n Tribune Report At least seven people including a mem- ber of Border Guard Bangladesh were killed and several hundred injured in violence around the country on the first day of the 48-hour blockade en- forced by the BNP-led 18-party alliance. The BGB member and a rick- shaw-puller were killed in Comilla, a Jubo League leader and a Swechchha Sebok League leader in Satkhira, a Jubo Dal leader in Bogra and a pedestrian in Sirajganj. Many of the injured who sustained wounds in bomb blasts, arsons and other clashes were said to be in critical conditions. Road, rail and waterway communi- cations were almost fully snapped due to the countrywide blockade, nearly completely cut off Dhaka from the rest of the country. Rail communication suffered the most as blockade supporters uprooted tracks and slippers in several places resulting in derailments and injuries to around 100. Train compartments were torched and opposition protesters at- tacked railway stations, passengers and officials. Satkhira Jubo League Deyara union unit lead- er Mahmudul Hasan Babu, 30, was hacked to death around 11am yester- day. He was on his way to his shop on his motorbike when opposition men pounced on him. Five hours later, Rabiul Islam, leader of Deraya union unit Swechchha Sebok League, was beaten to death by opposi- tion men in the Deraya bazar area. Comilla BGB member Ripon, 25, and rick- shaw-puller Md Babul, 40, were shot dead in separate clashes in Comilla PAGE 2 COLUMN 4 Business As wages rise, so do rents MORE STORIES P316 pages with 8-page business tabloid, plus 8-page Treehouse children’s supplement | Price: Tk10 Agrahayan 13, 1420 Muharram 22, 1435 Regd. No. DA 6238 Vol 1 No 243 WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2013 | www.dhakatribune.com | SECOND EDITION 14 Sport Real and United home in on last 16 Residents of the capital’s Kalyanpur hands over a picket (man with unbuttoned shirt) to police. The picket torched the covered van in the photo on the right around 10pm last night DHAKA TRIBUNE EC may deploy army for a longer period n Mohammad Zakaria The Election Commission has planned to deploy the armed forces for a long period, along with regular law enforce- ment agencies, if required, to maintain law and order ahead of and after the 10th parliamentary polls. The commission would make the final decision on the issue at its meet- ing with the law enforcement agencies after examining reports of the intelli- gence agencies and field level EC offic- es, EC officials said. They said the commission had dis- cussed army deployment at its meeting yesterday. The EC would sit with the chief of the law enforcement and intelligence agencies at 11am tomorrow at the Na- tional Economic Council auditorium, a senior official said. The EC officials also said they had invited the principle staff officer of the Armed Forces Division, the home sec- retary, police, Rapid Action Battalion, Border Guard Bangladesh, the Detec- tive and Special branches of police, the Coast Guard, Ansar and the VDP to the meeting. Chief Election Commissioner Kazi Rakibuddin Ahmad yesterday said the commission would discuss the current law and order situation with the law enforcers. PAGE 2 COLUMN 2 EC open to rescheduling dates on consensus n Kamran Reza Chowdhury and Mohammad Zakaria The Election Commission may change the polls schedule in case of a consen- sus between the two major parties, Chief Election Commissioner Kazi Rakibuddin Ahmad said yesterday. “We have announced the election date early. If political parties reach a consensus even now, the commis- sion has no objection to reschedule- ing of the dates,” CEC Rakibuddin told reporters. Election Commissioner Md Shah Newaz told the Dhaka Tribune that the commission had opted for an ear- ly announcement of the polls schedule keeping the possibility of rescheduling to get all the parties in the polls. The EC last time rescheduled polls three times to make the BNP agree to hold a fully participatory election; the election finally took place on December 29, 2008. However, many alleged that the announcement of the polls schedule earlier than expected was apparently a tactic to put pressure on the BNP-led opposition parties, especially the small- er ones, to take part in the elections. Political analysts say election is a key to Bangladesh’s political process. So, the parties staying out of the polls will face hurdles to keep themselves PAGE 2 COLUMN 4 I’ll convey your concern to government, Hamid tells civic leaders n Muhammad Zahidul Islam Concerned over the ongoing political turmoil, civil society members yes- terday met President Abdul Hamid at Bangabhaban with a call to initi- ate informal talks to end the political deadlock. They requested him to take steps to end the political violence and hold the next parliamentary polls by January 24 next year. They said the ongoing democratic system must continue with a free, fair and unbiased polls. Giving them a patient hearing the president said he played a behind-the- scenes role within the constitution to end the political impasse, the civil soci- ety team led by former foreign minister Dr Kamal Hossain, also the president of Gono Forum, quoted Hamid as saying. “They have talked to the president on the violence and arson attacks. And they requested him to play his due role,” Ihsanul Karim, the president’s press secretary, told reporters after the meeting at the Bangabhaban. “They have expressed the view that the elections must take place by Janu- ary 24 in line with the constitution,” he said. In reply, he said, the president in- formed the civil society team that he would reach their concern to the government as he did so in the case of the opposition leader making similar appeals. “You have already seen its impact,” Karim quoted the president as saying to the delegation. “We have conveyed to the presi- dent our concern over the spread of violence and arson attacks. We have also appealed to find a way out of the situation,” Dr Akbar Ali Khan, another member of the team, told the reporters. PAGE 2 COLUMN 2 Five advisers to prime minister resign n Mohosinul Karim Five advisers to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina resigned on Tuesday. Public Administration Affairs Adviser HT Imam, Energy Adviser Towfiq-e-Ela- hi Chowdhury, Economic Affairs Adviser Moshiur Rahman, Education Adviser Dr Alauddin Ahmed and Health Adviser Dr Syed Modasser Ali submitted their resig- nation letters on Tuesday afternoon. The prime minister’s Press Secretary Abul Kalam Azad confirmed the matter to the Dhaka Tribune. He said the PM has sent the resigna- tion letters to the cabinet division for further proceedings. The advisers took office in 2009. PAGE 2 COLUMN 2 First-day blockade kills seven Communications with Dhaka cut off from the rest of the country
Transcript
n Tribune Report
At least seven people including a mem-ber of Border Guard Bangladesh were killed and several hundred injured in violence around the country on the � rst day of the 48-hour blockade en-forced by the BNP-led 18-party alliance.
The BGB member and a rick-shaw-puller were killed in Comilla, a Jubo League leader and a Swechchha Sebok League leader in Satkhira, a Jubo Dal leader in Bogra and a pedestrian in Sirajganj.
Many of the injured who sustained wounds in bomb blasts, arsons and other clashes were said to be in critical conditions.
Road, rail and waterway communi-cations were almost fully snapped due to the countrywide blockade, nearly completely cut o� Dhaka from the rest of the country.
Rail communication su� ered the most as blockade supporters uprooted tracks and slippers in several places resulting in derailments and injuries to
around 100. Train compartments were torched and opposition protesters at-tacked railway stations, passengersand o� cials.
SatkhiraJubo League Deyara union unit lead-er Mahmudul Hasan Babu, 30, was hacked to death around 11am yester-day. He was on his way to his shop on his motorbike when opposition men pounced on him.
Five hours later, Rabiul Islam, leader of Deraya union unit Swechchha Sebok League, was beaten to death by opposi-tion men in the Deraya bazar area.
ComillaBGB member Ripon, 25, and rick-shaw-puller Md Babul, 40, were shot dead in separate clashes in Comilla
PAGE 2 COLUMN 4
BusinessAs wages rise, so do rents
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14 SportReal and United home in onlast 16
Residents of the capital’s Kalyanpur hands over a picket (man with unbuttoned shirt) to police. The picket torched the covered van in the photo on the right around 10pm last night DHAKA TRIBUNE
EC may deploy armyfor a longer periodn Mohammad Zakaria
The Election Commission has planned to deploy the armed forces for a long period, along with regular law enforce-ment agencies, if required, to maintain law and order ahead of and after the 10th parliamentary polls.
The commission would make the � nal decision on the issue at its meet-ing with the law enforcement agencies after examining reports of the intelli-gence agencies and � eld level EC o� c-es, EC o� cials said.
They said the commission had dis-cussed army deployment at its meeting yesterday.
The EC would sit with the chief of
the law enforcement and intelligence agencies at 11am tomorrow at the Na-tional Economic Council auditorium, a senior o� cial said.
The EC o� cials also said they had invited the principle sta� o� cer of the Armed Forces Division, the home sec-retary, police, Rapid Action Battalion, Border Guard Bangladesh, the Detec-tive and Special branches of police, the Coast Guard, Ansar and the VDP to the meeting.
Chief Election Commissioner Kazi Rakibuddin Ahmad yesterday said the commission would discuss the current law and order situation with the law enforcers.
PAGE 2 COLUMN 2
EC open to rescheduling dates on consensusn Kamran Reza Chowdhury and
Mohammad Zakaria
The Election Commission may change the polls schedule in case of a consen-sus between the two major parties, Chief Election Commissioner Kazi Rakibuddin Ahmad said yesterday.
“We have announced the election date early. If political parties reach a consensus even now, the commis-sion has no objection to reschedule-ing of the dates,” CEC Rakibuddin toldreporters.
Election Commissioner Md Shah Newaz told the Dhaka Tribune that the commission had opted for an ear-ly announcement of the polls schedule
keeping the possibility of rescheduling to get all the parties in the polls.
The EC last time rescheduled polls three times to make the BNP agree to hold a fully participatory election; the election � nally took place on December 29, 2008.
However, many alleged that the announcement of the polls schedule earlier than expected was apparently a tactic to put pressure on the BNP-led opposition parties, especially the small-er ones, to take part in the elections.
Political analysts say election is a key to Bangladesh’s political process. So, the parties staying out of the polls will face hurdles to keep themselves
PAGE 2 COLUMN 4
I’ll convey your concern to government, Hamid tells civic leaders n Muhammad Zahidul Islam
Concerned over the ongoing political turmoil, civil society members yes-terday met President Abdul Hamid at Bangabhaban with a call to initi-ate informal talks to end the politicaldeadlock.
They requested him to take steps to end the political violence and hold the next parliamentary polls by January 24 next year.
They said the ongoing democratic system must continue with a free, fair and unbiased polls.
Giving them a patient hearing the president said he played a behind-the-scenes role within the constitution to end the political impasse, the civil soci-ety team led by former foreign minister Dr Kamal Hossain, also the president of Gono Forum, quoted Hamid as saying.
“They have talked to the president on the violence and arson attacks. And
they requested him to play his due role,” Ihsanul Karim, the president’s press secretary, told reporters after the meeting at the Bangabhaban.
“They have expressed the view that the elections must take place by Janu-ary 24 in line with the constitution,” he said.
In reply, he said, the president in-formed the civil society team that he would reach their concern to thegovernment as he did so in the case of the opposition leader making similar appeals.
“You have already seen its impact,” Karim quoted the president as saying to the delegation.
“We have conveyed to the presi-dent our concern over the spread of violence and arson attacks. We have also appealed to � nd a way out of the situation,” Dr Akbar Ali Khan, another member of the team, told the reporters.
PAGE 2 COLUMN 2
Five advisers to prime minister resign n Mohosinul Karim
Five advisers to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina resigned on Tuesday.
Public Administration A� airs Adviser HT Imam, Energy Adviser Tow� q-e-Ela-hi Chowdhury, Economic A� airs Adviser Moshiur Rahman, Education Adviser Dr Alauddin Ahmed and Health Adviser Dr Syed Modasser Ali submitted their resig-nation letters on Tuesday afternoon.
The prime minister’s Press Secretary Abul Kalam Azad con� rmed the matter to the Dhaka Tribune.
He said the PM has sent the resigna-tion letters to the cabinet division for further proceedings. The advisers took o� ce in 2009.
PAGE 2 COLUMN 2
First-day blockade kills sevenCommunications with Dhaka cut o� from the rest of the country
News2 DHAKA TRIBUNE Wednesday, November 27, 2013
Shaheed Milon Day todayn BSS
Shaheed Dr Milon Day, commemorat-ing the 23rd anniversary of Dr Shamsul Alam Khan Milon's martyrdom, will be observed today across the country.
On this day in 1990, Dr Milon, then joint-secretary general of Bangladesh Medical Association, was gunned down by criminals on Dhaka Univer-sity campus during the anti-autocracy movement against former military rul-er Ershad.
President Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in separate messages paid homage to Milon and recalled his sacri� ce for the restoration of democracy. l
Law men have to face trial for over-enthusiasm: BNPn Mohammad Al-Masum Molla
The main opposition BNP yesterday warned law enforcers they will face tri-al for their roles as a “killer force” to re-press the opposition’s ongoing political movement.
Talking to journalists, BNP Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi claimed his party had evidence of the degree of “excesses” used by each force in “suppressing” the opposition men.
“You have to face trial for your role as a killer force,” Rizvi said at a media brie� ng at the party’s Nayapaltan head-quarters.
Informing the media about the � rst day of the opposition alliance’s block-ade programme, he said the prevailing political crisis would end “only after the resignation of the prime minister from o� ce.”
Rizvi claimed that four had been killed and 1,100 injured during the blockade programme while more than 400 party leaders and activists had been arrested and cases had been
filed against 4,000 men across the country.
Party sources meanwhile said BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia might hold a press conference and announce the next course of action if no understanding was reached by this week.
They said no programme had been announced for Thursday as the party wanted to observe the situation currently prevailing in the country.
A senior leader told the Dhaka Tri-bune that the opposition party might announce hartal or decide to besiege the Election Commission o� ce “de-pending on the attitude of the admin-istration.”
After the announcement of the polls schedule on Monday, the BNP-led 18-party alliance called a 48-hour nationwide rail, road and river route blockade, demanding suspension of the election schedule.
A large number of law enforcers were seen around the party’s Nayapaltan headquarters from early in the morning. However, none of the
party leaders and activists were seen entering or exiting the o� ce.
Criticising the government’s rigid stance on holding elections unilaterally, Rizvi said: “There is no sign from the government side for compromising on the issue of polls-time government. There will be compromise and differences of opinion in politics but being obstinate does not go with democracy.”
He expressed hope that the govern-ment’s good sense would prevail soon and the path of compromise would open.
He alleged that students’ lives had been hampered because of the an-nouncement of the polls schedule rath-er than the political programmes of the opposition parties.
“The subservient Election Commission announced the polls schedule and pushed the country towards confrontation. The election schedule is a joint mockery staged by the incumbent illegal government and the Election Commission,” Rizvi said. l
AL parliamentary board meeting todayn BSS
A meeting of the Awami League Par-liamentary Board will be held at the Dhanmondi o� ce of Awami League President Sheikh Hasina today.
PM’s Press Secretary Abul Kalam Azad said the premier would preside over the meeting. l
Country wrapped in a security blanket n Rabiul Islam and Mohammad
Jamil Khan
The home ministry has issued special instructions to the police force to remain alert after the announcement of the polls schedule and take all necessary steps to fend o� all unwanted situations across the country.
The law enforcers will give maximum attention to the security of the capital, while priorities will also be given to ar-eas that have a strong presence of Ja-maat-Shibir activists, which include Syl-het, Khulna, Satkhira, Bagerhat, Comilla, Chittagong, Noakhali and Jessore.
Additional police personnel have al-ready been deployed at key points of the capital. Along with the regular police force, some plainclothes police and intel-ligence o� cials will also stay on duty to detain any suspicious individual.
Moreover, the Border Guard Bangla-desh (BGB) will also provide support to the law enforcers.
Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) Commissioner Benazir Ahmed said law enforcers would take all possible stern ac-tions against the groups or people trying to create violence in the name of political
programmes. The police force is ready to tackle any ongoing situation, he added.
Meanwhile, a law and order coordi-nation cell – formed recently at a home ministry meeting – has also started to perform its duties. An additional secre-tary (political) of home ministry will su-pervise the cell.
The monitoring cell will collect infor-mation from the district administrations, Bangladesh Police, Ansar, BGB and Ban-gladesh Coast Guard and the coordinat-ing o� cer of the cell will give further instruction to them after analysing the collected information.
The monitoring cell will remain open from 9am to 10pm daily including gov-ernment holidays. Mozakker Ali, joint secretary (political) of the ministry and coordinator of the cell, told the Dhaka Tri-bune that the monitoring cell has made a roster with three ministry o� cials.
“The monitoring cell was formed to maintain law and order as the national election is only a month away,” he said.
The o� cials, who will perform their duty on scheduled, will collect informa-tion about any ongoing situation and give further instruction after consulting with relevant o� cials, Mozakker added. l
China calls for dialogue n Tribune Report
Chinese Ambassador Li Jun called upon the major political parties in Ban-gladesh to � nd a solution to the current political crisis through a peaceful dia-logue.
“China strongly believes a stable, peaceful and prosperous Bangladesh is in the fundamental interest of Bangla-deshi people,” Jun said after a meeting with Foreign Minister AH Mahmood Ali at the ministry on Tuesday.
“As a near neighbour we follow closely what is happening in this broth-erly country,” he added.
He said he was encouraged by the foreign minister’s comment that the di-alogue was still on and he hoped that a constructive result could be reached. l I’ll convey your concern
PAGE 1 COLUMN 6“An election without the opposition participation will lead to catastrophe. Free and fair polls are must to sustain democracy. We have to protect democ-racy,” said the former adviser to the non-party caretaker government.
Replying to a question from the re-porters who asked him whether their initiative would end the volcanic polit-ical situation, he said, “This is not that it will be resolved; but we hope some-
thing will happen.”Dr Akbar Ali khan said they had not
made any concrete proposal to narrow the political di� erence over restoration of the non-party caretaker govern-ment.
“We have just expressed our con-cern,” he said.
The delegation also includes former advisers Professor Jamilur Reza Chow-dhury and Sultana Kamal, Badiul Alam Majumder and Dr Shahdin Malik. l
PM's � ve advisers resign PAGE 1 COLUMN 6According to sources from the Public Administration Ministry, the role of HT Imam was questioned as he reportedly used to run the ministry and interfere with administrative decisions.
The same allegation also arose against Tow� q-e-Elahi Chowdhury. As the energy ministry did not have any full minister, Tow� q used to run the activities of the ministry. During his tenure, he has given the nod to sever-al rental power plant projects which turned controversial later on.
Dr Syed Modasser Ali had reported-ly tried to obstruct a Bangladesh Bank
team from auditing Sonali Bank’s Ru-poshi Bangla Hotel branch over the Hall-Mark scam.
Later, the Anti-Corruption Commis-sion dropped his name from the charge sheet as the investigation o� cers were unable to prove his involvement. How-ever, he had been questioned before and after the � ling of the FIR.
Moshiur Rahman was allegedly in-volved with the much-talked-about Padma Bridge Scam.
The World Bank then said it would withdraw the loan cancellation if the government met three of their condi-tions, including removing Mashiur. l
EC open to rescheduling PAGE 1 COLUMN 5united for a long movement against the government.
“Certainly this [declaration of the schedule] is a pressure on us. I think the Election Commission will have to announce a fresh schedule,” Andaleeve Rahman Partho, chief of Bangladesh Jatiya Party, told the Dhaka Tribune.
Leaders of the ruling Awami League say the early polls schedule would cre-ate a division among the BNP-led oppo-sition. Politics of some smaller parties like the Bangladesh Jatiya Party and the Liberal Democratic Party are very much concentrated on one or two seats.
“If a single component party leaves
and contests the polls under the inter-im government headed by Sheikh Hasi-na, it will demoralise the BNP,” said an Awami League leader.
Andaleeve alleged some of the ministers and MPs wanted to hold a one-sided election early as they were sure of “losing” in case the BNP partic-ipated in the polls. Andaleeve’s BJP is one of the components of the BNP-led 18-party alliance and he is the only MP from his party.
Political analyst Nazim Kamran Chowdhury said: “I think the Election Commission has announced the polls schedules to hold the polls hastily.”
“It will not make any di� erence if
the BNP opts out of the polls, even if the smaller parties leave the alliance,” said Nazim Kamran, a former BNP lawmaker.
In the last parliamentary polls, the commission � rst decided to hold the elections on December 18 and later shifted to December 29 as the BNP gave its nod to contest.
The commission, headed by ATM Shamsul Huda, stretched the date for submitting nomination papers from November 9 to November 20, Novem-ber 23 and � nally to November 30.
The BNP wanted to hold the polls on December 27 while the Awami League wanted it on December 28. The commis-sion � xed December 29 for the polls. l
EC may deploy army PAGE 1 COLUMN 3Election Commissioner Zabed Ali said: “If the situation demands, the commis-sion may deploy army for a long period to hold the election in a free, fair and neutral manner.”
Normally army is deployed for � ve to seven days during the national polls. But the armed forces were deployed for 12 days – the longest period so far – for the February 15, 1996 elections.
Asked if the EC had any involvement in the arrest of BNP Standing Commit-tee member Hannan Shah, Zabed Ali said the arrest had been a routine work of the law enforcers and the commis-sion had no part in it.
He said if the EC faced any prob-lem transporting election materials because of the opposition’s hartal and blockade programmes, it would take action. l
First-day blockade kills seven PAGE 1 COLUMN 1town and Laksam where around 60 people, including several policemen, were injured. In pre-blockade violence on Monday night, another man was killed in Laksham after being hit by a bomb blast.
BograA local leader of Jubo Dal – BNP’s youth front – was killed and 20 others injured in a clash between police and blockade supporters in the Banani area in Bogra town. The deceased was identi� ed as Yusuf Hossain, 26, organising secretary of ward 21 unit of Jubo Dal.
Elsewhere in the district, masked miscreants torched the local election o� ce and lit a � re on the nearby rail-way track, disrupting train movement.
SirajganjA clash between police and opposition men left a pedestrian named Sakman Ali, 40, dead in the Jogainmor area of the Sirajganj town around 8am.
FeniAn auto-rickshaw driver was killed in an attack by blockade supporters in the Feni district township in the evening, police said. Dulal, 40, was hit by a stone hurled by opposition men on the Feni turnaround near the Dhaka-Chittagong highway around 8:30pm, witnesses said. He succumbed to his injuries on his way to the Feni Sadar Hospital.
DhakaBNP-Jamaat men torched at least three vehicles, including a motorbike of a police o� cial, and vandalised two ATM booths and several other vehicles alongside clashing with law enforcers in Uttara. Blockade supporters also set a local Awami League o� ce on � re.
The driver of an auto-rickshaw sus-tained severe burn injuries when oppo-sition men torched his vehicle in front of Eastern Plaza at Hatirpool around 12:30pm. Injured Sobed Ali was admit-ted to the Burn and Plastic Surgery Unit of the Dhaka Medical College Hospital.
Another woman sustained severe injuries by being hit by a bomb blast in the Khilgaon area.
Police picked up nine opposition men when they clashed with law enforcers from the Aminbazar area around 10am.
Moreover, reports of blockade supporters sabotaging railway tracks leading to derailment of train compart-ments and resulting in snapping of rail-way communication came from vari-ous districts including Mymensingh, Jhenaidah, Gaibandha, Brahmanbaria and Jessore.
Opposition men also blocked ve-hicular movement on highways by burning tires and logs at various places around the country.
Separate clashes between blockade supporters, ruling party men and law enforcers left around 100 people in-jured in a number of districts including Mymensingh, Laxmipur, Chandpur, Noakhali, Khulna, Gazipur, Habiganj and Jamalpur. l
Police yesterday chase a group of Jamaat-Shibir activists (not in the picture), who brought out a procession in Old Dhaka’s Patla Khan Lane in support of the nationwide blockade enforced by BNP-lead 18-part alliance (L). BGB and police members are high on alert on the Dhaka-Mawa highway on the � rst day of the blockade MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU / RAJIB DHAR
Train derailed in Gazipurn Rayhanul Islam Akond, Gazipur
Five compartments including the en-gine of Agnibina Express, a train that plies on the Dhaka-Mymensingh route, were derailed in Bonkhoria area in Sreepur of Gazipur last night.
Rail communication between Dhaka and Mymensingh was snapped as the compartments derailed while coming to Dhaka around 11pm.
Station Master of Joydebpur railway station Ziauddin Sarder said the train derailed after coming one kilometre from the Rajendrapur station.
The number of casualties and rea-son behind the accident could not be known immediately as the accident occurred inside the Bhawal forest, Zi-auddin said.
Rail communication on that route was suspended because of the accident, the station master added. l
Blockade causes su� ering to people n Ashif Islam Shaon in Dhaka and
Tarek Mahmud from Chittagong
Commuters faced tremendous su� erings yesterday, as road and rail transportation was seriously disrupted on the � rst day of the opposition-called 48-hour road, rail and waterway blockade.
No train of the east zone of Bangla-desh Railway (BR), except one, travelled between Dhaka and Chittagong. The BR authorities were forced to suspend three train schedules, as pickets blocked rail-way tracks and repeatedly carried out violence at di� erent areas of the zone.
As a result, capital Dhaka and port city Chittagong were almost isolated from oth-er parts of the country.
In the capital, the only people who left home were the ones who had no other choice. Although the number of commut-ers and vehicles gradually increased as the day progressed, tension prevailed among the commuters throughout the day.
“Tension grasped me as soon as I boarded this bus; although I waited long for a vehicle. It can happen, out of no-where someone could hurl a petrol bomb or set this bus on � re,” said a panicked Ruhul Amin, a construction company of-� cial who boarded a bus from the Matsya Bhaban area.
The passengers – curious about the happenings across the city – also ex-changed information about the incidents that occurred during the day.
“I was caught up in a � ght between po-lice and pickets at Bangshal. They hurled several cocktails. From there something hit my leg causing bleeding,” Rashedul, a
small-trader said. Failing to catch a bus in the morning, Rashedul also had to spend four-times the usual bus fare on a rick-shaw ride from Farmgate to Bangshal.
“Actually, nobody considers our su� er-ings. We feel helpless,” he said with a sigh of frustration.
Although no bus left Dhaka from the
inter-district bus terminals, people were seen waiting at the terminals, hoping to catch a transport to go to district towns.
However, waterway communication stayed normal.
“So far 51 launches from di� erent northern destinations reached the termi-nal. Thirteen vessels have left the ghat
and 12 are scheduled to set sail. But these vessels got fewer passengers,” said Se-nior Deputy Director of the BIWTA Sa� ul Haque in the evening.
Elsewhere in Chittagong, no inter-city trains, except Meghna Express from Chandpur, arrived and left the Chittagong railway station. l
News 3DHAKA TRIBUNE Wednesday, November 27, 2013
Ershad for magistracy power of army during electionsn Manik Miazee
Jatiya Party Chairman HM Ershad yes-terday said the army should be given magistracy power during the upcom-ing election period.
“The army should be provided with magistracy power during the polls to keep the environment suitable,” the JP chief told reporters at his party o� ce yesterday.
The former military strongman also said free and fair elections could not be held in this country without the help of the armed forces.
Ershad, however, complained that although his party was a part of the newly-formed cabinet that will oversee the elections, the government did not consult with JP before announcing the polls schedule.
On Monday, the Election Commission announced that the 10th parliamentary elections would be held on January 5, 2014.
Meanwhile, at a separate press con-ference yesterday, Mujibur Rahman Juktibadi, a Jatiya Party presidium member, announced that he had left the party.
“Ershad is a leader of ‘national be-trayer party’,” Juktibadi said at a press conference held at the National Press Club in the city. He also indicated that many other JP leaders were planning to leave the party because of Ershad’s decision to join the polls-time cabinet, and contest the elections without en-suring the participation of all parties.
On Thursday, the government con-stituted the polls-time cabinet with the inclusion of six JP members. l
Freedom � ghter tells about Kodalia killingn Udisa Islam
Two witnesses against absconding war crimes suspect Zahid Hossain Khokon alias Khokon Razakar told the war tribu-nal yesterday about his alleged involve-ment in killings and abductions in Farid-pur during the 1971 Liberation War.
Fourth witness Abdul Hye Mollah, 60, claimed that on May 30 of 1971, Khokon and his accomplices had killed 16 un-armed civilians at village Kodalia under Nagarkanda police station in Faridpur.
The witness also said on April 21, Khokon and his brother Zafar along with their accomplices had given the Pakistani army a reception in Faridpur. After their cross-examination, the In-ternational Crimes Tribunal 1 � xed to-day for further proceedings.
He said on April 27, Khokon and his accomplices had raided a village named Banagram. They abducted 19 innocent civilians and took 17 of them to Nagarkanda police station where they had set their camp.
There they tortured the detainees for two days and later freed them in ex-change of Tk10,000. The witness also
said the collaborators had also looted the houses and set those on � re.
Another witness and alleged victim of Khokon’s crimes Yunus Mollah, 69, said the accused had beaten him up bru-tally as his brother was a freedom � ght-er. He also told about the same incident the fourth witness had described.
Yunus is a farmer and hails from Bana-gram under Nagarkanda police station. In his deposition, the witness said on Baishakh 13 of 1971, Khokon and his men had raided their village and also his house. “I was trying to escape but Khokon’s brother Zafar caught me. From the very beginning, Khokon started beating me with a ri� e. Finally, they de-tained at least 18 people from our village but somehow two of them were freed and the others were taken to a camp.”
Khokon and his brother had tor-tured the abducted people there and freed them after getting Tk10,000 as ransom, the witness claimed.
On October 9, the tribunal indicted Khokon, the sitting mayor of Nagar-kanda municipality and a BNP leader, on � ve counts of crimes against hu-manity. l
Mobarak gets 3 witnessesn Udisa Islam
The war crimes tribunal has allowed the defence team of accused Mobarak Hos-sain to produce three witnesses to de-fend his client.
The defence yesterday pleaded to the International Crimes Tribunal 1 for allowing 12 witnesses to ensure equality and justice as the prosecution had pro-duced the same number of witnesses.
On Monday, the defence ended cross examining the investigation o� cer of the case. The tribunal then decided to record testimonies of defence witnesses from December 1.
Prosecutor Md Shahidur Rahman yes-terday said the defence had no responsi-bility to prove the case. He cited that the defence had not mentioned which wit-ness to testify according to the charges. “This does not satisfy the requirement of the law.”
He said the defence should be allowed to place one witness for fair trials.
The tribunal on April 23 indicted Mo-barak on � ve charges of crimes against humanity he had allegedly committed in Brahmanbaria in 1971.
Meanwhile, the same tribunal yes-terday adjourned the contempt hearing against barrister Fakhrul Islam, lawyer for convicted war criminal Salauddin Quader Chowdhury, till December 12.
Fakhrul is detained in a case � led for leaking the tribunal’s verdict. His junior lawyer Tariqul Islam submitted at the tribunal that so they needed time to respond to the notice. He added that the accused had already sought unconditional apology to the tribunal.
Tariqul also said lawyer Zainul Abedin would represent Fakhrul.
The notice was issued on January 14 for allegedly demeaning the tribunal’s dignity. l
People try to catch a train at the Kamalapur Railway Station during o� ce rush hour as they do not have any other option because of the opposition’s nationwide blockade yesterday NASHIRUL ISLAM
SQ Chy’s lawyer sent to jailn BSS
A Dhaka court yesterday sent barrister Fakhrul Islam to jail for his suspected link to the leakage of the verdict of Interna-tional Crimes Tribunal that handed down capital punishment to his client BNP leader Salauddin Quader Chowdhury.
Metropolitan Magistrate Imdadul Haque passed the order upon a petition of the investigation o� cer that sought jail for Barrister Fakhrul.
The same court on November 24
placed him on a four-day remand in con-nection with the leakage. The BNP leader was accused of committing crimes against humanity during the Liberation War in 1971. A division bench of the High Court, comprising Justice Sheikh Hasan Arif and Justice Mostofa Zaman, stayed the re-mand order upon a defence petition.
Sanaullah Mia, counsel of Fakhrul, � led a petition seeking bail for his client with the court of Metropolitan Session Judge Md Zohurul Haque, where Decem-ber 1 was � xed to hear the bail prayer. l
PSC, NU, school annual exams rescheduledn Mushfi que Wadud
School students who have su� ered all year because of the country’s volatile political situation are now seeing uncertainty cast over their end of year examinations due to the 48-hour blockade enforced by the main opposition party.
The primary and mass education ministry had to postpone today’s PSC and its equivalent exams, while the on-going annual examinations in
schools, admission tests and regular examinations of di� erent education-al institutions were also postponed because of the BNP-led blockade pro-gramme.
Students were taking part in the ex-aminations without completing their syllabus as hartals had wasted at least 370 school hours this year so far.
The science exam of the ongoing primary terminal examination and the Arabic examination of its equivalent madrasa exams were postponed and
rescheduled because of the blockade. According to the revised schedule,
these exams will be held at 9:30am on Friday, said a press release of primary and mass education ministry, adding that the decision was taken considering the security concern of the examinees.
Earlier in the morning, Education Minister Nurul Islam Nahid urged the opposition to withdraw the blockade programme for the sake of nearly three million students.
Meanwhile, many schools also had
to reschedule their ongoing annual examinations scheduled for yesterday and today to Friday and Saturday.
The National University also post-poned all its examinations scheduled for today.
According to the revised sched-ule, fourth year honours examination will be held on Friday at 8:30am, BBA second year fourth semester and ECE part 4 on Friday at 2pm and MBA � rst semester on December 10 at 10am, a press release of the NU con� rmed. l
Defence skips tribunal for blockade n Udisa Islam
The war crimes tribunal yesterday end-ed cross-examination of a prosecution witness after the no-show of the de-fence counsels in the case against AKM Yusuf, who had allegedly formed raza-kar force.
Before giving the order, the tribunal had given the defence scope to appear before it after the lunch break. Later it set December 1 for the next witness.
Witness Sheikh Abzal Hossain, 76, on
Monday said in 1971, he had seen Yusuf ordering the killing of six unarmed civilians, � ve of who were Hindus, in Khulna.
Wounded during the Liberation War, Abzal in his deposition demand-ed justice for the war crimes. He said: “It is very unfortunate that the perpe-trators hoist our national � ags on their vehicles. I want to see justice is done before I die. Please pardon me if I am wrong.”
After his deposition, junior defence
counsel MH Tamin began cross examin-ing him but it remained incomplete.
The tribunal yesterday expressed frustration as the conducting defence lawyer had not appeared at the court. The junior counsels said they had not come because of lack of security during the opposition’s blockade pro-gramme.
Yusuf was indicted on 13 war crimes charges including killing, genocide and arson, religious conversion and deporta-tion of people. l
Hannan on 2-day remand n Md Sanaul Islam Tipu
A Dhaka court yesterday placed BNP standing committee member Brig (retd) ASM Hannan Shah on a two-day remand in a case � led with Bhatara police station over vandalism in the capital.
Metropolitan Magistrate Tareq Mainul Islam Bhuiyan passed the or-der after Sub-Inspector Md Ekramul Haque, investigation o� cer of the case, produced Hannan before the
Sanaullah Miah � led pleas for bail and remand rejection on grounds that his client was an aged person and that he was not involved with the incidents.
During the hearing, Hannan appre-ciated the court’s role and said he ex-pected impartial and fair order.
Claiming that he appeared before the court despite being ill, Hannan said he did not know anything about the case before his arrest. l
News4 DHAKA TRIBUNE Wednesday, November 27, 2013
City High LowDhaka 29.6 16.7Chittagong 26.4 17.1Rajshahi 29.0 14.6Rangpur 28.2 15.6Khulna 29.0 17.0Barisal 29.5 16.0Sylhet 28.8 16.7Cox’s Bazar 30.0 18.0
PRAYER TIMESFajar 5:02am
Sunrise 6:21amZohr 11:46am
Asr 3:35pmMagrib 5:11pm
Esha 6:31pmSource: IslamicFinder.org
WEATHER
Change in temperature unlikelyn UNB
Weather is likely to remain mainly dry with temporary partly cloudy sky over the country until 6pm today.
Night and day temperature might remain nearly unchanged over the country, Met o� ce said.
Chances of rain or thunder showers over the Southern part of the country are likely.
The sun sets in the capital at 5:10pm today and rises at 6:22am tomorrow.
Country’s highest temperature 30.8 degree Celsius was recorded at Bogra and lowest 12.5 degrees at Srimangal yesterday.
Highest and lowest temperatures re-corded in some major cities yesterday were: Notice seeks annulment of
appointment of advisers to PMn Nazmus Sakib
A legal notice was served yesterday seeking the cancellation of the appoint-ment of the Prime Minister’s advisers, showing there was no such provision in the constitution.
BNP Joint Secretary and Supreme Court Bar Association Secretary AM Mah-bub Uddin Khokon sent the notice on behalf of Raghib Rauf Chowdhury, acting secretary of Jatiotabadi Ainjibi Forum.
The notice said nowhere in the con-stitution was there a provision for ap-pointing such advisers. Therefore, the appointments were illegal.
Earlier in the afternoon Public Ad-ministration A� airs Adviser HT Imam, Energy Adviser Tow� q-e-Elahi Chowd-hury, Economic A� airs Adviser Moshiur Rahman, Education Adviser Dr Alaud-din Ahmed and Health Adviser Dr Syed Modasser Ali submitted their resigna-tion letters. The number of Prime Minis-ter Sheikh Hasina’s advisers now stands at six after the resignations of the � ve.
The lawyer said that after receiving the notice, the cabinet secretary had to withdraw all kinds of facilities pro-vided to the advisers.
The legal notice was also sent to all the 11 advisers, said Raghib. l
3 more witnesses testify in JU student Zubair killing casen Md Sanaul Islam Tipu
Three more prosecution witnesses tes-ti� ed in the sensational Zubair killing case before a speedy trial tribunal in the capital yesterday.
Zubair Ahmed, a � nal year honours student of Jahangirnagar University’s English department, died on Janu-ary 9 last year, a day after he had been severely beaten on the campus by ac-tivists of a rival faction of Bangladesh Chhatra League.
Zubair had injury marks all over his body and died of internal bleeding, ac-cording to the case statement.
Three security guards of the uni-versity – Md Shah Alam, Md Humayun Kabir and Md Anower Ali – were cross-
examined in the court yesterday by defence counsel Rezaur Rahman on be-half of the 13 accused in the case.
Speedy Trial Tribunal 4 Judge ABM Nizamul Haque � xed next Wednesday as the date of the next hearing.
Out of 37 prosecution witnesses, four have given depositions so far. The complainant of the case, JU Deputy Registrar Hamidur Rahman, testi� ed on November 18.
On April 8, 2012, Meer Shaheen Shah Parvez, then sub-inspector of Ashulia police station and the investigation o� -cer of the case, submitted a charge sheet, accusing 13 students. He named 37 wit-nesses, including four teachers and 33 security guards. The court framed charg-es on September 8 this year. l
Pro-BNP-Jamaat lawyers agitate against sessions during blockaden Nazmus Sakib
Pro-BNP and Jamaat lawyers yesterday agitated in front of a courtroom of the High Court, protesting judicial ses-sions during the 48-hour blockade pro-gramme called by the BNP-led 18-party alliance.
They thumped on the windows of the courtroom of Justice M Enayetur Ra-him, one of the judges who cancelled the registration of Jamaat-e-Islamiwith the Election Commission, and Justice Mohammad Ullah in a bidto interrupt their sessions, alleged Assistant Attorney General Gazi Ma-munur Rashid.
“Although around 100-150 lawyers started chanting slogans from 12pm to compel the judges to withdraw from sessions at the annex building of the High Court, Justice Enayetur Rahim-led bench did not pay any heed to their demands. This prompted us to agitate in front of the bench at 12.30pm,” Mirza Al Mahmud, one of the agitating law-yers, told the Dhaka Tribune.
He said as a political crisis had grown centring the upcoming parliamentary elections, running the judicial sessions during the blockade programme was not right.
No other bench of the High Court sat during the observation of the blockade, he added.
During their agitation, the police on-duty locked the courtroom’s door, and later, the bench left the courtroom around 12.40pm, he said.
However, Mirza denied the al-legation of thumping on windowssaying that they had respect towards the court.
Saifur Rahman, Gazi Kamrul Islam Sajal, and Ayub Ali Ashra� were among the agitating lawyers.
Later they joined at a press brie� ng arranged by Jatiotabadi Ainjibi Oikkya Parishad held for annulment of the polls schedule declared by the Election Commission.
However, the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court ran their session.
Appeal hearing in the cases of Jamaat leader Delwar Hossain Sayedee could not take place as thedefence remained absent because of the blockade.
Mirza Al Mahmud said: “As the Ap-pellate Division was the apex court of the country, the Supreme Court Bar Association leaders directed us not to agitate in front of it.” l
Nomination papers distributed in Chittagongn Tushar Hayat, Chittagong
The election o� ce in Chittagong has started distributing nomination papers for the 10th parliamentary polls sched-uled to be held on January 5.
Election o� cials said lawmaker Mainuddin Khan Badal, executive president of Jatiya Somajtantrik Dal, collected the nomination paper for Chittagong 8 (Boalkhali-Chandgaon) constituency, while Solaiman Alam Seth, a presidium member of Jatiya Party, collected the paperwork for Chit-tagong 9 (Kotwali) constituency.
Badal told the Dhaka Tribune that his representative collected the nomi-nation paper on his behalf, adding that he had collected it on the � rst date of distribution as he would remain out of the country for few days.
Meanwhile, two returning o� cers, Divisional Commissioner Mohammed Abdullah Mia and Deputy Commis-sioner Mohammed Abdul Mannan, sat in a meeting regarding preparations for holding of the elections in a peaceful manner. l
20kg gold recovered at Shahjalal Airportn BSS
The Customs Authority recovered 160 gold bars weighing 20kg from inside the toilet of an aircraft that landed at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in the early hours of yesterday.
The customs o� cials recovered the gold from an aircraft of Regent Airlines at 5:45am after it landed from Kuala Lumpur, said Assistant Commissioner of Biman Customs M Wazed Ali.
The estimated price of the recovered gold was Tk80m, the customs o� cials said.
Airport Armed Police Battalion (AAPBn) had also arrested a passenger with 5.5kg of weed from the airport on Monday.
The arrestee was identi� ed as Suman, 23.
Senior ASP of the AAPBn Ehtesamul Haq said Suman was arrested from air-port terminal departure gate 1 when he was carrying the weed wrapped with black carbon paper.
A case has already been � led under the Narcotics Control Act 1990 against Suman, who hailed from Dakshin Sree Rampur village of Lakshmipur. l
13 TV, 14 FM radio stations to get licenceA minister, a former state minister, an adviser to PM and MPs among the ownersn Mohosinul Karim
The Awami League-led alliance govern-ment gave approval to 13 new televi-sion channels, 14 FM radios and around 60 Community Radios just before step-ping down from o� ce.
Following the � nal approval, the in-formation ministry gave its permission to issue licences to credible and quali-� ed applicants.
Information Secretary, Mortuza Ahmed, told the Dhaka Tribune yester-day that the ministry gave its approval a few days ago for issuing licences to those who it deemed quali� ed.
“We have selected them after scruti-nising and examining their applications and physical investigation,” he said.
“The approvals were given in line with a past decision and as part of rou-tine work. The ministry is now working on issuing letters. The quali� ed appli-cants would get there licences, as soon as possible. Finally, they will have to approach BTRC to receive allocations of wavelengths, he said.
Meanwhile, a minister, a former state minister, an adviser to the prime minister and lawmakers were among the owners and promoters of most of the new satellite TV channels.
According to information ministry sources, ruling party lawmaker from Narayanganj, Gazi Golam Dastagir, who is also the owner of Gazi TV, got permission for Green TV, as the chair-man of Green Multimedia Ltdfollow-ing Environment and Forests Minister, Hasan Mahmud’s recommendation.
Titas TV of Millennium Media Ltd would be given licence against the application of Nur Mohammad as its managing director, following the rec-ommendation of AB Tajul Islam, for-mer state minister for liberation war a� airs ministry.
Meanwhile, singer Mumtaj Begum, a lawmaker from reserved seats for women, is behind the screens of Mil-lennium TV.Director General of PIB Shah Alamgir was the chief executive o� cer of the New Vision TV of News and Image. Sukumar Ranjan, a ruling
party lawmaker from Munshiganj rec-ommended for the channel.
Shahriar Alam, another ruling party lawmaker from Rajshahi, who was giv-en permission of an FM Radio earlier, got the permission of Renaissance TV as the chairman of Barendra Media Ltd.
AL lawmaker from Dinajpur, Khalid Mahmud Chowdhury got the licence of Rangdhanu TV under Rangdhanu Media while Iqbal Sobhan Chowdhury, information adviser to the prime min-ister would act as the managing direc-tor of Dhaka Bangla Television under Dhaka Bangla Media and Communica-tion Ltd.
News 24, a channel of East-West Me-dia Group has been permitted licence with Bashundhara Group’s Chairman Ahmed Akbar Sobhan’s son, Sayem Sobhan as its managing director.
Film Producer Abbas Ullah Shikdar of Dhaka Chairmanbari got the permis-sion of operating ATV.
Chairman of BSB Foundation MK Bashar got the licence for opening Cambrian TV Channel; former Presi-
dent of FBBCI Anisul Haque got Jadu TV under Jadu Media Limited.
Media Bangladesh Limited’s Chair-man Tarun Dey got Amar Gan TVand some acquaintances of the informa-tion minister got the Channel 21 under Broadcast Bangladesh Limited.
The Awami League government had previously approved 18 TV channels.
Of those, on October 20, the govern-ment approved Channel Bayanno and on November 6, Bangla TV. Jamuna TV got its licence back on Jul 29 this year.
In October 2009, the government gave the permission to Ekattor TV, Mohona Television, Channel 9, So-moy TV, GTV, Independent Television,Maasranga Television, ATN News, My TV and Bijoy TV while Channel 24, SA TV, Asian TV, Dipto Bangla Television and Gan Bangla were awarded licences in 2010.
Meanwhile, owners of new FM ra-dio stations that were allowed to set up belonged to business groups including, Pran-RFL, Square and East-West Prop-erty Development (Bashundhara) group.
The FM Radios were Radio Dhol of ruling party lawmaker Shahriar Alam, Radio Capital of Sayem Sobhan of East West Media Group (Basundhara), Radio Dinrat of Anjan Chowdhury of Square Group, Radio Active of actress Shomi Kaiser, Desh Radio of actor Nader Chow-dhury, Radio Masala of Shila Islam, Ra-dio Next of Mosabbir Ahmad, Bangla Radio of AKM Sahid Reza, Jago FM of Ahsan Khan Chowdhury, Radio Dhoni of Rashedul Hossain Chowdhury, Radio CIUS of Syed Jahirul Islam, Radio City of Kazi Mahfuzur Rahman, Radio Age of Shafqat Samiur Rahman and Times Radio of Abdullah Al Mamun.
Sources said most of the commu-nity radios were given permission to set up under di� erent NGOs, mainly in coastal and rural areas. Of those, some of the districts have got more than one community radios for creating public awareness.
The Information ministry o� cials said at this moment around 200 appli-cations for TV channel licences were pending with the ministry. l
3 bodies found in Chittagong, Barisal n Tribune Report
Three people were killed in separate incidents in Chittagong and Barisal yesterday. The deceased were Ami-nul Islam Raju, 20, Mamtaz alias Sidli Begum, 62, and an unidenti� ed man, whose body was found � oating in Kir-tankhola River.
Dhaka Tribune’s Chittagong corre-spondent reported that Aminul Islam Raju was stabbed to death and three others injured in a clash between two rival groups at Chandroghona under Rangunia upazila in Chittagong.
Waliullah Oli, OC of Rangunia police station, said an altercation erupted be-tween Raju and their friends with their rivals in front of Zia market of Fakir Para at Chandroghona around 7:30pm on Monday over previous enmity.
He added that at one stage rival group members stabbed Raju and his three friends with knives. Raju was taken to a private hospital where he died yesterday morning.
Our Barisal correspondent reported that the � rst dead body recovered was of widow Sidli Begum whose corpse was found locked in her room but had no sign of injury on her body.
Shawkat Anwar, OC of Hizla police station, said Sidli had been living alone in the house since the death of her hus-band.
Later yesterday, one of her daugh-ters came to visit her mother in the morning and found the house locked and her mother lying on bed.
Separately, an unidenti� ed body of a youth was lifted from the river Kirtank-hola in Barisal yesterday.
The bodies were sent to hospitals for post mortem. l
A garment worker waits on the central reservation on the busy Kanchpur Bridge yesterday, taking the risk to go across MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU
Around 100-150 lawyers started chanting slogans from 12pm to compel the judges to withdraw from sessions at the annex building of the High Court
Gold bars weighing 20kg seized at Shahjalal airport yesterday NASHIRUL ISLAM
5DHAKA TRIBUNE Long Form Wednesday, November 27, 2013
n Jyoti Rahman
In the � rst part (published on November 19) of this series comparing various governments’ economic and development records, we saw that when it
comes to growth in average income, there hasn’t been much di� erence between the three latest governments. The increase in average income dis-cussed here last week is real, that is, after allowing for in� ation. However, in� ation is an important economic indicator in its own right.
In fact, as far as the average person is concerned, real GDP per capita is an abstract construct, whereas prices of everyday commodities are, for the lack of a better word, much more real! Arguably, more than the war crimes trial or Digital Bangladesh, it was the promise of bringing down the price of rice to Tk10 that brought Awami League its 2008 landslide. And argua-bly, more than India or Islam factors, it’s the failure to meet this promise that’s behind AL’s sagging popularity.
Politics in Bangladesh, as the saying goes, is the price of rice.
This post looks at the recent gov-ernments’ record when it comes to in� ation. However, we need to begin with a bit of wonkery because when evaluating di� erent governments on in� ation, we need to keep some basic economics in mind, some of which may be counter-intuitive.
Once we go beyond the wonkery, three charts will show that the current government performs poorly com-pared with the last BNP government as far as in� ation is concerned.
First, there is a strong empirical
relationship between price level and the standard of living – things are more expensive in the rich, developed countries. Of course, people in rich, developed countries are richer, and thus can a� ord the more expensive
stu� . But if you are looking at the lev-el of price of anything, you will likely � nd that it costs more in Bangalore than Barisal, and more in Beijing than Bangalore, and more in Boston than Beijing.
The reasons for this are well outside the scope of this piece. The relevance for us is that in any econ-omy where the standard of living is rising over time, prices will rise too. That means, you should never take a politician seriously if they promise cheap stu� – promises are cheap, stu� , not always so. While prices of some goods – electronics for exam-ple – may fall over time, in a growing economy, overall price level usually rises over time.
Recall, our economy has been growing over time – per capita income has risen by about 4.5% a year (after adjusting for in� ation) over the past decade, under successive govern-ments. Therefore, we should expect some in� ation under recent govern-ments.
No economics lesson is needed to know that in� ation is undesirable to most people. However, given that some in� ation is to be expected in a growing economy, how should we judge the performance of di� erent governments?
Or, conversely, since under all three latest governments, in� ation-adjusted income has risen at around 4.5% a year, should we care if these govern-ments’ in� ation records are di� erent?
We should care about in� ation, and we should use two criteria to judge the governments’ performances. First, low in� ation is preferable to high. And second, steady in� ation is pre-ferred over variable rates of in� ation.
The � rst criteria is self-explanato-
ry – if prices are to rise, it’s better that they rise at a modest pace than at a fast pace. The second one takes a bit of explaining. If in� ation has been, and expected to remain, steady at, say, 5% a year – that is, prices of everything are on average 5% higher this year than last year, and this has been the case for a while and you expect this will be so into the future – then you can plan your savings, investment and other economic activities accordingly. But if in� ation is 2% one year, 10% the
next, and then 5% the year after, it is hard to plan economic activities. And that causes ine� ciencies and fric-tions, which are bad for long-term economic prospects.
Also, variable in� ation rates mean that the government is not manag-ing the macroeconomy very well, indicating one or a combination of chronic budget de� cits, � uctuations in the exchange rate, and an incom-petent central bank. An economy can grow despite poor governance, but if in� ation is high and volatile, it’s very likely the government’s fault.
Before going into the evidence, the � nal piece of wonkery – in� ation is a macroeconomic issue, not a microeco-nomic one. All the stories you heard about corrupt syndicates and so on? Forget them. That stu� has little, if anything, to do with in� ation.
Okay, that’s enough free econom-ics lesson. What does the record show? Let’s go to the videotape, by which I mean the charts.
The � rst one shows growth in GDP de� ator, which is a measure of prices of everything produced in an econ-omy. Just as for GDP, BBS has a new series for in� ation (both GDP de� ator and CPI). However, these series don’t go back far enough to make compari-sons between di� erent governments. So, like GDP per capita, we are using data estimated on the 1995-96 basis.
In Chart 1, the columns are annual growth in GDP de� ator, while the lines are annual average growth under various governments going back to
the 1980s. Pretty clearly, 1980s was more in� ationary than the subsequent decades. It’s also clear that both the 1990s governments maintained low and steady in� ation. In� ation started rising under the BNP government in the 2000s. But, at less than 5% a year, BNP’s record was better than the nearly 7.5% a year seen under the two latest governments. More worryingly, in� ation has tended to become more volatile under the current and imme-diate past government.
While GDP de� ator measures prices of everything that is produced, people actually care more about prices of what they consume. Consumer Price Index, CPI, measures this. We also have monthly data for CPI going back to 2000. The squiggly blue line in Chart 2 shows the yearly CPI in� ation (how much CPI has grown since the same month a year earlier). The � at lines represent annual average in� ation under the three latest governments.
The pattern appears to be pretty similar to GDP de� ator series above. Under the BNP government of early
2000s, CPI in� ation averaged less than 6% a year, compared with around 8.5% a year under the two more recent governments. And again, worryingly, under the latest government, in� ation has been quite volatile, reaching as high as 12% in the year to September 2011.
We have seen trends in in� ation – that is, growth in prices – in the two charts above. But the PM’s pre-elec-tion promise was about the level of a price of a speci� c commodity – that of rice. Chart 3 shows the retail price of a kg of coarse rice in Dhaka. The squig-gly red line is the average retail price over the preceding three months. The � at lines are the average under the past four governments.
Remarkably, the AL government of the late 1990s actually did manage to keep a lid on rice prices. In the � rst half of 1996, price of a kg of coarse rice averaged around Tk14.50, compared with Tk13.50 in the � rst half of 2001.
The price shot up to over Tk17 per kg in early 1999, in the aftermath of the devastating � ood of 1998. But then it came down. By contrast, the price rose steadily under the BNP govern-ment, to average Tk19 in the second half of 2006.
Recall, prices are expected to rise over time in a growing economy. So the mere fact that prices are higher than was the case under a previous government, by itself, is not indicative of poor performance. Regardless, comparing the two governments, public perception in 2006-07 was right that AL performed better in terms of keeping rice prices low.
The recent years have put paid to that notion. After BNP left o� ce, under the 1/11 regime, rice prices shot up to Tk35 per kg in mid-2008. Then,
over the following year, the price came down steadily, to be around Tk24 in the late summer of 2009. Both the spike and the fall in the price was primarily caused by global factor – but the 1/11 regime paid a political price and the AL government bene� t-ed politically from it.
Then look at what happened. Rice price shot up again in 2010, reach-ing Tk40 a kg in February 2011. And unlike in 2008, there was no global spike in prices. This was homegrown, and it was caused by the macroeco-nomic mismanagement of the current government.
To sum up then, whereas the � rst Hasina Wajed government performed
very well as far as in� ation was con-cerned, the current government has been quite a failure. The BNP govern-ment of the early 2000s, in contrast, did signi� cantly better than the more recent governments. l
Jyoti Rahman is a political blogger. The series was � rst posted in Nuraldeen.
The economic and development records of both parties over the past quarter century. This is the second of the series
Once we go beyond the wonkery, three charts will show that the current government performs poorly compared with the last BNP government as far as in� ation is concerned
Whereas the � rst Hasina Wajed government performed very well as far as in� ation was concerned, the current government has been quite a failure. The BNP government of the early 2000s, in contrast, did signi� cantly better than the more recent governments
An economy can grow despite poor governance, but if in� ation is high and volatile, it’s very likely the government’s fault
6 NewsDHAKA TRIBUNE Wednesday, November 27, 2013
BU admission test postponed n Our Correspondent, Barisal
The admission test of the third batch of Barisal University (BU), the only public university in the division and 33rd public university in the country, has been postponed because of the ongoing blockade programme called by BNP-led 18-party alliance, BU sources said.
The 120-mark written test in MCQ system was scheduled to be held on November 28 in three shifts at 11 cen-tres.
The centres include temporary and permanent campuses of the university, four government colleges, two govern-ment schools, one government techni-cal institute, and two private colleges in the city.
A press conference to publicise the preparations of intake test that was scheduled to be held on Tuesday, was also postponed previously.
Dr Md Muhsin Uddin, acting regis-trar of BU, said the new schedule for the test and detailed seat plan would be announced through media. The in-formation is also available on the web-site of the university www.barisaluniv.edu.bd.
A total of 29,690 admission seekers got registered under four units against 1,160 seats in 16 departments of six faculties, said Sha� ul Alam, technical committee chief of the admission com-mittee.
We had planned to start the classes at the temporary campus of BU in Ba-risal Zilla School and permanent cam-pus at Karnakathi on the eastern bank of the Kirtonkhola river from January, upon completion of the admission test and formalities, the Vice-Chancellor of BU Dr Harunor Rashid said. l
57 students to vie for each Rokeya University seatn Tribune Desk
Fifty-seven students will vie for each of the 1,245 seats under 21 departments in the admission test for the � rst year honours courses in the 2013-14 aca-demic session of Begum Rokeya Uni-versity.
University sources said around 71,076 admission seekers have regis-tered till yesterday for taking part in the admission tests to be held on De-cember 11, 12 and 13 at di� erent venues in the city, reports BSS.
Of them, 14,843 students have reg-istered for 195 seats under unit-A and 18,036 students for 360 seats under the unit-B.
Besides, 16,608 students have ap-plied for 240 seats under unit-C, 6,965 students for 240 seats under unit-D, 7,048 students for 90 seats under unit- E and 7,579 will compete for 120 seats under unit-F.
Detailed information about the overall admission process will be avail-able in the university websites (www.brur.ac.bd) and (www.admission.brur.ac.bd). l
Rajuk takes one year to approve plan: REHAB n Mohosinul Karim
Real Estate and Housing Association of Bangladesh (REHAB) President, Nasrul Hamid Bipu, yesterday alleged that the Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha takes almost a year to approve a building plan due to a lack of coordination.
He made the remarks yesterday at a meeting with Housing and Public Works Minister Tofail Ahmed as a Re-hab delegation met the minister at his o� ce.
Bipu said:“Despite a massive Tk-240bn turnover in the sector, it is one of the most neglected in the country.”
He said that despite a special alloca-tion for the sector in the last budget, “the Bangladesh Bank governor sent letters the private banks asking them not to issue any loans, terming it as an [unproductive sector].”
He said though some of the banks were still issuing loans, the interest rate was so high that it was hamper-ing business and causing their owners losses.
Bipu urged the minister to resolve the problems by consulting the � nance min-ister and other authorities concerned.
Meanwhile, Housing and Public
Works Minister Tofail Ahmed from the meeting urged the authorities concerned, including Rajuk, to work comprehensively along with other departments to eliminate the hazards regarding the approval of the plans for constructing buildings in the Dhaka city.
He said: “Although we will not take any major decision during our short ten-ure, we must eliminate the hazards on approving the plans, a major problem faced by the sector.”
The minister assured the REHAB delegation of eliminating the prob-lems.
Tofail also ordered the authorities concerned to allocate a plot in Uttara or Purbachal project area for REHAB, so that it can establish a training institute. l
JU acting and pro-VCs still con� ned n Mahadi Al Hasnat
Crisis at Jahangirnagar University con-tinues as the acting vice-chancellor and the pro-VC have been con� ned at the administrative o� ce for a week by a group of agitating teachers demand-ing the announcement of the VC panel election.
Sources said acting VC Prof MA Matin had been su� ering from allergy while Pro-VC (administration) Afsar Ahmed had food poisoning since Mon-day, though a doctor said the condi-tions of both were improving.
Prof Afsar told the Dhaka Tribune: “We are terribly shocked by the be-trayal of the agitating teachers. They are yet to release us although we have already suspended the teachers’ repre-sentative polls as per their demand.”
However, the agitating teachers said the authorities had ful� lled one of their demands while the VC panel polls were yet to be announced to execute the chancellor’s order. They demand for the VC panel polls under the current Senate.
In this regard, Prof Afsar said they needed to discuss the issue with VC
Prof Anwar Hossain, who was on leave due to medical treatment.
However, United Forum – compris-ing teachers, students, o� cers and em-ployees – yesterday brought out a pro-cession on the campus demanding the VC’s removal and the VC panel election.
Over 100 members of the forum joined the procession held around 12 noon.
On the other hand, a section of uni-versity unit Chhatra League leaders and activists loyal to its General Secre-tary Rajib Ahmed Rasel detained two unknown individuals, who allegedly came to join the demonstration of “Ja-hangirnagar University Family,” from the campus. The JU Family had been demanding the release of the con� ned individuals. l
Extra fees charged for new gas linesn Our Correspondent, Kishoreganj
The residents of Kishoreganj sadar munici-pality are allegedly being forced to pay extra charges for acquiring permission from the municipality authorities to dig roads for get-ting new gas connections.
The “extra” fees have put a burden on the municipality residents who applied for the new gas lines after the government recently resumed o� ering new connections in the area.
However, there are allegations that some people were bribing concerned engineers of the municipality to get the job done easily.
Several local residents expressed their anger at the municipality authorities, saying they were being made to su� er a lot for just a
little amount of work, unless bribes were paid to the concerned authority.
Md Mufassel, a voter of the municipality, said: “I come at least seven days a month to the municipality for a little work that would require just one day, but is being drawn out over around a month as I did not give any bribe money.”
Locals also blamed the municipality sta� s, including the mayor, of being irregular at their duties.
Some applicants for the gas connections said they made full payment in 2010 to get per-mission for road digging for the gas lines, which the government later stopped o� ering. Howev-er, the authorities were now charging double or thrice the money in violation of the rules, they
claimed. Shahidul Huq, a client of new town area, who paid Tk1,300 for the permission ear-lier, now had to pay an additional Tk5,900 for the new set of road-digging permission.
Mukhlesur Rahman, also from the new town area, paid Tk1,500 earlier, but now had to pay an additional Tk2,800 for the new per-mission. Md Jahed Ali of Harua area in the town earlier paid Tk2,280, but now had to pay Tk2,410 more to dig the road.
Tamjidul Aziz paid Tk1,950 earlier, but was now required to pay Tk4,100 more for the permission.
Aziz, a resident of the town’s Gaital area, also said that although the municipality authorities charged excessive fees, there had been no road development within � ve years. l
The Netrakona-bound Haor Express train was derailed in Mymensingh as unidenti� ed miscreants removed � sh plates from the railway tracks DHAKA TRIBUNE
The photo taken from Kanchpur shows that a woman is compelled to take ride on the � oor of a human hauler for non-availability of transport MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU
Gold bars worth Tk43m seized in Chittagong n Tarek Mahmud, Chittagong
Police and customs authorities in sepa-rate drives seized 88 gold bars worth Tk43m from Shah Amanat Internation-al Airport yesterday.
The Chittagong Customs seized 60 gold bars from abandoned luggage in a plane which landed at the airport from Dubai around 11am, said airport sources.
Mashiur Rahman Mandal, assistant commissioner of customs at the airport, said the unidenti� ed owner of the lug-gage might have � ed when they found the bars weighing seven kilograms in a black-poly bag, which arrived at the airport through BG-026 � ight.
With the recovery, the customs au-thority in six separate drives from No-vember 2 to yesterday nabbed three
persons with 327 gold bars worth about Tk170m from Bangladesh Biman on the Dubai to Chittagong route.
Customs authorities in 14 separate drives in 2013 seized 540 gold bars worth Tk280m from the expatriates in the airport, most of whom came from Gulf countries particularly Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Oman.
Most of the gold consignments were recovered from the planes of Bangla-desh Biman, scheduled to Dubai- Chit-tagong -Dhaka, sources said adding that it was due to relax vigilance in Chittagong.
The Personal Secretary of the airport manager Momen Maksud was suspend-ed from his post and transferred from the airport a few days ago for his alleged involvement with gold smuggling.
Earlier, Byezied police nabbed Zakir Ul Alam, 27, of Hathazari upazila in the district, with 26 gold bars, weighing 3.5 kilograms, from the city’s Oxygen in-tersection on Monday night.
He was carrying the bars to hand them over to a man in the city after taking from another person near his residence, said Sairul Islam, o� cer-in-charge of Bayezid police station. l
He said that despite a special allocation for the sector in the last budget, “the Bangladesh Bank governor sent letters the private banks asking them not to issue any loans
Earlier, Byezied police nabbed Zakir Ul Alam, 27, of Hathazari upazila in the district, with 26 gold bars, weighing 3.5 kilograms, from the city’s Oxygen intersection on Monday night
Jucsu polls suspended for JS electionn JU Correspondent
The Election Commission for Jahan-girnagar University Central Students’ Union (Jucsu) yesterday suspended the Jucsu polls which were scheduled to be held on January 2, for an inde� nite pe-riod of time because of the parliamen-tary elections.
A press release from the university’s Public Relation O� ce made the dis-closure, saying that the decision was made at the EC’s meeting.
University Vice Chancellor Anwar Hossain will declare the next schedule for Jucsu polls considering the future circumstances, the press release added.
The decision was made because the authorities will not get su� cient help from the law enforcers during the Jucsu election ahead of the national election. Besides students also opined that they would not get proper oppor-tunities for candidates’ publicity as the university’s admission test will be held on December 17-29.
However, the EC will continue their activities till December 1 to collect nomination papers from the candidates. l
Agitating teachers said the authorities had ful� lled one of their demands while the VC panel polls were yet to be announced to execute the chancellor’s order. They demand for the VC panel polls under the current Senate
One arrested with Indian medicine in MeherpurDetective Branch of police of Meherpur arrested a man and recovered huge Indian medicine worth about Tk5 from Post o� ce area in Meherpur on Monday night. On a tip-o� , a team of DB police conducted a drive in the area and arrested as Emon Ali, son of Azar Hossain, with the illegal medicine from his house, said Riazur Islam, o� cer-in-charge of sadar police station. A case was � led. – BSS
127kg hemp seized in Lalmonirhat Police in a drive seized 127-kg hemp from Kulaghat Bazar area under sadar upazila of the district on Monday. On a tip-o� , a team of police from Sadar police station conduct-ed a drive in the area and seized the hemp from a truck. Police also seized the truck, said Md Jamir Uddin, o� cer-in-charge of
sadar police station. Sensing the presence of the police, hemp traders and truck driver managed to � ee away, the OC added. A case was � led. – BSS
Tk53,000 realised as � ne in Chuadanga A mobile court on Monday realised Tk53,000 as � ne from the owners of two bakeries, one medicine pharmacy and one diagnostic centre conducting separate raids in Jibannagar upazila Sadar of the district. Mobile court sources said the bakery owners had been � ned on charge of preparing and selling bakery foodstu� s in unhygienic environment. The medicine pharmacy owner was � ned for running the pharmacy without any license. The owner of the diagnostic centre was � ned on charge of running it violating government rules. Upazila Nirbahi o� cer of Jibannagar upazila Sajedur Rahman conducted the raid. – BSS
Nation 7DHAKA TRIBUNE Wednesday, November 27, 2013
NEWS IN BRIEF
2m girls fall victim to early marriage in northern regionUnicef report says one in three girls are married at 15-19 and this rate is highest in the world n Tribune Desk
Around 2m adolescent girls fell vic-tim to early marriage in the country’s northern region.
According to a Unicef survey, early marriage is a common phenomenon there and it is prevailing because of various reasons, especially due to lack of awareness among parents, so-called activities of dishonest matchmakers, marriage without birth registration, ab-sence of social security, illiteracy and poverty.
A good number of girls of mid-dle-class families are being forced to get married at an immature age.
And many of them are divorced not long after their marriage because of dowry, premature motherhood, diverse health risks, dropping out of schools and mainly repression at their in-laws’ houses.
This propensity is on the sharp rise even after various interventions from the government and non-government organisations in addition to local ad-ministrations.
Early marriage has a bearing on de-velopment of Bangladesh where it still remains a big challenge, according to a report of the Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies.
The report said one-third of girls get married at age 15-19 and this rate is
highest in the world. The rate of early marriage between the age 15 and 19 de-clined by 5% to 37.5% in the 10 years to 2011.
According to � ndings of several re-ports, girls’ education helps check ear-ly marriage.
Girls fall prey to early marriage in the country’s northern districts, including Rangpur, Thakurgaon, Lalmonirhat, Kurigram as they are unaware of their reproductive health risks.
“Child marriage is a serious problem for the country. Maternal death can-not be reduced without checking ear-ly marriage,” said Giasuddin, project manager of the Family Planning Asso-ciation of Bangladesh.
Adviser of Plan International Ban-gladesh Zinat Afroz identi� ed dowry and risk of sexual repression as key reasons behind early marriage in Ban-gladesh. Many mothers marry o� their children at an early age thinking that they will have to give smaller amount of dowries at that age and their children will not have to be harassed sexually.
Early marriage means early preg-nancy and girls who become mothers face manifold health complications, including malnutrition.
According to a statistic, there are now 6m adolescent girls among a total population of 31m in the northern dis-tricts of the country.
Irin Akhter Akhi, 15, who got mar-ried at this early age in the village of Shikarpur in Bogra district, said her family married her o� to Jamiul, 20, of Fulbari Uttarpara area and the marriage took place on her � rst visit to her rela-tive’s house.
After a few months of the marriage, Jamiul and his family members put pressure on Akhi and her family for dowry and threatened to divorce if dowry is not given. One day Akhi was forced out of the residence after phys-ical assault. She is now residing at her parents’ home.
Akhi is struggling to survive with a dream. She is now taking preparation to sit for the coming SSC exam.
Such a picture could be found in many areas, especially in Kahalu Sa-dar upazila of Bogra district. Like Akhi, Shilpi, Sabina, Rani, Bobita, Lipi and Rakhi returned to their parents’ homes after being repressed by husbands for dowry.
Light House, an NGO, has been working for checking early marriage since 2002. Harun-or-Rashid, chief ex-ecutive o� cer of the organisation, said the tendency of early marriage is on the rise in northern districts due to lack of social security.
Poor families compel to marry their children o� there due to � nancial problems. l
Child marriage on the rise in Kishoreganjn Our Correspondent, Kishoreganj
Child marriage has increased alarming-ly in Kishoreganj due to a lack of aware-ness among parents.
Recently, at least 32 schoolgirls have been married without their consent at Nikli upazila in the district, according to sources.
In last three months, 18 students from AB Nurjahan High under Dampara union in Nikli upazila and 14 from Karar Mahtab Uddin High School under the same upazila were married forcefully.
The girls are students of classes VI, VII, VII, IX and X and their ages range between 11 and 15.
Of the married schoolgirls – four hailed from Batiboratia village, four from Tenguria village, one girl from Guradigha village under Singpur union, four of Borokanda village, two of Aliapara village, two of Kathalkan-di village and one girl from Asanpur village under Dampara union of the upazila.
A former student of AB Nurjahan School who has been forcefully married two months ago told Dhaka Tribune on condition of anonymity that suddenly some people had come to their house to see her.
“After they left our house, my par-ents informed me that they had � xed the next Friday as my marriage cere-mony.
“I tried to make them understand and appealed to them that I want to continue my study, but all of my e� orts went in vain.”
Similarly, some youths of Aliapara village said on information they tried to foil a marriage ceremony of a class XI student.
“Although parents of the girl as-sured us that they would not arrange her marriage, they later did not keep their words,” said a youth.
Shah Md Ahsan Ullah, head teacher of AB Nurjahan School, said suddenly child marriage had increased among students of his school.
“We are very much worried about the matter and we will hold an aware-ness programme as early as possible with the guardians, locals and students about the e� ect of child marriage.”
Md Delwar Hossain, head teacher of Karar Mahtab Uddin High School, said: “We could not stop child marriage, even trying strongly, though guardians assure us but later secretly marry o� their daughters, increasing the dropout rate in the school.”
Mahbubur Rahman, union parishad chairman of Dampara union, said some-times some people came to union pari-shad o� ce to take birth certi� cates and requested them to increase their ages.
“We have foiled many child marriag-es in the last few years,” he said.
Mabubul Alam, O� cer-in-Charge of Nikli police station, said an awareness meeting should be arranged in each area about the adverse impact of child marriage.
Habibur Rahman, upazila nirbahi of-� cer of Nikli, said: “We are always try-ing to foil the child marriage after being informed about the matter.” l
Three held for tra� cking teenage girl to Indian Our Correspondent, Kurigram
Police detained three people from Barbanda area of Roumari upazila un-der Kurigram district on Monday for allegedly tra� cking a teenage girl to India.
The detainees are Muluk Chan, 38, Lal Chan, 35, and Rohom Ali, 26, son of Hashem Ali.
The 13-year-old victim, Shamima Khatun (not her real name), is a � fth-grade primary school student.
Her mother � led a case with Rou-mari police against � ve people, seven months after her daughter was traf-� cked.
Sources said Minarul Islam of Kalur Char village under Mankachar thana in India had association with Muluk Chan and the latter introduced him with Shanti.
Earlier on April 27, the Indian Border Security Force caught Muluk Chan, Lal Chan and Rohom Ali at Roumari border while tra� cking the girl to India.
Shamima was kept con� ned in a child rehabilitation centre in Assam in India for six months.
On October 25 around 10am, she was o� cially handed over to Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) at Notunban-dar frontier of the upazila after a � ag meeting held between the o� cials of BGB and BSF. l
BNP calls half-day hartal in Rajshahi for todayn Tribune Desk
Local BNP called a half-day hartal in Rajshahi for today protesting yester-day’s police attack on party activists that left 70 people injured.
Addressing a press brie� ng, city BNP general president Mizanur Rah-man Minu announced the hartal pro-gramme to be observed from 6am to 12pm today.
At least 70 people, including city unit BNP general secretary Sha� qul Haque Milon, were injured in a clash.
The clash ensued the BNP activists tried to block Zero Point in Sahebazar area of the city in the morning and po-lice barred them from doing so while enforcing 18-party alliance’s 48-hour rail-road-waterway blockade pro-gramme. l
1 killed, 20 injured in Habiganj clashn Tribune Desk
A man was killed and 20 others were injured in a clash between two rival groups at
Nayagaon village under Lakhai upa-zila of the district on Monday night.
O� cer-in-Charge of Lakhai police station Nazim Uddin said the clash had erupted between two groups backed by Jolil Member and Malek Member re-spectively of the village over establish-ing supremacy in the area, reports UNB.
During the clash, Sahed Miah of the same village died on the spot and 20 people sustained injuries.
The injured were sent to Lakhai Up-azila Health Complex.
Being informed, police rushed to the spot and brought the situation under control. l
Gazipur � re gutted Sagar cinema hall n Our Correspondent, Gazipur
Fire gutted a cinema hall named ‘Sagar’ at Kaliakoir in Gazipur yesterday.
All kinds of equipment such as � lm relay machine, screen and other setting arrangement were fully gutted in the � re, but no casualty was reported.
The owner of the cinema hall Alhajj Md Masud Alam said the � re originated from electric short circuit early in the morning around 6am.
But Apurba Bal, station o� cer of Kaliakoir Fire Service, was suspecting that the � re might originated from cig-arette � ame.
Soon after the � re, security guards of the hall and local people rushed in and try to control the � re.
Later, a � re � ghter unit of Kaliakoir Fire Brigade took the � re under control after two hours. Alhajj Md Masud Alam said the losses caused by the � re was over Tk7.6m. l
Call for changed mindset to eliminate violence against women n BSS, Rangpur
Concerted e� orts with a changed mind-set can ensure equal rights for women and prevent all forms of repressions against them, speakers said at a human chain in Rangpur.
Rangpur unit of ‘Pollisree’ organ-ised the programme in observance of the International Women Repression Prevention Day-2013 at Katchari Ba-zaar zero point in front of the Depu-ty Commissioner’s Office in the city yesterday.
O� cials of the government and non-government organisations, wom-en rights activists, human rights and socio-cultural activists, professionals, teachers, and students brought out a colourful rally in the city.
With Project Coordinator of ‘Pol-lisree’ Shahnaz Parveen in the chair, Additional Deputy Commissioner Sha-hidul Islam addressed the programme as the chief guest.
Highlighting the existing scenario of repression against women in ev-ery sphere, the speakers stressed for
a comprehensive approach from the concerned including the civil society members.
Without ensuring equal rights, dig-nity and honour of the womenfolk who comprise half of the country’s total population, it was not possible to achieve the desired socioeconomic uplift for building a sustainably devel-oped country, they said.
They stressed for raising social awareness by changing the prevail-ing mindset towards women in every family and launching a vigorous social
movement to eliminate all types of re-pressions and violence against women.
Di� erent NGOs and rights organisa-tions including District Change Mak-ers’ Jyote (DCMJ), Debi Chowdhurani Polli Unnayan Kendra (DCPUK), Shu-shashonerJannoNagorik (SJN), RDRS Bangladesh, NagorikUddog (NU) and Setu Bandhan Hijra Unnayan Sangstha (SBHUS) took part in the programme.
Former President of DCMJ Professor Ahsan Habib Rabu and Coordinator of DCPUK Shahidur Rahman, among oth-ers, addressed the programme. l
Government urged to ensure human rights and dignity of disabled personsn BSS
Discussants at an advocacy conference have stressed the need for ensuring the human rights, honour and dignity of the disabled population to protect their socioeconomic and political liberties like all others in society.
Without including disabled people in national development activities at all levels as per the UN Charter, sus-tainable socioeconomic growth cannot be achieved, they said.
They also demanded the immediate implementation of the concerned UN Charter on the rights of persons with disabilities to ensure their welfare in the country.
The speakers were addressing the advocacy conference on ‘UN Charter for Persons with Disabilities’ held at Raja Ram Mohan Club auditorium on Monday afternoon in the city.
Jatiyo Trinomul Protibandhi Sangstha (JTPS), Protibandhi Narider Jatiyo Sangstha (PNJS), Bangladesh Le-gal Aid and Services Trust (BLAST) and Rangpur Zila Rangdhanu Protibandhi Adhikar Sangstha (RZPAS) organised the conference with the � nancial assis-tance of the UK-based Disability Rights Fund.
Over one hundred participants in-cluding government and NGO o� cials and experts, disabled leaders, lawyers, journalists, public representatives, pro-fessionals and local elite took part.
The speakers discussed various arti-cles, rules, regulations and importance of the UN Charter on the rights of per-sons with disabilities and urged the im-plementation of the Charter to ensure rights, welfare, dignity and honour of the disabled population.
With President of RZPAS Nur Alam in the chair, Additional District Mag-istrate of Rangpur Tonima Tasmin at-tended and addressed the conference as the chief guest.
Head of the Department of Medi-cine of Rangpur Medical College Pro-fessor Dr Zakir Hossain also attended the programme. l
Activists of the BNP-led 18-party alliance vandalise an auto-rickshaw in Chandpur in the early hours of yesterday DHAKA TRIBUNE
Wednesday, November 27, 2013DHAKA TRIBUNE InternationalDHAKA TRIBUNE8
Egypt: Army kills leading jihadi in northern Sinai An Egyptian military o� cer says the army has killed a leading al-Qaeda-in-spired militant and his son in clashes in the northern Sinai Peninsula. The o� cial said army units killed Moham-med Hussein Muhareb and his son Mansour Tuesday in a � re� ght with a group of militants in al-Joura village, south of the town of Sheikh Zuweid. The o� cial said Muhareb was the leader of a militant cell responsible for an August attack that killed 25 Egyptian police conscripts.
At least one in Japan gets HIV from donated bloodAt least one person in Japan has been infected with HIV from a blood trans-fusion. A spokesman for the Japanese Red Cross Society said Tuesday that a male donor tested positive for HIV this month. Red Cross spokesman Akihiko Nakano says the man had also donated blood earlier this year, and two people had received the blood. Results for the second person have not come out yet. All donated blood is screened, but the tests are not foolproof, especially when the infection is in its early stages.
Australian waterskier dies after crash in endurance race Leading Australian waterskier Sarah Teelow has died as the result of a
crash during an endurance race on the Hawkesbury River north of Sydney on Sunday. Police say Teelow, aged 20, fell o� her skis soon after the start of the high-speed 121-kilometre Bridge-to-Bridge race. She was air-lifted to Sydney’s Royal North Shore Hospital in a critical condition with spinal and head injuries but died late Monday. Austral-ian Bureau of Statistics � gures show that Teelow was the seventh waterskier to die in an accident in Australia in the last � ve years.
New York man seeks owner of Emmy award found in trashA New York man who found what he believes to be a legitimate Emmy award in box of trash said he wants to � nd the rightful owners. Ismael Cekic said he found the golden statuette in a box full of trash in front of a home in his Brook-lyn neighbourhood and he did not real-ise what it was until he saw the Emmy Awards ceremony on TV, WCBS-TV, New York, reported Monday. He said the Emmy is believed to be a trophy from the 1950s, but the band on its base that would reveal who it was given to is miss-ing. Cekic said no one living in the home where he discovered the statue knew where it came from. He said he is hoping to � nd the rightful owner. “I would want this back in my family if I would have lost it. So, I’m thinking why would someone throw this out?” he said.
WORLD WATCH
Former hostages react to Iran’s nuclear dealn AP, McLean, Virginia
A nuclear deal between the US, Iran and other world powers has been described as a trust-building step after decades of animosity that hopefully will lead to a more comprehensive deal down the road.
But for many of the 66 Americans who were held hostage for 444 days at the start of the Iranian revolution, trust-ing the regime in Tehran feels like a mis-take.
“It’s kind of like Jimmy Carter all over again,” said Clair Cortland Barnes, now retired after a career at the CIA and elsewhere. He sees the negotiations now as no more e� ective than they were in 1979 and 1980, when he and others lan-
guished, facing mock executions and other torments. The hostage crisis be-gan in November of 1979 when militants stormed the United States Embassy in Tehran and seized its occupants.
Retired Air Force Col Thomas E Schae-fer, 83, called the deal “foolishness.”
“My personal view is, I never found an Iranian leader I can trust,” he said. “I don’t think today it’s any di� erent from when I was there. None of them, I think, can be trusted. Why make an agreement with people you can’t trust?”
Schaefer was a military attache in Iran who was among those held hostage. His wife of more than 60 years, Anita, also takes a dim view of the agreement: “We are probably not very Christian-like when it comes to all this,” she said. l
Obama pushes back against critics of Iran dealn AP, Washington
Pushing back hard, President Barack Obama forcefully defended the tempo-rary agreement to freeze Iran’s disputed nuclear program on Monday, declaring that the United States “cannot close the door on diplomacy.”
The president’s remarks followed scepticism of the historic accord ex-pressed by some US allies abroad as well as by members of Congress at home, in-cluding fellow Democrats. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, one of the � ercest opponents of the six-month deal, called it a “historic mistake” and announced he would be dispatching a top envoy to Washington to try to tough-en the � nal agreement negotiators will soon begin hammering out.
Obama, without naming names, swiped at those who have questioned the wisdom of engaging with Iran.
“Tough talk and bluster may be the easy thing to do politically, but it’s not the right thing to do for our security,” he said during an event in San Francisco.
The weekend agreement between Iran and six world powers — the US, Brit-ain, France, Russia, China and Germany — is to temporarily halt parts of Tehran’s disputed nuclear program and allow for more intrusive international monitoring. In exchange, Iran gains some modest re-lief from sti� economic sanctions and a pledge from Obama that no new penal-
ties will be levied during the six months.Despite the fanfare surrounding the
agreement, administration o� cials say key technical details on the inspections and sanctions relief must still be worked out before it formally takes e� ect. Those talks will tackle the toughest issues that have long divided Iran and the West, in-cluding whether Tehran will be allowed to enrich uranium at a low level.
Iran insists it has a right to enrich ura-nium for peaceful purposes, and many nuclear analysts say a � nal deal will al-most certainly leave Iran with some right to enrich. However, that’s sure to spark more discord with Israel and many law-makers who insist Tehran be stripped of all enrichment capabilities. British Foreign Secretary William Hague said he expects the deal to be fully implemented by the end of January.
European Union o� cials say their sanctions could be eased as soon as De-cember. Those restrictions a� ect numer-ous areas including trade in petrochem-icals, gold and other precious metals, � nancial transfers to purchase food and medicine, and the ability of third coun-tries to use EU-based � rms to insure shipments of Iranian oil again.
The groundwork for the accord was laid during four clandestine meetings be-tween US and Iranian o� cials through-out the summer and fall. An earlier meeting took place in March, before Ira-nians elected President Hassan Rouhani,
a cleric who has taken more moderate public stances than his predecessor. De-tails of the secret talks were con� rmed to The Associated Press by three senior administration o� cials.
The US and its allies contend Iran is seeking to produce a nuclear bomb — of particular concern to Israel, which fears an attack — while Tehran insists it is merely pursuing a peaceful nuclear pro-gram for energy and medical purposes.
Even with the criticism, for Obama the sudden shift to foreign policy pres-ents an opportunity to steady his � ailing second term and take some attention o� the domestic troubles that have plagued the White House in recent weeks, espe-cially the rollout of his signature health care law. Perhaps with his presidential standing — and the strength of the rest of his term — in mind, he made sure on Monday to draw a connection between the nuclear pact and his long-declared willingness to negotiate directly with Iran.
“When I � rst ran for president, I said it was time for a new era of American lead-ership in the world, one that turned the page on a decade of war and began a new era of engagement with the world,” he said. “As president and as commander in chief, I’ve done what I’ve said.”
Later, at a high-dollar fundraiser in Los Angeles, Obama said he will not take any options o� the table to ensure Iran does not develop a nuclear weapon. l
In this Nov. 9, 1979, � le photo, one of the hostages being held at the US Embassy in Tehran is displayed to the crowd, blindfolded and with his hands bound AP
Council on Europe cites rights abuses in Turkeyn AP, Istanbul
The Council of Europe’s human rights commissioner has blasted Turkish au-thorities for widespread human rights abuses, in a stark review of the an-ti-government protests in Turkey ear-lier this year.
The report by Nils Muiznieks pub-lished Tuesday also says that many al-legations of abuse by Turkish police are not being investigated.
Muiznieks says: “The Commission-er considers that impunity of law-en-forcement o� cials committing human rights violations is an entrenched prob-lem in Turkey.”
The report comes at a sensitive time, just weeks after the European Union resumed membership talks with Tur-key that had been stalled.
Thousands of demonstrators were injured and � ve were killed during nationwide protests in May and June that were sparked when police cracked down on protesters objecting to the razing of a city park in Istanbul. l
Afghan leader, Rice at odds over security dealn AP, Kabul
Afghanistan’s president and the US deliv-ered blunt messages to each other Mon-day that gave no indication of a resolu-tion of their disagreements over a pact that governs the future of the American troop presence in the country.
Hamid Karzai said he won’t back down from his refusal to sign during the rest of his term in o� ce, with National Security Adviser Susan Rice responding that this would mean the US would then start planning to pull out all its forces af-ter 2014.
Their meeting in Kabul came the day after Karzai’s surprise decision to ignore Sunday’s recommendation by an Afghan assembly of dignitaries to sign the Bilat-eral Security Agreement, a refusal that cast doubt on whether American and al-lied troops would remain in Afghanistan to train Afghan forces after most foreign troops withdraw next year.
According to Karzai’s o� ce, he told Rice during Monday’s meeting that he wouldn’t back down from that decision, deferring it to whoever succeeds him as president in April elections.
The White House said Rice responded by telling Karzai that the United States will plan to pull all troops out of his coun-try after 2014 if he doesn’t promptly sign.
It added that Rice told Karzai that a signed agreement is necessary to plan for thousands of troops to stay in the coun-try to train and mentor Afghan security forces to face the Taliban. l
Turkish TV invades Pakistani homes!n AP, Karachi
Ottoman Turks never expanded their empire as far as today’s Pakistan, but some here fear their descendants are now launching a cultural invasion — via popular soap operas that Pakistani art-ists and politicians say threaten the local TV industry and the country’s conserva-tive Islamic values.
Some of the Turkish shows feature actresses wearing miniskirts and show-ing cleavage, a far cry from the billowing
shalwar kameez garments worn by most Pakistani women that hardly reveal skin. The shows, which have taken Pakistan by storm over the last year, are attrac-tive to local TV operators because they are much cheaper to buy than Pakistani dramas are to produce, and also feature more elaborate costumes and sets. “It is a big challenge,” said Abid Ali, a veteran Pakistani TV star, while � lming his latest show, Mere Apne, or My Loved Ones, in the southern city of Karachi. “Turkish shows have very expensive productions
our industry can’t a� ord.”The spartan set of Ali’s show, which
chronicles the sad life of a young girl after her parents die, helped prove his point. The entire episode was � lmed in the living room and driveway of a small rented house in an upscale area of Karachi. The actresses used the only bedroom on the ground � oor to apply their makeup, and the kids who lived in the house were scolded for making too much noise while they were � lming. Since there was only one camera, they had to shoot each scene three times from di� erent angles.
One of the most popular Turkish shows in Pakistan right now is Mera Sul-tan, or My Sultan, a period drama about the powerful Ottoman ruler Suleiman the Magni� cent. The show is no Game of Thrones, but it does feature ornate Ottoman-style sets, scenes with horses and archery and beautifully designed costumes. “There are multiple reasons behind the success of Turkish drama se-rials,” said Athar Waqar Azeem, a senior vice president at Hum TV, one of Paki-stan’s leading entertainment channels. “Freshness, better and beautiful loca-tions and new faces attract Pakistanis.”
One episode of a Turkish drama costs a Pakistani TV station about $2,500 to broadcast, while the production of a Pakistani show can be four times that amount, Azeem said. lIt often costs more to produce Pakistani shows than to import Turkish ones AP
Syria opposition: No future role for Assadn AP, Beirut
Syria’s main opposition group in exile says there can be no role for President Bashar Assad in any future transitional government. In a statement, the West-ern-backed Syrian National Coalition also urges the international communi-ty to “prove its seriousness” ahead of a planned peace conference by securing humanitarian corridors so that aid can reach besieged areas of the country.
Tuesday’s statement follows a United Nations announcement that the war-ring sides in Syria would attend a con-ference in Geneva on Jan 22 — the � rst face-to-face talks to end the Syrian civil war. Huge gaps remain however, partic-ularly when it comes to Assad’s future role. The coalition said the world must pressure Assad to allow aid to reach reb-el-held areas ahead of the talks. l
Israel ministers meet over EU research funding bann AP, Jerusalem
A senior Israeli minister says top parlia-mentarians met to discuss a European funding ban on institutions that operate in areas Palestinians want for their fu-ture state. Deputy Foreign Minister Zeev Elkin told Army Radio Tuesday that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the “long discussion” Monday.
EU guidelines announced this year ban the funding of institutions that have any operations beyond Israel’s pre-1967 borders. Elkin said the territorial clauses are problematic because of their politi-cal implications.
Israel is especially worried about losing access to Horizon 2020, a sev-en-year, Europe-wide research grant program that starts in 2014 with an esti-mated budget of 80bn euros ($107bn). l
France sending 1K troops to CARn AP, Paris
France will send 1,000 troops to Central African Republic to keep growing chaos at bay, the defence minister said Tuesday, announcing his country’s second military foray into a troubled former colony this year.
The con� rmation from Defence Minis-ter Jean-Yves Le Drian came a day after a top UN o� cial warned of mass atrocities and possible civil war in one of the world’s poorest countries, which has been in tur-moil since rebel groups joined forces in March and overthrew the president. The rebels have been accused by rights groups of committing scores of atrocities includ-
ing killings, rapes and conscription of child soldiers.
“It’s in collapse and we cannot have a country fall apart like that. There is the vi-olence, massacres and humanitarian cha-os that follow a collapse,” Le Drian told Europe 1 radio. “It will be a short mission to allow calm and stability to return.”
France has about 2,800 troops in Mali, an operation that began after rebels and al-Qaeda linked militants moved to take over the capital last winter, but Le Drian dismissed any comparisons between the two missions.
“In Mali there was an attack of jihad-ists, terrorists who wanted to transform Mali into a terrorist state. This is a collapse
of a country with a potential for religious clashes,” he said. “France has internation-al responsibilities.”
France will accompany an African force of troops from neighbouring coun-tries, in a mission expected to last about six months, Le Drian said.
In a brie� ng Monday to the Security Council, UN Deputy Secretary-General Jan Eliasson said that the situation in the Central African Republic was deteriorat-ing so rapidly — with the country becom-ing “a breeding ground for extremists and armed groups” and never-before-seen sectarian violence between Muslims and Christians — that a UN peacekeeping force may soon be the only option. l
Nine detained after oil pipeline blasts in Chinan AP, Beijing
Police have detained seven employees of China’s largest oil re� ner, Sinopec, follow-ing last week’s oil pipeline blast that killed at least 55 people when it ripped through a road lined with businesses and apart-ments in an eastern port city.
Two Qingdao city employees also were in police custody, local authorities said a statement late Monday. The Sinopec pipeline, aligned along the city’s drain-age network, ruptured early Friday and spilled oil along a long stretch of road, as well as into the nearby sea. Hours later the oil exploded as workers tried to clean up the spill. China’s government demanded accountability in the disaster, the dead-
liest involving Sinopec. Yang Dongliang, head of the State Administration of Work Safety, called it a “very serious” accident caused by irresponsibility.
Yang said the pipeline’s layout was un-reasonable, that its safety management was lax and that Sinopec and local o� -cials failed to take enough preventative measures after the leak, such as cordon-ing o� the area and evacuating residents, according to a statement posted on the administration’s web site.
Three more bodies were found on the scene Monday, raising the death toll to 55, Qingdao police said. They said of the 52 con� rmed dead earlier, 42 were male. Friday’s blast also left 136 people injured and nine others missing. l
Typhoon survivors cross a row of school chairs to avoid a muddy portion of an evacuation center Tuesday Nov. 26, 2013 after being ravaged by Typhoon Haiyan more than two weeks ago at Tacloban city, Leyte province in central Philippines AP
UN envoy: Syria war fueling Iraq terrorist threat n AP, United Nations
The con� ict in Syria is helping fuel terror-ism and sectarian tensions in neighbour-ing Iraq, enabling groups like al-Qaeda to forge links with similar factions across the border, the UN envoy to Iraq said Monday.
Nickolay Mladenov told the UN Securi-ty Council that resolving the Syrian crisis and adopting a regional strategy against all forms of religious or sectarian extrem-ism “are vital to bringing stability to Iraq.”
“Today, more than ever, Iraq’s chal-lenges cannot be considered in isola-tion from the broader risks that face the
region,” he said, noting that more than 202,000 Syrian refugees are registered in Iraq, 98% of them in Kurdistan.
Mladenov said deteriorating security in Iraq, compounded by political dead-lock, is being exploited by terrorists and armed groups trying to incite sectarian hatred and undermine the government.
The former Bulgarian former minister, who was appointed to the job in August by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, said all political, civic and religious leaders that he met in Baghdad, Najaf, Erbil, An-bar and Kirkuk expressed deep concern over the escalating violence. l
9Wednesday, November 27, 2013DHAKA TRIBUNE International
Demo in Indonesia over spying rown AFP, Jakarta
Demonstrators in military-style uni-forms protested outside the Australian embassy in Jakarta Tuesday, as the Indonesian president weighed his re-sponse to a letter from Prime Minister Tony Abbott aimed at calming a row over spying.
Allegations that Australian spies tried to listen to the phones of Pres-ident Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, his wife and his ministers in 2009 has sparked an escalating diplomatic crisis.
Jakarta has reacted furiously, end-ing cooperation on military exercises and in the key area of people-smug-gling and recalling its ambassador from Australia.
On Tuesday a crowd from a para-military organisation, wearing black and orange out� ts, burnt pictures of Abbott outside the mission, the latest angry protest at the heavily forti� ed compound.
“Australia must apologise publicly and the ambassador must leave this country,” read one of the banners car-ried by some 100 protesters.
“It’s not simply about the spying, Australia has intervened in too many Indonesian a� airs,” shouted one demonstrator through a loudspeaker.
He cited the separatist movement in the eastern Papua region, which has received support from some Australian activists.
Last week, hundreds of demonstra-
tors pelted eggs and rotten tomatoes at the embassy.
Abbott has so far refused to apolo-gise over the scandal, further infuri-ating Jakarta, and Yudhoyono sent a letter last week to the Australian leader demanding he fully explain the allega-tions.
Abbot replied at the weekend. The president on Tuesday met with Vice President Boediono, the recalled am-bassador, and other ministers at the presidential palace in Jakarta to con-sider his next step.
There has as yet been no indication of the letter’s content. But speaking ahead of the meeting, presidential spokesman Julian Aldrin Pasha hinted that Jakarta was satis� ed. l
Indonesia says Australian PM seeks to calm furyn Reuters, Jakarta
Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott has promised to take no future action that will damage relations with Indone-sia, seeking to calm fury in Jakarta over allegations that Canberra tried to tap phone conversations of its top o� cials.
The issue has created the biggest diplomatic rift between the neighbours since the late 1990s and threatened economic ties and e� orts to curb the � ight of asylum seekers to Australia.
Indonesian President Susilo Bam-bang Yudhoyono told reporters that Abbott had made the pledge in a letter to him at the weekend, which also in-cluded a commitment to “build a new architecture for intelligence sharing.”
“I still feel there are some things that need to be addressed,” Yudhoyono said, but added that “in essence” rela-tions were very good.
He said he would appoint a special envoy, or possibly his foreign minister, to resolve major issues regarding intel-ligence sharing, after which he would himself look into establishing a new
code of ethics on the issue.“There is a process that needs to be
pursued, discussions that need to be had after this.”
The diplomatic bust-up followed reports last week quoting documents leaked by former US National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden that Australia’s intelligence services had tried to eavesdrop on mobile phone conversations of the president, his wife and other top o� cials.
The Abbott letter comes close to the approach taken by US President Barack Obama after allegations the United States had spied on German Chancellor Angela Merkel. He promised it would not happen again.
Last week, Yudhoyono ordered the suspension of military and police coop-eration over the sensitive issue of asy-lum seekers using Indonesian territory to sail to Australia.
But in a surprise twist, Yudhoyono said his foreign minister would sum-mon the ambassadors of Singapore and South Korea over media reports that their governments had helped Australia
in its spying.Earlier on Tuesday, Malaysia sum-
moned Singapore’s high commission-er for talks, saying it was “extremely concerned” by media reports that the city-state helps Western intelligence agencies spy on its Southeast Asian neighbour.
In a sign of Indonesia’s pique, Trade Minister Gita Wirjawan said Indonesia was looking for alternatives to Australia for food imports. Australia is a key sup-plier of wheat, beef and live cattle.
“There are other places that I think can help us with our food security as-pirations,” Wirjawan told foreign jour-nalists. “We are looking at those possi-bilities.”
However, given the sensitivity of beef prices this year in Indonesia, where in� ation has been running high, the country has little choice but to rely on Australia in the short term.
Wirjawan, who has already begun his campaign for next July’s presiden-tial election, said he had asked parlia-ment to look into regulations that limit imports from certain countries. l
Malaysia summons Singapore envoy over spying claimn AP, Kuala Lampur
Malaysia’s foreign ministry summoned a senior Singaporean diplomat Tuesday over allegations that the city-state has helped the United States and Australia tap telecommunications links in Asia for espionage.
Singapore’s government has not publicly responded to the allegations, which were published Monday in Aus-tralia’s Sydney Morning Herald and cite documents from National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden.
Foreign Minister Anifah Aman said in a statement that his ministry was
seeking clari� cation from Singapore’s high commissioner, or ambassador, to Malaysia.
“If those allegations are eventually proven, it is certainly a serious matter that the government of Malaysia strong-ly rejects and abhors,” Anifah said.
He said that spying against a good friend and neighbour was unaccept-able.
Anifah’s ministry earlier this month protested to US and Australian embas-sy o� cials over accusations that their diplomatic missions house surveillance equipment used to collect electronic communications.
The Sydney Morning Herald report said a National Security Agency map published by Dutch newspaper NRC Handelsblad this past week con� rmed that Singapore played a role in helping the US and other intelligence partners tap undersea cables.
Similar spying allegations rocked relations between Indonesia and Aus-tralia this month, with Jakarta recalling its ambassador, downgrading relations and suspending cooperation on peo-ple-smuggling after reports of Austra-lian tapping the phones of Indonesia’s president, his wife and eight Indonesian ministers and o� cials in 2009. l
Indonesian Ambassador to Australia Nadjib Riphat Kesoema, right, speaks to journalists next to Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa after their meeting in Jakarta AP
Indian parents get life for killing daughtern AP, New Delhi
A court sentenced two married dentists to life in prison Tuesday for killing their 14-year-old daughter and their house-keeper in a case that has dominated headlines and polarised Indians.
Rajesh and Nupur Talwar, from the New Delhi suburb of Noida, had reportedly broken down in tears when they were convicted Monday and vowed to appeal the verdict. Defence lawyer Rebecca John said after Tuesday’s sentencing that the case against the Talwars, based largely on circumstantial evidence, amounted to a “witch hunt” and said “there has been a serious miscarriage of justice in this case.”
The couple came under suspicion soon after their daughter, Aarushi, was found dead in her bedroom in May 2008, her throat slit with surgical pre-cision.
Police initially named the Talwars’ missing Nepali housekeeper as the prime suspect, until his lifeless body was found a day later on a terrace above Aarushi’s room. l
India marks � fth year since Mumbai attacksn AFP, Mumbai
India marked the � fth anniversary of the Mumbai attacks on Tuesday with memorial services and prayers to hon-our the 166 people killed in the three-day assault by Pakistani militants.
Victims and government ministers laid wreaths at a memorial in south Mumbai dedicated to police and secu-rity forces killed trying to stop the Is-lamist gunmen during 60 hours of car-nage.
Ten militants arrived by sea on the evening of November 26, carrying out a massacre at hotels, a railway station, cafe and Jewish centre as terri� ed civil-ians tried to escape the bloodbath.
Live television footage was shown around the world as commandos bat-tled with the gunmen, before author-ities � nally regained full control of the city three days later. About 300 people were injured.
Devika Rotawan was 10 years old when she was shot in the leg as the mil-itants roamed Chhatrapati Shivaji Ter-minal � ring indiscrimately at people.
“My life was peaceful before the at-
tacks... it is not the same now. Though my leg has recovered, it still pains when I run or walk for a long time,” Rotawan told AFP.
Rotawan, who turns 15 next month and wants to join the police force after � nishing school, marked the day by praying for peace for her family and her city.
Maharashtra state’s chief minister, Prithviraj Chavan, and top police o� -cers laid � oral tributes at the memorial along Mumbai’s Marine Drive – just a short distance from the spot where the then sole surviving gunman was cap-tured.
Pakistani national Mohammed Ajmal Kasab, was hanged last November after a lengthy trial for his role in the attacks.
Both New Delhi and Washington blame the attacks on the Pakistan-based militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba.
On Tuesday security was strength-ened at the places which came under siege, including the landmark Taj Mahal Palace hotel which will hold its own pri-vate memorial service later in the day.
On the eve of the anniversary, the author of an acclaimed new book on the
tragedy warned that India failed to learn the lessons from the assault.
Adrian Levy, whose book “The Siege” highlights striking failures in Indian authorities’ response to the at-tacks, said he feared security had barely improved since then.
India’s Hindustan Times newspaper also questioned the city’s security and pointed to still “fraught” ties with Paki-stan despite e� orts to improve relations between the two rival neighbours.
“Questions remain about our ability to respond in the face of another attack” particularly to protect the long city’s coastline from a terror attack, the news-paper said in an editorial.
India has pressed Pakistan to bring the alleged masterminds of the attacks to justice. Pakistan charged seven men in 2009 over the attacks and has started a trial there, but says it needs to gather more evidence before proceeding fur-ther.
Rotawan, who was a key witness in the trial against Kasab, said: “I have seen no change in the past � ve years. The government is not capable of pre-venting further terror attacks.” l
Researchers say they have found oldest Buddhist shrinen AP, Kathmandu
Archaeologists in Nepal say they have discovered traces of a wooden structure dating from the sixth century BC that they believe is the world’s oldest Buddhist shrine. Kosh Prasad Acharya, who teamed with archaeologists from Britain’s Durham University, said Tuesday that the structure was unearthed inside the sacred Mayadevi Temple in Lumbini. Buddha, also known as Siddhartha Gautama, is generally thought to have been born in about the sixth century BC at the temple site. The � ndings were published in the December issue of the journal Antiquity. Acharya said the traces were tested using radiocarbon and luminescence techniques, which found they dated from the sixth century BC. The archaeological team dug underneath previously known brick structures inside the temple, and experts from Scotland’s University of Sterling examined and collected the samples, he said. The team has been working on the site for the past three years.
Previously, a pillar installed by Indian
Emperor Ashoka with inscriptions dating to the third century BC was considered to be the oldest Buddhist structure, Acharya said.
“This � nding further strengthens the chronology of Buddha’s life and is major news for the millions of Buddhists around the world,” Acharya said in an interview.
“Very little is known about the life of the Buddha, except through textual sources and oral tradition,” Durham University archaeologist Robin Coningham said in a statement. “Now, for the � rst time, we have an archaeological sequence at Lumbini that shows a building there as early as the sixth century BC.” Each year, tens of thousands of Buddhists visit Lumbini, 280 kilometres southwest of Katmandu. l
China defence zone points to long gamen AP, Beijing
China’s new air defence zone in the East China Sea further asserts its territorial claims over disputed islands but isn’t expected to immediately spark confron-tations with foreign aircraft.
Yet the move � ts a pattern of putting teeth behind China’s claims and could potentially lead to dangerous encoun-ters depending on how vigorously Chi-na enforces it — and how cautious it is when intercepting aircraft from Japan, the US and other countries. While en-forcement is expected to start slowly, Beijing has a record of playing the long game, and analysts say they anticipate a gradual scaling-up of activity.
Beijing on Saturday issued a map of the zone — which includes a cluster of islands controlled by Japan but also claimed by China — and a set of rules that say all aircraft entering the area must notify Chinese authorities and are subject to emergency military measures if they do not identify themselves or obey Beijing’s orders.
The declaration seems to have � opped as a foreign policy gambit. Ana-lysts say Beijing may have miscalculated the forcefulness and speed with which
its neighbours rejected its demands.Washington, which has hundreds
of military aircraft based in the region, says it has zero intention of complying. Japan likewise has called the zone inval-id, unenforceable and dangerous, while Taiwan and South Korea, both close to the US, also rejected it.
At least in the short term, the move undermines Beijing’s drive for regional
in� uence, said Bonnie Glaser, an Asia expert at the Centre for Strategic and In-ternational Studies in Washington, DC.
“It doesn’t serve Chinese interests to have tensions with so many neighbours simultaneously,” she said.
Denny Roy, a security expert at the East-West Centre in Hawaii, said China’s enforcement will likely be mostly rhe-torical at � rst. l
Oct. 13, 2011 � le photo: Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force’s P-3C Orion surveillance plane � ies over the disputed islands in the East China Sea AP
Japan secrecy law stirs fear of limits on freedomsn AP, Tokyo
A proposed state secrecy law in Japan that imposes sti� er penalties on bu-reaucrats who leak information — and journalists who seek it — is spurring a public outcry, with opponents blasting it as a heavy-handed e� ort to hide what the government is doing and restrict press freedom.
The public’s top concern is that the government will not say exactly what it wants to make secret. Critics say the law could allow the government to withhold information about whatever it wants and ultimately undermine Ja-pan’s democracy.
The ruling party says the “secrecy protection” law, which the lower house of parliament could vote on as soon as Tuesday, is needed to allow the United States and other allies to share national security information with Japan. Along with the creation of a US-style National Security Council in his o� ce, it’s part of an e� ort by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to beef up Japan’s role in global se-curity, and make a more authoritarian government at home. l
Pakistani polio workers releasedn AFP, Peshawar
Islamist militants Tuesday released sev-en polio workers who were kidnapped last week in a northwestern Pakistani tribal district while carrying out a vacci-nation campaign, o� cials said.
The workers were seized last Thurs-day in the Bara area of Khyber district by the Lashkar-e-Islam group.
Pakistan is one of only three coun-tries in the world where polio is still en-demic. But e� orts to stamp out the crip-pling disease have been hit by repeated attacks – often fatal – on health teams.
“The polio workers have been re-leased in Tirah valley and they will reach
Peshawar by tomorrow (Wednesday),” Nasir Khan, a senior Khyber administra-tion o� cial, told AFP.
Their release was secured with the help of tribal elders, he added. A local intelligence o� cial con� rmed the re-lease. Tirah is a stronghold of Islamist insurgents, where the military claimed earlier this year that it had destroyed ex-tremist hideouts after an operation. O� -cials in Khyber said the group was made up of four teachers at a private school, a male nurse and two volunteers. Mili-tant groups in the restive country have rejected vaccination as a Western plot against Muslims and banned teams from giving out polio drops in some areas. l
NATO trucks still stuck in Pakistann AP, Karachi
Transportation o� cials say trucks carrying NATO troop supplies to Af-ghanistan remain stuck in Pakistan as concern lingers about demonstrators seeking to stop the vehicles to protest US drone strikes. Himayat Shah, head of a transportation association, said Tuesday that most trucks carrying NATO supplies and commercial goods to Afghanistan stopped three days ago
when supporters of politician Imran Khan began their protest in northwest Pakistan.
Police intervened Monday to stop the protesters from halting trucks. But Shah said transportation companies did not yet feel comfortable enough to resume their shipments.
The road blocked by Khan’s sup-porters in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa prov-ince leads to one of two routes used to ship NATO supplies to Afghanistan. l
Capital calls for more public toiletsNovember 20
P Sarker In the recent years, instead of setting up new ones, a dozen public toilets in prime locations have been dismantled!
Syed Saheeb Ahmed I think it’s a good business prospect for the private sector to set up toilets on a pay per use basis. They have them abroad. Worth Tk5 to Tk10 per session, if it’s up to the standard. :-)
Petros Mendes These are the kind of basic needs this nation needs to pay a little more attention towards.
Why not use non-violent protest?The start of the two day blockade called by the BNP and its allies on Monday saw repeated acts of intimidation and vandalism, which predictably led to a person being killed as they tried to avoid a clash between violent protestors and law enforcers.
Shockingly, the blockade has included some of its sup-porters removing tracks and key equipment from railway lines and over 20 people were injured when the Dhaka-Mo-hanganj train was derailed as a result.
At a time when the election is scheduled and dialogue attempts are underway, we fail to see whose interest is served by this so-called blockade.
The opposition is entitled to express dissent and to call protests over the election frame-work, but there is no constitutional right to recklessly en-danger peoples’ lives in this manner. The economy is clearly harmed by the � ow of goods being disrupted and as with hartals, a climate of fear is created for ordinary citizens.
The BNP also harms its own case by allowing itself to be associated with such actions.
We believe it should unequivocally disassociate itself from criminal acts and rethink its course of action towards a clear-ly non-violent and voluntary model of protest.
Such an approach would be more likely to win rather than alienate public sympathy. It would also put the ball more � rmly into the government’s court by showing some moral authority. This would have the potential to oblige the govern-ment to take a more conciliatory approach towards settling the election deadlock.
Flexibility the key for ECChief Election Commissioner Rakibuddin Ahmad has an-nounced that the next parliamentary election will be held on January 5, 2014, while main opposition BNP and its allies have rejected the announcement, calling for countrywide blockade.
The country needs a fair and credible election, and it is laudable that the government has moved forward to conduct the polls within the parame-ters of the constitution, de-spite vehement disagreement from the opposition.
As a number of political par-ties feel that such a one-sided announcement of the election schedule would prevent a fair and credible election, we urge the government to exercise � exibility in the schedule as necessary in order to ac-commodate all parties to the extent possible and to avoid escalating the already heated situation that prevails between the AL and BNP as well as other opposing parties.
We hope the government will maintain � exibility when it comes to the election schedule and include other parties into this discussion. While the election under the current government is constitutionally justi� ed, a rigid stance will compromise the credibility of the polls further.
Now that the schedule has been announced all parties should work together to � nd a compromise that would ensure that the election is fully inclusive and participatory, and that the Bangladeshi people are not denied a full range of choice.
Editorial10
www.dhakatribune.com
DHAKA TRIBUNE Wednesday, November 27, 2013
LETTER OF THE DAY
CALVIN AND HOBBES
PEANUTS
Letters to the Editor
All parties should work together to � nd a compromise that would ensure that the election is fully inclusive and participatory
The BNP should rethink its course of action towards a clearly non-violent and voluntary model of protest
Removal of elected directors an a� ront to GB membersNovember 22
In reading this article, one very pertinent question comes to my mind. If the national parliament can hang on till the next elected parliament takes over, why then can’t the nine present elected board members of GB continue till the next elected board members come into the o� ce?
Australia delays naming team to play EnglandNovember 20
Oh Darren! Cricket’s glory lost much since the retirement of Hayden, Ponting, Slater, Langer, Waugh, Bevan, McGrath, Gillespie, Gilchrist. What a team that was!
Wajahat Anwar
The � ne beauty of miniature paintings, an open air exhibitionNovember 19The earliest miniature paintings are Jain and Rajput and their size depended on the size of palm leaves. Hindu miniature paint-ing aimed at spiritual meaning and impact since, it was felt, nature had already done the best. Persian painting came later and valued realism and the Mughal courts too valued realism. Their painters (who were mostly Hindu), adapted to their demand.
S
Metro rail deal to be signed todayNovember 19So what if he lied a little on his CV? We have had a judge with a false certi� cate and convicted felons as ministers. This is nothing in Bangladesh.
rutland waters
First Ticfa meeting likely on Nov 25November 20
Provisions and sections of TICFA, and the possibility of any conditions imposed, should clearly be published immediately.
Muhammad Mush� qur Rahman
Hey, Hay, what can I say?November 19
nina malikIn lieu of telling the readers you tried to draw a pristine picture about the Hay Festival. I am ap-palled by your blatant disregard about the present volatile political situation where innocent people are getting killed and are being burned alive. Where is your civic sense? At a time like this how can you gloat about Dhaka being the perfect host for this festival which is meant for only Dhaka elites of Dhaka’s literary world for the ones who write in English?
Yeah, the festival held o� the hartal for a few days but there is no denying the fact while everyone was buying English language books the storm was still brewing in the political scene. The festival was a temporary distraction to lead the visiting participants into believing that everything is hunky-dory in Bangladesh.
This festival has no bearing for the majority people in Bangladesh. It is only for the likes of peo-ple who have been dominating the Dhaka literary scene for decades now, and no one can come close. Without an inside connection, one has no chance to make a name. It enrages me to see that Dhaka’s literature scene is dominated by a few old and tired looking faces. We need fresh faces and new writers and poets.
frkislam nina malik: If we can host New Zealand for a cricket series amidst the ongoing turmoil, what’s the problem with a literary festival? Just because it isn’t populist enough doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be held.
Life goes on, regardless of our political hara-kiri. And I don’t think it was held to give the visiting participants a view that everything was or is ok with Bangladesh. For one thing, all they needed to do was to look at any English language newspaper of the country – hard or soft copy – to know about its violent political scene. For another, why would anyone need to delude the participants in this regard? They are hardly important in the world political scene.
AM nina malik: I totally agree with you about the Dhaka literary scene. It is very infuriating to see them during events, how some of the writers who write in English always look smug. None of them are internationally famous and hence the arrogance because they know they are at best mediocre.
AdnanMost of us, commoners, hate how literary/artistic spheres are hogged by a haughty few. We resent those who sit on their high-chairs of literary mas-tery and creativity. But that aside, the Hay Festival is a great place for exchanging ideas. I can’t imagine another place where someone like me would be conversing with the likes of Kuldip Nayar or Pankaj Mishra.
To those complaining that it’s mostly an “elite” gathering, that is so because you decline to play the game. Because you refuse to attend, hear and speak. Come and hear the greats speak. And if you think they’re not good enough, let’s start our own, lowbrow festival. :)
Crossword
Sudoku
CROSSWORD CODE-CRACKER YESTERDAY’S SOLUTIONS
ACROSS1 Employer (4)5 Precipitous (5)8 Whole (6)9 Ooze (4)10 Frozen treat (3)12 Trade by exchange (6)13 Naval hero (6)15 Concurs (6)18 Rest (6)20 Hundredth of a hectare (3)21 Small child (4)23 Seeped (6)24 Satis� ed fully (5)25 Refuse to admit (4)
DOWN1 Bu� alo (5)2 United (3)3 Metal (5)4 Plant secretion (3)5 Odd (7)6 Way out (4)7 Look narrowly (4)11 Yield (4)12 Bragged (7)14 Water pitcher (4)16 Omit in pronunciation (5)17 Out of sorts (5)18 Narrow beams (4)19 Raw hide (4)21 Wet, soft earth (3)22 Perfect score (3)
11Op-Ed Wednesday, November 27, 2013DHAKA TRIBUNE
When we get burntn SM Shaikat
Yes, I am a nobody. I have no voice in national politics or policymaking, and I am a citizen
of this country by birth. I gave these answers in response to questions from a friend a few weeks back. His questions have stopped me for a while to think over the reasons I am writing in the newspapers or on social media pages.
From our independence till today, it has been the youth who have fought and died for those who never felt for them. No regime could ever show a street on which violence did not exist. Leaders became rulers, and rulers did not want others to become leaders. We fought for independence, and since achieving it, we have been � ghting ourselves in this “democracy.”
Have we tasted democracy ever, after getting this sovereign nation, Bangladesh? Why have we not? What are the barriers? The answer to the � rst of the questions is: “No, we have not tasted real democracy as a nation.” We experienced autocracy, the military, clashes, blood, bullets, and the burnt, dead bodies of the masses in the streets.
Our tax money was spent for the purchase of luxury commodities of our so-called leaders. Even a person with the lowest income, like a beggar or a rickshaw-puller, pays VAT that goes directly into the Treasury, but do you see any beggars protesting the scams of ministers? No, they can’t. They have no voice.
Intolerance and partisan clashes leave thousands killed. Who gets killed, and who gets punished? Greed has driven us to a situation where we have become divided into three parties. One is the ruling party, one is their opposi-tion, and then there is us, the people.
It is us, the third-party, who get killed in the power play between the other two parties. I can name some of these people. Anwar, a meritorious, poor boy was killed in the Dhaka Uni-versity clash a couple of years back, and who got punished? Bishwajit was murdered in front of the media. We forgot about Rabbi, a little boy who got shot in Mymensingh during a political clash a couple of months back. We have forgotten about the dead bodies
of the garment workers in the Savar collapse.
I have to agree with many people that none of these incidents have connections to each other. But at the same time, I have to agree with the op-position that they have connections. Ultimately, I am taking none of their views, rather, I go for my own stance that the only connection among these incidents is that the victims were all common people.
A little boy, Monir, died in a truck-torching incident. It was not an accident, it was a killing. This inci-dent will be wrapped up in a political banner to catch some other people who will then turn this case into an “accident.”
Surprisingly, party-biased people have renamed themselves as human rights people, as keepers of the rule of law. Those who speak against gov-ernment actions are being threatened with newly amended laws like the ICT law, and anti-terrorism laws.
Both parties have ignored the fact that a democracy which does not toler-ate criticism is not a democracy at all.
I am not neutral. I am very much biased, perhaps more than them, and my bias is towards the unrepresented mass people. Yes, I am the voice of those young people who have voted once, and have tried to choose a leader who would bring about a change from the tyranny of elected monarchs.
Every hope for peaceful dialogue between the two major political par-ties has now become an illusion, and some small groups are trying to create more unrest, with the intention of get-ting a third dimension into politics.But I say the third force is none but the people themselves. I say we have been burnt enough.
We get torched every day. Now, if the political parties fail, it is up to the young people to raise their voices against the absence of law, and the presence of bad laws. No right inthis world has ever been achieved without the voice of the masses.In the absence of a proper guide,the way out is to be decided bythe people themselves. l
SM Shaikat is a human rights activist.
All but an all-party government?n M Abdul Latif Mondal
The much-talked-about “all-par-ty” polls-time cabinet has now been formed with the incum-
bent prime minister and president of the Awami League (AL) Sheikh Hasina as its head. Including the prime minis-ter, the polls-time cabinet now has 29 members.
Of the 28 ministers, 20 are from the immediate past cabinet. Since their resignation letters were not accepted by the president, they continue as ministers in the polls-time cabinet and they were not required to be adminis-tered oaths of o� ce.
On November 18, President Abdul Ha-mid administered an oath of o� ce to eight new ministers. Of them, two are from AL, � ve from Jatiya Party-JP and one from Workers Party (WP), com-ponents of the grand alliance formed on the eve of the ninth parliamentary election. The PM has allocated portfo-lios to ministers of the election-time government, which was noti� ed in the Bangladesh gazette on November 21.
In order to overcome the ongoing political impasse, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, in an address to the na-tion on October 18, proposed to form an all-party government to oversee the 10th national election. BNP, which has long been demanding restoration
of the constitutional provision for a non-party caretaker government, turned down the proposal and re-mained rigid to its demand.
BNP not only turned down the PM’s proposal to form an all-party election-time cabinet, its Chairperson Khaleda Zia on October 22 made an alternative proposal for forming an election-time, “non-party” govern-ment with 10 former advisers drawn from the caretaker governments of 1996 and 2001.
She proposed that from out of the 20 advisers to the two caretaker gov-ernments of 1996 and 2001, the ruling party would propose � ve names and
the opposition � ve others. She also proposed that a “respected citizen” of the country be selected on the basis of a consensus between the ruling and the opposition parties, who would be the chief adviser of the polls-time government.
The ninth parliament has rep-resentation from eight political parties namely AL, BNP, Jatiya Party-JP, Jamaat-e- Islami, JSD, LDP, Workers’ Party and Bangladesh Jatiya Party-BJP.
BNP has criticised the formation of the election-time cabinet by passing its demand for a non-party government. According to the BNP, the formation of the all-party cabinet is nothing but a reconstitution of the immediate past
cabinet that consisted of members from the AL-led grand alliance.
It has termed the formation of the polls-time cabinet as a farce and said that it will not work. BNP will not participate in the election under this cabinet.
Gonotantrik Bam Morcha, an alliance of eight left-leaning parties, has said that the AL-led government has been reconstituted in the name of formation of an all-party government. The new one is actually a reshu� ed cabinet of the grand alliance govern-ment.
Political analysts and academics have given mixed reactions to the formation of the polls-time cabinet, and suggested immediate dialogue between the major political parties.
Some of them have said that the interim cabinet will break the current political impasse, whilst others have said that the polls-time government cannot be called an all-party govern-ment, since the main opposition BNP has not joined it. The formation of the polls-time cabinet is a strategy of the AL to make the grand alliance more organised.
English language daily The New Nation ran a commentary on Novem-ber 19, which said: “Like most political observers and civil society leaders, we believe that the so-called all-party gov-ernment will not make any di� erence. This is because the all-party govern-ment is all but a four-party coalition of the earlier AL-led 14-party alliance and this is what one may just term as the old wine in a new bottle.”
An online poll recently conducted by The Daily Star has shown that that 81% of the participants think thatthe newly formed polls-time govern-ment cannot be called an all-party government.
The Economist of London in its
November 22 issue wrote: “It is merely a slimmed down version of the ex-isting government of Sheikh Hasina, made up of the AL and assortedsmaller allies, including the Jatiya Party of a former dictator, Mohammad Ershad.”
Civil society leaders, academics, media, the UN secretary-general, for-eign dignitaries, diplomats, many oth-ers have stressed the need for dialogue between the government and the opposition, particularly between the PM and the leader of the opposition to work out an acceptable polls-time government for holding a peaceful, free, fair and credible election.
The move by the government and the Election Commission (EC) to hold the forthcoming national election without the participation of the main opposition BNP reminds us of the
situation that was prevailing in the country towards the end of 2006 when the BNP-backed the Iajuddin Ahmed-led caretaker government and the MA Aziz-led EC were moving fast to hold the ninth national election on January 22, 2007, and the then main opposition AL declared that it would boycott the election.
There was complete breakdown of law and order. The result was the army-backed caretaker government of Dr Fakhruddin Ahmed. Many think the move to hold the 10th national election without the participation of the main opposition BNP may lead to a similar situation. This will, inter alia, hinder the progress of our hard-earned democracy. l
M Abdul Latif Mondal is a former government secretary.
n Shawkat Hussain
I woke up this morning confused about what it all means. In Bang-la it is oborodh. In English, some call it a blockade, others call it a siege. I understand that all roads
and waterways and air travel will be blockaded for 48 hours. The point is to paralyse city life for 48 hours and hopefully force the government to its knees.
Trucks, buses, cars, steamers, launches, and airplanes, will not be allowed to leave or enter Dhaka city. I’m not quite sure how the opposition picketers can stop planes from taking o� or landing on runways. But I’m not � ying anywhere so I’m not agonising about it either.
But it’s not a hartal, so can I take my car out? That’s what I’m agonising about. Will my university be open and can I take classes? Around nine in the morning, I heard that not a single stu-dent in a Dhaka University class turned up, and the teacher who was there with her car also noticed that hers was the only car in the street.
Around the same time, all the students in a private university turned up for their 9am class. There is surely a de� nitional confusion here regarding
the term oborodh. What exactly does it mean for ordinary people who just want to go about their ordinary lives doing ordinary things, like shopping and working and teaching and whatev-er else ordinary people do.
So, � nally I took a rickshaw to the private university where I teach, wondering if my students would turn up, whether the scheduled weekly meeting would be held. The students stayed home (some teachers too) but the meeting would be held, and I have this bit of time to write this.
As I look out of my window and see the street below, it feels very much like a hartal, something that we are all used to and know about very well. So what’s really the di� erence when everything around you in the city feels like a hartal, but is really an oborodh or siege or blockade?
Some de� nitional clarity is required
about this term and it is up to the op-position to let us know exactly what it expects from ordinary people who will either defy it or observe it. Oborodh is a relatively new term I think, and has been around for only about a decade, and never quite explained by our leaders.
Perhaps it is time to come up with new ways to categorise our resistance to the government, to clearly articulate the degree and intensity of opposition, to specify the level of violence to be unleashed on the day that a strike or
hartal or blockade is called. Something along the lines of the categorisation of cyclones in Bangladesh could be useful.
When a cyclone brews in the Bay of Bengal, the met department hoists a danger signal 1 or 2 or 8 or 9 or any of the numbers in-between and we know exactly (or almost) where we stand.
We can decide to go sailing, or � shing, in shallow waters or the deep sea, we can decide to stay put in our � imsy shanties, barricade our homes, evacu-ate, or move to higher ground. At least we have these options because the met department tells us what to expect.
So let’s call all protests against the government “hartals,” and assign speci� c danger signals to them, depending on the level of seriousness and violence that is planned. Let’s start with hartal 1 (just a few rickshaws burnt) and gradually move up to hartal 9 (doomsday mayhem), should the po-litical situation warrant it. The Hefazat rally on May 5 should give a fairly good idea of category 9 hartal.
I expect this courtesy from the oppo-sition if it wants my vote and I expect the same courtesy from the govern-ment when it becomes the opposition. As I write these words I feel that it is a category 6 hartal today.
I do not know how the rest of the day will unfold. Depending on my trip to Gulshan later in the afternoon, and then my return home to the DU campus in a CNG, I will decide whether to upgrade or downgrade the danger signal. l
Shawkat Hussain is Professor of English at State University of Bangladesh.
A hartal by any other name
Perhaps it is time to come up with new ways to categorise our resistance to the government, to clearly articulate the degreeand intensity of opposition, to specify the level of violence tobe unleashed
No, we have not tasted real democracy as a nation. We experienced autocracy, clashes, blood, bullets, andthe burnt, dead bodies ofthe masses
Every hope for peaceful dialogue between the two major political parties has now become an illusion. I say we have been burnt enough
According to the BNP, the formation of the all-party cabinet is nothing but a reconstitution of the immediate past cabinet that consisted of members from the AL-led grand alliance
A category 8, perhaps DHAKA TRIBUNE
Will these votes count? DHAKA TRIBUNE
EntertainmentDHAKA TRIBUNE Wednesday, November 27, 201312
FilmPaci� c Rim in 3DPurno dhorgho prem kahiniRiddickThe ConjuringTitanic (3D)Level 8, Bashundhara City, Panthapath
TheatreTroupe Prangonemor’s 10 year
celebration‘Droho Prem Nari’Time: 6:30pm – 8:30pmDance and Music CentreBangladesh Shilpakala AcademyBoshonto JagoronTime: 6:30pm – 8:00pmNatmondol, Dhaka University
MusicRag Prodhan Bangla Gaaner AshorRaga based song presentation by Khairul Anam Shakil, Lina Tapashi Khan, Bijon Chandra Mistry, Yasmin Mushtari and moreTime: 6:30pmJatiyo Chitrashala MilonayotonBangladesh Shilpakala AcademyShegun Bagicha
TODAY IN DHAKA
ON TV
MOVIES7:00pmFox Movies PremiumSpider-M an9:30pm Zee StudioGridlock’d
MISC11:00am Travel XPDivine Destinations10:30pm Vh1Bloc Party
DRAMA6:30pm Star WorldCastle9:30pm Zee tvPavitra Rishta
LRB to perform at South Asian Bands Festival 2013 n Entertainment Desk
Noted rock band LRB led by Ayub Bachchu, will visit New Delhi in India from November 26-30, to participate in the South Asian Bands Festival 2013. The event is being organised jointly by the Indian Council for Cultural Relations and the In-dian NGO, SEHER.
The band will perform at the festival, on the invitation of the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR), Government of India. The visit of LRB to India is being fully sponsored by the Government of India. The visit is expected to
further enhance the strong cultural ties between India and Bangladesh. The South Asian Bands Festival 2013 will be organised at the Purana Quila in New Delhi.
Ayub Bachchu is the lead vocalist and guitarist of the band, followed by Swapan, the
bassist, Masud, the guitarist, Romel on drums and Shamim Ahmed as the sound engineer.
Ahead of the festival, there will be a preview on November
28, 2013 at Rashtra-pati Bhavan, the o� -cial residence of the
Hon’ble President of India, in which a select few
bands includ-ing LRB will
participate. l
Emon and Jaanvi pair up for Jane Na Monn Entertainment Desk
Silver screen’s heartthrob actor Emon and new-comer Jaanvi have been paired up for a romantic-action � lm Jane Na Mon. Jaanvi, who has proven her talent by act-ing in two tele� lms aired this year, is going to debut on silver screen through this � lm.
When asked Emon about working with a debutant, he replied: “There was a time when I was also a new face in the showbiz and was struggling a lot to prove myself. Superstars like Shabnoor, Moushumi, Poppy and many others provided me the opportunity to work with them and that helped me to create my niche in the � lm are-na. Jaanvi shared her visions and determinations about working in cinema and I really hope will do well.”
A very excited Jaanvi shares that she underwent trainings in dance and action to be compatible with the mainstream Dhallywood movies. “I used to cherish the dream to be a heroine since long back. To debut oppo-site a big star like Emon is more than a dream come true,” said Jaanvi who previously worked as a � ight attendant.
Directed by Taju Kamrul, the shooting of the � lm will start on January 15 in Cox’s Bazaar. Produced by Sporsho Telemedia, the story of the � lm is written by Abdullah Jahir Babu. l
Shohojia’s Rangmistree o� cially released n Shadma Malik
The o� cial launching ceremony of Sho-hojia band’s debut album Rangmistree was held at the Bokultola, Charukola, University of Dhaka on November 25. This album is dedicated to the renowned poet, singer and painter, Ka� l Ahmed.
In the event, band Chitkaar played a couple of their tracks and Ka� l’s poplar song Gonga Buri brought vibe in the concert. Following their perfor-mance, Shohojia emerged on stage for their much awaited performance. They played a couple of songs from their al-bum such as Shobnom, Chokhe Chokh, Boka Pakhi, Shopner Akash and the ti-
tle song. Also, they played song Ghora from their next album.
In a distinct style, the band empha-sises on the lyrics and wordings which are in sync with the music. Although the band has performed in numerous occasions, Shohojia impressed the crowd in their debut album’s launching ceremony. Journalist Ahmed Monirud-din Topu, Zia from Shironamhin, and Ka� l Ahmed congratulated the band on their musical journey.
About the album, vocalist Rajib Ahmed Raju mentioned: “The album Rangmistree talks about the current scenario of our daily life. The lyrics of the album are not metaphoric in na-
ture, but is quite straightforward in and interprets real life. The simple words explore love, hope, sorrow and all hu-man emotions.” De� ning the album title, he adds: “Colour is the symbol of love. The title Rangmistree de� nes be-stowing love to others.”
Band Shohojia began their journey in 2009. The line up of the band fea-tures Raju (vocalist and song writer), Sajib and Soumo (guitarists), Rabbi (drummer) and Zafriye (bassist). The album Rangmistree consists of nine tracks and has been recorded under the banner of studio Sound Machine, and Tapos worked on the musical arrange-ment of the album. l
Rajib Ahmed Raju singing at the launching ceremony of their debut album Rangmistree AMIRUL RAJIV
Abhay Deol ready for his nextn Entertainment Desk
Unlike many other Bollywood actors, Abhay Deol has always been choosy about the kind of � lms he is part of. And for his upcoming production, The Bounty Hunter, he is ensuring that the best talent join hands.
The actor has managed to strike a deal with a UK-based production com-pany to co-produce the � lm at the on-going NFDC Film Bazaar that is being held alongside 44th International Film Festival Of India (IFFI) in Goa.
“We have the England part of it sorted; we just need to have the Indian part (pro-ducer) to come on board. I will be happy
to act in as well as produce the � lm, as I love the script so much,” he says.
He also clari� es that the � lm is not a remake of the 2010 Hollywood � lm by the same name. “It just shares the same title, but it’s a Hindi � lm which will be shot in the UK,” he says.
Besides this, Abhay is also looking for a foreign sales agent for a non-tra-ditional international release of anoth-er production of his — One By Two. “I thought it might be a good exercise just to see what kind of foreign sales agents are here and to see if it (the � lm) can get a non-traditional foreign release. I am already in a safe zone. If this happens, it’ll be a cherry on top,” he says. l
5 unknown facts revealed about DDLJn Entertainment Desk
Aditya Chopra’s eternal romantic � lm Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (DDLJ) has completed 18 long years since its initial release way back in October 1995.
Starring Shahrukh Khan and Kajol,the � lm is one of the biggest Bollywood hits ever. During the 1996 awards sea-son, the � lm won 10 Filmfare Awards, the most ever for a single � lm at that time, as well as the National Film Award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertain-ment.
DDLJ was ranked by Indiatimes Movies among the “25 Must See Bollywood Films”. It was one of two Hindi � lms in the 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die list along with Mother India. It was also placed twelfth on the British Film Institute’s list of the top Indian � lms of all time.
Recently a few very striking facts have been revealed about the movie:
1. Saif Ali Khan turned down the role of Raj Malhotra af-ter which the role was o� ered to Shah Rukh Khan
2. The � lm is still running to packed houses at Mumbai’s famous Maratha Mandir
3. Aditya Chopra named Shah Rukh Khan’s character Raj after Raj Kapoor
4. ‘Mere Khwaboon Mein Jo Aaye’ was the � rst song to be recorded. Aditya Chopra rejected 24 verses by Anand Bakshi before approving this one
5. The movie’s one of the most popular tracks Mehndi Laga Ke Rakhna was originally made for some other movie. l
Death of major character in Family Guy receives fan backlashn Entertainment Desk
In a move that sent shock waves woo� ng through the animation universe Sunday night, Fox’s Family Guy killed o� Brian Gri� n, the be-loved family dog.
He was run over by a car and died of his inju-ries after telling the Gri� ns they had given him a wonderful life.
It was as close as any moment gets to senti-mental in a show written by Seth MacFarlane, who also happened to do Brian’s voice.
By mid-day Monday, a petition had popped
up on Change.org calling for Brian to be brought back to life. Launched by Family Guy fan Aar-on Thompson of Tuscaloosa, Ala., it had more than 1,500 signatures. Brian was pretty much a human who happened to wear a fur coat and (occasionally) walked on four legs.
He described himself as a liberal and a writer, though his writing was terrible. He was also an alcoholic, which didn’t prevent him from being best pals with his two-legged siblings Peter and Stewie.
Vinny won over most of the family by cook-ing dinner. Stewie held out, but Vinny eventu-ally won him over by talking about how he had lost his owner, so he could understand how Stewie felt.
Writer Steve Callaghan told E! Online that Brian’s fate was sealed before the season began, when the writers decided killing a character would provide a valuable shakeup.
Callaghan said that however much the char-acters and viewers loved Brian, the show felt it would be easier to weather his loss than the loss of a two-legged family member.
Brian’s departure could potentially change several key dynamics on the show, since he was a sounding board and frequent skeptic about family schemes. l
14
13DHAKA TRIBUNEWednesday, November 27, 2013
SportDid you know?
14 15 Sri Lanka rest Jayawardene for one-day series
MATCH HIGHLIGHTSMuktijoddha 1-0 Sheikh RussellEleta Kingsley 64
19” Biplob hits the sidebar after the clearance from Maruf’s
free-kick falls onto his feet
44” French mid� elder Eric Roger found Ricardo
Cousins in the penalty box with a lovely lob, but the Jamaican’s shot goes wide
53” Eleta Kingsley skipped past Rajani to trigger a shot that
went straight to the keeper
59” Eleta’s 30-yard long powerful strike hits the
woodwork and Biplob follows it up with a superb save to deny Nkwocha Kisgsley’s close range shot o� the rebound
64” GOAL! Eleta grabs the lead for Muktis. Breaking
into the penalty area the Nigerian striker � red the ball past goalkeeper Biplob
90+” Roger’s cross from the left � ank found
Robin inside the six-yard box, but the substitute forward’s header saved brilliantly by Aminul
Alan Shearer holds the record of scoring 260 English Premier League goals in 434
appearances. He played for Southampton, Blackburn Rovers, Newcastle United.
Westwood caps Villa � ghtback in derby draw
Real and Man United home in on last 16
QUARTER FINALS FIXTURESk Jamal v Mohammedan (Nov 28) Soccer Club Feni v Abahani (Nov 29)Muktijoddha v Brothers (Nov 30)Sk Russell v Team BJMC (Dec 1)
Muktijoddha’s Nigerian striker Eleta Kingsley vies for the ball against a Sheikh Russell player during their Walton Federation Cup Group B match at the Bangabandhu National Stadium yesterday MUMIT M
BCB likely to appoint chief selector todayn Minhaz Uddin Khan
The vacant post of national chief selec-tor may be � lled when the � rst elected committee of the Bangladesh Cricket Board have their board meeting today.
Choosing the successor of now a di-rector of BCB Akram Khan is likely to be a task at the meeting. Former national cricketer and chief selector Faruk Ahmed is a favoured candidate for the post, ac-cording to sources. Current selector Min-hazul Abedin is another contender but Faruk who lost the post in 2007, remains most likely to gain the position.
Mush� qur Rahim’s tenure as captain, that ended with the conclusion of the re-cent home series against New Zealand, is another agenda to be discussed. It was learnt the board is likely to reconsider his request for a longer appointment than on a series-by-series basis as it will allow him to make long-term strategies.
The board is also likely to decide the roles of the directors. Of the 24 di-rectors, only a few have taken up spe-ci� c duties, though it has been more than 40 days since the formation of the committee. It was reported in the media that many of the newly elected directors were annoyed at the situation of things going on they had during the ad-hoc committee period and most of them have not regularly been present at the BCB o� ce as they do not know which department they belong to.
Decisions on next domestic com-petitions is also likely to be an agenda. Though the BCB tournament commit-tee planned to launch the second sea-son of the Bangladesh Cricket League - a four-day cricket competition – it was learnt that the board might instead go for the National Cricket League, the primary � rst-class cricket competition of the country. l
BJMC top groupn Shishir Hoque
Team BJMC topped the group C points ta-ble after earning their � rst win of the sea-son in a 2-1 victory over Brothers Union Limited in the last group round match of Walton Federation Cup at the Bang-abandhu National Stadium yesterday.
After being held to a 2-2 draw against Police AC in the � rst game, BJMC were cautious not to lose the match and the victory lifted them to the top of group C table.
BJMC’s Nigerian forward Samson Il-iasu put his side ahead just six minutes into the the game with a volley, before Abdullah Al Parvez doubled the mar-gin in the 61st minute. Mahadi Hasan Tapu, who scored a brace in the last game, provided a through ball to Shajib, whose square pass found Parvez inside the penalty area. The left winger slotted the ball past Brothers goalie Sujon.
Brothers reduced the level in the 80th minute through Nigerian striker Vic-tory Antoni. His compatriot Kester Akon earned a penalty and Antoni stepped up to coolly send the ball into net. l
Tushar o� to Indian Raihan Mahmood
Mahfujur Rahman Tushar, the only F4 driver of the country, � ies to New Delhi to participate in the � nal round of 16” JK Tyre Racing Championship Formula LGB-4 today.
The race will be held on November 29, 30 and December 1 at Buddh Inter-national Circuit, Greater Noida, New Delhi, which is a Formula 1 circuit. The circuit is 5.1 km with 16 turns, 2 high speed corners, 2 critical corners and 8 lap of per races. Tushar’s team is Ava-lanche Racing and there will be 22 par-ticipants. Tushar will return to country on December 2. l
Frenchman Maxime debuts in Dhakan Raihan Mahmood
For the sheer love of the game and also the culture, Maxime Eric Rogers, also known as Maxim Belouet, chose to play club football in Dhaka and consequen-tially the Sheikh Russell mid� elder be-came the � rst French booter to play club football in Bangladesh.
Maxime spent the 2011-12 season in India where he played for Salgaocar and fell in love with the sub-continent cul-ture. He was hailed as one of the best players that season and kept his reputa-tion in the AFC Cup, where he was in-jured and had to return home. In 2010, Maxime was playing for top Singapore Club Etoile FC. The 25-year old from Or-leans, France tried his trade in Emirates before arriving in Bangladesh and ex-plained the cause. “I love the culture of this sub-continent and I am accustomed to it. I was in Emirates before arriving here. Yes money is there but you don’t have the consistency, this month you are here the next month you never know, so when I got the o� er to play here, I ac-cepted it,” explained the Frenchman.
Maxime, an attacking mid� elder cum play-maker showed his good vision and great passing skills in his � rst match in Bangladesh. His natural left footed skills were visible on a number of occasions but as he arrived just 24 hours before the match, he was unable to set the tone of communication with his teammates. Maxim is also known as a free-kick and set piece specialist.
However, the memory of his Dhaka debut was a bitter one and defending champions Russell lost to Muktijoddha
by a single goal. “I don’t mind it, we cre-ated a number of chances but our for-ward line could not convert it, if there were good � nishes we may have scored four or � ve goals. We have to work hard to produce the best,” he re� ected.
Speaking about the standard of foot-ball, the French mid� elder said tactics were there but European football pos-sesses more power. “I have to adjust with the style in the next few days. In Europe there is more power in the game. In my � rst match, it appeared to me that the pace is slow, I found it a little slower.”
As a French mid� elder Maxime idol-
izes Zinedine Zidane, the French great. He tried the turn Zidane made famous a few times on his Dhaka debut. “He is my idol. I try to follow all the steps the great Zidane has teaken, I also know that he once came to Dhaka and played with young boys here,” said Maxime.
The French mid� elder appeared phil-osophical about the state of the game. “The stands were not crowded. It’s dif-ferent here, in India I have seen large crowds, in France we have to play foot-ball in the snow. Football is played in di� erent conditions and atmospheres, that’s the game.” l
Kingsley � res Muktis to quartersn Shishir Hoque
A second-half goal from Nigerian striker Eleta King-sley helped Muk-tijoddha Sangsad
KC edge past defending champions Sheikh Russell KC 1-0 in the Walton Federation Cup at the Bangabandhu National Stadium yesterday.
The victory took Muktijoddha top of the Group B with six points and now they will face Group C runners-up Brothers Union in the quarter� nals on November 30. Sheikh Russell will take on Team BJMC on December 1 in the same stage.
The treble winners of last sea-son Sheikh Russell once again failed
to stage the � are like their previous season. After a narrow one nil win over Chittagong Abahani in their � rst game, the reigning champions were outplayed by Muktijoddha and the � -nal score hardly justi� es their perfor-mance on the � eld.
Muktijoddha, on the other hand, were rock solid in their defence and the sound mid� eld provided the sup-port to their forwards who physically outplayed the Russell defence in the � rst 20 minutes of the second-half. The Muktis created � ve goal scoring chances after the breather, but could only convert one which in the end was enough to secure full three points for them.
Russell � ew in French mid� elder Eric Roger prior the game on Monday
and had only one day to prepare him-self for the match. However, one day was enough for the French mid� elder who showed glimpse of brilliances with some lovely through passes and lobs. He also provided a glorious op-portunity for Jamaican forward Ricar-do in the 44th minute.
The continuous press by the Muk-tis � nally paid o� in the 64th minute when Eleta Kingsley receiving a short pass from Maruf and broke into the penalty area, outmuscled his marker and � red the ball past Biplob.
Muktijoddha Goalkeeper Aminul denied Russell to get back in the game as he � sted away Russell substitute Robin’s header in the injury time to register a clean sheet under his name. l
Brothers clear payments of their foreignersn Minhaz Uddin Khan
The payment dispute between the two Zimbabwean cricketers and the Brothers Union Club
were solved yesterday. Earlier, Sean Williams and Sean Ervine, who played for the club in the ongoing Dhaka Premier League, complained of not getting their contracted salary.
Both Williams and Ervine were left stranded at their Dhaka hotel after the club even failed to pay the accommodation costs on time. The passports of the players were con� scated by the hotel because of the unpaid bill, making it impossible for them to check-out.
“We have cleared all the payments of the hotel and the players. They are happy now and will be leaving the country soon,” Brothers Union manager Amin Khan contacted the Dhaka Tribune and informed yesterday.
Amin further informed though he is the manager of the side, but it is the coach of the team Mominul Haque who looks after the payments of the foreign cricketers.
“You see it is Momin who looks after the foreign cricketer – both match fess and their accommodation. I took the initiative to resolve the situation as soon as I learnt about the issue, but as a professional and
a liaison between the club and the foreign cricketers Momin should have had taken care of the situation rather than avoiding the calls and create the miscommunication. To be honest they (the two cricketers) got scared of the situation,” said Amin.
Later the Brothers Union manager made Williams talk to Dhaka Tribune and inform that the problem was solved.
“Momin was the contact person for us, but for the last seven days he ignored our phone calls. This is really unprofessional for a tournament that has been running for so long,” said Williams.
“This should be a warning to future players and if needed the issue should go to the BCB (Bangladesh Cricket Board) and take actions against Momin,” he added.
Williams further informed that Ervine left Dhaka yesterday evening and he will leave today. Though he was supposed to play in the ongoing CJKS Corporate Twenty20 cricket, Williams reconsidered his decision due to the political unrest in the country. l French footballer Maxime Eric Rogers (R) MUMIT M
We have cleared all the payments of the hotel and the players. They are happy now and will be leaving the country soon
Hemanta to � y for Netherlands todayn Raihan Mahmood
Bangladesh U19 national team skipper, Hemanta Vincent Biswas will � y for the Netherlands to attend a trial with the Dutch professional football club FC Twente.
Bangladesh National Team assis-tant coach Rene Koster will accompany Hemanta.
Mid� elder Hemanta from Dinajpur came through the BKSP and caught the attention of Bangladesh national team’s Dutch coaches Lodewijk de Kruif and Rene Koster during a U19 training camp for the AFC U19 Cham-pionship quali� ers, held in Iraq last month.
Hemanta is currently part of the Mohammedan squad despite having no o� cial contracts with the club. l
SportDHAKA TRIBUNE Wednesday, November 27, 201314
RESULTWest Brom 2-2 Aston VillaLong 3, 11 El Ahmadi 67, Westwood 76
Heat on Schuster after Bilbao sink slumping Malagan Reuters
Athletic Bilbao came from behind to win 2-1 at struggling Malaga in La Liga on Monday and heap the pressure on German coach Bernd Schuster.
It was a poor performance from the home team even though they went ahead through Juanmi before halftime.
Bilbao levelled after the break thanks to Mikel San Jose before Francisco Portillo was sent o� seven minutes from time. The visitors took advantage of the extra man with Iker Muniain grabbing the winner late on.
Home fans chanted for the dismissal of Schuster at the � nal whistle on Monday, with the team one point o� the drop zone.
Juanmi powered a header into the top corner to give Malaga a 38th-minute lead but San Jose nodded Bilbao level from a corner in the 68th.
Portillo was then sent o� after receiving a second yellow card and it came as no surprise when Muniain struck in the 85th minute to give � fth-placed Bilbao 26 points from 14 matches. l
Roma draw see Juve remain topn AFP, Milan
Juventus remained top of Serie A after long-time leaders Roma spurned the chance to overtake the champions following a scoreless home draw to
struggling Cagliari on Monday.Juventus’s 2-0 away win at Livorno
on Sunday sent Antonio Conte’s men top of the pile for the � rst time this season with a two-point lead on Rudy Garcia’s men.
Roma were widely expected to re-take the lead but despite dominating the Sardinians at the Olympic Sta-dium the Giallorossi were left count-ing the cost for failing to get the ball past impressive Cagliari ‘keeper Vlada Avramov.
To add to their woes, Garcia was sent to the stands with 18 minutes remaining after an altercation on the touchlines.
Roma’s setback, following two draws, means Juventus remain leaders thanks to a 2-0 win away to Livorno on Sunday courtesy of second-half strikes from Fernando Llorente and Carlos Te-vez.
Juventus, with whom goalkeeper Gianluigi Bu� on made his 500th Serie A appearance, now have a one-point lead on Roma, with Napoli remaining third a further � ve points adrift after dropping two points in a shock 1-0 de-feat at home to Parma. l
Ronaldo out of Real’s Europe clash against Galatasarayn Reuters, Madrid
Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo is out of today’s Champions League Group B match at home to Galatasaray due to a leg muscle strain, coach Carlo Ance-lotti said yesterday.
The Portugal forward limped o� at the start of the second half of Satur-day’s La Liga victory at Almeria and a scan on Monday con� rmed he had damaged a hamstring.
The injury was not serious and Ron-aldo might recover in time to feature in Saturday’s La Liga match at home to Real Valladolid, Ancelotti told a news conference.
“Cristiano cannot play tomorrow,” the Italian said. “He has picked up a very small problem. I think tomorrow he will start to work on his own on the pitch and we’ll see if he can be avail-able for Saturday.
“It’s a muscle strain but the player is very con� dent he can play on Saturday.
“If there is a risk he could injure himself we will not use him. If he is � ne then he’ll play.”
Ronaldo has netted 14 goals in his last seven games for club and country and his injury comes after a demand-ing start to the season during which he has played every match. If Real avoid defeat against Galatasaray, whom they thrashed 6-1 in Istanbul in their open-ing game in September, they will quali-fy for the last 16 in � rst place.
The nine-times European champi-ons top the group on 10 points from four of six matches. Galatasaray and FC Copenhagen each have four points and Juventus, who host Copenhagen on Wednesday, have three.
Ancelotti said Argentina winger An-gel Di Maria or Spain under-21 forward Jese could replace Ronaldo in the start-ing lineup today. l
Westwood caps Villa � ghtback in derby drawn AFP, Birmingham
Ashley Westwood capped a superb sec-ond half � ghtback from Aston Villa as the visitors rescued a
2-2 draw at local rivals West Bromwich Albion on Monday.
Paul Lambert’s side looked destined for a derby defeat at the Hawthorns after Albion raced into a two-goal lead within the � rst 11 minutes thanks to a pair of � ne goals from Shane Long.
But Villa struck twice in the space of nine minutes after the break as Karim El Ahmadi reduced the de� cit before West-wood’s � rst goal for the club ensured the two midlands teams remain level on 15 points in the Premier League table.
Villa have now gone six matches without a win against Albion, with their last success coming three.
Only three minutes had been played when Republic of Ireland striker Long showed sublime technique to control Chris Brunt’s long pass with one touch before � icking the ball away from Villa’s Nathan Baker and � ring into the net from the edge of the penalty area.
Long produced another memorable strike eight minutes later when he pounced on a misplaced pass from Leandro Bacuna and accelerated away from Baker before clipping a chip over Villa goalkeeper Brad Guzan and in o�
the crossbar.Villa were shell-shocked and Stepha-
ne Sessegnon should have added to their misery moments later, but he somehow managed to � u� his lines when present-ed with a simple close-range chance by Morgan Amal� tano.
The visitors � nally sparked into life before half-time when Libor Kozak hit the bar from Christian Benteke’s � ick.
And Lambert’s men got one back in the 67th minute when Weimann headed into the penalty area and Morocco mid-� elder El Ahmadi took advantage of hes-itation from Myhill to hook home on the turn. Former Crewe mid� elder West-wood had gone 41 games without a goal for Villa since his £2 million move from Crewe in August 2012. But he ended that drought in the 76th minute and salvaged a point in the process. l
Real and United home in on last 16n AFP, Paris
Former winners Real Madrid and Manchester United are amongst the teams that could wrap up quali� cation
to the Champions League knock-out stages today.
Big-spending French champions Paris Saint-Germain, Olympiakos and Bayer Leverkusen can also qualify.
Both sides at the Bay Arena would secure quali� cation to the knock-out stages with a victory. Manchester United know that a win will almost be enough to secure top spot, unless they lose at home to Shakhtar Do-netsk in their � nal group game. A draw would su� ce for both teams as long as Shakhtar lose at home to Real Sociedad in the group’s other match. Leverkusen have been hit by the loss of Germany mid� elder Sidney Sam while United also have several players on the treat-ment table, notably Michael Carrick.
This is a must-win game for Socie-dad if they harbour any hopes of pro-longing their involvement in European football this season. While continu-ing their adventure in the Champions League will depend on them win-ning and Manchester United beating Leverkusen, and then Real beating the Germans in their � nal game with Shakhtar not stunning United at Old Tra� ord, a consolation spot in the Eu-ropa League is not so far-fetched.
Antonio Conte’s Juventus come into this match under pressure for their Champions League future. Bottom of the group and the only team yet to win a match, they must win this � xture to keep their destiny in their own hands. But even so, with a clash away to Galatasaray in their � nal group game, they know they cannot a� ord to lose either of their last two � xtures or face certain elimination. Only two wins will guarantee them a last 16 spot, although with both their oppo-nents also having to play Real Madrid,
A point would be enough to send Real into the knock-out stages and
would also tie up top spot, barring an unlikely � ve-goal defeat at FC Copen-hagen on the � nal matchday and as-suming the Danes also win away to Juventus today.
Paris Saint-Germain will qualify for the last-16 knockout phase with a draw at home to the Greek champions at the Parc des Princes, while Olympiakos will also go through with a point should An-
derlecht defeat Ben� ca in Brussels. The Belgian leaders are much in
need of their � rst victory of the group stage and will take heart from their gutsy 1-1 draw at PSG on matchday four. They lost 2-0 in Lisbon, the � rst time the teams met, but with the Por-tuguese picking up just one point from two � xtures against Olympiakos, Ben� ca will be looking for maximum points to stay in touch with the top two spots and also solidify their chances of guaranteeing at least third and a spot in the next round of the Europa League.
The teams met in the 1983 UEFA Cup � nal which was won by the Brus-sels’ club, an occasion that saw current Ben� ca assistant coach Minervino Pi-etra turn out for the Lisbon side. An-derlecht are trying to reach the second round for the � rst time since 2000-01 while Ben� ca � nished third in their pool last season before going on to reach the Europa League � nal where they were beaten 2-1 by Chelsea in Am-sterdam.
Bayern Munich are Europe’s in-
form side and chasing what would be a record tenth consecutive Champi-ons League victory when they visit a CSKA Moscow out� t who can only � nish third at best. The Bundesliga front-runners are coming o� a 3-0 thrashing o� Borussia Dortmund at the weekend, the team they defeated in last year’s � nal. That win on the road extended their German league record to 38 matches unbeaten, although they will be wary of dropping points and po-tentially top spot in the group to Man-chester City.
Manchester City have quali� ed for the knockout phase for the � rst time following back-to-back wins over CSKA but need to keep the pressure on Bay-ern at the top who are three points clear heading into the penultimate matches.
The Czech Republic side make their � rst trip to England, but looking for their � rst points and a bid to keep alive their Europa League prospects � icker-ing, looks a daunting challenge on paper at a City team who have lost just once at home in their last 22 European ties. l
S V B
Real Madrid players take part in a training session at the Valdebebas training ground in Madrid yesterday, on the eve of their Uefa Champions League match against Galatasaray SK AFP
AS Roma's Daniele De Rossi (L) � ghts for the ball against Cagliari's forward Victor Ibarbo during their Italian Serie A match at Rome's Olympic stadium on Monday AFP
15SportDHAKA TRIBUNE Wednesday, November 27, 2013
Sonali Bank, Fire Service lead � rst division chessSonali Bank Sports & Recreation Club and Fire Service & Civil Defense Sports Club jointly led the points table of the First Division Chess League with a maximum 10 points after the � fth round at the hall room of the chess federa-tion yesterday. Sultana Kamal Smirity Pathagar is in 2nd position with 9 points. In the 5th round, Sonali Bank beat Mo-hakhali Pradip Sangah 4-0, Fire Service beat Chess Club Knight F3 3.5- 0.5, Sultana Kamal Smirity beat Protiva Daba Goshthi 3.5- 0.5, Farashganj Sporting Club beat Agrani Bank Limited Daba Dal 4-0 and Basir Memorial Chess Club beat Destiny 2000 Limited 4-0.
– RM
Blatter condemns ‘racist’ Real Betis supportersFifa president Sepp Blatter has condemned the Real Betis fans who apparently directed racist chants at their own player Paulao after he was sent o� in Sunday’s 4-0 derby defeat at Sevilla. A group of Betis fans were brie� y shown on Spanish TV making what appeared to be monkey chants at Paulao after he was dismissed shortly before halftime at the Sanchez Pizjuan. The incident was not mentioned in the referee’s match report. “Sickened to learn of ‘fans’ racially abusing a Real Betis player,” Blatter wrote on his Twitter feed on Tuesday. “I condemn their actions, which were seen on TV/online by millions,” the Swiss added. “FIFA’s members approved a resolution at congress in May to tackle discrimination. It’s time for tougher sanctions.”
–Reuters
Hart going nowhere says PellegriniManchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini ruled out a January window loan move for Joe Hart after con� rming the under-� re goalkeeper would start in Wednesday’s Champions League tie against Viktoria Pilzen. Pellegrini also dismissed reports he might use the next transfer window to sign another keeper following the shaky form of Hart, currently England’s � rst choice. Hart’s inconsistent displays recently saw him lose his place in the City side and he has not played in the Premier League club’s last � ve matches, including their 6-0 thrashing of Tottenham on Sunday.
–AFP
Mandzukic left at home as Bayern leave for MoscowBayern Munich left for Moscow and their Champions League clash with CSKA on Tuesday without star striker Mario Mandzukic. The Croatia international, who has a calf problem, joined injured � rst-teamers Franck Ribery (ribs) and Bastian Schweinsteiger (ankle) in remaining in the Bavarian capital. To make up the numbers, Spanish coach Pep Guardiola called up reserve team players Pierre Emile Hojbjerg, Mitchell Weiser and Julian Green. With four wins from four, the current Champions League holders have already quali� ed for the knock-out stages with two Group D matches to spare.
–AFP
Van der Vaart set to return next week: HamburgDutch playmaker Rafael van der Vaart is set to make a speedy injury comeback and could be � t by next week, his Bundesliga club Hamburg said Tuesday. The 30-year-old injured his ankle playing for Holland during the 0-0 draw against Colombia last week and was originally expected to be out for three to four weeks. “He’s improving rapidly and I think he’ll be � t already for the German Cup match against Cologne on December 3,” said Hamburg sports director Oliver Kreuzer. Van der Vaart missed Sunday’s 3-1 win over Hanover and will also sit out Friday’s trip to Wolfsburg. “I feel much better, we’ll see how it evolves over the coming days,” said Van der Vaart.
–AFP
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DAY’S WATCH
Heat rises as England sweat in Aussie outbackn Reuters, Melbourne
Under a blow-torch of criticism after their humbling in humid Brisbane, England’s beaten cricket team will seek respite from a tempestuous Ashes series in the most unlikely of places -- Australia’s scorching ‘Red Centre’.
England endured a heated recep-tion at the Gabba, where a hostile local media, baying crowds and paceman Mitchell Johnson conspired to make their � rst test as unpleasant as the wet-bulb and the 381-run loss would sug-gest.
The storied desert city of Alice Springs, where England jetted o� to on Tuesday, is set to o� er a much warmer welcome, however, with temperatures expected to nudge 40 degrees Celsius this week.
As part of the R ‘n’ R component of their itinerary, the team will head to Uluru, the magni� cent red monolith
that rises improbably from a sparse, � at landscape some six hours’ drive from Alice.
“The trip will be a really important preparation phase for us,” wicketkeep-er Matt Prior, who failed twice with the bat at the Gabba, wrote in Britain’s Daily Telegraph on Tuesday.
“It feels like we are getting out of the limelight for a while so we can quietly go about our business to make sure we are ready to go for Adelaide.”
Pondering their limited time at the crease at the Gabba, some of England’s batsmen might draw inspiration from Uluru, an unyielding presence despite millions of years under siege from the elements.
Fittingly, the English cricketers did their best to impersonate inanimate objects when swarmed by Australian media at Brisbane airport on Tuesday.
In contrast to the Gabba where they seemed keen to play at anything, the
team collectively shouldered arms in the face of a barrage of queries about the team’s mood in the wake of bats-man Jonathan Trott’s sensational de-parture owing to a stress-related ill-ness.
Following a test full of chatter, and a noisy media debate comparing the merits of ‘banter’ versus ‘sledging’, the code of silence was another departure of sorts for an England team which had hitherto been quite willing to go on the front foot.
Local media were locked out of a Monday brie� ng with team director Andy Flower, who teed o� at Australia opener David Warner for publicly de-scribing number three batsman Trott’s second innings dismissal as “pretty poor and pretty weak.”
Warner, and Australia, had crossed a threshold in the their verbal assaults, Flower suggested, though neither had prompted Trott’s early exit. l
Anderson threatened to punch Bailey: Warnen AFP, Sydney
Spin great Shane Warne says a threat by Jimmy Anderson to punch debu-tant George Bailey sparked the furious reaction by Australian skipper Michael Clarke in the � rst Test against England.
Clarke was � ned 20 percent of his match fee on Monday after being caught by a stump microphone telling the fast bowler to expect a broken arm in the � -nal stages of Australia’s 381-run victory in Brisbane Sunday.
Clarke also wagged his � nger in a close-up confrontation with the England quick, a renowned sledger, with the um-pires needing to step in to cool tempers.
As a member of the Nine Network’s commentary team, Warne had access to
all the stump mic recordings and tweet-ed that Anderson threatened Bailey, who was � elding in close, with a punch to the face.
“I think it’s a disgrace that @MClarke23 has been � ned. What about what Anderson said to Bailey, which wasn’t heard,” Warne posted on Twitter late Monday. “@MClarke23 stuck up for his debutant Bailey as he should have too as capt after Anderson said he want-ed to punch Bailey in the face.
“Unfortunately only Clarke’s reac-tion to Anderson’s was heard live, we all heard Anderson’s sledge that led to Clarke reacting.” Lastly as an interna-tional sportsman, if you decide to dish it out ie sledging you have to be prepared to cop it back too & not complain.” l
Burglars target all-rounder Razzaqn AFP, Lahore
Pakistani all-rounder Abdul Razzaq lost his passport, gold and cash when burglars broke into his house in the eastern city of Lahore early Tuesday, the player said.
The incident is the latest piece of bad luck for the 33-year-old, who was sent home from Pakistan’s ongoing tour of South Africa after he injured his hamstring just two days before the � rst Twenty20 last week. l
Federer can play until his 60s: Nastasen Reuters
Roger Federer should play until he is 60 if he wants to, according to Romanian former world number one Ilie Nastase.
The Swiss 17-times grand-slam champion has slipped down to sixth in the world rankings and won only one title this year, prompting many to suggest he is a spent force at 32.
Nastase the former bad boy of ten-nis, believes Federer should not listen to the naysayers, however.
“I wish people wouldn’t say that Roger Federer has to retire,” the 67-year-old former French Open and U.S. Open champion was quoted as saying in Romanian media.
“I think he should play for as long as he wants.
“I don’t agree with those people who say that you should retire when you’re
past your absolute best or prime.“No, Federer doesn’t have to prove
anything, he can play to 60 if he wants to.”Federer, who has spent a record 302
weeks as world number one during his illustrious career, is still one of the biggest draws in tennis, according to Nastase, even if he has fallen behind players such as Rafa Nadal and Novak Djokovic.
“If Federer wants to carry on playing, no-one is going to say: ‘No, we don’t want Federer to play’.
“He is going to retire when he feels like it. I don’t think that he has to retire just because he is no longer the world number one. That happens to everybody, as you can’t stay as the world number one forever. He retires whenever.”
Nastase himself retired from the Tour at the age of 39 but continued playing invitational seniors events into his 60s. l
Former Kiwi skipper Vettori out of WI seriesn Reuters
Former New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori has ruled himself out of the West Indies test series starting next week due to � tness worries as he comes back from a serious injury.
The 34-year-old all-rounder had surgery on his left Achilles in June and, despite returning to the domestic are-na this month, is unsure if he can cope with � ve-day matches.
“International cricket, and in par-ticular test cricket, places enormous demands on the body and I simply haven’t played enough recently to be con� dent of meeting those demands,” Vettori said in a statement on Tuesday.
The left-arm spinner said his short-
term plan would be to concentrate on his domestic side Northern Districts and Brisbane Heat in Australia’s Twen-ty20 competition before re-evaluating his � tness in the New Year.
“What I can’t a� ord to do is throw myself back into the international are-na prematurely and re-injure myself,” added Vettori.
“It wouldn’t be any good for me, it wouldn’t be any good for the team.”
Vettori, who boasts 4,516 runs and 360 wickets in test cricket, played the last of his 112 tests against West Indies in July 2012.
The three-test series starts in Dune-din on Dec. 3, with matches in Wel-lington and Hamilton to follow. New Zealand then host India in February. l
Mahela to skip Pakistan seriesn AFP, Colombo
Former captain Mahela Jayawardene has opted out of Sri Lanka’s limited-overs se-ries against Pakistan in the United Arab Emirates next month due to personal reasons, an o� cial said on Tuesday.
Jayawardene, 36, will miss two Twenty20 games and � ve one-dayers to be played from December 11-27, but was expected to be available for the three Test matches that start on December 31.
“Mahela was not considered for the limited-overs part of the tour as he had requested leave on personal grounds,” Sri Lanka Cricket’s media manager Ra-jith Fernando said.
The Cricinfo website reported that Jayawardene’s wife was expecting their � rst child in December.
Jayawardene is one of 10 batsmen and only the third Sri Lankan after San-
ath Jayasuriya and Kumar Sangakkara to score more than 10,000 runs in one-day internationals. The stylish right-hander has made 11,401 runs in 407 one-dayers with 16 centuries and 1,135 runs in 49 Twenty20 internationals.
Left-hander Kithuruwan Vithanage, 22, who has played two Tests but is yet to make his one-day debut, replaced
Jayawardene in the limited-overs squad.Sri Lanka named their one-day and
Twenty20 squads for the tour, but will announce their Test team later.
Trescothick backs Trott’s Ashes withdrawaln AFP, London
Former England batsman Marcus Trescothick said that Jonathan Trott had made the right decision to leave the Ashes tour due to a stress-related illness on Monday.
The England and Wales Cricket Board announced that Trott, who played in England’s heavy � rst-Test de-feat in Brisbane, had left Australia and been granted inde� nite leave.
Trescothick withdrew from Eng-land’s 2005-06 India tour and the 2006-07 Ashes series in Australia in appar-ently similar circumstances and later released a book charting his struggles with anxiety and depression.
He told Sky Sports: “You just can’t take any more, you just can’t get through the day, let alone go out there and play a Test match and win a Test match. I sympathise with Trotty.
“I’ve been in that exact situation in ‘06 and ‘07 and tried to make that de-cision knowing that the consequences
and all the attention it’s going to bring onto you are going to be tough.
“I know there’s going to be a mas-sive media scrum over the next couple of days. We’ll probably see him � ying back home and see him arrive back at his house, but we just need to allow him that bit of time to get well again be-cause your health is far more important than any game of cricket that we play.”
Trescothick, who played in 76 Tests for England, said that the South Africa-born batsman’s decision to leave the tour would not have been taken lightly.
“It would have been a horrible deci-sion to make,” he told BBC Radio 5 Live.
“To come out and talk about these things for the � rst time is tough. I’m sure he’s not feeling great at all, but he’s de� nitely made the right decision.”
England all-rounder Stuart Broad expressed support for his team-mate on Twitter, writing: “Love Trotty. Absolute champion of a man. He knows he has all the support of all the people around him. Puts cricket in perspective.” l
Players of the Indian cricket team attend a practice session ahead of their last ODI match against West Indies at Green Park stadium in Kanpur yesterday AP
DPL � nale postponedn Mazhar Uddin
The � nal round of the Walton Dha-ka Premier Division Cricket League matches has been postponed due to unavoidable reasons and will be played on November 28, the Bangladesh Cricket Board informed yesterday .
The last match of the league between Gazi Tank and Prime Doleshwar due at the SBNS will decide the title, as both have 20 points each from 14 games.
In the other matches, Mohammed-an SC will face Prime Bank CC at the Khan Shaheb Oman Ali Stadium while Sheikh Jamal will take on Kalabagan CA at the BKSP 2 ground.
Earlier, Gazi Tank lost their previous match to MSC while Doleshwar beat Kalabagan to set up the � nal showdown. l
16 Back PageDHAKA TRIBUNE Wednesday, November 27, 2013
VIOLENCE DURING OPPOSITION’S BLOCKADE
Eight victims being treated at DMCHn Mohammad Jamil Khan
Eight people including a law enforc-er are receiving treatment at Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) after getting hurt in arson and bomb attacks carried out after the opposition called its 48-hour countrywide blockade.
Mohammad Dulu Mia, a police Nayek from Sonatola of Bogra, is un-dergoing treatment in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of DMCH after a crude bomb exploded after hitting his shoul-der while he was on duty at Joypurhat Bata intersection on Monday evening. Splinters hit his arm, his right eye and the right portion of his head.
ICU on-duty doctor Dr Pizush Kanti
told the Dhaka Tribune that the splin-ters had been removed from Dulu after an operation yesterday, though he was still not out of danger and his right eye might be damaged.
Poritosh Kumar, a police constable who was with Dulu at the time of the at-tack, said the crude bomb was thrown from a procession, which quickly dis-persed and � ed after the incident.
In the capital’s Khilket, Anowar Be-gum Anu, a cook of National Bank’s Malibagh branch, was critically injured when picketers threw a crude bomb at her while she was on her way to her home at Shantipur in Goran at around 3:30pm.
The bomb directly hit the head of
the 50 year-old woman, with doctors immediately shifting her to the ICU.
In another incident, Alamgir Hos-sain, a 50 year-old fruit seller was hit by a crude bomb near the Paltan inter-section at around 3:15pm, while on his way to his Segunbagicha home. He is now receiving treatment at the emer-gency ward of the DMCH with injuries to both his legs.
Nesar Ali, 28, driver of a CNG-run three-wheeler, lost control of his vehi-cle and crashed when picketers threw bricks at the three-wheeler during a trip from Baburhat from Chandpur. Nesar was � rst admitted to a local clin-ic, but was later moved to the DMCH in critical condition. He is undergoing
treatment for face and head injuries at the hospital’s 103 number ward.
Meanwhile, three more auto-rick-shaw drivers and a human-hauler driver are undergoing treatment at the Burn and Plastic Surgery unit of the DMCH after falling victims to arson at-tacks by picketers.
Rubel Hossain, 50, was waiting for passengers on the Comilla highway on Monday night when miscreants torched his auto-rickshaw, causing 23% burn injuries to his body. Rubel is now undergoing treatment at the High De-pendency Unit (HDU).
Saber Ali, 33, another auto-rickshaw driver, dropped o� some passengers near the Eastern Plaza market in Hatir-
pool, when some 10 people set his vehi-cle ablaze, causing burns to 15% of his body.
Mozammel Haque, 20, a hu-man-hauler driver, was burned when picketers attacked his vehicle near south Banasree area at around 8:30pm. All passengers of the human-hauler managed to come out of the vehicle, but Mozammel – who is a resident of Nandipara Bot-tola in Khilgaon – sus-tained 60% burns on his body.
Nizamuddin, 36, was waiting for passengers near the Mouchak intersec-tion at around 7:30pm when picketers set his auto-rickshaw ablaze and hurled crude bombs at the vehicle. The blaze burned 12% of Nizamuddin’s body. l
Prof Zafar Iqbal, his wife resign over admission process n Tribune Report
Eminent educationist and writer Prof Muhammad Zafar Iqbal yesterday re-signed from Shahjalal University of Sci-ence and Technology (SUST).
He resigned from his post as professor of Department of Computer Science and Engineering. His wife Dr Yasmeen Haque also resigned as a physics professor.
Dr Yasmeen told the Dhaka Tribune that they had resigned because of a dispute over the undergraduate admis-sion system at the university.
She said: “This is the [right] time for us to move away from the university.”
In a written statement, they said when Education Minister Nurul Is-lam Nahid and Finance Minister AMA Muhith sided against integrated system, they thought that they needed to con-sider everything in a new way. They said the decision would harm the students.
They submitted the resignations after a meeting which decided to postpone the integrated admission tests agreed recently between the SUST and Jessore Science and Technology University (JSTU), a cause Prof Iqbal has strongly been advocating for. The tests were sup-posed to be held on November 30.
The examination committee had been preparing for the combined ad-mission tests for the past few months.However, last week, a group called “Syl-hetbashi” protested against the pro-posed system claiming that it would be injustice towards the people of Sylhet.
The university authorities on Mon-day sat with distinguish persons of Syl-het to discuss the matter, and yester-day decided to postpone the tests.
After learning the news, students demonstrated on the campus in the evening in front of the vice-chancellor’s o� ce. SUST Vice-Chancellor Aminul Haque Bhuiyan could not be reached for comments on the issue. The education minister declined to comment on this. l
ROOPPUR NUCLEAR POWER PROJECT
Third deal with Atomstroyexport by � rst week of Decembern Aminur Rahman Rasel
Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commis-sion (BAEC) is likely to sign a third deal with the Russian joint-stock company, Atomstroyexport involving the prepa-ratory stage work at the country’s � rst nuclear power project in Rooppur, Pab-na, in the � rst week of December.
The deal has been titled “for per-formance of � rst-priority construction and erection works of preparatory stage prior to the [� rst concrete] at Rooppur Nuclear Power Project (RNPP) site,” and will cover ordering of con-struction materials, supply and instal-lation of the equipment and materials, construction and erection works.
Mohammad Shawkat Akbar, project director at the RNPP con� rmed the Dha-ka Tribune of the development yesterday.
On June 27, a � rst deal with Atom-stroyexport worth $45.9m was struck. The amount would be spent on pre-con-struction works including feasibility evaluation (FE), environment impact assessment (EIA), and development and engineering survey etc at the RNPP site.
Oon October 2, the government penned the second deal worth $265m for the preparatory stage work of the RNPP, including the development of design documentation, � rst priority working documentation and engineer-ing survey for the design stage.
The $45.9m and $265m were parts of a total $500m which Russia agreed to provide to � nance the ground work at Rooppur run under the govern-ment-appointed Atomstroyexport, which will also run a series of 63 tests as part of the pre-construction works.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina inaugu-rated the groundwork of the 2,000 mega-watt (MW) plant in Pabna on October 2.
Bangladesh in this regard signed a deal with Russia on January 14 this year, during Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s visit to Moscow, for the ex-tension of state export credit to � nance the preparatory stage work at the nu-clear power plant.
On April 2, the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council ap-proved the construction of the Roop-pur plant involving a cost of Tk52.42bn, of which Tk40bn would be provided by Russia as state credit while the rest would come from local resources.
The Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission, under the science and technology ministry, will implement the project. l
Controversial DGFP recruitment resumesAllegations of Tk1.5bn bribery for � lling up 4,294 posts n Moniruzzaman Uzzal
The “highly controversial” recruitment of 4,294 third and fourth class employ-ees for the Directorate General of Fami-ly Planning (DGFP) – which was marred by widespread bribery allegations – has restarted from last week.
The recruitment process had been stopped following a three-month stay or-der issued by the High Court in Septem-ber, based on writ petitions � led by a Su-preme Court advocate and a candidate.
DGFP o� cials said the stay order had been cancelled by another High Court judge last week, allowing the DGFP to restart the recruitment process.
Senior o� cials of the DGFP are now reportedly hurrying to complete the re-cruitment process, before any further writ is lodged.
It has been learnt that the DGFP had completed both written and viva ex-
ams for 51 out of the 61 districts, while the district recruitment committees were taking viva in 10 districts.
Seeking anonymity, a member of the central recruitment committee told the Dhaka Tribune on Monday that the re-sult would be published very soon.
A large number of senior o� cials and employees of the DGFP told the Dhaka Tribune that the recruitment process saw the largest ever amount of bribery in the history of the DGFP, with the total amount expected to be more than Tk1.5bn.
The size of the bribes allegedly de-pended on the weight of the posts, with unscrupulous DGFP employees charging candidates Tk800,000-Tk900,000 for the post of family planning assistant, Tk500,000-Tk600,000 for family plan-ning inspector, Tk300,000-Tk350,000 for family welfare visitor and Tk200,000-Tk250,000 for other posts.
Similar allegations were also raised
in 2011, the last time the DGFP made recruitments for 6,000 vacant posts.
Sources said di� erent in� uential people including ministers, secretar-ies, parliament members, political and doctors’ leaders were behind the bribes, adding that an o� cial who will retire in a month had pocketed the highest amount of money.
Dr Mahbubur Rahman, member sec-retary of the recruitment committee, termed the allegations “� ctitious,” and said: “Allegations of bribery in recruit-ment are nothing new. We have to bear with this sort of complaints every time we recruit.”
It has been learnt that more than 200,000 candidates sat for the written tests that were held on June 21, 22 and 28, while a total of 12,711 candidates, who came out successful in the written tests, had been selected for a viva-voce for � nal recruitment. l
Election Commission seeks loan defaulters’ info from central bankn Jebun Nesa Alo and Mohammad
Zakaria
The central bank will seek information about loan defaulters from the banks so that the Election Commission can prevent them from contesting the 10th parliamentary polls.
December 2, the last day for aspir-ing candidates to submit nomination papers, was also set for the banks to provide the Bangladesh Bank with the defaulters’ information.
Earlier, the EC sent a letter to the Bangladesh Bank and the � nance min-istry’s Bank and Financial Institutions Division seeking information about loan defaulters.
The letter, signed by EC Secretary Muhammed Sadique, sent to the Cred-it Information Bureau of the central bank, requested for sending the list of
defaulters to the returning o� cers, so that they could cancel the nominations of the defaulters.
A Bangladesh Bank o� cial said the draft of the letter to be sent to the banks had already been � nalised. The letter would be dispatched once the � nance ministry gave a go ahead, he added.
The o� cial also said the � nance ministry would give instruction to the central bank for dispatching the let-ters once the recently announced polls schedule was published as a gazette.
According to the draft, banks were asked to provide the information of loan defaulters to the central bank up to the month of October. If any of the candidates updated their loan status later than that, the banks would be asked to provide that information di-rectly to the commission. The banks would be � ned if the banks failed to
submit the information by December 2.“The Bangladesh Bank will prepare
the loan defaulters’ list according to the October statements. But many can-didates may adjust their default loan in November. So, the banks will have to send the updated reports to the EC individually,” said a central bank senior executive.
A senior o� cial of the central bank’s Credit Information Bureau told the Dhaka Tribune that Governor Atiur Rahman had recently instructed them to prepare the information.
He also said: “We are logistically ready to provide the information on loan defaulters.”
The amended Representation of the People Order stipulates an aspi-rant candidate to get bank clearance on default loans and outstanding utilitybills. l
EC asks LGRD to stop approving projectsn Mohammad Zakaria
The Election Commission yesterday asked the LGRD ministry not to ap-prove any development project for election areas.
It also sent letters to the police ad-ministration, election o� cials and oth-er o� cials concerned, asking them to remove all posters, banners, billboards and other campaigning materials by to-morrow midnight.
The EC also imposed a bar on hold-ing any election related processions, meetings and rallies. In another letter, it asked the home ministry to keep preparations to maintain law order.
The commission gave the public ad-ministration and cabinet divisions nec-essary directives regarding arrangement of manpower for the polls and asked them not to reshu� e the administration.
Asked about the ongoing election campaign of the Awami League, Elec-tion Commissioner Zabed Ali said the EC had sent a letter to the authority concerned for taking action against those responsible.
No one would be allowed to hold polls campaign before allocation of electoral symbols, he said, expressing hope that all types of campaign would be stopped within 48 hours.
EC o� cials said the commission had asked authorities to remove the bill-boards and posters campaigning the government’s development work.
They said the electoral code of con-duct had come into e� ect after the an-nouncement of the polls schedule.
The EC has the power to cancel one’s candidature for violating the electoral codes as per the Representation of the People Order (RPO). l
Clockwise: Nasima, the daughter of injured Anowara Begum, bursts into tears after seeing her mother at the DMCH; a relative comforts auto-rickshaw driver Rubel Hossain, a victim of yesterday’s violence; Alea, wife of burnt CNG-run auto rickshaw driver Abed Ali, is taking care of her husband at the burn unit of the DMCH; Anowara Begum, 50, is undergoing treatment at DMCH as a handmade bomb, hurled by blockade supporters, hit on her head in the city’s Khilgaon area yesterday MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU
Editor: Zafar Sobhan, Published and Printed by Kazi Anis Ahmed on behalf of 2A Media Limited at Dainik Shakaler Khabar Publications Limited, 153/7, Tejgaon Industrial Area, Dhaka-1208. Editorial, News & Commercial O� ce: FR Tower, 8/C Panthapath, Shukrabad, Dhaka 1207. Phone: 9132093-94, Advertising: 9132155, Circulation: 9132282, Fax: News-9132192, e-mail: [email protected], [email protected], Website: www.dhakatribune.com
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Business
Businesswww.dhakatribune.com/business WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2013
BAB awards accreditation to testing labs
GM Quader: Ticfa opens up trade opportunities
B3
B2
As wages rise, so do rentsHome owners have already hiked rents for apparel workers more than the increased allowance n Ibrahim Hossain Ovi
As soon as the minimum wage of garment workers was increased, the house owners had raised rents to an amount more than the increased allowance.
As per the new wage structure, Shahe-na Parveen’s house rent allowance would increase by less than Tk500, but her house owner has already announced to increase rent by Tk1,000.
Shahena Parveen is a worker at an apparel factory of IDS Group in Dhaka. Like her, the country’s around four millions of garment workers was just aspiring to live a better life after the wage hike. But their hopes did not last long as the house lords had appeared to ask them pay more from January.
“Now, I have no other way but to leave the house,” said Shahena Parveen living in a Mirpur tin-shed room with her ailing mother and school-going younger brother.
When interviewed a good number of workers in Gazipur, Savar, Mirpur and Farmgate areas, they told the Dhaka Tribune that the new rent hike has put them in an un-easy situation again.
The workers urged the authorities in-cluding BGMEA to take steps so that the house owners do not raise rents.
“Workers have to pay most of their in-comes as house rent. To prevent owners from hiking rent again, the government, BGMEA and other authorities concerned should take necessary steps,” said Serajul Is-lam Rony, president of Bangladesh Garment Workers Employees League.
Some garment workers’ bodies have threatened to stand against any decision of rent hike by their house owners.
“If the house owners increase rent with-out prior permission of due authorities, we will initiate tough movement to prevent it,” said Bahrain Sultan Bahar, president of Jago Bangladesh Garments Sramik Federation.
The workers urged the government to en-sure proper implementation of laws related with house rent.
Meanwhile, the BGMEA is going to dis-tribute lea� ets among the workers assuring them of any assistance they will require against house rent hike.
The apparel trade body will receive phone calls through a hot line number from the workers facing any “sudden and undue” rent hikes.
The BGMEA hot-line number will be men-tioned in the lea� ets, said sources.
“It’s a great challenge for us to ensure that the workers can enjoy the real bene� t of wage hike,” said Reaz Bin Mahmood, vice president of Bangladesh Garment Manufac-
turers and Exporters Association (BGMEA). He put stress on taking steps by the gov-
ernment and others concerned to play an ef-fective role in controlling house rents for the garment workers of the country.
Frequent increase of house rents by the owners is a common phenomenon in the Bangladeshi cities, particularly in Dhaka. The low income people like apparel workers bear the brunt of such frequent hike of rents. While the RMG worker in the country hardly see their wages have been revised, increase of house rents is one of their most common bad experiences.
The house owners have not spared the tenant RMG workers this time also when a minimum wage board formed by the govern-ment � nalised Tk5,300 as minimum wage on November 21.
Of the amount, the basic salary for an entry-level readymade garment worker is Tk3,000.
The previous minimum wage for the country’s most vibrant sector which earns more than US$21bn of the total $27bn from exports was Tk3,000.
The new hike is 70% of the previous amount. Around four millions of workers, mostly poor women, are involved with the sector.
As per the new wage structure, an en-try-level worker will get Tk1,200 as house
rent, increasing from Tk800 in the previ-ous structure. The house rent is 40% of thebasic amount according to the new wage structure.
The garment industry of Bangladesh met the worst accident in history in April this year, killing over Tk1,129 and injuring more
than 2,500. After that incidence of Rana Plaza col-
lapse, the garment owners and buyers came under severe criticisms locally and globally.
Di� erent rights groups around the world demanded ensuring of work place safety and living wages for the apparel workers. l
A veiw of some densely located tin-made shanties near Gulshan, Dhaka, where many readymade garment workers reside SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN
DHAKA TRIBUNE Business2 WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2013
A view of a city kitchen market on the � rst day of blockade enforced by BNP SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN
n Tribune Report
Bangladesh Accreditation Board (BAB), an autonomous agency, has awarded accredita-tion certi� cates to six testing and calibration laboratories.
With this, the board has so far given ac-creditation certi� cates to nine testing and calibration laboratories for improving ex-portable products in line with the interna-tional standard, said a statement yesterday.
The six testing and calibration laborato-ries are Length and Dimension, Tempera-ture, Time and Frequency, Volume, Pressure and Mass. The BAB is also working on giving accreditation certi� cates to � ve institutions by this year.
The newly appointed Industries Minister Tofail Ahmed handed over the accreditation certi� cates to Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution (BSTI) Director General Md Abu Abdullah.
BAB and Norwegian Accreditation have jointly awarded accreditation certi� cates to those laboratories. The privately-owned ITS Lab Test Bangladesh Ltd received accredita-tion certi� cate for chemical testing of ready-made garments.
BAB is the statutory body established in 2006 as an autonomous organisation responsible for upgrading the quality assurance infra-structure and conformity assessment pro-cedures in Bangladesh and enhancing the recognition and acceptance of products and services in international, regional and do-mestic markets.
Although the government set up the BAB seven years ago, the authorities did not de-ploy enough manpower to carry out the ac-tivities.
In June this year, it has attained full ca-pacity to award accreditation certi� cates in favor of testing laboratory and calibration laboratory.
The BAB statement said accreditation is a recognised and acceptable international system that removes technical barriers like non-tari� to trade.
BAB is the national authority with respon-sibility of accreditation in Bangladesh. It of-fers accreditation programmes for various types of conformity assessment bodies, such as laboratories, certi� cation bodies, inspec-tion bodies, training institutions or persons in accordance with the relevant Internation-al Organisation for Standardisation (ISO), International Electro technical Commission (IEC), and other regulatory standards and national standards.
Accreditation is a third party attestation related to a conformity assessment body conveying formal demonstration of its com-petence to carry out the tasks of conformity assessment.
It is made available to di� erent conform-ity assessment bodies namely testing and calibration laboratories, certi� cation bodies, inspection bodies, training institutions and persons who perform conformity assess-ments. l
The BAB statement said accreditation is a recognised and acceptable international system that removes technical barriers like non-tari� to trade
Ispahani Group holds training on social compliancen Tribune Business Desk
Ispahani Group organised a day-long training on social compliance for the professionals and executives of the ready-made garment and textile sectors.
The 3D Learning Initiative of Ispahani launched the event while Saifullah Khawa-ja, country director of WRAP, USA, was the training facilitator, said a press release.
O� cials from Pahartali Textile and Ho-siery Mills, Ispahani Foods Limited, Square Fashions, Square Textiles, Partex Denim, Tex Tailor Export (BD), Aman Knitting, Aman Graphic and Design, Synergies Sourc-ing Bangladesh, Enigma Tech, Link Tex Sportswear, Interlinks Dresses and Muselina Textile Mills attended the training.
Certi� cates were distributed among the participants after the training. l
City Bank, Metlife Alico sign MoU for cash managementn Tribune Business Desk
City Bank recently signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with MetLife Alico Bangladesh to facilitate premium collection of MetLife Alico policyholders.
The bank’s deputy managing director and head of branch banking, Badrudduza Choud-hury and chief operating o� cer of MetLife Alico Bangladesh signed the deal on behalf of their respective companies, said a press release.
DMD and head of wholesale banking Sheikh Mohammad Maroof, head of retail banking Zabed Amin and deputy general manager Syed Hammadul Karim and head of agency- South Asia, Jafar S Chowdhury from MetLife Alico Bangladesh were also present.
The ceremony ended with discussions on further strategic alliance between the two or-ganisations. l
FBCCI team leaves for South Korea n Tribune Business Desk
An 18-member business delegation led by FBCCI � rst vice president Monowara Hakim Ali left Dhaka yesterday to attend a meeting of Bangladesh-South Korea Joint Business Promotion Council.
The delegation team will attend sever-al meetings during November 26-29, said a press release.
A joint business promotion council meet-ing will also be held with Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) on Novem-ber 27.
Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) delegation will call on Cho Tae-yul, second vice minis-ter of foreign a� airs tomorrow.
They will also attend a business meeting with the Federation of Korean Industries (FKI) on Friday. l
BAB awards accreditation to testing labs
BusinessDHAKA TRIBUNE 3WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2013
Stocks fall amid fresh political fearsn Tribune Report
Stocks posted sharp drop yesterday amid a reemergence of fear that the political unrest would be intensi� ed after the announce-ment of election schedule.
The market started the session with a downbeat tone, which lasted till the end of the day’s trading.
The benchmark DSEX index fell 77 points or 1.8% to close at 4,277. It saw a modest rise in the previous session.
The blue chip index DS30 was down 26 points or 1.8% to 1,508. The Chittagong Stock Exchange Selective Categories Index, CSCX, ended at 8,419, shedding 130 points to 8,419.
“As clock starts ticking for upcoming elec-tion, turbulent political frontier once again took hold of investors’ perception, depress-ing market sentiment,” said IDLC Investment in its daily market analysis.
Consistent with previous sessions, tex-tiles and pharmaceuticals continued to re-main center of the attraction as two sectors accounted for 40% of total turnover.
Fear among investors during the � rst day of nationwide blockade pulled the market down, said Lanka Bangla Securities in its market analysis.
The total turnover at the DSE stood at Tk7.3bn, which was more than 3% lower over the previous session.
“Size of the turnover indicated that sell-ers were not aggressively selling o� their holdings yet. Rather, they are booking some pro� ts to remain on the safe side,” said Lan-ka Bangla.
Zenith Investment said after ending nota-bly higher in the previous session, the mar-ket came under pressure on the heels of the political instability.
“Buying enthusiasm has remained some-what subdued whereas sellers took some pro� ts o� the table, limiting the growing trend of the index.”
All the sectors ended in red except a few small-cap sectors, including tannery and ce-ramics, edging higher.
The heavyweight banks registered the highest loss of 2.4%, followed by power that rose 2%, non-banking � nancial institutions 1.8% and telecommunications 1.4%.
Orion Pharmaceuticals became the top traded stock, followed by RN Spinning,Generation Next Fashion, Paramount Textile and Summit Purbanchol Power Company Limited. l
GM Quader: Ticfa opens up trade opportunitiesn Tribune Report
The Trade and Investment Cooperation Forum Agreement (Ticfa) is not politically motivated, rather it would open up bilateral trade and investment avenues, Commerce Minister GM Quader said in Dhaka yesterday.
“It’s innocent and harmless deal. It has been signed protecting the country’s interest, not considering political interest,” he told a press brie� ng, a day after the deal was signed between Bangladesh and the United States.
He informed that the � rst meeting of Tic-fa will be held in January next year in Dhaka.
The agreement was signed one and half hour after the Chief Election Commissioner of Bangladesh announced the general election schedule, raising eyebrows of many trying to � nd some links between the two incidents.
“The agreement should have been signed much earlier. It has been delayed because of the foreign ministry’s dilly dally,” the min-ister said, replying to a question. “I wrote several letters to expedite the process … the foreign ministry knows the reason better be-hind the delay in taking decisions.”
He said the agreement would help generate employment by increasing trade and invest-ment and expedite technological and overall development in the country.
Replying to another question, Quader said the GSP issue is scheduled to be re-viewed in December. “We don’t know yet what will be the outcome in the review. If it is positive, that’s good. And if not, the GSP issue will get priority in the � rst meeting of Ticfa in Dhaka.”
He said the Ticfa agreement was dis-cussed for over a decade whereas many countries inked similar deal with US in
much less time. “It’s not true that no pow-erful country did sign such deals. India also signed Framework for Cooperation on Trade and Investment with the USA. I think India is a powerful country.”
In another development, the US Trade Representative (USTR) posted the English and Bengali versions of the agreement in its website.
The Ticfa provides a mechanism for both governments to discuss trade and invest-ment issues and areas of cooperation.
“With this agreement, the US and Bang-ladesh will more regularly work together to address issues of concern in our trade and investment relationship,” US Trade Repre-sentative Ambassador Michael Froman said.
“Importantly, we’ll also be able to track and discuss Bangladeshi e� orts to improve worker safety and worker rights. This is an important priority for the United States as
Bangladesh seeks to prevent more tragedies in its readymade garment sector.”
Bangladesh is currently the 59th largest goods trading partner of US with $5.4b in to-tal bilateral goods trade during 2012.
On Monday, acting Deputy United States Trade Representative (USTR) Wendy Cutler and Bangladesh Commerce Secretary Mah-bub Ahmed signed the deal on behalf of their respective sides at the USTR headquarters.
The agreement enabled the countries to establish a “Forum” with representatives from both parties to discuss opportunities and interests of bilateral trade and invest-ment and identify and work to remove im-pediments to the areas of trade and invest-ment.
On June 17, the cabinet approved the draft of Ticfa, a legally “nonbinding” agreement that emphasises prohibition of protectionist trade policy. l
‘As clock starts ticking for upcoming election, turbulent political frontier once again took hold of investors’ perception, depressing market sentiment’
Jul-Oct aid stands at $577mn Tribune Business Desk
Foreign aid � ow to Bangladesh during the July-October period of the current � scal year (2013-14) was much lower amounting $576.8m compared to $809.6m fetched dur-ing the same period last � scal year.
Of the disbursed amount during the four-month period, the amount of loans is $432.46m while the grants amount to $144.34m, said an o� cial at the Economic Relations Division (ERD), reports UNB.
The ERD o� cial said that the overall com-mitment for the July-October period of the current � scal year (FY14) was $1326.11m in-cluding $1172.5m as loans and $153.61m as grants.
During the four-month period of the
current � scal year, the repayment stood at $341.34m including $275.32m in principal amount and $66.02m as interests.
The repayment for the July-October peri-od of the last � scal year (2012-13) was, how-ever, $310.42m including $243.36m in princi-pal amount and $67.06m as interest.
Of the major multilateral and bilateral do-nors, Japan provided the highest amount of $157m as loan during the July-October peri-od of current � scal year followed by IDA of the World Bank with $120m and the ADB with $108m.
Of the grants amount, India provided the highest $50m to Bangladesh during the four-month period followed by the UN System’s $47m, DFID’s $18.63m and IDA of the World Bank’s $15.96m.
Talking to UNB, another o� cial at the ERD said that utilization of foreign aid has been a� ected since the country is passing through political turmoil over the last cou-ple of months. He said that Implementation rate of the foreign-� nanced development projects was poor this time resulting in low-er aid disbursement.
According to ERD, although the foreign aid � ow to Bangladesh in the last � scal year (2012-13) was around $3.1bn lower than its commitment, the aid disbursement was higher totalling $2.8bn in the last � scal com-pared to $2.1bn fetched in � scal 2011-12.
The commitment for the FY 13 was much higher as it was $5,926.05m compared to $4,764.52m during the same period of the previous year (FY12). l
Commerce Minister GM Quader addresses a press conference in Dhaka yesterday on the just signed Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (Ticfa) with the United States
‘With this agreement, the US and Bangladesh will more regularly work together to address issues of concern in our trade and investment relationship’
DHAKA TRIBUNE Business4 WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2013
India considers more Iran oil imports, readies paymentsn Reuters
India could step up crude imports from Iran next month and start transferring billions of dollars it owes for oil as early as next week, following a deal between Tehran and six world powers to curb the Islamic Republic’s nuclear programme.
The agreement eases some of the sanc-tions on trade with Iran that have slashed the OPEC member’s exports by more than half and cost it as much as $80bn in lost oil sales since the beginning of 2012, according to White House estimates.
Iran’s biggest oil buyers - China, India, South Korea and Japan - have all cut back sharply on purchases.
The deal, struck on Sunday, also suspends sanctions provisions on insurance, which had left re� ners that processed Iranian oil without cover and resulted in India’s imports falling to below even the level permitted by sanctions.
The removal of the EU restrictions on in-surance opens the door for Indian re� ners to increase imports to contract levels without breaching sanctions that remain in place lim-iting Iran’s overall exports to around 1 mil-lion barrels per day (bpd).
“Till yesterday this crude was not under consideration because of insurance hurdles, but now because of this recent development ... Iranian crude has come into active consid-eration of HPCL,” BK Namdeo, head of re� n-eries at state-run Indian re� ner HPCL, told Reuters.
For HPCL, that could mean an extra 50,000 barrels per day (bpd) in December to March - about a quarter more than India’s daily average Iranian imports over the � rst nine months of 2013.
The United States had tightened the noose further on Iran’s biggest revenue stream in February by asking its oil buyers to stop transferring payments to Tehran and instead keep the money in bank accounts in the cur-rency of the importing country.
E� ectively shut out of the global banking system, Iran has been able to use that mon-ey only to buy goods and services from the importing country and the cash in those ac-
counts has quickly built up.The new agreement would let Iran receive
about $4.2bn in oil money from accounts held abroad if it ful� ls commitments under the deal over the next six months. It is un-clear how much Iran will receive from each country.
A joint commission from Iran and the six powers is supposed to decide which for-eign banks can transfer the money to Teh-ran, what currency they will use, and which Iranian banks will get the cash, a senior US Treasury o� cial said on Monday.
The transfer of Iran’s oil funds will likely be done by banks that already have Iranian
accounts, the o� cial said.India is Iran’s second-largest buyer and
owes Tehran about $5.3bn for oil shipments, according to government and re� ning sourc-es. Payments by Indian re� ners to Iran could resume through Turkey’s state-run Halk-bank, a route used until February.
The National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) asked Indian re� ners in mid-October to set-tle some of their payments in euros via Halk-bank as soon as possible. Re� ners are await-ing the all-clear from the Indian government before transferring any cash.
“Next week if it is possible, we will start making our payments,” said PP Upadhya,
managing director of Mangalore Re� nery and Petrochemicals Ltd, one of the Indian buyers of Iranian crude.
A government o� cial also said payments would be expedited once the payment mech-anism via Turkey opens up.
“If that Halkbank route opens up ... rather than pushing this to a later date, perhaps this money will go to the Iranians sooner rather than later,” said the o� cial, who had direct knowledge of the matter.
The transfer of funds may help the US Treasury Department more closely monitor how Iran plans to use the cash, the US o� cial said. l
WTO kicks o� crunch meeting in key test for trade talksn AFP, Geneva
World Trade Organisation members yester-day kicked o� a crunch meeting to decide whether they could put a deal on the table at a make or break summit next month.
WTO chief Roberto Azevedo and trade diplomats were tight-lipped, declining to respond to AFP’s questions as they arrived for the last pre-summit session of its ruling body, the General Council, which has been delayed repeatedly.
Azevedo was to brief the council on whether last-ditch, round the clock negotia-tions had managed to craft an accord to put
before trade ministers at the WTO’s Decem-ber 3-6 summit on the Indonesian island of Bali. Diplomats were to take stock of a 53-page draft accord, seen by AFP, which con-tained an array of negotiating options that needed honing down.
Negotiators from the WTO’s 159 member economies have spent weeks scrambling to bridge bitter di� erences and try to revive talks on an accord to ease barriers to global commerce.
Azevedo, the Brazilian former trade envoy who was sworn in as WTO director general in September, repeatedly had warned that the ne-gotiating must not be left until the Bali summit.
Bali is seen as perhaps the last chance to revive the WTO’s so-called “Doha Round” of talks, launched in 2001 at a summit in Qatar.
The round’s goal is to produce a wide-rang-ing global accord on opening markets and re-moving trade barriers, with a key goal being to harness international commerce to devel-op poorer economies.
But the talks have stalled as rich countries, emerging powers and the world’s poorest na-tions spar over the concessions needed.
Negotiators have long ruled out the chanc-es of Bali giving the Doha Round a major shot in the arm, and are instead trying to draw up thematic accords for the summit, which
could be fed into a wider package later.One covers “trade facilitation”, which in-
volves simplifying customs procedures in an e� ort to make commerce smoother, and where divisions centre on the time-lag de-veloping countries would get to fall into line, plus the support they would get from donors to do so.
Another division is over “food security”, pushed by India, under which developing countries want to be allowed to subsidise grain stockpiling to help low-income farm-ers and consumers - stocks that critics warn could end up on the open market, skewing trade. l
An employee measures diesel in a tanker before unloading at a fuel station in Kolkata REUTERS
China seeks to boost trade with ex-communist Europen Reuters
China wants to double trading volumes with central and eastern members of the Europe-an Union in the next � ve years, Li Keqiang said on his � rst visit to the former commu-nist bloc as premier.
China and the EU announced at a sum-mit last week that the two sides would begin talks on a treaty aimed at boosting invest-ment, which lags behind burgeoning trade, and tackling thorny market access issues.
Li, who arrived for an o� cial visit to Ro-mania and a summit with prime ministers from emerging EU states on Monday, said in his opening speech that “because of similar development stages” China and the region have much to o� er each other.
His predecessor, Wen Jiabao, said last year that China would set up a $10bn credit line and a $500m investment fund for eastern and southern Europe.
“China-CEE trade accounts for one tenth of China-EU trade,” said Li. “We need to strive to double our trade volumes ... in next � ve years ... We need to work together to build large scale infrastructure projects.”
The Chinese Premier and European Com-mission President Jose Manuel Barroso said when they met last week in Beijing that a po-tential agreement would increase openness and deepen cooperation as well as boosting investment, which has not kept pace with trade growth.
Europe is China’s most important trading
partner and for the EU, China is second only to the United States. But the bilateral rela-tionship has been rattled by trade rows rang-ing from steel and wine to solar panels.
In 2012, bilateral trade in goods and ser-vices reached 483.5bn euros ($653bn), ac-cording to the EU delegation to China. China exported 289.7bn euros in goods to Europe last year compared with Europe’s 143.9bn in goods to China.
However, EU imports from China last year decreased for the � rst time since the global � nancial crisis, down 0.9%.
On Monday, o� cials said China agreed to start cooperation on the construction of a railway linking Hungary and Serbia and China’s General Nuclear Power signaled it could invest in a project to add reactors to Romania’s sole nuclear power plant owned by state-controlled Nuclearelectrica. l
BusinessDHAKA TRIBUNE 5WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2013
H&M aims to pay all textile workers ‘living wage’ by 2018n Reuters
Hennes & Mauritz, the world’s second-largest clothing retailer, laid out a plan on Monday to pay a fair “living wage” to some 850,000 textile workers by 2018, saying governments were acting too slowly.
“We believe that the wage development, driven by for example governments in some countries, is taking too long, so we want to take further action and encourage the whole industry to follow,” H&M said in a statement on its website.
H&M sources most of its garments from factories in Asia, particularly Bangladesh, where a factory collapse in April that killed almost 1,130 people put pressure on big brands to improve the working conditions of those making clothes for the West.
H&M, which did not source from that factory, was the � rst company to sign a Eu-rope-led safety pact for Bangladesh garment factories after the collapse. It has urged Bangladesh and Cambodia to raise the min-imum wage and revise it annually.
Violent protests over pay have forced the closure of hundreds of Bangladeshi garment factories in recent weeks even though facto-ry owners have agreed to a proposed 77% rise
in the minimum wage.Rock bottom wages and trade deals have
made Bangladesh’s garments sector a $22bn industry that accounts for four-� fths of ex-ports, supplying retailers such as Wal-Mart Stores Inc, and Primark as well as H&M.
About 3.6 million of Bangladesh’s 155 mil-lion people work in the clothing industry, making it the world’s second-largest gar-ments exporter behind China. Around 60 percent of garment exports go to Europe and 23% to the United States.
H&M said it would support factory own-ers to develop pay structures that enable a fair living wage in two model factories in Bangladesh and one in Cambodia in 2014 and then scale up the model to the 750 factories it works with by 2018.
It wants wages to be negotiated annual-ly and reviewed by democratically elected trade unions or worker representatives.
Helena Helmersson, global head of sus-tainability at H&M, made the commitment at a conference on living wages in Berlin organ-ized by the Dutch and German governments.
“We are willing to pay more so that the supplier can pay higher wages,” H&M said. “We believe that our purchasing practices will lead to better e� ciency and productivity.” l
The company logo is placed at the � agship store of H&M, Hennes & Mauritz, the world’s second-biggest fashion retailer in Sweden’s capital Stockholm REUTERS
Yahoo pushes further into news with‘global anchor’n AFP, San Francisco
Yahoo made a fresh move Monday to expand as a media group, naming a star “global an-chor” to be the face of its digital news brand.
The California Internet giant hired long-time newscaster and talk show star Katie Couric, well-known to American television viewers, having hosted programs on three top broadcast networks. “Couric is joining the company as Global Anchor, as part of Yahoo’s ongoing commitment to re-imagine how news and information is delivered and consumed,” a Yahoo statement said.
Yahoo chief executive Marissa Mayer, hired last year to help revive the fortunes of the faded Internet pioneer, said Couric “will lead a growing team of correspondents at Yahoo News who will cover the world’s most interesting stories and newsmakers.”
“From pivotal coverage of natural dis-asters and historic elections to the Royal Wedding and the Olympic Games, ground-breaking interviews with heads of state and leading tastemakers, her experience is un-matched,” Mayer said in a blog post.
Couric, 56, will continue to host her day-time television talk show “Katie” while be-ing the “face” of Yahoo News and being part of features for the Internet pioneer’s home page, according to Mayer.
Couric will begin with Yahoo News in early 2014 to help reshape coverage for the Internet giant, which hosts the biggest glob-al news website and is gradually moving to control more of the content. l
China’s Premier Li Keqiang addresses the meeting of heads of government from Central and Eastern European countries and China in Bucharest REUTERS
8 WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2013DHAKA TRIBUNE Business
n AFP, London
Iran’s deal with Western powers to curb parts of its nuclear programme is likely to lead to a sizable increase of shipments of oil from the Islamic Republic to Asia, analysts said.
If the interim deal struck this weekend in Geneva leads to a full lifting of sanctions, it could spark an injection of oil into an already over-supplied global market, many said Monday.
But while the agreement in its current form is unlikely to have a signi� cant short-term impact on the market, the loosening of sanctions is likely to see Iranian oil ship-ments increase to China, India, Japan and South Korea.
News of the deal struck in Geneva led to oil prices falling, but the e� ect was limited.
In London, Brent North Sea crude for de-livery in January fell 0.57 percent from Fri-day’s close to $109.23 a barrel at 1700 GMT, while New York’s main contract fell back three quarters of a percent to $94.07, after earlier dropping to $93.08.
The accord is “only a � rst step and does not impact the current sanctions on Iranian oil exports”, noted BNP Paribas analyst Har-ry Tchilinguirian.
But he said a wider lifting of sanctions on Iran’s oil production “would certainly allow oil supply conditions to ease, notably for crudes of medium and heavy quality”.
However, the analyst noted that “we are still very far from that outcome”.
The six-month deal reached by the United States and Western powers and Iran is aimed at buying time to thrash out a fuller agree-ment.
One e� ect of the current agreement is that Iranian oil will be more readily available to buyers in Asia, as European insurers will be allowed to insure oil shipments from Iran again.
“With sanctions loosened, oil shipments from Iran could increase again to China, In-dia, South Korea and Japan,” noted Commer-zbank’s analyst team.
Iran’s return to market could cut $10 o� price of Brent
The likelihood of an upsurge in Iranian oil heading east is also supported by the likeli-hood that a further tightening of oil sanctions against Iran by the US Congress has receded as a result of the Geneva deal, they noted.
Although Sunday’s deal is “an important � rst step that could eventually lead to the normalization of relations between Iran and the west,” a � nal deal removing the most im-portant sanctions “remains challenging giv-en that some key stakeholders could act as spoilers,” Barclays said in a note.
Barclays predicted the downward shift in oil prices after the deal “could be short lived,” given that a December 4 meeting of the Or-ganization of Petroleum Exporting Countries could lead to lower output.
The US granted sanctions waivers to sev-
eral countries that could not easily source the right type of oil from other suppliers, but the insurance ban had crimped shipments.
Iran has 25-30 million barrels of crude that it could rapidly release on to the market, Credit Suisse estimated.
Several experts reckon that if a full agree-ment can be reached, another one billion barrels could � ow into a market that is al-ready well-supplied.
The sanctions against the Iranian re-gime over its nuclear programme e� ectively caused exports of oil from the Islamic repub-lic to fall by more than one million barrels a day.
Exports fell from 2.5 million barrels a day in 2011 to 1.1 million in the � rst nine months of this year, according to the International Energy Agency.
Iran’s ability to rapidly increase exports is likely to be hampered by the e� ect that years of sanctions have had on its infrastructure, said Andrey Kryuchenkov at VTB Capital.
“It would be di� cult to ramp shipments up quickly ... given ageing and idling infra-structure,” he noted.
Credit Suisse are more optimistic - they believe that six months after a full lifting of the sanctions, Iran will have regained 75% of its lost production.
The potential impact of an in� ux of Irani-an oil on to the market remains unclear.
Julian Jessops, chief economist at Capital Economics, believes Brent could fall by $10.
But as Kryuchenkov points out, OPEC - of which Iran is a member - will � ght to defend the $100 barrier, most likely by cutting out-put in the world’s biggest producer, Saudi Arabia. l
Iran deal ‘will lead to surge of oil to Asia’
India for developing economic corridors cross Asian BSS
India yesterday underlined the need for de-veloping economic corridors for seamless connectivity across Asia to bring people and regional economies closer for mutual bene� t.
Speaking at the 12th Asia Cooperation Di-alogue (ACD) Foreign Ministers Meeting in Bahrain capital, Manama, E Ahamed, Min-ister of State for External A� airs, said, “We want to develop economic corridors across Asia providing hope, opportunity and e� -ciency to our mutual bene� t.”
“India as a prime mover in transport link-ages area, has circulated a concept paper on transport linkages such that we can have seamless connectivity and economic corri-dors that bring us close.”
“We can link up with other regional organ-isations who are also working for better con-nectivity. It is important for our experts to meet and develop a common agenda to bring our people and our economies closer together.”
He said India wants to host the next work-ing group meeting on Regional Connectivity in 2014.
He also welcomed Turkey as the 33rd member of ACD, saying with the joining of Turkey, “we believe the ACD will further the realisation of Asian continent into Asian community and add dynamism to ACD pro-cess”. He said India has deep historical, civilisational and cultural connections with Turkey. Ahamed appreciated Bahrain for selecting the theme ‘Promoting Intra- Asian Tourism’ for the 12th Ministerial meeting and said India extends its support to the nov-el concept of the Asian Tourism City.
“I wish to mention that India is keen to join this initiative and would wish to o� er to host the Tourism Business Forum. We need to harness our strengths and potential in tourism for the bene� t of Asian community,” Ahamed said.
He also appreciated Bahrain for its warm hospitality.
“The Kingdom of Bahrain has extended all facilities to around 3,00,000 Indians who have a made Bahrain temporary home. We share excellent relations in political, eco-nomic and cultural spheres and leaderships of the two countries have invested consider-able energy and interest in developing these relations,” Ahamed said.
He said the ACD has provided a signi� cant platform for dialogue and cooperation in Asia and has contributed to enhancing friendship, promoting peace and development.
“In the present global economic crisis, there is a need to strengthen cooperation in a few project areas identi� ed by ACD members so as to enhance e� ciency and e� ectiveness and visibility of ACD, to make 21st century truly as Asian Century,” Ahamed said.
He said there was a great potential for regional cooperation on water resources development and management among ACD countries.
“India is ready to play a positive role in enriching action on the ACD agenda and help in furthering the objectives and projects of the ACD to promote our common pursuit of stability, peace, growth and prosperity,” he said. l
Several experts reckon that if a full agreement can be reached, another one billion barrels could � ow into a market that is already well-supplied
