Hasina snubs Khaleda for charter remarks

Dhaka, July 14 (bdnews24.com)?Prime minister Sheikh Hasina has derided opposition chief Khaleda Zia's remark that she will throw the amended constitution out once in power.

The nation does not expect such 'indecent' remarks about the 'sacred' constitution, she said on Thursday.

"It is only natural for the opposition leader to deliver such speech as her husband [Ziaur Rahman] trampled the constitution by usurping power," Hasina said at a programme of the newly elected officers of the Institution of Diploma Engineers (IDE).

The BNP chairperson on Wednesday said the recent amendments to the constitution were Awami League's own agenda, so her party would throw them away once in office.

The amendment to the constitution made on June 30 annulled the caretaker government system, introduced through the 13th amendment in 1996. The main opposition, from the very beginning, has been protesting the move.

Hasina reiterated that the BNP and its key ally Jamaat were trying to hinder the ongoing trials of the 'war criminals, grenade assailants, money-launderers and corrupt'.

In the ongoing trial of war crimes, five top leaders of the BNP and two others of Jamaat-e-Islami are currently facing charges.

Khaleda's elder son Tarique Rahman is currently facing charges for money laundering while younger son Arafat Rahman Coco has been convicted for a similar crime. Tarique, also BNP's senior vice-chairman, has 14 cases against him on charges of corruption and extortion. Two arrest warrants have been issued for him in the Aug 21, 2004 grenade attack.

The prime minister pointed out that the trial of Pakistani occupation army's collaborators had begun following the 1971 war. "Citizenship of many people was scrapped and a number of others were arrested too.

"But it was Ziaur Rahman who had freed those 'war criminals' and also rehabilitated them in politics by a military order. Many of them went on to become ministers and MPs," she added.

After gaining independence on Dec 16, 1971, the government of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman had taken initiatives to try the local collaborators.

Some 37,471 collaborators, mainly comprising the Razakar, Al-Badr and Al-Shams militias, were detained, and the trial of 2,848 people was completed by Oct 31, 1973. The court sentenced 752 to death.

Some 26,000 were freed under a general amnesty announced on Nov 30, 1973. But those accused of killing, rape, loot, arson and abduction were not granted amnesty.

Proceedings for the trial of around 11,000 accused were underway after the amnesty, but the process was halted after Sheikh Mujib's killing in 1975.

Despite trying them subsequently, Hasina alleged, Ziaur Rahman appointed some of them as Bangladesh's ambassadors in several countries.

"His [Ziaur Rahman] wife Khaleda Zia made Bangabandhu's murderer Col Rashid the opposition leader and another assassinator Huda an MP through the Feb 15 election without any voter," she said.

The prime minister said the imposition of martial law killed the spirit of Liberation War embedded in the constitution. "The politics of capturing power through killings and coup started since then."

She said her government reinstated the spirit of the Liberation War in the charter through the 15th Amendment.

"It was possible for us to do as people fetched a huge victory to the grand-alliance government through voting in the last general election," she said and thanked the people for their gesture.

State minister for science and information and communications technology Yeafesh Osman, IDE president A K M A Hamid and general secretary Mohammad Shamsur Rahman also spoke on the occasion.

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Hasina sends message to Manmohan condemning Mumbai blasts

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Thursday sent a message conveying her counterpart Dr Manmohan Singh Dhaka's grief for the victims of the Mumbai blasts after her overnight statement instantly castigating the culprits, reports BSS.

"Expressing her profound shock at the heinous act, she added that any act of terrorism is unacceptable, criminal and unjustifiable, regardless of their motivation," a foreign office statement said quoting her as saying in the letter.

Sheikh Hasina, it said, called the attack "heinous" and "reiterated the resolve of the government and people of Bangladesh to root out terrorism" from the country.

"Bangladesh Prime Minister conveyed her heartfelt sympathies and profound condolences to the members of the bereaved families. She also prayed for the eternal peace of those who have passed away and for the people of India to bear this shock with fortitude," the statement said.

In an instant reaction after the attack Wednesday evening, the Bangladesh premier said the "cowardly act" deeply saddened her while "no conscientious person can endorse such a heinous act".

"On behalf of the people of Bangladesh, I extend my heartfelt sympathy to the near and dear ones of the dead, and the people and the government of India," she said, adding that she prayed for eternal peace of the departed souls.

Sheikh Hasina said she and her ruling Awami League government along with the Bangladeshi people would continue to work against terrorism to establish peace in the country and in the region as well.

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Stop politics with money of 'corrupt': Hasina

Dhaka, July 10 (bdnews24.com)?The prime minister has launched a passionate appeal to the supporters of the Islamist parties that enforced the 30-hour shutdown to stop pursuing politics funded by the money of the 'corrupt' people.

Sheikh Hasina made the call when inaugurating the 27th council of pro-Awami League student organisation Bangladesh Chhatra League on Sunday.

"Why do you (Islamist parties) do politics in the name of Islam with the money of corrupt people who take bribes?"

"Didn't you find Allah in Bismillah? Have you found Allah in hartal?" asked Hasina, the president of Awami League.

Eleven Islamist parties called the general strike in protest against the removal of the words "Absolute Faith and Trust in Almighty Allah" from the constitution through the 15th Amendment.

Hasina said, "We believe in politics of vote. We believe in what we've done for the people. We're here to give them something, not to take from them."

She reaffirmed the government's commitment to try suspected war criminals and urged the BCL activists to have patience about the trial.

"There are many jobs that cannot be done hurriedly. They need time. No work can be done with magic. Many complain that this or that has yet to be done.

"I say that those in charge know the situation," the prime minister said.

She thanked the BCL activists for coming to the capital from far and wide of the country to attend the council defying the blockade and urged them to be alert to the threat from the force that had opposed that nation's independence.

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Others loot, we contribute: Hasina

Dhaka, June 23 (bdnews24.com) ? Prime minister Sheikh Hasina has claimed all but her party plundered public money whenever they were in power since the very independence.

"People get something when Awami League is in office, others loot or launder," she said on Thursday at a meeting on the 62nd anniversary of Awami League.

The party president said the country gets its rewards when the Awami League comes to power but is reprimanded during the BNP's term in office.

She also highlighted a number of initiatives taken by the party since its formation on this day in 1949.

"Whatever we do, we do it for the country, for the people," she added.

The programme, held at the Bangabandhu International Conference Centre, was also attended by leaders of the ruling Grand Alliance allies, apart from party leaders and activists.

The day's celebrations began with hoisting of the national and party flags by Hasina and party general secretary Syed Ashraful Islam simultaneously.

Earlier in the day, the prime minister laid wreaths at the mural of independence hero and party founder Sheikh Mujibur Rahman at Dhanmondi 32.

Citing several initiatives taken by the present government, Hasina said, "The grand alliance government is working only for the people's better future."

She said, "We won't let anybody to play with their fortune as we are determined to restore the looted goods to their rightful owners ? the people."

She said, "I've never feared death in my fight for the people's right and I'm even ready to make any sacrifice in the future."

While criticising the BNP-Jamaat alliance government's term on 2001-2006, the country became a safe route for the arms launderers and a country of militancy.

Constitution review committee co-chair Suranjit Sengupta said, "The caretaker provision stayed for 18 years. Protest and movement became regular features ever since the country went for the provision."

Awami League presidium member Syeda Sajeda Chowdhury, Sheikh Fazlul Karim Selim, advisory council members Amir Hossain Amu, Abdur Razzaque, central committee member Mohammad Nasim, Workers Party president Rashed Khan Menon, JaSaD president Hasanul Haque Inu and Ziauddin Bablu of Jatiya Party also spoke at the programme.

Sheikh Selim called upon the party activists to stay united as there could be conspiracies being hatched against the party.

Party general secretary Syed Ashraful Islam thanked all the allies who attended the anniversary celebration.

On 23 June 1949, Bengali nationalists from East Bengal broke away from the Muslim League, Pakistan's dominant political party, established the All Pakistan Awami Muslim League at the Rose Garden mansion in the old part of Dhaka.

Maulana Abdul Hamid Khan Bhashani and Shamsul Huq were elected the first President and General Secretary of the party respectively, while Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Khondaker Mostaq Ahmad and A K Rafiqul Hussain were elected the party's first joint secretaries.

In 1953, the party's council meeting voted to drop the word 'Muslim' from its name in order to give it a more secular outlook.

The party under the leadership of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, one of the founding joint secretaries of Awami League, led the struggle for independence, first through massive populist and civil disobedience movements, such as the Six Point Movement and 1971 Non-Cooperation Movement, and then during the Bangladesh's Liberation War.

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Hasina seeks British coop to curb terrorism

Visiting British Minister of State for International Development paid courtesy calls on Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina (left) and Opposition Leader Begum Khaleda Zia in the city Wednesday. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has sought British cooperation for curbing militancy and terrorism in Bangladesh, reports UNB.

The Prime Minister (PM) sought the cooperation when the visiting British Minister of State for International Development Alan Duncan MP called on her at her office Wednesday.

Hasina categorically said that her government will show zero tolerance against terrorism and militancy and there will be no space for the terrorists and militants in the soil of Bangladesh.

Briefing newsmen after the meeting, PM's deputy press secretary Md Nazrul Islam said Hasina informed the British minister that her government is working for a stable democracy in the country and to give democracy a strong footing.

Appreciating the government efforts for women empowerment and its social safety net programmes, Duncan said that the UK would provide one billion US dollars as development assistance to Bangladesh in next two years.

To address the electricity problem in Bangladesh, Hasina sought more foreign investment in this sector, saying that her government is creating a congenial investment atmosphere in the country.

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