Hartal, political confrontation should be matter of past: German Envoy

UNB, Dhaka

Reforms promoting intra-party democracy, accountability of party finances, combating corruption and a truly independent Anti-Corruption Commission could constitute 'positive political signals' to attract German investment in Bangladesh, German Ambassador Frank Meyke said here on Sunday.
"There is immense potential for German investment provided that there are right political signals in Bangladesh politics," he said at the Meet-the-Reporters program at Dhaka Reporters Unity (DRU).
Ambassador Meyke, who witnessed turbulence in Bangladesh politics before the state of emergency as well as restoration of democracy in his three and a half years' tenure, said: "We, Germany and European Union, welcomed the emergency rules to avert a dangerous situation in this country."
Responding to questions on the role of the army-backed caretaker government that ruled the country for two years, he said before the promulgation of the emergency his country closely monitored the situation and finally the European Union suspended its election observation mission on January 11, 2007 as the ground situation marked by bloody political violence on the street was not conductive to holding free and fair elections.
"When emergency came we welcomed the neutral role of the armed forces to overcome the dangerous situation. What could be the better solution than the emergency at that time?" he told a correspondent.
Meyke said they tried to encourage the caretaker government to announce a roadmap for free and fair election for the restoration of a democratically elected government.
He said Germany supported the reform measures undertaken by the caretaker government, and strengthening of the Anti-Corruption Commission and the Election Commission gave a positive signal to the international community.
He said emergency was imposed owing to internal dynamics but "look at the results at the end of day."
Asked about the arrest of two top leaders-Sheikh Hasina and Khaleda Zia-and the caretaker's move to banish them from politics, the German ambassador noted that it is an internal matter of the country but political stability of Bangladesh is a matter of international concern.
Meyke said the 27-member European Union is closely monitoring the current developments in the country after the restoration of an elected government. He welcomed the holding of the council by ruling Awami League, invitation to BNP to the council and BNP's plan to hold its council towards the end of this year as positive developments.
"Politics of hartal and political confrontation should be a matter of the past. We want to see strong government and cooperation among parties in parliament," the Ambassador noted.

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Party, govt will be run separately: Ashraful

Staff Correspondent

The Awami League General Secretary and LGRD Minister Syed Ashraful Islam has said that the government would actively consider the extension of the deadline for the political party's registration if such proposal comes from the Election Commission. Stating that they do not want to see any political party, including BNP, remaining out of registration process due to time restriction and legal barriers, Ashraful Islam assured, "If the Election Commission proposes to extend the time limit for any party which failed to submit the documents as per the RPO within the stipulated timeframe on July 25, the government will respond to the plea positively."
He was talking to newsmen at his Bangladesh Secretariat Office in the capital on Sunday. About the full-fledged national central committee, Syed Ashraf said, the full-fledged committee of the AL would be declared within two or three days.
"Stage was all set to hold election for the new committee
during the council session in order to continue the democratic practice inside the party.
For this ballot papers and transparent boxes were ready but no election was required as there was no contestant except only one for the post of President and General Secretary of the Awami League respectively," the AL General Secretary continued,
"The party activities will be geared up further following the council. The party and the government would be run separately. The party will monitor the government activities while the government will implement the party election-pledges."
Ashraful Islam highly appreciated the presence of the BNP representatives in the AL Council's inaugural session and the message sent from the BNP Chairperson wishing the
success of the council and expressed his optimistic attitude that in the upcoming days, the chiefs of both the arch-rival political parties would attend the programmes of each others party and deliver speeches.
Referring to the trial of the war criminals, the LGDR nad Cooperative Minister said, "We failed to reach a consensus on different national issues like the trial of war criminals. But there should be national unity for the welfare of the country and its people nation." "If the political parties become united on
different national issues, democracy will be strengthened at the state-level as well as inside country's political parties," he observed.

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Energy Ministry to sit with CNG pump owners today to avert strike

UNB, Dhaka

As the CNG pump owners moved to go on strike from August 1 to realize their 6-point demands, the Energy Ministry is going to sit with them today (Monday) to find a settlement on the issues and avert the planned shutdown.
According to official sources, an invitation letter was sent to the pump owners' organization-Bangladesh CNG Filling Station & Conversion Workshop Owners Association (BCFSCWOA)-asking them to sit in a meeting on Monday at the Energy Ministry. Energy Secretary Mohammad Mohsin will preside.
Officials of Rupantarita Prakritik Gas Company Limited (RPGCL), which is the licensing authority of CNG pump and conversion business, have also been asked by the Energy Ministry to be present at the meeting.
However, the leaders of BCFSCWOA expressed their frustration over the invitation, saying that such official-level meeting does not produce any outcome.
"We've had similar meetings twice. But our problems still remained unresolved. We want to hold meeting with the political leadership who can understand our problems with due importance. We want to meet the state minister for power and energy," said a top leader of the BCFSCWOA.
The BCFSCWOA's 6-point demands include reducing the gas price to Tk 13.26 from the existing Tk 16.75 per cubic metre at the consumer level, fixing feed gas price Tk 5.23 like other industries, cancelling the minimum billing system, installing electronic volume conductor (EVC) on
emergency basis, reducing BERC licence fee to Tk 5,000 from existing Tk 1 lakh, cancelling the cash security deposit system and exempting the CNG stations from NOC of Environment Department.
Meanwhile, the BCFSCWOA today brought out a car rally in the city in support of their demands, which drove through different roads.
BCFSCWOA Senior
Vice-President Manoranjan Bhakt and general secretary Zakir Hossain Nayon led the rally.

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JS team goes to Tipaimukh on July 29 without BNP

UNB, Dhaka

The government eventually decided to send an 11-member parliamentary team for a spot visit to India's Tipaimukh Dam site on July 29, apparently keeping uncertain the main opposition BNP's participation in the tour of inspection.
An official announcement Sunday said the decision came from the sixth meeting of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Water Resources Ministry held at Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban earlier in the day. Committee chairman and former Water Resources Minister Md Abdur Razzaque presided over the meeting. Committee-members Water Resources Minister Romesh Chandra Sen, ABM Ruhul Amin Hawladar, Md Abdur Rahman, AKM Fazlul Haque, Abdullah Al Jacob, ABM Anwarul Haque and Mohammad Fazlul Azim joined the meeting.
Earlier, Leader of the Opposition in Parliament and ex-PM Khaleda Zia had sent a letter to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina seeking cooperation in sending a separate delegation to the proposed Tipaimukh dam site.
The letter contained names of six nominated members of the delegation. They include two former BNP ministers-MK Anwar and Maj (retd) Hafizuddin Ahmed-former water resources secretary Mohammad Asafuddoula, former vice-chancellor of Dhaka University Prof Maniruzzaman Miah, former director of Water Development Board Sharif Rafiqul Islam and water-expert Prof M Abdur Rab.
A three-member BNP delegation led by party joint secretary Nazrul Islam Khan handed the letter to prime minister's Assignment Officer Manoj Kanti Boral and Protocol Officer Proloy Kumar Joardar at Prime Minister's Office.
The BNP chairperson sent the letter following the Prime Minister's call on June 24 to the opposition to send a separate team for the dam-site visit, as they declined to join the parliamentary delegation unless water experts were included.
Khaleda in her letter to Hasina wrote that 'in the interest of the nation BNP has agreed to send a separate delegation, incorporating water experts, to visit the Tipaimukh-dam site'.

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Govt pledge-bound to establish justice in society: PM

UNB, Dhaka

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said her government is "pledge-bound to establish justice in society through uprooting corruption and curbing terrorism". He said this at a meeting with the outgoing Dutch Ambassador in Bangladesh Bea Ten Tusscher on Sunday.
The Netherlands offered assistance to Bangladesh in facing the challenges stemming from the global climate change, as Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina mentioned government plans in this regard.
Dutch Ambassador in Bangladesh Bea Ten Tusscher gave the assurance when she paid a farewell call on Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) on Sunday.
Tusscher said if Bangladesh
government wants, the Dutch
government would provide training for the Bangladeshi engineers to make them more capable of working out ways of tackling the adverse impacts of the climate change caused by global warming.
The Dutch envoy recalled that in 1973 Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman had planned to reclaim lands through constructing embankments in the coastal areas and major rivers. She described Bangabandhu as the "most visionary leader" of Bangladesh.
The Prime Minister said the
government has already planned to launch capital and maintenance dredging in the country's major rivers as a step to tackle the calamitous climatic conditions.
During the meeting, the outgoing envoy congratulated Sheikh Hasina on their timely and smoothly holding Awami League Council and on her reelection as the party's president.
The Ambassador observed that the timely AL council would play a vital role in strengthening not only
the party democracy but also strengthening the democratic
foundations of the country.
Sheikh Hasina recalled with
gratitude the all-out support and cooperation of the development
partners, including the Netherlands, in holding the December 29 polls in a free, fair, neutral and acceptable manner and thus restoring
democracy in the country.
She, however, said cooperation of all is indispensable to this end as it is not possible for the government alone to carry out the huge tasks.

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Ex-Adviser Matin won’t be heard as papers prove his corruption

JS Sub-committee chief asserts

bdnews24.com, Dhaka

The parliamentary sub-panel investigating corruption charges against M A Matin will not allow the former shipping adviser to defend himself over awarding a container handling work at Chittagong port, its chief said on Sunday.
But, after the June 29 meeting of the sub-committee, Mohammed Shah Alam had told bdnews24.com that they would hear Matin, who was also home adviser and the chief of the corruption-busting national committee formed by the military-installed caretaker government.
"We have enough papers that prove his corruption. So, we will not summon adviser M A Matin to hear his version," Alam told bdnews24.com after Sunday's meeting at parliament building.
He said the shipping secretary and an assistant secretary involved in the deal had confessed at the meeting that Matin had forced them to award the contract to Ishaq Brothers in violation of government rules.
"Today, the officials of the Chittagong Port Authority submitted papers which prove Matin's direct involvement in awarding the work," said Alam.
The probe body chief said that his sub-committee would meet on July 30 to finalise the report and refer the same to the main committee-the parliamentary standing committee on shipping ministry-which formed the four-member all-party enquiry committee.
"We will refer the report to the main committee as soon as possible and the standing committee will make the final recommendations," said Alam.
Awami League's Shamsul Haq Chowdhury and Nazrul Islam and the BNP's Mostofa Kamal Pasha are the other members of the probe body.
According to Alam, the secretary and assistant secretary hab been were "under pressure" from Matin to award the contract of container handling work at Chittagong port to Ishaq Brothers, which had no prior experience, on Jan 6, Matin's the last day in office as adviser.
Matin earlier at a press conference had denied wrongdoing after the parliamentary watchdog on May 27 formed the sub-committee.
The standing committee found that Matin had allegedly arranged a board meeting of the Chittagong Port Authority in the afternoon of Jan 5 to evaluate the tender committee's report.
The CPA initiated the file to award the contract within 24 hours to Ishaq Brothers after the meeting and couriered it to Dhaka by air, the committee said.
The file was accepted on Jan 6 morning and the same was sent to Chittagong Port Authority for necessary actions after the adviser had signed it, it said.
The standing committee said the contract was awarded when the new government was taking oath at the Bangabhaban.
The file reached Chittagong in the afternoon of January 6 and the CPA awarded the works to Ishaq Brothers at 9pm.
The standing committee also alleged that Matin had raised the service age of "pilots" at the Chittagong port to 60 years from 57.
"He is not the authority to increase age of any public servants. This should be a political decision.
"He must be made accountable for this," said Alam.

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Bangladesh win in 1st ODI

Dhaka, July 26 bdnews24.com) -- A four-wicket haul by Abdur Razzak helped Bangladesh to win the first one-day international against a makeshift West Indies side by 52 runs on Sunday.

It was also their first ODI victory over the Caribbeans in 14 matches, with two rained out.

The Tigers dismissed the home side for 194 in 43.4 overs after making 246-9 at Windsor Park in Dominica after the left-arm spinner grabbed 4-39.

It marked a triumphant return for the bowler who remained suspended for his suspect action.

He was named man-of-the-match.

Razzak, who last played against South Africa in November last year, weaved his magic around the batsmen.

Apart from Devon Smith who made 65 off 84 balls and Dave Bernard 38, there was very little resistance offered by the home side against the Bangladesh spinners.

All the bowlers chipped in with a wicket.

The two sides meet again in the second ODI at the same venue, which made its ODI debut on Sunday, on July 28 and third and final match is in St Kitts on July 31.

Earlier, half-centuries by Mohammad Ashraful and Shakib Al Hasan propelled Bangladesh to their highest one-day total against the hosts.

They scored 246-9 after being put into bat, which easily surpassed the previous best of 219-5.

The Bangladesh innings, however, got off to a horrible start after Tamim Iqbal was caught behind for a first-ball duck off Kemar Roach who finished with 5-44.

The former Bangladesh captain Ashraful, who struggled during the Test series, began watchfully before getting to his 17th ODI fifty. He made 57 off 95 balls with five fours before being run out attempting a single.

He added 74 runs for the second wicket with Junaed Siddique (47-ball 36).

Shakib, who was instrumental in the two-match Test series, continued his purple patch hammering 54 off 60 deliveries. His knock, however, contained just three boundaries.

The left-handed Shakib featured in a 79-run stand for the sixth with Mahmudullah Riyad, who made a 39-ball 42 with the help of two sixes and as many fours.

Shakib who scored his 11th one-day half-century eventually fell with the score on 230 to Roach.

Dave Bernard, Nikita Miller and Rawl Lewis grabbed one wicket each.

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