01 August, 2016 by DhakaTribune

SECOND EDITION

MONDAY, AUGUST 1, 2016

Shraban 17, 1423, Shawwal 26, 1437

Regd No DA 6238, Vol 4, No 96

www.dhakatribune.com | 32 pages | Price: Tk10

The inside story of the

Gulshan Attack

STORY ON P2-3

News

MONDAY, AUGUST 1, 2016

Into the heart of darkness

The DhakaTribune remembers and honours the victims and survivors of the Dhaka terror attack of July 1 at O Kitchen restaurant and Holey Artisan Bakery. This recreation of the events of that night are based on direct witness accounts given to our reporters room floor and the patio outside the private dining hall. Some, including the guests at Table 1, are slumped over where they sat, shot or hacked to death by the five Bangladeshi men claiming to be doing the bidding of Islamic State. Most of the dead appear to be expatriates.

The scene

[Approximately 8:35pm]

The attack

[Approximately 8:40pm] Five men enter the O Kitchen/ Holey Artisan Bakery premises. They shut the gates, open fire and storm the restaurant wielding a machete and shouting “Allahu Akbar.” The first casualty is pizza chef Saiful Chowkidar who was talking on his cell phone near the pizza oven across the garden. Eyewitnesses see him fall to the ground amid the sound of gunshots. His bullet-hit body is found on the lawn the next day. Mayhem breaks out on the patio. Ishrat, with her back to the lawn and entrance, is fatally injured in the head from behind. Most of the Italians are killed. The autopsy report finds that they were shot and gashed by their attackers. Italian national Gianni Boscheni manages to escape.

DRIVEWAY

EMERGENCY EXIT

BATHROOM

CLEANING AND WASHING AREA

BAKERY/FOOD PREP AREA

KITCHEN

COLD STORAGE

OLD PIZZA OVEN

Execution 1

Three staff take cover in the coffee room – one behind the cash register and two behind the refrigerator. A Japanese guest emerges from a nearby bathroom and joins them in hiding. Rohan Imtiaz bangs at the door shouting: “Who's there? Come out.” “Are you Muslim?” he asks before kicking down the door. “We won't kill Muslims.” The Japanese man is shot point blank.

9 PRIVATE DINING 8 4 3

DRIVEWAY

Two sets of Italian guests, nine people in total, arrive for dinner at O Kitchen. One woman, Simona Monti, is seven months pregnant. Three are seated outside on the wrap-around patio. On the patio, Sri Lankan national Harikesha Wijesekara and friend Ishrat Akhond have been talking over coffee since afternoon. They are later joined by Harikesh's wife Pepetha Shayama for dinner. At another patio table, Indian national Sat Prakash sits alone for a quiet dinner. The remaining six Italians are seated at Table 9 in the private dining hall where they have a prior reservation. In the private dining hall, an intimate space adjoining the main dining hall, a group of eight Japanese guests all belonging to the same party have finished dinner and are waiting for their coffee at Table 8. Tahmid Khan, Maliha Fairooz and Tahana Tasmia are in the gazebo across the lawn enjoying ice cream. The last arrivals are Faraaz Hossain, Abinta Kabir and Indian national Tarishi Jain who are seated just inside the main doors at Table 1; and Hasnat and Sharmina Karim and their two children, Shefa and Raihan, who are seated at Table 7. O Kitchen is situated in the same converted two-storey home that houses the Holey Artisan Bakery.

COFFEE PREP AREA

HOLEY BAKERY

2 BATHROOM

O KITCHEN MAIN HALL

7 6 5

GELATO SHED GAZEBO

Hostages

[Approximately 9pm]

NEW PIZZA OVEN

O KITCHEN SEATING CHART ON JULY 1

IN DINING HALL Table 1: Faraaz Hossain, Abinta Kabir and Tarishi Jain Table 7: Hasnat Karim and family Table 8: Eight Japanese Table 9: Six Italians Table 2, 3, 4, 5, 6: No guests

ON PATIO ● Harikesha Wijesekara, Pepetha Shayama Wijesekara and Ishrat Akhond ● Three Italians ● Sat Prakash IN GAZEBO ● Tahmid Khan, Maliha Fairooz and Tahana Tasmia ASMAUL HOQUE MAMUN/DT INFOGRAPHIC

From inside Japanese national Tamaoki Watanabe runs for cover. He is hit by a bullet and falls to the ground and then cut by the attackers while prone on the ground. He manages to sprint towards the disused pizza oven at the edge of the lawn. The Wijesekaras and Sat Prakash follow his lead to the old oven. The Sri Lankan couple and the Japanese man manage to hide safely, but Sat Prakash is caught. Behind them, three gunmen enter the restaurant.

opened. The Italian and Japanese guests scramble for cover. Two more armed men enter the private dining room after traversing the length of the main dining hall, past Table 1 where Faraaz, Abinta and Tarishi were seated. They stand next to Table 7 at which Hasnat Karim and his family are sitting. The sound of gunfire fills the air. The machete flashes in the commotion. For ten to twelve minutes, the gunfire does not cease.

Killings

Hiding

[Approximately 8:45pm] An attacker holding a machine gun, knocks at the private dining room's glass doors and shouts for it to be

Argentine chef Diego Rossini, Italian chef Jacopo Bioni and a nearly a dozen other Bangladeshi waitstaff bolt up the stairs to the roof and jump to safety into the neighbour-

ing yard. Rossini hurts his back, but all survive. Nine staff run off to the back of the building into a windowless outdoor staff bathroom – they nearly suffocate during the ordeal. During the night, they manage to stay in touch with the restaurant owner by phone and with another Argentine chef, Gaston Palacios, via Facetime. One staff member manages to hide in the mezzanine bakery room halfway up the stairs. At one point a machete-wielding attacker enters the room and walks past him but he is not harmed.

Carnage

[Approximately 8:57pm] Bodies lie strewn across the dining

Everybody in the main dining room has not been murdered. The three staff from the coffee room are herded into the main dining room. Hasnat Karim and his family are unhurt and are sitting at Table 7. Sat Prakash, caught on the lawn while trying to escape, is brought in and made to sit at their table. Tahmid and his friends are brought in from the gazebo and told to sit at Table 6. They are visibly shaken. Everybody is told to put their heads down. Nibras Islam briefs the other attackers in Arabic and appears to be the leader. Speaking in English, Bangla and Arabic, he lectures the waitstaff on Islam, saying it is a sin to serve alcohol.

Execution 2

An Italian guest hiding in the bathroom emerges. As she attempts to run, she is shot in the back and falls at the foot of the stairs. Shafiqul Islam Ujjal slits her throat with a machete and then hacks at her body, leaving her in a pool of blood.

Policeman down

[Approximately 10:30pm] Two gunmen on the second floor balcony shoot and lob IEDs or gre-

MONDAY, AUGUST 1, 2016

them. We have come to kill foreigners because they are taking Islam in the wrong direction.” Rohan adds: “All Muslims are brothers. When Muslims are killed in Europe or America, does it not grieve you? “They have killed our innocents. Now we will kill them.” Nibras is the most talkative about Islam and speaks about religion throughout the night with the staff and guests seated at Table 7.

nades at police who had arrived at the scene around 9pm. Banani police station Officerin-Charge Salauddin Ahmed Khan and Detective Branch (North) Assistant Police Commissioner Rabiul Islam are fatally wounded. Some 33 other policemen are injured.

Phones confiscated

A phone rings at Table 7. “It is my mother. I want to take the call,” Sharmin Karim tells the attackers. She is allowed to speak on loudspeaker and tells her mother: “I am safe. Do not worry.” Everybody's phones are then confiscated and placed in a heap on Table 7. Other phones ring but calls are not allowed to be taken. At least one hostage later learns that his family's phone calls, while not answered, were responded to via text messages written by the attackers, telling the family not to worry. Tarishi's family also reportedly receive a text message at 1:30am Indian Standard Time, but the text has an ominous tone. By this time, she is no longer alive, as far as the Dhaka Tribune is able to ascertain.

Execution 3

A Bangladeshi staff and a Japanese guest are hauled from the chiller room. There was an earlier attempt to open the chiller door which the two men resisted, but this time the door is forced open. The Bangladeshi staff cries and begs for his life. He is not harmed. The Japanese man is shot point blank.

‘What halal food do you have?’ [Approximately 10:30pm]

“What halal food do you have?” Rohan asks the waitstaff. Several meals are served during the hos-

News

Hostages used for errands

[Approximately 2:00 - 3:45am]

Victims are remembered with offerings of flowers and candles at a memorial erected along a police barricade near the O Kitchen restaurant and Holey Artisan Bakery after the Dhaka terror attack on July 1 MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU tage situation. The attackers ask the hostages to be served first, then ask staff to eat and then partake themselves. Pastries and cheesecake are served.

Most cruel death

[Approximately 11pm] One of the women at Table 1, wearing a red T-shirt, begins to move and make noise. She is not dead. An attacker hacks at her a number of times to kill her. When she still does not die, another attacker hacks at her a few more times again until she is finally lifeless. Throughout the executions, all of the attackers appear calm.

Joy over policemen deaths [Approximately 11:20pm]

Banani OC Salauddin and DB Assis-

A view of O’Kitchen’s main dining hall during better times

tant Police Commissioner Rabiul die of their injuries at United Hospital. Rohan rejoices at the news, saying: “See how blessed we are! We are alive inside and the OC is dead outside. “The police, BGB, RAB all came to rescue you [hostages] but they have had to turn back. They have been forced to retreat. Allah has done this to ensure our mission is a success.”

‘How many dead?’

[Approximately midnight] Rohan asks for the restaurant's WiFi password. “How many dead?” one attacker asks. Another replies: “Twenty plus.” During the late hours of the night, the WiFi connection was used to upload photographs of the victims of the attack.

The attackers then ask to be shown all escape routes. These are sealed off and locked. The attackers make no visible attempt to escape. They spend the night repeatedly going up and down the stairs. But despite this movement, one attacker would always have a gun trained on the hostages.

'Have you heard of IS?'

Coffee is served to the attackers. One waiter is sent upstairs with coffee to where Nibras is using a mobile telephone surrounded by four grenades. Downstairs, the attackers who address each other using their IS noms de guerre discuss their mission and goals. They say their “rules” do not allow the killing of locals. They ask the hostages: “Have you heard of IS? We belong to

GOOGLE MAPS

Hasnat Karim is told to lock the collapsible gate facing the clinic. Staff are asked to bring out gas cylinders which are placed in front of windows and upstairs. At 3:30am, staff are told to serve Sehri “professionally.” Sea bass fillets are cut in half to make 12 servings, and shrimp is fried for Khairul Islam Payal. The food is served to the hostages. The attackers do not eat. At dawn, they say their prayers. One staff member upstairs is forced to sit on a table next to a gas canister overnight as a human shield. Staff member Zakir Hossain Shaon is injured and bloodied as he escapes and is detained by law enforcement officials. He later dies in custody while being treated at Dhaka Medical College Hospital. Staff members Lazarus Saren and Zakirul Islam are also held for questioning at DMCH. They are later released.

Operation Thunderbolt [Daybreak]

Hasnat and two others, including at least one attacker, go up to the roof of the building. No hostage is ever seen being handed a weapon or asked to do guard duty, as far as the Dhaka Tribune is able to ascertain. Hasnat is told to go unlock the main gate when he returns from the roof. The key doesn't work. He is then told to open the collapsible gate and leave. He opens it and returns. The staff, suffocating in the bathroom outside, start banging the door in desperation. Militants hear the commotion and send one of the waiters to fetch the staff locked in the staff bathroom. As they are released, four manage to run away. The other five are brought inside. The hostages at Table 7 are given back their mobile phones and allowed to leave. As they leave, Nibras says: “We are going to die. We know we will attain paradise.” The terrorists begin to walk towards the patio. Operation Thunderbolt commences. The remaining staff and the foreigners hiding behind the old pizza oven are rescued by the armed forces. l

News

MONDAY, AUGUST 1, 2016

Security across country not beefed up as promised n Tribune Desk There are currently about 250 check posts in Dhaka according to the Dhaka Metropolitan Police. Since the terrorist attacks in July, security has been beefed up across the capital, although the directive was for the entire country. Our Dhaka correspondent found that there were checkposts located at the entry and exit points of the diplomatic area where each and every vehicle was stopped and checked.

ents paint a different picture. Gaibandha, where the Gulshan attackers trained has not seen the police take any special security measures yet. Our Gaibandha correspondent reports zero police visibility even after the Gulshan and Sholakia attacks despite the claims of the District Police Superintendent Asraful Islam saying that security has been beefed up in the area. According to our Khulna correspondent, there are two permanent checkposts in Pother Bazar and

‘Security has been beefed up across the country including Dhaka where law enforcers are giving maximum effort in solving the ongoing militancy crisis’ Commissioner of DMP Asaduzzaman Miah said: “We have re-structured the security format in the capital with a mixture of checkposts and police patrol teams.” Along with that, a rapid response system has been introduced so that police can arrive at a scene minutes after they have been called, he added. In response to the question of security being beefed up only in Dhaka, Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal said: “security has been beefed up across the country including Dhaka where law enforcers are giving maximum effort in solving the ongoing militancy crisis.” Although the home minister said security has been beefed up across the country our district correspond-

Gollamari area. Additional Deputy Commissioner of Khulna Metropolitan Police Sheikh Moniruzzaman Mithu said: “We are working on setting up 16 checkposts in the near future.” Our Rajshahi correspondent reports one permanent checkpost at the bypass area and just three temporary ones at Railgate, Alkar Mor and Ghospara intersection. District correspondent of Panchagarh reports the police have not taken any special security measure since the terrorist attacks in July. The allegation was refuted by District Police Superintendent Gias Uddin Ahmed saying steps have been taken to prevent attacks and protect the people of the district. l

Vendors sell mangoes sitting on the rail crossing at Dakkhinkhan of Uttara in Dhaka despite the danger that their lives are at risk. The photo was taken recently MEHEDI HASAN

Four testify in Gulshan terror attack case n Md Sanaul Islam Tipu

Four witnesses gave statements before separate Dhaka courts in a case filed over the July 1 militant attack on a Spanish restaurant in the capital’s Gulshan area that left 22 people including 17 foreigners killed. The judges of the Dhaka’s Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Court recorded their statements after Inspector Humayun Kabir of the Counter-Terrorism and Transnational Crimes unit, also the investigation officer of the case, produced them before the courts. The witnesses are Al-Amin Chowdhury, cashier of the Holey Artisan Bakery; its two staff – Miraz Hossain and Russell Mahmud; and Baset Sarder, a driver of the Metro Rail project officials killed during the attack. The case was filed with Gulshan police under the Anti-Terrorism Act on July 4 against the five slain militants and several unidentified peo-

ple in connection with the attack. Another Dhaka court on July 6 asked the IO of the case to submit the probe report by August 24. According to the case, seven gunmen stormed the restaurant, opened fire and took around 40 people, including restaurant staff and guests – hostage on July 1. Twenty hostages – nine Italians, seven Japanese, one Indian, one Bangladeshi-born American and two Bangladeshis – were killed on that night. Two senior police officers – Banani police OC Salauddin Ahmed Khan and DB assistant commissioner Robiul Karim – were killed as they tried to rescue the hostages. Thirteen people, including three foreigners, were rescued while 20 bodies of the hostages were recovered from the restaurant after a commando operation the next morning. Six of the seven gunmen were killed during the drive, the case says. l

Court orders DNA test on Kallyanpur militants n Md Sanaul Islam Tipu

A Dhaka Court yesterday ordered for DNA test on the nine militants killed in a gunfight with law-enforcers in Kallyanpur in Dhaka on July 26. Metropolitan Magistrate Muhammad Mazharul Islam passed the order after Inspector Md Jahangir Alam of the Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime unit filed three petitions seeking the permission. The police inspector filed the three petitions - one for the DNA test, one for collecting profiles of the militants and another for testing of urine, stool, hair and clothes of the militants. Allowing the three petitions, the court ordered for the DNA test and to arrange for the tests of urine, stool, hair and clothes of the militants. l

‘Gulshan attack autopsy report in August’ n Tribune Desk A full autopsy report on the Gulshan attackers would be completed and submitted within August, the doctor who led their post-mortem examinations has said. Dr Sohel Mahmud, an assistant professor at Dhaka Medical College forensic department, told the Dhaka Tribune yesterday that they suspect that the militants were on some sort of drugs when they carried out the attack at Holey Artisan Bakery because their level of brutality was beyond belief. Dr Mammud led the team that carried out the autopsy on the attackers as well as the victims at Combined Military Hos-

pital (CMH) on July 3. He said all victims had around six or seven wounds on their bodies, while a total eight bullets were recovered from seven victims. Of the victims, seven were shot to death first before being hacked as well. The body of a female victim was unusually mutilated by the attackers. The doctors found around 35 to 40 knife wounds on her torso area alone, which suggested that she suffered severe torture before she was killed. That female victim’s right wrist was also cut off by the militants, while there were also signs of head injuries, Dr Mahmud said.

He added that such levels of brutality was not possible without the influence of some sort of narcotic substance; so the blood and viscera samples of the militants were sent to the CID forensic lab for chemical test. “We will get the chemical test report within a week and only then we can start work on a complete autopsy report,” Dr Mahmud said. Asked why it was taking such a long time for the autopsy report to be done, he said: “Usually we take 30 to 45 days to do a complete autopsy report, but this time it is taking more time because the department is holding exams for students at the moment.” l

News

MONDAY, AUGUST 1, 2016

Rajuk’s Sunday drive leaves 52 unemployed n Abu Hayat Mahmud The Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (Rajuk) continued the second round of their eviction drive to oust unauthorised commercial establishments in Dhaka’s Dhanmondi area yesterday. Rajuk’s Executive Magistrate Nasir Uddin led the eviction drive that started around 11am. During the drive, the eviction team demolished 10 establishments including restaurants, fast food joints and sweet shops. Authorities from two private universities have been asked to shut down all their activities in residential areas in Dhanmondi. According to business owners who have been negatively affect-

at restaurants and thus, the residential parts of posh areas will be freed of such businesses,” he added. The restaurant manager of Dhaba, seeking anonymity, acknowledged the Rajuk notice, but he said that the notice deadline was due to end today. “Rajuk has demolished the building a day before the end of the deadline,” he added. The manager further told the Dhaka Tribune that around 30 people have lost their jobs and the owner has lost around Tk10 lakh for the restaurant being demolished. The Rajuk team then went to road 10/A and demolished Sadia and Samia restaurant, whose owner named Shapan said that he had tak-

ed by Sunday’s drive, around 52 people have lost jobs and damages in wealth have amounted to Tk52 lakh. The eviction started by demolishing a restaurant named Dhaba, which was located on Road 12A of Dhanmondi. Rajuk’s Authorised Officer (Zone 5, Dhanmondi) Abu Jafar Md Saiful Hannan told the Dhaka Tribune: “The restaurant had been notified several times before but they did not move from the location and ran their business illegally.” The official further said that they would continue the drive mostly against restaurants based in posh, residential areas due to security concerns. “Public gatherings occur mostly

en the location from a developer six months ago to run the restaurant. “The developer company told us there would be problems to run a business on this road. I have lost Tk10 lakh and 12 employees have lost their jobs,” he said. The local people said that another six shop locations of a building were demolished, whose owner was named Zafar. This correspondent, however, was unable to contact Zafar for further comments, who was also not present at the spot during the Rajuk drive. Rajuk officials also visited the Chartered University College on the same road and asked university authorities to stop all activities at a residential apartment they were currently located in and to shift the

college campus to a different location. The mobile court then went to road 11 and visited Premier Sweets and a departmental shop at plot 28, whose owner is BCB Director Ahmed Sajjadul Alam Bobby, sun of former Awami League presidium member Mohiuddin. However, the owners of both shops closed business as soon as they received Rajuk’s notice. On the same road, Rajuk demolished the Hungry Bee restaurant, whose owner is Advocate Khaled Bukht. The mobile court then disconnected the power and gas connections of the four flats belonging to DIU and of flats owned by other unauthorised businesses. l

Police launches android app for militancy reporting n Tribune Desk

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday visits different stalls at the annual Tree Fair on the Sher-e-Bangla Nagar Trade Fair ground after she inaugurated the fair. BSS

Nine get death threats n Tribune Desk

An anonymous letter sent by post to the Dhaka Tribune yesterday contains death threats to nine prominent personalities including a Supreme Court Justice. The letter was postmarked Mohammadpur Sub-Post Office, but did not show when it was sent. The letter, written in Bangla, does not contain the name of any organisation or a sender. On top of the letter are the proclamations “Naraye Takbir” and “Allahu Akbar.” The letter also reads: “Your death sentence is final. Execution will be carried out any time.”

TEMPERATURE FORECAST FOR TODAY

THUNDERSHOWER WITH RAIN MONDAY, AUGUST 1

sary steps in this matter. When contacted, Maulana Masuud, who initiated the recent fatwa against terrorism, said he did not receive any such letter with a threat. But he offered prayers for those who had sent the letter, saying: “May Allah guide them.” Advocate Rana Dasgupta, the secretary general of the Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council of Bangladesh, said he did not receive any new death threat, but “such death threats have been sent many times before in my name. I previously filed general diary, but did not see any initiative from police.” l

A list of nine prominent personalities follows: International Crimes Tribunal judge Justice Nizamul Haque, tribunal prosecutors Dr Tureen Afroz and Advocate Rana Dasgupta, pro-war crimes trial activists Dr Imran Sarker and Kamal Pasha Chowdhury, Azadur Rahman Chandan, Shagor Lohani, Islami Oikya Jote faction Chairman Misbahur Rahman Chowdhury and Sholakia Imam Maulana Farid Uddin Masud. Police were notified of the letter. Deputy Commissioner (media) Masudur Rahman of Dhaka Metropolitan Police said law enforcement agencies were taking necesDhaka

Chittagong

Rajshahi

DHAKA TODAY SUN SETS 6:41PM

Rangpur

A new mobile application, Hello CT was launched yesterday that lets people inform the police when they suspect militant activities. Hello CT has been launched as an android application but it will available soon at the apple store. Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal inaugurated the launch of the app that was developed by the Counter Terrorism & Transnational Crime unit of Bangladesh Police. The police previously had no such service available that would enable people to file complaints or inform the police about militancy. Additional Deputy Commissioner Sanowar Hossain as the keynote speaker said: “Previously our police department had to wok on spo-

Khulna

Barisal

YESTERDAY’S HIGH AND LOW

TOMORROW SUN RISES 5:28AM

35.8ºC Syedpur

24.0ºC Tangail

Source: Accuweather/UNB

PRAYER TIMES

radic information on crimes previously. Now, we are keen on working in a more organised manner and this app is being introduced as part our effort in dealing with militancy in a more organised way.” With this app, anyone can contact the police if they notice anything suspicious that they believe to be linked with militancy. The identity of the people who will assist the police in fighting militancy by providing information will be kept confidential, if they wish to stay anonymous. With this app, the user can send information and photographs to the police. Inspector General of Police AKM Shahidul Haque, Md Assaduzzaman Mia, and Additional Commissioner Sheikh Md Maruf Hasan of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police were present during the launch. l

Sylhet

Cox’s Bazar

Fajr: 4:55am | Zohr: 1:15pm Asr: 5:15pm | Magrib: 6:55pm Esha: 8:45pm Source: Islamic Foundation

News

MONDAY, AUGUST 1, 2016

MP Bodi: I was not there n Abdul Aziz, Cox’s Bazar

Controversial Awami League lawmaker from Cox’s Bazar Abdur Rahman Bodi has claimed that he was not present at the meeting from where a special BGB team arrested four people including an RSO militant and a Saudi national in Teknaf on Saturday. “Under the directive of the prime minister, I have been holding rallies and processions against militancy in my constituency every day. There is no question of attending a meeting with the militants,” Bodi told the Dhaka Tribune Saturday night. The lawmaker from Teknaf-Ukhiya constituency also claimed that the BGB officer, who told newsmen that he was among the participants, himself had not been pres-

ent during the raid. A special BGB team carried out the drive at the house of Maulana Syed Karim, the president of Baharchhara union unit Awami League, in Shamlapur area around 3:30pm. “I was at Inani of Ukhiya when the meeting was under way. I went to the spot being informed about the meeting. The BGB members arrested the four militants including a Saudi national in my presence.” On Saturday, Teknaf 2 BGB Commander Lt Col Abuzar Al Jahid said that Bodi, Teknaf Upazila Chairman Jafar Ahmed, Vice-Chairman Maulana Rafique Uddin and Baharchhara Union Chairman Aziz Uddin attended the meeting at Jafar’s relative Karim’s house. “But they managed to flee the scene before the team reached the house,” he

told the Dhaka Tribune. The information was also confirmed by the battalion’s Deputy Commander Maj Abu Russel Siddique, who led the drive. The four arrestees are former RSO commander Hafez Salaul Islam, a resident of Dakkhin Muhuri Para in Cox’s Bazar; Syed Karim; Saudi national Abu Saleh Al Gambi; and Maulana Md Ibrahim of Dhaka. “A party leader from Baharchhara called me over the phone around 11:30am. He asked me to go to Syed Karim’s house where militants were holding a meeting. I was at Inani at that time. When I reached there I saw BGB members led by Assistant Commissioner (Land) Zahed Iqbal cordoned off the house. “Then I entered the house along with the BGB members and assist-

ed them in arresting the four people including a foreigner,” Bodi told the Dhaka Tribune. Teknaf police chief Abdul Majid last night said that the arrestees – kept at the Teknaf 2 BGB camp – had not been handed over to them. Meanwhile, BGB chief Maj Gen Aziz Ahmed from a press conference yesterday said that the four persons were found holding a secret meeting at the house. They were trying to instigate the Rohingyas and distribute money among them illegally. A statement issued yesterday by the BGB said that some media reports had misquoted its officers as mentioning that MP Bodi had been present at the meeting and he even tried to obstruct the officers from arresting the four. l

Japanese consultants for metro rail yet to be replaced

Refuting the claims by the police, a faction of banned militant group Jama’atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) has said that their members were not involved in the recent terror attacks in Gulshan and Sholakia that killed 25 people including 17 foreigners. The militant group made the claim yesterday as they sent two memory cards to the Bangla Tribune office describing the attacks. The outfit has also changed its logo. The law enforcers are blaming the JMB – formed in 1998 and banned in 2005 – for the July 1 attack on a Gulshan restaurant and the July 7 attack on the police near Sholakia Eid congregation in Kishoreganj.

The law enforcers are blaming the JMB for the July 1 attack on a Gulshan restaurant and the July 7 attack on the police near Sholakia Eid congregation

n Shohel Mamun

Japanese consultants are yet to be replaced for the feasibility study of the Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) project for metro rail lines 1 and 5. The project is currently at a standstill, due to progress in the feasibility study not being made. On July 10, the Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica) did reassure the government, through an official letter, that they will send experts to continue conducting the metro rail feasibility study within seven days. The Bangladesh government has appreciated Jica’s decision, which was made after the deadly terror attack at a Dhaka cafe on July 1, where victims included seven Japanese nationals, most of whom were visiting Bangladesh as metro rail consultants. Road Transport and Highways division secretary MAN Siddique said “The recruitment of Japanese consultants for replacing the seven, who were killed by the militant attack at Holey Artsan bakery, is under process. It might require more time to ensure consultants fulfill all necessary criteria.” “But it has been confirmed that we will able to continue the work at Dhaka’s metro rail project without further interruption,” he told the Dhaka Tribune. After the Dhaka restaurant tragedy, Japan has assured the Bangladesh government that Japanese development agencies, such as Jica, will continue to provide development support to its long-time friend, Bangladesh. l

JMB denies involvement in Gulshan, Sholakia attacks n Tribune Desk

A Rajuk mobile court yesterday demolishes illegal businesses at Dhanmondi in Dhaka (story on page 5)

MEHEDI HASAN

MPs barred from school committee n Ashif Islam Shaon The High Court has ordered schools to dissolve their unelected governing bodies and form ad hoc committees within a month to hold elections for new committees. No lawmaker will be allowed to head the governing bodies, said the full text of a recent High Court judgment released yesterday. The court also directed the government to take steps within two months to amend the related provision of Non-government School College Governing Body Regulation 2009 that allows lawmakers to chair governing bodies and management committees of non-government educational institutions. Earlier High Court in an order declared the provision invalid. The short order was delivered by

the High Court bench of justices Zinat Ara and AKM Zahirul Hoque on June 1 on two separate petitions filed by Supreme Court lawyer Eunus Ali Akond who challenged the legality of those provisions. The court in it’s verdict gave 12 instructions about the school and college committees, the lawyer told reporters. It said that lawmakers will not preside over any governing body or management committees and the special committees already formed without elections will be canceled. Within 60 days of receiving the copy of the verdict, the law and education secretaries and the Dhaka Education Board will take steps to amend the laws. The High Court scrapped section 5 and 50 that contain these provisions. On April 13 the High Court is-

sued a rule asking the authorities concerned to explain within four weeks the legality of Section 5(50) and why it should not be declared unconstitutional. On January 19 the High Court issued another ruling questioning the legality of the a special governing body, led by Civil Aviation and Tourism Minister Rashed Khan Menon, at Viqarunnisa Noon School and College in Dhaka. Eunus said the 2008 government circular had announced that the government could not run any institution which is on monthly payment order (MPO) by any special committee. Institutions must elect governing committees on their own. Deputy Attorney General Israt Jahan said the government will file an appeal against the High Court decision. l

But international militant group Islamic State claimed responsibilities for the Gulshan attack, but no one took credit for the attack in Kishoreganj. Since September last year, IS claims their members have carried out 25 attacks that killed 44 people. In the memory cards, the JMB faction, led by fugitive death-row convict Salauddin alias Salehin alias Sajeeb, also gave a statement claiming responsibilities for all the attacks they had carried out during 2002-2016. Chief of the DMP’s Counter-Terrorism and Transnational Crimes unit Monirul Islam said that they would scrutinise the statement. “We have much information about the activities of this new group,” he said. The Dhaka Tribune on July 10 published two reports based on the statement where the group admitted – for the first time – their involvement in over 1,100 attacks, mostly targeting NGOs, secularists, non-Muslims, Pirs and shrines, and courts and law enforcers. The statement was first published in a Facebook page on June 27 and later found in a jihadi discussion platform named “Dawahilallah.” On the other hand, al-Qaeda affiliate Ansarullah Bangla Team or Ansar Al Islam took credit for 13 attacks since 2013 that killed 11 secularists and injured at least five others. l

News

MONDAY, AUGUST 1, 2016

Flood situation likely to improve soon

Headmaster forcibly closes school protesting transfer order n S Basu Das, Bandarban

A portion of Sarishabari road at Bhatara union’s Fulbaria area, Jamalpur collapses due to strong current yesterday, snapping road communication between Sadar upzila and other parts of the district DHAKA TRIBUNE

n Abu Bakar Siddique Flood situation in several districts of Bangladesh may improve in the next two or three days, as water level in the major rivers has started receding. According to the Flood Forecasting and Warning Centre (FFWC), water level in the Brahmaputra, Jamuna, Surma, and Kushiyara Rivers are falling. Water levels in the Brahmaputra, Jamuna, Surma, Kushiyara River may fall in the next 72 hours, added the FFWC bulletin released yesterday.

CMCH canteen staff murdered n Anwar Hussain, Chittagong

A fourth class canteen staff of Chittagong Medical College Hospital (CMCH) was allegedly stabbed to death yesterday. The deceased was Md Farhad, 22, hailed from Maheshkhali upazila of Cox’s Bazar. According to local sources, Masud, a former staff of the canteen allegedly stabbed Farhad twice in the chest and fled the scene. Sub-Inspector Jahirul Islam, incharge of CMCH police outpost told the Dhaka Tribune that the murder took place after an altercation between the two over a mobile phone. The body was sent to the morgue of the hospital for autopsy. l

Flood situation likely to improve in Gaibandha, Jamalpur, Sirajganj, Bogra and Kurigram in the next two days, as water levels in the Brahmaputra and Jamuna Rivers are in the falling trend. The bulletin, however, said the water level in Padma River likely to rise in the next 48 hours, which may cause deterioration of flood situation in low-lying areas of Rajbari, Manikganj, Munshiganj and Shariatpur. Water levels in the Buriganga, Balu, Shitalakhya Rivers around Dhaka city are in rising trend which may continue in the next 24 hours.

The flood in the country has caused due to heavy rainfall in the northern and north-east part of Bangladesh as well as Indian state Assam and Meghalya. Ripon Karmakar, duty forecasting officer at the FFWC, said: “The first spell of flood which is now going on in Bangladesh will not deteriorate further, as there is no possibility of rainfall in the next two or three days. According to a forecast the Indian Meteorological Department released on July 28, Assam and Meghalaya states would experi-

ence scattered and a very few rainfall till August 3. Meanwhile, water levels at 18 points out of 90 measured stations were flowing above danger level yesterday while water at 39 points out of 46 measured points were under danger level. Of them, the Jamuna River at Bahadurabad point flowed 105cm, at Sariakandi point 88cm, the Atrai River at Baghabari flowed 107cm, the Dhaleswari River at Elasin point flowed 140cm and the Padma River at Goalando point flowed 101cm above the danger level. l

A headmaster of a government primary school in the district has forcibly closed the institution for cancellation his transfer order. According to the district education office sources, Mokammel Amin, the headmaster of Lama TT and DC Govt Primary School, had been transferred to Hachhaipara Govt Primary School on July 24. Next day, he went to the houses of the students and told them that the school had been declared closed. Since the day, they have not attended the school. Mokammel also spread rumors that the students did not attend the classes protesting his transfer. He also tried to manage the education officer of the district saying the students would not attend the school if his transfer is not cancelled. Some guardians alleged that Mokammel had made tricks to cancell his transfer order. Setara Begum, a guardian, said : “ We cannot tolerate the situation which is destructive for our children. We want immediate solution of the situation.” The sources said Nandita Sridev Chowdhury, the newly appointed headmaster of the school, came on July 26 to join the institution. But Mokammel did not hand over the charge to him. Meanwhile, locals urged the concern authorities to solve the problem soon. Ananda Mohon Saha, education officer of the district, said : “A headmaster cannot close the school after his transfer order. It is violation of law. If Mokammel violates the law, of course he will have to face the situation.” l

Two witnesses testify in Laldighi massacre case n Anwar Hussain, Chittagong

A Chittagong Court yesterday recorded deposition of two persons in a case filed 28 years ago over police firing at a motorcade of Sheikh Hasina near Laldighi Maidan in the port city on January 24, 1988. The massacre left at least 24 people killed and scores of injured. Anjan Kumar Sen, the then reporter of local vernacular daily Purbokone and Sefali Sarker whose husband Ajit Sarker died in the police firing gave testimony as the witnesses before the court of Chittagong Divisional Special Judge Ruhul Amin. Anjan Sen in his testimony said, “I was assigned to cover the pro-

gramme of Awami League president Sheikh Hasina. The police began to open fire and lobbed tear shells as soon as the motorcade of Sheikh Hasina reached Kotwali intersection. At that time I asked the on-duty police personnel why they were opening fire. In reply, they said that they were doing so following the order of the then CMP Commissioner.” “The then CMP commissioner ordered the police to besiege the newspaper office and seized the photographs and news on the massacre. The newspapers were forced to publish government-fed press notes,” said the journalist. “My husband was working at a tailor shop near Cinema Palace in

the city. My neighbours informed me that my husband was shot dead. I rushed to Chittagong General Hospital and the on-duty doctors told me that my husband was shot dead in police firing,” said Sefali Sarker. Public Prosecutor Mesbah Uddin Chowdhury said the court recorded statements of 39 witnesses in the case which was transferred to the court of divisional special judge three months ago. Police opened fire on the motorcade when the then Awami League President Sheikh Hasina on a truck was heading towards Laldighi Maidan to address a rally during HM Ershad regime on January 24, 1988.

Following the fall HM Ershad, lawyer Md Shahidul Huda filed a case on March 5, 1992 with a Chittagong court and the police submitted the charge sheet against 47 persons on May 14, 1998. Later, the court directed the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) for further investigation into the case. On October 14, 1999, Abdul Kader Khan Assistant Superintendent of Police (CID) submitted the supplementary charge sheet accusing seven persons. The accused are the then CMP Commissioner Mirza Raqibul Huda, Police Inspector Gobinda Chandra Mondal, constables Abdus Salam, Mushfiqur Rahman, Pradip Barua, Bashir Uddin, Shah Md Abdullah and Momtaj Uddin. l

8 World

MONDAY, AUGUST 1, 2016

SOUTH ASIA

7 Pakistani extremists killed in police shootout 7 Islamist extremists were killed in a shootout in Pakistan’s wealthy Punjab province as police raided the group suspected of launching attacks on security posts. Gunfire erupted between police and 10 suspected militants early Sunday morning in a house where the group was holed up. -REUTERS

INDIA

Heavy rains, lightning kill 41 in India At least 9 people were killed when a three-storey building collapsed in heavy rains in a Mumbai suburb on Sunday, and officials said 32 people were killed by lightning a day earlier in India’s eastern state of Odisha. Authorities had already announced a death toll for Saturday of at least 17 people in heavy rains in the northeastern state of Assam. -REUTERS

CHINA

China raises alert level ahead of Typhoon Nida China issued an orange alert for Typhoon Nida on Sunday, predicting the storm would hit the southern province of Guangdong on Tuesday, state news agency Xinhua reported. The National Meteorological Centre raised the threat level to the second-most severe alert on a four-colour scale after issuing a yellow alert earlier in the day. -REUTERS

ASIA PACIFIC

Philippine president calls off truce after rebel attack Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte called off a week-long cease-fire after communist guerrillas killed a government militiaman and failed to declare their own truce by a Saturday deadline. It was the first irritant in what has been a blossoming relationship between Duterte, who calls himself a left-wing president. -AP

MIDDLE EAST

Many Houthis, 7 Saudi troops killed near Yemen border

Seven Saudi troops and dozens of Houthi fighters were killed in heavy fighting on the border with Yemen, Saudi state news agency SPA reported on Sunday, as the main combatants in Yemen’s war prepared for a further week of peace talks in Kuwait. The UN-sponsored negotiations had been on the verge of collapse after a new row erupted last week between the Saudi-backed government and its Iranian-allied Houthi foes and renewed fighting broke out. -REUTERS

Hillary Clinton campaign hacked in attacks on Democrats n Reuters, Washington, DC

A computer network used by Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton’s campaign was hacked as part of a broad cyber attack on Democratic political organisations, people familiar with the matter told Reuters. The latest attack, which was disclosed to Reuters on Friday, follows two other hacks on the Democratic National Committee, or DNC, and the party’s fund-raising committee for candidates for the US House of Representatives. A Clinton campaign spokesman said in a statement late on Friday that an analytics data program maintained by the DNC and used by the campaign and a number of other entities “was accessed as part of the DNC hack.” “Our campaign computer system has been under review by outside cyber security experts. To date, they have found no evidence that our internal systems have been compromised,” said Clinton campaign spokesman Nick Merrill. Later, a campaign official said hackers had access to the analytics program’s server for approximately five days. The analytics data program is one of many systems the campaign accesses to conduct voter analysis, and does not include social security numbers or credit card numbers, the official said. The US Department of Justice national security division is investigating whether cyber attacks on Democratic political organizations threatened US security, sources familiar with the matter said on Friday. The involvement of the Justice Department’s national security division is a sign that the Obama administration has concluded that the hacking was sponsored by a state, people with knowledge of the investigation said. While it is unclear exactly what material the hackers may have gained access to, the third such attack on sensitive Democratic targets disclosed in the last six weeks has caused alarm in the party and beyond, just over three months before the Nov. 8 US presidential election. Hackers, whom US intelligence officials have concluded were Russian, gained access to the entire network of the fundraising Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, or DCCC, said people familiar with the matter, detailing the extent of the breach to Reuters

KEY MOMENTS FROM THE DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION

Hillary Clinton was officially crowned as the candidate for president of the US Sanders supporters need persuading... The first days of the convention were plagued by discontent among Bernie Sanders’ supporters, who booed at the very mention of Clinton’s name

Barack and Michelle Obama The US president and the 1st lady sent the Wells Fargo Center wild with their speeches. Michelle Obama, struggling to hold the emotion in, underlined the possibility now that a woman could enter the White House

Bill backing Hillary "In the spring of 1971, I met a girl" The former president painted a very personal picture of their life together. The aim: to soften his wife’s public image for the first time. Cyber security experts and US officials said earlier this week they had concluded, based on analysis of malware and other aspects of the DNC hack, that Russia engineered the release of hacked Democratic Party emails to influence the US presidential election. The US Federal Bureau of Investigation said on Friday it was “aware of media reporting on cyber intrusions involving multiple political entities, and is working to determine the accuracy, nature and scope of these matters.” “The FBI takes seriously any allegations of intrusions, and we will continue to hold accountable those who pose a threat in cyberspace,” the agency said in an emailed statement. The hack did not involve the private email system Clinton used while she was secretary of state. Yahoo News reported on Thursday night that the FBI had warned the Clinton campaign last March that it was a target of a cyber attack involving spearphishing and had asked the campaign to turn over sensitive data to help in its investigation, but that campaign lawyers rejected this request as too intrusive. A source familiar with the matter confirmed this account to Reuters.

Russian hackers

The new disclosure to Reuters that hackers gained access to the full DCCC network means they would have had access to everything on the network from emails to strategy memos and opposition research prepared to support Democratic candidates in campaigns for the House. The hack of the DCCC, which is

based in Washington, was reported first by Reuters on Thursday, ahead of Clinton’s speech in Philadelphia accepting the Democratic party’s nomination. Russian officials could not be immediately reached for comment. Several US officials said the Obama administration has avoided publicly attributing the attacks to Russia as that might undermine Secretary of State John Kerry’s effort to win Russian cooperation in the war on Islamic State in Syria. The officials said the administration fears Russian President Vladimir Putin might respond to a public move by escalating cyber attacks on US targets, increasing military harassment of US and allied aircraft and warships in the Baltic and Black Seas, and making more aggressive moves in Eastern Europe. Some officials question the approach, arguing that responding more forcefully to Russia would be more effective than remaining silent. The Obama administration announced in an April 2015 executive order that it could apply economic sanctions in response to cyber attacks.

Trump on emails

The hack on the DNC, made public in June, led to WikiLeaks publishing more than 19,000 emails last weekend, some of them showing favouritism within the DNC for Clinton over US Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont. DNC Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz resigned on Sunday as a result, creating a rocky start for the party’s convention in Philadelphia this week. Republican presidential nomi-

nee Donald Trump on Wednesday invited Russia to dig up thousands of “missing” emails from Clinton’s time at the State Department, prompting Democrats to accuse him of urging foreigners to spy on Americans. On Thursday, Trump said his remarks were meant as sarcasm. Earlier in the week, Clinton campaign senior policy adviser Jake Sullivan had criticized Trump and called the hacking “a national security issue.” Trump campaign spokesman Jason Miller said on Friday the reported breach showed cyber security is “a problem wherever Hillary Clinton goes. Hopefully this time there wasn’t classified or top secret information that puts American lives at risk.” In Washington, the DCCC said early on Friday it had hired cyber security firm CrowdStrike to investigate. “We have taken and are continuing to take steps to enhance the security of our network,” the DCCC said. “We are cooperating with federal law enforcement with respect to their ongoing investigation.” The DCCC had no additional comment late on Friday. Officials at the DNC did not respond to requests for comment. Senator Dianne Feinstein, a California Democrat and the top Democrat on the Senate intelligence committee, told CNN on Friday she had not heard about the hack of the Clinton campaign. But she said: “It wouldn’t surprise me. I think it should be pretty clear that both campaigns should be aware that there’s a problem out there. Everybody should be cautious.” l

MONDAY, AUGUST 1, 2016

16 killed in Texas hot air balloon crash n Tribune International Desk At least 16 people died in the hot air balloon crash in Central Texas, the National Transportation Safety Board said Sunday, adding that investigators are still trying to determine the exact number of passengers and what caused the accident, reports The Associated Press. It’s apparently the worst such disaster in US history, and one of the worst ever in the world. In February 2013, a balloon flying over Luxor, Egypt, caught fire and plunged 1,000 feet to the ground, crashing into a sugar cane field and killing at least 19 foreign tourists. NTSB investigators are beginning the process of determining what caused the balloon to crash Saturday morning in a pasture near Lockhart, Texas, which is about 30 miles south of Austin, NTSB member Robert Sumwalt said during a news conference Sunday in Washington. He noted they’ll be looking at “three things — human, machine and environment.”

Investigators will scrutinize the company that operated the balloon and the pilot, neither of which have been publicly identified. The balloon was operated by Heart of Texas Hot Air Balloon Rides, according to two officials familiar with the investigation who spoke to The Associated Press on condition that they not be named because they weren’t authorized to speak publicly. The operation does not appear to be registered with the state of Texas. The NTSB also said they’ll look at the aircraft’s maintenance history and weather at the time of the crash. They’re not sure how many people were riding in the balloon and will look into whether the operator of the balloon filed a passenger manifest before taking off, also noting that balloons do not usually file flight plans, Sumwalt said. He added that federal officials are particularly interested in any cellphone video of the balloon’s flight, and that investigators will look for devices in the

WORLD’S WORST BALLOON ACCIDENTS Functions on hot air, which is lighter than air outside

Number of deaths X Cause of accident fire Other

4 GERMANY

Ibbenburen 17/06/1999

Invented by the Montgolfier brothers in 1792

5 SWITZERLAND Lauterbrunnen 31/01/1996

Balloon in nylon

6 USA

Aspen 08/08/1993

6 FRANCE

4 AUSTRIA

USA Lockhart 30/07/2016

Burner Basket

Ganserndorf 06/10/1990

Verrens-Arvey 26/08/2001

19 6 SLOVENIA

Ljubljana 23/08/2012

wreckage that have recoverable video shot by passengers, as well as any video from witnesses. “When balloons go out on these flights, they have a chase couple of cars to go pick up the riders after they’ve landed in a field somewhere. We think there may be some chase footage from those cars,” Sumwalt said.

EGYPT Luxor 26/02/2013

n Reuters, Ankara/Istanbul

A Turkish army honor guard marches after a funeral service for the victims of the thwarted coup in Ankara REUTERS ed any of those dishonourably discharged previously. Erdogan has said 237 people were killed and more than 2,100 wounded in the coup attempt. The government also said its deputy prime ministers and ministers of justice, the interior and foreign affairs would be appointed to YAS. The prime minister and defence minister were previously the only government representatives on the council. They will replace a number of military commanders who have not been reappointed to the YAS, including the heads of the First, Second, and Third Armies, the Aegean Army and the head of the Gendarmerie security forces, which frequently battle Kurdish militants in the southeast. The changes appear to have given the government commanding control of the council.

Erdogan, who narrowly escaped capture and possible death on the night of the coup, told Reuters in an interview on July 21 that the military, Nato’s second-biggest, needed “fresh blood”. The dishonourable discharges previously announced included about 40 percent of Turkey’s admirals and generals. So far, more than 60,000 people in the military, judiciary, civil service and schools have been either detained, suspended or placed under investigation over suspected links with Gulen.

Conspiracy theories

On Saturday, Erdogan told broadcaster A Haber that the cleric was a “pawn” being controlled by a greater power. There is a mastermind behind him. That mastermind is the one who took him to the United States

USA

Clinton: Russian intelligence services hacked DNC US Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton said Russian intelligence services hacked into Democratic National Committee computers and she accused Republican contender Donald Trump of showing support for Russian President Vladimir Putin. The US has not publicly accused Russia of being behind the hack of Democratic Party computers. -REUTERS

THE AMERICAS

4 CHINA

Yangshuo 14/10/2009

11 NEW ZELAND Carterton 07/01/2012

The crash happened in farmland, and cutting through it is a row of massive high-capacity electrical transmission lines. The site of the crash appears to be right below the overhead lines and aerial photos showed an area of charred pasture underneath, but authorities haven’t provided further details about what happened. l

Turkey culls nearly 1,400 from army, overhauls top military council Turkey dismissed nearly 1,400 members of its armed forces and stacked the top military council with government ministers on Sunday, moves designed by President Tayyip Erdogan to put him in full control of the military after a failed coup. The new wave of expulsions and the overhaul of the Supreme Military Council (YAS) were announced in the government’s official gazette just hours after Erdogan said late on Saturday he planned to shut down existing military academies and put the armed forces under the command of the Defence Ministry. According to the gazette, 1,389 military personnel were dismissed for suspected links to the Islamic preacher Fethullah Gulen, who is accused by Turkey of orchestrating the July 15-16 failed putsch. Gulen, who lives in self-imposed exile in the United States, has denied the charges and condemned the coup. It comes after an announcement last week that more than 1,700 military personnel had been dishonourably discharged for their role in the putsch, which saw a faction of the armed forces commandeer tanks, helicopters and warplanes in an attempt to topple the government. It was not immediately clear whether the dismissals referred to in Sunday’s official gazette includ-

World

and who helped him avoid any judicial process.” Conspiracy theories have flourished in Turkey since the attempted coup, with one pro-government newspaper saying the putsch was financed by the CIA and directed by a retired US army general using a cell phone in Afghanistan. The United States has denied any involvement and any prior knowledge of the failed attempt to overthrow the government. Rallies in support of Turkish democracy and against the coup plotters were planned in several European towns and cities on Sunday, with the biggest expected in the German city of Cologne. Turkish television showed demonstrators in Cologne waving flags and portraits of Erdogan. Germany is home to Europe’s largest ethnic Turkish diaspora. Erdogan has said that Gulen harnessed his extensive network of schools, charities and businesses, built up in Turkey and abroad over decades, to create a “parallel state” that aimed to take over the country. The government is now going after Gulen’s network of schools and other institutions abroad. Since the coup, Somalia has shut two schools and a hospital believed to have links to Gulen, and other governments have received similar requests from Ankara, although not all have been willing to comply. l

Hundreds in Canada protest death of black man More than 500 people rallied in Canada’s capital on Saturday to protest the death of a mentally ill black man following an arrest, marching against what they see as race-based police brutality in a country that prides itself for being tolerant. Abdirahman Abdi, 37, died on Monday after being hospitalised in critical condition following his arrest. -REUTERS

Jeremy Corbyn promises French-style working rights Jeremy Corbyn would require companies with more than 250 employees to accept new industrial laws under which they would have to recognise a specific union with which to bargain over pay. Aides to the Labour leader said a Corbyn government would repeal 1999 union legislation that was passed by a Labour government to introduce a new French-style framework of union rights -THE GUARDIAN

EUROPE

Pro-Erdogan supporters rally in Germany Tens of thousands of members of Germany’s Turkish community rallied in the city of Cologne Sunday, in a show of support for President Recep Tayyip Erdogan following Turkey’s failed coup. Police said some 20,000 people had joined in the demonstration staged by groups including the pro-Erdogan Union of European-Turkish Democrats. -AFP

AFRICA

Tunisia lawmakers vote to dismiss prime minister Tunisian lawmakers voted on Saturday to dismiss Prime Minister Habib Essid from office during a no-confidence ballot in parliament, clearing the way for a new government that must push through delayed economic reforms. Essid, a technocrat in office less than two years, had been under fire for a lack of progress on a financial reforms package to create growth and jobs. President Beji Caid Essebsi also called for a new unity government to speed up reforms. -REUTERS

World

MONDAY, AUGUST 1, 2016

INSIGHT

As caliphate shrinks, Islamic State looks to launch attacks globally n Reuters, Baghdad/Cairo Islamic State, losing territory and on the retreat in Iraq and Syria, has claimed credit for a surge in global attacks this summer, most of them in France and Germany. The wave of attacks followed a call to strike against the West during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan in June and July, in an apparent shift in strategy by the jihadist group, which has been hammered by two years of US-led coalition air strikes and ground advances by local forces. Instead of urging supporters to travel to its self-proclaimed caliphate, it encouraged them to act locally using any means available. “If the tyrants close the door of migration in your faces, then open the door of jihad in theirs and turn their actions against them,” said an audio clip purportedly from spokesman Abu Muhammad al-Adnani, referring to Western governments’ efforts to keep foreign fighters from travelling to the join the group. Radicalised followers have responded to that call repeatedly in the past two months, in countries part of the international coalition battling Islamic State, including shooting people at a Florida nightclub, running them over with a truck in the French Riviera, and hacking them with an axe on a train near Munich. The perpetrators had varying degrees of connection to the Middle East-based jihadists. Some had tried to travel to Syria and were on the authorities’ radar, while others displayed few outward signs of radicalism until their deadly acts. “There’s a growing understanding that the idea of the caliphate is dying and more and more the leadership is calling on foreign fighters not even to come to Iraq and Syria but to go elsewhere or to commit violence locally,” said Max Abrahms, a professor at Northeastern University in Boston who studies extremist groups. Looking ahead, security experts and officials in the Middle East and the West predict the military campaign against the group in Iraq and Syria will ultimately end its goal of establishing a caliphate but in doing so may lead to a sustained increase in militant attacks globally.

Lone wolf

For more than a month, Islamic State supporters on social media have been encouraging would-be “lone wolf” attackers in the West

to choose from methods ranging in sophistication from bombing and shooting to stabbing and assault. “Pledge your allegiance in secret or in public to (Islamic State leader) Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and each one of you will be a soldier of the caliphate, no different from those present in the Islamic State,” said one supporter. Claims of credit for recent attacks issued by Islamic State via Amaq news agency, which supports the jihadist group, referenced Adnani’s appeal. The attackers “carried out the operation in response to calls to target nationals of countries that are part of the coalition fighting Islamic State” in Iraq and Syria, said statements following four incidents in Europe this month. In France, a Bastille Day truck attack killed 84 people in Nice and a raid on a church killed an elderly Catholic priest in Normandy; In Germany, an axe attack and a suicide bombing in Bavaria injured about 20 people in total. Most of the assailants, in pre-recorded messages pledging allegiance to Islamic State and taking responsibility for the attacks, echoed Adnani’s rhetoric and encouraged others to emulate them. “Brothers, go out with a knife, whatever is needed, attack them, kill them en masse,” said Abdel Malik Petitjean, one of two men who killed the priest in northern France last week. “If you are unable to travel to the Levant (Syria), then fight the apostate armies in your country,” 17-year-old Muhammad Riyad, the Afghan refugee who carried out the axe attack on a train in Bavaria earlier this month, urged other Muslims in a similar video.

Likely to get worse

As Islamic State is weakened militarily, it is trying to commit violence anywhere in the world, said Abrahms, including by claiming credit for acts even when they have only a tenuous link to the group. “It’s indiscriminate about who can be a soldier of the caliphate ... and it’s indiscriminate about which attacks the group will claim as its own,” he said. In the last 18 months, the group has been pushed off a quarter of the lands it seized in Iraq and Syria in 2014, research firm IHS said this month; other estimates put losses closer to half. Iraqi authorities have pledged to retake Mosul - the largest city still under the group’s control - later this year, but the militants will likely maintain safe havens in remote desert areas and revert to more traditional insurgent techniques. Islamic State’s defeat is a longer way off in Syria, and it has established footholds in pockets of lawlessness or instability from Libya to Afghanistan to the Philippines. FBI Director James Comey said this week he expected the eventual defeat of Islamic State could lead to an increase in attacks in the United States and Europe by drawing militants out of Syria in much the same way that al Qaeda came about from fighters who had been radicalised in Afghanistan in the 1980s. Analysts including J M Berger, a fellow at George Washington University who researches Islamic State, have supported that prediction. “Projecting strength through terrorist attacks is a factor in the recent violence, but down the road, when (Islamic State) supporters have nothing to lose, things are likely to get worse,” he said. l

World

MONDAY, AUGUST 1, 2016

One dead, 3 hospitalised in Austin shooting International n Tribune Desk A shooting in a crowded entertainment district in downtown Austin early Sunday caused a chaotic scene, leaving one woman dead and three others wounded and police searching for a suspect. Austin Police Chief of Staff Brian Manley says police received reports of gunshots in the crowded entertainment area shortly after 2am Sunday, and found that five people had been shot. “It was a very chaotic scene,” Manley said. “A lot of people running in different directions with all the gunshots coming out.” One woman was pronounced dead at the scene, and three other women were taken to University Medical Center Brackenridge with injuries that were serious, but not life-threatening. Manley said another victim declined to be transported to the hospital. Austin Police Chief Art Acevedo said in a statement Sunday that his department is working to identify and arrest

the person responsible for the shootings, and urged people who have video of the shooting or the aftermath to send it to police via email. Manley didn’t rule out that a suspect might be one of the people transported to the hospital. “We have multiple individuals, witnesses, that we are currently interviewing,” Manley said. “We had one individual who was initially noted as a person of interest, however that person’s status at this point is undetermined.” Manley said because of the large crowd presence, police were getting descriptions of a suspect from witnesses. However, he said the descriptions were consistent, to an extent, but not all the same. Police originally reported an active shooter scene in the area, but Manley said two separate incidents caused the confusion. He said there was another confrontation in a nearby parking garage and that a shot was fired there. A man was transported to the hospital after that confrontation, but his condition was not immediately known. l

Yemen government accepts UN peace plan n AFP, Kuwait Yemen’s government on Sunday accepted a UN-proposed plan to end fighting that has left thousands dead, but there was no word from Iran-backed rebels who have intensified attacks on the Saudi border. The draft agreement, which follows several months of UN-brokered negotiations in Kuwait, stipulates that the Huthi Shiite rebels must withdraw from Sanaa, which they overran in September 2014. But it was unclear if the insurgents were ready to end their occupation of the capital, which they have refused to cede despite a more than yearlong military campaign by a Saudi-led Arab coalition. Yemen, home to what the United States sees as al-Qaeda’s deadliest franchise, descended into chaos after the 2012 ouster of longtime strongman Ali Abdullah Saleh. Security deteriorated further after the Huthi rebels swept into the capital and pushed south, forcing President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi’s government to flee into exile in March last year.

The conflict has killed more than 6,400 people and displaced 2.8 million since then, according to UN figures. The proposed peace deal is broadly in line with the demands of Hadi’s Saudi-backed government. It replaces a roadmap previously proposed by UN envoy Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed that stipulated the creation of a unity government including the insurgents, which was rejected by Hadi’s government. Under the new plan, a political dialogue between various Yemeni factions would start 45 days after the rebels withdraw and hand over heavy weapons to a military committee to be formed by Hadi. Prisoners of war would also be freed. The government’s acceptance came after a high-level meeting in Riyadh chaired by Hadi. According to sources close to the delegates in Kuwait, the government accepted the deal following pressure from Saudi Arabia which wants to corner the rebels and show they are unwilling to accept a political solution. l

12 Business

MONDAY, AUGUST 1, 2016

TOP STORIES Export-oriented manufacturers for long-term low-cost fund to go green The country’s manufacturers, especially the export-oriented ones, demanded more affordable long-term low-cost fund for setting up Effluent Treatment Plant (ETP) to go green and reduce carbon emission. PAGE 13

Helicopter money talk takes flight as BOJ runs out of runway The Bank of Japan’s review of its monetary stimulus programme promised for September has revived expectations it could adopt some form of “helicopter money”, printing money for government spending to spur inflation. PAGE 13

Capital market snapshot: Sunday DSE Broad Index

4,525.3

-0.3% ▼

Index

1,109.1

-0.2% ▼

30 Index

1,770.3

-0.1% ▼

Turnover in Mn Tk

5,029.5

33.9% ▲

Turnover in Mn Vol

129.3

43.6% ▲

All Share Index 13,917.3

-0.3% ▼

30 Index

12,828.2

-0.2% ▼

8,471.6

-0.3% ▼

CSE

Selected Index Turnover in Mn Tk

243.6 -42.2% ▼

Turnover in Mn Vol

7.3 -64.4% ▼

Citycell likely to shut down n Ishtiaq Husain The country’s oldest mobile phone operator Citycell is likely to close down its operation by August 16 as it sinks in debt to regulator, banks and different telecommunication operators. In a notice issued yesterday, Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) has asked Citycell to pay its all dues, including regulatory fee and fine worth Tk477 crore, by August 16. “If the company fails to pay dues within the deadline, it will have to close down its business,” said an official. The telecom regulator has also ordered the company to create an alternative arrangement for providing the service to its subscribers even af-

ter shutdown. BTRC Chairman Dr Shahjahan Mahmood told the Dhaka Tribune that they are “very much concerned” about subscribers. “Citycell will have to manage an alternative way for giving its customers service and must pay its dues. Then we will take next course of action.” For years, Citycell has remained under pressure from stakeholders as it also owes more than Tk10.17 crore to different banks and telecommunication operators. The operator continued to see loss of subscribers as the company has apparently done nothing to boost services. Presently, the number of Citycell subscribers is 700,000, according to the BTRC latest statistics. Citycell lost over 1.5m subscribers in the past five years. It had around 2.3m customers in 2010. “Citycell service quality has deteriorated over the years, leading to

loss of market share gradually. If the trend continues, the operator might see more fall in the number of subscribers,” said a BTRC official. In sharp contrast, most of the country’s other mobile phone operators, including Grameenphone, are witnessing rising numbers of subscribers. Citycell CEO Mehboob Chowdhury was unavailable for comments. Citycell is the only CDMA network operator in the country. It is currently owned by Singtel with 45% stake and the remaining 55% is owned by the Pacific Group and Far East Telecom. According to BTRC, the Citycell has not paid the second and third instalments of the renewal fees of Tk229 crore for 8.82 megahertz spectrum since spectrum renewal in 2012, which has breached the licensing terms. The other dues include Tk10 crore annual licence fees, Tk27.14 crore for annual spectrum fees

from 2013 to 2016, Tk27.84 crore revenue sharing from 2014 to 2016, Tk8.92 crore corporate social responsibility fund from 2011 to 2016, Tk39.92 crore VAT and Tk13.5 crore late fees. BTRC director (licence) MA Tayab Hossain served a notice to the operator to explain why it should not face legal action for not paying dues. According to the BTRC, the number of SIM cards with the mobile phone users in the country was over 130m in June. Citycell had only 700,000 customers then. Its parent company Pacific Bangladesh Telecom Limited got licence for telecom services in 1989. BNP leader and former foreign minister M Morshed Khan’s Pacific Motors has 37.95% stakes in Citycell. Singapore-based SingTel Asia Pacific Investments Pte Limited holds a majority share of 45%. Far East Telecom Limited owns a 17.51% stake. l

Farm loan target set at Tk17,550cr for FY17 n Tribune Business Desk Bangladesh Bank has announced an agricultural loan policy for the fiscal year 2016-17, targeting Tk17,550 crore disbursement. Bangladesh Bank Governor Fazle Kabir disclosed the policy yesterday at the Jahangir Alam Conference Hall on the central bank premises. Deputy Governors Abu Hena Mohd. Razee Hasan and SK Sur Chowdhury were also present.

According to the new farm loan policy, the Credit Information Bureau (CIB) reports or inquiries will not be required for a farmer to take a loan below Tk2.5 lakh. The loans can be given through agent banking and the agent banks will take 0.50 service charge including value added tax. Mango, litchi and guava cultivators can borrow from commercial banks. Fazle Kabir said the target for total agricultural loan in the cur-

rent fiscal year has been set at Tk17,550 crore which is 7% higher than that of the previous year. The target for the last fiscal year was Tk16,400 crore. Last year the banks disbursed Tk17,646.39 crore across the country that was higher than the target. Governor said this year the private banks will be given a mandatory condition that they will have to disburse 30% of loans through their branches and agents.

He said private banks are now bound to disburse farm loans to farmers and as the private banks have fewer branches in rural areas, they now have to disburse loans through third parties like non-governmental organisations. In reply to a question, Deputy Governor SK Sur Chowdhury said a total of 45 banks out of 55 have achieved the targets of farm loan disbursement in the last fiscal year. l

Business

MONDAY, AYGUST 1, 2016

Export-oriented manufacturers for long-term low-cost fund to go green n Tribune Report The country’s manufacturers, especially the export-oriented ones, demanded more affordable long-term low-cost fund for setting up Effluent Treatment Plant (ETP) to go green and reduce carbon emission. Meanwhile, experts and economists have called for an integrated green policy along with strategic action plan and fiscal incentives to promote green industries. Business people from export-oriented sector made the demands at a seminar titled “Promoting Green Industrial Policy for Bangladesh: Opportunity and Challenges organised by Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI) in collaboration with the Asian Foundation and Centre on Budget and Policy of University of Dhaka in the capital yesterday. “In a washing project worth Tk20 crore, it costs Tk6 crore more

for setting up an ETP. A 9% interest is too high for the sector people,” said Md Mohiuddin Sheikh, general secretary of Bangladesh Washing Association. “Despite several appeals to the Federation of Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI), we did not get response for an affordable low-cost fund, urging the finance minister to provide an easy term low-cost fund.” Currently, Bangladesh Bank provides funds through commercial banks that charge 4% interest. In addition, the central bank charges 5% interest, of which 1% is collected for Bangladesh Bank and the remaining 4% for the Finance Ministry. It means, manufacturers have to pay 9% interest. “Long-term low-cost fund is needed to meet the buyers’ requirement relating to environment,” said MCCI president Syed Nasim Manzur.

To compete and survive, the country’s manufacturers need some policy supports for green manufacturing to reduce carbon emission and ensure zero discharge of hazards chemicals, Manzur added. He also stressed industrial zoning for the going green initiative. “In disposing industry waste and sludge, the government has a big role for providing a certain public service for the private sector. For providing support for the private sector, the government has to increase revenue collection, which comes from well-off industrialists,” Finance Minister AMA Muhith said. He was addressing the seminar as the chief guest. Pay more tax by which the government will provide services to the private sector so that environment cannot be polluted, Muhith said in response to the call of the industrialists. The cost of setting up ETP and

other establishments for discharging chemical and waste is very high, said Ziaur Rahman, managing director of Bay Footwear Limited. It is necessary for the industry considering the future divined and giving cushion to the planet, he added. “Setting up green factories mean spending extra money, and compared to the traditional factories, green factories cost 10% to 20% more,” M Abu Eusuf, a Dhaka University professor in the Department of Development Studies, said in his keynote presentation. The government does not have any strategic action plan to promote green industries while it lacks fiscal incentives to import equipment, Eusuf said, adding that revolving refinancing scheme developed by the Bangladesh Bank is not enough. Barriers for going green include absence of specific policy guideline, lack of multi-sectoral ap-

proach in promoting green growth and policy related with green financing, he added. Experts also focused on multi-sectoral consultation to find out areas of intervention (fiscal incentives), identification of financial support required by different industries and more public private dialogue to devise specific plans for a Green Industrial Policy in Bangladesh. Fahmida Khatun, research director of Centre for policy Dialogue, presented a paper on “Green Industrial Policy: Regional Best Practices and Strategy Development for Bangladesh”. Senior Industry Secretary Md Mosharraf Hossain Bhuiyan, Monoj Kumar Biswas, general manager (Sustainable Finance Department) of Bangladesh Bank, BGMEA Director Miran Ali and Hasan Mazumdar, country representative of Asia Foundation, were present at the seminar. l

EU envoy: Security for foreigners shouldn’t be limited to Gulshan n Tribune Business Desk

Visitors choose from an array of garment produts on the first day of a three-day SME fair organised by the SME Foundation at the National Museum premises in Dhaka yesterday RAJIB DHAR

Educationists for bringing banking sector under digitalised system n Arif Ahmed Former Bangladesh Bank (BB) Governor Dr Atiur Rahman has opined that the entire banking system should be digitalised in Bangladesh to cope with the digital economy of the world. Dr Atiur came up with the view while addressing a book launching ceremony held at Dhaka University Business faculty in the city on Sunday. Former UGC Chairman Prof Dr AK Azad Chowdhury, Dhaka University Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr AAMS Arefin

Siddique and Dr Atiur Rahman jointly unveiled the cover of book titled “E-Banking and E-Commerce,” written by Prof Shibli Rubayat-Ul Islam who is the dean of DU business faculty. Pro Vice-Chancellor (Education) of Dhaka University Dr Nasreen Ahmed, Director General of Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) Benazir Ahmed, Prof Dr Sayed Manjurul Islam, Prof Dr Shafiul Alam Bhuyan and Prof Dr Farid Uddin Ahmed attended the ceremony. In his speech, Prof Atiur said: “The book of Shibli

Rabayat will not only be a useful resource for digital banking system but also for the student of the business studies.” Prof Dr Arefin Siddique said: “The book is a testimony of the writer’s patience because it takes long time for him to accomplish his task.” He also hoped that this book will be selected as a text book for higher education. Prof AK Azad Chowdhury, former chairman of University Grant Commission, thanked the author for writing the book. l

European Union Ambassador to Bangladesh Pierre Mayaudon met with Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed yesterday urging the government to ensure security in all areas across the country where the EU traders work. The EU envoy’s call followed the deadly terror attacks in Bangladesh, killing 17 foreigners last month. “The authorities need to ensure security in all areas where our citizens work in Bangladesh for smooth op-

eration of trade with the EU countries,” Mayaudon told reporters after a 16-member team led by him called on commerce minister. However, Tofail Ahmed said Bangladesh government has already taken several steps in its fight against extremism and has given security to all foreigners including the EU citizens in Bangladesh. If necessary, police protection would be given to export-import vehicles carrying products, said commerce minister, adding that more than half of Bangla-

desh’s total garment export goes to the EU market. “The Gulshan attack has raised security concerns among foreign traders here. But we are trying hard to address their concerns. We are assuring our foreign partners of their safety in this country and law enforcement agencies are ready to help them.” “The Kallyanpur raid against militants is an indicative of the government’s hard-line approach against terrorism. We will not let terrorism grow up here in this country.” l

Business

MONDAY, AUGUST 1, 2016

Helicopter money talk takes flight as BOJ runs out of runway n Reuters, Tokyo The Bank of Japan’s review of its monetary stimulus programme promised for September has revived expectations it could adopt some form of “helicopter money”, printing money for government spending to spur inflation. The BOJ disappointed market hopes on Friday that it might increase its heavy buying of government debt or lower already negative interest rates, cementing the view that it is running out of options within its existing policy framework to lift prices and end two decades of deflationary pressure. With little to show for three years of massive monetary easing, economists say BOJ governor Haruhiko Kuroda’s “comprehensive assessment” of policy could push it into closer cooperation with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who announced a fiscal spending package worth more than 28tn yen ($275bn) on Wednesday in a bid to kickstart growth. “The comprehensive review might be the first step toward further collaboration with the govern-

ment, hinting at helicopter money,” said Daiju Aoki, economist at UBS Securities. “The government could issue 50-year bonds, and if the BOJ makes a commitment to hold them for a very long time, that would be like helicopter money.” The helicopter money metaphor for the aggressive printing of new money was first used by American economist Milton Friedman in 1969 and cited by former US Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke in 2002 as a scheme that could fight deflation. Some economists, however, fear it could trigger hyperinflation and uncontrollable currency devaluation. Speculation that Japan might take that path reached fever pitch earlier in July when Bernanke met Abe and Kuroda in Tokyo, though policymakers quickly tried to damp down such talk.

Pressure response

In the narrowest sense, a government can arrange a helicopter drop of cash by selling perpetual bonds, which never need to be repaid, di-

Bank of Japan (BOJ) Governor Haruhiko Kuroda attends a news conference at the BOJ headquarters in Tokyo REUTERS rectly to the central bank. Economists do not expect this in Japan, but they do see a high chance of mission creep, with the BOJ perhaps committing to buy municipal bonds or debt issued by state-backed entities, giving its interventions more impact than in the treasury bond market, where it is currently buying 80 trillion

yen a year of Japanese government bonds (JGBs) from financial institutions. “Compared with government debt, these assets have low trading volume and low liquidity, so BOJ purchases stand a high chance of distorting these markets,” said Shinichi Fukuda, a professor of economics at Tokyo University.

“Prices would have an upward bias, so even if the BOJ bought at market rates, this would be considered close to helicopter money.” Other options include creating a special account at the BOJ that the government can always borrow from, committing to hold a certain percentage of outstanding government debt or buying corporate bonds, economists say. With the BOJ’s annual JGB purchases already more than twice the volume of new debt issued by the government, Japan has already adopted something akin to helicopter money, said Etsuro Honda, a former special adviser to the Cabinet and a key architect of Abe’s reflationary economic policy. But it has not been enough to stop consumer prices falling in June at their fastest since the BOJ began quantitative easing in 2013. Ahead of its July 29 policy meeting, sources had indicated that the BOJ was leaning towards standing pat because it planned no major changes to its consumer price forecasts. l

UK and China regulators discuss framework for financial projects n Reuters, Hong Kong British and Chinese securities watchdogs are discussing an agreement that will pave the way for landmark financial services projects between the countries, sources said, easing fears that Britain could be a less attractive partner for such deals after last month’s vote to leave the European Union. Britain’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) are cooperating on a regulatory framework for a scheme for distributing fund products in each other’s jurisdiction and a proposed London-Shanghai link for trading shares, two people with direct knowledge of the matter said. Britain, home to the EU’s biggest finance sector, has been pushing in recent years to deepen its financial services ties with China, which has agreed to these and other cross-border financial services schemes as part of the UK-China Economic and Financial Dialogue (EFD) programme. The UK’s former Chancellor

George Osborne and Chinese vice premier Ma Kai said at last September’s EFD meeting in Beijing that they would explore the creation of a London-Shanghai equity link and mutual funds recognition scheme, but neither government has provided further details. The formal cooperation between the FCA and CSRC signals that the projects are going ahead, with one source saying the discussions had remained “very positive”. Some market watchers had raised concerns that leaving the EU, which puts in doubt the UK’s future access to the trading bloc and its “passports” to provide financial services there, could scupper such projects by limiting their potential scope and appeal. “So far none of the cross-border exchange initiatives has been derailed by the risk of Britain leaving the European economic area and the associated passporting rights,” said Frederic Ponzo, managing partner at financial services consultancy GreySpark Partners in London. l

Business

MONDAY, AUGUST 1, 2016

DoubleLine Capital’s CEO: Sell everything n Reuters, New York Jeffrey Gundlach, the chief executive of DoubleLine Capital, said on Friday that many asset classes look frothy and his firm continues to hold gold, a traditional safe-haven, along with gold miner stocks. Noting the recent run-up in the benchmark Standard & Poor’s 500 index while economic growth remains weak and corporate earnings are stagnant, Gundlach said stock investors have entered a “world of uber complacency.” The S&P 500 on Friday touched an all-time high of 2,177.09, while the government reported that US gross domestic product in the second quarter grew at a meager 1.2% rate. “The artist Christopher Wool has a word painting, ‘Sell the house,

sell the car, sell the kids.’ That’s exactly how I feel – sell everything. Nothing here looks good,” Gundlach said in a telephone interview. “The stock markets should be down massively but investors seem to have been hypnotized that nothing can go wrong.” Gundlach, who oversees more than $100bn at Los Angeles-based DoubleLine, said the firm went “maximum negative” on Treasuries on July 6 when the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note hit 1.32%. “We never short in our mainline strategies. We also never go to zero Treasuries. We went to lower weightings and change the duration,” Gundlach said. Currently, the yield on the 10year Treasury note is 1.45%, which

CORPORATE NEWS

Best Electronics Ltd has recently opened its 11th showroom, said a press release. The company’s managing director, Syed Asaduzzaman inaugurated the showroom

IDLC Finance Limited yesterday held a press conference to discuss its half-yearly financial statements, said a press release. The company’s CEO and MD, Arif Khan was present on the occasion

Berger Paints Bangladesh Limited has recently organised a press conference to announce the commencement of its 21st Berger Young Painters’ Art Competition (BYPAC), said a press release. The company’s senior general manager (sales and marketing), Mohsin Habib Chowdhury was present at the conference

Jeffrey Gundlach, founder of DoubleLine Capital, speaks at the Sohn Investment Conference REUTERS has translated into some profits so far for DoubleLine. “The yield on the 10-year yield may reverse and go lower again

but I am not interested. You don’t make any money. The risk-reward is horrific,” Gundlach said. “There is no upside” in Treasury prices.

Gundlach reiterated that gold and gold miners are the best alternative to Treasuries and predicted gold prices will reach $1,400. US gold on Friday settled up at $1,349 per ounce. Gundlach lambasted Federal Reserve officials yet again for talking up rate hikes for this year while the latest GDP data showed disappointing economic growth. “The Fed is out to lunch. Does the Fed look at what’s going on in the economy? It is unbelievable,” he said. Overall, Gundlach said the Bank of Japan’s decision on Friday to stick with its minus 0.1% benchmark rate - and refrain from deeper cuts - reflects the limitations of monetary policy. “You can’t save your economy by destroying your financial system,” he said. l

Health

MONDAY, AUGUST 1, 2016

Health care approach to prevention of violent radicalisation and terrorism Raqibul n Professor Mohammad Anwar

iolent radicalisation is sweeping the globe with direct and grave consequences on human health culminating in deaths, grievous physical injuries and disastrous psycho-social trauma. Such radicalisation is a social and psychological process, which is followed by recruitment and training, by which an individual becomes increasingly committed to politically motivated violence, especially against civilians. Terrorism is an extension of violent radicalisation with the intent to instil widespread fear. The mainstay of the prevention of such radicalisation has until recently been the counterradicalisation component of the criminal justice system. It is becoming obvious that only the criminal justice system approach is not sufficient to prevent terrorism and violent radicalisation with the emergence of this new breed of terrorism. In order to have a greater impact on prevention, public health or health care approaches can be used. The science and art of promoting and protecting health and well-being, preventing injury to health and prolonging life through organised efforts from society has to be incorporated as evidence from the success of the “Aarhus Model” in Denmark (mentioned in Dhaka Tribune, July 18 2016) that may be regarded as a component of the public health approach to prevention of terrorism. On July 1, home grown terrorists, who were born and bred in Bangladesh, committed the atrocities in the merciless attack in Gulshan. Violence committed by extremists in the country in the recent past have gradually but rapidly conformed with the contemporary faddish terrorism, a distinct phenomenon increasingly being recognised globally subsequent to extremist suicide attacks in Madrid in 2004 and London 2005, and is different from any other form of extremism the world has seen before. This new form of terrorism seems to be cultus, excessively violent, viciously spiteful and though scattered, appears to function across the global dimension, being more fluid, dispersed and unpredictable than previous terrorist threats. They appear to be conducted largely by autonomous groups

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operating locally, outside large scale institutional training and recruitment, but sharing ethnically and racially ideological affinity. These networked ideological “selfstarter cells” represents a distinct phenomenon and a dramatic departure from previously practised methods of extremism. However, this newly established radicalised extremism has nothing to do with religion and not only causes death and serious harm to life, it is in fact, designed to destabilise our way of life with uncertainty and fear. The groups that claim responsibility selectively invoke religious rhetoric to justify politically motivated violence but they do not represent Muslim populations as the majority of the victims globally are in fact Muslim civilians. Direct effects of such terrorism have multitude of cataclysmic effects on the physical, social and

psychological health of individuals and the community. The effective methods of stopping violent radicalisation and terrorism involve process of disengagement, de-radicalisation and counterradicalisation. The understanding of the motivations of terrorists and the pathways that lead to violent radicalisation have largely adopted a criminal justice system framework, a strategy by gathering intelligence and facilitating the prosecution of anyone thought to be associated with terrorism, guilty of terrorist acts, or in possession of materials that might assist terrorism. The criminal justice system approach relies exclusively on the legal system in dealing with crimes and attempts at preventing terrorism by criminal intelligence and prosecution. even thogh it is indispensible the criminal justice system may stigmatise and alienate a particular community or communities,

eventually impeding prevention. The public health or health care approach adds to the prevention strategies directed at violent radicalisation and terrorism. It is predominantly population-based and emphasises in collective responsibility for health and health protection, and recognizes underlying socioeconomic and wider determinants of education, equality, housing, employment, lifestyles, family and the community’s negative influence which have adverse effects on health and the well-being of populations and harmonious effects on the risks of radicalisation. The approach emphasises partnerships with all those who contribute to the health of the population and involves epidemiological, psychological and sociological programmes and interventions. Individuals, particularly young people facing transitions

in education, family and religion, struggling with social isolation and exclusion and exposed to hardship of unemployment singly or in combination of the those may become vulnerable to recruitment by the preachers of terrorism. Susceptible individuals confronted with grievances about religious, social and political discrimination, with the feeling of anger or alienation often become emotionally defenceless. It is not so hard for them to be indoctrinated if their portentous mental state and their quest for spiritual guidance coalesce. It is extremely important that family, social, and educational institutions’ support is readily made available to young and vulnerable people, to make them feel like an integral part of the community, so that they receive guidance and mentorship from parents and teachers in matters like moderate religious teaching and that, they should have easy access to religious leadership that can equip one with legitimate religious perspectives. The greater community requires readily available political and social institutions imparting trust, confidence of safety and security. They must be able to have trust in law enforcing authorities, without which, the greater community would fail to cooperate and communicate potential threats to those authorities. If the approach adopted by the law enforcing agencies is inconsistent, biased and frankly unreliable, the community will not only hesitate to cooperate with the agencies but they would actively hide potential terrorist threats lest they themselves become victims by those authorities. The greater community should also have access to democratic means for negotiating needs and opinions.l

Professor Raqibul Mohammad Anwar is a Colorectal Surgeon at Bart’s and The Royal London Hospital, Ambassador and Convener of Examinations, The Royal College of Surgeons of England, Colonel, UK Armed Forces (RAMC), and President and CEO of RAHETID (RA Hospital, Education and Training Institute Dhaka)

Health

MONDAY, AUGUST 1, 2016

Crash diet a big ‘NO-NO’ amounts you are bound to miss out on important micronutrients. What are they? They are your all important vitamins and minerals. Our bodies are not meant to function without them. Also over time you might develop deficiency diseases. The diet designed to improve your health will actually end up harming you. Reduced metabolism Metabolism is a term that is used to describe all chemical reactions involved in maintaining the living state of the cells and the organism. In case of crash diets the body receives so little energy that the body goes into a shock, a state of emergency if you will. Your body slows down the metabolism so that it can carry out the important functions with

such low calories. We often forget that we also need energy for our daily activities such as breathing, moving, excreting etc. Fat loss hits a plateau This is a follow through effect of lower metabolism. Since metabolism slows down with crash diets, at one point fat loss halts. This is because the body will hold on to the fat, as it believes you are going through a famine. Fat is actually needed to maintain good health. Emotional downturns Humans are social beings. Crash diets can actually impact relationships. When we eat lesser than required, we tend to be constantly tired, lethargic and irritated. So, the inevitable will happen. You might be in a crash

diet but you will not be the only one suffering. Unattractive physique I know it’s a heart-breaker. You have done so much of dieting to lose weight, look attractive and be with that fit crowd but crash diets leave you looking all pale and skinny. That’s not really what we were looking to achieve. People who inspire us to be fit live discipline lives in terms of food choices. But they are anything but underfed. These were just some of the problems with crash diets. Prolonged crash diets is not a healthy choice and never a healthy option. The answer is eating in moderation. Eat everything within your calorie needs and stay sociable and happy. l

n Reaz Fiem

Crash diets can actually impact relationships. When we eat lesser than required, we tend to be constantly tired, lethargic and irritated

Reaz Mahmud Fiem is a fitness enthusiast, who wishes to help people stay healthy

“Crash diet”, the name itself has so many things wrong in it that it makes me shake my head! Sadly, the peer pressure in today’s world is too much. To keep up with the fit crowd people are losing money, sleep, and sanity. One thing proving hard to lose is the extra weight. All crash diets have one thing in common: they are the most restrictive means of weight loss that you can follow. Typically, they involve severely cutting back on calories, leaving only 1,000 or even 500 calories per day. Often times they are paired with other “quick fixes” like juice cleansers, diuretics or diet pills. While the length of time varies from diet to diet, crash diets are meant for quick, short-term weight loss. So how do crash diets work? Crash diets shock the body, sending it into starvation mode. The severe restriction in calories often appear to be working after only a few days, however, despite the rapid weight loss, the body is not solely burning fat as fuel. First, it utilizes the stored up supply of carbohydrates, in the form of glycogen. As your body utilizes glycogen, you lose water as well; generating what seems like significant weight loss within the first few days of the diet. even though the user of the diet sees some noticeable changes in weight loss there are some serious pitfalls. Nutritional deficiency When you eat in such small

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Feature

MONDAY, AUGUST 1, 2016

7 types of students during vacations n Noor-E-Shahrin The living room was never more packed with people and festivity. Your school is on vacation and your cousins are over at your’s for a stayover. One moment you are laughing in unison and eating like there’s no tomorrow, the next you feel a stab of fear within your heart. The thought of opening a textbook hasn’t occurred to you once since your school and coaching closed. What you would naturally do at this point would define you within one of seven kinds of students.

Meh

These are the couldn’t-care-less bunch. They wouldn’t be caught dead with a textbook or lecture notes in any season, let alone during the summer vacation. They probably haven’t even bought most of their books yet, and they are not planning to. Let’s just say it’s better they don’t study during the holidays; their guardians might just get a false hope of happiness and confusion.

Parents’ pet

These people are probably having the worst vacation of all. They have Hitler-inspired parents who would yell at them mercilessly in front of their guests during the holidays and humiliate them to get their heads back into their books. These unfortunate pupils force themselves to study during the vacation, or at least pretend to. However, if you fall under this category, remember that your parents are your well-wishers and everything they do is for your good.

Excuse maker

There should be a Nobel Prize for these people, for it takes a great level of intelligence to come up with the seemingly-genuine stories they have to dodge the books. These excuses may range from “sorry but no internet connection at my hometown, so can’t download question papers or notes from mail” to “studying during the summer holidays instead of socialising will create a bad impression on our family, mother.” They talk about studying and planning it more than they actually study. Hats off to these great minds.

Study treats

There is a simple trick to make studying seem less stressful and monotonous, called the “reward system.” Here’s how some people take advantage of this. First you have to make a deal with yourself. It could be “two songs after

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five sums correctly done,” “one episode of GoT after two small questions” or almost anything that rows your boat. But there are students who think to themselves “my parents are the luckiest ones to have a child like me who studies during the summer vacation. I deserve a movie marathon right now.” Then they open their books, reads for fifteen minutes, think to themselves how responsible they are and pats themselves on the back with two hours of social media. They complete a page of MCQs and don’t look at their study tables for two days thinking “I have done enough for three days already.”

Happy-go-lucky

These are the naturally sharpbrained students who study less than everyone but ends up acing every test and exam. They each have a secret; they are not super-human beings. They plan and compartmentalise their work and only study the parts that summarise the concepts. Ever heard of “work smart, not hard?” It works if you have strong instantaneous focus. These people have the best of both worlds. They keep up with their work and don’t miss out on any of the addas.

Forever alone

Their parents never take them

If you are under the impression that you will pass without any hardship, pop your bubble and get to work. If you have a goal, sacrifices must be made

anywhere; their friends list consists of ten people and a goldfish. The texts they get are all from Govt. Info and the only calls they get end in “sorry, wrong number.” The highlight of their vacation is that one short trip to their hometown. Basically, they need a break from insufferable boredom and invent ways to keep themselves busy. During the process, they get more studying done than their entire batch does in one month, combined. They will not stop after their homework is done. No. They will revise the chapters covered and the next two

as well. There are perks to being alone.

Goody-two-shoes

These are the nice fellows who sit at the very front bench every lesson and answer every question faster than Hermione Granger. There is a reason they are better than you. While you were chilling with your family and posting “Eid Mubarak” pictures on Facebook, they were burying their noses in textbooks and getting ready to take you down. They will ignore their parent’s call for watching drama serials and their cousin's invitation them to play some

cards. Their will power is stronger than Muhammad Ali. Beware of the know-it-alls. No matter which category you belong to, keeping your memory fresh is important. If you are under the impression that you will pass without any hardship, pop your bubble and get to work. If you have a goal, sacrifices must be made. l

Biz Info

MONDAY, AUGUST 1, 2016

| science |

| technology |

UIU presents ‘outstanding solar project’ in Munich, Germany

Payza launches international prepaid MasterCard in Bangladesh

Shahriar Ahmed Chowdhury, director, Center for Energy Research of United International University (UIU), received the “Intersolar Award 2016” in the category of ”Outstanding Solar Projects” in Munich, Germany as the team leader. Their research project was named “Pilot PV DC Peer-to-Peer Smart Village Grid.” The research team was formed by experts from United International University and ME SOLshare Ltd of Bangladesh; Technical University of Berlin and Ulm University of Applied Sciences of Germany and University of California at Berkeley, USA. The “Intersolar Award” is considered to be the most prestigious award in the solar industry. Chowdhury is the first Bangladeshi to receive it. Bangladesh is the world’s first to use a peer-to-peer network to allow energy to be shared between private solar installations. Bi-directional metering devices allow users to buy and sell electricity via the local power grid. Households that do not have their own

solar installation can purchase electricity from their neighbours. The expansion of solar energy in the village is reducing fossil fuel consumption and facilitating the inhabitants’ access to electricity, thus reducing carbon emissions and support climate change mitigation. The research project was co-funded by World Bank and IDCOL, implemented by SOLshare and is operated by UBOMUS at Shakimali Matborkandi village, Shener Char Union, Jajira upazilla of Shariatpur district. Shahriar Ahmed Chowdhury has already implemented more than 50 projects and is now involved in 16 projects related

to solar energy. Ten research engineers are working with him to support his work. Apart from local funds, Chowdhury has received funds from different international organisations to implement his projects, including World Bank (WB), Asian Development Bank (ADB), German International Cooperation (GIZ), German Academic Exchange Services (DAAD), Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC), Engineering and Physical Research Council (EPSRC), Department for International Development (DFID), Solar Energy Research Institute of Singapore (SERIS). l

| education |

Residential Semester Day at BRAC University

Students who spent the Summer 2016 semester at BRAC University, Savar Campus as part of their Residential Semester, participated in an interactive session with distinguished guest, Shammi Shawkat Quddus, member of the Research Transparency team at MIT’s Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL) on July 30. For the students, it is the last week before they return to Dhaka at the end of their semester, and they had the unique opportunity to know about the motivating experience of Shammi Quddus at the session. As an undergraduate in 2008, Shammi co-founded BYLC’s (Bangladesh Youth Leadership

Center’s) flagship program Building Bridges Through Leadership Training. She won the Davis Projects for Peace Prize and an MIT Public Service Fellowship which provided seed funding for the pilot program that has since grown to the premier leadership institute we know today as BYLC. Shammi told the students how she was able to pursue her undergraduate degree in Environmental Engineering from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), USA. As a high school graduate from Chittagong, it was purely a journey of ambition and willingness to go out of her comfort zone. Each day, she worked hard to shape

herself and be the best she can be, took new challenges and developed leadership skills to become a confident individual. On the other hand, students shared their wonderful experiences at Savar Campus. The Residential Semester (RS) at Savar is aimed to teach students values such as diversity, good governance, history and culture, and encourages students to engage in debate, recitation, cultural activities, sports, yoga and indoor games. It also creates awareness of social issues and awareness against drug abuse. RS teaches the importance of friendship, respecting each others’ views and to coexist in diversity. l

Payza Bangladesh has launched its international prepaid MasterCard for the first time in Bangladesh. Whether you are an online shopper or work as a freelancer, the Payza international prepaid card is the perfect companion to simplify your online payments. The Payza international prepaid MasterCard is an affordable alternative to other prepaid debit cards, with no monthly or yearly fee. It is easy and convenient to load funds onto your card from your e-wallet and spend it almost anywhere cards are accepted. You can promote your Facebook page instantly, make in-store or online purchases anywhere

in the world where delivery to Bangladesh is supported. In addition, it can be used locally in restaurants, large shopping malls and superstores using POS machines. You can even withdraw cash from any international MasterCard supported ATM booths in Bangladesh with the comfort of knowing that your money is completely safe. “With its high demand, we are very excited about the impact our new Payza card will have on the freelancer market as well as online payments for Bangladeshis,” said Amar S Magon, CMO, Payza Bangladesh. l

| education |

Training workshop PIMS held at UGC

A training workshop on “Project Information Management System (PIMS)” was held at the UGC auditorium on July 28. UGC member, Professor Dr Mohammad Yousuf Ali Mollah, was present on the occasion as chief guest. Professor Dr Mesbahuddin Ahmed, head of Quality Assurance Unit, UGC, delivered the welcoming address. Dr Gauranga Chandra Mohanta, ndc, project director (additional secretary) of Higher Education Quality Enhancement Project (HEQEP), presided over the function. The chief guest laid emphasis on the importance of PIMS online

reporting of Quaity Assurance (QA) in the universities. The present system of reporting has to be replaced with PIMS advanced monitoring system, which will make project implementation much easier and efficient, he observed. Directors and office managers of Institutional Quality Assurance Cell from 27 universities participated in the training workshop. Professor M Abul Kashem, QA specialist, Quality Assurance Unit (QAU) and officials from UGC, HEQEP, QAU, among others were present on the occasion. l

20 Editorial

MONDAY, AUGUST 1, 2016

TODAY

Spring that went sour There is something very potent in the word ‘revolution;’ from time to time, we are possessed by some inexplicable super power, and begin to believe in the impossible PAGE 21

To save Bangladesh, bring back people’s politics Why do our youths fall victim to plots generated by the imperialists? Why are we not seeing the evolution of positive actions and political developments coming out of this hatred towards imperialism?

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PAGE 22

Keep up the good work

A nation underwater Combatting flood is a great task. We cannot control it fully but we can minimise the detrimental effects of flood by adopting preventive measures PAGE 23

Be heard Write to Dhaka Tribune FR Tower, 8/C Panthapath, Shukrabad, Dhaka-1207 Send us your Op-Ed articles: opinion.dt@dhakatribune.com www.dhakatribune.com Join our Facebook community: https://www.facebook.com/ DhakaTribune. The views expressed in Opinion articles are those of the authors alone. They do not purport to be the official view of Dhaka Tribune or its publisher.

he police’s recent anti-militancy drives have so far proven to be an effective and impressive initiative against the spread of extremism in the country. Starting with Operation Storm 26, which resulted in the uncovering of a major terrorist den in Kallyanpur, our law enforcement agencies have done well to ensure that militants aren’t given any leeway to grow. Additionally, BGB’s bust of a meeting between a former commander of the Rohingya Solidarity Organisation, a Myanmar sectarian outfit with connections to Jamaatul Mujahideen, and a Saudi national is further indicative of law enforcement’s steps in the right direction. Moreover, investigation and raids, in which seven individuals were arrested, have revealed how Hizb ut-Tahrir has been active in Chittagong, seeking to establish itself and recruit members in the area. This is the kind of positive result-bearing action that want to see. This is what all those who were affected by the Gulshan attack want to see. But we cannot stop here. Our law enforcement agencies need to dig deeper to get to the crux of the issues at hand, so that we may get answers to the questions which are on all our minds. It is crucial that political affiliations and agendas don’t get in the way of these investigations. With revelations that terrorism knows no class or gender, it is of the utmost importance that every single avenue is explored and exhausted, so that we may never again have to relive an attack as terrible as the one that was carried out in Holey Artisan in the beginning of the month. A combined effort from law enforcement agencies, with the help of common citizens, is required so that the evil of terrorism is rooted out from amongst us.

A combined effort from law enforcement agencies, with the help of common citizens, is required so that terrorism is rooted out from amongst us

Opinion

MONDAY, AUGUST 1, 2016

Spring that went sour Revolution or delusion?

n Towheed Feroze

evolutions usually do not end in romance; the period just prior to an uprising is of course very dreamy -- fiery rhetoric, visions of a better tomorrow, coated with a thick layer of optimism. The scene takes a total turn for the opposite after the event has happened. Why am I suddenly talking of revolutions? Well, there was an article recently which looked back at some dire predictions made by the son of the former Libyan strongman Gaddafi. Just when the Arab world was overtaken by the all-encompassing fervor of “people power,” on the belief that the force of the masses would tear down years of power structure and usher in a new era, a few (with foresight) made some very bleak predictions. Five years later, we are compelled to take the rose-tinted glasses off and agree, perhaps grudgingly, that the so-called rising of the people, did not make the world better, only created more reasons for suffering. Take Libya for instance. The country was being ruled by a dictator under whom there was disenchantment, yet, in contrast, the state of affairs were far better than where they stand now. Ravaged by sectarian/clanbased clashes, Libya is in tatters. Coincidentally, my uncle has

Sorry, but the vehement arguments five years ago in favour of deposing a dictator now seem a little flimsy. In fact, one wonders how the phenomenon of the Arab Spring, and the gushing approach to it by some international media houses, would be remembered by progeny. As we look at the period following what many called the “rise for the call of democracy,” the signs are certainly not something which will glorify pages in history books. I won’t be surprised if one day, some film-maker decides to make a spoof of this sudden emotional outburst which, for a certain time, fueled a quixotic revolutionary obsession. The problem is, there is something very potent in the word “revolution;” from time to time, we are possessed by some inexplicable super power, and begin to believe in the impossible. People will rise and a new dawn will start, leading to better days! As I think of the “Arab Spring” bug, memories of my university days in the early 90s come back with the campus abuzz with the last remnants of the 70s and 80s socialist drive. All throughout the first and second decades of independence, a major student political wing espoused the need for a socialist uprising. The avid romantics drew heavy inspiration from Che, Marx, and

There is something very potent in the word ‘revolution;’ from time to time, we are possessed by some inexplicable super power, and begin to believe in the impossible The world has had a futile obsession with revolution married a Libyan, and according to her, despite concerns about one man wielding all power, Libya was better in the past. “It had many redeeming features; especially for women, since one legislation enacted by the previous regime ensured that any foreigner marrying a Libyan female would be bound by the law of the country to construct a home for the wife in Libya, as an insurance against possible desertion or divorce,” observed my aunt. The country at least had sovereignty with an identity.

Rahul Sanskrityayan with a large section of the local intelligentsia providing the necessary rhetorical support. Alas! Those plans for a utopia fizzled out by the mid 90s. The oftheard slogan within the campuses: “Duniyar mojdur ek hao” (Workers of the world, unite) is fondly recalled by the so-called crusaders of equality; only now, over bottles of single malt in exclusive clubs or lavish apartments. Nothing wrong in that, capitalism has always taken over in some form or the other in the heat of the up-surge; links with

ground reality are not taken into account. The same goes for the Arab euphoria. Apart from Tunisia, the surge left all the others in a maelstrom. Outlandish hopes lead to social disasters because, in many cases, the international media also took part in such people’s movements without judiciously analysing the possible outcomes. If I recall, almost all channels went into an overdrive, playing to the tunes of the general people, thronging the streets, taking part in an assortment of highly

charged-up events. These channels, at that time, also aired statements of many influential world leaders, welcoming a wind of change. More of a wind of disaster as it seems now. World leaders now sideline the issue, or, if asked about justification of their role in supporting a move which went awry, usually resort to prevarication or some incomprehensible logic. A bit like Tony Blair -- master of obfuscation, who led Britain into a diabolic path, one of the key reasons which led to an entity like

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IS wreaking global havoc in 2016. Just like we know that the Iraq invasion was based on flawed information, the futility of the Arab uprising is also dawning on us. But then, history of human civilisation is replete with episodes of romance-fueled revolutions that did not lead to utopia. Despite this, we keep on rising from time to time, aspiring to achieve the impossible -- a testament to the saying “history teaches us nothing.” l Towheed Feroze is a journalist currently working in the development sector.

Long Form

MONDAY, AUGUST 1, 2016

To save Bangladesh, bring back people’s politics How do we make sure attacks like the one in Holey don’t happen again? This is the first part of a two-part long form

How are the youths in our country getting brainwashed?

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individuals or groups who are carrying out the attacks. Alongside ensuring punishment for their crimes, it is crucial to understand the reasons behind their actions and their ideology. If we want to eradicate these ideologies, if we want to ensure that in future attacks do not happen, we need significant educational, social, cultural, and economic restructuring. Another point to consider is, even if there are millions who may hold such extreme views, there will be only a handful who would be prepared to sacrifice their lives for them. Even though we have fundamentalists and communalminded individuals, and

n Firoz Ahmed

angladesh has not seen this type of ferocious attacks and killing of people before. We express our deepest sympathies to the families of the victims, although no amount of consolation can soothe them. Our thoughts are also with the injured and the traumatised. It appears to me that, regardless of the reasons in the terrorists’ minds and their external directives, if any, their one clear goal was to hold Bangladesh’s economy to ransom, without diplomatically attacking it. The masterminds behind this attack, to achieve their secret aim, have held up the economy by targeting the foreign investors here. The consequence of this attack will be felt for years to come. Bangladesh’s economy is heavily reliant on export -- the garment/ apparel products constitute about 72% of the total export (the Italian victims were working in the textile industry). The Bangladesh economy will be in danger; if foreign buyers do not feel secure, they will stop coming here and will not put in orders from our RMG industry. The employment of millions of people, and the main source of economic stability for the country, will be crushed. We need to highlight a point: There will be yet another attempt to characterise Islam or the

Why do our youths fall victim to plots generated by the imperialists? Why are we not seeing the evolution of positive actions and political developments -- patriotism, self-investigation, and self-development -coming out of this hatred towards imperialism?

Muslims through this attack. Religion is a spiritual belief -- a believer can still live as a believer without harming the followers of the other religions, and can even fight in a political alliance with the believers of other religions. I know that majority of religious Muslims want to live as citizens of a modern state. In every country, there are those who want to drive out, or damage, the believers of other faiths. It is the state which is responsible for protecting its citizens’ wealth, dignity, and religious independence. Here, we find the government failing totally in upholding this responsibility. Had they ensured the right to practice religion for all citizens -- Hindus, Muslims, Buddhists, and Christians -- then the use of communal violence and fundamentalism in politics would have been reduced. At the same time, culture and education would have been stronger and free. Perhaps it was the aim of the attackers that the religion be

disgraced and religious tension be spread. Assassinations cannot be stopped by issuing religious fatwa. Both sides can find supporting evidence. There are reliable Hadiths advising not to attack the believers of different faiths during a war, and there are Hadiths advocating tough stances against them. However, all these Hadiths, which were issued in different contexts, are being misused by opportunists for their own benefit. In all religious scripture, there are decrees that may appear contradictory. No society, including ours, follows religious texts exactly at all times. Rather, due to progressive development of education, culture, and economy, some accepted norms and procedures are established, which all -followers of state religion or other religions -- respect and obey. As a result, by only looking at religion, we cannot resolve this issue. Instead, it is very important to identify and understand those

intolerance has grown and spread, do we know, in our localities or amongst family relations, a huge number of people who would be willing to carry out such attacks? Does anyone expect that, after such an attack, thousands would come out on the streets to support the attackers? No. That is not happening. Rather, the vast majority of the people have condemned this attack. Their feelings are stiffened and consolidated against the religious extremists. How are the attackers selected and lured to carry out operations if there aren’t as many as we’d expect? There are many more issues such as training, protection, and finance. We would have thought such opportunities are more readily available in countries like Pakistan than Bangladesh, due to the cultural and political activities carried out during the Afghan wars. If the political gain by using public sympathy is not behind

this, we need to consider other avenues. Would this attack generate public support? Absolutely not. The possibility of a deterioration of economic condition may, in fact, disenchant pious citizens. To destabilise political and economic conditions, that we have discussed, earlier remains the most convincing reason. This attack could jeopardise the Bangladeshi economy. Then, who are the players, and what do they want? Unfortunately, we are not so clear on this. Maybe the leaders are not certain either. Or maybe the country would need to suffer further as a pawn between their bargaining. However, there is no doubt that the wars in Iraq-AfghanistanSyria have antagonised much of the youth against American imperialism. A global trend has emerged -- a few youths are attacking people of different beliefs and communities with intense hatred and animosity. This self-destructive process, however, is giving legitimacy to the imperialist war. Often, in the end, they (the few angry youths) are used by the imperialists. But this is only the external influence. The real question is: Why do our youths fall victim to plots generated by the imperialists? Why are we not seeing the evolution of positive actions and political developments -patriotism, self-investigation, and self-development -- coming out of this hatred towards imperialism? What poisons are being sprayed by our culture and surroundings? Why is this trend so common among private university students? Without investigating these issues, how can we be so certain? l The concluding part of this long form will be published tomorrow. Firoz Ahmed is the former President of Bangladesh Chhatra Federation, one of Bangladesh’s largest leftist student unions. He is currently member of the progressive political party Ganosamhati Andolon (People’s Solidarity Movement), which contested the 2015 Dhaka Mayoral election under popular young leader Zonayed Saki.

Opinion

MONDAY, AUGUST 1, 2016

A nation underwater We need to be able to minimise risk if we want to keep the country from becoming inundated

n Saiful Islam Azad

limate experts predict medium-range floods this season in Bangladesh. The floods caused by a sharp rise in water levels in the Teesta, Surma, Brahmaputra-Jamuna, Padma, and several other rivers have already marooned nearly 100,000 people in many areas throughout 15 districts, including the north and north-eastern regions of the country. Thousands of people are leaving their homes and taking shelter on the embankments, raised roads, schools, and other places. Many areas of Sirajganj, Jamalpur, and Sunamgonj, with some 712 villages of 55 unions in nine upazilas of Kurigram, are now under water. It has been reported that more than 500,000 people have been marooned in Kurigram as the flood situation in the district has worsened further, due to the onrush of upstream water and incessant rainfall for the last few days. The onrush of upstream water from across the border of Assam and the heavy rainfall are the reasons for the recent flood.

Bangladesh is incredibly vulnerable to disasters such as floods

Combatting flood is a great task. We cannot control it fully but we can minimise the detrimental effects of flood by adopting preventive measures

Some Indian dailies reported that monsoon rains in river catchments continue to cause flooding in the Indian state of Assam. Over the last few days, the monsoon has brought heavy rain to parts of sub-Himalayan West Bengal, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam Meghalaya, and Nepal as well. India’s Metrological Department (IMD) has issued a red level (highest) warning for heavy to very heavy rainfall in those areas over the coming days. The Brahmaputra is at, or above, danger levels in Assam. It can be predicted that floods in our country would get worse. As many as 57 rivers are flowing through Bangladesh down to the Bay of Bengal. Out of these, 54 rivers are coming from the north and northeast regions of India.

Almost every year, sub-Himalayan Nepal, Bhutan, and India are inundated due to excess water coming down from hills and mountains coupled with the rainwater. At the same time, the north and north-east parts of Bangladesh are affected by floods. The principal causes behind these are climate change and global warming. The world has been experiencing a gradual increase of temperature for the last few decades. The impact of global warming has been seen in the greater Himalayas, which is known as the Water Tower of Asia, covering approximately 7 million squarekilometres; the general area of high mountains and plateaus in Central, South, and Inner Asia. The Greater Himalayas are the

source of 10 of the largest rivers in Asia: Amu Darya, Indus, Ganges, Brahmaputra, Irrawaddy, Salween, Mekong, Yangtze, Yellow, and Tarim. Collectively, these basins provide water for about 1.3 billion people. Throughout the Greater Himalayas, water melts from permanent snow and ice, and from seasonal snow packs, and is stored in high-elevation wetlands and lakes. Melting occurs mainly in high summer when this coincides with the monsoon. The Greater Himalayas, as a whole, is very sensitive to global climate change or global warming. Glaciers, ice, and snow cover 17% of the Greater Himalayan region, and are receding more rapidly than the world average. The rate of retreat has increased in recent years -- increased melting

REUTERS

will result in increased discharge. Thus, water-related hazards and risks are omnipresent in the Greater Himalayas, and landslides, debris flows, and flash floods are projected to increase in frequency in the uplands (300–3,000m), with riverine and coastal floods likely increasing in the lowlands. The 1988 flood was predicted to occur due to flash floods which originated from the highelevated wetlands and lakes of the Himalaya. In June 2013, a multi-day cloudburst centered in the Himalayan region of North-Indian states, which caused devastating flood and landslides, becoming the country’s worst natural disaster since the 2004 tsunami. It is true that destroying forest lands and making upper-stream dams, hydro-power plants, etc are breaking the eco-system in the Himalayan regions. A study said that northern India has experienced increasingly heavy rainfall in June since the late 1980s. Combatting flood is a great task. We cannot control it fully but we can minimise the detrimental effects of flood by adopting preventive measures. Necessary forecasts should be

given to alert people. Equipment should be arranged for each family or individual. The government can send relief to the remotest places through various agencies. The health department should proceed to help the affected people. Embankments, sluice gates, drains, canals must be constructed permanently. It has been seen that the relief goods are misappropriated and not distributed properly. The government must monitor this. Bangladesh is one of the most climate change-vulnerable and disaster-prone countries. The rivers of this country are facing tremendous environmental anomalies. They overflow during the rainy season but shrink in other seasons. Floods in our country are directly or indirectly related to sub-Himalayan countries like India, Bhutan, and Nepal. An understanding should be made to protect the eco-system in the regions to minimise the risks of flash floods, and to share the water resources as per international laws. l Saiful Islam Azad is a freelance journalist.

24 Sport

MONDAY, AUGUST 1, 2016

Sheikh Russel eye first league point

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n Tribune Report Former treble winners Sheikh Russel Krira Chakra will be desperate to open their Bangladesh Premier League points tally when they face home side Chittagong Abahani today at MA Aziz Stadium in the port city. The match begins at 7:30pm and BTV and Baishakhi TV will telecast it live. Sheikh Russel, who finished second in the top-flight last season, began their league campaign this season on a disappointing note, succumbing to defeats against unfancied Uttar Baridhara Club and Rahmatganj MFS. The Blues therefore, will be looking to end their drought sooner rather than later, starting with the Chittagong Abahani tie. However, it will be anything but easy against the hosts, who opened their mission with a 1-1 draw against powerhouse Abahani Limited before beating Mohammedan Sporting Club 4-2 in the next game.l

The tactician who performs wonders Kamal Babu has been coaching in domestic football for more than 15 years now. He is famous for guiding minor clubs from the lower divisions to top-tier football and bringing up many young players. PAGE 25

Williams century in vain as NZ seal win Sean Williams scored a maiden Test century in vain as New Zealand clinched a comprehensive innings and 117-run victory over hosts Zimbabwe yesterday. Williams scored the quickest Test ton by a Zimbabwean. PAGE 26

TODAY’S MATCHES Abahani Limited players warm up during a training session in Chittagong yesterday

RABIN CHOWDHURY

Taskin closer to ICC test IOC panel to decide on Russians athletes The International Olympic Committee has said a threemember panel will make the “final decision” on which Russian athletes can compete in the Rio Olympics, set to begin in less than a week. PAGE 27

Ibra scores superb goal on United debut Zlatan Ibrahimovic netted a superb goal just four minutes into his Manchester United debut and promised that there would be much more to come after they thrashed Turkish side Galatasaray 5-2 in a friendly in Gothenburg on Saturday. PAGE 28

n Minhaz Uddin Khan The Bangladesh Cricket Board’s bowling action review committee tested suspended paceman Taskin Ahmed’s bowling action at Mirpur’s Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium yesterday. According to the BCB’s Management Information System manager Nasir Ahmed, the test was carried out to determine the improvement, if any, of the bowler, who has been undergoing rehab since his suspension in March this year. Nasir informed that Taskin would appear for his bowling action test in an International Cricket Council-accredited testing centre if the outcome of his test, held by the BCB committee yesterday, turns out to be satisfactory. According to reports, Taskin is mulling appearing for the test ahead of the home series against England in October this year. Nasir said it will take at least a month or more before the right-arm pacer appears for the test. “He has been undergoing rehab for some time now so we took his

bowling action footage in a proper way [yesterday]. He will soon appear for the test so we wanted to assess his progress,” Nasir informed the media yesterday. “If you ask me, his action looked fine but then again, the final result should be determined by assessing the video footage,

review committee, Omar Khaled, however, said Taskin looked perfect during the test and that his bouncers were well on track. “I do not think he has much issues. He looked perfect to me. He had issues with bouncers but [yesterday] he looked absolutely fine. We have to see the outcome

Taskin is mulling appearing for the test ahead of the home series against England in October this year. Nasir said it will take at least a month or more before the right-arm pacer appears for the test which is done through a software. Further testing will depend on the footage we took [yesterday],” the BCB official added. Taskin was made to deliver four overs, including length balls, bouncers, slowers and yorkers, during the test. It was learned that the pace bowler was mostly troubled with his action while bowling bouncers. Member of the bowling action

of the assessment first and then decide when he can appear for the test,” said Khaled. Arafat Sunny, the other Bangladesh bowler who got suspended by the ICC for illegal bowling action along with Taskin, had also come to the BCB yesterday for the test. But a minor injury on the bowling arm denied the left-arm spinner from appearing for the test. l

Sk Jamal v Rahmatganj, 4:30pm Sk Russel v Ctg Abahani, 7:30pm

Saintfiet leaves for holidays, expected to return next week n Tribune Report New Bangladesh football coach, Belgian Tom Saintfiet, departed for his homeland yesterday morning for a week-long holiday. However, doubts are still lingering over his possible return as he left Bangladesh without signing the agreement paper. “We have booked his return ticket and will confirm it soon after talking with him,” Bangladesh Football Federation general secretary Abu Nayeem Shohag informed the media yesterday. “The contract has not yet been signed. We have paid him for some of his earlier work in Bangladesh. Both the parties have agreed with the clauses of the agreement. If he signs it, he will work for three months in accordance with the contract. “He told us that he has not received any proposal from any other club or federation so we hope he’ll return in time,” he added.l

Sport

MONDAY, AUGUST 1, 2016

Kamal Babu, the tactician who performs wonders Kamal Babu has been coaching in domestic football for more than 15 years now. He is famous for guiding minor clubs from the lower divisions to top-tier football and during the course of his coaching career, he contributed immensely to Bangladesh football by bringing up many young and promising players who later joined the national team. Kamal Babu is currently managing old-Dhaka outfit Rahmatganj MFS. The club started the Bangladesh Premier League this season with a draw against Mohammedan Sporting Club and followed it up with a memorable 2-0 victory over former treble winners Sheikh Russel Krira Chakra on Thursday. Shishir Hoque of Dhaka Tribune managed to catch up with the 51year old coach for an exclusive interview where he talked in details regarding his playing and coaching career and his philosophy, among other things. Here are the excerpts:

Dhaka Tribune Sport: How did you get into football?

Kamal Babu: I always had interest since my childhood but I really got into this thing during the Pioneer Football League in 1980. The then Fifa president Joao Havelange

came to Bangladesh at that time and a record 180 teams played in the tournament. I played there and it was a big experience for me. My playing career started with Wari Club where I spent six years. Then I moved to BRTC, Dhanmondi Club, Farashganj Sporting Club, Wanderers Club and Shantinagar Club where I captained the side. I played as full-back and sometimes as defensive midfielder.

DTS: What brought you into football coaching?

KB: I was always interested in coaching and I coached even when I was a footballer. But I started my professional coaching when Biplob [Bhattacharjee, former Bangladesh goalkeeper and captain) started playing. It was probably in 2000 when I was the coach of Dipali Jubo Sangha. I brought them to top-flight football from the third division in only 18 months which I think is a record in Bangladesh football.

DTS: Tell us briefly about your coaching career and the successes that followed.....

KB: I coached Wari Club for two years. And after that, I trained Sheikh Russel and Arambagh.

Then, I joined Farashganj before moving to Sheikh Russel again. Sheikh Russel signed a foreign coach and I had to leave and rejoin Farashganj where I spent four-five years. Farashganj became champions in a professional tournament (Independence Cup in 2011) where my club defeated top clubs like Abahani Limited, Sheikh Russel and Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club. Most of the players were young and showed tremendous spirit. After that, I joined Rahmatganj where I’m still working for the last four-five years.

DTS: Before the start of the league this season, you announced your intention to fight for the championship title, despite being minnows. What made you think of that?

KB: I watched games of every team and I did a comparison. What I found was that no club is anything special that I cannot beat. Everyone says they are a big club but I don’t think so. It’s just a signboard put in front of them. When they played against my club, I had better ball possession and chances. Besides, my players listen to what I say and that makes me believe that I can fight for the title.

DTS: What is your coaching philosophy? Why do you always choose minor clubs to coach?

KB: I set my team a target – don’t concede a goal at the beginning and score later when possible. I believe everything is possible and that no club is small. I inject the belief in my players as well. The reason behind coaching these clubs is that I think I can produce players. There is no national team that didn’t have my players in the squad. Once, after winning the Independence Cup, the national team offered me to become the assistant coach. I replied what’s the use of an assistant coach in Bangladesh team and refused to join. As a coach, I believe my job is to bring out new, talented players and guide them.

DTS: What is your take on Bangladesh football and its future?

KB: At the moment, it’s neither bad, nor good. The way things are going right now and if it continues for a long time, I can be hopeful. If you look at the players who were called to the national team in recent times, you start to wonder how did they get the chance. The same players who have very little to offer get picked because of their name. l

Fahad’s grand dream n Fazley Rabbi Moon What do you expect from a seventh grade student about his aim in life in Bangladesh? A doctor, an engineer or maybe a cricketer. So you will be surprised when someone says that he wants to be a chess Grandmaster. Mohammad Fahad Rahman, the youngest FIDE Master of Bangladesh, is the 13-year old kid who wants to be the Grandmaster. The wonderboy’s first target is to become an International Master (IM) by this year after the young chess prodigy won the 14th Dubai Juniors Chess Tournament last Tuesday. The Faridpur boy is currently focusing in the upcoming tournaments to earn the required rating points to seal the IM norm. He had his highest ranking points 2278 in January this year and still has not selected the tournaments to take part in. The national sub-junior and world junior tournaments are knocking at the door and there is a good chance he can participate in

these grand events. Till date, Bangladesh has produced five GMs which is relatively good for a sub-continent country. Chess legend Niaz Murshed took the flag to that honour board for the first time in 1987 and Enamul Hossain was the last man to achieve the top designation. Still it has been eight years the country is without a new GM and the rise of Fahad is firmly giving hope that the sport-loving nation will get another superstar.

standard international tournament triumph. His first title came in 2012 from the Asian School Chess Championship in Delhi before he clinched the Open Under-10 group of the 14th ASEAN Age-Group Chess Championship in Thailand a year later. When he was just ten years old, Fahad became the youngest FIDE Master from Bangladesh after the World Chess Federation, awarded the youngster with the title in 2013. He was the 13th Bangladeshi to

The Faridpur boy is currently focusing on the upcoming tournaments to earn the rating points required to seal the IM norm Fahad likes Magnus Carlsen, the Norwegian GM, with his dream and he wants to become a player like his idol. The player of Sheikh Russel Memorial Sporting Club follows international chess closely and does not want to lose the limelight with small successes. Fahad first gained attention in 2011 when as an eight-year old he beat the second Bangladeshi GM Ziaur Rahman, in a friendly duel in just eight minutes. At that age, he was ranked as the top chess player in the World Under-8 chess rating. The Dubai title was Fahad’s third

achieve the FIDE Master title. To unlock all his objectives, the youngster needs to participate and perform well in the international events which also require him to have a good amount of funding. He is currently sponsored by Mahindra Comviva but that’s going to end in September this year. But the good news is that the current sponsor wants to extend the deal after his recent success. So the foundation is set already and the country is braced to see the youngster Fahad becoming a superstar. l

Bangladesh’s youngest Fide Master Fahad Rahman poses for a photograph with the 14th Dubai International Junior Chess Tournament trophy during the felicitation programme, organised by his side, Sheikh Russel Memorial Sporting Club, at a city hotel on Saturday MAINOOR ISLAM MANIK

Sport

MONDAY, AUGUST 1, 2016

India in control after first day against Windies n Reuters Off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin bagged his 18th five-wicket haul as India dominated the first day of the second Test against West Indies in Jamaica on Saturday. Ashwin continued his brilliant form, taking 5-52 as India bowled out West Indies for 196 at Sabina Park in Kingston. In reply, India were 126 for one at close of play, trailing by only 70 runs, with Lokesh Rahul on 75 and Cheteshwar Pujara on 18. Ashwin’s performance, hot on the heels of a century in the first Test in Antigua where he also took 7-83 in the second innings in a big India victory, reaffirmed his reputation as arguably the world’s best all-rounder. “I’m very happy for today. A first-day five-wicket haul is obviously something a spinner will cherish,” Ashwin said. l

2ND TEST, DAY 1 WEST INDIES 196 (Blackwood 62, Ashwin 5/52, Shami 2/23) v INDIA 126/1 (Rahul 75*, Pujara 18*, Chase 1/28) India trail by 70 runs

Bodybuilder Abu Sayeed (2R), who won the 75-kg category in the Marcel Cup Bodybuilding Championship held at the National Sports Council auditorium yesterday, partakes alongside the other participants MAINOOR ISLAM MANIK

Williams century in vain as New Zealand seal innings win n Reuters, Bulawayo Sean Williams scored a maiden Test century in vain as New Zealand clinched a comprehensive innings and 117-run victory over hosts Zimbabwe on day four of the first Test yesterday. Williams, who was battling flu, scored the quickest Test ton by a Zimbabwean off 106 balls before becoming the ninth man out for 119 having smashed 21 fours. Zimbabwe were dismissed shortly before tea in their second innings for 295, with seamer Trent

Boult the pick of the visiting bowlers as he picked up 4-52 on a flat batting track. “The fight was excellent. After the first innings, I thought we were soft,” Zimbabwe captain Graeme Cremer said at the post-match presentation, before highlighting his teams troubles in the Test. “We probably have 10 guys sick in the change room.” Zimbabwe faced a mammoth task to make New Zealand bat again having been skittled for 164 in their first innings and allowing the tourists to amass 576 for six de-

clared in reply. New Zealand would have had thoughts of a quick finish on the fourth morning as Zimbabwe resumed on 121 for five, especially when Craig Ervine (50) was out in the second over soon after bringing up his maiden Test half-century. But a magnificent 118-run seventh-wicket stand between Williams and Cremer (33) took the home side past lunch before the latter was trapped lbw by Ish Sodhi. Regis Chakabva (11), who missed the second and third days’ play with a virus, hung around for

41 balls before he was bowled by Tim Southee. A visibly wilting Williams then holed out to deep mid-wicket off Mitchell Santner after scoring 119 off 148 balls. The win was complete when Neil Wagner, who finished with match figures of 8-103, had Donald Tiripano (14) caught by wicketkeeper BJ Watling. “The first innings bowling effort after the toss was outstanding, and it put us ahead in the game,” New Zealand captain Kane Williamson said. “To get the score we did and put Zimbabwe under pressure was out-

Brazil clinch easy win over Japan n Reuters, Sao Paulo

Brazil’s Neymar is challenged by Japan’s Takuya Iwanami during their friendly match in Goiania, Brazil on Saturday REUTERS

Brazil scored twice in a dominant first half to beat Japan 2-0 in their final Olympic warmup friendly on Saturday before they begin their bid for a first soccer gold medal at next month’s home Games. Santos striker Gabriel Barbosa opened the scoring after 32 minutes when his shot was deflected past Japan keeper Kosuke Nakamura. Marquinhos scored a second

eight minutes later when he beat two defenders to the ball to head home a corner. Brazil were dominant throughout and particularly in the first half when Neymar and Thiago Maia both hit the woodwork. Barcelona striker Neymar was the outstanding performer for the home side and was ably supported by Felipe Anderson in the first half. Brazil face South Africa, Iraq and Denmark in the group stage. l

standing. We’re looking forward to the next match. Zimbabwe continued their dismal record against New Zealanders and are now winless in 16 meetings, this being their 10th loss. The second and final Test starts on Saturday at the same venue. l

1ST TEST, DAY 4 ZIMBABWE 164 & 295 (Williams 119, Ervine 50, Boult 4/52) lost to NEW ZEALAND 576/6 dec New Zealand won by an innings & 117 runs

Lampard nets hat trick in MLS n AFP, New York Frank Lampard scored the first ever hat trick in franchise history, pacing New York City FC to its largest margin of victory with a 5-1 win over the Colorado Rapids on Saturday. Not only did the hat trick come against the league’s best defence but England legend Lampard has now scored eight goals since June 18, the most by any player in Major League Soccer. “I am happy, I didn’t realize that (first hat trick),” Lampard said. l

Sport

MONDAY, AUGUST 1, 2016

IOC panel to decide which Russians can compete

QUICK BYTES Champion Bryan brothers bail out of Rio

n AFP, Rio de Janeiro

The formidable United States pairing of Bob and Mike Bryan won’t defend the doubles Olympic gold they won in London, citing health concerns in withdrawing from the Rio Games on Saturday. The brothers did not specifically mention the Zika virus, a mosquito-borne illness that has been linked to birth defects and prompted a slew of big names to opt out of the Games that start on August 5. “After countless hours of deliberation Mike and I have decided to forego the Rio Olympics. Though we’d love to compete again, as husbands and fathers, our family’s health is now our top priority,” the twin brothers said in a posting on their Facebook page.

The International Olympic Committee has said a three-member panel will make the “final decision” on which Russian athletes can compete in the Rio Olympics, set to begin in less than a week. The panel will examine each case

–AFP

Djokovic continues Monfils mastery Novak Djokovic maintained his unbeaten record against Frenchman Gael Monfils with a 6-3 6-2 win in the semi-finals of the Rogers Cup in Toronto on Saturday, while Japan’s Kei Nishikori also reached the final after beating Swiss second seed Stan Wawrinka. World number one Djokovic, now 12-0 against Monfils, has the opportunity to become the tournament’s first four-time winner when he meets Nishikori in yesterday’s final Nishikori came from 2-5 down in the opening set to stun Wawrinka 7-6(6) 6-1 in the first semi-final at the Aviva Centre. –REUTERS

Halep upsets Kerber, will face Keys in final Fifth-seeded Romanian Simona Halep overcame a crisis of confidence in the second set to reach the final of the Rogers Cup with a 6-0 3-6 6-2 upset victory over second seed Angelique Kerber of Germany in Montreal on Saturday. Halep had been a set and a break up before Kerber reeled off six straight games to lead 2-0 in the third before the Romanian regained control, sealing the win after a topsy-turvy encounter that lasted one hour 38 minutes in Montreal. The 24-yearold, who was beaten by Kerber in the last eight at Wimbledon on July 5, will take on 10th-seeded American Madison Keys in yesterday’s final at the hardcourt event. Keys swept past unseeded qualifier Kristina Kucova of Slovakia 6-2 6-1 in Saturday’s other semi-final, serving up nine aces as she wrapped up victory in just 51 minutes. –REUTERS

Sevilla replace Gameiro with Ben Yedder Sevilla signed forward Wissam Ben Yedder from French side Toulouse on a five-year deal on Saturday, as they look to bolster their squad following the departure of Kevin Gameiro. Ben Yedder, 25, comes in for a cut price of just 9 million euros ($10m, £7.6m), after scoring 23 goals last season to help Toulouse dramatically avoid relegation from Ligue 1. “Ben Yedder is a new striker of Sevilla subject to a medical,” the Spanish club said on their Twitter account. Sevilla saw Gameiro, their top scorer from last term, leave earlier on Saturday for Atletico Madrid, and have acted quickly by replacing him with another French attacker. The reigning Europa League champions, who are now coached by Chilean Jorge Sampaoli after Unai Emery left for Paris Saint-Germain, also brought in Luciano Vietto from Atletico on a season-long loan. –AFP

Hamilton surges clear with Germany victory Lewis Hamilton extended his lead in the Formula One drivers’ championship to 19 points after winning the German Grand Prix with ease yesterday, with Mercedes team-mate and title rival Nico Rosberg fourth. Home hero Rosberg surrendered his lead from pole with a dreadful start to the Briton, who stormed away to claim his sixth win in seven races and strengthen his grip in the title chase. Second was Daniel Ricciardo, with Max Verstappen, his young Red Bull team-mate, third. Reigning world champion Hamilton took full advantage of the poor start by Rosberg, –AFP

DAY’S WATCH FOOTBALL SONY ESPN 6:30AM International Champions Cup Liverpool v AS Roma

CRICKET STAR SPORTS 1

7:00PM Royal London One Day Cup Derbyshire v Leicestershire

TEN 2 8:00PM India Tour of West Indies 2nd Test, Day 3

individually and make the “final decision” before Friday, IOC spokesman Mark Adams said late on Saturday. A ban on individual Russian athletes followed a report by Canadian lawyer Richard McLaren for the World Anti-Doping Agency stating that Russian doping of athletes had been organized by the sports

ministry and aided by the Russian secret service at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics. Rejecting calls for a blanket ban on Russia, the IOC decided on July 24 that individual sports federations should investigate athletes implicated in the report and decide who should be excluded.l

Sport

MONDAY, AUGUST 1, 2016

PSG sink Leicester in clash of Anglo-French champions n AFP, Los Angeles

Galatasaray’s Hakan Balta controls the ball in front of Manchester United’s Zlatan Ibrahimovic during their pre-season friendly in Goteborg on Saturday

AFP

Ibra scores superb goal on United debut n Reuters, Stockholm Zlatan Ibrahimovic netted a superb goal just four minutes into his Manchester United debut and promised that there would be much more to come after they thrashed Turkish side Galatasaray 5-2 in a friendly in Gothenburg on Saturday. The 34-year-old Swede, who arrived at Old Trafford on a free transfer after a trophy-laden four-year spell with Paris St Germain, wast-

Atletico crash to loss in Australia n AFP, Melbourne Spanish giants Atletico Madrid crashed to a 1-0 loss to A-League side Melbourne Victory on their Australian pre-season tour in Geelong yesterday. The European Champions League runners-up fell behind to a goal against the run of play shortly before half-time and were kept scoreless in the second half. Nick Ansell powerfully headed home off a free-kick from Khalfallah to rock Atletico in the 44th minute.l

ed no time in making his presence felt, flinging himself into the air to meet Antonio Valencia’s cross. He did not get the cleanest contact on the ball but his scissors kick bounced past Fernando Muslera in Galatasaray’s goal and sent thousands of Swedish fans into raptures. With Wayne Rooney netting twice and Valencia recording three assists against the rudderless Turkish outfit, a delighted Ibrahimovic said it was shaping up to be an ex-

citing season, especially if United’s transfer target Paul Pogba. “I’m going to help the team as much as I can and do what I’m good at, creating chances and scoring goals,” he told Swedish TV. “There is something big on the go, it’s going to be very interesting this year. Let us say that if Pogba comes too, it’s going to be very interesting,” he added with a smile. Galatasaray Gumus headed the equaliser from a Wesley Sneijder

free kick, and Bruma then rifled home to put Galatasaray ahead four minutes before the break. Ibrahimovic went off at halftime as coach Jose Mourinho rang the changes, but starting fullback Valencia was again the architect as Rooney steered home United’s second 10 minutes into the second half. When Marcus Rashford was felled in the box three minutes later, Rooney stepped up to fire home the resulting penalty.l

French title winners Paris Saint-Germain brought English champions Leicester City down to earth with a 4-0 win in the exhibition International Champions Cup in Los Angeles on Saturday. A sell-out 25,667 crowd at the StubHub Center was treated to passages of sumptuous midfield interplay as PSG gave the naive Foxes a taste of what to expect at Europe’s top table as they head into their first Champions League campaign. PSG attacked relentlessly, playing neat triangles in midfield and looking to play mercurial Uruguayan striker Edinson Cavani in through the channels while Javier Pastore whipped in dangerous crosses from the left. PSG got the breakthrough in the 26th minute when Daniel Amartey clumsily brought down Jonathan Ikone in the area and Cavani sent Schmeichel the wrong way from the spot. “les Rouge et Bleu” doubled their lead seconds before half-time. Foxes boss Claudio Ranieri and his opposite number Unai Emery made 17 substitutions between them, largely taking the tempo and purpose out of the second half.l

RESULTS Man United

5-2

Ibrahimovic 4, Rooney 55, 58, Fellaini 62, Mata 75

Melbourne

1-0

Galatasaray Gumus 22, Bruma 41

Atletico Madrid

Ansell 44

Real Madrid

3-2

Marcelo 19, 26, Mariano 37

Bayern Munich

4-1

Green 7, 30, 35, Ribery 13

Liverpool FC

Chelsea Hazard 80, 90-P

Inter Milan Icardi 90

2-0

AC Milan

Origi 59, Firmino 73

Barca stroll past Celtic n AFP, Dublin

A blond-haired Lionel Messi failed to get on the scoresheet but it hardly mattered as under-strength Barcelona taught Celtic a footballing lesson in a Dublin friendly on Saturday. Strikes by Arda Turan and Munir El Haddadi, and an own goal by Efe Ambrose were enough to earn a 3-1 victory for Luis Garcia’s men in what was their first game back after the summer. Leigh Griffiths had replied to Turan’s opener, but boss Rodgers

will be concerned with how vulnerable his defence looked once again, ahead of Celtic’s crucial Champions League third qualifying round clash with Astana on Wednesday. Barcelona came to Dublin without Andres Iniesta, Gerard Pique, Sergio Busquets, Javier Mascherano, Claudio Bravo and Jordi Alba, who aren’t back in training until tomorrow, while Neymar is preparing for the Olympics in Brazil. But there was more than a sprinkling of quality with Messi and Luis Suarez bringing enough star power to help fill over 47,000 seats at Lansdowne Road. l

Barcelona’s Lionel Messi in action with Celtic’s Efe Ambrose during their International Champions Cup match at Aviva Stadium, Dublin on Saturday REUTERS

CROSSWORD ACROSS 1 Month (5) 6 Anger (3) 7 Proverb (5) 10 Business transactions (5) 12 Religious denomination (4) 13 Fruit (5) 15 Water pitcher (4) 16 Fabled giant bird (3) 18 Sailor (3) 20 Back of the neck (4) 22 Useful thing (5) 25 Combine (5) 27 Of the sun (5) 28 And not (3) 29 Make proud (5)

DOWN 1 Very small person (6) 2 Land measure (3) 3 Library user (6) 4 Moves quickly (7) 5 Mature (3) 8 Donkey (3) 9 Reflected sound (4) 11 Jurisprudence (3) 14 Effacement (7) 16 Part of the eye (6) 17 Stick together (6) 19 Copies (4) 21 Female swan (3) 22 Everybody (3) 24 Ship's record (3) 26 Small drink (3)

Downtime

MONDAY, AUGUST 1, 2016

CODE-CRACKER How to solve: Each number in our CODECRACKER grid represents a different letter of the alphabet. For example, today 1 represents P so fill P every time the figure 1 appears. You have two letters in the control grid to start you off. Enter them in the appropriate squares in the main grid, then use your knowledge of words to work out which letters go in the missing squares. Some letters of the alphabet may not be used. As you get the letters, fill in the other squares with the same number in the main grid, and the control grid. Check off the list of alphabetical letters as you identify them. ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ

CALVIN AND HOBBES

SUDOKU How to solve: Fill in the blank spaces with the numbers 1 – 9. Every row, column and 3 x 3 box must contain all nine digits with no number repeating.

PEANUTS

YESTERDAY’S SOLUTIONS CODE-CRACKER

CROSSWORD

DILBERT

SUDOKU

MONDAY, AUGUST 1, 2016

Showtime

Mahi set to return in action n Showtime Desk A sudden marriage, legal complications with a previous relation and hectic days following her marriage ceremony kept the starlet away from the film industry for a while but Mahiya Mahi vows to get back on track shortly. Sources informed, Mahi is scheduled to take part in a shoot on August 10 if everything goes according to plan. The actress will resume her career with the shooting of Haarjit, a romantic action drama, in which she plays the lead alongside Sajal. The film’s director Badiul Alam Khokon confirmed the

news after talking to Mahiya Mahi. Mahi will be acting in a film directed by Khokon for the first time. Produced by NewGen Entertainment, the film marks the pair’s debut on the big screen. Currently, Mahiya Mahi is staying at her in-law’s in Sylhet and is supposed to return to Dhaka in a couple of days. It has been learned that Mahi is spending a good time at her in-law’s right now but it does not take a genius to figure out that she also has to think about the unfinished ventures at hand. Especially Haarjit, since the shooting of the film was supposed to have started already. That’s why Mahi set Haarjit on the top of her

Jacqueline not comfortable being compared with Katrina

priority list. On the other hand, Sajal has been preparing himself for quite some time for this film. In the last couple of months, he had to practice dance moves and improve his fighting skills. Talking about Haarjit, Sajal said, “I’ve worked for the big screen before but this time, I am particularly optimistic about it. This could be a turning point of my film career. I think I’ve wrapped up enough groundwork for this film.” Mahiya Mahi’s last film was Meher Afroz Shaon’s Krishnapokkho, in which she played the lead alongside Riaz. l

n Showtime Desk Jacqueline Fernandez is on a roll. The diva who made her debut with Aladin (2009), shot to fame with Salman Khan in Kick (2014). The actress confessed that Kick was more like her debut film, after which she went on a film signing spree. The Dishoom actress is often compared with Bollywood diva Katrina Kaif, and the reasons behind this is that both beauties are not from India. However, it looks like Jacqueline hates being compared to the Baar Baar Dekho babe. Recently, while talking to a leading daily, Jacqueline said, “The comparisons aren’t fair, because both of us are different individuals, and people

Trainspotting is back after ages n Farhan Shahriar The fantastic drama which was released in 1996 is now back again with a worldwide trailer. Production continues on the sequel to Trainspotting, which is going by the title of T2: Trainspotting. Director Danny Boyle is directing again, reuniting a cast that includes Ewan McGregor, Ewan Bremner, Jonny Lee Miller and Robert Carlyle. It seems to have covered

all the bases for a fantastic film. The new movie is basically based on Irvine Welsh’s book, Porno. Trainspotting is one of those great films that leads you through a dystopian realm that’s disquietingly real, but holds your hand firmly enough to make you chuckle. Viewers seem to have faith that this is going to be a worthy sequel. Their expectations are quite high after the short teaser. l

should see things that way”. Furthermore, the Flying Jatt actress also added that she looked up to Katrina before entering Bollywood. “Over the years, she has achieved a lot. When I had first arrived (Bollywood), she was like an example. It was like, ‘If Katrina can do it, I can do it too.’ She was and still is an inspiration for a lot of people who have come from outside India.”l

Showtime

MONDAY, AUGUST 1, 2016

An artiste’s plea Syeda Farzana n Rumpa Zaman

t is sad to see news of a talented artists seeking help for his treatment. Like many helpless artistes in Bangladesh, Lucky Akhand has asked for donations to fund his treatment from his fans and the prime minister. Popular singer and composer of Bangladesh and an original artiste of Swadhin Bangla Betar Kendra, Lucky Akhand has fought a long battle with lung cancer. He has given his best to the nation, to the music industry, and as someone who has spent almost his entire life in this industry, is now seeking help from the Prime Minister of Bangladesh for his own treatment. Why has it come to this? In our country, artistes suffer

from the lack of a professional environment. There is also a serious absence of intellectual property rights. Very few have stepped up and honoured intellectual property owners in music. Bappa Mazumder has recently made a royalty payment to lyricist Sheikh Rana at his concert. While this has set a great example, it doesn’t seem that this will sway the tide towards a more

fair ecosystem where copyrights are respected and upheld. Workds have been spoken by many, but implementaion have been made by a few. This is hurting artistes, and it certainly hurt Lucky Akhand. Since the 90’s, there has been a new trend in the music industry of remaking or reworking popular songs. This manifested in various forms including fusion, remix, re-arrangement and so on. When a song is remade, the original artiste should also be credited for creating the music in the first place. The original artistes have suffered tremendously from this. They never receive a royalty payment for the copyright on the original track. “There are ways to receive honorarium from those artistes who have been using original tracks of others and doing

business,” said Barrister Aneek R Haque. “As per law, artistes who remake must pay royalties to the composer and lyricist, but if it is called a remix, then nothing is due.” he added. Since the booming of the radio industry, radio stations have been playing many songs their audiences without paying royalties. Some of the musicians are also using old tunes and

profiting from them after remaking tracks. Original artistes are not even mentioned on such platforms. Aneek R Haque says that he has been trying to get the radios to pay royalty fees but “as always, artistes are so divided, they can’t agree to fight together.” In Lucky Akhand’s case, there are a great number of songs written by him that have been played and continue to be played by companies. They seem more interested in remaking the songs by other artistes and less interested in giving them the royalties they deserve. Senior singers of this industry think that this is one of the reasons why Lucky is in such a helpless state. “It is high time that we address the Ministry of Information and the Ministry of Culture for their inaction in ensuring royalty,” Aneek R Haque added. Another young lawyer, Asad Us Saky, said that artistes can be benefitted when they are legally informed of copyright issues. If artistes begin to legalise their work by registration and legal documentation, they can claim their rights easily. This is the duty of artistes for their own wellbeing. Lucky Akhand might not be very lucky in claiming and actually acquiring the royalty rights for his intellectual property, but it’s certainly an appropriate time for the younger musicians to wise up and start taking copyright issues seriously. Lucky Akhand is now seeking assistance from the government to continue his treatment for lung cancer. He has been suffering from the affliction for a very long time. He flew to Bangkok for treatment and came back this year. It has become very difficult for the

artiste to continue to afford the treatment as he has spent almost all his money on chemotherapy. He was admitted to BIRDEM Hospital after he returned from Bangkok on March 25. Lucky was diagnosed with grade-IV lung cancer in 2015. The singer initially sought no charity, but now feels compelled to seek financial help from the government and his large fan following. Akhand started his career with the self-titled solo album Lucky Akhand in 1984. The record was released from the label Sargam. Some of the notable songs on that album were “Agey jodi jantam,” “Amay dekona,” “Mamonia,” “Ei

neel monihar” and “Hridoy amar”. He wrote songs for his brother’s album Happy Akhand, in which “Abar elo je sondha” and “Ke bashi bajaire” were sung by Lucky, and “Shadinota tomake niye,” “Pahari jhorna” were sung by Happy Akhand along with him in a duet. “Nil nil shari pore” and “Hothat kore Bangladesh” were also sung by Lucky. “Abar elo je sondha” was used in the Bangla film, Ghuddi in 1988. Akhand stopped putting out music after the death of his younger brother, Happy Akhand in 1987. He returned after a decade with two albums titled Porichoy Kobe Hobe and Bitrishna Jibone Amar in 1998. l

WHAT TO WATCH

Johnny English Reborn Star Movies 3:00pm Johnny English goes up against international assassins hunting down the Chinese premier. Cast: Rowan Atkinson, Rosamund Pike, Dominic West, Roger Barclay, Eric Carte

Final Destination 2 WB 3:31pm When Kimberly has a violent premonition of a highway pileup she blocks the freeway, keeping a few others meant to die, safe... Or are they? The survivors mysteriously start dying and it’s up to Kimberly to stop it before she’s next. Cast: Ali Larter, A.J. Cook, Michael Landes, Tony Todd, Terrence ’T.C.’ Carson Rise of the Planet of the Apes Star Movies 7:30pm A substance, designed to help the brain repair itself, gives rise to a super-intelligent chimp who

Gugino, Alexa Vega, Daryl Sabara, Steve Buscemi, Mike Judge

leads an ape uprising. Cast: Andy Serkis, James Franco, Freida Pinto, Karin Konoval, Terry Notary Spy Kids 2: Island of Lost Dreams HBO 7:30pm The Cortez siblings set out for a mysterious island, where they encounter a genetic scientist and a set of rival spy kids. Cast: Antonio Banderas, Carla

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen Zee Studio 11:45pm Sam Witwicky leaves the Autobots behind for a normal life.

But when his mind is filled with cryptic symbols, the Decepticons target him and he is dragged back into the Transformers’ war. Cast: Shia LaBeouf, Megan Fox, John Turturro, Ramon Rodriguez, Josh Duhamel l

Back Page

MONDAY, AUGUST 1, 2016

CITYCELL LIKELY TO SHUT DOWN PAGE 12

TASKIN CLOSER TO ICC TEST PAGE 24

AN ARTISTE’S PLEA PAGE 31

Life is changing for people of the new lands Nesa Alo and n Jebun Moazzem Hossain from Lalmonirhat Life has changed for the better for former exclave residents as they now have access to all job opportunities, including the government ones, as the citizens of the land. Many among the people of the new lands, who were jobless despite having good academic background, are now getting jobs in different institutions and organisations. Motiar Rahman, 35, resident of Dashiar Chhara, a former exclave territory in Kurigram, took up a job as a fourth-class employee at the newly-established Kalirhat Girls’ School in the village, soon after the land swap took place under the Bangladesh-India Land Boundary Agreement on July 31 last year. Motiar studied until Class VIII before dropping out of school. “I went to Gangarhat School hiding my real identity, as exclave residents were not allowed to attend schools in the main land.” After dropping out of school, however, Motiar did not consider even looking for any job and took up farming to earn a living. “There

Workers are busy building a new road in Dashiar Chhara village, a former exclave territory in Kurigram. The photo was taken yesterday DHAKA TRIBUNE was no point. I would not be eligible any way.” Now he is happy to have a job at the new school in his village.

Like Motiar, there are many others who have been employed at different schools and colleges that have been newly established or are

Ex-exclave residents who left Bangladesh now regret it Nesa Alo and n Jebun Moazzem Hossain from Lalmonirhat Former exclave residents in Bangladesh, who left for India after the historic land swap last year, are now regretting their decisions. Some of the people who moved to India following a rumour that they would be offered a package of residence and money are now frustrated because they are yet to receive any such facilities. Rezaul, 26, who chose to move to India despite having family in Bangladesh, now wants to come back, requesting his father to bring him back at any cost, his family members told the Dhaka Tribune. Rezaul, who grew up surrounded by Bangladeshi culture in Dashiar Chhara, a former exclave territory in Kurigram, has been living in a rehabilitation centre in India since he left Bangladesh soon after the land swap on July 31.

Rezaul’s father Omed Ali, 65, claimed that his son was not happy in India. “He is very upset because he did not get any facilities, so now he wants to come back. Speaking to the Dhaka Tribune, Omed said during the enclave exchange, there was a rumour circulating everywhere that the Indian government was offering Tk5 lakh in cash and a flat to those who chose Indian citizenship, which made his son choose India. “But those of us who chose to remain are the government’s priority in terms of development, whereas those who moved to India are being ignored there,” he said. Omed said many people living in his son’s rehabilitation centre have called their family members in Bangladesh, saying they are in a miserable condition. “Only one room is allotted for a family, they said.” said Omed. “They are living in slums and their movement is restricted. They have to get

permission of the Border Security Force to step out of the centre.” Jamela Khatun, 70, also a resident of Dashiar Chhara, said she was miserable here in Bangladesh while her only son Joynal, 35, was miserable in India. “I have a difficult life here as there is no earning member in my family. Joynal left Bangladesh under the influence of others and now he is suffering,” Jamela claimed. Joynal also moved to India following the rumoured incentive package, she added. “I just want my son back home.” Mohammad Altab Hossain, president of Dashiar Chhara enclave co-ordination committee and local Awami League president, said they had received requests from a number of families to bring back their loved ones from India. According to sources, only 779 out of the 44,500 residents of 111 former exclaves in Bangladesh left for India during the land swap. l

being set up. Shahzadi Khatun Shahana, new headmistress at Kalirghat High School, was unemployed after com-

pleting graduation in Bangladesh. “I was sitting idle at home despite having a degree as there was no job options for us before,” she told the Dhaka Tribune. After the land swap, Shahana was appointed at the topmost post in the school because there was no one more qualified than her in Dashiar Chhara. “Many women like me are now getting good and honourable jobs now that we have access to them,” she said. Mohammed Altab Hossen, president of exclave coordination committee and president of the local wing of the Awami League, said educated former exclave residents are getting priority during job recruitment at the newly established institutions in the new land. “15 former exclave residents have been appointed in government primary schools, five in Border Guard Bangladesh and one in police force so far,” he told the Dhaka Tribune. Change has come in the lives of young children too, who are now able to attend public schools. “Other schools were too far from my home. My new school is closer,” said a smiling Aduri. l

Ruling party leaders eyeing new land for votes Nesa Alo back from n Jebun Kurigram, and Moazzem Hossain, Lalmonirhat Leaders and activists of the ruling party are working to secure votes in the former exclave territories in Bangladesh, seeing a huge potential for a vote bank for the party. Visiting many former exclaves, the Dhaka Tribune found that Awami League leaders have a dominant presence in the “new lands”. “No other political party has promoted themselves as well as we have,” said Mohammad Altab Hossain, president of local Awami League in Dashiar Chhara, a former exclave territory in Kurigram. “We have held many programmes here on different occasions.” He said the new lands have the potential to become vote banks for Awami League as the government is implementing projects on a priority basis for their rapid development. “The government initiatives have created a positive impression

on the former exclave residents.” Walking around Dashiar Chhara village, our correspondents saw festoons and posters promoting ruling party leaders. However, these reporters also found one poster of a leader of Bangladesh Chhatra Shibir, student wing of Jamaat-e-Islami. Locals said enrolment in the newly established schools, colleges and other institutions were being handled by local Awami League. Dashiar Chhara was attached to Fulbari Sadar union following the land swap under the Bangladesh-India Land Boundary Agreement. No leader from the new land was found to contest the union parishad elections. “We heard of the candidates who took part in the elections, but we don’t know them. They are from the main land,” said Monirul Islam, a resident of Dashiar Chhara. Expressing his frustration, he said: “If our chairman is elected from the main land, the development of the new land will not gain pace.” l

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