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Thursday, March 20, 2008

[mukto-mona] "Nations all around us are at this moment trying war criminals"

Movement to continue till war criminals' trial starts: Khandakar
Fri, Mar 21st, 2008 12:43 pm BdST
Dhaka, March 21 (bdnews24.com)—The Sector Commanders Forum Friday demanded initiation of the process of holding trial of war criminals.

The demand was voiced by the SCF chairman retired Air Vice Marshal AK Khandakar at the outset of the national convention being held at the Bangladesh-China Friendship Conference Centre.

He said,"People of Bangladesh must hold the trial of the war criminals as soon as possible, because we'll not call off this movement till the trials are held on this independent Bangladesh's soils."

The convention kicked off at 9:30 am with the participation of about 1,500 delegates including the Liberation War sector commanders, freedom fighters from home and abroad, intellectuals, teachers, students, civil society representatives and professionals.

At the very outset, the delegates observed a minute's silence in remembrance of the martyred freedom fighters, which was followed by rendition of the national anthem. Then excerpts from the holy Quorun, the Geeta, the Bible and the Tripitaka were read out and Allah's blessings were sought on the occasion of the Eid-e-Miladunnabi.

On the main dais were seated Justice Habibur Rahman,former chief adviser, caretaker government, professor Anisuzzaman, professor Sirajul Islam Chowdhury, SCF chairperson AK Khandakar, sector commander retired Maj Gen KM Shafiullah, retired Lt Gen Mir Shawkat Ali and retired Maj Gen CR Dutta.

The politicians present on the occasion included Tofail Ahmed of Awami League, Suranjit Sengupta, Rashed Khan Mennon of Workers Party, Dilip Barua from Shammyobadi Dal, Hasanul Haque Inu of JSD and other eminent personalities like Birsreshthho Motiur Rahman's wife Mili Rahman.

On the occasion, police security in and around the BCFCC has been stepped up and the whole area wears festive looks as national flags and colourful banners and festoons adorn all its facades and corners.

In his opening speech, Khandakar said regretfully,"No government has so far taken any punitive steps against the war criminals. As they remained unpunished, offenders from subsequent generations tended to be compulsively delinquents, defying all social and legal barriers."

He said,"The war criminals' trials should be held as soon as possible to ensure justice and holding free and fair national polls. The nation today seems united on barring the war criminals from all elections."

Urging all to join hands in the streets voicing demands of holding the war criminals' trials, Khandakar said,"We must succeed in doing what we now profess to accomplish so many years after the war."

Former army chief Lt Gen (retired) Harun-Ur-Rashid said,"Nations all around us are at this moment trying war criminals in at least 31 places all over the world. We must be able to accomplish it too, or all our anti-graft work and words will seem futile and hollow."
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[mukto-mona] Re: M J Akbar sacked

WRT: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mukto-mona/message/47272

By giving some examples and at the same time attacking me Kamdar cannot
disprove the well established fact that Akbar is a great journalist. He
is now 57. Look at his achievements. Both Khushwant Sing and Kamdar
have mentioned them. His achievements are great although all of them
may not be noble. Noble or not---that is mostly a political decision.

> --SC

What "well established facts" are you talking about, Subimal? That YOU
insist that Akbar is "a great journalist?" Just because you say so? How
many of Akbar's "achievements" can YOU list? I haven't seen any in all
of your posts on this subject.

Then again, which "achievements" of Akbar's have I mentioned? That he
ran Sunday into the ground? Only a sycophant could consider that an
achievement. Or, is Akbar's being 57 an achievement? And then we are
treated to the statement that his achievements, as you call them, "may
not be noble", whatever that means, with the qualification that "that
is mostly a political decision."

Profound, indeed, if stringing words together and hoping to derive
meaning from them is what profundity derives from.

BTW, thanks for not singing Khushwant Sing(sic)'s praises this time.
Just to remind you, he was the man who suppressed the story of the
Nagarwala case when he did have an insider's knowledge of the very
murky goings on during one of the worst moments in India's history as
an independent nation. And, if you don't remember, let me also remind
you that he lost a libel suit brought against him by MAneka Gandhi when
he acted as Indira Gandhi's attack dog and wrote a particularly
defamatory piece about her, one that I still have in my personal
archives in India.

Take it from me - I have nothing personal against you. I don't get
"wounded", as you put it, too, nor do I need to "attack" you. But I do have a need to call nonsense for what it is, especially when it is fobbed off as fact. You are welcome to have whatever opinions you want to have. If you do insist that your opinions are gospel truth, then there will be questions asked. And I would not be the only one asking them.

Mehul Kamdar


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[mukto-mona] Hilary's "foreign trips all pomp": the NY Post



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Sign the Petition : Release the Arrested University Teachers Immediately : An Appeal to the Caretaker Government of Bangladesh

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MM site is blocked in Islamic countries such as UAE. Members of those theocratic states, kindly use any proxy (such as http://proxy.org/) to access mukto-mona.

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Kansat Uprising : A Special Page from Mukto-Mona 
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MM Project : Grand assembly of local freedom fighters at Raumari
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               -Beatrice Hall [pseudonym: S.G. Tallentyre], 190




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[ALOCHONA] Constitutional debate awaits SC

Constitutional debate awaits SC
 
M. Shahidul Islam
 
A constitutional debate awaits the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court (SC) as both the appellant and the defendant will reinforce their legal armoury to fight out an appeal hearing on the Azam J. Chowdhury-initiated extortion case against former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

   The staying on February 26 of an historic High Court judgment (of February 6) that had quashed the case's proceedings under the Emergency Provision Rules (EPR) spells a partial victory for the government, but the final outcome of the case will be known after an exhaustive hearing on the appeal due from March 16.

   Legal experts say the case has become a litmus test for both the Executive and the Judiciary and entails constitutional debates. It, however, may not end with an outcome to let the two captive leaders - Khaleda Zia and Sheikh Hasina - off the legal clasp.
   According to the appellant, the appeal was necessitated because the High Court verdict ignored greater public interest and the time and the context under which the EPR came into action.

   It is also contended to have overlooked precedents and threw a patent challenge on the constitutionally mandated power of the President. The appellant also argues that public interest was grossly vitiated by the verdict as it carried the potential of holding in abeyance about 150 graft cases brought under the EPR while throwing into uncertainty the fates of about 50 verdicts rendered so far, and of another 50 cases being heard.

   The appellant maintains that the government derived its legal mandate to arrest and put on trial so may people, including the two former prime ministers, from the authority vested on the Executive by the President. The Ordinance making power of the President is operative at any time when parliament is not in session or is dissolved.

   The appellant also argues that the Emergency Ordinances have granted subsidiary legislative powers to the Executives to deal with such exceptional circumstances. Section 2(1) of the Emergency Powers Ordinance of 1974 afforded extensive powers to the Executive to make subsidiary Emergency Rules.

   Sheikh Hasina and many others were arrested not only because complaints were filed against them during the statutory period, section 16 of the EPO empowered the 'Law and Order Maintaining Forces' to arrest any person on suspicion without warrant, while section 20 explicitly states that all personnel can "take any step including the use of force" to carry out any orders under these Rules.

   A full panel of the Appellate Division is now expected to decide over the alleged pitfalls in the HC verdict by exhuming further the major arguments made by the learned judges. The Appellate Division will also examine why the court stated in its verdict that the case can not be tried under any other law.

   In the verdict, the court observed, "The Emergency Powers Rules cannot be applied by any means to the incidents that have taken place before the declaration of the emergency." Regarding the inclusion of an offence for trial under the EPR, the court observed that an offence cannot be considered to be of public importance based on the offender's personal standing and social status.

   Sound arguments and analyses constitute the fundamentals of any verdict in cases relating to constitutional disputes.

   The verdict also noted, "The powers of the Supreme Court cannot be curtailed by means of the state of emergency.... and the emergency rules revoking the provision of seeking bail is 'ultra vires' of the Constitution. No laws can be made contradicting or undermining the fundamental rights of citizens guaranteed by the Constitution.... As per articles 31-35 of the Constitution, no law promulgated under the emergency rules can curb any civic rights, including bail." The appellant says this line of argument bypasses the very reasons that compel a state to declare emergency. Emergency rules come into play under exceptional circumstances.

   The upcoming debate in the SC will also entail arguments over a precise definition of 'due process of law' which has two vital segments: substantive and procedural. The appellant argues that the court in this instance weighed heavily on substantive matters, which any Emergency provision tends to curtail, and totally ignored the procedural ones that have empowered the Executive to bring to justice the very people who have for long been playing with the fortune of the languished multitude with gleeful impunity. The appellant now expects the judges to empathize more with the notion of public goods affected by the EPR, including matters as important as the independence of the judiciary which could not be materialized during the 37 years of the nation's existence.

   The appellant also maintains that the judges seemed overly preoccupied with the question of Hasina's freedom than what she was accused of. One of the cardinal principles of natural law and justice helps overcome the contradiction in the idea of freedom by supposing that the conditions and circumstances of a person's act compose a determinate background order that is normatively assessed. Personal responsibility extends not only to what a person does, but also to what he/she is, and all the circumstances of his/her life. In this particular instance, the primary concern can not be focused on individuals when preserving collective interest is the aim.
 


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[ALOCHONA] Governments and Politics: A brief history of Bangladesh.

Governments and Politics: A brief history of Bangladesh.

Mohammad Gani , USA


Bangladesh is one of the few democracies among the Muslim countries despite chronic problems with dysfunctional political system, weak governance and fettered by pervasive corruptions. This nation regards democracy as an important denouement, legacy of its bloods for independence and people participate in all election process in large numbers. But the concept, understanding and practice of democracy in Bangladesh are most often shallow. Bangladesh is a force for moderation in international forums and a long-time leader in international peacekeeping operations. Its participations and activities with other Governments, global organizations and regional partners to promote human rights, democracy and free markets are also well coordinated and of high profile. Bangladesh became a member of the United Nations Human Rights Council in May 2005.

Tajuddin Ahmed, April 1971- January 1972: The "Independent, sovereign republic of Bangladesh" was first proclaimed in a radio message broadcast from a captured station in Kalurghat, Chittagong on March 26, 1971. Two days later, the "Voice of Independent Bangladesh" announced that Major Zia would form a new government with himself occupying the Presidency. Zia's self appointment was considered brash and quickly realizing that his action was unpopular, he yielded the office to then incarcerated Sk. Mujibur Rahman, the founding father of the nation. On 17 April 1971, a provisional government was established by a number of leading Awami League members. This "Mujibnagar" government then formally proclaimed the independence of Bangladesh and named Sk. Mujib as its president. The oath taking ceremony of the first Government of Bangladesh took place on the soil of Bangladesh in Meherpur, Kushtia, also on 17April 1971. As the first Prime Minister, Tajuddin led efforts to organize a guerrilla war of civilians, armed forces and to win international support. On 6 December 1971, India became the first nation to recognize the new Bangladesh Government. 10 days later, the West Pakistani surrendered but it was not until December 22 those members of the new government arrived in Dhaka. Representatives of the Bangladeshi Government and the "Mukti Bahini" were absent from the "ceremony of surrender" of the Pakistani Army to the Indian Army on 16 December 1971. Bangladeshis considered this ceremony insulting to them and imputed acerbic relations between Bangladesh and India.

Sheikh Mujibur Rahman: 1972-75: On 10 January1972, Sk. Mujib arrived in Dhaka to a tumultuous welcome. He first assumed the title of President but vacated it in two days to become the Prime minister. Intrepid Sk. Mujib came to the office with an immense personal popularity but had difficulty in transforming his popular support into the political strength needed to function as the head of government. The new Constitution that came into effect in December 1972 created a strong executive prime minister, a largely ceremonial presidency, an independent judiciary and a unicameral legislature on a modified Westminster model. The 1972 constitution adopted the Awami League's four basic principles of nationalism, secularism, socialism, and democracy as the state policy.

Awami League won massive majority victory in the first Parliamentary elections held in March 1973 under the 1972 Constitution. In December 1974, impecunious Sk. Mujib government realized that continuing economic deterioration and mounting civil disorder required strong measures. After proclaiming a "State of Emergency", he used his parliamentary majority to win a "Constitutional Amendment" limiting the powers of the legislative and judicial branches, establishing an executive presidency, instituted a one-party system (BAKSAL) that required all civilian government personnel to join the party. The fundamental rights enumerated in the Constitution ceased to be observed and Bangladesh, in its infancy was transformed into a personal dictatorship. Mujib had an unfailing attachment to those who participated in the struggle for independence. He showed favoritism toward those comrades by giving them appointments to the civil government and also in the military. Despite substantial foreign aid, mostly from India and the Soviet Union, food supplies were scarce and there was rampant corruptions and black marketeering. Sk. Mujib then launched a mass drive against hoarders and smugglers backed by the "Rakkhi Bahini. These actions temporarily ameliorated the legitimate economy of the country but corruptions in high Government offices continued and became the hallmarks of Sk. Mujib administration. His economic policies also directly contributed to the country's economic chaos. Mujib's large-scale nationalization of Bangladeshi manufacturing, trading enterprises and international trading in commodities strangled Bangladesh entrepreneurship into its infancy.

On the early morning of August 15, 1975, Sk. Mujib and several members of his family were brutally murdered in a coup orchestrated by a group of young and disgruntle army officers. Some of the officers in the plot had a personal vendetta against Sk. Mujib. His popularity had fallen precipitously by the time of his assassination and his death was lamented surprisingly by few. His daughters, Sheikh Hasina and Sheikh Rehana were out of the country. A new government headed by Mujib's close associate Khandakar Moshtaque Ahmed was formed.

Ziaur Rahman, 1975-81: Successive military coups resulted in the emergence of Army Chief of Staff Gen. Ziaur Rahman as strongman. He pledged the army's support to the civilian government headed by President Chief Justice Sayem. Acting at Zia's behest, President Sayem instituted martial law, dissolved the Parliament and promised fresh elections in 1977. Working behind the scenes of the Martial Law Administration, tenacious Zia sought to invigorate government policy and administration. While continuing the ban on political parties, he sought to expiate the situation by revitalizing the demoralized bureaucracy, began new economic development programs and emphasized family planning. In November 1976, Zia became Chief Martial Law Administrator and assumed the presidency upon Sayem's retirement 5 months later, promising national elections in 1978.

Keeping his promise to hold elections, Zia won a 5-year term in June 1978 election with 76% of the vote. In November 1978, his government removed the remaining restrictions on political party activities in time for parliamentary elections in February 1979. The AL and BNP, founded by Zia emerged as the two major parties.

In May 1981, Zia was assassinated in Chittagong circuit house by dissident elements of the military. The attempted coup did not spread beyond Chittagong and the major conspirators were either taken into custody or killed. In accordance with the Constitution, Vice President Justice Abdus Sattar was sworn in as acting president. He declared a new national emergency and called for an election of a new president within 6 months. Sattar won the election as the BNP candidate, was a complaisance of his predecessor and retained essentially the same cabinet but the army stepped in once again.

Hussain Mohammed Ershad, 1982-90: Army Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. H.M. Ershad assumed power in a bloodless coup in March 1982. Like his predecessors, Ershad suspended the Constitution and declared martial law, citing endemic corruptions, ineffective government and economic mismanagement. The following year, Ershad assumed the presidency, retained his positions as army chief and CMLA. Ershad sought public support for his regime in a national referendum on his leadership in March 1985. He won overwhelmingly but the turnout was small. 2 months later, Ershad held elections for local council chairmen; pro-government candidates won a majority of the posts. Political life was further liberalized in early 1986; at the same time the Jatiya Party (JP), his political vehicle for the transition from martial law was established.

Despite a boycott by the BNP, Parliamentary elections were held on schedule in May 1986. The Jatiya Party won a modest majority of the 300 elected seats in the National Assembly. Participation of the Awami League lent this election some credibility, despite widespread charges of voting irregularities.

Ershad resigned as Army Chief of Staff and retired from military service in preparation for the presidential elections, scheduled for October 1986. Both the BNP and the AL refused to put up opposing candidates. Ershad easily outdistanced the remaining candidates with 84% of the vote. Despite government's claim of turnout of more than 50%, opposition leaders and much of the foreign press estimated a far lower percentage and alleged voting irregularities. In November 1986, his government amended the constitution and confirmed the previous actions of the martial law regime. The President then lifted martial law and the opposition parties took their elected seats in the National Assembly.

In July 1987, the government pushed through a controversial legislative bill to include military representation on local administrative councils, the opposition walked out of Parliament. Passage of the bill sparked an opposition movement that quickly gathered momentum, uniting opposition parties for the first time. The government began to arrest many opposition activists under the country's Special Powers Act of 1974. Despite these arrests, opposition parties continued to organize protest and nationwide Hartals. After declaring a State of Emergency, Ershad dissolved the Parliament and scheduled fresh election for March 1988.

All major opposition parties refused government overtures to participate in these polls, maintaining that the government was incapable of holding free and fair elections. Despite the opposition boycott, the government proceeded. The ruling Jatiya Party won 251 of the 300 seats. The Parliament, while still regarded by the opposition as illegitimate, passed a large number of bills. The opposition to Ershad's rule then began to regain momentum, escalating by the end of 1990 in frequent hartals, increased University campus protests, public rallies and a general disintegration of law and order.

Ershad resigned on 6 December 1990 and on 27 February1991, the "interim government" headed by Acting President Chief Justice Shahabuddin Ahmed oversaw what most observers believed to be the nation's most free and fair elections to that date.

Khaleda Zia, 1991-96: The BNP won a plurality of seats and formed a government with the support from Jamaat-I-Islami; Khaleda Zia became the Prime minister. The electorate approved more changes to the constitution, formally re-creating a parliamentary system and returning governing power to the office of the prime minister, as in Bangladesh's original 1972 constitution. In October 1991, members of Parliament elected a new head of state, President Abdur Rahman Biswas.

In February 1996, Khaleda Zia was re-elected by a landslide in an impetuous national election that boycotted and denounced as unfair by the 3 other main opposition parties. In March 1996, following escalating political turmoil, the sitting Parliament enacted a constitutional amendment to allow a neutral "Caretaker Government" to assume power and conduct new parliamentary elections; former Chief Justice Mohammed Habibur Rahman was named Chief Adviser in the interim government. New parliamentary elections were held in June 1996, the Awami League won plurality and formed the government with support from the Jatiya Party led by deposed president Ershad; party leader Sheikh Hasina became Prime Minister.

Sheikh Hasina, 1996-2001: Sheikh Hasina formed what she called a "Government of National Consensus" in June 1996 that included one minister from the JP and another from the JSD. JP President Ershad was released from prison on bail in January 1997 and JP never entered into a formal coalition arrangement with AL. Ershad withdrew his support from the government in September 1997. Although international and domestic election observers found this June 1996 election free and fair, the BNP protested alleging vote rigging by the Awami League. However, BNP decided to join the Parliament but immediately charged that police and Awami League activists were engaged in large-scale harassment and jailing of opposition activists. At the end of 1996, the BNP staged a parliamentary walkout over this and other grievances but returned in January 1997 under a four-point agreement with the ruling party.

In July 2001, the Awami League government stepped down to allow a Caretaker Government to preside over Parliamentary elections. Political violences that had increased during the Awami League government's tenure continued to increase through up to the election. In August 2001, Khaleda Zia and Sheikh Hasina agreed during a visit of former President Jimmy Carter to respect the results of the election, join the Parliament regardless of winning or losing, foreswear the use Hartals as political tools and successful government would allow more meaningful role for the opposition in Parliament. The caretaker government was successful in containing the violence that allowed a Parliamentary general election held on 1 October 2001.

Khaleda Zia, 2001-2006: The four-party alliance led by the BNP won over a two-thirds majority in Parliament. Begum Khaleda Zia was sworn in as Prime Minister on October 10, 2001. Despite Sk. Hasina's August 2001 pledge and all election monitoring groups declaring the election free and fair, Hasina became heretical, condemned the election, rejected the results and boycotted Parliament. However, in 2002 she led her party legislators back to Parliament but the Awami League again walked out in June 2003 to protest derogatory remarks about Hasina by a State Minister and allegedly partisan role of the Parliamentary Speaker. In June 2004, the AL returned to Parliament again without having any of their demands met for an apology to Sheikh Hasina and guarantees of a neutral Speaker.

In February 2006, the AL raised demands for early elections and requested significant changes in the electoral and Caretaker Government systems to stop alleged moves by the ruling coalition to rig the next election. The AL blames the ruling party for several high-profile attacks on opposition leaders and asserts that the ruling party is bent on eliminating Sheikh Hasina and the Awami League as a viable force. The BNP and its allies accuse the AL of maligning Bangladesh at home and abroad out of jealousy over the government's performance on development and economic issues. Dialogue between the Secretaries General of these main ruling and opposition parties, Jalil and Bhuiyan was adumbrated initially but failed in sorting out the electoral reform issues. Awami League then called "lagathar Hartal" and "Aborodh" those attributed to miserable sufferings to ordinary citizens and lawlessness with hostility and violences throughout the country.

Caretaker Government, October 2006-Present: The 13th Amendment to the Constitution required the president to offer the position of the Chief Adviser to the immediate past Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, Justice K.M. Hasan. The AL opposed Justice Hasan, alleging that he belonged to ruling BNP in his past life and that the BNP government in 2004 amended the constitution to extend retirement age for the Supreme Court judges to make sure that Justice Hasan became the Chief Adviser during the next elections to help BNP win the election. Justice Hasan declined the position and after two days of extremely violent protests, President Iajuddin Ahmed assumed the role of Chief Adviser to the Caretaker Government besides his President position.

On 3 January 2007, the Awami League announced that they would boycott the January 22 parliamentary elections. The Awami League planned and declared their renewed country-wide Aborodh and Lagahtar Hartal.

On 11 January 2007, President Iajuddin Ahmed declared a State of Emergency under the Constitution, resigned as Chief Adviser and indefinitely postponed Parliamentary elections. On January 12, former Bangladesh Bank governor Fakhruddin Ahmed was sworn in as the new Chief Adviser and his cabinet advisers were also appointed. Under emergency provisions, the government suspended certain fundamental rights of the citizens as guaranteed by the constitution and detained a large number political leaders and top bureaucrats for alleged involvement in corruption and other crimes. The current government has banned all political activities and has yet to set a date for elections. But the government has announced that the elections will occur in late 2008.


Mohammad Gani
Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.
E MaiL : mgani69@gmail.com
 


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[mukto-mona] the NY TIMES editorial on Obama's speech on race & religion

The New York Times
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March 19, 2008
Editorial

Mr. Obama's Profile in Courage

There are moments — increasingly rare in risk-abhorrent modern campaigns — when politicians are called upon to bare their fundamental beliefs. In the best of these moments, the speaker does not just salve the current political wound, but also illuminates larger, troubling issues that the nation is wrestling with.

Inaugural addresses by Abraham Lincoln and Franklin D. Roosevelt come to mind, as does John F. Kennedy's 1960 speech on religion, with its enduring vision of the separation between church and state. Senator Barack Obama, who has not faced such tests of character this year, faced one on Tuesday. It is hard to imagine how he could have handled it better.

Mr. Obama had to address race and religion, the two most toxic subjects in politics. He was as powerful and frank as Mitt Romney was weak and calculating earlier this year in his attempt to persuade the religious right that his Mormonism is Christian enough for them.

It was not a moment to which Mr. Obama came easily. He hesitated uncomfortably long in dealing with the controversial remarks of his spiritual mentor and former pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr., who denounced the United States as endemically racist, murderous and corrupt.

On Tuesday, Mr. Obama drew a bright line between his religious connection with Mr. Wright, which should be none of the voters' business, and having a political connection, which would be very much their business. The distinction seems especially urgent after seven years of a president who has worked to blur the line between church and state.

Mr. Obama acknowledged his strong ties to Mr. Wright. He embraced him as the man "who helped introduce me to my Christian faith," and said that "as imperfect as he may be, he has been like family to me."

Wisely, he did not claim to be unaware of Mr. Wright's radicalism or bitterness, disarming the speculation about whether he personally heard the longtime pastor of his church speak the words being played and replayed on YouTube. Mr. Obama said Mr. Wright's comments were not just potentially offensive, as politicians are apt to do, but "rightly offend white and black alike" and are wrong in their analysis of America. But, he said, many Americans "have heard remarks from your pastors, priests or rabbis with which you strongly disagree."

Mr. Obama's eloquent speech should end the debate over his ties to Mr. Wright since there is nothing to suggest that he would carry religion into government. But he did not stop there. He put Mr. Wright, his beliefs and the reaction to them into the larger context of race relations with an honesty seldom heard in public life.

Mr. Obama spoke of the nation's ugly racial history, which started with slavery and Jim Crow, and continues today in racial segregation, the school achievement gap and discrimination in everything from banking services to law enforcement.

He did not hide from the often-unspoken reality that people on both sides of the color line are angry. "For the men and women of Reverend Wright's generation," he said, "the memories of humiliation and fear have not gone away, nor the anger and the bitterness of those years."

At the same time, many white Americans, Mr. Obama noted, do not feel privileged by their race. "In an era of stagnant wages and global competition, opportunity comes to be seen as a zero-sum game," he said, adding that both sides must acknowledge that the other's grievances are not imaginary.

He made the powerful point that while these feelings are not always voiced publicly, they are used in politics. "Anger over welfare and affirmative action helped forge the Reagan coalition," he said.

Against this backdrop, he said, he could not repudiate his pastor. "I can no more disown him than I can disown the black community," he said. "I can no more disown him than I can my white grandmother." That woman whom he loves deeply, he said, "once confessed her fear of black men who passed by her on the street" and more than once "uttered racial or ethnic stereotypes that made me cringe."

There have been times when we wondered what Mr. Obama meant when he talked about rising above traditional divides. This was not such a moment.

We can't know how effective Mr. Obama's words will be with those who will not draw the distinctions between faith and politics that he drew, or who will reject his frank talk about race. What is evident, though, is that he not only cleared the air over a particular controversy — he raised the discussion to a higher plane.

 

 



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[mukto-mona] A Designer Universe - part 1 {Bangla}/English

Hi,

I am translating the arguments by Steven Weinberg
against the Designer Universe. Steven Weinberg is a
Nobel Laureate in Physics. The part 1 can be found
here :

http://www.mukto-mona.com/Articles/diganta_sarkar/designer_universe1.htm

If anyone wants to read the Bengali version of it,
please go to :
http://www.physlink.com/Education/essay_weinberg.cfm

Thanks,
Diganta.


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Re: [mukto-mona] The train was derailed, but now the destination is unknown !

WRT: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mukto-mona/message/47214

This election is coming too soon. The culture of politics cannot be changed within a year or so. All those old politicians are holding their breaths until the election day. After that, it will be business as usual, and all those efforts by the care taker government to change the political culture will go in vein. Bangladesh is under the grip of old political culture, and there is no leader who can bring a change. Administrative rules and regulations cannot do that job. I see no change after the election.

Jiten Roy


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[ALOCHONA] Govt moves to stop foreigners' interference in internal affairs

Govt moves to stop foreigners' interference in internal affairs
The government has taken a move to update the outdated Foreigners Act to restrict undue interference by foreigners in internal affairs putting the government in an embarrassing position.
   Foreign diplomats stationed in Bangladesh, who frequently make comments on domestic politics, will continue to remain out of the purview of the law, said the law adviser, AF Hassan Ariff, on Thursday.
   The government, however, requested foreign diplomats to respect Bangladesh's sentiments of sovereignty as recent public remarks by some foreign diplomats had been perceived by a section of the media to be 'interference in Bangladesh's internal affairs.'
   A foreign ministry spokesman said, 'The ministry is of the view that diplomatic norms and standards are well recognised internationally and feels that it is expected that these should be conformed to by all practitioners of the profession.'
   The government move came on the heels of recent visits by a couple of foreigners, who made comments on the country's criminal justice system, especially on the trial of one of the two detained former prime ministers and human rights situation.
   'The law of the land does not allow foreigners to make such comments,' Hassan told reporters at his weekly briefing Thursday afternoon.
   Earlier in the day, he raised the issue at a meeting of the council of advisers on law and order at the home ministry. The home adviser, MA Matin, presided over the meeting.
   The meeting, also attended by the LGRD adviser, Anwarul Iqbal, the home secretary and senior officials of the law enforcement agencies, discussed the matter in details and endorsed that the Foreigners Act should be amended to stop such 'undue interference.'
   The visit of two Canadians, Payam Akhavan and William Sloan, one of whom addressed a news briefing and the other tried to do so during their stay in Dhaka, featured in the meeting.
   'Many foreigners make derogatory comments about our internal affairs which is embarrassing for the government,' a senior home ministry official told New Age after the meeting.
   He said the act, formulated in 1946, was no more relevant in the present-day context and needed to be updated to stop foreigners from interfering into internal affairs.
   Hassan Ariff said the home ministry had taken steps when they found foreigners coming to Bangladesh on tourist visas to be addressing news briefings.
   'I cannot hold news briefings in other countries if I go there on a tourist visa,' he said, adding that no such news briefings are allowed under the law.
   The government on February 17 stopped William Sloan from addressing a news briefing at the Sheraton Hotel. He came on a tourist visa, but later became an international lawyer for Hasina.
   As for seeking gunmen by chief and other judicial magistrates, the meeting decided to consider the matter based on need assessment.
   Hassan said nothing had happened at the moment for which they would be given gunmen. 'We will provide gunmen and security for the people who will need them.'
   Reviewing law and order, the meeting concluded that the incidents of murder and extortion was on the rise and asked the police to effectively combat such crimes.
   'The recent rise in the number of killing was discussed at the meeting,' said a home ministry official, who attended the meeting.
   The meeting also decided to demolish the shanties set up again at the place of Sattola slum in Dhaka.

Diplomats urged to respect Bangladesh's sovereignty
 
The government on Thursday requested foreign diplomats to respect Bangladesh's sentiments and sovereignty after recent public remarks of some foreign diplomats have been perceived
   in a section of the media as 'interference in Bangladesh's internal affairs'.
   Although the government did not cite any specific instances, the reaction came in the wake of US charge d'affaires Geeta Pasi's series of meetings with political parties' leaders and her comments to the media which smacked of interference and were manipulative in nature.
   In recent weeks, Washington has once again become active in the country's politics as Pasi held meetings with top leaders of the Awami League, Jatiya Party and the pro-government faction of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party.
   During the meeting Pasi expressed the US's views that dialogues between the political parties and the government were important to establish an atmosphere conducive to holding the general elections.
   When he was asked to comment on the matter on Thursday, foreign adviser Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury said, 'Bangladesh believes in friendship with all countries, but friendship and interference are two different things.' 'The Bangladeshi people are in charge of shaping their own destiny,' he added.
   Iftekhar, however, averred that when the government requested the diplomats to respect the country's sovereignty, it was not responding to any particular case.
   Earlier in the day, a spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that of late there has been a renewed tendency in some foreign
   diplomats to make remarks in public that a section of the media has perceived to be interference in Bangladesh's internal affairs.
   The government said that Bangladeshis welcome and cherish the existing friendly bilateral relationships with many of the countries that these diplomats represent.
   'However Bangladeshis, who have struggled hard for their independence, seek to guard their feeling of sovereignty with zeal and pride,' the spokesman added.
   'The diplomatic agents concerned are urged to take note of this fact, and act in consonance with these sentiments,' added the spokesman.
   The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is of the view that diplomatic norms and standards are well recognised internationally and feels that it is expected that these should be conformed to by all envoys and diplomats.
 


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[ALOCHONA] Security council on cards to deal with nat'l crises


The law adviser yesterday said the government will form a National Security Council to make decisions on security matters "not only regarding law and order but also about other national crises like disasters and food security issues".

The adviser, AF Hassan Ariff, during his weekly press briefing also said the government will form a 'truth and accountability commission' within a month.Talking about the proposed National Security Council, Hassan Ariff said the home ministry was asked to prepare a draft of the ordinance. He said the security council is now being discussed and its shape and jurisdiction have not been finalised yet.

Headed by the president, the security council will have representatives from all stakeholder groups involved in state affairs including the prime minister, leader of the opposition in parliament and heads of three services.Once finalised, the security council will make recommendations to deal with any national security issues like law and order, disaster management, food security etc, he said.Replying to a query, the law adviser said the council will look to address management inadequacies in different sectors.

Hassan Ariff said the government will form the truth and accountability commission within a month to enable corruption suspects confess their crimes to the commission and avoid trial by giving their ill-gotten assets to the state exchequer.

"The commission can be termed Accountability Commission," the adviser told reporters while talking on the nature of the commission.

Replying to a query, he said the law will have no scope for discrimination against anyone, adding, "If there is any loophole that may lead to such discriminations, it will be streamlined during vetting at the law ministry."

Without giving details, he said the draft of an ordinance on the commission is being prepared examining the rules of similar commissions established in other countries.

On March 9, a high-level government meeting chaired by Chief Adviser Fakhruddin Ahmed approved in principle two proposals for establishment of the much-talked-about truth and accountability commission and the National Security Council.

According to the proposal prepared by a three-member experts' committee, the commission will have three members headed by a former chief justice, sources said.

No legal steps will be taken against people if they confess crimes to the commission and give the ill-gotten assets to the state treasury unless they get involved in further crimes, according to the proposal.

The commission may fine such people or confiscate their assets, but the amount of the fine will not exceed the value of their properties, the sources said adding that the commission will have the power to summon any person.

The March 9 meeting received a proposal of barring those people who would take advantage of the commission from standing in any elections. The meeting also suggested a number of changes in the draft.

People already convicted by a court will have no scope of exemption from the penalty by confessing before the commission, sources said quoting the proposal.

Asked if such commission would be an impediment to normal judicial system, the law adviser yesterday said, "There will be no such scope."

The draft ordinances for the "Accountability Commission" and the National Security Council will be placed before the council of advisers for approval in principle.

After that it will be sent to the law ministry for vetting and returned to the council of advisers for final approval. The president will then promulgate the ordinances, sources said.
  http://www.thedailystar.net/story.php?nid=28739


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[mukto-mona] Taslima :Editorial

 
Editorial in Times of India today
Secular Travesty 21 Mar 2008 (http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/TODAYS_ARTICLE_Secular_Travesty/articleshow/2885699.cms)
Rabindranath Tagore's poem "Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high... into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake" is taught to schoolchildren all over the country. It's not a prescription, however, that the government intends to live up to. It kept Bangladeshi author Taslima Nasreen incommunicado for five months, at an 'undisclosed location' in Delhi, in the hope that she would leave the country even though she had a valid visa to stay. It had its way at last, with Taslima packing her bags for Europe.

The circumstances in which that happened don't do the government much credit. Her harassment didn't stop at cutting her off from those she wanted to see, in the name of security. She may have been denied access to proper medical care, going by complaints coming from her and backed by International PEN, the global writers' body.

Information and broadcasting minister Priya Ranjan Dasmunshi publicly asked her to "bow down" and apologise to those she had offended. He may have forgotten, for the moment, that India is a secular democracy rather than a theocracy. Concern about her treatment came not just from international human rights groups but also from the National Human Rights Commission, which sent a notice to the home ministry and Delhi Police on her "solitary confinement".

The UPA government and its leftist supporters claim to be champions of secularism. Forcing Taslima out of the country, however, was a sad day for Indian secularism. The tactics used replicated those adopted by West Bengal's Left Front government to get her to leave Kolkata, where she had been staying. Her security, apparently, was uppermost in the minds of both central and state governments. What gives the game away, however, is that there is no official condemnation of those who threatened violence against her, or actually carried it out at a Hyderabad book launch in August last year.

Secularism of this variety amounts to a game of competitive fundamentalism. Someone somewhere claims to be offended on behalf of his community and issues threats. The government, in the name of security, bans the book, the film, or the writer. It's the equivalent of handing fundamentalists a megaphone. Someone else, encouraged by the supineness of the government, threatens or undertakes more violence for the sake of his particular peeve. That not only undermines the constitutionally guaranteed right to freedom of expression but creates insecurity all round. Not only would Tagore have been horrified at all this, there's serious doubt about whether it works even in terms of such short-term goals as delivering vote banks.
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[mukto-mona] Strength or Humility? Time to Change Caretaking Approach

Dear Readers,
Please read those articles and justify the reality.
 
Regards.
 
Gopal Sengupta
 
 
 
 
 

Alpin magazine
Editorial from the Daily Star published on March 21,2008
Chink even in the perception is unthinkable

THE reallocation of power of the HC division bench of Justice Shah Abu Nayeem Mominur Rahman and Justice Shahidul Islam from writ to civil appeal hearing would have passed off as a routine affair in normal circumstances. But given the particular backdrop it was set against, public mind couldn't but be exercised over the jurisdictional change of the bench concerned.

It is this bench that had declared illegal the government sanction to try extortion case against detained former prime minister Sheikh Hasina under Emergency Power Rules (EPR) and quashed the trial proceedings. HC even granted bail to those convicted in the cases under EPR which was later to be reversed by the SC. It may not appear as mere coincidence that the order changing the jurisdiction came before the final hearing scheduled for March 19 on a writ petition challenging the validity of not holding national election in the '90-day stipulated time-period'.

There is, in fact, a pattern to the recent happenings. The HC bench gave orders and verdicts which when they went to the Appellate Division would be either stayed or cancelled. There is no second opinion that reallocation of jurisdiction between benches may turn out to be an imperative necessity in that certain judges could be more competent and better suited to cope with particular tasks than others. And the CJ is not only within his powers to effect it but is also the best judge of what needs to be done. The question however relates to the timing of it -- on the heels of a particular set of circumstances as cited above.

But this is not without a precedent. The same judge Nayeem Mominur Rahman had show-caused the four-party alliance government as to why the appointment of Justice MA Aziz as Chief Election Commissioner will not be declared illegal since he retained the position of justice of the Appellate Division. Justice Nayeem was divested of the writ power soon thereafter. Incidentally, when Justice Ruhul Amin became the Chief Justice, Justice Nayeem got back his writ hearing power.

We want the judiciary to enjoy the highest moral standing and impeccable credibility. For, we strongly believe that democracy, justice and people's rights are best served when the judiciary enjoys the highest public esteem.

The point we are trying to drive at is after the separation of the judiciary from the executive, the concept of independence of the judiciary has been placed on an exalted pedestal. At a time like this, question should not arise in the public mind that there could even be any perceived interference in the affairs of the highest judiciary.
 
 
Editorial from New Age published on March 19, 2008
Change in jurisdiction of
a High Court bench

We are fully aware that the chief justice has the authority to constitute and reconstitute benches of the High Court Division of the Supreme Court, and also change their jurisdiction as and when he deems it fit. Hence, he has acted within his powers when changing the jurisdiction of the bench of Justice Shah Abu Nayeem Mominur Rahman and Justice Shahidul Islam from hearing writ petitions to hearing first civil appeals. We must, however, point out that the change in jurisdiction of a bench that has recently been in the news for several landmark rulings and opinions that include granting bail in cases that have been brought under the Emergency Powers Rules, e.g. to Bangladesh Nationalist Party chairperson Khaleda Zia in the GATCO case, and declaring illegal the Anti-Corruption Commission's notice asking Awami League president Sheikh Hasina to submit her wealth statement has an ominous ring to it. Notably, the bench was set to hold the final hearing on a writ petition challenging the legality of the Election Commission's decision to defer national elections beyond 90 days of the dissolution of the previous parliament when its jurisdiction was changed.
   We must also point out that, in the past few months, on almost every occasion that a High Court bench granted bail to a suspect in a corruption case, the interim order was overturned by the Appellate Division. Here again, while we acknowledge that the Appellate Division has the power to overturn decisions and verdicts handed down by the High Court Division, there has been suspicion in the public mind as to whether there was any arm-twisting of the Appellate Division by powerful quarters behind the overturning of certain High Court orders, given the political nature of the cases in question. The denial of bail to certain individuals in cases that would be bailable under the ordinary laws of the land, especially after the High Court had deemed it fit to grant bail in those cases, has also contributed to raising eyebrows by many. Such a situation, if continues, may lead to an erosion of the people's faith in the Supreme Court that symbolises for most people the last bastion of justice.
   What has undoubtedly also fuelled speculation regarding the change in jurisdiction of the bench comprising Justices Nayeem and Shahidul is the reported tea party that the president, Iajuddin Ahmed, has recently insisted to host for senior judges, apparently to ask some of them to resign. It appears as though the ones who did not take the president up on his offer have now been gently pushed aside.
   We would like to believe that the changing of jurisdiction was a routine activity of the chief justice. However, in case there is some truth to the growing public perception of this change being related in any way to political engineering by the powers that be, we take this opportunity to remind the current administration of the recent controversies with regard to President Pervez Musharraf's ill-advised interference with the judiciary in Pakistan. Just as Musharraf's attempt at controlling the higher judiciary did not bear positive results for him, so would it not for our government, if that is indeed its objective.

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Sign the Petition : Release the Arrested University Teachers Immediately : An Appeal to the Caretaker Government of Bangladesh

http://www.mukto-mona.com/human_rights/university_teachers_arrest.htm

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Daily Star publishes an interview with Mukto-Mona
http://www.mukto-mona.com/news/daily_star/daily_star_MM.pdf

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MM site is blocked in Islamic countries such as UAE. Members of those theocratic states, kindly use any proxy (such as http://proxy.org/) to access mukto-mona.

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Mukto-Mona Celebrates 5th Anniversary
http://www.mukto-mona.com/Special_Event_/5_yrs_anniv/index.htm

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Mukto-Mona Celebrates Earth Day:
http://www.mukto-mona.com/Special_Event_/Earth_day2006/index.htm

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Kansat Uprising : A Special Page from Mukto-Mona 
http://www.mukto-mona.com/human_rights/kansat2006/members/


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MM Project : Grand assembly of local freedom fighters at Raumari
http://www.mukto-mona.com/project/Roumari/freedom_fighters_union300306.htm

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German Bangla Radio Interviews Mukto-Mona Members:
http://www.mukto-mona.com/Special_Event_/Darwin_day/german_radio/


Mukto-Mona Celebrates Darwin Day:

http://www.mukto-mona.com/Special_Event_/Darwin_day/index.htm

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Some FAQ's about Mukto-Mona:

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VISIT MUKTO-MONA WEB-SITE : http://www.mukto-mona.com/

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"I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it".
               -Beatrice Hall [pseudonym: S.G. Tallentyre], 190




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