Archive for November 29th, 2006
Wednesday, November 29th, 2006President and Chief Adviser Iajuddin Ahmed made the Election Commission (EC) announce the schedule for the next parliamentary elections hastily on Monday against an EC move for declaring it upon resolving the political deadlock over the issue.The EC had planned to wait a few more days before announcing the polls schedule to observe if the political situation improves. It also requested Iajuddin to initiate steps to break the political standoff over election schedule, sources said.The EC was planning to announce the polls schedule early December, hoping that the political tension should defuse by then. Sources said a message was also ...
(read more) Wednesday, November 29th, 2006The Supreme Court (SC) yesterday rejected the petitions of six of the seven sentenced to death Islamist militants seeking permission to appeal against a High Court (HC) judgement upholding the sentences, leaving the condemned with only the last chance of a final petition before the dates of executions are announced. The seven had been convicted of killing two Jhalakathi judges.With yesterday's rejection of the petitions for leave to appeal by the seven-member full bench of the Supreme Court headed by Chief Justice JR Mudassir Hossain, the HC verdict of August 31, which had upheld the trial court verdict of May ...
(read more) Wednesday, November 29th, 2006Slowly, surely and so very sadly, our President and chief of the caretaker government is becoming more and more controversial. In fact, so much controversial that it is becoming increasingly difficult to defend him, much less trust him. It is indeed a most troubling situation when the highest constitutional office becomes subject to so much of doubt and suspicion. Yes, some political parties had raised serious questions about his neutrality, but they couldn't have made him remotely as controversial as he has made of himself. One inexplicable action after another, one surreptitious move following another, some strange inaction coupled with ...
(read more) Wednesday, November 29th, 2006The sit-in around the Election Commission (EC) Secretariat yesterday passed off peacefully with the demonstrators renewing their vow to get the polls schedule cancelled and the EC reconstituted 'meaningfully'. Hundreds of activists of the Awami League (AL)-led 14-party combine, Jatiya Oikya Front, Jatiya Party (Ershad) and Jaker Party attempted to march toward the EC Secretariat from three directions. As police intercepted the processions, they held rallies at Russell Square, Mohakhali and Agargaon.Tension mounted in Dhanmondi area when the demonstrators tried to break barbed-wire police barricade there. But clashes could be avoided as leaders calmed down the activists and police refrained ...
(read more) Wednesday, November 29th, 2006Two advisers to the caretaker government yesterday said parliamentary elections without participation of any major political party like the Awami League (AL) will not be accepted either at home or abroad.They also observed that the controversy surrounding the election schedule could have been avoided if it had been discussed with the political parties and had not been arranged hastily."Elections will not be accepted without the participation of a large and major party whether in Bangladesh or, as we have seen from unaccepted elections, in the Philippines and Thailand," Finance and Planning Adviser Akbar Ali Khan told reporters at his secretariat ...
(read more) Wednesday, November 29th, 2006The 14-patry alliance yesterday alleged that the President and Chief Adviser (CA) Prof Iajuddin Ahmed has stopped all ways for peaceful and credible elections, made the ongoing political crisis more complicated and made the people head for demonstrations rather than elections, in a bid to implement BNP-Jamaat alliance's plot to rig the polls.The Awami League-led 14-party alliance also demanded Iajuddin to step down from the post of CA to the Caretaker Government (CG) immediately to avoid untoward incidents and chaos in the country. They also demanded that the 10 advisers to the CG create a congenial atmosphere for a free ...
(read more) Wednesday, November 29th, 2006Two caretaker government (CG) advisers yesterday said Monday's establishment ministry circular ordering a probe into all political involvements by bureaucrats since 1996 does not correspond with the council of advisers' decision to specifically investigate the bureaucrats' 'secret meeting' last Friday."This circular (from the establishment ministry) has not been issued in light of the council of advisers' decision. There is no relationship between this circular and the decision given by the council of advisers," Finance and Planning Adviser Akbar Ali Khan told the reporters at his secretariat office."The council of advisers will only consider the report of the probe committee findings ...
(read more) Wednesday, November 29th, 2006Security has been beefed up at election offices throughout the country following a spate of arson attacks that have triggered panic among field level election officers and staff.Unidentified attackers yesterday set fire to five election offices in Barisal, Munshiganj, Khulna, Jhenidah, Chuadanga and Brahmanbaria damaging valuable documents and office equipment. The incidents followed a similar attack in Khulna on Monday night.In response to the incidents, the Election Commission (EC) Secretariat yesterday sought a tightening of security from the home ministry. In a letter to the home secretary, the EC Secretariat asked for adequate security arrangements for the divisional election commissioners ...
(read more) Wednesday, November 29th, 2006Heavy gunfight took place between Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) and Indian Border Security Force (BSF) on Thakurgaon and Satkhira borders yesterday.In Thakurgaon, the border skirmish took place on Dharmagarh frontier under Ranishankoil upazila following the death of a Bangladeshi farmer in BSF firing.The dead was identified as Ershad Ali, 30, son of Mortuza of Shahanabad village under the upazila.Meanwhile, the Indian border guards gunned down another Bangladeshi farmer near Nitpur frontier in Porsha upazila of Naogaon district yesterday morning.The dead was identified as Mohiful Islam, 40, of Nitpur village.Around 400 people of Shahanabad and adjacent villages left their homes following ...
(read more) Wednesday, November 29th, 2006Veteran Awami League (AL) leader and former Dhaka City Corporation (DCC) mayor Mohammad Hanif was laid to eternal rest yesterday at Azimpur graveyard in the capital.The first of the three namaz-e-janazas of Mohammad Hanif was held at his Nazirabazar home in old Dhaka in the morning after the body was taken there from his Banani home. AL President Sheikh Hasina and thousands of people paid tribute to the leading organiser of the Liberation War.Around noon, Hanif's body was taken to Nagar Bhaban where officials and employees of the DCC paid their last tribute to the former mayor.Around 3:00pm, the body ...
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