(This motion has been signed by 35 British Parliamentarians on March 17, 2008.)
Source: UK Parliament
That this House notes with grave concern that Mrs Sheikh Hasina Wajid, a former Prime Minister of Bangladesh and Leader of the Bangladeshi Awami League, has been under arrest for the last eight months by the military-backed government in Bangladesh; further notes that though various charges have been laid against her that she has not been offered due legal process or the right to a trial in an open, fair and transparent court; further notes that she is seriously ill in jail but has not been offered the appropriate hospital treatment; and calls upon the Government to make representations to the government of Bangladesh to either offer Mrs Sheikh Hasina Wajid a fair trial or to release her, to afford her immediate hospital treatment and, more generally, to uphold its democratic obligations to the country.
Monday, March 31, 2008
Friday, March 28, 2008
What people ask me about Bangladesh
What people ask me about Bangladesh
Tahmima Anam
27 March 2008
Source: New Statesman
Is my country about to be overrun by radical Islamists? Will everyone drown in the rising sea? I'm suddenly taking on the role of ambassador
On 13 March, I was lucky enough to win the Commonwealth Writers' Prize, Best First Book for the Europe and South Asia region, for my novel A Golden Age.
It was a real honour, although the most immediate benefit was that I got to read the acceptance speech I'd written on an index card, rather than looking at it and cringing at its pathetic thank yous for days afterwards. It also meant that the sari I wore and tramped through the rain in to get to New Cross did not end up being another sad example of dress-code miscalculation, but rather a dignified outfit with which to accept an award. Finally, and most importantly, I wasn't consumed with self-pity when introduced to the wonderful Indra Sinha, who won in the Best Book category.
If you want to know what authorial presence looks like, you need look no further than the creator of the Booker-shortlisted Animal's People. He has an oceanic wave of grey hair, and when he walked into the auditorium in a shimmering red kurta, a hush filled the room. He also gave a rousing speech about the Bhopal disaster, urging the audience to imagine the plight of its victims, and issued a damning critique of the Indian government's unwillingness to help them.
Sinha's speech made me think about the difference between coming from a place like Bangladesh and a place like India. When Sinha critiques India, he critiques a state that is riding high on its new status as a super-nation, a nation to be feared and respected, a nation that might take over the world and have us learning Hindi and taking gap years in Hyderabad instead of Paris. When I speak in public about Bangladesh, I find myself reflexively taking on the role of ambassador. Perhaps this is because people are always asking me whether my country is about to be run over by radical Islamists, or if women are forced to wear the veil, or if everyone will drown in the rising sea. I feel rather protective of Bangladesh, and try to refocus the conversation on all that is going right - the resilience of our people, our thriving women's movement, our heroes such as the Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, or Irene Khan, secretary general of Amnesty International.
Gains and losses
Of course, the picture is much more complicated. This week, Bangladesh celebrates its 37th anniversary. We have much to be proud of, but also much to mourn. It has been over a year since the military-backed caretaker government has taken power - enough time to take stock of what we have gained and lost.
On the one hand, emergency rule stopped the juggernaut of corruption and abuse of power that was the former regime. For this, we cannot but be thankful. However, we also cannot get away from the fact that the people who are in power today were not put there by the citizens of Bangladesh. They have promised to hold elections by the end of the year, but there is very little holding them to this promise.
Even if elections are held, we have given the army a kind of knowledge that can never be revoked - the certainty that it can step forward and take control when it deems us incapable of doing our jobs as citizens. From now on, I fear, our grip on democracy will always be tenuous.
One of the gravest mistakes of this government was the arrest of citizens without due process under the Emergency Powers Act. Many Bangladeshis (myself included) cheered when the corrupt officials of the last regime were hauled into prison under this act. However, along with those few high-profile cases were thousands of other citizens who now languish in prison without any hope of release.
Last week, one of those prisoners - a journalist named Arif who was jailed for publishing a cartoon making oblique reference to the Prophet Muhammad - was finally released. His arrest points dangerously to the caretaker government's unwillingness to offend the Islamic right. But Arif's release - through the campaigns waged by his lawyers, human rights activists and organisations, journalists and bloggers within and outside of Bangladesh - proves that our beleaguered and labyrinthine justice system can, occasionally, fulfil its mandate. On the anniversary of the birth of Bangladesh, I cling to these small signs of hope.
Tahmima Anam
27 March 2008
Source: New Statesman
Is my country about to be overrun by radical Islamists? Will everyone drown in the rising sea? I'm suddenly taking on the role of ambassador
On 13 March, I was lucky enough to win the Commonwealth Writers' Prize, Best First Book for the Europe and South Asia region, for my novel A Golden Age.
It was a real honour, although the most immediate benefit was that I got to read the acceptance speech I'd written on an index card, rather than looking at it and cringing at its pathetic thank yous for days afterwards. It also meant that the sari I wore and tramped through the rain in to get to New Cross did not end up being another sad example of dress-code miscalculation, but rather a dignified outfit with which to accept an award. Finally, and most importantly, I wasn't consumed with self-pity when introduced to the wonderful Indra Sinha, who won in the Best Book category.
If you want to know what authorial presence looks like, you need look no further than the creator of the Booker-shortlisted Animal's People. He has an oceanic wave of grey hair, and when he walked into the auditorium in a shimmering red kurta, a hush filled the room. He also gave a rousing speech about the Bhopal disaster, urging the audience to imagine the plight of its victims, and issued a damning critique of the Indian government's unwillingness to help them.
Sinha's speech made me think about the difference between coming from a place like Bangladesh and a place like India. When Sinha critiques India, he critiques a state that is riding high on its new status as a super-nation, a nation to be feared and respected, a nation that might take over the world and have us learning Hindi and taking gap years in Hyderabad instead of Paris. When I speak in public about Bangladesh, I find myself reflexively taking on the role of ambassador. Perhaps this is because people are always asking me whether my country is about to be run over by radical Islamists, or if women are forced to wear the veil, or if everyone will drown in the rising sea. I feel rather protective of Bangladesh, and try to refocus the conversation on all that is going right - the resilience of our people, our thriving women's movement, our heroes such as the Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, or Irene Khan, secretary general of Amnesty International.
Gains and losses
Of course, the picture is much more complicated. This week, Bangladesh celebrates its 37th anniversary. We have much to be proud of, but also much to mourn. It has been over a year since the military-backed caretaker government has taken power - enough time to take stock of what we have gained and lost.
On the one hand, emergency rule stopped the juggernaut of corruption and abuse of power that was the former regime. For this, we cannot but be thankful. However, we also cannot get away from the fact that the people who are in power today were not put there by the citizens of Bangladesh. They have promised to hold elections by the end of the year, but there is very little holding them to this promise.
Even if elections are held, we have given the army a kind of knowledge that can never be revoked - the certainty that it can step forward and take control when it deems us incapable of doing our jobs as citizens. From now on, I fear, our grip on democracy will always be tenuous.
One of the gravest mistakes of this government was the arrest of citizens without due process under the Emergency Powers Act. Many Bangladeshis (myself included) cheered when the corrupt officials of the last regime were hauled into prison under this act. However, along with those few high-profile cases were thousands of other citizens who now languish in prison without any hope of release.
Last week, one of those prisoners - a journalist named Arif who was jailed for publishing a cartoon making oblique reference to the Prophet Muhammad - was finally released. His arrest points dangerously to the caretaker government's unwillingness to offend the Islamic right. But Arif's release - through the campaigns waged by his lawyers, human rights activists and organisations, journalists and bloggers within and outside of Bangladesh - proves that our beleaguered and labyrinthine justice system can, occasionally, fulfil its mandate. On the anniversary of the birth of Bangladesh, I cling to these small signs of hope.
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Dr. Fakhruddin Ahmed with David Frost
Watch this interview of Dr. Fakhruddin Ahmed, the Chief Adviser of the Interim Government in Bangladesh, with David Frost at Al Jazeera TV. The army backed government's desperation to buy back the corrupt folks through a truth commission is echoed in his interview.
Friday, March 21, 2008
AHRC: Urgent Appeal for a Bangladeshi Man
Source: Asian Human Rights Commission
March 19, 2008
BANGLADESH: Suspicious death of a man in police custody
The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that a man was found dead during Batiaghata police custody on 7 March 2008 in Khulna district, Bangladesh. Police claimed that he committed suicide. However, the dead body showed several injuries. Police conducted a self-inquest on this incident in violations of the Criminal Procedure Code even though the Magistrate has legal responsibility for it. It is alleged that the police have attempted to fabricate evidence in order to define the reason of the death as a suicide and cover up the alleged torture.
Read the rest here:
March 19, 2008
BANGLADESH: Suspicious death of a man in police custody
The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that a man was found dead during Batiaghata police custody on 7 March 2008 in Khulna district, Bangladesh. Police claimed that he committed suicide. However, the dead body showed several injuries. Police conducted a self-inquest on this incident in violations of the Criminal Procedure Code even though the Magistrate has legal responsibility for it. It is alleged that the police have attempted to fabricate evidence in order to define the reason of the death as a suicide and cover up the alleged torture.
Read the rest here:
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Bangladesh Frees Cartoonist Arif
Bangladesh frees cartoonist detained on charges of insulting Prophet Muhammad
Source: International Herald Tribune
The Associated Press
Thursday, March 20, 2008
DHAKA, Bangladesh: Bangladeshi authorities on Thursday released a cartoonist from prison where he had been awaiting trial on charges of insulting Islam, officials said.
Prison officials released Mohammed Arifur Rahman on an order from the Dhaka Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Court, said Maj. Shamsul Haider Siddiqui, a deputy inspector general of prisons.
Magistrate Ismat Ara ordered Rahman's release because the police official bringing charges against him repeatedly failed to appear in court, despite several notices, according to Rahman's lawyer, Sara Hossain.
No one opposed an appeal for Rahman's freedom Thursday by his lawyers, the magistrate said in her order.
In a report submitted to the court Thursday, the Dhaka Metropolitan Police said the police official failed to attend the hearings because he has been serving in East Timor as a peacekeeper since November last year.
Rahman and his family could not be immediately reached for comment.
Security officials arrested Rahman on Sept. 18 after hard-line Islamic groups protested over one of his cartoons in the Bengali-language newspaper Prothom Alo, saying the cartoon mocked the Prophet Muhammad.
The Interior Ministry charged Rahman with "hurting the religious sentiments of the people" and detained him for 30 days. His detention was later extended, pending trial.
The government confiscated all copies of Alpin, the Prothom Alo supplement in which the cartoon was printed. The popular daily apologized for publishing the cartoon and fired the cartoonist.
Journalists in Bangladesh are routinely threatened, assaulted or killed for writing about political violence, corruption or organized crime, according to media rights groups. At least 11 journalists have been killed and dozens maimed in the South Asian nation since 1997, media rights groups say.
Source: International Herald Tribune
The Associated Press
Thursday, March 20, 2008
DHAKA, Bangladesh: Bangladeshi authorities on Thursday released a cartoonist from prison where he had been awaiting trial on charges of insulting Islam, officials said.
Prison officials released Mohammed Arifur Rahman on an order from the Dhaka Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Court, said Maj. Shamsul Haider Siddiqui, a deputy inspector general of prisons.
Magistrate Ismat Ara ordered Rahman's release because the police official bringing charges against him repeatedly failed to appear in court, despite several notices, according to Rahman's lawyer, Sara Hossain.
No one opposed an appeal for Rahman's freedom Thursday by his lawyers, the magistrate said in her order.
In a report submitted to the court Thursday, the Dhaka Metropolitan Police said the police official failed to attend the hearings because he has been serving in East Timor as a peacekeeper since November last year.
Rahman and his family could not be immediately reached for comment.
Security officials arrested Rahman on Sept. 18 after hard-line Islamic groups protested over one of his cartoons in the Bengali-language newspaper Prothom Alo, saying the cartoon mocked the Prophet Muhammad.
The Interior Ministry charged Rahman with "hurting the religious sentiments of the people" and detained him for 30 days. His detention was later extended, pending trial.
The government confiscated all copies of Alpin, the Prothom Alo supplement in which the cartoon was printed. The popular daily apologized for publishing the cartoon and fired the cartoonist.
Journalists in Bangladesh are routinely threatened, assaulted or killed for writing about political violence, corruption or organized crime, according to media rights groups. At least 11 journalists have been killed and dozens maimed in the South Asian nation since 1997, media rights groups say.
Bangladesh: Paving the Way for Parliamentary Elections
Bangladesh: Paving the Way for Parliamentary Elections
Source: Press Statement
Tom Casey, Deputy Spokesman
US Department of State
Washington, DC
March 19, 2008
The United States urges the Bangladesh government to uphold its commitment to hold free, fair, and transparent elections by December 2008, as reaffirmed in the joint statement issued on March 18, 2008, by Dr. Fakhruddin Ahmed, Chief Advisor of the Caretaker Government of Bangladesh, and Prime Minister Gordon Brown of the United Kingdom. While the government's progress on updating the voter list and combating corruption is encouraging, we urge the government to move forward on its dialogue with political parties and to remove restrictions on freedoms of assembly and the press. Political parties must be able to participate fully in a democratic process.
Source: Press Statement
Tom Casey, Deputy Spokesman
US Department of State
Washington, DC
March 19, 2008
The United States urges the Bangladesh government to uphold its commitment to hold free, fair, and transparent elections by December 2008, as reaffirmed in the joint statement issued on March 18, 2008, by Dr. Fakhruddin Ahmed, Chief Advisor of the Caretaker Government of Bangladesh, and Prime Minister Gordon Brown of the United Kingdom. While the government's progress on updating the voter list and combating corruption is encouraging, we urge the government to move forward on its dialogue with political parties and to remove restrictions on freedoms of assembly and the press. Political parties must be able to participate fully in a democratic process.
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