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Monday, October 15, 2007

[vinnomot] The Myanmar crisis and the U.N. way

SAN-Feature Service
SOUTH ASIAN NEWS-FEATURE SERVICE
October 16,2007
 
The Myanmar crisis and the U.N. way
 
P.S. Suryanarayana
 
With China and Russia continuing to rein the U.S. in, the Security Council has now moved away from its January posture of no collective action and towards a politically non-prescriptive stand on the Myanmar issue. 
 
SAN-Feature Service : Myanmar's ruling junta has finally failed in its bid to fly under the radar of the United Nations and avoid being held accountable for crushing a popular uprising by Buddhist monks, students, pro-democracy activists, and others.
 
U.N. Special Envoy Ibrahim Gambari will, on Monday, begin a new round of diplomatic efforts to persuade or pressure Myanmar's military regime to move towards "an inclusive national reconciliation." Significantly, the "direct support of the U.N." is on offer to help the junta, styled the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), "achieve" such reconciliation.
 
Towards this end, Mr. Gambari will now begin a series of talks with the leaders of key states in Myanmar's extended neighbourhood — Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, India, China, and Japan.
 
In the earlier phase of diplomacy in this regard in late September and early October, Mr. Gambari met SPDC Chairman Than Shwe and Myanmar's celebrated democracy campaigner Aung San Suu Kyi. On that occasion, the U.N. Special Envoy held talks with Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong as well. Singapore chairs the 10-member Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), which includes Myanmar.
 
As of now, the SPDC's bid to evade international censure was facilitated, for some time at least, by the differences among key members of the U.N. Security Council on its own role to set right the affairs of a sovereign state. Complicating this political issue, despite its humanitarian dimension, was the argument that the current Myanmar crisis did not pose a threat to peace and stability in that country's neighbourhood and the wider global arena.
 
China and Russia, both permanent members, took this line. The U.S., Britain, and France — the other permanent members with similar veto powers — wanted to condemn the SPDC for its latest crackdown on pro-democracy activists and demanded the immediate release of all political prisoners. In the event, the Security Council issued a presidential statement, "strongly deploring" the recent use of "violence" by the SPDC against "peaceful protesters." It was also emphasised that the SPDC should recognise the "importance of releasing all political prisoners and remaining detainees" in connection with the latest protest marches by Buddhist monks and others.
 
A relevant question is whether the SPDC has got yet another reprieve at the hands of the Security Council. In January, Russia and China vetoed a move by the U.S. and its allies to censure the SPDC. A subterranean political issue accounted for those vetoes — the first double veto on any matter since the end of the Cold War over 15 years ago.
 
China and Russia suspected that the U.S., in the name of resolving the Myanmar issue, sought big-power consensus on Western-style democracy as the norm for internal governance of the U.N. member-states. These suspicions, by no means dissipated, have influenced the discussions in the Security Council this time as well.
 
However, the gravity of the present situation, marked by the deaths of monks and others at the hands of the SPDC's soldiers and police, has resulted in a non-ideological intervention by the Security Council. With China and Russia continuing to rein the U.S. in, the Council has now moved away from its January posture of no collective action and towards a politically non-prescriptive stand on the Myanmar issue. In advocating a "genuine dialogue" between the SPDC, on one side, and Ms. Suu Kyi as also "all concerned parties and ethnic groups," on the other, the Council does not call for anything more prescriptive than the generic norm of a "peaceful solution."
 
It is true that the U.N. Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in Myanmar, Paulo Sergio Pinheiro, has described the SPDC's recent action against the unarmed protesters as "a brutal crackdown."
 
However, the Council's latest collective position has been shaped by not only China and Russia, at one level, but also the ASEAN, a special invitee, at the other. After expressing a sense of "revulsion" at the SPDC's "reported" behaviour this time, the ASEAN gradually started advocating that Myanmar's military establishment must be part of the solution to the current political crisis in that country.
 
The overall Western perspective on the current crisis was reflected in a comment by the British Ambassador to Myanmar, Mark Canning. In his view, the underlying dynamics of the situation there have now fundamentally changed.
 
In the totality of diverse perspectives, therefore, some out-of-the-box ideas have now completely gone off the table. One such idea was that India could perhaps host Ms. Suu Kyi, with her consent as well as that of all other parties concerned, as a means of securing her personal freedom, if her liberty were to be de-linked from the larger democracy issue in Myanmar. However, the ASEAN, which often called upon India and China to help resolve the Myanmar crisis, has never advocated such a radical step. Yet, Myanmar dissident leaders still want India to play a pro-democracy role in regard to their country.—SAN-Feature Service  Courtesy: The Hindu
 


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[vinnomot] Re: General Moeen

I have made inquiries on the subject of the loan and it has been
disclosed to me that Gen. Moeen sold two flats to pay off the Tk. 66
lakhs on the outstanding amount. I think we should be careful before
we start throwing around allegations of corruption with only a portion
of the information.


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[ALOCHONA] a passionate voice from the next generation

Dear Alochoks:

The following link contains an interview with Kawser Jamal who is affiliated with Change Bangladesh - an org many of you have heard about.He also happens to be a friend of mine. But that is not why I am posting this message. I wanted to share with you the passion of the next generation of Bangladeshis - who are educated, sophisticated and have an unsurpassed hunger for a better Bangladesh. Listen to his interview and you will feel his passion.

http://www.voanews.com/bangla/2007-10-14-voa5.cfm

These are the kinds of people who should be given a chance to participate in Bangladeshi civil and political life. And perhaps, the groundwork is being laid for such kind of participation.

Regards,

- M. Raheem
New York
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[Disclaimer: ALOCHONA Management is not liable for information contained in this message. The author takes full responsibility.]
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[vinnomot] The obscurantist Imam is gone but watch out of the pseudo-secularists

The obscurantist Imam is gone but watch out of the pseudo-secularists
 
Shabbir Ahmed
 
The controversial Imam of Baitul Mukarram Mosque, which is also dubbed as the National Mosque of Bangladesh, Maulana Obaidul Haque passed away a few days ago in early October 2007. Many expressed their grief and condolences for his sudden demise.  As a chief Imam of the largest mosque in Bangladesh, he could have received respect and honor during his lifetime from all had he delivered only peaceful Fatwas based on the much hyped peaceful religion Islam.  Unfortunately, he preferred to be a political Imam.  For this, he was supported by Bangladesh Nationalist Party-Jamaat-i-Islami (BNP-JI) axis while he was criticized by the secular and pro-liberation forces for his lifetime controversial actions.  In the past, he made outrageous remarks against freedom fighters and all other freedom loving Bengalis, who freed Bangladesh from the clutch of military-theocratic rule of Pakistan.  This Razakar-minded Imam of Baitul Mukarram mosque called the freedom fighters as "Gaddars" meaning traitors.  At that time, Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) was in power (1990-1996).  The government remained silent.  Someone even filed a law-suit against him for his vicious remarks against the movement for the independence of Bangladesh.  It was not surprising at all that there was no action taken against Maulana Obaidul Haque by the BNP government.  Later, during the rule of Awami League, the lawsuit was activated and Maulana Obaidul Haque was most probably summoned by the court.  At one point, he was even removed from his positions in Islamic Foundation and Baitul Mukarram mosque.

A good number of secularists protested against Maulana Obaidul Haque's vicious role in inciting unrest against minority Ahmadiyas and his involvement with the fundamentalist Jamaat-i-Islami and extreme Islamic right wing party called Khatme Nabuwaat. It is difficult to suppress the political Maulana like Mr. Obaidul Haque because an apparently powerful group of so-called secularists are opportunists enough while confronting the fundamentalists fearlessly.  For this, the fundamentalist Maulanas such as Mr. Obaidul Haque gained strengths in Bangladesh under the direct/indirect patronization of the Pan Islamists and the pseudo-secularists.  They have gained influence so much so that an influential editor named Mr. Matiur Rahman of a widely circulated newspaper Prothom-Alo had to go to him and to his cohorts for begging pardon for publishing a simple cartoon on the name of a cartoon character.  An influential advisor of the present caretaker government went along with the editor to appease the fundamentalist mullahs under the leadership of Maulana Obaidul Haque.

It is true that as an editor of a newspaper, Mr. Matiur Rahman needed to take some steps to calm down the violent extremists on the streets incited by the Maulanas like Mr. Obaidul Haque. The gullible people of Bangladesh hold a general perception on Mr. Matiur Rahman as a brave editor.  Contrary to this perception, it was revealed that Mr. Matiur Rahman submitted to a communal and political Maulana Obaidul Haque in a cowardly fashion.  If it were done by a not-so-vocal and not-so-known editor of a newspaper in Bangladesh, none of the critics would have penned to expose his weak and meek character.  Even Mr. Matiur Rahman would not have subjected to criticism if his actions were not exposed as opportunistic and hypocritical one.

Maulana Obaidul Haque achieved his success a few days before his death by creating a situation on a trivial cartoon that compelled Mr. Matiur Rahman to abandon his so-called braveness and submit to the fundamentalists.  I watched in TV how strong Maulana Obaidul Haque and his fellow Maulanas looked in the Tauba (Repentance) Ceremony and how weak and submissive Mr. Matiur Rahman was in front of them.  Even though Maulana Obaidul Haque will not be able to offer any Fatwa to incite any more violence but his ideals of political Islam based on Sha'ria will be carried on by his followers as we saw some of them in TV.  The real secularists of Bangladesh should unite to confront these political Islamists if they wanted to rid obscurantism from the face of Bangladesh. At the same time, they should keep an eye on the college educated pseudo-secularists who pretend to be the defenders of secularism in Bangladesh. They do more harm than good for their opportunistic behavior.  Therefore, buyer be aware!


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[vinnomot] Change Bangladesh Interview with Voice of America (VOA)

FYI:-

mchowdhury@amreteck.com wrote:

Date: Mon, 15 Oct 2007 16:57:23 +0000 (GMT)
From: mchowdhury@amreteck.com
To: cgmpservices@yahoo.com
Subject: From VOANEWS.COM

From M. M. Chowdhury (Mithu):

Change Bangladesh, USA interview with Voice of America (VOA). Please click to listen the interview.


Article:
 

Bangla 
Bangla
Text Only
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Kawsar Jamal Speaks About "Change Bangladesh"

14-October-2007
Interview audio clip
Listen to Interview audio clip

Change Bangladesh
Change Bangladesh
A group of young energetic expatriate Bangladeshi professionals formed a group named "Change Bangladesh."
Founded in 2006, Change Bangladesh (CBd) is a grassroots, participatory planning organization supporting able leadership in the top echelons of the political process in Bangladesh.
"Change Bangladesh" is working in the field of social, political and economic sectors to bring some desired changes in Bangladesh.
The group is currently working to ensure that the promised 2008 Parliamentary elections will be free and fair.
  Top Story

  More from VOA



Regards,

M. M. Chowdhury (Mithu), Chemical Engineer, USA
President & Founder, Amreteck LLC, USA
Website: www.amreteck.com
Email: Mchowdhury@amreteck.com

Director of Operation, Change Bangladesh Organization, USA
(Portfolio: Foreign Investment, Economic Opportunity & Job Creation)

Website: www.changeBangladesh.com

Email: Info@changeBangladesh.com __._,_.___

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