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Thursday, June 24, 2010

[ALOCHONA] Bengladesh: Need For Justice To The victims Of The 1971 Genocide



Bengladesh: Need For Justice To The victims Of The 1971 Genocide

By Dr. Peter Custers

Speech delivered at the International Conference on Secular Humanism and the Trial of War Criminals, Dhaka, June 20, 2010

(Dear Friends and Comrades who have come from all over the world,

To start, I wish to express my deep gratitude and enormous pleasure at being invited to address this international gathering. Undoubtedly, this Conference on secular humanism and on the trial of war criminals is of tremendous importance towards strengthening democracy and promoting your cause internationally. I am eager to speak on this Conference's main topic, the 1971 war crimes. I am equally eager to highlight the efforts which I have made along with others, to raise this grave issue towards European political institutions. But let me first devote some words to how I was attracted to work in support of the people of Bangladesh. )

At the time when East Bengal went through a period of great political turmoil, in 1970 and 1971, I was a young student. I was inspired by the wave of emancipatory struggles against colonialism in which so many peoples of the global South, then termed the Third World, took part. Thus, I recall attending a World Youth Conference in The Hague just after my graduation in international law, in 1970. Here, officials of the Pakistani government were questioned for their government's gross negligence. Its failure to act in the wake of the devastating cyclone that killed an estimated half a million people in the South-East of Bangladesh, then East Pakistan. The next year, I happened to be studying in the US. I remember the agonies which my Bengali co-students went through, worrying about the fate of their families and beloved, after the Pakistani army had launched its atrocities against the civilian population. Having grown up with stories about the concentration camps and other barbarous crimes perpetrated by Germany's Nazi regime during World War Two, - I was deeply shocked. It is from this moment onwards that a long-term commitment to the cause of Bangladesh was born.

All of you who have gathered here are well aware of the crimes committed 39 years back. The carnage started right on the night of March 25th, when the Pak army, enraged by the determination of the Bengali people to achieve national self-determination, launched murderous attacks on student halls of Dhaka university, on slum areas and other neighborhoods of Dhaka. The carnage lasted til the very day when the Pak army was defeated and was forced to surrender. Hundreds of nationalist intellectuals were, as is well known, rounded up and brutally murdered by death squads of the Al-Badre on the very eve of liberation, in December of 1971. Within the short span of merely nine month so many civilians were butchered, villages burnt and women gang-raped, that it is surely correct to speak of genocidal policies. These genocidal policies notably targeted the minority Hindu population, but were by no means aimed at religious minorities alone. During every day of this dark period literally thousands of non-combatants perished. And since the Western press was outspoken about these war crimes, there was a worldwide wave of sympathy for the cause of Bangladesh's liberation, and for the progressive ideology around which it was built.

It is a matter of shame that those who intimately collaborated with the Pakistani army and helped it implement its design, have been able to re-instate themselves in Bangladeshi politics. This occurred, let's recall it, during the period when Bangladesh was ruled by military dictators who were backed by, and were economically dependent on Western aid. Hence, Western powers cannot evade their share of responsibility for the given reversal, setback. Further, the facts on the identity of the collaborators have been researched and recorded so well by Bangladeshi intellectuals, that denials sound hollow. The Jamaat-e-Islami and other Muslim fundamentalist forces through their publicity not only supported the Pakistani army's war against the people, waged in the name of Islam. The party was also instrumental in forming paramilitary forces, the Razzakar Bahini, and death squads, the Al Badre and Al-Sams , which carried out numerous massacres. Let me draw on the reports brought out by the People's Enquiry Commission under the leadership of the poet Sufia Kamal, in 1994 and 1995. The reports focus on a total of 16 leading collaborators. Out of 8 persons investigated in the first round, five were leaders of the Jamaat-e-Islami or its student wing, the Islami Chattro Sangha. Again, out of 8 persons scrutinized under the second investigation, 4 were Jamaatis or had led the Sangha in 1971. Moreover, almost all of them had become prominent leaders of the party after its re-establishment in Bangladeshi politics.

I will now move on to highlight the ideology of the Jamaat e-Islami in a nutshell. Some of you may have read about the recent bomb attack carried out on a mosque in Pakistan, in which a reported 95 people belonging to the Ahmadiyya minority lost their lives. In Bangladesh, Ahmadiyyas have become the target of a vicious campaign of religious intolerance too. This campaign gained special notoriety during the period when the BNP-Jamaat coalition government was in power, between October 2001 and October 2006. I have described the anti-Ahmadiyya violence in a human rights' reports distributed to European institutions and governments in 2005. In single attacks on Ahmadiyya mosques and Ahmadiyya communities, thousands of fanatical Muslims took part. Further, the campaign was primarily instigated by the Khatme Nabuwat, which officially did not form a part of the government and in name was independent from the Jamaat- e-Islami. Yet the leaders of the Jamaat-e-Islami openly and unreservedly supported the Khatme Nabuwat's key demands,- the demands that Ahmadiyya books be banned and that the whole community be declared non-Muslim. In fact, the very idea of an agitation against Ahmadiyyas was originally conceived by the founder of the Jamaat-e-Islami, Moududi, who in the 1950s sought to gain a foothold in Pakistani politics by targeting this Muslim minority.

Dear Friends and Comrades, it is not my intention to retell only saddening stories. Let me therefore devote some words also to Bangladesh's unique history of religious tolerance. I happen to be born in a country, the Netherlands, which for long prided itself on having sheltered pioneering philosophers of religious tolerance, thinkers like Spinoza and Bayle. Yet according to me, the history of religious tolerance of Bangladesh at this point in time appears more striking, and more enduring, than that of the Netherlands. There is a tendency in Europe to depict Islam as a religion which by nature cannot accommodate or co-exist with any other faith. But Bangladesh's history brings out the opposite. In the same epoch when much of the 'civilized' world of Western Europe was still engulfed in religious strife, Bengal saw the flourishing side-by-side of mystical Islam, of mystical Hinduism and of other distinct religious currents, and that under the rule of Sultans. Further, Bengal's pre-colonial Islamic tradition in the literature is renowned for its syncretic flavor. The Sufi silsilas which undertook missionary activities in the region from the 14th century onwards, such as the Chishtis and Shattaris, were commonly inspired by the theory of 'The Unity of Being', Wahdad ul-Wujud, propagated by Islam's philosopher of tolerance, Ibn Arabi. And they did not hesitate to juxtapose Islam's prophets and Gods and Goddesses representing Bengal's pre-existing traditions, such as Vaishnavism and Yoga-Tantra.

Dear Friends, academic efforts are still underway to review the damage done by British colonialism to this tradition. Yet there is no doubt that the British thoroughly disrupted the structure of, largely tolerant, Islamic educational institutions that existed in Bengal until the 19th century This happened primarily during the roughly twenty year period when the East India Company undertook the so called 'resumption proceedings'. Under Moghul rule, Muslim mosques and Hindu temples had both enjoyed the right of exemption from tax payment, 'inamdari'. Now, in a campaign which was decried by some of the most capable bureaucrats, - the British rulers with a chopper largely wiped out the educational tradition of the Sufi khanqahs, and undermined Bengal's political economy of religious tolerance. It is therefore all the more significant, that the spirit of toleration did re-emerge in the late colonial period and during the brief period when East Bengal was a part of Pakistan. I have of course in mind the life work of Bangladesh's national poet, Kazi Nazrul Islam, who via his artistic creations ardently strove to bridge the distance between people belonging to Hinduism and Islam, and who in his powerful poetry depicted deities and saintly figures belong to both faiths. I have also in mind the fact that the ideology of secularism was upheld by all the diverse political forces which participated in the war for the independence of Bangladesh.

Since there is very little time here to dwell on history, let me now return to contemporary politics. Here I want to share with you the good news that a political basis for support to the process of the trial of war criminals exists in Europe. Institutional memories tend to be short. But fact is that the European Parliament has thrice adopted resolutions that incorporated support for the demand that justice be done to the victims of the crimes committed in 1971. One resolution was adopted in 1994, when the people's movement led by Jahanara Imam was on. Here, the Parliament called on the then BNP government to refrain from repressive measures against the Nirmul Committee. It also upheld the Nirmul Committee's demand that Golam Azam and other representatives of Muslim fundamentalist organizations be tried for war crimes. In its comprehensive resolution of December, 2001, support for the demand was restated by the European Parliament, and then again when the EP passed its April 2005 resolution. I quote for clarity's sake the wording from this latter resolution: the parliament 're-iterates its support for the demand that those known to have participated in the massacres of Bangladeshi citizens and other war crimes' during the liberation war be brought to justice.

Dear Friends, it is my conviction that it is of strategic importance that Bangladesh's government gains the full support of the European Union for the planned trials. Hence, let me elaborate a bit on other initiatives which I have taken along with my organization to broaden our base of support for the issue. On one occasion, in 2005, a range of Dutch and German civil society organizations jointly petitioned Bangladesh's foreign donors. The petition argued that there existed organic links between the dramatic deterioration in Bangladesh's human rights' record, - and the fact that war criminals belonging to the Jamaat-e-Islami had become Ministers in Bangladesh's government. Perhaps the most significant occasion when we tried to alert European institutions, was in January of 2008. At this time we advised the European Union's Commissioner of Foreign Affairs, Benita Ferrero Waldner, to take a clear-cut stance in favor of the withdrawal of the emergency. And then Shahriar Kabir and Sultana Kamal together with us staged a series of consultations on the issue of war crimes, with officials of the European Commission and with all the major political groupings represented in the European Parliament.

Dear Friends, let me end on a note of optimism. Given Europe's own history it is quite well possible to canvas and gain support towards the trial proceedings which the government of Bangladesh is going to initiate. Towards this end, we need to engage Bangladesh's diaspora in Europe; work to revive the public sympathy which has historically existed for the liberation strivings of Bangladesh's people, and make sure that each European government agrees to extend its political support to the process of the trials. And while there will be international attempts to derail the process, let's not hesitate to draw on the legal expertise that is available internationally. Let's all join efforts to make sure that justice to the victims of the 1971 genocide be done.

(Once again my thanks to Shahriar Bhai, to Sabbir Bhai and to other organizers.

Thank you for your attention.)

Dr. Peter Custers President, International Committee for Democracy in Bangladesh (ICDB)/ Academic Researcher on Religious Tolerance and the History of Bangladesh

www.petercusters.nl

 


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[ALOCHONA] BCL Gone Haywire : Warnings not working



BCL Gone Haywire : Warnings not working
 
The unruly activists of Bangladesh Chhatra League can be reined in only if Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina plays a more serious role, observed some leaders of the ruling Awami League.

Talking to The Daily Star recently, they said extortion, tender manipulation, admission trade and other crimes by BCL men have dented the government's image in last 17 months. They deplored that despite repeated warnings from the government and party high-ups, Chhatra Leaguers continue doing things that have been embarrassing the government from day one. The rowdy BCL cadres operate with apparent impunity, as they have the backing of some influential AL leaders, they alleged.

Wishing not to be named, a senior leader said, "Chhatra League can be controlled if she [Hasina] intervenes seriously. But I doubt if she's sincere enough in this regard."To turn things around, he added, she must not confine herself to issuing warnings. She will have to follow through to make sure her directives are carried out.

Hasina, also AL president, cut her relations with BCL on April 4 last year as per the Representation of the People Order. Since taking office, she has announced on several occasions that her government would show zero tolerance for violence in the name of student politics.She also asked the law enforcers to go tough against the BCL members involved in crimes. But in most cases, her directives went unheeded.

Lately, she has assigned AL organising secretaries Jahangir Kabir Nanak, BM Mojammel Haque and Ahmed Hossain to look after Chhatra League affairs. Ahmed Hossain claims the situation has "improved a bit" due to their efforts. He however would not elaborate on what they have done since being assigned by the party chief.Some leaders think the three will not be able to do much, as they can only advise BCL and take no measures.

Meanwhile, AL insiders said several top BCL leaders who shelter the crooked activists are frequently seen at Gono Bhaban. As they are allowed access to the prime minister's residence, they may feel "somewhat protected". And this may be one of the reasons the BCL men are hard to control.

An official of the prime minister's office said as they do not have any instructions from above, they do not bar the student leaders.Syed Ashraful Islam, AL general secretary and LGRD minister, recently said the party would have to pay dearly for the activities of its youth and student workers. Speaking at Srinagar upazila in Munshiganj, he also said AL leaders cannot skirt their responsibilities for the mistakes and misdeeds by Chhatra League and Jubo League.Many of his party colleagues share the view. They say BCL needs to be checked before it is too late.

Annoyed at Chhatra League's excess, some ministers and leaders including Matia Chowdhury, Obaidul Quader and Mahbubul Alam Hanif have decided to keep away from the outfit's programmes. The three have even given up talking about the student body, said sources close to them.

Party sources said the AL high command has differences of opinions over how to control student leaders and activists. While some want sterner measures against the wrongdoers, others think forming new committees with regular students may offer a solution.

Then there are others who want BCL politics to be banned so the Chhatra Leaguers cannot bring any more dishonour on the government.

Leaders of the student body, on the other hand, say the organisation has to be freed from the "clutches of Awami League leaders, lawmakers and former student leaders". Talking to The Daily Star, BCL Joint General Secretary Iqbal Mahmud Bablu said establishing the chain of command by reconstituting committees across the country with regular students is a must. Besides, he added, the central committee would have to be made accountable to AL leaders designated by the party president. Asked what actions have been taken against the wrongdoers, BCL President Mahmud Hasan Ripon said they would investigate the incidents and take disciplinary measures against those who would be found responsible.

BCL IN LAST ONE WEEK

At least 50 people including journalists, politicians and police were injured in a clash between Chhatra League factions over student union election at a college in Gopalganj on June 17.

BCL cadres beat up some 25 leaders and workers of Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal on Dhaka University campus on June 21.

On June 22, the ruling party's student activists assaulted the principal of Pabna Government Bulbul College, as the college authorities did not meet their demand for "admission quota".

The following day, admission process at Azizul Haq College in Bogra and Hatia Government College in Noakhali was suspended after BCL workers went on the rampage demanding so-called admission quota.
 


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[ALOCHONA] The toothless tiger



The toothless tiger

Mushfique Wadud finds out how the recent reform proposals for the ACC Act 2004 will render the institution powerless

According to the law, permission must be granted by the government to prosecute judges and public servants,' informs Mohiuddin. 'Such a law is necessary to ensure that the government officials can work without fear. If there is no such law, the officials will not work properly because of fear,' he adds.

   Dr Shahdin Malik believes that section 197 of the criminal procedure protects government officers from charges of alleged criminal activities, committed in the course of official duty. For example, a police officer will be protected if in tackling mobs, he uses more force than necessary. 'This protection does not cover corruption,' says Shahdin.

   'Such a reform will see the ACC revert to its previous state when it was known as the Bureau of Anti-Corruption,' he adds.

   The cabinet also approved a five-year jail term and fine for filing a false complaint or case against any individual, and the appointment of the ACC secretary by the government.

   While TIB feels that such a provision will discourage people to raise allegations, Muhiuddin calls it a necessary step to protect innocent people. 'There is such a provision in the conventional law and so if anyone makes false allegations, he or she can be tried under this. Adding this to the ACC law would result in creating deterrence against prosecution of any corruption case,' says Ifthekhar. 'There should be a provision to protect innocent people from the false allegations,' Muhiuddin adds.

   'The provision for false allegation has been in place for 150 years. Adding it to the ACC law to discourse complain of corruption is not necessary. Such a law will make corrupt persons less accountable,' says Shahdin.

   Other amendments which now see the anti-graft watchdog accountable to the president as well as curtailing its independence were approved by the cabinet, ignoring anti-graft body's pleas in the last few months regarding the diminution of its independence and impartial functioning.

   On ACC being accountable to the president, Iftekhar says it increases the possibility of partisan political influence on the commission. 'In other words, with this provision, the ACC will be accountable to the prime minister as the president seeks all suggestions from the PM,' he adds.

   Iftekhar believes that the appointment of the ACC secretary by the government has no logic at all and it only establishes administrative control over the anti-graft body. 'According to the present law, ACC can appoint its commissioner. But under the amended provision, it is proposed that government can appoint the ACC's secretary. It will result in the bureaucracy's and the government's control over the ACC,' Iftekhar adds.

   Regarding accountability to the president, the commission in its opinion said this amendment would bring the anti-graft body under control of the government's executive branch as the president cannot take any decision without the advice of the prime minister, except for appointment of the chief justice and the prime minister.

   Cabinet Division Additional Secretary Tariqul Islam was the chief of the government-formed committee that prepared the amendment proposals.

   However, World Bank (WB) also expressed its concern about the reform of Anti Corruption Commission Act. WB Managing Director Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala expressed concern at a meeting with Finance Minister AMA Muhith in Washington on April 27, newspapers reported.

   'The commission has filed many cases, as did the now-defunct bureau, but no one has been punished thus far. The commission has no authority to try a case; it is the courts that can mete out punishment. For this, the commission does not have the bite that society expects it to have,' ACC chief said in an interview with New Age.

   Many think it was spiraling corruption that led to the army-backed caretaker government's assumption of power. In view of such public sentiment, all political parties in the ninth general elections promised that they would strengthen the Anti-Corruption Commission and would curb corruption. Nevertheless, in the eighteen months of this government's tenure, the ACC has barely played an active role in fighting corruption. Experts believe that the ACC should be strengthened for a strong democracy. They suggest that the government make the organisation strong and effective.

   'Some laws can be modified. But the government should not do anything which will make the organisation a weak one,' says Muzaffer. 'Having an ineffective ACC is the same as not having one at all,' he adds.

   'The ACC and some other organisations are institutions of accountability. They are necessary to protect the interest of citizens,' says Badiul Alam.

   'ACC was given independence and power. However, they misused their absolute power during the state of emergency,' Muhiuddin points out.

   'The debate about the ACC's role during the state of emergency is very logical. But we must remember that there were many power centres at that time; as such there is a doubt whether ACC could work independently then. So we cannot really blame ACC for their activities at the time,' Ifthekhar says.

   'Even if the allegation against ACC is true, there is no point in turning it into a weak organisation,' he adds.

   'I am not saying that we do not need an ACC. We want the ACC to be an operational autonomous body,' Muhiuddin concludes.

   'ACC is embedded with problems with the prime concern being the integrity and efficiency of the ACC staff as many of them were staff members of the now-defunct Bureau of Anti-Corruption. Government can make a code of conduct for the ACC staff along with a provision of submitting wealth statement from each staff,' Ifthekhar suggests.

   'To make ACC a politically influential organisation will be a suicidal decision for any political party. If ACC is politically influenced, their rival party will misuse it against them after their tenure,' he concludes.
 


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[ALOCHONA] Dangers from India's interlinking of rivers project



Dangers from India's interlinking of rivers project

A T Salahuddin Ahmed

 

Water is so important states can't afford to fight over it.
   - Geoffrey Dabelko
   
   In 1995, the World Bank's Vice-President, Ismail Serageldin, predicted that there would be wars over water in the next century. The Trans-boundary Freshwater Dispute Database Project at Oregon State University has challenged this view, demonstrating that there has been no war over water, except the one that broke out 4,500 years ago. Nevertheless, in 2000, on the World Water Day, The World Water Commission surmised that over the next 25 years, global water shortage would become so critical that the world's two in three people would suffer from regular depletion of water supplies. "Global thirst will turn millions into water refugees."
   
Bangladesh has been confronting water crisis owing to rapid growth of population, urbanization, and marked decline of freshwater supply. Groundwater situation and its management source aquifer for safe water supply to groundwater dependent Dhaka (by area 370 sq km), Bangladesh's capital city, has already become deplorable. The situation will hit exceedingly hard the Dhaka city when its population will predictably rise around 19.5 million by 2030 from its current level of population which is about 11 million. By 2030 water demand will increase from its current 2000 million litres a day (MLD) to 4073 MLD a day.
   
Of the current 1900 MLD production, around 87% is groundwater. Significantly, such large quantity of abstraction of groundwater, imperil the aquifer environment, critically threatening the very sustainability of Dhaka itself. Recharging groundwater cannot solely provide water security to the people. The moot point here is: the process needs sustaining through an alternative path other than huge abstraction of groundwater. Widespread arsenic contamination in Bangladesh (of the 64 districts, 61 are arsenic contaminated) is an emphatic case in point why the abstraction process of groundwater should not be pushed beyond its ceiling point.
   
   Bangladesh's vulnerability
   Water security has become more complicated because water has been privatized and globalized-an aspect that has been hardly addressed. Water, which is a means to achieve certain goals, touches not only national and international security but also human security. In Bangladesh, which is recognized as the world's one the most vulnerable countries (MVCs) in terms of climate change, water crisis will deepen further because of the impact of climate change on water resources management. The fact that some major rivers of Bangladesh have become exceedingly polluted and rivers have been dying and drying up has worsened the state of environmental security of Bangladesh. Whereas population and economies continue to grow exponentially, the world's freshwater supply remains finite. Asia has already been identified as water-deficit continent where its two most populous countries, India and China, suffer from water scarcity.
  
 It needs no reference to say that these two populous countries are already water stressed. About 97.5% of the world's water exists as salt in the oceans and seas. Estimate shows that of the world's 2.5% freshwater, approximately 99% is either trapped in glaciers and ice caps or located in water tables too deep to access. Thus, only 1% of the freshwater of the world is readily available for human consumption. The world's more than 31 countries continue to face chronic freshwater shortages (thus reaching the scarcity stage). And this number will likely grow to 45 countries by the year 2025. Thus, several factors influence water security. These include agriculture, industrialization, urbanization, and factors such as environment (climate change, erratic weather pattern, and pollution), demography (population boom), conservation and efficiency of water-use, etc. It needs underlining that both the availability of and access to water (quality and quantity) determine the level and degree of water security.
   
Seen thus, basic contentions that have been made here are that water security sits on a well-knitted integrated water resource management (IWRM). A well-crafted IWRM is contingent upon an integrated water resource management policy (IWRMP). An IWRMP in turn must be backed by necessary institutional and legal frameworks of planning capable of regulating water resources management at the national, regional and international levels to address the trans-boundary water disputes.
   
About 263 river basins in the world are international in scope. They represent nearly half the world's total land surface and provide about 76.5% sources of available water, 23% rainwater and 1.5% ground water, respectively. These 263 river basins include many of world's largest and most important rivers, such as the Amazon, Congo, Danube, Ganges, Mekong, Nile, Rhine, and Tigris-Euphrates. India's large portion belongs to the two vast international river basins, the GBM and the Indus. The Indian government has its own agenda to pursue the interlinking of rivers (ILR) project, (notwithstanding the bitter experience that it has given rise to in the form of inter-state conflicts within India, e.g., the Cauvery water dispute among Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka, note Karnataka is previously known as Mysore in pre-1947 period) Undertaken in 2002 by the Bharatiya Janata Party government, even without putting it for discussion in the Lok Sabha (India's lower parliament body), the Indian government's avowed aim, through the ILR, is to get India's 37 major river interlinked by 2016 at the cost of Indian Rs. 5,600 billion (186 billion US dollars at 2002 price). The proposed ILR project is mainly linked to the "development" and transfer of water, particularly within and from the GBM river basin-with 14 inter-basin water transfer (IBT) links under the Himalayan rivers development constituent in northern India, and 16 such links under the Peninsular river development component in India's southern part.
 
To date, feasibility reports (FRs) of 16 links, of them, 14 Peninsular and 2 Himalayan, have been completed. Although IBT projects are worldwide phenomena (e.g. Spain's Tagu-Segura, South Africa's Lesotho Highlands Water Project, Central Asia's Aral Sea Project, China's Three Gorges Dam [TGD}, Nepal's Tanakpur Dam1, India's Periyar, Parambikulam Aliyar, Kurnool Cudappah Canal, Telugu Ganga, Ravi-Beas-Sutlej Indira Gandhi Nahar Pariyojana [IGNP], etc), they have both helpful and harmful impacts on the ecological and environmental systems as a whole.
   
A comparative study of both useful and damaging impacts of IBT projects reveal that it is the damaging impacts that overshadow the useful ones. Dangers loom large in the region following India's taking of the ILR project into the implementation phase. For example, in August 2005, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between the Chief Ministers of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh to implement one link, the Ken-Betwa Link Project (KBLP) of the Peninsular constituent. It needs flagging here that in actuality the Peninsular constituent and the Himalayan one are intertwined, although they are identified as independent constituents. Ramifications of ILR project are many entailing, for example, hydrological, environmental, social and ecological, and legal in nature.
   
Historically, Bangladesh has been dependent on the regional flows coming through the GBM river basins. Although Bangladesh occupies only about 7% of the total catchments areas of the three rivers combined, it drains over 92% of all surface flows of the catchments areas to sea. On an average per capita basis, water availability is one of the highest in the world in the GBM river basins. Over 80% of all surface waters are available only during the monsoon months: from June to September. The ILR project has received widespread scathing criticism at government and non-government levels in South Asia and within Indian research community. Significantly, it is alleged that while one gets information about the peninsular component, no information is available about the Himalayan one. For Bangladesh, and for other concerned states of this region, information for the Himalayan one is vital. In the absence of it, dangers will loom large for the neighbouring downstream countries.
   
The Himalayan constituent of the ILR entails two of the largest rivers in South Asia: the Ganges and the Brahmaputra in which India is the dominant power and is connected by a narrow neck of land with Assam. These two rivers are international and their basin areas are shared by China, Nepal, India and Bangladesh. The stark reality is that the ILR aims at transferring the Himalayan waters to the peninsular south via the Subarnarekha-Mahanadi-Godavari links. Naturally, it is the Himalayan constituent, meaning the Brahmaputra-Ganga-Gandak and Kosi-Gharga-Sarda-Yamuna-Rajasthan-Sabarmati, which poses serious water security threat to both Bangladesh and Nepal. In GBM's river basin case, separate and bilateral agreements on smaller aspects have been signed among India and the three other countries, namely Bangladesh, Bhutan and Nepal. Nepal plays a very crucial role for the Himalayan component because the Nepalese rivers supply almost half of the annual flow of the Ganges River. During the dry season, almost 75% of the Ganges flow comes from Nepal.
   
At the downstream, Bangladesh is very concerned because over 92% of the water that annually flows through the country is generated in the upstream. Bangladesh and India has 54 common rivers. Thus, the impacts of the ILR on Bangladesh will be the function of many variables, including the alteration of hydrology (both surface and groundwater), river dynamics, ecosystem changes, agricultural productivity, intrusion of salinity and public health. While both Nepal and Bangladesh have critical stakes in this project, reportedly they have not been officially notified of plans for the ILR project. The ILR project gets intensely complicated as India strives to carry out its ILR project plan with Nepal amidst Kathmandu's on-going political violence and instability which have plagued the country's political landscape. Some experts opine that combined with inter-state conflicts, the ILR project is bound to give rise to major inter-country conflicts and violent tensions both at intra-state and inter-state levels. In the words of a ILR watcher, the impact of ILR for Bangladesh will be the following: "It seems likely that Kolkata, an Indian city downstream of Farakka, would be less impacted by the river linking plan than Bangladesh, since one of the river links in the ILR (Farakka-Sundarbans link) plans to bring water from the Brahmaputra-Ganges link to flush Kolkata port. This diversion from the Brahmaputra through Indian territories will also reduce the amount of water flowing from India into Bangladesh, further inflaming tensions.
 
Less water in the Ganges delta, downstream of Farakka, would worsen salinity intrusion into the channel and groundwater aquifers which harms both drinking water supplies and agricultural production. Also, reduced flow in the delta would negatively impact the Sundarbans, a mangrove ecosystem highly sensitive to the relative balance of saltwater and freshwater inputs from upstream." Clearly, Bangladesh has genuine concern about Indian ILR project. So is other regional powers.
   
A T Salahuddin Ahmed, PhD from Australian National University, Canberra, is Senior Fellow (Director In-Charge & Head of Research Division) of a think tank.
 



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[ALOCHONA] Press Freedom in Bangladesh




In Bangladesh, most of the torture carried out by law enforcement agencies is when they have the accused person in 'remand' for 'interrogation'.

Mahmudur Rahman, Acting Editor of Bengali Daily Amar Desh was sent for four days remand on June 20, 2010. Inspector Manzur Murshed of the Detective Branch of Police who is investigating a sedation case lodged at the Airport Police Station against Mahmudur Rahman, went to the Dhaka Central Jail at about 4.00 pm and received him from the Jail authority for interrogation and took him to the Detective Branch office located at Mintoo Road in Dhaka.

Today, June 23, 2010 at about 6.35 in the morning, Mahmudur Rahman has been taken to an unknown location for 'interrogation' from the custody of the investigating officer of the Detective Branch of Police Inspector Monzur Murshed. Journalists of the Bengali Daily 'Amar Desh', which has been shut down by the government informed Odhikar that they believe he has been taken to the office of the Directorate General of Forces Intelligence (DGFI) for interrogation at the Dhaka Cantonment.

Earlier on June 16, 2010, Mahmudur Rahman was brought before the Court of Magistrate Ismail Hossain after the completion of four days remand at the Detective Branch office in another case under the Anti Terrorism Act 2009.

The Magistrate sent him to jail for treatment and ordered the jailor to arrange his medical check up and accordingly he was undergoing treatment at the jail hospital under a medical board. The Magistrate further ordered that he may be taken to remand if he is physically fit.

On June 20, 2010, the jail authority gave a fitness certificate for Mahmudur Rahman for interrogating him at remand. Though it has been reported that when he was going towards the van he could not walk properly and looked pale.

Earlier Mahmudur Rahman was tortured in custody and when he was produced in the Court on June 12, 2010 he appealed to the Court for the safety of his life and gave an account of the inhuman and degrading treatment he went through during remand. As he was unable to stand in court the Magistrate arranged for him to be seated at the dock.

The lawyers representing Mahmudur Rahman held a press conference at the National Press Club today (23 June 2010) at 1.30 PM, to express their concern regarding the physical and mental torture and ill treatment of their client and to demand his release.

At the press conference, Advocate Sanaullah Mian, President of the Dhaka District Bar Association and Advocate Masud Ahmed Talukder, both representing Mahmudur Rahman, while expressing concern about the life and safety of their client, mentioned that he had been taken to an unknown destination this morning in a 2-vehicle contingent, where the vehicles had no license plates. They also stated that when they contacted the Detective Branch office regarding the whereabouts of Mahmudur Rahman, Detective Branch officers informed them that he was not in their custody.

Police arrested Mahmudur Rahman from his newspaper office in the early morning of June 2, 2010 after the government cancelled the declaration of the newspaper Amar Desh on June 1, 2010 afternoon.

Altogether 34 cases (28 of which are defamation cases) have been filed up to now against Mahmudur Rahman.


ASM Nasiruddin Elan
Director, Odhikar
E-mail: odhikar@citech-bd.com
odhikar.bd@gmail.com
odhikar@sparkbd.net
Website:
www.odhikar.org


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[ALOCHONA] BCL & Jubo League Declaration from a Shomabesh to Beat Journalist



They don't even tolerate their own die-hard media if some news goes wrong against their personal interest. Read the news at: http://www.prothom-alo.com/detail/date/2010-06-24/news/73371.





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Re: [ALOCHONA] Chatra League / Chatra Dal




Violence is the way we solve our problem.When there is no faith on police, judge or politician, we will be ruled by the mob.

--- On Mon, 6/21/10, Emanur Rahman <emanur@rahman.com> wrote:

From: Emanur Rahman <emanur@rahman.com>
Subject: Re: [ALOCHONA] Chatra League / Chatra Dal
To: alochona@yahoogroups.com
Date: Monday, June 21, 2010, 1:37 PM



What I find so extraordinary is the detail and precision with which this incident has been reported. It says something that this is considered a real story. Remove the DU background and you can see this story for what it really is - a clash between rival criminal gangs.

You could call it organised crime. Spawned, fuelled, sponsored and supported by the major political parties.

I'd like to invite these idiot in-bred illegitimate sons and daughters of Mujib and Begum Zia to explain why their continued existence is a necessary feature of our politics.

We should simply issue arms to university security with orders to shoot to kill these cadres on sight.

After all, that's how we deal with rabid dogs isn't it?

Emanur Rahman | m. +447734567561 | e. emanur@rahman.com

From: Isha Khan <bdmailer@gmail.com>
Sender: alochona@yahoogroups.com
Date: Mon, 21 Jun 2010 15:14:36 +0600
ReplyTo: alochona@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [ALOCHONA] Chatra League / Chatra Dal

25 JCD activists injured in BCL attack
 
Dhaka, June 21 (bdnews24.com) -- At least 25 leaders and activists of Jatiyatabadi Chatra Dal (JCD) were injured in an alleged attack by pro-government Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL) on the Dhaka University campus on Monday.

The incident occurred at around 12 noon when BCL activists stormed into Modhu's Canteen and attacked the pro-opposition JCD men with clubs and iron bars without provocation, Shahdat Hossain Ranju, one of injured, told bdnews24.com.

Among the injured were DU Chatra Dal convener Abdul Matin, senior joint secretary Obaidul Haque Nasim, joint conveners Asad and Hiru, deputy sports secretary Habibur Rahman Sumon, activists Resin, Shahnewaz, Nazmul Sakib, Zakaria, Sabid Hassan Babu, Moinul, Shahdat Hossain Ranju, Shafique and Sahabuddin Shihab. Several of the injured were admitted to Dhaka Medical College Hospital's emergency department. One of the injured, Obaidul Haque, was admitted to Islami Bank Central Hospital with a fractured head.

DU Chhatra League joint secretary Mustak Ahmed said they had been asking the JCD to withdraw, what he claimed, was a false case following a clash on Jan 18. "Today's incident was an outburst of anger as they were not withdrawing the case," he said.

University proctor KM Saiful Islam said the JCD filed a case following a clash with BCL. The Shahbagh police filed another case against JCD in connection with the same incident. The proctor said that the two organisations had been discussing withdrawal of the cases for some time.

JCD had said they would withdraw the case against BCL provided the Chhatra League withdrew the case filed by police against the Chhatra Dal, the proctor said, adding that the situation is now under control after police intervention. On Jan 18 two rival groups of JCD clashed over positions in its newly formed committee. At one point BCL leaders also became involved in the violence.
Police chief, proctor, JCD boss among dozens injured in DU violence
 
 Dhaka, Jan 18 (bdnews24.com) – An armed battle at Dhaka University campus on Monday between two rival groups of Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal, over positions in JCD's newly formed committee, left at least 20 people injured, including the Shahbagh police chief and JCD president. DU proctor Prof Saiful Islam Khan was also hurt. He was taken to BSMMU Hospital while Karim and another injured police officer were taken to Dhaka Medical College Hospital.

Central committee president Sultan Salauddin Tuku, who came under direct attack by rivals, was also rushed to DMCH, along with at least four other injured JCD leaders and activists. All university classes were suspended for the day. But exams were held, officials said.

The fighting JCD groups exploded cocktails and exchanged several rounds of gunfire, police and witnesses said. Police chief Rezaul Karim told reporters at DMCH that his men had to throw several rounds of teargas shells to bring the situation under control.

Leaders of the recently formed JCD committee were obstructed by a rival Chhatra Dal group from entering the campus in the morning, witnesses said. Both groups became locked in fierce clashes. A group of Bangladesh Chhatra League leaders also became involved in the violence at one point, witnesses said

Police chief Karim said: "We had tightened security on the campus Monday morning on information that rival JCD groups had taken position on the campus Sunday night. "The two groups became involved in clashes from 10am. We tried to protect Chhatra Dal president Tuku. I was injured during that time." He said police would launch a special drive to recover the arms that were used during the clashes.

DU assistant proctor Amzad Hossain told bdnews24.com at least 20 people were injured in the clashes. "We have not verified the exact figure yet." "Classes were not held today. But exams went ahead," he said.





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[ALOCHONA] Old Dhaka [1 Attachment]

[Attachment(s) from Isha Khan included below]

Old Dhaka

Attachment(s) from Isha Khan

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[ALOCHONA] 5 Easy Ways to Keep Your Brain Sharp



5 Easy Ways to Keep Your Brain Sharp
 
Everyone is forgetful, but as we age, we start to feel like our brains are slowing down a bit—and that can be the most frustrating thing in the world. Luckily, research shows there is a lot you can do to avoid those "senior moments." Whether it's relaxation or adding certain foods to your diet, read on for some techniques worth trying.

 1. Chill Out

The brain remembers better when it's relaxed, say researchers at the California Institute of Technology, so take a few minutes each day to breathe deeply or meditate. "The positive of meditation is you have focused concentration and relaxation taking place at the same time," says Elizabeth Edgerly, PhD, spokesperson for the Alzheimer's Association. "Researchers believe those things are good because they're developing new connections for your brain cells."

 2. Focus on the Future

People who regularly made plans and looked forward to upcoming events had a 50 percent reduced risk of Alzheimer's disease, according to a recent study. But don't worry if your calendar isn't overflowing with life-changing events.  Something as simple as setting a goal to have a weekly coffee date with a friend (and keeping it) will do. "Psychologically it keeps us motivated," Dr. Edgerly says. "There's evidence that people who have a purpose in life or who are working on long-or short-term goals appear to do better." In other words, keep your brain looking forward.

 3. Go for a Walk

Mildly elevated glucose levels (even if you don't have diabetes) can harm the area of the brain that helps you form memories, say Columbia University researchers. Experts agree that physical activity can help get blood glucose down to normal levels. In fact, the strongest evidence is regarding the effect of physical activity on the brain. Dr. Edgerly says, "When you exercise, you release chemicals that are good for your brain. It's like a mini fountain of youth in your brain, and the only way you can get it is exercise." In other words, when you take care of your heart, you take care of your brain.

 4. Snack on Berries

Blueberries have compounds called anthocyanins that help communication between brain cells and appear to improve memory, says Robert Krikorian, PhD, professor of psychiatry and behavioral neuroscience at the University of Cincinnati. In general, Dr. Edgerly says the darker the fruit or vegetable, the better. She adds, "It's a healthy, well-rounded diet, especially one that mimics a Mediterranean diet, and that's fish, lots of fruits and vegetables, and red wine, everyone likes the red wine part."

 5. Learn Something New

Take a Spanish class online, join a knitting club, or learn to play poker. A UC Irvine study found that mental stimulation limits the debilitating effects of aging on memory and the mind. But the best thing for your brain, Dr. Edgerly insists, is when you combine learning something new with physical activity. "It should be something like dancing, or coaching a sport. Or go learn golf with your girlfriends. That sort of thing is even better for your brain than, say, a crossword puzzle."

http://health.yahoo.net/articles/aging/5-easy-ways-keep-your-brain-sharp



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[ALOCHONA] Re: [Dahuk]: Collective Actions to Shield Mahmudur Rahman



It is very sad.Today'S Naydiganta"s report 'Sara jege thaka mayer samne Mahmudur Rahmank oggat sthane niye joa holo.
We should pray for this patriot, brave, honest n skiiled man.


From: Shimul Chaudhury <honestdebater@yahoo.ca>
To: dahuk@yahoogroups.com; banglarnari@yahoogroups.com; witness-pioneer@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Wed, June 23, 2010 6:43:55 AM
Subject: [Dahuk]: Collective Actions to Shield Mahmudur Rahman

 

http://www.sonarban gladesh.com/ article.php? ID=2954

Collective Actions to Shield Mahmudur Rahman

Shimul Chaudhury

It appears that Sheikh Hasina's government has a sinister plan to continue torturing editor Mahmudur Rahman in the name of legal proceedings. What is most worrying is that the Supreme Court (including the High Courst and Appellate divisions) is on holiday till 3 July 2010. If the repressive regime takes this long vacation as an opportunity to persecute this patriotic man in police custody, freedom loving people in Bangladesh and beyond have a very good reason to feel disturbed.

On a personal note, let me make it very clear that I am not a member of any political groups in Bangladesh. But I have deep respect for Mr Rahman, as I know that he has been honest and brave in exposing the wrongdoings of the people in power. When many columnists remained largely silent and exercised self-censorship during the last army-backed government, he was the one to write relentlessly against human rights violations during those two years. He was the man to challenge them! After Awami League came to power, he continued writing for the betterment of his country and against India's political and economic hegemony in the region and against the Bangladesh government's subservient policies.

Recently I contacted a lawyer who has been partly involved in handling Mr Rahman's case. This is what he said to me:

"He [Mahmudur Rahman] was taken to an unknown place, eyes were folded, he was undressed, tortured,,,, was not allowed to sign a letter of authority for 'appointment of lawyer' (it was later allowed), he was kept in police custody without food and drink for long hours, he was not allowed to see his lawyers / family members for over 24 hours. He was arrested on 1 June, by now he has lost his weight @ 7 Kgs, he was taken on police custody for interrogation in criminal cases which were filed after he had been arrested!!!. ....his life is endangered. Please see the reports (Naya Diganta, Amar Desh, others 3 June - 15 June). His very arrest was unlawful. He said to his lawyers/family members and even to the Court that he had been brutally tortured: physically and mentally.... starvation, inhuman and degrading treatments in violation of all norms of human rights, constitutional safeguards.. ..all have taken place by now...."

Upon court appearance, Mr Rahman told the judge that he was not supposed to be alive after what he had gone through in police custody and asked the judge to save his life.

Historically, Awami League, the political party currently in power in Bangladesh has always been against freedom of the press. On June 16, 1975, the then Awami League government had closed all newspapers except four under government control and banned all other political groups. Since this regime came to power in early 2009, it has kept torturing people of opposition political groups, threatening journalists and shut down television channels like Channel 1and Jamuna TV, and the second most widely-circulated newspaper Amar Desh.

What I have gathered after reading different news stories on Mr Mahmudur Rahman's arrest and tortures on him is that: He was severely tortured by unidentified five people in one early morning in the name of remand; he was blindfolded, stripped naked. When those men started torturing him, he fainted and remained senseless for many hours. He was questioned not about the issues relating to his cases; but about other extra-judicial matters.

People in Bangladesh believe that Mr Rahman has been the target mainly for his writings where he talked about the regime's complicity in the killings of about 60 army officers in February 2009 and about Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's son Joy's involvement in financial corruptions.

I most humbly request all to do whatever they can to put pressure on the Bangladesh government to rescue this uncompromising writer.






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[ALOCHONA] FW: Marital Discord --an illuminating work for resolving marital issues [1 Attachment]

[Attachment(s) from S A Hannan included below]

Dear sirs,

 

Assalamu Alaikum.Please find the revised second edition of the book Marital Discord by Abdul Hamid Abu Suleman .It is a very important and thought provoking work.

Plesase save it for future use.

Shah Abdul Hannan

 


From: Totonji Al Hajj [mailto:ahmadtotonji@yahoo.com]
Sent: Wednesday, June 23, 2010 9:25 AM
To: undisclosed recipients:
Subject: Fw: Marital Discord

 



--- On Tue, 6/22/10, Shiraz Khan <shiraziiit@googlemail.com> wrote:


From: Shiraz Khan <shiraziiit@googlemail.com>
Subject: Marital Discord
To: "Totonji Al Hajj" <ahmadtotonji@yahoo.com>
Cc: "Anas" <iiit@iiituk.com>
Date: Tuesday, June 22, 2010, 12:35 PM

al salamu alaykum Dr. Totonji

 

I hope this finds you in good health insha'Allah. Please find attached the new edition of Marital Discord as requested.

 

ws

 

Shiraz

 


Attachment(s) from S A Hannan

1 of 1 File(s)


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