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Hectic negotiation with BNP, AL

Photo: Advisers with Sheikh Hasina, BanglarChokh.

Photo: Advisers with Khaleda Zia, BanglarChokh.

The military-backed government and the political parties until Tuesday night failed to forge any consensus to reschedule the next month’s elections despite hectic negations, overt and covert, as the BNP’s 48-hour deadline expires tonight.

The Bangladesh Nationalist Party rejected the government’s offer to reschedule the parliamentary polls by 10 days asking for at least a month deferral while the Awami League demanded holding the polls as per the schedule on December 18, leaders attending the government-political parties negotiation said.

The AL has no problem if the deadline for submission of nomination papers is delayed by a few days, they said adding that the party and its allies asked the government to hold the polls as per the schedule as it failed to convince the BNP.

‘The government conveyed us that it had offered the Bangladesh Nationalist Party to delay the voting date to December 28 from December 18, but they rejected the proposal,’ Rashed Khan Menon, a leader of the AL-led alliance said after the one-hour meeting between a five-member panel of advisers and the alliance leaders led by AL chief Sheikh Hasina Tuesday night.

Meeting sources said that Hasina asked the government hold the election on December 18 if it fails to settle the issue with BNP.

Earlier in the evening, the panel led by commerce adviser Hossain Zillur Rahman had meeting with the BNP chief Khaleda Zia who gave the interim government and the Election Commission 48 hours’ time, ending this evening, to accept the alliance’s four-point demands, if BNP is to join the polls.

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Army has no intention to participate in dialogue: ISPR

The army headquarters on Tuesday announced that it had no intention or desire whatsoever to participate in the planned dialogue between the caretaker government and political parties.

Also, the army headquarters requested the mass media to refrain from making any imaginary and negative opinion out of their personal notion that might create confusion in the public minds about the army.

An ISPR release said the army had been discharging its responsibility at the instructions of the government and extending cooperation towards holding fair elections under the incumbent caretaker government. ‘This cooperation will continue in future, if necessary.’

The release said the role of the army was praised by all quarters against the backdrop of the January 11, 2007 changeover. At the critical juncture of the nation, the army at the instructions of the president came in aid of the caretaker government and subsequently participated in nation-building and different development and welfare activities.

‘And this praiseworthy role of the army was reflected in different mass media, including newspapers of the country.’

Recently, the release pointed out, various fictitious and confusing opinions are being published in editorials of different dailies, television talk shows and open discussions.

It said in view of the state of emergency in place, even the army chief at different functions and exchanges with editors of different mass media and interviews with local and foreign media gave a clear picture about the role of the army.

Kamal Hossain denies whitening black money

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.’

Mullahs spreading rumours to justify anarchy

Photo: PR, Bangladesh Khelafat Andolon.

The Fundamentalist Mullahs running havoc in Bangladesh for last couple of days turned to a new strategy to continue the anarchy. On Friday they had sent a press note to the media claiming three of their members were dead. Since the claim was overlooked, they again started threatening the journalists over phone on Saturday noon.

The claim was phony indeed. When the undersigned of the Press note Kaji Azizul Haq was contacted he demanded the police took away all the dead bodies to unknown destinations. When said that there was no record of anybody dying in the hospital, he reacted furiously and said, “When you seculars die the whole country mourns, and when a mullah dies its the other way around.”

The Commissioner  of DMP Naeem Ahmed denied any such incident saying that it was impossible to do so, because the media and reporters surrounding the premise was large in number and the police was cautious in their action.

The same fundamentalist used the rumor in Hathazari on Saturday claiming that a madrasha student died and they attacked the local police station.

Madrassah students attacked the Hathazari police station

Photo: Banglar Chokh.

At least 50 people, including five police personnel, were injured as madrassah students attacked the Hathazari police station in Chittagong in a repercussion to police-mullahs riot in Dhaka.  

The students of Darul Ulum Muinul Islam Madrassah, much known as Hathazari bara madrassah, also torched three motorbikes, two cars alongside conducting massive vandalism inside the police station. 

Several hundred students of the madrassah swooped on the police station at around 6:30pm on rumour that one madrassah student was killed in police attack at Baitul Mukarram mosque in Dhaka. 

Witnesses said the madrassah students, equipped with truncheons and iron roads, swooped on the police station suddenly and started vandalizing doors and windowpanes. 

They damaged three motorbikes, two cars of the police station and left five policemen and the imam of the police station mosque injured, said Mohammed Alamgir, the Hathazari police chief. 

Contingents of police deployed at the Chittagong University were called in and they dispersed the attackers lobbing teargas shells. 

The madrassah students took to the street and vandalized several vehicles after the incident,’ he said adding that a huge contingent of additional police and RAB members had drove them out at around 8:00pm. 

The injured policemen, identified as sub-inspector Mizanur Rahman, constables Abdul Hoque, Bahar Uddin, Mostofa and Hamid, were receiving treatment at the police hospital. 

At least 25 madrassah students have also sustained injuries during the incident and four of them were identified as Mafizur Rahman, Nazim Uddin, Hifatullah and Abdur Rahim. The rests could not be unidentified immediately. 

The deputy inspector general of police, AKM Shahidul Hoque, rushed to the spot soon after the incident and was holding a meeting with the madrassah teachers.