Is justice the privilege of only a selected few?

Jamaat leaders Nizami, Mujahid, Kamruzzaman and Abdul Kader Molla are now in police custody and being tried for so called war crimes. It is alleged that they were involved in many crimes against humanity during the 1971 Indo-Pakistan war, which ultimately resulted in Bangladesh emerging as an independent country. However, all this fiasco almost four decades after the war has lead to many questions.

1. According to media reports, Nizami is around 70 while the other three leaders are in their early 60's. That means during the war, they were youths in their early 20's with the exception of Nizami, who was 30 or so.
If we take a look at the political leadership today, we will hardly find any national leaders who are even in their forties, let alone be of their age then. There is not even a single national leader or political personality who is in his mid or even late 20's. Even the leaders of student organizations like BCL, BCD or Shibir are in their mid 30's.
So, isn't it funny when we hear that these handful of youths were the leaders of the entire anti-liberation movement and perpetrators of large scale crime against humanity?

2. It is reported that these jamaat leaders were members of a student organization in 1971 when carrying out the crimes. Were they the only members of this organization? Was it that only this four persons were the perpetrators of those horrendous crimes? Where did they get their training? Where did they get the arms? Who showed them directions? Who assisted them in various capacities?
Probably these four are supermen with extra-human capabilities!

3. All these four people are from different parts of Bangladesh. Nizami is from Pabna, Mujahid from Faridpur, Kamruzzaman from Sherpur and Abdul Kader from Mirpur. Most of them were students at their local colleges, and hence there is no chance of them knowing each other then.
Years later, they all joined Jamaat. Call it a miracle or whatever you may, exactly these four turned out to become its top leaders four decades later.

3. I pity the other members of their student organization then. Had they been involved in crimes against humanity, they too could have become top leaders and national politicians, including ministers.
Or is it that allegations of crimes against humanity is brought against these people only because of their political position???

4. During the war in 1971, many political parties and personalities opposed the separation of Bangladesh from Pakistan, including Muslim League and the communist parties (which are now part of the government). There is no mention of their names or even of the fact that these parties opposed the separation.
It seems all others, apart from the few scattered and independent alleged war criminals (who were not even jamaat members then), were and are 'doa tulshi pata' (as innocent as an angel).

5. Some months ago, the government handed out a list of 40 suspected war criminals. Does that mean that the BAL government wants us to believe that out of the entire 75 Million people, only these forty (remember they are only suspected criminals) were involved in crimes against humanity.
Some quarters have spends all their time, energy and money in highlighting the reign of terror lashed out by the anti-separation forces. Was all that terror and devastation and sufferings and killings committed by only this (at most) forty people.
It is said that three millions were killed and 200,000 women raped in the nine months of war.
All that carried out by this forty disconnected young men???

6. In late December 1971, American channel CBS broadcasted images of Mukti bahini killing tens of innocent biharis and rajakars in broad day light in front of thousands of people in the then racecourse maidan. The incident took place on the 18th of December, and was lead Kader Siddiki, a prominent freedom fighter.
This is not an isolated incident. During the nine month war, millions of Biharis and anti-separation Bangladeshis were tortured, raped, made homeless, maimed, robbed and thousand of them killed. Most of these were carried out by the mujib bahini, which was a guerilla unit trained by the forces of and in a neighboring country. It is alleged that this force was formed during the concluding part of Liberation War according to the policy of Awami League and the ally, India, aimed against the actual freedom fighters to bar them from taking the lead in the War; and they did not actually take part in the fighting against Pakistani forces.
Was these not crimes against humanity? Will these crimes never be tried just because it was perpetrated by elements of BAL?? Is justice the privilege of only a selected few???

Fair media in a free land

The hottest media sensation in Bangladesh last week was the joint interrogation of Maulana Saidur Rahman, Amir of the terrorist organization, JMB and the top three leaders of Bangladesh Jamaate Islami. Every day the newspapers carried sensational and detailed reports of what went in the interrogation cell.

One report mentioned that the three top Jamaat leaders (Maulana Nizami, Maulana Sayedee and Mr. Mujahid) were lying down on a green blanket when Saidur was produced before them in the DB office. Surprised and startled at meeting an old acquaintance and ex Jamaat leader, all three of them jumped out of the blanket. In another report, it was said when Saidur was brought face to face with Nizami and Mujahid, Saidur greeted them with Assalamu alaikum. Only Nizami responded to Saidur’s salam whereas Mujahid put on a stone face and kept silent. Yet another report portrayed the scene of Mr. Mujahid meeting Maulana Saidur. According to the report, at first Mr. Mujahid claimed that he didn’t know Maulana Saidur. But upon reminding him of their meeting in 1990 at jamaat office where Mr. Mujahid was boasting about his participation in the Intellectual killing in 1971 while peeling an orange, Mr. Mujahid kept numb and faced the floor in shame.

All these reports are so vivid and detailed that it seems all these interrogations take place in the presence of reporters.

However, a little scrutiny and reading of other related reports make it clear how false and fabricated these reports are. Here are just a few examples.
It was reported both in print and electronic media that due to lack of facilities and space at the DB office in Mintu road, Maulana Nizami, Maulana Sayedee and Mr Mujahid could not be accommodated in DB office at the same time. First only Maulana Sayedee and Mr Mujahid were held there. Later when Maulana Nizami was transferred from central jail to DB office, Maulana Sayedee had to be shifted to Ramna thana. This was confirmed by the OC of Ramna thana in the electronic media. How could it then happen that all three of them were lying down on a green blanket when Maulana Saidur was brought in their presence??
Most importantly, the Deputy Commissioner of DB police said in a TV interview, that Maulana Saidur and the three top leaders of Jamaat are arrested under different cases, with their investigating officers being different and also in most cases even the thana being different. Thus there is no question of bringing them face to face.

Yet these are the media outlets which claim they are “angshik noi, puro shott” (the complete truth), ”niteer proshne aposh-heen” (firm on principle) or "committed to the people's right to know".

the future of the world is being planned while you are reading this

it may sound like something out of a john grisham title, or from the pages of a hollywood script; but it is the bitter truth that the future of our world is being shaped in a secret cabal of the worlds rich and discreet 'behind the scene' rulers. "Don’t tell anyone, don’t breathe a word, but the world’s most powerful men are meeting secretly again to save the planet from economic catastrophe." reports the London Times.

yes, its the annual bilderberg group meeting that i am referring to. the annual meeting of the 150 or so top financiers, bankers, business-controllers, royalties and their stooge politicians. kissinger, rockefellar, rothschild, queen beatrix, this are just a few of the big names behind this group. this year, they meet from May 14-17, under wraps as always, in the luxury astir palace resort of the beautiful greek peninsula vouliagmeni.


this way for more info
guardians 'mole' in vouliagmeni
the agenda for this year meeting
the bilderberg aggregate
the truth will set you free

today its Gaza. where will it be tommorrow?

today Gaza is being attacked and sane people all over the world are showing their frustration and sympathizing with them. But there is a veiled sense of security, and in the back of our mind we continue to think that this is a conflict too far away from to be much concerned about.

but is that really so... With the recent mumbai attacks be sure that war on terror is much closer to home (in Bangladesh). And every conscious individual knows that this war on terror is just another name of the all out efforts by select few at world domination and subsequent economic, political, cultural, and most importantly mental subjugation of most people.

The one and only way of avoiding such a miserable life is to wake up from our slumber and question ourselves: who are we? where do we come from? and where are we heading to?

today's Gaza can be far from home, but be sure that Gaza of tomorrow will be much closer to home than we can imagine. May GOD be with us.

lets talk about human rights

along with most of the civilized world, I protested much about the world-touring olypmic torch over concern for china's human rights violation in tibet and elsewhere.

pondering back, i wonder whether my conscience is similarly pricked when scores of civilians, men, women and children, are killed everyday and thousands more deprived of their basic rights in palestine. or when the recently released aljazeera cameraman sami al haj was detained in the u.s.-run guantanamo bay detention center since 2001. needless to say without trial and on the vague allegation that he was a courier for an unspecified militant muslim organization.

almost every single person in the world have their basic human rights violated in one way or another. for some it is in direct form, as in tibet, palestine, cuba, africa and many other places.

but for most others its in a form altogether different. are most people in the west presented with the right information? or are they fed with information someone wants them to hear, with opinions and understanding tactically engineered? isnt that a form of human rights violation too?

how would you term depriving millions of people from food so that we can a have a guzzling supply of bio-fuel for our suvs and hummers? or supporting autocratic, authoritarian and anti-people regime just to ensure the interest of elite few is served?

i just wish my children will not have to be blogging about this topic in the same way. let our actions direct toward that.

the equation of general Moeen's extraordinary visit

left hand side: what we get

a state premier's welcome for our one and only general,

two stallions and four mares which will "form a strong breeding germ-plasm for production of quality horses for Bangladesh Army" (handed over the general himself in a spectacular presentation ceremony), and

four dead bodies (killed bt bsf on 24th feb at Thakurgaon Satkhira borders)

===
right hand side: what they get

direct train service from dhaka to delhi (and state-of-the-art security cage at the border),

air cargo transit that badly compromises our national interest and security, and

rice export facility at exorbitant price


[photo credit: daily star, www.leatherwoodstud.com, weneedafence.com]

thank you siniora, thank you condi, thank you bush

"And I would like to thank Prime Minister Siniora, and say thanks - really thanks - very much to George Bush and to Condoleezza Rice. I really want to thank them for these shells and these wounds we are suffering. And if Rice really wants to send more material to the Lebanese Army, she had better hurry up. There is a woman still in the camp who is very pregnant and the child in her womb will be born and will grow into a man - and then we'll see!"

- suheila mustafa, sister of 45-year-old samia, who was terribly wounded by lebanese army shellfire in nahr el-bared refugee camp to crush fatah al-islam once and for all

[source - independent uk]

[related news : us sends arms to lebanese troops]

i kill, you kill, he kill; and we all die

news: "One Palestinian was killed and five people were wounded in an Israeli air attack on the town of Beit Hanun in the northern Gaza Strip on Saturday.
"The death took to at least 18 the number of Palestinians killed in eight deadly Israeli air strikes which Israel says are aimed at stopping Palestinian rocket attacks." [1]

news: "Rival Palestinian factions have agreed a new truce after days of deadly clashes in the Gaza Strip." (the fifth in as many weeks) [2]

news: "At least 49 people have died in Hamas-Fatah fighting that erupted last week, some of them unarmed civilians." [1]



probably fatah is testing their newly acquired $50M weapon stocks; and hamas their ability to retaliate. with hundred of thousands of helpless gazans caught in between.

wind of change

argentinean president nestor kirchner, venezuela’s socialist president Hugo Chavez and four of their south american counterparts (bolivia, ecuador, brazil and paraguay) are joining forces to launch the "bank of the south" (banco del sur) within months. it is part of the push, led by Venezuela, for latin American integration to challenge US corporate domination. reports state a number of asian countries have shown their interest as well. chavez is promoting the bank as a source of cheap credit for countries in the region and a non-exploitative alternative to the first world-controlled IMF and WB. banco del sur already secured $7 billion in paid-in capital from the member countries.

read further:
green left
wiki

the islamic threat to europe

recently europol, the european police office produced a report titled 'EU TERRORISM SITUATION AND TREND REPORT 2007'.

here is a snapshot from it:



quoting from kristoffer larsson's comment on this report in counterpunch.org:

"How about the Islamic terrorists then? Considering the perpetual warnings in our daily papers, the findings in the Europol report is, to say the least, surprising. The truth is that Islamists only carried out one out of the 498 terrorist attacks in the European Union in 2006.

"If we look at the people arrested on suspicion of terrorism offences, the figures are rather disproportionate; about half of them arrested were Muslim. In plain English: Muslims are a group causing very little terrorism in Europe, while at the same time much more likely to be arrested on suspicion of it. The constant media coverage of Muslims being arrested creates the false image of a serious threat in order to benefit the imperialist world-view Washington wants us to adopt."

[inspired by shapps vai]

lets talk democracy

most likely hasina apa and khaleda vabi will be out of the country for some time, if not exiled permanently. with the iron ladies out of stage, the to be formed political party will be virtually opposition-less in the upcoming elections supposedly to be held end of next year.

wasnt BAKSAL something like dat?
its funny how history repeats itself.
only if we learnt its lessons!!!

dr. Fakhruddin speaks

The following were the opening words of Fakhruddin Ahmed's, head of current (unconstitutional) caretaker government in Bangladesh, april 12 2007 address to the Nation.

"My dear countrymen,
Assalamu Alaikum
We all dream of building a beautiful Bangladesh; a Bangladesh which would arouse pride among our present and future generations. We want such a Bangladesh which would allow them to hold their head high at home and abroad and live in peace and happiness. We do not want a Bangladesh where they would bow down to injustices and unfairness...."

I wonder what justifies him to think and dream on our behalf?

nice words though! only that i am sure it would be far from harsh reality.

just when i thought i had hit the end

life had been sort of a total mess for the last few weeks or so. personally i have just been through a storm, with way too much of worrying and way too many dilemmas. its true i myself invited some of it, but mind is such a thing, you cant just select wats popping up!
the tons of to dos over this period made things yet more unhandle-able.
add to that bangladesh's on-off superb showing in the ongoing cricket world cup (cricket is the second religion in sub-continent), and the much happening local political scene (of which i am an avid follower), news of which is much much more important and interesting than the matlab simulations or C++ coding.

well, now i am putting an all out effort to get back on track and successfully manage the scores of academic 'to dos' thats have piled higher and deeper over the weeks.

your prayers are much appreciated.

36 years of gloomy glory

yesterday, the whole nation of Bangladesh with the 150 million Bangladeshis, celebrated her 36th independence day.
36 years of sovereignty!
36 years of standing headstrong against oppression!!
36 years of sacrificing one's life for the motherland!!!

but what really is independence?
is it just having your own boundary and your own people ruling over you? or is it the nation being ruled for the interest of the people, by people whose interest is to serve the people.
it is only the latter that can bring about true independence.
political, economical, social, cultural independence.
and most importantly independence in thought and sovereignty action.

sadly enough, it is on this 36th years of independence that we are most shackled. shackled by the power-blinded lords of the world, and their despicably shameless local stooges

HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY 2007

[photo credit: http://inabangladesh.blogspot.com/]

an EHM* in my backyard

unlike most of my friends, i somehow am not so upbeat about the new caretake government that has taken over the helm of bangladesh.

since fakhruddin and co. have come to power, everything seems to be going right in this otherwise 'lawless' state. dhaka streets without traffic jam, corrupt politicians being nabbed, no more road blockades and paltan maidan (hyde park of bangladesh) assemblies. its almost like the 'fairies at work with their magic wands'.

but thats what worries me most. experiences of life taught me that no drastic change is good for the health. it will either cause a reaction (often of greater force), or there are much more to it than what we normally see. lets see which of these happens in this case...

******************************************

EHM stands for Economic Hit Man, a term coined by John Perkins in his autobiographical book 'The confession of an Economin Hit Man'. According to him,
Economic hit men (EHMs) are highly paid professionals who cheat countries around the globe out of trillions of dollars. They funnel money from the World Bank, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), and other foreign "aid" organizations into the coffers of huge corporations and the pockets of a few wealthy families who control the planet's natural resources. Their tools included fraudulent financial reports, rigged elections, payoffs, extortion, sex, and murder. They play a game as old as empire, but one that has taken on new and terrifying dimensions during this time of globalization.

by the way, the head of current caretaker government in bangladesh was once a world bank executive. (dunno if that is supposed to mean anything!)