Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Print Edition: 19 March 2014
Print Edition: 19 March 2014
www.dhakatribune.com
SECOND EDITION
7 | A PASSAGE TO PAKISTAN
Bangladesh cricketer Shakib Al Hasan and Sabbir Rahman walk off the field after their teams victory during the ICC Twenty20 World Cup qualifying cricket match against Nepal at the Zohur Ahmed Chowdhury stadium in Chittagong yesterday AFP
It was known that dew will play a big role in the night affair and Tigers skipper Mushfiqur Rahim wasted no time in opting to field first after winning the toss. With dew already coming in to play the ball was difficult to grip which took some bite off the Bangladesh attack, but nothing could be taken away from the 85run partnership between the No 4 and 5 Paras Khadka and Sharad Vesawkar. The duo concentrated on playing the full 20 overs and showed great pa-
Report says Tk104 crore was wasted for quorum crisis in ninth parliament; law minister terms the study biased
after the 10th parliament election and the 11th election will be held in a convenient time. But the time was not fixed. The January 5 election was held as part of a constitutional obligation to hold the election by January 24. But we cannot say there is any opposition
Two ministers yesterday made contradictory statements on accepting donations from the Islami Bank Bangladesh Limited for the fund raised for the attempt to set a new Guinness world record of the national anthem sung by most people on March 26. Information Minister Hasanul Haq Inu said the government should give back Isalmi Banks money while Cultural Affairs Minister Asaduzzaman Noor claimed that the government had
PAGE 2 COLUMN 4
INSIDE
News
5 Two major canals in the capital Shahzadpur and Shutibhola canals have become victims of rampant encroachment and indiscriminate waste dumping, as authorities concerned reportedly remained soft against the canal-grabbers. Enaetpur road, stretching 11 kilometres, lies in a sorry state with big potholes in the centre, causing immense sufferings for both commuters and pedestrians.
World
Nation
8 Its borders are patrolled by Russian troops and it adopted the ruble on its first day of independence welcome to the worlds latest pariah statelet, Republic of Crimea.
DHAKA TRIBUNE
News
Sajeeb Wazed Joy, ICT affairs adviser to the PM, speaking at a view-exchange meeting at Hotel Ruposhi Bangla yesterday
Tigers a step away from Super Ten TIB: Parliament has no opposition
PAGE 1 COLUMN 2
12 reserved
has recommended that lawmakers cannot remain absent in the House for over seven days without leave. It also asks the government to finalise the bill on code of conduct for lawmakers, publish information of sessions and standing committee decisions on websites, discuss international accords in parliament and fix the minimum session at 130 days. Law Minister Anisul Haq terms the report biased. About TIBs prescription to hold fresh elections and make the parliament effective, the minister yesterday asked: Where has the TIB brought the prescription from? What is its validity? I am sorry to say that the report is biased and it is not expected from TIB, he said while talking to reporters at the Secretariat after a meeting with Norwegian Ambassador Merete Lundemo. l
PAGE 1 COLUMN 3
the fourth over to Farhad Reza before Sagar Pun and Gyanendra Malla tried to use the powerplay to utmost effect. First Sagar took nine of Mashrafe bin Mortazas third over, fifth of the innings, followed by Malla who struck two fours in the next over bowled by Shakib. However, Al Amin, who conceded eight off his first over, returned with a double blow for the Nepalese. Al Amin caught Sagar off the first ball and three deliveries later got the ball to nip back which struck Malla plumb in front. At 39 for three it was looking like the start of a collapse for the Associate nation, but their skipper and Sharad had different ideas. They picked up the odd boundary while the wet outfield allowed them to maneuver for singles. It was a mystery why Mahmudullah, who conceded just eight runs off his four overs in the previous match, was not used as Mushfiq
opted for medium pacer Nasir Hossain instead. Nasir, who usually bowls off spin, was impressive in the first over giving away just a single, but his inconsistency cost 21 runs in the next 12 balls he bowled. After settling in both Paras and Sharad played some innovative shots scoops and drives over the extra cover which were a treat to the eye and in the process they also ticked the scorecard past 100. However it was one of his innovative attempts where he moved across his stumps trying to chip over the fielder at short fine leg that saw his stumps rattled by Mashrafe in the penultimate over. The Nepalese captain made 41 off 35 balls before Sharad (40), frustrated on his new partner Bhandari who failed to connect three balls in a row in the last over by Al Amin, was found short of crease on the last ball trying to sneak a single from Mushfiq. l
PAGE 1 COLUMN 3
30 days instead of 90 days at present. TIB Trustee M Hafizuddin Khan was present at the occasion. Researchers Morsheda Aktar, Fatema Afroz and Juliet Rozeti presented the report. Hafiz, adviser of a caretaker government, said there was controversy surrounding the 10th parliament election and the countrys democracy was at some risk. He said there was no alternative to a strong opposition. Quorum crisis, boycott culture a waste A total of 222 hours and 36 minutes were wasted during the 19 sessions of the ninth parliament. According to the study, only 8.2% or 109 hours and 44 minutes was spent enacting laws during the ninth parliament. Many important laws were enacted following discussions of only three to four minutes.
In the Indian Lok Sabha, 53% of the total time is spent enacting laws. Iftekhar said this culture of absence was unique in the democratic world. It is embarrassing and also a sign of indifference to the peoples votes. According to the report, the opposition partys absence was 34% of the sessions during the fifth parliament, 60% of the eighth and down to a record breaking 82% of the ninth. However, there were some positive sides to the last parliament including an increase in the presence of lawmakers, especially from the ruling party, to 63%. The TIB also finds that the number of businessmen turning into lawmakers increased in the ninth parliament to 57% from 17.5% in the first parliament. On the other hand, the number of lawyers decreased to 14%. The Berlin-based graft watchdog
Putin signs Crimea treaty, Russia suspended from G8 Inu, Noor's contradictory
PAGE 1 COLUMN 6
of Russia. During his address, Putin was interrupted by applause at least 30 times. In the hearts and minds of people, Crimea has always been and remains an inseparable part of Russia, Putin said. He thanked China for what he called its support, even though Beijing abstained on a UN resolution on Crimea that Moscow had to veto on its own, and said he was sure Germans would support the Russian peoples quest for reunification, just as Russia had supported German reunification in 1990. And he sought to reassure Ukrainians that Russia did not seek any further division of their country. Dont believe those who try to frighten you with Russia and who scream that other regions will follow after Crimea, Putin said. We do not want a partition of Ukraine. We do not need this. Making clear Russias concern at the possibility of the US-led NATO military alliance expanding into Ukraine, he declared: I do not want to be welcomed in Sevastopol (Crimean home of Russias Black Sea fleet) by NATO sailors. Moscows seizure of Crimeahas caused
the most serious East-West crisis since the end of the Cold War. Before Putins speech, Ukraines interim prime minister, ArseniyYatseniuk, sought to reassure Moscow on two key areas of concern, saying in a televised address delivered in Russian that Kiev was not seeking to join NATO, the US-led military alliance, and would act to disarm Ukrainian nationalist militias.
Moscow time
measures could follow in the coming days if Russia formally annexes Crimea. Highlighting rifts in the EU, member state Austria offered yesterday to mediate between Moscow and the West.
PAGE 1 COLUMN 1
Mild sanctions
Despite strongly worded condemnations of the Crimean referendum, Western nations were cautious in their first practical steps against Moscow, seeking to leave the door open for a diplomatic solution. US President Barack Obama imposed sanctions on 11 Russians and Ukrainians blamed for the military seizure of Crimea, including Yanukovich, and two aides to Putin. Putin himself, suspected in the West of trying to resurrect as much as possible of the former Soviet Union under Russian leadership, was not on the blacklist. EU foreign ministers agreed to subject 21 Russian and Ukrainian officials to visa restrictions and asset freezes. Washington and Brussels said more
Putin has declared that Russia has the right to defend, by military force if necessary, Russian citizens and Russian speakers living in former Soviet republics. In a symbolic gesture, Askyonov announced on Twitter that Crimea would switch to Moscow time from March 30, putting it two hours ahead of the rest of Ukraine. In the Crimean capital Simferopol, the local government and businesses set about preparing for the switch to Russian rule. Banks scrambled to introduce the rouble as an official currency alongside the Ukrainian hryvnia, although the switch could take place at the end of the month after March pensions and salaries are cleared, banking sources said. The pan-European Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe cancelled a meeting to discuss sending a monitoring mission to Ukraine because the 57 members are deadlocked. l
not taken any kind of aid from the bank as peoples emotion is involved with the anthem. Our national anthem will not be sung with the financial aid of any organisation that works as an ally of the Jamaat-e-Islami, war criminals and militant forces, Inu said at a programme at the Bangla Academy. It could not be possible to set the record with the aid of evil forces. The money will be given back as early as possible, he said. Noor, however, told reporters at the Secretariat: The government did not take any kind of aid from the bank although it is a legal bank. The statements from the ministers came at a time when criticism has been widespread, especially on social media sites like Facebook and Twitter, regarding collection of money from the Islami Bank. When contacted, the banks Executive Vice President Ataur Rahman, however, told the Dhaka Tribune that the bank had donated Tk3 crore to the government fund following a letter from the Bangladesh Association of Banks. We have handed over the money and now it is the governments decision how to spend it, he said.
Asked for his reaction to Noors statement, Ataur said the bank would not make any comment on the issue. A recent photograph of the Islami Bank published in newspapers showed its Vice-Chairperson Mustafa Anwar handing over a cheque to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. A press release of the bank said the donation was for celebrating the governments Sonar Bangla in Million Voices programme. The photo showed Finance Minister AMA Muhith, State Minister for PowerNasrul Hamid, PMs Energy Adviser Tawfiq-e-ElahiChowdhury present at the ceremony. At least 300,000 people will gather at the National Parade Ground in the capital on March 26, the Independence Day, to sing the national anthem in a bid to set a new Guinness World Record. Muhith last week sought Tk100 crore from private companies, including Tk15 crore from mobile operators, for the beautification work on the occasion of the T20 World Cup and holding the national anthem record attempt programme. The companies, which donated to the PMs fund, issued press releases, saying they had made the donations for the two events; only Islami Bank said it had donated Tk3 crore for the Guinness record attempt. l
Chowdhury ranked second and third. Their net assets increased by around 15 and seven times respectively. If the values of wealth were mentioned in the affidavits, the number of millionaire candidates would increase, the report said. SHUJAN has analysed the assets of 48 candidates as the election commission has cancelled the nominations of two candidates, one each from AL and Jatiya Party, for default in telephone bills. Of the 38 AL candidates, 10 are millionaires. Nilufar Zafar Ullah, wife of AL presidium member Kazi Zafar Ullah, has wealth worth over Tk 5 crore. The annual income of the nine aspirants and their family members has increased by over 1.5 times on average in last five years. Of them, the income of Sanjida Khanom has increased by over 15 times. Although the annual income of Tarana Halim and Mahjabin and their family members reduced by around 22% and 85% respectively, their net assets have increased by around 2.2 and 15 times. Of the total candidates, 12 have assets worth over Tk 1 crore while only three have assets worth less than Tk 3 lakhs. According to the report, 34 out of 48 candidates have completed graduation while six could not complete school education. Twelve candidates are businesspersons while only three are housewives. Besides, none of the aspirants is accused in any case. Referring to a news report, SHUJAN officials claimed that nepotism dominated throughout the procedure of nominating the candidates. As a result, at least nine aspirants of the 48 are not actively involved in politics. Meanwhile, Farhad Hossain, senior assistant secretary of the EC, told the Dhaka Tribune that none of the 48 candidates for reserved seat polls withdrew their candidacy on Tuesday, the last date for withdrawal of candidature. So, they are going to be elected unopposed, he added. He said the commission will publish the gazette of 48 women MPs today and announce the reschedule for the polls in two seats, 21 days after publishing the gazette. l
DHAKA TRIBUNE
News
Jamaat-e-Islami Treasurer and key financier Mir Kashem is facing 14 charges for committing crimes against humanity. He was allegedly the commander of al-Badr forces in Chittagong
Before being captured, Jahangir had gone to India in April and took training Chakulia, the witness said. Al-Badr man Afsar offered me to announce through radio that everything was under control and the freedom fighters could come back. But I disagreed. Then they tortured him and showed his injured body to the other detainees to scare them. Accused Mir Kashem was then present, Jahangir said. During the cross-examination by defence counsel Mizanul Islam, witness Jahangir said he had no idea
that the Mahamaya Building, which had later been known as Daleem Hotel, was under control of non-Bengali Biharis led by one Motya Gunda. The International Crimes Tribunal 2 then adjourned the hearing until today for placing new witness. Mir Kashem was arrested on June 17, 2012 at the daily Naya Diganta office in the citys Motijheel area and has been kept at Kashimpur High Security Jail. He is the chairman of Diganta Media Corporation that also owns Diganta TV. According to the government, Mir Kashem had given a US lobbyist firm $25m to spread propaganda against the war crimes trials. Bergmans hearing March 27 The same tribunal yesterday fixed March 27 for hearing of Bangladeshbased British journalist David Bergmans explanation over the alleged derogatory comments he made about the tribunal in his blog posts. The three-member tribunal headed by Justice Obaidul Hassan passed the order after receiving the explanation. Bergman was present in the court room along with his family members. Earlier the tribunal asked him to explain his critiques in person or by engaging a lawyer following a petition by Supreme Court lawyer Abul Kalam Azad. The petitioner alleged that Bergman had termed the tribunals claim of 30 lakh martyrs wrong. l
TIB Executive Director Iftekharuzzaman speaks at a seminar marking the International Womens Day, at Cirdap auditorium in the capital yesterday MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU
SHUJAN Secretary Badiul Alam Majumder speaks at a press conference at Dhaka Reporters Unity auditorium yesterday
DHAKA TRIBUNE
Theres no way that EC can know beforehand if any violence would erupt in the elections. So it is difficult to take pre-emptive measures
About the third phase of polls, he said: We have taken measures in the areas prone to violence. Votes in 26 centres were suspended. We could have taken more steps, if we had come to know about it earlier. But suspension of election is not the solution. The commissioner added that the intensity of violence in the third phase was tolerable. The incidents of death during election took place far from the centres. l
DHAKA TRIBUNE
News
Manikganj Magura Faridpur Rangpur Shariatpur Kushtia Rajshahi Natore Dinajpur Chapainawabganj Naogaon Madaripur Dhaka TOTAL
2 5 5 4 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 3 1 27
2 2 4 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 0 14
portedly found a new dimension of nipah cases compared to previous years. Although patients were earlier found usually in a specific locality or in a family, this year individual patients were reported from scattered locations. Human Nipah virus (NiV) infection,
an emerging zoonotic disease, was first recognised in a large outbreak of 276 reported cases in Malaysia and Singapore from September 1998 through May 1999. NiV is a highly pathogenic paramyxovirus belonging to genus Henipavirus. It is an enveloped RNA virus. Preferred to stay unnamed, several epidemiologists told the Dhaka Tribune that although the nipah virus usually spread through raw date sap, researchers were trying to find out whether the virus also spread through ripe fruits eaten by birds. IEDCR Director Mahmudur said it was very unfortunate that people ignored repeated cautions against consuming raw date sap, and continued to drink it even after hearing the news of deaths. The IEDCR has rapid response teams in the infected districts, while all medical officers concerned had also been trained on treating nipah and other infectious diseases, he added. Asked about the effectiveness of the awareness campaigns, Dr Mahmudur said it was partially true that the campaign was not enough, but added that people should comply with expert advice and refrain from drinking raw date sap. l
The Fisheries Department takes out a colourful rally in the capital yesterday, marking the Jatka Conservation Week 2014
WEATHER
PRAYER TIMES
Fajar Sunrise Zohr Asr Magrib Esha 4:48am 6:03am 12:06pm 4:28pm 6:09pm 7:25pm
Source: IslamicFinder.org
Officials of a mobile court check fishes for the presence of formalin at a market in the capital's Uttara yesterday
DHAKA TRIBUNE
DHAKA TRIBUNE
News
Shahjadpur canal is filled with wastage, hampering water flow of the canal. The photo was taken yesterday for tender to appoint contractors for the implementation of the project, he added. Aziz said the project consisted of constructing open RCC (reinforced concrete) rectangular channel, closed RCC box-culverts, walkways, erection of demarcation pillars and tree plantation. He claimed that constructing walkways and planting trees would depend on space availability, but demarcation
pillars would be erected at 10 metre gaps, while waste containers would also be set up on both sides of the channel at suitable locations. l
500 students from DU, Buet to get laptop loan n Muhammad Zahidul Islam
The government will soon introduce a project which would enable university students to secure loads for buying laptops without the need of a guarantor, said a source at the division of Information and Communication Technology. Under a pilot project starting May this year, some five hundred students from Dhaka University and Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) will be able to avail this facility from state-owned Janata Bank. State Minister for ICT Zunaid Ahmed Palak and other officials from the division already held a meeting with Janata Bank officials at his office yesterday in this regard. Sources said, each student will be able to take a loan of Tk36,000 under the pilot project, for which requires no guaranty while the repayment method was yet to be finalised. The government had been planning to offer this special loan for the university students from last year, but could not manage a commercial bank to support the idea. We are ready to disburse this loan, but we need to prepare a scheme before we can do that, Janata Bank Managing Director and CEO SM Aminur Rahman told the Dhaka Tribune. He also said for agriculture, central bank gives banks a loan on a 4% interest rate and the banks add another 6% and then disburse it, Same think can happen here and we are ready to do it, he said. Citing a recent study, a high official of the ICT division said, 70% of the students in public universities come from rural areas and only 6% of them have personal laptops. So rural students will get priority for this loan, the official said. We are also trying to engage some local and international donor agencies to support the program as our plan is to turn our whole student population in a modern working force by equipping them with the latest ICT-related technologies, State Minister for ICT Division Zunaid Ahmed Palak told the Dhaka Tribune. He, however, added that the initiative depends mostly on the success of this pilot project. Janata Bank MD said, For our security, we need guaranty but it is not possible to take guaranty from the institutions. Earlier, Rupali Bank and Palli Karma Sahayak Foundation (PKSF) expressed interests in the project, but later backed off. Source at the ICT division also added the government also plans to disburse loans among 80,000 university students to help them buy a personal laptop. l
A week of body recovering JnU Chhatra League and Teachers passes, police yet to file case Association postpone demo
n Our Correspondent, Kurigram
Family members of Kalu Sheikh alleged that police were reluctant to file a case against culprits although one week has passed since the body was recovered . The deceaseds mother Zamila Begum of Char Mia Para village, Roumari upazila made the allegation. She said the family had been feeling unsafe as the culprits were issuing death threats after their names were revealed. On top of that, the police have been seem associating with the killers in plain view, the victims family members alleged. Kalu Sheikh was killed on March 7. The Indian Border Security Force recovered the body on March 11 and handed it over to Border Guard Bangladesh. The deceaseds wife Momtaz Begum said: My husband was killed over a land dispute. After his body was recovered, we went to the police station but police did not take our case. Deceaseds sister Monira Begum said the killers were pressuring the police not to lodge a case. Meanwhile, Rajibpur police station Officer-in-Charge Helal Uddin said: It is not true that we did not consider the allegations. The BGB gave the body to us and the decision to file a case or not will be made after getting the autopsy report. l
stration until the probe formed submitted their report, while the teachers association, in their statement, claimed that they postponed the demonstration as JnU unit Chhatra League Secretary Shirajul Islam alleged stopped the tender work of Chemistry Department. The teachers said they would not participate in any demonstration led by anyone like Shirajul. However, JnU Teachers Association Secretary Dr Parimal Bala said they would start new programmes, if needed. Meanwhile, agitated students led by the progressive alliance brought out procession on the campus around 10am and staged demonstration by setting fire to tires in front of Bangladesh Bank Sadarghat Branch.
The students also blocked the Chittaranjan Avenue, suspending vehicular movement for two hours. Later, the students announced new demonstration programmes around 2pm through a media briefing at the university cafeteria after holding a rally in front of the Shahhed Rafiq building. As per new demo programme, they would hold protest rallies and processions on March 19, 20, and 24, along with a view exchange meeting with the local residences on March 31. They would also hold a sit-in programme in front of the JnU vice-chancellors office on April 2. They also warned to cordon off the secretariat and the PMO, if their demands were not met by then. l
Minister for Housing and Public Works Ministry Mosharraf Hossain expressed his dissatisfaction over slow progress of the DAP implementation.
Sources, who attended the meeting, Minister for Housing and Public Works Ministry Mosharraf Hossain expressed his dissatisfaction over slow progress of the DAP implementation. It was discussed in the meeting that realtors, who were given permission to develop land and construct buildings, are taking relatively higher prices. So, the government would take realistic decision in this regard after reviewing the DAP plan soon, he added. At the meeting the minister said the Rajdhani Unnayan Kartipaksha should give emphasise on ensuring the water flowing facilities while giving approval of land development and construction of buildings in the planned area. Committee Members, Communication Minister Obaidul Quader, Water Resources Minister Anisul Islam Mahmud, Environment and Forest Minister Anowar Hossain Manju, Shipping Minister Shajahan Khan and Land Minister Shamsur Rahman Sharif, attended the meeting.
A procession is brought out in the city yesterday, marking the 94th birth anniversary of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and the National Childrens Day DHAKA TRIBUNE
DHAKA TRIBUNE
Nation
Horrible road a headache for locals; authorities pay no heed upazila election scheduled to be held n Our Correspondent, Sirajganj the on March 31. He apprehended that local
people might not cast vote in favour of Awami League nominated candidate in the upcoming upazila poll since the local people become irritated with the sorry state of the road. The Awami League leader also expressed his concern to Health Minister Mohammad Nasim when he visited the area on Saturday. It was learnt that the minister made a phone call to the communication minister and Quader assured the veteran Awami League leader that the road would be renovated within 1 to 2 days. But the Road and Highways Department is yet to take any measure to fix the road. Swapan said: If the road is not repaired it would be tough for the Awami League nominated candidate to seek support from voters. Upazila Nirbahi Officer of Shahjadpur Russel Sabrin said, The road is very crucial. The renovation is important to mitigate the sufferings of the people. When contacted, Executive Engineer of Sirajganj Roads and Highway Department Mohammad Moniruzzaman said, A project will be taken to repair the road in future. The potholes on the roads would be repaired as soon as the health and communication ministers give assurances. l
Students of Sheikh Sayera Khatun Medical College form a human chain in Gopalganj district town yesterday, protesting vandalism at one of their hostels
DHAKA TRIBUNE
A campaign against netting jatka (hilsa fry) being conducted in the Padma River in Faridpur yesterday, marking the Jatka Preservation Week DHAKA TRIBUNE
Pregnant woman fight for life as husband pours boiling water on her
n Our Correspondent, Pirojpur
A husband poured boiling water on his six-month pregnant wife on March 8, centering on dowry, and confined her in a room for four days in Pirojpur. The name of the victim is Asma Akter, 22, daughter of Atahar Ali Mollah, hailing from Amtola area of Sadar union under Nazirpur upazila in the district. She got married to Sohag Hawlader, 27, son of Rashid Hawlader of Barisal three years back. Locals rescued the critically injured Asma and took her to Nazirpur Upazila Health Complex. Atahar Ali said he had given Tk10,000 as dowry to his son-in-law during her marriage. But later on, Sohag started physical and mental torture on Asma demanding additional dowry. Asma said: I have been pregnant for six month. On March 8, I was cooking rice, while Sohag started pressurising me to bring additional Tk50,000 from my parental house. When I refused, he poured boiling water on me. Sohag confined me up into a room and rubbed salt and chilli powder on my wounds. I fled to my fathers house after four days of the incident, she added. Health Assistant of upazila health complex, A Matin Sarder said: Some parts of the body were badly burnt. Md Khaleque Hawlader, officer-incharge of Nazirpur police station said: I contacted with Atahar Ali Mollah upon learning about the incident. I discussed the matter with Pirojpur district police super and Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of Barisal police. Atahar was sent to Bananipara police station. A case was filed. l
DHAKA TRIBUNE
Long Form
A passage to Pakistan
A wary Bangladeshis visit to a familiarly foreign land yields pleasant surprises
AFP
was supposed to go to Lahore in January 1971, but I didnt make it there until just this year. In 1971, my father a Bengali was still an officer in the Pakistan Army and he had been posted to the western side of the country. My mother, only 25 at the time, faced the prospect of traveling alone with both my brother, barely a year and a half, and me practically a newborn 2,000 kilometres from her home in Dhaka. So she did the smart thing; she left me with my grandparents to go set up home first. My grandmother would follow in a few weeks and deposit me with my parents. Before that trip could take place though, war broke out. The story of my family is not atypical of what many Bangladeshi families went through in 1971. My fathers
Why do you keep dwelling on the past? Why cant you move on and look to the future? The answer is quite simple: some events are so great that you simply cannot move forward without an acceptable resolution
were the last to return. They had become interned in West Pakistan along with scores of other Bengali officers and their families during the war. For families on either side of the separated nations, the hardest part was not knowing when, or whether, they might be united again. Through it all, of course, my brother and I were as carefree as children are. My brother grew up thinking of a prison camp as home. I grew up thinking of my grandparents as Mom and Dad. Whats more, being a potential orphan, I was spoilt with love and care by a retinue of doting aunts and uncles. Meeting my parents at last on a November day in 1973 in the old Dhaka airport, is among my earliest memories. What I remember best, however, are not the strangers who greeted me as their own, only to be rejected thoroughly by me in the coming days; the most vivid part of that scene for me is a series of bright red Cessnas parked on the tarmac. ike many Bangladeshis of my generation, I was reared on stories of the Liberation War. Stories of the atrocities by the Pakistan Army and their local collaborators, as well as the heroic resistance mounted by our Mukti Bahini, filled my boyish imagination by turns with outrage and loathing, pride and awe. I didnt grow up thinking of Pakistan as an enemy nation; the war was over and we had won. Yet, I was nowhere close to feeling any easy friendship toward my Pakistani peers, even during my university years in the United States. Professions of a putative fraternity as Muslims were not good enough. I had to know where each one stood on the matter of 71. Over the years I found that Pakistani denial took mainly three forms: refusal to accept the scale and vicious nature of the violence that had been committed; pleading that terrible things happen during wars; and, finally, that the Bengalis, too, did terrible things. There is sufficient third-party documentation by now (most recently, say, The Blood Telegram by Gary J Bass) for the denial of violence to be no longer tenable. It also doesnt take much to see that there is great difference between unintended collateral damage and deliberate acts of mass violence against unarmed civilians. The third issue allegations of retribution or summary killings by members of the Mukti Bahini is trickier. All such incidents need their own historic reckoning. Bangladeshis would do well to acknowledge any mistakes on their part as they seek re-
dress from others. But, one must also note that the crimes of the Pakistan Army, in their scale and brutality, far outstripped anything committed by units of the Mukti Bahini in the brief period between the wars final days and the new Bangladeshi governments assertion of its authority. Also, the responsibility of a state and its forces committing genocide cant be excused by citations of acts of an effectively militia-style force. I invoke these issues not so much with the expectation that Pakistanis who are still in denial will be persuaded, but simply to hold up for them a view that I believe is common for many Bangladeshis. I have heard Pakistanis ask, Why do you keep dwelling on the past? Why cant you move on and look to the future? The answer is quite simple: some events are so great that you simply cannot move forward without an acceptable resolution. passed the first four decades of my life unable to bring myself to visit Pakistan. Even as other members of my family made the trip, I was held back by historic qualms and personal wariness. What kind of conversations would I have if I went there? The prospect of visiting Pakistan came up again for me, decades after my first aborted trip, in the form of an invitation to the Lahore Literary Festival 2014. This time I was able to make the trip, thanks foremost to the friendship I had formed with a number of Pakistani authors in recent years, and their informed stance on 71. For me, Lahore also held great fascination. This is the city where my father had studied engineering and spent nearly 12 years of his life. Prewar Lahore sounded entirely charming: a city of colleges and gardens, music and laughter. My fathers tales faltered though whenever we reached 71. He could not explain how a society that appeared so elegant and friendly in his personal accounts could also be the cradle of policies that led to one of historys most horrific episodes. There was nothing to say besides that the well-meaning were too few, too powerless; and that the masses were whipped into hysteria with false information at a time when information was indeed far easier to control. Bangladeshi intellectuals have long known and appreciated the opposition mounted by Pakistani liberals during 71. What was interesting for me to discover on this trip is the abiding hold of that liberalism across generations. As a narrative of extremism has come to dominate global perceptions of Pakistan, the fact that there is a durable,
Is this tiny but deep strain of liberalism any match for the more ferocious ideologies that seek to crush it?
youngest brother, a 17-year-old in Jessore, left home one morning with the hope of crossing the border to join the Mukti Bahini; he was never found again. Another uncle spent most of the nine months of war on the run, a hunted man. My mothers brother walked all the way past the border to join the famous camp of Khaled Mosharraf. He came back to Dhaka with two grenades in his pockets, but was arrested by the Pakistani Army before he could carry out his operation. Fortunately, he suffered no worse than imprisonment. Another uncle was also captured, and tortured. Everyone lived in terror and penury common to war times, and in dreadful uncertainty about the future. Despite the loss and the torment, my family was lucky. There are families who lost most of their loved ones; we lost ultimately only my fathers youngest brother. Among those who made it back home, though, my parents and brother
indigenous tradition of liberalism has fallen by the wayside. In my university days, I regularly came across Pakistanis who, liberal on most counts, simply could not square the globally mainstream narrative about 71 with their sense of identity. Education in the worlds best colleges, or living in the most cosmopolitan capitals, was not enough to open up the space that was required to question received narratives. But in Lahore I came across many young people from local colleges who did precisely that with ease. Is this tiny but deep strain of liberalism any match for the more ferocious ideologies that seek to crush it? I know too little about Pakistan to make any pronouncements let alone predictions. I can only say that an encounter with this country that I had long resisted proved to be more full of surprises, and pleasanter ones, than I had expected. Lahore as a city Mall Road, Gymkhana, and much else proved indeed to be as beautiful as my father always said it was. But a city is defined, ultimately, by its people. The Lahoris, certainly the ones who attended to us during LLF or entertained us afterhours, lived fully up to their reputation for charm and hospitality. What struck me most, however, was the crowd that came to the Alhamra: informed, open, and questioning. I had invited my mother on this trip, so that she could show me the old places that my parents frequented: the old Gymkhana and Rahat Bakery; Coffee House and a spot in Anarkali where my father had taken her on a date, only to discover that he had forgotten to bring any money. We met old friends of theirs with whom they had reestablished contact. I was older today than they were when the war took place. Yet, I could see that in their eyes I was the child who had been left behind, the one they had never met. To know that one can hold such a place of affection in the hearts
of strangers was something I didnt know as a child, and it took me by surprise again, even now.
s a Bengali, I can never stop insisting that Pakistan as a state needs to apologise for the genocide of 71. But I also dont want my sense of peace to be in the hands of another person, let alone a deeply troubled state. It is each persons choice if they wish to find a measure of reconciliation at a personal level, and how they do it. In this respect, the kind of interaction I have enjoyed with my Pakistani peers has come as a deeply welcome opportunity. Our friendship, like all friendships, is based on an attraction of personalities and shared interests, or laughs; but given our history, there is a layer of special resonance that I suspect neither side can ignore. The fact that the tenor of my encounter with them was echoed by literary Lahore helps deepen the sense of personal rapprochement. I was surprised by the rapidity with which I began to feel at ease in Lahore. One day, taking a break from the literary sessions, my mother and I went to the cantonment looking for their old house. It was believed to be on a small street off Safdar Road. As we stood on that quiet little road, on a cool and cloudy day, it was odd to think that I might have played on that mossy driveway. A green field stretched before us. The low height of the buildings evoked an era, especially for someone from Dhaka, long gone but not forgotten, and not to be forgotten. Would I be quite the same person, I could not help wonder, if I had never been separated from my parents? To some questions there can be no answers. l Kazi Anis Ahmed is the publisher of Dhaka Tribune and the author of the recently published novel The World In My Hands. This article was first published in Newsweek Pakistan.
DHAKA TRIBUNE
World
Russias President Vladimir Putin (C), Crimean parliament speaker Vladimir Konstantionov (L) and Alexei Chaly, Sevastopols new de facto mayor (R), sign a treaty on the Ukrainian Black Sea peninsula becoming part of Russia in the Kremlin in Moscow AFP
n AFP, Simferopol
Its borders are patrolled by Russian troops and it adopted the ruble on its first day of independence welcome to the worlds latest pariah statelet, Republic of Crimea. Recognised as a sovereign country only by Moscow, Crimea is still officially part of Ukraine for the rest of the international community and its separatist leaders have already been hit with a series of EU and US sanctions. But following a disputed referen-
dum on Sunday in which nearly 97 percent cast their ballots for splitting from Ukraine, the strategic Black Sea peninsula has taken on the trappings of sovereignty at least on paper. The plan of Crimeas pro-Moscow authorities is to eventually become a part of the Russian Federation but how and when that will happen are still open questions. In the meantime, here are some key points about Crimea an entity about the size of Belgium with a population of around two million people and its independence claim:
FLAG: Like any want-to-be independent state, Crimea already has its own flag a horizontal blue-white-andred tricolour that is fast replacing the Ukrainian colours around the peninsula. Adopted by the Crimean autonomous republic of Ukraine in 1992, it bears a close resemblance to the Russian flag. RUSSIAN BASE: The naval port city of Sevastopol distinguishes the Republic of Crimea from many other statelets with limited recognition around the world. Russias Black Sea Fleet, which has been based there for 230 years, is estimated to
A picture taken on March 14 shows damage caused by shelling on a wall in the ancient oasis city of Palmyra, 215 kilometres northeast of Damascus. Syrias fabled desert Greco-Roman oasis of Palmyra saw its last tourist in September 2011, six months after the uprising began. Its most recent visitors are violence and looting AFP
US study: TV, print still Nigeria to go soft against Boko Haram n key for news
AFP, Abuja
AFP, Washington
Americans might have embraced the latest gadgets but they are still partial to getting at least some of their news the old-fashioned way. Adults in the United States tend to frequently move from one device or platform to another - television and print newspapers among them - as they follow current events, a survey released Monday found. Americans on average reported that, during the past week, they followed the news using four different devices or technologies, it said. The majority of Americans across generations now combine a mix of sources and technologies to get their news each week, said Media Insight Project, an initiative of the American Press Institute and the Associated PressNORC Centre for Public Affairs Research. The survey also found that, for many Americans, traditional media was still more trusted than news blogs and social networks. Eighty-eight percent said they liked to get their information directly from a news organization, such as a newspaper, TV newscast, website, or newswire, rather than from aggregators or social media. And the trust factor plays into this as
well. Americans largely trust the traditional news organizations: 43% saying they trust this information completely or very much and 44% indicating they trust it moderately. By contrast, only 15% of those who get news through social media say they have high levels of trust in this source and 27% for news coming from electronic sharing with friends. Contrary to the idea that people now tend to trust news sources that share their point of view, taken together the findings suggest that rates of trust are highest for news operations that have less editorial opinion built into their model, such as local television news and wire services, the study said. The report was based on a survey of 1,492 US adults between January 9 and February 16. The researchers said the overall sampling margin of error was 3.6 percentage points. The study confirmed differences in how various age groups get their news. Fully 89% of those in the 40 59 age bracket and 95% of those 60 and over used television to get news in the past week, compared with 76% of those 18 29. Three-quarters of those 60 and over said they had read print publications in the past week versus 47% of adults age 18 29. l
Nigerias national security advisor on Tuesday said the authorities would begin using a soft approach to stem the Boko Haram Islamist violence raging across the northeast. Sambo Dasuki said the military would continue to battle the insurgents, who are blamed for killing thousands of people since 2009, but the government was also set to use a carrot and stick approach. The new strategy was aimed at engaging communities in the struggle against extremism. We believe that we can win the war
against terror by mobilising our family, cultural, religious and national values, Dasuki told a news conference. Analysts and Western diplomats have consistently said that Nigeria cannot defeat Boko Haram with force alone and they have called for massive economic development programmes in the deeply poor north to curb the violence. Nigeria is Africas top oil producer but more than half of its 170 million people live on less than $2 (1.4 euros) per day. Boko Haram, which has said it wants to create a strict Islamic state within Nigeria, has carried out attacks across the
mainly Muslim north over the last four years. But the recent violence has been concentrated in the northeast, the insurgents historic stronghold. The northeast, like Boko Haram itself, is dominated by people from the Kanuri ethnic group and analysts have argued that engaging Kanuri leaders should become a key plank of the counter-insurgency strategy. The rest of northern Nigeria is dominated by ethnically Hausa Muslims. More than 700 people have been killed in 40 separate attacks across the northeast in 2014 alone, according to Human Rights Watch. l
DHAKA TRIBUNE
World
A big problem for China is its bad blood with virtually all of its neighbours, many of whom are key players in the search
China has the most at stake and has been taking an unusually high-profile role. Almost immediately after Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 disappeared March 8, China dispatched its largest-ever rescue flotilla to the initial search area in the South China Sea, which Beijing considers its own backyard. Beijing sent four warships and five coast guard and civilian patrol service vessels, along with helicopters and fixed-wing surveillance aircraft. Among the warships are two of Chinas largest and most advanced amphibious docking ships. The 20,000-ton vessels are equipped with helicopters and a range of small boats, including up to four hovercrafts. On the one hand, China is simply doing its duty in orchestration with other countries, said Ni Lexiong, a military expert at Shanghais University of Political Science and Law. On the other hand, this operation offers an opportunity to assess the Chinese navys willpower, efficiency and ability to carry out operations far from home, especially in comparison with the U.S. Fresh off a massive relief effort after
A personnel of Indonesias National Search and Rescue looks over horizon during a search in the Andaman sea area around northern tip of Indonesias Sumatra island for the missing Malaysian Airlines flight MH370 AFP
Taiwan MPs stage fast to Thailand ends state of emergency protest at China trade pact n
AFP, Bangkok
Thailand announced Tuesday the end of a nearly two-month-old state of emergency in Bangkok and surrounding areas, hoping to lure back foreign visitors following an easing of deadly political protests. The use of emergency rule dealt a heavy blow to Thailands key tourism industry during what is usually peak season, and also raised fears of a drop in foreign investment. The state of emergency will be replaced by another special law, the Internal Security Act, with effect from Wednesday until April 30, Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatras office announced. Were confident that we can handle the situation so the cabinet agreed to revoke the state of emergency as requested by many parties, Yingluck told reporters. The cancellation is to build confidence in the economy and the tourism sector, she said. Thailands international tourist arrivals were down roughly eight percent last month from a year earlier, with Bangkoks airports seeing a drop of more than 18 percent in total, according to official figures. Yingluck has faced more than four months of political protests aimed at ousting her elected government and installing an unelected peoples council to oversee reforms. The state of emergency was introduced in the run-up to a February 2 general election called by the premier in an unsuccessful attempt to calm the crisis. Political bloodshed, often targeting protesters, has left 23 people dead and hundreds wounded in recent months, including in grenade attacks and shootings. However, attendance at the demonstrations has fallen sharply in recent weeks, while the introduction of emer-
n AFP, Taipei
Three Taiwanese opposition legislators on Tuesday started a 70-hour hunger strike to protest at what they term illegal moves by the ruling party to ratify a contentious trade agreement with China. The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers made their move after a legislator from the ruling Kuomintang party announced on Monday that the trade pact had been approved by a joint committee. The committees approval was the first of three ratifications needed to pass the bill. The China-sceptic DPP said the announcement was illegal, since the bill had not been deliberated for a single minute since the joint committee opened its session last Wednesday. The committee has been stalled since the dispute sparked a brawl Monday between rival lawmakers. But Kuomintang legislators insisted that the trade pact had been automatically passed by the joint committee, after it failed to be screened within the required three months due to opposition filibustering.
The three DPP legislators threatened to extend their protest fast if necessary. The DPP and the smaller but more radical Taiwan Solidarity Union also pledged to mobilise supporters when parliament holds a full session on Friday for the second reading of the trade bill. The agreement signed last June is designed further to open up trade in services between the Taiwan and China, which split 65 years ago after a civil war. The two opposition parties say it will hurt small service companies and damage the overall economy. They insist it be reviewed clause-by-clause, a demand rejected by the Kuomintang. Under the deal China will open 80 service sectors to Taiwanese companies, while Taiwan will allow Chinese investment in 64 sectors. The pact is one of the follow-up agreements to the sweeping Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement signed in 2010 to reduce trade barriers. Cross-strait ties have improved markedly since President Ma Yingjeou of the China-friendly Kuomintang came to power in 2008 pledging to strengthen trade and tourism links.
gency rule failed to prevent protesters disrupting the February election. The demonstrators late last month moved to scale back their rallies, consolidating at one site in Bangkoks Lumpini Park as they ended their so-called Bangkok shutdown, which had seen them occupy key road intersections in the city. The authorities were unable to use the security powers offered by the state of emergency in any case, after a Civil Court last month ordered the government not to use regulations issued under the decree. The court banned the use of force against the protesters, after attempts by riot police to clear areas occupied for weeks by opposition demonstrators sparked deadly clashes. Thailands tourism sector needs about three months to bounce back following the lifting of emergency rule, according to the Tourism Council of Thailand.
10
www.dhakatribune.com
DHAKA TRIBUNE
Editorial
LETTER OF THE DAY
Letters to
the Editor
Hard decisions
March 15 The author seems to be a very innocent well-wisher of AL as well as the people of this country but he has possibly not paid sufficient attention to the reality of Bangladeshi politics and its ruling class. Their real objective is far from what the author thinks. My assessment is that the ruling class provides some support to those very goons and swindlers on a quid pro quo basis against whom the author pleads for taking hard decisions. Its simply the philosophy of give and take. So the hard decision is certain to elude the author forever. Otherwise how do these goons and swindlers keep thriving in every regime, be it AL or BNP, and neither party ever fails to garner enough votes to capture power in alternate terms. One thing the author has correctly identified is that public memory is very short-lived. I have never seen either of the ruling party leaders fail to draw less than a million votes in any of their political meetings anywhere in the country. Had public memory been otherwise, this could not happen. nds
he recent arrests and jailing of senior BNP leaders are detrimental to the aim of restarting dialogue between the two countrys largest political parties. While it is important that instigators and perpetrators behind the killings during the anti-government protests last December-January must be brought to justice, it remains unclear how this process is helped by the arrest and incarceration of Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir and Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain. There is also reason to fear that this move may lead to new instability, which nobody wants. As we have seen numerous times in recent years, the jailing of BNP leaders can give some of its activists an excuse to take to the streets, often with deadly results. Jailing senior leaders risks undoing the stability and goodwill that has been achieved this year. The government has a duty to the public to ensure their safety, and this implies taking wise, constructive steps that act in everyones best interests. With BNP having largely eschewed hartal/violence, and taking part in the upazila elections, it behooves the government to also take steps for reconciliation. To this end, there needs to be some incentive for the BNP to toe the line, otherwise they will conclude that they are better off re-launching their violent programs.
With BNP having largely eschewed hartal/violence, it behooves the government to also take reconciliatory steps
Vikram Khan And what about the protection of the unique fauna and flora, the sanctuary of sea turtles and other oceanic wild life at Sonadia island?! Well sacrifice all for greed???? Shehzad Muhammad Arifeen Vikram Khan: No, well sacrifice them for people, as we always do. It is so easy to write off any new idea with emotionally-charged words like greed.
March 10 Why beautify this city? Much better to hire some new coaches to teach the national team to play cricket and save us the biggest embarrassment. Parveen
he state-owned landline telephone company BTCL is now owed more than Tk10,00C by international carriers. Over 80% of this credit is not backed by any form of bank guarantees or security. It is not just inefficient but negligent for the BTCL to leave such an enormous amount of credit outstanding to foreign telecom companies, when this is a sector that is booming with a high rate of cash flow. No privatelyowned company would have allowed such a large amount of sums owing, to build up. Such business practices continue because the BTCL is still a publicly owned company being protected by the state, with very little accountability. This is an example of the mismanagement and bad business practices that are enabled to take place when the government gives preferential treatment to pubic companies. This type of mismanagement cannot be allowed to go unabated with so little accountability. The BTCLs business practices must be held to a higher standard by the government. A good way to do this would be to privatise the BTCL. Once privatised and answerable to shareholders, the BTCL will be forced to run profitably and pay taxes to the government. It will be forced to compete with other profit-making private telecom companies on a level playing field.
Write to us at: Dhaka Tribune FR Tower, 8/C Panthapath Sukrabad, Dhaka-1207 Email us at: letters@dhakatribune.com Send us your Op-Ed articles: opinion@dhakatribune.com Visit our website: www.dhakatribune.com Come join our Facebook community: https://www.facebook.com/DhakaTribune
Be Heard
Business practices must be held to a higher standard, A good way to do this would be to privatise the BTCL
PEANUTS
CROSSWORD
ACROSS 1 Thailands former name (4) 4 Cricket trophy (5) 8 Little wave (6) 9 Send out (4) 11 Lofty structure (5) 12 Consumer (4) 14 Alcoholic drink (3) 15 Reluctant (6) 19 Governing body (6) 21 Everyone (3) 22 Season (4) 24 Character (5) 27 Open-air public pool (4) 29 Presses on (6) 30 Now (5) 31 Footwear (4) DOWN 1 Prosecute (3) 2 Got up (6) 3 Small child (4) 4 Liable (3) 5 Incline (5) 6 Cut with blows (3) 7 Light reddish-brown (6) 10 Stubborn animal (4) 13 Rodent (3) 14 Way of viewing (6) 16 Animal doctor (3) 17 Salad item (6) 18 Snow vehicle (4) 20 Fragrance (5) 23 Ailments (4) 25 Concealed (3) 26 Secret agent (3)
SUDOKU
YESTERDAYS SOLUTIONS
Crossword
How to solve Sudoku: Fill in the blank spaces with the numbers 1 9. Every row, column and 3 x 3 box must contain all nine digits with no numberrepeating.
Sudoku
DHAKA TRIBUNE
Op-Ed
11
MUMIT M
Along with being entertaining, this was an opportunity to showcase Bangladeshi culture and its contribution to humanity. And we do have a lot of it. As great as Mr Rahman is, he did not reflect that in his show. There are those, including Mr Islam, who point to Shakira at the South Africa FIFA World Cup opening ceremony. I was awed by that program. My take was not that Shakira played, but that rather, it was a celebration of African culture and its ability to compete in a global platform. So much so, that a hip-shaking US chart-topping Columbian took an African beat and turned Waka Waka into the song for the world.
a few Bollywood tracks and just some Bangladeshi rock bands. To think that we do not have those artists or talents to put up a show that can entertain and enthrall everyone is wrong. We have world class dancers like the above-mentioned Akram Khan. Or bands like Asia Dub Foundation, State of Bengal, Lokkhitara, Joi, to name just a few. Classical singers, playwrights, instrumentalists, dramatists, writers, humourists, designers, filmmakers we have many, many, talented living Bangladeshi artists who could put together a spectacular show. Not just of music but also of other performing arts. I know I will get a no one of AR
This was an opportunity to showcase Bangladeshi culture and its contribution to humanity
And the world sang along. What of last years London Olympic ceremony? It was pure entertainment from songs to dance (mind you done by a Brit-Bangladeshi), from humour to tribute, from culture to legacy. Everybody watching was mesmerised by Cool Britannia. Our celebration could have been so much more than
Rahmans calibre thrown at me now. But how do we know that? Have we ever given them a world stage? Usually shows of this scale are hard to come by. The business model does not support the investments that need to be made to put together the razzmatazz. But in this instance, that was not
the case. So, if we gave Aly Zaker or Anusheh or Sarwar Faruki or Amitabh Reza or Parchonath or Aarong a fraction of the money it took us to bring Mr Rahman and Akon, we would have had a show we would have been proud of! I believe that. But even if the organisers do not, why not get Mr Rahman to produce a show based on Bangla cultural roots? Rabindranath and Nazrul, Satyajit Ray and Lalon, Gombhira and Lokokontho, Humayan Ahmed and Hanif Shanket, Bass Baba Sumon and Habib, Tareque Masud and R Nabi, and Shahidul Alam and Bibi Russel could surely have provided the inspiration and content. That would be a show of and about Bangla. Now that would have been a spectacle. That would have been something that not only celebrated Bangladeshi culture, but also gave back to it. That would have been something that we would talk about for much longer than we would about a music concert we spent a couple of million dollars on. The failure of BCBs celebration was not because of its performers but rather for the organisers lack of vision. And sadly, it was for their lack of trust and faith in one of the worlds richest cultures, and the creative ability of its practitioners. l Nazim Farhan Choudhury is CEO of Colours FM 101.6, a radio station focused at the female audience.
The combination of a shift to more and more cash crop cultivation, with a shift to encouraging agribusiness investment in various forms, has been sharply negative for even relatively well-off farmers. Cotton farmers, who previously used to buy local seeds, now buy BT seeds at massively increased rates. During the last decade, the share of profits in the revenue generated has more than doubled when compared to the share of wages. In both the manufacturing and services sectors, companies use loopholes as well as a lack of implementation of labour laws to suppress wages. Both companies and the government increasingly engage contract workers to bring down wage costs and improve productivity. Simultaneously there has been a swell in the numbers of persons engaged as contract workers or casuals, or where the precise relationship between the worker and the employer is legally uncertain, within the formal sector. Communalism of all kinds has to be opposed. In India today, Hindu communalism - as the potentially majoritarian communalism - if harnessed successfully can lead to a fascist type of regime. At the same time, this unprecedented savage economic liberalisation with its deregulation, casualisation of labour, escalating social injustice and the unprecedented inequality, growing inequalities and gaps and increase in marginalisation has to be resisted at all costs. l Sushovan Dhar is an activist. He is based in Kolkata.
It is never going to be business as usual again, unless we respond to the moral duties we owe
In those dark hours and their aftermath, what did we as lawyers do to establish our dominion over the court, to use the law to bring the perpetrators to justice, to protect the image and dignity of the very establishment that makes us what we are, to do ourselves justice? What did the establishment do to protect its own footsoldiers, to thump its own superiority over injustice, to protect the promise it made to the constitution and to resurrect the supremacy of law over the lawless? What did the mother do to protect and safeguard its own children? Nothing. On that day, a signal was sent out that lawyers can be beaten up, even inside the highest courts, without having to pay a dime for it and that we as lawyers are all OKAY with it, so long as we can resume business as usual. Well, fair warning. It is never going to be business as usual again, unless we respond to the moral duties we owe to the very establishment that feeds us. The court is a lawyers workplace. It
AFP
12
DHAKA TRIBUNE
Entertainment
n Shadma Malik
Bipad Bhanjan Sen Karmakers Colour of Natural Disposition is going on at the Alliance Franaise de Dhaka (AFD) and will continue until March 27. A total of 53 skillfully done paintings based on acrylic and mixed media are on display for the two-week show. The title of the exhibition Colour of Natural Disposition refers to the beauty of rural Bangladesh through portraits and landscapes. Each artwork offers a visible faade of rural scenes which have been carefully constructed in his brush strokes. This is his third solo exhibition and it introduces an important spatial and cultural concept of Bangladesh by representing ample use of colours which can be seen in nature. Providing viewers with a treat of a natural environment, his canvas mostly dominates red and blue colours. Bipads semi-abstract and abstract paintings convey moods of nature. In a simplistic manner, the artist endeavours to portray beautiful Bangladesh. His artistic thoughts are deeply influenced by his childhood memories of an ideal village, where he grew up in the midst of river, canals, green fields, schools, temples, mosques, play grounds, and peaceful coexistence between Hindu and Muslim communities. In his canvases, he tries to depict the day to day life of common people living in Bangladeshi villages, so that the viewers from home
n Shadma Malik
After her drama serial Naree, Sumaiya Shimu has once again taken up a thrilling role in a telefilm titled Phire Esho Shundori Toma. Directed by Shumon Shams and written by Anisul Haque, Sumaiya is pairing up with Ahmed Rubel. Phire Esho Shundori Toma will be aired today at 3:05pm on Channel i. A small town girl Suronjona get into the dangerous and destructive habit of drug addiction. In her demise, she influences her peers to take up the ugly habit as well. Suronjonas substance abuse not only affects her mental condition, but also creates problem in her family life. After the death of her father, she is thrown out from her house. Soon afterwards, she meets a poet named Montu who falls in love with her despite her addiction. In a haste, the couple ties the knot and Montu hopes
that with love and devotion he will influence Suronjona into leaving drugs. But when reality sinks in and he discovers that nothing works for his wife but her routine fixes. In the end, the couple gets a divorce. About taking up this role, Sumaiya said: I always focus on the story. I believe that a good script is always in demand. For me, acting is not only performing on screen but working with an aim in mind. Playing such a role to create awareness against drugs might alert users of the impact of drugs. The story of Phire Esho Shundori Toma had no good ending. It showcases a practical phase of an addict. The telefilm portrays that there is no coming back from drugs. Like the drama serial Naree, it is also a social message to the audience. Currently, Sumaiya is working on single drama including Chor Na Dakat which will air on March 26. l
and abroad may discover their culture, way of life and the ultimate beauty of their motherland. Nurul Islam Nahid, MP, Minister, Ministry of Education, artist Samarjit Roy Chowdhury, eminent theatre personality Ramendu Majumdar and Professor Dr Nazmul Ahsan Kalimullah were present at the inaugural ceremony on March 14. l
n Entertainment Desk
Dhallywoods Most Wanted duo Ananta Jalil and Barsha have recently performed Umrah
Pathshala South Asian Media Institute is hosting a two-day-long workshop by acclaimed photographer Nasir Ali Mamun from March 21 at its photography campus. The opening day of the workshop will comprise of discussions focusing on the portrait genre of photography and Mamun will share his techniques and extensive experience garnered over his four decade long prolific career. The second day of the workshop will grant participants the rare opportunity to get their portfolio reviewed by the Poet of the Camera. Mamun will offer constructive critique and shed light on the intricate details that go into capturing a portrait. Nasir Ali Mamun began his photographic career just after the Liberation War. Popularly known to art critics and connoisseurs as Camerar Kobi, he was born in Dhaka in 1953. In his four- decade long photography career, Mamun has captured magnificent portraits of renowned cultural personalities nationally and internationally. Regarding his early days in photography Mamun said: I had to borrow camera to quench my thirst for photography. I had to struggle a lot initially to have my own camera. But that did not deter me from pursuing my goal. l
TODAY IN DHAKA
Film
Enders Game Avatar 3D Aakash Koto Dure Thor: The Dark World 3D The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug in 3D , Frozen in 3D Agnee Time: 10am - 10pm Star Cineplex, Bashundhara City Robocop, Gravity Captain Phillips, Elysium Time: 12:30pm 9:30pm Blockbuster Cinemas Jamuna Future Park Ka- 244, Pragati Avenue, Kuril
Exhibition:
Sculpture Exhibition By Hamiduzzaman Khan Time: 10am 8pm Athena Gallery of Fine Arts, Progoti Shoroni, Uttar Badda
Sport
30 42 21 37 2 132 0,
For Bangladesh pacer Al-Amin the game against Nepal was an opportunity to stage a comeback from a low outing in the previous game. He coulnt have asked for a better comeback as his two for 17 was enough to secure him the man of the match award at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium yesterday. It is my first World Cup, and this is my third T20 match at this level. The first match bowling wasnt too bad. I was trying to make a comeback in this game, said Al Amin at the post-match conference. However, despite the decent result he did show signs another poor spell by drifting to the batsmans legs in his first over. In the first over I had a tough time to control the ball because of the dew. I was thinking afterwards that I have to make amends in the next three overs. The wicket had grass and I thought of making it count. I have never faced such dew in my life. I saw the seam was wet when I looked at it before bowling the second ball. I bowled cross-seam for a while and then I used the seam when it was better, said Al Amin. There were certain points in the game which made look that Bangladesh were going in a relaxed mode against their weaker opponents. The Tigers came in the match on the back of a dominating win over Afghanistan and though Nepal are a weaker opponent, Al Amin explained that they had no room to relax and thinks might have looked casual as the no wickets feel when the spinners were bowling in the middle overs. There was no chance to relax. This was a do-or-die match for us. We tried to play good cricket. We took a few early wickets but if Shakib (al Hasan) bhai and Raj bhai (Abdur Razzak) could have got us a few more in the middle overs, we could have wrapped them up for a smaller total. The wicket wasnt particularly great for spinners. Our bowlers like Raj bhai and Shakib bhai struggled to bowl. There was too much dew, he said. Meanwhile after a convincing win over Hong Kong, the defeat was the first for Nepal in the tournament. The Associate members faced a Test playing nation for the first time while this World Twenty20 is also their first world event. Nepals coach Pubudu Dassanayake overlooked the defeat and said his sides main intention was to bag experience against a Test playing nation through the game. l
DHAKA TRIBUNE
13
season-saving salvo
14 Totti makes
15 Gayle announces
Bangladesh innings
Tamim c Sagar b Regmi Anamul run out (Sagar /Khakurel) Sabbir not out Shakib not out Extras (lb 2) Total (2 wickets; 15.3 overs) FoW: 1 63, 2 79 Bowling Kami 2 0 21 0, Khadka 3 0 23 0, Gauchan 4 0 40 0, Mukhiya 2 0 16 Regmi 3 0 14 1, Sagar 1.3 0 16 0 Bangladesh won by 8 wickets Player of the match Al-Amin Hossain (Bangladesh)
BRIEF SCORE
Afghanistans Shahzad celebrates his fifty against Hong Kong in Chittagong yesterday
and Mark Chapman to scamper past 150. Irfan Ahmed made a hash of Afghan left-arm seamer Shapoor Zadrans natural in-swing as he was cleaned up in the very first delivery before Waqas and Jamie counter attacked to add 42 in 4.2 overs. Jamies quick fire 20-ball 31 contained five fours and a well timed pull over mid-wicket for six. Hong kong reached 100 for two in 13 overs, but were not able to capitalize on the scorecard as the dismissals of Waqas and Chapman were followed by a mini collapse. Waqas returned for run-a-ball 32 while Chapman made 38 off 43 as Hong Kong lost their last six wickets for 52 runs. Shapoor, Hamza Hotak and Afghan skipper Mohammad Nabi bagged two wickets each. After two games each in Group A, Hong Kong, who won both their warm-ups against Zimbabwe and Netherlands, are yet to register a win in the first round of the multi-national event. l
Australian star allrounder Shane Watson shares his thoughts with the press in the open media session yesterday MUMIT M
14
Sign Rodgers up for long term: Gerrard
Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard has urged the clubs American owners to agree a new deal with manager Brendan Rodgers as soon as possible. High-scoring Liverpool are second in the Premier League, four points adrift of Chelsea but with a game in hand, and Gerrard said the Northern Irish manager had proved he was a perfect fit since joining in 2012. I am absolutely delighted he is here and I hope there is a lot of movement in Boston now because they have got to get him signed up as soon as possible, the captain told reporters. Reuters
DHAKA TRIBUNE
Sport
(L to R) Manchester United's Robin Van Persie, manager David Moyes and Ryan Giggs laugh as Darren Fletcher jumps for the ball during a training session at the club's Carrington training complex in Manchester, northern England yesterday. United are set to play Greek side Olympiakos in the Champions League today REUTERS
FIXTURES
Man United v Olympiakos Dortmund v Zenit
ting worse, despite strikers Wayne Rooney and Robin van Persie both now operating at full capacity. They offered disconcertingly little resistance in the first-leg loss to Olympiakos in Piraeus on February 25, but goalkeeper David de Gea has promised an
improved showing in the return fixture. We know we didnt play a good match in Greece. They were better than us and they won, the Spaniard told the UEFA website. But now there is the return leg at Old Trafford and I think that, with our fans behind us, we have to go onto the pitch and fight and attack from the first minute. We will give everything we have and play a lot better than we did there. United have recovered a first-leg deficit only once in the Champions League era, atoning for a 2-1 loss to Roma in the quarter-finals of the 200607 tournament with a stunning 7-1 victory at Old Trafford. l
Ambitious Russian side Zenit St Petersburg on Tuesday named ex-Chelsea and Tottenham boss Andre Villas-Boas as their new manager, in a big name appointment as the club seeks to break through into the top ranks of European football. The club said in a statement that the 36-year-old Portuguese handler, who first made his name with Porto, will officially sign on for Zenit on March 20, taking over from Italian Luciano Spalletti, who was sacked last week. He will start as coach just a day after Zenit play at Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League last 16, with the Russians needing to overturn a 2-4 first leg deficit. Caretaker manager Sergei Semak will be in charge for that game.
Zenit has agreed terms on a contract with new head coach Andre Villas-Boas. The contract will be signed and Mr Villas-Boas will be presented in St Petersburg as Zenits new head coach on March 20, Zenit said in a statement. Zenits owners, the Russian statecontrolled gas giant Gazprom, will be looking beyond this season in signing Villas-Boas as they seek glory on the European stage. Spalletti achieved domestic success with Zenit, leading the Saint Petersburg side to two Russian league titles, and delivering a first Russian Cup win in 11 years soon after his appointment. But Gazprom lost patience with Spallettis failure to make a breakthrough in the Champions League after several big money signings. l
Players of Celaya football team pose with brown paper bags over their heads in protest at unpaid wages, before Saturday's Mexican second division match against Merida, in Celaya, Mexico's state of Guanajuato on Saturday. The Mexican players' association said on Monday that measures were being taken to resolve the impasse after the players claimed they had not been paid for two months REUTERS
RESULTS
Torino Roma
Totti 22, Destro 30, Torosidis 69
0 1 3 2
Napoli
Higuain 90
Udinese
Pinzi 51, Basta 80
in their last two games without him. The 37-year-old put them ahead in the 22nd minute when he fired in a rebound from 12 metres for his sixth goal of the campaign after Udineses teenage goalkeeper Simone Scuffet parried Gervinhos shot. Roma went further ahead after half an hour with a lethal counter-attack. l
DHAKA TRIBUNE
Sport
15
Gayle announces his arrival
Chris Gayle declared his arrival in Bangladesh for the ICC World T20 with a match winning unbeaten 58 steering West Indies to a seven wicket victory over England in a warm-up match at Fatullah yesterday. Sporting solar red coloured shirts as part of their new Twenty20 kit, England posted a modest 131-7 in the opening innings with captain Eoin Morgan top-scoring with 43 not out. Moeen Ali (22) was the only other batsman to post over 20 runs in the England innings. Chris Gayle, who was rested last Thursdays final T20 international between the two teams, hit an unbeaten 58 from 38 balls to ease the current World T20 holders to victory with 23 balls to spare. England bowler Tim Bresnan proved particularly expensive, conceding 29 runs in two overs. Gayle and Dwayne Smith (36) put on 78 in 8.3 overs for the Windies first wicket to leave the result in little doubt. England face India on Wednesday in their final warm-up game before they open their World T20 campaign against New Zealand on Saturday. l
QUICK BYTES
BRIEF SCORE
England 131 7 in 20 overs E. Morgan 43*, M Ali 22; K Santokie 3 24, S Cottrell 2 23 West Indies 132 3 in 16.1 overs C Gayle 58*, D Smith 38; Bopara 1 20 West Indies won by 7 wickets
West Indies opener Chris Gayle goes big during their World T20 warm-up match against England at Fatullah yesterday
MUMIT M
Bangladesh forward Krishna Kumar goes wild to celebrate his goal against Singapore in the Islami Bank Asian Games Hockey Qualifiers yesterday COURTESY
Proteas beat BD A
Bangladesh A 116 (18.4/20 ov) South Africa122/5 (18.3/20 ov) South Africa warmed up for their ICC World T20 with a five wicket victory over Bangladesh A at the Fatullah Stadium yesterday. Batting first Bangladesh A posted 116 allout in 18.4 overs with Junaed Siddique scoring 29, wicket keeper Nurul Hasan chipping in 25 and Mukhtar Ali slamming 35 off 20 balls hitting fout fours and two sixes. Dale Steyn and Tsotsobe grabbed two wickets each conceding 10 and 21 runs. Later South Africa scored 122 for five with Farhan Behardien contributing unbeaten 36 off 31 balls, J.Duminy adding 25 off 41 and J. Morkel remaining not out hitting 27 off 12 balls. l
DAYS WATCH
Sony Six NBA 2013 14 8:30AM Atlanta v Toronto 8:30AM Golden State v Orlando Star Sports 4 2:30PM AFC Champions League Sydney Wanderers v Kawasaki Frontale 1:00AM Sony Open Tennis, Miami Star Sports 1 World T20 2014 3:30PM Zimbabwe v Netherlands 7:30PM Ireland v UAE Star Sports 2 World T20 warm-up 3:30PM Sri Lanka v West Indies 7:30PM India v England Ten Sports 1:45AM UEFA Champions League, R16 Leg2 Man Utd v Olympiakos Ten Action 1:45AM UEFA Champions League, R16 Leg2 Man Utd v Olympiakos
BFF ex-co members greet their Pioneer League sponsors in a press conference held at the BFF House yesterday COURTESY
Dropped catches
Afghanistan bagged their maiden win in the ICC World Twenty20 and also in a world event defeating Hong Kong by seven wickets at Chittagongs Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium yesterday. Opener batsman Mohammad Shahzads 68 was vital for Afghanistan chasing 154 but that came after two dropped catches. However, Afghanistan captain Mohammad Nabi disagreed that catches cost the match and said such things were part of the game. No, because that target on this pitch, because the ball comes on the pitch, maybe 170-75 was a good target, not 153. Also, because we have some wickets in hand, the chase was easy, said Nabi to the media yesterday. Every match is important to win. Bangladesh was an important game, we lost. Well try and win both games, he added. Afghanistan will face Nepal in their last group match of the first round of the tournament. According to coach Kabir Khan, Afghanistan will look forward to win the game too to keep their chances alive in the tournament. The only way we can survive in the tournament now is Bangladesh losing a game while we win our last. But there is a very minute chance for this to happen to be honest. But we will like to keep all options open and go for the win against Nepal, said Kabir. While for Hong Kong, back to back defeats means they are already out of the league. However the sides coach Charlie Burke is happy for the teams better showing after they were thrashed by Nepal in the previous game. Yeah, better performance, we still did a lot of basics wrong, the fielding was very poor again today, which is inexcusable. We pride ourselves on our fielding and we fielded really well in all the pre-matches and again we dropped some simple catches today, said Burke. The 34-year-old Australian also blamed the dropped catches for the defeat, despite being in control of the game at times. Definitely, you drop someone that goes on and makes a good score it really hurts you, and they chased really well. I thought Afghanistan remained calm the whole way through and they showed how good a side they are... to miss that run-out that we should have easily got and two dropped catches, really hurts you, he said.l
BRIEF SCORE
Bangladesh A 116 (18.4/20 ov) Junaid 29, Muktar 35, Steyn 2/10 South Africa 122/5 (18.3/20 ov) Duminy 25, Behardien 36, Morkel 27, Taijul 3/12 South Africa won by 5 wickets
16
DHAKA TRIBUNE
Back Page
Missing plane search spans Asia, EWG: 3rd phase upazila polls not fully free, probe shows little progress marred by violence
n Reuters, Kuala Lumpur
An international land and sea search for a missing Malaysian jetliner is covering an area the size ofAustralia, authorities said yesterday, but police and intelligence agencies have yet to establish a clear motive to explain its disappearance. Investigators are convinced that someone with deep knowledge of the Boeing 777-200ER and commercial navigation diverted Malaysia AirlinesFlight MH370, carrying 12 crew and 227 mainly Chinese passengers, perhaps thousands of miles off its scheduled course fromKuala LumpurtoBeijing. But intensive background checks of everyone aboard have so far failed to find anyone with a known political or criminal motive to hijack or deliberately crash the plane, Western security sources and Chinese authorities said. Malaysian Acting Transport Minister Hishammuddin Hussein told a news conference the unique, unprecedented search covered a total area of 2.24 million nautical miles (7.68 million sq km), from central Asia to thesouthern Indian Ocean. Flight MH370 vanished from civilian air traffic control screens offMalaysias east coastless than an hour after takeoff early on March 8. Investigators piecing together patchy data from military radar and satellites believe that someone turned off the aircrafts identifying transponder and ACARS system, which transmits maintenance data, and turned west, re-crossing the Malay Peninsula and following a commercial aviation route towardsIndia. Malaysian officials have backtracked on the exact sequence of events - they are now unsure whether the ACARS system was shut down before or after the last radio message was heard from the cockpit - but said that did not make a material difference. This does not change our belief, as stated, that up until the point at which it left military primary radar coverage, the aircrafts movements were consistent with deliberate action by someone on the plane, said Hishammuddin. That remains the position of the investigating team. his country had carried out a detailed probe into its nationals aboard the flight and could rule out their involvement. US and European security sources said efforts by various governments to investigate the backgrounds of everyone on the flight had not, as of Monday, turned up links to militant groups or anything else that could explain the jets disappearance. A European diplomat in Kuala Lumpur also said trawls through the passenger manifest had come up blank. One source familiar with U.S. inquiries said the pilots were being studied because of the technical knowledge needed to disable the aircrafts communications systems. The New York Times cited senior U.S. officials as saying that the first turn back to the west was likely programmed into the aircrafts flight computer, rather than being executed manually, by someone knowledgeable about aircraft systems. Malaysia Airlines Chief Executive Ahmad JauhariYahya told Tuesdays daily news conference that that was speculation, adding: Once you are in the aircraft, anything is possible. Malaysian officials said on Monday that suicide by the pilot or co-pilot was a line of inquiry, although they stressed that it was only one of the possibilities under investigation. Malaysian police have searched the homes of the captain, Zaharie Ahmad Shah, 53, and first officer, Fariq Abdul Hamid, 27, both in middle-class suburbs of Kuala Lumpur close to the airport. Among the items taken for examination was a flight simulator Zaharie had built in his home. A senior police officer with direct knowledge of the investigation said the programs from the pilots simulator includedIndian Oceanrunways in theMaldives,Sri Lanka, Diego Garcia andsouthern India, although he added that US and European runways also featured. Generally these flight simulators show hundreds or even thousands of runways, the officer said. What we are trying to see is what were the runways that were frequently used. We also need to see what routes the pilot had been assigned to before. This will take time, so people cannot jump the gun just yet.l
n Mushque Wadud
The Election Working Group, a network of 29 civil society organisations, yesterday claimed that the third phase of upazila parishad elections last week were marred by violence and intimidation of voters as well as observers. At a press conference to release a preliminary report, EWG said it did not believe the third phase polls on Saturday were fully free, fair or credible. It also claimed that incidents of violence had gradually increased from phase one to three. Considering the violent incidents, we cannot say that the elections were fully fair, said Taleya Rahman, an executive committee member of EWG. Abdul Alim, the groups director, said the Election Commission did not make adequate preparations to avoid violence. He also alleged that the elections were not fully free. The preliminary report estimated the average voter turnout to be 64.6 percent.
According to the report, EWG observers faced obstacles while monitoring elections in some parts of the country. In an extremely concerning event in Daganbhuyian upazila, a EWG observer was taken against his will, beaten and finally released on the condition that he would not observe the election. The incident was reported to the EC, it said. The report said 258 incidents of violence were reported from 54 upazilas, while 143 incidents of voter intimidation were seen. It also said in 90 cases, EWG members were not allowed to observe vote counting. Furthermore, 87 incidents of violation of electoral laws were reported. Nazmul Ahsan Kalimullah, EWG steering committee member, said local government elections were supposed to be non-partisan, but now, except using party symbols, everything was done politically. Nazmul said local elections could also be held politically, and in that case, the accountability of political parties would increase. l
A girl displays a packet of handmade sanitary napkins at their shop in Baniarajan village in Gaibandha
DHAKA TRIBUNE
Each Rana Plaza worker Probe body fails to identify culprits to get Tk50,000 from behind Ctg gold trader abduction n Trust Fund
Tarek Mahmud, Chittagong
It is a great achievement for the trade union that it has been able to provide compensation for all workers
This fund would be distributed among workers by the coordinating committee through bKash by April 15, Ramesh Chandra Roy, secretary general of IndustriAll Bangladesh Council, told the Dhaka Tribune. The Trust Fund, backed by the International Labour Organisation, includes IndustriALL, UNI Global Union and the Clean Clothes Campaign. The ILO is the
trustee of the fund. Currently, the Trust Fund has $8m while British retailer Primark would give $1m to the fund. About $40m is needed to pay 3,000 workers or the families of those killed in the collapse on April 24 last year. At least 1,133 workers were killed and over 2,500 injured in the incident. It is a great achievement for the trade union that it has been able to provide compensation for all workers, Ramesh said. As per the decision of yesterdays meeting, long-term compensation would be provided through fixed deposit, with the help of Dutch Bangla Bank, he added. On the other hand, the Primark would pay 20% compensation of claim for those who are missing, dead and needs long-term treatment by March 31. On Monday, the Primark said it would begin paying $9m in long-term compensation to the victims of the Rana Plaza collapse. As many as 580 workers or their dependents of New Wave Bottoms, which supplied Primark and was based on the second floor of the eight-storey building, will receive the payments. It also plans to pay the rest 80% compensation by May. It would be distributed through the Coordinating Committee. l
A probe body of Chittagong Metropolitan Police, which was formed to investigate the role of law enforcement agencies in connection with the abduction of the port citys gold trader Mridul Chowdhury, has failed to identify the culprits behind the abduction. The probe committee also did not find any connection of Rapid Action Battalion or Detective Branch personnel being involved with the abduction, although the abductors identified themselves as RAB and DB officials during the incident, said probe body sources. Banaz Kumar Majumdar, additional commissioner (crime and operation) of the CMP and chief of the probe committee, forwarded the probe report to the Police Headquarters yesterday. Banaz said the committee had not found any involvement of law enforcers with the abduction, while the kidnappers of Mridul could also not be identified. I hope everything will be revealed in the investigation of the case, which was lodged regarding the abduction, he added. A member of the probe committee, seeking anonymity, told the Dhaka Tribune that the report also criticised the files and documents preserving system of the RAB for being defective. Gold trader Mridul was abducted
from in front of his residence in Chittagong city on February 11, while his abductors released him in Comilla on February 17. Mridul, before his abduction, had lodged a lawsuit with Dhaka Chief Metropolitan Magistrates Court against Major Rakibul Amin of RAB-2, RAB source Dipu and Mriduls driver Babul, accusing them of robbing about 80 tolas of gold. Soon after the lawsuit, armed people identifying themselves as law enforcers picked up Mridul from his home, the gold traders relatives claimed. Mridul, in his confessional statement recorded by a Chittagong court on February 19, said a group of five or six people introducing themselves as RAB members and DB officials picked him
up and took him on a black microbus. The victims family alleged that Major Rakibul Amin, deputy director of RAB-2, was involved with the abduction as Mridul lodged a lawsuit against him. Major Rakibul and Mridul gave their statements before the probe body on March 5. Major Rakibul refuted the allegation against him, while Mridul said the abductors asked him repeatedly during his captivity why he had lodged the case against RAB officials. Earlier on March 2, the CMP formed a three-member probe body as per the order of Police Headquarters to investigate the role of law enforcement agencies in connection with the abduction, while the committee was asked to submit its report within a week. l
Editor: Zafar Sobhan, Published and Printed by Kazi Anis Ahmed on behalf of 2A Media Limited at Dainik Shakaler Khabar Publications Limited, 153/7, Tejgaon Industrial Area, Dhaka-1208. Editorial, News & Commercial Office: FR Tower, 8/C Panthapath, Shukrabad, Dhaka 1207. Phone: 9132093 94, Advertising: 9132155, Circulation: 9132282, Fax: News-9132192, e-mail: news@dhakatribune.com, info@dhakatribune.com, Website: www.dhakatribune.com
RMG SAFETY
As production in two garment factories in Dhaka has been suspended temporarily after Accord found structural hazards in the building, a number of around 6,000 workers fear loss of their jobs. Softex Cotton Ltd and Fame KnitWears Ltd were asked to stop working in the weak and flawed building early this month. They were of 10 factories inspected by the Accord experts on a pilot project. The owners of the two factories said they might no longer resume production in the building which Accord-designated hazardous. When told about the workers fear, the employers, while talking to the Dhaka Tribune, however assured that the workers would be taken back in their other factories. The assurance would not satisfy workers until they saw it happen. We may be refused from getting back our jobs. The factory closure could be for permanent, feared a worker. The owners have other factories. If the ones where we were working are closed permanently, they will have no problem, she added explaining her fear. But the employers said they would return jobs to the workers if they went to their other factories. The workers will be given back their jobs if they come to us, said Rezwan Selim, managing director of Softex which employs about 3,500, mostly women.
Bangladesh Accord Foundation, a group of 150 clothing brands and retailers, plans to inspect 1,500 garment factories by early September. According to the workers, they are going to the factories every morning hoping that the production is resumed. I have two children. My husband is a rickshaw puller. It is tough to feed a family with the pittances we earn, said Ayesha, a worker, sitting at a makeshift tea stall in a slum of Dhaka. We heard the factory is in a temporary shutdown for retrofitting the building. But the closure becomes permanent, I will have nowhere to go, she expressed her fear. The workers are now waiting for wages for the interim period which is likely to be three months. It wont be good if the owners dont pay us wage for three months on March 20, said Shabuj, another worker. On March 6, the Accord on Bangladesh Fire and Building Safety, an initiative of European retailers, asked the factories to suspend production as the building was inspected flawed. We are completely unable now to pay wages of three months to workers. We will request the Accord to make the payments. This is their liability, said Softex MD Rezwan Selim. According to him, Accords decision of production halt was not fair as the building condition was not too bad to continue production. At least they could give us one month time, Rezwan vented his grievance.
Women sewing clothes inside a factory in Dhaka At around 10.30pm of March 6, Accord authorities called me and asked to evacuate the factory within March 10. But, this was not an enough time for such a task. On March 8, I sent them a letter asking for some time, said Rezwan. Sources concerned said the building was approved for a four-storeyed structure but rose to seven storeys. Softex was housed in the unapproved floors. But Fame KnitWears was in the approved floors and so it can continue production after the Softex machineries are removed. Accord told me to continue production after Softex evacuation. I told my workers to come on March 22, said Md Moshiul Azam Shajal, owner of Fame KnitWears and a director of BGMEA. Fame owner however hinted that he might decide not to run the factory any longer in the present building and to shift to another place. As problems have been found with the building, it is better relocate. Problems may be found again even after retrofitting, said Moshiul Azam Shajal. Softex is going to find sub-contractors for supplying the already-taken orders, said manager Abul Hashem. The 30-year old building designated as flawed is owned by the ruling party lawmaker Ilias Uddin Mollah. He said the building would be retrofitted in a three-month time.
The inspection team suggested strengthening of some columns. It can be done in three months, said Mollah. Md Shahidullah Azim, vice president of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) said if the workplace safety was ensured, the countrys garment sector image will return. Accord steering committee member Roy Ramesh Chandra said the decision about the two factories was taken for the welfare of both owners and workers. The workers of Softex Cotton Ltd and Fame KnitWears Ltd demanded wages for the time of suspension. The owners asked them to wait until March 20 (tomorrow) for the wages. l
B2
DSEX slide to eight week low
n Tribune Report
Stocks fell for the fourth session in a row amid continuous volatility yesterday with benchmark index DSEX sliding to more than eight-week low. The market moved between red and green initially but huge selling spree dragged the market down at the end. The benchmark index was down 36 points or 0.8% to close at 4,554, which was lowest since January 20 this year. over manufacturing and financial sectors as they are lured by low prices earnings ratio of the banking stocks. Among the large cap sectors, banks posted a mild recovery from the last sessions heavy correction. Cement, engineering, mutual fund and telecommunications sectors fell 2.3%, 1.6%, 1.1% and 1.4% respectively. Market fell as investors appeared to get a wobble in investment behavior, said Lanka Bangla Securities in its market analysis. IDLC Investments said profit booking in selective large cap scrips turned the session red. Additionally, marginal level of panic sales resulted in the losing streak to be extended to fourth session, causing a total loss of 118 points from the benchmark index, DSEX, it said. Apparent lack of market direction kept investors somewhat dozy. As cautious stance came up-front, market activity became sluggish, causing turnover to register lower. Zenith Investment said market showed no sign of recovery yet, and instead took a nose dive from lack of investor participation. To the disappointment of most traders, banks alone could not contribute much to lift the market, since most of the sectors shed blood during todays trading hour. Square Pharmaceuticals was the most traded stock with a turnover of Tk24 crore. The most traded stocks included Square Pharmaceuticals, Bangladesh Shipping Corporation, Padma Oil, Lafarge Surma Cement, Grameenphone, Bangladesh Submarine Cable Company, Olympic Industries and Meghna Petroleum. l
DHAKA TRIBUNE
Stock
DSE GAINERS Company
Closing (% change) 10.93 6.13 6.08 5.79 5.49 4.17 3.78 3.60 3.33 3.02
I P D C -A Dhaka Bank -A Marico BD Ltd-A 5th ICB M F A GlaxoSK (BD) -A AB Bank - A Reckitt Benckiser -A Agni Systems -A AMCL (Pran) -A Prime Bank-A CSE GAINERS Company I P D C -A Phoenix Insur -A Eastland Insur -A MutualTrust Bank-A Marico BD Ltd-A Daffodil Computers -Z PragatiLife Insu. -A Dhaka Bank -A AMCL (Pran) -A Shahjalal Islami -A
Average (% change) 12.87 5.35 3.39 6.33 4.04 5.23 3.78 2.28 3.64 2.90 Average (% change) 11.27 16.00 5.51 13.54 2.75 3.77 3.71 6.55 3.69 1.78
Closing average 20.78 22.43 1,145.16 193.33 1,334.95 27.59 1,000.00 22.88 250.37 23.81
Closing 20.30 22.50 1,170.60 191.80 1,362.80 27.50 1,000.00 23.00 251.30 23.90
Daily high 24.80 24.00 1,172.20 194.00 1,366.90 28.60 1,000.00 23.10 253.80 24.90
Daily low 19.50 18.90 1,077.00 187.60 1,286.50 24.00 1,000.00 21.00 230.00 20.90
Turnover in million 8.822 43.038 21.529 0.058 13.750 23.958 0.100 12.112 38.993 2.712
Latest EPS 1.36 3.66 46.53 21.32 45.35 2.20 28.52 1.10 6.06 0.56
Latest PE 15.3 6.1 24.6 9.1 29.4 12.5 35.1 20.8 41.3 42.5
Closing (% change) 11.48 9.95 5.30 5.17 4.40 3.85 3.70 3.67 3.46 2.74
Closing average 20.64 46.40 51.70 17.94 1153.63 13.49 238.02 22.45 250.95 14.90
Closing 20.40 46.40 51.70 18.30 1153.60 13.50 238.00 22.60 251.30 15.00
Daily high 21.50 46.40 51.70 18.50 1169.50 13.90 238.10 22.70 253.90 15.10
Daily low 20.00 46.40 51.70 16.70 1138.00 13.00 238.00 21.40 246.80 14.30
Turnover in million 0.805 0.056 0.010 0.135 0.231 0.074 0.595 1.862 5.897 1.432
Latest EPS 1.36 3.81 3.60 2.05 46.53 0.60 2.38 3.66 6.06 1.67
Latest PE 15.2 12.2 14.4 8.8 24.8 22.5 100.0 6.1 41.4 8.9
'Apparent lack of market direction kept investors somewhat dozy. As cautious stance came up-front, market activity became sluggish'
Shariah Index DSES lost 14 points or 1% to 995. The blue-chip comprising DS30 shed 19 points or 1% to end at 1,636. Chittagong Stock Exchange Selective Category Index, CSCX, fell 85 points to 8,853. Trading activities improved but still remained poor with the DSE turnover standing at Tk322 crore, which is over 10% higher over the previous session. Energy, textile and engineering sectors were under pressure as large cap stocks of these sectors performed badly. However, investors showed interest
(-) 0.79% (-) 1.41% (-) 1.19% (-) 1.01% (-) 1.02% (-) 0.95%
Traded Issues Issue Gain (Avg. Price Basis) Issue Loss (Avg. Price Basis) Unchanged Issue (Avg. Price Basis) Market Capital Equity (Billion. Tk.) Market Capital Equity (Billion US$)
Average (% change) -9.96 -4.17 -6.36 -7.47 -2.38 -1.41 -5.28 -3.51
Closing average 17.26 28.71 26.49 24.65 72.13 133.32 38.93 7.43
Daily high 18.00 29.50 28.10 25.50 75.10 138.70 40.30 7.40
Daily low 16.00 28.10 25.00 23.90 69.60 129.00 37.80 7.30
Turnover in million 4.011 1.407 12.457 18.460 25.801 16.465 5.879 0.026
Latest EPS 1.75 0.02 0.88 1.32 1.70 3.56 0.36 0.44
-5.15 -5.14
0.13 -3.70
112.02 33.79
108.60 33.20
117.50 34.90
107.00 33.00
8.525 3.217
1.18 1.56
94.9 21.7
Closing (% change) -9.63 -8.00 -7.10 -7.09 -6.99 -6.82 -6.76 -6.52
Average (% change) -8.69 -4.02 -7.33 -7.25 -7.16 -6.84 -1.72 -3.09
Closing average 24.58 28.92 32.62 26.36 17.25 8.17 132.93 71.76
Daily high 26.00 29.30 32.70 26.80 17.40 8.40 137.00 74.90
Daily low 24.20 27.60 32.50 26.00 17.10 8.00 128.70 69.60
Turnover in million 3.023 0.188 0.082 0.992 0.104 0.041 0.871 2.727
Latest EPS 1.32 0.02 0.28 0.88 1.75 -2.58 3.56 1.70
-6.27 -6.15
-6.96 -8.57
31.40 24.42
31.40 24.40
32.00 24.50
31.20 24.00
0.063 0.073
2.20 1.85
14.3 13.2
ANALYST
SECTORAL TURNOVER SUMMARY
Sector Bank NBFI Investment Engineering Food & Allied Fuel & Power Jute Textile Pharma & Chemical Paper & Packaging Service Leather Ceramic Cement Information Technology General Insurance Life Insurance Telecom Travel & Leisure Miscellaneous Debenture
DSE TURNOVER LEADERS Company Square Pharma -A BSC A Padma Oil Co. -A BATBCL -A LafargeS Cement-Z Grameenphone-A
BD Submarine Cable-A
DSE Million Taka 332.08 124.09 54.40 328.67 360.23 389.91 9.28 230.45 448.12 1.22 40.18 43.49 19.45 187.18 35.79 48.04 117.77 218.97 20.05 217.12 0.22
% change 10.29 3.85 1.69 10.19 11.16 12.08 0.29 7.14 13.89 0.04 1.25 1.35 0.60 5.80 1.11 1.49 3.65 6.79 0.62 6.73 0.01
Million Taka 40.89 11.49 3.37 23.72 23.91 25.02 20.09 33.65 7.12 3.13 10.08 2.41 15.63 5.50 1.84 7.54 22.77 4.75 37.95 0.01
% change 13.59 3.82 1.12 7.88 7.95 8.32 0.00 6.68 11.18 2.37 1.04 3.35 0.80 5.19 1.83 0.61 2.51 7.57 1.58 12.61 0.00
Million Taka 372.98 135.58 57.77 352.39 384.13 414.94 9.28 250.54 481.77 8.34 43.31 53.57 21.86 202.81 41.29 49.88 125.31 241.75 24.80 255.07 0.23
% change 10.57 3.84 1.64 9.99 10.89 11.76 0.26 7.10 13.66 0.24 1.23 1.52 0.62 5.75 1.17 1.41 3.55 6.85 0.70 7.23 0.01
Volume shares 870,275 245,645 386,008 56,767 2,413,000 522,000 503,318 429,769 294,526 412,320
Value in million 240.66 156.81 130.67 120.73 116.73 111.09 107.89 92.84 82.60 62.20
% of total turnover 7.46 4.86 4.05 3.74 3.62 3.44 3.34 2.88 2.56 1.93
Daily closing 274.20 641.50 336.00 2146.10 47.90 211.30 212.70 213.70 279.10 148.10
Price change -3.18 2.27 -2.47 1.38 -3.23 -1.45 -1.35 -2.55 -2.00 -4.82
Daily opening 283.20 627.25 344.50 2116.80 49.50 214.40 215.60 219.30 284.80 155.60
Daily high 285.00 644.75 355.00 2150.00 49.40 215.00 220.00 219.30 285.00 157.00
Daily low 270.00 623.00 315.00 2025.00 47.80 210.70 197.00 205.00 260.00 147.10
Daily average 276.53 638.35 338.51 2126.83 48.38 212.81 214.35 216.02 280.46 150.85
Volume shares
Prepared exclusively for Dhaka Tribune by Business Information Automation Service Line (BIASL), on the basis of information collected from daily stock quotations and audited reports of the listed companies. High level of caution has been taken to collect and present the above information and data. The publisher will not take any responsibility if any body uses this information and data for his/her investment decision. For any query please email to biasl@bol-online.com or call 01552153562 or go to www.biasl.net
Square Pharma -A BD Submarine Cable-A UCBL - A LafargeS Cement-Z Padma Oil Co. -A Grameenphone-A Beach Hatchery -A AMCL (Pran) -A Appollo Ispat CL -N UNITED AIR A Delta Life Insu. -A AB Bank - A BEXIMCO Ltd. -A Quasem Drycells -A
48,785 67,701 65,454 492,928 211,500 28,379 41,200 180,500 23,500 175,200 321,829 18,100 154,417 123,288 80,138
Value in million
31.12 18.72 14.04 11.46 10.23 9.60 8.74 5.98 5.90 4.90 4.75 4.58 4.26 3.87 3.73
% of total turnover
11.27 6.78 5.08 4.15 3.70 3.48 3.16 2.16 2.13 1.77 1.72 1.66 1.54 1.40 1.35
Daily closing
641.00 272.90 212.90 23.20 48.00 336.50 210.60 32.90 251.30 27.70 14.70 251.40 27.50 31.20 45.30
Price change
2.23 -3.50 -1.57 1.31 -3.23 -2.32 -1.68 0.30 3.46 -1.77 -1.34 -1.49 2.61 -0.95 -1.52
Daily opening
627.00 282.80 216.30 22.90 49.60 344.50 214.20 32.80 242.90 28.20 14.90 255.20 26.80 31.50 46.00
644.50 283.00 218.00 23.70 49.40 343.00 214.50 33.80 253.90 28.30 15.10 257.00 28.40 31.70 47.80
623.00 270.00 212.40 22.30 47.80 335.10 210.20 32.50 246.80 27.50 14.60 250.00 26.40 28.50 45.00
Daily average
637.87 276.58 214.43 23.26 48.37 338.37 212.07 33.13 250.95 27.94 14.77 252.88 27.59 31.38 46.53
DHAKA TRIBUNE
Business
n Sheikh Shahariar Zaman
B3
Banks closed March 23, 31 in upazila-poll areas n Tribune Report
All the bank branches in fourth and fifth-phase upazila polls areas will remain closed on March 23 and 31. Bangladesh Bank made the directive through a circular yesterday to facilitate the bankers exercise their voting rights. The fourth phase of upazila elections will be held on March 23 in 92 upazilas while the fifth phase will take place on March 31 in 74 upazilas. l
n Reuters
ent specialised Korean institutions and universities under KOICAs training programmes. Since 1993, KOICA has dispatched more than 460 Korean overseas volunteers and experts to Bangladesh to work in the government institutions for providing technical support to develop the capacity of those host organisations. KOICA also supported Bangladesh in rural and agricultural development, ICT and reducing climate change im-
pacts. South Korean Ambassador Lee Yun-young in the signing programme appreciated Bangladeshs growth and performance in socio-economic development and achieving MDGs. He hoped that Bangladesh could follow the Korean model of development as Korea, once an aid recipient developing country, achieved its remarkable development through proper utilisation of its human capital, foreign assistance and others. l
The Bangladesh mission in Tokyo is set to introduce machine-readable passports and machine-readable visa services from today. Home Secretary CQM Mostaque would inaugurate the service, Momen said. We made preparations for the last one and a half years, and now we are introducing it, he added. l
Microsoft Corp Chief Executive Satya Nadella may unveil an iPad version of the companys Office software suite on March 27, a source familiar with the event told Reuters, and use his first big press appearance to launch the companys most profitable product in a version compatible with Apple Incs popular tablet. Nadella, who replaced longtime CEO Steve Ballmer earlier this year, will address the media and industry executives in San Francisco on March 27. l
Growth in compensation for US CEOs may have slowed Yen weakens in Asia despite Crimea tensions n
Reuters
n AFP, Tokyo
The dollar and euro rose against the yen in Asia yesterday as investors took in their stride Crimeas vote to leave Ukraine and join Russia as the West announce sanctions against Moscow officials. The greenback fetched 101.82 in Tokyo afternoon trade, up from 101.68 yen in New York Monday. The euro also rose to 141.87 yen from 141.58 yen in US trade, and $1.3931 from $1.3921, despite weak eurozone inflation data. The yen, a low-risk and safe resort in times of uncertainty, surged last week ahead of Sundays referendum. But analysts said the outcome was widely expected and dealers were turning to economic matters closer to home. Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday signed a decree recognising Crimea as an independent state after the vote to secede, which has fanned the worst crisis between Russia and the West since the Cold War. The United States and European Union on Monday slapped Putins inner circle with economic sanctions while the White House warned of more to come if Moscow continues to interfere in Ukraine. Japan followed suit Tuesday with a set of its own sanctions against Russia. The conflict is far from over. But markets dont regard the situation as critical, said Kengo Suzuki, chief FX strategist at Mizuho Securities. With the dollar gaining broadly, and US stocks and bond yields rising, sen-
timent is turning to a risk-on mode, he told Dow Jones Newswires. US traders were buoyed by data showing industrial output increased more than expected in February, adding to a growing feeling that the worlds number one economy is on a recovery track. The news comes as the Federal Reserve begins a two-day policy meeting Tuesday, the first to be chaired by the banks new chief Janet Yellen. She is expected to further cut the banks stimulus programme but investors will be closely watching her postmeeting news conference as they look for clues about future policy. The euros rise came despite eurozone February inflation coming in at 0.7%, lower than an initial estimate of 0.8%, adding to concerns of deflation in the 18-member bloc. The dollar was mostly lower against other Asia-Pacific currencies. It weakened to 60.92 Indian rupees from 61.19 rupees on Monday, to 44.64 Philippine pesos from 44.67 pesos, and to 1,067.83 South Korean won from 1,068.45 won. The greenback also slipped to Sg$1.2647 from Sg$1.2651 and to 32.16 Thai baht from 32.24 baht, while it edged up to 11,282.30 Indonesian rupiah from 11,267.50 rupiah. The Australian dollar rose to 90.81 US cents from 90.54 US cents. The Chinese yuan continued to fall after Beijing at the weekend widened the currencys trading band, with the dollar buying 6.1883 yuan against 6.1558 on Monday. l
Big US companies appear to have handed out smaller increases in compensation to their chief executives in 2013 than in 2012, mainly as a result of reduced grants of stock options, according to an early review of annual regulatory filings. Based on disclosures from 46 companies in the Standard & Poors 500 Index that had filed annual compensation reports by March 11, the median compensation increase for a CEO was 1% to $8.64m. That was a slower rate of increase than this group of 46 received for 2012 when its median CEO pay rose 15% to $8.53m. The median compensation for CEOs in S&P 500 companies overall increased about 5.5% for 2012. The review, conducted for Reuters by proxy adviser and corporate governance consulting firm Institutional Shareholder Services, provides an early peek at compensation trends but ISS cautioned that there could be significant changes once all companies have reported and that the 46 companies may not be representative of trends for companies in the entire index. Most companies will file their executive compensation data over the next few weeks. Some pay experts have been expecting to see slower growth in compensation for 2013 - despite the bull market in stocks - as S&P 500 corporate profits only increased 6.2% amid a stuttering US economic performance, and due to the increasing use of performance measures to decide on levels of compensation. In the kinds of incentive plans be-
coming more popular, executives do not receive higher compensation just because a companys share price rises, but rather must perform well on a series of measures - not just profit, but often including revenue, margins, cash flow, and in some cases even a companys safety and environment records.
'The indications are that companies continue to do a better job of matching up pay with performance'
Theyre not going to get monster rewards, said Alan Johnson, managing director of pay consulting firm Johnson Associates in New York. The indications are that companies continue to do a better job of matching up pay with performance. However, the figures are unlikely to assuage concerns that CEOs are reaping bigger increases than those received by many Americans further down the food chain, exacerbating inequality. President Barack Obama has been stressing policies intended to reduce inequality, such as a push for a higher minimum wage. The study looks at what was granted to CEOs for 2013 and does not include all the compensation CEOs actually pocketed in 2013 after stock and option awards granted to them in previous years were exercised or vested. With the S&P 500 surging 32.4% last year, including dividends, and almost tripling
from the lows it hit in the financial crisis, some of those awards from 20092012 have proven very lucrative. A separate review by executive compensation data firm Equilar of 44 companies in the Fortune 1,000 that filed their statements in January or February shows that the median value executives gained from exercising stock options or stock vesting was $2.1m in 2013, up 18% from 2012.
Radical changes
Investor activists and proxy advisers, including ISS, have pressed companies for years to align pay with shareholder interests. In recent weeks, a handful of companies have made radical changes in the way they reward their CEOs, including semiconductor maker Intel Corp and mining group Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. Among the 46 S&P 500 companies surveyed, the median cash salary rose $27,584, or 2.6%, to $1,079,327. But the median stock award rose $337,493, or 9.5%, to $3,887,008, and the median cash incentive award rose $63,799, or 3.3%, to $1,998,102. Restraining the overall increase, though, were less generous stock options awards. Of the 46 companies, only 32 of them awarded stock options to their CEOs in 2013, down from 35 in 2012. For those 35 companies (including those who did not grant options in 2013), the average award fell by $548,543, or 23%, to $1,880,476 in 2013. Some companies said they reduced their option awards as they wanted to reduce the incentive to take certain risks. At financial services company Comerica Inc, total compensation for
CEO Ralph Babb fell 10% to $6.46m, as the value of his option awards fell to $314,729 from $1,047,682 in 2012. Comerica said in a filing it cut the weighting of stock option awards during the year to discourage inappropriate risk taking and better align with regulatory expectations. At paint maker Sherwin-Williams, total compensation for CEO Christopher Connor fell 1.5% to $10.8m, as the value of stock option awards fell to $3m from $3.3m in 2012. The company said in a filing that it has de-emphasized stock options in favour of stock awards related to performance to provide more focus on operating performance. Most CEOs get it, an increase in stock price is going to be their greatest opportunity for compensation, said David Dorman, an investor and board member at a series of companies, including network technology company Motorola Solutions Inc, pharmacy group CVS Caremark Corp and KFC and Pizza Hut owner Yum! Brands Inc. He said that generally compensation for executives in corporate America will be in a pretty tight range. A few caveats apply to the ISS figures. They do not include set-asides for executive pensions and other deferred obligations, which are often established by formula. At some companies these set-asides fell in 2013 as interest rates rose. John Roe, ISSs executive director of corporate services, said companies have embraced new forms of pay. For the companies in this sample, it was a year of compensation adjustments rather than increases, he said. l
Green Delta Insurance Company Limited declared 15% stock dividend and 15% cash dividend for its shareholders for the year ended December 31, 2013. The announcement was made at the 28th Annual General Meeting of the company, held on Saturday at Spectra Convention Center Limited, Dhaka. The meeting that presided over by the companys chairperson AQM Nurul Absar, was attended by sponsors, directors and a large number of shareholders Modhumoti Bank Limited has opened its 5th branch Modhumoti Kanaipur at Faridpur on Sunday. Barrister Sheikh Fazle Noor Taposh, MP, Chairperson of the executive committee inaugurated the branch as chief guest while Md Mizanur Rahman, Managing Director and CEO of the bank presided over the opening ceremony
Business conference of Rupali Bank Limited (RBL) held at Dhaka South Divisional office last Saturday at RBL Training Academys auditorium. The banks Managing Director M Farid Uddin ordered to maintain security strictly of all branches while speaking as the chief guest while general manager Syed Abu Asad presided over the programme
Industries Minister Amir Hossain Amu, MP, is receiving flower bouquet from BangladeshMalaysia Chamber of Commerce & Industry (BMCCI) President Nasir A Choudhury while newly elected BMCCI Board of Directors called on him in the Ministry on March 16
A voluntary blood donation programme along with free eye camp, gynae and general treatment was held at Laucchara, Sreemongol, Moulvibazar by Jamuna Bank Foundation. Kanutosh Majumder, the banks chairperson inaugurated the ceremony as chief guest
First Security Islami Bank Limited (FSIBL) handed over a cheque for Lakho Konthay Sonar Bangla Fund to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at Prime Ministers Office on March 15. Vicechairperson of the bank, Alhaj Mohammed Abdul Maleque seen handing over the cheque to Prime Minister
B4
DHAKA TRIBUNE
Back Page
Chinas yuan dips in widened band, but scope for big swings seen limited
n Reuters, Shanghai
Chinas yuan eased against the dollar on Monday after the central bank doubled the currencys daily trading band as part of its commitment to let markets play a greater role in the economy. Yet the currency moved in a relatively narrow range reflecting market views that the Peoples Bank of China will seek to limit currency swings at a time when markets fret over Chinas cooling growth and the quality of corporate debt. The PBOC, with the help of major state-owned banks, will for certain tighten the grip on yuans value in coming days and weeks to prevent what it sees excessive volatility, said a dealer at a European bank in Shanghai. In the longer run, however, the central bank is expected to allow the currency to move in a broader range in a sign of its confidence that it can keep speculators at bay and that the economy was mature enough to handle greater uncertainty about the exchange rate. Over time, the widening will pave the way for the PBOC to gradually lessen intervention in daily trading and will help Chinas reforms to make the yuan fully convertible eventually. On Saturday, the Peoples Bank of China doubled the yuans daily trading range, so that it can now rise or fall 2% around the daily mid-point rate. The currency opened at 6.15 to the dollar, just 0.29% to the weaker side of the official mid-point rate. It briefly fell to an intraday low of 6.1642, 0.2% weaker than Fridays close. Since the start of this year the yuan has lost 1.8% against the dollar, largely as a result of the central banks efforts, reversing much of last years near 3% rise as Beijing sought to change the perception the yuan was a safe oneway appreciation bet. Beijings efforts to clamp down on such trades combined with concerns over Chinas economic health are expected to keep the yuan on the back foot in coming weeks. Earlier this month, a Chinese company became the first to default on a corporate bond, and concerns about economic growth were highlighted by a dramatic 18 percent fall in exports in February and sluggish manufacturing. Given Chinas recent relatively weak export performance, we see little upside for the yuan this coming year, said Tao Wang, an economist at UBS in Hong Kong. The Bank of International Settlements data underscore that point showing the yuan at a record high against a basket of currencies of Chinas trading partners adjusted for inflation. l
A man plugs his car on March 17 in Paris, at the charging station for electric vehicles dedicated to public services staff at the French economic and financial ministries after its inauguration AFP
He also served as the Managing Director Nigeria and General Manager, Central Africa, and Reckitt Benckiser for four years. In the summit Mr Safdar will discuss developing corporate leadership in the context of Bangladesh. l
DILBERT
Visitors check out products at the ZTE stand at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona
REUTERS