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Agrahayan 30, 1420 Safar 10, 1435 Regd. No. DA 6238 Vol 1 No 260
Jamaat-Shibir activists go on the rampage in the capitals Fakirapul and Motijheel area yesterday
NASHIRUL ISLAM
Tribune Report
Mollas war crimes case The day this year to add new dimension most eventful so far n
MARTYRED INTELLECTUALS DAY
Julkar Ali Manik
For forty two years the nation has observed the Martyred Intellectual Day but it is slightly different this year as the nation for the first time has seen a glimmer of hope because of some developments in a number of cases related to killing of intellectuals. Some historic developments in the judiciary this year on the trial of war criminals and execution of Quader Molla on Thursday added a new dimension to the observance of the 42nd Martyred Intellectual Day today. Since 1971 many local and foreign media, books and other publications narrated bits and pieces of barbaric brutal killing of Bangalee intellectuals during the nine-month bloody Liberation War in 1971 but this year, for the first time, the nation has some legitimate views over the issue from the courts of law. The large-scale killing of intellectuals and professionals in 1971 has terribly shaken the conscience of mankind and the Bangalee nation, the judges of International Crimes Tribunal 2 observed in their judgment in the case against convicted war criminal and Jamaat-e-Islami Secretary General Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mojaheed. In the courts view the event of selected intellectuals killing was a planned and calculated large scale killing, the Tribunal 2 comprising drew conclusion on the issue. Al-Badr, the fascist body of Jamaat-e-Islami, committed such untold butchery, said the tribunal judgment. It stands proved beyond reasonable doubt that the Al-Badar men were the perpetrators of the horrific and untold pattern of intellectuals killing.
Eminent citizens of the country yesterday expressed concerns over ensuring free and a fair polls with the number of uncontested seats in the 10th parliamentary poll. Counting from East Pakistan Provincial Assembly Elections, it would be the highest number of uncontested seats in history. More than 100 uncontested seats in the coming elections will not qualify a free and fair election, lawyer Shahdeen Malik told the Dhaka Tribune. Former Election Commissioner M Shakhawat Hossain said the election had already become questionable and the results would be similarly in question as many of the candidates had been elected uncontested. By this time we could have organised an inclusive election if we started the negotiation before, he told the Dhaka Tribune. Syed Abul Maksud said the politicians had become engaged in a farce in the name of democracy, which was unexpected. l
It is impossible to forget the grief of the gruesome killings of 1971 but this time we at least have the consolation that we could ensure justice
This tribunal also deals another case regarding intellectual killing and delivered verdict sentencing Chowdhury Mueen Uddin and Ashrafuzzaman to death for killing intellectuals. In this case the verdict termed the intellectual killing elitocide a systematic killing of a communitys political and economic leadership so that it could not regenerate. It is impossible to forget the grief of the gruesome killings of 1971 but this time we at least have the consolation
PAGE 2 COLUMN 1
three judges viewed: Intent to kill the listed intelligentsia was to cripple the Bangalee nation. The judges said it is proved that about 200 leading intellectuals, doctors, professors and scientists, including such eminent personalities were brutally murdered. About the responsibilities of killing intellectuals were cited in the history from the views of the writers and their findings but now the court judgment
a serious crisis of existence. It prompted the government to amend International Crimes (Tribunals) Act 1973 to ensure the right of the state to appeal on behalf of the war crimes victims of 1971. Before the February 17 amendment, the state could appeal only against an acquittal. The state and the defence appealed against the tribunal verdict in March. Mollas lawyers challenged the amendments but could not win. Meantime, Jamaat, with the help of the main opposition BNP and fundamentalist organisation Hefazat-e-Islam, came down hard on the Shahbagh protesters, labelling them as atheists. A group of religious fanatics campaigning against the Shahbagh movement also killed blogger Rajib, one of the organisers of the movement. Hefazat and some other Islamist organisations took to the streets, demanding introduction of anti-blasphemy law. They also launched a propaganda against eminent writers and intellectuals, using the social media,
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INSIDE
News
5 Price of Aman paddy has registered a drastic fall in the markets of the district for the back to back blockade programmes.
International
8 Iran said that a new US measure targeting companies and individuals for supporting its nuclear program violated the spirit of a nuclear deal reached with major powers in Geneva last month.
Sport
14 Arsenals lunchtime game at Manchester City today could be a defining one for their Premier League title hopes, even if Arsene Wenger has greeted that idea with a typically Gallic shrug.
11-year old schoolboy Shanto lies on the road after receiving splinter injuries during a clash between Jamaat-Shibir activists and police in the capitals Fakirapool yesterday DHAKA TRIBUNE Apart from these incidents Jamaat-Shibir men vandalised, torched and looted around 50 houses and business establishments of Awami League supporters in Satkhira, Coxs Bazar, Laxmipur and Pabna. On Shahjalal University of Science and Technology campus in Sylhet
PAGE 2 COLUMN 1
2
WAR CRIMES
DHAKA TRIBUNE
News
A Rab member stands in front of the Baitul Mokarram National Mosque during yesterdays Jumma prayers as security was tightened in the capital following the execution of war crimes convict Quader Molla RAJIB DHAR
has announced not to participate in the polls and asked its candidates to withdraw their candidature. Jatiya Party Chief HM Ershad has formally requested the Election Commission not to allocate the partys electoral symbol plough to anyone for the January 5 elections. According to an Election Commission report, a number Jatiya Party candidates had not withdrawn their candidature, violating their party chiefs instruction. EC sources said the returning officer did not accept the withdrawal applications of the Jatiya Party candidates, including Ershad. However, in the con-
stituencies which the Awami league left to the 14-party alliance candidates, the returning officer accepted the Awami League candidates nominations. As of Friday, a total of 101 parliamentary constituencies got lone candidates, EC data showed. In sixth parliamentary elections held on February 15 in 1996, 49 BNP candidates were elected uncontested as they were the lone candidates after EC scrutiny of their nomination papers. BNP won 279 seats out of 290. Elections to 10 parliamentary constituencies were not held due to unavoidable circumstances. Apart from BNP, all other major political parties, including the Awami
League, boycotted the sixth parliamentary polls. However, after the resumption of parliamentary democracy in 1991, there was no uncontested candidate in any of the elections except for 1996. In the fourth parliamentary polls in 1988, 18 candidates were elected uncontested. 1,192 candidates from eight political parties participated in the polls. Meanwhile, the Awami League has sent a letter to the Election Commission asking for allocation of the boat symbol to 10 of the nominated candidates from the 14-party alliance. Of the 10, four are from the Workers Party of Bangladesh, four from the Jati-
ya Samajtantrik Dal and two from Tarikat Federation. In another development, Chief Election Commissioner Kazi Rakibuddin Ahmad yesterday said ensuring participation of all political parties in the upcoming 10th parliamentary elections was going to be difficult. But there are always scopes. If all reach a logical decision regarding the polls, they will have to tell the commission how to step forward, he told reporters. On allocating plough as the symbol for Jatiya Party candidates, the CEC said it was the responsibility of the returning officers to allocate symbols as per the electoral laws. l
Shibir activist vandalised the Chetona-71, a sculpture of liberation war from a procession. Police and witnesses said in Kalaroa upazila of Satkhira Jamaat-Shibir men in masks broke open the house of Azizur and stabbed him with sharp weapons to death. In another incident, Jamaat-Shibir men allegedly took a Judge out of his house around 3am and slaughtered him at Sarashkati village. OC of Kalroa police station Shahadara Khan said they could not reach in time as the Jamaat-Shibir men blocked the road by felling tree logs. In Sadar upazila, lawmen recovered the bullet-hit body of Riad from Baladanga. Family members of Riad, who are Awami League supporters, said Jamaat
cadres might have kidnapped Riad. The marauding Shibir men torched nearly 100 shops and residences in Debhata upazila. In Pirojpur, Jamaat activist Sukkur Ali, 25, sustained bullet injuries around 2:30am during a clash with AL men at Ghosherhat Bazar. He died around 5am at the Bhangaria Upazila Health Complex. In Jessore's Bagarpara-Charabhita Road, Shibir activist Ashraful, 20, died after being run over by a truck when he tried to torch it. They blocked the road by felling trees and were waiting to torch vehicles," police said. In Noakhalis Begumganj, clashes between law enforcers and Jamaat-Shibir activists left the chatpati vendor Khorsed Alam, 35, dead.
In a clash between Shibir and Chhatra League men in Sonaimuri upazila of the district, a Shibir activist Hafez Mohammad Jobair was killed yesterday evening. At Senbagh, Shibir men hacked union-level Awami League leader Abdul Hai after performing gayebana janaza for Quader Molla. In another development, miscreants hurled a Molotov cocktail and a crude bomb at the village home of Justice Jahangir Hossain Selim, a judge of International Crimes Tribunal. In Bogra, Jamaat-Shibir men torched 85 vehicles and vandalised 22. They also set fire to the Akij Group office. Jamaat-Shibir men also blocked the Rangpur-Dhaka and Bogra-Naogaon highways by felling trees. Rail links
through Bogra were snapped as the Jamaat-Shibir men took out more than 650 panel chips at Kahaloo, Panchpir and Narua Mel area of the town. They also dug a three-feet hole under the rail tracks. In Gazipur, a woman sustained burn injuries as Jamaat-Shibir activists hurled patrol bombs at the Joydebpur Rail Station. In Chandpur, five people were injured when the Shibir men blockaded the Chandpur-Comilla highway with tree logs in Kachua and vandalised five vehicles. In Pabna, Jamaat-Shibir men torched five vehicles. They locked in clash with police with sharp weapons. In Jhenaidah, they torched and vandalised 42 houses and business establishments of Awami League leaders and supporters in Moheshpur upazila yesterday. l
dialogue could be created only if the ruling party accepted the conditions and then the formation of the pollstime government, restructuring of the Election Commission and freeing the administration from politicisation would be discussed, an Awami League leader told the Dhaka Tribune. The Awami League, on the other hand, said the opposition party had to stop the ongoing destructive programmes for holding the dialogue. The Awami League said there was no scope of holding the next elections under
any unelected person, said an Awami League leader. On postponing the election, the Awami League said the issue entirely depended upon the EC. In the presence of UNDP Resident Coordinator Neal Walker, the meeting was held at a UNDP project office two days after UN envoy Oscar Fernandez-Taranco had left Dhaka urging the two major parties to carry on the dialogue. The two parties had met on Tuesday and Wednesday in the presence of Fernandez-Taranco. Awami League leaders Amir Hossain
Amu, Tofail Ahmed, Gowher Rizvi and party General Secretary Syed Ashraful Islam, and BNP leaders Khandakar Mosharraf Hossain, Abdul Moyeen Khan, party acting secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir and Vice-Chairman Shamsher Mobin Chowdhury attended the meeting yesterday. The next meeting of the two parties was not yet decided, BNP Standing Committee member Khandakar Mosharraf Hossain told the Dhaka Tribune. After the meeting, both sides went to their party chiefs to discuss the meeting minutes.
A BNP leader said party chief Khaleda Zia also discussed about the next course of action and wanted to wait until December 16 as the party has no programme until that date. He also said non-stop blockade or non-cooperation programme might be announced from December 17. The BNP leader also said as the government wanted to hold elections at any cost, they were showing their power and forcing Ershad to participate in the polls. He alleged that it was the governments trick to buy time in the name of dialogue. l
that we could ensure justice, said Shyamoli Nasrin Chowdhury, wife of martyred intellectual Dr Abdul Alim Chowdhury. We must mourn tomorrow [today] but this time we have an achievement as justice is being served through the implementation of the verdict against Quader Molla and I hope complete justice will be served only when trials of all war criminals are held, Shyamoli, an eminent teacher, expressed her strong hope. Abdul Alim was an eminent physician. He was actively supporting Bangladeshs liberation struggle. He was picked up by Al Badr like other intellectuals and never came back. The tribunal judges Chairman Justice Obaidul Hassan and members Justice Md Mozibur Rahman Miah and Judge Md Shahinur Islam in their judgments summed up the descriptions of
intellectual killings. The Judges in their judgment said: Particularly in between 10-14 December of 1971 a group of notable intellectuals belonging to diverse professions were picked up forcibly from their homes by armed men belonging to Al-Badar, an auxiliary force comprised of members of Islami Chhatra Shangha, the student wing of Jamaat-e-Islami for collaborating with the Pakistani army. It stands proved that Mohammadpur Physical Training Institute was the A Badr headquarters and it was known as torture camp. Most of the great sons and daughters did not return and their dead bodies could not be identified and traced even, although many of the distorted corpses were barely recognisable on different killing fields on the outskirts of Dhaka city. The nation with the highest and solemn tribute still remembers their sac-
rifice, their contribution to the cause of independence and liberation of our motherland. Shomi Kaiser, an actress celebrity, a victim of the intellectual killing. Her father prominent journalist Shahidullah Kaiser was kidnapped by Al-Badr. She was so upset about not getting justice even after 42 years that she refrained from going to Savar National Mausoleum on December 16, the victory day. She has also stopped visiting the Martyred Intellectuals Monument in Mirpur on December 14 to pay respect to all the brave sons of 1971 who laid their lives for the independence of the country. Without ensuring justice for the liberation war crimes, I think, only placing floral wreath on the monuments of the martyrs does not show meaningful respect to the martyrs, Shomi said. Only paying tribute to the martyrs by placing floral wreaths without delivering justice for 1971 is nothing but hypocrisy,
she observed. But last evening she was preparing to go to the Martyred Intellectual Monument to pay her tribute to them as the execution of Quader Molla on Thursday cheered her up. Struggle of the cross section of people for the trial of war criminals has finally seen the light, said Shomi. But I think, still we have a long way to go to ensure justice for the killing of intellectuals, Shomi said, It will be better if the government can set up a separate cell for the investigation of intellectual killings because there were many other razakars involved in killing the intellectuals apart from Chowdhury Mueen Uddin and Ashrafuzzaman. We should give special focus to all the perpetrators of intellectual killings and identify all others who aided and abetted Mueen Uddin and Ashraf to kill intellectuals to in a bid to destroy the Bangalee nation. l
also labelling them as atheists. Hefazats two major rallies one in April and another in May attacked the government, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and the Awami League, often calling them atheist or patrons of atheists. From May, Hefazat was helping the BNP Jamaat alliance to topple the government. It did not want to leave the street after its May 5 rally at Shapla Chattar in Motijheel. Even BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia asked her party men to join the Hefazat rally that night. But a night-time police operation compelled Hefazat men to leave the street, but the BNP launched a propaganda that police operation killed 2,500-3,000 Hefazat men that night. The propaganda was so strong and put the government in a huge embarrassment. Human rights organisation Odhikars report also created a controversy. Following this controversy, the government arrested top officials of Odhikar, and for this it was criticised widely at home and abroad. Although the BNP, Odhikar and Hefazats claims did not stand, all these developments brought many challenges for the government: Hefazat men openly campaigned against the Awami League-supported candidates in the five city corporation elections after May. All the ruling party-backed candi-
dates conceded defeats. Finally, obtaining the Supreme Court verdict that sentenced Molla to death, when the government took steps to execute the war criminal, known as the Butcher of Mirpur, on December 10 midnight a new drama surfaced. Despite the debate over Mollas scope of filing review petition, everything was set to execute Molla at 12.01am Tuesday night. The prison authorities arranged the family members last meeting with the condemned war criminal at Dhaka Central Jail. But, Mollas counsels went to the residence of chamber judge Justice Syed Mahmud Hossain to seek a stay order on the execution and the chamber judge stayed the hanging until 10:30am on Wednesday. Interestingly, Mollas wife showed the victory sign on Tuesday evening on her way to meet her husband. After around 38 hours, the Appellate Division on Thursday rejected Mollas review petition, clearing all legal bars to carrying out the capital punishment. The government finally executed the first of the war criminals on Thursday night. But this brought another new challenge containing Jamaat-Shibirs widespread violence and killings across the country. Earlier, Jamaat-Shibir threatened to wage a civil war and burn 56,000 sq-km of the country if Molla was executed. l
DHAKA TRIBUNE
News
DHAKA TRIBUNE
News
Ganajagaran Mancha organises a rally in the capitals Shahbagh yesterday, demanding execution of all the verdicts against other war crimes convicts
RAJIB DHAR
Ganajagaran Mancha demands Sangskritik Jote begins Victory Day celebrations execution of all war crime verdicts
n Muktasree Chakma Sathi
Joy Bangla (Victory to Bangladesh), the iconic slogan of the 1971 War of Independence has become more inclusive, 42 years into the birth of the country. Sammilito Sangskritik Jote yesterday began their Victory Day celebrations with an extended version of that slogan, conveying how it has over time come to speak of Bangladeshis everywhere, of every religion and every era. The three-day-long celebrations was inaugurated at the Central Shahid Minar in presence of family members of martyrs, particularly those who lost their near ones at the mass killing field in Mirpur and victims of the recently executed Quader Mollas atrocities. Hasan Arif, general secretary of the organisation, said the essence of Joy Bangla slogan included all, irrespective of their ethnicity, religion, caste or class-based affiliations. President of the platform Nasiruddin Yusuf Bachchu said: Taking steps for ensuring equality for all citizens, including the communities, who do not fall under the criteria of Bengalis was called for now. We will not stop until we have defeated the evil force, Jamaat-Shibir and those who had committed crimes against humanity. Nasir, also a freedom fighter said: Same kinds of attacks were launched in 1971 in the name of Islam. They always used religion for their own benefit. Dhaka University VC AAMS Arefin Siddique called upon all to unitedly resist all kinds of conspiracy against the country. Observing that the violence in 1971 would not have been so severe if there were no collaborators to help the Pakistani occupational forces. Ensuring punishment to these traitors is a must. The people of Bangladesh want the government to take necessary steps in bringing back some of these fugitive leaders. If we cannot ensure the perpetrators were being punished, establishing rule of law will not be possible, Arefin Siddique said. l
n Arif Ahmed
The activists of Shahbagh Ganajagarn Mancha yesterday called for a ban on the Jamaat-e-Islami politics and urged the government to execute the verdict against all convicted war criminals in the quickest possible time. Ganajagarn Mancha a platform for peoples awareness made the demand while addressing a rally at Shahbagh Projonmo Chattar yesterday afternoon. Imran H Sarkar, convener of the organisation, said: We have gained our primary victory through the execution of Quader Mollas verdict. The whole nation is elated after 42 years, and we will celebrate a complete victory when all war criminals would be hanged like Molla and anti-liberation forces (Jamat-Hafazat) banned in our country. Imran said the evil forces killed innocent people with a view to foiling the war crimes trials and making Bangladesh a land of racism. The spokesperson of Ganajagaran Mancha called upon the government
to put an end to Jamaat-Shibir politics, saying that the Supreme Court had banned the party and so it had no right to do politics in the country. Imran vowed that they would continue their movement till realisation of their six-point demand. Ghatak Dalal Nirmul Committee President Shahriar Kabir termed Jamaat and Hefazat main enemy for Bangladesh and hindrance to its progresses. He said the evil forces did not want the independence of Bangladesh in 1971 and also did not believe in peoples victory over Liberation War against Pakistan. Shahriar came down hard on the western countries including US and England that opposed the execution of Quader Mollas verdict. They opposed us when we declared our independence war against Pakistan in 1971, but we hardly took notice of their opposition, and this time also we did like 1971, he said. Shahriar urged the countrymen to elect those parties that live up to the inspiration of Liberation War in the next polls and to rein in violence com-
mitted by Jamaat and Hefazat with a heavy hand. Development activist and woman leader Khushi Kabir described the execution of Quader Mollas verdict as a second victory for the Bangladeshis after 1791. It is the second victory for our country after 1971 and a complete victory will come only after all war criminals are hanged, She added. She also declared that they would continue their movement till Bangladesh became totally free from Rajakars and Jamaat-Shibir. Freedom fighter Nasiruddin Yousuf Bachchu said the anti-liberation forces killed many people during the Liberation War, and in 2013, they were doing the same in an attempt to save the war criminals. Among others, Ziaul Haque, president of Bangladesh Shommilito Islami Jote, Bangladesh Chhatra Maitri President Bappa Ditta Bashu, Chhatra Union President SM Shuvo and its general secretary Hasan Tarek, Jasad Chhatra League President Shamsul Islam Sumon spoke at the rally. l
n Tribune Report
WEATHER
Bangladesh Association of Software and Information Services (BASIS) and BASIS Institute of Technology and Management jointly organised BASIS Hour of Code programme in the capital yesterday, said a press statement. The event was organised to include students and interested people in learning computer science and eliminating computer phobia as part of Computer Science Education Week, which is the first event held ever in the countrys history. Computer Science Education Week is being observed across the globe from December 9 and is due to end on December 15. Anyone can take part in the BASIS Hour of Code daily for one hour in www.basis.org.bd Bangladesh IT Journalist Forum also took part in the event as an associate organisation. l
Canadian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Heather Cruden inaugurates a seminar and an exhibition yesterday arranged by the ULAB to celebrate the Nobel Prize winners in literature DHAKA TRIBUNE
PRAYER TIMES
Fajar Sunrise Zohr Asr Magrib Esha 5:12am 6:32am 11:53am 3:37pm 5:13pm 6:34pm
Source: IslamicFinder.org
DHAKA TRIBUNE
News
Jamaat-Shibir activists set fire to a human hauler on the Dhaka-Pabna Highway in Pabna, protesting execution of Quader Mollas death penalty
DHAKA TRIBUNE
Although the BNP-led 18-party alliance did not enforce blockade for yesterday, Jamaat-Shibir men put up barricade on a road in Bypass Mollapara area of Rajshahi city in a bid to disrupt communication DHAKA TRIBUNE
Robbery at expats Brahmaputra, Teesta count the cost of climate change houses in Sylhet tressed people have cultivated various climate change farmers have changed or Roumari by engine driven boat n Tribune Report as the water vessels slowly move crops on its beds this year like previous farming pattern. Tribune Desk n Now they are cultivating maize, through huge zigzag channels due to The mighty rivers of Brahmaputra and years.
Robbers looted valuables worth Tk10 lakh breaking into the houses of an expatriates at West Charia village in Bianibazar upazila early yesterday. Locals said some miscreants riding an ambulance came and stormed the house of expatriate Alauddin and made the house inmates hostage at gunpoint. They looted 8/9 bhoris of gold ornaments, laptops, mobile phone sets and cash around 3:30am, reports UNB. Police said they had visited the spot and steps would be taken to arrest the culprits. A case was filed in this connection. l Teesta have dried up at an alarming rate and almost turned into crop fields because of the adverse impacts of climate change. The Brahmaputra has now the lowest water flow in some narrower channels that caused emergence of hundreds of shoals, hampering navigability throughout its courses both in the up and down stream. At the same time, the Teesta has mostly dried up allowing its vast bed to wear a deserted look with only sand. Hundreds of landless riverside disThe movements of engine boats on all routes to and from 28 river ghats in Kurigram, Gaibandha and Jamalpur have become hazardous and risky because of emergence of shoals in the Brahmaputra River, locals said. Agriculture and Environment Coordinator of Rangpur Dinajpur Rural Service Bangladesh Mamunur Rashid said the century-old civilisation on the Brahmaputra basin, irrigation, navigation, ecology and bio-diversity was in grave threat causing threat to concern people. To cope with the adverse impact of Boro, ground nut, china, kawn, pulses, mustard, gunji till, wheat, tobacco, watermelon and other crops on vast tracts of sandy bed of these driedup riverbeds now. Crop farming began long ago as the rivers dry up abnormally every year during dry seasons in Kurigram, Gaibandha, Nilphamari, Lalmonirhat, Rangpur, Bogra, Jamalpur and Sirajganj districts, said Nurul Amin Sarker of Chilmari and Abdul Wahed of Kawnia. Taramon Bibi, Bir Pratik, said it took four hours in crossing the 25 km river-route from Chilmari to Rajibpur appearance of hundreds of submerged shoals. Drought, flash floods and massive erosion are occurring almost every year due to unbridled rise of riverbeds from abnormal deposition of silts because of the ongoing climate change throughout the globe, he added. The experts said the future of human civilisation would depend on the success of adapting with the adverse impacts of climate change and innovating newer ways towards the directions in the region and the world as a whole. l
DHAKA TRIBUNE
Remembrance
Why intellectuals?
If we are to truly honour the sacrifice these brilliant individuals made, we must never forget that they lived, and died, with an unwavering belief in their right to think freely and to use their minds for the betterment of mankind
At present, a number of brilliant Iranian nuclear scientists have been mysteriously assassinated, as concerns about Irans progress in developing nuclear technology continues to occupy Western and Israeli thoughts. When Iraq was invaded to overthrow Saddam Hussein, the occupiers inaction, along with their connivance, led to the ravaging of one of the worlds were killed throughout the war, with the most diabolic attempt to stifle our intellectual heritage coming right at the end, between December 10 -14, when al-Badr and al-Shams hit-squads went house to house for rounding up people on a list that included some of the brightest minds of their time. Official estimates put the number of dead during the nine-month war at
Intellectuals are targeted because the represent something that is often more powerful than might and almost always more enduring. They represent the power of ideas, a power that propels a nation forward and gives it its place in the world of progress and enlightenment. This power has always been potent in Bengal, with numerous scientific, academic, cultural and literary disciplines boasting a Bengali or two among their greatest proponents. That many intellectuals were involved with our liberation struggle (indeed, many of them virtually birthed it), is no surprise at all, since ideas are the building blocks of revolution and the greatest threat to a status-quo. Intellectuals also represent a nations ability to develop and sustain itself, and to endow it with the benefits of civilisation and success. Our adversaries were keenly aware of these facts, and were determined to try and deny us a chance to lift ourselves out of the ditch they had thrown us in. After all, a headless country will have no choice but to become a client state at best, a stagnant
and barbaric place at worst. They failed of course, and we are still here, still moving forward. But an intellectual tradition is a living thing, and like any other living thing, needs constant watering. If we are to truly honour the sacrifice these brilliant individuals made, we must never forget that they lived, and died, with an unwavering belief in their right to think freely and to use their minds for the betterment of mankind. Bullets robbed these individuals of their lives, but they can never rob them of their legacy, nor of the contributions they made to the future of our nation. Like bright lights, they will always remain relevant in a world that contains an abundance of darkness. But their ability to keep shining depends on our ability to follow their lead. If we abandon our right to think, to speak, to dream, to demand change, to debate, to study and to excel, we will have turned our backs on all that they stood for. If we let might replace reason we will have failed them, and if we, as a society, dont let the full range of thoughts, ideas and values flourish, no matter how contrary they may be to each other, and to an established order, we will have allowed the perpetrators of those horrible crimes to win. l
In Loving Memory Of
Assets of our nation lost at the hands of the Pakistani military, the al-Badr and al-Shams on December 14, 1971
Munier Chowdhury
Sirajuddin Hossain
Mufazzal Haidar
Nizamuddin Ahamed
SAZZAD
Shahidullah Kaiser Ghyasuddin Ahamed Stamps courtesy: Jahangir Hyder
Desk calendar of Pakistani General Rao Forman Ali with the names of intellectuals who were abducted and killed by al-Badr
SMA Rashidul Hasan Dr NAM Faizul Mohee Dr Abul Khair Zahirul Islam Selina Parveen Santosh Chandra ANM Golam Mostafa
Dhaka University Teachers Dr GC Dev Muffazzal Hyder Chowdhury Anwar Pasha Jyotirmay Guhathakurta Abdul Muqtadir S M Rashidul Hasan Dr ANM Faizul Mahi Fazlur Rahman Khan A.N.M. Maniruzzaman Dr Serajul Haque Khan Dr Shahadat Ali Dr MA Khair AR Khan Kadim Muhammad Sadeque Sharafat Ali Ghiasuddin Ahamed
Ananda Payan Rajshahi University Teachers Prof Qayyum Habubur Rahman Shree Sukha Ranjan Samadder Names of MCAs Mashiur Rahman Amjad Hossain Aminuddin Nazmul Haque Sarker Abdul Haque Syed Anwar Ali AK Sarder Names of Journalists Sirajuddin Hossain
Shahidulla Kaiser Khondakar Abu Taleb Nizamuddin Ahmed ANM Golam Mustofa Shahid Saber Sk Abdul Mannan Nazmul Haque M Akhter Abul Basar Chisty Helalur Rahman Shibsadan Chakravarty Selina Akhter Names of Physicians Md Fazle Rabbi Abdul Alim Chowdhury Shamsuddin Ahmed
Azharul Haque Humayun Kabir Sulaiman Khan Kaiser Uddin Mansur Ali Ghulam Murtaza Hafez Uddin Khan Jahangir Abdul Jabbar SK Lal Hem Chandra Basak Kazi Obaidul Haq Mrs Ayesaha Bedoura Chowdhury Al-Haj Mamotazuddin Hashimoy Hazra Naren Ghose Zikrul Haq
Shamsul Haq M Rahman A Gafur Mansur Ali SK Sen Mafizuddin Amulya Kumar Chakravarty Atiqur Rahman Ghulam Sarwar R C Das Mihir Kumar Sen Saleh Ahmed Anil Kumar Sinha Sunil Chandra Sharma AKM Ghulam Mustafa Maqbul Ahmed Enamul Haq
Mansur Ashraf Ali Talukdar Lt Ziaur Rahman Lt Col Jahangir Badul Alam Lt Col Hai Maj Rezaur Rahman Maj Nazmul Islam Asadul Haq Nazir Uddin Lt Nurul Islam Kazal Bhadra Mansur Uddin Names of Educationists Zahir Raihan Purnendu Dastidar
Ferdous Dowla Indu Saha Meherunnessa Names of Artists, Professionals, etc Altaf Mahmud Danbir Ranada Prasad Saha Jogesh Chandra Ghose Dhirendra Nath Dutta Shamsuzzaman Mahbub Ahmed Khurshid Alam Nazrul Islam Muzammel Haq Chowdhury Mohsin Ali Mujibul Haq
DHAKA TRIBUNE
Remembrance
My Fathers War
I meant to ask you how when everything seemed lost And your fate was in a game of dice they tossed There was still that line that you would never cross At any cost
From Bang the Drum Slowly by Emmylou Harris and Guy Clark
y father was 45 years, 4 months and 22 days old when he was murdered, possibly around dawn on December 15, 1971. Roughly about 8 months younger than I am now. This thought haunts me. In the middle of a busy working day, or at night when Im reading just before going off to sleep, these numbers grab hold of me and wont let me go. I think about how much more I look forward to in my life, all thats left to be done. And I think about my father. How many plans he would have had that disciplined, conscientious, talented man. How many dreams and hopes. All those possibilities, extinguished. He was murdered because of ideas. He was not a political man, not a strident person. He expressed his ideas softly. But he knew what they were, and the depth of his convictions was startling. He simply held that Bangaliness is his heritage and there is no reason to downplay that because of his political identity as a Pakistani. A simple enough idea, but it was enough to get him killed. Along with so many of his compatriots with similar beliefs. Mufazzal Haider Chaudhury was my father. He was one of the countrys foremost educationists and a quite brilliant scholar. An Associate Professor of the Bangla department of (the erstwhile) Dacca University, he was an acknowledged expert specifically on the works of Rabindranath Tagore. Everyone who knew him saw him as a kind, courteous and generous man the very embodiment of the cultured Bengali gentleman. Yet the forcefulness with which he put across his thoughts on the Bengali cultural identity is something to behold. In the 50s, the Tomuddon movement was at its peak and a section of the local intelligentsia was proposing the creation of an East Pakistani literature that could contain no work by non-muslim, specifically hindu, authors. Some were going as far as to say it should contain nothing created before the partition of the subcontinent in 1947. My father countered by pointing out that this was imbecilic as well as farcical. If we left out everything that came before, he wrote, some of the major works of Pakistans national poet Kazi Nazrul Islam would be lost,
as well as the works of other Tomuddoni favourites like Golam Mustafa and Forrukh Ahmed. He was scathing on the irony of celebrating Nazrul as Pakistans national poet and playing him up as a Muslim icon, when in fact the great man had celebrated all the religions of our heritage, and indeed, the universality of the human experience. Here is one of the few instances of sarcasm in his writing: How will we separate Nazruls Islamic works from his Hindu ones? By tearing out certain pages of his books? You cant even do that, because Islamic and Hindu poems are written on different sides of the same page! He also took on the people who were conspiring to leave out Rabindranath from the University syllabus: Some find an un-Islamic flavour in Rabindranaths songs such as Ekti Nomoshkare or Amar Matha Noto Kore Dao, when in fact these songs are expressing heartfelt devotion to a merciful and compassionate God, exactly as we do when we pray. The only difference is that the word being used is Nomoshkar and not Sizda. These words were written in the profoundly xenophobic and paranoid climate of the East Pakistan of the 50s and the 60s. The dismal truth is, they still count as brave sentiments in the sovereign state of Bangladesh, 42 years after our independence. So that is the way my father fought his war. He was never an overtly political man, unlike many of his contemporaries. He never did time as a political prisoner; possibly never
Sazzad
come stay with them until the worst of the danger passed, but he would not hear of it. His work, and by extension his life, was here. His was one of the purest examples I know of of a life of the mind, of the ideas being
He simply held that Bangaliness is his heritage and there is no reason to downplay that because of his political identity
shouted himself hoarse in a procession. Even in 1971, he took his classes and attended to all his duties while taking part in meetings denouncing the military action in East Pakistan and helping the cause of the Mukti Bahini. Friends from Santiniketan, London and elsewhere implored him to leave his devastated homeland to
inseparable from the man. And it was those ideas which led to some of his own countrymen colluding with the mass-murdering West Pakistani army to have him tortured and murdered at the prime of his life. That gentle soul with its instinctive generosity, that steadfast spirit with its singularly compassionate perspective, snuffed out.
All of its possibilities, extinguished. In the end, it is how he lived his final hours that I think defines the man. Chowdhury Mueen Uddin, one of his students from the University, was one of the young men of the Al-Badr who came to abduct him and take him to his death on December 14, 1971. Mueen Uddin left my mother, uncle and aunt with the promise that my father would be returned unharmed; he would allow no harm to come to his teacher. My father was blindfolded and taken to the Mohammadpur Physical Training Institute with along Professor Munier Chowdhury and many other compatriots. They were left in a large room with other people who had been savagely tortured, their clothes drenched with blood, some with their eyes gouged out. A gentleman named Delwar Hossain, the only person to have survived the massacre of that day, has provided vivid eyewitness account of all of this. Around 8:30 that evening, some young men entered that darkened
room with lanterns and iron rods in hand. They approached Munier Chowdhury first, saying something along the lines of Youve taught yours students a lot, now well teach you a lesson. They asked him how many books he had written on Rabindranath Tagore. Munier Kaka he was the father of one of my dearest friends, the closest person I have now to a brother shook his head to say that he had not. They then asked my father the same question. My father said yes, he had written books on Rabindranath. Those young men then beat them with their iron rods. Delwar Hossain describes Munier Kaka bleeding from the mouth from the severity of the beating at one point. In the early hours of the morning, they took all the people in that room - educationists, doctors, writers drove them to a place called Katasur and bayonetted them to death. Only Delwar Hossain survived. So that was the man. He stared death in the face and said he wrote on Rabindranath. l
Shahidullah Kaiser was active in politics and cultural movements from his student days. Following the formation of Pakistan in 1947, he joined the provincial Communist Party of East Pakistan. He started working as a journalist in 1949 with the Ittefaq in Dhaka. In 1952, he participated actively in the Language Movement. In 1958, Kaiser joined as an associate editor of the Daily Sangbad a Bangla language daily where he worked for the rest of his life. When the Military coup of 1958 put Ayub Khan in power, and martial law was proclaimed, Kaiser was arrested again on 14 October 1958 and remained in jail for four years till his release in September 1962.
Disappearance Kaiser was rounded up on December 14, 1971. He never returned, nor was his body ever found. It is assumed that he was executed along with other intellectuals. His brother, Zahir Raihan, a notable film-maker, also disappeared while searching for Kaiser
This is a page from his draft of the enormously popular novel Shangshaptok, considered one of the greatest works of fiction in Bangladeshs literary collection.
8
Abbas rejects US plan for permanent Israel troop presence
DHAKA TRIBUNE
International
n AFP, Ramallah
Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas has rejected US proposals for Israel to keep troops in a future Palestinian state along its strategic border with Jordan, a Palestinian source said on Friday. Following a meeting on Thursday evening with US Secretary of State John Kerry in the West Bank city of Ramallah, President Abbas has rejected the ideas presented by the secretary of state, the source said. Abbas also gave Kerry a letter on Palestinian red lines, the source added, singling out the refusal to recognise Israel as a Jewish state. Abbas rejected the ideas on security because there is not a third party. This refers to a plan by former US national security adviser James Jones under which a third party would deploy along the Palestinian-Jordanian border. The Palestinian source said that all disputed issues must be settled. Israeli and Arab media reports say the plan envisaged by Washington would see Israel maintain a military presence on the border after a peace agreement with the Palestinians. An international force would be acceptable to the Palestinians, but Israel opposes such a solution. Abbass comments were made public as Kerry met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem in his latest attempt at promoting an elusive Israeli-Palestinian peace deal. l
Iran official says US sanctions French defence minister in strife-torn CAR violate Geneva deal spirit n
n Reuters
AFP, Paris
Iran said on Friday that a new US measure targeting companies and individuals for supporting its nuclear program violated the spirit of a nuclear deal reached with major powers in Geneva last month. The United States on Thursday black-listed additional companies and people under sanctions aimed at preventing Iran from obtaining the capability to make nuclear weapons, US officials said. Iran says its program is purely peaceful. We are evaluating the situation and Iran will react accordingly to the new sanctions imposed on 19 companies and individuals. It is against the spirit of the Geneva deal, deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told the semi-official Fars news agency on Friday. Araghchi, who is also a member of Irans nuclear negotiating team, was referring to a November 24 interim agreement with six world powers under which Tehran would curb its nuclear program in exchange for limited relief from economic sanctions over the next six months. In Vienna earlier on Friday, the European Union said that Iran and six world powers needed more time to work out complex technical steps to implement last months deal after four days of expert-level talks. It was not clear if Araghchis remarks were related to the need for more time. The US Treasury and State Department said the blacklistings showed the Geneva deal does not, and will not, French Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian on Friday arrived in the Central African Republic for talks with the interim leaders of the strife-torn nation, where Paris deployed troops last week, according to an aide. The visit comes on the heels of that by President Francois Hollande, who stopped in the country on Tuesday after attending Nelson Mandelas memorial in South Africa. Hollande admitted his country was facing a dangerous but vital operation to restore security in its former colony, terrorised by sectarian violence between Muslims and Christians since a coup in March. Two elite French soldiers were killed Monday, just days after Paris finAFP
Irans Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi speaks during United Nations day in Tehran interfere with our continued efforts to expose and disrupt those supporting Irans nuclear program or seeking to evade our sanctions. Some US lawmakers want further sanctions on the Islamic state. President Barack Obamas campaign to hold off on new sanctions over Irans nuclear program won a key endorsement on Thursday when the chairman of the US Senate Banking Committee rejected tightening measures against Iran now. Iran has repeatedly said it will not be pressured, warning that new sanctions could kill the deal. The new measure, the first such enforcement action since the first step agreement was reached in Geneva, targeted entities that are suspected of
ished deploying 1,600 troops in the resource-rich but impoverished country. Like Hollande, Le Drian will meet with interim president Michel Djotodia, the former leader of the now disbanded Seleka rebel group which captured the capital Bangui and ousted president Francois Bozize in March. Djotodia became the first Muslim president of the majority Christian country, but while some Seleka members remained loyal to him, others started terrorising the population and government forces were powerless to stop them. Months of massacres, rapes and looting followed, with locals forming Christian vigilante groups in response. Paris has accused the former rebel leader of doing nothing to stop the sectarian violence. l
n Reuters
involvement in the proliferation of materials for weapons of mass destruction and have tried to evade the current sanctions. Administration officials said Thursdays targets include companies and individuals engaged in transactions on behalf of other companies that the United States has also previously designated under the sanctions. They include Mid Oil Asia, Singa Tankers, Siqiriya Maritime, Ferland Company Limited and Vitaly Sokolenko. The US also named five Iranian entities it said are directly engaged in actions contributing to Irans ability to enrich uranium. Several other entities related to Irans ballistic missile program were also targeted. l
President Viktor Yanukovich, facing mass protests calling for his resignation, will hold talks on Friday on finding a way out of a political crisis that is weighing on Ukraines weak economy. But with the opposition unlikely to take part, a breakthrough was unlikely at the round-table talks including other politicians, church leaders and former President Leonid Kravchuk. Thousands of protesters have rallied in a square at the heart of the capital Kiev for three weeks over the governments U-turn on policy away from the European Union towards Russia. They are demanding Yanukovich step down. Yanukovich, who has said he still plans to sign an association agreement with the European Union, held talks with his three successors as president this week, but the opposition did not attend. EU and US officials have called on Yanukovich to start a dialogue with all parties taking part in the protests. Ukraines richest man, Rinat Akhmetov, added his voice to the calls, saying: I am in favor of talks, so that politicians, authorities, the opposition ... sit at the negotiating table and agree on something we can be proud of. Vitaly Klitschko, a top opposition politician, said this week he would not hold talks with Yanukovich after protesters were attacked by riot police at a demonstration. A spokeswoman said on Friday Klitschkos position had not changed. l
n AFP, Sanaa
The United Nations Mission concludes that chemical weapons have been used in the ongoing conflict between the parties in the Syrian Arab Republic
It was that incident that sparked international outrage and threats of US military action against Assads regime. Under an international agreement brokered to avoid US military strikes which resulted in a landmark Security Council resolution Syrias most dangerous chemical weapons have to be out of the country by December 31 and
A drone strike on a wedding convoy in Yemen killed 17 people, mostly civilians, medical and security sources said Friday, adding grist to mounting criticism of the US drone war. Some of the dead in Thursdays strike near the central town of Radaa were suspected members of Al-Qaeda, but the rest were all civilians with no connection to the jihadist network, a security official said. The death toll from the two-missile strike rose to 17 overnight, a medical source in Radaa told AFP. Two of the dead whose names were released Saleh al-Tays and Abdullah al-Tays had figured in the past on Yemeni government lists of wanted Al-Qaeda suspects. But most of those killed were civilian members of the Al-Tays and AlAmeri clans headed to the wedding, the security official. He said one of the rockets scored a direct hit on a vehicle carrying at least 10 passengers. The other struck near the convoy. The US military operates all unmanned aircraft flying over Yemen in support of Sanaas campaign against Al-Qaeda and has killed dozens of militants in a sharply intensified campaign this year. l
World Watch
Police crack down on fugitive Mafia godfather
Italian police on Friday said they had arrested 30 people linked to Matteo Messina Denaro, the head of Cosa Nostra, including his sister and several cousins. The raids were in the region around Trapani in western Sicily, the police said in a statement, hailing the tough blow to Messina Denaros organisation. Messina Denaro, who has been on the run for years, is believed to be the successor of the jailed Sicilian mafia godfathers Toto Riina and Bernardo Provenzano. The people arrested had put in place a complex system of companies that gave them a virtual monopoly in the construction sector, the police said. The criminal organisation won tenders to build wind farms, industrial areas, roads and restaurants. The police said their investigation showed the leadership role played by Matteo Messina Denaro. The suspects are also accused of large-scale extortion. the decision. The salesperson nonetheless knocked on the consumers door and attempted to negotiate an agreement to supply energy. The Federal Court ordered AGL to pay Aus$35,000 and CPM, who contracted the salesperson, Aus$25,000. These penalties reflect the need to deter conduct of such seriousness by the relevant respondents and others in the door-to-door selling industry, judge John Middleton. The maximum penalty for breaching the unsolicited consumer agreement provision is Aus$50,000, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission said.
A door-to-door salesperson who ignored a Do Not Knock sign to try to win over a gas customer has ended up costing their Australian employers Aus$60,000 (US$53,600). The Federal Court ordered gas company AGL South Australia and marketing firm CPM Australia to pay the total penalty after an incident in Adelaide November 2011. In this case, the sign was affixed to the consumers front door and contained an image of a fist knocking with a line through it and the words DO NOT KNOCK. Unsolicited door-to-door selling not welcome here, the Australian competition watchdog said after Stella Ferruzola, 3, poses with a Blue Morpho butterfly on her nose at the Sensational Butterflies Exhibition at the Natural History Museum in London, March 25
REUTERS
As opposite as George Bush and John Kerry may seem to be, they do share a common secret - one theyve shared for decades. The secret: details of their membership in Skull and Bones, the elite Yale University society whose members include some of the most powerful men of the 20th century. Bonesmen, as theyre called, are forbidden to reveal what goes on in their inner sanctum. Bones has included presidents, cabinet officers, spies, Supreme Court justices, [and] captains of industry. Theyd responded to questions with utter silence until an enterprising Yale graduate, Alexandra Robbins, managed to penetrate the wall of silence in her book, Secrets of the Tomb. I spoke with about 100 members of Skull and Bones. They were members who were tired of the secrecy, says Robbins. But probably twice that number hung up on me, harassed me, or threatened me. Skull and Bones, with all its ritual and macabre relics, was founded in 1832.
DHAKA TRIBUNE
International
n Reuters, Bangkok
The leader of a protest group trying to overthrow Thailands government and scrap planned elections said on Friday the prime minister should either step down or be forced out, and his movement would then need around a year to push through reforms. Suthep Thaugsuban, a lawmaker who resigned from parliament to lead the protest, and his allies have spoken of a volunteer police force, decentralization of power and electoral reform - but apart from that have been noticeably short on specifics. Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra has called an election for February 2 in an effort to end the street protests but Suthep, knowing that allies of Yinglucks brother, ousted former premier Thaksin Shinawatra, would probably win any election, wants an unelected peoples council to take over.
Anti-government protesters place a large Thai national flag on the gate and fence around Government House in Bangkok
REUTERS
A gold and jade statue of Mao Zedong is displayed at an exhibition in Shenzhen, south Chinas Guangdong province on December 13 AFP
10
www.dhakatribune.com
DHAKA TRIBUNE
Editorial
LETTER OF THE DAY
December 13
Letters to
the Editor
oday marks Martyred Intellectuals Day, when our brightest minds were kidnapped from their homes in the dead of night and shot dead, in an effort to cripple Bangladesh. This is a dark day in our nations history, and one we cannot afford to forget. Throughout our liberation war, many intellectuals had been systematically dragged away and executed by Pakistani soldiers and their cohorts, but on this night 42 years ago, over 200 intellectuals were executed, marking a great blow to our nations intellectual development. These academicians, artists, journalists, writers and lawyers were our nations conscience. They planted the seed of nationalism and democracy in the peoples minds, so that they became aware of their If we are to truly move rights, and fought for those forward and develop rights. into the democracy we Our intellectuals were a have dreamt of, we need beacon who showed us how to take our intellectuals to be citizens who would care ideals and teachings to for and work for our nations heart, and practice them growth. diligently We have come far in these 42 years, and achieved much, but we have a long way to go. Our nation remains caught in a web of corruption and political violence, and, so far, the human rights of all Bangladeshis have not yet been acknowledged, at least not in practice. If we are to truly move forward and develop into the democracy we have dreamt of, we need to take our intellectuals ideals and teachings to heart, and practice them diligently. We must not let their deaths be in vain.
he finance minister has assured leaders of the BGMEA, BKMEA and BTMA that the government is looking at measures to support apparel makers affected by the political crisis. Many of the measures being sought by the industry bodies relate to short to medium-term financing needs. With the supply chain enduring massive disruption, cash flow is tight so interest waivers and financial support are the most urgent priorities for many factory owners. It is still important however to keep developing a long-term strategy. The industry associRMG entrepreneurs ations have rightly asked for need help to ensure that financial incentives to explore they can keep growing new markets and for measures such as reducing tax at source. exports, while also These need to be considered managing to invest in as well, because even without commitments to improve short-term disruption, Bangfactories and working ladeshs RMG industry faces conditions increasing challenges from competitors as well. For instance, the combined value of apparel exports from India and Vietnam is expected to be over $30bn this year. As established competitors to Bangladeshs apparel sector, they have been in a good position to attract new orders as buyers have been deterred from visiting the country this year. And this is without considering the challenge posed by countries such as Myanmar which have been rapidly attracting investment. RMG entrepreneurs need help to ensure that they can keep growing exports, while also managing to invest in commitments to improve factories and working conditions. A long-term strategy is needed to further develop the sector. The government should work with industry owners and buyers to identify and to try and fill investment gaps.
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DHAKA TRIBUNE
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11
itself in The Hague, Netherlands, but its proceedings may take place anywhere. 18 judges are appointed at the court by state-parties. As of March 2012, the president is Sang-hyun Song from South Korea, Sanji Mmasenono Monageng of Botswana is first vice-president and Cuno Tarfusser of Italy is second vice-president. The court can automatically exercise jurisdiction over crimes committed on the territory of a state party or by a national of a state party. State parties must co-operate with the court, including surrendering suspects when requested to do so by the court.
RAJIB DHAR
n Zafar Sobhan
have long been a supporter and advocate of the war crimes trials. I have always believed that not holding war crimes trials all these years was Bangladeshs original sin as a country, and as long as we did not have a true accounting of the crimes of 1971 that we could never move forward as a nation. I have always been shocked that those who committed the worst kind of crimes in their opposition to our independence should have escaped punishment and in some cases risen to the heights of power in independent Bangladesh. I have always felt that it said something ignoble about us as a nation that we had been unable to bring the war criminals to justice, and that our failure to do so was an indelible stain on our national honour and self-respect. I have always argued that until and unless we came to terms with our past and specifically the atrocities of our liberation war that there would be a shadow over the nation that would keep us from advancing and developing, and that we would continue to be a country that could neither look itself squarely in the mirror nor take our place among the nations of the world, equal in self-respect and self-confidence. Most importantly, I believed that the trials would allow us to close the door, once and for all, on the contentious chapter of Bangladeshs history, so that we would not forever be fighting the battles of the past, but could turn our face to the future and build
the country that our founding fathers and mothers dreamed of. So here we are, the war crimes trials are winding their way to their inexorable end, and the first of the war criminals has been hanged. Now that the executions of the war criminals is a reality and no longer an abstraction, how do I feel?
justice. The sad truth is that in Bangladesh, the powerful have always managed to escape justice by exploiting the weaknesses and loopholes in the legal system, and if we are to cleave to a maximalist understanding of the rights of the accused and the burdens of prosecution no one powerful could
The government could easily have conducted the trials more professionally and more punctiliously than it did. The defendants do not deserve better than they have received, but their victims and the Bangladeshi people did
I do not oppose the death penalty nor am I moved by procedural arguments in favour of the defendants. Due to the fact that more than 40 years have elapsed since the crimes at bar were committed and that those being accused have been important men who have had plenty of time to cover their tracks, dispose of evidence, and intimidate witnesses, to say nothing of the severe limitations of the prosecution, the trial process is certainly open to question. But this should not be confused with innocence. The legal dictum that it is better for a hundred guilty men to go free than for one innocent man to be convicted only holds true if we presuppose the accused is powerless. When, however, the accused is the one with power, holding to such a standard is itself more likely to lead to a miscarriage of
ever be prosecuted for anything in Bangladesh. Quader Molla was guilty as sin. The fact that the prosecution may not have done the best job of proving it does not in any way lessen his crime or justify his exoneration. He has received the justice he deserved. The disquiet that I feel is not on behalf of Quader Molla, but on behalf of his victims. They deserved better. They have received a measure of justice, but they deserved more. They are the ones who deserved an unimpeachable process that was not open to any question. This could have been achieved. The government could easily have conducted the trials more professionally and more punctiliously than it did. The defendants do not deserve better than they have received, but their vic-
tims and the Bangladeshi people did. These are the most important trials that we have ever had or will ever have. They will define us as a nation and a people forevermore. Not only respect for the victims of wartime atrocities, but respect for the honour of the Bangladeshi people required that the government do everything in its power to ensure that the war crimes trials be above reproach and be something that we can all point to with pride as a defining element of who we are as a people and a nation. It is here that the process has failed us. I am glad that the war crimes trials are being conducted and that some of those who committed the worst atrocities during the war have finally been called to account for their wrongs. I am glad that their days of impunity have come to an end and that they are finally being held accountable for the reign of terror that they unleashed across this land. I am glad that their victims are finally getting their day in court and no longer have to live in fear and shame and the knowledge that their oppressors have the freedom and respect of the nation. But I wish that the government had taken its responsibility to the victims and the nation more seriously. This is not about what is owed to the defendants. This is about what is owed to the Bangladeshi people and our national identity and the momentousness of the war crimes trials for history. It is here that the government has not lived up to its promise. l Zafar Sobhan is the Editor, Dhaka Tribune.
n December 1, United Nations Human Rights Commissioner Ms Navi Pillay, a former judge of the High Court of South Africa and a former judge of the International Criminal Court, said she was deeply worried by the shocking pre-election violence rocking Bangladesh, urging parties on both sides to peacefully resolve their differences over the January 5 polls. Pillay also voiced concerns about the detention of key opposition leaders in the unrest, which has killed 50 people since late October when the date of the general elections was first announced The high commissioner pointed out that Bangladesh is a state party to the Rome statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC). In other situations, we have seen cases of political or election related violence where the perpetrators of such acts - including political leadership - have faced prosecution, she said. It is recalled that Bangladesh actively took part in the 1998 United Nations Conference on the establishment of an International Criminal Court held in Rome. In 1999, the government of Bangladesh signed the Statute of the ICC, the first country in South Asia to have signed the treaty and ratified the statute on March 23, 2010. In Asia, there are 50 states including Palestine. Bangladesh is one of the 10 states which ratified the statute. As of May 2013, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Japan, Jordan, Maldives, Mongolia, South Korea, Tajikistan and Philippines ratified the statute. China, India, Pakistan are opposed to the statute because of the non-immunity to the heads of state/government in the statute. The US and Israel have unsigned the statute. The United States not only opposed the statute but also prevailed strong influence on many Asian states in not ratifying the statute.
The creation of the ICC is felt beyond the courtroom. Political leaders around the world are adjusting their standards of conduct in dealing with innocent civilians
With the functioning of the ICC, the scenario of accountability of perpetrators of extrajudicial killings and deaths of innocent civilians related to political violence has dramatically changed. As of date, seven African countries are already been investigated by ICC for alleged killing of innocent civilians during political violence. These countries are Sudan, Libya, Central African Republic, Congo, Mali, Ivory Coast and Uganda. Another two countries - Guinea and Honduras - are under preliminary investigation. A warrant by ICC was issued on March 4, 2009 to arrest the sitting president of Sudan, Omar al-Bashir, on charges of killing people in Darfur. He now hardly goes abroad because he may be arrested overseas. Kenyas President Kenyatta and Vice President Ruto have been charged in connection with 2007-8 post-poll violence that left over 1,000 people dead and several hundred thousand displaced, while Ruto appeared before the court, President Kenyatta has been asked to appear before the court. It is noted that on November 25, the UN Security Council has rejected an African demand to suspend the International CriminalCourt trial of Kenyas president and his deputy for one year. Given the background, it may be argued that if deaths of innocent civilians due to political violence continue, the ICC initially can ask the government to establish an independent judicial body to ascertain the reasons of political violence, identify the persons responsible for such violent deaths, and punish the culprits including political leaders. If the government fails or is unable or unwilling to do so, ICC may intervene and commence preliminary investigation on its own and may frame charges against the political leaders of Bangladesh irrespective of their high positions. Finally, the creation of the ICC is felt beyond the courtroom. Political leaders and law-enforcing agencies around the world, even of non-signatory states, are adjusting their standards of conduct in dealing with innocent civilians. The effective punishment under the ICC is an important element in the prevention and recurrence of such odious crimes and for the protection of innocent civilians. l Barrister Harun ur Rashid is former Bangladesh Ambassador to the UN, Geneva.
It is argued Bangladeshs political leaders including the president, prime minister and elected and non-elected officials come within the jurisdiction of the ICC
By ratification, it is argued Bangladeshs political leaders including the president, prime minister and elected and non-elected officials come within the jurisdiction of the ICC under Article 27 of the ICC statute which removes immunities for prosecution, ordinarily available to heads of state/ government. It is argued that the removal of the immunity by Article 27 of the ICC Statute applies also at the national level, when national authorities act in support of the ICC. Part 9 of the statute requires all states parties including Bangladesh to ensure that there are procedures available under their national law for all of the forms of cooperation which are specified under this Part. Therefore many states parties have implemented national legislation to provide for the investigation and prosecution of crimes that fall under the jurisdiction of the court. The ICC was created by the Rome Statute which came into force on July 1, 2002. The court has established
n Anwar A Khan
t is a true story that I am going to tell you now. The other day I saw him after so many years. His full name is Syed Shahidul Haque Mama.
He came back to his beloved motherland only to give testimony against the Butcher of Mirpur. He gave detailed but true revelations in the ICT
He was a valiant freedom fighter of 1971. His other identity is that he was a strong prosecution witness in the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) case against Abdul Quader Molla, the Butcher of Mirpur. He is my friend. We studied together in the Department of History at the
University of Dhaka from 1972 - 1976. A freedom fighter is honoured because he fights for a noble cause, which is the freedom of the motherland. He was a freedom fighter, a true hero who risked his life. The people of Bangladesh fought a glorious war of independence in 1971. They fought for nine months and defeated the well-trained Pakistani forces. Bangladesh became a free country. Many freedom fighters sacrificed their lives in service of our nation. We owe our freedom to these noble freedom fighters who sacrificed their lives for the cause of the motherland. Mama, the great freedom fighter, is one of them. Mama was greatly inspired by the speech of Bangabandhu, which drove him to become a freedom fighter. His valour still echoes in Mirpur. His determination, many say, knew no bounds. He was a great hero who gave new life to our war in the Mirpur area in 1971. Mama recounts the liberation day of Mirpur on January 31, 1972, in which
he actively took part. He said: This was also a great victory for us, since we fought against the last remnant of enemy. For us, that day was a day of celebration because with our own eyes we had seen the enemy crushed. We had seen the enemy frozen with fear and, surrendering. What could I really say of a gentleman like Mama? He is a man of the utmost civility, and authenticity, who livedself-exiled in Sweden for many years. When the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) in Bangladesh was set up in 2009 to investigate and prosecute suspects for the genocide committed in 1971 by the Pakistan Army and their local collaborators, Razakars, al-Badr and al-Shams during the Bangladesh Liberation War, he could not remain silent and stay back in Sweden. His conscience gave him a jolt. He came back to his beloved motherland only to give testimony against the Butcher of Mirpur. He gave detailed but true revelations in the ICT, so that
the tribunal could give the verdict of capital punishment to Abdul Quader Molla, the war criminal. We should salute him for his fearlessness, and for speaking up. All those who worked with Mama during the war noted his humility, his charm, his deep concern for other fighters, and his incorruptibility. He refused to enjoy the privileges that his reputation might have earned him, and he ate, slept and trained in the company of his comrades. I believe he can give us more information and more vivid pictures of our Liberation War. I have talked with many people of younger generation about his interviews on different TV channels, and everyone has shown tremendous interest in learning more from him about our supreme sacrifices, the extent of the atrocities committed by the brutal Pakistan Army, and their ugly and barbarous cohort Jamaat-e-Islami and their killing squads, al-Badr and al-Shams. He is a special kind of hero who
fights with nothing more than ideas and the truth. He slays falsehoods with truth. He fights bad ideas with good ones. He wants to fight despair with hope, fear with courage, anger with reason, arrogance with humility, ignorance with knowledge, intolerance with forbearance, oppression with perseverance, doubt with trust, and cruelty with compassion. Above all, he speaks truth about those who abuse, misuse, overuse and are corrupted by power. When speaking of my great friend Mama, I could be accused of exaggerating his virtues, and his contributions to the war of independence, and overstating his importance to the cause of truth. Perhaps I am biased, because I hold this great man in such high respect. If I am guilty of bias, it is because it seems that in Bangladesh, people have stopped making genuine heroes like Shahidul Haque Mama. l Anwar A Khan is a freelance contributor.
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DHAKA TRIBUNE
Entertainment
n Entertainment Desk
Farookis film Television won the Jury Grand Prize at the prestigious Asia Pacific Screen Awards 2013. Screenwriter of the film Anisul Haque and actor Nusrat Imroz Tisha received the prize on behalf of Farooki at the gala ceremony in Brisbane, Australia on December 12. For the first time, an Asia Pacific Screen Award has gone to a film from Bangladesh. Indias The Lunchbox, directed byRitesh Batra,won the secondJury Grand Prize along with the best screenplay award. Omar, Palestines entry in Oscar for the best foreign language film took the top prize of best film at the programme A mixed album consisting of a total of 71 tracks from 71 Bangladeshi bands is on its way. The announcement came out at a programme at the Russian Cultural Centre on December 12, where band Durbin celebrated 10 years of its journey. The second surprise is that the album, titled Amader 71, made it to the famous Guinness Book of World Record as the most number of participating bands in a single album. As the title suggests, the album brings together songs upholding the spirit of the Liberation War of Bangladesh. The album will be unique for having songs reflecting the vision of the new gener-
ation about the glorious war. Coordinated by Durbin Entertainment, the album will be released on March 12, 2014. Amader 71 was initially scheduled to be launched in December this year, marking the month of victory. But the current political unrest pushed back the release date. Along with band Durbin, renowned bands Dolchut, Feedback, Shunno and many others are lending their songs to the album. A concert celebrating the 10th anniversary of the band Durbin was also held at the Russian Cultural Centre on the same day. The band members entertained their fans by performing their popular tracks one after another. l
ON TV
MOVIE
7:00pm Fox Movies Premium
The Expatriate
11:20pmWB
Sherlock Holmes
COMEDY
11:00amStar World 930pmFX
Two And A Half Men Its Always Sunny In Philadelphia
NEWS
6:00pm Boishakhi Tv 7:00pm Desh TV
Evening news bulletin Shongbad Shomoi
MIXED
11:30amDiscovery 10:30pm TLC
Defeated Soul Preventing Secrets Of The Taj Mahal Ravinders Kitchen
TODAY IN DHAKA
Film
Pacific Rim in 3D Purno dhorgho prem kahini Riddick, The Conjuring Titanic (3D) Level 8, Bashundhara City Panthapath Alliance Francaise de Dhaka 26 Mirpur Road Dhanmondi Return to Eden By Nasima Khanam Queenie Time: 10am to 8pm Alliance Francaise, Dhanmondi, Quest for Reality By Rafiqun Nabi Time: 12pm-8pm Bengal Gallery of Fine Arts House No 42, Road No 16 Sheik Kamal Sarani Dhanmondi To live is to be slowly born An architectural exhibition of some current works By Kashef Chowdhury Time: 12 8pm Bengal Art Lounge 60 Gulshan Avenue. Circle 1
Theatre:
Bishad Shindhu Time: 6:30pm to 8:30pm Nat Mondol Dhaka University Bagher Manush Shomoy Time: 6:30pm to 8:00pm Experimental Theatre Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy Shegun Bagicha
Exhibition
Marking the Martyred Intellectual Day, a special film titled Shilalipi will be aired on Maasranga Television tomorrow at 2:30pm. Directed by Shamim Akhter, seasoned actors such as Aly Zaker, Sara Zaker, Nasrin Siraj and many more acted in the film.
Sport
DHAKA TRIBUNE
13
0 9 2
DAYS TO GO
14 PSV exit as Spurs, Salzburg win again 15 Lightning Boult leads NZ to big win
RESULT
Sk Jamal
Nasir Uddin 83
10
Muktijoddha
MATCH HIGHLIGHTS
receives a long cross 14Wedson from Mamunul, skips past a defender and unleashes a shot from the edge of the box that just goes wide. Sony Norde curls a pin-point free kick that finds Jamal defender Abdullahi inside the box who outmuscles his marker and heads the ball over the crossbar. Norde delivers a defensesplitting through pass for Wedson but the Haitian can only make a weak left-footed shot. Muktis goalkeeper Liton denies Wedson with a brave effort in goalmouth action. After one-two with Eleta Kingsley, Biplob enters the penalty area but shoots straight to the keeper. GOAL! Nasir Uddin Chowdhury seals the victory for Jamal, heading in a Sony Norde corner to send the ball past Liton.
34
39
45 56 83
n Raihan Mahmood
Sheikh Jamal players and officials celebrate with the Walton Federation Cup trophy after beating Muktijoddha SKC at the Bangabandhu National Stadium yesterday
MUMIT M
mer Sheikh Russell forward failed to be on target he set up the only goal of the match. It was a perfect corner from Norde. Defender Nasir Uddin Chowdhury, who was once a striker, slid down his head to meet the ball and sent it home past the half-stretched Muktijoddha goalkeeper Rasel Mahmud Liton to seal the victory. After emerging in the top flight football in 2010-11, it was Jamals third trophy overall and second Federation Cup. They have also won the premier league title. Wesdon Anselme was adjudged the player of the final while Sony Norde was named the player of the tournament. l
Jamal skipper Mamunul Islam praised his sides teamwork while Muktijoddha captain Elita Benjamin of Nigeria thought Sony Norde made all the difference at the Bangabandhu National Stadium yesterday. Mamun was happy with the consistency his side showed throughout the tournament. I think we never fell below a good level, we improved in every match, we were focused towards our responsibilities, we knew the final will not be an easy game, we showed perfect teamwork. Im proud of the players because they deserved to go through and they proved they are a very good team, said the national midfielder. Elita Benjamin, a defender, played a big role in the match. In addition to defending, he played behind the attacking line and took the long throw-ins. Maybe Sony Norde was the inspiration for Jamal. He played well and was continuously leading the attacks. We lacked that and maybe Sony made the difference in the end, said the tall defender. l
n Raihan Mahmood
A total of 40 matches in the five events of the Blazer BD was held on the opening day of the Blazer BD V Day Open Table Tennis at the wooden floor gymnasium of Paltan Ground yesterday. In the mens team event, Paradise beat Mohammedpur Green 3 0, Club Technic outplayed Ekata Sripur 3 1, Spin overpowered Udayachal
3 0, and Mohammedpur Red conquered Ajax TT 3 1. In the girls singles Naima defeated Lopa 3 2 and Sharmin routed Tamanna 3 0. Professor Anisuzzaman inaugurated the meet as the chief guest. BOA treasurer Kazi Razibuddin Ahmed Chapal, handball federation general secretary Asaduzaman Kohinoor and table tennis federation general secretary Zobera Rahman Linu were also present on the occasion. l
while Police managed to earn 22 points. Bangladesh Army however had a cakewalk against Fire Service, winning their match 52 10 with four creditable Lonas. K.H. Masud Siddiky, the Liberation War Affairs ministry secretary inaugurated the meet as the chief guest. l
Action from the opening day of the Blazer BD V Day Open Table Tennis at the wooden floor gymnasium of Paltan Ground yesterday MUMIT M
14
DHAKA TRIBUNE
Sport
QUALIFIED TEAMS
FROM GROUP STAGE Valencia (ESP), Swansea City (ENG), Ludogorets Razgrad (BUL), Chornomorets Odessa (UKR), Salzburg (AUT), Esbjerg fB (DEN), Rubin Kazan (RUS), Maribor (SLO), Fiorentina (ITA), Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk (UKR), Eintracht Frankfurt (GER), Maccabi Tel Aviv (ISR), RC Genk (BEL), Dynamo Kiev (UKR), Sevilla (ESP), Slovan Liberec (CZE), Lyon (FRA), Real Betis (ESP), Trabzonspor (TUR), Lazio (ITA), Tottenham Hotspur (ENG), Anzhi Makhachkala (RUS), AZ Alkmaar (NED), PAOK (GRE) AS 3RD PLACE FINISHERS IN CL Shakhtar Donetsk (UKR), Juventus (ITA), Benfica (POR), Viktoria Pilsen (CZE), FC Basel (SUI), Napoli (ITA), FC Porto (POR), Ajax (NED) NB: group winners and four best thirdplace finishers in Champions League cannot play each other. Teams from same country cannot be drawn together.
Tottenham Hotspur striker Roberto Soldado celebrates after scoring during their Uefa Europa League match against Anzhi Makhachkala at White Hart Lane on Thursday
AFP
FIXTURES
Cardiff Chelsea Everton Hull Man City Newcastle West Ham v v v v v v v West Brom Crystal Palace Fulham Stoke Arsenal Southampton Sunderland
FIXTURES
Bayern Munich Hanover 96 Hoffenheim Mainz 05 Augsburg VfL Wolfsburg v v v v v v Hamburg Nuremberg Dortmund M'gladbach Braunschweig VfB Stuttgart
(1500), play at Arsenal before Christmas and could be in a position by then to take the overall lead if Liverpool stumble at Spurs. They have let in six goals in their
last two Premier League games, however, and the leaky defence will have to be made watertight. While Suarez is on fire, with 15 league goals in 10 matches after being belatedly awarded a second from last weekends 4-1 thrashing of West Ham United, Liverpool will be without England captain Steven Gerrard. Media reports indicated he would be out for at least a month with a hamstring injury, joining striker Daniel Sturridge on the sidelines for the busy Christmas period and matches at Manchester City and Chelsea. Fifth-placed Everton, a point behind Manchester City, are at home to Fulham (1500) today while seventh placed Newcastle United host Southampton. l
FIXTURES
Osasuna Rayo Vallecano Barcelona Malaga v v v v Real Madrid Granada Villarreal Getafe
Coach Gerardo Martino described that performance as his sides best of his first five months in charge and he may well be tempted to retain the Brazilian through the middle in the false nine role despite Cesc Fabregas return from suspension.
A fan of Argentine football team Boca Juniors confronts police during riots after celebrations of Boca Juniors Fan Day in downtown Buenos Aires on Thursday REUTERS
FIXTURES
Rennes Ajaccio Evian Guingamp Nantes Nice v v v v v v PSG Lorient Reims Monaco Toulouse Sochaux
Marcello Lippi, coach of China's Guangzhou Evergrande, attends a training session in Agadir Stadium on Thursday REUTERS
is still third in the charts, behind only star PSG pair Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Edinson Cavani. The champions travel to Rennes on Saturday ahead of which a curious dispute has sprung up after the local police chief banned all PSG fans from entering the Ille-et-Vilaine department where Rennes is located unless they have tickets for the game.l
DHAKA TRIBUNE
Sport
15
New Zealand 1st innings 441 R Taylor 129, B Watling 65, K Williamson 45; T Best 4 110) West Indies 1st innings (overnight 158 4) M Samuels c Watling b Boult 60 N Deonarine c Taylor b Boult 22 D Ramdin not out 12 D Sammy b Boult 0 S Shillingford b Boult 0 T Best b Boult 0 S Gabriel b Southee 0 Extras (lb8, w1, nb4) 13 Total (all out; 49.5 overs) 193 Bowling Boult 15 5 40 6, Southee 15.5 2 58 2, Wagner 7 1 37 0, Anderson 7 1 20 2, Sodhi 3 1 18 0, Williamson 2 0 12 0 West Indies 2nd innings K Edwards c Williamson b Southee 35 K Powell b Southee 36 D Bravo c Watling b Wagner 0 M Samuels c Anderson b Southee 12 S Chanderpaul not out 31 N Deonarine b Boult 12 D Ramdin c Boult b Anderson 19 D Sammy lbw Boult 0 S Shillingford c Taylor b Wagner 1 T Best c Fulton b Boult 21 S Gabriel b Boult 0 Extras: (lb6, nb1, w1) 8 Total (all out, 54.5 overs) 175 Bowling Boult 12.5 2 40 4, Southee 11 2 24 3, Wagner 17 2 67 2 (nb1), Anderson 11 129 1 (w1), Williamson 3 1 9 0 NZ won by an innings and 73 runs
QUICK BYTES Blackburns Campbell given time off amid fixing probe
Blackburn striker DJ Campbell has been given time off by his Championship club after he was bailed this week following his arrest as part of an investigation into spot-fixing. Rovers confirmed over the weekend that the 32-year-old was one of six people detained by the National Crime Agency (NCA), who acted on information passed to it by the Sun on Sunday newspaper. Campbell, whose former clubs include Blackpool, Birmingham, Leicester and QPR, was bailed on Monday until April but will not feature in Saturdays second tier clash against Millwall at Ewood Park. It remains uncertain if he will feature in Rovers games in the foreseeable future after they decided he should step away from the spotlight this weekend. As part of the investigation, The Sun on Sunday claimed NCA detectives were likely to review a booking Campbell received in the first half of Blackburns league game against Ipswich on December 3. AFP
Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard will be sidelined for at least four weeks with the hamstring injury he picked up last weekend, manager Brendan Rodgers said on Thursday. Gerrard suffered the problem during Liverpools 4 1 win over West Ham United in the Premier League on Saturday and had to be replaced after 56 minutes at Anfield. Steven is, as reported, probably going to be (out for) up to about four weeks or so, Rodgers told the Merseyside clubs website (www. liverpoolfc.com). So hell go through an extensive treatment programme over the next numbers of weeks and hopefully we can get him back that little bit sooner. But certainly at this stage, it was a four to six-week injury and well see how we look with that. Rodgers had better news on Gerrards fellow England midfielder Jordan Henderson, who suffered an ankle injury from a tackle by West Ham skipper Kevin Nolan. Nolan was sent off for the challenge. Jordan trained so hes fine, said Rodgers. It was just precautionary the last few days. It was a bad challenge that was made on him, but thankfully hes okay. Reuters
Trent Boult (C) of New Zealand leads his team from the field after winning the second Test during day three of their second Test against West Indies at the Basin Reserve in Wellington yesterday AFP
DAYS WATCH
Star Sports 1 8:30AM Australia v England Third Test, Day 2 Sony Six HD NBA 2013 14 7:00AM Oklahoma city vs LA Lakers 9:30AM Golden State v Houston Fifa Club World Cup 2013 10:00PM Guangzhou v Al Ahly 1:30AM Raja Casablanca v Monterrey Ten Sports Junior Hockey Mens World Cup 2013 1:45PM Match 37, 38, 39, 40 Ten Golf 10:00AM Thailand Golf Championship Day 3 4:00PM Nelson Mandela Championship Day 4 Star Sports 4 English Premier League 6:30PM Man City v Arsenal 9:00PM Chelsea v Crystal Palace La Liga 11:00PM Rayo Vallecano v Granada 1:00AM Barcelona v Villarreal 3:00AM Malaga v Getafe Star Sports HD1 11:30PM English Premier League Hull City v Stoke City Star Sports HD2 11:00PM Italian Serie A Catania v Hellas Verona Ten Action 1:00AM French Ligue 1 AC Ajaccio v FC Lorient Ten HD 6:15PM Sky Bet Championship Leicester City v Burnley French Ligue 1 10:00PM Stade Rennais v PSG 1:00AM AC Ajaccio v FC Lorient
batting order in their first innings. We didnt foresee 16 wickets falling in probably three hours, I think it was, West Indies captain Darren Sammy said. For a team thats been under the gun for some time, it could be very disappointing. Ive guess weve found ourselves in these situations a few times and I believe we have the mettle in the dressing room to come back and keep remaining hungry because we value the fans back home. Tim Southee captured three second innings wickets in quick succession after lunch to put the home side into a strong position to win the test before Boults catch lifted the team and allowed them to run through the tail. The third match in the series begins at Seddon Park in Hamilton on Dec 19. l
SCORE CARD
Australia 1st innings Chris Rogers run out (Anderson) 11 David Warner c Carberry b Swann 60 Shane Watson c Swann b Broad 18 Michael Clarke c Cook b Swann 24 Steve Smith not out 103 George Bailey c Pietersen b Broad 7 Brad Haddin c Anderson b Stokes 55 Mitchell Johnson not out 39 Extras (lb5, w3, nb1) 9 Total (6 wickets; 87 overs) 326 Fall of wickets 1 13 (Rogers), 2 52 (Watson), 3 106 (Clarke), 4 129 (Warner), 5 143 (Bailey), 6 267 (Haddin). Bowling Anderson 17 4 44 0 (1w), Broad 17 178 2 (1w), Bresnan 21 4 72 0, Stokes 14 2 52 1 (1nb, 1w), Swann 17 0 71 2, Root 1 0 4 0. Toss: Australia
Australia's batsman Steven Smith celebrates scoring a century against England on their first day of the third Ashes Test in Perth yesterday AFP
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DHAKA TRIBUNE
Back Page
Giasuddin is a flag seller. For a man at his age, on the wrong end of 60 and with deteriorating eyesight, it is not easy to find gainful employment. But over the last five to six years, Giasuddin has found seasonal work during the months the average Bangladeshi feels a sharp surge in patriotic fervour: March and December. His typical day starts, during the season leading up to Victory Day or Independence Day, by making the long trip to Sadarghat on foot, where he purchases flags in bulk. He then ties the flags up according to size on the long pole, which he will be carrying over his shoulder all day from the giant marquee sized banners to little pocket sizes ones, hes got a flag for every purpose. From Sadarghat, the rest of the day is a slow-paced walk around town to Shahbag, Banglamotor, Begunbari, Farm Gate, Panthapath, Gulistan. As we chatted, I almost envied him. A nice stroll across town seemed more ap-
pealing than sitting behind a desk all day. Of course, the job is not without its challenges. Once, Giasuddins main worry was erratic weather. These days, he has to contend with lack of safety on the road. There arent as many people in the streets. And when there are, they have too many things to be constantly worried about to take the time to stop and purchase a flag. Safety comes first. Giasuddin came to Dhaka six years ago in search of work. He finds odd jobs throughout the year, but during these patriotic months, selling flags used to be his most lucrative business. Previously, he would sell an average of Tk3,000 worth of flags, wristbands and headbands per day, which set him up for months to come. This December however, his record days earning was only Tk700. But Giasuddin goes back out there everyday, because he has to. As I watched him walk away, I began to understand the resilience of the Bangladeshi people. They carry on, undaunted, firmly hopeful. l
Do you know: Who holds the current record for the Worlds Largest Human Flag? Email your answer to info@dhakatribune.com for a chance to win exclusive passes to the Worlds Largest Human Flag event on December 16, and see history in the making.
Two Jamaat-Shibir activists vandalise and torch a Moitri Paribahan bus in the capitals Kamalapur yesterday
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