1 august, 2014

Shraban 17, 1421 Shawal 4, 1435 Regd. No. DA 6238 Vol 2, No 119

FRIDAY, AUGUST 1, 2014 | www.dhakatribune.com

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5 | WORLD

6 | LONG FORM

9 | OP-ED

10 | SPORT

EU’S LATEST SANCTIONS PACKAGE FOR RUSSIA

NETANYAHU’S WAR: A TAKE ON GAZA

THE GRINCH THAT STOLE EID

SHAKIB TO RETURN VIA DHAKA PREMIER LEAGUE

Tuba Group crisis ‘stage-managed’ Workers continue hunger strike for the fourth day; High Court bench granted Delwar bail before Eid n Ibrahim Hossain Ovi The non-payment of due wages and bonuses that prompted the workers of five factories of Tuba Group to go on hunger strike and the crisis created thereby was “stage-managed” by the management to orchestrate the freedom of owner Delwar Hossain, workers have alleged.

A High Court bench on July 24 granted two months’ ad interim bail to Delwar, arrested in connection with the November 2012 Tazreen factory that killed more than a hundred people.

Delwar, however, was still to be freed yesterday because his bail order was not processed due to the Eid vacations. For reasons unknown, the developments surrounding the bail remained out of media radar until the crisis deepened during the Eid vacations.

It was the last working day of the Supreme Court before its month-long summer vacation started. Justice Syed A B Mahmudul Huq and Justice Md Nazrul Islam Talukder passed the bail order, said Deputy Attorney General Shafiul Bashar Bhandary, who said he had opposed the bail prayer.

DAG Shafiul said Delwar was not supposed to get bail if the merit of the case was being considered. But Delwar’s counsel M Aminuddin argued that the workers were in crisis and so Delwar needed to get bail.

Police informant Nasim Sheikh yesterday confessed that he was involved in the killing of Mahbubur Rahman Sujan, a garment waste trader in Mipur, in police custody.

Following a 12-day remand in three phases, Nasim was produced before Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Ashok Kumar Dutta’s court in the afternoon where he made the confession.

On the other hand, Sub-inspector Jahidur Rahman Khan, the main accused in the case, was put on a two-day fresh remand as he first wanted to confess before court after the 12-day remand in two phases but later changed his mind.

DB Inspector Nibaran Chandra Barman, investigating officer in the case, had sought a three-day remand for Jahidur before the court of Metropolitan Magistrate Snigdha Rani Chakrobarti.

Court sources said in his confessional statement, Nasim said he was with the police team that picked Sujan up from his Hazaribagh residence on July 13. He said he had witnessed the torture Sujan was subjected to at the house and the police station, and was with Jahidur when Sujan was being taken to hospital.

Sujan’s wife Momtaj Sultana Lucky filed a case against police with Dhaka Metropolitan Sessions Judge Court in connection with the incident. The court appointed a magistrate to conduct judicial enquiry.

Following Sujan’s arrest from his Hazaribagh residence, he was allegedly beaten up at the house, inside the police van and also at the police station for the whole night, and died in police custody in the morning.

As the incident spawned outrage, police filed a case against Jahid, ASI Rajkumar, Constables Anwar, Rashid, and four of their informants. Apart from Jahid and Nasim, all else are on the run.

The case statement said the accused, after arresting Sujan, took him into

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‘They wanted us to demonstrate so they could free the owner by creating pressure on us’ According to a court source, Delwar’s lawyer argued that he had to be freed for making sure that the workers of his factories got their dues paid.

Workers, who have been fasting for four days, alleged that the management of the group “created an artificial crisis” so that it could lead to the release of the owner. They said the mother company needed more than Tk4.13 crore to clear all the dues of those five factories.

Interestingly, around 1,000 workers of another factory owned by Delwar got all their wages and bonuses in right time. The fact that Delwar was in jail did not appear to be a problem as Tuba Group managed a packaging credit of over Tk1 crore from a commercial bank for paying their dues.

Yesterday, this reporter visited the site of Tuba Garments, the concern of the group whose workers got all their

Several hundreds garment workers of the Tuba Group had been on hunger strike for three consecutive days yesterday demanding their outstanding wages and Eid bonus. The picture was taken from one of its factories located at Badda in the capital RAJIB DHAR dues paid in time. It was closed for seven days for the Eid vacations and there had not been any trace of worker unrest.

The Bangladesh Garments Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) has also been saying that Tuba Group would not be able to pay the dues of the workers of those five factories unless their owner was released.

The BGMEA wanted to pay the dues before Eid but the banks refused to provide the fund because the owner was in jail, claimed SM Mannan, acting president of BGMEA. As of yesterday, around 1,600 workers of five factories did not get their wages and overtime dues for the months of May, June and July and the

Eid bonuses.

Over 1,200 workers of these factories have been continuing their hunger strike at the Hossain Market in the capital’s Badda for the fourth consecutive day yesterday, demanding payment of the outstanding amounts.

More than 70 of the agitators, including some workers’ leaders, have fell ill. Eight of them have been admitted to the Dhaka Metropolitan Community Hospital in Moghbazar.

“We were paid our wages up to April, when the factory made jersey for the FIFA World Cup,” said a line supervisor of one of the factories named Tuba Fashion.  PAGE 2 COLUMN 3

Eid void of happiness for families of Rana Plaza victims n Abid Azad and Adil Sakhawat

The joys and festivities of Eid continue to evade the families of Rana Plaza victims, many of whom are living in financial uncertainty after losing their only breadwinner in the disaster.

During the three Eid festivals that followed the tragic day on April 24 last year, sorrow had been a constant companion for the family of Shyla Akhter, a garment worker who remains missing since the collapse of the building she worked at.

Reshmi Begum, Shyla’s sister who is also a garment worker, said: “Shyla is the youngest child of my parents. She had been working in garment factories since she was 11 years old and been supporting the family after our father’s death in 2003.

“Now this five-member family is totally dependable on me, even though I am married and I also have a child and husband whom I have to support.”

Family members said Shyla’s 78-year-old mother Zamila Begum had only searched for the body of her daughter instead of running to different organisations seeking compensation. The family got only Tk30,000 in compensation through bKash,  PAGE 2 COLUMN 3

Zunayed, a nine-month old infant, plays with a photograph of his father who died in the Rana Plaza collapse last year NASHIRUL ISLAM

Counsel cashed Tuba crisis n Julfikar Ali Manik Tuba Group’s imprisoned Managing Director Delowar Hossain’s counsel capitalised the mounting crisis surrounding the unpaid dues of some 1,600 workers in five garment factories in the capital’s Badda area, as he secured bail for his client from a High Court bench just before the summer vacations of the Supreme Court began on July 25.

On July 24, the bench granted two month’s ad interim bail to Delowar – also owner of Tazreen Fashion where a fire killed 112 workers in November 2012.

Greek court acquits farmers who shot 28 Bangladeshis

Netanyahu defies ceasefire call, vows to destroy Gaza tunnels n Reuters

n Tribune Report

“It sends the message that a foreign worker can die like a dog in the orchard,” said Vassiliki Katrivanou, an MP with the main opposition radical-left Syriza party.

Denouncing the judgement as scandalous, anti-racism organisations said it raised questions about the impartiality of the Greek justice system and vowed to step up protest action against the decision.

“We call upon unions and human rights movements to react against this unprecedented racist scandal,” said Petros Constantinou, coordinator of the Movement Against Racism and the Fascist Threat in a statement.

“The hundreds of millions of profit made in the strawberry industry cannot come about by shooting labourers in strawberry fields.”

The magistrates allowed two of the men, including the owner of the farm who had been accused of human trafficking, to walk free.

Two others, accused of aggravated assault and illegal firearms possession, were handed prison sentences of

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, facing international alarm over a rising civilian death toll in Gaza, said yesterday he would not accept any ceasefire that stopped Israel completing the destruction of militants’ infiltration tunnels.

The Israeli military estimated on Wednesday that accomplishing that task, already into its fourth week, would take several more days.

“We are determined to complete this mission, with or without a ceasefire,” Netanyahu said in public remarks at a meeting of his full cabinet in Tel Aviv.

“I wont agree to any proposal that will not enable the Israeli military to finish this important task, for the sake of Israel’s security.”

Netanyahu’s security cabinet on Wednesday approved continuing operations launched on July 8 in response to a surge of cross-border rocket attacks.

Washington has allowed Israel to tap a local US arms stockpile in the past few weeks to replenish its grenades and mortar rounds, a US defence official said on Thursday.

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A Greek court has acquitted local farmers who shot 28 Bangladeshi strawberry pickers in a ruling that has sparked outrage in Greece, the UK paper The Guardian reported yesterday.

Politicians, unionists and antiracist groups roundly condemned the verdict.

They described the verdict as a black mark for justice in a case that had shone a light on the appalling conditions in which migrant workers were often kept in Greece.

“I feel shame as a Greek,” said the victim’s lawyer, Moisis Karabeyidis, after the tribunal delivered the shock ruling.

“This decision is an outrage and a disgrace … the court showed an appalling attitude toward the victims.”

Scores of migrants, many sobbing in disbelief, protested outside the court house after the verdict.

Politicians who took up the cause also weighed in on Wednesday saying the verdict sent set an unwelcome example for other employers to follow.

INSIDE 2 | News

Most of the public hospitals in the capital continued to experience a lower number of patients as well as low presence of medical staff yesterday, even though the Eid vacation ended at the medical facilities on Wednesday.

3 | Nation

With four cases kept for verdict with the two International Crimes Tribunals and an appeal case pending for verdict at the Supreme Court for months, campaigners have expressed frustration and questioned the trial.

4 | News

At least 14 people were killed in separate incidents in Habiganj, Kushtia, Joypurhat, Borguna, Tongi, Panchagarh, Naogaon, Rajshahi and Gaibandha during the Eid holidays. *** Two suspects in the case of police officer Nurul Islam’s murder were killed, while one other was injured, during a gunfight with law enforcers on Sunday in Mirzapur upazila, Tangail.

7 | Entertainment

Bangladesh Musical Bands Association (BAMBA) rescheduled it’s much talked about concert on the occasion of Eid at the Jamuna Future Park.

Police informant confesses to garment waste trader killing n Ashif Islam Shaon

9 | Op-Ed

In these pre-Eid days I am thinking about all my Muslim friends, but in particular about those in Palestine. The great kids I’d worked with in the Deheishe refugee camp.

11 | Sport

South Africa’s Jacques Kallis has surprisingly decided to call time on his international limited overs career six months before the World Cup.

2

DHAKA TRIBUNE

News

Patient numbers still low at hospitals after Eid n Moniruzzaman Uzzal Most of the public hospitals in the capital continued to experience a lower number of patients as well as low presence of medical staff yesterday, even though the Eid vacation ended at the medical facilities on Wednesday.

Special duty rosters had been prepared for the doctors at most of the hospitals to ensure uninterrupted medical services during the holidays. Non-Muslim doctors, nurses and technologists were seen to be covering the shifts for many of their Muslim colleagues who enjoyed an extra day of break under special arrangements.

While visiting several hospitals in the city yesterday, many patients, however, told the Dhaka Tribune that they were more or less satisfied with the hospital services during Eid holidays Authorities concerned at the Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College Hospital, National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases (NICVD), National Institute of Kidney Disease and Urology (NIKDU), Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU), Birdem and Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) expressed hopes that regular

medical services would regain normalcy from Saturday.

At 11:30am yesterday, a long queue was seen in front of the room of Dr Shipra Haldar, a gynaecologist at the Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College Hospital. Her assistant said she attended 42 patients yesterday including people who came to see her other colleagues enjoying leave.

Hospital sources said a total of 208 patients arrived at the facility since morning, including 33 who were later admitted to the hospital’s indoor.

Abul Hayat Mia, a receptionist of the NIKDU hospital, told the Dhaka Tribune that even though the tickets for nephrology and urology sections were sold separately during regular times, he alone was selling the patient tickets as there was a manpower shortage. A total of 82 tickets (40 for nephrology and 22 for urology) had been sold since morning yesterday, he said.

Sources at the NICVD hospital said 127 people had come to the hospital to seek medical attention until 12:15pm, while 25 of them had been admitted at the indoor. The outdoor patient number was 66 and 93 on Tuesday and Wednesday respectively.

Counsel cashed Tuba crisis  PAGE 1 COLUMN 5

He also argued that the Tazreen Fashion owner needed to be freed for the sake of law and order, peace and tranquility in and around the industry concerned.

The crisis surrounding the non-payment of workers’ dues at five of Delwar’s factories started unwinding in the middle of last month which gradually intensified.

The HC bench granted bail and Delwar’s family and government officials thought that he was likely to be freed in the beginning of the coming week.

Despite repeated attempts, this correspondent found Advocate Amin’s mobile phone switched off.

Asked if the government would challenge the HC bail order, the DAG

said: “I did not get any instruction to move to the Supreme Court to appeal against this bail order.”

More than a year after the fatal November 2012 factory fire in Tazreen Fashion, Delwar surrendered before a Dhaka court.

Even a government probe over the Tazreen fire incident blamed Delwar in December 2012 saying, criminal charges for “unpardonable negligence” should be brought against the owner.

The governemnt probe report suggested that the owner of the factory cannot be indemnified from the death of large numbers of workers from this fire.

However, Delwar remained free from criminal charges for a long time and there was no move to arrest him which surprised many. l

Visiting the BSMMU and Birdem hospitals, the Dhaka Tribune found that there was only a handful of patients who had come to see specialised doctors.

Those who did arrive at the hospitals were told by the on-duty doctors that a notice had been given earlier which said the specialised service would not be available between July 24 and August 1.

Compared to other public hospitals, the number of patients was higher at the DMCH, where authorities said 960 patients came to its emergency department on July 30. Among them, 236 were admitted at the indoor, 464 patients were referred to different departments, five were brought dead and seven were brought for stomach pumping.

Brigadier General Dr Mustafizur Rahman, director of the DMCH, told the Dhaka Tribune that on Wednesday, the hospital had over 1600 patients admitted at its indoor, while 125 more came to the DMCH outdoor yesterday.

Asked about the functioning capacity of the hospital, he claimed that the DMCH ensured quality healthcare to its patients even though a festive mood prevailed among all the employees and staff. Normalcy would return from Saturday, he further expresed hopes. l

Friday, August 1, 2014

Ashraf rules out BNP’s violent movement n Mohosinul Karim

Awami League General Secretary and also LGRD Minister Syed Ashraful Islam yesterday ruled out the possibility of BNP’s violent movement after Eid. The minister made the remark while talking to the journalists at the secretariat yesterday, the first day after three days Eid-Ul-Fitr vacation started from July 28.

According to the ministry officials, the Thursday’s office attendance of Syed Ashraf was his fourth visit to his own office at the secretariat during the seven months of the present government.

When asked about the panicking situation all over the country regarding BNP threat of tough movement after Eid, Ashraf said, “Movement is a democratic right of a political party.

BNP has announced to hold a peaceful movement. We also believe they will do so. We are not expecting any violent situation regarding their movement.”

“We will handle the situation if the situation is turned into violent. But, we have not expecting such situation. The government will cooperate in any kind of peaceful movement,” he added.

The minister also thanked the countrymen and the concerned officials for observing a peaceful Eid. The minister has exchanged Eid greetings with the high officials of the ministry and its subordinate offices

and employees at the secretariat.

Education Minister Nurul Islam Nahid and State Minister for Home Affair Asaduzzman Khan Kamal also exchanged Eid greetings with the officials and employees of their ministries and its subordinate offices in their secretariat office.

Industries Minister Amir Hossain Amu also exchanged Eid greetings with the officials and employees of his ministry and its subordinate offices at his Shilpa Bhaban office.

Meanwhile, the secretariat, the heart of the administration, was free from visitors while the presence of the officers and employees were very poor.

According to the security personell and officials of the public administration ministry, the presence of the officials and employees were around 35 percents. Most of the officials and employees were enjoying leave for the Thursday, the only day between the Eid and general holiday.

The officials claimed most of the officials had taken leave for the day earlier of starting the Eid holiday from their authority or high officials. That is why, the offices of different ministries and division were found about vacant.

Though some of the officials and employees attended the office, they left earlier exchanging Eid greetings with their colleagues and senior officials. l

AL plans monthlong programmes to mourn August 15 n Tribune Report The Awami League and like-minded organisations have chalked out monthlong programmes to observe the month of mourning.

The Awami League Central Working Committee at a meeting on July 28 at Ganabhaban finalised the programmes.

The associate bodies will finalise programmes at a joint meeting to be held at the political office of party chief Sheikh Hasina on Saturday.

Jubo League and Swechchhasebak League lighted candles at 12:01am last night near Bangabandhu Memorial Museum at Dhanmondi. They also placed wreaths at the portrait of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.

Bangladesh Deshoratna Parishad will organise a discussion at the National Press Club today.

A month-long blood donation programme will start on Sunday at Dhanmondi Road 32. Sheikh Hasina will inaugurate the programme to be organised by Krishak League.

On August 15 in 1975, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was assassinated along with most of his family members, but his two daughters Sheikh Hasina and Sheikh Rehana luckily survived as they were abroad at that time. l

Tuba Group crisis ‘stage-managed’  PAGE 1 COLUMN 3

“The management started delaying our payments in a planned way so that they could get the owners released before Eid. They thought if they could give rise to a labour unrest before the festival, it would draw media as well as government attention,” he said.

“These five factories have been used as a tool for freeing the owner because there are more workers...

They wanted us to demonstrate so that they could free the owner by indirectly creating pressure on us,” said a female sewing operator of Tayed Design, another factory owned by Delwar’s Tuba Group.

Labour leader Sirajul Islam Rony, who has expressed solidarity with the

agitating workers, endorsed the Tuba management’s scheme.

“The allegation that they tried to free the owner by holding the workers hostage is not completely baseless. An NGO tried to persuade the workers to directly demand the owner’s release.

But they did not pay heed,” Rony said.

“The workers later found out what the NGO had been trying to do and beat up their officials,” he said.

“With the help of BGMEA, we tried to free Delwar Hossain, managing director of Tuba Group, and I came to know that he secured bail. But because it was the last working day before the Eid holidays, we could not bring him out,” Laily Begum, Delwar’s mother-in-law, told the Dhaka Tribune

yesterday.

Laily came to meet the fasting workers for a negotiation on Monday, the day the workers started their hunger strike. However, since then, the workers have kept her confined.

She also said if Delwar was freed, a solution to the problem would come and the workers would get their dues paid.

However, no official of the Tuba Group was available for making any comment regrding the allegations that the workers have raised.

Four days have passed since the workers have been fasting, but neither the BGMEA nor the government has allegedly extended any material support.

The workers have not got any assur-

ance about the payment of their dues either.

The BGMEA organised a media briefing at its building the capital’s Karwan Bazaar yesterday. The apex trade body of the apparel sector assured at the briefing that the issue would be settled in seven working days.

When asked why they had not gone to meet the agitating workers, former BGMEA president Tipu Munshie said: “I urge media to convey our message to the workers that we will talk to the government about the problem and make a decision about their going there.”

Tipu also said: “The workers demanded wages and other dues; they did not demand the release of Delwar.” l

Greek court acquits farmers who Police informant confesses to garment waste trader killing shot 28 Bangladeshis  PAGE 1 COLUMN 6

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14 years and seven months and eight years and seven months respectively but were also freed pending appeal.

The Bangladeshis were shot at in April last year when they demanded to be remunerated for six months of unpaid work at a farm in Manolada in the southern Peloponnese.

Four of the strawberry pickers were badly injured in the attack.

The Greek farmers had instructed top criminal lawyers to defend them in a court drama that lasted for over a month.

More than 40 prosecution witnesses testified in a case in which the prosecutor had asked that exemplary punishment be made. l

Netanyahu defies ceasefire call  PAGE 1 COLUMN 6

US Secretary of State John Kerry, who failed in a visit to the region last week to secure a ceasefire, voiced support for Israel’s operations against the tunnels.

Leaving open the option of widening a ground campaign in the Hamas-dominated Gaza Strip, the Israeli military said it had called up an additional 16,000 reservists. A military source said they would relieve a similar number of reserve soldiers being stood down.

Gaza officials say at least 1,394 Palestinians, most of them civilians, have been killed in the battered territory and nearly 7,000 wounded. Fifty-six Israeli soldiers have been killed in Gaza clashes and more than 400 wounded. Three civilians have been killed by Palestinian shelling in Israel.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon strongly condemned on Wednesday the deaths of at least 15 Palestinians among thousands sheltering at a UNrun school. The United Nations said its initial assessment was that Israeli artillery shells hit the facility.

The United Nations’ senior human rights official, Navi Pillay, said on Thursday that Israel had attacked homes, schools, hospitals, and UN premises in apparent violation of the Geneva Conventions.

Pillay said Israel’s actions seemed to be in “deliberate defiance of obligations that international law imposes.”

In another incident on Wednesday, 17 people were killed in nearby Shejaia by what Palestinian officials said was Israeli shelling of a produce market.

The Israeli military said it was investigating.

“Such a massacre requires an earthquake-like response,” said Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum, whose group has kept up dozens of daily rocket launches deep into Israel. The Israelis have kept casualties from the

salvoes low, using its Iron Dome air defence system to intercept them and air-raid sirens to send people to shelters.

In the northern Gaza town of Beit Lahiya, Israeli tank shells landed near another UN-run school and at least 30 people sheltering inside were wounded by shrapnel and shattered glass, witnesses and hospital officials said.

Rolling Israeli ground assaults on residential areas, preceded by mass warnings to evacuate, have displaced more than 200,000 of Gaza’s 1.8 million Palestinians. The tiny territory’s infrastructure is in ruins, with power and water outages.

Israel says it is trying to avoid civilian casualties and blames these on Hamas and other Palestinian factions dug in for urban combat.

Both sides have voiced openness to a truce, but their terms diverge dramatically. Israel wants Gaza stripped of infiltration tunnels and rocket stocks.

Hamas rules that out, and seeks an end to a crippling Gaza blockade enforced by Israel and Egypt, which view the Palestinian Islamists as a security threat.

Diplomacy to end the Gaza conflict is further complicated by the fact Israel and the United States shun Hamas as a terrorist group, while the go-betweens - Egypt, Qatar and Turkey - disagree on Gaza policy.

Military losses are more than five times those from the last Gaza ground war, in 2008-2009, but Israeli opinion polls show strong public support for fighting on until Hamas is quelled.

Netanyahu faces intense pressure from abroad to stand his forces down.

The United States and the UN Security Council have urged an immediate, unconditional ceasefire by both sides in Gaza to allow in humanitarian relief and for further talks on a more durable cessation of hostilities. l

custody and also confined his wife and child to the police station.

Around 3:43am, the accused went outside to recover arms and around 5:27am, Jahidur phoned Officer-incharge of Mipur police station Md Salauddin Khan, telling him that they took Sujan to hospital as he felt severe chest pain but he died there.

On the other hand, Lucky, in her case statement, said around 12:30am on July 13, Jahidur, Rajkumar, and Constables Asad, Shimul and Mithun entered the house. Jahidur told her that Sujan had several cases filed against him and they had come to search the house.

Jahidur then took out a gun and bullets from his pocket and put those on a cot as he wanted to frame Sujan in an arms case. Sujan at the time was hiding behind the dropped ceiling fearing harassment but Rajkumar found him and dragged him into the bathroom by tying up his hands with rope and handcuff.

Police then put his head into a bucket full of water and beat him.

Sujan’s five-year-old son Mosharraf grabbed Jahidur’s legs, begging for his father’s life. The SI, however, kicked the child, making him to lose consciousness, according to claims made

by Lucky in the case statement.

Jahidur demanded Tk2 lakh from Lucky in return for her husband’s life.

As she denied to comply with the demand, police looted money, ornaments and other valuables and took Sujan, Lucky and Mosarref to Mirpur police station around 1:45am.

Lucky claimed that she had heard Jahidur talking to someone over his walkie-talkie and saying: “I have brought the scoundrel. What should I do now?”

The voice on the other end of the device said: “Either close the matter or just kill him.”

Jahidur then took Sujan to another room in the police station and beat him

up mercilessly. His wife and children heard him screaming and begging for life. After a while, however, there was no sound as he became silent.

Around 9am, Mirpur police station Officer-in-charge Salauddin told Lucky that they had taken her husband to Dhaka Medical College Hospital as he fell ill. He also took her signature on a white piece of paper and sent her home.

When the incident was reported in the media, the authorities withdrew Jahidur from Mirpur police station and arrested him on July 15.

Sujan’s autopsy report said he was tortured to death. l

Eid void of happiness for families of Rana Plaza victims  PAGE 1 COLUMN 1

reportedly by the Rana Plaza Donors Trust Fund.

Reshmi said: “Our family needs Tk11,000 per month to meet our household needs. But I am earning only Tk4,500 per month... We do not know how we should try to get compensation now.”

Although the government and several organisations have initiated separate efforts to compensate the victims’ families, many still claim that they have received little or no amount of the money.

The BGMEA claims it had already spent Tk14 crore to compensate the families, said Taslima Akter, coordinator of Garment Workers Solidarity. The prime minister’s fund also had Tk105 crore remaining to be spent, with only Tk22 crore so far distributed, she added.

Irish clothing retailers Primark has set aside a $9 million dollar fund for the victims who worked on the third floor of the building, Taslima said, adding that the Rana Plaza Donors Trust Fund already has Tk141 crore deposited with a target of reaching the Tk320 crore mark.

Asked about compensations to Rana Plaza victims’ families, Dhaka Deputy Commissioner Tofazzal Hossain Mia said: “Very soon the money deposited in the prime minister’s fund will be distributed among the families of Rana Plaza victims. We are now nearing the end of investigating the proper identification of victims’ families as we want to distribute the money to the actual dependants.”

“However, we do not know about

the missing people,” he added.

On Eid day, the Dhaka Tribune also visited the homes of several other Rana Plaza victims, only to find that the colours of the festival had not reached those households. The victims’ relatives neither donned any new dress nor cooked any special food to celebrate the occasion.

“Every day remains the same since I have lost my husband. Nothing changes, nothing new happens, everything is deteriorating day by day,” said Nazma Akter Lily, who lost her husband Jewel in the Rana Plaza collapse.

At the time of the disaster, Lily was already pregnant and gave birth to her son Zunayed six months after her husband’s death.

“Although I have got some amount of money, but our future is still uncertain. When I went to the Savar thana nirbahi officer [for compensation] he became angry and shouted at us telling us not to disturb him any more,” Lily said.

Asked about the issue, the thana nirbahi officer, Kamrul Hasan Mollah, said: “It is not true that we became agitated against the victim’s family. We told them that once we get the money, we will provide it to them as soon as possible.”

Meanwhile, only 200 metres away from the Rana Plaza site, the Dhaka Tribune came upon a building which housed three families who had lost a total of four of their relatives in the disaster.

Although the surrounding houses were abuzz with the sound of Eid celebrations, the building stood silent devoid of any sign of festivity.

A resident of the building, Chan Mia, said he lost his 22-year-old son Abdul Momin to a fire that was sparked when rescue workers were trying to pull Momin out from under the rubble.

He said: “Every moment, I see my son’s burnt face in front of me. I cannot forget such image of my son’s dreadful death.

“When I returned home after Eid prayers, I found Momin’s mother crying which became a daily scenario after we lost our son,” he added.

Another resident of the building, Abdul Hamid, lost his 19-year-old son Robin in the Rana Plaza collapse.

“I got some some Tk95,000 in three instalments through bKash [from Primark and Rana Plaza Donors Trust Fund] and Tk1 lakh from the government. The money has already been spent to pay our loans, house rents and other necessary expenses,” Hamid said.

Another of his son, Rubel, 22, was also injured when he got trapped under the rubble of Rana Plaza.

“Rubel cannot work properly as he became psychologically weak after the incident. So far, he has had to change three garment factories as he could not work regularly or efficiently... He becomes frightened when generator machine is switched on, like the day when he was inside the Rana Plaza building,” Hamid said.

The grief is greater for Rubel’s mother, who not only lost a son in the disaster and had another one injured, but also lost her younger sister Rina Akter who worked on the building’s fourth floor.

Meanwhile, on the evening of Eid,

six-year-old Miraj Hossain, whose mother Shilpy Akhter had been missing since the Rana Plaza collapse, came to the site of the building with his grandmother Fatema Begum.

“Miraj is still waiting for his mother. He continuously asks me when his mother will come back. I could not afford to give him any new dress this Eid,” Fatema said.

Although the family had received Tk45,000 through bKash, the money had already been spent to pay house rent, Fatema said. She added that there was also uncertainty on whether the family would get any further compensation as there was no DNA match for Shilpy, who worked for Phantom Apparels on the fourth floor of Rana Plaza.

On the other hand, Shahana Begum, whose missing daughter Baby Akhter could also not be identified through DNA tests, claimed she did not receive any kind of compensation from anyone.

According to rights organisation Bangladesh Garments Workers Solidarity, there are at least 160 families who claim that their relatives – who were present in the building when the Rana Plaza collapsed – remain missing and unidentified.

So far, DNA tests have been able to identify 200 of the 321 unidentified bodies, according to the Labour Ministry.

In the deadliest industrial disaster of the country’s history, the eightstoried Rana Plaza collapsed in Savar on April 24 last year, killing at least 1,136 people and injuring over 2,500 others. l

DHAKA TRIBUNE

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Friday, August 1, 2014

WAR CRIMES TRIAL

Frustration mounts as cases are kept awaiting verdict n Udisa Islam With four cases kept for verdict with the two International Crimes Tribunals and an appeal case pending for verdict at the Supreme Court for months, campaigners have expressed frustration and raised questions about the trial processes.

As of today, four cases – against Jamaat chief Motiur Rahman Nizami, former BNP leader Jahid Hossain Kokhon, former Awami League leader Mobarak Hossain and Jamaat leader Mir Kashem Ali – are awaiting verdict at the tribunals.

Around nine months have passed since any of the two tribunals has pronounced a verdict in the war crimes cases The appeal case of Jamaat Nayeb-eAmeer Delawar Hossain Sayedee, who was sentenced to death by the tribunal, has been kept pending for verdict by the apex court.

Around nine months have passed since any of the two tribunals has pronounced a verdict in the war crimes cases. In October last year, the tribunal delivered verdict against absconding Chowdhury Mueen Uddin and Ashrafuzzaman Khan.

The case against Nizami has been kept for verdict three times so far because of unavoidable reasons. The first time hearing in this case ended in November 2013. But the tribunal chairman went into retirement keeping the verdict pending.

In February, the reformed tribunal started rehearing the arguments and in March, marked the case CAV (curia advisari vult meaning keeping the verdict waiting until a later date). The verdict was put off again in June when the accused fell ill.

The cases against Mir Kashem Ali has been kept CAV in May, Jahid Hossain Kokhon in April and that against Mobarak Hossain has been pending verdict since June.

In April, the Supreme Court kept the

appeal case of convicted war criminal Delawar Hossain Sayedee CAV after hearing for 50 working days. He was sentenced to death by the International Crimes Tribunal in February last year.

In contrast, with around a year taken in the case of Sayedee, the apex court took only two months to settle the appeal of Jamaat stalwart Quader Molla, who was hanged in December last year.

Trial of Jamaat-e-Islami as a criminal organisation appears to be uncertain especially after the law minister had said the trial could not be conducted under the existing laws. The probe body of the tribunal submitted its report in March this year.

The first tribunal kept the case CAV for three months to pronounce verdict against Razakar kingpin and former Jamaat chief Ghulam Azam. The tribunal took just two months to pronounce verdict against Sayedee.

Prosecution witness Shyamoli Nasreen, the wife of a Liberation War martyr, said the opportunity to testify against the accused war criminals was a privilege for her. But the elongated periods of wait for verdict have frustrated her.

“We had to wait too long for the trials to start. We cannot bear the delay anymore,” Shyamoli said.

Writer Shahriar Kabir, who has been spearheading the nationwide campaign for the trial of war criminals, is frustrated after seeing the tribunals keep one case after another CAV for months.

He said the tribunal had needed time to prepare the verdicts because the prosecution was not very competent.

“I do not want to think that the tribunals are unnecessarily taking time for passing the verdicts. We cannot say anything against this [Awami League] government because the opponent [BNP-Jamaat alliance] will not continue the trial as the accused are mostly from Jamaat,” he said.

With an overwhelming mandate to try the war criminals, the Awami League government started the trial in March 2010 during its previous term.

So far, trials of nine war criminals – three in the first International Crimes Tribunal and six in the second – have been completed. l

Thousands of people along with their children visit the National Zoo the day after the Eid at Mirpur in the capital. The photo was taken on Wednesday

Matalan to pay into Rana Plaza victims fund, amount not disclosed n Tribune Report Bowing to pressure from campaigners, budget clothing firm Matalan announced on Wednesday that it would donate to a UN-backed fund for the victims of Rana Plaza, the collapsed clothing factory in Savar on the outskirts of Dhaka, The Independent of UK reported on Wednesday.

The company had not disclosed how much it would pay into the fund to compensate disabled survivors and families who had lost their primary earners in the catastrophic industrial accident, The Independent reported.

Campaigners remained concerned because it was not clear how much money Matalan was committing to the victims fund, the report said.

On Monday, campaign groups launched a social-media campaign which saw tens of thousands of peo-

ple send emails, make calls and send tweets urging Matalan to contribute.

On Wednesday, Shadow Secretary of State for International Development Jim Murphy, and Shadow Development Minister Alison McGovern also called on Matalan to pay towards the compensation fund, The Independent reported.

“It looks like good news for people power that Matalan has said that it will pay into the official compensation fund,” said Susannah Compton of 38 Degrees on Wednesday.

The Rana Plaza factory collapsed in April 2013, killing 1,129 people and injuring more than 2,515 others.

Matalan bought supplies made in the eight-story complex in Savar.

But – until Wednesday – it was the only major British firm which had not paid into the Rana Plaza donor trust fund.

The fund is backed by the UN’s International Labour Organisation (ILO), according to campaign groups 38 Degrees and Labour Behind the Label.

Matalan’s rival in the budget apparel sector, Primark, had pledged $12m of which $8m would be counted as a contribution to the compensation fund, according to the report.

Matalan said it had made an undisclosed donation to BRAC, a Bangladeshi NGO running the Rana Plaza Survivors Rehabilitation Scheme.

The company was “proud” of the work it had done on the ground with BRAC in Bangladesh over the last few months, Allan Leighton, Non Executive Chairman of Matalan, said in a statement on Wednesday.

“Together we have helped hundreds of people that have been injured or lost loved ones in the Rana Plaza tragedy and we are looking at ways

BNP will take some more time to reorganise

Bangladeshi and Indian detainees exchanged after flag meeting

n Mohammad Al-Masum Molla

n Zakir Mustafiz Milu The Indian Border Security Force (BSF) has returned four Bangladeshis held in Indian custody while Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) has returned an Indian national in a flag meeting held between the two countries’ border patrol services yesterday.

Bangladeshi Border Guard settled a bilateral dispute over the exchange of detainees in a flag meeting with its Indian counterpart on the Dharmagar border in Thakurgaon yesterday afternoon, hours after the BSF and Indian locals picked up four Bangladeshis.

Border Guard Bangladesh’s Intelligence Officer Major Tawhid bin Ishaq of 30 Battalion told the Dhaka Tribune: “Earlier in the day, the BSF detained Mohammad Alamgir when he went to cut grass for his cattle from a field near the Indian border around 2:30pm. Alamgir’s brothers then entered Indian territory and caught an Indian man, Sri Suni Ram, of South Dinajpur.

“Later, the brothers of Suni slipped into Bangladesh and took three Bangladeshis hostage as part of their revenge.”

Major Tawhid said: “When we heard about the situation, we sent a letter to BSF asking them to hold a flag meeting to settle the dispute. After the meeting, the detainees were exchanged. The BSF has returned all four Bangladeshis detained in India while we have returned the Indian national.

“The detained Bangladeshis will be handed over to Ranisonkoil police and the police will settle the next course of action,” he said.

Ranisonkoil police station Officerin-Charge Sukumar Ray said: “We have received the Bangladeshis from the BGB. After initial questioning, we will let them go home.” l

People begin to return to the capital from their village homes and towns after the three-day Eid vacation. The picture was taken from Kamalapur Railway Station yesterday RAJIB DHAR

Eight killed in Dhaka during Eid holidays n Tribune Report At least eight people, including a member of Ansar, were killed in separate incidents in the capital during the threeday Eid holidays that started from July 28.

The body of Ansar member Emdad Ullah was found on the ground floor of the Inland Container Depot building in Kamalapur area on Wednesday.

Md Ashrafuzzaman, deputy commissioner of Mirpur division, said the Ansar member, who had been serving as a guard at the depot, was strangulated to death by unidentified criminals.

In another incident, Saddam Hossain, identified as a criminal, was stabbed to death at night on Wednesday in South Badda.

Sub-Inspector of Badda police station Abdullah Al Mamun said Saddam had been an accused in several cases and released from jail on bail a few days before.

Md Wahid, 25, a resident of Mirpur Bihari Camp, was killed in a clash between two groups of camp dwellers on Tuesday night. His brother Jasim Ud-

NASHIRUL ISLAM

din said Wahid was stabbed with scissors over an earlier feud, which Syed Ziauzzaman, officer-in-charge of Pallabi police station, confirmed.

In Lalbagh, one was killed and three others injured when an angry mob beat them up after they had allegedly attempted a robbery in Shahid Nagar on Tuesday.

The deceased is Md Farhad, 25, and the injured are Sohel, 23, Arif, 26, and Anu Miah, 24.

Lalbagh police station’s SI Mohibullah said upon information they had gone to the spot and rescued the four robbers. They were admitted to Dhaka Medical College Hospital where doctors pronounced Farhad dead.

Mirpur police recovered the body of a 40-year-old woman from Mirpur Section 6 on Wednesday while Khilkhet police station officials recovered the body of a 25-year-old woman from a wetland under the Khilkhet flyover.

Kamrangirchar police station officials recovered the body of an elderly woman from East Islamnagar and the body of a 35-year-old man from a road side in Kamrangirchar area. l

Although the BNP has threatened vigorous but peaceful anti-government movement after Eid, chances are high that it will rather take some more time to regroup; potentially violent programmes such as hartals are currently not on the cards.

Insiders say the party does not have any preparation to stage a strong movement at the moment.

Instead, the plan now is to hold some rallies and meetings in the coming months at the district level and concentrate on reshuffling and reorganising the associate bodies such as student wing Chhatra Dal and youth front Jubo Dal and the party’s grassroots committees.

They also said even if the government obstructed its “peaceful” programmes, protest might remain limited to announcing some agitation programmes instead of staging hartals.

A senior leader said now was not the right time for going on the hardline. He said the party was not organisationally strong enough to substantiate any plan to stage a strong movement.

“There would be some gaps in the movement [if we go on the hardline now] that might end up foiling the plans and inducing more repression from the government,” the leader said. BNP’s partners from the 20-party alliance are also in the dark about the shape of the much-talked-about movement after Eid. According to a source, on July 22, a central leader of Jamaat-e-Islami, the second largest component of the BNPled alliance, spoke with a senior BNP leader over phone. The BNP leader reportedly told the Jamaat leader that BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia would meet with leaders of the alliance after Eid and apprise them about the course that the proposed movement was going to take.

BNP acting secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir also did not give any detail about the “strong” movement when he talked to reporters at the Nayapaltan party office yesterday.

“Khaleda Zia has already made clear that our movement would be peaceful and orderly. We do not want to do anything that may lead to chaos... If the government wanted to tread the path of compromise, there would not have been any problem. But they do not want to go for any discussion or talk. It is they who are pushing the country towards a conflict,” Fakrul said yesterday.

He also said the party would sit with its alliance partners soon and lay down the next course of action. Fakrul also brushed aside rumours that a distance had been created between the BNP and its alliance partners, especially Jamaat.

Sources said BNP Senior Vice-Chairman Tarique Rahman and his mother Khaleda Zia had reportedly discussed the issue of doing some “homework” after Eid so that they could reorganise the grassroots for the sake of a strong movement to topple the government in the soonest possible time.

Tarique and Khaleda met in Saudi Arabia towards the end of last month when they both went to the country for observing Umrah. At a number of iftar gatherings during Ramadan, Khaleda announced that a strong movement to topple the government would start after Eid. A number of senior leaders, including Fakrul, echoed the party chief but did not disclose any detail about the course of action they were going to follow. l

to make sure this help continues. We have also made a donation to the ILO.” The firm stressed that it had only used Rana Plaza on a short-term pilot basis, and the final order was delivered three weeks before the building collapsed. All proceeds made from the sale of the clothes will go to BRAC, Matalan said.

It added it was neither found culpable for the tragedy, nor was it “ordered” to pay compensation.

“It’s worrying to see that Matalan has clammed up about how much money it’s paying in. Until Matalan says exactly how much it’s paid, its customers will still be waiting to see what kind of business it really is - and whether it’s really donating the £3m the official fund needs,” The Independent reported Compton as saying.

The UN-backed fund hoped to raise $40m for Rana Plaza survivors. l

Muhith: Antigovernment agitation now impossible n Tribune Report Finance Minister AMA Muhith has said it is not possible for political parties in the country to stage a movement against the government in the context of the present socio-economic and political setting.

His made the remarks yesterday while exchanging Eid greetings with employees of the Finance Division, Banking Division and journalists at the Secretariat.

“Without people’s support, no party can go for an anti-government agitation. A large number of people and stakeholders are closely related to and busy with the country’s economic affairs,” said the minister.

The stakeholders, for their own interests, will not support BNP’s possible political movement, Muhith said, adding that economic activities would be negatively affected because of movement, if any.

“BNP men know this better than me,” he said.

Congratulating the communication minister for timely steps taken to repair roads and highways, Muhith said this year’s Eid celebration was fine and the people could reach their homes safely.

“Traders did good business on the eve of Eid as people went shopping even at midnight,” said Muhith. l

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DHAKA TRIBUNE

News

Friday, August 1, 2014

Fourteen killed in violence during Eid holidays n Tribune Report At least 14 people were killed in separate incidents in Habiganj, Kushtia, Joypurhat, Borguna, Tongi, Panchagarh, Naogaon, Rajshahi and Gaibandha during the Eid holidays.

In Habiganj, a clash between two groups centring Eid-ul-Fitr prayer in Lakhai left at least one person dead and 10 others injured on Tuesday.

Police said supporters of former UP chairman Morshed Kamal and former UP member Shoai Mia locked into a fierce clash surrounding the Eid prayer, where Shamim Mia, 25, died on the spot. The injured were admitted to Lakhai Upazila Health Complex, said the officer-in-charge of Lakhai police station, adding that drives were going on to nab the involved individuals.

In Kushtia, a clash between two groups over establishing supremacy in the area killed two brothers and injured 10 others near Mirpur area on Monday.

Shahidul Islam Shahin, officer-in-charge at Mirpur police station, said Abdul Ohab, 45, and his elder brother Shahidul Islam, 55, were killed when supporters of local Biswas group and Malitha group clashed.

Among the injured, five people were admitted to Kushtia General Hospital.

Police nabbed two of the injured, who

are supporters of Biswas group, from the hospital in this connection.

Additional police members were deployed in the area to avert further untoward incidents.

In Joypurhat, a drug addict named Arif was beaten to death by mob on Thursday.

Police said Arif had stabbed cigarette seller Phul Mia around midnight while attempting to rob his money.

Critically injured, Phul Mia was rushed to Bogra Medical College and Hospital, while agitated villagers caught Arif and beat him on the local school premises, leaving him spot dead.

Police recovered Arif’s body later.

In Borguna, a housewife named Hosne Ara Begum was killed in a clash over land dispute on Wednesday.

Riaz Hossain, officer-in-charge of Amtoli police station, said Hosne Ara was critically injured when she was kicked in the abdomen during the feud.

The on-duty doctors at Amtoli Hospital declared her dead when she was taken there.

Hasan Molla, the victim’s husband, filed a case accusing six people in this connection.

In Gazipur, an alleged thief was killed in a mass beating yesterday and a jhut businessman was shot dead on Wednesday in Tongi.

Police said an unidentified youth was killed during a mass beating in Arichpur area. The body was sent to Gazipur Sadar Hospital for a post-mortem.

On the other hand, jhut businessman Faruk Hossain Arju, 35, was shot dead by his opponents near Himardighi area on Wednesday afternoon.

Kazi Ismail Hossain, officer-in-charge of Tongi police station, said opponents shot Faruk because of business-related disputes and and fled the scene.

Faruk was taken to Bangladesh Medical College and Hospital in a critical condition, where the on-duty doctors pronounced him dead.

Mariam Hossain Rupa, Faruk’s wife, filed a case with the police station in this connection, while police nabbed a man named Omar Faruk for his alleged involvement in the incident.

In Panchagarh, a housewife was allegedly tortured to death at Tulardanga village in Panchagarh municipality area yesterday.

Police said Robiul Islam, 30, of Tulardanga, married Sahera Begum, 24, of Jagdal Gowalpara village, 10 years ago.

Robiul again married Sathi Begum, 20, of Mithapukur village, six months ago.

The second marriage prompted frequent altercation between Sahera and

Robiul. On late Wednesday night, Rabiul and Sahera engaged in altercation and at one stage, Robiul and his second wife Sathi started beating Sahera mercilessly.

Critically injured, Sahera was taken to Panchagarh Sadar Hospital the next morning and was later shifted to Thakurgaon Sadar Hospital. She died on her way to Thakurgaon.

Humayun Kabir, officer-in-charge of Panchagarh police station, said Robiul and Sathi were arrested in this connection.

In Naogaon, two bodies were recovered, a farmer was killed and a housewife was beaten to death by her husband.

The hanging body of Fatema Begum, 30, wife of Shahidul Islam, was recovered from her bedroom in Bangabaria area on Tuesday.

Locals alleged that Shahidul killed Fatema and staged it like a suicide before fleeing the scene, while police suspected that Fatema might have killed herself.

Police also recovered the body of Abu Sayeed, 35, from a waterbody in RG-Naogaon area.

Sayeed’s family said he had gone missing on Saturday night and might have been killed due to previous enmity.

On the other hand, Selim Mia, 50, was killed in an attack over land dispute on Tuesday.

He was attacked and critically injured on Monday and was admitted to Rajshahi Medical College and Hospital, where he died the next day.

A housewife named Mousumi Akhter, 23, was beaten to death by her husband Faruk on Wednesday for putting a bar on his extra-marital affair.

The had an altercation and, at one stage, Faruk started to beat Mousumi mercilessly and then strangled her.

Following the incident, all her inlaws fled the house, police said.

In Rajshahi, the dead body of a farmer was recovered in Gopinathpur area on Saturday five days after he went missing.

Police said they were not certain whether the body bore injury marks, adding that the post-mortem report would unveil the reason of death.

In Gaibandha, police recovered the body of a youth from a well in Harinathpur village on Tuesday.

Latiful Islam, officer-in-charge of Sadullapur police station, said the father of Rupom Mia, 17, claimed that his brother Apel Mahmud, 38, had killed Rupom due to a family dispute and hid his body in the well. l

Teenager commits suicide in Barguna n Our Correspondent, Barguna A 14-year-old girl allegedly killed herself on Wednesday night in South Kakchira village under Bamna upazila in Barguna.

Primary investigation revealed that the victim, Bashanti, had swallowed poisonous tablets.

Sub-inspector Jahirul Islam of Bamna police station said Bashanti, a seventh-grader at Kakchira Secondary School, was romantically involved with Shyamol, resident of North Gudihata village. Bashanti’s parents did not accept the relationship and refused to marry her off to Shyamol.

Locals said Bashanti sneaked out of home in the middle of the night to see Shyamol; after returning home, she committed suicide.

Police said the victim’s parents refused to give any information regarding their daughter’s death.

This reporter could not reach her parents on the phone, despite several attempts.

Jahirul Islam said a case of unnatural death had been filed with the police station and the body had been sent to Barguna morgue for a post-mortem.

“We will know the true reason of death after the post-mortem,” he added. l

2 suspects of police officer’s murder killed in shootout n Our Correspondent, Tangail Two suspects in the case of police officer Nurul Islam’s murder were killed, while one other was injured, during a gunfight with law enforcers on Sunday in Mirzapur upazila, Tangail.

Sources said police acted on a tip-off and raided the residence of Azizur Rahman Babu in South Tatkia Kadma Ghonapara village to arrest Ulka, the prime suspect in the case.

Sensing the presence of police, Ulka

Hundreds of tourists flock to Neelachal of Bandarban to enjoy their vacations from the first day of the Eid-ul-Fitr

Section 144 imposed

20 shops gutted n Our Correspondent, Tangail At least 20 shops were gutted in a devastating fire at Bathuli Sadi Bazar in Basail upazila of Tangail on Wednesday.

The cause of the fire could not be known immediately. The victims claimed that the loss caused by the fire could go up to Tk2 crore.

Two fire fighting units from Basail upazila and Tangail district headquarters went to the spot and doused the fire with the help of local people after an hour of frantic efforts. l

WEATHER

PARTLY CLOUDY FRIDAY, AUGUST 1 DHAKA TODAY TOMORROW SUN SETS 6:44PM SUN RISES 5:26AM FORECAST FOR TODAY 34

27

Chittagong

32

26

Rajshahi

33

26

Rangpur

34

26

Khulna

32

25

Barisal

31

26

Sylhet

34

26

Cox’s Bazar

30

26

Dhaka

YESTERDAY’S HIGH AND LOW

34.5ºC Sylhet

24.5ºC Tangail

Source: Accuweather/UNB

PRAYER TIMES Fajar Sunrise Jumma Asr Magrib Esha

DHAKA TRIBUNE

4:02am 5:25am 12:05am 4:44pm 6:44pm 8:08pm SourceL IslamicFinder.org

n Our Correspondent, Kurigram Local administration imposed Section 144 in two villages under Kurigram municipality yesterday following sporadic clashes between the residents of the villages in the past two days.

Additional Police Super Sahab Uddin and locals said the feud ensued when Ratan, 21, of Saudagarpara went to a cobbler’s shop in the nearby Ekotapara to pump air in his football five days ago.

He beat the cobbler’s son Robi Das, 16, after he accidentally splashed shoe polish on Ratan’s shirt.

Following the incident, the residents of the two villages engaged in a quarrel, which later went to arbitration.

As they failed to settle the matter in the arbitration meeting, both the groups, equipped with lethal weapons, clashed with each other.

Several houses, shops and vehicles were vandalised during the mayhem.

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

However, the feuding groups again locked in a clash, fighting for five hours that left over 150 people injured from both the sides.

Some 50 houses were also torched and looted, and 12 shops and 19 vehicles vandalised during the clash.

Police fired 72 tear gas shells and 12 gunshots to disperse the clashing groups.

Following the clashes, the district administration imposed a ban on any kind of gathering for an indefinite period.

Abdul Baten, officer-in-charge of Kurigram Sadar police station, confirmed the imposition of Section 144. l

Physician beaten up n Our Correspondent, Sherpur

A doctor was beaten with shoes yesterday for refusing to visit local Awami League leader’s place in Nokla upazila, Sherpur.

Dr Emran Hossain of Nokla Upazila Health Complex was beaten by Touhid, younger brother of Sarwar Hossain Talukdar, upazila vice-chairman and chairman of Jatiya Sramik League’s upazila unit, and Nur-e-Alam, a local Awami League leader and chairman of Urfa union.

Sources said Touhid went to the health complex around 12pm and asked Dr Emran to go to his home with him and attend his ailing father.

As the doctor refused, Touhid left and returned with a few men, and they

punched and beat him with shoes.

Later, police arrived and brought the situation under control.

Emran said: “I have informed the higher authorities about the matter, including Upazila Civil Surgeon Narayan Chandra Dey. He said steps would be taken in this regard.”

Confirming the matter, Golam Hayder, officer-in-charge of Nokla police station, said the situation was under control now, but no steps could be taken until a written complaint was filed.

When contacted, Touhid said: “I did not beat him; people did because there are several allegations of irregularities against him. I was standing at the gate of the hospital when the incident took place.” l

Tourist’s body found n Our Correspondent, Sylhet

The Fire Service recovered the body of a tourist from the Piain River in Jaflong, Sylhet on Thursday.

The victim was Kamrul Islam, 20, son of Khurshed Alam and a resident of Shahi Eidgah Area under Sylhet municipality.

Police said Kamrul had gone to take a bath in the river with his friends on Wednesday and got trapped in quicksand, according to locals.

The Fire Service started searching for his body around 6pm and found it around 12pm next day. The search was led by Adhir Chandra Hawladar, station officer of the Fire Service. l

and his associates opened fire at them, triggering the gunfight.

At one stage of the shootout, Ulka was shot and died instantly around 4am, said Akhtaruzzaman, officer-in-charge of Tangail Model police station.

Two of Ulka’s associates – Shahed and Sagar alias Dollar – sustained bullet injuries as well, he said.

Shahed, shot in his eye, and Sagor, shot in his leg, were rushed to Mirzapur Kumudini Hospital in a critical condition and later shifted to Tangail

Medical College and Hospital. Of them, Shahed died on Wednesday, confirmed Saleh Mohammed Tanvir, superintendent of police.

Earlier on July 25, criminals shot and injured Nurul Islam, 30, an assistant sub-inspector at Tangail Model police station, when he was conducting a drive to arrest Ulka. He died at Dhaka Medical College and Hospital the following day.

A case was filed with the police station accusing Ulka and his cohorts of Nurul’s murder. l

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World

Friday, August 1, 2014

Anti-Semitic incidents rise in Britain as Gaza conflict rages n Reuters, London

Smoke rises after an Israeli strike in Gaza City, northern Gaza Strip, Thursday. Israel said yesterday it has called up another 16,000 reservists, allowing it to potentially widen its Gaza operation against the territory’s Hamas rulers in a three-week-old war that has killed nearly 1,400 Palestinians. Story on page 1 AP

Anti-Semitic incidents in Britain have risen to a near record level since the start of an Israeli assault on the Palestinian enclave of Gaza this month, a Jewish advisory body said yesterday.

The Community Security Trust, which advises Britain’s estimated 260,000 Jews on safety, said the surge came as figures showed a significant rise in such incidents for the first six months of the year.

While there was no obvious reason for the general increase, it noted that July’s rise took place at the same time as the Israeli offensive against Hams militants, in which it has pulverised the enclave from air, land and sea, killing nearly 1,400 men, women and children.

On the Israeli side 53 soldiers and three civilians have been killed.

“There is no excuse for this wave of racist intimidation and violence and we call upon all good people to unequivocally condemn it,” said CST spokesman Mark Gardner.

Tens of thousands of Britons have taken part in protests in London and other cities against the Israeli action. Pro-Palestinian activist groups stress that they oppose Israeli government policy and

are not hostile to the Jewish people.

Some of the signs at protests have however been distincty anti-Jewish.

The Trust said there had been 304 anti-Semitic incidents between January and June, a 36% rise compared to the same period a year ago. Since the start of the offensive at the beginning of July, 130 anti-Semitic incidents had been recorded - the second highest month on record.

Although the overall total this year has increased, there were fewer violent assaults recorded, down 32% to 22, and the vast number of incidents related to verbal abuse, graffiti and abuse via social media.

The number of recorded incidents had been falling in recent years from a high in 2009, also sparked by conflict between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, when politicians said that British Jews faced a “real and growing danger.”

This month’s surge in incidents has also provoked concern. The Archbishop of Canterbury, spiritual head of the world’s 80 million Anglicans, voiced unease at the impact of the conflict in Gaza.

Anti-Jewish incidents have also taken place in Germany and France in recent weeks, including petrol bomb attacks on synagogues and cultural centers. l

Three ways Mideast fighting threatens US national security Pentagon analysts are increasingly grappling with what this growing unrest means for US national security dangerous threats.”

2011. “A renewed Iraq war of seven to worst case scenario suggesting that it Hamas could be replaced by a group n Tribune Desk Despite international efforts to col- 10 years duration could easily produce could exceed the largest previous Gulf able to use chemical weapons As fighting in the Middle East continues – from Israel to Iraq – some senior US military officials are acknowledging that they are pessimistic about the prospect for peace in the region. “Is there going to be peace in the Middle East?” Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, head of the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), asked himself aloud last week, before an audience of national security specialists. “Not in my lifetime. Not in my lifetime.”

Pentagon analysts, according to a report by The Christian Science Monitor, are increasingly grappling with what this growing unrest means for US national security. Here are the top three ways the advance of the insurgent group the Islamic State in Iraq and violence in Gaza could endanger US national security.

If Hamas is destroyed, an even more dangerous group – intent on obtaining biological or chemical weapons – could step in and take its place.

That was the sobering warning from General Flynn. “If Hamas were fully destroyed – and, you know, and gone – we would probably probably end up with something much worse, or the region would end up with something much worse,” he said in remarks at the Aspen Security Forum last week.

This is on the radar screen of the Israeli government as they wage war in Gaza, he added. “I think that they recognize this, you know, better than anybody.” There is, too, the possibility that these groups could procure biological or chemical agents from depots in Syria given the chaos of war there, Flynn added, calling it “one of the most

lect and destroy them, “There are still chemical weapons or chemical capabilities in that part of the world,” he said. “And in the hands of people who I know have the intent to use them, we need to be concerned about that.”

The cost of the growing war in Iraq, both in lives lost and US GDP, could be large

It is likely that the current war in Iraq “will probably look much like Syria’s soon, and may in time look a lot like Iraq itself circa 2006,” Stephen Biddle, professor of international affairs at George Washington University and a frequent Pentagon consultant, told the House Armed Services Committee on Tuesday.

In Syria, more than 50,000 civilians have died “with no end in sight,” Dr. Biddle said. In Iraq, more than 120,000 civilians were killed between 2003 and

another 100,000 innocent lives lost,” he added. “The United States has not often intervened militarily into ongoing civil wars on purely humanitarian grounds, but the scale of potential suffering here is large. And far worse could be in store if Iraq’s war spreads.”

That is a real possibility. Of the 142 civil wars fought between 1950 and 1999, Biddle points out, “fully 61 saw major military intervention by neighboring states at some point.”

If human suffering is not a motivation for US intervention, economic loss may be. While US economic exposure to Gulf oil shocks may be declining as US shale oil and gas develop, still “serious risks will remain for the foreseeable future,” Biddle said. “A serious reduction in Gulf production would be a globally significant economic threat,” with the

oil shock (the 1973-74 OPEC embargo) by a factor of four. “The best available analysis suggests this might double world oil prices, cutting US GDP by 3 to 5 percentage points,” Biddle said. “At 2014 levels, this would imply $450bn to $750bn a year in lost output.”

The US could take its eye off the ball in other parts of the world

As a result of the wars in Iraq and Syria, Iran “is finding itself as a new regional influencer because of all of the things that are going on,” Flynn said, which has, in turn, empowered a country adversarial to the US and committed to pursuing a nuclear program.

In the midst of the Middle East crisis, North Korea, too, continues to pursue nuclear weapons. The dictatorship launched another missile test on

Female suicide bomber EU’s latest sanctions package for targets Nigeria college Russia: Who will be hurt the most? n Agencies A female suicide bomber has blown herself up in a college campus in northern Nigeria’s biggest city of Kano, killing three people and critically wounding another seven, on the same day authorities arrested a 10-year-old girl with explosives strapped to her chest.

The bomber targeted youths who were looking at a notice board for national youth service in Kano State Polytechnic. Wednesday’s attack was the fourth such attack by a woman in Kano in less than a week, a security source said.

Government spokesman Mike Omeri also confirmed the attack in a statement to the AFP news agency.

“At about 2:30pm [13:30 GMT], another female suicide bomber exploded an improvised explosive device at the

Kano State Polytechnic.”

In a separate incident in the northern Katsina state, security forces arrested three suspects believed to be members of the armed group Boko Haram, including an underage girl with explosives on her body, the government spokesman said. The “10-year-old ... was discovered to have been strapped with an explosive belt,” Omeri said.

The two other suspects were a man and an 18-year-old girl who attempted to flee from authorities at a checkpoint, the government spokesman told Al Jazeera’s Rawyah Rageh in Nigeria.

The news came as authorities also reported on Wednesday that 13 people were killed and 35 injured when two mosques in northern Yobe state were bombed on Tuesday night at the close of Eid al-Fitr. l

Ebola-hit Sierra Leone declares health emergency n

AFP, Freetown

Sierra Leone leader Ernest Bai Koroma declared a state of emergency yesterday and as the country struggled to contain the deadly Ebola epidemic.

The impoverished country, along with neighbouring Guinea and Liberia, is struggling to contain an epidemic that has infected 1,200 people and left 672 dead across the region since the start of the year.

“Extraordinary challenges require extraordinary measures. The Ebola virus disease poses an extraordinary challenge to our nation,” Koroma said in a televised address to the nation.

Koroma said he had cancelled a trip to a summit of around 50 African lead-

ers in Washington DC next week.

He announced a raft of measures as part of the state of emergency, including quarantining Ebola-hit areas and deploying security forces to protect medical workers.

He banned all public meetings not related to Ebola and cancelled foreign trips by ministers and other government officials, exempting only “absolutely essential engagements.”

The president said the measures would be in place initially for 60 to 90 days, and then be reassessed.

Sierra Leone, which has seen 224 deaths, was also preparing Thursday to bury Omar Khan, a “national hero” who saved the lives of more than 100 Ebola patients before succumbing to the tropical bug. l

Wednesday. “North Korea has been in the process of firing off these missiles,” Flynn said, “and they are essentially desensitizing us because they want to know, or want us to know, that they have this capability.”

This leads to other dangerous problems, Adm. Samuel Locklear, head of US Pacific Command, told Pentagon reporters on Tuesday. “I think the longterm concern with North Korea is that every time they do something that the international community has told them not to do – particularly as it relates to missile technology or nuclear technology – you have to assume that it’s a step forward in technology, otherwise, they probably wouldn’t be doing it.”

“We have to continue to demand that they denuclearize and that they stop their missile program in the fashion they have it today,” he added. “Will they or not? I don’t know.” l

NEWS BITES

Kurdish oil cargo unloaded at sea, destination a mystery

n Reuters, Singapore

Plans to destabilise Russia’s access to capital may be felt most acutely in London

n BBC, Russia They are the toughest sanctions imposed on Russia since the Cold War, but who will they hurt the most? The EU’s latest sanctions package comes amid anger over the Kremlin’s support for Ukrainian rebels, who stand accused of shooting down a Malaysia Airlines passenger jet and killing 298 people.

The measures include an arms embargo, restrictions on offshore energy exploration and curbs on Russian banks trading in European markets. The sanctions are intended to strangle the Russian economy and convince President Vladimir Putin to abandon his support for the separatists in Ukraine.

Russia’s economy is relatively small, about the same size as Italy, but its energy resources are vast. Russia’s exports are almost all raw materials and about 60% of these are energy products.

The EU takes more than 45% of Russia’s exports. Less than 3% of the EU’s exports go to Russia. So could it be that in trying to inflict economic pain

on Russia, the EU will merely end up harming itself?

According to US officials, roughly 30% of Russia’s banking sector assets are now constrained by sanctions.

Raoul Ruparel of Open Europe, an EU policy think tank, said: “The UK looks likely to bear the largest economic burden from these sanctions. The financial sanctions are the most developed and will hit Russian state-owned banks debt and equity issuance, which takes place largely through London.

“The sanctions have been designed to have a larger impact on Russia than the EU. This looks likely to be the case. Russian firms will have to look elsewhere for funding and certain hi-tech imports - a tricky, if not impossible, task.”

But according to banking expert Ralph Silva, going after Russia’s banks would hurt the West the most. “This will ultimately hurt the City, as well as New York,” he says, “because for the first time, the Russians are going to realise that they in fact can live without the global financial services industry.

WIKI

Putin has been strengthened as a result of the sanctions. The Russian public is seeing him as the protector.”

Meanwhile, financial analyst Chris Skinner said that the sanctions on banks could force Russia to move away from the City and look elsewhere.

He said the restrictions “could kill the Russian flow of capital through our markets if there is an alternative. For example, would they switch to Hong Kong or Shanghai?” He also said that they would benefit Russians who had invested outside their home country.

European leaders have not limited oil and gas imports from Russia, as this would hurt EU countries that rely on Russian energy. They have instead targeted Russia’s long-term ability to develop new oil resources, by placing restrictions on the technology systems behind offshore energy exploration.

The US and EU have banned exports of technology systems, known as “sensitive technologies,” for use in Russian deepwater, Arctic and shale oil exploration. l

Part of a Kurdish oil cargo has been offloaded from a Greek-managed tanker into another tanker in the South China Sea, but mystery surrounds the identity of the buyer and where the two tankers are headed. The United Emblem, which is carrying more than 1m barrels of oil, is one of three tankers loaded with oil from the autonomous Kurdish region, which is trying to sell oil independently.

Iraqi Kurdistan is locked in a bitter legal and diplomatic struggle with Baghdad over international oil sales. A US judge on Tuesday refused a request by Baghdad, citing a lack of jurisdiction, to seize 1m barrels of oil aboard the United Kalavrvta tanker, which has been anchored off the port of Galveston since the weekend. l

Heavy shelling, clashes resume in Libya’s Tripoli

n Reuters, Tripoli

Heavy shelling resumed yesterday in southern Tripoli where rival militia brigades were battling for control of the capital’s main airport in some of the worst clashes since the 2011 revolt which ousted Muammar Gaddafi. Around 200 people have been killed since the clashes erupted two weeks ago in the capital and also in the eastern city of Benghazi, where a coalition of Islamist militants and former rebels have overrun a major army base in the city. Thuds of artillery and anti-aircraft cannons echoed across Tripoli from early Thursday morning, a day after a temporary ceasefire agreed by factions to allow firefighters to put out a huge blaze at a fuel depot hit by a rocket. Three years after the fall of Muammar Gaddafi, Libya’s fragile government has been unable to impose authority on the rebels. l

6

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Long Form

Friday, August 1, 2014

Netanyahu’s war: A take on Gaza

A Palestinian firefighter participates in efforts to put out a fire from the wreckage of a house destroyed in an Israeli air strike in Gaza City on July 31

Israel fights simply because it can. As it steps up its war against Hamas with a ground invasion, it looks unstoppable

Hasan and n Sharif Lam-ya Mostaque

foes than friends. Indeed, Israel knew it was an opportune time to strike.

he ongoing Gaza crisis is simply a war that no-one seems to know how to stop. The renewed rocket fire obviously won’t solve the crisis, rather it adds fuel to it. The problem is that there’s no easy way out from the escalated crisis situation.

Israel might argue that it’s trying to avoid civilian casualties while Hamas is trying to cause them. But television reports of civilians dead in Gaza – especially children – will help shape perceptions regarding Israel around the world. From the outset, the Gaza crisis is analysed on account of a number of considerations.

New challenges

T

Dissatisfaction that led to the war First, it is a myth that the war between Hamas and Israel was triggered by the murder of several children, Israeli and Palestinian, in recent weeks. Second, it is also a myth that Palestinian fighters alone are to blame for the ongoing military offensive in Gaza.

We better read it from the point of view that the ongoing war is a logical outcome of the dissatisfaction over failed negotiations and anger over the crippling siege of the overcrowded Gaza strip, the continuous building of settlements, the uprooting of Palestinian trees, and confiscation of land and houses.

In 2012, when Israel operated a military attack on Gaza, the ousted President Mohamed Morsi could and did play a role in normalising the conflict. Indeed, Egypt sent not only humanitarian aid to the strip, but also sent the then Prime Minister Hesham Qandil, who visited for three hours. At that time, Cairo played a role as a mediator to broker a ceasefire with the diplomatic backing of regional and global powers. Hamas and other Palestinian groups in Gaza were brought into the bargaining process.

Now, the state of affairs has become completely different and complex.

There is no longer a coalition of regional and global interests which could prop up a serious drive to resolve the current violence. Furthermore, the current regime in Cairo, led

by President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi is overtly antagonistic towards Hamas.

Being no longer welcome in the capital of the largest Arab state in the region, Hamas has been politically marginalised once again. Losing support in Cairo has meant that Hamas no longer has a mediator through whom to engage the EU and the US. And since the overthrow of the Morsi government in July 2013, Egypt has tightened the blockade on Gaza even further.

The Egyptian foreign minister’s remarks condemning Israel’s actions

Without any pressure from the US and the West in general,Israel will continue to bomb Gaza and take Palestinian lives with impunity

Israel fights simply because it can. As it steps up its war against Hamas with a ground invasion, it looks unstoppable. What happens next will depend on the readiness of Hamas, which has declined an Egypt-mediated truce that would have neither lifted the siege on Gaza nor given it political manoeuvrability to negotiate all Palestinian matters with the international community as an equal to Fatah.

Israel’s offensive on Gaza happens at a time when international diplomacy is distracted by the escalation of conflicts in other areas, eg Ukraine and Iraq.

Besides, a great deal has changed since the last war in 2012 when Cairo had a government sympathetic to the Palestinian cause. Hamas has since lost that support and, like the Muslim Brotherhood, counts among Arab states more

last week were finally transformed into an effort to initiate a ceasefire to end the conflict. Tony Blair’s encouragement of Sisi to take a more active role appears to have been the impetus behind the recent diplomatic overture. Blair has taken to shuttle diplomacy between Sisi and Netanyahu but the end result was a ceasefire that was not going to break the political impasse or Gaza’s siege.

Israel’s initial agreement was simply Netanyahu’s government going through the motions to gain greater international legitimacy. However, the exclusion of Hamas from ceasefire negotiations has served to illustrate the incapacity or unwillingness of the Sisi government to engage with all political players involved in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, which is a must, if Cairo is to be perceived as an honest broker for peace.

Hamas’ other regional options are no longer viable. Iran’s financial support has dwindled markedly and military aid has completely petered out. Hezbollah is neither a friend nor exactly a foe. And all ties with Syria, which used to host its external leadership, are severed.

State terror in 21st century The casualty is now almost 1,400 subsequent to Israel’s choice to boost its military operation on Hamas in Gaza. In addition to their air-strikes, the Israeli military is now engaging in ground assaults in their bid to annihilate Hamas. This abject display of violence needs to be stopped by diplomatic procrastination and exert pressure on both sides to engage in peace talks.

In reality, a treaty dialogue is imperative at the moment as both the UN report and the media have stated that more children have been killed in the conflict than militants. It cuts a sorry figure and one that Israeli premier Benjamin Netanyahu has failed to keep in mind as he continues the full–fledged attack, ignoring the cries of protest emanating from the rest of the world.

Compared to Israel’s sophisticated military power, Hamas’ rocket attacks are limited in nature. Israel’s augmented retribution to force a military solution is causing the blood of innocent Palestinians to be shed on an unprecedented scale, leading to a human rights disaster. But the face-off between the Israelis and the Palestinians in the Gaza strip is several decades old and one must ask how long both parties can continue in this vein before it completely strips away all human values.

Cost-benefit conundrum The two belligerents are not “rational actors” as war theorists would assume in a calculation of costs and benefits.

The expected gains for either party are not worth the current escalation in terms of loss of human life and destruction, yet both have proceeded.

Both Israel and Hamas are seeking political gains. Israel is hoping to avoid international isolation after the failed negotiations and US-Iran rapprochement. Hamas, on the other hand, is seeking international legitimacy to fight an unstoppable coloniser that kills indiscriminately and disproportionately.

Yet avoiding the savagery of Israel’s war machine is the best the Palestinians can do given the inauspicious Arab-Arab relations (not to mention Palestinian-Palestinian divisions) marked by a deep chasm over the role Islamists may play in politics. As for Israel, if the ground invasion is planned to grab territory in the Gaza Strip or remove Hamas’ rocket making and launching capacity, this might be a gamble the gains of which could be outweighed by the costs incurred.

The costs are too high for the Palestinian side to reject any kind of

REUTERS

truce that offers Gazans, including traumatised children, relief from the Israeli offensive. For Netanyahu and his government there is also a significant risk that excessive use of force will significantly diminish its ability to justify it as a “legitimate response” to the international community, and the US, specifically.

Under these circumstances, Israel seems unstoppable, as its political leadership does not deem the risk of a Gaza invasion high enough to deter it.

At the same time, the Palestinian side has no military parity to deter aggression when facing an overwhelming offensive by ground, sea and air.

Israel’s strategy of disproportionate use of military power against a de-

be Israeli military casualties too - potentially making it a tough sell at home.

Israel’s government has set the bar for itself very high by talking about putting a stop to the rocket fire for good and not simply settling for a truce of a few weeks or months. That might be very difficult to achieve. A number of the rockets in Gaza are workshop weapons.

What if Israel staged a huge operation, left declaring it a success and then found home-made rockets raining down a week or a month later?

The Iron Dome air defence system fired to intercept a rocket over the city of Ashdod, Israel, on July 8. Many of Hamas’ rockets have been intercepted

by Israel’s Iron Dome air defence system, but millions of Israelis are within

It’s very difficult to see what combination of circumstances will eventually bring them to an end

fenceless civilian population, in total disregard for human loss, appears to be winning, since it is drawing only limited condemnation from the international community.

The response of the Obama administration to the Israeli offensive against Gaza was weak at best. “The tragic event makes clear that Israel must take every possible step to meet its standards for protecting civilians from being killed,” said State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki, who went on to condemn Hamas for firing rockets at Israel. Without any pressure from the US and the West in general, Israel will continue to bomb Gaza and take Palestinian lives with impunity.

Likewise, as long as Arabs fight each other brutally as in Lebanon, Libya, Syria, Iraq and Yemen, and do little or nothing to stand up for Gaza, Israel will in the foreseeable future keep attacking on a whim. Hapless Gazans will continue to suffer the biggest moral and political tragedy of our time in the Middle East.

Ceasefire: an obscure goal First you have to decide what scale of operation you’re going to launch – a series of pinpoint commando raids on known weapons dumps?

Or a large-scale reoccupation of the whole territory with all the dangers and responsibilities that would bring?

Israel has vowed to destroy Hamas’ rocket making capabilities completely, making a ceasefire unlikely.

There would be more civilian casualties, making it a tough sell to international opinion. And there would

their range. So Israel has to push on with the campaign without a clear exit strategy in place.

Benjamin Netanyahu’s image in the rest of the world might be that of the uncompromising right-winger but his political instinct is probably to triangulate between the conflicting views of the hawks and doves around him.

Short of that elusive permanent stop to the rocket fire, it’s hard to see what looks like a win from his point of view.

At the moment it seems there’s not much behind-the-scenes manoeuvering to secure a ceasefire. Egypt and Qatar are the most likely mediators.

Egypt has contacts with both sides and brokering a solution would raise its diplomatic standing in the Middle East.

On the other hand, it may be relaxed about seeing Hamas’ military potential degraded for a while longer yet. So it’s not difficult to unravel the huge strategic changes and small acts of hatred that conspired to trigger this latest round of hostilities. But it’s very difficult to see what combination of circumstances will eventually bring them to an end.

It is pertinent to say that the United States, a long term strategic and true ally of Israel, must consider the rationale of the protests regarding Israel’s actions and shift its stance. It is now up to the international community to pressurise the Tel Aviv government with appropriate tools in order to facilitate a dialogue. l Sharif Hasan is a working journalist. Lam-ya Mostaque is a research assistant at Refugee and Migratory Movements Research Unit (RMMRU).

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Entertainment

Friday, August 1, 2014

BAMBA’s Eid concert rescheduled

Edge of Tomorrow: Die every day, fight every day!

n Entertainment Desk Bangladesh Musical Bands Association (BAMBA) rescheduled it’s much talked about concert on the occasion of Eid at the Jamuna Future Park. The concert commenced yesterday and will continue till August 2. A total of 24 renowned and established bands in Bangladesh - eight bands each day - will perform in the concert while the everyday’s session will begin at 5pm and will continue till midnight.

The open-air concert started on July 31 with exclusive bands including Nagarbaul, Dolchut, Feedback, Shironamhin, Obscure, Cryptic Fate, Dark and Nagorik.

Souls, Miles, Prometheus, Aurthohin, Arbovirus, Power Serge, Metal Maze and Radio Active will perform today while LRB, Warfaze, Maksud O Dhaka, Reneissance, Nemesis, Mechanix, Drik and Beduin will perform on August 2.

Maqsoodul Haque, executive member of BAMBA said to the Dhaka Tribune: “The three-day long concert is a big event in terms of the number of bands performing. Basically to arrange the concert in a lucrative way, to ensure maximum presence and for the logistic support, we rescheduled.”

Bangladesh Musical Bands Association (BAMBA) is holding a concert after a hiatus of two years. The threeday long open air rock concert is being held at the Jamuna MILES Future Park Mall in Bashundhara.

The concert will be shown live on Jamuna TV. l Eight bands are scheduled to perform today including Miles, Souls and Aurthohin

Pattinson talks about Stewart n Entertainment Desk

Robert Pattinson has once again opened up about his relationship with ex Kristen Stewart. In an interview to Esquire UK, Pattinson was asked about the cheating scandal that caused his relationship with Stewart to end. Pattinson and Stewart began an initially low-key relationship when they both starred in the hugely popular “Twilight” series back in 2008.

Despite being frequently photographed together and an intense amount of media speculation, the pair did not acknowledge their relationship until Stewart was practically forced into doing so. In July 2012, Us Weekly published photographs of Stewart being affectionate with director Rupert Sanders (the two had worked together on the movie “Snow White and the Huntsman”), whereupon she released a public apology. Although just over two years have passed, Pattinson has admitted as recently as this May that he’s still in contact with his ex.

In terms of his career, Pattinson looks to be spreading his wings, he’s putting his name to a huge variety of films. Last summer he finished a dystopian western entitled “The Rover” for which he is getting rave reviews, and there’s also films with Anton Corbijn and Olivier Assayas in the pipeline. l

n Mosabber Rahman

SOULS

AURTHOHIN

Lady Gaga: Recording jazz is easier than pop n Entertainment Desk Bona fide pop star Lady Gaga says recording jazz music was easier than pop.

Gaga has spent two years recording an album of jazz standards with Tony Bennett called “Cheek to Cheek,” to be released this fall.

“You know, it’s funny, but jazz comes a little more comfortable for me than pop music, than R&B music,” Gaga said in an interview to a magazine.

“I’ve sung jazz since I was 13 years old, which is kind of like my little secret that Tony found out. So this is almost easier for me than anything else.”

Gaga made the comments with Bennett by her side ahead of the duo’s taped performance at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City. The 28-yearold and 87-year-old Bennett first collaborated on his Grammy-winning, platinum-selling 2011 album, “Duets II.” Bennett said fans will be impressed with Gaga’s vocal performance on the upcoming album.

“They’re going to say we had no idea she sings that well,” he said. l

Eid specials on TV Ayna Mohole Ayna

Shihoron

Today at 7:45 pm, single-episode TV play “Shihoron” will air on Desh TV. Popular actor Mou will be seen along with Kalyan Corraya, Tariq Anam Khan and others.

A mystery, the story revolves around Arnob who is a popular RJ and host to a show named Shihoron. In every episode of the show, a listener is invited to the hot-seat where he/she shares unique stories and real life experiences that changed them forever. On one such episode, Arnob comes across a middle aged man whose story moves him as well as the listeners. The man possessed a strong personality. That night, Arnob couldn't sleep properly and at the break of dawn, he goes for a walk to clear his head. In the empty park, he sees a woman dressed in a white sari and becomes unnerved. Later, when he was relaxing in a nearby coffee shop, he meets a detective and when Arnob shares the story with the detective, he says he finds the story to be odd. He further adds that he will keep an eye on Arnob and warns him to watch his step. A series of inexplicable incidents take place from then on which goes on to unravel the plot of the story.

Mithila and Parth Barua starter “Ayna Mohole Ayna” is set to air today on RTV at 9:20pm. Written and directed by Redwan Roni, the drama will also see actors Moutoshi Biswas, Tandra, Shimul and others. The story revolves around Ayna, who is an awe-inspiring singer and Palok Chowdhury, who is also a singer. During a show he heard Ayna sing and was mesmerised. As a result he brings Ayna to the capital from her home town, a decision that causes a rift between him and his wife. He gives Ayna an opportunity to perform live in a show, which went on to become very successful. However when she sits down to watch her show, she is unable to recognise her face. Gone was her beautiful face and instead staring at her was an unrecognisable face.

Something went wrong, but what was it? Follow Ayna as she tries to figure out this mystery.

Tar Mone Shongshoy

Women-centric telefilm “Tar Mone Shongshoy” featuring Tisha in the lead role will be aired on Channel i today at 4:30pm. Written and directed by Sumon Anowar, the telefilm revolves around a village girl named Sheuli who is from a poor family. Her father is an alcoholic and a son of a landlord (zamindar) but was disowned for his obsession to act in Jatra (folk theatre of Bengal). To save her family from the irongrip of poverty, she seeks employment at one of her rich relative’s place. But her stay there was short lived as she faced exploitation at the hand of the elder son of that household. One day she discovers that she is pregnant and after suffering a difficult pregnancy, her baby dies after birth. In order to pull her life together, she gets married to a co-worker from her village. But, after a length of time, her husband leaves her as he cannot accept her troubled past.

Shubornopur Beshi Durey Noy

Ulto Durbin

Today afternoon, special telefilm “Ulto Durbin” will be aired on Channel 9 at 2:35pm. Written by Pantha Shahriar and directed by Sayeduzzaman Mithu, the telefilm features Raisul Islam Asad, Ashok Bepari, Shahriar Nazim Joy, Intekhab Dinar, Johny, Aparna Ghosh, Hillol, Jenny and others. The plot revolves around a successful man named Shahed Chowdhury. He is the chief operating officer of a renowned multi-national company and has little time to waste.

He tries to maintain everything by the clock so that every task is carried out with maximum efficiency. But an incident turns his life upsidedown and the story moves forward from there.

Telefilm “Shubornopur Beshi Durey Noy,” starring Intekhab Dinar and Sporshia will air today at 2:10pm on Banglavision. The drama is directed by Redwan Rony.

The story is about a city guy who falls in love with a village girl. Rashed (played by Dinar) is a student of a private university in Dhaka who visits a village for the first time. While taking photographs of the village, he finds a beautiful girl Mohini, played by Sporshia. They become friends and after a while, their friendship turns into a romantic relationship. However Rashed's family is against the relationship for reasons that are unknown and is revealed as the story moves forward.

Surface

7

Drama “Surface” will air on SATV today at 8:30pm.

Written and directed by the popular Amitabh Reza, the drama will star Sanjida Priti, Shahed Sharif Khan, Aditi and Nabil.

“Surface” explores the dimensions of a relationship. It shows the little things that make up a home, the loving members, how an empty house is made into a warm and welcoming home with love, respect and sympathy. The drama portrays the reality that none of these last forever and without the knowledge of the people, the stability of home life is disrupted and destroyed from within.

We fight today for a better tomorrow, but what if tomorrow never comes? “Edge of Tomorrow” is a first-rate sci-fi action movie, and it is a first-rate antiwar movie.

I have never seen such realistic action in the theater before, and in 3D it felt I was inside a real war. “Edge of Tomorrow” has got some of the best war sequence since “Saving Private Ryan,” plus, it is funny, laugh-out-loud funny. The film is loosely based on the Japanese novel “All You Need is Kill” by Hiroshi Sakurazaka which no doubt was inspired by “Groundhog Day”- the classic comedy where Bill Murray keeps experiencing the exact same day over and over. This time around, however, it is more like living inside a video game, you play, you die, then you reset and play again from the start, repeatedly, till you kill “the boss” and complete the stage. The only problem is, unlike video games, the pain is real, the war is real and the memory is real. The soundtrack is not heroic at all, it is more like horror-music, making it absolutely clear that war is scary.

It is the war of the worlds. The humans are at war with extraterrestrials called “Mimics.” They seem to be mimicking the worst form of human intelligenceintelligence without any sensitivity to the pain of others. It is never made clear what the aliens want or why we are fighting them in the first place. As if it does not matter, we just have to assume humans must battle aliens. Gone are the days when humans wanted to communicate with extraterrestrials to learn about them. Hatred always begins with ignorance and usually ends in violence, it is the twilight on murky water.

The root of violence is self-deception, the assaulter’s ability to convince itself that it is the victim.

Tom Cruise is the army’s media guy and Emily Blunt is the poster girl In “Edge of Tomorrow” Tom Cruise plays a morally challenged army officer, Major William Cage, who gets trapped in the worst day of his life, reliving it over and over again, like some kind of divine punishment.

And every day he is woken up by the same words: “On your feet maggot!” Previously an advertising man, he excels in selling “happiness.” The problem is it is not “war and happiness,” it is “war and peace,” and there is a major difference between happiness and peace. Cage is the Public Relations Officer of the world’s army, known as UDF (United Defense Force) he is their media guy. His job is to sell the war, and to increase recruitment of new soldiers.

Cage is UDF’s prime salesman and yet he has no idea how to operate their prime product: the weapon-jacket. He is a fraud. So when he is asked to take part in real combat he does the most logical thing- he runs.

In comes Master Sergeant Farell (played hilariously by Bill Paxton) who is asked to make sure Major Cage, now demoted to Private Cage, does not and cannot run.

Now he has to go to battle wearing that jacket of death.

Cage along with other newly recruited reject soldiers is put in a team called the J-Squad (perhaps a reference to the notorious JSOC exposed by Jeremy Scahill’s “Dirty Wars”) and sent to die a foolish death on D-Day mission which in military terminology means first day of combat attack. It is here that Cage accidentally comes in contact with Alpha, a Mimic knight, and acquires the aliens’ time-resetting power. It is like burning in hell-fire, he has to taste death every day and be resurrected every day.

This war is very different from the last great warWorld War II. All the men of “Edge of Tomorrow” are hypocrites and above all they are cowards. The only “real man,” the only true soldier, is a woman who single handedly killed hundreds of Mimics. The men nicknamed her Full Metal Bitch. Sergeant Rita Vrataski (played with dignity by Emily Blunt) is the most famous soldier in the world, ever since UDF put her face on the “I Want You” recruitment posters. Like Cage she once had the ability to reset time but lost it unexpectedly. Now she is disillusioned about the war and is slowly losing all hope. Then she learns about Cage. Rita decides to mentor him, and make him a real warrior. Rita becomes his inspiration to become a better man. Every time Cage meets her he is awestruck and stares at her, to which she always responds, “Do I have something on my face?”

As Cage keeps learning and keeps getting better at killing Mimics, he hits a dead end- no matter how hard he tries Rita always dies after a certain point. Cage needs a new strategy to save Rita and to destroy the Mimics. The key to finding the film’s ambiguous ending lies in two questions: First - at the hospital, right after his car accident, he tells Rita he can no longer reset time- does Cage lie to her? Second - at the climax, when he takes the J-Squad to confront the Mimics- is that happening for the first time or is it a reset too?

It is not the clever plot that makes the film interesting, quite frankly, I found the whole exposition of the time-control mechanism rather silly. Primarily director Doug Liman wanted to make a satire on the meaninglessness of war and also on Hollywood’s bread and butter, the sci-fi genre itself. But “Edge of Tomorrow” is not cynical, on the contrary, it is quite optimistic. It is a film about hope.

At the end Cage is completely transformed, his empty confidence is now real competence, his “brand image” is now a useful product. The film ends with a song of forgiveness, John Newman’s “Love Me Again,” Cage’s final step for redemption. l

8

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Editorial

Friday, August 1, 2014

CODE-CRACKER

Leaders have a duty to talk

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he prime minister’s refusal to engage in dialogue with the BNP is shortsighted and a detriment to the nation.

While we believe the January 5 elections to have fulfilled a constitutional requirement, grievances about the process and the events preceding the election, and the issue of where do we go from here, need to be addressed by both the AL and BNP. We are highly disappointed that the prime minister is not leading moves towards dialogue in a statesmanlike manner, but persisting in rhetoric which can only serve to escalate distrust and division.

It is certainly true, as she says, that activists of the BNP engaged in widespread violence and destruction in the run up to the election, which they had chosen to boycott.

Nonetheless, it is a responsibility of the ruling party to act in the interests of the nation and to engage in talks with the BNP, rather than continue a standoff which can only lead to further violence and instability.

The BNP leader’s threat of violent agitation is certainly not the right path for the country, either. Too many lives have been lost, and too much damage has been done to our nation’s economy, by the main parties’ utter inability to resolve political deadlocks. Now it seems they will no longer even try.

Refusal to engage in dialogue is not a sign of strength, but an abdication of responsibility.

Our prime minister must show leadership and rise above personal and political grievances, to bring the BNP in for constructive talks to resolve matters, so the nation is spared any further instability and suffering. After all, what exactly is the alternative?

Refusal to engage in dialogue is not a sign of strength.

The prime minister’s rhetoric is shortsighted

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

Government needs to change seed policy July 24

MAH A report on this day, in reference to the Agriculture Ministry’s Seed Wing DG, said that the Bangladesh Agriculture Development Corporation (BADC) should think about the growth of private sector seed companies. The government has to create opportunities for these private companies. From the report, it was learned that in the last fiscal year, BADC produced 13% of seeds, and the rest was imported and sold by private companies. It is right that the government should create an environment to develop the private sector. But a monopoly by the private sector would jeopardise the development of our agriculture sector. Hence, a balance

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t is shocking that a court in Greece has acquitted the farm owners and managers who shot dozens of Bangladeshi workers in April last year.

The 28 Bangladeshis who were wounded, had been among hundreds of strawberry pickers who had worked in the country without receiving any pay for over six months. At least four of those shot were very badly injured when workers protesting the lack of remuneration were violently attacked.

Following a month-long trial in which the prosecutor brought multiple charges including for human trafficking, the farm’s owner and head foreman were acquitted. Two other accused have been released on bail pending appeal for their conviction for illegal possession of firearms.

We applaud the many Greek citizens who have expressed outrage at this verdict.

It is heartening that politicians, trade unionists and anti-racist groups in Greece have joined with others around the world in condemning the court’s decision, which represents a poor outcome for justice.

The case led to investigations by Amnesty International and the Council of Europe which found that conditions in this supply chain fulfilled the criteria for human trafficking.

Had there not been a blind eye turned to such systematic abuses, it is possible that the farmers would not have felt emboldened to act as they did.

We hope the attention drawn by this case will shine a light on these underlying problems, and boost efforts to ensure back pay and compensation to the workers who have suffered.

And we hope that a court of appeals swiftly reverses this travesty of a decision.

We applaud the Greek citizens who have expressed outrage at this travesty

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ

between the private and public sector is best.

The government should review its policy and fix a target to produce and import 50% of seeds

by BADC and leave 50% for the private sector.

BADC is now producing small quantities of wheat, corn, potato, pulse, edible oils and spices. It has the capacity to produce 80% of these seeds. The farmers are fond of BADC seeds, but opt for other sources when they do not get BADC seeds.

To get optimum benefits from the agriculture sector, the government should change its policy and opt for producing and importing 50% of the required seed by BADC and encourage the private sector to produce remaining 50%.

SUDOKU Indian scientists develop seedless mangoes July 23

Zubair Ahmed Neutered mango? I’ll pass.

A failure of justice

How to solve: Each number in our CODE-CRACKER grid represents a different letter of the alphabet. For example, today 4 represents M so fill M every time the figure 4 appears.

You have two letters in the control grid to start you off. Enter them in the appropriate squares in the main grid, then use your knowledge of words to work out which letters go in the missing squares.

Some letters of the alphabet may not be used.

As you get the letters, fill in the other squares with the same number in the main grid, and the control grid. Check off the list of alphabetical letters as you identify them.

Ghalib Karim How to make having mangoes easier, or how to privatise mango production.

Algeria plane missing with 110 passengers July 24

Anwar Ahmed What is happening in this world?

Nusrat Jahan Mim What the hell is going on?

TI Really!?

Circus dog performs in free show protesting Mexico City’s ban on circus animals

Natural sweeteners July 27

Engr SA Mansoor An op-ed was published on the high consumption and danger of sweeteners. This should be immediately followed up by the ministry of health giving high priority to it, given there are hundreds of thousands of diabetic sufferers in Bangladesh, many of whom have not been identified.

The government must grant financial sanctions of at least Tk5m to set up a project for the cultivation of the Stevia rebaudiana – also known as sweetleaf, or sugarleaf – at Jaydebpur, if needed on khas (government-owned) land. They should deputise scientists and needed personnel from the Agricultural Research Institute, also at Joydebpur, at the soonest possible. This important and critical research may save us from the huge requirement of insulin that grows every day.

This worthwhile effort should also be followed, at the earliest, by setting up the Research Wing of Diabetic Association of Bangladesh, so that a joint project gets underway. This is important to control diabetes, and in our national interest, as diabetes easily invites many other diseases, and known to have affected many in this nation.

Bangladesh fares better than Pakistan July 25

July 24 Sheikh Jinat Mahmid Look at that dog! So confident!

Bangladesh one of the top countries in child marriage July 23

Mun Parbeen What? Wow

Anzi Yes, very true. The HDI (Human Development Index) is not a matter of a joke. In the case of Sri Lanka, I personally think they are on balance and can get better. Unfortunately, in the case of Bangladesh, the target should not be about upgrading the HDI, but rather the HSDI (Human Sustainable Development Index) needs to be upgraded.

Bangladesh is not in the position of a year-byyear upgrade. Bangladesh requires a fixed point now which will not go down, and that part I as a Bangladeshi citizen still cannot ensure.

How to solve: 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.

CROSSWORD ACROSS 1 Augury (4) 5 Imitate (4) 10 Greedy (4) 11 Vegetable (3) 12 Trembling poplar (5) 13 Enquire (3) 14 Bird of prey (5) 16 Soaks (6) 18 Curve of equal pressure (6) 21 Sheeplike (5) 23 Consumed (3) 24 Bellows (5) 26 Lair (3) 27 Of the ear (4) 28 Probability (4) 29 Snow vehicle (4)

DOWN 2 Tree (5) 3 First woman (3) 4 Skittle (7) 6 Gem (4) 7 Spanish monetary unit (6) 8 Tibetan ox (3) 9 Go by (4) 15 States as true (7) 17 Sounded car horn (6) 19 Support (5) 20 Skin eruption (4) 22 Sell (4) 23 Fuss (3) 25 Lubricate (3)

Israeli shelling kills 15 in Gaza shelter July 25

Rashel Mahmud How horrible! Where is its end?

CALVIN AND HOBBES

YESTERDAY’S SOLUTIONS CODE-CRACKER ACHR for barring Bangladesh peacekeepers in UN July 25

Mohammed Khaliquzzaman Whose line are they towing, and whose agenda are they trying to implement?

PEANUTS

CROSSWORD

UN: Israeli violations possibly war crimes July 24

Tani UN and human rights!?! Yeah, great ... no, really!

Doctor asks Obama to spend night at Gaza hospital July 24

Fuad Ali America is such a hypocrite. It covers up massacres on its own people, yet feigns human interest in Palestine. Like the Netanyahu-praising Egyptian state media. We hope and pray that it is made accountable for its lies in the near future.

SUDOKU

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Op-Ed

9

Friday, August 1, 2014

Together in Eid n Niels van den Berge

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n these pre-Eid days I am thinking about all my Muslim friends, but in particular about those in Palestine.

The great kids I’d worked with in the Deheishe (Arabic for “dignity”) refugee camp. How are they doing? I miss them.

What future do they have? They, their dreams, their warm hearts, their lovely smiles, and impressive talents deserve a better world than the one we’re giving them. I remember how the Israeli army shot a young boy in our camp. Why? The Israeli army framed him as a terrorist, because he threw stones at a soldier. Wait ... let’s think about this for a minute. A small boy that throws stones is a terrorist?

Can you believe that? I can’t. Some people say that love makes you blind.

That might be true. However, it’s better to be blinded by love than by hatred.

Canadians standing up for Gaza

REUTERS

The Grinch that stole Eid

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n Kausar Shahab uly 27. As a billion Muslims around the world prepare for the Eid after a month of fasting, most of us do so with guilt and a heavy heart for the those in Gaza that will spend the day waterless, shelterless, newly orphaned. Worse, a parent having recently buried a child.

Hello, it’s 2am and I am hopelessly awake. Guilty, resentful, disappointed, and rudely awakened. Both literally and metaphorically.

As Ramadan came to an end last night, and we sat down for the last day of the breakfast evening meal, a child, fighting tears, brought to my attention that “children in Gaza won’t get Eid.” For a lack of anything to say, we sat hugging each other, food abandoned. Blissfully, a child’s mind allows absolute solutions. After a long-drawn peace plan (involving crop circles, miracle growth for hair, invisibility shields, and clone troopers), I was able to offer some consolation.

I lie awake, having made promises that I can’t keep. I lie awake because of my own lost innocence. Suddenly unsure of legislated equality, my right to be heard, and all else failing, diplo-

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matic Canadian neutrality.

On Saturday the 26th, there was a very large rally for justice in Gaza. The grounds of the Ontario legislature, Queen’s Park, and University Ave, were a sea of protestors.

humanitarian grounds, regardless of whom the justice is being demanded for. Is it afraid that there may be, gasp, diversity in opinions other than what torie foreign policies would have us believe?

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The footage that made it to the evening news was the one of a small corner of the south west corner of Queen’s Park, and an almost faceoff between a few alpha jerks, not the throes of anti discriminatory placards. It seemed bent on scavenging on differing sentiments, on a sensationalised news angle. It downplayed the purpose of the rally, a cry for immediate and fair action. Nobody mentioned that it was a high UV index day, and a majority of the protestors, a lot of them elderly, were fasting. It conven-

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It makes me angry and sad to see how the Western world is turning a blind eye to Israel, again. Don’t get me wrong, I condemn all forms of

It’s better to be blinded by love than by hatred

I do believe that every individual in the world shares the same dreams about happiness, prosperity, and love. Our religions, holy books, and philosophies of life share the same key messages about forgiveness, sharing wealth, and love. Then why are we fighting for land, for religion, and for history? Why not start building our own Heaven on Earth together?

Let’s live together in diversity. Is it a problem if some of us read the Bible and some of us read the Qur’an?

Is it a problem if some of us go to a synagogue and others go to a temple to find God? Or if some of us don’t follow any religion at all? I don’t think so. It is only when we all work together to reach our common dreams, those spiritual goals, that our Heaven on Earth can come true. Let’s make it happen. Let’s start today.

Eid Mubarak. l Niels van den Berge is a former Member of Parliament in the Netherlands. Niels now lives in Dhaka and works in the development sector.

iently ignored that the very emotionally charged rally (thousands strong) fell silent as it walked past Princess Margaret’s and Mt Sinai.

Or dare I say, the definition of justice is a variable contingent upon race, class, and political history? If it is why was there a cursory mention of the injured Palestinian children on posters, but no mention of tour buses and cars honking in support of the Palestinian victims down University Ave that day?

Or maybe the rally fell short of potential ratings. Maybe the lenses were scoping for the makings of good television? If it was, it couldn’t have done better than a rabbi, an imam, and a priest in a room. So why did no one report on rabbis, imams, and priests in solidarity at the protest demanding justice for the innocent lives being sacrificed mercilessly in Gaza?

July 28. Eid in Gaza today: A hospital bombed, blood puddles near a play ground, rickety, streaked stretchers, mourning families. Yada yada, yada. Now, on to other news: “A baby chipmunk that can’t stop stuffing its face… ” l

Why does this city that boasts and prides itself in its strength in diversity fail to notice the message its own masses were trying to send?

Surprisingly, most of it didn’t make the news. What did make the news was “a near riot situation” (Toronto Star) between a small group of worked up Israelis and pro-Palestinians. Why does this city that boasts and prides itself in its strength in diversity fail to notice the message its own masses were trying to send?

Why did the media deliberately ignore the message of so large a community? Is it scared to walk its own talk of an inclusive society? The voice of a society demanding justice on

Let’s live together in diversity. Is it a problem if some of us read the Bible and some of us read the Qur’an?

violence, both the violence from the Israeli side as well as the violence from the Palestinian side. Though debates about who is guilty and who is not are useless. There is only one solution: Peace.

BIGSTOCK

Kausar Shahab is a freelance contributor.

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A lack of diplomacy? n Nadeem Qadir

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rime Minister Sheikh Hasina has rightly pointed out that the some powers and human rights organisations remain ignorant or dubiously silent when hundreds are being massacred in Gaza, but come down hard on internal matters of Bangladesh.

The major power is of course the United States of America. Readers must have noticed that Washington, which sided with Pakistan in 1971, has left no stone unturned in poking its nose in the internal affairs of Bangladesh, specially the January 5, 2014 general elections.

I am disheartened that the US ambassadordesignate indicated her reservations about the International War Crimes Tribunal Even before her confirmation, the US ambassador-designate to Dhaka, Marcia Stephens Bloom Bernicat called the polls “flawed.” Making a statement before the Senate Foreign relations Committee on July 17, the ambassador-designate said: “The parliamentary elections of January 5 were undeniably flawed, and Bangladesh’s

main political parties urgently need to engage in constructive dialogue that would lead to a more representative government.”

At the same time, she added, if confirmed, she would: “Passionately advocate policies that enshrine peaceful democratic values, including respect for human rights and diversity, room for civil society to flourish, space for the free and peaceful discussion of political differences unmarred by violence, and adherence to the rule of law by an independent judiciary.”

I will first analyse these parts of her statement and later go to another.

Bernicat did not say how it was “flawed.” If it is just because many were elected unopposed as BNP did not participate, then what could have been the alternative? To comply with a more democratic process, Sheikh Hasina tried to talk to Khaleda Zia, but it did not work.

The other option would have been to amend the constitution again. Can she give any example where a constitutional amendment was carried out by the powers for protecting its own democratic process?

The last option would have been a continuation of the brutal killings on the streets of not only political activists but also security personnel, who were mercilessly killed by BNP-Jamaat activists.

The prime minister has said the

BNP has missed the polls train, and must wait until the next one is held.

Now it is time for the BNP or the section of the civil society that follows it to come back to democratic ways to contest the next elections.

The people of Bangladesh will not give in to US’s ideas of a bloodbath – as it had allowed in 1971 and also now in Gaza – in the name of “flawless polls or peaceful democratic values.” She did, however, mention the phrase “peaceful … unmarred by violence,” referring to political violence. But she forgot to condemn the violence unleashed to derail the January 5 parliamentary polls.

Sheikh Hasina told a presser categorically that she: “Will not hold any dialogue with her [Khaleda] any more” and threw in a challenge to find out who scores how many goals in future politics.

When former President Jimmy Carter came to negotiate over political problems about the mode of elections, the two leaders spoke about exporting natural gas after talks with the US leader. I remember asking Carter why the issue of natural gas export was brought up when the real issue was democratic polls. But at that point, US interest may not have been in the polls.

The judiciary: Is it not independent? The chief justice may kindly take note of this, and the problems of lower

courts in neighbouring democratic giant, India.

I am disheartened that the US ambassador-designate also indicated her reservations about the International War Crimes Tribunal by saying that the US supports “bringing to justice those who committed atrocities in the 1971 [Bangladesh Independence] war, but those trials should be fair and transparent, and in accordance with international standards.”

I think she needs to do more homework and assess the mood of Bangladeshis First, Washington did not support our liberation war, despite getting notes from its envoy in Dhaka about the brutalities being carried out by the Pakistani army, and the determination of Bangladeshis to fight for independence following a call by Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. It remained silent during the nine-month massacre of men, women, and children. Now, it is questioning the trial of those accused of war crimes.

Foreign Secretary John Kerry’s tele-

phone call to Sheikh Hasina seeking mercy for Quader Mollah is still in our minds. The court proceedings have been witnessed by many international experts and if it was a kangaroo court – all those in prison deserving to be hanged would have faced the gallows long before. Why this long process, because of which Sheikh Hasina had to face questions of “intentional delays”?

Last, but not the least, the United States continues advocating capital punishment for criminals, while protecting those condemned to death for killing Bangabandhu and his innocent family members.

The prime minister, in her presser, while answering a question, blasted Washington by saying: “This country is vocal on democracy and assesses elections with a scale to determine whether it is free, fair, or not. But on the other hand, they have given shelter to the [1975] killers.”

We would love to welcome the new US ambassador, but at the same time, I think she needs to do more homework and assess the mood of Bangladeshis.

Let her take note that Ambassador Dan Mozena was criticised by many, including many of his colleagues in the diplomatic corps, for over-stepping his limits in interfering with Bangladesh’s internal affairs. l Nadeem Qadir, a senior journalist, is a UNCA Dag Hammarskjold Scholar in journalism.

10

DHAKA TRIBUNE

11 Moeen spins India

out to level series for England

Friday, August 1, 2014

11 Kallis ends

international career

Sport

Did you know?

Daniel Sturridge scored in 19 different matches last season, more than any other Premier League player

MEDAL TALLY Total

(L) England’s Max Whitlock performs on the parallel bars in the men’s all-around gymnastics final in the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland on Wednesday. (R) Elizabeth Black of Canada performs on the balance beam during the women’s team apparatus final of the artistic gymnastics on Tuesday REUTERS

Athletes continue to disappoint n Raihan Mahmood Mezbah Ahmed, the fastest sprinter of Bangladesh, was disqualified in heat 10 of the 200m in the 20th Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland on Wednesday. Qazi Syque Caeser, the USA-based Bangladesh gymnast also failed to live upto expectations finishing 27th in the 32-man final list of the artistic gymnastics.

Mezbah was disqualified for a false start and there were seven sprinters in the last heat of the 200m. Meanwhile, Shirin Akhter, the fastest woman of the country, also participated in the 200m heat and finished seventh among seven sprinters in heat 3 with a timing of 26.41s.

Aiman Ibne Zaman, the 17-year old Bangladeshi shuttler, won his round of 64 match against W. Tukre of Uganda by 21-11, 21-11 points but in the round of 32 Aiman lost to Singapore’s C. Huang 21-7, 21-7 to be eliminated.

In the men’s doubles event later in the day, Bangladesh pair Aiman and Mohammed Haque lost to R. Tam and Glenn Warfe of Australia 21-8, 21-8.

The two Bangladeshi wrestlers, Dipu Ray and Billal Hossain competing in the 74- and 97-kg category both lost their matches. Dipu lost to Tommy

Hawthorn of England by 4-0 points while Billal lost to Sam Belkin of New Zealand by 5-0 points.

Meanwhile in table tennis, Bangladesh champion Manash Chowdhury beat P.M. Mutamduze of Uganda and A. Rosteur of Tuvalu in the group stages but lost to Mas Shakirin of Malaysia in the final game of the first round. Mahbub Billah beat S. Kalaluka of Zambia in his first match but lost to Marius Viangov of Cyprus in the next. Javed Ahmed, another Bangladeshi table tennis player lost to E. Comney of Ghana by 4-0 and B. Chan Yook of Mauritius by 4-3 games. In the team event, Bangladesh went down to Guyana, Jamaica and Nigeria by 3-0 margins, lost to Mauritius by 3-2 margin with the only win registered against Kiribati by 3-1 points. Manash and Javed featured for Bangladesh in the team event.

Qazi Syque Caeser accumulated 71.398 points in artistic gymnastics. He competed in the events Pommel Horse (10.166), Rings (10.600), Floor Exercise (13.233), Parallel Bars (14.133), Vault (13.333) and Horizontal Bars (9.933). He was not placed in the first twenty finishers in all the events apart from the Parallel Bars where he was positioned 10th among the 48 participants. Caeser also represented Bangladesh in the 2012 London Olympics but performed below par as he was recovering from an injury during that time. l

Sabella quits as Albiceleste coach n Reuters, Buenos Aires Alejandro Sabella, who steered Argentina to the World Cup final, has quit as national team coach with Gerardo Martino or Jose Pekerman in line to succeed him, Argentine media reported on Tuesday.

The reports said Sabella, whose side lost 1-0 to Germany in the final at Brazil’s Maracana, had told Argentine FA (AFA) President Julio Grondona of his decision not to stay on.

If Sabella steps aside, the AFA will have to move quickly to name a successor with Argentina beginning preparations for their next major tournament, the 2015 Copa America in Chile, with a friendly against Germany in Duesseldorf on Sept. 3.

Former Paraguay and Barcelona coach Martino, and Pekerman, who steered Argentina to the 2006 quarter-finals and Colombia to the same stage in Brazil, are front runners to take over.

Sabella, 59, has called a news conference for Wednesday (1900 GMT) at AFA headquarters where he is likely to explain his decision and possibly reveal his future plans.

Sabella’s agent, Eugenio Lopez, said two days before the World Cup final that the coach was unlikely to carry on and Sabella himself said on his return to Buenos Aires that he was unsure if he had the energy to give his best any longer. l

The first time I saw him in action was at a basketball court during an Inter-University championship match at the DU (Dhaka University) indoor basketball court in 1969. He was representing Rajshahi University. That he was a natural athlete was never doubted by anyone, least of all me. Even though Dhaka University was a star studded team with the match being a one-sided affair, this tall, dark skinned muscular student played his heart out even though he lacked some skills required to excel in this sport.

A friendship developed that carried on and strengthened over the years resulting in decades of mutual trust and respect.

Khandakar Ziaul Islam (Masud) was a star athlete of the University that he represented. He wore the Varsity colors for cricket, basketball, football and track and field with distinction and honor.

Masud Bhai (as I addressed him since he was a year senior to me) was a natural athlete, and one could easily notice this because of the way he took his steps when he walked on the cricket field. He had that nimble step, which is so familiar with sprinters. The first time he was selected to represent the country was in 1979 when Bangladesh first played overseas in the ICC Trophy held in the UK. I remember the news headline in a local (Birmingham) afternoon Daily during our first match against Fiji. It read something similar to this; “Policeman Islam fires out Fiji” referring to

the fiery spell of fast bowling that took out two Fijian top order batsmen.

It was I who titled him BB Masud, which stood for “Black and Bald Masud” referring to his dark skin and near hairless scalp. Later on, this changed to “Black and

action delivered some of the quickest bowling that I played in my career and he was the scourge of many top order batters in Bangladesh’s domestic circuit.

In spite of his aggressive fast bowling, this calm and collected individual was a

A paper cut from 1988 shows (L-R) Samiur Rahman, late Ziaul Islam Masud, late Tanvir Haider and Masum pose during Bangladesh’s participation in the South-East Asian ICC Associate Members Cricket Tournament in Hong Kong COURTESY: KIRON Bold Masud”. Now that I reflect on his life and accomplishment, the latter is aptly more appropriate. His boldness knew no boundaries. Always ready to meet the challenge head on, he never faltered or got flustered regardless of the opposition he was confronted with. His smooth bowling

cricketer par excellence, a magnificent and honorable representative of the sport and a gentleman of high class. He had this extraordinary sense of respect for the game, for the opposition, the officials and administrators that governed it, and his fellow team mates. Rarely have I seen him

ENGLAND AUSTRALIA CANADA SCOTLAND NEW ZEALAND INDIA SOUTH AFRICA NIGERIA KENIA JAMAICA WALES SINGAPORE BANGLADESH

38 35 27 13 13 10 10 6 5 5 4 4 0

36 32 7 12 11 19 10 5 5 3 10 1 1

33 40 22 14 14 12 12 8 2 4 13 1 0

107 107 51 39 38 41 32 19 12 12 27 6 1

*Till Thursday (8:00pm)

Suspended Shakib to return via Dhaka Premier League n Mazhar Uddin

Despite being handed a six-month suspension from all types of cricket alongside being barred from the foreign domestic leagues till the end of next year, there is still a strong possibility that star all-rounder Shakib al Hasan might feature in the upcoming Dhaka Premier League (DPL) scheduled to begin from October 10.

Many had thought that the punishment would be reduced once Shakib appeals and apologises for his past actions. Shakib duly delivered the appeal letter to the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) on July 20 following which board president Nazmul Hasan informed that the left-arm all-rounder had no chances of playing in the forthcoming tour of the West Indies. The BCB chief though remarked that they would reconsider Shakib’s punishment in a board meeting which would be held after the Eid vacation. But according to sources, not only would Shakib be made available for the home series against Zimbabwe at the end of this year, the 27-year old will also feature in the upcoming DPL, the country’s premier 50-over competition.

Meanwhile, the BCB last year opted for a new rule for the players’ transfer in the DPL which was named the “Players by Choice” system. According to the system, the clubs would recruit the players through a lottery system which

BB Masud, as I knew him – A tribute n Yousuf Rahman (Babu)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 23

lose himself in my years of association with him. On one occasion, during a practice session, he got into a rare scrap with Jahangir Shah Badsha. Some harsh words were exchanged but within minutes, he settled the issue in the most amicable and gentle manner, which was remarkable.

He spoke often of his son Dabbu and Dabbur Maa. I did not know his real name (Sazzad) until I found him on Facebook and realized that he was living in Australia pursuing a successful career in Accounting. I remember the day when Masud Bhai came to me and requested me to help him get Dabbu admitted in Class 3 at St. Gregory’s High School. Admission into St. Greg’s was no easy matter as it required academic skills as well as connection. The then Headmaster, Bro. Gerald Kraeger knew me well and once I approached Bro. Gerald about this nephew of mine, it was a no brainer. Dabbu became a Gregorian and every time I met Masud Bhai, he reminded me of the help that I rendered with sincere gratitude.

BB Masud is Bangladesh’s own and is a shining example of what a true athlete is all about. As a cricketer, he has solidified that term, “cricket creates character” beyond all doubts. He will be missed by many and we all need to be thankful to this gentle giant of a cricketer for his invaluable services to the nation. l The writer is a former Bangladesh cricket player who currently resides in New York, USA.

was heavily criticised by the cricketers during that time.

However, this time the board and the Cricket Committee of Dhaka Metropolis returned to the traditional system of players’ transfer.

The transfer dates of the national cricketers are slated for August 11-12 while the transfer dates of the remaining cricketers are scheduled to take place on August 29-30. The two stages of players’ transfer this year is mainly due to the upcoming Caribbean tour scheduled to get underway later this month.

The BCB has already announced the names of 23 cricketers in the national pool. A club can rope in a maximum of three national players including a fast bowler from the national pool.

Most of the big teams have almost completed the formation of their squads. Defending champions Gazi Tanks have signed national opener

Tamim Iqbal and paceman Rubel Hossain while Shakib is rumoured to be the third national cricketer for Gazi Tank.

Last season Shakib played for Kalabagan Krira Chakra where he was only able to play one match after suffering a finger injury.

Powerhouse Abahani Limited have signed opener Anamul Haque and pacer Al Amin Hossain in their side and they are also looking to choose among Nasir Hossain or Imrul Kayes as their third national cricketer.

Mohammedan Sporting Club have managed to pull in Mashrafe bin Mortaza, Naeem Islam and Md. Mithun while the runners-up side of the previous edition, Prime Doleshwar, have signed national skipper Mushfiqur Rahim, Mominul Haque and Shafiul Islam.

Mahmudullah, Taskin Ahmed and Farhad Reza will be playing for Prime Bank Cricket Club while Ziaur Rahman will be featuring for Victoria Sporting Club. Other national cricketers like Shamsur Rahman, Marshal Ayub, Abdur Razzak and Arafat Sunny have been talking with a few clubs but are yet to finalise their team.

A total of three foreign cricketers were allowed to play in the previous season of the DPL. However, this time only one foreign cricketer can play in the playing eleven with each club allowed to register a highest seven international cricketers to their side. l

Argentine football chief Julio Grondona dies n AFP, Buenos Aires Julio Grondona, the veteran president of the Argentine Football Association (AFA) and FIFA vice-president, died on Wednesday at the age of 82 in a Buenos Aires clinic, AFA sources reported.

The all-powerful figure, who had been in charge of Argentine football since 1979, had been taken to hospital suffering from heart problems and died while undergoing emergency surgery.

Earlier this week he had held meetings with Alejandro Sabella, who decided not to continue as Argentina coach after leading the team to the World Cup final in Brazil recently.

Grondona had been a FIFA Executive member since 1988, heading its finance committee, and was appointed to the head of AFA nine years earlier by the country’s military government.

He had been successfully re-elected to continue governing football in the South American nation every four years since 1979, enjoying the unconditional support of the country’s 22,000 clubs.

His time in charge saw Argentina win the World Cup in Mexico in 1986, the Copa America in 1991 and 1993 and Olympic gold in 2004 and 2008, while in his earlier years he founded Arsenal, a club from the Buenos Aires suburb of Sarandi who emerged recently as a force at the top level.

But his FIFA links have brought regular accusations of scandal.

He was recently accused by opponents of President Cristina Kirchner of diverting millions of dollars of government finance to the AFA in return for television rights.

Before the last AFA election in 2011, Carlos Avila, a former associate of Grondona and owner of the TyC Sports television channel, alleged that the association president had 12 undeclared bank accounts in Europe and the United States.

“You want to know what I think of Grondona? OK, Grondona is the ‘puntero’ (informal military chief) for FIFA,” Avila said at the time calling for an investigation.

“It is public knowledge that Julio has an absolute power over the management of football. He has always based it on the poverty of (Argentinian) clubs,” he added. l

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Moeen spins India out to level series for England n Reuters, Southampton Spinner Moeen Ali claimed six wickets to inspire England to a crushing 266-run win over India on Thursday to level an absorbing series at 1-1 with two matches to play.

Spinner Moeen took six for 67, the first five-wicket haul of his test career, and India crumbled to 178 all out in their second innings on the final morning of the match.

England took the six wickets they needed to secure a first test win since they beat Australia at Durham last August, ending a dismal run of 10 matches without victory.

“It was a bit of a scramble for the souvenir stumps at the end as it was some people’s first win and I want them to remember that,” England captain Alastair Cook said at the presentation ceremony.

“But the senior players stood up as well, the team was fantastic from one to 11.

“Moeen Ali’s bowling has come on leaps and bounds this summer, he’s fronted up to the responsibility, worked really hard and responded well. Get-

BRIEF SCORE

England 1st Innings 569-7 dec (I Bell 167, G Ballance 156, A Cook 95, J Buttler 85; B Kumar 3-101) India 1st Innings 330 (A Rahane 54, MS Dhoni 50; J Anderson 5-53, S Broad 3-66) England 2nd Innings 205-4 dec (A Cook 70 no, J Root 56; R Jadeja 3-52) India 2nd Innings 178 (A Rahane 52 no; M Ali 6-67) Result England won by 266 runs

ting six wickets to win the game, you couldn’t ask for more.”

Moeen dismissed Ravindra Jadeja, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Mohammed Shami in the space of 12 balls, before he aptly took the final scalp of Pankaj Singh to complete figures of six for 67.

Earlier in the morning, James Anderson, who on Friday faces a hearing into his part in an altercation with Jadeja at Trent Bridge, had got England off to the perfect start by dismissing Rohit Sharma and Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

India batsman Ajinkya Rahane played with composure to reach his second half-century of the match, but his unbeaten 52 was in vain as England maintained the dominance they had shown over the first four days.

Man-of-the-match Anderson drew Sharma into a faint edge through to wicketkeeper Jos Buttler before dismissing Dhoni in similar fashion with a ball that nipped away from the right-hander.

Cook made a crucial bowling change, by introducing Moeen who bowled Jadeja with a full-length delivery before inducing Kumar, who has three half-centuries in the series, to edge on to his pad and the ball looped up to Anderson at gully.

Moeen continued to bamboozle the Indian batsmen and he bowled Shami and Singh to wrap up a deserved victory for the hosts.

“We’ll have to think about if for the next Test as the extra batsman didn’t really score anything - a lot will depend on the kind of wicket that’s provided but I don’t expect it to be different to the wicket here,” India captain Dhoni said. “(Fast bowler) Ishant Sharma definitely won’t be fit for the fourth test.

Pankaj Singh bowled really well, he was the one person bowling the right length and he was unlucky not to get wickets. Whenever I asked him to bowl he gave it everything.” l

Sport

A COOK’S PERFECT PLATTER

England’s Moeen Ali (2R) celebrates the last Indian wicket with teammates during their third Test match at the Rose Bowl cricket ground, Southampton, England yesterday. England and India are level at 1-1 with two Tests remaining in the five-match series CRICINFO

Kallis ends international career n Reuters, Cape Town South Africa’s Jacques Kallis has surprisingly decided to call time on his international limited overs career six months before the World Cup. The 38-year-old, one of the greatest all-rounders in the game’s history, retired from test cricket last year but had been planning to finish his South Africa career at the 50-over World Cup in Australia and New Zealand in February and March.

However, he announced a change of heart on Wednesday, just weeks after helping South Africa win a one-day international series in Sri Lanka for the first time.

“I realised in Sri Lanka that my dream of playing in a World Cup was a bridge too far,” he said in a statement. “Ï just knew on that tour that I was done. The squad that was in Sri Lanka

Celtic’s Euro dreams in tatters after Legia rout n AFP, Paris Miroslav Radovic scored twice to spark Polish champions Legia Warsaw into a 4-1 first-leg advantage over 10-man Celtic on Wednesday in the Champions League third qualifying round.

Callum McGregor had gifted Celtic an ideal start when he put the Scottish Premiership title-holders ahead on eight minutes, but the visitors’ lead was cancelled out almost immediately by Radovic.

The Serbian striker then netted his second of the evening on 36 minutes to put Legia ahead before things took a further turn for the worse for Celtic as Nigerian centre-half Efe Ambrose was dismissed for a professional foul just prior to half-time.l

DAY’S WATCH Star Sports 1, HD1 6:00AM Chivas vs Bayern Munich Friendly Star Sports 4, HD 2 11:45PM ATP Tour: City Open Ten Sports 2:30 PM, 7:30 PM Commonwealth Games 2014

Lukaku joins Everton in club record £28m deal Everton broke their club transfer record on Wednesday when they paid £28 million (35.4m euros, $47.4m) to sign Belgium striker Romelu Lukaku on a five-year deal from Premier League rivals Chelsea, the club announced. Lukaku finished as Everton’s top scorer last season after finding the net 16 times in 33 appearances while on loan at Goodison Park, helping Roberto Martinez’s side to a fifth-place finish in the Premier League. The 21-year-old played for Belgium at the World Cup, but his chances of establishing himself at Chelsea were hindered by the arrival of Diego Costa from Atletico Madrid and the return of veteran striker Didier Drogba. l

11

Friday, August 1, 2014

is an amazing one and I believe they have a good chance of bringing the trophy home in March.

“I would like to thank Cricket South Africa, the team, the team sponsors, my sponsors, the fans and all the people who have been involved in my career. It has been an amazing journey.”

“I am not retiring from all cricket as I have a two-year contract with the Sydney Thunder and, if possible, to help the Kolkata Knight Riders defend the IPL title we won earlier this year,” he said.

Kallis is the only cricketer to score more than 11,000 runs and take 250 wickets in test and ODI cricket.

CAREER STATS Tests ODIs T20Is

Mat Inns 166 280 328 314 25 23

NO Runs HS Ave BF SR 100 40 13289 224 55.37 28903 45.97 45 53 11579 139 44.36 15885 72.89 17 4 666 73 35.05 558 119.35 0

Kallis was in poor form in Sri Lanka, scoring just five runs in three innings as South Africa won the ODI series 2-1 earlier this month. He did not bowl in any of the games. However, he will continue to play in the Twenty-20 format of the game at club level.

50 58 86 5

4s 1488 911 56

6s 97 137 20

Ct 200 131 7

St 0 0 0

He ends his ODI career with 11,579 runs in 328 matches with 17 centuries at an average of 44.36.

Kallis played his final Test last December, finishing with 13,289 runs in 166 matches with 45 centuries at an average of 55.37. l

Brazil pin-up Neymar mobbed in Japan n AFP, Tokyo Tokyo caught “Neymar fever” on Thursday when the Brazilian superstar jetted into the Japanese capital sporting sunglasses, baseball cap and designer stubble on a whistle-stop visit to sign a sponsorship deal with a bed manufacturer.

The 22-year-old Barcelona forward, still recovering after fracturing a vertebra at the World Cup, was greeted by 700 screaming fans at Tokyo’s Haneda airport before being whisked off to a television studio, which rolled out a red carpet for his arrival as if for royalty.

“My back is getting better and I’m hoping to join up with my team-mates as soon as possible,” Neymar told re-

porters later as he perched on a foam mattress the makers claimed had secret relaxation properties.

“I have to make sure I continue the rehab and get my back fixed properly so I can be at 100 percent. I’m really looking forward to next season,” he added.

“It’s always been my dream to play in Europe and win as many titles as possible. I’m not striving to be the world’s greatest player - just the best player I can be in order to help Brazil.”

Dressed in black with his cap on back-to-front and wearing a chunky gold chain, Neymar appeared on Japan’s Fuji TV, triggering bedlam in the studio as guests and audience members in replica Brazil jerseys lined up to have their shirts signed. l

Griezmann bound for La Liga champs

Juve’s Vidal not leaving for Man Utd

Atletico Madrid have agreed a deal to sign France international Antoine Griezmann from Real Sociedad, the Spanish champions announced on Monday.

“Atletico Madrid and Real Sociedad have reached an agreement for the transfer of Antoine Griezmann,” read a statement on Atletico’s website.

Griezmann, 23, had been linked with several clubs around Europe, including Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur, but Atletico, who claimed their first Spanish league title in 18 years last season, have won the race for the French winger.l

Chile midfielder Arturo Vidal is not heading for Manchester United but is fundamental to champions Juventus and is happy to stay, the Italian club’s manager Massimiliano Allegri said on Tuesday.

Vidal has been frequently linked to United during the close season, with media reports saying the Premier League club are preparing a £48 million ($81.30 million) bid for the 27-year-old.

“We don’t want to sell Vidal, there are only rumours because he is among the best players in the world,” Marotta told Sky Italia. l

Liverpool sign Croatian Lovren Croatian international defender Dejan Lovren has signed a long-term deal with Premier League side Liverpool from Southampton, his new club confirmed on Sunday.

The 25-year-old becomes Brendan Rodgers’

fifth signing of the summer and the third from Southampton, following striker Rickie Lambert and midfielder Adam Lallana.

The deal is reported to be worth an estimated £20 million ($33.9m). l

Barkley commits Remy’s move collapses Origi bought and loaned to Everton Queens Park Rangers French striker Loic Remy’s proposed move to Liverpool has collapsed due to concerns stemming from his medical examination. Remy, 27, flew out to join Liverpool on their pre-season tour of the US last Monday after QPR reportedly agreed to sell him for a fee of around £8m. But several British media outlets, including the BBC, claimed on Sunday that Liverpool had pulled out of the transfer due to worries about Remy’s physical condition. l

Liverpool signed teenager Divock Origi on Tuesday before immediately loaning the Belgium World Cup striker back to Ligue 1 side Lille for next season, said the five-times European champions. l

Highly regarded England midfielder Ross Barkley has signed a new four-year contract with Everton. “Ross Barkley has committed his long-term future to Everton by signing a new contract at Goodison Park,” Everton announced on their website. “The 20-year-old midfielder has put pen to paper on a new four-year agreement, meaning he will remain with the club until at least the end of the 201718 season.” l

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DHAKA TRIBUNE

Back Page

Friday, August 1, 2014

Reckless driving claims 31 during Eid holidays Victims include a pregnant mother and four children n Tribune Report At least 31 people, including a pregnant mother and four children, were killed in separate road accidents across the county during the Eid vacations.

In the capital, Nahida Sultana, 25, was hit by a speedy microbus at Rampura bridge area when she was crossing the road on Monday, a day before Eid. She was in fourth month into her pregnancy.

Abdullah Al Mamun Rana, the victim's husband, said Nahida was weak and could not cross the road fast and the microbus speeded away after hitting her. She was rushed to Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) where on-duty doctors declared her dead on arrival.

On Wednesday, two young motorcycle riders were killed at Moktarpur area on Dhaka-Maowa highway at Keraniganj when they were riding at high speed and rammed into a bus.

Police identified the youths as Mizanur Rahman and his friend Raju Ahmed, both aged around 25. They hailed from Keraniganj’s Bhrammankitta village.

On Wednesday, a minor boy was killed after being hit by a reckless car

when he was playing behind a road at Hatirjheel in the capital.

The victim was identified as SakibAl Hasan, 9, son of Nurul Amin and a resident of Moghbazar.

At the same time, a human haulier helper Tipu, 18, died after being hit by a bus at Jatrabari’s Katherpool area around 3:30pm.

Another minor boy, Khalil, 12, died after being hit by a speedy CNG-run auto rickshaw at Notun Bazar area of Badda at around 7:30pm.

On the Eid day, Moyna Begum, 45, of Dhalpur in Jatrabari was killed when the rickshaw she was riding was hit by a speedy car at Wapda Colony area. She was declared dead at DMCH around 7:30pm.

Meanwhile, an unknown woman, aged around 40, died while crossing road at Uttar Pachchim on Monday and Rizia Begum, 65, died at Komalapur on Eid day.

In Chittagong, at least three people were killed in two separate road accidents in Sitakunda upazila on Monday and Tuesday.

Police said Raju, 36, and Nurul Kabirm 35, were ran over by a Tisha Paribahan bus when they were riding a motor-

cycle on the Dhaka-Chittagong highway near at Bagula Bazar under Shitolpur union of the upazila on Tuesday afternoon.

Soon after the accident, the agitated locals caught the driver and blocked the highway for an hour.

“Later, police rushed to the spot and nabbed the driver after dispersing the protesters,” said Sitakunda police station Officer-in-Charge Mohammad Iftekhar Hasan.

Both the deceased hailed from Akbar Shah area of the port city, he added.

On Monday, Mohammad Kamal, 43, of Chandpur, was killed after being hit by an unidentified vehicle from behind on the Dhaka-Chittagong highway near Kumira area of the upazila.

Kamal was rushed to Chittagong Medical College Hospital where on-duty doctor pronounced him dead, said Sub-Inspector Jahirul Islam of CMCH police outpost.

In Sherpur, a child was killed on Tuesday morning in the Sribardi upazila when the motorcycle he was riding collided head on with another motorcycle.

The victim was identified as Arnob, 9.

In Noakhali, at least 7 people, in-

cluding three of the same family, were killed in separate road accidents on Monday night and in the early hours of Tuesday in Joyag under Sonaimuri upazila and Amin Bazar under Begumgonj upazila Noakhali.

The road accidents also injured 10 others.

The victims were idenfied as Sahana Akhter, 32, Md Abu Sayed, 11, Kohinoor Begum, Md Khokan, 38, and two other unidentified people. Shahana, Sayed and Kohinoor were of the same family.

Abdus Samad, officer-in-charge of Sonaimuri police station, said a Ramganj-bound passenger bus from Chittagong fell into a roadside ditch around 4:30pm on Tuesday when the driver lost the control of his vehicle.

Meanwhile, one Md Bashar, 28, died in the Amin Bazar area of Begumganj after his CNG-run auto-rickshaw was hit by a speeding bus from behind around 11pm on Monday. Bashar was killed on the spot In Barisal, four people were killed and at least 25 others were injured when the driver of a passenger bus from Chittagong lost control and plunged into a

roadside ditch near the Kortarhat area of Charfashion upazila in Bhola.

The deceased are Salahuddin, 35, Helal, 20, Belal,, 35, and another unidentified person aged around 37.

Another man, injured in a road accident in Agoiljhara, died in the Barisal Medical College Hospital. The victim was Amio Mandal, 80, the son of Rajendranath Mandal from Agoiljhara upazila in Barisal.

In Comilla, a policeman, along with his wife and daughter, was killed when their private car lost control following a flat tyre on the Dhaka-Chittagong highway near the Chauddagram upazila in Comilla yesterday morning.

The deceased were Police Sergent Nazrul Islam, 52, his wife Lovely, 35, and their daughter Nujhat, 3.

Two other children of the deceased coupled were also injured in the accident.

In Thakurgaon, at least two people died and 25 injured when a bus smashed into a pickup van on the Thakurgaon-Dhaka highway on Wednesday.

The deceased are Harun, 20, the son of Taslim Uddin and Hamidul, 30, the son of Islam Uddin.

Eid-ul-Fitr celebrated peacefully n Tribune Report Eid-ul- Fitr, the biggest religious festival for Muslims, was celebrated amid religious fervour and enthusiasm across the country on Tuesday.

President Abdul Hamid, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Opposition Leader in Parliament Rawshan Ershad, BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia, and Jatiya Party Chairman H M Ershad greeted the nation and Muslims across the world on this joyous occasion.

In separate messages, they wished peace, progress and prosperity for all.

President Abdul Hamid and his wife exchanged Eid greetings with high officials and distinguished guests at Bangabhaban on Tuesday morning.

“The lessons of Eid-ul-Fitr will unite all, irrespective of parties and opinion, to build a beautiful and prosperous Bangladesh,” said the president, BSS reports.

“Eid builds affection, amity and bonds of unity among the people of all classes and professionals,” he said.

Speaker Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury, Chief Justice M Muzzammel Hossain, ministers, advisers to the prime minister and state ministers were present at the reception.

In her message, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina called upon everyone to reflect on the teachings of Eid-ul-Fitr in personal, social and national lives.

“After the month-long self-restraint, Eid brings the message of happiness,” she said. “Eid teaches peace, empathy and fraternity.” The premier prayed for continued peace, progress and welfare of the county and the Muslim Ummah.

The main Eid congregation in the capital was held at the National Eidgah at 8:30am.

Professor Maulana Mohammad Salah Uddin, khatib of Baitul Mukarram National Mosque, conducted the Eid jamaat.

The largest Eid-ul-Fitr congregation in the country was held at the historic Sholakia Eidgah in Kishoreganj, where over 350,000 people from different parts of the country took part in Eid prayers.

Former director of Islamic Foundation Maulana Faird Uddin Masud conducted the congregation. No untoward incidents were reported anywhere in the country during Eid holidays. l

Minor girl raped in capital n Tribune Report A 10-year-old girl was allegedly raped at her residence in Shahajahanpur Railway Colony in the capital on Thursday.

Victim's mother alleged that her next-door neighbour Annash had entered her house while she was out for work and finding her 10-year-old daughter alone at home had raped her.

Annash, 42, father of three children, has been fugitive since the incident.

“After coming back from work around 4:30pm, I found my child injured and took her to the Shahajahanpur police station,” she said.

Sub-Inspector of Badda police station Sohel said he had admitted the girl to Dhaka Medical College Hospital after receiving her. A rape case had been filed in this connection, he said. l

In Sirajganj, two men died and three others were injured when the electric bike they were riding was hit by a bus on the Dhaka-Rajshahi highway near the Soydabaad area of Sirajganj.

The deceased were Ujjal, 15, and Shahin Alam, 30.

In Dinajpur, three people were killed and 18 injured yesterday when a diesel-run human haulier was hit by a bus near Durgapur.

The deceased were Raju, 30, the son of Babul Miah, Shakil, 10, the son of Sobhan and the driver of the human haulier Minjazul Islam, 28.

In Munshiganj, a person died in a motorcycle accident yesterday, and two others were killed on Monday in a road accident in the district town.

Himel Bepari, 25, died when his motorcycle collided head on with a human haulier near Katakhali Bazar in Munshiganj. Two others were injured in the accident.

Two other persons, Panju Miah, 45, and Dulal Miah, 36, died when they fell off a running pickup on Dhaka- Mawa highway near Srinagar sadar upazila on the day before Eid-ul-Fitr. l

20 killed in boat capsize, 13 missing n Tribune Report

Hundreds of people take part in the Eid congregation at the Baitul Mokarram on the day of the Eid-ul-Fitr in the capital

NASHIRUL ISLAM

India moves on curbing drug trafficking n Kamran Reza Chowdhury

The growing Dhaka-Delhi cooperation in curbing the cross-border drug trafficking has contributed to reducing the supply of Phensidyl, a codeine phosphate-based cough syrup which is the second largest misused drug in Bangladesh, at grassroots level.

Many Indian manufacturers set up Phensidyl factories along the Bangladesh border, mainly to push the drug into Bangladesh at higher prices. The illegal business went on for years under the noses of the Indian Border Security Force and Border Guard Bangladesh.

Now the Indian authorities have shut many of the 61 factories, according to a government report the Home Ministry submitted to parliament. The activities of other factories have been under investigation.

The Dhaka Tribune has obtained a copy of the statement, saying that the

Indian authorities had reduced its annual quota of import of codeine phosphate.

“Besides, carrying out operation to stop smuggling of Phensidyl and exchanging information on it, India in the fiscal year 2013-14 has reduced its annual quota of import of codeine phosphate to 20 tonnes from its previous 50 tonnes,” said the report.

It further said the Indian government had banned movement of codeine phosphate-based cough syrup in 20 kilometres area along the Bangladesh-India border.

Experts say the Indian crackdown and reduction in the import of codeine phosphate are very good steps to cut off the supply chain.

“Last year I bought one bottle (of Phensidyl) at Tk300, but this year its price is over Tk750. They (sellers) say the price goes up due to poor supply from the border,” Rumi, a drug addict,

told the Dhaka Tribune as this correspondent saw him buying Phensidyl near fish market in Naogaon town.

“The border is tight,” he said quoting a drug trader.

According to the Department of Narcotics Control, Phensidyl is the second-ranked drug in Bangladesh. Bordering districts such as Dinajpur (Hili), Joypurhat (Kalai point), Dhamoirhat and Patnitala in Naogaon are some of the major routes of Phensidyl smuggling into Bangladesh.

The situation in Bogra’s Sherpur, one of the transit stations of Phensidyl for pushing to Dhaka and elsewhere, is also similar to Naogaon.

“The price (of Phensidyl) is very high — at least Tk700 per bottle. So, many of the Phensidyl addicts have been turning to Yaba and pethidine,” a police officer in Sherpur told the Dhaka Tribune.

CQK Mustaq Ahmed, the immedi-

ate-past home secretary who at the meetings with Indian counterpart handed over the list of Phensidyl factories along the borders, told the Dhaka Tribune: “Of course, the Indian move would help us immensely to reduce the flow of Phensidyl.”

Bangladesh and India in March 2006 signed an agreement on cooperation for preventing illicit trafficking of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances.

In 2010, the two neighbouring countries inked an agreement on combating international terrorism, organised crimes and illicit drug trafficking.

In line with the 2010 deal, the directors general of the lead agencies —the Department of Narcotics Control of Bangladesh and the Narcotics Control of India—had three annual meetings.

The next (4th) meeting was supposed to take place in June this year.

But the meeting was delayed due to the general elections in India. l

3 JMB men held; DB claims militants reorganising n Kailash Sarkar

Detective Branch of Police personnel yesterday claimed to have arrested three members of banned Islamist organisation Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) in the capital's Sayedabad with huge explosives and bomb making materials on Wednesday night.

The DB personnel also claimed that the JMB had been trying to be reorganised in the form of International militant organisation al-Qaeda and trying to establish the philosophy of the al-Qaeda.

Besides, the activists of the banned outfit also had a plan of carrying out bomb attacks at Eid congregations, the DB officials claimed.

The detained JMB members were identified as Md Shameem Mahfuz alias Sumon aliasd Manring Morong, 38, of Gaibandha, Md Zahidur Rahman, 33, of Pirojpur, and Ismail Hossain, 39, of Chandpur.

At a press briefing, the DB officials claimed that during the primary interrogation the detainees told about their recent activities. They also confessed of being involved in the activities of another militant organisation named

Jama'atul Muslemin earlier.

DB Joint Commissioner Monirul Islam said: “As part of their activities, they had been active in the recruitment of militants in deep forest in Thanchi of Bandarban where they had also been providing training to the new recruited members as part of their preparation of carrying out attacks.”

He also said the detainees had been coordinating among the militants in and around the capital.

“Shameem Mahfuz had been keeping close communications with militants who are now fugitives in Pakistan

and different other places,” said Monirul Islam.

In a reply, he also said detained Shameem had been working as the chief coordinator and under his directives other detainees had been supplying explosives and leaflets in different places.

DB sources said all the detainees were earlier arrested different times for their militant activities and they resumed their activities after their releases on bails.

The DB officials said the arrest was made following a long period of observation. l

At least 20 people were killed and 20 others missing as three boats capsized in separate incidents in Sirajganj, Kushtia and Munshiganj in last two days.

In Sirajganj, nine bodies were recovered and 10 others were still missing as a boat capsized in the Jamuna river near Chouhali yesterday.

Of the victims five were identified – Rashida Khatun, 16, daughter of Abdul Halim from Khas-Pukuria village, Aduri Begum, 20, daughter of Amzad Hossain from Khas-Kaulia village, Akter Hossain, 42, his wife Dilu Begum and Noyon Tara, 30, wife of Saiful Islam.

Tangail Deputy Commissioner Md Mahbub Hossain, Sirajganj Additional Deputy Commissioner (Revenue) Protap Chandra Biswas and Chouhali Upazila Nirbahi Officer Mohammad Abdullah visited the spot immediately after the incident and joined the rescue work.

Sirajganj Deputy Commissioner Md Billal Hossain declared a compensation of Tk10,000 to each of the victim family.

Chouhali police station Officer-inCharge Samsul Haque said an engine-run trawler carrying over 100 passenger sank as it hit a submerged damaged bridge on its way to Selimabad.

The OC also said though most of the passengers swam ashore 10 people were still missing.

The UNO said divers from the capital joined the rescue operation, adding that the injured were given primary treatment at Chouhali Upazila Health Complex.

In Kushtia, another nine people were killed and three others still missing as a boat capsized in the Padma river near Boiragir Char area in Doulatpur upazila on Wednesday.

Three bodies – Kalu Sheikh, 18, Shikha, 18, and Shahajul, 28, – were recovered last morning in Pathorghata area and five others – Shipon, 28, in Koldiyar area, Imran, 14, in Boiragir Char, and Bithi, 14, Divar, 20, and an unidentified person in Rankhariya area – were recovered later.

On Wednesday night, police also recovered the floating body of Mala Akhter Poli in Bheramara.

Bheramara police station Officer-inCharge Mamun Khan said the bodies were recovered after locals informed the police. The boat carrying 19 passengers capsized on Wednesday on its way to a char area from Boiragir Char in the Padma river.

Elsewhere in Munshiganj, at least two people were killed and two others were injured as a boat capsized yesterday afternoon at Marialay village near BT college in Tongibari.

The deceased are Tania Akter, 18, daughter of Latif Mia, and Afsana Akter, 14, daughter of Delowar Hossen from Nitaiganj of Narayanganj.

Injured Jubayer, 7, and Sami, 14, of Barail village of Tongibari were admitted to Tongbari Health Complex. On-duty doctors said they were out of dangers.

Tongibari Police Station on-duty officer ASI Mosaraf Hossen said six members of a family went on a boat trip in the afternoon.

When the small boat drowned, two of them managed to swim ashore but four of them drowned. Locals rescued them and took them to the hospital where on-duty doctors declared Tania and Afsana dead, the ASI added. l

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