Archive for December 2nd, 2009
Wednesday, December 2nd, 2009Although the BNP is determined to hold its national council on December 8, it is yet to hold about one-third of its grassroots level councils including those in 27 out of 75 organisational districts across the country.The council being held after 16 years is expected to draw about 15,000 councillors and delegates from all the organisational units of the party.To be held at Bangabandhu International Conference Centre in the capital, this will be BNP's fifth national council.According to the party constitution, it is supposed to hold national council every two years.The party started taking preparations in ...
(read more) Wednesday, December 2nd, 2009Detained former BNP ministers Lutfozzaman Babar and Abdus Salam Pintu had assisted banned Islamist group Huji in its botched attempt to kill Awami League President Sheikh Hasina on August 21, 2004.Abdul Kahar Akand, investigation officer in two cases filed for August 21 grenade attack, said this at a Dhaka court yesterday.He was seeking a day's fresh remand for Huji founder Sheikh Abdus Salam. The court granted the prayer.The IO said Harkatul Jihad al Islami first planned to kill Hasina, now prime minister, and some of her party colleagues during AL's previous tenure in 1996-2001.It took the decision ...
(read more) Wednesday, December 2nd, 2009The National Central Bureau (NCB), Interpol's regional office in Dhaka, has sent a letter to its Washington DC office seeking cooperation for deportation of fugitive Lt Col (retd) AM Rashed Chowdhury, a self-declared and convicted killer of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.The NCB, Dhaka sent another letter to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs seeking diplomatic assistance in this regard.Besides, the NCB local office also renewed the red alert against nine fugitives in Bangabandhu assassination case, jail killing case and other killings that took place in 1975.Sources say the NCB office in Washington DC had earlier informed the Dhaka office after Rashed ...
(read more) Wednesday, December 2nd, 2009The government will still have to depend on its two outdated salvage vessels for rescue operations in any launch capsize, as it would take two and half more years to buy new ones.A project to procure two modern selvage vessels, approved in December 2005 and scheduled to be completed by December 2007, is yet to be done due to bureaucratic tangle, sources of BIWTA said.The tender procedure will take around three months and the bidders, who will get the work order to make the vessels, will be allotted 22 to 24 months, said a BIWTA official."We expect to get the ...
(read more) Wednesday, December 2nd, 2009The government will appoint an ombudsman by next January in order to establish good governance in the country."We have already started looking for a competent person for the position of ombudsman to probe allegations against any government, semi-government or statutory office or organisation and recommend that the government take proper steps against them," Law Minister Shafique Ahmed said yesterday.He was talking to reporters after a meeting with Asian Development Bank Country Director Paul J Heytens at his secretariat office in the afternoon.Quoting article 77 of the constitution, Shafique said the ombudsman will exercise powers and perform functions determined by parliament ...
(read more) Wednesday, December 2nd, 2009Home Minister Sahara Khatun yesterday requested the top functionaries of the government to refrain from talking details about deportation of the killers of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.Talking to reporters at her Secretariat office, the minister said a 'red alert' has been issued by the Interpol for the fugitive killers of Bangabandhu aiming to tracking and bringing them back to Bangladesh.On Law Minister Shafique Ahmed's remark on bringing back Lt Col (retd) SHMB Nur Chowdhury, a convict in Bangabandhu assassination case, from Canada, she said, "It's not right to disclose the information about the procedure the government is following now. The ...
(read more) Wednesday, December 2nd, 2009Another rescue vessel MV Rustam is expected to join the operation to salvage the launch that capsized on November 27 in the river Tentulia near Nazirpur launch terminal about 40 kilometres from Bhola district town under Lalmohon upazila.MV Rustam has already set sail from Narayanganj, said Chairman of Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) M Abdul Maleque Miah.Besides, an engine boat carrying 11-chain coppa left Barisal yesterday to add to the operation.Meanwhile the death toll of Friday's launch capsize rose to 78 till yesterday, sources said.Two bodies were recovered Monday night while three victims, who were under treatment, died in ...
(read more) Wednesday, December 2nd, 2009Twelve years into signing a peace agreement that ended over two decades of armed struggle by the indigenous people of Chittagong Hill Tracts, the hills people are still dissatisfied over non-implementation of some vital provisions.After Awami League came to power this year, it immediately took a number of steps to implement the peace accord it had inked to end the conflict with the ethnic people that had started in the 1960s when Kaptai Dam had been built inundating thousands of acres of land of the indigenous communities.Among the few steps the Awami League-led coalition government took was the formation ...
(read more) Wednesday, December 2nd, 2009Common people are yet to reap the benefits of Chittagong Hill Tracts Peace Agreement even though 12 years have elapsed after the deal was signed.Thoi Nue Marma, secretary of a local union parishad, said: "If the benefits of the peace agreement had been distributed equally everybody would have got something but that did not happen."No positive decision regarding lands in Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) has been taken after the peace agreement, he alleged.He said, after three hill district local government councils had been formed in Bandarban, Rangamati and Khagrachhari in 1989, the government stopped to lease out Khas land. As ...
(read more) Wednesday, December 2nd, 2009'Military rule' is still imposed on Chittagong Hill Tracts in the form of "Operation Uttaran", alleged Jyotirindra Bodhipriya Larma yesterday.Chairman of Chittagong Hill Tracts Regional Council (CHTRC) Jyotirindra, also known as Santu Larma, said 'military rule' has always dominated over everything in the area.He was addressing a press conference on the eve of the 12th anniversary of the peace treaty at the conference room of CHTRC in Rangamati.Santu Larma said the implementation process of the peace accord grinded to a halt during the four-party alliance as well as the caretaker government rule. The accord was violated during that seven ...
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