Will good sense ever prevail in the world? This question continues to haunt my mind and soul, especially after the recent communal violence against the peace-loving Buddhists living in the southeastern part of Bangladesh. Last weekend the villages of Ramu, Ukhiya and Teknaf of Cox’s Bazaar and Potiya of Chittagong suffered carnage like never before…
Secularism is not against religion as propagated by the Islamists, it simply means that religion should be kept separate from the affairs of the state and governance. This was the essence of the press conference, held at the Karachi Press Club on April 18, 2012, to launch the Pakistan Chapter of ‘Secular Humanists of the…
Blogging has revolutionized the life and politics of Bengalis around the globe in general and in Bangladesh in particular. During the last BNP-Jamaat regime when media licenses were handed out to the business elites in power and when militancy started rearing its ugly head, and after 1/11 when the magic phantom of minus 2 formula…
Bangladesh has lost against India in the diplomatic chess game. Apparently, Sheikh Hasina and Khaleda Zia’s lack of professionalism is responsible for this loss, but actually it’s nothing but the failure of our unprofessional and, sometimes, professional diplomats. Political leaders pose for photographs after deals are signed, while the main job of ironing out such…
The ongoing war criminals’ trials are not only being opposed by groups within Bangladesh, but also from several diverse and questionable corners of the world. Leader of the opposition,Khaleda Zia, is on a road march to save her political allies from prosecution for crimes against humanity. Not surprisingly, her political credibility has failed in generating…
Last Friday eight Bangladeshis were beheaded at the (In) Justice square of Riyadh for their alleged killing of an Egyptian and looting a ware house. Amnesty international claims that the Egyptian was killed during a clash between those eight Bangladeshi construction workers and another group of people, and that the clash started when the Bengali…
On September 19, 2011, the radical Jamaat-Shibir appeared on the peaceful streets of Dhaka and Chittagong to terrorize public security and vandalize public property. These so-called Islamic fundamentalists burnt and ransacked property worth Tk 10 million. Their agenda: stop the War Criminals’ Trials of the top Jamaat leaders who stand accused of being collaborators or…
The latest edition of The Economist carries a comprehensive yet questionable report on India-Bangladesh ties. There are a couple of serious allegations in the report that just cannot be allowed to go unanswered. The opening paragraph alleges that India helped Awami League with cash and advice in winning 2008 general elections. The publication has not…
Amendments to the rules of procedure for Bangladesh’s International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) address some key problems but fail to bring other areas of the law and rules into compliance with international standards, New York based Human Rights Watch said on Monday, July 11. “We want these trials to succeed in bringing the people responsible for…
The system of a supposedly neutral caretaker administration before elections is not only absurd but also contradictory to the spirit of democracy. Bangladesh had to go through this system following rigged bye-election of Magura under the 1991 BNP rule. That’s when the Awami League came up with the idea of a caretaker government. The Bangladesh…
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