The New Nation - Internet Edition

OIC Summit hammers out new charter: $10b Islamic development fund set up

Chief Adviser Dr. Fakhruddin Ahmed seen among the
OIC heads of the states and the governments who assembled in
Dakar to attend the summit. PID photo

AFP, Dakar

Muslim presidents, kings and other senior leaders held closed talks at a summit yesterday to hammer out a new charter for the world's biggest Islamic group, officials said.

Organisation of the Islamic Conference leaders say a new charter is necessary to modernise and reform the group of 57 nations concentrated in Asia, Africa and the Middle East.

But there has been intense debate about issues ranging from whether to restrict eligibility for new membership to Muslim majority states and even how to define "self-determination" for the Palestinian people, diplomats said.

A foreign minister who took part in talks this week told AFP on condition of anonymity, it was "finely balanced" whether the heads of state would be able to reach an accord before the summit ends this afternoon.

If the talks fail, the decision could be put back to a later foreign ministers meeting or even the next OIC summit which is scheduled to be held in Cairo in three years.

The absence of several prominent leaders-including Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah, Libya's Moamer Kadhafi and Pakistan's Pervez Musharraf-has made a delay more likely, diplomats said.

The OIC executive hopes a new charter will speed up decision making and allow initiatives to encourage solidarity between the organisation's wealthy oil powers and African members who are among the world's poorest nations.

The OIC has set up an Islamic development fund aiming to raise 10 billion dollars. So far it has received pledges for only 2.6 billion, mainly from Saudi Arabia. One reform would allow decisions to be taken by a two-thirds majority, diplomats said. The OCI currently works by unanimity, making decisions difficult in such a group where members range from Saudi Arabia in the Gulf to

The talks must also set out guidelines for membership and observer status. Some countries want only countries with a Muslim "majority". But others which do not meet that criteria now are opposed to such restrictions.

The proposed new charter would also seek to soften the sometimes austere image of the OIC, which has launched a campaign against 'Islamophobia' in the West.

"The new charter embraces the United Nations language to reflect moderation and tolerance of Islam and focus on development and solidarity in action between members," OIC Secretary General Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu told a news conference on Tuesday.

SA whitewash Bangladesh

Chairman of the National Sports Council and Chief of
the Army Staff General Moeen U Ahmed handing over the
champions trophy of the three-match ODI series to Graeme
Smith, the skipper of South Africa at the Sher-e-Bangla
National Stadium in Mirpur on Frid

Sports Reporter

South Africa whitewashed Bangladesh 3-0 in the three-match ODI series when the Proteas defeated the Tigers by seven wickets in the third and last ODI at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur on Friday.

Bangladesh tasted nine-wicket defeat by South Africa in the first ODI in Chittagong on March 9 and then the Tigers conceded a seven-wicket defeat by the Proteas in the second ODI in Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur on March 12.

Electing to bat first, Bangladesh were bundled out for 143 off 42.5 overs. Bangladesh batsmen played helplessly and paid heavily. Five of Bangladesh batsmen tried to snick the ball and became the victims of wicketkeeper AB de Villiers. Shahriar Nafees, Nazim Uddin, Farhad Reza added 25, 20 and 20 (not out) runs respectively to the low-scoring innings of Bangladesh.

Albie Morkel scalped four in the space of 29 runs with a good support of John Botha, who harpooned three wickets at the cost of 34 runs. Besides, Paul Harris and Morne Morkel took one wicket each for 26 and 32 runs respectively.

Later, South Africa overhauled the target in 34.2 overs making 147 for the loss of three wickets.

Skipper Graeme Smith led his team from the frontline who remained undefeated with 68 off 94 balls. He struck three over boundaries and three boundaries. The prolific opener fulfilled his 36th ODI half century using 86 deliveries.

South Africa lost their early two wickets for 59 runs. Graeme Smith and AB de Villiers repaired the damage contributing together 79 runs in the third-wicket stand before AB de Villiers was clean bowled by Farhad Raza making 40 when the team's total was 138 for the loss of three wickets. The wicketkeeper-batsman cracked seven shots beyond the ropes in his 37-ball knock.

Abdur Razzak, Mosharrof Hossain and Farhad Reza got one wicket each conceding 27, 26 and 28 runs respectively.

After the shameful defeat some of the cricket lovers stood in front of the stadium with placards demanding the resignation of Mohammad Ashraful from the captaincy.

Jalil's condition deteriorates

Abdul Jalil

UNB, Dhaka

Condition of ailing Awami League general secretary Abdul Jalil, now undergoing treatment at Mount Elizabeth Hospital in Singapore, was learnt to have deteriorated.

DR Baren Chakravorti said the doctors of the Mount Elizabeth Hospital would observe Jalil for another three months before starting his kidney dialysis.

Dr Chakravorti, who recently visited Singapore, said he had talks with Jalil's physicians and his kidneys were not functioning well.

He is now under supervision of cardiologist Dr Philipco and kidney specialist Dr Akhiro.

Jalil, 67, left the country for Singapore on March 3 after release on one-month parole for proper treatment. He was admitted into LabAid hospital in Dhaka for various health complications, including heart and kidney problems.

The AL general secretary was shifted to an apartment beside the Mount Elizabeth Hospital on Thursdayfor reducing his treatment cost.

Inheritance law: Protesters take to streets

Activists belonging to different Islamic
organisations staged a demonstration at the Baitul Mukarram
yesterday in protest against women's development policy.
Police were seen cordoning off the area to avert any
untoward incident. Agency

Staff Reporter

Thousands of Muslims demonstrated on the city roads yesterday protesting against the government move to give equal rights to women in inheritance.

Witnesses said about ten thousand Muslims participate in the protest rally after the Juma prayers at the Baitul Mukaram National Mosque. They brought out procession, which was joined by others from different parts of the city.

Source said as the Muslims gathered at the North Gate of the Baitul Mukaram it created a huge traffic jam, which spread to the adjoining roads and disrupted traffic movement for three hours causing immense sufferings to the commuters on the weekly holiday. The law enforcers tried to block the protesters progress at the Paltan crossroads by resorting to lathi charge and brief detention but failed to contain them.

Contd on page 2 Col-

One of the participants, Zahirul Islam, said, "The majority of the people of our country are Muslims. For that giving women equal-rights in inheritance is a direct violation of the Quranic laws and Hazrat Mohammad's (SM) sayings. We want to live in peace. We are fed-up of the government's interference".

Price hike sign of looming catastrophe, says Akbar

Staff Reporter

The Chairman of the Regulatory Reforms Commission and former adviser to the Caretaker Government Dr Akbar Ali Khan said the country may face a 'silent famine', if the intolerable prices hike of essentials and many other socio-economic catastrophes were not addressed forthwith.

"About 25 to 35 per cent of the total population have to go hungry, as prices of essentials have increased 30 to 40 per cent. Prices of items, especially those that have no alternatives for the poor, have increased. Such a situation is nothing but a precursor of silent famine," he said this as chief guest at a roundtable in the city yesterday.

"Income of the poor has not increased but the commodity prices have increased manifolds.

People are living a life where there is no food and future," he said.

Democracy is the best governance, which can play the desired role for overcoming the present situation, he recommended.

While replying to a question he said, "Different aspects of the long awaited general election and the issue of holding or not the local polls has pushed the government and the political parties towards heated debate and mutual disbelief," said the former adviser.

It was seen that the then governments organised local elections with an evil motive to influence the national elections, he said and added, "We will have to be careful about the consequences of holding the local elections in two phases."

"The government will have to keep it in mind that if they arranged local election in two phases this time, then the system would have to be kept unchanged in future also.

So decision will have to be taken very thoughtfully and considering the ground reality," said Dr Akbar.

The roundtable on 'Moving Towards Sustainable Development in Bangladesh: To Meet the Challenges of Future' was jointly organised by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS) at the National Press Club.

Dr Akbar Ali reiterated his proposal for holding the Parliament and local government elections simultaneously.

"In many countries including the US polls of central and state governments are held at a time. So our policymakers and political parties can consider this option," he said.

While replying to the upcoming budget, he said, "Budget should be passed by Parliament according to our Constitution. So it cannot be prescribed that a Caretaker Government should formulate and pass a national budget."

He mentioned that the countrymen are deluded by the governments and the power of the day about the country's condition in every sector.

"People at home and abroad are being provided wrong and distorted images of the country. You will find in the MDG book of the Planning Commission that only one per cent of the city dwellers do not have access to pure drinking water, which means that 99 per cent are deprived of this basis need," said Dr Akbar.

According to the latest government statistics, only 13 per cent of the youth do not have employment, he said and raised a question: "Is this figure true?" He said, "No, in reality the number is much higher."

The government should delve deep into the existing problems and device immediate intervention in view of the real picture of the country, for a better future, he suggested.

M Asaduzzaman, Research Director of BIDS, said, "Institutionalisation and governance issues need to be addressed properly where roles of local government and communities need to be recognised and skill development must be a priority as environmental management is a skill and knowledge-intensive activity so that sustainable development would be achieved in future."

Dr M Aminul Islam, Assistant Country Director of UNDP, stressed on concerted efforts to demonstrate the linkages of environment with poverty, economic growth, human health and governance for sustainable development in the country.

Shawkat Mahmud, President of National Press Club, experts and different professionals also attended the roundtable.

Prices of coarse rice up

UNB, Dhaka

Prices of essentials, including rice, pulses, wheat and edible oils, were running an unprecedented record high in the capital, as also across the country, putting middle and lower-income groups into a delirium.

Shopkeepers in the city markets Friday said prices of course varieties of rice rose by Tk 2 per kg and were selling at Tk 34 to Tk 36.

Prices of pulses jumped by Tk 10 to Tk 15 per kg and were selling at Tk 95 to Tk 100. A five-liter

Wheat flour and powdered milk were also selling at exorbitant prices.

Prices of all vegetables also marked a rise on today's city markets.

Some shopkeepers admitted that there is no control over prices in this situation as there is a big gap between wholesale and retail-market prices of some items.

Although the government recently fixed the prices of some items, but the market reality is completely different.

In the wake of unabated price hike, people belonging to middle and lower- income groups are failing to make two ends meet.

Former Finance Advisor Dr Akbar Ali Khan today feared if the prices of essentials continued to go up at such a galloping pace, the country may face a 'silent famine'.

Tourist arrival increased by 8 pc last year

Staff Reporter

Worldwide international tourist movement reached 898 million in 2007-a growth of over 6 per cent, while arrival in Bangladesh grew by 8 per cent. The speakers disclosed this at a seminar yesterday.

As part of Aktel-Dhaka Travel Mart 2008, a seminar titled "Eco and Newest Trend Geo Main Stay of Bangladesh Tourism" was held in cooperation with the Department of Tourism and Hospitality Management of University of Dhaka at a city hotel.

Raquib Siddique, Chief Editor of Bangladesh Monitor, in his keynote paper said, the UNWTO forecast that by 2010, international tourist arrivals will reach 1 billion annually. It estimates that the international tourism was generating $2 billion a day in receipt.

Eco tourism is a pragmatic concept that mixes modern conservation theories with good old-fashioned money making. Yearning for authentic travel has now led to a new trend- the Geo tourism.

He said Bangladesh has wealth of Eco and Geo tourism attractions unknown to many; the country has mountains, large coastline, mangroves and rain forests, marshland, island and Sal forests. This diversity makes Bangladesh fairly rich in flora and fauna. These attractions are yet to be exploited. Thus the main opportunity for Bangladesh in international tourism lies in its natural and cultural heritages.

He said the goal of Eco and Geo tourism development in Bangladesh should be to capture a portion of the enormous global tourism market by attracting visitors to natural areas to fund local conservation and fuel economic development.

Kazi Wahidul Alam, Chairman of Aktel-Dhaka Travel Mart 2008; Dr Ashraf Ali, Chairman of the Department of Tourism and Hospitality Management of Dhaka University; AKM Bari, Secretary General of Association of Travel Agents of Bangladesh (ATAB); Syed Golam Kabir, representative of Tour Operators Association of Bangladesh (TOAB), among others, were present in the seminar.

Truck crushes tempo carrying bridal party: 11 killed

Barisal Correspondent

Eleven people, including the driver of a Nasimon (locally assembled tempo) were killed and twelve other passengers were injured on Friday morning after the tempo carrying members of a bridal party was overrun by a rice-laden truck on the Barisal-Dhaka Highway.

Amirurrazam, officer in charge of Gournadi Police Station said the wedding ceremony of Ramen Shikari and Beauty Mandol was held at Mandol Bari of Deu Para village under Mahilara Union of Gournadi Upazila of Barisal district on Thursday night.

About 26 members of the bridal party after completing the ceremony at the bride's house started on their return journey on a reserved Nasimon to the bridegroom's home at Uttar Majra village of Agoiljhara Upazila early Friday morning.

When the Nasimon reached Baro Bari on the highway at about 6:20am, the driver of a rice-laden truck coming from Jessore towards Barisal lost control over the vehicle after one of its tyre punctured and crushed the Nasimon from the opposite direction.

Local people rushed to rescue the accident victims and found Lipika Bhattra, 12, Asim Shikari, 15, Milton Shikari, 16, Susanta Bepari, 35, and Avijit Bepari, 20, dead.

Among others, UP Member Baburam Shikari, 65, died on way to Gournadi Health Complex, and Nikhil Haldar, 38, died on way to Barisal SBMCH.

The critically injured passengers are Usha Rani, 35, Moyna Rani, 55, and Joy Ram, 8. The tempo driver Nurul Islam, 44, died at Barisal SBMCH soon after admission.

The groom Ramen Shikari, 30, bride Beauty Mondal, 22, Swapan Shikari, 28, Shilpi, 15, Adit, 55, Alamin, 14, Azizul, 26, were admitted to Gournadi Upazila Health Complex, while Pranto, 5, Shabana, 6, Prosenjit Roy, 30, Manmatha Bepari, 30, Hafizul, 26, were admitted to Barisal SBMCH with severe injuries.

The driver and helpers of the truck fled the scene after the accident. Police seized the truck. Ajit Shikari lodged a case with Gournadi Police Station in this connection.

Nalchhiti UNO assaulted, revenue office ransacked

Barisal Correspondents

Upazila Nirbahi Officer of Nalchhiti under Jhalakati district was assaulted and Land Revenue Office was ransacked by an angry mob following torture of a local Freedom Fighter and a journalist on Friday morning.

Police rescued the UNO and the injured freedom fighter from the local land revenue office after two hours.

Ranjit Kumar Das, Additional Deputy Commissioner (Revenue) of Jhalakati visited the spot.

Informed sources said Kazi Mahbubul Alam Latu,53, former organising secretary of Upazila Muktijoddha Sangsad, went to take possession of a disputed land near Nalchhiti Shahid Minar in front of Upazila Land Revenue Office on College Road of Nalchhiti municipal area at about 6-00 AM on Friday.

Sekandar Hayat Rizvi, UNO of Nalchhiti Upazila accompanied by his driver and land revenue staffs came to the spot at about 6-45 AM and engaged in altercation with Kazi Mahbub when Mahbub claimed that he received court verdict in his favour.

Then the UNO and his staffs confined Kazi Mahbub inside the land revenue office, beat him and snatched digital camera from Maniruzzaman Monir, local Correspondent of daily Jugantor who was on professional duty.

Local people hearing the incident rushed to the spot and gheraoed the land revenue office for about two hours demanding release of their leader.

At one stage mob became violent, ransacked the land revenue office and rescued injured FF leader and assaulted the UNO.

Police rescued the officer from the mob at about 8-30 AM and brought the situation under control.

Tk 22 lakh recovered from underground

Rajshahi Correspondent

Elite police force RAB recovered Tk 22 lakh in cash and three tolas of gold from the Putia house of the father in law of Jainal Sheikh, General Secretary of Provati Grammen Unnayan Sangstha of Naldanga unit under Nator district of Rajshahi district Thursday night. The recovered money and gold were hidden underground.

Police said, according to secret information, the members of Rapid Action Battalion (RAB)-5, conducted the drive and recovered these after quizzing Araz Molla, the father in law of Jainal.

Aroz Molla was arrested and Jainal, who is on the run, would be arrested soon, Naldanga police said.

It may be mentioned that Jainal is accused of cheating the people by taking money in the name of fake NGO.

CA calls for using rich Muslim nations' wealth to meet Ummah's needs

UNB, Dakar

Chief Adviser Dr Fakhruddin Ahmed yesterday called for using the vast resources of the Muslim countries to assist the Muslim Ummah and satisfy its various needs.

He made the call while addressing the general discussion of the 11th summit of the Islamic conference on the second and concluding day at the King Fahd Complex.

Dr Ahmed said, "Many of us in the Ummah are blessed with vast resources of varied kinds. We're eager to use these in a manner to assist our peoples and satisfy their various needs. Thus OIC should be able to help device methodologies for these purposes."

The Chief Adviser said, "Our manpower could be better organised responding to our different requirements. Our sovereign wealth funds and surpluses could be devoted to improving our knowledge base in technology to help the future generations and the youth of the Muslim world."

Expressing happiness over increasing of intra-OIC trade, he said economic interdependence facilitates political unity. He stressed the need for examining in greater depths the possibilities of the Islamic Common Market.

"Trade among Islamic nations should be designed for all (in a way) so that the poorest amongst us can profit from (it)," he said.

Dr Ahmed said, "As chair of LDCs, many of whom are in Africa, Bangladesh would call for a special OIC Programme of Action for the Ummah's neediest."

Referring to multi-pronged challenges confronting by the Islamic Ummah, especially Islamophobia, Dr Ahmed said the Muslim Ummah must do needful to counter these apprehensions.

"We must nullify those fears by our explanations to the world of the positive values of Islam. We must paint to them what Islam stands for," he told the summit.

Dr Ahmed said the Muslim Ummah must demonstrate its commitment towards good governance, the rule of law, freedom of expression, human rights, compassion for the poor, equality of women and justice and equity for all.

He said, "We must underscore that Islam and terrorism are incompatible and absolutely irreconcilable."

Mentioning some other persistent problems, the CA said there can be no solution to the problems of Palestine without a free, sovereign and independent state for its people with Jerusalem as its capital. "We would urge upon the international community, the United Nations and equally the Quartet to exert pressure on Israel to bring this about."

The CA said Bangladesh's support to the cause of the Palestinians is unflinching.

In Afghanistan, he said, Bangladesh continues to support President Karzai for his laudable efforts to lift the Afghan people out of the morose of strife and turmoil.

Dr Ahmed said Bangladesh sees Afghanistan as friend and partner in South Asia.

On Iraq, the CA said, "Our entire civilisation will be laid in ruins unless the Iraqis take control of their own destiny. Only then they will be able to secure political reconciliations, territorial integrity, and security so crucial to peace development, reconstruction and stability of the Iraqi state and society."

About OIC, Dr Ahmed said the organisation needs to be revamped, regenerated, reformed, re-energised and reinvigorated. "We enthusiastically support the revision of its Charter to refurbish its image to bring it in line with contemporaneous time so that we are better equipped and able to deal with the issues of the 21st century."

About Climate Change, he said the Muslim countries must act together to protect the world from the effects of pollution, from the consequences of our own irresponsible actions.

Referring to adverse impacts of climate change, the CA said Bangladesh and others like it with long and low-lying coastlines are particularly vulnerable.

In this regard, he mentioned about two recent devastating floods and powerful Cyclone Sidr that hit Bangladesh as well as the support received from the friendly countries, including many Islamic countries, to overcome the aftermaths.

Agartala case: Call to declare accused national heroes

Staff Reporter

Leading academics, journalists and politicians at a roundtable meeting yesterday called upon the Government to declare the persons accused in the historic Agartala Case as national heroes.

Referring to the significance of the consequence of the Agartala case, popularly known as the conspiracy case, against Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and his associates, they said the nation would recall the contribution of the case to the War of Liberation forever.

Parishad of Agartala Case Accused Persons, a platform of the accused persons in the case, organised the meeting on "Historic Agartala Case (State versus Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and others) had played an important role in achieving the Independence of Bangladesh", at the National Press Club chaired by its President Khorshed Uddin Ahmed.

Awami League Presidium Member Tofail Ahmed said the War of Liberation began the day the Agartala case was lodged by the then Pakistani government to destroy the Bangalee nation's movement for autonomy.

"The Agartala Case filed in '68 created the mass upsurge in '69 which was followed by election of '70 and ultimately forwarded the nation towards victory in the War of Liberation in '71," he said.

He said the contribution of Agartala case in sowing the seed of independence is unforgettable and the nation would recall it forever with gratefulness.

Tofail Ahmed referred to a bill piloted in the Seventh Parliament when the Awami League was in power to declare the accused persons in Agartala case as national heroes but failed.

He regretted that they had many things to do when the party was in power but they could not do those.

Eminent journalist Foyez Ahmed, who had covered the proceedings of the Agartala case for the then Daily Azad and was familiar with Bangabandhu, recalled how Sheikh Mujib had dealt with the case and given his statement.

He said Bangabandhu wanted to talk to him when the trial was in progress in the tribunal room but he was responding to him indirectly.

Former lawmaker Shah Hadiuzzaman said the accused persons in Agartala case should be given the status of national heroes.

"We have to carry out movement until the government provides them (accused persons in the case) that status," he said.

Col (Retd) Shawkat Ali, who moderated the function, said the death of Sergeant Zahurul Haque played the catalytic role in creating mass upsurge and forcing the government to free Bangabandhu and other accused in the case on February 22 in 1969.

Former minister Begum Sajeda Chowdhury called upon all to resist the anti-liberation forces saying that freedom fighters are now not allowed to convene meetings but they are criticising them strongly in the name of waz (religious speeches).

Prof Harunor Rashid said the accused persons are national heroes and partners of the War of Liberation. He said the case was filed to destroy the historic six-point movement.

Prof AAMS Arefin Siddique said the accused persons in Agartala case should be given the status of national heroes immediately since they had played a heroic role for the emancipation of the nation.

Commander Abdur Rouf said mass upsurge in '69 could not have been created if the Agartala case was not filed and the War of Liberation was not fought.

He called upon the youth to get prepared to fight against the defeated forces of '71.

Prof Mostari Ahmed in her keynote paper termed the Agartala case as a histories incident saying that it had expedited the achievement of independence of the country.

"The Agartala case turned the mass movement in 1969 into a mass upsurge," she said.

The meeting was also addressed, among others, by Col (Red) Mollick, Ajoy Roy, Majeda Shawkat Ali and Jahanara Begum.

Girls outnumber boys in secondary education: Stipend programmes need to be reformed

Staff Reporter

The World Bank has dropped a broad hint that it would either abandon or influence the Government to "reform" the Female Secondary School Stipend Programme (FSSSP), an official project financed by it, which earned global acclaim for Bangladesh due to its success to trigger higher girls' enrollment in school than that of other third world countries, including India and Pakistan.

Blaming the FSSSP programme, which had been replicated in many countries of the world as a important tool for development and empowerment of women as well as creating enlightened mothers, for generating a "boys left behind" phenomenon, the World Bank (WB) on Thursday said the Government policymakers should seriously reconsider or reform the project.

The WB said this in a report titled 'Whispers to Voices: Gender and Social Transformation in Bangladesh'. The Bank, however, refrained from prescribing any specific paradigm of the reform it feels the FSSSP needed immediately.

Released yesterday in Dhaka, the report's findings said, "Stipend programmes at the secondary level need to be reformed immediately as the spectacular growth in female secondary education has put boys at a distinct disadvantage, making the national goal to achieve gender equality a far cry."

It said the Government needs to be cognizant of this new challenge without any further delay and scholarship programmes at the secondary level should to be redesigned to make it more equitable.

The report found that boys enrollment at all levels is lower than that of girls except when they get to grade 11 and the incentives of the Female Secondary School Stipend Programme (FSSSP), which provides cash support to girls from grades 6 to 10, no longer applies.

The WB report described the newly emerged problem as "one of major issues" confronting policymakers and practitioners in Bangladesh today is the "boys left behind" phenomenon.

It said some recent studies have addressed this issue and hypothesised that the causes for this lie in the direct and indirect effects of the FSSSP. "Adolescent boys are less likely to remain in school and more likely to do wage work following the introduction of the stipend scheme.

Thus parents may have decided to send adolescent girls to school and adolescent boys to work in response to the financial incentives created by the stipend programme," the report said.

It said the relative fall in enrollment of boys in coeducational schools suggest that the FSSSP aided the process of closing gender gap not solely by raising female enrollment, but also in an unintended way by cutting back on the participation of boys in secondary schools.

Quoting some other studies, the WB report said discrimination against women in the labour market may also play a part. Thus if a daughter's job prospects are lower than son's and the FSSSP is providing a monetary incentive to families to keep girls in school, families would choose to keep the daughter in school and send the son to work.

Education researchers described such emerging concerns as strong barriers to the path of achieving balanced development of gender equality.

Experts, however, expressed mixed reactions on the conclusion of the WB reports.

"In such a situation where boys' attendance at schools is decreasing, the government and other concerned agencies should redesign the development programmes without delay," said an expert working in the field of developing secondary education.

He said there are thousands of boys in the country who are too poor to go to school. "Without ensuring their enrollment, we cannot expect a balanced, sustainable development. The government can arrange stipend programmes for such poor boys too," he said.

Disagreeing with the conclusion, development experts apprehended that the World Bank's advice might lead to the birth of a negative project in the name of reforms of the FSSSP with a view to a achieve a "balanced and sustainable" development featured with so-called "gender equality" that was neither attained by US, the most developed nation of the world nor by Sweden, which is said to have achieved better gender equality than anywhere else.

However, economists said the so-called "boys left behind phenomenon in education" is an obvious outcome of development and advancement of a society that none of the industrialised countries, including the US, Japan, UK and Germany, could be able to avoid or bypass.

Obstruction to FFs convention benefits war criminals: SCF

UNB, Dhaka

Sector Commanders of the 1971 Liberation War Friday said war criminals were benefited following the government obstruction to their planned freedom fighters' convention scheduled here for yesterday.

At a press conference at National Press Club they declared a defiant stand that despite restrictions, the sector commanders would hold their planned convention in this month of independence.

Sector Commander Air Vice-Marshall (retd) AK Khandaker, former Army Chief Lt Gen (retd) Harun-or-Rashid, Lt Gen (retd) Meer Sowkat Ali, former Army Chief Maj Gen (retd) KM Safiullah, Maj Gen (retd) C R Dutta and Lt Col (retd) Abu Usman Chowdhury, and Sub-sector Commanders and eminent freedom fighters were present at the press conference.

They cautioned that the government would have to "bear the responsibility if law-and-order situation is created at that time".

Dhaka Metropolitan Police Commissioner Naim Ahmed Thursday said the government did not permit the Sector Commanders Forum to hold its convention at Bangladesh-China Friendship Conference Center considering the matter of law-and-order situation.

Criticizing the government decision, the leading freedom fighters questioned whether those cancelled the permission are more powerful than the Chief Advisor, the Chief of the Army Staff and the Chief Election Commissioner.

They wanted to know who could cancel the convention after these three personalities sought trial of the war criminals.

Forum chief AK Khandaker said since the war crime is also a crime against the state, the government is to hold the trial of war criminals.

"The people of this country are united on the question of holding trial of the war criminals," he said, adding that the Forum's movement will continue.

Khandaker said they would seek permission from the government afresh. He warned that it is not the Sector Commanders but the government would be held responsible if any law-and-order situation is created over the holding of the convention this month.

Freedom fighters who attended the press conference lamented that today "fanatics" are bringing out procession in the street violating the state of emergency. But the government is not taking any action against them. They wondered whether the government is controlling the war criminals.

Meer Shawkat Ali said they assisted the government with all documents and statistics to hold the trial, but " we don't perceive why the government is not taking the initiative for the trial. The government must conceive who are its friends. Never make your friend your enemy."

KM Shafiullah said they had applied for permission two months before but the government refused the permission just 36 hours before the convention.