The New Nation - Internet Edition

Modus operandi get prominence over substance: Smokescreen surrounds dialogue

Khaleda, Hasina

Rafiqul Islam Azad

The proposed dialogue between two former premiers Begum Khaleda Zia and Sheikh Hasina is spinning new controversy as the Awami League (AL) chief wants it to have specific agenda based on acceptance of December 18 polls while the BNP chief wants the talks to be open-ended and unconditional.

Sheikh Hasina yesterday added the latest condition to accept the December 18 parliamentary elections to sit with her archrival Begum Khaleda Zia. Earlier, the AL chief also set a condition that the talks should be televised.

As the AL chief sets conditions, one after another, to sit with Begum Zia, senior BNP leaders raised question on the sincerity of the AL leadership in holding the proposed talks.

A highly placed source close to the BNP Chairperson told The New Nation that the discussion between the two leaders could be held anywhere any time but it should be open and without setting any condition.

Meanwhile, government spokesman and Adviser for Commerce Dr Hossain Zillur Rahman yesterday observed that the government could take a initiative to make sitting of the two former premiers, Begum Khaleda Zia and Sheikh Hasina across the table only if they expressed their keenness to this ended.

“The government is ready to take an initiative to make sitting of the two leaders based on their obvious eagerness in this regard,” he said while talking to reporters after attending a scientific seminar and conference at a city hotel.

Earlier on Thursday, the Commerce Adviser told reporters that the government would act as a catalyst in the talks between Khaleda Zia and Sheikh Hasina.

In the latest development, the AL said the talks between the two leaders could be held if it was televised and the December 18 parliamentary election is kept on the top of the agenda.

Sheikh Hasina’s special aide Dr Hassan Mahmud yesterday told reporters that Sheikh Hasina was willing to sit with the BNP Chairperson but it should be televised and December 18 polls should be included in the agenda.

Briefing journalists after a meeting of Iranian Ambassador Hassan Farazandeh with the AL Chief, he said the dialogue would not be succeeded, if it was not televised and not held in favour of December 18 polls

He reiterated that the proposed talks between the two leaders must be broadcast live on all TV and radio channels in presence of journalists from print media.

On Wednesday, BNP Joint Secretary General Nazrul Islam Khan told reporters that Begum Zia was ready to sit with Sheikh Hasina to discuss any topic but it should be sans any condition.

“We do not consider the talks between the two leaders as debate that it should be televised on live,” he said adding that it could be if the two leaders felt to apprise the people about the outcome of the meeting.

After the release of BNP Chairperson on September 11, Hossain Zillur told reporters that the government would take an initiative to hold dialogue between the two top leaders to overcome the political impasse.

Barrister Rafiq Ul Haque, the counsel of both the former premiers, had earlier taken a move to bring the two top leaders across the table but finally failed.

After a meeting with diplomats of three European countries on Wednesday, Sheikh Hasina had expressed her no objection to sit with her archrival BNP Chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia to discuss the issues of national importance.

BNP Chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia also responded positively to the talk offer when the diplomats approached her in the evening the same day.

3 bodies recovered in city

Staff Reporter

Police recovered the bodies of two businessmen and a woman from the city’s Mohammadpur and Jatrabari areas yesterday.

The businessmen who were gunned down by unknown assailants were Alam

Yamin alias Ablam, 32, and Sirajul Amin Lincoln, 32, of city’s Adabor area. Lincoln was the owner of Dynamic Fast Food in Dhanmondi.

“Ablam was wanted by Dhanmondi police in seven criminal cases, including two for murders,” Sub-inspector of Mohammadpur police station Borhan Uddin, who is acting in-charge of the police station said the New Nation.

Ablam’s family members said some youths identifying themselves RAB men picked up Ablam from his house at about 4:00pm on Thursday, while family members of Lincoln said he went out of his house Thursday morning, but did not return.

Police recovered both the bodies from Balur Math (sand field) inside Dhaka Udyan under Mohammadpur thana Friday morning and sent those to Dhaka Medical College Hospital morgue for autopsy.

Police suspect previous enmity might be the reason behind the killings of the businessmen.

Meanwhile, police recovered the body of a middle-aged woman from Kazla under Jatrabari police station yesterday.

Being informed, police recovered the body of Parul Bala Das, 55, from inside a sack at about 7:00am and sent it to Mitford Hospital morgue for autopsy.

Police also detained a woman, Khorsheda Begum, in connection with the murder.

The victim’s son said his mother went to Khorsheda’s house at Siddhirganj in Narayanganj on Wednesday to collect the money, she (Parul) lent to Khorsheda earlier.

Obama considers Hillary Clinton for Secretary of State

Hillary Clinton

AFP, Washington

US president-elect Barack Obama is considering naming former first lady Hillary Clinton, his onetime rival for the White House, as his secretary of state, NBC News reported late Thursday.

Two unnamed Obama advisers told the network that Clinton, now a senator for New York, "is under consideration" for the post.

According to NBC, Clinton flew to Chicago-where Obama is based-on Thursday, but an adviser said it was on personal business.

Clinton, 61, has extensive foreign policy experience from her time in the senate, where she serves on the Senate Armed Services Committee, and indirectly when her husband Bill Clinton was president from 1993 to 2001. Several big names have been mentioned in the press as possible Obama secretaries of state, including another former Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry, New Mexico governor and former UN ambassador Bill Richardson, a favorite of the powerful Latino community; and moderate Republican Senator Richard Lugar.

The Obama transition team has not said publicly who may be under consideration for cabinet positions, but has insisted no announcements would be made this week.

During the bruising Democratic presidential primary Clinton tore into Obama's lack of foreign policy experience, describing some of his proposals such as talking to Iran as "naive."

Obama in turn constantly reminded voters that Clinton approved legislation authorizing President George W. Bush to invade Iraq, a vote she never publicly rejected.

Once Clinton lost the Democratic presidential nomination, the former first lady campaigned fiercely for Obama.

She was asked at a New York event on Monday if she would consider taking a position in the Obama administration. "I am happy being a senator from New York, I love this state and this city," Clinton said, according to CNN.

"I am looking at the long list of things I have to catch up on and do. But I want to be a good partner and I want to do everything I can to make sure his agenda is going to be successful," Clinton said.

Super cyclone one year after: SIDR victims still struggling

Staff Reporter

Nesuti Lakshmi Rani holds up her hands and apologises for the rivulets of mud that run down her tiny wrists towards her elbows.

"I'm digging soil from the river for the roads in our village. I don't want to do this job but it's the only way we can get food," she says.

For her five-hour shift, Nesuti is paid with three kilogrammes (6.6 pounds) of rice.

When cyclone Sidr hit southern Bangladesh on November 15 in 2007, Nesuti and her husband lost their home and livelihood when the couple's 13 cows were washed away in the storm.

"We're living hand to mouth. We used to sell milk but now we have no other way to earn a living," says the 45-year-old mother of four, now living in a hut made from salvaged wood and plastic sheeting in Barguna. Same pictures shown as Bandaria in Priojpur district with the affected coastal district.

After one year, most of the Sidr ravaged people are in smellier, homeless, no workers and no food.

One million people are still struggling without proper shelter and are at greater risk of disease, cyclone Sidr the international aid agency Oxfam said.

But according to government estimate, some 908 people were killed, 63,600 houses damaged and 3 lakh families affected by the cyclone.

They are among 276,000 families that the aid group Oxfam says have received no assistance to rebuild homes destroyed a year ago.

More than 3,500 people were killed during cyclone Sidr, the second strongest storm ever recorded in Bangladesh.

Ferocious winds of up to 240 kilometres (155 miles) an hour and torrential rains uprooted trees, destroyed hundreds of thousands of fragile bamboo and tin homes, and snapped phone and power lines.

"What's difficult is getting funding for the relief and rehabilitation on a longer-term basis because it does go out of people's minds," says Heather Blackwell, head of Oxfam in Bangladesh.

The World Bank, which this week gave a 109 million dollar loan to help Sidr victims, says damage caused to property, livestock and crops was estimated to be 1.7 billion dollars.

The people of the cyclone Sidr ravaged areas yesterday alleged in the city that the relief houses were not properly distributed to the victims.

Bangladesh appealed for 2.2 billion dollars in international aid for the cyclone-hit areas, but a finance ministry official said less than a quarter -- half a billion dollars -- had been received.

Jafar Khan, a labourer whose seven and three-year-old sons were killed in the storm, says his family did not have time to get to the nearest cyclone shelter two kilometres away when the first warning came.

He says he has lost count of the number of times he has been told by government officials and aid workers that his home will soon be rebuilt.

"They keep promising but nothing has changed," he says.

"I'm still living in the same flimsy hut I built after the storm. Now, they're building a cyclone shelter a few hundred metres away. It's too late for my sons though -- they were never given the chance to survive."

Shakawat Hossain, representative of Sidr-affected people of the Bandaria in Priojpur district told journalists at the Dhaka Reporters Unity few days ago that the Chairman and the ward commissioners of the area take money on the plea of providing Tk 3,000 to Tk 20,000 to the Sidr victims as relief for house building of the affected vulnerable families.

Most of the cyclone Sidr victims in the worst-hit Southkhali village in Sharankhola upazila of the district could not yet return to their previous occupations due to want of working capital.

The victims said they were engaged in various occupations, including agriculture, fishing and small businesses but they lost everything due to the onslaught of the devastating cyclone.

Although the homeless people got shelter with the help of the government and NGOs but no employment opportunities were created for them.

The Sidr affected people have been passing hard days, as they have no source of income local elite said. The coming winter will be hard for them without shelter of houses.

JP announces pry nomination of 102 candidates

BSS, Dhaka

Jatiya Party (Ershad) on Friday primarily announced the name of 102 intending candidates for contesting in the upcoming parliamentary elections to be held on December 18.

The parliamentary board of JP approved the candidatures of 102 nomination on the basis of recommendations from the grassroots level leaders of the party, a party press release said.

The 'Mohajote’ will give final nomination from among the 102 JP candidates.

The candidates, who got the primary nomination, are:

Thakurgaon- 3 Hafiz Uddin Ahmed, Dinajpur-6 Delwar Hossain, Nilphamari-1 NK Alam Chowdhury/Jafar Iqbal Siddiqui, Nilphamari-2 Jafar Iqbal Siddiqui, Nilphamari-3 GM Quader/Kazi Farooq Kader, Nilphamari-4 Alhaj Showkat Chowdhury, Lalmonirhat-2 Mohammad Mojibur Rahman, Lalmonirhat-3 GM Quader, Rangpur 1-Asif Shahriar,Rangpur-2 Anisul Islam Mondal/Mohammad Ali Sarker, Rangpur-3 Husain Muhammad Ershad, Rangpur-4 Karim Uddin Barasha, Rangpur-5 SM Fakhruzzaman, Rangpur-6 Nur Mohammad Mondal, Kurigram-1 AKM Mostafizur Rahman, Kurigram-2 HM Ershad/Major (retd) Abdus Salam, Kurigram-3 Maidul Islam, Kurigram-4 Golam Habib Dulal, Gaibandha-1 Wahiduzzaman Badsha, Gaibandha-2 Abdur Rasheed Sarker, Gaibandha-3 Dr TIM Fazle Rabbi Chowdhury, Gaibandha-4 Ali Mahbub, Gaibandha-5 Begum Roushan Ershad, Chapainowabganj-3 Principal Abdur Razzak, Noagaon-2 Tofazzal Hossain, Natore-2 Mojibur Rahman Sentu, Sirajganj-2 Aminul Islam Jontu, Kushtia-Ahsan Habib linkon, Kushtia-4 Abdul Awal Miah, Jessore-6 Moulana Shawkhat Hossain, Magura-1 Advocate Hassan Siraj Suja, Narail-2 Major (retd) Gazi Ashraf-ul- Alam, Khulna-3 Hasina Banu Shirin,Satkhira-2 Abdul Gabbar, Satkhira-4 HM Golam Reza, Borguna-2 Advocate Khondaker Mhbud Hossain, Patukhali-1 ABM Ruhul Amin Howlader, Barisal-2 Golam Kibria Tipu, Barisal-6 Nasrin Jahan Ratna, Pirajpur-1 Mostafa Kamal Haider, Pirajpur-3 Abdul Jabbar Engineer, Tangail-5 Mohammad Abul Kashem, Tangail-7 Zahirul Islam Zahir, Jamalpur-1 MA Sattar, Mymensingh-4 Roushan Ershad, Netrokona-2 Fakir Ashraf, Kishoreganj-3 Mojibul Haque Channu, Manikganj-2 SM Abdul Mannan, Manikganj-3 Advocate Mojibur Rahman, Dhaka-5 Syed Abul Hossain Babla, Dhaka-7 Jahangir Mohammad Adel, Dhaka-8 Haroon Ur Rasheed, Dhaka-15 HM Golam Reza, Dhaka-17 Hussain Muhammad Ershad, Dhaka-18 GM Quader, Narsingdi-4 Brig.Gen.(retd) Kazi Mahmud Hasan, Narayanganj-4 Mohammad Shahjahan, Narayanganj-5, Nasim Osman, Sunajganj-4 Mamtaj Iqbal,Sylhet-3 Atiqur Rahman Atique, Sylhet-4 Nasrin Chowdhury, Sylhet-5 Barrister Kutub Uddin Sikder/Hosam Uddin Chowdhury, Sylhet-6 Selim Uddin, Habiganj-3 HM Ershad,/Sankar Pal, Brahmanbaria-3 Advocate Rezaul Islam Bhuiyan, Brahmanbaria-4 Selim Master, Comilla-7 Nurul Islam Milon, Comilla-11 Kazi Jafar Ahmed, Changpur-1 Dr Shaheed Islam, Feni-2 Haji Alauddin, Feni-3 Rintu Anwar, Lakkhipur-1 Mahmudur Rahman Mahmud, Chittagong-4 Barrister Anisul Islam Mahmud, Chittagong-8 Soliman Alam Sheth, Chittagong-9 Murshed Murad Ibrahim, Khagrachari Alim Ullah/Soliman Alam Sheth, Chandpur-2 Major General (retd) Shamsul Haque, Bogra-3 Advocate Nurul Islam Talukder, Rajshahi-3 Mostaque Ahmed Labu, Rajshahi-5 Abul Hossain, Jessore-4 Advocate Zahirul Haque, Khulna-6 Shafiqul Islam Modu, Satkhira-3 Advocate Salahuddin Ahmed, Barisal-3 Golam Kibria Tipu/Col (retd) Ishaque Sikder, Kishoreganj-1 Badrul Amin Bachhu, Habiganj-1 Munim Chowdhury Babu, Habiganj-2 Abid Ali Chowdhury, Comilla-4 Iqbal Hossain Raju, Bagherhat-3 Mojibur Rahman Zoktibadi, Noakhali-5 ANM Shahjahan, Patuakhali-4 Abdur Razzak Khan , Barisal-1 Babu Sunil Gupta, Joypurhat-1 Haroon Ar Rasheed Miah, Munshiganj-1 Advocate Sheikh Sirajul Islam, Brahmanbaria-2 Advocate Ziaul Haque Mirdha, Bogra-2 Shariful Islam Jinnah, Khulna-2 Abdul Gaffar Biswas, Jamalpur-2 Dowlatuzzaman Ansari, Chandpur-3 SMM Alam, Bagherhat-2 Farid Hassan and Natore-1 M A Talha,the pess release added.

Bangladeshi victims of Turkish road crash buried

BSS, Habiganj

The 17 Bangladeshi victims of the last month’s Turkish road crash tragedy were buried at their village homes at Nabiganj here 41 days after they were killed apparently on their way to Greece.

Officials and residents said, a Malaysian passenger aircraft carried the bodies back home after midnight on Thursday while they were brought to their village homes in ambulances early this morning to be received by bereaved family members and relatives.

Out of the 17, nine were from Nabiganj upazila of Habiganj while seven hailed from the same village.

On October 3, a small truck packed with the illegal immigrants overturned in western Turkey killing the 17 Bangladeshis and another foreign national and injuring 23.

The accident occurred near the town of Malkara, about 60 miles west of Istanbul, when the driver apparently lost control as the victims were traveling in hidden compartments on the back of the truck.

Turkish officials said, they were planning to sneak into Greece.

Turkey is a major transit point for migrants attempting to reach Europe illegally.

This was the second such crash.

Media code of conduct not preserve of EC

Pulack Ghatack

The Election Commission's (EC) move to introduce a code of conduct for media in covering the upcoming elections has created doubt and confusion among journalists on press freedom in the country.

Journalists are suspecting a government curb on media rights in the name of the proposed code of conduct and have vowed to oppose the move, if necessary.

Media should be self-regulated and should not be controlled or regulated from outside, leading journalists of the country opined.

They also believed that the EC's efforts might fall flat, as the media was unlikely to adopt the code of conduct, if they were not forced to comply.

They have suggested the Commission to discuss the issue with editors of newspapers and heads of news of different radio and television channels before formulating any code of conduct for the media.

Reaz Uddin Ahmed, Editor of the News Today told this correspondent that the Commission can formulate a code of conduct, but media will not obey it, as it will not be mandatory.

"I doubt whether it would be at all effective. They should discuss it with the people particularly with the newspaper editors and heads of news of radio and television channels," he said.

Editor of the Bangladesh Observer Iqbal Sobhan Chowdhury said, "Any code of conduct should not be imposed from any quarters outside the media."

He said that media obviously would have to play a vital role in ensuring a free, fair transparent and peaceful election for transition to democracy.

"For that matter the media's role should not be in any way misunderstood or miss interpreted as controversial in the society or to those who will participate in the elections," he added.

This code of conduct should not be formulated by the government. But the election commission should draw the principles through discussions with media people for ensuring a responsible and accountable and also objective coverage of the election.

"Media cannot be controlled. Our responsibility should rests with us," he added.

He said, "Media has the right to support or oppose any party in the elections, but it will not be advisable for media to create any situation where the process of election will be jeopardised, which may lead to violence and hatred."

He sought explanation from the Commission about Chief Election Commissioner ATM Shamsul Huda's suggestion not to broadcast election results before the official announcement.

"There is nothing advance to be broadcast," he said, "As the centres will count the votes and declare it officially." "Can't we inform the people as the results come in? He posed the question. That's our right," he said adding that it would also help check manipulation of any sort or a media coup.

President of Bangladesh Federal Union of Journalists (BFUJ) Monjurul Ahsan Bulbul said, there might be a code of conduct for covering the elections, as many countries have already introduced it.

The code should be framed to help the media, not to control it. "If any quarters try to control the media, we will not accept it. We did not accept such measures in the past and we will also not accept the same in future."

Meanwhile, the EC is going to hand the print and electronic media a code of conduct to abide by in covering the parliamentary and upazila elections so that a sense of accountability and propriety is maintained.

The Commission has received a draft copy of the code of conduct from the UNESCO and it would finalise the media rules within a week after necessary vetting.

BOI needs reform to investment promotion

BSS, Dhaka

The Board of Investment (BOI) needs to be urgently restructured with enough skilled and proactive functionaries to make it an efficient organization capable to deal with fast changing global investment perspectives.

BOI executive chairman Kamaluddin Ahmed emphasised the point for reforming the country’s major investment promotion agency in talks with BSS on Thursday and said a new initiative is underway to reorganise the body.

He said the agency is still having its age old organogram and moreover, running short of manpower, least to speak about recruitment of new generation graduates having state of the art knowledge in business management and investment promotion activities.

Above all, the agency’s board of management needs strengthening, and departmental activities redefined in the changing context in domestic trade and investment and inflow foreign direct investment (FDI) to new business.

He said the restructuring of the agency is under process now by a specially set up committee. It held several meetings in recent past and several reform proposals would be presented to the Chief Adviser soon.

He would chair the forthcoming meeting of the BOI to consider the proposals. Kamaluddin Ahmed said, “in the globalised world attracting FDI is a major issue and it requires presentation of the country’s case in highly professional way.”

“Reforming BOI is very important in this context,” he said adding “the agency is looking forward to launching a new initiative called 'invest Bangladesh’ programme.”

The BOI will line up specialised manpower to present the package to overseas investors, he said adding only few developing countries offer such attractive investment package.

He said the country has good investment laws, highly skilled manpower and low cost workers to produce goods at competitive price. These are matters for investors’ genuine interest in making investment decisions, he added.

But it remained largely compromised now not only by poor projection of the country’s investment profile but also from insufficient infrastructure facilities such as shortage of gas and electricity. The political climate also need to be further encouraging, he emphasized. He blamed a neglect of the capacity building of the agency keeping pace with the changing time although it stands at the centre of the nation’s investment promotion activities from home and abroad.

In the first place, it remained handicapped, he said under an old law and its functionaries, especially the top functionary remained highly constrained by many restricting rules and regulations to play a pro-active role in mobilising efforts to reach investors and bring them down.

The agency should have an autonomous status, he said like the NBR to take promotional activities. Its capacity building, moreover, needs urgent attention, he said giving a bleak picture of its manpower; where scores of post are falling vacant while most in-service personnel closing retirement.

He said most functionaries in the agency work on 'current charge’ from lower posts. Eight assistant directors are working on current charge promoted from lower ranks. Out of three directors one is sick. Most deputy directors are also functioning on current charge.

A working paper on restructuring of the agency said, out of 68 post of first class officers in the present organogram, only 28 are in place and 50 percent of them are on deputation. Out of 319 post in the third grade, 205 are vacant. Of the 108 posts in the fourth grade, only 42 are in place.

Kamaluddin Ahmed said, the organization needs new set up, new recruits and new outlook to make it an effective body capable to deliver goods in the complex global investment climate. There was no recruitment in the BOI over the last 20 years, he added.

He said the present reform initiative is working towards achieving that goal.