17 Jan, 2015

Magh 4, 1421 Rabiul Awal 25, 1436 Regd No DA 6238 Vol 2, No 282

SATURDAY, JANUARY 17, 2015 | www.dhakatribune.com | SECOND EDITION

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AVENUE T

7 | HERITAGE

11 | OP-ED

12 | SPORT

‘BEAUTY WAS A SAVAGE GARDEN’

THE MERCHANT OF LONDON

THE PERFECT DRIVER

BFF WANTS MARADONA IN BANGLADESH

BNP softens, AL sets conditions Hanif asks BNP to cut off ties with Jamaat, withdraw blockade, stop all kinds of attack before any talks n Abu Hayat Mahmud After the recent move of the diplomats in Dhaka, the BNP apparently seems to have softened its stance while the Awami League is still sticking to its hard-line view over a dialogue with the opposition.

The United States, the United Kingdom and the European Union last week separately expressed deep shock at the loss of lives and injuries during recent protests and called for an immediate dialogue between the two major parties.

A number of senior leaders said if a sincere dialogue offer is made with the election agenda on the table, the BNP would consider it.

BNP Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi yesterday urged the government to take steps for an effective dialogue immediately but at the same time he asked the party men to continue to enforce blockade until the victory is achieved.

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SURANJIT: BNP’S MOVEMENT TO DIE DOWN IN A WEEK

The BNP leader made the statement at the party’s Nayapaltan office in the capital.

Meanwhile, Awami League Joint General Secretary Mahbub-ul-Alam Hanif yesterday placed several conditions for the BNP to hold a political dialogue with them.

At a press conference at the AL chief’s Dhanmondi office in the presence of several other central leaders, Hanif said: “The BNP should sever its ties with militants, terrorists and Jamaat-e-Islami and it must immediately withdraw its ongoing blockade and stop arson and other attacks on innocent people.

“If the BNP can meet these conditions, we will think about holding a dialogue with them.”

Answering to journalists’ questions, Hanif said they were not at all concerned over Thursday’s meeting

between BNP leaders and diplomats of several countries in the capital.

“I hope the diplomats will not try to impose any of their decisions which the political parities and the government will find impossible to carry out,” Hanif added.

Last week Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s Political Adviser HT Imam too made an offer to the BNP for a dialogue but laid down a few conditions.

Imam said the government would sit across the table if the BNP cut its tie with Islamist militants and war criminals.

If the BNP means a dialogue, it has to stop its violent activities, Imam told a seminar.

Imam’s statement came following the statement of BNP Standing Committee member Rafiqul Islam Mia last week that the current transport blockade could be lifted if the government agreed to sit for a dialogue with the BNP. Awami League President and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at a rally in Suhrawardy Udyan in the capital last week criticised Khaleda’s stand and denied any dialogue with the BNP. On top of that, the 14-party alliance yesterday refused to hold talks with the BNP-led 20-party alliance and announced that the country’s local administrations would help the 14-party alliance to form “AntiSubversive Acts Committees” in every district.

The political scenario of the country heated up on the first anniversary of the January 5, 2014 parliamentary elections which the BNP boycotted.

BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia has been kept in confinement at her Gulshan party office since January 3. Her party announced a non-stop nationwide blockade on January 5.

The blockade has been marked by violence and sporadic clashes between the police and protesters, leaving nearly 25 people dead and scores of others injured. l

Sand and stones are being illegally extracted from the Shomeshwari River in Birishiri, Netrakona. The act might lead to environmental hazards

BNP will talk if poll is on the agenda n Mohammad Al-Masum Molla Amid international pressure to hold a dialogue, the BNP said it would consider holding talks with the ruling AL provided they offered a meaningful discussion on holding fresh elections, party insiders said.

“We are calling upon the government to hold an effective dialogue to hold a meaningful election. Stop repression, killing and the open shooting of opposition leaders and activists. Free Khaleda Zia from confinement,” Ruhul Kabir Rizvi, joint secretary general of the party, said at a press release yesterday.

But the party said it would not call off its action programme until talks, which remain hypothetical, produced a final solution to the political deadlock that has gripped the country.

Senior leaders of the BNP warned that a toughening of the government’s stance would be met with an intensified movement, especially after the second phase of the Biswa Ijtema.

Rizvi, at the same time, asked party activists to continue the movement until “victory is achieved.”

On Thursday night, several western diplomats spoke with BNP leaders at the residence of Abdul Moyeen Khan, a party standing committee member.

Meeting sources said BNP leaders explained to the diplomats the party’s reasons for mounting the blockade movement.

The foreign envoys stressed the need to stop the cycle of violence and expressed concern over the death of five people in an arson attack on a bus in Rangpur.

At least five people, including a child, were burned alive when a night coach was firebombed in Mithapukur upazila of Rangpur district.

The BNP denied responsibility for the incident but raised the issue of the shooting of senior party leader Reaz Rahman.

The ruling Awami League-led 14-party alliance has refused to hold talks with the BNP-led 20-party alliance on the grounds that the opposition combine were involved in arson and bombings across the country.

“The Awami League-led 14-party alliance will not hold any dialogue with those who kill innocent people, especially women and children in the name of their movement,” Health Minister Mohammed Nasim said at a press conference on Thursday.

UN calls political parties to end violence, show restraint n Tribune Report Expressing concerns over the prevailing violent political situation in Bangladesh, the UN Human Rights Commission yesterday called for restraint by all political parties and an end to violence immediately.

The UN rights body also called on the authorities to ensure prompt, impartial and effective investigation into all killings committed.

“The deepening political violence in Bangladesh, resulting from the failure by the two major political parties to resolve their differences peacefully,

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‘Chhatra Dal activist’ killed in RAB ‘gunfight’ n Our Correspondent,

Day 11 of blockade sees less violence

One person, who the local Chhatra Dal claimed to be one of their leaders, was killed yesterday in an alleged “gunfight” with the Rapid Action Battalion in Chapainawabganj’s Kansat.

Protesting the death, the BNP-led 20-party alliance has called a 48-hour hartal starting from 6am on Sunday across all districts of Rajshahi division.

The deceased was Motiur Rahman, son of Montu Ali from Shibganj upazila’s Bajitpur Guhipara village. The RAB claimed that some weapons and crude bombs were also recovered following the incident.

Major Kamruzzaman Pavel, commander of RAB 5 in the district, said several people were detained near the Shyampur Nari Kalyan School on Thursday during a joint forces drive in Shibganj. One of the detainees – Motiur – admitted his involvement with subversive activities in the upazila, the

Following days of escalating arson attacks and loss of lives, the BNP-led 20-party alliance’s countrywide blockade experienced relatively fewer violent incidents on its eleventh day yesterday.

The capital Dhaka, where vehicles have been torched on a regular basis since the blockade began, finally passed a day without any major report of vandalism or arson coming in as of filing this report at 10pm. Vehicle movement on the city streets stayed normal, as did launch operations out of Sadarghat.

However, only a small number of long-distance buses left the capital’s terminals, while many trains also failed to maintain schedule at Kamalapur.

Meanwhile, incidents of sporadic violence by pro-blockade pickets were reported from different districts, while the police have detained over 100 people from separate places across the country since Thursday night.

Our Chandpur correspondent says

n Tribune Report

Chapainawabganj

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While Muslims say their Jumma prayers police officers remain alert in front of the Baitul Mukarram National Mosque in the capital yesterday. The extra security measure was for averting any untoward situation at the spot where a conflict between Awami Ulema League and Islami Chhatra Shibir men took place on Thursday RAJIB DHAR

DHAKA TRIBUNE

pickets torched two pickup vans on Chandpur-Comilla Road near Ghosherhat in the morning. One of the torched pickup vans was carrying vegetables from Chandpur to the capital while another was carrying poultry. They also vandalised 10 CNG and battery-run auto rickshaws.

Superintendent of Chandpur police Amir Jafar said the pickets fled before patrol teams reached the spot.

Meanwhile, in Habiganj, activists of Jamaat-Shibir vandalised several vehicles in the early hours of yesterday.

Police said pickets tried to torch a bus of Ena Paribahan at Aushkandi Bazar area, prompting the bus passengers to shout out in warning. When the villagers chased them, the attackers fled on motorcycles.

Earlier on Thursday night, miscreants had also vandalised several moving vehicles at Doulotpur under Habiganj’s Bahubal upazila. Some passengers and drivers sustained injuries in the incidents.  PAGE 2 COLUMN 5

INSIDE 3 | News

Self-proclaimed “real BNP leader” Kamrul Hasan Nasim yesterday issued an ultimatum for Khaleda Zia to step down as BNP chairperson and dissolve all committees by February 2.

4 | News

Sonahat land port, the 18th land port of the country, at Kurigram’s Bhurungamari upazila is allegedly infested with rampant extortion by local port leaders.

6 | Nation

Some local land grabbers blessed by the ruling party Awami League have built at least 35 shops on the land of Ziala Government Primary School at Harinakunda upazila, Jhenaidah.

8 | World

An armed man who earlier took several hostages at a post office northwest of Paris yesterday has surrendered with no one hurt, a French police official told Reuters.

12 | Sport

The Bangladesh cricket team will resume practice today at the national stadium following a two-day break. Mashrafe bin Mortaza and Co will be training in two sessions.

15 | Entertainment

Big screen actor Riaz and Lux Superstar famed Badhon are appearing together for the first time in a single episode TV drama ‘Icecream o Onubhuti.’

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DHAKA TRIBUNE

News

Saturday, January 17, 2015

IGP: People will be involved to uproot terrorism, anarchy n BSS Inspector General of Police (IGP) AKM Shahidul Hoque yesterday said all sorts of anarchy and terrorism would be uprooted involving the common people to restore peace and tranquility in the society.

He said the anti-liberation Jamaat-Shibir forces have become active in Mithapukur and nearby Polashbari and Gobindaganj areas turning these places for carrying out terrorist activities.

The anti-liberation forces have held lives and properties of the common people hostage in the name of movement and such a situation will not be allowed to continue and the root of terrorists will be uprooted, he said.

The IGP was addressing a views-sharing meeting on law and order situation arranged for preventing terrorism and subversive activities at Mithapukur Girls’ High School ground in Mithapukur upazila here as the chief guest.

While addressing the meeting as special guest, Director General of Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) Benzir Ahmed explained global definition of terrorism and said a fewer number of terrorists have declared war against the state, people and society.

“No concession will be made in establishing peace in the society through rooting out terrorism. And all necessary steps will be taken to achieve the

goal,” he cautioned the terrorists and the vested anti-liberation forces.

The IGP and DG RAB went to Mithapukur where five persons were burnt alive and 10 others critically injured when the Jamaat-Shibir terrorists hurled a petrol bomb on a passenger bus at Batason point on the Rangpur-Dhaka highway on Wednesday.

After reaching here from Dhaka by helicopter, the IGP handed over a cheque for Tk50,000 to the family members of deceased Rahim Badsha and his mother Rahima and another cheque for Tk10,000 to wife of critically burnt Anwar Hossain in the petrol bomb attack.

With Deputy Commissioner Farid Ahammad in the chair, Divisional Commissioner Muhammad Dilwar Bakht and acting deputy inspector general for Rangpur Range Humayun Kabir also addressed the meeting as special guests.

General Secretary of district Awami League advocate Rezaul Karim Raju, Mithapukur upazila AL President Mozammel Haque Mintu Mian, Upazila Chairman Zakir Hossain Sarker, principals Nazrul Islam and Tofazzal Hossain and Upazila Muktijoddha Commander Shahidar Rahman also spoke.

Moderated by Police Super Abdur Razzaque, high officials of the administration, police and RAB and thousands of people from all walks of life participated in the views-sharing meeting. l

President Abdul Hamid addressing a national seminar of Kendriyo Khelaghar arranged at the capital’s Shilpakala Academy yesterday

B Chowdhury: Hold talks with opposition parties to end political crisis n Tribune Report

Bikalpadhara Bangladesh President AQM Badruddoza Chowdhury yesterday said the government should hold talks with the opposition parties immediately to resolve the political crisis in the country.

“It is alarming that the crisis has been deepening day by day. There is no way other than hold talks with the opposition parties to resolve this,” he said.

He urged the government to hold

talks immediately, saying otherwise, the country’s political situation would turn into a worse situation. The country’s former president was speaking to journalists after visiting BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia’s Adviser Reaz Rahman at the United Hospital in the capital.

“I do not want to say anything in advance...if you (government) do not hold talks on your own, you will have to do it when the foreigners interfere with it.

And then it would be shameful,” he said.

Blaming the government for the

present political situation, the former BNP leader said: “What on earth would happen if the BNP was allowed holding their rally?”

“Denying the BNP to hold its rally, the government has missed its first train,” he also said, adding that the government held its rally on January 12 and thus it missed its second rally.

The Bikalpadhara chief condemned the attack on Riaz Rahman and demanded immediate arrest of the masterminds of the attack. l

Kazi Sarwar Female varsity student killed Hossain new in city road crash Bangladesh n UNB envoy to Maldives n UNB The government decided to appoint Rear Admiral Kazi Sarwar Hossain as the new High Commissioner of Bangladesh to the Maldives.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs unveiled the information at a media release yesterday.

Rear Admiral Kazi Sarwar Hossain joined Bangladesh Navy in 1980.

Throughout his distinguished career in Navy, he served in different capacities with reputation.

Previously Sarwar Hossain served as the Director General of Bangladesh Coast Guard. He also served in the UN Peacekeeping Mission in Ivory Coast.

He received a number of trainings from different institutions in both home and abroad. l

A female student of a private university was crushed under the wheels of a bus in the capital’s Shahjadpur area yesterday night.

The dead was Jannatul Ferdous Mou, 22, a student of East West University hailing from Sadar upazila of Khulna district. She used to live at a women’s hostel in Merul Badda.

Inspector Mozammel Haque, in-

charge of Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) police camp, said Mou suddenly fell off a rickshaw in front of Suvasta Nazar Valley around 8pm on her way to Merul with her friend Jaj Rahman.

Soon, a moving bus hit Mou from behind, leaving her critically injured.

She was first taken to Badda General Hospital and later shifted to the DMCH where doctors declared her dead around 9pm. l

The newly appointed Chief Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha will take oath of office today.

President Abdul Hamid will administer the oath to the new chief justice in a simple ceremony at Darbar Hall of the Bangabhaban, the presidential palace, at 11am.

The president, in exercise of his power under Article 95 (1) of the constitution, appointed Justice Sinha, the senior-most judge of the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court, as the country’s 21st chief justice on Monday.

Justice Sinha succeeds Justice M Muzammel Hossain as he went on regular retirement at the age of 67 yesterday. l

Belgium uncovers plot to kill police n AFP, Brussels

Belgian police raided an Islamist cell planning attacks against police as dozens of people were arrested yesterday in sweeps across Europe, keeping the continent on alert one week after the Paris attacks.

Two suspected jihadists were shot dead in a police raid in the eastern Belgian town of Verviers on Thursday night, and prosecutors said 13 suspects had been detained across Belgium, with two more held in France.

French police separately detained 12 people in the suburbs of Paris in connection with last week’s attacks on the Charlie Hebdo satirical magazine, a Jewish supermarket and a policewoman, in which 17 people were killed.

Hundreds of German police meanwhile raided alleged Islamist sites in Berlin, arresting two men suspected of being part of a group planning to carry out an attack in Syria.

The raids highlighted fears about young Europeans travelling to fight

‘JCD activist’ killed Day 11 of blockade sees less violence  PAGE 1 COLUMN 6

RAB commander claimed, adding that the elite force then took Motiur on a drive to recover weapons.

The RAB claimed that Motiur’s associates opened fire on the team once they reached Kansat in the early hours of yesterday. Motiur allegedly tried to flee during the ensuing gunfight and died after being caught in the line of fire being exchanged. His body was later handed over to the Shibganj police station.

General Secretary of Shibganj upazila Chhatra Dal Abdullah Al Faruk claimed the deceased was the vice-president of Chhatra Dal’s Shyampur union unit.

However, Motiur’s father Montu Ali said his son was not involved with any political party, and was only a second-year student at Kansat Solaiman Degree College. He claimed that law enforcers had wrongfully detained and killed Motiur, who did not even have any case filed against him.

Motiur’s family and neighbours demanded a proper inquiry into the death of Motiur and demanded justice against those involved.

Asked if Motiur faced any case with the local station, Shibganj police station Officer-in-Charge MM Moynul Islam could not confirm the issue.

Saying Motiur’s body was sent to Chapainawabganj Sadar Hospital morgue for an autopsy, the OC said legal measures were being taken regarding the death. l

New CJ SK Sinha takes oath today UN calls n UNB

with the Islamic State and al-Qaeda-linked groups in the Middle East before returning to carry out attacks on western targets.

“The group was on the verge of carrying out terrorist attacks to kill police officers in public roads and in police stations,” Belgian federal prosecutors’ spokesman Eric Van der Sijpt told a news conference about the raids overnight.

Police found Kalashnikov assault rifles, explosives, ammunition and communications equipment, along with police uniforms that could have been used for the terror plot, he said.

Members of the group had recently returned from Syria, prosecutors said, but they said there still appeared to be no direct link to the Paris attacks.

Prime Minister Charles Michel raised Belgium’s terror alert to its second highest level after the raids.

The European Commission stepped up security at its headquarters in Brussels as a “precaution,” a spokeswoman said.

Jewish schools in Brussels and the port city of Antwerp closed Friday.

The unrest across Europe has fuelled fears of tensions between communities, but in Verviers, a faded industrial town near the German border, residents said they would stay united.

“The Muslim community had the strongest reaction, one that says that none of this should exacerbate the delicate balance that makes this town stand on its feet,” mayor Marc Elsen said.

Belgium has one of the largest number of extremists who have returned from Syria relative to its population, with a large Muslim community that suffers from high unemployment and disenfranchisement.

With France still reeling from the attacks that targeted its cherished traditions of free speech, US Secretary of State John Kerry laid wreaths at both Charlie Hebdo offices and the Jewish supermarket during a visit to Paris yesterday.

It follows criticism of the US for not sending a top representative to a march in Paris on Sunday, which drew 1.5 million people and dozens of world leaders in the wake of the attacks. l

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is very disturbing,” said the UNHRC in a statement issued by Ravina Shamdasani, spokesperson for the UN high commissioner for human rights.

“We are concerned about the potential for the violence, which has already led to deaths, injury and disruption, to spiral, as seen in the run up to the 2014 elections.

“We also call on the authorities to ensure the prompt, impartial and effective investigation of all killings committed – irrespective of whether they were committed by State or non-State actors,” the statement said.

“The Government should also ensure that the arrest and detention of key opposition leaders by law enforcement agencies is not arbitrary,” it said.

The spokesperson also said the government should ensure that all measures taken to restore law and order are conducted in line with the parameters set by international human rights law, including respect for the freedoms of peaceful assembly, movement and speech.

The statement comes after 11 days of the countrywide rail, road and waterways blockade after BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia had been barred from coming out from her office to join a rally.

The UNHRC statement said: “Particularly disturbing is the rampant use of arson attacks on vehicles. A crowded public bus was set on fire on Tuesday, burning to death four people, including one child.

The same day, a senior BNP advisor was shot at and his car set on fire. Yesterday, another person was killed when a bus was reportedly set ablaze in Kaliakoir, about 50 kilometres north of Dhaka.” l

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Our Munshiganj correspondent reports that at least 15 crude bombs were set off by pro-blockade activists at around 6pm in the Munshiganj sadar, creating panic among the locals.

Arrest of 118 people in districts

As part of “anti-crime” drives across the country, law enforcers have detained around 118 people from different parts of Khulna division, Jhenaidah and Gaibandha districts since Thursday night on several criminal charges.

In Jhenaidah, four Jamaat-Shibir men were held from Harinakunda upazila and a BNP man was held from Jhenaidah sadar upazila for their alleged attempt at subversive activities on the street, Superintendent of Police in Jhenaidah Altaf Hossain said.

In separate drives in Gaibandha, the police arrested 75 leaders and activists of the BNP and Jamaat from different parts of the district early yesterday.

Mofazzal Hossain, superintendent of police in Gaibandha, said during the overnight drives 75 BNP-Jamaat leaders and activists were arrested on charge of carrying out sabotage.

The arrestees were involved in blocking roads as well as vandalising and torching vehicles, the SP added.

Gaibandha police sources said they arrested nine BNP-Jamaat activists from Sughatta upazila, three from Phulchhari, four from Palashbari, 13 from Gobindaganj, nine from Sadullapur, 13 from Sundarganj and 18 from sadar upazila of the district.

Meanwhile, Khulna Metropolitan Police (KMP) last night arrested 38 people including five BNP-Shibir men on different charges.

Additional Commissioner of KMP

Moniruzzaman Mithu said the police arrested 33 people in different cases while three BNP and two Shibir activists were arrested from different spots inside the city on charges of subversive activities.

Our Habiganj correspondent reports that six activists of Chhatra Shibir, the student wing of Jamaat-e-Islami, have been arrested for their alleged involvement in vandalism. Police sources said the men were picked up by a Highway Police patrol team as they were carrying out an arson attack at Auskandi Bazar at Minajpur village.

144 Ansars deployed for Jhenaidah rail tracks

In order to prevent any sabotage to the rail tracks in Jhenaidah, authorities concerned have deployed 144 Ansar members in the district to patrol along the tracks. Around 70 more men who regularly monitor the tracks would also stay extra vigilant while covering 36km of tracks stretching from Mandertala under Kaliganj upazila to Sabdalpur under Kotchandpur upazila.

Bangladesh Railway’s Senior Sub-Assistant Engineer Md Habibur Rahman told our Jhenaidah correspondent that the Ansars and the 70 others would work in two 12-hour shifts to prevent any sabotage.

Claiming that train communication in the area was yet to regain normalcy, Habibur said trains were now running at a speed of around 40km per hour – compared to the usual 80kmph – to avoid any potential sabotage by blockade enforcers.

Mobarakganj Rail Station Master Fazlul Haque said huge crowds were gathering every day at the station, with each train having to wait around 10 minutes at the station because of the heavy rush of passengers. l

BNP will talk if poll is on the agenda  PAGE 1 COLUMN 5

On Wednesday, the United States, the United Kingdom and the European Union separately expressed deep shock at injuries and loss of life during recent protests and called for an immediate dialogue between the ruling AL and opposition BNP. Former vice-chancellor of Dhaka University and pro-BNP intellectual, Emajuddin Ahmed, yesterday emphasised the need for a dialogue between the political parties to end the current crisis.

He said: “A state cannot go on this way. Bangladesh has not yet become a failed state but it will not take long at this rate. The political parties must sit for talks and the topic must be the elections.”

BNP insiders said agreements brokered by UN Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs Oscar Fernandez-Taranco during a visit to Bangladesh did lead to a suspension of the BNP’s movement but the Awami League did not keep its promises.

“So this time we will not fall into any trap of the government. If a specific announcement for talks comes and

consensus for holding elections exists, then the movement will be stopped,” a senior leader, asking not to be named, said.

The senior leader said the party was planning to intensify its movement from January 19 and a hartal may be enforced along with the blockade programme.

He said the government may launch a joint drive from next week to “repress” the movement.

“Due to the Ijtema, the blockade programme has been relaxed slightly.

After the Ijtema, Dhaka will be isolated from the rest of the country,” a BNP Dhaka city unit leader told the Dhaka Tribune.

Rejecting rumours that the BNP might hold a rally in the capital, Rizvi said the party would not hold any rally at this time. He said enforcing the movement is the party’s sole objective at the moment.

The party has decided to observe its founder Ziaur Rahman’s birth anniversary in a simple manner since Khaleda Zia has been “confined” and senior leaders of the party are on the run, sources said. l

DHAKA TRIBUNE

News

3

Saturday, January 17, 2015

Different youth organisations from the Chittagong Hill Tracts, left, demand punishment for the alleged rapist of a second grader and the scrapping of ‘Operation Uttoron’ to thwart land grabbers in front of the National Press Club yesterday. Nagorik Samaj, right, stages a demonstration in front of the National Museum in the capital yesterday protesting communal attacks and land grabbing in the hilly regions of Rangamati RAJIB DHAR/SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN

ICC may investigate possible war crimes in Palestinian territories n Agencies The prosecutor of the international criminal court in The Hague has launched an initial examination to consider whether war crimes have been committed in the occupied Palestinian territories and whether any crimes identified meet the criteria for a fully fledged investigation.

Although the first step, announced by prosecutor Fatou Bensouda, is largely a procedural one, it is still highly significant, threatening to plunge the court into one of the most high-profile cases it has taken on – and one that could ultimately lead to Israeli and Palestinian officials facing charges.

The initial examination was announced in a statement by Bensouda, who said she would pursue the issue with “full independence and impartiality”.

In the first instance, the court will have to decide whether potential crimes may have been committed and whether those alleged crimes meet the level of seriousness to come under the court’s jurisdiction. There is no deadline for the process, which could potentially drag on for several years.

The announcement comes at a politically sensitive time in Israel in the midst of an election campaign that will see the country go to the polls on 17 March.

Israel’s foreign minister, Avigdor Lieberman, swiftly denounced the announcement as “scandalous” in a statement that described the move as an effort to “try and harm Israel’s right to defend itself against terrorism”.

The statement read: “This same court, which after more than 200,000 deaths didn’t see fit to intervene in what was taking place in Syria or in Libya or in other places, now finds it worthwhile to ‘examine’ the most moral army in the world. This decision entirely stems from anti-Israel political considerations.” l

‘New BNP leader’ issues ultimatum to Khaleda n

Mohammad Al-Masum Molla

Self-proclaimed “real BNP leader” Kamrul Hasan Nasim yesterday issued an ultimatum for Khaleda Zia to step down as BNP chairperson and dissolve all committees by February 2.

Issuing a note of warning, Nasim, spokesperson of Sahed Obayed’s Gorbo Bangladesh, said if Khaleda Zia does not resign within the time frame they would lay a siege to her residence.

“We will lay a siege to Khaleda Zia’s residence with 1700 leaders to force her to resign and an initiative will be taken to revamp Zia’s BNP,” he told journalists at a press conference at Westin Hotel in the capital.

All on a sudden Nasim came to the spotlight on January 9 when he held a press conference at Hotel Lakeshore where he termed BNP of Khaleda and Tarique Rahman illegal and announced to restore Zia’s BNP. He came up with the “new BNP formula” at a time as BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia had been in “confinement” to her Gulshan office since January 3.

In the press conference no other leaders were seen excepting a few young people.

Introducing himself as a journalist, researcher, talk-show presenter and politician, Nasim said a “meaningful” rally would be held on January 30 in the capital with the grassroots leaders and activists.

Nasim, who earlier said some bigwigs of BNP will join him by January 16, reiterated that many key BNP leaders would join his alliance within the next 15 to 45 days and they would meet the press on February 6 again.

“There will be some surprises in the leadership but I will not disclose the name of the them on tactical ground.”

Nasim also said his party had 1.5 crore to 2 crore supporters across the country and the councils in every level will be held within six months while the national council by June.

In the press conference Nasim started reading out a 10-page written statement but as the reporters requested him to shorten his speech he stopped midway through.

Alleging that the present leadership of BNP is pushing the party into resorting to destructive and militant activities, he said: “I am the only spokesperson of the BNP. This is real BNP. “I am the doctor and I am here to make the party healthy at its crisis moment.”

When asked if BNP sought any help from him to put it on right track, Nasim said: “Why should BNP call me? I came to the media after talking to all-level leaders, I am not alone.”

Responding to the query of whether such decisions were taken in the party’s standing committee member, he said: “When there is any coup in the army, it

comes from mid-level. But I did not attempt any coup. Sometimes coup pushes the nation forward.”

He boasted: “I am a very ordinary citizen but I have had a struggling political career.”

He also claimed that the incumbent government had adopted many of his formulas. “I also gave formula to the BNP. But BNP did not take those and when I saw some people were misusing Zia’s BNP I took the imitative.”

When asked about his source of funding Nasim said: “BNP is run by the donation of party leaders and activists.”

Many political parties of Bangladesh is run by foreign aid but BNP never takes any money from foreign countries or any other agencies.

When asked about the party office the self-proclaimed BNP leader said “party office is at Nayapaltan and Gulshan. You can find me over there”.

Nayapaltan is the BNP’s headquarters and party Chairperson Khaleda Zia’s office is at Gulshan.

As the reporters asked him why he was holding press conference at a hotel rather than the party office he replies: “Look, if your place is occupied by criminals then you have to hold press conference at another place.”

No one is going to Nayapaltan and Gulshan office is occupied by Mohila Dal but I can go to the Nayapaltan office. l

SATURDAY, JANUARY 17 DHAKA TODAY TOMORROW SUN SETS 5:34PM SUN RISES 6:43AM 25 26 25 25 26 26 27 25

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YESTERDAY’S HIGH AND LOW

30.4ºC Feni

10.6ºC Ishwardi

Source: Accuweather/UNB

The crowd of commuters turns unbearable at the Kamalapur Railway Station yesterday as the second and last phase of Biswa Ijtema begins amid the BNP’s indefinite countrywide blockade programme SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN

JCD leader shot dead in Noakhali n Our Correspondent, Noakhali

PRAYER TIMES Fajr Sunrise Zohr Asr Magrib Esha

5:24am 6:42am 12:09am 3:57pm 5:34pm 6:54pm SourceL IslamicFinder.org

Three days after unidentified assailants shot and injured BNP chief Khaleda Zia’s adviser Reaz Rahman, the case investigating officer had not yet started a formal investigation into the attack.

While Gulshan police filed the case themselves, accusing eight to ten unidentified people last Wednesday and appointing an investigating officer (IO), they neither handed over case evidence to the IO nor ordered him to begin.

“I have not been ordered by senior officials to commence my investigation.

For this reason, I am currently performing other tasks,” Pushpen Debnath, sub-inspector of Gulshan police station, told the Dhaka Tribune yesterday.

Pushpen said: “As I have not received an order, I have yet to talk to victim Reaz Rahman or his family members. Once I receive my orders and the CCTV footage that was collected from three private establishments near the crime scene, I will speak with the victim and start my investigation.”

Last Tuesday assailants shot former state minister for foreign affairs Reaz Rahman, 74, in the waist and left leg and torched his car near Doreen Tower in Gulshan 2. He was hit by four bullets in the attack.

The attack took place around 8:30pm while he was returning home after visiting confined BNP chief Khaleda Zia at her Gulshan office.

Asked about the status of the investi-

n Abu Hayat Mahmud

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FORECAST FOR TODAY

n Mohammad Jamil Khan

gation, Rafiqul Islam, officer-in-charge of Gulshan police station, told the Dhaka Tribune that no one had yet been arrested or detained.

But when asked why the investigation had not been started, Rafiqul denied it had not started, calling it “a baseless claim.”

He said: “Along with regular Gulshan police, a joint investigation drive is under way to track down the crimi-

‘Once I receive my orders and the CCTV footage collected from near the crime scene, I will start my investigation’ nals and bring them to book. The Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) and Criminal Investigation Department (CID) are assisting us.”

“We are hopeful regarding the case,” he said.

Asked about not talking to Reaz or his family, Rafiqul said the victim was still recovering and under the care of his doctors but once police were allowed access, they would speak to him.

Reaz Rahman is being treated at United Hospital in the capital, under a six-member medical board.

Orthopaedic surgeon Dr Aminul Islam said the injured opposition leader was out of danger and recovering. l

Suranjit: BNP’s movement to die down in a week

WEATHER

Dhaka Chittagong Rajshahi Rangpur Khulna Barisal Sylhet Cox’s Bazar

Slow start to Reaz shooting probe

A leader of the Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal (JCD) was shot dead while an activist was stabbed and shot in Noakhali on Thursday night.

Police recovered the body of Morshed Alam Parvez, 24, son of Alamgir Hossain, from Hasanpur of Sonapur union in the district. Morshed was the Sonaimuri union ward 3 unit secretary of the student wing of the BNP.

Ashraful Islam, officer-in-charge of Sonaimuri police station, said around 11:45pm on Thursday locals informed him that a bullet-hit body was lying beside a road at Hasanpur.

Police went to the spot and recovered the body of Morshed and sent it to Abdul Malek Ukil Medical College Hospital for autopsy.

In another incident, Abul Khair, 45, was taking tea at Abirpur Bazar at 10:30pm when a group of miscreants

wearing masks attacked him with sharp weapons and stabbed him in the head.

They also shot him in the back before leaving the scene.

Locals rushed him to Abdul Malek Ukil Medical College Hospital. When his condition deteriorated doctors referred him to Dhaka Medical College Hospital.

Two cases were filed with the police station concerned in connection with the incidents. l

Senior Awami League leader Suranjit Sengupta yesterday said the opposition-sponsored blockade and shutdown would automatically die down in a week.

He termed BNP an anarchist organisation and ruled out any possibility of dialogue with it.

Suranjit was speaking at a discussion in the capital.

“We are concerned like general people over the violence unleashed by BNP-Jamaat-led 20-party alliance in the name of democratic movement.”

No more time will be given to the BNP-Jamaat militants and terrorists. It would stop within a week, Suranjit said.

BNP Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi yesterday urged the government to take step for an effective dialogue immediately.

At the same time he urged his party men to continue to enforce blockade programme until the victory is achieved.

The Awami League-led 14-party alliance on Thursday refused to hold talks with the BNP-led 20-party alliance.

It rather announced that the country’s local administrations would help the 14-party alliance to form Anti-Subversive Acts Committees in every locality across the country.

State Minister for Home Affairs Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal too said the government would not show any tolerance to BNP-Jamaat activists in-

volved in the blockade programme.

“Stern action will be taken against the criminals who are carrying out subversive activities across the country.

The government will show zero tolerance to BNP-Jamaat terrorists,” the junior minister said.

The ruling alliance’s decision came a day after the United States, the United Kingdom and the European Union separately expressed deep shock at the loss of lives during recent protests.

They also called for an immediate dialogue between the ruling Awami League and opposition BNP. Suranjit, chairman of the parliamentary standing committee on Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Ministry, said: “BNP would fail miserably in waging an anti-government movement as they have no connection with people.”

He also asked the 14-party leaders and activists to remain on streets to resist the BNP-Jamaat alliance violence.

Terming BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia a leader of terrorists he said: “Your dream will never come true even if you sit with diplomats. Because no country in the world supports violence or sabotage. So none of them (diplomats) is with you.” l

4

DHAKA TRIBUNE

News

Saturday, January 17, 2015

Extortion cripples Sonahat land port, importers suffer Labourers also blackmail importers for tips and higher payment I was also afraid to complaint to n Our Correspondent, Kurigram fee. anyone.”

Sonahat land port, the 18th land port of the country, at Kurigram’s Bhurungamari upazila is allegedly infested with rampant extortion by local port leaders.

There is allegation against the Sonahat Land Port Importers-Exporters’ Association for charging potential traders a hefty amount as membership fees unjustly. Moreover, labourers at the port also blackmail importers in the name of tips and increased pay.

Since the coal import from India began in December last year, Sonahat port has become a trading hub with more and more importers rushing for business. The coal imported through Sonahat is also in great demand as the brick fields of the country have been in dire need for coal.

However, this surge in business also prompted some dishonest businessmen to take advantage of the situation.

The association formed by a mighty few has allegedly been collecting Tk50,000 as membership fee from the importers. And without becoming a member of the association, no one is allowed to use the port to load or unload goods.

Especially the importers coming from other parts of the country are facing the biggest obstacles.

An importer from Mymensingh, on assurance of anonymity, told the Dhaka Tribune: “Most of the local importers are not members of this association.

It is the outsiders who are forced to become a members. Actually this is just another way of extortion.”

Meanwhile, a recent visit to the port found that Nayeem Enterprise, an importing company, was not allowed by the association to unload the goods. Hence, despite a huge demand of coal, the company could not sell it to its clients.

Abdus Salam, owner of Nipa Trading said: “I am now in trouble after importing coal through this port. The association members did not allow me to sell my imported coal. Finding no other alternatives, I had to pay the Tk50,000

Sheikh International, a local importer from the Kurigram district, was asked about the association. “The association has no legal ground. I am not a member.” When asked how he was trading through the port without being a member, he said the association did not have the ability to stop him.

When contacted, General Secretary of the association and proprietor of Bonna Enterprise, Abdur Razzak, acknowledge the membership fee and said: “We take Tk10,000 from the local importers and Tk50,000 from the outsiders. Because the local importers have contributed to starting the port and develop its infrastructure. With the money from members, we plan to buy a land for the association and build an office.”

Asked if the association was registered, Abdur Razzak said they had applied for registration recently and would get it within 10-15 days.

Moreover, importers also alleged that the labourers of the port demand higher pay compared to other land ports in the country. They also demand a fixed baksheesh from the importers.

Importer Shaheen from Mymensingh said: “We pay Tk5 per CFT to the labourers here compared to Tk3 in other land ports. In addition, the labourers literally blackmail us by demanding minimum Tk1000 baksheesh for their work. They would not settle for anything less. Sometimes, they would also refuse to load or unload our goods if we don’t pay them what they demand.”

He further claimed that the labour union in the port was without government approval and there was no state regulation at the port.

This correspondent tried to contact by phone Khalilur Rahman in charge of customs and VAT at Sonahat land port but failed to get any response.

In response to the allegations, Deputy Commissioner of Kurigram district ABM Azad said: “I have no idea about the matter. In fact you are first one to tell me. If anyone formally complaints, I will look into it.” l

Three Ansar members checking if the fishplates are properly connected to the rail tracks as blockade supporters have the tendency of removing fishplates from rail tracks leading to deadly accidents. The photo was taken from the Harian Railway Sation of Rajshahi yesterday AZAHAR UDDIN

Tiger poaching turns rampant in Sundarbans n Tribune Report

Though the government has taken various measures to protect the Bengal Tiger in the Sundarbans, its poaching is on the rise with 49 being killed in the last 14 years (2001-2014), according to Forest Department data.

Among the 49 tigers, 17 were directly killed in the Sundarbans East Zone of the Forest Department while 15 tigers in the Sundarbans West Zone.

According to its data, the Forest Department recovered 17 tiger skins from different parts of the country during the period (2001-2014) while being smuggled out of the country.

On Tuesday night, members of Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) arrested three members of a tiger poachers’ gang along with a tiger hide, teeth and some bones of tiger from a bus stand in Morelganj upazila of the district.

During their preliminary interrogation by Rab members, the arrestees confessed to killing eight Bengal tigers in Sundarbans in the last two months for smuggling out their hides and bones.

“If it’s true that the poachers killed

eight tigers in the last two months, then it’s alarming. It’ll be difficult to protect the Sundarbans’ tigers in accordance with the declaration of ‘International Tiger Forum’ held in St. Petersburg (Russia) in November 2010,” forest conservator (wildlife circle) Dr Tapan Kumar Dey said.

As per the declaration, he said, Bangladesh is committed to increasing the tiger population marginally or maintaining the present status in the Sundarbans, but now it seems to be a challenging task for the country.

According to an official survey conducted in 2004, there were 440 tigers in the Sundarbans, the country’s only natural tiger habitat with a range of 6,017 square kilometres.

Although official data shows that some 49 tigers were killed in last 14 years, the forest people who live in the Sundarbans from generation to generation claim that the number of poached tigers would be much higher than the forest department data.

They said wildlife poaching continues rampantly in the Sundarbans while the poachers frequently enter it and hunt tigers, deer and other wildlife us-

ing traps or shooting them.

There are a number of wildlife poachers’ groups in the nearby villages of the Sundarbans and they are poaching wildlife in both the Sundarbans East and Sundarbans West zones. The groups have a link with the international wildlife smugglers, according to local sources.

After poaching the wildlife, including tigers from the Sundarbans, the local poachers bring them to the nearby villages and process the hides, bones and other limbs of the wildlife. Later, they sell those to the international smugglers.

Local forest people claim that the poachers also smuggle out tiger and deer cubs and other wildlife.

The residents of Banglabazar, Uttar Rajapur, Sonatola, Bagi and Khuriakhali villages nearby the Sundarbans said there are a number of active wildlife poachers’ groups in their neighbourhoods and they are directly involved in wildlife poaching, and the villagers can hardly raise their voice for fear of reprisal.

Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) of Sundarbans East Zone Amir Hossain Chowdhury said many plans are being

implemented to protect the Bengal tigers while the Forest Department’s Wildlife Circle has been strengthened, officials of the department have been trained and coordination among the Forest Department, Coast Guard, Rab and police has been strengthened to check wildlife poaching and smuggle out of the country.

He said officials of the Forest Department are conducting drives across the country to arrest wildlife poachers and they are often detaining members of wildlife smugglers in possession with hides of tigers and deer.

The International Tiger Forum in 2010 declared its collective political will to take all necessary actions to prevent the extinction of wild tigers and increasing global tiger population double by 2022.

The forum has taken the Global Tiger Recovery Programme Implementation Plan, which is a significant step for the Tiger conservation of the Tiger Range Countries, including Bangladesh.

The second Stocktaking Conference of the Global Tiger Recovery Programme (GTRP) was held in Dhaka during September 14-16 in 2014. l

Blockade, hartal hit Kuakata tourism badly n Correspondent, Barisal

Dodging the authorities concerned, a man holds up four encaged Dove birds that he brought to sell at Rajshahi’s Katakhali market yesterday AZAHAR UDDIN

50 sued for bus helper’s death n Our Correspondent, Gazipur Police has accused around 50 leaders and activists of the BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami for the arson attack on a bus early Thursday morning in Gazipur which killed 17-year-old bus helper Tofazzal Hossain.

In the case filed at Kaliakair police station on Thursday night, police identified 34 local BNP-Jamaat leaders and activists, including Gazipur municipality Mayor Mojibur Rahman, who is also general secretary of the municipality’s BNP wing, and its President Humayun Kabir Khan. The rest on the list are still unidentified, sources said.

The arson attack, one of many during the ongoing nationwide indefinite blockade enforced by the BNP-led 20-party alliance, took place at Mahishbathan Bottola area in Kaliakair. The pro-blockade activists set fire to a staff bus of a factory in Gazipur parked beside the Dhaka-Tangail highway, killing Tofazzal who was asleep inside the bus at that time. l

The scenic spots of Kuakata remains almost vacant of tourists these days as people are refraining from making a holiday plan fearing political unrest.

As a result, the hotel and motel owners are counting substantial losses since November until now, a period considered as the “peak season” for the tourism industry.

“Only 12 guests arrived today by the river route. We are incurring a loss of around Tk6 lakh each week. Around Tk3 lakh is allocated for monthly salaries of our 19 employees and other expenses,” Md Azharuddin, manger of Motel Youth Inn, told the Dhaka Tribune yesterday.

“Many tourists have cancelled their tour out of fear of blockade and strike related violence,” he said.

Ahmed Jasim, a businessman based in Barisal, said: “We have cancelled

our tours considering the blockade, as we would not like to get stranded in Kuakata for uncertain period amid risk of losing life and properties.”

“A number of tourists have cancelled bookings and we fear the situation might continue for next six months,” said Motaleb Sharif, secretary of Kuakata Hotel-Motel Owners Association.

“During this time in previous years we have faced hard time in giving reservations; however, this year, we are receiving only cancellations of the bookings and returning the advance they had paid,” Motaleb added.

Kuakata, which is mainly famous for the views of sunrise and sunset, is witnessing only a few local tourists with limited budgets, said Motaleb.

“The announcement of the indefinite transport blockade has plummeted our targets and we have fallen the victims,” Hasanul Iqbal, spokesman of

Kuakata Investors Forum said.

Holiday makers are cancelling their tours because in case they get stuck for the strikes and blockades, their expenses might get doubled, opined leaders of Kuakata tourism business community.

During this time in previous years we have faced hard time in giving reservations; however, this year Jony Alamgir, director of Kuakata Sea Tourism, said: “We have 18 boat-based tourism facilities in Kuakata with 15-20 staff. Now we are passing days in anxiety over how to disburse salaries to the staff.” l

Inter-district buses start moving in large scale n Our Correspondent, Rajshahi Life of people living in Rajshahi was almost normal on the 11th day of the blockade enforced by the BNP-led 20-party alliance. People from all walks of life did their jobs.

No major incident took place while people were also seen on the streets in large scale and a huge crowd also was noticed at bus terminal and Rajshahi railway stations.

The inter-district buses were seen moving on the highways in a large scale while a considerable number of buses and goods laden trucks also left Rajshahi for Dhaka by police escort, confirmed Manjur Rahman Pitar, general secretary of Rajshahi Highway Transport Group.

Meanwhile, police nabbed at least 31 leaders and activists of BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami duing an overnight drive in the city. The drive was conducted from Thursday night to Friday early

morning, said sources at the Rajshahi Metropolitan Police.

About 25 were held from Motihar, Boalia, Shah Makhdum and Rajpara Thana of Rajshahi city while 6 were held outside the city, confirmed respective police station sources.

The arrestees were will be produced before court today after primary investigation, said Assistant Commissioner of Rajshahi Metropolitan police (RMP) and also its spokesman Ifte Khayer Alam. l

Topon Ghosh.

At the conference, Abdul Mannan claimed that Topon and other family members of the victim were suffering from insecurity after he (the brother) filed a case regarding the attack, accusing 49 people. He said the accused were not yet arrested and police were playing an indifferent role as they are afraid to arrest the criminals.

Former Kaliganj upazila AL secretary

Israil Hossain, and Panel Mayor Rezaul Islam were present at the conference among others.

On January 7, during an extended meeting of Awami League at the Poura auditorium of Kaliganj upazila, a group of Chhatra League activists led by Juba League leader Shibli Nomani attacked the meeting. Kola union AL President Ananda was hacked during the attack and later he died at night. l

Uttara Export Processing Zone Family demands arrest of Ananda Ghosh killers to get $345 million n Our Correspondent, Jhenaidah The Awami League in Jhenaidah yesterday demanded justice for the death of its leader Ananda Mohon Ghosh, who was killed on January 7.

The demand was made at a press conference in Jhenaidah Press Club organised by former lawmaker and Kaliganj upazila Awami League unit convener Abdul Mannan and the victim’s brother

n Tribune Report

MIs Shanzhou Packing (Bangladesh) Ltd will invest $345 million to establish a manufacturing industry in Uttara Export Processing Zone in Dhaka which might create employment opportunities for 915 Bangladesh nationals.

The Chinese company is expected to produce five million square metres of paper carton, 500 tonnes of blister, two million square metres of sellotape, two

million pcs color boxes annually.

The agreement was signed between Bangladesh Export Processing Zones Authority and Mis Shanzhou (Bangladesh) Packing Ltd in Dhaka yesterday at the capital’s Bepza Complex.

Sayed Nurul Islam, Member (Investment Promotion) of Bepza and Zhai Hai Peng, General Manager of Mis Shanzhou (Bangladesh) Packing Ltd signed the agreement on behalf of their respective organisations. l

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Spotlight

5

Saturday, January 17, 2015

DITF DRAWS A HUGE CROWD Although the Dhaka International Trade Fair has seen low turnout since its beginning on January 1 due to political unrest, yesterday was unusual as the fair witnessed a huge crowd. Thousands of visitors from different parts of the country were seen crowding at the fair venue. Most of the visitors were seen buying stuffs from different stalls. The crowd was mostly seen at the shops of carpet, cloth, jewellery, cosmetics, food and electronic appliances.

A total of 14 countries, including India, Pakistan, China, Malaysia, Iran, Thailand and Turkey, are participating in the fair SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN

6

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Nation

Saturdayday, January 17, 2015

Encroachers gobble up land of primary school As land grabbers are from the ruling party, school authority prefers to keep mum over the issue n Our Correspondent, Jhenaidah Some local land grabbers blessed by the ruling party Awami League have built at least 35 shops on the land of Ziala Government Primary School at Harinakunda upazila, Jhenaidah.

As the land grabbers are from the ruling party, teachers and employees of the school prefer to keep mum over the issue in fear of retaliation.

But some staff who proffered to be unnamed told the Dhaka Tribune that some people from the Awami League, including Habibur Rahman, secretary of village unit Awami League with his cohorts Samad Mia, Rahmat Ullah and Anisur Rahman, have erected these shops on the middle of 2014 under the very nose of upazila education office as well as district administration.

Since then, these people have been running these shops to do brisk business. But the school authorities are yet to file any complaint to upazila education office.

Education officer of the upazila Md Akbar Ali told this correspondent over cell phone that he had heard about the matter two days ago.

He said: “No one can occupy the government’s land illegally. I will definitely look into the matter soon.”

The school has been built in 1972 on 57 decimals of land of which the encroaches have already gobbled up 33 decimals land. Currently, a total of 292 students are studding at the school.

While talking to this correspondent the students expressed their disappointment about space shortage.

Farzana Aktar, a student of class V said they could not play during tiffin period as the school ground is congested.

“We want a big field for removing our monotony,” she said.

Another student Masum Hossain of class III said: “We cannot play cricket and football because our playground is very small. We need a large field.”

Another students who could not dare to mention his name told the Dha-

Orange juice sends 6 girls to hospital in Comilla n Our Correspondent, Comilla Six female students of Bakai Government Primary School at Laksham upazila in Comilla fell ill and had to be hospitalised after drinking orange juice during tiffin break yesterday.

The students, all fifth-graders, bought the juice from a street vendor outside the school compound and had it during their break.

After a while, all of them started feeling stomach ache, and eventually had to be taken to Laksham Upazila Health Complex around 3:30pm, their parents told the Dhaka Tribune.

The school’s Headmaster Rustom Ali confirmed it and said the students themselves had told them about having juice during break.

Delowar Hossain, father of one of the students Swapna Akhtar, said: “I rushed to the hospital after I was told that my daughter was in hospital.

There, I learned that she had juice from a street vendor.”

Dr Sirajul Islam, medical officer at the health complex, said the juice they has was made in an unhygienic way, which is why the students fell sick. l

Some local influential people blessed by the ruling party Awami League have built at least 35 shops on the premises of Ziala Government Primary School located at Harinakunda upazila, Jhenaidah. The photo was taken yesterday DHAKA TRIBUNE ka Tribune that one year ago the play ground was bigger, but it is shrinking day by day.

Asked about why the school authority did not take stand against the construction of shops of their land, head-

master of the school Rezaul Islam said he tried to raise voice, later preferred to keep mum as the land grabbers threaten his with dire consequence.

But some sources of the school said the headmaster could not complaint to

the upazila education office.

“If he informed the education office about the illegal occupation, the office may take steps against it, but he did not do it for unknown reason.”

Local land grabbers of ruling party

Paddy price slumps in Thakurgaon due to continuous blockade, farmers hit hard n Our Correspondent, Thakurgaon Due to the countrywide indefinite blockade enforced by the BNP-led 20-party alliance and rampant violence that ensued, the price of paddy has drastically fallen in Thakurgaon.

The farmers of the district has been facing a great loss as they are not getting due price for their produce. Moreover, businessmen are also frustrated as they are not being able to distribute paddy across the country.

According to the farmers, even a week ago paddy was selling at Tk700

per maund at the Mokam (local market of raw agro-produces). But since the blockade started, the price has fallen to Tk540 per maund. The reason being the disinterest from the businessmen who are struggling to distribute the already collected amount.

Many traders said they could not transport the paddy to various warehouses due to the lack of transport. As a result, the paddy is left in the open making them to lose moisture and quality in the process.

The transport owners have been reluctant to operate their vehicles fearing

the vandalising and arson during the blockade.

Hossain Hawlader, a farmer from Kalitola village of Thakurgaon Sadar upazila, came to sell his paddy at the Chowdhury Bazar last Thursday. But he was utterly frustrated as he had to sell the paddy only for Tk540 whereas his production cost was Tk770 per maund.

Farmer Salam Mia of Jamalpur union said: “We did not get a good price in the last two years. So we are hoping to make some profit this time since the yield was high. But this political situation is destroying us.”

Businessman Abu Taher said he could not send paddy to the warehouses in the last one week. “The paddy is turning dark day by day as it is losing moisture. This also causes them to lose weight. I will face a huge loss by selling this poor quality paddy. That is why I am not buying anymore,” he added.

General Secretary of Thakurgaon District Rice-mill Owners’ Association, Mahmud Hasan Baju said: “Farmers got a good harvest of Aman crop this year. Also the price was good at the beginning of the season. But now they are really frustrated.” l

n UNB

Drastic fall in supply of coal is causing serious impediment to production activities of the brick kilns in Chandpur district pushing many of them almost into the jaws of shutdown.

Due to the coal supply shortage, a good number of brick kilns in the district cannot fire their kilns in the ongoing peak season.

Raw bricks lie stacked in the brickfields with the owners counting heavy losses every day.

Consequently, with no works in hand, the workers are passing idle time as well, although amid a severe hardship.

According to the District Brick Manufacturers’ Association, there are 123 brickfields in eight upazilas of the district.

For severe scarcity of coal, most brickfields are presently facing disruption in manufacturing bricks, throwing several thousand workers out of jobs.

Having no regular wages under the present circumstances, the workers are facing difficulties in maintaining their families, including their children’s education costs and treatment expenditure.

When contacted, owner of a brickfield told this correspondent, ‘We need urgent supply of coal from Barapukuria coal mine to keep production of bricks smooth.”

There are two types of bricks generally manufactured in this district.

One is of zigzag type, production of which needs coal while the other type is burnt in 120 feet chimney by using firewood.

In the district, bricks are generally produced in the fields from October to April but this year, due to the acute crisis of coal, the manufacturers cannot yet burn any bricks.

Taking advantage of the situation, traders have raised the prices of old bricks forcing the people to count extra money for construction works beyond their budget. Same is the case with the government and non-government contractors who are implementing projects with bricks.

Now-a-days, bricks are sold at over Tk10,000 per thousand whereas it was sold at between Tk6,000 and Tk7,000 per thousand a few months ago.

General Secretary of the District Brick Manufacturers’ Association Shafiqul Islam told this correspondent that for the last several months, many brickfields have kept their production activities stopped for want of coal from India and this has plunged the brick manufacturers and their workers into great problems.

Only 25% brickfields are now in production with their limited stocks of coal. For want of coal, these brickfields will also face closure soon, hinted the general secretary.

The brick manufacturers are counting heavy losses every day, said Bazlur Rahman Skeikh and Sheikh Md Manjurul Kader Sohel, prominent brickfield owners. l

NEWS IN BRIEF Jamaat man held for plotting subversion A leader of Jamaat-e-Islami Daud Molla, 60, was held from near Noapara Bridge under Gopalganj’s Kashiani upazila yesterday for plotting subversive activities in the area. Kashiani police station Officer-in-Charge Monirul Islam said Daud was holding a secret meeting with other activists of the party at the spot. Receiving the information, police held Daud from the spot while others managed to flee. Daud is the brother-in-law of Kashiyani Jamaat unit Secretary Rezaul Molla, he said.

– Our Correspondent, Gopalganj

Woman killed in family feud in Gazipur n Our Correspondent, Gazipur A woman was allegedly killed by her daughter-in-law in the middle of an altercation in North Mouchak area at Kaliakair upazila in Gazipur on Thursday night.

Sub-Inspector Saiful Islam, in-charge of Mouchak police outpost, said the feud between the victim Parvin Akhtar, 50, and the accused murderer Rozina Akhtar, 20, started right after Parvin’s son Fazlul married Rozina, also an RMG worker, following a brief relationship.

Parvin did not accept her son’s choice for a wife, which caused frequent bickering between the motherin-law and the daughter-in-law.

A similar dispute took place between the duo on Thursday night, when at one point Rozina struck Parvin with an axe in her head, killing her on the spot, SI Saiful said.

Police sent Parvin’s body to Gazipur Sadar Hospital for a post-mortem. Rozina has been arrested as well. l

have built 35 shops and establishments illegally on 33 decimal lands out of 57 of Ziala government primary school under Harinakundo upazila of the district. They do not pay any house rent, alleged the headmaster of the school. l

Coal scarcity hits Chandpur brick kilns

JUST to hold convocation on February 9 A brick house is illegally being built along the Monu river. The snap was taken on Wednesday

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Illegal structures built along Monu River n Our Correspondent, Moulvibazar Over 50 brick and mud houses have been built along the Monu river encroaching on its banks in Moulvibazar town.

More houses will be built along its half a kilometre stretch of the river soon as locals have grabbed parts of the river for it.

The correspondent visited the area recently and found most parts of the river had been encroached upon at the town’s Shaiyarpur.

Seeking anonymity, a woman said: “Nobody has ever faced any legal prob-

lem while building theirs and so I am going to build mine, encroaching on a piece of the river land.”

Talking to the correspondent, Tajul Islam, 70, who hails from Noakhali, said: “I have migrated here since my house was eroded into a river a few years ago in my district.

“After migrating here, I have built a house and am now living with my family well.”

He however said the land on which he had built his house belonged to the Water Development Board.

A municipal water supply line was also seen beside the house of the elder-

ly man, which is not legal.

Seeking anonymity, another woman said: “We are voters and so nobody would come to evict us. Besides, we won’t leave this place unless we are compensated well.”

Mayor Faizul Karim Moyun said: “I do now know whether any water supply line has been connected to the houses illegally built along the river. I will visit there by myself.”

Water Development Board Executive Engineer Md Faizur Rob said: “I did not know about such grabbing of the river land is going on. I will take steps after looking into this.” l

Jessore University of Science and Technology will hold its second convocation ceremony on February 9, said the Vice-Chancellor of the university Prof Abdus Sattar at the press briefing yesterday.

The Chancellor of the university President Abdul Hamid had agreed to grace the event with his presence, he said.

– Our Correspondent, Jessore

CNG driver killed in Chittagong road mishap

A CNG-run auto-rickshaw driver was killed in a road accident on the Dhaka-Chittagong Highway at Mirsarai upazila in Chittagong early yesterday. The deceased was identified as Ismail Hossain, 40, son of Md Yusuf, hailing from Chhagolnaiyya upazila in Feni, said police sources. Sub-Inspector (SI) Mainuddin of Jorarganj police station said a Dhaka-bound truck collided head on

with the CNG, in front of Comfort Hospital point in Baraiarhat municipality area, leaving CNG driver critically injured. He was rushed to the upazila health complex but was later shifted to Chittagong Medical College Hospital (CMCH) where the on-duty doctor declared him dead.

– Tribune Report

Jhut godown catches fire A jhut (garment factory wastes) godown was gutted as a fire broke out in the godown at Jamgora Kathaltola in Ashulia area yesterday. Witnesses said the fire broke out in a jhut godown owned by Abdul Malek around 8 am and soon engulfed the whole godown. On information, two firing fighting units from DEPZ fire service rushed to the spot and brought the blaze under control after half-an-hour. Fire Brigade sources said the fire might have originated from electric short circuit.

– Tribune Report

Kuwait expatriate found dead in Noakhali A Kuwait expatriate was found dead yesterday 14 hours after he went missing in Manikyanagar village under Sonaimuri upazila of Noakhali. Quoting his relatives, Sonaimuri police station Officer-in-Charge Ashraful Islam said Saleh Ahmed, 35, son of Md Abul Hossain, went for a tea near his house around 8pm on Thursday and did not return since. Around 10am yesterday locals found his body lying inside a peanut garden on the premises of “Choukider Bari” near his house and informed police. Police sent the body to hospital for autopsy.

– Our Correspondent, Noakhali

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Heritage

Saturday, January 17, 2015

7

The merchant of London Tim Steel portrays a vivid picture of the lands and people around the Ganges Delta, the heart of today’s Bangladesh, nearly five hundred years ago

The lands that had once been a great centre of international trade, and one which, apparently, continued to be so, paints above all, more a picture of the people and their works, than of simply, the cities and the politics

“H

er husband to Aleppo is gone, he’s Master of the Tyger.” It was 1582, and Shakespeare, an 18 year old, was still living, as far as we know, in Stratford.

But, when writing his great masterpiece, Macbeth, it is clear that the impression made on his youthful mind by the voyage of four London merchants to India, a voyage that took them first to Aleppo, aboard a ship called the Tyger, was fresh in his mind.

on the Yamuna and Ganges, to reach Bengal from Agra, but his writing lingers, unsurprisingly, on the gold mines around Patna.

It is, however, the cotton, and the woven cotton cloths which are most often mentioned, as he travelled towards Gaur, before heading to Cooch Behar, back to Hoogli, onward to Orissa, Tripura, and probably Bhutan, before reaching Barisal.

His constant mention of seeing, “many tigers,” may reveal a reasonable degree of apprehension, but wild buffalo, swine and deer, as well as a wide

It is clear from his writing that, unsurprisingly, his greatest attention was paid to the trade potential, but the eye for people is an ever present quality, like any good trader

Shakespeare seldom failed to sustain the interest of his audience, and it seems that the voyage was not only fresh in his mind, but he was quite sure that the reference would, after even more than 30 years between the event, and his writing, have ready appeal to those who heard it delivered, as is seen by the first line spoken by the First Witch, to the “would be,” king.

It seems reasonable to suppose that the voyage, which eventuated in and around the lands that are now India, and those of Bangladesh, in his time, simply, “the lands of the Great Mughal” was, to late 16th century and early 17th century England as unforgettable as, perhaps, man’s first landing on the moon.

Clearly, Fitch was awestruck by what he found in this north east corner of India, and in the lands around, which he took time to explore with the kind of merchant’s eye for trade that resonates throughout his journal.

Indeed, his social, environmental, political and cultural commentary might well serve, even today, as a model for a marketer’s consideration of a new market!

It may have taken him five months to cross the waters of north India,

diversity of birdlife also took his eye.

It was, however, clearly merchantable goods that most interested him, recording sugar, opium, pepper, silk, musk, rice, butter, and “a great store of cloth which is made of grass, which they call Yerua, it is like silk” which he observed in Orissa.

It was in Orissa that he records the, “many ships out of India, Negapatan, Sumatra, Malacca and diverse other places.”

Travelling on, to reach Tripura, it appears he became confused about the overlordship of territories, simply recording, when he reached Chittagong, that the port was “often-times under the king of Recon (Arakan) and Rame (Ramu).”

Of Bhutan, he writes, “which is called Bottander, and the city Bottia, the king is called Dermain; the people whereof are very tall and strong, and there are merchants which come out of China, and, they say, Muscovia and Tartarie. And they come to buy musk, cambals, agates, silk, pepper and saffron.”

It was from Chittagong that he finally entered the lands that are now Bangladesh, although his merchant’s eye of all that lay in the lands around

would, no doubt, apply as much to these lands of the Delta.

Sailing across the deltaic waters, it appears he first came to Barisal; “the king whereof is a Gentile (Hindu), a man very well disposed and delighted much to shoot in a gun. His country is very great and fruitful, and has store of rice, much cotton cloth and cloth of silk.

As he notes, so often in his journal, “the people naked, except a little cloth about their waist,” and “the women wear a great store of silver hoops about their necks and arms, and their legs are ringed with silver and copper, and rings made of elephant’s tooth.”

It is clear from his writing that, unsurprisingly, his greatest attention was paid to the trade potential, but the eye for people is an ever present quality, like, I suppose, any good trader. In his writing there are vivid descriptions of Hindu marriage ceremonies, together with his regular comments on the height of people he probably noticed as a contrast to his homeland in London.

We do know that Tudor period English had an average height of about five feet three inches, and no doubt Fitch was no taller, and as like as not, shorter. Height, being determined, in large part, by diet as well as genetics, it is interesting to note that it appears as though the late sixteenth century north India offered a better dietary habit than England, creating a sufficient height difference for Fitch to comment.

when they be young,” producing, it seems a span long (about 9 inches)!

The people of Cooch Behar also surprised him, having, “hospitals for sheep, goats, dogs, cats, birds, and for all other living creatures,” and where, “they will kill nothing.”

In Patna, he noted, “I saw a dissembling prophet who sat upon a horse in the market place, and pretended to sleep, and many people came and touched his feet with their hands, and then kissed their hands. They took him for a great man, but sure he was a false person. The people of these countries are much given to such prating and dissembling hypocrites!”

For today’s Bangladeshis, most of such comments seem reserved for those beyond their borders; he has nothing but good to write of the people he found in Barisal, Sripur, and Sonargaon.

The latter two places he reached, it is safe to assume, along the waters of the delta, travelling up from Barisal.

The Sripur he knew, which he reports as a base for the Portuguese, who he found much in evidence, with a thriving centre of trade and shipbuilding, seems to have disappeared, but was probably close to the Shitalokka River, north of Dhaka, of which, interestingly, he makes no mention.

“Sonargaon is a town six leagues from Sripur, where there is the best and finest cloth made of cotton that is in all India.” Being the opening sentence of his journal’s description of Sonargaon, we may deduce something of the excitement of this

Height, being determined, in large part, by diet as well as genetics, it appears as though the late 16th century north India offered a better dietary habit than England, creating a sufficient height difference for Fitch to comment

In Cooch Behar, it was the long ears of the people that he commented on, a practice that seems to have ceased; “they draw out in lengths by devices

merchant on finding it.

Tigers still rate a mention, in the context of the small houses, “covered in straw,” with doors to “keep out the

WIKIMEDIA

Fitch’s return to London sparked renewed interest in the Court of Queen Elizabeth sufficiently for her to join the merchants, who resolved to set up the East India Company as a result of his reports

tigers,” as well as the foxes that, apparently, proliferated. The cotton cloth he so admired, we learn, was traded, together with “much” rice, to all India, Ceylon, Arakan, Malacca, Sumatra, and ‘many other places’.

From Sonargaon, we know he headed to Pegu, in Arakan, and then onwards to the Siamese Shan states, which are now Myanmar, followed by Malacca, to research the trade in the Spice Islands, as well as the gemstones from Myanmar and Thailand.

As he sailed home, he may have reflected on his adventure. He had departed with four companions, three of whom chose to remain at places they visited, and the fourth disappearing, never heard of again, when he decided to return, alone, to London.

Quite apart from the picture the journal gives us of late 16th century south and south east Asia, we know that Fitch’s return to London sparked renewed interest in the Court of Queen Elizabeth sufficiently for her to join the merchants who resolved to set up the East India Company as a result of his reports. And, in 1601, just before her death, issued a royal charter for the Company, fatefully, as it turned out, for Britain, the lands that are now Bangladesh, and indeed, for the entire world.

This then is a vivid picture of the lands and people around the Ganges Delta, the heart of today’s Bangladesh, nearly five hundred years ago. The lands that had once been a great centre of international trade, and one which, apparently, continued to be so, paints above all, more a picture of the people and their works, than of simply, the cities and the politics. The merchant of London is an epic adventure, perhaps belonging more to today’s Hollywood than Shakespearean. l Tim Steel is a communications, marketing and tourism consultant

8

DHAKA TRIBUNE

World

Saturday, January 17, 2015

French post office hostage-taking ends, no victims n Agencies, Paris An armed man who earlier took several hostages at a post office northwest of Paris yesterday has surrendered with no one hurt, a French police official told Reuters.

The man equipped with a military weapon took an unconfirmed number of hostages at the post office in the town of Colombes, just outside the capital.

“I cannot confirm or deny whether it is linked to terrorism,” an official at the city prosecutor’s office told Reuters earlier, declining to give further details.

BFM TV, citing an unidentified source, said the hostage drama was not related to last week’s attacks in Paris.

French police arrested 12 people earlier yesterday suspected of helping militant Islamist gunmen in last week’s killings in Paris. There have been numerous false alerts across the city since the attacks.

The armed man was holed up in a post office outside Paris yesterday with two hostages, police said, adding there did not appear to be any link to extremist attacks.

Police sources said several post office clients had managed to escape and that the gunman himself had called them.

The sources said he was “speaking incoherently” and was heavily armed with grenades and Kalashnikovs. l

Russia says Mohammed (PBUH) cartoon publication illegal n AFP

REUTERS

Russia’s media watchdog yesterday warned publications that printing cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) was against the country’s law and ethical norms following the Charlie Hebdo attack in France.

“The publication in Russian media of such caricatures go against ethical and moral norms worked out over centuries,” said the media and communications watchdog Roskomnadzor.

“Disseminating caricatures on religious themes in the media can be considered insulting or humiliating to the representatives of religious confessions and groups, and qualified as inciting ethnic and relgious hatred,” an offence under Russian law, it said.

The publication would also violate the Russian media and anti-extremism laws, the watchdog said, adding that it was asking Russian media to “refrain from publishing caricatures that can be seen as a violation.”

The watchdog published the statement as a response to the ongoing debate on the “legality of publishing caricatures depicting religious objects of worship which affect feelings of religious people.” l

frensied eBay bidding in some European countries.

In its message to prosecutors and judges, France’s Interior Ministry said it was issuing the crackdown on hate speech order to protect freedom of expression from comments that could incite violence or hatred. It said no one should be allowed to use their religion to justify hate speech.

The government order warned authorities to be particularly attentive to any incidents that could lead to urban unrest or violence against police. That suggests the government fears new riots like the wave that swept through France’s neglected housing projects and immigrant communities a decade ago.

The government is writing broader new rules on phone-tapping and other intelligence to fight terrorism, spokesman Stephane Le Foll said. It also is launching a deeper project to rethink France’s education system, urban policies and integration model, in an apparent recognition that the terror attacks exposed deeper problems about inequality in France, especially at its housing projects.

Dieudonne, a comic who popularised an arm gesture that resembles a Nazi salute and who has been convict-

ed repeatedly of racism and anti-Semitism, is no stranger to controversy. His provocative performances were banned last year but he has a core following among France’s disaffected youth.

The comic wrote an open letter to France’s interior minister. “You are looking for a pretext to forbid me. You consider me like Amedy Coulibaly when I am not any different from Charlie,” he wrote.

Coulibaly had claimed allegiance to the Islamic State group, while the Kouachi brothers told survivors they were sent by al-Qaida in Yemen.

Defending his caricature of Muhammad on Charlie Hebdo’s latest cover, cartoonist Renald Luzier argued that no exceptions should be made when it comes to the freedom of expression.

He said when the weekly was threatened before, the reaction was often: “Yes, but you shouldn’t do that (publish cartoons of Muhammad). Yes, but you deserved that.”

“There should be no more ‘Yes, but,” he insisted.

Prime Minister Manuel Valls displayed a copy of the satirical paper as he left a Cabinet meeting Wednesday but his hand carefully covered Muhammad’s face. l

A suspect in a hostage taking situation is detained by members of special French RAID forces outside the post offices in Colombes outside Paris yesterday

France cracks down on hate speech, sends aircraft carrier to Mideast n AP, Paris

France ordered prosecutors around the country to crack down on hate speech, anti-Semitism and those glorifying terrorism and announced Wednesday it was sending an aircraft carrier to the Middle East to work more closely with the US-led coalition fighting IS militants.

Authorities said 54 people had been arrested for hate speech and defending terrorism since terror attacks killed 20 people in Paris last week, including three gunmen. The crackdown came as Charlie Hebdo’s defiant new issue sold out before dawn around Paris, with scuffles at kiosks over dwindling copies of the satirical weekly that fronted the Prophet Muhammad anew on its cover.

President Francois Hollande, speaking aboard the Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier to members of the military, said the situation “justifies the presence of our aircraft carrier.”

One of the Paris gunmen had claimed allegiance to the Islamic State group, while two others said they were backed by Yemen’s al-Qaida branch. France is already carrying out airstrikes against the Islamic State group in Iraq.

Israel awards actor Michael Douglas $1m prize n AP, Jerusalem Actor Michael Douglas has been awarded the $1m Genesis Prize award, popularly dubbed the “Jewish Nobel Prize,” for his efforts to promote Jewish culture.

The Genesis Prize Foundation said that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will present the award at a ceremony in Jerusalem this summer to the “actor, producer and peace activist.”

The prize was inaugurated last year in a partnership between the Israeli prime minister’s office, the Genesis Philanthropy Group and the chairman’s office of the Jewish Agency, a nonprofit group with close ties to the Israeli government.

It is awarded to an individual with a commitment to Jewish values, the Jewish community and the state of Israel.

Genesis chairman Stan Polovets said in a statement issued Wednesday that Douglas was being honored “both for his professional achievements and for his passion for his Jewish heritage and the Jewish state.”

Douglas’ father, actor Kirk Douglas, is Jewish, and Michael Douglas has embraced his Jewish ancestry and supports Jewish causes. He traveled to Israel last year with his wife, Catherine Zeta-Jones, to celebrate the bar mitzvah of their son Dylan. The foundation praised the family’s “inclusive approach for Jews of diverse backgrounds.”

In the statement, the 70-year-old Oscar-winning actor praised his family for encouraging him to explore the Jewish faith. “I hope these teachings and values will be part of the legacy in the world that I leave for my children and those who follow,” he said. l

A top leader of Yemen’s al-Qaida branch claimed responsibility on Wednesday for the Charlie Hebdo massacre that left 12 dead at the paper, saying in a video the massacre came in “vengeance for the prophet.” The newspaper had received repeated threats previously for posting caricatures of Muhammad.

A high-ranking French intelligence official told The Associated Press on Wednesday that authorities see the claim as “opportunistic” and that AQAP appears to have served as an inspiration instead of orchestrating the attacks. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to be able to discuss sensitive intelligence matters.

US intelligence officials, however, said they have no evidence AQAP coordinated the attack or knew about it in advance. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorised to discuss classified matters publicly.

Since the attacks, France has deployed 10,000 troops and 120,000 security forces in an area the size of Texas to protect sensitive sites, including Jewish schools and synagogues, mosques and travel hubs. French police say as many as six members of the terror cell may still be at large.

France has been tightening security

and searching for accomplices since the terror attacks began, but none of the 54 people mentioned Wednesday have been linked to the attacks. That’s raising questions about whether Hollande’s Socialist government is impinging on the very freedom of speech that it so vigorously defends when it comes to Charlie Hebdo.

Among those detained for a Facebook posting was Dieudonne, a popular and controversial comic who has repeated convictions for racism and anti-Semitism. He was later released and will be put on trial next month for justifying terrorism, a judicial official said on condition of anonymity in keeping with French custom.

Like many European countries, France has strong laws against hate speech, especially anti-Semitism in the wake of the Holocaust.

The Justice Ministry sent a letter to all French prosecutors and judges urging more aggressive tactics against racist or anti-Semitic speech or acts. The order did not mention Islam.

The core of Charlie Hebdo’s staff died a week ago when gunmen stormed its offices, igniting three days of bloodshed around Paris that left 17 victims dead. The attacks ended

yesterday when security forces killed both Charlie Hebdo gunmen – brothers Cherif and Said Kouachi – and an accomplice – Amedy Coulibaly – who killed a policewoman and later four hostages at a kosher grocery.

Working out of borrowed offices, the Charlie Hebdo employees who survived put out a new weekly issue Wednesday.

Because of the high demand, the print run was increased to 5 million, according to spokeswoman Anne Hommel – 100 times the usual circulation. Kiosk operators in Paris told people to return Thursday for a second run.

Media watchdog Reporters Without Borders said Google is among many companies and individuals who donated money to produce this week’s edition of Charlie Hebdo. The issue was distributed in 18 countries outside France and translated into other languages.

Many Muslims believe their faith forbids depictions of the prophet, and reacted with dismay – and occasionally anger – to the latest cover image. Some who had supported Charlie Hebdo after the terror attacks felt betrayed and others feared the cartoon would trigger yet more violence.

The publication raised tensions in Turkey, and caused huge crowds and

US general: Russia Kerry and Iran’s Zarif set for Paris could soon run multiple nuclear talks Ukraine-sized operations n Reuters, Paris

n

Reuters, Wiesbaden

Russia is working to develop within a few years the capability to threaten several neighbors at once on the scale of its present operation in Ukraine, a senior American general said.

Lieutenant-General Ben Hodges, commander of US Army forces in Europe, told Reuters an attack on another neighbor does not seem like an immediate threat because Moscow appears to have its hands full in Ukraine for now.

But that could change within a few years, when upgrades sought by President Vladimir Putin would give Russia the ability to carry out up to three such operations at the same time, without a mobilisation that would give the West time to respond.

“Right now, without mobilising, I don’t think they have the capacity to do three major things at one time.

They can do one thing, I think, in a big way without mobilising. But in four to five years, I think that will change,” Hodges said.

“Certainly within the next four to five years they will have the ability to conduct operations in eastern Ukraine and pressure the Baltics and pressure Georgia and do other things, without having to do a full mobilisation.”

The war in Ukraine, in which Nato says Moscow has supported pro-Russian rebels with arms and troops, has alarmed some of Russia’s other neigh-

bors, who are seeking greater reassurances for their defense from the Western alliance.

Moscow denies its active troops have fought in eastern Ukraine, but Western governments say they have evidence it has sent armored columns and hundreds of soldiers. More than 4,000 people have died in the conflict, including nearly 300 on board a Malaysian airliner shot down over rebel-held territory.

Putin has committed to spending billions to boost Russia’s military capability, despite an economic crisis caused by sanctions over Ukraine and falling oil prices.

Nato experts say the Ukraine conflict, in which Russian forces swiftly annexed the Crimea region and pro-Russian rebels scored rapid gains in the east, shows Putin’s increased spending has already yielded results.

Russian forces, particularly small elite units, have proven far more effective than in a 2008 war in Georgia, they say.

Moscow has also developed what they describe as “hybrid war” capabilities, in which it organises, funds and arms local insurgents while deploying its own elite troops in unmarked uniforms - known in Crimea as the “little green men” - so swiftly and covertly that it is difficult to develop a response.

Hodges said neighbors like the Baltic states and Georgia appear to be safe for now, but possibly not for long. l

US Secretary of State John Kerry and his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Jawad Zarif will meet for talks in Paris yesterday on Iran’s nuclear policy, Iranian and US sources said.

“Minister Zarif and Secretary Kerry are highly likely to meet this afternoon in Paris,” an Iranian diplomatic source told Reuters. Kerry is in the French capital to honour the 17 victims killed in last week’s shooting in France, and Zarif is due to meet French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius later in the day.

A senior State Department official confirmed the two men would meet yesterday following talks this week in Geneva.

Iran and six world powers – the

United States, Britain, France, Germany, Russia and China – have renewed their quest for an elusive nuclear deal - seen as crucial to reducing the risk of a wider Middle East war - after negotiators failed for the second time in November to meet a self-imposed deadline.

The new deadline for a long-term agreement is June 30.

The major powers hope to persuade Iran to curb its nuclear programme, which the West suspects may seek to develop atomic weapons, in exchange for a gradual easing of economic sanctions. Iran says its nuclear programme is solely for peaceful purposes.

In a New Year’s address to the foreign and French diplomatic corps

yesterday, President Francois Hollande said questions were unanswered over Iran’s uranium enrichment and the production of fissile material that could be used to create a nuclear bomb.

“France wants a definitive agreement, but with a clear line: yes for Iran to have civilian nuclear power, but no to military nuclear power. We will be intransigent on this principle,” he said.

France, a UN Security Council veto-holder, has long held out for strict terms for a nuclear deal trading a loosening of international sanctions on Iran’s oil-based economy in return for commitments by Tehran to show its nuclear work is as peaceful as it says. l

West African leaders consider new force to fight Boko Haram n Reuters, Accra West African leaders are considering creating a military force to fight Nigeria’s Boko Haram Islamist militants and will hold a regional summit next week to discuss the issue, Ghana’s President John Mahama said yesterday.

Regional bloc ECOWAS will seek the support of the African Union (AU) for its plans, said Mahama.

“Nigeria is taking military action

and Cameroon is fighting Boko Haram, but I think we are increasingly getting to the point where probably a regional or a multinational force is coming into consideration,” Mahama, who currently chairs ECOWAS, told a news conference.

“It is what we want to discuss at the AU because, if that must happen, there must be a mandate to allow such a force to operate,” he said.

Boko Haram militants have killed

thousands of people in Nigeria in the last year as part of a campaign to establish an Islamist state in Nigeria. The group has also launched cross-border attacks into neighboring Cameroon and Niger.

The group’s fighters seized the military base and town of Baga, in Nigeria on the shores of Lake Chad, on Jan. 3.

Baga was the headquarters of a multinational force with troops from Chad, Niger and Cameroon. l

DHAKA TRIBUNE

World

9

Saturday, January 17, 2015

US, UN warn Myanmar over growing religious tensions n AFP, Yangon A top American diplomat yesterday decried growing religious intolerance in Myanmar and warned the use of faith for political ends was “playing with fire” in a crunch election year for the former junta-run country.

His comments came as hundreds of monks staged a rally in Yangon blasting the United Nations’ rights envoy for perceived bias towards Rohingya Muslims, in the latest show of strength for Buddhist nationalists.

“We expressed a concern that the use of religion in particular to divide people – whether it is done for political or for any other purposes – is incredibly dangerous, particularly in an election year,” Tom Malinowski, a senior state department human rights envoy, told reporters after a six day mission to the country.

The delegation voiced fears “this really is playing with fire and exposing the country to dangers that it is not prepared to handle,” he added.

Myanmar has seen surging Buddhist nationalism in recent years and spates of violence targeting Muslim minorities that have raised doubts over its much vaunted reforms after decades of harsh military rule.

United Nations Special Rapporteur on Myanmar, Yanghee Lee, was denounced by crowds of monks in the main city of Yangon as she concluded her second official visit to the country yesterday.

The UN envoy warned that inter-religious violence remains a “significant problem” in Myanmar, particularly in unrest-torn Rakhine state, where she said continuing acute tensions between Muslims and Buddhists could have “far-reaching implications.”

“The election is a very critical time in shaping the future of Myanmar and the situation in Rakhine is still in a state of crisis,” she told reporters.

Buddhist-majority Myanmar has large minority religious groups, particularly Muslims and Christians, who are both estimated to account for around

four percent of the population, although many believe the number of Muslims could be higher.

Religious intolerance, sporadically spilling into lethal bloodshed, has spread across Myanmar since 2012, when unrest between Rohingya Muslims and Buddhists ignited Rakhine state.

Dangerous divisions

Both the US and UN raised particular concerns about a set of controversial laws proposed by President Thein Sein in response to campaigns by hardline Buddhist monks.

The draft legislation – including curbs on interfaith marriage, religious conversion and birth rates – are seen by activists as particularly discriminatory against women and minorities.

They are yet to be passed by parliament, but the high-level support from government has raised fears over growing politicisation of religion in the diverse and conflict-prone nation.

“If these bills are passed, it could be viewed as one of the indicators of backtracking in the political reform process,” said Lee. Her visit comes in the wake of a recent UN resolution urging Myanmar to grant the stateless Rohingya access to citizenship – stoking controversy in the country, where many view the group as illegal immigrants from neighbouring Bangladesh.

At the monk protest in Yangon, hardline nationalist cleric Wirathu told AFP that monks had decided to protest against the UN “as they are trying to interfere in our country’s internal affairs.”

The Rakhine conflict left some 200 people dead and around 140,000 trapped in squalid displacement camps, mainly the Rohingya, who have fled the country in their tens of thousands in perilous sea journeys heading for Malaysia and beyond.

“These people are Bengalis not Rohingyas,” Wirathu said, using a term seen as disparaging to the Rohingya, many of whom claim long ancestry in Myanmar.

Rakhine activists protest against visiting United Nations Special Rapporteur on Myanmar, Yanghee Lee, in Yangon yesterday. The activists, who were also joined by hundreds of Buddhist monks, demonstrated against the United Nations for urging Myanmar’s government to give Rohingyas citizenship, local media reported REUTERS “I don’t accept them because they are dangerous to our country, not because I want them to suffer,” he added.

Lee also warned that while dozens

Uber rape survivor hires NY lawyer to sue company in US n Agencies

China investigates 32 for graft linked to Xinjiang Muslim pilgrims

A Delhi woman allegedly raped by a Uber driver has retained a New York lawyer known for achieving high-figure settlements for his clients to sue the cab-hailing company here in the US. “I can confirm that I have been retained by the young lady who was so tragically raped by an Uber driver in Delhi, India last December,” attorney David Wigdor told HT. He met the victim and her family while in Delhi, and said, “I can only compliment them for their bravery and fortitude during this very difficult time.”

The lawyer, who represented Nafissatou Diallo, the hotel maid who accused IMF managing director Dominique Strauss-Kahn of rape and sexual assault, had a word for phrase for the Delhi police “for their professionalism in locating the perpetrator and gathering the evidence of this detestable crime as well as the department of transportation for their courage in enforcing a ban on Uber until such time as it can be assured that this will never happen again” The alleged rapist, Uber driver Shivlal Yadav, has pleaded not guilty to the charge, and remains in custody awaiting trial, which will continue unaffected by the US case.

Wigdor would neither discuss strategy nor the timing of when he plans to file a suit. But experts believe he will try to prove the rape took place because of negligence here in the US. l

n Reuters, Beijing China is investigating 32 officials from the western region of Xinjiang for graft linked to pilgrimages by Muslims to Mecca, state media said on Thursday.

Xinjiang is home to the mostly Muslim Uighur people. Hundreds of people have been killed there over the past two years in violence between Uighurs and ethnic majority Han Chinese that the government blames on Muslim separatists.

China’s Uighur Muslims can usually only make pilgrimages to Mecca on government-organised trips.

The China Daily, the country’s official English-language newspaper, said 14,000 such pilgrimages were organised in 2014 though some of the people who went to Mecca were “unqualified.” It did not explain what that meant.

“In addition to arranging pilgrimages for unqualified people, the investigated officials were found to have asked for

and received bribes or neglected the inspection and management of pilgrimage work,” the China Daily said, citing the anti-graft watchdog.

The officials, most of them from Xinjiang’s Kizilsu prefecture, violated Communist Party discipline, were derelict of duty, abused their power for personal gain and made power-for-money deals, the newspaper said.

They included Kizilsu’s former director of pilgrimage affairs, the head of the public security bureau and the mayor of the its most populous city, Artux.

China is particularly concerned about Uighurs going abroad because of fear they will link up with Islamist militants.

Human rights groups say Uighurs trying to go abroad are fleeing persecution under harsh government policies and they criticise China for restricting the issuance of passports and curtailing Uighurs’ foreign travel which some say fuels graft. l

of displaced people in Rakhine’s Myebon area had been granted either citizenship or naturalised status during a pilot scheme last year, none of those

to health care and to other essential services. The despair that I saw in the eyes of the people in the Myebon IDP camp was heartbreaking,” she said. l

Pope on Charlie Hebdo: There are limits to free expression n AP Pope Francis said on Thursday there are limits to freedom of expression, especially when it insults or ridicules someone’s faith.

Francis spoke about the Paris terror attacks while en route to the Philippines, defending free speech as not only a fundamental human right but a duty to speak one’s mind for the sake of the common good.

But he said there were limits. By way of example, he referred to Alberto Gasparri, who organises papal trips and was standing by his side aboard the papal plane.

“If my good friend Dr. Gasparri says a curse word against my mother, he can expect a punch,” Francis said, throwing a pretend punch his way.

“It’s normal. You cannot provoke.

You cannot insult the faith of others.

You cannot make fun of the faith of others.”

Many people around the world have defended the right of satirical

magazine Charlie Hebdo to publish inflammatory cartoons of the Prophet Muhammed (PBUH) in the wake of the massacre by Islamic extremists at its Paris offices and subsequent attack on a kosher supermarket in which three gunmen killed 17 people.

But recently the Vatican and four prominent French imams issued a joint declaration that denounced the attacks but also urged the media to treat religions with respect.

Francis, who has urged Muslim leaders in particular to speak out against Islamic extremism, went a step further when asked by a French journalist about whether there were limits when freedom of expression meets freedom of religion.

Francis insisted that it was an “aberration” to kill in the name of God and said religion can never be used to justify violence. But he said there was a limit to free speech when it concerned offending someone’s religious beliefs.

“There are so many people who speak badly about religions or other

religions, who make fun of them, who make a game out of the religions of others,” he said.

“They are provocateurs. And what happens to them is what would happen to Dr. Gasparri if he says a curse word against my mother. There is a limit.”

In the wake of the Paris attacks, the Vatican has sought to downplay reports that it is a potential target for Islamic extremists, saying it is being vigilant but has received no specific threat.

Francis said he was concerned primarily for the faithful, and said he had spoken to Vatican security officials who are taking “prudent and secure measures.”

“I am worried, but you know I have a defect: a good dose of carelessness.

I’m careless about these things,” he said.

But he admitted that in his prayers, he had asked that if something were to happen to him that “it doesn’t hurt, because I’m not very courageous when it comes to pain. I’m very timid.” He added, “I’m in God’s hands.” l

Protesters clash with Pakistan police near French consulate

Anna: Bedi did not consult me before joining BJP n Agencies A day after his former associate in the agitation for Lokpal Bill, Kiran Bedi, joined BJP, Anna Hazare today said the former IPS officer did not consult him before joining the party.

“No,” Hazare said at his native place Ralegan Siddhi in Ahmednagar when asked by reporters if Bedi had consulted him before joining BJP. Asked if Bedi was in touch with him, the anti-corruption activist said she had not been to Ralegan since the last agitation over a year ago and she had not been in touch with him.

“She did not call me or talk to me before taking the decision to join BJP,” Hazare said. l

given official documentation were permitted to leave their camp.

“They remain inside the camp with minimum food rations, limited access

n Reuters, Karachi

A Pakistani supporter of Pakistani political and Islamic party Jammat-e-Islami (JI) carries a placard during a protest against the printing of satirical sketches of the Prophet Muhammad by French magazine Charlie Hebdo in Islamabad yesteday AFP

Pakistan police fired tear gas and water cannon at about 200 protesters outside the French consulate in the southern port city of Karachi yesterday when a demonstration against the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo turned violent.

It was the first time people’s anger over the cartoons lampooning Islam’s Prophet Mohammad spilled into violence in deeply conservative Pakistan.

Last week, 17 people were killed in France in three days of violence that began with a shooting attack on Charlie Hebdo, known for its satirical attacks on Islam and other religions.

Charlie Hebdo’s first edition since the attack, published on Wednesday, featured a cartoon of the Prophet Mohammad on a cover that defenders praised as art but critics saw

as a new provocation.

In Karachi, mostly students gathered outside the consulate yesterday afternoon shouting slogans, and the standoff quickly turned violent. Police had sealed of several streets leading to the area.

A Reuters reporter aid some of the protesters appeared armed with guns and he saw them firing shots after security forces used water cannon and tear gas to stop the crowd advancing on the consulate.

A photographer with French news agency AFP was wounded the clashes, police said.

“AFP photographer Asif Hasan suffered wounds resulting from gunshots fired by ... protesters, police have not opened fire,” Abdul Khalique Shaikh, a senior police officer in southern Karachi, told Reuters.

At least three people were wounded and taken to hospital, one in critical condition, a Karachi doctor said. l

10

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Editorial

Saturday, January 17, 2015

CODE-CRACKER

Economy cannot afford more political crisis

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isruption and instability caused by the political impasse is proving hugely damaging to the nation.

Across all sectors, ordinary people are suffering, and many people’s livelihoods are increasingly threatened by the crisis.

The World Bank predicts economic growth in the current fiscal year is likely to stall at 6.2% which is considerably lower than the government projection of 7.3%.

With regional growth in South Asia predicted to rise to an average of 6.8% by 2017 as Saarc nations gain from economic reforms and relative stability, Bangladesh risks falling behind.

Already, the BGMEA reports the blockade that began on January 4 has caused over Tk450cr of losses to the readymade garment sector. The FBCCI estimates that at least 200,000 buses and lorries have been taken off the roads after hundreds of vehicles have been damaged and destroyed.

While moves by the government to provide guarded security to vehicles carrying products for export have allowed some shipments to continue, such stopgap measures will be insufficient in themselves to restore economic confidence.

Bangladesh badly needs stability to perform to its potential.

Otherwise, vitally needed plans for the RMG sector to grow exports to $50bn by 2021 and hopes that manufacturers will be able to take advantage of recent falls in global oil prices, will all be put into jeopardy.

The government and opposition politicians have to overcome their differences and bring about a speedy resolution to the crisis to prevent any further damage to the economy. The economy cannot afford the crisis to continue.

Speedy resolution needed to prevent further damage

Zero tolerance for police crimes

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t is vital for the government to ensure police and law enforcement agencies are kept free from the curse of corruption.

Citizens are rightly alarmed by reports that a businessman was shot by a policeman recently for allegedly refusing to pay extortion money.

While reasons for the shooting of business owner Haji Foyez Ali in the waist by a police SI in front of witnesses are disputed, the claim by Foyez that it relates to demands for bribes must be investigated independently and openly.

Reports of deep corruption and extra-judicial violence committed by our law enforcement personnel are not new, but this particular case should serve as a much-needed wake up call for the authorities.

Police personnel are vested with the authority to enforce law and order, but in Bangladesh, too often this power is abused for extortion and personal gain. Because they carry guns and batons, it is often quite easy for police to extort common people, especially traders, with impunity.

Such crimes by law enforcers need to be treated with the utmost seriousness. Our police force should be held to the highest standard.

Law enforcement leaders must ensure all officers understand clearly that there will be no tolerance for such flagrant abuses of power.

As a society, we give the police the power to be protectors and guardians. The government must ensure they can be trusted to play that role, by training police recruits in the proper ethics of policing, and by severely punishing every single violator.

Ensure all officers understand there will be no tolerance for abuses of power

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

A word in Tarique’s ear January 6

Nadeem “As things stand, with Tarique Rahman in his current avatar as BNP’s chosen future, I am afraid the future is bleak, and we might soon be discussing BNP’s past.”

If the author thinks the PM is on the verge of a catastrophe, then the obvious alternative is Tarique and the BNP, no matter where he is.

However, it’s likely that the present government will govern through the next few years, and whether Tarique is here, in prison, or not, this will not make a difference. That is the central gap in the article’s analysis. The BNP missed the “boat” in the last elections. They need to start preparing for

How to solve: Each number in our CODE-CRACKER grid represents a different letter of the alphabet. For example, today 6 represents G so fill G every time the figure 6 appears.

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

Some letters of the alphabet may not be used.

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

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ

the next one as per the rules and the constitution, and they need to delink themselves from Jamaat.

Should this happen, the BNP have a fair chance of getting a good number of seats next time around.

Ehsan Abdullah You need agenda for movements and most of all support of the general public, which BNP failed to understand.

Ignis Fatuus The superficial difference between R Gandhi and T Rahman is that Mr Gandhi had mostly MBAs in his clan, while Mr Rahman has Barristers.

SUDOKU Rawshan: JaPa ministers to quit cabinet soon January 5 Kazi Tanvir Hassan “The Leader of the Opposition, Rawshan Ershad, has said her party will be withdrawing their ministers from the cabinet very soon.”

False words.

SA Kazi Tanvir Hassan: Indeed. I’ll believe it when I see it happen.

AL-BNP clash injures 20 in Bandarban January 5 Mohdud Ul Huq

DMP: Khaleda not confined

January 4 DH “We have just increased her security ahead of the January 5 program, says DMP spokesperson.”

Outright lies. Shame on DMP. MutuallyAssuredDestruction I feel sorry for Khaleda Zia for the treatment doled out to her by Hasina. If KZ ever gets back to power, I wonder whether she would reflect on her past misdeeds of decimating the state organs, a chore which her nemesis has made an art form. We are living through a historic time of mutually-assured destruction of statecraft by these two autocrats.

Muhammad Mohsen Rashid, Advocate If it is true that the police put a lock on the main gate of Khaleda’s office, then she is confined and under police lockup. This is tantamount to arrest.

PM: Khaleda’s confinement claim is a drama

January 5 AH Hasina: I do not want to comment about this undignified action by you, and the outright lie coming out of your mouth.

We can see only clashes in Muslim countries.

‘Khaleda to be kept under security as long as it needs’

January 5 rose The government and the opposition party ought to find a solution to this problem.

Shun path of destruction, Hasina to Khaleda

January 5 sirajulmo@yahoo.com Politics should be kept inside the Parliament, not by harassing people on the street. No party should be allowed to go to the street and jeopardise the people’s lives and property.

Khaleda not hurt by pepper spray January 5 Raymond Torres

Well that is good news; I am glad that she is okay.

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.

Sammy AH: Probably a good idea; as you have seen, even web commentaries against the “prime minister” are getting people picked up and jailed (the previous day’s DT had an article about a teenager jailed for defaming the “prime minister” on FB).

Bangla Sammy: So we should all keep quiet and live in fear?

Sammy Bangla: I strongly recommend you familiarise yourself with the word “sarcasm” in a reputable English dictionary.

CROSSWORD ACROSS 1 Devoted follower (3) 3 Prejudice (4) 6 Assert (4) 7 Tree (3) 9 Honey drink (4) 10 Female sheep (3) 11 First man (4) 13 Allude (5) 16 Measuring instrument (5) 18 Dreadful (4) 19 Optic (3) 20 Slight parody (4) 21 Sharp blow (3) 23 Agreement (4) 24 Tide attaining least height (4) 25 Eyelid affliction (3)

DOWN 1 Part of a theatre (5) 2 Respectful fear (3) 4 Article (4) 5 Sorrowful (3) 6 Representative (5) 8 Thin biscuit (5) 9 Female horse (4) 12 Frighten from (5) 14 Send out (4) 15 Happening (5) 17 Discharge a debt (5) 18 Prima donna (4) 20 Heavenly body (3) 22 Liable (3)

Don’t confine political space

January 6 Sammy What is acceptable in a democracy is largely irrelevant to Bangladesh in 2015: Bangladesh ceased to be a democracy on the day it went through the charade of North Korean-style elections exactly a year ago.

Wife kills husband over watching Star Jalsha

CALVIN AND HOBBES

January 6

Dr Ahsan Habib I find it amazing that in certain killings, especially committed by AL or BCL members, police say we cannot arrest anyone as nobody complained. While, in this case, the police did not wait for any formal FIR but arrested the wife.

YESTERDAY’S SOLUTIONS CODE-CRACKER

CROSSWORD

aousaf Looks like women really are getting stronger.

PEANUTS

Tarique: Do not leave street until Hasina is ousted January 5

NoToDynasties Not quite, your excellency. We are fed up with both dynasties.

Waiting for a genuine alternative to this duopoly.

Public needs dialogue not drama January 6

RetiredBUET Only the thought of losing power will concentrate minds, and make the parties put national interest first.

SUDOKU

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Op-Ed

11

Saturday, January 17, 2015

Cheaper bliss n FS Aijazuddin

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Who should you trust behind the wheel?

BIGSTOCK

The perfect driver

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n Mohd Fahad Ifaz

o, your family inherited a truck 43 years back. The truck is painted with the mantra “Shomogro Bangladesh 70ton.” You hire a driver to run the truck. He drives reasonably well at times, but starts stealing money. When you give him money to refuel, he puts in less petrol or CNG and pockets the rest.

When you send the truck for servicing, he asks the service centre to inflate the bills and takes a cut. When you send him somewhere with the truck all by himself, he picks up unknown passengers or goods from the streets for money. The worst of it all, he runs down other cars and pedestrians on the road then flees the scene, blaming it on other drivers.

The rule of your house is that the driver gets access to some money kept in the truck dashboard. This is for accidental breakdowns, payoff for police fines, or for updating relevant papers for the truck. Hence, he can take out whatever money he wants and claim he needs it for the truck. Soon, the stealing becomes excessive. Not a day goes by without you hearing what the driver has stolen money.

Sick of all this, you get a new driver.

Over time, the second driver starts stealing too! It is so easy to steal after all. Also, the reason the new driver was

hired was not because of his honesty, but because of he comes from your family village and has some education.

Anyway, the robberies continue. The “accidents” continue.

As the suffering owners, you switch between the two drivers, but the stealing doesn’t stop. Soon, a third driver emerges and applies for a job. Since you have lost faith in the first two drivers, you think you can keep faith in this new “young and educated” one. He is extremely honest and passionate, even though he has no experience. Delighted, you hire him to drive your truck.

calling them thieves for not hiring him.

The fifth day, he wants all drivers to come on the road and not follow the red lights. When you confront the new driver about his unruly behaviour and incompetence at the wheel, he screams at you instead. How dare you question an honest driver? It only means you are supporting robbers, and you are conspiring against other honest drivers like him.

Awestruck, you become quiet. Next, he wants to change everything, and control every truck. You are not sure,

Choose wisely. Select those who are humble and are willing to change, as everyone needs to

This new driver doesn’t steal money.

However, he breaks the tail-lights while reversing the truck on his first day. The next day, he crashes the truck at a signal. The third day, he forgets to refuel, and you are stranded on the road. The fourth day, he stands in the middle of the road in Shahbagh and screams at every other truck owner,

and you wonder what to do. Disgusted, he quits.

So you are in a dilemma since the earlier drivers cheated you and the new driver is not competent, but already arrogant. He assumes a sense of virtuous entitlement, with the right to slander, attack, and judge anyone who criticises him.

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All this can change. The third driver can learn how to drive. Similarly, the first two drivers can learn to stop stealing and killing people on the roads.

Whether the honest have to be made competent, or the competent have to turn honest, all this will require a certain amount of modesty, sadly missing on all sides. In such a scenario, what should the Bangladeshi voter do?

Of course, there is no one answer.

None of the alternatives are perfect yet. Please don’t let them feel that they are. If you choose the third kind, you may have a little less corruption (it cannot all go away so fast) but you risk having bizarre policies, failed experiments, and more stunts than action.

Above all, you risk a further slowdown in economic growth, which the country cannot afford at this point in time.

If you choose the existing alternatives you may have some more stability, with a likely return to growth and more jobs. But corruption may not be as much of a priority as you would have liked it to be. Choose wisely.

Select those who are humble and are willing to change, as everyone needs to. It will take a few iterations before we get leadership that is both honest and competent and are the “perfect drivers.” Let us hope it happens sooner rather than later. l Mohd Fahad Ifaz is a private sector development consultant.

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ao Zedong’s Paper Tigers have been sighted again, this time in Islamabad. Our paper parliamentarians growled menacingly, flicked their tails threateningly, and then surrendered their fearsome dentures to the military. They barked, but refused to bite.

Only the next two years – for that is the shelf-life printed on the 21st Amendment to the 1973 Constitution – will tell us if this latest experiment in shared judicial governance will succeed. Such liaisons, like mixed marriages, are by their very nature a constant trial. To succeed, they demand tact, patience, and mutual accommodation.

Legislatures are dilatory by habit and conciliatory out of necessity; the military is authoritarian by definition and by training. If there is anything they share, it is subservience to the national interest. But even in that, each clings to its own perception of what constitutes the national interest, as every military coup or intervention since 1958 has demonstrated.

The recent shotgun marriage between parliament and GHQ has a propitious parallel in the Khan nuptials at Bani Galla. The perennially debonair Imran Khan has married the glamorous, soignée Reham Khan. For years, Imran Khan has been the Krishna of Pakistani politics, the desirable bachelor who made every female gopi enamoured of him feel that he was there only for her. By finally marrying his Rukmini, though, he has entered into a newer, more mature phase of his life. He is on the road to Dwarka, its future ruler.

There is no one in the country who does not wish the Khan couple well.

Their wedding ceremony – dignified, understated, its details selectively leaked drop by secretive drop to a press thirsty for news – is a portent of both the new Imran Khan and the new pragmatic Pakistan he has promised the nation.

The last wedding of such national significance took place 27 years ago, on December 18, 1987, when the late Benazir Bhutto married Asif Ali Zardari. To her possessive PPP loyalists, it was as if their Princess Charming was marrying Cinderfella.

She understood all too clearly the unique novelty of her situation. “I was always told by my elders that love comes after a marriage,” she explained. “In an arranged marriage, there is a mental commitment. You know that you are marrying somebody and he is going to be a part of your life forever.”

For Ms Bhutto, a conventional marriage brought predictable, mundane challenges. Unlike Reham who slipped seamlessly from being Ms Khan to Mrs Khan, Benazir was reluctant to drop her own name and adopt that of her husband.

According to Syeda Abida Hussain, whose extremely readable memoirs Power Failure have just been published, Ms Bhutto consulted her: “She asked me whether my children had bothered me when they were younger

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Majestic subtlety

Democracy or peace?

n Mohammad N Miraly

n Ekram Kabir

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uided by a hand lost in the fog of consciousness, Monir’s simple brushstrokes capture the ethereal. His work is an abstraction of time itself.

Living in Spain, the master Bangladeshi artist is caught between two worlds, two times, and two conceptions of reality. In this way, he straddles modernity and its elemental quest to know one’s own soul.

Through their delicate lines – balanced by a masterful use of space and an enigmatic understanding of composition – his paintings become symbols of ideas, standing outside the constraints of reality.

“You can paint a flower,” he says, “but how do you paint the smell of a flower?”

It is a question that is at the heart of Monir’s quest to navigate the rocky shores of modernity. Confronting each of us with a mirror to our selves, it asks us to look beyond the visible and to ponder over our true essence. It is a question that intimates at the essence of our very souls.

A 2014 painting called “Dancing Lines” is exemplary. Beneath black strokes ending in shadow is a short, dynamic bolt of turquoise. It is a subtle recollection of clouds over Meghna,

the majestic dancing river.

With only a few short strokes, the master artist delves deeply into himself to capture the essence of the natural world – a reflection of his own soul.

He is a paragon of minimalism, working with a majestic subtlety of colour, applied in thin layers, with the barest hint of the paint’s texture.

His 2012 painting, “In the Shadow,” toys with the idea of timelessness.

Mishmashing past and future, the mixed media piece uses the outlines of compasses to symbolise time and its unwavering tide.

Slavishness to time is a hallmark of our modernity. But, it’s a prison of our own making. For the master artist, that prison of the mind is a barrier to be shattered, as he longs for the freedom to roam the corridors of creativity, unfettered by man-made convention.

Monir takes that struggle for the mind’s freedom into his own hands.

Straddling tradition and experimentation, he makes his own paper, asking it to reveal its mystery.

By working with the pulp of paper, he begins his quest right at the beginning, before even the idea of art – at the very point of creation. l Mohammad N Miraly is an educator and film producer.

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reputed and credible political analyst’s comment on a recent TV program was quite thought-provoking for me, and for a large number of people in this country.

Referring to some research done by a university, he said: “We the common people don’t want democracy, we want peace.”

When posted on a social media site, the statement invited quite a lot of controversy. Many people opposed the views of this commentator, saying: “Without democracy, there can be no peace.” It’s quite understandable that democracy certainly is the cornerstone of peace in the present-day global scenario.

There may be many definitions and justifications for democracy and the process of establishing democracy in a country. However, when the people, the common people, are pushed to the fringe, perhaps the only thing they can ask for is “peace”.

The process of establishing democracy has become so costly for the people that one cannot blame the lot if they say that they don’t want democracy anymore.

They simply want to earn their livelihoods, their children to be educated so that they can also earn

their livelihoods when they grow up, to spend time with their families, and go to bed at night in order to wake up the next morning and start working again.

Their dream may not be of a democratic country; they might be more interested in living in an environment conducive to their daily needs.

The very foundation of Bangladesh’s independence was freedom and economic emancipation. The people of Bangladesh hoped for it and made this country free from those who were not looking after them. However, since then, democracy has hardly existed in this country.

Either the bulk of the time was spent in the fight for establishing democracy, or the dictatorial rulers intervened when they saw the upholders of democracy deviate from the spirit of democracy.

That’s how the non-democratic rulers have governed the country. The people haven’t seen democracy in the last 43 years. What they saw was indeed the rule of a few, which political scientists define as a plutocracy.

We have seen how democracy warriors, in the name of the people’s interest, have always worked for themselves without thinking of the people.

Otherwise, there wouldn’t be so much violence, bloodshed, death, etc, for

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establishing democracy.

For us, democracy means honesty, integrity, patience, tolerance, resilience, and encouragement. The sad aspect is that we haven’t had any of these elements in our pursuit of democracy.

Yes, as HL Mencken said, under democracy one party always devotes its chief energies to trying to prove that the other party is unfit to rule – and both commonly succeed, and are right. But that doesn’t mean it has to come at the cost of people’s lives and their property.

If you talk to the average voter in this country, you’d certainly find the best argument against democracy. If the process of upholding democracy itself becomes tyrannical, the end-users (the people) of democracy have no other option but to find solace in discarding democracy.

It’s not that they want non-democratic powers to govern them; when democracy practitioners aren’t delivering, negating the process of democracy is the people’s way of saying: “Give us a break, we want peace.”

Now, the questions may arise: How would you establish good governance if there’s no democracy? What method of running the state is likely to ensure the desired peace? Well, we have seen many: Democracy, autocracy, social

about their mother and father carrying different names.”

Abida replied that her son had found the solution. Being the son of Syed Fakhar Imam and Syeda Abida Hussain, he declared himself Syed Abid Hussain Imam.

Terrorists are the modern ghouls. They feast on death and eat on the run

A more serious spectre in any marriage is fidelity. Benazir expressed her insecurity to Abida in a lengthy, informal tête-a-tête that lasted an uninterrupted eight hours. Abida writes: “She asked me whether my husband had ever been unfaithful in our marriage.

I told her that like any wife who had clocked 35 years with her spouse, I had certainly had my moments of suspicion, but in all fairness to Fakhar, there was nothing that could ever be seriously pinned on him.”

Abida continues: “Whereupon, Benazir said with ineffable sadness, that perhaps she had not been so fortunate, but she loved Asif very deeply, so she forgave him, even when he hurt her.” Benazir complimented her confidante for having the best marriage in Pakistan’s politics, adding that she envied her for it.

Abida could not resist the retort: “In fact, she was the one who had the best marriage in politics; she made most of the errors and her husband was the one who went to jail. This explanation seemed to cheer her up.”

There will be little cheer in the ranks for the military or the parliamentarians during the next two years. As the Parisians have discovered, terrorists are the modern ghouls. They feast on death and eat on the run. Initially, in every such attack, the scales are tipped in their favour.

It took only three terrorists (two in the attack on the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo and one on the Kosher Supermarket) to hold over two million Parisians and 88,000 French security personnel hostage for almost three days.

France has reacted by holding a peaceful march of remonstrance in which 3.7 million across the country participated. World leaders - Christians, Muslims, Jews, and Gentiles – joined them, walking hand in hand.

They challenged terror with their lives.

They did not cheat democracy with the cheaper bliss of constitutional amendments. l FS Aijazuddin lives in Lahore and is a columnist for Dawn, Pakistan’s main Englishlanguage newspaper. This article was first published in Dawn.

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democracy, socialism, sharia rule, etc.

Democracy as a method so far has proven to be the most effective one across the world. It’s the best example of a people-centric system, where the commoners get a say about their leaders’ actions. And democracy is likely to survive in the future.

However, in a country where corruption becomes the prime object during our pursuit for democracy, greed is more visible than the serving of the masses. Leaders lack remorse even when common people are dying for their actions, a strange sense of bitterness about democracy is likely to set in their minds.

It is then the people who would care less; they would become nonchalant about any form of government.

They would only care if and when the violence has stopped, whether their children are safely going to schools, whether they have the cash to buy their food, and whether they can see a future for themselves.

Some analysts would say: “Things will be alright when there’s good governance in the country.” But again the questions may arise: When will the governance be good? After we become democratic? Till then, no peace? l Ekram Kabir is head of program, ABC Radio 89.2, and a Dhaka Tribune columnist.

12

DHAKA TRIBUNE Saturday, January 17, 2015

13 Shaky Serena

still Australian Open favourite

14 Torres double

dumps Real out of Cup

14 I’m not from

another planet, says Ronaldo

Sport

Did you know?

Ian Bell recorded a duck for the sixth time in his ODI career which is also his second golden duck

Tigers resume training camp today n Mazhar Uddin The Bangladesh cricket team will resume practice today at Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium following a two-day break due to strike. Mashrafe bin Mortaza and Co will be training in two sessions at the home of cricket.

Opener Tamim Iqbal, who returned to the country last Wednesday after a successful surgery and two-week rehabilitation programme in Melbourne, Australia, missed the start of the national camp. The 25-year old lefthander is expected to attend the training sessions today.

All-rounder Shakib al Hasan is the only cricketer from the 15-man final squad who will not be able to join the Tigers’ camp. The world’s number all-rounder in all three formats of the game is now in Australia playing for Melbourne Renegades in the KFC Big Bash Twenty20.

The Renegades’ last match of the group stage is scheduled against Adelaide Strikers, Shakib’s previous employers, this Monday. If the

Renegades are unable to win and reach the semifinals, Shakib’s Big Bash campaign will be over.

However, it was learned that the poster boy of Bangladesh cricket will remain in Australia even after the Renegades’ Big Bash campaign. There, he

Tamim Iqbal is expected to attend the practice sessions today. The opening batsman will undergo light training

(L-R) National cricketers Taijul Islam, Anamul Haque and Sabbir Rahman show off their muscles during training at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium yesterday

will be joined by the rest of the Tigers’ contingent, who will fly Down Under this Saturday.

Bangladesh will take on Afghanistan in their 2015 ICC World Cup opener on February 18. Before that, Mashrafe and his charges will play four warm-up matches, including two official practice matches against Pakistan and Ireland.l

DHAKA TRIBUNE

BANGLADESH SUPER SOCCER

BFF wants Maradona in Bangladesh n Shishir Hoque The Bangladesh Football Federation yesterday agreed in principle to the proposal of hosting the franchise-based professional football league but provided a clause – bring Argentine legend Diego Maradona in Bangladesh before the mega event.

Earlier on December 22 last year, the Celebrity Management Group, one of the leading sports management firms in India, showed their interest in organising a franchise-based professional football league in Bangladesh, just like the recently concluded Indian Super League, titled “Bangladesh Super Soccer”. CMG is planning to hold the tournament in November this year.

CMG executive director Bhaswar Goswami revisited BFF House yesterday where president Kazi Salahuddin gave the event management group a condition that Maradona, arguably the

greatest footballer ever, should have to come to Bangladesh so that they can attract the attention of the sponsors.

“We talked to them (CMG) and told them to bring Maradona to Bangladesh first. Then I will be able to comprehend our interest and craze regarding the franchise league. We gave them our agreement and invitation letter to make the arrangement of bringing Maradona to Bangladesh,” said Salahuddin yesterday.

The plan is to bring Maradona in Dhaka in order to attract the sponsors.

A press conference will then be arranged with the presence of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Finance Minister Abul Maal Abdul Muhith along with the former Argentine World Cup winner.

Goswami is confident of Maradona coming to Bangladesh. “We will bring him to Bangladesh as soon as possible,” said Goswami. The CMG executive director added that they would meet Maradona in Spain on January 29.

Meanwhile, CMG wanted to hold the first official press conference of the franchise league in London but the BFF insisted that it should be held in Dhaka.

Goswami also revealed other details of the much-hyped tournament. The franchise clubs will be collaborated with the Latin and European clubs.

For instance, if the franchise club from Barisal collaborate with Brazilian club Flamengo, their title would be something like “Barisal Flamengo”. The Brazilian club will send their head coach and might also provide some of the players. They will also provide technical aspects to strengthen the club’s root-level as well as the academy.

CMG will be responsible for selling the international television rights of the Bangladesh Super Soccer. They will also open an YouTube channel so that the viewers can watch the matches live on internet for free. l

12 sub-committees formed to oversee Bangabandhu Gold Cup n Shishir Hoque Ahead of the Bangabandhu Gold Cup 2015 which is scheduled to kick off on January 29, the Bangladesh Football Federation has decided to form 12 subcommittees, who will be responsible for overseeing the successful hosting of the international competition.

The decision was taken yesterday in an emergency meeting of the BFF’s executive committee, led by president Kazi Salahuddin.

The 12 sub-committees are ceremonies sub-committee; reception, protocol, liaison, accommodation and transport sub-committee; media and accreditation sub-committee; grounds sub-committee; medical subcommittee; souvenir sub-committee; disciplinary sub-committee; gate management and sitting arrangement

Beginning of the end of Razzak? n Mazhar Uddin

Bando Design (Yellow) and International Turkish Hope School in action in the Mir Corporate Football Fiesta yesterday DHAKA TRIBUNE

Things are not going well for veteran spinner Abdur Razzak in recent times.

After being overlooked for the Tigers’ 15-man squad for the 2015 ICC World Cup, Razzak has now been excluded from the Bangladesh Cricket Board’s central contracts for this year. A total of 14 cricketers were offered central contracts last Thursday.

This is the first time in 10 years that Razzak was not included in the central contracts for the national pool cricketers. Coupled with the disappointment of missing out on the World Cup squad, the experienced left-arm spinner is currently passing uncertain days.

Many Bangladesh cricket observers have already written off Razzak. However, the man himself is still not ruling out

the chances of him scripting a comeback.

“I am hopeful as the national league is starting soon. I would like to perform well and the selectors will decide if I will play for the national side or not,” said Razzak.

I am hopeful as the national league is starting soon. I would like to perform well and the selectors will decide if I play Since his international debut back in 2004, Razzak has played 12 Tests, 153 ODIs and 34 Twenty20Is for Bangladesh. He has been the most successful in ODIs, where he has bagged 207

wickets at an economy rate of 4.56. The cricketer from Khulna has also picked up 23 and 44 wickets in Tests and T20Is respectively.

His last outing for the Tigers came in the three-match ODI series against the West Indies in the Caribbean islands late last year. He was not able to perform well and was subsequently overlooked for the home series against Zimbabwe last month and the upcoming World Cup. When asked about his reaction on missing out on a central contract, Razzak said, “Lets say I lost a job. Will I sit and do nothing? I have to do something new and start working hard again.”

The selectors though cannot yet rule out the possibility of Razzak’s return.

The veteran spinner has picked up 21 wickets in 10 Dhaka Premier League matches.l

Mir Group reach Bowl final in Corporate Football

Lusai in critical condition n Shishir Hoque

Ranatunga vows Sri Lanka ports clean-up

n Tribune Desk

Former hockey player Jumman Lusai is in a critical condition after suffering a stroke yesterday afternoon. Lusai has a high-blood pressure and is currently on life-support at Bangladesh Medical College. Lusai is the first Bangladeshi hockey player to be included in a World XI back in 1985. In 2013, while serving as the coach of Abahani, Lusai was banned for life by the Bangladesh Hockey Federation due to unruly behaviour.

He was then selected to light the torch in the opening ceremony of the eighth edition of the Bangladesh Games in the same year.l

n AFP, Colombo

Mir Group powered their way to the Bowl final in the Mir Corporate Football Fiesta, powered by International Turkish Hope School. Mir Group defeated Spell-Bound 3-0 yesterday. Man-ofthe-match Shohag scored a hat-trick for the winners. Later, the second semifinal between HSBC and Vizrt went to the tie breakers with the latter narrowly winning 2-1. The score was tied at 1-1 following stipulated time.

Earlier, Mamun and Yavuj grabbed a brace each for Bando Design and

ITHS respectively as the two bug guns of the tournament drew 2-2 against each other.

ITHS, Bando, Comfit Composite and Computer Source will play in the Cup semifinals today morning.

The final will be played in the evening after an exhibition match that will feature former cricket captain Khaled Mashud, national paceman Shahadat Hossain, singer Emil of the band Shunno, renowned football coach Maruful Haque along with directors and CEOs of different corporate organisations.l

World Cup winning cricket skipper Arjuna Ranatunga began work Friday as Sri Lanka’s ports and shipping minister after being appointed to new President Maithripala Sirisena’s cabinet.

The 51-year-old Ranatunga, dubbed Captain Cool after winning the 1996 World Cup, vowed to end a culture of backhanders that has given the island’s ports an unenviable reputation as a hotbed of corruption.

“I have a big responsibility to clean up this place,” the portly Ranatunga

said on his first day in charge of his ministry in the capital Colombo.

“My priority is to fight corruption and also to make sure that corrupt politicians are not accommodated on our side.”

Ranatunga, who briefly served as a junior tourism minister a decade ago, is the first former Sri Lankan international to become a cabinet minister.

While Ranatunga was celebrating his elevation, Sirisena’s victory in last week’s presidential election has brought a halt to his former teammate Sanath Jayasuriya’s ministerial career.l

sub-committee; referees subcommittee; prize and gift subcommittee; finance and ticketing subcommittee; law and order and traffic management sub-committee.

Following the meeting, it was also decided that the Sylhet District Stadium would host a group’s matches along with the semifinal while the Bangabandhu National Stadium in Dhaka will hold the other group’s matches along with the other last-four clash and the grand finale, scheduled for February 8.

The prize of tickets was also finalised in the meeting. Gallery tickets were set at Tk50 while the VIP tickets will cost Tk100 in the group stage matches. In the semifinals and final, a gallery ticket can be bought for Tk80 while a VIP ticket can be purchased for Tk150.l

Bangladesh face Japan today in opener n Shishir Hoque The Bangladesh hockey team will begin their Hockey World League Round 2 campaign today against Japan.

The Red and Green outfit will then face Mexico a day later before rounding off their Pool B campaign against Poland this Tuesday.

As part of their preparation for the tournament, Bangladesh played three warm-up matches where they recorded two defeats and a victory. Bangladesh lost their opening practice match against Malaysia Under-21 3-1 before winning the next one against Malaysia U-23 5-1. Bangladesh lost their final warm-up against the Ukraine 2-1.l

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Sport

Warner lead Aussies to big win

QUICK BYTES

Ali back in hospital for follow-up care

n AFP, Sydney

Boxing legend Muhammad Ali is expected to be released from hospital Friday after receiving follow-up care for a urinary tract infection, a family spokesman said. Ali, who turns 73 on Saturday, was admitted to an undisclosed hospital earlier this week, said Bob Gunnell of Louisville-based Boxcar PR. It was Ali’s second hospital visit in the last month.

“Ali hopes to celebrate his 73rd birthday on Saturday at home with his family,” Gunnell said on Thursday. The threetime former heavyweight champ was released from hospital on January 7 after a two week stay for what was then thought to be pneumonia. But doctors ultimately determined he had a urinary tract infection. Ali is also an Olympic gold medalist and has suffered from Parkinson’s disease since the 1980s.

“The Muhammad Ali family respectfully requests privacy. No further details are being released at this time,” Gunnell said.

–AFP

Benfica sign German teenager Mukhtar from Hertha

German youth international Hany Mukhtar has joined Portugal’s Benfica, signing a five-year deal to 2020 after more than a decade at Hertha Berlin, both clubs said on Friday. “I was thrilled to hear about Benfica’s interest. It is a huge deal playing for such a big club,” the midfielder told reporters in Lisbon. “Benfica is one of the biggest clubs in the world with supporters everywhere.” The 19-yearold, a European under-19 champion with Germany last year, joined Hertha’s youth teams in 2002. Despite making his debut with the senior side as a 17-year-old, he has failed to feature in the league this season.

–Reuters

Ivory Coast beaten in Nations Cup prep Sweden defeated Africa Cup of Nations contenders Ivory Coast 2-0 on Thursday in a warm-up for the upcoming continental showpiece beginning in Equatorial Guinea on Saturday. The Elephants held their European rivals 0-0 during the 45 minutes before Helsingborg’s Johan Maartensson made the breakthrough in the 64th minute for Sweden. CSKA Moscow striker Seydou Doumbia had a golden chance to equalise for the Ivorians, when set up perfectly by Saint-Etienne’s MaxAlain Gradel on 73 minutes, but missed from close range. IF Elfsborg midfielder Marcus Rohden then put the result beyond doubt with four minutes remaining as Herve Renard’s side suffered a setback in their bid for a second African title after their sole triumph in 1992. The Ivory Coast open their Nations Cup campaign in Group D against Guinea in Malabo on January 20 before matches against Mali and Cameroon.

–AFP

DAY’S WATCH Star Sports 2 12:00PM BWF Grand Prix Gold 2015 (India) 9:00PM English Premier League QPR v Man United Italian Serie A 11:00PM Empoli v Inter Milan 1:45AM Palermo v Roma

Star Sports 4 2:10PM

David Warner of Australia celebrates reaching his century against England at Sydney Cricket Ground in Sydney, Australia yesterday AP

Australian opener David Warner led his team to an emphatic three-wicket win over England in the opening one-day international of the triangular series at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Friday.

The powerful left-hander’s commanding century cancelled out a long overdue ton by new England skipper Eoin Morgan to help the Australians earn a bonus point for reaching the target inside 40 overs.

Morgan’s lone hand of 121 off 136 balls with 11 fours and three sixes enabled England to recover from a disastrous start to make 234 in 47.5 overs.

Warner then made 127, breaking his own drought with his first one-day international ton since back-to-back hundreds against Sri Lanka in 2012, as Australia cruised to the victory target with 61 balls to spare, finishing on 235 for seven from 39.5 overs.

Warner faced 115 balls, hitting 18 fours, and fell when just eight runs were needed to win and Australia was chasing the bonus point.

He was delighted to become the first Australian to score a limited overs century against England at the SCG, his home ground.

“It was good to score a hundred, it was a big one (getting the record), here at the SCG,” Warner said.

“Importantly, we won the game and we got a bonus point.”

England have now won just three of their last 14 one-day internationals as they head towards next month’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.

Morgan took little solace from his own performance after the loss.

“Ultimately the early wickets cost us,” Morgan said.

“I was happy with my performance to start like this as captain but devastated at the result.”

In the first match of the triangular series, which also features India, Morgan won the toss in his debut as skipper since replacing Alastair Cook and elected to bat.

His sixth one-day century for England helped the tourists put on a defendable total before being dismissed in 47.5 overs.

Morgan was the only England batsman to score over 30.

The century ended a dry run for Morgan, as it was his first century in his past 20 one-day innings, which had included just one prior half-century.

He brought up his ton by lofting James Faulkner (3-47) over cover from the 127th ball he faced, having hit nine fours and two sixes.

Morgan had to save the innings after a top-order collapse and strode to the wicket with his side in strife at 12 for three.

The home side struck with the very first ball, with Ian Bell trapped lbw by left-armer Mitchell Starc for a duck. l

ENGvAUS R

B

England I. Bell lbw Starc M. Ali c Maxwell b Faulkner J. Taylor lbw Starc J. Root c Watson b Cummins E. Morgan c Maxwell b Starc R. Bopara c Maxwell b Doherty J. Buttler c Warner b Faulkner C. Woakes c Smith b Maxwell C. Jordan c Maxwell b Faulkner S. Broad not out S. Finn b Starc Extras (b2, lb3, w14, nb1)

0 1 22 21 0 2 5 15 121 136 13 18 28 60 8 13 17 21 0 0 0 1 20

Total (all out, 47.5 overs)

234

Bowling Starc 8.5-0-42-4, Cummins 9-1-42-1, Watson 4-0-23-0, Faulkner 10-1-47-3, Maxwell 6-0-37-1, Doherty 10-0-38-1 Australia D. Warner c Bell b Woakes A. Finch b Woakes S. Watson c Woakes b Jordan S. Smith b Ali G. Bailey c Buttler b Woakes G. Maxwell c Buttler b Woakes B. Haddin run out (Bopara) J. Faulkner not out M. Starc not out Extras (lb7, w1)

R

B

127 15 16 37 10 0 16 6 0 8

115 18 20 47 25 2 8 4 0

Total (7 wickets; 39.5 overs)

235

Bowling Woakes 8-1-40-4, Finn 8-1-48-0, Broad 6.5-0-49-0, Jordan 6-0-33-1, Ali 9-0-45-1 (1w), Bopara 2-0-13-0.

Australia won by 3 wickets

Shaky Serena still Australian Open favourite n AFP, Melbourne Serena Williams remains the red-hot favourite for the Australian Open, despite some patchy form in the lead up to her campaign for a 19th career Grand Slam.

Arch-rival Maria Sharapova is again expected to be the American’s main challenger, with injuries marring the preparation of other leading hopefuls including Simona Halep, Caroline Wozniacki and Victoria Azarenka.

Melbourne Park has been a happy hunting ground for Williams, who claimed five of her 18 career majors at the venue - the first way back in 2003.

But the 33-year-old’s most recent success Down Under was in 2010 and her erratic form in this month’s Hopman Cup raised fears she faces a failure similar to last year, when she crashed out in the fourth round.

Always supremely confident, Williams, who will meet Belgian Ali-

son van Uytvanck in the first round, blamed her early season troubles on fatigue and declared she can play “two thousand times better”.

“I feel like I’m getting back into the groove... I’m getting there,” she said.

Williams held on to the top ranking for the entire 2014 season, ending the year with a flourish to take the US Open and the WTA Tour Championship.

Another Australian title would take her to clear second on the all-time Grand Slam winners list behind Steffi Graf’s 22, having joined Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova on 18 with her win at Flushing Meadows.

Williams’ form is reflected by the bookmakers, who have her at $3.50 to snare the title, compared to Sharapova on $6.00, Halep $7.50, Wozniacki $11.00 and Azarenka, Petra Kvitova and Eugenie Bouchard (all $13.00).

World number two Sharapova scoffed at suggestions Williams was past her best.

“You can’t say someone is on the edge of the cliff when they are number one in the world,” the Russian said.

“She still came through and finished the season strong.

“Even though she’s 33 years old she’s still very strong and very powerful and has so much experience - that shows when she plays on court.”

Sharapova, a winner at Melbourne Park in 2008, finally shrugged of a nagging shoulder injury last year to claim her fifth Grand Slam title at the French Open.

There are no questions about the world number two’s form after she posted a sensational come-from-behind win over Ana Ivanovic in the Brisbane International warm-up event, shaking off the cobwebs before the Australian Open.

“I couldn’t have asked for better preparation,” said the 27-year-old, who could snatch the top ranking off Williams with a second championship this month.l

Roma face Palermo test ‘Debuchy destroyed by latest injury’ n AFP, Milan

Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri has indicated the future of star midfielder Paul Pogba could lie elsewhere, as the champions look to tighten their grip on Serie A with another home game against Verona on Sunday.

Roma’s title credentials, meanwhile face scrutiny in a potentially treacherous trip away to Palermo less than a week after Francesco Totti saved their blushes with a brace to snatch a point from a 2-2 draw with city rivals Lazio.

Totti is likely to miss the trip to Sicily because of flu symptoms and Palermo, who were unbeaten since October before last week’s 4-3 defeat away to Fiorentina, will be no pushover.

Palermo are being watched closely

by clubs desperate to lure one of their star players, Paulo Dybala, whose nine goals and seven assists so far have reportedly made him a transfer target for the likes of Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool.

FIXTURES Empoli v Inter Palermo v Roma Like Juventus, Palermo owner Maurizio Zamparini could cash in come June, although the Italian with the reputation for his trigger-happy firing of coaches has slapped a prohibitive valuation of “over 40m euros” on the Argentinian.

“Dybala is worth over €40m, but I won’t sell him until June,” Zamparini told Radio Due.l

n Reuters, London

Arsenal’s Mathieu Debuchy is “destroyed” and “embarrassed” after his injury-plagued first season at the London club suffered another setback, his manager Arsene Wenger said on Friday.

The France fullback, who has started less than half Arsenal’s Premier League games since joining from Newcastle United, has been ruled out until April after shoulder surgery following last Sunday’s victory over Stoke City.

“He is destroyed,” Wenger told reporters. “He is such a keen player, so professional and so willing. “It is his first year here and of course he is embarrassed. But it is not his fault.”

Wenger expressed his frustration that Debuchy’s injury was caused by an unnecessary shove into the ad-

T20 Big Bash League Sydney Thunder v Melbourne Stars

vertising hoardings by Stoke’s Marko Arnautovic.

“The push was not needed,” the manager added.

“Arnautovic did not have a chance to get the ball - I don’t think it was malicious but he had no chance to get the ball so I’m saying it was not needed.

“It’s not obvious what his intention was, I don’t think he wanted to hurt him.”

Wenger delivered brighter news for fans with a better prognosis for injured midfielder Mikel Arteta, who could be sidelined for six weeks rather than three months as previously suggested.

He also confirmed that Polish defensive midfielder Krystian Bielik was due to undergo a medical and a fee had been agreed with his club Legia Warsaw.

Arsenal visit champions Manchester

City on Sunday with their top-four credentials under scrutiny.

A mixed start to the season has ended realistic hopes of claiming the title and left them outside the Champions League qualification spots after 21 games.

Defeat on Sunday would leave Wenger again facing questions about his stewardship of the club among an increasingly dissatisfied fanbase.

A fillip for those disgruntled supporters, however, has been the form of forward Alexis Sanchez, whose 12 league goals have kept them in the hunt for a top-four spot.

Sanchez was hailed by City manager and fellow Chilean Manuel Pellegrini this week as the best player in England at the moment, above his own leading light Sergio Aguero.l

Kvitova wins all-Czech final over Pliskova in Sydney

English Premier League 9:00PM Swansea City v Chelsea 11:30PM Newcastle v Southampton

n AFP, Sydney

Star Sports 1 9:00PM English Premier League Aston Villa v Liverpool Spanish La Liga 1:00AM Valencia v Almeria 3:00AM Espanyol v Celta Vigo

Ten Action 10:00PM French Ligue 1 Lens v Olympic Lyon 1:00AM Monaco v Nantes

Ten Sports 6:15PM Sky Bet Championship Derby County v Nottingham Forest 9:00PM Millwall v Ipswich Town

13

Saturday, January 17, 2015

Czech Republic’s Petra Kvitova kisses the trophy after defeating compatriot Karolina Pliskova in the women’s singles final of the Sydney International tennis tournament at Sydney Olympic Park yesterday REUTERS

Petra Kvitova edged out fellow Czech Karolina Pliskova in two tiebreak sets to win the Sydney International on Friday.

The reigning Wimbledon champion downed her rising compatriot 7-6 (7/5), 7-6 (8/6) to send her into next week’s Australian Open full of confidence.

Kvitova quelled Pliskova’s tenacious challenge in one hour and 52 minutes to secure her 15th career title.

It was Kvitova’s third win in Australia following her victory in the 2009 Hobart International and the 2011 Brisbane International before she went on to win the first of her two Wimbledon crowns in 2011.

Kvitova is the world number four and was Friday drawn in Serena Williams’ top half at the Australian Open, setting the stage for a potential semi-final against the world number one.

A former Australian Open junior champion, Pliskova took the fight to

Kvitova, breaking the tournament’s second seed in the second game of the final to seize an early initiative.

But Kvitova clubbed two forehand winners and then unleashed a scorching backhand pass to break back as Pliskova tried to serve out the opening set at 5-4.

After snatching the first set in a tiebreaker, Kvitova claimed an early break in the second and looked headed for a routine win.

Pliskova had other ideas, drawing back on level terms in the sixth game to force another tiebreaker, only for Kvitova’s class to prevail once again when it mattered most.

Underlining her superiority over her compatriots, Kvitova’s win was her 15th straight against Czech opponents.

Kvitova said her hard-earned win three days out from the start of the Australian Open was most satisfying.

“It’s always tough to play a final,” she said.l

14

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Sport

Saturday, January 17, 2015

Torres double dumps Real out of Cup n AFP, Madrid Fernando Torres scored his first Atletico Madrid goals in eight years as the La Liga champions dumped holders Real Madrid out of the Copa del Rey 4-2 on aggregate after a 2-2 draw at the Santiago Bernabeu on Thursday.

Already leading 2-0 from last week’s first-leg, Torres stunned the hosts inside the first minute when turning home Antoine Griezmann’s pass to hand Atletico a vital away goal.

Sergio Ramos pulled a goal back for Real, but Griezmann and Torres repeated the trick seconds into the second-half to restore Atletico’s lead.

RESULTS Real Madrid

2-2

Atletico Madrid

Ramos 20, Torres 1, 46 Ronaldo 54 Atletico win 4-2 on aggregate

Elche

0-4

Barcelona

Mathieu 21, S Roberto 40, Pedro 43-P, Adriano 90+1 Barcelona win 9-0 on aggregate

Fresh from winning the third Ballon d’Or of his career, Cristiano Ronaldo ensured the home side at least salvaged a draw on the night, but they have now failed to beat Atletico in five meetings this season.

Atletico will face Barcelona in the last eight after the Catalans completed an 9-0 aggregate win over Elche as goals from Jeremy Mathieu, Sergi Roberto, Pedro Rodriguez and Adriano sealed a 4-0 victory on the night at the Martinez Valero.

Torres was only starting due to an illness suffered by Mario Mandzukic in the day before the game, but had by far his biggest impact since returning to the Spanish capital.

Meanwhile, Real boss Carlo Ancelotti was left to lament the defensive er-

rors that undid much of his side’s fine attacking play in the first hour.

Ronaldo paraded the Ballon d’Or in front of an adoring full house at the Bernabeu prior to kick-off.

However, it took just 46 seconds for Atletico to silence the home fans as Griezmann broke down the left and squared for Torres to turn home his first Atletico goal since May 2007.

Real then laid seige to Atletico goal in search of the four goals they needed to progress to the last eight.

Gareth Bale saw a flicked header easily held by Jan Oblak, whilst the Slovenian was on hand to somehow prevent Ronaldo turning home Karim Benzema’s knock-down moments later.

However, Atletico’s second choice ‘keeper was at fault when the hosts levelled after 20 minutes as he got nowhere near Toni Kroos’s free-kick and Ramos gratefully headed into an empty net.

Mario Suarez made a desperate clearance from just in front of his own goal line to prevent Ronaldo giving Madrid the lead and Oblak made a smart low save from Marcelo as the visitors held on till half-time.

And incredibly Atletico struck again within a minute of the restart after halftime in similar fashion as Ramos gifted the ball to Griezmann, who fed Torres and he cut inside Pepe to slot home his second goal of the night.

The former Liverpool and Chelsea striker could even have had a hat-trick moments later as he wriggled past Ramos inside the area, but Griezmann took the loose ball from his teammate and smashed a shot just wide.

Ronaldo restored parity on the night for Carlo Ancelotti’s men when he stooped to head in Bale’s cross from the left nine minutes after the break.

Benzema had one final chance to set up a grandstand finish, but he blasted over on the volley from close range.l

Atletico Madrid’s forward Fernando Torres scores during the Spanish Copa del Rey (King’s Cup) round of 16 second leg match against Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium in Madrid on Thursday AFP

I’m not from another planet, says Ronaldo after Cup loss n Reuters, Madrid Cristiano Ronaldo apologised to Real Madrid fans after his miraculous powers deserted him as the holders were knocked out of the King’s Cup by city rivals Atletico Madrid on Thursday.

Ronaldo showed off the third FIFA Ballon d’Or award he won this week to fans at the Bernabeu before kickoff in the last 16, second leg match as Real attempted to overturn a 2-0 deficit from last week’s first leg at the Calderon.

However, Fernando Torres struck twice for the visitors, with Sergio Ramos

and Ronaldo levelling each time, and Atletico went through to the quarter-finals 4-2 on aggregate and will face record winners Barcelona. Apart from his goal, a routine header from a Gareth Bale cross, Ronaldo turned in a subdued performance and his disappointing night was summed up when he sent a free kick sailing into the stands in added time.

“It’s impossible to be at 100 percent in every game,” the Portugal forward told reporters.

“I am not from another planet,” added the 29-year-old. “On behalf of the team I apologise, maybe we could have

done things better.”

Real’s next outing is a La Liga game at Getafe on Sunday, when they will be seeking to protect their one-point lead over second-placed Barca. They are also through to the last 16 of the Champions League, the competition they won for a record-extending 10th time last season, and will play Bundesliga side Schalke 04.

“Obviously losing is never good but you always have to think positively,” Ronaldo said.

“The team will be at its best again and we have a good chance to win La Liga and the Champions League.” l

Japan edge out Iraq at Asian Cup n Reuters, Brisbane

Jordan’s Tareq Khattab (2R) places his hand on goalscorer Yousef Ahmad Mohammad (3L) as team mates Mohammad Al-Dmeiri (L), Odai Al-Saify and Abdallah Deeb (R) celebrate a goal during their Asian Cup match against Palestine in Melbourne yesterday REUTERS

Keisuke Honda converted a penalty to make amends for hitting the post three times as a wasteful Japan held on to beat Iraq 1-0 in their Asian Cup Group D match on Friday.

Honda made no mistake with his spot kick, however, sending Iraqi goalkeeper Jalal Hassan the wrong way to score the only goal of the match in the 23rd minute at Lang Park.

Despite scoring the winner, the attacking midfielder could have scored at least four goals but struck the woodwork three times, including twice from close-range, as the defending champions squandered a series of chances to extend their lead.

The result elevated Japan to the top of the group on six points from two matches and needing only a point from their final match against Jordan to reach the quarter-finals.

Iraq and Jordan each have three points with Palestine on none, and all four teams still have a mathematical chance of advancing or being eliminated.

Japan were awarded the penalty after Honda, who also scored a spot kick in Monday’s 4-0 win over Palestine,

RESULTS Iraq

0-1

Japan Keisuke Honda 23-P

Palestine Jaka Hbaisha 85

1-5

Jordan

Ahmad 33, Aldaradreh 35, 45+2, 75, 80

was felled after getting sandwiched between Ali Adnan and Saad Abdul Amir as he tried to control a rebound from Shinji Kagawa’s saved shot.

Japan should have taken the lead earlier when Yuto Nagatomo stole the ball off Iraq defensive midfielder Amjed Kalaf and crossed to Honda, who

missed the target from inside the sixyard box, heading straight onto the base of the post.

Japan dominated possession throughout the match but were haunted by poor finishing with Kagawa spraying a shot across the goal and Shinji Okazaki heading the ball straight to Hassan in the first half.

Iraq, who opened their campaign with a 1-0 win over Jordan, were unable to create many clear-cut chances with Ahmed Ibrahim’s climb above the Japanese defence to test keeper Eiji Kawashima, the biggest threat for the 2007 Asian Cup winners in the opening half.

Japan continued to squander chances after the break with the Italy-based Honda the biggest culprit.

Iraq were more dangerous in the second half but never really came close to finding an equaliser though they remain in a good position to qualify with their final match against Palestine. l

Stars lead charge as Cup of Nations gets underway n AFP, Malabo

Louis van Gaal issues Falcao ultimatum

Juve hit Verona for six in cup tie n Reuters, Milan

Ginola enters Fifa presidential race

n AFP, Manchester

n Reuters, London

The continent’s best player Yaya Toure and his new club colleague and Ivory Coast teammate Wilfried Bony will be the star attractions as the 30th Africa Cup of Nations begins in Equatorial Guinea this weekend.

Toure, fresh from winning the African Footballer of the Year award for an unprecedented fourth successive year, this week saw Bony become a club colleague of his when the striker moved from Swansea City to Manchester City for a reported fee of £28 million making him one of Africa’s most expensive players ever.

The Elephants come into the 2015 Cup of Nations with reason to believe they can finally win the continental crown for the first time since 1992, despite seeing the great Didier Drogba retire last summer. The tournament’s opening games come on Saturday, when the hosts face Congo Brazzaville before Burkina Faso meet Gabon, with both Group A games being played in the country’s biggest city Bata.

There have been concerns that the central African state has not had enough time to prepare to host the 16team competition after Morocco’s refusal to do so amid Ebola fears.l

Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal said Friday that striker Radamel Falcao must prove himself, warning that a player’s financial value never influenced his selection policy.

The Colombia international was left out of van Gaal’s 18-man matchday squad for United’s 1-0 loss to South-

A second-string Juventus hammered Verona 6-1 in their Italian Cup tie on Thursday, with two goals coming from reserve striker Sebastian Giovinco.

Giovinco, who has started only two Serie A games this season, opened the floodgates when he curled in a free kick after five minutes.

Roberto Pereyra scored his first goal for Juventus with a neat chipped finish over Verona goalkeeper Rafael and Giovinco gave the hosts a 3-0 halftime lead when he turned in Stephan Lichtsteiner’s pass from close range.

Paul Pogba fired the fourth early in the second half, Alvaro Morata converted a penalty and Kingsley Coman completed the rout with his first goal for the club as Juve earned a quarter-final tie away to Parma.

Nene provided the only reply for Verona, who will not be looking forward to returning to the Juventus stadium for a league match against the same opponents on Sunday. l

FIXTURES Aston Villa Burnley Leicester City QPR Swansea City Tottenham Newcastle

v v v v v v v

Liverpool Crystal Palace Stoke City Man United Chelsea Sunderland Southampton

ampton last weekend as the Dutchman instead named three centre-backs –Jonny Evans, Tyler Blackett and Paddy McNair -- on the substitutes’ bench.

Van Gaal later insisted that Falcao, who has scored three goals in 11 games for United, had been left out for tactical reasons.

Falcao joined United in a loan deal worth £16 million ($24 million, 21 million euros) which includes wages, from

AS Monaco in August and the Red Devils have the option to make it permanent after the end of the season for an additional £44 million.

Van Gaal also insisted the financial value of a player remains secondary to what they produce on the pitch.

“He (Falcao) has to prove himself, that we have agreed,” van Gaal told a news conference on Friday. “Because of that we have made this deal and everything is clear. It is not the end of the year so he has a chance.

“It is the quality of the training sessions and quality in his matches and I have to have a game plan,” he added.

“I explained it after the Southampton game. If a player cost £95 million or £5,000 it makes no difference to me.

“You have to prove yourself and a player of £95 million has to prove himself too.”

Despite his assessment, the Dutch manager said there were no issues with the confidence of Falcao, who has also struggled with injuries since arriving at Old Trafford.

“Is his morale good? I think so,” added van Gaal “You will have to wait and see if he plays. Because if I say that then part of my line-up his known.” l

RESULTS Juventus

6-1

Giovinco 5, 45+1, Pereyra 21, Pogba 53, Morata 63-P, Coman 79

Verona Nene 57

Former France winger David Ginola will announce on Friday that he is entering the race to become president of world soccer’s governing body Fifa, The Sun reported on Thursday.

But the ex-Newcastle United and Tottenham Hotspur player has no chance of winning the election and is unlikely to get the required number of nominations to officially enter the race.

Ginola, who turns 48 later this month, will become the third candidate to announce he is standing after fellow Frenchman Jerome Champagne and Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein of Jordan, according to The Sun newspaper’s website.

“It is time that football was refreshed,” the newspaper quoted him as saying.

“We have to be brave and deal with what is going on in this game we love.

“I’m not interested in dwelling on the sins of the past, this is about taking football forward and putting supporters at the centre of the game.

“Football belongs to the people and they deserve to have a voice. We want transparency so that everyone knows where every penny goes. “People need to be able to trust the decisions being made by those in charge.”

Swiss incumbent Sepp Blatter, who is odds-on favourite to secure a fifth election victory, will make his formal announcement to run again in the next two weeks. Ginola will declare his intention to stand at a news conference in London on Friday, backed by a bookmaking firm and the Change Fifa organisation.

However, his campaign will only become official if he can prove he has the support of five national associations before Jan. 29, the four-month deadline before the vote at the Fifa Congress in Zurich on May 29.l

DHAKA TRIBUNE

Entertainment

Bishwajit’s IN MOTION at Bengal Art Lounge

n Nadira Sultana Ava Young yet talented artist Bishwajit Goswami is displaying his rare artistic talent at a solo art exhibition at Bengal Art Lounge in the capital.

Using human body as his main source of inspiration, Bishwajit created an aura of mystery in his

artwork, and visitors cannot help staring at those paintings with utter amazement.

Centred around three different series of works – In Motion, Quest for Soul and Metamorphosis and Physical Existence – the exhibition inspired by human body, succeeds in proposing an original interpretation of this age-old theme.

Quest for Soul focuses on specific parts of the human body – a back, a hand or some other limbs, enlarging them to the extreme in a hyper-realistic pursuit.

On the other hand, the artist simply defies the universal rules of Mother Nature by distorting familiar shapes of humans or animals.

Bestowed with great technical skills, Bishwajit often prefers dark backgrounds for his paintings multiplying the splendour of the artworks. The paintings are acrylic on canvas.

Quest for Soul 26 depicts the backside of a man in milieu of utter darkness. The bronze-like skin and muscular body of the man evoke a feeling of mystery as well power in visitors’ mind.

Metamorphosis and Physical Existence 10 depicts scattered shapes resembling distorted human bodies all throughout the canvas.

Born in 1981, Bishwajit Goswami recently joined as a lecturer at the Drawing and Painting Department of the Fine Art Faculty, University of Dhaka. The painter has already received several accolades of importance and was awarded with an Honourable Mention at the 16th Asian Art Biennial in December 2014. His distinctive images have featured in numerous group shows at home and abroad, and “In Motion” is his first public solo.

Inaugurated on January 11, the exhibition will remain open for everybody from 12:00pm to 8:00pm till January 24. l

RIAZ and BADHON pair up for the first time

A bespectacled Imran Khan and a quirky Kangana Ranaut make for an adorable on-screen couple for their upcoming film “Katti Batti.” The two have been paired up together for the very first time for a unique romantic comedy. Directed by Nikhil Advani, the film is slated to be released on September 18.

The

The

makers of the film tweeted the first look of “Katti Batti.”

Nikhil Advani, who is known for films like “Kal Ho Na Ho,” will yet again make a romantic comedy but the leading actress Kangana Ranaut says that it is a unique love story. “It is a very good love story. It is different from the usual love stories that we get to see in Bollywood films. The element of love has been depicted in a different way in that film. The film’s idea and philosophy is very good.”

The film revolves around new age relationships and Kangana who plays Payal in “Katti Batti” says that the film will strike a chord with the young generation.

“Writers have used elements like the battle of the sexes, issues of urban couples, expanded truth and non-linear narrative.

We have UTV as the producers and I have worked with them in ‘Fashion’ and ‘Life in a Metro,’ two of my most memorable films,” said Kangna. l

A tough cop is given his most difficult assignment ever: to masquerade as a kindergarten teacher in order to find a drug dealer.

n Entertainment Desk Big screen actor Riaz and Lux Superstar famed Badhon are appearing together for the first time in a single episode TV drama “Icecream o Onubhuti.” The duo recently wrapped up the shooting of the drama.

Badhon, who had always wanted to work with the silverscreen star since watching his film “Praner Cheye Priyo” in 1997, said about her endeavour with Riaz: “Finally, my dream has been fulfilled. It’s an honour to work with

such a versatile actor. I have learned so many aspects of acting after working with him in the drama.”

Just after winning the crown of Lux Superstar, Badhon was approached to act in the film “Daruchini Dip,” in which Riaz played one of the lead roles. However, Badhon had to turn down the role as it collided with her studies and eventually lost the opportunity to work with Riaz.

Written and scripted by Asaduzzaman Sohag and directed by Kaisar Ahmed, the drama is expected to be aired next month. l

The “Lego Movie” may have made beaucoup bucks and gotten everyone humming, but that doesn’t guarantee Academy love. The Warner Bros production lost out to mainstays and artistic outliers.

Ava DuVernay and David Oyelowo for Selma

“Selma” was snubbed, sort of. It’s hard to say what happened with “Selma”—the screeners went too late?

The stars were too unknown? The

In Goa, Pritam meets his love Geeta after many years. They decide to get married but the feud between their respective children creates tension in their marriage.

Ben Affleck and David Fincher to remake Strangers on a Train n Entertainment Desk

The team behind “Gone Girl” are hoping to capitalise on the film’s success by making another thriller.

Deadline Hollywood reports that actor Ben Affleck, director David Fincher and Gone Girl author and screenwriter Gillian Flynn are set to create a new version of Alfred Hitchcock’s 1951 film, “Strangers on a Train.”

Based on a 1950 novel by Patricia Highsmith, the original film is predicated on a conversation between two men in which they discuss “swapping” murders – agreeing to kill someone disliked by the other in order to hide the motive. l

Film

The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armie, Game Into The Storm Exodus 3D Interstellar Ek Cup Cha, Desha: The Leader

n Entertainment Desk A group of cultural activists, along with environmental rights advocate Poribesh Bachao Andolon, are holding a two-day exhibition titled “Ah! Sunderban” at Chhobir Haat in the capital’s Shahbagh area this weekend.

The event features photography, art and cartoon exhibitions, art installations and performances protesting the spoliation of the world’s largest mangrove forest.

Kafil Ahmed, renowned for his contemporary protest song, will read out a speech concerning the issues.

The programme has been arranged at a time when communication has been opened once again through the

Blockbuster Cinemas

Exhibition

Chaos & Order

By Jasna Boudard Time: 3pm – 8pm Dhaka Art Centre, Rd No 7, Dhanmondi

If anyone read Flynn’s thriller, he/ she would understand how much the plot’s effectiveness depends on its pacing and unique story structure.

And yet, Flynn succeeded in translating both elements for David Fincher’s big-screen adaptation, keeping the narrative just as tightly suspenseful as the book.

The 2015 Oscar nominations had plenty of shockers in store, from snubs for beloved actresses who were believed to be locked down in their category to the inclusion of movies that seemed to be all but out of the race. Here were the 5 moments that had jaws dropping.

Her dramatic performance as a chronic pain sufferer was so surprisingly great in Daniel Barnz’s intimate drama “Cake” that it earned her a wave of critical praise plus Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild nominations.

Golmaal 3 Star Gold, 5:35pm Cast: Mithun Chakraborty, Ajay Devgn, Kareena Kapoor

Exhibition at Chhobir Haat for the Sundarbans

Jennifer Aniston for Best Actress

The Lego Movie for Best Animated Picture

Anchorman HBO Hits, 10:20pm Cast: Will Ferrell, Steve Carell

Kindergarten Cop Star Movies Action, 8:30pm Cast: Arnold Schwarzenegger

5 biggest snubs of the 2015 Oscar nominations

n Entertainment Desk

15

Ron Burgundy is San Diego’s top rated newsman in the male-dominated broadcasting of the ‘70s.

KANGANA and IMRAN KHAN pair up for Katti Batti n Entertainment Desk

Saturday, January 17, 2015

cynical Academy didn’t want to pick two movies about African-American history in a row?—but its true that both director Ava DuVernay and star David Oyelowo have done enough to allow the Academy to make up.

Jake Gyllenhaal for Best Actor

Gone Girl, Gillian Flynn for Best Adapted Screenplay

Gyllenhaal should have sneaked into the Oscar running based on the strength of his total transformation into a nocturnal sociopath in Dan Gilroy’s thriller with real-life media resonance.

Sundarbans just a month after the hazardous incident which saw an oil tanker capsize on the Shela River, which spilled more than 350,000 litres of furnace oil in the water, putting the Sundarbans and its ecosystem at grave risk.

The local inhabitants have risked their health to clean up the spill that has left the delicate ecosystem of the river and the forest in tatters. The authorities concerned, on the other hand, have shown a lacklustre attitude to tackle the situation.

The spill is the new addition to the threats to the forest caused by humans, one of which is the government-approved power plant in Rampal, 14km away from the Sundarbans. l

SCARLETT JOHANSSON confirmed to return as Black Widow n Entertainment Desk Scarlett Johansson’s Black Widow and other characters are confirmed to return to “Captain America: Civil War.” Directors Anthony and Joe Russo shared the news during a press event in Beijing, China. Anthony revealed that they had been preparing for the movie.

“We’ve been preparing for the movie since the one debuted last year,” he was quoted as saying. “So, we’ve been working on it for a long time now.

We’re very happy how it’s coming along. ‘Captain America 3’ is going be called ‘Captain America: Civil War’ and it’s going to star Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson will be back, Winter Soldier will be back, and Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man will also be joining us in the next film.”

Earlier January 14, screenwriters Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely teased what would happen in the follow-up to “Captain America: The Winter Soldier”.

Speaking to IGN at the TCA, the writers said that “Civil War” had been altered to fit into the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

“Captain America: Civil War” will see Iron Man and Captain America going toe to toe regarding the Superhuman Registration Act. Chadwick Boseman’s Black Panther will make his debut in the movie which is set to hit theatres May 6, 2016. l

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DHAKA TRIBUNE

Back Page

Saturday, January 17, 2015

35 hurt as two BCL groups clash at DU A three-member committee formed to investigate the incident n DU Correspondent At least 35 people were injured in a fierce clash between two groups of Bangladesh Chhatra League at Dhaka University early yesterday.

It all started with a trivial matter when Kabi Jasimuddin Hall Chhatra League unit’s Organising Secretary Rana Hamid got into an altercation

Chhatra League’s university unit General Secretary Omar Sharif told the Dhaka Tribune that the clash mostly involved junior students which erupted over a simple matter with Imran, a fourth-year student of English and a supporter of Muktijoddha Ziaur Rahman Hall unit President Abdus Salam Pradhan Shaon, when the latter went to Jasimuddin Hall to have some food around 1:30am.

Imran urinated on the hall’s wall while leaving after taking food but was intercepted by Rana who demanded an explanation for the act, setting off the altercation. Rana along with some of his associates later beat Imran.

The clash broke out when Imran phoned his friends and Chhatra League

leaders of Ziaur Rahman Hall to come over.

Both the groups used sticks and bricks, and chased each other during the one-and-a-half-hour clash.

Police and Dhaka University Proctor Amzad Ali arrived on the scene and brought the situation under control.

They were accompanied by the Chhatra League president and general secretary of the university unit.

The proctor said the injured were given first aid but none received serious injuries.

He also said action would be taken against the accused after investigation.

Chhatra League’s university unit General Secretary Omar Sharif told the Dhaka Tribune that the clash mostly involved junior students which erupted over a simple matter.

“We talked to them and calm returned soon,” he added.

Of the injured, five Chhatra League leaders, including Shaon, were taken to Dhaka Medical College Hospital.

“I came to the hall entrance after hearing a noise which is when a brick struck me,” said Shaon.

He said the situation could not be controlled easily as both Chhatra League activists and general students got into the clash.

A three-member committee headed by Kazi Mahfuzul Haque Shopon, house tutor of Muktijoddha Ziaur Rahman Hall and a teacher of law, was formed to investigate the incident.

The committee was asked to submit a report as early as possible. l

Gleeful students show their prizes at an award giving ceremony of the Book Reading Campaign of Bishwa Sahitya Kendra, held on the premises of the Institute of Fine Arts at Dhaka University yesterday RAJIB DHAR

Road crash kills 4, injures 2 in Cox’s Bazar n CU Correspondent

At least four people were killed in a fatal head-on collision between a microbus and a picnic bus on the Chittagong-Cox’s Bazar highway at Chakaria upazila in Cox’s Bazar yesterday morning. Two others were injured in the accident.

The deceased were Joynal Abedin, 40, the microbus driver, and passengers Tahera Begum, 55, kindergarten

teacher in Cox’s Bazar, her daughter Tasmima Akhtar, 25, a student at Brac University in Dhaka, and Koshinur Akhtar, 20, their household help, said Sub-Inspector Faizur Rahman, incharge of Chiringa highway police outpost.

Tasmima and Tahera were on their way to Chittagong to shop for Tasmima’s wedding, which was on January 24, the SI added.

The injured, Tahera’s son Adnan

Bangladeshi among the winners of Queen’s Young Leaders Award n Tribune Report A Bangladeshi has been selected as one of the winners of the Queen’s Young Leaders Award 2014, a unique initiative to honour young people in the Commonwealth countries who have made a positive difference in their communities.

Shamir Shehab, 26, has been selected for founding Bangladesh Youth Environmental Initiative to raise awareness about the effects of climate change on Bangladesh.

Since it was found in 2009, the organisation has worked to train more than 500 young environmental activists and set up environmental clubs in 30 schools. It also runs the National Earth Olympiad to teach and raise awareness among the students about climate change.

Besides Shamir, a number of young leaders have been selected from other Asian Commonwealth member countries, namely India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Brunei.

A total of 61 young leaders from 35 Commonwealth countries have been selected for the 2014 Queen’s Young Leaders Award, the first of its kind. The winners will receive a one-week residential programme in the UK, during which they will also receive their award from Queen Elizabeth II herself.

To be eligible for the award, one has to be aged 18-28 years at the time of application and have the record of making significant changes to improve the quality of life in his or her community or country, which could be used as a model to improve lives across the Commonwealth.

The award was launched as part of the Queen’s Young Leaders Programme, which aims to enable young people to step up as leaders and improve their lives as well as the lives of people in their communities, countries and across the Commonwealth.

It was established by the Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Trust in honour of the Queen’s 60-year contribution to the Commonwealth. The programme will run in partnership with Comic Relief and the Royal Commonwealth Society. l

Mohammed, 30, and Mizanur Rahman are undergoing treatment at Chittagong Medical College Hospital (CMCH), said Nayek Shilbrata Barua of CMCH police outpost.

Quoting witnesses SI Faizur said a Cox’s Bazar-bound picnic bus collided head-on with the Chittagong-bound microbus on the highway around 10am, killing Joynal, Tahera and Kohinur on the spot.

The other three were rushed to

Chokoria Upazila Health Complex, from where they were moved to the CMCH in a critical condition, said Probhash Chandra Dhar, OC at Chakaria police station.

Tasmima later succumbed to her injuries around 2:30pm.

On information, police seized the bus, but its driver managed to escape after the accident, SI Faizul said, adding that steps were being taken to catch the bus driver. l

Bar-headed geese: Highest bird migration tracked n BBC

Thousands of devotees offer their Jumma prayers yesterday on the first day of the second phase of Biswa Ijtema, an annual Muslim congregation, taking place beside the Turag River at Tongi in Gazipur MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU

Second phase of Biswa Ijtema starts amid beefed-up security n Our Correspondent, Gazipur The second and last phase of Biswa Ijtema began yesterday with thousands of Muslim devotees in attendance amid tight security.

The event began with a sermon

by Maulana Ismail Hossain from India after Fajr prayers; the sermon was later translated by Maulana Nurur Rahman of Bangladesh for the local attendees.

Despite the cold and fog, and braving the ongoing blockade imposed by the BNP-led 20-party alliance, people from 32 districts travelled to the bank of Turag River at Tongi to attend the second largest congregation of Muslims in the world.

Thousands took part in yesterday’s Jumma prayers, making it the country’s largest Jumma. Devotees are still coming in to join the Akheri Munajat tomor-

row, with which the Ijtema will end for this year. Security has been strengthened to ensure the safety of the Ijtema attendees a with five-layered surveillance system.

Harun-or-Rashid, superintendent of police in Gazipur, said: “We have made the security system stronger than before. Additional law enforcement personnel from different districts have been brought in and deployed here so that the devotees can make their journeys to and from the Ijtema ground safely.”

Besides the local participants, around 5,000 people from other countries, including India, Sudan, Qatar, Oman and Saudi Arabia, have come to attend the Ijtema, according to the organisers

Two more devotees dead

Two more Ijtema devotees died yester-

day due to health complications. Ijtema officials told the Dhaka Tribune that the deceased were Billal Hossain, 30, from Patuakhali and Abdur Rahman, 65, from Bogra.

With these new deaths, the number of deaths in the second phase stands at four, in addition with the 10 deaths during the first phase.

A tracking study has revealed the secrets of the world’s highest bird migration - the Himalayan flight of the bar-headed goose.

The geese have been recorded at heights of more than 7,000m (23,000ft).

Now, a team led by researchers from Bangor University has tracked the flight and revealed the basis for the birds’ “rollercoaster flight” pattern.

The findings, published in Science, show how the birds hug the mountainous terrain, and that this saves energy.

Bar-headed geese have fascinated biologists for decades.

They achieve physiological feats that seem impossible - flying at extreme altitude, where there is less than 10% the oxygen found at sea level.

George Lowe, the New Zealand born climber who supported Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay’s ascent in 1953, said he had seen the geese flying over the top of Mount Everest - the peak is approximately 29,000ft.

And, using GPS trackers, this team has recorded one bird flying at 24,000ft.

The implanted devices also measured the acceleration, body temperature and heart rate of seven geese, caught in central Mongolia.

Data from these devices enabled the scientists to work out the birds’ energy use, as well as tracking what they called their “rollercoaster” flight pattern.

While rising and falling may seem wasteful - losing hard-earned altitude, just to climb again later - these unique trackers revealed the reasons behind it.

Lead researcher Dr Charles Bishop, from Bangor University in Gwynedd, told BBC News: “When we looked at the heart rate, [it was] going up with altitude quite quickly. So flying high is really difficult.

“When we calculated what it would be like if they went up to 6,000m and stayed there, that was more expensive than hugging the ground.”

He said that the geese also appeared to take advantage of deflections of wind off ridges to gain extra lift.

Even more remarkable, Dr Bishop says, is that the birds do not seem to benefit from any tail winds, and they do not soar.

“They never stop flapping their wings,” he said. “And one or two [of the flights we tracked] were up to 17 hours long.”

Flapping flight is an energy-intensive activity and, at high altitudes, it is even more challenging to generate lift in very thin, low density air.

Dr Lucy Hawkes, from the University of Exeter, a member of the research team, explained that in their previous studies of the birds, the researchers had found that they would often fly at night, “when the air is colder and denser”.

“This would reduce the cost of flight compared to the daytime,” she explained.

Dr Bishop added that these geese may represent “the limit” of what birds are capable of.

“They have found a way to cross the world’s longest and highest land mass - over 1,500km [930 miles] - relatively easily.”

“They don’t train or acclimatise,” he said. “They could walk on the top of Everest and have no problem at all.” l

In case of emergencies

Organisers have provided the contact numbers to used in case of an emergency during the Ijtema. They are: Gazipur district administration control room – 9813401, 9813402; police control room – 9813403; media centre – 9813408, RAB control room – 9815112, 9815113, 9815114; health control room – 9813406, 9817514, 9817515, 9817516; information authority – 9816370-74; fire service – 9816369; power control room – 9816379. l

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