E-Bangladesh

Gana Forum president Kamal Hossain came down heavily on newsmen on Monday when a reporter asked him to comment on the people’s perception that he was a traitor because of his role in supporting the military-controlled interim government.

He asked the newsmen to be free from ‘goddesses’, obviously referring to the two detained former prime ministers, Sheikh Hasina and Khaleda Zia.

‘The corrupt have created criminals who are roaming about with firearms. They can shoot dead many of my colleagues and even I may die any time by a bullet, but you should stand by the people and the country,’ he said.

He was talking to newsmen after attending a roundtable conference on the police ordinance at the National Press Club.

Kamal said, in reply to a query, that it depends on the people whether they trust him or not.
Denying the allegation, made by former prime minister Sheikh Hasina, of whitening Tk 102 crore of black money, Kamal said he did not know how many zeros are needed to write 102 crore.

Sheikh Hasina, also president of the Awami League, told her lawyers at the special judge’s court on Sunday that Kamal had whitened Tk 102 crore.

‘In my 50 years as a lawyer, I have never seen a crore of takas in my bank account at a time,’ he said, and declared that he ready to show his bank statement anytime. ‘Those who have brought allegations against me did not even want to make their wealth statements.’

Nava Thakuria
Guest Writer
E-Bangladesh

Almost a year ago, a middle-aged Bhutanese woman trader in the Indian border town of Phuentsholing sounded an ominous note for Bhutanese democracy. “We have heard about the polls on the Indian side,” she told this correspondent. “Sometimes, unexpected incidents also come out with the elections. We do not want those here in Bhutan. After all, we are a peace-loving nation.”

In Bhutan, she added, “Today we have no strikes. Everything is on schedule. But there is lots of news about bandhs (strikes) in India that even take innocent lives. I am even scared of thinking such incidents will follow democracy in our kingdom.”

No incidents have been reported so far but multiparty democracy survived when two members of the opposition, drubbed so thoroughly in elections in late March that they won only two seats, last week decided not to resign in shame and will instead form a loyal opposition – against 45 members of the royalist party. Indeed, on the same day as the two fledgling lawmakers agreed to join the parliament, a knot of protesters gathered in the capitol of Thimpu to demand that the king bring back the absolute monarchy.

It has to be frustrating for the abdicating king, Jigme Khesar Namgye Wangchuk, who has been trying for more than two years to make his isolated kingdom into a democracy. Weaning his subjects away from the kingship, however, is not easy in a country whose relationship to its royalty stretches back through at least four generations of absolute monarchy, and to generations beyond count of previous dynasties as well.

Certainly, if this were a laboratory for democracy, Jigme supplied some of the very best equipment. He told a stunned nation in December 2005 that he would leave the throne in favor of his eldest son, the crown prince. Parties were carefully prepared, with the royalist Bhutan Peace and Prosperity Party accepting a design of three flying birds as its poll symbol, while the People’s Democratic Party used a white horse.

Using some of the world’s best technology, including electronic voting machines imported from India, and running through two mock polls beforehand to educate Bhutan’s isolated citizens on how to vote, the country held a first round of elections for the upper house of parliament in December and January.

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Detective branch of police arrested two Islami Charttra Shibir activists yesterday (Monday) in Carmichael College for their involvement in giving death threat to the Principal of Carmichael College, Rangpur.

Police, Locals and the informed sources told that the ICS were trying to create a chaos and restless situation in the campus again when the Honours first year admission and Degree exam were going on. The activists have been distributing posters, leaflets to the student mess at Darsona, Asrotpur, Modern, Lalbag, Adarshawpara area adjacent to the campus for the last two days in order to mislead the general students. The members of detective branch held two ICS activists on Monday noon while they were distributing leaflets and posters among the students at the campus. The leaflets read - family scandals of Principal, Deep Kendra Nath Das and Professor Dr. Hafizur Rahman. The arrested guys were identified as- Masud Rana and Alamgir Hossen who were the students of Masters first year of Islamic History and Second year honours in geology department respectively.

Principal Deep K. Nath Das told that the ICS activists were giving death threat to him over cell phone several time soon after the violence at the campus on Feb, 06 that led the college authority to close the college for an indefinite period. They not only gave me threat but also defamed my family reputation, the principal noted.

Earlier the principal filed a case against the ICS activists for creating violence at the campus on Feb’06. The police arrested 15 ICS activists in this connection who were in jail custody. Police also submitted charge sheet against 18 ICS activists.

Later he also filed a GD with the Kotowali police as the ICS activists were giving death threat to him over cell- phone and pressed him to withdraw the case against its party members.

[Dhaka Correspondent]

A news item published by some newspapers on March 31 saying ‘Jacob wants immediate trial of war criminals’ has come to the notice of Lieutenant General JFR Jacob.

The retired Indian General denied having made such comments. Before leaving Dhaka, he said in a written statement, ‘No such statement was made by me at anytime during my visit to Bangladesh. Officers from the Army of Bangladesh were present to confirm this.’

General Jacob expressed his deep concern on the motive of ‘interested quarters publishing untrue and misleading sensitive information,’ according to an ISPR press release.

Major General (retd) Lachman Singh, another member of the Indian delegation, also denied having made any statement calling for trial of war criminals, a spokesman of the Indian high commission said.

Earlier during a press meet on 28th the Lieutenant General JFR Jacob was asked to comment on the war criminals since sector commanders joined in, but he denied saying it was an internal matter of the BD. He though said that he had his uttermost respect for the freedom fighters and people of Bangladesh should respect what they did and recognize them.

[Dhaka Correspondent]

The BNP chairperson’s adviser, ASM Hannan Shah, on Sunday demanded formation of a fresh election commission labelling the incumbent commission hostile to BNP. 

‘This Election Commission has lost its neutrality… Hold the next election under a neutral election commission as the statements and actions of the chief election commissioner and other election commissioners have proved that they are hostile to BNP and protecting the interests of a certain quarter’, Hannan Shah told a discussion organised by Dhaka city unit of the party marking the Independence Day at the Institution of Engineers, Bangladesh. 

‘The chief election commissioner has said he does not want to be branded a “national traitor”. When he speaks so, I recall the statement of a leader in 1986 that “whoever will participate in elections under Ershad will be regarded as national traitors” but contested that polls the very next day,’ he said in an oblique reference to Awami League chief Sheikh Hasina.  

Hannan Shah also slammed those who were preaching formation of a national government and asked the grassroots activists of the party to ‘gain in strength to get rid of the present situation’. 

He castigated the government for indicting BNP joint secretary general Tarique Rahman, his wife Zubaida Rahman and mother-in-law Syeda Iqbalmand Banu on ‘false charges’. 

He asked all young party activists in the city to be present on the court premises on the day the hearing in the case begins to demonstrate their support for Tarique. ‘The BNP will engage at least 500 attorneys to defend Tarique in the false case’, he said. 

Chaired by city unit BNP vice-president Abu Sayeed Khan Khokan, the discussion was also addressed, among others, by joint secretaries general Selima Rahman and Gayeshwar Chandra Roy, organising secretary Mohammad Shahjahan, former adviser for commerce and energy Mahmudur Rahman, elderly party leader Shah Moazzem Hossain and leaders of the front organisations. 

Gayeshwar asked the ‘most powerful people’ in the government to make clear their intention. ‘Make clear what you want… Speak out loud if you have any “hidden ambitions” and let the people know about that.’ 

‘Exit is not a problem at all if your intention is good. If you have “ambitions”, please, collect the notebook of Pervez Musharraf,’ he said. ‘Someone is saying he has no ambitions, but who asked him if he has any ambitions or not? Why make such announcements in advance?’ 

Mahmudur Rahman said the case against Khaleda Zia regarding Niko contract was not true at all. ‘I was given the charge of energy adviser 18 months after Niko deal was signed and after taking the charge I forced the company to pay Tk 700 crore. If Khaleda had been involved in Niko deal she would surely have prevented me from taking the action’, he said. 

‘They [government] are talking too much and claiming that all the “powerful people” in the government are “clean”.  But the fact is that each and everyone of them had been appointed by the BNP-Jamaat coalition government. Now they have turned “clean” while others remain “dirty”. I challenge every “Uddins” in this government they ranked much below me in terms of transparency’, he said. 

Mahmud also denounced the government for ’secretly’ signing the air-transit treaty with India and denigrating the parliament house by setting up ’sub-jails’ and ‘kangaroo courts’ there.   

Most of the top city BNP leaders, including its president Sadeque Hossain Khoka and general secretary Abdus Salam, were not present at the discussion.  

When asked why he did not attend the discussion, Khoka told E-Bangladesh, ‘I was not aware of the meeting’.