Seema's rights
Sir, Seema Chowdhury, an 18-year-old girl, was allegedly raped by four policemen in Raozan police station, Bangladesh on October 9. 1996. Following an initial investigation into the case, the four police accused were arrested and charged with rape. Before the case came to trial, Seema was placed in so-called "safe-custody" in Chittagong Jail, where she died in suspicious circumstances on February 7. 1997. On July 14. 1997, the four policemen were acquitted by a trial court of the charge of raping Seema Chowdhury. The judge reportedly deplored the fact that government lawyers had presented weak evidence and witnesses, effectively allowing the police to get away with rape.
The police, the court, the jail administration, the hospital authorities and the Home Ministry were all responsible for falling to protect Seema ' Chowdhury's fundamental human rights.
Amnesty International is calling on the government of Bangladesh to investigate the failures of the authorities concerned to protect Seema's human rights, and bring to justice not only those who raped her, but also those whose alleged negligence caused her death.
Madame Denise Regonlnl
16 auenue de Lattre de Tasstgny 47200 Marmande, France
"Names for Identity"
Sir, I was baffled, reading a letter written in this section by one of the fines citizens of our society, suggesting that we should bear only Islamic names not Bengali ones. What a great way to preachl She opined, we might face a debacle on our liberty and our freedom If followed otherwise. Now all I want to say
is names are there to Identify someone or something. Be it Islamic or Bengali hardly make any difference. On the day of judgement, all mankind will be arranged in groups and they will be called by their names. God being omnipotent knows who is his real follower and who is not. Mere names won't make slightest difference, only the devoutness will count. So don't be sanctimonious and please don't make an issue out of nothing.
More I read the letter more I plunge into perplexity. It's really beyond my comprehension what distinguishes Bangladeshis from Bengalis. May be I have to pull a vague analogy out of it. May be it is somehow related with the Berennial dispute between indu-Musliml I guess I have hit the Jackpot. Here, I suppose, the writer is trying to inoculate us with an amalgamated dose of twisted nationalism and fun-' damentalism.
Brotherhood doesn’t grow on ethnic beliefs. It is the humans qualities that attracts people together and that is where real friendship grows. So please don't make this kind of subversive comments which metaphorically imply nonMuslims are enemy of ours.
Our country is traversing through the malaise of inequality. inefficiency and de-[irivatlon and nonetheless po-itlcal unrest. So please don't fraught it with other strident problems. It Is time to contemplate on better Issues and think in a more constructive way.
Ashtque R Khan Segunbagtcha, Dhaka
Ways of Roads and
Highways
Sir. The streets in the city of Dhaka like in many other cities and towns of Bangladesh develop pot-holes soon after they
are constructed or repaired. 1 he reasons that I could glean out are:
1. The contractors often find it convenient to have a small pot hole left behind which in course of time would collect rainwater and spent engine oil leaking from vehicles (thanks to the ever vigilant BRTA) which are the greatest enemies of bitumen — the material with which the roads are coated.
2. These factors eventually cause cracks on the road and develop into major scaling of the roads necessitating major repairs, including carpeting.
To do away with this perennial problem, the Roads and Highways Department should, in all earnest, think of awarding carpeting/repairing contract with the rider clauses that maintenance for a specific period will be done by the contractors.
All maintenance will then be ensured by the contractor who in his own interest will see that the Job done is not shoddy leading to minimum maintenance requirement. Again he will also adhere to the adage "A stitch In time will save nine" by doing the necessary repairs on the onset of any problem rather than wait for the total annihilation of the road leading to Inconvenience to the public and unnecessary expenses by the government.
Mahbubur Rashid 110, Moghbazar, Dhaka
Spoon-fed industrialists
Sir, The leather industry was allowed to treat a portion of its working capital as Term Loan and the same was ordered to be replenished by banks as working capital, who authorised these mills to convert working capital to be long term? Why should the govern-
ment be a party to such unauthorised use of money? Is the government so weak that it has to limp on its feet and beg the Industrialist to earn foreign exchange? Necessity is the mother of all inventions. How long our government will support the weak industrialists?
Some frozen food factories h^ve been authorised to draw Tk 40 lakh each to meet EU countries requirements, which I think is a very high amount. The EU requirements are very simple, and in the past years, why have frozen food exporters not re-invested their profits into modernising their industries? Why is government doing about this?
Today, like export sector is earning foreign exchange, there are many mills which are saving government huge sums of foreign exchange. Now if these industries do not also modernise their units and eventually close down and we start Importing again.
I would like to suggest our government to stop spoon-feed the industrialist. Our government should only ensure that there is no anomaly in policy, and duty drawback should be promptly made. Government may agree to give subsidy on Ker. gas to exporters for a ted period. But under no circumstances It should Interfere in working of Bangladesh Bank. 1 am surprised how the Governor of BB allows and acts on such directives of the government.
Recently our minister also confirmed that the government will give easy loans if our exporters have to compensate EU Importers by the recent cancel latlon of GSP certificate Is it fair? Is it equitable?
Abdul Khaliq 248. Jubilee Road Chittagong