Media crew ditch Communications Minister Obaidul Quader,Bangladesh

BANGLADESH NEWS

The media crew on Friday boycotted a programme of Communications Minister Obaidul Quader after he called the media crew 'uninvited.'

It happened at the start of a coordination meeting to ease traffic congestion and transport management organised at the Sarak Bhaban.

"You are good looking, that's why you can be seen on television every day," said the Minister to Dhaka Metropolitan Police Commissioner Benzir Ahmed at the meeting.

The Commissioner replied, "Sir, you are also seen on television every day."

Quader then said: "They (media men) come even if I do not invite them, I am on television even if I don't want to be."

Media workers took exception to the Minister's comment and left the meeting and also decided not to cover it.

Incensed journalists said they were invited by fax and e-mail for covering the meeting the previous night and found the Minister's statement offensive.

Quader later told , "There has been a misunderstanding. Also, I did not mean journalists, the statement was directed at the DMP Commissioner." 

Suranjit Sengupta blames weak democracy,Bangladesh

BANGLADESH NEWS

Minister Without Portfolio Suranjit Sengupta has blamed the 'weakness' of democratic institutions responsible for recent repression and police assaults on journalists.

"Police were not supposed to attack the media. Why they are now so intolerant? Such incidents took place due to the weakness of the democratic institutions," the ruling Awami League's Advisory Council Member said on Friday.

"If the democratic institutions like Parliament and the Election Commission had become effective and powerful, such incidents would have never taken place," he observed.

Speaking a discussion at the National Press Club, the former Railway Minister also urged police to show 'restraint'.

Some police officers assaulted three photojournalists of Bangla national daily Prothom Alo and took away their cameras while covering the demonstrations of Dhaka Women's Polytechnic Institute students at Agargaon last week.

On Monday night, miscreants stabbed two journalists and an office assistant of  and injured several others storming into their office building at Mohakhali.

On Tuesday, police assaulted three journalists and two lawyers at the Dhaka Chief Metropolitan Judge Court premises for trying to gather news on alleged sexual assault on a girl inside Police Club.

Home Minister Shahara Khatun at a function on Friday morning expressed 'regrets' for the recent incidents of assaults and torture.

Suranjit, also a Member of the Awami League Advisory Council, also blamed lack of support of the opposition for the weakness of the democratic organisations.

"Currently, democracy is in severe crisis in Bangladesh. Now it's the biggest challenge to uphold democracy in the country. I suspect whether they (opposition BNP) believe in democracy."

"There can be no accountability without the participation of the opposition in a democratic system. There is no other country in the world where the opposition doesn't join Parliament," he observed.

Suranjit said the government was ready to sit for talks with the opposition. "But you (BNP) should not set a pre-condition to starting the dialogue. Unveil your model regarding the next polls. The government will obviously consider it," he said.

Opposing the BNP's demand for restoration of the caretaker government system, he said: "The government will not hand over the state power to an unelected government."

Workers' Party President Rashed Khan Menon MP also spoke at the discussion. 

TIB chief sees signs of instability,Bangladesh

BANGLADESH NEWS

TIB Chairperson Advocate Sultana Kamal on Friday said she finds indications of widespread instability in the country.

“The situation we have in Bangladesh today …say it good governance, human rights or democracy…from all perspectives we see elements of huge instability,” she said at the inauguration of a conference at the Bangabandhu International Conference Centre in the capital.

“Undemocratic force…that sort of trend is increasing. All these are related to corruption,” said Sultana Kamal, also executive director of human rights group – Ain O Salish Kendra.

Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) organised the two-day national conference of the Sachetan Nagorik Committee (conscious citizens committee, Sanac) and Youth Engagement Support (YES).

Sultana Kamal said through corruption people's rights is being snatched and that the citizens of a democratic, prosperous society are getting vanished.

“Today people have no power. Impunity and insecurity have entered deep [into the society]. People have lost their confidence that there would be something good in this country. This is a huge social injury,” the leading human rights activist said.

The parliament and cabinet appear to be non-distinctive, and the institutions are getting destroyed, which is not the way how democracy can run, Kamal said.

To overcome these impediments, citizens have a major role to play, but sometimes they too do not know their rights and power. “Therefore, we need to educate ourselves as citizens and work hand in hand to realise our rights,” she said.

TIB Trustee Board Member M Hafizuddin Khan said corruption is increasing in the country with the Anti-Corruption Commission getting handicapped and the parliament getting non-functional.

“Of the five major promises of the present government, one was checking corruption. However, things are quite different now,” he told about 700 members of Sanac. The session for the YES members will be held on Saturday.

Khan, former adviser to a caretaker government, also called for waging a citizens’ movement to fight the menace.

TIB Trustee Bard Member and former chief election commissioner Dr ATM Shamsul Huda said there is something like a syndicate of those, who are in the power – from top to bottom, and that is the reason for corruption.

The biggest target of them is the public property, he said, adding: “The government knows it very well, but it has no resistance.”

He called on the youths to get united and wage social resistance against corruption and abuse of power.

“Resistance should be both from individual and group levels. This surely has an impact,” Huda said, urging all to make sure that they do what they talk about.

Prof Rawshan Jahan, wife of late Prof Muzaffer Ahmad, administered an oath to the Sanac members who pledged not to get involved in corruption and work against it.

TIB Executive Director Dr Iftekharuzzaman paid tribute to late Prof Muzaffer Ahmad and industrialist Samson H Chowdhury who acted as chairpersons of TIB and were the champions in anti-corruption movement.

Shahara defends Tuku again,Bangladesh

BANGLADESH NEWS

Defending State Minister for Home Shamsul Haque Tuku’s advice to journalists ‘stay safe distance from police’, Home Minister Shahara Khatun on Friday once again claimed that newspapers misquoted him.

She was talking to reporters at a “Meet the Reporters” at Dhaka Reporters Unity office in the capital.

Mentioning that there are 141,000 police personnel in the country, she reiterated, "I never say all are well behaved. But the government is working to make it a pro-people force.”

Earlier on Wednesday, Shahara claimed that police are now ‘far better’ than any other time in the past.

Hours after the High Court ordered six police officials to explain their role in abusing a girl the previous day, the home minister said this.

Ice crime Factory Busted,Bangladesh

BANGLADESH NEWS

A mobile court yesterday fined an ice cream factory in Chittagong city Tk 50,000 and sealed it for two months on charge of using textile dye and harmful chemicals.

It also destroyed the leftover raw materials and ice creams worth around Tk 2 lakh and disconnected the power supply to the factory.

Based on a tip-off and a photo feature published in  on May 29 under the headline “ICE crime” on factories of the port city producing ice creams using harmful ingredients in unhygienic environment, the mobile court conducted a raid in Fantasy Ice Cream Factory in South Bakalia area, said Executive Magistrate Jainal Abdin, who led the drive.

 took photos for its feature from this factory.

The court was assisted by Rapid Action Battalion (Rab-7) and KM Hanif, assistant director of Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institute (BSTI), Chittagong.

KM Hanif said the owner of the factory had been using unsafe water, toxic sodium cyclamate for sweetening the ice creams, textile dye for colour and banned ingredients for flavours.

These ice creams can cause diseases like diarrhoea, cholera and dysentery, he added.

Contacted, owner of the factory Md Aminul Islam, 28, confessed to using harmful chemicals to make ice creams. He has given an undertaking to the mobile court on not using such ingredients in future, said the executive magistrate.

Nishat reaches Kathmandu,Bangladesh

BANGLADESH NEWS

After over 50 days of trekking during which they made history, Nishat Majumder and MA Mohit reached Kathmandu yesterday on a special helicopter.

"We reached Kathmandu at around 9:30 this morning by a special helicopter flight arranged by our sponsors," Nishat told  over telephone.

"We hope to reach Dhaka on Monday after completion of all official procedures here," the triumphant mountaineer said.

Meanwhile, another mountaineer Wasfia Nazreen is still at Namche Bazar and hopes to reach Kathmandu on Saturday.

Nishat and Mohit were stranded in Lukla for three days as flight operations from Lukla to Kathmandu remained suspended since Saturday due to bad weather.

At Kathmandu airport they were received by officials of the Bangladesh Embassy in Nepal and members of their sponsor companies.

The two jubilant mountaineers were taken to the residence of Bangladesh Ambassador to Nepal Prof Nim Chandra Bhowmik who greeted them there. Among others, visiting theatre personality Nasiruddin Yusuf Bacchu was also present.

"We conferred our heartiest greetings to Nishat who has proved again that women can do anything given the chance," Prof Bhowmik told

Later at around 12:00pm, Nishat and Mohit were taken to their hotel for rest.

The Nepal chapter of Plan International will host a reception for them today (Friday) at 11:00 am, Mohit told

"We will try to collect our certificates tomorrow (Friday). If we are not able to do so then we have to wait for Sunday as Saturday is a government holiday here," he said.

Mohit also said that though the embassy plans to host a reception for them on Monday, they will request for the programme to be held earlier so that they can fly to Dhaka on Monday.

Nishat began her expedition from Kathmandu on April 9 under a campaign titled 'Because I am a Girl' run by Plan Bangladesh.

Meanwhile Korvi Rakshand, spokesperson for the 'Bangladesh on Seven Summits' campaign which arranged Wasfia Nazreen's venture, told  yesterday, "Wasfia is scheduled to reach Kathmandu on Saturday if the weather remains favourable."

Nishat scaled Mount Everest on May 19 this year, becoming the first Bangladeshi woman to reach the summit. She was accompanied by MA Mohit who scaled the mountain for the second time in two years.

Wasfia followed the feat just a week later on May 26 becoming the second Bangladeshi woman to reach the summit.

These expeditions have come hot on the heels of the first Bangladeshi to reach the summit Musa Ibrahim who made the journey in May 2010.