LAW
week
Demand
for barring Islamic zealots from SC premises
Supreme Court lawyers demanded that the International
Khatme Nabuwat Movement, Bangladesh be barred from the
Supreme Court premises during the hearing of a case challenging
the ban on Ahmadiyaa publications.
The
Bangladesh Supreme Court Bar Association (BSCBA) also
demanded punitive actions against Khatme Nabuwat operatives.
The
BSCBA concern came at a meeting after Khatme Nabuwat zealots
threatened senior Supreme Court lawyer Dr Kamal Hossain
and demanded the resignation of Attorney General AF Hassan
Ariff for performing his professional duties.
The
threat of the Islamist outfit is not only an attack on
the independent profession of lawyers but also an interference
in the trial, and as such counts as contempt of court,
the BSCBA leaders observed.
"We
stand for religious Muslims, but we are against those
who are using Islam for creating discrimination among
people in the name of religion," said Barrister Rokanuddin
Mahmud. The Daily Star, January 11.
US
lauds Dhaka's efforts to rein in trafficking
The United States (US) praised Bangladesh government for
making general progress in sustaining, institutionalising
and integrating various measures against trafficking in
persons (TIP) since last June.
Bangladesh's
new anti-TIP inter-ministerial taskforce meets and reports
monthly to the home secretary based on a daily report
the former receives from a nationwide TIP-monitoring cell,
said the US State Department.
The
home secretary continues to serve as the national coordinator
overseeing Bangladesh's anti-TIP efforts. " Because
its home ministry is still working with other agencies
to develop a national anti-TIP action plan, Bangladesh
has made little progress in implementing it," the
State Department said in its latest assessment.
The
report says Bangladesh "continues to make significant
progress" in prosecuting trafficking cases. Since
June, its prosecution efforts have produced 78 convictions
for trafficking offenses, which stands in stark contrast
to the 17 convictions obtained during 2003. UNB, Dhaka,
January 12.
Legal
aid needed to stop domestic violence
Domestic violence should be considered as crime, said
the speakers at a consultation meeting. They said apart
from increasing awareness, legal aid is necessary to stop
domestic violence.
The
consultation meeting on 'Domestic Violence: In search
of a Legal Framework' was organised by Bangladesh National
Women Lawyer's Association (BNWLA) in the city.
The
meeting was held as a part of a BNWLA research project
titled 'Combating Violence against Women and Children'
at its shelter home. Manusher Jonno, a non-government
organisation, is funding the project.
A
research study conducted last year revealed that 51 percent
of 313 women were the victims of spousal abuse since their
marriage, and only 55 percent of them went for legal actions.
Ninety-nine percent of 72 lawyers thought that spousal
abuse should be treated as a crime, but they prefer to
solve the problems through mutual understanding.
Meanwhile,
98 percent of 55 police could not arrest the spousal abusers
for lack of proper law, said the study. The Daily
Star, January 12.
Police
reform project starts
A far-reaching police reform project titled 'Strengthening
Bangladesh Police' has been launched to improve the law
and order situation.
The
Ministry of Home Affairs launched the project yesterday
in cooperation with the United Nations Development Programme
(UNDP) and the UK Department for International Development
(DFID).
The
three-year project, involving $13 million, aims at improving
performance and professionalism at all levels of the police
force. It will focus on crime prevention through better
engagement with the community, investigation, operation
and prosecution, human resource management, training and
strategy and oversight, including clear performance target.
Of the 1,15,500 police in Bangladesh, only 12 percent
are women, said a UNDP press release. UNB, Dhaka,
January 12.
32
army men axed for timber theft
Thirty-two army men including a major have been fired
and eight of them awarded with one-year rigorous imprisonment
for smuggling timber in collaboration with 15 forest staff
and 35 Ansars in the Kaptai region. The forest men and
Ansars are also facing the axe anytime.
Two
separate inquiries by the Bangladesh Army last month found
the army, forest and Ansar staffs involved in a recent
timber smuggling from Alikhiang Forest Range under Bilaichhari
Zone in Kaptai, highly placed sources at the Prime Minister's
Office (PMO) and The Ministry of Environment and Forest
said.
The
Armed Forces Division (AFD) of the PMO sent the inquiry
reports to the environment ministry and Bangladesh Ansar
asking them to bring their staffs involved in the smuggling
to book. The ministry, immediately after getting the AFD
letter, has suspended the 15 forest staff found guilty
of the crime and initiated a departmental process to sack
them. The Daily Star, January 13.
BGMEA
Administrator SC orders for continuation of the stay
The Supreme Court (SC) ordered for continuation of the
stay order of the Court of District and Sessions Judge,
Dhaka until disposal of the appeal against an assistant
judge court's orders on the government to appoint an administrator
to the BGMEA.
The
SC stayed Sunday's High Court (HC) stay orders that had
stayed the commerce ministry's appointment of Dr Ayub
Miah as the administrator on January 6.
The
four-member full bench of the Appellate Division of the
Supreme Court headed by Chief Justice Syed JR Mudassir
Husain passed the orders yesterday following a petition
filed by MA Masud, a member of the Bangladesh Garments
Manufacturers' and Exporters' Association, challenging
the HC stay orders on the appointment. Prothom Alo,
January 13.
Defence
committee for armed forces
The government is going to form a high-powered 'defence
committee' to better co-ordinate the activities of the
armed forces, as the policymakers think the Armed Forces
Division (AFD) is unable to do that due to certain structural
shortcomings.
"The
Armed Forces Division is facing difficulties in co-ordinating
the forces, as the chiefs of the three services do not
hold any position in the division. The division also lacks
adequate power," a government high-up told The Daily
Star wishing anonymity.
Sources
said the prime minister will head the committee which
will have the chiefs of armed services as its members.
After its formation, the AFD will be restructured to work
as the joint headquarters of the armed services and the
secretariat of the committee.
Finance
and Planning Minister M Saifur Rahman, LGRD Minister Abdul
Mannan Bhuiyan, Health Minister Khandakar Mosharraf Hossain,
Foreign Minister M Morshed Khan and Defence Adviser to
the PM Lt Gen (retd) Mahbubur Rahman, among others, were
present at the meeting held at the PMO. According to the
proposal, the Prime Minister will head the committee and
the defence minister, if there is any, will be the deputy
chief.
The
AFD, after its restructuring, will be equipped with the
logistical support and manpower necessary to play a due
role as the secretariat of the defence committee, the
proposal says. "Such a committee is essential for
a better co-ordination of the armed forces. Defence services
in other countries including India and Pakistan have such
organisations in different names and shapes," said
an armed forces expert.
The
meeting also discussed the status of the 24-member National
Security Council and maintained that it has remained ineffective
since its formation in 1992. The Daily Star, January
15.
