teknaf - Dhaka Mirror

166 detained in Chittagong, Cox’s Bazar

Admin — Tue, 02 Oct 2012 11:45:51 +0000

Several thousand accused in 16 cases
Law enforcers have so far arrested 166 people in connection with Saturday’s violence at Ramu in Cox’s Bazar that later spread in the port city.
Of the arrestees, 93 were picked up from Cox’s Bazar and 73 from Chittagong, Home Minister Mohiuddin Khan Alamgir yesterday told the media in the capital.
Sixteen cases — 13 in Cox’s Bazar and three with Patiya Police Staion — have been filed so far against several thousand people in connection with the violence.
Dipananda Bhikkhu, priest of Kolagaon Sarbojanin Ratnangkur Buddha Bihar, which was set on fire on Sunday, lodged one of the cases with Patiya Police Station accusing 37 persons by name and around 500 unknown persons.
Of the cases in Cox’s Bazar, six were lodged with Ramu, four with Ukhia, two with Teknaf and one with Sadar police stations, Babul Akhter, additional superintendent of police in Cox’s Bazar, told The Daily Star.
Law enforcers were reported to have been raiding different places in Cox’s Bazar to detain more people involved in the sectarian attack.
State Minister for LGRD and Cooperatives Jahangir Kabir Nanak and Joint General Secretary of the ruling Awami League Mahbubul Alam Hanif yesterday visited Ramu Kendriya Shima Bihar in the afternoon. Bir Bahadur, lawmaker from Bandarban, was also present with them.
Meanwhile, Western Marine Shipyard remained closed yesterday following the arrest of its 25 sub-contractors in connection with Saturday night’s violence.
During a visit yesterday, The Daily Star found the Buddhist community of four upazilas in Cox’s Bazar district passing time in panic owing to the last two days’ violence in the region.
Although Section 144 has been imposed and law enforcement agencies, including the army, have been patrolling the sensitive areas, local residents still seemed to be reeling from the violence.
On Saturday night, protestors attacked seven temples in Ramu. Some of these temples were damaged extensively.
Locals claimed that around 2,000 people participated in the attack and no police were there during the time. The protestors used gunpowder and petrol during the attack.
Maj Gen Sabbir Ahmed, general officer commanding (GOC) of Chittagong Cantonment, said the army had set up camp in the area. He said army troops would stay there until the situation calmed down completely.
Lutfor Rahman Kajol, BNP lawmaker from Cox’s Bazar-3 constituency, said he had asked police to arrest the man who carried a poster that was defaming the Quran during the rally at Ramu Chaumuhoni before the incident.
“But police did not arrest the person. Had they done it, the situation would not have gone so bad,” he added.
Meanwhile, agitated locals yesterday chased Nazibul Islam, officer-in-charge of Ramu Police Station, when he went to visit the Shima Bihar around 3:30pm. The OC took shelter in a nearby house, from where police later had to rescue him.
Speakers at a rally in Chittagong yesterday protested the violence, saying the attackers had ruined the 300-year-old Buddhist temples and set fire to archaeological testimony of the country’s opulent heritage. The speakers termed the attackers traitors and enemy to the culture and glory of the nation.
The rally, under the banner of “Sachetan Nagarik Samaj O Sarbastarer Sanskriti Karmi”, was organised at Chittagong Press Club.

Courtesy of The Daily Star

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Citizens, political parties condemn Ramu violence

Admin — Tue, 02 Oct 2012 10:22:38 +0000

Saturday night’s attacks on Buddhist neighbourhoods across Ramu, Ukhia and Teknaf in Cox’s Bazaar and the subsequent spread of the violence in Patiya of Chittagong continued to draw nationwide condemnation from eminent personalities as well as political parties on Monday.
Nine eminent personalities in a statement expressed concerns over the sectarian attacks.
The signatories included Ain O Salis Kendra executive director Sultana Kamal, Nijera Kori coordinator Khushi Kabir, Manusher Jonno Foundation executive director Shahin Anam, PRIP Trust executive director Aroma Datta, Association of the Development Agencies in Bangladesh chairman Tajul Islam. NGO Federation director Farah Kabir, Campaign for Popular Education’s Rasheda K. Choudhury, and TIB executive director Iftekkaruzzaman.
They demanded immediate investigation by a high-powered judicial committee into the incidents and punishment of the perpetrators.
Several Buddhist monasteries and Hindu temples were damaged besides their households in Cox’s Bazaar and Chittagong.
Communist Party of Bangladesh and the Socialist Party of Bangladesh jointly formed a human chain in front of the National Press Club where the CPB president Manzurul Ahsan demanded immediate arrest of the attackers.
SPB general secretary Khalequzzaman said a vested quarter was deliberately attacking places of worship and houses of different minorities.
He called upon all pro liberation war forces to resist these acts together.
SPB leaders Bazlur Rashid Firoz, Razequzzaman Ratan, the CPB leaders Ruhin Hossain Prince and Ahsan Habib Lablu spoke at the one hour rally started at 3:00pm.
Ganasanghai Andolan, leaders at a protest rally in front of the Press Club also demanded immediate arrest of the attackers on the minority communities in Ramu and other places in Cox’s Bazar and Chittgong.
The chief coordinator of the organisation Zonayed Saki demanded legal action against those who were involved in the attacks.
The leaders of the organisation Abdus Salam and Abul Hsan Rubel also spoke at the rally.
The leaders of five partners of the Awami League led alliance and Gana Oikya Committee and Parbatta Chattagram Jana Sanghati Samiti at a meeting held at Asad auditorium in the capital condemned the communal attacks on the minority communities.
Workers Party president Rashed Khan Menon, Communist Kendra convener Ajoy Roy, Ganatantri Party leaders Shahidullah Shikder, Gana Azadi League president Abdus Samad and others attended the meeting.
The attacks were turning into communal attacks centring a photograph defaming Quran reportedly posted on the facebook the leaders said.
They asked the government to take stern action against the attackers immediately.
They described the attacks as pre planned and demanded punishment of the attackers.
Democratic Left Alliance, in a press statement condemned the attacks.
Jatiya Mukti Council president Badruddin Umar and general secretary Faiezul Hakim in a press statement condemned the attacks.
The council will hold a protest rally in front of the Press Club at 4:00pm.
Jatiya Nari Jote, Peshajibi Nari Samaj and 19-teachers of the Dhaka University in a statement condemned the attacks.

-With New Age input

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A friend of nature

Admin — Sun, 16 Sep 2012 15:51:03 +0000

Khurshida Begum, a young widow from Teknaf in Cox’s Bazar, has been selected for the Wangari Maathai Award 2012 for her co-management efforts and leadership in conservation of natural resources.
She started her natural resource conservation activities in 2006, during the inception of Nishorgo Network, through forming a female Community Patrol Group (CPG) with 28 women at Kerontali, said a press release.
Along with the forest guards, she took upon the challenges of sharing the responsibilities of conserving the sanctuary against poaching and illegal logging. She made the local people aware about biodiversity conservation for future generation.
Apart from carrying out her duties as a Union Parishad member, Khurshida also deals with health and hygiene of the community, school maintenance, upkeep of roads and various development issues.
The award has been named after Wangari Muta Maathai, a Kenyan environmental and political activist, who in 2004 became the first African woman to receive the Nobel Peace Prize for “her contribution to sustainable development, democracy and peace”.
The award will be handed over to Khurshida on September 27 in Rome, Italy, on the occasion of the first anniversary of Maathai’s death, during the meeting of FAO’s 3rd World Forestry Week (WFW), the statement added.
The Collaborative Partnership on Forests (CPF), an informal and voluntary arrangement among 14 international organisations and secretariats working for forest, has launched the first ever award to honour and commemorate the impact of this extraordinary woman who championed forest issues around the world.

Courtesy of The Daily Star

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