Bangladesh: New Government Should Act on Rights
Make Commitments at Next Week’s UN Meeting in Geneva
January 29, 2009
Source: Human Rights Watch
(New York) - The new Awami League government of Bangladesh has a unique opportunity and the responsibility to address major human rights problems that have been ignored by successive governments, Human Rights Watch said today in a letter to Prime Minister Shekh Hasina.
The letter makes specific recommendations for reform on subjects such as extrajudicial killings, torture, arbitrary detention, corruption, and the role of the Rapid Action Battalion and Directorate General for Forces Intelligence.
"The new government has a large majority and a public hungry for reform," said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch. "We look forward to the government using the strong mandate the prime minister and her party have obtained to tackle the very serious abuses that Bangladeshis face at the hands of the security forces and others."
Human Rights Watch urged the government to use the February 3 session of the UN Human Rights Council to show the priority it places on addressing longstanding human rights problems by making concrete and specific commitments. Bangladesh is one of the countries whose rights records will be scrutinized in February under the council's Universal Periodic Review mechanism.
"How the government responds to recommendations for human rights progress at the Human Rights Council will be an early test for the new government," said Adams.
Saturday, January 31, 2009
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Bangladeshi war criminals in the USA
Audacity of the supporters of Bangladeshi war criminals in the USA
During 1971 Bangladesh's war of liberation, a handful of hardcore Islamic militants carried on genocide in Pakistan occupied Bangladesh. In the name religion, they helped the brutal Pakistani army to perpetrate mass murder of innocent citizens and rape of women. Mr. Abul Kalam Azad is one of such notorious war criminals. Unfortunately, that despicable mass murderer is now a "respectable Islamic scholar" in Bangladesh. This happened because of certain historical events. On August 15 1975 the founding father of Bangladesh, the secular nationalist leader Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was assassinated along with his family members and other party members in a pro-Pakistani military coup. After the coup, the country suddenly went to pro-Pakistani (to some extent soft on Islamism) direction.
Abul Kalam Azad and many brutal Islamist killers of 1971 emerged from their hideouts. Some of them were inside the country living underground. Some of them were living in countries like Saudi Arabia and Pakistan. After 1975, the country of Bangladesh witnessed the expansion of Islamist and war criminal lobby, which were rejected by the people in 1971. One after another Bangladeshi military generals with a pro-Pakistani political persuasion ruled the country with iron fist. On the one hand they curtailed democratic freedom to a large extent, on the other the war criminals of 1971 were given enough opportunity to organize and strengthen their constituency. Thus Bangladeshi Islamist lobby gradually got a strong foothold in a number of Western countries. It goes without saying, their tentacles reached the heartland of the United States. That is why, Abul Kalam Azad does not have any problem visiting USA quite frequently. He was in this country in August of last year (2008)(source: deshivoice).
He is back in USA a few days ago. On January 24th, 2009 he had the golden opportunity to give a speech in the Muslim Community Center mosque in Silver Spring, Maryland. Presence of a few demonstrators in front of the mosque let him know loud and clear that his fundraising activity to strengthen Islamist lobby will not go unchallenged.
On 25th January, 2009, this killer of 1971, was invited to speak in a Mosque's Fundraising Dinner in New York. The program was scheduled in a basement of Tajmahal Restaurant, in Hillside, Jamaica, New York. Before the evening the place was crowded by expat Pakistanis and Bangladeshis. In the meantime a number of expatriate Bangladeshi activists staged a demonstration outside the restaurant. One after another activist was rendering speech detailing the war crime this "Islamic scholar" committed in nine months of 1971. As one of the concluding speakers was finishing his speech, a few supporters of Abul Kalam Azad started to hurl insults to the speakers. They were quite amazingly accompanied by another very notorious mass murderer of Bangladeshis, now a US citizen, Ashrafuzzaman Khan.
A scuffle broke out between the two parties. One of the activists was seriously injured. His nose was bleeding visibly. In the meantime the police came to scene. One of the supporters of Abul Kalam Azad/Ashrafuzzaman Khan was arrested. An updated report says, the "Islamic scholar" could not make it to give his fundraising sermon. The owner of the restaurant, a freedom fighter of Bangladesh war of liberation, did not mind to cancel the event thus losing six thousand dollars in this economic crisis period.
Below you will find the first link to the press conference of the activists regarding the incidence. Please note, the speeches were given in Bengali:
Now you will see the link to the scuffle and police intervention:
During 1971 Bangladesh's war of liberation, a handful of hardcore Islamic militants carried on genocide in Pakistan occupied Bangladesh. In the name religion, they helped the brutal Pakistani army to perpetrate mass murder of innocent citizens and rape of women. Mr. Abul Kalam Azad is one of such notorious war criminals. Unfortunately, that despicable mass murderer is now a "respectable Islamic scholar" in Bangladesh. This happened because of certain historical events. On August 15 1975 the founding father of Bangladesh, the secular nationalist leader Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was assassinated along with his family members and other party members in a pro-Pakistani military coup. After the coup, the country suddenly went to pro-Pakistani (to some extent soft on Islamism) direction.
Abul Kalam Azad and many brutal Islamist killers of 1971 emerged from their hideouts. Some of them were inside the country living underground. Some of them were living in countries like Saudi Arabia and Pakistan. After 1975, the country of Bangladesh witnessed the expansion of Islamist and war criminal lobby, which were rejected by the people in 1971. One after another Bangladeshi military generals with a pro-Pakistani political persuasion ruled the country with iron fist. On the one hand they curtailed democratic freedom to a large extent, on the other the war criminals of 1971 were given enough opportunity to organize and strengthen their constituency. Thus Bangladeshi Islamist lobby gradually got a strong foothold in a number of Western countries. It goes without saying, their tentacles reached the heartland of the United States. That is why, Abul Kalam Azad does not have any problem visiting USA quite frequently. He was in this country in August of last year (2008)(source: deshivoice).
He is back in USA a few days ago. On January 24th, 2009 he had the golden opportunity to give a speech in the Muslim Community Center mosque in Silver Spring, Maryland. Presence of a few demonstrators in front of the mosque let him know loud and clear that his fundraising activity to strengthen Islamist lobby will not go unchallenged.
On 25th January, 2009, this killer of 1971, was invited to speak in a Mosque's Fundraising Dinner in New York. The program was scheduled in a basement of Tajmahal Restaurant, in Hillside, Jamaica, New York. Before the evening the place was crowded by expat Pakistanis and Bangladeshis. In the meantime a number of expatriate Bangladeshi activists staged a demonstration outside the restaurant. One after another activist was rendering speech detailing the war crime this "Islamic scholar" committed in nine months of 1971. As one of the concluding speakers was finishing his speech, a few supporters of Abul Kalam Azad started to hurl insults to the speakers. They were quite amazingly accompanied by another very notorious mass murderer of Bangladeshis, now a US citizen, Ashrafuzzaman Khan.
A scuffle broke out between the two parties. One of the activists was seriously injured. His nose was bleeding visibly. In the meantime the police came to scene. One of the supporters of Abul Kalam Azad/Ashrafuzzaman Khan was arrested. An updated report says, the "Islamic scholar" could not make it to give his fundraising sermon. The owner of the restaurant, a freedom fighter of Bangladesh war of liberation, did not mind to cancel the event thus losing six thousand dollars in this economic crisis period.
Below you will find the first link to the press conference of the activists regarding the incidence. Please note, the speeches were given in Bengali:
Now you will see the link to the scuffle and police intervention:
Saturday, January 24, 2009
Dr. Yunus, is anything but a skilful person!
The Nobel laureate, Dr. Yunus, is anything but a skilful person!
Dr. Shabbir Ahmed
The tyranny and misrule of Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and the fundamentalist Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) for the duration 2001 through 2006 had help create a bad image for the politicians in general in Bangladesh. A good number of educated people in nation of 145 million harbor a very negative impression about politicians. This negativity had become so ingrained among our educated people that many of them prefer grouping all political parties and politicians under a same set and within a single pair of brackets. To them, there is no iota of difference between Awami League (AL) and BNP. Likewise, they do not find any difference between Mrs. Sheikh Hasina and Mrs. Khaleda Zia even though they possess totally different educational and political background.
In the aftermath of one-eleven, all the politicians in general were subjugated through intimidation and torture. The military-backed caretaker government went an extra mile to mix all good and bad apples and put them all in one basket.. The snobbish urban educated elites tried to portray all the politicians as bad apples. These opportunists thought that it was their time to undermine all the politicians and take the opportunity to gain power through a top-down process. They are too comfort-loving impatient people who do not want to take time and build the support base through a time-consuming bottom-up political process. In fact, they prefer support from the civil-military bureaucracy for getting to the helm of the power in a quick fashion.. After one-eleven, a group of urban educated elites wanted to take events in their favor by snatching the victory of the people who brought down the Khakeda-Nizami- Tarek controlled caretaker government under BNP-appointed President Dr. Iajuddin Ahmed.
Bangladesh’s only Nobel Laureate, Dr. Muhammad Yunus, took the lead to snatch the victory of the democracy-loving people and paved the way for the urban elites to capture the power. During the emergency rule under the army-backed caretaker government, it was a free pass for Dr. Yunus to float a political party and talk about his politics while many veteran politicians were trying to avoid arrest by taking shelter under a so-called reform process.
Dr. Yunus and his associates’ perceived strategy was to use a negative propaganda and vicious campaign against the popular political leaders for capturing power. In this effort, Dr. Yunus had surpassed all. His remarks were so severe and caustic that he labeled all the politicians as corrupt at one point of time. He did not want to separate those who did corrupt practices by abusing the government power and those who did not. In fact, a vast majority of politicians never did govern Bangladesh but they were eager beaver to assume power bypassing the normal way, viz., building a grassroots organization. Also, since these folks have never run the government, they were never mired in corruption; therefore, it was very easy for them to say that they unlike AL and BNP politicians are clean as a whistle. Unfortunately, Dr. Yunus colored all the politicians as “black.” In his analyses, there were no white or gray colors. A few politicians at that time requested him to distinguish between colors and distinctively identify black, white, or gray. Dr. Yunus maintained his silence but continued "building" his party. During the Cold War era, it was relatively easy for the urban elite forces to take a side and get support for clinging to power with the help of civil-military bureaucracy. Now the condition is not the same as it were in 70s and 80s.
Under the backdrop of the present geo-political condition, Dr. Yunus and the urban elites could not able to strengthen their political base, if there were any, even with the support from the civil-military bureaucratic forces. He had to give up his short-lived ambition for political power in a rather pre-mature fashion. Thereafter, many events and drama took place. Finally, an election was held on December 29, 2008in which Awami League alone secured about three-fourth majority in the parliament.
It was a matter of great surprise to see Dr. Yunus in the oath-taking ceremony of the winning political leaders, whom he bluntly and indiscriminately labeled as corrupt. Did he make a false statement about all the politicians? Has he changed his position about the politicians? Maybe, he has changed his views about politicians because he has many businesses to run for the poor people through his Grameen Bank and Grameen cell phone. He has a business on yogurt (Shakti dai) as well. For all his businesses, he might need support from the government formed by the politicians he tried to undermine not too long ago. As an intelligent businessman, Dr. Yunus has probably shifted his position like a skilful politician and by attending the oath ceremony of the newly elected politicians he proved it again that he is a very clever businessman.
Dr. Shabbir Ahmed
The tyranny and misrule of Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and the fundamentalist Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) for the duration 2001 through 2006 had help create a bad image for the politicians in general in Bangladesh. A good number of educated people in nation of 145 million harbor a very negative impression about politicians. This negativity had become so ingrained among our educated people that many of them prefer grouping all political parties and politicians under a same set and within a single pair of brackets. To them, there is no iota of difference between Awami League (AL) and BNP. Likewise, they do not find any difference between Mrs. Sheikh Hasina and Mrs. Khaleda Zia even though they possess totally different educational and political background.
In the aftermath of one-eleven, all the politicians in general were subjugated through intimidation and torture. The military-backed caretaker government went an extra mile to mix all good and bad apples and put them all in one basket.. The snobbish urban educated elites tried to portray all the politicians as bad apples. These opportunists thought that it was their time to undermine all the politicians and take the opportunity to gain power through a top-down process. They are too comfort-loving impatient people who do not want to take time and build the support base through a time-consuming bottom-up political process. In fact, they prefer support from the civil-military bureaucracy for getting to the helm of the power in a quick fashion.. After one-eleven, a group of urban educated elites wanted to take events in their favor by snatching the victory of the people who brought down the Khakeda-Nizami- Tarek controlled caretaker government under BNP-appointed President Dr. Iajuddin Ahmed.
Bangladesh’s only Nobel Laureate, Dr. Muhammad Yunus, took the lead to snatch the victory of the democracy-loving people and paved the way for the urban elites to capture the power. During the emergency rule under the army-backed caretaker government, it was a free pass for Dr. Yunus to float a political party and talk about his politics while many veteran politicians were trying to avoid arrest by taking shelter under a so-called reform process.
Dr. Yunus and his associates’ perceived strategy was to use a negative propaganda and vicious campaign against the popular political leaders for capturing power. In this effort, Dr. Yunus had surpassed all. His remarks were so severe and caustic that he labeled all the politicians as corrupt at one point of time. He did not want to separate those who did corrupt practices by abusing the government power and those who did not. In fact, a vast majority of politicians never did govern Bangladesh but they were eager beaver to assume power bypassing the normal way, viz., building a grassroots organization. Also, since these folks have never run the government, they were never mired in corruption; therefore, it was very easy for them to say that they unlike AL and BNP politicians are clean as a whistle. Unfortunately, Dr. Yunus colored all the politicians as “black.” In his analyses, there were no white or gray colors. A few politicians at that time requested him to distinguish between colors and distinctively identify black, white, or gray. Dr. Yunus maintained his silence but continued "building" his party. During the Cold War era, it was relatively easy for the urban elite forces to take a side and get support for clinging to power with the help of civil-military bureaucracy. Now the condition is not the same as it were in 70s and 80s.
Under the backdrop of the present geo-political condition, Dr. Yunus and the urban elites could not able to strengthen their political base, if there were any, even with the support from the civil-military bureaucratic forces. He had to give up his short-lived ambition for political power in a rather pre-mature fashion. Thereafter, many events and drama took place. Finally, an election was held on December 29, 2008in which Awami League alone secured about three-fourth majority in the parliament.
It was a matter of great surprise to see Dr. Yunus in the oath-taking ceremony of the winning political leaders, whom he bluntly and indiscriminately labeled as corrupt. Did he make a false statement about all the politicians? Has he changed his position about the politicians? Maybe, he has changed his views about politicians because he has many businesses to run for the poor people through his Grameen Bank and Grameen cell phone. He has a business on yogurt (Shakti dai) as well. For all his businesses, he might need support from the government formed by the politicians he tried to undermine not too long ago. As an intelligent businessman, Dr. Yunus has probably shifted his position like a skilful politician and by attending the oath ceremony of the newly elected politicians he proved it again that he is a very clever businessman.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Would ‘Kokogate’ spare Khaleda Zia’s family?
Would ‘Kokogate’ spare Khaleda Zia’s family?
By A.H. Jaffor Ullah
Khaleda Zia has every reason to consternate when all the major global news network such as Reuters, AP, AFP, etc., are reporting that her youngest son, Arafat Rahman Koko, is in the thick of an extortion operation centered in Dhaka during 2002-2006 when she was the PM of Bangladesh. For better or worse, let me call this investigation the Kokogate. Bangladesh has never experienced anything big like this and trust me, when it will be over, there will be casualties. This investigation has the underpinning of quite a few foreign governments who are very eager to see that the culprits who ran this extortion scheme are taken to task.
The timing for the U.S. government officials to visit Dhaka could not have been better. The newly elected government of Hasina wants to put an end to political extortion and the U.S. authorities know that it will be easier to make the extortion case against Khaleda Zia's son right now than say a year ago when a caretaker government was running the country.
Khaleda Zia had it too good when she was running the country from October 2001 to October 2006. She let her eldest son, Tarek Rahman, run a parallel government sitting in ‘Hawa Bhavan’, while her second son, Arafat Rahman Koko, an “accomplished” businessman run the business side of the family. How good things could be for Zia family. Political power, money, they have everything. But like any side story of Mahabharata, all the power, all the misbegotten wealth, could not keep the family in high standing.
Khaleda Zia suffered a catastrophic defeat in December 29, 2008 parliamentary election. She never offered her concession speech to the victor, Sheikh Hasina. To add insult to injury, she said that the election was rigged on the face of all the newspaper report that which stated that this was the most fair election this nation of 145 million ever had. Hundreds of foreign observers also had opined that the election was peaceful and fair and there weren't any violence on the day of election.
Khaleda Zia's worst fear may come true now that the foreign governments’ agents are in Dhaka to brief the ACC, the chief corruption fighting wing of the government, and other agencies of Bangladesh government. It was very convenient for her in old days to say that her family has many political enemies and all the allegations are false and politically motivated. However, Bangladeshis are not in a mood to listen to her vituperation.
Most newspaper editorials published in Dhaka had commended the works of foreign government. Bangladesh's people are also most eager to see that the $ 200 million, which Khaleda Zia’s “smart” son with so much business acumen had extracted from German company Siemens, find its way to return government treasury. China Communications Construction Co, a giant port builder in China also bribed Khaleda Zia’s son, Koko, to obtain a lucrative construction job in Bangladesh. It seems as if Khaleda’s two boys became Mr. Ten Percent in the heydays of Khaleda rule!
I see a parallel between what happens in low-income urban minority families in America with that of what happened to Khaleda Zia's family. Simply driven by greed many young men in urban America get involved in illegal drug business. They willingly take the risk, earn fast buck, and give part of the easy money to their single mother who gladly accepts it only to find a few days later that her son was gunned down by the rival gang in a turf fight. Well, something almost similar happens to Khaleda Zia family.
The two sons of Khaleda Zia get involved in making easy but illegal money because they know very well that as long as their mother is in catbird seat of power in Bangladesh, they could extort money from foreign companies who want to do business in Bangladesh. It will be laughable if I hear that Khaleda Zia was not aware of her sons' involvement in all these misadventures. Now she will have to prepare herself to pay the penalty for the sin of her sons. I sometimes wonder if General Zia were alive today, how he was to react to his sons’ follies.
The heart of the problem the Zia family is facing these days lies in the fact that these folks are not educated at all. People go to the seat of higher learning to open their mind and learn from the follies made by powerful people throughout the history starting from antiquity. A truly educated person won't do what Koko and Tarek have done most willingly. They simply thought that they are untouchable. Did not Khaleda Zia warn them about their high risk misadventure when they were abusing power that emanated from their mother? In my judgment, Khaleda Zia bears some responsibility in this fiasco.
Please do compare the performance of Khaleda Zia's family with that of Sheikh Hasina vis-à-vis influence peddling and making tons of money with it. Unlike Khaleda Zia whose family is into hedonism and making gobs of money to sustain such worldly pleasure, Hasina Wajed gave education to her two children. Also, I am yet to see a bona fide complaint made against Hasina Wajed’s two kids in respect to making easy money by influence peddling. Lately, in the Internet I read some unsubstantiated allegations, which stated that Sheikh Hasina’s son has business of worth $ 300 million. The last I know that Hasina’s son was employed and then he went for grad school. A person who has assets over $ 300 million won’t work under another person or will not go for a master’s degree. Until no confirmation comes, I would characterize this mere a mudslinging to redirect our attention from emerging Kokogate.
From various news reports on Kokogate I learned that besides Khaleda Zia’s two sons quite a few BNP ministers from 2001 to 2006 are also partners in this extortion scheme. The ACC officials in Dhaka are tightlipped about the identity of this crime syndicate. During Khaleda Zia’s reign these politicians thought no power inside Bangladesh could ever touch them. But sadly how wrong they were!
The ill-gotten $ 200 million, which was laundered by various financial institutions, is now ensconced in a bank in Singapore. This rumor about Khaleda Zia’s sons depositing millions of bribe money in Singapore bank was circulating in various South Asian websites in the Net for more than a year but when 2 U.S. government agents from Washington DC came to Dhaka to investigate the laundered money, many heads were turning in Dhaka. Also, there is a deafening silence in BNP camps and that includes Khaleda Zia herself.
In a just society no crime should ever go unpunished, but then Bangladesh never aspired to have a just society. Even then, a crime committed by Khaleda Zia’s two illiterate sons is not going to go unpunished. I am hoping the wheel of justice would turn finally and the sons of Khaleda Zia and their sidekicks from BNP would rot in jail. This time the authorities should not treat them as VIP. They have committed a serious crime when they thought they were above the law. Now harsh reality is setting in. The take home message is — no one is above the law.
There should be learning for Khaleda Zia too. She failed to educate her sons and that was not all. She let loose her boys to control the government and sell favors. Many sidekicks gathered around Khaleda Zia’s boys and we learned that they were all unsavory characters like her sons. Together, they became a crime syndicate of high order. Their profligate lifestyle in Dhaka during Khaleda’s rule was talk-of-the-town. Thus, when Tarek Rahman’s sidekick, Mamun, was arrested in early 2007, it became a very hot topic of conversation both in the media and in drawing rooms.
In summary, the revelation that Khaleda Zia’s “smart” businessman son Koko had ensconced a cool sum of $ 200 million in Singapore Bank is making news allover the world. This money was not hard earned, but came as manna from heaven. Thanks to Khaleda Zia for paving the way to heaven for her sons. During her “difficult” reign, dollar bills were literally falling from sky but it was for her two sons and a bunch of cronies. The payback time nears now. Who says – crime pays? Similar to single mothers in Brooklyn, Bronx, and many other cities in America, who found it out that the crime spree of their kids did not last long, Khaleda Zia will also learn the same bitter lesson rather belatedly. Nobody is above the law. Those two notorious and profligate boys of Bangladesh’s ex-PM Khaleda will this time learn a lesson of lifetime. The bread of deceit was sweet to Tarek and Koko; but afterwards their mouths shall be filled with gravel. Need I say more?
------------------------
Dr. A.H. Jaffor Ullah, a researcher and columnist, writes from New Orleans, USA
E Mail : jhankar@bellsouth.net
By A.H. Jaffor Ullah
Khaleda Zia has every reason to consternate when all the major global news network such as Reuters, AP, AFP, etc., are reporting that her youngest son, Arafat Rahman Koko, is in the thick of an extortion operation centered in Dhaka during 2002-2006 when she was the PM of Bangladesh. For better or worse, let me call this investigation the Kokogate. Bangladesh has never experienced anything big like this and trust me, when it will be over, there will be casualties. This investigation has the underpinning of quite a few foreign governments who are very eager to see that the culprits who ran this extortion scheme are taken to task.
The timing for the U.S. government officials to visit Dhaka could not have been better. The newly elected government of Hasina wants to put an end to political extortion and the U.S. authorities know that it will be easier to make the extortion case against Khaleda Zia's son right now than say a year ago when a caretaker government was running the country.
Khaleda Zia had it too good when she was running the country from October 2001 to October 2006. She let her eldest son, Tarek Rahman, run a parallel government sitting in ‘Hawa Bhavan’, while her second son, Arafat Rahman Koko, an “accomplished” businessman run the business side of the family. How good things could be for Zia family. Political power, money, they have everything. But like any side story of Mahabharata, all the power, all the misbegotten wealth, could not keep the family in high standing.
Khaleda Zia suffered a catastrophic defeat in December 29, 2008 parliamentary election. She never offered her concession speech to the victor, Sheikh Hasina. To add insult to injury, she said that the election was rigged on the face of all the newspaper report that which stated that this was the most fair election this nation of 145 million ever had. Hundreds of foreign observers also had opined that the election was peaceful and fair and there weren't any violence on the day of election.
Khaleda Zia's worst fear may come true now that the foreign governments’ agents are in Dhaka to brief the ACC, the chief corruption fighting wing of the government, and other agencies of Bangladesh government. It was very convenient for her in old days to say that her family has many political enemies and all the allegations are false and politically motivated. However, Bangladeshis are not in a mood to listen to her vituperation.
Most newspaper editorials published in Dhaka had commended the works of foreign government. Bangladesh's people are also most eager to see that the $ 200 million, which Khaleda Zia’s “smart” son with so much business acumen had extracted from German company Siemens, find its way to return government treasury. China Communications Construction Co, a giant port builder in China also bribed Khaleda Zia’s son, Koko, to obtain a lucrative construction job in Bangladesh. It seems as if Khaleda’s two boys became Mr. Ten Percent in the heydays of Khaleda rule!
I see a parallel between what happens in low-income urban minority families in America with that of what happened to Khaleda Zia's family. Simply driven by greed many young men in urban America get involved in illegal drug business. They willingly take the risk, earn fast buck, and give part of the easy money to their single mother who gladly accepts it only to find a few days later that her son was gunned down by the rival gang in a turf fight. Well, something almost similar happens to Khaleda Zia family.
The two sons of Khaleda Zia get involved in making easy but illegal money because they know very well that as long as their mother is in catbird seat of power in Bangladesh, they could extort money from foreign companies who want to do business in Bangladesh. It will be laughable if I hear that Khaleda Zia was not aware of her sons' involvement in all these misadventures. Now she will have to prepare herself to pay the penalty for the sin of her sons. I sometimes wonder if General Zia were alive today, how he was to react to his sons’ follies.
The heart of the problem the Zia family is facing these days lies in the fact that these folks are not educated at all. People go to the seat of higher learning to open their mind and learn from the follies made by powerful people throughout the history starting from antiquity. A truly educated person won't do what Koko and Tarek have done most willingly. They simply thought that they are untouchable. Did not Khaleda Zia warn them about their high risk misadventure when they were abusing power that emanated from their mother? In my judgment, Khaleda Zia bears some responsibility in this fiasco.
Please do compare the performance of Khaleda Zia's family with that of Sheikh Hasina vis-à-vis influence peddling and making tons of money with it. Unlike Khaleda Zia whose family is into hedonism and making gobs of money to sustain such worldly pleasure, Hasina Wajed gave education to her two children. Also, I am yet to see a bona fide complaint made against Hasina Wajed’s two kids in respect to making easy money by influence peddling. Lately, in the Internet I read some unsubstantiated allegations, which stated that Sheikh Hasina’s son has business of worth $ 300 million. The last I know that Hasina’s son was employed and then he went for grad school. A person who has assets over $ 300 million won’t work under another person or will not go for a master’s degree. Until no confirmation comes, I would characterize this mere a mudslinging to redirect our attention from emerging Kokogate.
From various news reports on Kokogate I learned that besides Khaleda Zia’s two sons quite a few BNP ministers from 2001 to 2006 are also partners in this extortion scheme. The ACC officials in Dhaka are tightlipped about the identity of this crime syndicate. During Khaleda Zia’s reign these politicians thought no power inside Bangladesh could ever touch them. But sadly how wrong they were!
The ill-gotten $ 200 million, which was laundered by various financial institutions, is now ensconced in a bank in Singapore. This rumor about Khaleda Zia’s sons depositing millions of bribe money in Singapore bank was circulating in various South Asian websites in the Net for more than a year but when 2 U.S. government agents from Washington DC came to Dhaka to investigate the laundered money, many heads were turning in Dhaka. Also, there is a deafening silence in BNP camps and that includes Khaleda Zia herself.
In a just society no crime should ever go unpunished, but then Bangladesh never aspired to have a just society. Even then, a crime committed by Khaleda Zia’s two illiterate sons is not going to go unpunished. I am hoping the wheel of justice would turn finally and the sons of Khaleda Zia and their sidekicks from BNP would rot in jail. This time the authorities should not treat them as VIP. They have committed a serious crime when they thought they were above the law. Now harsh reality is setting in. The take home message is — no one is above the law.
There should be learning for Khaleda Zia too. She failed to educate her sons and that was not all. She let loose her boys to control the government and sell favors. Many sidekicks gathered around Khaleda Zia’s boys and we learned that they were all unsavory characters like her sons. Together, they became a crime syndicate of high order. Their profligate lifestyle in Dhaka during Khaleda’s rule was talk-of-the-town. Thus, when Tarek Rahman’s sidekick, Mamun, was arrested in early 2007, it became a very hot topic of conversation both in the media and in drawing rooms.
In summary, the revelation that Khaleda Zia’s “smart” businessman son Koko had ensconced a cool sum of $ 200 million in Singapore Bank is making news allover the world. This money was not hard earned, but came as manna from heaven. Thanks to Khaleda Zia for paving the way to heaven for her sons. During her “difficult” reign, dollar bills were literally falling from sky but it was for her two sons and a bunch of cronies. The payback time nears now. Who says – crime pays? Similar to single mothers in Brooklyn, Bronx, and many other cities in America, who found it out that the crime spree of their kids did not last long, Khaleda Zia will also learn the same bitter lesson rather belatedly. Nobody is above the law. Those two notorious and profligate boys of Bangladesh’s ex-PM Khaleda will this time learn a lesson of lifetime. The bread of deceit was sweet to Tarek and Koko; but afterwards their mouths shall be filled with gravel. Need I say more?
------------------------
Dr. A.H. Jaffor Ullah, a researcher and columnist, writes from New Orleans, USA
E Mail : jhankar@bellsouth.net
Thursday, January 8, 2009
Breaking the silence
Breaking the silence
By Maskwaith Ahsan
It's no longer a dream. Breaking centuries of silence, the women of
Bangladesh have finally stood up to contribute to society alongside men.
The pioneer of Bengali women's emancipation, Begum Rokeya, in the
early 20thcentury wrote
*Abarodhbasini* (Women Inside the Door) based on the misery and distress of
women in the patriarchal society of that time.
Holding onto her dreams, Begum Rokeya also wrote *Sultanar Sopna* (Sultana's
Dream).
Overcoming all social and religious barriers, 21st century Bangladesh has
finally started to realize and live up to that dream. Bengali women are now
visible. They can be seen holding and living up to their leadership
responsibilities in every viable walk of society. Keen to contribute to
national progress, such women are moving ahead with quality and competence.
Bangladesh hopes that its society will finally be able to breathe change and
develop radically due to the dynamic presence of women in the government and
political arena.
A total of 23 constituencies were triumphed over by female candidates in the
December 29, 2008, parliamentary elections. These include the heads of both
the major political parties, Sheikh Hasina Wajed and Khaleda Zia.
A record number of 56 women had contested Bangladesh's ninth general
elections. But what is really significant and surprising is the fact that
women legislators have been selected for key positions in the newly formed
32-member cabinet. This reflects the kind of change that has the potential
to bring balance and harmony to society.
The head of Awami League, Sheikh Hasina Wajed, has become the prime minister
of the country for the second time. And leader of the main opposition
Bangladesh Nationalist Party, Khaleda Zia, will be the countering force. The
two female leaders have led the country by turns since 1991.
The new and refreshing aspect of the latest government chessboard is the
presence of women on other powerful posts as well, like that of the foreign,
home and agricultural ministers.
Dr Dipu Moni will be Bangladesh's next foreign minister, Advocate Sahara
Khatun the new home minister, and Motia Chowdhury will head the agriculture
ministry.
Another female politician Begum Munnuzan Sufian has been appointed State
Minister for Labour and Employment.
It needs to be mentioned here that veteran politician Motia Chowdhury earned
success fighting for the rights of farmers as Agriculture Minister during
the Awami League-led government of 1996-2001.
The people of Bangladesh voted for change and they have their hopes pinned
on these women leaders to bring in a new era of prosperity and development.
(end)
By Maskwaith Ahsan
It's no longer a dream. Breaking centuries of silence, the women of
Bangladesh have finally stood up to contribute to society alongside men.
The pioneer of Bengali women's emancipation, Begum Rokeya, in the
early 20thcentury wrote
*Abarodhbasini* (Women Inside the Door) based on the misery and distress of
women in the patriarchal society of that time.
Holding onto her dreams, Begum Rokeya also wrote *Sultanar Sopna* (Sultana's
Dream).
Overcoming all social and religious barriers, 21st century Bangladesh has
finally started to realize and live up to that dream. Bengali women are now
visible. They can be seen holding and living up to their leadership
responsibilities in every viable walk of society. Keen to contribute to
national progress, such women are moving ahead with quality and competence.
Bangladesh hopes that its society will finally be able to breathe change and
develop radically due to the dynamic presence of women in the government and
political arena.
A total of 23 constituencies were triumphed over by female candidates in the
December 29, 2008, parliamentary elections. These include the heads of both
the major political parties, Sheikh Hasina Wajed and Khaleda Zia.
A record number of 56 women had contested Bangladesh's ninth general
elections. But what is really significant and surprising is the fact that
women legislators have been selected for key positions in the newly formed
32-member cabinet. This reflects the kind of change that has the potential
to bring balance and harmony to society.
The head of Awami League, Sheikh Hasina Wajed, has become the prime minister
of the country for the second time. And leader of the main opposition
Bangladesh Nationalist Party, Khaleda Zia, will be the countering force. The
two female leaders have led the country by turns since 1991.
The new and refreshing aspect of the latest government chessboard is the
presence of women on other powerful posts as well, like that of the foreign,
home and agricultural ministers.
Dr Dipu Moni will be Bangladesh's next foreign minister, Advocate Sahara
Khatun the new home minister, and Motia Chowdhury will head the agriculture
ministry.
Another female politician Begum Munnuzan Sufian has been appointed State
Minister for Labour and Employment.
It needs to be mentioned here that veteran politician Motia Chowdhury earned
success fighting for the rights of farmers as Agriculture Minister during
the Awami League-led government of 1996-2001.
The people of Bangladesh voted for change and they have their hopes pinned
on these women leaders to bring in a new era of prosperity and development.
(end)
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