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Sunday, August 31, 2008

[vinnomot] Citizens condolence meet for Anwar Zahid: Unity of nationalist forces urged

Citizens condolence meet for Anwar Zahid: Unity of nationalist forces urged

Staff Reporter

Speakers at a citizens' condolence meeting on late journalist Anwar Zahid called for unity of the nationalist and Islamic political parties to safeguard the national independence and sovereignty of the country.

National Citizens' Condolence Committee organised the meeting at the National Press Club, which was presided over by former Chief Election Commissioner Justice Abdur Rauf.

Justice Abdur Rauf said political leaders must be united to shun politics of mud slinging for establishing democracy on a firm footing.

"It is necessary for political parties to give up their personal interest for greater interest of the country," Justice Abdur Rauf said.

He said that if the political parties failed to be united, a coterie would take opportunity to depoliticise the country.

He held the view that necessary steps should be taken to reform the political leadership in the country so that politics based on morality, justice and honesty could flourish in the country.

BNP Secretary General Khandaker Delwar Hossain said that the nationalist and Islamic forces must be united as the national independence and sovereignty of the country is in danger at the present time.

"We can resist the anti-liberation forces if the nationalist and Islamic forces could unite following the deals of Anwar Zahid," he hoped.

Former Deputy Prime Minister Prof Abdul Matin called for framing a strong national unity between the nationalist and Islamic forces so that it could help fulfil the dream of late politician Anwar Zahid.

BNP standing committee member Lt Col Mahbubur Rahman said Anwar Zahid was a patriot who always tried to lead his life with honesty through writing and political activities. Barrister Rafiqul Islam Miah said Journalist Anwar Zahid always dreamt of repression free politics.

"Anwar Zahid's dream would not be fulfilled if the nationalist and Islamic forces did not unite," he said.

Syed Didar Bakth of Liberal Democratic Party, Jamaat Assistant Secretary General Kamruzzaman, NDP Chairman Khandaker Golam Mortuza, Advocate Miah Sadequr Rahman, Sheikh Anwarul Hoq, Shafiul Alam Pradhan, Maulana Jafar Ullah Khan, Atiqul Islam, National Press Club General Secretary Kamal Uddin Sabuj, Mostafa Kamal Majumder, the Editor of New Nation, Journalist Sadeq Khan, Shawkat Hossain Nilu, Tazul Islam, Alamgir Majumder, Barrister Rafiqul Huq, Reazuddin Ahmed, Editor, News Today, Abdul Hye Sikdar, Barkatullah, Abdus Shahid, President DUJ, and Elahi, Newaz Khan among others, addressed the condolence meeting.

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[vinnomot] Democrats' last ditch effort to unify the party to put Obama in White House

SAN-Feature Service

SOUTH ASIAN NEWS-FEATURE SERVICE

September, 01,2008

Democrats' last ditch effort to unify the party to put Obama in White House

Dr.A.H. Jaffor Ullah

Some political analysts in CNN has said that McCain will have difficulty matching the oration of Obama when the former will give the acceptance speech before few thousands cheering Republicans. In the history of America no presidential aspirants have addressed before 80,000 people. At long last, the Democrats are unified.

SAN-Feature Service : Unless you've been in Mars you may have noticed that the news media, Internet, TV channels are all abuzz with the news of Democratic Convention that has just taken place in Denver, Colorado from August 25th through 28th. The convention delegates were all gathered here to energize the "base," which was fractured by a very divisive primary elections that took place starting from late January 2008 through the first week of June 2008.

The primaries in which Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton fought tooth and nail to get enough delegates to win the nomination had created a chasm between Obama and Clinton supporters. Among the Democrats and Independents, a coalition of young college going students, educated and professionals, African Americans have overwhelmingly supported Senator Obama while a coalition of women, less educated White men, and Hispanics have thrown their support for Hillary Clinton.

In the last four decades, we have not seen such a hotly contested primaries in America in which the two candidates fought very hard to win the primaries. Normally, by Super Tuesday (the first Tuesday in February) when primaries are held in many states it becomes very clear who will be the nominee for Democratic Party. But not in 2008. During the prolong and brutal primary season both the Clinton and Obama campaigns hurled enough negativities to plant a seed of distrust in the minds of millions of supporters. Therefore, a wedge had developed between the two camps.

From June through August 2008, the bigwigs of the party tried to smooth out the differences that exist in the hearts and minds of both Barack and Hillary supporters so that in the Denver convention the party will not only be unified but energized at the same time. For, it is absolutely essential to have a united front to launch a vigorous campaign to elect the party's nominee on November 4, 2008. If there is a semblance of a divided party coming out of the convention, the Democrats could kiss goodbye to a possible win in November. Therefore, as the convention got underway, there were intense negotiations to cajole hostile delegates supporting Senator Clinton so that the "base" is unified and un-fractured.

On the second day of the convention, Senator Clinton gave an emotional speech in which she implored her supporters to stand behind Barack Obama so that the Party could recapture the White House and a fellow Democrat take charge of the nation in the last week of January 2009. The Clintons were jubilant on August 26, 2008. Bill Clinton who became a controversial politician during the primaries when he made some harsh remarks against Senator Obama was shown in the "Clinton Booth" smiling profusely and mingling with the delegates. Senator Clinton was introduced to the delegates by her daughter, Chelsea Clinton. And Mrs. Clinton delivered a fiery speech to energize the "base." She wholeheartedly supported the candidacy of Barack Obama when she gave the clarion call for electing the senator from Illinois . She called Obama "my candidate" and she added, "He must be our president." It was a passionate call to recapture the White House. She however profusely talked about herself and her campaign to energize her base but at the end of her speech she beseeched her supporters to join the campaign for a possible victory in the upcoming election.

President Bill Clinton also addressed the convention on the third day (August 27, 2008) and he also gave a conciliatory speech. Like Hillary Clinton, he also gave a call for unified "Base" without whose support Obama will not be able to defeat the Republican challenger, Senator John McCain.

It is worth mentioning here that Bill Clinton still has many followers especially among rural Democrats mostly men in Appalachian mountain region in the Midwest and northeast. To win such states as Pennsylvania , Virginia , Ohio , Obama needs the support of those less educated male voters. Thus, strengthening the "base" by a fiery and emotional speech from Bill Clinton had forged a united front.

We have noticed that McCain campaign had aired quite a few TV Ads directed towards Clinton supporters as the convention went underway. In the past, no Republican hopefuls had ever televised any political advertisement as democrats staged their convention. Therefore, it seems as if the election season will be hyper-charged and a nasty one.

Many Democrats now believe in the 'tit-for-tat' policy. When the Republicans would meet in Minneapolis in the first week of September 2008 to coronate John McCain as the party's flag-bearer, be sure about the negative TV Ads to hit the airwaves, which will be produced by the Obama campaign. The Democrats are learning very fast that to be a nice guy would mean a possible loss in the presidential contest.

In 1988, George H. W. Bush's campaign made some nasty negative Ads to undermine the Democratic candidate, Gov. Michael Dukakis. The most notable among them was the one in which Black inmates were paraded inside a penitentiary while the announcer said that Governor Dukakis had pardoned a convicted felon by the name Willy Horton, an African American, who committed a serious crime such as rape and murder. The bottom line of the Ad - Michael Dukakis was soft on crime. This utterly negative Ad did Dukakis in. Since then the Republicans resorted to negative campaign in each and every presidential race.

And this year is no exception. Senator McCain's campaign is now onto sticking a label on Obama. They contend that Obama is a narcissist celebrity of mega proportion. Thus, when Obama campaign decided to host the acceptance speech at INVESCO Stadium in the presence of about 80,000 screaming fans, which has never been done before, the Republican talking heads in the media including Karl Rove at the Fox news became very excited because now they could surely give a spin to Obama's historic acceptance speech to characterize the event as yet another publicity stunt for the "World Class Celebrity". The McCain campaign will pronounce that Obama being a narcissist only cares about him rather than the common people of America .

As I mentioned earlier, on August 27, the third day of the Democratic Convention in Denver , Colorado , Bill Clinton gave an electrifying speech in which he endorsed Obama's candidacy in no uncertain term. Needless to say, both Hillary's and his speech had unified the "base" and tens and thousands of the energized foot soldiers of Democratic Party will now return to their hometowns all across America and do the needful to put their candidate in the White House.

The most successful convention in Denver was a stunning one as per all the analysts in CNN news. It was a fault-free and near-perfect convention with full of surprises. Contrary to the belief held by many Republican analysts, the Democrats have ironed out the differences between the two opposing camps of Clinton and Obama. The frictions which kept the two camps apart is now all but vanished into the thin air. Both Senator Clinton and President Clinton will hit the campaign trail in the next 90 days. This positive development in Denver will surely give John McCain and his associates a reason for concern. It remains to be seen how the Republicans conduct their affair in Minneapolis-St. Paul when they anoint John McCain to be their party's flag-bearer.

A post script. I was privileged to view the last day of the convention. The venue was INVESCO sports arena. Obama stood before a crowd of 80,000 to deliver a historic speech, which lasted more than 50 minutes and the attendees were spellbound. Many of the Hillary supporters were in tears hearing Obama's speech in which he said that he wants to unify the divided nation. Some political analysts in CNN has said that McCain will have difficulty matching the oration of Obama when the former will give the acceptance speech before few thousands cheering Republicans. In the history of America no presidential aspirants have addressed before 80,000 people. At long last, the Democrats are unified.--SAN-Feature Service

Dr. A.H. Jaffor Ullah, a researcher and columnist, writes from New Orleans , USA

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[vinnomot] Role of BTRC - beyond the bones

Role of BTRC - beyond the bones
There is a immense potential to reap from the telecom revolution and other things that goes with this. Here are some ideas that for BTRC to consider.

Bangladesh Telecom Regulatory Commission is probably one of the most significant example of what a government agency could do when it really starts delivering what they exist. Before the currently reconstituted commission, the previous ones were dens of thieves and incompetent thugs whose main job was to siphon money out of government exchecker and more importantly, not making the relevant policies so that the thieves in the private sector can continue their stealing.

But there is no reason for complacency for the current BTRC. What has been achieved so far are the ones what anyone could tell in terms of what needed to be done. As a policy making body, its important that you make sure that the bones of the structure are well developed and placed in good coordination of the rest of the elements of the system. Defining the national telecom architecture and giving out the licenses to the relevant parties are just those bones. A lot more things need to be done. Today we would put forward two ideas that should be given due diligence. Off course, these are the result of half-done thinking process that needs to be refined and validated. However, intuitively, these seemed important enough to put forward the ideas.

1. Which types of international call should be encouraged?

We all know that the international calls can be either outbound or inbound. Based on the policy and pricing structure, the balance between these two types of calls can be influenced - i.e. BTRC could dictate the market forces through proper policies so that there is more outbound call-minutes than inbound call-minutes or vice versa. While it is possible to influence this, BTRC has to first know what it wants. The answer of this does not depend on BTRC only - it has to be decided by all the stakeholders - starting from Bangladesh Bank, the government, private sector businesses, etc. Or the consultative process might indicate that there is no need for policy influence in which case BTRC will try to make the policies color-blind as far as preference to international call-types are concerned. Let us conclude this point by mentioning what seems intuitive to us. A case could be made that Bangladesh's economy, society and private sector will be benefited if BTRC makes preferential treatment through policy instruments so that the balance favours the outbound call-minutes. However, intuition is not enough. You have to make a detailed study and analysis before an informed decision can be made in this regard.

2. How to use the increasing revenue of BTRC? Do not give it directly to the government exchecker, use it in ways that multiplies the government revenues.

This is certainly a good thing that we are talking about how to spend the money that you earn. Isn't it nice to know that at least one government agency is having well-thought out debate about how best to spend the money? Don't be too elated. What seems to be a very positive news could turn out to be the mother of all problems down the road. If it does not become a problem, at least, there is a chance that you are not using it in most productive way.

Our suggestion would be not to give the earned revenue directly to the government exchecker. If you just give Tk 100 to the exchecker, that is just Tk 100 for the government. However, BTRC can spend this Tk 100 in ways that will eventually add to the Tk 1000 or more to the national GDP. How?

Let us try to explain in short. If BTRC can find out ways to send the money back to the economy that faciliate the growth of the service sectors that is associated with ICT sector, then the money will come back to the national GPD ten fold. What are the ways to do that? You have to employ experts and innovative thinkers to suggest you the exact projects in collaboration with the consultation to the private sector - however, here are some early thoughts.

2A. Get all the stakeholders and implement a emergency help line service and other information services that requires different other government agencies (Police, Fire Service and Civil Defense Department, Social Service Ministry, Traffic Police, etc) to setup call center type facilities to respond to consumers in need and to supply information that consumers need (E911 type service). Spend your money - give it to the agencies so that they can get going.

2B. To facilitate the growth of a service sector locally - provide tax substitution facility for the companies. Say for example, if a bank currently do not offer telephone or internet banking or if they do not have call center, you could devise a plan in collaboration with NBR that you will give some of the taxes of these companies if they spend money on locally offered services. This general policy should be examined very carefully to make sure that its not misused. If properly used, this could boost the local call centers which in turn increase the revenue of BTRC again (as BTRC have a revenue sharing deal with these call centers).

2C. BTRC could give incentive to professional training and language learning centers that are dedicated to supply manpower to the local call centers. Specifically, BTRC could encourage different language training centers (Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Arabic, Swedish, Dutch, German, French as well as English learning centers and language labs) so that private entepreneurs could start exploring call center businesses from a bigger set of markets. Specifically, these language center could benefit from a large amount of migrant workers that we have and who periodically returns to their home country after completing their contract. Say for example, if a migrant worker returns from a 2-year stint of menial job from some country in middle east, this person has probably learned spoken Arabic. If they have a certain level of basic education and young, this group of youth can be easily trained to serve in Arabic language call centers. Some enterpreneur has to set up to train these type of people as well as fresh students out of schools and colleges. Another set of enterpreneurs has to explore geting some call center business from the gulf states. If this model works, this could be virtuous economic cycle of labour upgradation from which our economy will be diversified and benefited. Not only Arabic, we have lot of similar migrant workers in other countries where other languages are spoken.

Once a person works in a call center for several years that is focused on a certain country, they becomes knowlegeble about that particular country. Say for example, somebody learns Korean language and works for a call center that is targeted in Korean businesses. After serveral years of service in Korean call center, this person could get a part-time MBA and become an business executive for private sector companies that does business in Korea.

These are all nice thoughts and some of them (if not all) are certainly implementable. However, people in position has to plan for these so that they can happen in reality. For that to happen, a facilitating environment should be created. Proper people should be appointed so that they can advice the commission with proper analysis.

If you thought some of the ideas are worth of your reading time, please forward it to others. If you have an ear to the columnists in regular traditional media, please forward it to them. If you have an ear to the journalists and news editors of the electronic media, discuss it with them. Hope they would look at the suggestions and give due diligence.

Thanks for your time,
Innovation Line

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Note: This is a freelance column, published mainly in different internet based forums. This column is open for contribution by the members of new generation, sometimes referred to as Gen 71. If you identify yourself as someone from that age-group and want to contribute to this column, please feel free to contact. Thanks to the group moderator for publishing the article as Creative Commons contents.

Dear readers, also, if you thought the article was important enough so it should come under attention of the head of the government please forward the message to them. Email address for the Chief Advisor: feeedback@pmo.gov.bd_ or at http://www.cao.gov.bd/feedback/comments.php . The more of you forward it to them, the less will be the need to go back to street agitation. Use ICT to practice democracy. It is already proven that this government responds to the feedback.

Send it to BTRC at btrc@btrc.gov.bd_

Also send to your favourtie TV channel:

Channel i: http://www.channel-i-tv.com/contact.html
ATN Bangla: mtplive@atnbangla.tv_
NTV: info@ntvbd.com_
RTV: info@rtvbd.tv_

BTV: info@btv.gov.bd_

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[vinnomot] A Nationalist Agenda for Bangladesh - By MBI Munshi Bar-at-Law

A Nationalist Agenda for Bangladesh

By MBI Munshi Bar-at-Law

The installation of the Caretaker Government after the proclamation of emergency on January 11, 2007 by military fiat provides an excellent opportunity for the conscientious citizen to thoroughly reappraise and also reassess our political ideals and national objectives prior to the return of democracy. While the political parties have been striving to reestablish their credibility and relevance to a disillusioned and apathetic public the issue of what ideological principles the nation should rest upon has been largely set aside although this is the most important question of all for the nation to tackle. This article is intended to provide an intellectual framework upon which nationalist debate may take place and covers the political arena occupied by the BNP, Jatiya Party and Jamaat-i-Islami and to some extent the now defunct Freedom Party and other smaller nationalist entities such as Gen. Fazlur Rahman's newly established nationalist formation.

What is common to all these parties (except that of Gen. Fazlur Rahman which has only begun operations in Bangladesh) is that they have all failed miserably to uphold the nationalist ideal. The obvious reason for this failure is that there is no single accepted document or formal expression of the terms of the nationalist agenda for the 21^st century (although there exists many outdated opinions on the subject) and the majority of the general public has largely relied on intuition to determine a party's nationalist credentials in the modern era. There are several important books on the subject of Bangladeshi nationalism but they tend to over intellectualize the concepts and the basic principles put forward appear contradictory after closer examination. More often than not they involve matters that are subsidiary or ancillary to the main tenets of the ideology. This vagueness and ambiguity has allowed scope for the corrupt, opportunistic and mediocre to thwart and misuse the ideals of nationalism in favour of self-interest and greed. The main cause or reason behind this lack of ideological commitment is the absence of an objective standard or criterion for determining the legitimacy of decisions or actions approved by the party hierarchy when set against the requirements of nationalist ideology. A major consequence of this is that there exists an absolute minimum in ideological content and understanding within the party and an over reliance on charismatic leadership for guidance, however, misguided or irrational it might actually turn out to be for the country as a whole. It is due to this ideological failure that the Freedom Party and Jatiya party both fractured and then collapsed in quick succession during the early 1990's and is also the cause of the BNP's dramatic downfall after the 1/11 takeover by a military-civilian conglomerate.

The terms of the nationalist ideal according to this author may be explained through the use of the following four broad tenets or core elements of Bangladeshi nationalism–

1. Honouring the nation's independence and sovereignty achieved through immense struggle, blood and sacrifice in the 1971 Liberation War.

2. Non-interference in the Islamic values and beliefs of the people as enshrined in the constitution [Art. 8 (1A) – Absolute trust and faith in the Almighty Allah shall be the basis of all actions]. The emergence of Bangladesh is a direct consequence of the Two Nation Theory and the Lahore Resolution and the war of 1971 was not intended to negate either of these ideas. Bangladesh remains a majority Muslim nation and the nationalist creed requires the respecting of Islamic values with particular emphasis on the virtue of toleration which is a peculiar characteristic of the people of this region who generally abhor all forms of fanaticism It is for this reason that compared to the secularist approach the non-interference method can accommodate Muslims, non-Muslims and even people of no faith since none will be interfered with provided that all practice toleration towards each other and adopt the policy of mutual respect [i.e. Art. 2A – The state religion of the Republic is Islam, but other religions may be practiced in peace and harmony in the Republic] (see below).

3. Adherence to the inclusiveness of Bangladeshi nationalism which is based on territorial exclusivity rather than on ethnic exclusivity. In other words, a Bangladesh national should be appropriately described as Bangladeshi [i.e. Art. 6 (2) – The citizens of Bangladesh shall be known as Bangladeshi] rather than a Bengali which tends towards territorial inclusiveness with West Bengal which is a part of India and where the Bengali identity is subservient to the superior and universal Indian one. A Bangladeshi can never accept his identity to be subsumed into a larger Indian one which is an entirely separate nation as per the partition of the subcontinent in 1947 into three separate territorial parts and two political entities (India and Pakistan). This separate consciousness of Bengali Muslims began during the 1905-1911 partition of Bengal which was vehemently opposed by the upper-class Hindu landlords whose power and influence over their Muslim tenants dwindled during this period but Hindu dominance again reasserted itself once the partition was rescinded seven years later and the Muslims were returned to their former slavish existence.

4. Aggressive promotion and advancement of the national interest and an uncompromising attitude to national security.

While all the parties claiming to uphold the nationalist agenda have been more or less consistent in protecting Islamic values this has often been done opportunistically or exploitatively. All that this condition requires is non-interference as opposed to the 'excessive' or overt promotion of Islamic values which tends to have a negative effect (a major reason why Islamic parties do badly in elections) on public sentiment which is still very much influenced by the secularist/Indian propaganda about the 1971 war which illogically views Islam as responsible for the atrocities committed by the Pakistan army. Bangladeshis are by nature and temperament moderate in outlook and sentiment and are equally tolerant in matters personal and so a too rigid approach on religion normally gets a negative or unfavorable response. Non-interference in Islamic values is the least onerous of the conditions in the nationalist agenda since it is a negative requirement requiring virtually no action to implement. This is not the same as the secularist agenda favoured by the AL and other leftist parties since they have promoted interference in the Islamic values of the people with the objective of eroding religion from society and rendering the state totally neutral in matters of faith and have even gone so far as to undermining Islam through propaganda and ill-motivated government policies - this is the complete opposite of non-interference and is widely resented by the general public.

The third condition has usually been a problem for the anti-nationalists such as the Awami League party as the notion of Bengali nationhood became untenable when West Bengal showed no signs of seceding from India after 1971 and even more importantly - from a nationalist perspective - after the CHT insurgency when the tribal groups refused to adopt Bengali customs even after the vocal and uncompromising demand of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman that they do so. This issue was resolved when President Ziaur Rahman amended the constitution and designated all citizens of Bangladesh as Bangladeshis emphasizing the territorial rather than the ethnic aspect of our nationhood.

It is, however, in the area of national interest and security that sharply differentiates the nationalists from the other ideological inclinations. In the past, too much emphasis has been placed on the dichotomies raised by faith vs. secularism or Bengali vs. Bangladeshi but these are only indications of attitude and the real test is whether a party is prepared to assert the national interest and aggressively ensure the security of the nation and state. If the answer is in the positive in both cases then by necessity the party in power is advancing the majority faith and Bangladeshi nationalism as well. All the nationalist parties (BNP, Jatiya and Freedom) were established on the twin pillars of national interest and security. The events of 1975 (both 15^th August and 7^th November) were attempts to reassert the national interest against encroachments and interference from India (this statement is not intended as approval or disapproval of either of these events but simply of their occurrence as a factual and important part of our history. The question, however, needs to be posed whether the nationalist agenda could have reasserted itself so forcefully without these violent incidents having taken place. Similarly the ruthless suppression of communist revolutionary forces after Gen. Ziaur Rahman ascension to power could be described as a dire necessity since Indian infiltration into Bangladesh had been so extensive and pervasive that a lesser response may have been easily defeated) and Ershad is claimed to have wanted to establish another army division to thwart any possible invasion by Bangladesh's big neighbour. It is the AL and other leftist parties that have continually compromised on the national interest and security in order to serve their real masters in New Delhi.

The national interest and security involve by implication the most complex political, social, economic and military questions. It is for the country's political leadership to determine which economic or political system best serves the national interest or which social policies should be implemented to advance overall national well-being. There is no easy answer to these questions but what is needed is a set of practical policies that can produce a dynamic and fast growing economy that will sustain an educated and healthy workforce and in turn finance the internal and external security needs of the country. Sectional interests must not be allowed under any circumstances to become an obstacle or hindrance to national development and economic prosperity.

Gen. Ziaur Rahman, Gen. H.M. Ershad and Col. Syed Farook Rahman when they formed their political parties had these objectives in mind but gradually overtime the ideological elements of their party program became diluted and the pursuit of money became more important. While Gen. Ziaur Rahman and Col. Syed Farook Rahman were personally incorruptible their followers and the subsequent generations of leaders were far less inclined to follow this lead and became addicted to the pursuit of wealth and indirectly compromised on the fourth tenet of nationalism – national interest and security. It was with this new generation (especially in the case of the BNP) which saw the sidelining of committed nationalists and the promotion of the most disreputable and corrupted elements of the party and this is the surest sign of internal decay and clearly indicates the disintegration of the party as a united political force.

In conclusion one should evaluate where Bangladeshi nationalism stands today and especially in the light of the 1/11 change over. It is grievously unfortunate that even without the anti-nationalist parties (i.e. AL, JSD, Workers Party etc) at the helm of power Bangladesh has drifted very far away from all the four core principles of Bangladeshi nationalism. The most obvious failure of the caretaker administration in securing our national objectives appears to be the appeasement of India and the adoption of their foreign policy as our own. This assimilationist agenda has adversely affected our national interest and security and must be reversed if Bangladesh is to remain an independent nation. It is in the area of national security that Bangladesh must concentrate and policy-makers should not be fearful of offending India (which will naturally be the target of any security policy) since India has no qualms about offending Bangladesh which it often describes as a sponsor of terrorism and a threat to its security. The countering of Indian propaganda will also necessarily take a high priority in Bangladesh's security policy but New Delhi's canards against its neighbour has unfortunately been embraced by anti-nationalist parties such as the AL, JSD and Workers Party who have described the country as a hotbed of Islamic fundamentalism and an exporter of terrorism.

Bangladesh has yet to devise a security strategy even after almost 37 years of independence which is quite astonishing and at the same time completely unacceptable. One of the principal tasks of a government is to ensure the security of the nation from external threats and this can be best achieved if those responsible for the defense of the nation have a detailed security policy to guide them. National security in this broader sense refers to the requirement to maintain the survival of the nation-state through the use of economic, military and political power and the exercise of diplomacy. This may be accomplished on several different levels and should include the following –

using diplomacy to rally allies and isolate threats
maintaining effective armed forces
implementing civil defense and emergency preparedness measures
ensuring the resilience and redundancy of critical infrastructure
using intelligence services to detect and defeat or avoid threats and espionage, and to protect classified information
using counterintelligence services or secret police to protect the nation from internal threats

To implement these features effectively in Bangladesh would require a National Security Strategy to be devised. The first step would be to set up a National Security Council which will bring together in one place all the relevant agencies, bodies and experts on this vital issue. This would include the President, Chief Executive, Chiefs of the army, navy and air force, intelligence heads, other security officials belonging to law enforcement, diplomats and experts from various fields who will be called in as the need arises or be allotted to an advisory board attached to the NSC. The NSC would be assigned the responsibility for coordinating policy on national security issues and advising the chief executive on matters related to national security. At regular yearly intervals the NSC would prepare a National Security Strategy document that will guide all elements of our defence, security and intelligence apparatus and also influence the manner and conduct of our foreign policy. The advantages to such an approach would be consistency and comprehensiveness in our national security outlook. While I have tended to concentrate on the defence aspects of security the NSS would give equal priority to strengthening economic security, expansion of trade and investment, and promoting economic development. The NSS would provide guidelines and proposals on economic security, energy security, transport security and terrorism finance. This would involve the business community as stakeholders in the nation's security with direct input in policy formulation.

Probably the only reason that a National Security Strategy and NSC have yet to be established in Bangladesh is the apprehension of the adverse reaction it might generate in New Delhi. A truly nationalist party would disregard such considerations and put the nation's interest and security first. India has never compromised on its national security requirements which usually targets Bangladesh so there should not be any hesitation on this side of the border in doing the same in regard to our own defense needs. Critics may argue that this would undermine democracy and put too much power in the hands of the military. This ignores the fact that political parties have continuously undermined the national interest requiring occasional interventions by the army. To prevent such occurrences this paper argues for the institutionalization of the nationalist agenda so that each arm of the state apparatus and machinery works to fulfill that objective. It would, however, only work effectively under a democratic system as the people will be the final arbiters in determining if any particular government is actually living up to the nationalist ideal. An extended military role in state affairs should not be considered since the present army is not the same as the army of Gen. Ziaur Rahman, Col. Syed Farook Rahman and even Gen. H.M. Ershad which actually fought a war and understood the meaning of the words national interest and security (this statement will probably seem unpalatable to many because of certain actions taken by these individuals but those unfortunate but necessary incidents of our history constitute the basis of Bangladeshi nationalism and also its defence. There is some dispute whether the Jail Killing incident of November 3, 1975 falls into this category since many suspect that this was orchestrated by RAW to prevent a strong leadership emerging around Tajuddin Ahmed. The acquittal of 12 accused in the case by the High Court lends credence to this view). The present army although describing itself as modern and democratic is actually more a peacekeeping force having the mentality of compromisers. The army's approach to the national crisis since 1/11 has been superficial and wholly unprofessional (What is the objective and plan for this intervention and where is the exit strategy?). Rather than seeking the advice of committed nationalists and experts they have resorted to taking assistance from various individuals of dubious backgrounds and qualifications. A democratic political party representing the nationalist ideal would serve the nation better provided the top leadership remains incorruptible and appoints statesman to the helm of government affairs rather than amateurs and opportunists.

MBI Munshi

September 1, 2008

Dhaka

Facebook ID - Mohammad Munshi

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[vinnomot] "LET EMOTIONS FLOW WITH THE TOUCH OF LOVE"

"LET EMOTIONS FLOW WITH THE TOUCH OF LOVE"

Hello, Everybody ! ! !
Love is the greatest thing in the world. Everybody wants love in their life. Even animals also want love in their life. We are all human beings so we want love as well.

Don't you think a physically disabled person or mentally distracted person is human being and he/she needs love?

Physically disabled or mentally disordered persons are human beings too and they need love.

What about HIV+ people, Hijra, prostitutes, beggars or poor people ? They are also human beings & they need love.

In our society, some people are "Muslim", some people are "Hindu", some are "Christian" & some are "Buddhist".

In our society, some people are "Rich" or "Upper-class", some people are "Upper-Middle-class", some are "Middle-Class" & some are "Lower-class".

In our society, some people are "Hetero-sexual", some people are "Homo-sexual", some are "Bi-sexual" & some are "Trans-sexual". Some people are "Male", Some people are "Female" & some are "Hijra". But we are all human beings and we all need love.

Queer, Gay, Straight, Lesbian, Somo-kaami, Dyke, Bi, Trans, Hijra; they all are human beings.
So, they need a special organization as like as all other people have.

In Bangladesh, GayBangla · BANGLADESH ASSOCIATION FOR GAYS (BAG) is the first organization for LGBTQ community. And as a member of "VINNOMOT" I would like to inform you that Bangladesh is not in the middle age. And Bangladeshi LGBTQ community needs love, support & help from the greater soceity. Because, LGBTQ people (GAY people) are not abnormal, they are not bad & they have to survive as like as others. Because, they're human beings too.

GayBangla · BANGLADESH ASSOCIATION FOR GAYS (BAG) has a "Yahoo group".

Here is the address: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/GayBangla/

If anyone wants to check out that what is happening there or if anyone wish to join this group, he/she may join.

So, please be tolerant to other specially to sexual minorities.

Thanks & Regards

Alfred Biswas

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[vinnomot] Re: [notun_bangladesh] Response to Mr. Ashgor

The sole credit goes to Mr AhumanB for intellectualy confronting with these Islamopheobics for a long time. Science is something which is is not pursued by these two persons. So their success on this subject matter is very unlikely.

What surprises me most is the rentless pursuit of hatemongering of these two, though their every statement have been successfully negated in the past. I guess they seriously need help in reshaping their attitude. A person who falis to convince his/her better half about his/her "new theory", I wonder what makes him/her think that he/she could convince others to accept his/her rheotics.

An expatriot millionere and an agriculture specialist could have played much better role, in developing the economic state of Bangladesh. Instead they have selected to create controversery and pose insult to the sacred belief of a billion people. Bangladesh as a nation is in dire need for economic-political directions, not religious sermon or hatemongering. I wonder why are these two gentlemen pursue such path of unproductive time wasting ?

Musfique.

--- On Sun, 8/31/08, Ahumanb <ahumanb@yahoo.com> wrote:

From: Ahumanb <ahumanb@yahoo.com>
Subject: [notun_bangladesh] Response to Mr. Ashgor
To: khabor@yahoogroups.com, notun_bangladesh@yahoogroups.com, progressive-muslim@yahoogroups.com, vinnomot@yahoogroups.com
Date: Sunday, August 31, 2008, 2:57 AM

Mr. Ashgor wrote:

"How many earths are there in the Universe? According to this verse (65:12), there are seven earths, as there are seven heavens or skies and all of them are inhabited. Maulana Mududi confirms this, while commenting on the verse. The questions are: are there seven earths, and inhabited by men and other living flora and fauna? Does science support this claim of the Quran?"

My response:

Firstly, which scientist has proven with no doubt that the earth we are living in is the only earth in the Universe? And there is no other earth? Can Mr. Ashgor and Robot Mirza cite any scientific journal to substantiate their claim?

Secondly, the second part of verse 65:12 may have two meanings: (1) Seven layers of the earth that we live in, and (2) Seven different earths.

Thirdly, the Arabic word that has been used in verse 65:12 has got two meanings: (1) Literal seven, and (2) Many or multiple.

Now, it's a scientifically proven fact that the earth has got seven (or multiple) layers:

1. Crust, 2. Upper mantle, 3. Transition region, 4. Lower mantle, 5. D'' layer, 6. Outer core, and 7. Inner core.

Source:
http://library. thinkquest. org/28327/ html/universe/ solar_system/ planets/earth/ interior/ layers_of_ earth.html

So, the readers can obviously see that both Mr. Ashgor and Robot Mirza are lagging behind of the modern science in general and FAR behind of the Qur'an in particular! Some scientists are also predicting that there may have been multiple earths in the Universe. So, if they ever discover some other earths, then the verse 65:12 can easily be re-interpreted to match with the second meaning (i.e. seven different earths). This is the miracle of the Qur'an! So, either way (pagan) scientists like Mr. Ashgor and Robot Mirza have been dismantled with science that is being used (notoriously) against the Qur'an!

Do they have any other question?!

Raihan

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Sunday, August 31, 2008

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[vinnomot] "LET EMOTIONS FLOW WITH THE TOUCH OF LOVE"

[vinnomot] Re: [notun_bangladesh] Response to Mr. Ashgor

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