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LAW week
Leaders join hands to fight terrorism
The 13th South Asian summit raised the curtain with the leaders of the Saarc countries agreeing to fight terrorism unitedly and take bold steps to promote regional economic cooperation. They promised to build a South Asia where political harmony and economic integration would be the cornerstones of development, prosperity and peace. The leaders also vowed to face the common challenges in order to realise the aspirations of the 1.5 billion people of the region. Four countries, including Bangladesh, so far have ratified the Additional Protocol to Saarc Regional Convention on Counterterrorism aimed at curbing financing of terrorism effectively. Prime Minister Khaleda Zia expressed the hope that the remaining three countries would expedite the ratification process so that the instrument could be enforced by the end of this year. In his speech, Indian Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh said no Saarc country should allow its territory to be used against the interests of another member country and there should be 'zero tolerance' for cross-border terrorism and harbouring of hostile insurgent groups and criminal elements. -- The Daily star, November 13.
Three major agreements signed
Saarc members signed three major agreements, all for facilitating intra-regional trade as the seven South Asian countries are going to launch a free trade area next year. The accords are Agreement on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Customs Matters, Agreement on Establishment of Saarc Arbitration Council, and Limited Multilateral Agreement on Avoidance of Double Taxation and Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters. Officials said the deals were struck at the state guesthouse Jamuna during the retreat of the Saarc heads of state or government. The foreign ministers of the member countries inked the agreements in presence of their heads of state or government. -- UNB, Dhaka, November 14.
BSF pushes in 21 Indians
Indian Border Security Forces (BSF) pushed in 21 Bangla speaking Muslims. BSF of Petroghar camp in Malda district pushed them into Bangladesh at pillar No 204 near Bhangabari BDR camp in Gomostapur upazila in Chapainawabganj. The pushed in people, including four children, seven women and 10 men, were collected from different areas including Delhi. The ejected people claimed they hailed from Bagerhat and Pirojpur districts, BDR sources said. The people would be pushed back soon, BDR official Lt Col Jahid Hasan said. -- The Daily Star, November 14.
JMB suicide bomber kills 2 judges
Outlawed Islamist outfit Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) has struck again, this time killing two senior assistant judges and wounding three people in a suicide bomb attack in Jhalakathi. The JMB operatives launched two attacks on judges and courts last month and vowed no respite in their attempt to force the judges to deliver judgements based on Islamic laws and until Islamic rule is established in the country.
Police arrested the bomber, JMB cadre Iftekhar Hasan Al Mamun, 28, who claimed him Mamun Ali, a member of the JMB suicide squad, and seized an unexploded bomb strapped to one of his thighs along with 24 leaflets of the banned organisation. The slain judges are Shaheed Sohel Ahmed, 35, senior assistant judge of Nalchhiti upazila, and Jagannath Pandey, 38, senior assistant judge of the Sadar upazila. The injured are Badsha Miah, 45, a milk trader, Abdul Mannan, 40, a peon of Jhalakathi Judge's Court. -- The Daily Star, November 15.
Islamists see court as biggest hurdle
Islamic militants have chosen to relentlessly attack the judiciary, as it is relatively easy to target the judges in the courtroom and upset the justice system, and also because they see the judiciary as the most obvious barrier to establishing Islamic rules, eminent lawyers and intelligence sources said. The deadly bomb attack on the Jhalakathi judges was the fourth in a row in which the court and the administrators of justice have been the prime target of the Islamic militants since the serial bomb blasts across the country on August 17. After the serial blasts, the militants threatened through a leaflet that they would be unrelenting in their efforts to establish Islamic rules. Investigators have no clear idea as to why the militants have chosen the members of the judiciary and the court premises as their targets of attack in pursuit of their goal. -- The Daily Star, November 15.
Gunmen for SC, HC judges
The government provided gunmen for the Supreme Court (SC) and High Court (HC) judges and tightened security at the Dhaka courts after two Jhalakathi judges were assassinated in a suicide bomb attack. The authorities, however, did not take any steps to ensure security of the lower court judges who asked for security after the brutal killing. The police department has admitted its inability to provide gunmen for all the judges at this moment. Bangladesh Judicial Service Association (BJSA), an organisation of judges, leaders met Chief Justice Syed JR Mudassir Husain and requested him to take steps for tightening security for all the judges across the country. The BJSA leaders said judges in the country are now under threat and unable to conduct the court proceedings fearing bomb attacks, sources said. -- The Daily Star, November 16.
London wants to fight terrorism with Dhaka
Visiting UK Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs Kim Howells MP said the British government wants to work together with Bangladesh to combat terrorism.
Emerging from a meeting with Foreign Minister M Morshed Khan, the British minister told the diplomatic correspondents that "killing of two judges in Bangladesh by terrorists is certainly a big signal for all of us and we must think it deeply and work relentlessly to defeat the terrorists." Replying to a question, he said the British government has been assisting Bangladesh police and will further provide skills development and efficiency enhancement training so that police here can tackle the terrorists. When asked whether the Bangladeshi government failed to contain the terrorists, Kim Howells said, "I don't think the government has failed because terrorism is now a trend and many countries of the world came under terrorist attacks. The terrorists hate democracy and the rule of law and thus want to jeopardise democratic atmosphere”. -- The Daily Star, November 16.
Panicked judges threaten to cripple judiciary
Bangladesh Judicial Service Association (BJSA), an organisation of judges, threatened to paralyse the judiciary if any more judges are killed or injured by the militants. "If another judge is injured or killed, we'll cripple the judiciary, one of the three main organs of the state," BJSA Secretary General Rezaul Karim Khan said at a meeting of the judges and magistrates with Communications Minister Nazmul Huda. The first attack was made on courts three months ago but the government did not take any safety measures, said Khan, also the Dhaka divisional special judge. "Had the government taken effective measures, the two judges would not have to die," he said, referring to the killing of two senior assistant judges in a suicide bomb attack by Islamist militants in Jhalakathi on November 14. "It seems the country has no government," he observed. The communications minister, who attended the meeting as the in-charge of Dhaka district, said: "The government is not taking the issue of bomb attacks lightly, all the perpetrators will be dealt with a strong hand...I'll take the matter to the prime minister." -- The Daily Star, November 17.