December 17, 2013

AL turns back the clock ‘to compromise’Ershad’s U-turn made the ruling party change the game plann Emran Hossain Shaikh and

Syed Samiul Basher Anik

As part of a “compromise” deal with its once ally Jatiya Party, the Awami League has allegedly pressured many of its candidates to withdraw nomina-tions so that JaPa candidates could be elected uncontested.

In many such constituencies, let-ters were sent to the returning o� cers instructing them to accept withdrawal

applications from Awami League can-didates. Some of these letters were re-portedly signed by HT Imam, adviser to the prime minister and co-chairman of the Awami League’s Election Steering Committee.

The last date for withdrawing nom-ination was Friday, December 13. The process is to � le an application telling the respective returning o� cer that the

candidate did not wish to contest the polls anymore.

Reportedly, in many of these con-stituencies, where JaPa leaders were wanted, the Awami League candidates refused to withdraw nominations.

There are allegations that some of these candidates were forced to with-draw their nominations and the return-ing o� cers were instructed to accept their withdrawal applications even if it was after December 13.

Some of these nomination with-drawal papers, submitted after that date, were reportedly accepted with ret-rospective e� ect. For example, an appli-cation – dated December 12 and submit-ted on December 14 – was accepted.

The Awami League “compromised” these seats to ensure JaPa’s participa-tion and a credible look for the upcom-ing polls.

Sources said the Election Commis-sion took more than usual in � nalising the list of “elected uncontested” candi-dates because of those “compromised” constituencies.

PAGE 2 COLUMN 1

Bangladesh rewrites record books with largest human � agn Emran Hossain

What could be the greatest strength of a country not larger than a tiny dot on the globe? Its people, obviously!

It was in an emotional display of pat-riotism that over 27,000 people proved their collective strength yesterday as Bangladesh set the world record for the largest human-� ag ever made. And it could not be done at a more opportune moment or against a more desired op-ponent.

Just days ago, the country saw long-denied justice � nally delivered when Abdul Quader Molla – who earned notoriety for his crimes against humanity as a collaborator of the Pa-

kistanis in the 1971 War of Liberation – was � nally executed. Yesterday, Vic-tory Day created an ideal occasion to celebrate that justice.

The fact that the previous human � ag record was held by none other than Pakistan, having recreated its � ag using 24,000 people, was the icing on the cake. Pakistan broke the earlier re-cord of 21,726 people set by Hong Kong about � ve years ago.

The National Parade Ground, where history was rewritten yesterday, was buzzing with enthusiasm from the early morning, with as many as 27,117 participants – students, members of Bangladesh Army, Navy, Air Force and

PAGE 2 COLUMN 3

TMAGSchools � ghting back againstthe hartals

BAN JAMAAT-SHIBIRP2

Rawshan settled on a deal of 60 uncontested seats, including one for herself,to be elected uncontested

12 pages, plus 16-page T-Mag tabloid | Price: Tk10

Poush 3, 1420Safar 13, 1435Regd. No. DA 6238Vol 1 No 263 TUESDAY, DECEMBER 17, 2013 | www.dhakatribune.com

10 SportBarca to face Man City in knockouts

6 InternationalProtests, prayers mark one year since Delhi rape

Blockade againn Mohammad Al-Masum Molla

Main opposition BNP-led 18-party al-liance yesterday called for another 72-hour spell of nationwide rail, road and waterway blockade starting 6am today.

The fresh blockade came at a time when country was celebrating Victory Day with renewed enthusiasm follow-ing the execution of war criminal and Jamaat-e-Islami leader Abdul Quader Molla.

The opposition combine – of which Jamaat is a key component – came up with the programme after a four-day recess. Source said this spell might con-tinue till December 25 – the Christmas

PAGE 2 COLUMN 4

A staggering 27,117 people stand united, holding green and red boards above their heads, to put up the world’s biggest ever human � ag at the National Parade Ground on Victory day yesterday SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN

Five killed in shootoutn Ashif Islam Shaon

Five activists of Jamaat-e-Islami and Islami Chhatra Shibir died while en-gaging in a shootout with law enforcers during a police raid in two upazilas of Satkhira yesterday.

The joint force, formed with police, Rapid Action Battelion (Rab), Border Guard Bangladesh and Ansar, arrested nine from the spots.

Being tipped o� , police went to the spots to arrest Jamaat-Shibir men ac-cused in di� erent cases � led in con-nection with the recent incidents of violence in the district.

Later, locals vandalised and torched 14 houses of some Jamaat-Shibir activ-ists in the upazilas out of fury.

Three Jamaat-Shibir activists died in separate incidents of clashes in the sadar upazila while two other died in Debhata upazila, said Chowdhury Manjurul Kabir, superintendent of the district police.

Police identi� ed one of the deceased as Jahangir Hossain, 25, a shibir activ-ist. Abdur Rauf, 32, and Reyazul Islam, 35, the two bullet-hit Jamaat men and a local Ainul Islam, 38, were admitted to Satkhira sadar hospital.

PAGE 2 COLUMN 4

News2 DHAKA TRIBUNE Tuesday, December 17, 2013

Ban terrorist Jamaat, Shibir, urge activists n Muktasree Chakma Sathi

Terming the Jamaat-e-Islami and its student wing Islami Chhatra Shibir “terrorist organisations,” noted citi-zens, freedom � ghters and socio-cul-tural leaders of Ganajagaran Mancha yesterday urged the government to ban the party immediately.

At the Bijoy Utsab 2013 held at Suhrawardy Udyan in the capital on the occasion of the Victory Day, they said the Jamaat-Shibir could not be labelled as a democratic political party.

The speakers also called upon peo-ple to resist every sort of attack carried out by the Jamaat-Shibir men.

Sector Commanders’ Forum chief AK Khandker said the recent spate of vio-lence during the so-called political activ-ities of the Jamaat- Shibir could only be

termed "new version of atrocities in 1971." Professor Emeritus Dr Anisuzzaman

said: “Those who were against the hu-manity [in 1971] will have to face the trial. Human life is valuable, but for the sake of justice, we demand the high-est punishment for the perpetrators as soon as possible.”

Prof Muhammad Zafar Iqbal said the Jamaat had not been a party that fol-lows Islam, “rather they are very much into terrorism.”

Later, di� erent platforms performed at a cultural programme. At 4:31 pm, the moment when the Pakistani occu-pation army had surrendered in 1971, thousands of people sang the national anthem in chorus.

The Ganajagaran Mancha organisers said people in di� erent districts and also abroad observed the historic moment. l

Jamaat-Shibir holds secret programme on Victory Day n Manik Miazee

Jamaat-e-Islami in a statement yester-day claimed that it had held a discus-sion on the occasion of the Victory Day. But the opposition 18-party ally did not mention the venue of the event.

Earlier also, when Jamaat had an-nounced a series of programmes, in-cluding the Victory Day discussion, it did not mention the venue and did not even invite media to cover it.

Its statement said at the discussion "held at an auditorium in the city" par-ty leaders had criticised the ongoing war crimes trial, execution of Abdul Quader Molla, and holding the January 5 polls without the opposition alliance.

When the Dhaka Tribune contacted several senior leaders they declined to disclose the venue.

Jamaat, which has lost its registra-tion as a political party, along with the 18-party allies has been enforcing se-ries of blockades that has seen mind-less violence since the election date was announced on November 25.

According to the statement, Central Executive Committee member and city unit Ameer Abdul Halim said the Ja-maat-Shibir leaders and activists would play a leading role to resist the activities of the “Awami League fascist group.”

He said: “Even after 42 years of inde-pendence, it has not turned meaning-ful. Unity of a nation is needed for its development, but mal-politics of the Awami League is dividing the country.”

The press release said Halim presid-ed over the programme while other se-nior leaders also spoke.

In a separate press release, Jamaat’s student wing Islami Chhatra Shibir claimed that it had carried out a colour-ful procession at Khilgaon and held dis-cussions in Dhaka, Bogra, Moulvibazar, Chapainawabganj, Dinajpur, Comilla and Noakhali to mark the day. l

Nation observes Victory Dayn Abu Bakar Siddique

The nation yesterday observed its 43rd Victory Day commemorating the un-sung heroes who sacri� ced their lives during the Liberation War and brought the victory for the country on the same day in 1971.

The celebration began with a 31-gun salute at dawn to pay respect to the he-roic struggle that brought the indepen-dence for the country.

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

Marking the 43rd Victory Day, Pres-ident Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday morning paid their tributes to the heroic sons of the soil who had laid down their lives to be independent from Pakistan through a nine-month-long war.

The president and the prime minis-ter paid tributes to the martyrs of the Liberation War by placing wreaths at the National Memorial at Savar at about 6:40am.

After placing the wreaths, President Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Ha-sina stood there in solemn silence for some time to show their respect to the memories of the martyrs of the great Liberation War in 1971.

The Chief Justice, Ministers, law-makers, the chiefs of the three forces, freedom � ghters, diplomats and high civil and military o� cials, wounded freedom � ghters and family members of the heroic award-winning Birshres-tha were present on the occasion. 

Later, along with her party leaders, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, also pres-ident of the Bangladesh Awami League, placed another wreath at the National Memorial on behalf of her party.

Leader of the opposition Khaleda Zia along with her party’s prominent leaders placed wreath to honour the heroes at the National Memorial.

The day was a public holiday.People of di� erent political, social,

cultural and professional backgrounds gathered at the monument with � ow-ers and banners to show respect to the sons and daughters who sacri� ced ev-erything possible for the independence of Bangladesh.

In addition to the capital, same types of programmes were organised to honor the martyrs across the country.

Following the high o� cials, thou-sands of people full with the spirit of independence gathered at the National Mausoleum to pay homage to the free-dom � ghters and commemorate the sacri� ces of those who are living with the memories of 1971.

Asked about how he felt on the day, a Jahagirnagar University student Ah-san who went there to place wreath at the National Mausoleum with his friends told the Dhaka Tribune it gave him inspiration to do something for the country.

“I have been coming each morning of the Victory Day since I got enrolment in the University in 2010, he also said, adding that I am happier this year as we have made it possible to hang Ab-

dul Quader Molla, one of the war crime convicts.”

Like every year, parts of the city wore a festive look since early morn-ing. A number of buildings, vehicles and road islands were decorated with national � ags of di� erent sizes.

In many streets and shops, popular patriotic songs played through loud-speakers throughout the day.

Men, women and children in green and red � ocked into various monu-ments and parks including the Nation-al Mausoleum and the Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban area and many other public places to participate in the many cul-tural programmes across the city.

“I had been taking my children to the National Mausoleum at Savar to pay tributes to the war heroes for the last few years to make them understand the signi� cance of the day,” said Mahjabin Islam, a mother of two children.

Bangladesh missions, deputy mis-sions and consulates abroad also ob-served the day.

Similarly, foreign missions in Dhaka gave separate messages on the occa-

sion of the Victory Day.In his message, Russian Ambassador

to Bangladesh H.E. Alexander A. Niko-laev congratulated all citizens of the country on this great occasion.

He said: “Today on behalf of mine as well as the Russian Embassy in Dhaka I would like to pay tribute to the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mu-jibur Rahman and freedom � ghters of Bangladesh.”

The ambassador observed that the diplomatic relations between Russia and Bangladesh had always been com-prehensive from the moment of its es-tablishment in the early 70-s, from the very � rst days of Bangladesh as an in-dependent state.

Russia and Bangladesh share a com-mon approach to ideas of peace and de-mocracy i.e. multi-polar global architec-ture and a fair international economic system, said Alexander A. Nikolaev.

“Taking this opportunity on this auspicious day I would like to wish all our Bangladeshi friends happiness and prosperity, health and new achieve-ments in their further move to the na-

tional progressive development,” read the message.

The ambassadors of European Union member states did not attend the Victory Day programme yesterday morning.

An o� cial of the EU Embassy in Dhaka said: “They could not attend the programme as they had an internal co-ordination meeting.”

He, however, said ambassadors went to Bangabhaban and greeted President Abdul Hamid and Prime Min-ister Sheikh Hasina.

On this day in 1971, the chief of the Pa-kistani occupation forces, Gen AAK Nia-zi along with his 93,000 Pakistani troops surrendered at Ramna Racecourse, now Suhrawardy Udyan, in Dhaka following a miserable defeat to the joint forces of Mukti Bahini and Mitra Bahini.

In one of the heinous acts of geno-cide in human history, the Pakistan army and their local collaborators had launched a barbarous crackdown on March 25, 1971 in the erstwhile East Pakistan at midnight past, killing inno-cent and unarmed people. l

Bangladesh rewrites record books with largest human � ag PAGE 1 COLUMN 6Ansar Bahini – ready to be a part of the big moment.

They stood shoulder to shoulder, holding placards of a rectangular shape overhead, froming an exact replica of the national � ag. As they raisedtheir hands high into the air, thewhole ground became a triumph of green and red.

They stood there for six minutes and 16 seconds in that order.

It was a moment of pride andsatisfaction for both the participants and millions of viewers watchingthe event on the ground or live on tele-vision.

Saiful Islam Rabiul, a student vol-unteer from the Agargaon-TaltolaGovernment Colony High School,who led the front section madeup of his schoolmates, described what it was like to be a constituent part of the � ag.

“I woke up at seven in the morning and came here. It felt really wonder-ful to be here,” said Rabiul, now in his sixth grade.

However, it was not an easy task for the organisers to manage such a large group of people, formed mostly by young girls and boys from di� erent schools and madrasas.

The hardest part was making sure they synced up with their older, and more organised, counterparts from the armed forces.

There were several thousand view-ers, most of them relatives of the par-ticipants, present on the ground who watched in awe as the � ag slowly took shape.

They cheered when it was � nally done, after over three hours of e� ort.

Their inspiration and elation, as well as that of the organisers, was clearly rooted in the fact that it wasPakistan which had lost its claim to the Guinness World Record for the largest human � ag.

“We defeated Pakistan on this day in 1971 and we did the same thing today,” said Faridur Reza Sagar, managing di-rector of Channel i, one of the media partners for the event organised by private mobile phone operator Robi – with the help of the Bangladesh Armed Forces Division.

The Dhaka Tribune, Bangladesh Pratidin, Kaler Kontho, and Radio Foor-ti were the other media partners.

Noted actor Afzal Hossain, who moderated the event, said documents relating to the record would be sent to the Guinness authorities for their o� -cial recognition. l

Five killed in shootout PAGE 1 COLUMN 5They started the drives from 2am, said Manjurul Kabir.

On the other hand, a union-level BNP leader and a worker died in a gun-� ght with Rab personnel during a raid in Laxmipur Sadar upazila during the early hours yesterday.

A driver of a CNG-run Auto-rickshaw succumbed to burn injuries yesterday at Dhaka Medical College Hospital. Blockade supporters set � re to his ve-hicle in Hathazari upazila of Chittagong 15 days back.

The SP said around 4am, one team had reached Satani village of the sadar upazila where the local Jamaat-Shibir men cordoned them o� prompting to open � re. Jahangir was left dead on the spot in the incident.

Around 5am, another team reached Shatkhira and Shakhipur areas in Debhata upazila where the Jamaat-Shi-bir men enclosed them and pelted bricks towards them. The armed cadres opened � re at one stage.

“When we retaliated four of their men died on the spot,” the SP said.

However, they could not ascer-tain names of the deceased as the Ja-maat-Shibir activists took the body away, he added.

Jamaat district unit’s Publicity Sec-retary Azizul Islm claimed that one of their activists had died being hit by a bullet and another named Sayeb Babu, 32, of Sadar Upazila died in a heart at-tack during the raid.

He told Dhaka Tribune that the number and names of the deceased

would be disclosed today.He also alleged that the joint forces

have ransacked, looted and torched residences of a number of their leaders and activists during the drive.

Shatkhira has turned into a “place of terror” during the last three spates of blockades called by the opposition combine.

Satkhira, known to be a stronghold for the Jamaat, has been beset with vi-olence and anarchy after the execution of war criminal Quader Molla on De-cember 12.

Around hundreds of residences of Awami League leaders, activists and supporters, and business establish-ments were torched in last four days. The Jamaat-Shibir men looted and van-dalised 30 houses and establishments of people of the Hindu community there.

To contain the situation, local ad-ministration decided to conduct drives by forming the joint forces.

Meanwhile, a union-level BNP lead-er and a worker died in a gun� ght with Rab in Laxmipur sadar upazila early yesterday.

The deceased are Asaduzzaman Ba-bul, 50, BNP joint secretary general of Dighulia union unit, and his close asso-ciate Khorshed Alam Sumon, 48. Listed criminal Babul, accused in a number of cases including murder with Sadar po-lice station.

Babul’s wife claimed that Rab-11 members stormed into the house and opened � re when Babul and Sumon were having dinner .

A team of Rab personnel went to the

house in Uttar Jamiltoli area around 12am to arrest them, said a Rab o� cial

He claimed that sensing presence of the force, Babul’s cohorts opened � re, prompting them to retaliate.

Meanwhile, another driver of CNG-run Auto-rickshaw, Mohammad Abdul Aziz, 50, succumbed to burn injuries at DMCH’s burn unit around 4:30am yes-terday.

Blockaders set � re to his vehicle in Hathazari upazila of Chittagong 15 days back during the opposition combine blockade of roads, rail and waterways.

The pickets hurled petrol bombs while he was on his way home in Hath-azari upazila of the port city.

Miscreants torched valuables and documents inside Sirajpur Union Par-ishad o� ce in Companyganj upazi-la yesterday. Locals said a group of miscreants stormed into the o� ce breaking its lock around 1:15am.They brought out some furniture, two com-puters and some necessary documents outside the o� ce and burned them.

Six idlols vandalisedSome Jamaat-Shibir activists allegedly vandalised six idols of Hindu deities in a 200-year old temple in Patgram upazila of Lalmonirhat during the ear-ly hours yesterday. They entered the temple by breaking its gate and vandal-ised the idols at night, said Harendra Nath Roy, caretaker of the temple.

“We, the Hindu people, cannot go out of our houses around midnight fearing subversion of the activists,” he said. l

Blockade again PAGE 1 COLUMN 3and a national holiday – with only one-day pause on Friday.

“We urge the people of the coun-try to observe blockade programmes peacefully from 6am on December to 6am Friday for realising the demand for suspending polls schedule and holding the elections under a non-partisan gov-ernment,” said BNP Standing Commit-tee Member Nazrul Islam Khan while announcing the fresh programmes at a press brie� ng at the party chairperson’s Gulshan o� ce yesterday.

On Sunday, the Awami League leaders asked party men to resist and launch counter attack on “those who are inciting anarchy across the coun-try.” Awami League Joint General Sec-retary Mahbub-ul-Alam Hanif siad: “Enough is enough. Stop terrorist acts. After the Victory Day, every attack will be dealt with be� tting replies.”

The opposition-combine has so far observed similar nationwide blockade programmes on three spells, which saw widespread violence and deaths and injuries in clashes, arson attacks and bomb blasts.

Among the three modes of commu-nication, railway was the biggest vic-tim of sabotage and arson attacks.

“The government is adamant to hold the polls on January 5. A total of 154 have already been elected uncon-tested. There is no hope that the polls schedule will be deferred. That is why we have to continue the movement. There are chances that a non-cooper-ation movement may be announced for January 1-voting day,” a BNP leader, seeking anonymity, said.

In the press brie� ng, Nazrul alleged that the country was being pushed to-wards a civil war as the government had asked the Awami League leaders and activists to assist the law enforcers to oppress the opposition. He asked the government to withdraw such an “ille-gal order.”

The BNP leader alleged that the gov-ernment was heading for a “farcical poll” ignoring the people’s demand. More than 150 candidates getting elect-ed uncontested was rare in world his-tory.

“What sort of democracy is this? 154 are elected uncontested. People will

not forgive those who are playing to destroy democracy wearing the musk of democracy. It would be marked as a stigmatised chapter of history,” he added.

Earlier, in a Victory Day discussion organised by Dhaka city unit BNP, op-position leaders alleged that the gov-ernment was killing people indiscrim-inately in the month of victory.

“There is no rule of law in the coun-try. The country has been turned into a prison because of the government’s repressive policy,” said Jamiruddin Sir-car, another standing committee mem-ber of BNP.

Vice-chairman of the party Ha� zud-din Ahmed termed the government “terrorist.”

Criticising the leaders of the coun-try’s business community, Shahjahan Omar, adviser to BNP chairperson, said: “You are not creating any pres-sure upon her [Sheikh Hasina]. Ask her to quit and then all the problems will be solved.”

Oli Ahmed, chairman of the Liberal Democratic Party, said this victory day has been a “mourning day” for many. lAL turns back the clock

PAGE 1 COLUMN 2Remarkably, the names of three JaPa candidates – M Shawkat Chowdhury from Nilphamari 4, Moshiur Rahman Ranga from Rangpur 1 and Fakhrul Imam from Mymensingh 8 – were sent to the EC on Sunday, two days after the deadline for nomination withdrawal.

After having joined the “all party” interim government, JaPa chief HM Er-shad, in a sudden U-turn, announced on December 4 that he and his party could not join the polls unless partici-pation of all parties was ensured.

The unexpected announcement reportedly forced the Awami League to change its game plan and contact Ershad’s wife Rawshan, a presidium member of Japa.

Rawshan was one from a group of JaPa leaders who did not want to pull out of the polls.

However, frightened by the attacks on some of the Awami League candidates during the ongoing political unrest, Raw-shan did not want to risk the lives of the JaPa leaders, who were with her.

Sources said she settled on a deal of 60 uncontested seats, including one for herself, to be elected uncontested so that they needed not to run campaigns on the � eld.

Up until December 13, a total of “only” 11 JaPa candidates were elected uncontested, which outraged Rawshan.

Sources from the two parties said senior Awami League leaders Tofail Ahmed and Gowher Rizvi went to Raw-shan’s house and managed to convince her. Later, the Awami League instruct-ed many of its candidates to withdraw their nomination papers.

As of yesterday, a total of 21 JaPa

candidates have been elected uncon-tested.

Zafar Alam, a former Awami League candidate from Cox’s Bazar 1 constitu-ency, told the Dhaka Tribune that they had no option but to withdraw. “The leader [Sheikh Hasina] gave us nomi-nation. It was she again who instructed her to withdraw.”

When asked what date his nom-ination withdrawal application was marked with, Zafar smiled and said: “My nomination withdrawal applica-tion was dated December 13.”

He also said: “This is not the last election. We may have another one within a year or two. Bless me so that I can get nomination for that election.”

Former Awami League nominee Ragebul Ahsan Ripu from Bogra 6 said: “Central command’s instruction for me was to withdraw nomination if JaPa candidate did not. Since the JaPa can-didate did not withdraw nomination, I withdrew.”

The Awami League leader claimed that he � led withdrawal application at 8pm Friday, although the deadline was 5pm.

Awami League Presidium Member Begum Motia Chowdhury, also agri-culture minister of the polls-time gov-ernment, told the Dhaka Tribune that they had not been hiding anything; the prime minister had sacri� ced for the sake of democracy.

“We left some seats to them [JaPa]. Moreover, if Khaleda Zia joined the polls, we would not have nominated anyone in her constituency,” Motia said.

She claimed that the delay in placing withdrawal papers was systemic, rath-er than anything else. l

President Abdul Hamid, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Leader of the Opposition Khaleda Zia pay their respects at the National Memorial Monument at Savar yesterday DHAKA TRIBUNE

News 3DHAKA TRIBUNE Tuesday, December 17, 2013

SETTLED WAR CRIMES CASES

Documents left mostly unprotectedn Udisa Islam

O� cials at the International Crimes Tribunal are busy preparing a room in the tribunal building for preserving documents and certi� ed copies of the war crimes cases already completed.

Three labourers have been working relentlessly for the last couple of days to prepare a room on the ground � oor of the tribunal building on old High Court premises. The temporary room, a 100 sq-ft one, would have security measures installed.

All the documents of Abdul Quader Molla case were set to be sent back from the Supreme Court yesterday. The war

criminal was executed on Thursday.But archive specialists have ex-

pressed concern over the measures saying that it is not the appropriate place to store documents as the build-ing is too old. They also said the gov-ernment should take initiative to create a permanent archive maintaining pres-ervation standards with a view to pro-tect the documents for long.

It would be a great loss for the nation if the documents are damaged, they said.

From the very beginning, the tri-bunal o� cers were facing problems to accommodate the parties since all the rooms of the building were not usable because of the presence of many wild

rats. Most of the rooms are damp too. Shahriar Kabir of Ghatak Dalal Nir-

mul Committee said the organisation had written to the law ministry in Feb-ruary 2009 about archiving the docu-ments, but they did not bother. “They have courage but are not aware of the challenges of this trial.”

As an achieve specialist, he said for preserving the records, “We need a certain humidi� ed room, round-the-year air conditioning system and also a self-generator system. Every archive has its own necessity and for this, we need a group to do this.”

He spontaneously mentioned about the presence of wild rats at the tribunal

building and lack of damp-proof sys-tem. “To prevent these documents, we need to take indigenous and technical steps too,” he added.

If the ministry would not do this, then they may urge the national ar-chives authorities to take up the task. But Kabir suggested that the govern-ment patronise the archival system.

History teacher Prof Muntasir Ma-mun said: “We o� ered the government to establish a genocide museum and for this, we have to preserve all the documents. In future, many national and international researches will be conducted on this trial.”

He expressed frustration as many

documents on the freedom � ghters had been lost. “First, we need to appoint a catalyst who will keep the register.”

Following his comments, Kabir said: “We need a man or group of men who know how to preserve documents for archives. If not, then we will be liable to our future generations who will want to know about their history.”

Arunav Chakravarty, deputy registrar of the tribunal, said they were trying to accommodate the documents within the existing capacity. “It is the responsi-bility of the government to establish an archive.” Asked why they were yet to pre-pare a room for achieving, he blamed the public works department for the delay. l

Teenage boybeaten todeath in capitaln Mohammad Jamil Khan

A teenage street urchin succumbed to his injuries yesterday, a couple of days after being beaten severely by a group of people in Mirpur suspecting him to be a thief.

Mohammad Imran Hossain, 15, was declared dead at Dhaka Medical College Hospital around 11am, said Mozammel Haque, inspector at the hospital police outpost.

The body was sent to DMC morgue for an autopsy, he told the Dhaka Trib-une. Hailing from Alinagar village of Bhola, Imran used to reside at a slum named Chhoy Number Bosti near Kaly-anpur Natun Bazar.

Salma Begum, elder sister of the vic-tim, was found crying in front of the Dhaka Medical College morgue. She claimed that Imran had been innocent.

A couple of days ago, corrugated iron sheets of an under-construction building beside their slum were stolen. Following the incident, the security guard of the building along with some other people beat up Imran badly, she said.

“Later, they dumped the body of in-jured Imran at a local school ground.”

Salma said Imran had been taken to Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College Hospital on Sunday. But as his condi-tion deteriorated, he was shifted to the DMCH where duty doctors declared him dead.

Anwar Hossain, sub-inspector of Mirpur police station and investiga-tion o� cer of the case, told the Dhaka Tribune that police had arrested Abul Kashem, 42, security in-charge (north area) of Kalyanpur Samajkalyan Pari-shad for interrogation as he was the responsible for maintaining the build-ing’s security.

The accused security guard, howev-er, is on the run since the incident.

The incidents of extrajudicial mass beating have become a common phe-nomenon, especially in the rural areas of the country, these days. l

USAID chief urges PM to � nd an agreement over pollsn Sheikh Shahariar Zaman

USAID chief Rajiv Shah has urged Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to � nd an agreement to hold free and fair elec-tions that are deemed credible by the people of Bangladesh.

“Your considerable leadership skills can help the Bangladeshi major politi-cal parties � nd an agreed way to hold free and fair elections that are deemed credible by the people of BD,” said Shah in a letter sent to the premier in the � rst week of December.

Rajiv Shah’s letter is another one from Washington, last week six US Congress-men wrote a letter to Hasina and BNP chief Khaleda Zia, urging them to en-gage in dialogue.

The USAID chief referred to the visit of US Assistant Secretary of State Nisha Desai Biswal, who discussed the issue with the prime minister during her visit to Dhaka.

“The US believes constructive dia-logue between the major political par-ties is crucial to resolving any impasse over holding free, fair, and credible elections,” he said.

The political parties need to have po-litical space to express their views freely and peacefully, he added. “The people of Bangladesh want free, fair and credi-ble elections. I urge you to � nd an agreed path to hold the elections that the Bang-ladeshi people so deeply want.” l

Chittagong tasted freedom on this dayn Tarek Mahmud, Chittagong

Chittagong witnessed the hoisting of the national � ag of a newborn country on this very day in 1971, following the surrender of the Pakistani army.

A number of former freedom � ght-ers recalled that the formal surrender was delayed here as the Joint Force of Bangladesh and India arrived on De-cember 17, a day after the country for-mally achieved victory over Pakistan.

“Victory was our absolute pride. Un-fortunately as the events unfolded, the port city was liberated on December 17, a day later than Dhaka,” they recounted.

Nonetheless, the belated victory was distinct. The occupation army lined up at the Chittagong Circuit House to sur-render and witness the freedom � ght-ers’ triumph, said Dr Mahfuzur Rah-man, a commander of freedom � ghters.

“Two divisions of freedom � ghters, one led by Deputy Commander Major Ra� qul Islam, was obstructed by the oc-cupation army at Kumira of Shitakunda on December 16. The Joint Commands,

however, defeated them and entered the city on December 17,” he said.

Engineer Afsar Uddin, who was the joint commander of the Bengal Libera-tion Front and Freedom Fighters sent a group of � ghters to Kalurghat Radio Sta-tion to broadcast news of victory. “To maintain law and order in the city from December 17, we were deployed at the strategic points. I was responsible for Bandar, Pahartali and Double Mooring.

“It was our duty to contain the situa-tion and make sure that the excited Ben-galis did not harm the Biharis,” he said.

Terming the day the most memorable of his life, he said thousands of people took to the streets with national � ags, rejoicing and chanting “Joy Bangla.”

People from all walks of life em-braced the freedom, except for the Razakars, al-Badrs and the notorious gang of Fazlul Quadir Choudhry.

Raisul Huq Bahar said although the country was o� cially free on Decem-ber 16, the formal surrender in Chit-tagong took place held around 9am on December 17.

Pakistani Army O� cer Shamshad Ali Khan recalls his experience with his Indi-an counterparts in a Pakistani daily, The Express Tribune, on December 16, 2011.

In his writing, he termed the surren-der ceremony as, “My painful journey to surrender.”

He said he witnessed the citizens of Chittagong celebrating “India’s victo-ry.” Young girls and boys clad in colour-ful clothes, carried Indian and Bang-ladeshi � ags. Vehicles ran on roads playing loud music. People shouted anti-Pakistan and pro-India slogans and “Joy Bangla.” Within 20 to 30 min-utes of surrender, people and vehicles thronged in the streets.

“I am the only unfortunate o� cer who witnessed that painful sight. The tormenting thought and feelings that crossed my mind cannot be expressed through words,” he wrote.

Dr Mahfuzur said the spirit of the Liberation War could be resurrected by implementing good governance and ensuring accountability in every sector of the state. l

A freedom � ghter breaks into tears as the Ganajagaran Mancha takes oath on the occasion of the Victory Day at Suhrawardy Udyan in the city yesterday SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN

The Awami League brings out a victory procession in the capital yesterday. The procession that started from the Engineers’ Institute ended at the Bangabandhu Museum at Dhanmondi Road number 32 RAJIB DHAR

AL brings out procession to mark Victory Dayn Emran Hossain Shaikh

Awami League brought out a colourful procession in the capital yesterday to celebrate the 42th anniversary of the Victory Day.

Dhaka City Awami League arranged the procession, which started from Suhrawardy Udyan in the afternoon and ended at the Bangabandhu Bhaban in Dhanmondi 32.

The procession marched through the main streets of the capital such as Shabagh, Elephant road, the Science Laboratory and Kalabagan.

Thousands of activists of the par-ty from di� erent age groups; carrying national � ags, colourful placards and banners in their hands; joined the pro-cession and chanted slogans thanking the government for executing the ver-dict of the International Crimes Tribu-nal against the butcher of Mirpur, Ab-dul Quader Molla.

Before starting the procession, the crowd held a rally where the speakers warned against Jamaat-e-Islami, and its student wing Islami Chhatra Shibir, saying Awami League will create re-sistance against the mayhem of Ja-maat-Shibir.

The leaders who spoke at the rally said the government would act very soon to defy the violence, killing and mayhem of Jamaat-Shibir.

Along with other leaders; the party’s Presidium Member Shahara Khatun, Agricultural Minister of polls time interim government Begum Motia Chowdhury, the party’s Joint Secre-tary Mahbub-Ul-Alam, Forest Minister Hasan Mahmud, State Minister of Law Quamrul Islam; also spoke at the pro-gramme while the City Awami League’s acting president MA Aziz presided over the rally. l

New drug testing lab likely to open without proper preparationn Moniruzzaman Uzzal

The newly-installed high-tech drug test-ing National Control Laboratory (NCL) is likely to start operations on January 1, after a few months of test service.

With a Tk25 crore cost, the NCL has been set up with the � nancial support of World Bank and the World Health Organization on the premises of the Institute of Public Health in Mohakhali.

Selim Barami, director at the Direc-torate General of Drug Administration (DGDA) and also the director (in-charge) of the NCL, con� rmed the date and told the Dhaka Tribune: “The NCL is fully ready to start its activities. We will start our operation from January 1, 2014, whether it is formally opened or not.”

Saying the installation of the labora-tory had been completed a year ago, he added that the NCL faced a delay in go-ing into operation because of a � re acci-dent which destroyed some equipment and cables, while additional fund was not available at the time from the gov-ernment for repair and replacement.

However, seeking anonymity, a senior o� cial said the NCL was still not ready to run its activities smooth-ly. Although the laboratory was ful-ly-equipped with modern machines and other testing facilities, there was still a shortage of well-trained expert manpower behind the machines, the o� cial added.

Moreover, the NCL did not have its own � nancial budget to administer the laboratory activities as per demand, the o� cial informed.

Currently, the NCL has been running under the Institute of Public Health, which is providing the cost of day-to-day expenses and also supplying chem-icals and other materials.

It has been learnt that the newly in-stalled lab is likely to test up to 10,000 medicine samples a year, compared to the existing laboratory’s capacity of testing only 3,000 medicine samples – an amount which was inadequate giv-en the current size of the pharmaceu-ticals market.

The testing fees for existing and new medicines have been increased to Tk5,000 and Tk15,000 respectively, compared to previous fees of Tk1,500 and Tk7,500.

The NCL would also be able to test vaccines, a feature which was not pre-viously o� ered in the country. The DGDA and top pharmaceuticals had to send vaccine samples to Singapore or Thailand for testing earlier, but the NCL would now o� er the same services at one � fth of the expense.

Although the current state-owned lab lacked international standard, the new-ly-installed one is aiming to get WHO ac-creditation within a year, as inspection teams will visit and assess the NCL’s per-formance in di� erent phases. l

The US believes constructive dialogue between the major political parties is crucial to resolving any impasse over holding free, fair, and credible elections

The security guard of the building along with some other people beat up Imran badly for the alleged burglary

News4 DHAKA TRIBUNE Tuesday, December 17, 2013

City High LowDhaka 27.0 13.0Chittagong 26.6 15.2Rajshahi 25.3 10.2Rangpur 24.8 12.2Khulna 27.6 12.6Barisal 27.5 11.4Sylhet 27.2 12.8Cox’s Bazar 28.5 15.8

PRAYER TIMESFajar 5:14am

Sunrise 6:34amZohr 11:55am

Asr 3:38pmMagrib 5:14pm

Esha 6:35pmSource: IslamicFinder.org

WEATHER

Dry weather likely to continuen UNB

Weather is likely to remain dry with temporary partly cloudy sky over the country until 6pm today.

Light to moderate fog may occur over Rajshahi, Rangpur, Dhaka and Sylhet divisions during late night till morning, Met O� ce said.

Night temperature may fall slightly and day temperature may remain near-ly unchanged over the country.

The sun sets in the capital at 5:15pm today and rises at 6:35am tomorrow.

Country’s highest temperature 29.0 degree Celsius was recorded yesterday at Khepupara and lowest 08.4 degrees at Srimangal. Highest and lowest tem-perature recorded in some major cities yesterday were:

Chhatra League assaults teachers in CUn FM Mizanur Rahaman

Activists of Bangladesh Chhatra League allegedly made an attack on BNP-Jamaat backed teachers when they’d formed a human chain at Chit-tagong University campus, yesterday morning.

Two activists of Jatiyatabadi Chha-tra Dal— Abdul Quayum, former � nan-cial secretary of the party’s CU unit, and Mohammed Yasin, a second year student of the History department, were injured in the attack.

Ra� qul Islam, o� cer-in-charge of

CU’s police outpost, said, protesting the attack, Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal ac-tivists blockaded the road and vandal-ised a Satkaniya College microbus.

Ra� q added that the police � nally did manage to remove the barricade from the road after assuring the agi-tators of taking the necessary steps towards catching the individuals con-nected to the incident.

Witness said around 15 teachers of the BNP-Jamaat backed White Panel, accompanied by Chhatra Dal men, formed a human chain at Buddijibi Chattar demanding the release of Mir

Nasir Uddin, adviser to BNP chairper-son Begum Khaleda Zia, and Golam Ak-bar Khandokar, organizing secretary of the party’s CU unit.

At one point during the programme, a group of Chhatra League people, loyal to ABM Mohiuddin Chowdhury, presi-dent of the city’s Awami League unit, rushed in and burnt the programme banner after snatching it away from the teachers. 

During the attack Chhatra League activists harassed a number of teach-ers and beat up Chhatra Dal men when they tried to resist. l

Crashes kill � ve in three districtsn Tribune Report

Five people were killed in separate road accidents in Chittagong, Natore and Jhinaidah yesterday. Seven other people were injured in those accidents.

In Chittagong, one person was killed as a human haulier overturned in Pati-ya upazila in the early hours of yester-day. The deceased was Md Alauddin, 20, of Jaldi under Banshkahli upazila.

In Natore, three passengers of a hu-man haulier were killed and six oth-ers were injured in a head-on collision with a goods-laden truck in the Dakma-ra graveyard area of sadar upazila.

Senior Assistant Superintendent of Police Tariqul Islam said the colli-sion happened around 9:15pm, with two passengers dying on the spot. One more passenger died on the way to Ra-jshahi Medical College Hospital. The

driver and helper of the truck � ed after the incident.

In Jhinaidah, an elderly woman was killed and another injured as two hu-man hauliers collided head-on at the main bus stand in Kotchandur town. The deceased was Banu Bibi, 60.

Kotchandpur OC Shahjahan Ali said the accident happened around 2pm. Both the drivers managed to � ee. A case was � led in connection. l

City people enjoy a peaceful day after a long timen Abu Hayat Mahmud

The People of Dhaka city enjoyed a di� erent and peaceful day yesterday, celebrating the 43rd Victory Day of Bangladesh.

City residents of di� erent ages and professions came out of their homes to celebrate the memorable day. Peo-ple visited the national parade ground at the old airport, attended cultural events, and went to di� erent parks and shopping malls; leading to huge crowds across the city.

City dwellers had been panicked because of the political unrest. They were fearful of coming out due to the oppositions’ violence which included setting � re to vehicles, hurling petrol bombs – and cocktail bombs – at public transport, vandalising public property, and blockading roads whilst demand-ing a caretaker government.

However, the scenario in the capital was totally di� erent yesterday. The op-position parties did not wage any po-litical movements. Moreover, security was strengthened in the city.

Di� erent cultural organisations per-formed music, dance, literature recitals and street theatre. The festivities were spread across several venues including the Central Shaheed Minar, Rabindra Sorobor, Shaheed Buddhijibi Smriti

Soudha Mancha, Mirpur, TSC, Dhaka University and Shishu Academy.

Although government and private o� ces were closed for the public holi-day, most of city’s shopping hubs and footpath shops were open without any fear of attack by pickets. Vehicles were available, so there were tailbacks on a few roads in the capital.

Umme Habiba, a class four student of Shahid Anowar Girls School, came to the old airport parade ground to watch the Victory day parade. Habiba said: “My � nal exams � nished in the last month, but I did not visit anywhere afterwards because of the political un-rest. So I am very happy to have the chance to come here freely today.”

Kamal Uddin, a vendor at Purana Paltan said: “I have not been able to run my business since the blockade start-ed. During hartals and blockades we are scared to open our shops, but today has been a satisfactory day. I hope the situation continues in future.”

Meanwhile, vehicle drivers and street vendors expressed delight at the violence-free day. The people who run business at the entrance and exit points of the capital have been facing hard times during the blockades, as the number of customers, mainly inter-district passengers, dropped signi� cantly. l

JaPa to stage demos for Ershad’s releasen Manik Miazee

Jatiya Party yesterday announced a two-day programme starting today demanding release of its chairman HM Ershad, who, the party claims, was be-ing detained.

At a Victory Day event at the party’s Banani o� ce yesterday, JaPa Secretary General ABM Ruhul Amin Howlader said programmes would also include submission of memorandums to deputy commissioners in all districts tomorrow.

“If the government does not release party chief Ershad within two days, we will take tougher stance and announce further programmes.”

Law enforcers “picked up” Ershad from his home on Thursday and admit-ted him to the Combined Military Hos-

pital saying he was “ill.” “Since 1991, the country’s develop-

ment has been impeded because of un-democratic activities by the two major parties” said JP presidium member GM Quader, who is a minister in the polls-time cabinet. His resignation was never accepted. “We took part in the interim government to hold peaceful and credible elections, expecting that all parties would be with us. But since not all the parties are taking part in the polls, we resigned as our chief an-nounced that JP would not participate in the elections.”

Meanwhile, Party O� ce Secretary Tajul Islam Chowdhury said on Sunday that candidates who were yet to with-draw their nomination papers would participate in the elections. l

Khaled Khan new ULAB treasurer n Tribune Desk

The authorities of the University of Lib-eral Arts Bangladesh appointed Khaled Mahmood Khan as its new treasurer yesterday.

Khan was appointed to the post for a four-year term, said a press release. He was previously the � nance director of the institution and had earlier served as the registrar and deputy director of administration.

Khan achieved his MCom degree from the University of Dhaka, and later worked as a theatre artist. He has re-ceived many awards including the IT Theatre Award 2013. l

Rizvi admitted to BSMMUn Kailash Sarkar

BNP Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi who has been unwell since yesterday afternoon, was shifted to Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU) from Dhaka Cen-tral Jail Hospital in the evening, after his health started deteriorating.

Dr Mohammad Shamsuddin, in-charge of Dhaka Central Jail Hospital, told the Dhaka Tribune that Rizvi had been referred to the BSMMU since he had been su� ering from an ‘acute ab-domen’ problem.

“He had been vomiting and su� ering

from severe abdomen pains since 2pm,” Shamsuddin said adding that the BNP leader was shifted to the BSMMU around 5:30pm. “Though we had given him medicines, there was no improvement in his health so he was referred to BSMMU for some tests and better treatment,” the doctor added. Forman Ali, senior super-intendent of Dhaka Central Jail said Rizvi had been su� ering from stomach com-plexities for the last few days.

The BNP leader was arrested in the early hours of November 30, from BNP’s central o� ce in Nayapaltan, in connec-tion with the arson attack on a bus near Motsya Bhaban on November 28. l

JU VC driven away from campus on Victory Dayn JU Correspondent

A group of teachers of the Jahangir-nagar University yesterday forcibly seized the Vice Chancellor’s car and drove him away from the campus.

On December 9, under the banner “JU Teachers-Students and O� cers-Employ-ees United Forum,” they announced that VC Prof Anwar Hossain was unwanted on campus and sealed his house.

Sources said Prof Anwar, who is cur-rently on medical leave until December 20, came to the campus around 8am after paying homage at the National Memorial in Savar.

He went to the residence of Pro-VC Prof Afsar Ahmed and found his resi-dence sealed. Upon hearing the news of his arrival, the forum members gath-ered at the Pro-VC’s residence.

They punctured the tyres of the car that the university had given to him, removed the university � ag from it and forced the VC to leave immediately, sources said.

Prof Anwar Hossain left the campus in the treasurer’s car sometime around

10am when the teachers chanted abu-sive words against him calling him a “rajakar” and killer of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.

Prof Kamrul Ahsan, member sec-retary of the forum told: “Prof Anwar Hossain is prohibited in the university and he is not our VC anymore. There-fore we have seized the car from him.”

Prof Anwar Hossain told: “I’m still the VC of the university since I have not resigned, still, the teachers forced me to leave the campus and seized my car under duress.”

He added that this was not the end and his turn would come soon.

Pro-VC Prof Afsar Ahmed told the Dhaka Tribune: “As Prof Anwar is cur-rently the VC of the university, he can use the VC’s car according to the rules of the university.”

A section of pro-Awami League teachers backed by ousted former VC Prof Shari� Enamul Kabir and pro-BNP teachers have been jointly agitating against the VC demanding his dismissal or resignation for the last ninth months. l

Ganajagaran Mancha reconstructed the December 16, 1971 ceremony of the Pakistan army’s surrender at the Suhrawardy Udyan as part of the Victory Day observation yesterday. The picture shows restaging of Lt Gen Jagjit Singh Aurora of the Allied Force escorting Pakistan Army’s Lt Gen AAK Niazi to the venue of signing the surrender intrument SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN

5Tuesday, December 17, 2013DHAKA TRIBUNE Photo FeatureExuberance in red and green

Celebrating Victory Day 2013

People taking an oath, uniting against the anti-liberation forces at Suhrawardy Udyan SYED ZAKIR HOSSAINPeople rejoice after making the Guinness world record for the largest human � ag at the National Parade Ground SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN

Flags abound at the National Memorial Monument at Savar DHAKA TRIBUNE

Forty-two years have passed since we won our victory as an independent nation. It has not been easy and it is not either. Every year was full of events that dragged our souls to the trough and made it soar high as well. However, through thick and thin the people showed an unfettered love towards this land. Each time they dealt with challenges with the same resilience as was seen during our Liberation War. That spirit is starkly evident among the people, for whom every day is a struggle for victory. As the years go by, an increasing determination to do better is evident. This is manifested even more clearly in celebration of colours, especially within the young generation where it matters.

A wave of red and green � oods the roads as a cheerful bunch of cyclists roll along in

a massive column of almost 5,000 riders. Many cyclist

groups from Dhaka as well as all over the country joined the event organised by BDCyclists

to mark the Victory Day FAISAL NIZAM/BDCYCLISTS

Suhrawardy Udyan SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN

RAJIB DHAR

A friend giving a hand to another wearing the colours RAJIB DHAR

SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN

Tuesday, December 17, 2013DHAKA TRIBUNE InternationalDHAKA TRIBUNE6

Clash in China’s Xinjiang kills 16n AFP, Beijing

Sixteen people were killed in a clash in China’s restive Xinjiang region, home to the mostly Muslim Uighur minority, reports and activists said Monday, less than two months after a � ery attack in Tiananmen Square.

Police attempting to detain criminal suspects in Shufu county near the Silk Road city of Kashgar, deep in far west-ern China, were attacked by several “thugs” armed with explosive devices and knives, reported the tianshannet news portal, which is run by the Xinji-ang government.

Two police o� cers were killed and 14 of the “thugs” shot dead on Sunday, it said, adding that two criminal sus-pects were detained.

But an overseas Uighur rights group said police had broken into a house where members of the ethnic minority were “gathering” and opened � re � rst.

All 14 people killed by police were Uighurs and two of them were minors, Dilxat Raxit, a spokesman for the Mu-nich-based World Uyghur Congress, told AFP.

“The abusive use of force by au-thorities in the area has deprived the Uighurs of their right to live,” he said.

The incident comes less than two months after an attack in Tiananmen Square, the symbolic heart of the Chi-nese state, when according to police, three Xinjiang Uighurs ploughed into crowds of tourists, killing two people and injuring 40, before crashing out-side the Forbidden City and setting their vehicle ablaze.

All three attackers – named by au-thorities as Usmen Hasan, his wife

and his mother – died.Beijing described the assault, the

� rst blamed on Uighurs outside Xinji-ang, as “terrorism” and said separatists backed by the militant East Turkestan Islamic Movement were responsible.

But outside experts pointed to the unsophisticated nature of the attack and the lack of an established Islamist extremist foothold in China.

Xinjiang, a vast area bordering Pa-kistan and Central Asia beyond the furthest reaches of the Great Wall, has followed Islam for centuries.

For years it has seen sporadic unrest by Uighurs which rights groups say is driv-en by cultural oppression, intrusive se-curity measures and immigration by China’s Han majority, but Beijing attri-butes to religious extremists, terrorism and separatism.

China’s foreign ministry spokes-woman Hua Chunying said the latest incident “shows once again the an-ti-human and anti-society nature of the terrorist groups.”

“This kind of attempt will not win public support and is doomed to fail-ure,” she told reporters at a regular brie� ng.

Authorities in Kashgar were not im-mediately available for comment when contacted by AFP.

In the worst outbreak of sectarian violence in recent years, around 200 people died and more than 1,600 were injured and hundreds arrested in riots in the regional capital Urumqi in 2009.

A total of 11 people – nine attackers and two auxiliary police o� cers – were killed in an attack on a police station in Serikbuya township near Kashgar last month, according to the o� cial Xinhua news agency.

Another incident in June in the Tur-pan area left 35 people dead, and 139 people have been arrested in recent months for spreading jihadist ideology.

Information in the area is tight-ly controlled and di� cult to inde-pendently verify.

In August, a Chinese policeman was killed in an incident in Yilkiqi de-scribed by state media as an “anti-ter-rorism” operation, but overseas media said 22 Uighurs were shot dead in the confrontation.

More than 190 “terrorist” attacks were logged in Xinjiang last year, rising “by a signi� cant margin” from 2011, state media reported last month.

Most of the attackers were in their early 30s or younger and increasingly act in small groups or individually as “a lone wolf,” they added.

At a meeting last week, top Tur-pan o� cials said violent “terrorists” remained active in the area despite the authorities’ “strike hard with high pressure” campaign, according to a statement posted on a government site.

They ordered local o� cials to chart a “relationship tree” of links between students in Turpan and those overseas, it said. l

Gunmen kill Shia scholar in Pakistan: policen AFP, Lahore

Gunmen killed a Shia Muslim scholar and wounded two other people in the latest sectarian attack to hit Pakistan, police said on Monday. Allama Nasir Abbas from Islam’s minority branch was killed late Sunday in Lahore, the capital of Punjab province, after addressing a religious gathering, police said, adding that the attackers managed to � ee.

“Two attackers on motorcycle opened � re on his vehicle. Primarily it was an in-cident of targeted killing,” senior police o� cial Rana Abdul Jabbar told reporters.

Local media said the cleric’s driver and a security guard were wounded in the at-tack. Groups of Shias protested over the killing at the hospital late Sunday and in front of the Punjab governor’s house ear-ly Monday, police said.

There has been a rise in in sectarian violence in Pakistan after several dead-ly clashes between Sunni and Shia Mus-lim groups near the capital Islamabad in November. On November 19 gunmen killed a senior Shia university director along with his driver in Lahore, while another Shia leader and his guard were killed in Karachi in early December. l

India judge ordered to release daughter held over lovern AFP, New Delhi

India’s top court Monday ordered a judge release his 30-year-old daughter who was being detained because he disapproved of her marrying her boy-friend from a di� erent caste.

The Supreme Court ordered Supriya Rathore be reunited with her boyfriend who was forced to take legal action to have her released from her father, a high court judge in the northwest-ern state of Rajasthan. “She is a major and has the liberty to make her choice in marriage,” judges H.L. Dattu and C. Nagappan told the couple, who were in the court in New Delhi for the ruling.

The boyfriend, Siddharath Mukher-jee, had petitioned the court, saying the father, who belongs to the Hin-du Rajput warrior caste, opposed his daughter marrying a man from the Bengali-speaking Brahmin caste.

Rathore herself had also emailed po-lice and the courts during her month-long detention at the family home in Jaipur city, seeking their help to get her released and reunited. Acting on the boy-friend’s petition, the court ordered police on December 12 to transport Supriya to New Delhi for Monday’s hearing.

“I have no complaints against any-one including my parents,” Supriya told the court during the hearing.

“I love them all but I want to go with Siddharath Mukherjee as I want to mar-ry him,” she said, as the court o� ered her protection if she felt threatened in any way. l

Last Australian combat troops leave Afghanistann AFP, Sydney

Australian combat troops have com-pleted their withdrawal from Afghani-stan, Prime Minister Tony Abbott said Monday, marking the end of the na-tion’s longest war which left 40 of its soldiers dead.

Abbott announced that more than 1,000 troops would pull out from the restive southern province of Uruzgan before the end of the year during a sur-prise visit to their base at Tarin Kot in October.

The drawdown was completed Sun-day and most soldiers were expected to be home for Christmas.

“This war is ending, not with vic-tory, not with defeat, but with hope that Afghanistan is a better place and Uruzgan in particular is a better place for our presence,” Abbott said.

“I � rmly believe that to be the case.”Canberra � rst committed troops to

Afghanistan following the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States, but they have been in Uruzgan since late 2005. l

N Korean soldiers swear loyalty to young leadern AFP, Seoul

Thousands of North Korean soldiers vowed Monday to protect leader Kim Jong-Un with their lives at a memorial rally for his late father, days after the stunning execution of the leader’s uncle.

State TV showed soldiers marching in a square outside the Kumsusan Pal-ace of the Sun, which houses the em-balmed bodies of the country’s founder

Kim Il-Sung and of his son Kim Jong-Il, who died on December 17 two years ago.

Kim Jong-Un, who took power after his father’s death in the country’s sec-ond dynastic succession, apparently missed the event.

Soldiers clad in winter hats and coats gathered outside the Pyongyang landmark in freezing weather and re-a� rmed loyalty to the young leader. l

N Korea threatens attack on frontline island: reportn AFP, Seoul

Thousands of North Korean propaganda lea� ets fell Monday on a frontline South Korean island, warning of an attack on soldiers stationed there, a report said.

A South Korean marine unit based on Baengnyeong Island in the Yellow Sea had collected the lea� ets which were carried across the border, Yonhap news agency said.

The South’s military declined to con� rm the report.

The lea� ets carried threats of bomb-ings, describing the marines as the � rst target to be wiped out.

The North also warned in the leaf-lets that its troops were always ready to strike the island with their “un-precedented” fire power and turn it into “a large graveyard,” Yonhap said. l

22 dead as bus plunges o� Philippine highway n AFP, Manila

Twenty-two people were killed when a commuter bus plunged from an ele-vated highway onto a van in Philippine capital Manila on Monday, police said, warning the death toll could rise.

Twenty of those who died in the accident in the sprawling city were on board the bus, with the other two fatal-ities from the van, tra� c investigator Jose Abuyog said.

“It (the death toll) could go even high-er,” as some of the injured are in serious condition, he told AFP, adding that the cause of the accident was still being deter-mined. A further 20 people were injured when the bus fell six metres (20 feet) from the highway onto the road below.

The bus driver, who survived, will undergo tests and questioning, said land transportation regulatory board chairman Winston Ginez.

Don Mariano Transit, the bus com-pany involved in the accident, has been suspended for 30 days as its other vehi-cles are examined, Ginez told ABS-CBN television. In 2011, three people were killed and four injured when a bus fell from the same elevated highway. l

Protests, prayers mark one year since Delhi rapen AP, New Delhi

Students, Bollywood actresses and women’s groups held rallies and can-dlelight vigils across India on Monday in memory of a young woman whose fatal gang rape on a moving bus one year ago shook the nation’s conscience.

The victim, a 23-year-old student, was heading home with a male friend after watching the movie “Life of Pi” when six men lured them onto a private

bus. They beat the man with a metal bar, raped the woman and used the bar to in-� ict massive internal injuries.

The two were dumped naked on the roadside, and the woman died two weeks later. Protesters and politicians at a public meeting in New Delhi spoke of changes in social attitudes, tough new laws and police reform adopted after the massive street protests that followed the gang rape.

In New Delhi, Bollywood actress

Swara Bhaskar led a group of musicians on a bus that performed street plays at several places along the same route taken by the rape victim’s bus.

In central Delhi, a candlelight vig-il was held by dozens of students in memory of Nirbhaya, or “fearless,” the name given by the Indian media to the woman because rape victims cannot be identi� ed under Indian law. Prayers were held in a temple in a southern suburb. l

AAP buys time for Delhi government formationn Agencies

The newly-elected Delhi assembly, which hangs in balance, has received a wee bit of hope with the debutant Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) agreeing to form government if the opposition Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) agree to 18 conditions.

The assembly, with no clear winner, is all set for federal rule.  But, following procedure, Delhi state governor invited the AAP, after the BJP refused to form government citing lack of support.

Following elections to the 70-seat as-sembly, the BJP and allies won 33,  the AAP 28 and the Congress eight.  Since no party crossed the half-way mark,  gov-ernment formation has come to a halt. 

The AAP has not accepted the uncon-ditional support o� ered by the BJP and the Congress as it had fought the elec-tions on an anti-corruption platform. 

The debutant party, which performed spectacularly, has hesitated to ally with the two bigger parties as it views both as having compromised with corruption. But, pressure is building on the AAP  as some analysts have said it can be viewed as a party that is not responsible enough if it throws away the opportunity to form government.  At the same time, led by its mercurial chief Arvind Kejriwal, the AAP is not willing to form government as it cannot take any decision being in a minority.

Under pressure from colleagues and supporters,  Kejriwal sent a list of 18 de-mands to the Congress and the BJP say-ing the AAP would form government if the opposition agreed to his party’s demands. l

BJP backs India gay sex bann Agencies

India’s opposition nationalist Bharati-ya Janata Party (BJP) has declared its support for a top court verdict which ruled that gay sex is illegal, and liable for life in jail.

Puncturing the bubble of protests that have rocked India since the Su-preme Court gave its order last week, the BJP after initially hesitating to make known its stand came out strong-ly against gay sex.

BJP president Rajnath Singh made it clear that his party was of the view that gay sex “is an unnatural act that cannot be supported.”

Singh’s colleague and vice-president Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi backed him say-ing that Indian culture and tradition did not allow gay sex, and that they would oppose what he called “western in� uence” on this issue.

The court, in its ruling, had stated that it was the prerogative of the parliament to amend the existing law if it so felt.

The ruling Congress party has taken a � rm stance in support of gay rights. The chief of the party Sonia Gandhi regretted that the Supreme Court had reversed an earlier verdict of a lower court which had “wisely removed an archaic, repressive and unjust law that infringed on the basic human rights en-shrined in the Constitution.”

Gandhi’s son and Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi had said “matters of personal freedom should be left to individuals... I think I would agree more with the high court… The country is known for its freedom of ex-pression.” The BJP leadership appears to have taken the stand against gay rights and in support of the apex court verdict in a calculated move not to ruf-� e its conservative vote base. l

A plane � ies into the sunset and LaGuardia Airport December 4, in New York AFP

‘The abusive use of force by authorities in the area has deprived the Uighurs of their right to live’

An Indian kitemaker arranges kites bearing the portrait of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi in Ahmedabad AFP

Flowers and candles are placed near a placard reading: ‘Damini,’ a symbolic name given to a gang-raped victim, in New Delhi AP

INTO THE SUN

7Tuesday, December 17, 2013DHAKA TRIBUNE International

Israel � re on Lebanon in retaliation for soldier killingn AFP, Jerusalem

The Israeli army said Monday it � red across the Lebanese border in retalia-tion after accusing Lebanese troops of gunning down one of its soldiers as he drove near the frontier.

The shooting was the � rst time an Israeli soldier had been killed along the border with Lebanon in more than three years, although commentators said it was unlikely to spark a confron-tation.

The army said the soldier was shot by Lebanese troops as he was driving a civilian vehicle along a section of the border near Rosh HaNikra on the Medi-terranean coast.

“After the incident, we reached the area to conduct searches as part of the in-vestigation, and saw two suspects on the other side of the border,” army spokes-man Major Arye Shalicar told AFP.

Troops opened � re and hit at least one of them.

“We shot at them, and saw we hit at least one. We think they were Leb-anese soldiers... involved in the shoot-

ing of the soldier,” said Shalicar.The army � led a protest with the UN

peacekeeping force UNIFIL over the incident which it described as an “out-rageous breach of Israel’s sovereignty.”

The military said it had “heightened its state of preparedness” and would maintain its “right to exercise self-de-fence.”

Defence Minister Moshe Yaalon said the shooter was understood to be “a Lebanese soldier.”

“We hold the Lebanese government and Lebanese army responsible for what happens on their side,” he said.

Yaalon con� rmed Israeli and Leba-nese liaison o� cers would meet with UNIFIL to investigate the incident later on Monday.

“We will demand of the Lebanese army to explain exactly what hap-pened and if this is a case of a soldier acting on his own initiative, what was done with him and how the Lebanese army plans to prevent a recurrence of such events,” he said.

“We will not tolerate a breach of our sovereignty on any border, especially

not the Lebanese one.”The army named the soldier as

31-year-old Master Sergeant Shlomi Cohen, and said “six to seven rounds” were � red at him. It was not immedi-ately clear whether it was the work of a sniper.

There was no immediate reaction from the Lebanese army but it issued a statement Monday to the incident, but a statement saying an Israeli drone had vio-lated Lebanese airspace in the same area.

“At 10:15 pm (2015 GMT) yesterday, a drone belonging to the Israeli ene-my violated Lebanese airspace over Naqoura, and performed a � y-over of the southern area, then left at 12:40 am,” it said.

Lebanon’s National News Agency (NNA) reported that troops had opened � re at “an Israeli army unit” near the Naqoura border post.

But a security o� cial denied sol-diers had opened � re.

“The sound of gun� re was heard near the area of Ras al-Naqoura, and the army is trying to � nd out what hap-pened,” he told AFP. l

Militants attack city council as Iraq unrest kills 42n AFP, Tikrit

Militants attacked and temporarily oc-cupied a city council headquarters and assaulted a police station in Iraq on Monday, as violence across the country killed 42 people, o� cials said.

The attacks on the city council and the police station, both in Salaheddin province north of Baghdad, illustrate the impunity with which militants in Iraq can strike even targets that should be highly secure. Violence in Iraq has reached a lev-el not seen since 2008, when the country was emerging from a period of brutal sec-tarian killings, and has raised fears it is slipping back into all-out con� ict.

The attack on the city council head-quarters in Tikrit began when militants detonated a car bomb near the building and then occupied it, with employees still inside. Iraqi security forces sur-rounded the building, and then carried out an assault that Counter-Terrorism Service spokesman Sabah Noori said freed 40 people who were held inside.

“We freed all the hostages... and our forces killed one suicide (bomber), but two others blew themselves up,” Noori told AFP. l

US o� ers new support for Vietnam maritime securityn AFP, Hanoi

Secretary of State John Kerry said Mon-day the United States would help Viet-nam and other countries police their seas better amid territorial disputes with China, as he met top leaders in Hanoi.

Kerry, who arrived on Saturday on a trip aimed at shoring up ties with Southeast Asia, said the US would provide $32.5 million to help regional nations including Vietnam patrol “ter-ritorial waters.”

“Peace and stability in the South China Sea is a top priority for us,” Kerry said, adding that “no region can be secure in the absence of ef-

fective law enforcement in territorial waters.”

Speaking to reporters in Hanoi alongside Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh, the one-time presidential hope-ful said his government’s support would include training and new fast patrol vessels for coastguards.

But he also carried warnings over Vietnam’s human rights record.

Washington is eager to underscore its commitment to Asia. Its eastwards “pivot” policy was shaken earlier this year when the US government shut-down forced President Barack Obama to cancel a trip to the region, allowing China to occupy centre stage at region-al summits. l

Minister: South Sudan repulses coup attemptn AP, Juba

Disgruntled soldiers and politicians led by a former vice president attempt-ed to overthrow the South Sudanese government, a top government o� cial said Monday, as sporadic � ghting con-tinued between factions of the military in the latest violence to hit the world’s youngest nation.

Some troops within the main army base raided the weapons store in the capital but were repulsed, South Suda-nese Foreign Minister Barnaba Marial Benjamin told The Associated Press Monday. The military insisted the situ-ation in Juba was tense but unlikely to get worse.

Some politicians had been arrested, he said, but could not con� rm if for-mer Vice President Riek Machar —who he said led the attempted coup —was among those in detention. President Salva Kiir had ordered a dawn-to-dusk curfew, he said.

Explosions and sporadic gun� re rang out early Monday in Juba amid re-peated clashes between factions of the military, according to Col. Philip Aguer,

the South Sudan military spokesman, who insisted later on Monday that the army was now “in full control of Juba.”

An Associated Press reporter saw heavily armed soldiers patrolling the streets of Juba Monday amid the gun� re emerging from Juba’s main army bar-racks. The streets were largely empty of civilians, with most Juba residents stay-ing indoors. EgyptAir reported that it had cancelled its � ight to Juba on Mon-day, saying the airport there was closed.

The United Nations Mission in South Sudan on Monday reported the sound of mortar and heavy machine-gun � re, saying hundreds of civilians had sought refuge inside UN facilities.

Tension had been mounting in the world’s youngest nation since Kiir � red Machar as his deputy in July. Machar, who has expressed a willingness to contest the presidency in 2015, said after he was � red that if the country is to be united it cannot tolerate a “one man’s rule or it cannot tolerate dicta-torship.” His ouster, part of a wider dis-missal of the entire Cabinet by Kiir, had followed reports of a power struggle within the ruling party. l

Ukraine ruling party demands government reshu� en AFP, Kiev

Ukraine’s ruling party on Monday de-manded a sweeping cabinet reshu� e, as political leaders seek to defuse the country’s biggest political crisis in a decade.

President Viktor Yanukovych’s de-cision to scrap key agreements with the EU last month and then use police force against protesters sparked the largest demonstrations in the ex-Soviet country since the 2004 pro-democracy Orange Revolution.

Yanukovych has o� ered a number of concessions, sacking senior o� cials over police violence and announcing an amnesty for arrested protesters, in a bid to defuse the tension.

But the pro-EU opposition has dismissed these moves as half-mea-sures. It is demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Mykola Azarov, and early presidential and parliamentary elections. “We have put forward a de-mand before Azarov to reformat the government by 90 percent,” Anna Ger-man, a lawmaker with Yanukovych’s Regions Party, told reporters after talks with Azarov.

“Azarov said that he will today let the position of the faction be known

to the president and conclusions will certainly be made,” she told reporters after the closed-door meeting attended by the entire cabinet. German, a former Yanukovych aide, said the resignation of Azarov was not discussed.

The president’s parliamentary rep-resentative, Yuriy Miroshnychenko, told reporters “decisive steps” were needed. “An emotional conversation based on principals was held. We have to take the decisive steps necessary to solve the problems,” he said.

Azarov proposed creating a working group, but the details and timing of any reshu� e had yet to be hammered out, Miroshnychenko added.

The announcement comes after the � rst direct talks between Yanukovych and the opposition collapsed on Friday.

On Sunday nearly 300,000 pro-testers � ooded central Kiev despite freezing temperatures to demand the government sign the EU pact. The au-thorities staged a counter rally bussing in thousands from the provinces.

The protest movement, now in its fourth week, is planning another major rally on Tuesday when Yanukovych is due to discuss a strategic partnership treaty with Russian President Vladimir Putin. l

‘Barrel bomb’ raids in Syria’s Aleppo kill 76n AFP, Damascus

The Syrian air force was on Mon-day accused of killing 76 people by unleashing barrels packed with ex-plosives on Aleppo, a focal point for fighting between regime and rebel forces.

The bombardment, which activists described as “unprecedented,” came as the United Nations said the number of Syrian war refugees in the Middle East was likely to double to 4.1 million by the end of 2014.

The number of people slain in Sun-day’s bombing of Aleppo “with explo-sive-packed barrels... rose to 76,” in-cluding “28 children and four women,” said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, updating its previous toll of 36 dead. l

Attacks on Lebanon army posts leave � ve deadn Agencies

A Lebanese soldier and four attackers were killed in two separate assaults on army checkpoints in the southern city of Sidon, the military said in a statement.

The attacks in the Mediterranean city, around 40km south of Beirut, were likely co-ordinated, said a securi-ty source.

“At 9:15pm (1915GMT) today [Sun-day] an armed man approached an army checkpoint in the north of Sidon, and launched a hand grenade towards it, injuring two soldiers,” the army statement said. “Troops manning the checkpoint � red back at the attacker, leading to his death.”

Then at 10:20pm (2020GMT), three armed men in an o� -road vehicle ap-proached a second army checkpoint at another location in the southern city.

One of them “blew himself up with a hand grenade he was holding, killing him and a soldier,” said the army, add-ing that another soldier was wounded in the attack.

“Then troops at the checkpoint opened � re at the other armed men and killed them,” the military added. l

Chad looms large over Central Africa crisisn AFP, Bangui

Since the Central African Republic de-scended into crisis a year ago, Chad has been front and centre, described in turn – and sometimes all at once – as coup in-stigator, victim and peacekeeper.

“Ubiquitous but unclear,” was how one seasoned observer in Bangui de-scribed Chad’s presence in the impov-erished country where sectarian vio-lence has left 600 dead in a week.

O� cially, the troubled country is home to a diaspora of some 15,000 Chadians, but Muslim northerners are often referred to also as Chadians.

The broader “Chadian” community has been the main target of reprisal at-tacks by majority Christians.

Many Central Africans accuse Chad of masterminding the Seleka rebellion, which disintegrated after its coup in March, releasing rogue � ghters who have carried out killings, rapes and looting ever since.

Former colonial power France is leading the ongoing military e� ort to restore order but Chad’s in� uence over

its southern neighbour has been un-challenged for years.

A Western diplomat described Chadian President Idriss Deby Itno as the perennial kingmaker of Central Af-rican politics.

The presidency has numerous Chadian advisers, leading to a common

perception that the Central African Republic is a Chadian province and its president little more than “Deby’s ad-ministrator.”

Francois Bozize seized power with Deby’s support in 2003, but a decade later Chad backed the Seleka rebel co-alition that toppled him. l

Rwandan ex-mayor handed 25 years for genociden AFP, Arusha

The UN tribunal for Rwanda on Mon-day handed a 25-year jail term to a for-mer mayor found guilty of genocide for the 1994 bulldozing of a church with 2,000 people inside.

Gregoire Ndahimana, now in his early sixties and mayor of Kivumu dis-trict in western Rwanda at the time of the 1994 genocide, had initially been sentenced to 15 years in jail in 2011.

The UN court had found him guilty of failing to take measures against po-lice involved in an April 1994 attack on Tutsis who had taken refuge in the church in Nyange, a parish in Kivumu, and of having “tacitly approved” the destruction of the church the following day.

The appeal judges con� rmed that Ndahimana was guilty of genocide and extermination as a crime against hu-manity.

They also ruled he had acted “as part of a joint criminal enterprise aimed at exterminating the Tutsi in Kivumu dis-trict.”

The judges said Ndahimana had cel-ebrated the bulldozing of the church by drinking beer with other local o� cials.

“The appeals chamber overturns the jail term of 15 years and imposes 25 years in prison,” judge Theodor Meron told the court.

When the sentence was read out, the former mayor collapsed into a chair and his wife wept in the public gallery.

Ndahimana was arrested in August 2009 in the east of the Democratic Re-public of Congo, to where many Hutu extremists � ed after the genocide.

He is the third person to be tried by the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) over the destruction of the Nyange church, after the parish priest Athanase Seromba and business-man Gaspard Kanyarukiga.

The role of the church in the geno-cide, in particular the Catholic church, remains controversial.

In the anti-Tutsi pogroms of 1959 and 1962, Tutsis who sought refuge in churches were spared.

Three decades later, during the geno-cide, they � ocked by tens of thousands into churches to escape their execu-tioners. This time round however, they died there massively, hacked to death, burned alive or blown up with gre-nades.

Formed in late 1994, the UN-backed ICTR is responsible for judging prima-ry suspects in the Rwanda genocide in which an estimated 800,000 people, mainly Tutsis, lost their lives. l

Russia moves nuclear-capable missiles closer to EU: Ministryn AFP, Moscow

Russia’s defence ministry revealed on Monday that it has moved nuclear-ca-pable Iskander missiles closer to Eu-rope’s borders in response to the US-led deployment of a disputed air defence shield. Germany’s Bild newspaper � rst reported over the weekend that Russia had placed the ballistic missiles in its Kaliningrad exclave near Poland over the past 12 months.

A top Russian defence o� cial said in response to the report that several Iskander batteries had been stationed in Russia’s Western Military District – a region that includes the exclave and

also borders the three Baltic states, members of the European Union.

He did not con� rm that the missiles had been placed in Kaliningrad.

“Iskander operational-tactical mis-sile systems have indeed been commis-sioned by the Western Military District’s missile and artillery forces,” Russian news agencies quoted defence ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov as saying.

He added that Russia’s deployment “does not violate any international treaties or agreements” and should therefore not be subject to protests from the West.

The Kremlin warned in 2011 that it may deploy short- and medium-range

missiles along the EU’s eastern frontier in response to NATO’s deployment of a missile defence system.

Both the United States and NATO have long argued that the shield is not aimed against Russia but is designed to protect the West from potential threats from so-called “rogue states.”

But Moscow fears the system – whose components include both ground-based radar and missile-positioning sat-ellites – may one day be turned into an o� ensive weapon that targets Russia’s soil. The Kremlin also believes that the system may one day be expanded to a point that makes Russia’s own vast nu-clear arsenal ine� ective. l

‘The appeals chamber overturns the jail term of 15 years and imposes 25 years in prison'

Soldiers of the Multinational Force of Central Africa (FOMAC) monitor a United Nations (UNICEF) cargo plane carrying medical and food supplies AFP

A man walks in front of a barricade in central Kiev, December 16, 2013. The European Union said on Sunday it was halting work on a landmark trade and political pact with Ukraine, hardening their rift even as tens of thousands took to the streets of Kiev urging President Viktor Yanukovich to mend ties with Brussels REUTERS

A spineless conversationDecember 8

Na� y SahAgree with the sentiments of the article, except the criticism of the civil society, as I feel it drowns the actions and reasoning. Unfortunately, when they are only ones on the street and there is barely anyone there, talk shows are the only at-tempt left to wake up the inactive mindset of the “janogan.” Just like the attempt to nudge people through this article. I personally watch some of these members of civil society, certain members who work themselves to the ground but have to face such critiques.

People have to look at the role of civil society and the role of the citizen. Civil society will protect the rights of the common public, until people don’t empower themselves to take action. Politicians will provide the entertainment, writers will write, intellectuals will theorise, and the weak and vulnerable will suffer until the privileged are able to realise (if they ever wake up) it is up to them. Finger-pointing needs to evolve; it’s time for people to propose solutions. People who are prepared to die for their values. In times like these, I have to say I respect those who stick their neck out to speak the truth. Think they’re trying to pass the flame they have been carrying for years to the next generation.

Robert ImamIt’s a tragedy, it’s a comedy. Deep down there’s lethargy if I think about it. I just don’t have the time, to stand up for justice, to stand in that line. I could just live my life, with my head hanging down and praying to the sublime. You can be opposed to a government and the opposition, and then you don’t know who to stand behind any more.

Bangladesh to attempt largest human � agDecember 12

Ridha Rahman Our spirit of liberation is limited here.

Sanzida Rahman I believe it’s a good way to keep the spirit of our country up, even through all the despair.

Mizanur Rahman This is a call for Bangalis to go with the flow. Disgusting!

Laila Hasan What’s the point? We dishonor the flag by all the political violence. The country has become a slaughterhouse. Will the party with the highest kills take home the seats this yr? Pity.

Sanzida Rahman Laila Hasan: At least, apu, during the bad times this would keep some people engaged in good things.

Shopno Lok Wow!! Great idea.

Shaba Shams I feel proud.

End the crisis to save economyEvidence is mounting of the damage being done to the econo-

my by strikes and violent blockades.The IMF projects that growth in GDP will fall to 5.5% in

the current � scal year, from an average of over 6% in the last four years and the government’s current target of 7.2%.

The National Board of Revenue is reporting a growing shortfall in revenue collection, as businesses of all sizes are being hit hard by the political crisis.

All sectors, including vital RMG exports, are being hit by shortages in raw materials and delays in being able to ship prod-ucts to market. The opportunity cost of investment and long-term planning being delayed due to fears of political violence is incalculable.

By disrupting transport and supply chains, the blockades have triggered a rise in food in� ation which is hurting all household budgets hard. Milk production has dried up as mil-lions of litres of milk have been wasted by interruptions in dis-tribution and supply. The six major national poultry associations report losses of more than Tk4,000 crore in the last three months as farmers and poultry breeders have been forced into selling stock below production cost.

Farmers and food processors are incurring mounting debts and around 30% of farms are reported closed in the poultry sector. The knock on e� ect on suppliers of feed and all those who depend on producing and selling food is impacting on millions of workers and businesses, both large and small.

The country cannot a� ord to continue su� ering these levels of losses.

Politicians must stop being complacent about the economy and act urgently to end the crisis.

Battery exports an engine for growth

Japan’s Ambassador visited the GLOBATT factory at Ishwardi to inaugurate its � rst export order this month.

Automotive battery producer Rahimafrooz Globatt current-ly exports batteries to 57 markets around the world and is recog-nised as one of the leading brands in this area. It has successfully secured export orders to the exclusive Japanese market which requires the highest quality standards.

This is a good illustration of the growing ability of manufactur-ers from Bangladesh to produce market-leading products in high value areas. We hope that this will inspire a much-needed diversi� cation and maturation process for our manufacturing sector.

The Japanese market is par-ticularly signi� cant since Japan is a highly competitive and quality conscious market for automotive products.

Manufacturing and export sectors in Bangladesh have thus far been dominated by utilising the availability of cheap labour as the main competitive advantage. The success of Rahimafrooz Globatt shows that it is also possible for Bangladeshi manufacturers to be competitive in products that require a high level of technical know-how and pro� ciency.

Diversi� cation of our manufacturing output will allow us reach a broader range of markets. We hope others can be inspired by this example to work towards improving skills and resources to gener-ate higher-value exports.

By following this example, entrepreneurs can help develop and realise the potential of the manufacturing sector in Bangladesh.

Editorial8

www.dhakatribune.com

DHAKA TRIBUNE Tuesday, December 17, 2013

LETTER OF THE DAY

CALVIN AND HOBBES

PEANUTS

Letters to the Editor

It is possible for Bangladeshi manufacturers to be competitive in products that require a high level of technical know-how and pro� ciency

All sectors, are being hit by shortages in raw materials and delays in being able to ship products to market. Politicians must act urgently to end the crisis

Can our politicians learn from Mandela?December 14I must congratulate a local English daily for having published a section titled “Wise Words From Mandela.” This must be read by all leaders, of all educational institutions and all political parties in Bangladesh. Hope-fully they will understand and appreciate Mandela’s noble ideas and follow his sage advice.

Let the PM, for the sake of national interest, set a noble example by introducing the caretaker govern-ment, headed by a recognised and respected judicial mind like Dr Kamal Hossain, or even the last Chief Justice. Let there be � ve advisers nominated by AL, and from BNP, and two from Jatiyo Party to form the ad-interim government till the election.

This will be a great move on her part, and will, I am sure, ensure her victory in the next election. This government should ensure that till the next elected government is formed; they will only carry out routine work, ensure law and order, and that the election is held peacefully.

Let us, for God’s sake, shun violence and have peace.Frustrated Bangali

How to behave in someone else’s countryDecember 15I liked the article by Mamun Rashid, “How to behave in someone else’s country,” in your paper on December 12. It is full of passion and emotion. I also agree with the author that we have to shed our colonial mentality.

However, emotions seem to have gotten the better of him. We protest against Su-jatha Singh, but have no di� culty in giving better treatment to visitors much junior to her from the West and other countries. We listen to them wide-eyed and invite them to get involved in our a� airs. Please, let us not have double standards.

Selim Hossain

Wake up to the economic costs of political unrestDecember 12

Regarding this editorial about the economical costs during these political disturbances, you should have added the very real possibility of the international garment buyers scaling back orders or even pulling out of Bangladesh altogether.

These politicians could end up shooting themselves in the foot!

Haydn Pritchard

Crossword

Sudoku

CROSSWORD CODE-CRACKER YESTERDAY’S SOLUTIONSACROSS 1 Bludgeon (4)5 Fissures (5)8 Tempt (6)9 Heavy substance (4)10 Lyric poem (3)12 Colour (6)13 Laid bare (6)15 Pliant (6)18 Well-mannered (6)20 Beverage (3)21 Peruvian capital (4)23 Garden ornaments (6)24 Time in grammar (5)25 Inherited character unit (4)

DOWN1 Stringed instrument (5)2 United (3)3 Theatre (5)4 Concealed (3)5 That remaining (7)6 Stupid person (4)7 To let stand! (4)11 Business transaction (4)12 Trace (7)14 Game of skill (4)16 Charge (5)17 E� ace (5)18 Separate (4)19 Incline (4)21 Ship’s record (3)22 Males (3)

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9Op-Ed Tuesday, December 17, 2013DHAKA TRIBUNE

n Mohammad Ali Sattar

I can’t � nd the words appropriate to articulate the dire circum-stances we are in.

It is election time. People, or for that matter, the whole

nation, should have been awash with the colourful banners, head-gears, party � ags, festoons, and engaging slogans. Groups of animated young and old party or non-party activists were supposed to keep the cold winter mornings or the dark foggy evenings warm with their piercing slogans.

Local heavyweights were to tramp their way through the paths and by-lanes of the prospective voters of the areas. Courtyards of the hamlets should have been swarmed with ex-hilarated souls, both men and women. And you have that 24/7 gossiping in the smallest tea stand of the tiniest community. In sum, the whole nation now ought to have been in the grip of the craze for the polls day – the much awaited day their leader would � nd his or her way into the stratum of power for the next � ve years.

Whatever the outcome of the polls, our history stands witness that we are a poll-crazy nation. Each time the polls are held we receive things as they ar-rive. The results, most of the time not initially accepted by the losing side, are however accepted eventually, and the days pass by, the country keeps going. And we wait for the next polls.

Don’t you forget we want fair polls. So why do we constantly opt for the

third umpire? We are not prepared for a full-blown democracy. Mutual trust is absent. We are not in a position to consider fair polls under a partisan government. We feel comfortable with the neutral care-taker system that ensures, though not entirely, fair and open exercise of voting rights.

Amidst this violence, we do have something to feel good about. We are all � ghting to have an election. The ruling party has a di� erent agenda while the opposition has diverse plans. But all want elections. If only we could � nd a suitable way to hold those!

Nothing happened. The entire dream scene turned into horrendous account of mindless acts of bloodletting. The country is in the grip of evil. Instead of the polls preparation, it has become the reverse. The feuding groups are not seeking votes; they are busy killing each other. Instead of holding a serene voting exercise, they are busy prevent-ing each other from even wishing to exercise their constitutional right.

Prior to coming to power, the AL declared that it was waging a war against the BNP and its allies to restore people’s right to vote, which to them, was robbed by the BNP. The previous

BNP-led government did resort to all kinds of maneuvering to hold on to power. There were allegations of fake voters list, the attempt to put their man of choice as head of the caretaker government, and so on.

Everything went wrong for BNP and its partners. The country went volatile and many lives were lost, until the army-backed caretaker government took over. While not supporting such acts of the BNP, one should admit that BNP and allies were at least trying to hold an election. They never hinted at “arranging” and “compromise” with

their allies and loyalists. The present government of Sheikh

Hasina has lost all trust and con� -dence that it initially enjoyed. The party has been doing, in the name of constitution, such things that are clearly in total disregard to the will and wish of the people.

Instead of giving people the voting rights, the ruling party has snatched these away in broad daylight. More than half of the parliamentary seats have been decided long before the voting day! More than � fty per cent of the 9.19 crore voters were straight o� robbed of their right to vote.

HM Ershad was picked up from his home on “medical grounds.” He was trapped inside the military hospital until Jatiya Party was � nally forced to be part of the election or seat distribu-tion process. Ershad has been declared a member of parliament even without his knowledge and consent!

The prime minister was bold to declare at a meeting that the grounds of being elected unchallenged are the compromise and understanding between the ruling and other parties. This, she said, could have been done with the BNP as well, if they took part in the polls. She made no secret of her intentions!

The dialogue continues amidst in-creasing violence around the country. Death and devastation is rising. I am a great proponent of dialogues, but I cannot comfort myself with the hope of a fruitful outcome.

The main opposition is already out of the race and it has nothing to lose in the so-called polls. Therefore, in all likelihood it will now press for the care-taker government and Sheikh Hasina’s exit as the head of the interim cabinet.

It is evident that pressure from within and without is mounting on the government to play right. How far the present regime can hold on to its res-olute stance remain to be seen. After all you cannot have elected represent-atives in the parliament without being elected by the people. l

Mohammad Ali Sattar is a journalist, political analyst and DT columnist.

Towards post-2020 climate agreementn Vikas Nath

Negotiators from over 190 countries gathered recently in Warsaw to lay the framework

for a global climate agreement that is expected to be signed in 2015 in Paris. Warsaw was an opportunity for nego-tiators to narrow their di� erences, and increase their ambition for long-term action on climate change.

Unfortunately they failed to reach a common understanding on the shape of the new agreement, the level of cuts needed, how they should be divid-ed up, long-term � nancing needs of developing countries, and provides assistance to those su� ering loses and damages from climate change.

Global negotiations, national interestsWhile the climate issue has moved high up on the political agenda, and the platform on which negotiations take place is multilateral, the interests pursued by negotiators remain � rmly

rooted nationally. Countries have con-sistently refused to look beyond their boundaries and interests to deal with an issue that cuts across borders.

Rich countries have to lead the way in cutting emissions and providing support. But developing countries also need to contribute if the warming limit of 2 degrees centigrade is to be maintained. Unfortunately the UN multilateral climate forum is capable of keeping the negotiations alive with-out yielding progressive outcomes. It is likely we may end up at the 2015 summit in Paris without any bold ambitions and actions to bring down global emissions.

Lowering commitments, not emissionsClimate talks so far have distinguished between richer and poorer countries. Richer countries are those who have polluted their way to economic growth and development and are responsible for the bulk of historical emissions. While poorer countries are latecomers to industrialization, their emissions are increasing as they need to grow and lift their population out of pov-erty.

The Warsaw talks saw a major push by developed countries to remove the � rewall between rich and poor countries so that all countries take on

binding commitments to reduce emis-sions.  But developing countries came out strongly against this move.  

Developed countries argued that the deal struck in Durban in 2011 re-quired all major economies, including emerging economies, to commit to bringing down emissions, and this was not being adhered to.

Developing countries challenged that these commitments were contin-gent on developed countries playing their role and providing climate funds and clean technology at concessional rates, and that this was not happening. Most developing countries maintain that since the Durban decision was under the UN Climate Convention, the responsibilities to reduce emissions remain di� erentiated.

For developing countries, histor-ical emissions and the principle of common but di� erentiated respon-sibility CBDR) are non-negotiable to ensure that climate justice and equity is respected. They seek that any new agreement has to come under the 1992 UN Framework Convention on Climate Change on common but di� erentiated responsibilities rather than ignoring it.

Developed countries were against keeping any such reference and this almost led to a breakdown of the talks until a compromise was worked out to replace “commitments” with the more

� exible term “contributions.”The negotiating parties ultimately

agreed to go back home and initiate or intensify domestic preparations for their intended “nationally deter-mined” contributions to reduce emis-sions without being legally obliged to do so. Countries ready to do so will submit clear and transparent plans by the � rst quarter of 2015. The plans will be assessed by other countries to determine if they are ambitious and fair, and whether they will be collec-tively e� ective in preventing climate catastrophe.

As the emissions reduction goals that will come into force in 2020 will not be decided centrally, but set at the national level, it remains to be seen how these contributions will evolve. They may end up as binding targets in the 2020 framework and take the shape of a new protocol, or simply an agreed outcome to reduce emissions with legal force.

No interim or long-term financingIn the 2009 Copenhagen climate talks, developed nations committed to mo-bilize US$100 billion a year by 2020 for climate change. So far there has only been a trickle of funds. Developing countries want a roadmap on how the funds will be raised. But developed

countries have resisted demands to put � rm commitments on how they plan to ful� ll this pledge. 

Developing countries also want richer countries to provide interim � nancing between now and 2020 to keep up the momentum until 2020. But this demand was rejected. Ultimately, no new � nancing was committed during the talks except replenishment of funds for the Adap-tation Fund and adoption of the work programme for results-based � nancing for reducing emissions from forest-re-lated activities.

Moving ahead from WarsawPolitical and economic realities of bringing down carbon emissions are a complex process and the Warsaw talks failed to overcome them. There is still an opportunity to salvage the trust and ambitions lost at Warsaw. A com-mitment to interim � nancing would be a good trust-building gesture and it will also give momentum to get the accord ready by 2015. This has to be followed by concrete e� orts to close the pre-2020 ambition gap before an agreement can be hammered out for post-2020. l

 Vikas Nath is the Associate Director, Future UN Development System (FUNDS).

At the margins of homogeneityn Garga Chatterjee

The Union of India is not a homogenous union. It never was. What I mean by this is that

its constituent parts are not created equal nor does the law of the land treat them equally. There are a host of special provisions that apply to speci� c constituents only.

There is indeed a great deal of homogeneity of law – but that is in “mainstream India.” “Mainstream India” has typically been those parts of the Union where the Indian army is not actively deployed at present. Natu-rally, the contour of this “mainstream” has been changing.”

Places where the Armed Forces Spe-cial Powers Act (AFSPA) is in action, there are sweeping powers that the armed forces have over the life and liberty of people. The AFSPA has been applied at di� erent times to most of what constitutes the Union of India’s north-east. No points for guessing in which other zone, apart from the north-east, does the AFSPA remain in force. But let’s not go there.

The non-homogeneity of the law typically remains buried from the mainstream (for de� nition of main-stream, see above) because most people from the mainstream simply do not have much reason to venture “out there.” The converse is not true.

In an over-centralised system, largesse in the form of opportunities, public facilities, institutions, universi-ties, infrastructure, etc are inordinate-ly showered around a zone around New Delhi called the National Capital Region (NCR).

Hence, those from “out there” have to trudge to the centre of the “main-stream,” whether they like it or not. It is very rare that this non-homogene-ity comes into public scrutiny in the mainstream.

Auspicious days have a special value in our lives. So much so that the “bad guys” specially choose such occasions to mar the jubilation. They must be having a particularly twisted mind. December 1 this year marked the 50th anniversary of the Indian Un-ion declaring the state (in the constitu-ent province sense) of Nagaland.

As late as 1936, the British author-ities were not entirely sure where to put most of the “north-east” - in the Empire of India or in the soon-to-be-created crown colony of Burma. Indeed, after 1937, some Naga areas “fell” in Burma.

Funny, isn’t it, that the land, that inalienable heritage of ancestors on which a people live and their identity thrives are not the most important truths – but lines drawn without con-sent and “falling” on people are.

Nagas have witnessed the longest struggle (someone’s terrorism, some-one’s insurgency, someone’s freedom struggle – we all know the routine dis-claimer) against both the post-British Burmese and Indian states. Whether they are post-colonial states (and this doubtful list includes Pakistan too) depends on whom you ask.

More than 50 years ago, the then prime minister of the Union of India, Jawaharlal Nehru said in the Lok

Sabha: “We have had for many years Nagas in the Indian army and they have proved to be excellent soldiers. Our policy has always been to give the fullest autonomy and opportunity to self-development to the Naga people, without interfering in any way in their internal a� airs or way of life.”

The last sentence is critical, as it goes against the usual thrust of poli-cies from New Delhi – typically aimed at creating a homogenised, Hindustan (Hindi-heartland) centric identity. However, the context is important. When the Brahmin from Allahabad was speaking those words, he knew the stakes.

A few years before that, certain Naga groups had conducted a plebiscite. The Union of India did not consider any such plebiscite legal and of course there was no question of respecting the verdict of something it considered illegal in the � rst place. Legality is something. Reality is typically some-thing else. The army was brought in.

These pronouncements by Nehru came shortly after his discussions with a group called the Naga People’s Convention (NPC). They negotiated the subsequent statehood status for Nagaland. Given the prevailing conditions, special provisions for the state of Nagaland were incorporated as Article 371A of the constitution of the Union of India.

Now after 50 glorious years of Nagaland’s life as a state of the Union of India, the ruling party of Nagaland called the Naga People’s Front has decided to take Article 371A of the constitution and certain pronounce-ments by the Petroleum Ministry in the parliament of the Indian Union at face value.

The Nagaland state government wants to use all its natural resourc-es on their own and has cited the constitution to say it is constitution-al. This is the kind of problem you get into when you have non-pliant provincial governments. New Delhi is not amused at the constitution being thrown at them.

This is a crisis, not so much of law breaking, but of law-following. We probably know how this ends. There will be “high-level” “meetings” and “consultations.” The otherwise passive position of the governor of a state (a New Delhi agent) will become active. The state government will probably back down. The courts will go the “right” way if it comes to that. It will again be “all quiet” on the north-eastern front. l

Garga Chatterjee is a freelance contributor.

Instead of giving people the voting rights, the ruling party has snatched these away in broad daylight. More than half of the parliamentary seats have been decided long before the voting day

MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU

Funny, isn’t it, that the land, that inalienable heritage of ancestors on which a people live and their identity thrives are not the most important truths – but lines drawn without consent and ‘falling’ on people are

A commitment to interim � nancing would be a good trust-building gesture and it will also give momentum to get the accord ready by 2015

Who cast my

ballot, damn it!

Barca to face Man City in knockoutsn AFP, Paris

Spanish giants Bar-celona were handed the toughest possible draw Monday when they were paired with Manchester City in the

plum tie of the last 16 of the Champions League.

Champions Bayern Munich were also given a hard draw as they plucked Arsenal for the second year in a row at this stage.

For the English pair, who both � n-ished second in their groups, it was yet again a harsh lesson in the importance of winning the group.

Manchester United and Chelsea, both group winners, were given far more favourable draws against Olym-piakos and Galatasaray respectively.

In fairness to Arsenal and City, they did have the toughest possible groups facing one each of last season’s � nal-ists.

City came within a single goal of pip-ping Bayern to top spot in their group

when a 3-2 win in Munich was one goal short of what they needed to overhaul the Bavarians.

Barcelona coach Gerardo Martino said neither side would be delighted with the draw.

“City will not have wanted to play against Barceona either,” he said. “What we need to concentrate on is being in good shape when February comes around. We need to have a high level and sustain it.

“They are scoring goals with ease so we are not going to discover them now. We want to play well in the tie and ob-viously win it.”

Despite drawing the 2009 and 2011 champions, City director of football Txiki Begiristain said he was delighted.

“It’s very tough, but we are happy because we are here and we will � ght for the trophy,” he told Sky Sports.

“It’s a wonderful draw and these are two big teams so it’s going to be great, great matches.

“The last game we played in Mu-nich, winning against the champions of Europe has given us a lot of con� -

dence. We have shown we can score in all matches.”

Arsenal were within a couple of minutes of winning their group despite losing 2-0 at Napoli on the � nal match-day but Borussia Dortmund’s late win-ner in Marseille allowed them to snatch top spot there.

Last season Arsenal drew Bayern in the last 16 and seemed to be as good as out when they lost the � rst leg 3-1 at the Emirates.

But they came within a whisker of making the quarter-� nals when taking the second leg 2-0 at the Allianz Arena, going out only on away goals.

Arsenal have rarely had much luck in the knockout stage draws in recent years having been paired with AC Milan in 2012 and Barcelona in 2011.

In 2010, having beaten Porto in the last 16, they drew Barcelona in the quarter-� nals.

Olympiakos coach Michel did not sound con� dent of causing an upset against United. “We like the idea of go-ing to play at Old Tra� ord; it is a nice destination for our fans,” he said. l

Raqibul shines on Victory Dayn Mazhar Uddin

Shaheed Jewel XI rode on a superb century from Raqibul Hasan to win the traditional Victory Day cricket match against Shaheed Mushtaque XI by 149 runs at the Dhanmondi Cricket Stadi-um yesterday.

Batting at number six Raqibul came in at a time when they were reeling at 96-4, but the right-hander’s perfect execution of shots made the opponent bowlers look helpless. Raqibul struck 12 fours and three sixes to make 111 o� just 87 deliveries.

Earlier, led by Naeem Islam Sha-heed Jewel XI opted to bat � rst and were given a perfect start by Rony Ta-lukder (29) and Junaed Siddique (33) as the pair added 68 in just seven overs.

Anamul Haque and Naeem Islam

also returned with identical 22s before Raqibul took Mehrab Hossain Jr (29) and added 88 runs for the sixth wicket as they eventually posted 285 for nine in the stipulated 40 overs.

Left-arm spinner Enamul Haque Jr claimed four wickets while a bit expen-sive Shahadat Hossain took 3-43 o� his six overs.

Wickets in regular intervals saw the Shaheed Mushtaque XI drift away from the big run chase before they were eventually bundled out for 136 runs in just 27 overs. Number nine batsman Sanjamul Islam’s unbeaten 25 was the highest score. Left-arm spinner Elias Sunny took three wickets for just seven runs while Naeem and Mohammad Sharif bagged two wickets each.

A century in any form is a delight for

any batsman and Raqibul, who played a crucial role with the bat for Dhaka Premier League champions Gazi Tank recently, said, “I always try to give my hundred percent wherever I get the chance and I am working hard as you know I have scored over � ve hundred runs in the Dhaka league and looking forward to make a comeback in the na-tional side.”

Few hundreds of fans gathered at the Dhanmondi Cricket Stadium,

commonly known as the Abahani ground, to witness their favourite cricketers play while the presence of many other former national cricketers set the perfect tune for the friendly match. Every year the Victory Day match takes the face of a get-together among the cricketers and it was nothing less yesterday too.

Bangladesh Cricket Board chief se-lector Faruk Ahmed, Habibul Bashar and Minhajul Abedin were amongst the many other board members pres-ent during the match while suspended cricketer Mohammad Ashraful also did not miss the chance to meet his fellow friends.

The � rst ever Victory Day cricket match was played in 1972 in memory of Liberation War martyrs Shaheed Abdul Halim Chowdhury Jewel and Shaheed

Mushtaque Ahmed and since then Bangladesh Cricket Board has been ar-ranging the friendly a� air every year. l

Shaheed Jewel XI 285/9 in 40 oversRaqibul Hasan 111, Junaed Siddique 33 Enamul Haque 38/4, Shahadat Hossain 43/3Shaheed Mushtaque XI 136/10 in 27 overSanjamul Islam 25*, Marshal Ayub 20 Elias Sunny 7/3, Naeem Islam 13/2, Md Sharif 17/2Result: Shaheed Jewel XI won by 149 runs

Brief Score

10 DHAKA TRIBUNETuesday, December 17, 2013

SportDid you know?

Luis Suarez has scored (17) more

goals than 10 of the 20 Premier League teams this season

11 Spurs sack AVB after Liverpool rout

11 Murray takes BBC award

DAYS TO GO

0 8 9

VICTORY DAY SPORTS

Usha start with a winn Shishir Hoque

Usha Krira Chakra started their Walton Vic-tory Day Hockey campaign with a comfort-able 3-1 victory over Azad Sporting Club in the Walton Smartphone Victory Day Hockey at the Maulana Bhashani National Hockey Stadium yesterday. Maksud Alam Habul, Ajit Kumar Ghosh and Rubel scored for the

victors in the sixth, 15th and 20th minute of the game while Shohanur Rahman netted the consolation for Azad in the 52nd minute. In the day’s other game, Bangladesh Air Force were held to a 2-2 draw by Bangladesh Police.

Mukitul Islam scored twice for Air Force in the � fth and 44th minute while Rana and John scored one each for Police in the 20th and 48th minute. l

Army retain volleyball titleBangladesh Army lifted the title of the Walton LED TV Victory Day Volleyball for the � fth consecutive time after beating Power Development Board by 3-2 set in a dramatic � nal at the Volleyball Stadium yesterday. This is the ninth time out of 33 that Army has won the Victory Day Volleyball title.

After winning the � rst set 25-21 Army lost the next two sets by 17-25, 16-25, but staged a brilliant comeback with victory in

the last two sets by 25-16, 25-12.Masud Milon of Army and Ajay Sarkar

of PDB shared the best player of the tournament award. Meanwhile in the third-place decider match, Bangladesh Arm Force outplayed Titas Gas by 25-15, 25-12 and 25-20 points. Bangladesh Olympic Association secretary general Syed Shahed Reza distributed the prizes among the winners as the chief guest. l

BGB lift Kabaddi titleBorder Guard Bangladesh (BGB) emerged as the champions of the Walton Victory Day Kabaddi despite being beaten by Bangladesh Army at the Kabaddi Stadium yesterday.  Army beat BGB by 10-9 points, but according to scoring point, BGB became the champions and Army � nished

as runners-up.In the day’s other game, Bangladesh

Police beat Fire Service 37-14 with two Lo-nas to clinch the third place. Shibnath Roy, the secretary of National Sports Council, distributed the prizes among the winners as the chief guest. l

Army clinch V-day rugby Bangladesh Army emerged as the champi-ons of the Victory Day Rugby Champion-ship beating Flame Boys by 31-7 points in the � nal match at the Paltan ground yesterday.

A total of four teams took part in the day long meet where Army and Flame

Boys defeated Victoria Club and Khilgaon Pragati Sangha respectively to set up the � nal clash.

National Sports Council (NSC) guard commander and freedom � ghter Shamsul Haque inaugurated the tournament as the chief guest. l

Fifa World Cup arrives todayn Shishir Hoque

The wait for the Fifa World Cup trophy is � nally over as the 36.5 centimeters golden trophy, coming from UAE by a chartered � ight, is expected to land at the Hazrat Shahjalal International Air-port at 2pm today.

After visiting Bangladesh President Abdul Hamid at the Banga Bhaban at 3pm, the trophy is scheduled for Gana Bhabhan at 4pm where the Prime Min-ister will grace a reception. The trophy will be on display for public on Wednes-day and Thursday at the Bangabandhu National Stadium.

The organisers have planned to ac-commodate 15,000 spectators during its two-day stay at the Bangabandhu Na-tional Stadium. There will be an interac-tion zone, hologram zone, trophy room, photo collection and perfect serve zones for each of the spectators.

Coca Cola has already o� ered the tick-ets through a promotion process and, however, no ticket is on sale. The most attractive feature of the program will be a photograph of the spectator with the coveted trophy when they leave the ex-clusive zone. The spectators will not be allowed to take any picture with the cel-lular phone they might carry.

According to the organisers and Ban-gladesh Football Federation, this is the � rst time the original World Cup trophy will be touring the country. Eleven years ago a replica of the 2002 Fifa World Cup trophy landed in Bangladesh.

This is the third time that the Fifa World Cup trophy is taking a world tour. The 2013/2014 Trophy Tour started from Rio de Janeiro on September 12 and will visit 88 countries in 267 days and cover 149,576.78 km (92,942.702 miles) before returning to Brazil ahead of the World Cup next year. l

Raqibul Hasan

Zia � nishes 18thn Tribune Sport Desk

Bangladeshi Grandmaster Ziaur Rahman � nished 18th in the 5th London Chess Classic FIDE Open in Olympia Confer-ence Center, London yesterday. Zia earned six points out of nine games. He drew with International Master Alexey Slavin of Russia in his last round game. Grandmaster Hammer Jon Ludviq be-came the champion with 7.5 points. l

ROUND OF 16 DRAW Man City (ENG) v Barcelona (ESP)

Olympiakos (GRE) v Man United (ENG)

AC Milan (ITA) v At Madrid (ESP)

Leverkusen (GER) v PSG (FRA)

Galatasaray (TUR) v Chelsea (ENG)

Schalke 04 (GER) v Real Madrid (ESP)

Zenit (RUS) v ortmund (GER)

Arsenal (ENG) v Bayern Munich (GER)

First legs on February 18-19 or February 25-26; returns legs on March 11-12 or March 18-19

BHF to receive fund for new turf n Shishir Hoque

The Ministry of Finance has given the green signal in providing the � nancial assistance to establish a new arti� cial turf at the Maulana Bhashani Hockey Stadium.

Bangladesh Hockey Federation (BHF) earlier demanded Tk61m from the � nance ministry which the min-istry rejected. The federation o� cials tried to convince the ministry and sent a letter again asking for the � nancial support.

“The � rst reply from the � nance ministry was ‘No’ then we managed to convince them. However, they will not give all the money at a time. They will � rst provide Tk11m then the rest Tk5om will be provided later,” said wing commander Ra� ul Haque, repre-sentative of BHF president Air Marshal Enamul Bari.

Earlier, president of the FIH Lean-dro Negre promised to assist Bangla-desh hockey with a fund of $250,000 for the arti� cial turf after visiting Dha-ka in February this year. l

Fahad leaves for UAE todayn Tribune Sport Desk

Youngest Fide Master of the country Mohammad Fahad Rahman will leave Dhaka today to take part in the World Youth Chess Championship which is getting underway at Al-Ain in United Arab Emirates tomorrow.

Fahad will participate in the Un-der-10 group. The chess prodigy will be accompanied by his father and Inter-national Arbiter Md Haroon Or-Rashid, who will also be there as an Arbiter of the event. l

Uefa Champions League Final Ambassador, former Portuguese international footballer Luis Figo holds up the name of Barcelona during the draw for the last 16 of the Uefa Champions league in Nyon yesterday AFP

Players of Shaheed Jewel XI and Shaheed Mushtaque XI along with match o� cials and BCB members pose for a photograph before the start of the traditional Victory Day cricket match at DCS yesterday COURTESY

Spurs sack AVB after Liverpool routn AFP, London

Andre Villas-Boas has been sacked as manager of Tottenham Hotspur af-ter 17 months in the role,

the English Premier League club an-nounced on Monday.

The news arrived a day after Spurs were thrashed 5-0 by Liverpool at White Hart Lane, which left the north London club � ve points below the Champions League places in seventh in the Premier League table.

“The club can announce that agree-ment has been reached with head coach, Andre Villas-Boas, for the termination of his services,” read a statement on the Tottenham website.

“The decision was by mutual consent and in the interests of all parties. We wish Andre well for the future. We shall make a further announcement in due course.”

Villas-Boas, 36, had also seen his side demolished 6-0 at Manchester City last month, despite Spurs having invested around £105 million ($171 million, 124 million euros) on new players during the close season.

That expenditure was, however, o� -set by the sale of Gareth Bale to Real Ma-drid, but Spurs have scored just 15 goals in their 16 league games this season since the Welshman left the club.

Villas-Boas’s dismissal represents

his second consecutive failure at a Lon-don side as he was sacked by Chelsea in March 2012 after only nine months at the Stamford Bridge helm.

He joined Spurs the following July but despite leading the club to their highest points tally of the Premier League era last season (72), they missed out on a Champions League place to arch-rivals Arsenal.

Speaking after the drubbing by Liv-

erpool, Villas-Boas had vowed that he would not walk away from the club.

“The call to make that decision is not mine because obviously I won’t resign and I’m not a quitter,” he said.

“The only thing I can do is work hard with the players to get them back on track. This is a top-four squad but in our Premier League form we are not there.”

While Spurs have mis� red in the league, they quali� ed for the last 32 in

the Europa League after winning all six of their group games and were paired with Ukrainian side Dnipro Dnipropetro-vsk in Friday’s draw.

They are also due to play West Ham United in the quarter-� nals of the League Cup on Wednesday.

Villas-Boas becomes the � fth Premier League manager to lose his job this sea-son.

Paolo Di Canio was the � rst to go at

Sunderland, followed by Ian Holloway at Crystal Palace and Martin Jol at Fulham, while West Bromwich Albion parted company with Steve Clarke on Saturday.

Russia manager Fabio Capello, the former England head coach, was swiftly installed as the British bookmakers’ fa-vourite to succeed Villas-Boas, who � rst came to prominence at Porto.

Swansea City manager Michael Lau-drup is also reported to be in contention, but the agent of Guus Hiddink ruled the experienced Dutchman out of the run-ning as he is due to become coach of the Netherlands for a second time after next year’s World Cup. l

11SportDHAKA TRIBUNE Tuesday, December 17, 2013

Managerial departures in EPLSeptemberPaolo Di Canio (Sunderland)OctoberIan Holloway (Crystal Palace)DecemberMartin Jol (Fulham), Steve Clarke (West Brom), Andre Villas-Boas (Tottenham)

Rapid Chess underwayTen players topped the points table in the Victory Day Rapid Chess Tournament which began at the Bangladesh Chess Federation hall-room yesterday. Inter-national Master Abu Su� anShakil, IM Abu Su� an Shakil, CM Sohel Chowdhury, Pratul Chandra Bose, Delwar Hossain, Masum Hossain, Md Hasan Emam, Mohammed Ha� zul Islam Chapal, Aminul Islam Ridoy and Ibrahim Parvej shared the top spot with 3 points each after the end of the 3rd round. The event is held in Swiss-League system. A total of 98 play-ers are participating the event.

–SH

Blazers’ Leonard, 76ers Orton suspended Portland Trail Blazers center Meyers Leonard and Philadelphia 76ers center Daniel Orton were both suspended for one game by the NBA for a scu� e dur-ing a game on Saturday. The altercation occurred during the fourth quarter of the Trail Blazers’ 139-105 victory, when Leonard slammed Orton to the court as they jockeyed for position. Orton retali-ated with an elbow to Leonard’s mouth. Leonard served his penalty Sunday, sit-ting out Portland’s 111-109 overtime win at Detroit. Damian Lillard was the hero for Portland in that one. The second-year point guard hit the game-winning jump shot with less than a second left in overtime. With the score knotted at 109-109, Lillard drove the lane, spun right and drained the shot. Philadelphia were idle on Sunday, so Orton will miss the 76ers’ game at Brooklyn on Monday.

–AFP

Nadal shines, Federer fades as big four becomes threeRafael Nadal de� ed the career obituary writers with his stunning renaissance in 2013 as he and fellow major winners Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray cut struggling Roger Federer adrift. Nadal was sport’s comeback man of the year, collecting 10 titles from 14 � nals, including a landmark eighth French Open, a second US Open which took his career majors tally to 13, and a record 26th Masters. He ended the season with 75 wins against just seven losses and another $14.5 mil-lion banked to take his career earnings past the $60 million mark. It was a rebirth that got o� to a faltering start when the Spaniard, who had been out of action for seven months, reappeared at the modest Chilean venue of Vina del Mar in February.

–AFP

PCB seeks PM’s help Pakistan’s cricket chief has sought the help of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif as he tries to revive international cricket in the troubled country after a hiatus of nearly four years. Pakistan has not hosted any international cricket since a deadly mili-tant attack on the Sri Lankan team bus in March 2009 in Lahore, which prompted foreign teams to boycott tours to the troubled country. Pakistan twice tried to arrange limited-overs series against Bangladesh last year, but on both occa-sions the tour did not come o� because of security fears.

–AFP

Marseille � ght back at Lyon Ivory Coast striker Salomon Kalou snapped his eight match scoring drought in style as he struck twice to help Lille to a 2-1 win over Bastia and back into the Ligue 1 title race. The 2012 Champions League winner, who was Lille’s top scorer last season with 16 goals, took his tally this season to � ve with a brace of � rst-half strikes that ultimately downed the Corsican visitors. Also on Sunday, seven-time champions Lyon were driven by � rst-half goals from Alexandre Laca-zette, his ninth of the season, and French international Bafetimbi Gomis to put them 2-0 up before Marseille launched a stirring comeback to snatch a 2-2 draw.

–AFP

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DAY’S WATCH

RESULTTottenham 0-5 Liverpool Suarez 18, 84, Henderson 40, Flanagan 75, Sterling 89

Juve move six points clearn AFP, Milan

Juventus and Napoli re-sponded to respective ex-its from the Champions League with convincing wins over Sassuolo and In-

ter Milan in Italy’s Serie A on Sunday.Carlos Tevez scored a hat-trick, with

Federico Peluso claiming his maiden Juve goal, as the Bianconeri bounced back from a 1-0 defeat at Galatasaray which left Antonio Conte’s men third in Group B and in the Europa League.

Conte wanted his side to win both pre-Christmas games, at home to Sas-suolo and away to Atalanta, and Juve completed the � rst task with consum-mate ease. It was Juve’s eighth consecu-tive win without conceding a goal and goalkeeper and captain Gianluigi Bu� on told Sky Sport Italia: “It was a good way to make amends for Wednesday.

“The elimination hurt us, but now there’s another trophy we now have to try and win.”

He added: “That’s eight straight wins without conceding. Credit all round, also to our strikers, who are our � rst defend-

ers.” Juve remain top on 43 points with a six-point lead on Roma, who on Monday travel to AC Milan -- Italy’s sole represen-tative in the Champions League.

Roma now have even more incen-tive to win after Napoli closed the gap on them to two points after a thrilling 4-2 win over Inter, who were left in � fth place following Fiorentina’s 3-0 defeat of Bologna earlier in the day.

Napoli had lost out on second place in their Champions League Group F to Borussia Dortmund, despite amassing 12 points, and like Juventus wanted their return to domestic duty to be positive.

Coach Rafael Benitez, who had a brief spell at the Nerazzurri in 2010, told Sky Sport Italia: “We left the Champions League with our heads held high, and today I expected a response. l

Carlos Tevez scores a hat-trick against Sassuolo on Sunday REUTERS

Ronaldo opens his own museum n AFP, Madrid

Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo o� cially opened a museum dedicated to his own achievements in his birth-place of Madeira, Portgual on Sunday.

The museum contains a number of trophies, medals and memorabilia from throughout the 28-year-old’s career, in-cluding the Ballon d’Or he won for being the world’s best player in 2009.

And after being named alongside Franck Ribery and Lionel Messi as the three � nalists for this year’s award, Ron-aldo said that the museum contained plenty of space for another Ballon d’Or.

“We have left space to put more tro-phies,” he told Madrid sports daily AS. “It is a very special and beautiful day for me. I hope that it is for Madeira as well. l

Murray takes BBC award n AFP, London

Andy Murray, the � rst British man in 77 years to win Wimbledon, claimed the BBC Sports Personality of the Year award on Sunday and then apologised if he sounded bored.

Murray, 26, had defeated Novak Djokovic in straight sets in July’s Wim-bledon championship match for his sec-ond career Grand Slam title. The Scot had won the US Open in 2012 as well as the Olympic title.

In Sunday’s awards, he beat Brit-ish and Irish Lions rugby union player Leigh Halfpenny who � nished second and horse-racing jockey AP McCoy who was third.

Murray received the trophy from tennis legend Martina Navratilova at his training base in Miami.

“No matter how excited I try to sound my voice always sounds boring -- that’s just my voice, I’m sorry! I’m very excited right now! Thank you very much everyone,” said an emotional Murray.

“Thanks to Martina Navratilova for giving this to me. She’s possibly the greatest tennis player of all time.

“I’ve got a few people to thank - my family � rst. They’ve supported me since I was a kid, making a lot of sac-ri� ces for me. I couldn’t have done it without you. My team have been with me for a long time and I also couldn’t have done it without them.

“And � nally I’d like to thank all the public who voted, for giving me so much support over the last couple of years. It has made a huge di� erence. I know sometimes I’m not the easiest person to support but I’ve had a lot of pressure on me for a long time. I’m glad I managed to do it.”

Murray took a 56 percent share of the public vote with a total of 401,470. l

Atletico keep pace with Barca thanks to Costa doublen Reuters, Barcelona

Diego Costa scored twice as Atletico Madrid beat Valencia 3-0 to maintain their winning home run this season and keep pace

with Barcelona at the top of La Liga.The in-form forward broke the

deadlock just before the hour mark and with Valencia’s resistance broken Raul Garcia added a second moments later.

Costa then missed a penalty but made amends from the spot with nine minutes to go, allowing him to draw level with Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ron-aldo with 17 goals this season.

“You need to show personality and � ght for your achievements so after missing the � rst penalty I wanted to take the second,” Costa told reporters. l

England � ght as Aussies close in on Ashesn AFP, Perth

Rookie Ben Stokes kept England’s faint hopes alive with his maiden Test half-century as the visitors fought to save the Ashes series against a rampant Australia Monday.

Set an improbable 504 to win, Eng-land were 251 for � ve at stumps on day four, still 252 runs behind with just � ve wickets in hand on a heavily cracked Perth pitch.

Stokes, playing in just his second Test, was providing resistance on 72, with wicketkeeper Matt Prior on seven and all of England’s top order back in the pavilion.

Australia will be heavily favoured to mop up England’s tail on the � nal day and regain the famous Ashes urn for the � rst time since 2007 after their big

wins in Brisbane and Adelaide.But senior England batsman Ian Bell

said all hope was not yet lost.“We are still hanging in there, that is

the important thing,” Bell said.“We need to take tomorrow as deep

as we can and keep playing some shots.“The two guys that are out there

now need to bat until lunch and we need to keep � ghting.”

Bell conceded Australia had out-played England in all facets on the game so far in the series.

“We are hugely disappointed and we haven’t shown anyone the kind of cricket that we can potentially play,” he said.

“Hats o� to Australia, they have bat-ted better than us, they’ve caught bet-ter than us and they have bowled bet-ter than us.” l

EPL TOP 10 Team GP W D L GD PTS1 Arsenal 16 11 2 3 16 35 2 Liverpool 16 10 3 3 21 33 3 Chelsea 16 10 3 3 14 33 4 Man City 16 10 2 4 29 32 5 Everton 16 8 7 1 12 31 6 Newcastle 16 8 3 5 -1 27 7 Tottenham 16 8 3 5 -6 27 8 Man United 16 7 4 5 6 25 9 Southampton 16 6 6 4 5 2410 Swansea 16 5 5 6 1 20

Swansea to play Napoli in last-32n Agencies

Swansea have been drawn yesterday against Napoli in what appears a crack-ing tie as reward for their advancement from the group stages.

Tottenham, the only other Premier League side remaining in the compe-tition, will play Ukrainian side Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk.

With the club managerless following the sacking of Andre Villas-Boas this morning, it will be seen as an irony that they will come up against a team man-aged by Juande Ramos, who was dis-missed from White Hart Lane in 2008.

While Swansea’s tie will be seen as the more glamourous, it will be much tougher to negotiate. Napoli, managed by former Liverpool and Chelsea boss Rafael Benitez, may have dropped out of the Champions League, but only on goal di� erence in a particularly tough group that included Borussia Dort-

mund and Arsenal.Should Spurs come through the

two-legged tie against Dnipro, they face a last 16 encounter against the winner of PAOK v Ben� ca, with the lat-ter � nishing as last season’s runners-up after they lost the � nal to Chelsea.

For Swansea, should they record what would be a historic and shock win over Napoli, they would face another extremely testing two-legged a� air against the winner of Porto v Frankfurt. l

ROUND OF 16 DRAWLiberec / Alkmaar v Anzhi / GenkLazio / Ludogorets v Kiev / ValenciaPorto / Frankfurt v Swansea / NapoliOdessa / Lyon v Plzen / ShakhtarMaribor / Sevilla v Betis / KazanDnipro / Tottenham v PAOK / Ben� caMaccabi / Basel v Ajax / SalzburgJuventus / Trabzonspor v Esbjerg / Fiorentina

RESULTSJuventus 4-0 Sassuolo Tevez 15, 45, 68,Peluso 28

Napoli 4-2 Inter Higuain 9, Mertens 39, Cambiasso 35,Dzemaili 41, Callejon 81 Nagatomo 45+2

Leon footballers celebrate after defeating America in the � nal of the Mexican Apertura tournament at the Azteca stadium in Mexico City on Sunday AFP

Real Madrid footballer Cristiano Ronaldo poses with his statue during the inauguration of his museum in Funchal on Sunday REUTERS

12 Back PageDHAKA TRIBUNE Tuesday, December 17, 2013

Dhaka jail opened onDec 17, 1971 as jailers � edn Kailash Sarkar

The Dhaka Central Jail remained open for all on December 17, 1971, the day after Victory Day, as almost all prison o� cers and guards abandoned their posts and ran away, leaving the prison-ers on their own, an o� cial said.

But many prisoners did not leave the jail, despite getting the change to gain their freedom, said Forman Ali, senior superintendent of Dhaka Central Jail.

“Although no documented evi-dence is available, it has been found – by talking to many o� cials who were working there then – that a major por-tion of the prisoners had left the jail, but many others had stayed behind willingly,” Ali told the Dhaka Tribune.

Zahir Uddin Babar, assistant inspec-tor general of prisons, said although the jail administration was not very powerful at the time, there was a sec-tion of o� cials who tried to perform their duties and manage the prisoners who had stayed behind.

According to a witness, all prison o� cers and warders had � ed the jail on December 17, fearing retaliation for collaborating with the Pakistani army during Bangladesh’s Liberation War.

The witness, a writer named “Jatis-mara” who was incarcerated at the central jail from July 20, 1970 until De-cember 17, 1971, recalled that one of the prisoners, Shah Jahan, had snatched a bunch of keys from a trembling warder, who had dared to show up for work in-side the jail that morni ng.

Shah Jahan then got the warder to

unlock all the cells to let the prisoners out, but he asked them to stay in their respective places.

“In the afternoon, a freedom � ghter with a gun on his shoulder appeared before us and screamed: ‘Why are you still here? The jail is empty!’” the writ-er, who was a student activist, said.

The witness also mentioned that only three men in his cell block had re-fused to leave, saying the jail was there home and they had nowhere else to go.

Forman Ali agreed with the witness’s description. He added that during the war, Nirmal Roy was the jailer and late Shamsur Rahman was his deputy.

“I have tried to talk to Nirmal Roy, but due to his old age, he is too sick and not in a state to discuss things,” said For-man Ali. He also said besides the Dhaka jail, almost all other prisons across the country were opened up and prisoners freed as most jailers and guards had � ed during the nine-month war.

“The Comilla Jail was opened to prisoners on April 16. Like Comilla, prisoners in most other jails were also freed,” he said.

The historic Dhaka Central Jail was an old Afghan fort, also known as the Old Fort of Dhaka, built during the rule of Sher Shah Suri. In 1788, Islam Khan, a Mughal subidar, established the army headquarters in a portion of the fort and his o� ce in another part. The fort was later turned into a jail by setting up a criminal ward inside.

The Old Fort was converted to the Dhaka Central Jail in 1820 during Brit-ish colonial rule. l

Freedom � ghters’ digital certi� cate in limboNo proper list of freedom � ghters in 42 years

n Syed Samiul Basher Anik

The Liberation War A� airs Ministry is yet to issue machine-readable digital certi� cates to the registered freedom � ghters of the country under the “Free-dom Fighters Database Project” sched-uled to end by June 2013.

The Tk18.3lakh project aimed to dis-tribute “secured certi� cate containing digital signatures,” among the freedom � ghters of the country to ensure their rights and help end the long-standing debate over the freedom � ghters’ list. 

Although, 187,308 freedom � ght-ers had been registered on the gov-ernment database under the project, the Prime Minister was yet to approve them seeking further veri� cation of the list. Therefore, the enlisted freedom � ghters were still waiting for the digital certi� cates, said M Nurul Amin Khan, director of the database project.

In 2011, the government took the initiative to make a database with the names and family details of the free-dom � ghters by June 2013 to avoid tam-pering of the certi� cates.

Amin Khan said the ministry re-ceived around 3 lakh applications seeking the certi� cates, however, after scrutinising, the ministry registered 1,87,308 freedom � ghters as valid fol-lowing government gazette and Mukti Barta, a list considered to be the most accurate list of freedom � ghters pre-

pared by the Awami League in its pre-vious term.

The Mukti Barta (Lal Boi) contains names of around 154,000 freedom � ghters.

However, the list prepared during the tenure of BNP-led four-party alli-ance in 2002-2005, the number stood at 2.10 lakh.

Even after 42 years of the country’s independence, the ministry is yet to prepare a � nal and authentic list of the freedom � ghters.

Although successive governments have prepared several lists of freedom � ghters so far, they cited di� erent numbers of freedom � ghters with dif-ferent lists, according sources in the Liberation War A� airs Ministry.

A statistics prepared by the minis-try before December 2011, had enlist-ed 206,000 names of freedom � ghters through a government gazette.

Another list, popularly known as ‘voter index list’, was prepared in 1994 that enlisted 86,000 names of freedom � ghters and was actually a voter list prepared for the election of Bangladesh Muktijoddha Sangsad.

A national list prepared in 1986 men-tions that there are 102,458 authentic freedom � ghters in the country; how-ever, another list prepared in the same year by Muktijoddha Welfare Trust in-dicated that there were around 69,833 freedom � ghters in the country. l

HRW: Compensate RMG workers n Tribune Report

The survivors of Tazreen Fashions � re, which killed at least 112 garment work-ers last year, are still su� ering from their injuries and loss of income and have not received adequate compensation, Human Rights Watch said yesterday.

The brands that were sourcing gar-ments from the factory should imme-diately join an International Labour Organisation e� ort to fund full and fair compensation to all the injured and the families of the dead, the New York-based rights body said in a statement.

Meaningful compensation has so far only been provided by the BGMEA, the Bangladesh government, and the Eu-ropean retailer C&A, and Li & Fung of Hong Kong. But injured workers who re-ceived Tk100,000 ($1,267) each told the HRW that the money was insu� cient and ran out after the � rst few months.

The Amsterdam-based Clean

Clothes campaign has calculated that the amount of long-term compensation for the injured and deceased should be at least $5.7m, and could be shared be-tween the factory owner, retailers, the BGMEA, and the government.

This is based on a formula previous-ly used by Bangladeshi trade unions and foreign retailers, including Gap, to set the amount of compensation fol-lowing a factory � re in 2010 in which 29 people died.

Some workers and relatives of two missing workers told the HRW that a year after the November 24, 2012 � re, they had received no compensation.

Survivors said they had been forced to sell o� their possessions to pay for treat-ment. One said her husband was now begging for money. Others said they could not a� ord medical care.

In the months leading up to the � re, Tazreen’s workers made clothes for prominent international retailers

including Walmart, Sears, Karl Reiker, and Teddy Smith.

Each company later said the gar-ments had been produced at the Taz-reen factory without their knowledge. The HRW wrote letters to these and 16 other companies seeking clari� cation of their connection with Tazreen, but none have responded.

In the wake of the Tazreen � re and the subsequent collapse of Rana Plaza in April when over 1,100 workers died, Walmart and other foreign retailers pledged to improve the � re and build-ing safety of Bangladeshi factories. They recently announced a joint pro-gramme for inspecting factories, and for the � rst time published some de-tails of the factories that supply them.

The companies have not, however, pledged to help other factories in the supply chain. The retailers have also not agreed to a compensation package for the Rana Plaza victims. l

Another arson victim dies after 15 days n Mohammad Jamil Khan

Another victim of arson attack during the opposition imposed blockade, died yesterday after battling for life for 15 days at the burn and plastic surgery unit of Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH).

“Abdul Aziz, 50, a CNG auto-rick-shaw driver had 35% of his body burnt died around 4.30am today, as his respi-ratory system was badly damaged by the � re,” Dr Partha Shankar Pal, Resi-dential Surgeon at the DMCH burn unit told the Dhaka Tribune.

Aziz, from Nangalmura of Hathaz-ari, Chittagong, received burn injuries after pickets hurled a petrol bomb at his vehicle at Muhrihath area while he

was on his way home on December 1. Immediately after, he had jumped into a nearby pond to save himself but the � re had already burnt several parts of his body.

He was � rst taken to Chittagong Med-ical College Hospital, but as his condi-tion deteriorated, he was shifted to the DMCH on December 4. He was undergo-ing treatment at the Intensive Care Unit and responding to treatment as well. However, severe damage to Aziz’s respi-ratory system led to his death.

Following Aziz’s death, his brother Kamal Uddin, was seen running here and there to take the body home with-out autopsy.

While trying to contact, Kamal in an

angered voice said: “You people have killed my brother, you are responsible for this.”

“You have no right to ask anything as you cannot bring my brother back, then why you are disturbing me?” asked Kamal.

Meanwhile, Aziz’s wife Munni Ak-ter, left shell-shocked by the death, was standing in a corner of the morgue gate at the hospital without saying any-thing or crying out. She was too upset to even respond to her three-year-old boy, Hassan Ferdous, who was crying for water.

Munni said two of her daughters – Rinsi Akter, 8, and Rimsha Akter, 5, were home and waiting for their father.

“Rinsi studies in class three at Nan-galmura Primary School, but her edu-cation might has to be stopped as no one is left to support us,” she said.

“He had just paid o� a loan taken for buying the CNG auto-rickshaw and has no deposit. He used to tell me that he would take care of his children but he would not say how. Now, without him, how will I be able to do so without his support,” Munni said.

Aziz had stopped talking since Sun-day morning and spent his last couple of hours at the ICU staring at his son, she said.

Liakat Ali, o� cer-in-charge at Ha-thazari police station, told the Dhaka Tribune that a case have been � led with them in this regard and they were searching for the criminals.

With Aziz’s death, the death toll from arson attacks reached 15 while another 16 patients were undergoing treatment at the burn unit with two of them still in the ICU. l

Bullet riddled boy in a fever, bullets to stayin body n Mohammad Jamil Khan

Eleven-year-old Shanto Islam, who took around 79 rubber bullets to his head and back during a clash between police and Jamaat-Shibir activists on Friday, was reported to be in fe-ver but doctors said it was nothingserious.

“There is nothing to be worried about. It’s completely normal to catch a fever at this stage,” said Dr Pijush Kanti Mitro, an assistant surgeon at the neu-rosurgery department of Dhaka Medi-cal College Hospital.

“He is responding well to our treat-ment and likely to recover soon. A medical board is supervising his treat-ment.”

However, Mitro said, Shanto would have to grow up with dozens of bul-lets inside his body since “if we want to remove those, it cannot be done without surgery which may cause further bleeding and worsen hiscondition.”

“Only bullets safe to remove will be removed, once he becomes stronger. Those staying back won’t be much of a problem.”

On Friday, Shanto was caught in the � ring line of police as he was going back to his aunt’s house at Fakirapool. He came to Dhaka from Munshiganj after his father had purchased a gro-cery store at the Kamalapur RailwayStation. l

The baby boy has no idea that his father, who was burnt 35% in an arson attack on Decmeber 2, has � nally died at the Chittagong Medical College Hospital MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU

Thousands yesterday enjoy a spectacular � reworks show at the capital’s Suhrawardy Udyan, where Pakistan army surrendered on this day in 1971 RAJIB DHAR

Editor: Zafar Sobhan, Published and Printed by Kazi Anis Ahmed on behalf of 2A Media Limited at Dainik Shakaler Khabar Publications Limited, 153/7, Tejgaon Industrial Area, Dhaka-1208. Editorial, News & Commercial O� ce: FR Tower, 8/C Panthapath, Shukrabad, Dhaka 1207. Phone: 9132093-94, Advertising: 9132155, Circulation: 9132282, Fax: News-9132192, e-mail: [email protected], [email protected], Website: www.dhakatribune.com