25 March 2014

Chaitra 11, 1420 Jamadiul Awal 21, 1435 Regd. No. DA 6238 Vol 1 No 361

TUESDAY, MARCH 25, 2014 | www.dhakatribune.com | SECOND EDITION

T-MAG | VOICES OF INDEPENDENCE

7 | RUSSIA’S LOSS

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9 | UN ON WEATHER EXTREMES

14 | REFEREE NOT UP TO CLASICO STANDARD

AL turns the table with 31 full panels

529 Morsi backers sentenced to death in Egypt n AFP, Cairo

BNP gets all three posts in five upazilas and Jamaat in three n Mohammad Al-Masum Molla The ruling Awami League has sealed an “impressive” performance in terms of securing vice-chairman and vice-chairwoman posts in the upazila parishad panels in Sunday’s fourth phase of the local body polls.

In the first two phases, when election-centred violence was negligible, BNP-backed candidates not only won more chairman posts but also more vice-chairman and vice-chairwoman posts than the candidates blessed by the Awami League.

Although the ruling party bagged more chairman and vice-chairman seats than the BNP in the third phase when violence first escalated, it was still behind its arch rivals in terms of the vice-chairwoman posts of the local bodies.

But this time around, with chaos and rigging reported from almost half

of the polling areas, the Awami Leaguebacked contenders presented a clean sweep, securing all the three seats of the panels in 31 upazilas, while the BNP-Jamaat managed 20.

However, the BNP alone has clinched the full panel in only five upazila parishads and Jamaat in three.

So far, after the conclusion of the four phases, Awami League-backed candidates have won 127 vice-chairman posts while the BNP-Jamaatbacked ones won 194.

In the ongoing upazila elections, the BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami are backing candidates as an alliance.

In Sunday’s fourth phase, Awami League-supported candidates emerged victorious in 41 vice-chairman posts, compared to 13 by the BNP. Interestingly, Jamaat-backed candidates won 22 vice-chairman posts.  PAGE 2 COLUMN 1

VICE-CHAIRMAN VICE-CHAIRMAN AL AL

1st 27 1stphase phase 27 2nd 2ndphase phase 33 33 3rd 3rdphase phase 26 26 4thphase phase 41 41 4th Total 127 Total 127

VICE-CHAIRWOMAN VICE-CHAIRWOMAN

BNP-Jamaat BNP-Jamaat

AL AL

55 55 66 66 38 38 35 35 194 194

1st 1stphase phase 2nd 2ndphase phase 3rd 3rdphase phase 4thphase phase 4th Total Total

ELECTION VIOLENCE VICE-CHAIRMAN VICE-CHAIRMAN

36 36 33 33 27 27 42 42 138 138

BNP-Jamaat BNP-Jamaat

47 47 70 70 49 49 36 36 202 202

BNP-Jamaat BNP-Jamaat

1stphase phase 27 55 1st 2nd phase 33 66 2nd phase 33 66 Mohammad Al-Masum Molla 3rdphase phase 26 26 38 3rd 38 The results of the fourth phase upazila 4thphase phase 41 41 35 4th 35 polls may not trigger happy memories Total 127 194 that for the BNP, but127 its leaders 194 believe Total

n Mazhar Uddin It will be a very difficult task for Bangladesh to overcome their qualifying round defeat to Hong Kong and stand strong in front of the defending champions West Indies who will be looking to win to survive in the World Twenty20 today.

However, it won’t be totally surprising if the Tigers, inspired from their record against West Indies, pull an upset and send the Caribbean’s closer to elimination at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium. Bangladesh’s only win in the World T20 was against West Indies in 2007 while in total they have a

n

widespread violence and vote rigging will end up cementing its stance that “fair polls are not possible under partisan arrangements.”

BNP-Jamaat BNP-Jamaat

1stphase phase 36 47 1st 2nd phase 33 70 2nd phase leaders 33 of the ruling 70 AwaHowever, mi League escalation 3rd phasebelieve 27that the 49 49 3rd phase 27 of violence is a result of “rising intol4thphase phase 42 42 36 4th 36 erance” as “everybody wants to win at Total 138 202 any cost.”

Total 138 202

After three closely contested phases of the upazila parishad elections, the Awami League came up with a landslide majority in Sunday’s fourth spell,

winning 54 of the 91 chairman posts.

The BNP managed only 24.

In the first three phases, the ruling party and the BNP were neck and neck in terms of winning chairman posts, clinching 124 and 123 seats respectively.

Compared to these phases, violence  PAGE 2 COLUMN 4

NIZAMI TRIAL TIMELINE

December 11

January 9

May 28

November 13

January 24

March 10

2010 Arrested

2011 Charges pressed

2012 Cognisance

2012 Indicted

2013 Trial ended

2014 Tribunal reformed

2014 Rehearing starts SLH/DT INFOGRAPHIC

June 29

Genocide began on March 25, 1971 n BSS

Nizami’s trial ends finally; verdict any day

The nation will recall the “Black Night of March 25” today in commemoration of the cowardly attack on the unarmed Bangalees by the barbarous Pakistani occupation forces in 1971.

In the dreadful operation dubbed as “Operation Searchlight,” the Pakistani occupation forces mercilessly killed

n Udisa Islam

 PAGE 2 COLUMN 4

The trial in the war crimes case against Jamaat-e-Islami incumbent chief Motiur Rahman Nizami ended yesterday after rehearing of closing arguments by both the defence and the prosecution.

The three-member International Crimes Tribunal 1 headed by Justice

M Enayetur Rahim heard the prosecution’s rebuttal on the defence arguments, the last stage of the trial proceedings, yesterday. The tribunal may pronounce the verdict any day.

Prosecutor Tureen Afroz sought capital punishment for Nizami; Mohammad Ali, the conducting  PAGE 2 COLUMN 1

INSIDE Business

B1 Investors gave cold shoulder to the dividend payouts for 2013 by listed companies, which were more or less same dividends compared to the previous year.

News

4 The health ministry has restarted an initiative to introduce regulations for the organ transplant act, around 15 years after the act was enacted in parliament.

 PAGE 2 COLUMN 3

Hosts, holders seek turnaround

VICE-CHAIRWOMAN VICE-CHAIRWOMAN AL AL

 PAGE 2 COLUMN 4

Sri Lanka cricket captain Dinesh Chandimal (2L) celebrates after Netherlands batsman Mudassar Bukhari was clean bowled by Lasith Malinga (L) during the ICC World Twenty20 tournament cricket match between Netherlands and Sri Lanka at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chittagong yesterday AFP

Moral27 boost for BNP, AL circumspect 55 36 47 AL AL

West Indies who have already exposed their weakness in spin bowling.

The batting unit is also likely to be shuffled with Shamsur Rahman, who is yet to get a game in the tournament, coming in place of Sabbir Rahman at No 3. Meanwhile it is high time Tamim Iqbal, Nasir Hossain and Mahmudullah show some urgency and contribute to the team or else it will once again be too much on the shoulders of Shakib al Hasan and Mushfiqur Rahim.

None of the captains in the World Twenty20 so far has opted to bat after winning the toss as the slow tracks and dew factor in the night games makes

A court ordered the execution of 529 supporters of deposed Islamist president Mohamed Morsi after two hearings yesterday, in the largest such sentencing in Egypt’s modern history.

The military-installed authorities have arrested thousands of Morsi supporters and put many of them on trial since the army deposed the Islamist on July 3.

The defendants in the southern province of Minya are part of a larger group of more than 1,200 alleged Islamists accused of killing policemen and rioting on August 14, after police killed hundreds of protesters while dispersing two Cairo protest camps.

Of the 529 defendants sentenced, 153 are currently in detention and the rest were tried in absentia. They automatically get a new trial if they turn themselves in.

Another 17 defendants were acquitted.

The verdict can be appealed at the Court of Cassation, which would probably order a new trial or reduce the sentences, said legal expert Gamal Eid, who heads the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information.

‘Judge rammed sentencing through’ In yesterday’s session, the court referred its decision to the mufti, the government’s official interpreter of Islamic law, for ratification. The mufti has upheld death sentences in the past.

Defence lawyer Mohamed Tousson said the judge rammed through the sentencing after he was angered by

5 Most of the public playgrounds under two city corporations in Dhaka have become virtually off-limits to children and youngsters due to lack of proper monitoring and maintenance by the authorities concerned.

Op-Ed

11 Crimea is not an expression of Russia trying to expand or the political leaders of the vulnerable Baltic states.

Details in sport page-15

50% win ration in four matches played.

The home side is expected to alter their line up from the Hong Kong defeat as all rounder Ziaur Rahman, who replaced Rubel Hossain in the squad, is likely to replace Farhad Reza while Mashrafe bin Mortaza, despite not fully fit, might also return in place of Rubel.

Sohag Gazi is also likely to get the nod given his impressive record against

2

DHAKA TRIBUNE

News

Tuesday, March 25, 2014

EWG: 4th phase saw 66.5% voter turnout, new level of violence n Mohammad Zakaria Widespread violence and vote rigging marked the fourth phase of the upazila parishad elections despite a large turnout of voters, the Election Working Group (EWG) said yesterday.

The network of civil society organisations monitored 680 polling centres in 23 upazilas during the fourth round of polls on Sunday.

In a preliminary report, the group noted 122 violent incidents and 184 cases of vote rigging in 16 upazilas, while voter turnout was recorded as 66.5%.

At a programme in the capital yesterday, the EWG also alleged that its members had faced obstacles while monitoring the polls.

Citing an example, the EWG said supporters, including a 10-year-old boy, had been seen snatching and stuffing ballot papers in favour of their can-

didates in at least two centres in Pirojpur Sadar upazila.

Addressing a press conference in the capital yesterday, EWG’s election expert Nazmul Ahsan Kalimullah said the Election Commission’s efforts to hold peaceful polls had been foiled due to the huge number of “unprecedented” incidents of violence.

“The first phase of polls were held normally, but incidents of violence increased in the third phase,” Nazmul said, adding: “The violence reached a new level in the fourth phase that crossed the limits, and tarnished the image of our election culture.”

Nazmul also claimed that the EWG observers had been sent out of 18 polling stations while some had had their mobile phones “unexpectedly” taken away.

EWG Director Abdul Alim was present at the programme held at the National Press Club. l

Street lights are seen to be kept lit at around 3:30pm in the afternoon in the capital's Paribagh area yesterday

NASHIRUL ISLAM

EC: Amu, 2 MPs violated electoral code Question raised on receiving gold boat as gift n Mohammad Zakaria The Election Commission has notified the cabinet division and parliament secretariat about the violation of the electoral code of conduct by a minister and two ruling-party lawmakers during the upazila polls.

Drawing the attention of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, the commission in a letter to the cabinet division said Industries Minister Amir Hossain Amu violated the electoral code of conduct during the upazila polls.

In another letter to the parliament secretariat, the commission accused AL lawmakers Rajiuddin Ahmed Raju and Benjir Ahmedon of violating the electoral code.

However, the commission did not send any letters the accused.

Earlier, the previous commission, led by ATM Shamsul Huda, took actions against some ministers and MPs for violating the electoral code of conducts during the third upazila parishads polls and also filed cases against them.

The letter to cabinet division stated: “Industries Minister Amir Hossain Amu,

at a rally on March 21 in Rajapur Upazila in Jhalakathi, sought votes on behalf of Awami League-backed candidate Moniruzzaman, which was a violation of the upazila electoral code of conduct.”

In another letter to parliament secretariat, the commission said AL lawmaker Rajiuddin Raju and his wife Kalpana Raju threatened voters and asked them to work for Mizanur Rahman Chowdhury in Raipura upazila and, which was a clear violation of the electoral code of conduct.

The same allegation was made against ruling party lawmaker Benjir Ahmed. l

AL turns the table with 31

529 Morsi backers

 PAGE 1 COLUMN 2

 PAGE 1 COLUMN 6

In the previous three spells, BNP-Jamaat-backed contenders triumphed in 159 vice-chairman posts while ruling party-backed runners won in 86.

In case of the women panellists, ruling party-backed candidates triumphed in 42 upazilas while BNP-backed women won in 30.

Jamaat-backed women candidates won only six vice-chairwomen posts.

Other than these three parties, candidates backed by the Jatiya Party (Monju) and the PCJSS clinched full panels in one upazila each, namely Bhandaria of Pirojpur and Jurachhari of Rangamati respectively.

Two vice-chairman contenders backed by the Islamic Front came out on top in two upazilas – Rangunia and Boalkhali in Chittagong.

A candidate backed by the Communist Party of Bangladesh won a vice-chairman post in Botiaghata upazila of Khulna.

A vice-chairwoman candidate backed by the Workers Party of Bangladesh came out winner in Narail Sadar upazila.

After the completion of the four phases, the tally for BNP-Jamaatbacked women panellists stands at 202 while the figure is 138 for the ruling party-backed women. l

Nizami’s trial ends finally  PAGE 1 COLUMN 3

prosecutor, said they had proved all the charges brought against Nizami and death penalty was the only punishment for such an accused.

Earlier, the two prosecutors and senior prosecutor Syed Haider Ali had placed closing arguments for three days.

Tureen yesterday answered to some questions on incitement raised by the defence. She told the tribunal that incitement had long been recognised as an independent offence in many countries including the UK. Nizami is facing 16 war crimes charges for his alleged involvement in the crimes against humanity, genocide, rape and incitement, especially in Pabna and Dhaka, during the 1971 Liberation War. On November 13 last year, the tribunal, then led by Justice ATM Fazle Kabir, kept the case waiting for the verdict.

It drew conclusion to the case against the backdrop of continuous failure of the defence to appear before the court. However, it also gave the defence an opportunity to place its argument.

Justice Kabir retired on December 31 before pronouncing the judgement.

On February 24, Justice Enayetur was appointed as the new chairman of the tribunal. Following a defence petition which was also supported by prosecutor Mohammad Ali, the tribunal decided to hear afresh the closing arguments that began on March 10.

In their arguments over four days, the defence termed Nizami “innocent” and said he had not been involved with any crimes stated in the charge sheet.

Earlier, chief defence counsel Abdur Razzak placed legal arguments while this time Mizanul Islam and Tajul Islam did the job.

The defence said Nizami in his addresses had not directed to kill or de-

Nizami faces 16 charges of crimes against humanity.

Some of the major allegations are: Involvement in intellectuals’ killing Ordering killing of several youths including Rumi, son of Jahanara Imam, at MP hostel in Dhaka Involvement in mass killing, rape and loot at Karamja and Brishalikha villages in Santhia of Pabna Inciting speeches across the country stroy in whole or part any racial, religious, ethnic or national group that are components of genocide charge. Since he did not target any of those groups, it would not be genocide.

The defence admitted that Nizami was the chief of Islami Chhatra Sangha, the student body of Jamaat at that time, but also strongly claimed that the prosecution could not produce any evidence to prove that the accused was also the chief of al-Badr – the notorious group responsible for systematic abduction and killing of intellectuals at the fag end of the Liberation War. Tribunal 1 earlier gave verdicts against Jamaat leader Delawar Hossain Sayedee, its former chief Ghulam Azam and BNP lawmaker Salauddin Quader Chowdhury.

It took the tribunal 30 days to deliver the verdict in Sayedee’s case after the closing arguments had been complete, two months in Ghulam Azam’s case and more than two months in the case against Salauddin Quader. l

a lawyer who demanded his recusal in the first session.

“He didn’t even ascertain the presence of the detained defendants, he only got to the 51st defendant,” Tousson said.

“A lawyer then demanded his recusal. He got very angry, and adjourned the trial for sentencing,” he said.

A second group of about 700 defendants, including Mohamed Badie, the supreme guide of Morsi’s Muslim Brotherhood movement, are due in the dock today.

Egypt has been rocked by continuous protests by Morsi supporters and by militant attacks that have killed more than 200 members of the security forces since his overthrow.

Rights group Amnesty International says at least 1,400 people have been killed in violence nationwide, and thousands more have been arrested.

Morsi is himself currently on trial in three different cases, including one for inciting the killing of protesters outside a presidential palace while he was in office.

The army removed Morsi, the country’s first democratically elected president, after a year in office following mass street protests demanding his resignation.

Jazeera trial resumes

The government crackdown has also targeted prominent activists of the 2011 revolt against former president Hosni Mubarak, as well as journalists.

On Sunday, a court released on bail leftwing activist Alaa Abdel Fattah, a leading symbol of the anti-Mubarak uprising.

He had been detained for joining an unsanctioned and violent protest in November.

The targeting of activists such as Abdel Fattah and journalists has prompted fears of a return to the authoritarian practices of the Mubarak era.

Also on Monday, another court is set to hold the third hearing in the trial of a group of journalists working with the Doha-based Al-Jazeera satellite television network.

The journalists, including Australian reporter Peter Greste, are charged with spreading false news and aiding the blacklisted Muslim Brotherhood.

Their trial comes against the backdrop of strained ties between Egypt and Qatar, which backed Morsi and the Brotherhood.

Journalists around the world have staged protests demanding the reporters’ release, with Washington and the United Nations also voicing their support. l

n Emran Hossain Shaikh Legislator for Jatiya Party (JaPa) AKM Mayeedul Islam in the Jatiya Sangsad yesterday raised a question about a gift of a gold boat received by a state minister and wanted to know whether the law in this regard is in force.

The lawmaker (Kurigram 3) not men-

tioning anyone specifically said the incident of the gift was very embarrassing and due to an uproar in the media, the state minister later sold off the boat and the money was donated to an orphanage, which he termed a violation of law as well.

The MP said: “According to my knowledge, it is mandatory to deposit the gift to treasury (Toshakhana) if the price of

Hosts, holders seek turnaround  PAGE 1 COLUMN 5

it easy to chase a target instead of setting it. The toss will be crucial for Bangladesh given the number of spinners at Mushfiq’s disposal.

After going down to India, West Indies will be eyeing a win against their comparative weaker opponents. Their batsmen carry the reputation of big hitting and it will be interesting to see how they approach the Tiger spinners

who have from time to time made them suffer.

Chris Gayle struggled against the slow Indian bowlers and his input in the match will be crucial for both sides while Dwayne Smith, Dwayne Bravo, Marlon Samuels and Darren Sammy will be looking forward to a better performance.

They might include their experienced fast bowler Ravi Rampaul in

any gift exceeds more than Tk500.”

“The Toshakhana Rules, 1974 is in force now and it is mandatory for the president, prime minister, speaker, deputy speaker, ministers and state ministers, MPs and government employees to deposit gifts priced more than Tk30,000 with the treasury,” the minister said in response to the question. l

place of Krishmar Santokie while the number one bowler in the shortest format of the game Sunil Narine holds the key in the bowling unit.

When the Bangladesh side attended the 27th birthday party of Shakib at his home yesterday the all rounder might also serve some experience and calmness with the birthday cake may change the approach of the tigers which they need the most today. l

Moral boost for BNP, AL circumspect  PAGE 1 COLUMN 3

marked a significant rise in the fourth, with media reports showing ruling party men occupying polling centres, attacking election officials, illegally stamping ballot papers and assaulting opposition supporters in half of the areas that voted on Sunday.

The BNP boycotted and vowed to resist the January 5 national election, demanding non-partisan caretaker arrangements. But the party eventually failed to hold the Awami League back despite staging months of violent and bloody street protests prior to the national poll, whose credibility was also tainted.

Last year, the Awami League-led administration held polls in five city corporations relatively peacefully and fairly, and the BNP-backed candidates came out on top in all those elections, strengthening the ruling party’s claim that free polls were possible under partisan arrangements.

But all the good work done in those city elections were turned to dust after violence and rigging made a return in

the second phase of this year’s upazila polls and the trend continued until Sunday with at least four deaths reported from various places.

BNP Standing Committee member Tariqul Islam told the Dhaka Tribune: “The upazila elections have proved that fair polls are not possible under partisan arrangements and only strengthened our demand for reinstallation of the caretaker government system.

“When the Election Commission has been failing from every aspect, the prime minister is claiming that the commission is independent and successful. It only proves that the Election Commission is subservient to the government. We will soon wage a tough movement against its role.”

On the other hand, Awami League Presidium member Nuh-ul-Alam Lenin said violence that was concentrated only in some areas could not be a one-sided thing.

“It is because intolerance is rising.

If everyone wants to win, violence becomes inevitable,” he said.

“[BNP chief] Khaleda Zia might have got a moral boost, but in the long run, she would not be able to get anything to work in favour of her demand for a non-partisan poll-time government because we cannot go beyond the scope of the country’s constitution,” Lenin said.

BNP Vice-Chairman Abdullah Al-Noman said what happened on Sunday was “vote robbery” rather than vote rigging.

Awami League Organising Secretary Khalid Mahmud Chowdhury said: “The BNP has been trying to make the electoral process questionable for the last five years. It tried its best to resist the January 5 election, but failed. It boycotted the national election but participated in the local body [upazila] polls only to make the electoral process controversial and prove that boycotting the national poll was right.”

Asked if he thought that the EC had failed to curb violence, Khalid said: “The Election Commission tried to check violence; but there are many dimensions to the local body polls and BNP-Jamaat exploited those opportunities.” l

Genocide began on March 25, 1971  PAGE 1 COLUMN 1

the Bangalee members of EPR (East Pakistan Rifles, now BGB) and police, and students and teachers as well as thousands of sleeping common people.

It killed anywhere between 25,000 people to a 100,000 that night in Dhaka alone, according to independent sources, diplomats and foreign journalist, who were in Dhaka.

It was a complete military operation – one of the very few military operations in post-World War II history which ultimately was planned against civilians, just to kill a smart percentage of them and to scare the survivors.

The atrocities triggered the struggle for independence.

Different political parties and socio-cultural organisations have chalked out elaborate programmes to pay deep homage to the martyrs.

The military resorted to genocide in Dhaka, the provincial capital of the then East Pakistan, in the guise of a mock dialogue to implement their blueprint to negate the Awami League’s election mandate of 1970.

The morning of March 25 was tense, as reports of the breakdown of talks

and total collapse of the administration led to the death of more than a thousand people in Syedpur, Rangpur, Khalishpur and Chittagong the day before.

Besides this, there was no news of then president Yahya Khan or their aides. There was rumour that they had left the city under heavy armed escorts.

Around 8pm, the tanks rolled out of the Dhaka cantonment. Some went towards the Dhaka University, some to the EPR headquarters in Pilkhana and others towards Rajarbagh Police Lines – the “Operation Searchlight” begun.

The first target in Dhaka University was the Iqbal Hall (now Sergeant Zahurul Huq Hall) where most of the Bangalee nationalist activities took place. To clear their way, the Pakistani Army set fire to the slums, which straddled the old railway line that ran west of Dhaka University and killed thousands of poor men, women and children within a few minutes.

From Plassey point they crawled towards the dormitory expecting tough resistance. Of the few still staying there was Chisty Shah Hilalur Rahman, assistant secretary of East Pakistan Students’ League. Also a sub-editor of the Daily Azad, Chisty was shot point-

blank after being bayoneted. Another victim was Zafar Alam, a student of the university. Most of those who died were on-duty security men.

The army also killed a number of teachers on that night, inside their houses. Dr Moniruzzaman, head of statistics department, was killed along with his entire family. So was Dr Jyotirmoy Guha Thakurda, reader of English, and Govinda Chandra Dev, head of philosophy department.

In Rajarbagh, the policemen were short-shifted. They stood little chance against the heavy weaponry. But in Pilkhana, the EPR resisted and it continued for a few more hours before the EPR men retreated across the river to safe area.

In the wake of military crackdown, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman declared independence of Bangladesh through EPR wireless at 00:30 hours on March 26 from his historic Road 32 residence at Dhanmondi.

He called upon the people to build a united resistance against the Pakistani occupation forces. Later, the Pakistani military junta arrested Bangabandhu on that night. He was taken to the then West Pakistan where he had to spend long nine months in a dark condemned cell of a jail. l

DHAKA TRIBUNE

News

Tuesday, March 25, 2014

3

1 execution, 10 convictions in war tribunal’s 4 years Second phase needs more patience, say activists; trial to continue, assures minister Imran H Sarker, spokesperson of prosecution members have engaged in n Udisa Islam Gonojagoron Moncho, said: “We want a some controversies within the team.

Four years into its inception, the International Crimes Tribunal is now dealing with cases against some accused who are not big fish.

War crimes activists have expressed frustration as the tribunal’s investigation agency and the prosecution are not taking the second phase of trial seriously.

So far, the two tribunals gave verdicts in the cases against 10 war criminals including then Jamaat-e-Islami chief Ghulam Azam who masterminded the anti-liberation activities. Of the convicts, Jamaat leader Abdul Quader Molla has been executed after the appeals case was disposed of at the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court. The case of Delawar Hossain Sayedee is near end at the same Appellate Division bench.

The war crimes tribunal was established on March 25, 2010 in line with the International Crimes (tribunals) Act 1973, and the first trial began in October 2011 with the case against Sayedee.

Then the law minister, Shafique Ahmed, said they were thinking about the trial of 16 alleged war criminals at the first stage. Later another tribunal was formed to speed up the trails.

The government represents the victims or their families who filed cases against alleged war criminals.

Until date, the tribunal has convicted nine men – three in absentia – on charges of genocide, murder, rape, arson, looting, religious persecution and incitement. They have been sentenced to either life in prison or death penalty.

Six war crimes suspects are currently on trial while investigation is underway against several others.

Since the beginning, the BNP-Jamaat alliance and the war criminals have tried their level best to foil the trial, but failed. Even they also tried to leak draft of a verdict before its pronouncement to create controversy. The tribunal handled all these hassles carefully. However, in the recent times, the

Shahriar Kabir, a renowned writer and activist, said there was no difference among the war criminals. “All of them are same. So if anybody takes the accused of the second phase as weak criminals, they are wrong.”

He said the justice seekers lost their patience as it took more than one month to reconstitute the tribunal 1. Two of the three-member panel resigned while the chairman went on retirement. “But now we need more patience, especially within the prosecution team,” said Kabir. The government should sack immediately anyone who tries to create division within the prosecution.

The tribunal officials say since the trials of almost all the “big fish” ended now the boat was near the bank.

Mafidul Huq, a trustee of the Liberation War Museum, said there was no scope to identify the continued trial as second phase.

“We just got the probe report against Jamaat-e-Islami as an organisation for its role during the war. We need patience and have to be responsible.”

The special tribunal established to bring to justice those responsible for atrocities during the 1971 Liberation War is itself in the dock. It has been criticised for political biasness and failing to meet international standards of due process and fair trial.

After the execution of Quader Molla, several international-acclaimed media labelled him as “prominent Islamist leader,” “opposition politician” or “Muslim leader” – not a war criminal. Over 60 people were killed in demonstrations carried out to protest the tribunal verdicts. These happened because of Jamaat’s propaganda against the tribunal.

According to the government, war crimes accused and Jamaat leader Mir Kashem Ali had given a US lobbyist firm $25m to make the tribunal controversial. He is an Executive Council member of the party and also its treasurer.

permanent tribunal. We have raised our voice to achieve this. We are not in a hurry, but want to see the end of trial against Jamaat as a criminal organisation.”

The government in February last year amended the ICT Act to incorporate provisions of filing appeal against a tribunal order by the prosecution and trying parties or groups for such offence.

Law Minister Anisul Huq assured that there was nothing that could break patience. He said: “We are conducting the trial in our own way and with international support. We will continue it until we try the last war criminal of the country.” Admitting that there had been haphazard situation in the recent times, the minister claimed: “Now we have settled most of the issues.”

‘Trials would be symbolic’

After assuming power in 2009, LGRD Minister of the Awami League-led government Syed Ashraful Islam assured then US ambassador James F Moriarty that the trials of suspected war criminals would be “symbolic” and would not become a witch hunt.

According to a US embassy cable released by whistleblowing website WikiLeaks in 2011, Ashraf said the trials would involve only a handful of people. “Those convicted would likely [to] receive lenient sentences,” Ashraf said while talking to the US envoy on June 18, 2009. He predicted that the process of gathering evidence and taking the cases to trial would be a “long process” that likely would take more than five years.

While Ashraf acknowledged the trials could strain national unity, he said it was necessary to bring closure to a topic that continued to bitterly divide the country.

“Ashraf acknowledged that Pakistan strongly opposed the planned trials but said Bangladesh would pursue bilateral talks at the highest level in Islamabad to explain why the trials would go forward,” Moriarty wrote in the cable. l

‘Large-scale uncontested MPs a concern’ n Ahmed Zayeef

ATM Shamsul Huda, the former CEC, said it would be helpful for Bangladesh to gain experience from the Indian electoral system.

Brac Institute of Governance and Development (BIGD), Brac University organised the event titled “Understanding India’s General Elections: 2014” at the Daily Star Centre. Barrister Manzoor Hasan, institutional adviser of BIGD, chaired the seminar, which was also attended by Brig Gen (retd) Sakhawat Hossain, a former election commissioner, among other civil society members. l

Sonia, 15, and Mim, 13, both tuberculosis patients, wait for attendant to administer their daily doses of medication at the chest diseases hospital in the capital’s Mohakhali yesterday. Both the girls have been receiving treatment at the hospital for the last three months as regular medications can help them recover from this much-feared disease MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU

Witness: Mir Kashem was alBadr commander n Udisa Islam A new prosecution witness in the case against war crimes accused Mir Kashem Ali, also Jamaat-e-Islami Executive Committee member, yesterday described about his abduction and torture at Daleem Hotel – a torture camp of al-Badr in Chittagong.

SM Sarwar Uddin, 59, said al-Badr members had called the accused “commander.” He is the 19th prosecution witness in the case. On Sunday, his brother SM Jamal Uddin, 75, testified at the International Crimes Tribunal 2.

Sarwar said: “On November 29, I was at my cousin’s house. Around 4:30am, some al-Badr members along with the Pakistani Army came and started beating me. They also captured my elder brothers Kamal, Jamal Uddin, Emran and Kibria. They took us to Daleem Hotel with our hands tied from the back.

“At night, Kashem came with some alBadr members and asked me about the position of freedom fighters. When I answered in the negative, he ordered them to beat me. After torturing me brutally, they took me to the first floor where at least 45 persons were confined.”

Sarwar said he had heard that during his confinement, the al-Badr members addressed Mir Kashem as “commander” and “Khan Shaheb.”

Mir Kashem, a key financier of Jamaat and also its treasurer, is facing 14 charges.

The same tribunal earlier in the day recorded cross-examination of Mohammad Ali Tipu, 64, in the case against war crimes suspect Syed Mohammad Qaisar.

The witness testified on March 20. l

Visiting former chief election commissioner of India Dr SY Quraishi has said there is nothing wrong with uncontested election until it takes place extensively.

“Uncontested election also happens in India. There is nothing wrong...But, if a large number of MPs are elected unopposed, then I’ll have to think about what I’ll have to do in such situation.

Because, this sort of situation never happened in India,” he told a seminar in the city yesterday.

He said Indian elections never

missed the deadline, and the credibility never challenged.

A total of 153 lawmakers were elected unopposed in the January 5 election.

Dr Quraishi is visiting Bangladesh as part of a curtain raiser to the 16th Lok Sabha elections in India scheduled to be held from April 7 to May 12.

He said: “...boycott of election is totally democratic and none should prevent or force anyone to exercise their franchise or not.”

He also expressed concern over the role of money power during polls and criminalisation of electoral politics.

European Parliament delegation holds talks with Khaleda

Violence by AL men helps Jamaat candidate win in Satkania

n UNB

n Tushar Hayat, Chittagong

The visiting European Parliament (EP) delegation met BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia yesterday.

The hour-long meeting started around 6:30pm at the BNP chairperson’s Gulshan office. However, neither BNP nor the EP team briefed reporters about the meeting.

A source close to Khaleda said various issues related to the January 5 election, latest condition of politics, human rights and the RMG sector of the country, had come up in the discussion.

Chairperson of the Delegation for Relations with South Asia Jean Lambert led the EP team to the meeting.

Ambassador and Head of Delegation of the European Union to Bangladesh William Hanna, BNP Vice-Chairman Shamsher Mobin Chowdhury, BNP chairperson’s advisers – Reaz Rahman and Sabihuddin Ahmed, were present at the meeting. l

The violence created reportedly by the supporters of ruling party-backed chairman candidate played a significant role in the victory of Jamaat-e-Islami-supported candidate in the election to Satkania upazila in Chittagong held on Sunday.

Local sources said as Jamaat-backed candidate Jashim Uddin, who was also vice-chairman of the upazila parishad, was arrested after the announcement of the polls schedule, he got sympathy from the voters.

They said the activists of BNPbacked candidate Sheikh Mohammed Mohiuddin became inactive when the ruling party men started snatching ballot papers and ballot boxes at different polling centres.

“Most of our supporters, who went to polling centres, cast their votes for Jamaat candidate as they got annoyed with the violence of

ruling party men,” said Majibur Rahman, president of upazila unit BNP, adding that their party men became inactive following the violence as they did not want to see losses of lives and properties.

Mohammed Salim Uddin, a local leader of Liberal Democratic Party, said their party president Oli Ahmed extended support to the BNP candidate, but most of the party leaders and activists could not cast their votes due to the violence created by the ruling party men.

“Those who went to the centres voted for Jashim, although LDP never supports Jamaat,” he said, adding that the violence created by the ruling party had become blessing for Jamaat at Satkania.

Mohammed Ishaque, acting president of district (south) unit of Jamaat, said the people have given a befitting reply to the oppression of the government on Jamaat leaders and activists through voting.

“Not only the chairman post, we have also won two vice- chairman posts even after snatching of ballot papers, ballot boxes and stamping ballots by the ruling party men at many centres,” he said, adding that their chairman candidate has won the polls, although he is in jail.

He said it has been proved that Satkania is a Jamaat stronghold as they have won the victory fighting not only against the ruling party but also alliance partner BNP and LDP in the election.

During visit to different polling centres at Satkania on Sunday, the supporters of AL-backed candidate Nazrul Islam Chowdhury were found involved in vote rigging.

However, Jamaat-backed candidate Jashim Uddin was elected chairman. He bagged 64,627 votes while his nearest rival Nazrul Islam got 45,840 votes and BNP-backed candidate Mohiuddin 27,000 votes. l

British envoy concerned at ‘transgressions’ in upazila polls joint visa centre in the city. He also n UNB hoped that such allegations would British High Commissioner in Dhaka Robert Gibson yesterday expressed concern over the media reports of “interference” and “transgressions” in upazila polls.

“It is not acceptable, if it is true,” he said while talking to reporters after opening new a UK-Australia

be dealt “appropriately” by the authorities concerned.

About future elections, he said major political parties needed to take steps to engage in dialogue to find out ways for a “sustainable political solution” for national election. l

ACC to quiz Khandaker Mosharraf’s wife n Syed Samiul Basher Anik The Anti Corruption Commission is set to interrogate Bilkis Akhter Hossain, wife of detained BNP Standing Committee member Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain, in connection with an inquiry into the BNP leader’s alleged involvement in laundering Tk9.54 crore to the United Kingdom.

The ACC Deputy Director Ahsan Ali yesterday served a notice to Bilkis Akhter asking her to appear before commission at its Segunbagicha headquarters on April 8, an official said.

According to the case statement, Khandaker Mosharraf, a former minister, illegally acquired over £800,000 (Tk95,395,381) by abusing his capacity between 2001 and 2006, and concealing information.

The sum has been put in a joint fixed-term deposit account at Lloyds TSB Offshore Private Banking at Guernsey in the UK. The joint account belongs to him and his wife Bilkis Akhter Hossain.

“Since the bank account belongs to both the BNP leader and his wife, we will question her and will try to verify the information. We will also try to trace whether she was involved with the irregularity or not,” the official added.

On the same day, Ahsan Ali also served notices to top eight officials of state-run Petrobangla, including two managing directors of its sister concerns, to appear before commission in connection with its inquiry against

Petrobangla Chairman Md Hossain Monsur on charge of acquiring illegal wealth.

The ACC has primarily found that Titas Gas Transmission and Distribution Company Limited managing director Nowshad Islam has earned a huge amount of money by providing illegal gas connections in commercial and residential buildings.

“He has allegedly received bribes of Tk15 lakh to Tk20 lakh for each illegal gas commercial connection and Tk1lakh for residential connections,” officials said.

After specific allegations, the ACC on March 9 assigned Ahsan Ali to investigate into alleged involvement of Petrobangla chairman in accumulating illegal wealth through appointments in 13 of its companies, violating rules. The allegation said the chairman in connivance with some of his associates appointed a good number of employees violating the rules of the company.

Meanwhile, the ACC has also served a notice to Narcotics Control Department Inspector (Ramna circle) Azizul Islam to appear before the commission on April 6 for questioning on charge of accumulation of illegal wealth.

Quoting the allegation, ACC officials said that Azizul Islam, commonly known as Danga Aziz, joined the narcotics department as an inspector in 1998 and within a short time, he had accumulated numerous assets, including a shop at Eastern Plus market at Shantinagar worth around Tk1.5crore, among others. l

4

DHAKA TRIBUNE

News

Tuesday, March 25, 2014

Organ transplant regulations on the cards n Moniruzzaman Uzzal The health ministry has restarted an initiative to introduce necessary rules and regulations for the organ transplant act, around 15 years after the act was enacted in the parliament.

Earlier in 2012, the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) prepared a draft for an updated organ transplant act, along with the necessary rules and regulations. Although the draft was submitted to the health ministry, the issue had been left pending after the law ministry raised objections saying the proposed rules contradicted the existing act.

Health Minister Mohammed Nasim held a meeting on Sunday with organ transplant specialists, doctor leaders, and senior officials of the health and the law ministry, as part of the fresh initiative for finding solutions to the difficulties of the organ transplant process.

Additional Attorney General MK Rahman, who attended the meeting, criticised the health ministry for taking two years to hold a meeting for discussing a draft that was prepared in 2012.

The health ministry would need to go to the parliament to pass an updated law, MK Rahman said, adding that there would be no need to get the parliament involved if the rules and regulations were based on the existing Transplantation of Human Organ Act 1999.

Professor Dr Harun-Ur-Rashid, head of the national committee for the formation of updated law, rules and regulation, told the Dhaka Tribune that the committee wanted to quickly introduce rules and regulations instead of updating the existing act. The previous draft for the rules and regulation has

again been handed over to the health secretary for making it final, he added.

The draft proposes separate organ donation forms for donor, recipient and medical board, as well as recommending DNA tests for confirming the blood relation (parent-children) between donors and patients in the case of kidney transplants, Dr Rashid said.

However, if the donor or the recipient was an uncle or aunt in relation, they would need to bring a letter of approval from the union parishad chairman, magistrate or a city mayor.

The committee also plans to clarify which hospital and authority would be allowed to declare patients as brain dead, in an effort to popularise cadaver organ donation across the country, the committee chief said.

The proposed rules and regulations would also make it mandatory for any health facility to have at least six wellequipped beds and four ICU beds for running a kidney transplant unit, along with having at least three professors (professor, associate professor and assistant professor), doctors, nurses and technologists present round the clock, Dr Rashid added.

Professor Dr Zamanul Islam Bhuiyan, director of National Institute of Kidney Diseases and Urology, told the Dhaka Tribune that organ transplants in the country were facing setbacks for the absence of proper rules and regulations, causing the number of kidney transplants to drastically fall over the last couple of years.

Around 900 kidney transplants have been performed since 2010, while sources claimed that less than 100 of those transplants had been carried out in the last three years. l

Members of a national committee for safeguarding natural resources takes out a rally from in front og the National Press Club yesterday, protesting the recent hike in electricity prices and demanding the cancellation of the Rampal Power Plant project to save the Sundarbans RAJIB DHAR

National Committee protests construction of Rampal’s Power Plant n Tribune Report Activists of National Committee to Protect Oil, Gas, Mineral Resources, Power and Ports held a rally yesterday in the capital to protest against the government plans to set up a power plant in Rampal where the world’s largest mangrove forest, a recognised Unesco World Heritage Site, maybe in threat.

They said that the mangrove forest in the Sundarbans, a unique for biodi-

versity and protection against natural disaster would be destroyed if coalfired power plant was set up.

Member secretary of the committee, Anu Mohammad said: “The country has a lot of natural resources from which quick and huge electricity can be produced. But the government are interested in destroying the Sundarbans instead of using these resources.”

“Several costly projects have been undertaken by the government being

influenced by some local and foreign organisations. The government should find some alternatives,” he said.

The committee organised the programme in front of National Press Club as part of its countrywide protest programme demanding implementation of its seven point demands.

The committee also announced several programmes including mass oath for ensuring national wealth for nation and countryside tour from March 27-30. l

Reserved seat MPs to be put under ACC scanner

EC announces polls schedule of two n Syed Samiul Basher Anik reserved seats Alongside the probe into the wealth of lawmakers and ministers, the Antin Tribune Report Corruption Commission will investiThe Election Commission has announced polls schedule of the rest two reserved seats for women to be held on April 17.

The last day of filing nomination paper is April 1 and the nomination will be scrutinised on April 2, while the last day of withdrawing nomination paper is April 9.

The commission yesterday announced the schedule through a letter signed by Sirajul Islam, acting secretary of the EC. Earlier, 48 women MPs were elected unopposed and two nomination papers were cancelled because of default in phone bills. The commission published gazette of 48 MPs on March 20 and they took oath on March 23. l

gate the wealth of newly elected female MPs to reserved seats.

“We are yet to receive any complaint about female candidates’ wealth. We are looking into media reports and after analysing them, we might bring them under scanner,” said ACC Secretary Faizur Rahman Chowdhury yesterday.

“The commission will take action against those candidates who will be found guilty,” he said while addressing a monthly briefing at the commission’s headquarters at Segunbagicha in the city.

Responding to a question on the wealth of lawmakers and ministers, the secretary said it is an ongoing process.

“We are collecting information from media reports and our internal sources.

We will bring the lawmakers under scanner if found guilty,” he added.

However, he denied giving information on how many people would be brought under scanner in the future.

He said the commission has asked the lawmakers to submit their wealth statements. “One of them has already submitted the statement. If anyone fails to submit the wealth statement as per due procedure, we will take action against him or her,” he said.

The ACC is now conducting inquiry against former health minister AFM Ruhal Haq, former state minister for housing and public works Abdul Mannan Khan, former state minister for water resources Mahbubur Rahman, and lawmakers Abdur Rahman Badi of Cox’s Bazar-4, Aslamul Haque of Dhaka-14, Enamul Haque of Rajshahi-4 and for-

Thundershowers or rain likely n UNB

City

High

Low

Dhaka Chittagong Rajshahi Rangpur Khulna Barisal Sylhet Cox’s Bazar

33.0 30.2 32.4 31.3 33.3 33.2 29.8 31.8

22.0 22.8 19.9 18.2 22.8 22.5 18.8 22.5

PRAYER TIMES Fajar Sunrise Zohr Asr Magrib Esha

4:42am 5:57am 12:05am 4:29pm 6:12pm 7:27pm

Source: IslamicFinder.org

The secretary also said the anti-graft body has almost completed the report on the wealth of Sohel Rana, owner of Rana Plaza at Savar that collapsed on April 24 last year, killing over 1,100 people.

“Rana is now in custody. So, we have taken more time to complete the investigation, but we are expecting to complete the probe report soon.”

Focusing on the regular activities of the anti-graft body, he said that the ACC in February approved filing of 21 cases against 41 people on charges of corruption.

Of the total, 28 were government service-holders and the rest were from other professions.

Judgments on 10 cases investigated by the ACC were pronounced, he said, adding that two persons were convicted and eight others acquitted of charges. l

Police superintendent sent to jail in bribery case

WEATHER

Rain or thundershowers accompanied by temporary gusty or squally wind is likely to occur at a few places over Dhaka, Barisal and Sylhet divisions and at one or two places over Rajshahi, Rangpur, Khulna and Chittagong divisions with isolated hails at places until 6pm today.

Day and night temperatures might remain nearly unchanged over the country, Met Office said.

Country’s highest temperature 34.0 degree Celsius was recorded Mongla and lowest 17.0 degrees in Dinajpur yesterday.

Highest and lowest temperatures recorded in some major cities yesterday were:

mer Satkhira- 2 lawmaker Abdul Jabbar.

The secretary said that the ACC might form a special cell or committee to deal with it if necessary.

“The special investigation department is now dealing with the complaints in regard to lawmakers’ wealth.

If we see necessity for setting up a separate cell or committee, we will do that.”

He, however, said the commission will observe corruption prevention week, beginning on March 26.

In reply to another query, Chowdhury said the inquiry into the Tk70 lakh alleged graft by former railway minister Suranjit Sengupta would be easier if the ACC could have found his driver Ali Azam.

“Azam is a key witness and the case would be easier if we could find him.

We are seeking support from media to hunt him down,” he added.

n Md Sanaul Islam Tipu

The accused in a post-poll violence case in the capital's Dohar are sent to jail following a court order yesterday DHAKA TRIBUNE

POST-POLL VIOLENCE IN DOHAR

13 sent to jail upon surrender n Md Sanaul Islam Tipu A Dhaka court has sent 13 accused to jail in a case filed over murder of three people during post election violence in Dohar upazila of Dhaka.

Senior Judicial Magistrate Afroza Shiuli passed the order after they surrendered before the court and pleaded for bail yesterday in the morning.

The court rejected their bail pleas.

The 13 accused are Mohammad Yunus Ali, Mohammad Isa Haq, Mohammad Akhter, Tota Sheikh, Jahangir Ali, Mohammad Shahjahan, Mohammad Anis, Alamgir, Mohammad Rasel, Liaqat, Taru Mia, Mohammad Rohim and Mohammad Humayun.

On January 6, the supporters of Jatiya Party candidate Salma Islam and

Awami League’s former state minister for public works Abdul Mannan Khan, locked into a clash that left three people dead in Bigha village in Bilaspur union of the upazila.

The three deceased are Murshed Khandakar, 50, his son Masud Khandakar, 28, and Makbul Munshi, 36.

Later, a case was filed with Dohar police station in this connection.

On January 27, the High Court granted bail to the 13 accused in the case.

On March 4, Investigation Officer of the case and also sub-inspector of the Detective Branch Abu Bakkar Sidiq submitted a charge sheet accusing 60 people.

Though there were 56 names in the case statement, 60 people were accused in the charge sheet. l

A Dhaka court yesterday sent a convicted police superintendant to jail in connection with a bribery case filed by SA Paribahan on November 20, 2003.

Judge Basudev Roy of the Special Judge’s Court 3 passed the order after the police official surrendered to it, seeking bail.

On December 19 last year, the same court sentenced Superintendent of Police (SP) Mostafa Kamal to 35 years imprisonment in connection with the case.

The court also fined the convict Tk30 lacs, or in lieu to serve one more year in jail.

SA Paribahan Proprietor Salauddin Ahmed filed the bribery case against two police officials for demanding Tk50 lacs from him.

The two were SP Mostafa Kamal and Sub-Inspector of DB Wahid Miah (rtd).

Wahid Miah, however, was acquitted of the case as his involvement in the bribery allegation was not proven.

Mostafa’s defence counsel filed an appeal with the High Court against the conviction order and also got bail.

Later, the appellate division of the High Court ordered Mostafa on March 11 to surrender before the judge’s court within two weeks following a petition lodged against the HC order by the plaintiff.

In compliance with the court order, he surrendered before the court yesterday.

According to the prosecution, SA Paribahan Proprietor Salauddin Ahmed, along with his office staff members, was going to Sylhet by private car on December 22, 2002 with Tk20 lacs in a bag.

A team of Madhabpur police from Habiganj district intercepted them, seized the money and asked them to file a general diary with local police station for security reasons.

After they arrived at the police station, SP Mostafa Kamal ordered the on-duty policemen to detain them and filed a money-laundering case against them.

The SP and the sub-inspector also demanded Tk50 lacs from SA Paribahan’s head office in exchange for their release.

Salauddin refused to comply with the demand while police filed three cases against him and his staff under the money laundering, narcotics control and women and children repression acts with Madhabpur police station.

Salauddin and his staff members were acquitted in all three cases.

Later on November 20, 2003, Salahuddin filed a case with the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate’s Court of Dhaka against the two police officials, for demanding Tk50 lacs as bribe from him.

On April 4, 2010, a Dhaka court framed charges against the accused.

The court recorded five prosecution witnesses and arguments ended on Dec 3, 2013. l

NZ PM’s envoy praises Bangladesh’s MDG successes

n BSS

Special Envoy of New Zealand premier yesterday appreciated Bangladesh’s successes in human development and millennium development goals (MDGs).

Sir Jim Bolger came up with the appreciation when he called on Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at her Jatiya Sangsad Office yesterday evening.

Sir Bolger, also a former New Zealand premier, mentioned that Bangladesh had been maintaining over 6% GDP growth since 2009 despite the global economic recession.

Bolger also praised Hasina’s dynamic and visionary leadership in steering the country.

In response, Hasina said: “The people of Bangladesh have stood the country’s economy on the solid foundation through hard labour.”

Later, Sir Bolger witnessed the parliamentary proceedings sitting on the VIP Gallery of the Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban. l

42 students to receive BYLC leadership training n Tribune Report Forty-two students have been selected

by Bangladesh Youth Leadership Centre for its upcoming leadership training programme.

They were selected from 239 applicants from over 86 English and Bangla medium educational institutions and madrasas of the capital, according to a press release.

BYLC President Ejaj Ahmad said: “I hope the training at BYLC will both inspire and prepare you for a lifetime to develop society.”

M Mahfuzur Rahman, executive director of Bangladesh Bank, said: “I am inspired to see the best and the brightest students of Dhaka here at BYLC.” Under the programme titled “Building Bridges through Leadership Training,” the selected participants will spend a month and half at BYLC’s training centre.

Bangladesh Bank will provide full scholarship to all the students to participate in the programme. l

UK, Australia visa process from single booth in Dhaka n Tribune Report The UK and Australia have opened a joint visa application centre in the capital, said a press release yesterday.

All kinds of visa-related tasks for both the countries can be processed from the booth. Another such centre would be opened in Sylhet soon to expand its purview of services, the release added.

The office of the joint visa application centre is located at Delta Tower Building on Road 90 in Gulshan 2 and VFS Global will run it until 2019.

British High Commissioner Robert W Gibson said: “The joint VAC move is aimed for providing an efficient and cost management service to the applicants.”

Australian Regional Director for South Asia Jose Alvarez said: “The joint VAC reflects our government’s commitment to provide high standards of visa services to our clients.” l

DHAKA TRIBUNE

News

Public playgrounds off-limits to public!

Authorities turn a blind eye to misuse of grounds

n Abu Hayat Mahmud Most of the public playgrounds under two city corporations in Dhaka have become virtually off-limits to children and youngsters due to lack of proper monitoring and maintenance by the authorities concerned.

The Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) has 10 public playgrounds under its authority while Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) has only one.

Some of these grounds are being used for city corporations’ infrastructural development purposes while several are being used by private clubs for their own purposes in defiance of separate directives of the High Court and the Prime Minister.

Although the rest seem unoccupied, they are in a sorry state due to negligence shown by the city corporation authorities.

Back in September 2010, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina directed the authorities concerned to take immediate steps to recover all the children parks and playgrounds in the capital.

Acting on the directive, the former Dhaka City Corporation (DCC) conducted a survey in different areas of the capital and identified a number of playgrounds that were occupied illegally or were being used for other purposes which is still the case at present, sources say.

According to sources, the Jatrabari-Gulistan flyover authorities have been using two playgrounds since 2010.

Equipment and construction materials stored in the areas continue to prevent

Locals block a portion of a playground at the capital’s Lalbagh area by piling up sacks of waste materials. This picture was taken yesterday ABU HAYAT MAHMUD

children from playing there.

Meanwhile, Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club authorities have taken control of Dhanmondi playground

despite repeated directives from the High Court to keep it as a public place.

Sources say the club has itself been illegally occupying the ground beside road

5

Tuesday, March 25, 2014

number 8 since 1962, with city corporation authorities continually playing a dubious role in this regard.

The Kalabagan playground in the

capital is also controlled by Kalabagan Krira Chakra. Residents of Dhanmondi, Kalabagan and Shukrabad claim only members of the clubs have unhindered access to the playgrounds while the general people can only use those in the absence of the club members.

Other playgrounds under the jurisdiction of the two city corporations include Dhupkhola playground, Golapbagh playground, Sadeque Hossain Khoka playground, Bangladesh playground, Basabo playground, Lalbagh Shashanghat playground, Killar More playground and Banani playground.

During a recent visit, this correspondent found that the places were a shambles. There was no grass there and the fields were only covered with sand.

Locals said the places become muddy during the rainy season, thus becoming off-limits to children at the time.

This correspondent found several makeshift shops in the playgrounds run by small traders. They were seen indiscriminately dumping waste in those places, thus making them untidy.

Asked, Md Ansar Ali Khan, chief executive officer of DSCC, told the Dhaka Tribune: “All the playgrounds are under our control. The private clubs are using those for the time being.”

“The playgrounds are open to all. If anyone faces trouble entering any of those places, I would suggest him to complain to me,” he added.

Asked, DNCC chief estate officer Md Fasiullah said: “We have taken steps to revamp the Banani playground along with other open spaces.” l

Sohel Rana bail protested n Tribune Report Several hundred garment workers yesterday demanded the cancellation of Sunday’s High Court bail, awarded to Sohel Rana, owner of Rana Plaza, the building that collapsed on April 24 last year in Savar killing at least 1,100 people and injuring many more.

Sources said, a few hundred apparel workers who survived the collapse gathered in front of the debris of Rana Plaza in the morning, while more workers from nearby garment factories joined them to express solidarity with the demand.

During the programme, the workers identified Rana as chiefly responsible for the collapse and demanded capital punishment, through a murder case, be handed down to him for the offence.

They also demanded “April 24” to be declared Mourning Day for RMG workers.

The workers then threatened to go on an indefinite hunger strike on the Dhaka-Aricha Highway from April 24 unless compensation and rehabilitation for them are ensured by then.

Meanwhile, some organisations, including Garments Sramik Oikya Forum, Sharbostarer Chhatra-Shikkhak-Sromik-Krishak and Peshajibi Parishad, held a rally in front of the National Press Club in the afternoon protesting the bail.

In the rally, leaders of the various bodies said the government has insulted the people by granting bail to Sohel Rana and they demanded a cancelation of it.

The HC on Sunday granted bail to Sohel Rana in a case filed for flouting the building code. l

One dead, fifteen electrocuted n FM Mizanur Rahaman

Multi-storey building catches fire

Sale of return tickets for Maitree Express train starts April 14

A female worker was killed and 15 others were injured yesterday afternoon after a high voltage electric wire tore and fell on them while working on an excavation of a drain in New Market intersection under Chittagong’s Kotwali police station.

The dead was identified as Parul Aktar, 30, said Chittagong Medical College Hospital Outpost sources. Of the injured, four were admitted to CMCH in critical state. The identities of the injured could not be known immediately.

Sub-Inspector Rafiqul Islam of Kotwali police station said a group of 18 workers were engaged in excavating the drain under a renovation project of Chittagong Development Authority (CDA) at New Market area.

“A cable of 11,000 voltage tore and fell on them around 5:15pm, leaving 16 workers injured,” he said adding that duty doctors at CMCH declared Parul dead after they were taken to the hospital.

Five of the injured workers were undergoing treatment at CMCH, said Jahirul Islam, sub-inspector of CMCH Police Outpost. l

n Kailash Sarkar

n Kamran Reza Chowdhury

A fire that broke out in a six-storey building in capital’s Panthapath area around 8pm yesterday gutted a Nokia customer care centre.

After over an hour of frantic effort, seven units of the Fire Service and Civil Defence (FSCD) doused the fire.

The fire broke out on the third floor of the Barek Mansion that houses a number of offices and is situated opposite to the Bashundhara City Shopping Complex in the area.

“The fire was originated from an electric short circuit”, said Mamun Mahmud, a deputy assistant director of the FSCD. “No casualty was reported. We rescued at least 52 people from different floors of the building,” he said.

However, fire gutted machineries, furniture and other equipment of the Nokia customer care centre that is situated on the third floor.

“We were able to douse the fire before it could spread to different floors

First ever commercial Bangladeshi-made video game ‘Hatirjheel’ launched n Tribune Report The first commercially developed Bangladeshi video game ‘Hatirjheel: Dream Begins’ was launched by Massive Star Studio yesterday in a programme organised by Information and Communication Technology Division.

State Minister for ICT Division Zunaid Ahmed Palak inaugurated the game at the programmeheld at Bangladesh Computer Council (BCC) auditorium.

Massive Star Studio, a video games research and development company, developed the game with the ICT Divi-

MASSIVE STAR STUDIO

sion as its associate partner.

At the programme,Palak said: “Video games are not only for children, older people also play them frequently.

Video games also bring the opportunity to explore a new economic side and we need to address it.”

After the inauguration, CEO of the Massive Star Studio SM MahabubAlam demonstrated the game. Ex-president of BASIS Mahaboob Zaman and Chief Editor and Managing Director of Ekattor TV Mozammel Babuwere were present at the occasion, among others. l

and adjacent buildings”, said the deputy assistant director.

Siyam Ahmed, who was caught amid fire on the third floor and later rescued, said the fire had spread through the entire floor within moments after a spark in the electric line.

“The heavy black smokes and heat caused us difficulty in breathing,” he said.

Witnesses said windows and doors of the building were badly damaged.

People from the adjacent buildings came out on the street and thronged the building.

Eight incidents of fire have been reported in last three days in different areas of the capital. Of them, four incidents occurred on Sunday while three on Saturday.

FSCD Deputy Assistant Director Mamun Mahmud did not make any comment over the frequent occurrences of fire incidents.

“Fire incidents can occur any time anywhere for different reasons”, he said. l

Bone marrow transplant patient ‘out of danger’ n Moniruzzaman Uzzal The country’s first ever bone marrow transplant patient is now officially “out of danger.” The blood cancer patient, who was operated upon on March 10, was soon set to be moved to a cabin from the bone marrow transplant (BMT) unit at the Dhaka Medical College Hospital.

The patient – 52-year-old bank official Omar Ali – remains under close monitoring and supervision of specialists, as he continues his recovery from the BMT procedure.

Omar is expected to be brought before the media on the second week of April.

Professor Dr MA Khan, head of the BMT unit, told the Dhaka Tribune on Sunday that the patient was out of danger, with different clinical and pathological tests showing that Omar was gradually recovering.

Claiming that the patient was ready to go home now, Dr MA Khan however said it was necessary to make sure that he would not be infected from the environment of his house.

Sources said the patient’s white blood cell and platelet counts were still low, while Omar was still physically weak with his weight dropping from 65kg to 56kg.

On March 10, a team of bone marrow transplant specialists successfully carried out the transplant on Omar, who had been fighting a type of blood cancer called Multiple Myeloma since 2009. l

The railway officials of Bangladesh and India will sign an agreement today, allowing the passengers of Maitree Express train to collect return tickets either from Dhaka or Kolkata.

At present, passengers travelling by this express train must collect tickets from Dhaka and Kolkata for a return journey.

For instance, a Kolkata-bound passenger must collect ticket from Dhaka’s Kamalapur railway station and buy the return ticket from Fairly Palace in the Paschimbanga capital.

If the proposed agreement is signed, the passengers from Dhaka can collect both Kolkata-bound and return ticket from Kamalapur railway station. Similarly, a passenger from Kolkata can col-

lect both tickets from Fairly Palace.

Sarder Shahadat Ali, joint director general (operations) of the Bangladesh Railway, and A Madhukumar Reddy, executive director (passenger marketing) of the Railway Board, New Delhi, will sign the agreement at 3:30 pm at the railway building.

The proposed agreement will take effect from April 14, marking the six years of the launch of Maitree Express, the first and lone cross-boundary passenger train between Bangladesh and India.

Due to the war between India and Pakistan in 1965, the Dhaka-Kolkata train was snapped.

“This will facilitate the passengers very much; the hassle of collecting tickets from two stations will go,” Shahadat Ali told the Dhaka Tribune.

According to the agreement, anyone desiring to cancel the return ticket must inform the railway authorities of it 39 hours before the journey to get money back. But, the passengers must get money back from the counter from where they will buy tickets.

Maitree Express, now very popular among the passengers, has 326 seats in Bangladesh train and 388 seats in Indian train.

The Bangladeshi train departs from Dhaka cantonment station at 8:10 am (BST) on Fridays and return on Saturdays. The Indian train starts from Kolkata (Chitpur) station at 7:10 am (IST) on Tuesdays and goes back to Kolkata on Wednesdays.

The train takes 10 hours and 25 minutes to cross the 396 kilometres distance. l

Fake medicine factory, vaccines busted n Kailash Sarkar A large quantity of fake vaccines against hepatitis virus and an illegal herbal medicine factory were busted yesterday in the city’s Rampura and Gulshan areas respectively.

A series of mobile court drives with RAB personnel and health directorate officials conducted the operations.

Yesterday’s operation was a part of the continuous mobile court drive conducted in recent times to seal off fake medicine factories and their production.

The mobile courts have recently closed down several dozens of fake medicine factories and 27 blood centres for their illicit acts and jailed over 200 people.

Led by Executive Magistrate Sharif Md Farhad Hossain, the mobile court busted “Green Herbal Medicine” on 58/1 Wapda Road, Rampura, and fined 14 people including the owner of the building which housed the medicine factory.

Factory Manager Osman Ali had been fined Tk2,00,000, or in default to serve a three-month jail sentence while others were fined Tk5,000 each, or in default to spend one month in jail.

“As the factory owner had been on the run, a separate case had been filed against him,” said the magistrate.

The magistrate said the illegal factory had been manufacturing various stimulating medicines and marketing them illegally over the last five years, endangering public health.

“Apart from sealing off the factory, a large quantity of stimulating medicines has also been seized and 14 people have been detained and fined.

In a separate drive in Gulshan, another mobile court led by its Executive Magistrate AHM Anwar Pasha jailed an employee of an NGO – Health Vision Bangladesh – for one year for illegally

A magistrate displays illegal herbal medicines to the media which was recovered in the capital yesterday RAJIB DHAR commercialising fake hepatitis vaccines.

The magistrate told the Dhaka Tribune acting on a tip-off they caught Md Tushar Imran, 21, of the NGO from Safura Tower at Kemal Ataturk Avenue in Gulshan.

“Health Vision Bangladesh has so far pushed fake hepatitis injections to over 150 people,” said the magistrate.

The NGO is located in Sajeeb Dhali Tower on road 2 of section 12 in the capital’s Pallabi.

“We have information that there are similar organisations dealing in fake vaccines against hepatitis virus,” said Pasha.

Two separate cases were filed against the organisation, he added. l

6

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Nation

Tuesday, March 25, 2014

All set to observe Independence Day in Rangpur division n BSS, Rangpur The concerned administrations have completed all preparations to observe the Independence and National Day2014 in Rangpur division on Wednesday next with huge enthusiasm and festivity.

According to official sources, a 31gun salute will herald the observance of the day followed by placing of wreaths at the Central Shaheed Minars and monuments of martyred freedom fighters at the district headquarters at zero hours on March 26.

The district administration has chalked out programmes like hoisting of the national flag atop all govern-

ment, semi- government, private and public buildings, institutions, receptions to the freedom fighters (FFs) and family members of martyred FFs. Separate colourful rallies, marchpast of FFs, police, Ansar and VDP, boyscouts, girl-guides, fire service and civil defense personnel, jail guards, BNCC, students and children will be held.

Screening of documentary films at cinema halls and open places will also be organised.

Different competitions for children on independence, sports competitions, cultural functions, discussion meetings and prize distribution ceremonies have also been arranged.

The main streets and roadside is-

lands in the district towns will be decorated with national flags, posters and miniature flags and the government buildings will be illuminated.

Special prayers will be offered at the mosques, temples, pagodas and churches. Improved diets will be served to the inmates of all hospitals, jails, vagabond centers, shishu paribars and orphanages tomorrow.

The FFs, family members of the martyred FFs and their relatives will be accorded warm receptions at Town Hall auditorium and special discussion meeting participated by the women on the War of Liberation and Independence will also be arranged.

Rangpur Kendra of Bangladesh

Betar will air special programmes and local dailies, weeklies and monthlies will publish special supplementary issues glorifying the importance and dignity of the Independence and National Day. Rangpur Community Medical College Hospital in association with Dr Mofiz Uddin Foundation will arrange a day-long blood donation camp in the city in observance of the Day. The district administration will arrange the main discussion meeting at Central Shaheed Minar premises and Divisional Commissioner Muhammad Dilwar Bakht will address it as the chief guest with the Deputy Commissioner Farid Ahammad in the chair. l

Marriage registration becomes tradition in char areas n BSS Marriage registration has been turning into a tradition in the remote char areas on the Brahmaputra basin now eradicating superstitions though it was unbelievable even a decade ago.

The things are changing fast as the char people are overcoming social curses like child marriages, dowry and polygamy and arranging marriages of their sons and daughters now with proper registration.

Besides, the char people, who were married some 10 to 50 years back or even earlier, are now registering their

marriages though the cent percent wedding was child marriage without registration even a decade ago.

The success has been achieved following motivational activities being conducted by different NGOs as implementing organisations of the Chars Livelihood Programme (CLP) since 2004 in the riverine char areas.

According to official sources, the UKaid through the Department for International Development, Australian Government through Australian Agency for International Development have been funding implementation of the CLP activities. l

Watermelon brings profit for Rangamati farmers n BSS, Rangamati Farmers of Langadu upazilaof the district become self-reliant and changed their fortune through cultivating watermelon this season.

Most of the people were in abject poverty of the areas, nowthey are leading a happy life with three-time meals in a day andtheir children going to schools regularly.

Abdul Malek, a watermelon farmer of the area has cultivatedthe fruits on his 2 bighas of land spending Taka 40,000 andexpects that he will earn over Taka 2 lakh by selling the fruit.

Sukanto Chakma, another farmer said he would earn Taka1,70,000 by selling watermelon under 3 bighas of hilly landwithout production cost.

Upazila Agriculture officer M M Shahnewaj said a total of 150 hectares of land have been brought under the cultivation in the upazila with the production target of 6,000 tonnes of watermelon.

Officials of Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) are motivating the farmers to cultivate the fruit on their land in a large scale to meet the demand of people and make the growers economically benefited, he added. l

Two get life for murder n Our Correspondent, Netrakona

A court yesterday awarded life term to two convicts in a murder case in the district.

The convicts are Ershad, son of Abdur Rahaman of Shibnagar village and Nurul Islam son of Abdul Jabber of Panchkahania village under Sadar upazila.

According to the prosecution, on December 26, 1998, the convicted persons killed Abul Kashem of Goalakanda

village under Purbadhola upazila over previous enmity.

Later, Jahura Begum, wife of Abul Kashem filed a case with Purbadhola police station in this connection.

After investigation, police submitted charge sheet to the court against the convicts.

Additional District and Session Judge Abdul Hamid after examining the witnesses and evidence handed down the verdict. l

Residents of Barisal gather for a flashmob centring the T20 Cricket World Cup at a city park yesterday

4TH ROUND UPAZILA POLLS Public awareness for TB patients to ensure treatments stressed six here in the third round of n BSS n Tushar Hayat, Chittagong ofupazila polls.

Ctg BNP leaders blame poor candidate selection for defeat

Health experts at a discussion yesterday stressed for creating public awareness in detecting tuberculosis (TB) patients to bring them under free treatment facilities to eradicate the curable disease once for all.

They were addressing the discussion arranged by the health administration at the conference room of the Civil Surgeon Office in observance of the World Tuberculosis Day-2014 with the theme `Reach the 3 Million- Find, Treat, Cure TB.’ Earlier, a colourful rally participated by the GO-NGO officials, teachers, students, health workers, nurses, public representatives, religious leaders, civil society members, professionals, sociocultural activists and elite, was brought out in the city.

The Divisional Director (Health) Office in association with health administration and NGOs organised programmes under the National Tuberculosis Prevention Programme (NTP) of the Health Directorate under Health and Family Welfare Ministry.

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID), TB CARE-II Programme and BRAC extended assistances in arranging the programmes in observance of the day.

With Civil Surgeon (CS) Dr Reajul Islam in the chair, Divisional Director (Health) Dr Nuruzzman Haque attended and addressed the post-rally the discussion as the chief guest. l

The local BNP leaders in the district blamed the party for not choosing popular aspirants to vie in the Sunday’s third round of upazila elections, which led to the disgraceful defeats of their candidates in all seven upazilas here.

The leaders also blamed lack of coordination with its alliance’s partner Jamaat during the polls, and rampant rigging by the ruling AL. They said their rebel candidates in most upazilas also contributed to the defeat, though they had secured victory in five upazilas out

Enamul Hoque Enam, senior vice-president of Chittagong (south) unit BNP, said many rebel candidates vied from their party due to wrong selection of candidates in five upazilas. “This is a reason behind our appalling defeat.”

“Despite being a partner of 19-party alliance, Jamaat took position against our candidates in most of the upazilas, which is another reason for the defeat,” Enamul said, adding that the results could have been different had the AL not rigged the polls.

Aslam Chowdhury, general secretary of Chittagong (north) unit of BNP, said rigging occurred with the help of administration, and this contributed significantly to their defeat.

“The ruling party started manipulating the polls nakedly from the third phase after witnessing their debacle in the first two phases,” he said.

Aslam added that their candidates were not even able conduct their campaign properly owing to widespread violence by the AL activists, and the results could have been a little bit better had they take part in campaign with Jamaat. l

Affidavit

I am Mohammad Zunaid Bhuiyan. Before, it was Golam Mohammad.

My name has been recently changed which is Affidavit

by Greg Curry, Registration number: 16183/2013, Date: 03 December 2013. From now on I am using my name Mohammad Zunaid Bhuiyan.

A farmer returns home after working at his paddy field in Bagmara upazila in Rajshahi yesterday. As many water bodies in the district have already dried up, many farmers are now using those fertile lands for cultivating paddy DHAKA TRIBUNE

DHAKA TRIBUNE

District Law and order committee meeting held n BSS The meeting of the district law and order committee to review the law and order situation in the district was held here on Sunday.

The meeting presided over by DC Abu Hena Morshed Zaman was attended by district law enforcing agencies chiefs, Upazilla Chairmen, UNOs, government officials, lawyers, members of the civil society and journalists.

It was decided in the meeting to conduct frequent mobile courts to prevent adulteration in food and also to check preservatives

injurious for health.

In view of the traffic congestion in the town, it was decided to rearrange traffic arrangements for easy vehicular traffic and pedestrians\’ safety. It was further decided to check movement of battery driven three wheelers and \’Nosimon\’ vehicles on highways to avoid road crashes.

The meeting expressed satisfaction at maintaining law and order during the recently held upazilla polls in nine upazillas in three phases peaceful, fair and acceptable. The meeting extended thanks to the people and concerned officials in holding such fair polls. l

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Long Form

7

Tuesday, March 25, 2014

Russia’s Loss

Ukrainian soldiers load weapons and amunition into trucks at the Ukrainian marine battalion in the Crimean city of Feodosia

C

n Arild Engelsen Ruud rimea is not an expression of Russia trying to expand, as some voices in the media will have it, or the political leaders of the vulnerable Baltic states. Quite on the contrary. Crimea may well be read as the desperate and angst-ridden attacks of a dying empire, a shrinking superpower refusing to adjust to new realities, the last gasping growls of the Russian bear.

Not that Crimea is not important. It is important to both Russia and to the people who live there. It is important to Russia because it gives Russia naval presence in the Black Sea and beyond.

But Russia wanted something else, something much more. This we may see from two different yet interconnected contexts.

One is that Russia over the last year has played for the whole of Ukraine. The Ukrainian president, Yanukovich, was on the verge of signing a significant agreement with the European Union, an agreement

The EU agreement was tempting and popular. Russia would have to pay for it to be annulled and was ready to pay much. The primary reason for this generosity was that Russia wanted a friendly state on its southwestern border.

This is a fairly natural trait in states, big states in particular. Russia depends for instance on its export of gas to the EU, and most of it is sent through enormous pipelines running through Ukraine. Another reason to want a friendly neighbour is that much of Russia’s western border consists of countries aligned to the EU and NATO. If Ukraine had gone the same way, and that was the expressed desire of a good proportion of the Ukrainian population and of some of its leaders, then Russia would have faced a very strong rival too close for comfort. Not that relations with the EU are bad, but Russia and its president, Putin, see the EU and the US-led military pact NATO as rivals on the world scene.

Russia and Putin have expressed

It is this situation that Putin tried to avoid, the establishment of an anti-Russian government in a neighbouring country

that would have benefitted the country’s economy and drawn it closer to Europe politically.

Russia managed to convince him otherwise, and in a surprise move he ditched the agreement with the EU and announced a new cordial relationship to Russia. He was always known to be a bit Russia-friendly anyway.

But this surprise move angered many Ukrainians, in particular the young who hoped an approachment to the EU would improve their country’s economic future and their own opportunities in life. And this was the start of the uprising that led to Yanukovich’s removal.

By the time of the vote against him in parliament he had already fled, to Russia probably, and people were wandering around his private estate looking through the windows and wondering at the luxury of his personal life style. He had lost. And so had Russia. New forces took over in Kiev, nationalist forces, anti-Russian forces.

What is it that Russia has lost? To understand that, we must understand why Russia convinced Yanukovich to break relations with the EU and risk the disapproval of the population.

over and over again that they disapprove of neighbouring countries joining NATO. Russia and Putin expressed on several occasions that Russia would take a very dim view of any measures of approachment between Ukranie and NATO. The Russians were very upset when Poland, a former ally, joined NATO. A few years earlier Georgia tried to do something similar, aligning itself closer to the EU and sought an agreement with NATO. It ended up in a short war in which Russian troops reached the outskirts of the Georgian capital in a matter of hours.

Later the Russians withdrew, but Russian troops still occupy a section of Georgia just north of the capital. In addition Russia has taken the small regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia from Georgia.

So Putin was playing for the whole of Ukraine and was willing to pay for it. He wanted Ukraine to be closer to Russia than to the EU. He and probably most of his generals feared the proximity of that twin headed power, the EU and NATO, the Europeans and the Americans.

But the Russians have not played well. They come across as clumsy

diplomats, heavy-handed at best, incompetent at worst. The deal with Yanukovich is dead; Yanukovich has fled and a new anti-Russian president installed.

The vote on Crimea may be sufficient justification for Putin to send in troops and occupy the peninsula. But in the process they have earned the enmity of Ukraine, and of the EU. Instead of having a Russia friendly Ukraine on its southwestern border, it will have the relatively small peninsula of Crimea but a large, hurt, angst ridden and hostile Ukraine. And a sulking EU, protesting, boycotting.

The Russian expansion But what I wrote in the beginning is not right. Russia is expansionist.

My point was to underline that it has failed this time around and to explain why I think it is so. But that Russia is an expansionist state should not be forgotten. And Ukraine should be particularly apprehensive. This is the second context that is important for an understanding of what is happening in Crimea.

Perhaps the most successful colonial enterprise of all is not the British, although the British created the largest empire ever. It is not the Spanish empire, in spite of the fact that the mother tongue of a portion of a relatively small European country is now one of the most widely spoken languages in the world.

The most successful colonial enterprise is perhaps the Russian. From being a relatively small kingdom around Moscow, the Russians expanded over the centuries to establish a large and sprawling state on the vast planes west of the Ural mountains.

In the 1700s they annexed, for instance, the lands that had belonged to a Lithuanian-Polish kingdom and the Tatar state along the Black Sea’s north coast: lands that today are known as Ukraine. From the late 1800s Russia expanded east and south, annexing the vast but largely empty plains of Siberia on the one hand, all the way to China, and virtually the entirety of what had once been the flourishing and cultured states of Central-Asia.

The countries which today are Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan and Kirgistan were once home of the century old Muslim emirates, established way back in the days of the Silk Road, grown rich in culture: Bokhara, Samarqand, ancestral home of the Mughal dynasty. By the 19th century these states were weakened by ineffectual rulers and corrupt aristocracies, and one by one they were gobbled up by an expansionist Russian empire.

The Russians also took other regions in the 19th century: the Caucasus, home of the wild tribes of the Chechens and others, and then the ancient Christian kingdoms of Georgia and Armenia. There were other

AFP

regions as well. The Russians gained Finland from the Swedish crown after the Napoleonic wars, and new parts of Poland.

Some of these territories were lost in World War One, when Lenin decided to give up land rather than jeopardising the revolution he had successfully become head of. Many of the territories were regained after a few years, anyway, including Ukraine where successive governments had tried to set up an independent state.

After a few years and several coups and countercoups, a Soviet style government was established and the state merged with the Soviet Union.

That was the beauty of the Soviet Union. It was the heir of a colonial empire, but changed into a Socialist (or Communist) empire that gave it the semblance of treating all parts of the empire with equality.

Then of course this equality consisted to some extent of equal brutality rather than measures of autonomy.

But to some very important extent the Soviet Union was fairly even-handed when it came to many of its minorities. The Muslims in the Caucasus and in Central-Asia were probably the least equal, but the Ukrainians and others were no worse off than the Russians themselves.

This may lead us to the question of what an empire is. Is it a multiethnic state where one ethnic group rules, or can it be a multiethnic state where several or all ethnic groups are treated with equality, or measures of equality?

The Soviet empire, with its mighty set of allies and satellite states, was open to a multitude of ethnic identities. But it was also, at its core, Russian. Just as English is the lingua franca of the American world, so was Russian the language of the Soviet empire.

At its height during the Cold War the Soviet empire was one of the two great superpowers; states of such might had never been seen before. Its armament was desired in faroff places, the Russians welcomed in allied countries on all continents, its self esteem sky high.

But eventually the empire fell apart, having overstretched itself on Afghanistan. And then it went from bad to worse. Gorbachev had it dissolved, and Yeltsin squandered away its wealth. The economy contracted, the population decreased, and friends and allied countries found new playmates. It was a terrible, rude shock.

Rebuilding the empire Unpleasant as it was, one option would have been to say that this is what we have, this is Russia, a nation-state within its own set borders.

This would have allowed the state to spend time and energy on rebuilding the economy and ensuring a healthy and happy population.

But much of the Russian state’s

The vote on Crimea may be sufficient justification for Putin to send in troops and occupy the peninsula. But in the process they have earned the enmity of Ukraine, and of the EU

energy is directed at rebuilding, if not an empire, at least a cordon of friendly states. The Commonwealth of Independent States and the Eurasian Union are both expressions of this wish to establish a Russian presence beyond the national borders. In the eyes of staunch Russian nationalists, Russia is not a country, it is a civilisation.

At its core of this civilisation is its conception of the individual as less important than the nation. The nation is above all. This is a conception of the world that is opposed to western civilisation, where the individual is above the nation – at least as they understand it.

Russia, in this conception, is equal to, on the one hand, the western civilisation, represented by Europe and the US, and China and other eastern civilisations on the other.

It is not likely that the Russian President Putin shares the entirety of this sort of thinking. He is too much of a clear-headed and strategic politician for that. But it is clear that he does use these thoughts to bolster his regime, to give himself added legitimacy among sections of the population.

A consequence of all these centuries of expansion is that there are Russian speaking groups in many areas outside of the Russian nation state.

One such place is eastern Ukraine, including Crimea.

In the days of the empire, whether the Tsarist or the Soviet, this mattered little. They were all covered by that all-embracing Russian umbrella.

In fact it mattered so little that the Soviet premier, Khrushchev, decided that Crimea, which at that point belonged to the Russian republic, should be transferred to the Ukrainian republic.

Today, because of the particular nationalist interpretation in Russia, it has become paramount to protect the Russian speaking people wherever they live. Or, at least this is a rhetorical device Putin can make use of when building his strongman image. Russians outside of the borders are considered part of the Russian nation, moved beyond the motherland in a time of expansion. Is it not the motherland’s obligation to protect them?

Ukraine?

A particular problem with Ukraine is that there is no natural border to Russia. It is all a vast plain, populated with villages and towns where the language changes indiscernably from Russian to Ukrainian. Arguably, up to and including Kiev, Ukraine is Russian.

Equally, there is no historical border for, except for a brief threeyear period after World War One, there has never been any Ukrainian state. Moreover, Kiev, the capital of today’s Ukrainian state, is historically a Russian city. In fact, it is where the Russian nation was born, from the mixed aristocracy that emerged in Kiev a thousand years ago and that was called Rus, pronounced Roos.

There is a Ukrainian nation, though, with a language, a literature, and a cultural identity. They are the inhabitants of what is now western Ukraine. Many among them have a strong dislike for Russians.

During the two World Wars Ukrainian nationalists sided with the Germans against the Russians, in the vain hope that the Germans would liberate them from Russian rule. The seeds of mistrust that were planted then have reemerged now, generations later, in strong Russiaphobic elements being made part of the newly established Ukrainian government.

It is this situation that Putin tried to avoid, the establishment of an anti-Russian government in a neighbouring country. The more he threatens, the more noises he makes with his arms, the more brutal he is in securing Russian interests in Crimea, the more enemies he makes in Kiev.

Such a scenario is a contraction of Russian influence, not an expansion.

His want to create a larger sphere of Russian influence, and although his Crimean adventure has probably made him more popular at home, in the medium run has made enemies of the EU and the US in addition to Ukraine. In this reading, the Putin regime’s effort to expand Russian influence has failed. l Arild Engelsen Ruud is Professor of South Asia Studies, Department of Culture Studies and Oriental languages, University of Oslo, Norway.

8

DHAKA TRIBUNE

World

Tuesday, March 25, 2014

Ukraine orders Crimean troop withdrawal n AFP, Kiev

‘Qaeda attack’ kills 20 Yemen soldiers n AFP, Aden

‘Enormous loss’

Ukraine yesterday ordered its outnumbered troops to withdraw from Crimea following the peninsula’s lightning seizure and annexation by Russia in response to the fall in Kiev of a pro-Kremlin regime.

The dramatic but seemingly inevitable announcement came after the fall of another Ukrainian base in Crimea and as world leaders gathered in The Hague for a security summit dominated by concerns over the most explosive East-West standoff since the Cold War. “Europe and America are united in our support of the Ukrainian government and the Ukrainian people, we’re united in imposing a cost on Russia for its actions so far,” US President Barack Obama told reporters shortly after landing in the Netherlands.

A top commander in NATO had warned on Sunday that the Western military alliance was carefully watching massive Russian troop formations on the eastern border of Ukraine that could theoretically make a push across the vast ex-Soviet country at any point.

Moscow has denied any such plans despite President Vladimir Putin’s open ambition to resurrect vestiges of the Soviet empire and stamp his authority over eastern European nations that sought protection from the West following the 1989 fall of the Berlin Wall.

But the Kremlin has made clear it intends to “protect” compatriots in the Russifies southeastern swaths of Ukraine that it says have been victimised by violent nationalists since last month’s rise to power of a pro-European team.

Ukraine’s acting president Oleksandr Turchynov sombrely told top lawmakers that both servicemen and their families would now be relocated to the mainland.

“The national security and defence council has reached a decision, under instructions from the defence ministry, to conduct a redeployment of military units stationed in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea,” Turchynov said in nationally televised remarks. “The cabinet of ministers has instructions to resettle the families of soldiers as well as everyone else who today is forced to leave their homes under the pressure and aggression of the Russian army’s occupying forces.”

Crimea’s pro-Kremlin deputy premier Rustam Temirgaliyev told Russia’s RIA Novosti state news agency that “all Ukrainian soldiers have either switched to the Russian side or are leaving the territory of the Crimea.”

Turchynov’s announcement came less than a month after Putin won authorisation to use force in response to the February 22 ouster of pro-Kremlin president Viktor Yanukovych regime by more nationalist leaders who are seeking a closer alliance with Europe.

Ukraine’s increasingly demoralised forces had been steadily losing ground on the Black Sea peninsula and saw their main airbase outside the regional capital Simferopol stormed on Saturday.

The Kremlin stamped its claim on Crimea yesterday with a symbolic visit by Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu – the first top Moscow official to visit the mostly Russian-speaking region of twom people since its March 16 independence referendum. l

Assad cousin killed in Syria’s Latakia n Agencies

Ban: Syria’s war foes hinder aid access

Eight killed, 18 missing in massive US landslide

n Reuters, United Nations

n AFP, San Francisco

Hilal al-Assad, a cousin of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, has been killed along with seven of his fighters during fighting in the border town of Kasab in Latakia province, after shells from rebels targeted his vehicle, Aljazeera reported.

The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an activist group, reported Assad’s death. It was confirmed by Syrian state television, which described Hilal as the head of the National Defence Force in the province of Latakia.

Hilal founded the National Defence Army, a group of pro-government civilians fighting alongside the Syrian army.

The Syrian rebel group Jaish al-Islam claimed responsibility for the killing in a statement published on its website.

“The first rocket was fired around 7:15pm, followed by another five minutes later. The rockets targeted a house where Hilal was holding a meeting with other members of the National Defence Army” the statement said.

Latakia province, which includes Assad’s family village, is considered a government stronghold and many of its residents are from his Alawite minority. l

The United Nations accused Syria’s government and rebels of hindering aid access, suggesting both sides could be violating UN Security Council demands that emergency relief reach civilians caught in the crossfire of the three-year civil war.

A month after the 15-member council achieved rare unity to unanimously approve a resolution demanding rapid, safe and unhindered aid access, including across borders, UN chief Ban Ki-moon said the situation “remains extremely challenging.”

In Ban’s first report to the council on the implementation of the Feb. 22 resolution - obtained by Reuters on Sunday - he said 175,000 people remain besieged by government forces and 45,000 people trapped by opposition groups in several areas.

No new ceasefires were brokered to gain access to these areas and there were breaches of existing ceasefires, Ban said.

Some 9.3m people in Syria need humanitarian assistance, Ban said, while another 2.6m have fled the three-

Russian troops block the Ukrainian marine battalion in the Crimean city of Feodosia. Elite Russian troops firing into the air and backed by armoured vehicles stormed a Ukrainian airbase in Crimea on Saturday as Russia’s defiant march across the rebel peninsula rolled on AFP

Obama tries to rally world to isolate Russia n AP, Amsterdam President Barack Obama delved into a day of delicate diplomacy yesterday as he sought to rally the international community around efforts to isolate Russia following its incursion into Ukraine.

Hours after arriving in the Netherlands for a nuclear summit, Obama held one-on-one talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping. China has often sided with Russia in disputes with the West, but US officials have been appealing to Beijing’s well-known opposition to outside interference in other nation’s domestic affairs.

Obama treaded carefully in statements with Xi before their meeting, saying only that they planned to discuss the situation in Ukraine.

“I believe ultimately, that by working together, China and the United States can help strengthen internation-

year civil war, sparked in March 2011 by a revolt against President Bashar al-Assad.

“Humanitarian access in Syria remains extremely challenging for humanitarian organizations,” Ban said.

“Delivering life-saving items, in particular, medicines, remains difficult. And the assistance reaching people continues to fall far short of what is required to cover even their basic needs.”

The Security Council expressed “its intent to take further steps in the case of non-compliance” with the resolution. But diplomats say Russia is unlikely to agree to any action, such as sanctions, if Syria’s government was found to be at fault.

The Security Council is due to discuss Ban’s report on Friday, diplomats said.

Russia, supported by China, has shielded its ally Syria on the Security Council during the three-year war.

They had previously vetoed three resolutions that would have condemned Syria’s government and threatened it with possible sanctions.

In the 13-page report, Ban said there were significant challenges to the delivery of aid in Syria. l

al law and respect for the sovereignty of nations and establish the kind of rules internationally that allow all peoples to thrive,” Obama said in a subtle appeal for Chinese support.

China abstained a week ago from voting on a UN resolution declaring Crimea’s secession referendum illegal Xi, for his part, pointed to areas of potential cooperation with the US as he settled in for what Obama described as a wide-ranging session. “It is like a menu — and a rich one at that,” Xi said through an interpreter.

Obama’s meeting with Xi opened a week of international travel where crisis

At least eight people were killed and up to 18 were believed missing when a massive landslide slammed “like a freight train” into a mountainside community in the northwestern United States, officials said late Sunday.

The wall of mud, rocks and trees smashed into the rural town of Oso, northeast of Seattle, on Saturday, destroying houses and part of a highway.

Travis Hots, chief of the regional Snohomish County Fire districts, announced at an area community meeting late on Sunday that the death toll had risen to eight.

“I’m saddened to inform you that we have assured four additional fatalities” to the four deaths confirmed earlier, Hots told reporters.

The field of rubble is about 2.4 kilometes (1.5 miles) across and some four to six (15-20 feet) deep in areas, The Seattle Times reported.

Rescuers reported hearing voices calling for help on Saturday, but Hots told reporters that they “didn’t see or hear any signs of life” on Sunday.

in Ukraine tops the agenda. After arriving in the Netherlands on a sunny and brisk yesterday morning and meeting with Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, Obama asserted that the US and Europe stand together behind Ukraine.

No issue commands more of Obama’s and Europe’s attention than Russia’s annexation of the Crimean Peninsula and the fear that Moscow could decide to expand further into Ukraine. But Obama also is attempting to use his weeklong trip to personally reconnect not only with Europe but Asia and the Middle East, all strategically crucial regions with their own tensions and qualms about the US Meanwhile, China has been wary of Obama’s efforts to increase US influence in the Asia Pacific region. The US has also called for restraint in China’s maritime territorial disputes with Japan and its Southeast Asian neighbors. l

Snohomish County spokeswoman Shari Ireton told AFP: “We are able to confirm we know that 18 people who may have been in the area are unaccounted for. We do not have identification for those people that we are releasing at this time.”

John Pennington, head of the county Emergency Management department, said that rescuers would continue searching for survivors overnight Sunday to Monday.

Six homes and much of a two-lane highway in the area were destroyed in the landslide, while as many as 16 other homes were damaged, the Snohomish County Sheriff ’s Office said.

Washington state Governor Jay Inslee, who declared a state of emergency for the area, told reporters there is “a full-scale, 100-percent, aggressive rescue effort” going on, adding that helicopters, hovercrafts and rescue personnel had rushed to the scene.

The muddy area was so unstable that some rescue workers “went in and got caught literally up to their armpits” and had to be pulled out themselves, Inslee said. l

Guinea scrambles to contain Ebola outbreak n AFP, Conakry

A picture dated May 14, 1995 shows a patient affected by the deadly Ebola virus carried on a stretcher at the Kikwit hospital, 530km southeast of the Congolese capital Kinshasa. The Ebola virus has been identified as the source of an outbreak of hemorrhagic fever in southern Guinea, the west African nation said on March 22 as the death toll rose to more than 60 AFP

Aid workers and medics battled yesterday to contain west Africa’s first outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus as tests on suspected cases in Conakry allayed fears that it had spread to the capital.

More than 60 people have died in an outbreak of the virulent virus raging through Guinea’s southern forests but tests on three haemorrhagic fever cases – two of them fatal – in Conakry were negative, the government said.

“The Pasteur Institute in Dakar worked urgently all last night on samples taken from suspected cases here in Conakry which were all negative,” said Sakoba Keita, the health ministry’s chief disease prevention officer.

“So for now, there’s no Ebola in Conakry, but haemorrhagic fever whose nature remains to be determined.”

The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said in a statement on Sunday that the Ebola virus “has quickly spread from the communities of Macenta, Gueckedou, and Kissidougou to the capital, Conakry.”

Keita said however that the Pasteur Institute was still working on identify-

ing the virus behind the fever cases in the capital and would know more “in the coming hours.” Officials from the health ministry and the World Health Organization met on Sunday in Conakry for urgent talks on the crisis.

“From January to March 23 Guinea has recorded a total of 87 suspected cases of viral haemorrhagic fever, including 61 deaths,” they said in a statement yesterday, indicating that most cases had been reported in the south of the west African country.

The first analyses of samples conducted by the Pasteur Institute in the French city of Lyon showed that the cases in the south of Guinea were due to Ebola virus.

To date, no treatment or vaccine is available for Ebola, which kills between 25 and 90% of those who fall sick, depending on the strain of the virus.

The organisation urged Guineans not to attend funerals and to avoid all contact with the sick and the dead.

Ebola, one of the world’s most virulent diseases, was first discovered in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in 1976 and the country has suffered eight outbreaks. l

Gunmen killed 20 Yemeni soldiers in a dawn attack on a checkpoint yesterday, most of them in their sleep, in the latest in a wave of deadly violence blamed on Al-Qaeda. The assault came in the eastern province of Hadramawt were the security forces have suffered repeated losses which prompted President Abdrabuh Mansur Hadi to fire his interior minister earlier this month.

“Twenty soldiers were killed in the armed attack on an army checkpoint” near Reida, 135 kilometres (85 miles) east of the provincial capital Mukalla, the official Saba news agency reported.

The assailants drove up to the checkpoint in a convoy of vehicles, raking the soldiers on duty with automatic weapons before hurling grenades at an adjacent tent where the majority of the contingent were asleep, a military source told AFP. The attack “bore all the hallmarks of Al-Qaeda,” the source added.

The global jihadist network’s Yemen branch, Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), is viewed by Washington as its most dangerous and has claimed repeated deadly attacks, some of them in the heart of the capital Sanaa.

A military helicopter landed at the scene of the attack in the middle of the day to recover the bodies of the slain soldiers while a fighter aircraft patrolled overhead, witnesses said.

New Interior Minister Abdo Tareb ordered the province’s security chief General Fahmi Mahrus and its special forces commander detained for questioning over how the attackers had been able to overwhelm the checkpoint, Saba added.

The attack came two days after three suspected Al-Qaeda militants, one a Saudi, were killed in the southern province of Shabwa when a car bomb they were preparing apparently detonated prematurely. l

New Titanic letter gives account of ‘unforgettable scenes’ of horror

n Agencies, LONDON A distressing letter that provides firsthand account of “unforgettable scenes” of horror and heroism from the night the Titanic sank in the Atlantic waters in 1912 has emerged.

The letter, written in French and dated August 8, 1955 — more than 43 years after the Titanic sank in the North Atlantic Ocean — is from a French woman called Rose Amelie Icard who survived the disaster.

The letter describes scenes of “horror” and “sublime heroism” as passengers tried to escape the sinking vessel.

Icard is believed to have been a maid to a wealthy American passenger called Martha Stone, the widow of the president of Canadian telephone company Bell Cie. The pair escaped in a lifeboat and were rescued by the Carpathia vessel before being taken to New York. It is believed that Icard wrote the letter to the daughter of another woman whose mother also survived the disaster.

The letter, written in blue ink, is addressed to a woman believed to be called Madame Ausein, ‘The Telegraph’ reported.

The letter emerged after a user of the online community Reddit requested help in translating a set of letters written

by Icard that he bought at an auction around two years ago.

In the letter, Icard wrote how even 43 years after the tragedy on April 15, 1912, she still had nightmares.

“Towards eleven o’clock Mrs Stone and I went to bed. Three quarters of an hour later, as the liner was cruising at full speed, a terrifying shock threw us out of bed,” Icard wrote in the letter.

She later helped Stone dress and the duo went to the deck.

“At this moment we witnessed unforgettable scenes where horror mixed with the most sublime heroism. Women, still in evening gowns, some just out of bed, barely clothed, dishevelled, distraught, scrambled for the boats,” she wrote.

“Firm and calm, in the throng, officers and sailors were taking the women and children by the arm and directing them towards the lifeboats,” Icard wrote.

She also talked of scenes on board as wives were put aboard lifeboats, leaving their husbands on board to die with the sinking vessel.

At one point the crew sung a hymn to help lift the passengers spirits before the lifeboats were lowered, she wrote.

Icard was one of just 745 people who survived out of 2,229 passengers and crew who were on board the Titanic on its maiden voyage from Southampton to New York. l

DHAKA TRIBUNE

World

UN: Weather extremes ‘consistent’ with man-made climate change n

US, Japan in historic plutonium return deal n AFP, The Hague

AFP, Geneva

The Philippines’ devastating Typhoon Haiyan and drought in Australia are among recent weather extremes consistent with man-made climate change, the UN’s weather agency said yesterday.

“Many of the extreme events of 2013 were consistent with what we would expect as a result of human-induced climate change,” Michel Jarraud, secretary general of the World Meterological Organization (WMO), said as he released his agency’s annual climate report.

“We saw heavier precipitation, more intense heat, and more damage from storm surges and coastal flooding as a result of sea level rise – as Typhoon Haiyan so tragically demonstrated in the Philippines,” he added.

While individual extremes cannot be pinned on man-made climate change alone, due to a complex web of factors, Jarraud said they are part of a clear trend.

He pointed to data from Australia showing that record heat there last year would have been “virtually impossible” without human emissions of heat-trapping greenhouse gases.

Other 2013 weather events flagged by the agency included extreme cold in Europe and the United States, floods in India, Nepal, northern China, Russia, central Europe, Sudan and Somalia, snow in the Middle East, and droughts in southern China, Brazil, southern Africa and the western United States.

Extreme cold in no way undermines the idea of global warming, Jarraud said, noting that climate change by

Man-made climate change is amplifying risks from drought, floods, storm and rising seas definition skews weather patterns.

“When some people say global warming has stopped, what is now a record cold year is actually warmer than any year before 1998,” he said.

Phenomena such as volcanic eruptions or the El Nino and La Nina weather patterns in the Pacific have always influenced temperatures and sparked disasters, but human activity is an accelerator, Jarraud explained.

“There is no standstill in global

Opponents resume protests as Thai PM risks impeachment n Reuters, Bangkok Anti-government demonstrators in Thailand resumed street protests yesterday after lying low for weeks, piling pressure on increasingly beleaguered Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, who is expected to face impeachment within days.

Her opponents were emboldened by a Constitutional Court decision on Friday to nullify last month’s election, delaying the formation of a new administration and leaving Yingluck in charge of a caretaker government with limited powers.

Yingluck’s opponents first took to the streets in late November. Twenty-three people were killed and hundreds wounded in the political violence before the protestsbegan to subside earlier this month. But the court ruling appears to have given her foes a second wind.

The protests are the latest instalment of an eight-year political battle broadly pitting the Bangkok middle class and royalist establishment against the mostly rural supporters of

Yingluck and herbnaire brother, former premier Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted in a 2006 coup.

There are growing fears that Thailand could be heading towards serious civil unrest. After months of restraint, Thaksin’s “red shirt” supporters have begun making militant noises under hardline new leaders.

They plan a big rally on April 5, possibly in Bangkok, and the political atmosphere is expected to become even more highly charged in coming days.

Yingluck has until March 31 to defend herself before the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) for dereliction of duty over a ruinous rice-buying scheme that has run up huge losses. If the commission recommends her impeachment, she could be removed from office by the upper house Senate, which is likely to have an anti-Thaksin majority after an election for half its members on March 30.

The protesters want an unelected “people’s council” installed to oversee necessary electoral changes. l

India minister asks people to vote twice n AFP, New Delhi An Indian cabinet minister found himself at the centre of a vote-rigging row yesterday, after he asked supporters to vote twice for his party in elections which begin next month.

Speaking at a rally on Sunday, Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar urged voters to wash off the ink which would be daubed on their fingers after casting their ballots and then go to a different constituency and vote again for his Nationalist Congress Party (NCP).

After pointing out that voting in two neighbouring parts of Maharashtra state was taking place on different days, Pawar told supporters in the state: “Vote for the ‘Clock’ (his party’s symbol) there and come back to vote for the ‘Clock’ here as well,” he said to loud laughter.

The comments were seized upon by a number of rivals in the elections which begin April 7, including the anti-corruption Aam Aadmi Party.

That party said it would complain to the election commission over the “blatant contravention” of its code of conduct.

Pawar, currently an ally of the ruling Congress party but who has been flirting with the main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party, later tried to laugh off his remarks, saying they

were meant as “a joke.”

“Party workers get bored with the same cliched electoral speeches. The statement which I made earlier in the day was in lighter vein,” he added.

NCP spokesman DP Tripathi said he was confident that the election commission would understand “these were not serious comments.”

“We are confident that they (the election commission) are very mature and will realise the context of the statement,” Tripathi told AFP. Polls show corruption is one of the most pressing concerns for voters in India. l

warming,” he said.

“Levels of these greenhouse gases are at record levels, meaning that our atmosphere and oceans will continue to warm for centuries to come. The laws of physics are non-negotiable,” he added.

The report said 2013 tied with 2007 as the sixth warmest on record.

The average global land and ocean surface temperature for the year was 14.5 degrees Celsius (58.1 degrees Fahrenheit) – 0.5 C (0.9 F) above the 1961-1990 aver-

9

Tuesday, March 25, 2014

AFP

age and 0.03 C (0.05 F) higher than the average for 2001-2010, which was already the warmest decade on record.

Thirteen of the 14 warmest years on record occurred in the 21st century, and each of the last three decades has been warmer than the last.

Researchers have long warned that the chance is ebbing fast to limit global warming to 2.0 C (3.6 F) over pre-Industrial Revolution levels – the UN target. l

Japan pledged yesterday to return hundreds of kilos of weapons-grade uranium and plutonium given to Tokyo for research during the Cold War era, in the first major deal announced at a summit on nuclear security.

“By removing this nuclear material, we can prevent the risk of nuclear terrorism,” Japan’s special nuclear advisor, Yosuke Isozaki, said on the sidelines of the 2014 Nuclear Security Summit (NSS) in The Hague.

Washington has been pressing Tokyo over the return of weapons-grade material, stored at Japan’s Fast Critical Assembly (FCA) northeast of Tokyo, which experts said made a tempting target for extremists.

According to reports, Japan has more than 300 kilos (660 pounds) of plutonium and almost 200 kilos of highly-enriched uranium 235, supplied

by Britain and the United States and now stored at the FCA facility in Tokai about 140 kilometres (87 miles) from the capital.

Japan does not have the bomb but the material could be used to build dozens of nuclear weapons.

Yesterday’s announcement is seen as a major victory in President Barack Obama’s push to secure the world’s radioactive civilian stockpiles.

“This is a very significant nuclear security pledge engaging hundreds of kilogrammes in weapons-usable material,” US Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz told journalists.

“The material will be transported to the United States for conversion into

proliferation-resistant forms,” he said.

“It affirms that most research and development can be done without using weapons-grade material,” Moniz added.

“This is a very significant announcement because it removes this nuclear material from a potentially dangerous situation,” Miles Pomper, a senior researcher at the Monterey Institute of International Studies, told AFP.

Japan does not have the bomb but the material could be used to build dozens of nuclear weapons “Although the FCA is a small mockup facility to do nuclear tests, they have a lot of material stored there,” he added.

Japanese media reports said Japan has strongly resisted returning the plutonium, saying it was needed for researching fast reactors.

Since last year, Japan and the United States have been actively discussing the matter, The Japan Times reported.

The third NSS being held in The Hague is Obama’s brainchild after announcing in 2009 that “nuclear terrorism was one of the greatest threats to international security.”

But the summit, set up to discuss ridding the world from nuclear terror, has been overshadowed by the escalating crisis in Ukraine, after Russia’s absorption of the Crimean peninsula. l

Malaysian co-pilot was on first 777 flight without minder n AFP, Kuala Lumpur Malaysia Airlines revealed yesterday the co-pilot of its missing jet was flying the Boeing 777 for the first time without a so-called “check co-pilot” looking over his shoulder.

Co-pilot Fariq Abdul Hamid has come under intense scrutiny, along with Captain Zaharie Ahmad Shah, after Malaysian authorities said flight MH370’s disappearance was due to “deliberate” action in the cockpit.

However, nothing has yet emerged publicly to implicate the two men.

The flag carrier said Fariq, 27, had come through his initial outings in the 777 model with no issues under a standard arrangement in which a First Officer’s first five flights in a new model of plane are done under the watchful eye of a “check co-pilot.”

“The first five flights, the co-pilot normally flies with what we call the check co-pilot. He actually passed the first five flights. We do not see any problem with him,” the airlines’ chief executive Ahmad Jauhari Yahya told a daily press conference on the crisis.

A ground controller guides a Royal Australian Air Force AP-3C Orion to rest after sunset upon its return from a search operation for the Flight 370 disappeared off civilian radar missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 over the Indian Ocean, at Pearce Airbase in Bullsbrook AFP about an hour into its journey from Kuala African women into the cockpit of a plane prevented from recovering anything for “You must realise that he (Fariq) is flying Lumpur to Beijing carrying 239 people, he piloted in 2011, breaching rules imposed confirmation due to the distances involved with an examiner. The captain is a 777 sparking an unprecedented international after the 9/11 attacks in America. and rough weather. examiner,” he added, referring to Zaharie. search across huge swathes of the Indian Police also removed a flight simulator Fariq, who joined Malaysia Airlines seven Aircraft and ships from several nations Ocean and South China Sea. years ago, was accused in an Australian tele- from Zaharie’s home and were examining it are zeroing in on suspected plane debris in Ahmad Jauhari added that Zaharie, 53, for any clues. l vision report of allowing two young South the southern Indian Ocean, but have been was himself an experienced 777 examiner.

Indian girl strangled in ‘honour killing’ n Agencies A 26-year-old IT worker has been found strangled at home in what police say is a rare “honour killing” in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, BBC reported. Police say her parents, who are in custody, have admitted to murdering their daughter after she married against their wishes.

She wed another IT professional on 21 February. But her parents thought her husband came from an unsuitable community, police say.

“The parents have confessed to the crime. They strangled her with her chunri [scarf] by tying it to the bed post in their house,’’ Gopinath Jatti, superintendent of Guntur police, told BBC Hindi’s Imran Qureshi.

“When the pressure built up, the girl informed her parents that she was in love with her friend. She tried to convince them but they obviously weren’t.”

The couple got married in Hyderabad and then her parents took them to Guntur with the promise of a traditional ceremony. “The murder got to be known when the friends of the bridegroom got suspicious and went to the woman’s house,” the superintendent added.

The official added that so-called honour killings are rare in this part of India. Her parents have yet to make any public comment. l

China demands explanation from US on Huawei spying report n Reuters, Beijing China wants a clear explanation from Washington over a report that the US National Security Agency infiltrated servers at the headquarters of telecoms giant Huawei Technologies Co., a Chinese foreign ministry spokesman said yesterday.

Hong Lei, the spokesman, said China was “extremely concerned” about the spying allegations.

“Recently, the international media

has put out a lot of reports about the evesdropping, surveillance and stealing of secrets by the United States of other countries, including China,” he told a regular briefing.

“China has already lodged many complaints with the United States about this. We demand that the United States makes a clear explanation and stop such acts.”

The New York Times and German magazine Der Spiegel on Saturday re-

ported on classified documents, provided by former agency contractor Edward Snowden, that detailed the spying operation.

Der Spiegel also reported that the NSA was targeting China’s political leadership, including former President Hu Jintao, as well as the trade and foreign ministries. Questions over cyber-espionage have cast a shadow over China-US ties, with each side accusing the other of spying. l

Hong Kong fails to protect human trafficking victims, report says n AFP, Hong Kong Hong Kong is failing to protect victims of human trafficking for forced labour, a report said yesterday, calling for new legislation to prevent “modern-day slavery” in a city which relies heavily on migrant workers.

The report comes at a time of growing anger over the abuse of foreign domestic helpers in the southern Chinese city, and a day before the trial of a Hong Kong employer accused of

torturing her Indonesian maid is set to resume.

“Current legislation merely prohibits human trafficking ‘for the purpose of prostitution’, but not for the purpose of forced labour or other forms of trafficking,” said the joint report

by Justice Centre Hong Kong and Liberty Asia.

New legislation expanding the definition of trafficking would help in tackling forced labour abuse by perpetrators including placement agencies,

loan companies and employers, it said.

“Recent allegations of domestic helper abuse in Hong Kong bear many of the characteristics of forced labour,” said report co-author Victoria Wisniewski Otero, adding that a comprehensive anti-trafficking law could help protect the city’s maids.

Hong Kong is home to nearly 300,000 domestic helpers, mainly from Indonesia and the Philippines, and criticism from rights groups over their treatment is growing. l

10

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Editorial

Tuesday, March 25, 2014

Letters to

www.dhakatribune.com

No cause for satisfaction

the Editor

LETTER OF THE DAY

Taking the AL to task March 23

A while back, the PM had said if a large power-station is established to generate power, quick rental plants will not be needed. In that case, why hasn’t this option been looked into all these years? The public deserves to know. And if this is indeed a workable solution, then we need to stop turning to quick rental plants immediately.

With the AL back in power, the public expects the government to work for the nation, and to declare a date for the national election, in which all can participate by casting their votes.

MM Khaleed Ahsan

W

e are disappointed the acting chief election commissioner has expressed “100% satisfaction” with the fourth phase of the upazila elections which were held on Sunday.

As four people were killed and dozens injured in poll–related violence, there is plenty of reason to be dissatisfied.

It is especially concerning that the latter two phases of these polls in particular have seen an increase in violence and widespread allegations of irregularities, including ballot box snatching and rigging attempts. Polling had to be suspended at 32 polling centres in 11 of the 91 upazilas where elections were held this week.

Incidents of electoral irregularity or violence are never acceptable, but there is even less excuse for the number of incidents growing as the four phases of these polls have taken place.

The EC should have been in a better position to prevent abuses and deter perpetrators as the polls went on. Instead, by acting slowly or only after complaints have been received, it has shown a regrettable degree of complacency in standing up to election abuses.

We call on the EC to act firmly and speedily in response to all the allegations it has received.

Allegations involve activists and candidates from and amongst all the parties, but there is also a concerning pattern that as the number of reported abuses have increased, so has the number of AL wins.

For its own credibility, the government must support the Election Commission in taking a stand against all allegations of poll irregularities. Anyone, from whatever party, found to be involved in violence must brought to justice.

What’s in a name?

The parties need new scripts March 18

The EC should have been in a better position to prevent abuses as the polls went on

nds No, the author is wrong, as he is probably still young, and has yet to get to know the collective mentality of his fellow countrymen.

He simply does not know to what extreme we can go to reach the lowest depths of barbarity.

Sam nds: Well said. His romanticised idealism is praiseworthy, but he obviously has little idea about the venality of Bangladeshi politicians.

“The old politics of bullying will be over soon.” Nope, dear author, we have been saying that for over 40 years.

March 18 one This banning of names has nothing to do with religion. It is simply bigotry that stands as the biggest threat against religion.

March 18

This is how I’d like them to go – democratically (and consequently ideologically) ousted by the Bangladeshi people themselves. Although obviously we’re still quite far away from that.

Traveller_23

Open new trade frontiers

RMG safety: Inspections lead to fear of job loss

March 19 Another factory, Tropica Garments Ltd at Mohakhali, is going to close on March 31 for good after 30 years of operation. 1,000 workers will be unemployed.

Forhad

B

angladesh’s exports to Turkey crossed the US$1bn mark last year.

With a new free trade agreement now being discussed with Ankara, there is every possibility that the country can further boost its exports to Turkey’s large growing market.

This is great news for our industries and demonstrates the benefit of expanding our horizons and seeking out lucrative new markets around the world.

The trade partnership with Turkey is a good example of how government efforts can help bolster private sector led growth.

It is encouraging to see moves to extend this further into wholly new markets, with reports of a preferential trade agreement being discussed with Macedonia.

Of course, for logistic and historical reasons, a lot of government time is tied up with traditional business partners.

The foreign minister recently remarked that the government is focusing on improving relations and reaching bilateral agreements with Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait and Bahrain. While reducing barriers to trade with these countries will no doubt be beneficial, the government must also look more widely and focus diplomatic efforts on developing other new trade partners.

Emerging economies in regions such as Latin America and Eastern Europe have already proven promising destinations for our RMG export goods.

The government needs to be more nimble and pragmatic in its efforts to expand and diversify the country’s export destinations.

We have to keep looking more outwards to ensure that the economy stays robust against future shocks in the global economy.

March 20

Politics is a business and the candidates need to invest to earn more! So parties need more rich people to join politics. None should question this business – rubbish.

PB

What steps should be taken to stop violence against women?

March 20

The media (both TV and newspaper) should highlight these reports, especially those related to arrests, trials and punishment.

P Bidhan

VK Well said!

KMAK Let’s consider two names, Abdul Saleeb and Abdullah. Since there is no such thing as a Muslim name, is it Islamically appropriate to name a Muslim as Abdul Saleeb?

Abandoned girl in DMCH for seven months March 18 The “disposable children” of our society!!

Shame, shame, shame!!

Vikram Khan

239 greater than 370 March 18

Upazila polls: Dhaka, Barisal reject Jamaat

12 reserved seat candidates millionaires

Priyanka One of the most frustrating things about the MH370 coverage has been the insistence on conspiracy theories and where the plane might have “forcibly landed” instead of on the victims. It is nice to know that there are still writers out there who care about what truly matters in these tragic cases.

Salman 24 of the 153 Chinese are national treasures – a distinguished group of calligraphers, artists who had attended a cultural exhibition in Kuala Lumpur. 1 of the 3 Americans was making one last trip to China before settling in Malaysia with a new job, 1 of the 5 Indians and his Chinese wife were returning home to their children, 2 of the 38 Malaysians were going on their honeymoon. I did not know a single one of these details, not even the 24 accomplished Chinese victims. A pity that not more people are looking at the human cost of this tragedy.

Rana Plaza: Primark to pay $10m more March 18

Now it’s up to the government whether this $10 million will reach the hands of the victims of Rana Plaza. The public will see.

People

Be Heard Write to us at: Dhaka Tribune FR Tower, 8/C Panthapath Sukrabad, Dhaka-1207 Email us at: letters.dt@dhakatribune.com Send us your Op-Ed articles: opinion.dt@dhakatribune.com Visit our website: www.dhakatribune.com Come join our Facebook community: https://www.facebook.com/DhakaTribune

CALVIN AND HOBBES

We have to keep looking outwards to diversify the country’s export destinations

PEANUTS

CROSSWORD

SUDOKU ACROSS 1 Cowardly (6) 5 Hawaiian dish (3) 7 Female fox (5) 8 Foreign-looking (6) 10 Beak (3) 12 Starchy food (4) 13 Meshed fabric (3) 14 Cult (4) 16 Commotion (4) 17 Spoil (3) 18 Festivity (4) 20 Rodent (3) 23 Chooses by vote (6) 24 Illustrious (5) 25 Eyelid affliction (3) 26 One who grants a lease (6)

DOWN 1 Masticate (4) 2 Embellishes (6) 3 Expel by legal process (5) 4 Agreeable (4) 5 Female swan (3) 6 United (3) 9 Neckwear (4) 11 Wager (3) 14 Satisfy fully (4) 15 Builds (6) 16 Distant (3) 17 Affray (5) 18 Tumbled (4) 19 Consumer (4) 21 Insect (3)

22 Plaything (3)

YESTERDAY’S SOLUTIONS Crossword

How to solve Sudoku: Fill in the blank spaces with the numbers 1 – 9. Every row, column and 3 x 3 box must contain all nine digits with no number repeating.

Sudoku

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Op-Ed

11

Tuesday, March 25, 2014

A divided learning n Raihan Hadi

I

wonder at times whether our country is truly united from the base or not. I see so many examples of how united a country can be, for example, our closest neighbours. It puts me to shame when I overhear conversations among certain children of our country, such as: “Hey, let’s not speak to that other kid because he’s from that Bengali medium school and he will not be able to mix with us.” Tell me if it would not hurt you to hear your own kids utter such words. I’m sure it would, because you probably would want them to learn and know better.

The Ministry of Education should start reforming our education system into a unified one No breathing room

SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN

A city too crowded

T

n MAB Siddique he ever-increasing inflow of fortune-seekers into Dhaka has turned it into one of the most densely-packed cities in the world, and one of the toughest places to live in. This has happened despite the fact that the marginalised people, who come into the city to merely eke out a meagre living, would only be working for, and hence doing a favour to those who are sedentary. Recently, the reduction of the pressures of over-population has emerged as a burning necessity.

We know that there are not enough effective ideas to solve the problem, without harming at least some of the people who call this city home. So it is now nearly impossible to think of improving the situation so as to make the city even a little bit more liveable, and to elevate the indicators of living standards to some extent.

As the city grows more and more crowded every day, low-skilled labourers who rush to the city have to suffer. They have been forced to embrace the migration, and have literally been evicted from their homes in the pretext of increasing living expenses.

These poor people have only their primary occupations to rely on. This is bringing forth the need to look into the issues surrounding what is leading people to pile up into a city already overburdened in its population.

Talking about the population problem is nothing new in Bangladesh.

From policy-making to textbooks,

from sociologists to politicians, from social thinkers to the common folk, everyone knows about the fundamental hindrances in the path towards the development of Bangladesh. But what is growingly becoming an issue to brood over is the disproportionate distribution of population, which means the plight of intra-migration. That has only intensified over the decades, almost the whole of it funnelled to Dhaka. This has been increased further by the recent development in communication and connectivity with the furthest corners of the country.

hope for the economy and a resort for the marginalised.

This grim economic reality never was enough to discourage the influx of people from any part of the country into the capital, which the rulers, colonisers or not, always wanted to use for administrative purposes. So they did not need too many people, but people at the impoverished extreme had nothing to do but claim whatever part they could gain from the share of the surplus that gave rise to the administrative establishments. They reluctantly adhered to Dhaka, the hub.

What is growingly becoming an issue to brood over is the disproportionate distribution of population

At the same time, we can see the post-colonial endowment which never entirely showed the potential to be turned into a city which might give rise to industries. Neither was the city blessed by government policies or by foreign investment. A background of political unrest has always overshadowed the possibility of consistent implementation of a certain economic regime that could give hope to the people who come to seek their livelihood, other than the garment firms that remain a myth of

As a result of the inexorable slumlike transformation, not unlike many other post-colonial settings, Dhaka has been always been turbulent with dissatisfactions, a place where predatory corruption is rampant.

Crime has become a source of earning, while prostitution is the prevailing form of enslavement.

We have seen how the rural-urban gap has translated into sustained political unrest in various countries, giving rise to militancy in recent years.

Bangladesh is badly in need of a more balanced economy to discourage more concentration in Dhaka. Creating more economic opportunities in the peripheries and connecting them to the market efficiently could be one way of enhancing the process.

To this end, the location of the new industries has to be at varied places so that the plights of commuters get new direction. Foreign investment could be directed to different places with new policies and incentives.

Helping the rural economy flourish would discourage further migration. Boosting allocation for agriculture might have a good impact by discouraging people to commute to Dhaka. A sufficient number of industries through private initiative which could accommodate labourers weren’t allowed to grow. In the coming days, the climate change is likely to displace more people from their own places and make them migrate into the city. Political stability cannot be sustained without a balanced economy.

So, if we want to ensure a balanced distribution in the demographic, we need to look into certain factors – historic, economic, cultural, social, and environmental factors – related to the migration to Dhaka. This is an issue on which the question of whether we can let the urban population get any higher – brewing more crime, unrest, and dysfunction – depends on. l MAB Siddique is a Staff Writer at the Dhaka Tribune.

The one problem I see here is the various mediums of education we have to offer in our country. Not only are there three basic mediums of education – English, Bengali, and Arabic (madrasa) – but there are also English and Bengali standards within Bengali medium schools. Then there are external authorities who have made quite a business in our country’s education sector by offering international standards of education for a cost that is far beyond the reach of regular middle-class families.

I, myself, am a product of different mediums of education, and I had some discriminatory experiences at my school during my childhood. You see, our school offered education in both English and Bengali mediums.

However, while the English medium boys and girls could play in the field everyday with their separate sports uniforms, we – the less fee-paying, worthless Bengali medium time-wasters – had to wait in line even on that one day we were allowed to get inside the playground wearing red socks and black formal shoes. Does it stir your mind even a little as to why a school would be so discriminative towards its own students?

Also, after studying for 10 years (or maybe 12) under the British system of education, kids move on to do their undergraduate programs in the American system. How is that practical in any way?

As a consequence of studying in different mediums of education under different boards and authorities, our nation has slowly become a mixture of generations where it’s been divided into groups of children who are automatically discriminative towards those from different educational backgrounds, and I strongly believe it is becoming a constant blow to our unity. If children are not taught to be united from the very early stages of their lives, how will they understand

the true value of education and unity when they grow up? And surprisingly, it is also very stylish to not know much Bangla nowadays for many of these children.

It has also become a matter of pride for many parents nowadays to send their kids to very expensive schools in brand new luxury cars, simply to become more popular parents and to show off. What they are forgetting in the process is that their children are not learning anything about the real world, like being friends with children from different backgrounds who necessarily do not have the luxury of carrying an iPhone or a Macbook, and have to finish their school projects by probably using someone else’s computer.

Is it a good thing that they are not learning how other children around them are living their lives? Is the luxurious way of life teaching them how great it feels to mix with people from different religious, ethnic, and social backgrounds, and being united by heart? These kids will definitely learn about adjusting to life in Canada, UK, or Australia when they are sent there for higher education. But will they be able to tell the “true story” of life back in their native country? I don’t think so.

The Ministry of Education should take a stance in the near future and start reforming our education system into a unified one where the standard would definitely be an international one, English would be the base medium, Bengali would be a compulsory subject for everyone until they pass their 10th grade, and religion as a subject would be taught equally to everyone so that they can respect each other despite their differences.

Of course it is a long process and would probably take 10 years to come into effect even if the process is started right now, but at least that will be a start and it will gradually help our children to learn more about the different values and norms of people within the society they live in, thus making them more aware about the lives of their fellow citizens.

I had some discriminatory experiences at my school during my childhood

Not only will this help to build a better united Bangladesh, it will also save the huge amounts of money our parents would otherwise be paying to foreign authorities. However, that is a completely different issue for discussion. l Raihan Hadi is the founder of Ideas for Bangladesh, and Senior Executive of Korea-Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce & Industry (KBCCI).

Why I joined the BJP n MJ Akbar

A

nyone who speaks in public, whether master orator or ordinary word-shuffler, comes to a platform after some preparation.

The one eventuality no one can quite prepare for is a crisis; and there is no crisis greater for an individual than a threat to one’s life. At that moment, the reaction is more likely to emerge from the heart than the head.

communities of our country to choose: They could either fight each other, or together they could confront that shaming curse called poverty.

This placed everything in context and priority: We need peace in our country as an absolute fundamental necessity. This gives us the chance to rescue an economy that has been sent to the hospital in the last decade before it sinks to a deathbed. The primary purpose of economic growth

We need peace in our country as an absolute fundamental necessity

The bombs that began to burst at Narendra Modi’s Patliputra rally were aimed at the crowds, of course, but also at him. His instant response was to ask a powerful question of both Hindus and Muslims that went to the crux of the principal challenge before our nation, and included its solution as well. He asked these two great

is to lift the poorest from their awful misery; and this can best be achieved only when every Indian, across differences of creed and caste, works hand in hand. We either move together or we barely move at all. It was an incisive definition of inclusive growth.

At a time when Modi could have been forgiven for being emotional, he was

practical, clearly focused and determined to pursue an economic vision.

This fit a pattern. In a speech on August 15 last year, he said that the religion of anyone in public service was the constitution of India. A compilation of his views by Siddharth Mazumdar, released a few weeks ago, opens with this sentence: “The essence of secularism is that all religions are equal before the law.” It asserted that sarva dharma sambhav was the philosophical magnet that united India from an ancient age.

But how do such principles accord with the fact of the Gujarat riots, which is a constant theme in all attacks on him? I raised questions at the time of the riots as much as any other journalist did. Paradoxically, these questions were answered over ten years by the UPA government.

There has never been, since independence, such intense scrutiny, or such absolute determination to trace guilt to a chief minister, as Modi faced from institutions loyal to the UPA government over two full terms. Every relevant instrument of state was assigned the task of finding something, anything, that could trace guilt to Modi. They could not. The Supreme Court, which is above politics and parties, and which is our invalua-

ble, independent guardian of the law and constitution, undertook its own enquiries. Its first findings are in, and we know that the answer is exoneration. Moreover, there has been judicial accountability to an unprecedented degree in Gujarat. We are still waiting for justice in a hundred previous riots.

One suspects that only some politicians have a vested interest in the past during an election when Indians want to vote for their future.

The young want a government that gives them jobs; parents want their entrepreneurial skills to turn into food on the plate, into schools for their children, and into a horizon of hope. When Modi talks of building a hundred new cities, they can see jobs and opportunity rise with every floor of a new township.

One significant indicator of the public anger lies in a statistic: Employment has grown, on an average, at only 2% in the past decade. If the rate was higher in the first five years of UPA, when the economy was faring better, then one assumes it must have sunk to less than 2% in the second UPA term. A nation that was soaring on achievement and hope has sunk into depression.

We need a national recovery mission. Only someone who has delivered

AFP

can offer a credible promise of leading such a critical mission. For those on the wrong side of 30 or 40, five years is just another passage in life. For those who are 20, five years is the difference between aspiration and despair. If a young person does not find a job in these five years, he or she begins to lose that vital energy which comes from self-confidence. If the young do not power the economy

then the economy will be stuck in the quagmire of idle waste.

There is only one way forward. And there is, among the visible choices, only one person best suited to lift the nation out of a septic swamp. You know his name as well as I do. l MJ Akbar is a journalist and ex-Congress Member of Parliament. This article was first published in The Economic Times.

12

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Entertainment

Tuesday, March 25, 2014

Ontor Kotha describes inner feelings

Ronger Manush set to colour next Eid

n Afrose Jahan Chaity

n Entertainment Desk Ronger Manush is favourite to everyone who regularly follow TV serials. The hit serial (began airing in 2004) saw landmark popularity and that was director Salahuddin Lavlu’s turning point in his directorial ventures.

Actor-cum-director Lavlu is set to remake the mega serial with the title Kemon Ache Ronger Manushera which is scheduled to air during Eid

on NTV. It will be a seven-episode serial and playwright Masum Reza promises to entertain the viewers once again with hilarious dialogue in the script.

The shooting for the play has been already started in in Pubail and Hotapara this month. The star studded serial will come back with the same cast: ATM Shamsuzzaman, Wahida Mollick Jolly, Pran Roy, Agun, Tania, Bonnya Mirza, Fazlur Rahman Babu and many more.

“The storyline of the drama will begin in line with the last episode of the previous serial. I have very personal attachment with this drama since it changed my career. I’m very excited to work with the team again,” said Lavlu.

Ronger Manush (2004) was his debut as a telenovela director. Following its success, he pursued making more of them. Since then he has directed and acted in five telenovelas. Two of these include Bhober Hat (2007) and Ghor Kutum (2008). l

play zoometrics shapes and motives with vibrant colours, especially in Complexity which is done by woodcut.

Each person have their own complex zone.

Vivacious use of acrylic colours give life to Ish-

A group art exhibition Ontor Kotha is going on at the Monobhumi Art Space until March 31.

Monubhumi Art Space is an organisation for artists. The exhibition is open for all, every day from 12-9pm.

Samarjit Roy Chowdhury inaugurated the exhibition on March 2. Six promising and wellknown artists - Tarun Ghosh, Bipul Shah, Anisuzzaman, Ishrat Zahan Kakon, Pijush Kanti Sarkar and Masudur Rahman – are exhibiting their paintings.

A total of 24 skilfully done artworks based on acrylic and woodcut media are on display at the exhibit. The paintings focus on various aspects of nature and people’s personal feelings.

In Tarun Ghosh’s paintings, his personal feelings are reflected through the use of vibrant colors with ink and scattered motives. It is focused on colours and textures and gradually moves on to experimenting with pure geometrical forms.

Artwork by Bipul Shah Symbols of hidden evil are found in a painting titled Mukhosh. The horrific and rat Zahan Kakon’s Color of memory. Pijush Kanti evil looking masks are used to portray social norms Sarker used light shades with dark colours on and the ugly inside of a human mind. This unique white space, the painting titled Hidden agenda and intriguing piece is created by Bipul Shah and is is a work of lines. The paintings are an insightful observation of the inner spirit of humans. All done in acrylic.

Assiuzzaman explores the complexities that the artworks have their own inner story to tell in goes on inside human brains and his works dis- a symbolic and captivating way. l

Disney India

Film Nree based on the struggles of undertakers lacks funding n Hasan Mansoor Chatak Aspiring filmmaker Rasel Ahmed considers Satyajit Ray as his idol. Rasel’s debut feature film Nree at present is facing the same difficulties as Ray’s Pother Panchali did sixty years ago. Ray’s wife, Bijoya, was forced to pawn her jewels while Rasel sold his family’s asset to start shooting for the film. Unfortunately the funding was inadequate and the producing company Theme Theatre Wizard Valley- which is owned by Rasel himself could not back the project any longer. Subsequently, a benevolent expat living in Saudi Arabia, Dr Arifur Rahman came to know about the funding crisis through social media and offered some financial support. Recently, when 85 percent of the shooting for the film is done, the production company again runs short of money and stopped the funding.

A teaser trailer of the digitally manufactured film broadcast in youtube and was highly appreciated by film enthusiasts of the country. Rasel was inspired to write story

of the film while talking to two embalmers who deal with the disposal of corpses of the Hindu community. These absolutely lower caste Hindus, who formerly considered untouchables, traveled a lot and when they used to come back to their root, they had interesting stories to tell. Their thought on humanity and religion inspired the director to make the film. So, the film contains message about “treating every human with compassion and not to show negligence towards anyone regardless of their class or caste.”

The shooting started in 2012 with amateur casts. The principal cinematographer is Daniel Danny. Editing, sound designing and color grading portion of the film is being readied while the production company is seeking an immediate solution of the financial crisis.

Rasel told the Dhaka Tribune: “I faced numerous hurdles making an international standard film which contains our cultural legacy and I tried adopting and developing our own filmmaking language. We are ready to finish the film as soon as we manage funds.” l

to bring The Mahabharata on screen

n Entertainment Desk

Mimodrama Jadur Prodeep by theatre troupe Swapnadal was staged on Sunday at the Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy honouring great mime artiste late Marcel Marceau QUAMRUL ABEDIN

Dhonni Meye airs tonight n Entertainment Desk

Watch out for drama series Dhonni Meye tonight at 8:30pm on Channel 9. Popular starts of the small screen including seasoned actor Abul Hayat, Dolly Johur, Shilpi Sarker Opu, Dipanwita Halder, Samia Purba, Sadika Sarna, Swagata, Intekhar Dinar, Imtiaz Borson, Mahmudul Islam Mithu, Irfan Sajjad and others will be seen in the drama.

Anwar is a government employee. He is married to a simple woman named Rabeya and has three daughters and an only son. Kabir, his son is the eldest in the family and quit studies to set up his own business. His elder daughter Bipasha is very beautiful. But she was never really interested in completing her studies and after having several affairs with men from their locality, she

married an unemployed man. Anwar’s second daughter Monisha is a meritorious student. She was the only child who never did anything out of line to bring dishonour and disappointment to her parents. She even completed her studies with her scholarship fund. She is all set to appear for BCS exam. A sophisticated man from and elite family is in love with Monisha and wants to marry her. After a length of time and many hurdles, they get married before she managed to sit for her BCS exam. However, after her marriage, she faces difficulties in continuing her studies as her mother-in-law did not like the fact that she wanted to pursue a career. With support and love from her husband she manages to pass the exam and get into a job. But, she faces the challenge of going against her in-laws’ wish and work. l

Disney India’s studio business today announced plans to bring The Mahabharata, Indian Mythology’s greatest epic, to the big screen.

The Studio is gearing up to recreate the magic of this remarkable story in live action at a scale never seen before in Indian cinema which will be directed

by Abhishek Kapoor and written by renowned author Ashok Banker.

“Indian mythology has a great wealth of stories which have inspired legions of creative minds and The Mahabharata unarguably is the most ambitious and all-encompassing of them all. We believe this epic which has engaged generations of Indians will translate into a magnificent silver screen saga,” said Siddharth Roy Kapur, Managing Director - Disney India.

“The Mahabharata expresses the universal truth, it has defined my understanding of spirituality and of all humanity. I aim to translate this onto the big screen, engage minds and deliver a world class cinematic experience,” said director Abhishek Kapoor.

“It’s an epic as relevant and powerful today as it was millennia ago. Our attempt is to make the Mahabharata that brings alive the great human drama, the terrible conflict, and unforgettable characters, in a way you’ve never seen or thought of them before.” added Ashok K Banker. l

ON TV A scene from film Nree

DRAMA 9: 00pm Star Jalsha

Michael Jackson resurrected in Lady Gaga’s new video n Entertainment Desk G.U.Y. – an artpop film released recently on Lady Gaga’s VEVO channel, and it’s a whopper even by Gaga’s standards: 11 minutes and 46 seconds of unfettered camp-pop delirium that falls somewhere between a Cocteau movie and an episode of Watch What Happens Live, complete with Andy Cohen as Zeus and the cast of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills as a Greek chorus.

Directed by Gaga herself, it’s way more than one song could hold, so the clip trots out a medley of Artpop, Venus, Manicure, and G.U.Y. We open on a shot of a bunch of angry suits out for floating dollars while Gaga,

dressed like a multiplatinum California condor is slumped in the ground, shot down by an arrow. She stumbles to her feet and makes her way to Hearst Castle, the stately pleasure dome of William Randolph Hearst, where Charlie Chaplin used to swim in the Neptune Pool and nobody ever, under any circumstances, mentioned Citizen Kane.

Then there’s some kind of water burial, lots of dancers, some ankle-length Donatella wigs, and a bizarre subplot that may or may not be about Gaga resurrecting Jesus and Michael Jackson.

It’s worth repeating. Lisa Vanderpump gives that tambourine a shaking not seen since the glory days of Tracy Partridge. l

Bojhena Shey Bojhena

11:00pm Sony TV

Bade Achhe Lagte Hain

COMEDY 12:30pm Star World Two Broke Girls 10:30pm Comedy Central Anger Management Intekhab Dinar and Swagata in a scene of Dhonni Meye

TODAY IN DHAKA Exhibition

I Bow My Head to You in Deep Obeisance

By Shahid Kabir Time: 12pm – 8pm Bengal Shilpalaya, House 42, Road 16 (New) / 27 (old), Dhanmondi, Color of Natural Disposition

By Bipad Bhanjan Sen Karmaker Time: 3pm – 9pm

La Galerie, Alliance Francaise de Dhaka, Dhanmondi Soil and Spirit

By Samar Majumder Time: 3pm – 8pm Dhaka Art Center (DAC) House-60, Road-7A Dhanmondi R/A

Did you know?

Netherlands’ 39 all out is the lowest T20I total and second lowest in all Twenty20 matches

Tuesday, March 25, 2014

Sport

14 Majestic Messi

sinks Real in thriller

Steyn-gun fires for Proteas n Riding on speedster Dale Steyn’s brilliant last over South Africa registered their first win in the World Twenty20 after edging New Zealand by two runs in a nail biting finish at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium yesterday.

The win kept the Proteas alive in the tournament, after they had lost their first match to Sri Lanka, and moreover made the Group 1 wide open.

South Africa never lost a game defending more than 170 runs and Steyn made sure it stayed that way. The spearhead led the defence of 29 off the last three overs and seven off the final over to keep South Africa in the hunt for a semi-final spot.

The 30-year-old leaked only five runs in the first two overs he bowled – 3rd and 14th in the innings. South Africa skipper Faf du Plessis stored Steyn for the final phase of the innings and the strategy worked wonders.

New Zealand had a good start to the chase with openers Martin Guptill and Kane Williamson putting up 57 runs for

the opening stand before Albie Morkel got the valuable breakthrough dismissing Guptill on 22. Imran Tahir removed the dangerous Brendon McCullum (4) early to keep the game balanced.

Williamson and Ross Taylor added 51 for the 3rd wicket but once the partnership was broken by Steyn in the 14th over, the Kiwis lost momentum and the game.

They lost five wickets in last four overs with three dismissals coming in the ultimate over when only seven runs were needed. The field on the leg side for Taylor was mostly up in the last ball with three needed, with boundary-riders on the off-side. Steyn pitched the ball up as Taylor only managed a push back to him. He ran anyway, but Steyn beat him to run him out as the Proteas went joyous over the win.

Earlier, South Africa never got the propelling start but recovered superbly with JP Duminy leading the way. They reached hundred in 15 overs before Duminy’s onslaught fetched 70 runs in the last five overs. He made 86 from just 43 balls while Hashim Amla contributed 41 from 40 deliveries to help South Africa post 170. l

DHAKA TRIBUNE

15 Sri Lanka

toy with Dutchmen

SCORECARD

South Africa’s Dale Steyn breaks the stumps to run out New Zealand’s Ross Taylor (not in the picture) in the last ball of their World Twenty20 match at ZACS yesterday ICC

South Africa Q. de Kock c Ronchi b Mills 4 Hashim Amla c and b Anderson 41 Faf du Plessis c N. McCullum b Southee 13 AB de Villiers b N. McCullum 5 JP Duminy not out 86 D. Miller c and b Anderson 6 A. Morkel b Southee 13 D. Steyn not out 1 Extras: (w1) 1 Total: (for six wkts; 20 overs) 170 Did not bat: M. Morkel, Imran Tahir, L. Tsotsobe.

Fall of wickets: 1-16 (de Kock), 2-32 (du Plessis), 3-42 (de Villiers), 4-97 (Amla), 5-131 (Miller), 6-159 (A. Morkel).

Bowling: Mills 4-0-29-1, McClenaghan 4-0-30-0 (1w), Southee 4-0-46-2, N. McCullum 4-0-24-1, Anderson 3-0-28-2, Williamson 1-0-13-0 New Zealand M. Guptill c de Kock b A. Morkel 22 K. Williamson c de Villiers b Steyn 51 B. McCullum st de Kock b Tahir 4 R. Taylor run out 62 C. Munro c Amla b Tahir 7 C. Anderson c Miller b Steyn 7 L. Ronchi c de Kock b Steyn 5 N. McCullum c du Plessis b Steyn 4 T. Southee not out 0 Extras: (lb2, w4) 6 Total: (for eight wkts; 20 overs) 168 Did not bat: K. Mills, M. McClenaghan.

Fall of wickets: 1-57 (Guptill), 2-66 (B. McCullum), 3-117 (Williamson), 4-140 (Munro), 5-148 (Anderson), 6-164 (Ronchi), 7-168 (N. McCUllum), 8-168 (Taylor).

Bowling: Duminy 3-0-30-0, Tsotsobe 4-0-29-0 (1w), Steyn 4-0-17-4, M. Morkel 3-0-50-0 (1w), A. Morkel 2-0-13-1, Tahir 4-0-27-2 (2w).

Result: South Africa win by two runs Toss: New Zealand

Mushfiq seeks 200% from players

Zia, fans delighted

n

n

“We have two specialist spinners, plus a few all-rounders. We will decide after seeing the wicket, and if there’s some help, then why not take the extra spinner? They (West Indies) are a little weak against spin, like to play big shots and not rotate strike,” he said.

The 25-year-old informed that it’s difficult to set a target rather than chasing under lights in this tournament where dew can play a big part and it will be easier if they could restrict their opponent under 150 runs.

Meanwhile, Mashrafe bin Mortaza is unlikely to be rested despite not fully recovering from his side strain. “We have no options left, only Mashrafe bhai can say what is his actual condition at the moment and even he is ten percent fit he is ready to play. I hope that he will be playing as much as he can deliver saving his injury and absorb the pain to his limits, we have only two pacers and both will play,” said Mushfiq.

West Indies cricketers were criticised for not rotating the strike and instead got out looking for big shots against India.

However, their coach Ottis Gibson countered the criticism and said it’s in their advantage that they have big hitters.

“We are blessed with players who can hit the ball to the stands, I am sure people will look at Chris Gayle to hit the ball to the stands rather than take a quick single and pull a hamstring,” said Gibson.

“If you look back at the game, most of our best players are in the IPL and I think they [India] know them quite well, and a lot of the plans from last night seem to come out of IPL. Bangladesh are different and we look forward to it. We have to focus on winning, to survive in the tournament,” said Gibson.

The former fast bowler added that they have to adjust the mindset and will be aware of what the opposition will be trying against them and counteract that. l

Borren feels embarrassed n Dutch skipper Peter Borren admitted that his players are very embarrassed after the Sri Lankan drubbing at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium yes-

terday.

“Everything was a bit of a rush. It’s not the first time the top-order has played at this level and it’s not been this bad. Obviously Myburgh was going to play that way, but down the order it was quite bad. It was always going to be a struggle for the lower order against Mendis and Malinga.

Surprised by the result, not something we saw coming but we have three more chances. The guys up in the dressing room are very embarrassed and hopefully we can show you guys in the next few games of what we can really do. We’re constantly striving for more fixtures and more funding and this sort of performance doesn’t help. It’s gonna have to improve, I don’t really know what else to say” said Borren. “ Sri Lankan skipper Dinesh Chandimal thought they bowled well. “ We bowled really well,Angelo gave a good start and Malinga and Ajantha finished it off. I’m very happy. We won’t be underestimating any team. We have two more games and we’re keeping our fingers crossed to win them as well.

Happy with Dilshan getting a few runs.

Hope he continues throughout the series” l

West Indies’ players attend a training session ahead of their ICC Twenty20 Cricket World Cup match against Bangladesh in Dhaka, Bangladesh yesterday AP

Dhoni backs Yuvraj n

As he took off his helmet, tucked his bat under his arm and trudged back to the pavilion after a 19-ball struggle in the World Twenty20 on Sunday, Yuvraj Singh looked a shadow of the talismanic all-rounder who delivered two World Cups for India.

The dashing southpaw hitting England fast bowler Stuart Broad for six sixes in an over remains the defining moment of India’s victory in the inaugural World Twenty20 in 2007.

His player-of-the-tournament performance helped India win the 50-over World Cup in Mumbai four years later,

and he showed his battling qualities off the pitch too by overcoming a cancerous lung condition.

“Yuvraj is perhaps the best player in Twenty20. You can say he’s not in his rhythm but it’s always tough after you’ve been dropped from ODI side and return in Twenty20,” Dhoni said after the victory against defending champions West Indies.

“There is invariably some pressure on an individual returning to the side.

It takes a couple of games at least.

“We are only hoping that he gets a good match. We all know the kind of match winner he is. He can really turn the game around on his own.” l

Fans were seen carrying out a series of protests on social media websites over all-rounder Ziaur Rahman not being a part of Bangladesh’s World Cup Twenty20 squad. The protests were fuelled further as Farhad Reza, a player of similar standard who was picked ahead of Zia, failed miserably to deliver in the qualifying round when the team needed him to deliver the most.

However, the fans’ protests perhaps did not fall into deaf ears as an unlucky finger injury to pacer Rubel Hossain has finally opened the door for Zia’s entry into the World Cup squad which eventually has brought smiles back into the faces of the fans and Zia obviously. Zia has already cemented his name as a hard hitter among the cricket-crazy fans of the nation with his hefty hitting as his remarkable strikerate of over 140 in the shortest format of cricket bears the testimony of his calibre as an ideal player of this format.

His versatility to adapt to team’s needs also gives him and the team an extra edge as evidenced in the past by his ability to open the innings as well as to slog down the order during the final stage of an innings.

“It has become normal for me. My luck is like that actually – always have to come in and go out. So I don’t get surprised anymore now. It’s true I had a dream to play in this World Cup at home,” Zia said. “I thought it’s just not my luck as it didn’t happen so. I thought I have to do something good so that I can at least get an opportunity to play in the matches after the World Cup. Then suddenly I heard on the day before yesterday that Rubel got injured and I’ve been called up. I’m happy.”

“I don’t bother about those in Facebook. Yes, I have a desire of my own. I must be able to show that. Now I just have one wish – I must play well if an opportunity comes my way,” said Zia ahead of today’s match against the

cricketers from the Caribbean islands.

“It’s all down to luck actually. I’m not thinking about what happened in the past. I’m rather thinking that I’m in good form; now that I’m in the team, I have to deliver with both bat and ball if I get an opportunity. I hope to contribute to the team’s causes by doing something myself. Keep me in your prayers”, he added.

Zia said the expectation from the spectators can only be fulfilled if he gives something to the team. “I can provide something extra to the spectators only if I can capitalize on the chance given to me. It’d be beneficial both for the team and myself. I can fail as well after so much speculation. So it’s not right to speculate so much beforehand”, he opined.

Meanwhile, the fans were also delighted to have Zia back in the squad as they think it will make the team more balanced. Some said the strong Khulna-lad will bolster the tigers’ batting unit while others thought it would be his bowling making the difference.

Foyez Morshed, a private IT firm employee, said, “I don’t know how he will play with the bat, but his bowling will make the difference. His slow bowling and steady line and length are perfect for the pitches here.”

Another private firm employee Fuad Sajjad thought, “Zia’s inclusion in the team has given Bangladesh a great balance in the line up. The lower batting order has been enriched alongside the bowling as Zia is in great form.” l

Du Plessis hails Steyn n

South Africa skipper Faf du Plessis, who returned from a hamstring injury, informed that he had the confidence of defending the game, a game which was a must win in order to survive in the World Twenty20.

“I did have the confidence in the back of my mind, at the back of my mind I said anything under 8 would be tough.

We got it down to seven, but when you start like that, with three dot balls you feel like you have a chance and also we didn’t want Taylor on strike and we did exactly that,” said du Plessis to the me-

dia after the game yesterday.

“We are a very happy team at the moment, I felt you know it was a great innings (from JP Duminy). He played Teams

GROUP A

Bangladesh had been through several ups and downs in their recent past, but yet they have managed to sneak in to the Super 10 phase of the World Twenty20 where they face defending champions West Indies in their first game today.

Pitted in Group 2 against three former World T20 champions and Australia, Bangladesh skipper Mushfiqur Rahim thinks they have nothing to lose which should make them put more effort in the games.

“Even though we had played badly during the Asia Cup and the Sri Lanka series, I didn’t expect it to be so bad [against Hong Kong] it is alarming. The only message to the team is that we have nothing to lose so we better give 200%,” said Mushfiq at the Sher-e-Ban-

gla National Stadium yesterday.

“The opponent must feel that we are here to give them a hard time. If we can do that, I am sure we have the ability to win a few of the four matches,” he said.

The poor form of Nasir Hossain, Mahmudullah and Abdur Razzak is a big concern for the side, but Mushfiq informed that it wouldn’t take too much for a player to return to form.

“A crucial 10 or 20, even a catch, can change your mentality, we are working towards this. We don’t look at the players’ past to choose our best eleven. We look at what’s happening at the moment and who our opponents are, what the conditions are.”

West Indies has already been exposed to spin bowling against India in their first match and Mushfiq is counting on his spinners too and also hinted off spinner Sohag Gazi, who has a good record against Chris Gayle, might get an opportunity today.

13

Sri Lanka New Zealand South Africa England Netherlands

Mat Won Lost Pts 2 2 2 1 1

2 1 1 0 0

0 1 1 1 1

4 2 2 0 0

RR +3.225 +0.276 -0.075 -1.688 -6.050

a fantastic knock, he gave us a chance and then Dale Steyn proved today why he has been the world’s best bowler for such a long period team. I thought New Zealand got themselves in a position

where they should have won the game and something special was required for us to try and get away,” he added.

Steyn’s four-over spell went for just 17 runs and fetched four wickets, but it was Duminy who grabbed the man of the match award for his unbeaten 43-ball 86 that had aided South Africa post the challenging target after some shaky moments.

“I guess there was a little bit of surprise factor to it. Like as I said Dale’s last over was exceptional it was a collective effort from the burning unit. Like as I mentioned Morne even Imran’s four overs was also big contribution so as much as he put up effort in the last over, the other bowlers also did a good job,” said Duminy. l

14

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Del Potro to undergo wrist surgery Juan Martin del Potro will undergo surgery Monday on his troublesome left wrist after a visit to his US doctors in Minnesota, the player announced. The Argentine world number eight has been bothered by the problem since early January when he first felt pain in an opening match at the Australian Open a few days after winning the Sydney tournament title. He withdrew from events in Dubai, Indian Wells and Miami.

“After a period of medical treatment my doctor Richard Berger decided that I should have surgery to fix the problem on my left wrist,” Del Potro said .

–AFP

Sport

Tuesday, March 25, 2014

Marquez edges Rossi in Qatar GP

Scott blows bid for title, top spot

World champion Marc Marquez won the season-opening Qatar Grand Prix on Sunday just a month after breaking his leg. The Honda rider fought off a thrilling, wheel-to-wheel challenge from nine-time champion Valentino Rossi on a Yamaha to win by just 0.259sec. Dani Pedrosa, on the second factory Honda, took third.

Marquez, who broke his right leg in a dirt-bike accident in his native Spain at the end of February, came into the new season having become the youngest ever world champion in 2013.

–AFP

Adam Scott stumbled with a chance to all-but ensure himself of becoming world number one, leaving Matt Every to claim his first PGA title Sunday at the Arnold Palmer Invitational. Reigning Masters champion Scott, who led by a record seven strokes through 36 holes and by three when the day began, struggled to a final-round four-over par 76 and settled for third. “I really think the putting let me down,” Scott said. “I am annoyed I didn’t putt at all today. Poor, just out of sorts for whatever reason.”

–AFP

Majestic Messi sinks Real in thriller n AFP, Madrid

Barcelona's Lionel Messi (2nd R) and Neymar (R) celebrate a goal as Real Madrid's Pepe (3rd R) takes Cesc Fabregas (2nd L) by the neck near goalkeeper Diego Lopez (L) during La Liga's second 'Clasico' match of the season at Santiago Bernabeu stadium in Madrid on Sunday REUTERS

Barcelona moved to within a point of Real Madrid at the top of La Liga as they twice came from behind thanks to a Lionel Messi hat-trick to edge a thrilling El Clasico 4-3 at the Santiago Bernabeu.

The sides went in level 2-2 at halftime as a record 19th goal against Madrid from Messi cancelled out Karim Benzema’s double after Andres Iniesta had put Barca in front.

Cristiano Ronaldo then put Madrid back in front from the penalty spot, but the hosts were reduced to 10-men when Sergio Ramos pulled down Neymar inside the box 10 minutes later and Messi levelled once more from the spot.

And the Argentine won the game with another penalty seven minutes from time after Iniesta had been felled

by Xabi Alonso.

A first defeat for Real in 32 games means Atletico Madrid remain top of the table thanks to their better headto-head record.

The game got off to a blistering start as after Neymar and Benzema had early efforts easily saved, Barca opened the scoring when Messi played in Iniesta behind the Real defence and the Spanish international smashed the ball in off the underside of the bar.

RESULTS

Osasuna Acuna 90+4

Real Betis

1 2

Sevilla

0 2

Atletico Madrid

Jairo 27, Bacca 45-pen

Gabi 57, Diego Costa 63

Valencia Javi Fuego 35, 43

Real Madrid Benzema 20, 24, Ronaldo 55-pen

2 1 3 4

Villarreal Dos Santos 83

Barcelona Iniesta 7, Messi 42, 65-pen, 84-pen

Benzema made amends for his earlier miss 20 minutes in when Victor Valdes just failed to keep out his header from Di Maria’s cross.

Barca were level when Messi controlled a loose ball inside the area and slotted home at Diego Lopez’s near post.

However, the game turned again 25 minutes from time when Messi released Neymar and he was brought down by Ramos. Real’s captain for the evening was shown his 19th red card for Los Blancos for denying a clear goalscoring opportunity and Messi converted from the spot to make it 3-3.

Alves then struck the inside of the post from 25 yards as Barca went in search of the goal that would salvage their title chances. And they got it when Mallenco awarded a third penalty of the evening as Iniesta tumbled inside the area and Messi again dispatched it perfectly high past Lopez. l

United eye derby delight Referee not up to Clasico standard: Ronaldo n AFP, London

Four of the Premier League’s biggest clubs will go in search of victory in upcoming midweek matches as the race for the title enters the home straight.

Tuesday sees third-placed Manchester City, six points behind leaders Chelsea but with three games in hand, up against a resurgent Manchester United in an eagerly-anticipated derby at Old Trafford.

Meanwhile Arsenal will try to recover from a 6-0 defeat by Chelsea last weekend – a humiliating way to mark Arsene Wenger’s 1,00th match in charge of the Gunners – at home to Swansea.

And Wednesday could witness second-placed Liverpool move to within a point of Chelsea, having played the same number of games, if Brendan Rodgers’ in-form side defeat relegationthreatened Sunderland at Anfield.

Last week, United kept those doubting the wisdom of appointing David Moyes as their manager in succession to Alex Ferguson at bay by advancing to the Champions League quarter-finals and seeing off West Ham, courtesy of a Wayne Rooney double that included a long-range wonder goal.

However, they are still 11 points behind fourth-placed Arsenal and now, without injured striker Robin van Persie, face a City side who thrashed bottom-of-the-table Fulham 5-0 last weekend.

FIXTURES Arsenal v Swansea Man United v Man City Newcastle v Everton City triumphed in the first of this season’s Manchester league derbies with a 4-1 win at Eastlands in September.

United have won just once against teams in the top nine so far this season, a fact not lost on former Everton manager Moyes.

“In the end you get three points for winning any game but there is an added importance of winning the big games,” the Scot said. “It’s not been something we have done well enough this season.”

City’s Yaya Toure, who scored a hattrick against Fulham, insisted his side were in no mood to ease up despite having already lifted the League Cup this season.

“I think the club and the fans need trophies, need history and need great players to come here and try to make this club great,” he told City TV. l

n AFP, Madrid Two-time World Player of the Year Cristiano Ronaldo slammed referee Alberto Undiano Mallenco after Real Madrid were beaten for the first time in 32 games 4-3 by Barcelona on Sunday.

Mallenco awarded three penalties on the night with Ronaldo scoring the first one for Madrid to put them 3-2 up 10 minutes after half-time.

However, Sergio Ramos was then sent-off for denying a clear goalscoring opportunity for a foul on Neymar inside the area before Xabi Alonso was adjudged to have tripped Andres Iniesta seven minutes from time.

Lionel Messi converted both spotkicks to complete a hat-trick after cancelling out Karim Benzema’s double at the end of the first-half to become the all-time leading scorer in games between the two sides.

“There were a lot of mistakes for just one game. A match between Real and Barca ought to have a high level of referee,” said Ronaldo.

“You can’t make correct decisions when you are nervous. It makes me think that it is not just on the field that you win games, a little help from outside helps too.

“My penalty might have been just outside the area, but there are many things that went on. It is difficult when many people didn’t want us to win today.”

Ronaldo’s coach Carlo Ancelotti was more level-headed about Mallenco’s decisions, but did agree that Ramos’ red card swung the game in Barca’s favour.

“I haven’t seen it again and it is difficult for me to comment on the decisions of the referee because there were many.

“However, it was the key moment.

We were winning 3-2 and controlling the game well, but it is much more difficult to control the game with a player less.”

Defeat leaves Madrid still joint top of the table on 70 points alongside Atletico Madrid, but in second place due to their inferior head-to-head against their local rivals with Barca a point further back in third.

And Ancelotti is seeking a immediate response from his side with a difficult looking away game against in-form Sevilla to come on Wednesday.

“Obviously we are not happy because we have lost a big opportunity, but we will continue fighting until the end.

Real Madrid defender Sergio Ramos is shown a red card during the Spanish league "Clasico" match against FC Barcelona at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium on Sunday AFP “There are nine games left and it will be an intense race. The league is open for all three teams and any game could

be decisive. “We need a good reaction on Wednesday because that could be the key game of the season.” l

Bayern eager to claim title record

Li finds Keys to victory, reaches Miami fourth round

Monaco’s title challenge in tatters n Reuters, PARIS

Tevez winner restores Juve’s 14-point cushion

Bayern Munich travel to Germany’s capital on Tuesday determined to finally secure the Bundesliga title in record time by taking three points from Hertha Berlin.

n Reuters, Miami

Monaco’s Ligue 1 title challenge all but ended when they drew 1-1 with at home to Lille on Sunday to leave them 10 points adrift of leaders Paris St Germain.

Divock Origi cancelled out Mounir Obbadi’s early opener as second-placed Monaco moved to 63 points with eight games left.

French champions PSG have 73 after beating Lorient 1-0 away on Friday.

Lille remained third on 54 points and occupy the Champions League qualifying third round spot, three points ahead of St Etienne who beat Sochaux 3-1 on Sunday.

Dimitar Berbatov, who created two and scored one last weekend for Monaco, fought hard up front but his 69thminute header went just over the bar. l

n Reuters

RESULTS

Both coaches were sent off as leaders Juventus scrambled a 1-0 win at bottom club Catania on Sunday with a performance which was anything but polished.

AC Milan ended a four-match losing run by holding Lazio 1-1 in a meeting of the league’s two crisis clubs and Inter Milan hit the woodwork four times before going down 2-1 to a late goal at home to Atalanta.

Fourth-placed Fiorentina boosted their hopes of a Champions League spot with a 1-0 win at third-placed Napoli who had Faouzi Ghoulam sent off for a foul on Marko Bakic in the 37th minute.

Udinese beat relegation-threatened Sassuolo 1-0 after both teams missed penalties and Sampdoria responded to last week’s stinging criticism from coach Sinisa Mihajlovic by thrashing Verona 5-0.

Carlos Tevez’s 16th goal of the season kept Juventus 14 points clear at the top and on course for a third successive title under coach Antonio Conte.

The champions have 78 points from

Parma

n AFP, Berlin

FIXTURES Dortmund v Werder Bremen v Eintracht v Hertha Berlin v

Schalke, Wolfsburg Mainz 05 Bayern Munich

A 19th consecutive league victory at Berlin’s Olympic Stadium will give Bayern their 24th German title with seven matches left, beating their own record they set last season.

Bayern’s 2-0 win at Mainz 05 on Saturday kept them a massive 23 points clear in the league and they will finally be uncatchable if they win at Hertha having dominated all season.

“There’s obviously a great sense of anticipation,” said Bayern’s Austria left-back David Alaba.

“We know that we haven’t achieved anything yet, so we’ll be going there in a serious mood. “We want to win the Bundesliga trophy as quickly as possible.” l

World number two Li Na finally made her first appearance at the Sony Open on Sunday, taming Madison Keys in an unsteady effort while three-time champion Venus Williams was also made to work under a blazing Florida sun for her spot in the fourth round.

Li had to fight off three set points and an early break in the second set before clinching a 7-6 (7-3) 6-3 win over her American opponent.

Williams, seeded 29th at the tournament she considers her home event, battled Casey Dellacqua for almost two and a half hours before subduing the determined Australian wild card 6-4 5-7 6-4.

Third seed Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland continued to confirm she is over the knee problem that plagued her in the final in Indian Wells last Sunday, registering a 7-5 6-3 victory over Russian Elena Vesnina.

Williams was not at her best against Dellacqua committing 44 unforced errors and six double faults but she did not lack for fight in the blistering midday sun.

In other third round action, Slova-

Li Na of China celebrates match point against Madison Keys of the USA during their match on day 7 of the Sony Open in Key Biscayne, Florida on Sunday AFP kia’s Dominika Cibulkova, the 10th seed, was a 7-6 (8-6) 6-4 winner over Frenchwoman Alize Cornet. l

RESULTS Monaco Obbadi 4

Saint-Etienne

1 1 3 1

Erding 46, 89, Tabanou 51

Guingamp

0 1

Lille Origi 38

Sochaux Butin 66

Lyon Gomis 46

Schelotto 31

Bologna

1 1 1 0

Genoa Cofie 21

Cagliari

Christodoulopoulos 78-pen

Inter Milan Icardi 36

Sampdoria

1 2

Atalanta Bonaventura 35, 90

5 0

Verona

1 0

Sassuolo

0 1

Fiorentina

Sansone 4, Renan 23, Soriano 28, 38, Palombo 58

Udinese Di Natale 26

Napoli Lazio Gonzalez 61

Catania

1 1 0 1

Joaquin 87

AC Milan Konko 43-og

Juventus Tevez 59

29 games while Roma, 2-0 winners at Chievo on Saturday, are on 64 with a game in hand. They are followed by Napoli (58) and Fiorentina (51).

Conte and his opposite number Rolando Maran were ordered from the touchline simultaneously in the first half for dissent as the match threatened to boil over. l

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Sport

15

Tuesday, March 25, 2014

QUICK BYTES

SCORECARD The Netherlands S. Myburgh c Malinga b Kulasekara 0 M. Swart c Sangakkara b Mathews 0 W. Barresi c Chandimal b Mathews 1 T. Cooper lbw b Mendis 16 P. Borren lbw b Mathews 0 B. Cooper run out 8 Mudassar Bukhari b Malinga 4 L. van Beek b Malinga 1 P. Seelaar c Mathews b Mendis 3 T. Gugten not out 0 Ahsan Jamil lbw b Mendis 0 Extras: (lb6) 6 Total: (all out; 10.3 overs) 39 Fall of wickets: 1-0 (Myburgh), 2-1 (Swart), 3-1 (Baresi), 4-9 (Borren), 5-25 (B. Cooper), 6-33 (T. Cooper), 7-36 (van Beek), 8-39 (Bukhari), 9-39 (Seelaar) Bowling: Kulasekara 2-2-0-1, Mathews 4-016-3, Malinga 2-0-5-2, Mendis 2.3-0-12-3

Ref retained despite Arsenal red-card blunder Referee Andre Marriner will remain a part of next weekend’s Premier League games despite his high-profile gaffe in sending off the wrong Arsenal player at Chelsea on Saturday. Marriner will take charge of Southampton against Newcastle United on Saturday, the Premier League said. The referee caused uproar when he awarded a penalty against Arsenal for Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain’s handball and then sent off Kieran Gibbs by mistake despite the real culprit owning up at the time. Arsenal went on to lose 6-0 at Stamford Bridge but Marriner’s blunder was the talk of the afternoon, with the referee later expressing his ‘disappointment’ to Arsenal. Former World Cup referee Clive Thomas told BBC radio the referee had made a “disgusting, shocking decision” and suggested Marriner should be stood down for the rest of the Premier League season. The visitors had been trailing 2-0 to early goals from Samuel Eto’o and Andre Schuerrle when Marriner awarded the 15th-minute penalty after Oxlade-Chamberlain handled a shot from Eden Hazard on the goalline.

–Reuters

Prandelli set to sign two-year extension Italy coach Cesare Prandelli is set to sign a two-year extension to his contract that would see him remain with the Azzurri through to the 2016 European Championships. Prandelli’s contract with the Italian football federation (FIGC) was set to end after this summer’s World Cup in Brazil.

However reports on Monday claimed the 56-year-old coach was on the verge of adding two years to his current deal.

The FIGC told AFP the finer details of the deal had yet to be ironed out but that a contract extension was “expected”. If confirmed, it would prove a boost to Italy ahead of this summer’s showpiece where Prandelli’s side will meet England, Costa Rica and Uruguay in Group D. Prandelli took over the Azzurri helm following their first-round exit from the 2010 World Cup in South Africa and against all expectations led them to the final of Euro 2012, where Italy succumbed to a 4-0 drubbing by Spain. They also finished third at the 2013 Confederations Cup, after losing 7-6 on penalties in the semi-finals against Spain, before beating Uruguay on spot-kicks in the consolation final.

–AFP

Bayer slump to eighth defeat in nine games Bayer Leverkusen’s horror run of results continued on Sunday as they suffered their eighth defeat in nine games after losing 3-2 at home to Hoffenheim in the Bundesliga. Sami Hyypia-coached Leverkusen last won at the start of February and have since dropped from second to fourth in the Bundesliga, crashing out of both the Champions League and German Cup in the process. Hyypia’s side have failed to recover since Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s Paris St German routed them 4-0 at home in mid-February and are in danger of slipping out of the German league’s Champions League places.

Mid-table Hoffenheim claimed a historic first win at Leverkusen when striker Anthony Modeste netted the 89th-minute winner. “I have no explaination for our poor performance in the first-half,” said Hyypia. “I wasn’t happy with attitude, our commitment and our concentration.” “We improved after the break, but it wasn’t enough.” The guests took the lead at Leverkusen’s BayArena when Bosnia striker Sejad Salihovic netted an early penalty, then Kevin Volland put them 2-1 up just 87 seconds after Stefan Kiessling had levelled for Bayer.

–AFP

Sri Lanka K. Perera c Swart b Jamil 14 T. Dilshan not out 12 M. Jayawardene not out 11 Extras: (nb1, w2) 3 Total: (for one wkt; 5 overs) 40 Fall of wickets: 1-20 (Perera) Did not bat: K. Sangakkara, D. Chandimal, A. Mathews, T. Perera, N. Kulasekara, S. Senanayake, B. Mendis, L. Malinga Bowling: Van der Gugten 3-0-22-0 (1nb, 1w), Jamil 2-0-18-1 (1w) Result: Sri Lanka won by nine wickets Toss: Sri Lanka

Ahsan Malik walks back as the scoreboard confirms Netherlands' plight against Sri Lanka during their World T20 match at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium yesterday

Sri Lanka toy with Dutchmen Soccer Club move to n

Sri Lanka stamped their authority over Netherlands in a one sided game which they won by nine wickets to boost their net run rate in the ICC World Twenty20 at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium yesterday.

The world No 1 T20 side, Sri Lanka first got the Dutch all-out in 10.3 overs with only 39 runs on the scorecard, the lowest ever T20 score, and then reached shore in five overs, another record, losing a wicket.

Sri Lanka dominated Netherlands with a casual approach. Right-arm pacer Nuwan Kulasekara’s opening over set the most dramatic collapse the format has seen after Ducth opener Stephan Myburgh top-edge to fine leg.

In the next over, Angelo Mathews

Lowest totals in T20 Team Netherlands Kenya Kenya Ireland Hong Kong

Score 39 56 67 68 69

Overs 10.3 18.4 17.2 16.4 17.0

Opposition Sri Lanka Afghanistan Ireland West Indies Nepal

delivered two unremarkable halftrackers back-to-back, and found himself on-a-hat-trick, as Michael Swart and Wesley Barresi attempted attacks went wrong.

There was a floodlight malfunction too in between all the Dutch wickets.

The low-voltage had had turned portion of each of the four floodlights off.

The nine-minute which took for the lights to start burning in full seemed greater obstacle to a Sri Lanka victory than their opponents did, with the bat.

Sri Lanka spearhead Lasith Malinga picked up two wickets after dismantling the middle stump twice with the

n

Bangladesh Hockey Federation plans a long term preparation camp for the national hockey team in order to face the upcoming challenges of the Asian Games billed to start in Incheon, Korea in September next.

Bangladesh hockey team, still rejoicing in the 6-1 win over Oman and the top position of the Asian Games Hockey Qualifiers, went to Cox’s Bazar on a recreation tour yesterday. However, federation’s General Secretary Khawaja Rahmatullah was not in a light mood. “The level of the Asian Games is far higher than the qualifiers. We have to prepare the team ideally. We have plans to run a three month long

preparation camp for the team. We want to sustain the ascending graph of the progress of the national team”, said the general secretary.

Meanwhile, coach Naveed Alam hoped his boys would get better with the time. “I am pleased to see that the boys put the best when it was needed the most. It was a morale and confidence boosting win for the team as they were eager to beat Oman. However, I would like to see the team play some warm-up matches against formidable opponents before the Asian Games begins. It would have two effects. Firstly, it will boost the confidence level and secondly but most importantly, they will be able to rectify their mistakes”, said Naveed.

ICC World T20 7.30PM Bangladesh v West Indies English Premier League Star Sports 1 1:45am Newcastle v Everton Star Sports 2 1:45AM Arsenal v Swansea 1:45AM Man United v Man City

slower yorkers.

Spinner Ajantha Mendis came into attack with an expensive first over. But in next nine deliveries, Mendis grabbed three wickets after Netherlands lower order played like batsmen who have never faced his brand of mystery spin before. The googly accounted for two of his three wickets to see The Oranjes get all out in the 11th over.

Sri Lanka lost one wicket, opener Kusal Parera on 14 chasing the lowest ever total. The other opener, Tillakaratne Dilshan was unbeaten on 12 off 11 balls with Mahela Jayawardene was not out on 11 from 10 balls. l

Naveed Alam’s contract with the federation expires in June next and the hockey federation will also have to renew the deal with Janata Bank who sponsors the salary of the national coach. “We will sit with the Janata Bank authority about the issue. If they agree to renew the deal for another year then it would not be a problem.

We hope that Janata Bank will continue the support”, said Khawaja Rahmatullah.

It was learnt that interim goalkeeping coach of the team, the former Pakistan national goalkeeper Monsur Ahmed will return to his country on 31st March. Naveed has said he wants to bring Monsur again ahead of the Asian Games. l

Broad fined for ‘distinctly average’ umpires blast n

Sony Six

BTV, Gazi TV, Maasranga TV Star Sports 1, HD1

Date 2014 2013 2008 2010 2014

BHF keen to continue success run

DAY’S WATCH NBA 2013-14 6:00AM Oklahoma City v Denver 8:30AM La Clippers v Milwaukee

Ground Chittagong Sharjah Belfast Providence Chittagong

AFM Iqbal bin Anwar Dawn speaks at the press conference of the Independence Day wrestling at the BNS yesterday. Tabiur Rahman Pahlawan, the general secretary of the Bangladesh Bodybuilding Federation and SM Zahid Hasan are also seen in the picture

Walton Independence Day Wrestling tomorrow n

The Walton Refrigerator Independence Day Open Wrestling will be held at the Kabbadi Stadium tomorrow.

Around 100 wrestlers from across the country will participate in the daylong meet. Wrestlers from BGB, Bangladesh Police, Bangladesh Ansar, Dhaka Metropolis and Bangladesh Army will also lock horns for the titles in eight categories in the men’s and women’s sections.

The weight categories include 57, 61, 65, 70, 75, 85, 97 and 125+ kg for men and 48,

51, 55, 59, 63, 70, 75, 80 kg for women.

Tabiur Rahman Pahlawan, the general secretary of the Bangladesh Wrestling Federation presented the meet to the press in a press conference held at the Bangabandhu National Stadium conference room yesterday. A.F.M. Iqbal Bin Anwar Dawn, the Additional Director of Walton; S.M. Zahid Hasan, the Executive Director of Walton; Mezbahuddin Azad, the Joint Secretary of the federation and Nazrul Islam, an executive committee member were also present on the occasion. l

England captain Stuart Broad was fined on Sunday after blasting umpires as “distinctly average” who put players in danger when lightning hit his team’s World Twenty20 clash with New Zealand.

New Zealand were declared winners by nine runs under the DuckworthLewis method after the umpires called off the Group One match due to persistent rain in Chittagong on Saturday.

Broad had sought guidance on when the weather should stop play after onfield umpires Aleem Dar of Pakistan and Paul Rieffel of Australia failed to stop the game despite thunder and lightning when New Zealand were chasing a 173-run target.

The umpires waited until heavy rain fell. Even after a 25-minute delay the match could not be resumed.

At 52-1 after 5.2 overs -- nine runs ahead of what they needed under the Duckworth-Lewis method, New Zealand were declared the winners.

Broad, who was fined 15% of his match fee, felt aggrieved because had play been stopped before the end of the fifth over it would not have counted as a complete match, resulting in one point for each team. He said the umpires’ decision cost his team the match. l

quarters, Brothers held n Soccer Club, Feni confirmed their quarter-final slot from Group D in the Modhumoti Bank Independence Cup with a 3-2 win over Rahmatganj MFS at the Bangabandhu National Stadium yesterday. In the other match of the day Brothers Union were held to a 1-1 draw

by Chittagong Abahani.

Rahmatganj, the Bangladesh Championship League outfit drew 1-1 with Team BJMC in the group which saw them finish their campaign with one point. However if Feni Soccer beat Team BJMC by a big margin then the goal difference will decide the fate of the last slot from the group while a win for BJMC will stop Rahmatganj for progressing further.

Feni Soccer’s new Gambian midfielder Landing Darboe showed admirable control and pace as he scored a brace on his debut match. In the 7th minute he headed a Rony Islam cross using his height and doubled the lead in the 31st minute with an intelligent upward placing shot off a goal mouth melee.

Rahmatganj, however, staged a comeback with striker Nurul Absar con-

verting the spot kick in the 37th minute after he was tackled from behind by Soccer captain Abu Sufian Zahid. Rahmatnganj drew level with Md. Jahangir’s fierce shot from 20 yards out which gave Feni Soccer goalkeeper Piru hardly any chance to react before defender Abdullah Al-Mamun’s calm headed finish in the last minute triggered wild celebrations in the Soccer tent.

In the other match, Brothers Union took the lead in the 22nd minute with Rubel Miah’s easy strike from the near post. Chimezie Mike sent a long ball from the midfield to Jewel Rana who took control at the left edge of the box before cutting a square pass to onrushing Rubel.

Chittagong Abahani regrouped and equalised in the 38th minute with Guinean forward Ousmane Cherif’s powerful shot from 20 yards out. In the 42nd minute Chittagong Abahani forward Sohel Mia made his way through the Brothers defence but shot wide. In the dying stage of the second half Brothers forward Abdul Malek failed to score in a one-on-one situation with Abahani goalkeeper Nahiduddin as both teams shared points. l

Uni-Beach Cricket at Cox’s Bazar n Anjan’s Uni-Beach Cricket, comprising eight private universities starts at the Sports Zone of the Cox’s Bazar beach tomorrow. As many as eight teams including teams from the University of Asia Pacific, Presidency University, Bangladesh Islami University, Bangla-

desh International University, Sapporo Dental College and Hospital, East Delta University, Southern University and Cox’s Bazar International University will feature in the three day competition. Initially, all the teams will be split into two groups. Then the top two teams from each group will compete in the semis. l

16

DHAKA TRIBUNE

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Tuesday, March 25, 2014

Government: BNP-Jamaat violence slashed GDP n Asif Showkat Kallol The country’s GDP growth as well as its foreign assistance had fallen drastically because of destructive activities during October-December last year, which affected the economy as a whole during the first half of the current fiscal year, a government report has said.

The projected GDP growth of 7.2% was not achieved because of the unrest during those three months, but the analysis of the country’s macroeconomic indices for the last six months shows that GDP growth might still reach 6.5%, Finance Minister AMA Muhith told parliament yesterday after placing before it the half-yearly (July-December) report on the implementation of the current fiscal budget.

Although violence by BNP and Jamaat-e-Islam activists cost lives and caused damage to property, citizens resisted and saved the country from economic ruin, the minister claimed.

The revised 6.5% GDP would be achieved if the government sped up its existing plans and programmes, he further said.

Credit from foreign sources has also

declined compared to the last fiscal, but foreign grants have increased during the same period, Muhith said.

As per the half-yearly budget implementation report, the net foreign assistance declined drastically, by 64% during the first half of the current fiscal year, compared to the same period of the last fiscal.

Former finance adviser Dr AB Mirza Azizul Islam, however, rejected claims that violence slashed GDP growth.

He told the Dhaka Tribune that the ministry now wanted to slash budgetary goals as the finance minister had not set up “logical” budget targets, which was poor budget preparation.

Mirza also said: “Most of budget targets including the GDP and foreign assistance were overestimated in the budget announcement and I calculated that GDP growth is 5.6% instead of 7.2%.”

The overestimation might cause the budget deficit to increase and cause a negative impact on inflation, he added.

After six months, net foreign credit stood at Tk613 crore while during the same period it was Tk 1702 crore in 2012-13 fiscal year. The current fiscal year budget target is Tk21,068 crore.

Foreign credit during the first half of the current fiscal year was Tk4,706 crore, compared to Tk4,982 crore for the same period last fiscal.

Foreign grants stood at Tk434 crore at the end of the first half of the fiscal, which was an increase of 33.53% compared to last fiscal year’s Tk325 crore, according to the report.

The overall expenditure in the first half of the fiscal stood at Tk76,881 crore or 34.56% of the total budget of Tk222,491 crore. For the same period of last fiscal, the expenditure was Tk63,848 crore or 33.32% of the total budget.

Total revenue earning was Tk64,715 crore, which was 38.6% of total earning target of Tk167,459 crore for the first half of the fiscal year; while revenue earning was Tk59,882 crore during the same period last year, according to the budget implementation report .

At the end of the first half of the fiscal, fund disbursement was 23.48% or Tk15,869 crore of the current fiscal year’s ADP worth Tk65,872 crore, which was also 20.64% of the total budget implementation.

During the last fiscal year, it was Tk12,815 crore or 23.33% of the total

ADP of Tk55,000 crore, according to the report.

Budget deficit during the first half of the last fiscal year was only Tk3,985 crore, but this year it increased to Tk12,166 crore, which is about 22.10% of the total deficit of Tk55,032 crore budgeted for the current fiscal year.

As a result, borrowing from the banking system stood at Tk9,630 crore in the first half of this fiscal year, compared to Tk8,377 crore in the last fiscal year.

The finance minister said the government had tried to control bank borrowing, despite shortage of the deficit financing by foreign sources to meet the budget deficit.

In the second quarter of this fiscal, 10 big ministries and divisions spent only 26.38% of their allocation. These ministries and divisions received 82.7% allocation of the total ADP outlay.

Of them, Power Division spent 5.4 %, Road Division 29.4% and Bridges Division spent 3.1%. The railway ministry spent 32.9%, primary education ministry 39.8%, education ministry 29.2% and public works ministry spent 9.9%.

The Local Government Division spent the highest amount of 41.1% during the

half of fiscal year.

Former commerce minister and BNP chairperson’s adviser Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury told Dhaka Tribune that the total responsibility for slashing the current fiscal year GDP growth falls on the present government.

“Awami government has stayed in power through state sponsor terrorism and in those circumstances local business confidence is always low,” he said.

He also said private sector business confident will not grow and foreign investment will not come to the country unless fair and creditable elections are held in the country. The former commerce minister also said the country’s growth rate is declining during the years of an Awami league government because of vast corruption among ministers, government officials and party men.

Jamaat-e-Islami working committee member Syed Abdullah Mohammad Taher told the Dhaka Tribune, “The government has destroyed the country’s economy with their corruption and other activities. Now they are blaming the opposition, trying to shift the responsibility for their miss deeds,” He said. l

Minor girl raped to death n Our Correspondent, Jessore In a ghastly incident that will chill anybody to the bone, a minor girl had to embrace death the time she was being raped because of excessive bleeding.

The incident took place in Arenda village of Jessore Sadar upazila on Sunday night.

The victim, Sabina Yeasmin, was just eight years old and a third grader at Arenda Government Primary School.

Police recovered her body from the spot around 11pm.

Officer-in-Charge of Kotwali police station Emdadul Haque Sheikh told reporters that the girl had died when she was being raped in a jute field by two locals named Anwar and Lavlu.

The two had picked her up from her residence at night when she was studying, he said, adding that her body bore marks of rape.

Outraged at the gruesome incident, locals torched residences of the alleged rapists yesterday morning.

No case was, however, lodged and none was arrested in connection with the incident as of 10pm last night. l

Malaysia: Missing plane crashed in Indian Ocean n Reuters The Malaysia Airlines plane that disappeared over two weeks ago crashed in the southern Indian Ocean, Prime Minister Najib Razak said yesterday.

New satellite analysis from Britain had shown that Flight MH370, with 239 people on board, was last seen in the middle of the Indian Ocean west of Perth, Australia, he said in a statement.

“This is a remote location, far from any possible landing sites,” Najib said.

“It is therefore with deep sadness and regret that I must inform you that, according to this new data, Flight MH370 ended in the southern Indian Ocean.”

Najib added that the families of those on board had been informed of the developments.

His comments came as an Australian navy ship was close to finding possible debris from the jetliner after a mounting number of sightings of floating objects that are believed to parts of the plane.

The objects, described as a “grey or green circular object” and an “orange rectangular object”, were spotted on Monday afternoon, said Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott, adding that three planes were also en route to

the area.

Flight MH370 vanished from civilian radar screens less than an hour after taking off from Kuala Lumpur for Beijing on March 8. No confirmed sighting of the plane has been made since and there is no clue what went wrong.

Attention and resources in the search for the Boeing 777 had shifted from an initial focus north of the Equator to an increasingly narrowed stretch of rough sea in the southern Indian Ocean, thousands of miles from the original flight path.

Earlier on Monday, Xinhua news agency said a Chinese Ilyushin IL-76 aircraft spotted two “relatively big” floating objects and several smaller white ones dispersed over several kilometres.

Over 150 of the passengers on board the missing plane were Chinese.

In a further sign the search was bearing fruit, the US Navy was flying in its high-tech black box detector to the area.

The so-called black boxes - the cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder - record what happens on board planes in flight. At crash sites, finding the black boxes soon is crucial because the locator beacons they carry fade out after 30 days. l

Sadia, a survivor of the Tazreen Fashions blaze, and her son join a human chain demanding compensation for the victims of RMG disasters, in front of the National Press Club in the capital yesterday. Sadia was pregnant at the time of the fire and had to jump off from the first floor of the factory building to save herself MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU

Highways and bridges to come under toll bracket n Rabiul Islam

The government has formulated a policy to collect toll ranging from Tk5 to Tk1,000 from people using all sorts of transports operating on district, regional and national highways and bridges across the country.

The policy will be implemented in phases and the money collected will be utilised in the repair, maintenance and development of roads.

The Toll Policy 2014, placed by the communication ministry, got its final

approval at the cabinet’s regular weekly meeting held at the secretariat yesterday.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina chaired the meeting attended by ministers, state ministers and officials concerned.

Briefing reporters following the meeting, Cabinet Secretary Mohammad Mosharraf Hossain Bhuiyan said the policy was formulated to collect toll from passengers of vehicles moving on regional, national and district highways.

He said the policy would be applicable to road networks under the Roads and Highways Department (RHD) but

not those under the LGED. The RHD road networks cover 22,000 kilometres of roads and highways.

The government, however, would determine which roads the tolls would be collected from, the cabinet secretary noted.

Asked about the possible impact of the policy on people, Mosharraf said: “I don’t think this will have any impact at all because of the size of our economy and GDP growth.”

Quoting the premier, a minister told the Dhaka Tribune that she asked the

department concerned to arrange more services as people would have no problem to pay for those.

The policy defined 13 categories of vehicles that would fall within the remit of toll. For medium-sized trucks, the toll will be Tk400, while Tk800 and Tk1,000 will be applicable to heavy trucks and lorries respectively. However, vehicles crossing bridges up to 200 metres in length will not charge any toll.

According to the policy, there will be scope to readjust and rationalise the ceiling of toll every three years. l

RCC ‘intentionally’ dumping waste in Cox’s Bazar to be turned into the front of a city building biggest energy hub n Our Correspondent, Rangpur Residents of Rangpur city have been suffering immensely as Rangpur City Corporation (RCC) allegedly started dumping garbage and culled animals in front of a high-rise commercial building.

The residents have complained that three banks, several restaurants, commercial offices, shops and a community centre, housed at the high-rise building “Shah Bari Tower” was badly affected after the RCC authorities took the unwanted move.

“I came to pay my electricity bills at a bank in the building, but I could not enter as garbage was piled up there,” Aziz Munshi, a resident, told the Dhaka Tribune.

“If there is a problem, it should be solved internally,” he added while urging the mayor to clear the wastes from

in front the building.

“The High Court has given a stay order on the ‘Upgrading of RHD Roads of Rangpur Divisional Sadar to 4 (Four) Lane Project’ following my writ petition for which the mayor has been dumping the waste in front of my building intentionally,” the building’s owner Mohibul Islam Jiju claimed.

The work of the construction of the four-lane road started two years back, and roads and highways department started acquisition lands from Paira Chattar to Shapla Bridge for the project. We found the land acquisition processes to be faulty and filed four writ petitions with the High Court on 2012 and 2013.

Later, the court has stayed the construction work at the area until the hearings of the two writs were announced, he added.

“Violating the order, a vested quar-

ter, in the name of Citizens’ Society has announced eviction of the shops at my building using loudspeakers on March 10 and 11, and on March 11, the city corporation mayor gave us a notice of 15 days for the eviction,” he claimed.

Jiju alleged that following the mayor’s instruction, City Corporation had been dumping the wastes in front of his building.

Rangpur citizen Abdur Rashid Babu said demolishing the building was important for the development of the city, but dumping waste in front of the building can never be justified.

When contacted, RCC Mayor Sharfuddin Ahmed Jhantu said he has not instructed dumping of the wastes there.

“As part of the protest, locals are dumping waste there for the sake of development of the city,” the mayor said. l

Rahman Rasel from n Aminur Cox’s Bazar The government has undertaken a plan to make Cox’s Bazar the country’s biggest power hub.

According to the plan, state-owned Power Development Board (PDB) will set up ultra-supercritical coal-based thermal power plants with capacities of 6,000MW in different phases at Maheshkhali upazila in Cox’s Bazar, as well as constructing liquefied natural gas (LNG)-based combined cycle power plants of 3,000MW capacities in different phases.

The projects, estimated to cost around $13bn and expected to be in operation by 2025-27, will be set up under joint venture, government-to-government, independent power producer and self-finance initiatives.

State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid made the disclosure to reporters during a three-day tour to Cox’s Bazar and Chittagong from March 21 to 23.

Nasrul said four to five power plants would be set up in 5,000 acres of land in Maheshkhali union of the upazila,

while a 1,200MW supercritical coalbased power plant will be constructed by the state-owned Coal Power Generation Company Limited on 1,400 acres of land in Matarbari union of Maheshkhali. There are also plans to set up two more plants in Matarbari, he added.

Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica) will provide a $4bn soft loan for the 1,200MW plant, which is supposed to be in operation by 2024.

The government has already started the acquiring land for the power plants which would be run with imported coals and LNG, the state minister added.

“The government has a plan to set up a series of coal-fired power projects to generate 20,000MW of electricity by the year 2030,” said Nasrul.

Assuring that the government would not take steps that would affect the local residents; the state minister said the power plants would be built providing proper compensation to the landowners.

The land of Maheshkhali was chosen for the projects as the salty grounds could only be used for salt harvest, while no other crop could be cultivated on the soil, Nasrul said.

While visiting the only existing unit of the Eastern Refinery Limited (ERL) in Chittagong, the state minister also said a second unit of the ERL – capable of refining around 3.5m tonnes of crude oil annually – was likely to be set up by June 2016.

“It is necessary to establish a second unit in the company to ensure power security of the country,” he said.

The country’s lone refiner Eastern Refinery currently refines 1.3m tonnes of crude oil per year, meeting only 10% of the country’s demand.

The state minister added that 30 acres of land near the Eastern Refinery has already been acquired for expansion.

On a separate note, Nasrul said a single point mooring (SPM) would be installed at deep sea in Maheshkhali.

Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation will implement the project, expected to be completed by June 2016, he added.

The cost for constructing the SPM, which ensures the easy and safe unloading of imported crude oil and finished products in a cost-effective and time-saving manner, has been estimated at $327m. l

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B3 China condemns ‘NSA spying’ on tech giant Huawei

B4 IMF chief: China faces ‘serious obstacles’

TUESDAY, MARCH 25, 2014 www.dhakatribune.com/business

Investors give cold shoulder to dividend payouts n Kayes Sohel Investors gave cold shoulder to the dividend payouts for the year 2013 by the listed companies, which were more or less same dividends compared to the previous year, analysts say.

It was clearly reflected in continuously declining volume of trade with high volatility in share prices even in the season of dividend declarations that usually pour during the period of February to April in the country’s stock markets.

Volume of trade declined more than 40% to 551 crore shares and, in value term, more than 50% to only Tk298 crore from February 27 as of yesterday at the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE).

The benchmark index DSEX remained range-bound with a band between 4700-4400 during the period.

“Dividend payouts fail to boost investor tempo,” said Wali-ul-Maroof Matin, managing director and chief executive officer of Alliance Capital Asset Management Company.

In the last six months, I have not made any profits from the market. So, for what I’ll bet money Dividend declaration trend was flat, as out of the 257 companies listed with the DSE, so far 45 companies have declared dividends for 2013 to their shareholders.

Of them, 16 declared higher, 10 lower and 19 same dividends compared to the previous year.

But the bottom line is that gradual selling instead of buying shares by institutional investors, particularly banks, in line with the central bank’s directive might have caused the trading volume to decline, said Matain, also former chief executive officer of Chittagong Stock Exchange.

Bangladesh Bank asked the commercial banks to reduce their capital market exposure to 25% of their equi-

ty by July, 2016 in accordance with the new bank company law.

Most companies have been able to declare dividends like previous year despite political unrest, as relaxation in some rules and incentives boost corporate earnings.

Of the incentives, the government provided 5% cash incentives to exporters to help them recover the losses caused by political unrest.

The central bank also relaxed loan rescheduling rules for businesses affected by the political instability, by suggesting lenders to reconsider the matter of loan rescheduling and down payment period on case-by-case basis for the affected borrowers in all sectors until June next year.

“Dividends paid out by the listed companies are mostly flat in 2013,” said Yawer Sayeed, a market expert.

Investors fail to gauge the market pulse amidst ongoing high volatility that dampens investor mood, he said.

Moreover, investors are yet to heal wounds of 2010 market debacle.

A DSE official at the surveillance department said the market is now dominated by the institutional and some big individual investors. “Most institutional investor is engaged in financial netting, leading to decrease volume of trade, as no new funds have been injected into the market.”

Under the financial adjustment or money netting facility, anyone is allowed to purchase shares of any category of one’s choice immediately after completing a sale of any share.

A big individual investor said less than expected dividend declarations and some rules from the central bank put damper on investors. “In the last six months, I have not made any profits from the market. So, for what I’ll bet money.”

He said institutional investors, even like state-owned ICB, have become day-trader for short term profits, creating market volatility in the market.

Mohammad Kashem, a retail investor, said volatility and falling volume is not encouraging investors, particularly retailers, to engage in stock trading.

Most of the financial institutions, including banks, failed to meet investors’ expectations of lucrative stock dividend, he said. l

ONE-FIFTH OF THE LISTED COS' RECENTLY RECOMMENDED PAY-OUTS

Name of the companies

AB Bank Ltd. Al-Arafah Islami Bank Ltd. Aramit Cement Ltd. Bank Asia Ltd. BRAC Bank Ltd. British American Tobacco Bangladesh Company Ltd. BSRM Steels Ltd. Dutch-Bangla Bank Ltd. Eastern Bank Ltd. First Security Islami Bank Ltd. GBB Power Ltd. GlaxoSmithKline Bangladesh Ltd. Grameenphone Ltd. Green Delta Insurance Company Ltd. H.R. Textile Mills Ltd. IDLC Finance Ltd. Lafarge Surma Cement Ltd. LankaBangla Finance Ltd. Linda BD Mutual Trust Bank Ltd. Prime Bank Ltd. Prime Finance & Investment Ltd. Prime Insurance Company Ltd. Pubali Bank Ltd. R A K Ceramics (Bangladesh) Ltd. Reliance Insurance Ltd. S. Alam Cold Rolled Steels Ltd. Safko Spinning Mills Ltd. Singer Bangladesh Ltd. Sinobangla Industries Ltd. Southeast Bank Ltd. Trust Bank Ltd. Union Capital Ltd. Unique Hotel & Resorts Ltd. United Commercial Bank Ltd. United Leasing Company Ltd. Uttara Finance and Investments Ltd. GLOBALINS PIONEERINS BERGERPBL DHAKABANK IPDC SAPORT FLEASEINT REPUBLIC United Insurance

Dividend for the year, 2013 5%C & 7%B 13.50%B 10%C 10%B 10%C & 10%B 520%C

Dividend for the year, 2012 12.5%B 17%B 10%C 10%B 15%B 500%c

15%C 40%C 20%C 10%C & 1R:2 15%B 300%C 140%C 15%C & 15%B 15%C 5%C & 25%B & 1R:2 Nil 15%C & 5%B 310% 10%B 12.50%C 15%C 15%B 10%B 15%C & 10%B 15%C & 15%B 13%C 10%B & 3R:2 100%C & 25%B 10%C 16%C & 5%B 12%B 10%B 25%C 20%C 5%C & 10%B 30%C 10%B 10% C & 20% B 220%C 17%C & 5%B 5%C & 10% B 15%C 10% B 12.5%B & 1R:1 10%C

10%C, 5%B 40%C 20%C 10%B 15%B 150%C 140%C 15%C & 15%B 15%C 30%B Nil 10%B 310.00% 10%B 10%C, 10%B 10% C, 20% B 15%B 10%C 15%C, 10%B 15% C, 10%B 15%C 10%B 125%C, 25%B 11%C 15%C 10%B 5%B 25%C 10%C 5%C, 15% B 20%C, 10%B 12% B 10% C & 20% B 180%C 16%B 10%C 10%C & 10%B 25%B 12%B 7.5%C & 10.19%B 5%B 10%B 8%C & 17%B

5%B & 1R:2 15%B 8%C & 10%B

BIFC IFIC Islami Bank

Jute goods makers struggle for raw materials n Ibrahim Hossain Ovi

Jute goods manufacturers are struggling to boost exports as they are facing short supply of raw materials – jute yarn and fabrics.

The jute mills are not willing to sell the raw materials to the local goods producers, who require too small quantity of materials as compared to the production size of the mills.

The producers demanded of the government to establish a supply chain from the state-run mills for the small jute goods enterprises. “We do not get enough fabrics and yarns from the mills as per our demands,” Khaleda Sultana, managing director of Jute Mart, told the Dhaka Tribune yesterday.

She alleged the millers are not providing the raw materials to the local market and higher prices push the products cost up. “We cannot receive bulk orders as required by the buyers, as a resul.”

The government could provide fabrics and yarn from its own source for boosting up of the jute diversified products, she added.

She also urged the government to make it mandatory to sell a certain portion of yarn and fabrics produced by the private mills to local jute goods producers to make the supply available in the domestic market.

“Higher prices and scarcity of raw materials are great challenges for the sector, reducing our competitiveness in the global market,” Rashedul Karim Munna, secretary general of Bangladesh Jute Diversified Product Manufactures and Exporter Association (BJDPMEA), said.

“To resolve the issue, we have made a successful negotiation with stateowned Karnaphuli Jute Mill. They assured us to provide yarn and fabrics,” said Munna.

China king in mobile handset supply Banks restricted from agent banking in rural areas to Bangladesh market n Even local brand Symphony, Indian Micromax, Maximus and Korean Samsung are imported from China n Muhammad Zahidul Islam Bangladesh mobile handset market Breakdown of has been captured almost fully by the Chinese products which offer cheaper imported 1.36cr 1% 2% price and attractive look.

1% mobile sets According to National Board of Revenue (NBR), 96.46% of the total imported handsets came from China during July-December period last year.

The declared value of those sets made up 91.54% of total handset import value of the country.

The country imported 1.36 crore mobile handsets at over $240bn from 19 manufacturing countries in the world in six months.

Handset importers said the Chinese sets had flooded the market as they were cheaper than others’.

“The local users want a beautiful set at an affordable price and Chinese handset makers are offering this,’’ Mostafa Aminur Rashid, chairman of Symphony, told the Dhaka Tribune.

He said Bangladesh had now stepped to import high-end smartphones from China when it once brought only low-end handsets from the country.

Not all the products imported were of Chinese brands, but some of them were Bangladeshi, Indian and other countries’ brands being assembled in China.

Mostafa Aminur Rashid said Symphony, a Bangladeshi mobile handset brand, also uses factories in China.

“Other Bangladeshi brands are also fully produced and assembled in China. But some of them make false claim that their products are assembled in Bangladesh,” he alleged.

Hong Kong is the second supplier

Tribune Report

The country’s commercial banks have been restricted from agent banking in the rural areas.

A Bangladesh Bank circular issued yesterday said the agent banking activities will be conducted out of the rural areas (metropolitan or city corporation or municipality).

Only sharia-based banks could provide islami banking service in the agent banking levels. Agent money will

be brought under insurance coverage.

Every agent will have a current account with respective bank to conduct the agent banking activities.

The highest status limit of the account will be Tk10 lakh.

Bank clients will be allowed to deposit or withdraw highest Tk25,000 in each transaction (cash withdraw or cash deposit) and two times per day. But the limit will not be applicable in case of remittance withdrawal. l

Robi joins Samsung to launch Galaxy S5 in Bangladesh 96% Hong Kong 2% Vietnam 1% Others 1% China

96%

of handsets to Bangladesh after China, according to the NBR statistics.

But Bangladesh imported 2.26 lakh sets from this country in the six-month period, which constituted only 1.66% of the total handset import.

In terms of import value, Hong Kong was the third largest supplier with $4.33m after Vietnam which exported 1.39 lakh mobile sets worth $11.9m.

Switzerland is another supplier exporting 32,000 handsets at $660,000 during July-December.

Bangladesh also imports Indian Maximus and Micromax sets and South Korean Samsung from China

where they are assembled.

“Why only mobile handsets? Almost every products are coming from China,” said Faysal Alim, secretary general of Mobile Importers Association.

On setting up mobile factory in Bangladesh, Mostafa Aminur Rashid argued it would not be economically viable as Bangladesh market was not a big one to that extent.

Earlier in 2009, the government tried to launch mobile manufacturing units in Telephone Shilpa Sangstha, where the state-owned company was assembling laptop computers. But no progress could be made to this end. l

n Tribune Report

Bangladesh’s mobile phone operator Robi and South Korea’s handset maker Samsung will soon hold a joint launching of Galaxy S5 sets in the local market, said a press release said yesterday.

Robi and Samsung will organise exclusive events to introduce the Galaxy S5 smartphone in Dhaka, Chittagong and Sylhet.

Officials of the two companies signed a strategic partnership Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) recently.

Robi customers will be able to prebook their desired Galaxy S5 smartphones at the Samsung-authorised outlets across the country from March 28 to April 8.

The selected Robi service points will also offer pre-booking.

Galaxy S5 combines an advanced camera, the fast network connectivity, dedicated fitness tools and enhanced device protection features as “con-

sumers stay fit and connected in style.”

Additionally, Samsung is introducing the Gear Fit, the industry’s first curved, Super AMOLED wearable device for the active consumer.

The Gear Fit offers the unmatched convenience of Samsung Gear technology with the most comprehensive fitness tools available, empowering consumers stay physically active without sacrificing personal style or mobile connectivity.

“It is very exciting to be a part of the global launch of one of the world’s most anticipated smart products,” said Supun Weerasinghe, managing director and CEO of Robi, after signing the MoU. Choon Soo Moon, managing director of Samsung Electronics Bangladesh said: “With this strategic partnership, we can serve our customers better by combining technology innovation with meaningful, consumer centric offers." l

He said compliance is another challenge for the sector as the retailers had asked us to make the factories fully safe for the workers. He stressed the need for government support to make the factories safer.

Private jute mills set higher prices for the local market supplies, which is 35% higher compared to the Indian market, said an entrepreneurs, seeking anonymity. Currently in the private mills, one gouge of fabric is being sold at Tk67 while state-owned mills sell at Tk45, he added.

Jute products add 100% value as the country’s entrepreneurs are not importing raw materials, while the other sector has to import raw materials. The producers urged the government to provide cash incentives for the exporters.

“If the government provides the cash incentives and low interest loan, the sector would be able to restore the past glory of golden fiber,” said Md Mofizul Islam, CEO of Renu Jute Handicrafts.

In July-February of 2013-14, Bangladesh earned nearly $535 million from jute and jute goods exports - nearly 21% less than the same period of previous fiscal. Of the total amount, jute yarn and Twine fetched $347 million, and Jute sacks and bags earned $75 million.

In the last financial year, Bangladesh exported raw jute and jute goods worth $1.03 billion.

The BJDPMEA along with Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) of Bangladesh, Furniture Exporters Association, Banglacraft, Jute Diversification Promotion Centre (JDPC) orgainsed a 3-day fair to showcase the variety and excellence of local furniture and home furnishing products and attract buyers from home and abroad. l

Mobile internet users rise in February n Muhammad Zahidul Islam The number of mobile internet users in Bangladesh is back to growth again with an increase of 6.18 lakh in February.

With the increase, the number rose to 3.46 crore but was still away from the October figure which was 3.67 crore, showed data released by the telecom regulator yesterday.

During the November-January period, the number dropped by 11.26 lakh and stood at reached 3.39 crore.

Operators said the decline was due to political unrest which largely affected the country’s economy.

Like other sectors, the unrest also hurt the expansion plans of the mobile internet business in Bangladesh, the operators said.

According to them, as unrest has eased to some extent, the recovery from the setback begins.

“No doubt political unrest created burden on us for our penetrations last couple of months and hopefully we can overcome the situation,” a senior executive of mobile operator Robi told the Dhaka Tribune.

The country’s total internet users were 3.55 crore as of January. Of it, the fixed operators had 12.25 lakh while the Wi-max operators 2.99 lakh.

February data showed the mobile phone operators have a total of 11.58 crore active subscribers.

The largest operator Grameenphone has 4.82 crore, Banglalink 2.90 crore, Robi 2.58 crore, Teletalk 32.12 lakh, Airtel 83.62 lakh and Citycell 13.98 lakh.

Grameenphone witnessed an increase of 5.71 lakh active users while the state-owned Teletalk could attract over 2.32 lakh new active subscribers last month. l

B2

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Stock DSE GAINERS

DSEX falls to 10-week low

DSE key features March 24, 2014

n Tribune Report

Traded Issues

290

Issue Gain (Avg. Price Basis)

53

Issue Loss (Avg. Price Basis)

235

55,174,943 80,946

Unchanged Issue (Avg. Price Basis)

2

Market Capital Equity (Billion. Tk.)

2,214.59

Market Capital Equity (Billion US$)

26.84

CSE key features March 24, 2014 Turnover (Million Taka)

247.08

Turnover (Volume)

Daily capital market highlights DSE Broad Index :

2,989.67

Number of Contract

lower, followed by cement 1.9%, financial institutions 1.8%, food and allied 1.2%, power 1%, telecommunications 0.9% and banks 0.7%.

ILDC Investments in its daily market analysis said another gloomy session passed by yesterday amid fear continuing and gripping investors tighter.

“As sentiment was shaky amid cloudier investment outlook, bearish spell remained strong and dominated the market throughout the session.”

Lanka Bangla Securities said market remained in a deep consolidation phase for the second consecutive week after giving some intra-day gains on sector specific stocks.

“Market has lost some ground on cue of panic sell after Bangladesh Bank ruled to reduce the capital market exposure of banks, losing 6% in a month from now.”

Newly listed company Emerald Oil was the most traded stocks with shares worth nearly Tk20 crore changing hands, making up 4% of the total DSE turnover.

It was followed by Bangladesh Shipping Corporation, Square Pharmaceuticals, Lafarge Surma Cement, Bangladesh Submarine Cable Company Ltd, Bangladesh Building and Padma Oil. l

Stocks dropped for the second consecutive session yesterday, with benchmark index DSEX falling to 10-week low.

The market was pulled down by mainly pharmaceuticals, non-banking financial institutions and, food and allied that declined more than 1% each.

The DSEX was down 53 points or 1% to close at 4,466. It was its lowest level since January 15, 2014. The index value is also 7.8% down from its recent peak of 4,845 recorded on February 6, 2014.

Shariah Index DSES lost 11 points or 1% to 968.The blue-chip comprising DS30 fell 26 points or 1.6% to end at 1,589.

Chittagong Stock Exchange Selective Category Index, CSCX, shed 103 points to 8,699.

Trading activities continued to remain sluggish despite rising turnover at DSE. It stood at Tk298 crore, recovering from its previous session’s 5-month low.

All the sectors lost their ground except the two small cap sectors – paper and printing and jute that rose 1.6% and 0.3% respectively.

Pharmaceuticals was the biggest loser which closed almost 2%

Company

Turnover (Million Taka) Turnover (Volume)

5,210,489

Number of Contract

10,844

4466.08002

(-) 1.18%

▼

Traded Issues

213

967.97169

(-) 1.10%

▼

Issue Gain (Avg. Price Basis)

45

DSE - 30 Index :

1589.38043

(-) 1.60%

▼

Issue Loss (Avg. Price Basis)

160

CSE All Share Index:

13826.3830

(-) 1.25%

▼

Unchanged Issue (Avg. Price Basis)

7

CSE - 30 Index :

11606.1361

(-) 1.24%

▼

Market Capital Equity (Billion. Tk.)

2,116.46

8698.8986

(-) 1.18%

▼

Market Capital Equity (Billion US$)

25.65

DSE Shariah Index :

CSE Selected Index : DSE LOSERS

BD Finance-A Stylecraft -A Reckitt Benckiser -A B I F C -A United Insur -A Argon Denims Limited-A AramitCementA Jamuna Bank -A

-7.57 -6.24 -6.02 -5.39 -5.20 -4.41 -4.23 -3.92

Average (% change) -8.04 -6.24 -6.05 -3.95 -5.20 -4.06 -3.57 -3.37

Rahim Textile -A Aziz PipesZ

-3.85 -3.83

-3.02 -2.83

Company

Closing (% change)

CSE LOSERS

BD Finance-A B I F C -A ICB -A Republic Insu.-A MeghnaCement -A Bay Leasing.-A Padma Islami Life*-N Apex SpinningA

-6.52 -6.51 -5.03 -4.54 -4.44 -4.40 -4.40 -4.39

Average (% change) -6.43 -5.19 -4.86 -3.52 -4.43 -4.69 -4.49 -4.39

Argon Denims Limited-A IFIC Bank - A

-4.10 -4.00

-4.61 -3.06

Company

Closing (% change)

ANALYST

Closing average

Closing

Bank NBFI Investment Engineering Food & Allied Fuel & Power Jute Textile Pharma & Chemical Paper & Packaging Service Leather Ceramic Cement Information Technology General Insurance Life Insurance Telecom Travel & Leisure Miscellaneous Debenture

DSE Million Taka 215.63 113.53 40.86 521.67 396.33 284.49 5.81 236.62 275.55 1.65 20.98 51.61 11.83 220.08 20.60 50.05 118.73 159.68 29.82 210.87 3.27

Turnover in million

Daily low

Latest EPS

Latest PE

17.05 1022.00 940.00 16.05 40.10 59.33 54.77 14.92

17.10 1022.00 940.20 15.80 40.10 58.50 54.40 14.70

18.50 1022.00 941.20 16.70 41.00 61.20 56.10 16.50

16.70 1022.00 940.00 15.80 39.20 56.00 54.10 13.80

13.542 0.204 0.470 1.550 0.397 6.097 4.573 1.854

0.40 47.83 28.52 0.71 2.77 3.33 2.56 0.79

42.6 21.4 33.0 22.6 14.5 17.8 21.4 18.9

297.05 20.28

292.00 20.10

309.20 21.50

288.30 20.00

1.307 0.143

11.56 0.59

25.7 34.4

Closing average

Closing

Daily high

Turnover in million

Daily low

Latest EPS

Savar Refractories-Z Northern Jute -Z Renwick Jajneswar-A National Tubes -A Kay & Que (BD) -Z Desh Garments -B National Polymer -A GQ Ball PenA ICB AMCL IslamicMF-A Samorita Hospital -A

17.20 15.80 1,757.00 42.10 135.70 32.60 71.70 98.10

18.20 17.00 1,757.00 42.50 140.30 32.60 73.00 98.30

16.90 15.70 1,757.00 42.10 135.00 32.00 71.00 97.00

0.694 0.233 0.088 0.084 0.407 0.020 0.930 1.021

0.40 0.71 40.46 2.76 6.29 1.56 1.10 1.85

42.9 22.6 43.4 15.3 21.6 20.8 65.0 53.0

58.94 29.15

58.50 28.80

61.00 30.00

55.00 28.60

0.085 0.598

3.33 3.60

17.7 8.1

Market has lost some ground on cue of panic sell after Bangladesh Bank ruled to reduce the capital market exposure of banks, losing 6% in a month from now

% change 7.21 3.80 1.37 17.45 13.26 9.52 0.19 7.91 9.22 0.06 0.70 1.73 0.40 7.36 0.69 1.67 3.97 5.34 1.00 7.05 0.11

Million Taka 21.76 7.12 2.13 38.46 45.34 55.00 54.93 21.11 76.50 1.37 79.82 1.13 8.54 1.87 2.09 4.78 24.18 3.78 26.68 0.01

% change 4.57 1.49 0.45 8.07 9.51 11.54 0.00 11.53 4.43 16.05 0.29 16.75 0.24 1.79 0.39 0.44 1.00 5.07 0.79 5.60 0.00

Million Taka 237.39 120.65 43.00 560.13 441.67 339.49 5.81 291.55 296.65 78.15 22.35 131.43 12.96 228.62 22.47 52.14 123.51 183.86 33.60 237.55 3.28

Total

9.62 9.59 8.74 6.39 5.88 5.72 5.49 4.89 4.48 4.23

CSE GAINERS Company Janata Insur -A National Polymer -A Northern G Insur-A Rupali Life Insur.-A GQ Ball PenA Anwar Galvanizing-B Quasem Drycells -A Samorita Hospital -A Anlima Yarn -A BD Building Systems -A

Closing (% change) 6.99 5.74 5.04 4.52 4.30 3.91 3.52 3.05 2.82 2.69

Average (% change) 9.19 8.33 6.81 5.73 5.70 2.47 2.30 2.48 4.27 3.51 Average (% change) 6.85 2.74 3.93 4.26 2.75 4.42 4.85 3.16 2.46 2.30

Closing average 63.33 75.83 353.03 172.02 18.00 119.47 71.93 158.41 21.00 106.15

Closing average 24.50 72.24 47.39 119.90 157.95 31.44 46.49 105.06 25.43 73.06

Closing 63.80 75.40 364.40 174.70 18.00 125.70 73.00 160.90 21.00 106.00

Closing 24.50 73.70 47.90 120.20 160.00 31.90 47.00 104.90 25.50 72.50

Daily high 64.00 75.60 364.40 175.00 18.00 129.00 73.50 162.90 21.00 108.00

Daily high 24.50 74.50 48.00 120.20 162.80 32.40 47.30 106.00 25.80 74.30

Daily low 63.50 75.00 340.00 160.00 18.00 114.10 65.00 141.00 21.00 102.00

Daily low 24.50 70.70 47.70 119.60 154.00 30.00 45.20 104.50 25.20 71.20

Turnover in million 0.057 0.091 16.963 78.302 0.009 15.137 31.719 12.867 0.011 10.498

Turnover in million 0.015 1.596 0.116 0.120 1.192 1.367 3.533 0.263 0.114 12.465

Latest EPS 0.60 -10.24 5.32 2.26 -0.89 1.18 1.70 4.01 2.56 2.74

Latest EPS 0.76 1.70 3.04 5.33 4.01 0.02 2.28 2.74 0.80 2.92

Latest PE 105.6 -ve 66.4 76.1 -ve 101.2 42.3 39.5 8.2 38.7

Latest PE 32.2 42.5 15.6 22.5 39.4 1572.0 20.4 38.3 31.8 25.0

News from tradeserver UNITEDINS: The Board of Directors has recommended 10% cash dividend for the year ended on December 31, 2013. Date of AGM: 30.04.2014, Time: 10:30 AM, Venue: Trust Milonayaton, 545, Old Airport Road, Dhaka. Record date: 06.04.2014.

The Company has also reported profit after tax including unrealized share of profit of associate (Tk. 54.99 million) of Tk. 110.89 million, EPS of Tk. 2.77, NAV per share of Tk. 23.82 and NOCFPS of Tk. (0.04) for the year ended on December 31, 2013.

BIFC: The Board of Directors has recommended 5% stock dividend for the year ended on December 31, 2013. The Board has also decided to issue Rights shares @ 1R:2 (i.e. 1 Rights share for every 2 shares) at an issue price of Tk. 10.00 each at par on paid up capital after considering bonus shares subject to approval by the shareholders and the Regulatory Authorities.

The purpose of Rights Issue is to meet up the regulatory requirements of Bangladesh Bank. Date of AGM: 24.04.2014, Time: 10:30 AM, Venue: 'Institution of Diploma Engineers Bangladesh', IDEB Bhaban, 160/A, Kakrail VIP Road, Dhaka-1000.

DSE TURNOVER LEADERS Company Emerald Oil Ind. -N BSC-A Square Pharma -A LafargeS Cement-Z BD Submarine Cable-A BD Building Systems -A Padma Oil Co. -A

CSE

Closing (% change)

Record Date: 03.04.2014. The Company has also reported EPS of Tk. 0.71, NAV per share of Tk. 19.29 and NOCFPS of Tk. 7.82 for the year ended on December 31, 2013.

Another record date for entitlement of the proposed rights shares to be notified later after obtaining approval from BSEC BDBUILDING: The Company has informed that, its banker namely United Commercial Bank Limited (UCBL) enhanced composite credit facilities (Working Capital) from Tk. 57.00 crore to Tk. 86.00 crore and also sanctioned a Lease Financing Facilities of Tk. 15.00 crore for the introduction of a new product line (Fire Protection Door) and modernization of existing facilities.

ICBAMCL1STMF: ICB Asset Management Company Limited, the asset manager of the fund has informed that, ICB AMCL First Mutual Fund has been converted to an Open ended fund namely "ICB AMCL Converted First Unit Fund" and the fund has started to sell its units from 23rd February, 2014. It is to be noted that, the procedure of issuing certificates to the unit holders of the "ICB AMCL Converted First Unit Fund" has been started as well. If any investor purchased

units of the fund through using margin loan from any brokerage houses of DSE, the concerned brokerage houses are requested to send the detailed information regarding the same to ICB Asset Management Company Limited within 27th March, 2014. After this date, no complaints/objections/claims will be taken into consideration.

GREENDELT: The Company has requested the concerned shareholders to collect their dividend warrants in person or through their authorized representatives for the year ended on December 31, 2013 from 24th March 2014 to 30th March 2014 from the Registred Office of the Company at Green Delta Aims Tower (6th floor), 51-52 Mohakhali C/A, Dhaka.

BoardMeeting: CONTININS on March 25, 2014 at 3:00 PM. UTTARABANK on March 24, 2014 at 3:30 PM. APEXFOOT on March 29, 2014 at 11:00 AM. From BIASL Desk: Impact after declaration: UNITEDINS price dropped up by 5.20%, close at taka 40.10 with PE 14.48. BIFC price dropped up by 5.38%, close at taka 15.80 with PE 22.25.

Latest PE

17.16 16.08 1,757.00 42.20 135.71 32.50 71.54 98.13

SECTORAL TURNOVER SUMMARY Sector

Daily high

Tuesday, March 25, 2014

% change 6.85 3.48 1.24 16.16 12.74 9.79 0.17 8.41 8.56 2.25 0.64 3.79 0.37 6.60 0.65 1.50 3.56 5.30 0.97 6.85 0.09

Prepared exclusively for Dhaka Tribune by Business Information Automation Service Line (BIASL), on the basis of information collected from daily stock quotations and audited reports of the listed companies. High level of caution has been taken to collect and present the above information and data. The publisher will not take any responsibility if any body uses this information and data for his/her investment decision. For any query please email to biasl@bol-online.com or call 01552153562 or go to www.biasl.net

National Tubes -A Quasem Drycells -A Meghna Petroleum -A

Olympic Ind. -A Grameenphone-A Atlas BD-A Delta Life Insu. -A Bengal Windsor-A

CSE TURNOVER LEADERS Company BSC-A

BD Submarine Cable-A BD Building Systems -A Square Pharma -A Appollo Ispat CL -N LafargeS Cement-Z Bengal Windsor-A Padma Oil Co. -A Grameenphone-A Paramount Textile Ltd.-A UCBL - A Southeast Bank-A Quasem Drycells -A Jamuna Oil -A BEXIMCO Ltd. -A

Volume shares 3,579,000 233,620 550,746 2,958,000 568,584 1,484,725 283,737 455,188 1,470,593 249,647

302,500 211,200 212,717 175,850 761,480

Volume shares

32,325 94,311 170,600 41,812 239,400 119,500 100,400 16,012 23,800 107,960 174,930 197,500 76,000 14,244 99,682

Value in million 198.77 161.19 142.77 141.63 115.66 108.24 94.29 78.30 68.13 67.95

62.41 44.02 43.19 42.44 42.37

Value in million

22.31 19.21 12.46 10.85 6.67 5.74 5.62 5.32 4.96 4.74 4.12 3.67 3.53 3.20 3.09

% of total turnover 6.65 5.39 4.78 4.74 3.87 3.62 3.15 2.62 2.28 2.27

2.09 1.47 1.44 1.42 1.42

% of total turnover

10.68 9.20 5.97 5.19 3.20 2.75 2.69 2.55 2.38 2.27 1.97 1.76 1.69 1.53 1.41

Daily closing 56.70 678.00 257.30 47.20 201.30 72.30 331.40 174.70 46.90 272.00

204.90 208.00 200.90 239.40 55.60

Daily closing

678.30 201.60 72.50 257.60 27.60 47.30 56.00 332.20 208.10 44.30 23.40 18.40 47.00 224.80 30.90

Price change 4.04 -1.09 -2.69 -2.68 -3.17 1.26 -0.75 6.39 3.99 -1.23

Daily opening 54.50 685.50 264.40 48.50 207.90 71.40 333.90 164.20 45.10 275.40

Price change

Daily opening

-2.52 -0.62 0.65 -2.17 1.46

-1.05 -2.98 2.69 -2.65 -2.47 -2.87 2.00 -0.84 -0.53 0.91 -2.50 -2.13 3.52 -0.75 -0.32

210.20 209.30 199.60 244.70 54.80

685.50 207.80 70.60 264.60 28.30 48.70 54.90 335.00 209.20 43.90 24.00 18.80 45.40 226.50 31.00

Daily high 58.00 702.00 270.00 49.40 215.00 74.40 336.00 175.00 48.00 277.00

209.00 210.40 206.90 246.80 56.40 Daily high

703.00 209.50 74.30 264.70 28.40 49.20 56.80 335.00 210.00 44.80 24.00 18.90 47.30 225.10 31.30

Daily low 52.80 671.50 242.00 46.80 189.90 68.00 307.20 160.00 43.90 252.00

Daily average 55.54 689.95 259.24 47.88 203.41 72.90 332.33 172.02 46.33 272.19

Daily low

Daily average

204.10 207.50 183.00 238.10 54.50

671.00 201.00 71.20 257.00 27.30 47.00 54.80 332.00 207.70 43.30 23.30 18.20 45.20 224.10 30.80

206.30 208.44 203.05 241.34 55.64

690.15 203.73 73.06 259.41 27.88 47.99 55.93 332.52 208.52 43.95 23.57 18.60 46.49 224.64 31.02

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Business

ADB: China economy on track, no immediate need for stimulus n Reuters, Beijing China’s economy may still grow around 7.5% this year despite signs of a slowdown, and there is no immediate need for the government to roll out fresh stimulus measures, Asian Development Bank (ADB) President Takehiko Nakao said yesterday.

Nakao, former Japanese vice finance minister for international affairs, told Reuters he expects China’s economic growth to be still roughly in line with the government’s target.

ADB is revising its forecast on China’s growth for 2014, currently at 7.5%, he said, but did not elaborate.

Chinese leaders face a challenge to keep the economy on an even keel while forging ahead with a long list of market-based reforms announced at a key party meeting late last year, he said.

He said that some short-term stimulus might be needed to smooth out ups and downs in the economy, but there was no immediate need as growth remains healthy due to the country’s ongoing urbanisation and rising con-

sumption.

“At this moment, I don’t think China needs to resort to a stimulus package,” he said.

“Our judgment of China’s economic growth is that it will continue to grow at the rate of around 7.5%.”

Concerns about the health of the Chinese economy are mounting after a string of data showed growth is faltering, raising doubt over the fulfillment

B4

REACTION ON CHINA'S PMI

of the growth target in the absence of fresh stimulus measures.

Activity in China’s factories slowed for a fifth straight month in March, a preliminary private survey showed on Monday, raising market expectations of government stimulus to arrest a loss of momentum in the world’s secondlargest economy this year.

Nakao said he was impressed by Chinese leaders’ commitment to marketoriented reforms to help put the economy on a more sustainable footing, but they needed time to implement them.

Liberalising interest rates and the currency regime in China should “go hand in hand”, and interest rate liberalisation could be carried out in a step by step manner to ward off possible banking risks, he said.

He said Asian economies were more prepared to cope with any economic turbulence and the region’s fundamentals were much stronger than there were during the Asian financial crisis in the late 1990s.

“They are more prepared to take action quickly if there are signs of instability,” he said.

“Fragility? I don’t buy that idea. Of course, we cannot be complacent, we should always be prepared.”

Japan’s monetary policy easing, which has supported the economy and boosted the country’s foreign direct investment flows to the rest of Asia, could help offset any impact from the withdrawal of US monetary stimulus, Nakao said.

Nakao was named ADB chief in April 2013, replacing Haruhiko Kuroda, who became Bank of Japan governor. l

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Tuesday, March 25, 2014

Rehab fair bags Tk900cr business n Tribune Report The realtors have got spot orders of Tk522 crore during a 5-day fair ended in Dhaka yesterday.

In addition, 320 flats and 207 plots worth Tk387 crore have also been sold during the fair organised by Real Estate and Housing Association of Bangladesh (Rehab), said a press release.

A total of 155 organisations, including 141 real estate companies and 14 financial institutions, took part in the fair at the Bangabandhu International Conference Centre.

“There was a great enthusiasm in the fair where 121,186 people visited,” said the release.

Earnings from entry ticket selling will be spent for the welfare of the poor people. The results of raffle draw have been published in the Rehab website. l

RMG workers database to be launched Thursday n Tribune Report Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed yesterday said the workers database for the country’s readymade garments industry would be launch on Thursday.

He spoke about the schedule after a meeting with 7-member EU delegation, led by Jean Lambert, at his ministry office.

The visiting delegation wanted to know the progress of implementation of the Action Plan, taken after the Rana Plaza building collapse, he said. “I’ve informed the delegation there have been some visible improvement, and the remaining three conditions, which is under progress, would be done by March 31.”

Talking about appointment of factory inspectors, the minister said it would be completed by March as the

government already had talks with the Public Service Commission.

He said the delegation also wanted to know about introduction of trade union at the factories of Export Processing Zones. In response, he informed that the government had amended the labour law and would take time to bring changes in the EPZ laws.

“I’ve been able to make the team understand that it will take time to relocate the factores,” he said.

“The people of the EU countries are worried about the safety and security of the RMG workers as we have came to know the progress of the action plan taken to improve the safety standards,” said Lambert.

The EU continues its assistance to Bangladesh for the improvement of the apparel sector after Rana Plaza and Tazreen Fashion disasters, she said. l

5-day SME fair to begin on April 4 n Tribune Report A five-day SME fair will begin from April 4 in the capital to promote small and medium enterprises in the country.

A number of SMEs from agriculture,

agro-processing products, clothing, home textile, handicraft, leather, light engineering, foods, beverage, electrical and electronics, herbal and furniture sectors from across the country will participate in the exhibition.

Industries Minister Amir Hossain

Amu is expected to inaugurate the fair styled National SME Fair-2014. The SME Foundation is arranging the fair at the Bangabandhu International Conference Centre.

The fair will remain open for all from 10 am to 8 pm. l

China condemns ‘NSA spying’ on tech giant Huawei n AFP, Beijing Beijing yesterday condemned Washington over reports that the US National Security Agency had for years had been secretly tapping the networks of Chinese telecoms and Internet giant Huawei.

The New York Times and Germany’s Der Spiegel said that the NSA had accessed Huawei’s email archive, communications between top company officials, and even the secret source code of some of its products.

The reports were based on documents provided by fugitive NSA contractor Edward Snowden.

Beijing is “seriously concerned” about reports that the US had compromised Huawei’s networks, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei told reporters at a regular briefing on Monday.

“China has launched representations to America on many occasions,” Hong said, citing reports of US surveillance activities in countries across the globe. “We ask America to give a clear explanation and stop such behaviour.”

Beijing itself has repeatedly been accused of large-scale cyber-espionage, which it vehemently denies.

The Chinese reprimand came after a top Huawei official similarly denounced the NSA. “If the actions in the report are true, Huawei condemns such activities that invaded and infiltrated into our internal corporate network and monitored our communications,” Roland Sladek,

Huawei’s vice president for international affairs, said in a statement.

He added that Huawei “disagrees with all activities that threaten the security of networks” and stressed the company’s willingness to “jointly address the global challenge of network security”.

‘Networks of interest’

Shenzhen-based Huawei was founded in 1987 by former People’s Liberation Army engineer Ren Zhengfei and is now among the world’s top makers of telecommunications equipment.

Washington has long seen it as a security threat due to perceived close links to the Chinese government, which the company denies, and both the United States and Australia have barred it from involvement in broadband projects over espionage fears.

The original intent of the NSA’s Operation “Shotgiant” was to search for connections between the tech giant and the Chinese military, according to a 2010 document cited by the Times.

But the programme’s goal eventually grew to include the penetration of Huawei communications products sold to third countries in order to “gain access to networks of interest” across the globe, the paper said.

The New York Times website is blocked in China and the report could not be accessed on the Chinese Internet.

The NSA defended its intelligencegathering operations, which it maintained were focused only on “valid for-

A National Security Agency (NSA) data gathering facility is seen in Bluffdale, about 25 miles (40 kms) south of Salt Lake City eign intelligence targets”.

In a statement, the NSA did not cite the New York Times or Der Spiegel by name but criticised the “continuous and selective” publication of details on its surveillance methods, arguing that such reports endanger US national security.

It insisted that NSA activities “are focused and specifically deployed

against - and only against - valid foreign intelligence targets in response to intelligence requirements”.

It also pushed back against suggestions by Snowden and others that spy agencies were waging an industrial espionage campaign on behalf of US businesses.

“We do not use foreign intelligence capabilities to steal the trade secrets

REUTERS

of foreign companies on behalf of - or give intelligence we collect to - US companies” to enhance their competitiveness, the NSA said.

‘Great firewall’

The New York Times and Der Spiegel reports were published days ahead of a planned meeting between US President Barack Obama and Chinese President Xi

Jinping on the sidelines of this week’s Nuclear Security Summit in The Hague.

The last summit between the two at the secluded Sunnylands estate in California last June - also came amid revelations about the scope of the NSA’s surveillance activities.

Obama said last year that he and Xi had “very blunt conversations” about hacking at the summit.

Beijing maintains a vast domestic surveillance network, including a “Great Firewall” that blocks online content deemed unfavourable by the ruling Communist Party.

A report released last year by the security firm Mandiant said that China was devoting thousands of people to a military-linked unit that has pilfered intellectual property and government secrets abroad.

In November, the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission said in its annual report to Congress that China has not curbed rampant spying on American interests.

The report accused China of “directing and executing a large-scale cyberespionage campaign,” penetrating the US government and private industry.

In his remarks to reporters Monday, Hong said that China was “firmly opposed to hacking” and believes that telecom activities “should not be used for surveillance, spying or espionage”.

“China has always maintained that the international community must make joint efforts to work out regulation and (defend) a peaceful, open, comprehensive cyberspace,” he said. l

South Korea opens spot market for physical gold trade n AFP, Seoul

National Bank Limited has celebrated its 31st anniversary on Sunday. Zainul Haque Sikder, the bank’s chairperson inaugurated the ceremony Beximco Limited yesterday opened a parenting resource centre at the Beximco Industrial Park to serve its employees’ children and working mothers. Syed Naved Husain, CEO and group director of Beximco Ltd, and Michael McGrath, country director of Save the Children in Bangladesh, signed an MOU on this regard yesterday

Delta Brac Housing Finance Corporation Limited’s cumulative home loan disbursements crossed Tk5,000 crore on handing over a loan cheque to its clients Sawda Sharmin and Md Mahbubur Rahman by the head of operation, Nasimul Baten at a function at the company’s head office in Gulshan

The directors of NCC Bank Ltd held a board meeting at its head office in Dhaka recently.

The bank’s chairperson, Md Nurun Newaz Salim presided over the meeting

South Korea launched a gold trading exchange for the first time yesterday in a bid to help counter the country’s burgeoning black market in the precious metal.

Smuggled gold is traded secretly through underground markets in South Korea and is used as an effective way to hide income and avoid tax.

“The gold spot market will help normalise the unregulated circulation of gold,” Shin Je-Yoon, chairman of the Financial Services Commission, said, vowing to step up a crackdown on black-market transactions.

Of the country’s total gold trading volume - estimated at more than 100 tonnes annually - about 70% is traded illegally, according to Shin’s office.

Currently eight securities firms and 49 dealers, importers and wholesalers are registered as members of the new gold bourse.

On the first trading session, a total of 5,987 grams of bullion worth 280 million won ($259,000) were traded. One gramme of bullion closed at 46,950 won, after rising to as high as 47,400 won at one point.

The exchange offers one-gramme units of bullion of 99.99% purity to fa-

cilitate liquidity.

As an incentive, traders get a waiver on the three percent import duty for gold, but they are still required to pay 10% value-added tax for taking physical delivery of bullion.

Individuals are allowed to participate in the gold exchange through registered securities firms.

Tax reductions are the main perk for joining the bourse, but there has been debate over whether the cuts are big enough to attract distributors into the open market.

South Korean individuals hold an estimated 720 tonnes of gold, compared with 104 tonnes kept at the country’s central bank, which has increased its reserves to hedge against global financial volatility.

In recent years, gold has become a popular investment as the economy has slowed, with a prolonged slump in property markets.

During the 1997-1998 East Asian financial crisis, members of the public collected the precious metal from their homes to help their country overcome the crisis.

Since the 2008 financial meltdown, gold has become increasingly attractive to central banks worldwide, and prices have risen as it is considered a safe haven. l

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DHAKA TRIBUNE

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Tuesday, March 25, 2014

IMF chief: China faces ‘serious obstacles’ n AFP, Beijing International Monetary Fund (IMF) chief Christine Lagarde yesterday urged China to carry out reforms to make its economic growth model more inclusive, cleaner and sustainable.

“While headline growth numbers remain impressive, this disguises some serious obstacles that need to be overcome,” Lagarde said in a speech at a forum in Beijing.

'The challenge is clear: to make growth more inclusive, friendlier to the environment, and more sustainable' “The challenge is clear: to make growth more inclusive, friendlier to the environment, and more sustainable,” she said, according to the text of the speech as prepared on the IMF’s website.

China’s gross domestic product (GDP) grew 7.7% in 2013, unchanged from the year before. Though stronger than most other economies, it remained the country’s worst result since 1999.

A string of economic indicators announced recently have suggested that the economy has continued to lose momentum this year. Manufacturing activity contracted in March at its worst rate in eight months, according to British bank HSBC’s preliminary purchasing managers’ index (PMI) released Monday.

To unleash China’s next-stage growth potential, the government should increase the role of the service sector and private investors, Lagarde said.

A globally integrated financial system will be “essential” to support China’s next transformation, she said, adding more competition and transfer of knowledge will benefit Chinese banks.

A gradual opening up of China’s capital account will make the economy more resilient to shocks and strengthen the potential role of the yuan as a global currency, she said.

Inequality and environmental pollution have been deteriorating as China’s economy grows, Lagarde said.

“For growth to be sustainable, it needs to be inclusive, its benefits need to be more widely shared, and it needs to be environmentally viable,” she said.

China’s leadership says it wants to transform the country’s growth model away from an over-reliance on often wasteful investment, and instead make private demand the driver for the country’s future development, even if it may lead to slower growth rates.

It has also declared “war” on pollution, vowing to shut down tens of thousands of coal-fired furnaces and remove millions of high-emission vehicles from the roads this year.

Beijing earlier this month has set its growth target for this year at 7.5%, the same as that set last year. Many economists expect actual growth this year to miss the target, something that has not happened in 16 years. l

The photo shows a child running before the entrance to the 'Expo Science Park', the site of the 1993 world expo, in Daejeon, South Korea. The theme of the exposition was "The Challenge of a New Road of Development" and was used to showcase advanced technologies such as magnetic levitation trains and solar cars. South Korea was reportedly the first developing country to host an Expo, which drew some 14 million visitors AFP

China brakes as euro zone gears up n Reuters, London

China’s huge manufacturing engine stuttered in the early part of 2014 while a return to growth in French business activity this month suggested a solid, broad-based recovery was taking shape in the euro zone, surveys showed.

Weaker-than-expected readings from China pointed to a contraction in the first three months of the year and will raise market expectations of government stimulus to arrest a loss of momentum in the world’s second-largest economy. “It tells you something

about the extent to which market concerns about a slowdown in China are justified,” said Peter Dixon at Commerzbank. “In the euro zone, the economy is bowling along at a reasonable pace.”

A solid expansion in both the euro zone’s manufacturing and services industries in March, and growth in its second-biggest economy France, meant the bloc’s recovery pace barely slowed from February’s 2-1/2-year high.

Data due later from the United States is expected to show manufacturing growth in the world’s top economy eased this month from February’s near

four-year record high.

China’s flash Markit/HSBC Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) fell to an eightmonth low of 48.1 in March from February’s final reading of 48.5. The index has been below 50 since January, indicating a contraction in the sector this year. Output and new orders both weakened but new export orders grew for the first time in four months, the survey showed, suggesting the slowdown has been driven primarily by weak domestic demand.

“Usually, for the month of March, the PMI will rebound, because after Chinese New Year, there should be some activity

coming back, but this PMI is disappointing,” said Wei Yao, China economist at Societe Generale in Hong Kong. “The government probably will have to provide some supporting measures.”

Earlier this month, sources told Reuters the central bank in Beijing was prepared to loosen monetary policy in order to keep the economy growing at 7.5%. Last year, China’s economy grew 7.7%, the same pace as in 2012.

Premier Li Keqiang said last week investment and construction plans would be accelerated to ensure domestic demand expands at a stable rate. l

Fed guessing game intensifies while West isolates Russia EU’s plans for growth to

bring shadow banking in from the cold

n Reuters

The guessing game over US interest rates is likely to intensify this week after new Fed Chair Janet Yellen raised the prospect of a hike early next year, while Russia’s annexation of Crimea will keep investors focused on its next move.

In a week heavy with diplomacy - US President Barack Obama will meet Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping yesterday in The Hague - markets will seek clarity from the US Federal Reserve on its monetary policy and from Russia over its intentions in Ukraine.

While the US data calendar is relatively light, Yellen has got investors talking by suggesting interest rates could start rising next spring, compared with most economists’ expectations for the second half of 2015.

The question is whether the host of Fed policymakers due to speak this week, including the Fed’s Chicago President Charles Evans, will try to distance themselves from Yellen.

“We have to consider the possibility of the first rate hike coming in April 2015,” said James Knightley at ING in London. “Market pricing is still favoring the third quarter of 2015, but a decent rise in employment and business activity may see this change,” he said.

Last week the Fed, in its first policysetting meeting under Yellen, said it would factor in a wide range of economic measures as it judged the correct timing for raising rates.

Investors are wondering how much of the slowdown in the US economy this winter was due to bad weather.

Data this week may not clear up that uncertainty because home sales, goods orders and consumption data will be from February, rather than March.

Still, a Reuters survey of economists shows that Yellen’s comments have not altered their views. Ten dealers of 17 polled see rate hikes in the second half of 2015, with another four saying increases would not start until 2016.

That suggests a normalization of US interest rate policy has yet to be factored into the US dollar exchange rates versus the yen and the euro, economists say.

“We can only conclude that despite all the Fed’s forward guidance and efforts to improve its communication, the Fed’s probable course of action is not fully priced into dollar exchange rates,” said Ulrich Leuchtmann at Commerzbank.

“A phase of serious dollar strength will only set in later in the year. But then it will do so with a vengeance,” he said.

n Reuters, London

Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen answers a question at a news conference following the March 2014 Federal Open Market Committee meeting, while at the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System in Washington Reuters

G7 meets to discuss russia

International diplomacy will be dominated by the response to Russia’s annexation of Crimea. Leaders of the world’s leading industrial democracies will hold a Group of Seven meeting without Russia on the sidelines of a nuclear security summit in The Hague this week to consider further responses to the crisis.

Russian markets ended last week by taking fright at a US decision to slap sanctions on Russian President Vladimir Putin’s inner circle of money men and security officials. Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said Russia might cancel its foreign borrowing for 2014, though it has enough foreign reserves and a low enough budget deficit to be able to put off borrowing plans.

Russian stocks may be in for an easier ride if investors have a sense that the stand-off with the West is not intensifying for now, even though big risks remain.

Given that US sanctions targeting Russian elites were stronger than anticipated and that EU leaders added more names to their list, retaliation from Russia cannot be ruled out.

“While the situation remains tense,

it likely remains stable in the coming weeks,” said Mujtaba Rahman, a political analyst at Eurasia Group.

“Wildcards include the possibility of a flare-up of Ukrainian versus Russian violence in eastern Ukraine, which would heighten the possibility of Russian invasion.”

Difficult as it may be to look beyond Russia, China’s release on Monday of the HSBC flash manufacturing purchasing managers index (PMI) will be arguably the most watched release in Asia, as investors question how the Chinese economy has fared in the first quarter.

“The February round of data pointed to the weakest growth momentum since the global financial crisis,” said Mole Hau at BNP Paribas, referring to the recent slump in investment, retail sales and factory output.

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang has said the economy faced “severe challenges” in 2014. Bank of America Merrill Lynch has cut its first-quarter growth forecast to 7.3% from 8.

The paris speech

A week before the European Central Bank’s (ECB) monetary policy meeting on April 3, President Mario Draghi has

investors wondering what it will take for him to counter the very low rate of inflation in the euro zone.

Draghi will speak in Paris on Tuesday to try to drive the message home that the ECB will stick to its very accommodative policy stance for a long time, not raising rates even if inflation picks up.

Draghi has said the ECB would keep a close eye on the euro exchange rate, one of the key parameters affecting inflation that is at a four-year low. The Fed’s rate hike talk has taken some steam out of the euro’s rise, though that might not last.

A string of euro zone PMIs will also give a sense of the bloc’s recovery, with many economists expecting a slight increase in the euro area composite PMI, driven by a modest rebound in the manufacturing sector.

Economists expect French PMIs to improve, while in Germany better manufacturing surveys could compensate for last month’s weakness.

“The gradual recovery continues,” Citi economists said in a note to clients. “We still expect the ECB to cut rates in June but the window seems to be narrowing gradually.” l

European Commission proposals due to be published on Thursday on how to fund long-term investments to boost Europe’s economies brings the start of a rehabilitation for the image of “shadow banking”, the largely unregulated market-based provision of credit which lay at the heart of the financial crisis.

The EC plans envisage engineering a fundamental shift in how the continent raises money for investment in infrastructure like roads and technology while at the same time moving away from an over-reliance on banks for fuelling growth in the economy.

A core element involves reviving securitization or the bundling of loans into interest-bearing bonds, a market which was fatally wounded by its central role in the financial crisis seven years ago when bonds which packaged up subprime U.S. home loans became untradeable.

Now the market for asset backed securities, currently has 650-700 billion euros worth of bonds in circulation, half its pre-crisis size.

This shrinkage, coupled with banks being wary of lending as they rebuild their capital buffers, makes it harder than ever to seed economic growth in Europe.

In the immediate aftermath of the financial crisis regulators called for a tough crackdown on the $71 trillion global shadow banking sector that also includes debt market repurchase agreements, securities lending, money market investment funds and some hedge funds.

But with the worst of the crisis now over, government attention has turned to growth and with it the regulatory mood music has also changed.

Policymakers are thinking twice about imposing new rules on one of the few sources of funding that can plug

DILBERT

a gap left by retreating banks and the EU plans are a major milestone in this change of tack.

“It’s a sign that regulators believe one aspect of shadow banking - securitization - is something to be encouraged and not discouraged, but they need to foster private sector involvement,” said David Covey, head of strategy for European asset-backed securities at Nomura bank.

Last week a top regulator said efforts by global supervisors to revive securitization will be intensified with proposals due soon, a step welcomed by bankers who say clarity on rules is key to encouraging investors to return to the market.

“If there is regulatory uncertainty, it’s very damaging,” Covey said.

The EC estimates that a trillion euros is needed in long term finance for transport, energy and telecoms up to 2020 to boost competitiveness and jobs and hopes that by encouraging market-based financing it can reduce the continent’s reliance on banks for raising up to 70% of funds for the economy.

Some European policymakers look to the United States, where markets instead fund about 70% of the economy, as a model to emulate.

“There is no single action or ‘magic bullet’ which will revolutionize the financing landscape in one go; rather a range of different responses is required in parallel,” the EC said in a draft of the proposals seen by Reuters last month.

The European Commission will also publish a separate set of action points to help foster the still tiny crowdfunding sector and fund more start-up businesses.

Shadow banking may also get a boost in other ways this week when the 11 euro zone countries that have pledged to reach a deal by May on taxing financial transactions meet. l