Reflections

Amnesty International on Bangladesh 2017 May 4, 2017

https://www.amnesty.org/en/countries/asia-and-the-pacific/bangladesh/report-bangladesh/

https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2017/05/bangladesh-dissenting-voices-trapped-between-fear-and-repression/

Islam Is Taking Over Europe – ‘Without Swords, Without Guns, Without Conquest’ January 26, 2017

http://observer.com/2017/01/muslim-population-europe-religion-growing-worldwide/

Most & Least Corrupt Countries January 25, 2017

Most corrupt & Least corrupt countries of the world. Bangladesh is at 15th.  

Murder of the wife of a police officer September 14, 2016

This is something unusual in Bangladesh- to kill the wife to take revenge on a police officer. But this happened on morning June 5 2016  at Chittagong when the mother of 2 children was shot dead from close range when she was  walking towards the school bus to lift her elder son. The husband, promoted to SP few days  earlier, away to Dhaka to join his new assignment.

The event made Babu Akhter known to every citizen for the tragedy  and the pain deepens for the professional excellence and recognition that he had achieved by this time. People got the impression that his wife was murdered because of  his action against the militants and the terrorists over the last few years. Coming  back from Dhaka he himself lodged the case against the unknown killers and bowed to take the revenge. Police arrested few suspects,  2 of whom were also killed in the crossfire. 

He returned back to Dhaka with his 2 children and started to stay in his father-in-laws house. Bereaved and shocked he didn’t join his office. A few days later he was taken to the Police Headquarter at midnight, he was quizzed for 15 hours his alleged involvement in the killing of his wife. He was released after the interrogation. Later we are informed from Police authority that he was given the option to resign from his job or to face jail. He preferred to resign. But he himself said nothing to the media. His father-in-law, who was also a police officer, denied any involvement of him in the murder. People raised question why on earth a man would kill his wife hiring miscreants and if he did the murder why it is not be proved by proper evidence and be punished by the judiciary. 

Weeks later he went to the Police Office and put an application expressing his willingness to join his service withdrawing his earlier resignation. His application was forwarded to the higher authority. But before his joining was considered , his earlier letter of resignation was accepted by the President of the Republic and notified in the gazette. The whole process has made in a very short span of time  which is totally unprecedented in Bangladesh context. In the debate, Prime Minister has taken no side. But people had expected that his case would be considered fairly.

The termination was a double blow for the man.

And there is no progress in the murder case.

An ordinary citizen

Killings at Holey Artisan Bakery, Gulshan, Dhaka July 6, 2016

On the night of 1st July  when I switched the knob to Somoy TV past 10 pm, I came across the live telecast of the seize of Holey Artisan Bakery at Gulshan by some gunmen. Breath-holding we were following the events. RAB, Police and people were gathered outside the area. Injured police and civil dressed person came out from dark to the scene and they were taken away for treatment. Then heard 2 officers have been killed by the miscreants and 30 police were admitted in United Hospital. Past 11 pm , Mr. Benajir Ahmed, Chief of RAB came to the spot and asked the reporters to stop their live telecast as it would benefit the miscreants and made the work difficult for law enforcers.

From then on, TV channels were only telecasting the update news on the event. I was listening to a lengthy analysis in 71 TV by a Top Security Analyst after 12 am. But he was fearing that the discussion might be heard by the miscreants also and might use it to set their strategy.Later we were informed that all the telephone and TV lines were cut off by the police by that time. The channel then telecast an interview with an Indian Citizen whose daughter was inside the cafe. He was asking why the law enforcers not then start negotiation with the hostage takers.

At 4 pm, there were no new updates. More people thronged the place, more law enforcers in the surrounding. People were pushed away beyond a barricade line.

Past 7-30 am, army made the raid and killed the miscreants-  6-7 in number (later the no is adjusted to 5). By this time, the miscreants have killed 20 hostages, 9 of them Italians, 7 from Japan and 3 from Bangladesh. Army rescued 11 hostages, 3 of whom are foreigners.

On my first thought , I was on the impression that the miscreants would be from Madrasha  (religious educational institutions) and astonished to find that most of them are from English Medium School/College or University and from well off families.

It is highly disturbing why these boys from affluent families took up this path of destruction for themselves and for others. Probably this conviction came out of psychological conflicts these children were suffering in their home and in society, more at home. In Bangladesh, affluence come more in illegal ways that may distort the psyche of these children and prompted them to take  up a short-cut way to correct the society and to pay off the debts of their parents.

An ordinary citizen

News Link : Dhaka cafe attack ends with 20 hostages among dead

Attack result of failed institution

Dhaka restaurant attack designed to reverberate globally

Sheikh Hasina must call Islamic Terrorism what it is 

Union Council Elections-killings and Clashes May 29, 2016

Bangladesh is undergoing elections in phases at union council level – its grass-root. So far 92 people have been died in the election and many more injured.

Local elections was so far on non-party basis. This time the Government changed it to party-basis and total scenario has been changed. It is now turns into a festival of clashes, killings and vote rigging.

As predicted, pro-government  candidates won most of seats.

But democracy is decaying and people are loosing power.

An ordinary citizen

Judiciary vs Parliament on Removal of Judges May 7, 2016

High Court in Bangladesh scrapped the 16th amendment that empowered the parliament to remove the judges from higher courts.[1] [2]
The members of Parliament in the running session hit out at Judiciary for making the amendment.[1][2] Attorney General indicates that Government will appeal against the amendment in the next working day.

An ordinary citizen

Bangladesh Bank, Governor, Selection Policy April 14, 2016

There is no selection policy for Governor of Bangladesh Bank. 

Unemployment, Opportunity & GDP in Bangladesh April 9, 2016

Employment survey 2015 of BSS is published. 

A PM and an Editor February 26, 2016

Mahfuz Anam, editor of Daily Star, leading English daily in Bangladesh made a blunder by committing a mistake he had done in 2007-8 during the tenure of semi-army government in publishing some reports on Sk. Hasina, now PM of the country. The reports were provided by Army intelligence and published without independently verifying by the editor. Sk. Hasina was behind the bar for 11 months during the period and the then government was accused of trying to remove 2 leading ladies , Sk. Hasina and Khaleda Zia from politcics.

So far 79 cases have been filed , some of them are defamation and others are sedition cases, submitted by different citizens at different courts of the country. Ministers and MPs also expressed their anger and opinion against Mahfuz Anam. Sk. Hasina, after remaining silent for few days, at last speaks out her mind against the editor in a gathering of party leaders and activists.

International and national organizations of journalists and eminent citizens of the country protested against the harassment on Mahfuz Anam.

A minister urged to form a commission to inquire into the events of  1/11, the term that popularly represent that government.

The problem is that 1/11 government was supported then many of AL  and BNP lawmakers and many civil and military leaders.

An ordinary citizen

Facebook is closed in Bangladesh November 27, 2015

Facebook is closed for more than 7 days in Bangladesh.Other applications such as Viber,Whats up, messenger and few more were also banned along with facebook. The FB is closed on the pretext of terrorist attacks before the execution of 2 War Crime convicts.[1]
The execution is over but the authority is no mood to open the FB. They may continue it on security reasons for indefinite period. Bloggers, foreigners, priest ,ethnic minorities have been attacked and killed in recent times by unknown assailants. Prominent intellectuals were also threatened through mobile messages. It is not well understood whether the facebook has played any role in these incidents.[1]

15 millions Bangladeshi use facebook, most of whom are young and students. Now many of them are using FB by bypassing the ban through proxy servers. As the days are passing by, the proxy users are increasing in numbers.[1] Satirical writings are also communing up on FB in the mainstream media.

The ban not only affected common users, but it also affected businesses based on FB, social services such blood donors, educational pages etc.

State Minister for Posts and Telecommunications Tarana Halim, who was appointed just 1 and half months back, defended herself in a lengthy article published in newspapers claiming that the measure has saves many lives in Bangladesh. She also claims that technology will be countered by technology though FB lovers are not yet seeing any sign of that.

The ban has put the government at odds with the Facebook Generation in Bangladesh.

An ordinary citizen

Follow up:

18/12/2015

3 Ministries of Government of Bangladesh sat with Facebook representatives  coming to Dhaka.Ministries are Home,Post & Telecommmunication & Information and Communication Technology. They had detailed discussion.[1] Government wanted to have a Facebook administrator in Bangladesh and to filter the contents before they are floated in the facebook.[1] Facebook representatives didn’t give their decision immediately and told that they will send the reply later on.

Days for waiting lingering. [1]No reply came. But ban on facebook lifted ater 22 days. The lift coincided with the coming of Government ICT Adviser Shajib Wajed Joy to Bangladesh. Tarana declared that Facebook will never be closed except in emergency.

Then we see no Government agency was taking the responsibility of banning Facebook.

Ban is reimposed on Twitter, Skype and Imo.[1]

TIB and Bangladesh Parliament November 20, 2015

Transparency International Bangladesh published its report on parliamentary sessions 2-6  of 10th Parliament in Bangladesh.[1] In the report TIB shows that parliamentarians spent most o their time on non-parliamentary issues and termed the sessions as ‘dancing dolls house’.

Just after its publication, TIB draws bitter criticism from the   ministers and members of the parliament in and outside of the house.

The criticism ranges from questioning the audacity of TIB, searching the monitory source of TIB, summoning TIB to parliament to explain their allegations, cutting of the source of money, banning the TIB etc.

TIB became an issue by itself to engage the members of the parliament in lengthy discussions.

Intellectuals urge the government to address the issues raised by TIB and not to shoot the messenger.

An ordinary citizen

Pay Hike, Price Hike and Tax Hike November 12, 2015

New pay scale 2015 has been declared. Pay of the service holders have been virtually doubled. Administrative cadre is benefited most. University teachers and other cadres have shown their resentments. The pay scale will be implemented from next January 2016.

The effect of the pay scale has already started to fall in the prices of the essentials and fare of the transport. It will also be difficult for the private sectors to cope up with the rise in the pay.

Double rise of the pay, unprecedented in the history, will be a challenge for NBR to collect the money through taxes.Taxpayers will feel extra pressure from NBR to cover the necessity. An uneasy situation will arise from the conflict. There is an impression that the Government is trying to increase it privileged belt.

An ordinary citizen

Freedom in the World and Bangladesh September 18, 2015

‘More aggressive tactics by authoritarian regimes and an upsurge in terrorist attacks contributed to a disturbing decline in global freedom in 2014. Freedom in the World 2015 found an overall drop in freedom for the ninth consecutive year.

Nearly twice as many countries suffered declines as registered gains—61 to 33—and the number of countries with improvements hit its lowest point since the nine-year erosion began. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, a rollback of democratic gains by Egyptian president Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s intensified campaign against press freedom and civil society, and further centralization of authority in China were evidence of a growing disdain for democratic standards that was found in nearly all regions of the world.[Overiew:Freedom in the world][1]
Bangladesh received a downward trend arrow due to increased legal harassment and attacks on bloggers, the passage of restrictive amendments to the Information and Communication Technology Act, and the deaths of dozens of protesters during demonstrations over verdicts by the country’s war crimes tribunal.[Trends in Bangladesh: Freedom in the world][2]

An ordinary citizen

Bangladesh in Democracy Index September 18, 2015

The Democracy Index is an index compiled by the Economist Intelligence Unit, that measures the state of democracy in 167 countries, of which 166 are sovereign states and 165 are United Nations member states. The index is based on 60 indicators grouped in five different categories measuring pluralism, civil liberties, and political culture. In addition to a numeric score and a ranking, the index categorizes countries as one of four regime types full democracies, flawed democracies, hybrid regimes and authoritarian regimes.The index was first produced for 2006, with updates for 2008, 2010 and the following years since then.(Wikipedia)

Bangladesh ranked 85th in 2014 ranking.[1][2]

An ordinary citien

Raunaq Jahan: Political Parties in Bangladesh-Challenges of Democratization July 25, 2015

Raunaq Jahan, a well-known political scientist of Bangladesh origin working in a US university has written an analytical insight into the challenges of democratization of the political parties in Bangladesh.
A review of the book is published in Prothom Alo and a report and a review in Daily Star.

An ordinary citizen

Cricket and Politics in Bangladesh July 18, 2015

Bangladesh is flying on wings over his successive successes in Cricket. In the latest, BD has beaten mighty South Africa in One day international by 2-1 in the last weeks. Before this he also beat Pakistan and India in series. The cricketers become national heroes, all are house hold names, Government declared gift and honor of immense magnitude for the players, Media is filled with their praise. Even politicians, who are more like hear to the praise of themselves, are praising the cricketers. Cricketers become symbol of unity for the nation.

This is in contrast to the party and politics in Bangladesh. Now the politics is the most hated subject,though people sometimes compel to discuss it; parties are instrument of sucking the poor in particular and the people in general; and politicians are the most corrupt section of the society.

People are comparing the two and hoping that one day our politics will be as beautiful and as pure as our cricket.

An ordinary citizen

Bangladesh leaps into lower-middle income group of countries July 3, 2015

World Bank declares Bangladesh leaps into lower-middle income group of countries. Its Gross National Income per capita (GNI) becomes $1314 as assessed by Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics on May 14 2015. The group contains the countries with income ranging from $1046 to $4125.[1][2] Bangladesh now  35th largest economy in WB’s ranking.[1][2]

We are feeling richer. But are we?

How the GNI is calculated?
Gross national income (GNI) is defined as the sum of value added by all producers who are residents in a nation, plus any product taxes (minus subsidies) not included in output, plus income received from abroad such as employee compensation and property income.

So GNI does not reflect the poverty, unemployment, non-investment, disparity, deprivation around.

An ordinary citizen

Rape is rising in Bangladesh June 26, 2015

Daily star published on 15th June 2015 a study on rape in Bangladesh. A horrific picture comes out of the study.

The trend is rising. Women organizations are protesting. But is that enough? Human Rights groups are speaking. But laws seems to be weak, atleast in application. Law enforcers are not equally active in all cases.

The rapists, sometimes in groups, look to take the offence as game. They take themselves protected and think somehow they can escape the law.

The state looks to be ignorant or ignoring the situation.

The society seems loosing the power to protect our sisters and daughters.

Where are we heading to?

An ordinary citizen