The New Nation - Internet Edition

Staff Reporter

Against the backdrop of overt criticism from all corners on the failure of the government to halt soaring price of rice, the state functionaries yesterday decided to launch a series of programmes including open market sale of rice within a short time.

The Government's Planning and Monitoring Committee on food took the decision yesterday at a meeting with Food Adviser Tapan Chowdhury in the chair.

Committee members Finance Adviser AB Mirza Azizul Islam and LGRD Adviser Anwarul Iqbal were present, among others, at the meeting held at the Planning Ministry.

The programme also includes the selling of 15,000 tonnes of rice by Bangladesh Rifles at subsidised rate. Another 5,000 tonnes of rice will be provided for the workers at closed mills in Khulna.

The BDR will sell rice at Tk 25 per kg through its outlets. They will be provided rice at Tk 24 per kg.

"People are suffering. We are trying to do something for them," Tapan Chowdhury told newsmen after the meeting.

On the other hand, Food and Disaster Management Ministry yesterday has issued two separate tenders to import 50,000 tonnes of non-basmati preboiled and 50,000 tonnes of white rice from Thailand to meet the emergency needs.

At the same time the Ministry also issued a tender to import 50,000 tonnes of wheat to meet local demand.

The tenders were floated after India's decision to raise the minimum export price of rice to US$500 from US$425.

Both the tenders will close on January 16, with validity up to February 5, for shipment within 30 days of the date of signing of the contract.

The price quotation has to be quoted separate for Chittagong and Mongla ports, cost, insurance and freight including stevedoring on the sellers' account, at both the ends of the shipment.

The country is facing shortage of 1.7 million tonnes of rice following the two phases of floods and the devastating cyclone Sidr.

Mounting the sufferings of middle and lower income group of people, prices of rice have been increasing for the last couple of weeks. Prices of coarse rice reached at Tk 30 to Tk 32 per kg within a short span of time.

Market survey shows, a kg of low-quality coarse rice was selling at Tk 30 to Tk 32 and high-quality Najirshail variety up to Tk 48 and Miniket Tk 46 in the city yesterday. Before Eid, a kg of coarse rice was sold at Tk 27 and Najirshail rice at Tk 40.

Survey also shows that per kg of Swarna and Pari rice is selling at Tk 30 and Paijam at Tk 31 per kg on Tuesday, which was selling at Tk 27 before Eid-ul- Fitr.

According to the Trading Corporation of Bangladesh, the price of rice rose by 11.6 per cent over the month.

A month ago, the prices of medium-quality Najirshail and Miniket were between Tk 32 and Tk 35 and those of high-quality Najirshail and Miniket between Tk 33 and Tk 37. Now those are selling between Tk 35 and Tk 42, the TCB said.

According to the TCB statistics Tuesday, the prices of medium-quality Paijam and Lata were Tk 29 and Tk 30 while high-quality Paijam and Lata Tk 30 and Tk 32.

Staff Reporter

Agitated by sudden closure of their factory and the recent death of a female colleague, about 1,000 garment workers yesterday blocked vehicular movement on Mirpur-Agargaon road as they held a sit-in demonstration on the busy Rokeya Smarani till 4:30pm from 9:00am.

Thousands of residents of Mirpur, Sheorapara and Pallabi thanas had to face a serious problem on their way to and from the main city as the sit-in strike that generated heavy traffic jam on both sides of Rokeya Smarani and some other roads as those had to experienc additional traffic pressure.

Witnesses said the enraged garments workers withdrew their agitation at 4:30pm after announcing fresh action programmes to realise their demands. The vehicular movement on the road remained suspended till the programme concluded.

The workers of SQ Garments at Shewrapara began the sit-in at 9:00 in the morning to realise various demands, including immediate reopening of the closed garment factory.

Later, as workers from other adjoining garment factories joined the demonstration, several hundred vehicles got stranded on both sides of the road causing severe traffic jam.

Police quoting local sources said the garment workers had been demanding for long the withdrawal of night shift, increase of tiffin allowance and compensation to the family of a female worker, Salma, 22, of Pabna, who fell sick on Monday while on duty and later died at Dhaka Medical College Hospital.

The workers said Salma had been working in the factory for the last few weeks with serious ailment, since the management did not grant her leave despite repeated appeals.

Witnesses said the workers burst into anger when they came to join work in the morning and found the factory closed without any prior notice.

At one stage, several hundred workers of the factory took to the street at about 9:00am chanting slogans against the highhandedness of the management and halted vehicular movement on the road.

BGMEA Joint Secretary Mansur Khaled visited the scene to persuade the agitated workers to lift the sit-in assuring them of looking into their grievances, but had to leave in the face of rage of the workers. He also had discussion with the factory management that remained evasive of the workers demand.

On information, police rushed to the spot and the law enforcers tried to disperse the agitated workers.

Kafrul thana Officer-in-Charge (O/C) M Akram Hossain said 11 platoons of police have been deployed in the area to avert any untoward incident.

BGMEA Vice-President Ferdous Parvez Bivon, in a statement yesterday, called upon the agitated workers to sit for talks and shun demonstration.

DMP DC (Mirpur) Anwar Hossain, who visited the spot, identified that the agitated workers' had no leadership and they were making different demands at different times, making conciliatory solution impossible.

However, BGMEA sources said they would resolve the problem today through a tripartite negotiation that would include the demonstrators and the factory management.

Staff Reporter

The Government cannot assure any immediate relief from rice price hike but has many things to do to control the situation in order to reduce consumers' suffering, said Finance and Planning Adviser Dr A B Mirza Azizul Islam yesterday.

"It is hard reality that the current rice price hike is not possible to control immediately due to higher rate in the international market. But I am not ready to admit that the Government has nothing to do over the soaring price. The government is trying its best to keep the rice prices at a stable level," he said.

According to him, the Government already has undertaken several steps to ease consumers' sufferings with immediate effect. Additional 15000 tons rice allocation to BDR conducted fair-price shops, VGF cards and decision to introduce Open Market Sale (OMS) across the country are among the preventive steps," he added.

Moreover, all District Commissioners (DC's) have been directed to sit with the local businessmen to ensure swift transportation of rice he told reporters after attending the inaugural session of a national seminar on 'Monga' at the Palli Karma-Sahayak Foundation (PKSF) auditorium.

Responding to a question, Dr Aziz said it would not be a wise decision to waive all duties. "If we do that, the country will suffer a deficit financing that means the economy will get an adverse effect," he said.

"We all have to keep the fact in mind that increasing price of food products, rice in particular, is a current and vital issue in all over the world. It is our misfortune that natural disasters like Sidr and two consecutive floods damaged our crops last year," said Food and Disaster Management Adviser Tapan Chowdhury.

Moreover, price hike by India has put us into even worst situation. But present government is trying its best to make the situation normal, but it will take little time, he ended.

PKSF and Institute of Microfinance (InM) organised the seminar where Agriculture Adviser Dr CS Karim was present as special guest. PKSF and InM chairman Dr Wahiduddin Mahmud chaired the opening session.

UNB, Dhaka

A roundtable here on Wednesday called upon donors to provide aid for trade-related infrastructure projects like power plants and road construction as traditional donors are likely to incrementally increase their aid for trade.

It also urged the government to immediately constitute a national committee on aid for trade to work on getting a better share of the aid-cake as well as adopt a foreign aid policy statement in consistent with the new PRSP to make donors clear about the priority areas of aid.

"Put up big-billing projects under the Aid for Trade projects," Bangladesh's permanent representative in Geneva Dr Debapriya Bhattacharya told the roundtable at Sonargaon Hotel.

Addressing as guest speaker, he said the second Dhaka-Chittagong highway could be one of the classic examples of Aid for Trade projects.

UNDP Bangladesh organised the roundtable titled "Real Trade and Phantom Aid: Bangladesh in Global Context" with UNDP country director Manoj Basnyat as moderator.

Former Finance Adviser Dr Akbar Ali Khan, Bangladesh Enterprise Institute (BEI) president Farooq Sobhan, economists, academics, trade experts and researchers took part in the discussion.

Dr Bhattachariya floated a new idea to mutually reinforce exports and ODA (Official Development Assistance) as a strategy to accelerate the country's economic growth.

Though the idea drew widespread skepticism from the participants, he argued that the trade and aid did not go hand in hand in the past but that does not mean that it will not go in the future.

Dr Akbar Ali Khan, also a former finance secretary, termed the idea as a "terrible recommendation" as he posed a question whether the donors will be willing to provide aid for infrastructure like power plants and road construction.

He told the Ambassador to tell the donors "please give us aid to develop infrastructure as we cannot export and import without the infrastructure."

Dr Debapriya pointed out that Bangladesh greatly improved its external sector performance by moving away from aid dependence through greater exports of goods and services.

He said the country has not received incremental aid flow while there has been an aggregate increase in global aid flow. On the other hand, LDCs in varying degrees have increased its share in global exports, albeit marginally, with Bangladesh's share in LDC exports in manufacturers falling.

"As both aid and trade can have independent positive influence on economic growth, Bangladesh will have to look for synergy of both the stimuli which is currently not addressed adequately," he added.

He said areas under trade facilitation and aid for trade need to be identified for accruing maximum benefit and becoming internationally competitive.

The Bangladesh Envoy to Geneva also pointed out that the next 3-4 months would be very crucial for Bangladesh in negotiating market access issues, including the US bill titled "The New Partnership Development Act of 2007" (NPDA) to be placed in the US Congress.

"We'll have to wait for 1-2 years unless we can negotiate the issues in next 3-4 months," he said, adding that the US authorities would work for their domestic trade protection ahead of their November elections.

Replying to a question whether it is possible to get the NPDA bill passed, He said: "Our main task is to put our best efforts… but the passage of the bill depends on the USA."

A meeting of the ditors of the leading national daily newspapers was held at the National Press Club on Wednesday, January 2.

Presided over by Mahbubul Alam, Editor of the Independent, it was attended by Matiur Rahman, Editor of Prothom Alo. Shafiq Rehman, Editor of JaiJaiDin, Rezauddin Ahmed, Editor of News Today. Golam Sarwar, Editor of Jugantor. Amanullah Kabir, Editor of Amar Desh, AMM Bahauddin, Editor of Inqilab. Alamgir Mohiuddin, Editor of Naya Diganta, Iqbal Sobhan Chowdhury, Editor of Bangladesh Observer, Abul Asad, Editor of Sangram, Matiur Rahman Chowdhury, Editor of Manabjamin,

Nayeemul Islam Khan, Editor of Amader Somoy, Nurul Kabir, Editor of New Age, Mostafa Kamal Majumdar, Editor of The New Nation. M Shyamal Dutta, Editor of Bhorer Kagoj, Abdul Baten, Editor of Dinkal and Mr. Shawkat Mahmud, Editor of Weekly Economic Times.

The editors discussed the situation prevailing in the print and electronic media, particularly those related to flow and rate of advertisements, irregular payment of advertisment bills by the advertisers and advertising agencies problems in collecting bills of Government advertisements and overall freedom of the press.

The meeting formed a steering committee with Mahbubul Alam as its convener and Mr. Amanullah Kabir and Motiur Rahman Chowdhury as joint convenors. The members of the committee are Messrs Matiur Rahman, Reazuddin Ahmed, Iqbal Sobhan Chowdhury, Golam Sarwar, Nayeemul Islam Khan, Abul Asad and Faridur Reza Sagor, Chairman and MD of Channel I.

The steering committee will discuss the issues affecting the print and electonic media with the authorities concerned in both the government and private sector.

UNB, Dhaka

A group of 12 teachers of the Dhaka University belonging to the Blue Panel yesterday met with Vice-chancellor Prof. SMA Faiz and discussed matters relating to the release of four teachers

detained in the wake of August 20-22 unrest on the campus. The meeting of pro-Awami League teachers' panel with the VC continued for about an hour.

Coming out of the meeting, Prof. Akhteruzzaman told reporters that they wanted to know the outcome of his Tuesday's meeting with their rivals of the Pro-BNP White Panel. They also discussed the reason for delay in setting free the detained teachers and students in spite of the government pledge.

The Education Adviser had earlier promised to release them within 15 days that ended on December 23.

Prof. Akhteruzzaman further said they urged the VC that he should not allow his good office to misuse by any particular section. The VC has ensured them that he would be careful in future in holding meeting

representing all sections of the teachers.

About the statement of white panel claiming pro-Awami League blue panel wanted to make the campus unstable on the issue of detained teachers and students, Prof Akhteruzzaman said the 'allegation is rude, bad and irresponsible'. They should refrain from making such allegation.

He quoted the VC telling them as "the government is very positive regarding release of detained teachers and students."

Court Correspondent

A court of Dhaka yesterday received the murder case filed against 13 Jamaat leaders including Moulana Matiur Rahman Nizami, Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mujahid and Abdul Kader Mollah with Keranigonj Thana of Dhaka.

Accepting the case, Magistrate Ashiqul Khabir of CMM Court fixed January 30 for submission of the inquiry report.

The accused had allegedly killed freedom fighter Golam Mostafa, nephew of Muzaffar Ahmed Khan, Convener, Dhaka District unit of Freedom Fighters' Command in Keraniganj during the War of Liberation.

Meanwhile, another Dhaka court yesterday sentenced 3 persons to 5 years rigorous imprisonment (RI) and fine of Taka 5000 each in default another 3 months RI. The convicts are Md Aminul Islam alias Liton alias Lt Col. Humayun Kabir, Ahsanul Habib and Shahjahan Kabir Shiplu.

The accused allegedly took extortion money from different persons on different occasions in 2007 in disguise as Lt. Col. of the Army. The accused demanded extortion of Taka 200,000 from former MP SA Khaleque of the city, while they took Taka 500,000 as extortion from former State Minister for Health Mizanur Rahman Sinha.

Mohammad Shafiul Azam, Judge of Metropolitan Special Tribunal 12 of Dhaka examined the deposition of 17 witnesses to deliver the verdict.

Staff Reporter

Expressing grave concern over the incredible price spiral of food grains, leaders of different political parties, including the BNP and Awami League, yesterday urged the Government to effectively intervene in the market to reduce the price of rice.

Taking to journalists separately, they suggested the Government to tap all avenues to address food shortage and build up emergency food stock both from the foreign and domestic sources.

Some of them recommended the Government to import rice and wheat through on the spot tender bypassing the official purchase manual in order to prevent food crisis in the country while some others called for massive OMS of rice at a subsidised rate.

Meanwhile, Acting Awami League (AL) President Zillur Rahman has called upon the Government to hold dialogue with political parties in order to find a solution to the staggering price hike of essentials, specially rice and wheat.

"The government should hold talks with political parties, except Jamaat. And we will join the talks only when Jamaat will be left out," he said at his Gulshan residence after exchanging views with leaders of Bangabandhu Shishu Kishore Parishad, a front organisation of the AL.

BNP Acting Secretary General and former Commerce Minister Major (retd) Hafizuddin Ahmed and AL Presidium member and former Food and Agriculture Minister Begum Matia Chowdhury, however, were critical of Food and Disaster Management Adviser Tapan Chowdhury for his reported remark that the Government had nothing to do about the price hike of food grains.

BNP Acting Secretary General Major Hafiz said the Government couldn't shun its responsibility about abnormal behaviour of the market.

"The Government has to solve the price hike of rice and wheat…for it is their duty and there is no way for them to escape it," he said, suggesting the Government to import food grains on deferred payment and on the spot tender by passing the official purchase manual.

The former Commerce Minister also requested the Government to collect food grains from private importers to build an emergency food stock immediately.

AL Presidium member Begum Matia Chowdhury urged the Government to go for massive foodstuffs' OMS along with VGF, VGD and test relief programmes to reduce the market price of rice and wheat.

She wondered that the Government did not act on time to build food stock after the failure of the boro harvest and two successive floodings, when there was time to import rice at an affordable price.

She, however, acknowledged that the crop damage caused by the super cyclone Sidr was sudden and devastated.

Urging the Government to take all out effort to reduce food price, the former Food and Agriculture Minister advised the Advisers of the Caretaker Government to refrain from making such comments, which would encourage stockiest to manipulate the market.

Leaders of the Left Democratic Front, CPB, Workers Party, BSD (Khaleque), Islami Oikya Jote (Aminee) and National Peoples' Party in separate statement urged the Government to go for massive open market sale (OMS) of rice at a subsidised rate immediately.

BSS, Dhaka

Advisers for Foreign and Agriculture Dr Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury and Dr CS Karim yesterday held a meeting at the foreign ministry with envoys from six countries to discuss possibilities of importing fertilizers.

Russian ambassador Gennadi P Trotsenko, Chinese ambassador Zheng Qingdian, UAE ambassador Khalfan Battal Ali Al Mansouri, Moroccan ambassador Mohammad Hirouro, Saudi Arabian Charge d'Affaires Sami Hindi and Qatar Charge d'Affaires Mohammad Al Tamimi attended the meeting.

Talking to reporters after the meeting, the foreign adviser said there is an adequate stock of fertilizer. Even then enough stock of fertilizer is needed for the coming Boro season. That was the reason behind inviting the ambassadors from fertilizer exporting countries at the meeting. The need for the fertilizer was explained to them, he said.

The agriculture adviser said the ambassadors were informed about Bangladesh needs for 100,000 tonnes of TSP and an equal amount of murate of potash. Reiterating that there was no shortfall in fertilizer, the adviser said adding the government wants to ensure that in future there should be an adequate stock of fertilizer.

UNB, Dhaka

The Supreme Court set January 10 for order on the Anti-Corruption Commission plea seeking leave to appeal against High Court judgment declaring illegal the ACC notice asking detained former prime minister Sheikh Hasina to submit her wealth statement.

A seven-member full hierarchy of the apex court headed by Chief Justice M Ruhul Amin, after hearing both sides Wednesday, fixed the date for order as to whether it would allow or dismiss the ACC petition.

On November 21, last year, the High Court, following a writ petition, had declared 'illegal' and 'without lawful authority' the ACC notice asking Hasina to submit her statement of wealth under the ongoing purge against corruption.

The High Court in its observation dismissed the ACC action as illegal as it did not conform to the rules prescribed under the ACC Act.

Before serving such a valid notice, it requires inquiry, investigation and material support against the allegation for satisfaction to the commission, but nothing has been followed, the HC judgment observed.

On July 17 last year, a day after her arrest in an extortion case, the ACC, through the jail authority, served notice on Hasina to submit her wealth statement as part of its initiative to find out whether there is any ground for filing graft case against her.

An aggrieved Hasina had filed a writ petition with the High Court challenging the legality of the ACC notice, and won the legal battle.

Attorney General Fida M Kamal, the top law officer of the government, appeared for the ACC while Barrister Rafique-ul Huq stood for Hasina, also president of Awami League.

AFP, Paris

At least 86 journalists were killed around the world in 2007, the highest number since 1994, with Iraq, Somalia and Pakistan topping the list of most dangerous places, according to a report released Wednesday by Reporters Without Borders (RSF).

Scores of journalists faced kidnapping, arrest and mass censorship, while dozens of cyber-dissidents were put behind bars, as governments clamped down on press freedom, the Paris-based watchdog reported.

More than half of those killed last year--48--were journalists from the Middle East and Africa, while 17 came from Asia, 12 from Africa, seven from the Americas and two from Europe and the former Soviet Union.

Twenty media assistants were also killed in connection with their work, compared to 32 last year.

Iraq remained the world's deadliest country for the press, with 47 journalists killed-all but one of them Iraqis-taking the overall toll among media workers to 207 since the US-led invasion in March 2003.

"No country has ever seen more journalists killed than Iraqt more than in the Vietnam War, the fighting in ex-Yugoslavia, the massacres in Algeria or the Rwanda genocide," RSF said.

It charged that the Iraqi "government displayed alarming inertia" in the face of the violence and called on both Iraqi and US authorities to "take firm steps to end these attacks."

Somalia was the second deadliest country for the press, with eight journalists killed as fighting pitted Islamist militants against Somalia's transitional government and its ally Ethiopia.

Six journalists were killed in Pakistan, where RSF said suicide attacks and heavy fighting between the army and Islamist militants partly accounted for the deaths.

The annual death toll among journalists has well over doubled since 2002, reaching its highest level since the record violence of 1994, when 103 journalists were killed, nearly half of them in the Rwandan genocide.

According to RSF, 90 percent of all such killings habitually go unpunished.

Agencies, Islamabad

President Musharraf Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf has said UK investigators are to assist in the inquiry into the assassination of opposition leader Benazir Bhutto.

In a televised address, he said UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown had agreed to send a team of detectives from London to help establish what happened.

He said "terrorists" were behind the murder, and described Ms Bhutto's death as a "great tragedy" for the nation.

Elections set for next week in Pakistan have been postponed until 18 February.

Musharraf said too much damage had been done to polling stations and voter papers during the violence in the wake of Bhutto's assassination last Thursday.

"Election commission offices, their centres, polling stations and their equipment were all damaged and destroyed. Hence the election commission was facing a big difficulty to hold these elections," he said.

Speaking shortly after the president's address, Bhutto's widower, Asif Ali Zardari, welcomed Britain's involvement in the investigation into her killing, but he repeated earlier calls for a wider, UN inquiry.

He confirmed the Pakistan People's Party would take part in the elections.

"It is the legacy of our leader Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto to participate in elections, no matter what the circumstances," he said

The main opposition parties say they will take part, despite having demanded the election be held as originally planned on 8 January.

They have accused officials of seeking to rig the elections.

The vote is seen as a crucial move towards democratic rule under President Musharraf, an important ally in the US-led "war on terror" who stood down as army chief in November.

Pakistani elections will be delayed until Feb. 18 because of violence following the assassination of Benazir Bhutto, authorities said Wednesday, ignoring threatened street protests by opposition parties.

The polls - seen as a key step in Pakistan's transition to democracy after years of military rule - had been scheduled for Jan. 8.

The opposition alleged authorities are postponing the polls to help the ruling party, which is allied to President Pervez Musharraf. Many believe Bhutto's party will get a sympathy boost if the vote takes place on time. Bhutto had accused elements in the ruling party of plotting to kill her, a charge it vehemently denies.

Some opposition officials had called for street protests if the elections were delayed.

"We reject this delay outright," said Sen. Babar Awan of Bhutto's party, the most powerful opposition group. "Musharraf fears outright defeat. If this election process is jeopardized, they (our followers) may protest again and there is a chance of riots."