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EDITOR
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Editorial
‘Fortnightly’
পাক্ষিক |
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BHRC Human Rights Report
Total 498 persons killed in
February, 2015
The documentation section of Bangladesh Human Rights
Commission (BHRC) furnished this human rights survey
report on the basis of daily newspapers and
information received from its district, sub-district
and municipal branches. As per survey it appears
that 498 peoples were killed in January, 2015 in all
over the country. It proves that the law and order
situation is not satisfactory. Bangladesh Human
Rights Commissions extremely anxious about this
situation. In the month of February, 2015 average 18
people were killed in each day.
The Law enforcing agencies and related Govt.
departments should be more responsible so that
percentage of killing may be brought down to zero
level. To institutionalize the democracy and to
build human rights based society the rule of law and
order must be established everywhere. Through
enforcing rule of law only such violation against
human rights can be minimized.
It appears from documentation division of BHRC:
Total 798 person killed in February, 2015.
Political killing 72, Killing for dowry 9, killing
by family violence 27, Killed due to social
discrepancy 18, Killed by Law enforcing authority 4,
Killed due to doctor negligence 34 Assassination 4,
Mysterious death 29, Killed due to BSF 6, Rape &
Killed 5.
Killed by several accidents:
Killed by road accident 184 and Suicide 38.
Besides victims of torture:
Rape 12 and Torture for Dowry 1.
Mamata tells Hasina not to worry about Teesta deal
Visiting West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banarjee
on Saturday reassured the prime minister, Sheikh
Hasina, that she would play a positive role so that
the much-talked-about Teesta water sharing deal
could be signed soon keeping the interests of both
Bangladesh and the West Bengal unharmed.
Mamata also assured Hasina that the long-standing
Land Boundary Agreement would be ratified by the
Indian parliament in its budget session, beginning
on February 23.
Mamata came up with the assurance when she met
Hasina at her official residence Ganabhaban.
Prime minister's media adviser Iqbal Sobhan
Chowdhury at a briefing after the meeting said
Mamata told the prime minister that she also loved
Bangladesh as it was her country. 'We look after the
interests of Bangladesh with utmost importance…the (Teesta)
agreement will be signed very soon protecting the
interests of Bangladesh and West Bengal,' Iqbal
quoted Mamata as telling Hasina.
Urging the prime minister not to worry at all about
the Teesta issue, Mamata said that she would play a
positive role in this regard, Iqbal said.
Hasina welcomed Mamata to Bangladesh and thanked her
for her positive role in various issues pending
between the two neighbouring nations.
Presenting a miniature boat, Hasina requested the
West Bengal chief minister to look after that so
that it (boat) could ply rivers in Bangladesh.
'You can rest assured, do not worry,' Mamata was
again quoted as telling Hasina.
When Mamata told Hasina about the scarcity of hilsa
in West Bengal, Hasina said, 'Hilsa will also be
available there when the water will start flowing
(to Bangladesh).'
Responding to a question from an Indian journalist,
Iqbal said that the Teesta water sharing issue was
raised by the West Bengal chief minister.
About the Land Boundary Agreement ratification,
Mamata said that the problem about to be resolved.
'The LBA will be passed in the budget session,' she
was quoted by Iqbal to have told Hasina. campaigning
for Bangla as one of the state languages of the then
Pakistan 63 years ago.
The president, Abdul Hamid, was the first to place a
wreath at the altar on behalf of the nation a minute
after midnight followed by the prime minister,
Sheikh Hasina, as head of the government.
The president and the prime minister stood in solemn
silence for a while as a mark of respect to the
language movement martyrs.
Jatiya Sangsad speaker Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury,
visiting United Kingdom House of Lords speaker
Baroness Frances D'Souza and West Bengal chief
minister Mamata Banerjee, along with other Indian
guests, also paid tributes to the language martyrs
in the first hour of the day.
The Teesta deal was supposed to be struck during
former Indian prime minister Manmohan Singh's
Bangladesh visit in 2011 as the two countries
reportedly agreed to a 50-50 share of the water of
the common river, but it ultimately got shelved
because of Mamata's strong opposition. Mamata who
was scheduled to be at Manmohan's entourage during
the visit finally opted out leaving the deal in the
lurch.
The LBA that was signed during the Indira-Mujib deal
back in 1974 was hanging in Indian parliament since
then, though it was ratified in Bangladesh
parliament during the rule of the country's founding
president Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
As Hasina informed Mamata about the miseries of the
people living in enclaves, Mamata said that she was
aware of that.
On her arrival at the Ganabhaban, the West Bengal
chief minister was received by the prime minister at
its main entrance.
DU teachers protest political unrest
A section of Dhaka University teachers today
observed a two-hour token hunger strike on the
campus in protest against the ongoing political
violence and arson attacks throughout the country.
Around 150 pro-Awami League and left-leaning
teachers under the banner of Dhaka University
Teachers Association (Duta) took part in the hunger
strike that started at Aparayeo Bangla around
11:00am.
National Human Rights Commission Chairman Dr Mizanur
Rahman joined the programme and addressed the
gathering.
The speakers at the programme protested the present
political chaos that is hampering the SSC
examinations and education sector gravely.
The BNP-led 20-party alliance is observing fresh
spell of 72-hour hartal from Sunday coincide with
the nonstop countrywide blockaded since January 6
protesting the alleged killings, tortures and
arrests of the alliance's men and demanding a fresh
and inclusive election under non-party government.
Nation salutes
language heroes
Streams of mourners began filing past
the shaheed minars after placing flowers at the
altars across the country as clock struck the zero
hour 20 February with the nation paying homage to
the martyrs of the Language Movement of 1952 in a
beefed up security amid a protracted blockade
enforced by the opposition alliance.
In the capital Dhaka, thousands of people stood
barefoot in queues at the Central Shaheed Minar from
the first hours of Saturday to pay respect to the
heroes who had laid down their lives campaigning for
Bangla as one of the state languages of the then
Pakistan 63 years ago.
The president, Abdul Hamid, was the first to place a
wreath at the altar on behalf of the nation a minute
after midnight followed by the prime minister,
Sheikh Hasina, as head of the government.
The president and the prime minister stood in solemn
silence for a while as a mark of respect to the
language movement martyrs.
Jatiya Sangsad speaker Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury,
visiting United Kingdom House of Lords speaker
Baroness Frances D'Souza and West Bengal chief
minister Mamata Banerjee, along with other Indian
guests, also paid tributes to the language martyrs
in the first hour of the day.
JS speaker gets 'Women Leadership
Achievement Award'
Bangladesh Jatiya
Sangsad (JS) Speaker and Commonwealth Parliamentary
Association (CPA) Executive Committee Chairperson
Dr. Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury got 'Women Leadership
Achievement Award' at a function in India today.
The function was held at Mumbai in India with the
beginning of 2nd World Women Leadership Congress and
Award (WWLCA) 2015 today, said an official release
here.
On this occasion, addressing a seminar 'Connecting
Minds, Creating the Future', Speaker Shirin Sharmin
called for integrating women in the mainstream of
development.
She said the women community and all others would
have to work together to face the challenges on the
way of establishing women leadership across the
world.
Along with the government, all nongovernment and
corporate agencies would have to work together to
establish gender parity in society, she added.
The speaker said the 'World Women Leadership
Congress' is a unique forum for the women
established in society.
This forum is playing an important role in enhancing
awareness and increasing communication by insuring
equal opportunities for women in all sectors, she
added.
The cost of the crisis Courier Briefing
Surveying the economic cost, on top of the lives
lost.
A recent, mostly post-2008 trend in the information
space has been attempts by various organisations -
trade associations, business chambers, research
institutes - to arrive at some form of valuation of
the cost incurred by the economy, as a result of
Bangladesh's dysfunctional politics. How much each
day of hartal costs the economy as a whole, or some
industries in particular, is now very much a hot
topic of conversation, and mostly serve to reinforce
the case against such political measures.
With the countrywide non-stop transport blockade
enforced by the BNP-led 20-party alliance
continuing, the Bangladesh Railway (BR) for example,
has been counting a loss of Tk 30-40 lakh a day.
That is according to BR officials who spoke with our
sister news-agency, UNB, this past week. Train
services across the country have been badly
disrupted due to the nonstop blockade as all the
trains are running behind their respective schedules
to avoid acts of sabotage, causing immense
sufferings to passengers.
The FBCCI, the country's apex chamber, has been
notably vocal in recent years against the
ill-effects of opposition programs like hartal on
the economy. As hartal and oborodh both increasingly
turn into two sides of the same coin, some of the
work done by the chambers to pinpoint the cost of
hartals may be worth recalling.
During the present blockade, the FBCCI has once
again raised the possibility of banning hartals and
the like as legitimate political activity.
Meanwhile, the body's president Kazi Akramuddin
Ahmed has pinpointed transport, industrial
production and tourism as the worst-affected sectors
due to recent blockade programmes. "The transport
sector alone suffers a loss of around Tk 200 crore
every day."
In 2013, the Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry
conducted a sector-wise survey to estimate the
extent of losses caused by hartals. The survey found
that a single day of hartal caused losses of around
Tk 1,600 crore. At this rate, the country lost
around 8% of its GDP during the 52 hartals that were
staged during the 2013-14 fiscal year. The DCCI's
estimate is also at odds with a World Bank note that
same year, that estimated the cost to the economy of
a day's hartal at around $50 million (over Tk 3500
crore at today's exchange rate).
This time around, the country has suffered an
economic loss to the tune of Tk 364.46 billion in 16
days of the nationwide blockade from January 5 to
January 20, according to the DCCI.
"Our businesses are not running well. We are at risk
due to the ongoing political unrest. We want to get
rid of such an unpleasant situation," President DCCI
Hossain Khaled told the media at a press briefing at
DCCI Auditorium on January 22, 2015.
He said the calculation of the losses was made
taking into consideration 16 sectors, including
readymade garment, transport, tourism, insurance and
others. He said due to hartal the economic losses
are around Tk 22. 77 billion per day.
"The losses we suffered in the 16 days' shutdowns
are 2.697 per cent of the gross domestic product
(GDP)," Mr Khaled mentioned. He said that one day's
GDP is equivalent to Tk 37.01 billion.
Khaled said the country's agriculture sector
suffered a loss worth Tk 2.88 billion per day while
the poultry industry incurred a loss worth Tk 182
million a day. Apart from it the housing sector's
loss was estimated at Tk 2.5 billion each day due to
the hartal and blockade, he added.
He mentioned that the schedules in the country's
education sector have collapsed hitting education
hard at all levels. He proposed formation of a
citizens' council with senior citizens, business
representatives, media personnel, educationists and
experts to deal with the current situation.
"No one of the committee members should have
political affiliation," he proposed. He said the
proposed citizens' council would evaluate all
political parties equally and place acceptable
recommendations that can be placed in Parliament,
too.
The DCCI urged the political parties to shun
violence and destructive political activities.
"Political movement should in no way turn violent.
We expect a peaceful movement from political
parties." He said dialogue is the only way to
resolve the current political crisis. "Any pressure
or force can't bring the desired solution," he
added.
Asked if they have any plan to call upon the two
major political parties (Awami League and BNP) for
dialogue to resolve the ongoing political impasse,
he said, "If necessary, we will take initiative. As
a representative of business people, we will tell
them (two major parties) as much as possible for the
sake our businesses and country's economy".
"We hope they (politicians) will listen to our
pleas," he said and vented his frustration over the
financial losses incurred during the last few days
due to ongoing blockade. "I have doubt what is gone
(Financial losses) will come back," he also said.
Replying to a question he said: "If we get
opportunity then we will meet Prime Minister Sheikh
Hasina and BNP Chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia". He
suggested that political parties will have to reach
a solution through effective discussions so that the
economy does not get affected..
.
Compounding public
pain
My commentary last week focused on
how Khaleda Zia's political campaign to oust Sheikh
Hasina had degenerated into mindless acts of arson
and sabotage and the resulting loss of about 45
lives, most of them killed in petrol bomb attacks.
The column that appeared on the last issue of Dhaka
Courier had concluded that the BNP leader was going
nowhere closer to her objectives even after the
widespread use of petrol bombs. So, it was argued,
she should push the pause button to allow her party
to reassess the public response or the lack of it to
make the next move. My views had been shared by many
readers. Not by Khaleda, the protagonist of the
month-long campaign of blockade and hartal.
If BNP had postponed its agitation for at least
about a month the gesture would have allowed nearly
1.5 million students to sit for their annual
10th-grade exams. They and their guardians would
surely have cheered Khaleda for thinking about the
education of the future nation builders. Repeated
pleas from the students and their guardians - many
of them taking to the streets to stage "human
chains" went unheeded by the leader of Bangladesh
Nationalist Party, the largest opposition political
party, and the three-time premier of the country.
Instead, BNP has gone for another 36-hour extension
of the hartal (on top of the non-stop blockade)
forcing the authorities to have another readjustment
of SCC exam schedule. The tests were scheduled to
start on Feb. 2.
Not only the SSC students. BNP and its allies have
ignored the pain and hardships of all sections of
the society - from small farmers to affluent
businessmen - in advancing her movement that has got
tarnished by her sheer display of arrogance tinged
with her party's single-minded motive of going to
power literally by any means.
Let's play a game of mind reading. What's going
through Khaleda's mind? Her actions so far directed
from her confinement into her party's Ghulsan office
can give us some clues. It seems she is aware of the
anger that has been building in the public mind
because of her all-crippling blockade and hartal. At
the same time she is confident that this anger is
helping her because she thinks what she is doing is
weakening the government and forcing it to make
crucial errors that eventually will lead to an
anti-government mass upsurge. The public anger will
be directed against Hasina and not her.
Her goal to provoke other forces which had in the
past played crucial roles in Bangladesh politics
can't be ruled out too. Neither the mass people nor
the other forces have shown any inclination (so far,
even though the campaign is about entering its
second month) to get involved.
Still, Khaleda has steeled her determination not to
relent in her efforts until her bitter foe Hasina
bows to her demand: a new parliamentary election
under the supervision of a neutral caretaker
administration, a constitutional provision scrapped
by Hasina-led parliament after the Supreme Court
voided it as contrary to the country's constitution.
Hasina too has proved as adamant as before. She is
not giving up, especially when Khaleda has failed to
lure the people to turn into riotous mobs and take
the situation out of Hasina's control. If Khaleda is
firmly steadfast in her purpose, Hasina too is
equally (or even more than her adversary) confident
that her hard days will be over sooner than later.
Hasina is relying more on the fact that Khaleda
lacks street support. The prime minister has the
administration behind her and she enjoys the
advantage of the absence of street demonstrations.
She must be feeling comfortable as she has been able
to contain the agitation only through arrests of the
BNP leaders rather than confronting a situation in
which law enforcement agencies would have been
forced to use batons, bullets and tear gas or she
should have been forced to declare a state of
emergency or call the military for help.
Meanwhile, the public sufferings compounds. They are
paying the price of the nasty feuding between the
country's two most powerful women.
Wanted: a 'Made in
Bangladesh' solution
Wanted: a 'Made in Bangladesh'
solution
Whenever Bangladesh's political
situation gets complicated in its way to power game,
many people consider the international community,
specially the United Nations and United States
(besides neighbouring states) as very prominent
players. This is despite each time, some form of
'homegrown solution', like some family recipe, wins
out at the end of the day.
We have been witnessing a terrible, in many ways
unprecedented, wave of violence including arson,
across the country for the first two months of 2015.
The ongoing unrest and violence in Bangladesh
including bus burnings and train derailments that
have killed and wounded so many innocent victims are
obviously for political objectives. Obviously there
is simply no justification for such actions in a
democratic Bangladesh.
At this critical situation, all eyes were on the UN
and the United States to listen what they say and
watch what they do in resolving the Bangladesh's
political crisis. BNP which boycotted the one-sided
January 5 elections, seems to very dependent on
foreign support these days, has been looking for
more pressure from the international community on
the government to reach compromise and hold dialogue
for holding an inclusive election. Even, BNP
Chairperson Khaleda Zia has sought such pressure
from the international community during her recent
interview with AFP, the Paris-based international
news agency.
It is understood that something was happening behind
the scenes to resolve the political crisis as the UN
Assistant Secretary for Peacebuilding Support Oscar
Fernandez-Taranco and US Assistant Secretary Nisha
Desai Biswal had discussed Bangladesh situation in a
meeting recently. At the same time, all were eagerly
awaiting the maiden press conference of the new US
Ambassador in Dhaka Marcia Stephens Bloom Bernicat.
But the seasoned diplomat laid emphasis on bilateral
relations and directly stated that the United States
does not back any particular political force or
party in Bangladesh. Their intension, as she
described, is to work with all Bangladeshis,
including a government that is receptive to a
broader and deeper bilateral relationship with the
United States. I found one of her sentences very
goal-oriented when she mentioned, 'Our focus now is
to look ahead and move the relationship forward.'
This indicates the US is now focused on broadening
ties instead of going back to election issues. But
we must also understand that the language of
diplomacy simply wouldn't allow for much insight
into what is the real thinking informing
Washington's actions. So admittedly subjecting
Ambassador Bernicat's remarks at a scheduled press
conference, albeit her first official one since
taking charge, to too much analysis that bestows
layers of meaning on them could be a colossal waste
of time.
We have seen another development regarding the
involvement of the United Nations in resolving the
current political crisis. United Nations Secretary
General Ban Ki-moon has recently sent letters to
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and BNP Chairperson
Khaleda Zia, saying that UN Assistant Secretary
General Oscar Fernandez-Taranco is acting on current
political impasse of Bangladesh on behalf of the
secretary general. When I contacted with the Deputy
Spokesman for the UN Secretary General Farhan Haq,
he confirmed it but did not make any comment on
dialogue issue. However, media reported that the UN
Chief requested both the leaders to sit for dialogue
to resolve the differences.
We do not have the content of the letters. So, it
could not be confirmed whether he called for
dialogue between the two leaders as means of
solution. We assume that the UN chief called for
joint efforts to resolve the ongoing political
crisis to maintain Bangladesh's impressive
socio-economic progress. And generally, the custom
worldwide for political parties to resolve their
disputes is through one of two ways - either go to
the people, by arranging a ballot, or talk amongst
themselves. But of course Bangladesh broke out of
the universally understood, or locally hitherto
understood, paradigm of politics a long time ago.
However, the government ruled out any possibility of
dialogue with BNP. Confirming the UN chief's letters
to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and BNP Chief
Khaleda Zia, State Minister for Foreign Affairs M
Shahriar Alam has reiterated the government's
position that there would be no dialogue with the
'killer.' He, however, did not make it clear whether
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon called for dialogue
between the two major parties to resolve the ongoing
political crisis. Asked whether call for dialogue
was there in the letter specifically, Shahriar told
me that there are many issues mentioned in the
letter and he already described the contents. What
he says that the UN chief has requested the Prime
Minister to take necessary steps to 'deescalate' the
ongoing violence. Shahriar said the government will
reply to the letter of the UN chief soon and is
taking preparation to that end. The UN chief laid
emphasis saying it needs to be checked so that
violence does not take place further before the next
national election.
Still
some way to go
AKM Moinuddin
Her presence made a difference for so many of us.
She kept trying to remove misunderstandings and
restore confidence among all. I am talking about
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's
three-day goodwill visit to Bangladesh. I had the
opportunity to listen to her thrice during her stay
in Dhaka.
Mamata last visited Bangladesh 17 years ago and this
was her first visit after the new government came to
power in the West Bengal in May 2011. Before coming
here, she described her travel to Dhaka as a 'very
emotional moment' and mentioned that some journeys
are more emotional. Yes, her visit was very special
for us too. Because, the Teesta water sharing deal
could not be signed during former Indian Prime
Minister Manmohan Singh's visit to Dhaka in
September, 2011, due to last minute objection by
Mamata.
During her discussion here, Mamata Banerjee
requested us to 'keep confidence' in her about the
signing of much-sought Teesta Water sharing deal
between the two countries. She discussed the issue
with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Mamata also said
she would work as a bridge between two Bengals in
removing misunderstandings over the Teesta water
sharing. These are very encouraging words from her
part. According to Mamata, there are some problems
in Bangladesh and some problems in their part too.
She assured us not to worry about the matter. When
she raised the issue at a discussion with cultural
personalities and conveyed her willingness to
resolve the issue, all clapped and welcomed her
assurance. Mamata said she is a very insignificant
person and she has already resolved the LBA (Land
Boundary Agreement) issue.
Things were fine until we received a statement from
the Indian High Commission in Dhaka on her visit
just an hour before Mamata's departure from Dhaka. I
have gone through the entire statement. It says
Chief Minister conveyed West Bengal government's
commitment to the Land Boundary Agreement and
Protocol. Chief Minister and Prime Minister Sheikh
Hasina held positive discussions on the Teesta Water
issue. But like many others, I got confused about a
sentence. It reads 'Chief Minister conveyed that
there are some technical issues that needed
resolution so as to ensure that the matter is
resolved in a way that benefits both sides and
safeguards the welfare of the populations that are
dependent on the Teesta waters.'
It seems that there will be further delay in signing
the Teesta deal as technical issues have come up
again. There is no clear indication as to which are
the technical issues; and how and when these
technical issues will be addressed to sign the
Teesta deal.
It is expected that the Chief Minister of the most
important Indian neighbouring state to Bangladesh
will deliver her commitment. We keep confidence in
her on Teesta water sharing issue. She termed her
Bangladesh visit 'constructive, positive and
historic'. We take her for her words and believe
that Bangladesh's interest in an equitable share of
the Teesta waters will be duly addressed and
protected.
.