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Bangladesh to be 3rd in league table of death penalty

Bangladesh will be catapulted to third in the league table of death penalty countries, behind Iran and China if the executions of 152 border guards to death over ‘2009 mutiny’ are carried out, a process that was slammed by Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, amongst others. In young and developing democracies like Bangladesh, the imprisonment of dissenting voices is commonplace, but not unsurprising. Yet it is the incendiary act of executing high-level opposition leaders before an election which risks plunging Bangladesh into turmoil. Criticism of legal processes aside, it is this challenge to the very fundamentals of a modern democracy that must concern all.

LBA to be tabled to credit ‘India-friendly Hasina Govt’

The Indian UPA government led by Congress is learned to have got the BJP’s support for tabling the bill related to the Land Boundary Agreement (LBA) with Bangladesh in the winter session of parliament beginning on Thursday, signalling its intent to Dhaka to go ahead with the landmark pact. However, the bill is unlikely to be taken up for ratification, with the BJP making it clear that the government will have to explain its political limitations to Bangladesh, reports The Indian Express on Monday. Quoting reliable sources the daily said the bill will be introduced in the Rajya Sabha so that it remains alive in the new parliament after the general election. The BJP, it is learned, has come around to the view that this is how far it can go in an election year, although it is not ...

Current levels of violence deeply shocking: UN rights chief

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay urged the Bangladesh political leaders on both sides to stop political violence and their ‘destructive brinkmanship’. “Whatever their differences, political leaders on both sides must halt their destructive brinkmanship, which is pushing Bangladesh dangerously close to a major crisis,” Pillay said in a statement issued from Geneva on Sunday. Instead, she said, they (political leaders) must fulfill their responsibility and use their influence to bring this violence to an immediate halt and seek a solution to this crisis through dialogue. The statement came at a time when the...

Pol violance hampers export-import thru’ Dhaka-Chittagong highway

The Dhaka- Chittagong highway has turned into a mostly violated and risky route due to hartals and continuing demonstration which covers the country’s 80 per cent export and import. The business leaders of different organisations once again urged to the political leaders to keep free from all kind violence on Dhaka-Chittagong highway to sake supply chain undisturbed of the country. Voilance in Dhaka-Chittagong highwayBangladesh earned $28 billion from exporting the apparels sector, wher...

HC issues rule on ‘No Vote’

Responding to a public interest litigation (PIL) writ petition, the High Court (HC) on Sunday issued rule asking the government and the Election Commission to explain why they should not be directed to bring amendment to the Representation of the People Order (RPO) to reintroduce the provision for ‘no’ vote. After a brief hearing on the PIL writ petition filed by two lawyers — Shahriar Majid and Rokanuddin M Faruq — an HC division bench comprising Justice Mirza Hossain Haider and Justice M Khurshid Alam issued the rule, which is returnable in two weeks. High Court

People lead to streets if political compromise delayed: Biswal

US Assistant Secretary for South and Central Asian Affairs Nisha Desai Biswal has said the delay in reaching a consensus on a framework for an interim government to oversee the next election may push Bangladeshi citizens to take to the streets to express their frustrations. “The longer the two sides cannot agree on a framework for an interim government to oversee the next election, the more likely Bangladeshi citizens will take to the streets to express their frustrations,” she wrote in her Nov-15 (op-ed) write-up ‘Fighting for Democracy in South Asia: The Great Debate ’. bishwal