Bangladeshi to lead UN peacebuilding commission

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Chairman, Croatia, Millennium Development Goal, Peacebuilding Commission, UN Peacebuilding Commission, United Nations

Dr AK Abdul Momen addressing a programme.

BANGLADESH’s permanent representative to the United Nations, Dr AK Abdul Momen, will lead the UN Peacebuilding Commission for the next one year.

The prestigious election, which is first for the country, came on Monday.

Upon his election, the new chairman pledged that he would pursue “the path of inclusion” throughout 2012 to enhance the six-year-old body’s ability to mobilise resources and align key actors in assisting the populations of countries emerging from conflict.

“The commission is heading forward, but we have yet to reach our destination,” a press statement posted on the website of the UN Peacebuilding Commission quotes Momen as saying.

He acknowledged that while the multi-stakeholder body had charted solid successes since its establishment in 2005, countless post-conflict societies were still bogged down by social, economic and governance challenges.

Indeed, since no fragile or conflict-affected country had achieved a single Millennium Development Goal, it was clear that much remained to be done, he added.

While aware that such situations could not be reversed overnight, Momen said under his chairmanship, the commission would work to bolster its “field-centric” approach to mobilising resources, while encouraging flexible and adaptable instruments of post-conflict engagement.

Grounded in national ownership, local capacity-building and the gender dimension, the commission would target employment generation, infrastructure development and the management of natural resources – sectors considered key to speeding the delivery of peace dividends.

Momen said he would also work throughout the year to bring global and regional stakeholders together for a more coherent approach to achieving the objective of sustainable peacebuilding.

He would “narrow gaps” and promote better coordinated responses with the aim of improving the way in which the commission did business so that it could take the global peacebuilding agenda forward.

Momen’s address set the stage for the opening of the commission’s sixth session, during which its Organizational Committee also elected Ranko Vilović ( Croatia) as Vice-Chair.  Looking ahead to 2013, the commission also decided that its next chairperson would be elected from among the Group of Eastern European States.

The remaining vice-chair, as well as the heads of the commission’s country-specific configurations, would be elected at a later date.

Adopting its 2011 report, the commission also approved a “road map of actions for 2012”, proposed by its previous chairman.

Prosecute BSF for torture, HRW tells India

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Bangladesh, Border Security Force, BSF, Chhattisgarh, Human Rights Watch, India, Indian government, YouTube

THE Indian government should prosecute members of the security forces for recent high-profile cases of torture to send a message that such practices will no longer be tolerated, Human Rights Watch said Tuesday.

Saying that the Border Security Force (BSF) has long been implicated in torture and extrajudicial killings near the border with Bangladesh, the New York-based rights watchdog expressed deep concern over BSF men’s torture of a Bangladeshi citizen in Murshidabad district on December 9 last year, which was captured in a video and posted on YouTube.

“These horrific images of torture on video show what rights groups have long documented: that India’s Border Security Force is out of control,” said Meenakshi Ganguly, South Asia director of the HRW.

“The Indian government is well aware of killings and torture at the border, but has never prosecuted the troops responsible. This video provides a clear test case of whether the security forces are above the law in India.”

The video, reportedly filmed by a BSF soldier, shows members of the BSF’s 105th Battalion stripping Bangladeshi cattle smuggler Habibur Rahman, tying him up and beating him, while laughing and engaging in verbal abuse.

The HRW said in Tuesday’s news release that the BSF men illegally detained and tortured him and then left him to make his way back home instead of handing him over to the police as required by Indian law.

After MASUM released the video to local news channels, the BSF suspended eight soldiers – Sandip Kumar, Dhananjay Roy, Sunil Kumar Yadav, Suresh Chandra, Anand Kumar, Victor, Amarjyoti, and VirendraTiwari – and ordered an inquiry, said the HRW news release.

“However, despite clear evidence of abuse, to date no criminal charges have been filed against any soldiers,” it reads.

In December 2010, Human Rights Watch, together with Banglar Manabadhikar Suraksha Mancha (MASUM), a Kolkata-based nongovernmental organisation that posted the video, and Dhaka-based Odhikar, published “‘Trigger Happy’: Excessive Use of Force by Indian Troops at the Bangladesh Border.”

The report documented numerous cases of indiscriminate use of force, arbitrary detention, torture, and killings by the BSF, and highlighted the failure of the Indian government to conduct adequate investigations or prosecute troops responsible for abuses. It showed that the BSF routinely abuses both Bangladeshi and Indian nationals residing in the border area. After the report’s release, the Indian government ordered an end to the use of lethal force cease except in cases of self-defence. While the number of killings decreased, allegations of killings and torture have continued, said the HRW.

“Whenever offenses attributed to the BSF occur, its leadership insists that there will be an internal inquiry and action taken,” said Ganguly.

“But secret proceedings and suspensions or transfers won’t end the abuses. Torture is a serious crime that should be prosecuted in the courts.”

The failure of the Indian government to prosecute authorities responsible for torture extends to all of the security forces, said the HRW.

In another recent disturbing incident, Soni Sori, a schoolteacher in Chhattisgarh state, alleged that she was tortured and sexually assaulted by Chhattisgarh state police while in custody in October 2011. After her arrest as a suspected Maoist supporter, a criminal court in Chhattisgarh state handed her over to police custody for interrogation despite her pleas that she feared for her safety and life. Sori alleged that Ankit Garg, then-superintendent of police for Dantewada district, ordered the torture and sexual assault, according to the news release.

The Indian Supreme Court ordered Sori’s transfer to the Kolkata medical college hospital for an independent medical examination. In November 2011, the examination report corroborated Sori’s allegations of physical abuse, it added.

To date, the Indian authorities have not initiated any inquiry or criminal action against the police officers implicated, the HRW said, adding that instead of investigating the case, the Indian president  presented Ankit Garg with a police medal for gallantry on Republic Day, January 26, 2012. The medal drew widespread condemnation.

The Indian government announced, in March 2011, a rape compensation package for all sexual assault victims, but even basic follow-up reproductive and sexual health services have yet to be made available to survivors like Soni Sori. One of her lawyers told Human Rights Watch that Sori, who is detained in Raipur central jail in Chhattisgarh, has not received any follow-up reproductive and sexual health care.

“Soni Sori’s case epitomises the callousness with which victims of torture are treated in India,” Meenakshi Ganguly said.

“The Indian government shamefully presents a trophy to someone implicated in torture, while doctors cannot even treat a torture survivor without police obstruction.”

The HRW called upon the Indian government to ratify the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment and to enact the Prevention of Torture bill, which is currently awaiting cabinet approval and before it is voted on by the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of parliament.

The law should override all provisions of Indian law that allow government officials immunity from prosecution for human rights violations. It should also ensure that adequate time is given for victims to be able to file complaints, and that all forms of inhuman and degrading treatment are brought under the purview of the law, it demanded.

“The BSF, the police, and other members of the security forces operate with impunity throughout India,” said Ganguly. “When will the government in Delhi wake up and act to end torture and other human rights abuses?”

Jamaat man killed in clash with cops

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Rajshahi College

Bullet-hit Jamaat activist Shafiqul Islam lies dead on a road in Rajshahi Monday.

A Jamaat-e-Islami activist was killed and around 80 others, including 19 cops, were injured in clashes between law enforcers and Jamaat-Shibir men in the city’s Hatim Khan area Monday afternoon.

The dead man, Shafiqul Islam, son of Abdur Rahman Sheikh of Basua Achintola in Rajshahi, worked at Islami Bank Bangladesh Limited Hospital. He was the father of a child.

The 30-year-old was already dead when he was taken to Rajshahi Medical College Hospital. He was shot in the back near the neck, said Habibur Rahman, an emergency medical officer of the hospital.

The BNP-led four-party alliance will enforce a half-day hartal in the city today to protest the killing.

Mizanur Rahman Minu, president of Rajshahi city BNP, announced the programme at a press briefing in the evening.

Witnesses said Shafique was hit by a bullet when police, under attack, opened fire on the violent activists of Jamaat and Islami Chhatra Shibir around 4:45pm.

M Obaidullah, commissioner of Rajshahi Metropolitan Police, said they were yet to know how the man was killed. He claimed that police fired rubber bullets and shotgun shells only to scatter the rioting party men and that they had targeted nobody.

“Moreover, the killing took place when the law enforcers already started falling back,” he added.

The RMP commissioner also claimed that gun-wielding Jamaat-Shibir activists fired at police.

Following the clashes, some 53 people were arrested from different parts of the city.

At least 19 policemen were injured as Jamaat-Shibir men hurled brick chips and lobbed cocktails, witnesses and RMP officials said.

The injured, including inspectors Tofazzal Hossain of Detective Branch and Khan M Shahriar of Boalia Police Station, were admitted to Rajshahi Medical College Hospital.

On Monday, huge contingents of police were deployed at different points, including Saheb Bazar, Rajshahi College and Shah Makhdum College, in the city from 3:00pm as the four-party alliance was set to hold agitations.

Around 4:00pm, BNP leaders Mizanur Rahman Minu and Nadim Mostafa brought out separate processions from Lokhnath School and Rajshahi College points.

Police soon intercepted Nadim’s procession while Minu and his men marched to Bhubon Mohon Park and held a rally there.

Later at about 4:30pm, a big procession of Jamaat and Shibir marched from Hatim Khan to Lokhnath School but was stopped by police at the northern corner of the school.

Enraged, Jamaat-Shibir men started pelting law enforcers with brick chips and stones. The area was engulfed in smoke as they exploded three cocktails.

The activists chased the cops twice up to the Rajshahi College point.

After reinforcement, police chased the Jamaat-Shibir men, firing rubber bullets and teargas canisters.

At one stage, Shafiqul was found lying “unconscious” on the road and minutes later, a police van took him to hospital, witnesses said.

Shafiqul was seen throwing brickbats at police moments before a bullet hit him, they added.

The disturbances lasted till 5:00pm when the law enforcers brought the situation under control.

“Hatim Khan area is a bastion of Jamaat-Shibir. Police had to retreat thrice during the clashes as they ran short of teargas canisters and bullets”, said Additional RMP Commissioner M Moniruzzaman.

Tension ran high in the city with shops keeping their shutters down and roads being almost empty.

Emaj Uddin Mondol, the city unit Jamaat assistant secretary, said some 60 Jamaat-Shibir activists were injured in police action and many of them were bullet hit. They were taken to Islami Bank Bangladesh Hospital and different clinics.

Law enforcers had shot into the Jamaat procession without any provocation, he claimed.

Islamic Chhatra Shibir, a pro-Jamaat student body, condemned the killing and also “police brutality”.

4 killed as police fire on opposition activists

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Bangladesh Chhatra League, Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal, Jubo League, Police

FOUR persons died in Laxmipur and Chandpur towns on Sunday when police fired on BNP supporters who gathered in front of the party offices to bring out pre-scheduled processions.

To protest the killing, local BNP has called for a half-day hartal in Chandpur and Laxmipur town for on Monday.

Over 450 people, including 100 policemen, were injured when the law enforcers attempted to foil processions of opposition activists in different districts including Chandpur and Laxmipur.

Condemning the police atrocities in different districts, the BNP held the government responsible for the killings.

Addressing a press briefing at BNP office at Naya Paltan in the afternoon, the party’s acting Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir demanded exemplary punishment against the persons responsible for the killing.

Meantime, police formed two separate committees to investigate the Chanpur and Laxmipur incidents, Inspector General of Police Hassan Mahmood Khandker told reporters at the Police Headquarters in the afternoon.

The committees, to be headed by Additional Deputy Inspector General of Police Biswas Afzal Hossain, have been asked to submit report in seven days.

“The committees will also probe whether there were any faults of the policemen,” the IGP said, claiming that police, although resorted to firing, showed tolerance.

CHANDPUR

Violence in Chandpur ensued at 11:00am when police asked the opposition activists, who were gathering at Hasan Ali Govt High School ground to bring out a protest procession, to leave the place.

“Without listening to us, they (opposition activists) started hurling brickbats,” Alamgir Hossain, officer-in-charge of Chandpur Model Police Station, told The Daily Star, estimating that there were at least 1,000 people.

Cordoning off the law enforcers, the angry activists later vandalised a policevan.

As they kept on throwing brickbats, “the magistrate ordered us to open fire to bring the situation under control”, the OC said.

Our correspondent, who was caught inside the cordon, said police first fired original bullets and later rubber bullets and pellets.

The opposition activists continued their attacks on police though the latter stopped firing in the noon.

Around 12:45pm, members of Bangladesh Chhatra League, ruling Awami League’s student wing, joined the police and dispersed the opposition activists in 15 minutes.

Bullet-hit, Abul Mreedha, a rickshawpuller aged about 50 years, died on the spot. Limon Soiyal, another rickshawpuller aged about 25, and Mahfuzur Rahman, a 22-year-old activist of Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal, received bullet injuries.

Rushed to Chandpur Sadar Hospital, Soiyal died later at 12:15pm, hospital medical sources said.

Mreedha used to live in Baburhat while Soiyal in Goakhola areas in Chandpur town.

Some constables told The Daily Star the two were killed by bullets from Chinese rifles.

Mahmudunnabi Masum, a surgery consultant at the hospital, said: “Both the men were killed by bullets from modern firearms.”

Amir Zafar, Chandpur assistant superintendent of police (ASP), said over 100 people, including 30 policemen, were injured during the clash.

Police said they opened fire at the order of Magistrate Shamimul Haq Pavel in self defence.

The opposition activists vandalised 15-20 vehicles as the clash spread to other parts of the town.

BCL activists later vandalised BNP office and the house of BNP district unit general secretary Sheikh Farid Ahmed Manik in the town.

Addressing a press conference at his house at 4:30pm, Sheikh Farid announced a half-day hartal in the town from 6:00am on Monday to protest the police atrocities.

LAXMIPUR

As workers of the BNP-led four-party alliance brought out a procession from South Trimohoni area around 11:00am, police tried to stop them. When the processionists tried to march forward, police charged batons on them, reports our Noakhali correspondent.

Angered, the opposition activists threw brick chips on the law enforcers. A chase and counter-chase took place for some time before police fired 68 bullets from their shotguns and 20 tear gas canisters to successfully disperse the activists.

Police arrested five of them from the spot.

During the clash, over 100 people including Jubo Dal activist Rubel Hossain, 25; and BNP supporter Abul Kashem, 50; police, pedestrians and journalists were injured. Of them, 10 received bullet wounds.

Rubel died while undergoing treatment at Laxmipur Sadar Hospital while Abul Kashem died later in Comilla while being taken to Dhaka for treatment.

Twenty six policemen including Golam Sarwar, OC of Laxmipur Sadar Police Station, and three sub-inspectors were injured. Of them, 24 were admitted to Laxmipur Sadar Hospital while two others at Noakhali Medical College Hispital.

Claiming that some people from the BNP procession first opened fire on police, Laxmipur SP Zamsher Ali told The Daily Star that police opened fire in self-defence.

A three-member team headed by additional SP of Laxmipur has been formed to investigate the incident, he informed, adding it will submit report in three days.

DINAJPUR

Obstructed from bringing out a procession from BNP office, the party men pelted brickbats on police, prompting the latter to charge baton.

Police fired 10 tear gas shells and rubber bullets. They picked up five persons during the clash which left 25 injured.

KISHOREGANJ

Fifty including 11 policemen and four journalists were injured and a police vehicle was damaged during clashes between opposition activists and police at Ishaka road and Gaital Firm intersection in the town.

Police picked up around 12 BNP-Jamaat activists, including district BNP vice chairman Amiruzzaman, in the town.

Eleven policemen were admitted in Kishoreganj Adhunik Sadar Hospital.

KURIGRAM

Twenty including the OC of Kurigram Sadar Police Station were injured and a police vehicle was damaged during clashes between police and four-party activists in Kurigram town.

As the procession reached Kurigram Central Mosque area, police tried to stop it, prompting the activists to attack them with sticks and brickbats. They also vandalised a police vehicle.

Besides charging batons, police fired 20 teargas shells and rubber bullets.

RANGAMATI

Three BNP workers injured when police charged batons on their procession near Rangamati municipality office.

NILPHAMARI

Police fired 12 rounds of rubber bullets and three rounds of tear gas shells to disperse opposition activists as they tried to defy police obstruction to their procession in the town.

Thirty including 10 policemen and two journalists were injured, and police arrested five agitators.

NATORE

Fifty people including a journalist were injured in Natore when alleged activists of BCL and Jubo League hurled brick chips on a BNP procession in Natore town. Police arrested four Jamaat men from the procession.

BARGUNA

Barred by police from going to their party office or gathering in the town, BNP activists hurled brick chips at police. In reply, police shot rubber bullets on them, leaving 50 including 15 policemen injured.

After protesters set two police motorbikes on fire, police arrested 20 BNP activists from the scene.

SUNAMGANJ

Five BNP activists sustained injuries as police charged baton on their procession in the town.

BRAHMANBARIA

Four Jamaat men were wounded when police lobbed teargas shell on their procession at Kalibari point in the town.

BANDARBAN

Twenty BNP men and 10 police personnel injured during clash in front of BNP office in Bandarban town. Police later arrested 30 BNP activists, UNB adds.

AL forgets pledges for a strong Sangsad

THE Awami League-led government seems to have forgotten its electoral pledge to make parliament effective. It has clearly done quite the opposite over the last three years, as evidenced by its rejection of some crucial proposals to strengthen the house, Shakhawat Liton writes in The Daily Star.

In the run-up to the December 29 parliamentary polls, the AL promised to take “all necessary steps for making parliament effective”. It stated: “Parliament will be made effective and the government will be made accountable for all its activities.”

The AL also pledged to allow MPs to express differing opinions, except for some specific subjects related to the security of the state.

Three years on, the reality is quite something else. The pervasive confrontational culture in politics has returned vigorously, diminishing the prospects for change, owing to the government’s indifference to taking measures in line with its electoral pledges.

And the result is obvious: the BNP-led opposition MPs have already boycotted fourth-fifths of the sittings of the current parliament, and have raised a variety of demands in their partisan interests.

The ruling AL, however, took no effective measures to bring the opposition MPs back to the house by negotiating over their demands, although similar practices in the past had prevented parliament from functioning effectively.

Not only that, the government brushed aside a number of significant proposals to strengthen the house, thereby paying no heed to its electoral pledges.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina did not agree to the proposal prepared by the parliamentary special committee for constitutional amendments last year over restoring parliament’s authority to remove officials holding constitutional posts.

Hasina, also leader of the house, did not consent to another proposal aimed at bringing an end to the pervasive culture of parliament boycott by reducing the scope for MPs to remain absent from parliamentary proceedings.

At present, lawmakers who remain absent from parliament without leave for 90 consecutive sitting days will lose their seats. The special committee had proposed making it 90 calendar days.

Additionally, Hasina did not agree with other proposals of the committee, such as those relating to more freedom for MPs to express their opinion in parliament.

At the same time, her cabinet rejected a proposal regarding the enactment of a law in line with the constitution to empower parliamentary standing committees assigned by the House to oversee the government’s functions.

In the absence of the law, a number of parliamentary bodies could not ensure the presence of some influential people before them despite the fact that they were summoned by the bodies. This failure demonstrated the inherent weakness of the committee system.

The current parliament, however, brought about some major changes to the constitution by enacting the 15th amendment last year. It introduced provisions for stringent punishment against any extra-constitutional takeover of state power and restricting the state of emergency to a maximum of 120 days following its imposition.

The changes restored secularism and the original preamble in the constitution. But by abolishing the caretaker government system, the current parliament rendered the future course of national politics volatile. Fears of political unrest centering on the forthcoming parliamentary polls without the caretaker government system are now beginning to arise.

Moreover, the ninth parliament in an inexplicable manner circumscribed the authority of future parliaments by imposing a ban on the amendment of around 50 articles of the constitution.

Outside parliament, the unruly and controversial activities of some MPs, almost all of whom belong to the ruling AL, has tainted the image of the house. But the JS amended the constitution in such manner as to ensure that MPs can remain in office during the next parliamentary polls.

In the last three years, most MPs spent much of their time and energy in fruitless criticism of their rivals, demonstrating a lack of patience and tolerance and dodging the responsibility of enacting laws and overseeing the executive.

If things go on as they have so far, the remaining two years of the current parliament may not witness any significant change. And in that case the current parliament may come up against a situation worse than that faced by parliaments preceding it since the elections of 1991.

In previous parliaments, the ruling party, despite having an overwhelming majority, failed to a great extent to deliver on people’s expectations. For their part, the opposition parties opted to take to the streets most of the time rather than staying in the house.

Considering all previous records, people’s expectations were high when the long awaited ninth parliament began its journey on January 25, 2009.

The formation of all the parliamentary standing committees in the first session, with the opposition BNP having its own lawmakers as chiefs of three committees, was a brighter side of the present parliament, at least initially.

But this ray of hope could not last in the face of growing animosity between the AL and the BNP. At the very beginning of the new parliament, the two parties engaged in an unseemly squabble over seating arrangements in the House.

The conflict over seating arrangements was resolved subsequently, but not before it exposed the deep divisions between the AL and the BNP, thus frustrating people’s expectations of change.

Apologise, top newspaper tells India

Tags

Bangladesh, Bangladeshi, Border Security Force, BSF, Hindu, India, Pranab Mukherjee, Sheikh Hasina

The screenshot of the editorial in The Hindu which asked India to apologise for BSF brutality on a Bangladeshi citizen.

LEADING Indian newspaper ‘The Hindu’ has asked India to make an “unreserved apology” to Bangladesh for Border Security Force’s brutal torture of a Bangladeshi man shown in a recent video.

“Not surprisingly, the telltale video has caused widespread outrage in Bangladesh. A remark by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee that the incident must not be hyped, echoed by a Bangladeshi Minister, seems only to have provoked more anger and fuelled opposition allegations against the Sheikh Hasina government for being “pro-India”, the editorial said.

Indian TV channels had aired the video showing the Bangladeshi national being assaulted by BSF men at a place near India-Bangladesh border in Paschimbanga‘s Murshidabad district.

“…..New Delhi needs to guard against becoming an unwitting cause for political instability in its eastern neighbour. Anti-India sentiment has been high in Bangladesh since the killing of three of its nationals by the BSF in two separate incidents on the border last month,” the daily noted.

A still from a video footage showing BSF personnel brutally torturing a Bangladeshi citizen. The grab was taken from NDTV .

Pointing out that “a March 2011 agreement between the two countries not to use firearms in dealing with illegal activities on the border has brought down the number of such incidents,” it said “but the video is evidence that the guards feel free to use other forms of violence. It underlines the fact that such bilateral agreements on the management of their complex boundary are worth nothing unless accompanied by a change in the mindset of those responsible for it on the ground.”

“The distressing 11.56 minute footage, circulated through YouTube, is quite evidently a trophy video, the guards happy to pose as they strip their victim, tie his hands and feet, and beat him mercilessly while discussing among themselves other severe options of dealing with him. The man was a suspected rustler — the border is notorious for cattle smuggling — and it has been alleged by rights activists in Bangladesh that the guards were punishing him for not paying them a bribe.

“The guards appear to have such an entrenched sense of impunity that the thought of being found out and punished does not seem to cross their minds as they participate in the abuse. The BSF has suspended the eight guards involved in the distressing episode and ordered an investigation. While it may be convenient for the paramilitary to treat this as an isolated incident of rogue personnel, the inquiry needs to focus on the overall climate of impunity that makes such incidents possible,” the newspaper said.

The BSF must also reflect if there is something missing in the training of its recruits that some of them are capable of such brutality. This is important because their conduct not only brings disrepute to the organisation but also risks jeopardising India’s relations with an important neighbour, according to the editorial.