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Monday, January 17, 2011

[ALOCHONA] Fwd: Digital Election Rigging of Digital Govt








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[ALOCHONA] What the Arab papers say



Tunisia : What the Arab papers say
 
 
THE Arab press has been awash with responses to the protests in Tunisia deposing Zine el-Abedine Ben Ali. Their views range from from elation at the fall of Tunisia's president, to concern over how the power vacuum will be filled and speculation about which corrupt Arab leader could be next to fall. 

In al-Sabah, a Tunisia daily, Mohamed al-Taweer revels in patriotic pride: 

..the sons of our nation have demonstrated to the world once again that, by its peaceful nature which rejects all violence and extremism without exception, nothing can stop the desire of the people for freedom, democracy, and social justice.

Salih Atiya, also writing in al-Sabah, praises Mohammed Bouazizi, the man who sparked the protests by setting himself on fire, and the other protesters as martyrs, marvelling at the fact that Mr Ben Ali really is gone:

May we dare dream? But then, doesn't every reality start as a dream? "Should the people one day truly aspire to life, then fate must needs respond"! 

These last lines are from the final verse of the Tunisian national anthem, which has been widely quoted in newspaper editorials, in tweets and on Facebook pages throughout the Arab world since Mr Ben Ali's expulsion.

In the Lebanese opposition newspaper, al-Akhbar, John Aziz suggests some lessons to be learned from the uprising in Tunisia:

All the blood, sweat and bullet-torn flesh have demonstrated how the neo-conservative model was wrong, how democracy can come about without foreign fleets, without the imposition of the star-spangled banner, without the smiling faces of Jay Garner and David Petraeus. Second, democracy can grow out of cultures of military repression without resorting to Islamic radicalism and without devolving into a situation of "one man, one vote…one time!" Third, not only has America failed to promote democracy in this region, it has actually propped up regimes which stifled its flowering.

Abdel Bari Atwan, editor-in-chief of al-Quds al-Arabi, a pan Arab daily, congratulates the Tunisians on the ouster of Mr Ben Ali:

Thank you to the Tunisian people. Thank you to the martyrs whose sacred blood helped achieve this supreme victory. Thank you to the army for turning their backs on the tyrants and siding with the people, upholding the security and stability of their country over all else.

In Dar al-Hayat, a London-based Arabic newspaper, Mostapha Zayn criticises Mr Ben Ali for his failures as a leader:

The Tunisian government could have been a model for the Arab world. And indeed it was, albeit a model of oppression and martial law in a region already infamous for oppression and martial law.

In Saudi Arabia, which offered refuge to the fleeing Mr Ben Ali to the bemusement of many of its citizens, Qaynan al-Ghamidy controversially compares democracy in the West to democracy in the Arab world, writing in al-Arabiyya:

Are the Western values of justice, freedom, and democracy suitable for Arabs? There can be no denying that they are. As the second caliph Umar bin al-Khattab is said to have asked: "How can you enslave people when their mothers bore them as freemen?"...If an iconic figure like Umar promoted such values values as freedom, justice, and accountability, do the Arabs really need to imitate the West?

But whereas the West translated these values into tangible laws and civil institutions, the Arabs and Muslims merely touted them without following their spirit. And this is the fundamental difference between Western and Arab civilization. But now, with the Tunisian uprising, no one knows what direction their compass will point them. In any case, those Arabs who sincerely care for their country should study what is happening in Tunisia and do what needs to be done immediately to recreate the same set of facts in their own land.

The editor-in-chief of al-Watan, a Saudi paper, argues that the protests are not just about food prices, but injustice, making many other regimes ripe for change:

Any observer of the scene from non-Arab nation would note that while the issue of bread prices ostensibly set the spark for these protests, there were already fires smoldering under the ashes. In every country witnessing demonstrations protesting living standards, the focus has quickly shifted towards civil freedoms and corruption. ...It appears that most regions are poised to undergo an orange revolution if conditions continue on their current trajectory.

Burhan Ghalyoun, a Syrian writer based in France, analyses Ben Ali's failed strategy in a Tunisian newspaper, El-Chourouk:

The Tunisian uprising which has been raging for the past month wasn't a surprise to anyone—anyone, that is, except the ruling elites, who had complacently believed that they had found the magic formula that would allow them to stay in power for the rest of time and stave off the change so urgently hoped for since the downfall of President Habib Bourguiba. This formula—applied by most Arab regimes—is derived from the Chinese model, which combines two elements: first, cordoning politics from the public sphere by prohibiting even civil society activism, much less direct political action; and second, taking control of the economy, whether through direct foreign investment, accumulating wealth by means fair or foul, or outright expropriation.

Tariq al-Hameed cautions that initial excitement may be misplaced in an editorial in Al-Sharq Al-Awsat, a widely read pan-Arab newspaper:

What makes these unfolding events so serious is that, because of the closed nature of Tunisia's repressive society, no one knows if the protests which have swept the streets are organized or spontaneous. We don't know if this is going to end in the replacement of one dictatorship for another, if this is a true revolution riding the wave of popular discontent, or whether it will result in any real improvement. We don't know if the inscrutable Tunisia of yesterday has emerged from its closed doors or whether it has only plunged deeper into the unknown depths, adding just one more tragedy to the endless tragedies of the Arab world.

Muhammad Ya'qouby in the Algerian Echorouk Online compares Tunisia's revolution to that of Algeria over two decades ago:

Granted, Tunisia is lagging 23 years behind Algeria's 1988 revolution, assuming of course that there is a single, uniform path to democracy… But Tunisia could become a shining model for the Arab world if it manages to avoid the pitfalls of its neighbour's experience and take the right approach to democracy, avoiding the demagoguery and lack of foresight which marred out our political transition. The Algerians took to the streets in 1988 to demand lower prices, an end to corruption, and an end to discrimination. Twenty three years later, they are still seeking the same things.

On the other hand, Wa'il al-Qandeel of an independent Egyptian newspaper, al-Shorouk, predicts that Tunisians will succeed in forging a truly democratic future:

I don't think that these downtrodden Tunisians are going to accept anything less than complete concession to their demands. The time for incremental gains is past; the name of the game now is comprehensive change. If this comes to pass, verdant Tunisia—that enchanting little country on the Mediterranean—will become the role model for a brave new Arab world.

For full translations and commentary, visit Meedan.net



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[ALOCHONA] We love Indiah !



Girl Killed by Indian BSF -Govt finally protests

 

The government has finally lodged protest with India 10 days after Indian Border Security Force (BSF) shot dead a teenage girl on Phulbari border in Kurigram district. Felani was killed on January 7 when she was returning home from India through Anantapur border of the district.
 

Summoned, Indian High Commissioner in Dhaka Rajeet Mitter went to the foreign ministry Sunday afternoon when acting Foreign Secretary Mostafa Kamal handed him a protest note on the brutal killing of the innocent.

The ministry yesterday issued a press release which says the high commissioner promised that he would convey Bangladesh's concern to the Indian government. The envoy also pledged that steps would be taken to prevent recurrence of such incidents on the Bangladesh-India border.

Diplomatic sources said the government instead of making an immediate protest, took 10 days to voice its concern in a "soft" manner and mysteriously kept the media in the dark about the envoy being summoned.

Foreign ministry officials said the media used to be informed whenever any envoy was summoned to the ministry but this time was an exception. And the press release was also issued a day after the meeting with the Indian diplomat.

Moreover, talks with the diplomat also took place in the absence of the foreign minister and the foreign secretary, now on a foreign trip.

A former Bangladesh diplomat preferring anonymity told The Daily Star that the delay in reacting to the brutal murder is unexpected.

It is surprising that the Indian diplomat was called when both the foreign minister and the foreign secretary are abroad, he added. "Definitely the protest note was prepared in consultation with them, but they were hesitant to issue the summons in their presence."

PETITION FILED
A writ petition was filed yesterday with the High Court, seeking its directive on the government to provide compensation to the family members of Felani.

Tajul Islam, secretary general of National Forum for Protection of Human Rights, filed the petition as a public interest litigation. The petitioner sought a rule upon the government to explain why it should not be ordered to take steps to stop killings by BSF and to form a committee to probe the killing of Felani.

An HC bench of Justice Miftah Uddin Choudhury and Justice Jahangir Hossain will hear the petition on January 23, said Tajul.

 http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/news-details.php?nid=170550



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[ALOCHONA] Military Intelligence Behind The Illegal Arrest Of Bangladeshi Labor Rights Activist



The Sri Lanka Guardian correspondent in Dhaka

(January 18, Dhaka, Sri Lanka Guardian) Directorate General of Forces Intelligence (DGFI), the Bangladesh's Military Intelligence is behind the arrest of labor rights activist Moshrefa Mishu, a leftist political activist and President of the Garment Workers Unity Forum (GWUF), a labor rights organization of the readymade garment factories of the country.The Director General (DG) of DGFI directly reports to the Prime Minister of Bangladesh. Confined in Dhaka Medical Hospital (DHMC) by highly armed police officials Moshrefa Mishu exposed the horrific torture description the in several undercover interviews to the Sri Lanka Guardian.

Mishu said to Sri Lanka Guardian that on 13 December 2010, at around 5pm in the afternoon two persons called Mishu on her cell phone. Both persons claimed that they were journalists. In two separate calls the callers said, "We need to interview you; please stay at home! We will come soon!

Meanwhile, Mrs. Mishu's sister Zabunnesa Zebu said to the Sri Lanka Guardian that she suspects that the callers were from the DGFI, who wanted to be sure that Mishu stayed at home for a probable arrest.

Zebu said to the Sri Lanka Guardian that earlier, on 30 July 2010 from 12 midnight to 12:35am Mishu received four calls in her cell phone. The callers suppressed their telephone numbers that had been used to call Mishu.

For example, the first call appeared on Mishu's cell phone screen as "private number"; the second caller's call appeared as +01748888888, which is abnormal in Bangladesh as the numbers appear with its country code at the begging such as +8801XXXXXXXXX. The third and fourth call also appeared without any number on the cell phone screen said zebu

Zebu said the first caller threatened to kill her in crossfire, which an official method of extrajudicial killing of crime suspects by the law-enforcement agencies as well as the paramilitary and armed forces in the country where persons are arrested and killed in shootouts while in detention followed by an identically prepared story in all cases.

The second caller introduced him as an officer of the SB (Special Branch of police). Following Mishu's questions he claimed that his name was Mizan. He said, "You are already in the crossfire list, you rather stop and run away. We have records of your every movement (steps), you are under our surveillance. Be ready for crossfire."

The third and fourth callers called after short intervals and used similar language and threats to her life.

Zebu said Mishu was allegedly threatened by the Directorate General of Forces Intelligence (DGFI), an intelligence agency operated by the armed forces of Bangladesh mostly dominated the country's army, over her cell phone. She was instructed not to raise voice on the issue of the wages of the workers of the Ready Made Garment (RMG) factories. The intelligence agency officials warned Mishu that if the workers further demand for the increase of their wages, she will face dire consequences. The caller used slang words on the cell phone.

" On 14 December, early in the morning at around 1:15am a group of twelve plain-clothed armed people came to the house at 51/2 Kolabagan North Road under the jurisdiction of the Kalabagan police station in the city of Dhaka," Msihu told the Sri Lanka Guardian.

The team, which included three women and nine men, was heavily armed. The police entered into the house forcefully and raided the premises without a search warrant. They asked for Ms. Moshrefa Mishu. When the family members of Mishu asked about the identity of the team they claimed that they were officials of Detective Branch (DB) of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP).

Zebu said DB officials started beating on the closed door of Mishu's bedroom and tried to break the door. When the family members tried to resists the police officials shouted at them.

Zebu said Meanwhile, Mishu opened the door and the policewomen entered into her bedroom and ordered her to go with them.

Mishu said I asked DB officials whether they had an arrest warrant and for the allegation against me. The police said that they did not have arrest warrant, but they had been dictated by the "upper level of the government" to arrest me. They also warned that if I do not follow the instructions of the police and "peacefully accompany them, they will use their utmost force" to take me with them. At this point, when my sister Zebunneas Zebu attempted to call from her cell phone to check with some relevant government official regarding the matter one of the police officials had snatched the cell phone and verbally abused her.

Mishu said I requested the police to allow five minutes to get fresh and to get ready for the police custody. When I went to toilet the policewomen forcibly went inside the toilet with her. She said that I asked the police officials "How shall I use the toilet in your presence?" The police insisted me saying that "If you need to use toilet, you have to do it in our presence".

Mishu said I tried to get a hand bag with her and necessary clothes but the police officials did not allow her to take anything. She said the police even restricted me to carry her medicine and "inhaler" that I need urgently whenever I have breathing difficulties due to chronic bronchial asthma.

Zebu said our family members humbly requested the police officials to allow Mishu, at least, to carry the emergency medicine and "inhaler" with her but the police denied permission.

The police officials came out of the house at around 1:30am and took her in a microbus of the DB police and started roaming here and there in the city. After roaming in the city for few hours they took her to the DB office at 36 Minto Road at around 5am said Mishu.

Mishu said at around 7am the Additional Deputy Commissioner (ADC) Nazrul Islam, Assistant Commissioner (AC) Muniruz Zaman, AC Nasir of the DB of the DMP started interrogating her in a room of the DB office. The interrogation continued until 2pm that afternoon.

The police officials accused Mishu of instigating the workers of the Ready Made Garment (RMG) to go berserk at Kuril area and other places of the city. They also repeatedly enquired of which countries Mishu had visited and who funds her for her work. They also asked why she had not joined the "Mohajot Sorkar" (grand alliance government) led by the Bangladesh Awami League. Mishu told the police officials that she is a leftist politician, who had political ideological differences with the ruling political alliance. Referring to a few leftist politicians who are the part of ruling alliance the police rebuked Mishu for her ideological stand.

The police gave a plain paper and insisted her to sign on the paper. They asked Mishu to join the ruling alliance and told her that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina gives priority to women and, if she were to sign the paper, Hasina would make her a minister. The police officials also asked if she were a pro-China leftist who was trying to close the garments industry of Bangladesh so that China can grab the whole RMG market of Bangladesh. Mishu said that the big pro-China man, Mr. Dilip Barua, is a minister of the government. The police accused her of trying to close the garment factories leading the female workers to become prostitutes said Mishu.

Mrs. Moshrefa Mishu admitted the Hospital. photograph  by William Gomes for the Sri Lanka Guardian. 
At around 2pm, the police produced Mishu before the Chief Metropolitan Judicial Magistrate's Court of Dhaka showing her arrested in three cases, two of them were registered with Kafrul and one case with Khilkhet police stations of the city of Dhaka.

Case -1: Case number 76 (6)10, which was registered with the Kafrul police (Government Register -GR no-386/10) under Sections 143,149, 323, 324, 325, 332, 333, 353, 427, 114 of the Penal Code-1860 on 30 June 2010.

Case-2: Case number 21 (12) 10 of the Kafrul police (GR no.854/10) under Sections 143, 448, 379, 427, 506 of Penal Code-1860 was registered on 9 December 2010.

Case-3: Case number 13 (12) 10 of Khilkhet police (GR no 255/10) was registered on 12 December 2010 under Sections 147,148,149, 332, 333, 353, 436, 379, 427,109 of the Penal Code-1860.

The police produced Mishu before the Metropolitan Magistrate Court of Dhaka in two cases of the Kafrul police station and sought police remand for 10 days in each of the two cases. Metropolitan Magistrate Mr. A I M Ismile Hossain granted two-days remand in the first case (no. 76 (6)10 ) of the Kafrul police station but rejected the remand prayer in the second case (no 21 (12)10.

On the same day, in the third case, which was registered with the Khilkhet police, Mishu was taken to the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate's Court in Dhaka. The First Additional Magistrate Mr. AHM Habibur Rahman Bhuiyan ordered the Khilkhet police to submit the Case Diary (CD) of the case on the following day.

At around 6pm in the evening the police again brought Mishu in DB office for further interrogation. They repeatedly asked the same questions that they did previously and they threatened her that if she did not sign in a blank piece of paper, she would suffer dire consequences that she had ever thought of. Mishu asked them if they would kill her and the police said that they wanted to kill or disappear her but that the media had already broadcasted and made news on her, which has messed up the plan. The threats and intimidations continued until midnight. Mishu did not eat any food in the police custody for fear of poisoning said Mishu

Mishu said the police forced Mishu to sleep on the floor of the police custody during her remand despite the fact that it was winter in the month of December in Bangladesh. During the whole period of police remand the police officers whoever interrogated Mishu asked the same questions along with intimidation and threats.

On 15 December, the First Additional Magistrate Mr. AHM Habibur Rahman Bhuiyan fixed 19 December to hear the petition for remand. After returning to the police custody the police officers repeatedly insisted her to sign on blank paper said Mishu

On 19 December, at the Court Custody where Mishu was detained before the hearing of the remand petition she had serious breathing difficulties. The police officials, who were called in to arrange medical treatment for Mishu, laughed at her and asked, "Why are you making drama?" The police did not allow Mishu any medical treatment despite her sister Zabunnesa Zebu requesting them to do so.

At around 3pm, Mishu was produced before the Dhaka Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Court's Magistrate Munshi Abdul Mazid again by the Khilkhet police for remanding her for five days. Instead of the First Additional Magistrate Mr. AHM Habibur Rahman Bhuiyan, who fixed that date for the hearing, Metropolitan Magistrate Munshi Abdul Mazid heard the petition of Khilkhet police. During the hearing Mishu had severe respiratory and spinal problems (which she had sustained due to police brutality in the past). Mishu's lawyer argued in favour of her bail petition that the detainee was sick and was unable to stand on her own legs during the court's proceedings. Mishu told before the Court that she was having difficulty in breathing and was panting and gasping for breath. The Metropolitan Magistrate Munshi Abdul Mazid allegedly said in the open court, "I have strict direction from the government that in any situation and at any cost not to grant bail to Mishu". He ordered Mishu to go to the Khilkhet police custody in a one-day fresh remand in the third case, which was fabricated against her for vandalism, arson attack and obstruction of the police from performing their official duties, for further questioning.

After the hearing Mishu's condition further deteriorated when she was brought back to the Court Custody but the police denied taking her to a hospital for treatment. Following repeated insistence by the relatives the Magistrate made order for Mishu's treatment and only then was she rushed to the National Hospital where she was given oxygen and emergency treatment.

The National Hospital authorities soon referred her to the Bangabandhu Sheikh Muzib Medical University (BSMMU) around 5pm.But a police officer, who was present there before Mishu's arrival, guided the authorities not to admit her in BSMMU. She was admitted to Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DHMC) at around 9pm in the Medicine Female Ward No.19. The hospital authorities allegedly did not provide Mishu a proper bed, which normally should be allotted to a patient, due to the intervention by doctors who are affiliated to the ruling political party – Bangladesh Awami League. Instead, the pro-ruling party doctors, particularly Assistant Professor Mustifizur Rahman of the Medicine Unit allegedly insisted the police to take Mishu to the prison health centre inside the Dhaka Central Jail on excuse of unavailability of beds at the Ward No.19. As the Court ordered the police to admit Mishu to hospital they did not take her away from the DMCH. At night Mishu had attack of bronchial asthma due to cold for staying on the floor of the hospital.

On the following day, she was allotted a bed (No. 8 at the Ward No.19) until 5 January when she was shifted to Bed no.-7 of the same unit. The politically-motivated doctors allegedly called the DB officers to take Mishu away saying that the patient recovered her problems despite the fact that Mishu had not recovered. Mishu's sister Zebu protested against the doctors deliberate attempts of releasing her sister without a proper treatment. Then, Dr. Mustifizur Rahman said to Zebu, "You are from the leftist political wing; that's why I allowed you to enter in this room. I would have kicked you out of this place, if you were from the BNP –Jamaat (BNP is the Bangladesh Nationalist Party – the main opposition in the parliament and Jamaat is a rightist Islamic party, which is its ally)". After a long argument regarding the medical ethics and responsibilities of the doctors Mishu's sister Zebu managed to keep Mishu at the hospital. However, the DMCH authorities have allegedly not provided necessary medicine to Mishu and also compelled her family to do the required pathological tests from private clinics. Two policewomen and three armed policemen have been deployed to guard Mishu at her hospital ward. The policemen were seen sitting on in her bed at the hospital when human rights defenders went to see Mishu's health condition there.

The police sought for a total of 30 days remand in the three cases – 10 days in each of the cases that had been fabricated against Mishu. The Courts and police did not follow the due process regarding the petitions for remand. The police applied for remand in plain paper whereas according to the Police Regulation of Bengal-1943 the police are instructed to apply for remand in a prescribed form: Bangladesh Police Form No. 90. The two Magistrates illegally entertained the remand petitions that allowed the police to torture the Mishu in custody. Even the Court guided that there should be lady police during the interrogation but the police did not follow that order. In two occasions Mishu was remanded by the police of Kafrul and Khilkhet respectively. Legally she should stay in the custodies of Kafrul and Khilkhet police. But, in fact, she was kept on remand under the custody of the DB office, which was violation of the law as she was not remanded by the DB police in those particular cases. However, the Courts have not taken any action against the police officers for violating the law.

Letter of Mahasveta Devi to Bangladeshi Prime Minister
The family is financial hardship for the payments for medication, lawyer and communications that have been incurred after the arbitrary detention of Mishu and fabrication of cases against her. The whole family is now under intelligence surveillance and afraid of being harmed by the state-agents. They fear to receive a call on their phones and commuting from to home to their respective work places.

The family fears that the police are trying their best to take Mishu, who has chronic bronchial asthma, again in remand where she has continuously been ill-treated by the police during a chilling cold winter. The relatives are afraid that the police may kill Mishu and then claim that she died of a heart attack as the law-enforcing agencies of the country habitually do.

The Asian Human Rights Commission has already written separate letters to the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention and Special Rapporteurs on Independent of Judges and Lawyers and Violence Against Women requesting their prompt interventions in this case.
http://www.srilankaguardian.org/2011/01/bangladesh-military-intelligence-behind.html



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[ALOCHONA] Ben Ali: Friendless, Homeless And Humiliated -Dictators Take Note



Ben Ali: Friendless, Homeless And Humiliated -Dictators Take Note

By Yvonne Ridley

17 January, 2011

He might still be living in the lap of luxury, but make no mistake Tunisia's former President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali and his family are prisoners.

Like birds in a guilded cage, they are languishing in a palace in one of the most exclusive districts of Jeddah but the truth is Ben Ali and his equally odious and corrupt family have nowhere else to hide.

It should signal a warning to all the other despots and dictators in the region – Egypt in particular – that no matter how close you think you are to the West, in times of trouble they will drop you faster than a burning coal.

As one of the cruelest oppressors on the planet scrambled to board a plane to escape what some may consider a well deserved lynching, the truth is he had no idea where he was going.

So fast was his demise.

We were told he was heading for Malta, then France and Dubai and half a dozen other countries but the truth is no one wanted the 74-year-old.

A desperate man, he finally found a bolthole in the Red Sea port city of Jeddah on Friday, arriving around midnight after close ally President Nicholas Sarkozy rejected a request for his plane to land on french soil.

Meanwhile frantic calls to the White House hotline and to Obama rang unanswered.

Once again America has proved itself to be a fickle friend just as the late Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi discovered when he went in to exile after his repressive regime in Iran was overthrown in the Islamic Revolution of 1979. The former Shah spent his exile in Egypt, totally isolated and shunned by the very same leaders in the West who had once supported him.

The Saudi government refuses to say how long he will be their guest but I like to think the many soldiers posted outside the palace's half dozen or so gates are not there for his protection but there to ensure he remains within the high sided walls.

Quite how this secular leader will settle in the land of the Two Holy Mosques is beyond me. Ben Ali despised Islam to such an extent he made sure his brutal enforcers abused and punished those God-fearing Tunisians who wore hijabs and grew beards.

For instance, the Ministers of Foreign Affairs and the Interior and the Secretary-General of Tunisia's ruling political party, the Constitutional Democratic Rally, stated several years ago that they were so concerned about rise in the use of the hijab by women and girls and beards and the qamis (knee-level shirts) by men, that they called for a strict implementation of decree 108 of 1985 of the Ministry of Education banning the hijab at educational institutions and when working in government.

Police ordered women to remove their head scarfs before entering schools, universities or work places and others were made to remove them in the street. Amnesty International reported at the time that some women were being arrested and taken to police stations where they were forced to sign written commitment to stop wearing the hijab.

Perhaps someone should remind the Saudis about that and have him charged under Shari'a law just for starters.

Ben Ali's hatred and fear of Islam can also be witnessed in Egypt where Hosni Mubarak rules with an iron fist. The prisons and dungeons of Egypt are jammed full of members of the Muslim Brotherhood and other dissenting voices and political opponents who are rounded up everytime an election is in the offing.

Mubarak's betrayal of the Palestinian people and his irrational fear of Hamas speaks volumes also about his secular outlook and lifestyle which is at odds with Islam.

I was asked to leave Cairo in December 2009 by his Foreign Ministry after writing an article in which I said Mubarak had turned Egypt into America's rent boy in the Middle East because of the huge sums of money he willingly took from the US in return for oppressing the people of Gaza and supporting Israel.

But now he must be wondering if bending over a barrel for Uncle Sam is really a price worth paying.

After all, no one grovelled more to America than Ben Ali. In 2005 he was even ordered to extend the hand of friendship to the Zionist State, a country which had bombed his own when Yasser Arafat's PLO was headquartered in Tunis in 1986.

Did he object? No, in fact Ben Ali went one step further and invited the war criminal Ariel Sharon to visit Tunisia. Well, where has all that craven behaviour got him?

Just like the previous Tunisian tyrant, he happily kissed the rump of Zionists while belly-dancing in front of Western leaders who claimed to be among his closest allies.

Well, just where are his friends now?

He's friendless, homeless and humiliated.

British journalist Yvonne Ridley is the European President of the International Muslim Womens Union. She travelled extensively through Tunisia in February 2009 with the Viva Palestina convoy.

 

http://countercurrents.org/ridley170111.htm




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[ALOCHONA] Re: [Ovimot] Dhaka to protest Felani's murder



Yes, today  we have read in News paper that our Home Minister would protest the friendly killing of Felani by our only and the only friend BESTAIL  HINDU  STAAAN AND THAT TOO SHE will PROTEST TO THE HOME SECRETARY OF HINDU  STAAAAN ???????????  

 
WE APPRECIATE THE COURAGE OF OUR POWERFUL HOME MINISTER THAT INSTEAD OF MAKING TO PROTEST TO THE EVEN PROTOCOL WAY i.e. TO HER COUNTERPART HOME MINISTER NOT TO A SUBORDINATE OFFICIAL.  AT LEAST SHE IS DOING SOMETHING !!!!!! BRAVO  BRAVO  BANGLADESH.


On Mon, Jan 17, 2011 at 4:05 AM, Mohiuddin Anwar <mohiuddin@netzero.net> wrote:
 

Etokkhone Kumbhokorner Ghum Bhanglo ?

Dhaka to protest Felani's murder
Sun, Jan 16th, 2011 10:12 pm BdST Dial 2000 from your GP mobile for latest news



Dhaka, Jan 16 (bdnews24.com) — Dhaka will protest the killing of a Bangladeshi girl, 'Felani', by Indian border guards along Kurigram border at a home secretary-level meeting with India, the home minister has said.

"Bangladesh will ask India at the meeting to stop killing Bangladeshis by Indian border guards," Shahara Khatun told reporters after a meeting with top officials of law enforcing agencies in the city on Sunday.
She said the two-day meeting will be held on Jan 19 and 20 in Dhaka. The last such meeting was held in 2009 in Delhi.

'Felani', 15, was shot dead by BSF at Anantapur on Jan 7. Locals said Felani's father Nurul Islam Nuru hailed from Banarbhita village of Nageshwari and worked in Delhi.

Felani was returning to Bangladesh with her father as her marriage had been settled with a local boy.

Nuru, however, managed to cross the barbed wire with a ladder but Felani's clothes got entangled in the wire. Hearing her scream, the BSF members gunned down her and took away the body.

They handed over the body to BDR the following day.

According to a human rights organisation, Odhikar, BSF kills one Bangladeshi every four days. The organisation also claims that 74 Bangladeshis were killed, 72 injured and 43 abducted in 2010.

New York-based human rights group Human Rights Watch, in its new report published on Dec 9, said the Indian government should prosecute BSF soldiers responsible for serious human rights abuses like indiscriminate use of force, arbitrary detention, torture, and killings.

Shahara said the meeting with India would also focus on drug smuggling and human trafficking, recovery of grabbed lands and enclave issue.

Regarding extrajudicial killing by law enforcers, she said the miscreants were shot dead after they fire shots on the law enforcers. "It's true that law enforcers cannot remain silent when miscreants fire shots," she said.

"But, complains in this regard must be investigated, if any," Shahra added.

She also said such previous complains were being investigated and trial would be taken based on the investigation reports.

About the recent sensational murders and robberies, the home minister said there had been progress in investigations into the incidents, including the murder of ward-41 Awami League leader, mother-son murder at Tejgaon, theft in Dhakeshwari Temple and robbery in an MP's house.

She claimed the law and order situation in the country was better in the past two years than before.

bdnews24.com/sha/pd/ost/mr/2200h


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---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Isha Khan <bdmailer@gmail.com>
To: Undisclosed-recipients:;
Date: Sun, 16 Jan 2011 16:29:59 +0600
Subject: [KHABOR] Fwd: Felani's Hanging Body, Connectivity and the quiet Govt
 

------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Zoglul Husain <zoglul@hotmail.co.uk>
Date: Sun, Jan 16, 2011 at 3:51 PM
Subject: RE: Felani's Hanging Body, Connectivity and the quiet Govt
To: Isha Khan bdmailer@gmail.com

We need many demos and meetings throughout the country similar to the ones as follows, remembering that actions speak louder than words:

Human chain in Chittagong against BSF atrocities
http://www.amardeshonline.com/pages/details/2011/01/14/63069   

Press conference on border killings demands: BSF must stop killings and abductions:
http://www.amardeshonline.com/pages/details/2011/01/15/63228    
 


Date: Sun, 16 Jan 2011 13:51:02 +0600
Subject: Felani's Hanging Body, Connectivity and the quiet Govt
From:
bdmailer@gmail.com


Felani's Hanging Body, Connectivity and our quiet Government
 
A new year came upon us, so is the 3rd year of the government of Sheikh Hasina- HM Ershad- Hasanul Inu – Maolana Misbah-Ul-Islam- Comrade Moinuddin Khan Badal.  Under siege by police and neo-gestapo RAB; the new years eve was fairly uneventful. At least there was no public display of sexual harassment in the form of a torn clothe student at Dhaka University Student center premises.
 
 
 
There were some upheavals though. The long line for the upcoming World Cup Cricket tickets were lead news/ talking point in the news media. The world cup ticket hoopla was duly followed by  nearly 24/7 news coverage of the roller coaster ride of the stock market.  TV news as well as the talk shows were all filled with footage of angry investors, bleeding from RAB baton Charge, rallying and pelting stones at nearby cars and government offices. The Government took the challenge politically and made sure that the following day the stock index rebound with a two fold vigor.
 
Other than all these discussable and forgettable stuff, the new year as well as the second year anniversary of Hasina Ershad brother sister Government was supposed to be a happy and holy event. Well… except for the unhappy and ugly scene of a bright red deep blue spot hanging fifteen feet above the ground on our horizon.
 
It is irony that her name was Felani. Like Kurani, Felani is Generic name in Bangla literature. While Kurani is the name of a little girl living on the street, Felani usually describes an orphan or poor girl who serves her master's household 24/7 only two get abused and deprived. Felani was a born in a very poor family in Northern Bangladesh. It is that region of Bangladesh where 'Monga' — seasonal shortage of work and food is endemic. In quest of the most basic of basic human needs, at least once or twice a day food to meet hunger, five year old Felani, her  parents, along with many others like them, crossed international political border and managed the lowest wage job in a far away land, in Southwest India. They would do the hardest and lowest paid jobs which even the locals would pass. At least there was a job for little Felani and her family and that ensured food to eat. While politicians can have political borders, basic need like hunger does not care for any border.
 
While working as a child laborer carrying and washing brick in a far away land, Felani grew up and reached marriageable age per the standards of rural poor sections of Bangladesh.  She was returning home after ten years to get married. All were set up.
 
Poor folks cross the border for meeting basic living needs. They don't read newspapers or blogs. They don't understand India's growing stature and accompanying security concern. They only heard that there are jobs in this and that far away land. The procession is rather big. Some will stop in nearby Calcutta, some will travel to Delhi, Bombay and half of them will cross another fearsome border to land in Karachi, Pakistan.
 
Nahari's mother used to help run errands in my grandmothers rural home in Chittagong. Two of her sons work in Pakistan. I met them during one of my trips. Many of them don't have passport, visa — some don't bother spending all the airfare money. For them getting into India costs more money and there are higher chances of getting arrested. Crossing border into Bangladesh costs much less, no chance of getting arrested but there are chances of getting killed.
 
Indiscriminate killing of Bangladeshis in Indian border started soon after independence. But over the last few years the killings have become a near daily event. In a blog post Rezwan compiles different write ups on this issue and quotes Bangladeshi Human Rights organization Odhikar this way,
 
Bangladeshi human rights organization Odhikar says in a report that BSF kills one Bangladeshi in every four days. It also says that BSF killed 74 innocent Bangladeshi citizens in 2010, injured seventy-two and kidnapped 43. In the past decade more than 1000 Bangladeshis were killed in the border regions by BSF.
 
Like 13 year old Parul who was shot by Indian security, Felani was shot as she her traditional clothes got stuck high up in the barbed wire fence. Felani was alive reportedly at least 4 hours after being shot. Local villagers report hearing her screaming and asking for water.
 
Felani bled to death. In the photos we see, blood could not be distinguished from her bright red and deep blue dress.Local people protested. Bangla blogosphere erupted. Some newspapers ( especially those cunning-smart ones who can read peoples pulse way in advance) published the news.
 
And yet some folks saw Jamaati conspiracy to hamper "war Crimes trial" in Felani's hanging dead body. Like the comment on a facebook page where image of Felani's hanging body was posted.  As one soul, in that facebook page, rather getting upset at the photo, questioned the source of the photo, other replies, " It must be an act of the Jamaatis".
 
The Government kept quite quite. Not a single word about Felani could be heard from the mouth of our ever talking prime Minister or her men-women.Felani means disposable. Felani is really disposable to our Government. Felani's death is not important enough to seek justice for or start a trial process.
 
We want connectivity. We are enclosed with 15 feet high barbed wire from all sides to prevent connecting, yet we are for connectivity.Our folks are being shot and killed indiscriminately. Shoot at sight if caught in the process of connecting. Hell Yeah. We are for connectivity.
 
India's truck, 18 wheeler lorries will drive through Bangladesh via special road built for them with our peoples' money. But Parul or Felani or many Shafiq, Rafiq, Karim, Habib will be shot to death if seen crossing India-Bangladesh border.
 
If we talk more connectivity, more regional cooperation, like EU, why can't we have EU style open border? Let's open our borders. Let's real economic cooperation begin.  Let our Felani's and their parents travel fearlessly providing cheap labor to the growing economies in this region.
 





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Re: [ALOCHONA] Fwd: The promised 10-taka rice

Socio-economic problem be damned. There is an acute shortage of infrastructure to name after Mujib not to mention a long list of old men to prosecute for crimes committed over 30 years ago.

The plight of this one deshi pales in comparison.

It is in any case a fabrication - in sonar bangladesh, rice is free and everyone is happy. The people love the PM and they care not for such paltry matters. They are already raptured in perpetual happiness as there will soon be an airport named after Mujib.

Shame on you sir for failing to understand what are our basic needs.

Joy Bangla!

------Original Message------
From: Isha Khan
Sender: alochona@yahoogroups.com
ReplyTo: alochona@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [ALOCHONA] Fwd: The promised 10-taka rice
Sent: 16 Jan 2011 07:48

------ Forwarded message ---------- From: Zoglul Husain <zoglul@hotmail.co.uk> Date: Sun, Jan 16, 2011 at 1:46 PM Subject: RE: The promised 10-taka rice To: Isha Khan <bdmailer@gmail.com> The report of a mother with 9-month-old baby in arms in a chilly breezy morning queuing in the street for 4 hours to buy subsidised rice, which saves her Tk 55, is a scenario of desperate poverty. How does it compare with last Eid's market report about some saris selling at Tk 250,000 each? The disparity may make many sane heads spin. But, the realisation must be there that the socio-economic problem needs to be redressed. Date: Sun, 16 Jan 2011 11:37:10 +0600 Subject: The promised 10-taka rice From: bdmailer@gmail.com Pricier the rice, longer the queue   Long queues for open-market-sale rice at Kamrangirchar on the outskirts of the capital yesterday, an evidence of how people are in need of grains.   Holding her nine-month-old baby in one arm, Salma Khanam braved the chilly morning breeze to buy subsidised rice at the Open Market Sales (OMS) point at Begum Rokeya Sarani in the capital's Mirpur area.She had to wait for more than four hours for her turn.  "I am here for the first time. I dared not come here carrying my baby. But I had to change my mind for the soaring prices of rice," said Salma, wife of a bus helper, who earns Tk 5,000 a month.She said they have to pay a house rent of Tk 2,000 a month and spend nearly Tk 500 on food for the baby.   Like Salma nearly a hundred men and women waited in queues for hours to buy a 5-kilogram pack of coarse rice for Tk 24 a kg. It saved them at least Tk 55 each as coarse rice now sells at a minimum price of Tk 35 a kg in city markets.   Long queues are now longer and more frequent in almost all OMS points with more people from fixed and lower income brackets thronging them to buy subsidised rice to save money for buying other essentials.Nearly 125 OMS trucks with 3,000 kgs of rice each sell subsidised rice to 75,000 people every five days a week while many return home empty-handed in t
Emanur Rahman | m. +447734567561 | e. emanur@rahman.com

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Re: [ALOCHONA] An Open Letter to the PM on a Party-man's Death & Police Officers' Suspension

The thoughtful innocence of this plea is heart warming but the abject lack of understanding cannot pass without comment.

The state, its machinery and its citizens are the goods and chattels of the house of Mujib. Their function is to serve at their pleasure. Their very lives and careers are the property of and therefore in the gift of the same. Should they choose to dispose of either they may do so at will.

This police officer should be grateful for his life and that he was allowed to remain on active duty that long. In order to restore himself he should kill a couple of opposition supporters, maybe a few Bangladeshis on the border and send the heads of the same with copious amounts of marigolds to the PM's office. Only then can he even hope to expect some mercy.

Whilst I understand ignorance is bliss, some ignorance can cost you your career and your life.


------Original Message------
From: Nirob Dorshok
Sender: alochona@yahoogroups.com
To: alapon@yahoogroups.com
To: alochona@yahoogroups.com
ReplyTo: alochona@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [ALOCHONA] An Open Letter to the PM on a Party-man's Death & Police Officers' Suspension
Sent: 16 Jan 2011 10:46

News Blaze, January 15, 2011
http://newsblaze.com/story/20110115083624zzzz.nb/topstory.html
 
Op-Ed Contributor
An Open Letter to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina
Dear Prime Minister,
On Friday the 14th of January 2011, an activist of your party from Sher-e-Banglanagar in Dhaka was shot dead. The media reports suggest that the cause of the murder could be rivalry among your party men of that particular area. We do not know if the police could have prevented that tragedy. However, what we know is that our police forces have been wrongly used and been treated as your party musclemen since you came to power. They have shown complete loyalty to you and your party affiliates.
 
Without any official investigation, you suspended the officer-in-charge, Reaz Hossain, and a sub-inspector, Kamaruzzaman, of Sher-e-Banglanagar Police Station. (For more details, please see:
http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/news-details.php?nid=170111)
I highly appreciate your quick action if that was intended to stop unlawful killings in the country.
 
However, the crime records of the country since you came to power do not persuade us to believe that your intention was crime prevention. Your party hooligans and government forces have killed dozens of opposition political leaders and activists (many of them in broad daylight). But no police officers have ever been suspended or terminated for those killings. In the border region, the Indian BSF has killed hundreds of Bangladeshis, including my younger sister Felani, since you came to power. You have remained totally silent!
Dear Prime Minister, kidnapping and the culture of 'disappearance' was never the practice in the political history of our nation. You started that on 25th of June 2010. Your forces arrested Dhaka City Corporation ward councilor and BNP central leader Chowdhury Alam at around 9:30 pm while he was leaving the party's central office at Naya Paltan.
 
Dear Prime Minister, where is Chowdhury Alam? I know you have no satisfactory answer to this question. However, his family membe
Emanur Rahman | m. +447734567561 | e. emanur@rahman.com

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[ALOCHONA] Odhikar on Felani murder



Odhikar on Felani murder
 
 
 


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[ALOCHONA] MP Abur Rahman Badi



MP Abur Rahman Badi
 
 
 


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