Additional tax on bidi, cigarettes demanded

The Anti-Tobacco Media Alliance on Tuesday demanded 15 per cent additional tax on cigarettes and bidis in the forthcoming national budget.

The organization at a work on 'Tobacco Taxation' at the Hotel Sundarban in the capital also urged the government to impose a specific tax of Tk 2 on a pack of bidis.

The workshop was organised by the Progga and the Anti-Tobacco Media Alliance.  The ATMA convener, Ruhul Amin Rushd, presided over the workshop.

The Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids advocacy officer, Taifur Rahman, gave a presentation on 'taxing tobacco in Bangladesh: why and how.'

Source: New Age

Action to follow negligence, says Ruhal

The government would take action for medical equipment at its hospitals remaining unused or out of order for long, the health minister, AFM Ruhal Haque, said Tuesday.

Handing over medical equipment to district and upazila based hospitals at Central Medical Stores Depot in the capital, he said more often medical equipment were deliberately rendered out of service by technicians  or other hospital personnel out of  unholy motives.

He asked civil surgeons as well as doctors serving government hospitals at districts and upazilas to ensure proper maintenance and monitoring proper utilisation of surgical instruments and portable x-ray machines to be given to the hospitals.

'It's your duty to maintain the equipment,' he told the civil surgeons and the doctors serving the hospitals at districts and the upazila helath complexes.

'I will visit after six months to see the real picture on the ground,' he told them.

The hospital administrations at the districts and upazilas, he said, usually ask for costly equipment valued between Tk 20 lakh to Tk two crore, but they nevr ask for ECG machines or microscopes they need.

He said usually the pathological laboratories are the weakest departments at upazila health complexes.

The director general of health service, Khandaker M Shefayetullah, said there would be no scope whatsoever for the hospitals at the districts and the upazila health complexes to say that they do not have the manpower to run the machines, after completion of appointment of medical assistants and health technologists in two weeks.

Source: New Age

Continued sand lifting causes risk

Some influential people in Rajshahi are lifting sand illegally from the River Padma under Bagha, Charghat and Godagary upazilas causing serious risk for river bank, damaging cultivable lands and river side structures of different institutions.

Thousands of acres of cultivable lands and houses on the riverbanks and schools, colleges and others government and non governmental offices are threatened by erosion because of the unabated sand lifting, according to locals.

The most affected areas are villages Bidirpur, Shekerchalk, Sultanganj, Keshobpur under Godagary upazila and villages Kishorpur, Bakulpur, Shimultala at Bagha and villages Mukterpur, Baktiarpur of Charghat.

The sand traders were doing the practice in collusion with some local political leaders and some dishonest officials in the local administration, the local people claimed.

The local people lodged complaint several times to the upazila nirbahi officers, the deputy commissioner and the local environment department officials.

Some dwellers of Charghat upazila said that some political leaders of ruling party were lifting sand causing threat to Rajshahi Cadet College, Bangladesh Police Academy Sardah and the Boarder Guard Bangladesh Charghat camp.

Hundreds of acres of fertile land of their area had become unfit for cultivation because of sand lifting, they added.

They said that they submitted memorandum two months ago to the secretary of home ministry, Rajshahi deputy commissioner, Rajshahi superintendent of police and Charghat upazila nirbahi officer to stop sand lifting.

The Charghat upazila nirbahi officer had served a notice at Mukterpur Balu Ghat banning all kinds of sand lifting but some influential people of that area were lifting sand violating the notice, the locals said.

When contacted, the Charghat upazila nirbahi officer, ANM Bazlur Rashid, told New Age that they had already filled a case against some sand lifters.

He also said that he had asked the policemen to take legal action against the accused.

According to the locals, the police men are yet to campaign any drive to nab the accused sand lifters because of political reason.

Denying the allegation, the Charghat Police Station officer-in-charge, told New Age that they were trying to arrest the accused.

Rajshahi acting deputy commissioner, Subol Bosh Mony, said that a trader could take lease of a piece of land for sand lifting. But his administration would not allow any illegal practice.

'Stern action will be taken if any trader is found lifting sand illegally,'  he said.

Source: New Age

Storm damages 300 houses, injures one

Storm swept over six villages at Rajibpur in Kurigram on Monday evening leaving one injured and damaging more than 300 houses.

Locals said the storm started at about 7:30pm and lashed over the upazila and damaged the houses of Mohonganj, Namapara, Dhulaulapara, Nao-sala, Kirtontari and Nayarchar Sabujpara, uprooted many trees and broke three electric polls.

Basiron, 40, a housewife of Nayarchar Sabujpara was injured in house collapse and she was taken to Rajuibpur Upazila Health Complex in critical condition.

Source: New Age

Wild elephant kills woman

A wild elephant trampled a woman to death at Ramu upazila in Cox's Bazar on Tuesday morning.

The deceased was Ayesha Khaton, 55, resident of Purba Monirjhil village under Khawarkhoop union.

With this, nine deaths by wild elephants have been reported in the district in last two months.

The Ramu police said an elephant entered the hilly village about 6:30am and attacked Ayesha in her yard killing her on the spot.

It had also damaged a house before the villagers chased it out of the area.

Sitakundo botanical garden and eco-park director Mohammad Abul Mansor told New Age that wild elephants were invading the human settlements in search of food as their foods sources such as banana trees and bamboos in the deep forests had been depleted by humans.

Source: New Age

Caretaker system illegal: SC

The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court on Tuesday prospectively declared void the 13th Amendment to the constitution that had made provisions for an election-time caretaker government.

The seven-member Appellate Division bench, headed by chief justice ABM Khairul Haque, however, said that the next two general elections could be held under caretaker governments.

'The parliament, however, in the meantime, is at liberty to bring necessary amendments excluding the provisions for making the former chief justices or the Appellate Division judges as the head of the non-party caretaker government,' the court said.

The chief justice pronounced the short order of the judgement in the appeal against the High Court verdict delivered on August 4, 2004 declaring lawful the 13th Amendment to the constitution.

'The appeal is allowed by majority without any order as to costs,' the chief justice said in the short order.

No observations of the court and neither the judges, who gave opinion for scrapping or upholding the caretaker government provisions, could be obtained, as the court pronounced the short order only.

'The judgement in detail would follow,' the chief justice said in the short order.

The six other members of the bench are Justice Md Muzammel Hossain, Justice SK Sinha, MA Wahhab Miah, Justice Nazmun Ara Sultana, Justice Syed Mahmud Hossain and Justice M Imman Ali.

The ruling Awami League-led alliance and most of the left-leaning political parties welcomed the judgement.

The main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party did not give any instant reaction.

The party's acting secretary general, Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, said the party would give its reaction after discussing the verdict in the party forum after obtaining a copy.

The party's standing committee member Moudud Ahmed, also former law minister, in his personal opinion, said the court ruling would push the country into further constitutional and political crises.

'The caretaker government system had been accommodated in the constitution over a political issue – holding credible elections. This verdict of the apex court will push the country towards further constitutional and political crises,' he told reporters after the judgement.

Moudud found the court verdict 'contradictory'. 'The full text of the verdict is not available yet. What we have heard so far – the verdict on

the one hand says the caretaker government is unconstitutional and undemocratic, and allows it to prevail for the next 10 years on the other.'

Senior Supreme Court lawyer Rafique-ul Huq, who was among the nine amici curiae in the case, told reporters that the ruling itself was 'contradictory'.

'If the system is illegal, how elections to the 10th and 11th parliament can be held under the void provisions,' Rafique said.

The ruling also says that parliament can bring about changes in the constitution dropping the provision for appointing the last retired chief justice and Appellate Division judges as head of the caretaker government, but it does not mention who will be the head of the caretaker government, he said.

Expressing similar views, Supreme Court Bar Association president Khondker Mahbub Hossain said, 'I am confused about the ruling as it is unclear.'

'It is not clear what it [the court] really wants to say through the verdict,' Mahbub said adding that the verdict might create a political instability in the country.

Holding elections under a caretaker government is necessary given the political reality of the country, as free and fair election is a precondition for democracy, Mahbub said.

He said, 'We hoped that democracy and the independence of judiciary might be upheld through a proper directive of the court upholding the caretaker government provisions excluding the judges from the caretaker government.'

Appellants' counsel MI Farooqui said, 'The Appellate Division has legalised elections to next two terms under the void amendment to the constitution because of 'doctrine of necessity.' 

If parliament does not amend the constitution deleting the provision for appointing the last retired chief justice as the caretaker government's head, the chief advisers to the caretaker governments during the 10th and 11th parliament elections will be appointed under the existing provision,' he added.

The court has protected democracy, constitution and the judiciary through the annulment of the 13th amendment, he said.

Attorney general Mahbubey Alam said that the court ruled for holding the next two general elections under the caretaker government to avoid political instability.

In the short order, the court said, 'Elections to the 10th and the 11th parliament may be held under the provisions of the 13th amendment to the constitution on the age-old principles, namely, quod alias non est licitum, necessitas licium facit (that which otherwise is not lawful, necessity makes lawful), salus populi suprema lex (safety of the people is the supreme law), and salus republicae est suprema lex (safety of the state is supreme law). '

The Appellate Division delivered the judgement after hearing the appeal filed in 2005 by Supreme Court lawyers late M Saleem Ullah, Ruhul Quddus, now additional High Court judge, and Abdul Mannan Khan against the High Court verdict.

The sixth parliament passed the 13th Amendment Bill on 28 March, 1996, incorporating the provision for the 'non-party caretaker government' in the constitution for holding free and fair general elections amid a situation when political parties were waging a mass movement to pull down the BNP government elected on February 15, 1996.

The three Supreme Court lawyers on January 25, 2000 filed the writ petition challenging the 13th Amendment, saying that the democratic structure of the government was the basic principle of the constitution and people's elected representatives should run every tier of the administration according to the preamble and Articles 8 and 69 of the constitution.

A special High Court bench of Justice Md Joynul Abedin, Justice Md Awlad Ali and Justice Mirza Hussain Haider, after hearing the writ petition, delivered the verdict on August 4, 2004 declaring legal the 13th Amendment.

If democracy is accepted as a basic structure of the constitution, the 13th Amendment has not destroyed the basic structure, the High Court observed in the verdict.

The High Court, however, had allowed the writ petitioners to appeal against the verdict without any permission of the Appellate Division.

On April 6, the Appellate Division completed the hearing of the appeal but did not set a date for delivery of the verdict.

The court heard senior Supreme Court lawyers TH Khan, Kamal Hossain, M Zahir, Rafique-ul Huq, M Amirul Islam, Mahmudul Islam, Rokanuddin Mahmud and Ajmalul Hossain as amici curiae (friends of the court).

Of the eight amici curiae, TH Khan, Kamal, Amirul, Mahmudul and Rokanuddin spoke in favour of the caretaker government system while Rafique and Zahir suggested reform of the system by dropping the provision for appointing the last retired chief justice as chief adviser to keep the judiciary out of controversy.

Ajmalul said that the caretaker government system should be declared illegal as it was introduced in violation of the basic spirit of the constitution.

The attorney general, Mahbubey Alam, argued that the provision could not be declared illegal as 'it was necessitated on the historic demand of the people in order to restore their voting rights and to protect democracy'.

Mahbubey said that the system of caretaker government was still necessary, but if it required any amendment or ratification, parliament can play its role.

With Tuesday's judgement, the Appellate Division so far scrapped in entirety two amendments and one partly out of a total 14 amendments to the constitution. The Appellate Division had earlier declared illegal the 5th Amendment, made through martial law proclamations. It had also declared void partly the 8th Amendment made during the regime of HM Ershad. The other part of the 8th Amendment, which declared Islam the state religion, however, is yet to be challenged in the court.

The High Court on August 26, 2010 declared void and unconstitutional the 7th Amendment to the constitution that had legitimised the martial law regime of HM Ershad. The Appellate Division on Tuesday concluded the hearing in the appeal against the High Court verdict and said that the judgement in the appeal would come up any time.

Source: New Age

HRW says govt fails to control ‘murderous death squad’

Human Rights Watch on Tuesday described the Rapid Action Battalion as a 'death squad' whose 'murderous practices' the government was failing to control.

 'A death squad is roaming the streets of Bangladesh and the government does not appear to be doing anything to stop it,' said Brad Adams, Asia Director at the US-based international human rights organisation, speaking at the launch of its new report on RAB's 'crossfire' killings.

According to Human Rights Watch, the battalion has been involved in nearly 200 extra-judicial killings since the current Awami League government came to power in January 2009 – a rate of killing similar to that which took place 'in the seven previous years.'

The Human Rights Watch report recommended that the government should disband the law enforcement force unless its 'human rights record does not improve dramatically within the next six months and

abusers are not prosecuted.'

It also called on, 'Foreign governments and international organisations [to] refuse to work with RAB in law enforcement or counter-terror organisations until the force ceases its use of torture and extrajudicial executions.'

At the press conference, Adams said that both the US and UK governments had told him that they were at present not providing any training support to the battalion. 'RAB is not vital to their counter terrorism activities,' he explained.

The report gives details of six deaths, one incident of torture and one disappearance at the hands of RAB which the organisation says are 'illustrative' of how the battalion has operated.

The incident of torture relates to New Age journalist FM Masum who was seriously tortured until he became unconscious in October 2009. 'At one point I asked the officers for water, but I was told that I was going to get a bullet instead of water,' the report quotes Masum as saying.

At the press conference, Adams said that Human Rights Watch was particularly concerned about new reports that RAB was now involved in disappearances.

The report provides details of the disappearance of Mohammad Rafiqul Islam, a salesman of a grocery store in Dhaka and a member of an Islamist organisation, who eye-witnesses say was picked up by RAB personnel on February 15, 2001. He has not been seen again.

Manzur Alam, the brother-in-law of Kaiser Mahmud Bappi who was shot dead by RAB on September 9, 2009 at a construction site in Dhaka, told the press conference that he thought that the killing of his own relative was 'murder.'

The battalion had claimed in the media that Bappi had died in 'crossfire' but an unpublished home ministry inquiry report found that 'Rab has not been able to prove… RAB's statement that armed criminals were present at the crime spot.'

The home ministry inquiry report stated that the RAB had mistaken Kaider Mahmud Bappi with Kamaruzzaman Bappi, whom it considered to be a 'top terrorist.'

'No RAB officer or official has ever been prosecuted for a "crossfire" killing or other human rights abuse,' said the human rights organisation's South Asia director.

The report shows how the Awami League's view on the battalion has changed since it was first established in 2004 by the Bangladesh Nationalist party, now in opposition.

It quotes from an AL newsletter written in 2005 which states, 'Almost every day [RAB and two other police units] are catching people on different false charges and are brutally murdering them, covering it by calling it "crossfire deaths"… So there is a widespread saying. "How can a man be certain that his death is imminent? The answer is, "When he is caught by RAB or other special forces of the ruling party."

In its 2008 election manifesto, the party stated that if it was elected into government 'extrajudicial killings will be stopped.'

And one month after the party came to power, the foreign minister, Dipu Moni, announced at the United Nations in February 2009 that Bangladesh had a policy of 'zero tolerance' for extrajudicial killings.

'We do not condone any such incident and will bring the responsible officials to justice,' she said at that time.

Adams said that there were three possible reasons why the current government was taking no action to stop RAB.

'One possible reason is that the army is involved in RAB… and following the BDR incident in March 2009, the government is still concerned about not falling out with the army.

'Another reason could be that RAB has some support amongst the public and [the government] does not want to be seen as anti-crime. Or it could be just that the government does not care about the killing of its own citizens, that this is not important to the government.

'I cannot answer the reason for the government indifference, but it is clear to me that [RAB killings] is not a priority of the government,' he added.

He warned the government that its international and domestic reputation was being seriously hurt by RAB. 'Public opinion in Bangladesh has changed,' he said pointing to the public reaction to the recent shooting by RAB of Limon Hossain whose leg had to be amputated.

Source: New Age

Hasina seeks intensified supports for LDCs

The prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, has demanded intensified supports of the affluent nations for the least developed countries or emerging economies to enable them attain sustained economic growth.

'Investment and technical assistance from the South enjoy possibility of easier replication and absorption by LDCs. South-South Cooperation should be complementary to similar assistance from our traditional development partners in the North, and not a substitute,' she told the 4th conference on LDCs in Istanbul on Tuesday.

She expected the summit level conference to formulate a new era of cooperation between the LDCs and the affluent Northern globe warning that 'time is running out for improving the living condition in the LDCs while new challenges were emerging with globalisation and climate change'.

'If we wish the Istanbul Conference to be our last attempt to correct the situation, we must give up rhetoric and honour the commitments we make here,' the Bangladesh premier told the conference.

'LDCs achieved good progress in areas such as trade and investment and social development. It looks that some of them will attain the MDGs,' she said and added LDCs could not make similar progress in developing productive capacities, infrastructure building and upgrading the human and social capital.

The premier said the efforts of the developing countries were further affected by sudden increase

in oil and food prices, climate change and the global financial meltdown widening the gap between the LDCs and the developed world.

Moreover, she said, the failure of development partners in meeting their commitments for enhancing support also impeded their growth prospects.

LDCs affected by climate change must receive additional funds on top of ODA, the prime minister said adding, 'We need to agree on additional compensatory support to the LDCs to meet the challenges posed by climate change and external threats.'

Hasina said the fragility of the LDCs, their structural weaknesses and constant economic marginalisation were retarding their development and prosperity.

She said per capita income of LDCs fell from 18 per cent of the global average in 1971 to 15 per cent in 2008. Though poverty reduction shows some progress, people living on less than $2 a day remains almost unchanged at 75 per cent.

In attaining the MDGs, LDCs have been falling behind other developing countries, the prime minister said and added they also experience the same lag in technology and connectivity, and therefore face the challenge of increasing isolation.

'In Bangladesh our aim is to convert our huge population into human asset. So far we have been able to reduce hunger and poverty to some extent,' she said.

Hasina said Bangladesh made good progress in net enrolment in primary education, gender parity, infant and child mortality, immunisation coverage, supply of drinking water, and sanitation and 'since entering office in 2009, we have been refocusing on the pro-poor programmes taken up during our earlier term from 1996 to 2001'.

'We intend to maintain sustained and stable economic growth so that we can graduate from our present economic status to a prosperous and happier level and transform our country into a 'Digital Bangladesh' by 2021,' she added.

The premier recalled that Dhaka last year hosted the Asia-Pacific Regional Review of the Brussels Programme of Action and we discovered gaps and lapses in and deviation from the seven commitments inscribed on the framework of partnership.

'Sadly, the very important seventh commitment to mobilise financial resources through meeting the target of 0.15 per cent or 0.20 per cent of GNI has virtually been ignored thereby largely frustrating the BPoA.'

This conference would, therefore, need to craft a balanced, ambitious and comprehensive Istanbul agreement, she said.

She suggested that the summit should prioritise human resource development at the top of its list emphasising quality education and vocational training, universal health service and population management.

'I would not like to submit a long menu of priorities but

food security, social safety net, trade advantages and protection of environment must feature in any programme,' Hasina said.

The international support architecture would have to be

reconstructed, she said adding it should reflect the spirit of a renewed and enhanced partnership and a broad consensus to ensure graduation of a significant number, possibly half of the LDCs, out of their poverty level.

'The assistance of the development partners would, therefore, need to be enhanced to at least 0.2 per cent of their GNI. Vulnerability of LDCs to external economic shocks as well as natural disasters also demands additional support at time of crises,' the Bangladesh premier said.

She also mentioned some specific areas that merit special focus in the Istanbul outcome documents.

The areas include duty and quota free market entry for all products of all LDCs to all markets and accept flexible rules of origin to ensure a meaningful market access.

Hasina mentioned LDCs needed cost effective, diverse,

clean and affordable energy supply, including new and renewable energy.

The practice of ODA concentrating in social sectors and

extractive industries must be modified to include development of infrastructure, agriculture and education. LDCs fragile economies need continuance of debt relief. Those LDCs which repay debt, and is not HIPC like Bangladesh, should continue to be encouraged with alternative resource flow measures.

About technology transfer, Hasina said multilateral institutions must facilitate affordable technology transfer to LDCs.

The Istanbul Programme of Action should pave the way for LDCs to receive from all sources affordable technology which is important for changing their economic and social conditions, she added.

She said global progress would only be complete when 880 million plus people, engulfed by poverty and underdevelopment, achieve decent and dignified lives. This is only possible with unity and determination of all nations to reverse the process of marginalisation of the LDCs, the prime minister added.

This calls for genuinely addressing their human development gap and overcoming their structural weaknesses.

'Istanbul gives us the opportunity to try out the option. Let us all seize this defining moment and pronounce our collective determination and will. Let us agree on an enhanced,  ambitious and do-able global framework for helping LDCs to graduate out of their poverty and misery,' the prime minister said.

Source: New Age

Govt to set up 4 graveyards, a crematorium

The Dhaka City Corporation plans to establish four new graveyards on four corners of the city to meet the growing needs of burying the dead, the chief social welfare officer, Khandker Millatul Islam, told New Age.

He said that the city corporation would also establish a crematorium exclusively for the Buddhists.

They said that acquisition of land had begun for the establishment of a graveyard at Rayerbazaar.

The city corporation, they said, was looking for suitable land for establishing graveyards at Mautail and Badda.

They could not say where the fourth graveyard would be established.

They said that the crematorium for the Budhhists and the graveyard would be established side by side at Badda.

The six graveyards, Azimpur Graveyard, Martyred Intellectuals' Graveyard at Mirpur, Zurain Graveyard, Banani Graveyard, Uttara Graveyard, and Muradpur Graveyard and two DCC crematoriums

at Postogola and Kamrangir Char, occupy more than 6,500 decimals or roughly 66 acres of land, they said.

The corporation's social welfare department officials said that the city has no separate crematorium for the Buddhists.

They said every day about 50 dead were buried or cremated in the capital city.

The six graveyards have about 97,000 general graves and about 19,792 reserved graves.

The city corporation, they said, partially stopped reservation of graves under a decision taken at the 13th general meeting of DCC held on July 14, 2008.

The corporation charges between Tk six to Tk 100 for burying a dead person, inclusive of the labour cost of digging a grave and the price of bamboo and chatai, depending on the body size.

The city corporation leases the graveyards to the highest bidders. But the two crematoriums are run by the city corporation itself.

The chief priest of International Buddhist Monastery in the city Dharma Mitra Mahathero said that the city did not have a crematorium for the Buddhists.

He said the Buddhists in the city were cremated at the Razarbagh crematorium for the Hindus. 

He said 'it is very necessary for us to have a crematorium exclusively for the Buddhists.'

He said, 'We will welcome it very much if the government take the initiative to establish a crematorium only for the Buddhists.

The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council approved the plan of DCC to establish the graveyard at Rayerbazaar, said Millatul Islam.

Source: New Age

AL, left parties welcome court ruling

The ruling Awami League and most of the left-leaning political parties welcomed the Appellate Division's ruling of Tuesday that declared void the caretaker government system but the next two general elections could be held under the caretaker government.

The Appellate Division declared void the caretaker government system by declaring illegal the 13th amendment to the constitution.

The verdict also said that the parliament has the liberty to make necessary amendments to drop the provisions for making former chief justices or former Appellate Division judges as the head of the non-party caretaker government.

The main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party did not give any reaction but the party's acting secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said that the party would give detailed reaction after discussing the verdict in its forum on receiving a copy of the verdict.

The party's standing committee member Moudud Ahmed, also a former law minister, in his personal opinion, said that the court ruling would push the country into further constitutional and political crisis.

'The caretaker government system was included in the constitution on a political issue to hold credible elections. This verdict of the apex court will push the country towards further constitutional and political crisis,' he told reporters after the verdict.

Moudud saw the court verdict as 'contradictory.' He said, 'the full text of the verdict is not available yet. From what we have heard so far, the verdict on one hand, says that the caretaker government is unconstitutional and undemocratic and, on the other, allows it to be in place for next 10 years.'

The minister for law, Shafique Ahmed, said that the caretaker government system would not be required if the Election Commission was strengthened and independent. 'Even such a provision for the caretaker government is not in practice in neighbouring countries. The Election Commission can ensure free and fair elections by upholding its independence and the past instances of upazila and municipality elections so indicate,' he said in his office.

The Awami League's advisory council member Suranjit Sengupta said that the court verdict would put an end to the continuing debate over the caretaker government system.

'The ruling said that the provision for the caretaker government could never be a permanent system. We also said the same earlier. Now we cannot violate the court verdict,' said Suranjit, also co-chair of the special parliamentary committee on constitution amendment.

Suranjit said that the special committee would consider the issue of finding out an alternative to the retired chief justice as the head of the caretaker government after it received the copy of the verdict.

The Awami League's joint general secretary Mahbubul Alam Hanif welcomed the court verdict and said that the democratic norms of holding elections under an elected government would be re-established through the judgement.

'The provision for holding elections by an elected government will be restored through the landmark verdict,' said Hanif, also the spokesman of the party. He said that the parliament, if it wanted, could take further course of action to this effect in keeping with the verdict.

The Supreme Court Bar Association president, Khandkar Mahbub Hossain, sharply reacted to the court ruling. 'The ruling created a fog of confusion and it would heat up the country's political scenario.'

He said that the tendency to implement party agenda by making someone else scapegoat would not do any good.

'The verdict made it tough to reach any conclusion. On one hand, it cancelled the 13th amendment terming it against the spirit of the constitution and, on the other hand, it says that the next two elections could be held under the caretaker government. There is no guidance on how the two elections would be held,' he said.

'Besides, the instruction for not making the chief justice and any other Supreme Court judge the head of the caretaker government was also not clear. It creates confusion and also raises question about the sovereignty of the parliament. If the Appellate Division instructs the parliament, there is no need for the parliament. The government would run the country seeking advice from court, if needed,' he said. 

The Jatiya Party faction led by Hussein Muhammad Ershad did not give any reaction and said it would announce its reaction to the verdict at a press briefing today, party sources said.

The acting Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami secretary general ATM Azharul Islam said that the Awami League-led government was conspiring to drop the caretaker system making the court a scapegoat to cling to power by holding elections under a political government.

He said that the annulment of the caretaker government system would create a political chaos and constitutional vacuum. 

He demanded that the caretaker government system should be made permanent by taking opinions of all political parties.

The Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal president, Hasanul Haq Inu, welcomed the court verdict saying that the controversy regarding the caretaker government had been resolved through the judgement.

'The judgement delivered by the court is timely and the special parliamentary committee on constitution amendment can now take decisions regarding the caretaker government easily,' said Inu, also a member on the special parliamentary committee.

He also said that court had created an opportunity for elections to be held under the caretaker government for next two terms and the Election Commission should be strengthened to ensure free, fair and credible elections under a political government by this time.

The Workers Party of Bangladesh president, Rashed Khan Menon, appreciated the verdict of the Supreme Court on the caretaker government issue.

'The verdict will help us to find out alternative to the caretaker system of the government for holding national elections,' Menon said.

The ruling on not making judges heads or members of the caretaker government is appreciable, he said. 'We hope that the political parties will be able to reach a consensus on holding national elections,' he added.

The Bangladesher Samajtantrik Dal general secretary, Khalequzzman, welcomed the court ruling saying that it had reflected the public opinion.

'We earlier repeatedly said that the caretaker government system came in place because of the undemocratic character of two major political parties, their unethical competition for power and political bankruptcy. Until such a situation prevails, elections should be held under the caretaker government. There might, otherwise, not be participation of all parties in the elections.

He also found the ruling for not including chief justices in the caretaker government to be 'rational.'

The Communist Party of Bangladesh general secretary, Mujahidul Islam Selim, said that the charter of the three alliances was worked out after the fall of Ershad in 1990 to make national election acceptable to people.

'The charter then proposed to hold three consecutive elections under this system but the chiefs of two major political parties, Sheikh Hasina and Khaleda Zia, did not accept the proposal,' Selim said.

'We support the holding of the next two or three general elections under the system. The elections need to be held independent of the influence of muscle powers, black money and administrative manipulations,' he said.

The Jatiya Mukti Council president, Badruddin Umar, said that the dropping of the caretaker system would add to the problems.

'It will be difficult to hold national elections in the absence of the caretaker government system,' he said. He favoured the caretaker government system and said that the political parties which want to contest elections should favour it.

The Ganasanghati Andolan chief coordinator, Zonayed Saki, said that the caretaker government system was contrary to the democratic system and any modification of this system would make no difference.

'Radical changes in the ruling system can ensure the holding of free and fair elections,' Saki added.

Source: New Age

Polls must be held under caretaker govt: BNP

The main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party on Tuesday iterated that the general elections must be held under the caretaker government with a neutral

person at its helm.

The party, however, did not make it clear whether it would accept the cancellation of the caretaker government after the next two general elections under the system as ruled by the Appellate Division on Tuesday.

The BNP's acting secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said that the party would make public its position on the verdict today. Senior party leaders sat at a meeting at the BNP chairperson's office at Gulshan on Tuesday night to discuss the matter.

'We will give our opinion on the verdict tomorrow [Wednesday],' Mirza Fakhrul said on Tuesday as he addressed a council session of the Tejgaon unit Jatiyatabadi Swechchhasebak Dal at Farmgate in Dhaka.

'But we want to clearly say, as announced by the party's chairperson Khaleda Zia, that the general elections must be held under the caretaker government with a neutral person at its helm,' he said.

Mirza Fakhrul also warned the government against any move for the introduction of electronic voting system. He said that the opposition would not accept the system.

He alleged that the government was hatching a plot to rig the next general elections to cling to power to establish one-party rule.

He said that the Election Commission would also need to be reconstituted with neutral and competent people.

Levelling allegations against the Awami League-led 'fascist' government, he said, 'The AL has no moral right to stay in power as it has failed to meet its pledges and failed to uphold the country's interests.'

Terming the government 'inhuman,' he said that Limon Hossain was shot at by the Rapid Action Battalion and the government was silent about the issue.

Mirza Fakhrul said, 'Mid-term polls are an imperative to establish a people's government.'

Source: New Age

UN-backed plan eyes to halve road deaths

The United Nations Decade of Action on Road Safety will be launched today in Bangladesh where road accidents kill at least 10 people a day and injure eight to 10 times more.

The government targets to almost halve such deaths and injuries between 2011 and 2020 by a series of events mainly focused on awareness campaign and building trauma management centres.

The event will be kicked off at 300 places across the globe on the day.

The health ministry will spearhead the inter-ministerial approaches to check colossal damages of road mishaps, director general for

health Khondhaker Mohammad Shefyetullah told reporters at a briefing in the capital on Tuesday.

However, there is no specific policy to ensure safety of the pedestrians, although 54 per cent of the total road accident deaths are pedestrians.

The DG said steps would be taken to change the behaviour of road users but was in no position to specify what and when.

Qazi Zakaria Islam, an analyst with Accident Research Institute at the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, told the news agency that priorities should focus on the country's need.

'We should ensure pedestrians' safety and drivers' training,' he said, adding that only awareness is not enough. 'If there is no pavement, then where will people walk after being aware?'

Even in district towns, there is no pavement to walk on, he pointed out.

According to ARI, head-on and rear-end collisions are also very common on the streets after pedestrians death, accounting for 13 per cent and 11 per cent of total accidents.

But these accidents could be checked by putting central reservations and widening some parts of roads, the research institute suggests.

The DG health said they would take concerted steps to check the accident menace. Eight ministries including the communications ministry will work together during the decade-long action programme.

He pointed out diarrhoea afflicts thousands of people, but death rate is almost nil. But road mishaps kill thousands of people and cripple families.

'Together we can save millions of lives,' he said, adding that Bangladesh loses nearly Tk 40 billion each year to road accidents.

District and upazila hospitals will be equipped with trauma management facilities through the decade, he said.

AKM Jafar Ullah, chief of Bangladesh programmes of the Decade of Action on Road Safety, said it was a way forward.

'We will be able to prevent 5 million road accident deaths and 50 million injuries between 2011 and 2020,' he announced.

Nazmul Karim, national consultant, World Health Organisation, said the decade-long plan provided an overall framework for activities that included road safety management, safer vehicles, changing road users' behaviours and post-crash care.

The United Nations General Assembly on March 2, 2010 unanimously decided to take action on road safety in the next decade (2011 to 2020).

Source: New Age

JS body for steps to check sending of fake pilgrims

The parliamentary standing committee on religious affairs ministry on Tuesday asked the ministry to be alert so that travel agencies could not send fake pilgrims to Saudi Arabia during the hajj this year.

The committee at a meeting reviewed the action taken against the errant travel agencies that had sent fake pilgrims last year and recommended that the ministry should be careful so that fake agencies could not run manpower business in the name of sending pilgrims, meeting sources said.

The ministry informed the committee that legal measures were being taken against the errant agencies and the licences of 13 agencies had been cancelled, Taka 20 lakh was realised as fine from 11 agencies each and criminal cases were lodged against eight others as 40 to 60 per cent of the pilgrims sent by them did not return last year, sources said.

'We recommended that the ministry should take precautionary measures to check manpower business by travel agencies in the name of sending pilgrims,' committee chairman Mujibur Rahman told New Age after the meeting.

He said that the committee had also recommended that the pilgrims should make use of the opportunity at the upazila levels instead of going to district headquarters to make the process easier for the pilgrims.

'We recommended that the ministry should decentralised the process so that the pilgrims can get application forms at the office of the upazila nirbahi officer and can deposit money with the upazila branches of Sonali Bank,' said the committee chairman.

Committee member Bazlul Haque Harun told New Age that the government planned to send 1.20 lakh pilgrims, including 15 thousand ballottees this year and the committee wanted that all of them should be genuine pilgrims.

'We also recommended that the government should increase the number of guides for the pilgrims this year and appoint one guide for every 45 pilgrims instead of 60,' he said.

Committee members state minister for religious affairs Shahjahan Mia, ABM Abul Kashem and Sadhon Chandra Mazumder were present at the meeting among others.

Source: New Age