politics
Bangladesh strengthens its position along Myanmar border: Obaidul Quader
Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader said on Thursday that the government has strengthened its position along the border to the tension created by the internal conflict in Myanmar.
“We aren’t in favour of opening the border and we won’t not allow this opportunity to anyone. Bangladesh will write to the United Nations through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs about its concern over the Myanmar conflict,” he said.
Quader, also Awami League (AL) general secretary, said this at a press briefing at the AL central office on the Bangabandhu Avenue in the capital on Thursday afternoon.
"Those who fled to Bangladesh were members of their border guards and army while the Myanmar ambassador was summoned and they would take them back and must be taken back. There is no alternative to not taking them back," he said.
“We can’t keep the fear alive across our border. Our Ministry of Foreign Affairs is working and will write to the United Nations. Myanmar also has border with India. Our foreign minister is currently in India. Important discussions including the Myanmar border issue have already taken place with India.”
Addressing the current situation of the opposition BNP, he said that the BNP has lost its mind as US President Joe Biden has talked about working together with Bangladesh.
“UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has given the message. The French president also sent a message. Now all hope of the BNP is over. They thought foreign friends would stand by (them). Their hopes are completely gone,” he claimed.
Regarding Rohingyas’ stay in Bangladesh and their infiltration, he said that the BNP first allowed Rohingyas to come when they were in power. "Have they forgotten their past history?"
‘’What our leader Bangabandhu's daughter Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has done, everyone including the United Nations has praised,’’ he said.
Regarding the distribution and submission of AL nomination forms for women reserved seats in the 12th Parliament, the party general secretary said a total of 1,549 nomination forms were sold in the last three days.
The party's income has been Tk 7 crore 74.50 lakh. A meeting of the party's parliamentary nomination board will be held on February 14 with party President Sheikh Hasina in the chair.
Khaleda taken to Evercare Hospital for health check-ups
BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia was taken to Evercare Hospital in the capital on Thursday evening for health check-ups.
She arrived at the hospital from her Gulshan residence around 6:48pm, said her media wing member Sayrul Kabir Khan.
He said the BNP chairperson will undergo several tests at the hospital as per the advice of her medical board.
Sayrul said the medical board will decide whether she needs to be hospitalised further after observing her health condition and assessing the test reports.
On January 11, the BNP chief returned home from Evercare Hospital after receiving treatment for various health complications for over five months.
Since then, she has been receiving treatment at her Gulshan residence under the medical board that was formed earlier at the Evercare Hospital.
On August 9 last year, she was admitted to the hospital as she fell sick.
The 78-year-old former prime minister has long been suffering from various ailments, including liver cirrhosis, arthritis, diabetes, and issues related to kidney, lung, heart, and eye.
On October 26, three US specialist doctors completed the hepatic procedure known as transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS procedure) to stop water accretion in Khaleda Zia’s stomach and chest, and bleeding in her liver.
Khaleda’s doctors have been recommending sending her abroad since she was diagnosed with liver cirrhosis in November 2021.
The BNP chief’s family also sought permission from the government on different occasions, but the Law Minister said Khaleda has no scope to go abroad for treatment as she was released on conditions suspending her sentence in corruption cases.
Since her conditional release from jail in 2020, the BNP chief has been receiving treatment at the hospital under a medical board headed by cardiologist Prof Shahabuddin Talukder.
Khaleda was sent to the Old Dhaka Jail after a lower court sentenced her to five years' imprisonment in the Zia Orphanage Trust corruption case on February 8, 2018. Later, she was found guilty in another corruption case the same year.
Amid the coronavirus outbreak, the government temporarily freed Khaleda Zia from jail through an executive order suspending her sentence on March 25, 2020, with the condition that she stay in her Gulshan house and not leave the country. That has since been extended multiple times to keep her out of jail.
Bangladeshi citizens in extreme insecurity along Myanmar border: Rizvi
BNP Senior Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi on Thursday expressed concern that Bangladeshi citizens are in extreme insecurity along the Myanmar border as people are getting killed and injured by bullets and mortar shells.
Speaking at a press briefing at the party's Nayapaltan central office, he also blamed the government for the death of a Bangladeshi citizen in a mortar shell fired by Myanmar.
Bangladesh urged to investigate newly arrived Myanmar Border Guards for atrocity crimes
“No man or woman is safe inside Bangladesh along the border. People are losing their lives after being hit by mortar shells. We want to see necessary efforts and activities to ensure the security of the country and its people and make the sovereignty stronger,” the BNP leader said.
He questioned as to why a Bangladeshi woman was killed by a mortar shell fired by another country. “Where is the appropriate response to the incident? The government can't even lodge a written protest as it’s a weak regime which has no public support."
BNP, some other political parties lack patriotism: Nanak
Rizvi said the Awami League government cannot do anything to deescalate the border tension since it has been in power depending on the state apparatus. “They fear their (foreign) masters, but they use guns to terrorize the people of the country.”
A tense situation has been prevailing along the border between Bandarban's Naikhongchhari Ghumdhum and Tumbru amid fierce fighting, skirmishes and gunfire between the armed forces of the military junta and insurgent groups inside Myanmar for nearly two weeks.
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Over 300 Myanmar forces and border guards have so far taken shelter in Bangladesh as of Wednesday noon in the wake of conflicts along the border.
Meanwhile, two people--a Bangladeshi woman and a Rohingya man-- were killed when mortar shells from the Myanmar side landed on a kitchen at Jalpaitli village of Ghumdhum union in Naikhongchhari upazila of Bandarban on Monday.
Rizvi said the lives and land of the people of Bangladesh are now unprotected as blood has been shed in the border areas of Bangladesh. “People are entering Bangladesh in groups from the neighbouring country. But the Bangladesh government is silent. Even, the government doesn’t dare to protest when a BGB member was killed in BSF firing.”
He said Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s call for exercising restrain and maintain peace now threatens the country's sovereignty. “As a result, our border guards are retreating every day, putting the people of Bangladesh in danger."
Rizvi claimed that during the rules of Ziaur Rahman and Khaleda Zia, the border areas of Bangladesh were secure and the people were safe.
He said Awami again usurped power through a farce in the name of election on January 7 which was turned down by the country’s 95 percent people. “Only the prime minister of the dummy government and her cohorts called the January 7 election free and fair. But it was the worst mockery of the century.”
BNP, some other political parties lack patriotism: Nanak
There is no patriotism among some political parties including BNP, said Awami League presidium member and Textiles and Jute Minister Jahangir Kabir Nanak on Thursday.
"There is no patriotism among our country's political parties because they lack patriotism and do not carry out the responsibilities that should do in the national interest. BNP and some political parties have a specific agenda, they have a motive, they oppose for the sake of opposition," he said.
Read: PM says BNP-Jamaat’s subversive activities being tried
The minister said these after distributing warm clothes among the cold-hit people at Aziz Mahalla of Mohammadpur of Dhaka-13 constituency.
“Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is dealing with the Myanmar crisis and Rohingya issue with a lot of patience and prudence. The situation that is going on in Myanmar now is their internal matter. There can be no reason to create mental stress or a situation within the country over that issue,” he said.
Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) is performing their duty and they remain alert, Nanak added.
Read: Khaleda Zia scheduled for a health check-up this afternoon
“We cannot have any relation with the internal affairs of Myanmar. There are international rules to protest against the occasional landing of two or four shells that cause us casualties. The government summoned the Myanmar Ambassador and lodged a strong protest and warned them. Even then, if a situation arises, there are international organizations, including the United Nations. We will go to them,” said the AL leader.
Dhaka Metropolitan North Awami League President Sheikh Buzlur Rahman and local Awami League and associate organizations leaders and workers were present on the occasion.
Khaleda Zia scheduled for a health check-up this afternoon
BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia will visit Evercare Hospital this afternoon for a health check-up.
"Madam (Khaleda) is scheduled to go to Evercare Hospital around 4 pm for health check-up, as per the advice of her medical board,” said Sayrul Kabir Khan, a member of the BNP's media cell.
He said the BNP chief will undergo some necessary medical tests at the hospital.
On January 11, the BNP chief returned home from Evercare Hospital after receiving treatment for various health complications for over five months.
Since then, she has been receiving treatment at her Gulshan residence under the medical board that was formed earlier at the Evercare Hospital.
On August 9 last year, she was admitted to the hospital as she suddenly fell sick.
The 78-year-old former prime minister has long been suffering from various ailments, including liver cirrhosis, arthritis, diabetes, and issues related to kidney, lung, heart, and eye.
Read: Khaleda Zia will return home from hospital Thursday
On October 26, three US specialist doctors completed the hepatic procedure known as transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS procedure) to stop water accretion in Khaleda Zia’s stomach and chest, and bleeding in her liver.
Khaleda’s doctors have been recommending sending her abroad since she was diagnosed with liver cirrhosis in November 2021.
The BNP chief’s family also sought permission from the government on different occasions, but the Law Minister said Khaleda has no scope to go abroad for treatment as she was released on conditions suspending her sentence in corruption cases.
Since her conditional release from jail in 2020, the BNP chief has been receiving treatment at the hospital under a medical board headed by cardiologist Prof Shahabuddin Talukder.
Read: Khaleda Zia moved back to cabin from CCU after 2 hours
Khaleda was sent to the Old Dhaka Jail after a lower court sentenced her to five years' imprisonment in the Zia Orphanage Trust corruption case on February 8, 2018. Later, she was found guilty in another corruption case the same year.
Amid the coronavirus outbreak, the government temporarily freed Khaleda Zia from jail through an executive order suspending her sentence on March 25, 2020, with the condition that she stay in her Gulshan house and not leave the country. That has since been extended multiple times to keep her out of jail.
PM says BNP-Jamaat’s subversive activities being tried
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Wednesday said that some 1,241 people were sentenced to different terms as trial of 1,967 cases were completed so far filed in connection with the BNP-Jamaat’s subversive activities in between 2012 to 2015.
She said this in reply to a question of ruling Awami League MP elected from Madaripur-2 Shajahan Khan during the PM’s question-answer session.
Khan wanted to know what measures have been taken against those involved in the subversive activities of the BNP-Jamaat in the name of the so-called democratic movement from 2012 to 2015 and from October 28, 2023 to January 7 this year.
The Prime Minister in her reply said a total of 188 people died while 4,973 others were injured in the hands of the BNP-Jamaat’s terrorists during their so-called democratic movement between 2012 and 2015 and from October 28, 2023 to January 7 national election.
Biden’s letter to PM Hasina: ‘What will BNP say now?’ asks Quader
“A total of 8,105 cases were filed against those involved in these acts of sabotage. Of these, trial of 1,967 cases have been completed and 1,241 people have been sentenced to various terms of imprisonment.”
The premier also said investigation is going on regarding the cases filed between October 28, 2023 and January 7 this year.
Sheikh Hasina, who is also the leader of the House, said the BNP and its allies have indulged in the evil game of arson-terrorism, killing innocent people and members of the law enforcement agencies through irrational movement in the name of resisting the elections.
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In response to a query of AL MP Md Abdullah elected from Laxmipur-4, the Prime Minister said that in the recent times, the BNP-Jamaat and their allies have been trying to disrupt the 12th national elections by destabilising the country in the name of arson attack, hartals and blockades.
“They caused huge damage to people's lives and property by setting fire to trains and killing innocent people, uprooting train lines and damaging track plates, vandalising various public and private buildings and vehicles including the Chief Justice's residence and Razarbagh Central Police Hospital.”
She said that from October 28, 2023, more than 600 vehicles were vandalised across the country through violent activities.
Besides, 328 vehicles including 184 passenger buses, 48 trucks, 28 covered vans, 3 CNGs, 4 private cars, 11 pickups, 5 trains, 15 motorcycles, 3 lagunas, 1 ward councilor office, 1 auto rickshaw, 1 high school, 12 primary schools, 4 homes, 1 Buddhist temple and 1 boat were set on fire.
Programmes on streets without permission won’t be allowed: Quader
Sheikh Hasina also said many people including drivers, helpers, police, BGB, workers, freedom fighters were killed, injured or crippled during their blockades and hartals.
“13 people were killed in those incidents. Among them, nine people were killed in train sabotage.”
Pointing that the country has efficient law enforcement agencies, judicial system and existing laws to identify and punish those involved in crimes like arson, vandalism, subversive activities, the Prime Minister said legal process is going on to take proper measures against those involved in subversive activities under the existing law.
Border Tension: BNP says Bangladesh now in the jaws of crossfire
Voicing concern over the killings of the country’s citizens along the borders of Myanmar and India, BNP on Wednesday alleged that Bangladesh is now in the jaws of crossfire.
At a press conference arranged by the party standing committee on the country’s overall situation at its chairperson’s Gulshan office, BNP also alleged that the Awami League is now in power with the support of India, China and Russia by giving these countries various ' illegal economic and geopolitical' privileges'.
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“On the one hand, our BGB members and our people are being gunned down along India’s border beginning from the West Bengal, on the other two people were killed and several others injured in firing and mortar shells landed from Myanmar side. Troops from Rakhine state are flocking and taking shelter (in our country). In other words, Bangladesh is now in the jaws of crossfire,” said BNP standing committee member Gayeshwar Chandra Roy.
He urged the journalists to think of what is going to happen and the reasons behind the prevailing tension along the Bangladesh border.
The BNP leader also raised the question of whether tension is being created on the Myanmar border to divert the attention of the people of Bangladesh to a different direction from its various failures and problems. “Whether the government (of Bangladesh) has a secret relationship with those who are causing these incidents...the government earlier created one issue after another to mislead people.”
He hoped that the government would take necessary and visible steps to tackle the border problem if it had no connection with the rising tension along the Myanmar frontier.
The BNP said a country like Myanmar had never dared to fire into Bangladesh’. "Why do they get the courage to do it now? This is what you all need to think about... where is our country heading toward?”
He urged the people to be vocal against the border problem to force the government to take proper initiatives to protect the citizens of the country from the way they are being now attacked from all sides.
A tense situation has been prevailing along the border between Bandarban's Naikhongchhari Ghumdhum and Tumbru amid fierce fighting, skirmishes and gunfire between the armed forces of the military junta and insurgent groups inside Myanmar for more than a week.
At least 327 Myanmar forces and border guards have so far taken shelter in Bangladesh as of Wednesday noon in the wake of conflicts along the border.
Meanwhile, two people--a Bangladeshi woman and a Rohingya man-- were killed when mortar shells from the Myanmar side landed on a kitchen at Jalpaitli village of Ghumdhum union in Naikhongchhari upazila of Bandarban on Monday.
Quader addresses Myanmar conflict and border issues
At the press conference, Gayeshwar claimed that the current government has become isolated from the democratic world. "Fascist government has got the support of India, China and Russia by providing them with illegal economic and geopolitical benefits to protect its existence.”
He said their party has promised the country’s people to bring back democracy. "We are in that ongoing movement. The speed of the movement takes shape in different directions at different times.”
The BNP leader said 62 political parties' decision to boycott the 'one-sided' election on January 7 was right and logical as people turned down the election and its results by responding to the call of opposition parties.
He also said the common people lodged a silent protest against the unilateral election by not going to the polling station. “This spontaneous support of people is the manifestation of the success and victory of BNP's politics.”
Gayeshwar claimed that people’s right to vote was not established through the ‘farcical’ election on January 7. “Rather, it was a violent deception with the nation in the name of elections only to illegally, immorally and unconstitutionally keep the fascist Sheikh Hasina government in power. A dummy election was staged in 2024 with dummy candidates, dummy parties, dummy voters and dummy observers.”
He also questioned whether there is any political party in the world like BNP which over 50 lakh leaders and workers have been facing false political cases.
“Our more than 2,700 leaders and activists were killed by Sheikh Hasina and her loyal law enforcers and nearly 700 innocent people were made disappear. Why did the fascist government arrest more than 25,000 leaders and activists, including BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, in connection with the election of seat sharing?” Gayeshwar said.
He also claimed that their party’s 11 leaders and workers were killed in prison.
The BNP leader also said 50 lakh BNP leaders and workers are being deprived of their civic lives while they are being subjected to injustice and repression by police and the judiciary.
He also slammed the government for its failure to check the skyrocketing prices of daily essentials, growing inflation and deteriorating economic situation.
"The country’s 18 crore people want to get rid of the misrule of Sheikh Hasina, who has completely failed to run the state. People also hope that the anti-people and fascist government will be ousted through the movement of BNP,” Gayeshwar observed.
He also said democracy will soon be restored in Bangladesh through a mass upsurge on the streets under the leadership of the BNP with direct participation of the people.
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BNP standing committee members Abdul Moyeen Khan, Nazrul Islam Khan, and Selima Rahman were, among others, present at the press conference.
PM Hasina hails January-7 election as the freest since 1975
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Wednesday said that last month’s parliamentary election that handed her the fourth consecutive term in office was the most free, fair and impartial vote in the country since 1975.
“I think this time the election was the most free, fair and neutral of all the polls held after 1975,” she said about the January 7 election that was boycotted by the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP).
The premier made this remark while exchanging views with local leaders and activists of Awami League and its associate bodies and local representatives from Tungipara Upazila of Gopalganj at her official residence Ganabhaban.
She said there were many conspiracies and plots to thwart the election as a party (BNP) founded in the hands of a military dictator wanted to prevent this democratic process.
“But the most important thing in this election was that people spontaneously went to the polling stations and cast their votes,” said Hasina, who is also the prrsident of the Awami League.
The prime minister said the journey ahead for Bangladesh would not be so easy in the days to come. Many obstacles have to be overcome. Many conspiracies surround this Bangladesh, she warned.
She said Bangladesh today has come a long way in soci0-economic development.
“The people of Bangladesh are financially solvent today,” she said.
Talking about commodity prices, Hasina said that the people with fixed income are facing some difficulty.
“If we all cultivate the fallow lands then there will be no shortage of food. Rather, we can have surplus,” she said.
The PM said all the fallow lands will have to be brought under cultivation and the government would extend assistance in this regard.
She urged the local government representatives to ensure that the development projects are implemented properly.
The PM asked them to gain public trust and confidence by their deeds.
President stresses education system reshuffle to improve its quality
President Mohammed Shahabuddin on Thursday stressed the need for reshuffling the education system to upgrade the quality of the higher education of the country to the international level.
He said this when a delegation led by Dhaka University Vice-Chancellor Professor Dr. ASM Maqsood Kamal paid a courtesy call on the president at Bangabhaban.
During the meeting, the vice-chancellor informed the president about the overall affairs of Dhaka University.
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He said that a master plan has been formulated for the overall development of the university and it will be implemented in three phases over 15 years. “As a result, there will be major changes in the development of the university's academic and residential infrastructure.”
The president said emphasis should be given on research to make higher education meaningful.
Pointing out that the world situation is rapidly changing as a result of the revolutionary development of information technology, he said the overall education programme should be adjusted to keep pace with the changing world and enable the students to highlight their skills and capabilities in the global platforms.
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During the meeting, secretary of the president's office Sampad Barua, military secretary Major General SM Salah Uddin Islam and secretary Wahidul Islam Khan( attachment) were also present.
Border becomes endangered due to unpopular govt's passive role: BNP
BNP has alleged that Bangladesh’s border security, independence and sovereignty have come under threat because of the current ‘unpopular government’s’ passive role in defusing tension along the Myanmar frontier.
In a statement issued on Tuesday based on the decisions of the BNP standing committee’s meeting held on Monday, the party feared that the country's border could become out of control at any time as hundreds of Myanmar nationals are waiting to illegally enter Bangladesh.
Police working with BGB to ensure security at Bangladesh-Myanmar border: IGP
It said fierce fighting, skirmishes and gunfire between the armed forces of the military junta and insurgent groups inside Myanmar have taken a dire shape along the border between Bandarban's Naikhongchhari Ghumdhum and Tumbru for more than a week.
The party said bullets, mortar shells, and exploded rocket launcher shells exchanged by both Myanmar’s armed forces and insurgent groups are falling inside Bangladesh every day, causing loss of life, injuries, and damage to people's homes.
Tension at the border: What Dhaka told the Myanmar Ambassador
“The local people are leaving the border area for the safety of their lives. Schools have been closed,” it observed.
The BNP also bemoaned that two people--a Bangladeshi woman and a Rohingya man-- were killed when mortar shells from the Myanmar side landed on a kitchen at Jalpaitli village of Ghumdhum union in Naikhongchhari upazila of Bandarban on Monday.
Quader addresses Myanmar conflict and border issues
Amid fierce fighting, it said more than a hundred members of the Border Guard Police (BGP) of Myanmar fled and took shelter in Bangladesh. "Hundreds of Myanmar nationals are crowding the border waiting to cross into Bangladesh—which could turn the border into an uncontrollable one at any moment."
“The BNP Standing Committee expressed deep concern that the unelected Awami dummy government's empty speech and call for showing patience and exercising restraint instead of lodging strong protest and promptly dealing with the situation through effective political initiatives in this very dangerous situation for Bangladesh is an expression of knee-jerk foreign policy. A government without public support puts our border security and independence and sovereignty under a threat,” the statement reads.
The party said the Awami League government is unable to take effective steps with the courage to tackle the prevailing situation along the border as it is unelected and worthless.
“When our independence and sovereignty are threatened by another country and when our independence is vulnerable, Sheikh Hasina's dummy government is unable to do anything. This is because they have accepted the hegemony of others by holding people hostage at gunpoint,” it observed.The party alleged that a large number of Rohingya people have created a new humanitarian crisis by staying on the territory of Bangladesh for a long time due to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s imprudent decision and her lust for power.
It said the government has constantly demonstrated diplomatic failure over the Rohingya issue for years. “National sovereignty is under threat and public safety is vulnerable because of this spineless government’s subservient policy. Awami dummy government is only capable of suppressing opposition in the country.”
The party said the 'frightened' government is calling upon military and the border guards to be patient even when the people of the country are being killed in violation of sovereignty. “Is the responsibility of the Bangladesh Border Guard (BGB) only to accept the bodies of Bangladeshis?"
The BNP National Standing Committee also strongly condemned and protested the casualty of the people of Bangladesh and the incidents of defying national sovereignty amid violent fighting inside Myanmar along the border due to the 'inactive' role of the Awami League government.