Words & Bites

Several blog posts have been written in the recent months since the Sajek incident in CHT (Chittagong Hill Tracts) followed by two well-publicised fact finding reports. These reports also brought the Kalpana Chakma campaign in the forefront, once again, reviving her cause in the public domain. While activists are mobilising, organising, speaking for justice, the establishment decided to strike again. This week, five more activists including Alakesh Chakma and Ani Bikash Chakma have been picked up by “plain clothes” security personnel. No charges have been filed; no right to an attorney; no one even knows where they have been taken. They simply disappeared. [Update: according to one unverified report, they have been released after three days of detention in an undisclosed location]. Continue Reading »

This week we have seen the bizarre move of BSD (Bangladesher Samajtantrik Dal) leadership sitting in dialogue (Sanglap) with the military-controlled Caretaker Government placing demands for Constitutional reforms. A thoroughly inappropriate move which can only be compared to something as ridiculous and grotesque as asking Nizami-Mujahid to write a treatise on secularism.

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I just came across the news of a proposed European Union Directive which is going to be submitted before the European Parliament on 18 June 2008. This is the very first Directive subjected to the co-decision procedure seeking EU Parliament’s involvement in EU law making, which, quite ironically, was aimed at ameliorating the perceived democratic deficits in the European system. The Directive in question will be dealing with issues of deportation and detention of “illegal” immigrants.

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Without resorting to any research jargon let me start by saying that on a number of occasions I had the opportunity to talk to ‘microcredit’ borrowers. From them, I particularly wanted to know more about microcredit and its effects on their lives. Some of the stories they told, were both enlightening and disturbing. Strangely, these stories reminded me of Shylock, the vicious money lender in Shakespeare’s Merchant of Venice. This post is generally about Microcredit and its uncritical acceptance.

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This is an interesting piece on “responsibility to protect” type interventions under international law to deliver post-disaster emergency humanitarian assistance:

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[ ''আমার ব্লগ'' ওয়েবমাস্টার উত্থাপিত নীতিমালাবিষয়ক আলোচনার পরিপ্রেক্ষিতে ]

ওয়েবমাস্টার উত্থাপিত আলোচনার প্রতিক্রিয়ায় কিছু কিছু মন্তব্য পড়ে মনে হচ্ছিল–অধিক সরলীকরণের তোড়ে, আমরা মনে হয় একটু গুলিয়ে ফেলছি কিছু বিষয়। ‘নীতি’ এবং ‘নিয়ন্ত্রণ’ দু’টো ভিন্ন জিনিস । প্রথমটা সবসময়ই ইতিবাচক, অন্তত এতদিন তা-ই জানতাম । এটুকু তো মনে হয় বলা যেতেই পারে যে–‘নীতি’ থাকাটা অন্তত আর যা-ই হোক নেতিবাচক কিছু না। পরবর্তী বিষয়—অর্থাৎ ‘নিয়ন্ত্রণ’ নিয়ে কিছু বিতর্ক থাকলেও থাকতে পারে ; এবং সেই বিতর্কও, আমার বিশ্বাস—এর প্রয়োজনীয়তা নিয়ে নয়, প্রয়োগ-পদ্ধতি নিয়ে ।

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[by Zachary Sugg at World Resources Institute]

Skyrocketing food prices have triggered riots across the developing world and forced the world’s largest food aid agency to confront a $500 million deficit. The media are focused on short-term consequences, but there are also concerns about the long-term forecast for global food security, poverty, and hunger.

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[the post is written in first person as an open letter to the article author]

Dear Salahuddin,

I have recently read this Daily Star article of yours with interest. Otherwise an intriguing piece, I am somewhat at a loss on some of the points. I would only discuss three of them:

1.

You wrote about Generation-B enthusiastically but you did not tell us the values they actually stand for, or the kind of principles they adhere to. You see, “ideologies” or their “baggages” are not necessarily bad things. Nations moved, nations shaked, nations aspired–not always with mobile phones or laptops. For examples do please look at the emerging economies of the last few decades or you may want to go even a bit further back in the history. Just because someone carries a mobile phone and a laptop does not mean that you have a world leader in the making.
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Here is the link: www.genocidebangladesh.org

Our heartfelt congratulations to everyone involved in this mammoth initiative. A solid contribution indeed; one of the decisive early steps that would take us a long way towards justice for 1971. As said, it is a “continuing and collaborative” project. So in the end it is up to all of us to make sure that this archive excels.

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“The High Court giveth and the Appellate Division taketh away.”

This week, we observed how another decision of the High Court got over turned by the Appellate Division. We hear, a number of “rogue” benches in the High Court Division of the Supreme Court have become a constant source of embarrassment for the present Caretaker Government. In several recent high profile cases we have noted this cat and mouse game of control versus independence of the higher judiciary. This is how, critics say, the highest court of the country consistently upheld the Caretaker Government’s wishes in the end, in case after case. They quip - ‘the High Court (serving the Law) giveth and the Appellate Division (serving the Caretaker) taketh away.’ The interesting factor common to all these over turned decisions is that in each of them, “the Government always wins in the end.” Statistically, that is very odd.
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