Khaleda announces 'March for Democracy' for Dec 29

BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia today urged people from all walks of life to march towards Dhaka on December 29 to force the government to scrap the January 5 parliamentary election.
Calling upon the government not to create any obstacles towards the 'March for Democracy', Khaleda warned of tougher agitation programmes otherwise.

Hannan Shah, Khoka on 2-day remand

The court has ordered a two-day remand for senior BNP leaders ASM Hannan Shah and Sadeque Hossain Khoka.

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The court of Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Mostafizur Rahman rejected the bail petition of the Opposition leaders on Tuesday.
Police had sought 7 day remand for the BNP leaders in a case of the killing of sub-inspector Shahjahan on May 5, the day Hifazat-e Islam held a rally in Dhaka.
The court ordered two days in police custody for the BNP leaders following the hearing.
The court rejected the police's plea for a 20-day remand, in two other cases involving vandalism caused by Hifazat-e-Islam, 10 days each.

AL will face identity crisis: Noman

BNP Vice-Chairman Abdullah Al Noman has claimed that the ruling Awami League’s identity will be at stake after the Jan 5 national elections.

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Addressing a rally in Chittagong on Tuesday after the end of the fifth round of blockade enforced by the 18-Party Alliance, he said: “Their (Awami League’s) position will be like that of the post-BAKSAL era.”
The alliance, led by the BNP, is enforcing agitations to press for its key demand: conduct next parliamentary polls under a non-party caretaker administration.
But the government is moving ahead with its plan to stage the polls on Jan 5 under the government led by incumbent Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

Khaleda’s statement full of lies: AL

The ruling Awami League has dubbed Opposition Leader Khaleda Zia’s statement “full of lies”.

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Party’s senior leader Amir Hossain Amu blamed the BNP of creating unrest in Bangladesh and claimed it had become “detached from the people”.

Amu, a minister in the interim cabinet, held a media briefing at the party chief’s Dhanmondi office on Tuesday evening soon after Khaleda’s press conference was over.

He said the BNP chief had “realised her mistakes”. “I hope she will have an epiphany and she will refrain from acts of sabotage from this realisation.”

Amu also called upon the Opposition Leader to assist the government’s efforts to restore ‘peace’ in Bangladesh.

Khaleda is demonstrating to save the war criminals and not for democracy and the caretaker government, he claimed.

“She had sided with the (suspected) war criminals during her long march. Each of her demonstration aim at shielding the (suspected) war criminals,” alleged Amu.

He criticised Khaleda Zia for not condemning Pakistan’s adopting resolutions on war crimes convict Abdul Quader Molla’s execution.

“Her silence has proved that she works for the war criminals and Pakistan. She wants to turn the country into an ‘ineffective’ state like Pakistan.

“Her attempts to put blame on others for her misdeeds have been exposed,” Amu said.

The minister claimed the BNP had boycotted the Jan 5 elections as its key ally, the Jamaat-e-Islami, cannot take part in it.
He said the government would organise a free and fair polls and wondered why the Opposition was unwilling to take part in the election under the incumbent government.
“There’s no need for a caretaker government since we did not enrol fake voters,” he said referring to enrolment of a large number of false voters in 2006 under then BNP-led government.
“Whether the 10th parliamentary polls are farce or partisan will be known later. An election cannot be farcical if anyone stays away,” he said.

"Getting late"

US envoy in Dhaka Dan W Mozena has again pushed for “constructive dialogue” between the two bickering political parties, but said it was getting “very late” for the 10th parliamentary polls slated on Jan 5.

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But Mozena said the real underlying issue was the "coming together in meaningful dialogue to agree on a way forward."
He was replying to media queries after meeting the communications minister Obaidul Quader on Tuesday.
The US has been calling for "redoubling efforts" to reach a consensus through dialogue before the polls.
Opposition BNP boycotted the Jan 5 elections demanding a non-party caretaker government for its oversight. They boycotted polls and resorted to relentless blockades and violence in which many people died.

Hefajat postpones Dhaka rally

Hefajat-e Islam has postponed its rally in the capital slated for tomorrow shortly after police stopped its top leaders from starting for Dhaka this morning.
The decision came soon after police stopped Allama Shah Ahmad Shafi and Junaid Babunagari, the group's ameer and secretary general respectively, in Hathazari from starting for the capital.
The group later sat at an emergency meeting to decide their next course of action.
Within minutes, Noor Hossain Kashemi, Hefajat nayeb-e-ameer and convener of the Dhaka city unit, held a press conference in the capital to announce postponement of the rally.
"Since the government has yet to issue us permission for the rally, we are postponing it for now," Kashemi told reporters during the briefing at Madrasa-e-Jamia Madani, his madrasa at Baridhara.
Contacted by The Daily Star for confirmation by the group's headquarters, Azizul Haque Islamabadi, organising secretary, said they had been forced to postpone the rally in face of resistance by the government.

US not sending poll observers

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Like the European Union, the US will also not send its observers for the Jan 5 parliament polls.

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A statement issued by State Department spokesperson Jen Psaki said the US would be interested to send poll observers at a later date when there is a 'more conducive environment'.
Psaki said in the statement that the US was disappointed because the major political parties are yet to reach a consensus.
"…since more than half of the the parliamentary seats are uncontested for the January 5 polls.... the United States will not deploy observers for these elections," reads the statement by the State Department spokesperson.

Directive to deposit firearms

The home ministry has asked owners of licensed firearms to deposit their weapons ahead of the Jan 5 national election.

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The firearms will have to be deposited to the nearby police stations or arms dealers from Dec 23 to 27.

The firearms and ammunition will remain deposited until Jan 15, a statement issued by the home ministry said.

The statement said the firearms owners would not be allowed to carry their arms from Dec 27 to Jan 15.

Gopibagh murder: No arrest after 2 days

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Police is yet to make any arrests two days after six people were murdered in Dhaka's Gopibagh.

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Police's Detective Branch (DB) Joint Commissioner Monirul Islam told reporters on Monday that they were yet to ascertain the motive behind the killings

The police official said that three teams of the Detective Branch were investigating the incident.
He said that the police were 'more or less' certain that at least eight people were involved in the killing and not 10-12 people as they had assumed earlier.
Families of the victims and police say the killers entered the house in the guise of disciples of so-called Pir (saint) Lutfur Rahman Faruk and committed the macabre murders.

Quader Molla to hang by ‘night’

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War crimes convict Abdul Quader Molla will be hanged by ‘tonight’, State Minister for Home Shamsul Hoque Tuku has said.

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All preparations to execute the Jamaat-e-Islami Assistant Secretary General have been completed, he told reporters on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, State Minister for Law Qamrul Islam said Molla refused to seek mercy from the President even after he was asked to do so.

Mollah prefers not to seek clemency

Jamaat-e-Islami leader Abdul Quader Mollah who has been sentenced to death for wartime offences did not seek president’s clemency.
“He had one choice left. He could seek present’s clemency,” State Minister for Law Qamrul Islam said at a press briefing at his official Mintoo Road residence this evening.

AL, BNP commit to compromise

The ruling and the opposition parties today initiated much-sought-after dialogue, brokered by the United Nations, where they decided to work together to decrease tension.
In what so far appeared to be an elusive but much-sought-after meeting, the secretaries of the ruling and the main opposition party sat for a dialogue brokered by the United Nations at a house in Baridhara, according to sources.
Thought to be a key catalyst to breaking the prevailing political deadlock, the meeting continued till around 4:30pm, our correspondents reported from outside the house reported quoting highly-placed sources in the BNP and Awami League.

3 burnt in vessel fire

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At least three people have suffered burn injuries in a fire on a lighter in the Chittagong port.

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The cabin of ‘OT Kingfisher-1’, used for transporting oil, caught fire near the Jamuna Oil jetty at around 9am on Tuesday, EPZ Police Station OC Abul Mansur said.
Agrabad Fire Service Station official Jasim Uddin suspects the fire first broke out in the kitchen.
Chittagong port's Deputy-Preserver Capt Najmul Alam said the oil on the vessel did not cause the fire.
He said the oil cargo was unaffected.

One dies in Feni clashes

At least one person has been killed in clashes in Feni when Opposition activists attacked a local police outpost.

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The skirmish that left 30 others injured took place at Shahar Police Outpost on Wednesday afternoon, police said.
Assistant Superintendent of Police Shamsul Alam Sarkar confirmed the casualties.

Feni BNP's acting chief Abu Taher claimed the deceased, Harunur Rashid, was a member of the Jatiyatabadi Juba Dal’s Farhadnagar union in Sadar Upazila.