Bangladesh: BNP’s Victory Day rally at Suhrawady Udyan December 15

The main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party on Tuesday said that it would hold a rally marking the Victory Day at the Suhrawardy Udyan on December 15.

BNP standing committee member Nazrul Islam Khan said this at a briefing at the party chairperson’s Gulshan office, announcing the programme marking the Victory Day (December 16) and Martyred Intellectuals Day (December 14). 

He said that the BNP would observe Martyred Intellectuals Day on December 14 and pay tribute and place wreaths at the Martyred Intellectuals Graveyard at Mirpur in the capital at 9:00am. BNP would organise a discussion in the afternoon on the day commemorating the martyred intellectuals.

He said protest processions and meetings at unions, upazilas, districts and metropolitan cities would be held on December 15 pressing for resignation of the prime minister and holding election under a non-party government.

Nazrul said that in the capital, instead of prescheduled protest procession, the party would hold a rally at Suhrawardy Udyan at 2:00pm on December 15 marking the Victory Day to be observed on December 16.

He said that the BNP would observe the Victory Day in a befitting manner across the country on December 16. In Dhaka the party would pay tribute and place wreaths at National Memorial at Savar at 6:30am and leaders and activists of the party led by BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia would pay tribute at the graveside of late president Ziaur Rahman at 8:30am on the day.

Asked whether they are hopeful of consensus following UN envoy Oscar Fernandez-Taranco’s intervention, Nazrul said that they hoped that good sense would prevail and the government would agree to hold a free and neutral election under a non-party neutral government.

Nazrul said that the ‘fascist’ Awami League government paying no heed to the peoples’ demand was trying to cling to power through holding election under a blueprint by the Election Commission loyal to it.

He reiterated that credible and peaceful election acceptable to all was not possible anyway under the incumbent Election Commission. (source) 

Bangladesh: Dhaka-Yangon trade talks in Jan 9-10

Trade talks between Bangladesh and Myanmar is scheduled to take place in Myanmar’s capital Naypyidaw in January 9–10 aimed boosting long-stalled bilateral commerce and investment related agenda, commerce ministry officials said.

The Bangladesh commerce secretary, Mahbub Ahmed, Myanmar’s deputy minister of the commerce ministry Pwint San will lead respective delegations to the talks.

Commerce ministry officials said that they were expecting a major breakthrough in the meeting after a direct air link had been established between the two neighbours on December 9 ending a six-year negotiation on direct air connectivity.

‘We have a lot of bilateral trade and investment issues pending for long because,’ a senior trade diplomat told New Age. ‘Things of interests centring trade and investment will get priority at the trade talks.’

The ministry is now put into the final form the delegation composed of officials from ministries such as commerce, foreign affairs, shipping, communications, agriculture and power, the Bangladesh Bank and the National Board of Revenue. Private-sector representatives will also be there in the delegation.

Trade experts in the commerce ministry said that a bilateral investment agreement, the establishment of wholesale markets in the Bangladesh-Myanmar frontiers, cooperation in the fisheries and livestock sector, the import of hydroelectric power and natural gas from Myanmar and the establishment of a joint-venture fertiliser plant in Bangladesh using Myanmar gas were some of the priorities likely to come up at the talks.

They said that the issues were not new but they had been stalled for lack of direction.

‘We expect this time that Myanmar officials now have a green signal from their  leaders towards forging deeper trade relations with Bangladesh,’ a trade official said.

Bangladesh exported goods worth $13.67 million against the import of $84 million to and from Myanmar in the 2012-2013 financial year.

Major export items from Bangladesh include chemical and agricultural products, frozen fish, leather and jute goods. (source) 

Bangladesh: Padma Bridge construction bid submission date extended

The government on Tuesday extended to December 19, the last date for the submission of bids for the construction of the 6.15 km Padma Bridge at an estimated cost of Tk 20,507 crore.

Announcing the decision, communications minister Obaidul Quader said that construction of the bridge would start in May or June.

The last date for the submission of bids for the construction of the main bridge was shifted from December 3 as no international firm responded, said officials.  

On June 30, the previous tender was floated, said officials. In February, his ministry would invite tenders for river training, he said while speaking as the chief guest at the signing of contract for the construction of service area-2 at Janjira. 

A local firm, Abdul Monem Limited, won the contract for the construction of Tk 209 crore service area-2 at Janjiraat point, said officials. 

Obaidul Quader said that the construction of Janjira Approach Road, Janjira Construction Yard Protection and service area -2 were ongoing at a cost of Tk 1,500 crore. 

In service area 2 at Janjira, the local firm has to build in 912 days a mosque, motel mess, resort reception building, supervision office, 30 duplex houses, overhead water tank, health centre, guard house, power sub-station, fire detection and fire fighting facilities, said officials.  (source) 

Bangladesh: Mitford Hospital paralysed in student-staff clash

The medical service at Mitford Hospital was paralysed on Tuesday suffered as staff went away following series of clashes with intern doctors and students of Salimullah Medical College. 

At least 20 people were injured in the clashes.

The Interns stopped working, causing hardships to patients who turned up at the hospital seeking medical treatment on a day of continued countrywide blockade.

During the clashes, the hospital staff fled the premises in panic. Emergency and outdoor services were disrupted. 

Witnesses said that interns and activists of Chhatra League of the adjoining medical college went on a rampage and vandalised several establishments in the hospital. 

An administrative officer of the hospital said that the ensued at 1:30am, when pathology department fourth grade staff assaulted and beat an intern of surgery, Hasan Ali, as he protested at the issuance of a wrong test report.

Hasan called other interns and students from the campus and attacked the staff.

Chhatra League activists arrived at the pathology department and vandalised it. They also went on berserk at the emergency department leaving 20 injured.

‘A pathology technician issued me an HIV report instead of hepatitis C virus (HCV) and as I asked him for clarification, the technician and other staff tortured me,’ said Hasan. 

Abdul Awal, the pathology technician, who was also beaten by the Chhatra League activists and interns, admitted that he mistakenly issued the HIV report instead of HCV report. 

‘I admitted my fault and said that I would conduct the laboratory test again, but they did not listen and tortured me with rods and maces,’ said Awal.

Mitford Hospital Employees Union general secretary Jahangir Hossain, however, alleged that the intern was actually quarrelled with the pathology department staff over payment for a blood test, causing the clash.

Chhatra League activists, led by medical college unit secretary Shawon Das, went on rampant again in the morning and vandalised the staff quarters and the Employees Union office and a bus used for transporting students. 

The police said that they could not go for action without the permission of local law maker and the college authority. 

‘Until we are assured of our security in the hospital, we are not returning to work,’ said an intern.

The college principle Dilip Kumar Dhar said that the situation was unwarranted and they were trying to calm the situation.

Sharaf Ali, a rickshaw-puller, was injured in a crude bomb blast near Babu Bazar Bridge and rushed to the Mitford Hospital but no physicians were available for treatment. Later, he was taken to Dhaka Medical College Hospital. 

Hasna Henna, 35, from Keraniganj said that she came to the hospital with abdominal pain, but failed to see a doctor.

Relatives of an expecting woman Salma were advised by staff at the hospital to shift her to some private clinic for urgent attention.

On duty physician at the emergency ward Abdur Rashid said he had examined no patient since morning as no patients were admitted and no staff was available for service. (source) 

Bangladesh: No stepping back from non-party demand, says BNP

The main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party has not backed away from its stand on a polls-time non-party neutral government, said the party vice chairman Shamsher Mobin Chowdhury on Tuesday.

Shamsher, who attended a meeting of the BNP and the ruling Awami League in presence of visiting UN

assistant secretary general Oscar Fernandez-Taranco on Tuesday afternoon, told New Age that the BNP remained firm on its stand on a polls-time non-party government.

In reply to a question, he said that the UN side did not give any proposal for a polls-time govern-ment saying that the UN wanted the people of Bangladesh would resolve its problem.

Asked about speculation that BNP might accept the president instead of prime minister Sheikh Hasina as the head of the polls-time government, Shamsher termed it misinformation.

The meeting between delegation of BNP and AL was a primary meeting for creating an atmosphere conducive for a dialogue, according to a meeting source.

At the meeting the BNP said that the election schedule needed to be deferred and the detained opposition leaders and activists had to be released for creating an atmosphere for discussion.

A four-member delegation of the BNP led by acting secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir and a four-member delegation of the AL led by its general secretary Syed Ashraful Islam had a meeting at the residence of the UN resident representative in Dhaka where both sides agreed to continue the discussion over a polls-time government for holding a free, fair and inclusive election acceptable to all. (source) 

Bangladesh: Execution would be a political killing, says Quder’s son

Death row convict Abdul Quader Molla’s son Hasan Jamal on Tuesday said that if his father was executed it would be a ‘political killing.’

‘Even according to the old jail code, he [Quader] is entitled to get seven days to decide whether he will seek the presidential clemency, 

but the government is executing him hastily,’ Hasan told reporters at the jail gate after meeting his father at 8:50pm.

‘My father said executing him forcibly would tantamount to killing and it would be a political killing,’ said Hasan.

‘I am being executed for my involvement in Islamic movement,’ Quader, also Jamaat-e-Islami assistant secretary general, was quoted by his eldest son Jamil Ahsan to have told the family.

Jamil said that Quader requested all to keep patience.

‘The Islamic movement will get further pace in Bangladesh with my martyrdom and I will meet you [relatives] again at the stairway to heaven,’ Quader was quoted by Jamil.

Jamil along with his mother and over 20 relatives met Quader at 8:00pm being invited by the prison authority to see him for the last time. The relatives stayed with Quader for about 40 minutes.  

The Appellate Division on September 17 sentenced Quader to death on charge of crimes against humanity committed during the war of independence in 1971.

Jamaat in a statement said that Quader’s execution would be a political killing and the party 

warned the government of dire consequences of the execution.

‘If the government executes th conspiracy to kill Quader, the consequences will be deadly,’ Jamaat acting secretary general Shafiqur Rahman said in the statement.

He alleged that the government has violated the constitution, Supreme Court rules and the Jail Code to hang Quader in a hurry.

‘Everyone in the government involved in breaking the rule of law will have to answer to the people,’ the statement read. (source) 

Bangladesh: Injured Sayedee case witness dies

A prosecution witness who gave deposition against Jamaat-e-Islami leader Delwar Hossain Sayedee, who was sentenced to death in February for war crimes charges, died on Tuesday two days after he was stabbed by miscreants early Sunday. 

Mostafa Haoladar, 58, the eighth witness against Sayedee, died in Dhaka Medical College Hospital about 

2.00am on Tuesday, DMCH police outpost inspector Mozammel Haque said.

Mostafa sustained stab injuries as the 

Miscreants broke into the room of Mostafa in his village house at Parerhut in Pirojpur about 2:00am and stabbed him and his wife Hasina Begum, the Zianagar police officer-in-charge, Kamruzzaman, said.

Both of the injured were sent to Pirojpur General Hospital and then to Khulna Medical College Hospital from where Mustafa was sent to the DMCH.

The victim’s son Hafizur Rahman said that the miscreants had also hit Mostafa in the eye and forehead with a crowbar.

Hasina alleged that the people against whom Mostafa had given deposition were responsible for her husband’s murder. ‘They had continuous threatened us us since my husband had given his deposition against their brutality. Now I want the judgement and our family’s security.’

The victim’s brother Amir Hossain said that Mostafa had faced threats for the past few days.

The body was sent to their village.

The International Crimes Tribunal sentenced Sayedee to death on February 28  for crimes against humanity committed during the independence war in 1971.

The defence counsel chief, Abdur Razzaq, condemned the attack on a prosecution witness saying that this cowardly attack would harm the rule of law. 

‘It is the duty of the state to ensure security of all prosecution and defence witnesses,’ he said in a statement. (source) 

Bangladesh: Ganajagaran Mancha holds protest

Several hundred youths Tuesday evening once again gathered at the city’s Shahbag demanding execution of Abdul Quader Molla after the chamber judge stayed execution of death sentence awarded by the Appellate Division.

Ganajagaran Mancha, which was formed on February 5 demanding execution of Quader when the ICT-2  awarded him a lifetime imprisonment, is leading the protest gathering.

Imran H Sarkar, spokesman of the platform, said they would not leave the venue until the execution of Quader. 

He also asked the activists of the platform across the country to organise people and take to the streets for the same cause.

In the afternoon, the youth brought out a torch procession at Shahbag protesting at the death of Mostofa Hawladar, a prosecution witness of another convicted war criminal Delwar Hossain Sayeedy.

The protest then took a festive mood when the authorities concerned announced that the sentence against Quader would be executed midnight past Tuesday.

But after a couple of hours the chamber judge stayed the execution till today morning.

The message sparked protests and Ganajagaran Mancha activists at Shahbagh started chanting slogan demanding execution of Qader.

Sammilita Sangskritik Jot president Nasir Uddin Yusuf Bachchu said, ‘We did not ask the government to execute Qader at our words… But the stay order on the execution has triggered confusion among people.’ (source)

Bangladesh: Killing of Saydee witness Mostafa rings alarm bells

The death of 58-year old prosecution witness Mostafa Haoladar on Tuesday following stabbing prompted the International Crimes Tribunals to express concern over the security of those testifying in war crimes cases.

Mostafa was among 28 prosecution witnesses on whose testimony Jamaat leader Delwar Hossain Sayedee was handed death 

sentence for his complicity in 1971 crimes against humanity. 

Both the ICTs expressed concern over the utter insecurity to which the witnesses, the members of their families and their properties were exposed.

Mostafa, the eighth prosecution witness in  Sayedee’s case, died at the Dhaka Medical College Hospital’s intensive care unit where he was under treatment following stabbing  by unidentified assailants. 

Mostafa was asleep Monday night in his bed room at his house at Parerhat in Zianagar upazila in Pirojpur when he was stabbed in his eyes and forehead. 

The attackers also stabbed his wife Hasina Begum, now receiving treatment at Khulna Medical College Hospital.

Hasina blamed Jamaat men and Sayedee’s followers for the incident.

Eight war crimes offenders have been sentenced to death until now.

The house of the first witness in the case Mahbubul Alam Hawladar, in the neighbouring village of Tengrakhali was    

Vandalized 41 days back allegedly by supporters of Jamaat and Islami Chhattra Shibir.

Freedom fighter Mahbub said that the attackers looking for him vandalized his house as he was not at home. 

He said he was living in extreme fear ever since. 

Despite serious hardship, he said, he cannot  go out to earn his living.

The ICT-1 in which Mostafa testified against Sayedee expressed concern over security of the witnesses.

During Tuesday’s hearing, the ICT-1 presiding judge, Justice ATM Fazle Kabir told the prosecutors that he saw in TV scrolls that the witness had died.

‘It is unacceptable that a man would die in an independent country for giving testimony,’ he said and wanted to know from the prosecutors what steps were taken by the government to ensure security of the witnesses.

Prosecutor Mokhlesur Rahman Badal informed the tribunal that the prosecution had already informed the home ministry and the law enforcing agencies about it. 

He said that the prosecution team held a  meeting on the issue. 

The tribunal asked the prosecution to bring pressure on the government saying that they would not produce witnesses unless they were provided with proper security.

Badal then sought a suo-moto order in this regard.

The tribunal asked him to submit an application on the matter. 

Amir Hossain Molla, a witness in Abdul Quader Molla’s war crimes case, said that  several threats he received compelled him to be ‘very careful’ in his movements. 

‘I feel extremely insecure, receiving threat  after threat from unidentified people who killed my pet dog. I can’t describe my fears about my life and property,’ said Md Monowar Hossain Khan, better known as Mohon Munshi, a prosecution witness from Sherpur whose testimony led to death sentence of Jamaat leader Mohammad Kamaruzzaman. 

He was in tears as he recounted to New Age his experience.

Ranjit Nath, a native of Goalchamot, in Faridpur who testified against death row convict Jamaat leader Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mojaheed said he has been passing his days in fear. 

He said that he stayed home on Tuesday. 

‘Why we have to experience this for seeking justice in the tribunal,’ he said.

Several prosecution witnesses, preferring anonymity, said they were passing their days in insecurity.

Prosecutor Zead-Al Malum told New Age  that the Jamaat and Islami Chattra Shibir  men were intimidating the prosecution witnesses since the war crimes investigation began.

He asked the government to provide  security to the witnesses, victims’ families, judges, investigators and prosecutors. (source) 

Bangladesh: Three killed in violence over Molla execution order

At least three people were killed including a woman and her daughter as violence raged in different parts of the country on Tuesday protesting against the government’s order to execute Jamaat-e-Islami leader Abdul Quader Molla.

Panic spread all over the country including the capital as activists of Jamaat-Shibir went berserk in several districts torching Awami League leaders’ residences and vandalising scores of vehicles.

Meanwhile, Jamaat again called a nationwide a dawn-to-dusk general strike for today.

New Age Gazipur correspondent reported that a woman and her daughter were burnt to death and three others suffered burns as miscreants torched a covered van in the Bypass area of Vogra around 10:00pm.

The deceased were identified as Sumi Akhter, 28 and her daughter, Sanjida, 8. 

Abdul Baten, superintendent of Gazipur police, said Sumi including her family were heading towards Bogra from Rupganj. 

As the van reached the Bypass area, the miscreants set it on fire hurling petrol bombs.

New Age correspondent in Feni reported that a Shibir activist, Salman, 20, was shot dead by police at Shanti Company of the Feni city around 10:30pm. 

Witness said the activists tried to block the roads in the area with logs. Police tried to foil their blocked as they hurled crude bombs at police. 

Police then opened fire on the activists, leaving one dead, said Feni additional SP Shamsul Alam. 

In the capital, a number crude bombs were exploded near a Ganajagaran Mancha gathering.

No casualties were reported in the incident.

Four bombs were exploded near the Dhaka Central Jail around 9:45pm in front of Nirob Hotel, about 50 yards off the central jail boundary.

There were no reports of casualties, Abul Hasan, inspector (investigation) at Bangsal police station, said.

A number of vehicles were torched at Jatrabari and other parts of the capital.

The activists set fire to the residence of Gibandha-3 constituency lawmaker TIM Fazle Rabbi Chowdhury.

The activists torched around 20 vehicles in Lohagara and Satkania of Chittagong.

The Shibir men blasted bombs at Shahjalal University of Science and Technology. (source) 

Bangladesh: UK, EU oppose Molla’s death penalty

The United Kingdom and the European Union on Tuesday opposed the execution of the death penalty of Jamaat leader Abdul Qader Molla.

In a statement, senior British foreign office minister Baroness Warsi said that she was deeply concerned at reports of plans to execute Abdul Qader Molla. ‘The UK opposes the death penalty in all circumstances as a matter of principle.’

‘We consider that its use undermines human dignity and that there is no conclusive evidence of its deterrent value.’

‘We further note that Abdul Qader Molla was sentenced to death following an appeal permitted under retrospectively applied legislation, and that he was not permitted to review his sentence before the Supreme Court.’

‘Bangladesh’s commitments under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) require that all citizens be treated equally before the law.’

‘The UK calls again for Bangladesh to implement a moratorium on the death penalty leading to the eventual abolition of the death penalty.’

In another statement, the EU heads of mission in Dhaka said that they were opposed to the use of capital punishment in all cases and under all circumstances and had consistently called for its universal abolition.

It said that the European Union had followed the judicial proceedings in Bangladesh concerning the crimes committed during the war preceding the independence of Bangladesh in 1971.

From the start of the trials, the European Union has repeatedly voiced its concern about the possible application of the death penalty under the International Crimes (Tribunals) Act.

The statement said the case of Abdul Quader Molla had now reached a stage where an execution of the death sentence given by the Supreme Court on September 17 could be imminent.

The European Union notes the concerns that have been expressed by the United Nations special rapporteurs on independence of judges and lawyers and on summary executions regarding the lack of opportunity for appeal or review of the sentence.

The European Union calls for these concerns to be addressed before taking the process further.

In this context, the EU iterates its position regarding the recent death penalties issued by the International Crimes Tribunal and the Supreme Court as well as the 152 death sentences that were recently handed down in the trial following the BDR mutiny in 2009.

The European Union calls on the Bangladeshi authorities to commute these sentences and to introduce a moratorium on executions as a first step towards definitive abolition of capital punishment. (source) 

Bangladesh: 20 children die in political violence in 2013

Scores of children fell victim to political violence in 2013, with at least 20 dying and many others still fighting for life as political parties continued to use children in demonstrations, according to rights watchdog Ain o Salish Kendra and New Age reports.

At least 6 out of 20 have died since November 8 when the BNP-led opposition alliance started enforcing general strikes and blockades of road, railway and waterways.

The use of children in political programmes, especially in picketing, has increased in recent times, putting their lives at risk and violating child rights, activists said.

Ain o Salish Kendra and New Age reports find that till December 9, at least 20 children died in demonstrations, arson attacks, the explosion of crude bombs while playing, gunfight between two fractions of the ruling Awami League’s associate organisations, picketing during strikes and other incidents.

In the latest incident, 10-year-old schoolboy Alamgir Rahman Sumon died after being caught in a gunfight between the police and BNP and Jamaat activists in Sirajganj on December 9.

Fifteen-year-old bus assistant Mohammad Hasan died on December 5 when he was burnt in a petrol bomb attack on a bus at Syedabad.

In Sathkhira, 14-year-old Hosain Ali and 16-year-old Arijul Islam died when the police fired into pickets during blockade on December 3. Chhatra Shibir claimed the deceased to be its activists.

Nahid Morol, 18, of Madaripur, died on November 29 suffering from the burn injures he sustained in an arson attack on a bus near Shishu Park in Dhaka the previous day.

Schoolboy Monir Hossain, 16, died on November 7 three days after he had suffered burn injuries as pickets burnt a covered van in Gazipur on November 4.

On October 28, Md Arzu, 16, died in a clash between pickets and law enforcers in Chandpur. Chhatra Dal claimed that Arzu was its activist.

Arman, 8, died in a gunfight between Awami League fronts the Chhatra League and the Juba League in a railway tender brawl in Chittagong on June 24.

Hafezia (Class IX) student Mahmudul Hasan Zubair died killed in clashes between Hefazat-e-Islam and the police on May 5. Muktar Hossain, 15, o9f Narsingdi also died in the same incident on the day.

Kulsum Akter, 9, and Riya Akter, 4, died in a bomb explosion at Mirpur n the capital on March 24.

On March 3, Mahfuj Hossain, 15, in Sirajganj and Nasiruddin, 16, in Jaipurhat, died when pickets and lawmen clashed. Shahidul Islam, 15, in Chittagong died during picketing on March 2.

Sajjad Hossain, 17, in Cox Bazar, Akmal Hossain, 14, in Rangpur and Qurban Ali, 17, in Noakhali, died in strike violence on February 28.

Seventeen-year-old Abdullah died in violence in Bogra on January.

Rabbi, 12, died after being caught in crossfire during a factional clash of the Chhatra League at Bangladesh Agricultural University in Mymensingh on January 19.

The Children Act 2013 defines child as an individual aged up to 18 years. 

The Bangladesh Shishu Adhikar Forum director, AS Mahmud, said that nobody had hesitated to use children to their gains. Hefazat-e-Islam, Shahbagh protests and political parties all had used children.

Political leaders, he said, use street children in picketing during general strikes. Children are also used in violent activities such as starting fire on roads and damaging business establishments and vehicles.

‘We have never heard someone being punished for forcing children into such situations,’ he said.

Witnesses said that a huge number of children had been there in the Hefazat programme on May 5. Children were also used as ‘human shields’ in protests taking place in the north and the south after International War Crimes Tribunal 1 had sentenced Jamaat-e-Islami’s nayeb-e-amir Delwar Hossain Sayedee to death.

The media also reported that students were being lined along roads in a show of popular support for any initiatives or leaders, including the prime minister.

Witnesses said that many children had also shouted slogans crying out for the execution of war criminals at Shahbagh protests.

Child rights campaigners said that the use of children was a clear violation of child rights. Article 6.7.4 of the National Children Policy 2011 stipulates: ‘The children cannot be used in the political activity, neither they could be lured and compelled to be involved in such activity.’

The Dhaka University clinical psychology department chair, SM Abul Kalam Azad, said that children ‘trapped in violence’ could suffer from acute fear, sustain trauma for long and post-traumatic stress disorders if not treated properly.

‘It is really worrying that 20 children died falling in political violence in a year,’ Shabnaaz Zahereen, a child specialist at UNICEF, said. Law enforcement agencies should play the vital role in ending the use of children for political purposes.

She said that UNICEF was worried about children being caught in recent violent protests and the continued use of children in demonstrations by political parties in Bangladesh. 

Ain o Salish Kendra’s executive director Sultana Kamal said that the frequent use of children for political purposes violated violating child rights and put them at risk.

The inspector general of police, Hasan Mahmud Khandkar, said that they were aware about children being use in politics and a social awareness was needed to stop this.

‘It is our duty to ensure the security of all citizen including children… We are trying to do that,’ he said.

The women and children affairs secretary, Tariq-ul-Islam, said that they did not want any children falling victim to political violence. ‘Concerted efforts of guardians, teachers and others are needed to keep children off political activities.’ (source)

Bangladesh: Jamaat man killed on 4th day of blockade

At least one person was killed and 130 others were injured as sporadic street violence and fighting between protesters and police and Ruling party men at places marked the fourth day of the 144-hour road-rail-waterway blockade on Tuesday. 

The capital virtually remained cut off from the rest of the country due to the protracted blockade to press for a non-party neutral administration to oversee the general elections.

A Jamaat-e-Islami leader was killed in clashes with local traders led by Awami League activists in Raninagar of Naogaon during the Jamaat-enforced hartal alongside the blockade while a BNP activist died of brain haemorrhage while shouting slogans in support of the blockade in Khulna.

Alongside the blockade, Jamaat-e-Islami enforced a daylong hartal in protest at the death warrant against its assistant secretary general Abdul Quader Molla.

New Age correspondent in Naogaon reported that Jamaat activist Shukbar Ali, 25, died in the afternoon from head injuries he had suffered in the morning in clashes with local traders led by Awami League activists, said Naogaon superintendent of police Quamuzzaman Khan.

Witnesses said the local traders and AL activists had put up resistance when the Jamaat men started vandalising shops in Abadpukur of Raninagar. The clashes left Shukbar, among 19 others, injured. 

Shukbar died on way to Rajshahi Medical College Hospital, said local Jamaat ameer Mostafa.

New Age correspondent in Khulna reported that a BNP activist, Helal, had suffered brain haemorrhage while shouting slogans in a procession at Goalkhali in the city. He died on way to hospital.

Our correspondent in Rajshahi reported that at least 40 Jamaat-Shibir men and four police personnel were injured in violent clashes at Binodpur Bazar in the city in the morning.

Motihar police officer-in-charge Abdul Majid was critically injured in the clashes.

In Laxmipur, at least 10 people were injured in clashes between AL-backed Juba Leage and BNP-supported Juba Dal at Meghna Bazar in sadar upazila of the district, reported our correspondent.

Witnesses said that Juba League activists had obstructed a procession of Juba Dal that led to the clashes.

In Sylhet, Jamaat activists torched a police car in Shibganj in the city. They also vandalised a truck from a sudden procession in the morning in Majumdari area.

Sylhet police assistant commissioner Rukon Uddin said Jamaat-Shibir men had attacked a police patrol and set it on fire before fleeing the scene. Locals doused the flames.

Police arrested 17 pickets, including 15 Shibir men and two BNP activists in the city.

Police also seized huge books and documents from a residence at Paira near the shrine of Hazrat Shahjalal in the morning.   

In Chandpur, at least 10 BNP activists were injured when police opened fire to break up a procession at Ghagra on the Kachua-Dhaka highway around midday.

Witnesses said that the blockaders had hurled stones after the police chased the procession. Police fired several rounds leaving 10 protesters injured.

BNP activists also put blockade in the confluence of  Meghna by anchoring boats across the river for one hour and a half. Police and coast guard were dispatched to the spot.

In Narayanganj, At least 20 activists of BNP and Chhatra Shibir were injured in separate clashes with the police at Kashipur Hatkhola and Isdair of Fatulla.

Witnesses said that BNP activists had brought out a procession at Hatkhola on Dhaka-Munshiganj road in the morning. The clashes broke out when the police chased them to clear the highway.

Ten people were injured in the police action.

The clashes between police and Shibir men in Isdair area also left 10 people injured when police opened fire.

In Dinajpur, at least 30 BNP-Jamaat activists were injured in clashes with police after they tried to put blockade on railway in Nimnagar area in the morning.

Witnesses said police had fired rubber bullets to disperse the opposition activists when they tried to block the track.

In Satkhira, Jamaat-Shibir activists blasted several crude bombs and burnt tyres on road at Kadamtala in the morning. They also disrupted traffic on Jessore-Satkhira road by putting up blockade, reported our correspondent.

In Natore, Juba Dal and Chhatra Dal activists blocked the Dhaka-Natore highway by burning tyres at Sujan Chattar of the town before police dispersed them, reported our correspondent.

In Jessore, BNP activists brought out a procession carrying the coffin of Chhatra Dal leader Kabir Hossain Palash who was shot dead by unidentified assailants on Monday.

District unit JCD has called daylong shutdown for Wednesday protesting at the killing.

Police arrested panel mayor of Chapainawabganj municipality Abul Hasan, also nayeb-e-amir of the local unit of Jamaat, at his residence at Haripur on Tuesday afternoon. In protest, Jamaat called a half-day hartal in the district for Wednesday.

In the capital Dhaka, blockaders exploded crude bombs in different areas during the blockade.

No long-route buses left or entered the city while traffic in the city was thinner than usual.

Violence, arson and attacks on vehicles were also reported from Chittagong, Chapainawabganj, Magura, Rangamati, Meherpur and Chuadanga. (source) 

Bangladesh: AL, BNP agree to continue with talks: UN official

The ruling and the opposition party, which met under a UN mediation on Tuesday, agreed to continue with dialogues in the spirit of goodwill and compromise and work together constructively to ease tension and build confidence, UN assistant secretary general Oscar Fernández-Taranco said.

Fernández-Taranco made the announcement at the Sonargaon Hotel in the evening after a meeting with delegations of the Awami League and the Bangladesh Nationalist Party in a house at Gulshan in the capital in the afternoon.

The Awami League’s general secretary Syed Ashraful Islam and he acting BNP secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir led the party delegations to the meeting.

Fernández-Taranco said that he had extended his tour of Dhaka by 24 hours and he would be able to answer all questions at a news conference on Wednesday afternoon.

‘Today represents an important moment in the current context… I want to take the opportunity to applaud the decision to sit down and seize this important opportunity. This shows the political leadership’s responsibility and courage. It is also an answer to the expectations of the people of Bangladesh,’ he said.

The visiting UN team after meeting major political parties and election stakeholders on Monday night could convince both the parties to sit across the table. 

The meeting was held in a house at Gulshan where Syed Ashraful Islam, Amir Hossain Amu, Tofail Ahmed and Gowher Rizvi were on the Awami League side and 

Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, Khandakar Mosharraf Hossain, Abdul Moin Khan and Shamsher Mobin Chowdhury were on the BNP side.

Sources in both the parties said they had softened their previous stance at the meeting but details of the meeting could not be immediately known.

Immediately after the meeting, all the BNP leaders went to the party chief’s house to inform Khaleda Zia of the meeting outcome.

The BNP in a statement said that the meeting had been held at the house of Neal Walker, the UN resident coordinator in Dhaka. It said that both the parties had agreed to continue with dialogues to hold free, fair, acceptable and inclusive elections.

The BNP also thanked the UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon for initiating a move to end the ongoing uncertainty. 

BNP standing committee member Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain at night told reporters there were introductory discussions between the two parties at the meeting with the Awami League to find out a solution to the present crisis before of the next general elections and the discussion would continue.

The next round of discussion would be held very soon, Mosharraf said hoping that it might be mediated by the UN resident coordinator in Dhaka.

Asked whether the elections schedule would be changed, Mosharraf said that primary discussions had taken place on Tuesday and it was not an appropriate time to comment on it.

Asked about what was discussed at Tuesday’s meeting, he said that they discussed how to hold free, fair, credible and inclusive elections by creating a level playing field for all.

The Awami League in a statement said that the AL delegation urged the BNP to stop enforcing general strike, blockade, damaging public property, killing people in arson attacks and bombings and to ensure security of lives and property of people to create a congenial atmosphere for dialogues. The Awami League said that no discussion would become fruitful if such anarchy was not stopped. 

The statement, signed by the party’s office secretary Abdus Sobhan Golap, said that the BNP at the meeting had demanded release of its detained leaders and activists and raised the issue of the election-time government. 

In reply, the Awami League delegation said that the detained leaders of the BNP would be released and discussion on election-time government could be held only if the BNP could ensure that they would stop their subversive activities in the name of enforcing strike and blockade.

The Jatiya Party in a letter to the UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon requested the UN to play a role in constituting a polls-time government headed by a person acceptable to all. 

The party chairman, HM Ershad, requested the UN secretary general to ensure a UN role in holding inclusive elections, Bobby Hajjaj, special adviser to HM Ershad, told New Age on Tuesday.

The letter was handed to members on the UN team that Fernández Taranco is leading, Hajjaj claimed.

The UN move to mediate among parties followed violent demonstrations because of the rigid stance by both the ruling and the opposition camp over the next parliamentary elections. 

Fernández-Taranco met the prime minister, the leader of the opposition in the parliament,, the chief election commissioner and other political leaders.

He wanted to know whether it would be possible to defer the polls schedule and the chief election commissioner told him that it was possible if the UN could broker a consensus between the ruling and the opposition camp.

With the elections less than a month away, scheduled for January 5, the Jatiya Party, a key partner in the ruling Awami League alliance until recently, announced a boycott of the elections saying that if all parties did not join, elections would no be acceptable. (source)

Bangladesh: Molla execution stayed

Appellate Division Chamber Judge Syed Mahmud Hossain in a sudden move on Tuesday night stayed the execution of Jamaat-e-Islami leader Abdul Quader Molla until 10:30am today.

‘The execution has been stayed. The full bench of the Supreme Court will sit at 10:30am [today] to hear the matter of a stay application which has been filed by the defence before the chamber judge,’ Supreme Court registrar AKM Shamsul Islam, told New Age last night.

The stay order was issued hours after the government had ordered the jail authorities to execute Quader Molla, convicted of committing crimes against humanity during the 1971 Liberation War, after midnight past Tuesday. 

Attorney general Mahbubey Alam expressed his surprised at the news of the stay order. ‘I was not at home in the evening. I came to know about the stay order in television news after returning home. I am surprised. I do not want to make comments at the moment,’ the attorney general told New Age.

Quader Molla’s lawyers rushed to Justice Mahmud’s Kakrail residence in the evening with the stay petition shortly after the government announced that the Jamaat leader would be hanged one minute after midnight past Tuesday.

The lawyers led by Abdur Razzaq went to the jail gate with a copy of the stay order and handed it over to the prison authorities. 

Forman Ali, senior superintendent of Dhaka Central Jail, late Tuesday night told reporters that they had received the copy of the stay order and taken steps accordingly.  

Earlier on the day, the home minister had said that the execution would be done one minute after midnight past Tuesday. 

‘War crimes convict Quader Molla will be executed tonight. The jail authorities have taken all preparations,’ state minister for home Shamsul Haque told a press briefing on Tuesday evening. 

At a briefing at the ministers’ apartment in the city, state minister for law Quamrul Islam said, all legal options had already been exhausted. 

‘When offered, Quader Molla refused to seek clemency in front of two magistrates. Moreover, we had thought defence lawyers would file an application seeking a review [of the Appellate Division] judgment before the chamber judge. But they did not avail of that opportunity in last three days,’ the junior minister said, also stating the war crimes convict had no such legal rights.

Forman Ali, senior superintendent of Dhaka Central Jail, said that five hangmen were kept ready to execute Quader Molla one minute after midnight past Tuesday. 

Family members went to the jail at 8:00pm and met Quader Molla after  the government decided to execute his death warrant without applying the jail code.

‘He [Quader Molla] told us that he would be hanged for his involvement in Islamic movement. He requested us to have patience,’ Quader’s eldest son Jamil Ahsan told reporters after coming out of the jail at 8:50pm.

Inspector general of prisons Moin Uddin Khandaker said that the jail code would not apply in the case of Quader Molla. 

Border Guard Bangladesh personnel were deployed to the city as security was heightened before the execution.  

Prime minister’s adviser Shafique Ahmed held a meeting behind closed doors with the state minister for home, the state minister for law, the inspector general of police and the IG (prisons) to examine the legal aspects of execution of the death warrant against Quader Molla.   

After meeting his father, Jamil Ahsan told New Age that a deputy jailer with a letter had visited 

their Maghbazar residence in the capital after asar prayers. 

The letter only asked them to be present at the jail gate by 8:00pm Tuesday to meet his father, Jamil said.    

In the morning, chief defence counsel Abdur Razzaq with lawyer Tajul Islam met Quader Molla, who instructed the lawyers to file a petition to the Appellate Division seeking review of his death sentence.

After the meeting, Abdur Razzaq in a news briefing said that Quader Molla would get 15 days to petition for presidential clemency. The 15 days, according to the latest jail code, would be counted from December 9 when Quader was informed about the death warrant.

Razzaq said he had advised Quader to seek presidential mercy, if he so wished, on December 21 or 22 before the 15-day time limit would expire on December 23.

He said they expected to meet Quader Molla on December 21 or 22.

In their next meeting, Quader is expected to inform the lawyers whether he would go for presidential clemency, Razzaq said.   

Razzaq alleged that Quader was not provided with the copy of the Appellate Division’s verdict on his death sentence.   

‘Quader Molla told us that he was innocent and that he had not committed any crime. The attempts to hang him are being made to eliminate the politics of Jamaat-e-Islami,’ said Razzaq.

At a separate briefing, the Dhaka Central Jail’s senior superintendent said that immediately after receiving a warrant for execution from the International Crimes Tribunal 2 on December 8, he had asked Quader Molla if he wanted to submit a petition for presidential mercy.

‘But he [Quader] did not clearly say anything,’ he said.     

Forman Ali refuted the defence lawyer’s claims that Quader Molla would get 15 days to file petition for presidential clemency. 

He said the 15-day time, as stated in the 2010 amended jail code, would not be applicable as the amendment had not been approved by the government.        

Forman Ali, however, suggested application of the old jail code which stated that the mercy petition must be submitted in writing within seven days from the date of intimation of condemned convict concerned.        

He said that the seven-day time period to submit a petition for mercy to the president had begun on December 8.

The senior superintendent, however, supported the opinion made by attorney general Mahbubey Alam and other government authorities to the media that the jail code and other criminal laws would not be applicable in case of execution of death warrant for war crimes.      

The Appellate Division on September 17 sentenced Quader Molla to death on a government appeal against the Tribunal 2 verdict that on February 5 had sentenced him to life in prison.

The five-member Appellate Division bench delivered a majority verdict of four judges to one.

The tribunal issued the death warrant after the full text of the appeals verdict had reached the tribunal from the Supreme Court on Sunday. The Supreme Court released the full text on December 5.

The appeals court sentenced Quader to death for killing six members of the family of Momena Begum at Mirpur in Dhaka on July 26, 1971, the offence for which he had earlier been sentenced to life imprisonment.

Quader Molla along with his cohorts had surrounded the house of Momena’s father Hazarat Ali Laskar, killed her parents, her minor brother and three minor sisters and raped one of them because Hazrat Ali was an Awami League supporter and admirer of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the verdict observed quoting Momena.

Sheikh Mujib is the founding president of Bangladesh.

The tribunal verdict that was delivered on February 5 triggered a youth uprising at Shahbagh in Dhaka that spread across the country, with thousands demanding that he should be hanged for his crimes.

Amid the protests, the government on February 18 amended the law to allow the state to appeal against an acquittal and inadequacy of the sentence the tribunal ordered.

The tribunal acquitted Quader Molla of one count of crimes, sentenced him to life in prison on two counts and to varying terms of imprisonment on three counts.

The appeals court sentenced him to death on one of the counts for which he had earlier been jailed for life.

The chief war crimes prosecutor, Golam Arief Tipoo, on March 3 filed an appeal against the 

‘inadequacy of the sentence’ of Quader Molla on five charges and against his acquittal of the other charge.

Quader Molla filed his appeal petition the next day seeking to be acquitted of all the charges. (source)