From good time to payback time

People may have forgotten that LGRD Minister Abdul Mannan Bhuiyan once led the most corrupted ministry called Local Government and Rural Development (LGRD). Now, he's leading the army backed BNP faction for a new go round of magical chair. He had good times when he was enjoying the fun flared BNP-Jamaat Alliance. Now, those gold days have been over. Who cares about those oldies? Over zealous Mannan Bhuiya doesn't even need any fromal letter from the ACC to testify against his former party leader Khaleda Zia, the former Prime Minister of Bangladesh. Read the news from BDnews24,

Dhaka, Sept 24 (bdnews24.com) – Former BNP local government minister Abdul Mannan Bhuiyan Monday said he would testify before the Anti corruption Commission Tuesday in the GATCO corruption case against Khaleda Zia and 12 others.

"I came to know watching a TV news programme that the ACC has decided to summon the former cabinet purchase committee members. I haven't yet received the ACC notice. But I've decided that I'll go to the commission Tuesday even if the letter doesn't reach me for some reason," Bhuiyan said to reporters.

The ACC Sunday summoned six members of the cabinet committee on purchase to its office in Segun Bagicha at 11am Tuesday.

The six are all former ministers who had sat on the BNP-led coalition government's cabinet committee on purchase.

A senior member of the purchase committee at the time, Bhuiyan said, "I've spoken to some of the people concerned in the meantime, they told me they've also decided to go to the Commission."

Bhuiyan would not be drawn into detail on what they might say to the corruption watchdog.

On Sept 2, ACC deputy director Golam Shahriar Chowdhury filed the corruption case with Tejgaon Police Station against 13 people, including Khaleda and son Arafat Rahman Coco.

The first information report (FIR) of the case filed in 2003 alleged Global Agro Trade Company (GATCO), an "inefficient and inexperienced" firm, had been unlawfully awarded the contract to handle containers at Chittagong Port Terminal Yard and Kamalapur Inland Container Depot.

Akbar Hossain, the late shipping minister and son Ismail Hossain Saimon persuaded Coco and Khaleda to intervene to give the work to GATCO, according to the FIR.

Saimon was arrested Monday.

The purchase committee rejected GATCO's bid on November 12, 2003 on the grounds that it had no experience of container handling and recommended a re-tender.

However, the prime minister Khaleda snubbed the committee's recommendation and awarded the work to GATCO, which was unfit for the job, the case alleged.

The members of the cabinet purchase committee in question are former finance minister M Saifur Rahman, local government minister Abdul Mannan Bhuiyan, health minister Dr Khandakar Mosharraf Hossain, information minister M Shamsul Islam, agriculture minister MK Anwar and industry minister Matiur Rahman Nizami.

The cabinet secretary acted as the ex-officio member-secretary to the committee.

Dr Khandakar Mosharraf Hossain and AKM Mossharraf Hossain are now in jail.

Will Bangladesh learn from its neighbors about military rule?

Will Bangladesh learn from its neighbors about military rule?
SYLHET, September 24, 2007
RATER ZONAKI
Source: UPI Asia Online

Column: Humanity or Humor?
Wherever in the world a military government has been established, a human rights disaster has followed. Few nations have had the eyes to see or the public wisdom to assess the losses they have suffered, however. Some only come to understand years later the national tragedy inflicted on them by the military; sometimes it takes decades to realize and comprehend the wounds caused by militarization.

In two Southeast Asian neighbors of Bangladesh, Thailand and Burma, the people have already awakened to these problems. Within a year of becoming a military state, protests have increasingly taken place in Thailand. A referendum to approve the military government's new constitution failed in some of the country's northern areas, while the total number of votes cast in support of the constitution was disappointing to the rulers.

In neighboring Burma, Buddhist monks have taken to the streets in Rangoon and other parts of the country in recent weeks to protest against the military government that has ruled since 1962. The participation of the monks is rapidly being multiplied, and the protests have been spreading among other communities, such as cultural activists and, most importantly, ordinary people.

Thousands of monks have pushed the military government to such an extent that it allowed the country's top dissident, Aung San Suu Kyi, to appear in public on Saturday, which was the Nobel laureate's first public appearance since 2003. Hundreds of bloggers have been disseminating information around the globe with photos, video footage and audio accounts in order to inform and attract more support from other parts of the world.

Meanwhile, the people of Bangladesh, who have been proud of their stance against tyrants since the days of British colonial rule, are in a radically different mood today. Unlike the national consensus before and after independence in 1971, this time the people seem to be dumb and deaf -- they do not protest against the military-backed government's unconstitutional nature and its repressive policies and actions.

The government's mechanisms of suppression, such as those employed with the media, have shut the people's mouths. This voiceless condition prevails all over the country and allows militarization to expand and embed itself everywhere.

People that claim to be intellectuals do not write or speak about the problems related to the present militarization. The renowned faces that always appear on local television are either busy praising the government or carefully avoiding critical comments, to protect themselves from the wrath of the armed forces. The intellectuals that spent hundreds of hours criticizing elected governments in recent years have apparently now forgotten how to speak out.

The so-called civil society personalities, who were tirelessly vocal about their respective political views in the past, have suddenly grown patient and silent at this crucial time. Why? Are there not enough reasons to speak out and enough incidents with which to disagree? Are all of them sleeping? Is not this the time to awaken the people and rulers of Bangladesh about the destruction of the country's democratic institutions? Should they not now be pointing out the current danger to Bangladesh's political system, the threat to the nation's democratic practices and institutions that maintain and protect the rule of law?

Every country needs a strong, committed and impartial group of people who love their nation and can act as the conscience of the country to correct their rulers' mistakes. Such members of civil society who consciously avoid the corridors of power can influence the views and policies of the nation's leaders.

Bangladesh's fate is quite unfortunate in this context, however, for it has failed to generate such a trustworthy group of people for decades: sadly, everyone is deemed politically biased in the country. Is it not possible for the people to lift the country from the depths of militarization to which it has plunged, a political descent that is pushing the nation backward?

In January, in the midst of a chilly winter, the present government took power through an overnight declaration of a state of emergency and a curfew across the country. The winter has been prolonged for months, however, as the nation has not realized its dire dilemma -- an ominous predicament especially affecting the economy, democracy, human rights and the rule of law. It is not known how long the nation will suffer from these chilling winds of winter. The spring must come quickly and without delay. Is the spring still far away in Bangladesh? Will the nation learn from its neighbors how to resurrect freedom in a militarized nation?

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(Rater Zonaki is the pseudonym of a human rights defender living in Sylhet in Bangladesh, who has been working on human rights issues in the country for more than a decade and who was a journalist in Bangladesh in the 1990s.)

Bangladesh govt may outstay welcome - Commonwealth

Bangladesh govt may outstay welcome - Commonwealth
By Simon Denyer
Source: Reuters India
September 24, 2007

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Bangladesh's caretaker government is playing with fire by delaying elections until the end of next year and could lose popular support, the Commonwealth's most senior official said on Monday.

"They should not take the electorate for granted. Don't believe that just because they want you now they will want you tomorrow," Commonwealth Secretary-General Don McKinnon told Reuters on a visit to the Indian capital, New Delhi.

"If you lose the confidence of the people, you are in big trouble," the New Zealander who heads the 53-member group of mostly ex-British Empire nations said in an interview.

Bangladesh has been under a state of emergency since January when an army-backed interim administration took power after months of political violence, cancelled elections and banned all political activity.

Normally an interim administration is supposed to be in place for just three months to supervise elections.

This government now says it will not hold elections until late next year, after preparing a new voters' list with photographs and completing a campaign against corruption and abuse of power.

McKinnon said the government, which enjoyed widespread support when it took power, needed to speed up preparations for elections and keep people properly informed of what it was doing.

"It is pushing a constitutional issue to an absolute extreme to believe that a caretaker government, elected on the basis of about three months, should stay there for a couple of years."

"For Bangladesh to go for a couple of years without a parliament is asking a lot," he said, adding this could put the country in "quite a difficult situation".

Earlier this month Bangladesh's government lifted a ban on indoor political activities to let parties prepare for elections.

However, more than 170 political leaders, including two former prime ministers, Begum Khaldea Zia and Sheikh Hasina, have been detained in the authority's drive to stamp out corruption.

McKinnon said he was concerned about "6-800 political detainees" and another 100,000 people who have been put in detention.

"You have got problems there that really have to resolved today," he said.

Last week the United States urged Bangladesh to take further steps to restore democracy but said it supported the government's plans to hold credible elections. McKinnon was in India for a meeting of parliamentarians from around the Commonwealth, which represents 1.8 billion people but has no formal decision-making powers.

Illegal hands of the Election Commission

The current army backed government is tactfully using the Election Commission and the Anti Corruption Commission to redesign the political landscape of Bangladesh. They may have forgotten that democracy can not be imposed from the top to bottom or erected superficially by using authority. Democracy may return but will not last when it is coerced to be shaped by fear and retribution. BDnews24 reports,

Dhaka, Sept 23 (bdnews24.com)—Worker's Party president Rashed Khan Menon Sunday came down heavily on the government and the Election Commission.

"The government is using the Election Commission to do the unpopular job of reining in political parties because the present interim government is not in a position to do so lawfully."

"Attempts are underway to push secret agenda through the Election Commission," Menon said in his address to a discussion on "Electoral Reforms" held in the party's Motijheel office.

Other senior members of the party also spoke at the discussion, chaired by convener Abul Hossain.

Menon further said, "The government speaks of graft and plunder but doesn't say anything against communalism and fundamentalists."

"If fair elections were held, Jamaat would not score more than 8 percent of votes," he asserted.

Menon said: "We want registration of political parties to strengthen democracy, but registration does not mean regulating the parties."

"The EC has no right to decide or impose conditions on the running of the political parties or their constitutions and manifestos. Our relationship with the EC is based on ballots."

"We should remember that demand for reforms to the election laws was not a gift from the Election Commission. It's the outcome of people's movement," he said.

Commenting on the recent events relating to the "rogue cartoon", he said: "People's faith in religion is not fragile to be shaken with one stroke. People are God-fearing, not communal."

Menon blamed former presidents Ziaur Rahman and HM Ershad for what he said was destroying the election system.

Fazle Hosain Badshah, a member of the party politburo, demanded a ban on politics in places of worship.

"The EC should deal with any speech, slogan or poster posing danger to collective harmony."

Two Tales of Two Lands

Sometimes pictures are more powerful and meaningful than words. Two stories broke out almost at the same time in Bangladesh and Burma. On the first picture, monks in Burma are protesting military rule and challenging the junta for freedom of people's will.

On the second picture, an Editor in Bangladesh apologetically surrenders to the fanatics axis emboldened by the army backed government. The CTG Adviser Barrister Moinul Hossain takes the Editor Motiur Rahman of Prothom Alo to apologize to the religious leader over an innocent cartoon row. Bangladesh Watchdog frames the thought, "Well the action by the government will apparently encourage the defeated Islamists and radical Muslims to further intimidate and coerce the secular, liberals and pro-independence population of the country".

Both pictures are tragically distinct in their messages when the former wants to uphold the freedom of will, as the later one mesmerizes the fundamentalists to annihilate the freedom of will!!!

Conspiracy theory vs a plausible hypothesis

Conspiracy theory has never been a plausible hypothesis
Mozammel H. Khan

Source: Mukto-Mona
Published on September 21, 2007

The term "conspiracy theory" may be a neutral descriptor for any conspiracy claim. To conspire means, as defined by Webster dictionary, "to join in a secret agreement to do an unlawful or wrongful act or to use such means to accomplish a lawful end." However, conspiracy theory is also used to indicate a narrative genre that includes a broad selection of arguments for the existence of grand conspiracies, any of which might have far-reaching social and political implications if true. In a political sense, conspiracy refers to a group of persons united in the goal of usurping or overthrowing an established political power.

During the Pakistani era the conspiracy theories were frequently put forward against the politicians who were not ready to dance in tune with the wishes of the vested rulers. The most famous (on infamous) conspiracy case in our land was the so-called Agartala conspiracy case brought against Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and 34 others Bengali civil and military officers, which in total contrast with the design of the then rulers, turned out to refuel the flame of our quest for independence. The successive regimes of the independent Bangladesh have used the conspiracy theories, at various extents, against their political opponents to malign the intentions even of their genuine political agenda. The allegations of conspiracy theories reached its peak during the past era of the BNP-Jamat government. The government would see the hands of conspiracy behind all the big bomb blasts and political actions of the opposition in the country and implicate reputed persons and politicians with charges that were to eventually prove false and fabricated.

Bangladesh is currently under the reign of a unique government whose members or its visible backers are presumed to have no political ambitions. It is more or less a national consensus that the January 11 takeover was the best course of action given any other possible options. The prime destiny of this government is to transfer power to a government elected through a free and fair election and the EC is believed to be working relentlessly towards meeting the goal of their widely publicized roadmap. Any political party that relies on people’s support to step into the helm of the government or any individual desires or demands the country’s early return to democratic rule will be only helping in its effort to accelerate its march through the roadmap rather than destabilizing the government that could only create hindrance to achieving its principal goal. Even a street urchin of Bangladesh knows what awaits next if this government fails. In that unfortunate likelihood, history tells us that the parties with no strong mass footings or individuals possessing volatile and flimsy political belief get the opportunity to flourish their fortune.

The most serious challenge of the government came during and in the aftermath of unfortunate Dhaka University incident. As promised by CA in his address to the nation, a single member judicial commission was formed to investigate the incident. It was believed that, departing from the ill-practices of the past political government, the CTG would act according to the findings and recommendations of the commission. However, to our utter disappointment, we heard, even before the commission started its work, from no other than the army chief that a ‘conspiracy’ was offing by “the evil forces to destabilize the situation by creating anarchy and undermining the image of the government.” Such a disclosure from the army chief before completion of the judicial investigation greatly undermines the process, reflects its redundancy and creates apprehension if the commission’s report would really see the light of the day, if its findings contradict his assertions. The government in an unprecedented move has already sued and arrested a number of highly respected teachers of the universities, which no other government ever endeavoured to do since the British left the subcontinent in 1947. All the arrested teachers possess some sort of association or sympathy for some major political parties, (my Canadian professor colleague is running for MPP in the ensuing election) and it is obvious that their favoured party’s interest will be best served with the early and proper implementation of EC’s roadmap, not by any means creating any roadblock or destabilizing the government. A simple hindsight would negate their involvement in any alleged conspiracy.

Another conspiracy theory has been popped up by the law adviser Mainul Hosein while reacting to publishing a cartoon in ‘Alpin’ of Prothom Alo. The adviser asserted, “there is a conspiracy to create a dangerous and unwanted situation; everyone has to remain united against the conspiracy to destabilize the country.” His contention should have been cautious to extinguish the flame of ignorance rather igniting it. After living in the heartland of the Arab world, the birth place of our great religion, for eleven years I have identified many of our ignorance vis-à-vis the true doctrines and practices of Islam. Eluding any debate on the issue, albeit the cartoon reflected a satire on ignorance rather than any ignominy of religious spirit, it is beyond any comprehension why the country’s most widely circulated Bengali Daily will indulge itself into a conspiracy against the government that enjoys its most vociferous support. What benefit the young cartoonist and the in-charge editor of the ‘Alpin’ would have reaped from destabilizing the country, if at all that would be possible? The editor of Prothom Alo, confessing the responsibility as the editor, has publicly and personally apologized through various media and the matter should be settled there. By the same token, the young cartoonist should be freed since the lion share of the burden, if any, lies with the editor, not the contributor of any published media. Reportedly a very similar cartoon appeared in a monthly magazine published by Jamati Islami’s student wing in November 1998. Neither did the then government initiate any legal action against any one nor did any one make any hue and cry out of it.

Conspiracy theory is the reclusion of the morally weak and dejected rulers and has never been a plausible hypothesis. Any government that boasts to enjoy the support of the masses never has to resort to propagating an implausible proposition.

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Dr. Mozammel H. Khan is the Convenor of the Canadian Committee for Human Rights and Democracy in Bangladesh. He writes from Toronto, Canada.