Bangladesh
BNP-Jamaat want to grab power by burning people: PM Hasina tells Armed Forces Day reception
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Tuesday came down heavily on BNP- Jamaat nexus for what she said their evil motive to be in the power even over dead bodies.
"I do not see anywhere else such inhumanity and killings solely to come to powere,” she said.
The prime minister was speaking at a reception held to mark the Armed Forces Day 2023 at Senakunja in Dhaka Cantonment.
Without mentioning any political parties she said those who think of coming to power stepping over dead bodies are inhuman.
“The question to me is why people are burnt and killed? I still don't understand why people are being burnt, buses are being burnt, and state resources are being destroyed,” she said.
Nothing can be achieved through arson violence: PM Hasina
Hasina, also the president of the ruling Awami League, said that the country is facing challenges one after another.
“We are facing one challenge after another. For example, Covid-19, we dealt with that. Besides, various kinds of troubles like arson terrorism start often,” she said.
Expressing her desire for peace, she said that Bangladesh wants peace not only within the country but regionally and globally.
“Our foreign policy is very clear friendship to all and malice to none, " she said.
She said that Bangladesh is a country of peace.
"When people are at peace, seeing a light of hope....arson terrorism has striken them. Blockades are disrupting people's lives again pushing them to panic. This is the most painful thing." the PM said.
The Awami League president hoped that those who are doing these things will at least come to their senses.
“Shunning destructive activities they shpuld join the democratic trend, put trust and confidence on people," she said.
Noting that she wants to take the country forward further, Hasina said that she has nothing to lose and nothing to gain.
“Since my father has struggled throughout his life for the people we want to take Bangladesh forward.”
She said that Bangladesh has got the status of developing country by working according to government’s plan.
“Our journey as a developing country will begin in 2026. May we start this journey properly in the year 2026,” she said.
In this connection she said that the government has already started working on the plan.
“My only goal is that no one can stop this unstoppable progress of Bangladesh," she declared.
Armed Forces Day: PM Hasina pays tribute at Shikha Anirban
Asking the armed forces to be ready at all times, the prime minister said that Bangladesh does not want war with anyone.
“We want to live in peace. But we must always keep in mind that we should have proper preparations to protect our country from foreign attacks, to protect our independence and sovereignty," she said.
She said that the armed forces will work as ever-ready vigilantes to protect the independence and sovereignty of the country.
Highlighting the initiatives of the Awami League government to strengthen the armed forces, the prime minister said that the armed forces are always active and strong in fighting for peace.
Praising the armed forces, Hasina said that they stand by the people when there is a natural disaster or any other emergency.
Political uncertainty increasing economic uncertainty: PRI
The Policy Research Institute (PRI), a private research institute, at a press briefing Tuesday said that political uncertainty is increasing economic uncertainty.
“If the political integrities are not right, the economy will not be right,” the PRI said at the press briefing on Domestic Resource Mobilisation from the perspective of IMF and Bangladesh, held at its office in Banani.
Executive Director of PRI Dr Ahsan Mansur, and international trade expert Dr. Mohammad A Razzaque, spoke at the press conference on the economic situation.
“During the last two national elections, foreign involvement was not so much. Now there is. This year's election will not be like the other two. There is also uncertainty about the elections. It is not possible to say that I will live in peace even after the election,” Mansur said at the briefing.
Replying to a query he said, “This is the first time that there is uncertainty in both politics and economics at the same time.”
He said the economy is under pressure due to high inflation, shortfall in revenue collection, dwindling reserves, and the exchange rate.
“The IMF has asked for reforms in these matters. But these reforms are not possible before the elections. So, inflation will remain around 10 percent. It is not possible to say where the exchange rate will stop,” Dr Mansur said.
Even after the elections, the direction of these reforms is not available to the political leadership. However, to face the challenges of the economy, major reforms must be made, he said.
Dr Mansur also said that there will be no major problem in getting the second tranche of the IMF loan, unless the great powers decide to intervene in the board meeting to approve it.
The IMF's board is expected to rule on disbursement of the tranche at its board meeting on December 9.
Train link with northern districts restored after 9 hrs
Train communications between Dhaka and northern parts of the country was restored on Tuesday after nine hours following the derailment of a passenger train in Sadar upazila of Tangail district.
Nazmul Huda Bakul, station master of Tangail Railway Station, said a compartment of a Dhaka-bound ‘Rangpur Express’ train from North Bengal veered off the tracks at Betor around 4:45am, halting train communication of Dhaka-Northern parts of the country.
Rail communication between Dhaka and Ctg-Sylhet partially suspended as freight train derails in B’Baria
A relief train rushed to the spot and conducted the salvage operation.
The train communication was restored at 2pm after the authorities concerned managed to remove the derailed compartment manually.
Probe body formed over B’baria train derailment
President pays tribute to martyred members of Bangladesh Armed Forces
President Mohammed Shahabuddin on Tuesday paid tribute to the martyred members of Bangladesh Armed Forces on the occasion of Armed Forces Day-2023.
The President, who is also the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, paid homage by placing a wreath at the Shikha Anirban (flame eternal) in Dhaka Cantonment this morning
He stood in solemn silence for a while as a mark of profound respect to the memories of the martyrs.
A smartly turned out contingent of the Army, Navy and Air Force presented a guard of honour at that time, while the bugle played the last post.
The president also signed the visitors’ book kept there.
Earlier, on his arrival at Shikha Anirban, President Shahabuddin was received by Chiefs of the three services and senior officials of the Armed Forces Division (AFD) there.
On this day during the War of Liberation in 1971, the Bangladesh Armed Forces, comprising Army, Navy and Air Force, came into being and launched an all-out attack on the Pakistani occupation forces which expedited the victory in the Liberation War.
After the independence of the country, this historic day is being observed as the Armed Forces Day every year in a befitting manner.
UN urges stakeholders to promote "inclusive, credible" polls in Bangladesh
The United Nations has reiterated its desire to see a "peaceful, inclusive and credible" national election in Bangladesh.
"We continue to call on all stakeholders, the government, the political parties to do whatever they can, to promote a peaceful, inclusive, and credible election," Spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General Stéphane Dujarric in a regular briefing in New York on November 20.
The Election Commission already announced polls schedule and the national election will be held on January 7.
Opposition BNP is yet to take any decision to join the polls while enthusiasm is seen among the supporters of Bangladesh Awami League and like minded parties who are joining the polls.
Man killed, another injured while making bomb in Bhola
A 48-year-old man was killed and another one injured in a bomb explosion while making bombs at a house at Dholigourinagar in Lalmohan upazila of Bhola district on Monday night.
The deceased was identified as Monir Bayati of the area.
Local people alleged that Monir was an activist of Awami League but police did not specify it.
Mahabubul Alam, officer-in-charge of Lalmohan Police Station, said an explosion occurred at the house of Monir Bayati at 11 pm, leaving two people injured.
Later, the injured Monir and Firoj were first taken to a local hospital then referred to Bhola General Hospital where Monir was pronounced dead.
Police said either a bomb was thrown at the house of Monir or they were involved in making bombs. “Police are investigating the incident,” said the OC.
However, local people said Monir and Firoj were injured in the explosion while making bombs.
The tin roof of the house was also blown away following the explosion.
Youth killed in Dhaka road crash
An unidentified young man died after being hit by an unknown vehicle at Gulistan Zero point in Dhaka on Monday night.
Read: Rohingya man killed in ARSA-RSO gunfight in Ukhiya camp
The accident occurred around 11:30 pm when the vehicle hit the 25-year old man while he was crossing the road, leaving him injured, said sub-inspector of Paltan Police Station Mohammad Ali.
Later, he was taken to Dhaka Medical College and Hospital where doctors declared him dead.
Read: Two motorcyclists killed in head-on collision in Joypurhat
Dhaka bins UN Special Rapporteurs’ comments on human rights in Bangladesh as ‘false and fabricated’
Questioning the intention of three UN Special Rapporteurs (SRs), Bangladesh on Tuesday said it seems that the SRs were “influenced by a desire to malign” the government with “false and fabricated” information on the human rights situation of the country.
Responding to the OHCHR's 14 November press release, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said their one-sided observations appear as ill-intentioned particularly in the context of the government’s active engagement with them.
“The press release compels the government to raise question about the motive and content of the observations made by three UN Special Rapporteurs (SRs),” MoFA said.
They are Irene Khan, SR on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, Clement NyaletsossiVoule, SR on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association, and Mary Lawlor, SR on the situation of human rights defenders.
The timing of the press note containing the remarks of the SRs as well as their possible intentions are intriguing, MoFA said.
They came up with their remarks on the country’s human rights at a time when Bangladesh’s Universal Periodic Review (UPR) has just been concluded on the previous day - 13 November 2023 and an overwhelming majority of countries appreciated Bangladesh for her key legislative, policy and institutional initiatives taken for advancing the enjoyment of human rights by its people while they made their recommendations, reads Bangladesh’s reply.
Read: Unfortunately, OHCHR may have fallen for BNP’s misinformation campaign: MoFA says on OHCHR remarks
The content of the press note of the SRs is largely allegations against the government on the human rights situation of Bangladesh particularly on the current labour unrest, political violence, and other individual cases such as those of Prof. Mohammad Yunus, AdilurRahman Khan and Rozina Islam. “Bangladesh is a sovereign country where rule of law prevails. Accordingly, the three cases are being dealt with by law courts of the independent judiciary where the Government has no scope of intervention,” MoFA said.
Specifically, regarding the case of Prof. Muhammad Yunus, it needs mentioning that the case against him is of depriving the workers of a company owned by him of their rightful share of profit.
“So it is surprising that the SRs are talking of the Government violating human rights when Government is actually protecting labour and human rights,” MoFA said.
Moreover, in the UPR session, while reiterating the government’s steadfast commitment to promote and protect human rights in the country, most of the issues raised by the SRs were clarified by the Bangladesh delegation.
Emphasising that implementation of human rights agenda is a work in progress, Bangladesh also assured the Human Rights Council that it would continue making efforts to implement the recommendations made by different countries.
“Therefore, the government fails to understand what necessitated the issuance of such remarks by the SRs so hurriedly without allowing the Government any time to reflect on the recommendations made during the UPR,” MoFA said.
Read: Bangladesh appalled by favouritism reflected in European Parliament’s resolution to politically biased entity Odhikar: MoFA
The government finds the conduct of the SRs totally incongruent with their respective mandates and selective.
The SRs are the part of the special procedures of the Human Rights Council who act on independently.
However, it is expected that they would use their mandates to report and advise on human rights to support governments in realizing their human rights goals.
The government of Bangladesh expects the SRs to remain neutral and objective in carrying out their mandates as per the code of conduct.
Regrettably, MoFA said, this was not the case with the SRs who came up with such negative observations totally denying the sincere will and efforts of Bangladesh government to improve its human rights situation.
There were fourteen states that underwent UPR examination in the just concluded session of the Working Group on UPR in November 2023.
“It is interesting to note that the SRs chose to issue a statement only on Bangladesh where again they remained silent on innumerable improvements as were appreciated by majority of the participating delegations in this peer review,” MoFA said.
“By doing so, they dishonoured their UN credentials as SR. They also misused the media centre of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights to propagate their personal and biased views to reach a wider audience.”
The government of Bangladesh has welcomed the recommendations made by the Member States of UN during the UPR in a constructive spirit.
The SRs have in a way undermined the recommendations and observations of the Member States by making negative assessment of the same issues instantly after the UPR, MoFA said.
They went to the length of “urge (ing) the Human Rights Council and the international community to press upon Bangladesh the urgency and importance of ensuring a safe, open and conducive environment for free and fair elections,” and sought to occupy a higher moral pedestal over Member States and to influence adoption of the report of the Working Group.
“Their urging the international community goes far beyond their call of duty. One of the three SRs is from Bangladesh and has recently been showing unprecedented level of enthusiasm in making critical observations while she maintains relative silence on other countries. By being so partial, biased, subjective and disproportionately focused, the SRs run the risk of losing their credibility and acceptance,” MoFA said.
Read: Bangladesh trying to collect data on hydro power schemes reportedly by China: MoFA spokesperson
The government of Bangladesh underlined the importance it attaches to the role of special procedure mandate holders towards a well-functioning human rights mechanism.
“While it hopes that the SRs would remain faithful to their mandates, it expects the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights to provide support to them to objectively fulfil their mandates and to remain careful of not being used as a platform of their subjective pronouncements,” MoFA said.
Countries vocal on human rights issues often remain silent on migrant workers’ sufferings: Shahriar
Noting that migration and human mobility are increasingly becoming more complex in today’s world, State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md Shahriar Alam on Tuesday said it is a tragic irony that countries that claim to be vocal on human rights issues internationally often remain “silent or in denial” about transgressions with migrant workers within their own territories.
“We witness the impractical and unacceptable realities of border walls, forced returns, offshore detention centres, willful abandonment at seas, arbitrary immigration practices, transnational criminal networks etc. proliferating around the world,” he said.
The state minister was speaking as the chief guest at the inaugural session of the national preparatory consultation for the GFMD (Global Forum on Migration and Development).
Read: Election will be held as per constitution regardless of ‘who’s doing what’: Shahriar Alam
Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen, Chief of Mission of IOM Bangladesh Abdusattor Esoev, French Ambassador to Bangladesh Marie Masdupuy and Expatriates Welfare and Overseas Employment Secretary Ahmed Munirus Saleheen also spoke at the event.
France, acting as the 2022-2023 Chair of the Global Forum on Migration and Development (GFMD), is set to host the 14th Summit of the GFMD in Geneva from 23 to 25 January 2024.
Recruitment test for assistant teachers of govt primary schools on Dec 8
The first phase of the government primary school assistant teacher recruitment test, 2023 will be held on December 8.
The decision over the recruitment test was taken at an inter-ministerial meeting, chaired by State Minister for Primary and Mass Education Zakir Hossain, held at the secretariat on Tuesday.
The recruitment test will be held at 535 centres under 18 districts in Rangpur, Barishal and Sylhet division(first phase).
A total of 3,60, 697 candidates are expected to take part in the exam.
The exam will be held from 10 am to 11 am.