E-Bangladesh

In the recent twist of political development, the higher court ruled on the holding of parliament election and has received double thumbs-up by pro-democracy activists. The court has categorically blamed the interim government and the election commission for breach of certain clauses of state constitution.

This was indeed yet another major setback for the four-star military Generals who have purportedly installed an interim government, which tantamount to violation of the principles of non-interference in state polity. Well the verdict was an insult to injuries already inflicted by international communities. Will star-studded Generals give any heed to the verdict?

The over-zealous military general’s in a conspiracy game aborted the scheduled elections to the ninth parliament in two weeks time when they grabbed power in mid-January last year. They kicked the caretaker government legitimately formed; banned freedom of assembly, fundamental rights by imposing emergency rules and of course throttled press freedom by blanket censorship, which still exists in another form.

Read the rest of this entry »

Without resorting to any research jargon let me start by saying that on a number of occasions I had the opportunity to talk to ‘microcredit’ borrowers. From them, I particularly wanted to know more about microcredit and its effects on their lives. Some of the stories they told, were both enlightening and disturbing. Strangely, these stories reminded me of Shylock, the vicious money lender in Shakespeare’s Merchant of Venice. This post is generally about Microcredit and its uncritical acceptance.

No discussion on microcredit can proceed without reference to Dr Muhammad Yunus and his Grameen Bank. In my opinion, neither of them ever faced the necessary level of scrutiny as the nature of their activities would warrant. Rigorous scrutiny is essential given that Grameen Bank’s activities - which is largely corporate and commercial in nature - involve:

(a) operations in the poverty reduction sector which concerns crucial policy choices of public nature; and

(b) transactions with the borrowers (i.e., largely around and below the poverty line) whose bargaining powers are alarmingly inadequate compared to Grameen’s corporate strength. In the absence of an appropriate regulatory body or a strong consumer group balancing these uneven positions, the issue of appropriate scrutiny becomes even more pertinent.

Read the rest of this entry »

A report from AFTENPOSTEN by Nina Berglund.

 A Danish TV documentary has revealed miserable working conditions and environmental violations at companies in Bangladesh that act as suppliers to GrameenPhone, which is co-owned by Norwegian telecoms firm Telenor and firms founded by Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus.

The documentary shows miserable working conditions at several firms supplying Telenor-owned GrameenPhone. Hard-hats were donned when Telenor came to inspect. PHOTO: TELENOR Telenor’s Baksaas with Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus. Together, they own GrameenPhone, although Yunus has wanted Telenor to reduce its stake. PHOTO: TELENOR

Related stories:

Telenor may cut stake in Grameenphone - 03.04.2007

Yunus to help Norway launch micro-credit in Africa - 02.04.2007

Telenor rejects Yunus offer - 29.03.2007

Hundreds hail prize winners - 11.12.2006

Telenor conflict puts a damper on Peace Prize party - 10.12.2006

‘Deeply honoured’ Peace Prize winner slams war in Iraq - 10.12.2006

Nobel Peace Prize winner came as a surprise - 13.10.2006

Banker for the poor wins Nobel Peace Prize - 13.10.2006

It’s an embarrassing labour scandal for Telenor, which itself is majority-owned by the government of Norway, a country that prides itself on championing fair labour conditions and human rights.

It also reflects poorly on Grameen Telecom and Grameen Bank, which own 38 percent of GrameenPhone (Telenor has 62 percent) and which were founded by Peace Prize-winner Yunus not least to help lift people in Bangladesh out of abject poverty through the micro-credit system.

The documentary, made by Danish journalist Tom Heinemann and to be aired on Norwegian Broadcasting (NRK) Thursday evening, reveals shocking working conditions at the firms supplying GrameenPhone. Employees were shown working with hazardous chemicals and heavy metals virtually without protection. Workers were as young as 13 years, a clear violation of child labour laws. The firms were caught allowing polluted wastewater to spill into nearby rice fields.

And in one case, a worker was killed when he fell into an unsecured pool of acid.

Telenor, clearly believing that the best defense is a good offense, opted to reveal some of the findings of the documentary even before it was aired. Telenor officials claim they were shaken by the documentary’s findings, and admit they failed to adequately monitor the operations of GrameenPhone’s suppliers.

“We are deeply moved by the case, and the human side of it,” Telenor chief executive Jon Fredrik Baksaas told reporters. He called the labour violations “completely unacceptable,” claiming Telenor had trained the firms in health and safety issues. “But we’ve clearly been bad about following up afterwards,” Baksaas admitted.

He neglected to mention the worker fatality, but confirmed it when questioned by a reporter from Danish newspaper Berlingske Tidende.

Telenor and the Norwegian state have generated huge profits on GrameenPhone, which has as many as 20 million customers, but Baksaas said he didn’t feel badly that the operation earns a lot on the work of poor employees. “We haven’t taken out substantial dividends on what we’ve earned in Bangladesh,” Baksaas said. “The money has gone into investments that are building up the country.”

Norway’s government minister in charge of business and industry, Dag Terje Andersen, wrote in an e-mail to Aftenposten that the working conditions shown in the documental “assuming they are accurate, clearly are unacceptable.”

Andersen claimed, however, that Telenor has worked actively for years to make its own ethical regulations part of all operations, also those at suppliers. “It looks like the follow-up on the part of Telenor was inadequate,” he wrote. Telenor has since conducted inspections at five suppliers of mobile telephone masts, and has fired one of them.

Telenor and Yunus have been involved in a long-simmering conflict over ownership of GrameenPhone. Yunus has wanted Telenor to reduce its stake.

Note: The article belonges to  AFTENPOSTEN.

The week of April 20th-26th, 2008 will not be remembered as the Daily Star’s finest. Now, I know there are some of you who never thought much of this paper, and I am not just referring to fringe elements. But the truth is that the Daily Star once did its job, that of holding government accountable and creating a space where government actions could be debated. It gave up that job a few months after 1/11 and this particular week of April it reached its lowest point yet.

The food price crisis is no doubt one of the most important issues for Bangladesh. Many solutions are floated, and the media as a whole is doing the nation a service by creating this marketplace of ideas. Recent Daily Star op-eds reflect this, in the number of editorial and op-ed columns they dedicate to this particular crisis. Which is laudable. However, a sudden flurry – three in the space of a week –of recent Daily Star op-eds seem to be focusing on the “potato solution” at the expense of other policy options (links at the end, feel free to add any I’ve missed) or even other topics.

First, let’s see what other topics they could have devoted those column inches to. How about the looming gas shortage? One piece in the same period from the ever reliable Abdul Bayes. How about the killings of Bangladeshis at the border by the BSF, which is a chronic problem? No pieces as usual.

Among the many solutions of the current food crisis, one is undoubtedly a change in the food habits of the people of this country. I would just like to get some acknowledgement from the Daily Star editorial team that - when compared with Open-Market Sales (short-term), currency devaluation (short-term)and increasing agricultural productivity (long-term) – this solution is also the hardest one to implement and the most ethically problematic.

In light of the problematic nature of this particular option, I would like to ask them why they have devoted as many as three op-eds in the space of a week to the glories of the potato, especially when the latter two are more or less superfluous.

Lastly, I would like to humbly suggest that they are abusing the public trust that they have earned during the last 10+ years.

The reason behind the sudden potato fascination is, of course, obvious. The same reason that “Prothom Bangladesh Amar Shesh Bangladesh” is played right after the National Anthem during BNP rule. The same reason that the March 7th Speech got played on BTV after AL’s ’96 win, but not on March 7th ‘91-‘96 or ‘01-‘06. The same reason why Bangladesh Betar became “Radio Bangladesh (sic)” in the middle. Nothing but the subservience of Reason and Truth before Power. And some good old spineless toshamodgiri. The timing speaks volumes.

People – from any walk of life – no longer trust BTV and Bangladesh Betar.

Is the Daily Star headed the same way?

(Methodological note: I have deliberately focused on the op-ed space because that is where the potato frenzy is at its height. While I am sure they have covered the gas crisis in the business section and the BSF killing in the news section, the editorial and “point-counterpoint” sections are reliable indicators as to what the editorial team thinks is important news. Clearly, potatoes were more important than gas crisis or Bangladeshis dying during this particular week!)

April 20

April 24

April 26

Letter in protest.

People waiting for democracy, Photo: Munem Wasif/*Drik*NEWS.

On the eve of the military installed interim government’s chief adviser Fakhruddin Ahmed crucial address to the nation was interpreted in a commentary by Nayeemul Islam Khan in a Bangladesh newspaper Amader Shomoy that it would be a “landmark speech” and hopes it would be a “magna carta” for the Bangalee nation.

Millions at home and thousands Bangladeshi immigrants glued themselves on television for live broadcast of the chief adviser which was expected to give clear direction regarding transition to democratic road map.

In fact the over-zealous military bulldozed the constitutional means of transition to democracy in January 2007, fired the caretaker government, declared state of emergency and of course installed an interim government with hand-picked advisers they hire and fire.

Well the much ado Monday speech to the nation was too little and too late for restoration of democracy. Though the election has been planned days after the Victory Day celebration in December, the chief adviser deliberately avoided any commitment about the deadline to withdraw the dreaded emergency.

Aptly said by a university teacher that the withdrawal of emergency is a prerequisite for dialogue, which disappointed the nation.” The political concession laid out to the nation is a political farce.

1. The long-running ban on indoor politics all across the country will ease from May 13.
2. The government will start dialogue with political parties, starting on May 22. The Chief Adviser’s Office will send out invitation letters to political parties from Tuesday.
3. The government will either relax or suspend certain provisions in the emergency powers rules to facilitate electioneering and create a proper context for the polls.
4. Ahead of elections, the government will form a national charter with the opinions of all related parties, which is meant to bring a qualitative change to government and politics.

In a bid to create a “congenial atmosphere” for elections, the indoor politics would continue to be “indoors”. With conditions attached there are half a dozen do’s and don’ts which flouts the constitutional provision of freedom of assembly. The political parties cannot assemble more than 50 people during indoor activities, the meeting agenda will discuss organisational issues only, cannot use public address system, media cannot broadcast live of the political events, the venue of meetings is limited to designated places. Lastly the party have to inform the nearest police station at least 48 hours before the event. Possibly to ensure transparency of indoor politics! Well Ahmed could have said it.

He did not mention the names nor indirectly referred the two women leaders Khaleda Zia and Shiekh Hasina languishing in special prisons. Well he also did not hint whether the interim government has dropped the “minus-two” formula. He failed to mention their status of standing trial for corruptions and extortions. Even he did not indicate whether they could be invited for dialogue. Also it is not clear whether they can participate in the planned election in end of this year. A total blackout!

Fakhruddin said, “The precondition of a meaningful, free, fair and acceptable election was checking black money and muscle power, establishing the rule of law, conducting an anti-corruption drive, improving law and order and, above all, making state institutions effective and dynamic.”

Whereas the Brussels based International Crisis Group recent report in April 2008 states:

The caretaker government, along with the international community, must take credible steps to restore democracy to Bangladesh ahead of the December 2008 general elections.

His dramatic words “golden opportunity” and “golden future” for the nation has been marred in the wake of series of failure to break the culture of criminalisation of politics, institutionalisation of corruption, organised crime, money laundering, and accumulation of black money, and punish profiteering traders.

Ahmed for obvious reasons avoided to mention whether the dialogue would have open-ended agenda to ensure guaranteed transition to democracy.

It is understood from insiders that “National Charter” to reach a consensus would be the guideline for dialogue with mainstream political parties and allies. Failure to comply with the charter, the political parties and party leaders would be punished, banished and barred. It is game of snake and ladder!

Instead of the so-called National Charter, the authority could have developed a Commission for Integrity of the Democratically Elected Public Representatives, which could have been a bible for politicians and elected leaders in public offices. Thus refrain from exercising threats and coercion on political parties for reforms from the top.

From Ahmed’s words it is understood that the authorities ceased “implementation of an internal reform of the political parties voluntarily.” He further said that the nation expects implementation of the expected reform for providing the nation with democratic behaviour, honest, efficient and dynamic leadership.

When the international watchdogs and donor consortiums are demanding for a credible election, the caretaker government’s main aim, according to the chief adviser, was to hold a “free, fair, neutral and acceptable election and start a post-election healthy democratic system”.

It is true that the Chief Adviser did not mention about the withdrawal of the emergency. This obviously means that freedom of assembly, freedom of speech and freedom of press remains curtailed under emergency laws.

Meanwhile the editors and journalist’s professional bodies on the eve of the address to the state by Chief Adviser underlined a red area in exercising their profession and remarked “invisible, unwritten pressure and control over the media”. The journalists expressed their indignation over the looming crisis the media is going through during the state of emergency.

On the other hand, Ahmed hoped that after his address all questions, suspicious and speculations centering election will come to an end. But political observers understand that the real motive and intention of the military backed authorities will further deepen. The nation was at the cross road of democracy, military rule, emergency and economic stagnation. The speculation and suspicions will gather moss which will turn into a political crisis.  #

Attached: Full text of the speech of Chief Adviser Fakhruddin Ahmed.

Lying there, half-immersed in curry sauce, ignored by those looking for meat, the aloo has been a much-neglected vegetable indeed. Until now that is. The Knight of the Order of the Aloo rode in on horseback, his armour - polished by the spittle of a thousand supporters - shining in the deltaic sun! All to save the aloo from the ignominy of being made bhorta. The aloo is indeed redeemed, for chefs at five-star hotels now covet it. The Knight is vindicated, and we admire his courage for mixing himself up with such a funny vegetable.

Without further ado (aloo), below I list some things I expect to witness in the coming months, and fondly contemplate how the aloo mania is affecting my favourite advisor ever. Just remember: aloo must be consumed ALONGSIDE rice, not INSTEAD of it, as any number of recent op-eds in the Pravda can attest.

Mohammad Ashraful (speaking English WHEN HE COULD BE SPEAKING HIS OWN MOTHER TONGUE!): We eat rice and lose all the time. From now, we eat aloo and win!

Read the rest of this entry »

[The post is written in first person as an open letter to the article author.]

Dear Salahuddin,

I have recently read this Daily Star article of yours with interest. Otherwise an intriguing piece, I am somewhat at a loss on some of the points. I would only discuss three of them:

1.

You wrote about Generation-B enthusiastically but you never told us about the values they actually stand for, or the kind of principles they actually adhere to. You see, “ideologies” or their “baggages” are not necessarily bad things. Nations moved, nations shaked, nations aspired–not always with mobile phones or laptops. For examples do please look at the emerging economies of the last few decades or you may want to go a bit further back in the history. On the contrary, just because someone carries a mobile phone and a laptop does not mean that you have a world leader in the making. I am really wary of people these days who are quick to suggest–often on over-simplified premises—how shiny buildings, flashy cars, plush restaurants, shopping malls, mobile phones, laptops and micro-credits have become the greatest gifts of our time ! You see Obamas of our time were not made out of mobile phones or internet connections or micro-credits or social businesses. The promise of greatness we see in leaders like Obama (or Martin Luther King or Bangabandhu) are just manifestations of their ideologies or values or commitments. Without a great ideology you cannot have a great leader.  

So, please could you elaborate–what you think is going to be the defining ideology or value of “your” future Obamas of Generation B? At least give us a wish list. Because I think the readers like me would be more interested in the specifics rather than in some wide and vague rhetoric. And please stop bashing everything that is ideological, because I am particularly concerned to see the way you have described our fathers’ generation as an “ideological baggage” carrying generation. For the record, I am grateful that they had “some” ideologies to fight and die for, which I hardly can say about most of my own generation. I am grateful that they bothered to “carry” those ideologies–when they were young–when they took up arms to free the country–and when they sacrificed their lives. They did that happily to ensure that we do not have to. They did that so that the legacy can be passed to our generation. They did that for us, Faisal, for you and me. Let’s not forget that.  

Read the rest of this entry »

Hossain Mohammad Ershad set a new standard in Bangladesh with his girlfriends, making even the international press with a full-page story about his wealth and his mistresses.

If you are wondering why we are dredging up this old muck, it is because a serving major general in the Bangladesh Army made a spectacle of himself a few weeks ago.

Major General Aminul Karim, the military secretary to the President of Bangladesh, was recently in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA, attending a conference.

He was incredulous and a little upset when an expatriate Bangladeshi told him that he did not know who he was. But that was totally eclipsed by the fact that he was trying to pick up female delegates to the conference. He asked for the phone number of at least one women, and almost insisted that a woman from Mexico go out to dinner with him. When that didn’t work, he went after another women.

This was in full view of other attendees to the conference, who were pretty sure that the intention was not to discuss the socio-economic situation in Bangladesh.

This was an academic conference, with mostly university faculty from across the USA, Canada and Mexico attending. This behavior did not do any good to the image of Bangladesh that the ruling junta is so concerned to protect.

Mr. Karim recently earned his Ph.D. in 2007. His thesis supervisor was Professor Ataur Rahman of Dhaka University: a man nominated by the government as a “preferred” guest on TV and radio talk-shows. The external reviewer of the the thesis was Dr. Zillur Rahman Khan of University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh.

Professors Rahman and Khan are considered the theoreticians behind the concept of a role of the Army in government, and are trusted advisers to the current government.

So this scholar-general, entrusted by the government to look after President Iajuddin (and keep him in line, of course), is steeped in the theory that is providing the framework of the current and future government of Bangladesh. Is it too much to ask that someone in such an important position not embarrass the country?

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.

Read the rest of this entry »

No wonder another news was muffled in the Bangladeshi media which took the British Bangladeshis by storm. They were disgusted and annoyed to hear that Barrister Rizwan Hussain was detained by the Zia International Airport in Dhaka, Bangladesh on the charges of trespassing while he claims he was merely helping an elderly. And things took to a dramatic turn when he was handed over to plain cloth joint forces staffs and he was beaten mercilessly and forced to sign false statements that he was sorry for trespassing and he was treated well by the captors. BBC has details.

Here is Rizwan Hussain’s full statement to the incident. Meanwhile one Bangladeshi newspaper did finally publish an ISPR press release saying:

The London lawyer became incensed and started using abusive words in English at the top of his voice, and even made threats, the ISPR statement said. Finding no alternative, the on-duty security officer handed Rizwan over to the joint forces, who interrogated him.

The lawyer, however, continued to avoid the issue of violating airport rules, instead trying to extract privileged treatment by mentioning his foreign citizenship and the status of his profession, the press release said. It was at this point, the ISPR statement says, that the members of the joint forces “harassed” barrister Rizwan.

But from the pictures of Mr. Hussain with broken arms/legs and bruised torso you can see its more than harrassment.

I fail to imagine why there is such a need to tarnish Bangladesh’s image by acting like a goon by a responsible authority where Mr Hussain (assuming he trespassed) could easily be arrested and handed over to court for the law to take action.

If somebody still can’t get it, this is extra-judicial abuse of human rights.

Rizwan Hussain’s press Conference: Part 1