ViewsWeek Views from around the world
In a fateful moment of our recent history, US President Bush had uttered ‘either you are with us or against us’. His words cast a spell on the world and condemned us all to a political myopia. We are since then stuck between these two choices. We find everything either black or white. Whichever of the two you are, …
December, 2013
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13 December
Bangladesh Hangs Opposition Politician Ahead of Elections
Bangladesh has executed opposition leader Abdul Quader Molla for war crimes during in 1971 war, after a shady trial. Molla is the first person to be sent to gallows on war crime charges during the country’s bloody 1971 war of independence. Molla, 65, who was also assistant secretary general of the Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) party, was hanged hours after he refused …
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7 December
Democracy Stumbles in Bangladesh
The announcement of the schedule for elections to the tenth Jatiya Sangsad (national parliament) on November 25 has stoked an already volatile political situation in Bangladesh. The ready reaction of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party-led opposition alliance to the chief election commissioner’s televised speech to the nation, during which he announced that the general elections will be held on January 5, 2014, …
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2 December
Bangladesh: Western Perceptions on Developments
The last week has seen a flurry of activities in the West about developments in Bangladesh. These include a hearing (November 20, 2013) by the U.S. House Sub-Committee on Asia titled “Bangladesh in Turmoil. Such increased focus in the run-up to the elections in Bangladesh is indicative of the West trying to understand what exactly is happening in this important …
October, 2013
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27 October
Bangladesh’s Unending Political Crisis
Bangladesh is passing through a political crisis, giving rise to a grave social and economic situation that has taken many lives already, and caused many lost days of income. Political parties are in dangerous confrontation. The latest political conflict arose with the issue of the coming general election. The only means to control the fire is a national consensus on …
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4 October
A Bangladeshi Perspective on 1971 ‘War Crimes’
We are a severe critic of this government on many issues. But on the issue of holding war crimes trial we have no hesitation in saying that without the AL (Awami League party of prime minister Sheikh Hasina Wajid who also happens to be daughter of Bangladesh’s founder Sheikh Mujibur Rehman) in power, and without Sheikh Hasina’s determined leadership, …
September, 2013
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28 September
Bangladesh Cannot Survive Without the Sundarbans
Sundarbans, the largest mangrove forest in the world, is a living and most effective natural fence protecting the coastal belt areas. It indeed saved us from the devastation of cyclones Sidr and Aila in the recent past. Not only so, it is the forest that offers various sources of livelihood to more than five hundred thousand local inhabitants. Unfortunately, the …
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22 September
Bangladesh’s Secret Weapon Against Extremism
Since the late 1990s, Bangladesh has witnessed an increase in militancy and violent extremism that has exposed women to greater threats than before. Such kinds of extremism prevent women from being emancipated economically and socially. In Bangladesh, a number of Islamist extremist groups believe women should not have a prominent role in society. Earlier this year, Hefazat (-e-Islam, a radical …
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22 September
Myanmar’s Stateless Rohingyas
Every human being has the right to live in his birthplace irrespective of religion, color and race. But in case of Rohingyas in Myanmar, it is different and difficult. Rohingyas ( an ethnic group who practice Islam and speak Rohingya) have been living in the state of Arakan in Myanmar since the 8th century, but have not been recognized as citizens. After decades of oppression …
