Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has said the phrase ‘Bismillahir Rahmanir Rahim’ would not be excluded from the constitution that will be reviewed by a parliamentary committee formed last Wednesday.

She did not elaborate during her address in parliament Thursday. This would mean that ‘secularism’ will not be restored as one of the basic tenets of the 1972 constitution, political observers said.

On continuation of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, the country’s largest Islamist party and other religion-based political parties, the premier said her government ‘has no intention to ban politics of any party’, The Daily Star newspaper said.

The government would not ‘allow anyone do politics using religion as a tool’, said Hasina, who heads the government of the predominantly Muslim majority nation that was declared an Islamic Republic by a past military-led government.

The constitution, enacted after Bangladesh became independent in 1971 on separation from Pakistan, had four basic tenets: nationalism, democracy, secularism and socialism.

Socialism was dropped and secularism was replaced by Islamic republic.

The parliamentary committee has no representation from the opposition, as main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) had declined to name a lawmaker for the 15-member committee.

Sajeda Chowdhury, deputy leader of the house, said: ‘The door is still open. If they nominate a lawmaker, he will be included in the committee.’

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Bangladesh to Review Constitution!!! This may hits many Bangladeshi to bloom up the patriot feel and specially to those who are not directly involved with politics (50%+) Who depends on constitution ,who love Bangladesh, Who pray a dignified Bangladesh, Who dream eco-rights democratic power, who bear lots of pain as being Bangladeshi -comparing developed contry ,who believe in good governance,

We have natural unlimited resources, what we don??t have? -we don??t have good governance system. So all the power gained political parties gain the harassment of devastating failures! Go through the fact.? What is government? Government is the execution body?to follow the Constitution! If there is systematic mistake in constitution .How can any govern well? So after 38years of failure -it seems to review.??So review ?please review consciously.

I only request Take it seriously!!!?Don??t limit till get the successful Models. Mind it we are still not satisfied in our any expectations!!! For Example Economy?? ?,gas?? , Electricity??, Education,?? Health??-gurumia

sources :The House yesterday formed a special parliamentary committee devoid of representation from the main opposition BNP, to chalk out a constitutional amendment proposal.

The 15-member committee, headed by Deputy Leader of the House Syeda Sajeda Chowdhury, consists of only Awami League-led ruling alliance lawmakers, as BNP declined to nominate a representative following an invitation from the ruling party. No post was kept reserved for an opposition representative either.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who is also the Leader of the House, brought a motion for the committee’s formation under section 266 of the rules of procedure of Jatiya Sangsad, and made a brief statement.

She said the amendment to the constitution is “necessary for upholding democracy, and for blocking the way for usurpation of state power through imposition of martial laws in future”.

Earlier in the day, BNP Secretary General Khandaker Delwar Hossain said the “All-party Parliamentary Committee” is unconstitutional, and its formation contradicts the rules of procedure of the parliament.

Unanimously approved by the House boycotted by BNP, the special committee will examine the constitution and place a report in the parliament proposing necessary amendments to the country’s charter. But it was not given any timeframe for submitting that report.

The committee was also empowered to seek opinions of constitutional experts, and to invite them to its meetings.

“The constitution needs to be amended to block the way for illegal usurpation of state power,” Hasina said moving the motion.

She said keeping democratic rule upheld is the only way to economic development of a country. “Our prime objective is to establish that democratic trend.”

She however did not make it clear whether her government will move to restore the original constitution of 1972 through the amendment.

In defence of the move to amend the constitution, the premier said the constitution, the supreme law of the land, was damaged in the name of amendments through martial law proclamations during about four years following the brutal assassination of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman on August 15, 1975.

“Therefore, re-amendments to the constitution is required in line with the High Court verdict,” Hasina said.

Ending her 10-minute speech, Hasina proposed the names of the members and chief of the committee.

In absence of the opposition lawmakers led by BNP, treasury bench deputies voted for the motion, and it got the parliament’s nod amid a huge rejoice, and desk thumping.

Suranjit Sengupta, chief of the parliamentary standing committee on law justice and parliamentary affairs ministry, was made the co-chair of the committee consisting lawmakers of AL, Jatiya Party, Workers Party, and Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal.

The other members are Amir Hossain Amu, Abdur Razzaq, Tofail Ahmed, Sheikh Fazlul Karim Selim, Rahmat Ali, Syed Ashraful Islam, Fazle Rabbi Mia, Rashed Khan Menon, Abdul Matin Khasru, Hasanul Haq Inu, Anisul Islam Mahmud, Hasan Mahmud, and Shirin Sharmin Chowdhury.

Treasury Bench Chief Whip Abdus Shahid, who wrote to Opposition Leader Khaleda Zia on Sunday night, requesting her to nominate an opposition lawmaker for the committee, said on Tuesday that a post would be kept vacant for BNP.

But contacted by The Daily Star last evening after the formation of the committee, Shahid said he has nothing to do now as the committee has already been formed.

Asked if he will reply to the opposition chief whip’s letter that sought explanation for the committee’s formation, Shahid said he knew nothing about it.

Shahid ruled out that the BNP secretary general’s remark, and said the committee was formed certainly following the constitution and the rules of procedure of the parliament.

Hasina, during her motion speech said the people gave her government the historic mandate in the December 29, 2008 parliamentary election, and created an opportunity for it to carry the historic responsibility.

“It is imperative to carry out the historic responsibility,” she said.

She also termed the High Court verdict “a landmark”, which had declared illegal the fifth amendment and the military regimes between August 15, 1975 to April 9, 1979.

The HC verdict, which was declared in 2005, was upheld by the Appellatte Division in February this year.

The fifth amendment to the constitution was passed in the parliament in 1979 ratifying all actions of preceding military rulers, including amendments to the constitution, which had been made under martial law regulations and proclamations.

Hasina said the country got the constitution through sacrifice of 30 lakh peoples’ lives and at the cost of 2 lakh mothers’ and sisters’ sanctity.

But the constitution was wounded repeatedly by bayonets of soldiers following the August 15, 1975 blood bath, she added.

Hasina said there is no provision of declaring martial law in the constitution, nor in the army’s act and regulations. But martial law was declared on August 20, 1975.

She also said members of the military had to become victims of the martial law as thousands of officers and soldiers were killed and punished, and a countless number of political leaders and activists were tortured. “We don’t want recurrence of such incidents,” she added.

Meanwhile, the prime minister is likely to give some important directives to her party deputies to assist the government’s constitution amendment move, as she is scheduled to speak at a meeting of AL parliamentary party today.

BNP’S REACTION

The rules of procedure of the parliament does not allow formation of any “All-party Parliamentary Committee”, although section 76 of the constitution allows formation of a special committee, BNP Secretary General Delwar Hossain said at a media briefing at the party’s central office in Nayapaltan prior to the committees formation yesterday.

Urging the ruling party to move away from amending the constitution, he said the consequence will not be good, if the government imposes anything on the people.

He said the Supreme Court may give explanation of a constitutional amendment but it cannot direct to amend the charter. “Only the parliament can amend the constitution, which might be amended considering national interest, not the interest of any party,” he added.

He also criticised ruling AL for not maintaining the protocol of the opposition leader when it send the letter to BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia asking her to nominate her party representative in the committee.

The letter should have been sent by the leader or the deputy leader of the House, he said.

In a reply to the letter BNP wanted to know about possible amendments, but the ruling alliance formed the committee in a hurry without answering the questions, he said.

“The committee is being formed hurriedly with an ill motive. Never before a plan for formation of a parliamentary committee was announced before it being planced in the House. What the ruling party did this time, is a first.” he said.

He said no normal person supports military rule, but it was AL which in 1986 gave legitimacy to General Ershad’s military rule.
BackStory

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President of Bangladesh Awami League and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today said the objectives and aims of the 1972 constitution would be upheld.The Prime Minister made the assertion while making her inaugural speech to the central working committee meeting of Bangladesh Awami League at her official residence Gonobhaban here.

The meeting was organized to finalize the programmes of National Mourning Day on August 15, observe the anniversary of August 21 grenade attack on Awami League rally and discuss the overall political situation in the country.

The Prime Minister presided over the meeting while party General Secretary Syed Ashraful Islam moderated it.

Sheikh Hasina said an all-party parliamentary committee will be formed during the current session at the Jatiya Sangsad for amending the constitution in the light of the recent Supreme Court verdict that scrapped the Fifth Amendment.

She said the post `75 military autocratic rulers repeatedly distorted the constitution of the country as they wanted to destroy the spirit of independence, liberation war and democracy to consolidate their grip on power, but the people put up resistance against them time and again.

The Prime Minister said the people of this country with huge expectations voted Awami League to power with a landmark victory in the last general elections. She urged the party leaders and workers to work for strengthening democracy, attaining economic emancipation and development to give due respect to the people’s confidence.

She said the government is working relentlessly for attaining economic emancipation of the people, holding trials of the war criminals and establishing digital Bangladesh as per its election pledges.

Referring to ongoing development activities in all fields, she said 90 percent of the annual development programme (ADP) has been implemented, foreign exchange reserve has shot up to all time high and foreign investment increased in a massive way.
Sheikh Hasina alleged that a conspiracy was hatched to destabilize the government through the BDR mutiny immediately after assuming power. She said a transparent trial of the mutiny has been ensured through a proper investigation into the incident.

She said a total one lakh 22 thousand people were given jobs since assumption of power by the Awami League government. The government is working with a mega plan to make Bangladesh a middle income group country by the year 2021.

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Bangladesh’s elite security forces said Monday they had made a major breakthrough in the fight against extortion with a raid on town where nearly every resident was involved in racketeering.
Cracking down on rampant cell phone crimes, Bangladesh’s elite security forces have zeroed in on a village, most of whose residents were found to be involved in racketeering using mobiles, officials said.

The elite anti-crime Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) officials said they discovered a village in southwestern Rajoir sub-district to which a bulk of such crimes all over the country are traced.

“Astonishingly, most male residents of different ages ranging from 14 to 60 of the Lundhi village appeared to be involved in extortion using mobile phones… our officers during investigations in recent months found most of the extortion suspects hailed from the single village,” Lieutenant Colonel Mamun Mahmud said.

A series of raids on Lundhi, 90 kilometres (60 miles) south of the capital Dhaka and home to 2,000 people, led to 11 arrests, including two ringleaders of gangs using mobile phones to extort money.

“We believe 80 percent of extortion-related threats made over mobile phones in Bangladesh originate from this village,” Rapid Action Battalion officer Colonel Mamum Mahmud told Media.

He said officers were “awestruck” to discover nearly everyone — from students aged 14 to elderly school janitors — was involved in mobile phone extortion.

“During calls, they identify themselves as some notorious criminal and then demand their victim send them money or face the consequences — they’ve conned a huge number of people,” Mamum said.

“It’s a very lucrative business. We have identified at least 20 groups who are involved. They have agents in the capital to collect the extorted money and gather personal information about potential targets,” he said.

Extortion using mobile phone has been a huge problem in Bangladesh since around 2001, when phone companies entered a price war and flooded the market with cheap cell phones, which were given out without proper registration.

Last year, scores of people were arrested for mobile phone extortion but successful prosecutions are rare, police say.

Approached for comments, Awami League lawmaker and Shipping Minister Shahjahan Khan, who represents a constituency where the village is located, said he too had heard of the village, the home of an estimated 2,000 people.

“Being the MP from the area I too heard about it… but not all the people there, as you said, are involved in the crime,” he said jokingly, but declined to comment further.
A number of suspects having their origin in Lundhi were arrested in the past several weeks from Dhaka as well as the village under a series of raids, he said.

Extortion using mobile phone has been a huge problem in Bangladesh since around 2001, when phone companies entered a price war and flooded the market with cheap cell phones, which were given out without proper registration.

Home Minister Sahara Khatun last week said the government planned to formulate a policy to check the rising incidents of cellphone crimes including extortion and ban its sale to youths under 18.

“We are framing a policy to be enforced in next two months to curb the crimes and misuse of cell phones,” Khatun told reporters after an inter-ministerial meeting also joined by mobile phone operators.

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It is the first time officers have been jailed for suspected extrajudicial killing in Bangladesh. Human rights organisations accuse law enforcement agencies of killing at least 200 people in custody since January 2009.
DHAKA,A Bangladesh court jailed 11 policemen on Sunday on suspicion of carrying out an extrajudicial killing two years ago, court officials said, after an outcry from human rights groups.

It was the first time officers were jailed for a suspected extrajudicial killing in Bangladesh after calls from human rights organisations who accuse law enforcement agencies of killing at least 200 people in custody since January 2009.

The policemen surrendered following a summons over the killing which took place in July, 2008.

The officers will be formally charged on July 27, said a court official at Natore, 230 km (144 miles) northwest of the capital Dhaka.

??We are happy that the suspects were sent to jail. We hope to get justice,?? lawyer Zahir Azad told reporters.

The bullet-riddled body of the suspect was found at a remote area near Natore four days after he had been arrested by police.

Police said he had been killed in crossfire during a raid on a gangster hideout, but his family said he was killed in custody.

Hardly a day passes in Bangladesh without somebody being shot and killed in crossfire between criminals and law enforcement officers, newspapers and officials say.

One suspect died in police custody in eastern Brahmanbaria, 100 km (52 miles) from Dhaka, after being arrested on Saturday.

Police said he died of a heart attack, but his family said officers had tortured him to death. -Reuters

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The Joint Boundary Working Group of Bangladesh and India is expected to meet next month to comprehensively address long-pending land boundary disputes, a media report quoting officials said here.
Both sides are working to implement various decisions and fulfil commitments made by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh during her New Delhi visit in January.

They also decided to work on 115 enclaves created by the demarcation of the boundary determined by the British between India and the then East Pakistan during the 1947 partition of undivided India.

The partition was on Hindu-Muslim lines. However, these enclaves, considered ??in adverse possession??, have Muslim majority areas in India and Hindu majority areas in Bangladesh.

The South Asian neighbours having a porous 4,098 km border are committed to addressing the land boundary issues keeping the spirit of the 1974 Land Boundary Agreement signed by the then prime ministers, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and Indira Gandhi.

??The joint boundary group will meet either on July or August to resolve the boundary disputes between the two countries,?? India??s Home Secretary G.K. Pillai said in New Delhi on Friday.

However, Bangladesh officials maintain that they were ready to convene the meeting much earlier.

Officials of foreign and home ministries here are hopeful that the Joint Boundary Working Group will resolve issues related to adverse possessions, enclaves and the un-demarcated areas, Pillai said.

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Digitalised Bangladesh is now a days is common dream of Bangladeshi. No political question!

If we simplify what is digital Bangladesh ? I answer : A well managed Bangladesh.
To manage well ,we always need to clear about our resources .From my best knowledge i demand a High Powerful Bangladesh Resources Research Centre (BRRC)
To explore the opportunity of the ultimate resources of Bangladesh which grow the potential Bangladesh as a Sucessful contry Bangladesh must should develop a high oppotunity powered Research centre for exploring the resources of Bangladesh , natural resources or human resources or opportunity resources . The Research centre can be co up with the Ministry of planning .

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After facebook ,this is second shut down A Bangladeshi Media Amar Desh -The daily news paper.Regulating the information in right way BANGLADESH shut down a pro-opposition newspaper and arrested its editor on fraud charges, police said on Wednesday, after storming the paper’s offices in a late-night raid.

, acting editor of the Bengali-language Amar Desh and one of the government’s most vocal critics, was arrested after police broke through an improvised barricade set up by the paper’s journalists. ‘He has been arrested on charges of fraud and defamation,’ local police chief Mahbubur Rahman told media.

The arrest came hours after the authorities cancelled the paper’s publication rights, allegedly because the publisher, Hashmat Ali, had filed a case with the police. ‘The publisher has said he was no longer responsible for Amar Desh and it was being printed illegally. He has filed a fraud case with police,’ government official Muhibul Haque told media.

But local media reports quoted the publisher’s family as saying Ali has been picked up by intelligence officials and detained.

Rahman, a stalwart of the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), claimed Ali, who also supported the BNP, had been forced to sign the fraud papers prepared by the government’s intelligence services. ‘Police stormed the office and beat several journalists before picking up Rahman on Wednesday morning,’ said Zahed Chowdhury, city editor of Amar Desh.

Rahman has been a vocal critic of the current Awami League government since it swept to power in December 2008 elections.

More from Dairy .Tuesday, February 9, 2010 -The Daily Star
A Dhaka court on Tuesday granted bail to acting Editor of the daily Amar Desh Mahmudur Rahman, its publisher Alhaj Mohammad Hasmat Ali and reporter M Abdullah in a defamation case filed by prime minister’s Energy Adviser Taufiq-e-Elahi Chowdhury.

Metropolitan Magistrate SK Tofael Hasan passed the order upon a bond of Tk 50,000 with two guarantors after they along with their lawyers surrendered before the court and sought bail in the case.

The energy adviser to the prime minister on January 19 filed the defamation case with Chief Metropolitan Magistrate’s Court in Dhaka.

Metropolitan Magistrate Roksana Begum Happy took the case into cognisance and issued a summons asking the accused to appear in the court on February 9.

The plaintiff, Towfiq-e-Elahi Chowdhury, in his complaint said the accused published a false news item linking him and prime minister’s son Sajeeb Wazed Joy in the December 17 issue of the daily newspaper.

The report said Towfiq and Joy took a five-million-dollar bribe from American oil company Chevron promising them to award an oil exploration order, the complainant said.

The news was published with an intention to tarnish the image of the government as well as Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her son Joy, he claimed.

The news blemished the complainant’s reputation in and outside the country as well, Towfiq added.

The news was false and fabricated, he alleged.

The complainant also appealed to the court to issue arrest warrants against the three for committing such offences.

AL leaders of different districts across the country had earlier filed a number of cases against them for the same.

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Wildlife includes all non-domesticated?plants, animals and other organisms. Domesticating wild plant and animal species for human benefit has occurred many times all over the planet, and has a major impact on the environment, both positive and negative.

Conservation biology is the scientific study of the nature and status of?Earth’s?biodiversity?with the aim of protecting?species, their?habitats, and?ecosystems?from excessive rates of?extinction.

US Ambassador to Bangladesh James F Moriarty on Sunday said Bangladesh needs to aggressively expand the protected areas to conserve natural resources and wildlife as the country has already lost more than 90 percent of its forest cover.

“Millions of people are directly dependent on its forests and wetlands. For the good of these people, Bangladesh must expand protected areas to conserve natural resources, while at the same time ensuring people who live in and around these areas can make a living,” he said.

The Ambassador made the remarks while jointly inaugurating with State Minister for Environment and Forests Dr Hasan Mahmud the ‘Dudhpukuria-Dhupchara Wildlife Sanctuary’ surrounded by undulating hills, natural forest with rich diversity and numerous hilly creeks and streams.

Moriarty said the US government through USAID, in collaboration with the Bangladesh government, is working to help restore thousands of hectares of forests and wetlands in Bangladesh.

The US government, he said, helps train local communities and local governments to better manage natural resources, restore degraded areas, raise public awareness and increase earnings.

The Ambassador said Bangladesh may be crowded but it has sufficient land and water resources to support its people. Bangladesh is not alone among the nations in facing ultimate environmental challenge:

How to sustain continued economic growth to support an expanding population, while preserving rich but finite environmental resources for the next generation.

“All countries must strike a sustainable balance between economic growth and environmental protections,” he said. “We are not protecting environment simply for the sake of fish, birds and trees. We are protecting it for our own sake, because it is where we live.”

State Minister for Environment and Forests Dr Hasan Mahmud said the government will enact a new wildlife protection law soon and introduce wildlife conservation award this year.

He said due to population pressure, overuse of natural resources, deforestation, degradation, habitat loss, and killing and hunting of wild animals, animal biodiversity is decreasing day by day. Most of the plants and animals are threatened or endangered.

“Environment and ecological balance has been disturbed throughout the country,’ he told the function.

Dr Hasan Mahmud said: “We know forests are meeting public demand of timber, fuel wood, bamboo and other minor forest products. So, we like to conserve forests for future generation.”

The concept of ‘Production Forestry’ of the Forest Department has been changed to ‘Conservation Forestry’, he added.

The State Minister informed that to boost eco-tourism, wild life conservation, recreation, education and research, his ministry has declared 23 protected areas covering 258,703 hectares, seven eco-parks covering 7,861 hectares and two safari parks covering 2,442 hectares.

‘Dudhpukuria-Dhupchara Wildlife Sanctuary’, inaugurated on Sunday, covers an area of 4,716 hectares under Khurosia and Dhopachari range of Chittagong South Forest. This is also a part of the IPAC (Integrated Protected Area Co-Management) project.

The project will enable the local people to take part in the management of the forest lands, wetlands and other natural resources with the Forest Department. This will ultimately economically benefit the local people as well.

USAID Mission Director Denise Rollins and Chief Conservator of Forests Abdul Mutaleb also spoke at the function.

After the inauguration, Dr Hasan and Moriarty released three Maya deer in the forest.

However, wildlife conservation is urgent for our country to maintain and develop the natural condition of wildlife.

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A Bangladeshi school teacher has been accused of caning eight of her pupils so hard for forgetting to bring their pencils to class they needed hospital treatment.

The two girls and six boys, aged between 10 and 12, were treated for bruises to their arms and backs in the town of Feni.

Police said they were investigating complaints against teacher Ratna Roy lodged by the children’s guardians and parents.

Teachers in Bangladesh often resort to physical punishment, such as caning and slapping, to discipline pupils despite a 1995 government order banning it.

Many parents condone the practice and it is unusual for police to investigate such complaints.

A Unicef study last year found that one out of 10 school children in Bangladesh suffer physical punishment from teachers.

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