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Monday, March 23, 2009

[ALOCHONA] Militants' Link - Faruk Khan backtracks on his views

How irresponsible for a senior cabinet member to behave in this manner !!! 
 

The Daily Star, 24 March 2009

Militants' Link
Faruk Khan backtracks on his views

Staff Correspondent

Commerce Minister Lt Col (retd) Faruk Khan yesterday retracted his earlier comments linking Islamist militants to the Pilkhana carnage.
He said the statements he had made before were not based on probe findings; rather they were his personal observations.
He said this at a press briefing at BDR Pilkhana headquarters.
"After an analysis of the information gleaned from different sources, it seemed to me that militants were involved. Besides, I have visited the crime scene and talked to many people," explained the minister.
The same day FBCCI President Annisul Huq said "too much talk about militant activities would only tarnish the country's image".
Earlier on March 16, Law Minister Shafique Ahmed said until the enquiry reports are available, no-one should be accused of involvement in the Pilkhana bloodbath.
Soon after being assigned by the government to coordinate the work of probe committees, Faruk Khan said Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) had a hand in the BDR massacre.
Speaking to reporters on March 12, he said, "We have gathered that a number of jawans arrested in the mutiny case were involved in JMB somehow or other. I won't give more details as that might alert others having links to the mass killings."
A couple of days later, the minister said, "We have some evidence that several militant organisations had role in the bloody revolt." He, however, did not elaborate on the proof.
Then he told reporters in Gopalganj that they had found some more proof of "various types of organisations' involvement in the BDR carnage".
"However, we won't disclose anything until we reach a stage when we can prove those beyond doubt," he added.
At a pre-budget meeting with the National Board of Revenue yesterday afternoon, Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry President Annisul Huq said, "Too much talk about militant activities would only tarnish the country's image and prompt others to brand Bangladesh as a militant state."
"These days, we see militants lurk in every jungle," he said adding, "We need to be careful while talking militancy. Two of our directors have already faced visa problems due to this."
Annisul said he heard that the militant issue might have something to do with the Malaysia government's cancellation of 55,000 work visas to Bangladeshis. "We don't want to believe that though."
The FBCCI boss observed that if unnecessary discussions about militants continue people going abroad would have difficulty obtaining visas. And this may affect the economy as well.

 





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[ALOCHONA] Re: Myanmar: An Emerging Security Threat

Dear Faruque Bhai,
Many thanks for your patriotic comments.Most us are not aware of the role of Myanmar after 1977.Even our new generatinon do not have  clear idea about Indian role before  and after 1971.
Dr Bhar in the interview urged to introduce Myanmar studies i n our universities .But the real picture is we have no scope or opportunity to learn about out neighbor like India and Myanmar.
It is our duty to teach our new generation the role of  India and Myanmar and other neighboring countries.

Faruque Alamgir <faruquealamgir@gmail.com> wrote:
Friends
 
I remember reading a treatise "The Silent Tiger Myanmar"( Kindly correct me) written by erudite Dr. Abid Bahar. Dr. Bahar through his informative writing warned the nation of the eminent threat Bangladesh is facing from the silent enemy who had been fingering us since 1977 when it expelled about a millions of it's rightfull citizens Rohyngas. This Myanmar after long and difficult negotiation agreed to take back it's citizen but did never kept the promise just like another the vicious bestial neighbour who always want us(Bangladesh) to give or submit but in return zero from them. Dr. Bahar also gave thoughtfull explanation of the emerging beasts in video interview.
 
Friends, time is running out and the opponents are getting open field to prepare ground to undo our stability and even stake our hard earned independence n sovereignty unless we are firm to defend our "Praner Shadhinata". So, the need of the hour is to forge a solid unity irrespective of any political party and stand in one to face the crucial stage that the nation is passing through. The predetor either local as well their external one whosoever it is be brought to book and be handed over the ruthless punshment so that it works as deterrent for future. Please let us make our boarder more and more secure so that not even an ant cannot penetrate in our holy soil of Bangladesh.
 
PLEASE LET ALL OF US JOIN HAND IN HAND TO SHOW THE BLACK TEETH ENEMIES THAT NO POWER CAN BREAK OUR UNITY N LOVE FOR OUR NATION EARNED BY THE BLOOD OF 3 MILLION "SHAHID  MUKTI JODHDHA".
 
WE ARE ONE AND ONE ONLY IN THE MATTER OF INDEPENDENCE AND SOVEREIGNTY IS CONCERNED.
WE ARE READY TO SACRIFICE MORE BLOOD IF NEED BE TO KEEP THE LAL SABUJ PATAKA FLY HIGH IN THE BLUE SKY WITH RIGHT DIGNITY.
 
Faruque Alamgir


 
On Fri, Mar 20, 2009 at 11:17 AM, Isha Khan <bd_mailer@yahoo.com> wrote:
Myanmar: An Emerging Security Threat

By Shah Mohammed Saifuddin

Our foreign policy advocates for friendship to all and malice to none, which also dictates our strategic and security outlook. So, one should not be surprised that Bangladesh is very reluctant to view her neighbours as a source of security threats despite the fact that she is having some bilateral issues with her neighbours, particularly India, and Myanmar due to their aggressive policy, in the shape of land/maritime border demarcation, illegal migration, refugee influx, illegal drugs and small arms trade, and human trafficking.

Despite our policy of harmonious and amicable coexistence with our neighbours, we should not be oblivious of the need for a peaceful and stable border and therefore we should take cognizance of factors that could create threats to our national security.

In this thread we will confine our discussion to possible security threats from Myanmar that could lead both the nations to a low intensity, or even to a high intensity conflict and strategies that Bangladesh should use to reduce the possibility of such conflicts, or to achieve a desired end in the conflict in case a military confrontation is unavoidable.

First let us examine the source of bilateral irritants between Bangladesh and Myanmar that could give rise to conflicts between the two neighbours:

1.Maritime Border Demarcation: Being surrounded by India and Myanmar, Bangladesh can hardly overemphasize the need to demarcate its maritime boundary on just and equitable basis to assert her sovereignty over its resource rich EEZ (Exclusive Economic Zone) and beyond through which almost 90% of its external trade is conducted. Failure in delineating maritime border may cause Bangladesh to be reduced to a mere landlocked country and lose its strategic significance and relevance in South Asian context.

2.Rohingya Refugee issue: Myanmar has a poor human rights record for suppressing and depriving its minority communities of basic rights and privileges and as a result of this thousands of Muslim Rohingya refugees cross into Bangladesh territory to escape the atrocities committed by the military junta. Bangladesh with the help of international community has tried to resolve this issue through diplomatic channel but due to Myanmarese military junta's stubbornness, the refugee problem could not be resolved and this is creating security, economic, and social problems in the country. Military junta's refusal to recognize Rohyngias as citizens and continuous attempt to push them inside Bangladesh territory may lead to a conflict situation if not properly handled.

3.Illegal small arms trade: Illegal small arms trade is a flourishing business along Bangladesh-Myanmar border despite all the efforts by Bangladesh Rifles to curb such activities in the border areas. If Myanmar fails to cooperate in stopping illegal arms trade in the border areas, criminals and terrorist groups may create threats to internal law and order situation of Bangladesh.

4.Illegal drugs trade: Because of long military rule, self imposed isolation, and economic embargo by the international community, the military junta relies heavily on poppy cultivation and drug trading for revenues. Being near the notorious 'golden triangle'--a heaven for illegal drug dealings--- Bangladesh faces an imminent danger and this cannot be tackled without full cooperation, which is unlikely to be forthcoming, from Myanmar.

5.Unfriendly NASAKA: The Myanmarese border security force known as NASAKA is a matter of concern for Bangladesh. This particular organization is involved in all sorts of human rights violation, illegal trading, killing and whatnot. Unless NASAKA is turned into a professional force guided by a specific set of code of conduct, a border conflict may break out between them and BDR because of the irrational behaviour of the former jeopardizing stability in the 200 km long border shared by both the neighbours.

Analysis of the strategic landscape

Now let us analyze the strategic landscape to understand the potential players, who might get involved if a military conflict breaks out between Bangladesh and Myanmar.

Myanmar: As I have explained already that Myanmar is a pariah state and has little influence over the international community to form an opinion in favour of them. They are under heavy economic and military embargo for human rights violation and lack of respect for democracy. Having said that we should not lose sight of growing relation between China and Myanmar and it must be taken into consideration by Bangladesh and international community because China as a regional power will play an important role in any conflict between countries adjacent to her border . We will talk about China in just a moment but let me add that the Myanmarese military has been completely revamped with the help of Chinese assistance. New divisions have been raised with supporting units and hardware to make it one of the largest militaries in South East Asia. As per Internet and print media, Myanmar has received huge quantity of military hardware including artillery pieces, tanks, APCs, trucks, high speed jet fighters, naval vessels from China, Israel, and other nations. They have improved logistic backup to carryout sustained military operations within their border. They have also gained enormous experience in counter-insurgency in the last 20 years. But their weakness lies in their fragile economy and isolation from the international community, which, I believe, put them in a disadvantageous position to achieve a desired end in the war against Bangladesh.

China: China has a long term strategic interest in Myanmar due, mainly, to latter's convenient geographic location, which the Chinese navy intends to use in its pursuit to advance toward the Indian Ocean, and huge energy reserve. Along with a number of listening posts in the Myanmarese sea territory, the Chinese have also invested heavily in developing sea ports in Myanmar with repair , maintenance, and fuel facilities for the Chinese navy. So, China views Myanmar as a strategic partner, which is the gateway to the Indian Ocean and a cheap source of hydrocarbon to meet its burgeoning demand for energy.

As a permanent member of U.N. Security council, China has the veto power that can be used as a stick against Western pressure to discipline the military junta of Myanmar. But whether or not China will use the veto power is subject to how they perceive their relation with Bangladesh, which has seen a steady rise in the last 30 years, vis-a-vis Myanmar. The strategic analysts believe that China acknowledges the strategic significance of Bangladesh due to its peculiar geographic location, which cuts the North Eastern region off from the rest of India and acts as a bridge between SAARC and ASEAN, and offers access to Indian Ocean via the Bay of Bengal. The growing Chinese economic and military assistance to Bangladesh is a testament to latter's strategic significance to China and its military. So in the end, China may end up being a peace broker between Bangladesh and Myanmar to stop them from starting a conflict, or stop the conflict from escalating and keep the Western powers at bay both to safeguard its strategic interest in Myanmar and Bangladesh, and to end the conflict in Chinese terms.

Other UNSC members: In any conflict between Bangladesh and Myanmar, America will side with Bangladesh simply because both the nations believe in democratic values, freedom of speech and respect for human rights, and both are partners against war on terror. On the other hand, America is one of the staunchest critics of the Myanmarese military junta for its lack of respect for human rights and democracy. Americans, themselves, have already imposed an economic and arms embargo on Myanmar, and persuaded other Western allies to do the same to put pressure on the military junta to restore democracy in the country. So, in a conflict situation, Bangladesh will find America on its side but Myanmar will face even more isolation for attacking a democratic country.

Britain, and France, both seeking a regime change to restore democracy in Myanmar, will also join America to support Bangladesh in its fight against Myanmarese military junta.

Russia, being one of the few countries that supported the independence movement of Bangladesh, and having a close defense relation with Myanmar, may find itself in a difficult diplomatic situation and may only offer itself as a peace broker to maintain neutrality in the conflict situation.

Other players

India: India views Myanmar as an important country for the success of its 'look east policy', and as a good source of cheap energy reserve to meet its rising energy demand. India is also seeking to cultivate deep economic and defense relations with the military junta to counterbalance Chinese influence in Myanmar for its own strategic advantage. At the same time, the policymakers of New Delhi are aware of their role in the independence movement of Bangladesh and its strategic significance in the security of North East India. So, like Russia, India may also seek neutrality in the conflict between Bangladesh and Myanmar and play the role of a peace broker to end the conflict.

Pakistan: Despite the bitter memories of 1971, both Bangladesh and Pakistan have moved forward and established economic, political, and defense relations based on mutual trust and benefit. Aside from the religious sentiment, Pakistan acknowledges the strategic significance of Bangladesh due to its geographic location, which cuts the entire North East region of India off from the mainland and its perception of India being a threat to its national security. So, Pakistan may provide moral and even some logistical support to Bangladesh in the event of a conflict between Bangladesh and Myanmar.

Arab countries: Being the 3rd largest Muslim country in the world, Bangladesh is expected to get overwhelming moral and even logistical support from the Arab nations.

Strategic objectives of Bangladesh

1.To resolve any dispute through dialogue and avoid the possibility of a military confrontation

2.In case a military confrontation is unavoidable, limit the scope of confrontation to minimize the loss of lives and properties

3.In case the conflict takes the shape of a full scale war, break the will of the Myanmarese military to fight by inflicting heavy damage upon its men, machine, and economy

Strategies to follow

1.To launch an intense diplomatic effort both bilateral, and multilateral, involving China, and the U.N.

2.To use BDR just to repel sporadic border incursions and keep the army on a stand by mode, and continue with diplomatic efforts to diffuse tension

3.To create a naval blockade against Myanmar to take control of its commercial shipping lanes and use the full military might to force the aggressor to retreat, and ask for help from America and its allies, and the Muslim countries, to achieve a desired end in the conflict.


------------------------
Shah Mohammed Saifuddin
Toronto ,Canada





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Re: [ALOCHONA] Re: Moin U Ahmed & PM responsible for the BDR HQ killings!!!

We have seen lot of anti-purbobangla forces but after liberation they have entered in awami leauge and become a freedom fighter. They have looted properties of Hindus and others' who were their oppponent. Only the awami-bakshali (not Awami Leauge) want to divert the issue with the anti-liberation foreces issues. If you have any logic pl disclouse. After liberation who have done as a patriotic or anti-states force all knows. Mentionable that our Banggobondhu was a geart Muslim Leauger during the creation of Pakistan. Should we hate him?

shahid sadik

--- On Mon, 3/23/09, Shamim Chowdhury <veirsmill@yahoo.com> wrote:

From: Shamim Chowdhury <veirsmill@yahoo.com>
Subject: [ALOCHONA] Re: Moin U Ahmed & PM responsible for the BDR HQ killings!!!
To: alochona@yahoogroups.com
Date: Monday, March 23, 2009, 5:03 AM

There are many self-proclaimed human rights activists are in production in recent days. It seems who ever do not want to disclose their political identity or affliction finds the human right shield as extremely valuable when flushing venom against our nations unity.

 

As their self-imposed titles are fascinating their hypothetical, imaginary conjectural analysis of BDR issue are mesmerizing but precarious. I will call then scientist rather then activist because their bi (or bio) product are one of a piece, which separates them from regular.

 

In an ordinary time I will read their theories or discard it as rubbish but when the nation passing through a somber but crucial juncture their write-up seems very cruel and designs to fuel for instigating a national crisis.

 

This reminds us of role played by Jamaat-e-Islami and other anti liberation forces during our liberation war. When we Bengalis were fighting for our existence, they called us Indian agents. Jamaat leaders filled print and electronic media with rhetoric and vengeance against our unity during the nine months war of liberation.

 

We were fighting against them then, we are fighting against them today, and our sons and daughter will continue the fight against them into future. We won then, we will win today and surely, our sons and daughters will be victorious as well.

 

Regards

Shamim Chowdhury

Maryland, USA


--- In alochona@yahoogroup s.com, Shahid Sadik <shahid123sadik@ ...> wrote:
>
>
>
> Dear friends,
>
>  
>
> Please hear
> the audio between PM and Army officers at Army HQ again. It is very clear that
> Maj. General Shakil had talked both Moin U Ahmed & Sheikh Hasina. They
> both assured that the army is coming soon. Almost 1 hour the officers inside BDR
> Dorbar Hall were alive. But army didn’t come.
>
>  
>
> The second thing is that why the BDR gate no. 5 was open to escape the killers.
>
>  
>
> Those two things clearly proved that PM & Moin U Ahmed is responsible for the heinous killings at least
> indirectly!! !
>
>  
>
> Thank you,  
>
>  
>
> Shahid Sadik
>
> Human Rights Activist
>



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[mukto-mona] Remembering their supports and efforts

Dear Editor,
 
Hope you are doing well and thanks for publishing my previous write ups.
 
This is an article titled "Remembering their supports and efforts". I will be highly honoured if you publish this article. I apprecite your time to read this article.
 
Thanks
 
Have a nice time during the celebration of 39th Independence Day
 
With Best Regards
 
Ripan Kumar Biswas
New York, U.S.A
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Remembering their supports and efforts

 

Ripan Kumar Biswas

Ripan.Biswas@yahoo.com

 

W.A.S. Ouderland, Bir Protik (4th highest gallantry award in Bangladesh), who was actually a Dutch citizen and was posted as the CEO of Bata operation in the then East Pakistan on the eve of the War of Liberation in Bangladesh, never thought that he would train and assist the freedom fighters to create an independent Bangladesh rather putting his attention to increase the volume of sales of his company.

 

The mass killings in Bangladesh (then East Pakistan) in 1971 vie with the annihilation of the Soviet Prisoners of War  or the genocide in Rwanda as the most concentrated act of genocide in the twentieth century. In an attempt to crush forces seeking independence for East Pakistan, the West Pakistani military regime unleashed a systematic campaign of mass murder which aimed at killing millions of Bengalis, and likely succeeded in doing so. The human death toll over only 267 days was incredible compare to other worst genocides of the World War II era. The Pakistani army and allied paramilitary groups killed about one out of every sixty-one people in Pakistan overall; one out of every twenty-five Bengalis, Hindus, and others in East Pakistan. Rape, abduction, and forcible prostitution during the nine-month war proved to be only the first round of humiliation for the Bengali women.

 

Today people of Bangladesh feel satisfied and contended as they can freely move around in the country without questioning or imposing any kinds of restrictions on them. But this satisfaction is due to the efforts taken by the freedom fighters to free the country from the authoritarian Pakistani rule. Freedom fighters gallantly fought with the enemies to free the country. The indomitable courage and commitment of freedom fighters helped to imbue Bangladesh as an independent nation.

 

Although freedom fighter" is a term for those, who engaged in an armed struggle, the main cause of which is to achieve, in their or their supporters' view, freedom for themselves or obtain freedom for others, but during the liberation war in Bangladesh, people from every part of the society took part in the war in a various way with or without arms as the liberation war and the independence was not an act of a single person or event and there was hardly any family who did not lose something in the war. The total number of freedom fighters during Bangladesh War of Liberation was not recorded anywhere, but according to the Bangladesh government in exile, the total number of freedom fighters was 105,000, which includes members of 11 sectors, Mujib Bahini, Kader Bahini, and Hemeyet Bahini while the present Minister of State for Liberation War Affairs A.B. Tajul Islam confirmed that in all 210,581 freedom fighters joined the liberation war.

The Bangladesh liberation war witnessed widespread atrocities committed mainly on the Bengali population of East Pakistan, at a level that Bangladeshis maintain is one of the worst genocides in history. Difference in religious standpoints in the then East and West Pakistan, economic exploitation towards East Pakistan, conspiracy to uproot Bengali language and nationalism, impact of cyclone in East Pakistan in 1970, dominating political attitude by West Pakistani leaders, military preparation in East Pakistan, Bangobondhu's speech of March 7, and finally the mass killing of March 25, apparently triggered the independence war in Bangladesh.

Every Bangladeshi in the then time was expected to involve in the war. A man fighting for his own country, no doubt, is an act of rare bravery, but it becomes unusual when an alien fighting side by side with the sons of the soil.

 

People, who were not in the course of such sufferings and were foreign nationals during the liberation war in Bangladesh, but felt the acute need to make the world aware of the extent of genocide and took part directly or indirectly in the war, are really highly respected and deserve heartiest gratitude. Brutal repression and occupation of unarmed Bangladeshis by the Pakistani occupation army reminded Ouderland of the similar brutalities perpetrated by the Nazis in occupied Europe. He was not the only one, who fully appreciated the legitimacy of Bangladeshi resistance against the brute forces of occupation, but there were several others, who felt the same ideology and directly or indirectly took part in the war. As the War progressed, Ouderland secretly began to train and assist local youths around the city of Dhaka in the art of guerilla resistance.

 

Although Ouderland was the only foreign national to have been honored with gallantry award "Bir Pratik" for his outstanding contribution to the war of liberation, but there were thousands of foreign nationals who had supported Bangladesh in many form and fashion during liberation war. They had raised funds, made posters, flyers, joined in rallies, wrote articles, raised awareness, and sang songs. They also gave shelters and words of comfort to those individuals who had disowned their nationality from Pakistan and had no country to call their own for nine months. These individuals did what they could out of their loves for humanities and had shown their utmost disgust against the inhuman atrocities and genocide against the people of Bangladesh.

 

George Harrison brought the attention of the world to what was happening in Bangladesh during the independence war through his concert in New York in 1971. Without his effort, much of the suffering endured by the Bangladeshi people at the time would have gone unnoticed. His concert for Bangladesh raised money for war-affected people with performances by Eric Clapton, Ringo Starr, Billy Preston, and Bob Dylan. On the other hand, Senator Ted Kennedy (MA-D) bravely exposed the plight of millions of Bangladeshi refugees in India during the liberation war. As a chairman of the then US senate's refugee committee, Kennedy tried to persuade the US to allocate funds for the Bangladeshi refugees in India.

 

With unprecedented support of India, it became easier to the local heroes to form an independent Bangladesh. The then Indian Government led by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi provided shelter, food, clothing, and medical aid for 10 million refugees. They helped freedom fighters with training, arms, and ammunitions, campaigned for release of Bangabondhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and mobilized international public opinion in favor of independence of Bangladesh. According to the former chief of the Indian army's eastern command Lt Gen (retd) JFR Jacob, 1400 Indian troops were killed and 4000 wounded during the Liberation War of Bangladesh.

 

To become the world's 139th independent nation, Bangladesh suffered a genocide perpetrated by Pakistani Army and their allies. While millions of Bangladeshis are celebrating the country's 39th Independence Day, they are remembering the supreme sacrifices and gallantry of the country's bravest and enlightened people. But people who were not part of Bangladesh and not even the part of sufferings, but put their lives, emotions, and supports along with general people to form a independent Bangladesh, deserve the recognition out of decency, out of moral obligation, and out of gratitude as the people of Bangladesh owe this to them.

 

 

March 24, 2009, New York

Ripan Kumar Biswas is a freelance writer based in New York




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[ALOCHONA] Modern Slavery in America

Underpaid Illegal Foreign Workers are not Slaves. They choose to be what they are because in their own countries they make dozens of times less money than they make in USA. All poor Bangladeshis would love to replace them since such workers make more than a few times more than they make in Slavery of the Middle Eastern Brotherly countries.

To let Bangladeshis know, these so called Slave Workers make at least $ 6.50 or 500 Takka an hour. Isha Khan has posted this article because he hates USA so much.

--- In alochona@yahoogroups.com, Isha Khan <bd_mailer@...> wrote:
>
> Modern Slavery in America
>
>
> by Stephen Lendman
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Called human trafficking or forced labor, modern slavery thrives in America, largely below the radar. A 2004 UC Berkeley study cites it mainly in five sectors:
>
> -- prostitution and sex services - 46%;
>
> -- domestic service - 27%;
>
> -- agriculture - 10%;
>
> -- sweatshops or factories - 5%;
>
> -- restaurant and hotel work - 4%; with the remainder coming from:
>
> -- sexual exploitation of children, entertainment, and mail-order brides.
>
> It persists for lack of regulation, work condition monitoring, and a growing demand for cheap labor enabling unscrupulous employers and criminal networks to exploit powerless workers for profit.
>
> The International Labor Organization (ILO) defines forced labor as:
>
> "....all work or service which is exacted from any person under the menace of any penalty and for which said person has not offered himself voluntarily."
>
> Forced child labor is:
>
> "(a) all forms of slavery or practices similar to slavery, such as the sale and trafficking of children, debt bondage and serfdom and forced or compulsory labor, including forced or compulsory recruitment of children for use in armed conflict;"
>
> "(b) the use, procuring or offering of a child for prostitution, for the production of pornography or for pornographic performances;"
>
> "(c) the use, procuring or offering of a child for illicit activities, in particular for the production and trafficking of drugs as defined in the relevant international treaties;" and
>
> "(d) work which, by its nature or the circumstances in which it is carried out, is likely to harm the health, safety or morals of children." 
>
> The Free the Slaves.net's definition is being "forced to work without pay under threat of violence and unable to walk away." It reports:
>
> -- an estimated 27 million people are enslaved globally, more than at any other time previously;
>
> -- thousands annually trafficked in America in over 90 cities; around 17,000 by some estimates and up to 50,000 according to the CIA, either from abroad or affecting US citizens or residents as forced labor or sexual servitude;
>
> -- the global market value is over $9.5 billion annually, according to Mark Taylor, senior coordinator for the State Department's Office to Monitor;
>
> -- victims are often women and children;
>
> -- the majority are in India and African countries;
>
> -- slavery is illegal but happens "everywhere;"
>
> -- slaves work in agriculture, homes, mines, restaurants, brothels, or wherever traffickers can employ them; they're cheap, plentiful, disposable, and replaceable;
>
> -- "$90 is the average cost of a human slave around the world" compared to the 1850 $40,000 equivalent in today's dollars;
>
> -- common terminology includes debt bondage, bonded labor, attached labor, restavec (or de facto bondage for Haitian children sent to households of strangers), forced labor, indentured servitude, and human trafficking;
>
> -- explosive population growth, mostly to urban centers without safety net or job security protections, facilitates the practice; and
>
> -- government corruption, lack of monitoring, and indifference does as well..
>
> American Anti-Trafficking Efforts
>
> US laws prohibit all forms of human trafficking through statutes created or strengthened by the 2000 Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act (VTVPA) with imprisonment for up to 20 years or longer as well as other penalties.
>
> In April 2003, the Protect Act was passed (Prosecutorial Remedies and Other Tools to End the Exploitation of Children Today Act). The law protects children and severely punishes offenders when enforced. It's to prosecute American citizens and legal permanent residents who travel abroad for purposes of sexually trafficking minors without having to prove prior intent to commit the crime.
>
> The 2000 law (reauthorized in 2005) provides tools to combat trafficking offenders worldwide. It also establishes the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons (TIP Office) and the President's Interagency Task Force to help coordinate anti-trafficking efforts. The State Department's Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration (PRM) also is for victim protection.. In addition, various other US agencies are involved, including the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) through its Rescue and Restore Victims of Human Trafficking public awareness campaign and by identifying victims.
>
> The Department of Justice handles prosecutions, and along with DHS and the State Department, addresses various trafficking issues through the interagency Human Smuggling and Trafficking Center. Still, enforcement is often is lax or absent, at both federal and state levels, because offenders are powerful and those harmed are the "wretched of the earth," mostly poor blacks, Latinos and Asians. As a result, the practice is rampant and growing. Below are examples of its forms.
>
> Farmworker Slavery
>
> In a March 2004 report, Oxfam America highlighted the growing problem in a report titled "Like Machines in the Fields: Workers without Rights in American Agriculture." It's a shocking account of how "Behind the shiny, happy images promoted by the fast-food industry with its never-ending commercials, there is another reality:"
>
> -- nearly two million overworked farmworkers living in "sub-poverty misery, without benefits, without the right to overtime," a living wage, or other job protections, including for children;
>
> -- in Florida, it's not uncommon to find instances of workers chained to poles, locked in trucks, physically beaten, and cheated out of pay; it's pervasive enough for a federal prosecutor to have called the state "ground zero for modern-day slavery" in a New Yorker magazine article;
>
> -- John Bowe, author of "Nobodies: Modern American Slave Labor and the Dark Side of the New Global Economy," calls Florida agriculture "an unsavory world" where workers like Adan Ortiz fear talking about their bosses because he has nightmares that they might "come after me with machetes and stuff;"
>
> -- basic US labor laws exclude farmworkers, including the right to organize; laws like the 1935 National Labor Relations Act (NLRB) and 1938 Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA); also OSHA protections are lacking; the 1983 Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act (AWPA or MSPA) provided modest but inadequate relief and none at all when it isn't enforced; Oxfam reported that, except in California to a modest degree, "state laws perpetuate inequality," especially in Florida and North Carolina;
>
> -- overall, enforcement at both federal and state levels is lax and has weakened in recent years; most notable are the lack of investigations, prosecutions, and resources allocated for either; in the case of undocumented workers, nothing in the law protects them;
>
> -- many serve as forced labor against their will in a modern-day version of slavery: terrorized by violent employers, watched by armed guards under conditions of near-incarceration, living overcrowded in "severely inadequate" barracks or trailers, often plagued with rust, mildew, filth, broken appliances, sagging or leaky roofs, non-working showers, and multiple occupants being over-charged up to $200 a week by unscrupulous employers; yet workers put up with it because in the words of one: "If we don't work, we don't eat;"
>
> -- the commercial power of giant buyers and retailers like Wal-Mart (selling 19% of US groceries) and Yum Brands (the world's largest fast-food company) squeeze growers and suppliers for the lowest prices;
>
> -- increased competition from imports have had a similar effect, especially in winter months;
>
> -- yet while wages and prices to producers are squeezed, profits are passed up the distribution chain to corporate giants at the top.
>
> Farmworkers have been punished as a result and are perhaps the poorest and most abused laborers in America. Around half of them earn less than $7500 annually. Lucky ones earn up to $10,000, in either case it's far below the federal poverty threshold, and their wages have been stagnant since the 1970s.
>
> Doing some of the worst and most dangerous jobs in America (from exposure to toxic chemicals and workplace accidents), poverty has forced them into sub-standing housing, temporary jobs, increased migrancy, and family separation.
>
> Besides sub-poverty wages, around 95% get no Social Security, disability, or medical insurance benefits (let alone vacations or pensions) for themselves or their families. Women farmworkers face other abuses like male dominance, sexual harassment, or worse, while at the same time remain primary family caregivers.
>
> Crop and livestock agricultural jobs exist throughout the country, but over half are concentrated in California, Florida, Texas, North Carolina, and Washington. Most farmworkers are young (between 18 - 44 or younger), male (about 80%), and Latino. They have little education, and many are recent undocumented immigrants (mostly from Mexico) forced north because of destructive trade laws like NAFTA.
>
> Organizing efforts have won important victories but not enough to increase workers' bargaining power under a fundamentally unfair system. So while achievements of organizations like the Coalition of Immokalee Workers in Florida (with over 2000 members) are impressive, they're no match against agribusiness giants or Wal-Mart.
>
> Nor can they ameliorate conditions in one of the country's most hazardous occupations. Farmworker disability rates are three times than for the greater population. Around 300,000 laborers suffer pesticide poisoning annually, and many others endure accidents, musculoskeletal, and other type injuries (some chronic).
>
> A 1990 North Carolina study found only 4% of workers had access to drinking water, hand-washing, and toilet facilities, a particularly dangerous situation for children and pregnant women.
>
> Oxfam calls farmworker conditions today the equivalent of a "19th century plantation-style" model relying on field hands, rudimentary equipment, long hours, little pay, no benefits, under a basically "inhumane, anachronistic (system crying) out for reform." But how when all levels of government turn a blind eye to the worst of abuses, and for the undocumented blame them for their own plight.
>
> Domestic Servitude in America
>
> Each year, many thousands, mostly women, arrive in America with temporary visas to work as live-in  domestic workers - for the wealthy, foreign diplomats, or other domestic or foreign officials. They come to escape poverty or to earn money to send home to families. Often they're exploited or victimized by unscrupulous traffickers who hold them in forced servitude, work them up to 19 hours a day, keep them practically incarcerated, pay them $100 or less a month, and often subject them to sexual abuse.
>
> Undocumented workers have no protection, but even legal entrants have few. Because visas are employment-based, they're obliged to one employer no matter how abusive, and if leave they lose their immigration status and are deported. As a result, few do or file complaints. Some who do are rarely protected because government agencies are lax in their monitoring and enforcement.
>
> Live-in domestic workers are also excluded from labor law protections with regard to overtime pay and right to organize, strike, and bargain collectively. In addition, they're unprotected by OSHA and against sexual harassment under Title VII workplace safeguards as it applies only to employers with 15 or more workers. In cases of foreign employers, they enjoy diplomatic immunity, even from criminal, civil, or administrative prosecutions.
>
> As a result, special visa domestics endure human rights violations. Employers are immunized while workers are powerless to stop abuses like:
>
> -- assault and battery, including physical beatings and threats of serious harm;
>
> -- limited freedom of movement, including arbitrary and enforced loss of liberty by use of locks, bars, confiscation of passports and travel documents, chains, and threats of retaliation against other family members;
>
> -- health and safety issues, including unhealthy sleeping situations in basements, utility rooms, or other unsatisfactory places; unsafe working conditions endangering health; denial of food or proper nutrition; and refusal to provide medical care and having to work when ill;
>
> -- wage and amount of work concerns - US labor laws afford no protections so long hours, little rest, and low pay are common;
>
> -- privacy invasions - the UN General Assembly's December 1966 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) provides that "(n)o one shall be subjected to arbitrary or unlawful interference with his privacy, family, home or correspondence;" it applies to everyone, even live-in domestics on visas; nonetheless violations of ICCPR are common and migrants get no redress;
>
> -- psychological abuse - often highlighting employer superiority and worker inferiority to enforce control and render employees powerless; other abuses include insults, food restrictions, denying proper clothing, and various other demeaning practices; and
>
> -- servitude, forced labor, and trafficking - ICCPR and other international laws and instruments prohibit it, yet don't effectively define "servitude" as distinguished from slavery; as a result, abusive labor relationships are inevitable; trafficking is specifically prohibited under the UN's Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, supplementing the (UN-adopted 2000) Convention against Transnational Organized Crime; nonetheless, the practice is rampant and growing; in the case of migrant domestic workers, abuse is widespread and greatly underreported.
>
> Sex Slavery in America
>
> It's the largest category of forced labor in America and with good reason:
>
> -- it's tied to organized crime and highly profitable;
>
> -- the demand for sex services, including from children, is high and growing; and
>
> -- the lack of safe and legal migration facilitates it.
>
> The US Department of Justice (DOJ) states that the average entry prostitution age is between 12 - 14. Shared Hope International documents modern-day sex trafficking and examines conditions under which it exists. It confirms that most victims are underage girls. A congressional finding estimated that between 100,000 - 300,000 children are at risk at any time. A DOJ assessment was that pimps control at least 75% of exploited minors by targeting vulnerable children using violence and psychological intimidation to hold them..
>
> The Internet is a frequent recruitment tool. Other vulnerable victims are shelter and street youths, including runaways. An estimated 2.8 million children live on city streets, a third of whom are lured into prostitution within 48 hours of leaving home. Familial prostitution is also common and involves the selling of a family member for drugs, shelter, and/or money.
>
> The market includes prostitution, including with children, pornography, striptease, erotic dancing, and peep shows, often controlled by organized crime. The combination of legal and illegal sex generally is part of a larger portfolio of products and services that include drugs and drugs trafficking.
>
> Sex traffickers usually recruit victims of their own nationality or ethnicity, and migrant smuggling facilitates it. In addition, state and federal laws too often conflict enough to withhold victim status from the abused, impede prosecutions, and result in too lenient sentences when they occur. Also, rarely are prostitution purchasers (including from children) arrested or prosecuted, and overall, law enforcement agencies face legal and systemic challenges that interfere with their ability or inclination to go after buyers. Society provides few protections for victims, including custodial shelters for young children, and as a result, sex services in America thrive.
>
> Sweatshops and Factories
>
> According to the Union of Needle Trades and Industrial Textile Employees, 75% of New York garment factories are sweatshops. The US Department of Labor says over 50% of all US-based ones are, the majority in the apparel centers of New York, California, Dallas, Miami, and Atlanta but others located offshore as well in American territories like Saipan, Guam and American Samoa where merchandise produced is labeled "Made in the USA."
>
> Competing with low-wage offshore producers pressures US producers to cut labor costs to a minimum, even by breaking the law, sometimes egregiously through forced labor. Like agriculture and domestic service, the sector is especially vulnerable as it often operates within the informal economy where regulatory enforcement is lax or absent. As a result, worker exploitation persists. Wages are sub-poverty. Overtime compensation is the exception, and work environments generally are poor to hazardous. Workers who complain or try to organize usually are fired and replaced by more amenable ones.
>
> Starvation wages, long hours, unsafe working conditions, and no protections are standard practice in an industry long known for its labor abuses.
>
> In 1995, two major scandals made headlines, one at home, the other offshore.. On August 2, police raided an El Monte, California apartment complex in which 72 undocumented Thai immigrants were kept in forced bondage behind razor wire and a chain link fence. They'd been there for up to 17 years sewing clothes for some of the nation's top manufacturers and retailers.
>
> They were housed in crowded, squalid quarters. Armed guards imposed discipline, pressuring and intimidating them to work every day, around 84 hours a week for 70 cents an hour. Workers were forced to work, eat, sleep, and live in captivity. No unmonitored phone calls or uncensored letters were allowed, and everything bought came only from their captors at highly inflated prices. Seven operators were arrested and later convicted of conspiracy, kidnapping, involuntary servitude, smuggling, and harboring illegal immigrants..
>
> Also in 1995, National Labor Committee investigators found teenage women, as young as 13, sewing clothing for Kathy Lee Gifford's Global Fashion plant in Honduras. Pay was from 9 - 16 cents an hour under oppressive working conditions. Forced overtime was imposed to meet deadlines. Only two daily bathroom visits were allowed. Supervisors and armed guards applied pressure and intimidation to work faster on machines that were rust laden and prone to accidents. Attempts by the women to demand their legal rights were thwarted. Merchandise produced was for major US retailers like Wal-Mart.
>
> American restaurant and hotel workers also work under onerous conditions and are underpaid. In hotels, nearly all housekeepers are women who are required to clean 15 or more rooms a day. Often they must skip meals and rest periods, work off the clock to meet quotas, and have a 40% higher injury rate than service workers overall as a result. According to US Department of Labor figures, they earn an average $8.67 an hour or about $17, 340 annually provided they work full-time.
>
> Immigrants, mainly women, are especially vulnerable in hotels and restaurants. A June 2005 ACLU press release highlighted one example among many pertaining to a law suit brought by two immigrant waitresses against a New Jersey Chinese restaurant charging sex discrimination and labor exploitation.
>
> Filed in June 2003, Mei Ying Liu and Shu Fang Chen charged that from May 2000 - November 2001 they were completely controlled by their employers, forced to work an average 80 hours a week, paid no wages or overtime, had to pay a kickback from tips received, faced gender and ethnic discrimination, were housed in an overcrowded, vermin-filled apartment, and were threatened with death when stopped working at the restaurant.
>
> Guest Worker Trafficking on US Military Bases
>
> Besides Halliburton's exploited army of tens of thousands of foreign nationals in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere, the National Labor Committee (NLC) reported last July that "hundreds of thousands of foreign guest workers - among them 240,000 Bangladeshis - have been trafficked to Kuwait (under false promises of well-paid jobs, and) forced to work seven days a week (11 hours a day) at a US military base" under horrific conditions.
>
> Stripped of their passports on arrival, they're housed in overcrowded, squalid dorms with eight workers sharing small 10 x 10 rooms, paid 14 - 36 cents an hour, beaten and threatened with arrest when they complained, forced to use most of their wages for high-priced food, and the case of "Mr. Sabur" is typical. Hired by the Kuwait Waste Collection and Recycling Company to work at the Pentagon's Camp Arifjan, his job was to clean the base - everything from offices and living spaces to tanks, rocket launchers and missiles..
>
> He worked an 11-hour shift seven days a week and got a one-hour midnight break for supper. For this, he earned $34.72 a week, far less than he was promised, and he had to pay a Bangladesh employment agency 185,000 taka ($2697) for his three-year contracted job. His family sold everything possible for the money, still came up short, and had to borrow the rest from a neighbor.
>
> On the job, the Kuwaiti company illegally withheld his first three months wages, forcing him to borrow money to survive. When he asked to be paid, he was beaten, and after an 80,000 worker strike, he was arrested, incarcerated for five days, beaten in prison, then deported to Bangladesh still wearing his torn, blood-stained clothing.
>
> He was owed but never paid thousands of promised dollars in back wages, and he's typical. NLC estimates that all 240,000 Bangladeshis have been cheated out of $1.2 billion, and the Pentagon is complicit in the crime. These same abuses are common on US bases in Iraq, Afghanistan, and likely other offshore locations as well. In the words of one Sri Lankan laborer for a Halliburton subcontractor in Iraq: "They promised us the moon and stars," but instead gave us dirty work, low pay, long hours, bad food, and for the first three months held us in windowless warehouses near Baghdad's airport with no money, and for some of them afterwards in tents even worse than the warehouses.
>
> A Final Comment
>
> This is the plight of America's vulnerable and those we exploit abroad, whether in restaurants, hotels, agriculture, domestic work, the sex trade, or on US offshore military bases, and seldom do courts provide justice. It's America's dark side along with an appalling record of crimes and abuses, including imperial wars, torture, and looting the national wealth for criminal bankers and the rich at the expense of growing millions in need left wanting at the most perilous economic time in our history. America's long and disturbing legacy, not at all one to be proud of.
>
> Stephen Lendman is a Research Associate of the Centre for Research on Globalization. He lives in Chicago and can be reached at lendmanstephen@...
>
> Also visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com and listen to The Global Research News Hour on RepublicBroadcasting.org Monday through Friday at 10AM US Central time for cutting-edge discussions with distinguished guests on world and national issues. All programs are archived for easy listening.
>
> http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=12494
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=12576
>


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[ALOCHONA] Minister craves for luxury car:Violates govt rules to get one at cost of public money

 
In breach of government rules, Roads and Highways Department (RHD) has lately invited tenders for a cross-country vehicle to be used by Communications Minister Syed Abul Hossain.

According to procurement rules, a department cannot usually purchase of its own accord any vehicles, computers, furniture or other things. For a purchase, it must go through the establishment ministry.

Only in certain circumstances can a department make a purchase and that too on approval from the establishment ministry or the ministry concerned. However, this rule does not cover buying a vehicle for use by a minister.

Usually, the transport directorate under the establishment ministry supplies vehicles for the ministers. Its concerns include maintenance of the cars and supply of fuel for them.

According to an establishment ministry official, a minister can use a vehicle belonging to a department under his ministry. But that does not mean a vehicle can be bought for that purpose bypassing the establishment ministry.

In an advertisement published in a national daily on March 18, RHD invited formal offers to supply an inspection vehicle for official use by the communications minister. The last date for buying tender is April 15. Bids are to be accepted till 12 noon the following day and opened the same day.

Placed by Rafiqul Islam, executive engineer of RHD procurement and storage division, the tender ad says the vehicle shall be "brand new, latest model, year of manufacture not before July 2008, and designed according to latest technology. The interior shall be stylish and elegant look (sic)".

The communications minister has already got a Nissan compact from the transport pool. As per government rules, a minister cannot have more than one official vehicle.

A high official of the transport pool said ministers, state ministers and others of similar ranks are entitled to a vehicle with at least 1600cc engine.

During the BNP-Jamaat alliance rule, the cabinet approved rules that for official tours outside the capital, a minister can take high-powered all-wheel drive from a department under his ministry.

In that case, the government will provide fuel.The communications minister could not be reached for comments.

The information officer of his ministry said the vehicle that RHD has assigned for use by the minister was bought in 1999. Since that car is deemed too old to be used in long tours, the department has opted to buy a new car.

He also claimed RHD has followed transparent and proper procedure in obtaining approval for the purchase.
  http://www.thedailystar.net/story.php?nid=81080



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[ALOCHONA] Much talk on militancy may hurt country’s prospect: FBCCI


Business community do not believe in militancy gossip, says Annisul

 

 

 

 

Excessive talks about 'imaginary' fear of militancy may project Bangladesh as a militant state in terms of its image, the FBCCI observed on Monday, expressing its apprehension about the nation's credibility in the outside world.
   The Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry president, Annisul Huq, also said the businesspeople did not believe in the militancy gossip which 'would hamper the external trade, investment and remittances earning.'


   'We are really concerned at the political situation when talks of militants are widespread. Nowadays we see jangis [militants] in every jungle [meaning spheres of politics],' he told a business gathering at the Federation Building which was attended by the National Board of Revenue chairman.
   Annisul said some businesspeople were already denied visa or they had faced problems while travelling abroad because of the recent discussions about the alleged presence of militant elements in Bangladesh.


   He obliquely referred to reported claims by the ministers, including the commerce minister, Faruk Khan, that militants involved in the carnage at Bangladesh Rifles headquarters were out to create instability to disrupt war crimes trial.


   The business leader said the cancellation of visas of 50,000 Bangladeshi workers by Malaysia might have relation with the issue of militancy as being talked about at the state level.


   On Sunday, a member of parliament from the Awami League-led alliance, Hasanul Haq Inu, told a press briefing at the law ministry that the issues of militancy and war crimes trial would not hamper business and investment, they would rather create a congenial atmosphere.
   The FBCCI leader said there could be constructive discussions on the issue of militancy, but extensive talks on it would usher in devastating consequence for the country.


   'Let there be no excessive talks which could create trouble for us and our children. We should focus more on economic issues and we have many good things to discuss and feel proud of them [as Bangladeshis],' said Annisul.

 

http://www.newagebd.com/2009/mar/24/front.html




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RE: [ALOCHONA] State of the Nation

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

The Daily Star

Our own worst enemies

WHO needs outside invaders when we can be our own worst enemies? True, we do not need the Mongols or the Huns or the Vikings to land at our shores to obliterate us. We can do it ourselves. How, you ask? Well, our failures and our indecisiveness are always there to strengthen the hands of the enemy. And by God, we can become such good enemies of ourselves, and destroy our achievements with such precision and perfection that the world often looks at us with bewilderment.



Shahnoor Wahid is a Senior Assistant Editor of The Daily Star. Email: shahnoorwahid @yahoo.co.uk


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

What a timely, wonderful article.

dr. maqsud omar



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RE: [ALOCHONA] State of the Nation


" Commerce Minister Lt Col (retd) Faruk Khan yesterday retracted his earlier comments linking Islamist militants to the Pilkhana carnage.
He said the statements he had made before were not based on probe findings; rather they were his personal observations.
He said this at a press briefing at BDR Pilkhana headquarters.
"After an analysis of the information gleaned from different sources, it seemed to me that militants were involved. Besides, I have visited the crime scene and talked to many people," explained the minister.
The same day FBCCI President Annisul Huq said "too much talk about militant activities would only tarnish the country's image"."


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


so Faruk khan and his chamchas don't have enough brain ...to understand...that making fictious comments about islamic militants will have effects on public-moral, investments by foreign countriesand impression on Bangladesh!!
Didn't Hasina did exactly the same...as an opposition leader...while enjoying good meals overseas?
Time will tell, how much Islamic militants have caused damage to Bangladesh, and what

thugs, created and maintained by other non-islamic politicians in the past, did to our society.
There r few phrases politicians and their puppets use regularly...to create smoke-screen, like
" anti and pro liberation forces, freedom fight, islamic militants, foreign powers".
Politicians and their chamchas should also abandon the theory...that anybody condemning them...have connection with islamic militants!!!

They have fooled ordinary Bangladeshis, for too long, talking about fanatic elements in Bdesh and ' anti-liberation forces'.


Best wishes.


dr. maqsud omar








To: alochona@yahoogroups.com
From: ezajur.rahman@q8.com
Date: Mon, 23 Mar 2009 11:25:04 +0300
Subject: [ALOCHONA] State of the Nation

Dear Alochok Sajjad

 

I am too weary, too worn out from the agony of 25/3/09 to participate in a name calling contest with you. I would enjoy it of course, especially because I am bound to win any name calling contest with you. Bloody useless talent though!

 

Bhai lets be clear:

 

If I had my way, The CTG and the Army would still be pursuing the minus two theory now. But if we have to have an election (as per your wish) then may the best man win in every seat. In Sylhet town I supported AMA Muhith (AL) over Saifur Rahman (BNP) and in Balaganj I supported the AL candidate (a fellow Londoni) over Ilyas Ali (BNP). You want to argue about why I should have supported Saifur Rahman or Ilyas Ali? Go ahead. Try your luck.

 

There may have been massive rigging. I don't know. But I have not met a single BNP supporter (I know hundreds) who expected to win the election anyway. In fact many BNP supporters actually stayed at home on election day in protest at the candidates selected by BNP.

 

Don't think the passing of 3 years makes BNP a bunch of angels today. If BNP ran itself, the government and the country properly there would be no 1/11 and no CTG with the Army. There would be no such majority for AL. Let me spell it out for you because you need to be reminded: BNP WAS A PARTY ROTTING FROM THE INSIDE RUNNING A ROTTEN GOVERNMENT. If people like you got your stubbornness and nethri fetish out of your system you could have saved the party from its disastrous course. There is still much to do. BNP could still be the modernizing and liberalizing party par excellence. But let's not focus on that – lets focus on all other kinds of other rubbish.

 

I did not need your prompting to complain about the law and order situation today in Desh under AL. So stop gloating so much. Its not like you complain about anything under a BNP government.

 

Who funded my trip? What? You think it's a lot of money? Well maybe for you. I could fund your next trip too if you want. Or do you want an independent arbitrator to decide who between us earns more and is willing to spend more? Go ahead if you feel lucky. Though perhaps I underestimate how much can be earned nowadays selling international calling cards in Toronto : )

 

Real patriotism is putting the country before self, before party, before nethri. Not turning a blind eye to the stubborn flaws within oneself, one's party and one's nethri. Canada should test this concept in its immigration interviews. Canada would be better off without the crappy antics of AL and BNP on its soil.

 

And so finally you reach the bottom of your barrel. You bring family into it. Sigh. Bhai don't you know this is a bad sign for you? Please take care of yourself properly.

 

There, in Toronto, where you live, reside some of the greatest rock musicians of all time, Geddy Lee, Neil Peart and Alex Lifeson. They form possibly the greatest rock band of all time, known simply as RUSH (though U2 and Coldplay are causing trouble!). Here are some lyrics from a song of theirs. These lyrics stir every western heart when sung in stadium after stadium, continent after continent. These lyrics have for decades expressed in the simplest, deepest way the hopes of millions of Western voters. These lyrics express, in spite of the failures, what voters want from their leaders. What they will always want. In Bangladesh, under the nethri system, there is no question of our men in high places even understanding what is meant by the term 'closer to the heart'. And yet we, far more than the Canadians, need a new mentality, closer to the heart.

 

Closer to the heart.

 

Ezajur Rahman

Kuwait

 

 

Closer To The Heart lyrics
Rush


And the men who hold high places
Must be the ones who start
To mould a new reality
Closer to the heart
Closer to the heart

The blacksmith and the artist
Reflect it in their art
They forge their creativity
Closer to the heart
Closer to the heart

Philosophers and ploughmen
Each must know his part
To sow a new mentality
Closer to the heart

 

 

 

 


--- In alochona@yahoogroups.com, Sajjad Hossain <shossain456@...> wrote:
>
> Dear Neo Awami Ezajur
>
> You used to be supporter of MUA (Moin Uddin Ahmed) and FUA (Fakru Uddin Ahmed). At that time you were wearing the sheep skin.  Then you demonstrated your true color when you went from Kuwait to Sylhet to participate in the election campain f Abul Mal Abdul Muhit. God know who funded your trip. After Awami League returned to power through the massive rigging with the help of MUA and his DGFI machineries, you have become a more Awami Leager than Sheikh Mujib. Within two months, Awami Leage turned the country into a living hell. People like you are blaming BNP for each and evey chaos. BNP left from power in 2006 October and now it is 2009 March. Now seems to me you are trying to jump from the ship? When the amount of postings I see of your, I imagine how much time you spend writing those. Don't you have a family? or you don't care about them?
>
> Statutory Warming. Nouka and Awami League are severely damaging to the health of Bangladesh.
>
> SH
> Toronto
>
>
>
>
> ________________________________
> From: Ezajur Rahman ezajur.rahman@...
> To: alochona@yahoogroups.com
> Sent: Sunday, March 22, 2009 2:29:25 AM
> Subject: [ALOCHONA] State of the Nation
>
>
> Dear Alochoks
>  
> Here are the headlines from today’s New Age Online Edition.
> Just look at it!!!
>  
> It is true that the government has yet to settle down as it has only been in power a few months.
> It is also true that it is not directly responsible for many of these problems.
>  
> But for the sake of the country we should all hope and pray that it puts the right people in the right positions.
> And puts law and order as a top priority.
>  
> Otherwise, as it stands now, matters are not looking good.
>  
> And it doesn't help that most of the AL supporters I know think that the Government is doing the best it possibly can.
> That's not good enough. Much more political effort needs to be poured into law and order.
> There’s more to Bangladesh than having Bongobondhu’s daughter as Prime Minister.
>  
> The stories of recent threats against English medium schools are not good at all.
> And, if true, the nation is in for an even more difficult time ahead.
>  
> Ezajur Rahman
> Kuwait
>  
>  
>  
>  
> New Age Headlines 22/3/09
>  
> Ex-deputy speaker in 30-day detention
>  
> Two killed, 16 shops, factories burned in city fires
>  
> Organised crimes back from wilderness
>  
> Patients unattended for 16hrs as DMCH interns on strike
>  
> 1 killed in BarisalALinfighting
>  
> Ten killed in bus-truck collision in Tangail
>  
> 19 more BDR men remanded
>  
> High food price pushes up number of malnourished children in 2008
>  
> One killed in gun attack in city
>  
> Political science students agitate at Dhaka Univ
>





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