Saturday • March 18, 2006

N E W S   O F  T H E  H O N ' B L E  P R E S I D E N T

Sheikh Hasina greets Bangladesh cricket team

Leader of the Opposition in Parliament and Bangladesh Awami League President Sheikh Hasina has congratulated the Bangladesh Cricket Team for their convincing victory against Kenya in a one-day match in Bogra Friday.

Sheikh Hasina, in a message from Orlando, said the day's victory is a continuation of recent victories of Bangladeshi cricket that began its journey by winning the ICC championship and gaining Test status during the Awami League rule.

She hoped that the Bangladesh team would bring more victories for the country through hard work and better performance.

Sheikh Hasina reaches Florida

Leader of the Opposition in Parliament and Bangladesh Awami League President Sheikh Hasina reached Orlando, Florida, at 12:30 pm (US local time) yesterday.

She went there for her ear treatment. She has been suffering from hearing problem, caused by grenade attack at an Awami League rally in the capital on August 21, 2004.

She left Dhaka Thursday.

N A T I O N A L  N E W S

Bongobondhu's birthday observed

Government hatching conspiracy against country: Awami League

Leaders of the Awami League said yesterday that the BNP-led alliance government formed with the support of the defeated forces of 1971 Jamaat-e-Islami was hatching a conspiracy against the country's independence and sovereignty for transforming Bangladesh into a neo-Pakistan.

Speaking at a discussion meeting in front of Bongobondhu Memorial Museum on Road-32 at Dhanmondi in the capital, they called upon the countrymen to consolidate their unity across the country imbibed with uncompromising ideals of Bongobondhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman to thwart such a conspiracy.

Awami League organized the discussion meeting in observance of 87th birth anniversary of Bongobondhu marking the 'National Children's Day' with its acting president Zillur Rahman in the chair.

Earlier in the morning, the day's program began with the placing of wreaths in front of the portrait of Bongobondhu at Dhanmondi and at his mazar at Tungipara in Gopalganj district.

Zillur Rahman and acting general secretary of the Awami League Obaidul Quader along with party stalwarts led the floral wreaths placing ceremony that was followed by child-juvenile painting competition, hunger strike by Anti-communalism Committee demanding a fanatism-terrorism-free Bangladesh, milad mahfil seeking eternal peace of his soul, discussion meetings on his chequered political career and eventful life and cultural functions on the bank of the Dhanmondi Lake.

Several social, cultural and political parties and professional bodies also observed the day organizing various programs throughout the day yesterday.

Addressing the discussion meeting, Zillur Rahman said that had Bongobondhu not been born on this day 87 years back, an independent and sovereign Bangladesh would not have emerged in the world map as he encouraged an unarmed nation to fight for a long arduous independence struggle against the Pakistani military junta and presented the countrymen with an independent and sovereign nation in 1971.

But, he regretted that the ruling alliance government was deliberately undermining Bongobondhu's courageous role and immense contributions to the country and all the fruits and achievements of independence. The government has resorted to repression, exploitation, killings, patronizing the defeated fanatic-militant forces to transform Bangladesh a vassal state of Pakistan.

Zillur Rahman urged the people from all strata, particularly those belonging to the pro-liberation axis, to take part in the on-going movement launched by the 14-party combine to rid the people of the anti-liberation government for rebuilding Bangladesh in accordance with the hopes and aspirations of the masses.

Terming the recent arrest of the two supremos of fanatic-militant outfits as nothing but a game of the government, senior member of the Awami League Presidium Syeda Zohra Tajuddin said the alliance administration has yet to nab the godfathers and patrons behind the militancy and the Jamaat-Shibir cadres and kill them in so-called crossfire. She called upon the party leaders to imbibe the people with the ideals of Bongobondhu to restore fundamental rights of the masses.

Paying glowing tributes to Bongobondhu, party presidium member Syeda Sajeda Chowdhury said under the tyrannical rule of the alliance administration, the people have now been forced to lead a life of slaves in Bangladesh, independence of which was presented by none other than Bongobondhu through his relentless efforts and long struggle. She appealed to the citizenry to resist the alliance government's deliberate bid to erase off Bongobondhu's name and contributions from the history of Bangladesh.

Recalling his long association with Bongobondhu as his political secretary, Awami League Presidium member Tofail Ahmed said several world leaders like Julius Nayererri, Indira Gandhi, Nelson Mandela, Edward Heath, Yasser Arafat, Anwar Sadaat and Nikolai Krushchev termed Bongobondhu as one of the greatest world politicians for his contributions to his people and the world community.

Turning to today's Bangladesh, he said the alliance government has been hatching conspiracy to snatch away people's mandate by appointing a partisan chief adviser to the caretaker government and the Chief Election Commissioner but the 14-party alliance will not let any body to repeat holding of farcical polls of February 25 in 1996.

Begum Matia Chowdhury, Obaidul Quader, Mukul Bose, Engineer Mozammel Babu and Mofazzal Hossain Chowdhury Maya (Bir Bikram) also addressed the discussion meeting conducted by Asaduzzaman Noor MP.

Later in the evening, artistes of Joi Bangla Sangskritik Oikya Jote arranged a cultural show marking Bongobondhu's birth anniversary at the same venue.

Partisan president may use forces in party's interest, discussion told

Caretaker system need reforms

Eminent jurists and other professionals at a discussion in the capital yesterday expressed fears that if the armed forces remain under the president loyal to a party when a caretaker government is in place, he could influence the elections. Reforms in the caretaker system are desirable to put the armed forces under caretaker government, they said.

The discussion on ''Role of the Election Commission and the Caretaker Government in holding a free and fair election in Bangladesh" was organised by Bangladesh Institute of Law and International Affairs (BILIA).

Presenting the keynote paper at the discussion, former election commissioner Justice Naimuddin Ahmed said, "The partisan president, if army is kept under him, can use the force in the party's interest."

The role of the non-party caretaker government and the president is to assist the Election Commission (EC) in holding a free and fair election. If they don't do that, the EC should refuse to hold the election, Naimuddin thought.

If the EC thinks an election has not been free and fair in any constituency, it can certainly refuse to accept the results submitted by the returning officer and order re-election, the former election commissioner said.

Barrister Amir-Ul Islam said introduction of caretaker government system became crucial when the EC did nothing despite massive rigging of polls.

The system raised a lot of hopes but now it appears to be destroying the judiciary. The government is appointing judges on political grounds so that they could head the caretaker governments as former chief justice, he said.

Coming down heavily on the EC's preparing a fresh voter list and defying the High Court order, he said, "The present EC has now become more powerful than any other institutions in the country."

Workers Party chief Rashed Khan Menon stressed putting the armed forces under the caretaker government during its tenure, as proposed by the 14-party opposition combine. Otherwise, the election will be manipulated, he added.

Former US ambassador to Bangladesh William B Milam, who was scheduled to talk on the issue, could not do so on health grounds. In a message, he said, "Free and fair elections are critically important for the future of democracy in Bangladesh and for the whole region."

Milam, now a senior policy scholar at Woodrow Wilson Centre in Washington, hoped all the parties will come together to ensure that the process of democracy continues to take a deeper root in Bangladesh.

Others who spoke included BILIA Director Wali-ur-Rahman and Forest E Cookson, economist at Research and Development Centre.

Source: The Daily Star, March 18, 2006

Investigate if anyone in government sheltered JMB men: Amnesty International

Amnesty International (AI) in a public statement on Thursday urged the alliance government to target actual perpetrators of bombings in contrast to its usual practice of conveniently accusing the political opposition rather

Citing the arrests of Shaekh Abdur Rahman, the chief of banned Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB), and Siddiqul Islam alias Bangla Bhai, the second-in-command of JMB also the leader of another banned militant group Jagrata Muslim Janata Bangladesh (JMJB), the statement said, "There have been persistent allegations about these groups' involvement in a violent campaign of bomb attacks in recent years."

Citing media reports, AI continued, "... some politicians with close links to the ruling parties had been frustrating efforts to stem the rising tide of violence generated by these groups."

Last year, Abu Hena, a BNP lawmaker, was expelled after he accused some government ministers of fostering the rise of Bangla Bhai in his constituency in northern Bagmara Upazila, the statement said.

"I tried to stop them and I wanted help from the government but some ministers and some MPs, for their own political advantages, did not want to stop the Islamic extremists," the internationally reputed human rights organization quoted Hena.

It is the responsibility of the government to investigate anyone against whom there are allegations of involvement in the bombings, including the two top bosses of JMB, with a view to establishing the truth, the statement said.

Source: The Daily Star, March 18, 2006

Country experiences 1100mw power shortage

The country experienced about 1100mw of electricity shortage in peak hours yesterday although it was the weekly holiday when electricity consumption usually goes down.

According to Power Development Board (PDB) sources, electricity demand across the country was 4,000mw but all power plants generated around 2900mw.

Although the Haripur 360 MW power station came to production on Thursday after experiencing suspension three times over last 15 days, the 450 MW Meghnaghat generated half of its total capacity due to the suspension of its gas turbine-2 from Friday night.

The PDB yesterday supplied around 940mw electricity against the demand of 1500mw in the capital city.

When contacted, a high official of PDB informed that at least 12 units of some power plants remained suspended till Friday forcing them to resort to load-shedding across the country.

PDB sources said, the unit-5 (150mw) of Ashuganj plant, unit-1 (55mw) and unit-4 (210mw) of Ghorasal plant, unit-1 (125mw) of Barapukuria plant, 60mw Khulna plant, 80mw Tongi plant, 100mw Baghabari plant, three units (100mw capacity) of PDB-operated Haripur plant, two units (70mw-capacity) of Sahjibazar plant and three units (140mw-capacity) of Kaptai hydraulic power plant were out of production due to technical glitches or for undergoing overhauling.

Meanwhile, as the grid-line of Ulan-Dhanmondi remained closed the whole area under the grid is experiencing 4-5 hours power outage over last one week.

The Daily Star, March 18, 2006

P A R T Y  N E W S   U P D A T E

Sheikh Hasina condoles death of Yousuf Pasha

Leader of the Opposition in Parliament and Bangladesh Awami League President Sheikh Hasina condoled the death of Senior Assistant Editor of the daily Janakantha and noted poet Yusuf Patha, who died in a tragic road accident on Friday.

In a statement, the Awami League President expressed her deep shock at the death of the senior journalist and conveyed sympathy to his bereaved family members. She also prayed for the salvation of the departed soul.

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