[vinnomot] Gujrat catastrophe: A crime against humanity

SAN-Feature Service

SOUTH ASIAN NEWS-FEATURE SERVICE

November 7,2007

 

Gujrat catastrophe: A crime against humanity

Ripan Kumar Biswas

 

Gujarat tragedy, gruesome in nature, horrifying to look, vibrating on the lips of every body evokes an un-canny sensation in our minds.

  

SAN-Feature Service : One can change the state sponsored genocide to carnage, program etc., depending on how one feels about the situation. One can even change sponsored to "aided," "abetted," or allowed," depending on the severity of the situation as well, but the basic point remains that it is these riots, which are sustained and in which there is a great loss of life, property, livelihood and dignity and overall the death of humanity.

 

It behooves the general people and international community to voice concerns when the spineless and hate-filled people of Gujarat are bent on having monsters for their administrators as because no civilized society can tolerate having murders gloating over their murderous deeds. Gujarat tragedy, gruesome in nature, horrifying to look, vibrating on the lips of every body evokes an un-canny sensation in our minds.

 

Expressing its disappointment over the limited information provided by India on impact of 2002 Gujarat riots on women and minorities, the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, asked the Indian Government to resubmit a detailed report on impact of Gujarat massacres on 2,000 casualties or so cases relating to the massacres and the number of sexual assault and violence against women by January 2008.

 

That was an ordinary morning just after one month of the 51st Republic Day of India and last winter in the year and everyone was about to set for their daily routines, but the country was waiting to be marked with February 27, 2002 gruesome tragedy and its horrified aftermath when a fire was raging through couch to couch of the Sabarmati Express train near Godhra station, the western city of Ahmedabad, which left fifty-nine casualties in where some karsevaks (Hindu pilgrims) and some ordinary passengers had been burnt to death.

 

Everyone was shocked and speechless at the incident, but no body envisaged that the incident at Godhra was to become one of the most corrosive ruptures in the nation's recent communal history. The 2002 riots in Gujrat broke out after a Muslim mob was accused of torching the train and the state left at least 2,000 Muslims dead and many victims and rights groups at the time accused the Hindu nationalist- ruled local government of backing the violence.

 

According to the newspapers reports, TV footages and investigations out of government sources, Gujarat's hawkish chief minister Narendra Modi, a member of India's main opposition Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), gave Hindu mob leaders three days to do whatever they wanted whereas according to an inquiry by the state-run railways later ruled that the fire on the train which sparked the riots was an accident. The state police and politicians were also involved to fuel the heinous act.

 

What people had needed then were justice, the uncompromised truth, and a healing touch from their government. And after more than four and half years when people came across the bitter truth the state-sponsored brutality through satellite TV channels Aaj Tak (Until Today) and Headlines Today, based on the secretly recorded by a reporter of the investigative news magazine Tehelka (Sensation) with several men allegedly involved in the anti-Muslim attacks admitting that they were spurred on by Hindu groups allied with the government, the high officials of the state blocked the broadcasting.

 

Without going into the fact and the reason of the incident as the highest executive of the state, Chief Minister Narendra Modi issued a press release within less than 12 hours of the incident declaring war by saying, "This is not a mere communal event but a one-sided collective terrorist attack by one community." As a result, thousands of people were killed, hacked, shot, burnt, raped, their houses were burned, dozens of mosques desecrated.

 

Among the many promises made by the UPA (United Progressive Alliance) government during their 2004 campaign was the enactment of meaningful legislation to prevent the occurrence of "communal riots," effectively deal with them when they do occur, punish those involved, and provide for the compensation and rehabilitation of victims after the fact.

 

For the past two years, several drafts of the Communal Violence (Prevention, Control and Rehabilitation of Victims) Bill (2005) have been released. However, not a single one adequately fulfills any of the purported aims of the Act.

 

Lack of interest to impose those acts against the riots may be influencing the hawkish administrator like Modi and his government, who have been claiming that the incident in Godhra was not a spontaneous burst of mob fury that got out of hand, but a conspiracy pre-planned by significant religious and political Muslim leaders whereas for five years, the people, the courts, the press, and even the survivors have been upholding the truths that they are the killers.

 

The Tehelka claimed that not only the key wings of the administration, the police, administration and legislature were in loop in giving a free hand to the rioters but also a section of the judiciary was also compromised. According to the Gujarat government's state counsel Arvind Pandya, who appeared in the Nanavati-Shah commission, revealed how the cases against the rioters were managed. Pandya further informed that even the Nanavati-Shah commission has been compromised too and KG Shah, who heads the commission along with Nanavati, is sympathetic to the BJP.

 

Gujarat is one of the most prosperous states of the country, having a per-capita GDP 3.2 times India's average and it holds many records in India for economic development like 20% of India s industrial output, 9% mineral production,  22% exports,  24% textile production,  35% pharmaceutical products,  and 51% of India's petrochemical production. If it was a nation it would have been 67th richest nation in the world above many European and Asian economies like China and Ukraine . An average income of a Gujarati family in North America is three times more than the average income of an American family.

 

The persons or whoever responsible for such crimes like riots or genocides should be dealt with until justice is done not only for the sake of the victims but also to protect the constitution that guarantees due process of law.

 

In a joint statement as many as 17 Indian American organizations and 21 eminent members of the NRI (Non-Resident Indians) community in the United States urged the UPA Government to impose Presidents' rule in Gujarat, arrest ''all criminals'' who confessed their crime and transfer all legal cases pertaining to the 2002 Gujarat riots to a court outside Gujarat.

 

Live and let live is the rule of common justice; justice demand their honorable settlement and their rehabilitation. The Gujarat episode has caused acute restlessness and commotion in the entire world as it involves human tragedy and merits all possible help to be extended to the bereaved. It is a tragedy against humanity to be faced jointly.—SAN-Feature Service

 

Ripan Kumar Biswas is a freelance writer based in New York

 

 

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[vinnomot] Protest Images from Burma

SAN-Feature Service

SOUTH ASIAN NEWS-FEATURE SERVICE

Washington, November 7,2007

 

Protest Images from Burma

 

By Stephen Kaufman

 

The suppression of free expression has been continuing so long in Burma that communication among groups along the country's borders with Thailand and India and the Burmese exile network "remains strong."

 

SAN-Feature Service :  Media coverage of the pro-democracy protests in Burma depended largely on the bravery and technical know-how of the country's few citizens who had access to the Internet and cellular phones.  However, Burma's military rulers also showed the challenges bloggers and other citizen journalists face under authoritarian regimes when they effectively isolated the country from outside observers by shutting down  Internet service providers (ISPs) and cell phone towers.

 

Bob Dietz, Asia program coordinator for the Committee to Protect Journalists, told USINFO the movies, still photos and reports emanating from Burma in August and September were "the best example of that sort of thing we've seen so far," adding that although only about 1 percent of the Burmese population has access to the Internet, "the people on the ground certainly knew what was going on and were ready to make use of the technology to report it."

 

Burmese media are subject to heavy state censorship and foreign reporters tend to have little access to the country, Dietz said.  Until the protests occurred, the outside world had very little visual evidence of what was going on inside the country.  For that reason, observers around the world were amazed when images began to appear. 

 

"The pictures were very good and very dramatic of monks in their robes and civilians working together, striking images from a country which is really one of the most heavily censored in the world.  But those images came out and people were wowed or more impressed than they would have been in a place where you're accustomed to seeing visual information," he said.

 

Dietz added that those taking the risks to capture and distribute the images specifically were targeting the outside world because they did not themselves have access to the Web sites on which their material would be posted.

 

"[W]hile they certainly were aware that the focus of the world was on them, they weren't privy to all the video and blogging information that we had.  That was directed toward the outside world in many ways to try to drum up support and make us aware of what was going on," he said.

 

The bloggers and citizen journalists succeeded in getting images out despite severe restrictions on the number of people who had access to the Web, and the Burmese government's use of monitoring software to filter and control information.

 

An Iranian blogger said that countries can use filters to block access to specific Web sites by assembling a database of their Web addresses.  Like Burma, Iran uses its Internet service providers to track which sites people in the country are visiting, and the blogger said that with the millions of different sites visited daily, the regime's attention is drawn more to those which are the most popular.  The best strategy for bloggers is to encourage more to join their ranks in order to distribute the number of hits, while at the same time distributing the same information to all sites.

 

Ultimately, the Burmese opposition's activities were so effective that the military junta decided to unplug the country's only two ISP cables to Rangoon and Mandalay, an action that Dietz described as a "really drastic, drastic solution."

 

"It's an indicator of how much in a corner the generals felt they were, in resorting to that.  It was an indicator that they were not going to mess around any more," he said.

 

In addition, because people were using their mobile phones to send photographs and movies, the junta shut down the cellular towers to close down the phone connections. Because satellite telephone access is not available in Burma, only the more easily monitored land lines were left in use.

 

The generals effectively restricted the flow of information, Dietz said.  "Pretty soon [the opposition] wound up relying on people running information back and forth across the border to Thailand," including trying to access cellular signals across the border.  However, the area is very remote and heavily monitored, he said.

 

The only possible solution that remained was to resort to "very old forms of moving information," such as saving information on compact discs (CDs) or thumb drives and smuggling them across the border into Thailand.  But Dietz speculates that, for the time being, new material from Burma will be rare because most are wary of carrying evidence that can be found on them, especially near the border.

 

"If you're going to be searched and they find something like a CD or find any physical evidence, you can be sure it's going to be scanned and that you will be detained until it's resolved just what is on this storage device, no matter what it is," he said.   "To be caught with that kind of stuff is sure to wind up in a very nasty prison sentence that can go on forever."

 

But Dietz said the suppression of free expression has been continuing so long in Burma that communication among groups along the country's borders with Thailand and India and the Burmese exile network "remains strong."

 

"It's this people-to-people capacity to move information one way or another, either cryptically or openly, that has really been the resilient backbone of the Burmese opposition inside and outside of the country," he said, noting their flexibility in resuming older forms of moving information when the government shuts down phone and Internet services has been an asset.—SAN-Feature Service

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[ALOCHONA] Re: An Interesting Commentary about War Criminals

I understand from what perspective this (and other similar ones)
article was written, to save the war criminals who are accused of
murders, rapes and other serious crimes. These are nothing but
attempts to deceive us. Bangabandhu's pardon did not include these
criminals, most of them are now in the top leadership of Jama'ate
Islami. If Bangabandhu pardoned them, then why were Mujahid, Go Ajam,
Nijami, and many others hiding before Zia brought them back? The
butchers of the intellectuals, Khalek Majumder, Moinuddin Chowdhury,
and Ashrafuzzaman Khan of Islami Chhatra Shibir (or Shanga), where
are they now? What are they so afraid of? Why was Jama'at banned from
politics? Wasn't Moulana Abul Kalam Azad (aka Bachchu rajakar and now
renowned NTV Islamic scholar) rotting in prison with thousands of
other war criminals before dictator Zia grabbed power?

We don't want to prosecute the pardoned ones. We only want to
prosecute the ones not covered by General Amnesty (including the ones
that were in prison and let go by Zia). We cannot let go these
vicious criminals just because Awami League failed to do anything
against them. AL is not in power and they have been paying the price
very dearly for that failure for a long time.

--- In alochona@yahoogroups.com, hasan md <hasan_eu@...> wrote:
>
> dear all
> u may find it interesting...
> http://www.ittefaq.com/get.php?d=07/11/06/w/n_zrryvy
> or attached pdf file
> bye
> hasan
>
>
> __________________________________________________
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[vinnomot] Re: 71 er Judhoporadider bichar chai

--- In vinnomot@yahoogroups.com, Adnan Syed <adnanhumanist@...> wrote:
>
> Please join the group and raise your voice against all
> war criminals in BD.
>
> http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=19201418744
>
> http://banjamaateislami.org/
>
> adnan syed
>
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&#2438;&#2470;&#2472;&#2494;&#2472; &#2477;&#2494;&#2439; &#2447;&#2454;&#2494;&#2472;&#2503; &#2470;&#2503;&#2454;&#2497;&#2472;&#2404;

http://www.petitiononline.com/1971war/petition.html

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[ALOCHONA] Re: BNP: EC recognises Saifur Rahman

Dear Alochok Hossain

The plot may indeed fail. But it may indeed succeed too. This is
Bangladesh remember. Those carrying it out are not from Mars - they
understand the country well enough. Personally I don't care if Saifur
and Hafiz need police escorts in their constituencies - because I
know about BNP in their constituencies. Their local BNP party men
never did a darn thing about the corruption. Rather they were looking
forward to attending the walima of Khaleda and Falu.

These same party men would have used guns and black money to keep
Saifur in power.

You may pray for the plot to fail - and hence a return of Khaleda-
Tariq. I cannot.

Best wishes

Ezajur Rahman
Kuwait

--- In alochona@yahoogroups.com, Sajjad Hossain <shossain456@...>
wrote:
>
> The plot will backfire. EC members did it because they have to keep
their jobs.
> General Moyeen can divide the nationalist force to please his
master India but Saifur and Hafiz cannot go to their constituencies
without police escort. However, they will win the election because
army will stam ballots for them. Very sad that Bangladesh is
following the road map of Pakistan. Because in both countries Khakis
are in power.
>
> S Hossain
>
> Ezajur Rahman <ezajur.rahman@...> wrote:
> Dear Alochoks
>
> I suspect the plan is to free BNP from the grip of Khaleda-Tariq
in any way possible.
>
> The device being used now is determined pressure on Saifur Rahman.
>
> Saifur Rahman will then preside over some reforms.
>
> Then he will be forced into retirement.
>
> It's so obviously a dastardly plot. Thoroughly deserved!
>
> I love it!
>
> Regards
>
> Ezajur Rahman
> Kuwait
>
>
>
>
> EC invites Saifur-Hafiz faction of BNP to dialogue
> Courtesy New Age 6/11/07
>
> The Election Commission on Monday sent an invitation to the
Saifur Rahman-led faction of Bangladesh Nationalist Party for a
dialogue on electoral reforms putting its seal on the decision of the
October 29 meeting of party's standing committee.
>
>
> The EC did not take cognisance of the latest letter of the
party's Khandaker Delwar Hossain-led faction that explained the
illegitimacy of the committee announced on October 29.
>
>
> `Considering the decisions of the October 31 [actually October
29] meeting of the BNP's national standing committee as appropriate,
the commission unanimously decided to invite the acting secretary
general of the party, Hafizuddin Ahmed, Bir Bikram, to take party in
the dialogue with the commission scheduled for November 22,' Humayun
Kabir, secretary to the EC secretariat said while reading out the
decision of the commission.
>
>
> Six members of the BNP standing committee and its expelled
secretary general Abdul Mannan Bhuiyan had a meeting at Saifur
Rahman's Gulshan residence on October 29, labelling it as a meeting
of the standing committee held as per the doctrine of necessity.
>
>
> The meeting made M Saifur Rahman as acting chairperson and M
Hafizuddin Ahmed as acting secretary general.
>
>
> The EC secretary at the press briefing said that the commission
had taken the decision after going through the party's constitution
and the letters – one on the appointment of Khandaker Delwar Hossain
as acting secretary general expelling Abdul Mannan Bhuiyan from the
BNP, and the other terming the expulsion as illegal, and a third on
the decision of the standing committee meeting.
>
>
> The EC in its resolution did not mention anything about a fourth
letter, sent by Khandaker Delwar Hossain's faction, which insisted
that the meeting led by Saifur Rahman on October 29 was illegal
according to the party's constitution.
>
>
> A delegation of the BNP led by party chairperson Khaleda Zia's
adviser ASM Hannan Shah on Sunday submitted the last letter to the
CEC explaining why the standing committee meeting was illegal.
>
>
> Monday's statement of the EC pointed out that the BNP chairperson
Khaleda Zia considered only one side of the provision while taking
her decision in removing Mannan Bhuiyan.
>
>
> `It appears that chairperson had taken cognisance of a part of
the clause of the party constitution while making the decision and
ignored the other portion of the same clause on conducting a personal
hearing. The commission thinks Abdul Mannan Bhuiyan was deprived
of `natural justice' in such process,' the EC statement said.
>
>
> Citing the party constitution the EC said that it considered that
in the case of Mannan Bhuiyan's expulsion, approval of the national
standing committee should have been taken immediately.
>
>
> The EC said it viewed that the obligation was met by the presence
of seven of the 14-member standing committee meeting on October 31
[in fact October 29].
>
>
> `As three of the members are now detained and another member has
expired, the attendance of seven members ensured the quorum for
holding the meeting,' the commission said.
>
>
> The BNP chairperson, Khaleda Zia, expelled secretary general
Abdul Mannan Bhuiyan and joint-secretary general Ashraf Hossain the
day before she was detained on September 3, for their `involvement in
activities against the party'. The same day she appointed Khandaker
Delwar Hossain the new secretary general. The BNP on September 5 sent
a letter to the EC informing it about the latest changes in the party
hierarchy. It also said the commission should contact the new
secretary general for any official purpose.
>
>
> On the other hand, the group led by Mannan Bhuiyan in a letter to
the CEC on September 9 described Khaleda Zia's action [expulsion of
Bhuiyan and Ashraf] as a violation of the government restrictions on
political activities. By the same token, they questioned Delwar's
appointment as the secretary general and requested the EC to make all
correspondence with Bhuiyan.
>
>
> After the October 29 meeting, another letter signed by Hafizuddin
Ahmed was sent to the EC along with the resolution of the October 29
meeting which named Saifur Rahman and Hafizuddin Ahmed as acting
president and secretary general respectively. The meeting also did
not approve the expulsion of former secretary general Abdul Mannan
Bhuiyan.
>
>
>
>
> ---------------------------------
>
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[vinnomot] Re: [khabor.com] Who are the killers of the Father of the Nation!!!!!

Mr. Gopal,

It is very difficult now to know who was really behind the killing of Sheikh Mujib. There is no way to believe Col. Rashid's statement now that  Zia and Taher both left this World. Historically we know the fact that,under the command of of Bengal Lancers Faruk/Rashid the Government of Mujib was overthrown and the President Muijb was killed by the mutinous soldiers of Bengal Lancers.  Rest of Armed Forces did not participate in the coup nor resisted the mutionous soldiers. Even President Mujib called the Army Chief Gen. Shafiullah before his death for help to save his life. Gen Shafiullah did not help. Why he did not the President  still a mystery to many historians.

12000 Rakkhi Bahini soldiers surrendered without firing a single bullet, that's also a mystery.

Threre was not a single demonstraion in the country after the death of the father of the nation. Ki Bichitro Ei Desh ?

Let the historian find out the truth for our next generation.

Sincerely,

M. Anwar

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[ALOCHONA] EC undermines its own credibility

 

 

The Election Commission's decision to send invitation for dialogue to Hafizuddin Ahmed, acting secretary general of the Saifur Rahman-led faction of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, has, we believe, only eroded the credibility of the commission and mired it in a greater controversy. Through this action, the commission has only reinforced the public perception that it is working as an extension of the military-driven government, and not independent of its control. Even though the chief election commissioner promised earlier that the commission would proceed on the issue of which faction to invite for dialogue only after a close scrutiny of the party's constitution, the commission reneged on his promise by going beyond the party's constitution in order to recognise the Saifur-led faction as the mainstream BNP. It should be noted that, according to the BNP constitution, only the party chairperson can call a meeting of the standing committee, and only the chairperson can appoint the secretary general. As such, the event attended by members of the BNP standing committee on October 29, during which Saifur was appointed the party's acting chairperson and Hafiz the acting secretary general, does not legally amount to a meeting of the standing committee and the decisions taken during it are not legally valid or binding upon its members.
   Several other factors have contributed to casting serious doubts about the legitimacy of the meeting and the validity of the decisions taken that day. There have been reports in the media that several standing committee members were accompanied to the meeting by members of intelligence agencies, suggesting that they were brought to the meeting against their own wishes. Also, Khandaker Delwar Hossain, who was appointed by Khaleda Zia as the BNP secretary general, stated the following day that there was significant pressure on him from certain quarters to attend the meeting and that he had to go into hiding to avoid being taken there. On Monday, RA Gani, a senior member of the standing committee, said he had been invited by Saifur to his residence on October 29 for tea and he had accepted the invitation out of courtesy to a senior colleague. According to him, the meeting at Saifur's residence did not constitute a meeting of the BNP standing committee as it had not been called in line with the party's constitution. Given these factors, we wonder on what basis the Election Commission arrived at its decision to send the invitation to Hafiz. Had it actually followed the BNP's constitution, the commission would have sent the letter to Delwar.
   It is also regrettable that the Election Commission felt the need to comment on the manner of sacking of the former BNP secretary general, Abdul Mannan Bhuiyan, saying he had been deprived of 'natural justice.' While the commission may be a quasi-judicial body, it does not have, at this time, either the mandate or the authority to pass judgement on the internal decisions and processes of a political party. By doing so, the commission has further increased the scope for questioning its true intentions regarding the holding of parliamentary elections. Unfortunately, the decisions and actions of the commission, instead of reducing our doubts regarding its independence and impartiality, are only adding to them. Therefore, we urge the commission once again to work independently to hold proper elections, instead of becoming party to the government's political agenda.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Subhan Allah-  Only Allah flawless 
           Alhamdulillah - All praise to be of Allah 
                   Allahhuakbar - Allah, the Greatest

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Would Be Mahathir of BD

------------------------------------------------------------------

If it can be imagined, it is possible- NEC

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[vinnomot] An old essay by Jamal Hasan

Glimpses from my trip to the good old Dhaka

 

By Jamal Hasan

 

A sudden family urgency prompted me to visit Bangladesh, which became my
top priority. It was going to be my sojourn to our native land after
almost a decade. My frequent flier relatives warned me one thing about
the first encounter in Dhaka. They told me quite a few horror
stories. How some greedy officials of the airport and civil aviation
jump on the tired and unwise Bengali visitors like vultures on a robin's
nest or how the countless transportation agents fall onto their preys,
etc. etc. I was also told not to give my luggage to anyone unless I have
absolute confidence in that person. As the typical demand from the
over-enthusiastic helpers is for U.S. dollars, I was well advised to
carry as many single dollar bills. My preparedness for unforeseen
circumstances became futile. As I reached my final destination, things
did not come out as I apprehended.

 

After an exhaustive journey through the Middle East, my plane landed in
a sweaty summer-day in Dhaka. I realized the humidity is much more in
abundance than that of the tropical South Florida, which used to be my
place of residence for more than sixteen years. Now a bona fide
Marylander who is being accustomed to shoveling snow in the front yard,
my body is yet to readjust to fresh barrage of humidity. But I was
mentally prepared to embrace any kind of maladjustment of mundane
physical comfort.

 

My journey to my native land was primarily occurring at a time of
historical ethos. The leakage of Hamoodur Rahman Commission Report could
produce such a ripple effect was hard to fathom. After I arrived in
Dhaka, I found a few dailies were carrying excerpts from the report on a
daily basis. Twenty-nine years is a long period and a calculated policy
of erasing the memory of 1971was successfully conducted during much of
the two successive army generals' rule. And suddenly, the HRC report
comes in the forefront and things would never be the same! I thought my
trip to Dhaka was occurring at a time where an Ekattur activist may find
the ultimate Nirvana.

 

The colossal buildings and apparent affluence of certain segment of the
population gave me the awe. The well-decorated restaurants catering to
authentic oriental and South Asian cuisine could make a westerner
spellbound. The excessive glamorization of eateries may someone wonder
is the country one of the least developed countries in the world? As I
peeped through the 19th floor window of a multistoried BRAC (Bangladesh
Rural Advancement Committee) building, Dhaka's skyline reminded me of a
South Florida urban landscape. The concrete jungles are reminiscent of
any metropolis. But the road condition and traffic situation? I would
rather say we are destined to a black hole to comment rather mildly.

Going back to Ekattur matters. The invitation to join a seminar by the
esteemed editor of Ajker Kagoj, a Bengali daily was something I could
hardly reject. The seminar was a Round Table Conference on the Hamoodur
Rahman Commission Report. On a September day the meeting was scheduled
at five p.m.

 

The Meena House (where the Paper office is located), a multistoried
building is not too far from my Dhaka residence. The round table in the
meeting place could fit the literal meaning of the terminology. I
reached the place may be half an hour before the scheduled time. The
presence of wireless microphones was an indication that Bangladesh is
not far behind in present day technology of audio matters. I was
contended to see that most of the participants took their seats before
the bell struck five. Two BNP MPs, namely Col. (Ret'd) Oli Ahmed (Bir
Bikram) and Col. (Ret'd) Akbar Hossain, two former Muktijoddhas were the
star participants. The other Muktijoddha from across the aisle was Awami
League MP Major (Ret'd) Rafiqul Islam who happened to be a former Home
Minister. Three Dhaka University Professors, namely, Dr. Rafiqul Islam,
Dr. Shamsul Huda Haroon and Dr. Momtajuddin Ahmed represented the
liberal and secular wing of the complex and effervescent Bengali
intelligentsia. Also were present a veteran leftist political leader
Haider Akbar Khan Rano, Ambassador Waliur Rahman and the Minister for
Law and Parliamentary Affairs Abdul Matin Khosru. I realized, the
moderator of the session the newspaper editor Kazi Shahed Ahmed had
quite a big task to conduct.

 

I was totally impressed and definitely amazed watching the exchange of
comments between the minister and opposition MP's. It was an
extraordinary example of civility. I was thinking if Bangladesh politics
in every facet could be an arena of such civility, we would seldom be
termed as a nation of uncivilized political elements. While the
moderator appeared to have good rapport with most of the participants,
sometimes he had to face the hurdles of smoothing out the bitter and
often emotional outburst of seemingly divergent points of view. I found,
although, the common denominator of the participants' background to be
pro-liberation, there was definitely certain difference of angle. This
became more evident in the deliberation of BNP MP's presentations. In
his speech MP Col (Ret'd) Oli Ahmed made it a point that the present
lawlessness in the society gets precedence over the tragedy of 1971.
Similarly MP Col. (Ret'd) Akbar Hossain brought the now debated subject
of the exact casualty figure of 1971. He mentioned that the total figure
of the war casualty would not be more than few hundred thousand.
Interestingly Major (Ret'd) Rafiqul Islam became forthcoming in refuting
that argument. He brought a number of sample scenarios and gave some
statistical inferences that might be attributed to estimating a figure
close to three million. The difference in Ekattur philosophy gave me a
realization of the bottom line where the partisan politics had some
layers of influence. I assessed that there was evolving an unparalleled
linkage among the pro-Ekattur political personalities going beyond
partisan lines. This I felt a healthy sign in a nascent democracy.

Dr. Rafiqul Islam gave startling background information of Hamoodur
Rahman, the person. He made the case that the one time Chief Justice of
Pakistan could be anything but a friend of Bengali cause. Dr. Shamsul
Huda Haroon provided a vivid conjecture of the menace of parochial
politics in Bangladesh history. While exchanging divergent opinions, the
often usage of "apology" gave an ideal parliamentarian setting. In this
respect, Ambassador Waliur Rahman should be given due credit. Most
interesting thing to observe was the presence of Stanley Wolpert's
autobiography of Z.A. Bhutto in the Parliamentary Affairs Minister's
hand. He was quoting from the book a few times. And interestingly Zulfi
story became very relevant with the discourse.

 

An acting minister on my left side and an opposition member of
parliament on my right, I was having the ultimate surreal experience. My
dream of seeing all the Bengali pro-Ekattur activists beyond party lines
might come true was becoming true. From far away through the Internet we
may gather the stereotypical view that all the Bangladeshi politicians
are on each other's throat, the Round Table Conference did not give me
that idea. Rather, I had every element to be positive about future. I
became more than a bit of optimistic that the figments of unresolved
issues of 1971 may get a chance to be resolved.

 

When the microphone came to me, I gave a rather dismal picture of
expatriate Bengalis in USA. I mentioned about the noble activism of
Armenians worldwide who even lobbied US Congress during Soviet era to
launch a Congressional hearing on Armenian genocide converting the then
Senator Bob Dole as a great champion of Armenian cause. Interestingly, at
the Ajker Kagoj meeting I did not have any clue that Armenian genocide
issue could once again hit the consciousness of American psyche and open
a Pandora's box in American politics today. Just a few days ago,
Washington Post carried big headlines about the ultimatum from the
powerful Turkish lobby to halt any more condemnation of Ottoman Turkish
genocidal act occurred eighty years ago. Pakistan strategically, in US
view, falls far behind Turkey. Yet, the expatriate Bengalis failed
miserably to create any uproar in Capitol Hill opening the old wound of
1971. May be that is why Pakistani Chief Executive's spokesperson Javed
Jabbar or Abdus Sattar show the audacity to forget the past. What a
cruel joke!

 

My short trip to Bangladesh gave me high hope of fulfilling the
political obligation of the nation where our roots belong. I think the
current dynamic should lead us to the ultimate destination of resolving
the unresolved issues of Bangladesh genocide of 1971. The timely
disclosure of Hamoodur Rahman Commission Report gave a new jolt in the
moribund politics of 1971 activism. I felt there was a resurgence of
Spirit of Liberation in Bangladesh. That was the biggest hope I gathered
during my short trip to Dhaka.

 

The essay was originally published in News from Bangladesh in the Feature section on October 11, 2000.

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[ALOCHONA] An old essay by Jamal Hasan

Glimpses from my trip to the good old Dhaka

 

By Jamal Hasan

 

A sudden family urgency prompted me to visit Bangladesh, which became my
top priority. It was going to be my sojourn to our native land after
almost a decade. My frequent flier relatives warned me one thing about
the first encounter in Dhaka. They told me quite a few horror
stories. How some greedy officials of the airport and civil aviation
jump on the tired and unwise Bengali visitors like vultures on a robin's
nest or how the countless transportation agents fall onto their preys,
etc. etc. I was also told not to give my luggage to anyone unless I have
absolute confidence in that person. As the typical demand from the
over-enthusiastic helpers is for U.S. dollars, I was well advised to
carry as many single dollar bills. My preparedness for unforeseen
circumstances became futile. As I reached my final destination, things
did not come out as I apprehended.

 

After an exhaustive journey through the Middle East, my plane landed in
a sweaty summer-day in Dhaka. I realized the humidity is much more in
abundance than that of the tropical South Florida, which used to be my
place of residence for more than sixteen years. Now a bona fide
Marylander who is being accustomed to shoveling snow in the front yard,
my body is yet to readjust to fresh barrage of humidity. But I was
mentally prepared to embrace any kind of maladjustment of mundane
physical comfort.

 

My journey to my native land was primarily occurring at a time of
historical ethos. The leakage of Hamoodur Rahman Commission Report could
produce such a ripple effect was hard to fathom. After I arrived in
Dhaka, I found a few dailies were carrying excerpts from the report on a
daily basis. Twenty-nine years is a long period and a calculated policy
of erasing the memory of 1971was successfully conducted during much of
the two successive army generals' rule. And suddenly, the HRC report
comes in the forefront and things would never be the same! I thought my
trip to Dhaka was occurring at a time where an Ekattur activist may find
the ultimate Nirvana.

 

The colossal buildings and apparent affluence of certain segment of the
population gave me the awe. The well-decorated restaurants catering to
authentic oriental and South Asian cuisine could make a westerner
spellbound. The excessive glamorization of eateries may someone wonder
is the country one of the least developed countries in the world? As I
peeped through the 19th floor window of a multistoried BRAC (Bangladesh
Rural Advancement Committee) building, Dhaka's skyline reminded me of a
South Florida urban landscape. The concrete jungles are reminiscent of
any metropolis. But the road condition and traffic situation? I would
rather say we are destined to a black hole to comment rather mildly.

Going back to Ekattur matters. The invitation to join a seminar by the
esteemed editor of Ajker Kagoj, a Bengali daily was something I could
hardly reject. The seminar was a Round Table Conference on the Hamoodur
Rahman Commission Report. On a September day the meeting was scheduled
at five p.m.

 

The Meena House (where the Paper office is located), a multistoried
building is not too far from my Dhaka residence. The round table in the
meeting place could fit the literal meaning of the terminology. I
reached the place may be half an hour before the scheduled time. The
presence of wireless microphones was an indication that Bangladesh is
not far behind in present day technology of audio matters. I was
contended to see that most of the participants took their seats before
the bell struck five. Two BNP MPs, namely Col. (Ret'd) Oli Ahmed (Bir
Bikram) and Col. (Ret'd) Akbar Hossain, two former Muktijoddhas were the
star participants. The other Muktijoddha from across the aisle was Awami
League MP Major (Ret'd) Rafiqul Islam who happened to be a former Home
Minister. Three Dhaka University Professors, namely, Dr. Rafiqul Islam,
Dr. Shamsul Huda Haroon and Dr. Momtajuddin Ahmed represented the
liberal and secular wing of the complex and effervescent Bengali
intelligentsia. Also were present a veteran leftist political leader
Haider Akbar Khan Rano, Ambassador Waliur Rahman and the Minister for
Law and Parliamentary Affairs Abdul Matin Khosru. I realized, the
moderator of the session the newspaper editor Kazi Shahed Ahmed had
quite a big task to conduct.

 

I was totally impressed and definitely amazed watching the exchange of
comments between the minister and opposition MP's. It was an
extraordinary example of civility. I was thinking if Bangladesh politics
in every facet could be an arena of such civility, we would seldom be
termed as a nation of uncivilized political elements. While the
moderator appeared to have good rapport with most of the participants,
sometimes he had to face the hurdles of smoothing out the bitter and
often emotional outburst of seemingly divergent points of view. I found,
although, the common denominator of the participants' background to be
pro-liberation, there was definitely certain difference of angle. This
became more evident in the deliberation of BNP MP's presentations. In
his speech MP Col (Ret'd) Oli Ahmed made it a point that the present
lawlessness in the society gets precedence over the tragedy of 1971.
Similarly MP Col. (Ret'd) Akbar Hossain brought the now debated subject
of the exact casualty figure of 1971. He mentioned that the total figure
of the war casualty would not be more than few hundred thousand.
Interestingly Major (Ret'd) Rafiqul Islam became forthcoming in refuting
that argument. He brought a number of sample scenarios and gave some
statistical inferences that might be attributed to estimating a figure
close to three million. The difference in Ekattur philosophy gave me a
realization of the bottom line where the partisan politics had some
layers of influence. I assessed that there was evolving an unparalleled
linkage among the pro-Ekattur political personalities going beyond
partisan lines. This I felt a healthy sign in a nascent democracy.

Dr. Rafiqul Islam gave startling background information of Hamoodur
Rahman, the person. He made the case that the one time Chief Justice of
Pakistan could be anything but a friend of Bengali cause. Dr. Shamsul
Huda Haroon provided a vivid conjecture of the menace of parochial
politics in Bangladesh history. While exchanging divergent opinions, the
often usage of "apology" gave an ideal parliamentarian setting. In this
respect, Ambassador Waliur Rahman should be given due credit. Most
interesting thing to observe was the presence of Stanley Wolpert's
autobiography of Z.A. Bhutto in the Parliamentary Affairs Minister's
hand. He was quoting from the book a few times. And interestingly Zulfi
story became very relevant with the discourse.

 

An acting minister on my left side and an opposition member of
parliament on my right, I was having the ultimate surreal experience. My
dream of seeing all the Bengali pro-Ekattur activists beyond party lines
might come true was becoming true. From far away through the Internet we
may gather the stereotypical view that all the Bangladeshi politicians
are on each other's throat, the Round Table Conference did not give me
that idea. Rather, I had every element to be positive about future. I
became more than a bit of optimistic that the figments of unresolved
issues of 1971 may get a chance to be resolved.

 

When the microphone came to me, I gave a rather dismal picture of
expatriate Bengalis in USA. I mentioned about the noble activism of
Armenians worldwide who even lobbied US Congress during Soviet era to
launch a Congressional hearing on Armenian genocide converting the then
Senator Bob Dole as a great champion of Armenian cause. Interestingly, at
the Ajker Kagoj meeting I did not have any clue that Armenian genocide
issue could once again hit the consciousness of American psyche and open
a Pandora's box in American politics today. Just a few days ago,
Washington Post carried big headlines about the ultimatum from the
powerful Turkish lobby to halt any more condemnation of Ottoman Turkish
genocidal act occurred eighty years ago. Pakistan strategically, in US
view, falls far behind Turkey. Yet, the expatriate Bengalis failed
miserably to create any uproar in Capitol Hill opening the old wound of
1971. May be that is why Pakistani Chief Executive's spokesperson Javed
Jabbar or Abdus Sattar show the audacity to forget the past. What a
cruel joke!

 

My short trip to Bangladesh gave me high hope of fulfilling the
political obligation of the nation where our roots belong. I think the
current dynamic should lead us to the ultimate destination of resolving
the unresolved issues of Bangladesh genocide of 1971. The timely
disclosure of Hamoodur Rahman Commission Report gave a new jolt in the
moribund politics of 1971 activism. I felt there was a resurgence of
Spirit of Liberation in Bangladesh. That was the biggest hope I gathered
during my short trip to Dhaka.

 

The essay was originally published in News from Bangladesh in the Feature section on October 11, 2000.

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Re: [ALOCHONA] BNP: Delwar rejects EC recognition of Saifur Rahman

Dear Mr. "afraid to use real name, blind supporter of corrupt, wanna be Mahathir"

Where is your consciousness? Here you are defending looters, murderers and the corrupt! It must be painful to see your Goddess reaping the seeds of her actions! It is over man - her days of sucking Bangladesh dry are coming to an end!

- M. Raheem
overjoyed in New York :)

----- Original Message ----
From: mahathir of bd <wouldbemahathirofbd@yahoo.com>
To: alochona@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Tuesday, November 6, 2007 10:02:14 AM
Subject: Re: [ALOCHONA] BNP: Delwar rejects EC recognition of Saifur Rahman

through the coup of EC, this so called reformist CTGhas made it clear to the nation except some blind boot licker of army that it is no bettern than the Bishawa behaya Ershad.


 Now every conscious citizen of Bangladesh should try from his level best to resist the ploy of CTG to impose  puppet on the Whole nation.



Ezajur Rahman <ezajur.rahman@q8.com> wrote:

Dear Alochoks

 

Delwar continues to try and convince us that Manan Bhuiyan should apologise to Khaleda!

He believes Khaleda's complete power as Chairperson of BNP is a good thing!

Of course his boldness would turn dust if his master Tariq Zia stood in front of him.

 

Hey Delwar! When is Khaleda going to apologise for anything?

 

Regards

 

Ezajur Rahman

Kuwait

 

 

 

Delwar group rejects EC decision
Courtesy New Age 6/11/07

 

Followers of Khandaker Delwar Hossain on Monday rejected the Election Commission's invitation to Hafizuddin Ahmed, who was made acting secretary general on October 29 in a midnight meeting of the standing committee, to participate in the dialogue on electoral reforms.

They believed Delwar Hossain, handpicked by BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia as the party's secretary general, is the legitimate person for official contact and that the EC's decision to invite Hafiz would frustrate people's expectation for credible general elections.

'We are rejecting the commission's invitation addressed to a person unacceptable to us,' ASM Hannan Shah, an adviser to the party chairperson, Khaleda Zia, told New Age Monday evening.

'We were expecting that the commission would send invitation to Khandaker Delwar Hossain as he is the legitimate secretary general of the party,' he said.

'The Election Commission has made its position questionable to people in general, and BNP leaders and workers in particular,' he said. Rizvi Ahmed, acting BNP office secretary, denounced the EC's invitation addressed to Hafiz, suspecting it to be a 'part of conspiracy' to destroy the nationalist force.

The Election Commission has failed to uphold its 'neutral' image by sending invitation to a person who is not legitimate secretary general of the party, a BNP joint secretary general, apparently a conformist, said requesting anonymity.

'It is a well orchestrated conspiracy against BNP,' he said.

 

 

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Subhan Allah-  Only Allah flawless 
           Alhamdulillah - All praise to be of Allah 
                   Allahhuakbar - Allah, the Greatest

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Would Be Mahathir of BD

------------------------------------------------------------------

If it can be imagined, it is possible- NEC

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Re: [ALOCHONA] BNP: EC recognises Saifur Rahman

The plot will backfire. EC members did it because they have to keep their jobs.

General Moyeen can divide the nationalist force to please his master India but Saifur and Hafiz cannot go to their constituencies without police escort. However, they will win the election because army will stam ballots for them. Very sad that Bangladesh is following the road map of Pakistan. Because in both countries Khakis are in power.

 

S Hossain

Ezajur Rahman <ezajur.rahman@q8.com> wrote:

Dear Alochoks

I suspect the plan is to free BNP from the grip of Khaleda-Tariq in any way possible.

The device being used now is determined pressure on Saifur Rahman.

Saifur Rahman will then preside over some reforms.

Then he will be forced into retirement.

It's so obviously a dastardly plot. Thoroughly deserved!

I love it!   

Regards

Ezajur Rahman

Kuwait

EC invites Saifur-Hafiz faction of BNP to dialogue
Courtesy New Age 6/11/07

The Election Commission on Monday sent an invitation to the Saifur Rahman-led faction of Bangladesh Nationalist Party for a dialogue on electoral reforms putting its seal on the decision of the October 29 meeting of party's standing committee.

The EC did not take cognisance of the latest letter of the party's Khandaker Delwar Hossain-led faction that explained the illegitimacy of the committee announced on October 29.

'Considering the decisions of the October 31 [actually October 29] meeting of the BNP's national standing committee as appropriate, the commission unanimously decided to invite the acting secretary general of the party, Hafizuddin Ahmed, Bir Bikram, to take party in the dialogue with the commission scheduled for November 22,' Humayun Kabir, secretary to the EC secretariat said while reading out the decision of the commission.

Six members of the BNP standing committee and its expelled secretary general Abdul Mannan Bhuiyan had a meeting at Saifur Rahman's Gulshan residence on October 29, labelling it as a meeting of the standing committee held as per the doctrine of necessity.

The meeting made M Saifur Rahman as acting chairperson and M Hafizuddin Ahmed as acting secretary general.

The EC secretary at the press briefing said that the commission had taken the decision after going through the party's constitution and the letters – one on the appointment of Khandaker Delwar Hossain as acting secretary general expelling Abdul Mannan Bhuiyan from the BNP, and the other terming the expulsion as illegal, and a third on the decision of the standing committee meeting.

The EC in its resolution did not mention anything about a fourth letter, sent by Khandaker Delwar Hossain's faction, which insisted that the meeting led by Saifur Rahman on October 29 was illegal according to the party's constitution.

A delegation of the BNP led by party chairperson Khaleda Zia's adviser ASM Hannan Shah on Sunday submitted the last letter to the CEC explaining why the standing committee meeting was illegal.

Monday's statement of the EC pointed out that the BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia considered only one side of the provision while taking her decision in removing Mannan Bhuiyan.

'It appears that chairperson had taken cognisance of a part of the clause of the party constitution while making the decision and ignored the other portion of the same clause on conducting a personal hearing. The commission thinks Abdul Mannan Bhuiyan was deprived of 'natural justice' in such process,' the EC statement said.

Citing the party constitution the EC said that it considered that in the case of Mannan Bhuiyan's expulsion, approval of the national standing committee should have been taken immediately.

The EC said it viewed that the obligation was met by the presence of seven of the 14-member standing committee meeting on October 31 [in fact October 29].

'As three of the members are now detained and another member has expired, the attendance of seven members ensured the quorum for holding the meeting,' the commission said.

The BNP chairperson, Khaleda Zia, expelled secretary general Abdul Mannan Bhuiyan and joint-secretary general Ashraf Hossain the day before she was detained on September 3, for their 'involvement in activities against the party'. The same day she appointed Khandaker Delwar Hossain the new secretary general. The BNP on September 5 sent a letter to the EC informing it about the latest changes in the party hierarchy. It also said the commission should contact the new secretary general for any official purpose.

On the other hand, the group led by Mannan Bhuiyan in a letter to the CEC on September 9 described Khaleda Zia's action [expulsion of Bhuiyan and Ashraf] as a violation of the government restrictions on political activities. By the same token, they questioned Delwar's appointment as the secretary general and requested the EC to make all correspondence with Bhuiyan.

After the October 29 meeting, another letter signed by Hafizuddin Ahmed was sent to the EC along with the resolution of the October 29 meeting which named Saifur Rahman and Hafizuddin Ahmed as acting president and secretary general respectively. The meeting also did not approve the expulsion of former secretary general Abdul Mannan Bhuiyan.

---

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