Archive for September 15th, 2006
Friday, September 15th, 2006Government officials under instructions from some of the policymakers during the BNP rule in early nineties had deliberately tampered with the economic basis of Barapukuria Coal Mine project showing it as a profitable one, what it never was.According to one of the architects of this project, Internal Rate of Return (IRR) for such an enormous scheme was only 13 percent. But they showed it to be 39 percent with fictitious projections and investments that never took place.This was done mainly to help a businessman and a policymaker of the BNP to cash in on the coal mine and coal ...
(read more) Friday, September 15th, 2006Election Observation Group (EOG), a mass of NGOs working as election observers, yesterday told the visiting EU exploratory mission that Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) MA Aziz have to be removed for the Election Commission (EC) to regain its credibility."He [MA Aziz] has lost his credibility through controversial activities and decisions," leaders of the observation group told the EU mission.Fema, Democracywatch, JANIPOP, Massline Media Centre (MMC), Brotee, Rupantor, and Bachte Sekha were among the NGOs that took part in the three-hour meeting with the EU mission.Some of the NGOs at the meeting objected to the 'past political affiliation' of former ...
(read more) Friday, September 15th, 2006Requesting the main opposition Awami League (AL) to sit for negotiations with the government on the electoral reforms issue, US Ambassador Patricia A Butenis yesterday offered her country's readiness to mediate the talks if required."You sit together and bring an end to the crisis...If you are interested, the US is ready to mediate," said AL General Secretary Abdul Jalil quoting Butenis.In reply to the US offer, he said only the government's sincere effort would make the negotiations possible. Jalil was talking to newsmen after the meeting with the ambassador at his Gulshan residence last evening.Butenis, however, expressed hope that ...
(read more) Friday, September 15th, 2006In a latest political development, Prime Minister Khaleda Zia yesterday offered a dialogue on electoral reforms between the secretaries-general of the ruling and the main opposition parties to break the standoff. She asked her political adversaries to shun the course of hartal, siege and indiscipline and resolve the issues raised by them through negotiation."Still saying, tell your Mohashachib (secretary general) to talk with our Mohashachib. But don't create indiscipline and don't destroy public peace and property," the PM said, apparently offering an olive branch to Leader of the Opposition and Awami League chief Sheikh Hasina.Khaleda, also the chairperson of ...
(read more) Friday, September 15th, 2006The ruling BNP and the opposition Awami League (AL) lawmakers were involved in a heated debate in parliament yesterday over the proposed electoral reforms and the open-pit coal mining agreement signed with the Asia Energy. The opposition members criticised Prime Minister Khaleda Zia for her recent speech where she said the election will be held as per the constitution and without any reforms.They alleged that she has ruined the possibility of a dialogue to break the current political impasse.But the ruling party lawmakers said what the prime minister had said in her speech was right and she did not ...
(read more) Friday, September 15th, 2006Proshika officials yesterday accused the coalition government of unleashing torture and repression on the organisation to implement the blueprint of the fundamentalist groups within the ruling coalition.In the wake of the government's recent crackdown on Proshika, one of the largest non-government organisations (NGO) in the country, its top officials said in a press conference yesterday that the alliance government has been desperately trying to destroy the organisation since their assuming power."Especially the fundamentalist groups within the government have been very active regarding the matter," the Proshika officials said, indicating Jamaat-e-Islami and Mufti Fazlul Huq Amini-led Islami Oikya Jote.Jamaat-e-Islami, especially two ...
(read more) Friday, September 15th, 2006Leading trade bodies in the readymade garment sector yesterday blamed the government and National Wage Board for announcing an "incomplete, one-sided and inconsistent" pay structure giving priority to political goals without considering its possible impacts on the industry."We think the board gave priority to political consideration and did not take into account implications of the proposed pay structure on the garment industry," Fazlul Hoque, president of Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA), said at a press briefing at its office in Dhaka."It is not possible to implement the basic economic policies if it is influenced by politics," he added.Terming ...
(read more) Friday, September 15th, 2006Land at historic Mahasthangarh is being occupied illegally in the name of family graveyards and religious institutions while locals have been building houses and cultivating vegetables on the site, violating the Antiquities Act 1968.Archaeological Department Regional Director Abdul Khaleque said, "According to the Antiquities Act, none can build any construction and cultivate crops while nobody is allowed to transfer his/her land property within eight kilometres of the protected area without prior permission of the authority."A fortified, oblong enclosure measuring 5000ftx4500ft in Mahasthangarh near Paharpur in Bogra was declared "protected site" during the British rule in 1920.Mahasthangarh, the capital of the ...
(read more) Friday, September 15th, 2006The Awami League (AL)-led 14-party opposition combine yesterday directed its grassroots level leaders to prepare for the final round of anti-government agitation programme which they hinted would begin after the September 18 grand rally.At a preparatory meeting with the leaders of 20 districts of Dhaka division, they decided to bring Dhaka to a standstill by bringing 10 lakh people at the grand rally in bid to force the government accept their electoral reforms proposal.The meeting was held at AL's central office on Bangabandhu Avenue with AL presidium member Abdur Razzak in the chair.The Leader of the Opposition Sheikh Hasina is ...
(read more) Friday, September 15th, 2006Bangladesh proposed that the Non-Aligned Movement should constitute three expert groups -- each comprising no more than twelve members -- on political and security issues, economic issues and human rights and social issues for the much needed reinvigoration of the Movement. Foreign Minister M Morshed Khan made the proposal while speaking at the interactive session of the Nam Ministerial segment of the 14th Summit that began in Havana on Wednesday, according to a message received here in Dhaka yesterday.The Bangladesh foreign minister emphasised Nam's readiness to address the new and emerging issues of the 21st century and urged the ...
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