[ALOCHONA] Re: www.votebnp.net

Hi

Thanks for the information.

Hope it explains why Pintu has been nominated.

Or why Saifur Rahman is running again in Sylhet 1 even though he is
probably dying.

Or why Mahmudur Rahman (I actually like him a lot) thinks Hasan
Masud Chowdhury is unfit to run ACC but Tarique is fit to run BNP.

Many in my family - my own father too - will vote BNP. But they are
not activists. When activists like you start to confess to the mess
inside BNP and deal with it you will really be worthy of the legacy
of Ziaur Rahman.

Till then it nonsense as usual. For every politcial party. And
millions of voters will vote simply on a stop AL or stop Jamat basis.

Ezajur Rahman
Kuwait

--- In alochona@yahoogroups.com, mahathir of bd
<wouldbemahathirofbd@...> wrote:
>
>
>
>
> BNP has launched an web site for election campaign.Have a look of
it if you want
> www.votebnp.net 
>

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

[Disclaimer: ALOCHONA Management is not liable for information contained in this message. The author takes full responsibility.]
To unsubscribe/subscribe, send request to alochona-owner@egroups.comYahoo! Groups Links

<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/alochona/

<*> Your email settings:
Individual Email | Traditional

<*> To change settings online go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/alochona/join
(Yahoo! ID required)

<*> To change settings via email:
mailto:alochona-digest@yahoogroups.com
mailto:alochona-fullfeatured@yahoogroups.com

<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
alochona-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com

<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/

[ALOCHONA] Mumbai Attack : India and the Axis of Evil

--- On Thu, 12/18/08, Zoglul Husain <zoglul@hotmail.co.uk> wrote: Forwarding to you my views on the article: Good article, thank you. To find the writer's name, I looked up paktribune.com. At the end of the article it said, 'More articles by M Rafic Soormally', which suggested the name of the writer.   It is well known that the governments of the US, Israel, India, Pakistan, etc. create and nurture terrorist cells and organisations to serve their objectives. There are also terrorists groomed by fundamentalists of Jewish, Hindu, Muslim, Christian, Buddhist, etc. faiths and dispensations. Therefore, the terrorist operations and interactions are varied and complex, and it is often difficult to answer the question, 'who done it?', as all the operations are secret. But all of the above governments and fundamentalists have been involved in various terrorist attacks in various countries.    Those who say that the 9/11 2001 attack in the USA was an inside job and that the CIA-Mossad combine did it with remote controlled aircrafts and controlled demolition of World Trade Centre after insurance, lend credence. Similarly, those who say that the Mumbai attack on 26/11 2008 was perpetrated by Mossad-CIA combine with local support from Hindu fundamentalists and a section of RAW, give credence. Here the aim was a war between India and Pakistan. India decided not to be drawn in for the moment, but another attack of that magnitude may sway the public opinion, and that may result in at least a controlled border skirmish to satisfy the public and various interest groups.  In conclusion the writer suggested that the government of India should solve the Kashmir problem and adopt non-aligned foreign policy as before, and pointed out that India's security arrangement with the US and Israel is doing more harm to India than good. But the writer did not have anything to say about the internally oppressive regimes of the US, Israel, India and Pakistan. He did not have anything to say about Pakistan's wide-ranging involvement in terroristic activities in Afghanistan since around 1980 by being paid billions of dollars from the US. The wrier certainly failed to give a call for building a world-wide front against imperialism, hegemonism, inequality and injustice. And all those who fail to do that will be regarded as partially-sighted, and if they are sincere, unwittingly they will even do injustice to their own cause.   To: mbimunshi@gmail.com; zoglul@hotmail.co.uk; rehman.mohammad@gmail.com; mahmudurart@yahoo.com; farhadmazhar@hotmail.com; premlaliguras@hotmail.com; dhakamails@yahoogroups.com; khabor@yahoogroups.com; alochona@yahoogroups.com; bdresearchers@yahoogroups.com; bangla-vision@yahoogroups.com; mouchakaydheel@yahoo.com; odhora@yahoogroups.com; dahuk@yahoogroups.com; history_islam@yahoogroups.com From: bd_mailer@yahoo.com Date: Sat, 13 Dec 2008 06:17:59 -0800 Subject: # H I #: Mumbai Attack : India and the Axis of Evil Mumbai Attack – India and the Axis of Evil « India has suffered a series of terror attacks in recent months but last night`s massacre – with a combination of grenades and automatic weapons – marks a new and deadly milestone in its continuing battle against extremists. Most of the attacks have been blamed on extremist Muslim groups but, in recent weeks, police have rounded up 10 members of what they say is its first Hindu terror cell. », The Independent, Andrew Buncombe in Delhi, Thursday, 27th November 2008.   « With a traumatized nation and a paralyzed government, a core group of secular right-wing ideologues and Hindu nationalists are executing a 'soft coup' in New Delhi to bring to power hawks who want to pursue America's agenda of grooming India as a regional policeman, sort out Pakistan and confront China. India will self-destroy in the process.  India's military and intelligence has been penetrated. The man who uncovered the plot, Hemant Karkare, the antiterrorism chief of Mumbai police, was the first target of the mysterious terrorists. Patriotic Indians need to wake up and save their country.  » Ahmad Quraishi, Saturday, 29 November 2008.   Acts of terror There is no agreed definition of terrorism, but, according to the CIA, terrorism is the « premeditated, politically motivated violence perpetrated against noncombatant targets by subnational groups or clandestine agents, usually intended to influence an audience. »  According to former US Attorney General, Ramsey Clark, his country (the USA) is « the greatest purveyor of violence in the world ».  That same country finances the worse kind of terrorist acts, the extermination of a large part of the population in Palestine as well as carries out acts of barbarity against defenceless citizens in both Afghanistan and Iraq.  The US officially has the greatest army of mercenaries in the world, Blackwater, with 140,000 "contractors".   In recent history, people have witnessed terror against Native Americans, Aborigines, Maoris, Vietnamese, Indians of the sub-continent, Algerians and more.  While the lands of the Aborigines, Maoris and Native Americans have been stolen, India became independent at the cost of partition giving birth to Pakistan and Bangladesh (formerly East Pakistan).  But the world is still witnessing European terror through invasion of sovereign countries, such as Iraq and Afghanistan, and the murder of hundreds of thousands of their people.  The terrorist occupation of Palestine by Jewish Europeans, the killings of her people, including women, children and babies have been going on for half a century !   For her part, India is still occupying Kashmir, which was part of Moghal Hindustan, against the will of the Kashmiris, and committing unspeakable acts of terror against them.  It is also a common practice for States which perpetrate and sponsor acts of terrorism to organise false flag operations against their own people and allies in order to blame the 'enemies' and rally support for their 'cause'.  Often, they are caught but they are above the law.  For example, members of the Irgun Jewish terrorist movement dressed up as Palestinian army officers attacked the British HQ at King David Hotel in 1946 Palestine.  During the six-day war in 1967, the Israelis attacked USS Liberty and murdered many US non-combatants in an attempt to blame it on Egypt and suck the Americans into the war. (Ref. Phil Tourney, survivor of the Israeli attack on the USS Liberty).      Apart from the official conspiracy theories, it has been demonstrated that the 9/11 terror attacks against the World Trade Centre (WTC) and the Pentagon in 2001 were an inside job with Israeli involvement.  In January 2000, Indian intelligence detained 11 'Muslim preachers' on the ground of hijacking conspiracy, but they turned out to be Israeli nationals sent with false passports to infiltrate Muslim organisations in India and were released.  Similarly, the five dancing Israelis arrested on 9/11 « as suspected conspirators » when they were celebrating the attacks against the WTC were all released.  [Ref. The Record, New Jersey, 12 Sept 2001].  On 13 Sept 01, The New York Times reported that the group of five men (who turned out to be MOSSAD agents) had set up video cameras aimed at the Twin Towers prior to the attack.   The recent terror attacks against the Marriott Hotel in Pakistan on 20 Sept 2008 had the hallmark of a military operation and not that of "Muslim terrorists"!  Similarly, the well planned and sophisticated attacks in Mumbai on 26/11 by attackers against various targets, including the Taj Mahal and Oberoi Hotels, killing around 200 people have immediately been blamed on "Pakistan, Al-Qaeda and British Muslims".  The Indian authorities say there were 12 such attackers, but many others 'escaped'.                                                'Unknown' gunman at Chattrapati Shivaji  railway station, Mumbai, wearing a sacred Hindu wristband     « The deadly embrace » - CIA-MOSSAD connection There is no denying that the United States and Israel have been grooming India to become a regional superpower for their benefits.  In so doing, they have to persuade India that she is a victim of terror herself, especially from her enemies in Pakistan, occupied Kashmir and Muslim extremists within India proper.   Lal Krishna Advani, former Deputy Prime Minister of India [2002-2004], former President of the nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), strong advocate of Hindutva (Hindu nationalism) and current Leader of the Opposition, met the heads of the MOSSAD when he visited Israel in June 2000 and advocated "closer India-Israeli cooperation on all security matters". [Note : Israelis were responsible of security during both the 9/11 and 7/7 attacks!].  In the same year, The Times of India reported on the Israeli presence in India : « Israeli counter-terrorism experts are now touring Jammu and Kashmir and several other states in India at the invitation of Home Minister Lal Krishna Advani to make an assessment of New Delhi`s security needs.  The Israeli team, headed by Eli Katzir of the Israel Counter-Terrorism Combat Unit, includes Israeli military intelligence officials and a senior police official. »  India  has forged a strategic alliance with Israel  to perfect India 's methods of occupation of Kashmir  where all Indian atrocities, mass graves of Kashmiris, shootings of civilians, rape and human rights abuses are brushed under the carpet like the atrocities perpetrated against Palestinians.   India's responsibility The US have allowed India to set up military training camps in Afghanistan, and they are training, arming and financing rebels who are being sent to Pakistan to destabilise the government. The MOSSAD, Hamid Karzai and India are fuelling ethnic insurgency in South West Pakistan where China is building a strategic port. In addition, with her nuclear and military deals with the US and the launching of an Israeli satellite as the MOSSAD increases its control of India, India seems to pay lip service to her diverse peoples with a high risk of further partitions of India. Remember, it was India which financed and armed East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) to breakaway from then West Pakistan.  She also boasted the sinking of alleged pirate ships within Somali coastal waters (19 Nov 08) to help the US and pro-US Saudis.   Given India's behaviour, she should have been better prepared to prevent and deal with such attacks and not leave her people and visitors open to such risks...  In this light, the Indian Home Minister Shivraj Patil and National Security Advisor M.K. Narayanan have submitted their resignations (Sunday, 30 Nov 08).   The blame game The first reaction of the Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was to blame Pakistan.  But witnesses suggested that the attackers « are probably members of an Indian militant group rather than foreigners » (The Independent, 27 Nov 08).  It is also reported that the attacks were claimed by an unknown group called « Deccan Mujahideen » and the « Indian Mujahideen » from South India and trained in Bangladesh.  Other suspects are a Kashmiri freedom group called Lashkar-e-Taiba held responsible for the bomb attacks on trains in 2006 and, of course, Al-Qa'ida which, apart from being a CIA-MOSSAD database, is a non-existant organisation.  The Indian government asserted that some of the attackers were British-born Pakistanis from Leeds, Bradford and Hartlepool.  It was also alleged that some have Malaysian and Mauritian links.   But, in spite of pointing his finger at Pakistan, in a telephone conversation with Pakistan PM Yousuf Raza Gilani on 28 Nov 08 PM Manmohan Singh urged Gilani to send his spy chief to share intelligence over the Mumbai attack.  Pakistan has agreed to send a senior official to India.  It does seem very strange that, even though there may be 'Pakistanis' among the attackers, Pakistan would be responsible for such an attack after President Asif Ali Zardari recently told the Indian government that Pakistan would not be the one to resort to first use of nuclear weapons, an announcement welcomed by India. It seems more likely to be the work of external forces, with internal complicity, which do not want peace between those two sister countries and sister communities.  The plan is clearly to provoke a war between India and Pakistan as Pakistanis want to detach themselves from US murdering ventures.   Hindutva As reported by Andrew Buncombe in Delhi, The Independent Thursday, 27th November 2008, « most of the attacks have been blamed on extremist Muslim groups but, in recent weeks, police have rounded up 10 members of what they say is its first Hindu terror cell ».  In early November 2008, the Mumbai Anti Terrorist Squad (ATS), headed by Hemant Karkare, arrested 10 Hindutva extremists, including Dayanand Pandey (a prominent religious leader of Uttar Pradesh) belonging to Sangh Parivar, an umbrella organisation comprising the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Bajrang Dal, and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, in connection with the 8 Sept 2006 Malegaon bomb blasts in a Muslim cemetery in Maharashtra killing dozens of Muslim pilgrims and injuring scores more.  The ATS investigation has uncovered connections with the Israeli MOSSAD whose Indian home-grown agents have infiltrated many Hindu organisations in India, as well as connections between the Indian military and Hindu extremist groups.  In the very early hours of the Mumbai attack on 26/11, the unknown terrorists eliminated Hemant Karare, Head of the ATS, along with Mumbai`s additional commissioner of police Ashok Kamte and high-level police officer Vijay Salaskar, The Times Of India reported.  The killers must have had inside information as Indian security services have been infiltrated.  One of the 'unknown' terrorist caught on CCTV camera at the Chattrapati Shivaji railway station wore a sacred Hindu wristband.  The victims included Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, Jews, Indians, Britons, Americans and a Mauritian.   Conclusion India has the strength to overcome this trauma.  She must and she will take all necessary measures to prevent such carnage happening again on Indian soil and make all efforts to live in peace with her neighbours and resolve the issue of Kashmir peacefully.  At the same time, India must look at the underlying causes of this serious problem and review her association with the perpetrators of terror and occupation around the world as well as the infiltration of terrorists into local organisations and her security services.  India must return to her non-aligned philosophy, demand the removal of all terrorist occupiers from nearby countries and the closing of the terror base at Diego Garcia Mauritius.  India must understand that she does not form part of the European West which is in quest of hegemony and world domination.  If India allows herself to be recruited into this Axis of Evil, the destruction and further partitions of India seem inevitable.  India's 'security' arrangements with Israel and the US may well be the source of her problems as they do not serve Indian interests.   http://www.paktribu ne.com/news/ print.php? id=208835 Take your friends with you with Mobile Messenger. Click Here! Read amazing stories to your kids on Messenger. Try it Now!

__._,_.___

[Disclaimer: ALOCHONA Management is not liable for information contained in this message. The author takes full responsibility.]
To unsubscribe/subscribe, send request to alochona-owner@egroups.com

Your email settings: Individual Email|Traditional
Change settings via the Web (Yahoo! ID required)
Change settings via email: Switch delivery to Daily Digest | Switch to Fully Featured
Visit Your Group | Yahoo! Groups Terms of Use | Unsubscribe

__,_._,___

[ALOCHONA] Army influence may not go away after Bangladesh vote

Army influence may not go away after Bangladesh vote   Pro-democracy advocates hope the Bangladesh military will fade from politics after this month's election, but that may only happen when and if the new government proves more stable and less corrupt than its predecessors. Army generals ruling with iron fists dominated Bangladesh from 1975 to 1990, taking power in sometimes violent and sometimes bloodless coups. [ID:nLH89849] Almost two years ago they re-entered the political fray, assuming a prominent role in the self-styled "interim authority" that is due to step aside for a new civilian government after the Dec. 29 parliamentary election. [ID:nSP292670] Human rights groups and Western diplomats worry the military will be reluctant to stay away from politics for long, upsetting a transition to stable democracy that could help the country of more than 140 million attract investment, reduce massive poverty, and cut its dependence on foreign aid. The "vote and an end to emergency rule do not equal democracy but are necessary preconditions to the country's stability," the well-respected Brussels-based International Crisis Group saidearlier this month. But it went on to warn: "The political situation is complex and fragile. Regardless of who wins the election, the next government and the opposition parties will face the challenges of making parliament work and contending with an army that wants a greater say in politics." The army says that isn't so.Army chief General Moeen U. Ahmed said this week he and his troops were "happy to return to the barracks after accomplishing a task they were assigned to", referring to implementing the interim government's policies and helping organise and provide security for the election. The army-backed interim authority took power amidst violence and political turmoil in January 2007, cancelling an election and instituting emergency rule that suspended many civil rights. [ID:nDHA401204] Retired generals held key posts in the cabinet and bodies like the Anti-Corruption Commission and Election Commission. AID AND PEACEKEEPING Moeen said the military had no intention of taking state power after the election, and would focus on aiding civilians and international peacekeeping. Noting how the military brought relief and saved lives last year when floods and a deadly cyclone hit the low-lying country, Moeen said: "We wish to keep doing so for all times to come." Help to civilians by the army -- one of the few efficient government bodies in the country -- in natural disasters has given it a favourable image among many common people despite what critics see as a sometimes cavalier attitude toward human rights. Shahidul Islam, a university student, said: "When disasters sweep Bangladesh, we see the army troops rushing with help, while the politicians spend time on planning or sharing booty. "But that does not justify that the army takes the role of the politicians." Abroad, Bangladesh's military has won respect as peacekeepers, something of which it is proud and which has earned the country, one of the world's poorest, much needed revenue. Bangladesh now has 9,700 troops in U.N. missions around the world, the second largest contribution after Pakistan, and earns on average about $200 million from the deployments every year, much of that in the form of pay for army officers and enlisted men over and above what they would receive at home. "Any attempt by the army to be directly involved in politics would threaten their jobs with the U.N. peacekeeping missions," said Sirajul Islam Chowdhury, a former Dhaka University teacher and political analyst. "They probably don't want this." CAN ARMY STAY AWAY? Despite such considerations and Moeen's assurances, many tend to believe the army, though possibly trying to stay behind the scenes and keep a low profile, will unlikely stay out of government and politics for long. That's not necessarily to do with a lust for power but because democratically elected governments keep getting it wrong. Civilian governments dominated between 1991 and the end of 2006. But the period was marked by turbulence, street violence, reluctance of losers to accept election results, and endemic corruption, while economic and social achievements were minimal. And the leading candidates to be prime minister after December's vote are the two women who alternated in the post in those uneasy years -- Sheikh Hasina of the Awami League and Begum Khaleda Zia of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party. They, themselves, have been charged with graft and abuse of power by the interim government. [ID:nDHA358467] That may explain why the ICG warned the politicians not to assume too much about international backing. The "parties must not take the international community's support for elections as an endorsement of their behaviour but rather see it as belated recognition of the dangers of military rule,"the ICG said. A reversion to old habits by the parties is likely to mean the military keeps intervening, said a senior Bangladeshi official who asked not to be identified. "They will keep doing so until politicians overcome their weaknesses and are able to install a strong government." (Editing by Jerry Norton and Jeremy Laurence) http://uk.reuters.com/article/asiaCrisis/idUKDHA61215

__._,_.___

[Disclaimer: ALOCHONA Management is not liable for information contained in this message. The author takes full responsibility.]
To unsubscribe/subscribe, send request to alochona-owner@egroups.com

Your email settings: Individual Email|Traditional
Change settings via the Web (Yahoo! ID required)
Change settings via email: Switch delivery to Daily Digest | Switch to Fully Featured
Visit Your Group | Yahoo! Groups Terms of Use | Unsubscribe

__,_._,___

[ALOCHONA] Army influence may not go away after Bangladesh vote

Army influence may not go away after Bangladesh vote   Pro-democracy advocates hope the Bangladesh military will fade from politics after this month's election, but that may only happen when and if the new government proves more stable and less corrupt than its predecessors. Army generals ruling with iron fists dominated Bangladesh from 1975 to 1990, taking power in sometimes violent and sometimes bloodless coups. [ID:nLH89849] Almost two years ago they re-entered the political fray, assuming a prominent role in the self-styled "interim authority" that is due to step aside for a new civilian government after the Dec. 29 parliamentary election. [ID:nSP292670] Human rights groups and Western diplomats worry the military will be reluctant to stay away from politics for long, upsetting a transition to stable democracy that could help the country of more than 140 million attract investment, reduce massive poverty, and cut its dependence on foreign aid. The "vote and an end to emergency rule do not equal democracy but are necessary preconditions to the country's stability," the well-respected Brussels-based International Crisis Group saidearlier this month. But it went on to warn: "The political situation is complex and fragile. Regardless of who wins the election, the next government and the opposition parties will face the challenges of making parliament work and contending with an army that wants a greater say in politics." The army says that isn't so.Army chief General Moeen U. Ahmed said this week he and his troops were "happy to return to the barracks after accomplishing a task they were assigned to", referring to implementing the interim government's policies and helping organise and provide security for the election. The army-backed interim authority took power amidst violence and political turmoil in January 2007, cancelling an election and instituting emergency rule that suspended many civil rights. [ID:nDHA401204] Retired generals held key posts in the cabinet and bodies like the Anti-Corruption Commission and Election Commission. AID AND PEACEKEEPING Moeen said the military had no intention of taking state power after the election, and would focus on aiding civilians and international peacekeeping. Noting how the military brought relief and saved lives last year when floods and a deadly cyclone hit the low-lying country, Moeen said: "We wish to keep doing so for all times to come." Help to civilians by the army -- one of the few efficient government bodies in the country -- in natural disasters has given it a favourable image among many common people despite what critics see as a sometimes cavalier attitude toward human rights. Shahidul Islam, a university student, said: "When disasters sweep Bangladesh, we see the army troops rushing with help, while the politicians spend time on planning or sharing booty. "But that does not justify that the army takes the role of the politicians." Abroad, Bangladesh's military has won respect as peacekeepers, something of which it is proud and which has earned the country, one of the world's poorest, much needed revenue. Bangladesh now has 9,700 troops in U.N. missions around the world, the second largest contribution after Pakistan, and earns on average about $200 million from the deployments every year, much of that in the form of pay for army officers and enlisted men over and above what they would receive at home. "Any attempt by the army to be directly involved in politics would threaten their jobs with the U.N. peacekeeping missions," said Sirajul Islam Chowdhury, a former Dhaka University teacher and political analyst. "They probably don't want this." CAN ARMY STAY AWAY? Despite such considerations and Moeen's assurances, many tend to believe the army, though possibly trying to stay behind the scenes and keep a low profile, will unlikely stay out of government and politics for long. That's not necessarily to do with a lust for power but because democratically elected governments keep getting it wrong. Civilian governments dominated between 1991 and the end of 2006. But the period was marked by turbulence, street violence, reluctance of losers to accept election results, and endemic corruption, while economic and social achievements were minimal. And the leading candidates to be prime minister after December's vote are the two women who alternated in the post in those uneasy years -- Sheikh Hasina of the Awami League and Begum Khaleda Zia of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party. They, themselves, have been charged with graft and abuse of power by the interim government. [ID:nDHA358467] That may explain why the ICG warned the politicians not to assume too much about international backing. The "parties must not take the international community's support for elections as an endorsement of their behaviour but rather see it as belated recognition of the dangers of military rule,"the ICG said. A reversion to old habits by the parties is likely to mean the military keeps intervening, said a senior Bangladeshi official who asked not to be identified. "They will keep doing so until politicians overcome their weaknesses and are able to install a strong government." (Editing by Jerry Norton and Jeremy Laurence) http://uk.reuters.com/article/asiaCrisis/idUKDHA61215

__._,_.___

[Disclaimer: ALOCHONA Management is not liable for information contained in this message. The author takes full responsibility.]
To unsubscribe/subscribe, send request to alochona-owner@egroups.com

Your email settings: Individual Email|Traditional
Change settings via the Web (Yahoo! ID required)
Change settings via email: Switch delivery to Daily Digest | Switch to Fully Featured
Visit Your Group | Yahoo! Groups Terms of Use | Unsubscribe

__,_._,___

[ALOCHONA] Re: www.votebnp.net

Great to see it.

--- In alochona@yahoogroups.com, mahathir of bd
<wouldbemahathirofbd@...> wrote:
>
>
>
>
> BNP has launched an web site for election campaign.Have a look of it
if you want
> www.votebnp.net 
>

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

[Disclaimer: ALOCHONA Management is not liable for information contained in this message. The author takes full responsibility.]
To unsubscribe/subscribe, send request to alochona-owner@egroups.comYahoo! Groups Links

<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/alochona/

<*> Your email settings:
Individual Email | Traditional

<*> To change settings online go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/alochona/join
(Yahoo! ID required)

<*> To change settings via email:
mailto:alochona-digest@yahoogroups.com
mailto:alochona-fullfeatured@yahoogroups.com

<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
alochona-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com

<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/

[ALOCHONA] Re: [khabor.com] www.votebnp.net

Are asking VOTE FOR BNP or JAMAAT?   If I see any enemy of Bangladesh, I would consider BNP first.   Any questions, comments, do not hesitate to contact me. I will be glad to answer any questions that you or anybody has.   BNP haire pora kopal of Bangladesh!!!!   Zakir Hossain Alexandria, VA --- On Fri, 12/19/08, mahathir of bd <wouldbemahathirofbd@yahoo.com> wrote: From: mahathir of bd <wouldbemahathirofbd@yahoo.com> Subject: [khabor.com] www.votebnp.net To: alochona@yahoogroups.com, chottala@yahoogroups.com, dahuk@yahoogroups.com, khabor@yahoogroups.com, notun_bangladesh@yahoogroups.com, sonarbangladesh@yahoogroups.com, vinnomot@yahoogroups.com, tritiomatra@yahoogroups.com, "Amra Bangladesi" <amra-bangladesi@yahoogroups.com>, reform-bd@yahoogroups.com Date: Friday, December 19, 2008, 7:46 PM BNP has launched an web site for election campaign.Have a look of it if you want www.votebnp. net

__._,_.___

[Disclaimer: ALOCHONA Management is not liable for information contained in this message. The author takes full responsibility.]
To unsubscribe/subscribe, send request to alochona-owner@egroups.com

Your email settings: Individual Email|Traditional
Change settings via the Web (Yahoo! ID required)
Change settings via email: Switch delivery to Daily Digest | Switch to Fully Featured
Visit Your Group | Yahoo! Groups Terms of Use | Unsubscribe

__,_._,___

[ALOCHONA] India's New Anti-Terror Laws:Draconian Say Activists

India's New Anti-Terror Laws : Draconian Say Activists   By Praful Bidwai   Following the late November terror attacks in Mumbai, India has passed two tough laws being seen by rights activists as potentially eroding the country's federal structure and limiting fundamental liberties.   Parliament -- meeting under the shadow of the November 26-29 attacks on India's commercial hub resulting in close to 200 deaths -- approved the legislations on Thursday with no considered debate and the ruling United Progressive Alliance (UPA) of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh pushing them past amendments tabled by several parliamentarians.   One law, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) Act, seeks to establish a new police organisation to investigate acts of terrorism and other statutory offences..   The other, the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Amendment (UAPA) Act, radically changes procedures for trying those accused of terrorism, extends the periods of police custody and of detention without charges, denies bail to foreigners, and the reverses the burden of proof in many instances. Civil liberties activists and public-spirited citizens are appalled at the new laws, which they describe as draconian and excessive in relation to the measures India really needs to take to fight terrorism.   "The UAPA Act is particularly vile, and will have the effect of turning India into a virtual police state," says Colin Gonsalves, executive director of the Delhi-based Human Rights Law Network. "It basically brings back a discredited law, the Prevention of Terrorism Act of 2002 (POTA), except for admitting confessions made to a police officer as legal evidence."   POTA was an extremely unpopular law, which the UPA government abrogated upon coming to power in 2004 in response to innumerable complaints of its selective and discriminatory use against India's Muslim minority, and its cavalier and irresponsible application to offences not even remotely connected with terrorism.   While rescinding POTA, the UPA kept in place all of India's criminal laws, which are much stricter than those in many democracies.   In addition, it also enacted an amendment to the Unlawful Activities Act, 1967, which increased punishment for committing acts of terrorism and for harbouring terrorists or financing them, enhanced police powers of seizures, made communications intercepts admissible as evidence, and increased the period of detention without charges to 90 days from the existing 30 days.   However, this was not enough to please those who want a "strong" militarised state which will prevent and punish terrorism by violating the citizen's fundamental rights, including the right to a fair trial, and not to be detained without charges.   India's main right-wing political group, the Bharatiya Janata Party, has been stridently demanding that POTA be re-enacted. Until recently, the UPA, the Left and other centrist parties stood firm in rejecting the demand despite the numerous terrorist attacks that India has suffered over the past few years. "But now, the UPA has suddenly, and shamefully, caved in to the BJP's demand under the pressure of elite opinion," says Jairus Banaji, a highly regarded Mumbai-based social scientist. "The capitulation seems to be based on the UPA's anxiety to counter the BJP's ridiculous charge that it lacks the will to fight terrorism, and on its political calculations about the next general election due by May."   In its desperation to be seen to be taking a tough stand against terrorism, the Manmohan Singh government also tabled the NIA Bill earlier this week. The new agency will specifically investigate offences related to atomic energy, aviation and maritime transport, weapons of mass destruction, and Left-wing extremism, besides terrorism.   Significantly, it excludes Right-wing terrorism, which has become a greater menace in India.   Unlike the existing Central Bureau of Investigation, which needs the consent of a state before investigating crimes there, the NIA will not need a state's concurrence. This is a serious infringement of the federal system, where law and order is a state subject.   Many state governments and regional political parties have sharply criticised the Act on this count. In India, Central agencies are politically vulnerable to manipulation by New Delhi and often used to settle scores with states ruled by opposition parties.   The NIA Act also provides for special courts to try various offences. This too has drawn criticism from eminent lawyers such as Rajeev Dhavan, who argues that the potential misuse of this anti-terror legislation will now "come from both the states and the union, which can hijack the case".   The UAPA Act contains a number of draconian clauses, and is also applicable to the entire country -- unlike the Unlawful Activities Act, which was originally not extended to the strife-torn state of Jammu and Kashmir. This too has drawn protests from Kashmir-based political parties and human rights groups. The stringent clauses cover a broad range, including a redefinition of terrorism, harsh punishment extending from five years' imprisonment to life sentence or death, long periods of detention, and presumption of guilt in case weapons are recovered from an accused person.   The new definition now includes acts done with the intent to threaten or "likely" to threaten the unity, integrity, security or sovereignty of India, and offences related to radioactive or nuclear substances, and even attempts to overawe, kidnap or abduct constitutional and other functionaries that may be listed by the government. Dhavan says: "The list is potentially endless." Under the Act, an accused can be held in police custody for 30 days, and further detained without charges for 180 days, although courts can restrict the period to 90 days.   "This is a travesty of constitutional rights and the rule of law," says Gonsalves. "Even worse is the presumption of guilt in case there is a recovery of arms, explosives and other substances, suspected to be involved, including fingerprints on them. The police in India routinely plants such arms and explosives, and creates a false record of recovery."   "The very fact that offences such as organising terrorist training camps or recruiting or harbouring terrorists carry a punishment as broad as three or five years to life imprisonment shows that the government has not applied its mind to the issue,'' Gonsalves added.   Under the Act, there is a general obligation to disclose any information that a police officer of a certain rank thinks is relevant to the investigation. Failure to disclose information can lead to imprisonment for three years. Journalists are not exempt from this.   Besides making telecommunications and e-mail intercepts admissible as evidence, the Act also denies bail to all foreign nationals, and mandates a refusal of bail to anyone if a prima facie case exists, which is decided on the basis of a First Information Report filed by the police.   POTA and its predecessor, Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act (TADA), were extensively abused. They typically targeted the religious minorities, specifically Muslims, and allowed for their harassment and persecution.   The TADA story is especially horrifying. Some 67,000 people were arrested under it, but only 8,000 put on trial, and a mere 725 convicted. Official TADA Review Committees themselves found the law's application untenable in all but 5,000 cases. In 1993, Gujarat witnessed no terrorism, but more than 19,000 people were still arrested under TADA.   Religious minorities were selectively targeted under both Acts. For instance, in Rajasthan, of 115 TADA detainees, 112 were Muslims and three Sikhs. Gujarat had a worse pattern under POTA, when all but one of the 200-plus detainees were Muslims, the remaining one a Sikh.   The passing of the two new laws is certain to increase the alienation of India's Muslims from the state. They have been the principal victims of India's anti-terrorism strategy and activities in recent years.   Muslims are first to be arrested and interrogated after any terrorist incident, even when the victims are Muslims, and although strong evidence has recently emerged of a well-ramified pro-Hindu terrorist network, in which serving and retired army officers were found to be key players.   Muslims also distressed at the alacrity and haste with which the new laws were passed, especially since it contrasts with the UPA government's failure to enact a law it promised five years ago to punish communal violence and hate crimes targeting specific religious groups.   "This will pave the way for more disaffection amongst Muslims and make the social and political climate more conducive to terrorism," argues Gonsalves. "Even worse, it will promote excesses of the kind associated with state terrorism. And that is no way to fight sub-state terrorism."   http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=45179

__._,_.___

[Disclaimer: ALOCHONA Management is not liable for information contained in this message. The author takes full responsibility.]
To unsubscribe/subscribe, send request to alochona-owner@egroups.com

Your email settings: Individual Email|Traditional
Change settings via the Web (Yahoo! ID required)
Change settings via email: Switch delivery to Daily Digest | Switch to Fully Featured
Visit Your Group | Yahoo! Groups Terms of Use | Unsubscribe

__,_._,___

[ALOCHONA] After we were so rudely interrupted

After we were so rudely interrupted Dec 11th 2008 | DHAKA From The Economist print edition Having failed to clean up politics, the army gives way to two formidable women Reuters     NEARLY two years after the army stepped in to end the predatory rule of civilian politicians in Bangladesh, the most visible evidence of that corrupt era is strewn along the streets and dirt roads: unused electricity poles lying about in their thousands. The government of the former prime minister, Khaleda Zia, had bought the poles from a syndicate controlled by Mrs Zia's elder son, Tarique Rahman. Yet the electricity generated during her rule from 2001-06 grew by not a single megawatt, even though the economy's size increased by a quarter.. Bangladeshis are, like the poles, still waiting for their electricity.   They are also awaiting a working democracy to tackle some daunting challenges: ensuring adequate food supplies, dealing with climate change and forestalling terrorism. On December 29th some 81m voters get to choose a government in the first parliamentary election since 2001. Yet the army has failed in its effort to topple the dynastic leaders of the two main parties, Mrs Zia's Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and the Awami League, led by Sheikh Hasina Wajed (pictured above), another former prime minister. These formidable women, the "two begums", have alternated in power since 1991. Under army-backed rule, each spent a year in detention on charges of corruption. Although these have not been dropped, Mrs Zia and Sheikh Hasina, along with their coteries, are in practice immune from prosecution. Western donors tacitly gave the soldiers two years to fix the mess in Bangladesh's politics and bring the country back to the polls. In return for the interim government not pursuing charges, the parties have agreed to contest the election.   Sheikh Hasina's control of the League remains absolute, and she appears confident of victory. Unlike her less pragmatic rival, she has welcomed back leaders who had dared to plot the party's future without her. The League's share of the popular vote was around 40% in 2001, when the BNP won in a landslide, with 193 out of 300 seats to the League's 62. This time, 37% of voters are considering voting for a different party than in 2001, according to an opinion poll carried out by ACNielsen. The BNP claimed last time to have attracted the vast majority of first-time voters, but little is known about the preferences of 26m new voters this time. In all, nearly a quarter of all voters are undecided.   Despite this, the BNP, harder hit by the army's anti-corruption drive, appears not to fancy its chances. The party has split into warring factions of Zia diehards and those whom she has not forgiven for their disloyalty. The diehards have worked to undermine the polls, accusing the election commission of bias. This week they insisted that convicted criminals be allowed to run for election. If that was unlikely to fly, the military met another demand on December 10th, as BNP leaders met to consider a poll boycott: it announced that the state of emergency in force since January 2007 would be lifted. Both parties welcomed the move, and the BNP said it was now ready to contest the polls.   Campaigning proper starts on December 12th. As usual, policies will count for less than the ability of local barons and assorted goons to sway voters with a blend of bribes and thuggery. From December 20th the army will deploy across the country. Over 250 international monitors will be present. The main fear is less rigging on polling day than pre-election intimidation: the army locked up tens of thousands of people ahead of municipal polls in August. It still needs parliament to ratify emergency rule and guarantee soldiers' immunity from prosecution. If the League wins, the army is unlikely to stand in the way. In a country where political assassinations are rife, the party needs army protection. Sheikh Hasina will not, says a senior politician, want to pull the tiger's tail.   The League is so confident that it has now dropped from its electoral alliance the Jatiya Party, Bangladesh's fourth-largest, led by a former dictator (and sworn enemy), Mohammad Ershad. Mr Ershad had claimed that the League had offered him the post of president. It now apparently feels it can dispense with his services.   Neither the League, nor probably the army, would accept the result if the BNP won. The generals must fear retribution from Mrs Zia, whom they disobeyed when it became clear that her party was out to rig the January 2007 poll. Supporters of Mr Rahman, he of the unused electricity poles, who left the country for medical treatment following his release from prison with a broken back, want revenge. For now, though, polls by the intelligence services point to a landslide for the Awami League. That will reassure the generals.   http://www.economist.com/world/asia/displaystory.cfm?story_id=12775486&CFID=35839786&CFTOKEN=75470782

__._,_.___

[Disclaimer: ALOCHONA Management is not liable for information contained in this message. The author takes full responsibility.]
To unsubscribe/subscribe, send request to alochona-owner@egroups.com

Your email settings: Individual Email|Traditional
Change settings via the Web (Yahoo! ID required)
Change settings via email: Switch delivery to Daily Digest | Switch to Fully Featured
Visit Your Group | Yahoo! Groups Terms of Use | Unsubscribe

__,_._,___

[ALOCHONA] The fortunate corrupts

The fortunate corrupts Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury According to latest press reports, authorities in Singapore, at the request of Anti Corruption Commission [ACC] of Bangladesh has seized US$ 1.8 million in a local bank, which was deposited by Arafat Rahman Koko, son of former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia. Such actions by ACC came just weeks before the much anticipated general election in Bangladesh. Although authorities in Dhaka are continuing to hunt wealth and illegal activities of the former Prime Minister and leader of Bangladesh Nationalist Party [BNP], it is rumored that the military controlled regime in Dhaka are ignoring the fact of huge wealth and illegal money owned by Sheikh Rehana, who is the younger sister of another former Prime Minister and leader of Bangladesh Awami League, Sheikh Hasina. Arafat Rahman Koko, youngest son of BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia, has foreign currencies worth around US$ 1.8 million deposited in a Singapore bank but he concealed its information in his wealth statement submitted to the Anti-Corruption Commission [ACC]. With the help of Singapore government the anti-graft watchdog came to know that Koko has 2.61 million Singaporean dollars and 261,000 US dollars. The ACC revealed the stunning information at a routine press briefing on Thursday. It also informed that the son of the former prime minister owns a firm named ZASZ Trading and Consulting Pte Ltd in Singapore jointly with a Singapore national, who is Koko's paid service agent. The whole amount was deposited in the joint account of that firm at different times in 2005. Non-resident foreigners cannot open a company in Singapore and has to have a Singaporean agent to do that, ACC sources said. Interestingly, 17 days after anti-corruption drive was launched in Bangladesh, Koko transferred 2.13 million Singapore dollars [SGD] to an account with the Singapore branch of French bank Credit Industriel et Commercial from the ZASZ joint account. Singapore government recently froze the ZASZ account and sent necessary documents to the ACC, prompting the commission to initiate legal procedures. Of the amount, China Harbor Engineering sent about 1.8 million SGD to that account and the rest came from other sources. The performance of China Harbor Engineering in Bangladesh is questionable for reasons including delaying to carry out work on various pretexts. ACC Director General [Admin] Col Hanif Iqbal told reporters that they received evidence and necessary papers that confirm Koko's ownership of the money. "Legal procedures have already been initiated and the commission is currently enquiring the matter. Once the enquiry finds the allegations are true, legal proceedings will be taken against the persons involved and efforts will be made to bring back the money," Hanif said. The investigation will confirm if there was any violation of the Foreign Exchange Regulations of Bangladesh Bank, if the money was shown in Koko's wealth statement, and if any offence was committed under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. The ACC has already filed three cases against Koko. According to Singapore government's information, Koko registered the trading and consulting firm in that country with the help of a few associates and the Singaporean service agent on April 10, 2004. China Harbor Engineering sent to the firm's account 920,000 SGD and 830,000 SGD on May 6 and 31 and another 829,000 lakh SGD on August 1 in 2005. The ZASZ received another 303,000 SGD from another source on October 6 the same year. Singapore government's information says Koko transferred 830,000 SGD from the account of ZASZ to another place on July 29, 2005. The Singapore government informed the ACC about the matter through its Attorney General's Office following Bangladesh government's request for mutual legal assistance. The Bangladesh government sent the request under the UN Convention against Corruption to help find information regarding wealth amassed through illegal means and corruption and restrain use of that money by identifying the corrupt person. Although ACC requested Singapore and other foreign nations for finding illegal wealth of the family members of Khaleda Zia, it is learnt that, it is keeping mum on the issue of freezing accounts held by Sheikh Rehana and members of her family, where they have deposited huge amount of money received as bribes and kick-backs from various foreign companies. During Awami League tenure [1996-2001], Sheikh Rehana was known as `Madame Commission', who was the exclusively authorized person of the former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to transact all illegal cash dealings. ACC also stopped investigating the matter of illegal wealth accrued by another top ranking Awami League leader, Tofael Ahmed, as he accorded support to the present regime after the political change in 2006. It may be mentioned here that, Sheikh Rehana owns expensive properties and wealth in United Kingdom although she does not have any valid source of income for acquiring such huge property. Son of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Sajib Wajed Joy, who lives in United States, also acquired property worth millions of dollar, when his mother was Bangladesh's Prime Minister. Joy has hardly much childhood association with Bangladesh. His mother lived a life in exile since August 1975, spending a long asylum in India under the patronage of the Indian government. She would live at Basant Bahar, the safe house run by the agencies there. As a result, Joy had his early education in India where he spent much of his formative years. They may have returned to Bangladesh in 1981, but there was a sense of isolation from normal family life for Joy. This was only to be expected, given his boarding school years, the intense political activities of his mother, all compounded with the estrangement of his parents. Persons who knew him then say he was a rather reckless youth. Even later, he reportedly met with an accident in Gulshan in the mid-nineties, totaling the Pajero jeep of a businessman of Narayanganj. Rather than keeping him in Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina sent her son to the US for further studies. She perhaps felt that would give him some stability, a sense of responsibility. Life in the USA didn't seem to change Joy much. That reckless trait in his character showed itself time and again. Records show several cases were filed against him. He has been charged on various occasions with drunken driving, speeding, reckless driving, unlawful use of radar detection device, and even carrying an unlicensed gun. He even had to spend time in jail for his misdemeanours, not to mention all the fines he had to pay too. If Hasina had political aspirations for him, she couldn't have chosen a more unsuitable candidate. As it is, he had a basically apolitical character. He disliked the gathering of poor people at home and expressed a distinct disinterest in politics. He often snubbed persons who, out of affection or simple curiousity, came to meet Sheikh Mujib's grandson. He continued his fast life in the US as he had no sense of belonging with Bangladesh, no affinity to his mother's party and had no intention of living with his dysfunctional family at home. In was no secret that there was no love lost between Sheikh Hasina and husband Wazed Miah. During his mother's tenure as Bangladesh's Prime Minister [1996-2001], Joy reportedly got engaged with an old girlfriend from his school days. She was an Indian girl of Sikh religion. Hasina, taking cover of an official visit, went to London to formalize the marriage. Along with some close friends and relations, she even took along cooks of Dhaka's famous Fakhruddin bawarchi. Her one condition was that the girl convert to Islam. The girl refused. Hasina was more than upset. She reportedly cancelled all programs on that day. She shut herself up in her hotel room the whole day, refusing to talk to any one. She immediately returned to Dhaka. The marriage reception never took place, and her entourage, cooks and all, returned home. Late Joy got married to American citizen Kristine Ann Overmire. They were married in the US on October 26, 2002. Kristine reportedly was previously married to Richard D Loomis. Although the couple had a child, Christine, who has a dignified family back ground in United States receintly left Joy for his rowdy life style. It is learnt that, during the ongoing electoral campaign, Hasina tried to get Joy and his former wife in Bangladesh to participate in the election campaign, but, Christine reportedly refused to be in Bangladesh as she already has cut relations with Hasina's son. When Awami League came to power and his mother became ruler of the country, Joy got involved in business. There was the Texas-based Infolink International [from November 1998 to March 2001] and Nova BD International, LLC [May 1998 to August 2000]. He had links with the SEAMEWE-4 undersea cable project through Nova BD International. He was also involved with Tyco Communications [USA] along with a certain Mahboob Rahman. He also founded two other companies, Wazed Consulting and Sim Global Services in March 2005. This was after Awami League was out of power. Interestingly, the annual sales of these two companies were only 61,000 dollars and 35,000 dollars respectively. Yet Joy, in his own name, bought a brand new house at 3817 Bell Manor Court, Falls Church, Virginia, on May 12, 2006, worth about one million dollars. His wife is not a co-owner of the house. He used a fixed-rate mortgage and paid only about 200 thousand dollars [20 percent of the value] in cash. This was a clever move as it hid the real value of the property in terms of cash. Earlier, together with his wife, he brought another property at 4823 Martin Street, Alexandria, VA 22312. The property is worth 749,000 US dollars. Like Joy, his brother-in-law Khandkar M Hossain, husband of sister Saima Wazed Hossain [Putul], started a few businesses in the US when his mother-in-law Sheikh Hasina came to power, but dissolved them after a couple of years. These businesses included Bangladesh Metals and Pipes Trading Corporation; Shonali Inc; Doug's Wholesale Inc; Afsana Inc; and Jampy Corporation. Apparently business was not quite the cup of tea for either of them. However, despite none of the businesses seeming to make any money and most of them being shut down before long, no one has ever heard of them suffering from financial difficulties. Perhaps mother's affection helped them in this regard. Criminal court clerk records identify the following criminal charges and arrests of Sajib Wazed Joy: On June 14 1998, Joy was arrested in Tarrant County, Texas. He was charged on two counts of carrying an unlicensed handgun and one count of driving while intoxicated. He was convicted for drunken driving and was imprisoned for 120 days, sentenced to 24 months of probation and fined $500. On February 6, 2000, Joy was charged with reckless driving and having a radar detector in Hanover County, Virginia. He was fined and incarcerated for one day. On March 19, 2000, he was arrested and charged with reckless driving in Fairfax County, Virginia. He was found guilty and given a suspended 30-day jail sentence and 12 months probation along with a $400 fine. On April 29, 2001, Joy was charged with speeding in Rappahannock County, Virginia. On May 20, 2004, Joy was charged with speeding in Arlington County, Virginia. Property of Hasina's daughter: Saima Wazed Hossain [Putul], Sheikh Hasina's daughter and Joy's younger sister, along with husband Khandakar Mahbub Hossain, own considerable property in the US. The houses they purchased there include: 456 North Bay Point Way, Jacksonville, Florida. This is a single family residence purchased by Saima and husband Hossain on November 1, 2005 for US$ 245,000 from Merrill and Priscilla King. 845 York Way, Maitland, Florida. This is also a single family residence purchased by Saima and Hossain on October 16, 2004, for US$ 311,000 from David and Elizabeth Cocchiarella. The property has an assessed value of US$ 208,844. 2065 W 119th Avenue, Miramar, Florida. This single family residence was purchased by Saima and Hossain on October 28, 1998 for US$154,300 from Pulte Home Corporation. On March 15, 2005, a non-purchase money loan of US$197,000, was obtained from SunTrust Bank secured with this property. The property has an assessed value of US$265,440. It is a big question to all that when Bangladeshi authorities are continuing their withch hunt to find hiddne assets of Khaleda Zia, why they are completely silent on the issue of illegal wealth of Sjib Wajed Joy, Saima Wajed Putul or Sheikh Rehana. It is even rumored that a certain section of bureaucracy in Bangladesh are over enthusiastic in throwing black balls on Bangladesh Nationalist Party, especially before the upcoming general election, with the goal of seeing this party defeated in the poll. http://www.weeklyblitz.net/index.php?id=222

__._,_.___

[Disclaimer: ALOCHONA Management is not liable for information contained in this message. The author takes full responsibility.]
To unsubscribe/subscribe, send request to alochona-owner@egroups.com

Your email settings: Individual Email|Traditional
Change settings via the Web (Yahoo! ID required)
Change settings via email: Switch delivery to Daily Digest | Switch to Fully Featured
Visit Your Group | Yahoo! Groups Terms of Use | Unsubscribe

__,_._,___

RE: [ALOCHONA] Bangladesh: The fortunate corrupts

RE: fortunate corrupts
-----------------------

Any reasonable, educated, assertive AL and BNP / JP member or  chamcha , is ready to comment on these fascinating revealations?

I have asked similar Q few times. There was no response from AL party members or big-mouth AL/ BNP
chamchas, rather as expeced, some of them simply labelled me as JAMAAT and moved to other chat...as they always do.

What quality of democracy we are nourishing in Bdesh....that insignificant number of people are keen to explore and
talk about Khaleda/ Hasina's/ Ershad's  corruption, in the past many years?
AND we are getting ready to install them in throne again.

Will be looking forward to get some interesting comments from readers and particularly...their suggestions...how common
Bdeshi citizens can get these information BEFORE they cast their votes.

Best wishes.

Khoda hafez.

Dr. maqsud omar

==========================================================================

> To: alochona@yahoogroups.com
> From: MBIMunshi@gmail.com
> Date: Sat, 20 Dec 2008 02:36:20 +0000
> Subject: [ALOCHONA] Bangladesh: The fortunate corrupts
>
>
> Bangladesh: The fortunate corrupts
>
> Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury
>
> According to latest press reports, authorities in Singapore, at the
> request of Anti Corruption Commission [ACC] of Bangladesh has seized
> US$ 1.8 million in a local bank, which was deposited by Arafat Rahman
> Koko, son of former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia. Such actions by ACC
> came just weeks before the much anticipated general election in
> Bangladesh. Although authorities in Dhaka are continuing to hunt
> wealth and illegal activities of the former Prime Minister and leader
> of Bangladesh Nationalist Party [BNP], it is rumored that the military
> controlled regime in Dhaka are ignoring the fact of huge wealth and
> illegal money owned by Sheikh Rehana, who is the younger sister of
> another former Prime Minister and leader of Bangladesh Awami League,
> Sheikh Hasina.
>
> Arafat Rahman Koko, youngest son of BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia, has
> foreign currencies worth around US$ 1.8 million deposited in a
> Singapore bank but he concealed its information in his wealth
> statement submitted to the Anti-Corruption Commission [ACC].
>
> With the help of Singapore government the anti-graft watchdog came to
> know that Koko has 2.61 million Singaporean dollars and 261,000 US
> dollars. The ACC revealed the stunning information at a routine press
> briefing on Thursday.
>
> It also informed that the son of the former prime minister owns a firm
> named ZASZ Trading and Consulting Pte Ltd in Singapore jointly with a
> Singapore national, who is Koko's paid service agent. The whole amount
> was deposited in the joint account of that firm at different times in
> 2005.
>
> Non-resident foreigners cannot open a company in Singapore and has to
> have a Singaporean agent to do that, ACC sources said.
>
> Interestingly, 17 days after anti-corruption drive was launched in
> Bangladesh, Koko transferred 2.13 million Singapore dollars [SGD] to
> an account with the Singapore branch of French bank Credit Industriel
> et Commercial from the ZASZ joint account.
>
> Singapore government recently froze the ZASZ account and sent
> necessary documents to the ACC, prompting the commission to initiate
> legal procedures.
>
> Of the amount, China Harbor Engineering sent about 1.8 million SGD to
> that account and the rest came from other sources. The performance of
> China Harbor Engineering in Bangladesh is questionable for reasons
> including delaying to carry out work on various pretexts.
>
> ACC Director General [Admin] Col Hanif Iqbal told reporters that they
> received evidence and necessary papers that confirm Koko's ownership
> of the money.
>
> "Legal procedures have already been initiated and the commission is
> currently enquiring the matter. Once the enquiry finds the allegations
> are true, legal proceedings will be taken against the persons involved
> and efforts will be made to bring back the money," Hanif said.
>
> The investigation will confirm if there was any violation of the
> Foreign Exchange Regulations of Bangladesh Bank, if the money was
> shown in Koko's wealth statement, and if any offence was committed
> under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. The ACC has already
> filed three cases against Koko.
>
> According to Singapore government's information, Koko registered the
> trading and consulting firm in that country with the help of a few
> associates and the Singaporean service agent on April 10, 2004.
>
> China Harbor Engineering sent to the firm's account 920,000 SGD and
> 830,000 SGD on May 6 and 31 and another 829,000 lakh SGD on August 1
> in 2005. The ZASZ received another 303,000 SGD from another source on
> October 6 the same year.
>
> Singapore government's information says Koko transferred 830,000 SGD
> from the account of ZASZ to another place on July 29, 2005.
>
> The Singapore government informed the ACC about the matter through its
> Attorney General's Office following Bangladesh government's request
> for mutual legal assistance. The Bangladesh government sent the
> request under the UN Convention against Corruption to help find
> information regarding wealth amassed through illegal means and
> corruption and restrain use of that money by identifying the corrupt
> person.
>
> Although ACC requested Singapore and other foreign nations for finding
> illegal wealth of the family members of Khaleda Zia, it is learnt
> that, it is keeping mum on the issue of freezing accounts held by
> Sheikh Rehana and members of her family, where they have deposited
> huge amount of money received as bribes and kick-backs from various
> foreign companies. During Awami League tenure [1996-2001], Sheikh
> Rehana was known as `Madame Commission', who was the exclusively
> authorized person of the former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to
> transact all illegal cash dealings. ACC also stopped investigating the
> matter of illegal wealth accrued by another top ranking Awami League
> leader, Tofael Ahmed, as he accorded support to the present regime
> after the political change in 2006.
>
> It may be mentioned here that, Sheikh Rehana owns expensive properties
> and wealth in United Kingdom although she does not have any valid
> source of income for acquiring such huge property. Son of former Prime
> Minister Sheikh Hasina, Sajib Wajed Joy, who lives in United States,
> also acquired property worth millions of dollar, when his mother was
> Bangladesh's Prime Minister.
>
> Joy has hardly much childhood association with Bangladesh. His mother
> lived a life in exile since August 1975, spending a long asylum in
> India under the patronage of the Indian government. She would live at
> Basant Bahar, the safe house run by the agencies there.
>
> As a result, Joy had his early education in India where he spent much
> of his formative years. They may have returned to Bangladesh in 1981,
> but there was a sense of isolation from normal family life for Joy.
> This was only to be expected, given his boarding school years, the
> intense political activities of his mother, all compounded with the
> estrangement of his parents.
>
> Persons who knew him then say he was a rather reckless youth. Even
> later, he reportedly met with an accident in Gulshan in the
> mid-nineties, totaling the Pajero jeep of a businessman of
> Narayanganj. Rather than keeping him in Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina sent
> her son to the US for further studies. She perhaps felt that would
> give him some stability, a sense of responsibility.
>
> Life in the USA didn't seem to change Joy much. That reckless trait in
> his character showed itself time and again. Records show several cases
> were filed against him. He has been charged on various occasions with
> drunken driving, speeding, reckless driving, unlawful use of radar
> detection device, and even carrying an unlicensed gun. He even had to
> spend time in jail for his misdemeanours, not to mention all the fines
> he had to pay too. If Hasina had political aspirations for him, she
> couldn't have chosen a more unsuitable candidate.
>
> As it is, he had a basically apolitical character. He disliked the
> gathering of poor people at home and expressed a distinct disinterest
> in politics. He often snubbed persons who, out of affection or simple
> curiousity, came to meet Sheikh Mujib's grandson.
>
> He continued his fast life in the US as he had no sense of belonging
> with Bangladesh, no affinity to his mother's party and had no
> intention of living with his dysfunctional family at home. In was no
> secret that there was no love lost between Sheikh Hasina and husband
> Wazed Miah.
>
> During his mother's tenure as Bangladesh's Prime Minister [1996-2001],
> Joy reportedly got engaged with an old girlfriend from his school
> days. She was an Indian girl of Sikh religion. Hasina, taking cover of
> an official visit, went to London to formalize the marriage. Along
> with some close friends and relations, she even took along cooks of
> Dhaka's famous Fakhruddin bawarchi. Her one condition was that the
> girl convert to Islam. The girl refused. Hasina was more than upset.
> She reportedly cancelled all programs on that day. She shut herself up
> in her hotel room the whole day, refusing to talk to any one. She
> immediately returned to Dhaka. The marriage reception never took
> place, and her entourage, cooks and all, returned home.
>
> Late Joy got married to American citizen Kristine Ann Overmire. They
> were married in the US on October 26, 2002. Kristine reportedly was
> previously married to Richard D Loomis. Although the couple had a
> child, Christine, who has a dignified family back ground in United
> States receintly left Joy for his rowdy life style. It is learnt that,
> during the ongoing electoral campaign, Hasina tried to get Joy and his
> former wife in Bangladesh to participate in the election campaign,
> but, Christine reportedly refused to be in Bangladesh as she already
> has cut relations with Hasina's son.
>
> When Awami League came to power and his mother became ruler of the
> country, Joy got involved in business. There was the Texas-based
> Infolink International [from November 1998 to March 2001] and Nova BD
> International, LLC [May 1998 to August 2000]. He had links with the
> SEAMEWE-4 undersea cable project through Nova BD International. He was
> also involved with Tyco Communications [USA] along with a certain
> Mahboob Rahman.
>
> He also founded two other companies, Wazed Consulting and Sim Global
> Services in March 2005. This was after Awami League was out of power.
> Interestingly, the annual sales of these two companies were only
> 61,000 dollars and 35,000 dollars respectively. Yet Joy, in his own
> name, bought a brand new house at 3817 Bell Manor Court, Falls Church,
> Virginia, on May 12, 2006, worth about one million dollars. His wife
> is not a co-owner of the house. He used a fixed-rate mortgage and paid
> only about 200 thousand dollars [20 percent of the value] in cash.
> This was a clever move as it hid the real value of the property in
> terms of cash.
>
> Earlier, together with his wife, he brought another property at 4823
> Martin Street, Alexandria, VA 22312. The property is worth 749,000 US
> dollars.
>
> Like Joy, his brother-in-law Khandkar M Hossain, husband of sister
> Saima Wazed Hossain [Putul], started a few businesses in the US when
> his mother-in-law Sheikh Hasina came to power, but dissolved them
> after a couple of years. These businesses included Bangladesh Metals
> and Pipes Trading Corporation; Shonali Inc; Doug's Wholesale Inc;
> Afsana Inc; and Jampy Corporation.
>
> Apparently business was not quite the cup of tea for either of them.
> However, despite none of the businesses seeming to make any money and
> most of them being shut down before long, no one has ever heard of
> them suffering from financial difficulties. Perhaps mother's affection
> helped them in this regard.
>
> Criminal court clerk records identify the following criminal charges
> and arrests of Sajib Wazed Joy:
>
> On June 14 1998, Joy was arrested in Tarrant County, Texas. He was
> charged on two counts of carrying an unlicensed handgun and one count
> of driving while intoxicated. He was convicted for drunken driving and
> was imprisoned for 120 days, sentenced to 24 months of probation and
> fined $500.
>
> On February 6, 2000, Joy was charged with reckless driving and having
> a radar detector in Hanover County, Virginia. He was fined and
> incarcerated for one day.
>
> On March 19, 2000, he was arrested and charged with reckless driving
> in Fairfax County, Virginia. He was found guilty and given a suspended
> 30-day jail sentence and 12 months probation along with a $400 fine.
> On April 29, 2001, Joy was charged with speeding in Rappahannock
> County, Virginia.
> On May 20, 2004, Joy was charged with speeding in Arlington County,
> Virginia.
>
> Property of Hasina's daughter:
>
> Saima Wazed Hossain [Putul], Sheikh Hasina's daughter and Joy's
> younger sister, along with husband Khandakar Mahbub Hossain, own
> considerable property in the US. The houses they purchased there include:
>
> 456 North Bay Point Way, Jacksonville, Florida. This is a single
> family residence purchased by Saima and husband Hossain on November 1,
> 2005 for US$ 245,000 from Merrill and Priscilla King.
>
> 845 York Way, Maitland, Florida. This is also a single family
> residence purchased by Saima and Hossain on October 16, 2004, for US$
> 311,000 from David and Elizabeth Cocchiarella. The property has an
> assessed value of US$ 208,844.
>
> 2065 W 119th Avenue, Miramar, Florida. This single family residence
> was purchased by Saima and Hossain on October 28, 1998 for US$154,300
> from Pulte Home Corporation. On March 15, 2005, a non-purchase money
> loan of US$197,000, was obtained from SunTrust Bank secured with this
> property. The property has an assessed value of US$265,440.
>
> It is a big question to all that when Bangladeshi authorities are
> continuing their withch hunt to find hiddne assets of Khaleda Zia, why
> they are completely silent on the issue of illegal wealth of Sjib
> Wajed Joy, Saima Wajed Putul or Sheikh Rehana. It is even rumored that
> a certain section of bureaucracy in Bangladesh are over enthusiastic
> in throwing black balls on Bangladesh Nationalist Party, especially
> before the upcoming general election, with the goal of seeing this
> party defeated in the poll.
>
> http://www.weeklyblitz.net/index.php?id=222
>
>
> ------------------------------------
>
> [Disclaimer: ALOCHONA Management is not liable for information contained in this message. The author takes full responsibility.]
> To unsubscribe/subscribe, send request to alochona-owner@egroups.comYahoo! Groups Links
>
> <*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
> http://groups.yahoo.com/group/alochona/
>
> <*> Your email settings:
> Individual Email | Traditional
>
> <*> To change settings online go to:
> http://groups.yahoo.com/group/alochona/join
> (Yahoo! ID required)
>
> <*> To change settings via email:
> mailto:alochona-digest@yahoogroups.com
> mailto:alochona-fullfeatured@yahoogroups.com
>
> <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
> alochona-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
>
> <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
> http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
>
__._,_.___

[Disclaimer: ALOCHONA Management is not liable for information contained in this message. The author takes full responsibility.]
To unsubscribe/subscribe, send request to alochona-owner@egroups.com

Your email settings: Individual Email|Traditional
Change settings via the Web (Yahoo! ID required)
Change settings via email: Switch delivery to Daily Digest | Switch to Fully Featured
Visit Your Group | Yahoo! Groups Terms of Use | Unsubscribe

__,_._,___