No Politics with religion .Bangladesh is set to reintroduce secular education in the country following a landmark judgement of the Supreme Court that made it illegal to mix religion with politics, the law minister has said.

“The apex court verdict has paved the way for reintroduction of the original spirit of the 1972 constitution…while the government has already prepared a draft for education with the spirit of secularism,” Shafique Ahmed told a convention of teachers here.

He said the Awami League government planned to reintroduce secular education system after being backed by the apex court that ruled illegal a 1979 constitutional amendment that facilitated the flourishing of religion-based politics in the country.

The original constitution of 1972 embodied four fundamental principles of nationalism, socialism, democracy, and secularism.

Earlier this week, the apex court ruled the Fifth Amendment, which had also legitimised the post 1975 military backed regimes in Bangladesh, as illegal and upheld the original 1972 constitution.

Ahmed said the judgement nullifying the Fifth amendment “has not hurt religion, but established it” despite a “misleading propaganda” by the Opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP).

The Awami League-led grand alliance government welcomed the judgement. However, the BNP said it would make detailed comments only after going through the full text of the verdict. Jamaat-e-Islami, BNP’s key ally in the earlier four-party coalition government, described the judgement “part of a plot to ban Islamic politics”.

The Bangladeshi belongs the prospect of the Nation .
-(boston.com)Bangladesh native Abdul Momen, a management professor at Framingham State College, was a longtime critic of successive governments, military and civilian alike, in his homeland.

Now that he has been appointed ambassador to the United Nations for Bangladesh, Momen will have to field criticism of the six-month-old government he has agreed to represent. And some of that criticism is surfacing in his adopted state, Massachusetts.

Rafiq Islam, who lives in Falmouth on Cape Cod and has been in the United States for 26 years, contacted the Globe to say he had just returned from Bangladesh and found the crime and security situation to have deteroriated. He said that extrajudicial killings of political figures also have continued despite the promises of the new government.

He said that the new prime minister, Sheikh Hasina Wazed, elected in a landslide victory in December, appeared to be doing what she had done in her first term as prime minister, from 1996 to 2001, promising change and then failing to deliver. “The situation has not improved very much. Many international watchgroups have criticized the government, and the so-called progress has not materalized. It is more of a political dictatorship than a real democracy,” Islam said.

I wrote about Momen’s appointment in the Globe on Tuesday. Last night I asked him by email to respond to criticism that the government isn’t doing enough or acting fast enough. Momen, who is traveling today to Bangladesh to collect his credentials for the UN post, answered by email before departing.

He said that in just a few months, the Awami League government led by Hasina in fact has made significant progress in a number of areas.

For example, he said the government had cut the prices of essential foodstuffs, including rice, by half in the last six months. To reduce corruption, the government has required Cabinet members to declare their wealth, and has made the financial system more transparent. The economy is likely to grow 5.5 percent to 6 percent this year, Momen said, ahead of earlier projections.

He acknowledged that there are law and order problems in Dhaka, the huge capital city, and that extrajudicial killings have continued, although he said the pace of such killings has been cut drastically. “More importantly, in the present government, both the Law Minister and the Home Minister have publicly stated that they will not tolerate any extrajudicial killing and those responsible would be punished to the fullest extent of the law. This is a good beginning. I have written personal notes to both the Ministers to fully stop the extra-judicial killing as it simply unacceptable.”

Momen said terror attacks by Islamist extremists had stopped since Hasina took office, but he added that because of campaigns against tax evaders and corruption, “many well-to-do people are upset and they are trying to derail the government.”

The daughter of one of the most prominent victims of extrajudicial violence in Bangladesh is Nazli Kibria, a professor at Boston University. Her father, Shah AMS Kibria, a member of Parliament and former finance minister, was assassinated in 2005. The family maintains a web site about Kibria and the assassination. The previous year, Hasina herself narrowly escaped a similar grenade attack.

Nazli Kibria applauded the appointment of Momen to the UN, but said she was upset that nothing had been done by the new government to bring the perpetrators of her father’s killing to justice. “My father was a member of the Awami League. We expected this new government to do something, but they’ve done absolutely nothing. My family is not happy about it,” she said.

Momen said in his email: “As you know, extra-judicial killing has become a norm, especially over the last seven years, and it is taking time to fully stop it.”

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Lawmaker of ruling Awami League, who earlier took newspaper headlines several times for his erratic and rude behaviour, on Friday landed in hospital after being beaten by own partymen for assaulting police officers at Chittagong port city.

The Water Transport Coordination Cell began operations on Friday after dropping MP and CCCI president Mohammed Abdul Latif from the post of adviser and convenor, leading to a run-in with police.

Shipping minister Afsarul Amin and Chittagong City Corporation mayor ABM Mohiuddin Chowdhury attended the launching programme as chief guest and special guest respectively.

The WTCC was formed in 2005 in association with Coastal Ship Owners’ Association and Bangladesh Cargo Owners’ Vessel Owners’ Association.

A memorandum of understanding signed with the chamber stipulated that the Chittagong Chamber of Commerce and Industry president and senior most vice-president would hold the post of adviser and convenor respectively.

But Latif, Awami League MP from Chittagong-10, thrust himself into the post of both adviser and convenor on being elected CCCI chief eight months back.

The aggrieved ship owners sat with the shipping minister who on June 3 directed senior vice president of the chamber Mohammed Abdus Salam to take the charge of convenor.

Ignoring the minister’s directives, Latif expressed his desire to retain the convenor’s post and got related papers signed by the chamber directors.

He decided to launch WTCC operations without intermediaries of the ship owners’ association while the latter retaliated by cancelling the MoU with the chamber signed four years ago

Around 10am on Friday when Latif, accompanied by some hundred supporters, attempted entering the WTCC office, the police stopped them and an altercation arose

A close aide of the lawmaker, Enamul haque Muniri, alleged that the policemen and the supporters, belonging to a particular faction of the ruling party, have manhandled the lawmaker sending him to a private facility for treatment with a fractured arm.

He(latif) kept lying there even after Shipping Minister Afsarul Amin and Chittagong City Corporation (CCC) Mayor ABM Mohiuddin Chowdhury walked past him to the meeting where they were the chief guest and special guest.

Later, Bangladesh Chhatra League activists carried the lawmaker out of the building around 5:30pm.

The WTCC was formed in 2005 merging two organisations of inland cargo vessel owners–Coastal Ship Owners Association of Bangladesh (COAB) and Bangladesh Cargo Vessel Owners Association (BCVOA).

As per a memorandum of understanding COAB and BCVOA signed with the CCCI, the senior vice-president of CCCI was to act as the convener of WTCC while the CCCI president would act as an adviser.

However, Latif even after becoming the president of CCCI on December 15, 2008, clung on to the convener and the adviser posts.

As vessel owners drew the shipping minister’s attention to the matter, the minister directed them to form an ad hoc committee following the rules of the organisation.

On June 3, COAB and BCVOA formed the 14-member ad hoc committee, excluding Latif, and made Gazi Belayet Hossain Mithu the convener.

The ad hoc committee was to form a new constitution to run WTCC under a new management, excluding the CCCI, and elect a new committee.

The ad hoc committee informed Latif of his expulsion from WTCC in a letter Thursday.

The meeting of the ad hoc committee was held as scheduled.

Latif earlier took the newspaper headlines first for humiliating two police officers at Patenga on one occasion, misbehaving with another police officer on a Biman flight and rudely rebuked deputy commissioner of the port city in two other incidents.

On another occasion he was criticised for his rude behaviour with a port officials, including a senior navy officer serving on deputation at the main port, in presence of a visiting parliamentary delegation.

 Interview:

Latif alleged, “Shipping minister Afsarul Amin and Chittagong mayor ABM mohiuddin Chowdhury set the police to stop him entering WTCC office.”

“At their instruction police kept beating me mercilessly until I fell on the ground.”

He alleged that the minister and his men were trying to occupy WTCC office to establish a reign of plundering.

“It is because of them that the country has become a land of thieves and cheats,” he said.

A Short  Interviews on the scuffle by M A LATIF  from Metropolitan Hospital with The editor( www.gurumia.com  ) Md Moshiur Rahman  when meet him to see his phisical condition .

Grumia : Say something in short about the scuffle.

M A Latif : I have courage to say truth and i am a politician to change the Contry  to a expected developed level. Problem is our system does not allow change easily .(system- political and burucrates positions- traditions-profit maker). So this is an example that the root of facilitor goast are still strong . To get real change of  the old political goast and get  a real reform political views  we may  sometime fall in such a situation .

Gurumia: How are you felling now ?

MA Latif : I feel pain on my left hand  .neck and backbone,

Based on a real good governance philosophy “the equitable distribution of wealth.” described by Prof. Syed Ahsanul Alam Parvez. Through which prof Ahsan described the primary guideline for innitiative or awareness to overcome the global recession and to overcome the political demand of Bangladeshi Citizen. 
A Cautionary Note to Bangladesh’s Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina- -Prof. Syed Ahsanul Alam Parvez.

After a landslide victory you are assuming the premiership of Bangladesh when the world is facing one of the worst recession of contemporary history. There are good reasons to believe that Bangladesh will face the trauma of the global recession by late 2009. The have-nots and the poor people of our country will not be able to bear it. So you have no option but to be proactive and act in time to surprise the world. Your and our creator gave you a lifetime chance to write your name in gold as the world’s most benevolent lady prime minister by turning Bangladesh to a middle income country during your office this time as prime minister. You have to address the issue of income distribution and social justice in our country very thoughtfully. You should be the first Prime minister of Bangladesh with the aim of raising awareness and creating framings and visions that promote equal dignity for all citizens in the country you govern. (more…)

India has achived their degnified position on Democracy parctice.Demoratic Govermant is the most appreciable governance but the case study on Bangladesh has many bitter examples. Only lacking of proper democratic knowledge and excercise ,it may happen. Even it created a 2 years long caretaker govt.

Indian Parliament Speaker Somnath Chatterjee has offered to train Bangladesh MPs as he praised the restoration of democracy in the eastern neighbouring country as a “positive development” for South Asia.

Chatterjee and his colleagues are here at the invitation of Speaker Abdul Hamid of the Bangladeshi Parliament.

Speaking at a function, the Lok Sabha speaker said the relations between India and Bangladesh were rooted in a “shared cultural, economic and political history”.

Both had worked together with common goals and aspirations in the past and should continue to do so, he said.

During a meeting with Hasina, Chatterjee offered to train Bangladesh’s parliamentarians, many of them first termers.

He said that in a parliamentary democracy, the legislatures had the “immense responsibility” of guiding the destiny of their nations and remained at the centrestage of their democratic polities, according to a statement issued by the Lok Sabha secretariat in New Delhi.

Chatterjee, who arrived here on Saturday at the invitation of his Bangladeshi counterpart Abdul Hamid, is scheduled to address the inaugural session of the four-day Parliamentary Orientation Programme here.

 Democracy is the best political solution for any nation.In the Modern world the world politician and citizen shown their support for democracy.Democracy is a vast fact where the rights of all citizen is equal and interactive power holder for national activities.In our contry last two years we could realise the necessity of democracy but we should not forget inspite of loving democracy , almost nations 85% citizen supported the non democratic caretaker govt. can we remember why?why- we supported?undoubtfully for nondemocratic power excercise from a democratic govt. In our contry long excercise of democracy is shouted only for the voting part . All other part is almost neglated.

We was hopeful by seeing the caretaker govt acceptance and thurst of democracy at the same time that we will excercise the new democratic govt with new experience of people demand.We were expecting a new nation of people rights. corruption free , no crime previlised ,progressive political excercised govt.

We  are frusted by seeing so scenes( FROM TODAY DAILY NEWS PAPERS)

We get that our politics has dimantioned in two part AWAMI LEGUE AND BNP ,, but their is one major part who do not support blindly to any party and the percentage is 50% who say good to the good and bad to the bad. So the power holder should concious about the general and concious citizen of the contry and should not tolare any political agreecive motivator who try to gain their own, through political violence to create them own space by acting as a serious supporter of the party…..in fact they are responsible t fall down the impression of a democratic party.

Please stop them anyway.