The New Nation - Internet Edition

Govt for deferment of JS, upazila polls for 10 days Five advisers meet Khaleda, Hasina: AL yet to respond

Commerce Adviser Dr Hossain Zillur Rahman, Foreign
Adviser Dr Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury, Communications Adviser
Ghulam Quader, LGED Adviser Anwarul Iqbal and Law Adviser AF
Hasan Ariff hold meetings seperately with BNP Chairperson
Begum Khaleda Zia at her

Staff Reporter

Five advisers of the Caretaker Government yesterday held parleys with the leaders of BNP, Awami League and its allies to ensure the participation of all parties in the forthcoming parliamentary elections.

Insiders said the government side proposed deferment of the polling date from December 18 to a convenient date within the same. Leaders of the Awami League were yet to come to a conclusion on the proposal when we went to the press last night.

After the meeting with Awami League president Sheikh Hasina and leaders of the 14-party alliance at Hasina's Shudha Sadan residence, Adviser for Commerce Dr Hossain Zillur told reporters that the government is working for a smooth transition through the elections.

"We have a short discussion with Awami League president Sheikh Hasina and leaders of the 14-party alliance," he said.

Awami League spokesman Syed Ashraful Islam said that they were working to ensure that the elections are held in a free and fair manner.

Both of them parried questions about the rescheduling of the polls.

Meanwhile, Workers Party president Rashed Khan Menon, who among others attended the meeting, told reporters that the government proposed deferment of the parliamentary polls from December 18 to December 28 and upazila elections from December 28 to January 8.

Among the 14-party leaders, the meeting was also attended by Amir Hossain Amu, Tofayel Ahmed and Motiya Chowdhury of AL, Anisul Islam Mahmood and Ziauddin Bablu of Jatiya Party, Rashed Khan Menon of Workers Party and Hasanul Haque Inu, and Mainuddin Khan Badal of JSD.

Earlier, the five advisers had a meeting with BNP Chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia at her Gulshan office in the city and discussed about their conditions to take part in the polls.

Both sides termed it 'fruitful' for resolving the four-point demand of the four-party alliance.

BNP Secretary General Khandker Delwar Hossain and Commerce and Education Adviser Dr Hossain Zillur Rahman termed the meeting 'fruitful' for joining the alliance in the parliamentary election on December 18.

The five Advisers met with Begum Zia to discuss the four-point charter of demands.

Begum Zia who is also the leader of the four-party alliance on Monday issued a 48-hour ultimatum to the government for accepting the alliance's four-point demands as a precondition for their participation in the elections.

Foreign adviser Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury, Communications Adviser Ghulam Quader, Law Adviser AF Hassan Ariff, Local Government Adviser Anwarul Iqbal and Commerce and Education Adviser Dr Hossain Zillur Rahman were at Khaleda's Gulshan office from 6.45 pm to 8.15pm.

After the meeting BNP Secretary General Khandker Delwar Hossain said the BNP as well as the alliance wanted to participate in the polls.

"BNP is a pro-election party and we the alliance are very keen to go to elections," he added.

When asked on the progress of the meeting, he termed it ' positive' and said so far they are satisfied with the outcome of the discussion.

"We are satisfied with the outcome of our discussion with the advisers, " he mentioned.

Dr Hossain Zillur said discussions were underway and more will take place. He termed the meeting 'fruitful'.

The meeting was also attended by BNP joint secretary general Nazrul Islam Khan and standing committee member Dr Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain.

The BNP-led four-party alliance gave the government 48 hours to meet their four conditions, including a new schedule, on which they would take part in the general election.

BNP and its allies have called for total withdrawal of the state of emergency and re-announcement of the election schedule for the sake of pilgrims who are now in Saudi Arabia to perform haj.

Changes to Section 91(E) of the Representation of the People Order (RPO) that gives the Election Commission power to cancel candidature and deferment of Upazila polls are the two demands.

CEC meets Chief Adviser

Staff Reporter

Chief Election Commissioner Dr ATM Shamsul Huda yesterday apprised Chief Adviser, Dr Fakhruddin Ahmed the latest situation centering the forthcoming parliamentary elections.

The meeting between the Chief Adviser and the CEC was held in connection with Khaleda Zia's ultimatum to defer the polls.

The CEC was accompanied by Election Commissioners M Sohul Hussain and Brig Gen (Retd) M Shakhawat Hossain.

Before leaving the EC Secretariat, the CEC told reporters that they were going to the Chief Adviser's Office.

However, he did not disclose the agenda of the meeting.

Asked whether the Commission would brief the media about the developments from the high-profile meeting, Dr Huda replied in the negative.

According to sources the CEC might have discussed the matter of rescheduling the upcoming parliamentary and upazila polls in response to the demand made by the four-party alliance on Monday.

Working journalists were waiting at the Commission to know the development if any, but the commissioners didn't' return to the EC office for the day.

New faces dominate: AL nominations Noisy scenes in front of Sudha Sadan

Pulack Ghatack/Pankaj Karmakar

Sudha Sadan, residence of Awami League president Sheikh Hasina at Dhanmondi, yesterday witnessed both joyful and noisy scenes in connection with the party nomination.

Sudha Sadan reverberated with the joy and merriment of the candidates who were blessed with party nomination for contesting the upcoming parliamentary election. Demonstration, shouting and slogans of the unsuccessful candidates somewhat marred the joyful scene at Sudha Sadan at the same time.

Remarkably, there were a good number of new faces who were awarded party nominations for contesting the polls for the coveted parliamentary seat. A significant number of ranking leaders, mainly "reformists," were disheartened for failing to manage nomination this time.

Some of the frustrated aspirants complained that the parliamentary board headed by Sheikh Hasina ignored the recommendations of the local panels in giving the nomination.

Thousands of AL activists and supporters of several leaders, on the other hand, were found dancing and chanting slogans as their candidates of choice won party nominations.

A group of AL activists protested against nomination of Shafiqur Rahman to contest in the Chandpur-4 constituency. The protesters supported Dr Shamsul Haque Bhuiyan, who was denied nomination. Nomination of Habibur Rahman Sheikh for Pirojpur-2 irked the supporters of Principal Shah Alam. They lodged a noisy protest against the nomination.

A number of central leaders of AL, who incurred the party chief's wrath for turning themselves as so-called reformists to avert arrest or to gain benefit prior to and after her arrest in the ongoing emergency rule, entered into Sudha Sadan to sooth her.

However, they neither could meet Sheikh Hasina, nor could manage the party nomination despite their day-long stay there.

The midlevel central leaders, who were denied party nominations apparently for their role after one-eleven include: Joint General Secretary Mukul Bose, organising secretaries Mahmudur Rahman Manna, Akhtaruzzaman, Sultan Mohammad Mansur Ahmed and Abdur Rahman, Health and Population Affairs Secretary Dr Mostafa Jalal Mohiuddin, Youth and Sports Secretary Dewan Shafiul Arefin Tutul, central committee members Prof Abu Sayeed and AKM Jahangir Hossain, and Jubo League Chairman Jahangir Kabir Nanak.

Presidium members Amir Hossain Amu, Abdur Razzak, Tofail Ahmed and Suranjit Sengupta however had no trouble securing nominations despite widely held perception that they were the brains behind the pro-reform efforts, added the sources.

Freshers among the nomination getters include Mirza Golam Erfan Babu, son of BNP leader and former speaker Mirza Golam Hafiz, Tanvir Shakil Joy, son of AL leader Mohammad Nasim, Iqbalur Rahim, son of former AL lawmaker Abdur Rahim, Khalid Mahmud Chowdhury, son of former AL state minister Abdur Rouf Chowdhury, and Nazrul Islam Babu, former general secretary of Bangladesh Chhatra League.

Existing laws enough to combat drug menace

Staff Reporter

Tens of thousands of youths in the country have become drug addicts and the menace is eating into the vitals of the society.

The country's existing law is enough to effectively combat the wide-spread menace of drugs, Inspector General of Police (IGP) Nur Mohammad told reporters after attending a RAB-organised narcotics-destruction programme at the RAB-1 office yesterday morning.

There is no need to make new law to eliminate drugs and terrorism from the country. It'll be possible through the existing laws of the state if proper and strict implementation is ensured, he said.

The law-enforcing agencies incinerated huge quantities of narcotics worth over Tk 2 crore that were seized in the last 2 to 3 months in country-wide drives against drugs.

Among the drug items, the elite force destroyed 42,488 bottles and 252.8 liters of banned Indian cough-syrup 'phensidyl', around 300 kgs of cannabis, over 1.5 lakh Yaba tablets that has been destroying high-society youngsters.

In reply to a question, the IGP said they would take special initiatives against terrorists, if necessary, ahead of the general election and hoped that the upcoming parliamentary polls would be held in a terrorism-free environment.

Some unexpected incidents occurred in recent times, but it is isolated, not alarming, he said.

Speaking as chief guest at the function, the police boss said everybody would have to work unitedly to fight out drugs from the country, as the law- enforcers could not do it alone.

Terming the country's legal system time-consuming, Nur Mohammad said due to loopholes in legal system, many of the listed drug traders and criminals came out from jail on bail.

Now the time has come to rethink about the problem, said the IGP, who recently earned ire of higher authorities for his comments about delays in proclamation of a proposed police ordinance.

Rapid Action Battalion Director General Hasan Mahmud Khandokar said RAB would take special security measures ahead of the polls so that criminals could not disrupt the environment of election.

We will inform people of the country about it through media at a suitable time, he said.

Earlier, people of different professions, including film-star Razzak and singer Fahmida Nabi, spoke on the occasion.

AL, JP tie over polls

Staff Reporter

Awami League and Jatiya Party (JP) yesterday announced their formal tie to contest in the upcoming national election and also to form government together, they win.

Delegation of the two parties led by their respective heads ex- Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and former President HM Ershad reached in the agreement at a meeting at the former's residence at Dhanmondi in the city yesterday. The two former rulers also agreed on the moot point that the election must be held on December 18, as scheduled.

Ershad, after the meeting said, "We have decided to contest the election unitedly and also to form government unitedly."

He said they want election on December 18 and hoped all parties would join the fray for restoring democracy in the country.

The former President noted that if the election couldn't take place on December 18, there would be doubt about the elections at a later date.

Asked about his aspired presidency-nearly two decades after his unceremonious exit amid a people-power movement--Ershad said there was an agreement (with Hasina) before, but the matter was not discussed at today's meeting. It will be discussed later on.

On seat sharing, he said that the issue is yet to be discussed elaborately. Our representatives will do it.

AL spokes person Syed Ashraful Islam, echoed what Ershad said about the united position on contesting election and formation of the government.

"We took this decision before one-eleven. We vowed to participate in the election and forming the government under the banner of grand alliance," he said.

He said, "Two teams, representing the two parties, are working to reach a consensus over distribution of seats. We will continue discussions before the last minute of withdrawal of the nomination paper."

Ashraful said they had earlier discussions with allies in the 14-party alliance and finalization of the candidatures would be done before the last date for withdrawal of nomination papers.

JP leader Barrister Anisul Islam Mahmud said they have no objection against the entry of any party into the grand alliance, but it depends on Awami League. He expressed ignorance about the prospect of BNP's pro-reform leaders jumping on the bandwagon of the grand alliance led by their traditional political foe AL.

Jatiya Party was a component of the AL-led 'grand alliance' forged for the forestalled general election in 2007.

However, the left lining parties in the alliance including Worker's Party, Gonotantry Party and Sammobadi Dal have misgivings about including JP in the alliance.

Hasina was accompanied by her senior party colleagues like Amir Hossain Amu, Abdur Razzak, Tofael Ahmed, Suranjit Sengupta, Matia Chowdhury and Syed Ashraf.

Ershad was assisted by party secretary general Ruhul Amin Hawlader and presidium members Kazi Zafar Ahmed and Ziauddin Bablu.

Commentary: Obama will find his policy of dialogue more effective to end terrorism

President-elect Barack Obama is reported to have said on Sunday night that upon taking office he would close Guantanamo Bay and ban torture by the American military.

Obama had originally promised to shut the US prison in Cuba while on the campaign trail, but his comments were the first confirmation of his intentions since the November 4 election.

The US President-elect is also promise-bound to withdraw American troops from Iraq.

Obama has been quoted to have told the CBS programme 60 Minutes: "I have said repeatedly that I intend to close Guantanamo, and I will follow through on that.

"I have said repeatedly that America doesn't torture.

"And I'm going to make sure that we don't torture. Those are part and parcel of an effort to regain America's moral stature in the world."

As the new US leader vows to regain America's moral stature, time is probably ripe to tell him that he may also seek to help end anti-US terrorism by some elements which are not essentially anti-American. Muslims have been reacting to policy of war and torture pursued by successive US administrations.

Ali Imron, one of the convicts of the Bali blasts of 2002 which killed 202 people - mostly foreign tourists - testified that the bombing was in revenge for Muslims being killed by Americans.

Three bombers - Samudra, Amrozi and Mukhlas, also known as Ali Ghufron - were executed on November 9 morning on a prison island off Java after years of delay because of government fears of a violent backlash. Ali Imron managed to escape the death sentences given to his co-convicts because he repeatedly apologised for his role in the bombings. They admitted to have Al-Qaeda links.

While nobody would oppose the punishment of those who would be found guilty of killing innocent people by way of terrorism, it may be good to listen to those people who have chosen the path of suicide bombing, in other words, opted to kill themselves to 'revenge mistreatment.' Many international affairs experts have asserted that anti-Americanism among a section of Muslims is the offshoot of the West's policies in the Middle East of blindly supporting Israel which is accused of carrying out state-terrorism for decades not only against the Palestinians but also against its Arab neighbours.

Since the US President-elect has made clear his plan to close Guantanamo and withdraw troops from Iraq, cannot dialogue with Al-Qaeda leaders be also a wise option to see whether hostilities could be brought to an end through talks.

Now even Israeli leaders have realised the need for having talks with their Syrian counterparts. Military commanders of the coalition forces in Afghanistan have underscored the need for dialogue with the Taliban leaders. Afghan President Hamid Karzai has also promised full security to Taliban leader Mollah Omar if he comes for peace talks to Kabul.

Analysts from all over the world have indicated that the key for the US to having good relations with Muslims is a just solution of the Palestine problem, which made the Palestinian people to suffer physically, and bled the hearts of Muslims in the rest of the globe for full six decades. Former Birtish prime minister Tony Blair who is now working as the international community's peace envoy to the Middle East echoed this last week when he sought Obama's strong commitment to bring peace to the region.

Israeli analyst David Kimche wrote on Monday in the International Herald Tribune, "Every American president since Truman had to deal with the Israeli-Arab conflict. Now that the transition from the Bush to the Obama presidency is underway, Washington must recognise that the Israeli-Palestinian peace process is in a race against time.

"The concept of a negotiated two-state solution - a Jewish state of Israel living in peace and security alongside an independent, economically viable Palestinian state - that has been widely accepted for more than 15 years is disappearing before our eyes."

The cause of terrorism among Muslims against USA is mainly for US-backed Israeli policy of state sponsored terrorism against Muslims. At present, all Muslim countries are hopeful that Bush's policy of supporting terrorism and torture against Muslims will be rejected boldly and fearlessly. Obama should know that Muslim countries are America's best friends. It has to be understood in what sense Israel is America's most dependable ally. By pursuing a policy of terrorism against Muslims in the Middle East, Israel has done more harm than good to America's moral stature in the world.

Ensure participation of all parties in polls: DU teachers

DU Correspondent

Three hundred seventy five teachers of Dhaka University, in a statement yesterday, urged the government to make the upcoming election meaningful by ensuring the participation of all political parties. Otherwise the election would not be acceptable to all, they said.

They hope the government will accept the rational demand of political parties/ alliances, and ensure the franchise of hajj pilgrims.

The teachers said the election is very important for the nation to return to democracy.

The signatories to the statement are Dr Sadrul Amin, Dean of Arts faculty, Dr Aminur Rahman Majumder, Dr Sirajul Islam, Mozzamel Hoque, Dr Anwarul Islam, Dr Akhter Hossain, Dr Abdus Sattar, Dr Zahidul Islam, Dr Tazmery SA Islam, Dr Burhan Uddin, Dr Abbas Ali Khan, Dr Abul Bashar, Dr Wakil Ahmed, Dr Mohammad Shahjahan Mia, Dr AZN Tahmina Begum and Dr Sukumol Barua.

4-tier security for polling stations

Staff Reporter

The Dhaka Metropolitan Police will put in place a four-tier security bulwark around the polling stations in the city on the Election Day to ensure free and fair parliamentary elections.

DMP Commissioner Naim Ahmed, however, would not divulge details of the security plan for the polls being held against the background of unfolding political drama in the country.

Talking to reporters at Rajarbagh Police Lines yesterday afternoon the city police boss said that the Chief Adviser already ordered them to take up all-out security measures for safety of voters and smooth voting.

He said strike forces would be posted to look after the security aspects of several polling-centers. Such ready-to-act forces will also be kept at the police-control room. "Stringent legal actions will be taken against any element who tries to obstruct the elections," Naim said.

Replying to a question, the Commissioner said he does not apprehend any militant activity on the eve of the elections. Intelligence agencies will step up their watch.

He said overall crime situation remained stable for last eight months.

EU to redeploy full observation mission

UNB, Dhaka

The European Commission (EC) has decided to re-deploy a full EU Election Observation Mission (EOM) for parliamentary elections in Bangladesh scheduled for December 18.

The decision was taken following the repeal of elements of the Emergency Power Rules early this month, an EC release disclosed here On Tuesday.

The EC suspended its observation mission in January 2007 in the wake of political turmoil between major parties over the abortive elections slated for January 22.

Commissioner for External Relations and European Neighbourhood Policy Benita Ferrero-Waldner has communicated her decision to Chief Advisor Dr Fakhruddin Ahmed by a letter on Monday.

The re-deployed EOM will be led by Alexander Graf Lambsdorff, Member of the European Parliament.

The release said a number of experts on election assessment, who will form the Core Team of the Mission, arrived here on November 7.

Ferrero-Waldner said the European Commission knows that both the international community and the Bangladeshi people have looked forward to this decision on the re-deployment.

She said the Commission, from the very beginning, was committed to re-activate the EOM once acceptable conditions for the conduct of democratic elections were in place.

"The European institutions and the Member States have attached great importance to, and have supported, the political and legal reforms in Bangladesh since January 2007 that aimed at setting the right conditions for credible and democratic elections in December 2008," she said.

Ferrero said "notwithstanding the difficulties that still exist, I now believe that the conditions exist which allow the EU EOM to be redeployed. I encourage both the Caretaker Government and the political parties to make all efforts to ensure this election reflects the will of the Bangladeshi people who always expressed their commitment to democratic government."

Dr Stefan Frowein, Head of the European Commission Delegation to Bangladesh, said: the decision to re-deploy the full EOM constitutes a recognition of the impressive progress made by the government, Election Commission and other authorities to create conditions conducive to a free, fair and credible election.

He said the European Commission has sent a signal of its confidence in the preparations for the parliamentary elections and its absolute commitment to scrutinizing this critical event in the democratic history of Bangladesh. "It is now incumbent upon all political stakeholders to discharge their democratic duties in a manner which is mindful of the stability and prosperity of this country," he noted.

Explaining the work plan by EU EOM, Frowein said altogether some 150 EU Observers will be in place on Election Day. This is a major commitment to Bangladesh's democratic development.

He said the re-deployed Election Observation Mission, which consists of a Core Team of 10 election experts (including the Chief Observer), was deployed on November 7 to co-ordinate the assessment of the entire election process. They will be joined by 46 Long-Term Observers (LTOs) to be deployed in two stages to assess the candidate nomination process, the campaign period and pre-election preparations around the country.

Some 88 Short-Term Observers (including several observers from Norway and Switzerland operating within the EOM) will be deployed by mid-December to observe voting, counting and the tabulation of results. It is planned that the EU EOM will remain in the country for up to 3 weeks after Election Day to observe the post-election period.

Frowein said EU Election Observation Missions are an important instrument for building confidence in democratic processes and are deployed in line with the EU's commitment to promote democracy, human rights and respect for the rule of law. The EU has made available some € 3.2 million from the European Initiative for Democracy and Human Rights (EIDHR), for this mission.

He said the European Commission is one of Bangladesh's most important development partners, assisting the country in meeting the Millennium Development Goals by providing support to human and social development, good governance, and economic development. The European Commission is assisting Bangladesh in the fields of environment and disaster preparedness and food security.

54 more get AL nomination letters

UNB, Dhaka

Bangladesh Awami League resumed distribution of nomination letters to its candidates on the second day yesterday, handing out 54 tickets so far in the day.

The party nominees are: Sharfuddin Ahmed Jhantu (Rangpur-1), Ziaur Rahman (Chapainawabganj-2), Dr Abdur Razzaq (Tangail-1), Latif Siddiqui (Tangail 4), Yusuf Hossain Humayun (Bhola-1), Dr Amanullah (Mymensingh-11), Advocate Sahara Khatun (Dhaka-18), Benazir Ahmed (Dhaka-20), Raziuddin Ahmed Raju (Narsingdi-5), Eng. Moazzem Hossain (Sunamganj-1) and Subid Ali Bhuiyan (Comilla-1).

Other nominees are Abdul Wadud Biswas (Chapainawabganj-3) Merajuddin Mollah (Rajshahi-3), Maj (retd) Jasim Uddin (Bhola-3), Abdullah Al-Islam Jacob (Bhola-4), Mirza Azam (Jamalpur-3), Mojibur Rahman Fakir (Mymensingh-3), Mizanur Rahman Khan Dipu (Dhaka-6), AKM Rahmatullah (Dhaka-10), Shahabuddin (Moulvibazar-1), ex-Whip Abdus Shahid (Moulvibazar-4), Advocate Abu Jahir (Habiganj-3) Haji Baharuddin Bahar (Comilla-6), Khorshed Alam Sujan (Chittagong-10), Afsarul Amin (Chittagong-9), Nuruzzaman Ahmed (Lalmonirhat-2), Aminul Haq Chowdhury (Rangpur-2), Major Gen (retd) Golam Mowla (Bogra-3), Yunus Ali (Bogra-4), Mostafa Alom Nannu (Bogra-7), Shafiqul Islam Shafi (Sirajganj-4), Ranjit Roy (Jessore-4), Dhiren Shikder (Magura-2), Ruhul Haq (Satkhira-4), Maidul Islam (Barisal-4), Col (retd) Zahid Faruq (Barisal-5), Fazlul Haq Chan (Sherpur-3), Reja Ali (Mymensingh-7), Sohrab Uddin (Kishoreganj-2), Abdul Hamid (Kishoreganj-4), ABM Anwarul Haq (Manikganj-1), Dewan Shafiul Arefin Tutul (Manikganj-2), Zahid Malek Swapan (Manikganj-3), Habibur Rahman Mollah (Dhaka-5), Jahangir Kabir Nanok (Dhaka-13), Abdur Rahman (Faridpur-1), Maidur Rahman Manik (Sunamganj-5), Nurul Islam Nahid (Sylhet-6), Abdul Hakim (Comilla-8), Tajul Islam (Comilla-9), Major (retd) Rafiqul Islam (Chandpur-5), Mohammad Ali (Noakhali-6), Dr. Jamal Uddin (Chittagong-16) and Abdul Mal Abul Muhit (Sylhet-1).

With the latest winners of the battle for AL ticket, their number stood at 204.

RAB seizes VoIP equipment

NN Report

A joint team of Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) and Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) in a drive seized a huge quantity of illegal VoIP equipment from the ground floor and the third floor of a building at North Shajahanpur on Monday evening.

One person was arrested in this connection, according to a press of release of BTRC.

The seized equipment includes11 quantum gateways, 49 telulars, 10 telular antenna, 3 patch panel, one web camera, 80 CDMA USB modems, one laptop, 20 Warid's SIMs, five Teletak's SIMs, three Grameenphone's SIMs, five Banglalink's SIM's and 24 Aktel's SIMs.

The drive will continue as a part of BTRC's routine activities against illegal telecommunication service providers, the press release said.

"BTRC will not spare anyone connected with illegal telecommunication activities," said BTRC Chairman, Maj Gen (rtd) Manjurul Alam.