The New Nation - Internet Edition

'Manik struggled for democracy till his death’

A citizens meeting was held yesterday at the Central
Shaheed Minar to condole the death of Saifuddin Ahmed Manik.
Banglar Chokh

Staff Reporter

The veteran politician Saifuddin Ahmed Manik is etched in our history, as he played vital role in different democratic and progressive movements including the Liberation War, speakers said at a civic mourning meeting at the premises of the Central Shaheed Minar in the city yesterday.

Reminiscing the politician's golden life and works, the speakers said he never adopted any unethical or corrupt means in this polluted and corrupt political atmosphere.

Awami League leaders Tofail Ahmed, Abdur Razzak, Gano Forum President Dr Kamal Hossain, CPB President Manzurul Ahsan Khan, Barrister Amirul Islam, Chairperson of Bangladesh Mahila Parished Ayesha Khanam, Saifuddin's daughters Joya and Geeta, Cultural personal Ramandra Majumdar and Ajoy Roy participated in the meeting presided over by Prof Dr Anisuzzaman.

The speakers said Saifuddin Manik would cherish an exploitation and corruption free society. He is a role model for the politicians, they added.

Abdur Razzak said he led a simple life and struggled for democracy till his death. He is to be followed by the politicians of the country, he added.

He also said though he would protest against every unfair and illegal means, he did not violate the limits.

Dr Kamal Hossain said our politicians could lead their lives imbuing his honest and glorious role in the politics since the 60s.

Saying that the country faced irreparable loss at his death, the leaders said his efforts for making exploitation free society would remain ever memorable.

He, who was General Secretary of the Trade Union during the Ershad's autocratic regime, also struggled for the well being of the workers.

He was sport and culture organiser side by side an honest workers' and political leader who is needed for the well being of the nation.

Reshuffle at secretary level

UNB, Dhaka

A number of top government officials have been transferred and given new postings in another important reshuffle in the administration.

Secretary of Labour and Employment Ministry Ashfaq Hamid has been made secretary of Bangladesh Jatiya Sangsad Secretariat, secretary of Bangladesh Jatiya Sangsad Secretariat ATM Ataur Rahman made OSD (secretary) of Establishment Ministry, secretary of CHT Affairs Ministry Mohammad Abdus Sabur appointed member of Bangladesh Privatization Commission, and chief Insurance Controller of Life Insurance Department Dr Mahfuzul Haque made acting secretary of Labour and Employment ministry, said a handout today.

It said additional secretary of Economic Relations Division Mohammad Shahidul Haque has been made acting secretary of CHT Affairs Ministry, additional secretary of Agriculture Ministry Dr Syed Naquib Muslim made acting chairman of Bangladesh Tariff Commission, additional secretary of Agriculture Ministry CQK Mushtaque Ahmed made acting secretary of Liberation War Affairs Ministry and chairman of Bangladesh Land Port Authority Aftab Hasan transferred to Agriculture Ministry as additional secretary.

Govt firm to hold elections by Dec

UNB, Khulna

Home Affairs Adviser Major General (retd) MA Matin Saturday reaffirmed the government's commitment to hold the national election by December this year as per the Election Commission's roadmap and "if possible there will be polls before that timeline".

"To hold a credible election, work on preparing the voter list with photographs is going on in full-swing and registration of 3.30 crore voters has already been completed," he said.

Matin was addressing a meeting with officials of Khulna division, including the Deputy Commissioners and Police Supers and other seniors officials of police, at the Circuit House here on Saturday.

The Adviser said the government is working for building a corruption-free society, establishing good governance, transparency and accountability in every sector, curbing terrorism and developing the country's economy alongside its work for holding a free and acceptable election.

"There has been a tremendous progress in this regard and people have already started getting its results," Matin told the meeting. He said the government has achieved a success in curbing the all-pervasive corruption as corrupt people have returned their ill-gotten money amounting to Tk 753 crore to the national exchequer. Matin said the number of taxpayers has also increased in the country due to the government's tax-net-widening drive and the capital city alone has got 24,000 new taxpayers.

He said some 33,000 acres of khas land has been reclaimed since this government assumed power.

McCain challenges Democratic rivals on Iraq war

Reuters, USA

Sen. John McCain, his victory as Republican nominee for the U.S. presidency virtually assured, turned his sights on his Democratic challengers on Friday, saying they were weak on national security and their Iraq stance would hand al Qaeda a victory.

McCain's remarks, and the response from Democratic presidential contenders Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, pushed Iraq war policy back to center stage in the presidential race after weeks of focus on the faltering U.S. economy. Speaking to reporters after a security round-table meeting in Norfolk, Virginia, the home of a major U.S. naval base, McCain accused Obama and Clinton of wanting to set a date for withdrawing U.S. troops from Iraq.

"I believe that would have catastrophic consequences," said the Arizona senator, a former Navy pilot and prisoner of war in Vietnam. "I believe that al Qaeda would trumpet to the world that they had defeated the United States of America, and I believe that therefore they would try to follow us home."

He said the two Democrats, who have both pledged to quickly begin removing troops from Iraq if they are elected, had a "fundamental misunderstanding" of the issues at stake and would not admit the U.S. strategy to reduce violence had worked. "They even refuse to acknowledge that. That I think is going to be a major issue in this campaign," said McCain, who criticized the military cutbacks under the past two administrations and said the armed forces needed to be expanded dramatically to ease the burden on those serving now.

McCain was virtually assured the Republican presidential nomination on Thursday after his chief rival withdrew, leaving former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, who is trailing far behind, as his main challenger.

DEMOCRATS STRIKE BACK

The Obama and Clinton camps, campaigning in Washington state ahead of Saturday's new round of state-by-state contests to choose Republican and Democratic candidates for the November election, fired back at McCain while arguing they were best suited to run against him.

Obama, an Illinois senator who would be the first black U.S. president, told a Seattle news conference the maverick Arizona senator, who has had trouble rallying the support of the Republican Party's conservative base, had been wrong in his support of the Iraq war.

Four US states will hold primaries and caucuses on Saturday, the first polls since this week's Super Tuesday votes.

Democratic presidential hopefuls Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton remain neck and neck and have been continuing their dogged campaigning for every vote.

Analysts say though none of these polls will be decisive, they will indicate if either received a Super Tuesday bounce.

For the Republicans John McCain has a strong lead over his remaining rivals Mike Huckabee and Ron Paul.

The BBC's James Coomarasamy says McCain has the Republican party's nomination for the White House virtually sewn up, especially after Mitt Romney suspended his presidential campaign on Thursday.

Next Votes

Saturday: Louisiana and Washington state (multi-party); Nebraska (Democratic); Kansas (Republican); US Virgin Islands (Democratic)

Sunday: Maine (Democratic)

Tuesday: Maryland, Virginia and Washington DC (multi-party)

The Republican party is holding votes in Washington, Louisiana and Kansas on Saturday.

Going into the votes McCain has a wide lead with 719 delegates, Huckabee 198 and Paul 14.

Mr Romney's suspended campaign still has 298 delegates.

On the Democratic side, Obama and Mrs Clinton are facing the prospect of a long drawn-out battle after neither was able to deliver a knock out blow in Super Tuesday's 22 state contests.

Fight for funds

The two Democrats face four state contests on Saturday - primaries in Louisiana and Kansas, and caucuses in Washington state and Nebraska. There is also a primary in the US Virgin Islands.

Results so Far

Democratic Party:

Hillary Clinton: 1055 delegates, 13 states

Barack Obama: 998 delegates, 15 states

Republican Party:

John McCain: 719 delegates, 12 states

Mike Huckabee: 198 delegates, 6 states

Ron Paul: 14 delegates, 0 states

14 killed in suicide blast at Pak election rally

AFP, Peshawar

A suspected suicide blast ripped through an election rally held by an opposition party in northwestern Pakistan on Saturday, killing 14 people and wounding 24, the interior minister said.

The attack happened at a rally of the Awami National Party (ANP), an ethnic Pashtun nationalist party, in the town of Charsadda in North West Frontier Province, Interior Minister Hamid Nawaz said.

The bombing has further raised fears for the security of general elections on February 18, which have already been delayed by the assassination of opposition leader Benazir Bhutto at a rally in December.

"Most probably it was a suicide attack," Nawaz told Dawn News television. "It was very close to the stage but all the ANP leaders who were there were not harmed."

Interior ministry spokesman Brigadier Javed Cheema also confirmed the death toll. "Fourteen people were killed and 24 wounded in an apparent suicide attack at an election rally," he told AFP.

A suicide bombing at a mosque in Charsadda belonging to former interior minister Aftab Sherpao on December 21 killed at least 54 people.

Election rallies have been sparse since Bhutto's death in a suicide bomb and gun attack in Rawalpindi and after the government issued a "security advisory" for candidates to avoid big gatherings.

Director of private bank arrested

UNB, Dhaka

Police arrested an official of a private bank from Baridhara in the city yesterday.

A team of Gulshan police raided a house at road no-11 of Baridhara and arrested Ahmed Rajib Samdani, Director of City Bank Limited, in the morning.

Officer-in-Charge of Gulshan police station Obaidul Haque said Samdani was arrested following a CR warrant. He was later produced before a court.

Delwar for BNP unity sans Mannan, reform

Staff Reporter

BNP Secretary General Khandaker Delwar Hossain yesterday made it clear that he wants reunification of the party without the top expelled leaders, including his predecessor Abdul Mannan Bhuiyan, and the reform proposals.

Ruling out the possibility of reconciliation with the reformist group of the party, Khandaker Delwar Hossain yesterday at a press conference said, "It will not be possible on my part to reconcile with the reformist BNP faction if they do not scrap the decision taken by the party's National Standing Committee on October 29 last year."

On October 29, 2007, the BNP National Standing Committee at a meeting with M Saifur Rahman in the chair at his Gulshan residence took three decisions-1) restoration of membership of expelled Secretary General Abdul Mannan Bhuiyan, Joint Secretary General Ashraf Hossain and Office Secretary Mofiqul Hasan Triptee, 2) appointed Saifur Rahman as Acting Chairman and Major (retd) Hafizuddin Ahmed as Acting Secretary General and 3) carry through the reform of the party.

While, the Standing Committee restored Ashraf Hossain and Mofiqul Hasan Triptee's respective party positions it made Mannan Bhuiyan a Standing Committee member. However, Standing Committee member Dr RA Gani, who was present at the meeting, aired his disagreement with its decision two days later and joined the anti-reformist group led by Khandaker Delwar.

Acting BNP Chairman M Saifur Rahman and Acting Secretary General Major Hafi repeatedly announced recently that they were ready to relinquish their respective posts for the sake of the reunification of the party.

Saifur Rahman on Thursday regretted that the unity move could not make headway due to the reluctance of Khandaker Delwar Hossain, who was appointed Secretary General by party Chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia immediately before her arrest. She had also purged Mannan Bhuiyan and Ashraf Hossain simultaneously in a separate order at the same time.

Terming the October 29 meeting of the Standing Committee an 'illegal meeting', Khandaker Delwar Hossain yesterday said any unity with M Saifur Rahman's faction of the party might be possible if they repeal their decisions taken on October 29 meeting.

After the announcements of Saifur Rahman and Major Hafiz that they would relinquish their positions as Acting Chairman and Acting Secretary General for the unity, two decisions remains-1) restoration of Mannan Bhuiyan as a Standing Committee member, Ashraf Hossain and Triptee to their previous positions and the reform agenda-which Khandaker Delwar demanded of the refomrist leaders to repeal before reconciliation.

Delwar Hossain told the press conference at his NAM flat residence that the Government was abusing the emergency powers rules by curbing basic human rights enshrined in the Constitution.

"The emergency is being used as a tool of political torture," he said, protesting the rearrest of party Advisory Council member ASM Hannan Shah and the arratest of Jubo Dal General Secretary Syed Moazzem Hossain Alal, a former MP.

The former Chief Whip said, "Parliament's purpose is to formulate the law. The country cannot run by enacting ordinances outside Parliament."

He pointed to the recent High Court ruling that declared it illegal to try any cases under the emergency powers rules.

Khandaker Delwar also reiterated his call for the release and medical treatment of BNP's senior joint secretary general Tarique Rahman, and brother Arafat Rahman Koko-both in detention.

"Tarique Rahman was tortured in remand. His medical report has proved that," he alleged.

The BNP Secretary General also demanded a probe into the death of Dhaka City Corporation commissioner Md Qayyum Khan, who died in Dhaka Central Jail Friday.

Demanding of the Government to lift the state of emergency, Delwar Hossain said in the name of state of emergency, basic rights of a political party cannot be denied.

He said the state of emergency is already in place for more than a year, which is unprecedented in any democracy.

Besides, he said, the foreign dignitaries who are visiting the country made clear observations about lifting of the emergency and holding the elections quickly to hand over power to elected representatives.

"The present critical situation is gradually deepening," Delwar Hossain said, adding the government must take a positive view about politicians to hold elections as per the roadmap.

He reiterated the demand for the release of the two detained former Prime Ministers Begum Khaleda Zia and Sheikh Hasina, withdrawal of the emergency and lifting restrictions on open politics for the welfare of the country.

Delwar Hossain once again rejected the notion of a national government, saying that it is unconstitutional and BNP does not support it.

Project implementation: Ministries provide wrong information: Dr Aziz

UNB, Dhaka

Finance Adviser Dr Mirza Azizul Islam yesterday said ministries concerned, in some cases, provide inaccurate information on implementation of development projects in an effort to show their better performance.

"A project had reported 65 percent implementation last year, but IMED (Implementation Monitoring and Evaluation Division of Planning Ministry) found only 5-6 percent after examining the necessary accounts," he said.

Dr Aziz came up with the sorry-state of the reporting system at a seminar here and stressed the need for "timely and honest" information on project implementation.

He was responding to a recommendation of (past) performance-based allocation at the seminar on "IMED Strategic Plan", a project undertaken to strengthen result-based monitoring and evaluation, at a city hotel.

Country director of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) Hua Du was, among others, addressed the seminar held with IMED secretary Sk. AK Motahar Hossain in the chair.

The IMED undertook in July last year a two-year project worth Tk 7 crore, including an ADB technical assistance equivalent to Tk 5 crore, to develop a strategic plan of monitoring and evaluation.

It has so far formulated a draft plan recommending result-based allocation of resources. "It's crucial to allocate fund first efficiently and then use it efficiently," Dr Aziz said, adding that the government is determined to ensure better transparency and accountability in public expenditure.

He said getting timely and honest information on development projects is an absolute imperative to ensure transparency and accountability of the public fund. "We've made some progress in this area but lot more needs to be done," he said.

A senior official at the IMED told UNB on the sidelines they found that the project spent only 5-6 percent of the total project cost although they got released 65 percent of the ADP allocation.

There is a practice in implementation of development projects that the ministries have the funds released before the end of the fiscal year, but they implement the projects even beyond that fiscal, he added. "Past performance cannot be the only indicator of resource allocation," the Finance Adviser said, adding, "There is a dilemma."

He said, for instance, there is a need for giving more resources to some areas like health sector despite their poor performance in the past. The government could not provide adequate physicians after developing health infrastructure that resulted in deterioration of the health indicators.

Dr Aziz stressed the need for more data collection, clearly defined performance indicators and looking at the problem of particular project whether it (problem) was caused by external or internal reasons, and the need for communicating the results with the beneficiaries, policymakers and the implementing agencies.

ADB country director Hua Du said the project of strategic plan has made a good start, but it is necessary to push the whole thing forward through inter-agency coordinated efforts.

She also underlined the need for not concluding the efforts immediately after the ADB support to the project ends and suggested taking it as a government document.

Hua Du also urged other donors to come forward with their support to the project to accomplish the objective of ensuring proper monitoring and evaluation of development projects of Bangladesh as well as ensure transparency and accountability of public expenditure.

Fertiliser supply in a mess

UNB, Dhaka

Agriculture Adviser Dr CS Karim yesterday said the caretaker government would provide cash subsidy to the farmers in the middle of the current Boro season to help them reduce their irrigation cost.

He, however, declined to disclose the strategy as to how the cash subsidy would be distributed among the farmers. "Please, wait and see…the government is working on it," he told reporters.

Dr. Karim announced the government plan at a dialogue titled 'Input Strategy for Higher Boro Production', organised by CPD at CIRDAP Auditorium in the city. Chaired by CPD Chairman Prof Rehman Sobhan, the discussion was also addressed by Food Adviser M Shawkat Ali. As per Adviser Karim's announcement, the cash subsidy will reach the farmers in the middle of March or April.

Participating in the dialogue, former Agriculture Minister and Awami League leader Matia Chowdhury said the farmers need to be provided with cash subsidy right now, not in March-April.

"They (government) have no experience at all in dealing with the farmers' needs… The reality is quite different. Usually, the farmers go through a cash crisis when they start the Boro plantation. So, any kind of cash support will help them a lot," said the former agriculture minister.

The caretaker government has earlier announced a plan that the farmers would be provided with a total of Tk 850 crore as cash subsidy to support the irrigation.

As per the plan, each farmer is supposed to get Tk 700 per acre of land.

CPD researcher Dr. Uttam Deb presented the keynote paper at the discussion. He said the government has set a target to produce 1.75 crore tons of Boro rice on 45 lakh hectares of land against the last year's target of 1.50 crore tons.

He said Boro paddy has so far been planted on only two-thirds of the targeted areas. Nineteen districts are still below the target.

Dr. Deb said the farmers are not getting agriculture inputs, particularly fertiliser and it would ultimately hamper the efforts to achieve the output target. "The government should reach fertilisers to the farmers even if it's at a higher price. Otherwise, the target will not be achieved," the researcher said. Dr. CS Karim said the government has ascertained about 16,000 points across the country to distribute fertilisers among the farmers through 4,500 dealers. "One dealer will cover 900 farmers on average."

Defending the idea for providing the cash subsidy in the middle of Boro season, he said this was planned so that the real farmers can get the subsidy, not the middlemen of the pump operators. "If we provide the cash in advance, it might go to the pump operators, not the farmers," he said.

Matia Chowdhury alleged, "There is a total mess in fertiliser distribution, there is no discipline. Most of the farmers are not getting fertiliser. Those who get they have to buy it at Tk 1950 instead of the actual price of Tk 700. The farmers are still in doubt whether they will at all get fertiliser in the current season."

She, however, opposed the idea of privatising the fertiliser distribution system changing the present one.

Citing the experience of dismantling Bangladesh Agricultural Distribution Corporation (BADC) from fertiliser distribution task, she said this was done to comply with the donors' prescription. "After that about 18 farmers were killed as they demonstrated demanding fertiliser, but no donor then come forward in aid of them," she said.

BIDS research fellow Dr. Asaduzzaman, agronomist Dr. Z Karim, Bangladesh Agriculture Research Council Director MM Reza also spoke at the function.

Call to restore the Sundarbans

Staff Reporter

Speakers at an opinion exchange meeting yesterday emphasised the need for bringing back the ecological balance of the Sundarbans for the greater interest of the country since it has been severely damaged by natural disasters.

They called upon all concerned to play their due role in protecting the forest and the environment.

Organised jointly by Bangladesh Paribesh Andolon (BAPA), an organisation working for the improvement of the environment, and Nagorik Uddog, the meeting was held at the National Press Club with its Vice President ASM Shajahan in the chair.

Among others, the meeting was addressed, by IUCN Country Director Dr Inun Nishat, DU teacher Prof Dr AQM Mahbub, Prof Dr Abdur Rahman, Dr Monirul Khan, BAPA Joint Secretary Zakir Hossain, Mihir Biswas, Syed Golam Kader, Salma A Shafi and AKM Enamul Haque Miah.

Dr Inun Nishat said the Sundarbans is not only surrounded by trees, beasts and birds, wetlands and water are also part of the mangrove forest.

He suggested that any plan for its development should take into account these aspects of the Sundarbans.

ASM Shajahan said application of new technologies in the name of development upsets the balance of nature.

He termed nature as part and parcel of our existence and said it would not be wise to give the responsibility for developing the Sundarbans to a certain department.

AQM Mahbub emphasised the need for providing training to those who are responsible to protect the Sundarban.

McCain’s Bangladeshi adopted daughter: Future inmate of White House ?

Mcghan McCain (left) and Bridges McCain on the
campaign trail this weekend in Arizona

Associate Press

Republican presidential candidate John McCain is using an image of his adopted daughter in a new campaign mailing in the state where push polling involving the girl helped derail his White House bid eight years ago.

In a mailing showing up at homes Thursday, the Arizona senator's wife, Cindy, is pictured holding a baby in a blanket as she walks with a woman from Mother Teresa's orphanage.

"Cindy cradles little Bridget, a baby she and John adopted in 1993 from Mother Teresa's orphanage in Bangladesh. Bridget has been a great blessing to the McCain family," the mailing says. "Today, Cindy and John work together to promote adoption and to help women facing crisis pregnancies."

The mailing arrived in homes the same week McCain's campaign announced it was forming a "Truth Squad" to head off the kind of negative campaigning that dashed his 2000 run against George W. Bush.

Back then, South Carolina voters were called and asked about McCain's daughter; the callers insinuated she was illegitimate. Bridget McCain, now 15, was one of two babies Mother Teresa convinced Cindy McCain to take back to the U.S. for medical care, according to McCain's campaign Web site. McCain's campaign said the mailing has more to do with his stance on abortion than a pre-emptive move against negative campaigning, despite the timing of the "Truth Squad."

"That actually wasn't planned, believe it or not. The mailer was intended to talk about John McCain's pro-life record and his promotion of adoption, which it does," said South Carolina spokesman B.J. Boling.

56 stolen transformers recovered in Khilgaon: Mastermind of thieves held in Gazipur

Staff Reporter

Electric transformers are now available at Tk 2 lakh to Tk 2.50 lakh at the city's clandestine markets. Thieves usually steal these transformers from the Power Development Board (PDB) or DESA's electric poles at night and sell those at Tk 50,000 each in the clandestine markets. Members of an organised gang of thieves confessed this to police after they were interrogated in custody yesterday.

It is learnt that a team of the Gazipur Detective Branch of Police arrested mastermind of transformer thieves Nabi, 30 from Gazipur area on Friday evening. Under questioning, he confessed to the police that he along with his accomplices steal electric transformers from different parts of the city and sell those at five factories at Nandipara in Khilgaon area.

Later at night, a team of the Detective Branch of Gazipur Police led by Gazipur Sadar Circle ASP Masud went to Motijheel Police Station and met with the Assitant Commissioner there. They also went to Khilgaon Police Station and met with the officer-in-charge.

Late at night the detectives along with the police forces from both Motijheel and Khilgaon Police Stations went to Nandipara area in Khilgaon and recovered as many as 56 small and large stolen transformers worth Tk 2 crore along with huge quantities of valuable spare parts labeled with PDB, REB and DESCO were recovered carrying out a massive raid into five factories. During the raid, starting from Friday night to yesterday morning, the detectives recovered the transformers from Mili Electric Company at Newazbagh in Madhya Nandipara, Akabar Ali's Factory at Shekher Jaiga, SS Electrical Company at 1638 East Nandipara, AHK Electrical Company at 24 Madhya Nandipara and Eastern Electric at Trimohoni.

Learning about the arrival of police, the thieves managed to flee away. None of the possessors of the transformers could produce any valid documents or demanded the ownership of the seized transformers.

The recovered transformers were identified as stolen from the city's Paltan, Ramna and Hazaribagh thana areas.