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Who is the top terrorist?

An anti-war South Korean angry protester held a placard saying, "Bush is No. 1 Terrorist". (25/06/2004, DS international page). The US Senate Judicial Committee recently published its initial report that there was no relation between al-Qaeda and former Iraqi dictator president Saddam Hussain's government before the 9/11 attack on the Twin Towers or later. Mr. Bush got another jolt before, when a report said, "There were no Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) at the disposal of the Saddam government." So it is clear now like the blue sky that President Bush started a war based on a fallacious dossier. For this, The Washington Post, the renowned daily, recently published an editorial requesting Mr. Bush to apologize to the whole Yankees for his so-called war on terrorism! But Mr. Bush is not convinced. When will he realise that he has committed a grave blunder?

Md. Zillur Rahman

Gandaria, Dhaka

Shocking indeed!

We used to appreciate the attitude of the BNP law-makers, we praised Begum Khaleda Zia for her restrained utterances while Sheikh Hasina always disappointed us with her choice of words.

But recently Salahuddin Quader Chowdhury shocked us by his remarks which he made after

returning from the OIC summit. Those deplorable words are damaging to the image of the BNP, we hope Prime Minister Khaleda Zia will advice her party men to be restrained in their behavior; otherwise her party will lose the respect it used to have.

There is a quotation which is very enlightening, it says, "You behave with others courteously not because they are gentlemen but because you are one." I think everyone should remember it.

Nur Jahan

Khaled Road ,Chittagong

A neglected road

Nurer Chala is a densely populated area. It is situated just behind US Embassy's Ware House and Japanese School on Pragati Sarani. Nurer Chala is under Badda Thana and Bhatara Union. The nearest area is Baridhara J Block. The People of Nurer Chala are suffering a lot due to the bad road, which connects it with Pragati Sarani. This year with the advent of rainy season the sufferings of people have crossed all limits. It is because the municipality & Baridhara (J Block) authorities are treating Nurer Chala main road as a drain. The Khilbarir Tek area and J Block's main drain has ended on the Nurer Chala Road. As such a huge quantity of water is coming down to the Nurer Chala Road. Due to this, the local people are suffering.

People of Nurer Chala on several occasions tried to draw the attention

of the concerned departments of the government. But the response was very negligible. The government should immediately redress the problems of Nurer Chala which are causing a great deal of trouble to the local people and also to the foreigners living around the place.

Md. Masum Dhaka-1212

The campus dilemma All regimes are very keen on the development of education at all levels. The effort is very much visible, in the budget, and at the stone-laying foundation ceremonies. There is not enough publicity (for awareness) on the investment return.

How to count the political systems losses in the education system (at the higher tiers)? Combine it with the systems losses in our political culture, and the resulting scenario is grim. The net balance is positive or negative?

That is the political side. There are other unethical activities. How far the current degrees are for ornament rather than knowledge? The various aspects of the social environmental pollution in the campus have to be analyzed more deeply, as the long-term implications have far-reaching negative cumulative effects. But are the political masters listening? Good politicians are also good listeners.

But what is happening in the background : the subtle political indoctrination at the university level? Even the teachers fall willingly into the trap, presuming some sort of freedom. The affected students (the student bodies of the political parties) are making their presence felt in the campus (and outside) in a strong positive way. Is political approach to life the end goal of higher education? It is a monstrous thought!

Education is also a tool for discrimination, integrity, and discretion. Other rising new nations are also passing through similar phases. What are we learning from the global situations?

The philosophical outcome is disturbing there is no market for neutral observers and analysis. Is it inferiority complex, or market opportunism? Earn one's living by the sweat of the brow, or browbeat others into submission? We are weak in monitoring, and afraid of pointing out the negative implications. The syndrome is not new please the government! These lines are a Preamble to the Introduction of the massive report in the pipeline(?), which would be ceremoniously archived for nonachievement!

A Mawaz Dhaka.

Deaths in debris

It was 3:50 am. All the members of households were asleep at the building no 81 in Shankharibazar. Suddenly a big bang, as loud as thunderbolt, broke their sleep and resulted in a chunk of debris with 18 dead bodies within a few minutes. This is a brief picture of the tragic event occurring on June 9, 2004. Who will take the responsibility of these deaths ? Why the two government bodies, Rajuk and Dhaka City Corporation (DCC) are accusing each other for the tragedy? Ultimately, all responsibilities go to the two government institutions because of their paying no attention towards the dilapidated buildings in Old Dhaka. Newspapers say that there exists 32 buildings that are highly vulnerable among 142 buildings in Shankharibazar alone, and they may collapse any time. Notwithstanding this vulnerability, the two institutions do not possess any specific lists of these high-risk buildings. On the other hand, due to lack of space, most of the owners of old buildings built up more structures on the rooftops of buildings in an unplanned way. Moreover, some officials of the two institutions reportedly received bribe from the

owners for not taking action against the vulnerable buildings. These are the main reasons for which the cavein resulted in 18 people getting buried under the giant piles of debris. Following the

Shankharibazar tragedy, Rajuk and the DCC should identify highly vulnerable buildings and demolish them immediately. As per the identification, the government should take immediate corrective measures for ensuring compliance with the safety regulations and the building code.

Sadik Mahmud Shobuy

University of Dhaka

Post-budget thoughts For the last few years, I have been watching the phenomena of post budget criticism. There is a group of intellectuals who could go deep into a budget's pros and cons when the budget presentation was not even half way through. This we observed recently when our finance minister was presenting his budget. These intellectuals have a very wide coverage through newspapers & TV and, as such, they have a great impact on the general public. I fail to understand how the labour of a whole team of the ministry working for months together could not foresee what these intellectuals grasped within hours. To make a long story short, I propose to our finance minister to employ these few intellectuals on a contract basis for a few months for assisting in preparing a flawless budget acceptable to all, including the critics. This will not only help the ministry but also the people of Bangladesh who find themselves in a dilemma as whom to believe and what to believe. We don't want to be dragged into despair as the help of a few intellectuals can assist the ministry towards presenting an acceptable budget.

Here I exclude the criticism by the opposition parties because they are mandated for constructive criticism of the party in power.

I hope the finance minister will consider my proposal.

Mohammed Alauddin, Dhaka

Bangladesh in doldrums

After securing a record first place for consecutive three years as the most "corrupt state" enrolling itself as a "suspected terrorist state," failed state, state of disgrace, our country has added another new feather to its cap, ( the news covered by DS, 16-06-04).

Bangladesh has been blacklisted for failing to adequately fight women trafficking. It has opened the way for possible sanctions.

After all these adjectives going to our credit, can we consider ourselves as a self-respecting nation? Is this the end result of our

liberation war which we proudly consider the biggest, the brightest and the most precious jewel in our crown of national achievements?

Where do our leaders want to take us through their confrontational politics, practised by them in the name of so-called democracy? Our two major political parties fight and invite foreign diplomats to settle matters involving internal affairs of our state. Don't you think it's a disgrace for a sovereign country to let outsiders meddle into the affairs of our state, unheard of in the annuals of any other sovereign country in the world? Where is the conscience of our nation? What answer do we have for the posterity?

CF Azim

Gulshan, Dhaka

Spurious sovereignty!

Sovereignty is the supreme power of

the state as well as the will of the nation organized in that very state. But surprisingly the US-UK coalition has undermined its significance providing 'fabricated' sovereignty to Iraq in the name of handing over power to the Iraqi government two days before the stipulated 30 June deadline. Such instant disposal of power strikes my mind with some queries.

Is Iraq actually sovereign now? The answer relates to internal and external aspects of sovereignty. Internal sovereignty means having the absolute authority to command and enforce obedience over all individuals or associations within the state. In fact, the Iraqi government

neither has unitary control over security agencies that is to say coalition forces in driving operations against guerrilla attacks, nor in oil management and its export. Prompt disposal of power is nothing but Bush's political strategy to regain his lost popularity, eyeing the ensuing presidential election. Fear of huge coalition casualties and having a diplomatic win by getting logistic support from NATO leaders are other reasons behind the handing over of 'sovereignty' . Experts believe that the early hand-over was planned to deprive the Iraqi authorities of having unitary control over the coalition forces.

Although the main task of the Iraqi government is to represent a united and reconstructed nation, it has to confront with two-fold challenges namely, US-UK pressure and guerrilla attacks. The US is just playing experimental games with

executive, legislature and judicial organs of Iraq, imposing its own style of democracy which would most probably start with martial law (!) State administration is always a sensitive issue in Iraq due to political, social, religious, economic and geographical perspectives of the Middle East. Freedom loving Iraqis will never tolerate direct or indirect foreign interference veiled under so called sovereignty. It is the Iraqi people who have the right of determining what form of government they want in their country. Plebiscite is the best method of determining public opinion that can be held on consensus among Shias, Sunnis, Kurds and other

communities. And this plebiscite must be held under the supervision of UN peacekeepers that can only ensure a smooth atmosphere, not coalition forces. Otherwise, bloodshed will continue in Iraq year after year.

Md. Al Amin Sagar Dept. of Law, DU

Beheading of humans

I felt ashamed and greatly shocked when I saw the scene of Norman Berg being beheaded and Kim Sun crying out loud in vain to beg for his life. As usual in this world of heartless executions, nothing could stop their inevitable deaths. The head of the US government didn't care for thousands of Norman Bergs and Johnsons when he waged the war and the Koreans too did nothing but being deaf and blind when Kim screamed for his life. Their excuse was that they would not negotiate with the 'terrorists'. I wonder, whether they could do the same if President Bush's daughter or children of the Korean prime minister had been captured in place of Berg or Kim. I guess in that case it would have been a completely different story. These world leaders are no less emotionless than those who commit crimes in the name of religion. As a member of the Muslim community, I express my uttermost grief and sympathy to the families of the people who had become victims of extremism in the name of Islam. I feel sorry that our civilization is not mature enough to create a better world full of humane values and compassion. The ruthless creatures that behead human beings do not know that by beheading innocent men they are beheading one of the core principles of Islam, and that principle is--'Respect for humanity'.

KH. Assff Safa Kabir Upal Lalmatia,Zakir Hossain Road Dhaka 1207

Target of world politics?

Bangladesh was defeated in OIC, it is believed, due to its wrong candidate selection. Mr. SQ Chowdhury is known for his irrational talks and again he showed his performance. Whatever he said about Sheikh Hasina and S. Gupta should be condemned . He termed Turkey's win a victory of Zionists . It was a conspicuous violation of international norms.

Some analysts say that the wrong candidate selection is the principal reason behind our defeat in OIC. But I do believe that Bangladesh is a fresh target of dirty world politics. Presummit incidents at home and abroad support my impression. Mr. Bush's promise was half-fulfilled because he was only able to conquer Iraq and Afghanistan. According to his previous comments Syria, Iran, Libya and North Korea are the next states to be attacked. Libya made a compromise. On the other hand, N. Korea is on the way of compromising. So, the next five or ten years are going to be crucial according to the developments of world politics. Capitalist America and the Zionist groups, who knows, may have made attempts to retain control over the OIC.

We have to realise that nothing is circumstantial or incidental in the world of international politics.

So, I would like to say that Bangaldesh's candidate selection was wrong. But it is not the only and principal reason for our defeat. Rather, our long cherished desire was slaughtered under the heavy blade of world politics like a "guillotine".

Rizwan-ul Huq,

Department of English, Khulna University.