Clean-up e� orts at Sundarbans veer o� courseCover-up alleged by forest o� cals to conceal ecological damage from touristsn Abu Bakar Siddique back from

the Sundarbans

A long-term ecological disaster is in the making in the Sundarbans because the manual clean-up method being employed in the Sela River oil spill is further contaminating the forest � oor, experts said.

The Forest Department and Bangla-desh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) put local people to manually scoop up the spilled furnace oil four days ago.

Ecology and biodiversity research-er Pavel Partha, currently visiting the site of the oil spill, told the Dhaka Trib-une that clean-up crews’ wading and tramping were causing oil to be mixed into the forest � oor’s muddy soil.

“The photosynthesis of primary food producers like Phytoplankton and Zoo-plankton will be badly a� ected by oil entering into the mud, and will ul-timately destroy the primary level of the mangrove ecosystem’s food chain,”he said.

The seeds of plants such as the Sun-dari, Goran, Gewa and Kewra will prob-ably not sprout because of disruptions

to respiration and evaporation caused by the oil, he said.

A study titled “Oil-spill Impact on Mangrove Forest Sundarbans” con-ducted by the Asian Development Bank and the Bangladesh government in 2002 said the regeneration of man-grove forest plants is very sensitive to contamination by oil.

“They are sensitive to oil partly be-cause oil � lms on the breathing roots inhibit the supply of oxygen to the un-derground root systems. Sundari spe-cies, in particular, are more vulnerable than other species of � ora in the for-est,” the report said.

The Dhaka Tribune found that the Forest Department was making things worse for the environment by delib-erately shovelling soil over oil-mixed mud to cover it up.

A forest guard in the Andharmanik area, speaking on condition of ano-nymity, said the cover-up of the oil slick was being done so that foreign tourists would not see the contamination.

PAGE 2 COLUMN 4

N O T I C E

Today, December 16, is the Victory Day and a newspaper holiday. However, the Dhaka Tribune will be published tomor-row under special arrangements.

I MISS THE GAME BADLY: ASHRAFUL

12 | SPORT

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 16, 2014 | www.dhakatribune.com | SECOND EDITION

Paush 2, 1421Safar 22, 1436Regd No DA 6238Vol 2, No 252

24 pages plus 8-page children’s special Victory Day supplement | Price: Tk12

WHERE WERE YOU WHEN YOU HEARDNEWS OF THEVICTORY?

8 | VICTORY DAY 2014

A CHILDREN’S HISTORY OF THE LIBERATION WAR BY MUHAMMAD ZAFAR IQBAL

CHILDREN’S SPECIAL

BANKS ASKED TO BRING NPL BELOW 10%

B1 | BUSINESS

n Mohammad Abu Bakar Siddique

As if nine months of atrocities and massacre were not enough, the havoc that the Pakistan army wreaked on the people of this country in the last days of the Liberation War in 1971 surpasses every de� nition of extreme.

As the Bangalis were inching closer to the long-cherished emancipation from Pakistani subordination, the oc-cupation army was also sensing that something was going to give.

Here in Dhaka – one of the last re-maining Pakistani strongholds by mid-December 1971 – like a kid with a paint gun, every now and then the sol-diers opened � re on unarmed civilians rather playfully. The spree of murders that began on the dark night of March 25, did not end until their ultimate fall on December 16.

The torture, perpetration, rule of lies, hatred and arrogance that charac-terised the nine-month killing mission of the Pakistan army and their local collaborators in Bangladesh, only in-tensi� ed in the last days of what is now seen as one of the bloodiest yet greatest struggles for freedom in human history.

When asked how it really was when the victory � nally came true through the surrender of 92 thousand Pakistani soldiers, Mahfuza Khanam who fought for nine months with constant fear; intense anxiety from the abduction of siblings and friends; and frequent scary blackouts; could not hold her tears, showing what this liberty meant for people who were trapped in then the deadliest city in the world.

“The situation was not simple to be explained. People achieved victory

PAGE 2 COLUMN 1With heads held high and the red and green � ying higher, Bangladesh ready to celebrate the spirit of liberation once again on the eve of another Victory Day RAJIB DHAR

Bangabandhu’s family to come under presidential retirement schemen Muhammad Zahidul Islam

As members of a former president’s family, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s family members are com-ing under a government retirement scheme.

The government has already draft-ed a bill on the president’s retirement bene� t.

The bill was placed in the weekly cabinet meeting yesterday chaired by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. It was sent back for further development, Cabinet Secretary Muhammad Mushar-raf Hossain Bhuiyan told reporters.

“President’s retirement privileg-es were installed by a 1979 ordinance. The government thinks the ordinance needs amendment. There is a court or-der for this as well,” Musharraf said.

In reply to a query, he said the rea-son behind the father of the nation’s family members being so far deprived of the retirement scheme needs to be investigated.

Sources said the cabinet sent the bill back because it was drafted in Bangla and they sought an English version.

A senior member of the cabinet said the proposed bill will bring the bene� ts

PAGE 2 COLUMN 4

10 SPECIES AT RISKP3

Ecstatic victory, haunting lossesTHE ANSWER IS BLOWING IN THE WIND

News2 DHAKA TRIBUNE Tuesday, December 16, 2014

Prime minister urges all to uphold democratic valuesn BSS

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yester-day urged all to uphold the develop-ment and democratic values being imbued with the spirit of the freedom struggle.

In a message on the occasion of the Victory Day, she said: “Let us engage ourselves for the services to the coun-try and its people. Let this be our vow on the Victory Day of 20l4.

“Today is the 16th December, the great Victory Day. This is the day of greatest pride for the Bangali nation,” the prime minister said, responding to the clarion call of the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, following which the Bangali nation earned the ultimate victory on this day in 1971 after 23 years of intense political struggle and a nine-month bloody war against the Pakistani occu-pation forces.

She extended her sincere greetings and warm felicitations to the people of the country at home and abroad on the occasion of the 43rd Victory Day.

“On this glorious day, I pay my deep homage to the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. I recall with gratitude the four national leaders, and three million martyrs, who sacri� ced their lives, and two hundred thousand women, who lost their inno-cence for the cause of our independ-ence,” Hasina added.

She said Bangbandhu realised that the oppression, persecution and depri-vation meted out to the Bangali nation would not end without achieving the

independence.“Ultimately, on the historic March 7,

1971, Bangabandhu in front of a million people at the then Race Course Maidan declared, ‘This time the struggle is for our freedom, this time the struggle is for the independence.’ Virtually, from that day, the � nal chapter had started for achieving an independent Bangla-desh” she said.

“But, after Bangabandhu’s death, iden-ti� ed war criminals and killers of Bang-abandhu were politically and socially rehabilitated. The BNP-Jamaat alliance government of 2001 had followed the paths of their predecessors.”

However, the Bangali nation re-es-tablished democracy and rights of the people in 2008 through a long strug-gle, the prime minister said, adding that the nation overwhelmingly voted in favour of the Awami League, the party that led the War of Liberation, in

the much-awaited parliamentary elec-tions.

In another programme, Hasina un-derscored the need for further modern-isation of Bangladesh Betar to sustain in the competitive era and assured that her government would extend all sorts of support to this end.

“The importance of Bangladesh Be-tar is endless. So, I hope that all con-cerned including o� cials, employees and performers of Bangladesh Betar would further modernise the organisa-tion through its technological develop-ment by realising its importance,” she said while addressing the inaugural function of the Diamond Jubilee mark-ing the completion of 75 years of the state-run Bangladesh Betar.

Earlier, she had inaugurated the four-day programme of 75-year cele-bration of Betar.

At the function, the prime minis-ter handed over a crest and citation to family members of late Syed Abdus Shaker, late Belal Mohammed, late Abul Kashem Sandip and Abdullah Al Faruk as well as to Mohammad Aminur Rahman, Mohammad Rashidul Hos-sain, Mohammad Anwar Hossain Khan, A M Sharfuzzaman, Mohammad Rezaul Karim chowdhury, Kazi Habib Uddin Ahmad for their courageous and hero-ic contribution to founding Swadhin Bangla Bangla Betar Kendra in 1971.

Sheikh Hasina said Bangladesh Be-tar is the biggest mass media for � our-ishing talents of about 10,000 singers, theatre artistes, 8,000 presenters, 4,000 children and juveniles and 800 performers in the rural areas. l

FREEDOM FIGHTER CERTIFICATE FORGERY

ACC accuses Liberation War Ministry ofnon-cooperationn Adil Sakhawat

The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has accused the Ministry of Liberation War A� airs of being non-cooperative in providing information regarding its nine o� cials and sta� charged with freedom � ghter certi� cate forgery.

The anti-graft body is currently run-ning an inquiry against the ministry employees, and it sent another notice to the ministry on Sunday asking for information in this regard.

The o� cials charged with the forgery are Director General (legal and pros-ecution) Kamrul Hasan Mollah, Di-rectors Golam Yahiya and Abdul Aziz Bhuiyan, Deputy Directors Dhali Abdus Samad and SM Golam Mawla Siddique, former deputy director Ranjan Kumar Majumder, Assistant Inspector Abdus Sobhan, and Court Assistants Nurul Is-lam and Ishak Fakir.

The ACC approved the inquiry on October 22 and appointed Deputy Di-rector Jul� kar Ali and Assistant Direc-tor SM Ra� qul Islam to this case.

“The commission sent several no-tices to the ministry asking them to

provide information regarding its nine employees and their freedom � ghter certi� cates on November 24 and 26,” an ACC o� cial, requesting anonymity, told the Dhaka Tribune.

The ACC o� cials met the ministry secretary in person on November 24 and December 6 to seek the informa-tion, but the ministry has yet to pro-vide any, he said.

“We again sent a notice to the min-istry asking them to provide the doc-uments of those o� cials by December 18,” he added.

The Dhaka Tribune tried several times to contact acting ministry secretary MA Hannan, but he could not be reached.

However, the Dhaka Tribune was able to contact Liberation War A� airs Minister AKM Mozammel Haque, who said he was not aware that the ministry had received the notices from the ACC.

“I did not know that the ACC had sent us these notices for information. I will look into this the day after tomorrow [tomorrow], and if I � nd the notices, I will take all necessary steps to ensure the ACC gets the information it sought.”

When asked about the dilly-dally-ing by the ministry in working with the ACC, the minister said: “These people who have been accused of forging free-dom � ghter certi� cates, they naturally have liaison with the corrupt people in the ministry, who are delaying the process to aid the accused. Let me look into it; I will make sure the ministry co-operates with the anti-graft body.” l

AL to hold victory procession in the city todayn Abu Hayat Mahmud

The ruling Awami League (AL) will hold a victory procession in the capital today alongside the party’s day-long programmes all over the country to cel-ebrate Victory Day.

The ruling party lawmakers from Dhaka, leaders of Dhaka city unit and its associated organisations, activists and supporters from various areas will gather at Shikha Chirantani at the Suhrawardy Udyan, where the Paki-stan occupation forces surrendered, to pay tributes to the martyrs, at 4:20pm, the time of the surrender.

Later, a procession will start towards Dhanmondi 32 to place wreaths at the portrait of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mu-jibur Rahman.

As per the day-long celebration pro-gramme, the national � ag and the party � ag will be hoisted at the time of sunrise at every AL o� ce across the country.

President Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, along with central leaders of Awami League, will place wreath at the Jatiya Smriti

Soudho (National Martyrs’ Memorial) at 6:30am. Sheikh Hasina, who is also the president of Bangladesh Awami League, will place another wreath on behalf of the party.

Hasina and her party leaders will then go to Dhanmondi 32 and place wreaths at 8am at the portrait of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. Meanwhile, another group of central leaders led by the party’s presidium member and the lawmaker of Gopalganj-2 Sheikh Selim will place a wreath at Bangabandhu’s grave at Tungipara at 10am.

Moreover, the Awami League will also arrange a discussion programme at 3pm tomorrow at the Krishibid Insti-tution Auditorium in the capital. Party chief Sheikh Hasina will attend the dis-cussion chaired by party’s presidium member and Jatiya Sangsad’s deputy leader Syeda Sajeda Chowdhury.

The AL General Secretary Syed Ashraful Islam in a press release yes-terday urged the party and its associate organisations and wing leaders, activ-ists and supporters to make the cele-bration a success. l

Labourers of the Forest Department are seen covering up damaged shore of the Sela River along the Sundarbans with mud in the name of cleaning up the place. The photo was taken at Andharmanik on December 14 SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN

Bangabandhu’s family PAGE 1 COLUMN 6for Bangabandhu’s family with retro-spective e� ects.

He also said Sheikh Rehana, the younger of Bangabandu’s two daugh-ters, will be eligible for the bene� ts, but Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will not be.

“As Sheikh Hasina got married be-fore her father’s retirement, she will not be eligible,” said a minister who is a practising lawyer.

Another member who attended the cabinet meeting told the Dhaka Trib-une: “There is a clause in the amend-ed act that says for family members to be eligible for the bene� ts, a president must stay in the post for at least six six

months.”Sources said if the bill is � nalised,

only Khandakar Mustaque Ahmad’s family will not qualify.

At present, Jatiya Party Chairman HM Ershad is also not getting any re-tirement bene� ts because he had been punished by a court.

But Musharraf Hossain Bhuiyan said the former military autocrat has been enjoying the army’s retirement bene-� ts.

“Not every former president or his family members are enjoying the ben-e� ts for di� erent reasons,” Musharraf said.

According to the 1979 ordinance, former presidents or their family get

75% of the president’s basic salary.The current basic salary of the coun-

try’s president is Tk61,200.Cabinet sources said Justice Sha-

habuddin Ahmed and AQM Badruddo-za Chowdhury are personally enjoying the bene� ts because they are alive.

The family of late presidents Ziaur Rahman and Abdur Rahman Biswas are also getting the bene� ts.

However, the cabinet secretary could not elucidate on the statuses of former presidents Syed Nazrul Islam, Justice Abu Sayeed Chowdhury, Mo-hammad Mohammadullah, Justice Ab-dus Sattar, Justice Abul Fazal Moham-mad Ahsanuddin Choudhury, Iajuddin Ahmed and Md Zillur Rahman. l

Clean-up e� orts at Sundarbans PAGE 1 COLUMN 2Oil tanker Southern Star 7 went down eight days ago with 358,000 litres of furnace oil in its six holds, after being rammed from behind by empty oil tanker Total Cargo on the Sela River.

The accident site, in the Mrigamari forest of the Sundarbans, is a dolphin sanctuary.

On Thursday, forty-eight hours after the oil spill began, naval vessel Kandari 10 arrived on the scene to contain the slick with dispersant, but was stopped from using the chemicals by the Forest Department over fears that the fragile mangrove ecosystem might be dam-aged.

Residents of the area, pressed into service as clean-up crews, have report-edly lost interest in the e� ort after for-est o� cials allegedly failed to pay them their dues.

On Saturday, the forest department engaged 200 day-labourers and 100 boats to manually scoop up the oil slick.

On Friday, government authorities urged local residents to collect the � oating oil saying that Padma Oil Com-pany would purchase it at Tk30 perlitre.

Roughly 43,000 litres of oil have been retrieved manually as of yester-day.

Divisional Forest O� cer of Sundar-bans East Zone Amir Hossain Chowd-hury said just 50,000 litres of oil would likely be collected in this way because the rest will disperse with the current or get mixed into the mud.

The sunken oil tanker was salvaged on Thursday morning with two un-damaged holds containing around 100,000 litres of furnace oil. l

Ecstatic victory, haunting losses PAGE 1 COLUMN 3but at the same time they were look-ing for people who were killed. People were freed from the occupation, but haunted by the loss,” she said.

Mahfuza Khanam was a vice-presi-dent of the Dhaka University Students’ Union (Ducsu) in the turbulent times in 1966-68. The historic six-point move-ment, now seen as the charter of Bang-ladesh’s liberty, came into being at that time and students played an instru-mental role in that.

After graduating from DU – then the centre of all anti-establishment upheav-als in Bangladesh – she wanted to go abroad for further studies, but the then Pakistan government did not allow her.

She wanted to join the war, but be-cause she has by then become a moth-er, she decided to stay in Dhaka and help the freedom � ghters.

She remembers how everyone used to keep their ears glued to the radio in those days.

“Initially, we thought the war would be prolonged. But when India extend-ed support, we became con� dent of toppling the Pakistani regime. We were sensing victory as the freedom � ght-ers, gradually freeing the other parts of the country, were progressing towards Dhaka.

“When India intensi� ed air attacks on Dhaka...the Pakistan army here was literally cut o� from everything in the face of a concerted attack by the free-dom � ghters and the allied forces.

“As more news about the freedom � ghters’ triumphs started coming in, more people were coming out of the con� nement in their own houses, de-fying fear and blackouts. The Pakistani soldiers killed many people who came

out on the streets to celebrate the free-dom � ghters’ success,” Mahfuza said.

December 16 is special because on that day, 92,000 men from the world’s most brutal army bowed down to a peo-ple who had only courage to � ght with when they took a genocide face on.

Freedom Fighter Anwar Hossain, now a professor of biochemistry and molecular biology at DU, four of whose brothers have been rewarded by the state for wartime gallantry, said: “On December 13, the Pakistan Army un-derstood that they had nowhere to go in the face of relentless attacks by guerrilla � ghters and the allied forces. On December 14, they began retreating towards the capital from the outskirts.”

Prof Anwar, brother of Liberation War hero Col Taher, recounts: “I re-member what I was thinking at that time. I was with Col Taher in a hospi-tal in Guahati in India. He was injured. Bangladesh was slowly drawing closer to victory.”

He said the resistance in the � rst phase of the war was spontaneous and the occupation forces tried to disman-tle the spirit by launching brutal as-saults.

The second phase however was much more organised with � ghters getting trained in India. The local re-sistances against the army and their collaborators never ended despite the assault. “Sometimes the local � ghters would snatch weapons from the army,” Anwar said.

“Millions of people fought the war and the people of the country were al-ways by their side. Everybody wanted to end the war as soon as it could be done...The resistance that unarmed civilians started was given a formal

shape by the Bangali o� cers and sol-diers who left the Pakistan Army to join the Liberation war,” he said.

“In the later stages, more people started joining the war in groups. Many, who collaborated with the Paki-stan Army, braved their fear and joined in the war.

“As the war continued, people suf-fered inhuman torture; women were raped. Those who have not seen the atrocity will never realise what victory meant to the people.

“In November, we could sense victo-ry, as India made some changes in the formation of forces, and � nally decided to attack at a time when Pakistan and its ally china were in a really disadvan-tageous situation in terms of tactics. A superpower like the [erstwhile] Soviet Union also helped us achieve victory.

“When India decided to go all out, freedom � ghters also decided to strengthen resistance. They got over-whelming support from the people who were by then badly tormented by the unending killing, torture and vio-lence.

“We initially braced ourselves for a long guerrilla warfare. But we were de-termined to free our motherland at any cost,” said Anwar, a former vice-chan-cellor of the Jahangirnagar University.

“Victory was o� cially, achieved when the Pakistan Army surrendered to the allied forces in Dhaka at the end of a bloody war. We got the state that we dreamed of. But the seeds of the spirit of liberation, democracy and so-cialism were sown long ago, when an otherwise peace-loving people were � ghting their hearts out for a land that they could say was exclusively their own,” Anwar ended. l

Victory Day celebrations n Mohammad Abu Bakar Siddique

Today is the 43rd celebration of Bang-ladesh’s Victory in the Liberation War, the day the Bangali people ended the Pakistani occupation of their country.

On this day 43 years ago, the enemy surrendered at the historic Dhaka Race-course grounds.

The day marks the end of 23 years of injustice which led to the Liberation War that broke out on March 26, 1971.

As many as three million people were killed, more than two hundred thousand women were raped, no less than 10 million became refugees, and some three million were displaced in wartime from the night of March 25, 1971, when the occupation force launched the notorious Operation Searchlight aimed at crushing Bangali self-determination.

The nation is prepared to to cele-brate the day with great enthusiasm.

President Md Abdul Hamid, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Leader of the Opposition Begum Rowshan Er-shad in separate messages congratu-lated the nation on the occasion, BSS reported.

Elaborate programs have been chalked out to mark the day. The day will commence with a 31-gun salute, the raising of the national � ag atop all national institutions and the laying of wreaths at the National Memorial Monument at Savar. Special prayers will be held across the country for the salvation of the souls of the mar-tyrs of the Liberation War. The wreath laying will start at 6:34am at the Na-tional Memorial Monument at Savar and will continue throughout the day.Wreath laying at the portrait of the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman at Road 32, Dhanmondi will start at 8 am. At 10am wreaths will be laid at Bangabandhu’s mausoleum in Tungipara, Gopalganj.By noon, leaders and workers of the Awami League, including MPs, will go to their respective areas to organise victory rallies and assemble at the sites where the Pakistan army surrendered.

In Dhaka, they will assemble at the Shikha Anirban at Suhrawardy Udyan at 4:20pm, the time when the Pakistan army surrendered in 1971.

Later the assembled people will go to Road 32, Dhanmondi. A meeting will be held at the Krishibid Institution tomorrow.

Sammilito Sangskritik Jote will hold a programme at 10am at the Central Shaheed Minar. Gonojagoron Mon-cho has also announced an elaborate programme at Suhrawardy Udyan at 4:30pm. l

Betar is the biggest mass media for � ourishing talents of about 10,000 singers, theatre artistes, 8,000 presenters, 4,000 children and juveniles and 800 performers in the rural areas

Those accused of forging freedom � ghter certi� cates naturally have liaison with corrupt ministry o� cials

3NewsDHAKA TRIBUNE Tuesday, December 16, 2014

Fence on Myanmar border suggestedn Asif Shawkat Kollol and

Mohammad Al-Masum Molla

With a view to upgrading Bangla-desh’s border management facilities, a high-powered government panel has suggested wire fencing along its border with Myanmar.

The National Taskforce on Imple-mentation of the National Strategy Paper on Myanmar Refugees and Un-documented Myanmar Nationals yes-terday asked the Home Ministry to take measures in this regard.

Myanmar shares a 271km border with Bangladesh’s Cox’s Bazar and Bandarban, of which 54km is with Teknaf upazila alone.

Md Ruhul Amin, deputy commis-sioner of Cox’s Bazar, told the Dhaka Tribune: “We have requested the Home Ministry to set up a fence along Bangla-desh-Myanmar border.”

The senior secretary of the Home Ministry was present in the two-day meeting held in Cox’s Bazar.

He also said the Water Development Board would make a 50km embank-ment on the Naf River along the border to ensure smooth motor patrolling by the border management authorities.

The local administration of Cox’s Bazar several years ago made a set of proposals that include establishing fences at the pocket gates for legal movement, a road on the dam sur-

rounding the Naf River and increasing the number of border outposts (BOP) in the Teknaf area.

Foreign Secretary M Shahidul Haque after the meeting told reporters that they had decided to send back the undocumented and refugee Myanmar citizens to their country. “The process will start in the near future. A survey would be launched soon to identify their number.”

He also said a high-powered delega-tion from Myanmar would visit Bangla-desh soon to discuss security and other issues.

Representatives of several minis-tries, Cox’s Bazar civil administration and Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) were present at the meeting.

A BGB o� cial said they had request-ed the authorities to set up a fence along the Bangladesh-Myanmar bor-der, improve road facilities in the bor-der area, initiate registration of boats that ply the Naf River and a better mo-bile phone network.

Myanmar o� cials at a meeting with its Bangladesh counterpart in August this year agreed to take back in phases the documented Rohingyas staying in two refugee camps – in Noapara and Kutupalong. The process was supposed to begin in two months. There are around 28,000 Rohingyas living in the camps while the number of undocu-mented Rohingyas would be 2,50,000-

5,00,000.Cabinet approved the strategy paper

on September 9 last year. An inter-min-isterial meeting of the task-force, chaired by the foreign secretary, held on October 24 the same year made a number of decisions.

According to a document regarding that meeting, the issue of straightening the Bangladesh-Myanmar border man-agement would be given the utmost priority.

It was decided that the Home Minis-try would coordinate with the BGB and work towards expediting the approval and roll-out of the proposals submitted by the latter “in order to enhance their surveillance capacity along the border.”

The Cox’s Bazar district administra-tion was tasked to issue registration cards, preferably based on national ID cards and interviews, to all Bangladesh

� shermen working in the coastal area “as a means of pre-empting their likely involvement with tra� cking or smug-gling of Myanmar nationals into Ban-gladesh territory.”

The Commerce Ministry was asked to review the border trading pass sys-tem in order to further regulate the duration and movement of Myanmar nationals beyond a speci� c time limit and destination within the Bangladesh territory.

The Statistics and Informatics Divi-sion was supposed to develop a project proposal in consultation with the local district administration on conducting a survey of undocumented Myanmar na-tionals residing in Cox’s Bazar and the surrounding districts.

The issue of humanitarian assis-tance for the undocumented Myanmar nationals living in makeshift camps outside the two refugee camps would need to be coordinated among the gov-ernment agencies...in order to help the three international NGOs, which were asked to halt their activities in the area, to entirely wind down their work.

The document also mentioned that the IOM and the ICRC wanted to sup-port the primary healthcare facilities in the Cox’s Bazar district and provide wa-ter supply and sanitation. The meeting observed that the Unicef, if necessary, could be involved in the process in line with their mandate and competence.” l

Nat Geo: 10 species at risk after Sundarbans oil spilln Tribune Report

The massive oil spill in the world’s larg-est mangrove forest, the Sundarbans, has put many of the region’s fauna at severe risk.

The Unesco-listed World Heritage Site is the home to globally endangered species.

The National Geography Traveller, India has listed 10 species at risk from this terrible disaster. They are the rare Irrawady dolphins, the Bengal Tigers, leopard cats, great egrets, rhesus ma-caques, endemic river terrapin, black-capped king� shers, chitals, saltwater crocodiles, and the horseshoe crabs – known as a living fossil as it has been dated to 400m years ago.

“Although the wreckage has been removed, the damage may already be done given the intricate network of the various rivers of the Sundarbans,” Pradeep Vyas, director of the Sundar-bans Biosphere Reserve, told the Na-tional Geography Traveller, India.

“As of now, there isn’t any impact that’s been noted on the Indian side of the Sundarbans,” Vyas said. “But since it’s a single ecosystem, it’s only a mat-ter of time and we’re closely monitor-ing the situation.”

The oil spill was not entirely unex-pected, Vyas added. This situation had

been anticipated about six years ago. He said: “Trade routes used to

pass through the Sundarbans Tiger Reserve. We approached government authorities who conducted a feasibility survey.

Eventually, about four years ago, they diverted the route to minimise destructive impact. Now, the route goes along the periphery. Bangladesh still has ports within the Sundarbans forests, which continues to impact the biosphere.”

On December 9, a tanker carrying 350,000 litres of furnace oil sank in the Sundarbans Sela river that was salvaged after 55 hours. The oil spread along at least 80km of the river, seri-ously threatening the delicate ecology of the mangrove forest.

The Sundarbans delta contains the world’s largest unbroken mangrove forest, covering about 10,000sq-km across India and Bangladesh.

When contacted, Prof Monirul H Khan of zoology department at Jah-angirnagar University said: “No scien-ti� c explanation is possible to provide in short time. However, the [Nat Geo] report may provide some awareness suggestions.”

The underwater living being, Masked Finfood, would be the worst hit, he told the Dhaka Tribune. l

Myanmar shares a 271km border with Bangladesh’s Cox’s Bazar and Bandarban, of which 54km with Teknaf upazila alone

SC summons Prothom Alo editors n Tribune Report

The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court has summoned Prothom Alo Ed-itor Motiur Rahman and Joint Editor Mizanur Rahman Khan on allegation of contempt of court for publishing post-editorial on the appointment of chief justice.

Following a petition � led by SC law-yer Sirajum Munir, the 8-member full bench led by Chief Justice M Muzammel Hossain yesterday ordered the duo to appear on January 5 and explain. The court also asked them why contempt charges should not be initiated.

The newspaper published a post editorial yesterday titled “Selection of the Chief Justice” written by Mizanur

where he stated that although the chief justice would retire on January 16, there was little discussion on the ap-pointment procedure.

Earlier in the day, the bench was set to hear another petition. But before that, veteran lawyer Rokanuddin Mah-mud brought the article to the court’s attention. The bench then asked him to bring it in written.

Justice Shamsuddin said: “It is not possible for a half-educated man to re-alise the real explanation of laws.”

The court sought opinion of two senior lawyers and Attorney General Mahbubey Alam who also echoed Ro-kanuddin. Mahbubey said: “After 1974, no one maligned the dignity of the court like this through write-ups.” l

HC grants Rubel anticipatory bailn Tribune Report

The High Court yesterday granted four weeks’ anticipatory bail to cricketer Rubel Hossain in a case � led by actress Naznin Akhter Happy under the Women and Children Repression Prevention Act.

The HC bench comprising Justice AB Mahmudul Haque and Justice Akram Hossain granted the bail yesterday.

The paceman’s lawyer SM Rezaul Karim told reporters: “The court grant-ed bail after hearing a plea on Monday afternoon. But he will have to get ex-tension from the court after it expires.”

The � rst information report (FIR) says Rubel told Happy that they would marry and had a nine-month a� air that included physical interactions. Happy said they � rst met through friends and then stayed in touch on Facebook and mobile phone. l

RAB raids baby theft gang, arrests four n Mohammad Jamil

Khan

The Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) arrested four female suspected of belonging to a gang specialising in the kid-napping of newborn babies, in a raid conducted in the Lalbagh area of the capital yesterday.

A RAB intelligence team and a female o� cer made contact with the gang lead-er, Monoara, 50, under the guise of wanting to buy a baby. The asking price was Tk70,000.

A RAB 3 team then raid-ed the house and arrested four female who were in it at the time.

But Monoara managed to escape.

The arrestees were iden-ti� ed as Farida, 42, Jah-anara, 50, Ferdousi, 30, and Rozina, 50.

Lt Col Khandokar Golam Sarowar, commanding o� cer of RAB 3, at a press brie� ng on the premises of Dhaka Medical College Hospital said his team had been on the lookout for the baby theft gang for some time.

“We are handing over a 15-day-old female child to the Paediatric Department of the DMCH for treatment. We do not yet know the in-fant’s identity,” he said.

The arrestees denied in-volvement in the gang, but accused Monoara of being involved in baby theft. l

Ignoring reduced visibility, caused by dense fog at 2pm in the afternoon, vessels operate on the Shitalakkhya River at close proximity yesterday RAJIB DHAR

News4 DHAKA TRIBUNE Tuesday, December 16, 2014

Insurance o� cial to face credit card fraud chargen Md Sanaul Islam Tipu

A Dhaka court yesterday framed charges against an employee of Megh-na Life Insurance Company Ltd in a credit card theft and fraudulence case.

Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Ha-sibul Haque framed the charges under section 379, 419 and 411 of the penal code, rejecting a discharge petition � led by defence counsel. The court also � xed March 11 for starting the trial in the case.

Present before the court, the ac-cused, Jobaida Nasrin, pleaded not

guilty and sought justice after the charges were read out to her.

The credit card belonged to Appel-late Division Judge Justice AHM Sham-suddin Chowdhury.

According to the case statement, on June 27, the justice’s wife Sabera Ahamed Chowdhury went to the Ba-nani branch of fast-food chain KFC with her child, where she paid the bill with an Eastern Bank credit card which was endorsed with her husband’s name.

But after some time, she received an SMS noti� cation from the bank telling

her someone was using the credit card to purchase products from shops in Ba-nani and Gulshan. In total, Tk84,975 was spent; including Tk20,524 in Ba-nani’s Pharmacy Plus store, Tk16,983 in Gulshan’s Astorian store, Tk25,500 in Posh and Silk, and Tk21,966 in Shop-pers World.

Realising that the credit card was missing, Sabera � led a general diary with the Banani police station. The police investigated the issue and iden-ti� ed the accused using CCTV footage from the KFC.

The culprit, Jobaida, who currently lives in the capital’s Uttara and works as a representative in Meghna Insur-ance company’s Shantinagar branch, was arrested on September 20.

Jobaida was also put under a three-day remand, following which the sto-len credit card was recovered along with the goods that were purchased using it.

On October 31, Banani police station Sub-Inspector Mahmudul Hasan, also investigation o� ce of the case, pressed the charge sheet against the accused. l

Chhatra league besieges CU VC demanding removal of proctorn CU Correspondent

Activists of Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL) yesterday laid siege to the ad-ministrative o� ce of Chittagong Uni-versity and con� ned the vice-chancel-lor for two and a half hours, demanding removal of the proctor and immediate arrest of the killers of fellow activist Ta-pos Sarkar.

Under the banner of Choose Friend with Care, a faction of CU Chhatra League unit led by Sumon Mamun also vandalised windows of the ground � oor of Dr AR Mallik Bhaban and pelted stones at VC Professor Anwarul Azim Arif’s o� ce during the demonstration.

The VC was freed around 4:30pm following assurance that Proctor Siraj Ud Dowla would be removed within two days.

He, however, later told journalists

that as it was an o� cial post, steps against the proctor would be taken af-ter investigation.

Chhatra League leader Sumon Ma-mun said they had issued an ultima-tum for realising their demands but the VC did not pay any heed and that is why they locked the CU administrative building.

Tapos Sarker, a � rst year student of Sangskrit, was shot dead by his rivals at Shah Amanat dormitory during a clash between two factions of Chhatra League, the student wing of the ruling Awami League, on Sunday.

Following the killing, police raided Shahjalal dormitory and recovered a light gun and � ve rounds of bullets and a number of sharp weapons. “We went to Hathazari police station to lodge a murder case on Sunday night accusing 27 men but police did not take our case

for unknown reasons,” Sumon said.In the morning, some 60-70 activists

of Choose Friend with Care staged a sit-in before the CU administrative build-ing demanding arrest of Tapos’ killers and removal of the proctor.

The Chhatra League men kept the CU main gate under lock and key for half an hour halting the tra� c move-ment.

Chittagong Metropolitan Police (North)’s Additional Superintendent Mohammed Shahidullah said they brought the situation under control af-ter convincing the students of looking into their demands.

O� cer-in-Charge of of Hathazari police station Ismail Hossain said they had � led a case against 55 persons, in-cluding � ve Chhatra League men, in connection with the arms recovered from the Shahjalal Hall yesterday. l

Police constable, 1 other held for mugging n Mohammad Jamil Khan

A police constable and a police source were arrested in connection with robbing two men in broad daylight in the Capital’s Matshya Bhaban area yesterday.

“The arrestees were identi� ed as Nur-e-Alam, driver of Police Headquar-ters, and police source Mizanur Rah-man,” Shirajul Islam, o� cer in-charge of Shahbagh police station, told the Dhaka Tribune.

However, another Assistant Sub-In-spector Khalilur Rahman, who was also present at the spot with the duo, � ed the scene with Tk23 thousand snatched from the men.

Victims Liton and Sony told the Dha-ka Tribune that they dealt on currency exchange business in the Chawkbazar area. Yesterday noon, after changing money from Motijheel area, they were going back to Chawkbazar in a bicycle.

“Soon after we reached near High Court crossing, three police o� cials riding on a motorbike with a ‘Police’ sign on the front, stopped us,” said the duo.

“One of the police o� cials asked Li-ton to go with them saying that there was a case against him. When we re-fused, they threatened to arrest us,” said Sony.

At one point, they handcu� ed Liton and started dragging him with the mo-torbike. “Feeling helpless, we started shouting and soon people stopped the police o� cials. But one police o� cial left the spot immediately in the mo-torbike taking Tk23 thousands,” added Sony.

OC Shirajul said the angry mob handed over constable Nur and source Mizanur to Shahbagh police. “We have recovered Tk73,500 from their posses-

sion. Also, Nur and Mizanur have been shown arrest in the case � led by the victims. We are in search of ASI Khalil.”

When contacted, Md Firoz, sub-in-spctor of Motijheel police station, told the Dhaka Tribune that ASI Khalilur was not with Motijheel police any more. “He has been transferred to Po-lice Investigation Bureau on December 6 of the year,” added Firoz.

Earlier on November 1, � ve cops of Bhatara and Airport police station were arrested and suspended for their in-volvement in abduction and extortion near the Kuril Flyover.

Later Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) arrested a police constable from Dhan-mondi area in the capital for his alleged involvement in abduction on Novem-ber 11. l

Farmer shot dead in Comilla n Our Correspondent, Comilla

A farmer was killed when stray bul-lets � red by some extortionists missed their target in Daudkandi upazila in Co-milla yesterday.

Seven people were also injured in the incident.

The deceased is Ishaque, a resident of the area. He was rushed to Gouripur Hospital where doctors declared him dead, police said.

The miscreants opened � re at the trawlers of some sand traders in Gomti river as the latter denied to pay some extortion money, said Salam Miah, of-� cer-in-charge of Daudkandi Model

Police Station. The bullets hit Ishaque when he was

working in his � eld, he said. The miscreants have been collecting

extortion money from the owners of the sand-laden trawlers in the in river for a long time.

The trawlers’ owners said they could not pay the money as the extortionist demanded a big amount on that day.

The critically injured people were sent to Dhaka Medical College Hospital.

Ishaque’s wife Rizia Khatun � led case against 16 people by name, in-cluding Al-Amin, and seven others un-named people. l

Jubo Dal leader killed in capitaln Tribune Report

Police recovered the body of a Jubo Dal leader from his house in Kafrul area in the capital yesterday.

The deceased, Maolana Nasir, was the convenor of Kafrul Thana unit of Jubo Dal, and also the president of Ban-gladesh Kazi Samity.

Police said some leaders and activ-ists of the party went to meet Nasir to discus about the formation a commit-

tee of the local unit yesterday evening. At one stage of the discussion, they

locked in an altercation, and Nasir came under attack by the leaders and activists.

Nasir’s family members alleged that some miscreants entered their house and killed on the spot.

Police recovered the body around 7:00pm, and sent it to Dhaka Medical College morgue for an autopsy, said Kafrul Police Station O� cer-in-Charge Abdul Kaiyum. l

Banking services for garment workers n Tribune Report

In partnership with the World Bank (WB), the City Bank has recently launched a re-search project to ensure that the coun-try’s garment workers get easy access to the services of � nancial institutions, including banks and ATM booths.

Under its Innovations for Poverty Ac-tions (IPA) programme, the WB’s Devel-opment Economics Research Group will provide all kinds of support to the City Bank in this regard, read a press release.

City Bank MD and CEO Sohail RK Hus-sain inaugurated the programme at the capital’s Westin hotel on December 14. As part of the project, the City Bank has recently opened free bank accounts for RMG workers and installed ATM booths in cooperation with factory owners. l

Highway blocked over setting up bus countern Our Correspondent, Munshiganj

Workers and owners of Gun Gun, Ilish and BRTC paribahans blocked the Dha-ka-Mawa Highway yesterday over set-ting up counter.

SI Yusuf Ali of the highway police out-post said there had been a longstanding con� ict among the workers and own-ers of the three transport paribahans over setting up counter in the Shimulia Ghaat area. On the day, they blocked the highway for � ve hours disrupting vehi-cle-plying placing wood logs. l

Deal penned for 383MW Bibiyana plantn Aminur Rahman Rasel

The state-owned Power Develop-ment Board ( PDB) yesterday signed a contract with Isolux Ingenieria SA of Spain and Samsung C&T Corporation of South Korea for the construction of 383MW gas-based combined cycle Bibi-yana South Power Plant in Habiganj.

The joint venture of Isolux and Samsung will work in the project as an engineering, procurement and con-struction (EPC) contractor at a contract value of $288.26m.

It is expected that the project’s simple cycle unit will come into production in December 2016 and the combined cycle unit in June 2017. The PDB, under the Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources, will implement the project.

Md Zahurul Haque, secretary of PDB; Jose Luis Dago Elorza, general manager of Isolux Ingenieria; and Sung Ki Na, general manager of Samsung C& T Corporation, signed the contract on behalf of their respective sides.

“The government signed the deal with two foreign companies to set up a natural gas-based 383MW combined cy-cle power plant with the best quality of technology at Bibiyana to mitigate the high demand for electricity,” State Min-ister for Power Nasrul Hamid said while

speaking as the chief guest at the signing ceremony in the city’s Bidyut Bhaban.

Power Division Secretary Monowar Islam, Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission Chairman AR Khan and PDB Chairman Md Abduhu Ruhullah spoke at the contract signing ceremony as special guests.

“The project cost has been estimat-ed at $322.96m, while the EPC value is $288.26m,” Abduhu Ruhullah said.

The gas-� red combined cycle pow-er plant project’s total net generation capacity will be 383.51MW through its combination of simple cycle and com-bined cycle units, he said.

Electricity production cost in the project will be Tk1.13 kilowatt per hour (kWh) considering the plant factor at 85%, while the power tari� was esti-mated to be Tk4.70 per unit. The proj-ect’s lifetime has been � xed at 25 years.

The project’s gas turbine, steam tur-bine, generator and other main equip-ment will come from Germany, Bel-gium, the USA, Spain and China. The plant’s energy e� ciency is expected to be 53.37%. The power plant will con-sume around 60 mmcfd gas which will be supplied from the Bibiyana gas � eld.

The Bibiyana South project’s imple-mentation process started few years back and initially, it was named as Bib-iaya-1 and awarded to Summit Group to implement it as an independent power producer (IPP) plant.

For the � rst time, the government will be using the Energy Development and Maintenance Fund, which was created by introducing an additional amount with the price of electricity to � nance this project, to build the plant in place of the cancelled Bibiyana 1 project with Summit Group. l

Police present a constable and his cohort to media at the Shahbagh police station. They were arrested while trying to mug two men in the capital yesterday MEHEDI HASAN

Nasir Group chief skips ACC questioningn Adil Sakhawat

Nasir Group of Industries Chairman Na-sir Uddin Biswas and its nine other o� -cials have skipped the Anti Corruption Commission’s scheduled questioning at its headquarters in the capital.

They sought one-month time before facing the watchdog over allegations of money laundering and tax evasion worth Tk200 crore annually. According to the time petition, Nasir was now ill and so it was not possible for him to face the questioning.

ACC Commissioner M Shahabuddin Chuppu, however, said yesterday he had not received any time petition though its Inquiry O� cer and Assistant Direc-

tor SM Ra� qul Islam said Nasir Group applied for time extension a month ago.

Seeking anonymity, an ACC o� cial however said Inquiry O� cer SM Ra� qul Islam quizzed the owner of SB Money Changer Sharif Arifuzzaman Shiplu yes-terday for allegedly siphoning over Tk100 crore abroad in favour of Nasir Group.

He also asked Shiplu to submit all documents of transaction of SB money Changer from 2010 to 2013 during the questioning from 10 am to 11 am.

The commission is investigating the summoned individuals’ involvement in laundering over Tk200 crore annu-ally by evading tax against every letter of credit (LC) to import products. The amount might be much higher. l

The plant’s total net generation capacity will be 383.51MW through its combination of simple cycle and combined cycle units As the winter chill intensi� es in the evening, roadside shops selling Bhapa Pitha, a traditional molasses-� lled delicacy, become a favourite destination for Dhaka residents. This vendor

was selling steaming Bhapa Pithas on the Dhaka University campus yesterday MAINOOR ISLAM MANIK

WEATHER

PRAYER TIMES Fajr 5:12am Sunrise 6:31am Zohr 11:53am Asr 3:37pm Magrib 5:13pm Esha 6:33 pm

Source: Accuweather/UNB

D H A K ATODAY TOMORROW

SUN SETS 5:14PM SUN RISES 6:35AM

YESTERDAY’S HIGH AND LOW31.2ºC 13.6ºC

Chittagong Jessore

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 16

SourceL IslamicFinder.org

F O R E C A S T F O R T O D A YDhaka 26 17Chittagong 29 17Rajshahi 23 14Rangpur 23 14Khulna 25 15Barisal 26 17Sylhet 26 17Cox’s Bazar 27 19

5NewsDHAKA TRIBUNE Tuesday, December 16, 2014

DRY WEATHER

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Mass killing ground on verge of obliteration n Our Correspondent, Gaibandha

The mass killing ground at Gowaler Ghat area of Sundarganj in Gaiband-ha is on the brink of extinction. In-complete work of a memorial, lack of maintenance and erosion by the Teesta River are causing the historical place to decay gradually.

Even after 43 years of the independ-ence, a memorial could not be built on the ground due to lack of funding. Shrubs and plants have taken over the place making it a safe haven for drug addicts and miscreants.

Freedom Fighter Layek Ali Khan Mintu said, on December 9 of 1971, a group of 150 freedom � ghters, led by Commander Mahfuzur Rahman Khoka of Kurigram attacked the Sundarganj camp of Pakistan Occupation Forces. After 6 hours of � erce battle, the Paki-stan army retreated. They left the camp for Rangpur.

Mintu went on to recall the horrif-ic memory of the day they seized the camp. “When we went inside the build-ing, we discovered a torture cell, where Pakistani army tortured Bangalees by hammering nails on their hands and

feet. Some nails still had � esh on them! We also found a number of saris and undergarments of women, lying on the � oor torn and tattered.”

“On the north side of the lake, which was near the camp, we saw a large number of bodies. We could not do the count since many of the bodies were swollen and unidenti� able. We cannot forget the brutal massacre done by the

Pakistani force,” he continued. Commander of the upazila Muk-

tizoddha Sangshad, freedom � ghter Imdadul Haq Bablu said the camp was set up at the CO o� ce of Sundarganj sometime in April ‘71. “Since then till December, hundreds of men, women, girls, freedom � ghters, pro-liberation people and local Awami League activ-ists were detained, tortured and later

killed. The bodies were dumped by the lake, which bears historical testimony to the atrocities. Four years ago, local administration took the initiative to build a memorial but it is still incom-plete. Now the place has turned into a den for criminals.”

With much anguish and frustration, local journalist Abu Bakr Siddique said: “There were about 2400 members of Shanti Bahini in this upazila. People know very well what Salu Razakar, Mao-lana Aziz, Abdur Rahim and Tamij Ud-din did during the liberation war. But it is unfortunate that we could do nothing to bring them under justice. Also, those who gave their lives for our freedom, we could not give them due honour.”

General Secretary of upazila Awa-mi League Golam Mostafa Ahmed said there were three mass killing grounds in Sundarganj. “We have urged the ad-ministration to preserve those places many times. But our requests have fall-en on deaf ears.”

When asked, Upazila Nirbahi Of-� cer (acting) Rashedul Haq cited lack of funding for not completing the me-morial and for the poor condition of the grounds. l

Four years after the work began, the memorial at Gowaler Ghat mass killing ground in Sundarganj is yet to be completed. Moreover, lack of maintenance has made this historical place vulnerable to erosion by the Teesta River DHAKA TRIBUNE

GAZIPUR GARMENT WORKER GANG-RAPE

Case recorded as policeman’s misconduct revealed n Our Correspondent, Gazipur

Police on Sunday night recorded a case in connection with the gang-rape of a young garment worker in Sreepur, al-legedly after a policeman’s inappropri-ate behaviour came to light.

It was said that the o� cer-in-charge (investigation) of Sreepur Model police station contacted the girl himself and brought her to the police station after reporters came to know how he had mistreated her when she came to lodge a case after the rape.

A sub-inspector of the police sta-tion, who did not want to be named, said the o� cer-in-charge, Khan Mo-hammad Abul Kashem, hurled abuse at

the girl when she came to � le a lawsuit and also forced her to leave.

“Three of the girl’s neighbours brought her to the police station and Kashem also threatened them, saying that he would accuse them in the case. But he later brought the girl to the po-lice station and recorded the case when his misconduct was disclosed to re-porters,” he said.

But Kashem denied the allegation, saying the girl left the police station on purpose. He said he contacted her after collecting her address from reporters and then recorded the case. Mean-while, the girl accused � ve men in the case but named only two – Asad Ullah Pradhan and Nayan. l

Study: Integrated interventions can promote reproductive health knowledgen Tribune Report

Integrated interventions can promote sexual and reproductive health knowl-edge among people and reduce vio-lence against young women and girls in the urban slums, according to a recent study.

Findings of the study were revealed yesterday at a dissemination seminar titled “Growing up safe and healthy (SAFE): Addressing sexual and repro-ductive health and rights and violence against women and girls in Dhaka slums” at ICDDR,B auditorium in the capital.

The study demonstrated that com-bining workforce of all organisations working on legal rights of both males and females, launching community campaigns and activism, and providing legal and health service on the ground can reduce violence against young women and girls in the urban slums.

A consortium of researchers, service providers and activists worked togeth-er to develop and implement this pro-ject, led by the ICDDR,B (International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh). Other organisations which collaborated in the research in-clude Bangladesh Legal Aid and Servic-es Trust (BLAST), Marie Stopes Bangla-desh, Nari Maitree, Population Council and We Can Campaign.

Speakers at the seminar said com-pared to women and girls living in the rural and other urban areas, those living in the slums experience higher rates of violence and poorer sexual and reproductive health.

The project was the � rst interven-tion to integrate group awareness-rais-ing sessions, community campaigns, and activism of community members with easy access to e� ective legal and health services.

It is also the � rst of its kind in the de-veloping world to demonstrate positive changes in the community at a large scale, the speakers said.

Tariqu-ul Islam, secretary at the Ministry of Women and Children Af-fairs and chief guest at the event, said: “The SAFE project o� ers important insight into what works in addressing sexual and reproductive health and violence against women and girls in urban slums. It also o� ers a powerful model for how we can make a di� er-ence in these settings.

“The most important thing about this project is that the vulnerable wom-en and girls have grown more con� -dent. So, these � ndings will help the government to make policies and pro-grammes on the slums accordingly.”

Barrister Sara Hossain, honorary ex-ecutive director of the BLAST, said: “It is not just telling you that you have a right not to be beaten, but where to go if this happens, what you can do, who will help you, and having committed and competent people on hand to pro-vide that help.”

Dr Sajeda Amin, senior associate at the Population Council, said: “There is still much to be done. We need to scale the project up, while it would be ideal to come back in a few years to evaluate the lasting community im-pact of this programme.” l

Speaker: Youths pioneers of innovative thoughtsn Rafe Sadnan Adel

The youth are the pioneers of innovative thoughts and it is the duty of the sen-ior citizens to guide them properly, Speaker Dr Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury said yesterday.

She also suggested young people to work vol-untarily for the under-privileged children of the society while addressing a programme of Bangladesh Youth Parliament 2014. The programme, which had three sessions, was held at the Cirdap auditorium in the capital and saw partici-pation of 300 young leaders from all over the country.

“Youths have to � nd out

the problems that exists in their own areas and have to discuss those in the forum to bring those to the atten-tion of the policymakers. This will help the policy-makers to work on the prob-lems,” said the Speaker.

CEO of Youth Forum Tanjina Noushin said the platform was established for the youth to share their views in a way which would make them feel like they are the future leaders. “This is how we are trying to ensure constructive leadership."

She also said they already have 25,000 youth-based organisations under their belt which is why they are hopeful that they can make the desired change. l

Security guard hacked to deathn Tribune Report

Unidenti� ed goons hacked a security guard of a private � rm to death at Mirpur in the capital early morning yesterday.

The victim, Md Shahjahan, 65, resi-dent of Pallabi area, was employed as a security guard at Ahmed Food Products, located on the ground � oor of a 10-sto-rey building behind Purobi cinema.

Police said some unidenti� ed mis-creants attacked Shahjahan left him severely injured.

He was taken to Dhaka Medical Col-lege and Hospital.

The doctors on duty pronounced him dead around 9.30am. l

Two abducted children rescuedn Our Correspondent, Narshingdi

Two days after their abduction from Dhaka, two children were rescued from Narshindi early yesterday.

Police also arrested two women for their alleged involvement in the inci-dent.

On Saturday evening, Tousif Hos-sain, 5, son of Ra� qul Islam of Shah-jadpur area in the capital’s Badda, and Minhaz Hossain,4, of Babul Mia of the same area, were kidnapped when they were playing at a place near their hous-

es, quoting the victim’s family mem-bers police said.

Monir Hossain, hailed from Taroa area in Narshindi and residing at a rent-ed house in the capital’s Badda; and Ma-mun Mia, a resident of Kamartek area in Shibpur upazila, demanded Tk12 lakh from the parents of the victims on that night of the abduction, they said.

Later, parents of the victims � led general diaries with Badda Police Sta-tion and informed the matter to Rapid Action Battalion (Rab-1).

A team of police from Narshindi Sa-

dar Police Station conducted a drive at a rented house of Monir in Taroa area of Narshindi, and rescued the children.

The law enforcers also arrested Sha-hida Bagum, 20, wife of Monir Hossain, and Rahima Aktar, 35, a sister-in-law of Mamun, for their alleged involvement in the abduction.

The children were handed over to their family members, said Narhindi Sadar Model Police Station O� cer-in-Charge Abul Kasem.

Drives were going on to arrest Monir and Mamun, he said. l

Youth Forum CEO Tanjina Noushin receives a prize from Speaker Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury during a programme of Bangladesh Youth Parliament 2014 at Cirdap auditorium in the capital yesterday MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU

Tuesday, December 16, 2014DHAKA TRIBUNE World6

Guantanamo 9/11 hearing to focus on FBI in� ltrationn Reuters

FBI e� orts to in� ltrate defense teams will top the agenda when a US mili-tary court hearing for suspects in the Sept 11, 2001, attacks starts yesterday, the � rst such proceeding since a Sen-ate report on CIA torture was released last week.

The two-day pretrial hearing at the US prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, will focus on the extent of Federal Bureau of Investigation intrusion into defense teams, according to the docket on a Pentagon website.

Judge James Pohl, an Army colonel, ruled in July that no con� ict of interest arose for defense attorneys from the FBI approaching a security o� cer for a defense team. The allegations surfaced in April, further delaying a complex, slow-moving case.

Lawyers for accused Sept 11 master-mind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four other suspects want Pohl to de-termine the extent of FBI contact with defense team members.

“Otherwise, we can’t dispel the idea we’re being watched, which chills the ability to conduct a defense,” said David Nevin, the lead counsel for Mohammed.

The Defense Department website shows a � urry of secret � lings in recent

days, including from a special Justice Department team appointed to inves-tigate the FBI’s role.

Mohammed and fellow Sept. 11 sus-pect Ramzi Binalshibh were among prisoners who underwent torture by the Central Intelligence Agency, according to the report by the Senate Intelligence Committee released on Tuesday.

The report on the CIA interrogation program implemented after the Sept. 11 attacks said Mohammed was sub-jected to waterboarding, or simulated drowning, “rectal hydration” and sleep deprivation.

Nevin and James Connell III, a law-yer for accused Sept. 11 plotter Ali Ab-dul Aziz Ali, said the Senate report was unlikely to be raised at the Guantana-mo Bay hearing.

“It certainly will not be the central focus,” Connell said.

He added that the report showed al-leged mistreatment not only of defen-dants, but of a potential witness, Majid Khan, an aide to Mohammed. He said prosecutors needed to turn material on treatment of defendants and witnesses over to defense lawyers.

Lieutenant Colonel Myles Caggins III, a Pentagon spokesman on military commissions, did not immediately re-spond to a request for comment. l

Hamas � ies drone over Gaza during anniversary parade n AFP, Gaza City

The Islamic militant group Hamas staged a show of strength to mark its 27th anniversary Sunday, with a mili-tary parade through Gaza including a � yover by a drone.

Founded in 1987 shortly after the start of the � rst Palestinian intifada, or uprising, Hamas was inspired by Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood.

Its charter calls for the eventual destruction of Israel and the establish-ment of an Islamic state on the pre-1948 borders of the British Palestine Mandate.

The Jerusalem Post said the Israeli air force scrambled warplanes to mon-itor the Hamas drone, which did not cross into Israel.

“According to a military source, the jets were prepared to deal with the threat, but returned to base after the air force saw there was no threat to Is-raeli air space,” the Post website said.

An Israeli military spokesman con-� rmed the drone � ight but would not comment on Israeli reaction.

On the ground, rocket and mor-tar launchers trundled through the rain-swept Gaza streets along with thousands of masked, black-clad and helmeted � ghters of Hamas’s military arm, the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades.

Lorries carried larger rockets, such as the locally produced M75, which have a range of 80 kilometres (50

miles), meaning they can reach Jerusa-lem and Tel Aviv.

Frogmen of the Brigades’ naval commandos posed in wetsuits and other militants rappelled down the walls of a building.

Qassam spokesman Abu Obeida praised Iran for its support.

“Thank you to all the people and the countries, � rst among which is the Islamic Republic of Iran which did not skimp on money, weapons and oth-er things and provided the resistance with rockets,” he said in a speech.

During seven weeks of war this summer between Israel and Hamas, the main power in the Gaza Strip, mil-itants � red 3,659 rockets or mortar rounds on the Jewish state, the Israeli army said.

The army said it hit 5,226 targets in Gaza, with air strikes, shelling or tank � re.

The Gaza health ministry said 2,143 Palestinians were killed, nearly 70% of them civilians.

On the Israeli side, 73 were killed, mostly soldiers.

During the con� ict the military said it shot down two Hamas drones over Israel.

Qassam says the “Ababil” drone is manufactured in Gaza.

In 2012, during a previous major op-eration against Gaza, Israel said it had destroyed a military drone production workshop set up by Hamas. l

Israeli PM rejects Palestinian UN bid as he meets Kerry n AFP, Rome

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Ne-tanyahu yesterday angrily rejected a Palestinian bid to set a UN deadline for an end to Israel’s occupation as he headed to Rome for high-stakes talks with US top diplomat John Kerry.

“We will not accept attempts to dic-tate to us unilateral moves on a limited timetable,” the Israeli leader said in a statement before � ying to Italy.

He was due to meet Kerry later Mon-day in the US ambassador’s residence here, as Washington seeks to avert an end-of-year showdown at the United Nations Security Council.

The Palestinians have said they in-tend to submit a draft text setting a two-year deadline for an end to the de-cades-long Israeli occupation of their lands as early as Wednesday.

France is also leading European ef-forts to cobble together a resolution which would require a return to the Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations.

US o� cials have said Kerry is aim-ing to learn more about the European initiative, which could place the US ad-ministration in a quandary.

Traditionally the US has used its power of veto at the UN Security Coun-cil to shoot down what it sees as moves against its close regional ally, Israel.

But there is a growing impatience in Europe to end the impasse in the peace negotiations amid fears that the Middle East risks spiralling into even greater chaos.

Several European parliaments have called on their governments to move ahead with the recognition of a Pales-tinian state.

US o� cials told reporters accompa-nying Kerry that Washington has not yet decided whether to veto or back a European-led UN initiative.

The US administration opposes moves to bind negotiators’ hands through a UN resolution – particularly any attempt to set a deadline for the withdrawal of Is-raeli troops from the West Bank.

A US veto risks however running contrary to Washington’s avowed aims of a Palestinian state and would anger key Arab allies – many of whom have joined the US-led coalition against Is-lamic State militants.

Netanyhau seized on Monday’s hostage seige in Australia as proof that Israel had to uphold its security in its turbulent region. l

Imran Khan leads anti-government protest in Lahore n AFP

Workers from Pakistani cricket-er-turned-politician Imran Khan’s party shut down major roads in the eastern city of Lahore yesterday in the latest round of protests against the government.

Dozens of supporters from Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party gathered at di� erent junctions of the city’s major roads and burnt tyres, forcing the suspension of public trans-port services.

Khan claims the 2013 general elec-tion was rigged and wants Prime Min-ister Nawaz Sharif, whose power base lies in Lahore, to resign.

Local and foreign observers, how-ever, have rated the polls as credible.

A heavy police presence is on the streets to try to prevent violence, fol-lowing clashes at a similar protest in the city of Faisalabad last week.

Khan has vowed to paralyse major cities around the country as part of his e� orts to topple Sharif’s government. l

‘CIA went too far’n Reuters

As former Vice President Dick Cheney argued on Sunday that the CIA’s ag-gressive interrogation of terrorism sus-pects did not amount to torture, the man who provided the legal rationale for the program said that in some cases it had perhaps gone too far.

Former Justice Department lawyer John Yoo said the sleep deprivation, rec-tal feeding and other harsh treatment outlined in a US Senate report last week could violate anti-torture laws.

“If these things happened as they’re described in the report ... they were not supposed to be done. And the people who did those are at risk legally because they were acting outside their orders,” Yoo said on CNN’s “Fareed Zakaria GPS.”

As Deputy Assistant US Attorney Gen-eral in the O� ce of Legal Counsel in 2002, Yoo co-wrote a memo that was used as the legal sanction for what the CIA called its program of enhanced interrogation techniques after the Sept 11 attacks.

The memo said only prolonged mental harm or serious physical inju-ry, such as organ failure, violated the Geneva Convention’s ban on torture. Aggressive interrogation methods like waterboarding fell short of that mark.

Yoo’s comments on Sunday con-trasted with those of Cheney and for-mer national security o� cials who in-voke his memo to argue that the harsh treatment of detainees was legal. l

Russian arms sales soar on domestic spending n AFP, Stockholm

Sales by Russian arms manufac-turers continue to expand thanks to Moscow’s investments despite a downturn in global defence spend-ing, a Stockholm-based think-tank said yesterday.

“The remarkable increases in Rus-sian companies’ arms sales in both 2012 and 2013 are in large part due to uninterrupted investments in military procurement by the Russian govern-ment during the 2000s,” said Siemon Wezeman, senior researcher at the Stockholm International Peace Re-search Institute (SIPRI).

Sales by Russian-based arms � rms grew by 20% in 2013, according to SIPRI.

However, � gures for the 100 biggest arms-dealing nations excluding China declined for the third year in a row, with a two-percent drop in sales in 2013 to $402 billion (322 billion euros).

SIPRI’s report does not include Chi-

na due to a lack of reliable data. China’s companies supply a military that enjoys the world’s second-biggest budget.

The Russian company with the big-gest increase in sales in 2013 was Tac-tical Missiles Corporation, which reg-istered a 118-percent hike, followed by Almaz-Antey, with a 34% increase.

Almaz-Antey is now the 12th-largest arms manufacturer in the world, get-ting closer to the top 10, “which has been exclusively populated by arms

producers from the US o r Western Eu-rope since the end of the Cold War,” SIPRI said.

The think-tank mentioned the withdrawal from Afghanistan and Iraq as one of the main reasons for a 4.5-percent decline in arms sales by US companies.

Despite the decrease, the US still dominates the list with six companies in the top 10.

US group Lockheed Martin is number one, with sales of $35.5 bil-lion in 2013, followed by fellow-US � rm Boeing.

As for the buyers, world military ex-penditure fell in 2013 by 1.9%, mostly dragged down by cuts in the United States and other Western countries, SI-PRI said in a previous report published in April.

Russia was the third-largest spend-er in defence after the US and China and has more than doubled its military expenditure since 2004, according to SIPRI’s April report.

Russia’s increasing assertiveness in neighbouring regions, including the annexation of Crimea and repeat-ed airspace violations in Europe, has become a major concern for Western countries.

Pro-Russian separatists in east Ukraine have been � ghting Ukrainian forces since April in a war which has claimed more than 4,000 lives and driven hundreds of thousands of peo-ple from their homes.

Moscow has repeatedly denied in-volvement but openly gives political backing to the self-declared separatist statelets in the east.

SIPRI was created in 1966 and is partly � nanced by the Swedish state. It specialises in research on con-� icts, weapons, arms control and disarmament.

The think-tank de� nes arms sales as “sales of military goods and services to military customers including both sales for domestic procurement and sales for export.” l

SYDNEY HOSTAGE SITUATION

Siege ends as police storm Lindt Cafen Guardian

An armed siege at a cafe in the heart of Sydney has ended after police entered the building shortly after a series of loud bangs were heard and groups of hostages ran out onto the street.

In dramatic scenes about 17 hours after a single armed man, named in re-ports as Man Haron Monis, � rst took an unknown number of hostages, heavily armed police stormed the Lindt Cafe, in a building on Martin Place, a pedes-trianised street in the middle of Syd-ney’s central business district.

Several bursts of gun� re and loud bangs could be heard, and several peo-ple were seen being carried from the building, apparently injured. Some re-ports said a police o� cer had been hurt.

Paramedics moved in and took away several injured people on stretchers.

The chaotic scenes began as be-tween � ve and seven hostages were seen running from the cafe, the second group of captives to escape since the siege began at about 9.45am on Mon-day local time. Later, other groups of what appeared to be hostages could be seen running out.

A gunman carrying a blue sports bag had reportedly entered the cafe and a hostage situation quickly devel-oped, with heavily armed police sur-rounding the cafe and closing o� the streets of the central area of Australia’s biggest city.

Early images showed some hostag-es apparently forced to hold a black and white � ag against the window bearing the Islamic creed, raising fears that a terrorist attack was under way. Other terri� ed hostages inside the cafe could be seen with their hands pressed against the glass.

A black � ag in the window of the cafe appeared to bear the Shahada, an Islam-ic a� rmation of the oneness of God, reading: “There is no god but the God, Muhammad is the messenger of God.”

The creed is common in the Islamic world and appears on the Saudi Arabi-an � ag, but has been embraced by Is-

lamist groups such as Jabhat al-Nusra and Hizb ut-Tahrir.

The man reported to be behind the Sydney cafe siege, Man Haron Monis, who is currently on bail facing doz-ens of charges of indecent and sexual assault. A fringe � gure in Australia’s Muslim community, Monis has been spurned by Shia leaders, who have re-portedly urged federal police to inves-tigate the man over his claims to be an ayatollah, or Shia cleric.

The Iranian-born 49-year-old, who apparently converted from Shia Islam to Sunni only last week, was infamous-ly involved in sending ‘grossly o� en-sive’ letters to parents and relatives of Australian victims of terrorism and troops killed in Afghanistan between 2007 and 2009. He unsuccessfully challenged the conviction in the high court last year.

He has also been accused of being an accessory in the killing of his ex-wife, a charge for which he remains on bail.

He told ABC News in 2001 that he � ed Australia � ve years earlier af-ter falling foul of the Iranian regime, which he said had placed his wife and children under house arrest. ‘I can say they are hostage,’ he said at the time.

Tony Abbott, the Australian prime minister, made a short statement as the siege was ongoing, urging Aus-tralians to be resolute. “We don’t yet know the motivation of the perpetra-tor, we don’t know whether this is po-litically motivated although obviously there are some indications that it could be,” the prime minister said.

“We have to appreciate that even in a society such as ours, there are peo-ple who would wish to do us harm, that’s why we have police and securi-ty organisations of the utmost profes-sionalism that are ready and able to respond to a whole range of situations and contingencies including this situa-tion that we are now seeing in Sydney.”

Australia’s grand mufti, Dr Ibrahim Abu Mohammad, said he was devas-tated by the news of the stando� . l

The Saradha plot thickens n Agencies

The arrest of a West Bengal minister in the Saradha scam can be looked at in two ways. First, the investigation into the scam has gone further after the Central Bureau of Investigation’s (CBI’s) second chargesheet, though it is not clear why the minister’s arrest came so late. The Saradha boss, Sudip-ta Sen, reportedly gave details to the CBI about the mini ster’s � nancial links with the � rm quite some time ago.

Second, as expected, the scope for politicising the scam has deepened as the development has come after the allegation made by BJP president Amit Shah that ill-gotten money from the scam had been used to � nance the Burdwan blasts, insinuating that the subversive act was the handiwork of Trinamool leaders, and that the West Bengal government was shielding the blast-accused.

The CBI’s statement has contradict-ed the � rst charge, and as regards the second evidence for it has not been forthcoming even as Mamata Banerjee, Trinamool president and West Bengal chief minister, has again complained of her party being the subject of vendetta.

How deep the nexus was between the Saradha group and the Trinamool Congress can be assessed only after the CBI completes its investigation. But the way the Trinamool has been behaving only reinforces suspicions of wrong-doing. Earlier a minister in the West Bengal government had talked about a “� shing and roving” probe by the CBI. Thereafter Ms Banerjee took to the streets after the CBI arrested her party colleague and MP Srinjoy Bose.

Though she had earlier said she had nothing against the CBI probe, which the Supreme Court had ordered, she herself accused the CBI of trying to

shield the “real guilty.”As a result of all this, what people

know least is the direction in which the overall probe is going. The CBI has reportedly initiated an inquiry on how Ripley & Company, owned by the ar-rested Bose’s family, managed to car-ry out cargo-handling operations at Haldia Port for 25 years, without sup-posedly paying royalty to the Kolkata Port Trust. In its second chargesheet, the agency put a value of almost Taka 850 crore as the sum involved.

The Enforcement Directorate, which was supposed to submit its chargesheet in November, has not done so and what accounts for the de-lay? People need to know more about where exactly lay the culpability of the people arrested in the scam, which laws of the land were broken and how. This way a case for tighter supervision by the appropriate � nancial authori-ties can be made. l

O N T O P O F T H E W O R L D

I T W O R K S

This year’s Miss World Rolene Strauss (South Africa), center, waves � anked by � rst runner up Edina Kulcsar (Hungary), left, and second runner up Elizabeth Safrit (USA), right, during the grand � nal of the pageant at the Excel London ICC Auditorium in London on Sunday AFP

Russia was the third-largest spender in defence after the US and China and has more than doubled its military expenditure since 2004

A drone belonging to the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas’ armed wing, � ies over Gaza City on Sunday during a parade AFP

7Advertisement Tuesday, December 16, 2014DHAKA TRIBUNE

8DHAKA TRIBUNE Victory Day 2014 Tuesday, December 16, 2014

n Tribune Desk

I was in Jatrabari, and I had been huddled with a few children inside

a makeshift bunker. We had dug it up and put on a roof of some sort. The bunker was close to the road, right in the middle of the battles that had been going on for several days. But that afternoon, we saw the Pakistani army in retreat. Hundred of soldiers were walking down the Dhaka-Chittagong highway, along with tanks and lorries, retreating from frontline or wherever they had been � ghting. We watched them go by for hours.

In the evening when I heard some-one screaming “Joy Bangla,” I knew we had our freedom and our Bangladesh. Until that moment, we could say it to one another, quietly, in the privacy of our homes.

That day we were � nally able to go outside and shout freely: “Joy Bangla!”

– Muhammed Zafar Iqbal

We were in the Bandarban area when we � rst heard the news on

an Indian radio that the Pakistani army had surrendered. We were not that sure about ultimate victory though, as the scenario was di� erent in Chit-tagong than Dhaka. We approached the city from the jungle of Chittagong Hill Tracts, slowly, our feet ready for combat.

When we � nally got in Chittagong proper, we realised: Yes we are free.

I was hugging each and every object that belonged to my country, be it a street dog or an unknown face that was also smiling at our joy of victory.

– Moin Ahsan

Being a Shadharon Shoinik (junior commander in the general infantry

division), I was posted in a camp in a forester boat, in the Sundarbans on the Tetulbaria River. We had been intently listening to the radio since the afternoon, eagerly awaiting news.

Night had fallen, when suddenly

there was a deafening noise. An elder in our group suddenly leaped up in the air so high that we thought he was go-ing to go right through the low roof of our boat. Right then we knew we were no longer at war, that we had won, and the moment was ecstatic.

It felt as if the darkness had come alive. The forests beyond the waters echoed and trembled with the roar that jarred our senses to the core. Everything in that moment sang the tune of victory.

The roar had been the accumulated cry of joy from 14,500 soldiers posted on the river at the ends of its numer-ous tributaries. Afterwards people were laughing and hugging. There were smiles all around.

Khurshid Jahan Begum

I didn’t really have to wait for any broadcast news. I saw it right

before my eyes. I was living in my grandmother’s house in a village near Dhaka, where I saw Pakistani soldiers

chased by the freedom � ghters, run-ning for their lives, all the way from Tangail.

The occupational army was too defeated to even take their vehicle to run away. We knew we had won.

– Tahmina Begum

Victory? Oh, that was not all of a sudden. It was long awaited,

long struggled and fought for. I was posted as the magistrate in Kushtia at that time, but I and one of my senior colleagues were in Mujibnagar. When Dorshona became free on December 6, we were eagerly awaiting news of Kushtia. We heard Kushtia was on December 10.

There was a kind of apprehension while I entered the free zone the next day. I knew I would not see many of us who were killed in the war. Victo-ry: The tiny word has a vast history behind it.

– Arabinda Kar

I was in Norail, which was a subdi-vision of Jessore district back then.

Around December 3 at 3am, a group of freedom � ghters came to my house asking for a little food to carry them through the night. After getting to know them, we o� ered to hide their � rearms, which were mostly sten guns and ri� es. They explained that the surrounding villages were currently under Bangladesh’s command. Among the villages that they had personally taken part in getting rid of Pakistani soldiers were Lokkhipasha and Lo-hagarha.

On December 9, they were at our house again asking to listen to the radio, and around 9pm it was an-nounced that we had overcome the Pakistani forces.

I was overjoyed, but I could see that the joy felt by the � ghters standing in front of me surpassed mine. Their faces exuded joy of a magnitude that left no doubt that the nine months of war and torture and su� ering was well worth it. We had peace.

– Sabina Sharmeen

I was in Bagerhat, Khulna. By De-cember I was getting traumatised,

watching dead bodies � oating by my house every other day. It was a terrible time.

I had the good fortune of being able to provide shelter to a group of nine Hindu kids, no older that 16 and 17, who were being hunted for their religion. I hung a gigantic lock on the front door and kept them hidden along with myself and my 6-month-old son. When the military came looking, I kept them all pressed right underneath the ventilation grates on the wall. When they peaked in, they couldn’t see the nine youngsters hiding in quite literally under their noses.

It was those kids I was thinking of while listening to the victory an-nouncement on Bangladesh Betar. I wondered whether they had made it across safely.

Monwara Huda

I was too young to take part in the ac-tual � ghting, but my father used to

keep me updated on the war situation on a daily basis. In December I was in Dhaka, and when the radio spoke of victory I saw my father crying and thanking God for mercy, for bringing an end to the bloodbath that had en-sued in March. We had won the right to speak Bangla in our motherland. We could � nally live free in it.

– Anisul Islam

We all had been expecting it. It’s like the birth of a new baby – it

doesn’t just happen. We knew it was coming, and we’d been waking up the last few days thinking: “It’ll be today!” And then, it was. We gathered on our balcony to see those celebrating. We were too young then, so we couldn’t leave the house. But we watched the celebration from home.

– Syed Sadeque Mohammad Ali

The moment Akashvani (All India Radio) aired the declaration of

independence, a rush of blood to my head screamed that we were free. I started shooting towards the clouds, embraced my brothers at arms, and then for a few moments, everything was an ecstatic blur.

– AKM Mozammel Hoque

A lot of people were staying together for security reasons. We were in

Bakshibazar, in a house whose owner had been sent to the village. I was working on community activities when the signing [of the surrender document] was taking place. People were joyous and celebrating. Many freedom � ghters from just outside the city were pouring in. However, since the Pakistani army members in Dhaka weren’t aware that independence had happened, they were still shooting some of the Bangalis who had come out to celebrate.”

– Zubeida Rahman

I was there! I was at the racecourse, standing 300ft from Niazi and

Aurora when they signed the surrender document. It just happened by chance.

I had been standing on Fuller Road, talking with friends about rumours of surrender – when two freedom � ghters drove by in a Pakistani jeep on their way to the racecourse.

They shouted the news to us excit-edly, and asked us to join them, which of course we did. My father, a Dhaka University professor, saw me drive by, and at � rst he tried to stop me, but when he heard what was happening he jumped into the jeep with us!

We saw the Pakistani soldiers march into the racecourse and stand in an L formation. It felt dangerous even though they were surrendering, because they were still all armed.

There were only a couple hundred civilians present. I felt lucky to be there. I had no idea I would get this chance to witness history being made.

– Mushtaque Habib

n Asif Islam

On the banks of the Karnaphuli River, 48km from Chittagong, a Bangali chemical engineer, Kaiser Siddiqi (not his real name), was doing his best to keep the Karnaphuli Rayon Mill oper-ating in the middle of a war.

With a sta� of various ethnicities, he concentrated on keeping everybody safe, and the mill spinning, despite the unrest sweeping the country.

The Karnaphuli industrial site at Chandraghona was crucially impor-tant to West Pakistan. The nearby paper mill was one of the largest in Asia at the time. Securing the mills was a tactical priority for Pakistan’s military rulers.

From early October through the end of November, the Mukti Bahini was operating at a greater intensity and with greater success than before. Attacks on infrastructure, rail and road communications, industrial installa-tions and gas pipelines, coupled with the growing reach of the provisional government’s parallel administration, slowly unravelled the Pakistani ad-ministration’s grip on the province.

So it was that in mid-November, that Kaiser – caught in the turbulent eddies created by the Pakistani mili-tary – prepared to abandon the West Pakistan-owned mill.

“You have daughters, sir. You have to get out until things calm down,” Chowdhury, one of his sta� members said. Kaiser was taken aback by the panic in his voice.

He replied: “Why? What has hap-pened? Where would we go?”

Kaiser admits to me in our inter-view: “The truth is, I was naive. I knew what was happening and I knew we were in danger. But I focused on my work and prayed for the best. I had not really planned for the worst.”

Strained looks and hushed ex-changes are common during wartime,

especially in a place like Chandragho-na where members of both camps have to live and work side by side. But the urgency in Chowdhury’s voice was di� erent that day.

“We cross the river, sir. I have a relative in a village on the far bank. He has a large house, owns a bit of land and enjoys the respect and loyalty of his neighbours. You will be safe.”

In a few days, Kaiser, his family, and another family of Bangali o� cers, were bundled into a waiting boat and moved beyond the threshold of immi-nent danger. They would not likely be pursued in the interior by the Paki-stani forces, they thought. Open bat-tles, like that fought at Rangamati-Ma-halchari Waterway in the Chittagong Hill Tracts in April, were now being avoided by the Pakistan military as Mukti Bahini guerilla tactics became more e� ective. Chittagong, with its hilly terrain and myriad nationalities, kept them on the back foot.

Chowdhury’s relative in the village was a wise and thoughtful host. “The women will be safe here, scattered among my family members and neigh-bours. But the men cannot be found here. If the military sends out a search party and they � nd you, obvious city dwellers, they will assume you are Mukti Bahini and you will summarily be shot.”

Kaiser and the other men from the Chandraghona mill set o� on a day-long trek to avoid avoid army trackers or informants sent to � nd them.

“We will walk through the village into the countryside beyond, and will stay there until nightfall. You must keep up and keep moving. Our lives depend on it,” Chowdhury said.

The little party trekked for hours, exchanging glances and smiles with people in the villages and wilderness they passed through.

Jum people, Bangali people and people of multiple ethnicities nodded

at and greeted the little party. Kaiser tells me: “People of many

backgrounds were quietly supporting our cause. Whether by o� ering a nod of solidarity, or sharing in the com-radeship of conspiratorial silence or o� ering a drink or food as we made our way to nowhere in particular, all of the seemed to be saying to us: ‘We are in your corner, you are not alone, victory is ours’.”

Accounts of the Liberation War in Chittagong miss that, despite the

Chakma king Tridev Roy’s decision to opt for Pakistani citizenship after independence, his mother the Rajmata Benita Roy led Bangladesh’s delega-tion in the diplomatic e� ort to gain recognition for Bangladesh in the United Nations.

It is important to also remember Bir Bikram Euke Ching Marma, free-dom � ghter Karuna Mohan Chak-ma and martyred freedom � ghter Khagendra Nath Chakma. They are just a few of the many members of the Jum people and other commu-nities who supported, fought and died for independence in 1971. Their names and the memory of their val-our must not be forgotten.

Kaiser says he was never entirely sure of Chowdhury’s ethnicity. The two communicated in Bangla and English, but Kaiser was aware that members of the Bandarban Chowd-hury family did live in the vicinity.

The daily treks from sun-up to

nightfall continued for over a week. As it turned out, no military patrols had been sent in search of the mill sta� . Kaiser crossed back across the river and found his house ransacked and learned that a young colleague who stayed behind had been murdered by the Pakistani forces.

It was near the end of November and Mukti Bahini engagements had intensi� ed and were being met with desperate Pakistani e� orts at rollback. The international press had by now

given the world an idea of the carnage wrought by the Pakistan military. Simon Dring, Colin Smith, Peter Kann, Peter Hazelhurst and Anthony Mas-carenhas had sent o� their seminal dispatches. Bangladesh’s struggle for independence found refuge in the hearts and minds of people every-where.

So when Kaiser told two British doctors, who he had befriended when he � rst arrived in Chandraghona, that he had to get his family out of Chit-tagong and closer to family in Dhaka, they immediately volunteered to help. The doctors, part of the medical sta� at a missionary hospital, organised transportation from the mill to the airport. Kaiser put his wife and two daughters on a � ight to Dhaka and then returned to work.

“I was not afraid,” Kaiser says, knowing that these were dangerous times: “And I was very fortunate.”

Everywhere Kaiser turned, he said,

people seemed to want to help. His British manager, understanding lives might be in the balance, gave him leave for Eid, no questions asked. Kaiser’s British friends at the mission-ary hospital helped buy him an airline ticket and arranged to get him to the airport.

Two days after Eid, the intense-ly fought Battle of Hili began. The battle for control of Bogra and its cantonment, the seat of the military’s armoured divisions, augured ill for the occupied forces and set o� a whirl-wind of reprisal killings.

Late in November, Kaiser, whose daughters had been born in the United States, was given word that the girls and their guardians were eligible for evacuation. The US embassy pro-vided a transport for the family and the young family took leave of their relatives and headed for the Inter-continental Hotel, which had been transformed into a halfway house for expatriates leaving the war zone.

The following day, as evacuees boarded buses for the airport, Kaiser was stopped by a disgruntled Pakistani soldier: “Where do you think you are going? This bus is for foreigners only!”

“You, come with me. We have some questions for you,” he barked.

Kaiser tells me: “We were winning the war. There was word that India was planning something big. This soldier was watching former interna-tional allies pack up and leave, and he was not happy.”

He continues: “I knew if they took me for questioning, I would not return.”

In this most personal of theatres of war – the battle of the civilian to resist the depredations of unlawfully consti-tuted authority – survival and dignity are forms of victory, and he feared that the angry soldiers would win.

An American diplomat who was an old acquaintance chanced upon the

scene and intervened, probably saving Kaiser’s life.

“Don’t worry, there is no hanky panky here. I know him. He is with me. Carry on,” the American diplomat said with some authority.

An hour later, the family was sitting in the metal belly of C-3 military air-craft en route to Kolkata.

In Kolkata, where evacuees were being processed, Kaiser’s aquiline nose and fair skin caused more trouble, this time from the other side. A Bangali case o� cer was convinced that Kaiser was an Urdu-speaker hitching a ride out of the war zone.

“Do you not speak Bangla? Do I sound like a non-native speaker?” Kaiser asked him in Bangla.

He was put on the telephone and spoke to a succession of o� cials. Finally, a high o� cial in the Kolkata police told the case o� cers to let him go.

A week later, the young family landed in Manila after a brief stop in Singapore, where Kaiser was reunited with a brother-in-law, himself on the list of intellectuals that the Pakistan military intended to murder. His brother-in-law had got word early from an insider and � ew out with his wife and infant daughter in August, six days before the army came for him.

Kaiser pauses, and says: “God was with me. But so were a lot of people.”

Victory does not lie on the � eld of battle, but in the hearts and minds of women and men. While we rightly re-member December 16, 1971 as the day the enemy surrendered, our victory was won long before that. Slowly the cost of this hard-won victory revealed itself. Many had perished. Some had disappeared. But none was lost in vain.

In early 1972, together with thou-sands of others, Kaiser and his family returned to a free country. l

Where were you when you heard news of the victory?

‘God was with me. But so were a lot of people’A mill manager from 1971 remembers the diverse friends – Bangali, Adivasi and expatriate – who helped his family out of the warzone

‘The truth is, I was naive ... I knew we were in danger. But I focused on my work and prayed for the best. I had not really planned for the worst’

Figures of the fearlessn Farhana Urmee

The tales of the bloody battle, the stories of our Liberation War, have been told with many artforms, such as: literature, poetry, painting and music.

But these public sculptures, in three dimensions and standing larger than life, weaving history and the spirit of the war into our everyday lives.

9DHAKA TRIBUNE Victory Day 2014 Tuesday, December 16, 2014

n Syeda Samira Sadeque

It was April 1971, in London.“There was a knock on the door in the middle of the night. When I opened the door, he panted: ‘Dosto (friend), our country is � nished! What do we do?’ And, handing me his car keys and documents, he said he was leaving for Bangladesh. In a few days, he did,” says Mohammad Alam about Dr Zafrullah Chowdhury.

We’re sitting at a cafe, far away from that April night in 1971 when a patriot decided he’d had enough and needed to rush back home. We are in 2014, sipping co� ee early on a Friday winter morning. Dhaka isn’t even awake yet.

But this December morning, some old memories come alive. I sit down with Mohammad Alam and Shahana Khan, both of whom were in Lon-don during the Liberation War, to hear about their involvement in and contribution to the formation of an independent Bangladesh – all the way from London.

“And that’s where [Dr Zafrullah’s] hospital project began,” continues Alam, currently the CEO of Natasha Corporation. “He mobilised many doctors in the UK and the US to gather support for Bangladesh.”

“We’d collect free medicine sam-ples from our local general practition-ers, and send them to the Air India o� ce. And they would distribute to Zafrullah Bhai,” says Alam.

In the wake of the war in 1971, Bangali supporters came out to the streets all the way in London, to share and express their support and hope for their home country – a country that was yet to be born.

Being away from home has its own challenges. But being away from a home caught in a war – one that seemed impossible to � ght in the beginning, given the sheer imbalance between Pakistan’s equipment versus ours, was excruciating.

“We felt very separated,” says Shahana, who had just moved to London with her husband. “We’d been following the news, and studying what was going on. We were worried about our families.”

Unheard stories, unknown glories

“In the beginning it was just shock,” Shahana says.

However, they decided to come out on the streets and gather support for their very own desh, even from a distance.

Many Bangalis living in London joined them, translating their passion for an independent Bangladesh into

di� erent forms of protest.“Our biggest gathering was at

Trafalgar Square in the beginning of August,” says Shahana.

“It drew about 2,000-3,000 people. Many had come from outside of Lon-don,” adds Alam.

They also spoke of the strong sup-port system of friends that included people with Irish, Goanese , and British backgrounds. Pakistani author and journalist Tariq Ali was very support-ive of the protests and movement in London.

The rally was organised and led by Action Bangladesh, but drew donation from di� erent sources such as local restaurant owners. Action Bangladesh was an organisation led by Mariatta Procope and Paul Connett, which sent an ambulance to Bangladesh. Both Connett and Procope played crucial roles in mobilising the Bangladeshis in London. Procope provided food on a daily basis for about 60-70 protesters, says Alam.

“We tried to know about any

actions being taken in London,” says Shahana, currently an architect. We protested outside the Pakistani High Commission in London. We wrote letters home.”

“I’d thought I wouldn’t have my own country,” adds Alam, who was then a student. “At one point, I thought I’d lost my country.”

Yet, amid this sense of helpless-ness, they did what they could from a distance.

“We heard about people starting o� newsletters, such as Janamat. The ed-itor lived close by and we would meet at his place,” says Shahana. “Every-body was in touch with other Bangalis in London. Eventually we renounced our citizenship.”

“…. and burned our [Pakistan] pass-ports,” Alam adds.

Birth of a new hope

Fighting your own war from home is di� erent from � ghting it from miles away. The reality is almost imaginary – especially in an age without the internet circulating war images. And when hope is banked on something imaginary, it is a hope much stronger, much more tenacious.

Both Shahana and Alam eventually moved back to Bangladesh.

“Looking at the destruction, I was absolutely shocked. Still, I was very happy,” says Alam.

“When we moved back [in 1980], a lot had happened politically,” says Shahana. “But we felt like it was a new beginning. We chose to come back. We made a conscious decision. We were hopeful for the country.”

Enjoy today’s special Victory Day supplement, “A Children’s History or the Liberation War” by Muhammed Zafar Iqbal, with illustrations by Khondoker Tofazzal Hossain.

Reprinted with special permission from the author, the translation of “Chhotoder Muktijuddher Itihash” was done in parternship with the Dhaka Translation Center at ULAB by Arifa Ghani Rahman, assistant professor at ULAB’s English department.

The march to victoryEven though we celebrate national Victory Day on December 16, when Pakistan o� cially surrendered, the victories on the battle� eld happened over the course of a month, district by district. The � rst victory on the battle� eld was in Jessore on December 6, although Pakistani soldiers had already begun � eeing districts from Nov 27. Even after surrender, rogue Pakistani factions continued to hold out. In fact, the Mirpur area in Dhaka managed to hold out until January 31.

Dec 16

Dec 15

Dec 14

Dec 13

Dec 12

Dec 11

Dec 10

Dec 9

Dec 8

Dec 7

Dec 6

Dec 4

Dec 3

Nov 29

Nov 27

Dec 21

Dec 20

Dec 19

Dec 18

Dec 17

GAZIPUR

DHAKA NA

RSIN

GD

I

NAR

AYAN

GAN

JKISHOREGANJ HABIGANJ

MOULVIBAZAR

SYLHETSUNAMGANJNETRAKONA

MYMENSINGH

SHEREPUR

JAMALPUR

GAIBANDHA

BOGRA

JOYPURHAT

RANGPUR

KURI

GRA

M

DINAJPUR

NAOGAON

NAWABGANJ

RAJSHAHI NATORESIRAJGANJ

TANGAIL

PABNA

RAJBARI

MAGURA

JESSORE NARAIL

KHULNA

SATKHIRA BAGERHAT

PIRO

JPU

R

JHAL

AKAT

HI

FARIDPUR

MANIKGANJ

MUNSHIGANJ

BARISAL

LAKS

MIP

UR

BHO

LA

PATU

AKH

ALI

BORG

UN

A

COMILLA

NOAKHALI

CHITTAGONGCO

X’S BAZA

RRANGAMATI

BANDARBAN

KHAG

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RIFENI

CHANDPUR

SHARIYATPUR

MA

DA

RIPUR

GOPALGANJ

BRAHMANBARIA

KUSHTIA

MEHERPUR

CHUADANGA

JHENAIDAH

THAKURGAON

PANCHAGARN

ILPHA

MA

RI

LALMONIRHAT

Dec10

Dec14

Dec15

Dec17

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Dec17

Dec7

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Nov29

Dec6

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Dec6

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Dec4

Dec11

Dec8

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Nov27

Nov 27Barguna

Nov 29Panchagarh

Dec 3Thakurgaon

Dec 4Lakshmipur

Dec 6Feni Habiganj Jessore Jhenaidah Kurigram Lalmonirhat Meherpur Sunamganj

Dec 7Chuadanga Gaibandha Magura Noakhali Satkhira Sherpur

Dec 8Barisal Brahmanbaria Comilla

Jhalokati Moulvibazar Patuakhali Pirojpur

Dec 9Chandpur Netrakona

Dec 10Bhola Jamalpur Madaripur Mymensingh Narail

Dec 11Cox’s Bazar Kushtia Munshiganj Tangail

Dec 12Narsingdi

Dec 13Bogra Manikganj Nilphamari

Dec 14Bandarban JoypurhatSirajganj

Dec 15Chapainawabganj Dinajpur Gazipur KhagrachhariPabna RangamatiSylhet

Dec 16Dhaka Faridpur Narayanganj Shariatpur

Dec 17Bagerhat Chittagong Khulna Kishoreganj Rangpur

Dec 18Naogaon Rajshahi

Dec 19GopalganjRajbari

Dec 21Natore

Sending home hope: From Trafalgar Square to war-torn Bangladesh

Jagroto Chowrongi This was the very � rst liberation-themed sculpture in Bangladesh. Abdur Razzaque created this 42ft � gure (including pedestal) in 1973. The statue is located in Joydebpur, a landmark for those entering Dhaka from the north.

The spirit of courage and freedom ema-nate from the � gure of this freedom � ghter looking upwards at the sky.

Shongshoptok This is the work of painter and sculptor Hamiduzzam Khan. The 28ft sculpture is situated in Jahangirnagar University, Savar.

Its unique geometric shape portrays a freedom � ghter’s indomitable spirit as he continues � ghting, even after losing a hand, holding a ri� e in the hand he has left.

Aparajeyo BanglaThis statue has a story beyond 1971. Its construction began in 1973 when Syed Abdullah Khalid, a teacher of Fine Arts at Chittagong University, started the project. However, it was halted in 1975 following the assassination of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. In 1977, the project came under attack by fundamentalists, before being � nally completed on December 16, 1979.

As important as the work’s “aparajeyo” (the spirit of the undefeated) is the gender diversity represented, which re� ects the contributions of both men and women in the war.

Shoparjito SwadhinotaThis sculpture, created in 1990 by Shamim Shikdar, is situated at TSC, University of Dhaka. Another sculpture themed around inclusion shows freedom � ghters as well as farmers. The carving on base tells the full story of the war, portraying intellectual killings, mass rape, the delcaration of independence, as well as the joy of our victory.

Shikha ChirontonThis monument commemorates March 7, 1971, the day of Bangabandhu’s historic “shongram” speech. The name tranlates to “eternal � ame.” It is located in Suhrawardi Udyan, Dhaka.

‘We chose to come back. We made a conscious decision. We were hopeful for the country’

Information compiled by Mohammad Abu Bakar Siddique from various sources: the national web-portal, local deputy commissioners, district information o� cers, and local news sources. Note: Some areas within these districts were liberated a few days before or after the o� cial date presented here.DT INFOGRAPHIC

Moving forward on Victory Day

As we complete 43 years of national independence, we once again remember the brave souls who sacri� ced their lives for the freedom of the people of this country.

We must also recognise how much we have accomplished on a global scale, in spite of considerable challenges and uncertainty over the past decades.

Around this time last year, this country was dealing with political agitation and violence pending the national elections. Lives were lost, and the economy su� ered. The progress we have shown in regaining our footing in terms of political and economic stability within the course of a year is something to applaud.

We have come a long way, but we must pledge to keep moving forward. The problems of corruption and nepotism need to be tackled so that we may reach our full potential.

We must encourage our youth to play an active but civilised role in the political sphere, and breed respectable and honest leaders. Most importantly, there needs to be space for new ideas and new people in our politics.

The fearless men and women who fought for our independence deserve our gratitude and solidarity on this day. Let us all come together to ensure a secular and democratic state, and see to it that their sacri� ces have not been in vain.

CERN’s inspiration for science

As the world’s leading research institute for particle physics, CERN (European Organisation for Nuclear Research) provides tremendous inspiration for scientists everywhere.

The signing by Bangladesh of an International Cooperation Agreement with the Geneva-based laboratory heralds the promise of more valuable practical support becoming available to Bangladeshi scientists and students.

CERN’s giant particle accelerators attracted global attention when they proved the existence of the Higgs-Boson particle. The so-called “God particle” was named in part after Satyendra Nath Bose, who undertook groundbreaking work at Dhaka University in the 1920s, in collaboration with Albert Einstein. It is apt then, that Bangladesh should look to the future by seeking to work closer with CERN.

We hope that the unique opportunities o� ered by CERN will inspire more Bangladeshi students into the � eld, and help deliver major improvements to the resources and training we provide to our academics and researchers.

CERN is not just about high-end research in fundamental scienti� c laws. Projects in Big Science have often led to spin-o� s that bene� t daily life in ways which are now taken for granted, most famously in the case of CERN via the development of the World Wide Web by Sir Tim Berners-Lee.

We hope that by facilitating technology transfer and inspiring new scientists and teachers, this agreement will help develop more world-class scientists and research within the country.

Looking forward and planning a better future by building global collaboration is the best way to raise aspirations and make the improvements to education standards which the nation needs.

Born free, living in chainsNovember 30

Karl Hungus“It should be our priority to save our women and children from human

tra� cking.” I think it’s safe to say that we are all unanimous in agreeing that human tra� cking is despicable.

Dreampie Karl Hungus: I second it.

Qayyum Chowdhury dies November 30

TJ“He fell sick at the time of addressing the Bengal Music Festival at the Army Stadium around 8:40pm.”

He was one of the greatest artists of all time. RIP.

Risky livingDecember 7

MA“City dwellers continue to risk their lives to return home after work, due to a lack of adequate public transport. The photo was taken

in the Farmgate area.” The public is not safe in Bangladesh, and especially in the capital.

Editorial10 DHAKA TRIBUNE Tuesday, December 16, 2014

CALVIN AND HOBBES

PEANUTS

Be heardWrite to Dhaka Tribune

FR Tower, 8/C Panthapath, Sukrabad, Dhaka-1207Email letters.dt@dhakatribune.com

Send us your Op-Ed articles:opinion.dt@dhakatribune.com

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Let us see to it that their sacri� ces have not been in vain

We hope this agreement will help develop more research within the country

CODE-CRACKER

ACROSS1 Exhibit (4)4 Strong winds (5)8 Face (6)9 Hurried (4)11 Saloon car (5)12 Region (4)14 Disencumber (3)15 Inventor’s grant (6)19 Worn away (6)21 Falsehood (3)22 Spoken (4)24 Thespian (5)27 Frank (4)29 Makes into a decree (6)30 Use a broom (5)31 Cult (4)

DOWN1 Distress call (3)2 Carry too far (6)3 Broad (4)4 Fuel (3)5 Representative (5)6 Was ahead (3)7 Governing body (6)10 Couple (4)13 Copy (3)14 Transmits in stages (6)16 Fuss (3)17 Pass away (6)18 African river (4)20 Male honey-bee (5)23 Decays (4)25 Golf mound (3)26 Sharp blow (3)28 Fastener (3)

CROSSWORD

How to solve: Fill in the blank spaces with the numbers 1 – 9. Every row, column and 3 x 3 box must contain all nine digits with no number repeating.

SUDOKU

How to solve: Each number in our CODE-CRACKER grid represents a di� erent letter of the alphabet. For example, today 15 represents M so � ll M every time the � gure 15 appears.You have two letters in the control grid to start you o� . Enter them in the appro-priate squares in the main grid, then use your knowledge of words to work out which letters go in the missing squares.Some letters of the alphabet may not be used.As you get the letters, � ll in the other squares with the same number in the main grid, and the control grid. Check o� the list of alphabetical letters as you identify them.

CODE-CRACKER

CROSSWORD

SUDOKU

YESTERDAY’S SOLUTIONS

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y ZWalk the walk

November 30

Osmania“The DMP has been engaging in an awareness campaign. If a jaywalker crosses that zone by not opting for an underpass and/or foot over-bridge he/she will eventually be penalised and will be have to serve a jail term of six months, along with paying a � ne of Tk200. To be honest, it is a pragmatic step towards prohibiting passersby from crossing busy roads by taking enormous risks.”

Is the writer serious? Let’s take a small problem, (as jaywalking is compared to speeding and overtaking dangerously) and make a bigger one, by giving the army powers of corporal punishment over every walker in the land. What’s pragmatic about that?

As for building more footbridges, how many could we � t in? Bear in mind also, a lack of bridges

and tunnels is not the main danger faced by people on foot. Anyone used to seeing people urinating in the street is usually brave enough to pass by the odd glue-sni� er or two.

If the writer did some independent research, they would see some drivers in Dhaka are not entirely courteous or patient to people using zebra crossings, which are meant to be safe but are not thanks to bad drivers.

Discipline vehicle owners and drivers if you really want to see positive change. Jaywalking is a fatuous car-based cultural concept that has no place in densely-populated cities, where people on foot, bicycle, and public transport should be put � rst.

Bass man Osmania: It’s not such a fatuous concept when you take into consideration the increasing number of cars whooshing all over our roads and highways. Sometimes, people need to be protected from themselves.

Abellard the Greek-LoverAgreed that formidable measures need to be tak-en into making our over-bridges safer and more accommodating.

Bad educationNovember 30

SammyThe continuation of ill-informed nostalgia is what ails us. It was never the “Oxford of the East” except in the minds of some of its alums from the 1940 and 1950s; never.

“Student politics” – a decided misnomer as the author correctly points out – has always been an extension of national politics. Claiming 1952, 71, and 90 were somehow organically di� erent from that extension feels good, but is fundamentally dishonest. Be honest and blunt: Student politics is essentially about muscle power for the parties who may or may not work for whatever the national interest is perceived to be at the moment.

The author is simply parroting lines that have been repeated ad nauseum, and seems to be upset only because her sibling is going to be in that atmosphere.

The only way any fundamental change will come to this cancer is the way that nobody will openly admit for fear of being mislabeled, which is under a neutral, non-party, technocratic administration. Sorry to shock you, but in the “Bangla-style democracy,” this brand of “student politics” will always be front and centre of any environment, and wishing it away on nostalgia won’t change it.

rose“Today’s student-run politics are dominated by outside forces that do not speak for the students’ bene� t at all.”

The students of Dhaka University could doubtlessly take more interest in studies and extra-curricular activities, instead of wasting their time in ine� ectual politics.

Policeman caught illegally crossing the fence

December 7

Iftekhar Samad Wasi“There is a foot-over bridge just a few yards away, but this policeman does not seem to care. He was

seen crossing the busy road near the Farmgate bus bay in the capital, and even a barbed-wire

fence does not deter him. The police authorities recently launched a drive against jaywalking on

this busy road.”They break the law themselves. Then why do

they tell us to follow the law??

Yousuf MajumderLaws aren’t meant for them. They have no limits

to follow.

Tasmia Hasin Nothing more to say. They deserve the same

treatment they give us.

Abbas Hussain It seems like he’s getting some physical exercise.

Wouldn’t it be easier if he crossed the bridge? No wait, he is probably chasing some bad guys. Lol!

Zahurul Islam He is going through a � eld test of crossing a 3-feet

(quite high for our forces) obstacle!! Good snap, Syed Zakir Hossain.

n Mohammad Abu Bakar Siddique

It has been 43 years since the victory of our nation, which was earned in exchange for the oceans

of blood which our freedom � ghters sacri� ced for our emancipation from exploitation at the hands colonial regimes (which later culminated into the semi-colonial subjugation under the rule of the then West Pakistan elites).

The struggle against Pakistan’s domination ensued immediately after the colonial divide, as the intention of the rulers sitting more than a thousand miles away began to show through their � rst attempt at launching a cul-tural attack, in the form of imposing their language on us.

As a result of the partition, the Indi-an region was divided into two states – India and Pakistan – East Bengal was included in the latter on the basis of the arti� cial criterion of religion. But as there had remained a signi� cant cultural di� erence and geographical

distance, Pakistani rulers soon began to tighten their grip and deprive the Bengalis from their rights, in pursuit of furthering their exploitation.

Their intent of economic exploitation was unfolded, and then realised by the people of the eastern part of the state. Within the dominion of Pakistan and its ever-tightening clutches, Bengalis had emerged as indomitable.

When our deprivations, from politi-cal to economic rights, had reached its peak; when genocide was launched on the unarmed nation; when its women were subjected to rape and torture; our nation orchestrated an epic resistance which eventually went down in histo-ry as one of the most daring. Unarmed but united, irrespective of sex, reli-gion, and ethnicity, we had achieved independence for the Bengali.

We fondly remember how Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman lead the nation to its independence, to victory, and to freedom; we mourn all the martyrs

who gave their lives in the name of liberation, and all the other souls that made innumerable sacri� ces to this end. We then set our goals and erect the pillars of our society in accordance to the spirit of our struggle.

We now see violence and corruption taking centre stage once again. Our nation has risen to remove the evils that had reemerged, struggling to remove the scars of the past, which is

why they took to the streets, looked for their voting rights, and their right to express themselves. The nation desperately wanted to get back to its roots, its golden achievements, to get its democratic rights back, to claim his-tory ... it wanted to be Bengali again.

We relived the struggles of the past when despots came to power; proof of how Bangladesh could never ignore the call of democracy. And then when democracy was achieved, we were faced with newer challenges – the establishment of a proper democracy, numerous inequalities, the trial of war criminals, ensuring good govern-ance, ending the use of violence and terrorism as a part of our politics, and combating militancy.

Thanks to the revival of democracy, and the post 90s media technology boom, we were able to rediscover our history which had been buried by almost three decades of oppressive regimes; and based on this, the newer generation is looking to have an even better democracy, a better living

standard, and a more just society – one which takes a more productive economy, further cooperation with the outside world, and further exchange of knowledge into account.

Four decades after our victory, the new generation has grown up with cer-tain expectations from the nation that no government can a� ord to ignore anymore.

Despite corruption, despite fre-quent catastrophes both natural and political, the new Bangladesh showed a magni� cent resilience and steadiness in maintaining its development, par-ticularly when it comes to the empow-erment of women and education, with a lowering maternal death rate, and ending child marriage, to an apprecia-ble degree, being some examples.

Among the major developments that have been made at the state-level are the war crime trials, and the nearly revived democratically-formulated constitutions.

Of course, the new generation wants even more development, more

transparency, more commitment from the leadership in every sector, and most importantly, they need further employment opportunities. One of the major concerns that remains is that the country is still quite prone to road accidents and hazards such as major � res breaking out.

In addition to the ever-lingering threat of poverty, the country is also battling newer forms of crime on top of the previous ones, which still re-main a challenge. Plagued with many di� erent challenges, the main thing we need to realise (if the expectations of the new generation are to be met) is that our continued development is the most necessary thing.

It is of the utmost importance that our nation forges ahead with the ideals which won us our liberation: The virtues of being human, taking demo-cratic development even further, and leaving behind backwards beliefs. l

Mohammad Abu Bakar Siddique is a Sta� Writer at the Dhaka Tribune.

n Ikhtisad Ahmed

Midlife crises are un-pleasant, even if the results produced can be life-altering in a positive way at times.

A transitional phase brought on by the realisation of one’s mortality, one is � lled with thoughts of the past, being incapable of seeing that there is a future.

Age, however, is relative. The 40s mark the midway point for human beings, while most other members of the animal kingdom never reach those heady heights. Nations, once born, are expected to be on natural trajectories that stretch to lifespans measured in centuries and millennia.

Barring acts of God and men that defy sense and decency in the severity of barbarism that brings an early de-

mise, Bangladesh, at 43, is a child. It is unusual, absurd even, for a child to be beholden to its past. That is not to say that history should be forgotten: That can never be allowed to happen, especially a history that is evidence of resilience, hope and sacri� ce, and the immeasurable cost of freedom that is paid from before conception to well into adulthood.

That most precious freedom was obtained over four decades ago today, not from a despised country and its criminal leaders, but from injustice, oppression, and despotism. To rele-gate the great victory of the latter to the narrow parameters of the former is to fail to understand what Bangladesh represents, to insult citizens past and present.

The appreciation of the past needs to come from a position of noble, unconditional patriotism, not vitriolic,

incentivised nationalism. In saying “the most e� ective way to destroy people is to deny and obliterate their own understanding of their history,” George Orwell warned about the perils of the latter.

When history is used to govern and ghosts materialise to become more tangible than the struggling, crying, bleeding citizens presently alive, it cultivates injustice, oppression, and despotism to cruelly impose an abso-lute rule.

The unbridled, gleeful revisionism that has, as a result, been common-place since independence – thus controlling the present and the past – has not been challenged or corrected by the last remaining members of the generations who made that history.

The current standard-bearers, the two scions, like the youth – children of the 90s, and, at a stretch, late-80s

– were not unfortunate enough to live it, and are, therefore, incapable of invoking their own memories. Their mothers are conspicuous by their absence from the pages that their own propaganda machines churn out.

So steadfastly focused have they and others of the ruling class been on repeatedly rewriting history at the expense of that which they have created and are creating, they have perpetuated that trite adage about history repeating itself. Everyone can agree that Bangladesh deserves better, that no one should su� er so again and again, in perpetuity.

The attainment of independence is cause for celebration. Its anniversary is a time to re� ect on and celebrate the accomplishments of an independent state, too. Independence of a nation, however, ought not be confused with freedom of its people.

Both are burdens that will weigh heavily on Bangladesh when the sun rises on the December 17. They are confronted by every single individual who identi� es himself or herself as belonging to the country.

As the embers of the generations that saw independence that brought it about expire, facing the erosion of freedom becomes a depressingly hope-less endeavour for the generations left behind to separate fact from � ction and try to shed the shackles of both.

If all of life is perceived as a per-manent transitional phase, then at no point during the life of Bangladesh should it ever be forgotten that its independence was gained by the spirit and actions of its people, free, and equal.

That crucial aspect of history cannot be allowed to be written out, for therein lies an undeniable fact, a hope that cannot be suppressed nor extinguished. Tomorrow will come as a welcome challenge when the burden of independence is negated by the freedom of the people, to whom is owed, and by whom is de� ned said independence.

A child having a midlife crisis is an anomaly that requires urgent recti� ca-tion. It should never be allowed to be subjected to the mental and physical crises of con� dence, happiness, integ-rity, identity, et al. Children, especially those born in testing circumstances or after struggles, are full of the promise of life, full of the dreams of the future.

Bangladesh is a child. Its present and future matter much, much more than its violent past. Let honesty de-� ne history and guide the debilitated child into a digni� ed adulthood. l

Ikhtisad Ahmed is a writer and an erstwhile lawyer. He can be contacted on Twitter via @Ikhtisad.

n Mahdin Mahboob

A 32-year-old Bangladeshi man – Mohammed Ra� q Tajul Islam – was shot dead by a Saudi

national for a very minor mistake a couple of days back.

Although the killer has been arrest-ed by the Saudi police, the police said the killer was a psychiatric patient, which suggests he will probably not be eventually punished for this murder.

The news was published by most of the major Bangladeshi media, but there has not been any hype or hoopla about the news from Bangladeshis or anyone in general.

There never was. This was the death of yet another poor working class Bangladeshi in the Middle East – not something to be bothered about apparently!

Earlier, on February this year, one of the major dailies of the country published a report stating that, on average, corpses of eight to 10 expatriate Bangladeshi workers arrive in the country every day.

From 2008 to 2013, in a period of only six years, 13,872 corpses of Bangladeshis have come to the country from 56 countries.

According to government sources, this is “not an alarming rate,” given that about 10 million Bangladeshis now work abroad. Reports by human rights organisations and international media have shown poor working and living conditions, overwork, torture, exploitation and many other factors

contributing to the sad demise of many of these workers.

The fact that our governments, present and past, do close to nothing about ensuring basic human rights of these workers, makes it even easier for the foreign owners to exploit the workers. The fact that workers from other countries like India, Pakistan, Nepal, and Sri Lanka su� er similar fates does not remove the blood from our hands.

Similarly, the plight of readymade garment (RMG) workers in the country is well-known to almost everyone. The Rana Plaza and Tazreen Garments and other similar incidents are examples of how badly these workers are exploited in our country, by our own countrymen, every single day.

Interestingly enough, these people, expatriate workers outside the country and the RMG workers in the country, according to my personal opinion, have contributed most to the development of the country since our independence some 43 years back.

These two sectors, foreign remittance and RMG, earn the highest amount of foreign currency for the country, which lets us buy all the things we need and want from other countries of the world.

But have we done anything in return for them? It is easy to put the blame solely on the government or the factory owners, but are we not responsible too? Have we tried to put pressure on the government to ensure workers’ rights, both at home and abroad?

No, we have not – at least not to an extent that makes the government hear us and take e� ective steps about the issue.

We are too busy running after money and � ghting amongst ourselves on trivial issues. We claim that we are very patriotic, but have done little, if anything, for the freedom-� ghters of today’s Bangladesh – the workers at both home and abroad. l

Mahdin Mahboob is a graduate student, based in New York, USA.

11Op-Ed Tuesday, December 16, 2014DHAKA TRIBUNE

Writing history

That precious freedom was obtained over four decades ago, from injustice, oppression, and despotism

The newer generation is looking to have an even better democracy, a better living standard, and a more just society

Expatriate workers and RMG workers have contributed most to development of the country since our independence

The � ght for freedom today

The virtues of victory

Going abroad to save home

At 43, Bangladesh is still in its childhood SYED LATIF HOSSAIN

12 DHAKA TRIBUNE

Japan U21 footballers arrive todayn Shishir Hoque

A 23-member Japan Under-21 football team will arrive in Dhaka today to play an international friendly against Ban-gladesh at Bangabandhu National Sta-dium this Thursday.

The young Samurais, who are con-sidered the future of Japan football, are scheduled to land at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport at 12:40pm via TG-321 � ight. 12 o� cials including head coach Teguramori Makoto will accom-

pany the 23 players.This is the � rst time a Japanese foot-

ball team will be touring Bangladesh. Although the Japan Football Associa-tion did not send its national side, the U21s are no less formidable either.

While all the participating nations sent their U-23 teams to the Incheon Asian Games football competition last September, Japan played their U-21 side. The youngsters performed admi-rably before bowing out in the quar-ter� nals to eventual champions South

Korea.The Japanese team have some qual-

ity players who have a bright future ahead, for instance Musahi Suzuki, Ayumi Niekawa and Yuya Kubo, who plies his trade with Switzerland’s top � ight club BSC Young Boys.

Meanwhile, Bangladesh captain Mamunul Islam, who is currently with Indian Super League side Atletico de Kolkata, was scheduled to return home yesterday night and join the national camp for the Japan friendly. l

Tuesday, December 16, 2014

Sport1413 Villarreal end ATM’s 28-game unbeaten home run

Familiar foes to meet again in CL last-16

14 High-� ying Bayern chase more records

Did you know?

Shahid Afridi has been responsible for 12 of

the top 67 ODI scores of 50+ at a SR of 200+

‘If I return, I’m con� dent of playing for Bangladesh’n Mazhar Uddin

Disgraced former captain Mohammad Ashraful, who is currently suspended from all sorts of cricket activities due to his involvement in match-� xing, re-turned to the country from the United States recently.

The youngest Test centurion in his-tory was handed an eight-year suspen-sion which was later reduced to � ve years, thus making him eligible for a return on August, 2016. However, both the International Cricket Council and the Bangladesh Cricket Board appealed against his latest verdict.

The 30-year old went to Sher-e-Ban-gla National Stadium yesterday to meet some board o� cials. During his visit to the home of cricket, Ashraful talked with the media and expressed his hope of making a comeback to cricket.

What kind of verdict are you expecting?The � rst verdict that I received from

the Tribunal was a suspension of eight years. Later, it was reduced to � ve years which meant I would be able to return to cricket on August, 2016. However, the case is still ongoing and I cannot say anything at the moment. At the same time I am preparing myself so that I can make a comeback whenever I get the opportunity. I am training and retaining my � tness level.

Did you get positive feedback from the BCB?After whatever has happened, I think I am lucky. I received a lot of support from the cricket board and also the fans. I tried to remain honest as I want to make a comeback in cricket. The board has always supported me. The rest is upto me really.

How optimistic are you over a return to cricket?If I am able to keep my � tness then I am con� dent that I can return to crick-

et. I am 30 years old now. Normally a batsman can play upto 38-40 years old comfortably. According to the second verdict I can play from 2016 onwards.

At that time I will be 32 and I believe that if I can remain � t, I will be able to come back.

How much do you miss Bangladesh cricket?I started playing the game when I was 12 years old. I started out with Ankur Cricket Academy. Obviously, I miss the game badly. This is the reason why I am looking forward to returning to cricket and training hard. I am hopeful of mak-ing a comeback In Sha Allah.

Do you want to make a comeback in the national side?Obviously, I dream about it and why not? But, I know it will be tough but not impossible. First of all, I want to play cricket. Everyone cannot play for the national team. I am lucky that I was able to play in the national team for 13 years. If I can return to cricket I am con-� dent that I can play for the national team, at least for a day. l

BGB, BJMC start with winsn Tribune Desk

Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) and BJMC made a winning start in the Walton Home Appliance Victory Day Handball after beating their respective opponents at M Mansur Ali National Handball Stadi-um yesterday. BGB defeated Bangladesh Ansar comfortably by 36-19 goals in the men’s event. BGB led the � rst half 19-6. Imdadul Haque and Sudhan netted 10 and seven goals respectively for the vic-tors. Meanwhile in the women’s event, BJMC thrashed Bangladesh Police 35-7, courtesy Shirina and Shahida’s 10 and seven goals respectively. l

Negre eager to see Bangladesh hockey developn Raihan Mahmood

International Hockey Federation (FIH) president Leandro Negre has termed the installation of the 25x40 metre mini-turf at BAF Shaheen School and College, Dhaka yesterday as his most important event of this year.

Negre earlier arrived in Dhaka last Sunday night and attended a felicita-tion programme arranged in his hon-our by the Bangladesh Hockey Fed-eration at BAF Shaheen School and College yesterday. “A Dutch journalist asked me in India two days ago what was the most important event for me in the year 2014. I thought that we had a successful World Cup in Holland. The newly-introduced Hockey Five received super success and we had a beautiful Congress in Marrakesh, Mo-rocco. But, I said the installation of the turf on December 15 here, assisted by the International Hockey Federation, is the most important event for me in the year 2014. Because, I hope it will be producing future stars and is a con-tribution towards the development of Bangladesh hockey.”

Negre congratulated Bangladesh for exhibiting impressive performances in the Hockey World League and also in the Men’s Junior AHF Cup. “With the installation of the new turf I hope Bangladesh will move further ahead in the international level. The Bangladesh

Hockey Federation has been working hard towards the development of the game. I congratulate them.”

Replying to a question as to how he can help in the installation of � ood-lights at Maulana Bhasani National Hockey Stadium, the FIH president said it depends on initiatives taken by the local authority. “There are two op-tions. One is tower-based and the oth-er is lights installed inside. The cost is di� erent. Bangladesh government and the hockey federation will have to mea-sure and compile the plans � rst. Then we can � nd out how the FIH can help.”The Spaniard opined that Bangladesh can maintain their level and develop-ment through the services of European coaches. “At the moment the European coaches are quite expensive. I think Bangladesh will continue with local coaches for the national team. I think Bangladesh will be bene� ted with the appointment of short-term basis Euro-pean coaches who can come over and train the national team for a month or 15 days. The FIH can help over it.”

The FIH president also acknowl-edged the process of bringing the national players under an insurance programme initiated by Green Delta Insurance company. The national play-ers were also awarded Tk10,000 each for their triumphs in the Hockey World League Round 1 and the Men’s Junior AHF Cup. lInternational Hockey Federation president Leandro Negre (R) arrives at the BAF Shaheen School & College amidst a warm reception yesterday MAINOOR ISLAM MANIK

Big Bash will be useful, says Shakibn Mazhar Uddin

Premier Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib al Hasan believes a stint in the forth-coming Australian Big Bash Twenty20 League will be an useful experience for him keeping next year’s ICC World Cup in mind. Shakib said this while celebrating the occasion of Victory Day with the autistic children yesterday.

“Obviously, it will be a great expe-rience for me ahead of the World Cup. The team are scheduled to travel two weeks before the event. If I can go there four weeks before the tournament, it

will de� nitely help me and my team for the mega event. I am hoping it will be a good experience,” Shakib told the me-dia yesterday.

Although the Big Bash will get un-derway this Thursday, Shakib is yet to con� rm a team. The 27-year old, how-ever, said he is con� dent of � nalising a deal in the next two-three days.

“Actually, I am not willing to an-nounce anything before con� rming it. In Sha Allah, you will get to hear a good news within two or three days,” he said.

Meanwhile, the line-up of the six-team Super League phase of the Dhaka

Premier Division Cricket League has already been con� rmed. Shakib is of the opinion that good performances in the Super League will help the national cricketers to cement their places in the � nal 15-man Bangladesh squad for the World Cup.

“Super league has always been enter-taining. The winner of the tournament is decided from this round. Each game is challenging for the cricketers. And, I think this is a good platform for the cricketers to perform well and cement a place in the world cup squad or to retain their form by performing,” he added. l

FIH boss dances to Spanish tune!n Raihan Mahmood

By the looks of things, it seems Inter-national Hockey Federation (FIH) pres-ident Leandro Negre is quite enjoying his time in Bangladesh. Unbecoming of a senior sports o� cial who is usually known to put up a serious face, Negre even danced to a Spanish tune in a fe-licitation programme arranged in his honour at BAF Shaheen School and College yesterday.

The students of the Bangladesh Air Force-administrated school presented a superb show, performing some songs that re� ected the heritage and culture of the country. Songs of Rabindranath Tagore, Nazrul Islam, Hason Raja and James and beautifully choreographed dances and displays enthralled the audience for around half an hour. The anchors of the programme also tried to provide an outline and translated

the meaning of the songs in English for Negre. The FIH president clapped and smiled to the tunes.

However, he was surprised when a group of students came out crooning a Spanish song. A few girls, who were dancing, asked the FIH president to try out a few steps. The 68-year old could not deny the appeal and joined them for a while sporting a broad smile.

Air Marshal Mohammed Enamul Bari, the president of the hockey feder-ation, Air Vice Marshal Nayeem Hasan, president of BAF Shaheen School and College governing body, Khaja Rah-matullah, the general secretary, Nasir Chowdhury, the adviser of Green Delta Insurance company, Farzana Chowd-hury, the CEO and Managing Director of Green Delta Insurance company, Abdus Sadek, the vice president of the hockey federation and other o� cials were also present on the occasion. l

National cricket team pacer Rubel Hossain (C) and his lawyers talk with the media at the court premises yesterday MAINOOR ISLAM MANIK

Ace Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib al Hasan watches a presentation of the autistic children on the occasion of the Victory Day in Shyamoli yesterday. During the programme, Shakib expressed his hope of playing in the upcoming Big Bash Twenty20 League in Australia. The Big Bash will begin this Thursday

COURTESY

SportDHAKA TRIBUNE 13

Young Boys (Sui) v Everton (Eng) Torino (Italy) v At Bilbao (Spain) Sevilla (Spain) v M’gladbach (Ger) Wolfsburg (Ger) v Sp Lisbon (Por) Ajax (Ned) v L Warsaw (Pol) Aalborg (Den) v Bruges (Bel) Anderlecht (Bel) v D Moscow (Rus) Dnipro (Ukr) v Olympiakos (Greece) Trabzonspor (Turkey) v Napoli (Italy) Guingamp (France) v Dynamo Kiev (Ukr) Villarreal (Spain) v Salzburg (Austria) Roma (Italy) v Feyenoord (Ned) PSV (Ned) v Zenit (Rus) Liverpool (England) v Besiktas (Turkey) Tottenham (Eng) v Fiorentina (Ita) Celtic (Sco) v Inter Milan (Ita)

The � rst legs will be played on Feb 19, the second legs on Feb 26

Tuesday, December 16, 2014

Ten Cricket3:00PMSri Lanka v England 7th ODIStar Sports 27:30PMIndian Super LeagueChennai v KeralaStar Sports 16:00AM (Wednesday)Australia v India2nd Test, Day 1Ten Action1:45AM Capital One Cup Derby v ChelseaSony Six9:30AM NBA 14-15: Regular SeasonLa Clippers v Detroit1:15AM Fifa Club World Cup Cruz Azul v Real Madrid

Air Force clinch Victory Day KabaddiBangladesh Air Force emerged as the champions of the Victory Day Kabaddi Championship after beating Bangla-desh Army by 25-22 points in the � nal at National Kabaddi Stadium in Paltan yesterday. Earlier in the round-robin league, Air Force drew against Army. The result was enough for both the teams to progress to the � nal. Deputy Minister for Youth and Sports Arif Khan Joy distributed the prizes among the winners as the chief guest.

–Tribune Desk

Chelsea right to release LampardChelsea manager Jose Mourinho has said he does not regret releasing Frank Lampard despite the mid� elder’s impressive form for Manchester City, in comments published by several British newspapers on Monday. Lampard, 36, left Chelsea in June after a glittering 11-year spell in which he became the club’s all-time leading scorer and after initially signing for New York City, he was loaned to their sister club, Manchester City. Mourinho says it would have hindered the development of Chelsea’s young players if Lampard had stayed. “My view is that when you want to look forward, look to the future and have people like (Cesc) Fabregas and (Nemanja) Matic and Jeremie Boga (Chelsea under-21s mid� elder), which are the next 10 years of the club, the project is to prepare for the next 10 years, not for the next year. We made the right decision,” said Mourinho.

–AFP

Luca Toni delighted to hit 300-goal markEvergreen striker Luca Toni admitted his delight after hitting his 300th ca-reer goal in a 2-1 win over Udinese that helped the former World Cup winner shade Antonio Di Natale in a ‘battle of the veterans’ on Sunday. Toni scored his � fth goal of the campaign when he levelled Di Natale’s powerful 31st-min-ute header just before half-time after muscling his way past the Udinese defence to � re into Orestis Karnezis’s top corner. Lazaros Christodoulopoulos scored the winner for Verona seconds after the restart to end an eight-game winless streak and move Andrea Mandorlini’s men up to 13th in Serie A. But all the post-match plaudits went to 37-year-old Toni, who indicated he may not be quite ready to hang up his boots just yet. –AFP

Injured Clarke to go under knifeAustralian captain Michael Clarke will undergo surgery on his injured right hamstring on Tuesday, Cricket Australia said, as the 33-year-old � ghts to remain in the game. Clarke has switched focus to getting � t for the World Cup in Aus-tralia and New Zealand, which starts on February 14, after being forced o� in the victorious � rst Test against India at the weekend. “Michael was assessed by a surgeon in Melbourne early this evening (Monday) and will be under-going surgery tomorrow to repair his injured right hamstring,” team doctor Peter Brukner said. “Whilst surgery is not always required with hamstring in-juries, Michael has substantial damage to a key part of the hamstring tendon and it was felt the best course of action was to surgically repair the damaged area. “His recovery and the timing of his return to play will be dependent on the surgeon’s advice and how well he recovers in the coming weeks.” Injury-jinxed Clarke admitted there was a chance he would never play cricket again after his latest setback.

–AFP

QUICK BYTES

EUROPA LEAGUE LAST-16

DAY’S WATCH

Familiar foes to meet againChelsea face PSG, City tackle Barcelona in Champions League last-16n Reuters, Nyon

European champions Real Madrid will face Schalke 04, Barcelona will play Manchester City and Chelsea will play Paris St Germain in three ties repeated from last season following the draw for the Champions league last 16 made on Monday.

Real Madrid knocked Schalke out of the last 16 last season 9-2 on aggregate, Barcelona beat Manchester City 4-1 while Chelsea beat PSG on away goals

in the quarter-� nals.Last week Chelsea manager Jose

Mourinho said he would welcome be-ing drawn against PSG “because it will be easy for our fans to travel to Paris” -- and he got his wish when Karl-Heinz Riedle drew the pair together.

Riedle, who performed the draw in his role as ambassador for Berlin, the venue for this season’s � nal on June 6 and who scored twice when his Borussia Dortmund team beat Juventus 3-1 in the 1997 � nal, also drew

those two clubs together.Last season’s beaten � nalists Atleti-

co Madrid face Bayer Leverkusen in an-other Spain-Germany match-up.

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger will face his old club AS Monaco in a com-petitive match for the � rst time while � ve-time winners Bayern Munich take on Shakhtar Donetsk. Swiss club FC Basel play Porto. Real Madrid crushed Schalke in last season’s Round of 16 and club director Emilio Butragueno told Spanish TV broadcaster Canal Plus:

Real beat Schalke 6-1 in the � rst leg and 3-1 in the second leg last season en route to their 10th European Cup suc-cess. City director of football and for-mer Barcelona player Txiki Begiristain told Sky Sports News: “Every tie in that draw is the same, it’s fantastic, so we’re looking forward to it.

The � rst legs will be played on Feb.17/18 and Feb. 24/25 with the sec-ond legs being played on March 10/11 and March 17/18 next year. The � nal is in Berlin on June 6. l

Celtic face Inter as Liverpool get Besiktasn Agencies

Celtic have been drawn against In-ter Milan in the last 32 of the Europa League, with Liverpool facing Turkish side Besiktas.

Tottenham play Serie A side Fioren-tina, Everton face Swiss club Young Boys, while holders Sevilla are up against Borussia Monchengladbach.

The two legs will be played on 19 and 26 February 2015. This season’s Euro-pa League winners will qualify for next year’s Champions League play-o� s. Celt-ic’s tie against Inter Milan is a repeat of the 1967 European Cup � nal in Lisbon, which the Glasgow side won 2-1 to be-come Britain’s � rst European champions.

Inter, who appointed former Man-chester City boss Roberto Mancini as their manager for a second time in No-vember, are 12th in Italy’s top � ight.

Tottenham could come up against England defender Micah Richards, who is on loan at Fiorentina from City. It is a � rst meeting between the London and Florence clubs. Liverpool, who entered the Europa League after � nishing third in their Champions League group be-hind Real Madrid and Basle, last played Besiktas in the 2007/8 season, winning 8-0 at An� eld.

Everton have never faced Young Boys before. l

Scorchers knock o� Legendsn Agencies

A bumper crowd has packed Perth’s Aquinas College to watch some of the greats of past and players of the present as the Perth Scorchers beat the Austra-lian Legends by 50 runs in the WA Fes-tival of Cricket Twenty20.

The match pitted the KFC T20 Big Bash League reigning champions Scorchers against an all-star Legends XI led by Adam Gilchrist, but it was the youth of Ashton Turner that stole the show in a match that featured West Indies champion Brian Lara and Aus-tralian legends Dean Jones, Andrew Symonds, Andy Bichel and Michael Kasporwicz.

Turner blasted 75 from 38 balls in a knock that included four fours and six sixes, taking Symonds and Bichel out of the ground on several occasions.

The 21-year-old capped o� the day with the prize wicket of state and BBL

coach Langer, though not with his best delivery, securing the wicket with a � oating full toss that the batsman top-edged to fall for nine.

A spectacular one-handed grab from evergreen veteran Brad Hogg removed Gilchrist for one, much to the dismay of the enthusiastic crowd, but the keep-er’s wicket brought Lara to the crease.

The West Indian struggled for timing early, relying on the pace of the bowlers to guide and glide his way into his in-nings before upping the ante in the � nal stages to bring up his � fty and remain unbeaten on 51 as the autograph-hunt-ing crowd members invaded the � eld.

The trial match was the � rst hit out for the new Scorchers recruits Michael Carberry (28 o� 17), Michael Klinger (18 o� 16), Andrew Tye (1-17) and James Muirhead (0-35), the latter the � rst play-er traded in the competition’s four year history, swapping with left-arm spinner Michael Beer to the Melbourne Stars. l

PSG, Marseille both beatenn Reuters, Paris

An early goal by Guingamp’s Jeremy Pied was enough to hand champions Paris St Germain their � rst loss of the French Ligue 1 season, leaving Olympique de Marseille still on top despite their own defeat by Monaco on Sunday.

In the � rst of the day’s twin 1-0 up-sets - which saw the top two surpris-ingly felled - Pied’s diving header in the 11th minute secured a home victory for the unheralded Breton side.

It was PSG’s second defeat of the week, following their 3-1 Champions League loss in Barcelona on Wednesday.

Despite strong early possession and a searing shot over the bar by Edinson Cavani in the second minute, the Pa-risians often appeared jaded against an increasingly combative Guingamp, fresh from consecutive victories over Reims and Caen.

Guingamp’s break came when a Younousse Sankhare header steered a free kick to Pied, whose deadly lunge from near the penalty spot left a beaten Salvatore Sirigu fuming.

PSG striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic was the most pro� igate, miscontrolling in-coming passes and sending a free kick into the wall. Team mate Marco Verratti’s 19th-minute strike from outside the box found Jonas Lossl’s waiting gloves. l

Abahani top, Kalabagan CA progressn Mazhar Uddin

Abahani ended the 11th and � nal round of the Dhaka Premier Division Cricket League at the top of the points table after winning their last match against second-placed Prime Bank by 33 runs in Fatullah yesterday.

Although both the teams are locked on 18 points, Abahani � nished top due to a better head-to-head record.

Besides the two teams, Kalabagan Cricket Academy (14 points), Prime Doleshwar (14), holders Legends of Rup-ganj (14) and Mohammedan (14) also con� rmed their places in the six-team Super League phase of the country’s lone 50-over domestic competition.

Despite their 48-run win over Ka-labagan CA in Savar yesterday, Victo-ria (14) failed to make it to the Super League due to an inferior head-to-head record amongst the � ve teams that � n-ished on 14 points. Meanwhile in the other match of the day, Brothers Union thumped bottom side Old DOHS by 93 runs in Mirpur.

Abahani v Prime BankAsked to bat � rst, Abahani were bun-dled out for 169 in 41.1 overs.

Opener Abdul Majid top-scored with a painstaking 102-ball 58. Zimbabwean recruit Hamilton Masakadza chipped in with a quick� re 26-ball 33 while skip-per Ziaur Rahman scored 30.

Prime pacemen Taskin Ahmed (3/29) and Farhad Reza (3/30) broke through the Abahani middle- and lower-order.

In pursuit of a modest 170, Prime were only able to manage 136 before being skittled out in 39.2 overs. Mah-mudullah played a lone hand, mak-

ing 51 o� 79 balls. Saqlain Sajib and Al Amin bagged three wickets apiece while Shuvashish Roy and Nazmul Apu scalped two wickets each.

Kalabagan CA v Victoria Batting � rst, Victoria posted 237/6 in 47 overs.

Marshal Ayub was the highest scorer with 54 while Enamul Haque (44*) and skipper Nadif Chowdhury (41) narrowly failed to grab half centuries. For Kalaba-gan CA, Mehedi Hasan Miraz, Mahmudul Hasan and Mohammed Sharif took two wickets each. In reply, Kalabagan CA were dismissed for 189 in 44 overs. Open-er Nafees Iqbal scored 48 from 74 balls.

Victoria’s opening bowling duo Kamrul Hasan and Abu Haider shared six wickets between them while left-arm spinner Sohrawardi Shuvo picked up two wickets.

Brothers Union v Old DOHSAhmed Sadiqur’s 42 guided Brothers to a moderate 195 allout in 49.4 overs. Raihan Arafat was the wrecker in chief for Old DOHS taking 4/38 while Abu Jayed and Saleh Ahmed Shawon shared � ve wickets between them.

However, even 196 in 50 overs proved to be a tall order for Old DOHS as they concluded their miserable cam-paign capitulating to their 11th defeat in as many matches. The bottom side were dismissed for 102 in 36.3 overs. l

Smith named stand-in Australia captainn Reuters, Melbourne

Steven Smith will captain Australia’s Test team for the rest of the series against India, with regular skipper Michael Clarke’s career in serious doubt due to persistent injury problems.

Batsman Smith, aged 25 years and 195 days, becomes Australia’s youngest Test captain since Kim Hughes who was named in 1979 at 25 years and 57 days, and the third-youngest all-time.

Smith was in a two-horse race with wicketkeeper Brad Haddin to replace the 33-year-old Clarke, who su� ered yet another hamstring strain during Australia’s victory charge on day � ve of the � rst Test in Adelaide on Saturday.

Haddin, who will deputise for Smith as vice-captain, had been seen as a via-ble short-term replacement for Clarke, but at 37 and in waning form with the bat, was not a long-term prospect.

Smith’s selection ahead of Haddin suggests Clarke’s hopes of leading Australia or even playing again remained in grave doubt, as Clarke himself suggested to reporters after Australia won the Adelaide test by 48 runs.

With Clarke sidelined, Smith could also be in line to lead Australia into the 50-over World Cup starting in February on home soil. The initial squad is due to be named on Jan. 7. l

West Indian legend Brian Charles Lara signs autographs at the Perth Aquinas College � eld in Australia yesterday INTERNET

BRIEF SCORESKalabagan CA v Victoria

Victoria 237/6 in 47 overs (maximum)Marshal 54, Enamul 44*, Nadif 41; Mehe-di 2/25, Mahmudul 2/32, Sharif 2/55Kalabagan CA 189 allout in 44 oversNafees 48; Kamrul 3/37, Haider 3/44

Victoria won by 48 runsAbahani v Prime Bank

Abahani 169 allout in 41.1 overs (maxi-mum 43)Majid 58; Taskin 3/29, Farhad 3/30, Mahmudullah 2/15, Enamul Jr 2/38Prime 136 allout in 39.2 oversMahmudullah 51; Saqlain 3/15, Al Amin 3/25, Shuvashish 2/9, Apu 2/39

Abahani won by 33 runsBrothers Union v Old DOHS

Brothers 195 allout in 49.4 oversSadiqur 42; Raihan 4/38, Jayed 3/40, Shawon 2/34Old DOHS 102 allout in 36.3 oversShahjada 3/22, Denly 2/13, Sadat 2/17, Asif 2/21

Brothers won by 93 runs

The match � xtures are shown on a panel following the draw of the round of 16 football matches of the UEFA Champions League 2014/15 in Nyon, Switzerland yesterday. The � nal is scheduled for June 6 at the Olympic Stadium in Berlin AP

SportDHAKA TRIBUNE14 Tuesday, December 16, 2014

Shehzad, Afridi star in Pakistan winn AFP, Sharjah

Opener Ahmed Shehzad hit a swash-buckling hundred and Shahid Afridi made a � ery 55 and took three wick-ets to lead Pakistan to a crushing 147-run win over New Zealand in the third one-dayer in Sharjah on Sun-day.

Shehzad’s 120-ball 113 created the foundation of Pakistan’s biggest-ever total against New Zealand of 364-7 before they dismissed the Black Caps for 217 in 38.2 overs to go 2-1 up in the � ve-match series.

Pakistan won the � rst game by three wickets in Dubai while New Zealand took the second by four wickets, also played in Sharjah.

The win was Pakistan’s second biggest win against New Zealand, just behind their 153-run win at Ka-rachi in 2002.

“It is our strength to play aggres-sive cricket,” said Afridi. “We played our type of cricket and took advan-

tage of a good batting wicket.“Ahmed (Shehzad) played a good

knock and gave us an ideal start,” said Afridi of man-of-the-match She-hzad.

Shehzad’s knock -- his sixth one-day hundred -- was spiced with a dozen boundaries and two sixes while Afridi pulverised the bowlers with three sixes and six boundaries o� just 25 balls.

It proved too much for New Zea-land who were jolted right at the start with lanky paceman Mohammad Ir-

fan (2-26) dismissing Anton Devcich (nought) and Martin Guptill (12) by the sixth over.

Captain Kane Williamson hit 46 while Ross Taylor made 31 during a stand of 45 for the third wicket but Afridi (3-37) had Taylor bowled while Haris Sohail dismissed the New Zea-land skipper to leave them struggling at 115-4.

Sohail also had Jimmy Neesham (two) and Nathan McCullum (15) to � nish with 3-45.

Luke Ronchi was the last man out, bowled by Afridi for 41.

“Pakistan batted outstanding-ly from start to � nish and when we chased we were not at par,” said Wil-liamson.

The 23-year-old Shehzad, who has scored hundreds in all three formats this year, built invaluable partner-ships after giving Pakistan a brisk start of 63 with Mohammad Hafeez who made a 26-ball 33 with � ve fours and a six. l

BRIEF SCORE, 3RD ODIPakistan 364/7 in 50 overs

Shehzad 113, Afridi 55, Haris 39, Henry 3/69New Zealand 217 all out in 38.2 overs

Williamson 46, Ronchi 41, Afridi 3/37, Haris 3/45Pakistan won by 147 runs, lead series 2-1

Man of the match: Ahmed Shehzad

n AFP, Madrid

Spanish champions Atletico Madrid su� ered their � rst home league defeat in 28 matches as Luciano Vietto blast-ed home the winner six minutes from time to hand Villarreal a 1-0 win at the Vicente Calderon on Sunday.

An uncharacteristically error-strewn performance from Diego Simeone’s men was deservedly punished by the visitors, who could have been out of sight before the goal but for two � ne saves by Miguel Angel Moya.

Defeat leaves Atletico now seven points adrift of leaders Real Madrid and still three o� second-placed Barcelona, who were the last team to beat Atleti-co on home soil in La Liga back in May 2013, whilst Villarreal move up to sixth.

The result also rounded o� a per-fect weekend for Real Madrid as they extended their lead at the top to four points after sealing their 20th consec-utive win in all competitions 4-1 over Almeria on Friday, whilst Barcelona stumbled to a 0-0 draw at Getafe 24 hours later.

“I can only talk about the match be-cause I was concentrated on the play,” said Simeone, who gave Vietto his professional debut during his stint in charge of Racing Club in Argentina.

“They won the game with a goal by Vietto and I am happy for him despite the fact we had gone more than a year without losing here.”

Villarreal boss Marcelino, mean-while, believed his side deserved the win after running Real Madrid, Barce-lona and Sevilla close this season.

“This group deserved a victory like this,” he said.

“We have been very close in other games against the big sides where we have played well but not won.”

Atletico were playing for the � rst time at the Calderon since a Deporti-vo La Coruna fan was killed in clashes near the stadium ahead of a meeting between the two sides a fortnight ago.

The club had promised to crack-down on their unruly ultras, but the unusually � at atmosphere in front of a half-empty stadium seemed to a� ect the Spanish champions in a � rst-half littered with errors.

Villarreal had the best chance of the opening half when Denis Cheryshev burst clear but opted to go for goal himself rather than square to the un-marked Vietto and Moya made a com-fortable save.

Mario Mandzukic had a wonderful chance to continue his � ne goalscoring form when he latched onto Diego Go-din’s knockdown after the break, but former Atletico ‘keeper Asenjo bravely blocked the Croatian’s e� ort from point black range. lVillarreal’s Bruno (L) celebrates the victory as Atletico’s Diego Godin (3R) hugs Mario during their Spanish La Liga match at the Vicente Calderon on Sunday AP

PSG (France) v Chelsea (England)Olivier Letang, PSG deputy sporting director, said: “Chelsea are a very good team but we also have our strengths. The important thing is to be ready in February.”

David Barnard, Chelsea club secretary, said: “PSG are known to us as we played them in the quarters last year and they’ve got David Luiz playing for them too.

“It’s a good draw logistically too for our supporters.

“Both sides have very di� erent squads from last year, so if it was PSG or anyone else, it would’ve been the same situation.”

Man City (England) v Barcelona (Spain)Txiki Begiristain, Manchester City director of football and former Barcelona player, told Sky Sports: “Every tie in that draw is the same, it’s fantastic, so we’re looking forward to it.

“We have plenty of con� dence with the way we quali� ed beating Bayern Munich at home and Roma away, so the players will be working hard to get � t and arrive in con� dence for those games.

“We have improved our squad from last season and we have some real quality up front.”

Andoni Zubizarreta, Barcelona sporting

director, told Canal Plus: “It’s a great tie against a great rival, a team we know extremely well.

“There is no doubt that we will go to Manchester and be true to our ideas, pushing into the opponent’s half and going on the attack.

“There is still a long way to go until February and let’s see what shape each team is in when the tie comes around.”

Juventus (Italy) v Dortmund (Germany)Juventus director Pavel Nedved, said: “ We have to be very careful because Dortmund have young, talented players.

“There are a few teams who are almost impossible to compete with, so we are happy to have a side against whom we have a chance.

“I’m a big fan of (Juergen) Klopp and I’m curious to see our level in Europe. The games against Dortmund will give us a clear indication of that.”

Hans-Joachim Watzke, Dortmund CEO, said: “Juventus have great international experience. It will be a tough opponent, no question about that. It will be 50-50.

“We always had great meetings with Juve and we expect the same now. It (draw) could have been worse it could have been better.”

Schalke (Germany) v Real Madrid (Spain)Schalke defender Benedikt Howedes said on Twitter: “Real Madrid are currently one of the best sides in the world but we’ll do our best to stand � rm against them.” Real director Emilio Butragueno told Canal Plus: “Let’s say that we are rather optimistic.

“We have the experience from last season, a very, very good experience when we essentially won the tie in the � rst leg.

But we know that football can be cruel and for sure everything will very di� erent this time.

“They are competitive, with very loyal fans who will back them for 90 minutes, and

we will need a good result to be able to wrap things up in Madrid.”

Arsenal (England) v Monaco (France)David Miles, Arsenal’s club secretary, told Sky Sports News: “As the draw came out, it was evident a lot of the big teams had gone, so we’re pleased to have avoided them. But, we’re delighted to be here in the knockout stages for the 17th consecutive season and we’re very much looking forward to the games and a great atmosphere.”

Monaco vice-president Vadim Vasilyev, said: “Arsenal are a great team with great European history. And we will welcome back Arsene Wenger, who coached Monaco.” l

Bayern chase more recordsn AFP, Berlin

Pep Guardiola’s Bayern Munich are in “another league” according to their rivals with more Bundesliga records set to tumble in this week’s � nal two rounds of matches for 2014.

Bayern host strugglers Freiburg on Tuesday enjoying a nine-point gap at the top of the table, then travel to face mid-table Mainz on Friday in their � nal match before the German league breaks for the winter.

Freiburg are winless in their last four league games and have never won in Munich after 13 defeats and two draws having been thrashed 4-0 on their last visit to Munich’s Allianz Arena in February.

“Now we must continue calmly into the next two games to try and take the points up for grabs,” said Bayern chairman Karl-Heinz Rum-menigge.

Having conceded just three goals in 15 league games this season, Guar-diola’s team are on course to break the

record they hold of seven goals con-ceded for the � rst half of a season set by Stuttgart in 2003/04 and matched by the Bayern side of 2012/13.

Having conceded just one away goal so far, they are also on course to equal their own league record for the � rst half of the season, also set in 2012/13, at Mainz on Friday.

This comes less than two years after Bayern broke or equalled 25 records when they won the treble of German league, cup and Champions League titles in 2013 - the � rst German team to achieve the feat.

“Bayern Munich are in a di� erent league, I think we can all agree on that,” said Augsburg coach Markus Weinzierl after his side were thrashed 4-0 at home by Bayern on Saturday. l

LA LIGAEspanyol 2-1 Granada Caicedo 34, Stuani 90 El-Arabi 61

Sevilla 0-0 Eibar

Atletico Madrid 0-1 Villarreal Vietto 85

Real Sociedad 1-1 Athletic Bilbao Vela 3 De Marcos 61

FIXTURES Bayern Munich v Freiburg Hanover 96 v Augsburg Hamburg v VfB Stuttgart Cologne v Mainz

Villarreal end ATM’s 28-game unbeaten home run

Windies bosses, players blamed for India tour � ascon AFP, Port of Spain

West Indies cricket bosses, players and their union representatives were all blamed Sunday for October’s cata-strophic abandonment of the tour of India.

The West Indies team left India four matches into a � ve-game one-day series after a pay dispute be-tween players and the board, with the � fth one-dayer, a subsequent Twenty20 international and three Tests abandoned.

It was a decision which prompted India to demand $42 million in com-pensation and damages.

A task force set up by the West In-dies Cricket Board (WICB) has spread the blame for the debacle and laid out a raft of recommendations rang-ing from clear guidelines for players’ contracts to appointing a team psy-chologist for touring parties. l

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE LAST 16 DRAW REACTION

EntertainmentDHAKA TRIBUNE Tuesday, December 16, 2014

Theatre

REVIEW

15

‘Aajker Boithok’ by Stage One, Dhaka will be held today at 7:00pm at Dhaka University’s Natmondol.

A drama titled “Birangona: Women of War” will be staged at the Central Shaheed Minar in the capital at 6:00pm tomorrow.

Produced by Komola Collective, the play highlights the stories of the female survivors of the Liberation War of Bangladesh in 1971 when over 200,000 women were systematically raped and tortured during the war the Pakistani occupation army and their local collaborators.

Mohakal Natya Sampraday will stage the “Mora Jhon-jaar Moto Uddam”, a collage production, at the Na-tional Theatre Hall of Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy at 6:30pm. The troupe will perform songs on libera-tion war, patriotic music, and folk songs.

A drama “Shakkhatkaar” will be aired on ATN Bangla at 11pm today. The story of the drama revolves around a journalist who has been assigned to interview war children on the occasion of the victory day. Some of them refused to give interview. But, he gets an interview of a war children and then he faces an unusual experience while interviewing.

Anchored by Sharmin Lucky, “Bijoyeer Ponktimala”, a recital programme, featuring Jayanto Chattopadhyay, Arman Parvez Murad and Dalia Ahmed will be aired on Gtv at 8:00pm.

ON TV

The � lm “Guerrilla” will be screened on Channel I at 3:05pm. This � lm portray some incidents of cruelty committed by Pakistani army and their local collaborators on the night of March 25, 1971. On that night, Pakistani military started a mass genocide over the unarmed people of the country. This � lm also depicts the stories of resistances by Bilkis Banu, Altaf Mah-mud, Shahadat and many other to counter the cruelty with urban guerrilla movements.

A TV play ‘Bangladesh’ starring Aupee Karim will be aired on Ntv at 8:20pm tpday. This portrait the life and struggle of a female activist and journal-ist who runs an online portal titled Bangladesh. The lead character Shejuti formed a group titled 71.

A tele drama “Sha-heed Mosammat Kulsum Begum” will be aired on GTV at 4:05pm. Directed by Komol Chakma, the drama features Shoshi, Rawnak Hasan, Sajjad Reza, Jhuna Chowdhury and many more.

Meghmollar: The coward in the brave-man’s coatn Mosabber Rahman

The title of the � lm “Meghmallar” comes from a raga. There are ragas for di� erent times of the day and also for di� erent seasons of the year. “Meghmallar” is the name of a raga for the monsoon season, which has the power to evoke the mood of the rain. It is simultaneously exultant and ravaging. In Indian classical music ragas are like modes, made by permutations of � ve or six pitches selected from the sargam, that is the seven-pitch-collection – Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Dha Ni.

“Meghmallar” is an apt title since rain is used as a leitmotif through-out the � lm, where the mood of the people and the mood of nature get interwoven. Moreover, the megh-mallar raga plays in the background to create the atmosphere. And thanks to the cinematography it re-ally felt like monsoon. But the title is too esoteric for the audience and the original title of Akhtaruzzaman Elias’ short story “Raincoat”, on

which the � lm is based, would have been more accessible and perhaps a better choice. I like the name “Rain-coat” – rain is trouble, coat is shield. Rain. Coat. Shield from trouble.

“Meghmallar” is the story of a coward and his family- wife, little daughter and there is also a brother-in-law. The brother-in-law is the brave-man who later becomes the sole inspiration for the coward’s transformation. It is a folktale like “The Happy Man’s Shirt”. However, in that tale it turned out that the happy man did not have any shirt. Here, the brave-man has a ‘shirt’, but it becomes both a curse and a blessing: it becomes the cause of the fall and the eventual rise of the coward.

The setting is a village in the backdrop of the Liberation War, in the month of August. There is heavy rainfall. The coward is a college teacher struggling to stay away from trouble at all cost, particularly from his brother-in-law, who has joined the freedom � ghters. As destiny

would have it, one rainy day he goes to work wearing his brother-in-law’s raincoat and gets captured by the army, who mistakes him for his brother-in-law. Shahiduzzaman Selim is good as the coward, but I felt the brother-in-law, being such a pivotal character, was a miscast.

Just when the � lm was becom-ing interesting, it ended abruptly, as if the budget ran out. We may have mixed feelings about gov-ernment-funded patriotic � lms, but we do not expect them to be

insu� ciently funded. “Meghmal-lar” is among the better ones of the lot and I felt at least half-hour more was needed for the denouement. The coward’s metamorphosis was too quick to be fully e� ective and undermined the overall impact of this otherwise well-made � lm.

In spite of that “Meghmallar” was successful in creating an ambiance of the wet monsoon and that is quite commendable. This � lm actually reminded me of Giasuddin Selim’s teleplay “Bhoy” (where Fazlur Rah-man Babu played the coward) which dealt with a similar theme.

There is no doubt that we have talented � lmmakers doing good work. But perhaps for certain kind of stories it is important to forget � lmmaking altogether and be com-pletely free from its burden.

In order to honor those who are no more, we must hold the hands of the ones who are in pain today and stand beside them , and that should be the source of our inspiration, not � lmmaking. l

The Liberation War as seen in � lms of 2014n Entertainment desk

2014 has been an exciting year in terms of � lms made on the 1971 Liberation War of Bangladesh. More than 10 � lms, from Dhallywood and Bollywood, de-picted various aspects of the war with top-notch quality and authenticity.

On the Victory Day, we have picked up some of the � lms which made news around the year.

Jibon Dhuli

Tanvir Mokammel's latest venture “Ji-bon Dhuli” centres around an impover-ished 'dhuli' (drummer) family during the Liberation War. Popular actress and model Jyotika Jyoti dons the role of Shondha Rani, the wife of a 'dhuli', who is tortured by the Pakistani Oc-cupation Army. Shatabdi Wadud plays the role of the 'dhuli' in the � lm.

However, despite seasoned direc-tor Tanvir Mokammel on the wheel and few good actors in the cast, the � lm failed to impress the audience as a whole.

Ekattorer Maa Jononee

As its title suggests, the movie is about the glorious Liberation War of Bangla-desh. The script is in� uenced by the novel “Jononi Shahoshini 1971,” writ-ten by Anisul Haque.

Directed by Shah Alam Kiron, the � lm features popular actors Nipun, Agun, MM Morshed and Chitrolekha Guho. Nipun plays the protagonist tell-ing the story of the Birongonas. Uttom Guho gave the art direction and a the-atre troupe also worked in making of the � lm.

The � lm, which is supported by government grants, will hit theatres on December 19. It has been selected

for the US Film Festival to be held on December 27. Shongram '71

The � lm is a romantic drama set against the backdrop of the Liberation War of 1971, story of which is told forty-three years later in London by a British-Ban-gladeshi freedom � ghter Karim. He shares his experience with a reporter.

The � lm participated in the London Indian Film Festival for the � rst time as a Bangladeshi � lm.

Hridoye Ekattor

Directed by Sadek Siddique, the � lm was released on the Independence Day.Produced by Anandabazar Multimedia, the � lm portrays the mass devastation and destruction left by the war in its wake. At the end of it all, Bangladesh emerged as an independent country on the world map in 1971.

Children of War

A Bangla version of this Indian Hin-di � lm was released in local cinemas. Only the words spoken in Hindi have been dubbed into Bangla, whenever Urdu is spoken Bangla subtitles are used. All the Hindi background songs have also been rerecorded in Bangla.

This � lm is an amalgamation of two sub genres: � rstly, Mumbai’s Hindi Patriotic � lms where the Bangladesh Liberation War is considered a misno-mer for the Indo-Pak War; secondly, Kolkata’s Bangla parallel movies deal-ing with mature themes like adultery, rape, prostitution. l

A tele� lm “Goodbye Commander” will be aired on Maasranga TV at 8:00pm. The tele� lm depicts a story of re-searcher who discovers many unknown facts about the Liberation War from the caretaker of an abandoned house which was used as a special concentration camp by the Pakistani army in 1971.

16 Back PageDHAKA TRIBUNE Tuesday, December 16, 2014

254 female freedom � ghters honouredSajeda admits many female freedom � ghters are denied due recognition till daten Tribune Report

The Muktijuddho Academy yesterday accorded reception to 254 female free-dom � ghters for their contribution in the 1971 Liberation War.

Speakers at the programme said the female freedom � ghters had not been recognised properly because of the pa-triarchal society, and that they should be honoured before they die.

Deputy Leader of the House Syeda Sajeda Chowdhury distributed crests, certi� cates and � ag among them at the National Museum of the capital.

The senior Awami League leader said: “Women played a great role in our Liberation War which cannot be de-nied. But many female freedom � ght-ers still do not get the proper recogni-tion they deserve.

“The country achieved independ-ence for the contribution of all people regardless age, occupation, religion, nationality and caste.”

Sajeda urged all to identify and bring out those women from every corner of

the country who had contribution in the war; no matter if they used to cook for the freedom � ghters.

Muktijuddho Academy Chairman Abul Azad presided over the

programme.He said: “Still, there is no � nal list

of the female freedom � ghters. The actual number of female freedom � ghters will be more than what is in

the gazette. “We are preparing a primary list

of female freedom � ghters following proper veri� cation. It will be submitted to the government soon.” l

Our nightingale who healed freedom � ghters n Our Correspondent, Savar

Kalpana Rani Dev had to become an unruly girl when her parents told her that they would not entertain her re-quest to join the Liberation War in 1971.

But she was adamant that she would � ght against the Pakistani forces for the independence of her country. At the time, she was still in her teens and was an eighth-grader at Bhiarab Girls High School.

Soon she realised that the thought of joining the war was easy but in reali-ty it was an insurmountable task.

At the tender age of 14, Kalpana re-fused to give up. She could not accept the fact she would stay indoors when a whole lot of people were joining the war.

Kalpana kept thinking of how she could do what she had decided to do and the idea of nursing wounded free-dom � ghters suddenly popped into her head.

Kalpana and her family members were in Bhairab but moved to Nabina-gar, where the family’s ancestral home was located, when the war began in March. The family again moved to Agartala on security grounds.

At the time, her maternal cous-in Padma Rani lived at the Melaghar area in Tripura, where freedom � ght-ers would be treated at a hospital. She passed out on the � rst day after seeing the freedom � ghters in the hospital who had sustained serious wounds. A doctor at the hospital was hesitant about whether she would be able to nurse the wounded freedom � ghters but Padma assured him.

For young Kalpana, that was the beginning of her journey to indirectly contribute to the Liberation War but now after 44 years of independence, the intrepid woman leads an impov-erished life and does not even have a place of her own to live.

She strove to secure government as-sistance but to no avail.

Recalling her days in the hospital, Kalpana, who is the eldest among her seven siblings, said she not only pro-vided medical care for the wounded but also worked tirelessly to instil fresh hope and encouragement into them.

“Those of us who worked at the hos-pital especially focused on motivating the wounded freedom � ghters to con-tinue � ghting against the Pakistani oc-

cupation forces in order to defeat them and achieve independence for our na-tion,” she said.

Kalpana and her family returned to their hometown after the nine-month sanguinary war. She then converted to Islam and adopted the name Asma Akhter to tie the knot with Hazi Ataur Rahman, a resident of Bhairab Bazar, but the couple failed to have any chil-dren.

It was a bitter pill to swallow for the wartime caregiver when Ataur was diagnosed with cancer. Kalpana did everything she could, including selling the only house, to pay for the treat-ment of her husband but still could not prevent him from leaving her for ever � ve years ago.

The person who healed the wounds of many freedom � ghters several dec-ades ago now su� ers from a wide range of old-age complications, including asthma.

The saddest thing is that she cannot a� ord medical care and is surviving as a dependant in Savar’s Bank Town area without receiving any treatment.

“It was the hope of freedom � ghters that they will lead a happy life after the country’s independence but that did not happen in reality,” said Kalpana, her voice � lled with deep resentment.

“At such an age, I have approached o� cials at many ministries in the last few years but did not get any help from anyone. Now I live on other people’s earnings and do not have an abode,” she said.

Kalpana wonders if she has to live like this till her death. But the woman, who still has those pictures taken with General MAG Osmani, Captain ATM Haider and Major General Khaled Mosharraf, refuses to be pessimistic, saying she would certainly � nd peace one day. l

Freedom � ghter laid to rest without state honourn Our Correspondent, Narsinghdi

On the eve of the Victory Day, a freedom � ghter was laid to eternal rest without state honours in Narsinghdi. He died of heart failure on Sunday night.

Independence-loving people, par-ticularly freedom � ghters, brought the country’s independence from the clutches of Pakistan through a nine-month struggle in 1971.

Freedom Fighter Farid Uddin, son of late Abdul Rahim, originally hailed from Rupshadi village in Brahmanbar-ia’s Banjarampur upazila.

He relocated to Kishoreganj Sadar upazila’s Dakkhin Shilamandi village 27 years ago and had ever since been living there.

He retired from the country’s army in 1994.

After his namaj-e-janaza at Shilman-di Primary School, he was buried in the village graveyard at 11am yesterday.

His son Faisal Hossain said: “After my father died, I informed it to Dis-trict Freedom Fighters’ Commander Abdul Motalib Pathan and Banjaram-pur Upazila Deputy Commander Abdul Latif.”

“Yet my father did not get any state honours. It is very shocking that my father had to be buried without state honours.”

Narsinghdi District Freedom Fight-ers’ Commander Motaleb Pathan said he had got the news of freedom � ghter Farid Uddin’s death too late and so he could do nothing like giving state hon-ours to him.

“We will put forward a mourning motion over his death tomorrow (to-day).”

When Deputy Commissioner Abu Hena Morshed Zaman was asked about this, he said he had not received any written complaint until yesterday af-ternoon.

“However, it is the state’s respon-sibility to give a freedom � ghter state honours at the funeral. I will take steps after looking into this.” l

DB arrests 10 for mugging and robbery in Dhaka n Tribune Report

The Detective Branch of police con-ducted a special drive in the capital’s Mugda and Rampura areas yesterday and arrested 10 people for their alleged connection with mugging and robbery.

The suspects – Md Akther, Md Aftab Hossain, Md Hanif, Md Helal Matub-bor, Md Sumon Ali Apel, Jewel Hos-sain, Riaz, Md Masud, Md Saiful Islam and Md Billal Hossain – were arrested

as two DB teams followed a tip-o� and raided the areas, said Monirul Islam, joint commissioner at the DB, address-ing a press brie� ng at the media centre of Dhaka Metropolitan Police.

“The teams also recovered a foreign pistol, three rounds of bullets, two sto-len microbuses, one private car, three machetes, one dagger and a knife from their possession,” the DB o� cial said.

He also said the suspects had been involved in several robberies around

the capital, using microbuses. They sometimes robbed trucks entering the capital as well.

Among the arrested, Akhter, Aftab, Hanif, Helal, Sumon and Jewel, ar-rested by the DB team led by Assistant Commissioner Md Shahjahan, were planning a robbery when they were nabbed from Bashar Tower in Mugda last night.

The other four, arrested by the DB team led by Inspector Mahbub Ur Rashid

from Rampura, have been stealing pri-vate cars in the capital for a long time.

The DB joint commissioner men-tioned one incident when they stole a car at gunpoint in front of Falcon Tower at Tejgaon around 11:45pm on Septem-ber 30.

They mugged people using the sto-len cars, he said.

The DB was preparing to take appro-priate action against the arrested, the joint commissioner added. l

ACC summons Westmont boss, Rupali Bank MDn Adil Sakhawat

The Anti-Corruption Commission yes-terday summoned the chairman of Westmont Power (Bangladesh) Limited and the managing director of Rupali Bank for taking their statements in a money laundering case.

Westmont Chairman Kazi Tajul Is-lam Faruque and Rupali Bank’s M Farid Uddin were asked to appear before the commission on December 22.

The case was � led against Faruque and six others on April 21, 2011. The other accused are former assistant gen-eral manager of Janata Bank Ra� qul Haque Chowdhury and � ve nationals of Malaysia and Philippine. The case says Westmont took a loan of $12.96m (Tk79 crore) from Janata Bank in 2002 to build a power plant. But it later si-phoned o� the amount abroad in the name of importing machinery.

At that time, Farif was the general manager of Janata Bank’s branch from where the loan had been sanctioned.

Faruque � led a case against Sheikh Hasina on April 9, 2007 accusing her of taking Tk3 crore bribe. He later ap-pealed to drop the charges on Decem-ber 23, 2008. l

Hospital authorities dump body beside highwayn Our Correspondent, Savar

The authorities of Monorom Hospital and Diagnostic Centre in Shimultola area of Savar allegedly dumped the body of a man beside the Dhaka-Aricha highway to avoid police inquiry.

Police recovered the body of trader Mahmudul Hasan, 20, yesterday morn-ing. Mahmudul, who lived in a rented � at in Kalma of Savar, was attacked in Kalma bus stop area on Sunday night. He was taken to the hospital but doc-tors declared him dead. l

A DARING DESKMAN

The tale of a forgotten freedom � ghtern Maria Salam

Abdul Halim Mia – a pen pusher for the East Pakistan civil service in 1971 – was an unlikely hero of the Liberation War.

One of the � rst martyrs of the Ra-jshahi resistance during the Liberation War, the legacy of Halim – the erstwhile chief clerk for Water Development Board’s Rajshahi o� ce – is nearly for-gotten, with almost no o� cial recog-nition given to the man who stood up others cowered.

Halim’s eldest son Shamsul Alam, who was already married with three children in 1971, recounted the night of March 26. “We woke up to the sound of heavy � ring,” Shamsul said.

Rumours soon started coming in about the local police su� ering casu-

alties during their attempt to put up resistance.

When a curfew was declared in the morning, local young men hid in the bushes. But soon mortar shells hit the houses in the area, triggering panic among women and children.

It was then Halim who showed his mettle. Defying the curfew, the 50-year-old man came out on the streets to help the panic-stricken people.

“My father went from one building to another, making sure they were all right,” Shamsul said.

The Pakistani soldiers picked him up along with two young siblings – Kalu and Samu Sardar. The brothers returned in the evening, but Halim did not.

“We found his body, tied up and blindfolded the following morning in a roadside ditch near Bornalir Mor,”

said Shamsul, who himself recovered the body which bore stabs and a bullet wound in the back. The hero was given an unceremonious and secret burial at the family graveyard.

The Sardar brothers – both dead now – lived to tell the tale of a hero’s last hours. They told Shamsul that dur-ing detention, Halim stood up to the Pakistanis when many others pleaded for their lives. “They kicked him [Hal-im] hard on the chest and beat him. But he did not say a word,” Shamsul quoted the Sardar brothers as saying.

Met with de� ance, the armed forc-es took Halim to another room, after which he was never seen alive again.

However, Halim’s story does not end there.

Abdus Salam, one of Halim’s neigh-bours who was an eighth-grader in

1971, told the Dhaka Tribune that the WDB clerk was also among the � rst or-ganisers of resistance in the area.

At some point during the � rst couple of weeks in March, 1971, Halim paid a visit to Salam’s father – who had fought in World War II on the Burma front.

“He wanted to know if it was possi-ble to � ght the army with 20 � rearms and 200 rounds of ammunition.”

Salam’s father instantly dismissed the idea as a foolish plan, but told Hal-im to organise a guerilla team instead. The brave clerk, however, met his end at the onset of the war and was unable to realise his plans.

The only recognition given to Hal-im was a road in the area named after him. “However, the plaque was later removed for renovations. No one both-ered to put it back,” Shamsul said. l

Speakers at the event arranged to accord reception to female freedom � ghters of 1971 Liberation War in the capital yesterday MEHEDI HASAN

Taking advantage of lax monitoring by the authorities concerned, locals and visitors in the archaeological site Panam Nagar move freely inside the risky structures RAJIB DHAR

The saddest thing is that she cannot a� ord medical care and is passing her days as a dependant in Savar’s Bank Town area without receiving any treatment

Editor: Zafar Sobhan, Published and Printed by Kazi Anis Ahmed on behalf of 2A Media Limited at Dainik Shakaler Khabar Publications Limited, 153/7, Tejgaon Industrial Area, Dhaka-1208. Editorial, News & Commercial O� ce: FR Tower, 8/C Panthapath, Shukrabad, Dhaka 1207. Phone: 9132093-94, Advertising: 9132155, Circulation: 9132282, Fax: News-9132192, e-mail: news@dhakatribune.com, info@dhakatribune.com, Website: www.dhakatribune.com

www.dhakatribune.com/business TUESDAY, DECEMBER 16, 2014

B3 Oil, coal and iron ore at 2008/2009 � nancial crisis levels

B4 OPEC chief says no target price, but oil slide beyond fundamentals

Banks asked to bring NPL below 10% Bangladesh Bank says the December deadline of reducing default loans should be met even by compromising with policy to some extentn Tribune Report

The banks have been asked to bring down by any means the rate of default loans to single digit from over 11% by the end of December.

Bangladesh Bank issued the direc-tive at the bankers’ meeting held yes-terday at its headquarters in Dhaka af-ter a long lapse of � ve months.

In response, the bankers demanded of the central bank to further relax the loan rescheduling policy if they have to bring it down below 10%.

“We have asked the banks to bring down their default loan through strengthening recovery, reschedul-ing and writing-o� ,” Bangladesh Bank Deputy Governor SK Sur Chowdhury told reporters after the meeting with the managing directors and chief exec-utive o� cers of the banks.

The CEOs have been advised to ne-gotiate with the big defaulters to pay the loan instalment so the accounts could be declassi� ed.

The previous relaxed loan resched-ule policy is not applicable now, Sur said, adding that the banks might re-schedule loans by taking a down pay-ment, based on bank-customer rela-tionship as per the general circular.

“We have sought for receiving bene-� t of relaxed reschedule policy further to reduce default loan rate,” said Asso-ciation of Bankers Bangladesh (ABB) President Ali Reza Iftekhar.

He said the governor asked the bankers in the meeting to bring down average default loan rate below 10% by December.

Bankers wanted to get the advan-tage of relaxed policy further in the year 2014 as the general circular on loan rescheduling has some rigidity.

Bangladesh Bank said it would allow the banks to take the advantage case-

by-case basis following the banks’ rec-ommendations about rescheduling the loans of any big group.

Though the central bank relaxed the reschedule policy by issuing circular, it would not issue any such circular now, he said.

Earlier, BB relaxed its loan resched-ule policy in December last year con-sidering political unrest, which contin-ued till June this year.

Banks rescheduled loan of above Tk18,000 crore taking the advantages of relaxed policy.

The default loan rate reduced signif-icantly in December last year to 8.93%

from 12.79% in previous quarter due to huge loan rescheduling.

But the trend of reducing default loans did not sustain. It went upward from March quarter and rose 11.6% till September due to alleged abuse of re-laxed policy.

Ali Reza Iftekhar admitted that they failed to recover cash as much as they expected through rescheduling loan under relaxed policy.

Thought the banking sector did not get a total bene� t of the policy, it had somehow a little bene� t, he said.

State-owned banks, specialised banks and ICB Islami Bank, accounted

for a majority of the default loan ratio. Private banks account for only 4.5% of default loan rate, he said.

Despite the macroeconomic indi-cators in a positive trend, default loan rate increased in every quarter, Bang-ladesh Bank Governor Atiur Rahman said in the meeting.

He asked the bankers to apply their all might to reduce default loan in last quarter of the current year.

“The main focus of the banks will be to reduce amount of default loans,” he said.

He said lending rate is reducing grad-ually but not at an expected level. l

HC issues ruling on Shasha Denims IPO n Tribune Report

The High Court yesterday is-sued a ruling asking authori-ties to explain in four weeks why it should not be de-clared illegal the initial pub-lic o� ering of Sha Sha Denim.

The HC bench of Justice Mirza Hussain Haider and Justice Badruzzaman issued the ruling in response to writ petitions � led by Barrister Ah-sanul Islam Karim and Advo-cate Tow� qul Islam last week.

The ruling was served against Bangladesh Securi-ties and Exchange Commis-sion, � nance ministry and the company.

The petitioners said the writ petition was � led in the interest of investors as the company has fabricated its

� nancial statement during the IPO application.

Shasha Denim got green signal from the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission to go ahead with IPO plan in October last.

The company will raise Tk175 crore through the IPO with 88% of the fund to be spent on the expansion project. The export-orient-ed denim fabric producer is expected to increase its pro-duction capacity by 180% to 28 lakh yards in next one and a half years through raising fund from the stock market.

It will also use Tk18.23 crore for partial repayment of bank loans and the rest Tk2.77 crore for bearing the expenses of the IPO pro-ceedings. l

BGMEA, SEP-B sign MoU to train RMG workers n Tribune Report

Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) signed a Memorandum of Understand-ing (MoU) with Skills and Employment Programme of Bangladesh (SEP-B) to train up the RMG workers for enhanc-ing their productivity.

Under the MoU, which aims at de-veloping private sector-led vocational training systems for the RMG sector between BGMEA and SEP-B, � nancial support will be extended to the indus-try-led initiatives for developing and implementingvocational training sys-tem in Bangladesh.

BGMEA Vice President Reaz Bin Mahmud and Paul Weijers, team leader of SEP-B, signed the MoU on behalf of their respective organisations.

The development activities of the Centre of Excellence for Bangladesh Apparel Industry (CEBAI) will be im-plemented under this deal, as SEP-B will also provide technical support.

“CEBAI has been established con-sidering the fast growing industry and envisaging the potential expansion of

RMG market in the next 5-10 years,” said BGMEA President Atiqul Islam af-ter the MoU signing ceremony.

He also said, “We need a platform that can demonstrate and implement the initiatives and make the best prac-tices for the industry in terms of all sort of skill development and research.”

SEP-B is � nanced by UKAID through its department for Department for In-ternational Development (DFID) and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation. The RMG sector is one of the focused sectors of SEP-B to establish integrated, market-driven, skill-train-ing models that will enhance higher productivity, e� ciency and investment among the trainees, said BGMEA Vice President Reaz Bin Mahmud.

On December 7, Bangladesh Gar-ment Manufacturers and Exporters Association launched the Center of Excellence for Bangladesh Apparel In-dustry (CEBAI) to improve productivi-ty through research and development. The project would be implement with the help of International Labour Organ-isation (ILO) to reach the RMG export target of US$50bn by 2021. l

German loan to modernise power transmissionn Tribune Business Desk

The German Development Bank KfW, on-behalf of the German government, signed on Sunday an agreement with Bangladesh to provide fund for power transmission.

The fund of 60 million euros, which is a part of KfW’s 320 million euros to support Bangladesh’s renewable energy and energy e� ciency of the Bangladesh power sector, would be used in the country’s western zone for modernisation of power transmission system.

Besides, the fund would help in-crease the e� ciency in power trans-mission to a level well enough to provide electricity to nearly 200,000 additional households, reports BSS.

The � nancing package includes grant of 15 million euros and a promo-tional loan of 45 million euros.

The Economic Relations Division (ERD) and KfW signed the agreement on the � nancing package on behalf of their respective sides.

Power Grid Company of Bangladesh (PGCB) will implement the project. l

Muhith frustrated at Grameen Bank board activities n Tribune Report

Finance Minister AMA Muhith has ex-pressed his utter frustration over the activities of the Grameen Bank board, which remains non-functional for long due to legal complexities.

“Though I am the founder member of Grameen Bank, the work of the bank has come to a complete halt because of the ongoing legal di� culties following an injunction issued by a court on the appointment of Managing Director of the bank,” he told a private television channel, Maasranga, in response to a question about the current status of Grameen Bank.

Terming it a tragedy, the minister categorically blamed professor Yunus for halting the progress of the bank. He, however, admitted the fact that the bank was the brainchild of Yunus.

“If a renowned person creates any organisation, he does not want to quit the organisation, which is a big prob-lem of the famous persons,” said the minister.

Muhith also said: “The chairman of Grameen Bank wanted to quit from his position on health ground, but I have declined to accept his resignation let-ter to avoid a vacuum like situation as we are already facing a vacuum in the position of managing director.”

Regarding the appointment of head of election commission to conduct polls in the Grameen Bank, he said, “I am still talking to the law minister regarding the appointment of a for-mer district judge as the chief election commissioner for holding the election within a year.”

“We are now in a stagnant position on the development of the noble-prize winner Grameen Bank as all the ac-

tivities of the bank is held up because of the anti-GB activities, which was launched by professor Yunus and his followers.”

On November 5, this year, the gov-ernment strengthened its hold over Grameen Bank, amending the rules of election to the borrower-directors to give itself the authority to appoint board members for the micro-lender.

According to a Bank and Financial In-stitution Division circular, the govern-ment will now form a three-member committee to elect nine members of the 12-member board, and not the cen-tral bank, which refused to take the ad-ditional responsibility.

The three-member body will comprise of two deputy managing directors, one from a state-owned commercial bank and another from Palli Karma-Sahayak Foundation. A former district judge will serve as the chief election commissioner, said the amended rules. l

Bangladesh Bank Governor Atiur Rahman addresses a meeting with bankers at the centra bank headquarters yesterday DHAKA TRIBUNE

‘We are now in a stagnant position on the development of the noble-prize winner Grameen Bank as all the activities of the bank is held up because of the anti-GB activities, which was launched by professor Yunus and his followers’

Rules for telecom social fund � nalised though ‘incomplete’ n Muhammad Zahidul Islam

The government has � nalised rules for social obligation fund (SoF) of telecom-munication sector as law ministry gave approval after necessary vetting.

Telecom ministry o� cials said a gadget noti� cation will be issued by next week although, according to them, the rules have not included some important aspects like ownership of infrastructures to be developed under the fund.

“One of the major weaknesses of the rules is that it has said nothing about ownership of infrastructures,” said a senior o� cial adding they were under pressure to forward the BTRC’s draft rules to the law ministry for vetting and could not seek any clari� cation on the issues.

The SoF was formed in 2011 under the country’s Telecommunication Act

(Amendment) 2010. The law said all the telecom service operators includ-ing IGW and ICX companies would contribute to the fund mainly aimed at expanding telecom services to the are-as yet to be reached.

Although there was no SoF rule yet, BTRC had already � xed a rate and started collecting money for the fund at that rate in clear violation of the tel-ecom law.

As of September this year, the regu-lator has collected Tk511 crore from four mobile phone operators as 1% of gross revenue for the fund. The operators in-clude Grameenphone, Banglalink, Robi and Airtel. However, the money lies idle as BTRC has been waiting for � nali-sation of the rules to use the fund.

BTRC is now happy that the rules have been � nalised and await gadget noti� cation.

“It is a good news that gadget no-ti� cation on SoF rules will be issued soon,” BTRC secretary Md Sarwar Alam told the Dhaka Tribune yesterday.

Earlier, Bangladesh Telecommuni-cation Regulatory Commission (BTRC) sent draft rules to the telecom ministry in June 2012.

The telecom ministry sought opinion from � nance ministry on the draft and then sent it to law ministry for vetting.

Telecom ministry o� cials said the rules lack a clear guideline on procure-ment of establishment materials.

Besides, if all the telecom service pro-viders are brought under the SoF as per law, the regulator’s separate guidelines for di� erent types of operator will need to be amended, said an operator o� cial.

“Every individual guideline will re-quire changes if all the providers are brought under the SoF rules,” he said. l

BB to consider further exemption on provisioning against stock lossesn Tribune Report

Bangladesh Bank has assured bank-ers of considering a plea to extend the exemption by one more year of pro-visioning against the losses they in-curred through investing in the capital market in 2010.

The central bank would take the decision in this regard and inform the bankers soon.

At the bankers meeting in Dhaka yesterday, the bankers demanded of the central bank to extend the exemp-tion so they could o� er increased divi-dend for the shareholders.

The present exemption expires on December 31, and thereafter, the banks will have to adjust the provision short-fall in four quarters.

The bankers also demanded allow-ing banks to o� er cash dividend to the shareholders now prohibited as a pre-condition of the exemption.

“We want to maintain provision in four instalments next year against the loss incurred from share market in-vestment in 2010,” said Association of

Bankers Bangladesh (ABB) President Ali Reza Iftekhar. If the provision re-quirement is relaxed, the dividend ca-pacity of banks will increase, he added.

Earlier, the banks were given the pro-vision facility on condition that they cannot declare cash dividends.

“But we seek to declare cash div-idend in line with the same provision facility.”

Bangladesh Bank will come up with a decision about it within several days, said Iftekhar.

He said the share market exposure of some banks increased beyond the limit of 10% of their capital due to spike of index in recent times. But no banks have been found to have invested fur-ther exceeding the limit.

The central bank further reminded banks of reducing their excess invest-ment gradually within the limit.

Banks had been running with huge loss in the share market portfolio since the market crash in 2010, said a senior executive of a private bank.

He said the investment that went through merchant banks is accounted for a majority of loss.

The dividend declaration capaci-ty of banks fell gradually in last three years due to loss in stock market in-vestment portfolio.

Banking sector investors experi-enced marginal dividend during the period while they saw highest divi-dend declaration in this sector in the bubble market in 2009. l

‘We want to maintain provision in four instalments next year against the loss incurred from share market investment in 2010’

B2 Stock Tuesday, December 16, 2014DHAKA TRIBUNE

News, analysis and recent disclosuresPHARMAID: National Credit Ratings Limited (NCR) has announced the rating of the Company as BBB+ in the long term and ST-3 in the short term based on audit-ed � nancial statements of the Company up to June 30, 2014.FINEFOODS: The Company has further informed that due to inevitable circum-stances, the 20th AGM of the Company will now be held on December 28, 2014 at 11:00 AM instead of December 27, 2014 at 11:30 AM. Venue of the meeting (Head o� ce of the Company) will remain unchanged.IPO Subscription: Shasha Denims Limited subscription date 14 to 21 December 2014, NRB upto 30 December 2014. @ taka 10, face value taka 35 and market lot 200. Zaheen Spinning Limited subscription date 28 December 2014 to 04 January 2015, NRB upto 13 January 2015. @ taka 10, face value taka 10 and market lot 500.Right Share: ICB: Subscription period for rights issue will be from 07.12.2014 to 30.12.2014. Record date for entitlement of rights share: 09.09.2014. FIRSTSBANK Subscription period for rights issue will be from 07.12.2014 to 28.12.2014. Record date for entitlement of rights share: 20.11.2014.Dividend/AGMHFL: 10% cash and 10% stock, AGM:

30.12.2014, Record Date: 22.12.2014.SONALIANSH: 10% cash AGM: 30.12.2014, Record Date: 21.12.2014.KEYACOSMET: 20% cash, Record Date: 21.12.2014. Date, Time and Venue of the AGM will be noti� ed later.RECKITTBEN: 175% interim cash divi-dend (second time), Record date for enti-tlement of interim dividend: 15.12.2014.ICB: 45% cash, AGM: 20.12.2014, Record Date: 03.12.2014.BATBC: 100% interim cash dividend, Record date for entitlement of interim dividend: 03.12.2014.BENGALWTL: 23% cash, AGM: 28.12.2014, Record Date: 02.12.2014.MPETROLEUM: 95% cash and 10% stock, AGM: 16.01.2015, Record date: 04.12.2014. ENVOYTEX: 12% cash and 3% stock dividend, AGM: 24.12.2014, Record date: 02.12.2014. AFTABAUTO: 17% cash, AGM: 24.12.2014, Record date: 30.11.2014.JAMUNAOIL: 90% cash and 10% stock, AGM: 07.02.2015, Record date: 11.12.2014.GEMINISEA: 7.50% cash, AGM: 22.12.2014, Record Date: 08.12.2014. KBPPWBIL: 10% stock, AGM: 29.12.2014, Record Date: 08.12.2014.RAHIMAFOOD: No dividend, AGM:

24.12.2014, Record Date: 04.12.2014. DACCADYE: 10% stock dividend, AGM: 12.12.2014, Record date: 25.11.2014. ORIONINFU: 15% cash dividend, AGM: 18.12.2014, Record date: 25.11.2014.KOHINOOR: 25% stock dividend, AGM: 18.12.2014, Record date: 25.11.2014.PHARMAID: 25% cash, AGM: 28.12.2014, Record Date: 02.12.2014.TALLUSPIN: No dividend, AGM: 23.12.2014, Record Date: 01.12.2014.MITHUNKNIT: 20% stock, AGM: 23.12.2014, Record date: 20.11.2014.WMSHIPYARD: 5% cash dividend to the general shareholders only, and 10% stock dividend to all the shareholders, AGM: 21.12.2014, Record date: 20.11.2014. PRIMELIFE: 10% cash and 15% stock dividend, AGM: 24.12.2014, Record Date: 20.11.2014.OLYMPIC: 20% cash and 35% stock, AGM: 24.12.2014, Record Date: 27.11.2014.PADMAOIL: 100% cash, AGM: 14.02.2015, Record date: 22.12.2014. EASTRNLUB: 30% cash, AGM: 17.01.2015, Record Date: 25.11.2014.ATLASBANG: 35% cash, AGM: 24.12.2014, Record date: 27.11.2014.SAMORITA: 20% cash and 10% stock dividend, AGM: 07.01.2015, Record Date: 19.11.2014.

Stocks � nish � at with volatility n Tribune Report

Stocks closed � at with volatility yes-terday, extending their losing streak for the fourth consecutive session.

The market dipped at opening but there was some buying pres-sure. Stocks recovered some points at close.

The benchmark DSEX was down 14 points or 14% to close at 4,878, hitting the highest 4,904 before mid-session.

The Shariah index DSES inched 3 points or 0.3% lower to 1,147. The comprising blue chips DS30 ended at 1,804 with a slight fall of 3 points or 0.2%.

Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) Selective Categories Index, CSCX, settled at 9,152, falling over 15 points.

The market will remain closed today due to public holiday on ac-count of Victory Day.

Trading activities still remained low despite slight increase in turn-over as the DSE turnover stood at Tk238crore, up 19% from previous session’s 14-month low.

Losers outpaced gainers as out of 304 issues traded, 79 closed nega-tive, 152 declined and 48 remained unchanged.

Except food and allied, tannery and engineering that posted mar-ginal gain, all other major sectors closed marginally lower.

Telecommunications posted the highest loss of 1.5% while sec-tors, including power, cement, non-banking � nancial institutions, banks, textile and pharmaceuticals edged down. BRAC-EPL said turn-over saw an improvement as traders were getting accustomed to the new trading system.

Lanka Bangla Securities said DSE continued to taper o� for four con-secutive sessions owing to ongoing correction on large cap stocks.

It said investors showed buying interest on some sectors, specially small cap stocks like engineering, food and allied, and tannery.

IDLC Investments said market re-mained nonchalant throughout the session amid weak investors’ partic-ipation. It said the last couple of ses-sions witnessed a minimal turnover.

In the sectoral front, engineer-ing captured the highest liquidity whereas investors also remained ac-tive in pharmaceuticals and textile.

Fuwang Food was the most traded stocks with shares worth more than Tk12 crore changing hands, followed by Western Marine Shipyard, Agni System, Square Pharmaceuticals, Olympic Industries and Beximco Ltd.

Fuwang Food was the biggest gainer rising 7%. Other top gainers include Anwar Galvanising, Western Marine Shipyard, Deshbandhu Poly-mer and Sa� o Spinning.

The worst loser is EBL NRB Mu-tual Fund, RN Spinning, Aziz Pipes, MBL First Mutual Fund, Exim First Mutual Fund and Meghna Pet. l

CSE LOSER

Company Closing (% Change)

Aver-age (%

Change)

Closin-gAvg. Closing DHIGH DLOW Turnover

in MillionLatest

EPSLatest

PE

Standard Ceramic -A -10.00 -10.00 39.60 39.60 39.60 39.60 0.000 0.60 66.0Aziz PipesZ -9.89 -9.06 25.50 25.50 25.50 25.50 0.037 -0.37 -veR. N. Spinning-Z -7.29 -11.10 30.99 30.50 33.00 29.70 13.270 2.19 14.2Progressive Life-A -5.66 -5.66 90.00 90.00 90.00 90.00 0.007 2.30 39.1Khan Brothers-N -5.61 -1.12 36.28 35.30 37.50 35.10 3.801 1.36 26.7Prime Insur -A -4.81 -3.26 17.83 17.80 18.00 17.80 0.004 1.81 9.9Alltex Industries -Z -4.44 -4.18 27.94 28.00 28.90 27.20 2.054 3.28 8.5Imam Button -Z -4.35 -0.98 9.06 8.80 9.40 8.60 0.034 -1.72 -veHamid Fabrics -N -4.11 -1.10 45.16 44.30 46.70 44.00 11.019 3.12 14.5 Prime Bank-A -3.61 -2.34 18.76 18.70 19.20 18.60 0.618 1.87 10.0

DSE LOSER

Company Closing (% Change)

Aver-age (%

Change)

Closin-gAvg. Closing DHIGH DLOW Turnover

in MillionLatest

EPSLatest

PE

EBL NRB M.F.-A -10.20 -8.26 4.44 4.40 5.10 4.40 3.912 0.64 6.9R. N. Spinning-Z -9.76 -11.65 30.48 29.60 32.80 29.50 26.830 2.19 13.9Aziz PipesZ -9.59 -10.11 24.73 24.50 25.70 24.40 0.790 -0.37 -veMBL 1st M. F.-A -9.09 -5.64 4.18 4.00 4.50 4.00 6.167 0.18 23.2EXIM Bank 1 MF-A -7.81 -5.31 6.06 5.90 5.90 5.80 0.007 0.64 9.5Meghna PET Ind. -Z -5.26 -6.41 5.40 5.40 5.40 5.40 0.011 -0.44 -veKhan Brothers-N -5.11 -0.52 36.25 35.30 37.80 35.10 24.333 1.36 26.7Rahim Textile -A -4.60 -2.60 297.17 290.50 310.00 286.30 3.175 11.00 27.07th ICB M F-A -4.54 -4.46 92.50 92.50 92.50 92.50 0.014 8.52 10.9Hamid Fabrics -N -3.90 -0.77 45.29 44.40 46.80 44.00 35.467 3.12 14.5

CSE TURNOVER LEADERS

Company Volume-Shares

Value in Million

% of Total-Turnover ClosingP Change % ClosingY DHIGH DLOW AvgPrice

BEXIMCO Ltd. -A 527,533 20.48 7.84 38.10 1.33 37.60 40.00 37.90 38.81WesternMarine -N 332,663 18.41 7.05 55.40 5.32 52.60 56.30 53.20 55.35R. N. Spinning-Z 428,260 13.27 5.08 30.50 -7.29 32.90 33.00 29.70 30.99Hamid Fabrics -N 244,011 11.02 4.22 44.30 -4.11 46.20 46.70 44.00 45.16Fu-Wang Food A 427,959 10.89 4.17 25.90 7.92 24.00 26.10 24.60 25.46Grameenphone-A 29,855 10.50 4.02 350.00 -1.69 356.00 360.00 346.20 351.68Keya Cosmetics -A 251,016 7.03 2.69 27.80 -1.07 28.10 28.40 27.60 28.01SummitAlliancePort.-A 79,969 6.81 2.61 84.00 -2.10 85.80 87.50 83.00 85.17AB Bank - A 204,875 6.33 2.42 30.70 -0.97 31.00 31.30 30.50 30.89LafargeS Cement-Z 51,249 5.89 2.25 114.90 0.52 114.30 115.60 114.50 114.91Familytex (BD) Ltd.-A 262,400 5.82 2.23 22.10 -1.78 22.50 22.60 22.00 22.16Beximco Pharma -A 83,873 5.37 2.06 63.20 0.16 63.10 65.00 63.00 64.03FarEast Knitting -N 170,432 4.80 1.84 28.40 4.80 27.10 28.60 27.40 28.19Khulna Printing-N 197,245 4.56 1.75 23.10 -0.43 23.20 23.90 22.70 23.14Deshbandhu Polymer-A 203,437 4.55 1.74 22.70 5.09 21.60 22.90 21.70 22.35

DSE TURNOVER LEADERS

Company Volume-Shares

Value in Million

% of Total-Turnover ClosingP Change

% ClosingY DHIGH DLOW Avg-Price

Fu-Wang Food A 4,811,315 122.10 5.12 25.80 7.05 24.10 26.00 24.40 25.38WesternMarine -N 2,041,123 113.17 4.74 55.40 6.33 52.10 56.50 53.50 55.45Agni Systems -A 2,465,151 80.04 3.35 32.00 -1.23 32.40 33.00 31.60 32.47Square Pharma -A 271,325 69.93 2.93 257.00 -0.77 259.00 260.00 256.00 257.72Olympic Ind. -A 284,544 67.77 2.84 241.30 2.59 235.20 244.00 231.00 238.16BEXIMCO Ltd. -A 1,747,216 67.71 2.84 38.10 1.60 37.50 40.30 37.90 38.75Keya Cosmetics -A 2,188,647 61.29 2.57 27.90 -0.36 28.00 28.50 27.70 28.00Grameenphone-A 167,092 58.87 2.47 350.60 -1.46 355.80 355.30 350.00 352.30Brac Bank -A 1,567,663 58.86 2.47 37.60 1.35 37.10 37.70 36.20 37.55Beximco Pharma -A 922,525 58.59 2.46 63.20 0.16 63.10 65.90 62.90 63.51LafargeS Cement-Z 500,404 57.57 2.41 115.50 0.00 115.50 117.00 114.50 115.05SummitAlliancePort.-A 657,584 56.13 2.35 84.20 -2.77 86.60 87.50 83.50 85.35Quasem Drycells -A 712,309 54.17 2.27 76.20 1.87 74.80 77.00 73.20 76.05Deshbandhu Polymer-A 1,858,302 41.70 1.75 22.80 5.07 21.70 22.90 21.90 22.44Jamuna Oil -A 181,478 38.55 1.62 212.30 0.00 212.30 213.10 210.00 212.40Alltex Industries -Z 4,845,000 113.67 1.51 22.90 4.09 22.00 24.20 20.50 23.46

SECTORAL TURNOVER SUMMARY

Sector DSE CSE TotalMillion Taka % change Million Taka % change Million Taka % change

Bank 242.13 10.15 22.52 7.94 264.66 9.91NBFI 144.36 6.05 11.45 4.03 155.81 5.84Investment 36.28 1.52 2.44 0.86 38.72 1.45Engineering 352.29 14.77 42.36 14.93 394.65 14.78Food & Allied 244.85 10.26 17.15 6.05 262.00 9.81Fuel & Power 229.76 9.63 15.50 5.46 245.27 9.19Jute 2.97 0.12 0.00 2.97 0.11Textile 245.99 10.31 55.11 19.42 301.10 11.28Pharma & Chemical 342.97 14.38 25.04 8.83 368.01 13.79Paper & Packaging 11.47 10.97 3.87 22.44 0.84Service 82.76 3.47 9.48 3.34 92.24 3.46Leather 11.11 0.47 7.82 2.76 18.93 0.71Ceramic 9.72 0.41 1.71 0.60 11.42 0.43Cement 78.83 3.30 9.19 3.24 88.02 3.30Information Technology 100.37 4.21 5.60 1.97 105.97 3.97General Insurance 15.47 0.65 1.22 0.43 16.68 0.62Life Insurance 27.70 1.16 1.28 0.45 28.98 1.09Telecom 65.57 2.75 12.08 4.26 77.66 2.91Travel & Leisure 20.18 0.85 5.31 1.87 25.49 0.95Miscellaneous 121.07 5.07 27.48 9.69 148.55 5.56Debenture 0.00 0.00 0.01 0.00 0.01 0.00

Weekly capital market highlightsDSE Broad Index : 4878.65270 (-) 0.29% ▼

DSE - 30 Index : 1804.45110 (-) 0.20% ▼

CSE All Share Index: 15027.82000 (-) 0.18% ▼

CSE - 30 Index : 12312.47580 (+) 0.04% ▲

CSE Selected Index : 9152.75850 (-) 0.17% ▼

DSE key features December 15, 2014Turnover (Million Taka)

2,385.84

Turnover (Volume)

65,509,331

Number of Contract 80,634

Traded Issues 304

Issue Gain (Avg. Price Basis)

127

Issue Loss (Avg. Price Basis)

171

Unchanged Issue (Avg. Price Basis)

6

Market Capital Equity (Billion. Tk.)

2,600.45

Market Capital Equity (Billion US$)

31.52

CSE key features December 15, 2014Turnover (Million Taka) 264.51

Turnover (Volume) 8,316,957

Number of Contract 18,931

Traded Issues 246

Issue Gain (Avg. Price Basis)

104

Issue Loss (Avg. Price Basis)

132

Unchanged Issue (Avg. Price Basis)

9

Market Capital Equity (Billion. Tk.)

2,511.16

Market Capital Equity (Billion US$)

30.44

Prepared exclusively for Dhaka Tribune by Business Information Automation Service Line (BIASL), on the basis of information collected from daily stock quotations and audited reports of the listed companies. High level of caution has been taken to collect and present the above information and data. The publisher will not take any responsibility if any body uses this information and data for his/her investment decision. For any query please email to biasl@bol-online.com or call 01552153562 or go to www.biasl.net

DSE continued to taper o� for four consecutive sessions owing to ongoing correction on large cap stocks

CSE GAINER

Company Closing (% Change)

Aver-age (%

Change)

Closin-gAvg. Closing DHIGH DLOW Turnover

in MillionLatest

EPSLatest

PE

Fu-Wang Food A 7.92 5.47 25.46 25.90 26.10 24.60 10.894 1.80 14.1Apex Footwear-A 7.30 7.30 500.00 500.00 500.00 500.00 0.001 20.48 24.4Anwar Galvanizing-B 5.95 2.24 42.94 44.50 44.80 41.00 0.570 0.84 51.1Kay & Que (BD) -Z 5.60 4.56 13.07 13.20 13.50 12.30 0.013 -1.41 -veWesternMarine -N 5.32 8.34 55.35 55.40 56.30 53.20 18.412 1.80 30.8Rahima Food -Z 5.18 5.81 38.82 38.60 40.30 37.00 0.217 -0.80 -veDeshbandhu Polymer-A 5.09 3.62 22.35 22.70 22.90 21.70 4.547 1.52 14.7FarEast Knitting -N 4.80 3.15 28.19 28.40 28.60 27.40 4.804 2.28 12.4ISN Ltd. -Z 4.24 6.39 12.15 12.30 12.90 11.50 0.023 0.13 93.5Legacy Footwear -A 3.94 3.58 28.93 29.00 29.30 27.70 1.378 0.28 103.3

DSE GAINER

Company Closing (% Change)

Aver-age (%

Change)

Closin-gAvg. Closing DHIGH DLOW Turnover

in MillionLatest

EPSLatest

PE

Jute SpinnersA 9.82 9.64 54.47 54.80 54.90 50.50 0.246 -43.64 -veShampur Sugar -Z 8.74 7.50 11.03 11.20 11.30 10.40 0.253 -52.72 -veGeminiSeaFood-Z 8.59 7.29 217.29 220.00 220.00 210.00 0.289 1.39 156.3Northern Jute -Z 7.24 7.67 289.00 289.00 289.00 289.00 0.000 1.00 289.0Fu-Wang Food A 7.05 5.09 25.38 25.80 26.00 24.40 122.099 1.80 14.1Anwar Galvanizing-B 6.80 3.72 42.98 44.00 44.70 41.10 8.973 0.84 51.2WesternMarine -N 6.33 9.33 55.45 55.40 56.50 53.50 113.174 1.80 30.8Meghna Con. Milk -B 6.10 5.83 8.71 8.70 9.00 8.10 0.155 -4.32 -vePragatiLife Insu. -Z 5.81 5.98 92.91 92.90 95.00 87.50 0.219 2.38 39.0Deshbandhu Polymer-A 5.07 3.55 22.44 22.80 22.90 21.90 41.704 1.52 14.8

ANALYST

Market remained nonchalant throughout the session amid weak investors’ participation

B3BusinessDHAKA TRIBUNE Tuesday, December 16, 2014

Oil, coal and iron ore at 2008-09 � nancial crisis levels n Reuters, Singapore

Tumbling oil, coal and iron ore prices are now all at levels last seen during or before the � nancial crisis of 2008/2009, signalling not only the impact of a glut of supplies but deeper weakness in parts of the global economy, analysts say.

The raw materials are among the most sensitive to economic health, with oil and coal the world’s two most important energy sources and iron ore used to make steel.

Brent crude prices have almost halved since June to slightly above $60 a barrel, a level last seen in early 2009 during the � nancial crisis. In the coal market, the benchmark European fu-tures contracts has dropped below $70 a tonne to levels comparable before the boom and bust of 2007-2009.

Iron ore prices have halved to under $69 a tonne as demand growth in the biggest market, China, wanes.

Analysts initially pointed to rising oil and mining output, as well as en-ergy e� ciency and alternative sources such as renewables, as the main factors behind the drops.

But with no end to the price slide, it became apparent that a signi� cant cooling of emerging economies as well as ongoing slack in developed markets such as Europe and Japan was also at play, especially after oil producer club OPEC said it would not cut output in support of prices.

“Softer global demand, coupled with unprecedented growth in supply are weighing on global oil indices, with prices falling to levels not seen since the Global Financial Crisis,” National Aus-

tralia Bank said in a note on Monday. “Headwinds to global growth should

come from weakness across Japan, the Euro-zone and Latin America,” it added.

Morgan Stanley also pointed to Chi-na as an explanation for falling prices: “Our economic team’s lower Chinese and global growth estimates... also prompted us to temper our demand outlook,” the bank said.

Oil dropped last On the demand side, oil prices are driv-en heavily by events in major econo-mies such as the United States, China or the European Union.

While Europe’s economies have yet to recover from the credit crunch of 2008/2009, growth in the United States and China had picked up, helping to stabilize oil prices.

But this year China’s economy has shown signs of cooling, and with the ongoing slack in Europe and Japan, as well as rising output especially in North America, oil started to fall in June. l

While the rout in oil markets is rela-tively recent, coal and iron ore have been caught in downward trends since 2011, but it was early this year that ana-lysts � rst pointed towards weakness in emerging markets as well as rising min-ing output.

Coal is closely linked to industrial-ization of emerging economies, being the cheapest fuel for electricity, and emerging market growth has been slowing since 2013.

Iron ore is seen as a key gauge of the economy in Chinese , which is by far the world’s biggest steel producer. l A coal power plant is seen in Gelsenkirchen REUTERS

Honda to expand investigative air bag recall globally n Reuters, Tokyo

Honda Motor said it will expand an ‘investigative’ recall to replace poten-tially lethal Takata Corp air bag in� a-tors across the globe, taking the total Takata-related recall tally of all brands to more than 19 million since 2008.

Honda earlier added about 2.6 mil-lion cars in the United States when it expanded nationwide a recall of driver-side air bag in� ators that was previ-ously limited to 11 states and territories with hot and humid climates.

Honda is working out which models and how many vehicles would be cov-ered under a similar recall in other mar-kets, a spokeswoman said on Tuesday.

Takata’s air bag in� ators have been found to rupture and shoot metal shards into the vehicle, and have been linked to � ve deaths.

As consumer concerns grow over the safety of Takata air bags, the US Na-tional Highway Tra� c Safety Admin-istration (NHTSA) last month ordered the supplier to take nationwide a recall of certain driver-side in� ators that had been limited to areas of high humidity.

Takata has refused, challenging NHTSA’s legal authority to order such a recall when the cause behind the un-usual deployment of its air bags is still unknown.

Given Takata’s response, Honda’s US unit said on Monday it would volun-

tarily expand its regional recall to cover a total 5.4 million vehicles across the United States.

On Tuesday, Honda said it would recall more than 134,000 cars in Japan covering six models made between 2002 and 2013 that carry Takata driver-side air bags subject to the wider recalls in the United States. Honda will begin the recall in Okinawa, an island in southern Japan, at the end of the month.

Japan’s transport ministry has said that about 200,000 vehicles from Honda and Mazda Motor Corp would be subject to an expanded recall in Japan. Mazda is still considering whether to follow suit.

Unlike NHTSA, Japan’s regulator cannot order a recall unless the cause of the problem is known. Transport Minister Akihiro Ohta said the ministry would see whether it should change the law to be able to force an ‘investiga-tive’ recall after gauging the current se-ries of Takata-related recalls, but added there were no immediate plans.

Several automakers have called back millions of cars in the United States to replace Takata-made in� ators and in-vestigate the root cause of the problem in what is called a Safety Improvement Campaign, which is di� erent from a typical recall to address known defects.

Takata is struggling to make replace-ment parts fast enough, and has fore-cast a loss this business year amid an escalating recall crisis. l

CORPORATE NEWS

Trust Bank Limited has recently opened its branch at Shumvugonj in Mymonshing. The bank’s director, Ashrafuzzaman Khan inaugurated the branch as chief guest along with the bank’s MD and CEO, Ishtiaque Ahmed Chowdhury

Standard Chartered Bank, Bangladesh has recently handed over blankets to Bangladesh Bank for distribution amongst the poor and cold-a� ected people around the country. Bitopi Das Chowdhury, head of corporate a� airs of Standard Chartered Bangladesh handed over the blankets to SK Sur Chowdhury, deputy governor of Bangladesh Bank

NCC Bank has recently concluded its month-long foundation training course fo its o� cers at the bank’s training institute. The bank’s chairperson, Md Nurun Newaz Salim attended the ceremony as chief guest

Gitanka Datta has recently joined MasterCard Bangladesh as its vice president of business development. Gitanka has nearly 20 years of experience in the payments and banking industry, he was among the early pioneers in the payments industry in Bangladesh, having started the acquiring and issuance business of the previously known as ANZ Grindlays

China economic growth may slow to 7.1% in 2015 n Reuters, Beijing

China’s economic growth could slow to 7.1% in 2015 from an expected 7.4% this year, held back by a sagging property sector, the central bank said in research report seen by Reuters on Sunday.

Stronger global demand could boost exports, but not by enough to counter-act the impact from weakening proper-ty investment, according to the report published on the central bank’s web-site, www.pbc.gov.cn.

China’s exports are likely to grow 6.9% in 2015, quickening from this year’s 6.1% rise, while import growth is seen accelerating to 5.1% in 2015 from this year’s 1.9%, it said.

The report warned that the Federal Reserve’s expected move to raise inter-est rates sometime next year could hit emerging-market economies.

Fixed-asset investment growth may slow to 12.8% in 2015 from this year’s 15.5%, while retail sales growth may quicken to 12.2% from 12%, it said.

Consumer in� ation may hold largely steady in 2015, at 2.2% , it said.

China’s economic growth weakened to 7.3% in the third quarter, and No-vember’s soft factory and investment � gures suggest full-year growth will miss Beijing’s 7.5% target and mark the

weakest expansion in 24 years. Economists who advise the govern-

ment have recommended that China lower its growth target to around 7% in 2015.

China’s employment situation is likely to hold up well next year due to faster expansion of the services sector, despite slower economic growth, said the report. l

Indonesian rupiah weakest since Asian � nancial crisis n AFP, Jakarta

The Indonesian rupiah yesterday sank to its lowest level against the dollar since the Asian � nancial crisis 16 years ago, as emerging markets are hit hard by signs of recovery in the US.

The unit was down 1.8 percent in early afternoon trade, at 12,690 to the dollar, its lowest level since August 1998, around the time Southeast Asia’s biggest economy was devastated by se-rious � nancial turmoil.

In earlier trade, it touched 12,699 to the dollar. Like other emerging mar-ket currencies, the rupiah has been hit by signs of recovery in the American economy that has led to expectations the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates next year.

A strengthening US economy has led investors to pull out of riskier emerging markets, where they headed for bigger returns in recent years when Western countries were in the doldrums, and direct their money back towards devel-oped markets. Analysts also said that investors had been withdrawing funds from Indonesian government bonds in December, which was starting to have a knock-on e� ect on the rupiah.

“There appears to be another bout of investor risk aversion on the global stage,” said Wellian Wiranto, an economist from Singapore-based OCBC Bank. l

Oil prices rebound in Asia n AFP, Singapore

Oil prices bounced back in Asia yester-day on hopes of upbeat global manu-facturing data to be released later this week, but remained near � ve-year lows after plunging more than 50% since June.

US benchmark West Texas Inter-mediate rose 49 cents to $58.30 while Brent gained 68 cents to $62.53 in af-ternoon trade, reversing losses in both contracts in early trading.

“With preliminary manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) data scheduled for release this week, it may give some support to falling oil prices,” said Daniel Ang, investment analyst at Phillip Futures in Singapore.

“Expectations for this month’s PMI are favourable, which should prevent a further drop for the week,” he said.

“A large portion of crude oil is con-sumed for industrial usage, therefore making manufacturing PMI a gauge for crude oil demand,” he added.

Survey company Markit’s preliminary December manufacturing PMI data for the eurozone and the United States will be released Tuesday. HSBC will also release a similar survey for China’s manufacturing sector on Tuesday.

The uptick in oil prices Monday follows heavy losses on Friday after the Paris-based International Energy Agency (IEA) slashed its 2015 demand

outlook, despite plunging prices which would normally lead to increased con-sumption.

Demand is set to grow by 0.9 mil-lion barrels a day to reach 93.3 million barrels, some 230,000 barrels less than the previous forecast, the IEA energy watchdog said in a report.

The report triggered WTI to fall $2.14 to settle at $57.81 in New York, its low-est closing point since May 2009. Brent for January, which expires Tuesday, fell $1.83 to $61.85 in London, its lowest close since July 2009.

French bank Credit Agricole said a two-day meeting of the US Federal Re-serve starting Tuesday would next be in focus, amid market wariness about the central bank’s timing of interest rates rises next year. l

A farmer works on a wasteland near a construction site of new residential buildings in a suburb in Shanghai REUTERS

Expectations for this month’s PMI are favourable, which should prevent a further drop for the week

B4 Back PageDHAKA TRIBUNE Tuesday, December 16, 2014

DILBERT

OPEC chief says no target price, but oil slide beyond fundamentals n Reuters, Dubai

The head of OPEC said yesterday the group had no target price for oil, signal-ing no change to a policy to maintain production levels which has contrib-uted to sharp falls in the price of crude, unnerving global markets.

Speaking at an event in Dubai, Abdullah al-Badri said the oil price, which dropped to a succession of � ve-year lows in recent days, had fallen fur-ther than market fundamentals should have dictated. He urged Gulf states to continue investing in exploration and production, saying the United States would continue to rely on Middle East crude for many years.

The comments were Badri’s � rst since OPEC, or the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, left its output levels unchanged at a meeting last month, when it also said it had no target price.

“The fundamentals should not lead to this dramatic reduction (in price),” Badri, a Libyan, said in Arabic in remarks made through an English interpreter.

Oil’s relentless slide pounded en-ergy stocks and currencies exposed to crude exports on Friday, doused appe-tite for riskier assets and pushed inves-tors into the safety of government debt despite strong US consumer sentiment.

Adding to the e� ects of OPEC’s un-changed production level, a lower de-mand growth forecast from the Inter-national Energy Agency further put the skids under oil, raising concerns of pos-sible broader negative e� ects such as debt defaults by companies and coun-tries heavily exposed to crude prices.

There was also talk of the price trend adding to de� ation pressures in Eu-rope, increasing bets that the European

Central Bank will be forced to resort to further stimulus early next year.

Badri said OPEC sought a price level that was suitable and satisfactory both for consumers and producers, but did not specify a � gure. Asked if there was a need for an emergency OPEC meeting before June, Badri smiled and said: “I don’t know.”

The OPEC chief said November’s de-cision to leave output unchanged was not aimed at any other oil producer,

rebutting suggestions it was intended to either undermine the economics of US shale oil production or weaken rival powers closer to home.

“Some people say this decision was directed at the United States and shale oil. All of this is incorrect. Some also say it was directed at Iran. And Russia. This also is incorrect,” he said.

However Saudi Arabia’s oil minis-ter Ali al-Naimi had told last month’s OPEC meeting the organization must

combat the U S shale oil boom, argu-ing for maintaining output to depress prices and undermine the pro� tability of North American producers, said a source who was briefed by a non-Gulf OPEC minister.

Brent crude settled at below $62 a barrel on Friday, more than 45 percent below its 2014 peak, after the world energy watchdog forecast even lower prices on weaker demand and larger supplies next year. l

OPEC Secretary-General Abdullah al-Badri addresses a news conference after a meeting of OPEC oil ministers at OPEC's headquarters in Vienna REUTERS

Central banks, oil price rout to rule markets in 2015 n AFP, Paris

Addicted to liquidity and disconnected from the real economy, global markets are likely to dance in 2015 to the di� erent monetary policy tunes played by the US Fed, the ECB and China, while plunging oil prices could spice up the mix.

In 2015, “like the last seven years, it is the central bank interventions which will have an in� uence over the markets,” said Romain Boscher, a stock portfolio manager at Amundi.

For the past several years central banks have tried to stimulate stalled economies by a mix of injecting massive amounts of liquid-ity into markets, lowering interest rates to ultra low levels and snapping up assets.

Well irrigated with this liquidity, stock markets have done well and government borrowing rates have fallen, but in the real economy the situation isn’t quite as rosy and the situations vary.

Thus in 2015 monetary policy will no longer be uniform, said Mathieu L’Hoir, an equity strategist at AXA Investment Managers.

“The divergence between the central banks ... will have the consequence of introducing considerably more volatility in the markets,” he added.

The United States and Britain, two coun-tries whose central banks launched early and aggressive asset purchase programmes, are enjoying a recovery and interest rates are expected to begin rising in 2015.

But Japan has just launched more asset purchases as its economy has stumbled back into recession, while China is lowering rates and injecting liquidity to ensure no hard landing as its growth slows.

And pressure is on the European Central Bank to undertake a similar programme to

avoid the risks of de� ation and recession. “The ECB has its hands and feet tied and

it has to meet expectations,” said L’Hoir. “Action is needed quickly given the evolu-tion in in� ation.” But a rout in oil prices is complicating the situation.

‘Massive game changer’Crude prices have almost halved since June to levels not seen since 2009, when the world was still locked in a � nancial crisis.

“Oil prices, it is like a massive global bud-getary boost, especially for countries which subsidise energy,” said L’Hoir, pointing to India and Southeast Asia.

But for Europe, which is battling the spectre of de� ation, cheaper crude is mak-ing it more di� cult for the ECB to achieve its mission of keep consumer prices stable.

Falling prices may sound good for the consumer but are not welcome from a cen-tral bank’s point of view as they can trigger a vicious circle where businesses and house-holds delay purchases, throttling demand and causing companies to lay o� workers.

Nevertheless, if it manages to avoid skidding into de� ation on cheap oil prices, Europe can expect cheaper crude to even-tually help give consumers more spending power.

“The rout in oil prices could be a massive game changer for the world economy,” said Berenberg analyst Holger Schmieding.

“For users of energy, it is equivalent to a huge tax cut. In fact, it’s even better than that: the cut will not show up in bigger � scal de� cits and hence future liabilities of the en-ergy users. Instead, Russia and other energy producers will have to foot the bill.”

The danger is what costs that could levy from energy producers.

Russia, already wounded by the impact of Western sanctions over Ukraine, has seen

its ruble tank. “The risk that a badly wounded bear,

Russia, may turn more aggressive in its increasing desperation is the key risk to global peace and to the European economic outlook which we have to watch next year,” said Schmieding.

Fed rate rises? Beyond the geopolitical risk of a � are-up of the crisis in Ukraine, or uncertainty sur-rounding elections in Britain and Spain, the actions of the US Fed could also be stick into the equity market’s spokes.

The Fed raising interest rates may increase the attractiveness of bonds relative to stocks, and the e� ect it has on raising the value of the dollar can also hurt equities as it weighs on corporate performance.

But Christopher Low, an economist at FTN Financial, said “as long as the Fed doesn’t get carried away and raise its rates too high, stocks should perform just � ne”.

A stronger dollar will also reverberate across the globe, particularly in emerging markets, which are particularly dependent on the value of the dollar given its impor-tance in trade.

“When there is a change in monetary policy in the United States, there is a change in monetary policy across the globe,” said L’Hoir. Besides central banks, 2015 may also be the year the Chinese stock markets � nally arrive.

The Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Con-nect launched in November 2014 aims to give investors worldwide direct access to Chinese shares. “China is in the process of giving birth to the world’s second-largest stock market,” said Boscher.

He said “this will take years to achieve but it can only be favourable to international investors.” l

Fed faces big decision over a few choice words n Reuters, New York

Federal Reserve o� cials will decide this week whether to make a critical change to their policy statement that would widen the door for interest rate hikes next year and e� ectively bet the United States will continue to shine in a gloomy global economy.

In one of the last major wild cards for � nancial markets in 2014, the US central bank’s policy-setting commit-tee is to issue the statement and fresh economic forecasts on Wednesday at 2 pm (1900 GMT), following a two-day meeting. Fed Chair Janet Yellen will then hold a news conference at 2:30 pm (1930 GMT).

The U.S. economy has strengthened and jobs have been created at a faster-than-expected clip since the Fed’s last meeting in October, when it repeated that benchmark rates were unlikely to rise for a “considerable time.” O� cials will have to decide whether to replace that phrase despite below-target US in-� ation and economic weakness in Eu-rope and Asia.

Top Fed o� cials have suggested mid-2015 is a reasonable time to start tightening monetary policy after six years of near-zero rates, and � nancial markets generally agree.

As investors search for clues on when and how aggressively the Fed might move, here are the key things to watch:

The lift-off language The Fed has been toying with dropping the “considerable time” phrase since at least September. In October, it restated the pledge but made clear that rates could rise sooner if economic data were strong, and later if they weren’t.

If the phrase is dropped, as many Wall Street economists expect, the Fed

could replace it with a pledge to be “pa-tient” in an e� ort to prevent an abrupt market reaction that could throw o� the economy’s momentum.

If it is kept, as centrist Fed poli-cymakers Dennis Lockhart and John Williams suggested last week, Yel-len would have to explain the need for such caution in the face of falling unemployment and signs that wage growth is edging up.

Hitting the inflation target There is no question the Fed is ap-proaching its goal of full employment after years battling the recession and its aftermath, so it will need to somehow acknowledge that in the statement. Un-employment is at a six-year low of 5.8 percent and monthly job growth has averaged more than 250,000 over the last six months.

More troubling is the elusiveness of the Fed’s other goal of 2% in� ation. The Fed’s preferred in� ation measure stands at just 1.6%, and with global oil markets tanking, the dollar soaring, and the economies of Europe, Japan and China weakening, the threat is that it will slip further.

“To some at the Fed that’s a chasm, to others it’s a crack,” said Carl Tan-nenbaum, chief economist at North-ern Trust. Many Fed o� cials expect any downward pressure on US prices to prove temporary. The question is where Yellen stands.

Fresh forecasts for rates, economy The clearest hint of the Fed’s plans

could come in policymakers’ fresh pro-jections of how high rates should rise over the next few years. In September, they suggested the overnight federal funds rate could rise to about 1.25% by the end of 2015, and about 2.75 a year later. l

Japan business con� dence down in December quarter n AFP, Tokyo

Con� dence among major Japanese manufacturers edged down in the three months to December, a quarterly central bank survey showed yesterday, underscoring the lacklustre state of the world’s third largest economy.

The Bank of Japan’s closely watched Tankan survey showed con� dence among large manufacturers stood at plus 12 against plus 13 in the September survey.

Economists had expected the read-ing would stay � at, according to a sur-vey by the leading business daily Nik-kei.

Con� dence among non-manufac-

turing companies rose to plus 16 from plus 13, delivering mixed news to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s ruling coalition that scored a big win in Sunday’s snap elections.

“Today’s Tankan survey suggests that Japan’s economy stabilised in the fourth quarter, but a rapid recovery is not on the cards,” Marcel Thieliant, Ja-pan economist at Capital Economics, said in a note.

The Tankan survey of more than 10,000 companies - marking the di� er-ence between the percentage of � rms that are upbeat and those that see con-ditions as unfavourable - is the most comprehensive indicator of how Japan Inc. is faring.

The central bank’s report came after government data showed the world’s third largest economy shrank 0.5% quarter-on-quarter in the three months to September following a 1.7% contrac-tion in the June quarter.

The two consecutive quarters of negative growth met a common de� ni-tion of a recession.

Abe over the past two years has pressed ahead with a pro-spending growth bid, dubbed “Abenomics”, which boosted stock prices and pushed the yen down.

Abe moved ahead with a sales tax hike in April, Japan’s � rst in 17 years, which slammed the brakes on consum-er spending. l

Oil price slump muddies ECB’s mission n AFP, Frankfurt

The plunge in oil prices is making it tougher than ever for the European Central Bank to achieve its core mis-sion of keeping prices stable at a time it faces looming de� ation, analysts say.

In the short-term, the collapse of crude prices to � ve-year lows will curb in� ation.

But in the longer term, the slump could boost growth, which in turn would reverse the stubbornly low in-� ation worrying the eurozone, econo-mists say.

ECB president Mario Draghi voiced concern this month over the fall in oil prices as the Frankfurt-based central bank battles to boost low in� a-tion of 0.3% dogging the single cur-rency area.

Low in� ation or even falling prices may sound good for the consumer but are not welcome from a central bank’s point of view.

They can trigger a vicious circle where businesses and households de-lay purchases, throttling demand and causing companies to lay o� workers.

The ECB’s target for in� ation is around 2%.

Draghi said the bank had stepped up preparations to undertake additional stimulus measures, on top of a raft of previous steps to help revive growth in

the fragile eurozone economy. But the oil price slump may actually

provide the ECB with a helping hand down the line, by giving consumers and companies a bump at the petrol pump or in their oil heating bills.

The chief of Germany’s central bank, or Bundesbank, Jens Weidmann has described the impact of lower oil prices on Germany and the eurozone as being “like a small economic programme”.

Economists at German bank M.M.Warburg see the bene� t stretching even wider, with “a positive impact on the global economy”.

And Sylvain Broyer, chief economist at Natixis, said that, combined with the weaker euro against the dollar, the outcome could also help improve con-� dence and investment.

“It’s too early at this stage to see this,” he said, however.

Despite the ECB’s announcement that it is ready to act early next year should the euro area show signs of tip-ping into de� ation, many are asking whether it wouldn’t be well advised to wait until the full e� ect of lower oil prices is felt.

‘Into negative territory’The ECB’s chief economist Peter Praet said last week that the central bank, whose mandate is solely to guarantee price stability, “may not have that lux-

ury” of waiting. Developments in the oil sector could

nudge eurozone in� ation into negative territory from this month, and possibly even lower in the following months, warned Commerzbank economist Christoph Weil.

Crude prices have collapsed by more than 40 percent since June, and are now trading around $60 -- lev-els last seen � ve years ago, as increased US shale production adds to oversup-ply.

And the International Energy Agency said that global appetite for oil would grow at a slower pace in 2015 than earlier thought.

“For the ECB, the symbolic move-ment of in� ation into negative territory would be far from negligible” in terms of image and credibility, Gilles Moec, of Bank of America-Merrill Lynch, said.

But he warned against being over optimistic about the impact of oil on growth, as well as against the ECB wait-ing until de� ation or recession hit be-fore taking more action.

Consumers may well cheer if oil prices remain low.

But, cautioned Praet, it would pose a considerable risk for in� ation expecta-tions, which are closely watched by the ECB in its bid to avoid de� ation.

The ECB has already cut its interest rates to new all-time lows, made un-precedented amounts of cheap loans available to banks and embarked on asset purchase programmes to pump liquidity into the � nancial system.

But it has also hinted at more radical action in the form of quantitative easing (QE), the large-scale purchase of gov-ernment bonds and other securities.

The central bank will assess early in 2015 the impact of the oil prices on in-� ation in the medium term, it said in its monthly report released Thursday. l A customer uses a petrol nozzle to � ll up his tank in a gas station at a supermarket in Truchtersheim near Strasbourg