that due to lack of machinery and expertise, the government had to sign a deal with the US company in the energy-starved country's interest.

'We are obligated to meet our domestic demand before allowing gas to be exported,' said Matia, a presidium member of AL.

She said that they would able to make the committee understand the importance of the deal if a dialogue could be arranged.

Anu Muhammad told New Age that they were ready to discuss the issue but the government should give the committee a written invitation.

'We told the representative of the prime minister that it should be ensured that no gas will be exported and the copy of the contract should be given to us before the dialogue,' said Anu.

Source : New Age

New ICT rules give accused ‘universally recognised standards’

The International Crimes Tribunal has introduced amendments to its rules of procedure which provides the people detained by the tribunal with new rights relating to bail and additional protection concerning the presumption of innocence.

The amended rules of procedure, which was gazetted on June 28, also gives the tribunal the power to review its own decisions and to pass orders relating to the protection of witnesses and victims.

The tribunal registrar, Md Shahinur Islam, told a press briefing on Sunday that the amendments would help to ensure that the trials of the people accused of international crimes committed during the 1971 war would take place under 'universally recognised standards.'

'International standards, we are not yet there,' he said. 'But I would say that the tribunal rules [and law] now match universally recognised standards of due process and justice.'

At the end of March,

Stephen Rapp, US ambassador for war crimes at large, sent a letter to the Bangladesh law minister and foreign minister suggesting changes he considered should be made to the then existing rules of procedure so that 'its proceedings are independent, fair, and uphold international standards.'

The tribunal registrar said that he thought that the new amendments would 'at least make the rules consistent with the concerns of Rapp.'

He, however, added that he 'could not say' what the ambassador-at-large's view of the amended rules might be.

Islam emphasised that the tribunal in question 'was not an international tribunal. It is a national tribunal prosecuting international crimes…. It is now a settled axiom that the International Criminal Court is neither designed nor intended to supplant independent and effective domestic judicial systems.'

Abdur Razzaq, an executive committee member of the Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, however, said that he was 'totally disappointed' by what he had heard about the amended rules saying that they did not go far enough.

Five of the Jamaat-e-Islami leaders are currently detained by the tribunal.

The amended rules provide new protections for those detained by the tribunal.

An accused person who has been detained in prison for a year pending an investigation of offences alleged to have been committed during the 1971 war should from now on, 'except in exceptional circumstances,' be released on conditional bail if the investigation has not been completed in this period.

If the tribunal considers there to be 'exceptional circumstances,' the new rules say that it may extend detention for 'a further period of six months.'

The new rules of procedure also allows both the defence and prosecution lawyers to ask the tribunal to review any of the orders that it has given 'including the order of framing charges.'

Neither party is, however, able to seek a review of the tribunal pre-conviction ruling, including that of bail, from an appellate court.

The new rules also give some additional protections to an accused when charged with an offence.

An accused person pleading not guilty will get 'at least three weeks' time for preparing prepare his defence,' and 'shall be presumed innocent until he is found guilty.'

The amended rules also explicitly state that the prosecution must prove its case 'beyond reasonable doubt' and that the 'mere failure' on part of the defence 'to prove the plea of alibi' should not itself 'render the accused guilty.'

They also allow the tribunal to pass orders 'to ensure [the] protection, privacy and wellbeing of the witnesses and victims' including arranging accommodation, and ensuring their security.

The new provision states that an application for an order by the tribunal can be made to the tribunal by either the defence or prosecution and the process will be 'confidential and the other side will not be notified.'

The new rules do not, however, respond to a number of the suggestions of Rapp, including concerning the right of parties to make 'interlocutory' appeals of tribunal orders to another court, requiring the courts be 'guided by the ICC's [International Criminal Court's] Elements of Crimes' which set out the meaning of particular offences, and proposing that the tribunal should follow case law from the ICC relating to the use of evidence.

In a development on the existing legal procedure in Bangladesh, the amended rules require that a magistrate 'shall allow the engaged counsel for the accused to be present' at the time of recording any confessional statement although the lawyer was not allowed to speak or interfere.

The tribunal registrar said that this rule was included to prevent the possibility of coercion or torture on part of the investigation officers.

Source : New Age

No move yet to implement HC directives on stalking

The police have taken no initiative to comply with an order of the High Court, given five months ago, that requires every thana to form a separate team of officers to deal with complaints of sexual harassment.

The government has also failed to amend the Nari-O-Shishu Nirjatan Daman Ain 2000 which the court ordered it to do 'on an urgent basis', incorporating a new definition of sexual harassment,

and also to take 'immediate steps' to enact laws for protection of the victims and witnesses of sexual harassment.

After hearing a public interest writ petition filed by the Bangladesh Women Lawyers Association, claiming that the government was failing to take sufficient action against those guilty of stalking and sexual harassment, the High Court bench of Justice M Imman Ali and Justice Sheikh Hassan Arif issued ten directives to the government and the police to check stalking.

'These directives, issued by the High Court, are laws of the country, and in view of Article 111 of the Constitution they are binding on all concerned and are to be implemented everywhere until an effective legal measure is enacted by our legislature,' the court observed.

One of the key directives was to form in every thana a team of officers whose sole purpose would be to prevent sexual harassment in both private and public places such as educational institutions, workplaces, vehicles, markets, bus stops, railway stations and parks.

The police teams were told by the court to report to the district law and order committee through their superintendents of police or police commissioners or though officers designated for the purpose.

The court also said that the district committees should, from time to time and at least once a month, organize a 'Meet the People' session at which women and child rights activists would be able to hear of the incidents of sexual harassment as well as the steps taken to punish the perpetrators and prevent recurrence of such incidents.

Inspector general of police Hasan Mahmud Khandker admitted to New Age that no thana had set up a separate cell or team to deal with complaints of stalking, but said, 'We give this issue particular importance as it is part of the court's directives.'

In another of the court's directives, the government was required to amend the Nari-O-Shishu Nirjatan Daman Ain 2000 by 'defining the mischief of "sexual harassment" in the light of the definition given by us…and providing appropriate punishment for the crime, keeping in mind that the main aim of the law or any other measures should be preventive and not retributive.'

The court also said that the government should 'take immediate steps' to allow the statements, recorded on audio/video apparatus, of victims or witnesses of sexual harassment to be used as evidence in court.

State Minister for Women and Children Affairs, Shirin Sharmin Choudhury, told New Age that it was no longer necessary to amend the above law as harassment can be checked by the mobile courts' drives.

Because of the widely publicized rise of incidents of sexual harassment, which had forced many victims to commit suicide, the government in 2010 amended the Mobile Court Act 2009 to empower the executive magistrates to take action against persons guilty of sexual harassment.

Magistrates may fine and/or sentence perpetrators to prison terms which may extend to one year on the spot, she added.

She also said that the law ministry is thinking of enacting a law for the protection of the victims and witnesses.

Another directive also required the government to make it mandatory for internet users in cyber cafes to have a photo identity card and for the café owners to maintain records of the identity of the users, as well as which computer the user worked on and for how long.

However, the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission's director general (legal and licensing Division), AKM Shahiduzzaman, said, 'We have no control over the cyber cafés as they don't need to obtain BTRC's approval.'

He said that the internet providers need to get licences but the cyber cafés do not.

Supreme Court lawyer Fahima Nasrin, who lodged the original writ petition, said, 'It is very unfortunate for us that the government is yet to take any measure to implement the court's verdicts. Immediate implementation of the verdicts is essential to protect women from sexual harassment which is still taking place.'

She also criticized the government for using mobile courts to take action against perpetrators of sexual harassment.

'The mobile court is simply being used as a tool of harassment,' she alleged.

The court also asked the government, law enforcers, media and non-governmental organisations to stop using the phrase 'eve teasing' when describing stalking or sexual harassment, observing that the use of the phrase implies that the offence is not serious.

Source : New Age

BNP, allies call general strike for Wed-Thu

The main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party and its allies on Sunday announced to enforce general strike for 48 hours beginning on Wednesday morning to protest at the scrapping of the caretaker government provision from the constitution and to push for some other demands.

The BNP, the Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami and the Khelafat Majlish, which split from the Islami Oikya Jote after the Islamic party combine had joined the BNP-led alliance, at separate press conferences in their offices in the capital announced to enforce the general strike.

The Bangladesh Jatiya Party (Naziur) and the Islami Oikya Jote announced to enforce the general strike by separately issuing statements.

The Jamaat-e-Islami, meanwhile, extended its support for the 30-hour general strike 12 Islamist political parties earlier announced to enforce beginning in the morning on July 10.

The BNP was yet to extend its support for the July 10–11 general strike till Sunday evening.

The BNP's acting secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said that the BNP would make decision in this regard after the 'successful enforcement' of the general strike it had announced to enforce.

This is going to be the first general strike called simultaneously by all the partners of the BNP-led alliance and going to be the longest general strike at a stretch after the assumption of office by the Awami League-led alliance in 2009.

This will be the seventh general strike called by the BNP after the 2008 general elections.

The BNP and its allies but the Islami Oikya Jote earlier enforced 36-hour general strike in June 12–13 in protest at the government's move to scrap the caretaker government provision.

The other issues centring on which the BNP and its allies will enforce the strike

include protest at the 'hurting of religious sentiment of Muslims, price spiral, slide in law and order and shortage of power, gas and fuel and share market scam.'

Announcing the general strike at the press conference in the party's central office at Naya Paltan, Mirza Fakhrul alleged that the AL-led government had brought about the 15th amendment to the constitution at an 'unusual pace to ensure that its stay in power forever.'

He said that many leaders of the ruling Awami League and many partners of the AL-led alliance had opposed the amendment.

'The country will plunge into chaos if the government tries to hold the general elections under its tenure in keeping with the 15th amendment,' he said.

Fakhrul also said, 'The removal of the phrase "absolute trust and faith in the Almighty Allah" from the constitution has hurt the sentiment of the Muslims seriously.'

'At the same time, the removal of the pledge from the constitution that Bangladesh will try to strengthen bilateral relations with Muslim countries has tarnished the image of the distinctive characteristics associated with our nationality,' he said.

'It will affect manpower export to Muslim countries as well,' he added.

He said that the government had pushed the country into uncertainty, unrest and darkness by unilaterally passing the 15th amendment ignoring public opinions.

Fakhrul said that the ruling party's foreign friends were also giving ominous signal after the constitution amendment.

He also demanded that the 15th amendment should be revoked to pave the way for restoration of the caretaker government provision without further delay.

Fakhrul called on the people to make the general strike successful to resist the 'ill motive' of the 'fascist' AL-led government of clinging to power by snatching away the people's voting rights.

The Jamaat-e-Islami's acting secretary general ATM Azharul Islam announced the programme of general strike at a press conference at the party's central office at Moghbazar.

Source : New Age

Tarique, Babar, 28 others accused

Charges were pressed on Sunday against 30 more people, including the BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia's eldest son Tarique Rahman, the detained Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami secretary general Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mojaheed, former state minister for home Lutfozzaman Babar, former prime minister's political adviser Haris Chowdhury, current BNP lawmaker Shah Mofazzal Hossain Kaikobad, four retired army officers and eight former police officers, in two cases of the grenade attack on an Awami League rally on August 21, 2004.

The Criminal Investiga-tion Department submitted two supplementary charge sheets to the Dhaka chief metropolitan magistrate's court after reinvestigation for three months of the attack in killed 24 people, including Mahila Awami League president Ivy Rahman, and wounded scores, including Awami League president Sheikh Hasina, now the prime minister.

The investigation officer, Abdul Kahhar Akand, a special superintendent of the CID, pressed charges against Tarique, also the BNP's senior vice-chairman, Mojaheed, also a former social welfare minister, Babar, Haris and Kaikobad.

He also pressed charges against former Directorate General of Forces Intelligence director general retired major general ATM Amin, former National Security Intelligence directors general retired major general Rezzakul Haider Chowdhury and retired brigadier general Abdur Rahim, former navy official retired lieutenant commander Saiful Islam Duke, also Khaleda's nephew, and former DGFI official retired lieutenant colonel Saiful Islam Joarder.

Charges were also pressed against former inspectors general of police M Asharaful Huda, Shahidul Haque and Khodabaksh Chowdhury, who was then additional inspector general of the CID, former Dhaka metropolitan police deputy commissioners Khan Sayeed Hasan and Obaidur Rahman, former investigation officers of the cases special superintendent of the CID Md Ruhul Amin and assistant superintendents Abdur Rashid and Munshi Atiqur Rahman.

The investigation officer also pressed charges against Dhaka city ward commissioner Md Ariful Islam, transport owner Md Hanif, and individuals allegedly having militant links Sheikh Abdus Salam, Md Abdul Majed Butt (also known as Md Yusuf Butt), also a Pakistani, Abdul Malek (also known as Golam Mohammad), Abdur Rauf (also known as Abu Omar Abu Hussain or Peer Saheb Baba), Sabbir Ahmed (also known as Abdul Hannan Sabbir), Shawkat Osman (also known as Sheikh Farid), Hafez Yahia, Mufti Shafiqur Rahman, Mufti Abdul Hai and Ratul Babu.

Metropolitan public prosecutor Abdullah Abu told reporters that the attack had been masterminded at Hawa Bhaban, office of Tarique of the time, and Tarique and others related with the office masterminded it.

Tarique also provided the attackers with administrative supports, he claimed.

Of the new accused, Babar, Mojaheed, Rezzakul, Rahim, Duke, Majed Butt, Malek, Sabbir and Shawkat are in jail while Ariful is on bail and the rest 18 are yet to be arrested.

Chief metropolitan magistrate AKM Enamul Haque issued warrants for the arrests of the 18, including Tarique and Kaikobad.

Former investigation officers Rashid, Atiqur and Ruhul Amin are, however, on bail in a case filed by the CID accusing them of diverting the investigations of the cases.

Earlier on June 26, the CID pressed charges against Babar, Rezzakul and Rahim in two cases of the sensational 10-truck arms haul in Chittagong.

The charges were pressed in the grenade attack cases against the 30 in both the cases — one for murder and another under the Explosive Substances Act — in addition to the 22 people against whom charges were pressed earlier in the cases.

The CID on June 11, 2008, during the military-controlled interim regime, submitted two charge sheets to the CMM court pressing charges against 22 people, including former BNP deputy minister Abdus Salam Pintu, his two brothers Maulana Tajuddin and Maulana Liton and Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami operations commander Mufti Abdul Hannan, in the cases.

After the assumption of office by the AL-led alliance on January 6, 2009, the cases took a new turn as the Dhaka Speedy Trial Tribunal, after recording depositions of 61prosecution witnesses, ordered further investigation of the cases on August 3, 2009.

The court passed the order after hearing a petition filed on June 25, 2009 by the prosecution seeking further investigations saying that the earlier investigations had failed to identify the masterminds and the source of the grenades used in the attack and had not explained explain the status of the grenades seized at the spot.

The trial of the grenade attack case under the Explosive Substances Act began on October 29, 2008 with the court framing charges against 22 people, including former BNP deputy minister Abdus Salam Pintu.

On August 13, 2009, the CID started the reinvestigations with special police superintendent Abdul Kahhar Akand as head of the investigation team.

With the new 30, the number of accused people stood at 52 in both the cases.

The supplementary charge sheet named 83 people as prosecution witnesses in addition to the 408 named in the original charge sheet.

Police subinspector Faruk Hossain and Awami League leaders Abdul Jalil and Saber Hossain Chowdhury filed three first information reports with the Motijheel police regarding the grenade attack on the Awami League.

The CID took charge of the grenade attack case investigation on August 23, 2004, two days after the attack.

The CID appointed assistant superintendent Abdur Rashid the investigation officer and special superintendent Ruhul Amin was made the supervisor.

Rashid arrested 20 people and allegedly forced George Miah, Abul Hasem Rana and Shafiqul Islam to admit to his guilt in the presence of magistrates under Section 164 of the Criminal Procedure Code on June 26, December 12 and December 17 in 2005.

After Rashid's retirement, Munshi Atiqur Rahman was appointed investigation officer of the cases on December 24, 2005.

In the meantime, the CID had arrested Mufti Hannan in connection with the Ramna Batamul blast case. He is also accused in several other cases filed in connection with militancy.

During CID interrogation, Hannan reportedly admitted being involved in the grenade attack and named 27 others, including Abdus Salam Pintu, who were directly and indirectly involved in the planning and execution of the attack.

Allegations have it that through multiple investigations, the BNP-led alliance government tried to establish that the Awami League was involved in the attack and to prove that 'foreign enemies' instigated the carnage.

Eleven days after the attack, the then prime minister Khaleda Zia blamed the Awami League for the attack.

The judicial inquiry commission of Justice Joynul Abedin, set up to investigate the attack, had also said in its report that foreign agencies might have masterminded the attack.

The government had then asked for help from the US Federal Bureau of Investigation and Interpol but their findings had never been made public.

The CID on on March 29, 2010 sued former investigation officers Rashid, Atiqur and Ruhul Amin on charges of deflecting the investigation in a wrong direction by forcing some people to make false statements and concealing evidence to protect the culprits.

Source : New Age

Police attack pickets, 200 held

The police attacked pickets and arrested more than 200 protesters during the six-hour general strike the national committee to protect oil, gas, mineral resources, power and ports observed in Dhaka on Sunday in protest at deals signed with US oil company ConocoPhillips.

More than 8,000 lawmen in riot gear, deployed in the capital, attacked every move of pickets and dispersed protesters by charging with truncheons at them, injuring at least 50 people.

In addition to observing the general strike in Dhaka, the committee also went on demonstrations in district towns against the exploration deals. The police obstructed such programmes in many of the areas.

The national committee on the day decided to hold protests on Monday in Dhaka against the government's repressive acts on protesters.

The police severely attacked the protesters on the Dhaka University campus and in alleys of the Topkhana Road and in Purana Paltan where the offices of the left parties are located.

The police began attacking the pickets soon after the strike had begun by picking up top leaders of the national committee.

Towards the end of the strike hours, the police charged with truncheons at the activists of Bangladesher Samajtantrik Dal in an alley in the Topkhana Road area after sealing off both the ends of the alley.

The party said that at least 50 activists were injured in the police attack and women activists of the party were not spared.

Ten of the injured — Rina, a student of Dhaka University, Munia, a student of Eden College, Masud and Sazzad, students of Titumir College, Swapna Basu, a student of BUET, Chhatra Front leader Moloy Sarkar, Masud Rana, a student of Jagannath University, Tania, a student of Siddheswari College, and Shafique, an activist of the Fatullah unit of Bangladesher Samajtantrik Dal — were admitted to Dhaka Medical College Hospital.

On the Dhaka University campus, the police attacked processions of student activists at Shahbagh and Raju Memorial and in the Doyel Square after the students had started a fire with some posters, which were pasted around the Raju Memorial and contained the

photograph of the prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, and damaged three vehicles.

Panic gripped the people in and around the Teachers-Students Centre as the police chased the protesters about 11:00am.

The protesters who took shelter inside the Teachers-Students Centre and Suhrawardy Udyan were not spared.

The police entered the TSC and searched the rooms for protesters. They picked up four people from the office of the Dhaka University Film Society.

The four included former Film Society general secretary Ripon Kumar Das Dhruba, also a vice-president of the university unit Chhatra Union, and Senjuti Nawroz and Mousumi,

The Shahbagh police chief, Rezaul Karim, said that they had detained 30 people, including a former vice-president of the university unit Chhatra Union Syed Faiz Ahmed, during the strike hours. The police, however, released four of them in the afternoon.

Students of Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology sat in on the BUET campus as the police did not allow them to get out of the campus.

The police about 6:00am cordoned off a small procession of the Biplabi Workers Party on the Topkhana Road and picked up all the protesters who included the party's general secretary Saiful Huq and central leaders Moshreka Aditi, Bahnishikha Jamali.

The national committee's member secretary Anu Muhammad and Communist Party leader Ruhin Hossain Prince were picked up from in front of the Communist Party office and Anu was released later.

Labour leaders Mushrefa Mishu, Zebunnesa Zebu, Jolly Talukder were arrested after from a procession at Bijoynagar area. Ganasanghati Andolan chief coordinator Zonayed Saki and Bangladesher Samajtantrik Dal leader Rajekuzzaman Ratan were picked up from Topkhana Road when they were heading for Purana Paltan.

The police cordoned off the protesters, including Anu Muhammad, when the leaders were standing at the entrance of the Communist Party office. The police had cordoned them off till the strike was over.

The police picked up anyone, protesters or passers-by, who went near the policemen, who were cordoning off the leaders at the place.

The Motijheel zone police deputy commissioner, Anwar Hossain, said that they had detained 52 people from Purana Paltan and Bijoynagar. The Uttara police officer-in-charge, Rejaul Karim, said that they had detained 21 people during strike hours.

The police chased away a few activists at Mirpur when they were preparing to bring out a procession.

Shops, markets and educational institutions in most city areas were closed during strike hours. There were buses on some city routes rickshaws all over.

After the strike hours, the national committee at a briefing announced to go on demonstrations in Dhaka on Monday.

The national committee convener, Sheikh Muhammad Shaheedullah, said that more than 200 activists had been arrested and many had been injured in police attack during the strike hours.

He said that the repression the government carried out against the people had proved that it had given an undertaking to a foreign company to allow it to export national resources. 'The government has no hesitation in torturing the activists who were out to protect national interest,' he said.

Anu Muhammad said, 'The police and the Rapid Action Battalion tortured our activists and arrested them. Vehicles ran with the help of ruling party goons. It proves that the government has given an undertaking to the US company.'

He also demanded that the people arrested during the strike should be released.

The CPB president, Manjurul Ahsan Khan and its presidium member Haider Akbar Khan Rano, BSD general secretary Khalequzzman, Workers Party general secretary Anisur Rahman Mallik and Jatiya Gana Front convener Tipu Bishwas attended the briefing.

Source : New Age