Banner Advertiser

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

[ALOCHONA] Chatra League again



40 wounded in BCL factional fight at Jagannath University 
http://amardeshonline.com/pages/details/2010/12/22/59291
At least 40 people, including seven journalists, were injured during a clash of two rival groups of the ruling party's student wing BCL, on Jagannath University (JU) campus in the city on Tuesday.(UNB)

The clash took place following expulsion of Apon of BCL JU unit secretary Sayeed group from the campus by the rival group led by the president Ripon.
http://www.thedailystar.net/story.php?nid=166937
Apon was expelled four weeks ago from the campus for two months for his violent acts. When he entered the campus on Tuesday, supporters of president assaulted him at about 1 pm.

Rivals attacked the president's group leading to a fierce clash, both sides using lethal and sharp weapons. At least 40 crude bombs were blasted.
 

Police rushed to the spot, charged with batons and fired tear gas shells to disperse the fighting groups. At one state, club wielding police entered the JU journalist association office and beat those present indiscriminately, leaving seven of them wounded. Tension was prevailing on the campus.


__._,_.___


[Disclaimer: ALOCHONA Management is not liable for information contained in this message. The author takes full responsibility.]
To unsubscribe/subscribe, send request to alochona-owner@egroups.com




Your email settings: Individual Email|Traditional
Change settings via the Web (Yahoo! ID required)
Change settings via email: Switch delivery to Daily Digest | Switch to Fully Featured
Visit Your Group | Yahoo! Groups Terms of Use | Unsubscribe

__,_._,___

[ALOCHONA] Wikileaks Reports _ India together with USA, Britain Conspire against Bangladesh



Dear Friends,

 

The patriotic voices of Bangladesh always believe & try to say that India is never friend of Bangladesh. Wikileaks again proved the truth. We should hate this kind of conspiracy of India against Bangladesh.

 

Please find the details in the following link :

 

Daily Prothom Alo has published this report with Fakhruddin Remarks but there is no link on online edition.

 

http://deshcalling.blogspot.com/2010/12/wikileaks-indian-assessment-and.html

 

http://us.mc1145.mail.yahoo.com/mc/showMessage?sMid=116&&filterBy=&.rand=1760902479&midIndex=16&mid=1_16257013_AE%2B3iGIAARrwTQzIzQ0e9Gk8ODk&fromId=ertaz1@HOTMAIL.COM

 

 

Thank you,

 

M H Khan




__._,_.___


[Disclaimer: ALOCHONA Management is not liable for information contained in this message. The author takes full responsibility.]
To unsubscribe/subscribe, send request to alochona-owner@egroups.com




Your email settings: Individual Email|Traditional
Change settings via the Web (Yahoo! ID required)
Change settings via email: Switch delivery to Daily Digest | Switch to Fully Featured
Visit Your Group | Yahoo! Groups Terms of Use | Unsubscribe

__,_._,___

[ALOCHONA] Wikileaks Reports _ India together with USA, Britain Conspire against Bangladesh



Dear Friends,

 

The patriotic voices of Bangladesh always believe & try to say that India is never friend of Bangladesh. Wikileaks again proved the truth. We should hate this kind of conspiracy of India against Bangladesh.

 

Please find the details in the following link :

 

Daily Prothom Alo has published this report with Fakhruddin Remarks but there is no link on online edition.

 

Thank you,

 

M H Khan




__._,_.___


[Disclaimer: ALOCHONA Management is not liable for information contained in this message. The author takes full responsibility.]
To unsubscribe/subscribe, send request to alochona-owner@egroups.com




Your email settings: Individual Email|Traditional
Change settings via the Web (Yahoo! ID required)
Change settings via email: Switch delivery to Daily Digest | Switch to Fully Featured
Visit Your Group | Yahoo! Groups Terms of Use | Unsubscribe

__,_._,___

[ALOCHONA] Genocide in East Pakistan

Genocide in East Pakistan

Courtesy: Saturday Review [May 22, 1971; p. 20-21]


The most fundamental of all rights the right of a man to come to the
aid of a fellow human being is now being denied with a degree of
official arrogance seldom displayed in recent history.

The people of East Pakistan, who are still suffering from homelessness
and hunger caused by the tidal waves of less than a year ago, are now
caught up in a man-made disaster. Their land has become a locked-in
arena of authorized slaughter. Communications with the outside world
have been reduced almost to the vanishing point. Those who have
offered emergency medical aid or other help have been told to stay
out.

The present situation has its remote origins in the division of the
Indian subcontinent into two nations in 1947. The movement for
independence from Great Britain had been complicated and imperiled by
the existence of Hindu and Moslem blocs. Great Britain had fostered
the concept of a partitioned subcontinent in which India would be
predominantly Hindu and Pakistan would be predominantly Moslem. For a
long time, Gandhi and Nehru had opposed partition, believing it
imperative fat both religious orders to be accommodated within a
single large national design. Gandhi and Nehru withdrew their
opposition to partition, however, when it appeared certain that
national independence might otherwise be indefinitely delayed.

The design for partition called for two nations. Actually, three
nations emerged. For Pakistan was partitioned within itself, into East
and West. The Western part was larger geographically and became the
capital. The Eastern part was more populous and richer in resources.
The units lay more than 1,000 miles apart.

In order to comprehend the geographical anomaly this physical
separation represented, one has only to imagine what would have
happened if Maine and Georgia had decided to form a separate nation,
Maorgia, with practically the whole of the United States lying in
between. Let us further suppose that the capital of the new nation
would have been Augusta, Northern Maorgia, while most of the people
and resources would have been in Southern Maorgia. The result would
have been an administrative, political, and economic shambles. What
has happened in Pakistan roughly fits that description. Further
compounding the situation are the severe cultural and historic
differences between Punjabi (West) and Bengali (East) societies.

For a time, the peoples of East and West Pakistan were held together
by the spiritual and political exhilaration of a new nationalism. But
the underlying difficulties grew more pronounced and visible year by
year. The people of East Pakistan chafed under what they felt was West
Pakistan's latter-day version of British colonialism. They claimed
they were not being represented in proportion to their numbers in
either high posts or policies of government. They charged they were
being exploited economically, furnishing labor and resources without
sharing fairly in the profits from production. They pointed to the
sharp disparity in wages and living conditions between East and West.

It was inevitable that the disaffection should reach an eruptive
stage. There is no point here in detailing the facts attending the
emergence of political movements seeking self-rule for East Pakistan.
All that need be said that the central government at Islamabad finally
did agree to submit self-rule propositions to the East Pakistan
electorate. The result of the general election was an overwhelming
vote in favor of self-rule. The central government at Islamabad not
only failed to respect this popular decision, but ordered in armed
troops to forestall implementation. The official slaughter began on
March 26th.

A few documented episodes:

1) Tanks and soldiers with submachine guns and grenades seized Dacca
University early in the morning on March 26. All students residing in
Iqbal Hall, the dormitory center, were put to death. The building was
gutted by shells from tanks.

2) One hundred and three Hindu students residing in Jagannath Hall of
Dacca University were shot to death. Six Hindu students were forced at
gunpoint to dig graves for the others and then were shot themselves.

3) Professor C. C. Dev, widely respected head of the Department of
Philosophy, was marched out of his home to an adjacent field and shot.

4) The last names of other faculty members who were killed or
seriously wounded: Minirussaman, Guhathakurta, Munim, Naqui, Huda,
Innasali, Ali.

5) Central government troops forced their way into Flat D of Building
34 at the university, seized Professor Muniru Zaman, his son, his
brother (employed by the East Pakistan High Court), and his nephew,
and marched the group to the first-floor foyer, where they were
machine-gunned.

6) A machine gun was installed on the roof of the terminal building at
Sadarghat, the dock area of Old Dacca. On March 26, all civilians
within range were fired upon. After the massacre, the bodies were
dragged into buses. Some were burned. Some were dumped into the
Buriganga River, adjacent to the terminal.

7) On the morning of March 28, machine guns were placed at opposite
ends of Shandari Bazar, a Hindu artisan center in old Dacca. Central
government forces suddenly opened fire on civilians trapped in the
bazaar. The corpses were strewn on the street.

8) On the evening of March 28, soldiers invaded Ramna Kalibari, an
ancient small Hindu settlement, killing all the occupants (estimated
at 200). On March 29, about one hundred corpses were put on display in
the village.

9) The flight of civilians from Dacca was blocked at gunpoint.

10) On the morning of April 2, forty soldiers entered a village named
Barda, rounded up the male population (approximately 600) and marched
them at gunpoint to Gulshan Park; where they were interrogated. Ten
members of the group were then taken off; their fate is unknown.

The foregoing represents a small fraction of the authenticated
accounts that in the aggregate tell of widespread killings; especially
of youth and educated people. It is futile to attempt to estimate the
number of dead or wounded. Each city and village has its own tales of
horror. It is significant that the government at Islamabad, until only
last week, enforced vigorous measures to keep out reporters.

The U.S. State Department is in possession of authenticated
descriptions not just of the incidents mentioned above but of
countless others. Such reports have been sent to Washington by the
American Consul General in Dacca and by American physicians attached
to AID. For some reason, the State Department has issued no report
covering the information at its disposal.

American guns, ammunition, and other weapons sent to Pakistan were
used in the attack on Bengali people.

So were weapons from the Soviet Union and the People's Republic of
China. The United Nations has been helpless in the present situation.
The Central government in Pakistan claims it is dealing with an
internal situation beyond the jurisdiction of the U.N. the nation.

This may help to explain why the U.N. has so far been unable under its
Charter to take action against what appears to be a provable case of
genocide. But it doesn't explain why men of conscience have not stood
up in the United Nations to split the sky with their indignation.

The central government at Islamabad has forestalled efforts to send
food, medicine, and medical personnel into the devastated zones. It
seems inconceivable that this decision can be allowed to stand. The
Bengalis may not possess political sovereignty, but they do possess
human sovereignty under the United Nations Declaration of Human
Rights.

The United States has not hesitated to speak sharply and effectively
wherever its national interests were involved. Americans have every
right to expect the United States to speak sharply when the human
interest is involved. If the United States can find it within its
means and its morality to send guns to Pakistan, it can also find it
within its means and its morality to send food and first aid.

The President has said that events in Vietnam represent a test of
American manhood. The proposition is dubious. What is certain,
however, is that events in Pakistan are a test of American compassion
and conscience.


------------------------------------

[Disclaimer: ALOCHONA Management is not liable for information contained in this message. The author takes full responsibility.]
To unsubscribe/subscribe, send request to alochona-owner@egroups.comYahoo! Groups Links

<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/alochona/

<*> Your email settings:
Individual Email | Traditional

<*> To change settings online go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/alochona/join
(Yahoo! ID required)

<*> To change settings via email:
alochona-digest@yahoogroups.com
alochona-fullfeatured@yahoogroups.com

<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
alochona-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com

<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/

[ALOCHONA] Indian printers late in sending all textbooks



The government may not be able to distribute textbooks to all students of class I, II and III on the first day of the new academic year as Indian companies printing a bulk of the books have not yet delivered the primary textbooks with just nine days left before the beginning of the new academic year.
   According to National Curriculum and Textbook Board sources, Indian companies delivered only 43 per cent of the textbooks before Monday.
   According to the contracts, the companies printing the primary textbooks were supposed to deliver the books between October 30 and November 15. The government then decided that all textbooks would be distributed to upazila levels by December 21. The Indian companies missed the second deadline while local companies delivered most of the books they printed.
   This year the government called an international tender for printing the textbooks of classes I, II and III to ensure timely distribution of books to the students, and three Indian companies got the lion's share of the deals.
   Ironically, it is the foreign companies who failed to print and send the textbooks to the NCTB on time.
   'As the situation suggests, 40 or 50 per cent students of classes I, II, may not get all the textbooks on the first day of the new academic year,' Tofael Khan, president of Bangladesh Textbook Printing and Marketing Association, told New Age on Tuesday.
   Ratan Siddique, the NCTB's special official for the distribution of textbooks, admitted the delay in the delivery of textbooks by the Indian companies, but said, 'They are on the way; about 87 trucks carrying the books have crossed the border into Bangladesh and will reach us very shortly.'
   He said that the NCTB had already received 1,98,00,000 of the 2,98,00,000 textbooks printed in India. 'The rest of the books would reach the country very shortly,' he said.
   'They (Indian companies) do not have the capacity to print such large amount of books but some NCTB officials helped them to win the tenders for bribes,' said a local printer.
   'Two out of three companies who got the international tender are not printers. The government should investigate how they won the tender,' said Tofael.
   'The Indian companies got many benefits for printing the textbooks, including getting the payment in advance. The government should find out why they cannot distribute the textbooks in time,' said Tofael.
   The education minister, Nurul Islam Nahid, in a meeting with NCTB officials on December 4, said that the textbooks must be sent to the districts by December 15, to the upazilas by December 21, and to educational institutions by December 24.
   But all the textbooks were not distributed to the upazilas by December 21.According to the NCTB, 95.13 per cent of the secondary textbooks and 85.34 per cent of the primary books have been distributed to the upazilas.
   'What can we do if the truck carrying textbooks are stuck in a traffic jam?' said NCTB chairman Mostafa Kamaluddin. He, however, pointed out that most of the books had been distributed.
   Referring to the books printed by Indian companies, he said, 'Some international tendered textbooks have not yet arrived but they would reach the country very shortly.'
   'Textbooks will be distributed to all students on the first day of new academic year,' he said optimistically.

 

http://www.newagebd.com/2010/dec/22/front.html




__._,_.___


[Disclaimer: ALOCHONA Management is not liable for information contained in this message. The author takes full responsibility.]
To unsubscribe/subscribe, send request to alochona-owner@egroups.com




Your email settings: Individual Email|Traditional
Change settings via the Web (Yahoo! ID required)
Change settings via email: Switch delivery to Daily Digest | Switch to Fully Featured
Visit Your Group | Yahoo! Groups Terms of Use | Unsubscribe

__,_._,___

[ALOCHONA] 7million live in shanties



7million live in shanties: report
 
 
 
Dhaka, Dec 21 (bdnews24.com)—Of around 40 million people living in urban areas of Bangladesh, seven million live in appalling conditions in the slums, a new study says.

The study, jointly produced by the Centre for Urban Studies and Unicef, also says that urbanisation in Bangladesh is the fastest among the Asian countries. The report's findings were revealed at a programme on Tuesday in the city.

The survey was carried out in mega city Dhaka, city corporations, municipalities and upazilas with urban facilities.

In these slums, the report 'Understanding Urban Inequalities in Bangladesh: A Prerequisite for Achieving Vision-2021' says, rate of child-deaths, drop-outs and child labours are higher in comparison to those living elsewhere in other countries.

Death of children aged under 5 in the urban slums is twice that of elsewhere and 50 percent higher than the rural areas.

Moreover, drop-out rate among children from schools is higher in the shanties, the report finds. Regarding child labour, it says the number is three times higher than children working in other areas. Meanwhile, the rate of birth registration in those slums is almost half.

Unicef representative Carol De Roy presented the report at the programme, which was presided by University Grants Commission chairman professor Nazrul Islam. Representatives from several national and international organisations also spoke at the function.

CUS general secretary Nurul Islam Nazim and Deca Ibrahim Musa of the Unicef answered questions from the audience. Carol in his speech urged the government to launch a comprehensive urban development strategy to ease discrimination.

He stressed on investments in human development so that Bangladesh can meet the Millennium Development Goals.

http://bdnews24.com/details.php?id=182257&cid=2



__._,_.___


[Disclaimer: ALOCHONA Management is not liable for information contained in this message. The author takes full responsibility.]
To unsubscribe/subscribe, send request to alochona-owner@egroups.com




Your email settings: Individual Email|Traditional
Change settings via the Web (Yahoo! ID required)
Change settings via email: Switch delivery to Daily Digest | Switch to Fully Featured
Visit Your Group | Yahoo! Groups Terms of Use | Unsubscribe

__,_._,___

[ALOCHONA] Wikileaks on Bangladesh



Wikileaks on Bangladesh
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/bangladesh

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 DHAKA 000057
SIPDIS
TO S/CT'S AMBASSADOR DAILEY, SETH BAILEY AND EMILY GOLDMAN
EO 12958 DECL: 01/14/2019
TAGS PTER, PREL, KDEM, PGOV, IN, BG">BG
SUBJECT: INDIAN HIGH COMMISSIONER EXPECTS CLOSER
COUNTERTERRORISM COOPERATION WITH NEW BANGLADESH GOVERNMENT
REF: A. 08 NEW DELHI 2830 B. 08 STATE 128554
Classified By: Ambassador James F. Moriarty. Reasons: 1.4 (b) and (d)

------
SUMMARY
-------

1. (C) The Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh told Ambassador Moriarty on 1/13 India expected improved cooperation on security and other issues with the new Awami League government. Counterterrorism cooperation would be the central issue of discussion when the Indian Minister of External Affairs visits Dhaka in early February. The High Commissioner spoke favorably of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's call for a regional task force to fight terrorism, but stressed the importance of bilateral as well as multilateral cooperation. The Embassy will soon propose to the Office of the Coordinator for Counterterrorism (S/CT) a project to bring together civil society representatives and government officials from throughout South Asia to help advance regional counterterrorism cooperation.

--------------------------------------------- -----------
INDIA STRESSES THE IMPORTANCE OF IMPROVED CT COOPERATION
--------------------------------------------- -----------

2. (C) Indian High Commissioner Pinak Ranjan Chakravarty expressed pleasure over the December 29 Parliamentary election landslide victory by the Awami League, which traditionally had warm relations with New Delhi. He told Ambassador Moriarty that improving security cooperation would be the top Indian priority with the new Bangladeshi government. Indian Minister of External Affairs Pranab Mukherjee planned to visit Dhaka on February 8 for talks that would center primarily on counterterrorism issues. Pinak said the Minister would welcome Hasina's call for a joint task force on counterterrorism. Although India would prefer a primarily bilateral engagement, India understood that Bangladesh might insist on a regional task force to provide Hasina political cover from allegations she was too close to India. Either way, the High Commissioner stressed the importance that the task force be action-oriented and not become yet another regional talk shop. (Note: India frequently argues that international Islamic terrorists use Bangladesh as a safe haven and often cross its porous border into India for bombing and other attacks. New Delhi also says Dhaka should do more to uproot Indian domestic extremist groups, including the United Liberation Front of Assam, that use Bangladesh as a safe haven. End note.)

 
3. (C) Ambassador Moriarty said the U.S. Government understood the need for regional counterterrorism cooperation and was considering "Track Two" programs in which civil society would promote closer coordination among South Asian nations. Pinak said such programs were "always welcome." The High Commissioner also responded positively when the Ambassador suggested Hasina should consider appointing a counterterrorism czar whose job would be to improve coordination among the many Bangladeshi agencies with security responsibilities.
Pinak also agreed when the Ambassador argued the Hasina government should not disband the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB). (Note: The RAB has emerged as the country's premier counterterrorism force but is viewed with suspicion by some Awami League leaders because it was established by the rival Bangladesh Nationalist Party. End note.) The Ambassador stressed that the USG had started human rights training for RAB. He added that the RAB was the enforcement organization best positioned to one day become a Bangladeshi version of the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation.

--------------------------------------------- --
TRANSPORTATION, ENERGY AND ECONOMIC COOPERATION
--------------------------------------------- --

4. (SBU) Pinak recounted that in a meeting with Sheikh Hasina immediately after the elections she expressed a desire to invest heavily in Bangladesh's moribund railway system. This included reconnecting the Bangladeshi railroad system to Agartala, the capital of the bordering Indian state of Tripura. Pinak noted he had also met the new Water Resources Minister, Romesh Chandra Sen, on 12/13. (Note: Bangladeshi media reported the following day that the Bangladesh-India Joint Rivers Commission would likely meet soon to try and resolve simmering disputes over sharing the water of rivers that flow from India into Bangladesh. End note.) The High Commissioner also said India would offer to sell up to 250
DHAKA 00000057 002 OF 002

 
megawatts of power from a new 750-megawatt plant near Agartala to Bangladesh, which suffers from chronic energy shortages. He acknowledged, however, the cost of the electricity had yet to be negotiated, and Bangladesh would have to build costly infrastructure to connect the plant with its national power grid. Pinak predicted Indian companies would be interested in investing in Bangladesh under the new Awami League government. Investment from information technology firms would depend in part on their ability to train local employees and Bangladeshi government support through activities such as the creation of technology centers.

--------------------------------------------- ---------
COMMENT: BRIGHTER DAYS FOR AN OFTEN ROCKY RELATIONSHIP
--------------------------------------------- ---------

5. (C) The Awami League victory augers well for a bilateral relationship that often founders on New Delhi's charges that Bangladesh does not do enough to fight terrorists who target India. Sheikh Hasina's immediate call for a regional counterterrorism task force and India's initial positive response suggest a strong possibility of enhanced cooperation on this issue of huge importance to U.S. interests. It also creates a better environment for the USG to encourage counterterrorism cooperation in South Asia in accordance with the goals set by the Regional Security Initiative conference held in New Delhi in August 2008 (Reftel A). To build on this momentum, Embassy Dhaka will propose to S/CT the use of Nonproliferation, Antiterrorism, Demining and Related Projects funds for a program to bring together South Asian civil society representatives and government officials to encourage security cooperation (Reftel B). MORIARTY

--------------------------------------

US embassy cables: UK police trained Bangladeshi paramilitaries condemned for human rights abuses

Thursday, 14 May 2009, 08:08
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 DHAKA 000482
SIPDIS
DEPARTMENT FOR H
EO 12958 DECL: 05/13/2019
TAGS PTER, PGOV, PREL, HYMPSK, MARR, KPAO, UK, BG">BG
SUBJECT: FINDING COMMON GROUND ON COUNTERRORISM
WORKING
WITH THE UK
Classified By: Ambassador James F. Moriarty. Reasons: 1.4 (b) and (d)

------
SUMMARY
-------

1. (C) The U.S. and the United Kingdom share common counterterrorism goals in Bangladesh and we have worked together on specific issues in the past. Embassy Dhaka and the British High Commission reviewed our efforts and agreed on several areas of cooperation at an inaugural counterterrorism quarterly meeting. Specifically, we agreed trying to arrange a visit to London and Washington for senior Bangladeshi officials to view both countries' national security systems. The missions also agreed to work closely on human rights training for the paramilitary Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) and on promoting curriculum reform at Bangladesh's unregulated madrassas. The missions identified several other areas in which coordinated action could promote badly needed security sector reform in Bangladesh.

--------------------------------------------- -
COMMON CT GOAL: PROMOTE SECURITY SECTOR REFORM
--------------------------------------------- -

2. (SBU) British High Commissioner Stephen Evans and Ambassador Moriarty led an inaugural counterterrorism quarterly meeting between our two missions on May 13. Although members of the two missions have met individually to discuss counterterrorism issues and work together on specific projects, this forum provided an opoprtunity to discuss broad goals and develop strategies to work collaboratively. Several common areas of interest quickly emerged, most prominently the desire to promote security sector reform in Bangladesh. Evans said this would be the center of discussion at an inaugural Joint Working Group meeting on counterterrorism between Britain and Bangladesh, led by British Security Minister Lord West, in late June, and promised a quick read-out of the results to the Embassy.

3. (SBU) Perhaps the key element of security sector reform is building a healthier civil-military relationship. The dysfunctional relationship dates from the numerous coups in Bangladesh's early years and was recently exacerbated by the February 25-26 border guard mutiny against army officers. The Ambassador detailed Post's plans to invite senior Bangladeshi officials to participate in an Asia Pacific Center for Security Studies workshop in November to exchange views on civil-military relations and national security systems. The two missions agreed the workshop would be most effective if a Bangladeshi delegation of military, government and Parliament representatives first visited the U.S. and the United Kingdom to learn about our national security structures. The missions will seek a visit in September; Post will work with SCA to ensure the Washington leg includes visits to Capitol Hill, the Department of Defense, the State Department and the National Security Council.

4. (C) We agreed to jointly engage Bangladesh's newly formed National Committee on Militancy Resistance and Prevention, a high-level group led by Home Affairs State Minister Tanjim Ahmad Sohel Taj, who has worked closely with the Embassy on security issues. Local media has reported the committee will focus in part on anti-extremism messaging, an area in which both missions already are actively engaged and can work more cooperatively. The U.S. and United Kingdom also agreed to jointly sound out the Government of Bangladesh on its post-mutiny reorganization plans for the Bangladesh Rifles and then work together to help make it a more effective border patrol force.

-------------------------------------------
COMMON CT GOAL: PROMOTE HUMAN RIGHTS IN RAB
-------------------------------------------

5. (SBU) The U.S. and UK representatives reviewed our ongoing training to make the RAB a more transparent, accountable and human-rights compliant paramilitary force. The British have been training RAB for 18 months in areas such as investigative interviewing techniques and rules of engagement. They said that the training had been widely disseminated within RAB and that they were undertaking an assessment of its effectiveness. The Embassy described plans

DHAKA 00000482 002 OF 002

to imbed two U.S. marshals within RAB for three months to help set up internal affairs, use of force and rules of engagement systems. High Commissioner Evans suggested the marshals stop in London on the way to Bangladesh to meet with British police who have delivered human rights training to RAB. He said the visit would ensure maximum coordination between the U.S. and British programs; the Ambassador enthusiastically supported the proposal.

--------------------------------------------- -------
MARITIME SECURITY, POLICING, AIRPORT SAFETY AND MORE
--------------------------------------------- -------

6. (C) Evans promised to send the Embassy a "lessons learned" document from a just-concluded combined British-Bangladesh maritime security exercise in which U.S. Department of Defense personnel participated. He noted the U.K. did not expect to have any more Royal Navy ships visit Bangladesh before 2011 and asked whether the United States could take the lead in organizing a follow-up exercise. With the U.S. and Britain both ramping up programs to develop community policing, we agreed to create an informal consultative group led by the British that would include other international missions in Dhaka with policing projects. The two missions also agreed to have their two development agencies, USAID and the U.K. Department for International Development, meet to discuss strategies for supporting Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's plan to develop standardized curriculum for thousands of unregulated Islamic madrassa schools. (Note: The Embassy has submitted a 1207 proposal for a madrassa curriculum development program. End note). Finally, noting the horrendous safety gaps at Dhaka's international airport, the Ambassador and High Commissioner agreed to sound out contacts within their respective governments, the international airlines that serve Dhaka, and the Bangladeshi state airline to determine how best to improve security.

-----------------------
CONCLUSION: NOW WE KNOW
-----------------------

7. (C) The inaugural U.S.-British quarterly meeting provided each side with a much better understanding of what the other was doing to counter terrorism and extremism in Bangladesh. Not surprisingly, our counterterrorism strategies and goals are closely aligned, allowing ample room for close coordination and, in some cases, joint programs. Given that Sheikh Hasina's new government has made security a top priority, the chances of U.S.-British joint efforts bearing fruit are high indeed. MORIARTY

----------------------------------------

US embassy cables: Mixed assessment for controversial Bangladeshi paramilitary force

Monday, 11 August 2008, 08:10
C O N F I D E N T I A L DHAKA 000856
SIPDIS
DEPT FOR SCA/PB, SCA/FO, DRL, S/CT AND G
EO 12958 DECL: 08/10/2018
TAGS PGOV, PHUM, PINR, MASS, PREL, BG">BG
SUBJECT: ENGAGING BANGLADESH'S RAPID ACTION BATTALION:
VISIT BY USG INTERAGENCY ASSESSMENT TEAM
REF: STATE 61983
Classified By: Ambassador James F. Moriarty. Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)

Summary =======

1. (C) The leadership of Bangladesh's Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) has pledged to provide additional information about alleged human rights violations committed by members of the force since its inception in 2004. This pledge came during two days of intensive fact-finding and discussions with members of an interagency USG team that visited Bangladesh to assess both the RAB's current operating procedures regarding human rights violations as well as possibilities for engagement. The RAB seeks a broad engagement with the USG including human rights and counterterrorism training and recognizes the need to address allegations of past abuses. While there are lingering concerns about the RAB's human rights record, there is a widespread belief within civil society that the RAB has succeeded in reducing crime and fighting terrorism, making it in many ways Bangladesh's most respected police unit. A possible stumbling block moving forward is inertia within some levels of the government bureaucracy, primarily within Bangladesh's Home Ministry, which we are trying to overcome through repeated high-level interventions with Bangladeshi government decision-makers.

RAB Pledges Full Support After Meetings with USG Team
=======================

2. (C) A USG interagency team from the Departments of State, Defense, and Justice visited Dhaka July 12 - 16 to conduct an assessment of Bangladesh's Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), focusing on whether and how the USG might engage with the force. During the visit, the team met with the RAB senior leadership, visited the training academy outside of Dhaka, and visited two of the RAB's operational battalions (in Narayangang and Sirajgang). In addition to the meetings with the RAB, the team met with representatives from civil society, including journalists, human rights groups, and business leaders, in both Dhaka and the field. On their final day, the team met with officials from the Ministries of Foreign and Home Affairs. Representatives of the Embassy's inter-agency Counter Terrorism Working Group also participated in the assessment team's meetings.

3. (C) The assessment team's visit followed several months of intensive discussions between the RAB and the Embassy, as well as meetings with senior visiting officials, including DRL DAS Barks-Ruggles and S/CT Coordinator Ambassador Dailey. In these previous meetings, USG officials informed the RAB of our desire to help improve its human rights record and build its counter terrorism and law enforcement capacity but underscored the need for greater transparency and accountability. The officials explained that our ability to offer training or assistance is currently constrained by the RAB's alleged human rights violations, which have rendered the organization ineligible to receive training and assistance according to the Leahy legislation.

4. (C) The two days of meetings with the RAB, therefore, focused on gaining a better understanding of the RAB's past human rights record and the procedures in place to prevent, investigate and adjudicate abuses. The team was briefed on the RAB's efforts to incorporate human rights training into the curriculum at the training academy and at the unit level. This training, some of which is conducted by a local human rights group, is given to all new personnel transferring into the RAB. (Note: Although it shares our concerns, the British High Commission has already started a pilot round of Human Rights training with the RAB; the British will closely monitor program impact before launching a second round, which will require Ministerial approval.) According to RAB officials, allegations of abuses are handled both through internal disciplinary measures as well as through an administrative investigation by magistrates and the local court system. In response to repeated requests from the team for greater information about the magistrates' reports, the RAB's senior leadership pledged to exploreproviding this information to the USG.

5. (C) The discussions with the RAB also provided the assessment team with insight into the areas in which USG assistance, at both the tactical and operational level, could be most effective. The RAB also provided additional information about its organizational structure and personnel policies, which will help us determine how individuals and units might be held accountable for past abuses.

Meetings with Civil Society Provide Nuanced View
=========================
6. (C) In order to provide the assessment team with a balanced view of the RAB, we arranged meetings with members of civil society in Dhaka and during field visits. As a result, team members were able to hear from journalists, academics, human rights advocates, and business leaders, and informally through people requesting assistance from the RAB, about perceptions of the RAB's past and current conduct. There were reports of abuses and a pattern of misrepresentation by the RAB regarding so-called "encounter/crossfire killings." The Assessment Team interviewed NGOs, media personnel, and members of civil society who reported that members of the RAB, possibly on instruction from senior government officials, have unlawfully used lethal force to eliminate their targets. All we talked with agreed, however, that the RAB's human rights performance had improved during the current Caretaker Government and under the leadership of the current Director General (a career police officer and DS/ATA graduate).

7. (C) A strong message from many civil society interlocutors was that the RAB enjoys a great deal of respect and admiration from a population scarred by decreasing law and order in the last decade. Moreover, given the persistent corruption and ineffectiveness of other elements of the police, the RAB has come to be seen by many as a preferred alternative. According to some NGO sources, people in remote areas, particularly women, feel more comfortable coming forward to the RAB because they think their complaints will be dealt with in a more effective and honest manner. The team noted that the RAB and many civil society representatives seem prepared to accept that some notorious individuals will die in encounters with the RAB, and they seem to prefer that outcome as opposed to the chance of the currently ineffective and backlogged court system acquitting the guilty. What this highlights is that our desire to improve respect for human rights will require not only engagement with the RAB, but efforts to help improve other elements of the Bangladeshi judicial systems and police. Our recently approved 1210 proposal would establish a community policing program that could assist such effort.

Bureaucracy is Potential Stumbling Block
======================================

8. (C) The team's final meetings with representatives of the Foreign Ministry and Home Ministry indicated that some levels of the government bureaucracy may still be reluctant to share information about past alleged human rights abuses. In 2007, an inter-agency Embassy team met with GOB counterparts to develop a mechanism for investigating allegations of human rights violations by the security forces, including RAB. This responsibility was given to a Deputy Secretary at the Ministry of Home Affairs, but despite some positive initial meetings there has been little tangible outcome from these sessions. During the Assessment Team's meeting with the Acting Home Secretary, he displayed little enthusiasm for taking the steps needed to move ahead with an engagement program. The team underscored that it needed information from the Home Ministry regarding abuses by the RAB in order to effectively vet candidates in accordance with Leahy legislation. Fortunately, this meeting coincided with Home Secretary Abdul Karim's visit to Washington, which provided senior officials in SCA, DRL and DOD to reinforce the importance of GOB information-sharing about past abuses.

Comment =======

9. (C) Embassy Dhaka greatly appreciates the efforts of State, DoD, and Justice to send the assessment team to Bangladesh to interact with the RAB. Post looks forward to receiving the results of the assessment team's analysis of the RAB. Our multi-agency and multi-disciplinary team signaled the seriousness with which the USG views potential RAB engagement. We were clear in our meetings with the GOB that we are eager to engage, but committed to doing so in a manner consistent with Leahy legislation. We expect that the Bangladeshi Government will reciprocate by providing us with some of the additional information we need to move forward. At the same time, we may need to ensure that a few unenthusiastic bureaucrats do not foil plans for further cooperation that are strongly supported by the RAB and at least some senior government officials. Embassy Dhaka looks forward to working with the inter-agency team in Washington as we consider next steps in this process.

10. (U) The inter-agency assessment team has cleared this message. Moriarty




__._,_.___


[Disclaimer: ALOCHONA Management is not liable for information contained in this message. The author takes full responsibility.]
To unsubscribe/subscribe, send request to alochona-owner@egroups.com




Your email settings: Individual Email|Traditional
Change settings via the Web (Yahoo! ID required)
Change settings via email: Switch delivery to Daily Digest | Switch to Fully Featured
Visit Your Group | Yahoo! Groups Terms of Use | Unsubscribe

__,_._,___

[ALOCHONA] Fwd: Against Islam: a battle of sorts brewing in Upper Darby, PA (USA) over a planned mosque





-----Original Message-----
From: iChowdhury
To:
Sent: Tue, Dec 21, 2010 8:39 pm
Subject: Against Islam: a battle of sorts brewing in Upper Darby, PA (USA) over a planned mosque


 
6abc.com - WPVI Philadelphia News
 

Zoning worries over Upper Darby mosque

Updated at 06:40 PM today
:
 
There is a battle of sorts brewing in Upper Darby over a planned mosque, but it's not the mosque itself residents are fighting.
Shafiq Siddiqui is part of the Keystone Islamic Center of Upper Darby who wants to convert a private home on Hazel Ave into an Islamic Center.
"The Muslim population in Upper Darby is growing," Siddiqui said.
The center would be used for prayers five times a day, as well as classes on the weekends; most of its likely members live nearby.
"Most of them live four blocks surrounding [the] place," Mohammad Rahman of the Center said.
But the plan is running into opposition.
"We want the same freedom to practice our religion like everyone else has," Siddiqui said.
Opponents say a mosque is not a good fit because of zoning. It does not allow for a house of worship on this part of narrow residential Hazel Avenue, though there are churches a few blocks away on busier roads.
"On a main thoroughfare, where it's more commercial, and you could surely get a spot, there are places for sale," Upper Darby resident Joe D'Angelo said.
Resident Frank Costa's worry is parking on and off street. To get a zoning variance the mosque has promised to build at least 14 off street parking spots, regulations call for 23. But Costa is turned off by front yard parking, normally not allowed in a residential area.
"I don't think they should get the variance to park up on the lawn and things of that nature, because I think it will bring the neighborhood down," Costa said.
Robert Datner, the attorney for the mosque, believes the parking issue can be ironed out saying most members won't drive.
"These are people who would come to the mosque from their homes, largely by walking to the mosque," Datner said.
A zoning hearing is scheduled for January.
(Copyright ©2010 WPVI-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.)
 
 
 



__._,_.___


[Disclaimer: ALOCHONA Management is not liable for information contained in this message. The author takes full responsibility.]
To unsubscribe/subscribe, send request to alochona-owner@egroups.com




Your email settings: Individual Email|Traditional
Change settings via the Web (Yahoo! ID required)
Change settings via email: Switch delivery to Daily Digest | Switch to Fully Featured
Visit Your Group | Yahoo! Groups Terms of Use | Unsubscribe

__,_._,___

[ALOCHONA] Wikileaks – Indian High Commissioner expresses pleasure over AL victory



Wikileaks – Indian High Commissioner expresses pleasure over Awami League 2008 election landslide victory  

Indian High Commissioner Pinak Ranjan Chakravarty expressed pleasure over the December 29 Parliamentary election landslide victory by the Awami League, which traditionally had warm relations with New Delhi.

FULL DIPLOMATIC CABLE -

http://deshcalling.blogspot.com/2010/12/wikileaks-indian-high-commissioner.html






__._,_.___


[Disclaimer: ALOCHONA Management is not liable for information contained in this message. The author takes full responsibility.]
To unsubscribe/subscribe, send request to alochona-owner@egroups.com




Your email settings: Individual Email|Traditional
Change settings via the Web (Yahoo! ID required)
Change settings via email: Switch delivery to Daily Digest | Switch to Fully Featured
Visit Your Group | Yahoo! Groups Terms of Use | Unsubscribe

__,_._,___