Bush's Nightmare

Bush's Dreaded Nighmare

The prospect of Sadr's appeal extending to a section of the Sunni community, with the tacit support of Sistani, is the nightmare scenario that the Bush administration most dreads. Yet it may come to pass.


DILIP HIRO

Public opinion polls are valuable chips to play for those engaged in a debate of national or international consequence. In the end, however, they are abstract numbers. It is popular demonstrations which give them substance, color, and -- above all -- wide media exposure, and make them truly meaningful. This is particularly true when such marches are peaceful and disciplined in a war-ravaged country like Iraq..................

Kamal Hossain at 70

Kamal Hossain at 70
He remains our voice of conscience
Syed Badrul Ahsan

When in November 1981, Kamal Hossain challenged Justice Abdus Sattar for the presidency of Bangladesh, there were many among us who truly believed that he had a good chance of taking charge of the country. In the event, he lost. But that did not in any way diminish Kamal Hossain's hold on the popular imagination. If anything, in these past many years, he has in a way been transformed into an effective moral voice for the country. His opinions on the issues that matter, his presence on the national and global stage, all of these have reinforced our feeling that this man of the law also happens to be our point of reference on all other matters which exercise our imagination....................

What Fakhruddin did not say

What Fakhruddin did not say Nurul Kabir

Fakhruddin Ahmed, chief of the ‘caretaker’ government, has finally announced the much expected timeframe, vaguely as it is ‘before the expiry of the year 2008’, for the suspended parliamentary polls to the ninth Jatiya Sangsad to materialise. The timeframe is consistent with an earlier announcement of the Election Commission, made on April 5, that it would require 18 months to bring in the electoral law reforms required to ensure credible national polls free from the influence of money and muscle..........

Bangladesh in the Generals' Grip

Bangladesh in the Generals’ Grip

Promoting democracy, especially in Islamic countries, is supposed to be a major goal of President Bush’s foreign policy. But his administration has raised little protest as Bangladesh — until January the world’s fifth most populous democracy — has been transformed into its second most populous military dictatorship............

Killings in Custody.....

Killings in custody defy promise of democratic accountability

Mubin S Khan reveals how Bangladesh’s security agencies are accused of torturing and killing over 800 people in custody since June 2004, over 70 of them since the interim regime assumed power

Then, they went to the room where Choles Richil was kept and beat him again. One of the army personnel told others to bring pliers, red chilli powder and a blade. Choles was crying and saying that he could not bear it any more. The army personnel beat him until about 6 pm. About at 6:20 pm the army told Tuhin and Piran to leave the camp and also told them to see Choles Richil for the last time. They were told they would collect the body of Choles later. Tuhin and Piren went to the room where Choles Richil was kept. They found him lying face down on the floor, his body covered in bruises. Tuhin called: ‘uncle, uncle’. Choles Richil did not reply but looked at them.......

Bangladesh at a crossroads

By Sabir Mustafa Editor, BBC Bengali service

At first glance, the current state of Bangladesh appears to be a paradox : a country under a state of emergency, but where the general public seem quite content.
The military-backed caretaker government has slapped a ban on all political activities, and the security forces have been busy picking up political leaders in the middle of the night and throwing them into jail. But there is little outward sense of repression, and Dhaka's social elite, usually most vocal against human rights violations, appear most pleased. The reason for this apparent sense of satisfaction is not difficult to see.......

Gen Moeen Goes Public on Politics

Gen Moeen Goes Public on Politics
How can national interest be served best?
Mahfuz Anam

Now that Chief of Army Staff (CAS) Lt Gen Moeen U Ahmed has decided to go public on political issues, he must be ready, willing and open to public debate on them including criticism of his views, if any. To start with, should a sitting CAS speak in public and in presence of the President on the political future of a country? Such speech making will naturally raise questions as to whether or not the army chief or his institution plans to get involved in the country's politics? When such comments touch even the structure of the future government and the power balance between the President, the Prime Minister and the cabinet, the question in the public mind acquires more poignancy. So what do we make of the General's speech? Was it a mere intellectual exercise? Or a purposeful floating of ideas to gauge public reaction? On both counts there should be wide ranging discussions, in fact public debate, on the very important questions that he has thrown open......

State of Corruption in Bangladesh

GOVERNANCE, STRUCTURAL ADJUSTMENT & THE STATE OF CORRUPTION IN BANGLADESH
by Muzaffer Ahmad
STRUCTURAL ADJUSTMENT
The structural adjustment programme the Washington consensus claim is designed to eliminate distortions and elementary economics tells us distortions create allocative and distributive inefficiency. The programme was aimed to stimulate growth in developing economies most of whom stagnated due to effects of external and internal shocks......

What is holding Bangladesh Back

What is holding us back?
Nurul Islam

Dramatic changes in the political power in Bangladesh in January 2007 require an understanding of why the country had to face a political crisis and decide, from first principles, as to what is the best future course of action for the nation.

The 150 million people of Bangladesh -- struggling to earn a decent living and survive in a ruthless world -- have shown, time and again, their dynamic and powerful presence, expressing in no uncertain terms that they are the masters of their destiny. The people created East Pakistan in 1947, fought an armed struggle to create Bangladesh in 1971, rejected the rule of the Awami League in 1975, overthrew Ershad's autocracy in 1991, discarded the rule of the BNP in 1996, evicted the AL from power in 2001, and rejected both the AL and BNP in 2007. All these events show that whoever neglects the people of Bangladesh in the equation of political power does so at his or her peril..........