The New Nation - Internet Edition

Staff Reporter

The trial of the four teachers and 15 students of Dhaka University began yesterday in the Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (ACMM) Court in Dhaka.

ACMM Golam Robbani has recorded deposition of complainant Sergeant Shawkat Ahmed of Shahbagh thana in the trial, which was the first session of the Court after the charge framing in the case.

The case was filed with the Shahbagh thana against four teachers and 15 students for making provocative statements and encouraging illegal demonstration, which began on August 20, under sections 3 (4) and 6 (10) of the Emergency Power Rules (EPR).

The four detained teachers-Dhaka University Teachers Association (DUTA) President Prof Sadrul Amin, General Secretary Prof Anwar Hossain, Dean of the Faculty of Social Science Prof Harun Or Rashid and Chairman of Applied Physics and Electronic Department Prof Neem Chandra Bhowmik and detained student Maniruzzaman Sardar were produced before the Court yesterday.

Other 14 accused students were shown as fugitive in the case. Complainant Sergeant Shawkat Ahmed in his deposition to the Court refrained from naming the four teachers or anybody else as accused, court sources said.

ACMM Golam Robbani fixed December 24 for further hearing of the case.

The case against the detained teachers and students of Dhaka University was filed following students and teachers unrest centring an untoward incident between Army jawans and a group of students at the university playground on August 19. The students launched an agitation immediately.

Situation went out of control on the following day, when thousands of students backed by the DUTA started demonstration, resulting clashes between the agitating students and police. The Government on August 20 withdrew Army camp from the university and the Army closed the responsible sepoy. But the agitation sharply spread in all the public universities and cities of the country.

The Government had to clampdown curfew in the capital and the divisional towns, and closed down all universities and colleges in these cities. Police lodged case against the teachers and students on August 22 with Shahbagh thana.

The Joint Forces arrested three DU teachers-DUTA General Secretary Prof Anwar Hossain, Dean of the Faculty of Social Science Prof Harun Or Rashid and Chairman of Applied Physics and Electronic Department Prof Neem Chandra Bhowmik at one stage, while DUTA President Prof Sadrul Amin surrendered to the Court latter.

Family members of the detained teachers and DUTA through Dhaka University Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr SMA Fayez started parleys with the Government to secure their release.

The Vice-Chancellor had a number of meetings with President Prof Dr Iajuddin Ahmed, Chief Adviser Dr Fakhruddin Ahmed and Army Chief General Moeen U Ahmed and pleaded for their release.

The Government started taking lenient view and granting presidential clemency to four convicted teachers of Rajshahi University sent a signal that the administration may release the detained Dhaka University teachers also.

Meanwhile, Our Court Correspondent reports: the charge sheet against former Chief Conservator of Forest Osman Gani was submitted to the Court yesterday.

Osman Gani was accused of amassing huge movable and immovable property through illegal means, while his wife was made co-accused of the case as she allegedly cooperated with her husband in the mischief.

Assistant Director of Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) SM Aktar Hamid Bhuiyan yesterday submitted the charge sheet, making 52 persons witnesses in the case.

On May 30, Joint Forces arrested Osman Gani with huge money and gold ornaments from his Uttara residence in the city. Later ACC Deputy Director Golam Shahriar Chowdhury filed the case against the accused with Uttara thana in Dhaka city.

Staff Reporter

A murder case was filed yesterday against Ameer of Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh Maulana Matiur Rahman Nizami, secretary general Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mujahid and 11 others of the party accusing them of murdering three freedom fighters in Keraniganj during the War of Liberation in 1971.

Mozaffar Ahmed Khan, a residence of Bhawalkhanbari and Keraniganj unit commander of Bangladesh Muktijoddha Sangsad, filed the case with Chief Metropolitan Magistrate court, Dhaka in the morning accusing the Jamaat leaders of murdering three freedom fighters in Keraniganj on November 25, 1971.

After hearing the petitioner, judicial magistrate Ashiqul Khabir at 4:30pm accepted the case and issued an order directing officer-in-charge of Keraniganj Police Station to record the case as FIR and take action in accordance with the law.

Others accused in the case are Jamaat secretary general Ali Ahsan

Mohammad Mujahid, assistant secretary general Abdul Kader Molla and Mohammad Qamaruzzaman, Keraniganj thana ameer Haji Nazimuddin. Dhaka district ameer Abul Hashem, Faizur Rahman Faiz, KG Karim Babla, Mohammad Yasin, Dr Joynal, Abdul Khaleque (posthumous), Abdul Mannan Siddiqi (posthumous) and Puinya Albadar (posthumous).

Jamaat-e-Islami leaders could not be contacted immediately for comment on the case, which was filed a day after the country celebrated the 36th anniversary of independence on Sunday, amid calls for war crimes trials.

The petitioner said the accused at the behest of General Tikka Khan of the Pakistan occupation force formed Rajakar, Al-badr and Al-shams bahinis and declared war against the Mujibnagar government of Bangladesh on April 17, 1971.

He further submitted that the Jamaat leaders and their associates numbering 60 or 70 picked up freedom fighters Golam Mostofa and Osman Ghani from their Keraniganj homes at about 7:30am on November 25, 1971. They were brutally bayoneted and shot dead in broad daylight at about 8:30am the same day. The brutal killings were planned at a camp of Al Badr at Mohammadpur in the city.

'My paternal uncle and two of his freedom fighter sons were killed by the cadres of Nizami and Mujahid at Keraniganj, near Dhaka,' complainant Mozaffar Ahmed Khan told reporters.

The petitioner said Jamaat leaders had not stopped there. They had

killed scores of people, set fire to houses and plundered residences

in carrying out horrendous atrocities in the area.

"Since the governments in the last 36 years did not take any step against the accused, I have decided to file the case finding no other alternatives against the killers," the petitioner said.

In the wake of rising demand for trial of Jamaat leaders as war criminal an attempt last week to hook Mujahid, Kader Molla and former NBR chairman Shah Abdul Hannan in sedition case ended in a failure.

The court had sent the case to police for action but they returned without registering the case saying individuals required prior permission of the government for filing sedition case, But the permission was not available.

JU Correspondent

Frustration grips the horticulturists of the country, as they are not getting the expected return for their cultivated flowers against the increased prices of fertilisers and insecticides.

The commercial cultivation of flowers, a new sector in the agricultural economy, shows a good prospect in the country. It is gathered from Dhaka Flower Traders' Multipurpose Welfare Cooperative Society that the annual sale of flowers at Shahbagh wholesale market amounts to almost Tk 11 crore per year. Domestic production of flowers cannot meet the total demand. To make up for the shortfall, it is known from the same source that flowers worth Tk 20 crore are imported per year. The source informed that this sector has created employment opportunities of more than one lakh people.

It may be mentioned that cultivation of flowers has gained popularity in the country including Savar in Dhaka. It is learnt from the Agriculture Office sources that roses and different other flowers are cultivated on a commercial basis in about 192 hectares of land at Savar alone. At present flowers are cultivated in a number of villages including Sadullahpur, Komlapur Shampur, Shadapur, Rajashan, Ganda under Savar thana. Those are also cultivated in Jessore, Rangpur,

Narayanganj, Mymensingh, Gazipur, Tangail, Chuadanga. A variety of flowers like rose, night queen, gladiolus, merry gold, crescenthemum, golden stick, calendula and gypsy are cultivated in Bangladesh. Orchid and some other flowers are imported from India and Thailand.

Flowers have a wide range of use in the country. They are mainly used for decoration and as gift. Women are very fond of wearing flowers as ornaments. Flowers are also used in decorating stages, cars used in marriage ceremonies, nuptial chambers and others. They are also used as raw materials for extracting ingredients for drugs.

Flowers are in demand more or less all over the year. But the demand reaches its peak mainly in the months from December to April. Upper and middle class people are the main buyers of flowers. But, it is known that they are not buying flowers as much as they did previously. So now the cultivators are not getting the desired profit from their products, said Abdus Salam, a flower traders of Shahbagh wholesale market.

It may be mentioned that there are a number of wholesale flower markets in the capital city namely Shahbagh, High Court mazar, Baily Road, Katabon, Gulshan, Banani, Uttara, Jatrabari and Asad Gate.

It is learnt from a Night Queen Cultivator of Chuadanga that to cultivate one Bigha (33 decimals) of land costs about Tk 60,000 to Tk 70,000. After 6 months farmers get Tk 150,000 to Tk 200,000 per year if weather is favourable. Recently they are allegedly facing serious problems due to high price of fertilisers. Sometimes, the situation is such that fertilisers are not available even at higher prices, they informed.

On the other hand, the farmers alleged that they are not getting the appropriate prices compared to cost of production. The wholesalers and the middlemen are extracting the maximum profit. Besides this, skilled labours are not sufficiently available in the area. As a result, the farmers are losing interest in flower cultivation. They also alleged that they do not get proper instructions from the agriculture offices.

Ataur Rahman, another flower cultivator of the same area, told this correspondent he cultivates Gladiolus in about eight acres of land, out of which he owns only 52 decimals, and took on lease the rest. The cultivation of gladiolus, like roses, has also gained popularity in this area because of high profit. Now, some other farmers are also cultivating it. He also said that if the weather remains favourable, a farmer could cultivate it twice a year. It is learnt that the cultivation of gladiolus in 26 decimals of land costs Tk 50 thousand only. But only after three months, one can earn Tk one lakh from that plot.

Salina Khatun, a rose cultivator at Savar told this correspondent that rose cultivation started here more than 12 years ago as personal hobby. But at a certain time, the farmers of the area found roses more profitable than other crops and started cultivating it commercially. One advantage of rose cultivation is that the saplings once planted produce flowers more than 5 years at a stretch. It is for this reason that the cultivation of roses gained rapid popularity among the farmers of the area.

Staff Reporter

The public funding in primary and secondary education in Bangladesh is very low. Overall, at the primary level, per student per month highest is Tk 144 in government schools followed by Tk 138 in madrashas and varies from Tk 5.25 to Tk 55.33 in the case of other types of institutions.

There are wide variations in per student public funding between types of educational institutions and between urban and rural institutions of the same type at both primary and secondary levels.

This anomaly should be corrected, particularly urgently in the case of primary education in view of the state's constitutional obligation of ensuring quality of opportunities for all citizens and because ensuring basic education for all is its primary responsibility.

In Bangladesh, 42 to 66 per cent of the guardians did not pay tuition fee and 43 to 66 per cent did not pay admission fee. Most of the non-paying students are girls enjoying benefits of female secondary scholarship programme.

This was revealed at a launching ceremony of an education watch report titled 'Financing Primary and Secondary Education in Bangladesh' organised by Campaign for Popular Education (CAMPE) at LGED Bhaban in the city yesterday.

Private tuition is the largest single private expenditure item for all. Per student cost on private tuition was Tk 4,700 in the government schools which was 42 per cent of the total cost, Tk 2,210 in non-government schools, which is 29 per cent of the total cost and Tk 1,202 in madrashas where 21 per cent of the total cost, the report said.

The guardians are giving high importance to private tuition. Other items on which relatively higher amounts are spent are transport, Tiffin, school dress and books, it revealed.

Annual average expenditure per student is larger in urban areas compared to rural areas. The difference is significant in all types of institutions. The difference is highest in case of government schools, which was Tk 8,431 and the lowest in case of madrasha, which was Tk 2,750, it added.

Dr Quazi Kholiquzzaman Ahmad, President of Bangladesh Economic Association and Dr Kazi Saleh Ahmed, former Vice Chancellor of Jahangirnagar University, presented the key findings of the study and policy implications of the report.

Ayub Quadri, Education Adviser, Momtajul Islam, Secretary of Education Ministry, M Musharraf Hossain Bhuiyan, Secretary of Primary and Mass Education Ministry, Kazi Fazlur Rahman, former adviser to the Caretaker government, Rasheda K Choudhury, Director of CAMPE, addressed the function.

Speakers underscored the need for increasing public expenditure on primary and secondary education and improving the quality of education at both primary and secondary levels, while facilitating at the same time steady expansion of education at both the levels.

Promoting equity in government support to different types of primary and secondary educational institutions regardless of their location at rural or urban areas and providing special support to the students coming from the poor and disadvantaged families to expand their educational opportunities, they added.

In case of primary education, the expenditure of the urban rich is 3.4 times that of the rural poor. In secondary education, the corresponding figure is 4.2 times. The average annual per primary student private expenditure incurred by the poorest households on each broad category is the lowest. It rises steadily at higher levels of socio-economic status, reaching the highest level in the case of the richest households, the report said.

AFP, Makkah

Nearly two million Muslim faithful set off Monday from Makkah to the valley of Mina as the annual hajj pilgrimage got underway in Saudi Arabia amid tight security.

The pilgrims, wearing white robes, walked or boarded buses to Mina, five kilometres (three miles) east of the holy city of Makkah, to begin tracing the journey made by the Prophet Mohammed (sm) more than 1,400 years ago.

Pilgrims will spend the day in prayers and meditation in Mina, sleeping at night in tents before heading further south to Mount Arafat.

The hajj climaxes on Tuesday, when the faithful will spend the day praying and asking God's forgiveness at the summit.

Among this year's pilgrims is Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the first President of the Islamic Republic to take part in the event.

"If I made a mistake or in one of my speeches or said something that was not in line with the interest of the nation and has hurt the nation or I was not able to defend its rights, then I ask people to forgive me," Ahmadinejad said late Sunday before his departure, Iranian state media reported.

He will join other pilgrims in carrying out a series of sacred rituals, which includes walking counter-clockwise seven times around the Kaaba.

Ahmadinejad's presence is seen as helping to ease the sometimes rocky relations between largely-Shiite Iran and Sunni-dominated Saudi Arabia.

The pilgrimage, which ends on Friday, is one of the five pillars of Islam and is an obligation for all able-bodied Muslims at least once during their lives if they can afford it.

Staff Reporter

The Election Commission (EC), like the Anti-corruption Commission, has been appointing panel of lawyers to deal with the EC related cases. As part of the effort, the Commission has already appointed eminent jurist Dr Kamal Hossain and rest of the lawyers of the panel will be appointed after the Holy Eid-ul-Azha.

Briefing journalists at his office, Election Commissioner Brig Gen (Retd) M Sakhawat Hossain yesterday said Dr Kamal Hossain, who is also the President of Gano Forum, a political party, was not given appointment on political consideration.

"He (Dr Kamal) will conduct the election related cases in accordance with the laws," the Election Commissioner said adding, he has been given appointment, as he is an internationally reputed lawyer.

Explaining the reason behind appointing the lawyers, he said the Attorney General pleads cases as a government lawyer. But the EC has decided to appoint panel of lawyers since it is an independent body.

Sakhawat Hossain said the next phase of dialogue with political parties on electoral reforms might be held separately if they do not want to sit together. He however, said that decision in this regard is yet to be taken.

Replying to a question, he said he does not think that the electron road map would be hampered if the political dialogue were not ended in time.

The Election Commissioner said the work of preparing voter list with photographs in the city would be carried out till 15th January instead of December 31, so that nobody is dropped from the list due to performing the holly hajj and celebrating the Eid-ul-Azha in the village home.

The Election Commission remains cautious always so that nobody is dropped from the voter list, he said.

He, however, said if anybody is dropped from the list he or she would have to enlist themselves by their own imitative.

He said Internet server will be available at Upazila and Thana level and anyone eligible person would be able to a voter after making communication with them.

Replying to another question Sakhawat Hossain said the commission would take decision on holding dialogue with the BNP in accordance with the directives of the court since the matter lies with the court.

He hoped that the dialogue with political parties would end by March next year.

Staff Reporter

The Advisers Committee on Public Purchase at a meeting yesterday approved a proposal for procurement of 74,000 metric tonnes of rice and 33,000 tonnes of wheat from local suppliers.

According to the proposal placed by the Food Ministry at the meeting, the local traders will supply the rice at rates between Tk 26.77 and Tk 27.95 per kg from their imported stock while wheat at rates between Tk 30.68 and Tk 30.88 per kg.

The price of the 74,000 metric tons of rice will be Tk 203.38 crore while that of the 33,000 tons of wheat Tk 101.46 crore.

Earlier on December 10, the Purchase Committee approved a proposal for procurement of 43,000 metric tons of rice at a cost of Tk 115.52 crore.

After the meeting yesterday, Finance Adviser Dr AB Mirza Azizul Islam told journalists that the private sector traders have already imported the rice and wheat.

"We are procuring directly from them to save time as normal import takes at least 45 days to complete tender procedures," he said.

Food Ministry officials said the purchase of rice and wheat is part of the government efforts to build up a good stock of foodgrains to tackle any emergency situation.

Earlier, the Food Adviser has said the government was trying to procure huge foodgrains from different sources to meet the demands in the days ahead.

As part of the move, the Food Ministry has already announced its plan to import 5 lakh tons of rice from neighbouring India and other countries.

The Cabinet Purchase Committee also sent back two proposals of the Power Ministry, one for rehabilitation of unit-4 and 5 of the Karnaphuli Hydropower plant and another for setting up eight rental-basis private power plants having a total of 300 MW power generation capacity.

About sending back the two proposals, Mirza Azizul Islam said these two projects need further review, as available infrastructure and fuel were not ready for the rental project.

UNB, Dhaka

UK's Secretary of State for International Development Douglas Alexander MP arrives here on Tuesday to visit Bangladesh's Sidr-hit areas.

Alexander will visit the cyclone-affected areas to see the practical impact of the UK's $14 million relief assistance for the cyclone victims to reconstruct their lives and livelihoods, said a DFID press release on Monday.

"I, like many in the UK, was deeply saddened by the loss of lives and the devastation caused to Bangladesh by Cyclone Sidr. We salute the resilience of the Bangladeshi people in the face of adversity," he said.

"As friends of Bangladesh, the UK will continue to support both the immediate relief effort and the long-term measures to rebuild and earn livelihoods and protect against the impact of future disasters," he added.

The UK envoy will also call on the Foreign Affairs Adviser and the Finance Adviser to discuss the UK's development relationship with Bangladesh and the caretaker government's progress on the roadmap to elections before the end of 2008.

Besides, he will visit slum sites which are being transformed by the new DFID-supported 'Urban Partnership for Poverty Reduction' programme.

His short visit will conclude with a press conference on Wednesday. MP Alexander previously visited Bangladesh in December 2004 in capacity of Minister of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

AFP, Geneva

Record numbers of journalists have been killed around the world this year, with at least 110 dying in 27 countries, the media defence group Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) said Monday.

"This year's tally represents a 14 percent increase over the 2006 figure," said Secretary-General Blaise Lempen. "It is unacceptable. We strongly condemn these acts of violence."

About two thirds of the deaths this year took place in major conflict zones, such as Iraq, Somalia, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan and the Democratic Republic of Congo, according to the PEC study.

For the fifth straight year Iraq ranked as the most dangerous place for the media, with 50 journalists killed this year.

At least 250 journalists have died since the US-led invasion of Iraq in March 2003, said Lempen.

"The situation in Iraq represents an unprecedented situation of collective slaughter and punishment of members of the media profession," said a PEC statement.

It added: "Somalia comes second to Iraq which witnesses a brutal deterioration in the security conditions for the profession, 8 journalists killed this year against one last year."

Sri Lanka followed with seven reporters becoming victims of its civil war; and five journalist were killed in Pakistan.

Violence in Afghanistan and the Philippines took the lives of four members of the press in each country.

The PEC, founded in June 2004 by a group of journalists from several countries based in Geneva, aims to strengthen the legal protection and safety of journalists in zones of conflict and civil unrest.

It has attracted support from some 35 associations in 100 countries for its fight for an international convention that would specifically protect journalists in conflict zones.

Staff Reporter

Five more bodies of construction workers, trapped under the debris of the collapsed multi-storied Rangs Bhaban at the city’s Bijoy Sarani, were found yesterday, raising the death toll to ten from the tragic incident.

The rescuers of Fire Service and Civil Defence recovered three bodies from the debris of concretes at the 3rd floor till late evening yesterday and sent them to the Dhaka Medical College Hospital morgue in coffins for postmortems.

The work for recovering two bodies were going on till late at night removing the debris.

Witnessing the bodies, the relatives of the workers burst into tears. They were waiting for receiving the bodies in front of the Rangs Bhaban.

The 22-storied building collapsed from the 14th floor to the 3rd floor at about 10:30pm on December 10 last while the workers were preparing to retire for the night.

Earlier, five decomposed bodies of four workers were recovered by rescuers from the Rangs Bhaban.