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INDIA, MYANMAR, SRI LANKA SUBMIT CLAIM
Govt. inert over claim on Continental Shelf
Moinuddin Naser in New York
Though little time is left, the Government is still in slumber and lamentably lagging behind its next-door neighbours in acting on the crucial matter of placing Dhaka's claim to the appropriate authority on her right over the economic zone in the Bay of Bengal. For Dhaka to do this, only about two months are left. Shouldn't the Foreign Office have been up and doing by now regarding this vital matter and held a grand national conference of major political leaders, eminent economists, scholars, geographers and so on?
Although Bangladesh will have to submit its claim on continental shelf by July 27, 2011, but prior to that she will have to dispute the claims of India and Myanmar before the 24th session of the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf this year...[ FULL STORY ]
ONSLAUGHT ON MEDIA
Obstruction of justice may lead
to more tragedy
M. Shahidul Islam
When thunders roar above, birds flee from the sanctuary. The blame for the plight of the birds does not lie with the birds themselves.
The blaming of the media by some senior ministers of the Government for the alleged misreporting of the 311-page investigation report submitted last week to the army chief by the 20-member army investigation team into the BDR rebellion of February 25-26 is as good as unleashing thunder from above, at a time when the other two reports await submission...[ FULL STORY ]
BNP's district convening committee frustrates grassroots workers
Holiday Report
To revamp the party organization, BNP has finally dismantled all of its district committees and appointed a new convening committee for each district.
The new convening committees each headed by a convener and joint convener have been asked to convene the council session in next three months and elect a regular 51-member full committee.
After a series of meeting of the party standing committee, BNP has announced convening committee for 74 district units. It included the divisional city units excepting Dhaka city...[ FULL STORY ]
Why are ministers denouncing
army inquiry report?
Sadeq Khan
The representative government of Sheikh Hasina, brought to power by a landslide election victory of its grand alliance at the end of two years of emergency rule, is not yet faced with any serious civic challenge to its lackadaisical style of governance. The Prime Minister enjoys blind loyalty of a countrywide network of activist following, albeit factional feuding over sharing of spoils...[ FULL STORY ]
Govt. framing unrealistic
loan-dependent big budget
Faruque Ahmed
The leaders of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) have raised a significant question last week at a pre-budget press conference wondering why the Government is going to frame a budget largely depending on borrowing, especially from the banking system without using the potentials of the stocks.
News reports meanwhile said that Finance Minister AMA Muhith is planning to borrow Taka 31,000 crore this year from domestic sources, and the borrowing from the banking sector alone may stand over Taka 26,000 crore. This year the borrowing from banking sector was estimated at Tk 13,000 crore and the actual borrowing may stand around Taka 11,000 crore at the yearend, news report suggest. ..[ FULL STORY ]
DLA mobilising public opinion
against AL, BNP
Holiday Report
Democratic Left Alliance (DLA), a coalition of ten left-leaning political organisations, have initiated a country-wide campaign for public awareness against the deteriorating law and order situation, extortion and violence unleashed by ruling party people.
In their campaign, the DLA wants to mobilise public opinion against the politics of grand alliance led by Awami League and also the four-partly alliance led by BNP.
The alliance in a meeting last week decided to launch the campaign through distribution of leaflets and holding rallies in different parts of the country. The programme begins from this week with public meeting in Dhaka on May 26. According to the alliance leaders, they are organizing the people on various democratic demands and their right to employment and livelihood. DLA is demanding annulment of Labour Law of 2006 and the labour ordinance of 2008 asking for a minimum wage for a worker at Taka six thousand...[ FULL STORY ]
A shaky pro-Indian govt. being
formed in Nepal
Shamsuddin Ahmed
Seemingly the Indian move prevailed in Nepal. UML led coalition is poised to form government headed by Madhav Kumar Nepal in a couple of days. CPN (Maoist), the single largest party with 238 seats in the constituent assembly stepped down in a row with the President over government's sacking of the army chief. India preferred UML to its historic ally Nepal Congress as it appears to be withering away under its octogenarian leader G.P. Koirala though it actively supported it during the election last year...[ FULL STORY ]
India befools Bangladesh on Tipaimukh
Abdur Rahman Khan
In a total disregard to the expert opinion about adverse impact of Tipaimukh Dam in north-eastern India and the neighbouring Bangladesh, Indian high commissioner Pinak Ranjan Chakravarty said in Dhaka that the hydropower project over the cross-boundary river Barak will not harm Bangladesh.
"The Tipaimukh hydropower project was not like the Farakka irrigation project. A little amount of water will be diverted to produce hydroelectricity and the water will be released soon", Pinak Ranjan told reporters after meeting with shipping minister Afsarul Amin last week.
"We know that India will build a hydropower plant on Tipaimukh. Bangladesh knows nothing about any dam there." Water resources minister Ramesh Chandra Sen however told the press...[ FULL STORY ]
GLIMPSES OF THE GREAT
Kiran Bedi
K. Z. Islam
Kiran Bedi born in 1949 was the first woman police officer of the Indian Police Service which she joined in 1972. Spectators at the 1973 Republic Day Parade were amazed to see a lady at the ahead of the police contingent. The then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was so impressed that she invited Kiran for breakfast with her the very next day.
Kiran has many outstanding achievements to her credit including the Asian Women's Tennis Championship in 1971. She was a woman who had a burning ambition inside her to do something which would bring about discipline in a society overwhelmed with chaos. That she was of the fair sex and India's first woman police officer has never put any shackles to her devotion to duty.
But what the critics did not take into account was the grit and determination of the lady who had taken upon herself to accomplish what no one had achieved before. More so, the task was also beyond her call of duty. But Ms. Kiran Bedi did not flinch. She went about her work quietly and began achieving her target inch by inch. ..[ FULL STORY ]
India should leave its neighbours
alone: Prakash Rai
Abdur Rahman Khan
India being a large country with a big economy has got a greater responsibility to keep peace with its neighbours and help promote development in the South Asian Region.
India expects that the neighbouring countries should be sensitive to India's security concerns and should not allow their territories to be used against India. Similarly, India should also be sensitive and refrain from interfering in the internal affairs of its neighbours, said Professor Prakash A Raj, Vice-President of the Nepal Council of World Affairs...[ FULL STORY ]
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