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Tuesday, February 2, 2010

[ALOCHONA] Bangladesh to honour Indian soldiers killed in Liberation War



Bangladesh to honour Indian soldiers killed in 1971 Liberation War

DHAKA: Bangladesh will honour the Indian Army for its key role in the country's 'Liberation War' against Pakistan by inscribing the names of Indian soldiers killed in the 1971 military operation at a special memorial in the heart of the capital.

Bangladesh will seek a list of martyred Indian soldiers in the 1971 Liberation War against Pakistan in a bid to honour them by inscribing their names at a memorial at Suhrawardy Udyan park, Tajul Islam, the state minister of Liberation War Affairs, said today."We are yet to know how many Indian soldiers lost their lives in our Liberation War. We will soon seek a list through the foreign ministry," Islam told reporters. He said the names of the martyred Indian soldiers would be inscribed at the memorial. "Bangladesh will never forget India's role in 1971 war," he underlined.

The announcement to honour the Indian soldiers came as a visiting military delegation led by Lt-Gen Vijay Kumar Singh, the next chief of the Indian Army, called on Islam at his office.Lt-Gen Singh, currently Eastern Army Command chief at Kolkata, will take over as the next Army chief from General Deepak Kapoor on March 31.

Bangladesh won its independence after nine months of bloody struggle with the Pakistani military with crucial Indian support.The Liberation struggle sparked the Indo-Pak war on December 3, 1971, and ended with the surrender of the Pakistani military to the Indian Army.

The minister said Bangladesh plans to invite 30 Indian 1971 veterans to join "independence day celebrations" on March 26.

Ten Indian war veterans, led by Lt. Gen (retd) JFR Jacob, the chief of staff of the Indian Army's Eastern Command during the 1971 campaign, joined Bangladesh's Independence Day celebrations two years ago for the first time at the invitation of former Bangladesh Army chief Moeen U Ahmed.

http://www.dnaindia.com/world/report_bangladesh-to-honour-indian-soldiers-killed-in-1971-liberation-war_1342490


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[ALOCHONA] Chatra League stop admission again



BCL men stop admission again

Stick to demand for 'political quota' at Dhaka College

 

Bangladesh Chhatra League men yesterday halted interview of first year honours admission at Sathkhira City College for about half an hour demanding a "political quota" and continued barring holding of interview at Dhaka College.

Meanwhile, the admission process at Kushtia Government College resumed yesterday, a day after it was halted by BCL.

Moreover, the council of teachers of Dhaka College held an emergency meeting yesterday and decided to suspend all admission activities today.

Witnesses said some BCL workers, loyal to its Dhaka College unit President Sagir Ahmed and General Secretary Tutul, entered its hall room and stopped the interview process soon after it resumed at about 9:00am yesterday.

The admission process has remained stalled at the collage for last four days as on Saturday the BCL men stopped it demanding their quota.

BCL leaders, however, claimed that students who have appeared at the admission test under the National University staged demonstrations on the campus and stopped the admission process demanding publication of its full result.

As per the new rules, this year the National University has published admission test results against the seat capacity of a college without hanging any waiting list.

Asked, BCL leader Sagir told The Daily Star that BCL men were not involved in halting the admission process at Dhaka College but students who sit for the admission tests have created this situation demanding publication of full result to know their individual fate.

Refuting allegations of admission trade, Sagir said, "We (BCL leaders) have sat with the college authorities and placed the demand of the students. I hope that the admission process will start on Thursday as the authorities have discussed the issue with the National University."

Talking to reporters Principal of Dhaka College Sirajuddin Ahmed said a certain quarter halted the admission process. They will announce a fresh date today to resume it, he added.

The teachers' council also decided to hold a "protest meeting" at the college auditorium 12:00noon today protesting the attack on the teachers yesterday, said a press release of the office of Principal of Dhaka College.

College principal chaired the meeting where they decided to inform the matter to higher authority concerned.

The release also said some miscreants in guise of students put obstruction in the admission process of the honours first year of 2009-2010 academic session, stopped admission seekers and vandalised some rooms of the college and assault some teachers.

The meeting endorsed a condemnation proposal for the incident and demanded legal actions against the miscreants.

Our Satkhira correspondent adds: At least six to eight BCL men confined teachers of Satkhira City College for 15 minutes to a room where they were taking interview of the admission seekers.

The interview process resumed after half an hour as college unit BCL General Secretary Aminur Rahman rushed in and unlocked the room.

BCL has been demanding a "political quota" in the admission to the college for the last few days.

Our Kushtia correspondent adds: The interview of first year honours admission seekers resumed at Kushtia Government College at 9:00am yesterday after the Chhatra League men halted it on Monday.

Principal of the college Professor Hasanuzzaman said yesterday's interview of the admission seekers was taken following due process.

On Monday, BCL men along with some outsiders led by BCL college unit General Secretary Al-Mamun entered the principal's room and asked him to keep a quota of at least 100 seats in the admission.

They also locked up rooms of several departments and the accounts section to stop sale of admission forms when the principal refused to meet their demand.




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[ALOCHONA] Border markets from mid April



Border shopping from mid-April

Bangladesh, India work on formalities

 

Border markets will open on a pilot basis between Bangladesh and India on Pahela Baishakh, the Bangla New Year, to facilitate trade between the two countries' people living in remote frontier areas.

Primarily, three border points have been selected for the markets which will be set up encompassing 50 metres of areas on both sides of the border from respective zero points.

The markets will be set up at the border points between Sonarhat under Goain Ghat in Sylhet and Linkhat in India; between Lawar Ghar under Taherpur upazila in Sunamganj and Kalia Char in India; and between Balia Bari under Bajitpur upazila in Kurigram and Naliakata in India.

Special mechanisms will be put in place including barbed wire fencing of the markets to make sure shoppers return to their own countries, but they will need no visa to enter the border markets, officials of Bangladesh foreign ministry said.

"Necessary formalities will be completed before opening the border markets," said a news release from Bangladesh commerce ministry.

The decision was taken after an elaborate discussion between Indian High Commissioner in Dhaka Rajeet Mitter and Bangladesh Commerce Minister Faruk Khan when the former called upon the latter in Bangladesh Secretariat yesterday.

The decision follows an Indo-Bangladesh summit which in a joint communiqué agreed to establish border markets on a pilot basis at selected areas, including at the Meghalaya border, to allow cross-border trade in specific products in accordance with the regulations agreed upon by both governments.

Border markets are much expected among the people on both sides of the border living in remote enclaves and hilly areas, as they find it difficult to buy and sell products needed in everyday life.

The commodities to be sold in the border markets are local agricultural products, fresh and dry fish, poultry, spices, forest products, dairy, and products of local cottage industries including furniture, utensils, and iron agricultural equipment.

In a meeting of Bangladesh-India Joint Working Group, India had proposed setting up 22 border markets. What is now the border between the two countries, used to be dotted by markets when India was undivided, some of which continued to exist until the independence of Bangladesh.

The two countries share a border of 4,096 kilometres. In 2008-'09 India imported products of $277 million from Bangladesh, while Bangladesh imported products of $2,843 million from India, according to the commerce ministry news release. Trade experts of both countries however believe unofficial trade between the two countries surpasses the volume of official trade.

During yesterday's meeting, Rajeet Mitter and Faruk Khan hoped that the two countries will be able to implement the measures mentioned in the joint communiqué in the next six months to expand bilateral trade.

Joint Secretary to Bangladesh Commerce Ministry Dr Md Ruhul Amin Sarker and First Secretary to the Indian High Commission Susil Singhal were also present during the meeting.

Bangladesh and India signed the joint communiqué during Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's visit to New Delhi last month.




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[ALOCHONA] Frequent visit of Indian military commanders in Dhaka



Frequent visit of Indian military commanders in Dhaka
 
 
 
 


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[ALOCHONA] UN on poverty in Bangladesh



UN on poverty in Bangladesh
 
 
 
 


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[ALOCHONA] HC verdict summary




The Appellate Division has upheld the High Court judgment, but will add some modifications and observations of its own. Following is what the HC said in its 2005 verdict.



1. Bangladesh is a Sovereign Democratic Republic, governed by the Government of laws and not of men.

2. The Constitution of Bangladesh being the embodiment of the will of the Sovereign People of the Republic of Bangladesh, is the supreme law and all other laws, actions and proceedings, must conform to it and any law or action or proceeding, in whatever form and manner, if made in violation of the Constitution, is void and non est.

3. The Legislature, the Executive and the Judiciary are the three pillars of the Republic, created by the Constitution, as such, are bound by its provisions. The Legislature makes the law, the Executive runs the government in accordance with law and the Judiciary ensures the enforcement of the provisions of the Constitution.

4. All Functionaries of the Republic and all services of the Republic, namely, Civil Service, Defence Services and all other services, owe its existence to the Constitution and must obey its edicts.

5. State of emergency can only be declared by the President of the Republic on the advice of the Prime Minister, in case of imminent danger to the security or economic life of the Republic.

6. The Constitution stipulates a democratic Republic, run by the elected representatives of the people of Bangladesh but any attempt by any person or group of persons, how high so ever, to usurp an elected government, shall render themselves liable for high treason.

7. A proclamation can only be issued to declare an existing law under the Constitution, but not for promulgating a new law or offence or for any other purpose.

8. There is no such law in Bangladesh as Martial Law and no such authority as Martial Law Authority, as such, if any person declares Martial Law, he will be liable for high treason against the Republic. Obedience to superior orders is itself no defence.

9. The taking over of the powers of the Government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh with effect from the morning of 15th August, 1975, by Khandaker Mushtaque Ahmed, an usurper, placing Bangladesh under Martial Law and his assumption of the office of the President of Bangladesh, were in clear violation of the Constitution, as such, illegal, without lawful authority and without jurisdiction.

10. The nomination of Mr Justice Abusadat Mohammad Sayem, as the President of Bangladesh, on November, 6, 1975, and his taking over of the office of President of Bangladesh and his assumption of the powers of the Chief Martial Law Administrator and his appointment of the Deputy Chief Martial Law Administrators by the Proclamation issued on November 8, 1975, were all in violation of the Constitution.

11. The handing over of the office of Martial Law Administrator to Major General Ziaur Rahman BU, PSC, by the aforesaid Justice Abusadat Mohammad Sayem, by the Third Proclamation issued on November 29, 1976, enabling the said Major General Ziaur Rahman, to exercise all the powers of the Chief Martial Law Administrator, was beyond the ambit of the Constitution.

12. The nomination of Major General Ziaur Rahman, BU to become the President of Bangladesh by Justice Abusadat Mohammad Sayem, the assumption of office of the President of Bangladesh by Major General Ziaur Rahman, BU, were without lawful authority and without jurisdiction.

13. The Referendum Order, 1977 (Martial Law Order No 1 of 1977), published in Bangladesh Gazette on 1st May, 1977, is unknown to the Constitution, being made only to ascertain the confidence of the people of Bangladesh in one person, namely, Major General Ziaur Rahman, BU.

14. All Proclamations, Martial Law Regulations and Martial Law Orders made during the period from August 15, 1975 to April 9, 1979, were illegal, void and non est because:

i) Those were made by persons without lawful authority, as such, without jurisdiction,

ii) The constitution was made subordinate and subservient to those Proclamations, Martial Law Regulations and Martial Law Orders,

iii) Those provisions disgraced the Constitution which is the embodiment of the will of the people of Bangladesh, as such, disgraced the people of Bangladesh also,

iv) From August 15, 1975 to April 7, 1979, Bangladesh was ruled not by the representatives of the people but by the usurpers and dictators, as such, during the said period the people and their country, the Republic of Bangladesh, lost its sovereign republic character and was under the subjugation of the dictators,

v) From November 1975 to March, 1979, Bangladesh was without any Parliament and was ruled by the dictators, as such, lost its democratic character for the said period.

vi) The Proclamations etc., destroyed the basic character of the Constitution, such as, change of the secular character, negation of Bangalee nationalism, negation of Rule of law, ouster of the jurisdiction of Court, denial of those constitute seditious offence.

15. Paragraph 3A was illegal, firstly because it sought to validate the Proclamations, MLRs and MLOs which were illegal, and secondly, Paragraph 3A, made by the Proclamation Orders, as such, itself was void.

16. The Parliament may enact any law but subject to the Constitution. The Constitution (Fifth Amendment) Act, 1979 is ultra vires, because:

Firstly, Section 2 of the Constitution (Fifth Amendment) Act, 1979, enacted Paragraph 18, for its insertion in the Fourth Schedule to the Constitution, in order to ratify, confirm and validate the Proclamations, MLRs and MLOs etc. during the period from August 15, 1975 to April 9, 1979. Since those Proclamations, MLRs, MLOs etc., were illegal and void, there were nothing for the Parliament to ratify, confirm and validate.

Secondly, the Proclamations etc, being illegal and constituting offence, its ratification, confirmation and validation, by the Parliament were against common right and reason.

Thirdly, the Constitution was made subordinate and subservient to the Proclamations etc.

Fourthly, those Proclamations etc. destroyed its basic features.

Fifthly, ratification, confirmation and validation do not come within the ambit of 'amendment' in Article 142 of the Constitution.

Sixthly, lack of long title which is a mandatory condition for amendment, made the amendment void.

Seventhly, The Fifth Amendment was made for a collateral purpose which constituted a fraud upon the People of Bangladesh and its Constitution.

17. The Fourth Schedule as envisaged under Article 150 is meant for transitional and temporary provisions, since Paragraph 3A and 18, were neither transitional nor temporary, the insertion of those paragraphs in the Fourth Schedule are beyond the ambit of Article 150 of the Constitution.

18. The turmoil or crisis in the country is no excuse for any violation of the Constitution or its deviation on any pretext. Such turmoil or crisis must be faced and quelled within the ambit of the Constitution and the laws made thereunder, by the concerned authorities, established under the law for such purpose.

19. Violation of the Constitution is a grave legal wrong and remains so for all time to come. It cannot be legitimised and shall remain illegitimate forever, however, on the necessity of the State only, such legal wrongs can be condoned in certain circumstances, invoking the maxims, Id quod Alias Non Est Licitum, Necessitas Licitum Facit, salus populi est suprema lex and salus republicate est suprema lex.

20. As such, all acts and things done and actions and proceedings taken during the period from August 15, 1975 to April 9, 1979, are condoned as past and closed transactions, but such condonations are made not because those are legal but only in the interest of the republic in order to avoid chaos and confusion in the society, although distantly apprehended, however, those remain illegitimate and void forever.

21. Condonations of provisions were made, among others, in respect of provisions, deleting the various provisions of the Fourth Amendment but no condonation of the provisions was allowed in respect of omission of any provision enshrined in the original Constitution. The Preamble, Article 6, 8, 9, 10, 12, 25, 38 and 142 remain as it was in the original Constitution. No condonation is allowed in respect of change of any of these provisions of the Constitution. Besides, Article 95, as amended by the Second Proclamation Order No IV of 1976, is declared valid and retained.

We further declare:

i) The Constitution (Fifth Amendment) Act, 1979 (Act 1 of 1979) is declared illegal and void ab initio, subject to condonations of the provisions and actions taken thereon as mentioned above.

ii) The "ratification and confirmation" of The Abandoned Properties (Supplementary Provisions) Regulation, 1977 (Martial Law Regulation No VII of 1977) and Proclamations (Amendment) Order, 1977 (Proclamation Order No 1 of 1977) with regard to insertion of Paragraph 3A to Fourth Schedule of the Constitution by Paragraph 18 of the Fourth Schedule of the Constitution added by the Constitution (Fifth Amendment) Act, 1979 (Act 1 of 1979), is declared to have been made without lawful authority and is of no legal effect.

We further direct the respondents to handover the physical possession Hall at 11, Wiseghat, Dhaka, in favour of the Petitioners, within 60 (Sixty) days from the date of receipt of the copy of this Judgment and Order.

In the result, the Rule is made absolute but without any order as to costs.

Before parting with the case, I would like to express my deep gratitude to the learned Advocates appearing in this case for their unfailing assistance to us. I have enriched my knowledge by their profound learning and experience. I would like to put it on record my deep appreciation for all of them.

http://www.thedailystar.net/story.php?nid=124643


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[ALOCHONA] A Man Who Dared To Dream



Sheikh Mujibur Rahman

By Dr.Touhid Muhammad Faisal Kamal

Some of the biographers of the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman have said that he was the most astonishing and much talked about leader in South East Asia. In an age of military coup d'etat he attained power through elections and mass upsurge; in an age of decline of democracy he firmly established democracy in one of the countries of Asia and in an age of "Strong Men" he spurned the opportunity of becoming a dictator and instead chose to become the elected Prime Minister. The way he turned a nonviolent non-cooperation movement of unarmed masses into an armed struggle that successfully brought into reality the liberation of a new nation and the creation of a new state in barely ten months will remain a wonder of history.

March 7, 1971 was a day of supreme test in his life. The leaders of the military junta of Pakistan were on that day eagerly waiting to trap him. A contingent of heavily armed Pakistani troops was poised near the Suhrawardy Uddyan to wait for an order to start massacre the people on the plea of suppressing a revolt that Bangabandhu was about to declare against Pakistan at the meeting he was going to address there.

In fact, the entire Bangladesh was then in a state of revolt. The sudden postponement of the scheduled session of the newly elected National Assembly and the reluctance of the military leaders to transfer power to the elected representatives of the people had driven the people to desperation and they were seeking the opportunity to break away from the Pakistani colonial rule. Nearly two million freedom-loving people who assembled at the Suhrawardy Uddyan that day had but one wish, only one demand : "Bangabandhu, declare independence; give us the command for the battle for national liberation."

The Father of the Nation spoke in a calm and restrained language. It was more like a sacred hymn than a speech spellbinding two million people. His historic declaration in the meeting on that day was : "Our struggle this time is for freedom. Our struggle this time is for independence". This was the declaration of independence for Bangladeshis, for their liberation struggle. But he did not give the Pakistani military rulers the opportunity to use their arms. He foiled their carefully laid scheme. In the same speech he took care to put forward four proposals for the solution of the problem in a constitutional way and kept the door open for negotiations.

He was taller than the average Bangalee, had the same dark complexion and spoke in a vibrant voice. But what special power gave him the magnetic qualities of drawing a mass of seventy-five million people to him? This question stirred the minds of many people at home and abroad. He was not educated abroad nor was he born with a silver spoon in his mouth. Yet he was as dear to the educated Bangladeshi compatriots as to the illiterate and half-educated masses. He inspired the intelligentsia and the working classes alike. He did not climb to leadership overnight. It has been a slow and steady process. He attained his enviable eminence the hard way. He began as an humble worker at the bottom rung. He arduously climbed to the position of a national leader and rose to the very pinnacle as the Father of the Nation.

He was born in a middle class Bangalee family and his political leadership arose out of the aims and aspirations of the ordinary Bangalee. He was inseparably linked with the hopes and aspirations, the joys and sorrows, the travails and triumphs of these ordinary people. He spoke their language. He gave voice to their hopes and aspirations. Year after year he spent the best days of his youth behind the prison bars. That is why his power was the power of the people.

Whoever has once come in contact with him has admitted that his personality, a mingling of gentle and stern qualities, had an uncanny magical attraction. He is as simple as a child yet unbending in courage; as strong as steel when necessary. Coupled with this was his incomparable strength of mind and steadfast devotion to his own ideals. He was a nationalist in character, a democrat in behavior, a socialist in belief and a secularist by conviction.

Bangabandbu had to move forward step by step in his struggle. He had to change the tactics and the slogans of the movement several times. It can thus be said that though the period of direct struggle for freedom was only nine months, the indirect period of this struggle spread over 25 years. This 25-year period can be divided into several stages. These are : (a) organizational stage of the democratic movement; (b) movement against BPC or Basic Principles Committee's report; (c) language movement; (d) forging of electoral unity and the victory of the democratic United Front; (e) military rule; (f) movement against the military rule; (g) movement for autonomy; (h) the historic Six-Point movement; (i) electoral victory and the non-cooperation movement; and j) armed liberation struggle.

Bangabandhu has been closely associated with every phase of this 25-year long struggle for freedom and independence. Bangladesh and Bangabandhu have, therefore, become inseparable. We cannot speak of one without the other.

While still adolescent, he took his first political lesson from Hussain Shaheed Suhrawardy, a leading political personality of the then Bangladesh. It was in Faridpur that Young Suhrawardy and adolescent Sheikh Mujib came to know each other. Both of them were attracted to each other from that first acquaintance. Adolescent Mujib grew up under the gathering gloom of the storm-tossed politics of the sub-continent and the Second World War. He witnessed the ravages of war and the stark realities of the 1943 famine and the epidemics in which about five million people lost their lives. The miserable plight of the people under colonial rule turned him into a rebel.

He passed his matriculation examination in 1942. His studies had been interrupted for about four years due to an attack of beriberi. He got acquainted with the revolutionary activities of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose during the Hallwell Monument movement in Calcutta. Suhrawardy's staunchly logical approach and Subhash Bose's spirit of dedication influenced him immensely. He was influenced by another great leader, "Sher-e-Bangla" A.K. Fazlul Huq and his political philosophy of the plain fare ("dal-bhat") for all. At that very early stage he realised that in a poor exploited country political programmes must be complimentary to economic programmes.

He completed his college education in Calcutta. His sojourn to the prisons began in his teens. He first spent six days in a prison for participating in a political movement. While he was a student in Calcutta, he moved the natural eddies of the political movements of the subcontinent and got himself associated with the Muslim League and the Pakistan movement. But soon after the creation of Pakistan and the partition of Bengal in 1947, he realised that his people had not attained real independence. What had happened was a change of masters. Bangladesh would have to make preparations for independence movement a second time.

He graduated in the same year and came to develop a deep acquaintance with the works of Bernard Shaw. Karl Marx and Rabindranath Tagore. The horizon of his thought process began to expand from that time. He realised that Bangladesh was a geographical unit and its geographical nationalism was separate; its economic, political and cultural characters were also completely different from those of the western part of Pakistan. Over and above, linguistic differences and a physical distance of about 1,500 miles between them made the two parts of Pakistan totally separate from each other.

He could, therefore, realize that by keeping the two areas under the forced bonds of one state structure in the name of religious nationalism, rigid political control and economic exploitation would be perpetrated on the eastern part. This would come as a matter of course because the central capital and the economic and military headquarters of Pakistan had all been set up in the western part.

The new realization and political thinking took roots in his mind as early as 1948. He was then a student in the Law faculty of Dhaka University. A movement was launched that very year on the demand to make Bengali one of the state languages of Pakistan. In fact, this movement can be termed as the first stirrings of the movement of an independent Bangladesh. This demand for cultural freedom gradually led to the demand for national independence. During that language movement, Bangabandhu was arrested on March 11, 1948. During the blood-drenched language movement of 1952 also he was pushed behind the bars and took up leadership of the movement from inside the jail.

Bangabandhu was also in the forefront of the movement against the killing of policemen by the army in Dhaka in 1948. He was imprisoned for lending his support to the strike movement of the lower grade employees of Dhaka University. He was expelled from the University even before he came out of the prison.

In 1950, Prime Minister Liaquat Ali Khan of Pakistan announced the Basic Principles Committee's report for framing a constitution. This report manipulated to turn the majority of Bangladesh into a minority through subterfuges, and to make Urdu the state language. There was a spontaneous countrywide upsurge in Bangladesh against this report and the Bangabandhu was at its forefront.

Bangabandhu was elected Joint Secretary of the newly formed political organization, the Awami League. Previously he had been the leader of the progressive students' organization, the Chhatra League. In 1953 he was elected General Secretary of the Awami League.

Elections to the then Provincial Assembly of Bangladesh was held in 1954. A democratic electoral alliance-the United Front-against the ruling Muslim League was forged during that election. The 21 -point demand of the United Front included full regional autonomy for Bangladesh and making of Bengali one of the state languages.

The United Front won the elections on the basis of the 21 -point programme and Bangabandhu was elected member of the Provincial Assembly. He joined the Huq Cabinet of the United Front as its youngest Minister. The anti-people ruling clique of Pakistan dissolved this Cabinet soon and the Bangabandhu was thrown into prison.

In 1955 he was elected member of the second Constituent Assembly of Pakistan. He was again appointed a Minister when the Awami League formed the Provincial Cabinet in 1956. But he voluntarily left the Cabinet in July 1957 in order to devote himself fully to the task of reorganizing the party.

General Ayub Khan staged a military coup in Pakistan in 1958 and the Bangabandhu was arrested on various charges and innumerable cases were framed against him. He got back his freedom after 14 months of solitary confinement but was re-arrested in February 1962.

THE AWAMI LEAGUE

The Bangabandhu revived the Awami League after the death of Mr. H.S. Suhrawardy in 1963. By that time the military Junta had lifted the ban on political parties. Thus the Awami League began its constitutional struggle under the leadership of the Bangabandhu to realize the demand for self-determination of the Bangalees.

The Bangabandhu placed his historic Six-Point programme at a political conference in Lahore in 1966. This programme called for a federal state structure for Pakistan and full autonomy for Bangladesh with a parliamentary democratic system. The Six- Point programme became so popular in a short while that it was turned into the Charter of Freedom for the Bangladeshis or their Magna Carta. The Army Junta of Pakistan threatened to use the language of weapons against the Six-Point movement and the Bangabandhu was arrested under the Defence Rules on May 8, 1966. The powerful mass upsurge that burst forth throughout Bangladesh in protest against this arrest of the Bangabandhu came to be known as June Movement.

On June 17, 1968 he was removed from Dhaka Central Jail to Kurmitola Cantonment and was charged with conspiring to make Bangladesh independent with the help of India. This case is known as the Agartala Conspiracy case. He was the No. 1 accused in the case. While the trial was in progress in the court of a military tribunal the administration of the military junta collapsed as a consequence of a great mass upsurge in Bangladesh at the beginning of 1969.

As a result, he was released together with all the other co-accused. The case was withdrawn and the Bangabandhu was invited to a Round Table Conference at the capital of Pakistan. At this conference President Ayub Khan requested Bangabandhu to accept the Prime Ministership of Pakistan. Bangabandhu rejected the offer and remained firm in his demand for the acceptance of his Six-Point programme.

President Ayub Khan stepped down from power on March 25, 1969 and General Yahya Khan took over the leadership of the army junta, Apprehending a new movement in Bangladesh he promised to re-establish democratic rule in Pakistan and made arrangements for holding the first general elections in December, 1970. Under the leadership of the Bangabandhu. the Awami League won an absolute majority in the elections. The military junta was unnerved by the results of the elections. The conspiracy then started to prevent the transfer of power. The session of the newly elected National Assembly was scheduled for March 3, 1971. By an order on March 1, General Yahya postponed this session.

It acted like a spark to the powder keg; entire Bangladesh burst into flames of political upheaval. The historic non-cooperation movement began. For all practical purposes Bangabandhu took over the civil -administration of Bangladesh. The military junta however began to increase the strength of its armed forces in Bangladesh secretly and to kill innocent Bangalees at different places.

Yahya Khan came to Dhaka by the middle of March to have talks with Bangabandhu. Mr. Zulflqar Ali Bhutto and other leaders also came a few days later. When everybody was feeling that the talks were going to be successful Yahya Khan stealthily left Dhaka in the evening of March 25. The barbarous genocide throughout Bangladesh began from that midnight.

Bangabandhu was arrested at midnight of March 25 and was flown to the western wing. But before he was arrested, he formally declared independence of Bangladesh and issued instructions to all Bangladeshis, including those in the armed forces and in the police to take up arms to drive out the Pakistani occupation forces.

For ten long months from March 1971 to January 1972 Bangabandhu was confined in a death-cell in the Pakistani prison. His countrymen did not even know if he was dead or alive. Still, stirred by his inspiration, the nation threw itself heart and soul into the hick of the liberation war and by the middle of December the whole of Bangladesh was cleared of the occupation forces.

Freed from the Pakistani prison, the Bangabandhu came back home on January 10, 1972 and stepped down from the Presidentship and took up the responsibility as the Prime Minister of independent Bangladesh on 12 January 1972. Immediately he took steps for the formulation of the Constitution of the country and to place it before the Constituent Assembly. After the passage of the Constitution on 4 November 1972, his party won an overwhelming majority in the elections held on 7 March 1973 and took up the responsibility of running the administration of the country for another five-year term. After the fourth amendment of the constitution on 25 January 1975 (changing the form of Government from the Parliamentary to the Presidential system), the Bangabandhu entered upon the office of the President of Bangladesh. Within three years of independence he put the war-ravaged country along the path of political stability and economic reconstruction. On 15 August 1975, he along with all the members (excluding two daughters, Sheikh Hasina and Sheikh Rehana who were abroad) of his family were brutally assassinated by a splinter group of armed forces.

The Bangabandhu is the Father of the Nation. His state philosophy has four pillars: Nationalism, Democracy, Socialism and Secularism. His foreign policy opened up new horizons of peace, cooperation and non-alignment throughout Asia. He visited many countries of Asia and Europe including China and the Soviet Union. Statesmen of many countries of Asia countries were his personal friends. He was awarded Julio Curie Peace Prize for his being a symbol of world peace and cooperation. In the eyes of the people in the third world, he is the harbinger of peace and development in Asia.

 




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[ALOCHONA] BDR chief hints at long ignored problems



BDR chief hints at long ignored problems
 
Dhaka, Feb 2 (bdnews24.com) — Bangladesh border guards chief, Major General Moinul Islam has suggested that the general tendency of overlooking problems had perhaps led to the BDR mutiny last year.

It was only after the bloody rebellion by soldiers of the Bangladesh Rifles that the authorities realised "the dirt under the carpet" had piled up.

In an exclusive interview with bdnews24.com on Feb 1 he candidly admitted, "We have a tendency to sweep the dirt under the carpet."

Hinting that the problems had piled up to unsustainable proportions, the BDR chief said, "But only after the carpet was bloodied by 58 fallen officers, did we find out that there was too much dirt under it."

The Bangladesh Rifles, has a rich history of valour and courage in not only protecting Bangladesh's borders but also for their role in the Liberation War.

In fact 2 of the 7 men awarded Bangladesh's highest gallantry award, the Bir Sreshtha, were riflesmen of the then East Pakistan Rifles — lance nayeks Nur Mohammad Sheikh and Munshi Abdur Rauf — besides receiving about 150 more gallantry awards for their role in the 9-month war for freedom.

The BDR men have since then defended the country's borders numerous times, often against a larger and better equipped opposition, protecting Bangladesh's sovereignty.

The BDR chief, appointed after his predecessor was executed by riflesmen on Feb 25, 2009, the first day of the two-day mutiny that shocked the entire nation, admitted openly that it was indeed a reflection of failure of huge proportions.

Referring to the prime minister's visit to Pilkhana, where 58 officers were executed by their soldiers, on the occasion of BDR Week, Moinul Islam said, "Even the PM had visited there the day before."

"The rebellion occurred the next day. That it was a failure of huge proportions does not need to be elaborated."

Almost a year later, the wounds have not yet healed.

Officials probe reports are yet to be submitted and made public. Trial of the mutineers is still underway as are the much needed reforms that the major general implicitly admitted to.

He said the BDR simply followed Pakistan's EPR model. But there will not be any major changes in that model other than increasing the border forces' personnel and weapons strength.

Moinul Islam said there were proposals to create 179 new Border Outposts (BOP). These include 89 BOPs along certain stretches where they be made denser (one every 5km instead of previous 9km).

They also include 69 BOPs in the hill tracts to ensure constant surveillance over certain stretches that were missed out before.

The reforms would require only about 2,300 additional members besdies the nine battalions approved from even before the mutiny last year, said the BDR boss.

These much needed reforms will also extend to the forces' scope of work, uniform and even its name, under provisions of the proposed 'Border Guard Bangladesh Act 2009', which Moinul Islam had submitted to the government on Dec 15, 2009.

There are also proposals to increase penalties for riflesmen, because according to the previous laws, the maximum sentence for riflesmen was seven years' imprisonment, apparently deemed insufficient for murder, rape, loot and arson that the riflesmen have been accused of.

General Islam's submission proposes death penalty for more severe crimes.

The BDR chief, however, refused to make comments about the CID investigation into the BDR massacre.

But he said, "The number of people arrested till now is for the murder charges filed against them with the New Market Police Station."

The BDR men had also allegedly killed a number of civilian pedestrians on the first day of the mutiny on Feb 25 last year.

The initial draft proposed to form mobile courts to resist smuggling which was later dropped. The mobile courts can sentence a smuggler to a maximum sentence of two years in prison following arrest.

The BDR director general elaborated on this matter and said that the final proposal excluded the provision of mobile courts. It was sent to the ministry concerned on Monday.

"Currently the draft is waiting to be presented at the cabinet meeting."

As part of the reforms, there is a proposal to change BDR's name to 'Border Guard Bangladesh' in the proposed law.

A highly placed source within the BDR told bdnews24.com that the new draft has been formulated proposing to dissolve the Bangladesh Rifles Order 1972 and Bangladesh Rifles (Special Provision) Ordinance 1976.

The proposed draft has provisions to form three types of courts for trials. They are the Special Courts, Special Summary Courts and Summary Courts. The Special Courts can award death sentences; the Special Summary Courts can give a maximum sentence of five years' imprisonment and the Summary Court can give a highest verdict of one year imprisonment based on the severity of the crime.

There is also provision for appeals against the verdict. The appeal tribunal to be presided over by the border forces' chief, can review the verdict and lower or raise the sentence.



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