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Wednesday, June 15, 2011

[ALOCHONA] Rahnuma Ahmed Injured



Rahnuma Ahmed Injured

Rahnuma Ahmed was amongst around twenty people who were injured as police clashed with protesters at a rally held near the National Press Club in Dhaka.

Members of the National Committee to Protect Oil, Gas, Mineral Resources, Power and Ports were protesting against the government bid to give lease of two deep-sea blocks to US oil company ConocoPhillips South Asia New Venture Ltd for oil-gas exploration in the Bay of Bengal, which they say is against the interest of Bangladesh and is designed to profit a few corrupt individuals.

The police blockaded the rally near the secretariat, and baton charged the protesters as they approached the barricade. Writer and anthropologist Rahnuma Ahmed was one of several protesters who were injured during the clashes. The government plans to sign a contract with Connoco Phillips on the 16th June 2011.

Rahnuma Ahmed (centre) challenging police blockade near National Press Club Dhaka. 14th June 2011. Photo Hasan Raja

Rahnuma Ahmed was injured during the clash. 14th June 2011. Photo Hasan Raja

Rahnuma Ahmed injured during the clash. 14th Jume 2011. Photo Hasan Raja

http://www.shahidulnews.com/2011/06/rahnuma-ahmed-injured/

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The gift of a `death squad'

by rahnuma ahmed

June 8th, 2011

image

A `death squad' was the BNP-Jamaat government's gift to the nation, a gift that has been nurtured and defended by two successive governments, each claiming to be vastly different to the previous one.

Claiming not only to be better, but morally superior.

The death-knell was struck more than seven years ago, on June 2, 2003, when the cabinet committee on Law and Order decided to form the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB). Those present were the committee president Abdul Mannan Bhuiyan, law minister Moudud Ahmed, home minister Altaf Hossain Chowdhury, education minister Omar Farooq, and state minister for home affairs Lutfuzzaman Babar.

RAB was formally created eight months later, in March 2004, a composite force comprising elite members from the army, navy, air force, the police, and members of other law enforcement groups. It began full operations in June, the same year.

Remember Fakhruddin Ahmed, the ex-World Bank guy who led the military-installed caretaker government (2007-2008), who claimed to be driven by the objective of "holding a free, fair and credible election" which will truly reflect the "will of the people"? Who saw himself as a "champion or leader" motivated by the aim of "strengthening Bangladesh's democratic order"? (Time, March 22, 2007).

Well, if you search the records, it turns out that around 315 persons were killed extra-judicially under his, and general Moeen U Ahmed's, 23-month long emergency rule. Of these, the deaths of more than 250 persons were allegedly crossfire killings (`Bangladesh 2008. Insidious militarisation and illegal emergency,' Asian Human Rights Commission, December 2008).

Even if, for arguments sake, these persons were hardened criminals, how is the democratic functioning of state institutions strengthened by officials of its elite anti-crime, anti-terror force behaving exactly as criminals do?
By killing point-blank. By making up stories later of crossfires, shootouts and encounters, which every Bangladeshi knows to be untrue. I'm sure even their kids know that. I would have died of shame if my father had worked for RAB. I agree that kids don't choose their parents, let alone their dad's occupation but thank heaven, for big — very big — mercies!

And before that, surely you remember Khaleda Zia's stunning electoral victory because of the BNP's No 1 campaign promise: to improve law-and-order in the country? This of course didn't materialise, which made what the Awami League said in its 2008 electoral manifesto pretty accurate: extra-judicial killings had become the norm, the rule of law had disappeared. For, at the end of the BNP-Jamaat government's rule, the country's elite anti-crime and anti-terrorism force had been implicated in the unlawful killing of at least 350 people in custody. Additionally, of allegedly torturing hundreds more.

These minor matters however did not deter Khaleda Zia's government from awarding Swadhinata Padak, the most-prestigious national award, to RAB on March 23, 2006 for their "outstanding performance in maintaining law and order." It did not deter her government from awarding police medals to 28 RAB officers the next year. All of these officers, according to AHRC, have allegedly been involved in serious human rights violations, including extra-judicial killing.

And if one were to tote up the figures since January 6, 2009 — since the Awami League-led grand alliance's assumption of office — apparently, close to 200 people have been killed in RAB operations.

The director general of RAB had acknowledged 577 deaths, a figure which was later upped, in March 2010, to 622. Since extra-judicial killings have not ceased, official figures would now presumably be higher. Human rights groups in Bangladesh, however think that the number of crossfire deaths since RAB's inception has crossed a thousand.

Recently, the New York-based Human Rights Watch called on the government to either take major steps towards making RAB accountable, to reform it within the next six months, or to disband it altogether (Crossfire, HRW, May 10, 2011). When Nurul Kabir was asked to comment on HRW's urgent plea on a live TV talk show, he replied, our human rights organisations too would demand the same thing if they could.

How is democracy strengthened by giving killers legal impunity? For, as lawyers, journalists and human rights activists repeatedly point out, RAB enjoys impunity. A state of affairs enabled by the Armed Police Battalions ordinance, 1979, its 2003 amendment (on the basis of which RAB was formed), and the much older, colonial-era Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898.

RAB enjoys impunity because of governmental secrecy. Rules regulating RAB's conduct in its performance of law enforcement tasks were drafted and put into effect in 2005, but these rules have never been made public. Additionally, the 1979 ordinance and the 2003 amendment created special internal courts similar to a military court martial to put alleged offendors on trial. But till date, RAB officers have only been tried and punished for involvement in extortion, fraud, drug peddling, hiring sex workers. Not for committing grave human rights abuses. Not for torture. Not for killing.

The worst punishment meted out to RAB officers, even where allegations of extrajudicial killings — not through crossfire/shootout — have been confirmed in inquiry reports, has been, at most dishonorable discharge. No one has been criminally punished.

The government has not taken any action despite a High Court notice to the government asking why crossfire killings should not be declared illegal, the result of a public litigation filed by ASK, BLAST and Karmajibi Nari (June 29, 2009). Despite a suo moto ruling by the High Court asking the director general of RAB, and secretary, home ministry, to show cause why appropriate action should not be taken against RAB officers who, allegedly, had killed the Khalashi brothers.

The reconstitution of High Court benches, and re-assigning the 2 judges who had issued the suo moto ruling to civil instead of criminal cases, took care of that.

In the early days, people had celebrated when hardened criminals were crossfired by RAB. They had cheered, had distributed sweets, an occurrence which was used to justify RAB's modus operandi.

As each ruling government draws on RAB to carry out its vendetta against its political opponents, as each member of the public slumps and falls to the ground, as rumours fly around of individual officers, of small teams, hiring out their services to the monied to help them settle scores with their enemies, i.e., eliminate, what Brad Adams said at of HRW's press conference in Dhaka (May 10, 2011) does not seem far-fetched at all. A death squad is roaming the streets of Bangladesh.

I cannot help but wonder, how do higher-ups of the BNP-Jamaat government feel, what do they think when they see their successors pronouncements fizzle out? When the government's `zero tolerance' for crossfire killings, torture, deaths in custody (Dipu Moni, foreign minister) gradually rises? To its current status of `a hundred percent,' as evidenced by the prime minister's defence adviser, Maj Gen (retd) Tarique Ahmed Siddique's recent statement that Limon — the 16 year-old college student of Jhalokathi who was allegedly fired at point blank by RAB officials — is a `criminal'. That his father too, is a `criminal'. When the home minister Sahara Khatun chimes in, what Siddique said is the government's position. And, no, criminalising Limon a priori, while police investigations are being conducted, will not affect its findings. No, it will not influence judicial proceedings either.

Do they feel happy? Gleeful? Ha-ha, now that you are in the seat, now you know. See, there was no reason for being so outraged in April 2006 when the prime minister's advisor for parliamentary affairs, Salahuddin Quader Chowdhury mockingly warned opposition members: follow the "right path" (siratul mustakim) or else, you'll be on RAB's "crossfire" list.

Probably not. Perverse delight at the AL government's about-turn is probably tempered by news of Shaka Chowdhury's current distress. He was detained by RAB officers, and officials of Directorate General of Forces Intelligence (DGFI) last December. Initially charged with instigating a firebomb attack, Chowdhury, who is generally thought to be a war criminal, is presently being investigated for 1971 war crimes. In a letter from prison, addressed apparently to the British government, Chowdhury writes of losing consciousness while being beaten around the head and back. Of recovering consciousness only to discover himself strapped to a metal table. "My abductors were engaged in clamping on metal clips and clamps on various parts of my body – my toes, my knees, my genitals, my hernia incisions, my chest nipples and my armpits. A bearded doctor strapped a blood pressure measuring [device] on to my arm and started instructions to first insert needles under my toenails and switch on electric surges." (Guardian, February 25, 2011).

But, as Tasneem Khalil, journalist, who was himself handcuffed, blindfolded and tortured during the caretaker government period, insists, "In a civilized society, you cannot go after anyone in a totally arbitrary manner without access to bail and imprison them and not let them — [not let] their cases [be] tried by a free court, [an] independent court." Even barrister Moudud Ahmed, despite his "role in creating the battalion" should not have been been led away blindfolded from his home, as he was in early 2007. He should not have been interrogated round the clock. He should not have been held in custody without trial or access to lawyers. Even Moudud Ahmed has the "right to due process." (NPR, March 20, 2008). So would Lutfuzzaman Babar, currently imprisoned, who had said, "criminals do not have human rights."

Calls for disbanding RAB have, predictably enough, given rise to clutching RAB-ever more dearly to-the-bosom responses from the government. Earlier defenses, "RAB had only killed `criminals.' No more crossfire incidents are taking place in the country (law minister Shafique Ahmed), `What will the law enforcers do, save themselves or die, when criminals open fire on them?' (Sahara Khatun), `Crossfire killings are not human rights violations, they have helped bring extortion and other crimes under control' (port and shipping minister Shahjahan Khan), have been reinforced with new ones. A `conspiracy' is being hatched to disband RAB. A plot is afoot. Why? Because it has been successful in tackling violent crimes, in dealing with militancy, says our `one hundred percent sure' man, the prime minister's defence adviser. A few bad apples, the whole unit shouldn't be blamed. The conspirators are many, organisations, persons, foreign NGOs.

A deathly gift, treasured by the nation's rulers, whether civilian or military, whether the BNP-Jamaat and its smaller partners, or the Awami Leage and its alliance members. Treasured by each party when in power, despite having suffered. At times, viciously. Torture. Targeted killings.

Since violence begets more violence, for us, law-abiding members of the public, cross-firing RAB cannot be the answer. Neither can appealing to the British government provide any solution, mired as it is in imperial wars.

Only accountability, can. Only the due process of law, can. Only people's resistance, can.

This version is slightly changed, the original has been published in New Age, Monday, June 6, 2011

http://newagebd.com/newspaper1/editorial/21325.html



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[ALOCHONA] Interpreting the AKP Victory in Turkey



Interpreting the AKP Victory in Turkey

by Richard Falk and Hilal Elver

June 15, 2011

It is the first time since the founding of the republic by Kemal Ataturk that such widespread international interest was aroused by Turkey's June 12th elections. Naturally it is a time for celebration by the AKP in view of its landslide victory, a vindication of its overall economic and political approach over the past nine years. It is also an endorsement of its creative foreign policy that had given Turkey such a prominent place on regional and global diplomatic maps for the first time in its republican history.

This afterglow of electoral victory should not obscure the challenges that lie ahead for the AKP. The most important of these involve finally providing the large Kurdish minority with secure cultural and political rights that to be trusted, would need to be vested in a new constitution. There is wide agreement in Turkey that the existing 1982 constitution, reflecting the approach taken by oppressive leaders of a military coup, needs to be replaced, but there are serious divisions among Turks with respect to the substantive content of such a new constitution. The secular opposition, as represented by the CHP, remains particularly worried about an alleged danger of the Putinization of the Turkish government if a switch is made from a parliamentary to a presidential system. More concretely, the AKP opposition believes that Recep Tayyip Erdogan harbors authoritarian dreams that could be fulfilled if Turkey were to follow the French presidential model.

Yet there should be less worry for two main reasons. Firstly, the AKP, while winning 325 seats in parliament, fell well short of securing the 367 seats needed for the parliamentary supermajorities that would have allowed it to decide on its own the contents of a new constitution, or even of the 330 seats necessary for it to be able to write a constitution that would become the law of the land after it received approval in a national referendum. Without this degree of parliamentary control, the AKP will not be able to produce a constitution without the cooperation of the other parties represented in the parliament, especially the CHP, and that bodes well, particularly if the opposition acts responsibly by offering constructive cooperation.

And secondly, Erdogan in his victory speech went out of his way to reassure the country that constitutional reform would be a consensual process protective of diverse lifestyles and framed so as to achieve acceptance and justice for the entire society. At the moment of victory, Erdogan seemed unexpectedly sensitive to criticism of his supposedly arrogant political style, and took the high road of moderation and humility. He seemed intent on convincing the Turkish public as a whole that he respected the secular principles that had dominated political life since the time of Ataturk, and that the country would become more pluralistic than ever in an atmosphere of mutual respect.

It is not just Turks who should welcome this AKP victory. The electoral outcome provides the Middle East with an extremely positive example of dynamic democracy at a time of unresolved internal struggles throughout the region. The steady and helpful diplomatic hand of Turkey offers an attractive alternative to anxieties and memories associated with American and European interventions and alignments in the region. Turkey is a vibrant society with a flourishing economy that has managed to follow a democratic path to political stability and an independent course in foreign policy, and that offers an inspiring example for others to follow according to their various national circumstances.

There are many uncertainties that cloud prospects for the future. Turkey faces the consequences of an unresolved bloody conflict in neighboring Syria, including the challenge of managing a massive inflow of refugees fleeing the killing fields. There are also the risks of an escalated confrontation with Iran arising from the Israel/United States hard power response to Iran's nuclear program. This could ignite a war that engulfs the entire region with a variety of disastrous effects. In addition, the tense relations between Ankara and Tel Aviv are likely to be further stressed in coming weeks as preparations for a second Freedom Flotilla go forward.

Yet the sun shines brighter on the morning after these Turkish elections. Voters have affirmed an approach to Turkey's internal and international policies premised on an inclusive approach to peace, justice, and rights. To build on this mandate, and to do so in a manner that is convincing to the majority of Turkish citizens, will create progress in the country and hope for the region. There will be mistakes and setbacks, but the orientation and vision of the AKP leadership is one of the most encouraging political developments of this still young 21st century.

The Prime Minister's victory address from the balcony of AKP headquarters, what he calls a "mentorship speech," was the culmination of the long and steady rise of the AKP over the past decade—from 34% of the vote in 2002 to 47% in 2007, and now almost 50% in 2011. With some irony, this latest result did not give the AKP more seats in the Parliament due to recent changes in the electoral system of representation that had been decreed by the Higher Election Board, a part of the state bureaucracy known to be hostile to the AKP. While this restructuring had hardly been noticed when it took place, it hurt the AKP (326 rather than 341), while it helped to the CHP (rising from 112 to 135), and the Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) that helped elect Kurdish independent candidates. As well, the rightest party, National Movement Party (MHP), cleared the 10% threshold, winning 13% of the vote, which produces 53 seats in the new parliament.

The Prime Minister interpreted these results sympathetically, telling the public that he heard the voice of people as demanding consensus rather than a bestowal of unitary power on one party. In his words: "Our nation assigned us to draft a new constitution. They gave us a message to build the new constitution through consensus and negotiation. We will seek the broadest consensus." The word 'compromise' was mentioned three times in the speech.

Erdogan also tried to calm the political waters roiled by inflamed campaign rhetoric when he declared that "[i]ncendiary speeches given during the campaign should be forgotten." This is an encouraging start for the next phase in the process of constructing a democracy that responds to the realities of the diverse peoples living in Turkey. At one point, he promised that the constitution "will address everybody's demands for freedom, democracy, peace and justice, and each identity and each value." It is the last phrase that is most relevant as an indication of a resolve to move beyond the unitary ideas of Kemalist Turkey that still animate the ultra-nationalist MHP, which during the election campaign reaffirmed its unshakeable belief in "one identity (Turk), one state (Turkey), and one language (Turkish)." Such a rigid position seems impossible to reconcile with the Erdogan consensus approach that was explicitly directed at the quest for distinct cultural and political rights by a series of Turkish minorities, most significantly, the Kurds. Also mentioned by Erdogan were Arabs, Circassians, Georgians, Roma, Alevis, and Laz. The Prime Minister insisted that hereafter "all citizens will be first class," which seemed to be making an historic commitment to equality between Turks and non-Turks in all phases of national life.

There are additional hopeful signs for Turkey's future. 78 women were elected to the parliament, significantly more than ever before. Perhaps, finally, the headscarf issue will be resolved in the direction of freedom of religion and the rights of women. Turkish religiously observant Muslim women have suffered the punitive effects of the headscarf ban in public sector activities, including institutions of higher learning, for far too long. The discriminatory nature of the current policy is dramatized by the unassailed freedom of the AKP men who lead the government despite being as religiously observant as their wives.

Moreover, this parliament will be robustly diverse because of the many new faces, including the former left student leader who spent many years in jail (Ertugrul Kurkcu), several CHP members who are in prison, being accused of anti-state activity in the Ergenekon case, and Leyla Zana, the internationally known Kurdish parliamentarian who was originally elected in 1991 and arrived in Parliament wearing a Kurdish flag bandana and refusing to take an oath of loyalty to the Turkish state. After many years, some of them in jail, Zana is again in parliament. A few days ago on TV she joked: "Perhaps this time I will come with a headscarf," implying that the individual rights of everyone should be protected, and those who wear headscarves should not be excluded.

As the most popular and admired leader in the region, Erdogan did not forget to send a message to peoples of the Middle East, mentioning several cities and countries by name, including places in occupied Palestine, suggesting rather dramatically that these places will be considered under the same banner of concern as Turkish cities. In a rhetorical flourish, Erdogan insisted that the outcome of the elections in Turkey was a victory "for Bosnia as much as Istanbul, Beirut as much as Izmir, Damascus as much as Ankara." While somewhat hyperbolic, such a display of internationalism was new in Turkish politics, and signifies the rise of Turkey as a diplomatic force beyond its borders.

Erdogan somewhat unexpectedly also recalled a dark episode in Turkey's past, specifically what happened in 1960, when a military coup not only ousted a democratically elected government headed by the Democratic Party, but executed three of its political leaders, including the Prime Minister, Adnan Menderes, because it dared to challenge the supremacy of the military by reducing its budget.  As with the AKP, the Menderes leadership had governed Turkey for three consecutive terms, winning elections by overwhelming majorities. Erdogan was conveying his sense that the struggle to achieve Turkish democracy was long and painful.  He was also indirectly reminding his audience that the 'deep state' was no longer in a position to frustrate the will of the people. All in all, the message was upbeat as befits an electoral victory of this magnitude.

A final observation takes note that June 12 was also the day on which Iranian elections were held two years ago. What is so startling is the contrast between the joyful expectations of the majority of the Turkish people after the electoral results were announced as compared to the anger and despair of the Iranian majority who believed for good reason that the regime in Tehran had fraudulently deprived them of an electoral victory. This difference between a governing process that periodically legitimates itself through free and fair multi-party elections and a governing process that lacks the consent of the public and must rule by fear and force may be the most basic fault line in domestic politics, and serves as the litmus test of the Arab Spring in the near future.


Richard Falk is an international law and international relations scholar who taught at Princeton University for forty years. Since 2002 he has lived in Santa Barbara, California, and taught at the local campus of the University of California in Global and International Studies and since 2005 chaired the Board of the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation. Read more articles by Richard Falk.
http://richardfalk.wordpress.com

Hilal Elver is a Turkish scholar and public intellectual.


http://www.foreignpolicyjournal.com/2011/06/15/interpreting-the-akp-victory-in-turkey/



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[ALOCHONA] TAKE CARE OF EVERYONE [1 Attachment]

[Attachment(s) from Isha Khan included below]

TAKE CARE OF EVERYONE

Attachment(s) from Isha Khan

1 of 1 File(s)


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[ALOCHONA] DU Teacher_BUET Engineer-Prostitute Culture_Free Mixing-Inevitable Tragic Results



Dear Friends,

I have no comments except the headings of this e-mail.

For details pl follow the link below :

http://www.amardeshonline.com/pages/details/2011/06/16/87587

Thanks & regards,

M H Khan


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[ALOCHONA] 16 June was a black day for the media and democracy



16  June was a black day for the media and democracy




http://www.amardeshonline.com/pages/details/2011/06/16/87575

http://www.dailynayadiganta.com/fullnews.asp?News_ID=283505&sec=6

http://www.amardeshonline.com/pages/details/2011/06/16/87592




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[ALOCHONA] Pakistan detains CIA Informants?

After US Navy Seals operation, Pakistan Military had told the world, ...
"We had not sheltered Osama in Abbotabad and Hazara before that. Some ISI Officers may have done that without permission of High Command and we are investigating".
This was the same kind of Answer Pak Military had given to China when China had discovered a JehaaDi Camp training, financing and arming Chines Moslim Dissidents near her Border.

This was the same kind of Answer Pak Military had given to USA the world after USA had provided evidence that ...
.
* ... there were 41 Taliban JehaaDi Camps operating in Pakistan.
* ... a retired Colonel was running Taliban after their defeat in Afghanistan.
* ... ISI has been present in High Command Meetings of Taliban.
* ... ISI had ordered blowing up of Indian Embassy in Kabul.
* ... ISI was behind Mumbai Attacks.
* ... some Pak Military, Pak Govt. Civilian Employees and Diplomatic Corp members have been caught smuggling Heroin for decades.
* ... huge quantity of Heroin was found by an accident on New York Airport in Boxes that were part of the Luggage of Gen. Ziaul Haq, the President of Pakistan, when he had arrived in USA.

Pakistan never arrested or charged anybody in any of the above incidents. Pak Military has also ordered USA to reduce its CIA Staff and before that to hinder US Information collection by revealing name of CIA Chief working in Peshawar to Pak Media. The list of actions Pak Military refused to take to help in US War against Terrorism, Anti USA actions and rhetoric of Pak Military in last 8 years is also pages long.  

More than a decade and a half ago, when a Pakistani Weekly of New York had published a very clear Picture of a Police Station in Pakistan that had shown a Naked Man tied to a couple of Wood Bars with a Baton in his Annus, SHO and other Police Officer standing next to him, it was also told that 'it would be investigated' but investigated was, "Who took that Picture and mailed it to USA and how come Investigation Bureau (IB) that is supposed to open and read all Foreign incoming and outgoing mail, could not stop export of that Picture?"
.
Now instead of arrest of any ISI Officers, who caused such a huge embarrassment for Pakistan and Pakistanis all over the world after Osama was found living near Pak Capital, the arrest of CIA Informants clearly means JehaaDi Pak Military had been actually sheltering Osama since he entered Pakistan. Pak Army was lying, cheating and backstabbing USA despite getting billions of Charity.
I guess, Americans are such fools that do not know, what to do with a thankless, Mentally Deranged, Moronic, JehaaDi, 'nmak hraam', Beggar Military that they raised from level of 16 Tanks in 1950, started its Air Force, Navy, built its Military Bases, that lives off US Charity but still keeps backstabbing USA.
  • --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  • Published: 15/06/2011 at 08:56 PM
  • Online news: World

Pakistan's top spy agency has arrested five Pakistani informants, who assisted the CIA ahead of the raid that killed Osama bin Laden, The New York Times reported on Wednesday.

The men arrested reportedly include a Pakistani Army major said to have copied the license plate of cars that drove up to bin Laden's compound in the military town of Abbottabad, two hours from the capital Islamabad.

The Pakistani military denied that any army officer had been detained over what it called the "Abbottabad incident".

"The story is false and totally baseless," it said in a statement. A Pakistani security official earlier told AFP that the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency had no immediate comment on the report.


US officials told the newspaper that Central Intelligence Agency Director Leon Panetta raised the fate of the CIA informants during talks with Pakistani military and intelligence officers in Pakistan last week.

At a closed briefing last week, the CIA deputy director rated Pakistan's counter-terrorism cooperation with the United States as three out of 10, officials told the newspaper.


Relations between Pakistan and the United States, wary at the best of times, deteriorated sharply over the bin Laden raid on May 2, which humiliated the Pakistani military and invited allegations of incompetence and complicity.

As US President Barack Obama seeks to bring an end to the war in Pakistan's neighbor Afghanistan, US and Pakistani officials have sought to play down any unease between them.

Pakistan's ambassador to the United States, Husain Haqqani, told the Times that the CIA and the ISI "are working out mutually agreeable terms for their cooperation in fighting the menace of terrorism. It is not appropriate for us to get into the details at this stage."

[ALOCHONA] Afghanistan is most dangerous country for women



Afghanistan is most dangerous country for women

* Afghanistan tops expert poll of dangers to women

* Congo plagued by rape as weapon of war

* Pakistan blighted by acid attacks and 'honour killings'

* India cited for trafficking and sexual slavery

* Somalia seen as having full gamut of risks

LONDON (TrustLaw) - Violence, dismal healthcare and brutal poverty make Afghanistan the world's most dangerous country for women, with Congo a close second due to horrific levels of rape, a Thomson Reuters Foundation expert poll said on Wednesday.

Pakistan, India and Somalia ranked third, fourth and fifth, respectively, in the global survey of perceptions of threats ranging from domestic abuse and economic discrimination to female foeticide, genital mutilation and acid attacks.

"Ongoing conflict, NATO airstrikes and cultural practices combined make Afghanistan a very dangerous place for women," said Antonella Notari, head of Women Change Makers, a group that supports women social entrepreneurs around the world.

"In addition, women who do attempt to speak out or take on public roles that challenge ingrained gender stereotypes of what's acceptable for women to do or not, such as working as policewomen or news broadcasters, are often intimidated or killed."

The poll by TrustLaw, a legal news service run by Thomson Reuters Foundation, marked the launch of its new TrustLaw Women section, a global hub of news and information on women's legal rights.TrustLaw asked 213 gender experts from five continents to rank countries by overall perceptions of danger as well as by six risks. The risks were health threats, sexual violence, non-sexual violence, cultural or religious factors, lack of access to resources and trafficking.

Some experts said the poll showed that subtle dangers such as discrimination that don't grab headlines are sometimes just as significant risks for women as bombs, bullets, stonings and systematic rape in conflict zones.

"I think you have to look at all the dangers to women, all the risks women and girls face," said Elisabeth Roesch, who works on gender-based violence for the International Rescue Committee in Washington."If a woman can't access healthcare because her healthcare isn't prioritised, that can be a very dangerous situation as well."

LITANY OF PERILS

Afghanistan emerged as the most dangerous country for women overall and worst in three of the six risk categories: health, non-sexual violence and lack of access to economic resources.

Respondents cited sky-high maternal mortality rates, limited access to doctors and a near total lack of economic rights. Afghan women have a one in 11 chance of dying in childbirth, according to UNICEF.

Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), still reeling from a 1998-2003 war and accompanying humanitarian disaster that killed 5.4 million people, came second mainly due to staggering levels  of sexual violence in the lawless east.More than 400,000 women are raped in the country each year, according to a recent study by U.S. researchers. The United Nations has called Congo the rape capital of the world."Statistics from DRC are very revealing on this: ongoing war, use of rape as a weapon, recruitment of females as soldiers who are also used as sex slaves," said Clementina Cantoni, a Pakistan-based aid worker with ECHO, the European Commission's humanitarian aid department."The fact that the government is corrupt and that female rights are very low on the agenda means that there is little or no recourse to justice."

Rights activists say militia groups and soldiers target all ages, including girls as young as three and elderly women. They are gang-raped, raped with bayonets and have guns shot into their vaginas.

Pakistan ranked third largely on the basis of cultural, tribal and religious practices harmful to women. These include acid attacks, child and forced marriage and punishment or retribution by stoning or other physical abuse.

"Pakistan has some of the highest rates of dowry murder, so-called honour killings and early marriage," said Divya Bajpai, reproductive health advisor at the International HIV/AIDS Alliance.Some 1,000 women and girls die in honour killings annually, according to Pakistan's Human Rights Commission.

TRAFFICKING

India ranked fourth primarily due to female foeticide, infanticide and human trafficking.In 2009, India's then-Home Secretary Madhukar Gupta estimated that 100 million people, mostly women and girls, were involved in trafficking in India that year."The practice is common but lucrative so it goes untouched by government and police," said Cristi Hegranes, founder of the Global Press institute, which trains women in developing countries to be journalists.

India's Central Bureau of Investigation estimated that in 2009 about 90 percent of trafficking took place within the country and that there were some 3 million prostitutes, of which about 40 percent were children.

In addition to sex slavery, other forms of trafficking include forced labour and forced marriage, according to a U.S. State Department report on trafficking in 2010. The report also found slow progress in criminal prosecutions of traffickers.

Up to 50 million girls are thought to be "missing" over the past century due to female infanticide and foeticide, the U.N. Population Fund says.Some experts said the world's largest democracy was relatively forthcoming about describing its problems, possibly casting it in a darker light than if other countries were equally transparent about trafficking.

Somalia ranked fifth due to a catalogue of dangers including high maternal mortality, rape and female genital mutilation, along with limited access to education, healthcare and economic resources."I'm completely surprised because I thought Somalia would be first on the list, not fifth," Somali women's minister Maryan Qasim told TrustLaw.

"The most dangerous thing a woman in Somalia can do is to become pregnant. When a woman becomes pregnant her life is 50-50 because there is no antenatal care at all. There are no hospitals, no healthcare, no nothing."Add to that the rape cases that happen on a daily basis, the female genital mutilation that is being done to every single girl in Somalia. Add to that the famine and the drought. Add to that the fighting (which means) you can die any minute, any day."

Poll respondents included aid professionals, academics, health workers, policymakers, journalists and development specialists.

http://www.trust.org/trustlaw/news/trustlaw-poll-afghanistan-is-most-dangerous-country-for-women/




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Re: [ALOCHONA] Re: War heroes vow to observe hunger strike





Oh, if you'd only known, , these guys who fought a brilliant war and won us a freedom to our pride, but to your dismay, there after a greater portion of them supported the corrupt regimes of AL and BNP, acted as their protectors hoodwinking the aspiration of greater mass of our population who supported them during their fight and awaited to see their bravery again to defeat the betroyers, alas only with great pain.
They, today, not only form the foundation of the corrupt rulers, joins the international bandwagon to destroy our traditional civility and societal values often shoulder to shoulder with hegemonic foreign forces.
Make no mistake they are no more with our common aspiration and doubt that they can not endure a bit of hunger for a greater cause. 

--- On Mon, 6/6/11, ezajur <Ezajur@yahoo.com> wrote:

From: ezajur <Ezajur@yahoo.com>
Subject: [ALOCHONA] Re: War heroes vow to observe hunger strike
To: alochona@yahoogroups.com
Date: Monday, 6 June, 2011, 8:04 AM

 
Where the heck were these guys all these years?! Now they want to go on hunger strike over secularism?! Are they wannabe intellectuals?

All these years, all the injustices, all the suffering, all the undemocratic practices of AL and BNP - but they are going on hunger strike over constitutional secularism!

I hope they start their hunger strike very soon. I hope they keep their word.

Ezajur Rahman
Kuwait

--- In alochona@yahoogroups.com, "ezajur" <Ezajur@...> wrote:
>
> War heroes vow to observe hunger strike
>
> Courtesy Daily Star 3/6/11 Staff Correspondent
>
>
> The Sector Commanders Forum, a platform of commanders who led the
> country's Liberation War in 1971, yesterday vowed to observe hunger
> strike in front of the Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban "if religion-based
> political parties are not banned by constitutional amendment".
>
> The war heroes also demanded that the government delete the phrase
> "Bismillah hir Rahmanir Rahim" from the constitution and
> withdraw the status of state religion given to Islam so that the spirit
> of the Liberation War is restored.
>
> They said this at a views-exchange meeting on constitution amendment at
> the Jatiya Press Club.
>
> Some of the discussants opined for calling for hartal if the government
> failed to meet their demands.
>
> "The government will push the country to the brink of destruction if
> it does not amend the constitution in light of the spirit of our
> Liberation War," AK Khandker, president of SCF, said at the meeting.
>
> "Three million people irrespective of their religion and identity
> sacrificed their lives with an aim to build our country as a secular
> state. A democratic country cannot have a particular religion as its
> state religion. Besides, religion-based political parties should be
> banned in the country," Khandker added.
>
> "We urge the Jatiya Sangsad special committee and the government not
> to go wrong with this issues."
>
> Maj Gen (retd) KM Safiullah, vice-president of the forum, said, "We
> will be bound to observe hunger strike if the government does not meet
> our demands regarding constitutional amendment.
>
> "People will treat you [government and the JS special committee] as
> betrayers if you keep Islam as the state religion and Bismillah in the
> constitution."
>
> Tofail Ahmed, an Awami League MP and a member of the JS special body on
> constitution amendment, said he supports all the demands of the SCF
> leaders but he cannot disobey his party's decision on those issues.
>
> Putting the blame on two former army bosses--late president Ziaur Rahman
> and HM Ershad--Tofail said, "They shattered all our dreams by
> incorporating Bismillah in the constitution and making Islam the state
> religion."
>
> Shahriar Kabir, acting president of Ekatturer Ghatok Dalal Nirmul
> Committee, said the government would put the country into a civil war if
> it does not amend the constitution in light of the Liberation War
> spirit.
>



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