E-Bangladesh

[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’. 

Photo:Sheikh Hasina ,on the way to Court.

[Dhaka Correspondent]

The detained former prime minister Sheikh Hasina on Sunday told a special court that she had been produced in court by force and complained of her incomplete treatment and mental harassment by the government.

Hasina, also the Awami League president, was discharged at about 2:00pm from Square Hospital where she had undergone treatment since March 11, produced in court at 2.15pm and taken to the special jail on the Jatiya Sangsad complex at about 3.15pm.

Deputy inspector general (prisons) Shamsul Haider Siddiqui told reporters outside the court that as Hasina was discharged by the hospital, she was sent back to jail.

Hasina was produced in the special judge’s court 1 on the Jatiya Sangsad complex after she had failed to appear in court on March 13, 17 and 23 to face the hearing in the framing of charges in the barge-mounted power plant case.

On March 23, M Firoz Alam, the judge of the court, ordered the jail authorities to produce Hasina, then under treatment in Square Hospital, in court ‘without fail’ on Sunday.

Hasina told the court on Sunday that she was discharged by the hospital authorities without completing her treatment.

‘The doctors did not want to discharge me, but the hospital management had to send me back at the instruction of the jail authorities,’ she alleged, adding that she had an appointment with a doctor on Sunday and that had to be cancelled.

‘What is the reason for dragging me to court straight from the hospital, leaving my treatment incomplete?’ she told the court. ‘This is nothing but mental harassment.’

After the court proceedings, Hasina told her lawyers, ‘The people who are now doing such injustice to me will also have to relinquish power one day and then they will face trial in people’s court.’

The general manager of the hospital, James Gomes, told, ‘We have discharged her as she is fit now and she does not need to stay here any more as an indoor patient.’

As her health condition is quite normal, her blood pressure is under control and the necessary tests have been done, she now needs another check-up of the eyes which can be done as an outdoor patient on April 2, he said, adding that the hospital management recommended the prison authorities to take her to the hospital on Wednesday.

A physician at the hospital, also a member of the medical team formed to treat Hasina, however, told , ‘She [Hasina] was discharged as the prison authorities wanted it. She did not fully recover and some of her tests remained incomplete.’

In the courtroom, Hasina complained that she had lost hearing in one ear and 25 per cent of the vision in the left eye because of ‘negligence of the jail authorities.’

She suffered damage to the ears in the grenade explosion in the Awami League rally in Dhaka on August 21, 2004.

She, however, brushed aside the report the jail authorities submitted to the court on March 23 which said she was not produced in court on the date because of her unwillingness.

Hasina said, ‘Why should I not appear in court because of unwillingness?’

She also said the medical report the jail authorities submitted to the court on March 23 which claimed that she was fit had been prepared without her knowledge.

Everywhere in the world, there is a provision for on-call doctors from outside to attend a patient in a hospital, she said, but she was denied such privilege and none of the doctors, who have been treating her for long, were allowed to attend her.

She also alleged that the jail code was not being properly followed in allowing her relations and lawyers to meet her from time to time.

The court, scheduled to resume at 9:30am to hear the defence petition seeking discharge of Hasina from the case, began the proceedings at 2.15pm after Hasina had been produced.

After Hasina’s statement, the chief prosecutor, Sharfuddin Ahmed Khan Mukul, prayed to the court for beginning further proceedings in the case.

Opposing him, defence counsel Qamrul Islam told the court that as Hasina was ill and her senior counsels had left the court at noon, the proceedings should be adjourned for the day.

Hearing both the sides, the court adjourned the hearing till April 3.

Hasina was arrested on July 16, 2007 in connection with an extortion case and has since then been detained in the special jail on the national assembly complex.

[Dhaka Correspondent]

The Dhaka University Teachers’ Association at its annual general meeting on Thursday decided to go for action programmes if incidents of intrusion into teachers’ houses by ‘unwanted people’ recurred.  

The general meeting was held on the heels of the raid by the joint forces on the residence of Dalem Chandra Barman, election commissioner for the association’s polls, in the early hours of Wednesday and expressed deep concern over the incident. 

The meeting condemned the raid without informing the university administration or the vice-chancellor about the matter and recalled the experience of the DUTA general secretary, Anwar Hossin, and executive committee member Harun-or-Rashid, who were taken blindfolded to an undisclosed location following the August unrest on the campus. 

‘That grotesque incident sparked off widespread protests by students, teachers and the people and forced the government to free the detained teachers. After those events, the teachers expected that there would not be any repeat of such incidents [of repression]‘, the meeting said in a resolution.      

Four members of the joint forces entered Dalem’s residence early Wednesday and asked him to postpone the DUTA polls scheduled for Thursday or to relinquish the charge of the election commissioner. The intruders declined to sign the visitors’ book in Giasuddin Residential Area on the DU campus.  

The association leaders also met vice-chancellor SMA Faiz at his office and urged him to take steps to prevent recurrence of such incidents.  

DUTA executive committee member M Aktaruzzaman said the association had informed the vice-chancellor about the matter and wanted to know whether he [VC] was informed about the raid beforehand. 

‘The VC told us that he was not informed about it’, Aktaruzzaman said.

Another executive committee member, AAMS Arefin Siddique, said, ‘We told the VC that intrusion into a teacher’s house at dead of night was aimed at creating panic and the teachers’ community cannot accept it.’     

DUTA president Sadrul Amin, general secretary Anwar Hossain and Harun-or-Rashid were present at the meeting.

[Dhaka Correspondent]

Four activists of Bangladesh Islami Chhatra Shibir have been sentenced to death and three to life for killing eight people, including six Bangladesh Chhatra Dal leaders and activists, in Chittagong eight years ago.

A Chittagong court handed down the verdict in the sensational eight murder case on Thursday also acquitting 15 other Shibir men of the charge.

The second additional metropolitan sessions judge, Ekramul Hoque Chowdhury, awarded the capital punishment to Sazzad Khan, Alamgir Kabir alias Baitya Alamgir, Mohammed Solaiman and Azam to death. The court also fined them Tk 50,000 each.

Those sentenced to life in prison are Enamul Hoque, Abdul Quaium Imon and Habib Khan. They were also fined Tk 50,000 each and to suffer one year more in jail in default to pay the fine.

The convicts sprayed bullets on a microbus and an auto-rickshaw at Bahadderhat in the city on July 12, 2000 leaving six BCL leaders and drivers of the two vehicles dead.

They were BCL leaders and activists Jahangir Alam, Hasibur Rahman Helal, Rafiqul Islam Shohel, Azizul Islam and Abul Kashem, and Monu Mia, driver of the microbus, and Jahid, the auto-rickshaw driver.

The BCL men were going to the Commercial Institute at Bakalia in the city, where they had a rivalry with the Shibir men over establishing supremacy conflict in the area.

Anwar Hossain, elder brother of BCL activist Jahangir, filed a case with the Chandgaon police on July 13, 2000 and CID inspector Quader Khan, also the investigation officer of the case, submitted the charge sheet before the court against 22 Shibir men on January 17 in 2005.

The court after examining the records and witnesses handed down the verdict convicting seven and acquitting 15 — Mizbahul Kabir, Saiful Islam, Rezaur Rahman, Azizur Rahman, Mohammed Ilias, Bayzidur Rahman, BDR Salim, Iqbal Hossain, Mia Mohammed Tawfique, Abdul Hakim, Abdul Hamid, Bazal Ahmed, Nesar Ahmed, Delwar aks Azrail Delwar and Gittu Nasir.

Azrail and Gittu were killed in encounters with the Rapid Action Battalion.

[Dhaka Correspondent]

All the 326 passengers and the crew of a Saudia Airlines plane were evacuated unhurt as an engine of the Boeing airliner caught fire shortly after it landed in Dhaka Tuesday, civil aviation officials said. 

‘The third engine in the right wing of the plane catches fire soon after it landed in the Zia International Airport,’ said Shakeb Iqbal Khan Majlish, chairman of Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh.  

An official of the Saudia Airlines also confirmed that a fire broke out in an engine of the Boeing 747 aircraft, which carried passengers from Medina city of Saudi Arabia and landed in Dhaka at around 2:10pm. 

Shakeb said all the 326 people including three children, 16 cabin crews and three cockpit crews of the flight SBA 810 were rescued from the plane through emergency exits without any injuries. 

‘Our air traffic control tower noticed smoke in the right wing of the plane soon after it touched the runway and informed the captain of the aircraft about it,’ said the CAAB chief. 

The captain informed that he had shut off the troubled engine. 

Following advice from the control tower, the captain later shut off all the four engines, he added. 

A fire-fighters’ team stationed at the airport and a team of Air Force doused the fire immediately and rescued the passengers safely. 

Shakeb said the CAAB had formed a four-member committee headed by its director (flight safety) Kamrul Islam to investigate the cause of the fire within seven working days.

[An E-Bangladesh Reports]

The major political parties, including Awami League and Bangladesh Nationalist Party were critical of chief adviser Fakhruddin Ahmed’s statement about the jurisdiction of the proposed Truth Commission regarding the top two politicians, Sheikh Hasina of Awami League and Khaleda Zia of BNP.

Awami League, Workers Party of Bangladesh, Communist Party of Bangladesh and Bangladesher Samajtantrik Dal also raised question if there is any necessity of forming the commission at all. 

Fakhruddin Ahmed said in an interview, aired Saturday on Al Jazeera Television, that former prime ministers Sheikh Hasina and Khaleda Zia would not be able to seek pardon from the proposed Truth Commission.

‘There is no necessity of forming the Truth Commission here,’ acting Awami League general secretary Syed Ashraful Islam said Sunday. ‘It [commission] is like a “Kangaroo court” formed in a few countries to control special situations. Here in Bangladesh, political and social situations do not require such commission.’  

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[Dhaka Correspondent]

The interim administration would discuss unconditional release of two former prime ministers – Sheikh Hasina and Khaleda Zia—now detained in graft charges as demanded by political parties, professionals and former lawmakers.

‘The demand is coming in, naturally to the government. The advisory council will discuss it. They will definitely look into the demand,’ Syed Fahim Munain, the press secretary to the chief adviser, told reporters after the weekly meeting of the advisory council on Sunday.

He was asked about the government’s position towards the demands seeking unconditional release of the two former premiers who had run the country between 1991 and 2006 by different quarters.

But the military-backed government of Fakhruddin Ahmed detained them as part of its anti-graft drive.

Both Awami League and BNP have been demanding unconditional release of their leaders, now staying in two houses, declared special jail, adjacent to parliament building, ever since they were detained

Sheikh Hasina, also the president of Awami League, was arrested on May 16, 2007 followed by the arrest of her arch political rival Khaleda Zia, the chairperson of Bangladesh Nationalist Party, on September 3, 2007.

Sheikh Hasina who held the office as the prime minister from 1996 to 2001 is implicated in two graft cases and three extortion charges while Khaleda Zia, the prime minister from 1991 to 1996 and 2001 and 2006, charged with three graft charges. Sheikh Hasina is facing trail one case while the rest of the charges are under investigation. All the cases filed against Khaleda Zia were still under investigation.

In a letter handed to the Chief Adviser’s Office on Sunday, the BNP formally asked the government to release all political leaders, including the Khaleda Zia and her family members before March 26, the Independence Day.

On March 12, the AL made almost similar demand in a letter to the chief adviser, asking the government for unconditional release of ailing Sheikh Hasina to ensure her proper medical treatment in US.

Hasina was allowed to undergo treatment at a private hospital in Dhaka.

A group of former lawmakers of the eighth parliament in a statement on Saturday requested the interim administration to release of all the two top leaders before the Independence and National Day.

On a question, the chief adviser’s press secretary said the government must see the demand as “you know letter has come from the BNP too, and the journalists also demanded the same”.

‘These will remain in a democratic process, and they (the council of advisers) will definitely look into the matters,’ the press secretary said adding that the further steps will be taken after that.

To a question on the chief adviser’s reported comment on non-eligibility of the two former premiers to a proposed Truth and Accountability Commission, the official spokesman said the proposed commission is not only for them.

The chief adviser told the media that anyone convicted may be non eligible to appear before the proposed commission, he said adding ‘The terms and conditions of the commission is yet to finalised.’

The chief adviser had said that those who are convicted by the law are not eligible to appear before the proposed commission, that does not necessary mean he mentioned conviction of the two leaders, said Fahim Munaim.

The chief advisers’ interview with an international media, Aljajeera, was aired on early Saturday.

[Dhaka Correspondent]

The Supreme Court Bar Association on Sunday vowed to start its scheduled two-day polls today defying the ban on the elections imposed by the Dhaka Metropolitan Police. 

Dhaka Metropolitan Police’s additional deputy commissioner Shamsunnahar issued the order on the bar association general secretary on Sunday asking the association to refrain from holding the elections. 

The order stated, ‘It has been known from different media and sources that the preparation of holding elections to the executive committee of the Supreme Court Bar Association is going on. According to the Emergency Powers Rules, prior permission of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police Commissioner is required for holding such elections in the Dhaka metropolitan area. It is a violation of the Emergency Powers Rules. So, the SCBA authority is requested to refrain from holding the polls.’ 

Immediately after receiving the order, the bar association held an emergency meeting with its president M Amirul Islam in the chair and the meeting vowed to go ahead with its scheduled polls. 

The election committee of the bar also held a separate meeting with its convenor Nizamul Haque Nasim in the chair and resolved, ‘The elections will be held in time as scheduled.’ 

Nasim told  last night, ‘We will go ahead with the scheduled polls accordingly as the DMP has no authority to ban the elections to the SCBA.’ 

The SCBA sent a letter to the Dhaka Metropolitan Police Commissioner informing him the decision of the bar association to hold the elections in scheduled time, SCBA president Amirul Islam told last night. 

‘If the SCBA election is thwarted, the judicial system of the country, its image and independence will be called into question, says the SCBA letter, signed by its general secretary AM Aminuddin. 

The letter also requested the DMP ‘not to infringe upon the independence’ of lawyers to exercise their voting right to elect their representatives. 

According to the constitution of the bar association, there is no need of taking any prior permission from any authority to hold its elections, stated letter. 

Holding elections is an internal affair of the bar association, the letter said adding, ‘as there will be no meeting, rally or procession during the electioneering, such election cannot be come under the purview of the Emergency Power Rules.’ 

Amirul told , ‘We discussed the issue with senior advocates of the Supreme Court and also the aspirant candidates and all have opined that there is no need to ake any permission for the polls.’ 

There are a number of precedence of holding elections to the bar during state of emergency and even martial laws in different times in the past including the Pakistani era without any prior permission, he mentioned. 

Holding elections in every year is a tradition of the bar and the tradition has never been broken even under the martial laws excepting in the last year, he said. 

The Annual election of the bar was first scheduled for March 28-29, 2007 and it had been postponed following a ban imposed by the DMP. 

When asked, a DMP high official told , ‘The bar association has been asked to refrain from holding the polls in order to avoid any untoward incident under the ongoing emergency.’ 

Asked about the bar associations decision to go ahead with the scheduled polls and the letter sent by the bar general secretary, the official said, ‘We decide the matter at a meeting today.’ 

Aminuddin sent the copies of the letter to different government high-ups including the law adviser and inspector general of police. 

Meanwhile, a total of 40 candidates for 14 posts are contesting the election. Candidates are seeking vote individually sans any panel. 

Six candidates are in the race for the post of president while seven vying for secretary. 

The president candidates are Barrister Shafique Ahmed, Khandaker Mahbub Hossain, AK Mujibur Rahman, Humayun Hossain Khan, M Sirajul Islam Khan and Saifur Reza. The secretary candidates are Abdullah Al-Mamun, AKM Bayezid, Zahirul Huq, M Badruddozza, M Nurul Islam Sujan Sheikh Awsafur Rahman Bulu and SM Abul Hossain. 

According to earlier announcement, voting starts at 10 am and continues till 5 pm with one-hour break at 1 pm each day. Some 1780 voters will exercise their franchise. 

At the emergency meeting of the bar, Amirul said, ‘May be the order has been issued due to ignorance of some people or some ones in the government may have issued the order in order to demean the popularity and image of the government.’

[Dhaka Correspondent]

The Bangladesh Nationalist Party on Sunday submitted a memorandum to chief adviser Fakhruddin Ahmed, demanding release of party chairperson Khaleda Zia, her sons Tarique Rahman and Arafat Rahman and all ‘political detainees’ before the Independence Day on March 26.  

‘We demand that you use your good office to release all political detainees, including Khaleda Zia, Tarique Rahman and Arafat Rahman, before the Independence and National Day,’ said the memorandum. 

BNP standing committee member RA Gani signed the two-page memorandum and acting office secretary Rizvi Ahmed carried it to the Chief Adviser’s Office.  

Senior leaders of the party and its front organisations decided on March 19 to submit the memorandum seeking release of ‘political prisoners.’  

Former prime minister Khaleda Zia, who had played an important role in restoring democracy and developing the country’s economy, has been detained for six months without any specific charge, said the memorandum. 

The authorities could not yet submit charge sheet or probe the allegations against her, it said.

‘She was put into jail on fabricated charges and thus her basic rights were curbed,’ the party said in the memo.  

It said, ‘It is regrettable and condemnable that a former prime minister of the country and her family members were subjected to inhuman harassment under a heinous conspiracy. The entire nation and important personalities abroad have protested and condemned the action against her.’ 

Rizvi told reporters that the party would decide the next course of action through discussion if Khaleda Zia, her sons and all detained political leaders are not set free before March 26.