HEADLINES
- Excerpts: In Bangladesh, 'a Quiet Revolution 'War on Rampant Graft Brings Pain, Promises - Washington Post; - It's been called Bangladesh's war on corruption, a revolution in this South Asian nation once persistently ranked as the most kleptocratic in the world. It's a place where extorting cash was so ingrained in the social fabric that even the Bureau of Anti-Corruption accepted a "ghoosh," or bribe. Now, though, two former prime ministers -- rival politicians who have dominated this country's politics for 16 years -- are behind bars, awaiting trial for allegedly siphoning off millions of dollars from the government. Also incarcerated on graft, tax-evasion and corruption charges are 170 members of the ruling elite, along with an estimated 15,000 political underbosses, local government officials and businessmen. In one way or another, they are all alleged to have stolen from a population of 150 million people who have long languished in abject poverty. The list of accused includes not only former prime ministers Khaleda Zia and Sheikh Hasina but also Zia's eldest son, Tarique Rahman, who was known as "Mr. 10 Percent" until recently. Rahman skimmed close to $1 million from government coffers, according to Bangladesh's freshly mandated Independent Anti-Corruption Commission, and is now being called "Mr. 110 Percent."Rahman, Zia and Hasina all deny wrongdoing......MORE
- Excerpts: Train to Bangladesh caught in row over wire-mesh; The much-awaited Kolkata-Dhaka passenger train service is caught on a row between India and Bangladesh over wire-mesh.Though coaches, tracks and staff required to run the train are ready, the vexed issue of fencing the no-man's land has stalled the inaugural run till date. While Indian authorities insist on fencing off the no-man's land at Indo-Bangla border for custom and immigration clearance, Bangladesh, it is learnt, has reservation about it. A six-member high-powered delegation from Bangladesh Railway are coming to India next week to sort out the issue, said a senior Railway Ministry official. "Though we are fully ready with our preparation to run the passenger train to Dhaka, the issue of fencing the area between Gede on Indian side and Darshana in Bangladesh has not been resolved yet," he said. Tentatively named as Maitree Express, the train will have 14 coaches including AC coaches and pantry car and cover about 400 km distance between Chitpur (Kolkata) to Joydevpur (Dhaka) in 14 hours. "It is a non-stop train and though the journey will take only eight hours, the Custom and immigration clearance at both sides will take six hours. "However, we are trying to reduce the custom clearance time to four hours," said the official. "The ticket rate is fixed at Rs 450 per person tentatively. However, a final decision is likely to be taken soon", said the official. We want the custom and immigration clearance to be done in a covered area of about 500 metres. The purpose behind fencing the entire clearance area is to make a fool-proof arrangement against possible infiltration and smuggling of contrabands," said the official...........MORE
- Excerpts: ROK Keen to Set up Nuclear Power Plant in Bangladesh; South Korea has expressed readiness to provide financial and technological assistance to Bangladesh for setting up a nuclear power plant to meet the growing demand for electricity, reports UNB. "We''re waiting for appropriate response from Bangladesh government to the proposals we have already made," South Korean Ambassador in Dhaka Suk-Bum Park told UNB at his office Tuesday. He said Seoul proposed a couple of projects to Bangladesh that includes setting up a nuclear power plant and coal exploration and development combined with coal fired power plant. "We would be glad if Bangladesh take serious look at these proposals and take appropriate measures to realize the projects, which are keys to Bangladesh''s development," the envoy said. He said Bangladesh is now having a good momentum to realize economic benefits and "we want to share know-how, experience, capitals and other resources for mutual benefit and development."........MORE
- Excerpts: Dhaka approaches Scotland Yard to recover laundered money; Authorities in Bangladesh are consulting Britain's Scotland Yard to recover money laundered and stashed in that country and say that the British have promised to help. The army-backed caretaker government, conducting a massive anti-corruption drive since February, is planning to sign a treaty with the British government in this regard, The Daily Star said Wednesday. Popularly known as The Yard, the British law-enforcement agency is responsible for policing the Greater London area as well as for helping other countries in investigating criminal offences. 'We are working to strike a deal with Scotland Yard for recovering the money smuggled from the country,' Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) Secretary Mukhles Ur Rahman said. 'This is a fresh effort of its kind which will inspire other countries, especially the commonwealth countries, to assist us in this regard,' he added. Before signing the treaty, the Bangladesh government needs to promulgate laws giving the specific bilateral relation legality for getting regular assistance in the future. 'A dialogue is on regarding various strategic issues as the matter is between two states. It is also necessary to give the effort legality to yield long-term results from such a treaty,' said the ACC secretary........MORE
- Excerpts: Bangladesh to settle compensation dispute with NIKO; Bangladesh's energy authority and the Canadian oil firm Niko Resources Limited (NKO.TO: Quote, Profile, Research) have finally begun discussion to settle a long-running dispute over compensation for two blowouts at a gas field in the country's northeast, a senior official said on Wednesday. "Niko's counsel from Canada has met with the counsel of state-run Bangladesh Oil, Gas and Mineral Corporation (Petrobangla) and discussions and planning for the arbitration have gone well," Brian J. Adolph, Vice President and the Bangladesh country manager of Niko, said. "We are now working towards a common understanding and agreement that will set out the roadmap for the full arbitration procedure," he told Reuters. Niko last year had scaled down its operations and staff in Bangladesh, in the wake of the dispute with the government over compensation for environmental damage caused by the blowouts at a Niko drilling site in Sylhet region in 2005. Several people were injured as the fires forced hundreds of villagers from their homes and damaged crops. A government committee estimated total damages at 840 million taka ($12 million). Earlier, Petrobangla had rejected Niko's proposal to settle the issue in a court of arbitration, Adolph said.......MORE
- Excerpts:Election reforms aim to weaken political parties; The Election Commission of Bangladesh, which has reportedly recently been made "independent" by the military-backed government, is now the talk of the country for its recent decision to "reform the political system." In a forced-feeding approach to reform, the first change is that political parties are now obliged to register with the commission. Since the country's independence in 1971 the commission has been under the office of the prime minister. It is one of most criticized institutions in Bangladesh for its dysfunctional system. For instance, the EC has exercised no authority over local government elections, allowing local administrators and ruling party politicians to manipulate elections, resulting in the establishment of musclemen in positions of public representatives. The commission has no skilled or committed staff to monitor electoral malpractice or manipulation, although everybody, including EC officials from the top down, knows how and by whom the elections are manipulated. For decades the commission did nothing to improve the system......MORE
- Excerpts: India wants transit of heavy equipment ; India has sought the Bangladesh government's permission for transportation of some 'over-dimensional consignments' of power generation equipment from Kolkata port to Pallatana in Tripura state through Bangladesh for setting up a power plant. Over-dimensional consignments are consignments of very large dimensions and very heavy weight; the consignment concerned reportedly weighs about 290 tonnes. The Indian High Commission on August 7 sought 'special permission' from the government for transportation of the equipment, meant for setting up a power plant at Pallatana. The route for transportation of the equipment in the first leg, as identified by India, is from Kolkata port to Ashuganj (Bangladesh) by waterway for a total distance 854 kilometres, and then from Ashuganj to Akhaura by road for 65 kilometres and finally from Akhaura to Pallatana (India) by road for 60 kilometres. The final leg of the route is within India. Foreign ministry sources said the Indian High Commission, referring to the Protocol on Inland Water Transit and Trade between Bangladesh and India, had requested permission for transportation of the machinery..........MORE
- Excerpts: New evidence of Red, Islamist cooperation; The Islamists were not interested in Nepal, at least not for the moment. But they were very interested in the world's third-largest Muslim country, just down the road, Bangladesh. That country was ripe for the picking. Funded by Saudi and Kuwaiti "charities," Islamists had infiltrated virtually all of the country's social institutions and had been part of the government since 2001. Virtually all observers agreed that Islamists stood to make further gains in the upcoming January 2007 elections, perhaps enough to demand the Law Ministry and impose Shariah Law on the nation of almost 150 million. They almost pulled it off, but a military coup has stopped them for now. Their coalition partners, the Bangladesh National Party, or BNP, had so transparently rigged the pending elections that in one of the oddest turn of events in recent memory, every single western democracy publicly urged that elections not be held. The West also welcomed the military regime as the savior of Bangladeshi democracy.The notoriously corrupt BNP fixed the elections to maintain the gravy train, but its Islamist partners had other ideas. They were using the BNP's phony voter lists to pad the electorate with their own supporters who were infiltrating Bangladesh from Nepal across its porous northwestern border. Former Bangladeshi Home Minister Lutfuzzaman Babar told me the BNP controlled its relationship with Islamists, using it to subdue Islamist activity.......MORE
Links Only: - Emergency should be lifted 2 months before local body polls: CEC
- Bangladesh Supreme Court rejects plea against Zia
- UK foreign office director links fair polls with free politics
- Call to end foreign diplomats' intervention in politics
- Train to Bangladesh caught in row over wire-mesh
- 34 BNP-Jamaat men sued for JMB patronage
- NGOs barred from taking long-term deposits
- Myanmar sends 11 Bangladeshi monks home
- Intell to keep watch on medical coaching centres from Oct 11
Bangladesh Open Source Intelligence Monitors |
