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News Notes

Verdict on Jail Killings
On August 21, a Dhaka court fixed September 7 as 'judgement-day' for the sensational jail killing case. After the arguments of the prosecution and the defence, Judge Mohammad Motiur Rahman of the Metropolitan Sessions Judge's Court fixed the date in the case where national leaders Syed Nazrul Islam, Tajuddin Ahmed, AHM Quamruzzaman and M Mansur Ali were assassinated in Dhaka Central Jail on November 3, 1975. The trial faced some problems as the families of the deceased accused the government for interfering in the case and questioned the trial proceedings in the absence of special prosecutors appointed by the previous government.
Kazi Abdul Awal, former deputy inspector general (prisons), had filed the case with Lalbagh Police Station a day after a group of unruly army men along with some political leaders carried out the killings. But the Indemnity Ordinance blocked the case until 1996 when the AL repealed the infamous law after being voted into office 21 years after the killing. The court framed charges against Obaidur Rahman and 20 others on October 12, 2000 and the trial began on April 12, 2001 with the deposition of complainant Awal. After taking office in October 2001 ballot, the present four-party coalition relieved Anisul Haque and other prosecutors, who conducted the case under the past Awami League government, from the job without giving any reason.
Of the accused, Obaidur Rahman, Nurul Islam Manzoor, Shah Moazzem Hossain, Taheruddin Thakur and retired army major Khairuzzaman got bail soon after the present government took office. The government also reassigned Khairuzzaman in a foreign ministry job last year. Lt Col (Dismissed) Syed Faruk Rahman, Lt Col (Retd) Sultan Shahriar Rashid Khan and Major (Retd) Bazlul Huda are in custody. Most of the others went into hiding after investigation into the case opened. Chief special public prosecutor Anisul and his three aides were appointed by the past Awami League government. After the change of government, they were dropped to the protest of people. After the government decision sparked protest, they were reinstated. But they resigned on March 24 this year, saying there were 'unwarranted interference' in conducting the case. On March 21, the public prosecutor was given the overall responsibility of running the case that gave the special prosecutors an impression that the government did not want them to fight the case.

Journalist killed in Manikchhari
Yet another journalist has been killed -- this time, in Manikchhari. Ajker Kagoj Correspodent and Manikchhari Uapzila Press Club General Secretary Kamal Hossain was abducted from his house in the early hours of August 22 by masked assailants. Police recovered his body later that morning. Hossain's family said he had been hiding from the killers on the false ceiling of his tin-shed house, but when the criminals threatened to kill his two-year-old son, he had to come down. Hossain, also General Secretary of Manikchhari unit of Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal, was known as an outspoken person who wrote several reports on criminal activity in the area.

Khaleda Zia at 14
A leading US business magazine, Forbes made a list of the world's most powerful women where Khaleda Zia, our premiere, ranks at 14. Among the Asian women in the list, New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark, Sri Lankan President Chandrika Kumaratunga, Myanmar opposition leader Ang San Suu Kyi respectively rank at 43, 44, and 45. Even the president of all-China Women's federation, Peng Peiyun is at 47. The prime minister of Bangladesh secured an enviable position in a list that also includes heiresses, media and entertainment personalities, queens and wives of political leaders. The magazine claimed that those who figured in the list did so because of their "refreshing break from the conventional wisdom about women and power."

Islamic fanatics attack freedom of the press
Thousands of Kowmi Madrasa teachers as well as students have demanded the arrest of the editor and publisher of the Daily Prothom Alo. Angered by the daily's "hate campaign" against unregistered religious schools following publication of a series titled "Terrorist Activities in greater Chittagong", they held a rally in front of Baitul Mukarram National Mosque demanding cancellation of the declaration of the daily and threatening to burn down its headquarters. At the rally, Islami Oikya Jote Chairman Fazlul Haq Amini called upon the "Muslims of Chittagong" to cripple life in the port city with protests against the daily. Mobs at the rally itself burnt copies of the newspaper and ransacked street billboards of both the Prothom Alo and The Daily Star. Secretary General of the Madrasa Board, Abdul Zabbar, urged the teachers and students to vow to sacrifice their lives in destroying the paper. "Either we or the Prothom Alo will exist in this country," he said. Different political, social and cultural organisations as well as intellectuals have condemned the activities of the Islamist extremists, saying it was an attack on the freedom of the press and expressed concern over the government's apparent indifference to the fundamentalist extremists.

Black Saturday
Dhaka exploded into a city of chaos on Saturday, August 21 when at least 13 grenades rocked Bangabondhu Avenue at an Awami League rally just seconds after AL President and Leader of the Opposition Sheikh Hasina finished her speech.
At least 19 people were killed and over 200 injured, along with key AL leaders, including AL Women's Affairs Secretary Ivy Rahman, and leaders Abdur Razzak, Amir Hossain Amu, Suranjit Sengupta and Kazi Zafrullah. Both Ivy Rahman's legs were amputated after the blasts and she is still in critical condition. Sheikh Hasina escaped with minor bruises but with grievous inner ear injury.
Protests broke out after the incident with people torching buses and cars on the streets. A passenger train was also torched in Bhairab the following day.
Effects of the alleged assassination attempt on Hasina continue as Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) struggles to deal with the flood of injured victims, many of whom have moved to private hospitals in search of better treatment.
Ironically, the rally was held to protest the recent bombings in Sylhet, allegedly by Islamic fundamentalists.