The New Nation - Internet Edition

DU Correspondent

Geeteare Safiya Choudhury, Adviser to the Women and Children Affairs, launched a book titled 'Women in Bangladesh: From Inequality to Empowerment' at the Dhaka University yesterday.

She launched the book written by Prof Dr Nazmunnessa Mahtab at a ceremony organised by the department of Women and Gender Studies.

Vice-chancellor Prof SMA Faiz presided over the session while Wahiduddin Mahmud, a renowned Economist, was present as special guest.

Prof Dr M Asaduzzaman, former Chairman of University Grant Commission, Selina Hossain, former Dorector of Bangla Academy and Dr Mahmuda Islam, President of Women for Women, among others, were present at the ceremony.

Staff Reporter

The stranded Urdu-speaking people living in camps in Bangladesh have demanded the intervention of the Chief Adviser and Chief Election Commissioner to enlist them as voters and nationals of the country.

Bangladeshi Bihari Rehabilitation Assembly yesterday organised a press conference at the National Press Club demanding Voter and National Identity Cards for themselves.

The Assembly leaders said those, who lived at the various refugee camps, were Bangladeshi citizens as per the country's constitution and laws and international laws.

Claiming themselves as the Bangladeshi citizens, they said the residents of the refugee camps never expressed allegiance to any other country other than Bangladesh.

Placing a seven-point demand they said the Government should remove all hindrances from the way to ensuring the citizenship rights for the stranded people and provide residence-ship to them.

They claimed that no Pakistani citizen among the stranded people now in Bangladesh. The people, who would claim and introduce themselves as Pakistani citizens, have all of them gone to Pakistan. The last batch of the Pakistanis left Bangladesh in 1992.

Chief patron of the Assembly Naez Ahmad Khan, President Kawshar Parvez Bholu, General Secretary Hanif, Jahid, Liakat Ali and Nurjahan Akhter Rina, student of the Eden Girls College, among others, were present at the conference.

Staff Reporter

President of Bangladesh Gono Shakti Party (BGP), a newly launched political party, Tahmidul Islam has suggested the formation of central economic development fund to serve as a new mechanism to accelerate the pace of economic development of the country and avoiding totally the World Bank and IMF debt burden long term vicious circle-trap.

In a press release, the party chief criticised the role of World Bank and IMF and appealed to the countrymen not to follow their prescriptions, which had generated much protest in the intellectual, financial, economic and political circles.

World Bank, despite public protest, compelled to close down the Adamjee Jute Mill, the largest mill of Asia causing great damage to our economy, he said.

He further observed that the World Bank prescriptions had proved to be harmful for the state and as such the government should not accept and materialise unsound prescriptions of the World Bank and IMF.

Staff Reporter

Leaders of the Fight for Equal Rights in Chittagong Hill-Tracts said peace keeping in the Hill Tracts was not prevailing even after 10 years of the peace accord signed on December 2 in 1997.

The peace accord failed to stop gun-battle, killing, extortion and terrorism and caused sufferings to Bengalis who live in the region.

The movement urged to make Chittagong Hill Tracts free from Jummaland terrorists and said JSS, UPDF and Jhum People Network have been hatching a conspiracy to detach Chittagong Hill Tracts, one-tenth of country, for the last 36 years.

Bengalis of the Hill Tracts were being repressed by the tribal terrorists at various parts of the three districts of Chittagong Hill Tracts. Now Bengalis of the area were neglected and deprived from their rights, the press release of the movement claimed.

Terming the peace accord as a black agreement and December 2 as a black day, the movement said the accord is contradictory to the Constitution of the country and discriminatory.

It also urged all to come forward to create public opinion against the accord.

UNB, Dhaka

Chief Adviser Dr Fakhruddin Ahmed will curtail his visit to the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) to be held in Kampala, Uganda on November 23-25 in view of the situation caused by Cyclone Sidr.

The Chief Adviser is expected to leave here on November 21 to attend the Commonwealth summit.

In reply to a question, Foreign Adviser Dr Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury told UNB today that the visit has been cut short.

He said the Chief Adviser would stay for one and a half days in Kampala, which will enable him to meet some Commonwealth leaders and apprise them of the country's post-cyclone situation. Chowdhury said the Chief Adviser's remarks in Kampala on natural disaster in Bangladesh would be in the context of the effect of climate change in area on which Bangladesh is playing a leading role. It had been planned that the Foreign Adviser would represent the Chief Adviser to the rest of the summit, but later it has been decided that he too would return home with the Chief Adviser on November 25.

UNB, Dhaka

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has expressed deep concern over the devastation caused by Cyclone Sidr in Bangladesh.

In a statement released by his spokesperson, Ban Ki-moon said he has been following with mounting concern the devastation in Bangladesh resulting from Cyclone Sidr, said a Xinhua report from the United Nations.

He expressed the full solidarity of the UN system at this time of crisis, and reiterated that the organization is ready and willing to help them respond in any possible way.

The UN chief also noted that the UN agencies on the ground are already responding to the basic needs of those affected, and the assessment teams are on the spot.

"We've made clear that several million (US) dollars are available from the Central Emergency Response Fund depending on need," he said.

UNB, Dhaka

A two-day SAARC workshop on 'Community Based Disaster Risk Reduction and Preparedness' began in the city Monday to provide effective guidelines for reducing the disaster vulnerabilities of communities in the South Asian regions. Food and Disaster Management Adviser Tapan Chowdhury formally inaugurated the regional workshop, organized by SAARC Disaster Management Centre (SDMC) in collaboration with the Ministry of Food and Disaster Management and the Disaster Management Bureau (DMB), at Hotel Sheraton.

Food and Disaster Management secretary Dr Mohammad Ayub Miah presided over the inaugural function. Additional secretary and convenor of the workshop organizing committee Md Abdul Bari Khan, SDMC director of India PG Dhar Chakraborty and DMB director general KH Masud Siddiqui spoke on the occasion.

Representatives from eight SAARC member countries-Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka-are participating in the workshop.

Replying to the reporters' query after the inaugural session of the workshop, Adviser Tapan Chowdhury said there is no bar for the political leaders to participate in the relief works under the state of emergency now in force in the country.

He urged the people of all strata, including political leaders and student organizations, to come forward with positive attitude and extend their helping hand to the cyclone-affected people.

Earlier, inaugurating the workshop, Adviser Tapan Chowdhury said:

"Disaster risk reduction and community preparedness are essential preconditions of sustainable development and also an important element for the achievement of the development goals." Food and Disaster Manager secretary Dr Ayub Miah said the South Asian countries are highly susceptible to natural hazards of almost all types including flood, cyclone, tidal surge, drought, tornado, river bank erosion and earthquake.

He emphasized on increased information exchange, improved early warning capacities, technology transfer and technical cooperation among the SAARC member countries to make the people aware about the impending disasters to reduce loss of lives and property in the region.

UNB, Dhaka

The Anti-Corruption Comm-ission is going to file cases against five corrupt suspects, including former minister and Awami League leader Engineer Mosharraf Hossain, Swechhasebak League president Bahauddin Nasim mostly for acquiring wealth beyond their known sources of income.

"The Commission has decided to file first information reports (FIRs) against five suspected corrupts," ACC director general (admin) Col Hanif Iqbal, also the Commission's spokesperson, said this during the Commission's regular briefing this (Monday) afternoon. Apart from Mosharraf and Bahauddin, the three other corrupt suspects going to be sued are AL's Dhaka City unit general secretary Mofazzal Hossain Chowdhury Maya's son Dipu Chowdhury, former BNP minister Shajahan Siraj's son Rajib Siraj and forest official Ashit Ranjan Pal. "Of them (five corrupt suspects), a non-submission case will be filed against Dipu Chowdhury as he failed to submit his wealth statement to the Commission in due time," Hanif said.

He also said the ACC is well aware about those cheating people identifying themselves as its officials.

Replying to a question about corruption by the Commission's field-level officials, Hanif said no official could take any decision on his or her own, as all the decisions are taken by the Commission. In this regard, he said the Commission has already published leaflets to make people aware. From the leaflets, people will be able to know how to inform the Commission about cheating in the names of ACC employees, he added.

Replying to a question about the complaints already submitted to the Commission, the director general said majority of the complaints have been proved false and motivated. "The Commission inquires a complaint based on its merit and acceptability. The complaints that have appeared acceptable to the Commission are now under inquiry after scrutiny."

On alleged financial irregularities by some NGOs, he said, "This matter didn't come to my notice. The Commission will inform about it in the next regular briefing (Thursday)."