SAJAforum

BANGLADESH: Another Musharraf Could Emerge, says Christian Science Monitor

Selig Harrison's recent piece in the Christian Science Monitor infers that a new Musharraf could emerge-- in Bangladesh--as its military ruler Gen. Moeen U. Ahmed organizes a new army-controlled political party to challenge two secular parties in the upcoming elections in December. 

But the concern does not simply revolve around the idea of another Musharraf. It also lies within the notion that the United States has failed to press Gen. Ahmed for a crackdown on Islamist terrorist groups like Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami, whose leader Fazlur Rehman Khalil is quoted as one of the six signatories of Osama bin Laden's first declaration of holy war against the United States.

While the CIA and the Pentagon search in vain for Osama bin Laden in the mountains of Pakistan, an Al Qaeda affiliate has been quietly building up terrorist bases in the jungles of Bangladesh under the protective aegis of a new military regime in Dhaka allied with Islamist forces.<snip>

Bush administration officials privately endorse mounting Indian evidence that Bangladeshi Harkat agents spearheaded a series of terrorist attacks in India. But the US has conspicuously failed to press Bangladesh's military ruler, Gen. Moeen U Ahmed, for a crackdown on Harkat and for the removal of highly placed intelligence officials with Islamist ties.      

General Ahmed staged a bloodless coup in January 2007, forcing a figurehead president to give him emergency powers. He has pledged to hold elections in December and return power to a civilian government. The Bush administration, while formally urging him to hold the elections on schedule, has so far ignored his increasingly blatant efforts to rig them.<snip>

By its silence in the face of Ahmed's power grab, Washington is signaling that it sees little hope of ending military rule. But it is much too soon to write off the prospects for democracy in Bangladesh, where almost everyone was politicized during the independence struggle against Pakistan. Since then, three free elections have been held, and two previous military regimes have proved to be short-lived.

Read the entire piece here.

Thoughts, folks? Please post them below.

SURVEY: South Asian countries not too happy, survey finds

Bangladesh, India and Pakistan ranked 64th, 68th and 81st in the latest World Values Survey published by the United States National Science Foundation which surveyed people from 97 countries to discover who is happiest.

Denmark became the happiest country with a 4.24 mean score. The United States ranked 16th with a 3.55. 

Bangladesh scored 1, India scored 0.85 and Pakistan scored -0.30, a negative score which indicated "predominantly unhappy or dissatisfied publics."

Click here to see the full list(PDF version). Watch political scientist Ronald Inglehart talk about how economic growth, democratization and social tolerance lead to happiness.

Also, I should mention how Bhutan's Gross National Happiness Commission, which was the subject of a WSJ article this past March, is making an attempt to gauge its citizens' happiness and boost their morale as the country heads towards a new direction.

What country are you from and how would you rank your happiness? Post your comments below.

FOOD & DRINK: Al Jazeera on Brick Lane

Last week, Al Jazeera's "Street Food" show had a profile on Brick Lane, aka Banglatown, a long street in east London which has a big Bangladeshi community. This is the same street which became a subject for Monika Ali's novel and then a Sony Classics film starring Tannistha Chatterjee. Read SAJAForum post on the movie.

The information piece on YouTube reads:

Brick Lane, in the East End of the English capital, is a microcosm of the country's shifting ethnic patterns. Once the home of traditional fare, it is now the heartland of the city's Bangladeshi community. What are the future repercussions?

Watch the video below.

Part I

Part II

What did you think? Please post your thoughts below.

CONV: "Brick Lane" brings Bangladeshi slice of life to the scree

Tannishtha Chatterjee and Sarah Gavron are interviewed by SAJA's Aseem Chhabra after the screening.

Monica Ali's novel, "Brick Lane," the story of a Bangladeshi family in London's East End, has been made into a movie and it exposes audiences to an immigrant community rarely seen on screen.

The new experience isn't limited to the audience, though - neither director Sarah Gavron or lead actress Tannishtha Chatterjee are Bangladeshi. So it was a learning curve for them, too, they told the audience at a screening for the South Asian Journalists Association convention.

The screening on Thursday night at Columbia University marked the beginning of the 2008 SAJA Convention. The screening, courtesy of Sony Picture Classics, played to a nearly full house, and featured a special Q&A session hosted by Aseem Chhabra with Gavron and Chatterjee.

The movie is adapted from a book of the same name by Monica Ali. It weaves through the life of Nazneen, as she grows up, marries at 17, moves to London and raises a family.

 
This is British director Gavron’s first feature-length film, and she said she picked Brick Lane because of its wide appeal across cultures.

“At its heart, it’s a human story,” Gavron said.

BANGLADESH: Proclamations of Independence papers missing

The Bangladesh Proclamations of Independence documents that were drafted on behalf of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Bangladesh's first president, have reportedly gone missing.

These were the original handwritten documents, which served as its provisional constitution throughout the war.

The government has now handed photocopies to the national archive.

Please post your comments below.

BANGLADESH: Sheikh Hasina released to visit U.S. for medical treatment

An update from Bangladesh, via Drishtipat:

Sheikh Hasina Wajed, a former Bangladesh prime minister detained on corruption charges, was released to allow her to visit the U.S. for medical treatment. “She has been given eight weeks for the treatment to be done,” Fahim Monaem, a government spokesman, said by telephone from Dhaka today. “It can be extended depending on her situation.” Earlier today, Monaem had said all the legal matters were taken care of and an “executive order” for her release would be issued in a “day or two.”

Bangladesh’s military-backed government declared emergency rule after it took power in January 2007 and started an anti- corruption drive that resulted in the arrests of leading politicians, including Hasina and former premier Khaleda Zia.

An estimated 400,000 people were detained during the campaign, according to the Brussels-based International Crisis Group. Hasina, premier from 1996 to 2001, was charged with taking about $250,000 of illegal payments from a businessman while in power. She denied the allegations.

Post your comments, updates below.

PRESS FREEDOM: Self-censorship in Bangladesh?

Anyone following this debate around "self censorship" under Army-backed caretaker government (known as CTG) in Bangladesh? Post your comments, links below.

A May 23 op-ed in Dhaka's The Daily Star, by Abdul Hanna, a freelancer - "Freedom of the Press":

...it is remarkable that now there is no curb on press freedom in Bangladesh, although the country has been under emergency rule since the present caretaker government assumed power in January last year. It is important to note that it is for the first time in Bangladesh that there has not been a single instance of victimisation, persecution or harassment of journalists. It is unprecedented in a country under emergency rule.

The government has lived up to the assurance given by the Chief Advisor Dr. Fakhruddin Ahmed to the editors and representatives of the media in May last year, that the provision of the emergency power 2007 ordinance providing for restriction or punishment to errant press will not be applied to the media which enjoys full and unfettered freedom. He also wanted to see the national press play the role of a parliament, debating vital national issues in the absence of Jatiyo Sansad.

Here's a response in the Dhaka Shohor blog - "The Daily Star’s Lowest Point: Error-ridden, Dishonest Op-Ed Piece Takes Pot-shots at New Age":

I do not know what Mr. Abdul Hannan’s line of work is, but researching press freedom is hopefully not it, because he is liable to be fired. Someone writing about press freedom in Bangladesh, in one of its highest circulated newspapers, is expected to know the fundamentals of the subject.

Moreover, the editors who let this go to print should ensure that there are no factual errors in the piece. There is one glaring error that underpins this entire write-up. In the fourth paragraph, the writer says:

“However, it is remarkable that now there is no curb on press freedom in Bangladesh, although the country has been under emergency rule since the present caretaker government assumed power in January last year. It is important to note that it is for the first time in Bangladesh that there has not been a single instance of victimization, persecution or harassment of journalists. It is unprecedented in a country under emergency rule.”

Mr. Hannan most likely reads the Daily Star. Which is why he seems particularly unaware of what Mr. Tasneem Khalil of the same newspaper went through last May. Which is why he does not know about Mr. Jahangir Alam Akash and his broken legs.

But surely the editors at this newspaper know what happened to their own colleague last May if not about Jahangir Alam Akash! That they let this falsehood go to print reflects very badly on them as people, but that is not my judgement to make.

See other critiques of The Daily Star here.

We welcome comments from editors of the Star and other Bangladesh watchers.

NONPROFITS: Muhammad Yunus, Grameen Bank open an eye hospital

A big new project in Bangladesh. From the press release below:

The first Grameen Green Children Eye Hospital, projected to perform 50,000 eye examinations and 10,000 cataract operations annually, will be opened by 2006 Nobel Peace Prize laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus and the Honorable Adviser in Charge of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare in Bangladesh, at 4:00 PM on Monday, May 12. 

             The international pop music duo Milla Sunde and Tom Bevan of The Green Children raised $500,000 from donations and CD/DVD sales for the first eye hospital in Bangladesh.  The two talented musicians are committed to working to raise funds for a second eye hospital that will require a total of about $1 million to complete.

             The Grameen Green Children Eye Hospitals, modeled after the highly successful Aravind eye hospitals in India, will be structured as social business enterprises described in the new book by Professor Yunus, Creating a World without Poverty: Social Business and the Future of Capitalism.  The Aravind system in India currently performs 1.7 million examinations and 250,000 operations a year.

See the full press release and contacts below. Listen to SAJAforum's 2006 webcast with Prof. Yunus a couple of weeks before his Nobel victory. Post your comments below.

PHOTO FORUM: The Tragic Fibre, by Andrew Biraj

The SAJA Photo Forum presents the work of photographers covering South Asia and its global diasporas in order to highlight important but often overlooked stories.

The Tragic Fibre

Text and photographs © Andrew Biraj

“Our life is like the factory’s spare junk. No one needs us now,” says Mozammel Haque, a 58-year-old jute mill supervisor at the Platinum jute mill in Khulna, Bangladesh. By that time all of the three major jute mills of the country had been closed down due to unexpected lay offs. Like thousands of other laborers, Mozammel Haque has been fired after 32 years of service.

As the world's largest jute-producing country, Bangladesh accounted for a significant amount of global exports until the early seventies. But since the government closed down the Adamjee jute mill (the largest jute mill in the world), calling it "unprofitable" in 2003 following the prescriptions of IMF and the World Bank, the whole jute industry in Bangladesh began to collapse.

Mozammel Haque was fired under the new labour law which stipulates retirement age 57 instead of the previous 60, but he is yet to receive his retirement benefits. He sits at the machine where he worked  his entire life.

Bangladeshis are taught from childhood that jute is the key source of the economy. “The Golden Fibre” was something to be proud of in the developing nation.  But this vibrant trade has been mired in corruption and unprofitability, forcing the government to close it down.

In April 2007 the workers protested in the streets after the government shut down the Platinum and Crescent jute mills in Khulna. The workers of those mills still had several months' worth of wages pending.  Others were forced into what the military-driven interim government prefers to call "voluntary retirement." They have yet to be notified when their retirement benefits would be given.

PRESS FREEDOM: South Asian nations fail to solve journalists' murders

South Asian countries - Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan and India - are among the worst in the world at prosecuting the killers of journalists. A new report from the Committee to Protect Journalists, called the Impunity Index, only lists 13 countries, but it includes all the South Asian nations listed above, as well as Afghanistan, placing them in the company of Iraq (#1), Somalia (#3)and Sierra Leone (#2). India's press was praised as "one of the world's freest," but had 5 unsolved murders, making it a country where "politics and organized crime are dangerous stoies to cover."

More on the methodology:

CPJ’s Impunity Index, compiled for the first time this year, calculates the number of unsolved journalist murders as a percentage of the population in each country. CPJ examined every nation in the world for the years 1998 through 2007. Only those nations with five or more unsolved cases are included in this index. Cases are considered unsolved when no convictions have been obtained.

Some excerpts:

5. SRI LANKA

Fighting between government and separatist forces has long bled the nation. But journalists are more likely to be assassinated than to die in crossfire, with many of the victims ethnic Tamils. The victims include senior Tamil journalist Mylvaganam Nimalrajan, shot in his home in 2000. Nimalrajan’s murder is among eight unsolved cases here.

Impunity Index Rating: 0.408 unsolved journalist murders per 1 million inhabitants.

7. AFGHANISTAN

Despite the prolonged armed conflict in Afghanistan, journalists are more likely to be targeted for murder than to be killed in a combat situation. Seven cases are unsolved, including the 2007 slaying of local reporter Ajmal Naqshbandi. Running counter to the international trend, most victims have been foreign rather than local reporters.

Impunity Index Rating: 0.279 unsolved journalist murders per 1 million inhabitants.

BANGLADESH: Calls for war trials against Pak collaborators

Veterans of Bangladesh's 1971 war of independence from Pakistan are calling for war trials for other Bangladeshis. From the BBC:

Hundreds of the veterans who took part in the victorious war against Pakistan travelled to Dhaka to issue the call at the request of their former commanders. They say Bangladeshis who collaborated with Pakistani forces caused the deaths of thousands of civilians.

Many of those they want tried are politically influential figures. They include the leaders of Bangladesh's largest party , Jamaat-e-Islami - which at the time opposed the break-up of Pakistan.

To this day, the leaders of the party deny a war of liberation took place, rather calling it a civil war between Pakistanis.

Until 1971, Bangladesh was part of Pakistan, as it had been since the partition of India in 1947. India sent in troops and helped Bangladesh (East Pakistan at the time) achieve independence. More from The Daily Star:

Key points of the declaration include demand for setting up of a special war crimes tribunal by the state, involve international community and the United Nations in the process, boycott the war criminals and anti-Liberation War elements socially and politically and bar political parties of anti-liberation war forces from elections.

HUMAN RIGHTS: Bangladesh asked to tackle its torture problem

Releasing a 39-page report - "The Torture of Tasneem Khalil: How the Bangladesh Military Abuses Its Power Under the State of Emergency" - US-based Human Rights Watch has called upon what it called the 'reform-minded' Bangladeshi government and its donor countries to urgently tackle the endemic problem of torture.

From HRW:
The arbitrary arrest and torture of journalist Tasneem Khalil by Bangladesh’s notorious military intelligence agency highlights abuses under the country’s state of emergency and the interim government’s failure to restrain the security forces, Human Rights Watch said in a new report today.<snip>

At a detention center operated by the Directorate General of Forces Intelligence (DGFI), the military intelligence agency, officers brutally beat and threatened Khalil, a journalist for the English-language Daily Star, part-time consultant for Human Rights Watch, and a news representative for CNN. Demonstrating just how confident they are that they will not be held accountable, DGFI officials even brought Khalil to meet the editor of his paper before returning him to the detention center for further beatings.

I recommend reading the complete report here.

According to the report, some common forms of torture in Bangladesh include brutal practices such as burning with acid, hammering of nails into toes, drilling of holes in legs with electric drills, electric shocks, beatings on legs with iron rods, beating with batons on backs after sprinkling sand on them, ice torture, finger piercing, and mock executions.

PRESS FREEDOM: CPJ on Attacks on the Press in 2007 in South Asia

The year 2007 was not the best year for South Asian journalists. As we reported earlier, this was in fact the bloodiest year in South Asian history.

In his analysis, "Amid South Asian Conflict, Remarkable Resilience," CPJ's Asia Program coordinator Bob Deitz says that despite increased violence upon press in countries like Pakistan and Sri Lanka, news media are far from being daunted - instead they have done a remarkable job.

"The changes can be rapid, depending on leaders’ ambitions, the state of the economy, or a worsening security situation. But the media’s persistence, resourcefulness, and cohesion have often formed a bulwark against attacks.
<snip>
"Failed governments have come and gone. Their executives, legislatures, and judiciaries are easily and regularly corrupted, but South Asian journalists have persevered to uphold a higher ideal."

From the analysis, which is part of CPJ's Attacks on the Press in 2007:

Traffic is sparse during a late-night run to the Bandaranaike International Airport north of the Sri Lankan capital, Colombo. Because of insecurity caused by war between the Sinhalese-dominated government and Tamil separatists in the country’s north and east, the streets are given over to police and army checkpoints. On this September night, the air still foggy from the day’s monsoon, reporter Iqbal Athas rides in a rental car, on his way to catch a Thai Airways flight that would take him to Bangkok. An award-winning defense columnist for the English-language Sunday Times, Athas is leaving the country for his own safety: His recent reports on arms sales irregularities have drawn threats, harassment, and, on one occasion, an unruly mob of protestors outside his home. “The harassment and threats have come and gone in the past,” Athas says, “and I have to assume they will again.” He would return to Colombo in less than two weeks.

Here are the 2007 country summaries and press freedom reports on India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan and Burma.

Please post your thoughts below.

Earlier on SAJAforum:

• Afghani Journalist Faces Death Sentence for Blasphemy
• Nepali Journalist's Hand Cut Off
• Two Nepalese Dailies Disrupted by Maoists
• Cartoonist Jailed Over Mohammad Cartoons
  
• 25 Journalists Killed in South Asia During 2007 

PREZ RACE: The Question of Dynasties

Nicholas Kristof, New York Times op-ed columnist, tackles the question of dynastic politics - not in South Asia, but in the U.S.

If Hillary Rodham Clinton serves two terms, then for 28 years the presidency will have been held by a Bush or a Clinton. By that point, about 40 percent of Americans would have lived their entire lives under a president from one of these two families.

Wouldn’t that make our democracy seem a little, er, Pakistani?

Naturally, views on this are influenced by politics. Clintonians who dismissed George W. Bush as a dynastic puppet see nothing wrong with another Clinton in the Oval Office. On the other hand, Obama fans who shiver at the prospect of a Clinton dynasty bask in endorsements from an even greater dynasty, that of the Kennedys.
<snip>
We Americans snicker patronizingly as “democratic” Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Singapore, India and Argentina hand over power to a wife or child of a former leader. Yet I can’t find any example of even the most rinky-dink “democracy” confining power continuously for seven terms over 28 years to four people from two families. (And that’s not counting George H.W. Bush’s eight years as vice president.)

Read the rest of the piece. What do you think? Post your comments below.

BOOKS: Tahmima Anam's "A Golden Age"

Tahmima Anam is one of the few Bangladeshi writers to get a big U.S. debut novel. "A Golden Age" has been recently published to rave reviews in America and the U.K. (she's one of five finalists for the Guardian First Book Award). Here's an excerpt from a profile about her by Salil Tripathi in Tehelka:

While there have been three novels on the Bangladesh war written from an Indian perspective — Salman Rushdie's Midnight's Children, Amitav Ghosh's The Shadow Lines, and Rohinton Mistry's Such A Long Journey — where is the Bangladeshi voice that articulates the horrendous agony of that war, and the bittersweet ecstasy of that freedom?

Make way for Tahmima Anam, then. The remarkable thing about Anam's novel, A Golden Age, which is set to be a trilogy on the Bengal century, is that she was born four years after Bangladesh's independence. Anam comes from a politically active family — her father edits the Daily Star, and her mother runs a human rights NGO in Dhaka. As part of her PhD thesis in Harvard University's anthropology
department, she interviewed hundreds of people who had lived through the war — as soldiers, survivors, victims — to piece together an engrossing narrative that tells, for the first time to an international audience, how Bangladesh saw that tragic year.

She is in the midst of a U.S. tour (details below).

If you are interested in scheduling an interview with Anam or receiving a journalist's review
copy of "A Golden Age," please contact Jane Beirn - Jane.Beirn[at]harpercollins.com  - please note that she will only be able to respond to members of the working press and may not be able to handle the full load of requests. Tell her SAJA sent you.

The full note for journalists is below. Please post your comments, too. 

DESI SPOTTING: Young Bangladeshis on Newsweek International Cover

This is the cover of the Dec. 24, 2007, issue of Newsweek International. The photo caption reads: "Bangladeshi schoolchildren in Gaibandha district." The photo is by Rafiqur Rahman--Reuters/Corbis (click to magnify). It was kindly shared with us by Adolfo Valle, cover art director for the magazine.

It's quite a striking cover and the one that ran in the international editions. The "Good News" story that goes with the cover is here:

It seems things are as bad as they've been in recent memory. Except that if you look beyond temporal market fluctuations to how the real global economy is doing, things have never been better. For the past four years, the world has grown at a 5.2 percent annual rate—a full 2 percentage points higher than in the '80s and '90s—thanks in large part to booming emerging markets. While the United States and many parts of Europe are lagging, most of the rest of the planet is soaring. Consider that between 1980 and 2000, the number of countries growing at 5 percent or more hovered around 50. In 2006, 104 nations grew at that rate. When asked to think of a few countries besides China and India that have shown strong growth, World Bank economist Andrew Burns replies: "It's hard to think of somebody who hasn't." In fact, this year the economies of only three countries—Zimbabwe, Fiji and Tonga—are contracting. Two are highly isolated archipelagoes and the former is a hugely dysfunctional dictatorship. Harvard's Ken Rogoff, a former chief economist at the IMF, sums it up simply: "We're in a boom."

The U.S. edition ran a cover on John Edwards. Because the Bangladeshi cover did not run in the domestic edition, we are unable to add it to our collection of 130+ covers on major U.S. magazines featuring South Asia or South Asians (the international editions of Time and Newsweek regularly feature South Asia, so would be hard to keep track of!). Post your comments below.

Post your comments below.

CYCLONE: Ian Williams's Coverage on NBC

[ Learn how you can help victims of Cyclone Sidr in Bangladesh ]

One of the few American TV journalists fully covering the aftermath of Cyclone Sidr is Ian Williams of NBC News [full disclosure: because of my own work for NBC, I will stick here to the facts and few superlatives; for the record, I have never met Ian]. Read his blog post about what he's been seeing in the village of Kalika Bari.

Here are some of the video pieces he has filed for "NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams" (no relation, I presume!):

Time running out for cyclone survivors Nov. 25: Even though relief operations in Bangladesh continue around the clock, thousands are being left behind by the aid effort. NBC’s Ian Williams reports.

Bangladesh bridge collapses Nov. 24: A bridge in Bangladesh collapsed under the weight of thousands of cyclone victims stampeding toward a relief center for food. NBC's Ian Williams reports.

Desperate days in Bangladesh Nov. 21 - Thousands have been left homeless and without food in Bangladesh after a cyclone devastated the coast. NBC's Ian Williams reports.


Extent of Bangladesh disaster emerges Nov. 19: The death toll is rising in Bangladesh, as more victims have been found and millions have become homeless. Ian Williams reports.

Cyclone death toll rises Nov. 18: As a massive relief effort begins in Bangladesh, officials fear that the death toll could rise as high as 10,000. NBC’s Ian Williams reports.

Cyclone recovery faces challenges Nov. 17:  Recovery efforts are under way following Thursday's cyclone in Bangladesh, but there are enormous challenges. NBC's Ian Williams reports.

Direct hit in Bangladesh Nov. 15: A powerful cyclone slammed into southwest Bangladesh, endangering millions of people. Ian Williams reports.

Post your comments below.

 

CYCLONE: Helping Victims of Bangladesh Cyclone

The death toll continues to rise in the aftermath of last week's devastating Cyclone Sidr in Bangladesh (see SAJAforum's coverage). Below is a message we received from Moushumi Khan, a leading Bangladeshi American lawyer, who's getting a grad degree at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government.

Dear Friends,

Please forgive the mass email. By now you may have heard of the
devastating cyclone that has hit Bangladesh causing over 3,000 people
to lose their lives, and suffering to countless more.
http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/asiapcf/11/19/bangladesh.cyclone/

If you would like, please consider donating something towards the
relief efforts.

Here are some options:
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies: http://donate.ifrc.org/?navid=02_02

Save the Children - US: https://secure.ga4.org/01/bangladesh_cyclone_1107

Naeem Mohaeimen, a SAJAer, filmmaker and activist, who is one of our go-to folks for all things Bangladesh, has also sent in a suggestion:

Drishtipat is a source for various updates on Cyclone Sidr, and how people can help: http://www.drishtipat.org/blog/

The folks at BRAC have sent along some info, too, on how you can help.. You will find it below.

Meanwhile, Naeem also has some stats that should shame Americans into doing more to help:

During Hurricane Katrina, Bangladesh (pop: 140 million) offered to send $1 million to help the people of New Orleans.

After Sidr, USA (population: 300 million) has offered to send $2 million to help the people of southern Bangladesh.

UK offered $5 million. Saudis have offered $100 million

See BBC's Bangladesh Makes Fresh Aid Plea:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7102982.stm

Post your suggestions, news links and comments below.

CYCLONE: Death Toll Increases in Bangladesh Cyclone

A guest post by Columbia Journalism School student Anup Kaphle. Post your comments below.
See how you can help here.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Bangladesh is recovering from yet another natural catastrophe as Cyclone Sidr killed over thousands of people, brought down thousands of homes and forced over 650,000 people to evacuate from their houses in the southwest coast.

[As always with such stories, there's some inconsistencies in the death toll numbers. As of Sunday, Nov. 18, in New York, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation is reporting more than 10,000 deaths - quoting Bangladesh officials. The Associated Press, Bloomberg and others are citing 2,000 deaths.]

Some Bangladeshi bloggers from Chittagong and Dhaka are blogging about the cyclone reactions and experiences. Read the blogs here.

BBC reporter Alistair Lawson, who reported from Bhaupur, Bangladesh writes:

"Cyclones are not new to Bangladesh, but if the authorities are to be believed, they are now far less deadly."

CYCLONE: Bangladesh and India Hit by Cyclone

From AP/Yahoo:

Cyclone toll reaches 1,100 in Bangladesh
(UPDATE) DHAKA, Bangladesh - A cyclone that slammed into the coast
with 150 mph winds killed at least 1,100 people, isolating remote
towns and villages swamped by a storm surge or hemmed in by piles of
debris, aid workers and a Bangladeshi news agency said Friday.

Post your comments, updates, links, sources, below.

TV: PBS "Now" Special Report on Child Brides

A note from Yasmeen Qureshi, who works at "Now," a new magazine program on PBS, promoting a one-hour special report airing Friday, Oct. 12:

Imagine getting married before learning to read or write?

It's a reality for millions of young girls around the world, causing them irreparable emotional and physical damage. This week on NOW, senior
correspondent Maria Hinojosa travels to India, Guatemala and Niger to bring a special one-hour report on the harm child marriage is causing young girls.
AIRING FRIDAY OCTOBER 12th - check your local listings for air times. Check local listings:
http:/www.pbs.org/tvschedules/

See the website, which has a preview, additional resources, etc: http://www.pbs.org/now/shows/341/index.html

The  International Center for Research on Women, an advocacy group in Washington, is also publicizing the show.

To learn more about this issues and the current child marriage legislation before the U.S. Congress, visit our Web site.  We'll be in touch soon about specific action you can take to encourage the U.S. Congress to take a strong stand against child marriage.

ICRW is a private, nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the lives of women in poverty, advancing equality and human rights, and contributing to broader economic and social well-being.

POST YOUR COMMENTS BELOW.

Also linked off the site is a Sept. 2007 story by the Washington Post's South Asia bureau chief, Emily Wax, about Bangladesh: Bangladeshi Child Star Hopes Life Will Mirror Art.

BANGLADESH: Rolling Shutdown Of Media In Wave of Censorship Orders

The censorship crisis in Bangladesh continues to get worse, with the arrest of a cartoonist this week over a play on the name Mohammed just being another milestone (see our previous item, Cartoonist Jailed Over Mohammed Cartoon).

The following note was sent to SAJAforum by a media source in Bangladesh. While our policy is to publish messages with the names of writers attached, we are making an exception here because of the danger to anyone sending out such messages. We have verified the message and checked the items below. Please post your comments below.

An unfolding media crisis where one after another media organ is being
shut down by the Army-run "Caretaker Government".

1. BREAKING: Eid issue of Shaptahik 2000 banned         
The government has banned the Eid issue of Bangla-language weekly
magazine Shaptahik 2000, a top official said Thursday.  Eid edition of
the magazine had carried an article "offensive to religious
sensibilities". The autobiographical article written by Daud Haider,
self-exiled in Germany after threats by religious militants, is at the
heart of the controversy.
http://bdnews24.com

2. "Blasphemous Cat" Cartoon Controversy Escalates
*Cartoonist arrested
http://rumiahmed.wordpress.com/2007/09/18/bangladesh-cartoonist-arrested/
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7003514.stm

*Cases filed in Chittagong and Comilla against PROTHOM ALO editor
Motiur Rahman, DAILY STAR editor (and PA publisher) Mahfuz Anam, and
freelance cartoonist of Prothom Alo. Patiya Al Jameya Al Islam Madrasa
administrative officer Mohammad Reza filed the case that also cited
"elements of sedition" in the publication of a controversial cartoon
strip.

*Plaintiff demands arrest warrant against all three accused

*Dhaka Court bans ALPIN magazine. Magistrate informed its publisher
that the publication of the cartoon story violated the Printing Press
and Publications (Declaration and Registration) Act 1973.

3. AJKER KAGOJ newspaper shuts down

4. CSB (country's first 24 hour news channel) shut down by government order

5. JANAKANTHA editor in jail

6. Govt Issues "Guidelines" for Talk Shows
http://rumiahmed.wordpress.com/2007/09/20/the-soviet-republic-of-bangladesh

Reax? Post your comments below.

Some sources for you to keep abreast of the crisis:

BBC | Google News | Yahoo News

Live headlines from Bangladesh blogs... 

EARLIER ON SAJAforum:

BANGLADESH: Cartoonist Jailed Over Mohammed Cartoon
BANGLADESH: Roundup of Items about Curfew
BANGLADESH: A Crisis Erupts & A Crackdown Continues

BANGLADESH: Cartoonist Jailed Over Mohammed Cartoon

Arifur Rahman, a Bangladeshi cartoonist, has been arrested for a cartoon with a play on the name Mohammend. From the RSF action alert:

Reporters Without Borders calls for the immediately release of Arifur Rahman, a cartoonist with Aalpin, the daily newspaper Prothom Alo's weekly satirical supplement. He was arrested at his Dhaka home on 17 September over a cartoon that was a play on the name Mohammed. The government's press department said the cartoon "hurt religious sentiments." All copies of the supplement were seized. Prothom Alo apologised and fired the supplement's deputy editor.

"The play on words had no intention of attacking the Prophet," Reporters Without Borders said "It was a joke about a cultural custom. The government should not yield to pressure from extremist leaders who are trying to politicise the case. Rahman should not be made a scapegoat. He must be freed."

See the full memo below, along with a description of the cartoon.
VOA coverage | BBC coverage | GlobalVoicesOnline coverage

Post your comments below.

BANGLADESH: Roundup of Items about Curfew

Following up on our recent posting about the crisis in Bangladesh, here are some more items to read. Please post your comments and suggestions below.

From the BBC report Photo the Bangladesh Government Cannot Stand:

If a single image can sum up the thorny mess into which Bangladesh has once again stumbled, then this perhaps is it. A sandaled demonstrator in mid-air kick and a hatless army officer in terrified retreat. In the background, bystanders hurry away. Out of shot, a military vehicle burns and the security forces are in danger of losing control to the angry mob. The photo gives a momentary glimpse of just how bad things got during three days of violent protest that rocked cities across Bangladesh last week. But the picture is significant for another reason. As we found out on the first night of the curfew imposed to contain the trouble it was an image that deeply upset the Bangladeshi rank and file.

Its publication was seen as a humiliation, every bit as great as if that flying sandaled foot had been aimed at the behind of the army chief himself.

From a Reporters Without Borders action alert (in full below):

Reporters Without Borders today called on the interim government and army to quickly rescind all the repressive measures of recent days, during which the imposition of a curfew from 22 August until yesterday severely impacted the ability of journalists to work.

"The interim government's record has been badly marred by the censorship and violence that has assailed the press since the start of the student protests in Dhaka and other major cities," the press freedom organisation said.

BANGLADESH: A Crisis Erupts & A Crackdown Continues

[UPDATE, Aug. 24: In response to this message, I received three notes similar to the following:

"In interest of balance, you have to mention that Sajeeb Wazed (Joi) is Sheikh Hasina's son.  His mother is leader of the Awami League, currently in jail under investigation for corruption charges for the MIG-29 purchase scandal, and is currently the biggest thorn in the side of the military-backed caretaker government (with Khaleda Zia somewhat neutralized by the arrest of Tareque Zia, and the ongoing investigation into her other son Arafat (Coco)).  Sajeeb is the heir apparent to the Awami League leadership and is actively being groomed for that role.  His wife, an American lawyer, offered to come to Bangladesh to fight the legal case to defend her mother-in-law. Since Sajeeb is being groomed, he has also taken an active political role in blogosphere: http://www.sajeeb.blogspot.com/

This is not to say that the news that he describes is incorrect, but his provenance as the groomed heir to Awami League has to be mentioned."

Also, there is a good debate going on here:
http://www.drishtipat.org/blog

These folks are right, Sajeeb's connection to this crisis should have been mentioned. My apologies.]

ORIGINAL NOTE FROM AUG. 23: Bangladesh is once again in a crisis. Below is a note from Sajeeb A. Wazed, a student at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard, urging us to pay attention.

As you may know, the last four days have seen an uprising against the unelected military backed government of Bangladesh, first by students, who were subsequently joined by the civilian population. In response the military has imposed an indefinite curfew in the major cities, the mobile telephone network was shut down for several hours and a news blackout imposed on the media.
<snip>
I urge you to follow this rapidly developing situation closely. This is a spontaneous movement for democracy.

His full message is below. Some sources for you to keep abreast of the crisis:

BBC | Google News | Yahoo News

Live headlines from Bangladesh blogs... 

Post your comments and updates below.

BANGLADESH: Migration and Its Impact on All Things Bangla

SAJAer Naeem Mohaiemen sent us a note we are sharing here.

Migration has moved dramatically to the top tier of Bangla politics. The money being sent home by Bangla migrants is now a staggering EIGHT TIMES higher than investment by foreign companies, and FOUR TIMES higher than foreign aid.

Amer Ahmed summarizes:
"From a few thousand in the 1970s, the number of Bangladeshi mig