Sleeping ministers, rapes and atrocities in Bangladesh

Source: Weekly Blitz
Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury

Although nine months have already passed since Awami League led ‘Grand Alliance’ government [a combination of leftists and Islamists] came in power through a questioned landslide victory, according to Dhaka’s popular vernacular tabloid daily Manabzamin, twenty ministers and junior ministers in the cabinet are seen very much inactive. Two of the ministers of the present government are mostly spending time at home or hospital as they have several physical complications, while some of them do not attend their office even five hours a week. Ministries are forced to send files at their homes for signature. According to Manabzamin, there is no reflection of the Electoral Manifesto of Bangladesh Awami League in its administration. There are 52 member cabinet in Bangladesh consisting ministers, junior ministers and advisors. The newspaper said, there is ‘tug of war’ between ministers and secretaries in a number of ministries in Bangladesh, as those ministers are trying to turn these government offices into mere center of party sycophants and touts. The most effective minister in the preset cabinet in Bangladesh is Abul Maal Abdul Muhit, who is in charge of the finance ministry. He is popularly known as the ‘digital minister’ in Bangladesh as he already has introduced e-communication system in his ministry where, every citizen of Bangladesh can contact the minister through email and get replies to their questions. Finance ministry in Bangladesh is considered to be the most effective under the leadership of AMA Muhit.
Agricultural affairs minister Matia Chowdhury, who enjoys high esteem of being the most honest politician in Bangladesh is earning wrath of Awami League activists as she rejects all forms of requests from party touts. But now a days, there are even allegations of irregularities against Mrs. Chowdhury. She is alleged of issuing license for dealing in fertilizer only to Awami League cadres.
Commerce minister Lieutenant Colonel [Retired] Faruq Khan has already earned the bad reputation of being the most talketive minister in Bangladesh. Although there are rumors that the commerce minister does not pay any heed to any type of persuation from the party cadres, it is proved that several relatives of him are active in lobbying and they are known to be the ‘channels’ in reaching the minister in getting any issue settled and done. Faruq Khan is already alleged of according a huge business contract of edible oil and sugar to a non-existent Swedish company.
There are series of allegations against the junior minister in law ministry, Advocate Qamrul Islam. It is reported in press that, he is continuing to take bribes in appointing Public Prosecutors and Assistant Public Prosecutors in Bangladesh.
General Secretary or ruling party and minister in charge of local government and rural development [LGRD], Syed Ashraful Islam attends his office only 5-6 hours a week. His absence in the ministry causes tremendous obstacle in smooth performance of this very important office of the government.
According to some of his close allies, the LGRD minister wakes up from bed everyday at 1 pm. Till he gets prepared, the working hour of the ministry is almost finished. Syed Ashraful Islam is more busy in party activities than taking care of his responsibility as a very important minister.
Labor and manpower minister, Engineer Mosharraf Hussain [who is the father-in-law of Prime Minister’s daughter] has failed to make any contribution in creating any job scope for Bangladeshi workers abroad. He also has failed in doing anything in resolving the ongoing labor unrest in various textile and readymade garment industries in Bangladesh.
Junior minister of labor and manpower ministry, Monnujan Sufian [wife of a trade unionist] spends most of the time in her constituency instead of attending the ministry.
Land minister Rexaul Karim Heera and Social Welfare minister Enamul Huq Mustafa Shahid spend most of their time at their homes, as they have several physical complications due to old age. Sons of these ministers were seen active in the ministries concerned in ‘looking after’ day-to-day activities of the ministries. It was reported in the local media that those sons of the ministers were making good amount of cash through various types of corruption, taking the advantage of their father’s undeclared representatives in the ministries.
Leftist leader Dilip Barua, who is in charge of the industries ministry has failed to show any remarkable performance in past nine months. He has already been alleged of corruption while purchasing fertilizer from abroad. It may be mentioned here that, Bangladesh imports Urea, Potash and other types of fertilizer from foreign countries worth a few hundred million dollar, each year.
Minister in charge of civil aviation and tourism ministry, Golam Mohammed Quader is working tirelessly despite series of threats from the corrupt trade unionists in several organizations under his ministry, including the nation flag career Biman Bangladesh Airlines.
Communication minister Syed Abul Hossain is alleged to be persuing and lobbying in getting various projects for his own company named Shaco Limited. Abul Hossain is known to be a good friend of China.
It is further alleged that, Abul Hossain has virtually forced the energy ministry in issuing the permission in favor of his own company for establishment of 150 mega watt power station in Sylhet district.
Health ministry has turned into an epicenter of war between the minister, junior minister and advisor. Due to such internal battle, there is virtually no performance of this ministry, which already resulted in no initiative from the government in providing vaccine to people during the recent crisis of Swine Flu. There are also reports in Bangladeshi media that the country is already suffering from acute crisis of birth control and family planning materials.
Minister in charge of livestock ministry is presently at the center of serious controversy as several animals are continuing to die at Dhaka zoo during past few weeks. The minister failed to take any action in stopping such dubious death of animals.From these information it becomes crystal clear that the present government is gradually failing in ensuring good governance. Bangladesh Awami League is not only failing to fulfill its electoral pledges to the nation, but, pushing the fate of the nation towards multiple complicities mostly due to either mafunction or non-functioning of the ministers.
Meanwhile, another leading vernacular daily in Dhaka, Amader Shomoy reported that, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s son, Sajib Wajed Joy is working as her ‘undeclared advisor’ since the present government came in power.
In 1996, when Awami League came in power, Joy, who lives in United States committes series of irregularities by proclaiming to be the advisor to his mother. It was even reported in a English language periodical in Bangladesh that Sajib Wajed Joy became owner of huge properties in United States during the tenure of his mother [1996-2001].
Now, here is the most alarming information, which will clearly show the bad governance of Bangladesh Awami League in past nine months. According to Amar Desh, a front ranking vernacular dailly newspaper in Bangladesh, 338 women and children were raped during past nine months in various parts of Bangladesh while 50 women and 22 minor girls were murdered after rape.
The report further said, 68 women and 51 girls were also gang raped during past nine months.
On September 25, 2009, 10 activists of Bangladesh Awami League raped a young girl, on her return from a Hindu temple at Kolapara upazila [sub-district] under Patuakhali district at the Southern part of Bangladesh. Later, an influential ruling party leader of the sub-dustrict, forced the family members of the raped girl to sign in blank papers to stop them from lodging any complaint with police. None of the perpetrators were ever arrested since the brutal rape of the Hindu girl.
At Pirojpur district [Southern part of Bangladesh], Ahsan Kabir Mamun, information secretary of the district committee of the student wing of Bangladesh Awami League abducted a school girl and videographed while raping her with the help of his friends. It may be mentioned here that, while Awami League was in power in 1996, a leader of its student’s wing arranged a grand party at Jahangir Nagar University to celebrate the completion of his ‘raping 100 female students’. Later, instead of punishing this perpetrator, Awami League awarded him with a job at National University. Since Awami League came in power in 2009, such rapes have again started in various university campuses and residential halls in Bangladesh.

Bangladeshi Hindu Abducted, Forced to Convert to Islam

source: Weekly Blitz
By Dr. Richard L. Benkin

The Bangladesh Hindu, Buddhist, Christian Unity Council (BHBCUC) recently reported the abduction and forced conversion of a Bangladeshi Hindu girl to Islam; two human rights organizations, Global Human Rights Defence (GHRD) and Bangladesh Minority Watch (BDMW) also investigated it. At 12:45am on 13 June, Koli Goswami was asleep in her bed when five Muslims broke into the family home in Ghosai Chandura, located in northern Bangladesh. They vandalized the home and grabbed the 21-year old the college student. She cried out, but the men easily overpowered her and covered her head to muffle the screams. When others in the house came to her aid, the perpetrators drew their guns, started shooting, and carried off the girl even as she struggled to break free. Her family has not seen her since that night three months ago. Westerners believe that forced conversion belongs to a bygone age, which is why when presenting these incidents in Washington, it is critical to provide more than horrific allegations—which, by the way, the Bangladeshis routinely deny. Verified details, separating fact from hyperbole, and demonstrating some sort of government complicity are key. In this case, bizarre and contradictory actions by the police only confirm the Bangladeshi government’s support for anti-minority violence and the ethnic cleansing of its Hindu population. According to human rights activist Rabindra Ghosh, who investigated this case, police deny that any crime occurred and refuse to pursue a case; this despite physical evidence of a break-in, which they admit having; the family’s video taped testimony; the legal complaint lodged by the girl's guardian; and the family’s pleas for them to help locate and recover their daughter. Police told GHRD and BDMW representatives on site, “It is not kidnapping. It is love affairs between kidnapper and victim.” Kidnapper? Victim? That hardly sounds like a love affair. Yet, police continue to insist that even while refusing to explain the basis for their conclusion, including their investigation, or why they dismiss the physical evidence that refutes their claim. Nor do they explain why it took five men—including an accused murderer currently charged with murder—to “convince” Koli to leave home.
These actions prompted my organization, Interfaith Strength, to investigate the matter under the direction of Bikash Halder, its Indian representative. Halder dispatched four men to the family home where they spoke with Koli’s uncle and guardian, Professor Beraj Goswami. He claims to have faced nothing but corruption, duplicity, and collusion in the crime from the police. When he filed a complaint immediately after the kidnapping, he expected quick action given the nature of the crime and the family’s obvious distress. Instead, he met with the police denial—but still insisted that producing Koli would clarify what happened that night. Instead, they produced suspect “affidavits and other so-called marriage of conversion documents,” dated from the time of the girl’s captivity. The only way to determine their veracity would be for Koli Goswami herself to testify in a safe environment that the documents were not force on her under duress.
Instead, Goswami’s told Halder, the following sequence of events occurred. First, the Investigating Officer agreed to help him in exchange for a 25,000 Taka bribe, which Goswami paid. He ordered him to return to the Nandail police station on 21 June and wait while the police retrieved his niece. After quite some time, they returned instead with an older woman covered in a Muslim Burkha and hence impossible to identify. She said she was Koli Goswami’s mother and that she and her daughter converted to Islam because of a love affair—something Koli’s real mother disputed numerous times. Goswami denies that the woman was his sister-in-law, but cannot fathom the attempted deception since he could learn the truth by speaking to the woman he knew to be Koli Goswami’s mother. There is a final, rather chilling element to the 21 June meeting: the local Awami League MP, Major General (Retired) Abdus Salam, was present during the episode and threatened Goswami should he proceed with the case any further or dispute the conversion.
Curiously, while the police did not produce Koli that day, they now claim that she was present at a secret hearing before a magistrate the next day, about which the family was never told until after it allegedly occurred. They cannot confirm that their daughter was there or that it even took place. Goswami “protested vehemently” and told Halder that as a result “we are afraid we may further be attacked and our adult daughters abducted.”
What is not in dispute is: there was a home invasion; a family’s daughter was taken and has not been seen since; the alleged perpetrators have been identified and at least one is a known criminal; and the police refuse to pursue a case. We also know that a magistrate and the police claim that Koli has converted to Islam, and a government official from the ruling Awami League warned the family to stop fighting it.
As noted in an earlier Pioneer article about an anti-Hindu pogrom in Dhaka, “normal legal protections are suspended for Hindus and other minorities in Bangladesh.”
Abductions, rape, and forced conversion of young minority girls is up under the current Bangladeshi government; prosecutions are non-existent. This attack on the Hindu gene pool is a key element to ongoing ethnic cleansing. As such Bangladesh’s Hindu population continues to decline—down to nine percent from almost one in five Bangladeshis at the time of independence. Incidents like these proceed with a wink and a nod from the government and silence from the international community. We can only hope that it wakes up to these atrocities before Bangladesh’s Hindus suffer the same fate as Pakistan’s.

Bangladesh: 2 held on rape charge

Source: The DailyStar

Manikganj: Police on Tuesday night arrested two youths on charge of raping a 7-year-old girl at Nayakandi village under Shivalaya police station. The arrestees are Suja, 16, and Samej, 20, of the village. Victim's father earlier filed a case with the police station against the two youths alleging that Suja took her daughter to his house four days ago. There he raped the girl while Samej kept watch by standing outside the door, he said. Officer in- Charge of Shivalaya police station Moniruzzaman said the rape victim was being treated at Manikganj Sadar Hospital.

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.