Security, turnout major challenges

Transcription

Poush 22, 1420
Rabiul Awal 3, 1435
Regd. No. DA 6238
Vol 1 No 282
SUNDAY, JANUARY 5, 2014 | www.dhakatribune.com | SECOND EDITION
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Security, turnout major challenges
10th parliamentary polls start at 8am amid boycott by BNP and allies
kar Ali Manik and
n Julfi
Mohammad Al-Masum Molla
With the 10th national parliamentary
elections starting from 8am today, the
biggest challenge of bringing the electorate to vote centres and holding polls
peacefully looms large amid the ongoing violence and the opposition’s vow
to resist.
Today’s polling scenario including
the voters’ turnout will be the most
significant issue to observe people’s response to the polls – a determining factor in measuring the strength of the government that will be formed through
the election without participation of the
main opposition BNP and its allies.
The opposition BNP also held an
election on February 15, 1996 which
was boycotted by the then opposition
Awami League, Jatiya Party and Jamaat-e-Islami.
17 years after that election, similar
polling is being held today.
In the February 15 election, the
Election Commission had announced
26.5% voters’ turnout and that government lasted less than a month.
The present EC has also expressed
concern over the low turnout of voters
in today’s polls, violence in polling centres and burning of ballot papers.
Rashed Khan Menon, a minister of
present election-time government,
who is one of the 153 candidates elected uncontested, told the Dhaka Tribune last night over phone, “If there is
a low turnout it will leave a kind of im-
Waiting with
bated breath
n Emran Hossain
The members of Hindu community in
Satkhira are waiting with bated breath
as the 10th general elections begin today, amid the opposition’s threats of a
“civil war” if elections are held without
their participation.
Several thousand Hindus from Satkhira have left their homes since communal violence started in the district in
the aftermath of a death sentence given
to war crimes convict and Jamaat-e-Islami leader Delawar Hossain Sayedee
on February 28.
P3 JAMAAT-SHIBIR READY
Those who returned after the deployment of army are now afraid the elections would provide little respite for
them unless violence is contained once
and for all.
About three dozens of people have
died since last February.
Govinda Lal Sarder, who returned
home on December 25 after over two
weeks of stay in India, said he was hesitant to disclose the news of his return
fearing backlash.
“Very few people know that I came
back. I might have to leave again if the
 PAGE 2 COLUMN 6
INSIDE
Business
B1 Four state-owned commercial banks
had to reschedule loans to the tune of
Tk3,700 crore in the first nine months
of last year.
News
3 The ruling AL has initiated belated
campaigns to convince maximum
voters to cast their votes amid fear that
voter turnout in the 147 constituencies
may appear embarrassing for it.
pact, but the government cannot create
a political vacuum.”
“Future political scenario will depend on how the oppositions behave,
how soon they reach an understanding,” Menon said, adding that, “There
is a fear and a sense of insecurity prevailing among voters, but in rural areas, I visited and saw a huge interest of
people to cast vote tomorrow. If the
oppositions prevent them, this will be
a different issue.”
Polling officer killed;
centres torched
n Ashif Islam Shaon
Violence by miscreants against the
national elections left one dead yesterday. About 100 polling centres were
burnt down, as were polling materials.
At least 20 polling officials and law enforcers were injured.
Assistant Presiding officer of
Thakurgaon 1 constituency ABM Jubaidul Islam, 45, was beaten to death
by miscreants in Thakurgoan on Saturday night. He was a laboratory demonstrator at Salondar Degree College.
Thakurgaon Assistant Deputy Commissioner Mohammad Muksed said the
incident took place at the Raipur polling centre that came under attack by
miscreants.
At least 10 others were injured in the
attack and were admitted in a hospital
in Thakurgoan.
The attackers also hurled petrol
bombs in a number of polling centres in
Thakurgaon. Sadar upazila’s Bholajan
Madrassa polling centre’s Presiding Officer Kutub Uddin and Jhargaon Registered Primary Government School centre’s Assistant Presiding Officer Rezaul
Karim were burned in the attacks.
In Moulvibazar, unknown assailants
stabbed Assistant Presiding Officer
Md Selim at Borolekha upazila around
7:30pm.
“We assume that the Jamaat-Shibir
men did this,” said Tofail Ahmed, SP of
Moulvibazar.
An attack by Jamaat-Shibir cadres
left 10 policemen, an Ansar member
and a driver injured at Samoskati village, a stronghold of Jamaat-Shibir, under Monirampur upazila in Jessore last
night. The law enforcers came under
attack while patrolling in a vehicle with
Ansar members in the area.
Police said the Jamaat-Shibir men
hurled bombs at the vehicle and then
attacked with sharp weapons. All members of the team were injured. The condition of Ansar member Mohsin and
driver Khaliq was critical, police said.
Jamaat-Shibir activists snatched voting materials from eight polling centres
in Sadallapur upazila in Gaibandha at
gunpoint. Presiding officer of Tajnagar
Government Primary School Sabdar
Rahman said Jamaat-Shibir men held
them hostage at gunpoint, snatched the
voting materials and set fire to them.
In Rajshahi, a group of 12-15 BNP-Jamaat activists in a sudden attack blasted
Many ifs feature BNP’s
future plans
n Mohammad Al-Masum Molla
After having failed to resist the polls
despite giving several ultimatums to
the ruling party and months of violent
street protests, main opposition BNP
and its allies are now heading into an
uncertain future.
Some senior leaders of the party have
said the truth is that they have very little
idea about how many more days they
will have to carry on with the movement and get some results out of it.
On the eve of the polls day, the party claimed that there would not be any
violent resistance in the areas where
voting was taking place because it had
successfully mobilised public opinion
against what it said were “one-sided
farcical” polls.
With non-stop blockades already in
place, the party is planning to continue the movement to mount pressure
on the new government – to be formed
after January 5 – to arrange for another
polls under a neutral administration at
the earliest possible time.
One leader said the political and
economic situation in the country and
the effectiveness of the opposition’s
movement would determine the length
of the new government’s tenure.
Another leader said the idea now
was to keep the movement on and wait
for the government to make the first
move for a compromise.
The party also believes that it will not
be possible for the government to stay
in power for too long because the movement has spread across the country.
Leaders said their main challenge
now was to continue the movement
despite the government oppression.
“We cannot fight against police and
RAB or any other force because we are
Some opposition leaders believe
political and economic situation of the
country and movement of the opposition combine will determine the tenure
of the new government.
2
DHAKA TRIBUNE
News
Sunday, January 5, 2014
AL activists to guard
polling centres
The move comes as a warning to the BNP-led opposition
Hossain Shaikh and
n Emran
Mushfique Wadud
Supporters of the ruling Awami League
will guard polling centres alongside law
enforcement agents to prevent any violence and ensure voter turnout during
today’s parliamentary polls.
Party sources said strict orders
were given to party leaders and activists all over the country to resist any
attempts to attack polling centres or
intimidate voters.
All associate bodies of AL, including Jubo League, Chhatra League and
Shechhashebak League, have already
taken preparations, including guarding polling centres, to ward off anyone who might try to foil the polls, the
sources said.
In a warning to the BNP-led opposition alliance that is boycotting the
polls, AL advisory council member Tofail Ahmed told a press briefing yesterday: “All preparations for the elections
have been taken. Elections will be held.
Elections cannot be foiled by burning
polling centres.”
“The presence of voters will be the
same as before. Our party men will
assist the voters to reach the poll centres,” AL organising secretary Khalid
Mahmud Chowdhury said.
Dhaka City AL general secretary Mofazzal Hossain Chowdhury Maya told
the Dhaka Tribune: “AL leaders and
activists will be guarding poll centres
along with the law enforcement agencies.”
While visiting Awami League electioneering offices at Lalbagh in Old
Dhaka, party leaders and activists were
seen discussing ways to ensure security
and bring voters to the polling centres.
Of the nine city constituencies
where voting will be held today, the
Dhaka 7 seat is expected to be wellfought as a rebel candidate is vying
against the party nominee to win votes
from residents of Lalbagh, Chawkbazar, Kotwali and Bangshal.
The two aspirants are Haji M Selim,
joint secretary of Dhaka City AL who is
running as an independent, and Mostafa Jalal Mohiuddin, the AL nominee.
Meanwhile, Chhatra League and
Juba League members were seen taking
position yesterday outside different
polling centres in the capital to
prevent possible attacks by opposition
supporters.
Activists of the ruling party’s student
and youth wings said they would continue guarding the polling centres until
all the votes were cast and counted.
Gazi Sarwar Hossain Babu, organising secretary of Juba League Dhaka
Metropolitan (south), along with about
50 supporters, was seen visiting polling
centres in Dhaka 6.
During stops at Kabi Nazrul Islam College and Government Shahid
Suhrawardy College, Sarwar assured
the polling officials that his followers
would ensure security of the centres as
well as the voters.
Ruling party activists were also seen
standing guard around polling centres
in Dhaka 4 constituency.
Khalilur Rahman Patawari, officer in
charge of Sutrapur police station, said
they had taken necessary security measures in the area so that voters can cast
their votes without any problem. l
Dhaka candidates busy with
‘counter-resistance’ plans
n Udisa Islam
Sahara Khatun, one of the former telecommunications ministers of Awami
League government, spent a busy day
yesterday planning “counter resistance.”
The 10th national elections are
scheduled to begin in the morning today, under an ongoing hartal by the opposition alliance, which has vowed to
resist the polls at all costs.
Sources said Sahara was busy the
whole day with political activists,
chalking out plans for the election day.
She reportedly gave instructions to her
supporters to resist if anybody wanted
to create obstacles for voters trying to
reach polling centres.
Some Awami League activists were
also borrowed out from other areas to
her constituency.
Compared to her campaigns in the
2008 elections, Sahara has done almost nothing this time. In 2008, she
started her campaigning one month
before election and in the last 10 days,
she went to different wards every day
and campaigned from early morning to
night. She also attended at least eight
to 10 meetings daily.
Many residents of her constituency,
Dhaka 18, said they did not see her or
any other known face from her campaign come seek votes. Others said she
was most likely to win as they did not
even know the other candidates.
In her constituency, Sahara attended only a big rally when the prime
minister went to Rabindra Sarani near
Azampur bus stand in Uttara.
Like Sahara, some other Awami
League candidates also spent their last
day chalking out plans to create a suitable environment so that voters feel
safe at the polling centres.
Awami League candidate Kamal
Ahmed Mojumdar of Dhaka 15 told
the Dhaka Tribune he had planned to
counter any efforts to stop the election.
“If anybody tries to create obstacles
for voters we will resist them. All our supporters are ready to resist them,” he said.
When asked whether this counter-resistance might create a violent
situation, he said, “We will counter the
opposition to give security to voters.”
Ekhlas Uddin Molla, an independent
candidate from Dhaka 15, said he was worried about the environment of poll centres.
“Both the Awami candidate and the
opposition are threatening to resist each
other. Those who are contesting independently like me, are afraid,” he said. l
Polling officer killed; centres torched
 PAGE 1 COLUMN 3
10 crude bombs and two petrol bombs
at Baya Government Primary School
polling centre.
Two police constables on duty at the
polling centre sustained splinter injuries. Police detained two BNP activists
with several crude bombs from the spot,
said Hafizur Rahman, Officer-in-Charge
of Shah Makhdum police station.
In Chittagong miscreants torched
ballot papers and other election materials in Satkania upazila. While carrying ballots and other election materials
for Sadaha Adarsha Mahila Madrasa
polling centre, two pickup vans were
burned down in Fakirhat area.
In Rangpur over 30 miscreants attacked Damur Chakla Dewan Saleh
Madrasa polling centre with sticks and
snatched ballot papers and ballot boxes
from the centre around 7pm.
Presiding Officer Asad Ali and two
Ansar and VDP members were injured
in the attack.
In Comilla BNP activists in Monohorganj upazila hijacked five ballot
boxes from a polling centre. In Tangail
The polling centre at Nondongachhi Kalabipara Model High School in ruins after miscreants burned it on Friday night
EC unsympathetic in
encouraging voters
BGB on high alert
along borders
n Tribune Report
n Udisa Islam
Security has been tightened along the
border ahead of the 10th National Parliament Election to prevent violence at
the polls.
Border Guard Bangladesh members
are on high alert to prevent illegal infiltration into to the country, as security
agencies suspect outsiders might create violence around the polling centres.
Lieutenant Colonel Imam Ahsan, captain of 28 BGB in Satkhira, said the EC issued an order to keep an eye on borders.
He added that a huge area was
brought under a security blanket, so
that no culprits would be able to transport any explosives to create violence
on Election Day.
Shahidul Islam, immigration officer-in-charge of Bhomra, said they have
a list of criminals, and the officials have
been checking every passenger’s passport, so that no criminal can escape.
CQK Mostak Ahmed, home secretary, said the BGB was asked to keep
alert with strict security measures in
the border areas centring the 10th National Parliament Election.
The home secretary said the borders
were sealed-off, but restrictions have
been imposed because of the elections. l
People in different social medias expressed their discontent with the Election Commission’s campaign to urge
the voters for casting their votes in the
10th parliamentary elections.
'I have no right to cast my vote.
In this situation the message
from EC is a farce to me,' says
a voter
Before every polls, the EC starts campaigning for a free and fair election
through television advertisements after the declaration of election schedule.
However, such type of campaigning to
raise awareness among the people was
almost absent this year.
This time, a text message was sent
by Govt Info that says: “Selling votes
is equivalent to selling conscience. Do
not sell your vote.
All security measures have been taken. Cast your votes fearlessly.” [Vote
Bikri to Bibek Bikri, Bhote Bikri Korben
Na. Nirbachone Sarbik Nirapotta Nis-
chit Kora Hosse. Nirvoye, Nirbighne
Vote Dite Kendre Jaben.]
On condition of anonymity, a senior
official of the EC said the text message
has been sent to everybody, regardless
of whether they would vote or not.
When asked why the campaigning
was being carried out at the eleventh
hour, he said it had been done in right
time.
On the other hand, many people
viewed that such text messages were
meaningless to almost half of the total voters as they would not cast their
votes. A total of 153 constituencies will
not see any election this year, as lone
candidates of those seats had been
elected uncontested.
One Saif Uddin updated his Facebook status that says: “I have no right
to cast my vote. In this situation the
message from EC is a farce to me.”
Another Facebook status update by
Mouli Parvin, who became voter for
the first time, says: “I want to choose
my candidate. But I have to accept the
candidate who was selected by AL. EC
can be more sensitive to send this type
of text. What will I do with this message?” l
Waiting with bated
over 30 miscreants attacked Simla Public School polling centre in Gopalpur
upazila and snatched away over 1700
ballot papers this evening.
Two Ansar members were injured
when attackers exploded a petrol bomb
during the attack. Miscreants also
stormed into the Khamarpara Government Primary School polling center in
Gopalpur upazila around 7:00pm and
snatched away all 2869 ballot papers
from there, said Tanzina Islam, upazila
nirbahi officer in Gopalpur upazila.
Polling centres, mostly schools,
have been burnt down across the country since Friday.
The arson attacks increased after
the announcement of a 48-hour hartal
on Friday night, alongside the nonstop
country-wide blockade, by the opposition 18-party alliance that has called
upon the nation to resist the elections.
By 11am yesterday the miscreants had
burnt down more than 88 polling centres in at least 32 districts including the
capital. They also set fire to election materials, including ballot papers, in Chittagong and Gaibandha in the afternoon.
In many places, schools books, furniture and classrooms were burnt to
ashes.
In the Jamaat dominated district
Satkhira, miscreants torched two polling centres at Godaghat Government
Primary School in broad daylight.
Police said the incident took place
around 11am.
In the capital, miscreants torched
two schools at Gaunia and Mollartek in
the morning. Locals and law enforcers
doused the fire before the flames could
spread. l
phone switched off most of the time.
Our reporters and correspondents
in the constituencies described similar
picture from many other districts.
But there might have some exceptions in some constituencies where
some ruling alliance candidates may
face a head-to-head ballot battle for
having strong independent candidates
who were once in the ruling alliance.
Dhaka-7 (Lalbag-Chakbazar-Kotowali-Bangshal area) constituency is likely to be one of those as former AL lawmaker Haji Selim is contesting the polls
as an independent candidate against
an AL top leader Dr Mostofa Jalal
Mohiuddin. The contest between the
two crated a contesting atmosphere
which might inspire voters to go to
polls center.
But a usual festive mood during the
polls was absent in most of the constituencies, rather fear gripped the voters.
“Who will ensure our security if
anything untoward happens,” Hamidul
Islam Chowdhury, a voter of Habiganj
3 constituency, told the Dhaka Tribune.
“People are afraid. We will not go to
the polling centres.”
A different scenario was there in Gopalganj. The Dhaka Tribune observed
a changed atmosphere at the eleventh
hour in Gopalganj constituencies because of the opposition leader Khaleda
Zia’s remarks on December 29 on Gopalganj, which is the home district of
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
Khaleda said the name of Gopalganj
would be changed. People of Gopalganj
reacted to her remarks angrily.
Following the remarks, people from
all walks of life in Gopalganj have been
gearing up for giving a sharp reply to
the comment through ballot.
They are also planning to cast more
than 95% vote. That is why it can boost
the number of total casting and ensure
the higher percentage of the country’s av-
erage vote casting, according to conversation with some locals and AL leaders.
“We have already made committees
for every centre to ensure a big turnout of voters. If any committees fail to
bring in more than 90% vote casting,
they must be held accountable,” Mahabub Ali Khan, joint secretary to the
district unit Awami League told the
Dhaka Tribune.
Meantime, grass roots BNP formed
election-resistance committees for every polling centre in all 147 constituencies as per the direction of BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia.
Some BNP leaders said these
committees had been working to discourage voters from going to polling
centres.
They would do the same thing today, added the leaders.
(Zahidul Islam contributed Reporting from Gopalganj and Emran Hossain
from Jessore) l
electoral activities because they have
been robbed of their voting rights.”
Media reports suggest that at least
88 polling centres around the country
have been torched allegedly by opposition activists in the two days before the
elections.
Leaders believe that they have been
successful with their all-out efforts to ensure poor voter turnout to make the elections controversial, from an early realisation they will not be able to prevent the
government from holding the elections.
“The government is overseeing the
elections unilaterally. This election has
already lost its credibility both internationally and nationally. Today people
will boycott the polls to say no to the
government. It is not possible to stay in
power forcefully,” Farruk said.
The BNP-led 18-party opposition
combine have deviated several times
from its initial stance, which it adopted in 2011 after the Awami League-led
government annulled the caretaker
government system through the 15th
amendment to the constitution.
Last year, the party dropped the
“caretaker” and started pressing the
government for a “neutral” polls-time
arrangement. Soon after, the opposition parties said they would not accept
Awami League President Sheikh Hasina
as the head of the polls-time cabinet.
Opposition leader Khaleda Zia even
came up with her own formula of an
interim government, which she said
could be formed with former members
of past caretaker governments.
The call for resisting the polls came
up only after they failed to avert announcement of schedule for the elections that they had already boycotted
and 153 candidates were elected unopposed soon after. l
Security, turnout biggest challenges
Mohammad Shahjahan, joint secretary
general of BNP, said the government
would have to come to the path of compromise soon after the election as it would
not be able to run the country in this way.
The protesters of today’s polls already
set fire to around 100 polling centres of
18208, torched ballot papers in different
places including the capital that deepened the sense of fear among voters to
think twice before going to vote centres.
At least one assistant presiding officer of a polling centre in Raipur of
Thakurgaon was killed and a few others were critically injured in separate
incidents of attacks last evening.
Some protesters also launched an
attack on some policemen in in the district and took away their arms.
Many other challenges remain in the
147 constituencies where vote will be
cast from 8am to 4pm today.
A 55-year-old man at Joypur village
of Monirampur upazila in Jessore said
he voted in all general elections since
he became a voter.
His identity is withheld for security
concerns as he has decided not to exercise his franchise in today’s election.
“I am from the Hindu community
living in a village where the minority
houses were set afire by Jamaat-Shibir
activists, who are against the election,”
said the man who always voted for
“boat”, except once, when he voted a
Jamaat candidate for the candidate’s
personal reputation for being honest.
“If I go to polling centre for casting
vote, their (Jamaat-Shibir) men will
identify me as an Awami League man,”
said the man.
Yet, if he does not go to vote, there
are chances that he will draw wrath
from the AL men for siding with Jamaat-Shibir.
It is a dilemma he had never faced,
and now he had been keeping his cell-
Many ifs feature BNP’s future plans
a democratic party. We have built a
public opinion against voting and our
election resistance committees around
the country have been working hard to
this end,” Mohammad Shahjahan, joint
secretary general of BNP, told the Dhaka Tribune.
Shahjahan is now at his home in
Noakhali, working to discourage the
people in his area from voting.
“We have campaigned at every
house to discourage the voters. We will
do the same tomorrow,” Shamsuzzoha
Khan, president of Naogaon district
BNP, told the Dhaka Tribune.
However, our Bogra correspondent
Hasibur Rahman Bilu reported that the
local leaders and activists of BNP had
not done anything like that. They resorted to widespread violence to scare
the voters and keep them away from
the polling centres.
When asked who were torching polling centres and attacking law enforcers
and election officials, BNP chairperson’s adviser Osman Farruk said no
opposition man was involved with the
violence. “The common people are expressing their anger by attacking the
DHAKA TRIBUNE
situation turns volatile again,” said
Govinda, during an interview with the
Dhaka Tribune on December 29.
Govinda said as many as 1,000 people, mostly Hindus, had left the country
through Bhomra land port on the day he
and one of his acquaintances left. There
were some Awami League activists too.
The number of people leaving their
homes increased in November and
December when over 16 people were
killed in violence as Satkhira remained
virtually cut off from rest of the country because of a Jamaat siege.
“Most of them have not returned
yet. Many are waiting in anticipation of
a political reconciliation, which seems
highly unlikely at this moment.”
Those stuck in India are having “difficult times” because of their lack of preparation for a long stay, Govinda said, adding
he himself had to change his addresses
four times and travel frequently. Many
went there without legal documents.
“Those who stayed back are keeping
an eye on the situation in the country.
Any sign of normalcy and then would
return straight home.”
Swapna, a resident in Kolaroa upazila, described how Jamaat-Shibir activists were bearing down on the Hindus.
“Hindu women have to suffer bullying almost on a daily basis. There is always someone telling them: ‘Who split
your forehead, dear Boudi [referring
to the red line married Hindu women
draw on their head]? Do you want us to
help you get across the river to India?’”
She said in order to avoid being bullied she had stopped drawing her marriage symbol and wearing attires typical of a Bangalee Hindu woman.
“Is it a sin to be born in Bangladesh?
My father’s home is in Noakhali and father-in-law lives in Chittagong. I hear it
[torture] is the same with the minority
people everywhere.”
She recalled the horrific nights when
the Jamaat-Shibir men went to Hindu
houses and asked parents to hand over
their daughters to them. “There is no
way to deal with such insanity."
Govinda and Swapna are two of a
community that had been waiting for
a stable situation with bated breath.
The elections would not mean anything to them unless order is restored
in the district. l
DHAKA TRIBUNE
AL campaigns
to save face
Reza Chowdhury and
n Kamran
Emran Hossain Shaikh
The ruling Awami League has initiated belated campaigns to convince the
maximum number of voters to cast
their votes amid fear that voter turnout
in the 147 constituencies may appear
embarrassing for it.
It has now become a key test for the
ruling party to ensure at least over 50%
turnout that would help the government to consolidate its authority after
the polls. Around 48% of the total voters will exercise their franchise today
as polls would not be held in 153 seats
where the candidates has been elected
uncontested.
In 1988, voter turnout was 51.8%
while it was 26.5% during the February
15, 1996 elections when there were no
polls in 10 constituencies.
The grassroots leaders are not interested in campaigning in the BNP
strongholds including Bogra and greater Noakhali districts where the AL leaders are either in hibernation or assembled in groups to protect them from the
attacks of the BNP-Jamaat activists.
The AL leaders in other areas have
been working hard to attract the voters
through door-to-door campaigns just
to get at least 50% turnout. They are
said to be arranging transportation facilities for the voters and have pledged
to protect them from attacks of the opposition men.
But the voters are hesitant to go to
the polling centres.
The AL leaders in the 147 constituencies were not active until the party’s
central leadership asked them to conduct campaigns mainly to increase the
voter turnout.
Subrata Das Shimul, AL general secretary of Dakkhinbagh union of Barolekha, Moulvibazar, told the Dhaka Tribune that they had been campaigning
in the villages and asking them to turn
up at the polls centres. The union has
around 19,000 voters.
Voting takes place in two out of the
four seats in the district.
Dakkhinbagh falls within Moulvibazar 1 constituency where the AL has
nominated Shahab Uddin as its candidate against the Jatiya Party’s (JaPa)
Ahmed Riyaz Uddin.
“We will go to every house tomorrow [Sunday] for increasing the number of voters as the BNP-Jamaat has
been intimidating the people. Besides,
we will provide rickshaws for the voters to reach the polling centres,” said
Subrata, whose shop was raged by the
opposition activists recently.
He said: “I think we will be able to
cast 60% votes against the party’s target of 50%.”
Faruk Ahmed Chowdhury, general
secretary of Jamalpur district AL, admitted that the people were in severe
panic in his area.
“We have been trying to allay the
fear of the voters belonging to the
pro-liberation forces. We have arranged
transportation facilities for them too.
Our target to see casting of up to 60%
votes,” he told the Dhaka Tribune.
He said the party had been mobilising the workforce as the BNP-Jamaat
voters would not come to the polling
centres.
“Bringing more people to the polling
centres will be better for the party and
the government. Therefore, we have
initiated the move to encourage the
voters,” Abdul Malek, general secretary
of AL’s Naogaon district unit and candidate from Naogaon 5 seat, told the
Dhaka Tribune.
He said the local leaders had been
asked to go to every house and pursue
them to cast their votes.
Elections would take place in three
constituencies out of six in the district,
a BNP-dominated area.
The situation is very difficult for
the ruling party in Bogra and greater
Noakhali, two strongholds of the opposition BNP and Jamaat.
The AL leaders have been very inactive there as the party has no candidate in the two of seven constituencies
where voting is set to take place.
“Our leaders are not enthusiastic
about the votes here as we have no
party candidates [for Bogra 7 constituency]. The Jatiya Party candidate will
get our votes. Let us see how we can
increase the voters’ presence,” Azam
Khan, president of Gabtali (BNP founder Ziaur Rahman’s village) unit of AL,
told the Dhaka Tribune.
The situation in Kahalu and Nandigram (Bogra 4) constituency is
similar to Gabtali, say the AL’s grassroots leaders.
Nazrul Islam, president of the AL’s
Joylashkarpur union under Daganbhuiyan upazila in Feni, said the upazila-level leaders had not passed to them
any instruction to increase turnout.
“They [the upazila AL] have formed a
bahini [team] which will work for taking
voters to the polling centres. Please ask
them, how they will do that. They have
not arranged any vehicular facilities for the
voters,” Nazrul told the Dhaka Tribune.
He said the AL and its front organisations had been working in favour of
JaPa candidate Rintu Anwar in Feni 3
constituency.
Jyonti Rani Sardar, women affairs
secretary of the AL’s Dakop upazila,
Khulna, told the Dhaka Tribune that
the Khulna 1 constituency (Dakop-Batiaghata) had not witnessed any violence
as it was a Hindu-dominated area.
AL candidate Panchanan Bishwas
is facing immediate past MP Noni Gopal Mondal (independent) and JaPa’s
Shunil Shubho Roy.
“Hopefully, we will see 75% vote cast
in our constituency. All the candidates
are doing their campaigns peacefully,”
said. Out of the total 1,08,000 voters in
Dakop, around 60,000 are Hindus.
Shahriar Alam, AL candidate for Rajshahi 6 seat, said he had ensured that
the voters get rickshaw vans to reach
the voting centres.
“Besides that, our workers will cook
food tonight [Saturday] around the
polling centres so that no attackers can
harm the centres. Again, our ward-level
workers have been campaigning doorto-door,” he told the Dhaka Tribune.
Our correspondents report that the
turnout in Faridpur 4 seat and three
others in Gopalganj districts is likely
to be higher following opposition chief
Khaleda Zia’s remark about the name of
Gopalganj. l
News
ALfights itself
in 30 seats
n Emran Hossain Shaikh
There will be tough competition in 30
seats in the 10th parliamentary elections today, among Awami League candidates and the party’s rebels. Central
leaders and ministers like Matia Chowdhury and Kazi Jafar Ullah are going
head to head against fellow party leaders in the polls.
The 104 independents contesting in
the elections are mostly Awami League
leaders, and at least seven of them are
current and former MPs. Around 70
Awami League nominees are facing rebel candidates.
Voters said Awami League presidium members Kazi Jafar Ullah, Mostafa
Jalal Mohiuddin, Agriculture Minister
Matia Chowdhury and State Minister
for Home Shamsul Haque Tuku were
the ones facing the toughest competitions from rebels.
Jafar Ullah is facing independent
candidate Mujibur Rahman Chowdhury alias Nixon Chowdhury at Faridpur 4 constituency.
Matia Chowdhury, party candidate
for Sherpur 2, is facing Badiuzzaman
Badsha, Chairman of Nalitabari upazila
and vice-president of Krishak League.
Former AL MP Haji Mohammad
Selim is vying as an independent against
Mostafa Jalal Mohiuddin in Dhaka 7.
State Minister for Home Shamsul
Haque Tuku facing former state minister
Abu Sayeed, known as a reformist in the
party, in Pabna 1. In Narail 2 and Satkhira 1,
ruling ally Workers Party’s candidates are
facing Awami League rebel candidates. l
3
RESULTS OF ALL PARLIAMENTARY POLLS AT A GLANCE
Election Year
Parties
1973
1979
1986
1988
1991
1996 (15 Feb)
1996
2001
2008
2014
14
29
28
8
75
41
81
54
38
12
1,192
2,787
1,450
2,574
1,939
1,567
390 [in 147 seats]
153
Candidates 1,209 2,547 1,980
Unopposed
11
11
0
18
0
49
0
0
0
Turnout(%)
55.6
51.3
66.3
51.8
55.5
26.5
75
75.6
87.13
AL
BNP
JP
JP
BNP
BNP
AL
BNP
AL
Winner
Tarique: Do not
wait for any
directive
In a rare video address to the nation
from exile, opposition leader Khaleda
Zia’s eldest son Tarique Rahman, also
senior vice-chairman of BNP, urged
people to rise above “petty interests
and put in all-out efforts” to resist todayu’s “farcical” polls.
The five-minute video that was circulated in social media yesterday, was
not his first. A similar message was circulated during the last national council
of BNP in 2008.
Tarique has been living in London
since 2008.
Before going into “exile,” he had
promised that he would not get involved in any political activity. However, last year, Tarique elaborated his
future plans in a programme in London
marking the launching of a book written by him.
Cylinder blast kills 1
n Kailash Sarkar
But [certain] political
elements are using the
relations to serve their narrow
personal and party interests
A housewife was killed and a youth injured in gas cylinder explosion in East
Daniya of Jatrabari area in the capital
last night.
The deceased was identified as Josna Begum, 35, wife Mosharraf Hossain
alias Phoolchan.
Jatrabari Police Station Officer-inCharge Rafiqul Islam said Josna had
fallen victim while she had been coming
out from the 2nd floor of her building. l
Jamaat-Shibir ‘ready to foil’ elections
n Tribune Report
Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami has instructed all its party offices across the
country to resist people from going to
their respective polling centres, said
sources in the party.
“The Jamaat-Shibir activists would
remain active on the field to foil the
polls for the sake of saving Islam,” said
a leader of the party.
Meanwhile, more than 100 polling
centres were reportedly torched yesterday until 9pm.
A number of Jamaat leaders claimed
the activists were going door to door to
convince voters not to go to the polling
centres to cast votes for “saving Islam
and democracy.”
“The central committee has instructed our leaders and activists to
coordinate with BNP activists and take
position at the polling centres where
Jamaat has strong connections,” a Jamaat leader told the Dhaka Tribune
wishing anonymity.
The central committee of Jamaat
had instructed its activists to form
“poll resistance committees” with BNP
in all the constituencies at zilla, thana,
upazila, union and wards to foil the
polls, however, many of the Jamaat activists were yet to form such committee, according to the sources
The Jamaat-Shibir men also have
threatened to make a list of those who will
go to the polling centres in several constituencies including Satkhira 1, an area considered to be stronghold of Jamaat.
In last few days, the main opposition
parties including BNP and Jamaat went on
a rampage to thwart the “one-sided 10th
parliamentary election” to be held today.
Fourteen-party alliance candidate
in Satkhira 1 Mostafa Lutfullah alleged
that some Jamaat activists hiding faces
behind masks brought out a procession
in Jalalabad area in Satkhira 1 on Friday
night. They chanted slogans against
the election.
“The local administration did not
take any step against them even after
being informed,” he said.
Independent candidate of the same
constituency SM Mojibur Rahman alleged that Jamaat men had been threatening voters in different areas for not
going to the polling centres.
He demanded that law enforcement
agencies be more active in the violence-prone areas.
Many people from the minor communities have already left Satkhira sadar in the wake of the violence broken
out by Jamaat in Satkhira 2 in February
last year.
“Still Jamaat-Shibir activists are
threatening the minorities and those
who have left are yet to return to their
homes out of fear,” said a leader of Hindu-Buddha-Christian Oikya Parishad
on condition of anonymity.
Another 11-party candidate Mir Mostaque Ahmed and independent candidate Saiful Karim demanded the law
enforcement agencies to pay special
attention to Jamaat-dominated areas.
“The supporters of liberation war
will go to the polling centres if assurance is given by the local administration,” Mostaque said.l
He was arrested in 2007 in the anti-graft
crackdown of the then military-backed
caretaker government. Before going
to London, he secured bail in all the
16 cases filed against him. Recently, a
Dhaka court acquitted Tarique from a
major money-laundering case.
Branding the ongoing movement
as the one for “restoring democracy,”
Tarique said in the video message: “It
is time to wage all-out efforts. No more
waiting for any direction.
From today the only target is to resist the autocratic government and the
farcical polls at any cost burying the all
small differences.”
Claiming that his mother Khaleda
Zia had been placed on “house arrest,”
Tarique hinted that the law enforcers
might have to face trial in future for
what he said was going “against the
people of the country” by siding with
the “autocratic” government.
Pointing fingers at a neighboring
country, Tarique said the relations with
that country could have been one of
“mutual welfare and understanding.”
“But [certain] political elements are using the relations to serve their narrow
personal and party interests.”
The BNP senior vice chairman also said
the deep crisis prevailing in the country
had posed a question whether the constitution was for the people or whether the
people were for the constitution.
Tarique’s message comes only a day
after Khaleda Zia had issued a statement on Friday asking people to join
in boycotting and resisting the “farcical” polls. l
Many voters indifferent in Tuku’s seat Fear of ‘uncontested’ fake votes
n Abu Bakar Siddique, from Pabna
A large number of voters at Pabna’s
Bera and Santhia upazilas have expressed their unwillingness to cast
ballots in today’s parliamentary polls,
saying the “one-sided” election meant
nothing to them.
“This is not a national election, rather it should be called as the election of
Awami League where the main contest
is between an incumbent and a former
Awami League MP”, said Mohammad
Shafi, a resident of Dowlatpur village
of Santhia upazila, which is known as a
hub of Jamaat-e-Islami because former
ameer of the party Motitur Rahman
Nizami hailed from there.
The reluctance to vote is evident in
the absence of festive election mood in
the Pabna 1 constituency, which consists Bera and Santhia upazilas.
Shafi also said the common people
had no interest in the kind of election which had no future, adding that
everybody – except a few party men –
were busy with their livelihoods.
Regarding popularity among the
voters, independent candidate Prof
Abu Sayeed was leading the race ahead
of incumbent lawmaker Awami League
candidate Shamsul Haque Tuku.
Talking to over a hundred people
in the constituency, the Dhaka Trib-
une found that most were uninterested about the polls. Many of the locals
however said if they were to vote, they
would choose Sayeed, who was a former state minister for information.
“If the election turns out to be fair, I
hope Abu Sayeed will be elected,” said
Joynal Abedin, a voter from Nakalia
village. He however added that the results were uncertain as Shamsul Haque
Tuku – the incumbent state minister
for home – controlled the law enforcement agencies.
The locals also claimed that they
were refraining from supporting the incumbent lawmaker because he served
his own interest instead of serving the
people.
“He [Tuku] did nothing for the locality, rather Tuku engaged himself
to earn wealth in different ways,” said
Mobarak Hossain, a tea-stall owner at
Koromja Bazar of Bera, adding that Sayeed was far better than Tuku.
Tuku did not bear the weight to be a
lawmaker, another voter Faruk Hossain
from Sharisha village claimed. People voted for Tuku in the previous election because of the wave of change promised by
the Awami League and because Sayeed –
the lawmaker elected in the 1996 elections
– did not get AL nomination, he added.
However, some workers of Tuku’s
election office were seen yesterday
morning to persuade people to cast
vote for the candidate.
On the other hand, Sayeed expressed concerns of failing in his election bid, as the local police were allegedly working on behalf of Tuku.
Three officers-in-charge of Bera,
Santhia and Ataikula police stations
were closed on Friday by a special order from the Election Commission, following allegations from Sayeed.
The supporters of Sayeed were also
reportedly harassed by Tuku’s followers in different ways including the
filing of lawsuits, Ishrafil Alam, a supporter of Sayeed said.
With the election race lacking any
opposition candidate, including former
Jamaat chief Nizami who was twice
elected lawmaker from the constituency in 1991 and 2001, rumours suggested
that the opposition activists secretly
supported Sayeed because they wanted Tuku to fail.
Rais Uddin, secretary of Bera upazila unit of BNP, however told the Dhaka
Tribune that they were boycotting the
election and would no way support anybody from Awami League.
Mostafizur Rahman Firoz, acting
ameer of Santhia upazila Jamaat, also
denied allegations of extending support to any candidate, and said no Jamaat worker will join the polls. l
Traditionally, polling agents of contenders challenge each other and also
suspicious voters to make sure that nobody casts fake votes during elections.
But this year, because of the opposition boycott, there will not be any polling agent at the centres to challenge
the agents of those candidates, who are
contesting the elections.
Experts have said the EC’s main
challenge will be ensuring a healthy
voter turnout and give the polls credibility amid apprehension that the ruling parties – the only contenders this
time – may adopt unfair means.
They said ensuring credibility was
also mandatory for the Awami Leagueled ruling combine because of the opposition boycott and the absence of
reputed international observers.
One way of doing that could be
showing substantial voter presence
although until a day before the elections, many voters from different
social classes were undecided about
going to the polling centres fearing violence, experts said.
Torching of polling centres and
attacks on law enforces and election
officials on the eve of the election day
would only reinforce the prevailing
fear, they said.
In a video clip that has reached jour-
nalists via the agent of an independent
candidate in the Jessore 1 constituency, Awami League leader Afil Uddin
can be seen telling his supporters: “Do
not leave the field vacant. A hundred
of our [Awami League] supporters will
be present at every voting centre. They
will go to the booths to cast vote and
queue up again for voting once more.
This will go on over and over again. It
will create an impression among observers and journalists that many voters have gathered to cast their votes.”
Afil is the uncontested-elected lawmaker from the Jessore 2 seat who had
been campaigning for his fellow party
ticket-holder in the Jessore 1 constituency.
“Usually, the polling agents of con-
tenders challenge a voter if they suspect something fishy. But it will not be
possible to perfectly identify the voters
from their pictures only,” Rokhsana
Khondker, steering committee member of the Election Working Group, told
the Dhaka Tribune.
“Since there is no opposition side
in these elections, challenging of fake
voters will not take place at the polling
centres,” former election commissioner Brig Gen (retd) M Sakhawat Hossain
told the Dhaka Tribune.
Hossain also said to what extent it
would be possible for the election officials to remain “neutral” would be a big
question because the ruling party leaders had been desperate to show huge
voter turnouts. l
4
DHAKA TRIBUNE
News
Dhaka 17 voters unaware of
candidates, symbols
Hayat Mahmud and
n Abu
Md Sanaul Islam Tipu
The residents of Dhaka-17 constituency, which comprises the posh neighbourhoods of Banani, Gulshan and
Dhaka Cantonment, have no interest in
the one-sided 10th parliamentary polls
and most voters of the area said they
would not go out to vote today.
Many voters told the Dhaka Tribune
yesterday evening that they had no information on the candidates vying for
the seat or their election symbols.
The voters also claimed that the
candidates did not run adequate campaigns or meet with the locals. Some
also said they had no idea that polls
would be held in their area or where the
polling centres were.
“Polls are being held in our area? I
did not know,” said Jubaida Begum,
owner of a tea stall at Banani Road 17.
“Even if the polls are held tomorrow, I
will not go to vote.”
Since the incumbent lawmaker and
Jatiya Party chief HM Ershad withdrew
his candidature, three new aspirants
have entered the race.
The new faces on the ballot paper include Abdul Latif Mallick of Jatiya Party
(Manju) with “bicycle” symbol, SM Abul
Kalam Azad of newly-floated Bangladesh Nationalist Front with “television”
and independent candidate MA Hannan
Mridha, whose symbol is “football”.
The ruling Awami League did not field
any candidate as it had earmarked the
seat for Ershad, while the BNP-led opposition parties are boycotting the polls.
The candidates who are running,
meanwhile, seem to have failed to create much enthusiasm among the voters.
“In every (past) parliamentary election, I have gone to vote with special
interest. But this year, I will not go to
the polling centre as I have no interest
in the one-sided polls,” said Ashique
Anowar, a school teacher and Banani
resident. “The polls have not obtained
support from all over the world, so how
can I go to cast my vote?”
“I know another election will be
held within a little time just after the
polls tomorrow, so why should I go to
cast my vote spending my vehicle fuel
for this one-sided polls?” he added.
Ashique also said he did not know
the names nor the symbols of the three
new candidates. “None of the candidates and their supporters came to my
house with voter slips and leaflets like
in previous polls,” he added.
Md Dulal, an electrician who lives
inside the cantonment, said he would
not be going to the polling centre for
fear of possible violence.
Belal Hossain, a resident of Gulshan
1, also said he would not cast his ballot
this time, although he had voted in almost every national election from 1991
to 2008. l
Arson in ‘polling
centre’ shatters
children’s dream
n Our Correspondent, Lakshmipur
Students of Rosulpur Primary School
under Ramganj upazila of the district became heartbroken as their new
books were burned to ashes yesterday.
According to sources, activists of
18-party alliance allegedly set fire to
the school at night in order to foil today’s election as the school was selected as polling center.
The fire burned 1,100 books, six
pairs of benches and a chair.
The fire also shattered dreams of the
students as they did not get new books
in their new classes.
The teachers were supposed to provide the books among the students on
January 2 as they had to attend training sessions for today’s election. But
they could not provide the books as the
school was torched.
Arafat Hossain, a fourth-grade student of the school, went to the school
with the hope for getting new books.
But he became heartbroken because of
the incident.
Nusrat, Minhaj, Shampa, Pria and
others echoed Arafat.
Sahena Akter, Abul Kalam, Anwar
Hosain, Jahanra Begum, guardians of
the students, also expressed frustration over the incident.
Nurunnahar, the headmistress of
the school, said “We have become disappointed likewise the students as we
could not provide the books among
them.”
Deputy Commissioner AKM Mizanur Rahman, Police Superintendent
Abul Foyej, district Primary Education
Officer Nurul Islam and upazila Primary Education Officer Nabir Uddin
visited the spot.
District Primary Education Officer
Nurul Islam says a demand letter has
been sent to the directorate seeking
books and benches.
We hope we can provide the students with new books within a couple
of days, he says. l
WEATHER
Dry weather likely
n UNB
Weather may remain dry with partly
cloudy sky over the country until 6pm
today.
Light to moderate fog might occur
over the country during midnight till
morning, Met Office said.
Night and day temperature may
remain nearly unchanged over the
country. The sun sets in the capital at
5:25pm today and rises at 6:43am tomorrow.
Country’s highest temperature 25.6
degree Celsius was recorded at Chittagong and lowest 6.6 degrees at Chuadanga yesterday. Highest and lowest
temperatures recorded in some major
cities yesterday were:
City
High
Low
Dhaka
Chittagong
Rajshahi
Rangpur
Khulna
Barisal
Sylhet
Cox’s Bazar
22.5
25.6
22.3
20.5
22.8
22.8
24.9
24.5
13.5
15.0
08.5
11.4
11.6
10.2
11.0
15.5
PRAYER TIMES
Fajar
Sunrise
Zohr
Asr
Magrib
Esha
5:22am
6:41am
12:04am
3:49pm
5:25pm
6:46pm
Source: IslamicFinder.org
A number of ballot boxes stacked at MA Aziz Stadium premises in Chittagong under police surveillance yesterday
DHAKA TRIBUNE
Rajshahi voters
confused, panicked
Jamil Khan,
n Mohammad
from Rajshahi
The voters in Rajshahi division’s two
constituencies – Rajshahi 3 and Rajshahi 6 – allege that the opposition
supporters are threatening them not go
to the polling centres today while the
Awami League candidates have been
asking them to exercise their franchise
fearlessly.
Moreover, the persistent incidents
of violent clashes and attack on polling centres to thwart the polls have put
them in a dilemma about the voting.
According to district Election Officer
Saiful Islam, there are 3,19,698 voters
in Rajshahi 3 constituency and in Rajshahi 6 election area, it is 2,73,000.
The number of female voters is almost
half. The polls will be held at 180 polling centres in the two seats.
In both the constituencies, the ALnominated MP aspirants are ahead of their
contending independent candidates.
Reports of threatening the voters
came from Bagha and Charghat area.
Police said they were receiving complaints from Nimpara, Halua, Patiakandi, Bagubagha, Chatari and Monipur
union saying they were instructed not
to go to cast votes.
Confirming the incident, Khandokar
Golam Mortoza, officer-in-charge of
Charghat police station, told the Dhaka
Tribune that they were trying to trace
the criminals.
Many among the Hindu communities of the area are also in fear. Pulak
Chowdhury, a resident of Bagha area,
said they had been frightened over
the reports of attack on polling centres
across the country. “Moreover, some
people cut down trees and attacked
our houses in Habashpur area recently
but no one had the courage to file any
cases,” he told the Dhaka Tribune.
“If we go to cast votes and anything
happens to us, who will take the responsibility?” Pulak asked.
In this regard, Abul Khayer, officer-incharge of Bagha police station, told the
Dhaka Tribune that patrol teams were
active in the area while the joint forces
had also been deployed. He claimed that
the situation was under control.
Meanwhile, some voters think about
CHT people take on
challenge to cast vote
Postal ballot ignored
n Adil Sakhawat
Ignorance surrounding the postal ballot
voting system, added with the Election
Commission’s lack of initiative to publicise the procedure, is causing at least
600,000 election-related officials and
many expatriates to be deprived from
their voting rights every election year.
Voting through a normal process
is not an option for most of the public
servants, law enforcers, teachers and
other officials, who are involved with
the election process and are deputed to
different places away from where they
are enlisted as voters.
Bangladeshi missions abroad are also
in the dark about the postal ballot voting system, while most of the 80 lakh
Bangladeshi expatriates are not voters.
According to Deputy Commissioner
of Dhaka Shaikh Yusuf Harun, the Election Commission has a provision of taking postal votes by sending postal ballots to the interested officers or persons.
The postal ballot is sent to an interested person, after they submit an
People in CHT areas are facing problems to reach polling centres as it takes
a long time to reach the voting stations
crossing the bumpy roads from their
abode.
The voters are in a festive mood
about polls though they have to face
trouble to reach polling centres.
Mrinal Kanti Tripura, independent
candidate of Khagrachhari told the
Dhaka Tribune, “As this area is very
impassable, voters will face trouble to
reach the voting stations. They have to
approach the centres on foot only.”
Many voters have already gone to
their relatives’ houses, close to polling
centres, the day before polls only to
cast vote, he said.
About the pre-election violence,
Mrinal told the Dhaka Tribune his
family were detained by the United
People’s Democratic Front (UPDF) men
two days before polls and later released
UP chairman
murdered
n Tribune Report
Awami League leader and acting chairman of Dhamalia union parishad in
Dumuria upazil of Khulna was killed
yesterday.
Locals said acting chairman Shahidul Islam came out of his residence
around 11:30am as some people called
him out. Miscreants shot him there and
fled from the scene. Locals rushed him
to Khulna Medical College Hospital but
Shahidul succumbed to his injuries on
the way to hospital.
Local AL activists detained Shohan,
a Shibir activist, in connection of the
killing. They handed him over to police. Later he died in a cross-fire. Police
recovered arms, bullets and bombs
from the spot.
Officer-in-Charge of Dumuria police
station Shah Mohammad Awlad Hossain said Shohan informed police that
some fellow members were waiting in a
field named Napitar Math. Police went
to the spot and the miscreants opened
fire. Shohan shot dead on the spot. Two
police members were injured in the
cross-fire. l
following negotiations with them.
Voters in Rangamati are also in a festive mood ahead of the election, but
those living in the inaccessible areas
came near polling centres the day before polls.
'As this area is very
impassable, voters will
face trouble to reach the
voting stations. They have
to approach the centres on
foot only,' says Khagrachhari
independent candidate
Independent candidate Ushatan Talukdar of Rangamati alleged that the voters had been facing harassment by the
UPDF members.
Ushatan also alleged that Awami
league activists were continuously
threatening his agent in the area.
“My supporters were more than
other candidates in this constituency,”
he said. l
Karim and
n Mohosinul
Rabiul Islam
application to the returning officer of
the concerned area 15 days prior to the
election date. The applicant will then
resend the ballot to the returning officer after casting his vote confidentially,
the Dhaka DC said.
The returning officer will send the
postal ballot to the EC and it will be
counted for the aspirants for whom the
officer or person will give their vote, he
added.
“We are yet to receive a single application. Nobody is interested to give
such votes as most of them are not
aware about the system. They would
be interested, if the commission takes
any initiative to create public awareness in this regard,” the Dhaka DC said.
Deputy Secretary Piyar Mohammad
said: “Though they have an option to
cast their votes by postal ballots, most
of the officers are not interested to do
it. There is no publicity in this regard.
As a result, around 600,000 voters cannot cast their votes every election year.”
Senior Assistant Secretary Nurul
Karim Bhuiyan, who is now in Patuakhali on election duty, said: “I have never
38 injured as RMG workers-police clash
n Tarek Mahmud, Chittagong
At least 38 people, including eight policemen, were injured in a clash between readymade garment workers
and police near the Chittagong Export
Processing Zone yesterday.
Police and local sources said workers had vandalised two RMG factories
– Section Seven and Section Apparels
– five vehicles, and torched a motorcycle at the CEPZ intersection around
10am. They were demanding the immediate implementation of the newly
announced wage board.
Arifur Rahman Arif, inspector (intelligence) of Industrial Police in Chittagong, told the Dhaka Tribune that
around 8,000 RMG workers locked into
clashes with the police when they tried
to disperse the agitated workers. Eight
policemen had sustained injuries during the clash, he added.
The situation was brought under
control after additional police from the
EPZ police station went to the scene and
fired blank rounds and conducted baton charges, Mostak Ahmed, additional
deputy commissioner of Port Zone of
Chittagong Metropolitan Police said.
The workers claimed that at least 30
of them received injuries because of
the police action.
Later, RMG factory owners, the
workers’ body, officials from Bangladesh Export Processing Zone Authorities and law enforcement agencies
conducted a meeting and decided to
implement the new wage board for
workers bywithin January 9, the ADC
said.
After receiving the assurance, the
workers withdrew their demonstration
around 1:30pm. l
Garment workers of Section Seven Garment Factory stage demonstration yesterday,
demanding salaries under new structure
DHAKA TRIBUNE
casting the ballots or else they would
be marked as activists of any political
party opposing the polls.
Abdu Sabur, a resident of Bagha area,
told the Dhaka Tribune: “We fall in
traps. If we do not go to poling centres
then the Awami League will treat us as
BNP men while if we vote, the BNP will
treat us as Awami League supporters.”
Local AL leaders said they were prepared to ensure a peaceful election.
Abdus Salam, president of AL’s Mohonpur upazila unit, told the Dhaka
Tribune that the activists and leaders
would be present on the streets. “If
anyone tries to create any barrier for
the voters, the party activists will help
the law enforcers taking action.”
Aspirants hopeful
In the two seats of the division, both
the strong candidates belong to the
Awami League and they hope to win
the polls.
According to district returning office, AL-nominated Shahriar Alam is
participating in the polls with boat
symbol from Rajshahi 6 seat while former ruling party lawmaker Raihanul
Haque as independent candidate with
butterfly as his election symbol.
Contacted, Shahriar told the Dhaka
Tribune: “I have worked in the area for
the last five years and the people also
love me so much. Learning all these
about me, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has given me the nomination.”
He hoped that the voters would reject those who were working for their
personal interests and took their position against the AL.
In Rajshahi 3, district AL President
Meraz Uddin Mollah, who was elected
as an MP in 2008 elections, is contesting as independent candidate since the
party nominated Ayne Uddin.
Meraz, told the Dhaka Tribune: “I
have sacrificed many things for the party
and worked for the development of the
area. Despite these, the party did not give
me the nomination. For this reason, on
request of the local people, I am participating in the polls as an MP candidate.”
He asked the people to exercise their
voting rights not considering the election symbol of the candidates but their
activities. l
heard that any officer applied to any returning officer for casting his votes by
postal ballots. I am also not interested
to do so.”
Asked about publicity surrounding
postal ballots, the EC Secretary Mohammad Sadique refused to comment
saying he was “very busy.”
Lack of awareness about the postal
ballot system also failed to create enthusiasm among expatriates living
abroad.
Bangladesh Ambassador to the UAE
Mohammad Imran said: “We have not
received any letter from Bangladeshi
expatriates for giving vote by post.”
“I have no knowledge about postal
ballot and we have no such activities,”
Labour Counsellor to Riyadh Emdadul
Hoque told the Dhaka Tribune.
Shajahan Bhuiyan, a Bangladeshi expatriate in Saudi Arabia, said: “We are not
voters and the government has not made
us voters, which is our big demand”.
Mohiuddin Babul, a Bangladeshi
businessman in South Africa, said: “We
do not know anything about postal
ballot.” l
AL man violates
domestic help
n Our Correspondent, Rajbari
A domestic help was allegedly raped by
a local Awami League leader in Rajbari
district on Saturday.
Sources said Siraj Mandal, 45, son
of Tasel Mandal in Barabanglot village
under Koshbamajail union of Pangsha
upazila had raped the maid while she
had been working in his house. Siraj is
the AL joint- secretary of the union.
When contacted, Pangsha Police
Station Sub-inspector (SI) Nizam Uddin
confirmed the incident.
Police sources also said the house
help had been working in the house of
Siraj for a long time and he tried to develop an illicit relation with her.
Locals formed a human chain in
front of Pangsha Press Club protesting
the incident. l
Special
DHAKA TRIBUNE
Map of Constituencies
1
2
4
16
12
3
13
6
5
14
15
9
7
8
21
44
45
52
27
29
24
31
34
32
35
48
49
43
26
22
23
10
11
46
18
19
20
47
25
17
50
30
33
41
39
42
138
139
37
38
28
36
140
141
5
NO VOTING
004
007
013
015
017
019
020
023
026
027
033
034
035
036
037
038
040
041
043
045
046
047
051
052
053
055
Thakurgaon-2
Dinajpur-2
Nilphamari-2
Nilphamari-4
Lalmonirhat-2
Rangpur-1
Rangpur-2
Rangpur-5
Kurigram-2
Kurigram-3
Gaibandha-5
Joypurhat-1
Joypurhat-2
Bogra-1
Bogra-2
Bogra-3
Bogra-5
Bogra-6
Chapainawabganj-1
Chapainawabganj-3
Naogaon-1
Naogaon-2
Naogaon-6
Rajshahi-1
Rajshahi-2
Rajshahi-4
145
143
142
144
056
058
059
061
062
063
064
065
067
069
071
072
076
085
087
093
095
096
097
102
103
104
107
108
112
114
Rajshahi-5
Natore-1
Natore-2
Natore-4
Sirajganj-1
Sirajganj-2
Sirajganj-3
Sirajganj-4
Sirajganj-6
Pabna-2
Pabna-4
Pabna-5
Kushtia-2
Jessore-1
Jessore-3
Narail-1
Bagerhat-1
Bagerhat-2
Bagerhat-3
Khulna-4
Khulna-5
Khulna-6
Satkhira-3
Satkhira-4
Patuakhali-2
Patuakhali-4
146
157
147 161
150 149
115
118
119
123
124
126
127
128
130
132
133
136
137
140
146
147
149
150
153
154
160
161
162
163
165
166
Bhola-1
Bhola-4
Barisal-1
Barisal-5
Barisal-6
Jhalkathi-2
Pirojpur-1
Pirojpur-2
Tangail-1
Tangail-3
Tangail-4
Tangail-7
Tangail-8
Jamalpur-3
Mymensingh-1
Mymensingh-2
Mymensingh-4
Mymensingh-5
Mymensingh-8
Mymensingh-9
Netrokona-4
Netrokona-5
Kishoreganj-1
Kishoreganj-2
Kishoreganj-4
Kishoreganj-5
224
167
169
170
173
175
176
181
182
183
184
185
186
187
192
193
194
195
196
198
202
203
205
206
207
208
209
Kishoreganj-6
Manikganj-2
Manikganj-3
Munshiganj-3
Dhaka-2
Dhaka-3
Dhaka-8
Dhaka-9
Dhaka-10
Dhaka-11
Dhaka-12
Dhaka-13
Dhaka-14
Dhaka-19
Dhaka-20
Gazipur-1
Gazipur-2
Gazipur-3
Gazipur-5
Narsingdi-4
Narsingdi-5
Narayanganj-2
Narayanganj-3
Narayanganj-4
Narayanganj-5
Rajbari-1
160
228
225
226
230 231
Panchagarh-1
Panchagarh-2
Thakurgaon-1
Thakurgaon-3
Dinajpur-1
Dinajpur-3
Dinajpur-4
Dinajpur-5
Dinajpur-6
Nilphamari-1
Nilphamari-3
Lalmonirhat-1
Lalmonirhat-3
Rangpur-3
Rangpur-4
Rangpur-6
Kurigram-1
Kurigram-4
Gaibandha-1
Gaibandha-2
Gaibandha-3
260
261
262
263
264
265
266
268
269
270
271
272
275
276
278
282
283
284
285
287
291
294
295
296
Chandpur-1
Chandpur-2
Chandpur-3
Chandpur-4
Chandpur-5
Feni-1
Feni-2
Noakhali-1
Noakhali-2
Noakhali-3
Noakhali-4
Noakhali-5
Lakshmipur-2
Lakshmipur 3
Chittagong-1
Chittagong-5
Chittagong-6
Chittagong-7
Chittagong-8
Chittagong-10
Chittagong-14
Cox’s Bazar-1
Cox’s Bazar-2
Cox’s Bazar-3
233
229
234
159
235
153
40
62
55
151 152
154
131
237
60
240 239
164
64
54
132
236
165
56 59
162
63
155
53
156
133
238
65
241
137
61
163
66 134
166
57 58
70
242
243
196
67
197
202
167
71
135 136 194
244
68
75
201
189 190
72
198
245
195
76
193
200 203
170
192
168
188
69
247
199
74
191
187
78
184
77
204
187
246
248
2
05
73
169
184
209
210
175 178
186
79
251
206
81
182
176
250
174
185 181
213
208
82
171
252 253
91
180
173 249
80
179
254
214
211
172
255
212
177
261 260
84
256
221
218
92
83
222
215 219
264 257 259
88
94
262263
298
86 87
258
274
223
265
220
216
268
85
217
93
269
89
266
275
119
270
276
267
122
105 90
101 102 95
120 121
299
278
103 100
272
279
106
123
115
128
271
277
96 127
126
116
125
124
280 281282
107
293
283
112
99
111
286 284
273
117
129
287 289
98
288 290
104
113
97
109
118
110
286 285
108
292 291
114
295
287
300
294
51
130
295
VOTING
001
002
003
005
006
008
009
010
011
012
014
016
018
021
022
024
025
028
029
030
031
Rajbari-2
Faridpur-1
Faridpur-2
Faridpur-3
Madaripur-1
Madaripur-2
Madaripur-3
Shariatpur-1
Shariatpur-2
Shariatpur-3
Sunamganj-2
Sunamganj-4
Sylhet-1
Sylhet-3
Sylhet-5
Sylhet-6
Maulvibazar-3
Maulvibazar-4
Habiganj-1
Brahmanbaria-4
Brahmanbaria-6
Comilla-2
Comilla-7
Comilla-8
Comilla-10
Comilla-11
232
227
158
148
210
211
212
213
218
219
220
221
222
223
225
227
229
231
233
234
237
238
239
246
248
250
255
256
258
259
032
039
042
044
048
049
050
054
057
060
066
068
070
073
074
075
077
078
079
080
081
Gaibandha-4
Bogra-4
Bogra-7
Chapainawabganj-2
Naogaon-3
Naogaon-4
Naogaon-5
Rajshahi-3
Rajshahi-6
Natore-3
Sirajganj-5
Pabna-1
Pabna-3
Meherpur-1
Meherpur-2
Kushtia-1
Kushtia-3
Kushtia-4
Chuadanga-1
Chuadanga-2
Jhenaidah-1
082
083
084
086
088
089
090
091
092
094
098
099
100
101
105
106
109
110
111
113
116
Jhenaidah-2
Jhenaidah-3
Jhenaidah-4
Jessore-2
Jessore-4
Jessore-5
Jessore-6
Magura-1
Magura-2
Narail-2
Bagerhat-4
Khulna-1
Khulna-2
Khulna-3
Satkhira-1
Satkhira-2
Barguna-1
Barguna-2
Patuakhali-1
Patuakhali-3
Bhola-2
117
120
121
122
125
129
131
134
135
138
139
141
142
143
144
145
148
151
152
155
156
Bhola-3
Barisal-2
Barisal-3
Barisal-4
Jhalakathi-1
Pirojpur-3
Tangail-2
Tangail-5
Tangail-6
Jamalpur-1
Jamalpur-2
Jamalpur-4
Jamalpur-5
Sherpur-1
Sherpur-2
Sherpur-3
Mymensingh-3
Mymensingh-6
Mymensingh-7
Mymensingh-10
Mymensingh-11
157
158
159
164
168
171
172
174
177
178
179
180
188
189
190
191
197
199
200
201
204
Netrokona-1
Netrokona-2
Netrokona-3
Kishoreganj-3
Manikganj-1
Munshiganj-1
Munshiganj-2
Dhaka-1
Dhaka-4
Dhaka-5
Dhaka-6
Dhaka-7
Dhaka-15
Dhaka-16
Dhaka-17
Dhaka-18
Gazipur-4
Narsingdi-1
Narsingdi-2
Narsingdi-3
Narayanganj-1
296
214
215
216
217
224
226
228
230
232
235
236
240
241
242
243
244
245
247
249
251
252
Faridpur-4
Gopalganj-1
Gopalganj-2
Gopalganj-3
Sunamganj-1
Sunamganj-3
Sunamganj-5
Sylhet-2
Sylhet-4
Moulvibazar-1
Maulvibazar-2
Habiganj-2
Habiganj-3
Habiganj-4
Brahmanbaria-1
Brahmanbaria-2
Brahmanbaria-3
Brahmanbaria-5
Comilla-1
Comilla-3
Comilla-4
253
254
256
257
267
273
274
277
279
280
281
286
288
289
290
292
293
297
298
299
300
Comilla-5
Comilla-6
Comilla-8
Comilla-9
Feni-3
Noakhali-6
Lakshmipur-1
Lakshmipur-4
Chittagong-2
Chittagong-3
Chittagong-4
Chittagong-9
Chittagong-11
Chittagong-12
Chittagong-13
Chittagong-15
Chittagong-16
Cox’s Bazar-4
Parbatya Khagrachari
Parbatya Rangamati
Parbatya Bandarban
297
6
DHAKA TRIBUNE
Feature
From A to Z: What I love about Bangladesh
Jenny Gustafsson’s ode to our country – in words and pictures
A
Khichuri
Baul
Lungi
Meetings, random ones
rt everywhere
Bangladeshis love their meat. They really do. But one dish
that is usually spared the meat treatment is khichuri: a simple
but ingenious dish made from rice and lentils. There are very few
things that beat eating (with your hands, there’s no other way)
a plate with warm khichuri in the morning, at a small communal
table overlooking the street life outside.
There are few better ways
to discover a place than through
its popular art. In Bangladesh,
some of the nicest artistic stuff
is very accessible. It’s on display
on the country’s roads, where
rickshaws, autos and trucks are
decorated in a beautiful manner.
Wear it however you want, whenever you want.
Baul is a musical tradition that can be found in both India and
Bangladesh. The music, played by a group of musicians called fakirs,
is fascinating and deeply spiritual. Lalon Fakir, a mystic who lived in
the 19th century and called himself a fakir, is the most important
player of bauls. Lalon Fakir’s teachings transcend traditional Hinduism and Islam, which makes him an important figure for people
regardless of religion.
If you visit Bangladesh from abroad, your typical day
will probably look like this: Get up, put on your sandals, step
outside, and within a minute or two, you’ve met someone on
the street who wants to talk to you (using Bangla, broken English, perfect English, body language – whatever). Often, this
someone is up for helping you out, inviting you over, hearing
about your life, sharing stuff about her/his own life.
Civil society
Bangladesh has made a quite an impressive journey in the
past decade. Much of this is courtesy to Bangladesh’s civil society,
which is innovative, hardworking and does much of what the state
is neither able nor willing to do. Between 2000 and 2010, poverty
levels went from 49% to 32%, and life expectancy has jumped to 69
years. Bangladeshis now live four years longer than Indians across
the border, who are twice as rich.
The 19th century poet, author and musician Rabindranath
Tagore is probably Bangladesh’s #1 national symbol, even though
he was from the part of the Bengal that today belongs to India. In
1913, he became the first Asian to win the Nobel Prize for Literature. He is also the only person to have written the national anthem
for two countries, both India and Bangladesh. His family was rich
and influential and owned houses in many locations, one of them is
a beautiful spot called Shelaidaha, in rural Kushtia.
N
o waste
E
ntrepreneurship
With a population of more than 160 million, sharing a small
geographical space which lacks in infrastructure and facilities, Bangladesh is a place where people create their own opportunities.
Finding ways to do that requires a lot of inventiveness and imagination, and getting creative with very few resources.
F
anciful,
kitschy
visuals
If you don’t buy into that consumerist idea – that things
are disposable and should be costantly replaced with a new, improved version – Bangladesh is the place for you. If you didn’t
reflect on your own use of the world’s resources before, you will
start to here.
Vegetables
As meat-loving as they might be, Bangladeshis also grow fantastic vegetables. Your standard fare in any small eatery is shobji,
Bangla for “vegetables.” It’s usually a very simple dish with mixed
vegetables and chilli cooked in. When good, it’s excellent.
Bangladeshi girls deal with a whole different set of social
pressures. They are often married off early and face more restrictions than their brothers and male friends. Public spaces remain
male-dominated territory. But things are changing. Much of Bangladesh’s development has been female-driven, and women are
increasingly influencing decision-making, both inside and outside
the family. The country’s schools now have more girls than boys – a
reverse of earlier patterns. These are the girls of the future.
Water
X-crossing wires
Water, everywhere. And it’s not even the monsoon!
Yoga on the roof
Quays
Zen
Bangladesh has a rich tradition of photography, which in recent years has emerged as one of the most popular means of
visual expression in the country. Much of that is to the credit of
Shahidul Alam, who first organised Chhobi Mela, the first photo
festival of its kind in Asia, in 1999/2000. Since then, it has been
on every other year in Dhaka.
Rickshaws
Intense. I guess there’s simply no other way to be for a country
that’s one of the most crowded in the world.
Jessore
Jessore is the first town you arrive at when traversing the India-Bangladesh border. Banchte Shekha, an NGO working for rural
women, runs a lovely guesthouse on the outskirts of the city.
Everywhere you look, there are criss-crossing telephone and
electrical wires.
Photography
If Bangladesh has a body, the rivers are her veins. Rivers
crisscross the country from north to south, and make important
routes of connection, traffic and transportation. Most towns and
cities, even the smallest villages, have their own quays or launch
ghats, where boats arrive and depart. Passing time at them is
great.
Intensity
A boy playing an arcade game (which I remember very
well from being a kid in the 1990s). A girl walking home in rural
Barisal. The old railway station in Khulna. Beauty products and
a cassette tape in a shop-window in Dhaka.
Many workplaces in Bangladesh are a bit like that free
software: open. You can pass by, stop for a moment, talk to
people and see what they’re doing. These small enterprises
are in direct connection with the world outside.
Girls
In pastel colours.
Unexpected things
Open office
Mosques, pop stars, holy
people, colourful portraits.
You will not be bored.
Houses made from stone
were in Bangladesh for two
months, during which they
witnessed the dynamic eruption
of the Shahbag revolution. They
have returned for what is shaping
up to be yet another energetic
chapter in our country.
“I think something happens
when you move towards
people,” Gustafsson said while
discussing how Mostafa’s
photography career has been an
integral part of their travels. “It’s
almost like you are meant
to be there.” l
Tagore
Dhaka
So many things can be said about the Bangladeshi capital. It’s
crowded, polluted, noisy and impossible to get around. But it’s also
a fascinating place. Somehow, there is as much love as there is nonstop activity. The alleyways lead to curious places, the markets are
filled with anything and everything. And it’s inhabited by some of
the most friendly, helpful and generous capital-dwellers I’ve ever
come across.
JENNY GUSTAFSSON is a
journalist from Sweden, who was
interested to visit Bangladesh to
see its people.
“We wanted to go somewhere
not brimming with tourists.
Bangladesh is so vibrant,
because the people are always
doing something.”
They say you don’t know what
you got till it’s gone. Perhaps you
also don’t know what you got till
you’ve seen it from an outsider’s
perspective.
When this article originally
appeared on Gustafsson’s blog, it
went viral on social media.
Whether it’s the people, the
culture, or a sight as common as
girls wearing scarves, we forget
about the beauty because we are
too focused on the problems.
Gustafsson has lived in
Lebanon and travelled around
the Middle East since 2009.
In early 2013, she and her
partner Karim Mostafa started
travelling in South Asia. They
If boats are the way to travel on Bangladesh’s rivers, rickshaws are the means to move around its urban streets. Dhaka
and other cities are full with the three-wheeled, man-powered
bikes that transport all sorts of people: commuters, school kids,
families and office workers. The drivers are impressively strong
and hardworking. And fearless – the first requirement for anyone
working on Bangladesh’s roads.
Scarves
The single most useful thing for Bangladeshi winters is the
warm scarf. The thin and summery ones are nice too!
In Bangladesh, there’s no better place for yoga than the rooftops. You’re close to the sky, you’re overlooking the surroundings,
you’re in your private space but still part of the city around you.
Bangladesh is intense, but it’s also zen. Zen as in connecting to what is inside, what is unsaid, what is shared. I don’t
know how, but there’s something with the energy that lifts you
up, grounds you and makes it very hard for you not to keep
smiling.
DHAKA TRIBUNE
Long Form
7
The case for the opposition
Why the BNP was right to boycott the Jan 5 elections
One of the now infamous sand trucks that ‘went broke‘ in front of the leader of the opposition’s residence
(left), water cannons drench through BNP supporting lawyers in the high court premises (right)
MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU
SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN
T
n Saqueb Mahbub
he current MP of my
constituency is behind
bars, the only independent
candidate was disqualified
on technical grounds, and
the Awami League nominee, having
already been declared a winner, is all
set to represent me in parliament. Just
like 53% of the country’s population, I
can’t vote to elect my representative in
the parliament.
In a roundtable discussion last
Saturday, bigwigs of Bangladesh’s
civil society called for stopping the
polls that are being held today, having
reached the consensus that it is going
to be nothing more than a farcical or
“arranged” event. Coming only 8 days
before the elections, it is probably too
little too late to have the desired effect,
but the Awami League’s unmoved
stance, aggressive rhetoric, and a
series of recent actions have made
one thing clear: the democratic right
of the people to vote in a free and fair
election was not guaranteed under this
government.
As the old saying goes: “Hindsight
is a beautiful thing,” and it is hindsight
that gives us a picture of what could
have happened if BNP had given up its
stance, and participated in the polls.
Opinion polls published in Prothom Alo, a leading Bangla newspa-
per showed BNP, with 50% popular
support, leading the Awami League
(at 37%), by a margin of 13 percentage
points in September this year. Another
poll published later in the Daily Star
showed BNP to be leading Awami
League by an even bigger margin of 27
percentage points (BNP-55%, AL-28%).
Even though more recent polls,
such as the one published by Dhaka
tribune on Friday, suggest that the
margin is closing, statistics like this
and five city corporation election
victories for BNP this year would give
anyone the impression that BNP would
be runaway winners in a free and fair
election.
So, by deciding to boycott them,
BNP had more to lose than any other
party. But why would they do it? The
answer, perhaps, is that unlike opinion
polls, elections require an unbiased
administration to conduct it, and
Awami League never even got close to
creating one.
At the outset, let us look at the
Election Commission itself. At
different points during the present
government’s tenure, the Election
Commission scrapped the provision
of the No Vote (which gave the voter
the option to reject all candidates), the
provision requiring membership of a
party for 3 years (which was meant to
prevent buying and selling of party
nominations), and most shockingly,
the provision giving the power to the
EC to cancel a candidate’s candidature
for violation of election laws.
The EC somehow allowed registration for Bangladesh Nationalist Front
(BNF), a party clearly formed to create
confusion among voters about BNP’s
participation in the polls.
The EC had earlier introduced
extremely stringent rules for the participation of independent candidates
in the elections (e.g. requiring them to
obtain signatures with personal details
from 1% of the total voter number),
and using technicalities, disqualified
a huge number of rebellious independent candidates from the Awami
League, which, in turn, led to the colossal figure of 153 uncontested seats.
A disqualified independent
candidate, whom I represented as a
lawyer, was disqualified by the EC
on the simple ground that the list of
signatures he had collected had some
missing serial numbers, a technicality
that could have been easily corrected
by the returning officer himself. Even
an RPO provision and a High Court di-
rective that technical mistakes should
be remedied by the Returning Officer
could not save my client.
The changes in the rules made by
the EC have, somehow or the other,
benefitted the Awami League. Imagine
the embarrassing situation when the
uncontested Awami League candidate
could have been defeated by a No
Vote, or where Awami League’s rebel
candidates could have ridden the
anti-government sentiment, and then
as independent candidates could have
formed a majority in parliament.
Despite facing widespread criticism, the EC’s role in allowing registration to BNF, a party named similar
to BNP, and it scrapping its own power
in relation to dealing with violation of
election laws have only empowered
the government.
However, the EC perhaps lost the
last straw of its credibility when it
refused to allow the withdrawal of
nomination by the Jatiya Party Chairman HM Ershad despite his public
statement that he did not want to
participate in elections. Again, EC used
a minor technicality that he was not
present at the EC with his withdrawal
application to keep him in the elections as per Awami League’s wishes.
With a less than credible EC in
place, one would have hoped for a
strong-willed law enforcement and
justice system to back up the election
process. However, from the experience
of the present, that is not to be seen.
At the time of writing, 16 key members
from the senior ranks of the BNP are
behind bars on “political” grounds.
The lower judiciary, has shown unprecedented subservience by refusing
bail for all of them despite the lack of
any specific allegations against them.
A High Court directive from 2003
makes remand illegal without specific
evidence of involvement in an offence,
but no heed of that has been taken by
the magistrates on duty.
One breaking news after another
has shown nearly every person making
a press-statement on behalf of BNP,
either being picked up by the Detective Branch, or having a case slapped
on them – driving them underground
fearing arrest. The pattern is uncannily similar – person X briefs journalists
on BNP’s position, and moments later
person X is picked up and taken to the
DB office.
Nearly all senior leaders have been
picked up on the basis of vague “suspicions” and then shown arrested in
There would be no guarantee that the grassroots of
BNP would not be pushed underground with mass
arrests and false cases
RAJIB DHAR
enough cases to put them behind bars
till the elections on Januray 5.
The law enforcement authorities’
subservience to Awami League’s
interests has been no less than naked
the last few days. It started with the
Dhaka Metropolitan Police refusing
permission for BNP’s March for Democracy, its most peaceful sounding
demonstration so far. It was followed
by a blockade by the law enforcers of
all road, rail, and waterways to prevent
party supporters from coming to Dhaka to join. Simultaneously came the
arrests of senior leaders from Dhaka
and mass arrests of grassroot-level
BNP organisers. Khaleda Zia’s protocol
was withdrawn in an unprecedented
violation of her legal right as the leader
of the opposition.
are either behind bars or in hiding to
avoid arbitrary arrest. Its Chairperson
is under effective house-arrest. Most
of its activists are arrested or in fear of
arrest.
That being said, one thing that BNP
must be proud of is of having made
the right decision about the January 5
elections. It is the strongest message
against an election that is flawed, and
only meant to give a particular regime
legitimacy that it does not deserve.
If Awami League does, in the end, go
ahead with the elections, not only will
it be a colossal waste of public money,
democracy will go from the frying pan
to the fire. l
Saqueb Mahbub is a barrister at law and a
freelance contributor.
8 platoons of policemen and 5 sand-laden trucks
requisitioned by the police to guard her gate, one
point was made clear – if the Awami League wants
to suppress the BNP, the police will execute their
will with mighty force
Finally, when she was prevented from
leaving her house by 8 platoons of
policemen and 5 sand-laden trucks
requisitioned by the police to guard
her gate, one point was made clear – if
the Awami League wants to suppress
the BNP, the police will execute their
will with mighty force.
In the hypothetical situation, where
the BNP has participated in polls under
the AL government, there would be no
guarantee that BNP’s top brass would
not be somehow disqualified by the EC
from participating in elections, or that
they would not be picked up one-byone by the Detective Branch ahead of
the elections. As things appear now,
there would be no guarantee that the
grassroots of BNP, who are its election
organisers, would not be pushed underground with mass arrests and false
cases and no guarantee that Khaleda
Zia’s election campaign would not
be banned by the police on “security
grounds,” or blocked by sand-laden
trucks. AL’s recent actions do not, at
all, paint a happy picture of participatory democracy needed for a free and
fair election.
The civil society has called for stopping the farcical elections of January 5,
and, conscious citizens have outrightly condemned the undemocratic
and illegal heavy-handedness of the
government preventing BNP’s March
for Democracy, but to no avail. It only
goes to show that under Sheikh Hasina’s government, there is not much
space for voices against her regime.
As we stand, the BNP is in a position
that no democratic political party
wants to be in. All of its senior leaders
8
DHAKA TRIBUNE
International
Top al-Qaeda chief dies
in Lebanese custody
n Agencies
Senior commander of an Al-Qaedalinked armed group, which has killed
23 people in a November bomb blast in
Beirut, has died days after he was taken
in by Lebanese Armed forces.
Majid al-Majid, a Saudi citizen who
was the senior leader of the Abdullah
Azzam Brigades, died on Saturday after suffering kidney failure, Lebanese
army and judicial sources said.
The man, believed to be responsible for attacks across the Middle East
before focusing on civil war-torn Syria, was held at an undisclosed place
in Lebanon. He was one of the 85
most-wanted individuals in his native
Saudi Arabia.
Abdullah Azzam Brigades claimed
responsibility for the November 19
twin suicide bombings that targeted
the Iranian embassy in Beirut. The explosions killed at least 23 people and
left more than hundred injured.
Nearly three years of violence in
next-door Syria has exacerbated sectarian strife in multi-confessional Lebanon, as politicians sided with rivalling
parties in Damascus. Sunni radicals and Shia Hezbollah
has engaged for months in a tit-for-tat
killings for months, leading to a spate
of attacks, the latest of which was on
Thursday, when four were killed in a
suicide bomb attack.
Lebanese army revealed on Saturday the identity of Thursday’s suicide
bomber who blew himself up in south
Beirut, a Hezbollah stronghold. “The DNA test results on the remains of a suicide attacker found in the
car used in the bomb attack... confirm
they belong to the youth Qutaiba alSatem,” an army statement said.
“Investigations are ongoing by the
relevant judicial authorities to uncover the full details of the event,” the
military said.
An official from Satem’s native Sunni-majority area of Wadi Khaled told AFP
on Friday suspicions over the 20-yearold’s role were based on a family document found at the scene of the blast.
Satem’s father was then called in for
DNA tests. The attack Satem is suspected of being behind killed four people
and wounded 77 people. l
South Sudanese rebels to
hold direct talks with govt
n Reuters, Addis Ababa
South Sudanese rebels will hold their
first face-to-face talks with the government on Saturday in a bid to end weeks
of bloodletting that have raised fears of
a slide into civil war in Africa’s newest
state, Ethiopia’s foreign minister said.
The talks in South Sudan’s neighbour Ethiopia made a slow start on Friday after days of delay, with both sides
meeting mediators from the regional
IGAD grouping but not each other.
But further clashes between President Salva Kiir’s SPLA government
forces and rebels loyal to former vice
president Riek Machar on Friday suggested the ceasefire demanded by bordering nations was still a long way off.
“We’ve successfully finished the
proxy talks,” Ethiopian Foreign Minister Tedros Adhanom said late on
Friday. “We will proceed to holding
face-to-face discussions tomorrow
(Saturday).”
South Sudan’s neighbours fear the
fighting, which rapidly spread from
the capital last month along ethnic
faultlines, could destabilize East Africa
and international pressure is mounting
for a deal.
More than a thousand people have
been killed and 200,000 driven from
their homes in three weeks of fighting
that has also rattled oil markets.
South Sudan remains one of the
continent’s least developed countries
for all its crude reserves, estimated by BP to be sub-Saharan Africa’s
third largest.
In a sign of deteriorating security,
the United States on Friday ordered
more its staff out of South Sudan,
which only won its independence
from Sudan two years ago in a peace
deal that ended one of Africa’s longest
civil wars.
Washington also ordered all US citizens to leave. More than 440 US officials and private citizens have now
been evacuated on charter flights and
military aircraft, the State Department
said.
Kiir has accused his long-term political rival Machar, whom he sacked in
July, of starting the fighting in a bid to
seize power. Kiir is from the country’s
Dinka group while Machar is a Nuer.
Machar denies the claim but he has
acknowledged leading soldiers battling
the government. He says the president
has been purging political opponents
within the ruling SPLM party ahead of
elections next year.
The negotiations in Ethiopia are
meant to focus on when a ceasefire
should begin and how it should be
monitored. Both the SPLA and rebels have said they intend to put down
their weapons. l
Iraq’s Fallujah falls to al-Qaeda-linked militants
Smoke billows from a police car following clashes between Jihadists and Iraqi forces backed by tribesmen in the Iraqi city of Fallujah
n AFP, Fallujah
Iraq has lost Fallujah to al-Qaedalinked fighters, a senior security official
said on Saturday, putting militants who
repeatedly battled American forces for
the city back in control.
Parts of the cities of Ramadi and Fallujah, west of Baghdad, have been held
by militants for days, harkening back to
the years after the 2003 US-led invasion
when both were insurgent strongholds.
Fighting erupted in the Ramadi
area Monday, when security forces removed the main anti-government protest camp set up after demonstrations
broke out in late 2012 against what
n Agencies
Italian and Maltese rescuers have saved
more than 1,000 migrants in rough seas
off Sicily since Thursday, authorities
revealed.
The update on Friday came a day
after navy helicopters spotted four
migrant boats struggling to stay afloat
in the Mediterranean Sea, as the immigration crisis that killed hundreds in
shipwrecks in 2013 showed no signs of
letting up in the new year.
The 823 men, women and children
rescued from the four vessels were
from countries including Egypt, Pakistan, Iraq and Tunisia.
In an earlier, separate operation,
the navy rescued 233 migrants from
Eritrea, Nigeria, Somalia, Zambia, Mali
and Pakistan and took them to a port
on Sicily’s eastern coast.
A young girl with bandages on her legs smiling after receiving treatment at the Pedriatic hospital in Bangui, children have become
deliberate targets of armed gangs because of their family’s faith
AFP
Children in the Central African Republic have become deliberate targets of
armed gangs, aid workers have said.
An official with the United Nations
Children’s Fund (UNICEF) confirmed to
Al Jazeera on Saturday that “more children are being targeted and killed” as
concerns over civilian casualties escalate
in violence that has not ceased since a
coup in March 2013. The latest remarks
follow a UNICEF statement on December
30 that described attacks against children
as having “sunk to a new low,” including
cases of beheading and mutilation.
“Attacks against children have sunk
to a vicious new low, with at least two
children beheaded, and one of them
mutilated, in the violence that has
gripped the capital...,” the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said in their December 30 statement.
Ombretta Pasotti, who coordinates
work by the Italian NGO Emergency
at the paediatric hospital in Bangui,
confirmed to the AFP news agency on
Saturday: “Before now, children were
collateral victims, but today some of
them are targeted directly.”
Sunni Arabs say is the marginalisation
and targeting of their community.
Anger at the Shia-led government
among the Sunni minority is seen as
one of the main drivers of the worst violence to hit Iraq in five years.
“Fallujah is under the control of
ISIL,” a senior security official in Anbar
province told AFP, referring to al-Qaeda-linked group the Islamic State of
Iraq and the Levant.
However, the city’s outskirts were in
the hands of local police, the official added. An AFP journalist in Fallujah also said
that ISIL seemed to be in control, with no
security forces or Sahwa anti-al-Qaeda
militiamen visible on the streets.
AFP
In Ramadi, a witness said Iraqi special forces had deployed on Street 60,
where ISIL militants were positioned
the day before.
More than 100 people were killed on
Friday in Ramadi and Fallujah, in the
country’s deadliest single day in years.
Fourteen died in and near Ramadi
on Monday and Tuesday, while later
tolls were not immediately clear.
Hundreds of gunmen, some bearing
the black flags often flown by jihadists,
gathered at outdoor weekly Muslim
prayers in central Fallujah on Friday, a
witness said.
One went to where the prayer leader had stood, and said: “We announce
that Fallujah is an Islamic state and call
you to stand by our side.”
Fallujah was the target of two major assaults after the 2003 invasion, in
which American forces saw some of
their heaviest fighting since the Vietnam War.
American troops fought for years,
aided by Sunni tribesmen in the Sahwa
militia forces from late 2006, to wrest
control of Anbar from militants.
Militant power rising
US forces suffered almost one-third
of their total Iraq fatalities in Anbar,
according to independent website icasualties.org.
But two years after US forces withdrew from the country, the power of
militants in the province is again rising.
Clashes erupted in the Ramadi area
on Monday as security forces tore
down the sprawling anti-government
protest camp.
The violence then spread to Fallujah, and a subsequent withdrawal of
security forces from areas of both cities
cleared the way for ISIL to move in.
ISIL is the latest incarnation of an
al-Qaeda affiliate that lost ground from
2006, as Sunni tribesmen and former insurgents allied with US troops
against jihadists in a process that began
in Anbar and came to be known as the
“Awakening.”
But the extremist group has made
a striking comeback following the US
withdrawal and the outbreak of Syria’s
civil war in 2011.
Charles Lister, a visiting fellow at
the Brookings Doha Centre, said its
“strength and territorial control and
influence has been expanding in Anbar
for some time,” although mainly in rural desert areas.
The Ramadi protest camp operation
pushed Sunni tribes into conflict with
the government, and ISIL “has ridden
this wave of popular Sunni anger,”
Lister said. l
Italian navy saves hundreds off Sicily coast
Children targeted in CAR violence
n Agencies
“Some children are victims of stray
bullets and shell fragments... Some
were wounded ‘by chance’, but here we
also have children who were shot because they are Muslims,” Pasotti said.
UNICEF said it had verified 16 killings of
children since December 5, while 60 more
youths were wounded in clashes that
broke out between Muslim former rebels
and fighters from the Christian majority.
UNICEF appealed to sectarian fighters to “halt grave violations against
children,” to release those in their
ranks and to avoid attacks on health
and education workers. l
The first boat was first sighted by a
navy helicopter on Wednesday night
as it ran into difficulty off the southern
island of Lampedusa. The fiberglass
vessel was packed to overflowing as it
tried to cross the Mediterranean waters
near Lampedusa, south of Sicily.
Each year, thousands of migrants
and refugees attempt risky voyages
across the Mediterranean in unseaworthy boats, and hundreds die en route.
Sea arrivals to Italy from Northern
Africa more than tripled in 2013, fuelled
by refugees from Syria’s civil war and
political strife in the Horn of Africa.
Figures from the Italian Interior
Ministry show about 25,000 migrants
arrived by boat in 2013, with 10,000 of
them fleeing conflict in Syria.
In October, 366 Eritreans drowned
in a shipwreck near the shore of the
Italian island of Lampedusa. l
Nine dead after
gunmen storm
Mexican prison
n Agencies
Gunmen posing as public officials have
stormed a prison in south-western
Mexico, sparking a shootout that killed
four inmates and five attackers.
Six armed men entered the prison in
the Guerrero state town of Iguala after
midnight on Friday by fooling a guard
into thinking they were delivering an
inmate, police and prosecutors said.
“Once in the prison, the armed
group started a confrontation against
inmates and later against guards in a
security tower,” the state prosecutor’s
office said.
The sixth assailant was injured in
the attack, while a prison guard was
hospitalised with a bullet wound.
State authorities and army troops restored order in the prison, the prosecutor’s office said, and federal police were
deployed around the facility.
One of the dead inmates was a convicted cocaine dealer, another was
a kidnapper and the remaining two
were imprisoned for carrying illegal
weapons.
Mexican drug gangs have been
known to assassinate members of rival
gangs in prison, and to storm prisons to
break out their own members.
Authorities were still investigating
the motive behind Friday’s attack.
Police had seized a stolen pickup
truck used by the assailants, who were
carrying heavy-calibre weapons.
Guerrero is home to the fabled
beach resort of Acapulco, but also high
poverty and crime.
It has become the deadliest state in
Mexico, with more than 2,300 murders
in 2012 amid deadly turf battles between drug gangs. l
Immigrants being rescued by the Italian Navy near the Italian island of Lampedusa
AFP
OTHER NEWS
Bodies of beheaded fishermen
found in Philippines
Eight fishermen including two boys have
been shot and beheaded in a gruesome
attack at sea off the troubled southern
Philippines, police said Saturday. The
victims were among a group of fishermen
who went missing after being attacked
in the Moro Gulf off Mindanao island on
December 26, said regional police spokesman Ariel Huesca. Five headless corpses
were first found aboard a boat drifting
at sea on Friday by police who had gone
in search of the missing fishermen, said
Senior Inspector Joel Lozano, police chief
of the district where the boat was taken.
“When we further inspected the boat (on
Saturday morning), we discovered more
headless bodies beneath the floorboard....
In all, it contained eight bodies,” Lozano
told reporters. The corpses, including
those of two boys aged about 12 and 14,
were all decomposing, suggesting they
were killed a few days earlier, Lozano said.
One fisherman remains missing after the
attack by unknown gunmen, Huesca said
in a written report. The motive of the
attack is not known. The waters off the
southern Philippines are rife with piracy,
and the region is also a hotbed of Islamic
militants. The nine fishermen had gone
missing a day after Christmas following
the attack off the town of Olutanga,
Huesca said. Two other wounded fishermen in the party were recovered shortly
after the attack and taken to hospital for
treatment, he added. The boat with the
headless corpses was found adrift eight
days later off the coastal village of Manicahan on Zamboanga’s outskirts.
Mexican cartel leader arrested
in Netherlands
A Mexican man described as an alleged
leader of the powerful Sinaloa drug
syndicate has been detained in the
Netherlands on a US arrest warrant, US
authorities said Friday. Jose Rodrigo
Arechiga-Gamboa, also known as “Chino
Antrax” and “Norberto Sicairos-Garcia,” was arrested Monday at Schiphol
Airport in Amsterdam, the office of the
US attorney for the southern district of
California, based in San Diego, said in a
statement. A federal grand jury in San
Diego returned a sealed indictment on
December 20 charging Arechiga-Gamboa
with conspiracy to import and distribute
controlled substances. An arrest warrant
was issued the same day. Arechiga-Gamboa was arrested at the airport “under
a fraudulent name as he deplaned from
KLM Flight 686 from Mexico City, Mexico
to Amsterdam,” the statement read. US
officials are seeking his extradition to face
charges in southern California. The main
leader of the Sinaloa cartel, based in the
western Mexican state of the same name,
is Joaquin “El Chapo” (Shorty)Guzman.
Guzman escaped from a Mexican prison
in 2001 and is now the drug trafficker
most wanted by US officials. He is also
considered by Forbes as the most powerful criminal on the planet.More than
77,000 people have been killed in Mexico
in connection with organized crime since
now former president Felipe Calderon
launched a nationwide war against the
drug cartels after taking office in 2006.
First Taiwan-born panda
charms media
The first Taiwan-born giant panda cub was
unveiled to the media on Saturday in a
warm up for her highly-anticipated public
debut next week. Yuan Zai agilely climbed
up and down for most of her 30-minute
media preview inside an exhibition enclosure, as mother Yuan Yuan sat lazily aside
munching bamboos. “Yuan Zai is growing
bigger and bigger. She is very robust and is
gaining strength. After evaluation she can
meet the public in two days,” Taipei Zoo
spokesman Chao Ming-chieh said.
DHAKA TRIBUNE
International
Cambodian police put an end
to opposition rallies
Chinese ship used in
Antarctic rescue stuck in ice
n AFP, Sydney
n AFP, Phnom Penh
Cambodian authorities Saturday dispersed opposition protesters from
their rally base in the capital and halted
further protests against the kingdom’s
premier, a day after police launched a
deadly crackdown on striking garment
workers.
Dozens of security personnel armed
with shields and batons flooded into
the area in central Phnom Penh, causing several hundred protesters to flee,
according to an AFP photographer at
the scene.
“They won’t be allowed to rally, to
protest, or to hold any political activities at the park any more,” military
police spokesman Kheng Tito told AFP,
adding that police had not used force.
It comes a day after a crackdown on
textile workers that left at least three
dead, and which rights campaigners
condemned as the country’s worst
state violence against civilians in more
than a decade.
Strongman Prime Minister Hun Sen
faces a growing challenge to his nearly
three-decade rule from garment workers protesting for better conditions and
opposition supporters demanding that
he step down and call a new election because of alleged vote fraud in a July poll.
Authorities said unrest in recent days
had prompted them to put a stop to the
capital’s daily anti-government rallies.
Phnom Penh governor Pa Socheatvong said in a statement that the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party
(CNRP) would not be allowed to hold
demos or marches “until the security
situation and public order is restored
to normal.”
The opposition party, which has boycotted parliament since the disputed
July election, slammed the police action.
“This is the act of a communist dictatorship,” opposition spokesman Yim
Sovann told AFP.
The party, which had planned a
major three-day protest starting from
Sunday, issued a statement urging sup-
Taliban fighters’
release delayed
after US protest
n AFP, Kabul
Afghan President Hamid Karzai has
delayed the release from jail of 88 suspected Taliban fighters following complaints from the United States that they
could return to the battlefield, officials
said Saturday. The planned release had
angered US military commanders and
senators as Washington and Kabul edge
closer to signing a long-delayed security pact allowing some American soldiers to stay in Afghanistan after 2014.
“Based on a recent president’s order, we have started again reviewing
the cases of the 88 prisoners,” Abdul Shokur Dadras, a member of the
Afghan Review Board, told AFP.
“The president has also ordered the
security and intelligence agencies to
check their backgrounds and cases to
make sure justice is served.”
US General Joseph Dunford, commander of Nato forces in Afghanistan,
had lodged an official objection to the
planned releases, saying they went
against an agreement signed when Bagram was handed over. l
A Cambodian soldier stands guards near a factory in Phnom Penh
porters to “keep calm” while the party
deliberates over a fresh strategy.
Protesters have occupied Democracy Park since December as part of
demonstrations against premier Hun
Sen’s government that swelled to an
estimated 20,000 opposition supporters on the streets last Sunday.
Hun Sen, who last month ruled
out holding new elections or stepping
down, was given parliamentary approval for a new five-year term in late
September. The opposition decried
that as a “constitutional coup.”
Cambodia’s leader has faced mounting criticism over his rights record and
accusations of excessive force used
against demonstrators in a series of
clashes between security forces and
protesters in recent months. Striking
garment workers have also been seen
to team up with opposition protesters
demanding Hun Sen step down.
Friday’s violence saw striking workers armed with sticks, rocks and Molotov cocktails clash with rifle-wielding
police in the Veng Sreng factory district
of Phnom Penh.
The protest demanding a minimum
wage of $160 per month followed similar action by workers in another industrial district of the city on Thursday,
which rights groups said was dispersed
by armed military police.
The UN’s special rapporteur on human rights in Cambodia, Surya P Subedi, criticised Friday’s shootings, calling on the government to launch an
investigation.
Washington on Friday also appealed
for peaceful dialogue and denounced
the violence, urging all sides to exercise restraint.
Disputes over wages and safety
AFP
conditions are common in Cambodia’s
multi-billion dollar garment industry
which supplies brands like Gap, Nike
and H&M and which has brought buoyant economic growth to what is still
one of Asia’s poorest countries.
The sector employs about 650,000
people and is a key source of foreign
income.
The Cambodian Centre for Human
Rights, an independent activist group,
has said at least 25 demonstrations were
violently repressed in 2013 by security
forces using guns, tear gas, water cannon and batons, leaving two people
dead, one person paralysed and causing
three women to suffer miscarriages.
Hun Sen – a 61-year-old former
Khmer Rouge cadre who defected and
oversaw Cambodia’s rise from the ashes of war – has ruled for 28 years, and
has vowed to continue until he is 74. l
A Chinese icebreaker that went to the
aid of a Russian ship stuck in heavy
floes in Antarctica has now itself become trapped by ice, officials said Saturday, amid anger about the impact of
the rescue on research.
The Xue Long, which on Thursday
used its helicopter to ferry dozens of
passengers on the stranded Russian
ship Akademik Shokalskiy to the safety
of an Australian vessel, has been unable to free itself.
“Xue Long has confirmed to the
Australian Maritime Safety Authority it
is beset by ice,” the authority said in a
statement.
The Xue Long, or Snow Dragon,
came tantalisingly close to cutting
through heavy ice to reach the Shokalskiy a week ago but had to abandon
its attempt once it realised it could not
break through. It has hardly moved in
recent days.
Chinese news agency Xinhua,
which has reporters onboard the Xue
Long, said the ship’s passage had been
blocked since Friday by a drifting,
one-kilometre long iceberg.
Captain Wang Jianzhong said the
constantly changing position of the
massive iceberg, which sometimes
came as close as 1.2 nautical miles to
the ship, and ice floes was making conditions complex, Xinhua reported.
The Chinese vessel will only attempt to free itself after this huge block
of ice moves away, with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang urging the ship’s team
to stay calm as they wait for the best
moment to act.
Australian authorities said the master of the Chinese ship had confirmed
that the vessel was safe, was not in
immediate distress and did not require
assistance. The ship has food supplies
for several weeks.
The Shokalskiy remains stuck in
ice 100 nautical miles from the French
Antarctic base of Dumont d’Urville
with 22 crew on board.
Several attempts by icebreakers to
reach the Russian ship failed, including by the Australian Antarctic supply
ship the Aurora Australis, while poor
weather initially delayed helicopter
rescue plans.
The 22 scientists, 26 paying passengers and four journalists on board the
Shokalskiy who were helicoptered off
the ship are now on the Aurora Australis, which had been standing by to help
the Xue Long.
However, AMSA Saturday released
the Aurora Australis to continue its
journey to Australia’s Antarctic base
Casey, where it is due to deliver supplies before heading to the Australian
city of Hobart.
Several attempts by
icebreakers to reach the
Russian ship failed, including
by the Australian Antarctic
supply ship the Aurora
Australis, while poor weather
initially delayed helicopter
rescue plans
“The masters of both Akademik Shokalskiy and Xue Long agree that further
assistance from Aurora Australis is no
longer required and they will be able to
provide mutual support to each other,”
AMSA said.
Australian authorities have said that
any inquiry into how the Shokalskiy came
to be stranded would have to be conducted by Russian authorities but have acknowledged that the incident could impact guidelines for polar expeditions.
The rescue mission, which also initially involved the French ship the Astrolabe, has also impacted some Antarctic research programmes, according
to Yves Frenot, director of the French
Polar Institute.
The rescue mission forced French
scientists to scrap a two-week oceanographic campaign this month using the
Astrolabe, he said.
“But we are relatively lucky. The
Chinese have had to cancel all their
scientific programme, and my counterpart in Australia is spitting tacks with
anger, because their entire summer has
been wiped out,” he said. l
Protest in Malaysia after government suspends magazine
n AFP, Kuala Lumpur
Dozens of journalists protested Saturday in
Malaysia against the suspension of a weekly
magazine, urging the Southeast Asian nation
to allow greater press freedom.
The Heat stopped publication last month
after the Home Ministry suspended it, saying it had violated its printing permit as a
weekly business magazine and failed to respond to the ministry to explain the matter.
Some 50 journalists and activists, wearing red and chanting “free the media,” held
an hour-long protest in the capital Kuala
Lumpur where they urged the government
to lift the suspension and stop controlling
the press.
“This is not just about the suspension
of The Heat. It’s about the freedom of the
press,” activist Ambiga Sreenevasan said in
a speech.
“It is about fighting for the rights of the
people, the rights of the people to speak and
to receive information.”
The Heat, which was launched last year,
denied it has not responded to the ministry’s
letters sent to it in late November and early
December.
On Monday, Home Minister Zahid Hamidi
was quoted by local media as saying that the
suspension was “temporary.”
The Heat on its website describes itself
as “a weekly that intends to push the boundaries of press freedom” with investigative
stories on social, economic and other current issues.
The suspension followed an article on
Prime Minister Najib Razak’s “growing expenditure” on overseas trips and other expenses.
Najib’s 56-year ruling coalition, which
was re-elected in May with its poorest
showing yet, dominates mainstream media
through permits and ownership.
But criticism of the regime is flourishing
online on news portals and social media
sites.
Amid pressure, Najib has vowed to grant
greater civil liberties, loosening decades-old
security and other laws deemed as repressive by critics.
But he is facing resistance, including
from his own party members used to decades of iron-fisted leadership, and critics accuse him of mere window-dressing
to gain votes. l
Malaysian journalists hold placards and banners during a protest against the suspension of Malaysian magazine ‘The Heat’
Suu Kyi urges Myanmar army
to back charter reform
Pakistan not lifting
Musharraf’s travel ban
n AFP, Yangon
n AFP, Rawalpindi
Myanmar’s opposition leader Aung
San Suu Kyi on Saturday called on the
powerful military to get involved in reforming the country’s junta-era constitution, which currently bars her from
becoming president.
The Nobel laureate, who has repeatedly asserted her readiness to take on
the top political job, said the nation’s
“tatmadaw” army was “essential” in
amending the charter, which is currently being debated by a parliamentary panel that includes soldiers.
“The tatmadaw must not remain in
a dilemma about whether to take part
in amending the constitution. It must
take part in it,” she told members of her
National League for Democracy (NLD)
at a ceremony to mark Myanmar’s independence from colonial rule.
Myanmar’s President Thein Sein, a
former general who has won international praise for reforms since he took power in 2011, on Thursday lent his support
to constitutional reform in a monthly
9
Aung San Suu Kyi
AFP
speech published in state media.
He also said he supported amending provisions which exclude anyone
whose spouse or children are overseas citizens from becoming president – a clause widely believed to be
targeted at Suu Kyi, whose two sons
are British.
“I would not want restrictions be-
ing imposed on the right of any citizen
to become the leader of the country,”
Thein Sein said.
The charter change issue is rising to
the fore as Myanmar prepares for key
2015 parliamentary elections, seen as a
definitive test of whether the military
is willing to loosen its grip on power.
The country’s president is selected
by the legislature.
Suu Kyi has ramped up her campaign for a change to the 2008 constitution, which also ring-fences a quarter
of the seats in parliament for unelected
military personnel.
“We have to accept openly that the
constitution is not fair, not in accordance with democratic standards and
not a charter that is good for our country’s future,” she said Saturday.
Any change to the charter needs the
support of over 75% of the legislature,
so at least some soldiers would have to
vote for the reforms.
The NLD last week said it would not
boycott the 2015 poll, even without a
constitutional amendment first. l
Pakistan’s home ministry on Saturday
said they were not immediately lifting
a travel ban on former military ruler
Pervez Musharraf, who suffered a heart
problem on the way to his treason trial earlier this week. The 70-year-old
former ruler was taken ill and rushed
to a military hospital on Thursday as
he was being transported under heavy
guard to hear treason charges against
him at a special tribunal in Islamabad.
The former army chief was Saturday spending his third day at the
Armed Forces Institute of Cardiology in
Rawalpindi, the garrison city bordering
Islamabad. His lawyer Ahmed Raza Kasuri said doctors were monitoring his
condition in the intensive care unit.
The sudden health scare was met
with scepticism from some observers
and feverish media speculation that
his departure from Pakistan on medical grounds could be imminent.
But Musharaf’s name has been put
on an official “Exit Control List” (ECL)
to bar him from travelling abroad, and
a court in the Southern Sindh province
ruled last month against lifting the ban.
“There is no intention to allow him
overseas travel at the moment,” a senior
official of the ministry of interior told
AFP. He denied reports that Musharraf’s
wife Sehba has filed a application with
the ministry seeking to lift the ban.
“No fresh application has been filed
by Madam Sehba, and it is clear that
the travel ban on Musharraf is not being lifted. He won’t be allowed to travel
abroad immediately,” the official said.
Musharraf’s lawyer Kasuri told AFP
earlier on Saturday that the doctors
have sent his medical reports to experts in Britain, who will determine
his further treatment. “The reports of
the medical tests of General (retired)
Musharraf have been sent to the experts for further examination in the
UK,” Kasuri told AFP.
“The decision about his further
treatment to be carried out in Pakistan
or abroad will be taken in the light of
the British experts’ opinion,” he said. l
AFP
Nepal’s court rules
out amnesty for
serious war crimes
n AFP, Kathmandu
Nepal’s top court has rejected a demand by ultra-leftists that an amnesty
be granted to people who committed
serious rights abuses during the country’s civil war, an official said Saturday.
More than 16,000 people died in the
conflict between Maoist rebels and the
state, which ended in 2006, and more
than 1,000 are still missing.
The Himalayan nation’s top court
was responding to a petition filed last
year by the National Network of Families of the Disappeared and the Missing,
an organisation of victims’ families.
Last year, a Maoist-led government
proposed legislation in which it sought
amnesty for those responsible for cases
such as “forced disappearances” – kidnappings in which the victims never
were found – and other crimes. The
amnesty was put forward as part of the
powers of a planned Truth and Reconciliation Commission aimed at healing
the wounds from the long civil war. But
the court said no amnesty could be given for serious cases of rights abuses. l
10
DHAKA TRIBUNE
Editorial
Letters to
www.dhakatribune.com
A limited mandate
the Editor
LETTER OF THE DAY
T
he holding of today’s 10th parliamentary election in the absence
of the main opposition party can only be justified on the basis of
constitutional necessity. The results cannot and should not be
viewed as a mandate to rule for a full term.
Indeed, it is the ruling party’s explicit articulation of this understanding that allows us to accept today’s election, and we take the
ruling party at its word that it will immediately set in motion the steps
necessary to come to a mutually acceptable compromise with the
main opposition for holding fully participatory elections as soon as
practicable.
Today’s result is predetermined due to the boycott by the
main opposition party. Even
within many of the 147 out of
300 seats which are being actively contested, there appears to be
scant evidence of public enthusiasm for this election.
The next government formed
subsequent to today’s 10th
parliamentary election will thus
not be supported by a full choice
of the voters or by a majority of
voters at the polls.
Accordingly, the new government has to make a generally
acceptable resolution of the current deadlock its first and only
priority. The opposition, too,
must be ready to come to the
negotiating table in good faith to
work out a resolution to the crisis.
The bloodshed that has marked the opposition’s campaign so far
must be abandoned, and the opposition must press its case for the
modalities of the 11th parliamentary elections in a peaceful manner.
We acknowledge that today’s elections neither resolve the political
crisis nor bring an end to the issue of representative elections that
are the people’s right. We call on both AL and BNP to move forward
together to give the people elections acceptable to all.
The new government
has to make a
generally acceptable
resolution of the
current deadlock its
first and only priority
January 2
December 29
What is going on in this country? Is the public safe and secure? No, because thousands are killed every
year in political violence. The destruction continues every day.
The homes of many minorities are being destroyed. If any political crisis arises, religious minorities
are always attacked. What is their crime? They are guilty because they are few in number; nothing more.
They are observing their own religious festivals, culture and customs. From Teknaf to Tetulia, they were
confined, and still are now. Their families are suffering, and their daughters are unable to go to school
safely. Their religious establishments are being looted and burned to the ground. Is there no one to save
them and bring their unfortunate situation to light? Are there no international groups that can help
them?
This persecution must end. They must be allowed to observe their festivals without any obstruction,
and any threat. They must be allowed to live their lives like the rest of us.
Uttam Kumar Das
PM does not have to agree, but
she should not dismiss
December 30
Akhtar Shah
Because she can!
Sam
What makes you think that she is a “democratic”
leader? Just because someone gets elected
doesn’t make her/him democratic. The PM
by her words, actions, and history has shown
abundantly that “democratic” is the last word
that should be used to describe her (or her main
opponent, for that matter). Anyone who dares
dissent is considered a war criminal while the
PM’s supporters keep on waxing lyrical about
the “glorious democratic history” of the ruling
party. Give me a break. The PM’s party is only
“democratic” when in the opposition.
WaliulHaqueKhondker
A very sensible editorial. But what amazes me is
the contradictory position of hosts of the talk and
the ruling party. The AL general secretary before
television cameras unequivocally declared that
none from AL was invited to the talk. Whereas, the
editorial mentions scores of them being invited
but they chose not to participate! Politicians are
better known globally for telling the untruth! :)
Let election day be
peaceful
S
eeing as today’s elections are a mere constitutional necessity and
cannot be a mandate for government for the next five years, the
turnout is something of a moot point.
With 153 out of 300 seats already decided and without the main
opposition party contesting, the legitimacy or illegitimacy of the elections is not in question.
A high turnout will not confer legitimacy on the elections, if legitimacy is understood to mean a mandate to rule for five years.
Similarly, a low turnout will not render the elections illegitimate.
We already know that 48 million out of 92 million voters will not be
voting, and many of the ones remaining may choose not to vote due
to the non-participatory nature of the elections.
Many will also be deterred from voting due to the risk of violence.
Indeed, by threatening violence
BNP is handing a defense for low
turnout to the ruling party.
Most importantly, BNP’s
violent campaign so far has not
succeeded in stopping the elections. Even if there are any tragic
incidents on election day, it will
most likely not foil the polls.
This being the case, there is
no call for the BNP to upset the
elections through violence and
bloodshed. It is perfectly free to
boycott the elections and urge
voters to not cast their vote.
But it must not stop voters who
wish to vote from doing so, and
there can be no justification for
violence or agitation against the
process.
Its point about the non-inclusive nature of the elections has already
been made. Voters can make up their own minds and must be left free
to decide themselves whether to vote or not.
Similarly, the government party too must not engage in any violence itself in defense of the elections. In particular, no one wishes to
see its cadres take on the role of the law enforcement authorities.
We call on both sides to let today’s elections be held peacefully and
according to the law.
Capital tense ahead
of Dhaka March
Religious minorities and persecution
What do the common people
want?
December 31
No violence, peace and stability.
Zifan Johan
Money talks for Jamaat-Shibir
in Patgram
Wacef Chowdhury
You don’t say! :-p
MJ
Really??
Fakhrul: Government
observing unofficial strike
December 29
BNP should postpone their march for a couple
of days every two days. The government would
make it a peaceful hartal.
Purpose served: no violence.
Anjan Kumar Deb
December 28
Guest
Take advantage of the weak, of course.
Aleef Khan
In operations of the last two days, police have
arrested people with even a remote connection
with Jamaat? Why? What wrong did they commit?
Can you please write a piece on that as well?
Jamaat responsible for
Islamophobia
December 28
Islamophobia isn’t that big a problem in
Bangladesh as it is in places like France or
the Netherlands. Jamaat, however, isn’t
responsible for whatever Islampohobia that
does exist. Right from the start, the vast
majority of Bangladeshis have always separated
the actions of Jamaat from actual Islamic
teachings.
So who is responsible for Islamophobia in
this country? Primarily secular personalities
who want the status of Islam as a state religion
removed, who want the Bismillah abrogated
from the Constitution, who want all religious
political parties banned, who mock madrassah
students and want religious schools closed,
among other things.
KmAK
Corruption is good
December 29
Yes, good for some, bad for many and worst for
the country!
Zahurul Islam
Pro-AL lawyers not to
observe ‘work abstention’
December 31
What a joke!! Urging the chief justice to ban
any procession on the Supreme Court premises
from a rally held at the same place! Think
before pointing a finger at someone else, that
your other fingers are not looking back at you.
Ishtiaque Ahmed
Be Heard
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CALVIN AND HOBBES
Voters can make up
their own minds and
must be left free to
decide themselves
whether to vote or not
CROSSWORD
PEANUTS
SUDOKU
ACROSS
1 Command (5)
6 Regret (3)
7 Affirms with
confidence (5)
10 Unsuitable (5)
12 Obtains (4)
13 Courtyard (5)
15 Old cloth measures (4)
16 Limb (3)
18 Sister (3)
20 Vast ages (4)
22 Tiny island (5)
23 Teaching period (4)
25 Encourages in crime (5)
27 Storehouse (5)
28 Fish eggs (3)
29 Comforts (5)
DOWN
1 Beginning (6)
2 Cricket score (3)
3 Grow deeper (6)
4 Disconcerts (7)
5 Part of the verb
“to be” (3)
8 Self (3)
9 Main actor (4)
11 Close friend (3)
14 Set apart (7)
16 Plants (6)
17 Church services (6)
19 Employed (4)
21 Beak (3)
22 Little devil (3)
24 Blushing (3)
26 Digit (3)
YESTERDAY’S SOLUTIONS
Crossword
How to solve
Sudoku:
Fill in the
blank spaces
with the
numbers
1 – 9. Every
row, column
and 3 x 3 box
must contain
all nine digits
with no number repeating.
Code-Cracker
DHAKA TRIBUNE
Op-Ed
11
Beyond band-aids every five years
L
n Esam Sohail
et us dispense with the
notion that any of our four
major political parties are
democratic, notwithstanding the fond remembrances
of non-existing history by their apologists in the media and intelligentsia.
Never in the history of the Bengali
people, going back to the first partisan
legislative elections in 1937, has a party
been “democratic” when in office.
Short term solutions every five
years at election time are not going to
fix a problem that is so deeply embedded in our political culture. If there is a
failing that the international community has vis-à-vis Bangladesh, it is that
our friends intervene only to fix the
symptoms every few years rather than
help fix things more permanently.
Bangladesh is no real
democracy except in
the minds of those who
hold state power
Having a neutral government or fair
election is good, but such band-aids
do not address the deeply ingrained
realities on the ground that have been
unchanged since day one of the republic, except for those two occasions
in 1990 and 2007 when no-nonsense
non-partisan governments (for all
their faults) actually upheld the fundamental constitutional idea that the
law be applied to all, irrespective of
party.
The fact of the matter, which is
plain to everyone except committed
apologists of old style politics, is that
this government has broken every one
of its pledges when it came to establishing the independence of the lower
judiciary or statutory bodies; to add
insult to injury, the current manifesto
of the ruling party makes the same
promises again.
How different today is from 1990
and 2007. Every institution of the
state, from the Election Commission
to the Road Transport Authority to the
lower judiciary to the capital’s police,
is no more than a pathetic, grovelling,
subservient appendage of the ruling
party.
It is obvious that in Bangladesh, the
law of the land does not apply to those
affiliated with the ruling party, while
at the same time, arbitrary extra-legal measures are generously used to
subdue and harass those who dissent.
Why else would the leader of the opposition in parliament have her home
surrounded by hundreds of shock
troops who prevent her from leaving
or others from entering while the
police chief, almost comically, claims
that there is no house arrest?
The long term solution lies not in
merely having a free election so a different set of “democratic” tyrants can
simply exact retribution, but rather in
major constitutional changes that can
go beyond the greedy impulses of temporary majorities in parliament. The
impasse today is horrible, but if the
will is there, it can be used to our benefit, should Bangladesh’s civil society
and influential development partners
pledge to utilise it for a more lasting
answer to the perennial problem of
free elections.
For starters, the original 1972 constitution’s separation of powers guarantees are restored vis-à-vis Articles 115
and 116 dealing with judicial independence, and such changes are further
augmented by incorporating the conveniently (for the ruling party) lapsed
Judicial Service Ordinance of 2008 into
the body of the constitution itself.
Secondly, the original Anti-Corruption Commission law should be
coupled with the long-ignored constitutional requirement of a national
ombudsman. Thirdly, constitutional
protections should be afforded to a
new national police commission and
reformed National Human Rights
Commission and Election Commission, so that all three are appointed
by a formula where the government,
the parliamentary opposition, and the
higher judiciary all have substantive
input, and the positions themselves
are staggered so that there is no wholesale turnover every time a government
changes.
Finally, the entire constitutional
reform package must be protected
from the well proven capriciousness
of professional politicians by adding
a provision that disallows changes to
the package, unless such changes are
approved by a two-thirds majority
of a parliament elected under its
We need a permanent solution to this mayhem
provisions and ratified in a national
referendum, notwithstanding existing
amendment procedures in the
constitution.
deep, long-lasting, organic changes
to the broken constitutional system,
the world should take note and act
accordingly.
It is time to go beyond band-aids and adopt a real
cure to what ails a political culture that is anything
but democratic
This once-every-five-years-teethgnashing is a perennial problem
which requires a solution that is both
long-lasting and appropriate, given
our sorry history of using democracy for undemocratic ends. Should
the parties not agree to making such
As much as it pains me to admit it, history bears witness that the only time
Bangladesh’s political parties negotiate
in good faith is when development
partners and export markets finally
decide that enough is enough.
Foreign interference? You bet it is.
NASHIRUL ISLAM
But nothing else has worked to protect
the interest of ordinary Bangladeshis
from the limitless lust for absolute
power that all these “democratic”
parties possess. If the international
community truly wants to help Bangladesh, it is time to go beyond bandaids and adopt a real cure to what ails
a political culture that is anything but
democratic.
The truth of the matter is that
Bangladesh is no real democracy
except in the minds of those who hold
state power at any given mo ment,
or those whose livelihoods depend
on continuously propagating that
falsehood on the basis of myths. Mere
elections are not going to change
that scheme of things; only longterm, deeply embedded, structural
changes that put fetters on the proven
capriciousness of professional politi-
cians can have a shot at snatching a
sustainable, pluralist, representative
democracy from the jaws of the elected absolutist tyranny that Bangladesh
has been since 1990.
As John Adams, America’s second
president, so memorably said in the
early years of his own new republic
(that was born of a war of independence, not unlike that of Bangladesh’s
own freedom struggle): “Their vanity,
pride, resentment, or revenge must be
mitigated and controlled as much as
possible.” President Adams was referring to the necessity of constitutional
provisions to check the very primal
nature of politicians to desire absolute
power. l
Esam Sohail is an educational research
analyst and college lecturer of social
sciences. He writes from Kansas, USA.
What are you willing to sacrifice?
For a free and fair election
n Bobby Hajjaj
n Mohammed Fahimul Islam
S
ajeeb Wazed, scion of the Sheikh
dynasty and technology adviser
to the prime minister, penned an
opinion piece last Sunday. It wouldn’t
be a stretch to call Sajeeb a future
candidate for the prime minister’s
office. It is important for such a potential leader of this nation to voice his
opinions and let us assess his thoughts
and vision.
No one can fault Sajeeb for making
his piece a diatribe against the opposition his party is facing, nor are we
surprised that his piece reflected or
reinforced the ruling party’s ethos.
As a burgeoning leader of the largest political party in Bangladesh, it
behooves Sajeeb to uphold that party’s
esteem. At the same time, as a budding
national leader and a representative
of a new generation, we do expect to
see him push beyond narrow party
interests and speak and work for the
nation at large.
Sajeeb starts his piece by criticising
the opposition for having denied his
party’s attempts at conciliation. The
airwaves have been inundated with
such criticism from many ruling party
leaders and cabinet ministers, and I
have personally heard the same argument from numerous senior AL party
officials. They have said it so vociferously and with such unaffected sincerity that I now think the AL leadership
actually believes wholeheartedly in
that rhetoric.
There is no denying that the opposition has refused to accept the olive
branch offered by the ruling party, but
would a more critical look at the offer
on the table not proffer a different
view of the situation? How much of a
compromise was really on offer when
the honourable prime minister had
already put her foot down regarding
any possible change to the head of the
interim government?
One can also argue that the treatment meted out to former coalition
partner HM Ershad clearly reflects the
ruling party’s mood for conciliation.
The facts do seem to contradict the
ruling party rhetoric.
A true leader is always concerned
about what the people want, and
Sajeeb made multiple references to the
demands of the people. But his reference to the people’s demands does
beg another question: Does the ruling
party leadership really know what the
people of the country want?
As difficult a question as it is to try
and answer, we have seen tens of opinion polls conducted by reputable national and international organisations
that have given us some indication of
what the people demand.
We need future leaders
to stop propagating
the same old worn and
tired party lines
These polls have consistently shown
that the people of this country do not
support the kind of election the ruling
party is trying to hold; from these
same polls we’ve seen overwhelming
support for a caretaker government.
How then can the ruling party justify
their claims of fulfilling the people’s
demands?
We have been told that the farce of
the 10th election has to be conducted
in order to maintain constitutional
legitimacy. But how is the constitution
being honoured when the very basis
of a representative democracy – an
election – is turned into a mockery?
And if the 10th wasn’t an absolute
sham, then why would the ruling party
start making noises about the 11th general election even before the 10th was
concluded?
Unfortunately for us, the key cause
of this crisis is actually no more than
a power struggle, which has been
dressed up in divisive nationalistic
rhetoric. After the revolutionary struggle of 1971, the AL took ownership of
the independence issue and since then
they have been unable and unwilling
to move on to anything else.
This singular attempt at political
profiteering from the 1971 issue has
now turned so radical that , 42 years
after independence, it still seeks to divide the country along imaginary lines
of pro- and anti-liberation.
Sajeeb’s piece as well seemed no
more than another attempt to draw
support for that position. In effect,
we are seeing an artificial distinction
being created by the AL machine that
denounces all critics of the party as
anti-1971 or anti-Bangladesh. It is
important for leaders of Sajeeb’s generation to realise that divisive policies
and rhetoric can never help build a
strong nation.
It goes without saying that no one
party is culpable for the failure of our
government, or our democracy. For
42 years we have failed to develop
the robustness in our institutions that
could ensure a vibrant democracy.
This election crisis is but a symptom of
the deeper problems of flawed institutions, and we need our future leaders
to focus on rebuilding or restructuring
those institutions to help guarantee
democratic stability and responsible
governance.
We need future leaders like Sajeeb
to stop propagating the same old worn
and tired party lines and bring new
solutions. His attempt at emulating
the British government’s policy of
“Digital Britain” was a novel solution,
and we expect to see more of those
from him. The onus is on all of us, and on the
new generation of leadership that
Sajeeb represents, to build a nation
we can all be proud of. We will not
be able to build that Bangladesh if
we devote all our energies to fighting
amongst ourselves. We can’t sacrifice
the nation’s interests for the interest of
a political party. l
Bobby Hajjaj is Special Advisor to HM Ershad.
I
n this age of democratic emancipation, the demand for a “free and
fair” election has not remained
confined to rhetoric only. Several
studies have taken place to analyse
and theorise the accepted standards of
a free and fair election, against which
the electoral system of a country can
be assessed.
As Bangladesh is about to undergo
an election which has caused not only
controversy but widespread violence
among the major political actors, it is
pertinent to gauge the internationally
accepted standards of free and fair
elections to afford the major stakeholders an option to compare Bangladesh’s standards against it.
Among the major studies on which
these standards were shaped, the
first study was a White House-commissioned report by the US National
Science Foundation, Internet Policy
Institute, and the University of Maryland. The report was the product of a
workshop in October 2000, in which
political scientists, computer scientists, and election officials took part.
The second study was conducted in
1998 by KPMG for Elections Canada entitled “Technology and the Voting Process.”
The first principle of free and fair
elections is the participation principle. This makes it mandatory that the
electoral systems provide an equal
opportunity to all citizens to participate in the electoral process and that
they can access the ballot box.
The premise of this principle is
that people should have the right to
vote on a non-discriminatory basis, as
opposed to a system that denies the
right to vote to certain segments of the
society in an arbitrary manner. However, this principle is subject to certain
reasonable limitations and exceptions,
such as age, mental sanity, criminal
convictions, and non-nationals.
This principle also enshrines the
right of citizens to form and participate in political parties and that these
parties have the scope to contest in
elections. There may be reasonable
limitations placed before the parties
can contest the elections, like registering and requiring a small deposit from
candidates, in order to maintain the
sanctity of the process and as a precaution against dummy candidates.
The second principle is the
free-conscience principle. It means
that voters must be afforded the
opportunity to cast their votes without
undue influence, intimidation, or
coercion. In other words, voters must
be allowed to cast their votes with a
free conscience as opposed to being
influenced or instructed into voting
for a particular party or candidate.
The system of secret ballots is the best
mechanism to ensure that voters are
not coerced.
The third principle is the election
outcome principle. It lays the onus
upon the electoral commissions to
put up a system to accurately record,
store, and count each vote, and accurately report the outcome. Electoral
commissions must ensure that votes
are not lost, intentionally disposed of,
miscounted, or misreported.
must ensure that the candidates and
the political parties have the opportunity to express and publicise their
policies and programs.
These principles are not static, but
continue to evolve to embrace current
international practices as well as
community standards. For example,
from the Roman time up until the midto-late nineteenth century, it was not
only an accepted norm but a guiding
principle of democracy and free and
fair elections that voters declare their
vote in a public forum
Today, it would be construed as an
intrusion on voter privacy as well as inconsistent with the free-conscience principle, given the reprisals that could result
from such an open system of voting.
It is rather unfortunate that
Bangladesh is still in a nascent stage
of democracy, in spite of achieving independence 42 years ago. Though our
journey towards democracy has been
chequered, we have reached the stage
where elected governments can fulfil
their full term without any unconstitutional or undemocratic intervention.
It is rather unfortunate that Bangladesh is still in a
nascent stage of democracy, in spite of achieving
independence 42 years ago
The fourth principle is the knowledge principle. It requires that voters
possess a minimum knowledge about
the voting process, the candidates,
and the political parties contesting the
election. This principle is important
for equipping the voters to make an
informed decision.
The duty falls to the electoral
commissions to educate voters about
the electoral system, how to register
to vote, and how to correctly fill out a
ballot paper. In addition, the government and the electoral commission
In spite of this achievement,
Bangladesh periodically sinks into
a deep political crisis, with a heavy
toll on people as well businesses,
on the modalities of election-time
government. It is time that our major
political parties come to a mutual
understanding on what should be the
standards of a “free and fair” election
for which so many lives are lost every
five years. l
Mohammed Fahimul Islam is a former
diplomat currently living in Australia.
12
DHAKA TRIBUNE
Entertainment
National Museum displays works
of Shilpacharya and Patua
n Shadma Malik
The Bangladesh National Museum has
organised a month-long painting exhibition of the works of Shilpacharya
Zainul Abedin and Patua Quamrul Hassan to mark its 100th anniversary.
The biggest museum in Asia has put
on display a total of a 100 paintings –
50 each by the two maestros – at the
Nalinikanta Bhattashali Art Gallery.
The exhibition is part of the concluding programme of a two-year long
celebration of hundred years of the
museum.
It displays a rich archaeological interest, along with a host of metal and
wooden sculptures, gold, silver and
copper coins, stone inscriptions, copperplates, terracotta and other artifacts.
On August 7, 1913, Lord Carmichael,
the then governor of Bengal, inaugurated the Dhaka Museum in a single
room at the then Secretariat building,
now the Dhaka Medical College. The
Museum was opened for the public on
August 25, 1914.
The Dhaka Museum was shifted to
the Baraduari and Deuri of the Naib-Nazim of Dhaka in July 1915. Bangladesh
National Museum, incorporating the
Dhaka Museum, was established on
September 20, 1983 and formally inaugurated on November 17 that year.
The centenary exhibition is displaying
the Shilpacharya’s sketches and water colour works. His famine sketches in particular have won international acclaim. His
drawing and wash on paper titled the Tidal Bore Victims is an iconic image of human suffering. The maestro painted this
masterpiece in 1972. One of his sketches
is titled The Struggle that portrays a man
trying to move a bullock cart wheel stuck
in the mud. Human emotions had always
played a central role in his works, visible
in most of his works on the famine. Other
than all these, the Face of a Woman and
Mother and Child had tinges of both elements of emotion and contemporary artistic sophistication.
Quamrul Hassan had also aptly
represented the Bangalee culture
through his work. The Folk Design
shows his deep patriotism and
awareness of the native folk culture.
His series work Bride in charcoal and
water colour depict the traditional
rural bride of Bangladesh. Another
water colour on paper of the National
poet of Bangladesh Kazi Nazrul Islam
is also on display. His rural village and
Nabanna detailed the rural culture of
the country.
Speaker of Jatiya Sangsad ShirinSharmin Chaudhury inaugurated the
exhibition on December 22. The show
will remain open until January 18. l
Agnila’s career on the roll
n Entertainment Desk
An emerging star, Agnila has been seen involving herself completely in the
showbiz world now-a-days after she came into limelight by appearing in
Grameenphone’s TV commercial Bondhu.
She debuted on the small screen through the drama serial Gias Uddin Selim’s Biproteep few years back and then, with the same director,
she again appeared in a drama serial
Rod. However, the young talent
went to Canada to pursue higher
study and had a break in the media world. It seems she is gearing
up having quite a few projects in
her hand.
She is now working in a
hundred episode drama series
Poribaar Porikolpona, produced
by Mahfuz Ahmed and directed
by Ali Fida Ekram Tojo. She will
also be seen in the telefilm Hotobihol Bhalobasha where she
is pairing up with model cum
actor Kazi Asif. Written by journalist Tushar Abdulla and Sarkar
Milton’s direction, the telefilms
will be aired on the Valentine’s Day
on NTV.
An aspiring actor Agnila says:
“I want to be regular on the
screen with good scripts and
meaningful characters.” l
TODAY IN DHAKA
Exhibition
Shilpacharya and his Outer
World of Art
Time: 12pm-8pm
Bengal Gallery of Fine Arts,
House 42
Road 16 (New) / 27 (old)
Dhanmondi
City of Rhythm
Second phase of Kazi Salahuddin Ahmed
Time: 12-8pm
Shilpangan, House 7
Road 13 (New)
Dhanmondi
Zainul Quamrul Exhibition
Time: 10am – 8pm
Nalini Kanta Bhattasali Gallery,
National Museum
Shahbagh, Dhaka
Film
Pacific Rim in 3D
Escape Plan
The Conjuring
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire
Star Cineplex, Bashundhara Cityd
Gravity
Blockbuster Cinemas, Jamuna Future Park
From left, artworks Folk Design by Quamrul Hassan and Tidal Bore Victims by Zainul Abedin
Suchitra Sen’s
health improves
Ichheghuri airs on NTV tonight
Drama series Ichheghuri will air on NTV at 8:15pm tonight.
Written and directed by Safayet Monsur, the drama series
airs every Saturday and Sunday.
Story of the drama series revolves around a friend circle.
They have different plans for life and career. After completing
MBA, Mishu starts an online matrimonial business through
Facebook. Shyamol is an engineer and works to build robots.
Asif completes his study on Marketing and he is yet not decided what to choose for his profession. Ria is a photographer
and wants to explore the world through her lens. Aparna is
a dentist and her wish from life is very simple. Partha is the
leader of this group who wants to be rich like Bill Gates. They
don’t know about their future but, they don’t stop dreaming.
This is how the story goes on with interesting twists and turns.
Popular soap actors, such as, Partha Barua, Aparna, Mishu Sabbir, Mashiyat, Sporshiya, Sumon Patowary, Kazi
Asif, Shyamol Mawla, Monira Mithu and many more acted
in the drama series. l
ON
TV
Iconic actor of Bangla cinema Suchitra Sen’s health improved on Saturday, says her granddaughter Raima Sen, a
celebrated actor in West Bengal.
“My grandma is better. Thank you for your prayers...
Keep praying,” Raima tweeted Saturday.
The veteran actress, 82, is undergoing treatment for a
chest infection at the Belle Vue Clinic since December 23.
Suchitra was taken to the critical care unit (CCU) after her
condition deteriorated December 28 night. “Her other vital parameters like heart rate and blood pressure remain
stable,” said a doctor, adding that she was on a light diet.
Besides a cardiologist, the 82-year-old actress was also
examined by two chest specialists.
A five-member medical board at the hospital led by
Dr Subrata Maitra was monitoring her health round-theclock.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee visited
the hospital on Friday and met doctors and her daughter
actor Moon Moon.
Suchitra Sen is known for her performances in films
like Deep Jwele Jaai and Uttar Falguni in Bangla as well as
Hindi movies Devdas, Bambai Ka Babu and Mamta. She
won the Best Actress Award for Saat Paake Bandha at the
Moscow film festival in 1963. l
A scene from Ichheghuri
Aamir Khan wants to
act opposite Kiran Rao
MOVIE
8:35pm Zee Studio
Out of Sight
11:30pm Star Movies
Australia
COMEDY
1:30pm Z Cafe
Friends
8:30pm Comedy Central
Outsourced
MISC
1:30pm FTV
Fashion Divas
8:30pm AXN
Top Gear
Today’s episode of
Desh TV’s A Tribute
to Legend will feature
legendary Jamaican
singer-songwriter
Bob Marley’s life and
works. The show will
be aired on 7:45pm.
DiCaprio optimistic
about getting
Oscar this time
Whenever a real life couple decides to come together for a project, it generates a lot of curiosity among the audience.
Earlier, it was Shahid Kapoor and Kareena Kapoor in Fida and Jab We Met;
Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai in Guru and Dhoom 2.
For a forthcoming movie, the pairing however will be of a different kind
- an actor and his director wife.
Aamir Khan and Kiran Rao could be seen on the silver screen for the first
time.
A source close to Khan informed us, “At this point, Aamir is contemplating
doing a mature romantic film, and that is how this script came his way.”
While discussing the script, he felt Kiran would be perfect for the role.
Infact, he is a big fan of her acting prowess since Lagaan, in which she was
the assistant director.
He wanted her to do Yasmin’s role in Dhobi Ghat. But she was clear she
couldn’t act and direct in the same frame. So, now it remains to be seen if
Kiran will do the film.”
However, Rao did not disclose anything to the media. l
Actor Leonardo DiCaprio says he wants his latest
movie The Wolf of Wall Street to receive awards and
recognition galore. Winning an Oscar, he says, would
be meaningful.
“Of course it would be meaningful to win an Oscar. I think everyone wants to be recognised by their
peers, absolutely, without question. But the truth of
the matter is, you learn very quickly you have absolutely no control of what critics or audiences are going
to think,” said the 39-year-old.
“You really just have to do everything you can
to make the best film. That’s the one thing that I do
know,” he added.
DiCaprio, considered as one of the most powerful
actors of Hollywood in recent times, has previously
received Oscar nominations for What’s Eating Gilbert
Grape, The Aviator and Blood Diamond, but had never
received one. This time, he especially wants The Wolf
Of Wall Street to get recognition as he feels the Martin
Scorsese-directed movie helped him evolve.
“I would love for this film, on all fronts, to get some
attention because there’s only been two films in my
entire career that I’ve really developed myself, really championed to get financed and got a director involved with, and that’s been ‘The Aviator’ and this.
“And so, in a lot of ways - and I hate to use the term
- those two are my ‘babies’,” he said.
“Those were the films that I really did everything
I possibly could to get made in the right way. And I
think that they’re very difficult movies to pull off, especially with this one, a film that opens yourself and
the movie up to a lot of criticism. So to get any kind
of recognition would be amazing for this, absolutely,”
added the Titanic star. l
Did you know?
Six of the last
eight Tests between
Pakistan and Sri
Lanka have been
drawn, with one
win apiece
Sport
DHAKA TRIBUNE
13
0 7 0
DAYS TO GO
14 City face fixture
pile-up as Rovers
earn replay
15 Sri Lanka salvages
draw in first
Pakistan Test
Russell sweat past
Chittagong Abahani
n Shishir Hoque
Sheikh Russell KC
came from behind
to earn a hardfought 2-1 victory
over the spirited Chittagong Abahani
to salvage all three points in their second Bangladesh Premier League match
at the Bangabandhu National Stadium
yesterday.
Following their convincing 4-0 victory against Uttar Baridhara in their
opening encounter, the reigning champions had to toil hard against the newly promoted side to get their successive victory of the league. Chittagong
Abahani’s Nigerian striker Nepoleon
Gabriel’s 13th minute opener was cancelled out by French midfielder Maxime Eric Roger three minutes later before Moroccan forward Younes Roux
slammed the winner for Sheikh Russell in the second-half.
Sheikh Russell’s Moroccan forward Youness Raux scores the winner against Chittagong Abahani at the BNS yesterday
MUMIT M
Asia Cup remains in Bangladesh
Afghanistan to feature as fifth team in this edition
just called from Colombo and informed eleven,” Nizamuddin added. n Minhaz Uddin Khan
ACC CEO Syed Ashraful Huq inthat we will be hosting the tournament,”
Millions across the country were relieved after the Asian Cricket Council
(ACC) in its executive meeting at Colombo yesterday confirmed that the
Asia Cup in March will not be shifted
and it will be hosted by Bangladesh.
The current political turmoil in
Bangladesh had raised questions of
whether it would be correct to host
the tournament here and should it be
shifted to another country. It created
more doubts with the Sri Lanka Cricket Board offering to hold the tournament recently, but the phone call from
Bangladesh Cricket Board president
Nazmul Hossain, who attended the
ACC meeting in Sri Lanka, to Jalal Younus cleared the gloomy weather.
“Asia Cup is going nowhere. The president (BCB president Nazmul Hasan)
said chairman of media and communications, BCB, Jalal to the media personals who were around him at the BCB office premises during the call.
The concrete announcement of the
decision followed within minutes after
the ACC meeting ended in Colombo.
“As of now, the decision has been made
that Bangladesh will retain hosting
rights of the Asia Cup,” said BCB acting
CEO Nizamuddin Chowdhury. Meanwhile, the traditional fourteam Asia Cup will see another nation joining the event. “We had a good
meeting with ACC board members, and
they have been convinced that we can
host the tournament. Afghanistan has
also been added to the tournament,
making it a five-team event and the
number of matches has gone up to
formed the media that the members
did not have any precise queries about
the security in Bangladesh while the
tournament being held. “Bangladesh provided a detailed
security plan to the ACC, which was
studied and agreed to. If any member
has any other concerns, they should
address it with Bangladesh,” said
Ashraful. In December, the West Indies Under-19s withdrawal from their tour after a bomb exploded near their hotel
in Chittagong caught attention of the
international media. The news around
the globe made cricket boards of the
participating nations in the Asia Cup
show concern. Pakistan Cricket Board,
who have been in bitter terms with the
BCB for some time now, were the most
vocal with the issue. It was reported that the PCB might
reconsider of sending its team for the
Asia Cup and for the growing anti-Pakistan feelings across Bangladesh over
the war-criminal’s trial. “The BCB and the Bangladesh government have no issue with Pakistan
participating in the Asia Cup. It is
their (PCB) decision whether to send
their team or not,” said BCB president
Nazmul to a local news channel in Dhaka over phone yesterday. “We always believe that cricket will
remain above politics in Bangladesh
and the country is crazy for the game.
The situation is not like the tournament
needs to be shifted to some other
country. We have always said that the
trouble is political, not terrorism. The
situation will better as days passes by,”
Nazmul added. l
The port city club, who finished the
Bangladesh Championship League as
champions to earn the top flight ticket, put a brave display throughout the
game. Led by Gabriel, Chittagong Abahani fired all cylinders and played as a
total unit despite the absence of their
head coach Habibur Rahman.
Russell coach Maruful Haque handed the debut to his new foreign recruits
Eric Roger and Younes Roux in the premier league and they repaid the faith in
some style.
However, it was the Chittagong side
who initiated the first attack with just
three minutes on the clock. Gabriel did
well to break into the penalty area from
the left flank, but his shot hit the side
netting.
They, however, didn’t have to wait
long to make the first breakthrough as
Gabriel put Chittagong Abahani ahead
with a brilliant solo effort in the 13th
minute. Receiving a through from defender Masuk Mia Jony, Gabriel dribbled past two defenders before firing
home through the gap of two defenders. Biplob dived to his right but his
touch on the ball was not enough from
stopping it roll inside the goal.
Abahani’s delight lasted for only
three minutes when Eric Roger restored the parity from a 20-yard leftfooted free-kick.
The lead was almost restored three
minutes after the resumption but Biplob saved his side producing a superb
McInnes disappointed with early exit UCB Club Cup Hockey
n Minhaz Uddin Khan
Bangladesh Under-19 cricket coach Richard McInnes is disappointed with Bangladesh’s exit from the ACC U-19 Asia Cup
in spite of a good run. With wins in the
first two games, the young tigers were a
strong contender for the semi-finals. But Afghanistan denied Bangladesh
from the next stage of the tournament.
The former moved onto the semi-finals
on the basis of the net run-rate after
three teams – Bangladesh, Afghanistan
and Sri Lanka - had the same number
of points in the Group B. “It is really disappointing not to reach
the final stage of the tournament. The
team was consistent beating Afghanistan by 16 runs and later Malaysia by
nine wickets and a narrow defeat against
Sri Lanka. But net run-rate pushed us
out of the competition,” said McInnes to
the Dhaka Tribune yesterday. Bangladesh U-19 has no scheduled
international matches ahead of the ICC
U-19 World Cup in February. McInnes
informed that a few more matches in
the Asia Cup could have helped the
cricketers prepare more as the venues
are the same for the World Cup. “It’s our bad luck not to have played
few more games and that we don’t
have any scheduled series ahead of the
World Cup. I don’t think we are prepared up to the mark for the big event
as of now but I hope we will be able to
hold a healthy camp and few matches
with senior teams once the political
unrest cools off,” informed McInnes. The 39-year old Australian marked
the U-19 skipper Mehidy Hassan Miraz as a good prospect for the future if
nurtured well. “We don’t have players
which can replace Shakib or say Mushfiq in future. However there are very
good talents in the team and they only
thing needed is to groom them well,”
he added. l
Shakib al Hasan flashes
the shirt of Adelaide
Strikers at Adelaide
yesterday. Shakib is
likely to become the
first cricketer from
Bangladesh to play
in the Big Bash today
against Sydney Sixers
COURTESY
Sheikh Russell coach Maruful Haque
fought hard to content his emotions
after his team edged past a spirited
Chittagong Abahani 2-1 in the Bangladesh Premier League yesterday. His
counterpart thought his team did not
enjoy the favour of lady luck as they
dominated the procedure yet finished
as the losers.
The young players of Chittagong
Abahani sent the chill through the
Russell spine on many occasions and
Maruf said he was expecting it.
“To be frank I was ready to see
Chittagong Abahani put the strong
resistance against us, they are speedy
and the players have been together for
a long time, however we were focused
RESULT
Sheikh Russell
Roger 16
Roux 65
2-1 Ctg Abahani
Gabriel 13
MATCH HIGHLIGHTS
breaks from left of the
3” Gabriel
penalty area but hits the side
netting
GOAL! Gabriel put Chittagong
Abahani ahead with a brilliant
solo effort. Receiving a through
from Jony, Gabriel dribbled past two
defenders and fired the ball home.
GOAL! Maxime Eric Roger
equalises from a 20-yard
out left-footed free kick. Moroccan
forward Youness Roux earned the
free-kick when Nazrul Islam fouled
him just outside the box
Biplob produces a superb
diving save to deny Atikur
Rahman’s powerful shot from going
in
Ricardo Cousins header
hits the sidebar on an Imrul
Hasan Emu cross
GOAL! Younes Roux sealed
the victory for Russell slotting home with an angular shot,
thanks to pin-pointed cross of
Cousins
Atiqur Rahman’s left-footed
shot hit the woodwork after
the striker received a pass from
Sohel Mia
13”
16”
48”
57”
65”
75”
starts tomorrow
Sri Lanka to
decide on Jan 9
n Raihan Mahmood
n Minhaz Uddin Khan
Sonali Bank and Shadharan Bima will
feature in the inaugural match of the
UCB Club Cup Hockey at the Maulana
Bhashani National Hockey Stadium at
1:00pm tomorrow.
Later at 3pm Abahani Ltd will face
Dhaka Wanderers in the second match
of the opening day. The other three
clubs of the seven-team meet, which
by tradition has always served the purpose of a warm-up tournament of the
premier division hockey league, are
Usha KC, Ajax SC and Azad SC.
The four rebel hockey clubs - Mohammedan, Mariners, Wari and Bangladesh
Sporting Club - who declared not to play
under the current executive committee
remained out of the tournament.
The champions of the meet will
receive a purse of Tk30000 while the
runners-up will get Tk20000.
In a press conference yesterday
tournament secretary Anvir Adil Khan
presented the meet to the press. Sponsors United Commercial Bank will provide Tk200000 for the tournament
while the approximate budget of the
event is Tk250000. l
Maruf relieved, Taher blames luck
n Raihan Mahmood
diving save to deny Atikur Rahman’s
powerful strike after the midfielder
owned the rebound from a goalmouth
melee.
It was hard for anyone to take their
eyes off the game as the flurry of attacks and counter attacks was heading for an interesting finish. Amid a
number of attacks from both the sides,
Roux scored the all-important goal in
the 65th minute to open his league account. The Moroccan forward slotted
the ball past Piaruzzaman with an angular shot from inside the box after receiving a cross of Cousins. Chittagong
Abahani had an opportunity to equalise as Atiqur Rahman hit the woodwork
in the 75th minute.
With two victories from two
Russell sits at the top of the chart with
six points. l
upon our job and we at last emerged
victorious,” said Russell.
Maruf said his team struggled
to adapt the system of 3-3-1-3 as
French midfielder Maxim Rogers and
Chittagong Abahani created
more pressure than we
expected, they were
spirited, however we fought
hard to win the match
Moroccan forward Younnes Raux
played their first match in the league.
“They did not play the first match
as Raux was injured and Maxim was
on a vacation, two changes made my
formation unstable but I hope with
more time it will improve,” he added.
Having no seasoned left-back Maruf
had to go with the relatively unfamiliar
formation.
Younnes Raux, the scorer of the
winner said he was happy to see his
team win. “Chittagong Abahani created
more pressure than we expected, they
were spirited, however we fought hard
to win the match,” said the Moroccan.
Meanwhile Chittagong Abahani
assistant coach Abu Taher Siddque and
his forward Sohel Miah thought they
could have won if luck was in their
favour.
“I think if we could have kept
the lead further then it would have
been a different story, we have been
practicing for the last two months
and we dominated the match,” said
Siddique. l
Asian Cricket Council’s (ACC) decision
of Bangladesh remaining as the host
of the Asia Cup should relax Sri Lanka
Cricket (SLC) with their concern of security, believes cricket experts. This will
also give the Bangladesh Cricket Board
(BCB) the momentum to convince SLC
of going through with the bilateral series scheduled to begin on January 27.
The BCB chairman of media and
communication Jalal Younus informed
that the BCB president Nazmul Hasan
and the BCB CEO had a meeting with
SLC yesterday and so far any negative
is unlikely.
“The meeting was fruitful and there
were no negatives as far as I know. They
(SLC) will wait for clearance from their
government and asses the post-election
condition in Bangladesh,” informed Jalal to the Dhaka Tribune yesterday.
Jayantha Dharmadasa, the SLC
chairman also echoed the same
thought and said a decision on the tour
will be made soon.
“Sri Lanka are also due to tour Bangladesh from January 24, and SLC is
presently conducting its own security
appraisal. A final decision on whether
that tour will go ahead as scheduled
will be made on January 9,” Dharmadasa said to the media.
Bangladesh, scheduled to host the
ICC World Twenty20 in March, will also
look forward to the ICC’s move on the
situation. The ICC, too, will hold security inspections of the country, before
deciding whether to retain Bangladesh
as the host for the World Twenty20. l
14
DHAKA TRIBUNE
Sport
City face fixture
pile-up as Rovers
earn replay
n AFP, Blackburn
Blackburn Rovers English midfielder Jason Lowe (L) vies with Manchester City's Spanish striker Alvaro Negredo during their FA Cup third round match at Ewood Park in
Blackburn, north-west England yesterday
AFP
No Elche return for Messi
n AFP, Madrid
Four-time World Player
of the Year Lionel Messi will need to wait to
make his return from a
hamstring injury after
being left out of Barcelona coach Gerardo Martino’s squad for
Sunday’s visit of Elche.
Messi only returned to the Catalan
capital on Thursday after a month of
recovery work and training in his native Argentina. Martino insisted that his
compatriot looks in fine shape, but is still
someway short of being fully match fit.
“In my view Messi is full of desire,
I think he is in very good shape physically and has the look of a killer,” said
Martino. He needs to gain more rhythm
from training with his teammates and
then in competitive action, but he is
doing very well.”
Barca are hoping that Messi will be
fit to play some part in their top-ofthe-table clash away to Atletico Madrid
next weekend.
And Martino wants to ensure that his
side maintain their position as league
leaders with a win against Elche ahead
of their trip to the Vicente Calderon.
Despite Messi’s absence, Barca have
been boosted on the injury front as Victor Valdes is fit again to take his place in
goal. Neymar and Xavi Hernandez also
return to the squad which won 5-2 away
to Getafe last time out, but Dani Alves
and Sergio Busquets miss out due to illness and suspension respectively. l
FIXTURES
Sevilla
Barcelona
Osasuna
Real Sociedad
v
v
v
v
Getafe
Elche
Espanyol
Athletic Bilbao
Rodgers charged
for City ref rant
n AFP, London
Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers
was charged by the Football Association on Friday for allegedly questioning the integrity of referee Lee Mason
in his side’s 2-1 defeat against Manchester City.
Rodgers asked whether it was correct to have an official from Greater
Manchester in charge of the game after
a series of decisions went against his
team at Eastlands on December 26.
As a result Rodgers has been landed
with an FA charge to which he has until
1800GMT on Wednesday to respond.
“Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers has been charged by The FA over
post-match media comments he made
following his side’s game against Manchester City on 26 December 2013,” the
FA said in a statement. l
Manchester City face
the prospect of an unwanted FA Cup thirdround replay after being held to a 1-1
draw by Championship side Blackburn
on Saturday.
City manager Manuel Pellegrini
spent much of the festive period bemoaning the hectic schedule that
forced his team to play five times in 15
days over Christmas.
Now the Chilean has one more fixture to squeeze into a packed January
that already features both legs of City’s
League Cup semi-final against West
Ham, as well as three more Premier
League matches and a potential FA Cup
fourth-round tie.
Pellegrini has Scott Dann to blame
for having to face Blackburn again, this
time at Eastlands, as the Rovers defender’s second-half goal cancelled out
a first-half opener from Spanish striker
Alvaro Negredo in a hard-fought clash
at Ewood Park. To add to Pellegrini’s
frustration, City had defender Dedryck
Boyata sent off in the closing stages.
England goalkeeper Joe Hart was
rested by Pellegrini as Costel Pantilimon came back into the side, but City
still fielded a strong line-up including
Negredo, Edin Dzeko and David Silva.
Rovers boss Gary Bowyer left leading scorer Jordan Rhodes on the bench,
while former England goalkeeper Paul
Robinson played his first game in more
than a year after recovering from a
blood clot on his lung.
Blackburn, currently 10th in the
Championship, are 29 places below City
in the league structure, but they hardly
looked intimidated by their more illustrious visitors in the early stages.
They harried Pellegrini’s men out of
their usual smooth passing rhythm and
engineered the first chances of the tie.
Chris Taylor advanced unchecked
and tried his luck with a long-range effort
that deflected wide, with Dann’s header
bringing Pantilimon into action for the
first time from the resulting corner.
City began to take control in the
latter stages of the first half and they
should have been in front in the 35th
minute when Fernandinho pulled the
ball back to David Silva in space inside
the Rovers penalty area.
Silva had time to pick his spot but
the Spanish winger instead slashed his
shot wildly over the crossbar.
Negredo eventually broke the deadlock in the final minute of the half. l
Leaders Juve set for Roma test
n AFP, Milan
The first weekend of the
New Year features the
biggest game of the season so far in Serie A, as
leaders Juventus entertain second-placed Roma
in Turin on Sunday.
Juve come into 2014 five points clear
of Roma at the summit, and so a win
will see them take a big step towards
retaining their title.
Antonio Conte’s side are in fine
form, having won their last nine league
games on the bounce since suffering
their sole league defeat this season, a
4-2 reverse at Fiorentina in October.
Meanwhile, Roma could still match
Juve’s 2011-12 achievement of going
the entire campaign undefeated.
Under French coach Rudi Garcia,
Roma have yet to lose in 17 matches,
although since winning their opening
10 games they have managed just two
wins and five draws.
That run has allowed Juve to pull
clear and they are defending an unbeaten home record in Serie A stretch-
FIXTURES
Chievo v Cagliari
Fiorentina v Livorno
Juventus v Roma
ing back almost exactly a year and a 2-1
defeat to Sampdoria on January 6, 2013.
Earlier on Sunday, fourth-placed
Fiorentina entertain Tuscan neighbours Livorno, but most matches this
weekend will be played on Monday’s
Epiphany holiday.
Napoli, in third, are set to welcome
back Marek Hamsik for their home
meeting with a Sampdoria side unbeaten in five matches since former player
Sinisa Mihajlovic became coach in November.
Meanwhile, chaos reigns at Lazio,
where two coaches are claiming the
right to sit on the bench for Monday’s
home clash with Inter.
The capital club have insisted that
Vladimir Petkovic was in breach of
contract when he agreed to take over
as coach of Switzerland from July, and
are trying to sack him and avoid paying
the 600,000 euros ($818,000) in compensation being claimed by the coach.
He insists he is still in charge of
Lazio but former boss Edy Reja has
been leading training sessions this
week and the club plan to present him
as their new coach at a press conference on Sunday. l
‘All players cheat,’ claims Pellegrini
Lazio sack Petkovic,
bring back Reja
n AFP, Rome
n AFP, London
“I think it is very difficult and I respect them (referees). Of course nobody likes it when the referee whistles
against your team when it is wrong, but
a lot of time he whistles and gives you
an advantage that maybe you didn’t
have.”
Chelsea midfielder Oscar was
widely criticised after being booked for
diving in an unsuccessful attempt to
win a penalty during his side’s 3-0 win
at Southampton on New Year’s Day.
Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho
supported the decision, describing the
fight to rid the game of diving as “an
important issue”, but he also claimed
that there were no habitual divers at
his club.
“I want to make it clear: there are
many divers in the world of football.
There are many divers in some big
clubs in the world of football,” said the
Portuguese.
“There are some divers in England.
Not many, some. In Chelsea, no divers,
no divers at all.
“Oscar made a mistake, which
he tells me and I believe him. He
was completely convinced the goalkeeper was coming to smash him.
The goalkeeper didn’t, he made his
mistake, he was punished with a yellow card, he accepts the yellow card in
a very calm way.
“His manager comes after in the
press to say, ‘Well done (referee) Mr
Atkinson.’ End of story. Here we don’t
have divers.” l
Serie A club Lazio announced on Saturday that they had fired coach Vladimir
Petkovic and replaced him with former
boss Edy Reja.
In a statement, the capital club revealed they had parted companty with
the entire management team, saying:
“Lazio announce that they have rescinded the contract of Vladimir Petkovic, Antonio Manicone and Paolo Rongoni.
“The club has installed coach Edoardo Reja, who will be assisted by Alberto
Bollini and Adriano Bianchini.”
Lazio are currently 10th in the Serie
A table ahead of their opening game
of 2014, at home to Inter Milan on
Monday. l
Manchester City manager Manuel
Pellegrini has waded into the debate
about diving in football by claiming
that “players are always trying to
cheat”.
FIFA
president
Sepp
Blatter
broached the issue earlier this week
when he called for tougher sanctions
to punish simulation, but Pellegrini
fears that it may be a losing battle.
“I think it is very difficult to be a
referee,” said the Chilean, in comments
reported by several British newspapers
on Saturday.
“The players play too quickly. The
players are always trying to cheat because football is cheating.
Argentina deny
Cameroon World
Cup warm-up
n Reuters, Buenos Aires
United lose
Southampton’s Osvaldo
Young to
banned after Newcastle brawl shoulder injury
n AFP, London
n AFP, London
Confusion reigned for two World Cup
finalists on Friday with Cameroon
announcing a warm-up against
Argentina on June 6 that the South
Americans later denied, instead
confirming a friendly with Slovenia a
day later.
Guillermo Tofoni, whose World
Eleven agency organises all Argentina’s
friendlies, told Reuters they would
play their last warm-up against the
Slovenians at the River Plate stadium
in Buenos Aires on June 7.
He denied Argentina would meet
Cameroon in a friendly before the Brazil finals.
Apart from the Slovenia game, Lionel Messi’s team will play Trinidad and
Tobago, probably on June 4 at a venue
yet to be settled, in preparation for
their Group F matches against Bosnia,
Iran and Nigeria.
Argentina will also meet Romania in
Bucharest on March 5. l
Southampton striker Dani Osvaldo was
fined £40,000 ($65,000, 48,0000 euros) and suspended for three matches
on Friday for his part in a touchline
brawl during an ill-tempered Premier
League clash at Newcastle.
Osvaldo, an Argentina-born Italy
international, was watching from the
sidelines after already being substituted during the 1-1 draw on December 14
when he reacted angrily to an aggressive tackle in stoppage-time.
The ugly scenes were sparked by
Southampton
midfielder
Morgan
Schneiderlin’s yellow card for a late
challenge on Newcastle defender Massadio Haidara.
Staff and players from both benches
became embroiled in a touchline ruckus, with referee Mike Jones sending
Newcastle coach Andy Woodman and
Saints back-room staff member Toni
Jimenez to the stands.
Osvaldo’s ban takes immediate ef-
Manchester United manager David
Moyes has admitted that winger Ashley Young is set for a spell on the sidelines with an injury suffered in the
New Year’s Day defeat to Tottenham
Hotspur.
Young hurt his shoulder in a collision with Tottenham goalkeeper Hugo
Lloris that Moyes insisted should have
led to a penalty for his side.
The former Aston Villa player landed awkwardly as he leapt over Lloris
and will certainly miss this weekend’s
FA Cup third-round meeting with
Swansea City.
“Ashley has got an injury that is going
to keep him out for a time,” said Moyes.
“It is a shoulder injury he received
in the challenge by the goalkeeper. I am
not sure how long it will be.”
Meanwhile, Moyes offered no further update on the fitness of Robin van
Persie, who has missed six games with
a thigh injury. l
fect after the charge of violent conduct
was proved by an FA independent regulatory commission hearing.
The 27-year-old, who joined Southampton for a club record £12.8 million in
August last year, is ruled out of Saturday’s
FA Cup third round tie against Burnley.
Newcastle coach Woodman has
been fined £1,250 and warned as to
his future conduct after he admitted a
charge of improper conduct.
Osvaldo will miss the Burnley match
and Premier League fixtures against West
Bromwich Albion and Sunderland. l
Mourinho wants Mata
to stay at Chelsea
n AFP, Cobham
Jose Mourinho insists he does not want
Juan Mata to leave Chelsea and expects
the Spain international to remain at
Stamford Bridge this month.
Mourinho, the Chelsea manager, appeared to pave the way for Mata’s departure after the player’s frustrated reaction to being substituted during the
New Year’s Day win at Southampton.
Mata, the club’s player of the year
for the last two seasons, has struggled
to establish himself as a first-choice selection since the Portuguese returned
to the club during the close season and
has been linked with a move to Manchester United.
And the manager’s claim that the
club’s “door was open” if the player
wanted to discuss a move away was
taken as an indication that Mata’s days
at the club are numbered.
But Mourinho declared himself
happy with the way Mata has reacted
to the latest disappointment.
Speaking on Friday ahead of Chel-
sea’s FA Cup third round trip to Derby
County, the manager said: “He’s not
been in to see us and today he trained
in a fantastic way.
“He focused more on what I said after the game, when I said ‘I don’t want
him to leave’. He focused on that rather
than ‘the door is always open’.
“When he focuses on me not wanting him to leave, he moves on, he was
happy with the victory and trained fantastically, no problems.”
Mourinho refuted suggestions there
had been interest in the Spaniard from
United, saying: “There has been no interest from other clubs.
“I keep saying I want him to stay.
There is no other offer, no offer.”
Mourinho also denied negotiations
are underway that will see Belgian
international Kevin De Bruyne leave
Chelsea to join Bundesliga club
Wolfsburg.
But he admitted the player has
struggled to adapt to life at Stamford
Bridge while insisting he would not be
allowed to leave on the cheap. l
DHAKA TRIBUNE
SCORECARD, DAY 5
Sri Lanka 1st innings 204
A. Mathews 91; Junaid Khan 5-58,
Bilawal Bhatti 3-65
Pakistan 1st innings 383
Younis Khan 136, Misbah-ul Haq 135; S.
Eranga 3-80, R. Herath 3-93
Sri Lanka 2nd innings
Overnight 420-5)
D. Karunaratne b Junaid
24
K. Silva c Akmal b Junaid
81
K. Sangakkara c Younis b Bhatti
55
M. Jayawardene c Shafiq b Bhatti
0
D. Chandimal c Ali b Junaid
89
A. Mathews not out
157
P. Jayawardene not out
63
Extras: (b4, lb7)
11
Total: (five wkts dec; 168.3 overs) 480
Bowling
Junaid 36-3-93-3, Ali 38.3-9-92-0,
Bhatti 36-8-146-2, Ajmal 49-10-115-0,
Hafeez 9-1-23-0
Pakistan 2nd innings
K Manzoor c Prasanna b Lakmal
8
Ahmed Shehzad lbw b Herath
55
Mohammad Hafeez not out
80
Younis Khan not out
13
Extras: (b1, nb1)
2
Total: (for two wkts; 52 overs)
158
Bowling
Lakmal 13-1-43-1, Eranga 11-0-38-0
(1nb), Herath 21-8-37-1, Mathews 2-09-0, Senanayake 5-0-30-0
Result: Match drawn
QUICK BYTES
Zia draws
in 7th round
After two consecutive defeats, Bangladesh Grandmaster Ziaur Rahman
salvaged a draw against Fide Master
Croad Nicolas of New Zealand in the
7th round at the Masters event of the
89th Hasting International Chess Congress which is being held in Horntye
Park, Hastings, East Sussex in England.
With the draw Zia earned four points
out of seven games.
–Tribune Desk
Naveed rushes home
Naveed Alam, the Pakistani head coach
of Bangladesh hockey team, flew home
yesterday to be at the side of his ailing
father. Naveed’s father, suffering from
cardiac arrest, requires an operation
and Naveed after completing his
preliminary camp of the Asian Games
rushed back to his home at Sheikhupura. Wing Commander Rafiul Islam, the
representative of federation president
said Naveed is scheduled to return before January 15. The camp is scheduled
to resume after Naveed returns. A total
of 61 players were under the scrutiny in
the preliminary camp of the Asia Cup.
–RM
DAY’S WATCH
Sony Six
NBA 2013-14
6:00AM
Orlando v Miami
9:00AM
Sacramento v Charlotte
12:00PM
Detroit v Memphis
11:30AM
Brisbane International 2014
Finals
Ten HD
Ram Slam T20 Challenge
2:00PM
Dolphins v TitansLive
6:00PM
Lions v WarriorsLive
Star Sports 1
2:00PM
Big Bash T20
Adelaide Strikers v Sydney Sixers
5:30AM
Australia v England
5th Test, Day 4 (Monday)
Star Sports 2
5:30PM
Aircel Chennai Open
Star Sports 4
FA Cup (3rd Round)
6:00PM
Nottingham Forest v West Ham
8:15PM
Derby County v Chelsea
10:30PM
Man United v Swansea
1:45AM
Italian Serie A
Juventus v Roma
Star Sports HD1
La Liga
9:00PM
Barcelona v Elche
11:00PM
Osasuna v Espanyol
Star Sports HD2
1:00AM
La Liga
Real Sociedad v At Bilbao
Sport
15
Sri Lanka
salvage draw
n AFP, Abu Dhabi
The first Test between Pakistan and
Sri Lanka ended in a draw on the fifth
and final day in Abu Dhabi on Saturday
after Mohammad Hafeez and Ahmed
Shehzad hit half-centuries.
Hafeez finished with 80 not out for
his ninth Test half-century, his first
in 11 innings, while Ahmed Shehzad
notched his maiden fifty on his debut
as Pakistan, set 302 runs in a possible
of 67 overs, finished on 158-2.
The draw left the three-Test series
open, with the second Test starting in
Dubai on Wednesday. The third Test will
be played in Sharjah from January 16.
The no-result is also a moral victory
for the Sri Lankans who were in a
danger of losing after conceding a big
179-run lead in the first innings and
were 186-4 after the third day, leading
by just seven runs with six wickets
intact.
Sri Lankan skipper Angelo Mathews
hit a career-best 157 not out to pull his
team out of danger on the fourth day
when they lost only one wicket in the
full day’s play for 234 runs.
The target always looked beyond
Pakistan’s reach as their best winning
chase in all Test cricket was 314 against
Australia in Karachi in 1994.
Pakistan lost opener Khurram Manzoor early, caught behind off paceman
Suranga Lakmal after scoring eight, but
Hafeez and Shehzad avoided any further loss and put on 94 in an unbroken
second wicket stand.
Hafeez reached his half-century
with two fours in one Sachitra Senanayake over. He had been dropped
from the Pakistan team for the twoTest series against South Africa, also
in Abu Dhabi, in October, after scoring
just 113 in 11 innings.
Shehzad also hit spinner Rangana
Herath for his seventh four to reach his
maiden 50 before he was trapped legbefore by the same bowler soon after
tea for 55.
Hafeez hit 11 fours during his sedate
knock. Younis Khan was the other unbeaten batsman with 13.
Mathews said he was happy with his
team’s fightback. l
Pakistan batsman Mohammad Hafeez raises his bat in celebration after scoring a half-century as Ahmed Shehzad (L) looks on during the
final day of their first Test against Sri Lanka at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi yesterday
AFP
Serena fires her way to victory,
Federer sets up Hewitt showdown
n Reuters, Brisbane
Serena Williams laid down an imposing
marker ahead of the first grand slam of
the year by powering to a 6-4 7-5 victory over Australian Open champion
Victoria Azarenka at the Brisbane International.
The American won the battle between the world’s top two players to
pick up her 58th career title.
In the men’s draw, Roger Federer
will be chasing a 19th win over home
favourite Lleyton Hewitt when the two
32-year-olds renew their friendly rivalry in Sunday’s final.
Both players needed three sets to reach
the final with top seed Federer beating
Frenchman Jeremy Chardy 6-3 6-7 (3-7)
6-3 and Hewitt downing Japan’s Kei Nishikori 5-7 6-4 6-3 in stifling conditions.
The women’s final lacked the intensity of Williams’ victory over Maria
Sharapova on Friday but lived up to its
promise in a pulsating second set.
The world number one’s serve was
far more consistent than in her previous match and she did not face a break
point in taking the first set.
She was gifted the only break in the
seventh game when Azarenka blasted a
forehand wide down the line.
The American then sealed the set
with an ace and an early end to the
match seemed likely when she broke
the Belarusian in the first game of the
second set, but instead it brought her
opponent to life.
Azarenka broke Williams twice to
take a 4-2 lead but lost her own serve to
restore parity.
In the crucial 11th game, Williams
hit a vicious backhand down the line
to secure her third break of the set and
then served out for victory.
Her second set efforts showed Azarenka is not far off from toppling Williams, who she split four matches with
last year, and after the match said: “I
hope to meet you in Melbourne.”
Williams is also eyeing another
meeting between the pair before they
leave Australia.
“I hope we do play in Melbourne too
because that would mean we’d be going the farthest,” Williams said.
Conditions were far easier for the
Serena Williams holds up the Brisbane International women's singles trophy after
defeating Victoria Azarenka (L) as she walks off the court in Brisbane, yesterday REUTERS
Atletico clear at top
n AFP, Madrid
Spanish international Koke
rolled home the winner as
Atletico Madrid moved
three points ahead of Barcelona at the top of La Liga
with a 1-0 over Malaga on yesterday.
In a game short on clear-cut opportunities, Koke was in the right place to
slot home his fourth goal of the season
20 minutes from time after Willy Caballero had denied Lopez from close range.
Barcelona can move back to the top
with a win over Elche on Sunday before
travelling to face Atletico at the Vicente
Calderon next weekend. Real Madrid
are now eight points adrift of the leaders, but can also cut the gap when they
host Celta Vigo on Monday.
Atletico’s Juanfran had the first big
chance of the match when he broke
into the Malaga box on 21 minutes, but
Caballero parried his low drive and the
ball rebounded fortunately off Marcos
Angeleri away for a corner.
The goal forced Malaga onto the
front foot for the fist time in the match.
However, despite a late rally, they
failed to seriously test Courtois as Atletico held on for another vital three
points in the title race. l
Ivanovic battles past
Williams for Auckland title
n AFP, Auckland
Ana Ivanovic outlasted Venus Williams to win the clash of the two former world number ones 6-2, 5-7, 6-4 in
a marathon Auckland Classic final on
Saturday.
It is the 12th title for the 26-year-old
Serb and second seed but her first success since victory in Bali in 2011.
What started as a one-sided affair,
with Ivanovic racing to a 5-1 lead in the
first set, took two hours 19 minutes to
complete as seven-times Grand Slam
winner Williams fought her way back
women finalists than for the first men’s
semi-final between Hewitt and Nishikori, where both players struggled as
the temperature reached 42 degrees.
“When you just come off the court
it feels like it’s the worst you’ve played
in,” Hewitt said.
“It was a really heavy humidity feel
out there. I was sweating just walking
out to have my warm-up.”
Federer was far from his best against
Chardy, losing the second set in a tiebreak. However, crucially as his French
opponent’s serve fell apart in the third
set, Federer swooped to set up a 27th
meeting with Hewitt. l
into the contest.
“It was very tough. Venus showed
once again what a great sport she has
been over the past years and I hope for
many more years to come,” said Ivanovic, a former French Open winner.
“At the end of the second set I
made a few errors that I didn’t make
up to that point. I really tried to still
play, enjoy it, move forward and be aggressive.”
Williams acknowledged she had
been beaten by the better player. “I just
kept fighting, despite the odds. She
was playing so well,” she said. l
New Zealand beat
Windies in rain-hit tie
n AFP, Nelson
New Zealand won a rain-affected fourth
one-day international by 58 runs on
Saturday to take a 2-1 lead over the West
Indies in their five-match series.
The game in Nelson was decided
under the Duckworth-Lewis method
after wet weather set in with the West
Indies apparently heading for their second consecutive heavy defeat.
A timely return to form for opener
Martin Guptill, who made 81, saw New
Zealand make 285-6 in their 50 overs
and the West Indies were 134-5 after
33.4 overs when the rain sent the players from the field.
New Zealand, who won the Test
series 2-0, now lead the ODI series 2-1
with one match to play in Hamilton
next Wednesday.
Guptill opened with a determination
to occupy the crease as long as possible
after struggling against the West Indies.
He crawled to eight off 40 deliveries before cracking his first boundary when
he drove a full-length Dwayne Bravo
delivery back over the bowler’s head
and beyond the sightscreen.
From there, man-of-the-match
Guptill never looked back as he batted
at nearly a run a ball for the remainder
of his innings, which included four
fours and two sixes to lay the foundations for the victory. Ravi Rampaul was
ruled out with a broken finger, becoming the sixth injured first-choice ODI
player in the West Indies squad.
With their bowling weakened, the
West Indies needed their batsmen to
compensate but were again let down.
Lendl Simmons and Kirk Edwards
managed to put on 60 for the third
wicket before another run out when
Edwards gambled on out-running McCullum’s throw from short cover and
lost by a wide margin. l
SCORECARD
New Zealand
M. Guptill c Bravo b Holder
J. Ryder c Ramdin b Bravo
K. Williamson c Ramdin b Best
R. Taylor run out
B. McCullum c Bravo b Narine
C. Anderson not out
L. Ronchi b Bravo
N. McCullum not out
Extras: (lb5, w6, nb1)
Total (six wickets; 50 overs)
81
47
47
49
14
17
9
9
12
285
Bowling
Holder 10-2-58-1 (2w), Best 9-0-70-1
(1nb), Bravo 7-0-35-2 (3w), Miller 10-047-0, Narine 10-0-47-1 (1w), Deonarine
4-0-23-0
West Indies
C. Walton run out
0
J. Charles c Southee by McClenaghan 0
K. Edwards run out
24
L. Simmons c Guptill b Williamson
43
D. Bravo not out
43
N. Deonarine c Mills b N. McCullum
3
D. Ramdin not out
17
Extras: (lb3, w1)
4
Total (5 wickets; 33.4 overs)
134
Bowling
Southee 5-1-21-0, McClenaghan 6.4-130-1, Mills 2-0-10-0, Anderson 2-0-100, N. McCullum 10-0-30-1, Williamson
8-0-30-1 (1w)
Australia close in on clean-sweep
SCORECARD, DAY 2
Australia 1st innings 326
S. Smith 115, B. Haddin 75; B. Stokes 6-99
England 1st innings
(8 for 1 overnight):
Alastair Cook lbw b Harris
7
Michael Carberry c Lyon b Johnson
0
James Anderson c Clarke b Johnson 7
Ian Bell c Haddin b Siddle
2
Kevin Pietersen c Watson b Harris
3
Gary Ballance c Haddin b Lyon
18
Ben Stokes b Siddle
47
Jonny Bairstow c Bailey b Siddle
18
Scott Borthwick c Smith b Harris
1
Stuart Broad not out
30
Boyd Rankin b Johnson
13
Extras (lb1, w5, nb3)
9
Total (all out; 58.5 overs)
155
Bowling
Harris 14-5-36-3, Johnson 13.5-3-33-3,
Siddle 13-4-23-3, Watson 3-1-5-0, Lyon
15-3-57-1
Australia 2nd innings
Chris Rogers not out
73
David Warner lbw b Anderson
16
Shane Watson c Bairstow b Anderson 9
Michael Clarke c Bairstow b Broad
6
Steve Smith c Cook b Stokes
7
George Bailey not out
20
Extras (lb9)
9
Total (4 wickets; 30 overs)
140
Bowling
Anderson 10-4-36-2, Broad 7-1-26-1,
Rankin 6-0-25-0, Stokes 5-0-36-1,
Borthwick 2-0-8-0
n AFP, Sydney
Australia were closing in on a 5-0 Ashes
sweep after demolishing England’s batting and pushing their lead to 311 runs
after just two days of the final Sydney
Ashes Test yesterday.
The relentless Australians blasted
out the hapless tourists for 155 – the
fifth time England had been dismissed
for less than 200 in the series – and set
their sights on batting them out of the
game with three days to play.
At second day stumps Australia
were 140 for four with Chris Rogers
compiling his fourth half-century in
five innings on 73 and George Bailey
not out 20.
The home side in the process lost the
wickets of David Warner (16), Shane Watson (9), skipper Michael Clarke (6) and
Steve Smith (7) as England tried to restrict Australia’s mushrooming lead on a
flattening Sydney Cricket Ground pitch.
“Day two, 300 plus lead’s a pretty
good position to be in,” Australia paceman Ryan Harris said.
“It’s obviously not a done thing yet,
we’ve got to make sure we bat well in
the morning and get some more (runs)
and bowl like we did today to bowl
them out again.”
“We figure they are going to fire at
some stage, we hope they don”t but
they’re going to have to. I don’t think the
wicket’s getting any easier. If we bowl
like we did today, I think we’ll go alright.”
Australia’s pace trio of Harris,
Mitchell Johnson and Peter Siddle earlier took three wickets apiece as England narrowly avoided the follow-on
in response to Australia’s first innings
score of 326.
The tourists never recovered from a
disastrous morning session when they
crashed to 23 for five despite the efforts
of young guns Ben Stokes, Gary Ballance and Jonny Bairstow to repel the
hostile home attack. l
England's batsman Gary Ballance fails to
avoid a bouncer by Australia's paceman
Mitchell Johnson on the second day of their
fifth Ashes Test at the SCG yesterday AFP
16
DHAKA TRIBUNE
Back Page
One killed, many injured on the eve of polls
n Ashif Islam Shaon
Incidents of bomb attacks, vandalism,
arson and clashes escalated in several
districts yesterday amid the opposition-called hartal and nonstop blockade
to resist today’s “one-sided” election.
In Lalmonirhat, a ward-level leader of Swechchhasebak Dal, a wing of
main opposition BNP, was killed during
a clash with the ruling Awami League
men at Patgram upazila. The victim
was Mobarak Hossain, 38, president of
Bawra union’s ward four unit.
Police and witnesses said as the
traders at Shafirhat tried to open shops
in the morning defying the hartal, the
BNP men resisted them. They beat up
several traders which resulted in the
clash. At one stage, the AL men joined
the traders and Mobarak was stabbed
to death.
Officer-in-Charge of Patgram police
station Amiruzzaman said they had
dispersed the clashing men.
In another incident, a group of miscreants torched the residence of Organisational Secretary of BNP’s town unit
Abdus Salam around 11pm on Friday in
Saptana area.
Meanwhile, an auto-rickshaw driver sustained burn injuries in Feni
when the pickets hurled crude bomb
at the vehicle; in Natore, miscreants
torched a train; while the ruling party
men torched a BNP leader’s house in
Lalmonirhat. There were incidents of
clashes and attacks from processions in
Dinajpur, Sirajganj and Kurigram.
On the other hand, apparently due
to the prevailing tense situation, the
capital witnesses fewer passengers and
transports on the streets.
At least seven vehicles including
a cattle-laden truck were torched in
Gazipur. A bus was torched in the city’s
Gabtoli.
GOPALGANJ 3
A candidate who
thinks defeat to
bring glory for him
n Muhammad Zahidul Islam
AZ Apu Sheikh, the only competitor
who is fighting against Awami
League President Sheikh Hasina in
Gopalganj 3 constituency in this tenth
parliamentary election, expressed that
he is feeling “lucky enough” to have a
chance of contesting against the prime
minister.
He also thinks that it is “glorious”
for him to be a competitor of Sheikh
Hasina as people are voicing his name
with the name of the premier.
Apu Sheikh, who is a car decorator
by profession, said he had borrowed
Tk200,000 from his brothers to manage his election expenditure.
Apu knows it well that he will not
be able to win against Hasina, but his
only expectation is to save his election
deposit of Tk20,000 by bagging at least
12% votes.
According to the election affidavit,
Apu has no academic degree and never
even attended any school to learn basic
education.
Our Feni correspondent reports that
auto-rickshaw driver Shahab Uddin,
26, came under attack in front of Central High School of the town in the afternoon. Critically injured, he was taken to a local hospital.
At least 12 passengers of Dinajpur-bound Ekata Express were injured
when the BNP activists, led by district
unit Jubo Dal president Saiful Islam, set
fire to one of its compartments by hurling a crude bomb in Natore Railway
Station yesterday morning.
The attackers also threw bricks as
the train came from Dhaka. Apprehending danger, the driver left the station before its schedule.
At one stage, the agitating BNP men
hurled the crude bomb on a compartment, leaving the passengers injured.
Most of the commuters sustained injuries while they were trying to get down
from the compartment, said Aslam
Hossain, OC of Sadar police station.
The opposition activists also vandalised few shops adjacent to the station, he
claimed. A Jubo League man was injured
critically when the blockade supporters
clashed with the law enforcers and the
AL men following the train attack.
In Shaluavita Bazar, Khokshabari,
Char Shoilabari, Tukra Chhongaccha
and Fakirpara areas of Sirajganj sadar,
the AL and the BNP-Jamaat activists
vandalised at least 40 houses and shops
belonging to both the party’s supporters in a fierce clash in the morning.
In Dinajpur, hartal activists vandalised three banks from the outside, two
residential hotels and the rail station
from a procession. They also attacked
a team of Ansar.
In Pabna’s Ishwardi, at least 25 people were injured in a clash between the
activists of Bangladesh Chhatra League
and the BNP-Jamaat in the morning.
The opposition activists also vandal-
Violence rises with evening
BGB members patrol the capital’s English road and its nearby areas yesterday
ised some 50 shops and ATM booths as
well as intercity train Mohanonda Express at the station.
In Bogra, several handmade bombs
were hurled at a Chhatra League procession in the morning.
At least 10 people including two Rab
men were injured in clashes between
the pickets and the law enforcers assisted by Chhatra League activists in Jessore
town and Rupdia yesterday afternoon.
The clash ensued after the blockad-
Fire service kept on alert for polls today
n Moniruzzaman Uzzal
The Election Commission has appointed Bangladesh Fire Service and Civil
Defence (FSCD) personnel across the
country to handle possible arson attacks during the 10th parliamentary
polls today.
It has asked the FSCD to keep their
officials on high alert with necessary
fire fighting tools like rescue ambulances, water tanks, water pumps etc.
As per the demand of EC, the fire
service has deployed its manpower and
69 rescue ambulances under the custody of police stations across the country.
Seeking anonymity, a high official
of the FSCD said arson attacks are currently the biggest threat to human lives
and public and private properties of
the country. The Election Commission
has sought help of the FSCD to save the
people from such attacks.
Statistics of the FSCD shows 857 vehicles were torched in the last one year.
The vehicles include inter-district buses, minibuses, trucks, private cars, motor cycles, tractors and even vehicles of
the fire service.
Among those, 354 were burnt within October to December last year while
204 were burnt only in the month of
November. The incidents of arson attacks are continuing still now. In December, most of the incidents of arson
attacks occurred during blockades,
hartals and other programmes of the
opposition alliance.
During the last two months, around
140 people succumbed to burn injuries
in the arson incidents. Several hundred
people including elderly and children
fell victim to the violence.
Seeking anonymity, a number of
top-brass officials of the FSCD said:
“Usually during pre-election period,
the election commission appoints police, special branch of police, detective
branch of police, RAB and other law
enforcement agencies to help maintain
the law and order situation.”
“However,
never
before
had
they assigned the fire service on
the occasion of national elections.
Probably this is the first time in the
history of Bangladesh the FSCD is
going to get involved in the national
elections,” they added.
They also said the FSCD officials and
staff were worried as they had no firearms to protect themselves on field unlike members of other law enforcement
agencies.
Fire Service and Civil Defence is a
self-governed institution, however,
this is the first time that they have been
ordered to act as an aide to maintain security during the election.
“Though we are a service-oriented
organisation, we are going to assist in
providing safeguard during polls as per
orders from the election commission,”
said an official.
At present, the Fire Service and Civil Defence has 272 fire service stations
across the country providing service in
three categories.
When asked about involvement
with
the
Election
Commission,
Muhammad
Mahbub,
operations
director for Bangladesh’s Fire Service
and Civil Defence, said: “We have
received order from the upazila nirbahi
officers, district commissioners and
the Election Commission to provide
ambulance and other fire extinguishing
instruments.” l
Apu knows it well that he will
not be able to win against
Sheikh Hasina, but his only
expectation is to save his
election deposit of Tk20,000
by bagging at least 12% votes
The election affidavit also stated
that Apu has no fixed property or
asset and his yearly income is only
Tk50,000.
This time, there are 211,839 voters
under Gopalgonj 3 and according to
the electoral rolls, a candidate can save
his deposits if the person can ensure
at least one-eighth (12.5%) of the total
voter turnout.
But the records says no candidate
against Sheikh Hasina was able to save
his or her deposit in the last few elections as Hasina got landslide victory
against all her contestants.
Apu said he did not do his electioneering as he believes that he would not
be able to win this election.
But he organised two public meetings in his constituency where “a huge
number of people” participated and inspired him.
Apu Sheikh, a member secretary
of Dhaka City Tarun Party (north),
said though now he was not capable
enough to be a lawmaker, he intended
to contest the 11th parliamentary election as a strong rival. l
MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU
ers damaged two vehicles of the Rab and
one of police, said Reshma Sharmin, assistant superintendent of police.
Two people were injured at Daratana in Jessore town at noon as the ALBNP men locked in clashes.
Pickets torched seven vehicles in Chhoydana Maleker Bari under sadar upazila, Shreepur’s Beriderchala, Zoina
Bazar and Kaliakoir’s Mouchak area
on Dhaka-Mymensingh highway in
Gazipur yesterday between 7pm and
7:30pm. The driver of a cattle-carrying
truck was critically injured and was
sent to Dhaka Medical College Hospital.
In Savar, at least 10 people were injured when the activists of Jubo Dal
went on the rampage in the night, according to UNB.
Pickets in Sirajganj torched two
trucks at Boalia while in Faridpur, unknown miscreants set fire to the district land office around 7pm.
At Mirpur of Kushtia, blockade supporters hurled crude bombs targeting
a sand-laden truck around 7pm. The
driver and the helper received burn
injuries while the truck was burnt to
ashes.
In Magura, pickets hurled crude
bombs at a tea stall, an NGO office and
an auto-rickshaw around 7pm at Bhayana intersection. They also obstructed
the fire fighters dousing the fire.
The opposition supporters torched
a BRTC bus parked on a school compound at Charfashion of Bhola. In the
guise of passengers, pickets set fire to
a human haulier on Binoykathi-Barisal road of Jhalakathi leaving its driver
burnt around 8:30pm.
At Islampur bus stand of Dhamrai,
pickets set a bus on fire around 7:15pm
when it was waiting to pick garment
workers up. The bus driver and helper sustained injuries while trying to
douse the fire.
In Kurigram, four Chhatra League
leaders and activists were injured in a
fight with the blockaders in the morning. Police picked up two Chhatra Dal
activists from the spot. l
Election a ‘prestige
issue’ in Gopalgonj
Zahidul Islam and
n Muhammad
Monoj Saha, from Gopalgonj
Awami League is determined to give
a fitting riposte to opposition leader
Khaleda Zia’s Gopalganj remarks by
ensuring the highest ever voter turnout
recorded in the district.
Local leaders of the party said they
were expecting a turnout of 95% voters
in all three constituencies of the district in the tenth national elections that
start early this morning.
Khaleda on December 29, while
speaking outside her Gulshan residence, launched a stinging criticism of
Gopalganj, a traditional stronghold of
the ruling party, after officials debarred
her from going out and attending a prescheduled rally.
The comment sparked an instant
outcry from the residents of the region
and renewed the debate about political
provincialism in the country.
Following the incident, local AL
leaders and activists went door to door
to encourage voters to turn out on the
Election Day and make a “fitting reply”
to the rebuff of the opposition leader.
They are hopeful that a high turnout
will also help boost the total number of
votes to be cast in an election already
tainted by unopposed pre-polls wins in
over half of the constituencies across
the country.
“We have formed committees for
every centre to ensure maximum voter turnout. If any committee fails to
ensure more than 90% voter turnout,
it will be responsible for that,” said Mahabub Ali Khan, joint secretary of the
district unit. “It is our will to give her
[Khalada] a fitting reply. It has become
a prestige issue.”
Statistics show that Gopalganj has
been a vote-loving region historically
and a proven power base for the AL.
In 2001 elections, the average voter
turnout in the country was recorded at
75.59% while it was 79.49% in Gopalganj. The district’s turnout rate rose to
84.61% in 2008.
“This time, we want to register a record 95% turnout from our three constituencies,” said Bimal Krishna Biswas,
upazila chairman of Kotalipara, which
is under Gopalgonj 3 constituency from
where AL chief and Prime Minister
Sheikh Hasina will contest.
It has a total of 211,839 voters of which
148,306 reside in Kotalipara alone.
However, during a visit to the district town yesterday, few posters and
banners were seen around and few slogans in support of the contesting candidates heard.
The reason, argues schoolteacher
Mominul Islam, has to do with the fact
that candidates of other parties “stand
little chance to win.” “Despite knowing
this, we will participate in the polls.”
Another voter, Arif Hossen, an NGO
worker, said it was “unfortunate” that
the AL candidates never really had to
face stiff competitions from their opponents. “But it is different this time; we
have been slighted by a national leader
and here is our chance to pay her back.”
A similar sentiment was echoed by
Rony, a lawyer working at the Dhaka’s
Chief Metropolitan Magistrate’s Court.
He remarked that he had come back
home only to vote against Khaleda.
According to sources, the AL leaders
and activists in every ward of the
district were instructed to ensure huge
turnout. The party is also planning
to reap benefits from the 100,000
individuals newly added to the Election
Commission’s voter list.
The three AL candidates will contest
their opponents from HM Ershad-led Jatiya Party, but in the past few days there
had been no campaigns by them. l
Largest human flag
recorded on Guinness
n Tribune Report
A staggering 27,117 people stand united, holding green and red boards above their heads, to put up the world’s biggest-ever human flag
at the National Parade Ground on the Victory Day, December 16, 2013
SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN
The Guinness World Record authorities have recognised Bangladesh’s human flag record of 27,117 people as the
world’s largest one.
The record has been posted on the
Guinness World Record website.
Robi Axiata Limited, in partnership
with the Bangladesh Army, shattered
the Guinness World Record for Bangladesh with the creation of the world’s
largest human national flag on December 16 – the Victory Day – at the National Parade Ground in Sher-e-Bangla
Nagar area.
Dhaka Tribune was a media partner
of the event.
The previous human flag record was
held by none other than Pakistan, having recreated its flag using 24,000 people, was the icing on the cake. Pakistan
broke the earlier record of 21,726 people
set by Hong Kong about five years ago. l
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 Office: 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
Continue to the
Business section...
Business
B3 Argon Denim: Week’s
B4 Shoot for success by
worst loser
goal setting
SUNDAY, JANUARY 5, 2014 www.dhakatribune.com/business
Aggressive loan reschedule before polls
'The facility for all will be incentive for corrupt people in the banking sector'
n Jebun Nesa Alo
Four state-owned commercial banks
had to reschedule loans to the tune of
Tk3,700 crore in the first nine months
of last year, mainly due to pre-election
regularisation of loans taken by the
politically influential people – many
of them taking part in the general election being held today.
It was almost three times than the
amount of Tk1,326 crore rescheduled
in the whole year of 2012 thanks to
candidates rescheduled their default
loans, according to Bangladesh Bank
data.
Bankers, however, see the facility as
a temporary solution to show cleaner
balance sheet while paving the way
for defaulters to take part in the election through paying only a marginal
amount against big overdue loans.
Maximum of the big default loans
of the banks were taken mostly by the
politicians, said a senior executive of a
state-owned bank.
Before any election, it’s a regular
practice intended candidates want to
regularise their default loans through
rescheduling.
The banks are suffering from provision shortfall, capital deficit and huge
non-performing loans due to severe
credit scams in last few years, said a senior Bangladesh Bank executive told the
Dhaka Tribune, requesting anonymity.
To recover the financial health of the
banks, International Monetary Fund
(IMF) put pressure to reduce the NPL.
But, he said, the banks rescheduled
the classified loans as an alternative
means instead of recovering loans.
According to the central bank, Son-
Short selling of
shares still galore
n Kayes Sohel
Despite warnings from the regulator,
the short-selling of shares continues
to be rampant in the country’s stock
markets.
Dhaka Stock Exchange president
Ahsanul Islam Titu has however ruled
out any such chance of short-selling in
the present technical setting.
“There is no room for short-selling
as DSE software automatically rejects
them,” he said.
But when asked about the penalty given to some DSE members for
short-selling recently, Ahsanul Islam
said he was ignorant of it. A DSE official
said short selling still continues and it
is because of punching error.
In short selling of shares, an investor
borrows a security from a broker in order to sell it, hoping to buy it back later
at a lower price to repay the broker.
Then, the investor pockets profits
from the price difference.
In the country’s stock markets,
short-selling of shares is banned.
“Punching error is responsible for
short-selling now. The error means
that a trader mistakenly executes selling order from a different investor, not
from the real one,” said a DSE official.
But the traders said short selling
happens not out of mistake, but out of
full knowledge.
Some of these short sellers were
able to pay back shares while some
failed, they added.
After warning three months back,
Bangladesh Securities and Exchange
Commission (BSEC) has detected so
far a notable number of short-selling
cases.
The newly set-up Instant Watch
Surveillance System Software detected
them, for which, nine brokerage firms
were fined.
Of them, four brokerage firms were
DSE members while five were the members of Chittagong Stock Exchange.
DSE members were DMR Securities, RN Trading, Tamha Securities and
Azam Securities.
And CSE members included Hilly
Securities, Be Rich Securities, Jalalabad Securities, Pioneer Shares & Securities and Kabir Securities.
In October, BSEC issued warned
the two bourses of short selling as the
breach of rules had increased in the recent time. Former CSE chief executive
Wali-ul-Maroof Matin said short selling
is a widely practised act of the risk loving traders.
He said some investors even use it
for hedging risks. “We cannot change
the risk appetite of the investors. Rather, what we can do is to make sure that
a trade involving short selling doesn’t
fail.”
“The buyers should be free of counter party risks. Formal stock borrowing
is a prevention to such likely failure.
We should arrange for that in the formal system of the bourses. BSEC has
been upgraded to “A” category at IOSCO,” said Wali-ul-Maroof, chairman
and managing director of Alliance Capital Asset Management Company Ltd.
According to him, all the international practices need to be adopted
immediately.
BSEC recently has been upgraded to
“A” category from the existing “B” category, which is expected to benefit the
regulator globally. l
STOCKS - WEEKLY
DSEX
2.69%
4314.09
▲
DS30
3.95%
1505.08
▲
CSEX
2.72%
8478.37
▲
EXCHANGE RATES
Average selling rates to public in BDT
Banks
Rupali Bank
Currencies
SELL
BUY
USD
78.4
77.4
Sonali Bank
SELL
BUY
80
79
EURO
109.27
106.04
107.9
103.9
INR
1.33
1.18
1.28
1.18
SAR
21.01
20.54
21
20
ali Bank rescheduled loans of Tk976
crore during the period of January to
Government
fails to appoint
administrator to
Destiny group in
4 months
n Asif Showkat Kallol
The government has failed to appoint
an administrator to the controversial
Destiny Group in last four months despite the Multi-level Marketing Activities (control) Ordinance became effective since September 2.
Officials of commerce ministry said
a committee was working on appointing the administrator and formulating
rules for starting the MLM business.
The rules have been finalised and waiting to be approved by the ministry.
Recently, the Banking and Financial Institutions Division requested the
commerce ministry to appoint an administrator under the Societies Registration Act of 1860. But the commerce
ministry informed the division that it
has not been possible yet to appoint
the administrator.
With the new ordinance in force, the
government should have no problem
to appoint administrator(s) for a MLM
company if found guilty of fraud or in
breach of customer rights, according to
section 48 of the ordinance.
The ordinance paved the way for
the government to appoint administrator(s) at the trouble-stricken Destiny
Group. l
September last year – 115% higher from
Tk453 crore in December 2012.
In case of Janata Bank, it increased
by 500% to Tk630.62 crore in September last year from Tk106 crore in
December 2012. For Agrani Bank, the
amount stood at Tk704 crore with an
increase of 322% from Tk166.47 crore.
Rupali Bank rescheduled the loans
of Tk1392 crore, which was 131% higher
from Tk600.57 crore in December 2012.
The reschedule, however, helped
slightly mitigate the burden of classified loans during the period.
According to Bangladesh Bank data,
total classified loan of Sonali Bank
stood at Tk12,570 crore in September
down from Tk12,597.5 crore in December 2012 while Janata Bank’s default loan stood at Tk4,787 crore from
Tk5,240 crore, Agrani Bank at Tk5,119
crore from Tk5,380 crore and Rupali
Bank Tk1,697 crore from Tk2,262 crore.
Agrani Bank Managing Director
Sayed Abdul Hamid said many candidates have a tendency to reschedule
loans in the election year, which was
one of the major causes of increasing
loan rescheduling.
He said Bangladesh Bank also provided opportunities for the banks
to reschedule loans by paying lower
down payment than required.
However, he said, the loan rescheduling would help improve the banks’
financial health though temporarily.
But it is less harmful for the banks than
what they are facing due to the political unrest.
“The classified loans of the banks
however reduced due to the reschedul-
ing. But it is an accounting concept, not
theoretical,” said former Bangladesh
Bank Governor Dr Salehuddin Ahmed.
It would facilitate the banks to show
on paper lower level of NPL so they would
need to keep less provision than required,
he said. It is not expected as well.
“Banks could provide loan rescheduling facility to the really affected
businessman by considering case to
case basis. But the facility for all will
be incentive for corrupt people in the
banking sector. But it would make life
a hell for those want to work in a level-playing field,” he said.
Dr Ahmed said it is not a rational decision to recapitalise the state-owned
banks, which are full of corruption,
from the public money.
“The contamination of the financial
sector is spreading through other sectors and harming the overall economy
as we can see already.”
According to the Bangladesh Bank
data, Sonali Bank registered a negative
credit growth by 13% in September last
year, followed by Janata Bank negative 8.50% and Agrani Bank negative
3.90%. Rupali Bank, however, recorded positive credit growth by14.31%.
Capital shortfall of Sonali Bank
stood at Tk4,639 crore against required
provision of Tk3,645.49 crore in September last year from Tk3,875 crore in
December 2012.
The capital shortfall of Janata Bank
stood at Tk1,574 crore from Tk2,011
crore, Agrani Bank Tk2,481 crore
from Tk3,414 crore and Rupali Bank’s
shortfall stood at Tk170 crore in September. l
ATM booths
empty of cash
again as election
violence erupts
n Tribune Report
The clients faced cash crunch in
the ATM booths in Dhaka yesterday
as the banks could not refill them
due to security concerns.
To resist the one-sided parliamentary polls today, the opposition has enforced non-stop blockade and a two-day hartal from
yesterday. The resistance has been
marked by violence.
“We didn’t send money to ATM
booths fearing attacks. That’s why
most of the booths are empty of
cash now,” said a senior executive
of a private bank in Dhaka.
For few days in last month, Dhaka Metropolitan Police provided
security to cash transport to the
ATM booths on the request of Bangladesh Bank.
“But DMP has stopped the service now. So, we feel insecure to
carry cash in this politically unstable situation,” he said.
As this is the beginning of
month, the ATM booths face extra
pressure of withdrawing salaries.
Last month, the users in Dhaka
rampantly met ATM booths void
of money, which led the central
bank to request DMP for special
security.
Dutch-Bangla Bank Ltd and
BRAC Bank Ltd customers suffered the most as these two private
banks operate the highest number
of ATM booths, said the banking
sector sources. l
RMG workers to get food and transport
allowances even in absence
n Ibrahim Hossain Ovi
The country’s readymade garment
workers are entitled to get food and
transport allowances even in their absence from 1 December, 2013, as per
new wage structure.
But, the workers who work for the
sweater factories on piece basis, however, will not enjoy the overtime facilities as per existing labour law, which
lacks any such provision.
“The government has made it clear
that the RMG workers will get food and
transport allowances along with their
monthly salary as the new wage structure included both the two allowances
in the minimum monthly wage,” Labour and Employment Secretary Mikail
Shipar told the Dhaka Tribune.
“We have already verbally informed
the BGMEA about the matter and will
also send an official letter on Monday
on the issue, he added.
Commenting as to what would the
grade of the workers who do not fall in any
existing grades Shipar said, ‘We will make
such a decision after holding a meeting
with the BGMEA leaders and labour leaders as they are the key stake holders.’’
Meanwhile, the decision for providing food and transport allowance
for RMG workers even in absence was
made at a meeting between the Ministry of Labour and Employment and
Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers
and Exporters Association (BGMEA),
which was held on Wednesday at the
ministry.
'We will not tolerate any
conspiracy hatched by BGMEA
as they are trying to convince
the government to reduce the
monthly wages on the ground
of workers absence'
“We have sought clarification over
some issues such as food and transport
allowance, status of some RMG officials
and workers in some sections, But, we
did not get any clarification from the
ministry as yet, said BGMEA vice president Shahidullah Azim.
On the other hand, workers’ leaders
warned of thwarting any conspiracy in
the implementation of the newly fixed
minimum monthly wage.
“We will not tolerate any conspiracy
hatched by BGMEA as they are trying to
convince the government to reduce the
monthly wages on the ground of workers absence,” said Sirajul Islam Roney,
president of Bangladesh National Garments Workers Employee League.
Food and transport allowances are
workers right which should be ensure
at any cost, he added.
On December 22, the BGMEA sought
clarification from the labor ministry as
to whether food and transport allowance would be given to the workers in
their absence.
The BGMEA also sought clarification
over the grades of the quality inspectors, sample men, laymen, dying and
washmen, packers, the staff medical
assistance, boiler operators, liftmen
and others.
On November 21, last year the
government-formed wage board announced Tk5,300 as minimum wage
with a basic of Tk3,000 for entry-level
garment workers with a 5% yearly increment of basic. The new structure
includes Tk1,200 as house rent, Tk250
as medical allowance, Tk200 for transportation and Tk650 per month as food
subsidy. l
Gold, silver
extend gains
n BSS, New Delhi
Gold prices maintained an upward
march for the third consecutive day by
rising Rs290 to Rs30,490 per ten grams
in the Indian national capital yesterday
on sustained buying by stockists amid
a firm global trend.
Silver also extended its gains by
jumping Rs750 to Rs45,500 per kg on
increased buying by jewellery fabricators and industrial units. Traders said
sustained buying by stockists and jewellery fabricators for the wedding season mainly led an upward journey in
bullion prices for the third day.
They said a firm global trend where
gold recorded the best weekly gain since
October on speculation that demand will
increase in Asia, the largest consuming
region, further fuelled the uptrend.
Shifting of funds from weakening
equity to rising bullion and a weak rupee against dollar too boosted the sentiment, they added. l
RMG workers performing quality checks at a factory in Dhaka
RAJIB DHAR
B2
WEEKLY STOCK MARKET REVIEW
Stocks back to black;
Turnover continues
to decline too
n Kayes Sohel
Welcoming New Year, investors probably started taking position again, it said.
From the first day of 2014, large cap stocks
started getting momentum, contrary to
the small cap rally for last few months.
“Turnover activity was 25.13% lower
than the previous week showing lack of
strength in movement. Market is highly
liquid, as credit demand is low due to the
political clashes. So, financial institutions
are full of liquidity and are looking for
investments.”
“The bridging week between the year
2013 and 2014 indulged investors with
significant return,” said IDLC Investments
in its weekly market analysis.
According to the analysis, investors
started moving to sidelines at the dawn
of the week, causing a 28% plunge in
turnover on the maiden session.
Yet, puzzlingly, the market managed
to stay positive, depending on small cap
stocks. Portfolio rebalancing of large investors spawned robust growth in turnover in
the first trading session of the week.
The following session, which was the
last trading session of 2013, highlighted
year-end effect dominating scrip pricing
and activities, said the merchant bank.
In the third session and maiden day of
the New Year, the market posted modest
gain. The final session of the week started
slow but gained momentum in late hours,
also generating modest rise. All the major
sectors ended in green with non banking
financial institutions and energy were the
top movers of the week, with a gain of 4.5%
and 4.2% respectively. It was followed by
telecommunications and pharmaceuticals.
The heavyweight banks gained the least
and closed at 1% higher in the week. l
Stocks were back to black after a twoweek fall backed by the institutional
buying support while the volume of trade
continued to decline due to the ongoing
political turmoil.
The investors, mostly retailers, preferred to stay on sidelines in the wake of
deadliest political unrest that forced the
investors to refrain from buying and selling spree of stocks throughout the week.
During the last week ended on
Thursday last, the benchmark index DSEX
gained 113 points or 2.7% to settle at 4,314,
which is a 3-week high. The blue chip
index DS30 rose 57 points or 4% to 1,505.
The Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE)
Selective Categories Index, CSCX, ended
at 8,414 with a rise of 224 points or 5.3%.
The market witnessed poor participation in trading, representing in the falling
turnover that stood at Tk357 crore, registering a sharp drop of more than 25% over the
previous week’s average of Tk477 crore.
Overall activities remained confined
only to the textile, engineering and financial
institutions, accounting for 19%, 17% and
16% respectively of the total DSE turnover.
The stock exchange shortened trading
sessions from five to four due to bank
holiday on December 31. It will also remain
closed tomorrow—a day which the government declared general holiday on the
occasion of 10th parliamentary polls.
“The week has been a much relief for
the investors as at the end of the year,
profit booking by institutions was over
and market started to bounce back,” said
Lanka Bangla Securities in its weekly
market analysis.
Weekly capital market highlights
DSE Broad Index :
DSE - 20 Index :
CSE All Share Index:
CSE - 30 Index :
CSE Selected Index :
DSE LOSERS
Company
R. N. Spinning-Z
Midas Financing-Z
Argon Denims Limited-A
Sinobangla Indu.-A
Bay Leasing.-A
Usmania Glass -Z
Reliance Insur -A
Standard Ceramic -A
Miracle Industries -B
Bank Asia -A
Closing (%
change)
-9.76
-9.02
-8.32
-6.29
-6.12
-6.07
-5.14
-5.00
-4.59
-4.35
CSE LOSERS
Company
Midas Financing-Z
Bank Asia -A
Beach Hatchery -A
Kay & Que (BD) -Z
BDCOM Online-A
Savar Refractories-Z
R. N. Spinning-Z
BD. Autocars -Z
GeminiSeaFood-Z
Closing (%
change)
-14.06
-10.86
-6.93
-6.13
-5.98
-5.18
-5.00
-4.83
-4.81
-4.79
4314.0945
(+) 2.69%
1505.08033
(+) 3.95%
13375.3777
(+) 2.64%
10997.9092
(+) 3.21%
8478.3657
(+) 2.72%
Average (%
change)
-9.16
-9.01
-6.56
-2.66
-2.75
-7.40
-5.12
-5.00
-2.10
-0.87
Average (%
change)
-15.13
-7.11
-5.27
-5.80
-5.62
-4.66
3.45
-7.24
-5.89
-4.79
ANALYST
Closing
average
33.61
35.33
88.99
30.73
41.00
131.82
75.60
38.00
19.16
22.71
Closing
average
82.54
32.00
21.73
29.42
17.30
29.48
60.00
34.48
27.48
149.00
Weekly
closing
Bank
NBFI
Investment
Engineering
Food & Allied
Fuel & Power
Jute
Textile
Pharma & Chemical
Paper & Packaging
Service
Leather
Ceramic
Cement
Information Technology
General Insurance
Life Insurance
Telecom
Travel & Leisure
Miscellaneous
Debenture
DSE
Million Taka
1268.30
2262.74
284.16
2357.68
647.01
1164.58
5.62
2623.64
919.17
2.34
56.40
175.29
90.36
374.61
128.20
261.39
698.47
486.64
234.43
247.64
0.92
▲
▲
▲
▲
▲
Weekly
high
33.30
35.30
87.00
29.80
39.90
133.00
75.60
38.00
18.70
22.00
Weekly
closing
34.60
36.00
96.00
32.10
42.90
137.00
75.60
38.10
20.10
24.00
Weekly
high
82.50
32.00
21.50
29.10
17.30
29.30
55.10
35.50
27.70
149.00
96.30
39.70
24.00
32.00
17.30
31.30
55.20
37.40
29.80
151.00
DSE key features - Dec 29,
2013 to January 2, 2014
DSE GAINERS
Turnover
(Million Taka)
Samata LeatheR -Z
Rahima Food -Z
CVO PetroChem RL-Z
EBL NRB M.F.-A
LankaBangla Fin. -A
Meghna Con. Milk -B
BD Submarine Cable-A
IDLC Finance -A
AramitCementA
ApexAdelchi Ftr -A
1,608.86
Turnover
(Volume)
45,497,714
Number of Contract
69,028
Traded Issues
238
Issue Gain
(Avg. Price Basis)
143
Issue Loss
(Avg. Price Basis)
90
Unchanged Issue (Avg.
Price Basis)
4
Market Capital Equity
(Billion. Tk.)
2,000.25
(Billion US$)
24.25
% change
8.88
15.83
1.99
16.50
4.53
8.15
0.04
18.36
6.43
0.02
0.39
1.23
0.63
2.62
0.90
1.83
4.89
3.41
1.64
1.73
0.01
Million Taka
121.94
239.79
18.90
398.52
72.00
99.30
0.00
261.22
91.27
0.40
4.67
28.46
10.78
29.71
22.52
8.87
38.35
46.23
47.47
55.85
12.95
CSE
% change
7.58
14.90
1.17
24.77
4.47
6.17
0.00
16.23
5.67
0.02
0.29
1.77
0.67
1.85
1.40
0.55
2.38
2.87
2.95
3.47
0.80
Company
Closing (%
change)
36.67
27.72
15.23
12.00
11.27
11.11
10.76
10.73
10.65
9.79
CSE GAINERS
Company
Rahima Food -Z
Aramit -A
Samata LeatheR -Z
AramitCementA
ApexAdelchi Ftr -A
IDLC Finance -A
Northern G Insur-A
LankaBangla Fin. -A
BD Submarine Cable-A
National Life I -A
Closing (%
change)
20.47
17.61
13.21
12.06
11.50
11.44
11.32
11.13
10.83
10.38
Average (%
change)
35.33
22.28
13.35
11.69
9.07
7.99
9.30
9.90
7.97
9.24
Average (%
change)
19.14
17.61
13.48
8.90
11.50
9.49
11.32
9.14
9.67
7.41
Closing
average
24.67
80.35
706.07
8.41
69.64
8.79
174.51
67.70
89.02
453.42
Closing
average
77.13
390.00
24.00
90.22
446.00
67.63
41.30
69.61
174.80
321.24
Weekly
closing
24.60
81.10
709.60
8.40
71.10
9.00
176.00
68.10
90.40
457.60
Weekly
closing
77.10
390.00
24.00
92.00
446.00
68.20
41.30
70.90
176.00
320.10
Weekly
high
25.00
81.90
709.70
8.50
71.70
9.00
182.00
70.00
90.70
459.80
Weekly
high
77.20
390.00
24.00
93.00
446.00
69.30
41.30
71.60
176.50
326.50
Weekly
low
18.20
57.20
569.70
7.60
60.00
8.00
143.50
58.00
77.00
410.60
Weekly
low
57.60
344.00
20.40
83.00
434.00
61.00
31.00
62.50
156.00
295.00
Turnover
in million
Latest
EPS
1.469
28.908
39.307
8.469
625.222
2.835
190.615
130.845
55.492
139.001
Turnover
in million
-0.08
-0.64
-6.76
0.40
2.75
-4.60
3.80
3.00
2.31
28.27
Latest
EPS
5.094
0.340
0.380
5.658
0.437
13.646
0.185
41.602
17.451
1.137
-0.64
11.53
-0.08
2.31
28.27
3.00
3.04
2.75
3.80
12.46
Latest
PE
-ve
-ve
-ve
21.0
25.3
-ve
45.9
22.6
38.5
16.0
Latest
PE
-ve
33.8
-ve
39.1
15.8
22.5
13.6
25.3
46.0
25.8
TUE
CSE key features - Dec 29,
2013 to January 2, 2014
Turnover (Million Taka)
14,289.57
Turnover (Volume)
344,573,310
Number of Contract
373,302
Traded Issues
296
Issue Gain
(Avg. Price Basis)
190
Issue Loss
(Avg. Price Basis)
103
Unchanged Issue (Avg.
Price Basis)
3
(Billion. Tk.)
2,083.60
(Billion US$)
25.26
Weekly
low
Turnover
in million
33.30
35.00
85.50
29.60
38.30
127.50
75.60
38.00
18.60
20.70
Weekly
low
164.561
0.212
66.114
10.816
47.815
6.090
0.076
0.057
4.608
5.737
Turnover
in million
78.80
32.00
20.00
27.00
16.20
28.00
55.10
31.00
26.20
136.00
Latest
EPS
Latest
PE
3.33
-2.48
1.41
0.79
-0.89
1.68
0.40
6.11
-0.56
-15.39
Latest
EPS
320.618
9.699
38.331
71.702
0.217
35.204
0.006
389.182
1.829
0.163
24.8
-ve
15.4
37.2
-ve
17.5
150.0
5.6
-ve
-ve
Latest
PE
-6.76
3.33
6.11
1.60
0.79
-2.48
1.68
3.96
0.76
1.00
-ve
24.8
5.6
20.1
37.3
-ve
17.5
23.5
17.8
24.8
The week has been a much relief for
the investors as at the end of the year,
profit booking by institutions was over
and market started to bounce back
SECTORAL TURNOVER SUMMARY
Sector
Stock
DHAKA TRIBUNE
Million Taka
1390.24
2502.53
303.06
2756.20
719.01
1263.88
5.62
2884.86
1010.44
2.74
61.06
203.75
101.14
404.32
150.72
270.26
736.82
532.87
281.89
303.49
13.87
Total
% change
8.74
15.74
1.91
17.34
4.52
7.95
0.04
18.15
6.36
0.02
0.38
1.28
0.64
2.54
0.95
1.70
4.63
3.35
1.77
1.91
0.09
Prepared exclusively for Dhaka Tribune by Business Information Automation Service Line (BIASL), on the basis of information collected from daily stock quotations and
audited reports of the listed companies. High level of caution has been taken to collect and present the above information and data. The publisher will not take any responsibility
if any body uses this information and data for his/her investment decision. For any query please email to [email protected] or call 01552153562 or go to www.biasl.net
Weekly news from trade server
Credit Rating
BIFC: Alpha Credit Rating Limited
(AlphaRating) has rated the Company
as "A-" in the long term and "AR-3" in the
short term along with a stable outlook
based on audited financial information of
the Company up to 31st December 2012
and relevant qualitative information up to
November 30, 2013.
DBH: Credit Rating Agency of Bangladesh
Limited (CRAB) has announced the surveillance rating of the Company as "AAA" in the
long term and "ST-1" in the short term based
on audited financial statement of the Company up to 30 June 2013 and other relevant
quantitative as well as qualitative information up to the date of rating declaration.
BEDL: Credit Rating Agency of Bangladesh
Limited (CRAB) has announced the entity
rating (surveillance) of the Company as
"AA2" based on audited financial statements up to June 30, 2013; bank liability
position as on December 30, 2013 and
other relevant quantitative as well as
qualitative information up to the date of
rating declaration.
NPOLYMAR: Credit Rating Information
and Services Limited (CRISL) has rated
the Company as "A+" in the long term and
"ST-3" in the short term in consideration of
financials of the Company up to 30th June
2013 (audited) and other relevant quantitative as well as qualitative information up
to the date of rating declaration.
EASTERNINS: Credit Rating Information
and Services Limited (CRISL) has announced
the CPA (Claim Paying Ability) Rating of
the Company as "A+" in consideration of
unaudited financials of the Company up to
September 30, 2013, audited financials up to
December 31, 2012 and other relevant quantitative as well as qualitative information up
PEOPLESINS: Credit Rating Information and Services Limited (CRISL)
has announced the CPA (Claim Paying
Ability) Rating of the Company as "A+" in
consideration of unaudited financials of
the Company up to September 30, 2013,
audited financials up to December 31, 2012
and other relevant quantitative as well as
qualitative information up to the date of
rating declaration.
AGNISYSL: Credit Rating Information
DSE TURNOVER LEADERS
Company
Golden Son -A
Appollo Ispat CL -N
LankaBangla Fin. -A
Generation Next-A
Delta Life Insu. -A
R. N. Spinning-Z
Bay Leasing.-A
Familytex (BD) Ltd.-N
Grameenphone-A
CSE TURNOVER LEADERS
Company
Appollo Ispat CL -N
Golden Son -A
R. N. Spinning-Z
Paramount Textile Ltd.-N
Generation Next-A
LankaBangla Fin. -A
UNITED AIR-A
People`s Leasing-A
Delta Life Insu. -A
BEXIMCO Ltd. -A
Volume
shares
12,238,699
18,245,200
9,179,198
12,654,980
1,498,550
11,089,039
8,715,740
3,476,900
5,290,500
1,450,594
Volume
shares
6,231,400
1,269,473
2,019,874
883,500
1,129,880
609,700
2,423,014
1,334,504
123,500
961,759
and Services Limited (CRISL) has rated
the Company as "A+" in the long term and
"ST-3" in the short term in consideration of
financials of the Company up to 30th June
2013 (audited) and other relevant quantitative as well as qualitative information up
Fixed Assets/Right/Investment:
PRIMEBANK: The Company has informed
that the Board of Directors has accepetd
the revaluation report on the assets (Land
and Building) of the Company. As per
revaluation, an increase of Tk. 148.22 crore
will be accounted for in the Balance sheet
of the Company as at 31.12.2013 subject to
approval of the regulatory authorities.
EXIMBANK: The Company has informed
that the Board of Directors has approved the
revaluation report on three fixed assets comprising land and building of the Company. As
per revaluation, an increase of Tk. 206.78
crore will be accounted for in the Balance
sheet of the Company as at 31.12.2013.
EASTLAND: BSEC is not in a position to
process the application for issuance of
Rights shares of Eastland Insurance Company Limited as the Company has failed
to disseminate any specific decision regarding the rights issue, rather requested
to keep in abeyance for indefinite period,
which is not practicable.
ICB M. FUNDS: Investment Corporation of
Bangladesh (ICB) has informed that BSEC
has extended the term of 8 Mutual Funds
of ICB (i.e. 1st to 8th ICB Mutual Fund) up
to December 31, 2014.
Miscellaneous
MITHUNKNIT: The Company has
informed that it has credited the bonus
shares for the year ended on June 30,
2013 to the respective shareholders' BO
Accounts.
TALLUSPIN: The Company has informed
that it has credited the bonus shares for
the year ended on June 30, 2013 to the
respective shareholders' BO Accounts.
GHAIL: The Company has informed that it has
credited the bonus shares for the year ended
on June 30, 2013 to the respective shareholders' BO Accounts on December 26, 2013.
BDFINANCE: The Company has informed
that it has credited the Rights shares to the
respective shareholders' BO Accounts on
January 01, 2014.
Value in
million
785.20
668.04
625.22
471.67
395.28
389.18
358.51
320.62
311.17
296.02
Value in
million
227.91
81.43
71.12
46.97
42.19
41.60
40.03
34.10
32.32
31.39
% of total
turnover
5.49
4.68
4.38
3.30
2.77
2.72
2.51
2.24
2.18
2.07
% of total
turnover
14.17
5.06
4.42
2.92
2.62
2.59
2.49
2.12
2.01
1.95
Weekly
closing
63.60
37.40
71.10
36.90
265.10
35.50
39.80
82.50
57.60
206.30
Weekly
closing
37.10
63.50
34.90
52.40
37.10
70.90
16.80
25.40
264.00
33.50
DESHBANDHU: The Company has further
informed that due to unavoidable circumstances, the 7th AGM of the Company will
now be held on December 29, 2013 at 9:00
AM at Factory Premises of the Company at
Kawadi, Charsindur, Palash, Narsingdi instead of Jamuna Resort, Eastern Approach
of Bangabandhu Bridge, Bhuapur, Tangail at
10:00 AM. Other information of the AGM
will remain unchanged.
TRUSTBANK: The Company has further
informed that the EGM of the Company
will be held on February 06, 2014 at 10:00
AM at Trust Milonayaton, 545 Airport
Road, Dhaka. Record Date for EGM:
12.01.2014. Other information of the EGM
as announced earlier.
DESHBANDHU: The Company will be
placed in "B" category from existing "A" category with effect from December 30, 2013 as
the Company approved 5% stock dividend
for the year ended on June 30, 2013.
GEMINISEA: The Company will be placed
in "Z" category from existing "A" category
with effect from January 01, 2014 as the
Company did not approve any dividend for
the year ended on September 30, 2013.
RNSPIN: The Company will be placed in "Z"
category from existing "A" category with effect from January 01, 2014 as the Company
failed to hold AGM in the year 2013.
USMANIAGL: The Company will be placed in
"Z" category from existing "A" category with
effect from January 01, 2014 as the Company
failed to hold AGM in the year 2013.
DAFODILCOM: The Company will be
placed in "Z" category from existing "A"
category with effect from January 01, 2014
as the Company did not approve any dividend for the year ended on June 30, 2013.
RIGHT SHARE: ARAMITCEM: Subscription 23.03.2014 to 17.04.2014. Record
date for entitlement of rights share:
09.01.2014. RUPALILIFE- Subscription
06.04.2014 to 05.05.2014. Record date
for entitlement of rights share: 16.01.2014.
IPO Subscription: Emerald Oil Industries
Limited subscription date 06-12 January
2014, NRB upto 21 Januray 2014. At per,
face value taka 10 and market lot 500.
Matin Spinning Mills Limited subscription
date 26-30 January 2014, NRB upto 08
Feburay 2014. @ Tk. 37/-, face value taka
10 and market lot 200.
Price
change
2.25
-1.58
11.27
1.37
4.25
-4.83
3.11
-14.06
-2.70
3.25
Weekly
opening
62.20
38.00
63.90
36.40
254.30
37.30
38.60
96.00
59.20
199.80
Weekly
high
68.00
38.50
71.70
38.70
275.90
37.40
43.80
96.30
60.60
208.10
Weekly
low
56.00
34.80
60.00
32.80
247.50
31.00
35.00
78.80
57.00
195.00
Weekly
average
63.02
36.94
69.64
37.36
264.76
34.48
39.14
82.54
58.50
206.62
Price
change
-3.39
1.76
-6.43
0.00
2.20
11.13
1.20
7.17
4.47
4.36
Weekly
opening
38.40
62.40
37.30
52.40
36.30
63.80
16.60
23.70
252.70
32.10
Weekly
high
38.20
67.20
37.50
55.80
38.70
71.60
16.90
27.00
276.00
34.00
Weekly
low
34.60
61.10
33.00
51.20
33.50
62.50
15.00
21.40
246.00
29.00
Weekly
average
36.69
62.63
34.08
53.18
37.43
69.61
16.64
25.30
264.16
33.19
DHAKA TRIBUNE
Business
Argon Denim: Week’s worst loser
n Tahmidur Rahman
Stock prices of Argon Denim Limited
fell by more than 14% to Tk82.5 each on
Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) last week.
Brokers believe price correction pulled
down the stocks from its peak of Tk99.7
recorded on December 19, 2013, when it
was listed with the stock exchange.
Its stock prices ranged between
Tk31.3 and Tk99.7 each since its listing.
The stocks valued Tk31.9 crore were
exchanged hands.
In response to a DSE query on December 9, the company said there
was no undisclosed price sensitive
information for the recent unusual price
hike. The DSE query came after the stock
prices of the company rose more than
twice without any reason since October.
According to its unaudited third
quarter (July to Sept 2013) report, the
company’s net profit stood at Tk6.52
crore, an increase of over 32% from
Tk4.4 crore in the same period last year.
In the first nine months of last year,
it made profits of Tk17.9 crore, a rise of
over 46% from Tk9.6 crore in the corre-
Fed’s bitter medicine
may help heal
emerging markets
n Reuters
sponding period a year earlier. The impressive increase in its profits was results from a surge in its exports or sales.
The apparel company used its IPO
fund to repay its bank loans of Tk16.4
crore and rest for project expansion.
The company listed in the textile
segment of the stock market has an
EPS of Tk2.5 and a price to earnings
ratio of 24.75, according to its latest
unaudited reports. The net asset value
per share stood at Tk24.41 as of 2012,
which is 29.5% of the last traded price.
Sponsor-directors hold 50% and
general public 47.86% stakes in the
company. It paid out a 20% bonus
shares for the year 2012 as dividend for
its shareholders. l
Oil prices fall on US Carmakers rack up big gains in 2013 US sales
stockpile data
sales rose seven percent to 1.5 milrooms in November, McNeil said in a
AFP, Chicago
n
lion, the Japanese automaker’s second
conference
call.
n AFP, Washington
GM reported a seven percent in- highest annual tally.
Major automakers closed out 2013 with
Global oil prices fell Friday, pushed by
the expected return to the market of
Libyan supplies and a bearish report
on commercial stockpiles.
In New York, West Texas Intermediate for February delivery fell $1.48 to
$93.96 a barrel. Friday’s fall left the US
benchmark more than $6 down from a
week earlier.
And in London, Brent crude for February gave up 89 cents from Thursday
to $106.89 a barrel.
The US Energy Information Administration’s weekly stockpiles report appeared at first glance a strong support
for prices -- commercial crude inventories fell by 7.0 million barrels to 360.6
million barrels, more than triple the
fall predicted.
Some analysts suggested that yearend destocking for balance sheet reasons was behind the sharp fall.
The EIA data showed rises in product stockpiles such as gasoline, suggesting demand was not as strong as
the fall in crude reserves implied.
Also behind the fall was the expected
return of more Libyan crude to the market as protests that have blocked production and shipping for months eased.
“The Libyan government is preparing to reopen one of its larger oilfields,
El Sharara, over the next few days, as
protesters agree to stop a strike that
has cut the field’s production for three
months,” said Lucy Sidebotham at British-based energy consultancy Inenco. l
B3
mixed results for December US sales
yesterday, as the booming auto industry racked up its best annual performance in years.
“The auto industry was a consistent
bright spot in the economic recovery
throughout 2013,” said Bill Fay, general
manager of the Toyota division. “We
expect the economy will continue to
gain strength in 2014, with car sales
rising to pre- recession levels.”
Total industry sales rose 7.6% to
15.6 million vehicles in 2013, according
to Autodata.
The last time annual US auto sales
topped 15 million vehicles was in 2007.
They slowly recovered to 14.8 million in 2012 after crashing to a low of
10.6 million in 2009 as a result of the
financial crisis, which pushed the industry into a deep downturn.
In the 14 years prior to the 2008
crash, annual US auto sales had ranged
from 15 to 17 million vehicles.
“2013 was the year that GM and the
auto industry put the last traces of the recession in the rearview mirror,” said General Motors US sales chief Kurt McNeil.
“Now we can devote our full attention to the things that matter most to
customers: compelling design, worldclass quality and delivering the best
ownership experience in the business.”
December sales were weaker than
expected as a result of brutal winter
storms and Thanksgiving discounts
which had drawn shoppers to show-
crease in 2013 US sales to 2.8 million
vehicles despite a six percent drop in
December sales to 230,157.
Ford posted its best annual performance since 2006 as US sales jumped
11% to 2.5 million vehicles in 2013. December sales rose a more modest two
percent from the same period a year
ago to come in at 218,058.
In a hotly competitive market,
where every manufacturer
brought their best
products, our core models
demonstrated significant
growth without having to
resort to fleet sales to drive
volume as some of our
competitors do
“December was a strong close to an
even better year for Ford,” sales chief
John Felice said. “We saw strong
growth across the entire Ford lineup
and made significant gains in the import- dominated coastal markets.”
Toyota posted a seven percent gain
in 2013 as US sales rose to 2.2 million
vehicles - despite a two percent drop
in December sales to 190,843. Chrysler
reported its 45th consecutive month
of gains as December US sales rose six
percent to 161,007. Its 2013 sales were
up nine percent at 1.8 million.
Honda managed to top the record it
set last December as US sales grew two
percent to 135,255 vehicles. Its 2013
“Breaking our December sales record is a great way to finish a near-record year,” said American Honda sales
chief John Mendel.
“In a hotly competitive market,
where every manufacturer brought
their best products, our core models
demonstrated significant growth without having to resort to fleet sales to drive
volume as some of our competitors do.”
Nissan posted its best annual US
sales ever with a nine percent increase
to 1.2 million vehicles. Its December
sales were up 11% from the previous
year at 109,758.
Hyundai’s sales were up five percent
for the year at 720,783 after gaining six
percent in December to 63,005 while Kia
sales rose three percent to 535,179 in 2013
after falling 14% in December to 33,631.
Volkswagen bucked the upward trend
by posting a seven percent drop in annual US sales to 407,704 vehicles in 2013,
while December sales fell 23% to 34,015.
But the German automaker celebrated the fact that - for the first time in 40
years - it managed to sell more than
400,000 vehicles in back-to-back years
and nonetheless posted its second best
US December performance since 1972.
“Volkswagen is now operating at a
new plateau,” Mark McNabb, chief operating officer of Volkswagen of America, said in a statement.
“We are well positioned for our next
phase of growth to come over the next
few years.” l
If the medicine tastes bad, it’s probably
doing you good. Emerging economies
might console themselves with that
thought when they’re suffering market
cramps and haemorrhaging capital as
the US ends its monetary stimulus.
The Federal Reserve will begin
winding down, or tapering, its $85bn
a-month money-printing programme
this month, and emerging markets are
seeing foreign investment pull back
as a result. Last year, around $30bn
fled emerging equity and bond funds
tracked by EPFR Global, provisional
data shows.
That is a blow, particularly for socalled deficit countries such as India or
Turkey, which rely on foreign inflows
to plug balance-of-payment gaps. The
hope is the volatility induced by tapering will prod governments into reforms
that ultimately reduce their sensitivity
to shifts in global capital.
“Policymakers are under pressure
to implement reforms that were put
on the back burner. Tapering is at least
getting that narrative going,” said Manik Narain, a strategist at UBS. “It’s too
early to position for it, but if we do get
reform it could be the start of the rebirth of emerging markets.”
The Fed’s $3.7tn expansion of its
balance sheet was a mixed blessing
for developing countries. Economic
growth was pumped up by record-low
borrowing costs and hundreds of billions of dollars in stock and bond market investments.
But with so much easy money coming in, most governments got away
with very little labour reform, privatisation, productivity gains or improvements to power and transport infrastructure. Progress in those areas will
be key to attracting longer-term investment in manufacturing or services.
What reform?
Past emerging-market crises - India in
1991, Mexico in 1994, Russia in 1998
and Turkey in 2001 - led to reforms that
transformed those economies.
Mexico and India are ahead of the
game this time. Punished by investors
for messy politics and current account
deficits, India has begun to shrink budget deficits, cut some subsidies and
raise energy tariffs. Expectations of
reform after the Indian elections due
in mid-2014 have helped the rupee rise
11% from record lows in mid-2013.
Energy-sector reform kept the Mexican peso’s 2013 loss versus the dollar
to 1.6%, compared with 10% plus falls
elsewhere in Latin America.
But analysts say elections in a range
of countries this year will discourage
China pledges further support for solar industry
Workers install a solar panel in Jiuquan, Gansu province
edge of bankruptcy.
China’s support for its solar indus-
try has been a source of trade friction.
The United States and European Union
REUTERS
have accused China of dumping underpriced solar panels on foreign mar-
‘Let’s get on with it’
Considering all that possibility and taking a longer-term view, a quick end to
money printing is probably not a bad
thing.
Expectations of reform after
the Indian elections due in
mid-2014 have helped the
rupee rise 11% from record
lows in mid-2013
Brazilian central bank governor Alexandre Tombini may have spoken for
many emerging-market policymakers when he recently called US policy
“normalisation” a “net positive”. The
sooner the Fed withdrew its stimulus,
the better, he said.
That is unsurprising. The Fed’s
money printing gave central bankers headaches, by fuelling explosive
spending and debt, property bubbles,
price and currency inflation.
As domestic interest rates were cut
to levels well below what was justified
by fundamentals, current account gaps
blew out. Brazil’s deficit, for instance,
is running at 3.5% of annual economic
output, up from 1% in September 2009.
“Policymakers are focusing on
short-term volatility, which means
they are too busy to focus on longer-term issues. The later the tapering
the bigger the imbalances,” said David
Hauner, head of EEMEA fixed income
strategy and economics at Bank of
America Merrill Lynch.
As tapering progresses, markets will
be able to better reward reformers and
punish the laggards, by focusing more
on country-specific factors, Hauner
said, adding:
“The best for emerging markets
will be: let’s get this done, have the US
Treasury yields repriced to 3.5% or so
and let’s move on.” l
Facebook faces
suit for data mining
private messages
n AFP, Washington
n Reuters
China pledged further support for its
ailing solar power industry yesterday
as the government seeks to revive a
sector struggling with overcapacity
and falling prices.
The State Council, China’s cabinet,
said in July that the country aimed
to more than quadruple solar power
generating capacity to 35 gigawatts by
2015 in an apparent bid to ease a glut
in the domestic solar power industry.
The State Council, in a statement
published on its website, said the
Ministry of Industry and Information
Technology was taking measures to
“promote the healthy development of
the photovoltaic industry”.
The ministry, it said, was implementing the July directive by supporting
consolidation in the industry, drafting
guidelines for mergers and acquisitions
and promoting standardization.
It said the ministry was encouraging technological innovation, especially related to decentralized solar power
installations not connected to the power grid. It was also supporting research
and development efforts for batteries
that can store solar electricity.
The ministry sought to improve
standardization and ensure “orderly
competition” in the industry, the statement said.
The State Council said the solar industry had enjoyed a recovery in 2013.
Total installed solar power generating
capacity increased by around 8 GW, of
which 6 GW were in power plants and 2
GW were in decentralized instillations,
the statement said, citing preliminary
estimates from the China Photovoltaic
Industry Alliance.
Still, Chinese solar equipment producers LDK Solar Co Ltd and JA Solar
Holdings Co Ltd are teetering on the
unpopular reforms for now. Any proposed changes in Russia or South Africa could be hampered by healthy prices for their oil and metals exports.
“(The volatility) has spurred reform
in some countries, but it’s not EMwide, that’s for sure,” said Christian
Keller, head of EEMEA research at Barclays in London.
Capital Economics told clients that
policymakers had an opportunity to
undertake supply-side reform, but it
feared that “incumbent governments
may try to boost re-election prospects
by pushing ahead with populist spending plans, causing current account
deficits to widen further.”
kets and China has responded with anti-subsidy duties of its own. l
Facebook has been hit with a class-action lawsuit alleging the social networking behemoth gleans data from
purportedly private messages, in violation of users’ rights.
Two plaintiffs claim the site scans
private correspondence between users
for links to third-party websites, sharing that information with the likes of
“advertisers, marketers and other data
aggregators.”
The suit accuses Facebook of violating the Electronic Communications
Privacy Act and California privacy
laws.
Facebook has “systematically violated consumers’ privacy by reading its
users’ personal, private Facebook messages without their consent,” said the
complaint, filed December 30 in the US
District Court for Northern California.
“Representing to users that the content of Facebook messages is ‘private’
creates an especially profitable opportunity for Facebook, because users
who believe they are communicating
on a service free from surveillance are
likely to reveal facts about themselves
that they would not reveal had they
known the content was being monitored,” it said.
Asked for comment, Facebook said
in a statement: “The allegations in this
lawsuit have no merit and we will defend ourselves vigorously.”
The suit was brought forth by two
Facebook users from different US
states, Matthew Campbell of Arkansas
and Michael Hurley of Oregon.
It was filed on behalf of all US Facebook members who have used the site
to send or receive a message that includes a link. l
B4
DHAKA TRIBUNE
Career
Shoot for success by goal setting
Five golden rules to set yourself up for accomplishment
you want to take, and you will develop
focus along the way.
Time-bound goals: This is another
benchmark to gauge the degree of success of your goal. Your goals should
always have a deadline. Working under a deadline will help you develop a
sense of urgency and accelerate a goal’s
achievement.
Put it in writing
Put your goals in writing – make it a
tangible thing you see everyday instead
of something in the back of your head.
Write them in firm and positive language such as “will” instead of “would
like to”. A goal such as “I will meet all
my deadlines this week” is more motivating than “I will not miss deadlines
this week.”
Make an action plan
n Career Desk
putting in the work required to make it
happen. Goal achievement requires devotion and commitment; in order to increase the chances of success you need
to feel the urgency and necessity of the
achievement.
A sure path to disappointment and
frustration is setting yourself goals
that are not related to the big priorities
in your life – you are basically setting
yourself up for failure because the likelihood is that you will frequently put
off necessary work for day to day priorities.
What do you expect to get out of your
work? What do you hope to accomplish today? What would you like to
have done by the end of this year? If
you want any of these expectations
and wishes to succeed, you need to set
yourself goals. Goal setting not only
establishes focus and direction in your
life, it also provides you with a benchmark to determine whether you are
succeeding the way you want to or just
wasting time.
Goal setting isn’t as simple as making a list of things you want to do. It
starts with careful meditation on what
it is that you want to achieve and is followed by a lot of hard work to actually make it happen. Following are five
golden rules of goal setting.
Motivation is crucial to achieving goals.
When you are setting goals, make sure
they are important to you and that
their achievement will give you value.
When the outcome seems irrelevant
to the bigger picture of your life from
the get go, you will be less inclined to
Measurable goals: One needs to measure their goals to assess their degree
of success. This is why you need to include exact amounts and dates in your
goals. For example: if you are planning
to save more money this month, how
will you know if you have achieved
your goal unless you have a specific
amount that you aim to save?
In order to give your goals the best
chance at success, they need to be designed to be SMART. While there are a
few different versions of what SMART
stands for, it is essentially what a good
goal should be: specific, measurable,
attainable, relevant, and time-bound.
Attainable goals: If you set far-fetched
unattainable goals, you will only demoralise yourself and lose your confidence when you fail to achieve them.
Set yourself realistic goals. However,
setting goals that are easy is also not
recommended. A 2006 study called
New Directions in Goal-Setting Theory
suggests that ambitious goals lead to a
higher level of performance than easy
or general goals.
Specific goals: Your goal has to be clear
and well defined – vague goals lack in
focus and direction, which is contrary
to the point of goal setting. Goals need
to reflect the path you need to take,
make sure you don’t end up getting lost
Relevant goals: Setting yourself lots of
different kinds of goals that have little to do with the direction you want
your life and career to ultimately take
will only derail you on your path. Keep
your goals aligned with the direction
Set SMART goals
Find motivation
along the way.
Life Events
Value
1
Death of spouse
100
2
Divorce
73
3
Marital separation
65
4
Jail term
63 5
Death of close family member
63
6
Personal injury or illness
53
7
Marriage
50
8
Fired at work
47
9
Marital reconciliation
45
10
Retirement
45
11
Change in health of family member
44
12
Pregnancy
40
13
Sex difficulties
39
14
Gain of new family member
39
15
Business readjustment
39
16
Change in financial state
38
Tick if this
applies
This is a step often missed in goal setting – most people are prone to getting so obsessed with the ultimate
goal that they miss planning a step by
step process to achieving the goal. It’s
not necessary for the small day to day
goals, but it is especially important for
demanding and long-term goals. If you
have a step by step plan, you will be
aware of your progress along the way
to your ultimate goal.
Stay focused
Goal setting is an on-going process
and not a onetime activity. For higher
chances of success, review your goals
regularly; ask yourself if you are happy
with the progress and course that you
are taking. The end game remains the
same but the action plan to get there
may have to adapt to circumstances or
change entirely for definite chances of
achieving the goal.
Goal setting is entails a lot more than
simply saying you want something to
happen in your life. If you do not visibly identify exactly what you want
and understand why you want it the
first place, your likelihood of succeeding at achieving them are significantly
reduced. By following the five golden
rules of goal setting you can set goals
with conviction and ultimately enjoy
the pleasure of knowing that you have
successfully achieved what you set out
to achieve. l
A checklist of clear
communication
n Career Desk
We spend a big part of an average workday
communicating. We do it when we are in a
meeting, debating with colleagues, participating in conference calls, replying to emails,
pitching a new idea – it goes on. We often
have workdays when we spend the whole
day communicating.
If we are to follow the seven Cs of communication, suggested by the career portal
mindtools.com, we could give our work a
huge boost.
Clear
When communicating with a colleague, be
clear and to the point. Ask yourself what
your purpose in communicating with this
person is. If you can’t answer it, then they
won’t know what you’re talking about either.
To be clear, do not communicate too many
ideas in one sentence. Make sure the person
you are communicating with knows what
you mean without having to infer or make
assumptions on their own.
Concise
Being concise is one of your biggest assets
at work. Being concise means sticking to the
point and keeping it brief. No one wants to
read six sentences when two will suffice. To
make sure you’re being concise, check to see
if you are using a lot of filler works such as
“for instance,” “basically,” “I mean” etc. Check
if you have any unnecessary sentences and
whether if you have reiterated any point
several times in different ways.
Concrete
Making a message concrete gives the audi-
How much stress are you dealing with?
n Ahsan Sajid
A wide variety of situations in our work
and personal life can lead to stress;
from colleagues slowing down the pace
of a project to the death of a pet – it all
adds to the weight. The most widely accepted definition of stress comes from
Richard S Lazarus who describes it as: A
condition or feeling experienced when
a person perceives that “demands exceed the personal and social resources
the individual is able to mobilise.” In
other words, we feel stress when things
seem out of our control.
Not all stressful events are equally difficult to deal with – compare the
stress regarding a minor fever to that of
getting fired. Because the stress levels
for different events vary, one needs to be
able to appropriately rate and calculate
their total stress. Not dealing with stress
can lead to even more stress, and can ultimately become a major obstacle both
at work and personal life and get in the
way of contentment and satisfaction.
stress load we carry and figure out
what we should, or could do about it.
Psychiatrists Thomas Holmes and
Richard Rahe studied 5,000 medical
patients in 1967 to see whether stress
contributed to illnesses. They asked
the patients whether any of a series of
43 life events had occurred in their lives
in the last two years. Each event, or Life
Change Unit (LCU), had a different value or weight for stress. They found that
the higher the score, the more likely
the patient was to become ill.
The scale
To measure your total stress level,
check each Life Change Unit from the
table in the previous column that applies to you and add the total. If you experienced any of the events twice, add
the number twice. The table is taken
from The Social Readjustment Rating
Scale by Thomas H Holmes and Richard
H Rahe in the Journal of Psychosomatic
Research, Volume 11, Issue 2, published
in August 1967.
Score
Comment
300+
You have a high or very high
risk of becoming ill from too
much stress in the near future.
150-299
You have a moderate to high
chance of becoming ill from
stress in the near future.
<150
You don’t have much stress
and only a low to moderate
chance of becoming ill in the
near future.
the events are in fact out of our hands,
but certain things can be helped. You
could avoid moving, minimise conflict
with colleagues by learning more conflict resolution skills, avoid taking on
more responsibilities and obligations
than you can handle etc. Additionally,
do not dwell on your score if it is very
high, but rather take actions with it
that will positively affect your mood.
Stress can cause severe health problems and in extreme cases can even
cause death.
If stress is persistently causing you
grief, it may be time to seek the help of
a relevant health professional, instead
of simply brushing it off. l
ence a clear picture of what you’re telling
them. Without straying from the focus of the
communication, provide details (but not too
many) and vivid facts and your message will
be solid.
Correct
Being correct in communications doesn’t
only refer to proper spelling and grammar
but whether or not it fits your audience,
whether the technical terms used are not
above their level of education, whether
you’re spelling or pronouncing their names
correctly etc.
Coherent
Coherent communication is logical communication. All points are related and relevant
to the main topic of discussion and the tone
and flow of the text is consistent.
Complete
A complete message is one where the audience is well aware of the point in discussion,
has everything they need to be informed
about and take action. Make sure your message includes a “call to action” so they know
what you want them to do, and all other
relevant information such as contact names,
dates, times etc.
Courteous
Courteous communication is friendly, open,
and honest. A courteously communicated
message should not have any hidden insults
or passive-aggressive tones that may be
considered workplace harassment. Even
when you disagree with someone, keep their
viewpoint in mind, and be empathetic to
their needs. l
Set for
meetings
n Career Desk
BIZ
VOCAB
AGM (abbreviation)
- Annual General
Meeting
AOB (abbreviation)
- Any Other Business
(usually the last item
on an agenda)
Absent (adjective) - not here; not at the meeting; not
present
Agenda (noun) - a written programme
or schedule for a meeting
Apologies (noun) - item on agenda
announcing people who are absent;
apologies for absence
Ballot (noun) - a type of vote, usually in
writing and usually secret
17
Death of close friend
37
18
Change to a different line of work
36
19
Change in number of arguments with spouse
35
20
A large mortgage or loan
31
21
Foreclosure of mortgage or loan
30
22
Change in responsibilities at work
29
23
Son or daughter leaving home
29
24
Trouble with in-laws
29
25
Outstanding personal achievement
28
26
Spouse begins or stops work
26
27
Begin or end school/college
26
Consensus (noun) - general agreement
28
Change in living conditions
25
29
Revision of personal habits
24
Decision (noun) - a conclusion or resolution to do something
30
Trouble with boss
23
31
Change in work hours or conditions
20
32
Change in residence
20
33
Change in school/college
20
34
Change in recreation
19
35
Change in church activities
19
36
Change in social activities
18
37
A moderate loan or mortgage
17
38
Change in sleeping habits
16
39
Change in number of family get-togethers
15
40
Change in eating habits
15
41
Vacation
13
42
Christmas
12 43
Minor violations of the law
11
Total Score
The Holmes and Rahe Stress Scale
The Social Readjustment Rating Scale,
better known as the Holmes and Rahe
Scale was created for this express purpose. The tool helps us measure the
What to do about it
If you are at a moderate or high level of
stress, then the most obvious thing to
do is to avoid all future life crises. This
is easier said than done, and many of
Casting vote (noun) - a deciding vote
(usually by the chairman) when the
votes are otherwise equal
Chairman (noun) - the person who
leads or presides at a meeting; chairperson; chair
Conference (noun) - formal meeting for
discussion, especially a regular one held
by an organisation
Conference call (noun) - telephone
call between three or more people in
different locations
Item (noun) - a separate point for discussion (as listed on an agenda)
Matters arising (noun) - item on agenda for discussion of what has happened
as a result of last meeting
Minutes (noun) - a written record of
everything said at a meeting
Proxy vote (noun) - a vote cast by one
person for or in place of another
Show of hands (noun) - raised hands to
express an opinion in a vote
Unanimous (adjective) - in complete
agreement; united in opinion
Video conference (noun) - conference
of people in different locations linked by
satellite, TV, internet etc.
Vote (verb) - to express opinion in a
group by voice or hand etc.

Security, turnout major challenges

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