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LAW week
Tac asks 11 govt officials to return I k 5.69cr The Truth and Accountability Commission (Tac) has ordered 11 government officials as of September 2 to deposit to the state exchequer about Tk 5.69 crore, which they voluntarily admitted before the commission to having amassed by illegal means.
Sources said eight more government staff confessed to the Tac to having amassed illegal wealth worth ovcrTk 1 crore.
They include former divisional forest officer of Chittagong Zafrul Hasan, a project director and a deputy project director of Chittagong Port Authority, a sub-registrar of the registry department, and a former chiefenginccr of Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority.
Tac Chairman Justice Habibur Rahman Khan said the 11 absolution seekers are officials of the Roads and Highways Department, a subregistrar from registry department and a chief engineer of Sylhet City Corporation. I Ie, however, did not disclose their names and the details of their ill-gotten wealth. - The Daily Star, September 04,2008.
Power-loom workers go on rampage, set ablaze 12 cars
Hundreds of power-loom workers in Narsingdi forced into Chouala Palli Bidyut Samity-2 compound in protest at frequent power cuts, setting 12 vehicles on fire and damagingother valuables morning.
Around 700 workers rampaged through the power office at about 5:00am as production disruptions due to frequent power outages affected their wages, witnesses said.
The workers had been demanding uninterrupted power supply for the last two months. Earlier on August 24, they laid siege to the power office and put up barricades on Dhaka-Sylhet Highway to press home their demand, sources said.
Locals joined in vandalism in protest at load shedding during sehri, iftar and tarabi namaaj. The police later brought the situation under control.
Witnesses said around 250 locals first went to the REB office around 8:45pm demanding smooth supply of electricity. Later, abouj 3,000 Muslim devotees and locals joined the demonstration around 9:30pm and went on the rampage. - The Daily Star, September 04,2008.
National HR Commission launched
The government set up the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) which would investigate human rights violations and advise the government on the enforcement of international human rights covenants.
The law ministry issued a gazette notification bringing the NHRC into effect. The NHRC will have a chairman and two members. One of the three will be a serving or retired Supreme Court judge.
The NHRC will investigate reports or complaints of human rights violations, negligence of human rights, and maintain the standards of prisons or correction facilities. It will mediate between disputing parties if necessary.
The commission will also review the constitution and the legal system to find human rights violation loopholes and if necessary suggest improvements to the government
The NHRC will also research and set out the implementation of international human rights covenants and whether local laws are consistent with international human rights agreements. All human rights NGOs and their operations will also be coordinated by the NHRC. -The Daily Star, September02,2008.
Amnesty to work little for lack of ID papers The irregular Bangladeshis without proof of identification in Kuwait will not be able to take advantage of the 45: day amnesty announced Sunday for illegals there.
Shahriar Kader Siddiky, labour counsellor of the Bangladesh embassy in Kuwait, said, “We can provide temporary travel documents for an illegal against copy of his passport, civil ID or bank card. But it's not possible to do anything without those.”
The unscrupulous visa traders taking away passports or civil IDs from the migrant workers has become commonplace in many Middle Eastern countries.
They do it in collusion with employers to force the workers to toil for wages way less than what their job contracts pledge, according to labour watchdogs.
Of around 2.5 lakh Bangladeshis in Kuwait, several thousands are believed to be illegals.
Siddiky said the Bangladesh embassy has started receiving applications seeking temporary travel documents. It has been deluged with calls from irregular Bangladeshi workers enquiring about the amnesty.
He added that the embassy is working to set up a counter for amnesty seekers. Besides, it will soon start leafleting labour camps, urging Bangladeshis to take advantage of the amnesty. -The Daily Star, September02,2008.
Call for saving hills
Hillside settlements in Chittagong have to be protected from recurrent landslides through immediate implementation of the protective measures recommended by experts at different times, speakers at a roundtable in the port city said.
They said a legal structure and planning policy are needed for proper management of the hills and called for assigning a body to take care of their implementation.
The Daily Star Chittagong office organised the discussion on Challenges of Development: Hill-Cutting and Landslide, at the Institution of Engineers Bangladesh (IEB), Chittagong. Engineers, architects, academics, government officials, journalists and NGO representatives took part in the discussion, moderated by The Daily Star Editor MahfuzAnam.
The speakers said stopping hill-cutting and preventing killer landslides are the two major development challenges for Chittagong and called for political commitment, proper enforcement of the law and good governance in this regard. -The Daily Star, August31,2008.
S Asian climate change network a must to combat challenges
The International Symposium on Climate Change and Food Security in South Asia in its Dhaka Declaration has recommended creating South Asian Network on Climate Change and Food Security and establishing South Asia Climate Outlook Forum to combat challenges of climatic changes in the region collectively.
The five-day symposium that concluded at Hotel Sonargaon in the capital also emphasised the need for stimulating multidisciplinary research on the burning issue and identifying effective mitigation and adaptation options, including carbon sequestration in different ecosystems. The programme was jointly sponsored by Ohio State University, World Meteorological Organisation (WMO), Food and Agriculture Organisation, UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, Dhaka University and the Bangladesh government. Around 250 participants from 17 countries attended the event.
The symposium suggested developing innovative financial mechanisms to scale up technical and financial support for the adaptation efforts of the South Asian countries and strengthening regional institutional and policy mechanisms to promote and facilitate implementation of location-specific adaptation and mitigation practices.
The Declaration says, “Climate Change and Food Security in South Asia Network and South Asia Climate Outlook Forum both to be maintained by the WMO will share information on management of climate change and related science, data, tools and methodologies in South Asia." -The Daily Star, August 31,2008.
Source Human Rights Watch
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