Debar fleeing war criminals: Govt directive to exit points

Home Minister Advocate Sahara Khatun yesterday said her ministry ordered all concerned authorities to guard all points so that no war criminal can flee the country.

“All relevant information about the war criminals has already been sent to the respective places,” she told journalists after attending the 23rd Annual Conference’08 of Bangladesh Law Association (BLA) at Kazi Motahar Hossain Bhaban in Dhaka University.

Replying to a query, the Home Minister said the recent incidents like murder of a businessman and stabbing of a DU student are being looked into seriously. “I ordered arrest of the criminals involved with the incidents.”

Asked about the clashes at the Baitul Mukarram national mosque over the appointment of ‘Khatib’, she said: “I told police not to raise their batons against any musallis (devotees).”

Addressing the conference as special guest, State Minister for Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Advocate M Quamrul Islam sought cooperation from the members of the Bangladesh Law Association in the trial of the war criminals, a major pre-election pledge of the present government.

“Without your cooperation, it would be difficult to hold the trial of the war criminals,” he said.

Earlier, in the morning, Dhaka University Vice Chancellor AAMS Arefin Siddique inaugurated the conference with outgoing BLA president M Abdur Rab Hawlader in the chair.

Prof Dr Mizanur Rahman of Dhaka University, Golam Mawla Rony MP, Adv ABM Waliur Rahman, Adv Nizamul Haq Mollah, judges from different districts, members of different bar associations, former and current students of the DU Law Faculty were present at the conference.

Source: The New Nation

Jamaat to take on war crime trial: Plans to say sorry for 1971 political stance, not war crime

Not from any conviction but to save its skin from the move to try war criminals, Jamaat-e-Islami plans to make a strategic apology not for its war crimes during the Liberation War but for its political stance in 1971.

Besides, the Islamist party is discussing some other measures like getting rid of a few “controversial” party leaders.

Majlish-e-Sura, the highest policymaking body of the religion-based political party, began a two-day meet yesterday to decide the party’s next course of action in the current situation.

“We are thinking of seeking formal apology for Jamaat’s anti-Liberation War role to save the party from the present crisis,” a top Jamaat leader said.

But this apology, if it ever comes, will be worded in such a way so that the party never acknowledges any war crime committed by Jamaat leaders during the war, sources said.

This Jamaat stance is reflected in the party’s cobbling together a panel of lawyers to tackle the war crime charges that the party now stares at, Jamaat insiders said.

Jamaat leaders say they would accept the verdict of any trial conducted and supervised by the United Nations and would eliminate those who would be found guilty in the trial.

Party high-ups admitted they are in a grave crisis at present and also fearing severe troubles in the coming days centring the issue of trial of Jamaat leaders who were involved in war crimes in 1971.

“We will eliminate the leaders from the party if they are found guilty of committing crimes in the trial,” a senior Jamaat leader told The Daily Star.

The issue of the trial of war criminals has surfaced and gained mass support after the landslide victory of the Awami League-led grand alliance in the December 29 parliamentary elections.

Jamaat-e-Islami directly opposed Bangladesh’s War of Independence and many of its leaders were allegedly involved in committing war crimes.

Anticipating sure defeat, the Pakistani occupation forces and their collaborators–Razakars and members of Al-Badr and Al-Shams who were mostly leaders of Jamaat-e-Islami and its student front Islami Chhatra Shangha–picked up leading Bangalee intellectuals and professionals on December 14 and killed them en masse with a view to crippling the nation intellectually.

War records show Jamaat formed the Razakars and Al-Badr forces to counter the freedom fighters. The then secretary general of Jamaat Moulana Abul Kalam Mohammad Yousuf established the Razakars and Al-Badr with Islami Chhatra Shangha members.

Thousands of people still bear the brunt of the war crimes committed by Jamaat and its student front now known as Islami Chhatra Shibir, and a few other groups such as Muslim League and Nizam-e Islami.

“A severe crisis is waiting for us in the coming days centring the issue of trying the war criminals,” Jamaat Assistant Secretary General Muhammad Kamaruzzaman told The Daily Star on Wednesday. “We are discussing how to tackle the situation and a panel of our lawyers is already working on it.”

Party insiders said discussion is going on within the party to eliminate a few party high-ups who are widely criticised for their role during the Liberation War. “We are thinking of seeking formal public apology for the actions of many of our leaders during 1971,” said a Jamaat leader.

He, however, did not make clear if Jamaat will seek apology for committing those war crimes or for its political decision to oppose the Liberation War.

Jamaat has never since the birth of Bangladesh sought an apology for its anti-Liberation War role and Jamaat Secretary General Ali Ahsan Muhammad Mujahid recently claimed that there are no war criminals within his party.

On November 5 last year, the Sector Commanders Forum made public its preliminary list of 50 war criminals including Jamaat Ameer Motiur Rahman Nizami and Secretary General Mujahid.

Earlier on April 3, research organisation War Crimes Facts Finding Committee unveiled a list of 1,597 war criminals responsible for mass killings, rapes and other atrocities during the Liberation War. Nizami, Mujahid and Kamaruzzaman are among the top Jamaat leaders on that list.

The Awami League government has already started working on the issue of trying war criminals and sought international assistance.

When UNDP Resident Representative and UN Coordinator in Bangladesh Renata Lok Dessallien called on Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at the Prime Minister’s Office on Tuesday the PM sought the United Nations’ help in holding trial of the war criminals, saying prosecuting them has become a national demand.

Source: The Daily Star

Jalil complains of torture

Ruling party’s front ranking member Abdul Jalil last night in parliament raised a serious allegation of inhuman torture on him by an intelligence personnel after the January 11 changeover.

Jalil, also general secretary of Awami League, demanded a parliamentary committee to probe ‘torture on him’ by the personnel of an intelligence agency.

Taking part in the debate on the thanks giving motion for the President’s inaugural speech in parliament the ruling party stalwart suggested the operation of intelligence agency should be limited within the armed forces so that ‘general people, businessmen, politicians are not subjected to ‘intolerable torture’.

Visibly emotional Jalil narrated the ordeals he underwent for long 18 months in custody. “It’s a matter of joke for the intelligence men to humiliate the politicians,” he said.

He said he would write to the Prime Minister who is in charge of the Defence Ministry formally raising the matter and seeking permanent measure for preventing torture by the agency men.

The AL general secretary said after arrest from his office in 2007 he was blindfolded, drove to unknown destination and subjected to inhuman torture by the intelligence without having any allegation against him.

He said, “The agency did not show minimum respect to me as a citizen of the country, as a former minister, as a former MP and overall as a freedom fighter.”

Jalil said those who are responsible for abuse and maltreatment should be punished so that the innocent people are not subjected to torture in future.

He claimed that his reported bad remarks about his party president Sheikh Hasina were fabricated.

Jalil also demanded immediate dismissal of the Chairman of the Anti-Corruption Commission for his partisan role in dealing with corruption. ACC had sought details of my property but did not ask for the wealth statement of Syed Iskander, brother of BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia.

Source: The New Nation

Row over seating arrangement: Opposition stays away from JS session

The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) yesterday demanded three more frontline seats in the house for ending their ongoing walkout of the inaugural session of the Jatiya Sangsad.

The BNP and its allies Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami and Bangladesh Jatiya Party (BJP) have also been staying away from the house since Wednesday’s walkout over the rearrangement of seats by the Speaker Advocate Abdul Hamid.

The demand of the opposition BNP was made when a parliamentary delegation of the party led by senior MP MK Anwar met the Speaker Advocate Adbul Hamid.

After the meeting the Speaker told the journalists that he had already conveyed the demand of the BNP to Awami League’ s Chief Sheikh Hasina and Chief Whip of the parliament Abdus Shahid.

“The BNP demands three more seats in the front row as a condition to return to ongoing parliament session,” Hamid added. Asked whether the BNP would resort to permanent boycott, the Speaker said, ” They (BNP) did not give any threat on permanent boycott of the parliament”.

He said he would take consent of the ruling party and allocate seats if the ruling party allowed. ” Without the sacrifice of Awami League I can do nothing,” he noted.

Chief Whip Shahid said BNP should get three out of the total 29 seats on the front benches. Asked on BNP’s position MK Anwar said, “We are still holding our position. Now, it is up to the speaker to decide the matter”.

However, the BNP leader did not disclose any details of their meeting with the Speaker.

He said that they would not return to the House before resolving the issue.

But the Chief Whip of the opposition Joynal Abedin Faruk yesterday hinted that they would take decision on Sunday at the parliamentary meeting of the party.

Earlier BNP staged a walkout as parliament resumed on Wednesday, protesting a new seat arrangement by Speaker Abdul Hamid that reduced the main opposition party just four front row seats from the nine allocated by outgoing speaker Muhammad Jamiruddin Sircar.

But the Awami League has opposed former speaker’s seat arrangement terming it disproportionate to the total number of seats won by the opposition.

Source: The New Nation

Hasina’s son defends ‘controversial appointments’

Sajeeb Wajed, son of prime minister Sheikh Hasina, has said that comparison between him and Tarique Rahman, son of former PM Khaleda Zia, was unfair as “I’ve a masters degree in Public Administration from Harvard University”.

Sajeeb made the comment in an apparent effort to avoid a direct response to a question posed by bdnews24.com about whether he would declare unequivocally that unlike Tarique, and Khaleda’s younger son Coco, he would not become involved in any business deal during the tenure of the current Awami League-led government.

His comment came during the question-answer session at a seminar on “The Bangladesh elections and beyond: Democracy, Security and Development”, jointly organised by the Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies and US Bangladesh Business Advisory Council in Washington on Wednesday.

He was one of the four panellists at the seminar, which provided an opportunity for the first time for many in the audience to hear directly from the prime minister’s son, since the Awami League-led alliance won a landslide victory in last month’s election.

The organisers described him as “an advisor to Her Excellency Sheikh Hasina”.

Sajeeb’s presence obviously generated a lot of interest among the audience, who were eager to learn more about the election and the country’s current and future course.

Not surprisingly, most of the questions were directed to him and that prompted the moderator Walter Anderson, director of the South Asia Programme at SAIS, to intervene repeatedly in an effort to give the other three panellists a chance to answer some questions.

The other three were Joshua White, a PhD student at SAIS, Imtiaz Habib, a board member of USBAC, and Peter Manikas, Asia Director of the National Democratic Institute. White and Manikas recently visited Bangladesh as election observers.

Smart and articulate, Sajeeb made a generally good impression at the start, but his answers to some of the questions appeared to disappoint many in the audience, especially when he was trying to defend the controversial appointment of Toufiqe-e-Elahi Chowdhury as an adviser to the prime minister.

The PM’s son was asked directly: “Why do you think the prime minister appointed such controversial figures as Toufique-e-Elahi, who was in jail recently on corruption charges, as advisers while there’s no dearth of clean and respectable people in Bangladesh?”

Sajeeb said he didn’t see anything wrong in such appointments. “Some people may say that Toufique-e-Elahi is controversial but there are others who say he is not”.

About his recent incarceration on corruption charges, Sajeeb said the caretaker government imprisoned many innocent people without any credible evidence and “my mother was one of them”.

The seminar was attended by Bangladeshi-Americans, diplomats, academics and others interested in Bangladesh.

Ambassador Humayun Kabir made a brief introductory statement at the seminar about the recent election and future prospects of Bangladesh.

Source: Bdnews

Chief Whip protests Speaker’s decision

Chief whip Abdus Shahid has protested the speaker’s decision on seat arrangements for the parliament and said it equalled “dishonouring the treasury bench and leader of the house”.

Outgoing speaker Jamiruddin Sircar yesterday rejected chief whip’s proposal on seat arrangements and granted two front benches on the left of the speaker to the main opposition BNP and two other parties.

Shahid in his draft seat plan gave the BNP three out of ten seats in the front bench as the main opposition had only 30 seats in 300-seat parliament which convenes today.

“I called the speaker and sought a clarification from him on why he did it unilaterally,” Shahid told bdnews24.com on Saturday evening.

“I have done what I thought right as per the parliamentary practices and rules of procedure. If you think my decision is incorrect, the next speaker can change the arrangement,” Shahid quoted Sircar as telling him.

Sircar had earlier told bdnews24.com at his office the same thing.

Shahid said the outgoing speaker could have invited the ruling and the opposition benches to discuss the seat arrangements.

“Past speakers invited us and made seat arrangements as per the suggestions of two sides. But this outgoing speaker has set a bad example in parliamentary history by using his discretion,” an angry Shahid said.

As per the rule seven of the rules of procedure the speaker will decide the seat arrangement and he can either accept or reject the recommendations of the treasury bench.

Post-poll violence leaves 3 dead, 100 injured

Three persons were killed and more than 100 injured in numerous post-upazila election clashes between rival political groups across the country on Thursday and Friday.

Three people, one each in Faridpur, Narail and Brahmanbaria died, in the post election violence.

Reports of sporadic clashes between rival groups were also received from Sherpur and Sylhet.

Some Awami League activists ransacked the office and residence of the UNO of Sribardi upazila in Sherpur.

Police said that the Awami league supporters led by the defeated chairman candidate Ashraf Hossain Khoka of the ruling party damaged the windows and furniture of the office and residence of the UNO of the Sribardi Upazila at about 5 pm yesterday.

Enamul Haq, UNO, Sribardi, alleged that local Awami League MP AKM Fazlul Haq on Thursday night put pressure on the election officials including him to manipulate the election results in favour Khoka.

Akkas Matabbar,48, a supporter of Awami League’s rebel candidate was killed and 10 others were injured in a post election clash at Saltha upazila in Faridpur yesterday morning. police arrested four persons in this connection.

In Narail, a BNP activist was killed and five others were injured in separate incidence of attacks by the Awami League supporters at Lohagara upazila.

Idris Molla, 45, died on way to Khulna Medical College Hospital.

The AL activists attacked the BNP workers at the same upazila leaving two persons injured.

In Brahmanbaria, one person was killed in a bloody fight between supporters of pro-Awami League and pro-BNP candidates over control of Purbabhag polling centre at Nasirnagar upazila.Oli Mia, an activist of BNP , lost his life in the clash.

In Sylhet, at least 20 people were injured, eight of them by splinters, in a post-poll violence between the supporters of two upazila chairman candidates at Biswanath upazila on Thursday and Friday.

Seven of the injured were rushed to Sylhet Osmani Medical College Hospital with splinter injuries where the condition of three — Saiful, 17, Azad Mia, 32, and Masuk Mia, 40 — was stated to be critical.

On information, police rushed to the spot and brought the situation under control.

Police also seized a gun from the possession of Hushiar Ali, father of Sumon.

Source: The New Nation

Meddling in upazila polls: Minister, MP may face prison term: Legal action underway, confirms EC

Step is under process to take legal action by the Election Commission (EC) against the election rules violators, including ministers and ruling party MPs, according to a highly placed source.

The measures are being taken as allegations were made from different upazilas of influencing the polls and violation of election code of conduct by ministers and MPs during the election.

The source said a case has already been filed against a ruling party MP in Cox’s Bazar in this connection.

When contacted Election Commissioner Brig Gen (Retd) Sakhawat Hossain told The New Nation that the Commission would obviously take action against those who violated the election code of conduct during the January 22 upazila election.

“We will sit to discuss the matter and determine the next course of action,” he said.

Asked whether the Commission has been carrying out any investigation about the allegations brought against ministers and ruling party MPs, the Election Commissioner said further investigation would not be required.

As per rules, the accused may be imprisoned for a term of two to seven years and fined if they are found guilty of the offences alleged.

State Minister for Fisheries and Livestock Abdul Latif Biswas and Awami League lawmaker Abdur Rahman Bodi of Cox’s Bazar-4 constituency reportedly interfered in the polls in Belkuchi upazila in Sirajganj district and Teknaf in Cox’s Bazar respectively.

When contacted the Police Super of Cox’s Bazar confirmed that a case has been filed with Teknaf Police Station yesterday against the local MP on charge of assaulting an officer engaged in election duty.

The EC had earlier in a letter to the Cabinet Division requested all ministers, state ministers, deputy ministers and persons enjoying similar status not to influence the upazila elections in anyway.

Earlier on Thursday, Chief Election Commissioner Dr ATM Shamsul Huda in his reaction expressed dissatisfaction about the influence exerted by the ministers and ruling party MPs in the election.

Talking to reporters he regretted that a minister was found at a polling station at Belkuchi in Sirajganj.

Referring to the interference in the Belkuchi upazila poll, the CEC said the minister stayed there and created problems in polling. “As a result, we were compelled to suspend polling of the upazila,” he said.

The CEC also alleged that Abdur Rahman Bodi, a ruling party lawmaker has beaten up polling officials at Teknaf in Cox’s Bazar.

“Judicial magistrates have already been asked to take legal actions against the two leaders. We are waiting for detail investigation reports, on receipt of which we will take action,” he said.

Another allegation was brought that presence of a minister at Raipura upazila of Narsingdi gave advantage to the candidate his party is backing.

Meanwhile, Abdul Latif Biswas yesterday told reporters that he went to Belkuchi to cast his vote not to influence the election.

He termed the allegation brought against him as a propaganda and said he has become a victim of conspiracy.

Source: The New Nation

Renewed clash in nat’l mosque: 50 injured

At least 50 people were injured yesterday at the national mosque, Baitul Mukarram, in clashes between pro and anti-Khatib people fighting a battle in and outside the mosque during Juma prayers.

Witnesses said the two groups — one supporting the newly appointed Khatib, Maulana Salahuddin and another opposing the appointment under the banner of ‘Baitul Mukarram Masjid Musalli Samaj’ — clashed inside the mosque as soon as Khatib Maulana Salahuddin began Khutba (sermons) at around 1.00pm.

Several hundred protesters, mostly Kaomi Madrasa students and teachers, started slogans against new Khatib Principal Mohammad Salauddin as soon as he started delivering Jumma sermon, source said.

Of the injured, 16 were admitted to different hospitals in the city while others were given first aid.

Khatib’s supporters then beat up the protesters and drove them away from the mosque triggering the battle.

Later the anti-Khatib people held a separate congregation for jumma prayers outside the mosque.

Mahmud, an activist of the Musalli Samaj, said the trouble started when some musullis refused to say their prayers behind Maulana Salahuddin. The Khatib’s supporters beat up the protesters and forced them out of the mosque.

The protesting musallis then joined a separate juma’ congregation, led by Mufti Abdullah, on the road near the north gate of Baitul Mukarram Mosque. Later, they brought out a procession carrying shoes and shouted slogans demanding the removal of new Khatib.

Extra police were deployed in the area to avert any further trouble.

Mahmud, said they are on a movement under the banner of `Baitul Mukarram Masjid Musalli Samaj’ demanding removal of the newly appointed Khatib Maulana Salahuddin for his “questionable” character.

He claimed that Maulana Salahuddin was earlier removed from the post of Khatib of a mosque in Mirpur and of Dhanmondi Eidgah Jame Mosque due to allegations about his character.

At least 50 people were injured on last two Fridays in clashes over the new Khatib, he added.

On January 4, the Musalli Samaj submitted a memorandum to the Islamic Foundation demanding removal of Maulana Salahuddin, who was appointed Khatib to the National Mosque on January 1.

Until the appointment of Maulana Salahuddin, Maulana Nuruddin was acting as Khatib of the mosque since the death of previous Khatib Maulana Obaidul Haq in October 2007.

Source: The New Nation

Minister, MPs in upazilas during polls: CEC unhappy over political interference

The chief election commissioner has said he is unhappy about the low voter turnout and ‘attempts by ministers and MPs’ to influence the third Upazila Parishad election yesterday.

There were also influences of political parties in the balloting to elect local government representatives to 481 Upazila across the country, ATM Shamsul Huda said to reporters at his office.

“We’d expected that the election being held after 18 years would reflect the people’s will and will re-establish Upazila Parishad. But [after the end of the elections] we’ve some dissatisfactions,” he said.

“The voter turnout was lower than our expectation. The reason behind the low attendance of young and women voters in the Upazila elections compared to their turnout in the general election will be investigated,” he said.

He said the ruling party had always influenced in the election. “We wanted to hold the election during the tenure of the caretaker government. But that was not possible.”

“A number of ministers and MPs have tried to exert their influence on the voting process in some places and we’ve halted the voting in those upazilas.”

“We were expecting that there would be come changes in the country’s political culture. But we didn’t expect that the ministers will abuse power.”

The Election Commission will discuss with the government how the political influence on the election can be curbed, he said.

The EC has postponed voting at Belkuchi of Sirajganj district, Barura of Comilla district, Ramganj in Lakshmipur, Sadar Upazila of Brahmanbaria and Ukhia of Cox’s Bazar districts.

Voting in those Upazila has been postponed on charges of barring the voters from going to polling stations, snatching of ballot papers and forcefully occupying polling stations, the polls chief said.

He said balloting in Belkuchi and Ukhia has been postponed on charges that one minister, Abdul Latif Biswas and one MP, Badiur Rahman Badi, trying tried to influence polling in their respective Upazila.

Huda, however, said there was no information of heavy violence anywhere and the voter turnout was like in the two previous Upazila elections.

If the turnout had reached 50 percent, then it would have been satisfactory, he said.

Meanwhile, after visiting a number of polling stations in Gazipur district, election commissioner M Sakhawat Hossain said the voting was peaceful but the voter turnout was not satisfactory.

Sakhawat said Awami League leaders and supporters crated to unwanted incidents at some polling stations, which was not expected.

Whether he was satisfied with Thursday’s election, he said, “I’m not dissatisfied at all, but we’d a lot of expectation.”

Voting took place in 32,381 polling stations of 480 Upazila from 8amto 4pm without break.

According to the EC, 8,187 candidates contested countrywide in the polls, for the three positions in each upazila. Of the total, 13 candidates have already been elected uncontested.

The third Upazila polls were held after some 18 years.

Former president General Hussain Muhammad Ershad introduced the Upazila system. Elections to the local government bodies were first held in 1985 and then again in 1990.

After the fall of Ershad, then the BNP government repealed the Upazila Parishad Ordinance in 1991.

Source: Bdnews