The New Nation - Internet Edition

Staff Reporter

An expatriate from Qatar will donate Tk 15 to Tk 20 lakh to set up 125 houses for cyclone SIDR affected people.

Md Nurul Mostafa, the expatriate and Managing Director of New Future Co of Doha in Qatar, disclosed this at a press conference at Dhaka Reporters Unity yesterday.

Mostafa said though he has not enough time to stay in Bangladesh and due to present political situation he will hand over the amount to the Army Chief for setting up of 125 houses for the SIDR victims soon.

"This amount will help construct the houses for the cyclone victims. The Army Chief will decide how the money will be spent for the construction of the houses for them," he said.

Staff Reporter

Some 400 slum-dwelling houses burnt into ashes when a devastating fire broke out at a slum at Tejgaon in the city yesterday evening.

Though none was killed in the incident, properties worth Tk 50 lakh of poor slum dwellers burnt into ashes, witnesses said.

The Fire Service sources said the fire originated from an electric short-circuit at congested slum near the North Begunbari post office under the Tejgaon police station at about 6:00pm. Instantly the flame engulfed the entire slum burning some 400 dwelling houses into ashes.

At least 50 of the slum dwellers were injured when they ran here and there to escape from the fire. Hearing their wailing, local people rushed to the spot to help them.

Receiving information, five fire-fighting units from the Fire Service headquarters and police went to the spot and succeeded to bring the inferno under control at about 7:00pm. However, most of the 400 bamboo-made dwelling houses burnt into ashes.

Fire Service officials claimed thay had succeeded to reduce the losses by dousing the fire in time. But, they could not say anything else whether anyone was killed in the incident.

UNB, Dhaka

All kinds of bird poaching need to be stopped immediately to protect the country's bio-diversity, speakers told a book-launching ceremony here Saturday.

"The country's bid population is gradually declining for various reasons, including poaching," said Vice Chancellor of Independent University Dr Bazlul Mobin Chowdhury at the function.

The function was organised at a city hotel marking the launching of a book, 'Nirer Pakhi', by Sadat Selim.

Prothom Alo editor Motiur Rahman, Sangbad editor Bazlur Rahman, Jugantor editor Golam Sarwar and artist Qaiyum Chowdhury, among others, spoke on the occasion.

Appreciating the writer for his work, they said this book would help the new generation know about various kinds of birds of the country and their role in protecting bio-diversity.

UNB, Savar

An army personnel was found dead at Baliarpur on Saturday morning.

The victim was identified as Maksudul Haidar, 27, sepoy of 11 Infantry Division of the 28 East Bengal Regiment. He hailed from Fakirbazar in Burichang upazila of Comilla.

Police said the body with marks of wound was found by the locals in front of Madhumati Model Tower. His identity was ascertained from papers in his pocket.

It is suspected that unknown assailants murdered Haidar somewhere else and left the body there in the darkness of night. The motive of the murder could not be ascertained immediately.

UNB, Dhaka

BNP secretary general Khandkar Delwar Hossain has refused the invitation to the Victory Day reception at Bangabhan today.

BNP acting office secretary Rizvi Ahmed told UNB by phone that Delwar was offended for inviting him as individual and not as the secretary general of the party. That is why he has refused to attend the reception.

Meanwhile, Delwar is scheduled to attend the Victory Day discussion meeting organized by BNP at the Institute of Engineers at 3pm Monday. Party leaders and intellectuals are likely to take part in the discussion.

Staff Reporter

BNP leader Goyeshar Chandra Roy demanded yesterday the release of two detained former Prime Ministers Begum Khaleda Zia and Sheikh Hasina for the sake of parliamentary democracy in the country.

Demanding the release of two detained Prime Ministers, Goyeshar Chandra Roy said proper reformation of politics would not be achieved without the presence of the two leaders.

He also said BNP would not participate in the next general election without its chairperson Khaleda Zia.

BNP Joint General Secretary Goyeshar Chandra Roy was addressing an open discussion meeting titled "Achievement of Victory in 1971 and Release of Detained Khaleda Zia" organised by Khaleda Zia Mukti Parishad at the National Press Club Auditorium in the city.

Journalists Gias Kamal Choudhory and Ershad Majumder, Member Secretaries of the parishad Razzak Selim and Mohib Billah Atiq and Convener to Dhaka City Committee Altaf Uddin Molla, among other BNP leaders, addressed the discussion.

Khaleda Zia Mukti Parishad urged the Government to release former Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia before June 2008 to hold fair, free and credible national elections.

Convener of the Parishad former MP Maj (Rtd) Akhtaruzzaman (Kishoregonj-2) called for her release at the discussion.

Criticising BNP leader Abdul Mannan Bhuiyan, Akhtaruzzaman said Mannan Bhuiyan was a betrayer. We -all BNP leaders and activists- were united under General Secretary Khondakar Delwar Hossain selected by Begum Khaleda Zia, he added.

Khaleda is a popular political leader. She is acceptable and trustworthy leader of a large section of the country's population, Akhter said.

One of the speakers said, "No alternative leader has yet emerged like Khaleda Zia imbued with nationalism. But now the existence of Khaleda and her party are under threat."

Staff Reporter

Speakers at a view exchange meeting yesterday called for building unity to reach the benefit of independence door to door.

They said the heroes of the liberation war should be honoured by people of all shades of opinion.

The Swadhinota Forum Kendriya Sangsad organised the meeting titled 'Politics of 36 years and national unity" on the occasion of Independence Day at the national press club with its chairman Abu Naser Mohammad Rahmatullah in the chair.

The speakers said gaps of understanding among the people should be narrowed.

"Some people speak more about their own contributions and sometimes try not to acknowledge other's contribution," they said.

They urged the government to allow people to choose their leaders through election. This will help building unity among the people, the speakers added.

Former Deputy Prime Minister Shah Moazzem Hossain, former Minster Barrister Rafiqul Islam Miah, former MP Rahmat Ali, former MP Major Akhtaruzzaman, Shafiul Alam Prodhan, Moulana Abdul Latif Nezami and The New Nation Editor Mustafa Kamal Majumder spoke, among others, on the occasion.

Staff Reporter

The first ever two-day conference on 'Indigenous People: Environment of Bangladesh' will be held at the Engineers Institution Bangladesh (EIB) from December 17.

Bangladesh Paribesh Andolon (BAPA) and Bangladesh Environment Network will jointly organise the conference.

Over 150 tribal leaders will participate in the conference where 50 research papers will be presented in four sessions.

Prof Abdullah Abu Sayed, Convenor of the conference preparatory committee said this yesterday at a press conference at the Biswa Shahitta Kendra.

Adviser for Forest and Environment Ministry Dr Chowdhury Sazzad Karim will inaugurate the conference on December 17 at 9:30 am, while Local Government and Rural Development and Cooperative Adviser Anwarul Iqbal will be chief guest at the closing ceremony.

For the four sessions of the conference the organisers divided the country into four regions for the aboriginal people. Chittagong and Chittagong Hill Tracts fall in the southeastern region, Sylhet, Mymensingh and Tangail belong to the Northeastern region, Rajshahi, and the northern districts of the country and Barisal and the southern districts of the country belong to the other regions.

Politicians, former advisers of caretaker governments, civil society representatives, experts and different organisations, among others, will take part in the conference.

An exhibition of different products made and used by the tribal people will be held the EIB compound during the conference.

Staff Reporter

The government is not formulating coal policy keeping the interest of any particular company or individual in mind, said Power and Mineral Resources Adviser Tapan Chowdhury yesterday.

He was speaking at the inaugural ceremony of a seminar on "Greater Rangpur and Development of the Northern Region: Energy Context" at Bangladesh-China Friendship Conference Centre in the city.

With Greater Rangpur Welfare Association president Nazrul Islam in the chair, the seminar was also addressed by Finance and Planning Adviser Dr AB Mirza Azizul Islam.

The seminar was organised by Greater Rangpur Kallyan Samity and Rangpur, Gaibandha, Nilphamari, Kurigram and Lalmonirhat Chambers of Commerce and Industry.

Tapan Chowdhury said the coal policy was being formulated keeping the national interest in mind. "It's undesirable to question our patriotism regarding the coal policy. We're not doing anything else which proves that we don't have any patriotism. Please don't question our patriotism. Rather, question about something else," he said.

The Energy Adviser said a neutral committee was formed to formulate the coal policy. "I had no consultation with none of the committee members. The experts had formulated their recommendations independently. I hope that the national interest will be protected through implementing these recommendations," he said.

It may be recalled that the committee finalised its recommendations on Thursday.

The recommendations include local people must be compensated for extracting coal from the designated coalmines. The coal which will be extracted cannot be exported. As many as 25 per cent of the shares of the mining company will have to floated in the capital markets.

Staff Reporter

Expelled BNP Secretary General Abdul Mannan Bhuiyan yesterday demanded trial of war criminals saying, "The Government must move to try the war criminals, an individual can not do it."

He said this at a discussion meeting to mark the Victory Day at a convention centre at Gulshan in the city.

It is the first such public utterance made by any of the faction leaders of the BNP, which allied itself with Jamaat-e-Islami, led by Maulana Matiur Rahman Nizami, blamed for its controversial role during the Liberation War in 1971.

He said, "The government must take initiative to try the war criminals in line with people's demand".

"The War criminals killed many intellectuals but nobody punished them, even after strong allegations about them," he said, "They have so far escaped trial."

He said some people were engaged in downgrading the role of Shaheed Ziaur Rahman. He urged all to give due recognition to those who deserve so.

Acting Secretary General of BNP Maj (Retd) Hafizuddin Ahmed condemned the killing of intellectuals by the war criminals.

UNB, Dhaka

India has received positive indication from Bangladesh to export 500,000 tons of non-basmati rice through official channel to meet the country's food deficit. "I've got positive indication from Bangladesh government," Indian High Commissioner in Dhaka Pinak Ranjan Chakrabarty told UNB. He said an MoU would have to be signed by the two government agencies before starting procurement of rice from internal market of India. Earlier, Chakrabarty met Foreign Affairs Adviser Dr Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury to convey the Indian government decision to export non-basmati rice up to 500,000 tons to Bangladesh through official channel.

He said the Bangladesh government and any designated agency may initiate negotiations with State Trading Corporation of India (STC), MMTC or MAFED for procurement of rice without delay as it is the procurement season in India.

Replying to a question, the High Commissioner said the Indian government would not allow any private agency to procure the rice to ensure that price of rice does not go up in his own country. Moreover, he said, it would be cost effective for Bangladesh too if the rice is imported through any of the three Indian official agencies. The agencies will not make any profit barring purchasing cost from domestic market, transportation and commission. The Indian government decided to lift ban on export of 500,000 tons of rice to Bangladesh in the wake of November 15 cyclone that seriously damaged the paddy in southern coastal region. Indian External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee announced his government's decision during his visit to Dhaka on December 1.

UNB, Dhaka

The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) held a daylong LDCs High Level Forum in Geneva to examine the benefits of intellectual property (IP) to LDCs as they strive to achieve the Millennium Development Goals.

Ministers from Cambodia, Ethiopia, Guinea, Lesotho, Senegal, Sudan and Uganda attended the Forum inaugurated by WIPO Director General Kamil Idris on Wednesday, according to a message received here on Saturday. The participating LDCs delegations heard expert presentations and deliberated on wealth creation through promoting innovation and utilizing intellectual property.

As the Global Coordinator of the LDCs, Bangladesh highlighted the potential of intellectual property for accelerating economic development.

Bangladesh Permanent Representative in Geneva Dr. Debapriya Bhattacharya outlined in his opening plenary address a WIPO Agenda for Action for making IP work for building competitive domestic economies in the LDCs by way of utilizing their best but under-utilized resources. "Using IP for development is not an option, but a necessity," he said.

He stressed that rather than shying away from engaging, the LDCs should actively upgrade their legal and institutional frameworks so that they would be prepared when the flexibilities allowed by WTO to the LDCs end. Once the special concessions granted under TRIPs end, LDCs would have to comply with international IP standards. Ambassador Debapriya urged WIPO and the international community to support the efforts of LDCs. He called upon WIPO to dedicate more financial and human resources so that assisting LDCs constitute a central pillar of WIPO's activity.

He also called upon the private sector to develop partnerships with the LDCs and promote branding of their products. This, he said, would reflect their corporate social responsibilities.

The Forum heard the success story of branding Ethiopian coffee in the world market. Within three years, the Ethiopian coffee growers have doubled their retail price and over 15 million people associated with the coffee industry have seen their incomes rise.

The High Level Forum appreciated Ambassador's Debapriya's suggestion that a "one country, one product" scheme be initiated where WIPO and the private sector would come together to identify and develop one distinct product from each of the LDCs and would bring it to the international market.

The participants called upon the WIPO to make High-Level LDC Forum an annual event and follow up on their recommendations.

UNB, London

Speakers at a meeting here demanded that the Bangladesh government should try those who were responsible for genocide and war crimes during the Liberation War in 1971 under International Crimes (Tribunals) Act 1973. The meeting, organized by Jatiyo Samonnoy Committee at East London's Brady Centre, also demanded ban on those parties who opposed Bangladesh's independence and promote sectarian politics. The meeting was addressed among others by Jeremy Seabrook, author of 'Freedom Unfinished: Fundamentalism and Popular Resistance in Bangladesh Today', Dr Ahmed Zia, Bangladesh Centre for Genocide Studies, Belgium, Murad Qureshi AM, Labour Group, London Assembly, Gita Sahgal, producer of 'War Crimes File', Cllr Ayub Korom Ali of Gono Forum, Cllr Shahid Ali, Tower Hamlets Deputy Mayor, and Al Amin, Secretary Swedish Nirmul Committee. The meeting was chaired by Ansar Ahmed Ullah & conducted by M A Rauf.

They pledged full support to the initiative taken by the Sector Commanders Forum.

The speakers demanded that the Bangladesh government should take the responsibility to investigate crimes committed in 1971 and the perpetrators to justice.

They also urged the UK government to initiate trial against alleged war criminal Chowdhury Moeenuddin under Geneva Conventions Act 1957. Prof Farida Banu, sister of martyred intellectual Ghyasuddin Ahmad, had filed case with Ramna Police Station in 1997 against two al-Badr cadres including Chowdhury Moeenuddin for killing her brother on December 14 in 1971.

Other speakers at the meeting were Nooruddin Ahmed, chairperson, Muktijuddho o Ganomukti Andolon, Shamsuddin Khan, president, Awami League, Prof Abul Hasem, general secretary Awami League, Harmuz Ali, acting secretary, Bangladesh Welfare Association, Sajjad Miah of Brick Lane Business Association, Syed Enam, general secretary, Communist Party of Bangladesh, Ahad Chowdhury Babu, organising secretary, Nirmul Committee, Ishaque Kajal, general secretary, Workers Party of Bangladesh and Abdur Razzak, secretary JSD. The meeting was followed by a musical soiree presented by Bangladesh Udichi Shilpi Gosthi, UK branch, and Satyen Sen School of Performing Arts.

UNB, Dhaka

Awami League Saturday hoped that the incumbent government would initiate the trial process of the war criminals, while the reformist BNP observed that the next political government should start the process, as the main agenda of the caretaker government is to hold a free and fair election.

Participating in the BBC Bangladesh Sanglap at the Bangladesh-China Friendship Conference Centre in the city, AL presidium member Abdur Razzak demanded immediate trial of the war criminals and pledged that his party would never form any sort of alliance with or seek any support from Jamaat-e-Islami to go to power.

BNP standing committee member Lt Gen (retd) Mahbubur Rahman said the war criminals should be put on trial after proving the allegations and termed the question whether they would form any alliance with Jamaat is "irrational". "If any person brings specific allegations against any war criminal, the person will of course get justice if the BNP is voted to power," he added.

Prof MM Akash of Dhaka University and executive director of Bangladesh Nari Progati Shangha Rokeya Kabir also participated in the sanglap as panelists. BBC Bangla Service in cooperation with the BBC World Service Trust organised the event, moderated by Shakeel Anwar of BBC Bangla Service.

Razzak, a former minister, asked where is the problem to try the war criminals when the whole nation, including the chief adviser, the chief of army staff and all political parties, demanded trial of the war criminals. "If we fail to try the war criminals, then one day, they will level us as war criminals."

Asked whether the AL and BNP would bring the war criminals to book if voted to power, the AL leader replied in the affirmative while the BNP leader said people would take the initiative to bring the war criminals to book, but the BNP does not oppose the trial of the war criminals.

Prof Akash observed that if the present government starts the process of trying war criminals, the next political government would be bound to try them.

Rokeya said it is the duty of the state to bring the war criminals to book to establish the rule of law and ensure human rights in the country.

Responding to another query, Prof Aksah said the government should release the detained teachers and students immediately as no government in the past could assume power through harming the Dhaka University. He said they would be forced to announce further programmes to press home their demand.

All the panelists demanded lifting of the state of emergency for the sake of holding a free and fair election.