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Thursday, January 31, 2013

[chottala.com] Trial of Prof Ghulam Azam





Let's Hail Turkish President's Move and Follow Suit

ULTIMATE SUCCESS http://www.radianceweekly.com/340/9918/investigating-acts-of-terror-towards-adopting-unbiased-approach/2013-01-06/ultimate-success/story-detail/lets-hail-turkish-presidents-move--and-follow-suit.html, by SIKANDAR AZAM

Privacy is as much important in the life of a nation as in that of an individual. And it must be respected. Likewise, foreign interference in internal affairs of a nation is also undesirable. The world has condemned the undue and uncalled-for political and military interference of the United States in the affairs of Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan and Iran, etc. at different points of time. But it does not mean that a nation does all it likes to suit its whims and inconsistencies as well as its Machiavellian plans and the outside world will remain a silent spectator.

The issue has come to the fore once again with Turkish President Abdullah Gul's letter to his Bangladesh counterpart Zillur Rahman and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, calling for "clemency" for those accused of war crimes. According to reports, Gul in his 23 December letter said the accused, mostly belonging to Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami and particularly its former chief Prof. Ghulam Azam should be pardoned as they are too old to stand the trial. The Turkish President also feared Bangladesh could witness a civil war and economic instability if they were handed down death penalties for the 1971 war crimes. A visit by a 14-member Turkish political delegation to Dhaka to witness the trial process has worsened further the bilateral relations between the two 'friendly nations'. The delegation could land in Dhaka to find the Sheikh Hasina administration unawares, using "on arrival visa" facility granted to Turkey by Dhaka in 2009 and Ankara thinks there is nothing wrong in it.

In 2010 Dhaka established an International Crimes Tribunal to investigate and administer justice regarding war crimes. The question is why such a tribunal was not established during the period between 1971, when the war rocked the region, and 2010, when it has been established. This question is enough to bring into light the clandestine motives of the powers that be in Bangladesh behind the establishment of this tribunal. Also, how it can be called 'international' when there is no member from outside the country and when there is total bar on foreign legal and human rights teams to visit the ICT and observe the trial which can well be called sham and bogus.

The apprehension of Turkish President that Bangladesh would witness socio-economic instability leading to civil war in the country is a foregone conclusion if the trial proceeds on the set lines. Therefore, it is not only the question of saving the life of 90-year old Prof. Ghulam Azam and his colleagues and co-accused but also saving Bangladesh in particular and the entire region in particular from falling into the catastrophe of civil war.

The bold measure taken by the Turkish President on moral and humanitarian grounds is exemplary and should be heartily welcomed. Other truth- and justice-loving Heads of States, including those of European and Gulf countries as well as media and human rights organisations are likely and ought to follow suit. New Delhi and other neighbouring nations of Bangladesh should also intervene to avert this catastrophe. This is the demand of truth and justice and Dhaka should also take it in right earnest.

COMMENT: [shaikh.mohommad@mail.com]

This is an excellent response from Turkish President. What I find most appalling is the criminal silence of all Muslim Governments whenever injustice occurs. [With a few exceptions] Take the case of Israeli attacks against innocent Palestinians. Who raises the
issue on international media? Who demonstrates against Israeli brutality? Who condemns USA for imprisoning innocent people without trial in Gautanamo Bay?
Who protests against the Western Governments attempt to target Muslims? The
answer to all these questions is sadly that all Muslim Governments keep silent –
with certain exceptions.

 

 




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Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Re: [chottala.com] Banning Rajar party Jamat is essential ...





AL is thinking to ban Jamat Sibir Politics. It is good idea.  We think It will be more better to  ban all party politics in Bangladesh at least for 10 years along with students politics Ruling BY CTG Administration  to establish lawful democracy, people's
security and humanity in Bangladesh under lawful administration   
by teaching POLITICIANS of Bangladesh
proper knowledge education
by teaching  PROFESSIONAL
people of Bangladesh knowledge skilled professional education and modern
technology to do work perfectly.
also by teaching  common people of Bangladesh  for knowing to judging  right and wrong for casting their votes
correctly



BECAUSE

 1. Politicians of Bangladesh are doing order
politics under control of constitutional 70 articles, their all activities are
guided by their party leader and their politics are not followed
according to rules of politics or rules of democracy.
2. The constitution rules are being changed and made by
Parliament Members according to court verdict. That means Parliament
Members are not perfect wise & not efficient to make and to change constitution rules or law.
3.Professional people are not doing works according to service rules but doing works as
political party cadres.
4. Common people are not casting their votes as wise
voters considering wisely as responsible citizens of Bangladesh.


These Facts are the Real True in Bangladesh.
These activities of
(a) politicians
(b) professionals and
(c) common people of Bangladesh
Say
Bangladesh needs to be ruled by CTG administration under guide of High Court and Supreme Court Judges for
teaching knowledge education to educate
A) POLITICIANS to make them  knowledge fit
politicians to understand  lawful DEMOCRACY
and lawful   RULES OF law,
B) for teaching  professional people to educate them to do works according to service rule  in the system of LAWFUL discipline ADMINISTRATION,
C) for doing trial of POLITICIANS' and OTHERS' corruption, nonsense talk, illegal and unlawful activities and
D) for providing CHILD CARE quality education nation wide to ALL CHILDREN to educate them as  wise educated  citizens

Care Taker  Administration needs to continue for at least 10 years or  until finish these jobs.





________________________________
From: Debasish Barua <gorba196138@yahoo.com>
To: "chottala@yahoogroups.com" <chottala@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Tuesday, 15 January 2013 11:30 AM
Subject: Re: [chottala.com] Re: AL and 1/11....



I mentioned of Golam Azams son..and Nassim BNP era Chief of Staff many Cadets look upto..well that is the interesting portion of the difficulty with War Crime Trail..thru them is MOUDUD AHMED and Many in BNP..still causing trouble..then who else Communist Leader and dead Buddhist leader even from the reincarnated still causing Trouble..it is kind of double standard..being applied..the thing is it is still the Nephew of Bishuddhanada and guess who Romenys wife from previous birth thus Ken Bentzen allies..

one thing if these executions go thru..they wont find these guys repeatedly..to cause these trouble they are kind of reliable trusted hand to cause trouble thru..

You have to find the Video supposedly SQUASHED in the possession of NJ Kaderia Bahini commander, some how courts will have to find way to release this video..among the Korean Bishuddhanada is considered a good organizer..

That might help at least to..appeal to the president to commute the sentence and he may have some basis to do so..It is the same people causing the same problem repeatedly..

Debasish Barua


________________________________
From: Debasish Barua <gorba196138@yahoo.com>
To: "chottala@yahoogroups.com" <chottala@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Saturday, January 12, 2013 11:15 AM
Subject: Re: [chottala.com] Re: AL and 1/11....





It could be an possibility..though Awami League won in election held under Caretaker Govt..well it can be sour grape..the composition of Caretaker govt..it had two segment..Fakiruddin an world bank & Cadet College connection..and Military Moinuddin..

Well politics is full of mystery in the past to win election General Ershad sided with BNP so did Communist & Jamat., I think in last election General Ershad for what ever reason sided with Awami League...well I guess as I read he has difficulty understanding I assume Begum Zia..

Though I believe Jalil played a significant role as Awami League Secretary in his organizational capacity I was kind of surprised he was replaced by Ashraf..well these are inter party issues.

I think if any thing hidden is Moinuddin is related to Hassina ..Fakiruddins where BNP

Then their is Golam Azams son in Military...and BNP Military Chief of staff Nassim is tied to Dr Kamal & and A.H.Khan (Bhashani) also Jamat and China tied..

Lets call the way we see it..

________________________________
From: Isha Khan <bdmailer@gmail.com>
To:
Sent: Saturday, January 12, 2013 12:50 AM
Subject: [chottala.com] Re: AL and 1/11....



Abdul Jalil on AL and 1/11 nexus
Member of the advisory council of the ruling Awami League, Abdul
Jalil    MP, during interview with a London based Bangla television
channel on 21 September 2009 said that Awami League ascended to power    through understanding with 1/11 Caretaker Govt.

Video clip of interview:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VwWfqkzrhIk&NR=1)

On Mon, Dec 17, 2012 at 11:19 AM, Isha Khan <bdmailer@gmail.com> wrote:

AL and 1/11 nexus: General Masud is still retained in service
>
>http://www.bd-pratidin.com/print_news.php?path=data_files%2F247&cat_id=1&menu_id=1&news_type_id=1&index=8
>
>
>
>On Wed, Nov 28, 2012 at 10:59 AM, Isha Khan <bdmailer@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>
>>
>>
>>---------- Forwarded message ----------
>>From: Zoglul Husain <zoglul@hotmail.co.uk>
>>Date: Wed, Nov 28, 2012 at 5:36 AM
>>Subject: RE: AL and 1/11....
>>To: Isha Khan <bdmailer@gmail.com>
>>
>>
>>
>>Ershad, however, was in prison for about six years, though in the 'Janata Tower case', but the 1/11 plotters, the national traitors, got away with impunity at least so far. The real plotters of course were Manmohan-Bush and the actual perpetrators were RAW and their lackeys. Apparently, Moeen U and his cohorts were given assurance of safety before Hasina was put in power through the sham election of 2008, in which the results were pre-determined.
>> 
>>The situation seems to have changed now. Hasina et al in BAL have been warning against another 1/11, meaning against them. Moudud et al in BNP and even Ershad in JP have also been harping on the same topic, sometimes in subtle tones, sometimes quite explicitly. There are lots of speculations in Dhaka too.
>> 
>>As things are developing, it is not unreasonable to assume that it may happen anytime. At least we should be prepared both for its happening as well as it being averted. If it happens with cheap slogans without substance, it would not endure.
>> 
>>Whether BNP, BAL or the army is in power next, their political power will survive only if they connect with the people and if they deliver what they promise, at least substantially. Otherwise, they will become unpopular like the present Hasina regime, which usurped power through Manmohan-Bush conspiracy and hence is an illegitimate regime.
>> 
>>We want Freedom, Justice and Development. People will support the govt, which wants these and which is connected with the people. The people will valiantly safeguard their independence and sovereignty and they certainly will win in the end!
>> 
>> 
>>
>>
>>________________________________
>>Date: Tue, 27 Nov 2012 14:19:36 +0600
>>Subject: Re: AL and 1/11....
>>From: bdmailer@gmail.com
>>To:
>>
>>
>>AL kept their word in this regard. Accordingly no case was filed against any of the 1/11 men for violating the constitution, undermining the democratic institutions and various misdeeds.
>>
>>Similarly nothing was done about Ershad for violating the constitution and promulgating martial law. When Ershad took over power by a coup AL said they were not unhappy. Ershad's misdeeds are now history but AL made him their digit-AL partner.
>>
>>
>>http://www.bangladeshfirst.com/images/uploaded_images/sheikh-hasina-ershad.jpg
>>
>>
>>On Sat, Nov 24, 2012 at 9:03 PM, Isha Khan <bdmailer@gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>>AL and 1/11....
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>We saw a lot of hamlas and mamlas in last 4 years but we saw no such thing about 1/11 kingpins after AL’s mammoth victory in 2008. AL has comfortably forgotten the hard times created by the 1/11 people. AL’s willful silence and inaction only prove what they told about them. AL said 1/11 was the fruit of their andolon and AL would give them indemnity if they come to power.
>>>
>>>Does this once again prove the allegation that 1/11 was an AL conspiracy ?
>>
>>
>





     


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[chottala.com] Re: digit-AL Chatra League








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Sunday, January 27, 2013

[chottala.com] Re: Major General Muniruzzaman on Russian arms deal



Dhaka's arms' purchases from Russia Case of the disparate exchange?

Peter Custers

The continuation of a progressive historical relationship, or a deplorable departure from history? On January 15 last, Bangladesh's Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina signed an agreement in Moscow towards the purchase of weapons' systems from the Russian Federation. Under the agreement Bangladesh reported will buy as much as seven types of arms for the country's infantry including anti-tank missiles, and four types of armoury for the air force, including transport helicopters.

The deal is worth 1 Billion US Dollars and is the biggest of its kind ever clinched by Bangladesh. Given the size of the deal and its large financial implications, it understandably has aroused some controversy in the country's media. Sure this is not the first time Bangladesh has procured weaponry from Russia.

Immediately after the country's liberation war, Russia's precursor had provided the country's young air force with MG-19 fighter planes, and again during the nineties Bangladesh had been supplied with eight advanced MIG-29 fighter planes by Russia. In justifying the recent deal, Dhaka's government has laid much emphasis on the fact that the then Soviet Union had been a loyal ally of the freedom fighters who valiantly fought the Pakistani army in 1971.

Yet is it really correct to see the deal as a continuation of that heroic chapter in Bangladesh's history?

To start, it is essential to emphasize that the defence deal of January 15 does not stand alone, but is a part of twin deals, - one on arms' imports, the other one on the supply of Russian nuclear technology. There is in fact no secret about this, for the nuclear deal on construction of two reactors in Rooppur, Pabna, was also consolidated during Sheikh Hasina's Moscow visit. Yet the international significance of this tie-up needs to be analyzed more deeply, more incisively, than most Dhaka commentators have cared to do so far. For the given type of double-deal is not a common feature of Russia's Cold War strategies, but is a pattern that has been set by the framework nuclear agreement signed … between the United States and India, in 2008. It is largely due to the alertness of Indian dailies that the full scope of the US's intentions behind this framework agreement were revealed.

In September of 2008, Delhi newspapers pointed out that the likely outcome of the deal would not just be 40 Billion Dollars in nuclear orders for Indian and foreign companies. No, the United States through the deal sought to ensure that American armament corporations - until then excluded from procurement orders of the Indian army - would be able to enter the field. When US President Obama visited New Delhi in November of 2010, US companies were reported to have bagged no less than forty percent of all military-commercial contracts signed in the intervening period.

The pattern set by the US-India nuclear agreement has since been emulated by other world powers in their dealings with India, notably by France and Russia, but the design is American nonetheless. Hence to justify the defence deal on grounds that Russia's precursor had been a trusted ally in 1971 seems rather misplaced. But then Dhaka government officials will counter-argue and say that the similarity between US-India dealings and Russia-Bangladesh dealings only brings out Dhaka's acuity in picking up on international trends. Thus it is necessary to dig deeper and look at other aspects of the defence deal, before concluding on its real significance. One financial issue has been raised by the retired brigadier-general Shahedul Anam Khan. He has put the spotlights on the credit which Russia has granted to Bangladesh towards implementation of the 1 Billion Dollar deal.

Apparently the interest rate on the loan has been fixed at 4 and a half percent. Indeed: the burden deriving from repayment obligations has implications for the government's capacity to spend on public health and on other social programs essential towards alleviating poverty. Are the interests of the country's army being prioritized, so one wonders, over those of the population at large and such at a time when Bangladesh is not facing any serious war threat?

The aspect of the defence deal which seems the most questionable though, is that regarding the source to be tapped for financing the deal. At the time of the deal's signing in Moscow, it was the Russian President Putin who openly referred to the tie-up between the arms' sales and the contract which Russia's energy giant Gazprom has signed with Petrobangla towards drilling ten gas wells.

In Bangladesh's media, Putin was quoted as having proudly highlighted Russia's contribution towards increasing Bangladesh's gas production, to 56 million cubic meters of gas per day. The Gazprom-Petrobangla agreement, as well known, was also clinched only recently, in April of last year.

In appearance this is a case where Bangladesh is straightforwardly benefiting from the technical expertise of Russia's global gas giant. Yet in the international press, Russia's combined interest, in selling arms and in helping Bangladesh drill for gas, was interpreted differently. For here Russian officials were seen as confident about Bangladesh's capacity to repay Russia's 1 Billion Dollar loan in view of the country's extensive offshore gas deposits. And while this does not necessarily mean that Moscow is banking on exportation of natural gas by Bangladesh, -- the Russian loan evidently will have to be repaid in international currency. Hence, in the final analysis the defense deal appears to be one more case of 'disparate exchange; i.e. of the international exchange of Northern weaponry against raw materials supplied by countries of the global South.

This latter interpretation is, of course, speculative since the precise financial configuration of the Russia-Bangladesh defense deal has to my knowledge not been stated publicly. However provisionally, it does not seems too far fledged to dismiss the references to Russia's progressive role in supporting Bangladesh's liberation war as pure rhetoric. Sure, Putin must have been happy to be reminded of the past by Bangladesh's Prime Minister. Yet too much water has flown down the Ganges river since to warrant any reference to the Soviet Union's 1971 stance. For not only is the tie-up between the nuclear and the defence deal modeled on the US's 2008 deal with India. The likely mode of financing the deal too is axed on US policymaking, i.e. on policies which the hegemonic power in the world system has pursued ever since the 1970s towards oil-rich countries of the Middle East. Policies which have fuelled conflict and bloody wars throughout the given region. Or am I simply wrong in speculating that the 2013 Moscow-Dhaka defence deal will be repaid with Bangladesh state revenue from extraction of natural gas and oil?

The writer is international columnist for The Daily Star.
http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/news-details.php?nid=266759

On Tue, Jan 22, 2013 at 3:52 PM, Isha Khan <bdmailer@gmail.com> wrote:
From Zoglul Husain

The ISPR responds to the criticisms of the $1 bn arms purchase from Russia:

Armed forces bares Russian deal

The Bangladesh Armed Forces in a landmark press briefing on Monday said the terms of the defence loan between Bangladesh and Russia are 'soft enough' and that the procurement plan is part of the continuous process to enhance their ability and respond to the changing trend of UN peace keeping missions.

The Inter Service Public Relations orgainsed the briefing, first of its kind in Bangladesh, to what officials say quench media as well as public curiosity about the agreement which was 'transparent but we cannot make every details due to confidentiality'.

Dhaka and Moscow signed a $1-billion defence deal on Jan 15 during Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's maiden official visit under which Bangladesh would procure military equipment and arms from Russia.

The signing triggered media outcry during the premier's visit when a nuclear power agreement was also signed with the world's second-largest weapon exporter.

Principal Staff Officer of Armed Forces Division Lt Gen Abu Belal Mohammad Shafiul Haque at the briefing said the annual interest rate of the loan would be 4.5 percent and the repayment would start from Apr 15, 2018 and end in 10 years in 20 phases.

He said between 2013 and 2017, they would buy all their necessary equipment including anti-tank missiles, armoured personnel carriers and pontoon bridges for the military, and combat-equipped trainer aircraft, helicopter and various others equipment for the air force.

He said the repayment would be made from their annual budget and money they receive as reimbursement for participation in the UN peace keeping mission.

The defence allocation in 2012-2013 was 6.77 percent of the total Bangladesh's budget, while the armed forces earn $250 million as reimbursement from the UN every year.

He said they would repay directly to the Russian government through bank. "There is no middle man in between, so there is no question of commissioning," he said replying to a question.

"We took loan even at more than 4.5 percent interest rate from many other countries for buying equipment," he said without divulging the name of those countries for 'confidentiality' reasons.

He said Bangladesh's laws and policies had been considered, and 'transparency' had been maintained, but "we cannot disclose all due to sensitivity, confidentiality and security."

He said they called the press briefing to reply as many questions as the media would ask them.

"Prime Minister has endorsed the briefing as she advised us to reply all your questions," he said. The briefing continued for nearly 90 minutes.

As questions have been raised from different quarters about the agreement with the Russia in the last year of the government, the Principal Staff Officer said the negotiation continued in the last few years and the agreement was signed 'based on our requirement.'

He said the latest agreement was based on the agreement signed in 1999 under which sharing of experience and training between two countries defence forces had been stressed upon.

He said Bangladesh had inked similar agreements with other 'friendly' countries for buying military equipment considering geo-political and strategic reasons in the interest of the country.

He said as part of the continuous process, the current government in its four years bought 4th generation tank MBT 2000, fighter planes and war ships from 'friendly' China. "Process is still on to buy more."

He, however, did not reveal the total amount of those purchases, but said they did not take any loan. "We have negotiated so that we can pay the amount in seven years," he said.

He said Bangladesh military should be upgraded to keep ready a 'mechanised force' under the Standby Arrangement System for the UN peace keeping missions.

Besides, he said, "We have to maintain security of our Exclusive Economic Zone achieved after resolving the sea boundary dispute with Myanmar."

In response to a query, he said, Bangladesh bought military arms and equipment from China, Russia, US and Ukraine.

Assistant Air Chief Air Vice Marshall Abu Esrar, who was also present at the briefing, said they strongly felt the need for more helicopters.

"We cannot deploy helicopters in the mission, though there is need," he said and that "six helicopters are deployed in Congo right now".

He said they were maintaining Russian equipment 'satisfactorily'.

Maj Gen Abul Matin, Master General of Ordinance, said he had been in the committee, on behalf of the armed forces, formed before the defence deal with Russia.

"We cannot provide in the mission what is really needed. Many of our equipment become outdated," he said citing UN Under Secretary-General Ameera Haq's recent visit when she explained the changing trend of peace keeping mission which was more focused on civilian protections now than before.

Explaining the relationship between Bangladesh and Russia, the officers say it is based on the relations during the 1971 liberation war.

"Due to the then Soviet Union's cooperation, we could open the Chittagong port by freeing water mines and other war scrapes soon after the liberation."

Bangladesh has previously bought M-I 8 helicopters, Mig-29 planes and M-I 171 helicopters from Russia.

The then Soviet Union had gifted eight MiG-21 fighter aircraft in 1972 to war-ravaged Bangladesh that kicked off the military-to-military ties between the two countries.

http://bdnews24.com/bangladesh/2013/01/21/armed-forces-bares-russian-deal

On Mon, Jan 21, 2013 at 2:18 PM, Isha Khan <bdmailer@gmail.com> wrote:

By now, most readers have heard that our PM has returned from Russia with a billion dollars worth of arms and another half a billion dollar worth of technical assistance for a nuclear power plant.

Most readers are also aware that both the arms deal and the nuclear deal are financed by credit.  Bangladesh is borrowing the $1.5 billion from Russia.  At 5%, the interest is very high for this kind of inter-state deals.  More importantly, the pre-feasibility studies for the nuclear plant are being paid by us, when the usual norm is for the party interested in completing the project (Russia in this case) to pay it out of their own pocket.

Meanwhile, what arms are we getting?  Anti-tank missiles and tank carrying equipment. These will no doubt supplement the tanks we recently got from China.  The thing is, what do we need all these tank warfare arms for?

Bangladesh doesn't have the air transport equipment necessary to take tanks for their peacekeeping training. If we ever fights a war with Myanmar, the principal theatre of operations will be in and through CHT, where tanks can't operate. And against India, the tanks will be of as much use as Saddam's tanks were to him in Desert Storm — nice, fat sitting targets for the IAF.  Also, Indians didn't rely on tanks in 1971 because our river delta is not all that conducive for tank warfare.

So, the word on the street — by which I mean facebook and online chats (this is something on which the chattering classes in print media and TV are rather reticent to talk about) — is that these are really toys for our uniformed men so that they don't interfere in some political events scheduled for later this year.

http://alalodulal.org/2013/01/20/russia/


On Mon, Jan 21, 2013 at 1:28 PM, Isha Khan <bdmailer@gmail.com> wrote:
Diplomatic dimensions of Russian arms deal:

The question is, has the PM gone for this deal out of her desire to diversify Bangladesh's source of military supply? Or does this deal have also its diplomatic implications? In these circumstances, has the prime minister carefully weighed up the pros and cons of going for this big spending spree on arms purchase and, that too, on credit from Russia? Is this decision the product of a well-thought-out policy on defence purchase, the existence of which we are not aware of?


We want to believe that on an issue as serious as defence diplomacy, the present government is being driven not by any nostalgia, nor reactively, but out of a clear-cut policy guideline. Otherwise, it is going to a big mess.

Full Text:
http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/news-details.php?nid=265961


On Mon, Jan 21, 2013 at 11:46 AM, Isha Khan <bdmailer@gmail.com> wrote:

Major General Muniruzzaman on Russian arms deal




http://amaderbudhbar.com/?p=134






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[chottala.com] Saudi's sleazy underworld - BBC Report



Saudi's sleazy underworld
Saudi market trader
Public market: No alcohol on sale here
Frank Gardner

After the collapse of Taleban rule in much of Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia has reclaimed its place as the country with the strictest Islamic code of conduct.

Women must be veiled in public and are forbidden to drive.

Almost all forms of public entertainment are banned, and consumption of alcohol is punishable by flogging.

And yet some people are willing to take huge risks for the sake of a drink.


Filipinos brew the illicit alcohol, he said, while Yemenis and Indians sell it - the prostitutes tend to be from Nigeria and Ethiopia, the drug peddlars are from Pakistan

I met Khaled by chance. He was standing there on a street corner in Jeddah, chatting to a friend. Somehow, he knew at once I was a reporter. Somehow, I could tell he was an alcoholic.

His bloodshot eyes stared out from an emaciated face, his teeth were rotten stumps fighting a losing battle to stay attached to their gums. Khaled was not yet 40 years old but he appeared to have given up on life.

Darker side

He was an educated Saudi with good English and years of work experience in America, but he told me he couldn't find a job here in Saudi Arabia. Depressed and bitter, he had turned to home-brewed alcohol and imported hash.

He asked me if I was being followed. In Saudi Arabia that is not such a strange question. Here, the government controls all the media.

Western journalists are let in infrequently and then steered towards people who will talk only of progress and prosperity. With so much oil beneath the country's sands, there is, of course, plenty of both.

But with rising unemployment and falling incomes, there is also a darker side of life here that the authorities would prefer to keep hidden. Now Khaled was about to show me a glimpse of a shadowy Saudi underworld.

Neon signs

We checked I was not being tailed, then Khaled set off down the street at dusk, flagging down a taxi."'When we get there you must keep your distance," he told me. "If anyone comes up to you, say you are looking for the carpet souk."

Jeddah town centre
Central Jeddah: Far from the backstreets

We drove in silence through the streets of this steamy Red Sea trading port. Neon shop signspassed by the window in a kaleidoscope of colours. The pavements were crowded with all the people of this region: Saudis, Egyptians, Pakistanis and Somalis.

Women in billowing black shrouds squatted on the pavement beside trays of trinkets. A flashing light beckoned customers... to a discount shop for shoes.

Hidden doorways

Khaled spoke to the driver and the taxi swung right into Makhzumi Street, in the south of the city. The shops were smaller here, more intimate. The neon signs had given way to yellow light bulbs.

Rubbish was piling up in the gutter. We stopped, and in one fluid movement Khaled was out of the taxi and off down a tiny alleyway. I followed him, stumbling in the dark on a breeze block left lying on the path.

Through a labyrinth of backstreets we twisted and turned until I lost all sense of where I was. Our feet fell softly on the sand, our hushed voices bounced off walls daubed in Arabic graffiti.

From the shadow of hidden doorways, veiled women detached themselves and drifted up to us, whispering words I couldn't follow. "Prostitutes", said Khaled, "from Nigeria".

"They come here for the pilgrimage, then they stay on."


We separated, but a man began following me, stopping when I did, and pretending to study his shoelace

We pressed on. Khaled's face was sweating now, he was nearing his goal. We emerged at a crossroads and he spotted his contact - a wiry Yemeni with a popstar's hairstyle.

They ducked into the shadows to do business while I watched from a corner shop. I spotted the look-outs, the men on alert for approaching police. There was a tough-looking Egyptian body-builder and a diminutive Indian with shifty eyes.

Jail and lashes

Khaled had told me about the penalties for vice. Jail and eighty lashes with the cane for alcohol, a serious prison sentence for drugs, and deportation for foreign prostitutes.

Drug smugglers are executed. In this city of three million, he told me, different nationalities have their own specialities. Filipinos brew the illicit alcohol, he said, while Yemenis and Indians sell it. The prostitutes tend to be from Nigeria and Ethiopia, the drug peddlars are from Pakistan.

Muslim pilgrims in Mecca
Some women come as pilgrims, but stay as prostitutes

Khaled crossed the road, trying to suppress a smile. He was carrying a plastic bag with three bottles of water. But of course it wasn't water, as he showed me as soon as we reached a backstreet.

Homebrew liquor

He unscrewed the lid on a bottle and took a big gulp. It was 'sadeeki', a homebrew liquor made from fermented palm juice, retailing here at £10 ($15) a bottle.

It was then that I noticed we too were being watched. We separated, but a man began following me, stopping when I did, and pretending to study his shoelace. He could be a dealer, he could be an informer, but I didn't wait to find out.

Here in these broken, ill-lit backstreets, it was easy to lose him. When I reached a main road and slipped into a taxi I could see him standing there, looking about in vain.

As I sped north, back to the air-conditioned comfort of a hotel and a different, law-abiding world, I wondered sadly what would become of Khaled and others like him. How desperate can you get, I thought, to risk lashing and prison, for the sake of a drink?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/from_our_own_correspondent/1660406.stm



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Frank Gardner
"Through a labyrinth of backstreets we twisted and turned until I lost all sense of where I was."

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