Tuesday • August 01, 2006

N A T I O N A L  N E W S

Meherpur, Chuadanga and Narail district leaders exchange views

Sheikh Hasina equates Khaleda with Lady Macbeth

Leader of the Opposition in Parliament and Bangladesh Awami League President Sheikh Hasina has equated Prime Minister Khaleda Zia with Lady Macbeth and criticized her recent move to induct Ershad-led Jatiya Party (JP) into the ruling alliance.

"It's like the tragedy of Shakespeare's Macbeth when Khaleda Zia is trying to make alliance with Ershad, whom she once accused as the killer of her husband, Ziaur Rahman," she said.

The Awami League President made the remarks while exchanging views with her party's grassroots level leaders from Meherpur, Chuadanga and Narail districts at her Dhanmondi office in the capital Monday.

Sheikh Hasina also criticized BNP senior joint secretary general Tarique Rahman for going to JP chairman HM Ershad's house to win his support for the ruling four-party alliance. She posed a question to Tarique how he felt when he was received at the residence of Ershad whom his mother (Khaleda Zia) once identified as the killer of his father Ziaur Rahman.

Awami League President mentioned that in 1990, Khaleda Zia publicly called Ershad as the killer of her husband, President Zia.

The Leader of the Opposition said the people of the country want a respite from the looters' alliance government now. "There will be no place for the vote thieves in the soil of Bangladesh and they must resist at any cost and be eliminated," she said adding: "If required, everybody should have to resist those vote thieves at the polling booths taking bamboo sticks in their hands."

The Opposition leader instructed the grassroots level leaders of her party to swallow as many looted money they could recover from the looters of the alliance as they have got right on the looted public money so that the recovered money could be distributed among the poor, if required. She added that the BNP-led alliance would distribute a huge amount of the looted money in the next national polls to woo the constituents.

About the cancellation of flight on Dhaka-New York route of Biman Bangladesh Airlines, Sheikh Hasina said the international flight on the route was cancelled after their looting had ended in the national flag carrier.

She said although the government claimed growing foreign exchange reserve, the FOREX reserve comes from the remittances of the expatriate people of Bangladesh and the cancellation of flight of Biman on this route heighten the sufferings of expatriates and cause decline in FOREX remittance.

The Awami League President also brought allegation against the alliance administration of persecution of its political opponents, killing, repression and harassment-arrest of popular leaders and organizers of Awami League and filing of false and conspiratorial cases against them. She said, "If our leaders and activists are killed by RAB in so-called crossfire people will think that they are accused in so many cases but in reality, they have been nabbed in false and conspiratorial cases.

In a rebuttal to the criticism from a quarter on throwing action program like hartal, Sheikh Hasina said while in the opposition Khaleda Zia's party enforced 308 days including non-stop hartal for 96 hours when public and private properties and vehicles were damaged and torched.

"She (Begum Zia) had given even an ultimatum in vain for our Awami League government's exit…they had carried out all the bomb blasts round the country creating an anarchic situation then. Despite that odd situation, the previous Awami League government could improve law and order and created a food security net by achieving autarky in food production. After assuming power through massive rigging in the polls of 2001, the alliance government had looted a sum of 2.86 lakh crore from the members of public exclusively by enhancing prices of essential commodities launching a syndicate of businessmen.

The alliance government could give the citizenry nothing but corruption, misrule and plundering of public money over the years, Sheikh Hasina said urging the people to reach the on-going movement to its ultimate goal of achieving their constitutional rights for food and franchise.

Presidents and general secretaries of 15 organizational units comprising six constituencies from Narail, Chuadanga and Meherpur exchanged views with their party president at the meeting on prevailing situation, party position, probable party aspirants and the current agitation program of the 14-party combine.

Awami League central leaders including Syeda Zohra Tajuddin, Syeda Sajeda Chowdhury, Begum Matia Chowdury, Sheikh Fazlul Karim Selim MP, Obaidul Quader and Noor-e-Alam Chowdhury Liton MP also attended the view exchange meeting.

Half-day hartal on August 15

Awami League chalks out month-long mourning day progra

Awami League has chalked out a month-long mourning program beginning today (Tuesday) to observe the 32nd death anniversary of Bongobondhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.

Apart from Awami League and its other wings, several other organizations also have taken up programs on the occasion.

As part of the program, Awami League will observe a half-day hartal countrywide on 15th August. The month-long program will start from zero hour of August 1 through organizing a candlelight procession in front fo Bongobondhu Memorial Museum in Dhanmondi. Today (Tuesday) morning, a mourn rally will be held jointly by Jatiya Sramik League.

Bongobondhu Sangskritik Jote, Bangladesh Rickshaw Owners League, National Rickshaw Van Workers League and a few other organizations of the party.

Besides, a blood donation program will be organized by Bangladesh Krishak League in front of Bongobondhu Memorial Museum in Dhanmondi where Awami League president Sheikh Hasina will be present as chief guest.

Other programs include discussion on August 14 at Diploma Engineers Institution auditorium with party president Sheikh Hasina in the chair.

On August 15, the national flags and the party flags will be hoisted half-mast all over the country.

On the day, black flags will be hoisted all over the country; party workers will wear black badges; floral wreaths will be laid at the portrait of Bongobondhu at Dhanmondi. Munajat and prayer will be held at Tungipara. Destitues will be fed on the occasion all over the country.

On August 16, Sheikh Hasina will visit Tungipara and offer floral wreaths at the mazar of Bongobondhu. On the day a discussion will also be held in Dhaka by the other organizations of Awami League.

On August 21 floral wreaths will be placed at the monument of the martyrs of the 21st August carnage. There will be a rally at Central Shaheed Minar.

Sher-e-Bangla University

Students beat JCD leader for assaulting teacher

Students of Sher-e-Bangla Agriculture University yesterday beat up a Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal (JCD) leader after he had beat up a teacher for supporting students' movement.

They also ransacked four to five rooms of Sher-e-Bangla hall, including that of the JCD leader and set valuables of those rooms on fire protesting beating of the teacher.

Students of the university had been agitating for removal of Salim Reza Madhu, deputy registrar and Jakidur Rahman, private secretary of vice chancellor for their alleged involvement in different immoral and corrupt activities on the campus.

JCD Vice President Ashraful Islam, a master's student, beat up a lecturer of the university at around 1:00am beside the academic building for his involvement in the movement. General students seeing the incident chased the JCD leader and beat him up severely.

He was rushed to Dhaka Medical College Hospital in critical condition.

Later, agitating students ransacked the deputy registrar's and register's offices and damaged the furniture to protest the attack on their teacher.

The Daily Star, August 1, 2006

P A R T Y  N E W S   U P D A T E

Abdul Jalil MP arrest of Awami League leader

Awami League General Secretary Abdul Jalil MP yesterday protested the arrest of Awami League leader at Motherganj upazila of Jamalpur district, Joynal Abedin Aina by RAB after injuring him with bullets. He alleged that the BNP-Jamat alliance government have been trying to eliminate Awami League leaders and activists since they assumed power and the case of Joynal Abedin is only part of the conspiracy against the Awami League.

"After being rejected by the people for corruption, plundering and misrule, the government is now trying to destroy the Awami League to reassume power," he remarked saying no tyrant can ever be in power by oppressing and torturing the opposition.

O T H E R S

Trader beaten to death in Gazipur

A trader was beaten to death at Bariaboho village in Kaliakoir upazila Sunday night.

Local people said Mokhlesur Rahman, 40, was beaten to death by some terrorists on his way home from his shop at Kaliakoir bazar. On information, police recovered the body and sent it to hospital morgue for autopsy.

The Daily Star, August 1, 2006

Dinajpur Medical College closed sine die following JCD-Shibir clashes

Dinajpur Medical College has been declared closed sine die following a series of clashes between the activists of the Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal and Islami Chhatra Shibir on the campus on Saturday.

In the wake of the violence, the college authority at an emergency meeting at 10:00pm on Saturday, decided to close the college for an indefinite period.

Campus sources said the two student wings of the ruling BNP and Jamaat were locked in the clash on Saturday over distributing seats at the main hostel of the medical college that left about 50 students injured. Although the college authority asked the students to vacate the dormitories by 10:00am Sunday, terrorists stayed on the campus till noon, damaged college property and looted valuables from the hostels, the authorities alleged.

A group led by medical students Tushar, Parvez, Ashraf and Bishan, set fire to three rooms when the general students were coming out of a dorm, said a witness.

The Daily Star, August 1, 2006

15-year-old girl raped in Comilla

A 15-year-old girl was raped at village Simerpar in Muradnagar upazila on Sunday night.

According to the case, the girl was coming from a bazaar purchasing medicine for her mother when the hoodlums obstructed her. They took her to a classroom of Daulatpur Primary School and gang-raped her.

The Daily Star, August 1, 2006

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