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Monday, June 7, 2010

[ALOCHONA] Why You Won't See Me on the BBC



Why You Won't See Me on the BBC

By YVONNE RIDLEY

A BBC news crew has been chased away by angry protestors at a central London rally in support of Palestine. The very sight of the BBC logo on a microphone at Saturday's Stop the War Coalition protest turned some of the crowd nearby hostile; they vented their frustrations on the hapless crew who represent an organization which appears to be hell-bent on spewing out lies, distortions and manipulation of the truth about Gaza, its supporters and the brutal siege enforced by Israel.

Apart from a few moments of journalistic integrity and clarity – John Humphrys on Radio 4's Today programme, for example – the BBC's coverage of Israel's assault on the Gaza Freedom Flotilla has thrown the corporation's gold standard for journalistic integrity into a tail spin. The reputation of the world's best known broadcaster is lying in tatters, not because of the quality of the journalists it employs but because of the sinister political agenda pushed by its Director-General and a few of his cronies.

Without doubt, the BBC's coverage of events surrounding the Gaza-bound Freedom Flotilla has been at the very least questionable. For instance, on Saturday evening the news bulletins reported that 2,000 protestors had assembled outside the Israeli Embassy; the organisers put the figure on the march closer to 20,000. Even allowing for the fact that the space allocated for the rally near the embassy was very limited, 2,000 has to be an under-estimate. The BBC is renowned for doing this in reports of such protest events.

D-G Mark Thompson might not care much for the BBC's reputation but he should have a duty of care to his staff because it looks as if his pro-Israel stance is now endangering the safety of his own news teams, many of whom find his views repugnant in any case.

Of course, I've seen BBC staff being deliberately targeted before but until Saturday it has always been overseas, which is why most BBC journalists never stray too far from green zones and hotel rooftops in the Middle East and Asia conflict zones. British Foreign Policy is usually cited as the reason for the BBC being targeted.

As a journalist, I felt very uncomfortable by the events I witnessed at the protest rally but more and more BBC crews in Britain and across the world can expect this sort of treatment as long as Mark Thompson remains Director-General. For many, he left an indelible stain on the BBC's reputation when he refused to broadcast the Palestinian charity appeal in the aftermath of Operation Cast Lead in which more than 1,400 Palestinian civilians, one-third of them children, were killed by Israeli bombs and bullets. Real and lasting damage, however, was done when, in November 2005, Thompson and his wife Jane Blumberg travelled to Israel for what the Independent on Sunday called "peace talks" with the then "hard-line" Israeli prime minister, Ariel Sharon. The IoS claimed that, "Thompson... intends to build bridges with the country's political class". Never before had any BBC Director-General embarked on such a meeting and references to it are removed continually from Thompson's biography on Wikipedia, an indication of just how sensitive the whole event remains.

Around the country windows have been smashed at BBC offices, including Manchester. When your own listeners, viewers and financers - most of us are BBC licence fee payers - turn on you then surely you need to re-assess your coverage and the effect had on editorial policy by the personal political views of the organisation's head.

By continuing to side with the Israel (and let us not forget that it is Israel which is in illegal occupation of Palestinian land, not vice-versa), Mark Thompson has shown that he is not interested in freedom, justice or equality. These are qualities for which people are prepared to die and they have done, from Soweto to Sharpeville, from Leningrad to Stalingrad, from Jenin to Belin. I am growing increasingly concerned that his out-of-touch stance will endanger the lives of his staff around the world. He has turned the once respected BBC logo into a symbol of Zionism and hatred. He is not fit for purpose and should step down with immediate effect.

Thompson pledged in an email in July 2007 that the BBC would restore its damaged reputation for honesty and accuracy and around the same time he made an undertaking to Gavin Esler on BBC 2's Newsnight that, "From now on, if it [deceiving the public] happens we will show people the door."
Obviously someone close to Thompson believes that the best way to rebut his Zionist and pro-Israel allegiances is by erasing from Wikipedia any reference to them which – like his meeting with Ariel Sharon – lay bare his political bias. Lest anyone is still in doubt, analyse the BBC's coverage of this latest Israeli atrocity. No amount of whitewash on Wikipedia can hide the facts.

Yvonne Ridley is a founder of Women in Journalism, European President of the International Muslim Women's Union and a member of the Respect Party. She also presents two political shows – the Agenda and Rattansi & Ridley – on Press TV.



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[ALOCHONA] Fwd: Proper utilization of funds in our national treasury [1 Attachment]

[Attachment(s) from Isha Khan included below]

Proper utilization of funds in our national treasury

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Javed Ahmad

Please find the article attached. Thank you.

Attachment(s) from Isha Khan

1 of 1 File(s)


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[ALOCHONA] POEM: "What Is Not Allowed"



POEM: "What Is Not Allowed"

http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=19578

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[ALOCHONA] MAHMUDUR RAHMAN---- THE KULANGER!!!

Dear All,
Alhamdulillah, the master of "NAATER GURU" ---- king maker of UTTORA CONSPIRACY , BARKING DOG OF KHALEDA ZIA, notorious Mahmudur Rahman is finally in REMAND!!! This KULAANGER , PAID AGENT OF ISI will understand now "KOTO DHAANE KOTO CHAAL" !!! He will now understand the end result of YELLOW JOURNALISM!!! Where were those BIG MOUTH like Badruddin Umar, Ataus Samad ,
Shafiq Rehman , when Janakantha editor was arrested and remanded ?
Please open the link for details:
 
Dr. M. Ali

 



________________________________
From: Faruque Alamgir <faruquealamgir@gmail.com>
To: alochona@yahoogroups.com; wideminds <WideMinds@yahoogroups.com>; Sonar Bangladesh <sonarbangladesh@yahoogroups.com>; dahuk <dahuk@yahoogroups.com>; history_islam@yahoogroups.com; Bangla Zindabad <Bangladesh-Zindabad@yahoogroups.com>; Amra Bangladesi <amra-bangladesi@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Mon, June 7, 2010 1:52:19 PM
Subject: [WideMinds] Re: [ALOCHONA] Mr. Motiur Rahman, please explain yourself

 
NO ONE SHOULD EXPECTED THE IDENTIFIED AGENT IN GUISE JOUNALIST TO BE PATRIOT OR HAVE MINIMUM SANITY OR HONESTY.
THE KULANGARS OF JOURNALISM OF THE PRESENT DAY LIKE EDITORS OF P.ALO/D.STAR/ RAW KHANTHA/SONGBAD ETC ETC DO DEFINITELY FALL UNDER THE CATEGORY .........


On Thu, Jun 3, 2010 at 6:43 PM, Isha Khan <bdmailer@gmail. com> wrote:

 
>Mr. Motiur Rahman, please explain yourself

>June 16, 2009
>
>On reading the special editorialwritten by Matiur Rahman, Prothom Alo editor, the day his masterMoeen U. Ahmed retired as Army Chief, a number of questions came up. Actually, what came up first was disgust at the incredible level of smugness that was on display as Matiur Rahman pretended that the change of government that took place on January 11, 2007 did not happen with his direct knowledge and collusion. But eventually, on a second and third reading, some questions did come up.
>The intial point that struck me was the sheer disregard of journalistic ethos that Mr. Rahman puts on display here. If any of us bloggers had written this piece, our inboxes would be flooded by now with demands that we either back up what we wrote as facts or admit that they are baseless innuendo. I do not see why the standard should be any different for the editor of Bangladesh's most widely-circulated Bangla newspaper. In his article, Matiur Rahman states:
>    * After last year's election, a powerful portion of the Army wanted Moeen's tenure as Army Chief extended by another year.
>    * Presumably the same part of the Army wanted Moeen to become either Defense Minister or the "Joint Chief of Staff."
>    * After the Pilkhana massacre, Army officers openly criticized Moeen, inside and outside the Army, for not being able to save the lives of his men.
>    * The Government would still like to reward Moeen.
>    * Diplomatic sources say that Moeen may be made the Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York.
>Let us take these points one by one. After Moeen toppled the caretaker government in 2007 and promoted himself to General, he spent a great deal of time and energy putting his men in as many key army positions as he could, and sending army officers who refused to countenance his authority into forced retirement. Thus, it is probably not a surprise that Moeen still has a constituency left in the Army, even though, ideally, the entire Army should be his constituency.
>That there were ever any suggestions of Moeen being made Defense Minister or Joint Chief of Staff is quiet sensational news. If Motiur Rahman knew about this previously but did not inform us, his readers, he has done us a great disservice. As far as I know, Bangladesh has never had a Defense Minister, with the Prime Minister not being able to trust anyone else (unwisely, in my opinion) with this portfolio. For a very brief period of time, Khandoqar Mushtaq's government did set up a Combined Chief of Staff, but that was more to keep Maj. Gen. Ziaur Rahman, as Army Chief, from having any real power, than anything else. Moeen has already permanently distorted our defense establishment by promoting himself to General rank, giving nations around the world one more reason to titter at us behind our back. Appointing the same man to one of the posts described above would have been a momentous step; one we deserved to hear about ahead of time.
>The Pilkhana massacre laid bare the full extent of the damage that Moeen had done to the very institution he was supposed to protect and safeguard: the Bangladesh Army. Barely two years after he had stormed into Bongobhaban,  the Presidential Palace, and forced President Iajuddin Ahmed to retire as Chief Advisor, a democratic government barely two months old could scarcely trust him to again lead an operation in the heart of Dhaka. And so it was they fifty-plus of our officers were tortured and killed, while the government sat and dithered before, first allowing enough armour units to enter Dhaka, and then letting them approach Pilkhana. Moeen has undone the work of thousands of honest and dedicated officers who obeyed the constitutional dictate that our armed forces stay subservient to the civilian government, through his coup in 2007 and the torture he inflicted on a broad swathe of politicians from all across the political spectrum the next two years. Going forward, it will take years to mend the damage he has wrought.
>Therefore, we do not see how Matiur Rahman can now claim that Army officers have criticized and blamed Moeen for the loss of lives in Pilkhana. Why was Matiur Rahman silent when the government instituted an Army-probe into this massacre under the same person who was blamed for letting it happen? How could such a probe have any credibility with members of our armed forces, let alone the general public?
>Even after making these incredible allegations, Matiur Rahman then turns around and claims that even after the Pilkhana massacre, the government would like to still reward Moeen. The question begs to be asked, what is the government rewarding Moeen for? Providing the incompetent leadership that allowed so many of his men to be killed? Indirectly causing the mutiny – by green-lighting the BDR into Operation DalBhaat? Or, as Matiur Rahman hints near the end, because of the election held in 29 December, 2008? Do we really want to become a nation that remains in thrall to its Army Chief for allowing elections to go through?
>And do we really want our United Nations representative to be a wannabe military strongman? Asif Ali Zardari and Pervez Musharraf made a far more explicit pact after the Pakistani election. But even Musharraf did not have the gumption of trying to claim diplomatic immunity and representing our country in the world stage.
>Of course, if Moeen ever leaves Bangladesh, we can rest assured he will never return again. His underling Brig. Fazlul Bari had the right idea when he decided he liked America too much. One can confidently expect Moeen to follow suit; he has already made his liking for the balmy climate of Florida well-known. Perhaps, once they are united there, advance accommodations could be arranged for Gen. Masud as well.
>Fighting the rearguard battle to justify his own support for the overthrow of the CTG in 2007, Matiur Rahman claims that the new regime had "massive support" from the people. Yet, in the very next sentence, he is forced to acknowledge that Awami League only supported this move initially, until the true nature of the regime that followed became clear and Sheikh Hasina was herself thrown into jail after she spoke out against military intervention, through DGFI, in politics. BNP, of course, never supported the regime. Then how does Matiur Rahman find broad support for a regime which is not supported by BNP and AL, which together represent about 260 of the 300 seats in both the current as well as the former parliament?
>The job of a newspaper editor is different from that of a gossip columnist. It is really different from that of a sycophant. Unfortuna tely, Mr. Matiur Rahman seems unclear about both these distinctions. The activities of our last regime left behind enough tar to cover most of its proponents and supporters. With this piece, Matiur Rahman just slapped some more tar firmly on his face.
>http://rumiahmed. wordpress. com/2009/ 06/16/mr- motiur-rahman- please-explain- yourself/


[ALOCHONA] Bangladesh, Burma: Maritime Dispute Resolution



 "The Maritime Boundary Dispute between Bangladesh and Myanmar: Motivations, Potential Solutions, and Implications" 

The Full text article can be accessed here.

http://nbr.org/publications/asia_policy/AP10/AP10_D_Maritime.pdf

 

 

Bangladesh, Burma: Maritime Dispute Resolution

Animesh Roul

June 7, 2010.

http://asiasecurity.macfound.org/blog/entry/111bangladesh_burma_maritime_dispute_resolution/

 

In January this year both Bangladesh and Burma (Myanmar) have agreed to settle the longstanding maritime dispute over offshore oil and gas rights in the Bay of Bengal. They have reportedly demarcated the disputed sea boundary following the principles of equidistance and equity of resources. But again, two months later, in March 2010, Myanmar has proposed to draw a new line somewhere near the imaginary 'Friendship line' (close to St Martins Island) to demarcate the maritime boundary with Bangladesh.

 

The situation deteriorated in November 2008 (Read my commentary on the issue "Standoff in the Bay of Bengal") when Bangladesh deployed warships and army along its border with Myanmar over the latter's bid to explore oil and gas in the disputed maritime zone.  Myanmar dismissed Bangladesh's claims on this oil-rich area as "unlawful" and vowed to continue exploration. India, the largest of the three littoral countries, has remained a mute spectator so far. Other than India, China and South Korea are also in the race for exploration of hydrocarbons in the Bay of Bengal. This unresolved issue could emerge as a major bone of contention that would trigger future resource conflict among Southeast Asian neighbors.

 

A recently published paper titled "The Maritime Boundary Dispute between Bangladesh and Myanmar: Motivations, Potential Solutions, and Implications" (Asia Policy, National Bureau of Asian Research, Number 10, July 2010) examines the issue in detail and explores 'avenues for resolution and the resulting implications' for both the countries and the region.

 

The Paper makes some vital policy suggestions:

 

·          A maritime boundary agreement would allow Bangladesh and Myanmar to begin exploiting potential resources, which could help alleviate Bangladesh's gas crisis and bring more foreign reserves to Myanmar.

·          Gas discoveries in Myanmar's newly delineated maritime territory will likely rouse competition for gas exports between China and India similar to that over gas from the Shwe fields.

·          Gas discoveries in the overlapping claims area offer the opportunity for Myanmar to create stronger economic, strategic, and political links with India.

·          Development of energy infrastructure in northwestern Myanmar will disproportionately challenge the livelihood of the Rohingya.

·          Some scope exists for regional multilateral organizations, especially BIMSTEC, to help engender cooperation in the Bay of Bengal region.

·          If settled through the ITLOS, the dispute could provide legal precedent that affects future maritime boundary cases elsewhere.

 

The Full text article can be accessed here.

http://nbr.org/publications/asia_policy/AP10/AP10_D_Maritime.pdf



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[ALOCHONA] Re: Amar Desh editor arrested after closure



Gentlemen,

I am dumbfounded by the language.  I quote few lines.

"Bloody fakiror zaath. Can't arrest any in the CTG or any murderers singing nouka, Nouka - but acting really big with Amader Desh."

And

"You turned MR into a hero! Well. Okay then... Please reply. I'm ready to fight."

Is this the level of decency you are portraying in this forum?  I believe even a rickshaw puller will be disgusted.

I believe everybody has a right to have and express his/her own opinion which may not echo with your opinion. If you want to win then win it with arguments. The phrases like "Your opinion is the opinion of the cowardly who manipulate the power of government to deal with what you cannot deal with in public debate etc etc. " are written with very bad taste. You are demeaning somebody by your wordings only without presenting any logic. I am sorry but I am limited by my decency not to use words harsher than these.

If I remember correctly, this gentleman was a very big advocate of CTG. To the extent that he felt himself very elevated because he had the opportunity to shake hand with Gen. Moin during General's visit to Kuwait. (See old postings in this forum). Now he is talking about arrest in the CTG. Still I will not call it hypocrisy. He is ready to fight but with whom, where and how? With this language?  I think he is fully capable of that. Give me a break man.

In the end I will request the moderator to block all the postings like this with indecent language in this forum.

 Regards

Junaid


--- In alochona@yahoogroups.com, "ezajur" <Ezajur@...> wrote:
>
> Your opinion is the opinion of the cowardly who manipulate the power of government to deal with what you cannot deal with in public debate.
>
> Your opinion is the opinion of the enslaved mind who could not disagree with actions of his master - no matter what the master said or did.
>
> Your opinion is the opinion of the victim who is forever injured by the curse of the personality cult.
>
> Your opinion is the opinion of the feeble who are unable to break free of blind loyalty and find the truth for themselves.
>
> Your opinion is the opinion of the lazy who cannot stop suckling at the breast of his party leader irrespective of anything and everything.
>
> So what if your white colleague says the Daily Star alleges corruption before he places his tender? Based on probabilities and statistics within one of earth's most corrupt nations the DS was probably right to make its allegations whatever they were.
>
> Though now of course you must be very happy that the DS almost makes NO allegations at all under an AL government! Because now we climbed a few places from the bottom of the world corruption table!
>
> Hypocrite!
>
> You think AL is brave enough to arrest Mahmudur Rahman? On what charges? You don't have the guts to list them - just hide behind something about the legality of the publisher?! Snivelling snakes.
>
> Do you know which newspaper editor did not sign the letter protesting his arrest? Or do you think that all papers that protest the arrest should be banned too?
>
> You are trying to take down Mahmudur Rahman because you are scared of him.
>
> Bloody fakiror zaath. Can't arrest any in the CTG or any murderers singing nouka, Nouka - but acting really big with Amader Desh.
>
> Murgis have bigger brains than people who plan AL and BNP strategies.
>
> You turned MR into a hero! Well. Okay then... Please reply. I'm ready to fight.
>
> Ezajur Rahman
> Kuwait
>
>
>
> --- In alochona@yahoogroups.com, "Mohd. Haque" haquetm83@ wrote:
> >
> > In my opinion AL did the right thing by closing down the Amar Desh and shutting up Mahmudur Rahman. He was going too far to established his freedom of speach.
> >  
> > Few years back, an official (a non bangladeshi friend of mine) from a Development Financing Institution commenting that before we even invite for the bidding for a project, Daily Star starts printing lot of allegation of corruptions, so to speak.
> >  
> > We have noticed every possible human group were formed to decry corruptions done by BNP until they unseat them.
> >  
> > AL is brave enough, not to let them into the same trap. Well done!
> >
> > --- On Wed, 2/6/10, Isha Khan bdmailer@ wrote:
> >
> >
> > From: Isha Khan bdmailer@
> > Subject: [ALOCHONA] Amar Desh editor arrested after closure
> > To:
> > Date: Wednesday, 2 June, 2010, 2:47 AM
> >
> >
> >  
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > Amar Desh editor arrested after closure
> >  
> > Dhaka, June 1 (bdnews24.com)â€" Police early on Wednesday morning stormed the Amar Desh newspaper office and arrested acting editor Mahmudur Rahman on fraud charges, hours after the government closed the BNP-leaning daily.
> >
> > The newspaper's deputy editor Syed Abdal Ahmed told bdnews24.com that Mahmudur was taken away minutes before 4am after police had talked with his lawyer at his Karwan Bazaar office. The arrest capped a 17-hour drama played out after the paper's publisher Hashmat Ali Hashu, who himself was briefly 'detained', sued Mahmudur on Tuesday night.
> >
> > Police had been trying to arrest the acting editor, a BNP stalwart, but were held out by staff since shortly before midnight. The staff barricaded the main entrance to the office for several hours and shut the lift for the 10th floor office. They staged protests and vowed that their chief would have to be arrested 'over their dead bodies' as police reinforcements were brought in. Police then sought their cooperation but were refused before forcing their into the office at 3:30am to end the standoff. Ahmed, also the chief correspondent, had earlier told bdnews24.com that police shut down the paper's press at Love Road in Tejgaon at 11:30pm.
> >
> > Leaders of opposition BNP and its associate organisations gathered at the scene after bdnews24.com broke the news. BNP vice chairman Abdullah Al Noman, standing committee member Nazrul Islam Khan, BNP chairperson's press secretary Maruf Kamal Khan, Shimul Biswas, Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal president Sultan Salahuddin Tuku were also there.
> >
> > The events unfolding since morning--when Hashmat's family said he had been whisked away by intelligence men to an undisclosed place--took a new twist when the Dhaka's deputy commissioner Muhibul Haque cancelled the paper's declaration. The commissioner signed an order to this effect at 10pm, an official of his office said, preferring anonymity. But Mahmudur had told reporters at his office that police shut the press without showing the papers of the order cancelling the declaration.
> >
> > It was not clear on what grounds the broadsheet, which hit the stands during BNP-led government's term in Sept, 2004, was closed. The government last month knocked private TV station Channel 1 off the air citing irregularities.
> >
> > Journalist Abdal told bdnews24.com around 11:35pm, " The press started printing Wednesday's paper an hour before but police did not allow distribution to news agent's. "They said printing will stop." Tejgaon Industrial Area police chief Omar Faruk earlier told bdnews24.com that a complaint had been lodged against Mahmudur, who earlier in the day alleged that the government was planning to shut down the newspaper. Faruk said the case alleged financial losses.
> >
> > The former energy adviser to ex-prime minister Khaleda Zia rushed a news conference at the pro-BNP daily's office and said he had talked with Hashmat after he had returned from his detention at National Security Intelligence office, who had told him that he was 'frightened'. Mahmudur said the NSI men took Hasmat and forced him to sign two papers. "He was made to sit at their office until 2pm while the investigators pressed him to sign two papers." "One of the papers was addressed to Dhaka's deputy commissioner and the other to Tejgaon police chief. The papers state that Hashmat Ali is not the publisher of Amar Desh. Legal steps can be taken as his name is being printed as the publisher."
> >
> > "He was forced to sit until he signed the papers. Later Hashmat Ali signed the papers and was released after a five-hour detention," said Mahmudur. A former executive chairman of the Board of Investment, Mahmudur said the press meet was organised to protest the current government's 'fascist' behaviour and conspiracy against the news media.
> >
> > Hashmat's family had earlier told bdnews24.com that he had been detained for six hours after some intelligence officials whisked him away around 9am. He returned to his Shahjahanpur residence around 3pm but went out, they said.
> >
> > Mahmudur had claimed around 1pm that National Security Intelligence took Hashmat and were forcibly trying to file a case against him.
> > NSI director Shafiqullah told bdnews24.com earlier that they had not detained anybody by that name. "He is probably sitting at home."
> > "This is reminiscent of June 16, 1975 when all but four newspapers were banned," Mahmudur said of Ali's detention. "Coincidentally, this is June again."
> >
> > "I have heard that he is being coerced into bringing charges against me," he told bdnews24.com. "Is this what they have learnt from the Moeen Uddins, the perpetrators of 1/11?" "I guess they will try to file a case against me," he said.
> >
> > Mahmudur took over the management of the newspaper in 2008. Later he sent a letter to the deputy commissioner for serving as editor of the newspaper. Since then he has been the acting editor of the newspaper. Mahmudur, also the chairman of Amar Desh Publications Limited, said "This daily speaks for a free and sovereign state. As a result, many of its news are not going in favour of the government and are displeasing them. So they are trying to shut it down." 
> >  
> >  
> >  
> > http://www.newagebd .com/2010/ jun/02/front. html
> >  
> > http://www.bbc. co.uk/bengali/ news/2010/ 06/100601_ ka_amardesh_ closure.shtml
> >  
> > http://amardeshonli ne.com/pages/ details/2010/ 06/02/34715
> >  
> > http://amardeshonli ne.com/pages/ details/2010/ 06/02/34632
> >  
> > http://www.samakal. com.bd/details. php?news= 13&action=main&option=single&news_id=69691&pub_no=354
> >
>



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Re: [ALOCHONA] Assaulting Mahmud & Daily Amar Desh



Friends


Please be assured that the courageous of all time in the History of Bangladesh journalism "Mahmudur Rahman" will survive the fascist BAL's tricks of Remand n might meet the fate of Tareq Rahaman surly. As the BAL always fear the people so, they always coerce the people n keep them under continuous threat of concocted stories of "Jongibad"(like Bagh ailo Bagh Ailo of the Rakhal balak) so they fear the Manush Rupi Bagh the Mahmudur Rahman.
Be it sure that anything otherwise happens with this "OKUTO BHOI NIR BHIK KOLOM SOINIK" will have long long effect on the politics of BAKSAL strangulating the freedom of expression etc etc.

Let the heroic sacrifice of the Martyrs remain ever glowing in the "Akash Batash Nodi Prantor" of BANGLADESH  n the Lal Sabuj Pataka to fly high with right dignity n honour forever n ever.

 

BANGLADESH  ZINDABAD
ZINDABAD 
BANGLADESH ZINDABAD


Faruque Alamgir



On Mon, Jun 7, 2010 at 5:54 PM, Isha Khan <bdmailer@gmail.com> wrote:
 

  • Assaulting Mahmud & Daily Amar Desh

  • http://www.chintaa.com/index.php/campaigndetails/index/5/english

    Punishing the dissenter

    Chintaa Report
    Sunday 06 June 10
     

    Concerns about Safety of Mahmudur Rahman

    The chronology of events that lead to the arrest of Acting Editor of Amar Desh is scandalous by the very nature by which government has abused executive power and misused legal instruments. This will create serious problem in the efforts of the people to go by the rule of law and create a reasonable space within the present nature of power to practice democratic values. Silencing the dissenting voice is also embarrassing for Bangladesh development partners who often sermon on human rights, freedom of thought, conscience and press. As we could notice, from the media the diplomatic community has expressed their concerns within the paradigm of their foreign policy objective in Bangladesh. But it is also clear that the blatant interventions that we used to the see during the past regime for wrong causes, of which Mahmudur Rahman was critical and vocal, is now pathetically timid and shy.
    The government is filing one case after another against Mahmudur Rahman in order to keep him in the jail. A transparent judicial process free from the manipulation of the ruling regime could definitely conclude that all these allegations are simply fabricated, nasty tricks of politics. Nevertheless, what concerns us gravely is the repeated attempt to take Mahmudur Rahman for remand. Human Rights Defenders of Bangladesh are worried, because there was series of attempts on his life on several occasion. There is a culture of custodial torture and death in Bangladesh. In its latest update on Mahmudur Rahman the internationally acclaimed human rights organisation Odhikar in a statement issued on 6 June 2010 expressed their concern about the safety and life of Mahmudur Rahman. The Statement says:

    Mahmudur Rahman, the Acting Editor of the Bengali Daily Amar Desh, was arrested under sections 419, 420 and 500 of the Code of Criminal Procedure under the Tejgaon Industrial Area Police Station Case No. 1(6)2010 and again under sections 143, 342, 332, 353, 186, 506, 114 of the Code of Criminal Procedure under the Tejgaon Police Station Case No 2(6)2010 on June 2, 2010. Mahmudur Rahman got bail in the first case but in the second case, which was filed after his arrest, he was not granted bail and sent to prison. However, today on June 6, 2010, a third case has been filed against him, Case No.5 (6)2010 at the Kotwali Police Station. He was charged for obstructing government officials in their function, while he was already in custody. The prosecution prayed for seven days remand. On top of this, according to newspaper reports, the government is preparing a sedation case against him. The chain of events is very alarming. It is to be noted that Mahmudur Rahman has been physically attacked a couple of times. Heavy stones and bricks have been thrown at his car in Bangladesh and he was also attacked with a sharp object during his visit to London, which could have fatally injured him. Given this history the repeated attempts by the government to take him to remand is of grave concern to us.

    Odhikar has always fought against custodial torture and death. Despite the fact that the government has made repeated promises to the international community regarding upholding human rights, gross violations of human rights have not abated in the country. In this context, Odhikar is deeply concerned about the life and safety of Mahmudur Rahman. We therefore, appeal to all the human rights defenders to write to the Prime Minister of Bangladesh to ensure the safety of Mahmudur Rahman and to stop all attempts to take him into remand, against the fundamental principles of human rights and international norms.

    Ms. Sheikh Hasina

    Honorable Prime Minister

    Prime Minister's Office

    Old Sangsad Bhaban

    Tejgaon, Dhaka-1215, Bangladesh

    Tel: +880 2 8151157 (PS-I to PM)

    Fax: +880 2 8153846

    Email: info@pmo.gov.bd

    According to the reports published in today's newspapers, another case has been filed against Mahmudur Rahman in Uttara police station, and the petitioner asked to take him to remand for 10 days. The repeated attempts to take Mahmudur Rahman to 'remand' is a very bad sign Unless human rights defenders mobilise opinion and protests we might be guilty of allowing a repressive government to indulge in grave human rights violation.
    We have below recall the chronology of events that led to the arrest of Mahmudur Rahman to dispel government's claim that Amardesh has violated existing law regarding press and publications.
    Chronology of Events

    26 April, 2009: Amar Desh Publications Ltd informed the District Commissioner of Dhaka by a written letter stating that according to the decision of the Board of Directors the chairman of the Company Mahmudur Rahman is appointed as the Acting Editor of Amar Desh. It may be mentioned here that according to the Printing Press and Publication Act, 1973 the Ditrict Commissioner must be informed about appointing – withdrawal of Editor of Newspaper.
    16 June, 2009: The Special Police- Super of Dhaka on behalf of District Commissioner informed Amar Desh Publications Ltd. that the District Commissioner has No Objection to the appointment of the Acting Editor.
    3 September, 2009: The Amar Desh Publications Ltd applied to the District Commissioner to change of the name of Publisher, as per the Printing Press and Publication Act, 1973 and declared that in the court. At the same time, the replacement of the old publisher with the name of Mahmudur Rahman as the new publisher was formally notified to the District Commissioner in accordance with the law.
    11 October, 2009: The Publisher Hasmat Ali Hashu went to the District Commissioner's office and signed the appropriate form stating his resignation as the publisher. This information was given by the District Commissioner in BBC interview.
    5 November, 2009: The Film and Publications Directorate gave a No Objection Certificate for the change of publisher. The letter signed by Deputy Director Masuda Khatun stated, "The name of Alhaj. Hashmat Ali, publisher of Daily Amar Desh can be replaced with the name of Mahmudur Rahman".
    15 March, 2010: The District Commissioner of Dhaka enquired to Amar Desh Publications Limited why the name of Hashmat Ali Hashu is still on the printer's line of the newspaper? In reply, Amar Desh informed that they were still waiting for the reply from the District Commissioner's office for their letter of notification to the District Commissioner. So they were compelled to continue the name of the earlier publisher according to the Printing Press and Publication Act, 1973. Accordingly, the company requested the DC office to expedite their decision.
    1 June, 2010: The Tejgaon Thana Officer-in-Charge (OC) raided the press of the daily Amar Desh with armed forces and declared its closure by sealing the Press. They reported to the news media that since there was no legal publisher of the newspaper the declaration has been cancelled by the District Commissioner. However, they could not produce any paper in this regard. The papers were not even received by Amar Desh authorities from 1 June to 2nd June.
    BBC (Bangla) Radio interview of the District Commissioner Mr. Muhibul Haque on 2nd June, 2010 is the only government version on the government action regarding the cancellation of the Declaration of Amar Desh.
    The english translation of the transcript of the BBC interview
    DC: Actually there is no publisher of Amar Desh at present. It means, there is no legal publisher. According to the Article 5 of the Press and Publication Act, 1973, any news paper must have a publisher and according to article 7, he must sign a declaration in our office. The publisher of this newspaper has signed a paper about his resignation as the publisher.
    BBC: when did he do that?
    DC: He signed on 11 October, 2009. The publisher was Alhaj Md. Hashmat Ali.
    BBC: 11 October, 2009 ... and now it is 2010. So what happened all these days. Did you ask the Amar Desh the reason ......
    DC: Yes, we wanted to know; we have given an official letter. They responded to us. They informed that there was no publisher; so this newspaper cannot be allowed ...... So I cancelled the declaration. I have done that.
    BBC: So when you sent a letter to Amar Desh, did they agree in writing that that they did not have any publisher?
    DC: yes, they did not have any publisher; they told us that they did not have a publisher.
    BBC: And when did they inform you?
    DC: They have informed us few days before
    BBC: But who responded to your letter on behalf of Amar Desh. If they did not have a publisher?
    DC: The Acting Editor
    BBC: Amar Desh has told us that they sent a letter to you for your approval of the change of the publisher's name. Then what happened?
    DC: Not for the change of publisher. The earlier publisher signed a form of resignation. Then another person wanted to become the publisher, but it did not fit into our criteria, therefore was refused. So now there is no publisher of Amar Desh.
    BBC: What does it mean that it did not fit into your criteria? If you could explain the process of your refusal of the request for change of publisher's name...
    DC: The process is that according to the Act, they have applied for approval, then we gave it for investigation. There was a negative response from the investigation. So we could not give approval to the publisher who has applied. Mahmudur Rahman has applied, but we could not appoint him...
    BBC: Why was his application rejected? Can you please tell us, what was the problem found against him in the investigation...
    DC: We have given an official letter regarding this. There are many issues here. This cannot be explained in such a short time....
    BBC: When did you let him know about it?
    DC: Today, we informed him....
    ..........................................
    Amar Desh's communication with DC
    We have the letters that Amar Desh provided to the district administration to go by the existing Press and Publication Act. Till today, 7 June 2010, the interview given by the District Commissioner to BBC Bangla is the only position one could guess as government's position, that could hardly stand the court of law. This is the reason why government is desperate to fabricate various other cases against him.
    In response to BBC's 1st question the DC admitted that in 11th October 2009 the ex-publisher resigned formally. But what he hided is, 3 months before the resignation of ex-publisher, in 3rd September 2009 the authority of the Amar Desh Publications Ltd. formally informed district administration by written letter that, the company has changed the publisher and it is applying for the no-objection letter from the administration in this regard. The Deputy Commissioner is conspicuously silent on this matter in order to justify fabricated charge against Mahmudur Rahman. The claim that Amar Desh dos not have a publisher implies that through administrative inaction the District Commissioner intended to efface the existence of an editor as well as the on going administrative and legal process to regularise the change of ownership and appoinment of editoror other matters. The DC should either have clearly notified to the authorities of Amar Desh that Mahmudur Rahman is not acceptable. In that case the Amar Desh could come up with different name.
    The DC said, "They informed that they (Amar Desh) have no publisher". Nevertheless, in response of administrations 15th march's letter there is no such word in Amar Desh's letter. Furthermore, the newspaper authority reminded the administration that as they did not say anything at all about Amar Desh's 3rd September 2009 letter regarding the alteration of publisher, they are writing the name of their old publisher. According to the Press and Publication Acts this was the only option available to Amar Desh.
    The farce of the whole drama reaches the apex when DC told that, "we informed today (1st June)". What it implies? It means by sending riot police into newspapers office to shut down the press and illegally breaking and entering into newspapers office without any warrant, beating journalists and later snatching the editor, the govt. indeed brutally communicated to Amar Desh authority that, "we could not approve Mahmudur Rahman to be the publisher".
    Reporters from Chintaa were present throughout the night along with other reporters from various media to witness the midnight raid and the brutality with which a dissent voice has been silenced. There was no official letter sent to Amar Desh's office. It was blatantly an operation to demonstrate that government does not care about the rule of law, and have absolutely no hesitation to violate human rights, particularly the violation of the constitutional guarantee of freedom of thought, conscious and expression.
    Prime Minister took charge of District Deputy Commissioner!
    The information minister told parliament in 2 June, "It is the duty of DC to postpone newspapers declaration". According to 1973 Printing Press and Publications act it is the duty of DC indeed. But, after the application of Amar Desh to the Film and Publication office of the government, although the intelligence agency gave clearance, the DC office was not giving clearance on the ground that Prime Ministers office did not give clearance. Off the record, the DC office officials admitted the fact that this issue was under judgment in prime ministers office. Our question is that when did the Prime Minister take the charge of Deputy Commissioner?
    The fact might be that exclusively in the case of Mahmudur Rahman the prime minister has degraded her to the office of District Commissioner, a shame for both the government and the country. As if that was not enough she had to finally send police, disconnect satellite TV connection and escalator, create blockade, refuse food and water to be supplied to the people in the Amar Desh office, beat the journalists by batons, and vilently snatch the editor Mahmudur Rahman without any papers or warrant. Defiance of all constitutional rights, law and international norms of human rights the act of the government is hardly different from any armed criminals or terrorists. Proving again, that the state terrorism is the first and foremost evil people must confront if they are determined to create a democratic polity.
    Whereas the police was supposed to be tried because of breaking and entering into a private establishment of newspaper illegally, the police filed new case against Mahmudur Rahman on the ground, what they call preventing police from their duties.
    The closure of Amadesh and arresting Mahmudur Rahman signals the rapidly deteriorating political scenario of Bangladesh. It is urgent that the grievous threat to democracy and freedom of speech and media is condemned globally. It happened in a row of the closure of 2 TV channels and Facebook for so called sensitive reasons. This govt. did ban YouTube in the February 2009 as well.
    Arresting the editor of Amar Desh by Riot Police and trying to take him to remand for the so called 'interrogation' at any cost demonstrate elements of virulence within certain section of the government and it is urgent that government is warned of this move. The remand system is notorious for inhuman torture and sometimes it makes lifetime trauma. The journalists and other democratic activists fear that the repeated remand application by a section of the people in the government is only to brutally assault Mr. Mahmudur Rahman, rsponsibility of which consequently will have to be shoulderd by the Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her government as a whole.
    Government should come to its senses.


    http://www.chintaa.com/index.php/campaigndetails/index/5/english




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    [ALOCHONA] Re: Amar Desh editor arrested after closure

    Your opinion is the opinion of the cowardly who manipulate the power of government to deal with what you cannot deal with in public debate.

    Your opinion is the opinion of the enslaved mind who could not disagree with actions of his master - no matter what the master said or did.

    Your opinion is the opinion of the victim who is forever injured by the curse of the personality cult.

    Your opinion is the opinion of the feeble who are unable to break free of blind loyalty and find the truth for themselves.

    Your opinion is the opinion of the lazy who cannot stop suckling at the breast of his party leader irrespective of anything and everything.

    So what if your white colleague says the Daily Star alleges corruption before he places his tender? Based on probabilities and statistics within one of earth's most corrupt nations the DS was probably right to make its allegations whatever they were.

    Though now of course you must be very happy that the DS almost makes NO allegations at all under an AL government! Because now we climbed a few places from the bottom of the world corruption table!

    Hypocrite!

    You think AL is brave enough to arrest Mahmudur Rahman? On what charges? You don't have the guts to list them - just hide behind something about the legality of the publisher?! Snivelling snakes.

    Do you know which newspaper editor did not sign the letter protesting his arrest? Or do you think that all papers that protest the arrest should be banned too?

    You are trying to take down Mahmudur Rahman because you are scared of him.

    Bloody fakiror zaath. Can't arrest any in the CTG or any murderers singing nouka, Nouka - but acting really big with Amader Desh.

    Murgis have bigger brains than people who plan AL and BNP strategies.

    You turned MR into a hero! Well. Okay then... Please reply. I'm ready to fight.

    Ezajur Rahman
    Kuwait

    --- In alochona@yahoogroups.com, "Mohd. Haque" <haquetm83@...> wrote:
    >
    > In my opinion AL did the right thing by closing down the Amar Desh and shutting up Mahmudur Rahman. He was going too far to established his freedom of speach.
    >  
    > Few years back, an official (a non bangladeshi friend of mine) from a Development Financing Institution commenting that before we even invite for the bidding for a project, Daily Star starts printing lot of allegation of corruptions, so to speak.
    >  
    > We have noticed every possible human group were formed to decry corruptions done by BNP until they unseat them.
    >  
    > AL is brave enough, not to let them into the same trap. Well done!
    >
    > --- On Wed, 2/6/10, Isha Khan <bdmailer@...> wrote:
    >
    >
    > From: Isha Khan <bdmailer@...>
    > Subject: [ALOCHONA] Amar Desh editor arrested after closure
    > To:
    > Date: Wednesday, 2 June, 2010, 2:47 AM
    >
    >
    >  
    >
    >
    >
    >
    > Amar Desh editor arrested after closure
    >  
    > Dhaka, June 1 (bdnews24.com)â€" Police early on Wednesday morning stormed the Amar Desh newspaper office and arrested acting editor Mahmudur Rahman on fraud charges, hours after the government closed the BNP-leaning daily.
    >
    > The newspaper's deputy editor Syed Abdal Ahmed told bdnews24.com that Mahmudur was taken away minutes before 4am after police had talked with his lawyer at his Karwan Bazaar office. The arrest capped a 17-hour drama played out after the paper's publisher Hashmat Ali Hashu, who himself was briefly 'detained', sued Mahmudur on Tuesday night.
    >
    > Police had been trying to arrest the acting editor, a BNP stalwart, but were held out by staff since shortly before midnight. The staff barricaded the main entrance to the office for several hours and shut the lift for the 10th floor office. They staged protests and vowed that their chief would have to be arrested 'over their dead bodies' as police reinforcements were brought in. Police then sought their cooperation but were refused before forcing their into the office at 3:30am to end the standoff. Ahmed, also the chief correspondent, had earlier told bdnews24.com that police shut down the paper's press at Love Road in Tejgaon at 11:30pm.
    >
    > Leaders of opposition BNP and its associate organisations gathered at the scene after bdnews24.com broke the news. BNP vice chairman Abdullah Al Noman, standing committee member Nazrul Islam Khan, BNP chairperson's press secretary Maruf Kamal Khan, Shimul Biswas, Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal president Sultan Salahuddin Tuku were also there.
    >
    > The events unfolding since morning--when Hashmat's family said he had been whisked away by intelligence men to an undisclosed place--took a new twist when the Dhaka's deputy commissioner Muhibul Haque cancelled the paper's declaration. The commissioner signed an order to this effect at 10pm, an official of his office said, preferring anonymity. But Mahmudur had told reporters at his office that police shut the press without showing the papers of the order cancelling the declaration.
    >
    > It was not clear on what grounds the broadsheet, which hit the stands during BNP-led government's term in Sept, 2004, was closed. The government last month knocked private TV station Channel 1 off the air citing irregularities.
    >
    > Journalist Abdal told bdnews24.com around 11:35pm, " The press started printing Wednesday's paper an hour before but police did not allow distribution to news agent's. "They said printing will stop." Tejgaon Industrial Area police chief Omar Faruk earlier told bdnews24.com that a complaint had been lodged against Mahmudur, who earlier in the day alleged that the government was planning to shut down the newspaper. Faruk said the case alleged financial losses.
    >
    > The former energy adviser to ex-prime minister Khaleda Zia rushed a news conference at the pro-BNP daily's office and said he had talked with Hashmat after he had returned from his detention at National Security Intelligence office, who had told him that he was 'frightened'. Mahmudur said the NSI men took Hasmat and forced him to sign two papers. "He was made to sit at their office until 2pm while the investigators pressed him to sign two papers." "One of the papers was addressed to Dhaka's deputy commissioner and the other to Tejgaon police chief. The papers state that Hashmat Ali is not the publisher of Amar Desh. Legal steps can be taken as his name is being printed as the publisher."
    >
    > "He was forced to sit until he signed the papers. Later Hashmat Ali signed the papers and was released after a five-hour detention," said Mahmudur. A former executive chairman of the Board of Investment, Mahmudur said the press meet was organised to protest the current government's 'fascist' behaviour and conspiracy against the news media.
    >
    > Hashmat's family had earlier told bdnews24.com that he had been detained for six hours after some intelligence officials whisked him away around 9am. He returned to his Shahjahanpur residence around 3pm but went out, they said.
    >
    > Mahmudur had claimed around 1pm that National Security Intelligence took Hashmat and were forcibly trying to file a case against him.
    > NSI director Shafiqullah told bdnews24.com earlier that they had not detained anybody by that name. "He is probably sitting at home."
    > "This is reminiscent of June 16, 1975 when all but four newspapers were banned," Mahmudur said of Ali's detention. "Coincidentally, this is June again."
    >
    > "I have heard that he is being coerced into bringing charges against me," he told bdnews24.com. "Is this what they have learnt from the Moeen Uddins, the perpetrators of 1/11?" "I guess they will try to file a case against me," he said.
    >
    > Mahmudur took over the management of the newspaper in 2008. Later he sent a letter to the deputy commissioner for serving as editor of the newspaper. Since then he has been the acting editor of the newspaper. Mahmudur, also the chairman of Amar Desh Publications Limited, said "This daily speaks for a free and sovereign state. As a result, many of its news are not going in favour of the government and are displeasing them. So they are trying to shut it down." 
    >  
    >  
    >  
    > http://www.newagebd .com/2010/ jun/02/front. html
    >  
    > http://www.bbc. co.uk/bengali/ news/2010/ 06/100601_ ka_amardesh_ closure.shtml
    >  
    > http://amardeshonli ne.com/pages/ details/2010/ 06/02/34715
    >  
    > http://amardeshonli ne.com/pages/ details/2010/ 06/02/34632
    >  
    > http://www.samakal. com.bd/details. php?news= 13&action=main&option=single&news_id=69691&pub_no=354
    >


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