Bangladesh: Deputy Commission of Bandarban issued unlawful letter to Headmen

Picture (courtesy Kapaeeng Foundation): The letter of the DC of Bandarban district.

Source: Kapaeeng Foundation.

On 23 September 2009 Deputy Commissioner (DC) of Bandarban district Mr. Mizanur Rahman issued a letter to all Headmen of Bohmong circle ordering not to issue any land deed to any person without permission from him. Issuance of this letter is controdictory to the rights of indigenous Jumma peoples in CHT. He also threatened that Headman would be removed from his headmanship if any Headman handed over such deed.

It is mentionable that according to Chittagong Hill Tracts Regulation of 1990, Headmen of CHT region have the rights to give settlement of 0.30 acre of land to any mouza resident and accordingly to issue land deed to him.

It is also worth mentioning that the land lands under the jurisdiction of mouza are regarded as common property of mouza residents. The common lands are those which belong to the indigenous community with shared rights of access. The indigenous people have right to these lands and its resources, by virtue of their common ownership of these areas, and traditional economic activities such as fishing, hunting and gathering are carried out in these areas. Jum lands fall within this category, as do the lands used for orchards, grazing and for growing sungrass (used to make thatched roofs). The forests are also included within this category of mouza commons, and are the common property pf the indigenous community with equal rights of access, use and extraction.

However, Deputy Commissioner of Bandarban issued this letter violating the rights of indigenous Jumma peoples and rights & responsibilities of Headmen. He one-sidedly claimed these lands as state-owned. He also indiscriminately alleged against the Headmen to have involved with corruption.

DC also issued a letter to Mr. Loyal Devid Bawm, a member of CHT Regional Council to stop construction of building for tribal museum at Shita Pahar (Chimbuk-Thanchi road) of Pantala mouza under Ruma upazila in Bandarban district. He claimed that construction of building on government land without permission is illegal. However, Mr. Bawm got permission/recommendation from Mr. Lumlai Mro, Headman of Pantala mouza & local Jumma villagers and accordingly applied for registration for this land.

Local residents believed that DC of Bandarban district starts these activities when the possibility of functioning of land commission for resolution of land disputes in CHT is seen.

Motive Sought for Slaying of Church Worker in Bangladesh

Source: Christainnewstoday.com
url: http://www.christiannewstoday.com/Christian_News_Report_357.html

Police, wife doubt student attackers’ story of cell phone theft.

by Aenon Shalom

DHAKA, Bangladesh, Authorities are investigating possible motives for the vicious killing of a church worker by students at Dhaka University.

A management student at the university and his friends are accused of torturing and killing Swapan Mondol, 35, on Sept. 12 in Suhrawardy Park, adjacent to the university. Mondol, a convert from Hinduism, was supervisor of youth mission for Free Christian Church of Bangladesh (FCCB).

The primary suspect’s friends claim they came to his aid after Mondol stole his cell phone, a scenario that Mondol’s wife and police said they doubt. His wife, Lucky Mondol, told Compass that she does not know why they killed her husband.

“He was an evangelist and earned good amount of money from his job, so he could not snatch a mobile phone in the park,” she said.

She said that when she rushed to Dhaka Medical Hospital after learning of the attack, she found her husband’s body lying stiff on the floor with two holes in his head. His body was smeared with congealed blood. He had been wearing a gold ring and a neck chain of gold, but those items and his cell phone were missing, she said.

Police suspect Mohammed Rajon and his student friends of the killing and have confirmed reports of other cases of violence by student groups who cite cell phone theft as a pretext for attacking innocent people.

Local police inspector Rezaul Karim told Compass the killing was cloaked in mystery.

“Some students of Dhaka University killed Mondol on a charge of snatching a mobile phone,” Karim said. “The students said they caught him red-handed, so why didn’t they just hand him over to us? If he had snatched anything from them, we would have recovered it from him.”

Police will file a murder case, Karim said.

“What a killing frenzy it was,” he said. “Nobody has the right to kill anyone, whoever he is.”

Karim denied Bangladeshi newspaper reports claiming that he said Mondol and three accomplices tried to steal a cell phone from Rajon.

Calumnies

Almost all Bangladeshi media portrayed Mondol, who studied theology at the Christian Development Center in Dhaka and completed graduate work in theology in Bangalore, India, as a thief who worked among park prostitutes.

“I am so shocked by the media, which published vicious calumnies about him,” she said. “The media reports added fuel to the flames and indirectly supported the lynch mob.”

Some newspapers quoted her even though she never spoke to their reporters, she said.

“One top Bengali newspaper reported that my husband used to go everyday in the park, and that I told it to them,” she said. “It is a thumping lie. Around 15 to 20 days a month my husband used to officially visit various districts in the country for church work. How an innocent man died with scandal!”

FCCB Chairman Albert P. Mridha told Compass that Mondol, father of a 10-year-old child, was a loyal and sober church worker who worked for 14 years in nationwide ministry.

“We do not have any program from our church to work among the floating [park] sex workers,” Mridha said.

A week before his death, Mondol returned from a three-week trip to southern Bangladesh to oversee church activities, Mridha said. He had planned to preach at a revival meeting in northern Bangladesh.

“Most of the days of the month he used to spend on tour for church work,” Mridha said. “Sometimes he used to go to the Dhaka University area to see the cultural programs.”

Bangladeshi media also mistakenly identified Mondol as a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) worker, to which Mridha also objected, saying a church employee is not an NGO worker.

“He was an honest and sincere worker in his duty,” said Mridha. “If 14 years of past experience is anything to go by, undoubtedly I can say that he was not engaged in theft. There was different kind of motive to kill him which we do not know. But killing him on suspicion of snatching was a pretext.”

Criminals attack minority family, kills baby and hang body with rope

Source: The Daily Star

Criminals killed an 18-month-old child and seriously injured the mother of the baby at their Puratan Bazar residence in Bagerhat town yesterday morning.

The deceased is Arna Basu Tisha, daughter of Shuchitra Basu and Pallab Basu, an employee of a cement shop in Bagerhat town.

A group of 10 or 12 criminals, who entered the house at about 10:30am, strangled the child and hung its body with a rope from the ceiling, said Shuchitra Basu, now undergoing treatment at Bagerhat General Hospital.

The criminals also beat her to serious injuries and left the place before neighbours rushed there, she said.

As the child and the mother were taken to Bagerhat General Hospital at about 11:15am, doctors declared the child dead.

Pallab Basu was not at home during the tragic incident, said Shuchitra.

It might be a sequel to previous enmity, police said.

Bangladesh: Women worst victims of HR violations

Source: The Daily Star

Political instability and worsening law and order situation are linked to the violations of human rights in the country and the worst victims of HR violations are women, said Sultana Kamal, a former adviser to the caretaker government, at a seminar yesterday.

Though a democratic government is now in power, political stability and law and order are yet to be ensured, she said as the chief guest at the inaugural session of the three-day seminar titled 'Human rights and gender: core concepts, major debates and emerging issues' at Brac Centre Inn in the city.

"The state machineries have failed to provide justice for women who are abused sexually, mentally and physically," she said.

Women do not have access to proper healthcare services, they are suffering from acute malnutrition, and they even don't have the right to information, she said.

The constitution grants equal rights to women and men, but women do not have enough access to all public facilities, she added.

Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust (BLAST) organised the seminar with the support of Diakonia, a Swedish NGO. Representatives from partner NGOs of Diakonia from South Asia are taking part in the seminar to share their experiences on gender and human rights issues.

Mirjam Dahlgren, policy adviser to Diakonia, was present as a special guest.

She said human rights involve all sections of people -- rich and poor, men and women and children and the aged. To ensure human rights of women, men have to come forward and involve themselves more.

To curb violence against women, the government must ensure that the culprits do not go unpunished, she added.

The speakers also said human rights cannot be ensured without addressing the gender equality issues.

Swedish Ambassador Britt F Hagström, Executive Director of BLAST Mohsin Ali Khan, seminar coordinator Dina Mahnaz Siddiqi and Sultana Begum of Diakonia Bangladesh also spoke.

Bangladesh: UPDF leader shot dead in Khagrachhari

A leader of United People's Democratic Front (UPDF) was shot dead allegedly by his rivals at Battalipara village in Laxmichhari upazila in Khagrachhari on Friday night.
The deceased was identified as Roi Thoi Marma, 45, central leader of UPDF.
Local sources said rivals swooped on house of Roi Thoi Marma at about 8:30pm and fired on him, leaving him dead on the spot.
Police went to the spot yesterday, recovered the body and sent it to Sadar hospital morgue for autopsy.
The reason behind the killing could not be known immediately.
UPDF activists yesterday brought out a procession in the upazila headquarters demanding arrest and punishment of the killers.

Bangladesh CHT: PCJSS press release on the kidnap of it's member.

Press Release from PCJSS Date: October 4th, 09.
A group of miscreants allegedly from UPDF kidnapped Mr. Bimalananda Chakma, a member of PCJSS and assistant secretary of PCJSS committee in Bilaichari thana at around 7PM on October 2nd, 2009.
In a separate incident, unidentified miscreants attacked Sumet Chakma (35) on 3rd October, 2009 at 8:30 PM in the public health area of Rangamati. Mr. Sumet sustained a bullet injury in his stomach. He was admitted to Rangamati Sadar hospital with serious bullet injury and later moved to Chittagong Medical College Hospital.
PCJSS take this opportunity to vehemently protest and expresses concern on the incident of kidnap of Bimalanada Chakma and attack on Sumet Chakma.
The organization demands immediate apprehension of the criminal in both cases.

Sajib Chakma
Assistant Secretary,
PCJSS CHT

Consultation on Interfaith Diapraxis Calls for Building Communities of Solidarity

Source: RDRS Bangladesh
url: http://www.rdrsbangla.net/Page.php?pageId=MTQ2ODUz


A three-day Consultation on Interfaith Diapraxis: Building Communities of Solidarity and Mutual Interest across Faith Boundaries concluded with a "Dhaka Statement" on 10 September. The consultation was held during 8-10 September 2009 at the Centre for Development Management (CDM) in Rajendrapur, near Dhaka, Bangladesh. Organised by the Lutheran World Federation/Department for Mission & Development (LWF/DMD), the event was hosted by RDRS Bangladesh in cooperation with Bangladesh Lutheran Church (BLC) and Bangladesh Northern Evangelical Lutheran Church (BNELC). A total of fifty representatives from different religious communities (Muslim, Christian, Hindu and Buddhist) in Bangladesh, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Jordan, Korea, Nepal, Singapore and Switzerland participated in the consultation.
The main objective of the consultation was to reflect on and affirm the importance of religious freedom in any process of peaceful coexistence. Key topics included: freedom of religion and recognition of others; building communities of solidarity and mutual interest across faith boundaries in Muslim, Christian, Hindu and Buddhist perspectives; new and creative ways of strengthening inter-religious relations and cooperation; promoting peaceful co-existence and diapraxis; the role of religious leaders in enhancing commitment to respect and value people of diverse faiths; theological foundations for diapraxis; practising diapraxis in Asian society, religious freedom in inter-communal relations; intra-communal strategy for interfaith cooperation.
At the inaugural session on 8 September, LWF Vice President Bishop Dr Munib A Younan and LWF Deputy General Secretary Rev Dr Chandran Paul Martin welcomed the participants. Bishop Younan called upon the participants to use this opportunity to issue a common statement for the rest of the world. Bishop Younan and Rev. Martin conveyed greetings from the President and the General Secretary of LWF.
Bishop Younan spoke on the role of religious leaders in enhancing commitment to respect and value people of diverse faiths. He urged religious leaders to use the power of religion to speak the truth and promote justice instead of using religion for politics.
Rev Dr Chandran Paul Martin presented the keynote paper on "Freedom of Religions and Recognition of Others'. He called on the participants to share their experiences of abuse and protection in various faith interactions and also to discuss their views on the issues.
Mr Kamaluddin Akbar, Executive Director of RDRS Bangladesh, thanked the participants and expressed gratitude to the Almighty Allah the most merciful and beneficient for this opportunity for people of all faiths to gather for the Interfaith Diapraxis. He thanked LWF as well as other organisations and individuals who worked tirelessly for holding this consultation.
Mr Kamaluddin Akbar of RDRS and Dr Dennis D Datta, Executive Director of KOINONIA Bangladesh, spoke on promoting peaceful co-existence and practising diapraxis.
Ms Sally Lim, LWF Regional Expression Coordinator for Asia, presented a vision statement and an Aide Memoir.
Prof. Dr M Shamsher Ali and Rev Martin Adhikary from Bangladesh; Dr Prabhakar Bhattacharyya from India and Dr Parichart Suwanbubbha from Thailand presented elaborate papers on the theme from Muslim, Christian, Hindu and Buddist perspectives as an affirmation to the concept of interfaith dialogue and interfaith diapraxis.
After detailed deliberations, four working groups formulated a statement which was issued at the end of the consultation. Titled as The Dhaka Statement, it appeals to faith communities to develop methodologies for interfaith diapraxis in educational institutions. It calls upon LWF to establish a networking platform in Asia for initiating and exchanging good practice of diapraxis. It calls upon the media to play a supportive role and upon governments and global bodies to engage faith communities in bringing about peace and justice.
In the concluding session, the participants expressed their common desire and commitment to implement the recommendations in their respective working areas.
he consultation ended with a clarion call to all religious and community leaders, governments and global bodies to make faith communities a driving force for achieving justice, tolerance, peaceful coexistence and reconciliation in all spheres of life.