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SADARGHAT INCIDENT
Bureaucracy's anti-people mindset revealed
Faruque Ahmed
Police sued at least 30 thousand unknown people in two cases with Keraniganj police station for violent attacks on Sunday last at Sadarghat launch terminal. The unforeseen eruption of violence on the bank of the river Buriganga saw the burning of two motor launches while six others were set ablaze in protest against closure of a wharf.
Fire fighters and coast guards rushed to the scene immediately alongside police and tried to douse the flames. But they could do little as the demonstrators kept pelting them with stones.
As the cases have been filed, police are now on the move searching out who were those people involved in the violence to nab them and put under trial. People of the locality are fleeing the area and reports said law enforcing personnel are taking it as an opportunity to chase people and make a fortune. Most able bodied people are keeping out of public place. "My son has left the area as police is searching," a mother said to the reporter a national daily.
The jetty at the Masjidghat at the head of the Simpson Road was removed last week without any consultation or prior notification to local people and stakeholders and replaced it by setting up three new pontoons to expand the berthing facility at the Sadarghat launch terminal which remained overcrowded for shortage of space.
In the morning when the local people saw the closure of the ferry-ghat, they became furious. In the follow-up agitation and attacks, at least 40 people including three cops and 30 launch operators were injured. Moreover, a large number of vessels were ransacked forcing the launch operators to suspend the service for nine hours from Sadarghat to distant destinations in the south-western districts. Thousands of passengers were stranded for hours following the suspension of the launch service.
Why the local people became so much agitated to start violence? They said the jetty was used for ferrying of workers and businessmen across the river to the fledgling south Keranigonj industrial neighbourhood where at least 10,000 garment shops depend mainly on shoppers coming from Dhaka city.
The ferry service is in operation for the last 150 years. Thousands of shop owners and workers joined the mob who saw the removal of the jetty as a conspiracy and a blatant attempt to benefit the launch owners at the cost of the local economy and business. Normalcy returned to Sadarghat and South Keraniganj area only after Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) removed one of the three pontoons and opened the waterway to the ferry services. But shop owners said they would not open their business unless all three pontoons were removed to fully clear the ferry-ghat.
The BIWTA chairman Abdul Mannan Hawlader said they would set up two permanent jetties west of Simpson road Masjidghat within the next month to continue the present expansion of the terminal. But the business people of the area remained adamant to keep the existing jetty in place. They fear that the shifting of the ferry-ghat westward may severely affect movement of several lakh people -- businessmen, workers and owners of shops and factories who cross the river daily in pursuit of their livelihood.
Commenting on the background of the violence the BIWTA chairman said his office had written to the concerned forces back on April 29 requesting deployment of sufficient forces to support the shifting of the jetty as they apprehended that the law and order situation might deteriorate in the area during shifting.
He said letters were sent to the commissioner of Dhaka Metropolitan Police, deputy inspector general of police of Dhaka range, commander of rapid action battalion in the area, army camp, superintendent of police and other concerned law enforcing agencies.
They blamed poor deployment of the forces, about 100 policemen in an estimate, and held the view that if there were enough forces in place, the violence could not have taken place.
The BIWTA acting chairman said a three-member committee has been formed to investigate into the incidence with a representative of his organisation, one from local administration and another from the launch owners association. But surprisingly any representative of the local businessmen remained out of the committee, it was not seen important to take any one of them.
Critics wonder why the BIWTA did not engage in consultation with the local business as they rightly anticipated a sharp reaction and accordingly sought the mobilisation of the members of the law enforcing agencies including police, RAB and army.
Moreover, the filing of cases with the local police will only further aggravate the situation and bring blames on the Caretaker Government.
It sounds strange that the authorities have approved the filing of cases involving up to 30,000 people. How can it go for prosecuting the people of an entire locality and claim to be a government in power for the development and welfare of the people.
The institution of the investigation committee, moreover, looks like an eye-wash as it has not taken on board any member of the local aggrieved people to speak out their views.
Observers say the Sadarghat incident clearly exposes the mindset of the people in administration. They are least bothered with the problems of the stakeholders and give them a reasonable hearing.
People say they rely more on power and the use of power and it clearly spells out the anti-people mindset of the bureaucracy. But how the caretaker government will fit the episode to its character, many people wondered.
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DIALOGUE WITHOUT TWO PARTY CHIEFS?
Politicians haven't learnt from the past
Amanullah Kabir
The Chief Adviser will address the nation, the stage is set for dialogue, but what the beleaguered nation will achieve is still uncertain. The agenda of the political parties, particularly the two big players - though vary on different issues - are known to the public; but what the military-backed Caretaker Government (CG) has up its sleeve are not transparent.
Such a dialogue would not have been necessary had the CG performed its role limited by the country's Constitution within the given timeframe. Apparently the most pressing issues like release of two former Prime Ministers, lifting of the state of emergency and announcement of national election date will come up on priority basis for discussion and settlement. The dialogue atmosphere might turn sour and chaotic when the question of an exit strategy for the CG and its policy-makers will be at the table.
In view of such a possible situation some politicians and civil society leaders have suggested participation of the military in the dialogue along with the political parties since they consider, perhaps rightly, an effective and meaningful dialogue will remain a distant cry without their (military) active representation. To give constitutional indemnity to and approval by the new parliament of the Caretaker regime's extra-constitutional actions and activities, a clear deal with the political parties is, of course, necessary. However, the Army Headquarters have ruled out the possibility.
Awami League leader Suranjit Sengupta, a reformist leader of the party, was criticised for his open suggestion but seems to be correct in view of the reality that the military is the main actor, and without their proper representation in the dialogue the whole show will be a futile exercise. This will, of course, give the military a formal role to play in politics. Similarly, many believe that in the absence of Begum Khaleda Zia and Sheikh Hasina, any effort to hold an effective and fruitful dialogue is likely to result in frustration.
Our politicians seem to have learnt no lesson from the past which is stained with blood and violence. The political parties are in a disarray, broadly divided into two groups -reformist (or loyalist) and non-reformist -- who are at the loggerhead and bashing each other. Even the two major parties, BNP and AL, affected most by the actions of this government, have failed to decide on a common agenda for the proposed dialogue. Their overall performance is no doubt disappointing for the suffering millions. They are waiting with concern to see a package solution on the basis of a national consensus, not failure as in the past.
There is a perception that the CG and its backers are not helping to level the playing field for all participants. It is also felt that the Election Commission and powerful actions of the Anti-corruption Commission have made the situation difficult for the host and the stakeholder.
The ACC's charge sheet first against former prime minister and BNP chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia in the Niko corruption case and later against former PM and AL chief Sheikh Hasina, the EC's controversial decision to demarcate parliamentary constituencies, scrap the People Representation Order of 1972 and replace it by a new one to suit their wish have added to the list of preconditions.
Now it is the CG's turn whether it will choose a positive engagement with the politicians or direct confrontation with them, as failure of the dialogue, it is feared, may push the nation towards a violent transition. Can we afford to lock ourselves in such an imbroglio when political stability is threatened, economic crisis is looming large and the marginal people are forced to tighten their belt to the extreme?
The overenthusiastic EC has made the situation even worse. It has finalised draft People Representation Ordinance to replace the existing one, prescribing harder doses of punishment for the 'corrupt' politicians. Any person convicted for two years shall not be eligible to contest elections for five years. If this proposed law comes into force nearly two hundred politicians will be disqualified for elections for the next five years, creating vacuum in political leadership.
The EC, though authorised to re-demarcate the constituencies from time to time, has done the job under the state of emergency when the politicians or the intending candidates have no say in this matter. The EC's demarcation policy has made the future of BNP, a contender for power, completely uncertain as 88 of its winning candidates will lose their constituencies either entirely or partially, while 21 candidates of Awami League will have to face similar fate. Caught unprepared, both BNP and AL have rejected the EC's re-demarcation of seats.
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Drift of the nation-state
Sadeq Khan
An ignominious habit of running to foreign embassies and high commissions, for overt support to partisan positions of political leadership, had developed amongst contenders for power in our mainstream politics. Foreign ministers in office or out of office went out of their way in hobnobbing with some ambassadors and high commissioners posted in Dhaka, compromising the dignity of their rank and status. So did some sitting or former finance ministers, energy ministers, education ministers, a former President, and the Secretary Generals of the two major parties, amongst other high profile actors in power politics.
Some foreign ambassadors, commissioners and high commissioners, took full advantage of the situation and were unusually loud in airing their sermons in the media about how Bangladeshis must proceed to be rid of fundamentalism, protectionism, bad governance, corrupt practices and political intolerance, amongst other vices of underdevelopment. Not that such diplomatic sermons lacked merit or substance, but they purposely smacked of a White (including Indo-Aryan allies) Anglo-Saxon Protestant (including Zionist gurus) Supremacist (i.e. WASPS) design.
The emergency rule, by putting a prolonged brake on party political activity, somewhat muffled the trumpeting of that design. But even now, to quote a 'letter to the editor' from a newspaper reader last week, "the diplomats of some countries do act and talk in such a manner as if Bangladesh is still a colony of theirs." And to quote an eminent person close to Bangabhaban prior to the promulgation of the state of emergency, the President was being routinely obstructed and distracted by the-then advisers, who brought in utterly contradictory and unusually bullying diplomatic messages (and pursued the same) amounting to, as the Bengali proverb goes, "tell the householder to keep watch and call the thief to commit burglary."
[Corrigendum: In last week's article entitled 'People see it as Army dominated government', the second sentence had a phrase "officers in uniform do not sit in the caretaker cabinet. In print, the words 'do not' were inadvertently left out.]
The promulgation of the state of emergency miraculously cured the home climate of violence and recrimination that had crippled the nation-state. But baleful exhortations by the diplomatic chess-players in Dhaka did not end with that promulgation, even though political activities remained suspended under Emergency Powers Rules.
Frequency of quasi-political visits by some foreign ambassadors and high commissioners to the residences or chambers of a select number of political party leaders and leaders of opinion, and return visits by such party or community leaders at the beck and call of foreign missions did not diminish. But frequency of "official" visits by diplomats posted in Dhaka to the Foreign Office, the Prime Minister's (Chief Adviser's) Secretariat or to other Advisers or secretaries to the government did diminish significantly. And in due course, frequency of political visits and media exposure of foreign diplomats enjoying "regal freedom" in the elite crowd of Dhaka tapered off, particularly after the end of tenure of a few high-profile foreign plenipotentiaries in Dhaka.
Indeed Dr. Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury, the Foreign Affairs Adviser to Dr. Fakhruddin Ahmed's "emergency" caretaker government, claims credit that he had to chalk out a sustained process of "correct" diplomatic conduct and protocol by his own example and that of his colleagues to recover the norms of sobriety and bilateralism in diplomacy. In the end he had to issue a generalised official rebuke to dissuade foreign plenipotentiaries in Dhaka from camera-craze and public postures beyond the pail of diplomatic privileges. Dr. Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury also claimed that he has been quietly doing a lot of "adjustments" to arrest the drift, cure some cramps and expand the horizon of foreign relations of Bangladesh within the short period since his taking office. How successful was Dr. Iftekhar?
On the first count, informed circles suggest that foreign office stricture did have some effect on the conduct of foreign diplomats posted in Dhaka, particularly those from the European Union and the United Nations. But our former colonial master, the U.K. did not pay heed. Nor did India, one of the emerging Asian powers. The new American ambassador made a sober and impressive press statement after he presented his credentials to the President "soon after" his arrival. But Ambassador Moriarty perhaps has yet to learn how to parry the press hounds in Bangladesh.
On the second count, it is recognised by informed circles that Dr. Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury has been making optimum use of close personal relations he built with foreign ministers and envoys of some leading nations like USA, UK, Russia, the European Union, China, Turkey and Islamic states during his long posting at the UN headquarters in New York. The wide range of diplomatic contacts he developed over the years have helped in revamping our foreign relations at high levels with important geo-political actors around the globe, particularly with Russia, China, the European Union, UK, USA and to some extent with India. Perhaps Dr. Iftekhar has also been helped by signs of a new turn in international order.
As Robert Kaplan noted in his latest work on the New Balance of Power (April 2008) at the American Foreign Policy Research Institute, old Cold War classifications of the Middle East, the South Asian Indian subcontinent, and the Pacific Rim of East Asia, are not maintainable as distinct patrol zones of global watch by the superpower, and increasingly, as China, North Korea, Japan, and India do more and more trade with Iran and Syria, and the Indian and Chinese navies are increasingly in the Persian Gulf, these boundaries are breaking apart. A holistic map of Eurasia is reasserting itself. Europe has not been able to take advantage strategically or in many other ways of the US quagmire in Iraq and the growing one in Afghanistan, but the Asian countries have.
India's sphere of influence extends to the borders of the old British India, from the Iranian plateau to the Gulf of Thailand, encompassing Burma, where it is involved in a quiet war of influence with China.
China is pushing southward. The Chinese are building warm-water ports in Gwadar in Pakistan and in Mawlamyaing in Burma; they are going to start something at Chittagong in Bangladesh.
Arrival of Asian century
The total result of the Iraq War is that it has fast-forwarded the arrival of the Asian century. We are about to see a major energy highway from the Persian Gulf across the Indian Ocean to the strait of Malacca to China and Japan and across the Persian Gulf to the west coast of India. Energy politics are going to tie China and India much more closely to the Arab and Persian world than they ever were before.
Let us see how Dr. Iftekhar himself views this new phenomenon. On April 27, the Foreign Affairs Adviser met the press to make a statement. He said: "There is a new Asian era beginning, and Bangladesh needs to adjust her foreign policy to these new circumstances.
"We have remained linked too long to the metropolitan powers of the former colonial age, and may be so long our interests also demanded that. But the times are rapidly changing. Asia is forging ahead at an unprecedented speed. Our policies need to be realigned to these global changes, or we will lag behind.
"We must break out of the claptrap of donor-recipient relationship which is a legacy of the past. Perhaps we do not realise that there is more reverse transfer of resources to those developed countries who buy from us. We pay many times more in duties to them, than we receive in aid.
"Of course, relations with the West will remain important. We must continue to cultivate the US and Western Europe. But Russia, Central, South and South East Asia, Middle and the Far East are opening up new possibilities.
"On the other hand, it is the booming economies of Asia that might help shape our future. The power players of contemporary times are China, Japan, South Korea, ASEAN, India, and the Gulf States. We must be vigorous in strengthening our linkages with these actors, and this government has already begun the process, which governments in the future will hopefully continue.
"Our contractual manpower exports go mainly to these countries from whom we earn huge amounts in remittances."
Questions, however, arise whether in fact we have been able to adopt a sufficiently balancing approach to serve our own interests in external relations. While may have been able to gain access to the ears of some in top-notch ranks in Russia, China, UK, European Union, South Korea, ASEAN, India and the Gulf States, how far have we been able to project our relevance for their respective national or global preoccupations?
Have we been able to impress on them the strategic position we may hold as a link to and in between two emerging Asian giants? Have we equipped our embassies in these countries with adequate specialisation and acumen to follow-up on high level contacts that we made? What about contact with leaders of the new phenomenon emerging in Nepal? And finally, are we adequately attentive to relations in "the Arab and Persian world" that hold a key to new strategic shifts? To add a line about our "contractual manpower exports", we made a mess in Malaysia, but now our wage-earners are in trouble in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. It would appear the ship of the nation-state is as yet far from charting a steady course in the global sea.
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GOVT. MADE ALL ARREST ORDERS IN CORRUPTION CASES
ACC isn't interested in arrests
Abdur Rahman Khan
It is a confession from the Government side that the two former prime ministers of the country -- Begum Khaleda Zia and Sheikh Hasina -- were arrested not in connection with corruption cases, rather they were arrested for political or some other reason.
Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) chief Lt Gen (retd) Hasan Mashhud Chowdhury said, the Government, not the ACC, made all the arrest orders in the ACC cases. "We (the ACC) are not interested in arrests. The arrests are being made as per government orders," Mashhud said during his monthly routine press briefing at the ACC headquarters.
The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) chief also disclosed on Monday that the ACC was not even consulted before their arrest.
Much before learning this fact from the ACC chief, the political parties have been voicing the demand for the release of two former prime ministers now detained in separate special jails. Only on Tuesday, one person was arrested from the High Court premises for distributing leaflets in the name of Hasina-Khaleda Mukti Parishad (committee demanding the release of Hasina and Khaleda) that appealed to the President to use his power in restoring democracy and handing over power to an elected government.
With the CG taking preparation for a fresh dialogue and at the same time going ahead with its plan for an election of their desire, Awami League and BNP called for immediate withdrawal of the state of emergency to create an atmosphere conducive to holding free and fair elections.
BNP reiterated that the two top political leaders - Khaleda Zia and Sheikh Hasina - should be allowed to contest the polls. Sheikh Hasina also said that she would not quit politics under pressure.
The so-called reformists in both Awami League and BNP have changed their earlier stand by echoing the demand for the release of two leaders who were initially made the target of minus-two formula.
The situation has brought arch political rivals Awami League and BNP closer to speak in almost common language. While demanding release of Khaleda Zia, BNP secretary general Khandkar Delwar is vocal in seeking release of Sheikh Hasina, ostensibly to placate Awami League in whipping up movement he is threatening to launch against the government.
The BNP's secretary-general, Khandakar Delwar Hossain, on Tuesday said his party would not permit the holding of any elections to form a 'rubber stamp' parliament and would do whatever is required to prevent that.
In another disclosure last week, the Army Headquarters stated that it has no intention or desire whatsoever to participate in the planned dialogue between the Caretaker Government and political parties. Participating in a BBC dialogue, Awami league leader Suranjit Sen proposed Army's participation in the political dialogue.
But the government has invited further political controversy by deciding to go for re-demarcation of 133 constituencies now.
Despite strong opposition from major political parties, the interim government is also going ahead with its plan to hold local government elections before the parliamentary polls.
Some political parties supporting the CG's plan are taking preparations for any election even held under emergency rules and without participation of major political parties like Awami League and BNP.
It is learnt that the authorities have already prepared a fit list of 300 candidates to be "elected" under different party banners while delivering a "credible election". Jatiya Party of H M Ershad and Bikalpadhara of Professor Badruddoza Chowdhury have already instructed their party units to submit the names of probable candidates for both local government and the Jatiya Sangsad polls.
However, public perception indicates that it would be troublesome to go ahead with a plan for elections keeping Hasina and Khaleda behind the bars or by creating splinter groups in BNP and Awami League. The political leadership in both BNP and Awami League is under tremendous pressure for undertaking action programmes to free both the leaders.
Meanwhile, indicating a level of intolerance and anger, people are going for sporadic violent reaction on issues other than political programmes.
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Aga Khan visits Dhaka May 19
Holiday Desk
Aga Khan, Imam of the Shia Ismaili Muslims, will be visiting Bangladesh from 19th to 22nd this month. The state visit of the Aga Khan has coincided with the celebration of the golden jubilee of his leadership by the Ismailish all over the world, including those in Bangladesh.
Aga Khan at the age of 20 succeeded his grandfather, Sir Sultan Mahomed Shah Aga Khan on July 11, 1957. He is the 49th hereditary Imam of the Shia Imami Ismaili Muslims.
The head of the Shia Ismaili Muslim community is highly regarded in Bangladesh. During the visit he is expected to call on both the President and Chief Adviser and other dignitaries.
"Aga Khan, like his father, dedicated his leadership to the well-being of all Muslims, helping them overcome the challenges of tumultuous historical change," said Semin Abdullah, a high official of the Aga Khan Secretariat in France while talking to journalists in Dhaka on Wednesday.
One of the important events during the visit would be the formal opening of Aga Khan Academy at Bashundhara, Dhaka. "This will be one of 18 such academies in 13 countries specialised in high class education and training for teachers and students," said Semin.
The academies educate young men and women from pre-primary through higher secondary education, are located in key places of Africa and Asia.
The Aga Khan academies' education is built on the framework of the internationally recognised International Baccalaureate Organisation (IBO) programmes. The IB is highly respected for the emphasis it places on critical thinking, active learning, and creative problem solving. It is also renowned for preparing students for admission to the best universities in their own countries and abroad, Semin added.
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Media gives undue importance to diplomats: British HC
M. I. Ali
Most newspapers have failed to pick up the one statement that a foreign diplomat has said in Dhaka last week. The British High Commissioner in Dhaka said that the media in Bangladeshi attaches undue importance to the foreign diplomatic corps in this country. A Bengali daily quoted him as saying that the Bangladeshi news media are over enthusiastic to hear what the foreign diplomats have to say about our internal issues.
The media hordes, especially of the electronic variety, may be wallowing in the romance of the days when ambassadors were indeed plenipotentiary and extraordinary, when they represented their sovereigns and anything the ambassador said would be deemed to have been said by his principals.
Anybody surfing the internet can find out what H.E. Ms. April Glaspie, the US Ambassador to the Court of President Saddam Hussain, had to say on the latter's ambitions. It was widely quoted by the media in the US that when asked by the despot if the US would take offence to his attacking the sovereign State of Kuwait, she advised in no uncertain terms that the US was not concerned about it. She said that since Iraq considered Kuwait to be a part of that country, it was their internal matter. According to Ambassador Glaspie the US was not interested in what was going on between Iraq and Kuwait. Poor Saddam believed the US ambassador and as a result is now pushing up the daisies six feet below somewhere in Tikrit. So much for taking ambassadors seriously.
Most ambassadors to Bangladesh are at best mid level bureaucrats in their respective ministries of foreign affairs who are kept current with the ministries policies through routine circulars. An exception here could be the Indian ambassador, who for geopolitical factors is likely to have the ears of the powers that be in his capital. The destinies of Bangladesh and eastern India are intertwined and for this reason Bangladesh will remain somewhat important in the Indian context thus its ambassador to Bangladesh will most likely to have reasonable access to their policy makers.
Diplomats dispatched to Bangladesh are rarely of the level where they can influence policies. Moreover, times have changed for Bangladesh and it seems that not many media persons may have noticed that gone are the days when this country was totally dependent on financial contributions of donors to meet its budgetary requirements. During those times, diplomats representing donor countries could dictate terms to the government that either tow the line or we do not make the promised disbursement. The government had to concede in order to receive the promised financial aid. Those were also times for lavish diplomatic parties where alcohol flowed much to the merriment of the media persons and largesse were handed out in many forms.
In these days of free global economy Bangladesh is destined to rise if we do not go the Myanmar way. We may recall the warnings of the doomsday prophets who had prophesied that Bangladesh would collapse after the end of the Multi Fibre Agreement regime. Not only did Bangladesh survive, now export of garments made a quantum leap and new garment factories are being set up everyday. All that is needed now is political stability and businessmen will devise their own ways to prosper and grow. They have done wonderfully so far and left to their own devices, they will make Bangladesh one of the new global economic players.
Thus in the new scheme of things, the media should stop wasting their time on the foreign diplomatic corps and devote more time to airing the views of the business community to help the economic growth of the country. We are too poor to waste our time on cheap populist policies. We must devote all our resources to creating more jobs for our people to lead them into a better life. Listening to western prescriptions advocated by their diplomats will only delay this process. We need to be rich like them to be able to implement their values.
Our media people, by all means should ask questions. Do ask foreign diplomats questions regarding issues related to their own countries. But please do not ask questions encouraging them to interfere in our internal matters. We should have enough self respect not to wash our dirty linen in public. While it is true that emergency power rules have put many restrictions but the very fact that the journalists are able to report the comments of foreign diplomats on important national issues means that these can be discussed in the media. When one speaks for the silent majority, one does not need validation from foreign diplomats. Only when you speak for the vocal minority you need to kick up as much sound as you can.
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Move to form a govt. of 'national unity'
Fazle Rashid
Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen's theory that famine does not take place in countries under democratic dispensation will be put to serious test as a "wave of food price inflation is moving through the world, leaving riots and shaken governments in its wake".
For the first time in 30 years food protest are erupting in many places. The World Bank has set in motion emergency measures to help cope with the surging food prices. The World Bank chief says 33 countries including Bangladesh are at risk of social upheaval.
Condi blames India
President Bush and US secretary of state Condi Rice blamed India's rising middle class for spiralling food prices. The demand for better nutrition leads to higher food prices. India's middle class of 350 million is bigger than that of the US.
People, those living on $2 a day, are pulling out their children from school and cutting back on other expenses so that they can afford two square meals a day. More than one billion people live under $1 a day. They are in desperate need for help.
The things to ponder about in Bangladesh is which of the two crises, food crunch or mounting demand for lifting of the state of emergency and holding of elections without the interference of the CG should get priority.
Both warrant unreserved attention. Boosters of the CG say the price of rice would have rocketed to Tk.200 per kg if an elected government were in power. Politics need purging because like 'bad money drives out good money out of circulation'. The governments in the past 15 years were under the control of mafias and goons.
World Bank's corruption
As this scribe has stated before, corruption is not peculiar to Bangladesh alone. The World Bank, for instance, has again been hit by a spate of corruptions. The Bank has hired high quality organisations to investigate and report the cases of frauds. These reports contain recommendations but these have not been acted upon.
Critics of the CG obviously do not share the views of the protagonists of the government and lambaste the CG for all the woes and miseries that have befallen the nation. They demand immediate lifting of emergency and an election from which the CG will take its hands off. Nothing like this is likely to happen.
A government of 'national unity' is being planned. The government is assuring that the country faces no shortage of food and elections will be held in time. Fear psychosis persists as CG is 'dredging up old cases, and paying no attention to corruption now taking place.
Bangladesh's proposed rush for reforms had been dramatic but remains woefully behind the goal. As has been stated before, political parties do not have the stomach for reforms.
Appetite for dialogue is fast diminishing. Corruption looks sure to persist. Not all things are going CG's way. The CG claims it is racing ahead with it set priorities.
Elections held in a climate of intimidation and coercion will bear no fruit. There has to be a 'nod to populism'. Response to populist appeal may serve the CG well.
Political parties have proved adept at surviving hostile situation. They have not meekly succumbed to pressure. The CG's promises sound empty. The government, many feel, should refrain from using an 'array of tricks' in the coming polls.
The CG apologists are arguing that its diplomacy is working. They are certain that CG will cajole all sides to take part in the coming polls. The government is hoping for a government of 'national unity'. The administration's goal is to gather a CG of all talents looking far beyond party line.
The public mood is to leave politics to politicians. But truth has to be told that the principal reason for Bangladesh's current malaises has been the utter negligence and failure of the past political governments.
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Obama is clearly ahead of Hillary Clinton
Moinuddin Naser in New York
Senator Barack Obama's chance of Democratic presidential nomination was widened after primaries in North Carolina and Indiana. Obama has decisively won North Carolina by a margin of 14 per cent while Hillary just won narrowly in Indiana by only two per cent. Meanwhile, many insiders in the democratic party are reportedly mounting pressure on Hillary Clinton to quit the race before June 3, so that Obama may have time to get ready to take on the Republican candidate McCain soon, reports different agencies including news channel CNN, MSNBC, CBS and Fox news.
Now the main question among the democrats is centred on number of pledged delegates and the electibility. The total number of pledged delegates for Obama is 1845, while for Hillary it is secured only 1686. However none of them will get the required 2025 to claim victory in the primary. Some of the insiders like senior Senatror from New York Chak Scumer said that Hillary may win majority among the Super Delegates. But day by day Obama is filling out the gap of super delegates, while the total number of super delegates stands at 795 throughout the country.
Barack Obama' has picked up support from four more super delegates Wednesday, pushing him ever closer to victory over Hillary Rodham Clinton-even as their primary marathon staggered on. Now the total number 257 super delegates have supported Obama while Hillary has got support of 267.
She added two super delegates herself in what has become the last big contest as their race winds toward a finish.
There are just 217 delegates to be chosen in the final six primaries, and neither candidate can win enough of them to claim final victory. Meanwhile, 265 additional delegates-the party elders and other "super delegates"-have yet to be claimed, and their support will be the deciding factor.
Though Obama padded his delegate lead in Tuesday's primaries, most uncommitted super delegates still want to remain on the sidelines. The Associated Press interviewed more than 70 undeclared super delegates or their representatives Wednesday, and many said they don't want to get involved until the voting ends June 3.
However, the comments of some of the uncommitted ones were anything but encouraging for Clinton.
"I'm just wondering about the viability of Clinton's campaign at this point," said Laurie Weahkee, an add-on delegate from New Mexico. "I really want to hear from her more if she wants to stay in the race-if the reason remains very concrete."
Pennsylvania Rep. Mike Doyle said Clinton's pitch to super delegates has been that she can win the popular vote, but that was undermined when Obama netted more than 200,000 popular votes in the Tuesday contests.
"The math just got very tough for her after last night," Doyle said. "I think most of us out of respect for her are content to wait a little longer. ... The absolute best way for this to end is for the candidates to end it, not the super delegates. That's the ending we all dream about every night."
She picked up two in the wake of Tuesday's loss in North Carolina and narrow victory in Indiana. North Carolina Rep. Heath Shuler had said he would support the winner of his district, and she won it handily. A spokeswoman for Texas labour leader Robert Martinez told the AP he is committed to Clinton, but it wasn't clear when he made the decision.
But she lost another supporter, Virginia state House member Jennifer McClellan. McClellan is one of at least nine super delegates who have switched from Clinton to Obama since the Super Tuesday primaries on Feb. 5. There have been no public switches in the other direction.
"I think the time has come to support Senator Obama as the likely nominee," McClellan said in a conference call with reporters: "Given what happened last night, it's very unlikely we will have a different result, and it is time to come together as a party and prepare for victory against John McCain in November."
Obama also got the support of North Carolina Democratic Party Chairman Jerry Meek, North Carolina Democratic National Committee member Jeanette Council and California DNC member Inola Henry.
Clinton met with undecided super delegates at Democratic Party headquarters Wednesday. She said, "We talked a lot about Florida and Michigan," two states that she won but don't have any delegates to count toward her total because their early primaries violated party rules. "I continue to emphasize and stress that we cannot disenfranchise those voters."
Clinton said later that she would be sending a letter to Obama and Democratic Party Chairman Howard Dean expressing her belief that seating the Florida and Michigan delegations is a civil rights and voting rights issue.
Obama was to make his pitch to the congressional fence sitters in meetings Thursday. He also planned to start travelling to swing states to signal that the general election has begun.
Super delegates supporting Obama recently have given a number of reasons. They recognize he is the front-runner and want to end a divisive party fight. They were impressed with his handling of a crisis that confronted his campaign in the comments of his former pastor. They don't want to risk alienating black voters who are excited about Obama's chance to become the first black president. They simply think Obama would be a more attractive choice at the top for the ticket.
"I think that Senator Obama is going to be a tremendous boost for down-ballot races in North Carolina," Meek told the AP. "He's going to turn out segments of the electorate-particularly young people and African-Americans-who have historically low turnout levels. That will help candidates up and down the ballot."
Nancy Worley, Alabama's former secretary of state and the state Democratic Party's first vice chair, said she got calls Wednesday morning from Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius and Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine-both Obama supporters.
"It appears that the Obama supporters, just from my perspective, are working a little harder at getting commitments," she said. Clinton's campaign has mainly used letters and e-mails, with occasional calls from staffers, she said, while Obama has used more of a "personal touch" with direct phone calls.
Nonetheless, she said she still hasn't been convinced one way or another even though she said she would be reluctant to vote against the pledged delegate leader. That is almost certain to be Obama.
Arizona Democratic Chairman Don Bivens also appeared closer to backing Obama after receiving e-mails from both camps Wednesday.
"The Obama one was more fulsome and sort of laid out the mathematical facts," Bivens said. He said the Clinton e-mails were from multiple individuals sharing why they thought she was the best choice.
"I'm still uncommitted, but I do believe that yesterday's results put me at a decisional plateau." He said the rest of the contests' outcomes are more predictable. "I think that we're at a point where the track got shorter and you can see the finish line."
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GLIMPSES OF THE GREAT
Raj Kapoor
K. Z. Islam
Who was Raj Kapoor (1924-1988)? Should he be defined through his work? Or his personality? As the man? The actor? Or the filmmaker?
Was he the Charlie Chaplin of India? The founder of RK Films or just Raju, the common man who traipsed all over the silver screen and into the hearts of millions?
Raj Kapoor was all this and more. He was the great showman. Though he directed just about a dozen films and acted in about 65 films during his 40-year career, he won himself the undisputed title of the greatest showman of our times.
A worried Papa Prithviraj confided his anxiety to friend Kidar Sharma, who offered to take the boy under his wing. But there were conditions - Raj had to start on the lowest rung and work his way up. Nor was Prithviraj allowed to interfere in his son's training.
"Prithvi agreed," recalled Sharma, "And Raj Kapoor came in as a third assistant, as a clapper boy, in my production house. I noticed that he was very taken with his looks. Even though his job was just to give the clap, he'd make it a point to find out how far he needed to be from the camera in order to get a close-up of himself (Raj Kapoor later admitted that the cameraman and he had a pact that he'd take a close-up of him and give him the photo). He'd watch the camera eagerly and if there was an opportunity to get in front of it, he took it. Each time he had to give the clap, he'd quickly comb his hair, steal a glance in the mirror and only when he was satisfied with what he saw, would he come and sound the clapper board.
"I noticed this but attributed it to the vagaries of youth and let it pass. But one day I needed to take a shot of the setting sun and we had lost precious days because the weather had been playing up. I called Raj and told him, 'Look son, promise me two things today. When I shoot these scenes, do not comb your hair or preen yourself before the mirror. I cannot afford to lose another day.' Raj promised he wouldn't.
"It was a scene where an old king was to be shown at the end of his life and the ebbing sun was to symbolise this. As soon as we were ready, Raj forgot his promise and went to comb his hair. Then, flustered, he came so close to the king and sounded the clap that the king's beard got caught in the board and we had to cut the shot.
"I was furious and slapped Raj Kapoor hard. He was so fair that my finger marks showed up on his face immediately. But he didn't say a word. I went home that night and just couldn't sleep. Had I been unfair to the boy? After all, I wasn't paying him anything. He had a right to be resentful. He was the son of the well-known Prithviraj Kapoor.
"Then, I made up my mind. Next morning as soon as Raj Kapoor arrived I called him to my room. He came in smiling and said, 'Do you want to make these finger marks on my other cheek also? I said, 'No son' and gave him a cheque for Rs. 5000/- and told him that he would be the hero of my next film, Neel Kamal (1944). He looked surprised and said, 'No, don't cast me. I am too fat, your film will fail.' But I had realised after my sleepless night that this boy craved to be in front of the camera." The film was made with a 19 year old Raj Kapoor and a 13 year old Madhubala. (her first film)"
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KHALEDA, HASINA DETAINED NOT FOR FUN
AL to benefit from BNP rift
Shamsuddin Ahmed
Has the Caretaker Government (CG) deviated from its initial policy? "No," was the firm reply of an adviser close to the policy makers. Despite rhetoric by political leaders often raising demands and rekindling hopes among their followers of returning to the heydays of their party rule, the CG is pursuing its policy to bring about electoral reforms, weeding out corrupt elements from politics before holding the general election pledged to be held by the end of the year. In the process some of the former ministers and MPs have already been convicted by the court for corruption. More are in the process.
No wonder the situation has brought arch political rivals Awami League and BNP closer to seek release of their leaders now detained in jail. While demanding release of Khaleda Zia, BNP (loyalist) secretary general Khandkar Delwar is also vocal about seeking release of Sheikh Hasina.
Some leaders of both the parties say that no election without Khaleda and Hasina will be meaningful.
Dr Kamal Hossain, president of Gonoforum ridiculed the claim thus: "Those demanding release of suspected corrupt people should be treated alike." One may presume that Dr Hossain holds brief for the goverment. If so then it was intended to make the message clear that the two ladies were detained for no mere fun.
Some exciting development may take place. But it is probable only in case any external power, displeased with the present CG or forces inimical to Bangladesh spending billions in cash and kind, may destabilise the situation. Political leaders are unlikely to venture for creating unrest because of the heavy risk of their own future.
It is worth recalling the April 2, 2007 statement of Gen Moin U. Ahmed, the chief of the army, the force behind the CG that came to power in the wake of serious political turmoil. All those present at the function took his keynote paper at regional conference of International Political Science Association as the policy guideline of the present CG. He said, "....the current transition period allows us an opportunity to develop a new concept and find a new sense of direction to the future politics of Bangladesh....we have to read the resolute character of Bangladeshi people that enabled us to overcome the perpetuation of dynastic rule for a transparent and accountable Bangladesh."
BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia inherited politics from her assassinated husband President Ziaur Rahman and Sheikh Hasina from her slain father Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. They formed dynastic politics and ruled the country for the last 15 years.
BNP firmly believed that it would win the October 22, 2006 election and it was widely speculated that Khaleda Zia would become the next President. The detention of Hasina and Khaleda after the 1/11 changeover and holding trial on corruption charges has given the people to believe that it was in pursuance of the present administration's 'minus two' formula.
The Army Chief had said, "We should take remedial action by seeking a qualitative reformation within the (political) party system ... this opportunity is almost a 'now or never' case ...to reshape our own destiny and leave a way for our future generation to take charge."
Sheikh Hasina has reportedly instructed her party to take advantage of rift in BNP, prepare for election and take part in the polls even without herself.
Sources close to former BNP secretary general Abdul Mannan Bhuiya say, unity in the party is unlikely because of personal ego of Khaleda Zia. Bhuiyan who is guiding the reformist group from behind the scene is hopeful of mobilising clean rank and file of the party to his side. He counsels the associates to wait and see till the verdict of corruption cases against Khaleda Zia and her sons and the announcement of election schedule.
One thing is certain that politics of the country will not be the same in future as the Logi-Baitha of Awami League and young Turks of BNP had been dominating the corridors of power.
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