tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-41831186637032561592024-03-19T11:45:36.319+06:00Bangladesh PoliticoA blog on Bangladesh politics, law, media and societyDavid Bergmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02674636000068693356noreply@blogger.comBlogger236125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4183118663703256159.post-20203021976292913092024-01-04T20:02:00.004+06:002024-01-04T20:10:26.034+06:00 ইউনুসের বিরুদ্ধে দুর্নীতি মামলার সত্য-অসত্য<p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9DZe_6cxEAoMDmfRC0aOz3WHgrXzVq7521GEFF4-xh1FvVTpJZnV1pVAPtLgCU3xWxh0QGX8CsZNoes6r8sf2JBt0CeUr6iNqMH6c-ZRTnVvpDeOsxjykzBwYYf4o4hubd2jlLyQJVn4Y7_hh3wyM43k4NbbUEuzKO2w6YmoR-d0M1M1ZzpgXdmB6gGU/s1000/yunus_pic.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1000" height="245" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9DZe_6cxEAoMDmfRC0aOz3WHgrXzVq7521GEFF4-xh1FvVTpJZnV1pVAPtLgCU3xWxh0QGX8CsZNoes6r8sf2JBt0CeUr6iNqMH6c-ZRTnVvpDeOsxjykzBwYYf4o4hubd2jlLyQJVn4Y7_hh3wyM43k4NbbUEuzKO2w6YmoR-d0M1M1ZzpgXdmB6gGU/w564-h245/yunus_pic.png" width="564" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Arial Unicode MS", sans-serif; font-size: 14.6667px; text-align: start;">মুহাম্মদ ইউনূস বক্তব্য রাখছেন। ২০১৮। ফটো: আলামি</span></div></td></tr></tbody></table><span id="docs-internal-guid-872a5612-7fff-516d-b8e7-f13b240e039c"><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; padding: 0pt 0pt 10pt; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; padding: 0pt 0pt 10pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "EB Garamond", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial Unicode MS", sans-serif; text-align: start; white-space-collapse: collapse;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>এই বাংলা লেখাটি ৩০ অক্টোবর ২০২৩ সালে নেত্র নিউজে প্রকাশিত হওয়া <a href="https://storage.googleapis.com/netra.news/2023/the-alleged-fraud-and-money-laundering-case-against-muhammad-yunus/index.html">আমার লিখিত নিবন্ধের অনুবাদ</a>।</i></span></span>
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২০২৩ সালের ৩০ মে, দুর্নীতি দমন কমিশন (দুদক) একটি প্রাথমিক তথ্য বিবরণী (এফআইআর) দাখিল করে যেখানে গ্রামীণ টেলিকমের চেয়ারম্যান মুহাম্মদ ইউনুসকে বিভিন্ন অভিযোগে অভিযুক্ত করা হয়। এফআইআরে বলা হয় নোবেল শান্তি পুরষ্কার জয়ী মুহাম্মদ ইউনূসসহ তেরজন ব্যক্তি ফৌজদারি দন্ডবিধির (১৮৬০) বিভিন্ন ধারা মোতাবেক “জালিয়াতি”, “প্রতারণা” ও “অপরাধমূলক বিশ্বাসভঙ্গ"; এবং অর্থপাচার প্রতিরোধ আইন (২০১২) মোতাবেক “অর্থ পাচার” করেছেন। এফআইআরটি একটি ফৌজদারি আদালতে পাঠানো হয়েছে। এদিকে দুদক বিষয়টি নিয়ে আরোতদন্ত করছে এবং ২০২৪ সালের ৩ জানুয়ারি নাগাদ একটি প্রতিবেদন দাখিল করার প্রক্রিয়ায় রয়েছে।</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; padding: 0pt 0pt 10pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "EB Garamond", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-size: large;">এফআইআরে যে অপরাধগুলোর কথা উল্লেখ করা হয়েছে সেসব মূলত একটি একটি আর্থিক সমঝোতার চুক্তিকে কেন্দ্র করে। গ্রামীণ টেলিকম এবং এর বেশ কিছু কর্মকর্তা-কর্মচারীদের মধ্যে হয়েছিল এই সমঝোতা চুক্তি। সমঝোতা চুক্তির পক্ষগুলো হচ্ছে গ্রামীণ টেলিকম এবং গ্রামীণ টেলিকমের ১৬৪ জন কর্মকর্তা-কর্মচারীদের প্রতিনিধিত্বকারী একটি ট্রেড ইউনিয়ন। এই কর্মকর্তা-কর্মচারীরা প্রতিষ্ঠানটিতে কর্মরত ছিলেন ২০১০ থেকে ২০২২ পর্যন্ত। দুই পক্ষের মধ্যে ৪০৯.৬৯ কোটি টাকার (৩৭.১ মিলিয়ন মার্কিন ডলার) একটি আর্থিক সমঝোতা বাস্তবায়িত হয়। গ্রামীণ টেলিকম প্রতিষ্ঠানটির ধরন বা প্রকৃতি হলো “অলাভজনক”।মুহাম্মদ ইউনূস, যিনি গ্রামীণ ব্যাংকেরও প্রতিষ্ঠাতা,গ্রামীণ টেলিকমের পরিচালনা পর্ষদের চেয়ারম্যান। বাংলাদেশের বৃহত্তম টেলিযোগাযোগ সেবাদানকারী প্রতিষ্ঠান গ্রামীণফোনের সংখ্যা লঘিষ্ঠ শেয়ারের মালিকানা রয়েছে গ্রামীণ টেলিকমের এবং তারা এই শেয়ার থেকে পাওয়া লভ্যাংশকে তাদের সামাজিক ব্যবসাভিত্তিক যেসব উদ্যোগ রয়েছে তাতে বিনিয়োগ করে থাকে।</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; padding: 0pt 0pt 10pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "EB Garamond", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-size: large;">এফআইআরে অভিযুক্ত অন্য বারোজন হলেন গ্রামীণ টেলিকমের আরও ছয়জন পরিচালনা পর্ষদের সদস্য, প্রতিষ্ঠানটির ব্যবস্থাপনা পরিচালক, তিনজন ট্রেড ইউনিয়ন নেতা এবং ২০১৭ সাল থেকে ট্রেড ইউনিয়নের পক্ষে আইনি প্রতিনিধিত্ব করা দুইজন আইনজীবী।</span></span></p><h3 dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; padding: 6pt 0pt 10pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "EB Garamond", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-size: large;">প্রেক্ষাপট</span></span></h3><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; padding: 0pt 0pt 10pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "EB Garamond", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-size: large;">এফআইআরে, দুদক মূলত দুইটি দাবি উপস্থাপন করেছে। প্রথম, গ্রামীণ টেলিকম ও প্রতিষ্ঠানটির ট্রেড ইউনিয়নের মধ্যে হওয়া সমঝোতা চুক্তিটি “ভুয়া/জাল”। এবং দ্বিতীয়, এই “ভুয়া/জাল” চুক্তিটিকে ব্যবহার করে প্রতিষ্ঠানটির পরিচালনা পর্ষদের সদস্যরা “পারষ্পরিক যোগসাজসে” ট্রেড ইউনিয়নের একটি ব্যংক হিসাবে ২৬.২২ কোটি টাকা “অনৈতিক উপায়ে স্থানান্তর” করেছেন এবং সেই অর্থের বিপুল অংশ ট্রেড ইউনিয়নের নেতা এবং তাদের আইনজীবীরা আত্মসাত করেছে। এফআইআরটি যথেষ্ট জটিল এবং, কিছুটা বিভ্রান্তিকর। এতে অবৈধভাবে স্থানান্তরিত/আত্মসাত করা অর্থের পরিমাণ হিসেবে তিনটি ভিন্ন ভিন্ন অংকের কথা উল্লেখ হয়েছে, যথা: ২৬.২২ কোটি টাকা, ২৫.২২ কোটি টাকা এবং ১.৬৩ কোটি টাকা।</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; padding: 0pt 0pt 10pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "EB Garamond", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-size: large;">এফআইআরের প্রেক্ষাপট নিয়ে এর আগে নেত্র নিউজে একটি প্রতিবেদন প্রকাশ করা হয়েছে। প্রথমে নিজেদের প্রতিষ্ঠানের ক্ষেত্রে শ্রম আইনের একটি অংশ প্রযোজ্য নয় দাবি করলেও, গ্রামীণ টেলিকম পরবর্তীতে বাংলাদেশের শ্রম আইনের (২০০৬) সেই বিধান মেনে নিয়ে সমঝোতা চুক্তিতে নির্ধারিত অর্থ পরিশোধ করে দিতে সম্মত হয় এবং সেই প্রতিশ্রুতি বাস্তবায়ন করে । আইন অনুসারে কোনো কোম্পানির বার্ষিক লভ্যংশের ৫% দুই ভাগে ভাগ করে এক ভাগ দিয়ে দিতে হবে কর্মকর্তা-কর্মচারীদের এবং বাকি অংশ কর্মকর্তা-কর্মচারীদের প্রদানের উদ্দেশ্যে গঠিত বিভিন্ন কল্যাণ তহবিলে। সেই ৫% লভ্যংশ থেকে পাওয়া অর্থ ভাগ হবার বিধান হলো, এর ৮০% বিতরণ হবে সরাসরি কর্মকর্তা-কর্মচারীদের মধ্যে ও ২০% কর্মকর্তা-কর্মচারীদের বিভিন্ন কল্যাণ তহবিলে।</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; padding: 0pt 0pt 10pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "EB Garamond", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-size: large;">দুই পক্ষের মতবিরোধের শুরু ২০১৭ সালে, যখন কর্মকর্তা-কর্মচারীদের পক্ষ থেকে ট্রেড ইউনিয়নটি প্রথমবারের মত “ওয়ার্কার্স প্রফিট পার্টিসিপেশন ফান্ডে” (WPPF) অর্থ বরাদ্দ ও জমা করার দাবি তোলে। সেসময় গ্রামীণ টেলিকম এই দাবি মানতে অস্বীকৃতি জানায়, কেননা তাদের যুক্তি অনুসারে গ্রামীণ টেলিকম একটি অলাভজনক প্রতিষ্ঠান, তাই লভ্যংশ দেয়ার আইনটি তাদের ক্ষেত্রে প্রযোজ্য নয়।একই সাথে তাদের যুক্তি ছিল যে লভ্যংশ দেয়ার বিষয়টি যদি মেনে নেয়াও হয়, সেক্ষেত্রেও গ্রামীণফোন থেকে যে অর্থ গ্রামীণ টেলিকম পেয়ে থাকে, সেই অর্থ এই হিসাবের অন্তর্ভুক্ত হতে পারেনা।</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; padding: 0pt 0pt 10pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "EB Garamond", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-size: large;">তবুও কয়েকটি বিষয় বিবেচনা করে পরবর্তীতে কর্মচারীদের দাবি মেনে নেয়ার সিদ্ধান্ত নেয় বা নিতে বাধ্য হয় গ্রামীণ টেলিকম। বেশ কিছু ঘটনার পরিপ্রেক্ষিতে উদ্ভুত একটি পরিস্থিতির সম্মুখীন হয় গ্রামীণ টেলিকম। ট্রেড ইউনিয়নের দাবি না মানার ফলে তারা আদালতের শরণাপন্ন হয় এবং আদালতে পাঁচ বৎসরাধিক সময় ধরে সেই মামলাচলছিল। সেই সাথে , অর্থ অনাদায়ি থাকলে গ্রামীণ টেলিকম বন্ধ হয়ে যাবার আইনি ঝুঁকিও ছিল। এর প্রেক্ষিতে প্রতিষ্ঠানটি সিদ্ধান্ত নেয় যে কর্মচারীরা শ্রম আইনের যে বিধানের অধীনে অর্থ দাবি করছিলো, সে বিধানের অধীনেই তাদেরকে অর্থ পরিশোধের জন্য সমঝোতা করা হবে। সেই অনুসারে ২০২২ সালের ২৭ এপ্রিল, গ্রামীণ টেলিকমের পক্ষে এর ব্যবস্থাপনা পরিচালক ও কর্মকর্তা-কর্মচারীদের প্রতিনিধিত্বকারী ট্রেড ইউনিয়নের পক্ষে এর সভাপতির মধ্যে একটি সমঝোতা চুক্তি স্বাক্ষরিত হয়।</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; padding: 0pt 0pt 10pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "EB Garamond", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-size: large;">সমঝোতা চুক্তিতে উভয় পক্ষ সম্মত হয় যে গ্রামীণ টেলিকম ৪৩৭ কোটি টাকা (৩৯.৬ মিলিয়ন মার্কিন ডলার) একটি ব্যাংক হিসাবে (সেটেলমেন্ট অ্যাকাউন্ট হিসেবে পরিচিত) স্থানান্তর করবে। সেখান থেকে ১৬৪ জন কর্মকর্তা-কর্মচারীর প্রত্যেককে, তারা যতদিন কাজ করেছেন তার উপর ভিত্তি করে, অর্থ পরিশোধ করা হবে বলে চুক্তিতে নির্ধারিত হয়। অর্থের পরিমাণ হিসাব করার সময় বার্ষিক ৪% হারে সুদ হিসাব করা হয়। সমঝোতা চুক্তিতে ব্যবস্থা রাখা হয়েছিল যে, চুক্তিতে নির্ধারিত টাকা যে ব্যাংক হিসাবে জমা করা হবে, সেখান থেকে অর্থ উত্তোলন বা স্থানান্তর করতে হলে গ্রামীণ টেলিকমের মনোনীত একজন ব্যাক্তি এবং ট্রেড ইউনিয়নের মনোনীত দুইজন প্রতিনিধির যেকোন একজনের স্বাক্ষর প্রয়োজন হবে।</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; padding: 0pt 0pt 10pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "EB Garamond", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-size: large;">সমঝোতা চুক্তিটি স্বাক্ষরিত হওয়ার পর প্রতিষ্ঠানটি উপলব্ধি করে যে সেটেলমেন্ট অ্যাকাউন্টে উল্লিখিত অর্থের পরিমাণ সঠিকভাবে হিসাব করা হয়নি এবং এই অর্থের পরিমাণ ৪৩৭ কোটি টাকা থেকে কমে ৪০৯.৬৯ কোটি টাকা হওয়া উচিৎ। কারণ হিসেবে বলা হয়, বাংলাদেশের শ্রমিক আইন অনুসারে প্রতি বছরের প্রথম নয় মাসের লভ্যংশের অর্থের উপর কোন সুদ দিতে হবে না। প্রতিষ্ঠানটি এই ভুল সম্পর্কে ট্রেড ইউনিয়নের নেতাদের জানায় এবং তারা অর্থের পরিমাণ কমিয়ে আনার বিষয়ে একমত হয়। জুন ২০২২ গ্রামীণ টেলিকম পরিচালনা পর্ষদের বৈঠকের বিবরণী অনুসারে:</span></span></p></span><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><span><p style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; padding: 0pt 0pt 10pt 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "EB Garamond", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-size: large;">"WPPF-এর পাওনার হিসাব করা হয়েছে ২০১০ থেকে ২০২১-২২ অর্থবছরের জন্য। আইনে বলা আছে যে WPPF-এর পাওনা অর্থ পরের বছরের প্রথম নয় মাসের মধ্যে পরিশোধ করতে হবে। তাই, সেই বছরের পাওনা অর্থের উপর সুদের হিসাব করার সময় পরের বছরের তিন মাসকে বিবেচনায় নিতে হবে। কিন্তু কর্মচারী-কর্মকর্তা ইউনিয়ন সেভাবে হিসাব করেনি, বরং তারা পাওনা অর্থের উপর পুরো বছরের সুদ হিসাব করেছে। সুতরাং, ইউনিয়নের এই ভুল ঠিক করতে অর্থের পরিমাণ সমন্বয় করা হয়েছে। সেই হিসাবে WPPF-এর পাওনা ৪০৯,৬৯,২২,৭৮৯ টাকা। চুক্তি অনুসারে, সুদের হিসাব করার সময় চক্রবৃদ্ধি হারের হিসাবে হিসাব করা হয়েছে।"</span></span></p></span></blockquote><span><span style="font-size: large;"><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "EB Garamond", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">এবং সেই হিসাব অনুসারে, ট্রেড ইউনিয়নের নেতা ও সদস্যদের পূর্ণ সম্মতিক্রমে এবং কোন ধরণের অভিযোগ ছাড়াই, ৪০৯.৬৯ কোটি টাকা বিতরণ করা হয়।</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"></p><ul><li><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "EB Garamond", serif; text-indent: -18pt; white-space-collapse: preserve;">৩৬৪.৬২ কোটি টাকা বিতরণ করা হয় ১৬৪ জনের মধ্যে ১৫৬ জনের বিভিন্ন ব্যাংক হিসাবে (৪ জন মারা গিয়েছিলেন, ৪ জন বিদেশে ছিলেন);</span></li><li><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "EB Garamond", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-indent: -18pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "EB Garamond", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-indent: -18pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">২৪.৪৮ কোটি টাকা পরিশোধ করা হয় সরকারের কর হিসেবে (মোট অর্থের ৫%); এবং</span></li><li><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "EB Garamond", serif; text-indent: -18pt; white-space-collapse: preserve;">২৪.৫৮ কোটি টাকা ইউনিয়নের ব্যাংক হিসেবে স্থানান্তর করা হয় আইনজীবীদের ফি এবং ইউনিয়নের খরচ মেটাবার জন্য (মোট অর্থের ৬%)।</span></li></ul><p></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; padding: 0pt 0pt 10pt 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "EB Garamond", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">এভাবে মোট ৪০৯.৬৯ কোটি টাকা বিতরণ করা হয়। পুরো অর্থই বৈধ উপায়ে ব্যাংক হিসাবের মাধ্যমে পরিশোধ করা হয়। এছাড়া, আরও ১.৬৩ কোটি টাকা সেটেলমেন্ট অ্যাকাউন্ট থেকে ট্রেড ইউনিয়নের অ্যাকাউন্টে পাঠানো হয়। নীচের ছকে অর্থ স্থানান্তরের পুরো প্রক্রিয়া তুলে ধরা হলো।</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIro2SeS1BFaEpgAaaljriyJA3iMKFT_9-MDCkycetW5fHj_4M9D8dtUefdu4l0zVS6v6BQwrEmZJkMEWBRs2kZ6il5D9i4PmmAjvrWMFz89S22_fzblu4TuJ5Xrz2CgPxUFvMMGLlT6a0mHDZZCuMRldH2U9MW1YvPrhPRZtztJEu1egLATvtL8GAwaM/s1590/Screenshot%202024-01-03%20at%2015.41.59.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1034" data-original-width="1590" height="322" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIro2SeS1BFaEpgAaaljriyJA3iMKFT_9-MDCkycetW5fHj_4M9D8dtUefdu4l0zVS6v6BQwrEmZJkMEWBRs2kZ6il5D9i4PmmAjvrWMFz89S22_fzblu4TuJ5Xrz2CgPxUFvMMGLlT6a0mHDZZCuMRldH2U9MW1YvPrhPRZtztJEu1egLATvtL8GAwaM/w495-h322/Screenshot%202024-01-03%20at%2015.41.59.png" width="495" /></a></div><h3 dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; padding: 6pt 0pt 10pt 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "EB Garamond", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">আইনি হয়রানি </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "EB Garamond", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">বন্ধের আহ্বান</span></h3><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; padding: 0pt 0pt 10pt 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "EB Garamond", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">অধ্যাপক ইউনূসের বিরুদ্ধে চলমান মামলাকে আইনি হয়রানি প্রতিপন্ন করে এবং ন্যায় বিচার না পাবার আশংকা জানিয়ে আন্তর্জাতিকভাবে এর তীব্র সমালোচনা শুরু হয়।</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; padding: 0pt 0pt 10pt 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "EB Garamond", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">এ বছর সেপ্টেম্বরের শুরুতে জাতিসংঘের মানবাধিকার বিষয়ক হাইকমিশনারের কার্যালয়ের মুখপাত্র বলেন, “ইউনূস প্রায় এক দশক ধরেই হয়রানি এবং ভীতি প্রদর্শনের শিকার হয়ে আসছেন।” এই মামলার বিষয়ে তিনি বলেন, “আমরা উদ্বেগ প্রকাশ করছি যে যখন ইউনূসকে আত্মপক্ষ সমর্থনের সুযোগ দেয়া হবে তখন তাঁর বিরুদ্ধে পরিচালিত নেতিবাচক প্রচারণা, যা কিনা অনেক সময় সরকারের সর্বোচ্চ পর্যায় থেকে করা হয়ে থাকে, তা তাঁর আন্তর্জাতিক মানদণ্ড অনুসারে ন্যায়বিচার পাওয়ার অধিকার থেকে তাঁকে বঞ্চিত করতে পারে।”</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; padding: 0pt 0pt 10pt 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "EB Garamond", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">হাইকমিশনারের কার্যালয়ের বিবৃতির এক সপ্তাহ আগে, সাবেক মার্কিন রাষ্ট্রপতি বারাক ওবামা এবং জাতিসংঘের সাবেক মহাসচিব বান কি-মুনসহ ১৭০ জন বিশ্ব নেতা এবং নোবেল পুরস্কার বিজয়ী বাংলাদেশের প্রধানমন্ত্রী শেখ হাসিনার উদ্দেশ্যে একটি খোলা চিঠি লেখেন ইউনূস এবং অন্যদের বিরুদ্ধে চলা আইনি প্রক্রিয়া “অনতিবিলম্বে স্থগিত” করার আহ্বান জানিয়ে।</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; padding: 0pt 0pt 10pt 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "EB Garamond", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">সরকার এই চিঠিকে কঠোর ভাষায় সমালোচনা করে। প্রধানমন্ত্রী শেখ হাসিনা দাবি করেন যে ইউনূস বিশ্ব নেতাদের কাছে “ভিক্ষা” করে এই চিঠি লিখিয়েছেন। ।তবে প্রধানমন্ত্রী শেখ হাসিনা এ কথাও বলেন যে আন্তর্জাতিক বিশেষজ্ঞ ও আইনজীবীদের কোন দল যদি এই বিচার প্রক্রিয়া এবং ইউনূসের মামলা সংক্রান্ত কাগজপত্র পর্যালোচনা করতে চায় তিনি সেই উদ্যোগকে স্বাগত জানাবেন।</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; padding: 0pt 0pt 10pt 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "EB Garamond", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">কোন বিশেষজ্ঞ বা আইনজীবী প্রধানমন্ত্রীর এই প্রস্তাব এখন পর্যন্ত গ্রহণ করেনি। আমরা চেষ্টা করেছি এই মামলা ও সমঝোতা সম্পর্কিত সব কাগজপত্র বিশ্লেষণ করে এবং প্রধান ব্যক্তিদের সাথে কথা বলে বিষয়টি সম্পর্কে পরিষ্কার ধারণা পেতে। নীচে আমাদের মূল্যায়ণ তুলে ধরা হলো।</span></p><h3 dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; padding: 6pt 0pt 10pt 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #434343; font-family: "EB Garamond", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">“জাল” সমঝোতা</span></h3><p dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; padding: 0pt 0pt 10pt 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "EB Garamond", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">এফআইআরে দুদকের প্রথম দাবিটি হচ্ছে সমঝোতা চুক্তিটিই “জাল” ছিল। এই দাবির পক্ষে যুক্তি হিসেবে দেখানো হয়েছে যে, সমঝোতা চুক্তিটি ২০২২ সালের এপ্রিলের ২৭ তারিখ স্বাক্ষর করা হলেও যে ব্যাংক হিসাবে অর্থ জমা করার কথা চুক্তিতে লিপিবদ্ধ ছিল, সেই হিসাবটি খোলা হয় চুক্তি সম্পাদনের ১১ দিন পর, ২০২২ সালের মে মাসের ৮ তারিখে।</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.3800027272727273; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "EB Garamond", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">দুদক প্রশ্ন করেছে কীভাবে একটা সমঝোতা চুক্তিতে এমন একটি ব্যাংক হিসাবের নম্বর থাকতে পারে যেটি খোলা হয়েছে চুক্তি স্বাক্ষরের পরে। ফলে, দুদক দাবি করেছে যে এই চুক্তিটি “জাল” এবং “অসৎ উদ্দেশ্যে” “পারস্পারিক যোগসাজসে” প্রতিষ্ঠানটির পরিচালনা পর্ষদের সদস্যরা এটি ব্যবহার করে অর্থ “আত্মসাত” করেছেন।</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.3800027272727273; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "EB Garamond", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">কিন্তু সমঝোতা চুক্তিটি পর্যবেক্ষণ করলে দেখা যায় যে পুরো চুক্তিটি টাইপ করে লেখা হলেও অ্যাকাউন্ট নম্বরের অংশটিতে একটি খালি ঘর রাখা হয় যেন অ্যাকাউন্ট খোলার পরে ব্যাংক হিসাবের বিস্তারিত তথ্য হাতে লিখে সেখানে যোগ করা যায়। এবং পরবর্তীতে তাই ঘটেছে। সমঝোতা চুক্তিটিতে স্পষ্টভাবে দেখা যাচ্ছে যে ব্যাংকের হিসাব নম্বরটি হাতে লিখে যোগ করা হয়েছে এবং সেই সাথে পরবর্তীতে যোগ করার প্রমাণ হিসেবে তার পাশেই স্বাক্ষর করা হয়েছে । চুক্তির কাগজ পর্যালোচনা করলে সহজেই দুদকের বিষয়টি বুঝতে পারার কথা। সমঝোতা চুক্তির দলিলটি মিথ্যা বা জাল বিবেচনা করার মতো কোনো তথ্য প্রমান দুদক উপস্থাপন করেনি।</span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvPwjP6JodQKk3esNmyyuXzDqmhIUaU9AXZdYdacTA3uKmpBAnL1JszD6p6253-6bsq3eobsqySQj4kYV2E8gWeCOR7mr5hBKjswrYMzI1p_h3_PxZ1qxWF0C-8jN9wxq1dM2uuWtzExNkH1_4StiPNkH9EdpS2_Jeyh3PqbVuDO1G-EpD2oGQRup3Sq4/s1348/gt_agreement_account.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="526" data-original-width="1348" height="215" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvPwjP6JodQKk3esNmyyuXzDqmhIUaU9AXZdYdacTA3uKmpBAnL1JszD6p6253-6bsq3eobsqySQj4kYV2E8gWeCOR7mr5hBKjswrYMzI1p_h3_PxZ1qxWF0C-8jN9wxq1dM2uuWtzExNkH1_4StiPNkH9EdpS2_Jeyh3PqbVuDO1G-EpD2oGQRup3Sq4/w550-h215/gt_agreement_account.png" width="550" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Arial Unicode MS", sans-serif; font-size: 14.6667px; text-align: start;">সেটেলমেন্ট (সমঝোতা) চুক্তির একটি অংশের ছবি। ব্যাংক হিসাব নম্বর ঢেকে দিয়েছে নেত্র নিউজ। </span></td></tr></tbody></table><h3 dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.4861561538461538; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 16pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #434343; font-family: "EB Garamond", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">প্রতারণা ও আত্মসাতের অভিযোগ</span></h3><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.3800027272727273; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "EB Garamond", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">দুদকের প্রধান অভিযোগ হচ্ছে, “চেয়ারম্যান প্রফেসর মুহাম্মদ ইউনূসের নির্দেশে” ২৬.২২ কোটি টাকা সেটেলমেন্ট ব্যাংক হিসাব থেকে ট্রেড ইউনিয়নের ব্যাংক হিসাবে কর্মচারীদের টাকা প্রদানের পূর্বে “তাদের পূর্ব সম্মতি ছাড়াই” “অনৈতিকভাবে স্থানান্তরিত” করেছেন। এই দাবিতে মূল অভিযোগ হলো ২৬.২২ কোটি টাকা ছিল কর্মকর্তা-কর্মচারীদের প্রাপ্য অর্থ। কিন্তু ট্রেড ইউনিয়নের নেতা ও আইনজীবীরা, ইউনূস ও অন্যান্য পরিচালকদের সহায়তায় তা আত্মসাত করেছেন।</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.3800027272727273; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "EB Garamond", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">২৬.২২ কোটি টাকার দুইটি অংশ রয়েছে- ২৪.৫৮ কোটি টাকা এবং ১.৬৩ কোটি টাকা। এই দুই অংশের উৎপত্তি কোথায় এবং এই অর্থ কোথায় গিয়েছে তা স্পষ্ট করার মাধ্যমে বোঝা যাবে কর্মকর্তা-কর্মচারীদের অর্থ আত্মসাত করা হয়েছে কিনা।</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.3800027272727273; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpVtQG7V45jGG3ZjEJ4x5Mzxeigukg5j9de2Dtkj-K1fP7zNoSQnOfBamdnD3RORtEKFfdZhvEYnmUVr5SsXCCdcqEMUjEcFPcUuYDdxKIbSsiIRJqnnVUGKqy6_nGF8hrwpxFzuyMyoLB3spljUAT-QAdotyj-kfCjZrd9BKlMgt9KBpI_eiaRwfBC2Y/s1462/gt_diagram_2_fin.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1084" data-original-width="1462" height="404" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpVtQG7V45jGG3ZjEJ4x5Mzxeigukg5j9de2Dtkj-K1fP7zNoSQnOfBamdnD3RORtEKFfdZhvEYnmUVr5SsXCCdcqEMUjEcFPcUuYDdxKIbSsiIRJqnnVUGKqy6_nGF8hrwpxFzuyMyoLB3spljUAT-QAdotyj-kfCjZrd9BKlMgt9KBpI_eiaRwfBC2Y/w546-h404/gt_diagram_2_fin.png" width="546" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: "EB Garamond", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span><p></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.3800027272727273; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "EB Garamond", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><b>২৪.৫৮ কোটি টাকা:</b> উভয়পক্ষের মধ্যে চুক্তিতে নির্ধারিত হয় কর্মচারীরা পাবেন ৪০৯.৬৯ কোটি টাকা। এই অর্থের ৬% হলো ২৪.৫৮ কোটি টাকা। দুদকের দাবি হচ্ছে, এই অংশটি মোট অর্থ থেকে কর্মচারীদের “পূর্ব সম্মতি ছাড়াই” সরানো হয়েছিল। কিন্তু কাগজ পত্রে যে তথ্য আছে সেখানে এর প্রমাণ পাওয়া যায় না। চুক্তি সংক্রান্ত বিভিন্ন দলিল থেকে জানা যায় যে প্রাপ্ত মোট অর্থের ৬% আইনি ও অন্যান্য খরচের জন্য সর্বসম্মতিক্রমে বরাদ্দ রাখা ছিল। ২০২২ সালের ২৪ মে, প্রত্যেক কর্মচারী একটি চিঠিতে স্বাক্ষর করে জমা দেয় যেখানে লেখা ছিল, “অব্যহতিকালে পাওনা … আইনজীবীর আইনি ও অন্যান্য খরচ বাবদ ৬% গ্রামীণ টেলিকম শ্রমিক কর্মচারী ইউনিয়নকে প্রদান করতে আমার কোন আপত্তি নাই।”</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.3800027272727273; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "EB Garamond", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">শুধু নাম ও অন্যান্য ব্যাক্তিগত তথ্য বাদে কর্মচারীদের স্বাক্ষরিত চিঠিগুলো একটি গৎবাঁধা ভাষাতেই লেখা হয়েছিল। এর একটির নমুনা দেয়া হলো এখানে।</span></p></span></span><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><span><p style="line-height: 1.3800027272727273; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "EB Garamond", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-size: large;">“এই মর্মে অঙ্গীকারনামা প্রদান করছি যে, আপনার বরাবরে ২৪/০৫/২০২২ ইং তারিখে চাকুরী থেকে অব্যহতি গ্রহণের জন্য দরখাস্ত উপস্থাপন করছি। উক্ত অব্যহতি পত্র অনুযায়ী ৩১/০৫/২০২২ ইং তারিখ গ্রামীণ টেলিকমে আমার শেষ কর্মদিবস। অব্যহতিকালে পাওয়া বাংলাদেশের শ্রম আইন ২০০৬ অনুযায়ী WPPF এবং কল্যাণ তহবিলের টাকা থেকে ৫% উৎসে আয়কর কর্তন ও আইনজীবীর আইনি ও অন্যান্য খরচ বাবদ ৬% গ্রামীণ টেলিকম শ্রমিক কর্মচারী ইউনিয়নকে প্রদান করতে আমার কোন আপত্তি নাই। উক্ত অর্থ কর্তনপূর্বক অবশিষ্ট অর্থ বুঝিয়া পাইলাম যার চেক নং [...] তারিখ ২৪/০৫/২০২২ এবং টাকার পরিমাণ ৪,১০,৮১,৯১৭/- (কথায়: Four Crore Ten Lakh Eighty One Thousand Nine Hundred Seventeen Taka Only)।”</span></span></p></span></blockquote><span><span style="font-size: large;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "EB Garamond", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">চিঠিতে পরিষ্কারভাবেই বলা আছে যে এই অর্থ ট্রেড ইউনিয়নকে দেয়া হয়েছে “আইনজীবীর আইনি ও অন্যান্য খরচ বাবদ”। এখানে এমন একটি চিঠির ছবি দেয়া হলো। নেত্র নিউজ এমন অনেকগুলো চিঠি পর্যালোচনা করে দেখেছে।</span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6NiZXFBMMz5Dw_NcU0LFuz-wSwFBhvymhJUsNab7piwsd1UkumqIu0Aa28MHJhymu13YD2zRMxLClRG8mJDyhs6Wt9u1tPz9HFoI5mwfbqUmcPHlIQlBel6I2acNs53sbG9dz2yNzmvVpsaKOuUuWRXj6iChAmeMLHzYmnXJLUNnrnmrdhrobUxKM3gA/s1186/GT_letter_worker_percent.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1186" data-original-width="840" height="472" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6NiZXFBMMz5Dw_NcU0LFuz-wSwFBhvymhJUsNab7piwsd1UkumqIu0Aa28MHJhymu13YD2zRMxLClRG8mJDyhs6Wt9u1tPz9HFoI5mwfbqUmcPHlIQlBel6I2acNs53sbG9dz2yNzmvVpsaKOuUuWRXj6iChAmeMLHzYmnXJLUNnrnmrdhrobUxKM3gA/w335-h472/GT_letter_worker_percent.png" width="335" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Arial Unicode MS", sans-serif; font-size: 14.6667px; text-align: start;">গ্রামীণ টেলিকমের একজন কর্মচারীর স্বাক্ষরকৃত চিঠির ছবি। চিঠিটি একটি সম্মতি পত্র। এর মাধ্যমে স্বাক্ষরদানকারী কর্মচারী গ্রামীণ টেলিকমকে তার পাওনা অর্থের ৬% কেটে রেখে তা ট্রেড ইউনিয়নের কাছে হস্তান্তরের অনুমোদন দিয়েছেন। উক্ত ৬% অর্থ ট্রেড ইউনিয়ন আইনি ও অন্যান্য খরচের জন্য কাজে লাগবে বলে সম্মতি দিয়েছেন স্বাক্ষরদানকারী কর্মচারী। নেত্র নিউজ ছবিতে ব্যাক্তিগত তথ্য গোপন রেখে প্রকাশ করেছে। </span></td></tr></tbody></table><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "EB Garamond", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">এই চিঠিগুলো স্বাক্ষর করা হয় এই কর্মকর্তা-কর্মচারীদেরকে অর্থ পাঠানোর প্রক্রিয়া শুরু হওয়ার আগেই। গ্রামীণ টেলিকমের প্রাক্তন এই কর্মকর্তা-কর্মচারীদেরকে অর্থ প্রদান করা হয় ২০২২ সালের ২৫ মে থেকে ১২ জুনের মধ্যে। (দুদকের এফআইআর অনুসারে)</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "EB Garamond", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">দুদককে এই চিঠিগুলো সরবরাহ করা হয়েছে, তাই কেন তারা এখনো দাবি করছে যে শ্রমিকদের এই অর্থ, ২৪.৫৮ কোটি টাকা, আত্মসাত করা হয়েছে তা বোঝা দুষ্কর। এছাড়াও, কোন কর্মচারী এই বিষয়ে কোন অভিযোগ করেছে এমন দাবিও কোথাও করা হয়নি।</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "EB Garamond", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">দুদক আরও দাবি করেছে যে সমঝোতা চুক্তিতে বলা হয়েছে যে আইনজীবীদের ফি কর্মচারীরা অর্থ বুঝে পাওয়ার “পরে” পাবে। অবশ্য, সমঝোতা চুক্তিতে ট্রেড ইউনিয়নের আইনজীবী সংক্রান্ত ফি কিংবা এই ফি কখন পরিশোধ করা হবে বা হবে না তা নিয়ে কিছু বলা হয়নি।</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "EB Garamond", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">এটা ঠিক যে ২৪.৫৮ কোটি টাকা থেকে১০ কোটি টাকা কর্মচারীরা চিঠিতে স্বাক্ষর করার আগেই স্থানান্তরিত হয়েছিল। কিন্তু তা কর্মচারীদের অসম্মতিতে হয়নি। তারা ১০ কোটি টাকা স্থানান্তরের আগেই সম্মতি দিয়েছিল যে তারা যে অর্থ পাবে সেখান থেকে ইউনিয়ন আইনি খরচের জন্য টাকা কেটে রাখবে। ২০১৭ সালের সেপ্টেম্বর মাসে যখন কর্মচারীরা প্রথমবারের মত তাদের আইনজীবী নিয়োগ দেয়, কর্মচারীরা সবাই একটি সমঝোতা স্মারকে স্বাক্ষর করেছিল।স্মারক অনুসারে মামলাতে বিজয়ী হলে গ্রামীণ টেলিকমথেকে তারা যে পরিমান অর্থই আদায় করতে পারবে, তার ৫% অংশ আইনজীবীকে তাদের পারিশ্রমিক হিসেবে দেয়া হবে।এই স্মারকটি কর্মচারীরা নিজেরাই তৈরি করে, এবং তখনো ইউনিয়ন গঠিত হয়নি। স্মারকে উল্লেখ ছিল: “অত্র মামলার ফলাফল আমাদের পক্ষে আসলে আমরা আমাদের প্রত্যেকের প্রাপ্ত টাকার ৫.০০% (পাঁচ শতাংশ) হারে প্রদান করতে বাধ্য থাকবো।” কর্মচারীদের ইউনিয়নটি প্রতিষ্ঠিত হয় ২০১৮ সালের সেপ্টেম্বরে।</span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOkS6cue4_0xBNgs5COr7ZlU4GJHAHKw_Q33aWKsUb0_xqnNaJo3CFy_c-NywtW676jJe2oaQYVw1TFKh6M1DRaOQsC9XGfbrBdUG8tddqLUA8n3Ww7i1PcB-l3veTCFIJ-terCrNzSI6NKb3d4t0JNTT-s-e6BFC1fuAwrPrwhLB5pSghIvhUjRZC5_o/s1000/gt_tu_agreement_lawyers.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1000" height="316" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOkS6cue4_0xBNgs5COr7ZlU4GJHAHKw_Q33aWKsUb0_xqnNaJo3CFy_c-NywtW676jJe2oaQYVw1TFKh6M1DRaOQsC9XGfbrBdUG8tddqLUA8n3Ww7i1PcB-l3veTCFIJ-terCrNzSI6NKb3d4t0JNTT-s-e6BFC1fuAwrPrwhLB5pSghIvhUjRZC5_o/w440-h316/gt_tu_agreement_lawyers.jpeg" width="440" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Arial Unicode MS", sans-serif; font-size: 14.6667px; text-align: left;">৯ সেপ্টেম্বর ২০১৭ তারিখ সম্বলিত একটি সমঝোতা স্মারকের একাংশের ছবি। স্মারকটিতে স্বাক্ষর করেছেন সেসময় কোম্পানিতে কর্মরত সকল কর্মকর্তা-কর্মচারী।</span></td></tr></tbody></table></span></span><span><span style="font-size: large;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "EB Garamond", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">এছাড়াও, ২০২২ সালের ১৮ এপ্রিল, কোন অর্থ কেটে রাখার আগেই, প্রত্যেক কর্মচারী একটি চিঠিতে স্বাক্ষর করে জানান যে, “আমার প্রাপ্য অর্থ আদায় করার জন্য আমার পক্ষে আপনার প্রতিষ্ঠানের ব্যবস্থাপনা কর্তৃপক্ষের সাথে আপোষ-মিমাংসার জন্য উক্ত ইউনিয়নকে আনুরোধপূর্বক সম্পূর্ণ কর্তৃত্ব অর্পণ করেছি”। চিঠিতে আরো লেখা হয় যে “আমার প্রাপ্য অর্থ উক্ত ইউনিয়নের নিকট হস্তান্তর করা হলেও আমার কোন আপত্তি থাকবে না।”</span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhANUTcpksKBq_Jq4i7UkG6yzZDkph1tZHp7ixycpAQoNATJdJulDFWlVefT_jiOlOK84YbJpXVVo73jxpkeYq3wXthkhoBqKTSE2nXnTj8dQP_NH5dYXuLyJOQFB3yT8tC2yUjzmcWgjNF8XB03uETSHC0ABg36mL2gTy7Epale8AQ1LZVAvA2AkKDQXc/s966/April_18_letter_GT.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="966" data-original-width="750" height="461" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhANUTcpksKBq_Jq4i7UkG6yzZDkph1tZHp7ixycpAQoNATJdJulDFWlVefT_jiOlOK84YbJpXVVo73jxpkeYq3wXthkhoBqKTSE2nXnTj8dQP_NH5dYXuLyJOQFB3yT8tC2yUjzmcWgjNF8XB03uETSHC0ABg36mL2gTy7Epale8AQ1LZVAvA2AkKDQXc/w357-h461/April_18_letter_GT.png" width="357" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br />১৮ এপ্রিল ২০২২ তারিখ সম্বলিত চিঠি। এর মাধ্যমে গ্রামীণ টেলিকমের কর্মকর্তা-কর্মচারীবৃন্দ ইউনিয়নকে তাদের পাওনা অর্থ আদায়ের লক্ষে তাদের পক্ষ থেকে কোম্পানির কর্তৃপক্ষের সাথে সমঝোতা সম্পাদনের সম্পুর্ন অধিকার অর্পণ করেছে। ইউনিয়নের কাছে তাদের প্রাপ্য অর্থ হস্তান্তর করলে তাদের কোন আপত্তি নেই এই মর্মে অনুমোদন দেয়া হয়েছে। কোম্পানির প্রত্যেক কর্মচারী এই চিঠি আলাদাভাবে স্বাক্ষর করেছেন। ছবিতে প্রয়োজনীয় গোপনীয়তা রক্ষার্থে কিছু তথ্য ঢেকে দিয়েছে নেত্র নিউজ।</td></tr></tbody></table><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "EB Garamond", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">এটা মনে রাখা দরকার যে এই অর্থ আলাদা করে রাখার প্রক্রিয়াটি ছিল ট্রেড ইউনিয়ন, তাদের আইনজীবী এবং কর্মচারীদের আভ্যন্তরীণ বিষয়। কর্মচারীরা তাদের প্রাপ্য অর্থ থেকে যত ইচ্ছা তত অর্থ তাদের ইউনিয়নকে দিতে পারে। এই বন্দোবস্ত বিষয়ে গ্রামীণ টেলিকম এবং তার পরিচালনা পর্ষদের সদস্যদের কোনো ভূমিকাই নেই।</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "EB Garamond", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">অর্থাৎ, কর্মচারীদের সম্মতি নিয়ে এবং তাদের প্রতিনিধিত্বকারী ট্রেড ইউনিয়নের অনুরোধের ভিত্তিতে সেটেলমেন্ট অ্যাকাউন্ট থেকে ট্রেড ইউনিয়নের অ্যাকাউন্টে ২৪.৫৮ কোটি টাকা আইনসম্মতভাবে এবং সঠিক উপায়ে পাঠানো হয়েছিল।</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "EB Garamond", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><b>১.৬৩ কোটি টাকা</b>: আলোচ্য অর্থের (২৬.২২ কোটি টাকার) দ্বিতীয় অংশ হচ্ছে ১.৬৩ কোটি টাকা. দুদকের অভিযোগ অনুসারে এই টাকা ট্রেড ইউনিয়নের ব্যাংক হিসাবে বেআইনিভাবে স্থানান্তর করা হয়েছিল। দুদকের দাবি, এই অর্থ “লাভবান করার হীন উদ্দেশ্যে” এবং “মামলা থেকে অব্যহতি পাওয়ার জন্য” পরিশোধ করা হয়েছিল।</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "EB Garamond", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">এই অর্থ স্থানান্তরের বিষয়টি বুঝতে হলে আমাদেরকে প্রথম হিসাবে কর্মকর্তা-কর্মচারীদের পাওনা হিসাবে যে প্রথমে ভুল করে ৪৩৭ কোটি টাকা নির্ধারণের বিষয়টিতে ফেরত যেতে হবে।</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "EB Garamond", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">টাকার অংকের ভুল ঠিক হলেও ট্রেড ইউনিয়নের নেতারা আগের হিসেবে পাওনা নেবার বিষয়ে স্থির থাকেন। অর্থাৎ তারা সংশোধিত যে অংক, বা ৪০৯.৫৯ কোটি টাকা, তার ৬% নিতে রাজি হয় নি। বরং তারা ৪৩৭ কোটি টাকার ৬% অর্থ পাওনা নেবার বিষয়ে অটল থাকে। এর ফলে ১.৬৩ কোটি টাকা অতিরিক্ত দিতে হয়।</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "EB Garamond", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">বলা বাহুল্য, প্রাতিষ্ঠানিক দৃষ্টিকোণ থেকে বাড়তি খরচ করার কোনো অভিপ্রায় গ্রামীণ টেলিকমের ছিল না। কিন্তু কোম্পানি আদালতে প্রতিষ্ঠানটি বন্ধ করে দেয়ার মামলা চলমান থাকা এবং ট্রেড ইউনিয়নের নেতাদের মামলা প্রত্যাহারের আশ্বাসের ভিত্তিতে তারা অতিরিক্ত ১.৬৩ কোটি টাকা পরিশোধ করে দেয়াই শ্রেয় মনে করে।। তাই গ্রামীণ টেলিকমের পরিচালনা পর্ষদ এই অর্থ পরিশোধে সম্মত হয় যা পরে ২৬ জুনের পরিচালনা পর্ষদের সভার বিবরণীতে উল্লেখ করা হয়। সেখানে বলা হয়:</span></p></span></span><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><span><p style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "EB Garamond", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-size: large;">সুদের হারের হিসাব সংশোধন করার পর, WPPF-এর পাওনার পরিমাণ দাঁড়িয়েছে ৪০৯,৬৯,২২,৭৮৯ টাকায়। প্রত্যেক কর্মচারী গ্রামীণ টেলিকমের শ্রমিক-কর্মচারী ইউনিয়নকে (সিবিএ) পরিশোধের জন্য ইতোমধ্যে একটি অঙ্গীকারনামা দাখিল করে তাদের পাওনা টাকার পরিমাণ থেকে ৬% হারে টাকা কেটে রাখার ব্যাপারে সম্মতি দিয়েছে, এবং সেই অনুসারে ইউনিয়নকে সেই টাকা পরিশোধ করা হয়েছে। এই চুক্তি অনুসারে, দুই পক্ষ যেই অর্থ পরিশোধের ব্যপারে সম্মত হয়েছে তার পরিমাণ ৪৩৭,০১,১২,৬২১ টাকা। গ্রামীণ টেলিকমের শ্রমিক-কর্মচারী ইউনিয়ন (সিবিএ) সমঝোতা চুক্তিতে যে অর্থ পরিশোধের জন্য সমঝোতা হয়েছিল তার ৬% টাকা দাবি করছে। এই অবস্থায়, ব্যারিস্টারের সাথে আলোচনা হয় [...]। তিনি জানান যে তিনি এই অংশের বিষয়ে কোন মন্তব্য করতে পারবেন না; এটা তার দেখার বিষয় না। যাই হোক, দুই পক্ষ সমঝোতা চুক্তিতে উল্লেখিত পরিমাণের বিষয়ে একমত হয়েছে। গ্রামীণ টেলিকমের শ্রমিক-কর্মচারী ইউনিয়নের (সিবিএ) দাবি মোতাবেক অতিরিক্ত {(৪৩৭,০১,১২,৬২১ x ৬%) - (৪০৯,৬৯,২২,৭৮৯ x ৬%)}= ১,৬৩,৯১,৩৮৯ টাকা পরিশোধ করা হয়েছে। </span></span></p></span></blockquote><span><span style="font-size: large;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "EB Garamond", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">এই ১.৬৩ কোটি টাকা পরিশোধকে দুদক বেআইনি বলতে চাচ্ছে বলেই এফআইআরের ভাষায় মনে হয়। কিন্তু এই টাকা দেয়াকে বেআইনি বা আত্মসাত হিসেবে বিবেচনা করা যেত যদি চুক্তি অনুসারে কর্মচারীদের পাওনা যে অর্থ তা না তাদেরকে পরিশোধ না করে ট্রেড ইউনিয়নকে দেয়া হত।কিন্তু এক্ষেত্রে এমন ঘটেনি। কর্মচারীদের পাওনা ছিল ৩৬৪.৬২ কোটি টাকা। এই ১.৬৩ কোটি টাকা সেখান থেকে নেয়া হয়নি। ৩৬৪.৬২ কোটি টাকা কর্মচারীদের ১৫৬টি ব্যাংক হিসাবে যথাযথ ভাবে স্থানান্তরিত হয়েছিল। ১.৬৩ কোটি টাকা পরিশোধ করা হয়েছিল সেটেলমেন্ট অ্যাকাউন্টে বাকি থাকা ২৮ কোটি টাকা থেকে (প্রথমবার জমা হওয়া ভুল হিসাবের ৪৩৭ কোটি টাকা থেকে ৪০৯.৬৯ কোটি টাকা কেটে রাখলে যে অর্থ বাকি থাকে সেখান থেকে)। এই অর্থ গ্রামীণ টেলিকমের কাছেই ফেরত যাওয়ার কথা ছিল, যেহেতু এটা ছিল চূড়ান্ত সমঝোতার অর্থের পরিমাণের অতিরিক্ত অর্থ।</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "EB Garamond", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">যদি এই অতিরিক্ত ১.৬৩ কোটি টাকা ট্রেড ইউনিয়ন না দাবি করতো, এই বিষয়টি নিয়ে হয়তো এত জল ঘোলা করার সুযোগই থাকতো না।তবে এখানে মূল বিষয়টি হচ্ছে যে এই টাকাটা শ্রমিকদের প্রাপ্য অর্থ থেকে যেহেতু দেয়া হয়নি এবং তাই এখানে অর্থ পরিশোধের ক্ষেত্রে আত্মসাতের প্রশ্নই আসে না। গ্রামীণ টেলিকম একটি বেসরকারি প্রতিষ্ঠান এবং তারা তাদের ট্রেড ইউনিয়নকে যত ইচ্ছা তত টাকা দিতে পারে যদি না এই টাকা অন্য কারো প্রাপ্য হয়ে থাকে। এবং যেহেতু এই টাকাটা কর্মচারীদের প্রাপ্য অর্থ না, এখানে এই অর্থ পরিশোধে তাদের সম্মতি আদায়ের কোন প্রশ্নও নেই। </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "EB Garamond", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">পরিশেষে বলা যায়, ২৪.৫৮ কোটি টাকা নিয়মসিদ্ধভাবেই (শ্রমিকদের প্রাপ্য অর্থ থেকে) কেটে রাখা হয়েছিল এবং ট্রেড ইউনিয়নের ব্যাংক হিসাবে স্থানান্তর করা হয়েছিল যেন এই টাকা দিয়ে তারা তাদের বিভিন্ন ব্যয় পরিশোধ করতে পারে। অনুরূপভাবে ১.৬৩ কোটি টাকার যে অংক, তাও শ্রমিকদের প্রাপ্য অর্থ থেকে আসেনি। কাজেই এখানে ফৌজদারি অপরাধ ঘটেছে এর সমর্থনে কোন প্রমাণ দেখা যায় না।</span></p><h3 dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 16pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #434343; font-family: "EB Garamond", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">ট্রেড ইউনিয়নের ব্যাংক হিসাবের লেনদেন</span></h3><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "EB Garamond", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">এফআইআরে দুদক ২৬.২২ কোটি টাকার লেনদেনের বিষয়ে বেশ কিছু অভিযোগ করেছে (২৬.২২ কোটি টাকা হলো পূর্বে উল্লেখিত শ্রমিকদের প্রাপ্য অর্থ থেকে কেটে রাখা ৬% এবং অতিরিক্ত ১.৬৩ কোটি টাকার সমন্বয়)।</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "EB Garamond", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">এই বিষয়ে আলোচনার আগে একটা বিষয় পরিষ্কার করা দরকার যে এই অর্থ লেনদেনের বিষয়ের সাথে গ্রামীণ টেলিকমের কোন সম্পর্ক নেই খুবই যৌক্তিক এবং সহজবোধ্য কারণে। প্রতিষ্ঠানটি- এবং এর পরিচালকেরা- তাদের দায়িত্ব পালন করেছেন কর্মচারীদের সঠিক পরিমাণে অর্থ পরিশোধ করার মাধ্যমে; মোট ৩৬৪.৬২ কোটি টাকা দেয়া হয়েছে ইউনিয়নের সদস্যদের, যেখান থেকে কর্মচারীদের সম্মতি সহকারে, ৫% অর্থ কেটে রাখা হয়েছে কর হিসাবে (২০ কোটি টাকা) এবং ৬% অর্থ কেটে রাখা রয়েছে ইউনিয়নের আইনি ও প্রশাসনিক কাজের ফি হিসেবে (২৪.৫৮ কোটি টাকা)। এই অর্থ ট্রেড ইউনিয়নের ব্যাংক হিসাবে যথাযথভাবে পরিশোধের পর প্রতিষ্ঠানটি/প্রতিষ্ঠানটির পরিচালকদের এই অর্থের উপর কোন দায়িত্ব কিংবা নিয়ন্ত্রণ ছিল না।</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "EB Garamond", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">তবুও, যেহেতু দুদক গ্রামীণ টেলিকমের পরিচালকদের এই অর্থ আত্মসাতের সাথে সম্পৃক্ত করতে চাইছে, তাই এই অর্থ নিয়ে আলোচনার গুরুত্ব আছে।</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "EB Garamond", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><b>আইনি ফি:</b> প্রথমত এখানে আইনজীবীদের ফি এবং আইনি অন্য খরচের বিষয় আছে। আগেই উল্লেখ করা হয়েছে ২০১৭ সালে কীভাবে ইউনিয়নের কর্মচারীরা নিজেদের মধ্যে একটি স্মারকে স্বাক্ষর করে সম্মতি দিয়েছিলেন যে তারা যেই পরিমাণ অর্থই আদায় করুক তার ৫% দেয়া হবে ইউনিয়নের আইনজীবীদের। “শ্রম আদালতে কোম্পানির নীট লভ্যংশে অংশগ্রহণ এবং চাকুরীর শর্তাবলি বিষয়ে মামলা পরিচালনা বিষয়ে যৌথ সমঝোতা স্মারক” নামে এই স্মারকটিতে স্বাক্ষর করেছিলেন ৭৯জন কর্মচারী যারা তখন প্রতিষ্ঠানটিতে কর্মরত ছিলেন।</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "EB Garamond", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">সেই স্মারকে বলা ছিল:</span></p></span></span><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "EB Garamond", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">৪. দায়েরকৃত মামলা পরিচালনার ব্যয় বাবদ প্রত্যেকের নিকট হতে সমানহারে চাঁদা সংগ্রহপূর্বক একটি তহবিল গঠন করা হবে যা থেকে সময়ে সময়ে মামলার প্রকৃত ব্যয়, ট্রেড ইউনিয়ন সংক্রান্ত ব্যয় এবং অন্যান্য যাবতীয় ব্যয় নির্বাহ করা হবে;</span></p></span><span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "EB Garamond", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">৫. অত্র মামলার ফলাফল আমাদের পক্ষে আসলে আমরা আমাদের প্রত্যেকের প্রাপ্ত টাকার ৫.০০% (পাঁচ শতাংশ হারে) প্রদান করতে বাধ্য থাকবো;</span></p></span></span></blockquote><span><span style="font-size: large;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "EB Garamond", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">পাঁচ বছর পর, ২০২২ সালের এপ্রিল মাসে, নিয়োজিত আইনজীবীরা তাদের ক্লায়েন্টদের দাবি দাওয়া আদায়ে সফল হয়। তারা যে সমঝোতায় পৌঁছায় তাতে গ্রামীণ টেলিকম ৪০৯.৬৯ কোটি টাকা ১৬৪ জন কর্মচারীকে পরিশোধ করতে রাজি হয়। ইউনিয়নের জন্য এটা ছিল বড় ধরনের সাফল্য। ২২ জন কর্মচারী চার কোটি টাকারও বেশি অর্থ পান, ৪৪ জন কর্মচারী পান ৩ কোটি টাকারও বেশি অর্থ। এই পরিমান অর্থ মানুষের জীবন বদলে দেবার জন্য যথেষ্ঠ।</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "EB Garamond", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">সমঝোতা সম্পাদন হওয়ার পর আইনজীবীদের প্রাপ্য অর্থ পরিশোধের বিষয়টি সামনে আসে এবং তারা একটি চালানের মাধ্যম ১৬ কোটি টাকার বিল ইউনিয়নকে প্রদান করে। এই টাকার পরিমান নিঃসন্দেহে যথেষ্ঠ বড়। কিন্তু তবুও শতকরা হিসেবে এই অর্থ ৪০৯.৬৯ কোটি টাকার ৪% থেকেও কম ছিল, যেখানে ২০১৭ সালে আইনজীবীদের সাথে যে সমঝোতা হয় সে অনুসারে তারা ৫% দাবি করার অধিকার রাখে। আইনজীবীরা যদি নির্ধারিত ৫% হারে অর্থ নিতেন , তবে এর পরিমান ২০ কোটি টাকা ছাড়িয়ে যেত।</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "EB Garamond", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">এখানে আরো কিছু বিষয় বিবেচনা করা আবশ্যক। আইনজীবীরা যে শুধুমাত্র গ্রামীণ টেলিকমের সাথে মীমাংসায় পৌঁছাবার জন্যই এই অর্থ গ্রহণ করেছেন তা না। প্রথমত, তারা ১৬৪ জন ক্লায়েন্টের জন্য আলাদাভাবে গ্রামীণ টেলিকমের সাথে সমঝোতা সম্পাদনের কাজ করেছেন। এছাড়াও, এই সমঝোতায় পৌঁছাবার জন্য ২০১৭ সাল থেকে ৫ বছর ব্যাপী যত আইনি কর্মকান্ড পরিচালনার প্রয়োজন ছিল তা তারা করেছেন । তাদের এসব কাজের ভেতর অন্তর্ভুক্ত ছিল চারটি ভিন্ন ভিন্ন মামলায় কর্মচারীদের পক্ষে শ্রম আদালত এবং উচ্চ আদালতে আইনি লড়াই এবং কোম্পানি আদালতে একটি জটিল মামলা পরিচালনা করা।</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "EB Garamond", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">বাংলাদেশের বার কাউন্সিলের “পেশাগত আচরণ ও শিষ্টাচার বিধিমালা” অনুসারে, ফি নির্ধারণের ক্ষেত্রে, একজন আইনজীবী শুধু “মামলার বিষয়বস্তুর নতুনত্ব, অভিনবত্ব ও প্রশ্নের জটিলতা নিরসনে কিরূপ দক্ষতা, শ্রম এবং সময় বিনিয়োগ করিতে হইবে” বিবেচনায় নিলেই হবে না, “মামলার বিরোধপূর্ণ বিষয়ের মূল্যমান ও মামলার ফলাফলে মক্কেল কী পরিমাণ সুফল লাভ করিবেন” তাও বিবেচনায় নিতে হবে।</span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVso6vvzKMd1Mmoj0_y0h-0nH_uWOgJf4h78sG7Vj-81arDTYVP1xLDpc5YPzrMDC16O16KDuVlFQqkXHnNBKYm0MUiYtP_618DscN6xl4PqBwYyWuurITo7FEKb9agxbIPSgdQIjHecO9bHPyrtB6KwV6UwVVzDSz7DHNMrWKSj85Zi0S9jRCdD_UCuk/s720/bangladesh_bar_council_fees.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="604" height="509" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVso6vvzKMd1Mmoj0_y0h-0nH_uWOgJf4h78sG7Vj-81arDTYVP1xLDpc5YPzrMDC16O16KDuVlFQqkXHnNBKYm0MUiYtP_618DscN6xl4PqBwYyWuurITo7FEKb9agxbIPSgdQIjHecO9bHPyrtB6KwV6UwVVzDSz7DHNMrWKSj85Zi0S9jRCdD_UCuk/w426-h509/bangladesh_bar_council_fees.jpeg" width="426" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">বাংলাদেশ
বার কাউন্সিলের “পেশাগত আচরণ ও শিষ্ঠাচার বিধিমালা” পুস্তিকার একাংশের ছবি। <br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "EB Garamond", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">এফআইআরে দুদক উল্লেখ করেছে “বর্ণিত প্রেক্ষাপটে” দেখা যায় , আইনি কাজের পারিশ্রমিক হিসেবে কেবল ১ কোটি টাকা পরিশোধ করা হয়েছে। কিন্তু এমন ধারণা করার পেছনে কোনো ব্যাখ্যা দেয়া হয়নি। এছাড়াও, আইনজীবীদের অর্থ পরিশোধের জন্য নির্দেশনা দিয়ে ব্যাংককে চিঠি দিয়েছে ট্রেড ইউনিয়ন। চিঠিতে স্পষ্টভাবে এই অর্থ পরিশোধের কারণ হিসেবে লেখা হয়েছে, “আইনজীবীর ফি এবং আইনি সহায়তার জন্য”। কাজেই দুদকের কাছে দালিলিক প্রমান রয়েছে যে আইনজীবীদের পারিশ্রমিক হিসেবে “প্রকৃতপক্ষে” “মাত্র ১.০০ কোটি টাকা” হস্তান্তর হয়েছে এমন দাবী সঠিক নয়।</span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj55nmQuVJETDP7rWUM6FWA9yiQgZC1trsL4kHBHDnRpN2cUjYtHv6NePEkXeUAIdKaq7A-9ac_kxnHRkCRN4fBCQpphByYdi6-Cf4_IhYAb7jcF6YAK5_QU-46Rkxf3zPunbAKLZNGAIJTFvi5b4wvGQtj22Sb8oVzZgb50RKHVUfHxKuK1XO2coWcjM0/s1010/gt_tu_bank_request.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1010" data-original-width="828" height="479" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj55nmQuVJETDP7rWUM6FWA9yiQgZC1trsL4kHBHDnRpN2cUjYtHv6NePEkXeUAIdKaq7A-9ac_kxnHRkCRN4fBCQpphByYdi6-Cf4_IhYAb7jcF6YAK5_QU-46Rkxf3zPunbAKLZNGAIJTFvi5b4wvGQtj22Sb8oVzZgb50RKHVUfHxKuK1XO2coWcjM0/w392-h479/gt_tu_bank_request.png" width="392" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br />গ্রামীণ টেলিকম থেকে ব্যাংক-কে পাঠানো চিঠি। চিঠিতে আইনজীবীদের পারিশ্রমিক প্রদানের নির্দেশনা দেয়া হয়েছে। আইনজীবীদের মোট পারিশ্রমিকের অর্ধেক অংশ এখানে প্রদান করা হয়েছে। </td></tr></tbody></table><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "EB Garamond", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">পারিশ্রমিকের পরিমান বেশি মনে হলেও এখানে নীতিবিরুদ্ধ কিছু ঘটেনি। সবচেয়ে আশ্চর্যের ঘটনা হলো আইনজীবীর পারিশ্রমিক কীভাবে ফৌজদারি অপরাধের বিষয়বস্তু হতে পারে তা বোধগম্য নয়। বিশেষত আইনজীবীদের যারা নিয়োজিত করেছেন তারা বা আইনজীবীদের কোনো অভিযোগ না থাকে, যেক্ষেত্রে পারিশ্রমিকের পরিমাণ নিয়ে অনুসন্ধানের কোন কারণ থাকতে পারে এমন দাবি অভিনব। এই মামলা যদি কোন কারণে আদালতের নজির হতো, তবে বাংলাদেশে আইনজীবীদের কাজের জন্য বড় অংকের পারিশ্রমিক নেয়া অবৈধ হয়ে পড়তো। </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "EB Garamond", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><b>ইউনিয়নের প্রশাসনিক ব্যয়</b>: এরপর প্রশ্ন আসে বাকি২৬.২২ কোটি টাকার ১৬ কোটি যদি আইনজীবীদের পারিশ্রমিক হয়ে থাকে, তবে বাকি ১০.২২ কোটি টাকার কি হলো। এই অর্থ নেয়া হয়েছিল এই মামলা পরিচালনার জন্য ট্রেড ইউনিয়নের পক্ষ থেকে যত ধরণের খরচ হয়েছিল তা মেটাতে। এফআইআরের মতে, তিনজন ইউনিয়ন নেতা এই অর্থের প্রায় সব বা অধিকাংশ অর্থ নিজেদের ব্যক্তিগত ব্যাংক হিসাবে স্থানান্তর করেছিলেন।</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "EB Garamond", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">, ট্রেড ইউনিয়নের ব্যাংক হিসাব থেকে নিজেদের ব্যাংক হিসাবে অর্থ স্থানান্তরের কথা ট্রেড ইউনিয়নের নেতারা অশিকার করেননি। ট্রেড ইউনিয়নের নেতাদের ঘনিষ্ঠ সূত্র থেকে জানা যায় যে এই অর্থ তারা নিজেদের জন্য নয়, বরং গ্রামীণ টেলিকম থেকে পদত্যাগ করা সব কর্মচারীকে নিয়ে একটি নতুন ব্যবসা খোলার জন্য আলাদা করে রেখেছিলেন। সূত্রদের মতে, যেহেতু গ্রামীণ টেলিকমের সাথে সমঝোতার অংশ হিসেবে ট্রেড ইউনিয়নটিক বিলুপ্ত করে দেবার কথা, এবং এই ব্যাংক হিসাবটিও বন্ধ করে দিতে তারা বাধ্য, তাই তারা বাকি অর্থ নিজেদের ব্যক্তিগত ব্যাংক হিসাবে স্থানান্তর করেন। অর্থাৎ, এই ব্যাংক হিসাবটিকে যেহেতু বন্ধ করে দিতে হতো, তাদেরকে এই অর্থ অন্য কোন হিসাবে সরাতে হত। কিন্তু যেহেতু তাদের নতুন প্রস্তাবিত ব্যবসায়ীক উদ্যোগের কোন ব্যাংক হিসাব ছিল না, তারা তাদের নিজস্ব ব্যাংক হিসাবে অর্থ স্থানান্তর করতে বাধ্য হন। </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "EB Garamond", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">এখানে সত্য যেটাই হোক, যদি ধরে নেয়া হয় যে ইউনিয়নের নেতারা আসলেই অর্থ আত্মসাত করেছিলেন, এই বিষয়টি নিয়ে মামলা করার দায় দুদকের না, বরং বাংলাদেশের শ্রম অধিদপ্তরের, কারণ বাংলাদেশের শ্রম আইন অনুসারে এই দপ্তরটির দায়িত্ব এই সংক্রান্ত বিষয়ে ব্যবস্থা নেয়ার। </span><span style="font-family: "EB Garamond", serif; white-space-collapse: preserve;">আইনে আছে:</span></p></span></span><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><span><p style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "EB Garamond", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-size: large;">“শ্রমিকগণের অথবা মালিকগণের কোন ট্রেড ইউনিয়নের কোন কর্মকর্তা বা কর্মচারী উক্ত ট্রেড ইউনিয়নের তহবিলের অর্থ আত্মসাত্ করিলে, তছরূপ করিলে অথবা অসত্ উদ্দেশ্যে নিজের কাজে ব্যয় করিলে, তিনি এক বৎসর পর্যন্ত কারাদণ্ডে দণ্ডনীয় হইবেন এবং অধিকন্তু তিনি অর্থদণ্ডেও দণ্ডনীয় হইবেন।”</span></span></p></span></blockquote><span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "EB Garamond", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-size: large;">এবং ধারা ২৯৮(৩) মোতাবেক এই অর্থ আত্মসাতের পর ফেরত আনার ব্যবস্থা নেয়ার ক্ষমতাও দেয়া হয়েছে।</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "EB Garamond", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-size: large;">তবে সবচেয়ে গুরুত্বপূর্ণ হচ্ছে, যদি ট্রেড ইউনিয়নের নেতারা এই অর্থ আত্মসাত করেও থাকেন, তার জন্য গ্রামীণ টেলিকম কিংবা ট্রেড ইউনিয়নের আইনজীবীরা কোন ক্রমেই দায়ী হতে পারেন না। </span></span></p><h3 dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 16pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #434343; font-family: "EB Garamond", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-size: large;">দুদকের দাবির সাথে বাস্তবতার মিল নেই</span></span></h3><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "EB Garamond", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-size: large;">দুদকের অভিযোগের মূল ভিত্তি যে ধারণার উপর প্রতিষ্ঠিত তা হচ্ছে গ্রামীণ টেলিকম এবং এর পরিচালকেরা পারস্পারিক যোগসাজসে কর্মচারীদের প্রাপ্য অর্থ আত্মসাত করেছেন। কিন্তু উপরে উল্লেখিত বিশ্লেষণ থেকে দেখা যাচ্ছে, এখানে কোন অর্থ আত্মসাতের ঘটনা ঘটেনি কারণ:</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "EB Garamond", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-size: large;">ক) কর্মচারীরা তাদের প্রাপ্য পুরো অর্থ বুঝে পেয়েছেন;</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "EB Garamond", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-size: large;">খ) গ্রামীণ টেলিকম ট্রেড ইউনিয়নকে যে অর্থ দিয়েছে তার মধ্যে কর্মচারীদের প্রাপ্য এমন কোন অর্থ ছিল না যা গ্রামীণ টেলিকমের সরাসরি কর্মচারীদের দেয়া উচিৎ ছিল;</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "EB Garamond", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-size: large;">গ) কর্মচারীরা লিখিতভাবে তাদের প্রাপ্য অর্থ থেকে আইনি ও প্রশাসনিক খরচ কেটে রাখার বিষয়ে অঙ্গীকারনামা জমা দিয়েছিল।</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "EB Garamond", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-size: large;">এসব তথ্যের আলোকে বলা যায় গ্রামীণ টেলিকমের পরিচালকেরা “প্রতারণা,” “জালিয়াতি,” “অপরাধমূলক বিশ্বাসভঙ্গ” কিংবা “অর্থ পাচার” ইত্যাদি অপরাধ করেছেন এমন অভিযোগ উত্থাপনের কোনো সুযোগই নেই। একই কথা ট্রেড ইউনিয়নের আইনজীবীদের ক্ষেত্রেও প্রযোজ্য।</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "EB Garamond", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-size: large;">যে বিষয়টি এখানে একদমই বোধগম্য নয় তা হলো, দুদক পরিচালকদের বিরুদ্ধে যে ফৌজধারী অপরাধে জড়ানোর অভিযোগ করা হয়েছে তাতে তাদের লাভ কী? আমরা সমঝোতা চুক্তিটি থেকে দেখতে পাই, কর্মচারীরা, যারা বাংলাদেশে কোটিপতিতে পরিণত হয়েছিলেন, এই চুক্তি থেকে খুবই লাভবান হয়েছিলেন। প্রতিষ্ঠানটি তাদের দাবি মেনে নিয়ে, আইন মেনে, বৈধভাবে এই সমঝোতা করেছিল। কর্মচারীরা যা যা চেয়েছিলেন সবই পেয়েছিলেন। এই ধরণের একটি ফৌজদারী অপরাধে প্রতিষ্ঠানটি বা তার পরিচালকেরা কেন জড়াবেন যেখানে তাদের কোন ব্যক্তিগত বা প্রাতিষ্ঠানিক লাভ নেই?</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "EB Garamond", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-size: large;">যদি ট্রেড ইউনিয়ন দশ কোটি টাকা নয়-ছয় করেও থাকে- এই প্রতিবেদনে তারা এটি করেছে কি করেনি সেই বিষয়ে কোন উপসংহারে আসার চেষ্টা করা হয় নি- সেটি কোনভাবেই গ্রামীণ টেলিকম বা তার পরিচালকদের উপর বর্তায় না। এছাড়াও, যদি এমন কোন প্রমাণ থেকেও থাকে যে তারা এই অর্থ আত্মসাত করেছেন, সেটি দুদকের দেখার বিষয় নয় বরং শ্রম আইনের ২৯৮(৩) ধারা অনুসারে এই বিষয়টি দেখার দায় বাংলাদেশের শ্রম অধিদপ্তরের।</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "EB Garamond", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-size: large;">কোন গণতান্ত্রিক দেশ যেখানে আইনের শাসন রয়েছে, সেখানে একটি বিশেষায়িত দুর্নীতি দমন সংস্থার উপস্থিতি দুর্নীতির বিরুদ্ধে দেশটির অবস্থানকে শক্তিশালী করে। তবে এই মামলা এমন একটি উদাহরণ তৈরি করেছে যেখানে দেখা যাচ্ছে আইন মেনে চলা বরং , আইন না মানার চেয়েও বিপদজনক হয়ে উঠেতে পারে।
<br /></span></span></p><div><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></div></span>David Bergmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02674636000068693356noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4183118663703256159.post-21109309734693351662023-12-25T18:04:00.004+06:002023-12-25T18:05:40.405+06:00 The Election of the Absurd*<p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; white-space-collapse: preserve;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; text-align: left; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-size: large;">Bangladesh’s governing party officials are threatening voters with the loss of state benefits if they don’t show up at the polling centres in the country’s uncontested election.</span></span></div><span id="docs-internal-guid-6c19dc8e-7fff-1769-8b77-dfcc0ab06fa4"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0IcFFrY3SvPbZVQimT73ai3aje8xDCMy6PZR6mpKNcg9RT6om55d6_tEZ_-8xm0ZXnKph-b6lkg0V6GWFS7-c2OoY_YRMIEI3JU-l8q3GKCqLfTCtP8HDyrVHHfhGV0MfztG32J0betpJIgCF1S3XhsKsOwISPqmN8okYdaURzhXSCx8zQw-vL7y0eV4/s1800/2TC8506.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="375" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0IcFFrY3SvPbZVQimT73ai3aje8xDCMy6PZR6mpKNcg9RT6om55d6_tEZ_-8xm0ZXnKph-b6lkg0V6GWFS7-c2OoY_YRMIEI3JU-l8q3GKCqLfTCtP8HDyrVHHfhGV0MfztG32J0betpJIgCF1S3XhsKsOwISPqmN8okYdaURzhXSCx8zQw-vL7y0eV4/w563-h375/2TC8506.jpg" width="563" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span><span style="font-size: large;">On 7th January, 2024, an “election” of sorts will take place in Bangladesh.
</span></span></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-size: large;">Perhaps it is best not described as an “election” but as a theatrical play or even charade which seeks to portray the people of Bangladesh as being able to make a real choice and that is one of choosing the Awami League as the legitimate party of government.</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span></span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><br /></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">With no opposition in attendance, it remains unclear whether those participating in this theatre of the absurd are actually beguiled by the charade. Its preposterousness is certainly</span><a href="https://www.thedailystar.net/opinion/road-elections-2023-24/news/the-al-the-al-and-the-al-3500361" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> </span><span style="color: #0563c1; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">in full view</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> of the audience – and it has already received some very bad</span><a href="https://www.hrw.org/news/2023/11/26/bangladesh-violent-autocratic-crackdown-ahead-elections" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> </span><span style="color: #0563c1; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">reviews</span></a> by many inside and outside the country<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">. Most plays so comprehensively</span><a href="https://www.europarl.europa.eu/thinktank/en/document/EPRS_BRI(2023)757586" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> </span><span style="color: #0563c1; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">panned</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> would have closed its box office some time ago, but not this one. The director of this charade very much wants to keep her job, and a</span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; white-space-collapse: preserve;">s memory of the theatrical spectacle fades, </span><span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">the play’s economic backers feel</span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> that their investment will pay off in no time. And whilst </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; white-space-collapse: preserve;">after such a charade, </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; white-space-collapse: preserve;">one would never expect that </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; white-space-collapse: preserve;">the reputation and career of a director whose play was so uniformly slammed could revive, this one has previously put on two other similarly ridiculed dramas (in 2014 and 2018) yet managed to continue with her reputation (and power) pretty much intact. And she is betting that it will happen this time too.</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span></span></span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-size: large;">The above may be a bit of fun, but you would be surprised how close this is to what is going on in Bangladesh right now.</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Since the Awami League (AL) government took power in 2008, and used its overwhelming parliamentary majority</span><a href="https://www.thedailystar.net/news-detail-192303" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> </span><span style="color: #0563c1; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">to remove the provisions</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> within the constitution that had required an election-time non-partisan </span><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">caretaker government, the two subsequent elections in 2014 and 2018 have been, let’s say, “highly questionable”.</span></span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://bangladeshpolitico.blogspot.com/search/label/Elections" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #0563c1; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">In 2014</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">, the opposition parties, spearheaded by the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), boycotted the election fearing that without a caretaker government system in place, it would be rigged. And</span><a href="https://bangladeshpolitico.blogspot.com/search/label/2018%20election" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> </span><span style="color: #0563c1; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">in 2018</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">, in an election in which it did participate, voting was indeed systematically rigged, proving the opposition’s earlier fears of 2014 correct.</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-size: large;">So what was the opposition BNP to do this time round? It was caught between a rock and a hard place – either to take part and lose by government rigging, or to boycott and lose through non-participation. In this no-win situation, it decided to repeat its 2014 strategy, presumably because by doing so there remained some possibility that the government would budge and introduce changes that would allow a free and fair election to take place.</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-size: large;">We now know where this has got us. A boycott followed by the "election" of the absurd.</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">It has long been my view that it was in the AL government’s interest for the Bangladesh opposition party to boycott the forthcoming national election rather than to participate. This is not because the government feared that the opposition BNP would win a contested election – there should be no doubt that the Awami League would never allow the BNP to win, and would if it could, always rig any contested election (as indeed the BNP would do the same if it were in government,</span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/February_1996_Bangladeshi_general_election" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> </span><span style="color: #0563c1; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">see 1996</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> and</span><a href="https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2007-feb-13-fg-bangladesh13-story.html" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #0563c1; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> 2006</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">) – but because when opposition parties do not take part in elections, governments are subject to <i>much less</i> criticism and opprobrium and, more significantly, do not have to go through the effort and the hard-yards of actually having to rig it.</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-size: large;">So, in recent months, as the BNP pushed its demands, the government never had any real reason to concede. It suited the Awami League down to the ground for the BNP to boycott.</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Intriguingly, the government’s harsh and country-wide crackdown on the BNP (following violence during the opposition's October 28th, 2023 rally) effectively took </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; white-space-collapse: preserve;">out of the opposition party’s hands </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">the decision whether to participate or not. In the past six weeks, the police have arrested and jailed as many</span><a href="https://thediplomat.com/2023/12/crackdown-on-bangladesh-nationalist-party-hasnt-broken-its-morale-yet/" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> </span><span style="color: #0563c1; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">as 20,000 leaders</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> and activists – including large numbers of its national and local leadership </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">– </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">resulting in many more thousands going into hiding to avoid arrest. So, even if the BNP had been thinking of changing tack and taking part in the elections, the crackdown would have prevented it from doing so. A cynic might claim that the crackdown was designed to make sure that a non-contested election took place!</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-size: large;">So to the surreal theatre that is now described as the country’s election.</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-size: large;">With no opposition, the government needs to achieve several things. First, it needs to create the appearance of a contested election.</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-size: large;">This is of course hard to do when no opposition parties are taking part. However, the Awami League government is very keen not to repeat what happened in 2014, when in over 150 of the 300 parliamentary seats, an AL alliance candidate stood uncontested, effectively ensuring that the party had won the “election” before it had even taken place.</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-size: large;">The government had hoped to avoid this recurrence by peeling off enough disgruntled (or otherwise incentivised) BNP politicians away from the party who would then stand at the election representing newly created “opposition” parties. But apart from in a few cases, this strategy failed.</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">As a result, the Awami League has been forced to encourage Awami League politicians who were not chosen by the party to be official candidates to stand as “dummy” independent candidates against the party’s official candidates. “Dummy” is not my term, but a term used by the Awami League politicians themselves –</span><a href="https://www.tbsnews.net/bangladesh/al-wont-tolerate-any-whipping-outside-stay-power-pm-hasina-746590" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> </span><span style="color: #0563c1; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">reportedly also</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> by the prime minister – in setting out the strategy to its own politicians.</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Second, the Awami League needs the pretence of an opposition party </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">–</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">and has (yet again) chosen its ally, the Jatiya Party to take this role. However, it seems that the Jatiya Party were in two minds about taking part in the election</span><a href="https://twitter.com/ZulkarnainSaer/status/173633329066188801" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> </span><span style="color: #0563c1; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">and reportedly</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> needed a visit from DGFI, the country's feared military intelligence agency, to stiffen the party’s backbone. Only then, reportedly, did it finally agree to take part. This has echoes of 2014 when, before that election, the then leader of the Jatiya Party, General Ershad, was picked up from his home by security services and <a href="https://bdnews24.com/politics/ershad-fears-deportation">detained in a military</a> hospital to make sure his party took part in the election.</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-size: large;">However, how does the Awami League ensure that the Jatiya Party wins some seats in the election? In what is a very odd/surreal/absurd concession to what is supposedly an “opposition” party, the governing Awami League has withdrawn its own official candidates in 26 seats so that the “opposition” Jatiya party has a free run.</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-size: large;">Thirdly, and perhaps most significantly, the party needs a relatively high turnout to give the impression that the citizens of Bangladesh believe this to be a legitimate election. It also needs a large section of these people to vote for the Awami League, giving them a way to argue that the party has a mandate.</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">What does the Awami League need the turnout to be? When the Awami League boycotted the February 1996 election, there was a 28% turnout, and in 2014, when the BNP boycotted the election, there was officially</span><a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2014/1/7/violent-bangladesh-poll-not-credible" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> </span><span style="color: #0563c1; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">a 39%</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> turnout (though</span><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/06/world/asia/boycott-and-violence-mar-elections-in-bangladesh.html" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> </span><span style="color: #0563c1; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">others put</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> it much lower) . The Awami League would like at least to match the “official” 2014 turnout figures.</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-size: large;">The Awami League does have a significant electoral base within the country, but it remains very unclear how sizable that is – and the party itself is also far from sure. Also, the Awami League knows that many Awami League supporters might not want to vote when the election is uncontested.</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-size: large;">And this is where I finally get to the most important part of this article. No doubt, the governing party can fiddle with the vote tallies so it can announce a decent turnout – much easier to do where no opposition activists or observers are present to cry foul – but the AL wants there to be long queues of people voting. “You see,” they want to be able to say. “Look at all these people voting. This is a truly participatory election.”</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-size: large;">The Awami League seems now to have a plan for this. And it involves threatening millions of people with loss of their entitlement to financial benefits if they do not go to the voting centres on January 7th.</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">According to the ministry of finance, in 2022/23, around 12.8 million people receive social benefits. In addition, 19 million people now receive stipends to support enrolment of primary and secondary school children. It can be a very political process to get on these lists and Upazilla chairman –</span><a href="https://www-banglatribune-com.translate.goog/amp/national/490789/%E0%A6%A6%E0%A7%81%E0%A6%87-%E0%A6%A4%E0%A7%83%E0%A6%A4%E0%A7%80%E0%A7%9F%E0%A6%BE%E0%A6%82%E0%A6%B6-%E0%A6%89%E0%A6%AA%E0%A6%9C%E0%A7%87%E0%A6%B2%E0%A6%BE%E0%A7%9F-%E0%A6%86.-%E0%A6%B2%E0%A7%80%E0%A6%97-%E0%A6%9C%E0%A7%9F%E0%A7%80-%E0%A6%B8%E0%A7%8D%E0%A6%AC%E0%A6%A4%E0%A6%A8%E0%A7%8D%E0%A6%A4%E0%A7%8D%E0%A6%B0%E0%A6%B0%E0%A6%BE%E0%A6%93?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> </span><span style="color: #0563c1; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">practically all 473 of them</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> belong to the Awami League - play a key role.
</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsNGqLJGbX_255jWF0PMqDrTVHgfaxCM33ddRG9XwcsNk3nIFtVT0PJoA_wXcaVCkgOmkRZ49KFlSQGtI6i0dENeZYByf8cnF2qSl_gRDpKiKxpxd20rzrPSLjwTKghwaA8PdWARZqq7zzspQypKI9kMfr3rljWJ26cDqWLuFJeb3rgN8gJwqb6yFLukA/s1530/Screenshot%202023-12-23%20at%2018.14.29.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1108" data-original-width="1530" height="290" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsNGqLJGbX_255jWF0PMqDrTVHgfaxCM33ddRG9XwcsNk3nIFtVT0PJoA_wXcaVCkgOmkRZ49KFlSQGtI6i0dENeZYByf8cnF2qSl_gRDpKiKxpxd20rzrPSLjwTKghwaA8PdWARZqq7zzspQypKI9kMfr3rljWJ26cDqWLuFJeb3rgN8gJwqb6yFLukA/w400-h290/Screenshot%202023-12-23%20at%2018.14.29.png" width="400" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOi6MC0QUhQLbAdkOzkkzVnSsORY722eAFAnZZLKTyffOvZlutWlpBySXR0VwdRZaBVMCmPbgVBdd26Xa8ZFCm-kajRzipsjyOLDLlaioQiE258UI2ZGHftPISEKLnyhug8EZyjtOdvkcyY3n4VGDxqcLTIgDLrH2KOGA-v-ORBxVQhcV3m1EqoQO6nec/s1482/Screenshot%202023-12-23%20at%2018.14.48.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="202" data-original-width="1482" height="55" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOi6MC0QUhQLbAdkOzkkzVnSsORY722eAFAnZZLKTyffOvZlutWlpBySXR0VwdRZaBVMCmPbgVBdd26Xa8ZFCm-kajRzipsjyOLDLlaioQiE258UI2ZGHftPISEKLnyhug8EZyjtOdvkcyY3n4VGDxqcLTIgDLrH2KOGA-v-ORBxVQhcV3m1EqoQO6nec/w400-h55/Screenshot%202023-12-23%20at%2018.14.48.png" width="400" /></a></div></span><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-size: x-large; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: large;">Where is the evidence of this? Videos of meetings from Upazilla chairman, to local Awami League leaders, and to members of Awami League's national advisory council. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://twitter.com/MahfuzA74923/status/1735991762953679044?t=Jc3NFxkR_2VXT7duAGYnTg" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #0563c1; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">In one video</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> of a meeting, the Faridpur Union Chairman says:</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></p></span><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><p style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span>“If individuals receiving social welfare benefits from this government do not go to [centers] to vote in the </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; white-space-collapse: preserve;">[January] </span></p><p style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span>7th elections, then this [Union] Parishad will try its utmost to deprive them of those benefits.”</span></span></p></span></blockquote><span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://en.prothomalo.com/bangladesh/politics/pe03vyhbk3" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #0563c1; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">In another video</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">, </span><span style="color: #121212; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Ramesh Chandra Sen, a member of Awami League's advisory council and a member of parliament from Thakurgaon-1 made similar threats at a public meeting:</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></p></span><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><span><p style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #121212; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-size: large;">“The floating voters of BNP must cast their votes. If you do not participate in voting, and if you are beneficiaries of various government programmes, then your names will be removed from the list. I stand by my words. I have added names, and I'll remove them. If you go to the polling centres, the centre committee members, including the president and general secretary, will be present, and they will take note of your attendance. Everyone will be accounted for, and actions will be taken accordingly if you choose not to vote.”</span></span></p></span></blockquote><span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #121212; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">And again, the Awami League president in Lakshmirchar union in Jamalpur</span><a href="https://en.prothomalo.com/bangladesh/politics/umyjlzhnuf" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #121212; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> </span><span style="color: #0563c1; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">said at another</span></a><span style="color: #121212; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> public</span><a href="https://twitter.com/bd_public/status/1737679285526356085?t=J36WzEUTTOJmXoM0z5DuwA" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #121212; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> </span><span style="color: #0563c1; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">meeting:</span></a></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="color: #121212; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></p></span><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><span><p style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #121212; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-size: large;">“I want to address those who are enjoying the government allowances through the UP chairman and members. The chairman is going to call you at the primary school ground soon. You all will have to come. And if you do not turn up, you will be identified with the help of video footage and your allowance cards will be cancelled after the vote. I am saying this in the presence of the chairman himself.”</span></span></p></span></blockquote><span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-size: large;">The Awami League is getting its message out, not just at public meetings, but no doubt through word of mouth: “If you do not go to the voting centres, you risk losing your financial benefits.”</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-size: large;">Including those who get education stipends, this amounts to around 30 million people.</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">It is important to remember that the people who get these benefits </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">– </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="text-wrap: nowrap;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"> or should get these benefits </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">– </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">are amongst the most vulnerable people in society, depending on this financial support, and one can see how such threats could hit home. Threatening people with loss of benefits unless they vote is a Machiavellian, and no doubt illegal, technique to get long lines outside voting centres.</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">The whole process of this election is </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">embarrassing for the AL and for the country itself, but the party does not care as long as it stays in power. The new government will easily withstand </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; white-space-collapse: preserve;">criticism from the Western democratic world, </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; white-space-collapse: preserve;">which going by previous elections, will be relatively low key, and will not result in any significant negative repercussions. Moreover the party has </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; white-space-collapse: preserve;">the </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; white-space-collapse: preserve;">strong support of India (as well as that of Russian and China) who have made their support for this "election" drama very public.</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-size: large;">It will soon be business as usual – and yet another victory for secular authoritarianism.</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-size: large;">-----------</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="font-size: large;">*First published in Netra News
- for <a href="https://netra.news/2023/election-of-the-absurd/">international audiences</a>
- for <a href="https://storage.googleapis.com/netra.news/2023/election-of-the-absurd/index.html">Bangladesh</a></span></span></p><div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span></div></span>David Bergmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02674636000068693356noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4183118663703256159.post-73295640408812005202021-03-05T20:57:00.003+06:002021-06-01T12:58:35.573+06:00সরকার আড়ালে রাখতে চায় অনেক কিছুই: আমার বিরুদ্ধে কুৎসার প্রত্যুত্তর<div class="separator"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXas4GZUDzykc1U5SsxXCpFAXBn4K9k7hva33k-jMGa-GBSDOzO9qIPw8j6nxCqvuxBvO8zlUKQ__7fZ5-mrQR6WOffZaZ8zB3mnXVlaEkL1a4cGIR1vEzyhwSSqqfyzyDGE3UtEoUs-U/s2000/david_aljazeera.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1440" data-original-width="2000" height="288" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXas4GZUDzykc1U5SsxXCpFAXBn4K9k7hva33k-jMGa-GBSDOzO9qIPw8j6nxCqvuxBvO8zlUKQ__7fZ5-mrQR6WOffZaZ8zB3mnXVlaEkL1a4cGIR1vEzyhwSSqqfyzyDGE3UtEoUs-U/w400-h288/david_aljazeera.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">[Original English version <a href="https://bangladeshpolitico.blogspot.com/2021/02/rebuttal-to-personal-attacks-following.html">can be read here</a>]</span><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><div><span style="font-size: medium;">১লা ফেব্রুয়ারি আল জাজিরা ‘অল দা প্রাইম মিনিস্টারস মেন’ (বাংলা শিরোনাম – ‘ওরা প্রধানমন্ত্রীর লোক’) ডকুমেন্টারি সম্প্রচার করে। এখন পর্যন্ত ৭৭ লক্ষাধিক বার ভিডিওটি ইউটিউবেই শুধু দেখা হয়েছে, বাংলাদেশে একে কেন্দ্র করে সর্বস্তরে আলোচনা চলছে। সরকার এবং সরকার সমর্থকরা ডকুমেন্টারির তীব্র বিরোধিতা করছে। কিন্তু এতে প্রকাশিত অভিযোগগুলো আনুষ্ঠানিকভাবে খণ্ডন না করে এর সাথে সংশ্লিষ্টদের চরিত্র হননে লিপ্ত হয়েছে তারা। ডকুমেন্টারি নির্মাতা ও সাক্ষাতকার প্রদানকারী ব্যক্তিদের চরিত্র হননের প্রচেষ্টা তো তারা চালিয়েই যাচ্ছে, সেই সাথে এর বাইরের বিভিন্ন ব্যক্তিকে ডকুমেন্টারি তৈরিতে যুক্ত ছিল বলে অসত্য দাবী করছে এবং তাদের বিরুদ্ধেও কুৎসা রটনা করছে।<br /><br />তাদের এই চরিত্র হনন অভিযান বিষয়ে বর্তমান এই লেখা, ডকুমেন্টারির বিষয়বস্তু নিয়ে না। আমি সম্পূর্ণ মিথ্যা ও মানহানিকর বিভিন্ন অভিযোগের শিকার হচ্ছি। একথা উল্লেখ করা জরুরি যে কোন জায়গা থেকেই আমাকে এসব অভিযোগের বিষয়ে জবাব দেবার সুযোগ দেয়া হচ্ছেনা। এটা সাংবাদিকতার প্রতিষ্ঠিত নিয়ম যে কারো বিরুদ্ধে অভিযোগ প্রকাশ করলে তাকে সেসবের উত্তর দেবার সুযোগ দিতে হবে। কিন্তু কোন একটি সংবাদপত্র, অনলাইন সাইট, এবং টিভি স্টেশন আমাকে তা দেয়নি, এবং ক্রমাগত মিথ্যা অভিযোগ প্রচার করে যাচ্ছে। এসব প্রচারের আগে আমার সাথে কোন যোগাযোগের প্রয়োজন তারা বোধ করছে না। আবারও বলি, উত্তরের সুযোগ দেয়ার বিষয়টা সাংবাদিকতার খুব অপরিহার্য একটা দিক।</span></div><div><span><a name='more'></a></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><br />সরকারের মদদ প্রাপ্ত এসব অপপ্রচার অভিযান অবশ্য নতুন কিছু না। বিভিন্ন মানুষকে বাংলাদেশের মিডিয়া বা গণমাধ্যমে মিথ্যা অভিযোগ দেয়া হয়েছে – ২০১১ তে মোহাম্মদ ইউনুস থেকে শুরু করে ২০১৮ তে শহিদুল আলম পর্যন্ত বহু লোক এর ভুক্তভোগী। এদের মধ্যে অনেকে শুধু মানহানিকর মিথ্যার শিকার না, সাথে তারা ফৌজদারি বা ক্রিমিনাল মামলাতেও আসামি হচ্ছে। মিথ্যা অভিযোগের এমন অভিযান নতুন না হলেও টিভি, সংবাদপত্র এবং সামাজিক যোগাযোগ মাধ্যমে যেমন হারে সংঘবদ্ধভাবে এই মিথ্যা কথা প্রচার করা হচ্ছে তা অন্য সময়ের তুলনায় অনেক বেশি। বোঝা যাচ্ছে, সরকারের এখানে বেশ উদ্বিগ্ন। <br /><br />ডকুমেন্টারিটা তৈরি করেছে আল জাজিরা। এতে আমার একটা ভূমিকা থাকলেও এর ভিডিও গ্রহণ, সম্পাদনা, প্রযোজনা — এসব কোন কিছুতেই আমি যুক্ত ছিলাম না। এ বিষয়টা গুরুত্বপূর্ণ, কেননা বাংলাদেশের মিডিয়াতে অনেকেই প্রচার করছে যে ডকুমেন্টারির নির্মাতা আমি। এর চেয়েও বেশি বানানো ও কল্পনাপ্রসূত অভিযোগও দেয়া হচ্ছে, যেমন, আমি আল জাজিরাকে টাকা দিয়েছি ডকুমেন্টারিটা বানাবার জন্য। একথা সম্পূর্ণ অসত্য। <br /><br />অন্যান্য যেসব অভিযোগ আমার বিরুদ্ধে করা হচ্ছে সবই সম্পূর্ণ মিথ্যা। বিশেষত এই দাবী যে আমার সাথে বিরোধী দল বা বিরোধী দলের রাজনীতিবিদদের আর্থিক বা রাজনৈতিক সম্পর্ক আছে। বা আরো অদ্ভুত দাবী যে আমি এসব দলের সমর্থক। বাংলাদেশে এটা চিরপরিচিত নিয়ম হয়ে দাঁড়িয়েছে যে, কোন সমালোচনাকারী পেলেই সরকার তাকে “জামাত সমর্থক” বানায়, বা “মুক্তিযুদ্ধ বিরোধী শক্তি” বানায়, “আওয়ামী বিদ্বেষী” বলা হয়। এসব অভিযোগের সবগুলো আমার বিরুদ্ধেও করা হয়েছে। বলা বাহুল্য এসব অভিযোগ বা দাবীগুলো মিথ্যা এবং ভিত্তিহীন<br /><br />প্রকাশিত কয়েকটি লেখায় দাবী করা হয়েছে আমি কিছু বৈঠকে ছিলাম বিরোধী দলের কিছু পরিচিত নেতার সাথে এবং সেখানে বিভিন্ন বিষয়ে আমি তাদের সাথে একমতে এসেছি। এসব দাবীর সাথে মাঝে মাঝে বিস্তারিত বর্ণনা থাকে যাতে মনে হয় ঘটনা নিশ্চয়ই সত্য। কিন্তু এসব তথ্য সম্পূর্ণ বানোয়াট। সম্পূর্ণ কল্পনা প্রসূত। আপনি এসব অভিযোগ দেখে থাকলে প্রমাণ হাজির করার দাবী করুন। তারা দেখাতে পারবে না, কারণ যা ঘটেনি তার কোন প্রমাণ নেই। <br /><br />সম্প্রতি আবার এক স্থানে বলা হয়েছে যে আমি একটি পরিচিত বাংলাদেশি কোম্পানির ডিরেক্টর। আমি এখানে জানাতে চাই যে আমি বিশ্বের কোন স্থানের কোন কোম্পানির ডিরেক্টর, কর্মকর্তা বা মালিক নই।<br /><br />অন্য কিছু লেখায় আবার দাবী করা হয়েছে যে আমার পরিবারের সদস্যরা ডকুমেন্টারি তৈরিতে জড়িত। আমার পরিবারের কোন সদস্য ডকুমেন্টারির কোন বিষয়ে কিছু জানতেন না। সম্প্রচারের আগ পর্যন্ত এতে দেখানো বিষয়বস্তু সম্পূর্ণ গোপন রাখা হয়েছে।<br /><br />এসব কিছুর মূলে রয়েছে সাংবাদিকতা বিষয়ে কিছু ভুল ধারনা। যে ভুল ধারনা অনেকটাই ইচ্ছাকৃত ভাবে ধারণকৃত বলা চলে। সাংবাদিকের কাজ কি, সাংবাদিকতা কি উদ্দেশ্যে করা হয়, এবং বিশেষ করে অনুসন্ধানী সাংবাদিকতার কাজ কি তা সম্পূর্ণরূপে ভুল বোঝা হচ্ছে। বাংলাদেশ সরকার ধরে নিচ্ছে যে, যেসব সাংবাদিকরা অনুসন্ধানী সাংবাদিকতা করেন বা একাজে সাহায্য করেন তাদের সবার বিশেষ উদ্দেশ্য আছে। তাদের পক্ষপাত আছে, দুরভিসন্ধি রয়েছে এবং তারা কোন বড় ষড়যন্ত্রের অংশ, যার উদ্দেশ্য এই সরকারকে উৎখাত করা বা এর ক্ষতি করা। <br /><br />বাংলাদেশের আরো অনেক সাংবাদিকের মতোই আমি আমার কাজের মাধ্যমে — নেত্র নিউজ ও অন্যান্য মাধ্যমে — অন্যায় কাজ, দুর্নীতি, মানবাধিকার লঙ্ঘন ইত্যাদির খবর মানুষের কাছে জানাবার চেষ্টা করছি। বাংলাদেশে কে ক্ষমতায় আছে তা আমার বিবেচ্য বিষয়ই না। বিএনপি বা জামাত ক্ষমতায় থাকলেও আমি একই ভাবে এধরনের একটি ডকুমেন্টারি তৈরির কাজে সংযুক্ত থাকতাম। আমার নিজস্ব লেখালেখিও তখন হতো সেই সরকারের অন্যায় বিষয়ে।<br /><br />গুরুত্বপূর্ণ একটি বিষয় হচ্ছে আওয়ামী লীগ সরকার ২০০৮ এর শেষ থেকে ক্ষমতায় আছে। ১১ বছরের বেশি হয়েছে। আমি সাংবাদিকতায় ফিরে এসেছি ২০০৯ এ। তখন আওয়ামী লীগ সরকার ক্ষমতায়। কাজেই অন্য কোন সরকার নিয়ে লেখার কোন সুযোগ ছিলনা। কিন্তু এর আগে ১৯৯৪ সালে আমি চ্যানেল ফোরে বানানো ডকুমেন্টারির কাজে নিবিড়ভাবে সংযুক্ত ছিলাম। ‘দা ওয়ার ক্রাইমস ফাইল’ নামক এই ডকুমেন্টারিতে দেখানো হয় যুক্তরাজ্য (ইউকে) প্রবাসী ৩ জন প্রাক্তন জামাত সদস্যের বিরুদ্ধে ১৯৭১ সালে যুদ্ধাপরাধের অভিযোগ রয়েছে। সেসময় নিজেদের স্বার্থের পক্ষে যাবার কারণে আওয়ামী লীগ আমাকে সমাদর করেছে। আমি ২০০০ থেকে ২০১০ পর্যন্ত সাংবাদিকতা থেকে দূরে ছিলাম। <br /><br />আন্তর্জাতিক অপরাধ ট্রাইব্যুনাল বিষয়ে আমি যা কাজ করেছি তা নিয়ে অনেক কিছু লেখা হয়েছে। সঠিক প্রক্রিয়া ও ন্যায় বিচার বিষয়ক কথা বললেই জামাতপন্থী বা যুদ্ধাপরাধী-পন্থী বলা হয়। বিষয়টা দুঃখজনক। <br /><br />বাংলাদেশ সরকার এবং এর সমর্থকদের বোঝা প্রয়োজন যে, যিনি খবর প্রকাশ করেন তাকে হেনস্তা না করে তাদের উচিৎ হবে যা ঘটেছে তা থেকে শিক্ষা নেয়া, তদন্ত করা এবং সংস্কার করা। অনুসন্ধানী সাংবাদিকতার ফলাফল ক্ষমতাসীনদের জন্য আনন্দদায়ক হয় না। অনুসন্ধানী প্রতিবেদনের উত্তর দেবার সম্পূর্ণ অধিকার সরকারের আছে, কিন্তু কোথায় ভুল তথ্য দেয়া হয়েছে সেসব ধরিয়ে না দিয়ে যদি অনুসন্ধানকারীর মোটিভকে অভিযুক্ত করার অভিযানে নেমে যায় সরকার তা অন্যায় এবং এতে অনেক নিরপরাধ মানুষ ও তাদের পরিবার ক্ষতিগ্রস্ত হয়। <br /><br />এমন কর্মকাণ্ডে উল্টো মনে হয় যে সরকারের অনেক কিছু লুকাবার আছে।</span><br /></div></div>David Bergmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02674636000068693356noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4183118663703256159.post-57263963729241604752021-03-04T17:54:00.001+06:002021-06-01T13:12:18.873+06:00My response to bdnews24's "Open Letter" on Al Jazeera's film, "All the Prime Minister's Men"<p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzpsHoUBKNXDYEbXgHZhTPLddVKk2L-K94YHmjMfAtmLIli8TuYZx4AjWf5hTythT07X-KyiLD8MunJg9K8Q_25dIqeo-SVgKFnlvYR4mmMuL83KNrJrQkIP4_X6aEJXlpFn84g_at3WM/s1000/bdnews24_openletter.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1000" height="288" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzpsHoUBKNXDYEbXgHZhTPLddVKk2L-K94YHmjMfAtmLIli8TuYZx4AjWf5hTythT07X-KyiLD8MunJg9K8Q_25dIqeo-SVgKFnlvYR4mmMuL83KNrJrQkIP4_X6aEJXlpFn84g_at3WM/w400-h288/bdnews24_openletter.png" width="400" /></a></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Bdnews24 published an oped which was titled<a href="https://opinion.bdnews24.com/2021/02/19/investigating-al-jazeeras-investigation-an-open-letter-to-david-bergman/"> “An open letter to David Bergman.”</a> It contains a series of factual inaccuracies as
well as misrepresentations. One would have thought that bdnews would agree to
publish a response. But no. Bdnews editor-in-chief, Toufique Khalidi and its English
language editor, Arun Devnath have failed to respond to repeated attempts to contact them. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Here is the article I would have
liked the online news site to have published.<span></span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">-------------</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Rayhan Rashid, has a bit of a history. In 2012, then a key
person within the International Crimes Strategy Forum, a campaigning organisation
involving war crimes, he was <a href="http://icsforum.org/143">caught red-handed in the leaked skype reports scandal</a>
which found that he and other outsiders were communicating and providing
assistance to the chair of the ICT judge. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">He, unfortunately, brings the same lack of judgment
to his <a href="https://storage.googleapis.com/netra/2021/investigative-documentary-blows-the-lid-off-corruption-at-the-heart-of-bangladesh-government-1569.html">analysis of the Al Jazeera film, "All the Prime Minister's Men"</a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Rashid published an earlier version of the bdnews24 article <a href="https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=10158735018078617&id=515223616">on his Facebook page</a>
– and it is notable that he changed the initial introduction. Rashid
had originally written in his Facebook post:</span></p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">“AJ’s investigation succeeded in establishing the following
points to its credit:</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">- That the current Army Chief of Bangladesh had occasionally
been in contact with his two fugitive brothers.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">- That one of his two fugitive brothers is now using a false
identity.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">- That the Army Chief failed to report his fugitive brothers
to the authorities when they visited Bangladesh from time-to-time.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">These actions, and in some cases omissions, undoubtedly
indicate breaking a number of laws, not just by the Army Chief himself, but
also by certain other bodies and persons entrusted to uphold these laws. The
person(s) responsible for such law-breaking must be held to account."</span></p></blockquote><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">In the bdnews24 article however he no longer states that “AJ’s
investigation succeeded in establishing the following points.” Why not? He claims that this is because of a subsequent army public relations
statement “that the brothers of the Army Chief were no longer fugitives at the
times mentioned in the documentary.” </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><span>Those who have sparred with Rashid in the past will not be
surprised at this extraordinary inaccuracy. </span><span>All these three particular claims which Rashid himself sets out – and which Rashid had originally accepted “undoubtedly indicate breaking a number
of laws, not just by the Army Chief himself” - took place well before March 2019, the date at
which the two brothers received their secret remission.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">So Rashid’s basic position on the film right from the start
of this article is based on a total misunderstanding of basic facts.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Moreover, Rashid’s three points seriously undersell other
aspects of Aziz Ahmed’s conspiracy which were proven by the film. In addition to
the points he mentions, there are the following:</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">It showed that, as head of BGB, General Aziz Ahmed in 2014
and 2015 had personally organised to send Haris to Hungary on false papers
including a passport, NID certificate, and bank account in a fake name;<br /><br /></span></li><li><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">It shows that in so doing, Aziz Ahmed obtained the
assistance of at least three BGB officers – two of whom he got to authenticate
false documents, making them complicit in the conspiracy. One of them was his
ADC;<br /><br /></span></li><li><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">It shows Aziz visiting his brother in Hungary in 2015
whilst he continued to be a fugitive, convicted of murder;<br /><br /></span></li><li><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">It shows that Haris Ahmed, the fugitive brother of Aziz,
set up a string of companies in Hungary and France under this false name during
a period when he was a fugitive from the crime of murder;<br /><br /></span></li><li><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">It shows a proposal signed by Haris Ahmed to his own
brother, Aziz Ahmed to provide bunk beds for the BGB, when Aziz was then its
DG.</span></li></ul><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">This is a criminal conspiracy, involving the commission of numerous criminal laws, conducted by the then head of BGB, and now chief of army staff.</span><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Just to provide some clear factual backbone to this – and to assist
Rashid, who appears to have a problem about dates and evidence - I will go
through the exact chronology set out in the film.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">In 2014, Sami (the Whistle-blower) received a call from an
acquaintance informing him that Aziz was coming to Hungary and wanted Sami to accompany him
as there was no embassy in Budapest. The film shows photos of Sami and Aziz in
Hungary. Aziz asked Sami to set up a business for his brother who was then
living in India. Aziz, on his return to Dhaka, sends an email to Sami asking what documents were
required. Aziz then sent Sami a passport, dated Feb 2014 with the name of Mohammed Hasan
(picture shown in the film). This turned out to be a passport with a fake name. Sami was also
sent a series of other fake documents including a fake National Identity Card,
a fake birth certificate (with a date registration of 12 Feb 2014); a fake
university of Chittagong certificate; and a fake marriage certificate (all
shown in the film). A number of documents were “attested” by subordinates of
Aziz Ahmed – Major Md Sujaul Huq and Brigadieer General Abul Hasnat Md K Basher
on December 29th 2014 (also shown in the film)</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><span>All these documents were sent by DHL from “headquarters,
BGB” on 11 January 2015 (shown in the film). The name of the shipper was Major
Samiur Rashid – who was at that time “ADC to the DG” of BGB [Aide-de-camp]. The DG of the
BGB at the time was Aziz Ahmed. </span><span>Another document that was sent from General Aziz Ahmed’s
office was a bank account in the fake name of Md Hasan. This was emailed on 2
June 2015, by Major Sami Rashid, copied to Aziz Ahmed (shown in the film). </span><span>Mohammed Hasan arrives in Budapest in early summer 2015
where he sets up the Bay of Bengal company – with his wife, daughter and son in
law as directors (shown in the film). Video is shown of Aziz visiting the
business in 2017.</span></span></p></blockquote><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">All of the above took place at a time when when Haris was a convicted murderer, a fugitive from the courts, <a href="https://storage.googleapis.com/netra/2021/ten-things-you-need-to-know-about-the-secret-remission-received-by-haris-and-anis-1708.html">years before the government gave him his secret remission in March 2019</a> (as has been subsequently revealed). He remains a convicted murderer, as of today.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Significantly, though Aziz and the government have made
vague, broad denials about the film, they have not denied any of the above specific
allegations. This is not something mentioned by Rashid. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Al Jazeera sent to each of the protagonists in the film –
including Aziz and his brothers – detailed letters of the allegations made
against each of them. They were given weeks to respond, but they failed to do
so. Subsequent to broadcast, all these men have now had further weeks to deny
the detail and they have also failed to do so. What does this tell you?</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Rashid claims that “there were at least two instances where
the documents shown by AJ appeared to have been altered and manipulated.” For
his claim, Rashid relies on unnamed “bloggers”. Al Jazeera has the actual
documents, which I have seen, and they are 100% genuine. If any of the
documents were not genuine, why has not a single protagonist in the film
claimed that they are fake? Why did they never respond to Al Jazeera before or
after the film was broadcast? Why have they not gone directly to court? Because they can’t. This is because
all the documents shown in the film are genuine. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Rashid also claims that the “whistleblower” has “quite a
shady past (e.g., alleged fraud, impersonation, drug abuse to name a few)”. Rashid is taking this from an ISPR press release, that provides no evidence. It is interesting how how Rashid is willing to believe this single page document - rather than an hour long film which provides detailed evidence of a fraud. If the whistleblower is all of these things - <a href="https://www.bbc.com/bengali/news-56223864">why did the Bangladesh government allow him to organise much of the logistics of Sheikh Hasina's visit to the Budapest in November 2016</a> - after he received a security vetting from Bangladesh agencies? </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">In addition, to the above conspiracy, the film also shows</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Haris Ahmed in conversation with a DGFI officer pressuring him
to give him contracts: </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><i>“You know what I was saying about anything going done in
Europe or Hungary? Throw something my way. I’ll give you some of the profits.
I’ll see to the rest.”</i></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Haris talking about his control over Rapid Action Battalion
and how it does his dirty work for them.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><i>“Benazir is there… RAB is there, others are there. We are
making them do all our work. My gangsters are RAB. I don’t need thugs,
these (RAB) are my thugs. Pick someone up, detain someone. They make money, I
make money. A straightforward deal.”</i></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Haris talking about a system of bribes taken from police
officers seeking changes in posts, in which the Home Minister and the IGP is
involved.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><i>“Actually, the transfer bribe is taken by the home minister,
the Inspector General and the police commissioner … These three people. If
there is a contract for $625,000, we give them $375,000 and the remaining
$250,000 will be ours.”</i></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Haris trying to persuade the whistle-blower to act on his
behalf in a deal to provide Hungarian bullets to the Bangladesh army</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><i>“I can’t do this openly, through the proper channels. I am
his brother after all. Because I am his brother, I will not show myself to the
army. You will show yourself. Do not identify me. Just watch. We’ll both be
making money. It will come automatically. The money will just flow in.”</i></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Aziz talking about how highly Sheikh Hasina thinks about his
brothers.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><i>“When the Awami League was going through its toughest patch
at the time of Jatiya party rule, where they were not able to sit in the party
head office, my brothers, […] were the main strength of this party. The central
party leaders used to come to my younger brother’s office and from there they
used to announce the party programme. This was because they did not feel safe
anywhere else.”</i></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Aziz talking about how the prime minister had a plan to
“clear up” the things that his brothers have done, referring to their murder
convictions.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><i>“The Honorable met me and said ‘Mr. Aziz, about you, I’ve
given this a lot of thought and there is no alternative to this.’ According to
her [prime minister] plan, all these different things that the brothers have
done to others, need to be cleared before my appointment (as chief of army
staff). This she has discussed with me.”</i></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Rashid seeks to minimise these by stating that Haris was
“goaded to brag”? On what basis does he claim that? This is a very convenient
argument for those who seek to legitimise the political and financial
corruption that is so rampant in the country.<br />
<br />
In any functioning democracy, this film would have dramatic political impact. There
would be immediate resignations, and the establishment of public enquiries. All
these matters would be investigated. The subject would dominate the parliament
and the media for months.<br /><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">
The only reason there are not now wider political repercussions is that
Bangladesh is very far from being a democracy with very limited rule of law particularly
when it comes to crimes and abuse of power of those in positions of power. It
is sad to say that Rashid's commentary plays its role in exonerating the
politically corrupt in Bangladesh by hugely minimising the content and high
standards of journalism in the film.</span></p></div>David Bergmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02674636000068693356noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4183118663703256159.post-2076033772909002232021-02-24T16:49:00.003+06:002021-02-25T22:13:46.600+06:00The Bangladesh government has a lot to hide: a response to the personal attacks<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0tWcui3H2FZyp3yIR_LTuTSG6VyQwCJGOJG0cWfSOXarDpCOKzOu8M8SM4MZpgGh5zcz9Hy5pPKN0AOTKWW4M0hOUp3djsmP9veSJtFPlN4pLceoDnhXg0Fx63opmtZyJruWtFNsJ9Tc/s2000/david_aljazeera.png" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1440" data-original-width="2000" height="345" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0tWcui3H2FZyp3yIR_LTuTSG6VyQwCJGOJG0cWfSOXarDpCOKzOu8M8SM4MZpgGh5zcz9Hy5pPKN0AOTKWW4M0hOUp3djsmP9veSJtFPlN4pLceoDnhXg0Fx63opmtZyJruWtFNsJ9Tc/w480-h345/david_aljazeera.png" title="Image from Al Jazeera Film, "All the Prime Minister's Men"" width="480" /></a></div><p></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">On February 1</span><sup style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">st</span></sup><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">, Al Jazeera broadcast the documentary,
“<a href="https://storage.googleapis.com/netra/2021/investigative-documentary-blows-the-lid-off-corruption-at-the-heart-of-bangladesh-government-1569.html">All the Prime Minister’s Men”</a> and since then the investigative film has been
watched on social media millions of times and widely discussed in Bangladesh.
The government and its supporters have responded very critically – but instead
of responding through a detailed formal rebuttal of the substance of the
allegations, they have launched a smear campaign against the broadcaster, and those
interviewed in it - or others whom they falsely claim were involved in making the film.</span></span></p><div><div class="gmail_signature" data-smartmail="gmail_signature" dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">It is this smear
campaign – not the substance of the film itself - that I am commenting on in
this article. I have been subject to vicious lies and
defamation, without it should be said being provided a single right of reply.
Not a single one of all these newspapers, online sites and TV stations, which
are repeatedly criticising me and making false allegations, have ever contacted me
before publication, a very basic tenant of journalism.<span></span></span></span></p><a name='more'></a><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"></span></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">It should be noted
that this kind of government backed campaign seeking to smear individuals is
far-far from unique. There is a very long list of people in Bangladesh accused
falsely of various things in the media – from Md Yunus in 2011 to Shahidul Alam
in 2018 – because the government, for one reason or the other, wants to
discredit them. Many of them are not just defamed but are subject to false criminal cases. Whilst this government strategy is nothing new – what is perhaps different right now is the extent of the concerted campaign on television,
newspaper and social media - suggesting that the stakes are higher for the government.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">The film itself was
made by Al Jazeera. Whilst I played a role in the film, I was
not involved in the filming, editing or production. This is important to
mention as there are some who suggesting in Bangladesh media that the film is my
creation – and indeed, even more absurdly, that I have even paid for Al Jazeera
to make the film. This is totally untrue.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Other claims against me
are also totally false – in particular claims that I have any financial or political connection with opposition parties or politicians, or indeed that I support
these parties. It is a common trope in Bangladesh for the government to allege
that those they consider its critics to be “Jamaat supporters”, “against the
liberation war”, and are “haters of Awami League” – all of which have been
levelled against me - and it goes without saying that all these claims are
false and have no foundation.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Some of these
articles claims that I have been involved in certain meetings taking place with well known opposition politicians, when supposedly various
things were agreed. These claims sometimes include a surprising level of
detail, which make them appear convincing. However, they are all complete
fabrications. Total fiction. If you read such allegations, ask for the evidence
– as there is none.</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">More recently it is
suggested that I am a director of a well known Bangladesh company. For the avoidance
of any doubt I can confirm I am not a director, officer or owner of any
company, anywhere in the world. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Other articles also
suggest that my family members are somehow involved in the making of the film.
None of my family members had any knowledge </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">about the content of the film which was kept
confidential until its release.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">At the centre of this
is a total misunderstanding – almost certainly a very intentional and
deliberate misunderstanding - about the nature of journalism and journalists,
and in particular of investigative journalism. It is assumed by the Bangladesh
government that journalists that investigate or undertake investigations or
assist others in their investigations of Bangladesh have ulterior partisan
motives, are doing their work with malicious or vindictive intent and are part
of some kind of wider conspiracy seeking to bring down or do damage to a
political party of government.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Along with many
journalists in Bangladesh, who are also trying to do the kind of work, all that
I am doing – though my work at Netra News and in other parts of my journalistic
life - is to uncover wrong-doing, corruption, human rights violations and the
like. It does not matter to me which government in Bangladesh is in power. if
they were in government, I would have equally been involved in a similar film
on the BNP or the Jamaat, and my own writing would be focused on the
wrong-doing in those governments.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">It is important to
note that the Awami League has been in government since the end of 2008 – a
period of over 11 years. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">I only returned to journalism in 2009 – when the Awami League
government was in power – so was not in a position to write about any other Bangladesh
government. However, prior to that, I was involved in making in 1994 the path breaking Channel Four, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lvbotYo-6rI">The WarCrimes Files,</a> which accused three UK based former members of the
Jamaat-e-Islami of involvement in war crimes during the 1971 war. Then, of course, as the film served their interests I was celebrated by the Awami League. I did not
work as a journalist between 2000 to 2010.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Much has been written about my work writing about the International Crimes Tribunal. It is very unfortunate that someone writing about due process and fair-trial issues should be portrayed as pro-jamaat or indeed even as pro-war criminal. </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">It is time for the
Bangladesh government and its supporters to stop shooting the messenger.- and
instead respond by learning lessons, conducting investigations and undertaking
reform. The messages of investigative journalism may be difficult for those in
the government to swallow, and clearly it has the right to rebut any alleged
factual inaccuracies in journalistic reports, but launching a campaign to
impute the motives of those who are involved in producing it is simply wrong,
nasty and does serious damage to many innocent people and their families</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">In the end, the
government response simply suggests that it has much to hide.</span></span></p></div></div></div></div></div>David Bergmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02674636000068693356noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4183118663703256159.post-9805856133953685592021-02-18T18:41:00.007+06:002021-02-18T18:45:32.158+06:00Response to a critique of Al Jazeera's film, All the Prime Minister's Film<p><span style="font-size: large;"><br /><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4Bi_PthpvfRfYA7fGFp7UKHg5PIG7zJGo1sBJBmbRXDY9AkunDAmcxUMOvKo_oDp9EWD1pA_xziHgp5Ks4fhG7jArFUf5FGNR4B0PuUY-y8LejrlE13jdCMMPPFQrCXqHeunXuefp0dY/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1000" height="288" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4Bi_PthpvfRfYA7fGFp7UKHg5PIG7zJGo1sBJBmbRXDY9AkunDAmcxUMOvKo_oDp9EWD1pA_xziHgp5Ks4fhG7jArFUf5FGNR4B0PuUY-y8LejrlE13jdCMMPPFQrCXqHeunXuefp0dY/w400-h288/allpresidentsmen_screenshot.png" width="400" /></a></div><p></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Rayhan Rashid wrote a long critique of Al Jazeera's film, comments which were directed specifically at me, and so I thought I should find the time to respond to the main claims. He starts his long article by stating:</span></p><p></p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p><span style="font-size: medium;">“AJ’s investigation succeeded in establishing the following points to its credit:</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">- That the current Army Chief of Bangladesh had occasionally been in contact with his two fugitive brothers.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">- That one of his two fugitive brothers is now using a false identity.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">- That the Army Chief failed to report his fugitive brothers to the authorities when they visited Bangladesh from time-to-time.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">These actions, and in some cases omissions, undoubtedly indicate breaking a number of laws, not just by the Army Chief himself, but also by certain other bodies and persons entrusted to uphold these laws. The person(s) responsible for such law-breaking must be held to account."</span></p></blockquote><p><span style="font-size: medium;">If the documentary had only succeeded in doing the above, any journalist would consider this to be a good job, very well down. To show that the head of a country’s army had committed criminal offences – as acknowledged by Rashid – in protecting his fugitive brothers, would be a front page story in almost every liberal democratic country in the world, and would result in his immediate resignation and sacking.<br /><br />However the film is far more than that. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Rashid seriously undersells what the content of the film and what was proven. It showed far more.<br /></span></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-size: medium;">It tracked down Haris, the murder convict and fugitive brother of the current Chief of Army Staff (COAS), to Hungary<br /><br /></span></li><li><span style="font-size: medium;">If showed that, as head of BGB, General Aziz Ahmed had himself organised to send Haris to Hungary on false papers including a passport, NID certificate, and bank account in a fake name<br /><br /></span></li><li><span style="font-size: medium;">It shows that in so doing, Aziz Ahmed obtained the assistance of at least three BGB officers – two of whom he got to authenticate false documents, making them complicit in the conspiracy<br /><br /></span></li><li><span style="font-size: medium;">It shows that Haris Ahmed, the fugitive brother of Aziz, set up a string of companies in Hungary and France under this false name;<br /><br /></span></li><li><span style="font-size: medium;">It shows Aziz visiting his brother in Hungary whilst he continued to be a fugitive, convicted of murder.<br /><br /></span></li><li><span style="font-size: medium;">It shows Haris writing a proposal to his own brother, Aziz Ahmed to provide bunk beds for the BGB, which Aziz was then leading;<br /><br /></span></li><li><span style="font-size: medium;">It shows that Haris Ahmed in conversation with a DGFI officers pressuring them to give him contracts<br /><br /></span></li><li><span style="font-size: medium;">It shows Haris talking about his control over Rapid Action Battalion and how it does his dirty work for them.<br /><br /></span></li><li><span style="font-size: medium;">It shows Haris talking about a system of bribes taken from police officers seeking changes in posts, in which the Home Minister and the IGP is involved<br /><br /></span></li><li><span style="font-size: medium;">It shows Haris trying to persuade the whistle-blower to act on his behalf in a deal to provide Hungarian bullets to the Bangladesh army<br /><br /></span></li><li><span style="font-size: medium;">It shows Aziz talking about how highly Sheikh Hasina thinks about his brothers.<br /><br /></span></li><li><span style="font-size: medium;">It shows Aziz talking about how the prime minister had a plan to “clear up” the things that his brothers have done, referring to their murder convictions.</span></li></ul><span style="font-size: medium;">It raises so many questions – including for the prime minister - to answer. (To read about what questions <a href="https://medium.com/netranews/yes-the-bangladesh-prime-minister-sheikh-hasina-has-questions-to-answer-19f0572b65bd">the prime minister should answer, click here</a>.) <br /><br />In any functioning democracy, this film would have dramatic political impact. Just imagine what would have happened if the same allegations were made about the political establishment in the UK! We can certainly be sure that Rashid would not be making the same comments about the film that he is doing now. <br /><br />The only reason there are not now wider political repercussions is that Bangladesh government has become increasingly autocratic, with very limited rule of law when it comes to crimes and abuse of power of those in positions of power. It is sad to say that Rashid's commentary plays its role in exonerating the politically corrupt by hugely minimising the content of the film<br /><br />In response to some of Rashid's other important points<br /></span><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-size: medium;">No documents were altered AJ has all the original documents that were sent by General Aziz to Sami. Don’t believe the rubbish you read in government backed website and newspapers<br /><br /></span></li><li><span style="font-size: medium;">As to your defamatory comments about Sami, the Whistleblower – ditto the above You will realise soon how foolish you are being in believing these claims. <br /><br />(The fact that you are so willing to believe this kind of unsubstantiated claims is extraordinary, and speaks volumes.) <br /><br /></span></li><li><span style="font-size: medium;">Haris was not “goaded to brag”. This is Bangladesh’s underworld linked up to the most powerful army officer in the country – in real time.<br /><br /></span></li><li><span style="font-size: medium;">It was fair to refer to the prime minister in the film: Who appointed Aziz? Who got Joseph a pardon (and indeed remission of the other two fugitive brothers?) Who according to Haris, knew about his business activities. Who, according to Aziz, praised the brothers for helping her to survive politically? Yes, the prime minister.<br /><br /></span></li><li><span style="font-size: medium;">There is no anti-semitism in the programme. Israel was only relevant to this film as Bangladesh army was buying Israeli made spyware when trade with Israel is banned in Bangladesh. The trade was therefore illegal.</span></li></ul><span style="font-size: medium;">Try harder next time. Or perhaps not at all. </span><br /><br /> <p></p>David Bergmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02674636000068693356noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4183118663703256159.post-31860986829481652512021-01-11T15:29:00.010+06:002023-12-20T06:28:34.217+06:00Pictures of Awami League UK's campaign in support of Tulip Siddiq - which she denies knowing about<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrr40QrCSfqdqU9mQBJdagelJGaqL-7exNNvHvqllCSfkRlXgVoAYdmkY8pGVpGxOra18yysIIsKvVc0nKXZx5pNkAfZsmPVHKNrufmByfZ1j0q5j-60Al2acAZqDSJwiYVkyzhlzjG7U/s1000/tulip_campaign_article_photo.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1000" height="404" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrr40QrCSfqdqU9mQBJdagelJGaqL-7exNNvHvqllCSfkRlXgVoAYdmkY8pGVpGxOra18yysIIsKvVc0nKXZx5pNkAfZsmPVHKNrufmByfZ1j0q5j-60Al2acAZqDSJwiYVkyzhlzjG7U/w560-h404/tulip_campaign_article_photo.png" width="560" /></a></div></div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><span style="text-align: center;">Awami League UK leaders outside Tulip Siddiq's election campaign office on the first day </span></div><div style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><span style="text-align: center;">of the UK national election campaign. Dozens of UK AL leaders and activists without any connection to the constituency came to the office daily - whilst local labour members were absent</span></div></blockquote><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">In the 2019 national UK election, the UK wing of Bangladesh's ruling party, the Awami League, organised a systemic campaign, somewhat covert in nature, involving dozens of its leaders and activists, to support the re-election of Tulip Siddiq as member of parliament in Hampstead and Kilburn. </span></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">The UK Awami League (UK AL) is set up through the constitution of of the Bangladesh Awami League and its leaders were appointed in 2011 by the leader of the Bangladesh political party, the current prime minister Sheikh Hasina. Tulip Siddiq is her niece. </span></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">As part of the election campaign, Tulip Siddiq's Labour Party rented out a dilapidated office in Kilburn that became the base of the UK AL campaign. The office was effectively the UK AL campaign office for Tulip's campaign - as very few non-UK AL people attended. Every day, throughout the campaign, dozens of UK AL leaders and activists, very few of them with any connection to Tulip's constituency, attended the office in order to receive election leaflets and other material and were told where to distribute them, throughout the constituency. </span></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><span><a name='more'></a></span><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">The Awami League UK section is constitutinally part of the Bangladesh party. It has a main committee, and a number of different leagues (Youth, Volunteer, Farmers, Fisheries etc) and branches (London etc). In these pictures - which are far from comprehensive, we have identified <i>65 different AL UK post holders</i> who were present campaigning for Tulip Siddiq (not including other UK AL activists). The full list is at the very end of this post.</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Siddiq denies she was aware of the campaign - but that seems simply implausible as the work of the UK AL could not have happened without coordination with her or her senior campaign officers. There was a clear divide between ordinary labour party support and that of the UK AL campaign support.</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Channel Four News <b><a href="https://www.channel4.com/news/tulip-siddiq-uk-wing-of-bangladeshs-ruling-party-appear-to-be-campaigning-for-labour-candidate" target="_blank">broadcast a short film on the Awami League Campaign which can be seen here.</a> </b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">You can also <a href="https://storage.googleapis.com/netra/2021/lse-sheikh-mujib-and-the-bangladesh-government-1523.html"><b>read this article written for Netra News which sets out additional key reporting on this</b></a>.</span></div></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Much of the evidence of UK AL's Tulip Siddiq campaign comes from hours of filming outside the office done by Channel Four News - as well as photos UK AL activists published on their Facebook page. </span></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">This page publishes some of these Facebook posts. Since the Channel Four film many are no longer publicly available. The pictures below are far from comprehensive, and we would estimate many dozen more UK AL post holders and activists were involved in the campaigning. </span></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">The first four images concern strategy meetings held by the Awami League, apparently on Nov 5th and November 12th, concerning how they will go about supporting Tulip Siddiq. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The remaining images depict the actual support provided by the UK Awami League to the Tulip campaign.</span></span></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">
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<b>UK Awami League strategy meetings about supporting Tulip Siddiq campaign</b><br />
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<u>November 5th<br /><br /></u><i><span><span style="font-size: medium; font-style: normal;">Awami League meeting including Sultan Mahmud Sharif </span></span></i></span><i style="font-family: verdana;"><span><span style="font-size: medium; font-style: normal;">(President);</span></span></i></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">ASM <i><span><span style="font-style: normal;">Misb</span><span style="font-style: normal;">ah Sad</span><span style="font-style: normal;">ath (t</span></span></i><span style="color: #16191f;">rade and industry secretary); </span><span>Nazmul Islam (vice-president, youth league); </span><span>Anwarul Islam (joint convenor, labour league); Mohammad Ajrof Ali (president, fisheries league); Jubayer Ahmed (joint general secretary, youth league); Sarwar Kabir (</span><span>vice-president, student League); </span><span>Ala Uddin (activist) and Nurul Lipu (activist) </span></span></div><div>
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<span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><i>Translated text</i>: </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #16191f;">"After being selected for the 3rd time as Labour Party candidate in the </span><span style="color: #16191f;">upcoming British election Bangabandhu’s Tulip Sidiqi and Mr Sultan Muhmmad </span><span style="color: #16191f;">Sharif, the Chairman of the UK Awami League, under the leadership of brother </span><span style="color: #16191f;">Misbah, the UK AL Trade and Industry Secretary discuss campaign </span></span><span style="color: #16191f; font-size: large;">s</span><span style="color: #16191f;"><span style="font-size: medium;">trategy with the UK AL and the leaders of related groups."</span></span></span></div>
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<span><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><i>Translated Text</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;"><span><span style="font-family: verdana;">"The oldest daughter of Sheikh Rehana who is the younger sister of the Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, is fighting for re-election in the labour party for the third time in the upcoming British Parliamentary election. As before, to make her victorious, brother Sultan Sharif, the respected president of the UK Awami League will provide direction and our well wishing friends gathered in this scheduled meeting will be under the leadership of O S M Misbah, the secretary of industry and commerce, who will provide the strategy for action at ground level!!Inshallah we will be victorious!!"</span></span><br />
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<u><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">November 12th</span></u></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><u><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></u></div>
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<span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><span>Awami League meeting including Sultan Mahmud Sharif (president); Shah Shamim Ahmed (</span>Office Secretary);<span> Tarif Ahmed </span><span>(</span><span>Youth and Sports affairs Secretary) and</span><span> Ahad Chowdhury </span>(Organising Secretary).</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<i style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1366" data-original-width="1084" height="512" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEify4AMWBvpbtBGKakpHdTN9bZM__NZeoAqgG9pOZGP6-Q8NgWtPlWWedQDRyPmFoHWvqMm26fcLaCWy1kqGnEY5gI45D6-D5mD6t0H0DmF_0N9knLNb9IQEQaZRDxFUCXLa1JTc95X8pA/w390-h512/Sayad_Nov12_meeting_text.png" width="390" /></span></i><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><i>Translated Text</i><br /><br />"Brother Sultan Sharif, the respected president of the UK Awami League and here present the renowned leaders of the Awami League brother Abdul Ahad Chowdhury, brother Shah Shamim, brother Misbah Sadath, brother Tarek and the leadership of Matshajibi League and Shechashebak League are giving guidance and direction to the planning and subsequent work of the selection campaign of Tulip Siddiqi, the granddaughter of Bangabandhu"<br /><br />(Matshajibi and Shechashebak Leagues are units of the AL. All the men mentioned are UK AL Activists/leaders.)</span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-left: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1308" data-original-width="1080" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUXVPfAooH6VJQ6Cs6KDFcUG4G9KHztX9GiSi8ai5Fe-r2WwzxnzxCJrswkPu5zzQGSHfdW2240yg8XxyNlIztC6IDZcsVyXeCkGX5nkpbRym1b_JLUy1QGU7Nvzu75LWyfTsHA2m0hRo/w327-h400/Ruhul_Nov12_meeting_shariff_text.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="327" /></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td></tr></tbody></table><i style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Translated Text</span></i><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br style="font-size: large;" /><br style="font-size: large;" /><span style="font-size: medium;">"Yesterday evening Tulip Siddiq, the granddaughter of Bangabandhu, discussing her election campaign with the leaders of the UK Awami League."</span></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="clear: left; float: left; font-family: times; font-size: medium; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></span></span><span style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span><span style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span><span style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span><span style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span><span style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span><span style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span><span style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><br /></span><span><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Awami League UK organised campaigning outside the labour party election office</span><br /></b></span><span><b style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></b><u><span style="font-size: medium;">November 6th</span><br /></u></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><u><br /></u>AL UK outside Tulip Siddiq election campaign office including </span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>Syed Shazidur Rahman Faruk (general secretary); Anwaruzzaman Chowdhury (joint general secretary);</span><span> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">ASM <span><span><span>Misbah </span><span>Sadath</span><span>, (industry and commerce s</span><span>ecretary</span><span>); Shah Shamim Ahmed (office secretary); </span></span></span><span>Bodruzzaman Shamim (vice-president, y</span><span>outh league</span><span>); </span><span><span>Fakhrul Islam Modhu (president, youth league);</span><span><span> Jamal Khan (joint General Secretary, Youth league); Sayed Golap Ali (member, East London); Mahbub Ahmed (v</span></span></span><span>ice-president, y</span><span><span><span>outh league)</span></span></span><span>; and Shaek Ahmed (human rights affairs secretary, </span><span>London branch</span><span>)</span></span></span><span style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1032" data-original-width="2048" height="323" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2KnRvIbRwZJ5NtQzU4q3O8JQEOVJQTWxblCkV_Cz7DXdHS0kT0Zsh8IVilReJDsrWXSI5mtDNdkFcttdxpolMjmZ3cb5FZIWAo9yBaY2yHBVSTAKbkBcpyzUkKlt1j2_79OLqSXMBbNI/w641-h323/shah_nov6_outside.png" width="641" /></span></span></div></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="text-align: center;"><u>November 9th</u><br /><br />UK AL leaders/activists </span><span style="text-align: center;">outside the </span></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>Tulip Siddiq election campaign office </span><span><span style="text-align: center;">including, amongst others</span><span style="text-align: center;"> </span></span><span>Syed Shazidur Rahman Faruk (GeneralSecretary)</span><span>; </span><span>Anwaruzzaman Chowdhury </span></span></span><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><span>(joint g</span><span>eneral s</span><span>ecretary);</span><span><span><span> </span></span></span>ASM <span><span><span>Misbah Sadath (industry and commerce secretary); </span><span>Shah Shamim Ahmed (office secretary); </span></span></span><span>Syed Suruk Miah (religion affairs secretary); <span><span>Mahmud Ali (organising secretary, y</span></span>outh league); Ahbab Miah (executive member, London </span><span>branch</span><span>); and Mohammad Ayas (publicity secretary, youth league)</span></span></div>
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<span style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="text-align: center;">UK AL leaders/activists </span><span style="text-align: center;">outside the </span></span>Tulip Siddiq election campaign office including amongst others: Syed Shazidur Rahman Faruk (general secretary)<span style="font-size: medium;">; ASM </span>Misbah Sadath, (industry and commerce secretary); Shah Shamim Ahmed (office secretary); Selim Ahmed Chowdhury (organising secretary, London branch); Tarif Ahmed <span>(y</span><span>outh and sports affairs Secretary);</span> Babul Khan (organising secretary, youth league), Ajrof Ali Noor (president, fisheries league); Nazmul Islam (vice-president, youth league); Aminul Islam Jillu (international secretary, London branch); Moynul Haque (vice-president, London branch) Syed Tareq (convenor, farmers league); Kamrul Hossain Munna (joint secretary, volunteer league); Selim Chowdhury (organising secretary, London branch); Golam Kibria (vice-president, London branch); Misbah Rahman (organising secretary, West London branch); Shaek Ahmed (human rights secretary); Shahjahan Ahmed Shajah (advisor, Sheikh Rasel children union); and Aminul Islam (activist).</div></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPe2f22N1bjWbKwnH8x4Y5EoW4-zRUiu_B_YdFoirqQhFpcG5SOB-Np9yo5pbryEbt9rtGhB3xwZ0HdI-TRnl02lPyNh8t9i8WJsWSXQxA5nBKb0ioFTmDlScADFzMQdJqOXi_jo5Bi3U/s1380/Jalal_nov_9outisdeinside+officeeveryone.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1380" data-original-width="1112" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPe2f22N1bjWbKwnH8x4Y5EoW4-zRUiu_B_YdFoirqQhFpcG5SOB-Np9yo5pbryEbt9rtGhB3xwZ0HdI-TRnl02lPyNh8t9i8WJsWSXQxA5nBKb0ioFTmDlScADFzMQdJqOXi_jo5Bi3U/s640/Jalal_nov_9outisdeinside+officeeveryone.png" /></span></a><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"> </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><span><span style="text-align: center;">UK AL leaders/activists </span><span style="text-align: center;">outside </span></span><span>Tulip Siddiq's election campaign office including amongst others:</span><span><span style="text-align: center;"> </span>Anwaruzzaman Chowdhury (joint g</span><span>eneral s</span><span>ecretary); Fakhrul Islam Modhu (president, youth league); Delwar Hossain Liton (joint general secretary, Youth League) and </span></span><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Golam Jilani (Camden branch).</span></div>
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<span style="clear: left; float: left; font-family: times; font-size: medium; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1126" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibHRzwmZmz2qEkyX8UGcLemLr8aVXum1_ldsDeLT5kvB_AenmfJW4zGAyuPIILMoiRyLD8ULqxe18mvYYty7ylVRILsfEDKMB5ynkGgvLzyVyIRLLP1RrqbRKHnu9TvFTI53p2qfaSwJo/s640/nov9-anwarul_anwar_outside.png" width="640" /></span></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span><span style="text-align: center;">UK AL leaders/activists </span><span style="text-align: center;">outside </span></span><span>Tulip Siddiq's election campaign office including amongst others: ASM </span><span>Misbah Sadath (industry and commerce s</span><span>ecretary</span><span>), </span><span>Shah Shamim Ahmed (office secretary) and</span><span> Tareq Ahmed (London youth league) Selim Ahmed Chowhdury (secretary, y</span></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">outh league)</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">, Nazmul Islam (v</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">ice-president, youth league)</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">, Foyzur Rahman (joint general secretary, youth league); and </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">Azrof Ali Noor (president, fisheries League).</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1310" data-original-width="1060" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3EVsMWlc0K3hD1oaOn5Ouwti4Nke4HBteVHO2waqSXUfLdZY1cfmvS7AmAr51ZzpvcyJmNp8n_-eFSvhWzD1rTqYL50WSH4AhBqc74pWF0FEnsRGaUr_Hn9sQuVk-uxQ1nRKkinn8Uqk/s640/Screenshot+2019-12-07+at+18.17.46.png" style="text-align: center;" /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><span><span style="text-align: center;">UK AL leaders/activists </span><span style="text-align: center;">outside the </span></span><span>Tulip Siddiq election campaign office including amongst others: </span></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Tareq Ahmed (London youth league president); Shah Shamim Ahmed (office secretary); Jhalak Paul (joint secretary, volunteer league) Forhad Ahmed (vice-president, volunteer league); Golam Kibria (vice-president, London branch); Misbah Rahman (organising secretary, West London branch); Selim Ahmed Chowdhury (organising secretary, London branch); Foyzur Rahman (joint general secretary, youth league); Sharob Ali (human rights secretary) </span><br /><br /></span></div>
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<span style="clear: left; float: left; font-family: times; font-size: medium; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1346" data-original-width="1032" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc-Jr0D8n0bi_gj1qW9R2yFDhK6sEe2Nbqc04byjfDViU_kkV5GYIPU67kVMokZZN6h27KLocSrw5ObIuk5QmkAIlrppSrBRnlo5-zAc7-J9gW96mcChpu3jTZvQwXrDwJ53E-ahf-am4/s640/Screenshot+2019-12-07+at+18.22.33.png" /></span></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span><span style="text-align: center;">UK AL leaders/activists </span><span style="text-align: center;">outside the </span></span>Tulip Siddiq election campaign office including amongst others: Anwaruzzaman Chowdhury, (joint general secretary) and ASM Misbah Sadath, (industry and commerce secretary) and Abdul Ahad Chowdhury (organising secretary) Shahhan Ahmed Shah; Shah Shamim Ahmed </span></span></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">(o</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">ffice secretary)</span><span><span><span style="font-family: verdana;">; Sharob Ali </span></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">(Human Rights Secretary)</span><span><span style="font-family: verdana;">; Abdul Hanan (secretariat member, London); Babul Khan </span></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">(Organising Secretary, Youth League) and </span></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">Shahjahan Ahmed Shaja (</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">advisor, </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">Sheikh Rasel children union).</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><i>Translated Text</i><br />"Mr Misbah Sadath, the UK Awami League secretary of industry and commerce and my respected uncle Shahjahan Ahmed Shaja uncle and other leaders are campaigning and leafleting for the nomination of Tulip Siddiqi"</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoOsDvJudxmUflwj8SYSTKCFE_ttTvICXybdC-aJLD6YhwVT54hwVuAwIZHyCWxaz6TcYHiYNaiWE3U4n_RzNZyFBeFJMXOcS_hQwWYcH_Mr5XgzYap2fLeUGIi5cJW-E1F3Kh40EkrGM/s1576/Screenshot+2019-12-07+at+18.12.23.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1576" data-original-width="1098" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoOsDvJudxmUflwj8SYSTKCFE_ttTvICXybdC-aJLD6YhwVT54hwVuAwIZHyCWxaz6TcYHiYNaiWE3U4n_RzNZyFBeFJMXOcS_hQwWYcH_Mr5XgzYap2fLeUGIi5cJW-E1F3Kh40EkrGM/s640/Screenshot+2019-12-07+at+18.12.23.png" /></span></a><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"></span><span><span> <br /></span></span><span><span><br /></span><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span><div style="font-family: times;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span style="text-align: center;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="font-family: times;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span style="text-align: center;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="font-family: times;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span style="text-align: center;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="font-family: times;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span style="text-align: center;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="font-family: times;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span style="text-align: center;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="font-family: times;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span style="text-align: center;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="font-family: times;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span style="text-align: center;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="font-family: times;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span style="text-align: center;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="font-family: times;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span style="text-align: center;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="text-align: center;">UK AL leaders/activists </span><span style="text-align: center;">outside the </span></span>Tulip Siddiq election campaign office including amongst others: Jubayer Ahmed (joint general secretary, youth league) and Abdul Ahad Chowdhury (organising secretary); Anwarul Islam (joint convenor, labour league)</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">; and Fakhar Kamal (executive member, London)</span></div><br /></span>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSeSV97xpBWMaxxNWzYXkHOI2IOyen8DVxEmI3KgNtOUCq0iJSLqYQaHHIxzqrD03w9wBRfIvqH4V6HaMxBBG_kSxbLk8kLQifbhOy3uoIPz0DkGSyPRuHzZ9LWQaBpeqqzEQ1fIW0eB4/s2048/Screenshot+2019-12-07+at+18.17.16.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1108" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSeSV97xpBWMaxxNWzYXkHOI2IOyen8DVxEmI3KgNtOUCq0iJSLqYQaHHIxzqrD03w9wBRfIvqH4V6HaMxBBG_kSxbLk8kLQifbhOy3uoIPz0DkGSyPRuHzZ9LWQaBpeqqzEQ1fIW0eB4/s640/Screenshot+2019-12-07+at+18.17.16.png" width="640" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><br /></span></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><span><span><span style="text-align: center;">UK AL leaders/activists </span><span style="text-align: center;">outside the </span></span><span>Tulip Siddiq election campaign office including amongst others:</span><span> </span><span>Syed Shazidur Rahman Faruk (general secretary)</span><span><span style="text-align: left;">; </span><span style="text-align: left;">Shah Shamim Ahmed (o</span><span style="text-align: left;">ffice secretary);</span><b style="text-align: left;"> </b><span style="text-align: left;">Babul Khan (o</span><span style="text-align: left;">rganising secretary, youth league); Tarif Ahmed (y</span><span style="text-align: left;">outh and sports affairs secretary); </span><span style="text-align: left;">Syed Suruk Mia (religion affairs secretary); Moinul Huq (vice-president, London branch); Sayed Tareq Ahmed (Convenor, Farmers League); </span></span></span>Aminul Huq Jillu (international secretary, London branch); <span><span><span>Shahjahan Ahmed Shajah (advisor, Sheikh Rasel children union); and </span></span></span>Faisal Rahman (Activist) </span><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"> </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZssvzGnq1C8A3uFqPuQLIFLFvdzZPLfwvZmjvmJn14cGVT3SkJUJn7KDdmaDIEKVWQYbXcwCBWr_b05CJQdT_B77nKnKP8dJD68z9VrUlUg3Ei4ppJ2maBr5AU8j0uQ0kio90QMQVjjI/s1170/nov9_shah_outside_terxt.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1170" data-original-width="1092" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZssvzGnq1C8A3uFqPuQLIFLFvdzZPLfwvZmjvmJn14cGVT3SkJUJn7KDdmaDIEKVWQYbXcwCBWr_b05CJQdT_B77nKnKP8dJD68z9VrUlUg3Ei4ppJ2maBr5AU8j0uQ0kio90QMQVjjI/s640/nov9_shah_outside_terxt.png" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><u>November 10th</u></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><span><span>Misbah Sadath </span>(industry and commerce s</span><span>ecretary</span><span>) distributing labour party leaflets with </span><span>Md Nurul Lipu (activist)</span><span> </span><span>which they collected from Tulip Siddiq's election campaign office</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYD_Ht9u1cf6ogvUiUKOGue4uc6WlWIR3A03Nr1UkypgoeceeN4RcyvxAxP0BRRo05zZQJ2IepCAkiZ5lM2z1hT6QDC4pFf3FT1h_lFPCZMWJVUH3cgdGDGjbtm8ZOG7v3hUmhkuQRFmw/s2048/Lipu_street.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1105" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYD_Ht9u1cf6ogvUiUKOGue4uc6WlWIR3A03Nr1UkypgoeceeN4RcyvxAxP0BRRo05zZQJ2IepCAkiZ5lM2z1hT6QDC4pFf3FT1h_lFPCZMWJVUH3cgdGDGjbtm8ZOG7v3hUmhkuQRFmw/s640/Lipu_street.png" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><u>November 11th</u></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><i><br /></i><span><span>Misbah</span></span><span> </span></span>Sadath (industry and commerce s</span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>ecretary</span><span>) and Shahjahan Ahmed Shajah (advisor, Sheikh Rasel children union) distributing leaflets, obtained from Tulip's campaign office, with other UK AL activists</span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><i>Translated text</i><span>: </span><span>"Here we are on the campaign of Tulip Siddiqi on 11<sup>th</sup> November."</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi20mygPLWqUrKW6C6hxkRiTygppg8t2Z36rXPrA8OYVymE-gPIhJG8BCT3_rV_2EgPAy3M2S2gjt3DknrB3VKPrF6csWGehw1AmwQtYxAadRjC77ki47c5pDcO5Xv3dbqYXmt4UowDC0U/s1354/shahjahan_Nov_11_street.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" /></a><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1354" data-original-width="1092" height="513" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi20mygPLWqUrKW6C6hxkRiTygppg8t2Z36rXPrA8OYVymE-gPIhJG8BCT3_rV_2EgPAy3M2S2gjt3DknrB3VKPrF6csWGehw1AmwQtYxAadRjC77ki47c5pDcO5Xv3dbqYXmt4UowDC0U/w413-h513/shahjahan_Nov_11_street.png" width="413" /></span></div></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><i style="text-align: left;">Translated text</i><span style="text-align: left;">: </span><span style="text-align: left;">"Leafleting for our pride Tulip Siddiqi is Uncle Shaja Ahmed Shahjahan, the Chattra league student leader in the Sylhet district in the ‘90s."</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmT880LrVauA2pXVW_qnqGUw6mMvhdzWGNSqn9y4VzLcQQc3DYAp87o0TORCMnXvh3yKA9-aQKvEvso_SSvWZ5Xf_MMCCgqwfh1INCu3lFpuGZlpCBgyLhgMVwwgaxCDII5tjCKrirHTo/s1394/shahjahan_street_text_nov11.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1394" data-original-width="1112" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmT880LrVauA2pXVW_qnqGUw6mMvhdzWGNSqn9y4VzLcQQc3DYAp87o0TORCMnXvh3yKA9-aQKvEvso_SSvWZ5Xf_MMCCgqwfh1INCu3lFpuGZlpCBgyLhgMVwwgaxCDII5tjCKrirHTo/s640/shahjahan_street_text_nov11.png" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><span><span><span><span style="color: #121318;">UK AL leaders including MSM </span>Misbah</span></span><span> Sadath </span>(industry and commerce secretary) and Shah Shamim Ahmed (office secretary), </span><span>Nazmul Islam </span><span>(vice-president, youth league)</span> and Shahjahan Ahmed Shajah (advisor, Sheikh Rasel children union) distributing leaflets they collected from Tulip Siddiq's campaign office. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6cd3M-BQ8beKxt4AkAr7mBBjq22ouzDXbgxayw7BUoPyJWktwbDR1fo2TKQjCm5ErpEp8bHjXhLWKgwJk9XbIg7qKMe42pcf5sfdPHPN7_-IMxMBWRyDCb4_eDhE114qhUf8_Ip5B4pc/s1308/Shah_Nov11_street.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1308" data-original-width="1054" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6cd3M-BQ8beKxt4AkAr7mBBjq22ouzDXbgxayw7BUoPyJWktwbDR1fo2TKQjCm5ErpEp8bHjXhLWKgwJk9XbIg7qKMe42pcf5sfdPHPN7_-IMxMBWRyDCb4_eDhE114qhUf8_Ip5B4pc/s640/Shah_Nov11_street.png" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><u>November 13th</u></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><span><span><span style="color: #121318;"><span>UK AL leaders/activists on way to, outside and at Tulip Siddiq's election campaign office including Harmuz Ali (vice-president); </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Misbah</span><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"> </span><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Sadath</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><span><span>(industry and commerce s</span><span>ecretary</span><span>); </span></span><span><span><span style="background-color: white;">Foyzur Rahman </span></span></span><span style="background-color: white;">(joint general secretary, youth league) and </span>Md Nurul Lipu <span style="background-color: white;">(activist).</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;"><i><span style="font-family: verdana;">Translated text: </span></i><span style="color: #121318;"><span><span style="font-family: verdana;">"The granddaughter of Bangabandhu is again standing as the Labour party candidate for the British Parliament. #tulip siddiqi # we are here on the eve of the campaign for nomination"</span><span style="font-family: times;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;"><br /></div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;">
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<span style="clear: left; float: left; font-family: times; font-size: medium; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1314" data-original-width="1078" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwWmZp3OO8z4Ppw_B0GlqENNvQ0Cm7we4znCZ1jIIkzIo8olwYw2hte3C0k-v4u6DhhWmbolJeEYJDJxPUqMXNfm3WuUgPLltNjQy5mgF_cCcdTYX60m4rfGG3MynVRkMdwXdRxTM1ieY/s640/Sayad_nov_12_insideoutisde+office.png" /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><u>November 16th</u></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span><span style="text-align: center;">UK AL leaders/activists </span><span style="text-align: center;">outside the </span></span><span>Tulip Siddiq election campaign office including amongst others: </span><span><span style="color: #121318;"><span face="Verdana, sans-serif" style="color: black;">Sultan Mahmud Sharif</span> (president); Noim Uddin Riaz (joint general-secretary); MA Rahim (joint president); </span></span></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">Afzol Hossain (vice-president, youth league); </span><span style="color: #121318; font-family: verdana;">Nurul Lipu (activist) and </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">Mahmud (Camden).</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="clear: left; float: left; font-family: times; font-size: medium; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1115" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn9sdQs9HmcMJ069GGn0otntarTB_Wn2wjJAV82Wu-se4ZaQn9zTU3AUf4GjhWl4-wqneNtZDdTTZpT9pUJZVTJSSzLpE4qNkOYIRTNh-DbW8elgVT_FGhpFT-pQnBySuxwoxmxJFYFkA/s640/Lipu_shariff_office.png" width="640" /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><u>November 18th</u></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><u><br /></u></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><span>UK AL Leaders/activists inside Tulip Siddiq's election campaign office (and some putting leaflets through doors) including </span></span><span>Syed Shazidur Rahman Faruk (general secretary); </span><span style="color: #121318;">Noim Uddin Riaz (j</span><span style="color: #121318;">oint general secretary</span><span style="color: #121318;">), </span><span>Anwaruzzaman Chowdhury (joint general secretary);</span><span> </span><span><span>Misbah Sadath (i</span></span><span>ndustry and commerce s</span><span>ecretary</span><span>), and MA Rohim (v</span><span>ice-president</span></span><span style="font-size: medium;">) ; Khasruzzaman Khasru (dducation and human resources affairs secretary); Maruf Chowdhury (joint general secretary); Sharob Ali (human rights secretary); Misbah Rahman (organising secretary, West London branch); Mrs Rohim (women's league) Shahjahan Ahmed Shajah (advisor, aheikh rasel children union), and Josna Bibi (womens youth league) </span></span></div>
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<span style="clear: left; float: left; font-family: times; font-size: medium; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1240" data-original-width="1028" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK-5BXWmsZclTaOJ7Fkl3E9YQ0-dTV6Hi61qAwJ81eHQdegSG-jSw-EmRTwJEwLNAxN4kWJOIQzseWhmwofso5Y0N7ZYp7nNS9XQ8Dky_aRE9o6qFTZsxopmygqWMnXyj8izq0WgvB5lc/s640/Tapadar_office_nov+18.png" /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><u><br /></u></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><u><br /></u></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><u><br /></u></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><u><br /></u></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><u><br /></u></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><u><br /></u></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><u><br /></u></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><u><br /></u></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><u><br /></u></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><u><br /></u></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><u><br /></u></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><u><br /></u></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><u><br /></u></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><u><br /></u></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><u><br /></u></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><u><br /></u></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><u><br /></u></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><u><br /></u></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><u><br /></u></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><u><br /></u></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><u><br /></u></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><u><br /></u></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><u><br /></u></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><u><br /></u></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><u><br /></u></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><u><br /></u></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><u><br /></u></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><u><br /></u></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><u><br /></u></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><u><br /></u></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><u>November 23rd<br /></u><br />UK AL Leaders/activists on opposite side of the road to Tulip Siddiq's election campaign office including </span></span></span><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">ASM <span><span><span>Misbah Sadath </span>(industry and commerce s</span><span>ecretary</span></span><span><span>); Shah Shamim Ahmed (office secretary) and Mahmud Ali </span><span><span>(Organising Secretary, Y</span></span><span>outh League</span><span>)</span></span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVBwaPRvk9A0Kr3kg-lG6neiUQXjkDjpafQI9LXWWdhIOzjnfV0ObdJ6HuUq9-WfvIiW1Ia0WG4vTWs8_gjwoqde5kw1Rfy2eYhoNYtCF9fZ-T8Qhf9EbP4lNw-KbhuAxOLO8D82a6fRI/s2510/MijArashi_nov_23_office.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1253" data-original-width="2510" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVBwaPRvk9A0Kr3kg-lG6neiUQXjkDjpafQI9LXWWdhIOzjnfV0ObdJ6HuUq9-WfvIiW1Ia0WG4vTWs8_gjwoqde5kw1Rfy2eYhoNYtCF9fZ-T8Qhf9EbP4lNw-KbhuAxOLO8D82a6fRI/s640/MijArashi_nov_23_office.png" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><span><span><span style="text-align: center;">UK AL leaders/activists </span><span style="text-align: center;">outside </span></span><span>Tulip Siddiq's election campaign office including amongst others: </span><span>Syed Shazidur Rahman Faruk (general secretary); </span><span>Shah Shamim Ahmed (office secretary); Tarif Ahmed </span></span><span>(y</span><span>outh and sports affairs secretary);</span><span> Ansarul Huq (expatriate w</span>elfare affairs secretary) and <span>Shahjahan Ahmed Shajah (advisor, Sheikh Rasel children union).</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPtSScSXjzESLAMSvSlB6hLYE5117p-vtHNenhkpDLe5hln5QNWBDyC3vWvZOqqmwBOAp3NwjAFU9uW30vnInrcsAYOd_lC_Xe2GkS4JvCThKjRu5q3Xk_nTDZe0sK_bwgT-gsN3jPLL4/s2048/shah_nov23_outside_office.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1128" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPtSScSXjzESLAMSvSlB6hLYE5117p-vtHNenhkpDLe5hln5QNWBDyC3vWvZOqqmwBOAp3NwjAFU9uW30vnInrcsAYOd_lC_Xe2GkS4JvCThKjRu5q3Xk_nTDZe0sK_bwgT-gsN3jPLL4/s640/shah_nov23_outside_office.png" width="640" /></span></a></div>
<div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><span><span>UK AL leaders/activists distributing labour party leaflets including Shah Shamim Ahmed (office secretary), Tarif Ahmed (youth and sports affairs Secretary); </span></span><span>Ansarul Huq (e</span><span>xpatriate w</span><span style="text-align: center;">elfare a</span><span>ffairs secretary); </span><span>Abdur Shakur Molik (executive member); </span><span>Syed Tareq (convenor, farmers League); and Shahjahan Ahmed Shajah (advisor, Sheikh Rasel children union). </span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjw5CK6b8ZD-G-rAbHDwK8AUHhCBsNi-dbhu2Jz1H7Y2JIr_FUl1rEFT-5vn4sy-nKk2J4w9LoX-KNMqqp6tPrQeyipUOjRbxkoHkNFZ658svMfk_wy4YwS_uDU6DbbKPFTv99vBTjFIc/s1324/shah-23Nov_street.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1324" data-original-width="1050" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjw5CK6b8ZD-G-rAbHDwK8AUHhCBsNi-dbhu2Jz1H7Y2JIr_FUl1rEFT-5vn4sy-nKk2J4w9LoX-KNMqqp6tPrQeyipUOjRbxkoHkNFZ658svMfk_wy4YwS_uDU6DbbKPFTv99vBTjFIc/s640/shah-23Nov_street.png" /></a></div></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><u>November 27th</u></span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><u><br /></u>UK AL leaders/activists distributing labour party leaflets including </span></span></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">MA Rohim </span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span><span>(vice-president</span></span><span>); </span></span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span>Abdul Ahad Chowdhury (organising secretary); </span></span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span>Syed Suruk Miah </span></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">(religion affairs secretary); </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">Raju Montar (vice president, youth league); and </span></span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: medium;">MA Motin (founder president, Camden Branch). </span></span></div>
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<span style="clear: left; float: left; font-family: times; font-size: medium; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1304" data-original-width="1092" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRHVbcw1URcOWziCVf2qMwdU7mz_77IRG-PgsFjMZUz3e2puGMEJH_Q2lc3mMHjoL_VJNQGRXA_saRAhSSLu7KfKvSz4eKja6Oe0AZj2vXqZnbqNAQHt7sQt8arlFCBB7Fm459Gdxomgw/s640/abdulMotin_nov_27.png" /></span></div></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><u><br /></u></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><u><br /></u></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><u><br /></u></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><u><br /></u></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><u><br /></u></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><u><br /></u></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><u><br /></u></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><u><br /></u></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><u><br /></u></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><u><br /></u></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><u><br /></u></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><u><br /></u></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><u><br /></u></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><u><br /></u></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><u><br /></u></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><u><br /></u></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><u><br /></u></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><u><br /></u></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><u><br /></u></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><u><br /></u></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><u><br /></u></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><u><br /></u></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><u><br /></u></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><u><br /></u></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><u><br /></u></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><u><br /></u></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><u><br /></u></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><u><br /></u></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><u><br /></u></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><u><br /></u></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><u><br /></u></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><u>November 28th</u></span></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><u><br /></u>UK AL leaders/activists congregating on opposite side of road to Tulip Siddiq's election campaign office including: </span></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>Sultan Mahmud Sharif (president); </span></span></span><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><span>Syed Shazidur Rahman Faruk (general secretary);</span><span><span><span> Jalal Uddin (vice-president); </span></span></span><span>MA Rohim </span><span><span><span>(vice-president</span></span><span>); </span></span><span>Shah Shamim Ahmed (office secretary); </span>ASM <span>Misbah Sadath </span><span>(industry and commerce secretary); J</span><span>amal Khan </span><span>(joint general secretary, youth league; </span><span>Sarwar Kabir (vice-president, student League); </span><span>Muhibuddin Chowdhury (joint convenor, farmers league) and </span><span>Shahjahan Ahmed Shajah (advisor, Sheikh Rasel children union).</span></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div>
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<span style="clear: left; float: left; font-family: times; font-size: medium; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1238" data-original-width="2540" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJUl9LFkyXzTUiRqScNkLe8hnO5MNaQ41Y1rflY7bv2C8H_QBYLAwy5GYs70L8oWaHPh2UPsh8cMkgGMKXClI46u_m-HmfLhnklYYC_HpP8V2eA32Rlb6WxOAk6OKzzx4QKazUQmnf0so/s640/Tapadar_nov_28.png" width="640" /></span></div>
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<div><i><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></i></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><span><span>UK AL leaders and activists standing opposite Tulip Siddiq election campaign office as well as leafleting along with </span></span><span><span>Sultan Mahmud Sharif (President); </span></span><span>Syed Shazidur Rahman Faruk (general secretary); </span><span>Jalal Uddin (vice-president); MA Rohin (vice-president); </span><span>Anwaruzzman Chowdhury (joint general secretary); </span>ASM <span>Misbah Sadath (secretary of industry and commerce); </span><span>Shah Shamim </span><span>Ahmed (office secretary);</span><span> </span><span>Sarwar Kabir (vice-president, student League); Delwar Hossain Liton (joint general secretary, Youth League); Forhad Ahmed (vice-president, volunteer league); Jamal Khan </span><span> (joint general secretary, youth league);</span><span> Muhid Uddin Chowdhury (joint convenor, farmers league) and </span><span>Shahjahan Ahmed Shajah (advisor, Sheikh Rasel children union).</span></span></div><div>
<span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><i><br />Translated text</i><span>: </span><span>"Working for the labour party campaign in the UK are Mr Misbah Sadath, the Awami League secretary of industry and commerce and my respected leader brother Shahjahan Ahmed Shaja, the advisor and activist for the UK Sheikh Russel Child and Adolescent Centre, also are present the senior leaders of the UK Awami League"</span></span></div>
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<span style="clear: left; float: left; font-family: times; font-size: medium; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1398" data-original-width="1042" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJhbQ_YtaBBUn6cZjOJ3v46nmpJrqWKH8hnsnGbZHYzg-qC_ItLQzKULFhMONOyKo5wxasAjWkHZMA0GDPfLUpyxKsEHXfN1U24lPkSsoNDITdVUDj0g8ecS0fDQ5xm7MMrjoyuRbHuCs/s640/Tapadar_nov28_sometext.png" /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;"><span><div style="font-family: times; font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><b><br /></b></span></span></div><div style="font-family: times; font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><b><br /></b></span></span></div><div style="font-family: times; font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><b><br /></b></span></span></div><div style="font-family: times; font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><b><br /></b></span></span></div><div style="font-family: times; font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><b><br /></b></span></span></div><div style="font-family: times; font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><b><br /></b></span></span></div><div style="font-family: times; font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><b><br /></b></span></span></div><div style="font-family: times; font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><b><br /></b></span></span></div><div style="font-family: times; font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><b><br /></b></span></span></div><div style="font-family: times; font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><b><br /></b></span></span></div><div style="font-family: times; font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><b><br /></b></span></span></div><div style="font-family: times; font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><b><br /></b></span></span></div><div style="font-family: times; font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><b><br /></b></span></span></div><div style="font-family: times; font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><b><br /></b></span></span></div><div style="font-family: times; font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><b><br /></b></span></span></div><div style="font-family: times; font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><b><br /></b></span></span></div><div style="font-family: times; font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><b><br /></b></span></span></div><div style="font-family: times; font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><b><br /></b></span></span></div><div style="font-family: times; font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><b><br /></b></span></span></div><div style="font-family: times; font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><b><br /></b></span></span></div><div style="font-family: times; font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><b><br /></b></span></span></div><div style="font-family: times; font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><b><br /></b></span></span></div><div style="font-family: times; font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><b><br /></b></span></span></div><div style="font-family: times; font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><b><br /></b></span></span></div><div style="font-family: times; font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><b><br /></b></span></span></div><div style="font-family: times; font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><b><br /></b></span></span></div><div style="font-family: times; font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><b><br /></b></span></span></div><div style="font-family: times; font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><b><br /></b></span></span></div><div style="font-family: times; font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><b><br /></b></span></span></div><div><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;"><u>November 30th</u></span></div></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">
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<span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><span><span><span>AL UK leaders/activists outside Tulip Siddiq's election campaign office and distributing leaflets including MA Rohim (vice-president</span></span><span>); </span><span>Shah Shamim Ahmed (office secretary); Abdul Ahad Chowdhury (organising secretary); </span></span><span><span>Syed Saruk Miah </span></span>(religion affairs secretary);<span><span> Sharob Ali </span></span>(human rights secretary); MA Motin (founder president Camden Branch); and Mahmud (Camden branch)</span><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: x-large;"> </span></div><div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div>
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<span style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="clear: left; float: left; font-family: times; font-size: medium; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1338" data-original-width="1080" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwNSONB2wKSvBI5v1RuGk-2b9efP0aTL_vbWvsXx3mV5aTXxFeHuDo1Xw3-7lzOhVItbIHMHX2Hqo0sgGyzzFlBbH-JnD33_alLXPqoJKwbxxRo3lSOfatksIJCHm0dcW75Np6jS2svCo/s640/AbdulMotin_some+text_Nov30.png" /></span></span><span style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><span>AL UK leaders and activists outside Tulip Siddiq's election campaign office including Anwaruzzman Chowdhury (joint general secretary); </span>ASM <span>Misbah Sadath </span><span>(industry and commerce secretary);</span><span> Sharob Ali (human rights secretary); </span><span>(president, fisheries league); </span><span>Azrof Ali Noor (president, fisheries league); </span><span>Selim Ahmed Khan (secretary, youth league); </span><span>Mahmud Ali <span><span>(organising secretary, y</span></span>outh league); Abul Lais (o</span><span>rganising secretary, y</span><span>outh league); Shumon Ahmed (Secretary, Youth League London Branch) and Ala Uddin (activist)</span></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik4ZRHWFm6Q_g0YKJy_n4pkj6Qi65ecnKT3nm0KvdbfRD2IoZaU65UytED5o0rZTnQKCokKPyJSdFS9WQgIOwTAtSzv6Q2NuV36GYBtNXog3HnM-gMAqi76lRvNOnUgCzIZEYH1rmijv8/s1314/Sayed+Shaheen_nov_30.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1314" data-original-width="1150" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik4ZRHWFm6Q_g0YKJy_n4pkj6Qi65ecnKT3nm0KvdbfRD2IoZaU65UytED5o0rZTnQKCokKPyJSdFS9WQgIOwTAtSzv6Q2NuV36GYBtNXog3HnM-gMAqi76lRvNOnUgCzIZEYH1rmijv8/s640/Sayed+Shaheen_nov_30.png" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtdt-18M4pVB6SA1twFbNYcC-Q-Y-D460ZdZ9kgAbeRtxPdRfhjLD7rUbCqUkqiRqM1p5-K91BaxtxPXHv6jZuDanhzAANQOkzR88VWcNaDc3PvGhjnKXJRmXETesNJ-fUcwIdPEV5bPk/s2048/Sayed+Shaheen+-+With+Anwar%252C+Mesbah.png" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1142" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtdt-18M4pVB6SA1twFbNYcC-Q-Y-D460ZdZ9kgAbeRtxPdRfhjLD7rUbCqUkqiRqM1p5-K91BaxtxPXHv6jZuDanhzAANQOkzR88VWcNaDc3PvGhjnKXJRmXETesNJ-fUcwIdPEV5bPk/s640/Sayed+Shaheen+-+With+Anwar%252C+Mesbah.png" width="640" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><u>December 1st</u></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><u><br /></u></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">AL Leaders/activists leafleting.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>Translated text</i><span>: </span></span><span><span><span style="font-family: verdana;">"The UK Awami League and leaders of associate organisations are campaigning daily in the constituency for the last few weeks to ensure that on 12<sup>th</sup> December in the British general election, the Labour Party candidate Tulip Siddiqi for the North London seat of Hampstead and Kilburn is returned with a landslide majority. We few are responsible for the campaigning in the constituency on Saturday, 30<sup>th</sup> November from morning till afternoon."</span><span style="font-family: times;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqqJEfkRDyGkSVn-3f6cq18eo6P2RjufVGBiJwzk8WcrjQ_ZmkFWXZ1FKYBh5HQlkH1VF7EGL16DzquL5gQaEtxAO_CbJLt5YmOzpMrUoWJBuV1KaxDTEwoqRLHOUr_CfwRhc1z4YN1UU/s1418/Shaja_Dec_1+-+GOOD.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1418" data-original-width="1042" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqqJEfkRDyGkSVn-3f6cq18eo6P2RjufVGBiJwzk8WcrjQ_ZmkFWXZ1FKYBh5HQlkH1VF7EGL16DzquL5gQaEtxAO_CbJLt5YmOzpMrUoWJBuV1KaxDTEwoqRLHOUr_CfwRhc1z4YN1UU/s640/Shaja_Dec_1+-+GOOD.png" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span><div><span><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">AL UK leaders and activists outside Tulip Siddiq's campaign office including </span></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">ASM <span>Misbah Sadath (industry and commerce secretary); Mahmud Ali (o</span><span><span>rganising secretary, y</span></span><span>outh league</span><span>);</span><span> Azrof Ali Noor (president, UK fisheries league);</span><span> </span><span>Akif Khan (vice-president, volunteer league); </span><span>Abdul Hanan (secretariat member); and </span></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">Shahjahan Ahmed Shajah (advisor, Sheikh Rasel children union). </span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></div><br /></span>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCbeXRkoFgNpuk75glEQItHeWMbgFsyoH85GEubqpL8EyMLixNTO6wtyJYXMsM2cvu5Wk8T9RfrF3i8Ufo4hYuX8qQ9IPyPmyUB3lFEuJWjJXgIqPWoBodLbYnoISMdQJhNS8cG2Gt1ls/s1288/Shajahan+Ahmed+Shaja_Dec+1.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1288" data-original-width="1124" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCbeXRkoFgNpuk75glEQItHeWMbgFsyoH85GEubqpL8EyMLixNTO6wtyJYXMsM2cvu5Wk8T9RfrF3i8Ufo4hYuX8qQ9IPyPmyUB3lFEuJWjJXgIqPWoBodLbYnoISMdQJhNS8cG2Gt1ls/s640/Shajahan+Ahmed+Shaja_Dec+1.png" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><u>December 3rd</u></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><u><br /></u></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><span>AL UK leaders/activists outside Tulip Siddiq's campaign office including </span>ASM <span>Misbah Sadath (industry and commerce secretary); </span><span>Shahjahan Ahmed Shajah (advisor, Sheikh Rasel children union) and </span><span>Foyzur Rahman </span><span>(joint general secretary, Youth League).</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE42WXmGgpQj3i3mBvQbHXolIyBto_71ucHLLvW28JGhMc-ebeOtxmTZmgAtWQRp1Zbp-xMineQNQwHaSPvJXQrNTIFXP-wBnRYkJ6vllV6uw_FYZuqZ8DYaySt9JCdPPe5pLdElLd8wY/s2048/dec3_kazi_outside.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1113" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE42WXmGgpQj3i3mBvQbHXolIyBto_71ucHLLvW28JGhMc-ebeOtxmTZmgAtWQRp1Zbp-xMineQNQwHaSPvJXQrNTIFXP-wBnRYkJ6vllV6uw_FYZuqZ8DYaySt9JCdPPe5pLdElLd8wY/s640/dec3_kazi_outside.png" width="640" /></a></span></div>
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</span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">AL UK leaders/activists outside Tulip Siddiq's campaign office including Nurul Islam (volunteer league, vice-president); Habibur Rahman (relief and social welfare affairs secretary), and Abdul Karim Nadim (activist) </span><br /><br /></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVajaAuWEQz4ahn1ARDDYXzHMWuSqR7Ht_uueToNGLq5H_EkuqkD4S-HrHHZyaTYj5VTbO2GN7SAHM9Ef2Cgj6Bg1cgCwugRNsBR4YF8y-idBZUtvlOuyzPvCBQrdDOQdkF_LAmy7pfMw/s2048/kazi_dec3_outside.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1128" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVajaAuWEQz4ahn1ARDDYXzHMWuSqR7Ht_uueToNGLq5H_EkuqkD4S-HrHHZyaTYj5VTbO2GN7SAHM9Ef2Cgj6Bg1cgCwugRNsBR4YF8y-idBZUtvlOuyzPvCBQrdDOQdkF_LAmy7pfMw/s640/kazi_dec3_outside.png" width="640" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span><div style="font-family: times;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><span><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span>AL UK leaders/activists outside Tulip Siddiq's campaign office including </span><span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>Shaek Ahmed Human (human rights secretary), </span></span></span>ASM <span style="font-size: medium;"><span>Misbah Sadath </span></span>(industry and commerce secretary), and Muslima Shams Boni (secretary, women's youth league)</span></div><br /></span>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOD2b4DhZu-c2uJp6GCpRX2vNtZhzOJJfBR7Mds9NFx00k-bnPWK6__6v2O1ZArKJarYbRlzg1qhfYjVrvWaC_LXwK5PGQB2ds-jAD8dBUK9NehLGl7Clogt5ECdvxLChnleF5Chw79I0/s2048/kazi_outside_dec3.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1149" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOD2b4DhZu-c2uJp6GCpRX2vNtZhzOJJfBR7Mds9NFx00k-bnPWK6__6v2O1ZArKJarYbRlzg1qhfYjVrvWaC_LXwK5PGQB2ds-jAD8dBUK9NehLGl7Clogt5ECdvxLChnleF5Chw79I0/s640/kazi_outside_dec3.png" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib7oTY_aYuEfzO2CAB4EhrH_GKLpDnLGoaGs2OqzTjADXtDogOjsFcGq_7lu_UHHnnnubACwx3RWvkQj4bB2FQdVTHU-GTm908fYLeZdf-7Xmi7xxLaQJ8qidE-_IN5-7SEKTjMlmWtTY/s1568/Screenshot+2019-12-07+at+18.13.46.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: medium;"><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" /><br /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>AL UK Leaders, identified in the pictures, with their positions in the party</b></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></div><div><span><span><div data-smartmail="gmail_signature" dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><b><span style="font-family: verdana;">Main UK Committee</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Sultan Mahmud Sharif (President); </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Syed Shazidur Rahman Faruk
(General Secretary);</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="color: #121318;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Harmuz Ali (Vice-president); </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Jalal Uddin
(Vice-President); </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">MA Rohim (Vice-President) </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Anwaruzzaman Chowdhury (Joint
General Secretary); </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="color: #121318;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Noim Uddin Riaz (Joint General
Secretary) </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Maruf Chowdhury (joint general
Secretary); </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Ahad Chowdhury (Organising
Secretary)</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Ansarul Huq (Expatriate Welfare Affairs
secretary)</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Khasruzzaman Khasru (Education and
Human Resources Affairs Secretary); </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">ASM Misbah Sadath, (Industry
and Commerce affairs Secretary); </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Syed Suruk Mia (Religion Affairs
Secretary); </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Shah Shamin Ahmed (Office
Secretary), </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Sharob Ali (Human Rights
Secretary); </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Tarif Ahmed (Youth and Sports
affairs Secretary); </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Habibur Rahman
(Relief and social welfare affairs Secretary)</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Shakur Molik Wadud (Executive
member)</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><b><span style="font-family: verdana;">London Branch</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Abdul Hanan (Secretariat member); </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Golam Kibria (Vice-President,
London branch); </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Selim Ahmed Chowdhury (Organising
Secretary, London Branch); </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Ahbab Miah (Executive member,
London branch); </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Aminul Islam Jillu (International
Secretary, London branch); </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Fakhar Kamal (Executive committee member,
London branch)</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Shaek Ahmed (Human Rights Affairs
Secretary, London branch)</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Moynul Haque (Vice-President,
London branch)</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Moinul Huq (Vice-President, London
Branch) </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Shahjahan Ahmed Shajah (<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">(Adviser, Sheikh Rasel Shishu Kishore Porishad UK) </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><b><span style="font-family: verdana;">Youth League</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Fakhrul Islam Modhu (President,
Youth league) </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Selim Ahmed Khan
(Secretary, Youth League) </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Mahbub Ahmed
(Vice-President, Youth league); </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Raju Montar (Vice President, Youth
League); </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Nazmul Islam (Vice-President,
Youth League)</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Jamal Khan (Joint General
Secretary, Youth Wing); </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Delwar Hossain Liton (Joint General
Secretary, Youth League); </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Jubayer Ahmed (Joint General
Secretary, Youth league) </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Bodruzzaman Shamim
(Vice-President, Youth Wing); </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Afzol Hossain (Vice-President, Youth
League)</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Babul Khan (Organising Secretary,
Youth League), </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Abul Lais (Organising
Secretary, Youth League); </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Mahmud Ali (Organising Secretary,
Youth League); </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Shuhel Ahmed (UK Youth League)</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Tareq Ahmed (London Youth league
President) </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Shumon
Ahmed (Secretary, Youth League London Branch) – instead of Foysal</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Foyzur Rahman Foyaz (Joint Secretary,
Youth League) </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Mohammad Ayas
(Publicity secretary, UK Youth League)</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Alam (UK
Youth League);</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><b><span style="font-family: verdana;">Volunteer League</span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Nurul Islam (Vice-President, Volunteer league);</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Akif Khan (Vice-President, Volunteer league); </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Forhad Ahmed (Vice-President, Volunteer League);</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Jhalak Paul (joint secretary, Volunteer league)</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Kamrul Hossain Munna (Joint Secretary, UK Volunteer league);</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><b><span style="font-family: verdana;">Farmers League</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Sayed Tareq Ahmed (Convenor,
Farmers League); </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Muhid Uddin Chowdhury (Joint
Convenor, Farmers League) </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><b><span style="font-family: verdana;">Fisheries League</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Azrof Ali Noor (President, UK
Fisheries League)</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><b><span style="font-family: verdana;">Labour League</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Anwarul Islam (Joint Convenor,
Labour League); </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><b><span style="font-family: verdana;">Woman’s league</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Muslima Shams Boni (Secretary, Women's
youth league)</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Josna Bibi (Youth Womens league)</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Mrs Rohim (women's league) </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><b><span style="font-family: verdana;">Camden Branch</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Golam Jilani (Camden branch); </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">MA Motin (Founder president,
Camden Branch); </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Mahmud (Camden branch)</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><b><span style="font-family: verdana;">West London Branch</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Misbah Rahman (Organising
Secretary, West London Branch); </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><b><span style="font-family: verdana;">Student League</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Sarwar Kabir (Vice-President, Student
League); </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><b><span style="font-family: verdana;">East London Branch</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Sayed Golap Ali (East London,
member); </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></p>
</div></div></div></div></span></span></div><div><span><span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><br /></span>
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David Bergmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02674636000068693356noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4183118663703256159.post-48732177581966285292019-07-04T20:52:00.001+06:002019-07-04T20:52:21.468+06:00Why the Sunday Times has a lot of explaining to do<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXwVRk1MRgxeBIMC3hBY5NGc91MF2GH3W0G-kejLPqtAZJAimeBClSnpCBNjDCH2N27wd8Rhpi0JVUoktmVOF5LRg1bicVjkRpmSHxSEXgzUvksIpO0zXqg7q0dagyR5rBSnYLo-eoM10/s1600/sunday_times.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="628" data-original-width="1200" height="208" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXwVRk1MRgxeBIMC3hBY5NGc91MF2GH3W0G-kejLPqtAZJAimeBClSnpCBNjDCH2N27wd8Rhpi0JVUoktmVOF5LRg1bicVjkRpmSHxSEXgzUvksIpO0zXqg7q0dagyR5rBSnYLo-eoM10/s400/sunday_times.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">Bangladesh, an authoritarian regime, notorious for arbitrary detentions, false cases, extra judicial killings and disappearances would not seem the ideal source for a supposed expose in the Sunday Times claiming that a businessman who has lived in the UK for ten years was in fact a jihadist “terrorist”, and “arms dealer”.<br /><br />But this did little to deter Tom Harper, the Sunday Time’s Home Affairs Correspondent from making such an allegation against Shahid Uddin Khan, a former colonel in the Bangladesh army <a href="https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/tory-donor-charged-with-arms-dealing-and-funding-terrorism-mqc5bt2td">in a report published late last month</a>.<br /><br />If the provenance of the allegations did not itself raise alarm bells about their integrity (and one assumes that for the Sunday Times, it did not) all that Harper h<a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/03/exclusive-bangladesh-top-security-adviser-accused-abductions-190319114412895.html">ad to do was to read an Al Jazeera investigation published in March which explained how Khan,</a> far from being a “Jihadist” and “terrorist”, had been good friends and business partners with Tarique Ahmed Siddique, the security adviser to the Bangladesh prime minister and indeed the uncle of British parliamentarian Tulip Siddique MP. For ten years between 2009 and 2018, Siddique and Khan’s families jointly owned a land company in Bangladesh with Siddique’s wife as the chairperson and Khan the managing director.<a name='more'></a><br />As Al Jazeera explained, the absurd Bangladesh government allegations against Khan only arose as Khan has since 5 April 2018, the day after they closed down their joint company, been the subject of a vendetta by Siddique, presumably to keep Khan quiet and to hide Siddique’s family involvement in it.</span><div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;">The real story that Harper should have written is how Siddique in the last fourteen months has abused his control over the country’s security agencies resulting in the detention of a total of four members of Khan’s staff and three of his brothers for different periods of time – with the whereabouts of four of the men (three office staff and one brother) still remaining unknown, months after they were picked up and disappeared. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;">The full story is set out in detail <a href="https://bangladeshpolitico.blogspot.com/2019/06/vendetta-by-pms-security-adviser-turns.html">in an article on this blog</a> (and <a href="https://bangladeshpolitico.blogspot.com/2019/06/five-key-takeaways-from-tarique.html">read this as well</a>)<br /><br />The Sunday Times article should know that giving any credibility to allegations of the sort it received from the Bangladesh government/intelligence agencies or their intermediaries without doing significant due diligence was not just pure folly - but reckless defamation. It is not enough for the Sunday Times to simply receive allegations, call Khan and get him to deny them - when any level of due diligence would have easily have indicated to the Sunday Times that the original allegations have no foundation.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;">In his article, Tom Harper did not even mention Tarique Siddique, his business relationship with Khan, the evidence of the secret detentions and disappearances or indeed that the Bangladesh government blocked Al Jazeera’s website the day after it published its article about the vendetta. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Indeed, if the Sunday Times had any level of <i>bona fides</i> in this story - and it is difficult to see how it did - all it has to do was to have looked at the chronology of what has happened to realise that all the allegations against Khan of being a jihadist and terrorist are obviously bogus and false. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;">The Sunday Times has a lot of explaining to do.</span></div>
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David Bergmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02674636000068693356noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4183118663703256159.post-23912323499225047502019-06-28T19:18:00.003+06:002019-06-29T03:18:01.674+06:00Five key takeaways from Tarique Siddique's "vendetta"<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBNMH1SYcJJip7BxQpvH_bRW3Ne7suElO1LBPJ_2iTEhp7NBsqQFnD14gXIFZFLVcPvJ7TutPZW4s28En9n5qM-bVUAkzoOUULyD-46bUm9dhAX2Tds9tUFH1UEWzzHIH7CobXnmTkHbA/s1600/PHOTO-2019-06-19-14-18-01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBNMH1SYcJJip7BxQpvH_bRW3Ne7suElO1LBPJ_2iTEhp7NBsqQFnD14gXIFZFLVcPvJ7TutPZW4s28En9n5qM-bVUAkzoOUULyD-46bUm9dhAX2Tds9tUFH1UEWzzHIH7CobXnmTkHbA/s400/PHOTO-2019-06-19-14-18-01.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://bangladeshpolitico.blogspot.com/2019/06/vendetta-by-pms-security-adviser-turns.html">The story about what has happened to Colonel (rtd) Shahid Khan over the last fourteen months</a> published on this blog (and previously by Al Jazeera) says a lot about contemporary Bangladesh - the impunity, the links between politics and business, the corruption of law enforcement, intelligence and other state bodies, the unlimited power of people around the prime minister Sheikh Hasina, the lies and false allegations - and how the victims simply just keep on piling up.</span><br />
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Below are five key points that emerge from this story</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>1. The number of secret detentions and disappearances are almost certainly much higher than we know.</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">How many people have been secretly detained/disappeared in Bangladesh? </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The most <a href="https://bangladeshpolitico.blogspot.com/2017/12/disappearances-since-2016-men.html">authoritative source of public information on this</a> has been the human rights organisation <a href="http://odhikar.org/">Odhikar </a>which has sought to follow up reports given by families after law enforcement authorities pick up their relatives and then deny having them in their custody. However, Odhikar can only count those incidents where families members go public about their relative being picked up. If families are too scared to go the media, their case is not reported, and Odhikar cannot include it in their list. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">In the case of Khan, a total of 8 people are now known to have been secretly detained for various lengths of time - with the whereabouts of four of them remaining unknown. In each case, the immediate families of the person picked up and disappeared have not gone public and talked to the media. This is because the families are too scared to do so - fearful of what might happen to their relative currently in secret detention and also scared that a similar fate may befall another of their relatives if they make a noise about it. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">It is only because, unusually Khan lives with his family in the UK, and was in a position to provide information about the disappearances (which could then be independently corroborated) that these have now come out in the public domain.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">It suggests that there are probably dozens - perhaps hundreds more - secret detentions and disappearances that are simply not recorded.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>2. State bodies have been outsourced</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">In August 2016, three sons of opposition leaders all of whom were convicted by the International Crimes Tribunal w<a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/08/concern-missing-sons-bangladeshi-politicians-160829095028714.html">ere picked up by law enforcement agencies</a>. Reports suggest that these pick ups and subsequent secret detentions <a href="https://thewire.in/south-asia/secret-detentions-bangladesh-intelligence-sheikhs-hasina">were authorised by Sheikh Hasina</a>. One of the men has been released, also on Hasina's authorisation. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Hasina had given authorisation for the pick-ups and continuing secret detentions after DGFI informed her that these three men were involved in a <a href="https://thewire.in/south-asia/secret-detentions-bangladesh-intelligence-sheikhs-hasina">conspiracy against the government</a>, including involvement in the Holey Artisan cafe militant attack, a month earlier. This was of course hocus-pocus - but Bangladesh governments, and intelligence agencies, are prone to believe conspiracy theories.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">These three disappearances, followed a pattern of many similar incidents - for example the <a href="https://bangladeshpolitico.blogspot.com/2014/12/19-opposition-activists-disappeared-in.html">19 opposition activists picked up just before the 2014 election</a> - in which state bodies were deployed for clear political ends, however misconceived, and illegal.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">However the disappearances involving Khan are rather different as </span><span style="font-size: large;">they revolve around a personal dispute between Siddique and Khan, linked to their previous business relationship. It has nothing at all to do with politics or state affairs. Siddique appears to be abusing his ability to corrupt and control intelligence and law enforcement authorities for his own personal benefit. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Siddique has now tried to make the personal dispute into one involving the State - by getting the police to claim that Khan is a jihadist and terrorist, but these allegations are still simply part of his personal dispute with Khan.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">It is now not uncommon in Bangladesh for state agencies to be used by powerful businessman and politicians to help them succeed in their personal disputes.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>3. No independent judiciary</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">There was a time in Bangladesh, not so long ago actually, when people could count on the judiciary to act independently - that it would come boldly to the aid of those subject to abuse of power by state bodies. Those times are well and truly over.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Almost no family, whose relative has been disappeared will entertain the possibility of approaching the High Court seeking its intervention. This is because they know the High Court will do nothing - they know the Judges will either be partisan in support of the governing party, and so would not do anything or, if they are of part of the ever diminishing category of remaining judges that are independent minded, they are too scared to take a position against the state's law enforcement and intelligence agencies. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">In the Khan case, no family members went to court over the secret detentions and disappearances. But there was one part of the overall harassment where a family member did go to court - over the blocking of Khan's mother-in-law from leaving the country. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Legally, this is a black and white matter. The constitution provides the right of a citizen to leave the country. Immigration authorities at the airport can only block someone if there is an ongoing criminal case against them or the courts have ordered that person not to leave the country. In this case there was no court order and there is no ongoing criminal case. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">This kind of blocking has happened before, and in earlier situation the High Court has been quick to pass an order allowing the person to leave the country. In this case, however the High Court did not do so. This failure is notable and provides further illustration of how the courts have lost their independence, and one can reasonable speculate that specific pressure was imposed on the judge in question not to pass the regular order.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>4. Journalists in Bangladesh are scared</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">It is not just that journalists and editors are unwilling and unable to publish investigative journalism, but they are also scared to undertake inquiries. So, for example, in reporting on this story, I sought the assistance of a number of Bangladesh based journalists to speak to the families of the men disappeared, but as soon as they heard that the pick ups involved Tarique Siddique and DGFI they were scared to even make the calls.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>5. The extent of harassment on one family is remarkable</b></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br />The extent of harassment on Khan and his family is exceptional. Three of his employees have been picked up and disappeared; so have three of his brothers; his finance has been blocked; the travel of his family outside the country has been prohibited; his office and home have been raided; his lawyers have been stopped from working for him; and he and his wife have been accused of involvement in terrorist and money laundering. </span></div>
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David Bergmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02674636000068693356noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4183118663703256159.post-27545113525490916022019-06-25T19:32:00.001+06:002019-06-29T19:14:30.027+06:00"Vendetta" by PM's Security Adviser turns business partner into a "terrorist"<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj07WZmdmDGmO-Hu7pQIvHrtD7KVzYPIsuOtBi6cu7TWgfWEhY-0K0S5a5sgaBoF05q56cRqpKWVz_Qz7pJ-_vLFief6nHXSdXjTtXOFWeI-ggxCACkob585NLfMLAXpzjLIdJKNVTjqaA/s1600/Interview+of+Hon%2527ble+President+Abdul+Hamid.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1403" data-original-width="1600" height="350" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj07WZmdmDGmO-Hu7pQIvHrtD7KVzYPIsuOtBi6cu7TWgfWEhY-0K0S5a5sgaBoF05q56cRqpKWVz_Qz7pJ-_vLFief6nHXSdXjTtXOFWeI-ggxCACkob585NLfMLAXpzjLIdJKNVTjqaA/s400/Interview+of+Hon%2527ble+President+Abdul+Hamid.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Colonel (rtd) Shahid Khan with the President of Bangladesh at the Hilton<br />
Hotel in London, April 26, 2017</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Colonel Shahid Khan is a retired Bangladesh army colonel, turned businessman, who since 2009 has lived in the UK with his wife and daughters. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Until recently, Khan ran a Bangladesh company, Prochhaya Limited, jointly owned by both his own family and that of another retired Bangladesh army officer, Major General Tarique Ahmed Siddique. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Siddique is no ordinary retired officer. He is the Security Adviser to the Bangladesh prime minister Sheikh Hasina, and is now one of the government's most powerful and feared men with effective control of the country's military and intelligence agencies. Siddique is also related to the prime minister as his brother is married to Hasina's sister - a relationship that itself brings power and status.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Prochhaya Ltd </span><span style="font-size: large;">made its money by purchasing contested or occupied land at a knock-down price and then selling it at a market valuation once the company had managed to obtain full legal ownership through the courts. Prochhaya was far from the only company in Bangladesh undertaking this kind of venture, but it is nonetheless a murky business, facilitated by high level political connections which Siddique provided. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Khan, who ran the company primarily from UK, was not politically ambitious and does not appear to have used his business connections with Siddique for political advantage in Bangladesh. However, he was certainly a trusted "insider" - with sufficient clout to set up two years ago a private meeting with the country's President, Abdul Hamid, at the Hilton Hotel in London to discuss a PhD thesis he was writing.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">But today, Khan's is no longer the insider. Since April 2018, the evidence suggests he has been subject </span><span style="font-size: large;">to an extreme vendetta by Siddique, his once close business associate, involving enforced disappearances and the abuse of state agencies over which he has effective control.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: large;">In the last fourteen months, t</span><span style="font-size: large;">hree of Khan's brothers, four of his office staff members and his lawyer, have been picked up and secretly detained for various lengths of time - with the current whereabouts of four of these men remaining unknown. </span><span style="font-size: large;">The Directorate General of Forces Intelligence, known as DGFI, and the para military agency Rapid Action Batallion have been implicated in these detentions.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Khan's office and home in Bangladesh have been raided and all his personal and business papers removed, along with those of the company. </span><span style="font-size: large;">His mother in law has been stopped at the airport from leaving Bangladesh and all his finances have been blocked. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The wife of the London based businessman has also been accused of "conducting anti-state and anti-government activities", and criminal cases have been filed against not only her, but Khan and three of his staff officers (who remain disappeared) accused of "establishing connections with prohibited terrorist organisations."</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: large;">If Khan and his wife want to escape a Bangladesh jail or a secret detention cell they would be wise not to return to their homeland. In Bangladesh there is no longer an independent media to investigate or even report what has happened to him and there is no judiciary capable of holding those responsible to account. Government leaders are well aware that they can abuse the powers held by state bodies for their own personal interest, committing serious crimes and human rights violations, with total impunity.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Khan has learnt the hard way that whilst Siddique was a useful man to partner in business, his control of security agencies made him a very dangerous man to fall out with. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Below is the story of how Khan and Siddique met, how they fell out and the evidence of Siddique's subsequent abuse of state agencies in apparent support of his personal interests. Responding to the allegations, Siddique told <i>BangladeshPolitico</i> that Khan is </span><span style="font-size: large;">"</span><span style="font-size: large;">a fraud, cheat and ungrateful character ..... with fabricated stories and lies." </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>When Khan met Tarique</b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Whilst Khan is now threatened by a retired military leader belonging to the Awami League government, his current precarious position stems from his time as an army officer when the current opposition party, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, was in power.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8ctw-2ihH7BvfRoSjg3F3M8rk7DNO6lrSfxC1PwI05qSoGBVa3q_0dfWdnBQuASav9hdHbJ0Irkdb2sPxnW-htrO_s2ENFKQnPi1W-z_kpOd8aSzha2P8alqw8gfCtdT5uoaTDHkP6zw/s1600/PHOTO-2019-06-20-20-14-50.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="687" data-original-width="1024" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8ctw-2ihH7BvfRoSjg3F3M8rk7DNO6lrSfxC1PwI05qSoGBVa3q_0dfWdnBQuASav9hdHbJ0Irkdb2sPxnW-htrO_s2ENFKQnPi1W-z_kpOd8aSzha2P8alqw8gfCtdT5uoaTDHkP6zw/s320/PHOTO-2019-06-20-20-14-50.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Khan receiving awards in 2004</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Khan entered the army in 1983 and rose quickly through the ranks becoming </span><span style="font-size: large;">Lieutenant Colonel. Twenty years later he was </span><span style="font-size: large;">a</span><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><span style="font-size: large;">commanding </span><span style="font-size: large;">officer of 6 Rifle Battalion based in Chapainawabganj, and in 2004 won a</span><span style="font-size: large;"> number of trophies including </span><span style="font-size: large;">the army's</span><span style="font-size: large;"> Champion Battalion and Best Patrol Commander for his work in </span><span style="font-size: large;">a series of </span><span style="font-size: large;">successful anti-smuggling operations.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0FcyBGlMK-I7my3MBFRANlnIhwYfgHbqY-lhhm7jkHCoOPKMM_1JA7pAuDHq2Y51wqV3A5dGXM6Nfg7hPTi9zfr90HIWPzJtiSEUyUlHuRXRj8_2PfmFYgTH0DKT6Y4pD3_spEUhsCNI/s1600/khan_court_martial.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="383" data-original-width="640" height="190" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0FcyBGlMK-I7my3MBFRANlnIhwYfgHbqY-lhhm7jkHCoOPKMM_1JA7pAuDHq2Y51wqV3A5dGXM6Nfg7hPTi9zfr90HIWPzJtiSEUyUlHuRXRj8_2PfmFYgTH0DKT6Y4pD3_spEUhsCNI/s320/khan_court_martial.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Excerpt from court martial charge sheet against Shahid Khan, setting out<br />
main charge against him.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Despite these successes - or possibly because of them - Khan's time in the army came to an abrupt end. At the end of 2004, he was accused of sending an anonymous letter to the prime minster which claimed that certain army officers were corrupt and were being protected by the then Post and Telecommunications minister. Khan denied having anything to do with the letter but in June 2005, he was court-martialled, found guilty and thrown out of the army.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi18tudcbFt3h1yTmWFNOgzSm9BZ_aAHnXCenqvZYZmApuwM0a4vwttBOcVS3XdqEboOU27DZWZE1Yz6KR7N6vtZvMqztcBIP2gvVZ0cjLJIkUhUmqX29l64FPqneSzQ4YbAiKo0sbiFnM/s1600/PHOTO-2019-06-20-20-13-48.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="694" data-original-width="1024" height="270" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi18tudcbFt3h1yTmWFNOgzSm9BZ_aAHnXCenqvZYZmApuwM0a4vwttBOcVS3XdqEboOU27DZWZE1Yz6KR7N6vtZvMqztcBIP2gvVZ0cjLJIkUhUmqX29l64FPqneSzQ4YbAiKo0sbiFnM/s400/PHOTO-2019-06-20-20-13-48.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Shahid Khan (right) at the house of Tarique Siddique and his wife, Shahana<br />
Siddique in 2009</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;"></span><span style="font-size: large;">Khan's sacking resulted in the beginning of his relationship with Tarique Siddique, </span><span style="font-size: large;">who was at that time Chief of Personal Security to Sheikh Hasina, the then leader of the opposition. According to Khan, a</span><span style="font-size: large;"> week after the court-martial, Siddique phoned him suggesting that he could help him get some work. Three months later the two men met up at the home of the opposition security chief, following which Khan went to work part-time as a factory security officer<b> </b>and agreed to work the rest of the week as Siddique's aide. This was the beginning of the long and intense relationship between Khan and Siddique. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">The idea of a joint company between the two families started a few years later when Khan managed to sell his in-law's cold storage business in Comilla. </span><span style="font-size: large;">This made the Khan's rich and was the seed money for the establishment of Prochhaya Limited.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwZaSsypTMLICYQcRa-HmzSsIsEE-JBDM2ZkL2faQ-x6oNZwJpsiynFE-9LGZNjPEGSVkVKyEOOghztnBh0o5qjGnLbtLEsqrygGP4LnDvWNn9Pc77XgCBu8P-6ep05lZQhSeF2lhmab8/s1600/prochhaya_reg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="435" data-original-width="640" height="271" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwZaSsypTMLICYQcRa-HmzSsIsEE-JBDM2ZkL2faQ-x6oNZwJpsiynFE-9LGZNjPEGSVkVKyEOOghztnBh0o5qjGnLbtLEsqrygGP4LnDvWNn9Pc77XgCBu8P-6ep05lZQhSeF2lhmab8/s400/prochhaya_reg.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Prochhaya company registration document, as of 2012</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The company was jointly owned by the two families - and although all the initial financial investment came from the Khan's, a Siddique family member always held the position of company chairperson. </span><span style="font-size: large;">The first chairperson was Zamal Shafi, Siddique's brother-in-law and after he left the company in 2012 the position was held by Siddique's wife, Shahana, already a company director. </span><span style="font-size: large;">When the company was first set up the board also comprised Khan's wife (Farjana Anjum) and a daughter from each of the families. Khan himself was the company's managing director - but did not sit on the board. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">At the end of 2008, the Awami League won the elections and returned to power. Khan says that he had realised that he did not want to get drawn into the murkiness of Awami League politics and moved to London with his wife and son, on the basis of an investors visa obtained by his wife.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-XHa7FS-QpC4gDSjsoSPa_H1GVanw2XH6XDvTBb1fapBYzTbvtM1HMDhk8LGREOny_YWhMnfJPC7I4EMA6pF2d8RIHkH7kD83DRF6udz6WSV1kargnuqRVMxItlOwX0CRC1nkESgSxZA/s1600/Khan_congratulations_dailystar.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="379" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-XHa7FS-QpC4gDSjsoSPa_H1GVanw2XH6XDvTBb1fapBYzTbvtM1HMDhk8LGREOny_YWhMnfJPC7I4EMA6pF2d8RIHkH7kD83DRF6udz6WSV1kargnuqRVMxItlOwX0CRC1nkESgSxZA/s400/Khan_congratulations_dailystar.jpg" width="236" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Advert placed in The Daily Star newspaper<br />
in Bangladesh on March 28, 2010 following<br />
government order annulling court martial and<br />
reinstating Khan to the army</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Back in Dhaka, the new Awami League government - with Siddique appointed as the new prime minister's defence and security adviser - annulled the result of Khan's<b> </b>2005 court martial. On March 23, 2010, a circular announced that Khan has been reinstated to the army, promoting him to Colonel with effect from July 2009. The order also announced his subsequent retirement from the army. (see picture)</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Back in London, Khan continued as managing director of Prochhaya Ltd. Following the sale of Khan's wife's cold storage, the new company made its money through two further key sales. In 2008, the company purchased land in Mirpur, which they sold in 2011. It then purchased land in Hatirjheel in the same year which was eventually sold in 2016 making the company nearly £5 million. </span><span style="font-size: large;">According to Khan, this final sale was organised by Tarique Siddique himself.</span><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">During their time in business, Khan says he was very close to Siddique - calling each other regularly, sometimes daily, talking about many things including company business. Tarique called Khan, his "younger brother"</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>The beginning of the end</b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Very soon after the Hatirjeel land was sold, Shahana Siddique told Khan that she wanted the company dissolved as soon as possible. Khan could not understand why the Siddiques would want to close the company down since it was in good health and other land which the company had purchased would, once the courts had confirmed the company's right of ownership, be able to be sold at a significant profit. However, Shahana was</span><span style="font-size: large;"> insistent that the company had to be closed, and Khan agreed to do it.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Closing a company in Bangladesh is a<b> </b>drawn out procedure requiring an application to be made to the High Court and whilst the process continued the Siddiques thought that Khan was delaying. </span><br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1GUrnA_c_Tcze9Dc1xcOxngDTEEfuB562ebJhEk_UUy0-7e4vTP-_LoaRymIaMNFRqyhyQaAGiDG0VDC2CSstqY9yydagWkU78o16cv080Y1FrQrObtRf6vHIeRKEBZOExuQtYzEmObo/s1600/PHOTO-2019-06-19-14-18-01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1GUrnA_c_Tcze9Dc1xcOxngDTEEfuB562ebJhEk_UUy0-7e4vTP-_LoaRymIaMNFRqyhyQaAGiDG0VDC2CSstqY9yydagWkU78o16cv080Y1FrQrObtRf6vHIeRKEBZOExuQtYzEmObo/s400/PHOTO-2019-06-19-14-18-01.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Khan with Tarique Siddique in June 2017, at his<br />
house in London</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-size: large;">The<b> </b>last time Khan saw Tarique Siddique was in June 2017 when </span><span style="font-size: large;">he visited Khan in his house in London (see picture). According to Khan, Siddique told him that he needed to speed up the closing of the company. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Whilst the relationship between the families had become a little strained, it was six months later in December 2017 that Khan realised that the Siddiques' relationship towards him had really changed. Along with his family, he had travelled at the end of the year to Bangladesh, and planned to hold a reception for his daughter who was coming back to the country after a long period in the UK. </span><span style="font-size: large;">Soon after the family arrived, a number of Khan's former army colleagues told him that the Siddiques would not attend the reception and had gone so far as to direct them not to attend with their own families. Khan saw this as a major snub and did not meet up with Tarique Siddique on this visit as he normally would.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Khan returned to London and continued to work on dissolving their joint company. In January the court order came through - but there were further delays as they had to wait for the certified copy of the court orderand then for the Office of the Register of Joint Stock Companies to remove the company from its website. This finally happened on April 4, 2018 and Khan texted Siddique with a message "congratulations". He heard nothing back from his former business partner.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>The vendetta and secret detentions start</b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">The very next day, April 5, Khan received a call from Johurul Hoque Khandoker, the general manager of his office in Bangladesh telling him that one of the men who worked for Shahana Siddique had phoned to say that she was going to visit the office in the evening and he should remain present. Khan said that there had been good news about the company closure and he should organise tea and snacks. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<span style="font-size: large;">However, at 7 pm, instead of Shahana Siddique, a group of men, who said that they were from DGFI, the military intelligence agency, turned up at the office. They took the mobile phones from Khandoker and the three other staff members present - Enamul Haque, Akidul Ali and Khorshed Alam Patwari (see pictures below)- and ordered them to remain sitting and stay silent. The DGFI officers broke into the office cabinets, removed all the papers and took </span><span style="font-size: large;">the computer hard-disks.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9-yvsFFnuwl1agYrcwCHb23nS4Y9p2Xx6u55vcfoS4aC-JUI9GqYSkYjhjfHC8oQHyGWdmhlFoIIV62ibledrvKMr6bU0sThc2SOaZTx-iWxE1_SVHKX1ZJLfimBudEZl_SacFi5VwP8/s1600/PHOTO-2019-06-19-14-19-20.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="818" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9-yvsFFnuwl1agYrcwCHb23nS4Y9p2Xx6u55vcfoS4aC-JUI9GqYSkYjhjfHC8oQHyGWdmhlFoIIV62ibledrvKMr6bU0sThc2SOaZTx-iWxE1_SVHKX1ZJLfimBudEZl_SacFi5VwP8/s200/PHOTO-2019-06-19-14-19-20.jpg" width="159" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lance Corporal Akidul Ali (rtd)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjilr-wAvKsGkIH87YXLtj-sqhq8Zt9iI-RaPMGlOpNHh1tOzgq8KuHGrTmzOvHzNkTIZeHhCeW78cZRiRCmfJzee1sZNiUf7Q9GyLtcl5nnrsjTSTnD7-pBfZ4CnQu-_g82qXAtCnjtME/s1600/PHOTO-2019-06-19-14-19-47.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="817" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjilr-wAvKsGkIH87YXLtj-sqhq8Zt9iI-RaPMGlOpNHh1tOzgq8KuHGrTmzOvHzNkTIZeHhCeW78cZRiRCmfJzee1sZNiUf7Q9GyLtcl5nnrsjTSTnD7-pBfZ4CnQu-_g82qXAtCnjtME/s200/PHOTO-2019-06-19-14-19-47.jpg" width="159" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Warrant OfficerKhorshed Alam <br />
Patwari (rtd)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbuLzIqjEaVu_lR8Z8SOtwRJjl-SEzG4RHhRNdPVaXmJd0FifjKi_01aaaq5_niu7nUbv_ZoUvnL78TB5LXtmSYAAfap2XXBhy0upGwrUrz3ZdF9O1lvE9A6tLkOQZeCCQ1u_L0Fd-P6I/s1600/PHOTO-2019-06-19-14-20-03.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="892" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbuLzIqjEaVu_lR8Z8SOtwRJjl-SEzG4RHhRNdPVaXmJd0FifjKi_01aaaq5_niu7nUbv_ZoUvnL78TB5LXtmSYAAfap2XXBhy0upGwrUrz3ZdF9O1lvE9A6tLkOQZeCCQ1u_L0Fd-P6I/s200/PHOTO-2019-06-19-14-20-03.jpg" width="173" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hon. Capt Zohurul Hoque <br />
Khondaker (rtd)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlsStY_fI5-CtIgazS5jIwvD27bozRJFAyT5FpBZa51ZP_G1gZeal3EeooCSooa9H8wV41uoC3cveIyBTRh4UYTf7XyiCnigdlfovYSXjmJGkspgjsikQUznR_b3zsUKBqeu3NIS_oxjY/s1600/PHOTO-2019-03-14-15-20-37.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="840" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlsStY_fI5-CtIgazS5jIwvD27bozRJFAyT5FpBZa51ZP_G1gZeal3EeooCSooa9H8wV41uoC3cveIyBTRh4UYTf7XyiCnigdlfovYSXjmJGkspgjsikQUznR_b3zsUKBqeu3NIS_oxjY/s200/PHOTO-2019-03-14-15-20-37.jpg" width="163" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Enamul Haque</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">All the office documents - including those relating to Prochhaya, the Khan family's new company Aether Ltd, and also his own personal papers - were put in a microbus, along with four members of staff, and taken to the house of Tarique Siddique which was situated within the military cantonment. The papers were removed </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">into Siddique's house and the men, a</span><span style="font-size: large;">ccording to affidavits which they subsequently wrote, were all taken to the head office of DGFI, and over the course of the two days blindfolded, interrogated about Khan and his financial affairs and forced to sign statements. The detailed affidavits of two of the men seen by <i>BangladeshPolitico</i> said that they were threatened with death if they did not cooperate. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">The men were released after being secretly and illegally detained for two days.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6p7UtAMsYSVerpcHEJPdoh_s7uEx-1VCPSSyX0sSTu_JxbleZvAoM7SVU_P2SJXPr2w8Ynm1z1HWH2SSMuGDzLHHGaGB3BCyeSuDsXpH36PMvOucfgooenjlXsFgpVCXNcZ0fxNXxnlU/s1600/officeaddress_rev.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="405" data-original-width="640" height="202" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6p7UtAMsYSVerpcHEJPdoh_s7uEx-1VCPSSyX0sSTu_JxbleZvAoM7SVU_P2SJXPr2w8Ynm1z1HWH2SSMuGDzLHHGaGB3BCyeSuDsXpH36PMvOucfgooenjlXsFgpVCXNcZ0fxNXxnlU/s320/officeaddress_rev.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Picture of the address of letter, stamped 25/7/2018 ,sent by <br />
Aether Ltd, the new family Khan company, which shows <br />
the Cantonment area address. Some details have been <br />
blurred for privacy</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-size: large;">In relation to this incident, Tarique Siddique said<i> </i>that "</span><span style="font-size: large;">Shahid had no office at Dhaka Cantonment area." However, it is clear from office letter heads, as well as from the affidavits of the four men that Khan did have an office in the Cantonment area. (see picture)</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: large;"><b>DGFI picks up lawyer </b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Khan heard about the office raid and the detention of this staff, the morning after it happened. He was shocked and immediately tried to contact both Tarique Siddique and his wife but neither responded. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxG5Zz-l7OzmU9PFT3pmi2qCA2LGx9xEd1MXqzieeyLUG5d8FJU77NviycXa0Ydv25CqRcInuY0Y1zFsUTi4a4x5P-CaqArZuiNLKayVEa1vMqGwdVSGfTpUiJdZ_-UydCAPX7JVhNvJk/s1600/khan_lawyer_shahbuddin.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="665" data-original-width="989" height="215" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxG5Zz-l7OzmU9PFT3pmi2qCA2LGx9xEd1MXqzieeyLUG5d8FJU77NviycXa0Ydv25CqRcInuY0Y1zFsUTi4a4x5P-CaqArZuiNLKayVEa1vMqGwdVSGfTpUiJdZ_-UydCAPX7JVhNvJk/s320/khan_lawyer_shahbuddin.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">Six weeks later, on around the 20 May, his tax lawyer, Muhammad Shahbuddin, received a call asking him to go to DGFI office, but, according to Khan, Shahbuddin told DGFI he was busy with work and could not do so for a few days. It seems that DGFI did not take kindly to this delay, and </span><span style="font-size: large;">on May 23,</span><span style="font-size: large;"> his car was stopped and he was removed by two men</span><span style="font-size: large;">. His son, who was driving the car at the time, went to the police and filed a "General Diary" stating that:</span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVNt4sLoKrqvnMvO79_1ubS0fZv0NQ3HSyVZ21h-JZT3sPk32z_5LSj3vWI0mR0x3ESfVOsakMPx2mOecdAburMOi7ixGQVZodpPFEds2RYBJhYHu6FK-XTwtnqSq_BBXgccOeZvbrvMk/s1600/khan_lawyer_gd.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVNt4sLoKrqvnMvO79_1ubS0fZv0NQ3HSyVZ21h-JZT3sPk32z_5LSj3vWI0mR0x3ESfVOsakMPx2mOecdAburMOi7ixGQVZodpPFEds2RYBJhYHu6FK-XTwtnqSq_BBXgccOeZvbrvMk/s320/khan_lawyer_gd.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Copy of GD, submitted at the police station</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-size: large;">"At around 2:21 pm, when we were in front of Oriental Zara Housing Society, a black color Toyota SUV Dhaka Metro Gha-02-3556 blocked our car on the road. Two persons came out from that car and forcefully took our father away from us and forced him inside the SUV. We followed the car up until airport crossing but then we lost the track of the car."</span></blockquote>
<span style="font-size: large;">The lawyer was released early the next morning at about 1 am and subsequently confirmed to Khan that he had been picked up by DGFI and interrogated about his financial dealings. That was practically the last time Khan heard from Shahbuddin as DGFI had warned him not to continue to work for the UK based businessman.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>DGFI stops investment company from disbursing money</b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Through its office raid, DGFI had access to all of Khan's financial
papers including his personal documentation about £2.4 million (Tk 26 crore) invested by the Khans with FAS Finance & Investment Ltd. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">On April 24 - a few weeks after the raid - Khan phoned the investment company and told them that he would like the money to be disbursed to their individual accounts on May 6, which was the next permitted date. However, he was told by FAS that DGFI officials had told it not to disburse the money to him. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">In response, on 1 May, Khan sent a letter (</span><span style="font-size: large;">referencing that conversation) </span><span style="font-size: large;">to the FAS managing director stating that "due to some unavoidable circumstances" he would like to renew the investment for a further six months. At the same time, he also sent a legal notice to the investment company asking them to explain the reason for not disbursing the money to him. </span><span style="font-size: large;">FAS did not respond to the legal notice, but sent a letter in September 2018 to Khan stating that "as per your request" the company was reinvesting his money for another six months, until 6 November. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmHeDe-DMzKFrjL9plxCI-pOnb_lN46VuT7JhrlyRCoDbyvx7tr8PmSFwfm9L_y_j4W83EesDxipSiUtgtWmTXupeLLUCek14eVrMeiPj21RpSgMr_IFfAMwgk9Stcg86QeXK65-JLnRk/s1600/FAS+letter.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="314" data-original-width="1150" height="108" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmHeDe-DMzKFrjL9plxCI-pOnb_lN46VuT7JhrlyRCoDbyvx7tr8PmSFwfm9L_y_j4W83EesDxipSiUtgtWmTXupeLLUCek14eVrMeiPj21RpSgMr_IFfAMwgk9Stcg86QeXK65-JLnRk/s400/FAS+letter.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Excerpt from letter sent by Shahid Khan to Siddiqur Rahman and <br />
Sri Gaurango Dey, respectively Chairman and Senior Executive of <br />
FAS Finance and Investment Limited, dated 23 November, 2018 </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-size: large;">In November, after the company failed to disburse the money a second time, Khan's lawyer met up with FAS on November 22 and was told that "Directorate General of Force Intelligence has not yet given .. the clearance to disburse our money." </span><span style="font-size: large;">The money remains unavailable to the Khans.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Tarique Siddique claimed that </span><span style="font-size: large;">"Shahid’s FAS account was frozen by Bangladesh Banks [Financial Intelligence] unit for money laundering charges". However, that is not the reason given by FAS Finance and Investment to Khan on the telephone, in their September letter or in the company's subsequent conversation with Khan's lawyer.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Khan issues legal notice. DGFI summons lawyer</b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Khan had sought to settle the dispute with Siddique but this had not been successful. </span><span style="font-size: large;">In November 2018, Khan instructed a UK law firm, Ronald Fletcher Baker LLP to send a legal notice to Shaheen Siddique - with copies to Tarique Siddique and the Director General of DGFI, Major Abedin - informing them of his "intention to bring procedding arising out of the unlawful search of seizure of his property" in April. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB2v5r8j_62jAZHG9hMJQIGF6SS48DFu_kxOKeTIvjYK4N43zMSoKvLhe2CxNk9e0p2bAFp5HYrootuPpLIm_MGjIR6XaEo3QSxe8RWoPUysdsV4BgBC7r3IbvCcGBkvyVpLiuXaLoxu8/s1600/1-Legal+Notice-1+Covering+Letter-Scan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1131" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB2v5r8j_62jAZHG9hMJQIGF6SS48DFu_kxOKeTIvjYK4N43zMSoKvLhe2CxNk9e0p2bAFp5HYrootuPpLIm_MGjIR6XaEo3QSxe8RWoPUysdsV4BgBC7r3IbvCcGBkvyVpLiuXaLoxu8/s400/1-Legal+Notice-1+Covering+Letter-Scan.jpg" width="282" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Covering letter (with personal information blurred)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-size: large;">The letter, dated November 23, set out details of DGFI's raid of his office the detentions of his four members of staff and lawyer, and the military agency's threats made against FAS to withhold the disbursement of Khan's funds. The letter sought a "declaration that the men under the employ of the defendent and persons of the DGFI under the instructions of the defendent will cease and desist all actions against the claimant, his family, his businesses or any persons linked to these," as well as commitments to return their documents and stop threats against FAS investments.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">There was no response to this letter but a week later on December 6, DGFI summoned Khan's tax lawyer to its offices where he was questioned before being released later that day. Khan responded by getting his UK lawyers to send a second legal notice on December 14.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">The second notice crossed with DGFI's response (to the original notice) dated 13 December and signed by Lt Col. Dewan Mohammad Monzur Hossain on behalf of the agency's Director General. The letter states that:</span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-size: large;"> "The allegations made against DGFI .... appears to be false and concocted. Such allegations defame notably this organisation but also the Armes forces of the country which is well reputed for its professionalism at home and abroad. This office strongly disapprove such false accusations."</span></blockquote>
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>DGFI again picks up three staff members</b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">About a week later, ten days before the December 31, 2018 national elections, Khan says that he received a call from Brigadier Ziaul Ahsan who was at that time running the National Telecommunication Monitoring Centre, the country's surveillance hub. Hasan told Khan that he should not proceed further with his legal action now with the election proceeding and that everything can be resolved amicably after the elections.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">The national elections took place on December 31, 2018 with the Awami League winning in polls, <a href="https://bangladeshpolitico.blogspot.com/2018/12/after-election-what-next.html">widely regarded as systematically rigged</a>. However, far from leading to a resolution, it triggered a far more aggressive attitude by state bodies. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">In the early evening of January 13, two vehicles turned up outside the house of </span><span style="font-size: large;">Akidul Ali, a staff member belonging to Khan's Bangladesh office (one of the four who had previously been picked up and taken to the DGFI office in April). There were about 20 men in total,</span><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><span style="font-size: large;">many armed and some wearing the black uniform commonly worn by the paramilitary organisation, the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB).</span><span style="font-size: large;"> Some of the men went into the house and according to an eye-witnesses they brought out Akidul and another of his office colleagues </span><span style="font-size: large;">Khorshed Alam Patwari who was with him at that time. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">As this was happening, a witness saw </span><span style="font-size: large;">Johurul Hoque Khandoker, another Khan staff member, sitting in one of the RAB cars parked outside Akidul's house. At midday, Khondoker's family said that at midday he had gone to visit some relatives and had never returned home. This was reported in some detail in March by Al Jazeera (see below)</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Five months later, the whereabouts of all three men - pictures below - remain unknown. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"></span>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjilr-wAvKsGkIH87YXLtj-sqhq8Zt9iI-RaPMGlOpNHh1tOzgq8KuHGrTmzOvHzNkTIZeHhCeW78cZRiRCmfJzee1sZNiUf7Q9GyLtcl5nnrsjTSTnD7-pBfZ4CnQu-_g82qXAtCnjtME/s1600/PHOTO-2019-06-19-14-19-47.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="817" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjilr-wAvKsGkIH87YXLtj-sqhq8Zt9iI-RaPMGlOpNHh1tOzgq8KuHGrTmzOvHzNkTIZeHhCeW78cZRiRCmfJzee1sZNiUf7Q9GyLtcl5nnrsjTSTnD7-pBfZ4CnQu-_g82qXAtCnjtME/s200/PHOTO-2019-06-19-14-19-47.jpg" width="159" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px; text-align: center;">Disappeared: Warrant Officer<br />
Khorshed Alam<span style="font-size: 12.8px;">Patwari (rtd)</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbuLzIqjEaVu_lR8Z8SOtwRJjl-SEzG4RHhRNdPVaXmJd0FifjKi_01aaaq5_niu7nUbv_ZoUvnL78TB5LXtmSYAAfap2XXBhy0upGwrUrz3ZdF9O1lvE9A6tLkOQZeCCQ1u_L0Fd-P6I/s1600/PHOTO-2019-06-19-14-20-03.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="892" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbuLzIqjEaVu_lR8Z8SOtwRJjl-SEzG4RHhRNdPVaXmJd0FifjKi_01aaaq5_niu7nUbv_ZoUvnL78TB5LXtmSYAAfap2XXBhy0upGwrUrz3ZdF9O1lvE9A6tLkOQZeCCQ1u_L0Fd-P6I/s200/PHOTO-2019-06-19-14-20-03.jpg" width="173" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;"><span style="font-size: 12.8px;">Disappeared:</span><span style="font-size: 12.8px;"> </span>Hon. Capt Zohurul<br />
Hoque <span style="font-size: 12.8px;">Khondaker (rtd)</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9-yvsFFnuwl1agYrcwCHb23nS4Y9p2Xx6u55vcfoS4aC-JUI9GqYSkYjhjfHC8oQHyGWdmhlFoIIV62ibledrvKMr6bU0sThc2SOaZTx-iWxE1_SVHKX1ZJLfimBudEZl_SacFi5VwP8/s1600/PHOTO-2019-06-19-14-19-20.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="818" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9-yvsFFnuwl1agYrcwCHb23nS4Y9p2Xx6u55vcfoS4aC-JUI9GqYSkYjhjfHC8oQHyGWdmhlFoIIV62ibledrvKMr6bU0sThc2SOaZTx-iWxE1_SVHKX1ZJLfimBudEZl_SacFi5VwP8/s200/PHOTO-2019-06-19-14-19-20.jpg" width="159" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 12.8px;">Disappeared:</span><span style="font-size: 12.8px;"> </span>Lance Corporal<br />
Akidul <span style="font-size: 12.8px;">Ali (rtd)</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">In response to these claims, Tarique Siddique told <i>BangladeshPolitico</i> that, "Shahid has instructed the office workers mentioned ... to hide themselves to put blame of abduction on DGFI and me." </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">This claim that families hide themselves and are not picked up and disappeared, despite often significant eye-witness evidence of law enforcement authorities taking the men, <a href="https://scroll.in/article/881297/sheikh-hasinas-son-says-no-enforced-disappearances-in-bangladesh-never-mind-the-evidence">is a common argument</a> made by Bangladesh government authorities. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Raid of Khan's House, claim of terrorism</b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Three days later, on January 17, law enforcement officers raided Khan's house on the alleged basis of a tip-off that Khan's wife - yes his wife! - was "conducting anti-state and anti-government activities". The First Information Report stated:</span><br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-size: large;">"On January 14, 2019, getting on a tip off, we came to know that Farzana Anjum Khan and a group from their house [address given] DOHS Baridhara have been conducting anti-state and anti-government activities. Under the leadership of [named police officer] we wanted to search the house to find out various evidences and paper documentation related with international conspiracy and destructive campaigns against the state and the government."</span></blockquote>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbXXscG2QOdwBMJquSAokLkwEeqq1CD90-u-cc26rgT8kzbHZ5ucoA44T4xyEuzZt1bq3PNsQURjs7ye7GvYwYbZ6pv1IJh739WhmCDgvADZLQaBpNyJPtSzR3oQ-k_eclzuX3qs4eUpA/s1600/khan_fir_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="842" data-original-width="537" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbXXscG2QOdwBMJquSAokLkwEeqq1CD90-u-cc26rgT8kzbHZ5ucoA44T4xyEuzZt1bq3PNsQURjs7ye7GvYwYbZ6pv1IJh739WhmCDgvADZLQaBpNyJPtSzR3oQ-k_eclzuX3qs4eUpA/s320/khan_fir_1.jpg" width="204" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Extract from First Information Report<br />
against Khan, his wife and the<br />
three disappeared staff members </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-size: large;">In a number of First Information Reports, filed by </span> <span style="font-size: large;">a police officer from the Counter Terrorism Unit of Dhaka Metropolitan Police, </span><!--EndFragment--><span style="font-size: large;">the following were supposedly found in the house: "50 silver colored detonators;""seven jihadi books" including one titled "How to make bombs;" fake currency; a "revolver with five rounds of bullet;"a pistol with six rounds of bullet, and a shotgun. The FIR went onto state that </span><span style="font-size: large;">Khan, his wife, as well as the three members of Khan's staff who have been picked up and secretly detained, </span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-size: large;">"had established connections with the prohibited terrorist organisations and worked against the sovereignty and security of the country." </span></blockquote>
<span style="font-size: large;">The FIR accuses him and the other four of "terrorism" under section 6 of the Anti-terrorism Act 2009 and "counterfeit" under section 25A of the Special Powers Act 1974.</span><br />
<br />
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Al Jazeera website blocked</b></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPN-crODwoowgw_75tOj5oyKBfiC268hcQyvU5cf6Q-GtehXd1LxU4_niLW5DN3iqGFRnz9SPaToVnOZ50VrnX2bjrop1pVLuIBJT1ijWblh4agBESTF-W4V4Aqopi21UvwfUI66zzC5o/s1600/aljazeera_art.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="571" data-original-width="744" height="153" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPN-crODwoowgw_75tOj5oyKBfiC268hcQyvU5cf6Q-GtehXd1LxU4_niLW5DN3iqGFRnz9SPaToVnOZ50VrnX2bjrop1pVLuIBJT1ijWblh4agBESTF-W4V4Aqopi21UvwfUI66zzC5o/s200/aljazeera_art.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">On March 20, 2018, Al Jazeera's Investigation Unit published an article referring to many of the points set out above, titled: </span><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/03/exclusive-bangladesh-top-security-adviser-accused-abductions-190319114412895.html">Exclusive: Bangladesh top security adviser accused of abductions</a>. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">The next day the government <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/03/bangladesh-blocks-access-al-jazeera-news-website-190322083809377.html">blocked the Al Jazeera website</a> - and to this day it continues to be inaccessible in Bangladesh.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Khan's Family Prevented from leaving Bangladesh</b></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;">On April 12 Khan's mother-in-law, Saleha Khatun, who has no criminal cases filed against her, was prevented </span><span style="font-size: large;">by security officials </span><span style="font-size: large;">at Dhaka airport from leaving Bangladesh to go to London for medical treatment. In a writ petition challenging the decision Khatun claimed that "she had come to know from a credible source that the law enforcement agencies have decided to prevent the petitioner from leaving the country merely because of the fact that her son-in-law Colonel Md Shahid Uddin Khan has some emnity with one powerful political leader over business." </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh11cW0ML8P0A-AGINw_gsUFEMsgYtOm_2B34gMuJTZpqMn5IJpHoz6MpRPo88_9jk-Misjc_CfAgLowrDPJxfWimbZbolCqU_SBoW3cM83tEYNAucH-1GPqoTqQ_F7o-jKgY8PbVCEkR8/s1600/khan_motherinlaw_hc_order.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="897" data-original-width="628" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh11cW0ML8P0A-AGINw_gsUFEMsgYtOm_2B34gMuJTZpqMn5IJpHoz6MpRPo88_9jk-Misjc_CfAgLowrDPJxfWimbZbolCqU_SBoW3cM83tEYNAucH-1GPqoTqQ_F7o-jKgY8PbVCEkR8/s320/khan_motherinlaw_hc_order.jpg" width="224" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Second Page of High Court Order</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-size: large;">The court ruled on 14 May that the government should come and explain its reasons, but did not - unusually - pass an order allowing her to travel immediately, which is the normal court response in such cases. The government has till now not explained its reasons. The court is also not providing time for the case to be heard.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span><span style="font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Two of Khan's brothers picked up, secretly detained</b></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;">On the night of April 22, ten days after his mother in law was prevented from leaving the country, Khan's eldest brother </span><span style="font-size: large;">Giasuddin Khan was picked up from his workplace in Dhaka by officers from Rapid Action Battalion. RAB officers, some wearing black uniform, came to the rest house situated above this office at about midnight where he stayed and put him in a vehicle with RAB-1 written on its side, a witness said. He was blindfolded and handcuffed and taken to the house of one of their younger brothers, </span><span style="font-size: large;">Mohammed Ali Khan. It remains unclear whether Mohammed was picked up on that day or another day but his whereabouts remains unknown.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;">Giasuddin Khan was then taken from outside his brothers house to a building where he was held in a cell. For a period of 11 days he was interrogated about his UK based brother. At one point, according to family members, Giasuddin Khan was taken out of his cell, driven around and told </span><span style="font-size: large;">"Do you know any prayers? You are alive for only a short while now”. He however was not killed but questioned again and was finally </span><span style="font-size: large;">released on 3 May.</span><br />
<br /></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Another brother picked up, secretly detained</b></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;">On June 3, in the late afternoon, law enforcement officials picked up another of Khan's brother, </span><span style="font-size: large;">Kabir Uddin Khan, who </span><span style="font-size: large;">was secretly detained for two days. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;">According to a witness, he was in a rickshaw, about 50 yards from his home on his way back from the office, when it was stopped, put in a microbus, and blindfolded. His wife, who has good Awami League connections, filed a complaint with the police stating that he was missing and her husband was released, two days later on the early morning of 6 June. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>The Motive</b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">In Bangladesh, it is often crystal clear why a person has been falsely accused, jailed, disappeared, extra judicially killed, or otherwise harassed - and that is due their pro-opposition political views or activism, or their willingness to criticise the government. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">However, the abuse of state bodies does sometimes arise out of business and other conflicts, in which political or business figures use their power (though money or through their political authority) to corrupt state bodies for their own personal interests. </span><span style="font-size: large;">This is what seems to be behind the </span><span style="font-size: large;">Siddiques' vendetta against Khan. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Tarique Siddique's Response</b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><i>BangladeshPolitico</i> asked Tarique Siddique to respond to the allegations set out above. Relevant parts of Siddique's response have been included above, but additional aspects of the response are set out below.</span></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;">Siddique claims that Khan exploited "his connections with important personalities" including high ranking army officials and that he "also exploited my close association with him and did many misdeeds misusing my referent power."<br /><br />He confirmed that he helped get Khan a job in 2005. </span></div>
<div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-size: large;">"He was job less and came to me for help. He could convince me that his dismissal was mainly for political reason, stating that since he was Awami League minded hence he was dismissed. I provided him with a decent job through my connections and also helped him in many ways."</span></blockquote>
<span style="font-size: large;">He also said that he helped get Khan an elevation of rank. </span></div>
<div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-size: large;">"After 2009, once I was made an advisor to Prime Minister, he applied for getting his Army service back which was not possible. However, I recommended for his normal retirement and elevation of rank, which he got. By this, he gained lots of benefits like getting his honour & rank (because as a dismissed officer you can not write or mention yourself by your rank), got one elevation of rank (from Lieutenant Colonel to full Colonel), got huge amount of monetary benefit along with his pension & other privileges which dismissed officers are not entitled."</span></blockquote>
<span style="font-size: large;">He also claimed that until recently, Khan was grateful to him for his help. </span></div>
<div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-size: large;">"He used to say even few years back to his friends and near ones, 'I can not repay General Tarique even if I make shoes out of my own body’s hide!'."</span></blockquote>
<span style="font-size: large;">In relation to Prochhaya, Khan stated:</span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-size: large;">"He was never a business partner of mine. If at all I was hankered upon making money, I could easily join any wealthy Business Company in Bangladesh."</span> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-size: large;">"He was never [Managing Director] or Director of Prochhaya Limited, he acted as a paid CEO of the Company drawing Tk. 5 lacs as monthly salary."</span> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-size: large;">"Initially my wife’s brother (a genuine businessman) was the Chairperson, but after one year he refused to remain in the Company and my wife became the Chairperson."</span> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-size: large;">"Neither my wife nor me used to be connected closely with the Company’s activities. I used to trust him blindly."</span> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-size: large;">"Once I came to know about various misdeeds about Shahid using my name and influencing his high-up connections I warned him but he always denied. He used to say that people are envious of his closeness with me and success that was why they were spreading all these."</span></blockquote>
<span style="font-size: large;">As to the closure of the company, he says:</span></div>
<div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-size: large;">"[I]n 2014, on receiving some solid information about his many heinous activities (including copying my wife’s signatures), I requested him to close the Company immediately. He kept on lingering the process and finally said he has closed the Company in 2016."</span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-size: large;">"But, once my wife did some enquiries found that lots of anomalies are there to put my wife into problem."</span></blockquote>
</div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;">In relation to allegations against DGFI he claims:</span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-size: large;">"[H]is allegations against DGFI, they are mostly concocted."</span> </blockquote>
<span style="font-size: large;">Siddique also makes a series of further claims - though he has, till now, not provided any evidence supporting them:</span></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-size: large;">- Khan has been convicted in a criminal case lodged 9 years earlier.</span> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-size: large;">- Shahid’s wife and two daughters have been convicted on forgery charges with Agrani Bank with 1 year’s imprisonment.</span> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-size: large;">- Anti Corruption Bureau is also looking for him on money laundering and for links with Destiny Group.</span> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-size: large;">- Bangladesh Bank has already detected more than 50 bank accounts in several banks in his and his wife’s name and there is an investigation for Tax Evasion and Money Laundering at NBR Intelligence unit.</span></blockquote>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;">Khan says that he has not been formally informed of any of these criminal cases, or investigations, and that if they have happened, they are linked to Khan's vendetta against him and have all happened since they fell out. Khan also says that any claim that he has 50 Bank accounts of indeed any undeclared bank account is "completely untrue."</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Siddique also claims that Khan is "creating all these stage managed issues and dramas to get Political Asylum in UK." Khan says that he has no need to claim asylum in the UK.</span></div>
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David Bergmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02674636000068693356noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4183118663703256159.post-25553511073198647192019-05-08T22:30:00.001+06:002019-05-09T17:07:32.227+06:00Judicial independence, media freedom and Sheikh Hasina <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-size: large;">This is a story about a recorded conversation that says a lot about judicial independence and media freedom in Bangladesh - or the lack thereof.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Bangladesh's justice system is based upon an important fiction. It is a fiction not uncommon to many authoritarian governments. This is the idea that the country's courts operate independently from the executive.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Probably, few people in Bangladesh actually believe that fiction. Many are aware of the partisan way in which magistrates and judges are appointed; how the government moves magistrates around from one court to another court, one district to another one, as and when they require; or indeed the powers of persuasion and intimidation held by the executive which they use to ensure that magistrates and judges make the "right" decision. Of course, if they have already appointed highly partisan judges, then little persuasion and intimidation will be necessary.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">This is not to say that every decision goes the Bangladesh government's way. In a non-totalitarian country, there remains some levels of autonomy and independence, and certain conduct and decisions is outside the government's control.*</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Nonetheless, this fiction of judicial independence is constantly claimed by government ministers and of course by the courts themselves. It is an important fiction; at some level the judicial system cannot function unless people have some kind of belief in the judiciary's independence.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">In the past, the media - or more accurately the small parts of the media which remained independent - did sometimes prick holes in this judicial fiction. However, it is rare - as doing so risked prosecution for contempt of court. Now, with even less media freedom in Bangladesh, it is a brave or reckless editor that would publish such a story.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">It is in any case difficult for journalists at the best of time to get solid evidence that a particular judicial decision was made as a result of executive interference.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Occasionally, however, comments from the mouths of ministers themselves give the game away. And one such moment came a few days ago in a telephone conversation between the prime minister Sheikh Hasina and her UK Awami League party leaders in which she refers to the question of whether Khaleda Zia, the leader of the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party, <a href="https://bangladeshpolitico.blogspot.com/2018/05/khaleda-zia-corruption-conviction.html">currently in jail following conviction for corruption</a>, will be allowed out of jail or not. The government of course have said that it is upto the courts - and the courts are not giving her bail pending appeal.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Yet, a recording of a conversation between Sheikh Hasina and Awami League activists suggest that it is not the courts that will determine what happens to the opposition leader. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">The prime minister arrived in London last Wednesday, on 1 May. As is customary, Awami League leaders and activists came to the airport hoping to meet her. Amongst those present were Sultan Shariff, UK Awami League president and Syed Faruq, the UK Awami League secretary.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">The video shows Syed Faruq holding a mobile phone, with the speaker phone on, and the voice of Sheikh Hasina can be heard. It appears that Hasina was using a mobile phone belonging to </span><span style="font-size: large;">Bangladesh's High Commissioner to the UK, as the name of </span><span style="font-size: large;">Sayeda Muna Tasneem is shown on Faruq's mobile phone screen.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The person who filmed the conversation was Md Akkadus, an Awami League activist using Facebook live. The video is no longer posted on his Facebook time line.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Sheikh Hasina's voice can be heard loud and clear. At first she says this:</span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-size: large;">I will talk with you later after the surgery in my eyes. Please don’t crowd the hotel. Because you make such a crowd, no hotel wants to give us booking now. I will talk to you later at my convenience.</span></blockquote>
<span style="font-size: large;">She then goes onto to talk about Tareque Zia, the son of the opposition leader Khaleda Zia</span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">And, let the BNP know that if Tarique shows his arrogance with me, h<b>is mother (Khaleda Zia) will never be able to come out of jail in her lifetime.</b> He must understand that nothing can be realized from Sheikh Hasina by force. Their (BNP) MPs have joined parliament today. They had some demands… treatment and others (of Khaleda Zia). We are ready to consider [that demand]. <b>Many have met me in this regard, but as I come here now, if Tarique shows his arrogance over it, then I will tell them: ‘Sorry, your leader (Tarique) has misbehaved with me, has done such malicious act, I will not…" </b></span></span><span style="font-size: large;">(emphasis added)<b>**</b></span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Sultan Shariff, the UK Awami League president told this blog that "It was a simple conversation. She wanted to say thank-you for coming as she had not come to the UK for a long time."</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">However, it is pretty blatant that this was not a "simple" conversation - and that it suggests that the decision about Khaleda Zia's bail will be dependent on Sheikh Hasina and not on any independent judicial decision.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Equally noteworthy is that not a single media outlet in Bangladesh (as far as this blog can make out) actually reported on this conversation although this video was widely distributed. This is a reflection of the highly restricted media operating in Bangladesh these days - as noone would dare report on this conversation.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">* </span>In addition, there are many decisions before the courts that the government does not care that that much about anyway. And, of course, there are some individuals/organisations outside the government which can themselves corrupt the system so that the courts rule their, rather than the government's, way.<br />
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** This translation was revised on Thursday 9 May.<br />
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David Bergmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02674636000068693356noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4183118663703256159.post-89260049412356100412019-03-21T07:15:00.001+06:002019-04-03T16:25:56.720+06:00Fact-checking Gowher Rizvi on Al Jazeera<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-size: large;">A month ago, Gowher Rizvi, the Bangladesh prime minister's foreign affairs advisor was questioned <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/headtohead/2019/02/gowher-rizvi-bangladesh-party-state-190227124251797.html">on Al Jazeera's Head to Head programme by Mehdi Hasan.</a></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">For me, as someone who has written about Bangladesh politics for a number of years, the programme was remarkable in that its format allowed for the first time the sustained questioning of someone representing the current Awami League government.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">If there was anyone able to respond to Mehdi Hasan's hard questioning, Gowher Rizvi was probably the man to do so - but <a href="https://bangladeshpolitico.blogspot.com/2019/03/al-jazeeras-mehdi-hasan-takes-on.html">as I have written earlier,</a> there are aspects of the current government's human rights and governance record that are hard to defend.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">In the course of seeking to justify the Bangladesh government's position, Rizvi - and the Bangladesh High Commissioner in the UK who was present to support him - made a number of false statements, inaccuracies and misrepresentations. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Here are 18 examples.</span><br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">ELECTIONS</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">1. "The opposition did not have a manifesto" in the last election.</span></b><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b><br /></b>
Yes it did. <a href="http://www.newsonair.com/Main-News-Details.aspx?id=356817">See here</a></span><br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">2. "Free and fair elections took place"</span></b><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">There is considerable evidence of the lack of free and fair elections. This <a href="https://bangladeshpolitico.blogspot.com/2018/12/rigging-election-before-votes-are-cast.html">started before the elections </a>with the arrest of opposition activists and actions to prevent the opposition candidates from standing, and others from even campaigning. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Apart from India, China and Russia (who all supported the election) the immediate <a href="https://bangladeshpolitico.blogspot.com/2019/01/election-rigging-international.html">international response to the elections</a> was very negative. Most recently, the United States State Department Human Rights report, <a href="https://www.state.gov/j/drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrightsreport/index.htm?year=2018&dlid=289242#wrapper">published this week, stated</a>:</span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-size: large;">"<i>Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her Awami League party won a third consecutive five-year term i<u>n an improbably lopsided December parliamentary election that was not considered free, fair, and credible and was marred by irregularities, including ballot-box stuffing and intimidation of opposition polling agents and voters</u>. With more than 80 percent of the vote, the AL and its electoral allies won 288 of 300 directly elected seats, while the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and its allies won only seven. During the campaign leading to the election, there were <u>credible reports of harassment, intimidation, arbitrary arrests, and violence that made it difficult for many opposition candidates and their supporters to meet, hold rallies, and campaign freely</u>. According to data assembled by the NGO Democracy International, there were 1,324 acts of violence against the opposition BNP and its political allies and 211 acts of violence against the ruling AL and its allies during the month prior to the election." (emphasis added)</i></span></blockquote>
<span style="font-size: large;">International media were also highly critical across the board. </span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-size: large;">- "<a href="https://www.economist.com/asia/2018/12/31/bangladeshs-prime-minister-wins-a-fourth-term-in-ruthless-fashion">The biggest loss was for Democracy itself</a>"</span> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-size: large;">- "<a href="http://the%20world%20should%20be%20watching%20bangladesh%E2%80%99s%20election%20debacle/">The World should be watching Bangladesh's Election Debacle</a>"</span> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-size: large;">- "<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/14/opinion/editorials/bangladesh-election-sheikh-hasina.html">Bangladesh's Farcical Vote</a></span> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-size: large;">- "<a href="http://time.com/5490744/bangladesh-elections-sheihk-hasina-rigging-allegations/">'They Threaten Everyone.' Sheikh Hasina's Landslide Win in Bangladesh Marred by Voter Suppression"</a></span></blockquote>
<span style="font-size: large;">This blog also wrote about this: "<a href="https://bangladeshpolitico.blogspot.com/2018/12/exclusive-documents-suggest-al-rigging.html">Documents suggest AL rigging</a>" and "<a href="https://bangladeshpolitico.blogspot.com/2018/12/election-rigging-polling-agents-debacle.html">Election rigging: the polling agents debacle</a>"</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">3. "Large number of international observers were there, saw [elections] for themselves"</span></b><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">There was not a large number of international observers. None from the EU or the US. In its human rights report the United States State Department stated: </span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i><span style="font-size: large;">"The government did not grant credentials and issue visas within the timeframe necessary to conduct a credible international monitoring mission to the majority of international election monitors from the Asian Network for Free Elections (ANFREL). ANFREL issued a statement on December 23 noting that as of December 21, the government granted accreditation to 13 of 32 applications submitted, and due to significant delays in the accreditation approval by the EC and the ministries of Home Affairs and Foreign Affairs, it was forced to terminate its observation mission on December 22.</span></i></blockquote>
<span style="font-size: large;">The government has primarily relied on a group of observers which called themselves the "SAARC Human Rights Foundation" A <a href="https://in.reuters.com/article/bangladesh-election-observers/corrected-some-in-bangladesh-election-observer-group-say-they-now-regret-involvement-idINKCN1PG0MI">must-read Reuters investigation </a>into this group found that:</span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-size: large;">Though the initials and logo it uses closely resemble those of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), the SAARC Human Rights Foundation has no affiliation with that inter-governmental body.</span></blockquote>
<span style="font-size: large;">Reuters then went onto find that:</span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-size: large;">"The president of the SAARC Human Rights Foundation told Reuters he now believed there should be a fresh vote after hearing accounts from voters and officials presiding over polling booths that activists from Hasina’s Awami League stuffed ballot boxes the night before the poll and intimidated voters.</span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-size: large;">“Now I have come to know everything, and can say that the election was not free and fair,” said Mohammad Abdus Salam, a 75-year-old former high court division justice.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">A Canadian observer who was brought in by the foundation has also said she now wishes she had not been involved."</span></blockquote>
<span style="font-size: large;">The investigation also reported that the Foundation's advisory council:</span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-size: large;">"Includes a lawmaker from Hasina’s Awami League, and a former lawmaker from the Jatiya Party, which has often been allied with the Awami League."</span></blockquote>
<span style="font-size: large;">This is significant, as the government had stated <a href="https://bdnews24.com/bangladesh/2018/12/23/bangladesh-responds-to-disheartening-us-statement-on-election-observing-mission">that the political affiliation of a member of ANFREL's board </a>was the rationale for restricting the role of ANFREL members in monitoring elections. Why not here?</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">It should also be noted that Bangladesh government bodies has also prevented the most experienced and independent domestic election monitoring the elections - including <a href="http://www.brotee.org/elections.html">Brotee</a> and FEMA. As the US state department reported:</span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-size: large;">"Only seven of the 22 Election Working Group NGOs were approved by the Home Ministry, NGO Affairs Bureau, and the EC to conduct domestic election observation."</span></blockquote>
<b><span style="font-size: large;">4. "I have yet to see the evidence [of Transparency International]"</span></b><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">This statement refers to the Transparency International report, <a href="https://www.thedailystar.net/bangladesh-national-election-2018/bangladesh-election-2018-irregularities-47-out-50-seats-tib-1687840">published on January 16, 2019 </a>which found that there had been anomalies in 47 out of the 50 constituencies which they had monitored, including fake votes, ballot stuffing, and voters and opposition polling agents barred from entering polling centres. It also found the ruling party was alone in actively campaigning at all areas surveyed, sometimes with help from local law enforcement officials and government resources.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">It is pretty inconceivable that Rizvi had not read the report.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<b><span style="font-size: large;">5. "These were people who committed arson and killing in months of January to March 2015. after that they went underground. At the time of election, they resurfaced. There were criminal charges against them, so when they resurfaced they were arrested."</span></b><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">This statement refers to why the police were arresting dozens of opposition activists before the election. It is correct that there was arson and killing in months of January to March 2015 - however these incidents did not just result in the police filing cases against only those actually involved in the violence rather in the them filing cases against tens of thousands of opposition activists in a totally arbitrary manner without any credible evidence. This therefore put the police in the position of being able to arrest any opposition activist who showed their faces during election time.</span><br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">FREEDOM OF MEDIA</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">6. "Those who know the media in Bangladesh, know that it is free. It is vigorous".</span></b><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">This is a preposterous statement that flies in the face of journalistic experience in the country. The media operates on the understanding that there are many kinds of stories - which are critical of the government and officials associated with the government - that cannot be published or broadcast - and if they do so their very existance as media houses are under threat. After the Daily Star and Prothom Ali, two of the country's most independent newspapers, published a story in 2015 about extra judicial killings, the country's military intelligence agency DGFI i<a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2015/10/bangladeshi-spies-accused-blocking-media-adverts-151005083755483.html">nstructed the country's main advertisers to stop placing adverts</a> in the two papers, reducing their income by as much as one third. This boycott continues. A year later, government ministers and activists orchestrated a campaign to intimidate the editor of the Daily Star <a href="https://thewire.in/politics/attack-of-daily-star-editor-is-latest-awami-league-attempt-to-restrict-criticism">by filing dozens of sedition and defamation cases</a>. External news <a href="https://thewire.in/external-affairs/bangladesh-government-blocks-wire">websites are blocked</a> if they publish critical journalism, particularly about sensitive subjects about state responsibility for enforced disappearances. Journalists and editors who publish critical articles against the government or its official have been <a href="https://www.hrw.org/report/2018/05/09/no-place-criticism/bangladesh-crackdown-social-media-commentary#">prosecuted under restrictive media laws</a>. The <a href="https://thewire.in/south-asia/bangladesh-shahidul-alam-student-protests">arrest of the photographer Shahidul Alam</a> before the recent general election for his interview on Al Jazeera (see below) is a perfect illustration of the limits of media expression in the country and what may happen if you breach them.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Two weeks ago, government authorities blocked Al Jazeera over <a href="https://rsf.org/en/news/rsf-decries-brazen-censorship-bangladeshi-news-website">an article it had written about disappearances</a> linked to the prime minister's security adviser, Tarique Siddique - as well as a local news website <a href="https://rsf.org/en/news/rsf-decries-brazen-censorship-bangladeshi-news-website">TheJobon</a>. Not a single local Bangladesh newspaper has reported on the Al Jazeera story.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">7. "<b>Between 2009 and 2018, Sheikh Hasina has opened up the media and 32 private TV channels everyday 90 political talk shows Sheikh Hasina is being criticised left and right. There are newspapers criticising Sheikh Hasin and in the parliament she is being criticised, so why wouldn't Bangladesh have press freedom." </b>(Bangladesh High Commissioner)</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">It is correct that since 2009, the Awami League government established 28 new private TV stations, but almost all new stations that received licenses were <a href="https://www.thedailystar.net/11-more-tv-channels-ready-to-go-on-air-59065">owned by pro-Awami League businessmen</a>. The limits of what can be broadcast on these stations is evident from <a href="http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/bangladesh-police-arrest-ekushey-tv-boss-abdus-salam-trumped-pornography-charges-1482282">the arrest of the owner of ETV in January 2015</a> the day after the station broadcast a speech by BNP politician Tarique Rahman living in the UK. The idea that the talk shows criticise Sheikh Hasina "left and right" is absurd - as illustrated <a href="https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/south-asia/bangladesh-detains-fifa-official-for-defaming-prime-minister-sheikh-hasina">by the arrest a few days ago </a>of the head of Bangladesh's woman's football for criticising Sheikh Hasina's policy on the funding of Football. Yes, the funding of football!</span><br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">SHAHIDUL ALAM ARREST</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">8. "Shahidul Alam was not arrested on Al Jazeera for appearing on Al Jazeera and making a comment. He was arrested for spreading disinformation that was inciting violence."</span></b><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">This is false. His arrest was based on a First Information Report. You can see <a href="https://bangladeshpolitico.blogspot.com/2018/08/have-police-falsified-fir-against.html">this here</a>. This justifies his arrest on what Shahidul is alleged to have said that is very similar to the language used in the interview he gave in the Al Jazeera programme - though it does not actually <a href="https://bangladeshpolitico.blogspot.com/2018/08/shahidul-alam-you-cant-tame-nation.html">mention the Al Jazeera interview</a>. Interestingly, of course, the FIR distorts what he said in the interview.</span><br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">9. "[Shahidul Alam spread the following disinformation that] there were several people killed, hidden in the Awami League office in Dhanmondi, women were raped."</span></b><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">This is entirely false.</span><br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">ENFORCED DISAPPEARANCES</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">10. If you are saying that [enforced disappearances] is a government policy, I fear you are mistaken. Government does not need to disappear people. Government has authority to arrest people if they feel someone has done something wrong and remand them.</span></b><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Enforced disappearances have become <a href="https://www.hrw.org/news/2017/07/06/bangladesh-end-disappearances-and-secret-detentions">common in Bangladesh</a>. According to the human rights organisation, Odhikar, the numbers of reported disappearances stood at 3 in 2009, 18 in 2010, 31 in 2011, 26 in 2012, 53 in 2013, 39 in 2014, 65 in 2015, 92 in 2016, 90 in 2017, 83 in 2018. Those who are picked up, are first secretly detained and then one of four things happen: (a) they are killed; (b) they remain disappeared; (c) they are released; (d) they are 'released' but then immediately formally "arrested." So in 2018, out of 83 known cases: - the dead bodies of 8 were found; 24 remain disappeared, whereabouts unknown; 10 were released; and 42 released, and immediately "arrested"<br /><br />Is it government policy? Whilst there may be some disappearances which have not been authorised at a senior governmental level, the evidence suggests that a significant number are with some even involving <a href="https://thewire.in/south-asia/secret-detentions-bangladesh-intelligence-sheikhs-hasina">agreement from the prime minister.</a> It is difficult to explain how <a href="http://bangladeshpolitico.blogspot.com/2014/12/19-opposition-activists-disappeared-in.html">19 opposition Dhaka based opposition BNP activists </a>could just before the 2014 national elections in a two week period be picked up secretly detained and disappeared, without there being a clear governmental instruction? It is difficult to see how the disappearance of t<a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/08/concern-missing-sons-bangladeshi-politicians-160829095028714.html">hree sons of senior opposition leaders in Dhaka</a> in August 2016 were not authorised at the most senior governmental level.</span><b><span style="font-size: large;">11. "Other names [of those disappeared] have also given, same set of people have resurfaced and openly moving around"</span></b><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Rizvi suggested that some or all of those alleged to have been disappeared "resurface" suggesting that they never had in fact disappeared. Whilst it is correct that a small number of the disappeared men do "resurface" that is because they have <a href="https://thewire.in/external-affairs/bangladesh-secret-detainees-released">been released from secret detention</a> - and not because they were never in state custody. Moreover, the great majority of those disappeared are either killed, remain disappeared or are "released" from secret detention and them immediately formally arrested.</span><br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">WAR CRIMES</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">12. "Is there a international gold stand? No. There is not"</span></b><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">That is not correct. There is a gold standard - the <a href="https://www.icc-cpi.int/">International Criminal Court </a>or the other international courts set up about crimes committed <a href="http://www.icty.org/">in former Yugoslavia</a> and <a href="http://unictr.irmct.org/en/tribunal">Rwanda</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>13.</b> "<b>Was the process followed in in the tribunal in any way inferior to our high court or Supreme court. No. </b></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">This is wrong. The process was in a number of significant ways different from "the high court or supreme court". Most significantly, the tribunal exempt from constitutional standards and secondly there was no right of judicial review to a separate court. (It is true though that in certain ways the Tribunal provided improved rights compared to the local court system)</span><br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">14. Bangladesh was the only country which tried war crimes and gave them full rights of representations, full evidence was placed in to the hands of defence lawyers, allowed to bring in as many defence lawyers ..."</span></b><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">This is inaccurate as there were many ways in which the tribunals fell far short of acceptable or international standards. On the specific issue of 'defence lawyers', it should be noted that the accused were not allowed to bring in foreign lawyers.</span><br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">15. I don't know anything about [defence witnesses being abducted from outside]</span></b><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Rizvi must surely have been aware of the <a href="http://bangladeshpolitico.blogspot.com/2015/04/sukhranjan-bali-disappearance-witness.html">case of Sukhranjan Bali</a> who was abducted from outside the Tribunal</span><br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">16. "Standards were higher than what happened in Nuremberg trial"</span></b><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The Nuremberg Tribunal happened in 1946, over 60 years earlier. The Nuremberg Tribunal is not the process with which the Bangladesh Tribunal should be compared. It should be compared with the contemporary tribunals at the ICC, or the Tribunals in Rwanda/Yugoslavia/Cambodia.</span><br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">17. "No other international tribunal gave opportunity of appeal." </span></b><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">This is obviously inaccurate. All modern international tribunals provide opportunities for appeal.</span><br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">18. "Bangladesh rules gave opportunity for judicial review"</span></b><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The Tribunal rules in Bangladesh only allowed review by exactly the same court with the same judges who had made the original decision. That is not understood as judicial review, which requires a scrutinising body separate from the original decision making body.</span><br />
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David Bergmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02674636000068693356noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4183118663703256159.post-90725851861661723752019-03-17T07:01:00.000+06:002019-03-21T07:15:57.264+06:00State agencies release Maroof Zamen from secret detention<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-size: large;">On the evening of December 4, 2017, Maroof Zaman, a former Bangladeshi ambassador to Qatar and Vietnam, (as well as previously Counsellor of the Bangladesh High Commission in UK and an additional secretary of the foreign ministry) was picked up by state security agencies as he was driving alone to the airport to pick up his daughter Samiha Zaman. </span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br />Later that day, at around 7.45pm, Zaman called his home telephone landline from an unidentified number and informed the domestic help that some people would come by the house to retrieve his computer, and instructed them to cooperate. About 20 minutes later, three tall, well-dressed men came to the house and took possession of his laptop, home computer, camera, and spare smartphone. They wore caps and surgical masks to conceal their faces from the building’s CCTV cameras. </span><br />
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-size: large;"><br /><br />This is the account of the family immediately after the incident. His illegal custody by state agencies was confirmed to me by a senior government officer. This person said that Zaman was "not innocent" and had been detained due to his links to an "anti-government website". In Bangladesh this is now considered sufficient to justify an act outside the law, akin to abduction and kidnapping.<br /><br />For 15 months, he was held in secret detention - never brought before a magistrate. He was mostly likely held by the government military intelligence agency, Directorate General of Forces Intelligence. The state never formally acknowledged that they had him in their custody.<br /><br />Yesterday on Friday March 15, 2019, state agencies released him. One of his daughters <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pseudo.seppuku/posts/10156005424941881">posted this on Facebook</a>:</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">After 15 and a half months, or 467 days... my father is back. My sister and I are both profoundly grateful to those individuals who have supported us throughout this period. We would now like to request privacy so that we can process and heal. We have no further comments or details to share at this time.</span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-size: large;">As <a href="https://thewire.in/external-affairs/bangladesh-secret-detainees-released">I explained here</a>, it is highly unlikely we will hear from Zaman an on the record account of what has happened to him. When a secretly person is released, the agencies first threaten the person in such a way that they dare not reveal story about their detention. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The Bangladesh government use many strategies of restricting dissent and asserting control, but one of them is through <a href="https://www.hrw.org/news/2017/07/06/bangladesh-end-disappearances-and-secret-detentions">illegal picks ups and secret detentions</a>, which has certainly created a sense of fear and panic amongst those on the wrong side of the political divide. People are aware that anyone can be picked up, disappeared and there is practically nothing that can be done. Experience shows that the <a href="https://scroll.in/article/823582/the-cycle-of-detentions-and-disappearances-in-bangladesh-needs-the-courts-intervention">courts are unwilling and unable to assert any supervision</a> of the executive in relation to secret detentions which have become an increasingly regular </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">In 2009, the first year of Awami League rule, there were 3 reported example of disappearances; in 2017, this had increased to 90. These numbers only count those cases reported in the media - there are many dozens of others without the family reporting the incident.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Let us hope that Maroof Zaman's release marks the end of this practice and the release of all those who currently remain in secret detention. </span></div>
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David Bergmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02674636000068693356noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4183118663703256159.post-51870113030402851722019-03-01T00:51:00.003+06:002019-03-21T07:16:11.723+06:00Al Jazeera's Mehdi Hasan takes on Bangladesh's Gowher Rizvi<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrknIj13WCok4rOnd8lUA-biLJXf9fAI3soZBgFCR7Z_Isltkdw3BLaywynqNP7Pu-aF6_1OitLcc7kLDWbsWND3GhdTqVB42Ka6rhzkn1JMwPHk55GlEeyr4GNCMUHE3JlYLX3vqPajY/s1600/download.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="183" data-original-width="275" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrknIj13WCok4rOnd8lUA-biLJXf9fAI3soZBgFCR7Z_Isltkdw3BLaywynqNP7Pu-aF6_1OitLcc7kLDWbsWND3GhdTqVB42Ka6rhzkn1JMwPHk55GlEeyr4GNCMUHE3JlYLX3vqPajY/s400/download.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">This is going to make interesting and engrossing television.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The suave Gowher Rizvi, the Bangladesh Prime Minister's international affairs advisor, taking on the fierce interviewing style of Al Jazeera's Mehdi Hasan. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The programme is being aired tomorrow <a href="https://www.blogger.com/This%20episode%20will%20be%20available%20online%20early%20Friday%20morning:%20http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/headtohead/">on Friday, 1 March</a> and for those interested in Bangladesh is "must watch" television. I was in the audience at the live broadcast, and Rizvi at what point looked like a boxer on the ropes. Though there probably is no one more capable than Rizvi of defending the Bangladesh government's human rights and governance record, the record of the Government on these issues is so parlous that even his skills are insufficient. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Below is the press release that Al Jazeera's Head to Head programme has distributed to promote the episode which states that the programme will <a href="https://www.blogger.com/This%20episode%20will%20be%20available%20online%20early%20Friday%20morning:%20http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/headtohead/">be on online here</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Al Jazeera English ‘Head to Head’ interview with Gowher Rizvi, International Affairs Advisor to the Bangladesh Prime Minister</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"> On Sheikh Hasina’s recent landslide election victory, Dr Rizvi asserts that Bangladesh “is not a one-party state” and that “free and fair elections” took place.<br /> Regarding the arrest of renowned photojournalist, Shahidul Alam, Dr Rizvi said he was “arrested for spreading disinformation which was inciting violence” but admits that he “cannot deny” that he was beaten by the police because he does “not know what happened.”<br /> Responding to the accusation of government-enforced disappearances, Dr Rizvi maintains that the “government does not need to disappear people” as it has the “authority to arrest people,” adding that the government “will investigate” if it has occurred.<br /> When asked whether Aung San Suu Kyi should face an international court for her role in the Rohingya refugee crisis, Dr Rizvi asserts that “the entire government or any member of government” who “aided and abetted” the process, should face trial though refused to name Ms Suu Kyi directly.</span></blockquote>
<span style="font-size: large;">(London, 28th February 2019) – Sheikh Hasina’s international affairs advisor, Gowher Rizvi, told Al Jazeera English’s Mehdi Hasan that Bangladesh “is not a one-party state” despite its recent landslide victory, where its ruling coalition secured 96% of parliamentary seats.<br />Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina won her fourth term in office, in an election Dr Rizvi maintained: “there was 39 political parties contested in the election. Free and fair elections took place,” adding “Give me one good reason why the opposition should have been voted into power? They did not have a manifesto, they were ambivalent, whether they were going to an election or not.”<br />Bangladesh’s opposition rejected the election results, after only securing 7 seats in December’s poll. With regards to the government accusing the opposition of crimes which in some instances they could not have committed as the individuals named were in fact dead, Rizvi admitted that “it is embarrassing” but added that “when such charges are made it is embarrassing, but one knows that in police investigation, in many societies, especially in developing countries, often have these shortcomings.”<br />Human rights groups have criticised Bangladesh of attempting to suppress the media and silence its critics through controversial laws such as the Information and Communication Technology Act (ICT) and the new Digital Security Act.<br />An award-winning photojournalist, Shahidul Alam, was arrested in August 2018 following student protests where he gave a number of media interviews including on Al Jazeera English.<br />Speaking about Mr Alam, Dr Rizvi described him as a “very close friend” but stated that he “was not arrested for appearing on Al Jazeera and making a comment. He was arrested for spreading disinformation which was inciting violence.” Dr Rizvi added that when the journalist was arrested he ensured that he “was given medical treatment”, which prompted the presenter, Mehdi Hasan to ask “why did he need medical treatment?”<br />Rizvi said “I cannot deny it [that Alam was beaten by police] because I do not know what happened.”<br />Previously Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina had described Shahidul Alam as “mentally sick”.<br />Gowher Rizvi disagreed with this and said he has “no idea” why she said this. “I don’t know what she had in her mind,” he said.<br />There have also been allegations against law enforcement authorities of abducting and detaining hundreds of opposition activists.<br />When asked about the issue of ‘enforced disappearances’, Dr Rizvi responded: “I fear you are mistaken. Government does not need to disappear people. Government have authority to arrest people if they feel somebody has done something wrong.”<br />However, he did accept it is “deplorable” if it is taking place and that the government “will investigate”.<br />Mehdi Hasan also discussed the issue of the Rohingya refugees, who have been fleeing neighbouring Myanmar, with more than 1 million residing in Bangladesh. Asked why Bangladesh wanted to send Rohingyas back to Myanmar, when Dr Rizvi has described the situation as “ethnic cleansing”, he said that they “will only send them when the conditions are safe.”<br />Presenter Mehdi Hasan referred to “terror and panic” in a refugee camp in November when refugees feared being repatriated against their will.<br />Dr Rizvi argued that there was “never, ever a question of any forcible repatriation.” Asked if Aung San Suu Kyi should face an international tribunal for “her role in denying and covering it up”, Dr Rizvi said that “whoever is involved should be faced with the International Court of Justice.”<br />A case would be “against the entire government or any member of government that aided and abetted in this process,” he added. Hasan is joined by a panel of three experts: journalist and author Tasneem Khalil, Bangladesh’s High Commissioner to the UK and Ireland, Saida Muna Tasneem and Abbas Faiz, a human rights lecturer at Essex University.</span></blockquote>
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David Bergmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02674636000068693356noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4183118663703256159.post-43429895812897602672019-02-17T18:31:00.001+06:002019-03-21T07:16:28.723+06:00Resignation letter of Abdur Razzaq from Jamaat<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfQ7FORZFYF4gtAMC1_osO1rfOHeCoCKyXRS0zxKwweG6KPL8iqJJ1w-GtYHnUq2rAlfirtM9_kaoGEiFwoeH1VDwXGhE7zFL6dhP7s2Il4zF9DjDjmTeAz1dfxB-y8L6dt_bm8eoEXnI/s1600/Razzak.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfQ7FORZFYF4gtAMC1_osO1rfOHeCoCKyXRS0zxKwweG6KPL8iqJJ1w-GtYHnUq2rAlfirtM9_kaoGEiFwoeH1VDwXGhE7zFL6dhP7s2Il4zF9DjDjmTeAz1dfxB-y8L6dt_bm8eoEXnI/s400/Razzak.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">Abdur Razzaq, until Friday an assistant general secretary of the Jamaat-e-Islami resigned from the party in a bold and surprising move. <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/02/senior-leader-bangladesh-jamaat-abdur-razzaq-resigns-190216073123676.html">My article for Al Jazeera on this can be read here</a>. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Razzaq made public the resignation letter he sent to the leader of the Jamaat, and I am posting it here, as it is a very interesting document.</span><br />
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<a name='more'></a><span style="font-size: large;"><br />15 February 2019<br /><br />Mr Maqbul Ahmed<br />Ameer<br />Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami<br /><br /><u>Re: Letter of Resignation</u><br /><br /><br />My most respected brother, Maqbul Ahmed,<br /><br />Assalamu Alaikum Warahmatullah.<br /><br />1. It is with great regret I tender my resignation from Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami<br />with immediate effect. </span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-size: large;">2. This has been a difficult decision for me. Ever since joining Jamaat in 1986, I have worked towards implementing the party’s objectives. Over the last three decades, I have tried my best to fulfil the duties entrusted to me. As Chief Defence Counsel I have defended the top Jamaat leaders to the best of my ability and with utmost honesty and integrity. I have always believed that by serving Jamaat, I would not only be able to discharge my Islamic obligations but also serve my country. </span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-size: large;">3. Despite its many positive contributions to Bangladesh society such as corruption free politics, intra party democracy, institution building, and creating a vast number of honest, competent and dedicated citizens, Jamaat in the 21st century has not been successful in becoming an effective vehicle for realising its goal of social justice based on Islamic values. It cannot be denied that Jamaat wholeheartedly embraced the independence of Bangladesh, and never took part in any activity - directly or indirectly,<br />covertly or overtly - which is subversive of the state or detrimental to the interest and sovereignty of Bangladesh. Moreover, Jamaat was part of the struggle for the restoration of democracy in the democratic movements in the sixties by participating in Combined Opposition Parties (COP), Pakistan Democratic Movements (PDM) and Democratic Action Committee (DAC). In the eighties, Jamaat was on the street side by side with the 8-party, 7-party and 5-party alliances against the dictatorial regime. But all these remarkable contributions failed to receive due recognition because of Jamaat’s role in opposing the historic struggle for liberation in 1971. 1971 casts a deep dark shadow over all its achievements and contributions. </span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-size: large;">4. For these reasons, I have always believed and continue to believe that an apology by Jamaat to the nation is not only a moral imperative but also necessary to absolve its<br />post 1971 generation of the stigma. On a number of occasions, I have stressed that Islam and the liberation struggle define and shape Bangladesh politics, culture and society. They are non-negotiable. Yet, in 1971, our predecessors opposed the independence of Bangladesh and failed to publicly protest against the atrocities committed by the Pakistan Army. In the 47 years since independence, successive party leaderships have failed to apologise for the party’s role in 1971 or even to explain the party’s position on the struggle for independence. Now, more than ever, Jamaat needs to clarify its 1971 stance. </span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-size: large;">5. Over the last two decades I have been trying relentlessly to persuade Jamaat to have a frank discussion of the events of 1971, Jamaat’s role in those events and why it decided to support Pakistan and apologise for that decision. Specifically, I raised the issue on the following occasions:</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">(a) In October 2001, when Jamaat’s Ameer and Secretary General were appointed Cabinet ministers, I strongly advised Jamaat to address the issue of 1971 before the Victory Day celebrations of 2001. A committee was formed, a draft was prepared but nothing further was done. </span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-size: large;">(b) In 2005, I argued very vigorously for addressing the issue before the working committee; the result was an outright rejection. </span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-size: large;">(c) In 2007-2008, during the Emergency period, when allegations against Jamaat took a new dimension, I tried my best to convince Jamaat to address the issue. </span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-size: large;">(d) In the summer of 2011, in the last open session of the Majlish-e-Shoora, I raised the 1971 issue with a special appeal to the young members of the Shoora to come forward and give leadership, only to be rebuffed by a section of the top leadership.</span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-size: large;">(e) On 19th March 2016, in a 19 page letter to you, I advised Jamaat to address the issue and to make a fresh start in view of the changed circumstances in the world, particularly the Muslim world. </span></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-size: large;">(f) In November 2016, shortly after your election as Ameer, my opinion was sought and I drafted a letter of apology. It was not implemented. </span></blockquote>
</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-size: large;">(g) And finally in January 2019, I advised the leadership of the necessity of taking responsibility for its predecessors’ role in 1971. In the absence of any better or viable alternative, I also advised to dissolve Jamaat.</span></blockquote>
</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-size: large;">6. But all my efforts have been unsuccessful. My decades of advice had fallen on deaf ears. </span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-size: large;">7. Jamaat’s failure to address the 1971 issue and apologise has resulted in a stigma being attached to those who were not involved in the decision. Even those born after 1971 and the many unborn generations who may be associated with Jamaat in future will have to bear this heavy burden. This continuing failure of Jamaat has given further ground for it to be seen as an anti-independence party. The result is dissociation from the people, politics and the country. </span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-size: large;">8. Time has come for young Bangladeshi Muslim democrats to revisit the old concept of the Islamic State expounded by our predecessors. This is more so because of<br />recent developments in a number of the Muslim majority countries which point to the success of centrist parties with Islamic reference. The new generation should come up<br />with new models in light of the new realities of the post Cold War era, the emerging multi-polar world and the recent upheavals in the Muslim world. </span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-size: large;">9. Unfortunately, Jamaat has failed to rise to the challenge of representing the young Bangladeshi citizens who are seeking good governance and a principled opposition to<br />corruption. </span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-size: large;">10. After joining Jamaat, one of my objectives was to reform it from within. And I have been continuously striving to achieve that for the last 30 years. I was for structural reform, and full and effective participation of women. I made my points verbally and in writing. My reformist views are well known within the party. In my letter to you in March 2016, I emphasised the reform agenda by giving it the highest importance. I cited the successful reform models in certain Muslim majority countries. And finally, I appealed to bring fundamental changes to Jamaat’s objects, plans and programs in view of the change in world politics, and particularly, the upheavals in Muslim countries. As usual, there was no response. </span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-size: large;">11. The young generation of Bangladeshis are educated and enlightened; they are well-read and aware of the recent national and international developments; and above all,<br />they are patriots capable of playing an active role in changing the face of Bangladesh. Their potential may best be utilised through a democratic principled party adhering to Islamic values operating within the secular constitution of Bangladesh. The failure of Jamaat leadership to restructure the party has sadly convinced me that Jamaat will not be able to fulfil this role. </span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-size: large;">12. On a number of occasions in the past, I had considered resigning but decided not to, and continued my efforts for internal reform, hoping to persuade Jamaat to have an<br />open discussion of its role in 1971 and offer an apology. However, the latest refusal of Jamaat has convinced me otherwise. I have been proven wrong. From now on, I wish to concentrate on my profession and hope to have the opportunity of contributing towards a prosperous Bangladesh. </span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-size: large;">13. I must put on record my sincere appreciation of the current Jamaat leadership. At great personal cost and unprecedented sufferings they have kept the party together<br />through turbulent times. I have no doubt as to their dedication to the party and the sincerity of their actions. </span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-size: large;">With warm regards </span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-size: large;">Yours sincerely, </span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-size: large;">Ma’assalam<br /><br />Abdur Razzaq<br />Barrister-at-Law<br />Barking, Essex<br />United Kingdom</span></blockquote>
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David Bergmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02674636000068693356noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4183118663703256159.post-90465937216336188032019-01-22T07:07:00.000+06:002019-03-21T07:16:50.706+06:00How safe is the current Awami League government?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-size: large;">Why hold a free and fair election which you risk losing, when you can rig it to ensure certain victory, and get away with it? <br /><br />This was clearly in the mind of the Awami League in Bangladesh which three weeks ago won 293 of the 300 parliamentary seats in what must be the country’s most rigged national elections as the party won its third consecutive term in power. This weekend, Sheikh Hasina organised a victory rally in Dhaka <a href="https://www.thedailystar.net/politics/awami-league-grand-rally-in-dhaka-suhrawardy-udyan-celebrate-bangladesh-election-triumph-1689808">where she told her supporters</a>, "Please remember, retaining victory is harder than earning it.”<br /><br />In the fifteen years between 1996 and 2009, Bangladesh’s three national elections, though violent, were relatively fair, resulting each time in a change in government. This had nothing to do with the just disposition of the country’s politicians but because three months before each election a neutral caretaker government took over power and ensured a level playing field.</span><br />
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-size: large;"><br />In 2011, however, through a constitutional amendment, the Awami League government, newly in power, ditched the arrangement (which, ironically back in 1996 it had originally campaigned for), claiming that political governments like its own could now hold free and fair elections. The Awami League’s decision was <a href="https://bangladeshpolitico.blogspot.com/2013/09/nielsendemocracy-international-polls-on.html">widely unpopular</a> at the time and the opposition boycotted the 2014 election, fearing voter manipulation - however, as a result the Awami League returned to power uncontested, with the party’s contention that it could hold free and fair elections remaining untested.<br /><br />However, with the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party deciding this time to take part in the December polls as part of a National United Front with a number of smaller parties, we found out the answer. <br /><br />This was not just ordinary rigging – it was systemic and systematic involving corruption at every level of the state including the election commission, presiding poll officers, the police and the army. <br /><br />The Awami League had started the rigging <a href="https://www.hrw.org/report/2018/12/22/creating-panic/bangladesh-election-crackdown-political-opponents-and-critics">weeks before the election</a> with widespread arbitrary arrests of activists from the opposition parties and steps taken to stop their campaigning. The control of the ruling party was so absolute that the capital city of Dhaka looked like it was hosting an Awami League festival as opposition posters, banners and festoons were effectively banned.<br /><br />In Bangladesh, though, elections are won through the control of polling centres and this is what the Awami League did on the day of the vote using the police, army and ruling party activists. As <a href="https://bangladeshpolitico.blogspot.com/2018/12/exclusive-documents-suggest-al-rigging.html">leaked documents showed</a>, “core Awami League” presiding officers were put in polling centres, and “strict policing” was organised to ensure “slow casting” of votes. This stopped opposition supporters from voting and allowed the <a href="https://www.thedailystar.net/bangladesh-national-election-2018/bangladesh-election-2018-irregularities-47-out-50-seats-tib-1687840">wide spread stuffing of ballot boxes</a> (which also reportedly took place the night before the vote). <br /><br />One might think you can get an indication of the extent of ballot stuffing by comparing the average 80% voting levels found in the 294 constituencies which used paper ballots (where stuffing was possible) <a href="http://www.newagebd.net/article/61534/significant-low-turnout-in-evm-seats">with the average 50% voting levels</a> in the six constituencies which used voting machines (where stuffing was not an option.) This suggests that there was on average at least 30 percent of votes which were the result of stuffing (or just made up).<br /><br />However, one can't in any way depend on the voting machine levels to be accurate - since the Election Commission gave assistant presiding officers an extraordinary power, the ability to use their own finger prints to vote <a href="http://www.newagebd.net/article/56949/ec-decides-to-use-evm-in-six-constituencies">on behalf of 25 percent of voters in their polling station</a>. <br /><br />The voting levels of opposition candidates in some polling centres were so small - for example <a href="https://www.thedailystar.net/bangladesh-national-election-2018/news/voting-pattern-barishal-dist-well-contested-lopsided-1682305">in the constituency of Barisal-1</a> where the opposition candidate received 0 votes in 26 centres, 1 vote in 9 centres and less than 10 votes in 40 centres - that one can only assume that opposition ballots must either have been removed from the boxes, or were simply not counted.<br /><br />All of this polling booth rigging could only occur because the <a href="https://bangladeshpolitico.blogspot.com/2018/12/election-rigging-polling-agents-debacle.html">opposition polling agents</a> were prevented from being present at polling stations during the vote and the count, as is required by electoral law.<br /><br />In most countries, the government would not get away with this. But the Awami League has been in power now for ten years and in that period has decimated the opposition <a href="https://www.crisisgroup.org/asia/south-asia/bangladesh/political-conflict-extremism-and-criminal-justice-bangladesh">though arrests</a>, extra-judicial killings and <a href="https://www.hrw.org/news/2017/07/06/bangladesh-end-disappearances-and-secret-detentions">disappearances</a>, put in place partisan Awami Leaguers to run just about every state, law enforcement and judicial institution, and have a hugely restricted the independent media.<br /><br />As a result, those who would want to protest the rigging do so at great peril. Just about the only independent organization who has risked publishing a report on the election, was immediately <a href="https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-bangladesh-politics/transparency-international-finds-irregularities-in-bangladesh-vote-idUKKCN1P91AX?fbclid=IwAR2r8GqQ6bdEmbk8B4VhHL9IwXP3b04EZY_4PGDYXk1SOVfgEKNypdFNeMY">threatened with a government investigation</a>.<br /><br />However, state repression does not fully explain the lack of protests of ordinary people.<br /><br />Whilst most people in Bangladesh are well aware of the rigging, they have little positive incentive to put themselves in any kind of jeopardy on behalf of the principle opposition party, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party. Whilst the Awami League has a clear political narrative linked to its role in the 1971 war of independence, and the idea of implementing the “spirit of liberation”, the BNP has no winning alternative narrative or policy programme. Moreover, it remains linked to the country’s main islamist political party (the Jamaat-e-Islami), was widely corrupt when it was last in power between 2001 and 2006, and has a history of involvement in violent protests. <br /><br />Whilst the BNP does of course have its loyal supporters, the main reason why many people vote for the party is due to their dislike of the Awami League – not for anything positive that the BNP could offer. And whilst this might have been enough for it to have won a free and fair election now (though polls, which <a href="https://bangladeshpolitico.blogspot.com/2018/12/elections-2018-fear-and-awami-league.html">many disbelieve</a>, suggested <a href="https://bangladeshpolitico.blogspot.com/2018/12/elections-2018-challenging-orthodox-view.html">otherwise</a>), it is certainly not enough to bring people out on the streets in its support.<br /><br />The lack of any positive alternative helps explain why the United States and Western countries, which <a href="https://bangladeshpolitico.blogspot.com/2019/01/government-election-narrative-shredded.html">have criticised the elections</a>, are unlikely to take much action against the Awami League government. And with Indian and Chinese support for the new Bangladesh government, Western pressure is far less relevant than it has ever been before.<br /><br />There is therefore no immediate threat to Sheikh Hasina’s premiership – though the rigged elections does create a certain brittleness to her party’s control in the country.<br /><br />Hasina’s main claim to legitimacy is a booming economy with between 6 to 7 percent growth, but she will not only have to maintain this in the future but also create millions of jobs for the over two million young people who come onto the job market each year. This will not be easy in an economy with decreasing private investment and an education system where most students finish without employable skills. If the economy does not create tens of thousands of new jobs, it could find itself with serious problems. <br /><br />The banking sector is also in real jeopardy. Awami League’s business cronies have been allowed to take over private banks and take out huge loans that they will never pay back. Officially over 10 percent of all banking loans in the private and state sector are said to be non-performing, though the actual figure is thought to be closer to 20 percent as corrupt banks allow defaulters to reschedule their loans. It is perhaps a matter of time before one or more of the banks collapses - and this could cause significant public disruption.<br /><br />So even though it certainly appears that the new Awami League government is unassailable, the government will remain fearful that discontent could trigger wide public protests. That is why we will see the government continuing to take action to dismantle the two main opposition parties the BNP the Jamaat-e-islami and come down heavily on media criticism.<br /><br />So whilst Bangladesh moves further towards an authoritarianism, which strips away any pretence of independent judicial or state institutions, the Awami League government is under no threat, and the streets are peaceful. However, with anti-Awami League sentiment remaining strong, the lack of any electoral legitimacy does makes it vulnerable in future crises. Yet, the government is likely to remain safe until the opposition to the Awami League can turn itself into a positive alternative which people can believe in and are willing to fight for.</span></div>
David Bergmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02674636000068693356noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4183118663703256159.post-7061670992610557222019-01-08T22:32:00.002+06:002019-03-21T07:17:10.229+06:003 youngsters accused of committing war crimes<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-size: large;">Yesterday, Al Jazeera published my story on the recent arrest of a US citizen of Bangladeshi descent for allegedly committing international crimes including murder, rape and arson in the country's independence war even though he was 13 years of age in 1971 (he was born on January 3, 1958) when the offences were said to have been committed. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">You <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/01/citizen-bangladeshi-origin-arrested-1971-war-crimes-190107075141720.html">can read the article here</a></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: large;">In the prosecutor's application for the arrest of Jubair (and 10 other people) it is stated that he was 62 years of age, suggesting that he would have been 14 - rather than 13 - in 1971. Whilst this was inaccurate - since all other documentation shows that he was born on January 13, 1958 - this may have just been a rounding-up error, since whilst he was 61 at the time of his arrest, he turned 62 two weeks late on January 3, 2019.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">However, Jubair is not the only very young person whom the Tribunal allege to have committed offences - including, supposedly, the offence of rape!</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">In the same application seeking warrants of arrest, the prosecutors name two other men who would also have been (using the information given in the documentation) respectively, 12 and 13 years of age at the time the offences were committed.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">The application says:</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">- Siddique Rahman is aged 61 - which would have made him 13 in 1971</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">- Totun Master is aged 60 - which would have made him 12 in 1971</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Rahman is now in jail, but Master was not arrested and is in hiding.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: large;">The fact that the ICT is now arresting people who were so young is in 1971 is all pretty extraordinary - and yet again raises questions about the integrity of the International Crimes Tribunal. </span><br />
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David Bergmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02674636000068693356noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4183118663703256159.post-19123302641168918082019-01-03T20:06:00.000+06:002019-03-21T07:17:29.313+06:00Egregious rigging in Barisal uncovered<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzW7OIuT10Lw4zwMdDVjF2qAog5S2XVRjW_gP9VXW0Uj-gmtjNHH6HX3CNu6CLIATPsDukdizFBons-BUvLHm97DeJjMikD5DXEG7KD0_nNF6MpgqTQYGv6pCciRrFMWNNPLGyjiAUloI/s1600/barisal_map.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="168" data-original-width="300" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzW7OIuT10Lw4zwMdDVjF2qAog5S2XVRjW_gP9VXW0Uj-gmtjNHH6HX3CNu6CLIATPsDukdizFBons-BUvLHm97DeJjMikD5DXEG7KD0_nNF6MpgqTQYGv6pCciRrFMWNNPLGyjiAUloI/s400/barisal_map.jpg" width="400" /></a><span style="font-size: large;">If any more proof were needed of the government's rigging of the </span><span style="font-size: large;">election, you can find it if you dig down into the constituency results at a polling station level.</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /><a href="https://www.thedailystar.net/bangladesh-national-election-2018/news/voting-pattern-barishal-dist-well-contested-lopsided-1682305">The Daily Star has done this in the district of Barisal</a> - with the most egregious constituency being the constituency of Barisal-1 which had a total of 115 polling centres/stations.</span><br />
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-size: large;"><br /><br />The BNP candidate Jahiruddin Swapan received:</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br />- 0 votes in 26 stations <br /><br />- 1 vote in 9 station<br /><br />- less than 10 votes in 40 stations.<br /><br />The BNP candidate received a total of 1,305 votes<br /><br />The AL candidate, Abul Hasnat Abdullah, received 211,507 votes. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">In seven polling stations the AL candidate received every single vote - not a single vote from any of the other candidates (there was a third party, the Islami Andolan Bangladesh)</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The AL candidate, Hasnat, received 98.7% of the vote.<br /><br />These two candidates have faced each other before, 17 years earlier. <br /><br />In the 2001 polls, Swapan (BNP) beat Hasnat (AL) by around 14,000 votes. BNP got 81,791 votes while the AL obtained 67,760 votes.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">This must constitute one of the biggest swings from one party to another in the history of 'democratic' elections.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br />In the 2008 elections, there was also a close contest between the AL and BNP - with different candidates. The AL candidate received 98,245 votes and the BNP secured 70,969 votes.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">You will notice how carefully <i>The Daily Star</i> has written this article. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">For example, rather than having a headline which could reasonably read, "<i>Polling station data suggest rigging in Barisal</i>" it reads, "<i>Voting Pattern in Barishal Dist: From well-contested to lopsided". </i></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">This is what is known as media self-censorship</span></div>
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David Bergmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02674636000068693356noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4183118663703256159.post-80826313684099591012019-01-02T07:18:00.000+06:002019-03-21T07:17:48.343+06:00Government election narrative shredded by US, UK, EU<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpA187OklE9__Ot39ne3odKz_4j3mn6qmE9PzD3kwbz317EV52XT95xICI8oel0qJg4p8kLKmNoh0AOnVitMLUftai-8tRbe-3hgRb9nIfjoHLI4HletNsrPNmL2E8a43l1OHh4tq7u40/s1600/hasina.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="169" data-original-width="299" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpA187OklE9__Ot39ne3odKz_4j3mn6qmE9PzD3kwbz317EV52XT95xICI8oel0qJg4p8kLKmNoh0AOnVitMLUftai-8tRbe-3hgRb9nIfjoHLI4HletNsrPNmL2E8a43l1OHh4tq7u40/s400/hasina.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">The UK, EU and USA have all now issued statements concerning the Bangladesh elections which will concern the government as they accept that vote rigging took place and cutt across the government narrative that these were free and fair elections. Each statement calls for the complaints to be examined. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Opposition politicians and activists may have expected more - some even hoping (highly unrealistically) that the US or the EU would not recognise the new Bangladesh government - but arguably these comments are as critical as these countries could make in relation to a friendly ally, whose assistance they need in the fight against islamic militancy, and support for the Rohingyas. (It is important to appreciate that Governments tend to recognise states, not governments.)</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The <a href="https://eeas.europa.eu/headquarters/headquarters-Homepage/56110/statement-spokesperson-parliamentary-elections-bangladesh_en">European Union stated</a>:</span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-size: large;">The mobilisation of voters and the participation of the opposition in the elections for the first time in 10 years reflect the aspirations of the people of Bangladesh to democracy. However, violence has marred the election day, and <u>significant obstacles to a level playing field remained in place throughout the process and have tainted the electoral campaign and the vote</u>.<br />The relevant national authorities should now ensure <u>a proper examination of allegations of irregularities and commit to full transparency</u> in their resolution.<br /><u>The European Union expects the country to move forward towards democracy, respect of human rights and fundamental freedoms</u>. We will continue to support the work in this context, in the interest of the people of Bangladesh. (emphasis added)</span></blockquote>
<span style="font-size: large;">The <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/minister-for-asia-statement-on-bangladesh-elections">UK government stated</a>:</span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-size: large;">While I welcome the participation of all opposition parties in these elections, I am aware of <u>credible accounts of obstacles, including arrests, that constrained or prevented campaigning by opposition parties, and of irregularities in the conduct of elections on polling day that prevented some people from voting. I urge a full, credible and transparent resolution of all complaints related to the conduct of the elections</u>.<br />I deplore the acts of intimidation and unlawful violence that have taken place during the campaign period, and am deeply concerned by the incidents that led to so many deaths on polling day. My thoughts are with the families and friends of those who have lost loved ones.<br /><u>Free, fair, peaceful, and participatory elections are essential to any functioning democracy.</u> It is vital for the government and all political parties to now work together to address differences and find a way forward in line with the interests of the people of Bangladesh.<br />We have a broad and important partnership with Bangladesh, and a significant Bangladeshi diaspora in the UK. We will continue to support the people of Bangladesh in their aspirations for a more stable, prosperous, and democratic future. </span><span style="font-size: large;">(emphasis added)</span></blockquote>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">The <a href="https://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2019/01/288293.htm">US government stated</a>:</span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-size: large;">The United States commends the tens of millions of Bangladeshis who voted in Bangladesh’s 11th parliamentary election on December 30, 2018, as well as the decision of all major opposition political parties to participate, a positive development after the boycotted election of 2014.<br />The United States remains deeply invested in the future of Bangladesh and its democratic development. The United States is Bangladesh’s largest foreign investor, largest single-country market for Bangladeshi exports, and home to a large community of Americans of Bangladeshi origin.<br />In this light, <u>we note with concern credible reports of harassment, intimidation, and violence in the pre-election period that made it difficult for many opposition candidates and their supporters to meet, hold rallies, and campaign freely. We are also concerned that election-day irregularities prevented some people from voting, which undermined faith in the electoral process.</u><br />We strongly encourage all parties to refrain from violence and <u>request the Election Commission work constructively with all sides to address claims of irregularities</u>. Bangladesh’s impressive record of economic development and respect for democracy and human rights are mutually reinforcing, and we look forward to continue working with the ruling government and opposition towards advancing these interrelated goals. </span><span style="font-size: large;">(emphasis added)</span></blockquote>
<span style="font-size: large;">The challenge for the opposition is now to systematically collect detailed evidence to prove that rigging took place on the scale that they allege - constituency by constituency, polling statement by polling station, polling agent by polling agent, at a level of detail and accuracy that will prove its case not only to the Election Commission and the country's judicial authorities (which will no doubt reject it) but more significantly to the international community. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">This is a major piece of work, requiring a lot of man power but something that should be done. The opposition must also ensure that they do not exaggerate their case, and ensure that their allegations are based on clear evidence.</span></div>
David Bergmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02674636000068693356noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4183118663703256159.post-35574635677422132522019-01-02T00:06:00.000+06:002019-01-03T06:34:05.285+06:00When satire becomes reality in Bangladesh<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZquOWgeVY3sW59lgEYEOeNttL8HCGBP2EhzcEWYRtKHIJgeBssqNL216sQI3CpEGpVEprd5NP8W-JaIGhKG3so8PZkJuiGjtTiuQxbN8DzHjKtlTvVeM42_W-15LtXsWbBo9viCOr23I/s1600/sajeebwazed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZquOWgeVY3sW59lgEYEOeNttL8HCGBP2EhzcEWYRtKHIJgeBssqNL216sQI3CpEGpVEprd5NP8W-JaIGhKG3so8PZkJuiGjtTiuQxbN8DzHjKtlTvVeM42_W-15LtXsWbBo9viCOr23I/s400/sajeebwazed.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">There is now no satire in Bangladesh. Only reality. Or is that what we thought could only be satire is now reality.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Six months ago, Sheikh Hasina's son, Sajeeb Wazed Joy, <a href="https://bangladeshpolitico.blogspot.com/2018/06/sajeeb-wazed-joys-dictionary-of-new.html">wrote a couple of outrageous fact-free articles</a> arguing that the police had investigated every single allegation of an enforced disappearances in Bangladesh and found them all not to be genuine! In fact, he argued that all allegations of disappearances were "fictitious attempts by accused criminals to avoid prosecution and accountability." Yes, really. He said that!</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">So, at the time I thought then I should write <a href="https://bangladeshpolitico.blogspot.com/2018/06/sajeeb-wazed-joys-dictionary-of-new.html">a satirical post setting out some other definitions that Joy might come up with</a>.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Six months on, and hearing now the kinds of things said by Joy, his mother and other Awami League leader are saying about the election, a few of my satirical definitions seem quite prescient.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Here they are.</span></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-size: large;"><u>Caretaker government</u> - a mechanism of ensuring more fair elections in Bangladesh which had to be stopped as it risked allowing the election of a party other than the Awami League; </span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-size: large;"><u>Democracy</u> - When elections results in the victory of a party led by Sheikh Hasina; </span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-size: large;"><u>Election Commission</u> - a group of trustworthy and incorruptible administrators who say and do exactly what the Awami League asks it to say and do; </span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-size: large;"><u>Freedom of Speech</u> - freedom to speak about the greatness of the Awami League, its current leader and her family members; </span></blockquote>
<span style="font-size: large;">You can see<a href="https://bangladeshpolitico.blogspot.com/2018/06/sajeeb-wazed-joys-dictionary-of-new.html"> the others here</a>. </span></div>
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David Bergmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02674636000068693356noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4183118663703256159.post-59706365773885246612019-01-01T22:54:00.003+06:002019-01-02T00:07:21.374+06:00The Economist and the "Exit Costs" of losing power<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_4mHABuqoi4BHsmUFte1oV4lawsv6DqnLxczYhPesY_Tr7NkxPC8-BbFV6SygeXI83vSwaePbha6HHEZ_S-JeVoy_Hd3RUJifm9LYydZVSDf37SVHsUXlIpnFoTnCkk-xNoHMTyMBtNM/s1600/economist.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="178" data-original-width="283" height="251" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_4mHABuqoi4BHsmUFte1oV4lawsv6DqnLxczYhPesY_Tr7NkxPC8-BbFV6SygeXI83vSwaePbha6HHEZ_S-JeVoy_Hd3RUJifm9LYydZVSDf37SVHsUXlIpnFoTnCkk-xNoHMTyMBtNM/s400/economist.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">The Economist has an uncanny ability of distilling a country's complex politics into 500 words - and <a href="https://www.economist.com/asia/2018/12/31/bangladeshs-prime-minister-wins-a-fourth-term-in-ruthless-fashion">yesterday's article on the election</a> is pretty sharp. It states:</span><br />
<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-size: large;">"The Awami League, which has has been in power continuously for ten years, flagrantly wielded the full power of state institutions, from police to courts to the Election Commission, to promote its chances. Sheikh Hasina’s party also resorted to virtually every electoral trick in the bag." (<i>For those who cannot access the website, the whole article is set out at the end of this post</i>.</span> )</blockquote>
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-size: large;">Nonetheless there are a few things that the Economist omitted. Whilst it may well have been the case that some opposition polling agents did not "dare" to turn up to polling stations due to Awami League/police intimidation, what appears to have happened is that most did try to enter the polling stations but were refused entry or were forced out.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">However, a more significant omission concerns the answer to the question that the Economist posed in its article (<a href="https://bangladeshpolitico.blogspot.com/2018/12/election-2018-why-government-is-fixing.html">which BangladeshPoltico had earlier discussed</a>) about "why</span><span style="font-size: large;"> should Sheikh Hasina pull out so many stops to ensure a victory that most observers had assumed was in the bag in any case?" </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;">Putting to one side the matter about whether it is true that most observers actually thought that Hasina would win in a free and fair election - in my experience, most independent observers didn't think this as they did not believe the polls! - the Economist failed to discuss one crucial answer to the question they pose. This is the perception of Awami League leaders to the "exit costs" they would face were they to lose. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;">As the party has held onto power using increasingly severe repressive tactics (arbitrary detentions, extra judicial killings, disappearances etc), Awami League leaders increasingly perceive that they could face severe repercussions were they to lose power to this same opposition whom have been victims of their supression. This results in Awami League leaders taking more and more outrageous and overt steps to hold onto power. Hence the systemic rigging of the election.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;">It is this which partly - or even wholly - explains why the Awami League have been so systematic in their election-fixing. Increasingly, the only thing that matters to the party leaders is holding onto power - as each one fears that losing could result in them facing serious retribution.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">This is why it is difficult to see how a peaceful transfer of power can take place in the near future.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">----------</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;">Below is the Economist article in full:</span><br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-size: large;">AS RESULTS TRICKLED in following a turbulent day of voting, it grew increasingly clear that Sheikh Hasina Wajed was romping towards an unprecedented fourth five-year term as prime minister of Bangladesh. Along with a clutch of smaller allies, her Awami League party looked set to capture a garish 82% of the popular vote. A rival alliance dominated by the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) appeared unlikely to muster more than a handful of the 300 parliamentary seats. But the embarrassingly skewed tally suggested that the BNP was not really the biggest loser. The biggest loss was for democracy itself.<br />Since winning independence from Pakistan in 1971, Bangladesh has held 11 national elections under radically different circumstances, ranging from absolute dictatorship to relatively open and free contests. The flawed general election of December 30th represented a sharp reversion to the less democratic end of the spectrum. This was not merely because election-day violence left at least 17 dead. The Awami League, which has has been in power continuously for ten years, flagrantly wielded the full power of state institutions, from police to courts to the Election Commission, to promote its chances. Sheikh Hasina’s party also resorted to virtually every electoral trick in the bag.<br />In the months leading to the vote, BNP leaders and followers found themselves relentlessly harassed by arrests and prosecutions. The party’s leader, Khaleda Zia, has languished in jail since February, on charges of misdirecting funds meant for an orphanage. During December, BNP officials say, no fewer than 10,000 party supporters were rounded up and imprisoned, including 17 candidates in the election. Another 18 candidates were disqualified on varied grounds—including in Ms Zia’s home seat, a party stronghold—and some 51 others were assaulted during the election campaign.<br />The sweeping nature of the repression meant that on voting day, few of the BNP’s electoral agents—who guide voters and monitor the process—dared show up at the 40,000 polling stations. By contrast, the Awami League fielded 120,000 agents. In Dhaka, the capital, it was hard to find a single poster for the BNP among the tens of thousands boosting the Awami League. In constituencies expected to lean to the ruling party lines were short and voting easy. In others, voters complained of having to wait for hours, of voting stations closing for lunch, and of reaching ballot boxes only to be told the ballots had run out. “Its like Microsoft 360: they’ve got it all covered,” remarked a BNP follower wryly.<br />The question that puzzles many in Bangladesh is, why? Why should Sheikh Hasina pull out so many stops to ensure a victory that most observers had assumed was in the bag in any case? Opinion polls had universally shown a solid advantage for the Awami League. Its decade in power has seen incomes triple, exports soar, and every measure of human development leap ahead. Heavy-handed policing and fierce repression of the Awami League’s political adversaries has little effect on ordinary Bangladeshis, who are happy that the spectre of Islamist terrorism has lifted, and proud that their country is hosting some 700,000 Rohingya refugees from neighbouring Myanmar.<br />Sheikh Hasina seems to bear a personal grudge against perceived enemies, which springs both from the murder of her father and other relatives in 1975 (he had led the independence movement and served as Bangladesh’s first prime minister) and from an attempt on her own life that has been tied to figures in the BNP. Some of the ruling party’s rivals suggest that it needs to cling to power to cover its own corruption. The more sympathetic say that the BNP was in fact just as high-handed and perhaps more corrupt while in power, and allied to radical Islamists to boot.<br />The question now is whether the Awami League’s landslide will bring relief, in the form of a government confident enough to ease up, or increased repression. A recent tweet from Sheikh Hasina’s influential son, Sajeed Wajed, is not reassuring in this regard: “Western media has called every eastern leader who developed his country rapidly authoritarian. Leaders like #Mahatir of #Malaysia, #LeeKwanYu of #Singapore. Can’t find any other fault, sling authoritarian mud!”</span></blockquote>
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David Bergmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02674636000068693356noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4183118663703256159.post-49898447022869410802019-01-01T08:33:00.000+06:002019-01-02T00:07:34.885+06:00Election rigging - the international community response?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjunfFL5Yu8lTrqE4rAGLry0idCJgencRy-YN_7iCXmE7s2JSPM_1UU6moVyVs-2ePuXSLriHzfbx0ceCihv3tWlj4MDq6Khp6rg5oIHSpNRSeOfa_4N2d8ohrFQ_T3CRroT581L2-dPNM/s1600/flags.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="183" data-original-width="276" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjunfFL5Yu8lTrqE4rAGLry0idCJgencRy-YN_7iCXmE7s2JSPM_1UU6moVyVs-2ePuXSLriHzfbx0ceCihv3tWlj4MDq6Khp6rg5oIHSpNRSeOfa_4N2d8ohrFQ_T3CRroT581L2-dPNM/s400/flags.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">So far political leaders from <a href="https://bdnews24.com/bangladesh/2018/12/31/world-leaders-congratulate-hasina-over-election-victory">China, India and Bhutan</a> have congratulated Sheikh Hasina and the Awami League government for "winning" the election - without any of them mentioning the widespread allegations of election rigging before and after the Sunday poll.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">India is Awami League's closest ally, and so its unconditional support for the government after the election is far from suprising. China is not interested in the fairness or otherwise of elections. And Bhutan is too small to matter.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Western liberal democracies have not yet given their views on the Bangladesh election - and what they have to say, in particular the will both be both fascinating and significant. </span><br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">In 2014, the opposition did not participate in the election, and as a result over half of the seats were uncontested. There followed the publication of some highly critical statements from governments - many calling for new elections.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">In summary - see <a href="https://bangladeshpolitico.blogspot.com/2014/01/bangladesh-election-day-5-january-2014.html#internatstatements">here</a> and <a href="https://bangladeshpolitico.blogspot.com/2014/01/further-international-statements-on.html">here</a> for full statements - the following governments/institutions called for or supported <i>new</i> elections;</span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-size: large;">- the <u>US stated </u>that the "</span><span style="font-size: large;">elections do not appear to credibly express the will of the Bangladeshi people" and encouraged the government to hold "t</span><span style="font-size: large;">o hold as soon as possible elections that are free, fair, peaceful, and credible." </span> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-size: large;">- <u>Canada stated</u> that it</span><span style="font-size: large;"> welcomed "the major parties’ willingness to consider holding a new national election and urges all parties to reach an agreement soon that would allow the next election to be truly participatory, with results that all Bangladeshis will see as credible."</span> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-size: large;">- the <u>Commonwealth said</u>, "[I]</span><span style="font-size: large;">t is critical that Bangladesh moves quickly to find a path forward through dialogue to a more inclusive and peaceful political process in which the will of the people can be fully expressed."</span> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-size: large;">- <u>Australia stated</u>, </span><span style="font-size: large;">"The government and the opposition must take up their shared responsibility to hold a new, fully contested and transparent election as soon as possible."</span> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-size: large;">- <u>The German government</u> stated that it "noted with regret the circumstances surrounding the parliamentary elections in Bangladesh. These elections are an extremely poor reflection of the electorate’s will. ... [It] urges the Bangladesh Government and all political parties to overcome their differences in the interest of the country and to work together to bring about inclusive, peaceful and credible democratic elections."</span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-size: large;">- <u>The United Nation's</u> statement also called on the political parties "to resume meaningful dialogue and to urgently address the expectations of the people of Bangladesh for an inclusive political process."</span></blockquote>
<span style="font-size: large;">Other governments - the UK, and France, for example - raised concerns but did not call for new elections.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">How will these governments and institutions respond to the election held on Sunday in which the opposition did take part but where there have been allegations of widespread and significant rigging, both <a href="https://bangladeshpolitico.blogspot.com/2018/12/rigging-election-before-votes-are-cast.html">before</a> and <a href="https://bangladeshpolitico.blogspot.com/2018/12/election-rigging-polling-agents-debacle.html">during</a> the <a href="https://bangladeshpolitico.blogspot.com/2018/12/exclusive-documents-suggest-al-rigging.html">election day</a>. Clearly the governments could turn a blind eye to the rigging, rely on t<a href="https://bdnews24.com/11thparliamentaryelection/2018/12/31/observers-find-bangladesh-elections-peaceful-and-organised">he extraordinary exonerating observer mission statements</a> (ignoring all the other evidence of rigging) and congratulate the government on winning the election. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">However, if they did that, their credibility in the eyes of the opposition parties, the country's non-partisan civil society and wider Bangladesh society would sink very low. One of the few mantras western democracies have consistently uttered in Bangladesh - whilst their general interest in human rights in the country has declined - is the need for "free and fair elections", and if they fail to criticise what has happened on Sunday they will be seen as highly unprincipled.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Another question is how far can these government/institutions criticise the Bangladesh government and what they can they call the government to do? Can they suggest the establishment of a judicial inquiry into the election complaints? Or can they request that the Election Commission undertake inquiries into all complaints made to it? Or even - though highly unlikely - propose a re-run of the election? </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">In recent years, the Western international community has been very reluctant to criticise the Bangladesh government - in the context of its actions against islamic militancy and its support for the Rohingyas - iand t is difficult to see, even were they to criticise the election, that they would push the government too far.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Yesterday's </span><a href="https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/sg/note-correspondents/2018-12-31/note-correspondents-elections-bangladesh" style="font-size: x-large;">United Nation's statement</a><span style="font-size: large;"> treads a line of acknowledging "the reports of irregularities" yet only encouraging "the parties to address electoral complaints in a peaceful manner and through legal means." </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Pretty weak, but this may well be the template followed by others. Lets hope not.</span></div>
David Bergmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02674636000068693356noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4183118663703256159.post-5945493927754108552018-12-31T09:03:00.000+06:002018-12-31T20:52:22.446+06:00After the "election". What next?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpwhGhNDTxzW8FDF64gwZlFhbhQkvux2krq8IbNTXF5DwQzf8bbXwtTSyJ8FI9cQrrOuINgKv6n9xSaA0zYY_P-D6yFZqfUMWHc1X0Jj5jJUkTn9LlXcOCx09jos_FDsFEkZCLxNx2gvs/s1600/election_image.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="168" data-original-width="300" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpwhGhNDTxzW8FDF64gwZlFhbhQkvux2krq8IbNTXF5DwQzf8bbXwtTSyJ8FI9cQrrOuINgKv6n9xSaA0zYY_P-D6yFZqfUMWHc1X0Jj5jJUkTn9LlXcOCx09jos_FDsFEkZCLxNx2gvs/s400/election_image.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">Perhaps the biggest surprise of polling day was how much the Awami League government felt they had to rig the election on the day itself - since they had taken <a href="https://bangladeshpolitico.blogspot.com/2018/12/rigging-election-before-votes-are-cast.html">pretty extravagant steps to ensure victory</a> before the vote itself. But clearly, the Awami League did not want to take anything for granted and used the police and their own activists <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/world-asia-46717803/bangladesh-election-voting-disrupted-by-violence">to stop BNP supporters from </a>voting, <a href="https://bangladeshpolitico.blogspot.com/2018/12/election-rigging-polling-agents-debacle.html">preventing opposition polling agents from entering polling centres</a>, and stuffing ballots. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">There are enough eye-witnesses and reports to suggest that this was a widespread and systematic in most parts of the country. The plan <a href="https://bangladeshpolitico.blogspot.com/2018/12/exclusive-documents-suggest-al-rigging.html">set out in the documents leaked yesterday</a> by BangladeshPolitico seemed to have been followed pretty assiduously.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">The Bangladesh opposition should perhaps counts itself lucky that the Awami League government allowed it to win 7 seats!</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Perhaps, the only institution whose credibility is more questionable than those involved in holding the elections is the small international observer mission which has played a home run for the government in bestowing legitimacy on the election. They clearly had no idea what was actually going on in the real world of Bangladesh's polling stations. (The EU, US government and Commonwealth did not send, or were not permitted to send, any observers) </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">The Bangladesh government will now get its ducks in a row - and we will hear similar utterances about the credibility of the elections from the local partisan election observers (who were permitted to monitor the elections by the Election Commission), from the Indian government, and other political allies inside and outside the country.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">The opposition has, understandably, rejected the election and has demanded a new one. </span><span style="font-size: large;">It is, however, almost impossible to see how this could happen (at least in the short term) unless there was some kind of large-scale people's movement - which is itself highly improbable (opposition activists are now in hiding to escape arrest and are in no position to lead any street movement) and, were it to happen, would be ruthlessly repressed.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">So where does that leave the government. There is no doubt the government will survive - as it does have a significant support base - but its widespread and systematic election/vote rigging has arguably created a far greater crisis of legitimacy than it faced even after the uncontested 2014 election. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The reason why the last elections were uncontested was because the opposition parties did not trust the Awami League government, </span><span style="font-size: large;">whilst it held the levers of power,</span><span style="font-size: large;"> to hold a free and fair election. The opposition demanded that the election be run under the control of a neutral care-taker election-time government under which all elections since 1996 had been held.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The AL government, however, argued that a special election time government was not necessary as it was quite capable of holding free and fair elections. The opposition refused to accept this and so boycotted the election. As a result over 150 parliamentary seats were uncontested, and the remaining ones were uncompetitive.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">One of the reasons why the political opposition did not take part in these 2014 elections was to avoid providing legitimacy to a rigged process which they would have lost - at the time the BNP was ahead in the opinion polls. The BNP thought that if it did not take part, it could more easily attack the government for being illegitimate. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">To some extent the opposition was right. For some time after the 'elections', the government did have a significant legitimacy problem - however as time went on, the Awami League government managed to win over the international community, and was successful at repressing the domestic opposition. In addition, the government put forward the cogent argument that it could not be described as 'illegitimate' when it was opposition which refused to take part in the elections.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">This time round, the opposition agreed take part in the election, despite significant reservations. In effect, it agreed to test out the government's notion that it would hold free and fair elections even though it was in power. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">And the government flunked this test, resoundingly. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The government cannot now criticise the opposition for not taking part - and instead can only argue that the elections were free and fair. There will be a battle between two narratives - and of course with the government in almost total control of the TV news media, and partial control of the print media - it will trumpet these arguments hard.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">However, arguably, the government has gone too far in its rigging to make its arguments convincing. Apart from everything else, the very fact that the opposition won only seven seats will itself be seen as evidence of rigging.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The Awami League government has dug a huge hole for itself from which it will emerge only with difficultly. The drip drip arguments about the lack of legitimacy in Bangladesh will take its toll, and whilst, the future of the country is not easy to predict, it may well lead in due course to more concerted demands, particularly from young people, for new free and fair elections that will be hard for the government to deny.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><u>Other "2018 Elections" articles</u></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">- Dec 31: <a href="https://bangladeshpolitico.blogspot.com/2018/12/election-rigging-polling-agents-debacle.html">Rigging the election: The polling agent debacle</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">- Dec 30: "<a href="https://bangladeshpolitico.blogspot.com/2018/12/breaking-news-polling-agents-arrested.html">Polling agents arrested" and "ballot boxes stuffed</a>"<br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">- Dec 29: <a href="https://bangladeshpolitico.blogspot.com/2018/12/rigging-election-before-votes-are-cast.html">Rigging the election before votes are cast</a><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">- Dec 29: <a href="https://bangladeshpolitico.blogspot.com/2018/12/exclusive-documents-suggest-al-rigging.html">Exclusive: Leaked documents suggest AL rigging</a><br /><br />- Dec 27: <a href="https://bangladeshpolitico.blogspot.com/2018/12/is-it-time-to-give-bnp-another-chance.html">Is it time to give the BNP opposition a chance?</a><br /><br />- Dec 25: <a href="https://bangladeshpolitico.blogspot.com/2018/12/awami-leagues-new-crisis-of-legitimacy.html">Awami League's new crisis of legitimacy</a><br /><br />- Dec 23: <a href="https://bangladeshpolitico.blogspot.com/2018/12/election-2018-disgrace-of-website.html">A disgrace of a website</a><br /><br />- Dec 22: <a href="https://bangladeshpolitico.blogspot.com/2018/12/facebook-exposes-bangladesh-govt-fake.html">Facebook exposes government's fake news</a><br /><br />- Dec 22: <a href="https://bangladeshpolitico.blogspot.com/2018/12/election-2018-sajeeb-wazed-joys-poll.html">Sajeeb Joy's poll half-truths</a><br /><br />- Dec 21: <a href="https://bangladeshpolitico.blogspot.com/2018/12/election-2018-why-government-is-fixing.html">Why the Government is fixing the election</a><br /><br />- Dec 15: <a href="https://bangladeshpolitico.blogspot.com/2018/12/full-pre-election-bangladesh-polls-for.html">Full Pre-election polls for download</a><br /><br />- Dec 13: <a href="https://bangladeshpolitico.blogspot.com/2018/12/elections-2018-challenging-orthodox-view.html">Challenging the Orthodox View</a><br /><br />- Dec 13: <a href="https://bangladeshpolitico.blogspot.com/2018/12/elections-2018-fear-and-awami-league.html">Fear and Awami League leaders</a><br /><br />- Dec 11: <a href="https://bangladeshpolitico.blogspot.com/2018/12/2018-election-bangladeshs-closing.html">Bangladesh's "Closing Democratic Space</a>"<br /><br />- Dec 9: <a href="https://bangladeshpolitico.blogspot.com/2018/12/exclusive-results-of-confidential-poll.html">Exclusive: Results of Confidential Poll revealed</a><br /><br />- Dec 7: <a href="https://bangladeshpolitico.blogspot.com/2018/12/2018-election-forced-out-but-commentary.html">Disappearances before 2014 election</a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />- Dec 7: <a href="https://bangladeshpolitico.blogspot.com/2018/12/2018-election-forced-out-but-commentary.html">Forced out, but service resumes</a></span><div>
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David Bergmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02674636000068693356noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4183118663703256159.post-49329537816002150632018-12-31T08:11:00.001+06:002018-12-31T08:14:28.382+06:00Election rigging - the polling agents debacle<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-size: large;">On the eve of the election, this blog <a href="https://bangladeshpolitico.blogspot.com/2018/12/breaking-news-polling-agents-arrested.html">reported on the the arrest of seven polling agents</a> from one constituency, raising the possibility that preventing polling agents from entering polling stations could become a more systematic strategy of the Awami League government on the subsequent day.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">And this is exactly what has happened. The BNP claim that they had reports of polling agents being <a href="https://en.prothomalo.com/bangladesh/news/188922/BNP-claims-polling-agents-obstructed-in-221">refused access in 221 constituencies</a>.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Having polling agents within polling stations is crucial to prevent all kinds of shenanigans happen within the centres including stuffing of ballot boxes, and improper counting of votes - which is of course why the Awami League focused their efforts in stopping opposition polling agents from entering centres.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The Dhaka Tribune had a good story on this. It stated that:</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The Dhaka Tribune independently observed nearly 200 polling centres across the capital on Sunday, and hardly found any polling agents of the BNP and Oikya Front.</span></blockquote>
<span style="font-size: large;">The paper also reported on pro-Awami league people pretending to be opposition polling agents. The <a href="http://the%20dhaka%20tribune%20independently%20observed%20nearly%20200%20polling%20centres%20across%20the%20capital%20on%20sunday%2C%20and%20hardly%20found%20any%20polling%20agents%20of%20the%20bnp%20and%20oikya%20front./">article is worth reading in full</a>. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The widely respected Zonayed Saki, chief coordinator of a small left wing party, the Ganosamhati Andolon, boycotted the elections in the three constituencies - one in Dhaka, Pabna and Chittagong - in which he and two other party candidates were contesting. <a href="https://www.thedailystar.net/bangladesh-national-election-2018/news/ganosamhati-andolon-boycott-polls-1680829">According to him,</a> their "poling agents were kicked out of polling stations and assaulted in almost every centre of Dhaka-12 constituency as well as in Chattogram and Pabna".</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">It appears that many formal complaints have been made about this to the Election Commission (which will no doubt ignore them). The lawyer, Assaduzzaman, who was standing in Jhenaidah sent this complaint which not only deals with the polling agent issue but other conscerns about stuffing of ballot boxes and voter intimidation.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Returning officer and Deputy Commissioner<br />Jhenaidah. </span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Sub. Prayer for Cancellation of Election due to massive vote rigging in the Constituency No.81- Jhenaidah-1 (Shailkupa) </span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Dear Sir,<br />With a heavy heart and deepest Concern, I would like to Lodge this Complain to you and pray for cancellation of the election due to massive vote rigging on 30, December, 2018 in the Constituency No.81- Jhenaidah-1 (Shailkupa) in which I happened to be a candidate having been nominated by the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP). The basis of my complain and prayer are comprehensively stated in the following manner: </span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-size: large;">1. On 30, December, 2018 all my Polling Agents in 117 polling centers appeared before the respective presiding officers to submit their identification card duly authorized and issued by me. In some of the centers, they could submit it but in many centers they could not submit it under duress by the cadres of the Bangladesh Awami league candidate and that too happened in presence of the presiding officers and members of the assigned law enforcement agencies. It is to be noted that in this election the Presiding officers and Polling officers are commonly known in the locality as the member of Awami league oriented families<br /> <br />2. By 11 am of 30 December 2018, all my Polling Agents have been forced to go outside the polling centers under duress by the Awami league candidate’s agents and their fellow cadres encircled in the respective polling centers. That too happened in presence of the presiding officers and the member of the law enforcement agencies assigned therein who were either kept silent or had abetted their activities. The Awami league candidate’s cadres had stamped on the ballot papers in the open day light after ousting our Agents which have been seen by many people. Even some persons who died before 30 December have been seen to have casted their votes . These were the scenario of all the polling stations. </span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-size: large;"> 3. Immediately, I informed some of the incidents to the Assistant Returning Officer, Shailkupa over telephone but of no result. BNP supporters including my polling agents from all the centres had informed me over telephone that Awami League Candidate’s cadres had been resisting the voters on their way to polling centers, specially those who they believed to have BNP orientation. Motiur Rahman Bishwas of Baroipara has been caused leg broken injury and Md. Motiur Rahman Motin of Shailkupa Pourashova area has been caused grievous hurt with serious bleeding injuries while they were on their way back to Polling centres. </span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-size: large;"> 4. If any effective and fair due diligence is done, you will be posted with the facts that from 2 pm onwards of 29 December 2018, the Awamileague Candidate’s cadres had threatened from door to door of BNP supporters with dire consequences asking them not to go to polling centres and they have caused serious panic in the vicinity all over the Constituency and it continued the whole night. They also used abusive languages upon the female members of some of the BNP leaders and supporters. This horrific situation can never be said to be an atmosphere for holdin a free and fair election. </span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-size: large;">5. You may recall from your record that as many as 52 major incidents had been reported to you in writing over the last two weeks which were duly received by your office but no action had ever been taken in reference to those. Had there been any action taken against the perpetrators of those incidents, I strongly believe that the goons could have been controlled effectively and the election rigging could be prevented. Your failure to do the needful has not only given them a Frankenstein, but has also established your helplessness to conduct a free and fair election under a political government. </span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-size: large;">6. Please be noted that in the given facts and circumstances, this complaint could not be lodged before the respective presiding officers due to our no confidence upon them as their purported and biased inactions have fuelled the vote rigging. In addition to that , our Agents are apprehending that their life will be endanger if they go to submit it to the Presiding officers. Hence, making complain to the returning officers lacks effective and efficacious remedy. </span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-size: large;"> 7. In the circumstances, had there been a free and fair election, not only me but also the people of my Constituency strongly believe that I would be elected in a landslide victory. But the Awamileague Candidate has snatched my victory upon rigging the votes in the aforesaid manners. </span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-size: large;"> Wherefore, it is most humbly prayed that your honor would graciously be pleased to cancel the 11 Parliament Election purportedly held on 30 December 2018 so far it relates to Constituency No. 81-Jhenidah-1(Shailkupa) and take other appropriate legal actions against the perpetrators and I will be highly obliged for that </span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-size: large;"> Thanking you </span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-size: large;">yours sincerely,<br /><br />Md. Asaduzzaman<br />Candidate,Nominated by BNP<br />Constituency No.81-Jhenaidha-1 (Shailkupa)</span></blockquote>
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David Bergmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02674636000068693356noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4183118663703256159.post-53793455876941897452018-12-30T01:23:00.002+06:002018-12-30T08:12:51.921+06:00"Polling agents arrested" and "ballots box stuffing"<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-size: large;">The next roll of the rigging dice now seems to be the police arresting opposition polling agents and ballot box stuffing - though it remains unclear how extensive this is.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Polling agents should be able to play a crucial role in ensuring that some of the crasser attempts at vote rigging during the actual voting and the count do not take place. Removing opposition polling agents from the scene is a way to allow vote-stuffing and improper vote-counting - particularly when, <a href="https://bangladeshpolitico.blogspot.com/2018/12/exclusive-documents-suggest-al-rigging.html">as revealed by BangladeshPolitico, "Core AL Presiding Officers"</a> have been allocated to certain polling stations.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Local BNP activists in the constituency of Thakurgoan-1, where the opposition leader Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir is contesting, have told BangladeshPolitico that at least seven of its polling agents, each attached to a separate polling centre, were arrested by the police on Saturday. As of writing, three of them remain detained, and the whereabouts of the other four are uncertain.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Five of the polling centres involved are in the following unions: Goalpara, Awliapur, Akhanagar, Sabujbari, Gilanagar. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Local opposition activists are also claiming that Awami League supporters have taken over three polling centres in the constituency with the assistance of the police and are stamping ballot papers inside - though the circumstances are unclear.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">BNP constituency activists say that when they informed Colonel Ishtiaq, who is the army commander responsible for this area, of these activities, but he declined to take action other than saying he would inform the police. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Similar activities are being reported in other parts of the country, though these remain unconfirmed. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">In Dhaka-15, for example, BangladeshPolitico has been informed that the Awami League has taken control of at least five polling stations - including Alzahra, Adarsha School, Hemaine Meiner School, West Sheora Para Ayurveydy Medical School polling stations which comprise 25,000 voters. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Newspapers have <a href="https://www.dhakatribune.com/bangladesh/election/2018/12/30/bnp-ballots-boxes-getting-stuffed-at-dhaka-9-14-constituencies">also reported allegations </a>of similar activities.</span></div>
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David Bergmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02674636000068693356noreply@blogger.com0