With the AL and BNP replying to UN Secretary General Ban Ki- moon's  letter urging them to sit for dialogue ,all we  find is an emphatic reiteration of the hard positions of the respective political parties .  The BNP's 'readiness' to sit for talks will lack conviction   so long  it continues with its  mindless   oborodh and hartals . And, the government's 'repression'and its refusal 'to sit with terrorists'   add to the hiatus . Thus, there   appears to be a deficit...

After every major disaster in the country, probe committees are formed to assuage the public that a fair investigation would be conducted and perpetrators identified and brought to justice in a timely manner. It is unfortunate, however, that most of these probe committee findings do not reach public ears; in an overwhelming number of cases, the investigation, if completed at all, is conducted in a lackluster, insincere manner, with many reports outlining vague findings where the real culprits remain...

WE condemn the brutal murder of writer and blogger Avijit Roy and attack on his wife, Rafida Islam Banna, in no uncertain terms. The savage act, hauntingly similar to the hacking of critical thinker and writer Humayun Azad, took place right in front of the Ekushey Book Fair, in clear view of law enforcers and other people. According to media reports, the writer, known for his staunch support of secularism and critique of religious fundamentalism in the country, was threatened...

WITH nearly two months of ongoing hartal and oborodh, the academic calendar for millions of children continues to be adversely affected. Amid security concerns that have led attendance rates nearly all over the country to plummet, students, parents and teachers find themselves in a predicament as to how to maintain a regular schedule. This unending disruption of studies is extremely disconcerting for obvious reasons; it also begs the question, is education for our children held in any esteem at...

THE latest annual report by the London-based human rights watchdog, Amnesty International (AI), echoes the concerns raised by our own human rights organisations regarding enforced disappearances, impunity of law enforcement agencies, circumscribing the freedom of journalists and human rights defenders and violence against women. Through the years, what has perhaps been as alarming as the consistency of violations is the consistency of the state in not acknowledging and addressing the apprehensions regarding human rights violations. The report suggests that an...

Amid denial of responsibilities for launch accidents by the authorities, a report reveals that between 1976 and 2005, 70 per cent launch accidents happened due to design flaws. Nine NGOs working for safe waterway published that report yesterday. Though properly designed water vessels survive 40 degree tilting our launches sink even at 15 to 18 degree tilt. It shows serious deficit in design and fitness of existing water vessels. Though there are provisions for punishment of launch owners, drivers and...

WITH the extension of hartal until Friday morning, the country has reached a new record for enforcement of strikes for all working days in a month. It is unacceptable that the whole of February has been wasted in shutdown, taking a heavy toll on the nation. The political instability since Jan 5, propelled by a non-stop blockade and now hartals, has resulted in 75 deaths, of whom 55 were civilians, an estimated loss of Tk. 1,18,404 to the economy...

It is disquieting to see that plain land adivasis are increasingly falling victim to land grabbing. A press conference organised by two minority rights groups on Tuesday revealed that in the last two months, two murders, a rape, a rape attempt and looting of 60 Santal houses took place in the northern part of the country. As most indigenous people do not have documents proving ownership of their ancestral land they become easy targets of land grabbers. The land encroachers...

AT a hugely attended public lecture by Amartya Sen, courtesy of Prothom Alo and CPD on Monday, the Nobel Laureate, made some path-shinning comments of practical relevance to contemporary affairs in the subcontinent. In precise terms, he advocated development with a strong human content and democracy with liberty and free discourse. He simply says that economic growth and human development are intertwined. Economic progress makes resource available for human development based on quantum and qualitative leaps in education and health...

WE find the explanation of the police regarding the death of the three alleged arsonists in Mirpur on Monday hard to believe. The pictures show that the three were killed with a vengeance. We have several clarifications to seek of the police in this regard. If the three died of mob beating, according to the police, suspected of being arsonists and caught while preparing to firebomb a vehicle, why do not the bodies carry evidence of torture? How come...