Bangladesh: Victory Day programmes chalked out in Rajshahi

Rajshahi district administration has chalked out elaborate programmes to celebrate the forthcoming Victory Day in a befitting manner.

The programmes were finalised at a meeting participated in by government officials, professionals, freedom fighters, heads of educational institutions, political and business leaders, journalists and representatives from different socio-cultural organisations.

The meeting was held at the conference hall of deputy commissioner’s office here on Thursday with deputy commissioner Mejbah Uddin Chowdhury in the chair.

In observance of the day, a victory rally from Smrity Amaln to Gourhanga crossing via Kasiadanga crossing will be held on December 15.

Rajshahi City Corporation has also taken different programmes to celebrate the day.

Mayor Mosaddeque Hossain Bulbul will open the day’s programmes by placing wreaths at Bhuban Mohan Park Shaheed Minar at zero hour, officials told the news agency on Friday.

The programmes includes 31-gun salute, placing of wreaths at the monument and Shaheed Minar of the martyred, hoisting of the national flag atop all public and private buildings, decoration of city streets with national flag and coloured posters, and illumination of roads and roadsides in the evening.

March-past along with physical displays by police, Ansar-VDP, fire service, BNCC, scouts, children and students on the local stadium, victory procession, screening of documentary films on the War of Liberation, friendly football match and sports competitions and cultural functions will also be held to mark day.

Freedom fighters and family members of the martyred will be accorded a reception on the occasion.

Besides, a discussion will be held at Shilpakala Academy auditorium.

Special prayers will be offered at mosques, temples, churches, pagodas and other places of worship. Improved diet will be served in hospitals, jails, orphanages and vagabond centers in the district on the occasion. (source)

Bangladesh: Martyred Intellectuals Day, Victory Day programmes in Khulna

The Khulna district administration, educational institutions and different socio-cultural and political organisations including Awami League have chalked out elaborate programmes to observe Martyred Intellectuals Day and celebrate Victory Day-2013 in a befitting manner.

To mark Martyred Intellectuals Day today, the district administration will place floral wreaths at the Gallamary Memorial in the city at dawn, followed by other organisations and individuals.

Essay, poetry recitation and quiz competitions on libaration war and discussion will held in the conference room of the deputy commissioner.

Khulna University, Khulna University of Engineering and Technology, political parties and cultural organisations will also observe the day.

A 31-gun salute will herald the Victory Day on December 16, while the National flag will be hoisted atop all the buildings housing the offices of the government, semi-government, and autonomous bodies.

State minister for labour and employment Begum Monnuzan Sufian, Muktijoddha Sangsad, Khulna City Corporation mayor Moniruzzaman Mony, vice-chancellors of KU and KUET, Khulna divisional and district administration, will place wreaths at the Gallamary Memorial at dawn followed by the socio-cultural and political organisations.

The police, ansar-VDP, fire service, Muktijoddha, students of city’s schools and other voluntary organisations will hold a special parade at the Khulna Stadium Ground at 8:30am where Khulna divisional commissioner Md Abdul Zalil will take salute.

Liberation War-related documentary film will be shown at the cinema halls while still pictures will be on display at the public hall in the city. (source)

Bangladesh: Mandela remembered at Dhaka University

Bangladesh Afro-Asian People’s Solidarity Organisation, an international platform against colonialism, on Friday recalled the contributions of South African anti-apartheid icon Nelson Mandela to peace.

Speakers at a commemoration meeting at Dhaka University’s Ramesh Chandra Majumder arts auditorium said Mandela had given teachings that repression, fear and threat couldn’t stand in the way of the struggle for establishing democracy especially for equity and justice in society.

They also said that Mandela had inspired the freedom fighters during Bangladesh’s liberation war in 1971. The initiative launched by Mandela would always instruct the world how to establish peace, they observed.

Post and telecommunications minister Rashed Khan Menon, writer Selina Hossain, economist MM Akash and singer Fakir Alamgir, among others, addressed the meeting, chaired by Bangla Academy chairman professor emeritus Anisuzzaman.  (source)

Bangladesh: Rajshahi people to pay tribute to martyred intellectuals

Various political, socio-cultural and volunteer organisations side by side with educational institutions including Rajshahi University will observe Martyred Intellectuals Day in Rajshahi today to pay tribute to the martyrs and convey deep sympathies to members of the bereaved families.

To observe the day, various programmes have been chalked out which include placing floral wreaths at Shaheed Minar, photo exhibition, public gathering, discussion meeting and candle enlightening on the mass graves throughout the day.

Local units of Bangladesh Awami League and its front organisations will place floral wreaths at Rajshahi College Shaheed Minar to be followed by a brief meeting highlighting significance of the day early in the morning.

Local unit of Workers’ Party of Bangladesh will arrange a candle lighting programme at Bablaban mass-grave together with placing floral wreaths on memorial plaque.

Meanwhile, Rajshahi University has set an elaborate daylong programmes which include placing floral wreaths at Shaheed Minar, discussion meeting, milad mahfil and probhat ferry.

RU vice-chancellor Mijanuddin and pro-VC Chowdhury Sarwar Jahan along with other teachers, officers and students will place wreaths at the Shaheed Minar in the early hours.

RU Shaheed Smrity Sangrahashala will remain open for the visitors marking the day. (source)

Bangladesh: Uncertainty over inspection of RMG factories in time over political unrest

Current political unrest across the country has made uncertain a timely completion of garment factory inspection by the government-sponsored teams with the assistance of International Labour Organisation, officials concerned said.

They said that the government and the ILO targeted to complete the inspection of 200 readymade garment factories by December but it would not be possible as the dreadful political situation hindered the inspection programme.

To ensure fire and building safety in the RMG sector, the government in association with the ILO on November 22 had started formal inspection of the factories which are not on the inspection lists published by EU Accord and North American Alliance.

Earlier, labour secretary Mikail Shipar told New Age that under the National Tripartite Committee the government and ILO would inspect about 2,000 factories across the country.

He had said that 200 factories out of 2,000 will be inspected by December under a pilot project.

The ILO country director Srinivas D Reddy admitted that the inspection is progressing slowly due to political unrest.

‘We are unlikely to complete the inspection of 200 factories by December, at best the number could be 150,’ he told reporters on Thursday.

‘It was an agreement with the ILO that the inspection teams led by the experts of Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology would complete the fire, electrical and structural safety inspection of 200 factories by December, but it would not be possible due to political unrest,’ Mehedi Ahsan Ansary, a professor of BUET, told New Age on Friday.

He said that in last one month they inspected about 65 factories which was below their required progress.

Mehedi said that a total of 15 teams were working in the field but most of the days the teams could not reach in the factory area due to frequent blockades and strikes.

‘I think it would not be possible to complete the inspection of 200 factories by December,’ he said.

Ishtiaque Ahmed, an expert of the BUET, said that the inspection was progressing in a slow pace and initial target would not be achieved in stipulated time due to political unrest.

He said that they were working only on Fridays as political parties are enforcing strikes and blockades on other working days and the 15 teams have so far inspected structural integrity of 60 factory buildings and fire safety in 40 factories.

He said though they were working on Fridays, on December 13 they cancelled their inspection programme on security ground as severe violence broke out across the country after execution of the death penalty of war crimes convict Abdul Quader Molla.

Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh forged by European Union retailers and Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety Initiative of North American retailers will separately inspect the factories that manufacture products for their members.

After the Rana Plaza building collapse on April 24 that killed more than 1,100 people, mostly garment workers, the retailers and apparel brands from the EU and North America separately formed Accord and Alliance.

Accord published a list of around 1,600 factories while Alliance a list of around 620 apparel units for inspection.

At the same time, the government has taken a three-and-a-half-year initiative under the ILO’s programme for ‘improving working conditions in the readymade garment sector’ to ensure fire, electrical and building safety and to ensure fundamental rights of workers in the apparel industry in Bangladesh. (source)

Bangladesh: Canada to help fund effort to boost worker safety in Bangladesh

The Canada federal government has kicked in funding for an international effort to boost worker safety in Bangladesh clothing factories, which manufacture products for many Canadian retailers, reports theglobeandmail.com.

Canada’s $8-million over four years, announced on Thursday, will help the International Labour Organisation offer technical support to Bangladesh’s government to inspect its factories in response to the collapse of Rana Plaza earlier this year, in which 1,131 people, mostly garment workers, died.

The funding is for the Improving Working Conditions in the Ready-Made Garment Sector programme, which the ILO announced on October 22. The $25-million programme will help Bangladeshi authorities develop safety standards and working conditions for factories, and conduct inspections.

The funding is coming from Canada, the UK and the Netherlands. Ottawa said in a statement on Thursday that improving working conditions in Bangladesh is an ‘imperative,’ although one with ‘complex and serious challenges.’

Who will pay for any needed improvements at many of the factories is unclear.

Canadian retailers continue to be divided on a response to calls for higher safety standards. Loblaw has signed on to the Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh, developed by Bangladeshi and international labour groups, which some watchdogs say is the most stringent effort to improve conditions. The accord includes transparent reporting of inspections and a requirement that retailers help pay to keep factories safe.

Other chains, including the Hudson’s Bay Corporation, Canadian Tire, Walmart Canada and Giant Tiger, have joined the Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety, put together by an international coalition retailers. Critics say that is the weaker agreement.

One critic says Canada should force its companies to sign the accord rather than funding an inspection regime with no clarity on who will make repairs.

‘The best thing the government could do today is say, ‘If you want to bring in clothes from Bangladesh, sign the [accord],’ Jim Sinclair, president of the BC Federation of Labour, said on Thursday. ‘...It is the most comprehensive thing that’s been done, and Canadian companies, with the exception of one, have refused to sign.’

In a statement, the Canadian government said it favours neither the accord nor the alliance, and stopped short of calling on companies to adopt either. Canada ‘encourages and expects Canadian companies working abroad to respect all applicable laws and international standards,’ the Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development department said.

Many factories, however, are not part of the accord or the alliance — and the ILO and the Bangladesh government have signalled that this group will be the focus of initial inspections, said Scott Nova, executive director of the Washington-based Worker Rights Consortium, an independent labour rights monitoring group.

Many of those factories produce ‘for less well-known brands, who may be brands that therefore feel less public pressure, which might mean some of those factories might be particularly high-risk,’ he said. And there is no indication who will finance renovations in

those other factories.

‘Unlike with the accord, it’s entirely unclear who is going to pay for those repairs, renovations and retrofitting, to the extent that the factories cannot afford it – as will be the case in many instances,’ Nova said.

Since the Rana Plaza collapse earlier this year, many inspections have been done, but the results are rarely made public, Nova said. Those are his top two concerns: a lack of public information about which factories need repairs, and figuring out who will pay for the repairs.

He said Canada’s funding commitment is positive, but the government could do more.

‘If the Canadian government will push the Bangladeshis to provide real transparency in this programme, and push Canadian companies to provide the financial resources necessary for the covered factories – that are producing for those Canadian companies – to actually afford to become safe, that would be an approach that would be effective,’ he said.

Canada is an ILO member, and contributed $14.7-million in funding last year to the organisation. Thursday’s announcement is on top of that, and Canada has also been one of the ILO’s top-10 sources of extra donations — another $45.9-million between 2008 and 2012. (source)

Bangladesh: Supply disruption pushes up prices of rice, broiler, egg

The prices of rice, broiler and egg increased on the retail market in the capital over the week ending Friday due to supply shortage as political violence disrupted goods transport across the country.

Traders said that the price of rice increased by Tk 2 a kg on both wholesale and retail markets as transportation had almost paralysed and truckers hiked fare excessively due to frequent blockades.

The price of coarse and fine varieties of BR-28 and miniket rice increased by Tk 2 a kg and was selling at Tk 37 a kg, at Tk 43-Tk 45 a kg and Tk 48-Tk 52 a kg respectively on Friday.

Zakir Hossain, a retailer at Karwan Bazar, told New Age that the mill owners and suppliers were not increasing the price of rice but they were not willing to transport the item for fear of vandalism and arson.

Salim Uddin, a wholesaler at Babubazar, said, ‘The wholesale prices of rice increased a bit as the truck fare increased by five times due to political violence.’

He said there was no shortage of rice in the country but the traders and truckers were not willing to transport the item in fear of vandalism and arson.

The price of broiler increased by Tk 10 a kg and it was selling at Tk 125-130 a kg on Friday as the supply of the item decreased on the market in last couple of days, the traders said.

The price of egg increased by Tk 2 a hali (four pieces) and it was selling at Tk 28 a hali on the day.

The prices of onion decreased by Tk 10 a kg as the supply of newly harvested onion increased on the market.

The local onion was selling at Tk 130 a kg while the newly harvested item was retailing at Tk 100 a kg on Friday.

The price of imported onion also decreased by Tk 10 a kg and was selling at Tk 90-Tk 100 a kg on the day.

The traders said that the prices of the item — both local and imported — would come down if a smooth transportation could be ensured.

The supply of vegetables increased on the market and the prices decreased by Tk 5-Tk 10 a kg on Friday.

Bean was retailing at Tk 30-40 a kilogram, cauliflower at Tk 30 a piece, cabbage at Tk 50 a piece, aubergine at Tk 30-Tk 40 a kg, okra at Tk 40 a kg, bitter gourd at Tk 40 a kg, cucumber at Tk 40 a kg, carrot at 50 a kg, tomato Tk 100 a kg and papaya at Tk 15 a kg on the day.

The price of green chilli decreased by Tk 20 a kg and was selling at Tk 80 a kg on Friday.

The price of potato remained unchanged and it was retailing at Tk 20 a kg. Sugar was selling at Tk 48-Tk 50 a kg.

The price of local red lentil remained unchanged and the item was retailing at Tk 115 a kg on the day.

The price of garlic remained unchanged and it was selling at Tk 90 a kg on Friday while the local one was retailing at Tk 80 a kg.

The prices of ginger increased by Tk 20 a kg due to supply shortage.

The imported garlic was selling at Tk 200 a kg while the local item was retailing at Tk 180 a kg on the day. 

The price of bottled soya bean oil (five litres) remained unchanged and it was selling at Tk 570-Tk 585 on the city’s kitchen markets. The unpacked soya bean oil was retailing at Tk 112-115 a kg.

Rohita was selling at Tk 250–Tk 300 a kg on Friday, pangas at Tk 180–Tk 250 a kg and tilapia at Tk 160–Tk 200 a kg, depending on their size and quality.

The prices of beef and mutton remained steady. Beef was selling at Tk 280 a kg and mutton at Tk 450 a kg on Friday. (source)

Bangladesh: DSE forms election commission

Dhaka Stock Exchange board has formed a three-member election commission headed by former justice MA Matin to hold the next elections of the bourse and to formulate the first demutualised board.

As per the Demutualisation Act- 2013, the bourse has to formulate the ‘first demutualised board’ of the bourse within February 2014.

The decision was made in a DSE board meeting held at the Sonargaon Hotel in the city on Thursday.

DSE president Ahasanul Islam presided over the meeting.

The commission will soon hold a meeting to declare the elections schedule of the bourse and to formulate the first demutualised board of the bourse, a senior DSE member told New Age.

Four members of the bourse, who were turned shareholders after the demutualisation, will be elected thought the meeting to sit in the first demutualised board of the bourse.

The DSE on November 21 turnover into demutualised bourse after getting amended memorandum and articles of association certified by the Registrar of Joint Stock Companies and Firms.

The 13-member first demutualised board of the bourse will include four shareholders, seven independent directors, one strategic investor and chief executive officer or managing director.

Meanwhile, The DSE board on the day also decided to enlist Appollo Ispat Complex Limited after the company’s withdrawal of Tk 220 crore through initial public offering.

Appollo Ispat Complex Limited drew controversy in February after finance minister AMA Muhith had advised the BSEC chairman to suspend the IPO of the AICL over allegations of different irregularities.

The BSEC following the finance minister’s instruction suspended AICL’s IPO scheduled to be held on March 3. The BB report regarding AICL also found several loans classified in the company’s name.

But, the BSEC on 21 withdrew its suspension from the Appollo Ispat’s IPO schedule. (source)

Bangladesh: Five killed as Jamaat men run riot

At least five people were killed and scores injured on Friday as activists of Jamaat-e-Islami and Islami Chhatra Shibir went on the rampage at different places across the country after the execution of their leader Abdul Quader Molla for committing crimes against humanity in 1971.

Two ruling party men were hacked to death in

Satkhira, a vendor in Noakhali, a BNP activist in Pirojpur and a Jamaat activist died in Jessore in violence that flared up after the 66-year old Quader Molla was hanged at Dhaka Central Jail at 10:01pm on Thursday as the first convict in a war crimes case.

Jamaat-Shibir men set fire to more than 100 vehicles, including trucks and covered vans, across the country.  In Bogra alone, over 50 vehicles, mostly trucks, were torched.

In the capital, at least 15 people, including a schoolboy, were injured as Jamaat-Shibir activists rampaged through the streets fighting pitched battles with the police, torching vehicles, attacking shops and hurling crude bombs.

They set at least 12 vehicles on fire in different areas of the city.

Traffic on many routes, including Dhaka-Rajshahi, Dhaka-Chittagong and Dhaka-Dinajpur, remained suspended although the blockade enforced by the Bangladesh Nationalist Party-led alliance in protest at the scheduled January 5 elections ended on Friday morning, according to transport operators.

Train services across the country were also disrupted on the day as attacks on railway establishments continued.

Azizur Rahman Dalal, 55, a local Awami League leader and Jahan Ali alias Joj Miah, a Juba Leauge activist, were stabbed to death allegedly by Jamaat-Shibir men in separate attacks in Kalaroa upazila of Satkhira early Friday, said Kalaroa police officer-in-charge Shah Dara Khan.

The police and witnesses said that suspected Shibir men had forced their way into Aziz’s house after midnight and stabbed him repeatedly, leaving him dead on the spot.

They also vandalised the house of Aziz, president of a ward unit of Awami Legue in Kalaroa municipality.

Hours after the incident, Jahan Ali, Juba League president of a ward unit in Saraskati union, was abducted allegedly by Jamaat-Shibir men from his home in Saraskati village. Minutes later, family members found his body with marks of stab near the house.

Jamaat-Shibir activists also vandalised and torched houses of several Awami League leaders, ruling party offices, vehicles and shops in Ashashuni, Sadar and Kaliganj upazilas, witnesses said.

In Pirojpur, Shukkur Ali, 25, a local activist of BNP, was killed and six people were injured during clashes with Awami League activists at Ghosherhat Bazar in Bhandaria before dawn, said Bhandaria police officer-in-charge Kamruzzaman Talukder.

In Noakhali, street vendor Khorshed Alam, 30, of Sonaimuri upazila, was shot dead and a rickshaw puller was injured as opposition activists clashed with Rapid Action Battalion and ruling party men at Afaniabazar in Begumganj upazila early Friday, said Begumganj police OC Nazim Uddin.

In Jessore, a Jamaat activist, Ashraful, 20, of village Mohiran, was knocked down and killed by a truck when he along with some other Jamaat men was trying to block the road by felling trees in Bolteghata area on Bagharpara-Charabhita road at about 3:00am, said Bagharpara police officer-in-charge GG Biswas. The Jamaat-Shibir men set the truck on fire, he added.

Jamaat-Shibir activists also put blockades on the Jessore-Khulna road and Jessore-Benapole road.

There were incidents of arson attacks and clashes in Dhaka city after the Friday prayers as elsewhere across the country.

New Age Gazipur correspondent reported that at least 10 people, including two policemen and a station master, were injured as miscreants set fire to Joydevpur railway station early Friday.

Control room, computer room and telephone line of the station were completely burnt in the arson attack that forced suspension of train services on six routes from Dhaka and Gazipur for hours.

Zia Uddin Sardar, Joydevpur station master, told New Age that miscreants numbering around 30 had attacked the station around 8:00am and went on the rampage.

Fire engines from Gazipur put out the flames after an hour’s efforts.

Joydevpur police OC Quamruzzaman said that Jamaat-Shibir men had mounted the arson attack. 

Police quickly arrived at the scene and fired rubber bullets to control the situation but could not arrest anyone. Sub-inspector Dulal Akand and constable Anwar Hossain received head injuries in the attack.

At Motijheel AGB colony and Kamalapur areas in Dhaka city, police fired shots after Jamaat-Shibir men torched six vehicles. Schoolboy Shanto and Banglavision cameraperson Ujjal were injured in the violence, said witnesses.

Police arrested seven suspects, including Dhaka College student Mofizur Rahman, said Motijheel police sub-inspector Harun-or-Rashid.

At Kamalapur, Jamaat-Shibir men torched a bus at about the same time.

‘Police fled the scene after crude bombs were hurled at them,’ said witnesses. 

A bus and a covered van were torched at Malibagh Chowdhuripara after juma prayers, said Ramna police officer-in-charge Moshiur Rahman. Shibir men also set ablaze four vehicles at Rampura at about the same time, according to witnesses.

Jamaat-Shibir activists struck terror at various places in Chittagong, including Satkania, Lohagara, Banshkhali and Sitakunda, vandalising and torching scores of vehicles and shops.

Shibir men set ablaze at least 17 shops owned by Awami League men at Sadar Amir Haat and near the sub-registrar’s office and vandalised at least 11 shops on Friday in Boitoli Bazar in Banshkhali upazila, said Banshkhali police OC Quamrul Islam.

Jamaat men blocked the road disrupting traffic in Lohagara upazila early Friday, said Lohagara police OC Mohammad Shajahan.

In Sylhet, Jamaat-Shibir activists hurled crude bombs at a police station and an oil depot, torched a vehicle and tried to block roads by putting logs in the city and on its outskirts on Thursday night after Quader Molla was hanged.

They exploded five crude bombs in front of Jalalabad police station at Kumargaon-Temukhi around 10:30pm Thursday and hurled two bombs at Padma Petroleum’s depot at Dakkhin Surma in the city around 10:00pm, said Sylhet Metropolitan Police additional deputy commissioner Mohammad Ayub.

In Chapainawabganj, activists of Jamaat-Shibir vandalised six branch offices of Prime Bank, Mercantile Bank, Jamuna Bank, Brac Bank, Rajshahi Krishi Unnayan Bank and Shahjalal Bank at the Barind crossing, witnesses said.

In Jhenidah, Jamaat-Shibir men set fire to six trucks at Baidanga Bazar under sadar upazial on Thursday night, said Jhenaidah police OC Kazi Alauddin Ahmed.

In Rangpur, Jamaat-Shibir activists set fire to Juba Prashikkhan Centre in sadar upazila of the district around midnight, said Rangpur superintendent of police Abdur Razzak. (source)

Bangladesh: Martyred Intellectuals Day today

The nation observes Martyred Intellectuals Day today amid demand of quick execution of Al-Badr bosses Md Ashrafuzzaman Khan alias Nayeb Ali and Chowdhury Mueenuddin, now hiding abroad, for abducting and killing intellectuals at the fag end of the country’s liberation war in 1971.

On November 3, the International Crimes Tribunal 2 sentenced the duo to death for the selective abductions and killings.

The tribunal found that Ashraf was the ‘chief executor’ and Mueen was the ‘operation-in-charge’ of Al-Badr, a killing squad and ‘brainchild’ of Jamaat-e-Islami and the Pakistan marauding military during the liberation war.

Mueen is now living in London and Ashraf in the United States.

They were tried in their absence on 11 counts of crimes against humanity for abducting and killing 18 intellectuals, including nine Dhaka University teachers, six journalists and three physicians.

Sensing imminent defeat as the war was drawing to a close, the marauding forces of Pakistan and their local collaborators took the plan to eliminate the intelligentsia of this heroic land, in a bid to cripple the newly emerging independent Bangladesh.

The first prime minister of Bangladesh, Tajuddin Ahmed, declared December 14 Martyred Intellectuals’ Day as the largest number of abduction and subsequent murder of the intellectuals took place on December 14, 1971, two days before the surrender of the Pakistani marauding forces.

The national flag will be flown at half-mast atop government buildings and educational institutions.

Law enforcement agencies have tightened security in and around the two memorials at Rayerbazar and Mirpur in Dhaka.

Mourners in their thousands would, like every year, visit memorials at Rayerbazar and Mirpur in the city and place their homage commemorating the martyred intellectuals.

Many social and cultural organisations would walk down to the memorials on the daybreak carrying banners to press the demand for speeding up the 1971 war crimes trials.

Different organisations would form human chains and hold discussions on the martyred intellectuals at places in the city.

Documentaries would also be screened by different institutions and organisations to commemorate the brightest sons this land had ever produced.

In separate messages, president Abdul Hamid, prime minister Sheikh Hasina and leader of the opposition Khaleda Zia recalled the contributions of the martyred intellectuals and paid homage to them.

Hasina is scheduled to place wreaths at the Martyred Intellectuals

Memorial at Mirpur in the morning.

Khaleda Zia, along with other Bangladesh Nationalist Party leaders, would also lay wreaths at the Martyred Intellectuals’ Memorial.

Ruling Awami League, opposition BNP and other political parties took up elaborate programmes to observe the day.

Liberation war affairs ministry will hold a discussion in the capital today.

Educational and cultural organisations, Liberation War Museum, Dhaka University, Jagannath University, Bangla Academy and other organisations and institutions will hold programmes, including discussions and painting competitions marking the day.

This year, the day has special significance as Jamaat leader Abdul Quader Molla was executed on Thursday night at Dhaka Central Jail for crimes against humanity committed during the war of independence.

This was the first case of execution of any war crimes convict among the seven. Besides, former Jamaat chief Ghulam Azam has been sentenced for 90 years and former BNP minister Abdul Alim was jailed for life. (source)

Bangladesh: 101, including 9 ministers, likely to be elected unopposed

At least 101 candidates of the ruling Awami League and its allies, including nine ministers, are likely to be elected unopposed in the 10th parliamentary elections as they emerged single candidates for the constituencies after the last date of the withdrawal of candidatures on Friday.

The 10th parliamentary elections are scheduled for January 5.

Election Commission officials said that the the number of candidates to be elected unopposed could increase as they could not put into the final form the list of final candidates after withdrawal till at 9:00pm on Friday.

After the scrutiny and the hearing of the appeals, the number of valid candidates stood at 880.

The nine ministers to be elected unopposed are Syed Abul Maal Abdul Muhith for the Sylhet 1 constituency, Syed Ashraful Islam for the Kishoreganj 1 constituency, Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain for the Faridpur 3 constituency, Tofail Ahmed for the Bhola 1 constituency, Amir Hossain Amu for the Jhalakathi 2 constituency, Obaidul Quader for the Noakhali 5 constituency, Shajahan Khan for the Madaripur 2 constituency, Abdul Latif Siddiqui for Tangail 4 constituency and Hasan Mahmud for the Chittagong 7 constituency.

The deputy leader of the house, Syeda Sajeda Chowdhury, for the Faridpur 2 constituency, the chief whip, Md Abdus Shahid, for the Moulvibazar 4 constituency, the state minister for law, Kamrul Islam, for the Dhaka 2 constituency, immediate-past ministers Md Abdur Razzak for the Tangail 1 constituency, Muhiuddin Khan Alamgir for the Chandpur 1 constituency, Rajiuddin Ahmed Raju for the Narsingdi 5 constituency and Dipu Moni for the Chandpur 3 constituency remained single candidates.

The other Awami League candidates who emerged single contestants after the withdrawal included Md Dabirul Islam for the Thakurgaon 2 constituency, Khalid Mahmud Chowdhury for the Dinajpur 2 constituency, Nuruzamman Ahmed for the Lalmonirhat 2 constituency, Abul Kalam

Md Ahsanul Haque Chowdhury for the Rangpur 2 constituency, Tipu Munshi for the Rangpur 4 constituency, HN Ashiqur Rahman for the Rangpur 5 constituency, Md Fazle Rabbi Mia for the Gaibandha 5 constituency, Abdul Mannan for the Bogra 1 constituency, Md Habibur Rahman for the Bogra 5 constituency, Mohammad Golam Rabbani for the Chapainawabganj 1 constituency, Md Abdul Odud for the Chapainawabganj 3 constituency, Md Israfil Alam for the Naogaon 6 constituency, Omar Faruk Chowdhury for the Rajshahi 1 constituency, Fazle Hossain Badsha for the Rajshahi 2 constituency, Enamul Haque for the Rajshahi 4 constituency, Abul Kalam for the Natore 1 constituency, Shafiqul Islam Shimul for the Natore 2 constituency, Md Abdul Quddus for the Natore 4 constituency, Mohammad Nasim for the Sirajganj 1 constituency, Md Habib-e-Millat for the Sirajganj 2 constituency, Md Ishaq Hossain Talukder for the Sirajganj 3 constituency, Tanvir Imam for the Sirajganj 4 constituency, Hasibur Rahman Swapan for the Sirajganj 6 constituency, Sheikh Afil Uddin for the Jessore 1 constituency, Sheikh Helal Uddin for the Bagerhat 1 constituency, Mir Shawkat Ali Badsha for the Bagerhat 2 constituency, Talukder Abdul Khaleque for the Bagerhat 3 constituency, Abdullah Al Islam Jacob for the Bhola 4 constituency, Abul Hasnat Abdullah for the Barisal 1 constituency, Abdul Hafiz Mallik for the Barisal 6 constituency, AKMA Awal (Saidur Rahman) for the Pirojpur 1 constituency, Amanur Rahman Khan Rana for the Tangail 3 constituency, Md Ekabbar Hossain for the Tangail 7 constituency, Showkat Momen Shahjahan for the Tangail 8 constituency, Mirza Azam for the Jamalpur 3 constituency, Pramod Mankin for the Mymensingh 1 constituency, Sharif Ahmed for the Mymensingh 2 constituency, Anwarul Abedin Khan Tuhin for the Mymensingh 9 constituency, Md Sohrab Uddin for the Kishoreganj 2 constituency, Rezwan Ahammed Toufique for the Kishoreganj 4 constituency, Md Afzal Hossain for the Kishoreganj 5 constituency, Nazmul Hasan for the Kishoreganj 6 constituency, Mamtaz Begum for the Manikganj 2 constituency, Zahid Malek for the Manikganj 3 constituency, Mrinal Kanti Das for the Munshiganj 3 constituency, Nasrul Hamid Bipu for the Dhaka 3 constituency, Md Enamur Rahman for the Dhaka 19 constituency, MA Malek for the Dhaka 20 constituency, AKM Mozammel Haque for the Gazipur 1 constituency, Md Zahid Ahsan Rasel for the Gazipur 2 constituency, Md Rahmat Ali for the Gazipur 3 constituency, Meher Afroz for the Gazipur 5 constituency, Nurul Mazid Mahmud Humayun for the Narsingdi 4 constituency, Nazrul Islam Babu for the Narayanganj 2 constituency, Shamim Osman for the Narayanganj 4 constituency, Kazi Keramat Ali for the Rajbari 1 constituency, Md Zillul Hakim for the Rajbari 2 constituency, Abdur Rahman for the Faridpur 1 constituency, Nur-e-Alam Chowdhury for the Madaripur 1 constituency, AFM Bahauddin Nasim for the Madaripur 3 constituency, BM Mozammel Haque for the Shariatpur 1 constituency, Showkat Ali for the Shariatpur 2 constituency, Nahim Razzak for the Shariatpur 3 constituency, Syed Mohsin Ali for the Moulvibazar 3 constituency, Md Ali Ashraf for the Comilla 7 constituency, AHM Mostafa Kamal for the Comilla 10 constituency, Mofazzal Hossain Chowdhury Maya for the Chandpur 2 constituency, Md Shamsul Haque Bhuiyan for the Chandpur 4 constituency, Rafiqul Islam for the Chandpur 5 constituency, Nizam Uddin Hazari for the Feni 2 constituency, Morshed Alam for the Noakhali 2 constituency, AKM Shahjahan Kamal for the Lakshmipur 3 constituency, Ashequllah Raifque for the Cox’s Bazar 2 and Saimum Sarwar Kamal for the Cox’s Bazar 3 constituency.

They are all from the Awami League.

Ershad-led Jatiya Party’s Shariful Islam Jinnah for the Bogra 2 constituency, Md Tajul Islam Chowdhury for the Kurigram 2 constituency, AKM Maidul Islam Chowdhury for the Kurigram 3 constituency and Salahuddin Ahmed Mukti for the Mymensingh 5 constituency remained single candidates.

The Jatiya Party-JP’s Anwar Hossain Manju for the Pirojpur 2 constituency and Nurul Islam Talukder for the Bogra 3 constituency were likely to be elected unopposed.

One thousand, one hundred and seven from 20 political parties, mostly belonging to the Awami League-led ruling alliance, submitted nomination papers for the 10th parliamentary elections with most of the political parties, including the Bangladesh Nationalist Party and its allies, boycotting the polls. (source)

Bangladesh: AL, BNP place proposals for inclusive polls as talks on

The ruling Awami League and opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party in their third round of meeting on Friday placed their respective proposals for holding the 10th parliamentary election in a free, fair and credible manner.

BNP acting secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir led a four-member delegation at the talks at an office of UNDP at Gulshan 2 while AL general secretary Syed Ashraful Islam led a four-member team. The meeting started at about 4:00pm and continued for about two hours. Neil Walker, the UN resident representative in Dhaka, was present in the meeting.

After the talks, Syed Ashraful Islam told reporters that they had held detailed discussions with the opposition to reach a consensus for holding a participatory and fair election.

‘In the meeting they [BNP leaders] have placed some proposals. We have also raised our proposals. A decision will come after we discuss the proposals in our respective party forums,’ he said.  

Syed Ashraf skipped the question whether the meeting was fruitful and left the venue.

Mirza Fakhrul told reporters that it was the third round of talks between the two political parties since last Tuesday in a bid to hold a free, fair and inclusive election acceptable to all.

He said that the BNP side had made some ‘specific proposals’ for holding an inclusive election. He said the AL side had also placed some proposals and the BNP would discuss the ruling party’s proposals in the party’s policymaking forum.

He did not mention any of the proposals made by either side despite being pressed by reporters.

Meeting sources said the proposals placed by the BNP included postponement of the election schedule without delay, release of the leaders and activists of the opposition, particularly senior leaders, withdrawal of cases and a halt to arrest and repression by law enforcers, withdrawal of restrictions on peaceful rallies and processions and lifting of the police siege of the BNP central office. 

The AL proposals included stopping the killing of people by enforcing strikes and blockades and offering the BNP vital ministries in the current polls-time cabinet.

The next such meeting would be held on Saturday, the sources said.

Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain, Abdul Moyeen Khan and Shamsher Mobin Chowdhury were on the BNP delegation while Amir Hossain Amu, Tafail Ahmed and Gowhar Rizvi were on the AL team. (source)

Bangladesh: No govt list of intellectuals killed in 1971 war

The nation is yet to know for certain how many intellectuals were killed by the Pakistani occupation forces and their local collaborators even 43 years after the country’s independence as the government is yet to prepare a comprehensive list of martyred intellectuals.

The liberation war affairs ministry has documents listing only 24 martyred intellectuals while others government and private documents have put the figure ranging from 232 to 1,111.

Independence war researchers estimated that even 1,111 figure was not correct as it should be 10 times this figure..

Members on the Buddhijibi Nidhan Tathyanusandhan Committee, set up in 1972, compiled a list that named 20,000 of the finest minds of the nation who were killed.

Researchers and historians say that documentation is one of the first things needed to preserve a well-documented history. In the absence of proper history, the new generation will never come to know, how the country was liberated in 1971.

They blamed the government for not having a list of martyred intellectuals and added that there was still time to prepare a well-documented list.

Liberation war affairs ministry officials said that they would take step to have a list before Martyred Intellectuals Day in 2014.

Sensing defeat at the fag end of the war for the country’s independence, the Pakistani occupation forces and their local collaborators Razakar, Al-Badr and Al-Shams abducted members of the Bengali intelligentsia blindfolded, with hands tied, from their houses to camps or other places. They never returned.

The main spots of execution in the capital Dhaka were the marshy land at Rayerbazar near Mohammadpur and Mirpur and across the country where a huge number of bodies were found scattered in ditches, the plains and inside heaps of bricks.

Shaheed Buddhijibi Koshagrantha, a biographical encyclopaedia of martyred intellectuals published by the Bangla Academy and reprinted in 1994, put the number of intellectuals executed then at 232 but said that list was neither complete nor comprehensive.

The encyclopaedia defined martyrs as people who had been either killed by the Pakistani army or their collaborators or had gone missing between March 25, 1971 and January 31, 1972.

It also defined intellectuals as writers, scientists, artistes, singers, teachers, researchers, journalists, lawyers, physicians, engineers, architects, sculptors, government and non-government staff, people involved with film and theatre, and social and cultural workers.

‘Bangladesh,’ a documentary publication of the government in 1972, said that the Pakistani occupation forces and the local killing squads unleashed by them had killed 1,022 —  21 university teachers, 59 college teachers, 270 secondary schoolteachers, 637 primary teachers and 41 lawyers.

Banglapedia, or the National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh, estimated that 1,111 intellectuals were killed — 991 educationalists , 13 journalists, 49 physicians, 42 lawyers, 16 others (litterateurs, artistes and engineers).

A high liberation war affairs ministry official said that they had only a list of 24 intellectuals who were killed in 1971.

‘There are no list either complete or comprehensive containing names of martyred intellectuals. Listing is one of the first things for a well documented history’ said Muntassir Mamoon a historian and liberation war researcher.

‘No government is genial to have proper research and documentation of liberation war. The ministry should take responsibility of to have a comprehensive list of martyred intellectuals’ he said.

There should be an extensive survey to get the exact figure, he added.

Liberation War Museum trustee Sarwar Ali said that the nation should have a list of martyred intellectuals immediately after the independence war.

The liberation war affairs secretary, KH Masud Siddiqui, said that they had a list but it is not ‘concrete and comprehensive.’

‘The information ministry used to carry out the responsibility for documentation of the independence war before the liberation war affairs ministry was set up in 2001. We did not get any kind of list from the information ministry,’ he said. ‘We will take necessary steps to have a concrete and comprehensive list.’

The ministry’s senior assistant secretary Babul Mia said that the list would be prepared before December 14, 2014. (source)