Legal action against Khaleda logical, PM tells JS

Star Online Report

Prime Minister and Leader of the House Sheikh Hasina is speaking in the Parliament House during the fifth session of current government. Photo: STAR

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today said it would be logical to take legal actions against BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia for killing people through giving orders.
"She [Khaleda] has been giving orders to kill people from her Gulshan office without going back to her residence. People have been burnt alive at her [Khaleda] directive," she said during a question-answer session of the PM in the parliament.
"So it will be logical to bring Khaleda Zia to book as an accused of giving order to kill people. The law enforcing agencies are scrutinising the matter and they will take legal actions in this regard," she said adding that law will take its own course.
Hasina, also leader of the house said, so far the BNP chief has killed 30-40 people in the name of blockade and several hundreds of people ahead of the January 5 elections in the name of foiling the polls.
Seeking countrymen's assistance in combating ongoing violence and anarchy, the premier urged them to nab the blockaders and hand over them to police. She also urged them to alert the law enforcement agencies about any subversive activities to help saving public lives and properties.
Saying the government is committed to maintain law and order situation of the country, the prime minister firmly told the House that any bid to create chaos by the BNP-led 20-party alliance would be contained with iron hand.
"When we are taking the country forward in all sphere, the BNP chief has started killing people again in the name of movement,” she said adding that the Islam even does not support killing people through arson.

Posing a question, the Leader of the House said it was not understandable why Khaleda started killing of general people. “Their [BNP's] barbarous activities overshadowed the brutality of the Pakistani occupation forces in 1971,” she said posing a question, “What kind of politics is this? Are those people who are involved in such brutality a human being?”
Responding to another lawmaker's question, the premier said the BNP-Jamaat had been carrying out mayhem being afraid over the development activities of the government.  
She said that the government had been trying to keep the situation normal through deploying police, Rab, BGB and Ansar battalions.
The leader of the House also mentioned that the government has been providing all out assistance to help the blockade victims.

Tk 1 lakh reward for capture of anarchists

Star Online Report

This collected photo taken on January 14 shows alleged supporters of the blockade torching a vehicle on Dhanmondi Road-27 in the capital while the driver tries to start the engine and get away.

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Tk 1 lakh will be given as reward for anyone who can help in arrest of those involved in subversive activities, a minister said today in wake of violence caused during the BNP-led 20-party alliance’s countrywide nonstop blockade. “We will give Tk 1 lakh as reward if anyone can help the law enforcement agencies to arrest the anarchists red handed,” Industries Minister Amir Hossain Amu said today after chairing a cabinet body meeting on law and order situation of the country.
At least 26 people, 16 of whom were innocents, died in political violence throughout the country since the inception of the opposition alliance’s blockade that entered 16th day today.
Ruling party lawmakers had said tough measures would be taken to curb this violence. Meanwhile, paramilitary Border Guard Battalion (BGB) has already announced of shooting arsonists “for the sake of people’s security”.
In view of the current law and order situation sliding since the first anniversary of January 5 election earlier this month, a cabinet body meeting was held at the home ministry today.
After the meeting, Minister Amu briefed journalists and announced of the reward.
Amu, also a presidium member of the ruling Awami League, expressed grave concern over the current political situation and said that the practice of healthy politics is on the verge of obliteration if the prevailing trend is continued.

On a separate note, the minister said around 7,015 activists and leaders of the BNP and the Jamaat-e-Islami have been detained so far across the country for their alleged involvement with the recent occurrences of violence.
He alleged that the BNP-Jamaat alliance is running the practice of unhealthy politics by hiring troublemakers in exchange of money.
The political situation of the country heated up once again, a year after the January 5 elections since the start of this year with the 10th polls’ first anniversary – the day ruling Awami League labels as “democracy saving day” and the BNP as “democracy killing day”.
Though BNP chief Khaleda Zia is now apparently free from confinement, she declared that their agitation would continue for a fresh participatory polls under nonpartisan body.

‘Egypt, Palestine for banning orgs involved in terror acts’

Palestinian envoy denies saying anything like that

Unb, Dhaka Egypt and Palestine today urged the government to ban the organisations that are involved in terrorist activities in Bangladesh, said Foreign Minister AH Mahmood Ali today.
The foreign minister said this while talking to reporters after briefing diplomats from Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) countries and Saarc and Asean member states at the state guesthouse Padma.
Mahmood Ali also said the diplomats condemned the ongoing violence and arson attacks causing loss to public life and property, and sought an initiative to resolve the crisis but did not raise anything about the January-5 elections.
Talking to UNB at a programme, Palestinian Ambassador to Dhaka Shaher Mohammad said he did not say anything like banning any organisation. "No, no no, I didn’t say anything like this."
Shaher said he only urged for resolving the problem peacefully through discussion and laid emphasis on peaceful gathering and ensuring right to expression of views peacefully.
However, Egyptian Ambassador in Dhaka Mahmoud Ezzat said he did raise the issue at the meeting. "We’ve banned such terrorist organisations in our country because we are suffering. And yes, I did raise the issue. Parties which are committing terrorist acts should be banned. We expect the same from Bangladesh what we did in our country," he told the news agency.
Diplomats from the OIC member countries, including Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, Qatar and Bahrain attended the briefing.
State Minister for Foreign Affairs M Shahriar Alam and Foreign Secretary M Shahidul Haque were present.
On Wednesday, the foreign minister briefed the ambassadors from the European Union countries and the head of delegation of the European Union in Bangladesh on the current political situation.
He briefed the ambassadors of other European States-- Russia, Norway, the Holy See and Switzerland -- along similar lines on the same day separately.
The foreign minister briefed another group of diplomats, including the United States, China, Japan, South Korea and North Korea on Monday.
The foreign minister upheld government position regarding current political situation apart from drawing attention about ongoing violence and arson attacks reportedly carried out by BNP-Jamaat alliance, said a source close to the meeting.
The briefing is part of the foreign minister’s regular consultations with the ambassadors and heads of mission based in Dhaka.