DT e-Paper 13 March 2017

SECOND EDITION 

MONDAY, MARCH 13, 2017 | Falgun 29, 1423, Jamadi-us-Sani 13, 1438 | Regd No DA 6238, Vol 4, No 315 | www.dhakatribune.com | 24 pages plus 8-page world supplement | Price: Tk10 

FOCUS BANGLA 

Sheikh Hasina: Bangladesh will give 

befitting reply if attacked › 2 

Navy 

submarines 

ready to go 

deep › 2 

Get real on 

IS, terrorism 

expert tells 

police › 3 

Pakistan, Bangladesh 

may feel impact 

of Uttar Pradesh 

election results › 8 

Hathurisingha: 

Batsman need to 

improve decision 

making › 18

2 

MONDAY, MARCH 13, 2017 

DT 

News 

Sheikh Hasina: Bangladesh will give 

befitting reply if attacked 

• Anwar Hussain, Chittagong 

Bangladesh will acquire all the 

weapons necessary to safeguard its 

sovereignty and will not spare anyone 

who tries to cause harm, said 

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. 

Speaking at the commissioning 

ceremony of submarines BN Nabajatra 

and BN Joyjatra yesterday, she 

said: “Our foreign policy is to maintain 

friendship with all and hold 

malice towards none. However, we 

will give a befitting reply if someone 

dares to attack our country.” 

Bangladesh Navy acquired the 

two submarines from China last 

year and they were commissioned 

– officially placed in active service 

– at the Issa Khan Naval Base in 

Patenga, Chittagong yesterday. 

With the addition of the submarines 

to its fleet – the first in the 

history of the country – Bangladesh 

Navy has now become a three-dimensional 

force, the prime minister 

said. 

“Bangladesh has never had any 

submarines before, so today is a 

special day – not just for Bangladesh 

Navy or the armed forces, but 

for the entire country as well,” she 

added. 

“Not many countries in the 

world can use submarines. Now 

Bangladesh belongs to the group 

of very few countries who can 

use submarines,” the premier remarked. 

She urged the crew of the newly 

commissioned submarines to become 

experienced in their use and 

get ready for real-life operations. 

She further said a good number of 

warships, maritime helicopters and 

maritime patrol aircraft had been 

added to the naval force during the 

tenure of the present government. 

“Apart from expanding the naval 

fleet, we have taken all-out 

measures for the infrastructural 

development of the force. The 

construction of a different jetty for 

the submarines is underway,” the 

prime minister said. 

She also said: “We will not allow 

our territory for any terrorist 

activities. After coming to power 

in 2009, our government has been 

working to establish regional peace 

and security.” 

The prime minister handed over 

the commission forms to Commander 

KM Mamunur Rashid, 

commander of Nabajatra, and Lt 

Commander Mazharul Islam, commander 

of Joyjatra. 

The ceremony was also attended 

by Cabinet members, lawmakers, 

chiefs of the armed forces, naval 

commandos of the Liberation 

War, senior civil and military officials 

and foreign diplomats, among 

others. 

‘Negligence in development work 

will not be tolerated’ 

The prime minister yesterday 

warned that she would not tolerate 

any negligence in development 

projects. 

Speaking at the inauguration of 

a water treatment plant at Patenga 

Boat Club in Chittagong, she said: “I 

will not tolerate the slightest negligence 

in development work. I did 

Navy submarines ready to go deep 

• Anwar Hussain, Chittagong 

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina officially 

commissioned the two Chinese submarines 

– Nabajatra and Joyjatra – yesterday 

afternoon. 

With the addition of the submarines, 

the Bangladesh Navy can, for the 

first time, be considered a “three-dimensional 

force.” 

The Type 035G-class submarines, 

also known as Ming-class, were reportedly 

assembled at the Dalian state Liaonan 

shipyard. 

The submarines are a class of diesel-electric 

submarines used by the 

People’s Liberation Army Navy. They 

are 76 metres in length and 7.6 metres 

in width. 

The primary weaponry for Type 

035G is the Yu-3 torpedo. It uses 

French-made sonar DUUX-5 unit. The 

035G-class is also renowned for its anti-submarine 

weapon capabilities. 

They were built with further improvements, 

especially in terms of 

noise reduction, weapons, sensors and 

crew living standards. 

The Type 035G, which is frequently 

TYPE 035G-CLASS SUBMARINE 

(MING-CLASS) 

Type 

: Attack submarine 

Displacement : 2,110 tonnes (submerged) 

Length 

: 76m 

Beam : 7.6m 

Draft : 5.1m 

Depth : 7.6m 

Propulsion 

: Type E390ZC-1 diesel engine, 5,200HP 

Speed 

: 18 knots (33km/h) (submerged) 

Test depth 

: 300m 

Crew : 57 

Armament 

: 533mm torpedo tubes 

Primary weapon : Yu-3 torpedo 

French-made sonar : DUUX-5 unit 

Source: Wikipedia 

used for coastal patrols, will be especially 

useful since, after settling maritime 

border disputes with Myanmar 

and India, Bangladesh now has about 

118,813 sq km of maritime territory. 

According to an ISPR release, after 

the submarines arrived at the Chittagong 

port on December 22 last year, 

the naval personnel of both the countries 

completed a sea trial and real 

Naval officers line up on the newly commissioned submarines – Nabajatra and Joyjatra – that were added to the nation’s naval 

fleet at Chittagong Port yesterday 

FOCUS BANGLA 

not come to power to allow room 

for corruption or business. I will not 

spare anyone who is found involved 

in illegal activities,” she said. 

Saying that the Awami League 

government was sincere about 

Chittagong’s development, the 

premier asked the city authorities 

to send proposals to the Executive 

Committee of the National Economic 

Council (Ecnec). 

training to operate them. 

In November last year, Bangladesh, 

seeking to boost its naval power in the 

Bay of Bengal, paid China a reported 

$203m for two submarines. 

This deal, which reflects the country’s 

growing economic and defence 

ties with Beijing, intensified the transnational 

tug of war between India and 

China to sway Bangladesh towards either 

of the nations. 

When Chinese President Xi visited 

Bangladesh in October last year, 27 

deals, amounting to some $25 billion, 

were signed. 

This caused Indian authorities to 

feel some concern. 

Post-submarine sales, India 

launched a response by rushing Defence 

Minister Manohar Parrikar to 

Bangladesh to ensure long-term cooperation 

between the nations in matters 

of defence. 

India is now willing to offer Bangladesh 

a $500 million line of credit for 

the purchase of military hardware. 

In 2013, when the government 

signed a billion-dollar deal with Russia 

to buy fighter training jets, helicopters 

and anti-tank missiles, Prime Minister 

Sheikh Hasina had announced a plan to 

purchase two submarines. 

Bangladesh has since been 

expanding its defence capabilities 

– building a new airbase close to 

neighbouring Myanmar, opening 

several new military cantonments 

across the country and adding new 

frigates to its naval fleet. • 

“Send proposals for the development 

of Chittagong to Ecnec; I 

will approve them. However, after 

the proposals get approved, I will 

not tolerate any unnecessary delay 

in their execution.” 

Expressing resentment over the 

dilapidated airport road of the port 

city, the prime minister said on her 

way to the event, she saw for herself 

how bad its condition was. 

“Both the LGED office and Chittagong 

City Corporation are responsible 

for the maintenance of 

the VIP road. I saw the road in a 

broken state when I visited Chittagong 

two years ago. I hope I will 

not see it in the same condition 

during my next visit,” she added. 

Speaking of the water treatment 

plant, Sheikh Hasina said it would 

help to resolve the perennial water 

crisis in Chittagong. 

“Purifying water involves a 

huge cost. So, we should be careful 

and economical about the use of 

water,” she added. 

Hasina also stressed the importance 

of saving the Karnaphuli River 

from pollution. 

“We will not let the Karnaphuli 

River to suffer the fate of the Buriganga,” 

she said. She then asked 

government agencies concerned to 

take immediate initiatives to construct 

a central sewerage treatment 

plant in the city to save the Karnaphuli 

from pollution. 

The inaugural ceremony was 

also addressed by Local Government, 

Rural Development and Cooperatives 

Minister Khandker Mosharraf 

Hossain, Chittagong City 

Corporation Mayor AJM Nasir Uddin 

and Chittagong Wasa Managing 

Director AKM Fazlullah. •

News 3 



Get real on IS, 

terrorism expert 

tells police 

• Arifur Rahman Rabbi 

An international terrorism expert 

has urged Bangladeshi law enforcement 

to “tell the truth” about 

Islamic State’s involvement in terrorism 

in Bangladesh. 

Prof Rohan Gunaratna, head 

of the International Centre for 

Political Violence and Terrorism 

Research at the Nanyang Technological 

University, Singapore, who 

is now in Dhaka to attend a conference 

of chiefs of police of South 

Asia and neighbouring countries, 

presented the keynote paper yesterday. 

The expert rejected the government’s 

position that the recent 

terror attacks, including the Gulshan 

Holey Artisan Bakery attack 

on July 1 last year, were carried out 

by banned militant outfit Jama’atul 

Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB). 

“The Holey Artisan attack was 

mounted by Islamic State (IS), influenced 

by the terrorist group in 

Iraq and Syria,” the professor said. 

“But unfortunately Bangladeshi 

police leadership did not came out 

with the truth. 

“If you do not address it, the 

situation may cause problems in 

the country in the coming days,” 

he said, adding that identifying the 

problem was half of the solution. 

About four hours into the Gulshan 

attack, ISIS mouthpiece Amaq 

claimed its supporters had attacked 

the restaurant. From Sept 2015 to 

August 2016, the group took credit 

for 26 attacks across Bangladesh in 

which 45 people were killed. 

“These groups committing terrorism 

in Bangladesh were JMB in 

the past, but now they are influenced 

by ISIS,” Gunaratna said. 

“The terrorists of today are different 

from the terrorists of the 

past. In the past, they wanted to 

kidnap people, take hostages and 

negotiate with the government,” 

Gunaratna said. 

“But the terrorists at Holey Artisan 

did not want to kidnap or negotiate. 

Then why did you wait 12 

hours to respond? Response should 

have been immediate,” he said. 

The expert suggested creating a 

force with special operation capabilities 

to respond in the shortest 

period of time in such incidents. 

According to him, there were 

three phases in the Holey Artisan 

attack. First phase was “hurting and 

slaughtering” where people were 

killed in the first 15 minutes. The 

second phase was “human shield 

phase” where they sent out photographs 

and the third phase was 

“showdown phase” when terrorists 

showed they wanted to die. • 

‘Teach captured terrorists to sing, dance and play’ 


International terrorism expert Rohan 

Gunaratna is now in Dhaka to attend a 

conference of the chiefs of police from 

South Asia and neighbouring countries. 

On the sidelines of the event, Gunaratna 

spoke extensively to journalists 

on challenges of Bangladesh in countering 

terrorism and on the rehabilitation 

of terrorists, which he believes 

is essential in stopping the spread of 

these ideologies. 

What is the main challenge 

for Bangladesh in countering 

terrorism? 

Bangladesh government has done a 

remarkable job in fighting terrorism. 

The political leadership gave the right 

message and provided the resources. 

The police counter-terrorism outfit has 

also performed exceptionally well. But 

Bangladesh now has to build programmes 

to rehabilitate terrorists and 

extremists in custody. 

The biggest failure on the part of 

Bangladesh has been inability to create 

Rohan Gunaratna 

a terrorist rehabilitation programme. 

Because if the terrorists are not 

rehabilitated when they are in custody, 

then after coming out, they will be 

perpetrators, they will infect others and 

become heroes. 

How can we rehabilitate 

terrorists? 

Terrorists can be rehabilitated by 

bringing in Muslim clerics. Mainstream 

clerics will talk to them, teachers and 

vocational instructors will empower 

them with new skills. They have to be 

Interpol Secretary General Jurgen Stock speaks at the three-day conference of chiefs of police at Pan Pacific Sonargaon Hotel 

in Dhaka yesterday 

MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU 

Interpol chief pledges support 

against militancy in Bangladesh 


Interpol Secretary General Jurgen 

Stock has said his organisation will 

continue to support Bangladesh in 

the fight against militancy. 

Stock was addressing the inauguration 

ceremony of a threeday 

conference of chiefs of police 

at Pan Pacific Sonargaon Hotel in 

Dhaka yesterday. 

The first international police 

conference to be held in Bangladesh 

is being attended by police 

chiefs of Afghanistan, Australia, 

Bhutan, Brunei, China, India, Indonesia, 

Maldives, Malaysia, Myanmar, 

Nepal, South Korea, Sri Lanka 

provided with creative rehabilitation. 

You should teach them songs, dance 

and music to broaden their minds. 

Also, counsellors and physiologists are 

required to remove hatred and anger 

from their minds. 

So terrorist rehabilitation is 

multi-faceted programme that is an 

enterprise of ministries of religion, education, 

social affairs and so many other 

components of government to change 

and transform the terrorist. 

Why you are saying that there 

is no New JMB, rather it is IS in 

Bangladesh? 

Because, the JMB as an organisation has 

ceased to exist when the old JMB ideology 

has changed. Now the ideology is 

given by IS. You cannot call it JMB any 

more because it has changed its constitution, 

ideology, targeting strategy, and 

it is currently walking with IS central. 

It has even messaged and propagated 

its operation to IS and IS in Dabiq 

magazine, the main journal of IS, where 

they acknowledged that the group that 

did the Holey Artisan attack is IS. 

and Vietnam. 

Bangladesh’s Inspector 

General of Police Shahidul Hoque 

said: “The conference theme 

is appropriate for this time. 

Violent extremist networks and 

transnational organised crimes 

pose major threats to national and 

international security.” 

Bangladesh police were successful 

in combating the threat of terrorism 

in 2016 with the aid of Interpol, 

Stock said. 

“We are now impacted by what 

goes on beyond national boundaries. 

Police must stay connected to 

each other, to cooperate with each 

other, to built trust among police in 

If IS is in Bangladesh, why would 

the government say they are 

home-grown militants like JMB? 

Bangladesh government is saying it is 

JMB because it believes it would create 

more issues for Bangladesh if the 

terrorists are called IS. 

But I personally believe that Bangladesh 

government should say that these 

terrorists do not follow the old ideology 

of JMB and they are driven by the ideology 

of the so called Islamic State. 

It is so important to identify the new 

characters and the transformation of 

this group and prepare the counter-terrorism 

law enforcement, military and 

intelligence agencies to fight IS. 

Identifying the problem, identifying 

the enemy accurately is half of the solution. 

It is a good time for Bangladesh 

government to tell the truth that the 

group that attacked the Holey Artisan 

Cafe is not old JMB, but the transformation 

of the JMB called IS. 

If Bangladesh says it is IS, how 

does that help us from the 

security perspective? 

different countries,” he said. 

“Targeted international operations 

and cross border operations 

will be much easier. Our objective 

is to set up a global early warning 

system against terrorism and other 

forms of criminality,” he added. 

“It’s a world where timely sharing 

of information is crucial. Smuggling 

weapons in one part of the 

world could lead to deaths in another 

part of the world,” Stock said. 

South Asian countries continue 

to face great challenges from 

terrorist activities to transnational 

threats like illicit traffic of drugs, 

firearms, and human trafficking,” 

he said. • 

If you identify the enemy as IS, 

because it is IS, it will certainly enable 

the Bangladesh government’s law 

enforcement, military and intelligence 

services to prepare their mind to fight 

IS. Because IS fights in a different way 

from JMB. 

JMB did not kill foreign nationals – 

Italians, Japanese – JMB did not 

attack Christians, Buddhists and 

Hindus. So, I want to tell you that the 

enemy has a new form that must be 

identified. The government and the 

public must understand the new face of 

terrorism. 

You have already admitted that 

Bangladesh achieved many things in 

countering terrorism. And it might be 

law enforcers’ strategy not to admit 

that this is IS. May be it is working as 

well. 

Bangladesh police counter-terrorism 

unit has been very effective in the 

fight against terrorism. The officers 

who are staffing and leading the fight, 

they know that it is a new form of terrorism 

and they know it is IS and they 

are mentally very ready to fight IS.•

4 



News 

DSCC Mayor Sayeed Khokon joins a drive against risky, unauthorised 

chemical factories and warehouses in Old Dhaka. The photo was taken 

yesterday at Lalbagh 

RAJIB DHAR 

POLICE CRACKDOWN 

49 suspected 

militants arrested 

in three days 


Aiming to root out militancy 

from the country, police in 

three days of their countrywide 

special raids till late Saturday 

night arrested at least 

49 suspected extremists and 

terrorists. 

The nationwide police action 

started on Thursday, two 

days after a retired army official’s 

son and his cohort were 

arrested for attacking police in 

Comilla. 

Terming the raids a continuous 

process against militancy, 

police headquarters special 

task group chief Md Moniruzzaman, 

said the crackdown 

will continue until March 19. 

In the first two days, 19 suspected 

members of the banned 

militant outfit Jama’atul Mujahideen 

Bangladesh (JMB) and 

one each belonging to Harkat-ul 

Jihad al-Islami Bangladesh, 

Allahr Dal and another 

extremist group were arrested. 

On the third day, 27 more 

people with their alleged links 

to militancy were arrested. Police 

did not reveal what outfit 

they belonged to, though. 

On March 7, two youths-- 

Ahmed Azwad Imtiaz Talukder 

Omi and Mahmudul Hasan-- 

hurled grenades at a patrol 

team of highway police in 

Chandina upazila of Comilla. 

They were later detained, 

leading to Omi’s confession 

that he was in touch with Dhaka 

cafe attack mastermind 

Tamim Chowdhury, also the 

military commander of New 

JMB. 

Later, acting on the information 

the two had divulged, 

police discovered a militant 

hideout in Chittagong’s Mirsarai 

upazila, seizing a huge 

cache of explosives and 

bomb-making material.• 

Hawkers’ association 

demands reconstruction 

of the demolished stalls 

• Tribune Desk 

Dhaka Songbadpotro Hawkers 

Bohumukhi Somobay Samity 

has demanded the reconstruction 

of the newspaper selling 

stalls which were recently demolished 

by the city corporation 

staffs. 

Drawing attention of the 

prime minister, the hawkers’ 

association, in a press release, 

pointed that city corporation 

staffs had demolished a couple 

of stalls in the name of 

beautification. 

Some corrupt city corporation 

officials have also demolished 

some of the stalls in the 

dark night defying the High 

Court’s stay order regarding 

this issue. 

Such indiscriminate demolition 

has been making livelihood 

difficult for the people 

involved in the sales and distribution 

of newspaper, the 

press release read. 

They urged the prime minister 

to instruct the city corporations 

to rebuild the stalls at 

their own expenses. •

Civil Service Act with special 

arrest provisions finalised 

• Shohel Mamun 

The government has finalised 

the draft of Bangladesh Civil 

Service Act 2017 keeping a 

provision allowing Anti-Corruption 

Commission (ACC) to 

arrest public servants if any 

complaint against them is 

proven in primary probe. 

Hence, the ACC, according 

to the draft bill, will be 

empowered to book a government 

staff without permission 

from the authorities 

concerned, even before 

charges against the accused 

are framed. 

The draft act, however, 

says that law enforcers will 

not be permitted to directly 

arrest any government official 

or employee accused of 

negligence in duty, graft or 

wrongdoing at work, or sued 

in a criminal case until a 

charge-sheet against him or 

her is accepted at court. 

In these cases, an arrest 

will be followed by permission 

from authorities concerned 

and that too just for 

interrogation. 

But, there will be no bar 

to arresting the accused if a 

court accepts charge-sheet 

against them. 

The government will not 

back any of its officials or employees 

up if they are sued 

over personal dispute or other 

criminal charges not relating 

to their job, the draft act adds. 

In such cases, the law enforcers 

will not need any prior 

permission from the administration 

to arrest the accused. 

On July 13, 2015 another 

draft of the bill was placed 

before the cabinet without 

the provision of the government 

staff being arrested, 

even by the ACC before the 

accused are indicted. 

The draft bill prepared by 

public administration ministry 

is likely to be tabled in a 

meeting of the cabinet for its 

approval today. 

When contacted, a senior 

official of the ministry 

said that the previous draft 

bill had some confusions in 

it over the issue on arresting 

civil servants, which the 

new draft act will clarify. • 

News 5 


Nasim: BNP cannot have technocratic 

representation during elections 

• Mohammad Abu Bakar Siddique 

It is unconstitutional for technocratic BNP 

representation during the up-coming elections 

according to Mohammed Nasim. 

The health minister yesterday made the 

comments at a press conference at the Dhanmondi 

party office. 


He said the party leaders have supported 

Awami League nominated MP candidate Jaya 

Sengupta for Sunamganj-2 seat and AL mayoral 

candidate Anjum Sultana Sima in the 

Comilla City Corporation election. 

The meeting was presided over by Jatiya 

Samajtantrik Dal General Secretary MP Shirin 

Akter. • 

DRIZZLE OR HEAVY 

RAIN LIKELY 

MONDAY, MARCH 13 

TEMPERATURE FORECAST FOR TODAY 

DHAKA 

TODAY 

TOMORROW 

SUN SETS 6:07PM 

SUN RISES 6:08AM 

PRAYER 

TIMES 

Fajr: 5:50am | Zohr: 1:15pm 

Asr: 4:45pm | Magrib: 6:10pm 

Esha: 8:00pm 

Source: Islamic Foundation 

Dhaka 31 Chittagong 29 Rajshahi 27 Rangpur 27 

Khulna 30 Barisal 30 Sylhet 28 Cox’s Bazar 29 

YESTERDAY’S HIGH AND LOW 

30.6ºC 

14.0ºC 

Jessore 

Tetulia 

Source: Accuweather/UNB

6 

Dhaka 

Tribune 


Advertisement

News 7 


Lawyer among 17 Hizb ut-Tahrir men 

held in Chittagong 


• FM Mizanur Rahaman, 

Chittagong 

Police have arrested 17 activists 

of banned militant outfit Hizb ut- 

Tahrir including a lawyer during 

overnight drives from different 

parts of Chittagong city. 

The court of Metropolitan Magistrate 

Nazmul Hossen sent them 

to jail rejecting their bail petitions 

after they were produced before 

the court yesterday. 

The case was filed under the Anti-Terrorism 

Act with Double Mooring 

police station. 

Of the detainees, seven pleaded 

for bail to the court, CMP Assistant 

Commissioner (prosecution) Kazi 

Shahbuddin told the Dhaka Tribune. 

Acting on information, a team 

of police held three Tahrir members 

from Jhorna Para area while 

holding a clandestine meeting on 

Saturday night, CMP Additional 

Deputy Commissioner (west) Nazmul 

Hasan told the Dhaka Tribune. 

“Based on their confession, police 

conducted drives in Halishahar, 

Nayabazar-Eidgaon, Double-mooring 

and Khulshi areas, and arrested 

the rest of the suspected Tahrir 

militants,” Nazmul added. 

Most of them were previously 

involved with Jamaat’s student 

wing Islami Chhatra Shibir and 

later joined Hizb ut-Tahrir. During 

the investigation, police found that 

they were in the primary stage of 

radicalisation. 

Police were investigating the 

matter and trying to find out their 

leaders, officials said. 

A section of Jamaat-Shibir men 

had joined local militant groups 

including Hizb ut-Tahrir and were 

working in concert to build a greater 

network with a view to waging 

an armed jihad from Chittagong, 

police said. 

On August 1 last year, police arrested 

five leaders of banned outfit 

Ansarullah Bangla Team from the 

city’s Katgarh area. Police later identified 

them as former Shibir men. 

Detectives claimed that the anti-liberation 

forces were patronising 

the militants, and opted for news 

names and techniques to avoid arrest 

and harsh punishment. • 

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Dhaka Tribune


8 

World 


SOUTH ASIA 

Pakistan to conduct 1st 

population survey in 19 

years 

Pakistan’s information minister 

says the country is set to launch a 

national census for the first time 

in 19 years. Maryam Aurangzeb 

said told reporters Sunday that the 

census will start on March 15 and 

should be completed by May 15. 

She appealed to citizens to cooperate 

and warned against giving false 

information. AP 

INDIA 

Manohar Parrikar to be 

next Goa chief minister 

The BJP will form the government 

in Goa and Union minister Manohar 

Parrikar will be the state’s next 

chief minister. This was made 

possible despite the BJP not having 

a majority of seats because the 

Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party, 

the Goa Forward Party and three 

Independents decided to support 

the party. Manohar Parrikar will 

have to give resignation as defence 

minister before becoming Goa CM, 

but he has not given it yet,” Union 

minister Nitin Gadkari said. TOI 

CHINA 

China admits its political 

education is poor 

China is doing a poor job at political 

education for university students 

because the classes are outdated 

and unfashionable, the education 

minister said on Sunday in a rare 

admission of the difficulties faced 

enforcing a key government policy. 

In December, President Xi Jinping 

called for allegiance to the party 

from colleges and universities, the 

latest effort by China to tighten its 

hold on education. REUTERS 

ASIA PACIFIC 

Philippines, Maoistinsurgents 

agree to 

resume talks 

Negotiators from the Philippine 

government and Maoist-led insurgents 

have reached an agreement 

to resume formal peace negotiations 

next month, a month after an 

angry President Rodrigo Duterte 

cancelled talks after rebels ambushed 

soldiers. REUTERS 

MIDDLE EAST 

Death toll from Damascus 

bombing climbs to 74 

The death toll from a double bomb 

attack targeting Shias visiting a 

pilgrimage site in Damascus has 

climbed to 74, the Syrian Observatory 

for Human Rights reported on 

Sunday. Most of the dead in Saturday’s 

attack were Iraqi Shias who 

were going to visit a cemetery near 

the Old City of Damascus. REUTERS 

Pakistan, Bangladesh may feel impact 

of Uttar Pradesh election results 


There has been some speculation 

that the government had been waiting 

for the UP elections to be over to 

pick up the threads of engagement 

with Pakistan, which have gone into 

deep freeze since the Uri attack. After 

a massive electoral endorsement 

in crucial state elections, Modi now 

appears politically unassailable. 

This has implications for his foreign 

policy, because winning elections 

halfway through a government’s 

term is tricky everywhere, but he 

seems to have cracked the code. 

And that will make him a global 

leader to reckon with, particularly if 

established democratic leaders are 

seen to be floundering in elections 

across the world this year, Times of 

India reports. 

Within India’s immediate 

neighbourhood, Modi’s political 

strength will help in his dealings 

with other countries. An immediate 

beneficiary is likely to be Bangladesh 

PM, Sheikh Hasina who will 

probably be the first to visit India 

in April. Modi is likely to go around 

Demonstrators clash with riot police during running battles in the streets near 

the Turkish consulate in Rotterdam, Netherlands on March 12 

REUTERS 

Major diplomatic row erupts 

between Turkey and Dutch 


Supporters of the Bharatiya Janata Party celebrate after learning of the initial 

poll results outside the party headquarters in Kolkata on March 11 REUTERS 

A major diplomatic row between 

the Dutch and Turkish government 

shows no sign of ebbing, 

with the Netherlands barring Turkey’s 

foreign minister from entering 

the country and forcing the 

Turkish family-affairs minister to 

leave the country. 

Both Turkish officials wanted 

to hold rallies for Dutch Turks to 

gain support for a constitutional 

referendum to be held in April. 

In a written statement on Sunday, 

Binali Yildirim, Turkey’s 

prime minister, said Turkey would 

take “strong countermeasures” as 

a response to the Dutch actions. 

“Our so-called European 

friends, who mention democracy, 

freedom of speech and human 

rights have, in the face of 

this event, once again failed the 

class,” he said, adding that the 

recent events showed “who Turkey’s 

real friends are”. 

The events he was referring to 

included Saturday’s occurrences 

in the city of Rotterdam, where 

Fatma Betul Sayan Kaya, Turkey’s 

family-affairs minister, wanted 

to visit the Turkish consulate to 

speak to a pro-Turkish crowd. 

However, Dutch authorities refused 

Kaya access to the building, 

resulting in a standoff between 

Dutch police and the Turkish 

minister and her security detail. 

In a statement, the Dutch government 

said Kaya and the Turkish 

government were told she was 

not welcome in the Netherlands. 

Despite these warnings, Kaya 

travelled to Rotterdam, where she 

was stopped by Dutch policemen 

before entering the consulate. 

In a response to the Dutch decision, 

Turkish President Recep 

Tayyip Erdogan called the Netherlands 

“fascists” and “remnants 

of Nazis”. • 

Mamata Banerjee’s obstructions to 

work out a deeper security and resources-sharing 

relationship with 

Bangladesh. India might find it 

easier to deal with Nepal, which is 

again sinking into a state of political 

instability. 

But Pakistan remains the real 

question. In 2016, Modi took a 

tough approach to Pakistan after 

the Uri attack, which included the 

surgical strikes of September 29 

and a decision to review the Indus 

Waters Treaty. Official engagement 

between India and Pakistan 

remain on hold although humanitarian 

gestures including prisoner 

exchange and routine meetings are 

all on track. But it has given rise to 

an expectation that some Pakistan 

outreach may be on the horizon. 

During the election campaign, 

Modi received a lot of popular support 

for the strikes across the LoC, 

and his tough approach. He could 

continue that, using the popular 

victory as a vindication of his policy. 

On the other hand, he could 

use his victory to reach out to the 

Pakistan leadership. • 

Chinese Communist Party 

hardens rhetoric on Islam 


China’s ruling Communist Party is hardening 

its rhetoric on Islam, with top officials 

making repeated warnings about 

the spectre of global religious extremism 

seeping into the country and the 

need to protect traditional Chinese 

identity, reports the Associated Press. 

Shaerheti Ahan, a top political and 

legal affairs party official in Xinjiang, 

on Sunday became the latest official 

from a predominantly Muslim region 

to warn political leaders gathered in 

Beijing for this month’s National People’s 

Congress about China becoming 

destabilized by the “international anti-terror 

situation.” 

Over the past year, President Xi 

Jinping has directed the party to “Sinicize” 

the country’s ethnic and religious 

minorities, while regional leaders in 

Xinjiang, home to the Uighur ethnic 

minority, have ramped up surveillance 

measures, police patrols and demonstrations 

amid an up-tick in violence 

blamed on Islamic separatists. 

Although some scholars question 

whether global jihadi networks have 

indeed penetrated the country, top Chinese 

officials, including those overseeing 

areas outside Xinjiang, are increasingly 

echoing certain strands of international 

discourse to back up claims that Islamic 

extremism is growing worldwide and 

needs to be rolled back. 

On Sunday, a delegation of Xinjiang 

leaders appeared at a news conference 

at Beijing, but absent was the region’s 

new top leader. On Friday, Xi met with 

Xinjiang officials, according to state 

media, and directed them to safeguard 

the region’s stability by erecting a metaphorical 

“great wall of iron.” • 

Delegates from Xinjiang meet on the sideline of the National People’s 

Congress in Beijing on March 12 

AP

World 

Merkel meets Trump in clash of 

style and substance 

• Reuters, Berlin 

She is controlled and cautious, a 

physicist from East Germany who 

takes her time making decisions 

and has never relished the attention 

that comes from being Europe’s 

most powerful leader. He is 

a wealthy real estate magnate from 

New York who shoots from the hip 

and enjoys the spotlight. 

It is hard to imagine two leaders 

more different, in style or substance, 

than Angela Merkel, the German 

chancellor, and Donald Trump, 

the new president of the United 

States. For months, they have been 

engaged in an uneasy long-distance 

skirmish over policy and values. 

On Tuesday, they meet for the 

first time, a high-stakes encounter 

that will be watched by governments 

around the world for clues 

about the future of the transatlantic 

alliance, a partnership that 

has helped shape the global order 

since World War Two but which 

Trump is threatening to upend. 

German officials say the detail-oriented 

Merkel, 62, has been 

Top US prosecutor 

fired after refusing 

order to quit 

• AFP, New York 

High-profile New York prosecutor 

Preet Bharara – who was among the 

federal attorneys asked to resign by 

the White House – said Saturday 

that he has been fired. 

US President Donald Trump’s 

administration on Friday demanded 

the resignations of dozens of US 

prosecutors – including Bharara – 

appointed during the two terms of 

his predecessor Barack Obama. 

The federal attorney’s firing 

capped a standoff with the Trump 

administration that started when 

Bharara refused the White House 

order to resign. 

“I did not resign. Moments ago I 

was fired,” Bharara tweeted Saturday 

using his recently created personal 

account. 

The Southern District of New 

York, the prominent post to which 

Obama appointed Bharara in 2009, 

includes the Manhattan and Bronx 

boroughs as well as neighbouring 

areas just north of the city. 

Bharara began working there 

in the thick of the mortgage crisis, 

and rose to prominence after overseeing 

a number of insider trading 

and public corruption cases. 

Time magazine famously lauded 

the prosecutor on its cover 

as the man who is “busting Wall 

Street.” • 

Angela Merkel 

preparing assiduously for her trip 

to Washington. She has watched 

Trump’s speeches and poured over 

his interviews, including a lengthy 

Q&A with Playboy magazine from 

1990 in which he floats many of the 

controversial ideas he is now trying 

to implement as president, they say. 

Members of her entourage have 

also analysed Trump’s encounters 

with other leaders, including Britain’s 

Theresa May, Japan’s Shinzo 

Abe and Canada’s Justin Trudeau, 

and have had exchanges with some 

of their counterparts on how to 

handle the unpredictable former 

reality-TV star, the officials added. 

‘Catastrophic mistake’ 

On both economic and foreign policy, 

the divide between the two 

leaders appears vast. 

Trump has called Merkel’s decision 

to allow refugees into Germany 

a “catastrophic mistake”. He has 

criticised Berlin for not spending 

more on defence, a longstanding US 

complaint that Merkel has promised 

to address. Another source of 

tension is Germany’s €50bn trade 

surplus with the US. 

Trump adviser Peter Navarro 

has accused Germany of gaining 

unfair trade advantages through a 

weak euro. Russia will also be on the 

agenda. White House officials have 

said Trump will seek advice from 

Merkel on how to deal with Putin. 

For her part, Merkel has been 

critical of Trump’s travel ban targeting 

the citizens of several mainly 

Muslim countries. Merkel is also 

concerned that Trump, who has 

repeatedly praised Brexit, might 

continue to undermine the bloc 

with his rhetoric at a time of deep 

crisis triggered by the rise of anti-EU 

populist parties. • 

Brasilia on edge ahead of corruption probes 

• AFP, Brasilia 

Brazil’s capital is on edge ahead of 

the expected opening of scores of 

corruption cases this week against 

sitting and former politicians in 

a crisis that could threaten President 

Michel Temer’s rule. 

Within days, Prosecutor General 

Rodrigo Janot is expected 

to request authority for a slew of 

probes against members of the 

government and Congress. 

It’s the latest chapter of a threeyear 

embezzlement and bribery 

scandal shaking Latin America’s biggest 

economy. Last week “was the 

calm before the political crisis which 

is coming and which will last for 

months,” said political analyst Alberto 

Almeida. “It’s a terrible time for 

the credibility of the political class.” 

Speculation has been growing 

for months over who will be on 

Janot’s list. On Saturday, G1 news 

site reported that Janot would 

seek about 80 investigations and 

that the number of politicians involved 

may reach 200. 

The request to the Supreme 

Court, which oversees all judicial 

matters concerning sitting politicians, 

will be based on a deluge 

of testimony in plea bargains with 

77 former executives of the giant 

Odebrecht construction company. 

Odebrecht employees have 

confessed to systemic bribery of 

politicians in exchange for inflated 

contracts with state oil company 

Petrobras and favourable 

legislation. • 

Britain plans for all options as Brexit nears 

• AFP, London 

Britain is drawing up contingency 

plans in case its Brexit negotiations 

with the EU fail, a minister said Sunday 

as speculation mounted that the withdrawal 

process could start this week. 

Brexit minister David Davis said it 

was in “everybody’s interests that we 

get a good outcome”, but said the government 

was “planning for the contingency, 

all the various outcomes”. 

He was speaking after MPs warned 

that ministers must prepare for the 

possibility that, with EU treaties allowing 

just two years to agree a new 

relationship, Britain might well leave 

without a deal. 

Prime Minister Theresa May has 

said she is optimistic about settling the 

divorce and a new trade agreement 

with the EU within the timeframe, but 

would walk away rather than accept a 

bad deal. 

The cross-party parliamentary foreign 

affairs committee said this “represents 

a very destructive outcome 

leading to mutually assured damage 

for the EU and the UK”, citing economic 

losses and legal confusion. 

Davis told the BBC he did not think 

that was “remotely likely”, adding: 

“There will be tough points in this negotiation. 

But it’s in absolutely everybody’s 

interests that we get a good 

outcome.” 

AFP 

Brexit imminent 

A bill empowering May to trigger Article 

50 of the EU’s Lisbon Treaty and 

begin the withdrawal process returns 

to the House of Commons on Monday 

for debate. 

Without further opposition, it 

could pass the House of Lords that 

night. 

After it is rubber-stamped by 

Queen Elizabeth II, May could start 

Brexit at any point. 

Asked when the process might 

start, Davis noted that “in theory it’s 

the point at which you have royal assent”, 

but refused to confirm a date. 

One factor could be the Dutch 

elections on Wednesday. • 

9 



USA 

Man faces 10-year 

sentence after scaling 

White House fence 

An intruder carrying a backpack was 

arrested after scaling a fence around 

the White House and entering the 

grounds, the US Secret Service said 

on Saturday, in the latest breach of 

security at the president’s official 

residence. The man was charged 

with entering or remaining in 

restricted grounds while using or 

carrying a dangerous weapon, and 

faces a maximum of 10 years in prison, 

said Bill Miller, a spokesman for 

the US Attorney’s office. REUTERS 

THE AMERICAS 

Runaway bus in Haiti kills 

34 

A runaway bus plowed into a 

crowd of people in the Haitian city 

of Gonaives early Sunday, killing 

34 people and injuring 15 others, 

officials said. The accident, in the 

city some 150km outside Port-au- 

Prince, occurred when the vehicle 

mowed over two pedestrians, 

killing one, then rammed into a 

group of musicians as it tried to 

speed away. AFP 

UK 

‘Russia could disrupt UK 

politics with hacking’ 

British Foreign Secretary Boris 

Johnson has said there is plenty 

of evidence that Russia has the 

ability to disrupt British politics 

with cyber-attacks following reports 

that intelligence officials are 

to brief political parties on how to 

defend against hacking from Moscow. 

Boris Johnson due to meet his 

Russian counterpart in the coming 

weeks. THE GUARDIAN 

EUROPE 

Tensions rise ahead of key 

Dutch election 

Campaigning in The Netherlands 

was reaching fever pitch Sunday 

ahead of an election in which the 

far-right is poised to make huge 

gains, with the poll overshadowed 

by a diplomatic row with Turkey. 

Tensions spiralled after Turkish 

ministers tried to defy a Dutch ban 

on holding a pro-Turkish government 

rally in the southern city of 

Rotterdam. AFP 

AFRICA 

Landslide at Ethiopia 

garbage dump kills at 

least 30 

At least 30 people were killed 

and dozens more hurt in a giant 

landslide at Ethiopia’s largest rubbish 

dump on the outskirts of the 

capital Addis Ababa. The tragedy 

on Saturday saw dozens of homes 

of squatters living in the dump 

levelled after a part of the largest 

pile of rubbish at the Koshe landfill 

collapsed. AFP


10 

Business 


CAPITAL MARKET SNAPSHOT: SUNDAY 

DSE Broad Index 5,676.3 0.1% ▲ Index 1,308.8 -0.3% ▼ 30 Index 2,055.0 0.3% ▲ Turnover in Mn Tk 12,855.0 8.4% ▲ Turnover in Mn Vol 388.2 11.9% ▲ 

CSE All Share Index 17,583.2 0.1% ▲ 30 Index 15,258.8 -0.2% ▼ Selected Index 10,659.1 0.1% ▲ Turnover in Mn Tk 785.8 22.3% ▲ Turnover in Mn Vol 26.1 22.6% ▲ 

Plan to export 100Gbps 

bandwidth to Myanmar 

• Ishtiaq Husain 

Bangladesh has planned to export 

100 Gbps (Gigabit per second) 

bandwidth to Myanmar through 

undersea cable which would boost 

the government revenue. 

Negotiations are on with Myanmar 

and it will take three months 

to complete the entire task of laying 

300km undersea cable. 

Bangladesh Submarine Cable 

Company Limited (BSCCL) Managing 

Director Monwar Hossain said: 

“Definitely, Myanmar market has 

a huge potential for Bangladesh’s 

unutilised bandwidth.” 

Using this undersea cable, Bangladesh 

can also export bandwidth 

to Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam and 

Indonesia. 

According to a BSCCL official, 

the state-run company is yet to finalise 

the bandwidth prices, but no 

doubt Bangladesh would get a better 

price than what it earns through 

its bandwidth export to India. 

The country earns Tk9.6 crore a 

year, exporting 10Gbps bandwidth 

to the Indian state of Tripura, 

which began in 2016. 

A source in the state-run company 

told the Dhaka Tribune initially, 

it was planned that bandwidth 

would be exported to Myanmar, 

using land boundary, but identifying 

Rohingya as a major threat, the 

decision was reversed. 

According to the source, the 

management apprehended possible 

threat to the cables from the Rohingyas 

and changed its decision. 

Meanwhile, Bhutan has also 

expressed interest to import bandwidth 

from Bangladesh. Initially, 

it would import 5Gbps bandwidth. 

Now, the country imports 65Gbps 

from India. 

Using the undersea 

cable, Bangladesh 

can also export 

bandwidth to Laos, 

Cambodia, Vietnam 

and Indonesia 

Since Bhutan has already been 

connected with 4G technology, it 

needs more bandwidth. 

Earlier, a seven-member delegate 

form Bhutanese government 

visited Bangladesh in September 

last year to negotiate the bandwidth 

import. 

Primarily, BSCCL has two options 

to export bandwidth, using 

Tamabil-Shillong-Guwahati-Bhutan 

boundary and Akhaura-Tripura-Shillong-Guwahati-Bhutan 

routes. 

While Bangladesh began bandwidth 

export to India, it lay a strong 

foundation with Akhaura-Tripura 

land border. Considering it, the 

state-run company prefers to utilise 

this route as it is fully ready. 

Bangladesh also imports 

280Gbps from India while on the 

other hand, it exports 10Gbps 

bandwidth to India. As per the 

agreement, India can increase 

bandwidth import from Bangladesh 

to 40Gbps. 

Bangladesh first got connected 

with submarine cable in 2006. 

According to the agreement with 

Turkey, the lifespan of the cable 

will be 20 years while Bangladesh 

can extend it to five years more 

which would provide 1,300Gbps 

bandwidth. Currently, Bangladesh 

consumes nearly 400Gbps. 

Bangladesh has spent Tk660 

crore to be connected with second 

submarine cable SEA-ME-WE 5. It 

joined this consortium in March 

2014. 

The country got its first submarine 

cable connection — SEA-ME- 

WE-4 in 2006. 

Industry insiders said SEA-ME- 

WE-4 has already passed more than 

half of its lifespan, and that is why, 

Bangladesh needs to be connected 

with another cable before 2025. • 

Bangladesh local production of sugarcane helps to meet only 5% of annual sugar 

demand 

DHAKA TRIBUNE 

BSFIC gets Tk25cr to 

procure sugarcane 

• Asif Showkat Kallol 

The government has provided 

Tk25 crore to Bangladesh Sugar 

and Food Industries Corporation 

as subsidy to purchase sugarcane 

during harvesting season in the 

current fiscal year. 

Finance Division issued a letter 

to the Industries Ministry on providing 

the subsidy. This is to meet 

seasonal shortage of capital needed 

to purchase sugarcane for sugar 

industry, the letter said. 

However, the disbursement 

should not be seen as an example 

in future to provide funds for procuring 

sugarcane during harvesting 

season, it added. 

Bangladesh harvests sugarcane 

in November and plants during November-March 

period. 

The government disbursed 

Tk50 crore to BSFIC in the FY2015- 

16, Tk135 crore in FY2014-15 and 

Tk175 crore in FY2013-14 for the 

same purpose. 

The corporation earlier demanded 

a total of Tk1,898.12 crore 

to meet the gap. 

But the Auditor General Office 

submitted a report citing the 

amount as Tk1,700.48 crore. 

According to Bangladesh Economic 

Review 2016, the BSFIC reduced its 

loss to Tk462.39 crore in FY2015-16 

from Tk539.7 crore a year ago. 

Currently, Bangladesh can meet 

only 5% of its annual demand of 

sugar through domestic production 

while it has to spend more than 

Tk5,000 crore a year to import sugar 

to meet the annual domestic requirement 

of over 2m tonne sugar. •

‘Capacity building essential 

before job hunt’ 

• Ibrahim Hossain Ovi 

Focusing on one’s capacity and 

building oneself up through tips 

and trainings are instrumental in 

qualifying for a job which a job 

seeker wants to embark on. 

Gijs Verheijke, cheif executive 

officer of Everjobs.com.bd in Asia, 

focused on issues relating to jobs in 

an interview with the Dhaka Tribune 

taken through email. 

Based on the employer demands, 

which sector is most important for 

employment? 

As one of the leading job websites 

in Bangladesh, everjobs is in a 

unique position to have actual data 

on this topic. As evidenced in our 

career report the top hiring sector 

is manufacturing, with a particular 

strength in Garments and Textile. 

Of course, that cannot come as a 

surprise. Probably more interesting 

to know is that the IT/Computer 

sector is the third most important 

in terms of employer demand. 

Gijs Verheijke, CEO of Everjobs 

What should job seeker do to get a 

better job? 

Before starting to apply for jobs, it 

is important that job seekers think 

more carefully about what they 

want, and what their capabilities 

are. We see too often on everjobs 

that people apply for jobs that they 

are (as yet) completely unqualified 

for. The everjobs Job Journal provides 

extensive information and 

useful guides for job seekers to prepare 

for the job hunt, and tips and 

tricks to finding a better job. 

What type of training is needed 

for job? 

Besides formal education on a wide 

range of topics, English skills are 

highly in demand, in particular by 

multinational companies. In addition 

to that, it depends on the job. 

At everjobs, we do a lot of on-thejob 

training, for example teaching 

communication, analysis and computer 

skills. Of course, training for 

a new sales person is very different 

from training for an administrative 

executive. 

Which issues should the 

Educational institutions consider 

for students to prepare for job 

market? 

There is still a lack of good training 

Govt forms tripartite 

council for RMG sector 

• Tribune Business Desk 

The government has formed a 

20-member tripartite consultative 

council with representatives from 

workers, employers and the government 

for the country’s ready-made 

garment (RMG) sector, reports BSS. 

State Minister for Labour and 

Employment M Mujibul Haque and 

the ministry’s deputy secretary 

(labour) will act as president and 

member-secretary of the council 

which will review the labour situation 

and its development time to 

time in the country’s RMG sector, 

said a handout released yesterday. 

Secretary to the Labour and Employment 

Ministry and one representative 

(joint secretary level and 

above) from the Commerce Ministry, 

Home Ministry, Textile and 

Jute Ministry, Foreign Ministry and 

Labour and Employment Ministry 

will represent the government side 

while six representatives each from 

different organisations of the employers 

and the workers from the 

sides of the employers and workers. 

The council generally will hold 

meeting at least thrice annually, but 

the president can convene meeting 

any time if feels necessary. This consultative 

council will remain valid until 

further order by the government. 

According to the handout, the 

newly formed council will advise 

the government to take different 

measures for developing RMG employers-workers 

relations and increasing 

productivity considering 

the country’s existing overall socioeconomic 

situation. 

Besides, it will also review overall 

labour situation of the RMG sector 

and apprise the government of the 

situation. It will also advise the government 

about the laws, rules and 

regulations, policies and plans relating 

to the labour of the RMG sector. • 

Business 11 

in useful skills like MS Excel, Powerpoint 

and Business Writing. As an 

example, we see many graduates 

even from the top universities who 

do not know how to write a professional 

email. 

What are the problems facing job 

seekers to get jobs? 

Across all levels of experience, we 

see a lot of competitions for a relatively 

limited number of jobs at big 

brand name Multinational Companies. 

The market’s focus on multinational 

brands makes it very hard 

for jobseekers to get those jobs, 

while leaving many interesting job 

opportunities with lesser known 

companies unfulfilled. 

As everjobs we always try to give 

lesser known local companies the 

exposure they deserve and show 

jobseekers that there are benefits 

to working at a smaller company. 

How is everjobs doing after almost 

two years in Bangladesh? 

Everjobs will have its second 

anniversary towards the end of 

May. During our second year of 

operation we have seen something 

of a breakthrough happen in our 

brand awareness. Whereas in the 

first year we really had to go out 

and explain everjobs every time, 

now we see more and more job 

seekers and companies coming 

to us. Our website traffic has 

more than tripled in 2016 making 

us clearly one of the leading job 

portals in the country. • 



China: Trade war will 

only bring pain 

• AFP, Beijing 

China warned the US against 

launching a trade war, saying that 

both countries would suffer if US 

President Donald Trump follows 

through on his threats. 

The billionaire politician has 

repeatedly accused China of using 

unfair trade policies to steal jobs 

Last week the US 

Trade Representative 

sent a letter to 

Congress saying that 

Americans are not 

directly subject to 

rulings by the WTO, 

which Washington 

joined when it was 

founded in 1995 

from the US, threatening to retaliate 

with massive tariffs unless Beijing 

changes tack. 

“A trade war is not in the interest 

of the two countries and the two 

peoples,” China’s Minister of Commerce 

Zhong Shan told reporters on 

the sidelines of the country’s annual 

political gathering in Beijing. 

“It’s fair to say trade war will 

only cause pain without gains.” 

He said that US exports to China 

have increased by an average 

of about 11% per year over the last 

decade, while Chinese exports 

have only increased by 6.6% over 

the same period, noting that the 

Asian giant is also a major importer 

of American goods like soybeans, 

cars and Boeing airplanes. 

“This clearly shows that China 

and America are very important to 

each other,” he added. 

On Thursday, Zhong’s American 

counterpart Wilbur Ross said that 

the trade conflict with China and 

other countries has already been 

on for decades, but the US is just 

now beginning to fight back. 

China is the world’s biggest trader 

in goods. It accounts for about 

$350bn of the US trade deficit, 

about half the total. 

The warning was the second 

time this week that China has 

railed against a possible trade war, 

amid growing indications that the 

Trump administration is serious 

about pursuing a protectionist 

agenda. 

Last week the United States 

Trade Representative sent a letter 

to Congress saying that Americans 

are not directly subject to rulings 

by the World Trade Organization, 

which Washington joined when it 

was founded in 1995. 

The assertion provoked a warning 

from China’s commerce ministry 

that attempts to ignore the 

organisation’s rules could lead to 

“a repetition of the trade war of the 

1930s.” • 

Bangladesh Tariff Commission Chairman Mushfeka Ikfat visited Walton factory at Chandra in Gazipur on Sunday. During the 

visit she observed the production process and expressed satisfaction over the quality of products


12 

Editorial 


TODAY 

We fail to learn 

Ethical enlightenment cannot be 

measured by government action. 

Rather, it is gauged by the portion of the 

populace who are concerned enough to 

take a moral stand for the oppressed 

PAGE 13 

Is Modi set to be the 

new Nehru? 

A Nehru-like level of power and 

influence might mean Modi will affect 

large-scale changes that yank the 

country sharply to the right 

PAGE 14 

Checking in to luxury hotels 

DHAKA TRIBUNE 

That socialist sleuth 

called Feluda 

Feludabecame more realistic to us than 

someone ordering pate de foie gras 

PAGE 15 

Be heard 

Write to Dhaka Tribune 

FR Tower, 8/C Panthapath, 

Shukrabad, Dhaka-1207 

Send us your Op-Ed articles: 

opinion.dt@dhakatribune.com 

www.dhakatribune.com 

Join our Facebook community: 

https://www.facebook.com/ 

DhakaTribune. 

The views expressed in opinion 

articles are those of the authors 

alone and they are not the 

official view of Dhaka Tribune 

or its publisher. 

Steady economic growth and conferences ranging from IT 

to RMG have resulted in more and more visitors to our 

nation. 

This is already being reflected in the steady increase in 

the number of luxury hotels in the country, with the construction 

of 10-12 five-star hotels, including the Marriott and Hilton, already 

underway. 

This speaks highly of how far we have come as a country, and 

how far we have yet to go. 

Needless to say, we need to capitalise on this new 

phenomenon. 

The tourism industry has already witnessed a rise from 2.4% 

at Tk407.6 billion, rising by 5.2% to Tk428.9bn last year. If we 

continue to do what we have been doing, experts predict a further 

5.6% rise to Tk738.1bn by 2026. That would be 2.3% of our GDP. 

A significant increase for certain. 

Bangladesh, despite its potential as a tourist destination, has 

often failed to capitalise on all that it has to offer. The biggest 

factor has been room prices, which have been way too high, 

especially when compared to that of neighbouring nations such as 

India, Nepal, Thailand, and Malaysia. 

Luxury hotels, such as the ones being built, and tourism in 

general, can play a pivotal role in the coming years as Bangladesh 

heads towards middle-income status. 

They have the potential to contribute significantly to the 

national economy and, as such, present us an opportunity that 

cannot be squandered by the stake-holders involved. 

So far, our progress has been laudable. But the government and 

any third parties involved must work together to ensure that the 

influx of new visitors generated by the growth in our economy is 

utilised to maximum benefit, both for the nation and its citizens. 

It is a crucial step towards a better and healthier economy. 

Luxury hotels, and 

tourism in general, 

can play a pivotal role 

in the coming years 

as Bangladesh heads 

towards middle-income 

status

Opinion 13 



Ethical 

enlightenment 

cannot be measured 

by government 

action. Rather, it 

is gauged by the 

portion of the 

populace who are 

concerned enough 

to take a moral stand 

for the oppressed 

REUTERS 

We fail to learn 

We don’t need to look far to find 

oppression 

• Syed Raiyan Nuri Reza 

Scrounging around on the 

internet, I stumbled upon 

a particularly interesting 

article authored by Rumana 

Ahmed on The Atlantic. 

In the article, the 

aforementioned author spoke of, 

with considerable pride I might 

add, her time spent working for 

the White House, and later, the 

National Security Service under 

the Obama administration as a 

hijabi Muslim-American born to a 

Bangladeshi immigrant family. 

She had all the intentions to 

stay. She further writes, as Trump 

took office, that she also had the 

intentions to offer enlightenment 

to the POTUS on Islam and of the 

states’ Muslim citizenry. 

Day eight and she decided to 

call it quits on moral grounds, over 

Trump’s contentious executive 

order banning the entry of citizens 

from seven Muslim majority 

nations. 

It was, I admit, a poignant read 

and no less distressing. Though 

these were not my first thoughts 

as I read the author’s account of 

her days at the West Wing, what 

occurred to me was something 

else entirely: What are the odds 

of a Rohingya-born Bangladeshi 

taking up a job in the Bangladeshi 

government as an aide to the 

prime minister and then quit 

his/her job over a controversial 

government policy in moral 

outrage, and then decided to 

write of her account on a popular 

publication? 

As I mulled over the question, 

it was painfully obvious that the 

answer is what we would all loathe 

to articulate: Negligible. Because, 

minority rights and humanitarian 

immigration policies are not really 

our strongest suits. 

And therein lies the irony. As 

Bangladeshis we fall under all the 

disadvantaged categories: Brownskinned 

nationals of a developing 

nation, in most cases of the Islamic 

faith, and perhaps a tad bit poor by 

standards of richer nations. For all 

of which, our passport garners the 

scorn from visa authorities even at 

the best of times. 

And now, with ramifications 

of troubling developments in the 

land of the free and home of the 

brave, we justifiably fear how 

much worse it could possibly get. 

Am I too coloured? Is it safe to 

put on my hijab? Are Hindus, too, 

outcasts now? 

We are to inevitably ask these 

questions, as we may apply for 

visas to the US. And in an attempt 

to self-bolster our mood, we may 

think it’s not all that bad as we 

sigh in relief that our country is 

not on the list and remember the 

concerned American citizens of all 

race and religion who took it to the 

street to protest. 

We are to find even further 

self-assurance that the American 

justice system has thrice ruled 

out the ban as unconstitutional 

and had put it to a halt effectively 

(and then proceeded to draft 

another executive order of equal 

heinousness). 

Yet, only a few would take time 

here to introspect, even when they 

are hurling criticism at Trump’s 

way: Is there much interfaith unity 

here in our own soil? Do recall 

that some trolls put a particularly 

provocative picture which is 

derogatory to the sacred Kaaba 

and Islam on social media. Some 

thugs responded with bashing 

idols at Hindu temples. Unity, 

much? 

And, in the aftermath, did 

the more mature and intelligent 

members of the aggravated parties 

here hold demonstrations to 

condemn such acts and facilitate 

interfaith harmony? Was an 

apology forthcoming over the 

circulated picture, or any fundraising 

attempts held to pay off 

the damage done? So, even as 

we praise Muslim-Americans 

uniting to raise money to repair 

vandalised Jewish cemetery, we 

fail to learn the right lessons. 

I am to hand the moral 

superiority to the Americans here. 

For ethical enlightenment cannot 

be measured by government 

action, which, when too 

intoxicated with power, seldom 

practices any refrain. 

Rather, it is gauged by the 

portion of the populace who 

are concerned enough to take a 

moral stand for the oppressed, the 

misunderstood, the outcast, the 

disenfranchised. 

So, in these troubled times, 

as we watch the evening news, 

seethe in outrage over the racial 

profiling of our brothers in faith, 

fear the possible victimising of 

our compatriots, and cringe at the 

harrowing accounts of minorities 

falling victim to senseless hate 

crimes in the US, let us reflect 

on the bigotry and intolerance 

occurring on our own soil. 

And as we rightfully sympathise 

with people who are being 

misrepresented in the US and 

elsewhere for the passports they 

are bearing, let us not turn a blind 

eye to the struggles of minorities 

on the very land these people are 

from. 

Better yet, let us take a stand 

against them. In whatever capacity 

we have, through whichever 

means we can. • 

Syed Raiyan Nuri Reza is a freelance 

contributor writing from Tehran.

14 



Opinion 

Is Modi set to 

be the new 

Nehru? 

The Gujarati leader isn’t independent 

India’s most popular politician yet. 

But he will be soon 

• Shoaib Daniyal 

Much is made of the 

rivalry between 

Vallabhbhai Patel and 

Jawaharlal Nehru for 

prime ministership -- a debate that 

often overlooks just how popular 

Nehru was among the masses of 

India. Patel himself told American 

journalist Vincent Sheean at a 

massively attended Congress 

rally in Mumbai: “They come for 

Jawahar, not for me.” 

After Saturday’s massive win 

for the BJP in the Uttar Pradesh 

Assembly election, though, 

Nehru seems to have a challenger. 

Speaking at a post-results press 

conference, Amit Shah claimed: 

“Modi has emerged as the most 

popular [Indian] leader since 

independence.” 

Modi, the new Nehru 

While comparisons between Indira 

Gandhi and Modi have been made 

for some time now, Shah took it 

one step further. Modi had even 

outstripped Nehru, he claimed 

implicitly. 

For any watcher of Indian 

history, this is a bold claim. In 

the pantheon of India’s founding 

fathers, Nehru ranks second 

only to Mohandas Gandhi. 

So unchallenged was Nehru’s 

power that it is often described 

as the “Nehruvian consensus” 

-- the vision that is almost singlehandedly 

responsible for building 

the post-colonial republic. 

While a full historical appraisal 

of Amit Shah’s boast remains to 

be made, on raw numbers, the 

BJP president’s arrow isn’t that 

far off the mark. On votes and 

political charisma, Modi’s mass 

appeal is truly on course to reach 

the heights that, at one time, only 

Nehru could lay claim to. 

2014’s small win 

Narendra Modi’s 2014 Lok Sabha 

win, while commendable, pales 

when compared to previous 

elections. 

In fact, Modi’s was the smallest 

vote share ever to win a simple 

majority in the lower house of 

India’s parliament. 

Far from beating Nehru, Modi, 

in 2014, trailed the Indian National 

Congress vote share even in the 

post-Emergency 1977 Lok Sabha 

election, when Indira Gandhi 

crashed to defeat, winning only 

154 seats. 

A Nehru-like level of power and influence might mean Modi will affect 

large-scale changes that yank the country sharply to the right 

However, that doesn’t mean Modi 

has fallen out from the race. 

The 2017 jackpot 

Since 2014, Narendra Modi has 

used the post of prime minister 

and the vast powers of the Union 

government to push his political 

appeal. 

To maybe truly appreciate 

Shah’s claim, it is instructive 

to compare vote shares of the 

Congress in Uttar Pradesh and the 

BJP’s 2017 win in the state. 

In Uttar Pradesh, as it now 

stands, the BJP’s 2017 vote 

share has outstripped every 

performance of Congress in each 

Uttar Pradesh state election it 

fought under the leadership of 

Indira Gandhi. Moreover, the BJP’s 

2017 vote share is higher than even 

the Congress’ in 1962 -- the final 

Uttar Pradesh election the Grand 

Old Party fought under Nehru’s 

leadership. 

This is no small achievement. 

One-sixth of India’s population 

lives in Uttar Pradesh. Apart from 

the sheer weight of numbers, there 

is the political capital the state 

The rise of Modi is at hand 

carries. It is hardly a coincidence 

that every prime minister to 

command a majority in the Lok 

Sabha on his/her own has won an 

election from Uttar Pradesh. 

Even Narendra Modi, a Gujarati, 

abandoned his state and chose to 

represent the Uttar Pradesh city 

of Varanasi in parliament. The 

importance of the scale of the 

2017 Uttar Pradesh win for Modi’s 

stature can, therefore, hardly be 

emphasised enough. 

And it is not only Uttar Pradesh. 

The BJP is slowly but surely taking 

over much of the Indian Union. 

1967 was not a good year for 

Congress. It lost power in six 

states. This was just three years 

after Nehru died and was at a time 

when the vast majority of India’s 

electorate had seen Congress’ 

role in the freedom movement 

themselves. In spite of the 

reverses of 1967, in every which 

way, Congress was a powerhouse 

and would dominate national 

politics for the next four decades. 

In 2017, BJP is in government in 

15 states. In 1967, Congress ruled 

10. That BJP in 2017 -- with less 

than three years in office for Modi 

as prime minister -- has overtaken 

Congress in 1967 is, therefore, 

remarkable. Moreover, this is at 

a time when BJP is on its way up. 

With the opposition in disarray, 

the saffron spread of BJP is only 

set to increase. 

Elections in Karnataka, for 

example, scheduled in 2018, have 

the BJP as a clear front-runner, 

pitted against a bedraggled 

Congress. Modi’s march to 

Nehrudom will only continue. 

The Modivian consensus 

Nehru used his unchallenged 

power to fashion the new 

republic. Congress was a largely 

conservative party, but so popular 

was Nehru that a resignation 

threat was enough for most 

Congress right-wingers to fall in 

line since many of them owed 

their seats, power, and privilege to 

Nehru’s personal connection with 

the voters. 

In return, Nehru got his way 

with policy. During his time, the 

office of the prime minister clearly 

overshadowed the party. He was 

REUTERS 

able to pilot progressive legislation 

like the Hindu Code bills, bringing 

modern Western law to replace 

Hinduism’s age-old customs. 

The Nehruvian state aggressively 

pushed secularism, trying to 

make India’s Muslim minority feel 

relatively safe after the turmoil of 

Partition. 

Narendra Modi, on the other 

hand, is ideologically a rightwing 

conservative, his ideology 

fashioned by his decades as a 

long-time Rashtriya Swayamsevak 

Sangh worker. 

A Nehru-like level of power 

and influence might mean Modi 

will affect large-scale changes that 

yank the country sharply to the 

right. 

He has, in fact, already kept a 

razor-sharp focus on the issues 

that matter to Hindutva. In this 

election, for example, BJP did not 

bother to field a single Muslim 

from Uttar Pradesh -- the victory 

was purely due to the party’s 

Hindu vote bank. 

Moreover, as prime minister, 

Modi has made sure to project 

a muscular Hindu identity. He 

is not shy of mixing pujas and 

politicking. 

As Modi approaches Nehruvian 

levels of popularity, this very 

popularity will probably mean the 

end of Nehru’s India. • 

Shoaib Daniyal is a staff writer with 

Scroll.in. This article has been printed by 

special arrangement from Scroll.in.

Opinion 15 

That socialist sleuth called Feluda 

The private eye is someone every Bangali can relate to 



passion, living in a middle-class 

apartment, having no car of his 

own, with buying books his main 

extravagance. 

Taking out this character 

from the crime-thriller setting, 

we find that such people, with a 

little Bohemian outlook, are all 

around us -- the high thinking and 

moderate living kind. 

When Ray, an avid socialist 

himself, created Feluda, he 

subconsciously made a detective 

who is an image of himself -- a 

well read, soft spoken, courteous 

man with artistic impulses and 

a curious mind, but hardly one 

that aspired to flaunt material 

possessions. 

The competition in the fictional 

world was tough because Feluda 

had competitors who were 

unabashed symbols of capitalist 

consumerism. Today, even more 

than two decades after the fall of 

communism, the magnetism of 

Feluda survives and manages to 

create new fans. 

To be very honest, James Bond 

now appears to be a little farcical, 

with the latest films becoming 

more like celluloid features aimed 

at promoting merchandise. Buying 

a £2,000 suit from Brioni, driving 

an Aston Martin, and sipping 

martinis at a plush hotel are, for 

many, still dreams worth running 

after, but for a lot of others, they’re 

does it better” playing in the 

background. 

Interestingly, Feluda managed 

to remain popular despite having 

no major female roles in it and 

certainly no love interest for the 

main character. Goes to show, sex 

is not always on the readers’ mind; 

a solidly entertaining yarn with 

things that most of us can relate to 

is equally thrilling. 

Therefore, Feluda, munching 

hot shingaras or having khichuri 

with chicken curry became more 

realistic to us than someone 

ordering pate de foie gras or 

smoked Lochmuir salmon plus a 

bottle of Dom Perignon. 

Pradosh Mitter is the 

quintessential Bengali private 

eye, and that’s been the key to his 

never-declining magnetism. 

He has a revolver, a licensed 

sidearm, bequeathed by his father, 

which again is also credible. By the 

way, Feluda was only seen using 

up his full six bullets in Joy Baba 

Felunath, whereas, other heroes 

almost wage World War Three. 

It does not matter that he takes 

a lift now and then in the car of 

his friend, the writer, Lalmohan 

Ganguli or Jotau; in fact, this only 

adds to make the stories more real 

and plausible. 

Then, there is the unwritten 

presence of the very Bengali habit 

-- adda or chatting in a friendly 

Feluda became more realistic to us than 

someone ordering pate de foie gras 

Ray’s protagonist will always be a hero for the common person 

SERPENT 

IN EDEN 

• Towheed Feroze 

My younger brother, 

also a journalist, is 

now in Jaisalmer, 

Rajasthan, in the 

quest to pick up the trails of the 

famous Bengali private detective 

called Pradosh Mitter, or, better 

known to millions of fans as, 

simply, Feluda. 

Permit me to refresh your 

memory: The haunting surrounds 

of the Jaisalmer Fort was the 

setting of Satyajit Ray’s Feluda 

adventure titled Sonar Kella (The 

Golden Fortress), which was 

also made into a film in 1974, 

starring Soumitra Chatterjee as 

the Charminar-smoking Bengali 

private eye. 

Every year, Feluda fans go 

there to experience the setting 

of an unforgettable adventure 

and, perhaps, to place themselves 

in the shoes of the famous 

Bengali gumshoe. My brother’s 

visit opened up a floodgate of 

memories and also reinforced 

our passion for Ray’s immortal 

character, who has not lost any of 

his charm despite the crumbling 

of almost all socialist values in a 

time of untamed opulence plus 

conspicuous consumption. 

This enduring cachet of Feluda 

triggered some sociological 

thoughts. Ray possibly 

envisaged that, despite the rapid 

transformations in society plus 

evolving of values, with fiction 

taking in heavy doses of fantasy, 

the allure of a rather plain role will 

retain attraction simply because 

his protagonist will always be a 

hero within the comprehension of 

the common person. 

If we compare Feluda with 

other fictional heroes, both local 

and international, we see that 

almost all the others have a certain 

detachment from real life. Either 

they are using mind-blowing 

gadgets or driving expensive cars 

or dressing impeccably in the 

finest brands. 

In contrast, Pradosh Mitter 

is often portrayed as a guy who 

we can all relate to -- a man 

who takes crime solving as a 

a bit over the top, perhaps a little 

frivolous too. 

Fictional characters always 

have some connection with the 

real world in the sense how global 

political events often impact the 

public acceptance of a fictional 

hero and his adventures. During 

the Cold War, with mind-boggling 

shenanigans on both sides, 007 

could claim to have relevance, but 

in the current setting, with the 

world facing human suffering of 

mammoth proportions, all that 

high-flying stuff may seem a little 

facetious. 

But not Feluda, because he 

was never the extravagant type, 

spending millions in a casino, and 

then, casually taking the femme 

fatale to the hotel room for a wild 

night with the song “Nobody 

atmosphere for hours, working as 

a potent catalyst for the delicious 

build-up of thrill in Feluda books 

and films, also being made now by 

Satyajit’s son, Sandip Ray. 

We get a remarkable sense of 

camaraderie in these plots, the 

power of friendship between three 

people, which, again, any Bengali 

can relate to. 

In a world where glitz and 

glamour seem to be omnipresent, 

a socialist hero, with very Spartan 

predilections, still manages to stir 

us, and that’s exactly why, my 

brother’s first line in front of the 

Jaisalmer Fort, known as the Sonar 

Kella, was: Feluda, I am here ... 

Can you hear me? • 

Towheed Feroze is a journalist working 

in the development sector.

16 



Downtime 

CROSSWORD 

CODE-CRACKER 

ACROSS 

1 Golf club (6) 

5 Solemn promise (3) 

7 Well-founded (5) 

8 Public speaker (6) 

10 Encountered (3) 

12 Garden tool (4) 

13 Monkey (3) 

14 Large town (4) 

16 Trick (4) 

17 Offspring (3) 

18 Blemish (4) 

20 Unruly crowd (3) 

23 Natural gift (6) 

24 Falter (5) 

25 Permit (3) 

26 Wise counsellor (6) 

DOWN 

1 Needy (4) 

2 Jewelled coronets (6) 

3 Call up (5) 

4 Uncommon (4) 

5 Vigour (3) 

6 Lyric poem (3) 

9 Ribbon (4) 

11 Attempt (3) 

14 Slightly cold (4) 

15 Firmly fixed (6) 

16 Spirit (3) 

17 Be merciful to (5) 

18 Slender support (4) 

19 Agitate (4) 

21 Be indebted (3) 

22 Sporting item (3) 

How to solve: Each number in our 

CODE-CRACKER grid represents a 

different letter of the alphabet. For 

example, today 7 represents C so fill C 

every time the figure 7 appears. 

You have two letters in the control 

grid to start you off. Enter them in the 

appropriate 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, fill in the other 

squares with the same number in the 

main grid, and the control grid. Check 

off the list of alphabetical letters as you 

identify them. 

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ 

CALVIN AND HOBBES 

SUDOKU 

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. 

PEANUTS 

YESTERDAY’S SOLUTIONS 

CODE-CRACKER 

CROSSWORD 

DILBERT 

SUDOKU

What’s on 

17 



EVENTS AROUND TOWN TODAY 

MOVIE 

EXHIBITON 

STAR CINEPLEX 

Where Bashundhara City, Dhaka 

What Movie showtime (March 13) 

XXX: Return of Xander Cage (3D): 

1:40pm, 6:40pm 

John Wick: Chapter 2 (2D): 

11:20am, 1:50pm, 4:30pm, 7:10pm 

Kong: Skull Island (3D): 10:50am, 

11:10am, 1:20pm, 2pm, 4:45pm, 

7:30pm 

Bhubon Majhi (2D): 11am, 1:30pm, 

4:20pm, 6:50pm 

Split (2D): 11:15am, 4pm 

Logan (2D): 10:50am, 1:45pm, 

4:10pm, 4:50pm, 7pm, 7:20pm 

BLOCKBUSTER CINEMAS 

Where Jamuna Future Park, 

Dhaka 

What Movie showtime (March 13) 

Rings: 11:40am, 2:30pm, 5pm 

Split (2D): 11:40am, 7:35pm 

La La Land: 5pm, 7:20pm 

The Shack (2D): 12pm, 1:55pm, 

7:20pm 

The Great Wall (2D): 5pm 

Kong: Skull Island (3D): 11:50am, 

2:25pm, 7:35pm 

Bhuban Majhi (2D): 2:30pm, 5pm 

Logan (2D): 11:30am, 2:15pm, 

4:55pm, 7:45pm 

Photography Exhibition: 

‘London 1971: Unsung Heroes 

of the Bangladesh Liberation 

War’ 

When 3-8pm 

Where British Council 

Bangladesh, 5 Fuller Road, 

Dhaka 

What A month-long exhibition 

open for all. 

FESTIVAL 

Holi Festival 2017 

When 8am-6pm 

Where Shakhari Bazar, Old 

Dhaka 

What Holi festival open and 

free for all. 

Duet Print Exhibition: ‘Diversity in Duality’ 

When 3-8pm 

Where Shilpangan Gallery, House 7, Road 13 (New), Dhanmondi, Dhaka 

What A print exhibition by Ajit Seal and Uttam Kumar Basak. 

THEATRE 

Drik Gallery Mehendi Fest By SJ 

When 10am-8pm 

Where Drik Gallery, House 58, Road 15/A (New), Dhanmondi, Dhaka 

What A two-day long mehendi art festival that will conclude on March 14. 

FASHION FAIR 

Gohor Badshah O Banesa Pori 

When 7pm 

Where National Auditorium, Shilpakala Academy, Dhaka 

What Part of the Dui Banglar Natyamela 2017. A production of Dhaka 

theatre group Nagorik Natyangan, directed by Hridi Haque. 

Fashion Fair 

When 10am-8pm 

Where Raowa Club, New 

DOHS (Bypass), Mohakhali, 

Dhaka 

What A fair featuring 

traditional saris, Pakistani 

and Indian dresses, abayas, 

jewellery items, cosmetics, 

shoes, etc. The three-day long 

fair will conclude on March 15.


18 

Sports 


Bangladesh players trained in Colombo yesterday ahead of their upcoming 100th Test match, against Sri Lanka, scheduled to get underway this Wednesday 

Hathurisingha: Batsman need to 

improve decision making 

• Ali Shahriyar Amin 

from Galle 

Tigers head coach Chandika Hathurusingha 

admitted that the 

Bangladesh batsmen have to improve 

their decision making after 

his charges succumbed to a heavy 

259-run defeat against Sri Lanka in 

the first Test match in Galle. 

Hathurusingha said be it attack 

or defence, the batters need to 

have a set mindset and that poor 

batting cost them the Galle Test. 

“I thought things went wrong in 

the batting in the first innings. We 

could have batted better when the 

wicket was really good to bat. We 

didn’t put up enough runs on the 

board in the first innings. We started 

poorly on the second day, but I 

don’t want to only blame Soumya 

[Sarkar]. Our focus has been very 

poor at the start of the day, lately. 

We need to find out why; the players 

and coaching staff are working 

hard on it, ” Hathurusingha told the 

media at Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu 

Stadium in Colombo yesterday. 

Shakib al Hasan earlier said in a 

press conference that they had to 

attack in order to score some runs 

as they can't defend all the time. 

But coach Hathurusingha believes 

the batsmen have to assess the situation 

of the game more accurately. 

"When you say defending and 

attacking, it comes down to decision 

making. It is what we need 

to improve; which ball to attack, 

which ball to defend. Whether you 

want to go either way, you have to 

make good decisions. To make decisions, 

you need to assess the condition, 

the opposition’s game plan 

and have the awareness. You can’t 

say, 'you go and attack and that’s 

my game',” said Hathurusingha. 

The former Sri Lankan international 

also thinks Bangladesh have 

to take 20 wickets in Tests more 

often. 

Bangladesh went into the Galle 

Test with a relatively inexperienced 

bowling attack. Apart from 

Shakib, Taskin Ahmed has only 

played four Tests, Subashish Roy 

two and Mustafizur Rahman three. 

"We need to find a way to take 20 

wickets. We have a very young attack. 

We are asking too much of a team trying 

to find their feet in Test cricket. It 

is a fact," said Hathurusingha. 

“Take Shakib out of the bowling 

attack, and Shakib is not the same 

bowler from 2010 who used to run 

through teams on helpful conditions. 

We are playing away now. 

The other four bowlers have combined 

for just 15 Tests. You have to 

set up the batsmen to take wickets, 

so that intelligence comes with 

playing in the middle. 

“No matter how much we send 

messages and talk, it will take time. 

The opposition also have plans and 

skills. We are improving and learning, 

once we get into a strong position 

and have the breakthrough 

win, I think we will start doing better," 

he added. 

Questions were raised with regards 

to Shakib and Mushfiqur 

Rahim's dismissals as the experienced 

duo got out while chasing 

leg-side deliveries. 

Hathurusingha however, said 

they had very little time to react. 

“Those two dismissals have a lot 

to do with reading the spin from 

the pitch. If you read it from the 

hand, you get into better positions. 

This guy [Lakshan Sandakan] was 

bowling variations – wrong'uns and 

chinaman. I think our guys read 

the ball from the pitch, which gave 

them very little reaction time. It is 

your natural reaction to score runs 

when it is on leg-stump,” he said. 

On a good batting wicket in Galle, 

the Tigers picked three pacers in 

their starting XI, as opposed to the 

Lankans, who included as many 

spinners. 

Hathurusingha though is of the 

opinion that the pace trio bowled 

well throughout the five-dayer. 

“I think we played to our 

strength. On that wicket (Galle), 

our fast bowlers gave us a lot of 

control. Taijul [Islam], lately, bowls 

differently with the SG ball to the 

Kookaburra ball,” he said. 

Bangladesh will play their second 

and final Test at P Sara Oval in Colombo, 

starting this Wednesday. • 

ALI SHAHRIYAR AMIN 

Tigers sweat it 

out ahead of 

100th Test 

• Ali Shahriyar Amin 

from Galle 

Bangladesh trained at Paikiasothy 

Saravanamuttu Stadium in Colombo 

yesterday ahead of their 100th 

Test match, scheduled to begin this 

Wednesday at P Sara Oval. 

Bangladesh players from the 

best XI, who played the Galle Test, 

were not seen in the practice session 

as they were given rest by 

the team management. But the remaining 

six players from the squad 

– Imrul Kayes, Mosaddek Hossain, 

Sabbir Rahman, Kamrul Islam Rabbi, 

Rubel Hossain and Taijul Islam 

- took part in the practice session. 

Kayes joined the squad last Saturday 

after being left out from the 

first Test squad due to injury. But 

he is fit now and joined the practice 

session following his arrival. 

The players first took part in an 

hour-long short catching and fielding 

drills. Later, Kayes, Sabbir and 

Mosaddek padded up and went 

for a net session, which lasted for 

about an hour. Rabbi, Rubel and 

Taijul also sweated it out in the 

nets. •

Sports 19 



Kurtz: Credit to 

Bangladesh for 

fighting spirit 

MD MANIK 

Bangladesh captain 

Russel Mahmud 

Jimmy in action 

against Ghana 

during their Hockey 

World League Round 

2 game in Dhaka’s 

Maulana Bhasani 

National Hockey 

Stadium yesterday 

• Shishir Hoque 

Former German international Oliver Kurtz created 

quite a buzz in the local media when he came to 

Bangladesh in August last year for a meeting with 

federation officials prior to being appointed the national 

head coach. 

It took him quite some time to sign the official 

contact with the Bangladesh Hockey Federation. His 

first major assignment with the men in red and green 

was the Hockey World League Round 2 that concluded 

yesterday in Dhaka with the home side finishing 

fifth after winning three and losing as many out of 

six matches. 

Following the end of the tournament, Kurtz talked 

with the media. Here are the excerpts: 

A win against Ghana to finish fifth. How do you rate 

this game? 

I cannot be happy with the match [yesterday] because 

of too many easy mistakes. And we were getting 

nervous in the second half. We were a little bit 

confused. I give them (Bangladesh) credit for fighting 

spirit in the last five minutes. At the end of the 

day, I think we were a little bit lucky. 

Missed chances and defensive blunders by 

Bangladesh are regular occurrences these days. 

How are you going to improve it? 

For the next six months, we want to prepare the 

team for the Asia Cup. We hope to have a strong 

preparation camp outside the country with hard 

matches. This is key. This is what we are missing. Inshallah, 

we will make a good programme. I will meet 

the president, may be [tomorrow]. Hopefully we will 

fix the programme and preparation time (before) the 

Asia Cup. 

How do you evaluate the performance of your 

midfield, defence and attack in this edition's six 

matches? 

For me, the main thing is the mentality. [Saturday] we 

played a good match, and [yesterday] our mentality 

seemed to have come (a) little bit down. So we have 

to work on our mentality first to get stronger at home. 

There has been criticism for not including Hasan 

Jubair Niloy and Pushkor Khisa Mimo. Did you feel 

the absence of the attacking duo in the tournament? 

It [doesn't] depend on each individual player. My 

idea, my way of playing hockey as a team, if players 

are not disciplined and show no respect and follow 

the rules of the national team, then they are only 

club players. Very easy. We now have 27 players. We 

will continue with the players. 

Are you satisfied with the replacements of the 

attacking duo? 

No. But (in) our key match against Oman, we gave 

away three points. So in this situation, we need (to) 

work on our players also if they are coming a little bit 

down. But they are still controlling the match. • 

HOCKEY WORLD LEAGUE ROUND 2 

Malaysia clinch title, 

Bangladesh finish fifth 

• Tribune Report 

Host Bangladesh defeated Ghana 4-3 in 

the tiebreaker at sudden death in what 

was a thrilling Hockey World League 

Round 2 encounter at Maulana Bhasani 

National Hockey Stadium in Dhaka yesterday. 

In the process, the men in red and 

green clinched fifth spot. 

Stipulated time ended with the score 

locked at 3-3 but it tells very little about 

how narrowly the home side overcame 

their opponent. They trailed 3-2 with seconds 

left on the clock and only a dramatic 

penalty corner changed the scenario of the 

game at the last moment. 

It turned out to be the last penalty corner. 

Captain Russel Mahmud Jimmy's initial 

push was stopped by Kamruzzaman 

Malaysia players celebrate after clinching the title 

RESULTS 

Ghana 

Chayan 19, 21 Botsio 17, Elikem 43, 

Jimmy 60 Damalie 53 

Bangladesh 3 (4)-(3) 3 

Egypt 5-1 Oman 

Sri Lanka 5-3 Fiji 

Malaysia 2 (5)-(3) 2 China 

Rana before Mamunur Rahman Chayan's 

hit was eventually blocked. Sarwar Hossain's 

shot on the rebounder was punched 

away by the opposition goalkeeper before 

Jimmy's aerial push found the back of the 

net. Bangladesh got their equaliser, the final 

whistle blew and the game rolled into 

tiebreaker. 

MD MANIK 

MD MANIK 

The shootout began with both sides 

missing their first penalty. Drag-and-flick 

specialist Chayan surprisingly shot wide. 

Romman Sarkar also missed his chance. 

Ghana missed their first chance and Krishno 

Kumar ensured the home side would 

finish fifth. 

Mainul Islam Kaushik and Jimmy also 

converted their chances. 

However, it was the visiting side who 

went ahead with two minutes into the 

second quarter. Johnny Botsio scored the 

African side before Chayan brought parity 

two minutes later. 

Chayan struck again in the same quarter, 

in the 21st minute, from a penalty corner 

but Akaba Elikem put things level in 

the 43rd minute. 

Mathew Damalie’s effort gave Ghana 

the lead again in the 53rd minute, courtesy 

a penalty stroke, before Jimmy grabbed 

a dramatic equaliser at the death. 

Meanwhile, Egypt claimed third place 

after handing Oman a crushing 5-1 defeat. 

With the win, the trans-continental nation 

kept their hopes alive of advancing to 

Round 3 as one of best third-placed teams. 

In the day's opening match, Sri Lanka 

beat Fiji 5-3 to finish seventh. 

In the meantime, top-ranked Malaysia 

emerged as the champion after beating 

China 5-3 in the penalty shootout at the 

same venue in the afternoon. 

Malaysia will remember the game for a 

long time to come as they staged a brilliant 

comeback to clinch the title. China went 

ahead 2-0 within 22 minutes. 

Malaysia pulled one back two minutes 

later before equalising the margin in the 

last quarter. 

Both the teams had already confirmed 

their participation in Round 3 prior to the 

grand finale. •


20 


Sports 

Arsenal’s Alexis Sanchez takes a free kick during their FA Cup quarter-final against Lincoln City at Emirates stadium in London last Saturday 

Wenger off the hook as Arsenal crush Lincoln 

• AFP 

Arsenal ended Lincoln City's historic 

FA Cup run and eased the 

pressure on Arsene Wenger with 

a 5-0 victory over the valiant nonleague 

side in the quarter-finals. 

After Tuesday's humiliating 

Champions League exit against 

Bayern Munich, Wenger had endured 

calls for his resignation 

and the Gunners boss must have 

breathed a sigh of relief as Arsenal 

avoided even greater ignominy. 

A contest that should have been 

a mismatch given the supposed 

gulf in class between fifth-tier 

Lincoln and their illustrious opponents 

was actually a tense affair 

until first-half stoppage time when 

Theo Walcott put Arsenal ahead. 

But even after goals from Olivier 

Giroud, Alexis Sanchez, Aaron 

Ramsey and a Luke Waterfall own 

goal, the day belonged to the fifthtier 

leaders, for whom the competition 

has generated a £1.6 million 

($1.9m) cash windfall. 

For a club whose record signings, 

Dean Walling and Tony Battersby, 

each cost £75,000 in 1997 

and 1978, respectively, that is quite 

a sum. The 9,000 travelling Lincoln 

supporters certainly brought their 

voices and generated more noise 

than the Emirates Stadium has 

heard during many Premier League 

games this season. 

Almost 10 minutes had elapsed 

before Arsenal created an opening. 

Hector Bellerin slid the ball along 

the ground from the right-hand 

side but Ramsey swept his shot just 

wide of the post. 

Four minutes later Walcott connected 

sweetly with a volley only 

for Lincoln keeper Paul Farman to 

plunge to his left to palm the ball 

on to the same upright. 

Arsenal were forced into a 

change after 26 minutes, although 

if the non-league side were glad 

to see Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain 

go, the sight of German World 

Cup-winner Mesut Ozil coming on 

to replace him was less welcome. 

Lincoln's compactness in defence 

was limiting Arsenal to very 

few chances. 

And in contrast to Lincoln's 

collective discipline, inspired by 

the organisational skill of their 

impressive young manager Danny 

Cowley, it was the Arsenal players 

who were guilty of impetuosity in 

the tackle, with both Granit Xhaka 

AP 

and Laurent Koscielny booked for 

lunging challenges. 

Nathan Arnold, who scored the 

winning goal against Ipswich Town 

in the third-round replay, came 

closest to a goal for the visitors as 

the half-hour approached. 

Cutting inside Kieran Gibbs, he 

forced Petr Cech to fling himself to 

his right for a fine save. 

Ramsey sent a stabbed effort 

over the bar as half-time approached, 

but just as it seemed that 

Lincoln would deservedly reach 

the interval on level terms, the Premier 

League side struck. 

Farman had difficulty in dealing 

with an Ozil cross and from the resulting 

corner a goalmouth melee 

ended with Gibbs setting up Walcott 

to put Arsenal ahead with a 

deflected effort. • 

United confident 

of avenging 

Chelsea misery 

• AFP 

Marouane Fellaini insists Manchester 

United are confident of 

avenging the worst moment of Jose 

Mourinho’s reign when they return 

to Chelsea in the FA Cup quarter-finals 

today. 

Mourinho’s first visit to Stamford 

Bridge since his sacking as 

Chelsea boss last season ended 

in humiliation as his former club 

romped to a 4-0 victory over United 

in October. United have used 

the memory of that painful loss 

to fuel a dominant period which 

has seen them lose just twice in all 

competitions since then. 

They lifted the first major trophy 

of the Mourinho era with a League 

Cup final victory against Southampton 

last month and remain in 

contention for further silverware 

in the FA Cup and Europa League. 

Chelsea have been equally powerful, 

opening up a 10-point lead 

at the top of the Premier League 

and advancing to the last eight of 

the FA Cup as boss Antonio Conte 

chases a double in his first season. 

Although United are 17 points 

behind Chelsea, United midfielder 

Fellaini is adamant they can 

turn the tables with a place in the 

semi-finals up for grabs. 

“Obviously we lost there a few 

months ago, but now it is the FA 

Cup and we will see what happens,” 

Fellaini said. 

“It will be tight, I think. It is the 

FA Cup, it is one game. They are 

top of the league, they have confidence, 

they have great players, but 

we will show our quality there and 

see what happens. Of course they 

are confident so let’s go there and 

see what we can do.” 

Chelsea’s hopes of securing a 

club record 13th successive home 

win may have been boosted by the 

contrasting preparations the two 

teams have had this week. • 

Guardiola eyes silverware 

on multiple fronts 

• AFP 

Pep Guardiola insists he is keeping 

all his options open as he pursues 

a trophy in his first season at Manchester 

City. 

Guardiola’s side are still in contention 

in the Premier League and 

Champions League, but the City 

manager appears equally committed 

to success in the FA Cup. 

Facing a quarter-final at Premier 

League strugglers Middlesbrough 

on Saturday, Guardiola admirably 

resisted the temptation to rest several 

of his most influential players 

with a Champions League trip to 

Monaco only four days away. 

The Spaniard was rewarded with 

a 2-0 victory that represented the 

ideal preparation for Wednesday’s 

game where they lead 5-3 after the 

last 16 first leg, and a daunting run 

of Premier League fixtures against 

Liverpool, Arsenal and Chelsea. 

By the time they go to Stamford 

Bridge on April 5, the FA Cup may 

provide the sole remaining opportunity 

for Guardiola to fulfil his 

desire to lift the trophy that means 

City’s season will not be considered 

a total failure. • 

Maldives outfit Maziya Sports and Recreation Club arrived in the capital city yesterday, ahead of their 2017 AFC Cup clash 

against Dhaka Abahani Limited tomorrow, scheduled to be held at Bangabandhu National Stadium 

COURTESY

DAY’S WATCH 

FOOTBALL 

SONY SIX 

2:00AM 

Italian Serie A 

Lazio v Torino 

SONY ESPN 

1:30AM 

The Emirates FA Cup 

QF: Chelsea v Man United 

Sports 

21 


Both captains claim edge after NZ, South Africa washout 

• AFP 

South Africa and New Zealand's 

captains both claimed to have 

gained a psychological edge after 

rain washed out the final day of the 

first Test in Dunedin yesterday. 

Despite New Zealand suffering 

the loss of batsman Ross Taylor for 

the second Test, captain Kane Williamson 

felt buoyed by the his side 

being able to establish a 33-run first 

innings lead. 

"To put partnerships together 

against the very good attack they 

have was a good effort," he said 

after play was abandoned without 

a ball bowled yesterday, leaving 

South Africa on 224 for six in their 

second innings, a lead of 191 runs. 

"You always want more, which 

never goes away no matter how many 

you get, but it was nice to get a little 

lead going into that second innings." 

Nabi, Shahzad 

lead 3-0 sweep 

• ICC 

Riding on a 30-ball 89 by Mohammad 

Nabi and a 72 from Mohammad 

Shahzad, Afghanistan 

completed a clean sweep against 

Ireland, winning the third and final 

T20I yesterday by 28 runs. 

Nabi went hammer and tongs 

from the word go, smashing half a 

dozen fours and nine sixes to help 

Afghanistan post 233 runs for eight 

wickets in 20 overs, their highest 

total in the format. Ireland made 

a brilliant start to their chase and 

showed great heart throughout but 

the magnitude of the target eventually 

wore down, and they were 

bowled out for 205 in the final over. 

Paul Stirling (49 off 20) and Stuart 

Thompson (43 off 18), the opening 

batsmen, gave Ireland a flying 

start. When Stirling fell to Shapoor 

Zadran off the second ball of the 

fourth over, Ireland already had 65 

on the board. Thompson kept up 

the charge, but after Amir Hamza 

had him with a slower ball, Ireland's 

chase started going south. • 

3RD T20I 

IRELAND 205 in 19.2 overs (Wilson 59, 

Rashid 3/28) lost to AFGHANISTAN 

233/8 (Nabi 89, Shahzad 72) by 28 runs 

Taylor, who suffered a calf tear 

early in his innings, has been replaced 

by debutant Neil Broom 

for the second Test which starts in 

Wellington on Thursday. 

Pace bowler Matt Henry has also 

been added to the squad with Trent 

Boult nursing a leg injury. 

South African captain Faf du 


Plessis felt the rain had ruined a 

potential victory, with the Proteas 

set to capitalise on New Zealand's 

injury woes. 

"When a Test match finishes on 

a day like today it's very frustrating," 

he said. 

"If today was a full day of cricket, 

we felt with (New Zealand) one 

seamer down and one of their main 

batters out of the team we fancied 

our chances. It's very disappointing 

from that point of view. 

"We were 190 ahead on a wicket 

that was spinning quite a bit, purely 

on the match position if we got 

50-60 more runs, a 250 lead and set 

them that in 50-60 overs, we'd fancy 

our chances." • 

Kowloon triumph in Hong Kong T20 Blitz 

• AFP 

Dwayne Smith capitalised on a 

first ball reprieve to produce a rapid 

half-century and lead Kowloon 

Cantons to a 25-run victory over 

City Kaitak in Hong Kong's T20 

Blitz final yesterday. 

In front of a lively crowd at 

Mission Road Ground, the West 

Indian cashed in after being badly 

dropped by England all-rounder 

Chris Jordan on the long-on boundary 

off the innings' first ball. 

Smith, who retired from international 

cricket earlier this month, 

scored 63 off 36 balls and combined 

in a record opening stand of 

149 with man-of-the match Babar 

Hayat. 

Babar, the Pakistan born Hong 

Kong cricketer, upstaged Smith in 

the early going smashing 76 off 40 

balls to provide the platform for 

Kowloon's total of 222 for three, the 

highest score of the tournament. 

The partnership was finally broken 

in the 13th over, when Babar 

was bowled attempting a reverse 

sweep off left-arm spinner Nadeem 

Ahmed, who shortly after snared 

Smith. 

Smith's compatriot Marlon Samuels 

(32 off 21 balls) put the finishing 

touches but City Kaitak gamely 

responded with Scottish opener 

Andy Murray of Great Britain shows his dejection during his straight sets defeat 

by Vasek Pospisil of Canada in their second round match on day six of the BNP 

Paribas Open at Indian Wells Tennis Garden on Saturday 

AFP 

Kyle Coetzer smashing four consecutive 

sixes off Smith's medium 

pacers to leave the match delicately 

poised. 

Coetzer and Tillakaratne Dilshan 

hit 65 inside the opening five 

overs before the Sri Lankan was 

brilliantly caught by Mudassar 

Hussain to end his enterprising 23 

off 11 balls. 

Coetzer (63 off 36 balls) continued 

the carnage but eventually 

holed out in the 11th over as City 

Kaitak's lost regular wickets to be 

bowled out for 197 in the final over. 

City Kaitak had only booked 

their place in the final after defeating 

Hong Kong Island United by 50 

1ST TEST, DAY 5 

SOUTH AFRICA 308 & 224/6 drew 

with NEW ZEALAND 341 

runs earlier in the day. 

Jordan had some solace by winning 

the player of the tournament 

after scoring 150 runs and nine 

wickets across five matches. 

Kowloon claimed the trophy 

once again after sharing the spoils 

with the now defunct Woodworm 

Island Warriors in last year’s inaugural 

edition. 

Babar, the Kowloon captain, 

said he was confident 222 was a 

match-wining total despite Coetzer's 

heroics. 

"I knew if we got one wicket, 

we would be in the game," he said. 

"There are no words to describe 

how it feels to win." • 

Top-ranked Murray toppled 

by qualifier Pospisil 

• AFP 

World number one Andy Murray 

crashed out of the ATP Indian Wells 

Masters on Saturday, sent spinning 

in straight sets by Canadian qualifier 

Vasek Pospisil. 

Pospisil, ranked 129th in the 

world, triumphed 6-4, 7-6 (7/5), 

sealing the biggest win of his career 

on his fourth match point to the 

delight a stadium court crowd won 

over by the underdog's aggressive 

serve-and-volley style. 

For Murray, it was yet another 

disappointing performance in the 

California desert, where his best 

showing is a 2009 runner-up finish 

to Rafael Nadal. Last year Murray 

was bundled out in the third round, 

but he was hoping for much better 

as he arrived fresh off his 45th career 

ATP title in Dubai. 

Murray was particularly disappointed 

to have dropped the first 

set after twice going up a break. 

But he hurt his own cause with 

seven double-faults, part of a poor 

serving night that he said was key 

to the defeat. 

Pospisil had never beaten Murray 

in four prior encounters. The 

26-year-old, who defeated Taiwan's 

Lu Yen-Hsun in the first 

round as Murray enjoyed a bye, 

notched his fourth career victory 

over a top-10 player and his first 

since 2014. 

The Canadian, a Wimbledon 

doubles title winner with Jack 

Sock, was ranked as high as 25th 

in the world three years ago, but 

plummeted to as low as 135th in the 

world during a tumultuous 2016. 

Late last year he began working 

with Australia's Mark Woodforde - 

and he gave a shout-out to his new 

coach on court after wrapping up 

the biggest win of his career in one 

hour and 51 minutes. •

22 



Showtime 

18 must watch action films 

Caution: You need to have a strong stomach to sit through some of them 

• Nasir Rayhan 

Until the early 1920’s, 

violence in films 

was left mostly to 

viewers’ discretion. 

Think about the time when 

Russian filmmaker Sergei 

Eisenstein’s massacre on the 

Odessa staircase of his 1925 film 

The Battleship Potemkin was 

considered to be a film that was 

hard to digest. Modern viewers 

would surely agree that the 

scene is in fact, a masterpiece. A 

movie with content of this 

sort used to be considered as 

belligerent most of the time. 

But after going through the 

bloodcurdling years of the two 

World Wars, directors started 

to perceive violence in a 

different way. Film noir started 

to swing during the 1940’s. 

People watched John Wayne 

killing hundreds of Indians on 

screen, but the portrayal of 

violence suggested that bullets 

didn’t hurt. The pacing and 

mood of the actors were more 

effective than blood to make 

people feel the rampage. 

Then there was The Wild 

Bunch, directed by Sam 

Peckinpah, the first film to 

portray violence in an almost 

exquisite way. This was the first 

film which depicted men dying 

on screen, instead of editing 

to shield the audience; they 

had the courage of showing 

men spurting out blood. The 

audience started to feel the 

pain of death. Any feeling is 

important, even the painful 

ones. 

Films like True Lies moved it 

forwards, while Reservoir Dogs, 

Pulp Fiction added extra spice 

to the rampage films. Tarantino 

became the madman of the 

rampage movie mayhem who 

diffused art and dark humour 

in the world of film violence 

and started a fraternity of 

“Tarantino-esque” films. 

Later on, many other 

celebrated directors joined the 

rampage film fraternity. For 

instance, Stephen Spielberg 

came up with his gruesome 

World War 2 film Saving Private 

Ryan and ended up winning 

five Oscars. 

Some of the most violent 

films just show you violence 

while some assure that you 

feel it. Here’s a list of 18 most 

violent films with a touch of 

art and dark humour in some 

cases. 

The Tarantino-esques 

Quentin Tarantino is undoubtedly 

the ultimate rampage movie 

auteur. Born in 1963, The guy 

was perhaps one of the most 

identifiable and volatile talent to 

emerge in American film in the 

early ‘90s. Tarantino never went to 

film school but managed to learn 

his craft from his days as a video 

clerk. As he likes to put it, “When 

people ask me if I went to film 

school I tell them, ‘no, I went to 

films.’” 

Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction, 

Natural Born Killers, Four Rooms, 

Jackie Brown, Sin City, Kill Bill: 

Volume 1 and 2, Inglourious 

Basterds, Django Unchained and 

The Hateful Eight are the best 

films in his filmography. If you 

love violence in films, go for each 

and every single one of them. Be 

assured, you are in for a delicious 

treat. 

Saving Private Ryan 

Following the Normandy 

Landings, a group of US soldiers go 

behind enemy lines to retrieve a 

paratrooper whose brothers have 

been killed in action. This Steven 

Spielberg epic war flick is written 

by Robert and widely known for its 

graphic portrayal of war, specially 

the opening 27 minutes of the 

film, which depicts the fierce 

Omaha Beach assault during the 

Normandy landings. 

Saw 

The 2004 American psychological 

horror film directed by James Wan 

narrates the story of two strangers, 

who wake up in a room with 

no recollection of how they got 

there or why, and soon discover 

they are pawns in a deadly game 

perpetrated by a notorious serial 

killer. 

Saw was Wan’s feature film 

directorial debut, written by Leigh 

Whannell who was also in charge 

of the screenplay. The film is based 

on a story by Wan and Whannell 

and stars Cary Elwes, Danny 

Glover, Monica Potter, Michael 

Emerson, Ken Leung, Tobin Bell 

and Leigh Whannell 

Irreversible 

Irréversible is a 2002 French 

art psychological horror drama 

written and directed by Gaspar 

Noé. Filled with trembling 

rampage, the film explores events 

over the course of one traumatic 

night in Paris, and unfolds in 

reverse-chronological order as the 

beautiful Alex is brutally raped 

and beaten by a stranger in the 

underpass. 

The Monica Bellucci, Vincent 

Cassel, and Albert Dupontel starrer 

employs a non-linear narrative 

and criticised as “unwatchable” 

by many film critics, while some 

applauded the film for it’s artistic 

contents. 

Apocalypto 

As the Mayan kingdom faces its 

decline, the rulers insist the key to 

prosperity is to build more temples 

and offer human sacrifices. Jaguar 

Paw, a young man captured for 

sacrifice, flees to avoid his fate. 

The 2006 American epic adventure 

film is directed and produced by 

renowned director Mel Gibson. 

Written by Gibson and Farhad 

Safinia, the film features a cast of 

indigenous Mexican and Native 

American actors and is extensively 

known for it’s depiction of gory 

violence scenes. 

Passion of the Christ 

Another infamous Mel Gibson flick 

on the list, which is also known 

simply as The Passion, is a 2004 

American biblical epic drama. It 

is written by Gibson and Benedict 

Fitzgerald. Jim Caviezel starred 

as Jesus Christ in the film, which 

depicts the passion of Jesus 

largely according to the Gospels of 

Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. 

The final twelve hours in the life 

of Jesus of Nazareth, on the day 

of his crucifixion in Jerusalem are 

covered in the film capturing the 

violent details. To the dismay of 

the critics, Gibson replied that he 

wanted the audience to go through 

the pain Jesus went through. 

A Clockwork Orange 

The critically acclaimed A 

Clockwork Orange is a 1971 

dystopian crime film adapted, 

produced, and directed by 

legendary auteur Stanley Kubrick. 

The film is based on Anthony 

Burgess’s 1962 novel A Clockwork 

Orange. 

The film revolves around Alex, 

the main character, who is a 

charismatic, antisocial, delinquent 

and his interests include classical 

music, rape, and what is termed 

“ultra-violence”. He leads a small 

gang of thugs, whom he calls his 

droogs. This one is a must watch. 

Rambo 

This 2008 American independent 

action film is directed and cowritten 

by Sylvester Stallone. The 

action hero who also starred in 

the film, reprised his iconic role as 

Vietnam veteran John Rambo. 

The film is about John Rambo, 

a hardened former Green Beret, 

who is hired by a church pastor to 

help rescue a group of Christian 

missionaries who were kidnapped 

by men from a brutal Burmese 

military regime. It is the fourth 

and final installment in the Rambo 

franchise. •

Showtime 

23 



A tribute to Lucky Akhand 

• Showtime Desk 

Recently, a few Bangladeshi 

expats who are fans of Lucky 

Akhand have created a song 

which was dedicated to the 

legendary musician and freedom 

fighter. 

The lyrics of the song titled, 

“Tomar joto gaan” is a reference 

to Lucky Akhand’s popular 

numbers including “Ei nil 

monihar,” “Abar elo je sondha,” 

“Jekhane simanto tomar,” and 

others. 

Titas Kazi wrote the tune and 

penned lyrics along with Sanjoy 

Mukherjee. Six singers including 

Suman Sharif, AI Razu, Molla 

Babu, Laboni Barua, Parash 


Starring Shah Riaz and Jolly, and 

directed by Nader Chowdhury, 

the romantic drama Meyeti Ekhon 

Kothay Jabe has been released in 

theatres on Friday. Shah Riaz and 

Falguni Rahman Jolly have been 

paired up on screen for the first 

time, in this movie. 

The story, which has been 

adapted from Imdadul Haq 

Milon’s novel of the same title, 

narrates the tale of a suitor 

named Raaj, who 

is Muslim, and a 

Hindu girl from 

an ordinary rural 

family named 

Krishnokoli. 

Raaj (Shah Riaz) 

meets Krishnokoli 

(Jolly), and the 

charming boy 

immediately falls in 

love with her. The 

boy confesses his 

love to her, but she 

Mani, and Kazi Titas lent their 

voices to the song. Feedback’s 

Labu Rahman and Fuad Naser 

Babu arranged the music in 

collaboration. 

Last week, a video of the song 

was released on YouTube. Filmed 

in London, the music video 

featured singers and key people 

who worked for the project. 

Shibli Hasan directed the music 

video. 

In the meantime, Lucky 

Akhand, who is currently 

admitted in a hospital for 

treatment, saw the music video 

and praised it. Ershadul Haq 

Tingku, a volunteer for the 

singer, said to the press that 

Lucky has expressed his pleasure 

rejects his proposal. Raaj, who 

thinks of himself as the ‘Raja’ 

(king) of his village Sitarampur, 

cannot take the rejection. As a 

result, he kidnaps Krishnokoli, 

not out of his lust for her, rather 

to make her fall in love with 

him. Time goes by and one fine 

day, Raaj’s uncle comes to visit 

him and discovers the girl in his 

house. 

The kind-hearted uncle 

instantly decides to release the girl 

but gets stuck in a conundrum, 

PHOTO: COURTESY 

after watching the video. 

In September, 2015, the 

reclusive singer-composer 

Lucky Akhand was admitted 

to Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib 

Medical University, after falling 

ill. Within a week, he was 

diagnosed with cancer. 

Lucky Akhand has composed 

and sang numerous popular 

songs, including “Amay deko 

na,” “Ei nil monihar,” “Kobita 

porar prohor esheche,” “Jekhane 

shimanto tomar,” “Ma monia,” 

“Likhte pari na kono gan,” 

“Bhalobeshe chole jeo na,” 

“Bitrishna jibone amar,” “Ki kore 

bolle tumi,” “Eto dure je chole 

gecho,” and many more.• 

Meyeti Ekhon Kothay Jabe now in theatres 

when he comes to know that the 

girl is Hindu. The story starts to 

twist as the question arises, where 

will the girl go? 

Abdullah Zahir Babu did the 

screenplay of the movie. The 

cast includes Mamunur Rashid, 

Raisul Islam Asad and Fazlur 

Rahman Babu. Jazza multimedia 

produced the movie, and it has 

been released in 39 theatres 

nationwide, including the 

capital’s Balaka, Madhumita and 

Sony. • 

Scarlett Johansson debuts 

Ivanka Trump’s impression 

on SNL 


Scarlett Johansson delivered 

a diabolical impersonation 

of America’s First Daughter, 

Ivanka Trump this week, on 

Saturday Night Live. 

After Alec Baldwin reprised 

his Trump impression to kick 

off the show, Johansson, a fifthtime 

SNL host, appeared in a long 

blonde wig and a smokey eye to 

play Ivanka in a faux commercial, 

for her clothing line’s new 

fragrance titled “Complicit.” 

In the commercial, as 

Johansson-as-Ivanka posed in 

front of the camera, a sultry voiceover 

said, “And a woman like her 

deserves a fragrance of her own. 

A scent made just for her. Because 

she’s beautiful. She’s powerful. 

She’s...Complicit.” 

“She’s a woman who knows 

what she wants, and what she’s 

doing,” the voice-over added. 

It then aims at Ivanka’s 

feminist credentials, and talks 

about how the President’s slew 

of controversies could potentially 

Kung Fu Panda 

3:25 pm, HBO 

The Dragon Warrior has to clash 

against the savage Tai Lung 

as China’s fate hangs in the 

balance. However, the Dragon 

Warrior mantle is supposedly 

mistaken to be bestowed upon 

an obese panda, who is a tyro in 

martial arts. 

Voices: Jack Black, Dustin 

Hoffman, Angelina Jolie, Jackie 

Chan, Lucy Liu 

Kill Bill Vol 2 

7:03 pm, WB 

The Bride continues her quest 

of vengeance against her 

former boss and lover Bill, the 

reclusive bouncer Budd and the 

treacherous, one-eyed Elle. 

Cast: Uma Thurman, David 

Carradine, Lucy Liu, Vivica A 

Fox, Chia Hui Liu 

WHAT TO WATCH 

impact his daughter’s career. 

“A feminist. A champion. An 

advocate for women. Like...how?” 

it asks. 

“She’s loyal. Devoted. Probably 

should have bounced after that 

whole Access Hollywood bus 

thing,” it said, as a reference to the 

President’s leaked tape from 2005 

which surfaced last year, in which 

he could be heard bragging about 

groping and making unwanted 

advances on women. 

The fake advert then concludes 

with the slogan - “The fragrance 

for the woman who could stop all 

this, but won’t.” • 

Home Alone 3 

11:30 pm, Star Movies 

Alex Pruitt, a young boy of 

nine living in Chicago, fends 

off thieves who seek a topsecret 

chip in his toy car to 

support a North Korean terrorist 

organisation’s next deed. 

Cast: Alex D Linz, Rya Kihlstedt, 

Lenny von Dohlen, Olek Krupa, 

David Thornton 

Journey to the Center of the 

Earth 

5:20 pm, Movies Now 

On a quest to find out what 

happened to his missing 

brother, a scientist, his 

nephew, and their mountain 

guide discover a fantastic and 

dangerous lost world in the 

centre of the earth. 

Cast: Brendan Fraser, Josh 

Hutcherson, Anita Briem, Seth 

Meyers, Jean Michel Pare •

24 



‘TEACH CAPTURED TERRORISTS 

TO SING, DANCE AND PLAY’ › 3 

Back Page 

MALAYSIA CLINCH TITLE, 

BANGLADESH FINISH 5TH › 19 

A TRIBUTE TO 

LUCKY AKHAND › 23 

BGMEA gets 6 months 

to knock down HQ 

• Ashif Islam Shaon and 

Ibrahim Hossain Ovi 

The Supreme Court has given 

Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers 

and Exporters Association 

(BGMEA) six months’ time to demolish 

its headquarters in Hatirjheel, 

Dhaka. 

A three-member bench of the 

Appellate Division, led by Chief 

Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha, 

issued the order yesterday morning 

after hearing the BGMEA’s petition 

seeking three years to move their 

office from the building and 

demolish it. 

At the beginning of the hearing, 

as BGMEA counsel Kamrul Haque 

Siddiqui was placing his argument 

for the petition, the court asked 

him to present “rational reasons.” 

“Give us a genuine statement. 

Do not try to fool the court,” it said. 

The bench then asked why the 

BGMEA would not rent a place for 

their office on a temporary basis. 

“Ask the government to rent 

you two houses in Gulshan… or 

rent rooms in the Sonargaon or 

Sheraton Hotel to run your office… 

spend money,” the court rebuked 

the petitioners. “The High Court 

asked you to demolish the building 

in 2010; the Appellate Division 

upheld that verdict in June last 

year. But you did not take any step 

to demolish the building.” 

The court also mentioned 

the detainment of Samsung and 

Hyundai chiefs on corruption 

charges in South Korea. “Look at 

South Korea. There, the heads of 

Samsung and Hyundai companies 

were taken into custody [for 

corruption]. Do you know that?” 

Terming the BGMEA petition 

unacceptable, the court said: “We 

allow the petitioner six months to 

demolish the illegal building.” 

Earlier on March 5, the apex 

court dismissed BGMEA’s petition 

to review its 2016 verdict that the 

BGMEA Complex was built illegally 

and therefore must be demolished. 

The 15-storey building stands on 

a critical spot in Dhaka, blocking 

the connection between two large 

water bodies – Hatirjheel lake and 

Begunbari canal. 

In June 2016, the Appellate 

Division upheld the High Court’s 

verdict ordering the demolition 

of the structure when the BGMEA 

appealed against it. 

The High Court had issued the 

verdict in 2010, following its suo 

moto ruling based on a news report 

on the issue. It found the building 

illegal as it was constructed 

violating the law protecting the 

country’s wetlands. 

In an immediate reaction to the 

Appellate Division’s order yesterday, 

BGMEA President Siddiqur 

Rahman said they would shift their 

office from the condemned BGMEA 

Complex as soon as possible. 

Speaking to reporters at the BG- 

MEA office yesterday, he said: “We 

respect the court’s verdict and are 

grateful for the six months’ time it 

has given us to relocate our office.” 

In reply to a question, the 

BGMEA president said they were 

working on a quick relocation 

strategy. 

He also hinted that the new 

office would be built in Uttara. 

However, he kept mum about 

whether or not the BGMEA would 

get land from the government, as 

Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed 

had said on March 6. • 

No pay hike 

next year 

if inflation 

below 5% 

• Asif Showkat Kallol 

The government is working on 

a new system for adjusting the 

civil service salary scales once 

in a year instead of every five 

years, but a hike next year is 

unlikely if the inflation stays 

below 5%. 

Finance Minister AMA Muhith 

revealed this to reporters 

after a meeting with Commerce 

Minister Tofail Ahmed and 

Planning Minister AHM Mustafa 

Kamal at the Finance Ministry 

auditorium on Sunday. 

A small committee headed 

by the Finance Secretary would 

be formed to discuss ways to 

create a cell that will recommend 

the salary adjustment 

based on the inflation, he said. 

The cell will be coordinated 

by an additional secretary of 

the Cabinet Division. 

The Cabinet Division will 

submit within the next three 

months a report on how the 

yearly pay hike mechanism 

would work. 

Muhith noted that the new 

system would be effective before 

the 2019 national elections. 

He also gave the hint that 

there might be no pay hike for 

civil servants next year if the 

inflation is below 5%. 

“We have already adjusted 

the annual increment to 

account for 5% inflation,” the 

minister told reporters, “If inflation 

stays at 4% there will be 

no need to adjust the salaries.” 

The highest basic salary 

of civil servants was set at Tk 

78,000 while the lowest at Tk 

8,250 in the 8th national pay 

scale in 2015. • 

SC upholds order to shut down Hazaribagh tanneries 

• Ashif Islam Shaon 

The Supreme Court has upheld a 

High Court order that asked the 

government to shut down all 154 

tanneries in Hazaribagh, Dhaka 

and cut off their utility connections 

immediately. 

A three-member Appellate Division 

bench led by Chief Justice 

Surendra Kumar Sinha passed the 

BGMEA office is slated for demolition in six months because it sits on a critical junction between two waterbodies RAJIB DHAR 

order on Sunday, rejecting a petition 

filed by Bangladesh Finished 

Leather, Leather Goods and Footwear 

Exporters Association for a 

stay on the High Court order. 

Bangladesh Environmental 

Lawyers’ Association (BELA) Chief 

Executive Syeda Rizwana Hasan, 

who had filed the earlier petition 

with the High Court, confirmed the 

decision to the Dhaka Tribune. 

She said the Department of 

Environment authorities must 

shut down the tanneries at 

Hazaribagh and disconnect their 

utility services in accordance with 

the SC order. 

Rizwana told Dhaka Tribune 

that the reasonable deadline of 

shifting the tanneries had passed 

many months ago. 

“They did not take any measures 

to relocate the tanneries, but 

rather wasted time, which is a clear 

violation of court’s order,” she explained. 

“The environment needs to be 

protected, so we cannot be lenient 

toward these tanneries.” 

On March 6, a High Court bench 

of Justice Syed Refaat Ahmed and 

Justice Md Salim issued the order 

after hearing BELA’s petition. 

The court also instructed the 

home and industries secretaries, 

the inspector general of police 

and the DMP commissioner to assist 

the Department of Environment 

(DoE) in complying with 

the order. 

The DoE director general has 

been instructed to submit a report 

on the compliance of the order before 

the court by April 6. • 

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 Office: 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

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