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Tuesday, November 30, 2010

[ALOCHONA] Government mistakes regarding the hartal of 30/11/10

The Government made the following errors during the hartal:

1. The BNP offices should not have been cordoned off
2. SH Tuku, Home Ministry, should not have used provocative language
3. BNP female MP's should not have been manhandled
4. AL activists should not have been instructed to march publicly
5. The police should not have allowed AL activists to march freely
6. The police should not have beaten BNP activists with sticks

Now. Does this make me a BNP supporter? Well, if I was an AL leader I would have insisted on the above 6 points. It would have taught my own activists a thing or two about real politics, caught BNP offguard, taught the BNP a new lesson, won universal public support and, above all, indicated a better road ahead.

As it stands we have fallen into the same trap that we always fall into. Understandable.

Bangladeshi national politics are simply a magnification of Bangladeshi village politics. Our village politics have not evolved for centuries due to isolation and illiteracy. We think our village politics is sophisticated (another grand delusion of ours). But a manual of village politics, or rather a playbook, would at best list no more tha a dozen rules, a dozen strategies, a dozen countermoves and a dozen 'dialogues'. Century after century our villagers have lived by the same playbook. We simply don't know any better. And so our village players perpetrate these trategies and shortly afterwards fall victim to the same strategies.

Our government and our opposition, the AL and BNP, are simply villagers with a bit more money and the occassional degree.

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[ALOCHONA] Nicolas Sarkozy, the Saudis and Carla Bruni



Nicolas Sarkozy, the Saudis and Carla Bruni

US embassy cables reveal French president offended Saudi sensibilities by inviting fiancée on state visit
 
Carla Bruni and Nicolas Sarkozy
 

Nicolas Sarkozy offended the Saudis by planning to take Carla Bruni on a state visit before they were married, a secret US cable shows.

The French president made a high-profile trip to Saudi Arabia in January 2008 to improve his personal relationship with King Abdullah. But a memo from the US embassy in Riyadh said Saudi contacts "privately shared displeasure with certain French conduct" during the trip.

The hosts found Sarkozy's invitation of his then fiancée, Bruni, "offensive given their strict, conservative culture against the company of an unmarried woman". In the end, Bruni stayed home. But various "protocol faux pas" were committed by the French delegation. Sarkozy was deemed "less than gracious" for "avoiding tasting traditional Arab foods" and displaying a "bored look during the televised arrival sword ceremony".

Saudi contacts lamented the brazenly commercial tone of the trip, the cable said. The French president reportedly "presented a list of 14 sales that French firms would like to make to the Saudi government, complete with the original price and discounts that Sarkozy was prepared to negotiate".

On another state visit, Sarkozy travelled to Morocco in October 2007, just after the divorce from his second wife, Cecilia. He was accompanied on the trip, including at a banquet with the royal family, by his justice minister, Rachida Dati, whose mother was Moroccan.

But the US embassy in Rabat noted in a secret cable: "While Sarkozy was generally well received, there was much gossip in Moroccan salons about a 'too relaxed' president slouching comfortably in his chair as he and the king presided over a 22 October signing ceremony at the royal palace in Marrakech. In one image, Sarkozy was seen crossing his legs and pointing the sole of his shoe at the king – a taboo gesture in the Islamic world."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/nov/30/wikileaks-nicolas-sarkozy-carla-bruni



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[ALOCHONA] Endangering students for partisan purpose unacceptable



Editorial Newe Age 1/12/10
Endangering students for partisan purpose unacceptable

THE allegation that the authorities of some schools in the capital forced students to take part in human chains formed on important city roads against hartal (general strike) on Monday, at the behest of some Awami League lawmakers, is a poignant pointer on how far the ruling party is willing to go, or how low it is willing to stoop, however one may choose to look at it, to protect and promote its partisan interest. According to a report front-paged in New Age on Tuesday, some teachers alleged that `all teachers and students were instructed strictly on the previous day [Sunday] to attend the human chain' while some students claimed that they had to skip regular classes to join the programme, in the course of which they `had to stand in the sun for over an hour' and some of them `fell sick'. The teachers also alleged that the AL lawmakers had instructed these schools to remain open during Tuesday's dawn-to-dusk general strike called and observed by the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party.
   The allegation not only underlines the ruling party's desperation to demonise and denigrate the opposition party but also betrays its double standards. It is pertinent to recall that the AL-led government has recently finalised the draft National Child Policy 2010, which prohibited the use of children in political activities, and that the state minister for women and children affairs at a news briefing on September 15 said the policy would put an embargo on the use of children, in processions, picketing and other political activities. Moreover, the prime minister, when inaugurating the World Child Rights Week 2010 and Universal Children's Day on October 4, articulated her government's plan to prevent the use of children for political purpose, which, given the culture of violence and vandalism in politics, may have been won her appreciation from sections of society. However, it now seems that those were mere political rhetoric, as the ruling party appears unhesitant to use children as long as it promises to serve its parochial partisan interest.
   Forcing the students to take part in a human chain and then attend classes during a general strike tends also to betray the ruling party's indifference to the inconvenience of the boys and girls in question on the one hand and its general disregard for the safety and security of the people at large on the other. Given the prevailing culture of violence and vandalism in politics, these students were, in fact, wilfully exposed to physical harm. It is simply unacceptable; as the president of the Bangladesh Teachers Employers United Alliance claimed, the AL-led government may have outdone the previous administrations in this regard.
   Be that as it may, the education minister's assertion that `action would be taken against the institutions if they have forced students to join the human chain' is assuring but not enough. Allegations have it that some ruling party lawmakers forced the school authorities into making the student join the human chain programme. If true, these lawmakers need also be called to account. Overall, the ruling party as well as the government has some explaining to do, to the people.



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[ALOCHONA] Sheikh Hasina and a Nuclear Free World

Sheikh Hasina's recent call for a nuclear free world seems rather grandiose given that she is preventing an idiot free parliament in Bangladesh.

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[ALOCHONA] Stray incidents mark hartal



Stray incidents mark hartal
Vehicles damaged, 300 BNP activists arrested

Courtesy New Age 30/11/10 Staff Correspondent

Police action and arrests kept the Bangladesh Nationalist Party leaders and activists from picketing during the opposition called dawn-to-dusk hartal that disrupted life across the country on Tuesday.
   At least 300 protesters were arrested in different part of the country during the hartal hours and sporadic incidents of violence and damage of vehicles were reported.
   The police detained 60 people in Dhaka, 21 in Cox's Bazar, 15 in Sylhet, eight in Barisal, 12 in Narsingdi, 15 in Dinajpur, three in Khulna, 17 in Jessore, 17 in Noakhali, three in Chittagong, three in Jaipurhat, seven in Moulvibazar, 18 in Munshiganj and three in Nilphamari.
   Clashes between pickets and police or ruling party activists were reported from Narsingdi, Noakhali, Jaipurhat and Rajshahi.
   The BNP called the general strike to register protest against eviction of the party chairperson, Khaleda Zia, `illegally' from the cantonment house, `conspiracies' to destroy the military, wholesale politicisation of administration and judiciary, `anti-state' deals, crises of gas, water and power, price hike of essentials, law and order slide and `repression' on opposition activists.
   In the capital, at least three buses and a CNG-run three-wheelers were set on fire and around 10 motorised vehicles were damaged outside Dhaka during the hartal hours.
   A few buses, three-wheelers and human haulers were seen on the main roads in the city. Inter-district buses kept off roads but rail and launch services were not hampered by the hartal. Most of the business houses and educational institutions remained shut.
   Banks and other public offices carried out their activities in the city under police protection, but the presence of clients and employee was thin, sources concerned said.
   Police picked up over 45 people, including BNP activists and opposition women lawmakers, from in front of the party's Naya Paltan central office during the strike hours. Many of them, however, were released in the evening.
   Our correspondents from most of the places across the country reported that police dispersed pro-hartal pickets and detained protesters trying to bring out procession.
   The ruling Awami League and its front organisations staged anti-hartal demonstrations in some parts of the country, including Dhaka, Chittagong, and Gopalganj. Activists of Chhatra League, the AL's associate body for students, were seen active on different city roads, particularly on the Dhaka University campus and Titumir College area, and chanting anti-hartal slogans.
   A large contingent of police blocked roads around the BNP office barring party activists from organising processions or rallies in the area. Police also kept the party's central office cordoned all day barring party activists from entering it. Later on the day, police allowed traffic on the road in front of the BNP's Naya Paltan office.
   A couple of crackers were exploded near Naya Paltan community centre in the morning and two others in front of Haq's Bay car showroom in the evening.
   BNP secretary general Khandakar Delwar Hossain, senior joint-secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, jont-secretary general Ruhul Kabir Rizvi, opposition chief whip Zainul Abdin Farroque and several other leaders stayed inside the office but did not try to bring out any procession except one early in the morning.
   BNP activists in other parts of the city did not bring out any processions. Activists of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, which had extended support to the hartal, tried to bring out a procession from AGB colony at 9:00am, but police dispersed them.
   Two lawyers were picked up by the police when the BNP-backed Ainjibi Forum brought out a procession at around 9:30am in the judge court area.
   Five Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal activists were arrested from Shahbagh and New Market area during the strike. Shahbagh police alleged that four of them were arrested in connection with a bomb blast in the Suhrawardy Udyan at about 9:00am.
   Activists of Chhatra League guarded entry points of Dhaka University at Shahbagh and Nilkhet and brought out an anti-hartal procession. Motorbike processions were also brought out on the campus several times on the day.
   In Chittagong, police charged batons on BNP leaders and activist when they tried to bring out a procession in Bahadderhat crossing, witnesses said adding that three people were arrested during the incident.
   The police also arrested two other BNP men while they were trying to picket in front of the Almas cinema.
   Awami League activists held rallies in different areas of the port city while BCL brought out motorcycle and rickshaw processions during the hartal hours.
   New Age staff correspondent in Sylhet reported that at least 15 activists of BNP and its front organisations were picked up from different areas and nearly eight others were injured in clashes between lawmen and pro-hartal activists.
   New Age correspondent in Barisal reported that the police took the control of city streets and dispersed pro-BNP lawyers and protester in Barisal court and port areas and other parts of the city. Water transports plied different routes, witnesses said.
   At least two rickshaws, four auto-tempos, and four buses were damaged in different parts of the city by pro-hartal pickets.
   New Age correspondent in Rajshahi reported that at least 20 students were injured when JCD and BCL activists clashed with iron rods and hockey sticks on the Rajshahi University campus during the strike.
   In Jessore, pickets damaged a three-wheeler and a motorcycle during the general strike.
   Noakhali correspondent reported that clashes between groups supporting and opposing the general strike left at least 15 people injured in sadar and Sonaimuri upazila of the district. Of those, 10 were injured in sadar upazila and 5 in Sonaimuri.
   In Gopalganj, the district unit of Awami League and its associate bodies staged protest against the hartal.
   New Age correspondent at Kushtia Islamic University reported that activists of Chhatra Dal vandalised a truck in front of the main gate of the university.
   Jaipurhat correspondent reported that at least 10 activists of BNP, Juba Dal and JCD were injured in a clash with activists of the AL.
   New Age correspondent in Munshiganj reported that no ferries plied Mawa-Kaorakandi route at Mawa point under Louhajang upazila in Munshiganj.
   Our correspondent in Narsingdi reported that at least 50 people, including former lawmaker Khairul Kabir Khokan, were injured when police charged batons and fired rubber bullets on a pro-hortal procession in Tarua crossing in the town.
   Report from Nilphamari said three people were arrested in the Gaachh Bari area of the municipality during chase and counter-chase between police and pickets on the day.



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[ALOCHONA] The Daily Star and the Hartal

Today's Daily Star approach to the hartal is lamentable. The editorial should have taken a stronger line against BNP for using general strikes and a stronger line against AL for its inability to bridge the gap given its overwhelming position of power. Even on the front page of the internet edition the first mention of yesterday's strike is in an aricle placed 8th in prominence on the home page.

What on earth is the Daily Star doing?

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[ALOCHONA] Re: Towards understanding Islam in postcolonial world order



 
In bief, I found this article of Prof. Taj  Hashemi far better than those he wrote relating to Islamic issues before. But he also followed the languages/ terms traditional anti-Islamic writers use. Most important is that he used the term "Islamism" as is used for socialism, Fascism, Communism, Communism etc. Islam is not an ism, so the proper terms should be Islam and or Islamic.

He should have stressed that Islam, and all religious teachings, always go for marginalized people. He does not understand that teachings of religions or does not have that feeling.

I do not think that Western support for Islamic groups during Cold War emboldened them. It was incidental. The West worked on their own interest. The oppression on Muslim nations for 4/5 centuries by the Western empires and the failure of the post-independent Muslim leaders (Westernized) have prepared a section of people to wage fight against all historic oppressions. Rise of Islam is not a post-colonial syndrome. He should understand "Islam Zinda Hota Hay' Her Karbalaki Baad," although that may not happen always.

Maolana Moududi might have many many shortcomings, not being much critical of Kings, but he admired fascism is not true. What I saw from Moududi's (I do not know everything) literature is that he analyzed historical aspects and stated what negativity developed in Muslims in general caused the losing of Muslims nations/ powers, and what positive, and also cunning practices, gave the rise of and successes by the colonialists.

The article lacks the citations of historical atrocities done to the colonies by the colonialists and clarification/ explanation of some terms, such as FIS.

Zainul Abedin
http://groups.google.com/group/bangladeshiamericans/browse_thread/thread/1c7cf53ed48c1833

On Sat, Nov 27, 2010 at 12:00 PM, Isha Khan <bdmailer@gmail.com> wrote:
Towards understanding Islam in postcolonial world order
 
Taj Hashmi
 
 Overview

As the discord between modern and traditional Muslims is ideological by nature, so is the conflict between Islam and the West. And ideology is more about power, influence and identity than a mere reflection of culture and belief system. While modern Muslim elites are unwilling to concede power and privileges to the mullahs, most mullahs and their followers — mostly rural and small town lower elites with traditional Islamic or "vernacular" education — are also unwavering about not conceding any ground to non-traditional "Westernised" Muslims.

The Iranian Revolution and the Taliban/al-Qaeda experiment in Afghanistan have inspired mullahs and their followers to go the Khomeini or Taliban way. Meanwhile, Western duplicities and open support for Islamists during the Cold War had further emboldened Islamists within and beyond the Muslim World. State-sponsorship of Islamism by Saudi Arabia, Gulf States and Pakistan, among other states, has also been a contributing factor to the rise of political Islam. Arab autocrats promote Sunni orthodoxy to contain Shiite Iranian influence; and Pakistani rulers sometime promote Islamists to bleed archrival India and to neutralise secular democratic opposition at home.

For distancing ourselves from any pseudo-history of Islamism, we need to understand that postcolonial Islamist re-assertion is a legacy of defeats and humiliation for the Ummah. "The death of Nasserism… in the Six-Day War of 1967", one analyst observes, "brought Islamism as the alternative ideology in the Muslim World." We also need an understanding of the Muslim psyche vis-à-vis the Muslim experience in Palestine, Kashmir, Iran, Algeria, Egypt, and among other places, Iraq and Afghanistan. How the Cold War allies – Muslims and the West – turned into adversaries or competitors in an uneven "elite conflict" in the Globalised World for conflicting hegemonies and ideologies demands our attention.

We also need to discern the Cold War Islamism from the post-Cold War one. While during the Cold War, Muslims considered the West a "suspect-cum-ally". Nevertheless, Muslims regarded the West as a friend against their common enemy, communism. Although, the end of the Cold War following the Russian withdrawal from Afghanistan had heightened Muslim optimism, they were soon crestfallen by the not-so-benign role of the West. Instead of ushering a new dawn of hope and empowerment for Muslims, the New World Order did not bring anything new to the Muslim World. By 1991, almost all the Muslim-majority countries — barring Turkey, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Malaysia — had became autocratic; and by 2003 three of them — Iraq, Sudan and Afghanistan — had been invaded by Western troops. In short, the cumulative unpleasant post-Cold War Muslim experience has led to the beginning of another Cold War. "Islam vs. the West" has become the new catchword. Meanwhile, pre-modern ultra-orthodox obscurantist forces had gained upper hand in many Muslim-majority countries. Interestingly, enamoured by the concept of transnational Muslim solidarity, Muslims in postcolonial societies are grabbing the elusive Ummah as their security blanket as weak and marginalised people find security in number. We may impute the prevalent obscurantism among sections of Muslims to their backwardness, lack of education and opportunities for various historical factors, but we cannot turn a blind eye to Western duplicities and hegemonic designs in the Muslim World. One can at best consider the Western lip-service to "democracy and freedom" in the Muslim World as condescending, insincere and deceitful; its insistence on bringing peace without justice from Algeria to Iraq and Palestine to Kashmir is simply shocking and terrifying.

Islamism, a postcolonial syndrome

Since most Muslim countries with a handful of exceptions were European colonies, the Muslim-West conflict is at least as old as colonialism. One may trace the roots of the conflict to early medieval era, even predating the Crusades. The inter-state conflicts between Muslim neighbours are by-products of colonialism. European colonial powers' arbitrarily drawing lines "across the desert", which created artificial states like Israel, Lebanon, Jordan, Kuwait, Pakistan, Indonesia and Malaysia and truncated entities like Syria and Iraq; have further accentuated the conflict. The postcolonial ascendancy of the Pax Americana, which coincided with the beginning of the Cold War, divided the Muslim World between pro-American and pro-Russian camps. However, the end of the Cold War signalled the beginning of another between the Muslim World and the West. In the wake of the Cold War, the overwhelming Muslim majorities globally turned anti-Western in general and anti-American in particular. They were disillusioned with the West for its continued support for Israel and regimes hostile to their interests in the Muslim World. As substantial part of the global disempowered people, they also believe the West-sponsored Globalisation process has not been beneficial to their interests at all. We must contextualise Islamic reforms, resurgence and Islamist militancy and terrorism to the dilemma of postcolonial Muslim community. They can neither forget their pre-colonial and colonial pasts, nor can they fully integrate themselves into the modern world due to various cultural and economic constraints.

The Ummah represents a racially, culturally, politically and economically diverse global Muslim community. As Muslims have economic, political and sectarian differences, they also have different ways of resolving problems, organising dissent and protest, violently or peacefully, in the name of Islam or with secular agenda. Algerian Muslims, for example, fought a protracted bloody war of liberation against France. Algerian Muslims having the tradition of fighting a people's war against oppressive regimes are more likely to take up arms against their enemies than Muslims in some other countries. They are not that different from Afghans. As the French colonial rulers did not allow representative self-governing institutions and relatively free press, unlike what the British experimented in its colonies; Algerians lack the tradition of organising protests and demonstrations against their rulers in a peaceful constitutional way. The French allowed no Gandhis in their colonies either. Consequently, as Fanon has argued, the "colonised, underdeveloped man" in Algeria metamorphosed himself into a "political creature in the most global sense". Unlike the "colonised intellectual", the relatively free peasants posed the biggest threat to the French in Algeria. [1] The postcolonial Algerian government's maintaining the colonial hierarchical systems, especially in the realm of education by continuing with the French and Arabic medium schools to create the employable and under-employable, French and "Vernacular" elites respectively. According to Roy, Algerian Islamist "lumpen-intellectuals", mostly with science or engineering background, had been striving for "lumpen-Islamism". He has

demonstrated how corrupt autocracy in Algeria was responsible in culturally Islamising the polity by toying with Islamism for the sake of legitimacy.[2]

The situation in Egypt, Sudan and Somalia is not that different from Algeria; the only major difference being their different colonial experiences. Unlike Algeria, Egypt was not sharply polarised between Western and Vernacular elites, as the titular heads of state or the khedives (later glorified as kings up to 1952) ran the administration with both Western and Arabic elites. By gagging the freedom of expression, proscribing all opposition parties and even executing dissenting politicians, postcolonial rulers have left no space for constitutional politics either in Egypt. As under Nasser and Sadat, Hosni Mobarak's government also does not allow political dissent. Since April 2008, there has been a crackdown on the anti-Mobarak "Facebook Revolution" by Ahmed Maher. This youth movement through Facebook and Twitter has been mobilizing support for boycotting sham elections under Mobarak.[3] Dissident Muslim Brotherhood and others also face persecution on a regular basis. This has paved the way for clandestine organizations, especially the Jihadists. It is noteworthy that Pan-Islamist thinker Jamal al-Din Afghani's Egyptian "great-grand-disciple", Hassan al-Banna was the founder of the Muslim Brotherhood; and Banna's disciple, Sayyid Qutb directly inspired Ayman al-Zawahiri "who in 1967 established the first jihadist cell in the Arab world". [4]
 
It is noteworthy that Indian (Pakistani after 1947) Islamist Maulana Maududi (1903-1979), who founded the Jamaat-e-Islami (Party of Islam) in 1941, was both influenced by the Brotherhood and his writings also influenced the latter. However, Jamaat and Brotherhood were (are) different as well; while Maududi admired fascism, Banna had admiration for socialism and wanted social justice for the poor. Interestingly, although the Egyptian Brotherhood holds a supranational ideology, the FIS in Algeria has been primarily an Algerian nationalist movement for "Islamo-nationalism".[5]
 
——————–

Taj Hashmi is a professor of security studies at the Asia-Pacific Centre for Security Studies in Honolulu, Hawaii.

[1] Frantz Fanon, The Wretched of the Earth, Grover Press, New York 2005, Ch V, pp.181-234

[2] Oliver Roy, The Failure of Political Islam, I.B. Tauris, London 1994, pp. 75-88

[3] Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, "The April 6 Youth Movement", September 22, 2010 http://egyptelections.carngieendowment.org/2010/09/22/the-april-6-youth-movement (accessed November 22, 2010)

[4] Fawaz A. Gerges, Journey of the Jihadist: Inside Muslim Militancy, Harcourt, Inc. New York 2006, p.37

 
[5] Ibid, pp. 129-30
 



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[ALOCHONA] Asian Security Environment: India's options



Asian Security Environment: India's options
 
By Anand K Verma, former Chief of RAW
 

Asian security environment is in a state of deep turmoil. The single event which has occasioned it, is the giant rise of China during the past couple of decades, reaching higher and higher levels of economic and military strength. All neighbors of China, as also some others, are engaged in working out strategies to cope with China should it turn into a rogue state sometime in future.

Even the US is looking for new equations of power as the centre of political and economic balance shifts towards Asia, led by China whose long-term vision of itself remains unfathomable. Setting aside its suspicions of many decades and making an exception to its consistently held non-proliferation policies, the US offered to India a civilian nuclear agreement which will boost its economic and military strength. The rapprochement has been followed by another agreement for joint defense framework that will be in place for ten years envisaging a closer military relationship and arms sale to India. China has not been very happy over these developments as it already sees itself as being the reason for them.

The US has thus become an active participant in the power play in Asia with a new vantage hold on Asian security.

China has been singled out by US as its most likely bête noire of the future because of its galloping economic growth. Economists assess that the Chinese economy will outgrow US economy by the third decade of this century, giving it almost an equal status. But the Indian economy is also expected to grow almost uniformly during the same period, equaling the size of US economy and growing beyond by 2050s.

Thus, while China becomes the largest economy in the world in the next 20 years and the most powerful nation in Asia, it will also have to share the high table with India, and Japan which before the spurt in Chinese growth, was the biggest economy in Asia. These three powers Japan, India and China, will have jointly or singly the greatest sway over Asian security in the coming years. History has already decided that they cannot love each other.

And since rising to such eminence requires assurances of availability of markets and resources, the relationship among the three is likely to be marked by mutual rivalry, jealousies and recriminations. This accounts for the turmoil which is already visible in Asian security. If careful and visionary steps on future strategy are not taken now by all the nations of Asia, dark times will lie ahead. By opting for India, also a fellow democracy and hence sharing common values, the US wants to preempt those dark times.

The US has thus become an active participant in the power play in Asia with a new vantage hold on Asian security. With its new alignments with India, it will try to balance off any attempt by China to dominate over Asia. Furthermore, its own impact on Asia and its security will stay unabated as it plays the role of mentor in the region.

China is no longer a Marxist country even though it is a one party ruled authoritarian communist state. It turned capitalist a long while ago...

The Japanese have also lately, been displaying a special interest in India, compelled by similar reservations on China. Since 2004, India has become the largest recipient of its overseas aid. In addition they are also mulling over how the constitutional embargoes, placed by the victorious US on a defeated Japan at the end of World War II, restricting their defense forces by size and role, can be amended.

Japan is spending not more than 1 per cent of its GDP on its defense whereas the figure for US is 4 per cent. Some clever maneuvering is taking place in this respect and the size and lethality of the Japanese Coast Guard, not identified as a self-defense force, is being furiously expanded. The Japanese, like China and India, is also entering space in a big way. All the three countries have set somewhat identical targets for space and research programs for lunar orbit and manned flights to moon, because the common belief is that space can become the platform for future wars if they cannot be avoided.

Another source of future aggression can be the economic tool of currency reserves. China is no longer a Marxist country even though it is a one party ruled authoritarian communist state. It turned capitalist a long while ago, of course with Chinese characteristics and opened itself to foreign investments, trade and globalization with its instant connectivity. The boom in economy which came in their wake has enabled it to accumulate reserves of which nearly $ 1.4 trillion is invested in US treasury bonds. Japan, the number one economy in Asia until overtaken by China, holds reserves of just less than $ 1 trillion.

Such enormous wealth, in the context of cash imbalances in other Asian countries, gives them opportunities for purchasing or heavily investing in state assets of the weaker Asian nations and thereby acquiring undue hold over such countries. It can effectively turn out to be a new form of colonialism. This calls for the establishment of appropriate review committees in such countries to exclude what can prove to be politically mandated sinister investments. Lesser nations have, thus, to remain on guard to preserve their economic integrity and safety.

The Chinese military budget hides much more than what it reveals and can be conservatively placed between US $50 billion to US $80 billion.

In fact the nations of South East Asia, neighbours of China and Japan, have already been vigilant for quite sometime. Five of these, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Philippines and Singapore in 1967 created ASEAN, Association of South East Asian Nations, gradually enlarging it between 1984 and 1995 to include Brunei, Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar and Cambodia. These nations primarily got together to expand intra regional trade and to move towards a single market and customs union.

The secondary objective was to create a forum for joint assessments for any predatory assault from more powerful nations of the North and across the Pacific. While the ASEAN has not been able to accomplish much so far by way of integration and common policies, it has given its members a sense of being a close knit group with some common concerns the most important of which remains not getting over shadowed by more powerful and not necessarily benign neighbours like China, Japan and the US.

In 1993 these nations took another step with national security as a special focus to set ARF, ASEAN Regional Forum, with a considerably expanded membership. ARF includes several distant countries like US, Canada, Australia, Russia and European Union, besides all major Asian countries like India, China, Japan and North Korea. The logic for creating such an omnibus forum was to have all likely adversaries on one platform so that all aggressive design towards the region could be controlled and stalled. ARF has not so far deliberated upon any major security issue but the hope is that in time to come, when regional rivalries are likely to be exacerbated,. ARF could play the role of a mini General Assembly of the UN, India, by being a member of ARF, is now enabled to have its say on any troubling issue, arising in South East Asia.

Experience of many years show, Pakistan is unable to deliver on Kashmir and terrorism. Kashmir is its objective and terror its tool.

Their rivalries were again on display when another forum called East Asia Summit was being set up. To the chagrin of China, India was invited to participate in it by Japan, Indonesia and Singapore, with tacit support from the US. By the time the East Asia Summit was inaugurated in 2005, Australia and New Zealand had also become its members. The Chinese ability to dominate over the institution was thus greatly diminished. The EAS is a futuristic organization, to play a role when in future security related issues in the region would become highly complex. Again, through its membership, India will be enabled to present its view forcefully on any or all issues including security.

The region's cautious attitude towards China flows from the historical legacy when the Chinese communist party was blatantly supporting insurgencies and smaller communist parties in the neighbourhood. Chinese war with Vietnam in 1979 and propping up of the murderous government of Pol Pot in Cambodia had added to their misgivings. The Chinese attack on India in 1962 and subsequent withdrawal had already added another dimension to the mystery of Chinese decision-making process. Since then and particularly after the Tiananmen Square uprising of 1989, China adopted a low profile and has been focused on economic development, avoiding distractions which could spoil its concentration. Chinese rapid economic development from the 1990s has revived those anxieties again since China has a number of territorial disputes with its neighbours which have remained unresolved.

Certain projects undertaken by China in the neighbourhood strengthens the suspicion that it wants India hemmed in from all sides, so that it remains a regional power only in South Asia and does not reach the status of an Asian or global power.

China is squatting over 18,000 sq km of Indian land in Aksai Chin in Ladakh and claims ownership of the entire state of Arunachal Pradesh, an area of 84,000 sq kms. It is showing no signs of resolving these land disputes, leaving one wondering whether it wants the disputed status quo to remain just that way. The aim seems to be keeping India destabilized in these regions. The Arunachal Pradesh issue was recently raked up by China with many shrill and hostile comments emanating from state controlled media in China. China's long and consistent support to Pakistan, including aiding of the latter's nuclear weapon development against India, violating all norms of non-proliferation, is an abiding indicator that China does not wish India well at all.

Certain projects undertaken by China in the neighbourhood strengthens the suspicion that it wants India hemmed in from all sides, so that it remains a regional power only in South Asia and does not reach the status of an Asian or global power.

Among these projects are port development at Gwadar in Pakistan which could also be a resting place for ships of Chinese Blue Water Navy, Karakoram highway connecting Pakistan with Western China, surveillance outposts on Myanmar Islands, a road from Yunan to Bay of Bengal through Myanmar, beefing up of ports of Myanmar and Sri Lanka etc. The emphasis on port development suggests an intention to use them during forays of Chinese navy into the Indian Ocean. These projects when ready will also help China to expand its trade and investments further to the West. They are, thus a double purpose activity, which should alert India and require it to go by a worst-case scenario for its security and prepare accordingly for the challenges they represent.

At this point it must be stated, the sense of threat is not unidirectional: as their economy strengthens China also is becoming conscious that India can prove to be a menace. Their biggest worry arises from the presence of Dalai Lama and over 100,000 Tibetans in India. Although India has long ago accepted Tibet to be an autonomous region of China, the undiminished strength of Tibetan nationalism and the magnetism of Buddhist monasteries in Tibet for mobilization of Tibetan sentiments against Han settlers and authorities there, create a deep suspicion in the Chinese mind that India will not hesitate to exploit any worsening of Chinese situation in Tibet.

While China remains a potent danger to India on its eastern and northern flanks, many dangers abound in South Asia itself.

Selection of a new Dalai Lama when the present one dies could create such a scenario if the Chinese seek to enforce their choice on the Tibetan people. The entire Tibetan diaspora including those in India could be expected to explode against the Chinese with repercussions inside Tibet. In such an event China's relationship with India will plummet and the borders would become active. It is probably because of such anticipation that the Chinese are delaying settlement of the border disputes with India.

The security scenario in East Asia remains troubled over the territorial disputes of China with its other neighbours. In East China Sea, China and Japan have laid rival claims over some islands and rights to explore gas and oil in the region. Neither side is giving in, lest it is interpreted as weakness. The disputed Senkaku islands, presently in Japanese hands, lie in this patch of waters. Taiwan also claims Senkaku.

In South China Sea, five countries, China, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia and Philippines dispute ownership over Spratly and Paracel islands. A code of conduct signed by the five has taken away the sting but resolution of the problem of conflicting claims remains a distant dream. While India has no direct concerns over these disputes, deterioration in the situation could result in the blocking of Malacca Straits through which India's bulk of trade with eastern countries passes. Such disputes and the tension of catching up with the US have made China determined to upgrade its military capacity as fast as it can.

The South Asian Association for Regional Co-operation (SAARC) has not made any progress because states like Pakistan and Bangladesh have unwarranted fears arising out of asymmetry of power between them and India.

The Chinese military budget hides much more than what it reveals and can be conservatively placed between US $50 billion to US $80 billion. Its military spending is rising in double digits every year. India's military budget is less than half in comparison. Two consequences flow for India from this. One, India stands out as a much weaker nation militarily before China. Second, the People's Liberation Army of China will always try to influence Chinese party leadership to remain jingoistic towards India. That is why Chinese official media often displays a tough and uncompromising attitude towards India.

While China remains a potent danger to India on its eastern and northern flanks, many dangers abound in South Asia itself. An anarchic security environment prevails in it, driven by the flow of history and individual state systems which have developed. The nature of relationship among states of the region is influenced by internal ideologies and power equations. Foreign policy remains a hostage to internal environments and the urge for regional cooperation recedes to the background. Efforts at power balancing with India sends regional co-operation to the bottom of the list of priorities.

The South Asian Association for Regional Co-operation (SAARC) has not made any progress because states like Pakistan and Bangladesh have unwarranted fears arising out of asymmetry of power between them and India. Absence of common democratic norms and desire for collective security also creates hurdles. Many of the states in the region have so far failed to develop an orderly state of governance and enlightened polity. Until all states of the region adopt a minimum set of guidelines for governance such as democracy, secularism and welfare for the people, co-operation in the region will remain elusive and problems of security will keep on surfacing.

Since these states emerged as independent entities after the departure of the British colonial power, an environment of conflict, major or minor, prevails in the region. The most serious of this conflictual situation is between India and Pakistan, dating from partition itself. Militant ethnic identity and extremist religious ideology account for some others. Authoritarianism and mis-governance have also spawned a whole lot of them. These conflicts have led to security deficits and political disasters and most of the region has failed to grow to its potential unlike the nations of South East Asia and Far East. What is worse is that they harbour deep suspicions about India's motivations.

Islamic terrorism, it should be understood clearly, is a joint project of Pakistani establishment and extremist organizations in Pakistan like Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jaish-e-Mohd, Harkat-ul-Jehadi Islam etc.

The security situation on the Indian borders, therefore, remains perpetually problematic. Except for Maldives and Bhutan that have no issues with India, the remaining four, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka feel unease about India and are capable of taking steps, potentially harmful to the security of India.

Most of the states on India's borders including Afghanistan can be designated failed or failing states. The most dangerous region in the area is Pak-Afghanistan, characterized as ground zero by leaders and security experts of the world. An insurgency, powered by confusing strands of nationalism, misguided religious fanaticism, abiding hatred for the West in general and US in particular, historical mis-governance and repression and absence of credible civil society institutions, rages there. Pakistan was the prime mover of this phenomenon and now is turning out to be its prime victim. Its duplicitous policy of clandestinely supporting Taliban in Afghanistan and battling Pakistan Taliban in its North West is splitting its polity and armed forces and causing militant religious extremism, to spread into its hinterland such as Southern Punjab.

Pakistan is imbibing more and more of the virus from Al Qaida whose leaders are still holed in safe havens in Pakistan. As Pakistan totters on account of its internal contradictions it represents a flash point for India and truly speaking for the world itself. The irrational and unthinking leadership of Pakistan has often displayed keenness in the past to go nuclear against India. It is not beyond the realm of possibility that they could share their nuclear technology with Al Qaida and other extremist entities. Pakistan, in the past, has proved to be the worst proliferator of nuclear technology and material. Since leadership there does not bind itself to any ethical or moral code, history can repeat itself.

It is a moot question whether India knows how to deal with Pakistan. It has relied in the past on the dialogue process but though romanticized, it has always proved to be essentially without substance. Experience of many years show, Pakistan is unable to deliver on Kashmir and terrorism. Kashmir is its objective and terror its tool. There is plenty of evidence now that Pakistan also seeks to subvert the Indian Muslims by appealing to their Islamic instincts. Such propaganda does work as several cells have been discovered in the US, Europe and elsewhere where young natural born Muslim citizens respond to their religiously activated instincts and turned disloyal to the countries of their birth and upbringing.

North Korea has hugely damaged Indian interests in the past by supplying long range nuclear capable missiles and missile technology to Pakistan against receipt of nuclear weapon technology in return.

The threat from Pakistan is not just a territorial threat: it is also an ideological threat and is, therefore, to be combated at that plane. It should also be noted that Islamization is growing in the North East region of India, thanks to the collaboration of the Pakistani and Bangladeshi intelligence services. This development offers an easy tool for exploitation by evil-minded powers in the region.

There are many scholars and security experts who think that Islamic religious extremism has now got converted into an ideological movement which cannot be controlled by military means. Even in moderate Muslim countries like Malaysia, Indonesia and Maldives, its onward march has become a cause for concern. If it is a valid and true assessment, the US and NATO efforts in the Pak Afghan region can be expected ultimately to end in fiasco. This should be a cause for anxiety to India as it is investing heavily in Afghanistan in the hope that a stable and democratic order will emerge there.

Islamic terrorism, it should be understood clearly, is a joint project of Pakistani establishment and extremist organizations in Pakistan like Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jaish-e-Mohd, Harkat-ul-Jehadi Islam etc. for training, financing and operating jihadis all across the world against US, Jews and India, wherever Muslim interests have come under pressure and to establish Muslim Caliphates worldwide. Lashkar trained Mujahids have fought in Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Chechen, Dagestan, Bosnia, Afghanistan and Iraq. Only recently a rift has arisen between the Pakistani Establishments and Pakistan terrorist organisations over the former's military actions against Taliban in the North West region due to US pressure. In the eyes of the leaders of the Lashkar, the current leaders of Pakistan have turned un-Islamic and need to be punished. The latter are, therefore, fearful and will not call off terrorist operations in Kashmir and other parts of India.

As for other troubled countries of South Asia, Nepal has not stabilized after the demolition of the monarchy and bourgeoising of its Maoists. The Maoists seem bent on seizing all controls in Nepal and are systematically moving towards this objective. Sri Lanka continues to grapple with ethnic and identity conflicts even after the defeat of Tamil Tigers and death of their supremo, Prabhakaran. The Sinhala leadership will have to demonstrate a great deal of pragmatism and statesmanship to find a new and acceptable equilibrium for all the communities living there. Bangladesh presents a pitiable case with a bursting population growth, abject poverty and growing extremism in its polity and is unable to trust India.

Chinese needs for energy and other raw resources are expected to nearly double. China is therefore investing heavily for creating s blue water fleet, with aircraft carriers, nuclear submarines...

It is evident that SAARC has failed and needs to be replaced by another body which will promote democratic values, interdependence and conflict resolution. India should take a lead in the matter and invite only such South Asian states to participate who will not let their political hang ups to come in the way of expansion of regional trade, investments, water management, intraregional connectivity and counter terrorism.

The need for counter terrorism has brought the four central Asian states of Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Kazakhstan into a regional institution with China and Russia, called the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, in 2001. Besides dealing with Islamic terrorism this forum can lead to useful arrangements for accessing gas and petroleum products in Caspian Sea area. Institutions like SCO, ASEAN, and SAARC etc are all created on the model of European Union which dilutes the sovereignty of its members over some major political and social areas and reduces drastically the sharpness of balance of power politics. However the Asian regional institutions are far from accomplishing such results because of their members own sense of insecurity and fears of loss of identity but there seems to be no better way of ensuring their security. India's decision to be a part of such bodies is a visionary decision. India's voice is valued by the smaller nations of the East and that will add leverage to its opinions in South Asia also.

Because Britannia ruled over the waves the British were able to create an empire over which the sun never set. In the near future a deep contestation is likely to arise over who rules over the Indian Ocean. The Chinese want to control the sea lanes as more than four fifths of the crude oil requirements of China pass through the Ocean. The bulk of raw materials like iron ore, coal and bauxite, essential for Chinese growth, likewise pass through the same routes. In the next twenty years, Chinese needs for energy and other raw resources are expected to nearly double.

India is also engaged with Iran for a gas line to India through Pakistan. The talks are somewhat stalled on the issue of price of gas but the real stumbling block is whether trust can be placed on Pakistan's assurances about the safety and continuity of the supplies through its territory.

China is therefore investing heavily for creating s blue water fleet, with aircraft carriers, nuclear submarines and paraphernalia capable of projecting force in the Indian Ocean apart from the Pacific. India senses a threat from such developments, since four fifths of its own energy requirements like oil from Persian Gulf, liquefied gas from Qatar and Indonesia, come over sea routes. The smaller nations in the region are alarmed by the growth of sea power of India and China and are beefing up their own navies. Hopefully, the rivalries in the Indian Ocean will be contained through prudent diplomacy and non-belligerent engagements.

Only three other trouble spots affecting Asian security remain to be considered and they are Palestine, North Korea and Iran. No one can predict what shape a solution of the Palestinian question will take since each side remains adamant on its terms, the Palestinian Arabs on sharing of ownership of Jerusalem and vacation of some Jewish settlements from earlier Arab owned land and Israeli refusal to concede on the two points. India has to tread very carefully while dealing with them since it upholds the humanitarian and just demands of the Arabs and at the same time has a very close security relationship with the Israelis through which flows highly sophisticated equipment, essential for its safety and defence. No foreseeable change in this policy is likely to occur.

North Korea has hugely damaged Indian interests in the past by supplying long range nuclear capable missiles and missile technology to Pakistan against receipt of nuclear weapon technology in return. But no new damage is expected. North Korea is an exceptionally frail economic entity and all its neighbours are worried over its ongoing nuclear weapon programme and its intentions. North Korea like Fidel Castro in Cuba is run only by one man Kim Jong-il, dictator of the country. He is believed to be not in good health. His sudden collapse can open up several possibilities; a civil war, a gradual unification process German style with South Korea, attempt at annexation by China or a proxy war involving US, India is just likely to remain a distant watcher, going along with solutions that UN may offer.

India's stakes in the region are also enormous but the horrifying factor of Pakistan cannot be overlooked.

Iran's is a perplexing case for India's security and foreign policy. Although a signatory in 1985 of the Nonproliferation treaty, NPT, the world believes it has violated its commitments and is secretly engaged in a nuclear weapon development exercise. Essentially Iran is a fundamentalist Islamic country with links to Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Palestine, both accepting terror as a tool of policy. It is feared that the two could be a beneficiary of a successful Iranian nuclear weapon programme. If that happens it will be the thin end of the wedge and nuclear munitions could travel to other terrorist groups in other parts of the world. India, therefore, takes a bold and negative view on this programme.

At the same time India depends a great deal on energy imports from Iran and hence must keep Iran pacified. US worries over the Iranian nuclear developments are similar. The Obama administration has probably already commenced track II discussions with Iran to evolve a satisfactory solution. India is also engaged with Iran for a gas line to India through Pakistan. The talks are somewhat stalled on the issue of price of gas but the real stumbling block is whether trust can be placed on Pakistan's assurances about the safety and continuity of the supplies through its territory.

Accepting the assurance cannot but be a huge gamble. This whole region, Central Asian Republics, Iran, Iraq the Gulf, US, China and Russia today are heavily involved in the geopolitics of oil, gas and pipelines and none of these countries will easily accept being upstaged by others. India's stakes in the region are also enormous but the horrifying factor of Pakistan cannot be overlooked. A policy, indemnified by major countries, though still risky, may be the best option for India.

This survey of Asian security reveals that security problems lie scattered along the length and breadth of Asia. At the same time it is to be noted that such problems do not come in the way of increasing globalization of economic relations, trade, investments, inter- dependence and connectivity. Mutual economic benefits may help in keeping a lid over political disputes, at least over the foreseeable future. Economic prospects perhaps hold the key to integrate security related political complexities of Asia as demonstrated by countries of Europe who are now the members of the European Union.

http://www.indiandefencereview.com/IDR-Updates/Asian-Security-Environment-Indias-options.html



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[ALOCHONA] Arrest trade of Police



Arrest trade of Police
 
 
 
 


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[ALOCHONA] Ashuganj transit deal signed



Over-dimensional cargoes to be carried to Tripura power plant; effective till June 2012

Bangladesh yesterday signed the first ever multi-modal transit with India only for carrying equipment to a power plant in Tripura.A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed by Bangladeshi and Indian officials at the shipping ministry yesterday. With this signing, Bangladesh implemented one of the clause of the 50-point Joint Communiqué issued on January 12 during Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's visit to India.

India will not pay any fees or service charges for this transit even though it would be using Bangladesh's rivers and roads. However, it has agreed to provide Bangladesh Tk 25.50 crore for the development of Ashuganj river port terminal and 49 kilometres of roads.

India has been paying annual charge under river protocol since 1972 and it will continue to do so. The charge has been raised to nearly Tk 5 crore a year since 2009 for five ports of call across Bangladesh.However, foreign ministry sources said the MoU was signed bypassing the concurrence of the ministry. An official of the ministry said under the Rules of Business, 1996, no ministry can do anything unilaterally if the matter is related to foreign relations.There were even no foreign ministry officials present during the signing.

According to the MoU, Indian cargo will start from West Bengal's Raimongal and enter Bangladesh at Angtihara under Shaymnagar of Satkhira and go up to Ashuganj river port by inland waterways. The cargo would then be moved to Akhaura on very large lorries pulling long trailers.

A total of 96 Over-Dimensional Cargoes (ODCs) will be carried for the Palatana power project in Tripura. The plant would generate 726-megawatts.Repair and renovation work of the Ashuganj port and construction of the road will start this month and be completed by next December.The road from Ashuganj to Sonardi via Sarail, Brahmanbaria, Sultanpur and Akhaura is too narrow for transporting large cargos efficiently and it will be widened to 18 metres.

Chief Engineer of the Roads and Highways Department Azizur Rahman and Senior Adviser and Director of ONGC Tripura Power Company RK Madan signed the MoU on behalf of their respective parties. The MoU stays valid until June 2012.

AK Hazarika of Oil And Gas Corporation of India (ONGC) at the ceremony said the Indian central government is investing Rupees 4,500 crore in the plant and Rupees 1,000 crore for the exploration of gas."This is a great help for India and we look forward to more help from Bangladesh for the development of India's northeast region," he said before the signing.

Replying to questions, Shipping Minister Shahjahan Khan said India will not pay any extra charge but will continue to pay the annual charge under the river protocol for maintaining navigability."Why will they pay charge twice? They are constructing the road which we need urgently," he said, added that fees and charges would be settled at higher level of the governments if India wants to use the road in future.

Without making clear whether India will pay any charge for using the road, he said India would construct the road at their own cost. "It's a glorious day of my life… it's also a glorious day for India," said RK Madan, adding that the signing of the agreement will not only help set up the power plant but also stimulate economic development in the north-eastern India and further cement ties between India and Bangladesh.

Shipping Secretary Abdul Mannan Hawlader in his speech said both the countries would benefit from the MoU. "Nothing should be one sided, it should be reciprocal. Now they [India] should think how they can help us (Bangladesh]," he added.Hawlader said as per the recommendations of the joint survey team, the river port and the road would be repaired, renovated and constructed. A contractor appointed by the Indian government, who is also a contractor in Bangladesh, would do the job while BIWTA and the Roads and Highways Department will supervise.

Speaking at the ceremony Communications Secretary Mozammel Haq said roads would be widened and strengthened. "Lots of issues will come up during the transportation of the ODCs," he said, adding that normal traffic will not be affected.

According to official sources, each ODC would be up to 120 feet long, around 20 metres wide. The large lorries with trailers will be moving between four to six kilometres an hour.

http://www.thedailystar.net/story.php?nid=164305


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[ALOCHONA] Fwd: Major Akhtar says





---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Zoglul Husain <zoglul@hotmail.co.uk>
Date: Wed, Dec 1, 2010 at 6:38 AM

The report of 'Protidin' probably intentionally did not include certain aspects of Maj (Rtd) Akhtaruzzaman's statement. They seem to have taken resort to manipulations of half-truths. The important part of the statement is: In the statement, Maj (Rtd) Akhtaruzzaman, who was expelled from BNP, opposed Khaleda and supported Hasina and Mujib. Please see the following report from the Amader Shomoy, 30 November 2010:
 
http://www.amadershomoy1.com/content/2010/11/30/news0471.htm
 
He said, Hartal is not a democratic programme. But, the truth is: the right to strike is accepted internationally as one of the most important democratic rights. So, he is ignorant about it. Then he said, it is an uncivilised action against an uncivilised government. Again, this is an ignorant, arrogant and uncivil statement, he should go through the records of strikes in the countries, which are known to be democratic.
 
He said, there is a democratic government existing in Bangladesh now. But the truth is: the present government is an illegally imposed autocratic and fascist govt serving Indian interest against the interests of Bangladesh. The previous Hasina govt (1996-2001) was an elected govt. However, Bangladesh did not really have a good democratic govt. 
 
He said, in the third world, the army is a very disciplined political party. But the truth is: it is not a political party. Does he understand what a political party is?
 
He said Khaleda lost her residence, because she celebrated her birthday on 15 August and because Khaleda is against the army. Has he lost his screws?? Does he not know that it is RAW is the prime mover in this episode? He said, (Khaleda has been) 'living in Bangladesh and walking bravely after uttering words against Bangabondhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, - this cannot be allowed to happen, as times have changed'. Has he now been working for RAW ?
 

Date: Tue, 30 Nov 2010 10:16:43 +0600
Subject: Major Akhtar says
From: bdmailer@gmail.com



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[ALOCHONA] Fwd: Judiciary insulted





---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Zoglul Husain zoglul@hotmail.co.uk


Since 1/11 2007, the High Court has remained subservient to two successive governments, both illegal, anti-Bangladesh and pro-India. It has lost all credibility and respect. However, going to this court is tantamount to engaging in a 'legal' process for the sake of the observers, generally to make injustice discernible, rather than expecting justice. 
 
The legal professionals should work together for the independence, honesty and competence of the court and refrain from dishonest bickering.
 

Date: Tue, 30 Nov 2010 10:06:32 +0600
Subject: Judiciary insulted
From: bdmailer@gmail.com


Judiciary insulted
 
Top legal experts term role of Khaleda's lawyers shocking
 

Legal experts yesterday criticised the role of Leader of the Opposition and BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia's counsels for "not taking part in the hearing properly" before the Supreme Court during hearing of her cantonment house case.

They however expressed mixed reaction over dismissal of Khaleda's leave-to-appeal petition, labelling the case politically "important and sensitive".

Court deserves respect

Kamal Hossain
Eminent Jurist Dr Kamal Hossain said, "In order to have contested issues settled by the highest judiciary, it requires sincere efforts by all parties to maintain respect for the court and the judicial process.

"We should all rise above partisan politics and seek to uphold the rule of law," he added.

Lawyers did not behave

Ghulam Rabbani
Ghulam Rabbani, a former judge of the Appellate Division, said the reported behaviour of the learned advocates has pained him. Under article 112 of the Constitution, everybody is constitutionally bound to act in aid of the Supreme Court.

"The learned advocates did not behave, as it seems to me, as advocates appearing before the court, or in other word, as officers of the court. Their behaviour was like that of politicians on the streets," Rabbani said.

He added: "From the first day of getting lawyer's certificate I was taught by my senior colleagues that an advocate is deemed to be an officer of the court and is duty-bound to obey and respect each and every order though that may not be in their favour."

He said this is also the rule of law. If it is not maintained, fascism will crop up leading to the end of the rule of law. "I hope the learned lawyers, most of who were my colleagues at the Bar, will not behave like that in future as they did not do so in the past," Justice Rabbani added.

I'm against call for resignation

Dr M Zahir
Noted jurist Dr M Zahir said it is the discretion of the court to take up the matters as the court wishes.

However, the court could have disposed of the contempt of court petition first and then the leave-to-appeal petition as there is no strict rule as to which petition will be heard first.

On the opposition leader's lawyers' insistence to hear the contempt of court petition first, he said, "This is a political case. The lawyers seemed to have done what they thought would save their own interest and so I cannot and should not make any comment about it."

Regarding the procession of a section of pro-BNP lawyers demanding resignation of the chief justice, he said, "I am not in any agreement with anybody who demands resignation of a judge because I think it wrenches down the reputation of the judiciary."

Hearing could've been adjourned

Rokan Uddin Mahmud
Eminent lawyer barrister Rokan Uddin Mahmud said the SC could have adjourned the leave-to-appeal petition alongside the contempt of court petition as the case was politically sensitive and one of the political parties has made an issue out of it.

As a political party has kicked up the dust centring this case, the court could have adjourned hearings of the all the civil petitions in order to defuse the situation, he added.

Criticising the lawyers who brought out a procession demanding "resignation" of the chief justice, he said, "Such expression of protest against the order of the Supreme Court by the lawyers should be avoided as it diminishes both the image of the lawyers and the SC.

Court followed correct procedure

Shahdeen Malik
Eminent jurist Shahdeen Malik said it is needless to say that technically the court followed the correct procedure and it was up to the lawyers of Khaleda Zia as to why they did not properly proceed with the case. He feels the court did not have any option but to pass the order as it did.

He said it also seems the judgment of the highest court is being deliberately and calculatedly turned into a political issue. This is very ominous for stability of the country, he asserted.

"One may disagree with the court verdict and also express disagreement. But it must be done in a civilised manner and more so by lawyers of the court.

"In the recent past, there were also one or two uncivilised and unacceptable protests. It seems instead of correcting our wrong behaviour, we are unwisely repeating similar behaviour, which is not good for the judiciary and the country," Malik added.
  http://www.thedailystar.net/story.php?nid=164166



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