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Language Movement paved the way for independence: PM
 

Human Rights Report
In the history of Bangalees, Language Movement is immensely important. All our achievements came through this movement," she said while conferring the prestigious Ekushey Padak, the second highest civilian award among recipients. The Ministry of Cultural Affairs organised the programme at the Osmani Memorial Auditorium with State Minister for Cultural Affairs KM Khalid in the chair. The Prime Minister joined it virtually from her official residence Gono Bhaban.
Liberation War Affairs Minister AKM Mozammel Haque handed over the Ekushey Padak among the recipients on behalf of the Prime Minister. Briefly describing the contributions of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman to the Language Movement, Sheikh Hasina said there was an Education Conference in Karachi in December 1947 that had taken a decision that Urdu will be the state language of Pakistan. She mentioned that Bangabandhu formed Chhatra League on January 4, 1948 and the decision for the Language Movement had been taken as per his proposal.
Following his (Bangabandhu's) proposal, the 'Sarbadoliya Rashtrabhasha Bangla Sangram Parishad' had been formed at the Fazlul Huq Hall of Dhaka University, comprising Chhatra League, Tamuddin Majish and several other progressive student organisations in March (1948) for the movement to attain recognition of Bangla as a state language, Hasina recalled.
She mentioned that Bangalees attained independence under the leadership of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman through a long struggle starting from the Language Movement.
Quoting from Bangabandhu's speech delivered on February 21, 1971, she said the Language Movement was not waged only to establish the rights of mother tongue, but also to achieve political, social, cultural and economic rights of the Bangalees.
She recalled the sacrifices of the great sons of the soil, including Rafique, Salam, Jabbar, Barkat and Shafique and said they wrote the rights of the mother tongue with blood. "If anyone is interested to know about the details of the Language Movement, I will request them to go through the Pakistan Intelligence Branch reports on Bangabandhu from 1948 to 1971. We're publishing books on those. Seven volumes have already been published while the remaining are under the process of publication," she said.
The Prime Minister reiterated her firm resolve that Bangladesh would progress with dignity, and will not depend on others.
About the coronavirus situation, Sheikh Hasina renewed her call to the people of the country to follow health rules and wear masks even after taking Covid-19 vaccine.
Cabinet Secretary Khandker Anwarul Islam read out the citations of the award recipients and conducted the function while Cultural Affairs Secretary M Badrul Arefin delivered the welcome speech.








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BHRC & IHRC Human Rights Report on February 2021 in Bangladesh

276 people died of Covid-19 in February 2021
Total 136 person killed in February, 2021

Human Rights Report:

The documentation section of Bangladesh Human Rights Commission (BHRC) and International Human Rights Commission-IHRC jointly furnished this human rights survey report on the basis of daily newspapers and information received from its district, sub-district and municipal branches. BHRC survey found a total of 136 deaths in the killings. According to official figures, 276 people died of the Covid19 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 February 2021, there were an average of 10 Covid19 deaths and 5 deaths in killing per 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:
Coronavirus died in February 2021, according to official estimates 276
Total 136 person killed in February 2021
killing by family violence 25, Killed due to social discrepancy 11, Political Killing 8, Killed by Law enforcing authority 5, Killed by BSF 3, Abduction 3, Assassination 6, Mysterious death 65, Women & Chilled killed due to rape 1.
Killed by several accidents:
Killed by road accident 198, and Suicide 9.
Besides victims of torture: Rape 17 & Sexual Harassment 2.



 

Biden approves US air strike on Iran-backed militias in Syria 

Human Rights Report:
The US military has carried out an air strike targeting Iran-backed militias in Syria, the Pentagon says.
The attack destroyed "multiple facilities located at a border control point used by a number of Iranian-backed militant groups", it said.
It was the first military action ordered by the Biden administration and came in response to attacks against US and coalition personnel in Iraq.
A civilian contractor was killed in a rocket attack on US targets this month.
A US service member and five other contractors were also injured when the rockets hit sites in Irbil, including a base used by the US-led coalition, on 15 February.
Rockets have also struck US bases in Baghdad, including the Green Zone, which houses the US embassy and other diplomatic missions.
The Pentagon named Kataib Hezbollah and Kataib Sayyid al-Shuhada as two of the Iran-backed militias it targeted in Thursday's strike near the Iraqi border in eastern Syria.
It called the action a "proportionate military response" that was taken "together with diplomatic measures", including consulting coalition partners.
The operation "sends an unambiguous message", the Pentagon statement said.
"President Biden will act to protect American and Coalition personnel. At the same time, we have acted in a deliberate manner that aims to de-escalate the overall situation in both eastern Syria and Iraq."
'We know what we hit'
The US did not confirm any casualties, but UK-based monitoring group, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said the US attack had killed at least 17 pro-Iranian fighters.
"The strikes destroyed three lorries carrying munitions," the observatory's Rami Abdul Rahman told AFP. "There were many casualties."
Kataib Hezbollah has denied any role in the recent rocket attacks, but US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin told reporters he was "confident in the target that we went after".
"We know what we hit," he said. "We're confident that that target was being used by the same Shia militants that conducted the strikes" on 15 February.
An unnamed US official told Reuters news agency that the attack was meant to send a signal that while the US wanted to punish the militias, it did not want it to escalate into a bigger conflict.

India finds boat carrying 90 Rohingyas adrift at sea, 8 dead
 

Human Rights Report:
India's coast guard has found a boat adrift in the Andaman Sea carrying scores of Rohingya refugees, including eight who had died, officials said on Thursday (Feb 26).
The boat left Cox's Bazar in Bangladesh on Feb 11 with 90 people, including 23 children, on board and its engine failed on Feb 15, Indian.
External Affairs Ministry spokesman Anurag Srivastava said.
He said the coast guard found 81 people alive on the boat and provided them with food, water and medical care. One refugee was missing, he said.
Two Indian coast guard ships were sent to help the refugees, and the Indian government is in discussions with Bangladesh to ensure their safe return, Srivastava said.
He said 47 of the passengers possessed identity cards from the UN High Commissioner for Refugees issued in Bangladesh stating they are displaced Myanmar nationals.
More than 1 million Rohingya who fled an army crackdown in Myanmar are living in crowded refugee camps in Bangladesh. Human traffickers often lure the refugees, promising them work in Southeast Asian nations.
The UN and rights groups earlier reported that many of the people on the boat were suffering from acute dehydration.
UNHCR spokesperson Catherine Stubberfield said she appreciated the Indian coast guard's efforts.
 

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UK to continue GSP for Bangladesh: Envoy
 

Human Rights Report:

The UK will continue to provide Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) facility for Bangladesh for three more years even after its graduation to a developing country from the least developed one.
British High Commissio-ner to Bangladesh Robert Chatterton Dickson on Wednesday said the UK will provide Bangladesh with the GSP facility up to 2027 so that it can prepare to face new economic challenges after the graduation from the group of Least Developed Countries (LDCs).
The British high commissioner was talking to a group of journalists at his residence on the outcome of the first-ever UK-Bangladesh Trade and Investment Dialogue held at the Commerce Ministry in Dhaka on Tuesday.
In the dialogue, the British government was represented by Robert while the Bangladesh government by Commerce Secretary Dr Md Jafar Uddin.
The UK has started negotiations with its major trade partners, including Bangladesh, all over the world as it has left the EU.
According to officials, like the European Union, the UK will continue the GSP for Bangladesh under the Everything But Arms (EBA) scheme. The EU has said it will provide Bangladesh with the GSP facility up to 2027.
The UK is the third largest export destination of Bangladesh which ships goods worth 2.8 billion Pound Sterling (GBP) to the European country every year.
On the other hand, the UK's export to Bangladesh is 643 million GBP. So, the bilateral trade is heavily in favour of Bangladesh.
For UK companies to invest in Bangladesh, Robert said, systematic changes, including tax regime, financial systems and coordination among various government agencies are imperative.
He said Bangladesh provides fantastic opportunity for investors, but improvement of regulatory issues in conducting business must be addressed.
The high commissioner also noted that nine British companies are already interested in investing in education and other service sectors in Bangladesh. "In the next 2-3 years, 10-15 major British companies may invest in Bangladesh, mostly in financial, IT and health care sectors."
He also urged the authorities to make the country's financial and education sectors more open to foreign investors.
Insurance, stock exchange and capital market are some areas of the financial sectors where British investors have interest, Robert mentioned. "I want to see the Bangladesh market more open to the best of British investment and expertise," he added.
According to the British envoy, many systems here need to be evolved to be globally competitive and world class to be a fully-fledged developing country.
He said inability to enforce contracts, bureaucracy and coordination with different parts of the government pose problems to foreign companies.
Robert said the foreign companies say that they have problems sometimes dealing with the tax authorities in Bangladesh. "Our companies do not mind paying taxes but problem arises when they find unexpected and arbitrary demands from the tax authorities," he added.
Highlighting the prospect of Bangladesh for becoming a top investment destination, he said as per an HSBC survey, Bangladesh is one of the top performers in Asia.
"During pandemic, the country manages to maintain positive growth and I believe that the country's economy will continue to grow after the pandemic is over," the high commissioner said.
Talking about the British investment in the education sector, he told reporters that at least nine UK universities want to set up campuses in Bangladesh to provide higher education of international standard.
"At least nine UK universities are keen to come to Bangladesh and open campuses. They can provide world class education, especially in technology and management, the areas that are most needed in the industries in Bangladesh," he added.
The British envoy also said they are yet to receive any positive response from Bangladesh's University Grants Commission (UGC). Possibly, local private universities have a strong position regarding foreign universities coming to Bangladesh.
Robert explained that a lot of Bangladeshi students go abroad, including to the United Kingdom, for higher studies, but they can have the same quality of education in Bangladesh if UK universities are allowed to operate in the country. "This will save money as well as brain drain that happens otherwise," he said.




 

 

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