Blockade should continue and even increase in intensity

Hold firmly and be steadfast in your demand for this fascist illegal government to go and accept a free fair and credible election. It would be cowardice to falter from our people’s rightful demand. Our movement is progressing in the right direction day by day. We need to increase intensity of our action by night and day. Do not let those criminal who orders suppression of our people to rest for a single minute. Let them not sleep in peace. Our demands are just and rightful. It is our god given right to fight oppression, so there should be no doubt on the morality of this movement to free the country from Sheikh Hasina,s tyranny. Our leaders should call upon people from every facet of the society to join in. Send a strong signal to Tyrant Sheikh Hasina that no matter how long it takes us; the people of Bangladesh will not stop this blockade and agitation until ultimate victory.

Failure of democracy in Bangladesh will push this country towards destruction.

Sheikh Hasina,s fascist illegal government has turn Bangladesh in to a Baksali Police state where people are deprived of their rights to freely speak and the right to seek justice and equality. It is they who are arrogantly turning a blind eye to the rightful demands of the people.

I urge those who are working for this illegal fascist government to resign from their post in mass numbers. Do not support the tyrant otherwise you too will become one of them. We need to involve government official in this movement. The country belongs to everyone, and not just BNP and Jamat or 20 party alliances. Our leaders should encourage civil disobedience against the government. Also we should appeal to sensible Awami MP,s and ministers to resign from Hasina,s government.

We should make strong statement that those police officers who are firing at innocent people will be tried by the public for war crimes. And Sheikh Hasina personally should be responsible and tried for ordering her Gupali police to shot. If we believe in justice, and right to live in dignity than this fascist illegal Hasina government must go. We must not stop what we have started for our people legitimate rights. We have the moral upper hand while the fascist government is the criminal tyrant. The more people they kill, and more people they put in jail will only make them and their family sworn enemy of this fascist Hasina Tyrant. We should also make clear to Awami leaders that the public will hold them responsible for the killing of those protesting and that they too will not be safe from people’s anger. Lets us be united with one demand and one goal and that is to continue this blockade until this arrogant, criminal fascist government accept peoples demand and step down.

বিএনপির ও জামায়াতের একে ওপরকে কাদা ছোঁড়াছুড়ি করলে বেশী লাভমান হবে সরকার।

বিএনপির ও জামায়াতের একে ওপরকে কাদা ছোঁড়াছুড়ি করলে বেশী লাভমান হবে সরকার। কারন তারা চায় জোটের মাঝে অনৈক্য ও পারস্পরিক অনাস্থা সৃষ্টি করে তাদেরকে দুর্বল, হতাশ ও বিভ্রান্ত করা।

এদের সামনে মূল বাঁধা এখন বিশ দলীয় রাজনৈতিক প্রতিপক্ষ। এই জোটের মাঝে অনৈক্য ও পারস্পরিক অনাস্থা সৃষ্টি করে তাদেরকে দুর্বল, হতাশ ও বিভ্রান্ত করার জন্যেই যুদ্ধাপরাধের বিচারটি ব্যবহার করা হচ্ছে । এটাই এই বিচারের অঘোষিত উদ্দেশ্য। জনগণের দাবী তাদের কাছে মুখ্য বিষয় নয় এবং মেজরিটি গণতন্ত্রে ও তারা বিশ্বাসী নয়। তাদের একমাত্র লক্ষ্য হচ্ছে যত দিন পারা যায় ক্ষমতায় টীকে থাকা - এর জন্য দেশের স্বার্থ বিক্রি করে দিলে ও তাদের কোন যায় আসে না। বিদেশী প্রভুদের সঙ্গে বিভিন্ন গোপন চুক্তিতে আবদ্ধ হয়ে ২০২১ পর্যন্ত এই দেশ শাসনের ইজারা নিয়েছেন। এদের সামনে মূল বাঁধা এখন বিশ দলীয় জোট।

 

বাস্তবতা হচ্ছে, চরিত্রহীন মুনাফিক, লোভী বিদেশী রাষ্ট্র, যাদের উপর ভরসা করে বিএনপি অপেক্ষায় আছে, তারা কোন কার্যকরী প্রেশার এই সরকারকে দিবেনা। এই সরকার জানে যতদিন পর্যন্ত আইন প্রয়োগকারি বাহিনী এবং সেনাবাহিনী তাদের পক্ষে দালালী করবে এবং বিদেশী রাষ্ট্রের স্বার্থের সেবা করতে পারবে, বিরুধি দল যতই চিল্লাচিল্লি করুক না কেন, সরকারের দুম নাড়াতে পারবে না। তবে একটি বাধা হচ্ছে বিরুধি দলের ঐক্য, এই ঐক্য ভাঙতে পারলেই তাদের স্বপ্ন পাকাপুক্ত হয়ে যাবে।

কাজেই বিএনপি এবং জামায়াতের নেতৃত্ব ও কর্মীদেরকে যুদ্ধাপরাধের বিচার নিয়ে সরকারের পুরো পরিকল্পনা ও অপকৌশলটি উপলব্ধি করতে হবে । কোনরূপ আবেগ বা হতাশার বশবর্তি হয়ে নয় - বরং এই জোটের প্রধান দুটি দলকেই রাজনৈতিক প্রজ্ঞা, ধৈর্য ও পাল্টা কৌশল দিয়ে সরকারের অপকৌশলের সকল জাল ছিন্ন করতে হবে। জামায়াত ও বিএনপির রাজনৈতিক দর্শন এক ও অভিন্ন নয় । অমিল গুলি এক পাশে রেখে মিলগুলি কাজে লাগিয়ে বৃহত্তর ঐক্য রচনা করতে হবে। সবাই জানে যে, ১৯৯১ আওয়ামী লীগ ২ মন্ত্রী ও ৭ এমপি পদ জামায়াতকে দিতে চেয়েছিল। কিন্তু এখন কালো বিড়াল ও কামরুল-মায়াদের মুখে বিএনপির জামায়াতকে মন্ত্রী দেয়া বিষয় অভিযোগ শুনে মুখে হাসি পায়। বিএনপির যে নীরবতা জামায়াতকে কষ্ট দিয়েছে সেই নীরবতাই কেন কামরুলদেরকে তেলে বেগুনে জ্বালিয়ে দিয়েছে তাও হিসাব করে দেখতে হবে।

সরকার চাইবে এই দুটি দলের মধ্যে ভুল বোঝাবুঝি সৃষ্টি করতে। কাজেই বিএনপি ও জামায়াতের উচিত হবে না সরকারের সেই ট্র্যাপে পা দেওয়া। এই মুহুর্তে বিশ দলের অনৈক্য জাতির জন্যে চরম সর্বনাশ ডেকে আনতে পারে।

বাইরের কোন শক্তি সহজে বিএনপি জামায়তকে ক্ষমতায় দেখতে চাইবে না। বিএনপি জামায়াতকে ক্ষমতায় আনতে পারে আল্লাহ তায়ালার উপর পূর্ণ আস্থা ও বিশ্বাস এর পরে এদেশের জনগণ। কারন পুতুল বা দালাল সরকার হিসাবে কাজ করতে বাইরের যে কোন শক্তির প্রথম চয়েজ হবে আওয়ামী লীগ, কখনই বিএনপি জামায়াত নহে । দেশের ভেতরে নিজেদের প্রকৃত সমর্থন বেইজকে উপেক্ষা করে অন্য কোন শক্তির উপর পুরোপুরি নির্ভর করলে বিএনপি জামায়াত মারাত্মক ভুল করবে। এটা সত্য যে বৈশ্বিক রাজনীতি থেকে নিজেদের বিচ্ছিন্ন রাখা সম্ভব হবে না। তবে তা কখনই নিজের শেকড়কে কেটে নয়। বিএনপিকে জামায়াতকে তাদের রাজনীতি নিয়ে অগ্রসর হতে হবে। অন্য কারো রাজনীতি নয়।

Halt Execution of War Crimes Accused

(This is the full statement of international Human Rights Watch)

New York) – The death sentence against Muhammed Kamaruzzman, a leader of the Jamaat-e-Islami party convicted of war crimes during Bangladesh’s 1971 war of independence, should immediately be stayed. Kamaruzzman should be granted a right to appeal against the death sentence.

Human Rights Watch is deeply concerned at news that the government has ordered the authorities at Dhaka Central jail to make preparations for the execution of Kamaruzzamn. Kamaruzzaman was transferred to Dhaka Central Jail following the appeals verdict, a signal that his execution is imminent. Kamaruzzaman and his counsel have yet to receive the full text of the final verdict, which is necessary for him to be able to lodge a petition for review of the decision within thirty days, a standard procedure in all death penalty cases. Government officials have indicated that the execution is possible before the full verdict is issued which goes against standard policy in death penalty cases.

“Human Rights Watch opposes the death penalty in all circumstances as an irreversible, degrading, and cruel punishment,” said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “It is particularly problematic when proceedings do not meet fair trial standards and where the right to appeal against a death sentence by an independent court is not allowed.”

A presidential pardon, technically possible, is highly unlikely in these politically charged cases.

Kamaruzzaman was originally arrested in July 2010 on the orders of the International Crimes Court (ICT), a specially constituted court set up to prosecute war crimes committed during the 1971 war. Kamaruzzaman was given no reason for his arrest, leading to the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention to classify his arrest as arbitrary and a violation of international law. Following a trial replete with procedural defects, Kamaruzzaman was sentenced to death in May 2013 after the ICT found him guilty of participation in and planning of the unlawful killings of civilians in the village of Sohagpur in collaboration with the Pakistani army. On November 3, the Supreme Court on appeal upheld the trial court’s conviction and sentence. Kamaruzzaman’s death sentence was the third in a war crimes case in less than a week.

Human Rights Watch noted that trials before the ICT, including that of Kamaruzzaman, have been replete with fair trial concerns. In Kamaruzzaman’s case, defense evidence, including witnesses and documents, were arbitrarily limited. Inconsistent prior and subsequent statements of critical witnesses were rejected by the court, denying the defense a chance to challenge the credibility of prosecution witnesses. An application by the defence to recuse two judges for prior bias was summarily rejected.

This follows a disturbing precedent from other cases. In December 2013, Abdul Qader Mollah was hanged following hastily enacted retrospective legislation which is prohibited by international law. Another accused, Delwar Hossain Sayedee, was convicted in spite of credible allegations of the abduction by state forces of a key defence witness with the ICT refusing to order an independent investigation into the charge. Many of the trials have been marred by the evidence of intercepted communications between the prosecution and the judges which reveal prohibited contact. The ICT’s response on several occasions to those who raise objections about the trials has been to file contempt charges against them in an apparent attempt to silence criticism rather than answer substantively or indeed, to rectify any errors. Human Rights Watch, the journalist David Bergman, and members of The Economist have all been tried for contempt for publishing articles critical of the trials.

The United Nations Human Rights Committee, which interprets the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, has said that “in cases of trials leading to the imposition of the death penalty, scrupulous respect of the guarantees of fair trial is particularly important” and that any death penalty imposed after an unfair trial would be a violation of the right to a fair trial.

Human Rights Watch reiterated its long-standing call on the government of Bangladesh to restore fundamental rights protection to the war crimes accused. Article 47A (1) of the constitution specifically strips war crimes accused of their right to certain fundamental rights, including the right to an expeditious trial by an independent and impartial court or tribunal, and the right to move the courts to enforce their fundamental rights. This pernicious amendment to the constitution allows the ICT overly broad discretion to deny these accused the rights and procedures accorded to other criminal accused.

“Human Rights Watch has long supported justice and accountability for the horrific crimes that occurred in 1971, but we have also stated repeatedly that these trials must meet international fair trial standards in order to properly deliver on those promises for the victims,” Adams said. “Delivering justice requires adhering to the highest standards, particularly when a life is at stake. The death penalty is irreversible and cruel, and Bangladesh needs to get rid of it once and for all.”

When the strong is the winner by the sword of oppression, people always resort to the language of the weapon, and the losers will scheme against the winner.

Today at the crack of dawn, when I phoned a friend of mine purely for personal reason, he immediately asked me in a fearful tone, if there was any bad news from Bangladesh. To that I replied that the lions were firmly locked in their den, roaring in anger, with little or no sign of coming out to attack their enemy. When I asked him why he had asked me such a question, he replied that when ever I phone him early in the morning, he assumes that something bad may have happened to Sheikh Hasina or somebody may have assassinated her. This maybe a wishful thinking, but the truth is, this is how a lot of people imagine her to end her life. It may not be surprising to find that same feeling may resound across the general masses of Bangladesh.

It is true that when stronger is the winner by the sword of oppression and injustice, the people always resort to the language of the sword, and the losers, the victim of oppression, will scheme against the tyrant winner. Out of the blue, we hear that an outlawed organization posted a video on Bangladesh current state of affairs. Though the context and the content of the video on Bangladesh current affairs maybe true, just to underscore the fact, I would agree that our country is increasingly becoming a jail for the opposition, and Satkhira is witnessed to government killings, abduction, and human rights violations, but the motive of the video, and even its authenticity needs careful analysis. In the past, we have seen that certain intelligence of certain nation shrewdly uses such tactics to further their objective or to manipulate such videos to divert attention of the public from legitimate demand to that of international terrorism and creating fear among secular audience of the world. Bangladesh opposition don’t need an Al Qaeda video to highlight the gravity of government oppression in the country, it is self evident from the one-sided election to the post illegal killings of opposition activists and leaders by Awami government sponsored thugs and law enforcement agency. This video maybe a ploy to imply a link with the opposition by some foreign agency, and use it to justify further killings by the government.

As for current state of BNP, it is my estimation that they are in worse position than Bangladesh Jamati Islam in terms of organizational strength. Their leaders are not forward thinking, and frankly they lack leadership qualities to guide the people to a mass uprising that many people are hoping for. The opposition are living in the past and hoping something may happen out of the blue, such thinking is delusion and far from the reality of the present. They should realize that civil and military administration is not the same as it was 10 years ago. Who would want to do the job and hand over the fruits to Begum Zia. Opposition long time hibernation from active agitation means consolidation for the government. Too much reliance on foreign powers is also a mistake. The western powers to my estimation cares less about democracy in other countries than their own, but cares more about their business interest and power to dictate policy making. To this date, if you look at some of the Middle Eastern country, you will find very little evidence of their support for democracy. In fact, in some places their support for popular will is not out of fancy or as a matter of principle, but it is out of necessity. If you carefully examine senate hearing on Bangladesh, you will find one sentence that stands out and that is securing foreign investment. USA multinational companies are waiting to tap in to Bangladesh business sector in a big way, which is why Dan Mozina talks a lot about old Silk Road, connectivity, and security. Bangladesh human resources, cheap labour, and geopolitical location attract western country. Democracy, popular will, and human rights are a secondary issue to them. In order to secure democracy and rule of law in Bangladesh, the opposition need to speak their mind, address their issue locally and listen less to foreign diplomat, and more heed should be given to the prescription of agitation.

As so for Bangladeshi Jamati Islam, they need to look back at the reason why the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood failed to subsist in power, in spite of winning with a majority mandate. And the opposite could be said about the Islamic revolution of Iran, in spite of huge effort with money intelligence, and sanction by the USA, Iranian Islamic revolution remains in its place increasingly becoming stronger day by day. Dan Mozina often says that violence has no place in democracy; I want him to explain what he means by that. How many democratically elected governments did his country helped to remove by violence let alone undemocratic government. Bangladesh does not have a democracy, and for this reason violence is sometimes needed to restore democratic rights.

 

 

 

 

 

ATM Shamsuzzaman compares Bangladesh Jamat with Nipah Viruses

How far off from reality can a man be, when all around him, he clearly observes that truth is clear as the light of the sun. Wrong perception is the result of ignorance or hatred. I can not believe he (ATM Shamsuzzaman ) is ignorant of Bangladeshi Jamati Islam and what they adhere to and believe in, that only leaves his hatred for Islam as the only reason that has led him to make such an wild and untrue comment about Bangladesh Jamati Islam activists.

Mr Shamuszzaman should reflect on his own life before commenting on others. We have recently witnessed how one of his own sons killed the other in an argument, and we know the context of that argument that lead to one of his son’s tragic death. When a person has no practice of Islam in their life, they are never satisfied, and they fight over trivial things because they consider the world as the only place of abode.

When I woke up this morning, I had no intention of writing anything about Bangladesh. Recent one sided election, and later its justification by Awami leaders have put me off so much that I believe heavenly brim stone from the sky can only be a fitting response for their mockery and crime. Their lies and action have become so blatant that its not even worthy of mentioning them. They utter words that smell more than dead rats. If they have a free hand for long, they will fill Bangladeshi society with vice and with their secular satanic form of culture and ideology. Their only obstacle to achieving Kamal Atartuk Turkification of Bangladesh is the impediment put up by Jamati Islam. Why them, why not other Islamic party’s? Well, that is because the other Islamic party’s don’t have the organizational structure, or popular appeal to the youths for an Islamic government. Mr Shamsuzzaman compared Jamat with Nipah virus, and he called on the government to eliminate them, as if they are insects eating away fruits of their toil. I agree Jamat has the ability to eat away fruits of their satanic toil. They are constantly involved in cleansing Bangladeshi society from ungodly, unethical, immoral vices and promoting virtues and Islamic values. This is the only reason why they hate Jamat so much. They should know that Islam came to this world to be victorious over all other ways of life. This is a promise of Allah, and Allah’s promise can not be frustrated.

What compelled me to write was ATM Shamuszzaman accusation that Jamat activists are shoe stealers from Mosques. Apparently he made this remark today in a meeting arranged by Bongho Bondhu Sanskriti Alliance, of which he is the senior president. Out of all the accusation about Jamat, who would believe that Jamat activists are shoe stealers? His remarks reminded me something that happened to me personally a few years back, and since than I changed my shoe laces to bright colours. Thrice from a local mosque in the UK my shoe disappeared. I first thought that some thieves my have found a new business, but later on in front of my eyes I caught an Old uncle putting my shoe on his foot and walking away. Of course he wasn’t going to disappear and I caught him red handed. I asked him to check very carefully if it was his shoe that he had put on, so he looked and rather confusingly said that it was his shoe. I took him back to the shoe rack and asked him to indicate to me where he had put his shoe. Apparently there was another shoe which looked similar to mine, so I enquired, could it have been that he mistakenly taken my shoe believing it to be his own? He then examined it carefully and realized his mistake and felt very much embarrassed. Of course, old uncle didn’t come to the mosque to steal shoes, but out of many thousands of shoes, there are many similarities in size, colour, make, brand, and age, so people are bound to make mistake and especially old people, as their eyes and feelings are not as sharp as ours.

My experience with my old uncle gave me a clue to come up with the idea of wearing bright colour shoe laces, so that old uncle can easily distinguish between their black colour shoe laces and my red colour shoe laces, although size and other attributes could be the same. Since I changed my shoe laces, I had not had any other incident of shoe disappearances from the mosque, so perhaps ATM Shamsuzzaman, instead of blaming Jamat activists, should change his shoe laces, because his thief could be an old uncle like him. As for Jamat activists, well, they are not shoe stealers, but they are stealers of heart, they convert peoples heart from darkness to light, and maybe many of his friends have already been converted in to the family of Jamat. He may have probably seen that their way of life suddenly changed, but they are not declaring that they are Jamatis; that explains why he wants the government to filter from their new admin like that of date molasses. This is wishful thinking, the great Satan, as Ayatollah khomeni use to say about USA couldn’t change the Muslim world with their bombs and bullet, how can Awami fascists change Bangladesh to their dream world of ungodly nation.

 

 

Last 5 years of Bangladesh opposition sacrifice can not be allowed to go in vain

The bottom line is, this government will last for 5 years unless the opposition can fill the streets with angry people. Those who think they can achieve something without sacrifice; they do not know anything about crude politics of Bangladesh. It seems Begum Zia, and at large the opposition have washed their hands relying on some foreign diplomats, as if the plate will be given to them without sacrifice. No government with firm grip on Army and administration will fall without people’s participation in mass magnitude and in violent uprising. USA and others may apply some pressure to restore democracy, but they will not jeopardise their long term interest in Bangladesh for the opposition unless the opposition can put up a strong fight. At the moment BNP lacks this ability, or is unable to motivate the people with good leadership, and Jamat don’t have the mass support base as BNP. As for the Army, I have many times in the past have said that the Army has been compromised from no 1 to 10 with the Pilkhana massacre. Nothing will happen from the Army unless some fragments are stupid enough to do the daring like Col. Faruk Rashid. That only leaves the ordinary people to do a revolution like that of Egypt, and in my opinion the opposition don’t have that kind of charismatic leadership at this moment to motivate people. Government talk about Jamat alliance with BNP is only an issue to divert attention from the real issue of restoring all party democracy, having an inclusive election that envisage a free, fair and credible election under a neutral government.

I don’t know the true position of the friends group on Bangladesh next government, or how quickly they envisage an election, or whether their public stand is different from their private position with the Awami Government. Dan Mozina is shrewd and USA is shrewd. If anyone believes every word they say then they are naïve or lack ability to understand regional or international politics. Just to clarify my analysis, let me point out where my doubt about their true intention lies. When Mozina met with Begum Zia, he firmly underscored the need to stop violence, because American investment in BD is being affected. What he really was trying to convey to Begum Zia was that blockade was having an effect on American businesses interest. I have no idea what Begum zia had said in return to him, but if Dan Mozina was serious, instead of reminding Begum Zia to stop political activities, he should have met with Hasina, and strongly should have told her to stop indiscriminate killings, arrest of their leaders and activists, and allow the opposition to open all of their political offices and let all the banned newspapers and TV station to be re-opened, and immediately announce a new election, but no such strong wording came from Dan Mozina. I suspect all of these diplomats went to Begum Zia only to pacify her and hold her back from agitation.

Many of the western diplomat’s hypocrisy really piss me off. Publicly Dan Mozina may be saying one thing, but privately they don’t really like any political party which adheres to Islamic politics. For Awamileague, Jamat is a tactical vote issue, they know very well that in a fair election, Jamat voters hold key to many constituencies, so naturally they would want Jamat to be as far away as possible from BNP. Jamat and BNP have no ideological unison other than patriotism and the need to remove this unjust government. And this issue is a burning issue for overwhelming majority of the people of Bangladesh. I don’t agree that our fate is at the hand of foreigners, in fact the future fate of India and USA’s strategic policy in this region is in our hand, but our leaders and people have given up on this belief, and wilfully have surrendered their potential to the foreigners including to India. If Jamat alliance with BNP is a problem for Hasina accepting a fair election, then this would have been a peanut issue to resolve. It is not simply black and white. What Awami wants from Begum Zia is not only a separate ways, but an agreement with BNP to completely severe ties with jamat, and agree to accepting a government crackdown on them, banning it as a political party, not allowing their activists and leaders to rehabilitate under new party or merge with any other party. The issue now should not have been about Jamat alliance with BNP, rather the issue should have been about Awami tyranny, their dictatorship, illegitimate election, the formation of one party government, and human rights abuses by the government.

I don’t understand what Jamat had to do with one party election or any future election. Right stands distinguish from wrong. If BNP thinks it can secure an early election from Hasina by severing ties with Jamat, then by all means it has right to choose what it sees best for them, but I don’t believe Awamileague will accept an early election if the streets of Bangladesh becomes quite. But from my perspective I see BNP faltering and in severe weakness, both intellectually and politically. If they want to regain momentum they need to quickly plan their strategy and put this to the people of Bangladesh, otherwise without a vision, firmness and a destination, no one will follow them and the entire issue of an early free, fair, and credible election will be buried in the cold.

It is clear now that Awamileague has no mandate. The government has become illegitimate by none confidence of the people casting only 10 percent of vote. Since this government lost confidence of the people, anything this government does or orders becomes illegal. Therefore, ministers, MP’s of this illegal government can be treated as criminals, and as such, people could make citizen arrest of those ministers and MP’s and hand them to the people’s court for sentencing. A house of a person is his property, and when someone forcefully occupies it, it becomes a duty for its residence to remove him by all means, similarly I believe, a country is the property of the people, and when someone occupies its treasury and parliament forcefully, it becomes a duty on the people of the country to remove them by whatever means. It will fall under the law of trespass. Awamileague MP’s are now trespassing on our property and they should be removed by all means. Some foreign countries want to see Bangladesh as a subservient nation, but people of Bangladesh want to see a country free from tyranny and in peace with one another, but as long as Sheikh Hasina’s doctrine of one party rule lives, we can have no peace