8/13/2019 Dhaka Tribune print edition: December 8, 2013

1/26

Child, fathwounded bpolice bulln Kailash Sarkar

A six-year-old boy and hitained bullet wounds duringtween police and Jamaat-Scapitals Malibagh yesterda

Md Maher Alam, an uppstudent at the Shahid LieutShikkhaloy, and his father Abdul Majed, 45, an offi for Mass Education and Sreturning to their Noyatolin Moghbazar from the Maaround 11am, when they go

The two were taken to the ical College Hospital withrubber bullets on the fohead of Maher and back anfather.

Majed told the DhaThere was no procession oBut suddenly, several bombThen we tried to run to saflets hit us.

Witnesses said 10-12 Jmen exploded a number boroad prompting police toshotguns.

PICTUREP16

16 pages with 8-page business tabloid

Agrahayan 24, 1420Safar 4, 1435Regd. No. DA 6238Vol 1 No 254 SUNDAY, DECEMBER 8, 2013 www.dhakatribune.com SECOND EDITION

News3 Businessmen had threatened tobesiege the offi ces of Prime MinisterSheikh Hasina and opposition leaderKhaleda Zia if they did not takeappropriate steps soon to resolve thecountrys prevailing political gridlock.

Nation5 Hundreds of farmers demonstratedin front of a fertiliser dealers shopand conned him by blockading theLalmonirhat-Mogholhat road onFriday, while others demonstrated atHatibandha in Lalmonirhat yesterdayprotesting the unexpected pricehike of fertilisers.

INSIDE

B1 BusinessWTO adoptshistoric tradereform deal

6 FeatureNelson No ordipoliticia

UN Assistant Secretary General Oscar Fernandez-Taranco calls on Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at Ganabhaban yesterday PMO

Rawshan, Anisul, Bablu buying timen Abu Bakar Siddique and

Manik Miazee

Two Jatiya Party ministers RawshanErshad and Anisul Islam Mahmud andPMs Adviser Ziauddin Ahmed Babluwere yet to submit their resignation let-ters to the party chief until yesterday.

Rawshan did not go to the partychairmans residence President Park,

located at Baridhara, yesterday whileAnisul last met him on Thursday, whenHM Ershad had declared to boycott thepolls, and directed all his party men tosubmit resignations and withdraw can-didature.

But Bablu did not meet Ershad fora single day since that day. He has also been absent at the party offi ce.

Meanwhile, JP Secretary General

Ruhul Amin Hawlader and MujibulHaq Khan Chunnu, who among foursubmitted resignations to Ershad onThursday, are trying to convince himnot to quit the polls-time government,party insiders say.

We are trying to persuade Er-shad so that he changes his decisionand participate in the 10th general

PAGE 2 COLUMN 2

UN asks if pollscan be deferredHasina shows Taranco way to the ECn Kamran Reza Chowdhury,

Sheikh Shahariar Zaman andMohammad Al-Masum Molla

The UN chiefs visiting envoy OscarFernandez-Taranco yesterday at ameeting with Prime Minister SheikhHasina enquired whether there wasscope to shift the 10th general electiondate, now scheduled for January 5,apparently to ensure main oppositionBNPs participation.

He also observed that negotiationfor restoration of a non-party caretak-er government was not needed, ratheran even-playing eld for all politicalparties is a necessity, Prime MinistersAdviser Gowher Rizvi told reporters af-ter the meeting at Ganabhaban.

Hasina said changing the electiondate was completely the decision of theElection Commission, which is consti-tutionally mandated to hold the elec-tions, not the government.

She said her government want-ed an inclusive election, as Tarancostressed, provided that it must be held

within the constitutional provisions.Meanwhile, BNP chief Khaleda Zia

in her meeting with Taranco later re-portedly said suspending or deferringthe election schedule would not re-solve the crisis.

When Taranco reminded the BNPchief about the constitutional obliga-tion to hold the polls by January 24,according to sources, Khaleda had re-ferred to several formulas presented by different parties and civil societymembers on the formation of an inter-im government as a possible solution.

Apart from holding a meeting inpresence of other Awami League lead-ers, the UN assistant secretary-generalfor political affairs and the PM had o ne-to-one session for more than one hour.

For around two hours Taranco dis-cussed different issues with Khaledaand her team at the opposition leadersGulshan residence. BNP leaders AbdulMoyeen Khan, Reaz Rahman, Shamsh-er Mobin Chowdhury and SabihuddinAhmed were present.

PAGE 2 COLUMN 2

Police reinforcement on the cards

to tame violence centring pollsn Kailash Sarkar

Police are going to reinforce theirpositions by arming themselves ina bid to rein in the volatile politicalsituation and stabilise the law andorder in the country ahead of thenational election.

As part of the move, the pur-chase of huge arms and ammuni-tion and other operational equip-ment is underway.

Sources in the equipment unitat the police headquarters said itrecently oated separate tendersto purchase 3,500 rearms, 71,800gas grenades, gas guns and teargas shells, 55,000 batons, 7,500handcuffs, 26,000 jackets andvests, 5,000 ropes, 20,000 headsafety gears, 8,000 bandoliers

(bullet keepers), 25,000 slings forpreserving bullets, 90,000 pairs of boots and various other necessarymaterials.

According to the sources, the us-age of a large quantity of bullets and

tear gas shells to deal with clashescentring the verdict against the warcriminals, face-offs with the Hefaz-at-e-Islam and the ongoing hostileencounters between police and an-ti-government elements resulted ina shortage of the stockpiles.

The purchase of arms and ammu-nition and other combat equipmentis a regular process, but this yearthe police had to spend a recordnumber of bullets and tear gasshells along with a large number of

gas grenades and sound grenadesin various encounters with Hefazatand the Jamaat-e-Islam, said a sen-ior poli ce offi cial in t he headquar-ters on condition of anonymity.

He said on May 5 and 6, the

highest amount of bullets, teargas shells, gas grenades and soundgrenades were spent on the con-frontation with the Hefazat in Dha-ka, Manikganj, Narayanganj andChittagong.

Besides, to tame the ongoingviolent political situation, policeresort to ring of tear gas canistersand charging of batons almostregularly.

Police reinforcement will benecessary to deal with any unto-ward situation centring the up-coming election, added the policeoffi cia l.

Kamrul Hasan, assistant inspec-tor general (equipment), however,did not make any comment on thepurchase, terming it secret.

It should not be made public,

added the police high-up.But sources in the Equipmentunit said a tender was oated onSeptember 26 asking for the sup-ply of 1,000 pieces of 9mm pistols,

PAGE 2 COLUMN 1

The highest amount ofbullets, tear gas shells, gas grenades and sound grenades were spent onthe confrontation withthe Hefazat-e-Islam

8/13/2019 Dhaka Tribune print edition: December 8, 2013

2/26

Violence marks beginning of 72-hour blockaden Tribune Report

The fresh spell of nationwide 72-hourroad-rail-waterway blockade, calledby the BNP-led 18-party alliance wasmarked by stray incidents of vandalismincluding arson attack on steamers andbuses, clash between pickets and po-lice yesterday.

In Jessore, blockaders attacked aconvoy of the Border Guard of Bangla-desh, in response the troops red 50rounds of bullets.

A bus helper suffered severe burninjuries after pickets set re to thevehicle, which he was sleeping in atLouhajang upazila in Munshiganj.The pro-blockade activists also setre to three launches, and a bus whilethey vandalised a water vessel in thedistrict, a couple of hours before theblockade began at 6am.

The opposition activists blastedcrude bombs, vandalised vehicles,brought out processions and clashedwith law enforcement force at differentparts of the capital, including Rampura,Bhasantek, Khilgaon, Tejgaon and Jatra-bari areas in the morning. Several peo-ple were arrested from different areas.

In the capitals Dholaipar, block-aders burned a stationed bus around4:30am in the morning.

Meanwhile, a minor boy and his fa-ther suffered bullet wounds as policeopened re on a Jamaat-Shibir proces-sion at the citys Malibagh ChowdhuryPara area around 11am.

The injured were, NGO employeeMajedur Rahman, 45, a resident of EastNayatola in the city and his son MahirAhmed, 6.

Besides, blockaders blasted crudebombs and set re to a vehicle inGabtoli. Later, Gabtoli police arresteda man along with a handmade bombs.

Police in Old Dhaka and Rampura,rounded up seven people including sixJamaat-Shibir activists.

At Islampur, a clash between Shibiractivists and police took place around8:45am. Jamaat-Shibir membersbrought out a procession in the morn-ing, and tried to restore to vandalismin Rampura as well. After being resist-ed by police, they hurled several c rudebombs at the law enforcers.

The blockade in capital was appar-ently slack compared to previous oneswith vehicles on road, and launchesrunning the waterways, but no in-ter-district bus left the terminals.

The opposition alliance has alreadyenforced 202 hours of road-rail-wa-terway blockade across the country intwo spells 71-hour and 131-hours. Theback-to-back programmes were being

enforced since the announcement ofthe schedule for the 10th parliamenta-ry elections on November 25.

Several incidents of clashes, arsonand vandalism were also reported inJessore, Munshiganj, Chittagong, Gazi-pur, Jamalpur and Satkhira.

After being attacked by blockaders,the BGB red around 50 rounds of gunshots to disperse them at Rupdia un-der Kotwali police station in Jessorearound 3pm on Saturday. At least sev-en blockaders were hurt in the attack,claimed Jamaat.

Lieutenant Colonel Matiur Rahman,comman ding offi cer, 26 BGB Battal iontold the Dhaka Tribune that the escortsof Brigadier General Shamsur Rahman,regional commander of Border GuardBangladesh red around 50 rounds inthe air as his motorcade came under at-tack by the blockaders at Rupdia on theJessore-Khulna Highway around 3pm.

The BGB offi cial was re turningfrom Khulna after attending a meet-

ing, he said.The blockaders hurled cocktails at

the BGB vehicle.However, Master Noor-un-Nabi,

general secretary, Jessore district unitof Jamaat-e-Islami told the Dhaka Tri- bune that at least seven of their activ-ists were hurt as the BGB men charged baton on them. He, however, refusedthe information of attacking BGB.

In Munshiganj, Alamgir, 23, a help-er, was sleeping inside a bus of GreatBikrampur Paribahan parked on theMawa launch terminal parking yard,when pro-blockade activists torchedit. He was brought immediately to the burn unit of Dhaka Medical CollegeHospital with 20% burn injuries.

Doctors said his throat was critically burnt making him vulnerable.

The pro-blockade activists also set reto MV Rajib-2, MV Masum and vandal-ised MV Sajal-1 anchored at Mawa Termi-nal and torched a bus of Gangchil Parib-ahan parked at a petrol pumps parking.

Fire service and locals put outthe bl aze, s aid Ab ul Kal am, offi -cer-in-charge at Louhajang PoliceStation.

In Gazipur, pro-blockaders torcheda sub-inspectors motorcycle at Joy-debpur bus stand from a procession.Police said the procession was parad-ing from Joydebpur bus stop, whereseveral small vehicles were vandalised.As police barred the procession, theytorched the motorcycle parked besideand engaged in a clash with cops.

In Chittagong, pro-blockade activ-ists torched at least two vehicles andvandalised 10 others. They also blastedcrude bombs and attempted to blockroads at different areas in the port cityand elsewhere in the district while po-lice dispersed them and took control ofthe situation. No casualty was reported.

Creating blockade on roads, chas-es-counter chases between AL andBNP activists, and exchanging bulletsmarked the blockade in Jamalpur.

AL Activists chased the oppositionactivists to take position at ChaparKona Jamtola intersection under Shar-ishabari upazila in the morning whichturned into the chase-counter chase.Later, police came and red 8-9 roundsof blanks and charged baton, leavingve people injured.

Meanwhile, at Melandaho upazila,BNP activists brought out a processionwearing shrouds. They torched a localAl offi ce.

In the meantime, three youths sus-tained serious injuries while making bombs at an abandoned house at Lax-mipur under Motbee union of FeniSadar around 5pm. The injured wereidentied as Ripon, 34, Saiful, 32, andShwapon.

Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal, mean-while, has called hartals in Chittagongfor Sunday and in Rangpur and Narailfor Monday, demanding immediate re-lease of the party p resident and generalsecretary. l

Rawshan, Anisul, Bablu buying time PAGE 1 COLUMN 5

election, Chunnu told the Dhaka Tri- bune yesterday evening.

The four ministers had series ofmeetings with Awami League leadersand Ershad yesterday. The two othersare Ershads brother GM Quader andSalma Islam.

They also went to the Prime Minis-ters Offi ce yesterday to m eet premierSheikh Hasina, but failed to get her ap-pointment.

Howlader told journalists that thefour ministers were awaiting the pre-mieres appointment.

While brieng media after a meetingwith the party chief, he said the JP min-

isters were set to submit their resigna-tion letters to the prime minister today.

Though we need to seek an ap-pointment with the prime minister, weare yet to get it, he added.

Six ministers of the 29-memberpolls-time cabinet, who took oaths onNovember 18, are from the Jatiya Party.

However, Ershad is yet to with-draw the three nomination papershe had submitted to the returningoffi cers offi ce though timelin e forwithdrawal of nomination papers be-gan yesterday. The deadline ends onDecember 13.

Sunil Shuvo Roy, press and politi-cal secretary of Ershad, told the Dha-

ka Tribune that the party would issuea letter to the Election Commission.It would be applicable for all the JPcandidates.

Meanwhile, expelled Jatiya Partyleader Kazi Zafar Ahmed yesterday said:I have information from reliable sourc-es that Rowshan Ershad will replace HMErshad as the party chairman.

At a press brieng held at his Gul-shan residence, he said: I have alsoheard that Ershad may travel abroadciting health reasons.

Kazi Zafar added that several Jati-ya Party ministers including Hawladerwere not willing to give up their posts.

Refuting the claims, Ershad said

he would remain the partydeath. There is even noanyone to take up the posing chairman. Those whoing rumours are intendingpeople.

Speaking to journalistidence, the former militsaid: The chairman of is still alive. I am the chdeath. I do not give poweelse.

Regarding the resignaparty leaders, Ershad said: matter at all whether the mtain or leave, resign or notall in the party. l

News2 DHAKA TRIBUNE Sunday, December 8, 2013

Police reinforcementon the cards to tameviolence

PAGE 1 COLUMN 6

Child, father woundedby police bullets

PAGE 1 COLUMN 6This correspondent tried to talk to theboy but he seemed severely trauma-tised from the incident.

Md Ashrafuzzaman, deputy com-missioner of police, said although theinjuries were not serious, police couldhave been more responsible.

I have decided to visit the child andwould take measures for counseling ifrequired, the DC said. l

Babunagari urges Ershad to stick to his decisionn Tushar Hayat, Chittagong

Junaid Babunagari, secretary general ofHefazat-e-Islam Bangladesh, has urgedJatiya Party chief HM Ershad to remainrm on his decision of not joining theupcoming parliamentary election.

He made the urge in a statement is-sued yesterday by the Chittagong-based

Islamist group.The role of Jatiya Party Chairman

HM Ershad is very important duringsuch critical turning of politics, hesaid.

His decision for not joining the pollswithout participation of all parties hadfullled the expectation of the people,the Hefazat leader said.

He said the JP chairman could playa signicant role in the current politi-cal perspective to ensure level playingeld for the next general polls.

He added that the devoted Muslimshad never expected the JP chairmanto be used for establishing atheism in-stead of playing his due role.

The giant neighbouring country did

not want the Bangladeshi nationalistforce to come to power. Therefore, itwas high time for Bangladeshi national-ist force to remain united forgetting alldifferences to recover the nation frompresent uncertainty, Babunagari said.

Earlier on November 23, Babunagaristated that though Ershad had taken blessings from the Hefazat-e-Islam

chief Shah Ahmad Sha, his currentpolitical stance would turn it into acurse for him.

He made the remark six days afterthe former military dictator met Sha- in Chittagong. He went to the portcity a day after announcing he wasleaving the ruling alliance to form anew one. l

More unconteMPs if Jatiya withdrawsn Mohammad Zakaria

As the Election Commissihas been completed, it is 33 Awami League candiddeclared elected uncontesJanuary 5 elections. But may increase if Jatiya Partwithdraw their nominations the party chairmans announ

According to the EC repcandidates are contesting inmentary seats, where most ers are from the Awami LeaErshad-led Jatiya Party.

So far, seven Jatiya dates have applied for wnominations.

An offi cial sai d the comnot collected applicationdrawing nomination papeeld-level. We will start from Sunday [today].

Ershad backtracked froonly a day after joining the poernment and announcing MHe has asked party leaders toignations and withdraw their papers. However, he later agpolls if the schedule was participation of all parties w a

The ruling Awami Leaglies are determined to hold on January 5 while the oppance has been observing blhartals since the announcemschedule on November 25.

After the beginning of ry democracy in 1991, no celected uncontested in thexcept for the 1996 one. Twas boycotted by all partiethe BNP and some other sm

In the much-disputed eleon February 15 that year, 49of the BNP were elected uThe BNP then won 279 seaElections to 10 parliamenuencies were not held due able circumstances.

In the January 22, 2006candidates of the BNP werecontested. But the polls weafter the declaration of eme

A senior offi cial o f thday told the Dhaka Tribunelection was held in participarties, there would be no ucandidates. l

Two held wTk19.30 lakn Tarek Mahmud, Chitt

Police held two with Tk19Patiya upazila in Chittagonwhile going to Coxs Bazar in a Pajero jeep carrying the n

The arrestees are Syeand Rabiul Alam, 21, bothTeknaf upazila of Coxs Bsaid Maz U ddin, offi cerPatiya police station.

He told the Dhaka on-duty police seized the 1:30pm as their vehicle wthe national ag. l

Scared passengers jump out of the windows of a bus as blockade supporters set the vehicle on re in citys Shajahanpur area on the rst day of 72-hour countrywide blockade enforcedby the BNP-led 18-party alliance DHAKA TRIBUNE

8/13/2019 Dhaka Tribune print edition: December 8, 2013

3/26

News DHAKA TRIBUNE Sunday, December 8, 2013BNP asks publicservants not toserve illegalordersn Mohammad Al-Masum Molla

Main opposition BNP has urged thegovernment offi cials to no t get in-volved with the procedures for theone sided election and also urged theElection Commission to suspend theschedule.

We urge all governm ent offi cials tocarry out their duties neutrally to servethe people and the country. Do not beused as tools for any person or partysillegal intentions, Salahuddin Ahmed,BNPs joint secretary general, said in avideo message.

Urging people to get united to forcethe government to step down, the op-position spokesperson said: The in-ternational community does not wanta one-sided election. A large sectionof teachers has already expressedtheir reservation about carrying outpolls duty.

Salahuddin alleged that the govern-ment wanted to hold farcical pollsbecause it was scared of a level play-ing eld.

Asking the EC to suspend theschedule, Salahuddin said: Suspendthe election schedule immediately,otherwise you will have to face justiceone day.

The BNP leader claimed that on therst day of the ongoing 72-hour nation-wide rail, road and waterway blockade,more than 217 had been injured, at least103 bullet hit and over 300 oppositionleaders and activists arrested.

Salahuddin has been maintain-ing communication with the mediathrough video messages and pressreleases since November 30, whenBNPs crisis-time spokesperson Ru-hul Kabir Rizvi was arrested from theNayapalt an offi ce.

Designated opposition spokes-person Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir,also the acting secretary general ofBNP, along with most of the senioropposition leaders, has been hiding toavoid arrest. l

Two Chhatra Dal menabbed for Shahbagharson attackn Kailash Sarkar

Detective Branch of Police on Fridaynight arrested a ward-level leader andan activist of Chhatra Dal at the cap-itals Shantinagar and Bongshal areas,claiming they were among those whohad set re to a bus in Shahbagh on No-vember 28.

DB produced Md Uzzal Hossain, 26,president of ward 70 unit Chhatra Dalof Dhaka, and Sohel Chan alias Milin,28, before journalists in a brieng yes-terday. DB offi cials sa id Uzzal was t healleged planner of the arson attack.

However, no one was allowed to talk tothe two arson attack suspects.

The two were placed on a three-dayremand yesterday after they had beenproduced before a Dhaka court. Sanwar

cal College Hospital.A group of seven to ei

took part in the arson attaUzzal and Milon. So far, wof them. Another ChhatraSabbir was arrested two daycapital, said DB Joint CMonirul Islam said at the b

Monirul also said: Foltives from senior party leadtained criminals have so fasome 50 attacks on vehicleand crude bombs.

In exchange of money, ried out almost all the arsoattacks on vehicles and ontook place in last few monthitals Bongshal, Kotwali, Stan, Motijheel, Ramna, Shthe adjoining area s, said the

When asked, he claimother members of the gannancers were known to podeclined to disclose their id

ADC Sanwar, who ledrives, got conrm about thment with the arrest using mnology which showed that th

Businessmen warn Hasina and Khaledan Tribune Report

The Countrys businessmen had threat-ened to bes iege the offi ces of P rimeMinister Sheikh Hasina and oppositionleader Khaleda Zia if they did not takeappropriate steps soon to resolve thecountrys prevailing political gridlock.

From a human chain programmeorganised by the BGMEA, BKMEA andBTMA in front of the BGMEA premisesin the capitals Kawran Bazar yester-day, the warning was made. The pro-gramme was organised with an aimto put pressure on political parties to

come to a consensus in resolving theongoing political crisis.

Meanwhile, the FBCCI is scheduledto hold a ag demonstration bearingwhite ag with participations of thecountrys businessmen on December 15.

If the political leaders do not takeany steps within 3-4 days, we will protestalong with our four million workers, BG-MEA President M Atiqul Islam warned.

If the political crisis continues, wewill not be able to pay workers salaryand over times, banks loans, LCs pay-ment, insurance premiums, Islam said.

FBCCI Vice-President Helal Uddin

urged the politicians to stop politics ofarson and vandalism.

The apparel apex trade bo dy leadersalso urged the political parties to keepthe vehicles carrying RMG goods out ofpurview of hartals and blockades.

Ensure security, or quit from pol-itics, said Shaul Islam Mohiuddin,former BGMEA president, pointing anger to the government.

We were supposed to stay in fac-tories but because of sick politics weare on the streets, said Annisul Huq,former FBCCI president, and added:Please, open the motherly heart and

close the violent heart.Anisur Rahman Sinha, former BG-

MEA president, said, Do not push thecountry along with this industry to-wards destruction for the sake of par-tys interests.

Meanwhile, Mostafa of Dress UpLimited said, It is high time to boycottthe fake politicians, adding that theydid not want the politics, which wouldpush the country backward.

The countrys RMG sector and econ-omy were at stake for the interest of thepoliticians, said Abdul Muktadir, direc-tor of FBCCI, adding that only the poli-

tician would be benetted fand it [the RMG industry] wvictims.

Civil society membchamber leaders and workexpressed solidarity with tdemanding an end to the olitical unrest in the countrynecessary measures to comsensus.

Meanwhile, the businserved one minute silencrespect to Nelson MandelSouth African leader, who pon Friday. l

Secretariats pro-opposition staff reorganisen Mohosinul Karim

Ahead of the parliamentary elections,leaders of pro-opposition employeesorganisations at the Secretariat haveresumed their activities to realise sev-eral demands breaking the silence af-ter roughly ve years.

Their activities are seen inside thecountrys administrative hub recently,when the countrys political situationis volatile centring the next generalelections, slated for January 5.

The pro-government organisationsterm those activities baseless as mostof the seven demands put forward bythe pro-opposition organisations havealready been met or are under consid-eration.

Some suspect that untoward inci-dents might take place given the con-fronting atmosphere prevailing in theSecretariat between the two groups.

Nazrul Islam, president of Shachiba-loy Karmakarta Karmachari Sangjukta

Parishad, claimed that they had no illmotives behind being reorganised.

We have already submitted to thegovernment our seven-point demandswhich are promotion and creationof new posts, upgrading job status,increasing pay scales, eliminatingdiscriminations, introducing risk al-lowances and conrmation of servicefor the work-charged employees. Weare moving ahead to realise these de-mands, he said.

On December 2, they had beenchased by the pro -government offi cialsand employees when supporters of thepro-opposition organisation went to thenance ministry to meet the minister.Other offi cials and law enforcers inter-vened to quell the untoward situation.

In late October, a section of pro-op-position public servants, termingthemselves patriot employees, dis-tributed anti-government leaets in-side the Secretariat raising allegationsof corruption and misuse of power

against several ministers, advisers andtop-level civil bureaucrats.

The pro-opposition organisationsare Bangladesh Shachibaloy Karmakar-ta Karmachari Sangjukta Parishad led by Nazrul Islam and Mahe Alam; Sec-retariat Perso nal Offi cers Assoc iationof Sultan Ahmed and Kamal Hossain;Stenotypist cum Computer OperatorsAssociation led by Hannan Sardar andZillur Rahma n Rashed; Offi ce Assistantcum Computer Operators Associationof Md Salauddin and Yusuf Mridha;Secretariat Computer Employees As-sociation led by Nizamul Hassan andNazrul Islam; Secretariat AccountsOffi cers Assoc iation hea ded by AktarHossain and Parvez Ahmed; and Secre-tariat Grade IV Employees Associationled by Rahmat Ullah and Azim Uddin.

The Sangjukta Parishad was earlierled by pro-government leader NizamulHaq Bhuiyan Milon. A section ofpro-opposition employees coming outof the organisation formed a new one

with the same name under the leader-ship of Nazrul and Mahe Alam.

Their movement is backed by anon-cadre assistant secretary of the -nance division and two pro-oppositionsenior journalists, pro-governmentemployees leaders allege.

They said there was no signicantissue to launch a movement as mostof the demands had already been ful-lled. The government also announcedthe pay commission to increase salariesand facilities for the public servants.

Ruhul Amin, secretary general ofBanglad esh Sec retariat Offi cers an dEmployees United Council, claimedthat the pro -oppo sition offi cials an demployees had been reorganising tocreate an anarchic situation in the ad-ministration.

Milon said, A section of pro-oppo-sition offi cers and employees are tryi ngto achieve their goals by cashing in thecurrent political turmoil. The employ-ees and offi cials wi ll resist them. l

Members of business community after h olding a humane chain in front of B GMEA offi ce join a mass signature campaign expressing their concerns over curr ent political crisis and requesting the government and the oppo sition toresolve the political deadlock to create a favorable environment for business SY

The arson attack left 19 peopleseverely burnt, of whom threehad already died and severalothers were undergoingtreatment at Burn Unit of theDMCH

On the rst day of the ongoing72-hour nationwide rail, roadand waterway blockade, morethan 217 had been injured andat least 103 bullet hit

EC cancels 260 nominationsn Mohammad Zakaria

Election Commission cancelled 260nominations out of a total 1107 submit-ted for the 10th parliamentary election

didates nominations were cancelled forother reasons.

The commission did not provide anyreason for cancelling the rest of the 25candidates nominations.

8/13/2019 Dhaka Tribune print edition: December 8, 2013

4/26

News4 DHAKA TRIBUNE Sunday, December 8, 2013

WEATHER

Dry weather likelyn UNB

Weather may remain mainly dry withpartly cloudy sky over the country hav-ing chances of light rain or thunder-showers at one or two places over Chit-tagong division until 6pm today.

Night temperature might rise by 1-2 de-gree Celsius and day temperature mightfall slightly over the country, Met offi cesaid. The sun sets in the capital at 5:12pmtoday and rises at 6:30am tomorrow.

Countrys highest temperature 30.2degree Celsius was recorded at Comilla

d Sit k d d l t 12 5 d g

A CNG-run auto-rickshaw driver tries to put off the ame as blockade supporters set his vehicle on re in the citys Shajahanpur area on the rst day of 72-hour countrywide blockadeimposed by the BNP-led 18-party alliance

Political psychopaths will dry outn Tribune Report

Political psychopaths are destiningto be doomed, former chief adviser tothe 1996 caretaker government JusticeHabibur Rahman said yesterday.

Let the present state of things notbe a cause for despair. Do not get dis-heartened. Like cyclone and sidr, theactivity of political psychopath will notbe able to sustain themselves. Theywill dry out. They are destining to bedoomed, he said at the 15th convoca-tion of Independent University, Ban-gladesh (IUB) at the Army Stadium.

I say, you shall overcome all hur-dles on your way and you will surely

conquer, he told the students.As many as 182 students, made up

of 179 undergraduates and three gradu-ates, have earned academic honours.Five of them two from the under-graduate and three from the graduateclasses have received the ChancellorsAward (gold medal) for completingtheir programmes with a perfect CGPAof 4 out of 4. They are Tanzina AhmedChoudhury (valedictorian), Nazia Sul-tana (valedictorian), Shampa Sadia,Sayema Sultana and Ahmad MufassirMasum.

A record number of 1,955 studentsattended the convocation. Of them,1,246 are undergraduates and 709 grad-

uates from various programmes of theuniversity.

The convocation began after payinghomage to South Africas anti-apart-heid leader Nelson Mandela, throughone minute of silence.

As delegated by the president andchancellor of IUB, Abdul Hamid, Vice-Chancellor Prof M Omar Rahman con-ferred the degrees to the graduates.Justice Habibur was the ConvocationSpeaker.

IUB Board of Trustees ChairmanRashed Chowdhury, IUB foundingTrust Chairman Saifur Rahman andRegistrar Tanvir A Khan also spoke onthe occasion. l

BBC BANGLADESH SANGLAP

AL is negotiating with JP: Suranjitn Rabiul Islam

Awami League advisory council mem- ber Suranjit Sen Gupta has hinted thatthe party is engaged in a negotiationwith Jatiya Party chairman HM Ershad,who has recently declared to boycottthe upcoming polls.

Of course, we cannot expect thatthere would not be any bargaining andcounter-bargaining in politics, Suran- jit said while speaking as a panelist ofBBC Bangladesh Sanglap at Biam audi-torium yesterday.

He also pointed out that Ershad had

joined the polls-time government be-cause he had earlier decided to contestthe polls. I believe that the latest prob-lem with Ershad would end throughtalks, he said.

Another panelist BNP chairpersonsadviser Khandker Mahbub Hossainclaimed that Ershads decision to notgo to the polls had jeopardised thegovernment. He expressed hopes thatErshad would maintain his stance.

The BNP leader also said if armycame for the greater interest of thecountry and democracy, then it was adifferent thing but they did not want

interference because it was dFounding president of

Women Chamber of ComIndustry Selima Ahmad obnever want army interferen

Suranjit Sen said: We havproblems ourselves becausecannot establish democracyin the world. Political anMazhar said: We do not exence of army; but given the ction, it is hard to assume anyth

Khandkar Mahbub obsforeign diplomats can givevice during political crisis.

Government lyingabout CHT accord:Santu Larman Our Correspondent, Rangamati

Chittagong Hill Tracts Regional CouncilPresident Jyotirindra Bodhipriya (San-tu) Larma yesterday said the govern-ment was always lying about the CHTaccord.

If Chitt g g Hill T t R gi l

JSC QUESTION LEAK

Probe committee blamescoaching centresn Mushque Wadud

The committee, formed to investigateallegations of Junior School Certicateand Junior Dakhil Certicate examina-tion questions being leaked, blamedcoaching centres for spreading ru-mours about the leak.

The committee suggested law-enforc-ing agencies to take actions againstcoaching centres to prevent such inci-dents in future.

We have got the report and willtake action according to the sugges-tions of the report, said Chairman ofBoard of Intermediate and Secondary

Education Taslima Begum.She, however, told the Dhaka Tri-

bune that the committee did not ndany proof that question papers wereleaked.

We have collected some questionsthat were said to be leaked but they didnot match with the main question pa-per, she added.

She also said because of blockadeand hartal programmes, schedule ofthe examinations were disorganisedand this too was a reason for creatingmuch confusion amongst guardiansand teachers.

The board formed a three membercommittee in mid November followingallegations of question paper leaks.

In several examinations, there wererumours that the question papers wereallegedly leaked. Many guardians claimedthat they purchased question papers fromdifferent coaching centres. l

Chhatra Dal locksthe CU main gaten FM Mizanur Rahaman

Activists of Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal,the student wing of BNP, of ChittagongUniversity unit yesterday locked themain gate of the university, protestingthe arrest of its unit president.

Earlier on Thursday, Abdul KadirBhuiyan Jewel, president of CU Chha-tra Dal, was arrested from the capitalsUttara in an arson case.

Witnesses said a group of ChhatraDal men locked the main gate of theuniversity around 8am and staged ademonstration.

Raqul I slam, offi cer-in-c harge ofCU police outpost, said on informa-tion they rushed to the spot and brokethe lock after 30 minutes, adding thatthe Chhatra Dal activists ed the scenesensing presence of police. l

Freedom ghterally on Decemn Mohosinul Karim

To protest against the ongotive activities of anti-liberae-Islami and its student frShibir, freedom ghters acrotry will organise a rally on D

The rally will be held Central Shaheed Minar unner of Muktijuddher Cheb M h l

MARITIME BOUNDARY DISPUTE WITH INDIA

Hearing to begintomorrown UNB

The hearing on the case related to theBay of Bengal maritime boundary dis-pute between Bangladesh and Indiawill begin at the Permanent Court ofArbitration (PCA) in the Netherlandson Monday.

A Bangladesh delegation is sched-uled to leave Dhaka for Hague on Sun-day to join the eight-day hearing at theve-member tribunal.

Foreign Minister AH Mahmud Ali,former foreign minister and agent ofthe case Dr Dipu Moni and Foreign Sec-retary M Shahidul Haque are likely tobe in the delegation.

As Dipu Moni is the agent of thecase, the government is sending herto attend the hearing considering thecountrys interest, said a diplomat.

The Netherlands-based PCA is ex-pected to deliver its judgment by therst half of the next year, foreign min-istry sources said.

The arbitrary tribunal members areProf Dr Rdiger Wolfrum (President),Judge Thomas A Mensah, Dr Pemma-raju Sreenivasa Rao, Prof Ivan Shearer,

Judge Jean-Pierre Cot, according toPCA documents.

Bangladesh is represented by DipuMoni (Agent) and Deputy Agent of Ban-gladesh and Secretary of the ForeignMinistrys Maritime Affairs Unit RearAdmiral M Khurshed Alam (retd).

On the other hand, India is repre-sented by Agent and Joint Secretaryand the Legal Advisor of the Ministry ofExternal Affairs Dr Neeru Chadha andCo-agent Joint Secretary (BSM), Minis-try of External Affairs, Harsh VardhanShringla and Deputy Agent Director(BSM), Ministry of External Affairs,Puneet Agrawal.

On October 8, 2009, Bangladesh in-stituted arbitrary proceedings concern-ing the delimitation of the maritime boundary between Bangladesh and In-dia pursuant to article 287 and AnnexVII, Article 1 of the United Nations Con-vention on the Law of the Sea.

Bangladesh won a landmark verdictagainst Myanmar on March 14, 2012 at theITLOS and through the verdict, Bangla-desh sustained its claim to the 200-nauti-cal-mile exclusive economic and territo-rial rights in the Bay of Bengal. l

US for immediate talks to end unresn Tribune Report

Political parties in Bangladesh mustcome together immediately to halt aspate of violence and ensure free andfair elections next month, a top US of-cial said.

We believe the need is now evenmore urgent for the major politicalparties to engage immediately in con-structive dialogue, to nd a way for-ward, to hold elections that are free,fair and credible, said Deputy Spokes-woman of the State Department MarieHarf.

Violence of any kind was not ac-ceptable and it must stop immedi-ately, she said, according to an AFPreport.

It says at least 67 people have died inclashes since October when an 18-par-ty opposition movement launched awave of protests calling on Prime Min-ister Sheikh Hasina to resign before theJanuary 5 polls.

The opposition, led by Hasinas bit-ter rival, Khaleda Zia, fears the premier

will try to rig the vote in a countrywhich for decades has been plagued bycoups and political upheaval, says thereport.

In the latest incident, suspectedopposition activists on Wednesdayderailed a train in Gaibandha by re-

moving metal links holdintogether, killing at least tand injuring dozens.

The opposition movemed recently after the Elmission announced the poon November 25. l

The board formed a threemember committee inmid November followingallegations of question

paper leaks Marie Harf (right)

8/13/2019 Dhaka Tribune print edition: December 8, 2013

5/26

Nation DHAKA TRIBUNE Sunday, December 8, 2013Farmers protest price hike of fertiliserRetailers claim they have to buy at high prices as blockades hamper supplyn Our Correspondent, Lalmonirhat

Hundreds of farmers demonstrated infront of a fertiliser dealers shop andconned him by blockading the Lal-monirhat-Mogholhat road on Friday,while others demonstrated at Hati-bandha and blockaded the Lalmonir-hat- Burimari Highway in Lalmonirhatyesterday protesting the unexpectedprice hike of fertilisers.

Farmers alleged that the dealerssuddenly increased the price of fer-tilisers by saying that they do not haveenough stock as vehicles cannot movebecause of the countrywide blockades.

Retailers claimed that they sell theproducts at a high price as they had tobuy the products at high prices, whiledealers claimed that they had to in-crease the price of fertilisers as theydo not get enough supply as transportfacilities are not available due to coun-trywide blockades.

But the assistant director of Ban-gladesh Agriculture Development Cor-

poration (BADC) of Lalmonirhat saidthere is no fertilizer crisis in Lalmon-irhat as there are at least 6,500 metric

tonnes of MOP, DAP and TSP fertilisersin the buffer store house.

Farmers said they are now frustrat-

ed as they have been purchasing differ-ent fertilisers at high rates that are dou- ble than the government xed rates inthe local markets in Lalmonirhat.

Now per kg urea has been selling atTk26 to Tk28 while the government xedrate is Tk14; per kg MOP has been sellingat Tk24 to Tk26, per Kg DAP at Tk48 toTk50 and per kg TSP has been selling atTk35 to Tk40 while the government ratefor the products are respectively Tk13,Tk25 and Tk20 in the local markets.

Haider Ali, 38, a farmer from Dura-kuti village of Lalmonirhat sadar, saidhe purchased per kg urea at Tk29, TSPat Tk40 and DAP at Tk50 from Bogdaditraders last week.

He also said, I purchased fertilisersat high rate as the dealer Raqul Islamcreated articial crisis.

Another farmer Mantaz Ali fromKarnapur village in Lalmonirhat sadar,said: I purchased fertilisers at doublerate from a local fertiliser trader BholaMiah at Mogholhat Bazar last week.

He added that If we try to purchase

fertilisers at government xed rate,traders denied to sell the products.

Bhola Miah, a retailer at MogholhatBazar in Lalmonirhat sadar, said as a re-tailer, he had to sell the products at highprices because he had to purchase thefertilisers from the dealers at high rates.

Raqul Islam, a dealer at Duraku-ti Bazar in Lalmonirhat sadar, whomfarmers conned for four hours on Fri-day, said not only he, but all the deal-ers are selling fertilisers at high ratesas they do not take the allotment fromthe buffer store room because of lack oftransport facility due to the blockades.

But the Assistant Director of Lalmon-irhat BADC Abdul Goni said there is nofertiliser crisis in Lalmonirhat as theyhave enough fertilisers in their stock.

He said a total of 115 dealers in Lal-monirhat are contracted with the gov-ernment to sell the fertilisers at govern-ment xed rates, and the dealers whoincreased the prices illegally will be black listed and the black listed dealerswill lose their dealerships. l

Six killed, two injured in road accidents in three districtsn Tribune Report

A total of six people were killed andtwo others were injured in separate

road accidents in the country over thelast two days.

In Chittagong, a motorcyclist waskilled after being hit by a truck on

the Dhaka-Chittagong Highway nearBarawlia of Sitakunda upazila in Chit-tagong yesterday, reports our corre-spondent.

The dead Md Amir Ali, 30, was theson of late Omor Uddin from Shalmarain Kurigram district.

Offi cer-in- Charge Sayed Jakir Ho s-sen of Barawlia Highway Police Out-post said the accident took place after aspeeding truck hit the motorbike from behind in front of International IslamicUniversity, Chittagong.

In another incident, a college stu-dent was killed after a bus hit his bicy-cle at Badamtoli in Mirsarai upazila ofthe district yesterday.

The deceased Riaz Mahmud, 17, wasa second year student of Prof KamalUddin Chowdhury College at Abu Tor-ab in the upazila.

Witnesses said the accident tookplace around 8:30am when a Green

Line bus hit Riazs bicycle while he wason his way to private coaching classes,leaving him dead.

Police recovered the body and sentit to Chittagong Medical College Hospi-tal morgue for autopsy and managed toseize the bus, the driver unfortunatelymanaged to escape.

In Narayanganj, at least three peoplewere killed and two others injured af-ter a private car rammed into a coveredvan on the Dhaka-Chittagong Highwayin Kanchpur early yesterday.

The deceased were identied asJashimuddin, 36, son of Abdul Jalil ofBajankara village in Chauddagram up-azila of Comilla district, Mostofa Mia,56, son of Hafez Ahmed of Charipurvillage, and Abdul Alim, 32, son of Ab-dul Haque of Daulatpur village in Fenidistrict.

Sohel Ahmed, in-charge of Kanch-pur highway police camp, said the ac-

cident took place in the area when theDhaka-bound private car slammed intothe covered van from behind, leavingthree passengers of the car dead on thespot and two others injured.

In Sylhet, a schoolgirl was killedin a road accident on the Sylhet-Fen-chuganj Road in Mohammadpur area inthe Dakkhin Surma upazila o n Friday.

The deceased Mashrafa AhmedSuma, 11, was daughter of Helal Ahmedof the area and a class V student of a lo-cal primary school.

Sources said the accident took placeon the road around 4pm when a pri-vate car ran over Suma when she wasreturning home from a marriage cer-emony on foot along with her familymembers. Duty doctors declared herdead after she was taken to the hospi-tal, sources added.

The car sped away after the inci-dent, they said. l

Pregnant wifstrangled byin-lawsn Our Correspondent,

A pregnant wife was stra by her in-laws at Baznab vShibpur upazila of Narsingover family feud.

The deceased Tania Khaof Rokan Mia, was a venant.

Police and witnesses sairied Rokan of the same vi16 months ago, adding works in a foreign countrsence of her husband, her faand other in-laws used to to

Yesterday, Tania had a her father in-law Benu Mone stage Benu with help laws strangled her to death make up the incident a

Suicide, they added.On information, Shibp

covered the body and seningdi Sadar Hospital for au

A case was led with Sstation, but no one was arring the report. l

NETRAKONA BOMBING

Verdicts yet to beexecuted after 8 yearsn Our Correspondent, Netrakona

Though eight years have passed, theconvicts of the Netrokona JMB bomb-ing are yet to be executed.

On December 8, 2005, nine peoplewere killed and over 50 were injuredafter suicide-bombers of Islamist out-t Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladeshplotted an attack.

Netrakona Udichi Shilpi Goshti hastaken up various programmes includ-ing a protest procession and a discus-sion meeting to observe the day.

Khwaza Haider, 38, joint secretaryof Netrakona Udichi Shilpi Goshti, RaniBegum, 35, wife of a police sub-inspec-tor and beggar Joinal, 55, lost their livesthat day on the spot.

Moreover, according to the victimsfamili es, no government offi cials havevisited them and neither have they re-ceived any aid from the administration.

During a visit to the house of Shah-anaz Begum, 31, wife of Khwaza Haid-er, the Dhaka Tribune found out thather family was yet to get any monetaryhelp from the government.

She said, No minister, not even theNetrakona deputy commissioner visit-ed my house or came to our aid. We

have become simply helpless after thedeath of Haider as he was the only earn-ing member of the family, she added.

Shahanaz, mother of two Shiplu, 16,and Shaon, 8 maintains a family of fourincluding her elderly mother-in-law.

In reply to a question, she said, I donot feel like seeking any help from thegovernment because of its failure topunish the culprits involved.

Udichi leader Sudipta Paul Shelly,another dead of the attack, was also thelone earning member of her family. Afterher death, Shellys elderly parents Su-shil Paul, 69, and Aruna Paul, 59, alongwith her ailing brother have also becomehelpless. Aruna Paul is suffering froma serious disease but is unable to buymedicine because of monetary prob-lems. They too claimed that they did notreceive any help from the government.

On 17 February, 2008, DhakasSpeedy Tribunal Court 2 sentencedthree JMB bombers, Salah Uddin, Asha-duzzaman and Yunus, to death for theirinvolvement in the Netrakona blast butthe verdicts are yet to be executed.

On the issue, Golam MohammadKhan Pathan Bimol, public prosecutor ofNetrakona Judge Court, said police haveyet to arrest one of the bombers, Yunus. l

Farmers block Lalmonirhat-Burimari Highway yesterday protesting the price hike offertiliser yesterday DHAKA TRIBUNE

Activists of Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal blockade a road at Siddhirganj of Narayanganj demanding the release of a local leader yesterday

Depression tuinto storm Mnorthwards

n UNBThe depression over theBay and adjoining areas mly northwards and intensiclonic storm Madi over thyesterday.

Met offi ce sources said iintensify further and move ily direction. Sea will remainear the storm centre.

Maritime ports of ChittBazar and Mongla had beehoist distant warning signa

All shing boats and tthe deep sea had been adviclose to north Bay and pcaution till further notice.

They were also advisedture into the deep sea. l

Promotion of raised-bed

Mother of Riaz Mahmud breaks down in tears at her sons death FOCUS BANGLA

8/13/2019 Dhaka Tribune print edition: December 8, 2013

6/26

6 FeatureDHAKA TRIBUNE Sunday, December 8, 2013

A leader locked up: Mandelas life in captivityn Tribune Desk

In 1961 Nelson Mandela and becamethe leader of Umkhonto we Sizwe, thearmed wing of the African NationalCongress. In 1962 he was captured, andsentenced to ve years in prison forleaving the country illegally and incit-ing a strike. In 1963 he was sentencedto life for sabotage.

On June 12, 1964, Mandela and hisco-accused were own by a militaryplane to Robben Island Prison.

In his autobiography, A Long Walkto Freedom, he w rote: Prison is itselfa tremendous education in the needfor patience and perseverance. It is,above all, a test of ones commitment.

Upon arrival at the Robben Islandairstrip, Mandela, with others, washandcuffed, loaded into a vehicle andtaken into an old building, where hewas issued with prison clothes, shortspants, no socks and sandals - not shoes.

As the apartheid logic of racial seg-regation extended to the prison sys-

tem, African prisoners receiveddifferent food rations and clothesin contrast to their Indian and Col-oured inmates.

Like everything else in prison,diet is discriminatory, Mandelawrote in his autobiography. Foodwas the source of many of o ur pro-tests, but in those early days, thewarders would say: Ag, you kaf-rs are eating better in prison thanyou ever ate at home! For supper,Coloured and Indian prisoners re-ceived a quarter loaf of bread and aslab of margarine. Africans, it waspresumed, did not care for bread asit was a European type of food.

Mandela remembers the guardwho brought his food saying:Here is your brown sugar for theporridge. You know - the whitesugar is reserved for us white peo-ple.

Mandelas former prison cell, wasabout four square metres in size. A

deep and a shallow plate, a spoon, asmall wardrobe, a two-centimetre-thick sleeping mat and a blanket wereall that lay inside. It was Mandelashome for 18 years. Here his name wassimply 46664.

Every hour seemed like a year,Mandela wrote of his time in captivity.I found myself on the verge of initiat-ing conversations with a cockroach.

Another inmate, Mac Maharaj, who

went on to serve as transport minis-ter under Mandelas presidency, re-members the close bonds the inmatesformed in prison.

All around the world, prison hasgot its black humour, and we did laugha lot and rib each other in those times.With extreme suffering and physi-cal and psychological pain it is part ofyour defence mechanism; to be able tolaugh at yourself.

Sometimes you miss it, and theressomething to miss because we wereforced to live so closely with each other- you had no material trappings to sur-round yourself with, none of the peo-

ple you would normally count as fam-ily and loved ones to be cushioned by.You had to rely on a sense of comrade-ship - that was the only thing that heldyou together.

During his time at the quarry at Rob- ben Island, Mandela was exposed tothe glare of the sunlight reecting offthe bright lime, resulting in eye dam-age. This was in spite of a three yearght against prison authorities to ob-tain dark glasses for protection.

In later years, prisoners used to en- joy certain privileges, such as garden-ing and playing tennis.

We opened up tennis balls and putin secret messages. We casually threwthe balls over the wall into the othersection - so we could communicatewith each other, said Itumeleng Mak-wela, an ANC member and fellow in-mate of Mandelas.

Mandela and his co-prisoners werenot allowed any newspapers and didnot have a radio. Mandela and his com-rades were also forbidden from keepingwatches or clocks. He initially made acalendar on the wall of his cell. Later hewas allowed to order a desk calendar ayear from South African Tourism, withscenic photographs and the words Landof Golden Sunshine, an Irony indeedconsidering the misery of Robben Island.

In 1986, Mandela was transferred toPollsmoor Prison outside Cape Town.For the next six years he was kept in al-most total solitary connement.

He was released in 1990. l

A funeral t for the

Mandelas visit to Bangladeshn Tribune Desk

Mandela visited Dhaka in March 1997to celebrate Bangladeshs 25th year ofindependence. At the time, he was thepresident of South Africa. Also presentwere Palestines president Yasser Ara-fat and Turkeys president SuleymanDemirel.

They visited Sriti Shoudho, laid lau-rels for the fallen martyrs of the war,and planted trees around the premises.Following the festivities the three lead-ers visited Suhrawardy Udyan, whereNelson Mandela delivered his onlyspeech in Bangladesh. Here are ex-cerpts from that speech:

I have come to Bangladesh to payhomage to a nation that has fought forits sovereignty. Celebrating this blood-

soaked independence, I am here to saytoday that escaping the clutches of op-pression and autocratic rule is nevereasy.

I have deep respect for Bangaband-hu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. Standingin this great country today, I also wantto be a friend of Bangladesh. WhileBangladesh celebrated its independ-ence, our democracy was in its infancy.We were just crawling from the dark-ness of racism towards the light of free-dom.

Despite being so far away, the peo-ple of Bangladesh were not callous towhat South Africa was facing. You allknow that freedom is not completetill everyone is free. Standing here as afriend of Bangladesh, I want to say thatwe will ght hunger, poverty and anyother problem fac ing us. l

Nelson Mandela: No ordinary politician

n AFP, Bryan Pearson

So what, exactly, is it that makes Nel-son Mandela so special?

Apart from the fact that he emergedfrom 27 years in apartheid prisons bear-ing so little malice. And that he insistedon reconciliation being central toa truth commission in order to heal

wounds caused by years of bitter racialhatred.

And that he donned a Springbok jersey and took to the eld during the1995 rugby World Cup nal in a bold bidto unite the nation behind the mainly-white South African team.

And that he stepped down after justone term as president, unlike too many

world leaders who, once given a whiffof power, cling to it until it destroysthem or they destroy the nation theyare leading.

These are some of the anti-apart-heid icons better known qualities.

But for journalists lucky enough totrack his remarkable career there wasmore, much more.

This was no ordinary politician.On the campaign trail, Mandela neverfailed in the morning to ask journalistshow they had slept and whether theyhad managed to get some breakfast. Hecame to know many reporters and pho-tographers by name, stopping often tospeak to them and adding without fail:How very nice to see you again.

One of the many dening momentsof his relentless efforts to reconciledeeply divided communities camewhen he visited Betsie Verwoerd, wid-ow of the architect of apartheid, Hen-drik Verwoerd, who had effectivelyput Mandela in jail.

The tea with Betsie meeting tookplace at her home in a whites-onlyenclave known as Orania in NorthernCape in August 1995. Mrs. Verwoerd,then 94 and very frail, afterwards said

little apart from the fact she was happythe president had visited her.

Her granddaughter, Elizabeth, wasless welcoming, reportedly stating thatshe wished rather that he had beenpresident of a neighbouring country.

Mandela was gracious and gener-ous, saying the way he had been re-ceived in Orania was as if I was inSoweto, the sprawling black townshipoutside Johannesburg where he is re-garded as a hero.

Months earlier, on April 27, 1994, journalists gathered at a school outsideDurban where Mandela was to casthis ballot in the countrys rst all-raceelection. We all thought: Is this reallyhappening? Is Mandela really voting? Isapartheid really ending?

Yes it was. Mandela made a briefspeech stressing the dawning of a newSouth Africa where all South Africansare equal. Then he dropped his ballotinto the box and, literally glowing inthe early morning sunlight, smiled longand happily. It was the kind of smilethat you know is not put on for thecameras. The kind that wells up fromthe very depths of the soul. In Mande-las case, a very rare soul indeed. l

Mandelas former prisoncell, was about four squaremetres big. A deep and ashallow plate, a spoon, a smallwardrobe, a two-centimetre-thick sleeping mat and ablanket were all that lay inside

Standing in this great countrytoday, I also want to be afriend of Bangladesh. WhileBangladesh celebrated itsindependence, our democracywas in its infancy

1918 Born in theEastern Cape

19Arreinciteing cpasspto v

1990 Freed from prison

1994 Elected rst black

president of South Africa

199Wins

MADIBAS WALK TO FREEDO

Dies after prolon

While he passesfrom this physicalworld, his vision, hisstrength and courage,his perseverance andintegrity, his humilityand magnanimity area shining example toall those who striveto create a betterand more just world,and will remain so for generations to come.

-MuhammadYunus

A letter Madiba wrote in the most beautifulAfrikaans in 1975 to Tafelberg Uitgewers

8/13/2019 Dhaka Tribune print edition: December 8, 2013

7/26

n Farzana Nawaz

As you make your waythrough the narrow,crowded, muddy and un-paved streets of DhakasNatun Bazaar, buffeted

by a mixture of smells of sewage,snack stalls, garbage and sweat of thepeople around you, the last thing youwould expect to nd here is a factorythat produces beautiful, handcraftedtoys that are sold at upscale shops inEurope and North America. And yet,improbably, this is the neighbourhoodthat houses the hea d offi ce and nish-ing centre for Hathay Bunano, a socialbusiness that does just that.

The Hathay Buna no offi ce andproduction/nishing centre is housedin a modest four-story building, somodest, in fact that there isnt evenpaint on the walls (although, I was toldthat they have moved in there very

recently).However, its clean, with lots ofwindows that let in sunlight and freshair. Inside, one would nd stacks ofunnished toy parts (a bunny rabbitwith a missing face), or nished toyspacked in clear plastic bags, yarn in allthe cheerful colours of the rainbow.In the midst, groups of women sit attables knitting, joining pieces and put-ting the nishing touches on toys withassured, astonishing speed.

Just like their head offi ce, the storyof Hathay Bunano is one made up ofseemingly incongruent parts that stillsomehow come together to form a tru-ly inspiring tale of entrepreneurship,ingenuity, and a uniquely Bangladeshisuccess story.

Hathay Bunano is the brainchildof Samantha Morshed, a Brit, and herBritish-Bangladeshi husband G olamMorshed. The company was startedin 2004 out of a conviction that thehandicraft tradition in Bangladesh canbe used to create world-class productswhile providing decent employmentopportunities for poor rural women.

On one of her rst visits to Bang-ladesh in the mid 90s, Samantha wastaken aback by the desperate poverty

of rural women. Many of these womenwere artisans, making traditionalembroidered items that were sold inthe local market to tourists. However,there was little possibility that thesewould reach the scale where decent,sustainable income can be generatedfor the artisans.

At the same time, Samantha was in-spired by the fast-growing ready-madegarment industry (RMG) in Bangla-desh that was producing clothing atthe scale, quality and attractivenessrequired for the global market. An av idknitter herself, Samantha combinedthese elements to come up with theidea of knitted and crocheted chil-drens clothing and toys that can beproduced by rural women with a smallamount of training. And thus, HathayBunano was born.

Putting the welfare of the workers first

F th b gi i g th lf

necessary. For children between threeand six years, preschool facilities withtrained teachers are also provided onthe premises.

In fact, one of the loveliest parts ofmy visit to the Natun Bazar nishingcentre was to see groups of happychildren noisily participating in theirpre-school classroom right next tothe production oor or occasionallyrunning over to their mothers whowere working.

The crche for the babies is clean, bright, with lots of toys. This is a starkcontrast to the conditions in the RMGsector where its not unusual for awoman to be red for getting pregnantand childcare facilities are provided inonly a fraction of the factories.

The Hathay Bunano women arepaid according to the number of piecesthey produce, a model that incentivis-es the more-skilled workers. The rateof compensation is 25 percent higher

than the offi cial mini mum wage and150 per cent higher than similar workin rural areas.

Considering that living costs aremuch lower in rural areas, this meansthat the disposable income available tothe women often end up being muchhigher than their counterparts in theRMG sector.

The workers are provided freetraining on knitting and crochet for sixweeks. Women who show particular

aptitude can develop and grow withinthe organisation by receiving furthertraining to become supervisors ortrainers themselves.

Ultimately, some of these womengo on to assume overall responsibilityfor entire production centres. Trainingon administrative tasks and account-ing is also provided, when the rolerequires these skills.

Bringing employment opportunities tothe most disadvantaged

As a social business, Hathay Bunanoalso makes it a point to work w ith themost disadvantaged and margnisal-ised. Their rural production modelenables them to employ relatively low-

skilled, sometimes illiterate women atthe villages for the more labour-inten-sive tasks, whereas the more high-skilled tasks, such as nishing, qualitycontrol, etc, are done at the Dhakahead offi ce.

It also works with organisationssuch as the Centre for the Rehabili-tation of the Paralysed (CRP) to nd

chars, refugees and indigenous peopleliving in the hill tracts.

Making the most of local resources

Samantha and Golam are equally crit-ical of both traditional developmentprojects that are overly prescriptiveto their beneciaries and of the RMGsector, which has centralised econom-ic activity in the urban centres, forcingyoung women to move to the citieswhere the high living costs lead themto live in slum-like conditions.

The Hathay Bunano approach, onthe other hand, brings the work to theworkers and takes advantage of oneof the abundant resources of Bangla-desh labour. They have opted for alabour-intensive production processthat minimises investment in mecha-nisation but creates more jobs.

For example, at the Natun Bazaarcentre I saw a woman spinning organic

cotton yarn by hand. This is surely aslower method than using a machine, but when asked about it the man-agers informed me that not only ishand-spinning cheaper, but it also pre-serves the integrity of the yarn betterthan machine spinning. Of course, italso creates a job for the spinner.

Hathay Bunano has demonstratedthat a distributed production modelcan work effi ciently and protablyin spite of the meager transportationinfrastructure in Bangladesh. All theraw materials and the nished partsare transported around the country ontop of public buses as unaccompanied baggage.

Mobile phones are put to excellentand innovative use to ensure that pack-ages arrive safely, a method that HathayBunano claims has a 100% success ratethus far. When packages are checkedin at the bus station at either end, amobile phone number is provided with

the package. When an employee comesto collect the package on the other endthey are identied using a missed callfrom the registered number.

The Morsheds also stress the im-portance of working with local peopleas partners so that their knowledgeand innovative potential can be putto good use. One story that Samantha

that many surface obstacles business-es face can be overcome if the localknowledge is consulted.

The innovative business model ofHathay Bunano has received accoladesand praise in the international arena,including from the Clinton GlobalInitiative. Samantha was awardedan MBE (Member of the Order of theBritish Empire) for her work and mostrecently a detailed case study onHathay Bunano was featured in MITsInnovations magazine.

Whats next for Hathay Bunano?

Since its humble beginning in 2004with one rural centre, Hathay Bunanohas steadily grown over the years andit currently employs 6,500 women in64 rural production centres aroundthe country. Spurred by this success,in 2010 they launched their own brandof childrens toys, Pebble, which is cur-

rently being sold in upmarket toy storesin Europe, North America, South-EastAsia, Australia and New Zealand.

The Pebble childrens items arelabelled Made in Bangladesh, withtags that include a Bangladeshi ag,something that surely contributes toa positive branding for Bangladesh.A new, special line of animal toys

DHAKA TRIBUNE Long Form Sunday, December 8, 2013No childs playHow handmade toys have reimagined rural employment in Bangladesh

One of the loveliest parts of my visit to the Natun Bazarnishing centre was to see groups of happy children noisilyparticipating in their pre-school classroom right next tothe production oor or occasionally running over to theirmothers who were working

As a social business, Hathay Bunano also makes it a point towork with the most disadvantaged and margnisalised. Theirrural production model enables them to employ relativelylow-skilled, sometimes illiterate women at the villages forthe more labour-intensive tasks

The Pebble childrens items are labelled Made in Bangladesh, with tags that include aBangladeshi ag, something that surely contributes to a positive branding for Bangladesh

P H O T O S : C

O U R T E S Y

8/13/2019 Dhaka Tribune print edition: December 8, 2013

8/26

Sunday, December 8, 2013DHAKA TRIBUNE InternationalDHAKA TRIBUNE8

US war veterreleased fromKorea as Bidvisits DMZn AFP, Seoul

North Korea Saturday reltained American veteran ofWar as US Vice President Jited the worlds last Cold W

US offi cials said Meran 85-year-old from Califohome after arriving in Beiji

North Korea deported humanit arian v iewpoi nt, Korean Central News Ageing his sincere repentancehis age and health conditio

His release came hours bvisited the demilitarised has split the Korean peninsu1950-1953 Korean War.

Wearing a baseball ca bomber jacket, Biden visline hilltop observation poveyed the North Koreanthrough a pair of binocular

The DPRK (North released someone they shhave had in the rst placman, Biden said earlier awreath at the war memoria

Its a positive thing thesaid Biden, visiting South last stop on a three-countrthat has already taken hiand China.

Biden also urged Pyonganother US citizen, Ken45-year-old tour operator w

IAEA inspectors in Iran for

heavy water plantn AFP, TehranInspectors from the UN nuclear watch-dog arrived in Iran Saturday to visitthe still-unnished Arak heavy waterplant for the rst time in more than twoyears, the ISNA news agency reported.

The two inspectors from the Inter-national Atomic Energy Agency will begin their work on Sunday at the site,240 kilometres (150 miles) southwestof the capital, but ISNA did not say howlong they would be there.

The inspection comes within the

framework of a mid-November agree-ment between Iran and the IAEA thatalso allows the IAEA access to a ura-nium mine in Gachin, in the countryssouth.

The IAEA regularly visits the workson the reactor, but says it has not re-ceived any new design details since2006. And inspectors have not beento the heavy water plant since August2011.

The Arak reactor is of concern to theinternational community because Teh-ran could theoretically extract weap-

ons-grade plutonium from tfuel.

Under a deal reachedwith world powers in Gagreed that it would not the reactor or transfer fuwater to the site for a pmonths.

However, construction effectively made that a mothe authorities had not hopwork before the end of 2quently, they said that targe be met, without giving a n

Tolerance can resolve Iran politicalprisoner issue: Rouhanin AFP, Tehran

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani tolduniversity students Saturday that tol-erance could resolve the issue of politi-cal prisoners, as some of them chantedfor opposition leaders under house ar-rest to be freed.

My government is committed tothe promises it has made to the people, but we need to c reate internal consen-sus to achieve the objectives, Rouhanitold students at Shahid Beheshti Uni-versity in Tehran.

We need tolerance and patience...We need to distance ourselves froman emotional atmosphere. Reason andmoderation can resolve the issues, headded during the meeting, organisedto mark Students Day.

He was speaking in reaction tosome students chanting slogans call-ing for the release of political prison-

ers. Among them are opposition lead-ers Mir Hossein Mousavi and MehdiKarroubi, who have been kept underhouse arrest since February 2011 andwithout bei ng offi cially cha rged.

Those chants provoked opposingslogans f rom student s affi liated wit hthe Basij militia, who called for sedi-tionists to be hanged. That is a termcoined in the aftermath of the disputed2009 presidential election to describepro-reform supporters of Mousavi andKarroubi, who took to street in massiveprotests.

In response to the chanting, someof which was broadcast on state televi-sion, Rouhani called for the resolutionof this thorny issue, which has shad-owed his government since taking of-ce in August.

If we cannot solve an internal issueof ours with calm and reason, withinthe framework of the law and with in-

ternal consensus, how canthe complicated issues ofand the world, he asked.

Rouhani, a moderate cleric who campaigned fmestic freedom, defeatedconservatives with key baIrans marginalised pro-tions.

Following the release ofoners in September, he exprthat more would be freed bdirect promises.

Government spokesmamad Baqer Nobakht said lalifting the house arrests wpresidents agenda, adding ministration preferred to tainstead take more action on

People should trust thtration. For some issues, itthe government to act insteNobakht said. l

Iran diplomacy must bebacked by military power: USn Manama, Bahrain

Diplomacy with Iran must be backedup by US military might, Pentagonchief Chuck Hagel said Saturday in aspeech to Gulf allies anxious over a nu-clear deal with Tehran.

Hagel promised the United Stateswould maintain a 35,000-strong forcein the Gulf region, as well as an armadaof ships and warplanes, despite the re-cent accord with Tehran.

Speaking at a security conference inBahrain, he said the interim deal withIran to roll back its nuclear programmewas a risk worth taking, but that West-ern diplomacy should not be misinter-preted.

We know diplomacy cannot oper-ate in a vacuum, he said.

Our success will continue to hingeon Americas military power, and thecredibility of our assurances to our al-lies and partners in the Middle East.

The Pentagon will not make anyadjustments to its forces in the region or to its military planning as a resultof the interim agreement with Iran, headded.

In a trip meant to reassure Gulf allieswary of Americas diplomatic openingwith Iran, Hagel highlighted an array ofUS weaponry and resources deployedin the region.

We have a ground, air, and navalpresence of more than 35,000 militarypersonnel in and immediately aroundthe Gulf, he said.

The military footprint includes10,000 US Army troops with tanks andApache helicopters, roughly 40 ships atsea including an aircraft carrier battlegroup, missile defence systems, radar,

surveillance drones and warplanes thatcan strike at short notice, he said.

Coupled with our unique muni-tions, no target is beyond our reach,said Hagel, in an apparent referenceto bunker buster bombs designed topenetrate deeply buried targets.

A senior U S defence offi cial, w hospoke on condition of anonymity, toldreporters the speech sent a message ofsolidarity to Gulf allies while also con-veying a warning to adversaries thatany sort of mythology of American re-treat is just wrong-headed.

Gulf allies, especially Saudi Arabia,are concerned over the November 24interim accord between world powersand Iran that offers limited relief fromWestern sanctions in return for Tehranrolling back elements of its nuclear pro-gramme.

The nuclear deal has strained US re-lations with the mostly Sunni Gulf Arabstates that view Shia Iran as a danger-ous rival.

The Iran accord topped the agendain Hagels talks with Gulf counterpartson Friday, which included a meetingwith Saudi Arabias new deputy de-fence minister, Prince Salman bin Sul-tan.

Hagel stressed the centrality of thedefence partnership in maintaining thelong-standing ties between the UnitedStates and the Saudi kingd om, offi cialssaid.

Hagel said he would hold talks inSaudi Arabia on Monday and also visitQatar, but he headed rst to Afghani-stan, where efforts for a deal allowingNATO troops to stay in the country be-yond next year have stalled.

Washingtons reluctance to inter-vene against Syrian President Basharal-Assad, a staunch ally of Tehran,as well as budget pressures and a USrebalance to Asia, have added tothe doubts among Gulf governmentsabout Americas staying power in theregion.

Hagel acknowledged that anxiet-ies in the Gulf were running high.

Questions have been raised aboutAmericas intentions, strategy, andcommitment to the region, he said.

But he promised Washington willremain fully committed to the securi-ty of our allies and our partners in theregion.

Although the Pentagon faced theprospect of steep budget cuts, Hagelsuggested the big presence in the Mid-dle East would remain a top priorityand largely shielded from spending re-ductions.

In addition to keeping a robust USforce in place, Hagel vowed to bolsterthe military strength of Gulf states,urging regional cooperation on missiledefence.

Hagel only briey mentioned thepopular unrest that has swept aside orchallenged regimes across the MiddleEast. l

14 of 21 female protestersgiven suspended sentencesn AFP, Alexandria

The lawyer for 21 Egyptian women andgirls jailed over an Islamist protest toldappeal courts Saturday there was noevidence of their guilt and urged judg-es to free them.

Wearing handcuffs but holding redroses, the 21 appeared in Alexandriacourts in white prison garb in a casethat has sparked an outcry.

Many bore the word Freedomwritten in Arabic and English on thepalms of their hands, and smiled from

the metal-caged dock. The women andgirls were convicted last month of tak-ing part in a violent protest demandingIslamist president Mohamed Morsisreinstatement following his overthrow by the army in July.

Fourteen women previously sen-tenced to 11 years in jail were usheredinto the cage in the courtroom as theappeal by the seven girls was heard inan adjacent juvenile court.

Their harsh sentences had shockedeven supporters of the military-in-stalled government. l

Peace with Palestinians notimminent: Liebermann AFP, Jerusalem

Israeli Foreign Minister Foreign Minis-ter Avigdor Lieberman has said Israe-li-Palestinian peace talks are unlikelyto bear fruit within the envisionednine-month timeframe but that dia-logue should continue.

His remarks Friday evening con-trasted with those of US Secretary ofState John Kerry, who said peace wascloser than it had been in years.

Speaking to the Saban Centre forMiddle East Policy in Washington andquoted on its website, Lieberman said:Today the trust between the two sidesis about zero. Its impossible to createpeace if you dont have any credibility.

I dont believe it is possible in the

next year... to achieve a comprehen-sive solution to achieve some break-through but I think it is crucial to keepour dialogue.

He said it was crucial because,even if you are not able to resolve theconict, its very important to managethis conict.

Kerry, speaking Friday at the endof a visit to Israel and the Palestin-ian territories and talks with IsraeliPrime Minister Benjamin Netanyahuand Palestinian president MahmudAbbas, was upbeat despite the negoti-ations he brokered having made littlevisible headway since they began inlate July.

I believe we are closer than wehave been in years to bringing about

the peace and the prosperity and thesecurity that all of the people of thisregion deserve, Kerry said.

Lieberman is on his rst trip toWashington since regaining his postlast month after being cleared of cor-ruption charges, and is there for talkswith Kerry and with UN chief Ban Ki-Moon.

The right-wing leader quit in De-cember 2012 after being charged withfraud and breach of trust.

His trip comes as Israel lobbies in-tensely for a tougher position fromWashington in talks between majorpowers and Iran on its controver-sial nuclear programme, which were buoyed by a landmark interim deal lastmonth. l

Hagel visits Kabul with a hung troop accordn AFP, KabulUS Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel ewinto Kabul on Saturday amid frustra-tion in Washington over the Afghanpresidents refusal to sign an accordallowing NATO troops to stay in thecountry beyond next year.

US offi cials said no meeting w asscheduled with President Hamid Kar-zai, but the presidents spokesmansaid Karzai and Hagel were due to holdtalks later Saturday the latest sign ofdiscord between the allies.

Washington and its allies have ap-pealed to Karzai to sign the Bilateral

Security Agreement (BSA), which laysout the rules for US and NATO troops tooperate in the country after 2014 on amission focused on training and coun-tering Al-Qaeda-linked extremists.

Secretary Hagel does not plan tomeet with President Karzai while in Af-ghanista n, a senior US defence offi cialtold reporters at the start of Hagels un-announced visit.

The United States has made its posi-tion on the BSA clear. And just two daysago, President Karzai repeated his posi-tion to senior US offi cials that he is notyet ready to sign the BSA and providedno timeline or practical step for doing so.

But Karzais spokesman Aimal Faizitold AFP that the Afghan presidentwas expecting to hold talks with Hagel setting the stage for another diplo-matic row after a long series of publicdisagreements.

In our schedule for the presidenttoday we have a meeting with SecretaryHagel this evening with the presidentfollowed by a dinner with him, Faizisaid, adding that Afghanistan was keento discuss sticking points over the BSA.

If there is any story around that theguest will be in Kabul but will not meetwith the president that is false, Faizisaid. l

Outraged Ukrainians protestleaders Russia overture

Egyptian women members of the Muslim Brotherhood hold roses as they stand inthe defendants cage dressed in prison issue white during their trial at the court in theEgyptian Mediterranean city of Alexandria on December 7 AFP

The military footprint includes10,000 US Army troops withtanks and Apache helicopters,roughly 40 ships at seaincluding an aircraft carrierbattle group, missile defencesystems, radar, surveillancedrones and warplanes that canstrike at short notice

8/13/2019 Dhaka Tribune print edition: December 8, 2013

9/26

French militaries, arriving fromCameroon, drive on a road leading toBouar on December 7, 2013. Francedeployed nearly 1,000 troops on

Sunday, December 8, 2013DHAKA TRIBUNE International

Thai police to rebuild barricadesafter protest warningsn AFP, Bangkok

Thai authorities said Saturday theywould rebuild barricades around keystate buildings in Bangkok after oppo-sition protesters called for a nal pushto topple the government.

The kingdom remains tense fol-lowing several days of street clashes between police and demonstratorsseeking to overthrow Prime MinisterYingluck Shinawatra and curb the po-litical inuence of her brother Thaksin.

After the clashes, during which riotpolice used tear gas, water cannon andrubber bullets against stone-throwingdemonstrators, the government or-dered police to ease tensions by takingdown barriers around key buildings in-cluding Government House.

But the barricades are set to be re- built ahead of a threat by anti-govern-ment protest leaders to turn Mondayinto judgement day for their effortsto overthrow the government.

Police will erect barricades es-pecially around Government Houseand Parliament, said Paradorn Pat-tnatabut, chief of the National SecurityCouncil.

Although the protests are losingmomentum he said thousands of po-lice would still be deployed on Monday.

I am condent that there will be noviolent incidents on Monday, he said,expressing hope the ve week stand-off could still be resolved through ne-gotiation.

Firebrand protest leader SuthepThaugsuban, who faces an arrest war-rant for insurrection, on Friday issueda rallying cry for a nal push to over-throw the government.

Vowing to surrender to authori-ties unless enough people show upfor Mondays rallies he said protesterswould target the governments head-quarters.

Suthep has repeatedly set deadlinesfor his movement, but protests havecontinued.

If people turn out in their millions(on Monday) its sure that things willchange, Akanat Promphan, Suthepsstep-son and spokesman for the oppo-sition protesters, told reporters Satur-day.

He said he was concerned therecould be violent clashes and loss oflife.

Thailand has been periodical-ly rocked by sometimes bloody un-rest since Thaksin, a billionaire ty-coon-turned-premier, was deposed byroyalist generals in a coup seven yearsago.

His sisters government has beenshaken by weeks of rallies by protest-ers, a mix of royalists, middle class andother Thaksin opponents, attemptingto unseat her and suspend the coun-trys democracy in favour of an un-elected Peoples Council.

The unrest has left ve people dead

and more than 200 injured in Bangkok.Demonstrators and police in Bang-

kok have observed a temporary trucesince Wednesday for the 86th birthdayof King Bhumibol Adulyadej, who istreated as a near-deity by many Thais.

Thailands political conict broadlypits a Bangkok-based middle class androyalist elite backed by the militaryagainst rural and working-class votersloyal to Thaksin.

He went into exile in 2008 to avoid jail for a corruption conviction whichhe says was politically motivated, butcritics say he still controls his sister be-hind the scenes.

The recent protests were triggered by an amnesty bill, since abandoned by Yinglucks ruling party, which op-ponents feared would have cleared theway for his return.

They are the biggest and deadli-est street demonstrations since 2010,when dozens of people were killed in acrackdown on mass pro-Thaksin ralliesin Bangkok. l

Honduras left seeks annulmentof presidential vote resultsn AFP, Tegucigalpa

The leftist Libre party in Honduras lateFriday formall y asked election offi cialsto overturn the results of the Novem-ber 24 presidential election, whichtheir candidate claims to have won.

A document formally requesting theannulment was delivered by ex-pres-ident Manuel Zelaya, accompaniedby his wife, Libre candidate XiomaraCastro. Offi cials ea rlier decla red con-servative Juan Orlando Hernandez theelection winner.

Zelaya told AFP that the documenthe submitted included proof of clearvoter fraud.

It was a well-done fraud, said Ze-

laya, who cla imed that offi cials at 2,800voting stations conspired to throw theelection for Hernandez.

He insisted that votes were also bought, because at the other votingstations, all 12,000 of them ... Xiomarawon.

Zelaya was deposed at gunpoint in aJune 2009 coup after he aligned Hon-duras with the leftist governments ofCuba and Venezuela.

This led to 100 days of unrest thatincluded massive street protests and acrackdown on leftist activists.

The possible unrest poses a seriousthreat to governing in Honduras, thesecond poorest country in the westernhemisphere after Haiti. l

Three members of Muslimpatrol jailed in Londonn AFP, London

Three members of a self-styled Mus-lim patrol in London who harassedpassers-by for wearing short skirts,holding hands and drinking alcoholhave been jailed, in a conviction wel-comed by the local mosque on Satur-day.

The men were jailed for up to 16months on Friday after admitting avariety of public order and assaultcharges during patrols in December2012 and January 2013.

One of the incidents was lmed bythe gang and posted on YouTube, caus-ing widespread public outrage and rais-ing tensions in an area already targetedby far-right groups because of its largeMuslim population.

These men routinely threatenedand intimidated innocent members ofthe public whom they perceived to bebehaving in an un-Islamic manner,

said prosecutor Baljit Ubhey.They would roam the streets, seek-

ing out victims whom they could tar-get, and chanting threats to kill thenon-believers.

On the nights in question they con-fronted and aggressively intimidateda couple who were holding hands inthe street, a group of friends who weredrinking alcohol, and a girl whom theydeemed to be dressed provocatively.

Some of the patrols took place nearthe East London Mosque in Whitecha-pel, which hosts 7,000 worshippers ona typical Friday and has strongly con-demned the harassment.

The mosque says Muslims in thearea have been attacked and it has re-ceived hate mail as a result of the pa-trols.

Executive director Dilowar Khanwelcomed Fridays convictions, saying bullying was un-Islamic and the mensactions were pathetic. l

Oman opposes unionof Gulf states

Mandelas village awaits the nalreturn of their sonn AFP, Qunu, S Africa

In Nelson Mandelas childhood villageof Qunu residents are solemnly prepar-ing for the nal return of their belovedson, who will be laid to rest amongthem a week from now. Meanwhile, therest of South Africa has been preparingfor a funeral for the ages.

Elderly men in the picturesquevillage dotted with traditional roundhuts bow their heads and lower theirvoices when they speak of the an-ti-apartheid hero who has returnedto his ancestors.

Here there has been no explosion ofpublic emotion as seen in Johannes- burg, no singing to celebrate Mandelas95 years, no all-night vigils.

His home, overlooking the hills andvalleys of the Eastern Cape whereMandela said he spent his happiestchildhood days is sombre and eerilyquiet.

We are in mourning, he deservesour greatest last respects, said ChiefMfundo Mtirara, Mandelas nephew.

Mean while, South Africa has pre-pared a sweeping, emotional farewellto Nelson Mandela a funeral that willdraw an unprecedented gathering ofworld leaders and luminaries, reect-ing the anti-apartheid icons transcen-dent inuence.

Presidents,