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Poush 13, 1420 Safar 23, 1435 Regd. No. DA 6238 Vol 1 No 273
Police personnel were undergoing treatment at Rajshahi Medical College Hospital after they were severely injured when BNP Jamaat men hurled several handmade bombs at a police van in Rajshahi city yesterday DHAKA TRIBUNE
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Mahbub Uddin Khokan arrested n Kailash Sarkar
The detectives arrested BNP lawmaker and General Secretary of Supreme Bar Association barrister Mahbub Uddin Khokan at Segunbagicha in the capital yesterday afternoon. Deputy Commissioner Masudur Rahman at the DMP Media Centre said a team of DB personnel had arrested Khokan around 4:15pm. Later he was taken to the DB headquarters in the capitals Minto Road. He, however, declined to disclose the reason behind the detention. Khokan was arrested hours after he had sought bail for senior BNP leaders including Moudud Ahmed at the High Court. He is the second BNP lawmaker to be held after BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia had announced March for Democracy to resist the January 5 polls. On Wednesday, police arrested BNP female lawmaker Shammi Akter and former MP Sarwar Sakhawat Bakul. l
DHAKA TRIBUNE
News
Hizbut-Tahrir, a banned Islamist outfit, puts up posters on a wall near Trust Filling Station in the capital asking people to join its rally scheduled to be held today MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU
In investigation, it was learnt that Sohel Rana gets financial support from Anamika Corporation, owned by Anwarul Islam Raju who is the brother-in-law of convicted war criminal Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mujaheed. Raju, son of Abdul Majid, was a meritorious student. But because of poor financial condition, he had to stop his education. Later, with the financial support of Jamaat, he had completed graduation from Aligarh University. Raju got married in 1997 and since then, he has got a strong hold in Patgram area. Now he is staying in France. Jamaat first participated in parliamentary election from Patgram in 2001. In the following five years, they had built 55 new mosques in the area.
Patgram is a union with around 1,40,000 voters. But how can a group of people manage this large number in one hand and carry out violence? In replay to this question Habibur Rahman, the district police superintended, told the Dhaka Tribune that the Jamaat-Shibir activists used to take all responsibilities of a family before and after the deaths. For this reason, some poor people of the area are supporting the Jamaat-Shibir. He said the administration was conducting counselling programmes to tell people about the Jamaat-Shibir activities. We have already been able to take control of an area. We hope that soon we will be able to convince people about the Jamaat-Shibir sabotages and to raise voice against them, the SP said. l
upcoming parliamentary election. If you [police] have courage, come in front us without your uniforms. We will show you what we can do, he told the rally, reports our correspondent. He also threatened suicide attack at every intersection of Rajshahi city if any of their activists was arrested. Earlier when Siddhartha was rushed to Rajshahi Medical College Hospital, assistant registrar of the hospital told reporters that his chest was so badly burnt that the lung was visible from
outside. Splinters pierced into the eyes of injured Towhid who had to under the knife in the afternoon, he said. Police said after the bomb blasted they came to see some iron pieces, small stones and tin. The evidence indicated that the explosive was more than a cocktail possessing a high power of destruction, the OC said. Constable Alamgir told the newsmen that in two cars 24 policemen including Assistant Commissioner Saiful
Islam were heading towards Malopara when the party men were crossing the vehicles. Suddenly, the bomb fell inside the police vehicle. It exploded on the bullet-proof jacket of Siddhartha, he said. The OC said the opposition men vandalised an auto-rickshaw in front of Loknath School before they took out the procession. Police arrested BNP Jamaat activists from there. Following the arrest, they made the attack all of a sudden and fled. l
However, she did not point out any names. Mojibur Rahman alias Nixon Chowdhury is contesting as an independent candidate from Faridpur 4 constituency in the upcoming polls against Awami Leagues presidium Member Qazi Zaharullah. Nixon Chowdhury claims himself as a relative of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and his name is also listed among the people involved with the Padma Bridge scam. In her speech, she said the construction of the main bridge would only begin if her party came to power in the upcoming elections. She said her government had initiated the Padma Bridge project but its implementation was hampered as the World Bank withdrew its commitment of finance.
Regarding BNPs participation in the 10th parliamentary polls, she said BNP had to wait for the 11th parliamentary elections as they missed the first one. She said: A dialogue can take place with the BNP about the 11th parliament election if the party gives up terrorism and anarchy and renounce its association with terrorist party Jamaat-e-Islam. The prime minister said: BNP cannot participate in the electiond without Jamaat-e-Islami, a party dubbed as a terrorist organisation by the High Court, declaring it unfit to take part in the election. She claimed BNP was pursuing the path of destruction as their main ally, Jamaat, cannot participate in the elections. She also said BNP preferred resorting to terrorism to protect the war criminals rather than taking part in the
elections. Regarding BNPs march, she said: Begum Zia has called the march-for-democracy on December 29 commemorating her partys crushing defeat in the popular vote on this day five years back. She also said BNP does not believe in democracy. Urging Khaleda Zia to stop her ruinous politics with anti-liberation forces, the prime minister said one day the countrymen would put her on dock as an instigator of the heinous criminal activities. Khaled Zia is trying to foil the polls. But she has no power to thwart it, she added. She urged people to come to the polling centres and cast vote for Boat. She said here was no doubt that the forthcoming election would be held in a free, fair and neutral manner. l
country to realise the demand for a no-partisan caretaker government. The participants, meanwhile, were asked to arrange lodgings at safe places other than residential hotels to avoid harassment or possible arrest, party sources said. As the government might bar us from joining the rally, our leaders and activists have started going to Dhaka since Wednesday night by launches, Gulam Nabi Alamgir, president of Bhola district BNP, told the Dhaka Tribune yesterday. Alamgir also said 300 party leaders and activists had already reached Dhaka to attend the rally, and about 1,500 more would leave for the capital by Saturday. He also said the party men would not stay away from city hotels as law enforcers were allegedly conducting raids there. BNP office sources said messages were sent to every district and upazila unit asking party supporters to come to the capital after consulting with their respective local leaders. On the other hand, a senior party leader said despite BNP chairperson Khaleda Zias request to people from all walks of life to join into say yes to democracy and no to farcical polls, a number of grassroots leaders would stay put in their respective constituencies to organise protests in case the march is banned. Our leaders will take their seats wherever they are stopped on December 29,said Khandakar Mahbub Hos-
sain, adviser to the BNP chairperson. Party insiders said Khaleda Zia planned to go ahead with the democracy march at any cost, despite fears that she might be held under house arrest. The BNP chief is expected to announce the next course of action as part of the oppositions non-cooperation movement from Sundays event. They also said the democracy march was announced mainly to resist the upcoming polls. They said they had to create a situation to halt the voting process, but at the same time, the movement would be peaceful so that no one can question their intention. Khaleda Zia on Wednesday said, We have announced holding the programme in a peaceful manner. I am giving you word that no chaos will take place at the programme. Despite this, if the government does not allow us to hold the programme, the consequences will be dire and tough. Fazlul Haque Milon, BNP organising secretary, said if the government prevents their supporters from attending the rally, a movement would be created across the country and residents of the capital and its adjacent areas would join the rally and turn it into a sea of humanity. We know that the government would bar our leaders and activists from joining the rally. That is why we are focussing on the capital and its adjacent areas,Milon said. Fazlur Rahman, president of Kishorganj district BNP, said ruling party supporters were likely to prevent opposi-
tion leaders and activists from attending the rally, and that is why their party men had already started for Dhaka. We are not their brothers-in-law that they would welcome us to attend the rally. Ruling party men will bar us, and we have to dodge them to attend the rally. Around 500 of our men reached Dhaka today. Either we will go to jail or be hangedwhat elsewe have to go and will go to Dhaka, said Rahman yesterday. Meanwhile, opposition supporters from Chittagong were also headed to Dhaka, a local BNP leader told the Dhaka Tribune yesterday. Abu Sufian, vice president of the partys city unit, said they were going to send at least 10, 000 supporters to join the rally. He also said participants were asked to go to Dhaka in small groups to avert any obstruction. Sufian claimed that the authorities were hampering travel to Dhaka through creating artificial shortages in train and bus tickets. He also alleged that law enforcers were raiding the residences of party leaders and activists. AJM Obaidullah, assistant secretary of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islamis Chittagong city unit, said they were also planning to send at least 3,000 men to make the march for democracy a success. Our leaders and activists will start heading for Dhaka from today (Thursday), Obaidullah said. He added that party supporters were directed to start for Dhaka on their own initiative to avoid police hassle. l
DHAKA TRIBUNE
News
25 listed criminals held in Jatrabari, Kadomtoli Rahman, 32, Abdullah Al Mamun, 23, ification by the joint forces, Monirul n Kailash Sarkar Delwar, alias Appel, 34, Nur Karim, 30, said.
The police high-up also declined to disclose the number of forces deployed for the purpose of special combing operation. But BGB, Rab and police were tasked with the operation, he added. BGB, Rab and police are in the squad with uniforms while a team of plainclothes police is also taking part in the operation, said the joint commissioner. Talking to the Dhaka Tribune, the DMP spokesperson added that those accused in different cases like arson, blasts, extortion as well as possession of illegal arms, drug peddling, plus fugitives and wanted criminals were among the targets of the combined forces. DMP Deputy Commissioner Masudur Rahman said at the Media Centre the arrestees were handed over to the concerned police station. Sub-Inspector Rezaul Islam of Jatrabari police station said a total of 17 people were shown arrest after verification while Kadomtoli police said eight were arrested in that area. l
Additional police were deployed in front of the residence of opposition leader Begum Khaleda Zia yesterday
P4 SHUFFLE IN PROSECUTION
Karim argued that the prosecution had accused Qaisar but could not produce any evidence to support the case. He also saidthe prosecution had failed to prove that Qaisarhad formed a group or force named QaisarBahini comprising of 500-600 anti-liberation people. Later, he sought an adjournment of the hearing saying senior defence counsel MdAbdusSobhanTarafdar would place the remaining part of the arguments to prove the innocence of his client. The tribunal then set the date for the next hearing on December 31. The prosecution on December 17 pleaded for indicting Qaisar on 18 counts of crimes against humanity in Habiganj during 1971. l
DHAKA TRIBUNE
News
It was decided that the prosecutions conducting team in the case against war crimes suspect ATM Azhar, also a senior Jamaat leader, would be increased
Haider had been the conducting prosecutor in the case against death row convict Delawar Hossain Sayedee. Senior prosecutor Haider was also given the task to coordinate the prosecution team considering the age of chief prosecutor Golam Arif Tipoo. He would work in consultation with
Tipoo, sources said. It was decided that the prosecutions conducting team in the case against war crimes suspect ATM Azhar, also a senior Jamaat leader, would be increased. Yesterday, the prosecution placed their first witness in this case. The meeting also discussed about the safety and security of the witnesses and the prosecution members. On Wednesday night, miscreants beat up a police member who was on duty at prosecutor Tureen Afrozs house. The investigation agency was directed to take necessary steps in this regard. Prosecutor Shahidur Rahman said: It was our routine meeting where we exchange our experiences. I cannot tell you more than that. Enquired whether any decision was made at the meeting, he said: We are working as a team. So everyone is responsible for every case. Contacted, several prosecutors who were present at the hour-long meeting said they had taken some decisions. l
Many streets in the capital are now adorned with posters of candidates for the 10th parliamentary elections. This photo was taken yesterday in Lalbagh area NASHIRUL ISLAM
A speeding truck took the lives of two cousins, one of them was a first year student of Dhaka College, at Paltan in the capital yesterday morning. The deceased are Parvez Ahmed Opu, 25, who hailed from Dewanganj of Jamalpur, and Abdus Salam, 25, a residence of Kamrangirchar area in the capital. Opu got admitted in the English Department of Dhaka College a year ago and his first year final exam was going on, while Salam had been running a hotel along with his father, who is a cook. Police said the truck rammed over the rickshaw that was carrying them in front of Police Hospital, leaving the youths dead on the spot. l
10 hurt in clash between human traffickers, villagers n Our Correspondent, Coxs Bazar
At least 10 human traffickers and locals were injured in a clash between a group of human traffickers and villagers at Ukhia upozila in Coxs Bazar on Wednesday night. The injured human traffickers Ansar Ullah, 23, Jahangir Alam, 28, Md Riduan Hossain, 20, and Joynal Uddin, 25, were admitted in Ukhia General Hospital. Witness said the human trafficking group, led by Rustam Ali, gathered 50 people from different parts of the country at 9pm for trafficking them to Malaysia. The locals informed police about the incident, and sensing the matter the traffickers tried to leave the area, triggering the clash. Rustam Ali said sending people to Malaysia was not an illegal work, and claimed that he was doing the work with permission of the police. Zahidul Kabir, officer-in-charge of Ukhia police station, said: Legal actions will be taken immediately. The locals claimed that Rustam had been trafficking people to Malaysia since a long time. l
Government Order on bail of BNP leaders due Sunday Chittagong Khulshi considering ban on mad Ali and AM Mahbub Uddin Khogramme at that time. Club starts journey n Nazmus Sakib BNP standing committee mem- kon represented Moudud, Barrister Jamaats politics, The High Court yesterday set Sunday as bers Moudud Ahmed, MK Anwar and Rafique-Ul Huq represented Mintoo n Tarek Mahmud, Chittagong the day for giving the order on the bail Rafiqul Islam Miah, Adviser to the and Zainul Abedin represented the othsays Inu petitions of five BNP leaders. A vaca- chairperson Abdul Awal Mintoo and ers. Additional Attorney General MomChittagong Khulshi Club Limited, a sotion bench of Justice Nizamul Huq and chairpersons Special Assistant Sham- taz Uddin Fakir placed arguments in cial recreation club will start operating Mohosinul Karim n Justice Md Badruzzaman fixed the date sur Rahman Shimul Biswas are charged favour of the cases. in the port city from today.
With 21 executive members and 10 founding directors, the club would be inauguarated at a grand ceremony at Sanmar Spring Vally in the citys Khulshi area today, Founder President of CKCL Niaz Morshed said in a press briefing at the club venue yesterday. He said the club aimed to cater to the demand of the city considered to be the business hub of the country. l Information Minister Hasanul Haque Inu yesterday said the government was considering a ban on Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islamis politics following the court verdicts and taking the organisations recent activities in consideration. The minister also termed the March for Democracy programme on December 29, as March for Destruction. Inu made the remarks while talking to the media at his secretariat office, just hours after the Communications Minister, Obaidul Quader said the government had nothing to say about the march, if it was non-violent. Contradicting Quaders statement, Inu said: The government will prevent such steps legally and politically. It is better not to let the opposition to hold programmes that may hinder the polls process. There is no alternative of holding the election to uphold the constitution. He claimed, the main opposition was trying the save the war criminals, terrorists, arsonists, and Jamaat activists by forming the democracy protection committee across the country. l after a hearing. Although the leaders registered the pleas on December 4 and 5, their lawyers did not move with the High Court due to the opposition blockade proin two cases of vandalism, arson and assaulting police in the capital during opposition hartals. The cases were filed with Motijheel police station. Supreme Court lawyers AJ MohamAfter the hearing, Khokon was detained from Matsya Bhaban area at around 4:15pm. On November 28, bail pleas of the five men were rejected by the court. l
WEATHER
The first-year honours admission test for the 2013-2014 session under all affiliated colleges of National University will be held today. The hour-long tests will be held around the country at once in 167 centres, starting at 11am. Md Faizul Karim, the on-duty director of public relation, information and consultation department of the university gave the information through a press note yesterday. l
n Mushque Wadud
Results of Junior School Certificate and its madrasa equivalent, Junior Dakhil Certificate, and Primary School Certificate examinations will be published on December 29 and December 30 respectively, according to Education and Mass Education Ministry officials. The publishing of JSC, JDC results on Sunday was confirmed by Dhaka Education Boards Examination Controller SM Wahiduzzaman. Director General of the Directorate of Primary Education Shyamal Kanti Ghosh confirmed that the PSC results would be published on Monday. l
PRAYER TIMES
Fajar Sunrise Jumma Asr Magrib Esha 5:19am 6:39am 12:00am 3:43pm 5:19pm 6:40pm
Source: IslamicFinder.org
Law enforcers accord a guard of honour to veteran photojournalist Aftab Ahmed yesterday RAJIB DHAR
DHAKA TRIBUNE
News
Poultry business leaders form a human chain in front of the National Press Club in the city yesterday with a call to keep poultry sector out of political programmes preview before any other sectors. Dr M Nazrul Islam, general secretary of Animal Health Companies Association of Bangladesh, termed the ongoing crisis a disaster more intense and destructive than bird flu. He said: The industry suffered a loss of around Tk8000 crore from 2007 to 2012 [for bird flu]. But the present disaster [from political programmes] has caused a loss of Tk4,000 crore within only three months. Rafiqul Haque, secretary of the World Poultry Science Association of Bangladesh, demanded a tax-free poultry industry up to 2025. He also demanded waiver in port duty for delay and other supplementary taxes. Annisul Huq, former FBCCI president, labelled the poultry sector as a leading employment generating sector. To him, one-fifth of the total population was directly or indirectly linked with this sector. He urged the prime minister and the opposition leader to settle their dispute and save the business community. Dr SD Chowdhury, professor of Bangladesh Agricultural University, said the industry should be protected to ensure health and nutrition of the future generation. l
SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN
The timber value of these trees were more than Tk35crore while the total damage caused to the environment stood more than Tk10,000crore, Poribesh Bachao Andolon (Poba) disclosed the information at a press confernce
Satkhira, Rangpur, Gaibandha, Dinajpur, Thakurgaon, Joypurhat, Lalmonirhat, Bogra, Meherpur, Nilphamari, Chittagong, Coxs Bazar, Lakshmipur, Chanpur, Noakhali, Pabna, Jessore, Pirojpur, Chuadanga, Sirajganj, Rajshahi, Chapai Nawabganj, Natore and Naogaon districts. According to environmentalists, a country needs 25% forests on its total land area in order to maintain the ecological balance whereas in our country the proportion was only 17%. The re-
The report said 60% of the urban areas where the best services are provided are adjacent to the capital rather than the big cities
The government is yet to provide a sufficient number of doctors and nurses to districts and upazilas, the standard for which one doctor for every six persons, set by the World Health Organisation, he added. As in health, Dhaka is also the best performing division in the education sector while Sylhet is the worst performer, within the study area. Regarding political governance, the study said parliament members party affiliations worked as an important factor in picking regions for development programmes by the government during every regime. As an example, it said that most of the development projects had been undertaken in the regions represented by cabinet members. l
Fire fighters extinguish fire that broke out at sweater factory in Ashulia yesterday
DHAKA TRIBUNE
DHAKA TRIBUNE
Nation
The old Charbaria UP office (above) has been shifted to a small rented shed by the acting chairman
DHAKA TRIBUNE
Rebel AL candidate in Jhenidah withdraws nomination papers n Tribune Desk have achieved bumper pron Our Correspondent, Jhenidah Farmers duction of stress tolerant rice during
A rebel candidate of Awami League for Jhenidah (constituency-3) withdrew his nomination paper yesterday. He declared the withdrawal of his candidature at a press conference held at Moheshpur AL office. The candidate is Advocate Shafikul Azam Khan Chanchal, who is an incumbent lawmaker of Awami League of Jhenidah-3 constituency (Moheshpur-Kotchandpur). Chanchal in his written statement said he had no intention to contest as an independent candidate against AL nominated candidate. He also said he could not withdrew his nomination paper ealier for back-to-back hartal and blockade programmes. I am withdrawing my nomination paper as I have confidence and loyalty to the party, he said. Now, AL-backed candidate professor Nabi Newaj and JP (Ershad) Kamruzzaman Swadhin will contest from the constituency. l this season in stress-prone regions of Bangladesh, increasing food production ushering in a new era in the agriculture sector. The success has been achieved under the expanding stress tolerant paddy seed multiplication programme for the fourth consecutive time this year increasing rice production to ensure food security under adverse climate. Cultivation of the flood-droughtand saline-tolerant variety rice has already become popular in the country under the programme after repeated bumper production in recent years overcoming crop losses due to floods, droughts or soil salinity. Sustainable Rice Seed Production and Delivery System in Southern Bangladesh and Cereal Systems Initiative in South Asia (SRSPDS CSISA BD) projects are implementing the programme under Stress Tolerant Rice for Poor Farmers in Africa and South Asia (STRASA) project. The USAID and Bill and Melinda
NEWS IN BRIEF
UNO office torched in Comilla
Miscreants set fire to the office of Laksham Upazila Nirbahi Officer Shafiul Alam on Thursday. Officer-in-Charge of Laksham police station Abul Khair said a group of miscreants entered into the office breaking its windowpanes in the early hours and set fire to it by pouring petrol. The miscreants managed to flee. Later, its security guards doused the blaze after half-anhour, said the OC. None was injured in the arson attack. UNB accidents were occurred on the spot in the last one year, said the locals. Confirming the accident Aditmari police station OC Aslam Iqbal said police recovered the damaged trolley and cleared the rail line for train movement. Our Correspondent
DHAKA TRIBUNE
Heritage
WIKIMEDIA
n Tim Steel
he twentieth century American writer, John Henrik Clarke, observed: History is not everything, but it is a starting point ... it is a clock that people use to tell their political and cultural time of day. He went on to describe it as a compass they use to find themselves on the map of human geography. Of, perhaps, greater import to Bangladeshis, he also observed that the map tells them where they are but, more importantly, what they must be. Maps are important, not for merely marking places, but also times, and offering the historian, even the archaeologist, one of the most convincing trails of evidence for ancient civilisations; in other words, what once was, and where, marking and suggesting routes to progress. And the histories of the lands that are now Bangladesh are no exception.
Maps are important, not for merely marking places, but also times, and offering the historian, even the archaeologist, one of the most convincing trails of evidence for ancient civilisations
To many, Bangladesh has only existed since 1971. However, like every other part of the world, it has an ancient history, and origins that reach back into the misted past. Geologically, it is not hard to estimate its origins. Originating, as what is known as the Indo-Australian Plate, it merged into the Eurasian Plate, and folded the Himalayan barrier as recently as about 10 million years ago. It is still advancing, at a calculated rate of 67mm a year, and over the next 10 million years will probably advance a further 1,500km into Asia! Thus, the lands that are now Bangladesh originated far south of its present position, whilst its lands have, since then, continued to be extended, annually, but the outflow of seasonal flooding from these, the worlds newest mountains, bearing alluvial soils to
add to the sea bed rocks folded up in the original merging of land masses. Wikipedia, in its fine Early World Maps entry, tells a story of the evolution of these lands dominated by the great rivers originating in the mountains, including both ancient Ganges and Brahmaputra, and the role of those lands in world history. The oldest known map in the world, marking the progress of the human civilisations that produced such maps, originating in Babylon, around the end of the seventh century BCE, or early sixth century, simply, unsurprisingly, focussed on Babylon itself. But it can also be interpreted to identify other lands that neighbour those of the Middle East, simply telling us that international travel and trade were already a part of life on the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. Why else would such a map be made? By the middle of the sixth century, Anaximander, a Greek cartographer from Miletus, in Asia Minor, described the world as circular, and comprised of three parts, Europe, Asia, and Africa. A simplistic view, perhaps, but, in his time, entirely accurate. However, the very existence of such a map raises the question: was the drawing an inspired guess, or was his map based on real, substantial knowledge? Knowledge provided, it is safe to assume, by early travellers, who were almost certainly traders. Within fifty years, another Miletian, Hecataeus, had amplified the contents of Anaximanders outline of the world, marking both a long range of mountains spreading across the Asian bloc, which can only really be interpreted as the Himalayas, and from which a river springs, flowing from the mountain range, to the surrounding ocean. Some might interpret this as the Indus, rising at the end of the Himalayan range closest to Asia Minor; however, a more reasonable interpretation, since it rises towards the end of the range, might also identify it as the Ganges. Whichever, it clearly identifies knowledge of the physical geography of Asia, even if the geopolitical knowledge is very evidently deficient! However, by the middle of the third century BCE there is no longer any doubt about identifying the lands of the Ganges delta that are, today, at the heart of Bangladesh. Eratosthenes, a Greek philosopher
based in the great library in Alexandria, and assisted by the records of Alexanders campaigns, whilst believing that, north of the Himalayan range were the lands of ancient Scythia, todays Russia, clearly marks, and names, the Ganges. He also shows the origin of the river in the Himalayas. Only those who had travelled the waters of the great river could possibly have told him that. By the middle of the second century BCE, another Greek cartographer, Posidonius, based in Rhodes, could boldly mark both Indus and Ganges rivers, and, interestingly, had added, east of the Ganges, a land he names as Sinae, that we might reasonably interpret as China, by then under the progressive rule of the Han Dynasty. Clearly, travellers had widened, and shared, the extent of their knowledge
from direct experience. Although the mid first century AD/ CE publication, Periplus of the Erythraean Sea, a merchant guide to trade, suggests the Ganges delta as a place to buy silk, from an inland city called Thina, there is other evidence that trade with China had already been carried on between the Ganges and China for more than a century or two. Strabo, the great Greco Roman cartographer, in writing of trade with the Ganges Delta, in his very early first century CE publication, Geographia, also references the maps of both Posidonius and Eratosthenes. However, contemporary with the Periplus, the map made by Pomponius Mela, the earliest Roman cartographer, is very clear that the dominant river of South Asia is the Ganges, with many tributaries, and an enormous delta system. It was, however, the greatest of all the cartographers of the early centuries on Roman times, Ptolemy, who left maps of the entire known world. His map of the Ganges delta also marks the Brahmaputra, showing a route that brought its headwaters close to those of the Pearl river system of China. Interestingly, he marks clearly, in its correct location midway between Karnaphuli and Naf rivers, a coastal town called Ramcu; there seems little doubt that this is todays Ramu. He also marks, clearly, the territory of Gangaridai, leaving no doubt that the ancient kingdom, much written about by both Greek and Roman historians, was located within the lands of the Ganges delta. Although, for the next couple of centuries, historians, especially, continued to write, often almost lyrically, of the Ganges delta, and especially, the Kingdom of Gangaridai, the knowledge of the broad triangular shape of the Indian subcontinent, bracketed by the two great rivers Ganges and Indus, seems to have been lost to cartographers. Maps produced by Saxon, Viking, Arabian and even Chinese cartographers, over the ensuing thousand years, show no sign that the subcontinent was explored, or mapped, in detail. It was not until Vasco da Gama, at the end of the fifteenth century, pioneered the Cape route for direct trade, that modern, identifiable, shape and form of the landmass of the subcontinent, reappears in mapping. Clearly, for that thousand years,
following the fall of Rome, and the outbreak of civil wars throughout Europe, ended the previous, near thousand years of geographic exploration and mapping, by, and for, traders who travelled the maritime routes between East Asia and the markets of Europe. Meanwhile, more local and regional powers had not only traded with the delta lands, but such as the Pashtun Khilji, chased out of their Afghan lands by the Mongol hordes, and followed by those great chancers, the Mughals, had seized the rich lands of the delta.
A history in maps is but one of the routes to exploring the history of the peoples of Bangladesh
Two hundred years after the Mughals, the British gained control of these most valuable of lands, and from that time, vastly improved cartography marks the more recent history of what was, once, one of the greatest global centres of economic activity. A fact evidenced by two and a half thousand years of cartography. Maps can, indeed, it seems, mark the political and cultural time of day, and the place of a people in the world, should the people care to make a check before continuing setting a course towards a future, unknown, and unknowable. A history in maps is but one of the routes to exploring the history of the peoples of Bangladesh. Documentary evidence, from at least the fourth century BCE, and archaeological evidence that can be scientifically dated, thus far, to at least the 7th century BCE, describes a society with one of the richest histories in the world. It is a history, the tangible evidence of which may be rapidly disappearing, but the evidence of the maps, and the written history, describe the origins of the people more vividly than a mere history book could possibly do. l Tim Steel is a communications, marketing and tourism consultant.
Imago Mundi, the oldest known world map from 6th century BCE Babylonia
WIKIMEDIA
DHAKA TRIBUNE
International
Egyptian security officials inspect the wreckage of a bus that was damaged by an explosion on December 26 in Cairo They were covered in blood. One man lost a leg, he said. A health ministry official said five people were wounded in the attack. Dozens of angry men and women chanted slogans against the Muslim Brotherhood as police tried to keep them away from the site of the blast while forensic experts searched for clues inside the bus. The Muslim Brotherhood people are dogs, chanted 40-year-old Fadiya as police pushed her away. My country is bleeding My country is bleeding. Everybody is scared now in Egypt, even the police are scared, she said as several men and women took pictures of the bus with their mobile phones. The Brotherhood, which prevailed in all elections since the 2011 ouster of Hosni Mubarak and organises near daily protests demanding Morsis reinstatement, insists it is peaceful and has condemned militant attacks. It was declared a terrorist group after Tuesdays bombing of a police headquarters that killed 15 people in the Nile Delta city of Mansoura, although an Al-Qaeda-inspired group in the Sinai peninsula said it was responsible. Thursdays bombing in Cairo appears to be the first against civilians,
AFP
although it could have been meant for another target and exploded prematurely. A suicide bomber had set off a car bomb in September in the same neighbourhood in an attempt to assassinate interior minister Mohamed Ibrahim as his convoy passed by. The minister survived but a bystander was killed in the explosion. The interior ministry said the Brotherhoods designation as terrorist group meant that whoever participates in its protests faces a jail term of five years, while those owning publications, recordings or propaganda material of the group face jail terms of up to five years. l
Yasser Arafat Arafat died in France on November 11, 2004 at the age of 75, but doctors were unable to specify the cause of death. No autopsy was carried out at the time, in line with his widows request. His remains were exhumed in No-
AFP
vember 2012, partly to investigate whether he had been poisoned with radioactive polonium, a suspicion that grew after the substance was used to assassinate Russian ex-spy and Kremlin critic Alexander Litvinenko in 2006. l
OTHER NEWS
India gangster escapes police after drugging guards
An Indian gangster linked to dozens of murders escaped from police custody after apparently serving food laced with sedatives to officers guarding him, police and local media reports said Thursday. Vikram Paras, 27, carried out the daring escape as four armed officers were escorting him from the busy Old Delhi Railway Station in the capital early on Wednesday, a local officer said. Paras, allegedly involved in dozens of cases of murder, extortion and robbery, was being brought back to Delhi by train after a court appearance at Bhatinda in neighbouring Punjab state. He is a desperate contract killer. We have launched an investigation based on the information that we have as of now. We are hopeful of nabbing him soon, Delhi Police spokesman Rajan Bhagat told AFP. Bhagat said police were still trying to establish exactly what happened, after three of his guards were found unconscious at the railway station while the fourth was found dazed in a nearby street. They were mostly incoherent when a police team reached them, railway police officer Surender Singh told AFP. Paras offered food at the station to the four officers at the station, which his accomplices had contaminated with drugs, before stealing their guns and fleeing, according to the Times of India.
We will not stop, even for a moment, building our country and becoming stronger, and developing
Israeli media Thursday suggested that the new construction push is aimed at pacifying Netanyahus coalition partners following a surge of violence along the Israel-Gaza border and in the West Bank. Maariv daily quoted an unnamed top official as saying Netanyahu had initially agreed to US and EU appeals to delay by two to three weeks the announcement of the new constructions. But Netanyahu apparently changed his mind under pressure from his coalition partners so as not to send out a signal of weakness to the Palestinians from Israel, Maariv said. l
DHAKA TRIBUNE
International
In an e-mail sent to Japanese nationals registered with the Japanese embassy in Beijing, the embassy warned its citizens to stay away from any demonstrations and to not congregate in big groups. Given the media coverage, we fear the deterioration in sentiment towards Japan, the embassy said. In dealing with Chinese people, pay attention to your behaviour and your language. South Korea termed the visit a deplorable and anachronistic act that damaged ties between the two countries and summoned a top Japanese diplomat in Seoul to protest. We cannot withhold regret and anger over the visit, said Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Yoo Jin-ryong. Washington - which has welcomed Abes more proactive defence policies but been unhappy at his historical revisionism - also expressed disappointment. Japans leadership has taken an action that will exacerbate tensions with Japans neighbours, a US Embassy statement in Tokyo said. The United States hopes that both Japan and its neighbours will find constructive ways to deal with sensitive issues from the past, to improve their relations, and to promote cooperation in advancing our shared goals of regional peace and stability. The head of Abes coalition partner, the Buddhist-backed New Komeito - who had urged the premier not to make the pilgrimage called the visit regrettable in light of the problems it as likely to cause with Japans neighbours. Japanese exports to China have recovered after a sharp drop following scattered protests in China in 2012. It was unclear whether Abes Yasukuni visit, the first by a serving premier since 2006, would dampen business ties again. l
Japan must bear full responsibility for the serious political consequences
Tokyos relations with Beijing and Seoul are already strained by territorial rows and disputes stemming from Japans wartime occupation of large parts of China and its 1910-1945 colonization of the Korean peninsula. Chinas Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Abes action had pushed Japan in an extremely dangerous direction. Japan must bear full responsibility for the serious political consequences, the foreign ministrys website quoted Wang as telling the Japanese ambassador to China, who was summoned to the ministry. A commentary in state-run news agency Xinhua added: Choosing a sensitive time to visit a highly controversial and notorious place, Abe knows perfectly what he is doing and the consequences. Instead of a pledge against war, as Abe has claimed, the visit is a calculated provocation to stoke further tension.
Thai anti government protesters face riot policemen during rally at a stadium to register party candidates in Bangkok
AFP
Indian court rejects Parsis confront threats at Mumbai gathering Pakistan to raise drones at prosecution of PM n AFP, Mumbai UN Human Rights Council candidate The worlds tiny but hugely successful drone strikes in Pakistans tribal belt as Zoroastrian community will confront n AP, Ahmadabad n AFP, Islamabad well as over sanctuaries for Afghan Tala demographic crisis which threatens
An Indian court has rejected a petition seeking the prosecution of a Hindu nationalist partys prime ministerial candidate in the killing of a former lawmaker and other Muslims during riots in the western state of Gujarat in 2002. Magistrate B.J. Ganataras ruling Thursday comes as a boost to Narendra Modi, the states top elected official and the Bharatiya Janata partys prime ministerial candidate in national elections to be held before May. Former Congress party lawmaker Ehsan Jafri was allegedly killed by Hindu rioters in a neighbourhood where dozens of Muslim families lived in Ahmadabad, Gujarats largest city. Dozens of other Muslims also died in the attack. In her petition to the court, Jafris widow, Zakia Jafri, accused Modi of not doing enough to prevent the killings. l its very existence when it gathers en masse in its spiritual home of Mumbai this week. The four-day World Zoroastrian Congress, beginning Friday, brings together followers of one of the worlds oldest religions, many of whom are descended from Persians who fled to India to escape persecution more than 1,000 years ago. Known as the Parsis, this group went on to become one of Indias wealthiest communities, closely linked to the rise of financial capital Mumbai. Famed members have included the industrialist Tata family and the late Queen singer Freddie Mercury, the son of Parsi migrants to Zanzibar. But the population of Parsis is quickly diminishing, with members divided over how best to preserve their religion and culture. Demographically theres nothing you can do. Its going down and down and its eventually going to disappear, said Jehangir Patel, editor of Parsiana, a Mumbai-based magazine for the Pakistan on Thursday said it would raise the issue of US drone strikes inside its territory at the United Nations Human Rights Council. We will go to the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in Geneva if the drone strikes continue Tasneem Aslam, the spokeswoman for the ministry of foreign affairs said in a weekly news conference. The UN General Assembly passed a resolution on December 18 2013 calling on states using drone strikes as a counter-terrorism measure to comply with their obligations under international law and the UN Charter. But in the latest US missile strike after the UN resolution, at least three people were killed late on Wednesday night in Miranshah in Pakistans northwestern tribal district of North Waziristan, which borders Afghanistan. Pakistans foreign ministry condemned the fresh attack, terming it a violation of Pakistans sovereignty and territorial integrity. Ties between the US and Pakistan have been seriously strained over US
An Indian Parsi woman walks by relief figures of knights at a fire temple after offering prayers on the Parsi new year Navroze in Mumbai AFP community. Zoroastrians believe in one god, Ahura Mazda, and follow the teachings of the ancient Prophet Zoroaster. They worship in fire temples, believing fire to be a symbol of gods purity. Scattered across countries including Iran, the United States and Britain, their estimated numbers have dropped by more than 10% between 2004 to 2012 to fewer than 112,000 people. In India, where most Zoroastrians live, the numbers have halved since 1940 to about 61,000. Every year, Mumbai sees about 850 Parsi deaths and roughly 200 births, with the largely well-educated and well-off group tending to marry late or not at all and opting for smaller families, said Patel. Alarmed by the figures, and despite worries about a boom in the wider population, Indias government is about to launch an IVF scheme for the Parsis, who have earned a reputation for good business sense and honesty. l
iban insurgents inside its borders. But human rights groups and Pakistani politicians say the missile attacks have killed innocent civilians and are a breach of sovereignty. President Barack Obama has defended the drone strikes as an effective, lawful tool used with restraint to target suspected Al-Qaeda militants. In recent weeks, activists opposed to the drone raids forcibly searched trucks in northwest Pakistan in a campaign to disrupt NATO supply routes through the Torkham gate border crossing. The club-wielding protesters have prompted US officials to halt the shipments to protect the truck drivers. Last month a US drone attack on a seminary linked to the feared Haqqani militant network in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in the northwest killed at least six people. The attack, which militant sources said killed the Haqqanis spiritual leader along with five others, was extremely unusual as it was mounted outside Pakistans lawless tribal areas on the Afghan border. l
Security guards salute near wreaths in front of a statue of the late Communist leader Mao Zedong leaders visited Maos mausoleum in the morning where they bowed three times to his statue and jointly recalled Comrade Maos glorious achievements, Xinhua said. The 12-decade anniversary has a special resonance in China, which traditionally measured time in 60-year cycles.
AP
Some of the celebrations had religious overtones, with pilgrims burning incense, bowing and calling for blessings from the Great Helmsman. l
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DHAKA TRIBUNE
Editorial
LETTER OF THE DAY
Letters to
the Editor
here is valid concern that the political situation will get worse if the oppositions planned rally on December 29 is prevented from going ahead. In a democracy, it is essential to allow everyone space to peacefully express their point of view. Opposition leader Khaleda Zia has put a clear emphasis on ensuring that Sundays demonstration is non-violent and open to all. We see no reason in principle therefore to oppose the rally. The BNP has a right to make its voice heard peacefully. The government should not impede this right. It is not conducive to the aim of reinvigorating dialogue on political compromise for opposition leaders to be prevented from pursuing their declared aim of holding a peaceful demonstration on Sunday. The government and opposition have a duty to co-operate on ensuring safety for those who plan to attend the march and also the safety and convenience of the common people. Unreasonable obstacles should not be placed in the way of opposition supporters. By the same token, it behooves the BNP to ensure that they keep to their word and ensure that the march is indeed peaceful. They will be held responsible for any violence or agitation caused by the marchers. If they wish for political space to protest, which is their democratic right, they must also act with similar responsibility. It is equally the responsibility of both sides, the government and opposition, to ensure that December 29 passes peacefully, and we hope that both sides will live up to our best expectations.
It is essential to allow everyone space to peacefully express their point of view. By the same token, it behooves the BNP to ensure that they keep to their word
Be Heard
Write to us at: Dhaka Tribune FR Tower, 8/C Panthapath Sukrabad, Dhaka-1207 Email us at: letters@dhakatribune.com Send us your Op-Ed articles: opinion@dhakatribune.com Visit our website: www.dhakatribune.com Come join our Facebook community: https://www.facebook.com/DhakaTribune
n response to a request from the Election Commission under Article 126 of the constitution, the army has been deployed across the country to aid civil authorities for 15 days from December 26 to January 9 to maintain law and order during the election period. Bangladeshs army has a proud record of professionalism and civil service under United Nations peacekeeping programs and, only this week, have been deployed to assist the UN in South Sudan. Inside the country, the army has many times in the past been deployed to ensure security at election time, and this is something that has always proved popular with the voters. Nor should we forget the positive role that the army plays throughout the country in disaster relief and other such activities. In short, therefore, public confidence is high that the armys deployment for the national election, scheduled for January 5, will be helpful in assisting the civil authorities and police in co-operation with BGB and RAB and help bring the current volatile situation under some kind of control. Even so, it is important that the Election Commission has been punctilious in making its request for the armed forces to serve in aid to the civil power and that everything is operating by the book. The government is also right to have issued special directives to law enforcement agencies to take care to avoid any excessive use of force during the parliamentary election. It is important to exercise restraint in the use of power at all times but this is even truer during such a sensitive period.
December 20 They want to repeat the 1996 polls. Good on them. Ruwa
It is important that the Election Commission has been punctilious in making its request for the armed forces to serve in aid to the civil power
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Op-Ed
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during her visit to Kunming in March 2010. Qin Guangrong discussed the setting up of direct road and rail connectivity between Bangladesh and China with government leaders. In October 2013, a delegation of the Chinese government arrived in Dhaka from India to discuss the construction of the proposed Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar (BCIM) Economic Corridor. Trade between China and South Asian countries has grown robustly in recent years. The trade volume between both sides jumped to more than $80bn in 2010, up from $26bn in 2005.
BIGSTOCK
All in
n Zafar Sobhan
s the AL about to make a historic mistake by forging ahead with the January 5 election? Even many of those within the party privately concede that the elections will not have any legitimacy other than constitutional, and the party (to its credit) acknowledges openly that the results will not give it a mandate to rule for the next five years. The argument is that the elections are now a constitutional necessity and that there is no alternative to going ahead with them if we wish to avoid a constitutional crisis. Well, yes and no. Whether the constitution allows for another 90 days after January 24 if the parliament is dissolved prior to then (which it clearly does, by my reading) or not, is a question of constitutional interpretation, I suppose. But if the PM announced that she was invoking Article 123.3(b) of the constitution and taking another 90 days to hold elections, I am sure that she could pull it off. The better argument against such a course of action is that it would solve nothing except to kick the can down the road a further three months, thus merely prolonging the current crisis, and that in the middle of April we would be back to square one, and with no parliament, to boot. Be that as it may, there are cogent reasons for the AL to not go down that road, and instead to continue to seek compromise to try to bring the BNP into an election on mutually acceptable terms. The principal one would be that
the government elected on January 5 would suffer from a crisis of legitimacy from day one, in just the same way that the short-lived 6th parliament of 1996 did. Right now, say what you will, the current parliament and cabinet have full and unquestionable constitutional and moral legitimacy. The parliament was democratically elected in December 2008 and the government was constitutionally constituted thereto.
prevailing in such elections, certainly a far better chance than in the ones that were subsequently held that June. In the end, it was their machinations to try to prevent the caretaker government and their holding of a farcical election that destroyed the partys credibility and sealed its fate in the subsequent elections held four months later. The situation today is not quite analogous. The saving grace for the
They are both playing for all the marbles. As ever, this is a high-stakes game of winner take all
Now, the 10th parliament will also be constitutional, there can be no question of that, but legitimacy does not follow mere constitutionality. What matters equally is whether it is seen to be legitimate by the people of Bangladesh and therefore by the administrative and law enforcement apparatus that exists to support it and without which it cannot function. It was precisely this lack of legitimacy that brought the BNP-dominated 6th parliament to its knees and paved the way, ironically, for the 13th amendment and the caretaker government system. Had the BNP agreed to the caretaker government prior to the farcical elections in February 1996, they would have had every chance of in fact
AL is its full acknowledgement that the upcoming elections will not give it a mandate to rule the country for the next five years. The election as constitutional necessity rather than popular mandate make it more acceptable and likely to be more accepted than its February 1996 counterpart. Nevertheless, the danger remains that with the governments legitimacy compromised in the public mind that it will find it hard to maintain control, and will, like the BNP in 1996, then be backed into a corner. The AL is confident that it can not only maintain but enhance control post-elections, and for the sake of the nation, I hope they are right. The nation can ill afford another round of hartals and blockades, and the sooner
we can return to some semblance of normalcy, the better. However, I am not as confident that it will be quite as simple as the AL seems to think. Of course, whether we have elections in January or three months down the line, the fundamental problem remains that the two sides are both determined to not compromise, and, to paraphrase the late, great Lou Reed: Theres no ground common enough for AL and BNP. As long as that is the case, perhaps whether we hold elections now or later really doesnt make all that much difference. Ive said it before, and Ill say it again: Without some kind of new compact between AL and BNP, elections will resolve nothing. But neither side seems at all willing to back down or compromise. They are both playing for all the marbles. As ever, this is a high-stakes game of winner take all. By sticking to the elections on January 5, the PM is saying that shes seen enough. She is bringing the crisis to a head. She has pushed all of her chips into the middle of the table. She is all in. It is possible that her hand is stronger than I am giving it credit for, in which case I guess that there is nothing to be gained by waiting any further, since any kind of mutually acceptable compromise between the two sides seems to be out of the question. If theres going to be a showdown, January 5 is as good a time for it as any. Assuming shes holding a winning hand. l Zafar Sobhan is the Editor, Dhaka Tribune.
he Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar (BCIM) regional grouping has reportedly agreed to start joint research to find ways to establish their dream economic corridor among the countries. The decision was adopted at the first official-level joint working group meeting at Kunming (Yunnan province) on December 19. The officials also reached consensus on cooperation in transportation infrastructure, investment, commerce and trade, cultural and people-to-people exchanges and other areas. The idea of economic corridor among BCIM has been conceived sometime in Dhaka in 1999 by a group of economists. It was known as Kunming Initiative for regional connectivity. Gradually it caught the imagination of other countries. An informal working group was set up to develop a number of policy recommendations. The last informal BCIM joint working group meeting was held in Dhaka last February when the Indian government sent an unofficial delegation while other countries were represented by officials. This is known as Track-II diplomacy. It took India a long time to get involved officially because of reported security concern of the impact of economic corridor on some of the troubled-torn northeastern states of India whose population are closer ethnically to China and these states share borders with China as well. With the participation of Indian officials, the meeting just concluded at Kunming has now elevated to Track-I, meaning all the countries are represented by the officials. It is a big achievement for multilateral diplomacy. On February 22, 2013, a group of adventure enthusiasts from four countries Bangladesh, China, India and Myanmar in a convoy of 20 cars, undertook a historic journey of 2,800km route that took them all the way from Kolkata to Kunming via Dhaka and Myanmar. The stated purpose of this journey was to highlight road connectivity in the four countries of the region (BCIM). The joint statement issued at the end of Chinese Prime Minister Keqiangs visit to India in May said that encouraged by the successful BCIM Car Rally of February 2013 between Kolkata and Kunming, the two sides had agreed to consult the other parties to establish a Joint Study Group on strengthening connectivity in the BCIM region for closer economic, trade, and people-to-people linkages, and to initiate the development of a BCIM Economic Corridor. As a forerunner of the proposed economic corridor, the hugely popular 2004 India-ASEAN car rally, with the slogan Networking People and Economies, was one of the earliest signs of this connectivity. It is reported that more than 500 officials and business leaders from China and eight South Asian countries gathered in June 2011 to attend the 6th China-South Asia Business Forum presided by Sri Lankan Minister of Industry and Commerce Rishad Bathdeen, in Kunming, capital of Yunnan Province, to discuss the promotion of trade and investment in the region. Chinas Yunnan Province Governor Qin Guangrong visited Bangladesh in August 2010 on a two-day official trip on the invitation of Prime Minister Sheikh
The Bangladeshi government has been a strong believer in regional connectivity and can derive benefits from it
The Bangladeshi government has been a strong believer in regional connectivity, and given its unique geographical position, the country can derive enormous economic benefits from regional connectivity. Connectivity through road, rivers and railways is perceived as an economic necessity and constitutes a part of the service industry during the days of globalisation. It may be recalled that Lord Dalhousie, Indias Governor General from 1848 to 1856, once dreamed of a route in South Asia a railway line from Singapore to Constantinople and beyond, with a branch track meandering up to Lhasa (Tibet). Another Governor General, Lord Curzon, (1899-1905) thought of a route linking Bengal, Myanmar and China. More recently, Indian Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh reportedly forwarded the idea: I dream of a day one can have breakfast in Amritsar, lunch in Lahore, and dinner in Kabul. The interconnectivity or economic corridor among countries and regions has become the flavour of the time. The US proposed the new silk route or Asia-Pacific economic corridor linking Europe, Central Asia, Middle East, South Asia, South East Asia and Pacific. Last October, Turkey opened its iron silk route, an underground rail link between Europe and Asia in Turkeys metropolis Istanbul from Turkeys mainland. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan reportedly said that it would connect London with Beijing. Russia has proposed to South Korea Eurasian economic corridor which is to extend the Trans-Siberian Railway and the gas/oil pipelines to the Korean Peninsula across North Korea to South Korea becoming a key carrier for cargo and energy between East Asia and Europe. Finally, the ability to construct the BCIM economic corridor will depend on the development of a coherent strategy by all countries involved, and must take into account key geopolitical and security considerations. l Barrister Harun ur Rashid former Bangladesh Ambassador to the UN, Geneva
n Ekram Kabir
any analysts and commentators both in Bangladesh and abroad have written extensively on Bangladeshi war criminal Quader Mollas execution, especially on Pakistans reaction to it. Most Pakistani analysts didnt seem as conceited as their parliament. However, most of the Arab analysts were quite against the execution and they weighed Molla as a Muslim who was being hanged in a Muslim-majority country. The analysis that caught my attention was written by a Turkish interfaith scholar, Harun Yahya, titled It is time to reflect in Arab News on December 14. I have great respect for Harun Yahya for his erudite analyses. I, however, couldnt agree with him about what he wrote in this particular piece. The essence of his article was that Bangladesh hanged Molla due to the countrys Islamophobia, and the hanging was also radical, which doesnt match with Islamic teachings on the part of Bangladesh. He wrote: This phobia is perhaps not unique to the western world, it can be found even in the Muslim world ... Fearing radicalisation of society, governments are sometimes compelled to resort to force. The execution of Molla,
a top leader of the Jamaat-e-Islami, instead of life imprisonment, somehow points toward the same apprehensions. I know he is a true believer, and that is why he said: A true believer can never remain silent in the face of injustice and persecution. As a member of the brotherhood, Harun Yahya thought Molla was persecuted, vehemently opposing Mollas execution. He also thought that the general sentiments of Muslims across the globe were against Mollas execution.
This particular organisation has always served against the interests of Muslims in South Asia
He also thought: Whatever is happening in Bangladesh is in sharp contrast to the true teachings of Islam. One of the most important characteristics of a Muslim is: He forgives, and is compassionate and
merciful toward others. This is where lies the missing link for the Turkish scholar to realise how the teachings of Islam have been violated in Bangladesh: What Molla did in the name of Islam in 1971 as well as what his party, Jamaat-e-Islami, did in the independent Bangladesh. Quader Molla and the like, inspired by the Pakistani ruling elite, cared little about the teachings of Islam, as they formed pro-Pakistani organisations in the name of saving Pakistan, and killed millions of Muslims in the erstwhile East Pakistan. The majority of the erstwhile East Pakistan were Muslims, but they (Molla and the like) branded them as Hindus and went on a killing-spree. Im sure Islam doesnt teach us to kill humans (even if they are non-Muslims) to customise our political interests. That was the first seed sown for Islamophobia in Bangladesh. Jamaat was running a terror campaign in the name of Islam. Members of this party were spreading the message of saving the Islamic state of Pakistan from splitting. But the way they were upholding an Islamic state wasnt at all merciful, and never matched with the teachings of Islam. By killing millions of humans, most of who were Muslims, they committed heinous crimes in
Bangladesh. Later, after the independence of Bangladesh, when Jamaat was allowed to be involved in politics, it never cleared its objectives. For a long time, the prime tool for the workers of Islami Chhatra Shibir (student wing of Jamaat) was to wound their political opponents by severing tendons. The Shibir workers have now changed their strategy; they are now wounding and killing innocent humans with bombs. This particular organisation has always served against the interests of Muslims in South Asia. In 1947, it opposed an independent homeland for South Asian Muslims. In 1971, it killed millions of Muslims in Bangladesh. In 1985, it sided with Pakistani General Zia and assisted him in radicalising the youth to fight against the Soviets in Afghanistan. Of late, in Pakistan, it has come in support of the militants who have declared war on Pakistans establishment and its civil society. Recently Syed Munawar Hassan, head of Pakistan Jamaat, declared the former head of the Pakistani Taliban, Hakeemullah Mehsud, a martyr. The statement was a serious offence, and an insult to the memory of thousands of people who have died at the hands of militants. Its worthwhile to mention here
that Bangladeshi people as well as the government dont follow radical Islam. They always preferred the peaceful elements of Islam in this country. However, when someone or some organisation had used Islam as a terror tool, the people of this country became scared of that agent that makes their religion fearful.
Jamaat was running a terror campaign in the name of Islam. Members of this party were spreading the message of saving the Islamic state of Pakistan from splitting
First, the people saw how Jamaat was doing politics in this country, but owing its allegiance to another country. Then the people saw how Jamaat had been involved in activities that didnt go with the teachings of Islam. Therefore, if Bangladeshis have become Islamophobic, it is because of Jamaat. Bangladeshis arent radicals when it comes to their religions; they get scared when someone makes their religion a tool of fear. l Ekram Kabir is Executive Editor of Natunbarta.com.
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DHAKA TRIBUNE
Entertainment
Swapnopothik
Popular theatre troupe Aranyaks newest play Swapnopothik is written by Harun Rashid and directed by thespian Mamunur Rashid. The touching play is based on the Savar tragedy that snatched normalcy from the lives of a staggering number of people.
Chaka
n Entertainment Desk
n Entertainment Desk
A weeklong film show presenting four films of actor-director Ananta Jalil will begin today at the Star Cineplex at Bashundhara Garden City in the capital. Organsied by the Cineplex, the film week titled AJ Film Week will feature Hridoy Bhanga Dhew, The Speed, Most Welcome and Nisshartho Bhalobasha. All the four films did good business in the box office earlier and especially, the latest Nisshartho Bhalobasha broke all the records of Anantas previous films and made few benchmarks
for Dhallywood in the current slumped trade of the film industry. Starting from today, Nishhartho Bhalobasha will be screened at 10:50am and 4:30pm and The Speed will be screened at 1:40pm and 7:15pm everyday till December 30. On the other hand, Most Welcome will be shown at 10:50am and Hridoy Bhanga Dhew will be played at 1:40pm and 7:15pm 4:30pm everyday from December 31 to January 02. The good news for the fans of Ananta is the megastar will be present at the Star Cineplex today 3pm to 4pm. l
Ghazal singer Aloke Kumar Sen will perform at IGCC today at 6:30pm. The programme is open for all and requires no ticket or entry pass and is organised by Indira Gandhi Cultural Centre (IGCC) in association with Asian Paints, IRCON and Marico Bangladesh. Aloke Kumar Sen is a versatile classical vocalist and ghazal singer. He was born in Narail in 1984, and was baptised in music by his parents Bhim Sen and Shantana Sen - both renowned Jatra artistes. Sens formal learning started at Murchhana Sangeet Niketan, Rupganj and Narail. Later, he learnt classical and semi classical music under Badal Kumar Pramanik for seven years (2000-2007) and also under noted classical vocalist Anil Kumar Saha. He has also trained under legendary Indian classical vocal maestro Ustad Rashid Khan and Pandit Tushar Dutta, a senior ITC SRA scholar. Sen has Bachelors and Masters degrees from Shanto Mariam University of Creative Technology, Dhaka, securing first class first position in both the examinations. l
The tragic story of Deens masterpiece Chaka is portrayed in a circular stage, through a combination of narration, dialogue and action. Directed by young theatre artiste Sudip Chakroborthy, the first year and graduate students of the theatre department of DU makes the play lively and authentic.
Bon Manush
Prachyanat, a leading theatre troupe in the country, made another mark with its 27th production Bon Manush. Directed by Baqar Bokul, the play is a translated version of Eugene O Neills The Hairy Ape. The Nobel Laureate playwrights drama features how unjustly the working class is treated through the tragedy of a brutish person named Yank.
Goodnight, Ma
ON TV
DRAMA
10:00pm Star Plus 10:30pm Sony
CID Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hain
Goodnight, Ma is an adaptation of the Pulitzer Prize winning play Night, Mother by Marsha Norman, and is directed by Wahida Mallick Jolly. The play is about a daughter who carefully prepares her suicide, and mother unable to stop her. It is an utterly fascinating piece of writing, which explores themes of family, care-giving, illness, and suicide.
COMEDY
10:00am Comedy Central
World Palooza
Konthonalite Shurjo
5:00pm Colors
MIXED
10:30am TLC
The Little Paris Kitchen
10:30pm Travel XP
Xplore India
Maksud O Dhaka band will perform live today in Close Up Call-er Gaan to be aired on Desh TV at 11:45pm.
Tirandaj Natyadals eighth production Konthonalite Shurjo represents the helpless condition of an individual who is victim of identity crisis, selfishness, materialism and many other issues against the backdrop of todays society. The play is written by Mohit Chatyapadhay and directed by Rajib Dey.
Members of We Foundation with underprivileged children and guests at a programme held on December 25 SADIA MARIUM
n Shadma Malik
Marking the month of victory, We Foundation celebrated the splendid triumph of Bangladesh in the 1971 war, with twenty underprivileged children from We School on December 25 at Nandos. The event was ar-
ranged with the aim of educating and explaining the nine months struggle of the freedom fighters to the upcoming generations of Bangladesh. Freedom fighter Babu Sarwar singer Fahmida Nabi, actor Omar Sunny and media personality Abdul Nur Tushar were present in the event.
The fifth installment of animated movie Ice Age will come out on July 15, 2016. Details of the upcoming movie are not available, but it is said that Ray Romano, John Leguizamo and Denis Leary are expected to return to give voices to their characters Manny, Sid and Diego, respectively, reports aceshowbiz.com. The first Ice Age movie took off in 2002, and was followed by Ice Age: The Meltdown in 2006. The third and fourth parts, namely Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs and Ice Age: Continental Drift came in 2009 and 2012 respectively
TODAY IN DHAKA
Exhibition
City of Rhythm Second phase of Kazi Salahuddin Ahmed Time: 12 8pm Shilpangan, House 7 Road 13 (New) Dhanmondi Eternal Japan By Monzurul Huq Time: 12 8pm Bengal Gallery of Fine Arts House 42, Road 16 (New) / 27 (old) Sheikh Kamal Sarani Dhanmondi Return to Eden By Nasima Khanam Queenie Time: 10am 8pm Alliance Francaise Dhanmondi
Film
Pacific Rim in 3D Escape Plan The Conjuring The Hunger Games: Catching Fire Star Cineplex, Level 8 Bashundhara City 13/3 Ka Panthopath Ki Prem Dekhaile Udhao Balaka Cineworld
Theatre
Lal Jamin By Shunyan Time: 7pm Studio Theatre Hall Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy 14/3 Segunbagicha Ramna
Sport
DHAKA TRIBUNE
13
0 7 9
DAYS TO GO
14 Sammy belts West Indies to defeat Kiwis 15 Anamul ton, Shakib six-for destroys Mohammedan
W2WWWW
n Minhaz Uddin Khan
Speedster Al-Amin Hossain emerged as the first bowler in Twenty20 crickets history to bag five wickets in an over. This one of a kind milestone came in the Amber Victory Day Twenty20 Cup yesterday. However, the record setting feat couldnt get his side UCB BCB XI, a clinical win in the game against Abahani Limited at Sylhet Divisional Stadium. UCB BCB toiled hard to secure the two-wicket victory chasing 144. Al-Amin who had his debut in International circuit recently, finished with five for 17 and all his wickets came in the final over of the Abahani innings. This saw Abahani, who were sent to bat first, get bowled out for 143 runs in 20 overs. Al-Amin came into bowl the last over with Nazmul Milon (21) and Mehedi Maruf (16) at the crease and Abahani on 141 for 5. Mehedi was sent to the dressing room in the first delivery. Couple of runs from the second ball was followed by the debacle. Nazmul got out in the third delivery followed by Sohrawardi Shuvo, Nayeem Islam Jr and Nabil Samad in the fourth, fifth and sixth delivery respectively. Alongside the five-wicket haul, his four wickets in a row including a hattrick made him only second bowler to achieve the accolade. Few months ago, West Indies pacer Andre Russel achieved the same feat in a match between West Indies A and India A in Bangalore. Though the hat-trick is a common in the Twenty20 circuit, no bowlers till date claimed four wickets at a stretch. His excellent bowling figure of 4-117-5 made him the unanimous choice to be adjudged the man of the match. His skipper Tamim Iqbal returned to form with a whirlwind 61, but still they had to struggle for the win. Tamim clobbered six fours and two sixes in his 52-ball innings. Other batsmen failed to contribute and raised a prospect to leave AlAmins effort in vain. Shuvashish Roy led the bowling for Abahani and tremor the UCB BCB chase. He dismissed Tamim in the 17th over to leave the opponent 118 for five and later struck twice in the 19th over to jolt BCB XI further while they got a realistic chance of winning the match when Imrul Kayes was trapped run out in the second ball of the final over. Still BCB XI needed eight runs off four balls. However Arafat Sunny hit two fours to bail out the side from ever escalating tensions. This was Abahanis third defeat in fourth match while it was the second victory for the BCB XI. Earlier, Abahani lost two top-order batsmen early before Soumya Sarker and skipper Mahmudullah steadied the innings adding 67-run for the third wicket. Soumya blasted 55 off 50 with four fours and three sixes while Mahmudullah smashed 27. l
UCB BCB XIs Al-Amin Hossain (L) walks out to the field with his teammates during their match against Abahani at Sylhet Divisional Stadium yesterday
COURTESY
Hasan Khan (2R) won a gold in Intl Karate at Barasat, West Bengal yesterday
COURTESY
Sports organisers under the banner of Sammilita Sports Family formed a human chain condemning the Pakistani act over the hanging of Abdul Kader Molla in front of Jatiya Press Club yesterday COURTESY
of 32 players participated in the event. F.M. Iqbal bin Anwar Dawn, the additional director of Walton who are sponsoring the karate team, distributed prizes as the chief guest. Humayun Kabir Jewel, the deputy chairman of South Asian Karate Federation, was also present on the occasion. l
14
SCORE CARD
NEW ZEALAND
DHAKA TRIBUNE
Sport
M. Guptill lbw Rampaul 2 J. Ryder c DM Bravo b Rampaul 0 K. Williamson c Ramdin b Holder 8 R. Taylor run out (Holder) 3 B. McCullum lbw DJ Bravo 51 C. Anderson c Simmons b DJ Bravo 13 L Ronchi c Charles b Narine 7 J. Neesham c DM Bravo b DJ Bravo 10 N. McCullum c DM Bravo b Holder 47 K. Mills c Sammy b DJ Bravo 3 M. McClenaghan not out 3 Extras: (lb6 w3) 9 Total: (all out; 42.1 overs) 156
Fall of wickets 1 2 (Ryder), 2 3 (Guptill), 3 10 (Taylor), 4 32 (Williamson), 5 57 (Anderson), 6 66 (Ronchi), 7 93 (Neesham), 8 104 (McCullum), 9 112 ( Mills), 10 156 (McCullum) Bowling Holder 7.1 1 21 2 (w3), Rampaul 9 0 272, Sammy 6 0 30 0, Narine 10 2 28 1, DJ Bravo 10 0 44 4
WEST INDIES
J. Charles b McClenaghan 9 K. Powell b McClenaghan 4 Bravo c Williamson b McClenaghan 14 L. Simmons c Taylor b Mills 34 DJ Bravo lbw McClenaghan 12 N. Deonarine b Mills 6 Ramdin c B. McCullum b McClenaghan 2 D. Sammy not out 43 J. Holder c Ronchi b Neesham 10 S. Narine not out 0 Extras: (lb 8, w14, nb 1) 23 Total: (8 wickets; 27.3 overs) 157
Fall of wickets 1 5 (Powell), 2 19 (Charles), 3 32 (DM Bravo), 4 60 (DJ Bravo), 5 94 (Simmonds), 6 96 (Deonarine), 7 121 (Ramdin), 8 147 (Holder) Bowling Mills 8 1 37 2, McClenaghan 9.3 0 585 (w6, nb1), Neesham 6 0 35 1 (w3), Anderson 4 0 19 0 (w5) Result West Indies by eight wickets
Darren Sammy celebrates scoring the winning runs during the first one day international match against New Zealand at Eden Park in Auckland yesterday AFP
Alastair Cook c Clarke b Siddle Michael Carberry b Watson Joe Root c Haddin b Harris Kevin Pietersen not out Ian Bell C Haddin b Harris Ben Stokes c Watson b Johnson Jonny Bairstow b Johnson Tim Bresnan not out Extras (b10, lb6, w1, 1nb) Total (6 wkts; 89 overs)
27 38 24 67 27 14 10 1 18 226
Fall of wickets 1 48 (Cook), 2 96 (Carberry), 3 106 (Root), 4 173 (Bell), 5 202 (Stokes), 6 216 (Bairstow) Bowling Harris 20 8 32 2, Johnson 20 2 59 2 (1w), Siddle 22 7 48 1 (1nb), Lyon 20.23 60 0, Watson 6.4 2 11 1
after winning his fourth successive toss of the series. The hosts could have been in a stronger position, however, had they not let three catching chances go down, with two reprieving Pietersen. Their bowling attack also suffered a blow with all-rounder Shane Watson sustaining a groin injury. Watson pulled up in his runup and left the ground after lunch, and though he later returned to field in the slips, he did not bowl again. Although quelling his usual attacking instincts, Pietersen was at his theatrical best in his 152-ball knock, slumping to his knees twice in an apparent bout of nausea after smacking a shot to midwicket where a leaping George Bailey put a tough chance down with the batsman on 41. The crowd smelled gamesmanship as play was paused for a few minutes and Pietersen later enjoyed riling up the terraces again by holding up Johnsons run-up in the final over. l
Pakistan 226 for 2 (Hafeez 113*) beat Sri Lanka 225 (Priyanjan 74, Sangakkara 51, Ajmal 4 39, Gul 3 37) by eight wickets
BRIEF SCORE
third over while Hafeez matched his partner with as many boundaries in Suranga Lakmals seventh. The stand set up victory and even after Shehzads dismissal, caught in the slips off Lakmal, Pakistan wiped off the target with consummate ease. Shehzad hit five boundaries during his 56-ball knock as Sri Lankas bowlers were rendered ineffective. Maqsood and Hafeez shared an unbroken 111-run stand for the third wicket. l
Australian paceman Mitchell Johnson (L) celebrates dismissing England batsman Ben Stokes (R) on the first day of their fourth Ashes Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), in Melbourne yesterday AFP
DHAKA TRIBUNE
Sport
15
deserve more recognition'
n Reuters, Stockholm
Players in the mens soccer team deserve to get more recognition than their female counterparts in Sweden and people should stop whipping up a gender storm about it, striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic said. The Sweden captain spoke out after his countrys FA was slammed for presenting midfielder Anders Svensson with a new Volvo for breaking Thomas Ravellis record of 143 international caps. With all respect for what the ladies have done, and theyve done it fantastically well, you cant compare mens and womens football. Give it up, its not even funny, the PSG striker said in an interview. When I come out in Europe they compare me to (Lionel) Messi and (Cristiano) Ronaldo. When I come home they compare me to a female player. With all respect for the ladies, they should be rewarded in relation to what they generate (financially). I was asked (by Swedish media) in the summer who was the better player, me or Lotta Schelin. Youre joking with me, right? When Ive broken all these records, this goal record, the goals in the national team, who shall I compare it to? Shall I compare it to whoever has the record, or the ladies? l
QUICK BYTES
'Male players
Fahad loses
Bangladesh Fide Master Fahad Rahman lost to Abdrashev Arlen of Kazakhstan on Wednesday in the 8th round of the World Youth Chess Championship in Al-Ain, UAE. After the end of the 8th round, Fahad has 6 points and is in joint 14th position along with over 200 players in the under-10 open classic section. Fahad wass scheduled to play Kushagra Mohan of India in the 9th round. Tribune Desk
Arsenal's Theo Walcott (3L) celebrates with team mates after scoring against West Ham during their English Premier League match at the Boleyn Ground in London yesterday
REUTERS
RESULTS
Aston Villa Cardiff
01 03 10 01 23
Parjatan Cafeteria emerged as the champions of the Parliament Cricket Tournament at the Parliament Cricket Ground yesterday.PWD team finished runnersup in the eight-team meet. Secretary in charge Pranab Chakrabarty distributed the prizes as the chief guest. Tribune Desk
places by coming from behind to overwhelm nine-man Stoke City 5-1 at St James Park. Stoke took the lead through Oussama Assaidi, but they had Glenn Whelan and Marc Wilson sent off, allowing Newcastle to prevail through a Loic Remy brace and goals from Yoan Gouffran, Yohan Cabaye and Papiss Cisse. Tottenham Hotspurs new permanent head coach Tim Sherwood saw his side draw 1-1 at home to West Bromwich Albion, for whom Jonas Olsson cancelled out Christian Eriksens 36thminute free-kick. Southampton, meanwhile, ended a run of six games without victory by winning 3-0 at Cardiff City through a Jay Rodriguez brace and a Rickie Lambert strike. Scott Parker scored a stunning 87thminute winner as Fulham won 2-1 at Norwich City, but they remain in the bottom three due to Crystal Palaces 1-0 win at Aston Villa, which lifted Tony Puliss men out of the drop zone. l
Crystal Palace Gayle 90 Southampton Rodriguez 14, 20, Lambert 27 Swansea Sunderland Ki 25 P Man United Smalling 19, Rooney 26, Chester 66-og Stoke Assaidi 29
Newcastle 51 Remy 44, 56, Gouffran 48, Cabaye 66, Cisse 80 P Norwich 12 Hooper 13 Tottenham Eriksen 36 West Ham C.Cole 46
11 13
Fulham Kasami 33, Parker 87 West Brom Olsson 38 Arsenal Walcott 68, 71, Podolski 79
India's Murali Vijay evades a short ball from South Africa's Steyn during the first day of their second Test in Durban yesterday
DAYS WATCH
Sony Six NBA 2013 14 7:00AM Houston v Memphis 9:30AM Portland v LA Clippers 5:00PM Pakistan v Sri Lanka 5th ODI Star Sports 2 2:30PM Big Bash T20 Sydney v Adelaide Ten Cricket 2:00PM South Africa v India 2nd Test, Day 2 Star Sports 1 5:30AM Australia v England 4th Test, Day 3 (Saturday)
REUTERS
wicket when he had Shikhar Dhawan caught at third slip off the first ball after the mid-morning drinks break. l
BRIEF SCORES
Prime Bank
Mohammedan
45/10 in 8.4 overs (Rakbul 13, Shakib 6/18) Prime Bank won by 159 runs
UCB BCB
146/8 in 19.5 overs (Tamim 61, Naeem 21, Shuvashis 4/27) UCB BCB XI won by two wickets
Fall of wicket 1 41 (Dhawan) Bowling Steyn 16 6 49 0, Philander 14 4 39 0, Morkel 12 3 26 1, Kallis 7 1 23 0, Peterson 12 2 43 0 To bat V. Kohli, R. Sharma, A. Rahane, R. Jadeja, Zaheer Khan, I. Sharma, Mohammed Shami Match situation India are 181 for one wicket in the first innings
16
DHAKA TRIBUNE
Back Page
n Mohammad Zakaria
A total of 43,685,670 voters are entitled to vote in the 146 parliamentary constituencies while another 48,280,620 voters will be unable to vote in the general elections, the ECs statistics showed. 154 lone candidates are set to be elected uncontested
Information Minister Hasanul Haq Inu and former railway minister Suranjit Sengupta sought security from the EC. Awami league joint general secretary and candidate of Kushtia 3 parliamentary constituencies Mahbubul Alam Hanif wrote to the EC asking for security during his election campaigns. Environment Minister Hasan Mahmud and Awami League candidate for Kushtia 1 Afaz Uddin submitted a letter
Army personnel take position in front of the Mirpur Indoor Stadium ahead of the 10th national elections
DHAKA TRIBUNE
Editor: Zafar Sobhan, Published and Printed by Kazi Anis Ahmed on behalf of 2A Media Limited at Dainik Shakaler Khabar Publications Limited, 153/7, Tejgaon Industrial Area, Dhaka-1208. Editorial, News & Commercial Office: FR Tower, 8/C Panthapath, Shukrabad, Dhaka 1207. Phone: 9132093 94, Advertising: 9132155, Circulation: 9132282, Fax: News-9132192, e-mail: news@dhakatribune.com, info@dhakatribune.com, Website: www.dhakatribune.com
Business
CURRENCIES
Average selling rates to public in BDT Rupali Bank SELL BUY 77.4 78.4 USD 105.329 108.5498 EURO 1.1797 1.3361 INR 20.5372 21.0055 SAR Sonali Bank SELL BUY
77.4 105.3692 1.18 20.5341 78.4 107.819 1.28 21.0101
STATE BANKS
The managements should use the fund only on capital expenditure, especially automation of the banks. Draft policies for automation should be submitted to Bangladesh Bank within January 15 next year
He said it is not a policy decision by the all party interim government because the move does not influence the voters and general election scheduled to be held on January 5. On September 30 this year, the cumulative capital shortfall of the four
and executives of the state-owned banks for losing even their capital due to poor management. Banking Secretary Dr M Aslam Alam
told the Dhaka Tribune a committee of banking division and Bangladesh Bank would monitor utilisation of the fund. l
rise as there was an increase in the demand of smartphones and spare parts, the said. Bangladesh Banks foreign exchange operation department revealed the data recently. Definitely, the figures make us op-
timistic about the mobile phone market in Bangladesh, said TIM Nurul Kabir, secretary general of Association of Mobile Telecom Operators of Bangladesh (AMTOB). It will have a huge positive impact on the industry where the 3G is a key
B2
DHAKA TRIBUNE
Stock
DSE GAINERS Company
Closing (% change) 9.46 9.45 8.70 6.93 5.56 5.47 5.30 4.52 4.06 4.06
Union Capital -A Midas Financing-Z Northern Jute -Z Bay Leasing.-A Zeal Bangla Sugar -Z Eastern Lubricants -A 4th ICB M F A Bank Asia -A GeminiSeaFoodA Jute SpinnersA CSE GAINERS Company Rangpur Foundry -A Midas Financing-Z Union Capital -A Eastern Cables-Z Bay Leasing.-A Rupali Bank - A Golden Son -A Islami Ins.BD A Bank Asia -A Phoenix Finance-A
Average (% change) 5.63 10.74 8.02 5.23 5.26 4.92 5.58 5.47 3.80 4.00
Closing average 31.33 34.45 58.33 37.84 7.60 318.00 200.60 22.94 156.50 74.29
Closing 32.40 35.90 58.70 38.60 7.60 318.00 200.60 23.10 156.50 74.30
Daily high 32.50 36.00 59.40 39.70 7.60 318.00 200.60 24.00 156.50 77.00
Daily low 27.00 30.50 55.20 34.00 7.60 318.00 200.60 20.00 156.50 72.00
Yearly high 39.9 52.5 60.5 43.7 10.3 496.0 242.1 24.0 280.7 167.0
Yearly low 18.5 24.9 16.2 22.5 6.9 195.0 122.1 14.5 92.5 45.0
Turnover in million 5.326 1.432 0.070 116.250 0.002 0.127 0.020 73.540 0.023 0.078
Closing (% change) 10.00 9.90 9.90 9.80 6.67 3.83 3.48 3.33 3.21 2.96
Both investors, notably institutions, scurried to take profit at the yearend, accelerating the sale pressure
Over the last few weeks, market direction remained nebulous on account of vigilant market sentiment, it said. The market breadth also remained negative as out of 288 issues traded, 79 closed higher, 170 lower and 39 remained unchanged. The newly listed Appollo Ispat Complex continued to become the most traded stock, making up more than 8% of the total market turnover. The newcomer also helped the engineering sector contribute a lion share of 24% to the turnover. Other turnover leaders included Golden Son, RN Spinning, Generation Next Fashion, Argon Denim, Bay Leasing, Bengal Windsor and Thermoplastics and Paramount Textile. l
Average (% change) 10.00 9.90 7.31 9.90 5.60 2.91 3.50 3.18 4.63 0.61
Closing average 91.30 34.40 31.42 80.72 37.72 64.42 62.33 34.05 22.38 34.53
Closing 91.30 34.40 32.20 80.70 38.40 65.00 62.40 34.10 22.50 34.80
Daily high 91.30 34.40 32.20 80.80 39.50 66.00 63.60 35.50 23.00 35.10
Daily low 91.30 34.40 29.70 80.00 36.10 63.00 60.40 32.40 21.70 33.50
Yearly high 130.0 47.7 38.0 99.9 43.5 90.0 64.6 38.2 23.0 51.8
Yearly low 54.0 27.0 18.0 46.2 23.0 46.0 35.0 23.0 14.4 23.3
Turnover in million 0.046 0.017 2.325 0.081 9.721 0.303 20.965 0.102 0.862 1.381
MON TUE
(-) 0.66% (-) 0.78% (-) 0.63% (-) 0.31% (-) 0.63%
Closing 29.10 63.50 37.20 58.00 615.80 7.50 96.10 52.30 20.30 28.60
Daily high 30.00 73.00 37.30 58.00 658.00 7.50 105.00 56.50 21.60 30.60
Unchanged Issue (Avg. Price Basis) Market Capital Equity (Billion. Tk.) Market Capital Equity (Billion US$)
Yearly high 60.0 92.9 47.8 106.9 943.7 8.8 140.0 72.0 25.0 33.9 Yearly low 17.5 13.0 19.9 36.0 87.0 6.2 48.0 44.0 15.4 17.8
Daily low 29.10 63.40 37.20 58.00 615.40 7.50 96.00 51.90 19.60 28.00
Turnover in million 0.746 8.115 0.056 0.012 12.957 0.002 13.312 77.170 10.408 9.282
Closing average 70.00 25.77 64.74 400.00 102.98 15.65 37.10 1,425.00 18.80 97.79
Closing 70.00 25.80 64.00 400.00 96.40 15.60 37.10 1,425.00 18.70 97.80
Daily high 70.00 25.80 72.90 400.00 96.70 15.80 37.10 1,425.00 19.20 99.70
Daily low 70.00 25.70 62.90 400.00 102.00 15.60 37.10 1,425.00 18.40 96.00
Yearly high 97.0 35.1 92.9 454.0 138.0 23.0 54.5 2,335.0 22.2 128.0
Yearly low 66.0 21.0 13.0 215.0 49.2 13.2 27.5 1,181.0 14.6 69.0
Turnover in million 0.070 0.039 1.522 0.080 0.144 0.102 0.056 0.285 0.047 0.098
Dividend/AGM
ANALYST
Investors fear head on political clashes in the coming days, they considered no sector is safe enough for the time being
ECABLES: 10% cash, AGM: 01.03.2014, RD: 29.12.2013. BDCOM: 10% Stock, AGM: 25.12.2013, RD: 17.11.2013. FUWANGCER: 10% Stock, AGM: 26.12.2013, RD: 13.11.2013. STANCERAM: 10% Cash, AGM: 26.12.2013, RD: 19.11.2013. MONNOCERA: 5% Cash, AGM: 26.12.2013, RD: 13.11.2013.
DSE Million Taka 330.42 335.71 109.30 863.77 142.48 189.70 1.46 858.02 192.79 0.74 16.80 22.79 22.43 75.95 44.94 74.44 224.86 57.25 49.56 61.85 0.43
% change 8.99 9.13 2.97 23.50 3.88 5.16 0.04 23.34 5.24 0.02 0.46 0.62 0.61 2.07 1.22 2.03 6.12 1.56 1.35 1.68 0.01
Million Taka 28.12 34.01 6.32 113.19 18.97 16.45 81.59 20.81 1.52 4.97 1.92 6.89 9.11 1.56 7.18 7.49 11.52 12.37 0.00
CSE
% change 7.32 8.86 1.65 29.48 4.94 4.28 0.00 21.25 5.42 0.00 0.40 1.29 0.50 1.79 2.37 0.41 1.87 1.95 3.00 3.22 0.00
Million Taka 358.54 369.72 115.62 976.95 161.45 206.15 1.46 939.61 213.60 0.74 18.33 27.76 24.35 82.85 54.06 75.99 232.04 64.73 61.08 74.22 0.43
Total
% change 8.83 9.11 2.85 24.06 3.98 5.08 0.04 23.14 5.26 0.02 0.45 0.68 0.60 2.04 1.33 1.87 5.72 1.59 1.50 1.83 0.01
DSE TURNOVER LEADERS Company Appollo Ispat CL -N Golden Son -A R. N. Spinning-A Generation Next-A Argon Denims Limited-A Bay Leasing.-A Bengal Windsor-N Paramount Textile Ltd.-N National Life I -A Bank Asia -A CSE TURNOVER LEADERS Company Appollo Ispat CL -N R. N. Spinning-A Golden Son -A Paramount Textile Ltd.-N Bengal Windsor-N Bay Leasing.-A Beach Hatchery -A Generation Next-A UNITED AIR A BEXIMCO Ltd. -A
Volume shares 8,085,000 3,906,202 4,523,400 3,519,380 1,296,100 3,072,420 1,447,800 1,444,500 248,936 3,206,410 Volume shares 1,618,000 598,012 336,350 275,000 170,200 257,740 293,000 250,320 538,651 245,518
Value in million 316.76 243.01 168.13 129.09 126.04 116.25 93.03 77.17 74.70 73.54 Value in million 63.31 22.29 20.96 14.77 10.89 9.72 9.19 9.17 8.97 7.94
% of total turnover 8.62 6.61 4.57 3.51 3.43 3.16 2.53 2.10 2.03 2.00 % of total turnover 16.49 5.80 5.46 3.85 2.84 2.53 2.39 2.39 2.34 2.07
Daily closing 38.00 62.20 37.30 36.40 96.00 38.60 63.90 52.30 300.80 23.10 Daily closing 38.40 37.30 62.40 52.40 64.10 38.40 30.90 36.30 16.60 32.10
Price change -0.26 3.32 -1.58 -1.62 -2.24 6.93 2.57 -5.25 0.37 4.52 Price change 0.00 -1.58 3.48 -5.07 2.89 6.67 -0.96 -2.16 -1.19 -2.43
Daily opening 38.10 60.20 37.90 37.00 98.20 36.10 62.30 55.20 299.70 22.10 Daily opening 38.40 37.90 60.30 55.20 62.30 36.00 31.20 37.10 16.80 32.90
Daily high 41.50 63.40 39.80 37.60 100.00 39.70 65.20 56.50 306.00 24.00 Daily high 41.80 37.80 63.60 56.60 65.30 39.50 32.60 37.50 16.80 33.50
Daily low 37.60 55.00 35.00 33.30 89.00 34.00 62.80 51.90 292.00 20.00 Daily low 37.60 36.60 60.40 51.60 62.00 36.10 30.60 36.20 16.50 32.00
Daily average 39.18 62.21 37.17 36.68 97.25 37.84 64.26 53.42 300.06 22.94 Daily average 39.13 37.27 62.33 53.71 64.00 37.72 31.36 36.64 16.65 32.34
Prepared exclusively for Dhaka Tribune by Business Information Automation Service Line (BIASL), on the basis of information collected from daily stock quotations and audited reports of the listed companies. High level of caution has been taken to collect and present the above information and data. The publisher will not take any responsibility if any body uses this information and data for his/her investment decision. For any query please email to biasl@bol-online.com or call 01552153562 or go to www.biasl.net
DHAKA TRIBUNE
Business
B3
ANALYSIS
2012
2013
in the same period a year earlier. Its nine month (January-September) profit has declined to Tk2.3 crore from Tk5.3 crore in the corresponding period a year ago. The company has a restated net asset value per share of Tk17 as on year-
end of 2012, which is 52.5% of the current market price. According to the unaudited reports, the company stocks have an EPS of Tk0.21 each and a price to earnings ratio of 115.71. The company has given out only
stock dividends since its listing in 2007 with an exception in 2011 when it also paid out 10% cash dividend and same amount stock dividend. Sponsors-directors hold 55.97% and public 27.43% stakes in the company. l
Appollo Ispat DSE market leader for second day n Tribune Business Desk
The newly listed Appollo Ispat Complex Ltd continued to occupy the top position in the turnover list for the second straight session. Its shares worth over Tk31 crore was changed hands, accounting for more than 8% of the total DSE turnover. However, in its second day trading, the companys share prices dropped 0.26% to Tk38. Its price movement ranged between Tk37.6 and Tk41.5 during the trading session. According to its quarterly financial report ended in September this year, the company reported net profit over Tk9.8 crore, which is marginal profit from Tk9.7 crore in the same period a year ago. Annual profit of the company in 2012 was Tk35.4 crore, an increase of 25% from Tk28.2 crore recorded in 2011 due to higher turnover and decreased in the financial expenses, according to the companys IPO prospectus. The corrugated iron sheet manufacturer accounts for 20% of the total market share of the iron sheet industry, said the prospectus. During the period, the companys earnings per share (EPS) is Tk0.40 against Tk0.64 calculated based on weighted average pre-IPO paid-up number of shares. The stocks price to earnings ratio stood at 23.75 as of yesterday. Currently the sponsors hold 30.47%, public 36% and institutional investors rest stake of the company. l
Japanese confectionery often yields a chuckle from foreign tourists, too. A tubular chocolate snack called Collon and an isotonic sports drink named Pocari Sweat, for example, bear unfortunate associations with bodily functions. While many brand names around the world dont translate across borders - the Iranian washing powder Barf, which means snow in Persian, or a Swedish chocolate bar called Plopp, for example - Japanese companies often use foreign words for how they sound, with little regard to their original meaning. This is partly due to foreign words having an exotic ring, much like how Chinese characters are seen by Westerners as poetic or profound choices
for tattoos even if the results dont make much sense to native speakers. But Japanese firms often fail to check if a name travels because of historical reasons, marketers say. Japan really is an island nation, and was historically closed for a long time. Also, the domestic market is so big that companies can be successful without thinking globally, said Masamichi Nakamura, executive director at global marketing firm Interbrands branch in Tokyo. But Japan is far from having a patent on unintentionally salacious brand names: websites like Engrish.com revel in strange uses of English across Asia, including neighbouring South Koreas snack maker Lotte Confectionary Co Ltds Crunky Ball Nude. l
Standard Bank Ltd (SBL) inaugurated its 87th Branch at Panchlaish, Chittagong recenlty. FBCCI President and SBL Chairman Kazi Akram Uddin Ahmed graced the function as chief guest. Vice Chairman Ashok Kumar Saha attended the ceremony as special guest. Managing Director Md Nazmus Salehin presided over the function
Bangladesh Edible Ltd. (BEOL) celebrated its reputed brand Rupchandas Best Brand Award recently. BEOL officials, press editors & representatives, and representatives from Rupchandas marketing agencies were present in the event held in Dhaka. Rupchandas focus on meeting customers expectation secured 1st place in Edible Oil category of Best Brand Award from the beginning, three times in a row. Head of Operations Inam Ahmed and Head of Sales & Marketing Shoeb Md Asaduzzaman, shared their expectation to taking further steps in 2014 for enhanced customer satisfaction. l
Adcomm Limited Chairperson Giti Ara Safia Chowdhury, DGM Brand Marketing of AFBL Shafiqul Islam Tushar and Founder of Jaago Korvi Rakshand were present at a conference arranged by Mojo a brand of Akij Food and Beverage Limited (AFBL) in association with Jaago at the city yesterday
B4
DHAKA TRIBUNE
Business
This season (winter) is a peak time for our business. We are passing the hardest moment now. Political unrest is killing our business
Both public and private constructions have stopped. According to the manufacturers, the current situation has resulted in production fall because of two-fold problems drop of demand and disruption in the supply of raw materials. We are held hostage by the political parties. They are making us bankrupt, said Md Ali, senior vice president of Bangladesh Re-Rolling Mills Association. Most factories see nearly 80% slump in production as they are unable to bring raw materials. Sales also fell by 75%, he added. Md Ali is the chairman of Fatullah Steel Re-Rolling Mills Ltd in Dhaka. Construction materials chiefly include cement, bricks, rod, tiles etc.
A salesman sits adle at a cement outlet in Dhaka amid poor presence of customers due to ongoing political unrest
NEWS IN BRIEF
Rupee snaps three-day gains on dollar demand
The rupee snapped a three-day winning streak yesterday on month-end dollar demand from oil firms and other importers, but continued strong foreign flows into shares and debt limited further declines. Reuters
'The United States shares (the reforms) goals of reducing Chinese government intervention in the economy, accelerating Chinas opening up to foreign goods and services, reforming Chinas stateowned enterprises and improving transparency and the rule of law to allow fair competition in Chinas market'
Chinas state-owned enterprises and improving transparency and the rule of law to allow fair competition in Chinas market, the USTR said in a report to US lawmakers. The United States therefore will urge China to speedily implement these promising Third Plenum Decision economic reform elements.
The US is also concerned about the theft of trade secrets by or for the benefit of Chinese companies, and lax enforcement of existing legal protections which means many victims of such thefts do not lodge formal complaints. When bilateral discussions fail to resolve key issues, the United States
A Chinese man adjusts a China flag before a news conference attended by Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing REUTERS