17 dec, 2014

Paush 3, 1421 Safar 23, 1436 Regd No DA 6238 Vol 2, No 253

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 17, 2014 | www.dhakatribune.com | SECOND EDITION

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5 | LONG FORM

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THE CITY OF SEVEN HILLS

‘IT’S NOT JUST THE COLONEL WHO WOULD NOT REPENT, BUT JUST ABOUT EVERYONE ELSE’

KILLING US SOFTLY

NAZMUL: A CONVICT WILL NOT GET ASSISTANCE

Children victims of Taliban carnage 142 killed in revenge attack over military offensive in Pakistan’s North Waziristan n Tribune Desk An attack on a Pakistani school by the Taliban yesterday left 132 school children and nine staff dead, and a further 182 people injured, agencies reported.

Most of the surviving students of the military-run school in the north-western town of Peshawar have been evacuated.

Al Jazeera correspondent Assad Hashim analysed the attack as a sign of Tehreek-e-Taliban’s desperation.

He writes: “Tuesday’s attack, which the TTP said in a statement was explicitly ‘in retaliation against’ the military’s ongoing Operation Zarb-e-Azb in North Waziristan, can be seen, perhaps, as a sign of the group’s desperation.”

“Unable to hit high-value government or military targets, the TTP has been reduced to targeting a school, one that is only nominally army-affiliated, as a sign of its ability to hit civilian targets.

“The school itself is a soft target, with relatively low security, even though it is located in a high-security zone of central Peshawar. But by killing scores of children, the TTP is unlikely to win itself much public support, with the backlash from the attack seeing a marked unity amongst Pakistanis in rejecting this form of violence. The indignation of the Pakistani public at this targeting of children seems also to  PAGE 2 COLUMN 1

TERROR-TORN PAKISTAN NOV 2014

32 attacks by Taliban killing 143 people

SEPT 22 2013

Taliban kills 80 people at a Peshawar church

JAN 10 2013

Militants kill 120 of Hazara Shia people in Quetta

MAY 28 2010

Over 80 killed in attack on two Ahmadiyya mosques in Lahore

OCT 18 2007

At least 130 killed in bomb attack on Benazir Bhutto rally in Karachi

Iftikhar mourns his son Mohammed Ali Khan, 15, a student who was killed during yesterday’s attack on the Army Public School, at his house in Peshawar. The killings took place after Taliban gunmen broke into the school and opened fire, in the bloodiest massacre the country has seen for years REUTERS

44th Victory Day observed n Ahmed Zayeef As the cold wind blew through the dense fog over the National Memorial compound early yesterday morning, VVIPs and VIPs paid their tributes to the heroic sons of the soil who laid down their lives to be independent from Pakistan, after a nine-month-long bloody war.

Wearing heavy winter suits and national flags painted on their cheeks Saju Ahmed, Imon and Rubel Mia along with their uncle Afaz, clerk at a private bank, came to place their floral wreath at the altar of the memorial.

“I came here to see the memorial,” said an excited Saju, student of class I. His uncle Afaz said: “The kids have a lot of questions. As they are curious about December 16. I brought them here and I am trying to inform them about the day.”

Like them, hundreds of people of different ages, political, social, cultural and professional backgrounds thronged the memorial yesterday to pay their tributes.

Most of them were wearing red or green. Some wore both red and green depicting the colors of the National Flag. The Memorial compound gradually turned into a human sea.

The Liberation War that started at Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s call ended with the Pakistan army’s surrender on Dec 16, 1971 at the Race Course Maidan (now Suhrawardy Udyan) in Dhaka.

The day’s programme was heralded  PAGE 2 COLUMN 1

Tarique now labels Three villages torched over land Bangabandhu a razakar dispute in Rangamati n Mohammad Al-Masum Molla Tarique Rahman, leader of the BNP which rehabilitated and now partners anti-liberation forces, termed Bangladesh’s architect Bangabandhu a “razakar,” the anti-liberation element, at a programme in London on Monday.

BNP Vice-Chairman Tarique, who is wanted in several corruption and criminal cases in Bangladesh and has been in exile for six years, has recently turned quite a “historian” by giving fantastical and whimsical explanation of history.

His main targets have been Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman – the father of the nation; and the Awami League – the party that led Bangladesh’s Liberation War in 1971.

The intention is clear: to prove that his party BNP – that made notorious war criminals ministers and refuses to agree that their founder Ziaur Rahman actually read out on Bangabandhu’s behalf the proclamation of independence on March 26, 1971 – is more pro-liberation than the Awami League and Zia is more important than Bangabandhu.

It is said that BNP’s allegiance with Jamaat-e-Islami – a party that officially opposed the Liberation War – was a major reason behind the humiliating defeat in the 2008 general election.

Tarique, elder of the two sons of Ziaur Rahman and Khaleda Zia, started “re-versing” history after the January 5 election this year, which the BNP boycotted and failed to resist despite  PAGE 2 COLUMN 5

n Our Correspondent, Khagrachhari Bangalee settlers yesterday morning set fire to at least 50 houses in three villages and seven shops owned by indigenous people in Bogachhari of Naniachar in the district, reportedly in the presence of army personnel.

At least 10 people were injured as police charged batons on the attackers during the incident.

Following the incident, the local administration visited the area and later formed an 11-member probe committee led by upazila Chairman Shaktiman Chakma. The district administration gave the affected indigenous families Tk1 lakh as compensation.

The incident follows destruction of around 20,000 saplings of pineapple

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The self-styled sheikh behind a siege at a Sydney cafe had been charged as an accessory to murder and with multiple sexual offences. He also harbored deep grievances against the Australian government.

Freedom fighters yesterday said the historical speech by Bangabandhu on March 7, 1971 inspired them to join the Liberation War and propelled the East Pakistanis towards a fight for independence.

A TV play ‘Apurba’ will be aired on Maasranga television at 11:00pm today. The story of the drama revolves around the lives and struggles of four girls who have diverse professional backgrounds and experiences.

The 44th glorious Victory Day was celebrated across the country yesterday to establish a non communal, prosperous and democratic Bangladesh and complete the trial of war criminals in line with the spirit of liberation war.

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and segun on Monday night in an orchard owned by a person named Afsar Ali, who allegedly grabbed it from Padmo Ranjan Chakma.

Naniachar OC Md Abdur Rashid also confirmed the incidents to the Dhaka Tribune.

P4 PCJSS CONDEMNS Witnesses said the Bangalis gathered at Bogachhari yesterday morning alleging that the indigenous people had damaged the saplings. Then they torched seven shops owned by indigenous people on Rangamati-Khagrachhari road.

Later they attacked adjacent Suridas Para, Nabin Talukder Para and Bogachhari Para, looted around 50 houses and then set those on fire.

All this happened in front of a team of Bangladesh Army present near the scene. Locals alleged that the army personnel made no attempt to quell the situation rather assisted the settlers in conducting the attack.

Protesting the attack, the Rangamati-Khagrachhari road was blockaded by the United People’s Democratic Front.

It claimed that the settlers also assaulted a monk in Karuna Buddha Bihar and snatched four Buddha idols.

In a statement, the UPDF alleged that the army team present on the spot had poured petrol on an already burning shop. As the indigenous people protested an altercation had begun between them. At that time, Ananda Chakma, Subintu Chakma and Mishon  PAGE 2 COLUMN 6

Yaba to dominate BD-Myanmar border meet n Tribune Report A top-level team of Myanmar Border Guard Police will join a four-day conference with Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) in the capital from today to discuss various issues including devising ways to stop smuggling of contraband yaba tablets into Bangladesh.

BGB officials will request their counterpart to inform it about the steps Myanmar has taken stop production of yaba pills in its territory along the border and smuggling them to Bangladesh.

At the deputy chief-level conference to be held in Peelkhana, the six-member Myanmar delegation will be led

by Police Brigadier General Thein Oo while Additional Director General Brig Gen Latiful Haider will head the  PAGE 2 COLUMN 1

2

DHAKA TRIBUNE

News

Wednesday, December 17, 2014

Hasina, Khaleda join world in condemning Peshawar school attack n Tribune Desk Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina vehemently condemned the attack by the Taliban on a school in the north-western Pakistani city of Peshawar yesterday.

“People across the world are stunned and shocked by the barbaric and heinous massacre,” the premier said, urging the people of South Asia to work together to fight communal forces and international terrorism, BSS reported.

Former prime minister and BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia also condemned the killing of 132 students and nine staff in the attack on the military-run school.

“I do not have words to express the condemnation of the attack that killed [the] students,” she said.

Pakistani Nobel Peace Prize Winner Malala Yousafzai, herself a victim of a Taliban assassination attempt, said: “I am heartbroken by this senseless and cold blooded act of terror in Peshawar that is unfolding before us. Innocent children in their school have no place in horror such as this.”

The education activist said: “I condemn these atrocious and cowardly acts and stand united with the government and armed forces of Pakistan whose efforts so far to address this horrific event are commendable. I, along with millions of others around the world, mourn these children, my brothers and

sisters - but we will never be defeated.”

“Schools must be safe and secure learning spaces, and getting an education is an act of bravery. Going to school should not have to be an act of bravery,” UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said.

Afghanistan’s President Ashraf Ghani said: “The killing of innocent children is contrary to Islam.”

US President Barack Obama condemned that attacks saying: “By targeting students and teachers in this heinous attack, terrorists have once again shown their depravity.”

British Prime Minister Davis Cameron said: “The news from Pakistan is deeply shocking. It is horrifying that children are killed simply for going to school.”

Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif sounded a defiant note as outrage swept across his country saying: “The government together with the army has started [anti-militant offensive] Zarb-eAzb and it will continue until terrorism is rooted out from our land. We also have had discussions with Afghanistan that we together fight this terrorism, and this fight will continue. No one should have any doubt about it.”

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted a series of statements, describing the attacks as: “...a senseless act of unspeakable brutality that has claimed lives of the most innocent of human beings - young children in their school.” l

RAB busts a gang of currency forgers in the city n Tribune Report

President Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina place wreaths at the National Memorial at Savar to pay tribute to the Liberation War martyrs yesterday BSS

‘The young should take the charge’ n Abid Azad

The Sector Commanders’ Forum symbolically passed the baton on to the young generation for preserving the true history of the country at a Victory Day’s programme in the capital yesterday.

Remembering all of the martyrs of the Liberation War, the SCF dedicated this year’s Victory Day to the young generation by handing them over a national flag.

“A day will come when no direct participant of the Liberation War will be alive. Only the people who are now young will be there then. So, they will have to

Yaba to dominate BD-Myanmar border meet  PAGE 1 COLUMN 6

16-member BGB team. The Bangladesh team also includes representatives from the Home Ministry, Foreign Affairs Ministry, Survey of Bangladesh and Narcotics Department.

In the first meeting held in Myanmar in June, the visiting BGB delegation had handed over a list of 32 factories producing yaba tablets, photos of the major factories along with names of eight drug lords based in Mongdu, Myanmar.

According to the BGB official records, it seized more than 23 lakh yaba pills on the border and held more than 4,500 Myanmar nationals for their involvement in smuggling these tablets in the last one year. Only 10 of them were shown arrested while the others were pushed back.

Bangladesh shares about 271km of the border stretch with Myanmar.

From the Bangladesh side, officials will also bring up issues that include arranging regular flag meetings with the BGP in BOP, company, battalion, sector levels, and arranging regular friendly sport events between the two forces.

Bangladesh will also raise the unwanted incidents of sudden firing on BGB patrol teams on Myanmar border and infiltration.

A Joint Record of Discussion (JRD) will be signed on December 20 and the Myanmar delegation will leave the country next day.

BGB Director General Maj Gen Aziz Ahmed is not leading the BGB team this time as the BGP chief is unavailable.

The last meeting was held for the first

44th Victory Day observed  PAGE 1 COLUMN 6

with the 31 gun salutes at the National Parade Ground at Sher-e-Bangla Nagar.

It was followed by the paying of tributes to the martyrs at the National Memorial at Savar, whose architect Syed Mainul Hossain passed away last month.

Marking the 44th Victory Day, President Md Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina paid there homage to the war heroes at the memorial around 6.40am.

They placed floral wreaths followed by a guard of honour presented by a smartly turned out contingent of the three armed services.

After the wreaths were placed, the President and Prime Minister stood in solemn silence for a few minutes to show their respects to the martyrs of the great Liberation War. Later, Sheikh Hasina placed wreath for the second time on behalf of her party, the Awami League, followed by

leaders and activists of several associated bodies.

Speaker Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury, Deputy Speaker Fazle Rabbi Mia, Leader of the Opposition Rawshan Ershad, Jatiya Party Chief HM Ershad and diplomats of different countries also paid their respects. The Memorial was then opened to the public.

Around 9:30am Khaleda Zia, chairperson of BNP along with prominent leaders of her party placed a wreath to honour the war heroes at the National Memorial.

The general people found it an obstruction to pay homage during that span of time as BNP activists took position in front of the memorial from around 8:30am preparing for the arrival of Khaleda Zia. These people had to push their way forward through the thick crowd of BNP activists.

The area was cleared only after the party chief left the premises.

protect this country from internal and external conspiracies,” said SCF acting secretary general Harun Habib.

“After nine months of a bloody war, 90,000 Pakistani soldiers surrendered to the freedom fighters and the Indian joint forces. We achieved liberation from Pakistani subordination at this very Suhrawardy Udyan, then the Race Course ground,” Harun said.

Freedom Fighter Col (retd) Shamsul Alam said: “The Liberation War lasted nine months, but we had been struggling for emancipation for many years before that. Our struggle began after the 1947 partition. We had to shed

time at DG-level in Myanmar’s capital Nay Pyi Taw. For the last few years Bangladesh has been trying to build good relationships with the Myanmar border guards, but Myanmar was not responding. The relation between the two forces deteriorated mainly following the death of Naik Mizanur Rahman, who was shot dead at Naikkhyangchhari in Bandarban on May 28 by the BGP men.

A gunfight also took place on May 30 when complications arose regarding the handover of Mizan’s body. The body finally arrived the following day.

After the incident, Myanmar responded positively to develop the bilateral relations.

The conference is supposed to take place every six months.

Bangladesh in the last meeting also proposed a Coordinated Border Management Plan which would be discussed in this conference.

Asked if the Rohingya issue would be discussed in the meeting, a senior BGB official asking not to be named said they would not raise the issue since it is a political one.

“But we will discuss possible ways to stop nationals of both countries trespassing,” the official said adding that the issue of the banned Rohingya Solidarity Organisation (RSO) operatives hiding in Bangladesh would come for discussion.

In the last meeting, the Myanmar authorities had handed over a list of RSO men operating from Bangladesh. l

Freedom fighter Abdul Karim, who lives in Savar said, “I fought for my country. Now I want to see the execution of war criminals before my death.”

Shahana Kahtun, a garment worker who came along with her colleagues said: “I love to come here every year. I get a special feeling just looking at the memorial.”

Shahinul Islam, a Dhaka University student said: “I feel proud that I have the opportunity to come here and pay my respects to the martyrs. Their cause made us inhabitants of an independent country.”

The day was a public holiday. The National Flag was hoisted atop all government, semi-government and other important establishments.

Like every year, parts of the city wore a festive look since early morning.

A number of buildings, vehicles and road islands were decorated with national flags of different sizes. In many

streets and shops, popular patriotic songs were heard over loudspeakers throughout the day.

Men, women and children in green and red flocked at various monuments and parks including the National Mausoleum and the Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban areas and many other public places to participate in cultural programmes that were held across the city.

On this day in 1971, the chief of the Pakistani Occupation Forces, Gen AAK Niazi along with his 93,000 Pakistani troops surrendered at the Ramna Racecourse, now Suhrawardy Udyan, in Dhaka who were miserably defeated by the joint forces of Mukti Bahini and Mitra Bahini.

The Pakistan army and their local collaborators launched a barbarous crackdown at midnight on March 25, 1971 in the erstwhile East Pakistan to become one of the heinous acts of genocide in human history. l

blood for the right speak in our mother language Bangla in 1952.”

Shamsul, who was also framed with the infamous 1969 Agartala Conspiracy Case along with Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, said: “The real and undistorted history should reach the young so that they can avert all kinds of conspiracy and dilemma.”

The event included children’s song and dance, recitation and singing of patriotic songs. At the end, the Department of Theatre and Performance Studies of Dhaka University staged a play, imitating the historic surrender of the Pakistan Army. l

Tarique now labels Bangabandhu  PAGE 1 COLUMN 2

months of violent and bloody street protests.

On Monday, at the Victory Day’s programme of the London chapter of the BNP, Tarique claimed that it was now clear to all “like daylight” that Sheikh Mujib and his family had no contribution in the Liberation War. He also claimed that Sheikh Mujib – who the BNP affiliates refuse to call Bangabandhu – never wanted to see an independent Bangladesh.

“If Sheikh Mujib started the war along with the Bangali army officers on March 7, Pakistani soldiers would have been defeated and the loss of lives could have been lessened,” Tarique said.

“It is Mujib who is to be held responsible for the losses. And we call him a Razakar after analysing facts. When we called him Pakbandhu [friend of Pakistan], we did that on the basis of facts,” Tarique said.

Bangabandhu’s historic March 7, 1971 speech is seen as the unofficial but the de facto call for the Liberation War in 1971.

The March 27, 1971 proclamation of independence, read out by Zia and broadcast on radio, starts with: “I, Major Ziaur Rahman...on behalf of our great national leader, the supreme commander of Bangladesh Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, do hereby proclaim the independence of Bangladesh.”

On March 26 this year and even on later occasions, Tarique said his father Ziaur Rahman, not Bangabandhu, was the first president of Bangladesh. He said Bangabandhu did not have a Bangladeshi passport when he returned after the war and therefore could not be the country’s president.

In a more recent speech at anoth-

Children victims of Taliban carnage  PAGE 1 COLUMN 1

have overridden any fear the TTP was attempting to sow with such a largescale strike.

“In a country where public support for militancy has often allowed space for the TTP and like-minded groups to operate, this is certainly significant.”

The Taliban issued a statement saying the attack was carried out against the Pakistani military in revenge for attacks on their families.

“We selected the army’s school for the attack because the government is targeting our families and females,” said Taliban spokesman Muhammad Umar Khorasani. “We want them to feel the pain.”

The BBC’s Shahzeb Jillani in Karachi said the militants appear to have been intent on killing as many students as possible – rather than taking hostages.

Troops surrounded the building and an operation was under way to rescue children still trapped inside, the army said.

Hours into the siege which began around 10am Pakistan local time, three explosions were heard inside the military-run high school, and a Reuters journalist at the scene said he heard

heavy gunfire.

Outside, as helicopters rumbled overhead, police struggled to hold back distraught parents who were trying to break past a security cordon and get into the school.

Six Taliban militants who carried out the attack have been reported killed in gun battles with security personnel.

Bahramand Khan, director of information for the regional Chief Minister’s Secretariat, said the death toll may rise. A local hospital said the dead and wounded it had seen were aged between 10 and 20 years old.

It was not clear whether some or all of the children were killed by gunmen, suicide bombs or in the ensuing battle with Pakistani security forces trying to gain control of the building.

The siege was called off around 6:30pm, Pakistan local time.

No less less than fifteen blasts were reported during the operation.

Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has declared a three day country-wide mourning in the wake of the gruesome attack. Army hits back with 10 airstrikes in Khyber According to a tweet by DG ISPR Major General Asim Bajwa, Pakistan’s

military on actionable intelligence has carried out several raids including 10 airstrikes in Khyber Agency yesterday, Pakistani newspaper Dawn reported.

Army chief General Raheel Sharif reached Peshawar and vowed to continue the fight against the militants until they are completely eliminated from the country.

Gen Bajwa posted on Twitter that: “our resolve has taken new height. Will continue go after inhuman beasts, their facilitators till their final elimination.”

“They have hit at the heart of the nation, but let me reiterate they can’t in any way diminish the will of this great nation,” the army chief was quoted as saying by the DG ISPR. The provincial assembly in Punjab has unanimously passed a resolution condemning the Taliban attack in Peshawar, expressing resolve to fight till the elimination of last terrorist.

The lawmakers also expressed solidarity with the armed forces in the resolution, saying the whole nation was standing shoulder to shoulder with Pakistan Army.

Close encounter with death A teenage survivor of the attack described how he played dead after being

shot in both legs by insurgents hunting down students to kill.

Speaking from his bed in the trauma ward of the city’s Lady Reading Hospital, Shahrukh Khan, 16, said he and his classmates were in a careers guidance session in the school auditorium when four gunmen wearing paramilitary uniforms burst in.

“Someone screamed at us to get down and hide below the desks,” he said, adding that the gunmen shouted “Allahu Akbar” before opening fire.

“Then one of them shouted: ‘There are so many children beneath the benches, go and get them’,” Khan told AFP. “I saw a pair of big black boots coming towards me, this guy was probably hunting for students hiding beneath the benches.”

Khan said he felt searing pain as he was shot in both his legs just below the knee.

He decided to play dead, adding: “I folded my tie and pushed it into my mouth so that I wouldn’t scream.

“The man with big boots kept on looking for students and pumping bullets into their bodies. I lay as still as I could and closed my eyes, waiting to

RAB members on Monday busted a gang of currency forgers in the capital’s Mirpur area who buys Tk1,000 notes for only Tk400 and spread them in the city.

Primary interrogation revealed that there are three stages through which the fake currency is produced and brought to the market.

In the first stage, the fake notes are printed in clandestine “factories” and sold to wholesalers at Tk260 per note.

In the next stage, the fake notes reach the retailers who buy them for Tk300Tk400 per piece. In the third stage, gangs such as the one busted in Mirpur, buy bundles of Tk1 lakh face value for around Tk60,000-Tk70,00 and cleverly inject them into the market.

In a special drive in Mirpur, the RAB 2 members arrested fake note sellers Md Arif, 30, and Md Ashraf, 29. They also recovered a large stash of 70,000 fake notes from their possessions, said Maruf Ahmed, an operations officer of the unit, when they brought the arrestees before media yesterday. A case was filed with the Mirpur police.

Arif is a construction worker by profession. He met fake note trader Alal while living in a mess in Rayerbagh area. Inspired by Alal, he joined the gang to earn some quick bucks. After collecting enough money, he started his own business. Ashraf is a readymade garment worker. Arif brought him to the business and spread fake notes in various areas in the capital. l

get shot again.

“My body was shivering. I saw death so close and I will never forget the black boots approaching me – I felt as though it was death that was approaching me.”

The Army Public School is attended by boys and girls from both military and civilian backgrounds.

As his father, a shopkeeper, comforted him in his blood-soaked bed, Khan recalled: “The men left after some time and I stayed there for a few minutes. Then I tried to get up but fell to the ground because of my wounds.

“When I crawled to the next room, it was horrible. I saw the dead body of our office assistant on fire,” he said.

“She was sitting on the chair with blood dripping from her body as she burned.”

It was not immediately clear how the female employee’s body caught fire, though her remains were also later seen by an AFP reporter in a hospital mortuary.

Khan, who said he also saw the body of a soldier who worked at the school, crawled behind a door to hide and then lost consciousness.

“When I woke up I was lying on the hospital bed,” he added. l

er programme in London, he termed Bangabandhu “Pakbandhu” for which he is facing arrest warrant from a Dhaka court after an aggrieved person sued Tarique on charges of humiliating the father of the nation.

In Monday’s speech, Tarique asked the audience: “If anyone stands on the free and sovereign soil of Bangladesh and shouts a slogan in favour of Pakistan, what should that man be called?”

The audience, comprising mostly BNP supporters, responded by saying: “Razakar!”

Tarique made a gesture by putting his palms around his ear and said: “Cannot hear you, say louder.” The audience shouted louder: “Razakar.”

He then said: “I am talking on the basis of evidence; Sheikh Mujib was a Razakar, a murderer and Pakbandhu.

“When lakhs of people were on the battlefield, Sheikh Mujib’s family was living a secured life in Dhaka under the watch of murderer Yahya,” Tarique said.

Accusing the Awami League of “using” the Liberation War and twisting history in its favour for 40 years, Tarique told his supporters to utter the word “razakar” whenever there was an Awami League man in sight.

Chaired by Shayesta Chowdhury, chief of BNP’s London unit, the programme was addressed among others by the party’s Joint Secretary General Rizvi Ahmed and BNP chairperson’s Adviser Mir Mohammad Nasir Uddin.

Tarique has been in London since September 11, 2008 on medical grounds after securing parole in various cases.

He faces 14 charges, of which four, including the August 21 grenade attack case, are on trial and the rest are stayed. l

Three villages torched  PAGE 1 COLUMN 5

Chakma were beaten up severely.

On the other hand, the settlers alleged that the indigenous people had damaged the pineapple and segun farms, and also torched the houses in a planned way.

President of Parbatya Nagorik Parishad Alkas Al Mamun said: “It is not a stray incident. The pahari [indigenous] criminal groups do not accept the independence of Bangalis. They carried out the attacks to divert the people’s attention and demean the spirit of the Victory Day.” Secretary General of Parbatya Chattagram Sama Odhikar Andolon Md Moniruzzaman echoed Mamun. He claimed that the criminals belonging to indigenous groups had long been torturing and persecuting the Bangalis to uproot them from the area.

BNP General Secretary of Naniachar upazila unit Md Nuruzzaman alleged that the indigenous people on Monday had damaged pineapple saplings in 4 hectares of area and cut off 20,000 segun saplings. “They do this every year. Now they are blaming the Bangalis.” l

DHAKA TRIBUNE

News

3

Wednesday, December 17, 2014

Liberation War Museum celebrates last Victory Day in Segunbagicha n Mohammad Abu Bakar Siddique Authorities of the Liberation War Museum yesterday said this year’s Victory Day celebration by the museum would be its last in its Segunbagicha headquarters.

Rafiqul Islam, coordinator of the new location, said: “The museum is being relocated in Agargaon area, where 75% of the construction work is complete. We hope to move there before the Victory Day next year; may be in the middle of next year.”

The new building will be more spacious than the current one, where around 80,000 artefacts and documents can be showcased, he said while speaking at the Victory Day celebration in the museum yesterday. He said the new museum would have a bigger auditorium and larger platforms.

The current location is a rented house in Segunbagicha, where the museum was opened on March 22, 1996. It currently exhibits around 1,400 artefacts.

The week-long celebration of the by the museum wrapped up yesterday.

The programmes, which began on December 10, took place in various locations of the capital besides the museum. The events included poetry recital, commemoration of wartime experiences, seminars, musical events, fund raising and theatre productions.

Kavigan, a form of Bangla folk performance wherein folk poets sing and perform in literary face-off, was held yesterday with Mira Sarkar and Krishnakanta Sarkar and their teams from Mongla, Bagerhat. It also organised a cultural programme with children in association with Society for Welfare of Autistic Children, Kalparekha, Ucep, Tyte Boat Field school, Khelaghor and Spandan.

Eminent cultural personality Ramendu Majumder and museum trustee members Dr Sarwar Ali and Z Tariq Ali also attended the programme. l

Clockwise from top left: A freedom fighter sheds tears while singing the national anthem at a reception ceremony at the capital’s Osmani Udyan yesterday.

Dhaka North City Corporation arranged the programme for the freedom fighters of 1971 Liberation War marking the National Victory Day l Enthusiastic visitors at the capital’s Liberation War Museum on the Victory Day yesterday l A symbolic war tank moves on with the victory rally brought out by the Awami League’s affiliated organisations at the capital’s Shahbagh area yesterday l A traditional boat race held in the Hatirjheel in celebration of Victory Day yesterday came as a delightful sight to Dhaka dwellers MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU/ RAJIB DHAR/ SHEKHAR MONDAL

Traditional nouka baich to celebrate Victory Day n Tribune Report A special boat race arranged in the capital’s Hatirjheel came as a recreational treat to the Dhakaites on the occasion of the country’s 43rd Victory Day yesterday.

The “Nouka Baich” (boat race), an age-old game of the country, took place at the heart of the capital for the first time. Thousands of spectators enjoyed the game arranged by Bangladesh Rowing Federation and sponsored by mobile phone operator Banglalink.

The race started from Rampura point and ended at Police Plaza point near Gulshan. Three boats among nine topped the race in different categories.

Although Hatirjheel is an important place for recreation, its water remains dirty most of the time.

As rivers and boat races are an integral part of Bangladesh, Bangladesh Rowing Federation was continuously trying to promote the boat race, the organisers said. l

WEATHER

PARTLY CLOUDY WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 17 DHAKA TODAY TOMORROW SUN SETS 5:14PM SUN RISES 6:35AM FORECAST FOR TODAY 26 27 24 24 25 26 26 27

Dhaka Chittagong Rajshahi Rangpur Khulna Barisal Sylhet Cox’s Bazar

14 15 11 11 9 12 12 16

YESTERDAY’S HIGH AND LOW

31.2ºC Sitakunda

13.0ºC Tangail

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‘March 7 Speech inspired us to join the Liberation War’ n Abu Hayat Mahmud Freedom fighters at a city event yesterday said the historical speech by Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman on March 7, 1971 inspired them to join the Liberation War. It not only propelled the East Pakistanis towards a fight for independence, but was also a source of inspiration for all freedom-loving people all over the world, the speakers said.

Organised by the two Dhaka city corporations in the capital’s Osmani Udyan on the occasion of the 44th Victory Day, the programme was a reunion of the freedom fighters who fought in the war under Sector 2, where they were also honoured for their contributions to the country.

“Bangabandhu was the biggest freedom fighter. If he had not given that speech, would we have the courage to start the war? I do not think so,” Mahbub Uddin Ahmed Bir Bikram, one of the attendees, said.

His claim was seconded by hundreds of freedom fighters in attendance.

Mahbub said: “The speech prepared

us for a potential war of independence amid the widespread reports of the mobilisation of the Pakistan Army.

Bangabandhu gave the speech at a time of increasing tension between the two parts of Pakistan.

“Bangalis fought in the war for independence,” he said, “we did not do it to come out of the war alive, or to be honoured in the later years.”

He also urged Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to take initiatives to bring back the rest of Bangabandhu’s killers to the country and execute the court’s verdict against them.

Relief and Disaster Management Minister Mofazzal Hossain Chowdhury Maya Bir Bikram, who was also the chief guest at the event, said: “Just 48 hours before we finally became free, the Pakistani occupational forces and their collaborators killed a large number of our intellectuals at Rayer bazar Badhyabhumi.

“Earlier, the Pakistani soldiers killed around three million Bangalis. Among our group of freedom fighters under Sector 2, around 10 were killed by the Pakistanis. But several others survived

the war and have attended today’s function. I want to congratulate them,” he said.

The minister also said all Bangalis were inspired by Bangabandhu’s March 7 speech.

Talking about the ongoing trial of the war criminals, the minster said if BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia was in power, she would have rewarded the war criminals, but not the freedom fighters.

The minister also urged the highups of the two city corporations to pay more time and attention to helping the freedom fighters.

The function was chaired by the Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) Administrator Md Shawkat Mostafa, and the Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) Administrator Md Faruque Jalil gave the inauguration speech.

Shahjahan Kabir Amir Bir Protik, freedom fighters Hossain Mollah and Dr Shahidul Islam, DSCC Chief Executive Officer Ansar Ali Khan and DNCC Chief Executive Officer BM Enamul Haque also spoke at the event, among others. l

CNG THREE-WHEELERS

Owners adamant to secure extension n Shohel Mamun Owners of CNG-run autorickshaws and trade union leaders have been pressurising the government to extend once again the lifespan of three-wheelers in the capital and Chittagong.

In December last year, the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) extended the tenure of the autorickshaws by one year until this December 31.

According to the BRTA, there are around 13,000 commercially run green autorickshaws in the capital and 12,000 in the Chittagong city which are supposed to be taken off the streets in January.

These autorickshaws have already passed 12 years of operation.

Earlier, the BRTA in a letter asked the Road Transport and Bridges Ministry to gradually reduce the number of small vehicles including autorickshaws from the two cities to ease traffic.

Meanwhile, the Bureau of Research, Testing and Consultation of Buet said it did not have the capacity to examine 13,000 autorickshaws as asked by the government. Buet so far tested more than 1,000 autorickshaws in the last six

months and suggested that their tenures be extended. It also recommended overhauling the engines and that the authorities concerned check hydraulic pressure of the CNG cylinders.

Only 324 autorickshaw owners fulfil the conditions and applied to the BRTA for extension of the lifespan of their vehicles.

The government in a gazette, published in June, ordered owners of all old autorickshaws to get clearance certificates from Buet to apply for extension.

Supervisor of Buet’s testing committee Ehasanul Haque said it was a tough job for them. “We have asked the government to find an alternative organisation for the testing task.”

Chittagong University of Engineering and Technology (Cuet) also said it was difficult to examine the 12,000 autorickshaws plying in the port city.

President of CNG Autorickshaw Owners Association Bartakullah Bulu said the owners would have to suffer if the government did not approve the extension by another year.

“If our demand is not fulfilled, we will be compelled to go for tougher

movement,” he told the Dhaka Tribune.

Some influential owners of commercially run autorickshaws are also pressurising the government to secure extension.

In this situation, the Road Transport and Highways Division has called an inter-ministerial meeting for tomorrow where bureaucrats of the related ministries, stakeholders and members of the law enforcement agencies will be present.

Secretary MAN Siddique told the Dhaka Tribune that the meeting would discuss the recommendations put forward by the BRTA and Buet.

He also acknowledged that testing 25,000 autorickshaws was a tough task.

“We have already requested the authorities of Dhaka University of Engineering and Technology, Gazipur for help.”

The secretary hoped that every unresolved issue would be finalised in tomorrow’s meeting.

BRTA Secretary Sowkat Ali said they suggested removal of the small vehicles as they create traffic gridlocks.

“But a High Court order said since the autorickshaws drivers are poor, they should be allowed to operate.” l

Investigators looking for laptop used by Sagar-Runi Zahidul Islam and n Muhammad Mohammad Jamil Khan The Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) is now trying to look for the laptop used by slain journalist couple Golam Sarwar Sagar and Meherunessa Runi three years into their murders.

RAB has sent a written note to the Engineering and Operation Division of Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) on November 25 asking it to trace out the laptop of the journalist couple.

The note mentions an IP address (172.20.35.107) and Mac Motherboard number (00:24:54:E6-A3-34) of the laptop.

In this regard, Waresh Ali Mia, assistant director of Investigating and Forensic Department of RAB, also a senior assistant police super, said: “We have sent a request to BTRC to trace the laptop of the journalist couple as it would give some lead to the investigation.”

“We are hoping that we would able to get some new database and information from the laptop if it can be traced,” says Waresh, also the investigation officer of the case.

When asked about what kind of information they were looking for Waresh refused to give any details saying that nothing could be disclosed before the investigation came to an end.

However, a senior officer of BTRC Engineering and Operation Division, requesting anonymity, told the Dhaka Tribune that they received the request letter last month.

“But we have not made any headway in recovering the laptop,” he said doubting chances of its recovery.

On February 11 of 2012, Sagar, news editor of Maasranga Television and Runi, a senior reporter of ATN Bangla, were killed in their own apartment in the capital’s Pashim Rajabazar area by some unidentified assailants.

Soon after the incident, Runi’s brother Nowsher Alam Roman filed a murder case with the S h e r - e - B a ng l a nagar police station.

Within four days of the murder, the case was transferred to the Detective Branch (DB) of Police from Shere-e-Banglanagar police station. After investigating for two months the DB officials admitted its failure and the probe task was transferred to RAB on April 18 in line with a High Court order.

About the latest update, Investigating Officer Waresh Ali said they are in the middle of the investigation process.

Asked about the time frame, he could not say how long exactly it would take to complete the probe “but we are hopeful.”

Meanwhile, the family members of Sagar-Runi expressed their dissatisfaction over the investigation.

Nowsher Alam Roman, plaintiff of the case and Runi’s brother, said RAB officials had been investigating the case for quite a long time but there had not been any visible progress.

RAB has been submitting progress reports on its probe to the court concerned since last year. A Dhaka court has fixed December 30 for the next date of hearing on the submission of the probe progress report. The court gave the order on November 9 saying that it was necessary to know about the present situation of the investigation of the case and the probable time needed to complete it in order to establish rule of law.

The court ordered the IO to appear before it and submit a detailed probe progress report including the docket in the case on December 30. It also asked the IO to submit a probe report the same day. l

4

DHAKA TRIBUNE

News

Wednesday, December 17, 2014

Victory Day celebrated across country Calls raised for establishing a democratic, non-communal Bangladesh discussion, cultural function, photo exn Tribune Report hibition, sports competition and recepThe 44th glorious Victory Day was celebrated across the country yesterday with a view to establish a non-communal, prosperous and democratic Bangladesh and complete the trial of war criminals in line with the spirit of liberation war.

Our Barisal correspondent reports: The day’s programmes started with the placing of wreaths at the monument for martyred freedom fighters in the town.

Different social-political-cultural organizations arranged many programmes marking the day.

Barisal Reporters Unity, arranged day-long programme at BRU premises where Aruna Rani Saha, artist of Swadhin Bangla Beter Kendra attended the programme as special guest. City Corporation Mayor Ahsan Habib Kamal inaugurated the progamme.

The district administration and Muktijoddha Sangsad jointly arranged a discussion on the occasion. Freedom fighters, family members of the martyred attended the function.

Munsiganj correspondent said, at least 67 freedom fighters, who were injured in 1971-war, accorded reception in the auditorium of Shilapkala Academy in the district. Al-haj Mohiuddin attended the programme as chief guest.

In Comilla, the day was celebrated with the call for completing the trial of the rest war criminals in line with the spirit of victory.

District administration, freedom fighters, political parties and various social and cultural organizations chalked out different programmes to mark the day.

On the day a colourful march past,

tion to the freedom fighters were held.

Beginning of the day at one minute past of twelve mid-night Deputy Commissioner Omar Faruk, Railway Minister Mujibul Haque, Planning Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal placed floral wreath at the memorial in the town.

It was followed by different organizations including Muktijodha Sangsad, police administration, district council.

Nilpahamari correspondent said, the day was celebrated in a befitting manner in the district.

The day’s programmes started with 31 gun salute and placing wreaths at the foot of the monument of the martyred freedom fighters in front of the deputy commissioner’s office.

Wreaths were placed at the portrait of father of the nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.

A grand march past participated by police, Ansar, freedom fighters, government orphanage, BNCC, Girl Guides, scouts and cubs of different organizations, schools, colleges and other socio-cultural organizations arranged programmes in the morning.

Discussion and cultural programmes were held at district Shilpa Kala Auditorium in the afternoon.

In Bhola, to mark the day, Muktijoddha Sangsad, Awami League, BNP, Workers’ Party, Union of Journalists, District Council and other organizations placed wreathes at the foot of the monument of the martyred freedom fighters.

The day was also celebrated in many other districts including Madaripur, Gopalganj, Brahmanbaria, Chandpur, Chapainawbganj, Khulna, Sylhet and Chittagong. l

Students of Mastermind School take part in an art competition arranged as part of the Victory Day special programme on the school premises in the capital yesterday

PCJSS protests rape of teenager, attacks on houses of indigenous people in Rangamati n Tribune Report The Parbatya Chattagram Jana Samhati Samiti yesterday protested and condemned the rape and murder of an ethnic girl, and attacks on houses, shops and a temple of the ethnic people in Rangamati.

They also demanded the arrest of those who had been involved in the crimes and their exemplary punishment immediately, says a press release.

The day before yesterday, a 15-yearold ethnic girl was found dead with her throat slit in the hilly district. She was believed to have been murdered after rape.

Identified as daughter of Neisa Mar-

ma and Anumang Marma from Chitmorom Keyanghat under Kaptai Union in the Kaptai upazila, she sat for the Junior School Certificate exam this year.

Police detained three Bangalees on suspicion of their involvement in the incident and interrogated them at the Kaptai police station. None of them was shown arrested in connection with this incident.

Yesterday, Bangalee settlers vandalised and set fire to 50 houses, seven shops and a Budhist temple of the ethnic people at Chhuridasparha, Nobin Karbari Parha and Bogachharhi villages in Naniarchar upazila.

Three people, including a Buddhist monk, were assaulted and five Bud-

Launch gets stranded in Arial Kha River n Our Correspondent, Barisal A triple-decker passenger launch got stranded in the Arial Kha River in Muladi upazila, Barisal with more than 500 passengers on board after its engines broke down early yesterday.

Shawkat Anwar, office-in-charge at Muladi police station, said the

launch, MV Shubharaj 2, plied the Hularhat-Dhaka route, and it left Pirojpur’s Hularhat for Dhaka on Monday afternoon.

However, the launch crew was forced to anchor mid-river near Nandir Bazar in Muladi due to dense fog in the early hours yesterday, and its engines broke down as well.

On information, Muladi police went to the spot to ensure the safety of the passengers on board, he said.

Muladi Sub-Inspector Abdul Khalek said another launch - MV New Sun - had reached the scene to rescue the stranded passengers.

Abdus Salam, Shubharaj’s assistant master, said the launch became

stranded due to fog and low fuel.

The launch was still anchored in the river when this report was filed.

Abul Bashar Majumdar, deputy director of traffic and passenger safety at Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority’s Barisal station, said an official had been sent to the scene. l

Members of the Cultural Club of University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh render a musical performance at a programme marking the Victory Day yesterday DHAKA TRIBUNE

ULAB screens ‘Pataka’ n Tribune Report In observance of the “Intellectual Martyrs Day” and the “Victory Day”, the University Liberal Arts Bangladesh screened a documentary film titled “Pataka (The Flag)” at its auditorium on Monday.

Directed by Bratto Amin, the film explores the history of the country’s national flag.

Speaking on the occasion, ULAB Professor Emeritus Rafiqul Islam discussed in depth about the initiative of making the national flag,

and his experience as a witness of this historical event.

ULAB’s cultural club Shangskriti Shangshad performed the national song, while ULAB Vice Chancellor Professor Imran Rahman delivered a closing speech.

ULAB Pro-VC Prof HM Jahirul Haque, Registrar Lt Col (Retd) Foyzul Islam were present among others.

Amin was the best young documentary film award winner of “The 6th LWM International Festival of Documentary Films on Liberation and Human Rights” in 2012. l

Five held for smuggling n Tribune Report Members of RAB yesterday arrested five people with gold and foreign currencies from Shahjalal International Airport in the capital.

The arrestees were Md Manzur Hossain, 48, Hazi Md Anwar Hossain, 60, Md Abdullah, 24, Hazi Md Faruq Mia, 44, and driver Md Yusuf, 26,

RAB officials said they had seized six gold bars weighing around 598 grams, 46 gold chains weighing 260 grams, nine gold rings weighing around 37 grams, Tk46,500 in currency, a silver Toyota sedan, 102 Malaysian Ringgit and 665 Singaporean Dollars. They aded that the arrestees failed to show any documents for the seized items. l

dhist images made of brass were looted during the rampage, allegedly in presence of military men.

In its press release, the PCJSS claimed that they learned from a credible source that the Bangalee settlers’ attack on the ethnic people followed the damaging of their pineapples in the wee hours of yesterday.

It claimed that the members of the United Peoples Democratic Front, which opposes the 1997 Peace Accord, had damaged the crops, provoking the Bangalee settlers to launch this attack.

The PCJSS also demanded that all the affected families be compensated for their losses immediately. l

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Fire guts Tk5 lakh valuables at two houses in Ctg n CU Correspondent A fire gutted valuables worth of Tk5 lakh at two houses in Chittagong city’s Chandgaon area yesterday.

None was reported hurt in the incident, fire services sources said.

Md Iyahiya, assistant director at the Fire Service and Civil Defense Headquarters in Agrabad, said the fire originated from an oven in a kitchen at one of the houses in Beparipara area around 5:30am.

Two units of firefighters from Kalurghat and Lama Bazar fire stations went to the spot and doused the flame after one and a half hour of efforts, he said. l

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Book Review

5

Wednesday, December 17, 2014

‘It’s not just the colonel who would not repent, but just about everyone else’

W

n Afsan Chowdhury hat a great read the book is. After many years there is a book which tries to tell the political intrigue-driven story of Bangladesh with the aim of entertaining the reader and not just inform, and succeeds at that.

For any lay reader this is very welcome and I hope that most people, who want to learn about the country’s political past but are too lazy to make a serious effort, will have just the book. This is a great opportunity which will not tire the eye or the head.

Salil Tripathi has done a splendid job of reducing history into a long and comfortable ride that can be taken anytime, anywhere.

He has also taken the longer road and that is what is so important. This has of course some disadvantages of making fairly sweeping statements that sometimes border on being inaccurate. But of course, he is telling a story as smoothly as possible that is not too concerned about critical nuances (which can alter the chain of events) particularly relating to the rise of nationalism, but one can’t fault his style.

He is, in all probability, the first person who is telling this tale to an international audience without a cause in hand. So, to most readers this is a great opportunity to learn about a distant land nobody really wants to know much about.

It’s a land put together with a bagful of dreadful headlines and confusing predictions about its foggy future.

Many call it the next miracle and many think it’s the next disaster but Bangladesh has survived all dire prognoses.

But its success is in the world of poverty reduction and lowering child deaths and micro-credit and these kinds of boring topics.

Salil has not bothered about these success stories and has focused on its political history, the cause of so much misery and bloodshed, and tried to tell a tale like a journalist about a nation that, after fighting a bloody war, keeps failing to form or reach its potential.

That one is carried away by the simple, lucid craft of an entertainer of such a morbid tale is what makes the book so significant.

The “colonel” of the title is Col Farook, hanged for killing Sk Mujib in August 1975. The killings changed the track of history, though one is never sure how much, but it does signify the brutality birthed by history gone wrong, spent hunting at night in the wrong and deadly alley.

But the anecdote of meeting the colonel who would not repent doesn’t make that cluster of assassinations the centrepiece, but an excuse to delve into a longer, wider, colourful tale including the hues of blood; a tale starting from where he thinks the journey began for Bangladesh.

l Salil begins with the rise of socialised Islam under the patronage of the Mughals who saw the opportunity of making huge wealth by marketing Islam to a people who had handled

various faith and cultures as an aid or challenge to their livelihood based world view.

But Bengal in general, and East Bengal in particular, is a perpetual port of arrival, and even Hinduism of the kind we have now, arrived as late as the 10th century under the Senas who were originally from Karnataka and not from North India, the usual carrier of Aryan culture. Even before that, Buddhism’s orthodoxy never established here but for Vajrayana Buddhism, the Buddhism of magic and incantations and demons under the Palas, which initiated Bengal’s formal dynastic rule.

Basically, deltaic Bengal is too far away from India’s Aryan belly to have been interested in its pure versions, and later Arabian Peninsular culture didn’t fare better. Islamisation at the village level happened over time through the spread of agriculture and not dogma. These transitional Muslims called God “Niranjan,” not Allah or Khuda which came later. People of East Bengal have every mix and it’s not just the Hindu variety. Animism and Buddhism have mixed well.

What goes in the name of Sufi Islam is actually a Turko-Afghan description of syncretist tendencies practiced by

die due to the famine of 1770, Bengal’s religious mendicants also conflicted with the Brits – the Fakir and Sannyasi movement – which Akhtaruzzaman Iliyas has used for his Khowabnama novel. In 1783 the Rangpur peasants revolted before the Settlement, but the largest resistance came after it through the Faraizi/Wahabi movement. It was the largest rural revolt driven by extreme deprivation but also powered by the Wahabis who led the movement and dreamt of an ideal “Islamic world” learnt from their Hajj visits.

The history of resistance from the micro level is drawn from here and barring 1857, which was led by the monarch of India Bahadur Shah Zafar and his aristocratic allies, this was the largest anti-British uprising in the entire Indian history under the Brits.

Why it escapes the notice of Salil as well as the Liberation War Museum is an interesting space for speculation.

l I once interviewed India’s security adviser, the late JN Dixit, for my BBC series on 1971 and as we were parting he said: “The problem with you Bangladeshis is that you can’t decide whether to be a Bengali or a Muslim.” It was

I think his attitude and style is best seen in the Chuknagar episode when Salil says that it doesn’t matter what the number of dead were but that many were killed in a horrific manner and those killed were innocent, ordinary people. It provides a sense of somberness that number crunching would have never been able to convey.

the Turko-Afghans, particularly under the Independent Sultanates of Bengal.

Pirs are not just saints but an updated version of ancient behaviours pre-dating Islam’s arrival.

But once Islam was established, it also led to the formation of communities led by low inter-communal marriages. It was fundamentally a faith culture of the lower class, many drawn from the namasudras, particularly the Hindu fisherfolk. Islam’s big surge began in the Noahkhali-Barisal belt where the poorest and the lowest lived.

This community’s second transformation began with the Permanent Settlement of 1793 that established the British variation of agro-capitalism, the zamindari system under which most East Bengali Muslims were peasants and most Hindu Bengalis were zamindars, direct beneficiaries of British rule from the early days of colonial trade. If British rule was great for the Hindu middle class like Ram Mohon Roy and the Tagore family (they were part of the collaborating class that made British rule successful in Bengal) the peasants suffered immensely.

Not only did one-third of Bengal

2001. I was recently told the same by a US scholar who is fond of Bangladesh. The category of Bengali-Muslim informed both by Tagore and Titu Mir simply eludes many outsider minds.

Perhaps such notions are influenced by the India-Pakistan centric view of any South Asian nationalism.

The British didn’t create this communal divide through the Partition of Bengal as Salil and others infer, ,but the Bengali Hindus and Muslims were already distinct social categories by the 1897 census and 1905 only described the reality as did the Bengali-Hindu conflict over the tenuous birth of East Bengal/Bangladesh. The annulment of 1911 sealed the envelope on any chance of mutual accord between the two communities.

A kind of ideal “Hindu-Muslim bhai bhai” scenario is imagined to have existed but sadly there is no evidence of this. Nehru’s One Nation Theory was false, as Pakistan proved, and Jinnah’s two-nation theory was false, too, as Bangladesh proved. By 1947 Bengali Muslims were not just evolving, but many of its leaders had sought a state which Jinnah politically supported and Nehru politically opposed. Most

probably, Pakistan in 1947 was largely an interruption in the journey to Bangladesh.

l Perhaps Salil then could have avoided the assertion that the birth of Bengali nationalism could be attributed to the statement of Congress leader Dhirendranath Dutta in the Pakistan parliament in 1947 when he contested the one state language issue in the Pakistan state. Dutta is one of the great souls of the nationalist movement, but it was not kicked off by his speech as it existed as an issue even before Pakistan did.

It was the cause of the Bengal provincial Muslim League, and in March 1948 an organisation called Tamaddun Majlish (ironically named in Urdu) took it to the public space by calling Dhaka’s first hartal. Most leaders like Bhashani, Mujib, et al were not in the parliament in 1947, but by 1949, the Awami Muslim League was formed and they carried on the stream of identity-based politics which was already gushing.

l Having gone past this stage in his book, Salil is on stronger soil. He describes the story of the earlier stages in the most readable manner possible, exploring how political ambitions turned starkly towards the ultimate political conflict. In telling this story he gathers a lot of interesting leaves, including how the cultural contest between West Pakistan and East Pakistan grew louder by the day. Tagore was always a factor, and Mahfuz Anam of The Daily Star explains how cultural identities were defining the political space. It’s tough to say where culture ended and politics began.

The events after the elections of 1970 are dealt with well, though for a Bangladeshi they make dismal reading. Everything between the elections seems to have been heading towards a crackdown.

Salil has dealt in detail on the Prof Nurullah documentary which is graphic evidence of the killings and was lost for a while. Salil talks about finding the clip, making it an intriguing tale of investigative journalism.

He quotes the late Kali Ranjan Sheel extensively, the man who survived the killing episode to tell the tale. People from Jagannath Hall, some students, and workers were made to bury the dead and then shot. It’s difficult to understand the minds of such people who are ready to kill the innocent because of their religious identity and how that is justified in the name of the state. They were Hindus and that was enough to justify their killing.

We talked to the relatives of some of these people, a couple of survivors as well in 2001, but the documentary was never broadcast by Ekushey TV. However, the hope is that the raw footage is not lost and can be recovered as part of the national heritage.

l In describing the horrors of 1971, he has however been freed from the responsibility of checking out the stories because that is not his task, he is only retelling what has been told to him.

These are stomach churning stuff, but Salil doesn’t resort to sensational descriptions to his great credit. Instead he talks with a sense of outrage but calmly discusses the events.

I think his attitude and style is best seen in the Chuknagar episode when Salil says that it doesn’t matter what the number of dead was but that many were killed in a horrific manner and those killed were innocent, ordinary people. It provides a sense of somberness that number crunching would have never been able to convey.

The writer has written on the Indian campaign with ease and purpose, making the war stories interesting simply by retelling stories rather than ticking off a facts list. Yet he doesn’t hesitate to put matters in a context when needed. His summing up of the Indian campaign in 1971 is succinct.

Referring to a picture of a war horror which resembled a painting of Zainul Abedin the author says: “If the war had a moral purpose, it was this – to end the inhumanity these photographs showed ... the interventions certainly suited India’s strategic interest, the fact remains that in the annals of humanitarian concerns, few were as swift, successful, purpose-driven, and with humanitarian goals as the Indian intervention to liberate Bangladesh.

India went in when it was attacked and left before its troops became unpopular.”

Maybe the last words were a little too broad, because Bangladeshis have never been fond of India too much. To India it was breaking up of Pakistan, but to many Bangladeshis, everyone else was an outsider and the memory of the upper class Kolkata Hindu dominating East Bengalis, the peasant’s child, has never fully faded, and is often transmitted through generations.

Unlike the Mujibnagar stalwart PM Tajuddin who never really had a Kolkata political life, Sheikh Mujib was more aware of this part of his people’s psyche. He was seen as a hero for getting the troops out and Indians have never forgiven Bangladeshis for their “lack of gratitude.” History is unfortunately like that.

A core part of the book is about the killing of Sheikh Mujib and the title is borrowed from the unrepentant Col Farooq who was hanged by Sheikh Hasina’s government. It was not just revenge but also a restoration of sorts of a system where crimes are indeed punished, indeed if only once in a while.

used his guns to mow down the four leaders inside the jail. Salil provides several pages on this.

By that time Col Taher had joined the scene. “Taher spread the word that the new coup leaders were Indian stooges.” Khaled had underestimated Taher’s popularity and the clout of his Leftist followers. Suddenly it was about a new enemy – India. Rumours were rife that India was plotting and Bangladeshis at that point were very anti-Indian indeed. And then, Khaled Mosharraf and his group had been ousted and soon they were dead.

Zia was enormously popular and on the right side of the public sentiment.

He assumed power and soon Taher was in jail as his anti-officer revolution collapsed. He was later hanged.

Civil autocracy of one-party rule was replaced by military autocracy of martial law. Salil’s verdict is clear: “By November 1976, Bangladesh suddenly began to look like a poor imitation of Pakistan.”

It makes for depressing reading but for many it will clear many fogs about the facts. The judgments on the events are another matter.

The heroes and villains of our history are not limited to those who come off looking bad in this book. That so many could be squeezed into a mere span of 40-plus years is a very strong indictment of the kind of people we are While the interview and even the days around the hanging are told quite dramatically and will sustain any reader’s interest, the most interesting part is on the days of coup as one regime fell after another. It begins with the attempt to overthrow the Mushtaque regime led by three “rogue” officers.

Salil writes that Khaled Mosharraf asked Zia: “If the country is to be run by martial law, why wasn’t he [Zia] running the country. Zia remained non-committal.” That puts an excellent contextual background On November 2, Khaled Musharraf arrested Zia as senior officers felt he had not taken any steps to either arrest the killers or restore the chain of command. Three officers mounted a coup to remove Mushtaque and restore the AL government. But the “execution was clumsy.” The Farooq-Rasheed group negotiated an escape by plane.

But to the crowds, Mushtaque was considered anti-Indian so Musharraf and his group who were against him was considered pro-Indian. The situation started to get murky. Meanwhile, inside the jail, things became tense.

Soon Capt Mosleuddin arrived and

l Exploring the issue of the war raped is handled with great sensitivity and there is no sentimentality about such issues. He describes the pain and problems of such victims and how it scarred the national psyche. He also talks about the numbers debate and what David Bergman has tried to say and the ICT controversies. There is little that this book doesn’t cover as far as controversies go in Bangladesh.

That’s what makes this book such an important read.

The heroes and villains of our history are not limited to those who come off looking bad in this book. That so many could be squeezed into a mere span of 40-plus years is a very strong indictment of the kind of people we are. It’s not just the colonel who would not repent but just about everyone else. It’s a well-written book about those who were born with a silver spoon of impunity in their mouth.

Thank, Salil Tripathi for the book. l Afsan Chowdhury is a journalist and researcher.

6

DHAKA TRIBUNE

World

Wednesday, December 17, 2014

‘Lone wolf’ Australian hostage-taker had violent, unsettled past

n Reuters, Sydney The self-styled sheikh behind a siege at a Sydney cafe had been charged as an accessory to murder and with multiple sexual offences. He also harbored deep grievances against the Australian government and had found little kinship in the city’s large Muslim community, where he was seen as deeply troubled.

Man Haron Monis, an Iranian refugee described by those who knew him as a loner, was killed early on Tuesday after heavily armed police stormed the Lindt Chocolate Cafe to end a 16-hour hostage drama that made global headlines.

Last year Monis was charged as an accessory to the stabbing murder of his ex-wife, who was set alight in a Sydney apartment block. He was charged this year with more than 40 counts of sexual or indecent assault against women in Sydney, according to court documents.

He was also found guilty in 2012 of sending threatening letters to the families of eight Australian soldiers killed in Afghanistan and sentenced to two years in prison, although he served only a portion of that penalty.

Those charges and the conviction, as well as public statements Monis made on his website, have raised questions in Australian media about whether authorities should have done more to monitor him.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott told reporters that Monis was well known to police. When asked by a journalist whether it was appropriate for Monis to have been granted bail for the murder

Israeli troops kill Palestinian in West Bank n

charge, New South Wales state Premier Mike Baird declined to comment.

Monis’s website, now taken down by authorities, painted a picture of a man unraveling, enraged by Australian courts and by perceived injustices against Muslims in Iraq and Afghanistan.

“Man Haron Monis ... has continuously been under attack & false accusation by the Australian government & media since he started his political letter campaign from 2007,” Monis wrote on the website.

He also railed against what he said was a decision by a court to prevent him from seeing his children.

“His children have been taken away from him by the Australian government and he is not allowed to visit or even call them,” Monis wrote.

Unsettled loner

Sydney-based criminal defense lawyer Adam Houda, who represented Monis over the letters sent to the soldiers’ families, described him as a deeply unsettled loner, wholly apart from Sydney’s tight-knit Muslim community.

“He was a very, very, very unusual guy, and he had no affiliations with any group. He operated alone. He was a lone wolf,” Houda told Reuters.

A source close to Sydney-based Islamists, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Monis did not belong to any local radical group and that leading figures held him in contempt.

In December Monis seemed to suggest on his website that he had switched from Shi’ite to Sunni Islam,

Members of the Australian Muslim community pray yesterday after placing floral tributes amongst thousands of others near the Lindt cafe which would help explain media reports that he had demanded police bring a flag from militant Sunni Islamist group Islamic State to the cafe.

“I used to be a Rafidi, but not anymore,” he wrote, using an Arabic word that can be translated as “heretic” and is sometimes used by Sunnis as an abusive term for Shi’ites.

“Now I am a Muslim,” he added.

Monis left predominantly Shi’ite Iran in the late 1990s after coming into conflict with authorities there, said lawyer Manny Conditsis, who represented him in the murder case.

After receiving asylum in Australia in 2001, Monis obsessed about expos-

ing violence against Muslim civilians abroad, Conditsis told Reuters.

His website showed graphic images of children that he says were killed by US-led coalition air strikes, as well as media coverage following his court appearances and statements addressed to the Muslim community and Abbott.

Deep scars

He compared himself to Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, saying he was being persecuted for his political beliefs.

“Since the Australian government cannot tolerate Sheikh Haron’s activity, (it) is trying to damage his image by these false accusations,” he wrote.

UN: Tens of thousands dead in S Sudan war n Agencies Tens of thousands of people have died in South Sudan during one year of war and the country’s leaders are putting their “personal ambitions” ahead of the young nation’s future, the UN secretary-general has said.

Ban Ki-moon called on the country’s leaders to agree to an inclusive power-sharing arrangement that would address the root causes of the conflict and ensure accountability for any crimes committed on the battlefield.

There is no official death toll for the conflict, but Ban said “tens of thousands” of South Sudanese have died.

The Security Council blamed South Sudan’s “man-made political, security and humanitarian catastrophe” on its feuding leaders on Monday, as the world body threatened targeted sanctions against those impeding the peace process.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, said that civilians faced a “dreadful” situation and were victims of targeted killings and looting. l

Barton said there was only a tiny category of people at any given time police can legally and financially justify keeping under surveillance.

“On the triage priority list, he would be well down that list,” he said.

“I don’t think it’s a case of a failure or a mistake. I just think it’s a case of the harsh reality of dealing with this kind of threat.”

Abbott seemed to confirm as much on Tuesday evening, when he told reporters that Monis had not been on any watchlist.

“Even if this individual had been monitored 24 hours a day, it’s quite likely, certainly possible, that this incident could have taken place,” Abbott said. l

Ukraine’s Poroshenko hails first full overnight truce in rebel east

T H E FA L L O U T

n Reuters, Kiev

Agencies

A Palestinian has been killed overnight during an Israeli military operation in the Qalandiya refugee camp near Ramallah in the West Bank, medical and security sources say.

The 21-year-old man was killed when troops entered the camp to make an arrest, prompting clashes with residents, sources said yesterday.

The Israeli army confirmed that its special forces had launched a raid on the camp and that there had been clashes. Another Palestinian was arrested.

Witnesses said residents of Qalandiya refugee camp threw stones at the Israeli soldiers and the man killed was watching from the roof of his home when he was shot.

Explosive devices were also hurled at the troops, the military said.

“Special forces came under attack in overnight operation in Qalandiya,” Lieutenant-Colonel Peter Lerner, Israeli military spokesman, said on social media website Twitter. l

While in prison Monis claims he was tortured, smeared with excrement and forced to sleep on a bare concrete floor, Conditsis said.

“I know that left quite deep scars for him,” he said.

“If he had formed the view prior to this siege that he was going to inevitably go back to prison, whether he was guilty or not ... I can see that might have unhinged him.”

Despite the warning signs, police must focus limited resources on groups attempting to pull off major terrorist attacks, said Greg Barton, director of the Global Terrorism Research Center at Monash University in Melbourne.

REUTERS

Masked Spanish police officers lead a detained woman in Melilla yesterday. Spanish and Moroccan police have arrested seven people in a ongoing joint swoop on suspected efforts to recruit women to go to Syria and Iraq to support Islamic State insurgents, the Spanish Interior Ministry said REUTERS

Ukraine’s separatist east passed the night into yesterday without any shooting, President Petro Poroshenko said, hailing the first such stretch of calm as a positive signal for the next steps in a peace plan.

Army chief of staff Viktor Muzhenko also stressed progress had been made on the implementation of the ceasefire, but said one Ukrainian soldier had since been killed on Tuesday.

Ukraine is under pressure from Western backers to defuse the conflict, which has left many people struggling to survive the winter, while the cost of the fighting has pushed former Soviet republic towards the brink of bankruptcy.

A 12-point ceasefire protocol was worked out in September to end the conflict between government forces and Russian-backed separatists in which over 4,700 people have been killed.

But the truce was repeatedly flouted and Kiev made clear it would not carry out ensuing steps stipulated by

the accord until the guns fell silent.

“Today was the first night when we didn’t have a single shelling,” Poroshenko said at a partly-televised meeting with security aides. “Today we face the extremely crucial task of implementing the peace plan.”

Rebels disagreed with Poroshenko’s assessment, accusing Kiev of further artillery bursts overnight. But his comments sounded an upbeat note ahead of a two-day visit to Kiev by the new European Union foreign policy chief, Federica Mogherini.

That optimism was later tempered by the report of a soldier killed on Tuesday near the contested Donetsk airport, the first Ukrainian loss in six days. But the Kiev military highlighted a decline in the intensity of attacks - to an average of 8-10 incidents of shelling per day from a previous 70-80.

Last week, prospects for a fresh round of peace talks between a “contact group” comprising Ukraine, Russia and the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) watchdog were dashed by renewed clashes in the east. l

India bans Islamic State

Indian court allows dead guru to ‘meditate’

n Reuters, New Delhi

n Agencies

The Indian government on Monday declared a ban on Islamic State, days after having detained an engineer for running a popular Twitter account extolling the militant group’s military campaign.

Until now, India had held off on a ban on Islamic State, because of the group’s lack of activity in the country and worries over the fate of 39 Indian construction workers missing in Iraq this year, who are believed to be held by the group.

Officials had also suggested it would be harder to track sympathisers if the group was banned, driving them towards covert activity.

Home minister Rajnath Singh told parliament the government aimed to limit the activities of the West Asia group which has carved out swathes of territory in Iraq and Syria.

“We had taken cognisance of Islamic State in Iraq and Syria activities in other countries,” he said. “As a first step we have banned this outfit in India.”

On Saturday, police picked up Mehdi

Masoor Biswas, a 24-year-old food company executive from the southern tech hub of Bengaluru, saying he was running the pro-Islamic State Twitter handle @ShamiWitness that had 17,800 followers, including hundreds of foreign fighters for the group.

Police were poring over 129,000 tweets he had posted over several years to determine if he was simply a cheerleader for the group or an online recruiter, an officer said.

“It is true the number of Indians in the group or involved in its activities is only a handful,” Singh said. “But I want to make clear we are taking this seriously.”

A ban on the group makes it easier for police to prosecute suspects, an aide said. Officials had feared a ban on Islamic State could endanger the lives of 39 men believed to be held by the group since June. There has been no word yet on the fate of the workers.

India has the world’s third-largest population of Muslims, but they have largely shunned Islamist causes. Police say only four Indians are known to have joined Islamic State, and one has since returned and is in custody. l

Devotees of a dead guru who has been in a freezer in northern India since January won a court battle delaying his cremation for at least another seven weeks.

Supporters had approached the court in Punjab state seeking a delay on an earlier order for the cremation of Hindu “godman” Ashutosh Maharaj, whom authorities declared dead on January 29.

“The division bench of the Punjab and Haryana High Court has stayed

the cremation till February 9,” Swami Vishalanand, a spokesman for the guru’s ashram told AFP on Monday.

Followers have insisted their spiritual leader is not dead but in a state of deep meditation, and will eventually return to lead them. Maharaj, reportedly in his 70s, was one of India’s many gurus and headed the Divya Jyoti Jagrati Sansthan (Divine Light Awakening Mission) that claims to have millions of followers around the world.

Devotees have invoked the right of

freedom of religion under India’s constitution as reasons against his cremation, which was originally sought in the courts by a man claiming to be the guru’s son.

A two-judge bench on Monday delayed the cremation order made by a single judge of the same court on December 1.

Ahead of its decision, thousands of followers massed at the guru’s ashram in Nurmahal at the weekend in a show of support for the guru whom they said should be allowed to continue his “samadhi,” the highest level of meditation. l

Modi to MPs: Don’t cross ‘laxman rekha’ n Agencies In a bid to control negative fallout from recent hate speeches, Prime Minister Narendra Modi yesterday warned BJP parliamentarians not to cross the “laxman rekha” while airing their views.

PM Modi reportedly told a meeting of BJP parliamentary party that the utterances of some of the leaders were hurting the governments’ image.

Modi also told MPs to focus on the

government’s development agenda and that the work they undertake should be “visible” and not just on paper.

Modi’s tough talk followed an embarrassing time the ruling party had in parliament over speeches made by MPs Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti and Sakshi Maharaj.

While Niranjan Jyoti had used abusive words against minorities at a campaign rally in Delhi, Sakshi Maharaj had called Mahatma Gandhi’s killer

Nathuram Godse a “patriot.”

The remarks led to big standoffs in Parliament, forcing Niranjan Jyoti to apologise and Sakshi Maharaj to withdraw his remarks.

Modi’s latest warning comes two weeks after he urged party MP’s “not to address the nation” out of turn.

The Prime Minister also reportedly ticked off party MPs, including a few senior members, who arrived late for the parliamentary party meeting. l

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Entertainment

Wednesday, December 17, 2014

Charm of Korea VI at TSC tomorrow

7

The Santa Clause

HBO Defined, 8:45pm

n Entertainment Desk The Korean Embassy in Dhaka will organise a musical concert titled “Charm of Korea VI” at the TSC Auditorium of Dhaka University at 4:00pm tomorrow.

Korean artists Lim Dong-Chang Park Sung Hee, Soprano, Noreum Machi will perform at the concert.

This will be the seventh event of the music series since last year to celebrate the long-standing friendship between Korea and Bangladesh.

Previous musical events, including the six events of Charm of Korea series, received warm receptions by the audience. l

When a man inadvertantly kills Santa on Christmas Eve, he finds himself magically recruited to take his place.

Snatch

Star Movies Action, 6:30pm

Concert for Nipu on Dec 19

Unscrupulous boxing promoters, violent bookmakers, a Russian gangster, incompetent amateur robbers, and supposedly Jewish jewelers fight to track down a priceless stolen diamond.

Old School

SWAGATA and APARNA on new TV play Apurba n Shadma Malik

Artcell will perform in the charity concert

n Entertainment Desk A charity music concert titled “Concert for Nipu” will be held at the Mugda-Manda Green Model Town on December 19.

Funds raised from the concert will be given to Abu Sufian Nipu, a student of Shahjalal University of Science and Technology (Sust), who has been suffering from a rare disease called Alport Syndrome

since 2012.

Bands Artcell, Black, Ark, Jatri, Lalon, Pentagon, Gachh, Six, Spychovin, Shobdokobi and others will perform in the concert.

Music lovers can avail their entry tickets at different spots of Dhaka University and other educational institutes.

The Social Musical Bands of Bangladesh (SMB) has come forward to make this event successful. l

A TV play “Apurba” will be aired on Maasranga television at 11:00pm today. The story of the drama revolves around the lives and struggles of four girls who have diverse professional backgrounds and experiences.

Among the girls, one is a doctor, a corporate officer, a model and a divorcee. Living in an apartment, they come across many facets of life and share with one another which creates a strong bonding in their friendship.

Talking to the Dhaka Tribune, actress Swagata who played a role of the girls said: “The story of ‘Apurba’ is a reflection of contemporary time. It showcases how girl’s are

Printmaking exhibition held at Monobhumi Art Space n Entertainment Desk A 10-day printmaking exhibition was held at Monobhumi Art Space in the capital’s Elephant Road area from December 6 to 16.

A total of 27 artworks were displayed at the exhibition organised by Karkhana.

The exhibition was the outcomes of a workshop titled “Non Print Maker”. Some 11 artists took part in the endeavour, which was their first time print-making attempt.

Apart from the printmaking artwork every artist displayed one of their nonpareil artwork in the exhibition. l

Christina Hendricks joins rock-band comedy Roadies n Entertainment Desk Christina Hendricks has been tapped to costar in Showtime’s Cameron Crowe comedy pilot “Roadies.”

The hourlong comedy follows the dayto-day life of a successful rock tour as seen through the crewmembers who get the show on the road.

Hendricks, who stars as Joan Harris on AMC’s “Mad Men,” will play Shelli, the band’s production manager and Bill’s (Luke Wilson) ingenious work partner. She is described as tough but privately emotional, married to her job and scary good at it.

Crowe, who won the best original screenplay Oscar for 2000 rock drama “Almost Famous,” is writing and directing the pilot, which will film in Vancouver in early 2015.

Winnie Holzman (My So-Called Life) and J.J. Abrams are onboard to executive produce the comedy from Warner Bros. Television, Bad Robot, Vinyl Films and Dooley & Company Productions. Holzman will serve as showrunner, with Bad Robot’s Bryan Burk and Kathy Lingg signed on as executive producer and co-executive producer, respectively.

Hendricks joins a cast that also includes “The Look of Love”’s Imogen Poots, “Whale Rider”’s Keisha Castle-Hughes, “NCIS: Los Angeles”’ Peter Cambor and “Prometheus”’ Rafe Spall.

Hendricks is a five-time Emmy nominee whose feature credits include “Drive,” “Ginger & Rosa” and Ryan Gosling’s directorial debut “Lost River.” l

settling up in their lives, thinking independently. It also talks about the urban culture and evolving of the mind set of people.”

About her character in this series, Swagata said: “I am playing the character as Shamolima. A dreamer and a doer. At the same time she is sensitive and confident. She is in search of a job, after that she gets one, and then realises it is not her cup of tea.

This is how her life takes twist and turn, but she never gives up. Shamoli again finds a proper job for herself.”

Aparna who is playing a role of a doctor said: “Before shooting for the TV play, I was under the guidance of a doctor to know some basic treatments of a patience. We gave

Exhibition

16th Asian Art Biennale Bangladesh Time: 11am – 8pm National Art Gallery Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy Meet the Faces

By Nasreen Sultana Mitu Time: 3pm – 9pm Alliance Francaise Be Smart About Art Time: 10am – 8pm Athena Gallery of Fine Arts Shifting Sands Time: 12pm – 8pm Bengal Art Lounge, 60, Gulshan Avenue

Film

Roar, Fury, Ek Cup Cha Big Hero 6 (3D) Pipra Bidda, Ouija Star Cineplex Hridoye 71, Children of War Ouija, Interstellar Gone Girl, Annabelle Pipra Bidda, Ek Cup Cha Into The Storm Time: 12:30pm – 10:00pm Blockbuster Cinemas

enough effort for the rehearsal season and while shooting it was almost without a cut. The plot-line is different from other drama series. It has a different point of view by showcasing girl’s staying together and for a girl problems are being addressed.”

“About my character I would say, a girl who is supportive, taking care of her room-mates, solving trivial matters of the girls. Also taking initiative to rejoice other people’s happiness.”

“Apurba shows the reality of a metro city, where girls comes from different background and cherishing relationship.”

The television channel will air the play series every Monday to Thursday. l

HBO Hits, 11:30pm

Three friends attempt to recapture their glory days by opening up a fraternity near their alma mater.

Shrek Forever After Zee Studio, 9:30pm

Rumpelstiltskin tricks a mid-life crisis burdened Shrek into allowing himself to be erased from existence and cast in a dark alternate timeline where Rumpel rules supreme.

Maisie Williams criticises Emma Watson’s brand of ‘first-world feminism’ n Entertainment Desk Emma Watson got a lot of buzz for her speech on gender equality at the United Nations on September 20, but at least one fellow female star wasn’t all that impressed. “Game of Thrones” actress Maisie Williams told The Guardian recently that she thought Watson’s remarks took kind of a narrow view on feminism.

“We talk about actor Emma Watson’s recent U.N. speech, in which she talked about her reasons for becoming a feminist, and the need for men to be onside; Williams says she is impatient with this kind of ‘first-world feminism,’” Guardian writer Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett wrote of the 17-year-old Brit.

“A lot of what Emma Watson spoke about, I just think, ‘That doesn’t bother me,’” Williams told the paper. “I know things aren’t perfect for women in the UK and in America, but there are women in the rest of the world who have it far worse.”

Williams doesn’t necessarily disagree with any of those arguments but thinks there are other priorities. l

Pakistan’s Mahira Khan to feature opposite Shah Rukh in Raees n Entertainment Desk Talent from across the border continues to be sought after in Bollywood. After Fawad Khan (Khoobsurat) and Humaima Malick (Raja Natwarlal), yet another attractive Pakistani actress, Mahira Khan is slated to make her debut in Hindi cinema. This Pak import won notices worldwide for her performance in Shoaib Mansoor’s “Bol”(2011), just like Humaima did.

She visited Mumbai last month after her television serial “Humsafar” gained popularity and dropped subtle hints of the Hindi filmmakers whom she may consider working with. Obviously, the ones who were the quickest to move in were producers Ritesh Sidhwani and Farhan Akhtar, who finalised the VJ-turned-actress for “Raees” being directed by Rahul Dholakia. The film has Shah Rukh Khan playing a don and is likely to have Nawazuddin Siddiqui playing a cop. A source said that SRK had dropped in at the audition to meet Mahira.

The actress is married to her college sweetheart Ali Askari. And though she is based out of Karachi, the articulate girl with the porcelain complexion travels extensively. l

8

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Editorial

Wednesday, December 17, 2014

CODE-CRACKER

Minister’s comments a disgrace

I

nstead of taking responsibility for last week’s catastrophic oil tanker accident in the Sundarbans, the shipping minister, Shajahan Khan, has added insult to injury by claiming that there will be no major damage, and that dolphins and other animals will not be affected “as the oil has not spread that much.”

With oil now spread over an 80km swathe of the Sundarbans, and dolphin corpses seen coming to the surface, this is an outrageous denial of the facts on the ground.

His attitudes reflect a slow and hugely inadequate response by the authorities to the gravity and scale of this disaster. It is apparent to all observers that negligence and rule-breaking lies behind this catastrophe, and action needs to be taken against the vessel operators and regulators responsible.

It is doubtful, given his public statements, that this minister can do what’s needed. The minister is reported to have personally pressured the shipping department to reinstate an official who had been suspended for illegally issuing a permit that enabled the overloaded Pinak-6 to sink in August with the loss of over 100 lives.

Every moment that passes increases the chances of serious longterm damage to the wider mangrove ecosystem of this invaluable World Heritage Site.

The prime minister must intervene directly to ensure that all necessary resources are immediately provided to help the clean-up. As well as ensuring measures to prevent this type of incident from reoccurring, she should show accountability by removing this minister for his continuing mis-performance.

Ensure all necessary resources are immediately provided to help the clean-up and prevent this type of incident from re-occurring

Give diplomats SMART objectives

W

e welcome the government’s decision to open six more commercial counsellor offices abroad as part of efforts to help Bangladesh earn $50bn from garment exports by 2021.

New offices and trained advisers in Seoul, Geneva, Kunming, Istanbul, Singapore City, and Pretoria will be able to provide much valuable assistance to our private sector exporters.

The government should be doing more to help entrepreneurs in all our industries cultivate and grow new markets. Diversification of products, exports, and markets is the best way to both create jobs and safeguard businesses and workers from changes in the world economic climate.

Commercial counsellor officers offer a practical way to give support to exporters and to further our country’s interests. We should actively work to improve and add to Bangladesh’s existing 19 commercial counsellor offices, by providing more resources and improving training of officers.

On occasion in the past, and recently, our nation’s interests and image have been let down by diplomatic impasses, which have been complicated by the use of injudicious or inappropriate language by some senior ministers and officials. The government needs to act more strategically by focusing more on practical support and consistent, tactful international negotiations, in order to make the best use of its resources.

This is also more likely to deliver nationally desired results, such as lower trade barriers and tariffs.

The government should set SMART (specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and time-bound) objectives to our diplomatic representatives around the world so they can work better together towards national goals.

The government should set specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and time-bound objectives to our diplomatic representatives around the world

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

With Yunus, always December 6

Lalon Shah Thanks to the author for being forthright. What could have been a once in a lifetime opportunity, for Bangladesh to use this icon to further our interest in home and abroad, is instead lost due to the unfortunate campaign by the PM to malign Yunus. I admire our PM for her courage and stance on many issues, but on this count I feel let down. I hope the honourable PM will bury the hatchet and extend an olive branch to Yunus.

He is, and has been, an all-weather champion of Bangladesh’s cause.

RS Professor Muhammad Yunus is indeed a great man.

TJ Professor Muhammad Yunus is surely someone inspirational for not only Bangladeshis, but for people in other developing countries as well.

Dilly dallying delays clean-up of Sundarbans spill December 7

How to solve: Each number in our CODE-CRACKER grid represents a different letter of the alphabet. For example, today 13 represents I so fill I every time the figure 13 appears.

You have one letter in the control grid to start you off. Enter it 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.

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ

IO Thank you, dear author. Why are we, as a nation, so hesitant about praising such individuals who are our national treasures?

Sammy Let us be very blunt about the crux of the problem that apologists for the ruling regime will never acknowledge: Dr Yunus committed the cardinal sin of becoming more honoured than the “honorable” PM, something that is a big “no-no” in one-party states. On top of that, he steadfastly refuses to be a propaganda arm for the “chetona brigade.” He is lucky he isn’t been indicted for war crimes ... yet.

Son Zoo Professor Yunus has indeed proven himself to be a relatively decent soul (and that’s saying something, given the quality of our country’s show-runners), and all that got him was a target being painted on the back of his head.

SUDOKU 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.

Rest in eternal peace

December 5 vhs We’ve lost a lot of good journalists recently.

Photojournalist Azizur Rahim Peu comes to mind.

May they rest in peace.

Nadeem Qadir vhs: Yes, Peu was a wonderful person. RIP.

Mariam Ispahani “Government agencies are delaying any decision to act until forming a clearer idea of the effects of dispersant on the mangroves.”

Dilly dallying is right! Tragic! Why are the politicians / government agencies asleep on this one? This requires urgent action!

POBA blames BPC for oil spill December 12

Lisa Too many people are dying in road accidents.

We have lost some very important people as mentioned in the piece. Also, countless others have been victims of this.

The incidents of people dying on the streets of Dhaka is terrifying. Who knows when we’ll be able to stop such tragic incidents.

Car-free day December 6

Hamid Brilliant idea. Let’s do it. rose A good idea indeed. We could try to implement it.

LS I wish every day was car-free day!

Evil People Politics Such a day would be an absolute godsend!

AR “BPC chairman: ‘There was no negligence on our part. We have formed a five-member probe committee to calculate the loss.’”

Let the blame games begin. Disgusting!

PM okays scrapping licenses of two IGWs December 7

Dr Ahsan Habib I hope these do not end up being staged scrappings, and in reality both IGWs operate as usual.

SV Brilliant idea. I would love to see our VVIPs riding bikes to work, though! tito Now that is a plan I can get behind wholeheartedly. Bravo!

CROSSWORD ACROSS 1 Undressed kid (5) 5 Daybreak (4) 8 Dissolved (6) 9 Biblical character (5) 10 Ugly amphibian (4) 11 Postpone (5) 12 Incite (3) 15 Tear (4) 18 Henhouse (5) 21 Female deer (3) 22 Box (4) 24 Church leader (4) 25 Fruit (5) 28 Meal course (6) 29 Raw hide (4) 30 Ordain (5)

DOWN 1 Boil gently (6) 2 Printers’ measures (3) 3 Exploit (4) 4 Otherwise (4) 5 Frighten from (5) 6 Worshipped (6) 7 Indicate assent (3) 13 Depart (2) 14 Absolute truth (6) 16 Denial (2) 17 Fault (6) 19 Used up (5) 20 Thanks (coll) (2) 23 Few in number (4) 24 Mild explosion (3) 26 Female swan (3) 27 Vegetable (3)

Hell for breakfast December 6

immy What does Imran offer besides his youthful charm?

Dreampie immy: A good head of hair?

Concert for Kombol

CALVIN AND HOBBES

December 12 Anon “Project Kombol is a winter clothing distribution platform which distributes blankets to remote parts of Bangladesh.” Support this project by donating your old blankets. There are plenty of people out there who need your help.

YESTERDAY’S SOLUTIONS CODE-CRACKER

Mugging on rise across country despite IGP order December 6 F138 Well, what now Batman?

PEANUTS

CROSSWORD

Joshim Uddin Not good that mugging is on the rise, but still better than last year. Well, it happens in every country. I’m sure RAB will find those criminals and bring them to book.

SE The police should work harder towards preventing such crimes, and they should give out harsher punishment to the muggers.

Women jailed in UK for Facebook terror posts

December 13 TA Dear Jihadis, you have already defaced the image of our country by making foreign nations believe ours is a terrorist nation. And now, you have gone to a Christian country to show off your beliefs? Please, stop. Muslim, Hindu, atheist, no matter what anyone is, keep your beliefs to yourself and let people be.

SUDOKU

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Op-Ed

9

Wednesday, December 17, 2014

Differently entrepreneur n Aziz Ahmed

M

SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN

Killing us softly

W

n Mohammad Ali Sattar e are faced with another long-term crisis following the accident in the river near the Sundarbans.

The oil spill caused by the callousness of the people operating the oil tanker and the vessel which hit it has put us to the test, resulting in hundreds of fingers being pointed at our policy masters.

Yet our government leaders appear unmoved. Rubbing salt in the wound, our shipping minister tells us that the devastating effect is not as serious as we feared.

He assures us that no great damage will be caused due to this spill. He further informs us that his ministry is in fact not considering a permanent ban on regular river traffic along the Sundarbans route.

The messages are clear: There’s nothing to worry about regarding the latest spillover, and be ready to witness further such accidents in the future.

Over 97% of all water on Earth is saltwater, and most of the remaining 3% is frozen in the polar ice-caps. The atmosphere, rivers, lakes, and underground stores hold less than 1% of all the freshwater, and this tiny amount has to provide the freshwater needed to support the Earth’s population.

Freshwater is a precious resource, and the increasing pollution of our rivers and lakes is a cause for alarm.

Do we need to learn anew that spilled oil is a serious threat to freshwater reserve and marine ecology? It affects surface resources and a wide

range of subsurface organisms which are linked in a complex food chain, which includes human food resources.

Bangladesh is lucky to have large, deep rivers, and hundreds of waterways. The thriving trade of the region is made possible by its rivers, its agriculture is indebted to its water bodies.

Yet we go on with the mindless felling of trees and destroying our rivers (not to mention the killing of various rare species of animals in our forests).

It now appears to be a national habit.

of the oil itself, which can poison exposed organisms.

Although some organisms may be seriously injured or killed very soon after contact with the spilled oil, other effects are more subtle and often longer lasting.

Freshwater bodies are important to human health and the environment.

They are used for producing drinking water, and frequently serve as nesting grounds and food sources for various freshwater organisms.

All types of freshwater organisms

The messages are clear: There’s nothing to worry about regarding the latest spillover, and be ready to witness further such accidents in the future

No law or good words can stop us. In fact, authority figures in turn come running to defend the actions of those harming our environment and economy.

What harm will the current oil spill do to our marine life? Various freshwater and marine ecologies that exist in nature have different sensitivities to the harmful effects of oil contamination, as well as different degrees of recuperative abilities.

Spilled oil can harm the environment in several ways, including the physical damage that directly impacts wildlife (coating birds or mammals with a layer of oil), and the toxicity

are susceptible to the deadly effects of spilled oil, including mammals, aquatic birds, fish, insects, micro-organisms, and vegetation. In addition, the effects of spilled oil on freshwater micro-organisms, invertebrates, and algae tend to move up the food chain and affect other species.

The outcome of the oil spill will cause damage to the smallest of living organisms in and around rivers and lakes. Worms, insects, shellfish, all have their foods poisoned in the river beds. Marshes and swamps will be seriously affected with little water movement. The variety of life in and around the rivers has different sensi-

tivities to oil spills.

In open water, oil can be toxic to the amphibians, reptiles, fish, waterfowl, and other animals that make water their home. We already witnessed the severity of the spill when we found birds and ducks smeared in the toxic matter.

Their wings are rendered paralysed, and they eventually freeze to death.

It is already killing the plants and animals that depend on the stream and forests for food and living.

More will die from sickness and starvation. This is a mass-killing caused by the mere callousness and high-handed attitude of humans.

When will we realise that we cannot survive, let alone prosper, by committing such heinous crimes?

Shouldn’t we be talking about the rights of nature and wildlife now?

Human rights do not permit us to play foul with the lives of nature and the animals. They have their right to life just as much as we do.

We are busy cleaning the surface of the water, but thousands of water and land organisms are dying slow deaths, in pain and agony. We haven’t thought of rescuing them. They cannot survive without our help. What are we doing to help them stay alive?

This accident has caused us permanent damage. Natural wealth will dry up, food resources will be lost, thousands of water and land species will face an early extinction, and river water will be rendered unusable for a long, long time. It will be wholesale catastrophe. l Mohammad Ali Sattar is a journalist and a DT columnist.

any in our society believe that the disabled cannot do anything, forever remaining a burden to their families, society, and the state. This negative attitude towards disability encompasses the thinking of community developers and decision-makers. Our society perceives disability as an issue of charity instead of recognising it as an issue of rights and development.

Institutional and environmental matters have kept the disability issue from being a priority in the development agenda. The disabled have been dwelling within our society, sapped of confidence, while also being deprived of the existing opportunities and support afforded to others.

They are deprived of basic rights such as education and employment, lacking vocational training and the finance required to be involved in business, and are not being granted access to healthcare, nutrition, sanitation, etc.

However, some disabled persons who seek to break social barriers and go forward are fighting to overcome these adverse situations. At the end of 2013, some disabled individuals from Dhaka city were discussing on how to engage the disabled people in income generation.

Many ideas had arisen from that meeting, which dealt mostly with entrepreneurship development – two of the ideas which were taken under consideration were the establishment of a shoe and a garment factory. Both ideas were challenging because the initiators are disabled and poor, and are living in the slums of Dhaka.

An entrepreneur is someone who undertakes a venture, organises it, raises the capital to finance it, and takes the brunt of the risk.

Entrepreneurs are action-oriented and highly motivated individuals who take risks to achieve goals.

ADD International took a risk in making disabled individuals into entrepreneurs, seeing as how there are some important characteristics and traits which are essential for entrepreneurial success.

We want to reach the disabled who pass their time idly, and turn our disabled population into a resource

Entrepreneurs who are disabled have no academic qualifications, most of them only pass through the fifth grade, facing financial insolvency, and come from poor families; but they have the vision, leadership capacity, and the confidence required to be entrepreneurs.

A lot of discussions regarding the challenges, drawbacks, and benefits of

business are held among the initiators to understand and internalise the various aspect of business.

There are 27 disabled persons who invested Tk20,000 each in starting their business. Differently Shoes, a leather manufacturing firm, was founded in the beginning of 2014 at Dhaka’s Mirpur, and 24 other disabled individuals invested Tk20,000 each into starting Glorious Fashion at Saterkul.

Entrepreneurs who are disabled have the vision, leadership capacity, and the confidence required

Mr Akter Layek, who cannot walk without using crutches, and Ms Nargis Akter, a visually impaired woman, who are the founders, mobilised 25 other physically and visually impaired persons to constitute the firm.

Prominent companies such as Aarong and Bata have visited Differently Shoes’ factory and have requested them to improve the compliance and factory space. Aarong expressed their satisfaction and have positively responded to their quality products and good working environment.

Presently, 15 disabled workers are working in the factory. Mr Akter says: “We have a dream of having 2,500 disabled workers working in our factory.

We want to reach the disabled people who pass their time idly, and turn our disabled population into a resource. It will be fulfilled if retailers such as Aarong stand beside us. We are committed to making quality products, and we try our best.”

Glorious Fashion is a jute bag and garment manufacturing firm. ADD international has been supporting, both technically and financially, these emerging businesses led by disabled people. Everyone has an inherent ability and power within themselves, they just need a favourable environment to blossom.

Differently Shoes and Glorious Fashion prove that when the disabled are enabled, they can contribute well to the economy, given that they get the opportunities and support required.

Entrepreneurship is vital for bringing about changes within the economy and the society, not only in our country, but also in others.

We need to develop entrepreneurs both in our rural and urban areas. We need initiators to help people become entrepreneurs. There are vast numbers of people who are disabled and pass their time idly; if they are allowed to receive training and are given the necessary financial support, they can contribute economically to their families and the state. l Aziz Ahmed is Manager (M&E) of ADD International.

Equality is about being human n Saif Kamal

B

oys don’t cry! Go and play outside! She will never be able to do it like men do! Be a man! These are gender roles that society instills into each one of us. The idea of the ideal man is to be a man who thinks of himself as superior to the opposite sex. He must see them as the weaker and more vulnerable ones who need protection all the time. Is that so?

eyes of women.

I always thought of every woman to be like my mother, who can fight back and slap strangers. Why? I don’t know.

I always thought women in the South Asian culture were enslaved by society and hence became vulnerable. However, it took me years to understand their agony and pain; the trauma women go through in public places.

They say charity begins at home. So does child sexual abuse. Why does our

A man does not see anyone else as inferior, a man does not stand by and watch anyone else being humiliated, and a man stands up to injustices

I grew up seeing my mother beat up men on the streets. She often told me she was being mugged or “disturbed.”

Never understood it though. I grew up with a fair idea of gender “inequality.”

However, I never saw it through the

society teach us to be so oblivious to this act? While both sexes are at risk, boys don’t dare speak up, and girls are told by their mothers (so I hear) to cover themselves up.

Yes, it is always the victim’s fault.

After all, an eight-year-old will surely be making a sexual pass at a teenage cousin, 30-year-old uncle, or 40-yearold neighbour.

Where is our sense of morality? It is an utter shame that we often say women are not doing purdah, hence they get raped. Is it that simple? Islam does not tell men to be barbarians who can walk in and grope women or rape them, and then blame them for being a part of the mundane world, being out and about, working.

During the time of our Prophet (pbuh), Muslim women were involved in various kinds of work such as trade, agriculture, horticulture, social work, etc. A woman enjoys the same freedom as a man in Islam. Religious literature articulates the contributions of many women who played a highly creative role in society. How about revisiting those teachings too, rather than selective learning?

Blame it on the women, as they are out to lure men all the time. Recently, I read a compilation of interviews done

by One Billion Rising on comments heard from eve-teasers. It doesn’t matter what you wear or where you are, a girl in burqa gets to hear how she is a

BIGSTOCK

“sex bomb hidden under purdah,” and the girl in a T-shirt seems to have an “open invitation written on the tee.”

You can justify the slapping of Gauhar Khan or accuse Sakib’s wife of not dressing “decently,” but no one really slaps Salman Khan, or footballers who take off their jerseys post-victory. Obviously, it is just men who are allowed to get sexually

aroused, and women are not allowed to have that feeling ever.

Why do we really do this? Is there an underlying hated towards women?

Is it sexual frustration, or were we just taught to treat women that way?

Obviously, the demeaning sense of the media and how women are objectified is a whole new dimension.

I don’t write this out of sympathy,

I empathise. In spite of being half of global population, we think of women as the minority. Even when women form 88% of the $24bn RMG export industry in Bangladesh, they are still a minority. A woman does not need your sympathy, she needs your respect. They don’t need you to create opportunities, but treat her as an equal.

Maybe we, the men, suffered from an inferiority complex and hence built this wall of gender disparity, imposing our physical strength to establish ourselves as the abuser. We have been abusing our power and exploiting the rights of someone else. I wish, instead of teaching boys in their childhood about what it is to be a man, maybe we should teach them what it is not to be a man.

A man does not see anyone else as inferior, a man does not stand by and watch anyone else being humiliated, and a man stands up to injustices. I am not a feminist, because equality is about being human. l Saif Kamal is the founder of the Social Innovation Lab, Toru - the idea tree. Follow him on twitter @saifkamal.

10

DHAKA TRIBUNE Wednesday, December 17, 2014

11 Arsenal and

France legend Henry retires

11 Pirlo named

Italy’s best once again

11 Djokovic, Federer

resist surge of new wave

Sport

Did you know?

Tillakaratne Dilshan has become the 15th player (fifth Sri Lankan) to score 9,000 ODI runs

Japan U21s waste no time after arrival n Raihan Mahmood The visiting Japan Under-21 football team appeared extremely sincere with their business as they wasted very little time getting accustomed to the conditions ahead of their Fifa international friendly against Bangladesh tomorrow at Bangabandhu National Stadium.

The Junior Samurais landed in Dhaka at 1:45 pm yesterday and practised at the Rajarbagh police ground at 4:30 pm. Following their arrival, the Japanese youngsters took a breather for just half an hour before boarding the bus from the hotel to the practice ground.

The Japanese team, who are solely focused on the 2016 Olympics football competition in Rio, played a practice match against Thailand U-22 in Bangkok a few days ago where the tourists won 2-0. The team went through some gruelling physical drills at the Rajarbagh ground as their distribution and passing skills looked efficient. The average height of the team is also a notable characteristic as most of their players are tall. The professional approach was visible in their disciplined manner. Jamaica-born forward Musahi Suzuki, who plays for Albirex Niigata in the J-league, looked impressive in the practice session with his footwork.

Head coach Teguramori Makoto vowed to display good football after their arrival at the Hazrat Shahjalal international airport. “We don’t have much idea about Bangladesh football but I can say that the match will be an enjoyable one. We have started our preparation for the Olympic qualifiers and we have a match against Malaysia

on March next year. We want to get ready for that.”

The coach revealed that only one of his charges has represented the national side and five of them are in the preliminary squad for next year’s Asian Championship.

However, Makoto might not have been aware that a 23-member national squad has been finalised by their Mexican coach Javier Aguirre and none of the youngsters were named in the senior team. It is mentionable that Japan are the defending Asian Cup champions.

The Junior Samurais landed in Dhaka at 1:45 pm yesterday and practised at the Rajarbagh police ground Defender Ken Matsubara is the only player who has so far represented the national side and he is among the quintet who were included in the preliminary squad. The other four players are Ueda Noamichi, Yuwa Kubo, Takoshi Minamino and Ryota Oshima.

Meanwhile, Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) senior vice president Abdus Salam Murshedy said the VIP tickets of the international friendly will cost Tk60 while the gallery tickets will be priced at Tk30. The match will kick off at 5pm.

All the ticket buyers will also get a BFF Development Fund lottery ticket free with each match-ticket. Channel 9 will transmit the match live from the venue. l

Japan U-21 football team enjoy their first practice session at the Rajarbagh police line ground yesterday

When winning took a backseat n Mazhar Uddin Every year, the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) celebrates the Victory Day with an exhibition match. Yesterday was no exception as Shaheed Jewel XI took on Shaheed Mushtaque XI in a friendly match at Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium. Although Shaheed

Jewel XI won the match by 49 runs, the result hardly mattered as the main objective of the occasion was the reunion of former cricketers.

Cricket’s governing body in the country arranged the exhibition match to pay tribute to valiant freedom fighters Shaheed Abdul Halim Chowdhury Jewel and Shaheed Mushtaque Ahmed,

Minhajul Abedin Nannu (L), the skipper of Shaheed Jewel XI and Faruk Ahmed (R), the captain of Shaheed Mushtaque XI share a happy moment with their former teamamate Athar Ali before the exhibition match at the BNS yesterday MAINOOR ISLAM MANIK

Tushar finishes 12th in JK Tyre C’ship n Raihan Mahmood Mahfujur Rahman Tushar, the lone Formula 4 circuit car racer of the country, finished 12th among 22 participants in the 17th JK Tyre Racing Championship at Noida Buddha International Racing Circuit in New Delhi last Sunday.

Sponsored by Shah Cement, Tushar had said he was expecting a top 10 finish but was, however, unable to continue his tempo throughout the race. “It was a tough race. The track was wet due to rain.

It was foggy also. I completed the 5.5-kilometre, 16-turn and eight-lap race in 18 minutes and 11 seconds. Two pilots also competed in the race and they finished behind me. I gained valuable experience this time and hope I will continue to improve.” Tushar finished 15th last year.l

who both used to play the sport. Shaheed Jewel and Shaheed Mushtaque both lost their lives during the liberation war in 1971.

The former cricketers were divided into two teams with the likes of Akram Khan and Habibul Bashar playing for Shaheed Jewel XI while Naimur Rahman played for Shaheed Mushtaque XI. The Victory Day exhibition match previously used to feature young and aspiring cricketers but this time the former cricketers turned out on the occasion.

Minhajul Abedin led Shaheed Jewel XI. Opting to take first strike, the victors posted 132/7 in 20 overs. Bashar (52) scored the highest while Javed Omar chipped in with 24.

Naimur picked up three wickets for Shaheed Mushtaque XI. In reply, Shaheed Mushtaque XI were bundled out for 83 with Sazzad Ahmed top-scoring with 35. Former paceman Shafiuddin Ahmed Babu scalped three wickets for Shaheed Jewel XI. A rather festive atmosphere prevailed at the home of cricket throughout the entire exhibition match. The families of the former cricketers were present and kept on cheering for both sides. BCB president Nazmul Hasan and the sister of Shaheed Jewel also graced the occasion as special guests and distributed the prizes following the conclusion of the match. l

Mamunul vows to give his best n Raihan Mahmood Bangladesh skipper Mamunul Islam vowed to give his all against the Japanese Under-21 football team in tomorrow’s Fifa international friendly at Bangabandhu National Stadium.

Mamunul, who returned to the country from Kolkata last Monday night, said there is nothing to be afraid of. “We are playing at our own yard. We have played against a good number of international teams. In terms of quality, Japan are ahead of us but we are determined to put on a good show. We will fight till the end,” he said.

Mamunul said the team have played a number of matches and the understanding between the players are good. “In the recent matches against Nepal and Sri Lanka we have improved match by match. The spirit is there.

The players are ready. I assure that the players will give their best,” said the midfielder.

While talking about his stint with Atletico de Kolkata, Mamunul said it is really unfortunate that he has been unable to take the field for a single match.

“I hoped that I would get the chance but unfortunately it did not happen.

However, I have gained some valuable experience. I hope to use it for the benefit of the team.” l

MAINOOR ISLAM MANIK

A convict will not get assistance, says BCB president Nazmul n Mazhar Uddin Bangladesh Cricket Board president Nazmul Hasan yesterday said Rubel Hossain will receive all kinds of support from the board if he is proven innocent but added that if found guilty, the right-arm paceman should be punished as per the law. The BCB supremo said this in the wake of a film actress filing a case against Rubel on the grounds of treachery last Saturday.

“First of all, I do not like any types of indiscipline. But, whatever has happened it is his (Rubel) personal matter. If proven guilty, he will get punished and will not get any leave from the board as the laws of this country will run in it’s own course.

If proven innocent, he will get full support from us. However, a convict will not get any help from the board,” Nazmul told the media at Sher-eBangla National Stadium.

The incident has happened at a crucial time for the Tigers. The 24-year old cricketer was named in the 30-member preliminary squad for next year’s ICC World Cup in Australia-New Zealand.

The final 15-man squad will be announced on January 7 next year.

Nazmul added that a final decision

will be taken on Rubel within the next 10-15 days.

Meanwhile, Nazmul has also informed that the board has some grand plans to modify the home of cricket.

The BCB chief said cricket’s governing body in the country is considering building a cricket museum along with a few other monuments at Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium that will portray the legacy of Bangladesh cricket. l

Former hockey stars gather on Victory Day n Raihan Mahmood The Maulana Bhasani National Hockey Stadium was full of unprecedented euphoria yesterday as the stars of the 1970s, 80s and 90s forgot their age and took the pitch with the sticks that made them famous.

The Bangladesh Hockey Federation (BHF) organised the match on the occasion of Victory Day and it was supposed to be attended by the visiting International Hockey Federation (FIH) president Leandro Negre. However, due to severe traffic congestion the FIH president could not make it.

BHF XI defeated BHF President’s XI 6-4.

The two teams comprised of BHF joint secretaries Yusuf Ali and Anvir Adil, general secretary Khaja Rahmatullah and former players Ehsan Nammi, Kismat, national awardees Bashir Ahmed and Hossain Imam Chowdhury Shanta, Bayezid, Jummon Lusai, Mahbub Harun, Anwar, Ehsan Rana, Abu Jafar Tapan, Alamgir Alam, Jamil Parvez Lulu, Mamunur Rashid, Fazlu, Monowar and a few others.

Bashir, who was equally competent in football and hockey, thinks the initiative should be taken every year. “We have a tradition in hockey.

The presence of these players bridge the past with the present. It should be continued.” l

Former hockey stars of the country gathered at the hockey stadium to play an exhibition match yesterday

MAINOOR ISLAM MANIK

DHAKA TRIBUNE

QUICK BYTES

Barkley’s Everton magic compounds QPR awayday woes Ross Barkley scored a sublime solo goal as Everton beat Queens Park Rangers 3-1 at Goodison Park on Monday to subject the travel-weary Londoners to their eighth away defeat in eight Premier League matches this season.

Barkley picked up possession in his own half, exchanged passes with Romelu Lukaku before driving at QPR’s defence and unleashing an unstoppable left-foot drive into the top corner for his first goal of an injury-plagued season. Kevin Mirallas doubled the lead after 43 minutes with a wickedly-deflected free kick. Steven Naismith headed a third eight minutes after the break before Bobby Zamora notched a late consolation for Rangers.

–Reuters

Celtic charged by Uefa over flare Uefa has started disciplinary proceedings against Celtic after a crowd disturbance during their 4-3 loss at Dinamo Zagreb in the Europa League on Thursday. The Scottish champions, who qualified for the knockout stages after finishing second in Group D, were charged by European soccer’s governing body on Tuesday after a flare was set off in the away end during their visit to Croatia. The matter will be considered by UEFA’s Control, Ethics and Disciplinary Body on Feb. 19, the day the Celtic host Inter Milan in the first leg of their last-32 tie.

–Reuters

Adelaide United win inaugural FFA Cup final Adelaide United became the inaugural winners of Australia’s FFA Cup with a 1-0 victory over Perth Glory in the final in Adelaide on Tuesday. A-League leaders Glory were reduced to 10 men when Josh Risdon was dismissed in the 58th minute after his second yellow card. Spaniard Sergio Cirio capitalised with the winner in the 66th minute.

Cirio received a inch-perfect pass from Argentina Marcelo Carrusca and rounded Glory goalkeeper Danny Vukovic to net from a tight angle. The victory gives United their first trophy in seven years and the first of their Spanish revolution under Josep Gombau.

–AFP

Sport

Arsenal and France legend Henry retires n AFP, Paris Former Arsenal and French striker Thierry Henry announced Tuesday he was retiring from football after a glittering two decades long career and will become a TV analyst for Sky Sports in England.

“After 20 years in the game I have decided to retire from professional football,” Henry said in a statement on his Facebook page.

Henry, 37, a world and European champion with France, and the scorer of 228 goals with Arsenal including 175 English Premier League goals for the club, finished his playing career at New York Red Bulls just days ago.

“It is now time for a different career path and I am pleased to say that I will be returning to London and joining Sky Sports,” he said.

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger said recently that Henry will “certainly” return to the club in some capacity in the future.

Henry, who has a daughter based in England, himself said in recent weeks that he wants to help Arsenal win the Champions League.

Henry first made his mark at French club Monaco before moving to Italian giants Juventus.

But the bulk of his career was spent at Arsenal under Wenger, who brought him to north London in 1999.

He was a crucial part of the 20032004 “Invincibles” team alongside fel-

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Ten Action 4:00PM New Zealand Tour of Pakistan 4th ODI 1:45AM Capital One Cup QF: Bournemouth v Liverpool

Ten Sports 1:15AM Capital One Cup QF: Tottenham v Newcastle

Sony Six NBA 14-15: Regular Season 7:00AM Memphis v Golden State 9:30AM Sacramento v Oklahoma City Fifa Club World Cup 10:15PM 5th Place: ES Sétif v WS Wanderers 1:15AM Semifinal: San Lorenzo v Auckland City

Thierry Henry’s tale of two countries n AFP, Paris Thierry Henry won the World Cup with France but his legend will always be linked to Arsenal and a stellar career in the English Premier League.

Henry, who announced his retirement on Tuesday at the age of 37, leaves the football stage with a string of accolades.

On top of his 1998 World Cup and 2000 European Championship titles, Henry scored 51 goals in 123 appearances for France, more than a certain Michel Platini, won the Champions League with Barcelona and been hailed as one of the greatest players of his generation.

But it is a statue outside the Emirates Stadium in London that left Henry fighting back tears.

The 228 goals that he scored for Arsenal - out of 411 in his career - have made him the stuff of legend.

“I know some of the press used to kill me for not showing emotion - well, there you go, I am showing emotion for the club I love,” he said at an emotional ceremony to unveil the statue in 2011.

“Whatever I do, I do it with my heart, that is the way I am,” he said stood in front of the statue which depicts him on his knees, his fists clenched, at the end of a goalscoring celebration.

Henry was a pivotal member of Arsenal’s “Invincibles”, winning the Premier League twice and FA Cup three times. The statue is alongside one of Tony Adams, the club’s greatest captain, and Herbert Chapman, one of its greatest managers.

Henry repeatedly talks of his “love” for Arsenal and its fans. But the team’s failure to win the Champions League convinced him in 2007 that a move to Barcelona was needed. They won the trophy in 2009. l

low Frenchman Patrick Vieira, which went unbeaten as it stormed to the Premier League title.

In England, Henry won the Premier League twice and the FA Cup three times.

Henry left England for Barcelona in 2007, spending three years with the Spanish giants with whom he won the Champions League trophy in 2009.

He finished his career in the United States, playing for the New York Red Bulls in the MLS, but returned to Arsenal for four matches on loan from the Red Bulls in 2012, coming on as a substitute to score the winner against Leeds in the third round of the FA Cup. He could not however prevent the Red Bulls being eliminated in the semi-finals of the playoffs this season.

Henry will also be remembered for a blatant handball in a 2009 World Cup qualifying playoff against the Republic of Ireland which led to the decisive goal for France and a ticket to the 2010 finals.

His last international game was during the 2010 World Cup when he came on as a second-half substitute in a 2-1 loss to hosts South Africa as France were dumped out of a tournament which had been a fiasco for the 1998 World Cup winners.

Capped 123 times for France, he scored a national record 51 goals during his international career which began with a 2-1 win over South Africa in October 1997.l

Pirlo named Italy’s best again United can win the n AFP, Milan

Andrea Pirlo (L) was named the Serie A player of the year at the fourth Grand Gala Football AIC 2014 awards. His Juventus teammate Carlitos Tevez is beside him INTERNET

“It’s always a pleasure to win this award,” said Pirlo, one of several Juve stars to be named among the Serie A team of the year.

Juventus won their 30th league title last season with an unprecedented 102 points and reached the semi-finals of the Europa League.

Pirlo has scored only twice in seven games for the Italian champions but missed the first six weeks of the season due to injury.

However it has already been a remarkable season so far for Pirlo, who joined Juventus three seasons ago after spending a decade with fallen Serie A giants AC Milan.

After being sidelined for Juve’s opening five games of the campaign, Pirlo returned in time for a 3-2 win over title challengers Roma on what was his 100th appearance for the Old Lady of Turin.

On the day of the club’s 117th anniversary, Pirlo opened the scoring in a 2-0 win over Empoli. It was the Italian’s 26th goal from a free kick in Serie A, leaving him two short of all-time record holder, Sinisa Mihajlovic.l

Djokovic, Federer resist surge of new wave

Dilshan hits ton in Jaya-Sanga farewell

Juventus midfielder Andrea Pirlo claimed Serie A’s player of the year award for the third consecutive year during a gala event on Monday organised by the Association of Italian Footballers.

The 34-year-old playmaker celebrated alongside former Juve handler Antonio Conte, who picked up the best coach of the year award after leading the Bianconeri to their third consecutive Serie A title last season before quitting to become Italy’s national team coach.

Turkish soccer fans go on trial accused of coup attempt Thirty-five Turkish soccer fans went on trial on Tuesday accused of attempting to stage a coup during mass protests last year, in a case the opposition and rights groups say is an abuse of the justice system by a government bent on revenge. Prosecutors are seeking life sentences for all of them, from a supporters’ group of major Istanbul team Besiktas. They are accused of helping organise the protests that erupted in Istanbul’s Taksim square in May 2013 and grew into a major challenge to then-Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

–Reuters

11

Wednesday, December 17, 2014

n AFP, Paris Stan Wawrinka and Marin Cilic enjoyed breakthrough triumphs at the Australian and US Opens, but at the end of 2014 it was business as usual for Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer Djokovic was world number one for the third time in four years after winning a second Wimbledon title for his seventh major.

The 27-year-old collected seven titles in all, suffered just eight defeats in 69 matches and by the end of the year he was World Tour Finals champion once again.

The Serb even found the time to get married, become a father and take part in the knockabout International Premier Tennis League along with the likes of Federer and Serena Williams.

With Federer in sight of his 34th birthday in 2015 and with continuing doubts over the fitness of Rafael Nadal, it is Djokovic who will be the man to beat in the new year.

After a second Roland Garros final loss to Nadal in three years, the world number one’s priority is a first French Open title and the completion of a career Grand Slam.

“Roland Garros is still one of the biggest goals that I have,” said Djokovic, who now has four Australian Open crowns, two at Wimbledon and a single US Open triumph.

Djokovic’s roll-call of titles in 2014 read Wimbledon, Masters crowns in Indian Wells, Miami, Rome, Paris as well as the Beijing trophy, all topped off by the World Tour Finals in London secured when Federer scratched from the final with a back injury.

Federer failed to add to his record 17 Grand Slam titles, falling in a five-set title match at Wimbledon to Djokovic.

He still won 73 matches against 12 losses with five titles to take his career tally to 82.

The veteran also ended 2014 a winner, securing a first ever Davis Cup with Switzerland after 16 years of trying. l

league, says Rooney n Reuters, London Manchester United can challenge for the league title after recovering from their worst start to a Premier League season and rediscovering the art of winning ugly, according to their captain Wayne Rooney.

The England striker scored as United beat bitter rivals Liverpool 3-0 at Old Trafford on Sunday to make it six consecutive league victories.

The 20-times English champions are third in the table with 31 points from 16 games, eight adrift of leaders Chelsea, after new manager Louis van Gaal led United to their worst start to a season in the Premier League era.

“We have to believe we can win the title,” he said. “We are eight points behind and coming into a busy period. If we can win our games and the others have one bad result, then there is nothing there.

“We have to keep winning our games, hopefully get back to the top, and you never know. We won the league two years ago and we weren’t

great in a lot of those games but we got the results.

“We have shown a great resilience this season. Some of the games haven’t gone the way we would like but we are winning them and that is a great quality to have.

“We have been here before but we have a lot of new players and this is where the experience of myself, Michael Carrick and Darren Fletcher can rub off on the other players,” he added.

Rooney pointed to the experience of Dutch manager Van Gaal in helping United reverse their fortunes and said the former Netherlands boss has “an aura” that gives confidence to the team.

“When things weren’t going great for us earlier on in the season, he knew what he was doing, he knew the form would come back and that we would win games,” Rooney said.

“There was no panic. He stayed calm because he has been through it all before.”

United visit Aston Villa on Saturday with a chance to close the gap on leaders Chelsea, who play on Monday. l

n AFP, Colombo

Tillakaratne Dilshan smashed a century in his 300th one-day international as Sri Lanka piled up 302-6 after choosing to bat in the seventh and final match against England in Colombo on Tuesday.

The opening batsman passed the 9,000-run mark in one-day internationals on his way to a stroke-filled 101, his 18th one-day century studded with nine boundaries and a six.

England, who have already conceded a decisive 2-4 lead in the series, will look for a consolation win ahead of the World Cup that starts in Australia and New Zealand on February 14.

Veterans Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene, playing their last one-day international on home soil, whetted the appetite of some 20,000 Sri Lankan fans at the Premadasa stadium before being dismissed.

Jayawardene had hit 28 off 22 balls when he pulled a short ball from Harry Gurney to the long-leg fielder. Sangakkara offered a tame catch to mid-wicket off Moeen Ali after making 33.

Jayawardene, who has already retired from Tests, will hang up his boots after the World Cup. Sangakkara too will quit one-dayers after the tournament, although he remains non-committal about his future in Tests. l

Sri Lanka’s Tillakaratne Dilshan celebrates his century during their seventh ODI against England in Colombo yesterday REUTERS

12

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Back Page

Wednesday, December 17, 2014

Clockwise: Army paratroopers dive in formation over the National Parade Square yesterday enthralling the audience. People from different walks of life gathered at the National Mausoleum in Savar to pay tribute to the Liberation War martyrs on the occasion of the Victory Day yesterday.

President Abdul Hamid receives salutes at the Victory Day parade held at the National Parade Square in the capital’s Sher-e-Bangla Nagar yesterday SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN / MEHEDI HASAN

Coverage of Liberation War on national web portal spotty

Most districts do not have lists of freedom fighters, some have only partial lists, but even those are inaccurate On the Faridpur web portal, a list of The time line was later compiled by He said there were subordinates who Pakistani forces and local collab- fighting continued in Mirpur until the n Mohammad Abu Bakar Siddique War, contacting the deputy commissioners dealt with these matters and suggested freedom fighters is given, but Freedom orators, under fire from Mukti Bahini end of January 1972.

Many districts do not provide adequate information about the Liberation War on the national web portal, the Dhaka Tribune discovered while compiling a time line of surrender by occupation forces in different parts of the country.

Most districts do not have a list of freedom fighters from their area, some have only a partial list, and even these are inaccurate.

In the last phase of the Liberation

and Indian forces, surrendered at different times in locality after locality, creating a complex time line of events.

Even though the enemy fled places like Barguna by late November, Jessore is officially reckoned to be the first liberated district in the country, following the first battlefield victory of the war on December 6.

Although Pakistani forces formally surrendered on December 16, 1971,

There were 19 districts in the erstwhile East Pakistan and the war was fought in 11 military sectors.

The Dhaka Tribune found that Faridpur, Bandarban, Rangamati, Cox’s Bazar, Natore and Rajshahi districts offered no information on the date of their locality’s liberation from enemy forces on the web portal, even though the respective liberation days are observed locally in addition to December 16.

or district information officers in each district, members of the local press, the Freedom Fighters Command Council, and other media sources.

The deputy commissioners of districts like Madaripur and Magura advised the Dhaka Tribune to contact freedom fighters’ organisations.

Magura DC Muhammad Mahbubur Rahman asked the Dhaka Tribune to call others to obtain the information.

they be spoken to.

The Madaripur DC offered a possible date for the liberation of his district, but said better information could be obtained from freedom fighters’ organisations in the district.

The Madaripur webpage was relatively better organised than many others like Rajshahi, whose page offered no local details on the Liberation War in the district.

Fighter Abu Fayez Shahnewaz told the Dhaka Tribune that intense fighting in Faridpur as late as December 19, 1971, in areas like Alfadanga, found no mention on the portal.

Kishoreganj DC SM Alam, who provided assistance to the Dhaka Tribune in the compilation of the list, said he would have his locality’s web portal updated with district-specific details of the Liberation War. l

December 17: The day Chittagong was liberated n Tarek Mahmud, Chittagong

Following nine months of gruelling war, almost the entire country celebrated victory over the Pakistani occupation forces on December 16, 1971; Chittagong, however, had to wait an extra day to see the surrender of Pakistani troops at the strategically important city.

The occupation forces signed their formal surrender on December 17, only after the joint forces made their way through the Pakistani resistance that was put up around the port city’s periphery.

Terming the victory an “absolute pride,” freedom fighters who won back Chittagong from the oppressors’ clutches told the Dhaka Tribune that it was unfortunate that the turn of events had caused the port city to be liberated a day later than Dhaka.

The official surrender was made at the Chittagong Circuit House, where

occupation forces lined up to admit defeat to the triumphant joint command of Indian and Bangladeshi forces and Bangladeshi guerrillas.

Dr Mahfuzur Rahman, who was the operation commander for freedom fighters in the city, recalled the events of the day: “Two divisions of freedom fighters, including one led by Deputy Commander Major Rafiqul Islam, were obstructed by the occupation forces at Kumira of Sitakunda on December 16. The joint command, however, defeated the enemy and entered the city on December 17.”

To broadcast the news of the victory, engineer Afsar Uddin, who was the joint commander of Bengal Liberation Front and freedom fighters in the city, sent a group of his fighters to the Kalurghat radio station, Mahfuzur recalled.

“To maintain law and order in the city from December 17, we were assigned at different strategic points. I was responsible for [the safety of] Bandar, Pahartali and Double Mooring.

“It was our duty to contain the situation so that the angry Bangalis did not attack the Biharis who had committed atrocities on our population.”

Terming it the most memorable day of his life, he said thousands of people took to the streets with national flags in their hands and chanted “Joy Bangla.”

The operation commander said people from all walks of life joined in the celebrations, with the exception of the local razakars, al-Badr members and members of the notorious gang of Fazlul Quader Chowdhury.

Bengal Liberation Front commander Harun, Haris, Moinuddin Khan Badal, Dr Jafar, Raisul Huq Bahar and Shahabuddin played vital roles in guerilla warfare in the port city, said Mahafuzur.

Bahar, who is now the chief of an English newspaper’s Chittagong bureau, told the Dhaka Tribune that the formal surrender programme in Chittagong was held around 9am on December 17 with the hoisting of the

Bangladeshi national flag.

Talking to the Pakistan daily - the Express Tribune, Pakistan army officer Shamshad Ali Khan termed the surrender programme in Chittagong as a “painful journey.”

A report published on December 16, 2011 in the Express Tribune quoted Shamshad as saying he saw Chittagong residents celebrating “India’s victory” and their freedom.

He also described colourfully clothed jubilant young girls and boys carrying Indian and Bangladeshi flags; vehicles playing loud music and speeding through the roads; people shouting anti-Pakistan, pro-India and “Joy Bangla” slogans. Within 20 to 30 minutes, the number of people and vehicles increased exponentially.

“I am the only unfortunate officer who witnessed that painful sight.

Words cannot express the tormenting thought and feelings that crossed my mind,” Shamshad said. l

BRTC: Overloaded buses causing more accidents n Shohel Mamun

After a tiring day of selling flowers on the street, a child takes a break to steal a little mush from a cart-pulling horse near the TSC on Dhaka University yesterday. The enthusiasm of Victory Day had not escaped her as she carries a flag in her hand SHEKHAR MONDAL

Overloading buses with passengers is causing more accidents on the country’s roads, an investigation by Bangladesh Road Transport Corporation has found.

If the buses carry passengers exceeding their capacities, the engines are more likely to heat up and lead to an accident, observes the technical committee of BRTC following a twomonth-long probe on bus fitness.

The committee was formed on September 7 to investigate why a BRTC articulated bus – priced at around Tk1 crore – caught fire on September 4 on the Airport road near Kawla, while it was carrying passengers from Gazipur

from Gabtoli.

Although the committee was tasked to investigate this single incident, it also looked into other issues related to BRTC-owned buses.

In its probe report, the BRTC team said the articulated bus had caught fire after the synthetic fibres of the turbocharger – located near the engine – had been ignited. This was a result of carrying extra passengers on the bus, which led to the overloading of the engine and subsequently caused different mechanical problems.

As a recommendation, the committee said the buses should not carry more passengers than their capacity; it also sent a notice to all the BRTC depots

on this regard.

However, visiting the capital’s Farmgate, Shahbagh and Mohakhali areas – places which experience heavy traffic volume – the Dhaka Tribune found yesterday that the BRTC directive was not being followed. It was visible that many of the BRTC buses had well exceeded their passenger capacities with people balancing themselves on the footboard of those buses.

Sources said BRTC’s South Korea-made double decker buses usually carried around 100 passengers, exceeding its 70-passenger capacity; while India-made articulated buses carried around 150 passengers compared to its 120-passenger capacity.

BRTC sources also said the practice of carrying extra passengers was caused by trip-based leasing system, under which the driver had to provide a fixed amount of money for each of the trip according to bus capacity. So, picking up additional passengers allowed the drivers to pocket extra cash as they did not have to pay the BRTC any added fee for the extra passengers.

Asked about steps against the overloading of buses, Colonel Abdullahel Karim, director (technical) of BRTC, recently told the Dhaka Tribune that the bus drivers have been cautioned against exceeding their vehicle capacities. Any violation of the directive would result in stern actions, he added. l

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