EBangladesh » Audio

Encounter at Jessore Road

Maskwaith Ahsan — Tue, 09 Nov 2010 09:21:40 +0000

The leftist movement of Bangladesh had a glorious past. After independence, facing harassment at the hands of Rakhkhi Bahini, the militia wing of the party in power, the leftists turned against the Father of the Nation Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. That widened the avenues for the defeated conspirators of ‘71 to assassinate the very symbol of the nation in 1975.

A leftist offshoot underground movement reared itself in the south western areas of Bangladesh. Abu Bakr Siddic, Editor of Kushtia based daily Shomoyer Kagoj joins E-Bangladesh to narrate the volatile situation of this valley of uncertainty.

Bakr sees no remnant of leftist political philosophy in this underground movement, only greed and lust for power. These extremists carry illegal arms, and local BNP-AL workers seem to have no strength in front of them. As a result, this movement has become a moneymaking casino in continuous alliance with whichever party is in power.

For cosmetic measures some extortionists are killed in the theatre of encounters or crossfire. Sinner dies yet sin rules over Jessore Road through terror and tender terrorism. With money as god, life has become only a matter of chance for the peace loving citizens of the area. And successive governments have failed to ensure security of its citizens held captive in these southwest underground primitive horrors, and Bangladesh remains hostage to a never ending fear game.

Here is South West Bangladesh update in two episodes.

Softtalk with Maskwaith,Encounter at Jessore Road, Episode 1

Softtalk with Maskwaith,Encounter at Jessore Road, Final Episode

Call for show of hands for Cartoonist Arif, his mother & his art

Maskwaith Ahsan — Thu, 28 Oct 2010 16:08:12 +0000

Cartoonist Arif became a target of mullahs for his allegedly blasphemous cartoon. Surprisingly, a similar childlike cartoon was published in the party magazine of a religious student organization that didn’t create any controversy. This contradiction is a clear demonstration of how the mullahs used Arif’s cartoon to weaken liberal society.

Arif is not alone in this struggle against religious mercenaries and their attempts to push Bangladesh towards darkness. Arif has online friends who are his companions on the journey towards artistic freedom. His mother is fighting death in the hospital. Arif requests his friends to buy his cartoon and save his ailing mother.

He is overwhelmed by the response of his unknown online friends. Arif conveys his gratitude to those who extended their hands to save his mother and his art.

Anyone willing to stand for a mother’s cause is requested to get in touch with cartoonist Arif.

Here is the final episode of his interview with E-Bangladesh.

Soft Talk with Maskwaith, Guest, Cartoonist Arif, Episode Final

Cartoonist Arif suffers power grudge

Maskwaith Ahsan — Tue, 26 Oct 2010 11:12:32 +0000

We can still recall those dark days when radical groups protested against Arifur Rahman’s cartoon on the later banned fun magazine Alpin of Prothom Alo. Arif was a mere contributor, but the 1/11 government jailed and tortured this creative young man, while the mullahs around the country, declaring Arif’s cartoon blasphemous, started burning copies of Prothom Alo.

In the interrogation cell the 1/11 detectives pressurized Arif to issue statements against Motiur Rahman and Mahfuz Anam with the aim to shut down Prothom Alo. But Arif adamantly stood on the side of truth, insisting that the said cartoon was his own idea and he was ready to accept responsibility if it was at all a crime.

Prothom Alo helped Arif with the legal consequences, but in the end it was his family and him that suffered from mental, physical and financial trauma. Today, Arif walks alone as a socially excommunicated artist, news papers refuse to publish his work and his mother lies in the hospital trying to fight death.

But Arif is not ready to accept defeat. He talks to E-Bangladesh about his resolve to fight the corrupt system with his cartoon grenades.

Soft Talk with Maskwaith, Guest, Cartoonist Arif, Episode 1

An Ode to Peace, Blogging CHT, Final Episode

Maskwaith Ahsan — Sun, 24 Oct 2010 19:50:52 +0000

CHT dwellers are in black despair over the comatose Peace Accord, with the radical UPDF out there terrorizing the peace valley. Santu Larma is patiently trying to respect the peace accord with the government, but this very tolerance is being defamed as his weakness by the UPDF, thus making politics risky in the CHT.

The mountain people want rights over their own land, activation of the land commission, settlement of land disputes and delegation of power to the regional council and local bodies. The AL government signed an historic peace deal in 1997 accepting these demands.

But since then the accord has been placed on the back burner and the government seems indifferent to the plight of the CHT natives.

Biplob Rahman appeals for anticipation of the peace deal in his talk with E-Bangladesh.

Soft Talk with Maskwaith Blogging CHT Guest Biplob Rahman Final

Blogging CHT – Part-1

Maskwaith Ahsan — Tue, 19 Oct 2010 09:26:03 +0000

Chittagong Hill Tracts have been a bone of contention in Bangladesh for the last four decades. The aboriginal mountainous people living in these tracts have been taxpayers to successive rulers – Mughals, British, Pakistan and Bangladesh – but their dream of ‘freedom of development’ always failed to materialize.

In December 1997, the then Awami League-led government in Dhaka signed a peace accord with CHT separatist leader Santu Larma. Thus, his pro-independence Shantibahini entered mainstream politics as Parbatya Chattagram Jana Sanghati Samiti (United People’s Party of the Chittagong Hill Tracts), PCJSS. But, Santu Larma passed the last decade of his life in futile attempts to get the peace accord implemented.

Biplop Rahman is a career journalist who has been following the struggle in Chittagong Hill Tracts for almost two decades. He joins E-Bangladesh to share his observations.

Soft Talk with Maskwaith, Blogging CHT, Episode-1

Blogging ’71 – Last Episode

Maskwaith Ahsan — Fri, 15 Oct 2010 09:30:52 +0000

Omi Rahman Pial is greatly inspired with the popularity of his blog posts and also whenever his documents are used as reference in countering anti-Liberation War propaganda. He says that a sufficient number of war crimes’ witnesses are still alive so it’s a matter of time before the demons are punished for their acts against humanity. Pial’s research and blogging is carried out at the cost of his personal life, but for him it’s satisfying to see his readers’ commitment to bring the war criminals to justice.

E-Bangladesh looks forward to updates from Pial on the upcoming war criminals’ trial, as he is a vigilant blogger and journalist.

Soft Talk with Maskwaith, Blogging ’71, Guest: Omi Rahman Pial, Last Part

Blogging ’71 – Part-3

Maskwaith Ahsan — Wed, 13 Oct 2010 21:31:09 +0000

Blogger Omi Rahman Pial believes that the online defamation and distortion carried out by the sympathizers of war criminals are being countered with arguments supported by rare documents and photographs. But this online historic information is not being disseminated properly amongst the masses. Neither is the mass media highlighting such truths and nor are there any governmental or corporate efforts to combat anti-state and anti-liberation war rhetoric. To maintain the sanctity of the historic war criminals’ trials, even culprits related to Awami League leaders should not be spared, Pial stresses. He pays tribute to Martyr’s Mother, Jahanara Imam, who led the struggle with her demand for such trials. Jahanara Imam’s mritunjayi squad still roams the streets of Bangladesh in quest for bringing the 1971 war criminals to justice.

Soft Talk with Maskwaith, Blogging 71, Guest: Omi Rahman Pial, Part-3

Blogging ’71 – Part-2

Maskwaith Ahsan — Tue, 12 Oct 2010 18:59:26 +0000

Blogger Omi Rahman Pial is disappointed with the present government’s lack of response towards online media, where sympathizers of war criminals are using the hypodermic method of establishing a lie as the truth. Where government-backed researchers are silent, a few voluntary bloggers like Pial are trying to combat online propaganda. Pial hopes to see at least 20 senior war criminals arrested and tried for their crimes against humanity in 1971. Unless this is carried out with precision, coordination and speed, the Goebbels of digital propaganda cannot be eliminated, warns Pial in this episode of his interview to e-bangladesh.

Soft Talk with Maskwaith, Blogging ’71, Guest: Omi Rahman Pial, Part-2

Blogging ’71, Omi Rahman Pial

Maskwaith Ahsan — Mon, 11 Oct 2010 19:29:39 +0000

Omi Rahman Pial is a first generation Bangla blogger who has dedicated his research to the revelation of the true events of 1971. He started generic blogging in somewherein.net in 2006, but soon realized the growing distortion being propagated by the supporters of war criminals against the Father of the Nation and the freedom fight of 1971. So Pial diverted his blogging energy towards countering such traitors. In this process he started collecting the lost documents of ’71 and evidences of war crimes in an attempt to refute the dark arguments of the defamers. Omi Rahman Pial talks to e-bangladesh about his blogging ’71.

Soft Talk with Maskwaith, Guest-Omi Rahman Pial, Part 1

Soft Talk with Maskwaith – Part-5

Maskwaith Ahsan — Wed, 06 Oct 2010 14:17:15 +0000

In this episode Musa Ibrahim, the first Everest conqueror from Bangladesh, talks about his reasons for undertaking this monumental journey. It was while studying at the Education and Research Institute, Dhaka University, that he and his friends vowed to work towards educational reforms in order to liberate the task of learning. Musa believed that if he could reach the top of the world people would support him in his endeavor for educational reforms. During his second Masters in Environmental Science from BRAC University he realized the futility of any achievement without having a solid piece of land to live on. Once again, he resolved to start a re-forestation movement whereby convincing the 160 million people of Bangladesh to plant one tree each. This would be enough to save the country from sinking into the Bay of Bengal. For Musa winning the Everest is just the beginning of his journey in leading the youth of Bangladesh towards the height of their potential.

Soft Talk with Maskwaith – Part-5