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LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
letters@thedailystar.net
SAPA for Adilur's immediate release The Solidarity for Asian Peoples' Advocacy (SAPA), a network of regional and national civil society organisations in the region, expresses its disappointment and frustration over the detention of Adilur Rahman Khan, the Secretary of our member-organization, Odhikar.
We cannot help but notice that his arrest and detention came after his organisation, Odhikar, released a report implicating the Bangladeshi security forces in the deaths of dozens of Islamist protesters in May of this year. This clearly shows that the action taken by the Bangladesh government is meant to instill fear among human rights defenders in the country. There is no way to interpret his arrest other than as an attempt to silence the government's critics and stifle dissent.
We join the calls of international human rights organisations and other regional and national civil society groups in the region for the immediate and unconditional release of Mr. Khan as his arrest and continued incarceration has no basis at all. Odhikar and Mr. Khan only wanted the truth to come out when they released the report.
Inaction over the case of Mr. Khan will only add to the already tarnished image of Bangladesh in the international stage. If Sheikh Hasina wants peace and stability ahead of the national elections, she should release Mr. Khan and provide a safe environment for activists and human rights defenders who want to engage in the political debate in the country.
Mr. William Gois (Migrant Forum in Asia) Ms. Dorothy Grace Guerrero (Focus on the Global South)
Ms. Clark Militante (Focus on the Global South) SAPA
Article 70 stifles democracy
The headlines of UK's dailies on August 29 went like this: Cameron loses parliamentary vote on Syria. I am longing for the day when our newspapers will print a headline that goes like: PM loses parliamentary vote. I would rather consider it a landmark victory for our democracy. Alas, I will never be able to see it since our MPs are not allowed to vote against their party position. Article 70 of our constitution forbids that. Those who fail to comply with this article run the risk of losing their membership in parliament.
You cannot have democracy and at the same time have this undemocratic article in the constitution. How could we call it Westminster type of democracy? What we actually have is a mockery of democracy. You will not find another country in the world where its PM and opposition leader are locked in a quarrel about uprooting each other's hair, either by pulling or by blowing. Our people deserve better.
Dr. Kamrul Hassan
Professor
Department of Physics
Dhaka University
Rabindra Kacharibari being grabbed
I have gone through a report published in TDS on September 2 titled "Encroachments spoil Rabindra Kacharibari." The report reveals that Rabindra Kacharibari is no longer safe from the hands of greedy encroachers who have already built a cloth market in front of the heritage site and are hoping to expand the market to accommodate more shops. Making such an infrastructure near a heritage site goes against the law of Bangladesh. Not only Rabindra Kacharibari but almost every heritage site is under the threat of extinction today. Recently, I visited the Panam city. I noticed many families were living in the old buildings. The government must show zero tolerance to the grabbers; otherwise, our heritage sites will be lost soon. We have the laws to protect our heritage sites; all we need now is the implementation of the laws.
Md. Abir Hossain
Department of English
Government Titumir College Dhaka
Comments on news report, "Crisis to deepen," published on September 4, 2013
Abul Kashem
There's no denying the fact that the situation is going from bad to worse day by day due to the whim and ego of our politicians.
Nasirullah Mridha, USA
The political hurly-burly is in the offing. Hasina would not budge from her stubborn stance and Khaleda would not give up anything unchallenged. Obviously the outcome is deep crisis.
S. M. Iftekhar Ahmed
Can you expect anything different when you vote the same old outdated and stubborn leaders to power who value their own egos more than the well-being of the country?
Manjur Rahim
Between the two women, the incumbent PM is more responsible for the country's present situation.