e_Paper, Sunday, May 21, 2017

SECOND EDITION 

SUNDAY, MAY 21, 2017 | Jyastha 7, 1424, Shaban 24, 1438 | Regd No DA 6238, Vol 5, No 16 | www.dhakatribune.com | 24 pages plus 8-page Business supplement | Price: Tk10 

Muggers thrive 

in easily available 

police uniforms 

› 6 

Narsingdi house 

cordoned off › 9 

Hefazat: Don’t 

use the word 

raped › 10 

BUSINESS SUPPLEMENT 

BSS 

AL leaders thrash it out in 

front of party chief › 2 

Fuel price cut can stop 

power price hike › 2 

‘The government is 

being shortsighted’ › 3 

Police raid Khaleda’s 

Gulshan office 

for ‘anti-state 

documents’ › 2 

DHAKA TRIBUNE

2 

SUNDAY, MAY 21, 2017 

DT 

News 

AL leaders thrash it out in front of party chief 

• Abu Hayat Mahmud 

POLITICS 

Grassroots leaders of the ruling 

Awami League complained to the 

party chief Prime Minister Sheikh 

Hasina that Jamaat-e-Islami and 

BNP men had infiltrated into the 

party and lashed out at their fellows 

and local lawmakers on the 

issue, in a meeting at Gonobhaban 

yesterday. 

The Awami League’s top brass 

including General Secretary 

Obaidul Quader attended the meeting 

with President Sheikh Hasina in 

the chair. 

The grassroots leaders also informed 

Hasina of clashes and internal 

feuds among local leaders, 

lawmakers and associate bodies. 

Some media outlets earlier reported 

several thousand activists 

of Jamaat and BNP joined the 

Awami League following the 2014 

general polls, and clashes between 

rival factions turned a common 

phenomenon. 

Seeking anonymity, a lawmaker 

in Faridpur accused editor of a local 

newspaper Md Haque, who is 

also known as a pro-Awami League 

journalist, former Bangladesh 

Chhatra League leader Tipu Munshi 

and Swadhinata Chikitsak Parishad 

leader Prof Dr Iqbal Arslan of 

collaborating with Jamaat and BNP 

men in trying hard to defeat Rajbari-2 

lawmaker Zillul Hakim in 

the next election. 

Awami League men are feuding 

with one another not only in Rajbari, 

but also across the country, he added. 

Some of the district leaders also 

expressed dissatisfaction over remarks 

made by General Secretary 

Obaidul Quader, who recently said 

in a meeting that “activists and 

leaders of the Awami League will 

have to flee the country if the party 

loses the next polls.” 

Moslem Uddin Ahmed, president 

of the Chittagong south district 

unit Awami League, castigated 

their local lawmaker for barring 

him from forming a law and order 

committee of a police station in the 

district. 

I have little idea 

about forming 

committees of the 

associate bodies. 

Taking advantage of 

this, some Jamaat 

and BNP men have 

infiltrated into the 

Awami league 

“We are unhappy with upsetting 

remarks of some central leaders. Such 

remarks need to stop,” he added. 

Prime Minister and Awami League President Sheikh Hasina greets AL activists at 

the party’s extended meeting in Ganabhaban yesterday 

BSS 

Echoing Moslem, Rangpur 

Awami League General Secretary 

Rezaul Karim Raju said: “Leaders 

Police raid Khaleda’s Gulshan office 

at the local level were very upset 

at hearing such remarks from the 

general secretary. 

“I have little idea about forming 

committees of the associate bodies. 

Taking advantage of this, some 

Jamaat and BNP men have infiltrated 

into the Awami league.” 

Khulna district Awami League 

President Harun-ur-Rashid said: 

“We observed that few rival candidates 

contested in previously held 

elections, with haughty disregard 

for the party’s rules and directives. 

He urged Hasina to take stern 

action against such errant leaders 

and activists. 

Omar Faruk, president of Rajshai 

district unit, Abul Hasnat Abdullah 

of Barishal unit and Johirul 

Haque Khoka of Mymenshingh 

unit, too, urged her to take immediate 

action to stop the prevailing 

factional clashes and punish those 

who break the party’s discipline. 

Listening to them, Hasina instructed 

the leaders to check the 

infiltration of Jamaat and BNP and 

work together to win the polls. 

The party chief in her speech 

asked them to strengthen the organisation 

at the grassroots and 

highlight the country’s socio-economic 

progress made during the 

Awami League’s tenure. 

Slamming BNP for “counterfeiting” 

the Awami League’s vision, 

she said: “BNP’s Vision-2030 is a 

trick, and their ultimate goal is to 

go to power and amass wealth illegally.” 

She handed over laptops to representatives 

from eight divisional 

party offices and unveiled the party’s 

constitution and declaration in 

the programme. • 

• Arifur Rahman Rabbi, Manik 

Miazee 

POLITICS 

Police yesterday raided BNP Chairperson 

Khaleda Zia’s Gulshan office, 

searching for “anti-state documents.” 

However, law enforcement officials 

said they found nothing during 

the two-hour search that started 

at 7:30am. 

About a hundred police officers, 

led by Police Deputy Commissioner 

(Gulshan Zone) Mustak Ahmed, 

converged at the office around 

7am, and started the search half an 

hour later. 

According to sources from the 

BNP office, police raided all of the 

rooms except Khaleda’s. 

BNP Senior Joint Secretary General 

Ruhul Kabir Rizvi criticised the 

raid, claiming that it was aimed at 

“harassing Khaleda Zia mentally 

and keeping her under pressure.” 

However, Gulshan police station 

About a 100 police officers went into BNP chairperson’s office in Gulshan yesterday around 7:30am 

Officer-in-Charge Abu Bakar Siddique 

said they had received information 

that “anti-state materials” 

were kept at the Gulshan office. 

He said police had taken the 

court’s permission to look for these 

anti-state documents and materials 

that could be used to conduct 

acts of sabotage. The general diary 

regarding the matter was filed on 

Friday at 7:30pm. 

Attempts to contact Police 

DHAKA TRIBUNE 

Headquarters for further details 

have yielded no response. 

BNP Secretary General Mirza 

Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said the raid 

was “an attempt to destroy Bangladesh’s 

democracy.” 

After the raid, BNP’s central 

leaders went to Khaleda’s office 

with several hundred supporters. 

From 10:30am to noon, party supporters 

held protests and sit-in programmes 

in front of the building. 

BNP standing committee members 

Nazrul Islam Khan, Gayashor 

Chandra Roy, party leader Zaynul 

Abedin, and Mohammad Shajahan 

were in attendance, among others. 

Later yesterday, at Dhaka Reporter’s 

Unity, Rizvi announced 

that BNP and its front organisations 

would hold countrywide 

demonstrations today. 

Meanwhile, Chittagong BNP 

yesterday brought out a procession 

protesting the raid. The procession 

started from the Tejgaon area and 

ended at the Kazir Dewri intersection 

of the city. 

Dr Shahadat Hossain, president 

of Chittagong BNP, said: “The raid 

was an evil conspiracy against BNP. 

However, the leaders and activists 

of BNP across the country will resist 

the undemocratic activities of 

the ruling government.” •

News 3 


Patriarchy: The deep rooted cultural 

beliefs that normalises rape 

Speaking to the Dhaka Tribune’s Esha Aurora about OBR’s new campaign Property for Her, Kamla Bhasin in an interview 

elaborates the need to fully understand the adverse effects of internalised patriarchy which perpetuates a culture of violence 

and subjugation as the norm 

DT 

INTERVIEW 

Trying to turn conventional wisdom 

on its head, One Billion Rising 

(OBR) is planning a campaign 

called “Property for Her,” where 

the idea of dowry, the financial 

expenses of a daughter’s wedding, 

is being asked to use to buy her a 

property instead. Social Scientist 

and South Asian Coordinator of 

OBR Kamla Bhasin said this campaign 

will be used to help liberate 

women from the clutches of inheritance 

laws and wedding customs 

to make sure they have some financial 

independence by changing 

perceptions. 

Based in New Delhi, Kamla has 

been an activist for over 35 years, 

working on issues related to gender, 

development, peace, identity 

politics, militarisation, human 

rights and democracy. 

She is also currently working as 

an advisor at Sangat, a South Asian 

Feminist Network, also with Jagori, 

a women’s resource and training 

centre in New Delhi, and Jagori 

Grameen in Himachal Pradesh as 

an active member. She is also the 

co-chair of the worldwide network, 

Peace Women Across. 

There are laws in Bangladesh 

regarding child marriage that 

critics say will embolden rapists 

to rape and then marry these 

children under the clause of special 

circumstance. Do you think this is 

a regressive policy for women and 

children in 2017? 

Kamla Bhasin speaking to the Dhaka Tribune about understanding the societal beliefs that shape our perception of gender 

and gender based roles 

MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU 

To address this we first have to talk 

about rape. What is rape? It is about 

power. It is about taking away someone’s 

“purity” even though when a 

man has multiple sexual partners 

they never seem to lose their purity. 

Because girls are looked at as burdens 

by their parents, the best thing 

they can do is get rid of her. 

We need better laws to address 

the root of the issue and not treat 

the symptoms. We need better 

hearts. This idea of purity comes 

from patriarchy. We need to have 

some form of social responsibility 

that holds men and women equally 

responsible for their actions. Laws 

like these will be used to the advantage 

of an abuser. 

Can you explain what exactly 

patriarchy is and how it relates to 

our society? 

It is a social system in which men 

are considered superior by definition. 

Patriarchy is a blind belief. 

Men have more control of the 

ideology, resources and authority 

in our lives than women. For example, 

words in themselves are highly 

patriarchal, like the Hindi word for 

husband is “swami” which means 

owner. 

Even the idea of marriage in 

Hinduism perpetuates patriarchy 

with the practice of “Kanyadaan” 

which means the father of the 

bride is handing over all his rights 

and duties towards his daughter to 

her prospective groom. This way 

the father gives her daughter as a 

gift to the groom. 

All this denotes that a woman 

is owned, first by her father and 

then by her husband. These words 

need to go as patriarchy sneaks into 

our daily vocabulary; from birth to 

death we are constantly confronted 

with ideas of patriarchy. Think 

about this, women are not even allowed 

to perform funeral rites. 

As patriarchy permeates our 

perceptions in daily life and 

colours our discourse, what 

exactly is the history of patriarchy? 

I believe Friedrich Engels and Karl 

Marx explain this very well. See, 

with the onset of the idea of private 

property did patriarchy seep 

into societies. Capitalist patriarchy 

is the biggest problem. We are now 

confronted with ideas of class, race 

which work to separate us. We see 

now that man is the owner and 

women are to be owned. 

We need feminism to fight this. 

Feminism is a thinking and action 

against patriarchy. Feminism seeks 

equality for all genders. Let us not 

forget that men are also tied by patriarchy 

which has a deep culture 

of propagating toxic masculinity. 

Today, patriarchy is being perpetuated 

by capitalism. Greedbased 

profit making where money 

is now God. So our new campaign 

is “Property for Her,” where we 

take this idea of capitalism and 

tell everyone to forget the dowry 

and give their daughters a flat. This 

way, traditional adherence to capitalist 

ideas can be used to benefit 

the daughter who is always at a disadvantage. 

• 

‘Rape is a crime of power to control’ 

• Afrose Jahan Chaity 

DISCUSSION 

of living in a patriarchal society to 

explaining feminism which is an 

action against patriarchy and not 

against men. 

Speaking at Talk with Kamla 

she also addressed the rising 

number of rapes saying: “There is 

an ongoing debate which says the 

Kamla Bhasin speaking at a conference organised by Sangat Bangladesh and One 

Billion Rising Bangladesh Chapter 

RAJIB DHAR 

Rape is a crime of power to control 

which aims to limit women’s mobility 

and freedom, opined veteran 

human and women’s rights activist 

Kamla Bhasin, yesterday. 

Speaking at a conference, she 

said: “Rape is done to shame the 

women so that they are afraid to be 

free and live as a human being.” 

South Asian Coordinator for 

One Billion Rising, Kamla spoke 

on a number of human rights issues 

from the rise of extremism 

and radicalisation to the rise of violence 

against women are a result 

Rape is done to shame the women so that they 

are afraid to be free and live as a human being 

She said: “Rape is a result of 

patriarchal social system which 

aims to control. Rapists are not born 

rapist but taught by a patriarchal 

society to disrespect women. They 

are taught that they can get away 

with violating a woman’s body. 

“In an equal world men would 

also take care of the children but we 

don’t teach our men to be humans 

first. Gender is a social construct.” 

number of rape didn’t increase at 

all. Rather, women and girls are 

coming forward more breaking the 

silence.” 

The conference was organised 

by Sangat Bangladesh and One 

Billion Rising Bangladesh Chapter 

where other issues such as gender 

equality was property rights 

were also discussed moderated by 

Rights Activist Kushi Kabir. •

4 


DT 

News 

Govt still wants cheap WB funds as budget support 

• Asif Showkat Kallol 

BUSINESS 

The government is seeking to borrow 

$500m under the World Bank’s 

Development Policy Credit (DPC) 

programme in the next fiscal year, 

Finance Division sources said. 

The Economic Relations Division 

started negotiating with World Bank 

for the loan when this government 

came to power in 2009. But the 

global lender has not approved the 

loan, citing the government’s failure 

to carry out prescribed reform. 

Macro economic wings of Finance 

Division recently sent a 

letter to ministries and divisions 

seeking information about reforms 

taken by different ministries and 

divisions as conditions set by the 

World Bank. 

Officials said the government 

agencies concerned would try to 

get the World Bank’s soft loans to 

the last, but there are still shortcomings 

related to reforms at the 

power and telecommunication 

ministries. 

“We are in doubt if the government 

will get Development Policy 

Credit,” official said. 

According to the sources at the 

Power Division, the National Board 

of Revenue, power and telecom 

ministries have failed to complete 

major reforms within the deadline. 

The World Bank conditions include 

implementation of power 

ministry’s proposal to create companies 

in Chittagong, the new VAT 

law of the NBR and amendment to 

the Bangladesh Telecommunications 

Act 2001. 

The government rejected the 

World Bank projects aimed to improve 

performance of the state-run 

banks by automating the business 

and transaction process. 

Besides, the government is set 

to lay down an ambitious foreign 

aid utilisation target for next fiscal 

year with the aim of quick implementation 

of many transformational 

infrastructure projects. 

Foreign aid will account to 

about $7bn in fiscal year 2017-18’s 

development budget, said officials 

of finance and planning ministries 

-- almost double the country’s 

overseas fund utilisation record. 

Bangladesh could never utilise 

more than $4bn of foreign aid 

in a year. Some Tk35,797 crore of 

foreign aid has been allocated for 

this fiscal year but only 42% of the 

amount could be utilised in the 

first nine months. • 

e-mail:info@jamunaoil.gov.bd 

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News 5 


DT 

Under fire at home, Trump in Saudi 

Arabia on first foreign trip 

• Reuters, Riyadh 

WORLD 

In draft speech, 

Trump softens 

language about 

Islam 

• Tribune Desk 

WORLD 

Dogged by controversy at home, 

Donald Trump opened his first 

presidential foreign trip in Saudi 

Arabia on Saturday and won a 

warm reception as he looked to 

shift attention from a political firestorm 

over his firing of former FBI 

Director James Comey. 

Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz 

greeted him on a red carpet as he 

stepped off Air Force One, shaking 

the hand of his wife, Melania, and riding 

in the US presidential limousine. 

It was a warmer welcome than 

had been granted to Trump’s predecessor, 

Barack Obama, who was 

seen in the Arab kingdom as soft on 

Iran and hesitant on Syria. 

Saudi Arabia’s King Salman bin 

Abdulaziz Al Saud presented Donald 

Trump with the kingdom’s top 

civilian honour on Saturday, as the 

US President began a trip to Riyadh 

aimed at strengthening security and 

economic ties. 

The medal has also been bestowed 

to Russian President 

Vladimir Putin, British Prime Minister 

Theresa May and Trump’s predecessor, 

Barack Obama. 

Trump’s trip to Saudi Arabia, Israel, 

Italy, the Vatican and Belgium has 

been billed by the White House as a 

chance to visit places sacred to three 

of the world’s major religions, while 

US President Donald Trump (2R) and First Lady Melania Trump (C) and Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud (R) 

arriving at the Saudi Royal Court in Riyadh 

AFP 

giving Trump time to meet with 

Arab, Israeli and European leaders. 

But uproar in Washington cast 

a long shadow over the trip. The 

president’s firing of Comey and the 

appointment of a special counsel 

to investigate his campaign’s ties 

to Russia last year have triggered a 

stream of bad headlines. 

Trump and King Salman seemed 

at ease with each other, chatting 

through an interpreter. At the royal 

al-Yamama palace, the king decorated 

Trump with the King Abdulaziz medal, 

the country’s top civilian honour. 

The two leaders exchanged 

tweets, Trump saying it was great 

to be in Riyadh and King Salman 

welcoming him. Trump’s decision 

to make his first official trip abroad 

to Saudi Arabia, followed by Israel, 

countries which both share his antagonism 

towards Iran, marks a contrast 

with Obama’s approach. 

Trump’s criticism of the nuclear 

deal Iran reached with the US 

and five other world powers in 2015 

pleases both Saudi Arabia and Israel, 

who accused Obama on “going soft” 

on Tehran. • 

US President Donald Trump will use 

his first visit to the Middle East to 

call for unity in the fight against radicalism 

in the Muslim world, casting 

the challenge as a “battle between 

good and evil” and urging Arab 

leaders to “drive out the terrorists 

from your places of worship,” according 

to a draft of the speech obtained 

by The Associated Press. 

Abandoning some of the harsh 

anti-Muslim rhetoric of his presidential 

campaign, the draft of the 

speech, slated to be delivered in 

Saudi Arabia on Sunday, envisions 

new partnerships with America’s 

traditional allies in the Middle East. 

It notably refrains from mentioning 

democracy and human rights, topics 

Arab leaders often view as US 

moralising, in favour of the more 

limited goals of peace and stability. 

“We are not here to lecture, to tell 

other peoples how to live, what to do 

or who to be. We are here instead to 

offer partnership in building a better 

future for us all,” the document said. 

Trump left Washington Friday 

afternoon for Riyadh, the first stop 

on his maiden trip overseas as president. 

The trip is a key test of the 

president’s diplomatic skills and a 

chance to add substance to a foreign 

policy he has described broadly 

as “America First.” • 

Sheikh Hasina leaves for Saudi Arabia 


POLITICS 

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has left 

for Riyadh yesterday on a four-day 

official visit to Saudi Arabia to join the 

Arab Islamic-American (AIA) Summit at 

the invitation of Saudi King Salman bin 

Abdulaziz Al Saud. 

A Biman Bangladesh Airlines flight 

carrying the premier and members of 

her entourage took off from Hazrat 

Shahjalal International Airport at 

8:10pm yesterday, reports BSS. 

Industries Minister Amir Hossain 

Amu, Finance Minister Abul Maal 

Abdul Muhith, Roads and Bridges Minister 

Obaidul Quader, PM’s Advisor HT 

Imam, Chief Whip ASM Firoz, chiefs of 

three services and Cabinet Secretary S 

Shafiul Alam saw her off at the airport. 

The flight is scheduled to reach 

King Khalid International Airport at 

11:15pm local time when Bangladesh 

Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Golam 

Moshi will receive the premier who 

will be escorted to Movenpick Hotel in 

Riyadh in a ceremonial motorcade. 

During her visit, Sheikh Hasina will 

also perform holy umrah at the Haram 

Sharif in Makkah and offer ziarat at 

the Rawza Mubarak of Prophet Hazrat 

Muhammad (PBUH) in Madina. 

The Arab Islamic-American (AIA) 

Summit will be held at King Abdul Aziz 

International Conference Centre in the 

Saudi capital today to be joined by the 

Bangladesh premier along with other 

world leaders. 

She will also join the inauguration 

of the Global Centre for Combating 

Extremist Thought. 

Sheikh Hasina will also join a lunch 

to be hosted by King Saud. On May 22, 

the prime minister will leave Riyadh 

for Madina by air to offer ziarat at the 

Rawza Mubarak of Prophet Hazrat 

Muhammad (PBUH). 

Sheikh Hasina will return home on 

May 24. 

US President Donald Trump and 56 

Arab and Muslim leaders will join the 

summit to discuss ways to combat extremism 

and illicit financing under the 

summit slogan “Together We Prevail.” 

Sheikh Hasina is expected to put 

forward a number of proposals in the 

summit and meet with US President 

Donald Trump on the sidelines of the 

Arab-Islamic-American Summit, according 

to a Foreign Ministry source. • 

Banani rape: Police to probe 

leak of victims’ photos 

• Tarek Mahmud 

CRIME 

Police have said that they will take 

action against anyone found guilty 

of spreading pictures of Banani 

rape victims on social media, after 

the plaintiffs on Friday informed 

that they would lodge a further 

case under the ICT Act. 

The cyber crime unit of Detective 

Branch will investigate how the 

pictures were leaked on Facebook, 

DMP Joint Commissioner Abdul 

Baten told reporters yesterday. 

Several Facebook pages had revealed 

identities of the victims and 

published their pictures. 

Anyone revealing the identity of 

a victim can face a fine of Tk1 lakh 

and two years imprisonment under 

The Women and Children Repression 

Prevention Act 2000. 

The victims told the Dhaka Tribune 

that they would file a case under 

the ICT Act as their photos were 

stolen from their Facebook account 

and doctored to discredit them. 

Two female university students 

were raped at the Raintree Hotel 

on March 28. They filed a case 

on May 6 with Banani police against 

Shafat Ahmed, Nayem Ashraf, 

Shadman Sakif, Shafat’s driver 

Billal Hossain and his bodyguard 

Rahmat Ali. 

Police recorded the case after a 

48-hour delay. • 

TEMPERATURE FORECAST FOR TODAY 

Dhaka 37 27 Chittagong 34 28 Rajshahi 41 28 Rangpur 34 24 Khulna 39 28 Barisal 37 28 Sylhet 34 24 

Cox’s Bazar 34 28 

RAIN OR 

THUNDERSTORM LIKELY 

SUNDAY, MAY 21 

DHAKA 

TODAY 

TOMORROW 

SUN SETS 6:36PM 

SUN RISES 5:14AM 

YESTERDAY’S HIGH AND LOW 

37.8ºC 

22.1ºC 

Jessore 

Netrokona 

Source: Accuweather/UNB 

PRAYER 

TIMES 

Fajr: 4:45am | Zohr: 1:15pm 

Asr: 5:15pm | Magrib: 6:40pm 

Esha: 8:30pm 

Source: Islamic Foundation

6 


DT 

News 

Muggers thrive in easily available 

police uniforms 

• Tarek Mahmud 

CRIME 

Twelve gangs have been purchasing 

uniforms of various law enforcement 

agencies from wholesale 

markets around Dhaka, especially 

Polwel Super Market in Paltan and 

the Kachukhet market. 

According to several officials of 

Dhaka Metropolitan Police’s Detective 

Branch, police have managed 

to identify and capture about 70- 

80 racketeers from these 12 gangs 

from various drives. 

In separate drives yesterday, DB 

officials nabbed 16 fake DB men 

from the city’s Rampura and Ramna 

areas just as the criminals were 

preparing for one of their operations, 

said DMP’s Deputy Commissioner 

(Media) Masudur Rahman. 

DMP Joint Commissioner (DB) 

Abdul Baten added that the gangs 

were illegally collecting the uniforms 

from the Polwel Super Market 

and other markets where law 

enforcement agency uniforms and 

equipment are sold. 

“We have warned the shop owners 

to not sell uniforms to anyone 

other than legitimate police officials 

and have informed them that 

we will monitor their movements 

regularly,” said Baten. 

“Some form of regulations need 

to be put in place so that uniforms 

and equipment cannot be sold like 

this in wholesale markets,” he added. 

DB officials further said that on 

being released from jail, these gang 

members would again outfit themselves 

as law enforcement agents, 

especially as DB, and carried pistols, 

handcuffs and wireless sets. 

On February 13, 11 fake DB men 

who were nabbed from the city’s 

Khilgaon area confessed that they 

had previously been arrested many 

times. They also said each of their 

gangs had about 7-10 members 

each and every gang had city and 

district level sources countrywide. 

One of the arrested said each time 

they were jailed, they only needed to 

wait about three to four months before 

getting bail, since the gangs have 

legal teams on their payroll who then 

step in to ensure their release. 

The leader of the Khilgaon gang, 

Yusuf Kazi, told police while in remand 

that many mid-level police 

officials often aided the gangs in 

their criminal activities. 

DMP Counter Terrorism and 

Transnational Crimes Unit (CTTC) 

Inspector Jahirul Islam told the 

Dhaka Tribune: “The fake DB gangs 

are mostly concentrated on the 

outskirts and remote areas of the 

RAJIB DHAR 

city, and they target and mug black 

market businessmen, especially 

those who trade in gold and illegal 

money transfers.” 

Many of the arrested fake DB men 

have confessed to targeting these 

businessmen as they are the least 

likely to file complaints with the 

police. They also said they recruited 

sources whose job was to scope out 

pedestrians carrying money, and 

then targeted them on route to their 

place of business or banks. 

Often, police officials themselves 

aid these racketeers by providing 

them with police equipment 

or information. 

On April 6 this year, Uttara East 

police station Assistant Sub-Inspector 

Alamgir Hossain was arrested 

on charges of assisting criminals 

by providing them with his 

police equipment. He subsequently 

gave a confessional statement 

before the court under Section 164 

of the Criminal Procedure Code, 

admitting to his role in such criminal 

activities. 

Stating that ahead of Ramadan 

and Eid-ul-Fitr these gangs were 

getting more active, DMP Joint 

Commissioner (DB) Abdul Baten 

said the DMP would also increase 

drives against them and called for 

civil society members to help by 

going to the police with any information 

they might have about 

these criminals. • 

4 out of 28 

homosexual 

youths remanded 

• Md Sanaul Islam Tipu 

COURT 

A Dhaka court placed four homosexual 

youths on two-day remand 

each yesterday in a case filed under 

the Narcotics Control Act. 

The remanded youths are Sirajul 

Islam, Arafat Hossain, Shahadat 

Hossain, and Mehedi Hasan. 

They were arrested along with 

24 others from a gathering, which 

the arresting agency Rapid Action 

Battalion termed “a homosexual 

party,” at a community centre in 

Dhaka’s Keraniganj. 

Dhaka Senior Judicial Magistrate 

Fairuz Tasmim passed the 

order when Keraniganj Model police 

station Sub-Inspector SM Mehedi 

Hasan sought 10-day remand 

each for 16 youths, producing all of 

them before the court. 

The court asked police to interrogate 

12 of them at the jail gate. 

The court also rejected the bail 

petitions of all, and sent 12 others 

to jail. 

Keraniganj police arrested the 

youths early on Friday and filed a 

narcotics case against them in the 

afternoon. Police recovered a cache 

of drugs, especially sexual stimulating 

drugs, which under Bangladeshi 

law are banned, from their 

possession. • 

Al-Qaeda vows to avenge Mufti Hannan execution 


MILITANCY 

International terrorist group and Al-Qaeda’s 

regional wing AQIS has vowed 

to take revenge over the execution 

of HujiB top leader Mufti Abdul Hannan, 

terming the Afghan war veteran-turned-notorious 

militant leader an 

“icon of dawat and jihad in Bangladesh.” 

Labelling him a “martyr” and a “follower 

of Hazi Shariat Ullah” who spearheaded 

the Faraizi Movement against 

British rule, AQIS (al-Qaida in the Indian 

Subcontinent) in a statement recently 

said that Mufti Hannan had resisted the 

secularists’ moves to limit Islamic activities 

to mosques and madrasas, and had 

revived jihad in Bangladesh. 

Mufti Hannan, chief of a breakaway 

faction of HujiB floated officially in 1992, 

and two of his associates were hanged 

by the government on April 12 in a case 

filed over the grenade attack on the 

Shahjalal Shrine in Sylhet 13 years ago. 

The attack was aimed at killing Anwar 

Choudhury, the then UK high commissioner 

in Dhaka who was visiting 

the site, on May 21, 2004. Choudhury 

escaped death, but three people were 

killed and over 70 others sustained injuries. 

Both AQIS and Huji (Harkat-ul Jihad 

al-Islami) are headquartered in Pakistan, 

and have their local wings – Ansar 

al-Islam (previously Ansarullah Bangla 

Team) and HujiB – actively operating in 

Bangladesh. 

Reportedly formed by members of 

JMB, Hizb ut-Tahrir and Islami Chhatra 

Shibir a decade ago, Ansarullah was 

banned in 2015 and Ansar al-Islam was 

outlawed on March 5 this year. Most of 

its top leaders have been on the run. 

Mufti Hannan was allegedly patronised 

by the BNP, Jamaat and Islami 

Oikyo Jote as well as other militant 

groups in Pakistan and Afghanistan during 

1999-2005, but was finally arrested 

on October 31, 2005 – two weeks after 

the outfit was declared to be banned in 

the face of widespread condemnation 

by local and international groups. 

The latest AQIS statement, issued 

by its media wing chief Mufti Abdullah 

Ashraf, blamed the USA and India for taking 

a stance against Islam and asked the 

Muslims in Bangladesh to unite, removing 

mistrust and division between them. 

The group also mourned the death 

of Ansar al-Islam’s military and IT expert 

Mukul Rana, who was killed in an 

alleged gunfight with law enforcement 

officials in Dhaka last year. 

Mukul Rana masterminded the recent 

attacks on war crimes trial campaigners, 

secular activists and LGBT 

rights activists, police said. 

Jihadists provoked 

The AQIS statement is being discussed 

by Ansar al-Islam members on their 

Bangla platform Dawahilallah, where 

they also remembered the contribution 

of former Jamaat leader Shayakh Abdur 

Rahman, who founded the pro-al-Qaeda 

outfit Jama’atul Mujahideen Bangladesh 

(JMB) in 1998 and was executed 

in 2007. 

The forum members also criticised 

Islamic scholars and clerics linked to 

Qawmi madrasas for accepting the government’s 

recognition for Dawra-e-Hadith 

certificates after meeting with the 

prime minister recently. 

They earlier expressed grievances 

when like-minded Qawmi madrasa-based 

radical Islamist platform Hefazat-e-Islam 

had requested that the 

government remove the statue of Lady 

Justice from the Supreme Court premises, 

suggesting that they should have 

materialised the demand through street 

agitations. 

Since 2013, over a dozen of war 

crimes trial campaigners, secularists 

and LGBT activists have been killed by 

al-Qaeda supporters in Bangladesh at 

regular intervals. 

Ansar al-Islam has taken credit for 13 

attacks, in which 11 people were killed 

and six others sustained critical injuries. 

The last attack killed LGBT activists 

Xulhaz Mannan and Mahbub Tonoy on 

April 25, 2016. 

Of the 13 cases, the trial of only one 

case has so far been completed. 

After the Myanmar Army’s crackdown 

began in the Rakhine state in October 

last year, followed by attacks on 

its border outposts along Bangladesh by 

a Rohingya extremist group, both Ansar 

al-Islam and Islamic State extended 

support towards the new group named 

Harakah al-Yakin or Faith Movement, 

and urged Bangladeshi Muslims to join 

the jihad. 

Since last month, AQIS has released 

photos of two Bangladeshis who had 

been killed fighting for al-Qaeda in Afghanistan, 

calling for suicide attacks in 

Bangladesh. One of them – Tariq alias 

Sohel – was identified as the chief of 

Bangladesh operations. 

Notorious Mufti Hannan 

HujiB was formed in 1992 for “establishing 

Shariah law in Bangladesh.” The 

group later split into three factions due 

to differences over methodology. 

Between 1999 and 2005, Mufti Hannan’s 

faction was responsible for carrying 

out at least 14 attacks that killed over 

120 people and injured scores of others 

– mostly leaders and supporters of the 

Awami League, leftist parties and cultural 

activists. 

Mufti Hannan had a dozen cases 

pending against him when he was executed. 

He received the death penalty 

in the Ramna blast case while the trial 

regarding the August 21 blast case is in 

the final stage. 

According to case documents, Mufti 

Hannan had been assisted by high 

ranking government officials during the 

BNP-Jamaat rule between 2001-06 in 

carrying out attacks that included attempts 

to assassinate current Prime 

Minister Sheikh Hasina, then leader of 

the opposition, and other top leaders of 

the Awami League, as well as to terrorise 

secularists and liberals. •

News 7 


DT 

A woman crosses a street in the middle of a rainstorm. The photo was taken earlier in front of the General 

Post Office at Gulistan in Dhaka 

SYED ZAKIR HOSSAIN 

Study: 56pc city women 

stay indoors for lack of 

good transport system 

22.5pc respondents report harassment 

• UNB 

DISCUSSION 

Around 56% women in the capital city are unwilling 

to go outside their respective homes 

for lack of good transport system, while 43.5% 

say they limit their free movement due to the 

absence of adequate facilities for them, says a 

new study. 

The study titled “Gender Responsive City 

Structure” says underpass and overpass or 

foot-over bridges should be featured with 

adequate lights and CCTVs. “Unsafe routes 

should be discouraged and clearly signaling 

alternative routes.” 

ActionAid Bangladesh, in association with 

UK Aid, conducted the study. 

Dr Akter Mahmud presented the report at 

ActionAid Bangladesh’s conference room yesterday, 

marking the Global Safe Cities Day 2017. 

ActionAid Bangladesh Country Director 

Farah Kabir also spoke on its various aspects. 

The study says women’s multiple roles and 

responsibilities at home and workplace lead 

more diverse interactions with the city’s built 

ecology and their journeys are typically more 

varied and complex than men’s. 

Some 22.5% respondents mentioned about 

harassment by co-passengers, drivers, helpers 

and others, while 42% mentioned about lack 

of cooperation by auto drivers. 

Among the respondents, 71.5% said sidewalks 

and footpaths are occupied by construction 

materials, hawkers and shops. 

Some 46% respondents mentioned about 

the absence of road crossing facilities like; zebra 

crossing, foot-over bridge or underpass at 

roads and junctions. 

It was found that more than 90% public toilets 

run by the city corporations are not viable 

due to the factors like insecurity issues 96%, 

lack of facilities 54%, unhygienic and dirty environment 

91.5%. 

Respondents mentioned about the inadequacy 

of park and open spaces while 19% 

expressed annoyance for anti-social activities 

(drug and smuggling) which results 42% 

women feeling the lack of security in park and 

open spaces. 

Most urban planners and decision-makers 

are men and hence cities are not designed 

with women’s needs in their mind, leaving 

women and girls impacted by poorly planned 

urban spaces, infrastructures and services, 

the study says. 

It says city structure causes constant and 

multiple threats to women’s freedom and dignity 

in cities and reduces their contribution to 

the national economy. 

The study focused on reducing crimes with 

urban design and good maintenance of property, 

and said public spaces should be well 

lit, especially car parks, building entrances 

or access paths to public transport stops and 

stations. 

It said sharp corners, walls, pillars, fences, 

and mature landscape and other blind spots 

can make people feel unsafe. “Designing with 

visibility in mind should anticipate these and 

other possible obstacles.” 

The study suggested that the planning 

and development of playground should be 

on ward basis for male and female and playground 

of girl’s school or college should be 

considered to be open for all female users. 

It also suggested that playgrounds of 

schools and colleges should be accessible to 

community people beyond the school hours. 

“School can go for minimum charge for its 

maintenance.” 

List of playgrounds and their maps should 

be placed at various points of the ward with 

the citizen charter to establish the right of the 

people. “It’ll reduce the tendency of illegal occupation 

of playgrounds and their inappropriate 

use other than sports.” 

The study says the number of public toilets 

should be increased with fair distribution 

and these should be in a visible and well 

accessible place. • 

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Dhaka Tribune

8 


DT 

News 

Comprehensive business atmosphere 

a must to upgrade credit rating 

• Ibrahim Hossain Ovi 

BUSINESS 

Reducing energy, infrastructure 

and administrative bottlenecks, 

and boosting investment through 

comprehensive business environment 

can help Bangladesh improve 

its credit rating from ‘BB-’ says 

Standard & Poor’s (S&P). 

However, the rater said it may 

downgrade the sovereign if fiscal 

slippages result in rising public 

debt and external donor support 

declines materially. 

In its latest report released on 

May 19, the global rating agency 

S&P affirmed ‘BB-’ long-term and 

‘B’ short-term sovereign credit ratings 

on Bangladesh with a stable 

outlook in its latest report. 

S&P may upgrade Bangladesh 

if the government significantly reduces 

energy, infrastructure and 

administrative bottlenecks, and 

boosts investment, leading to a durable 

increase in trend growth for 

real per capita GDP, said the report. 

It also stressed expanding the 

revenue base and boosting collection 

efficiency that will materially 

improve Bangladesh’s fiscal performance. 

In addition, the agency may raise 

the ratings if the country’s monetary 

flexibility strengthens as seen 

in well-controlled inflation over a 

sustained period and deeper capital 

markets with market-based tools. 

“The government is not providing 

comprehensive environment 

for local and foreign investment in 

the country. As a result, there are 

challenges in attracting new investment 

from local as well as foreign 

investors,” said Centre for Policy 

Dialogue (CPD) Research Director 

Khondaker Golam Moazzem. 

“We expect Bangladesh’s gross 

external financing needs to average 

77% of current account receipts 

plus usable reserves over 2017- 

2020,” according to S&P. 

If Bangladesh can ensure investment 

friendly environment in the 

country, it will help increase the rate, 

Moazzem said, adding that the election 

time uncertainty might be another 

indicator to consider the rating. 

In the report, S&P’s forecast 

change in general government debt 

will average 2.8% of Gross Domestic 

Products (GDP) annually over the 

fiscal year 2017-2020. 

“Although Bangladesh’s external 

debt is assessed as low, the country 

faces the vulnerabilities of a low-income 

economy, fiscal constraints, 

and heavy development needs,” 

said the report. 

In addition, over 40% of the total 

government debt is denominated in 

foreign currency. Nevertheless, the 

availability of official concessional 

funding tempers the negative effect 

of high foreign currency exposure, 

it added. 

Talking on the increase in government 

debt, Moazzem said: “It is 

not alarming, but the government 

should consider the return of debt. 

The government will have to think 

that it is making costly debt.” • 

Sultana Kamal: Relief for 

haor people is insufficient 

Allegation of cheque fraud of Tk134cr 

against MP Harun 

• Manik Miazee 

DISCUSSION 

Sultana Kamal 

Chairperson of Transparency International 

Bangladesh Sultana Kamal 

yesterday said the relief allocated for 

the people of flash flood affected haor 

area is ridiculous and insufficient. 

She made the remark at a programme 

Haor Convention, jointly 

organised by Communist Party 

of Bangladesh (CPB) and Socialist 

Party of Bangladesh (SPB), at Moni 

Singh-Forhad Bhaban in Paltan area 

of Dhaka. 

“How can a five-member family 

survive for a month just with 30kg 

rice and Tk500? 

“Around 25 lakh families were affected 

in the natural disaster but the 

government could only help three 

lakh families. How would the rest of 

them survive?” Sultana asked. 

In the programme, the CPB and 

SPB leaders have asked the government 

to reopen the public fishing 

in haor area within 24 hours and to 

scrap the haor leasing policy. They 

have also called for a protest in 

Kishoreganj on June 8 and June 10. 

Mujahidul Islam Selim, president 

of CPB, asked the government and 

NGOs to provide interest free loans 

to the haor people to support them. 

The convention also proposed 

16-point demand for solving the 

problems of Haor area. • 

• Arif Mostofa, Pirojpur 

CRIME 

Bazlul Haque Harun, a member of 

parliament under Awami League of 

the Jhalokati-1 constituency, took 

Tk134 crore from his business partner 

through cheque forgery. 

Jatiya Party central committee 

Senior Joint General Secretary 

Khalilur Rahman Khalil told the 

Dhaka Tribune about this allegation 

against the MP on May 17. 

The senior joint general secretary 

said he had a business farm, 

Messrs Rumi Enterprise, in Shialkathi 

area under Bhandaria upazila. 

MP Harun was his partner. 

The farm received an order to 

build 15,000 homes for Cyclone Sidr 

victims, funded by the Saudi government, 

after the disaster struck 

the south-west coast of Bangladesh 

on November 15, 2007. 

“I had opened an account with 

Premier Bank, Bangshal branch in 

Dhaka in this regard when Harun was 

vice chairman of the bank,” he said. 

Then Harun drew money from 

the account through 388 cheques by 

forging Khalil’s signature, he alleges. 

When contacted, Khalil said he 

had informed the Anti Corruption 

Commission (ACC) and Bangladesh 

Bank authorities of the matter. 

According to a previous report 

published in January, the court 

summoned Harun in the case of 

cheque fraud to appear before 

the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate 

Court in Dhaka on June 5, after 

Khalil had filed a case against Harun 

on August 22, 2016 for embezzling 

Tk1 crore from him. 

Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate 

Abu Sayeed, taking cognizance of 

the case, issued this order. 

In this regard, the plaintiff, Khalil, 

said: “The cases of three fraudulent 

cheques against the convict, 

Bazlul Haque Harun, have been 

filed. Each of them is an embezzlement 

case of Tk1 crore.” 

He said: “I have taken bail from the 

court, though MP Bazlul Haque Harun 

filed a case of cheating and defamation 

against me in the same court.” 

“SM Shawkat Hossain Miah is 

handling the case as my lawyer,” he 

added. 

Bangla Tribune reported that the 

hearing of the case was supposed to 

be held on May 18, but Khalil could 

not reach the court and prayed time 

through his lawyer. The court has 

fixed July 13 for the next hearing. 

According to the documents of 

the prosecution, Harun took money 

as a loan from Khalil on different 

occasions for business purposes. 

To repay a part of this lent money, 

Harun gave a cheque of Tk1 crore. 

The cheque was dishonored when 

the plaintiff tried to withdraw the 

money from the Banani branch of 

Jamuna Bank in Dhaka. 

When Khalil informed Harun 

about this matter, Harun did not take 

any steps to repay the money. • 

DBCCI gets new committee 


BUSINESS 

Faruque Hassan was elected as the 

president of Dutch Bangla Chamber 

of Commerce and Industry (DBCCI) 

while Shahriar Taha as secretary 

general for 2017-2018. 

The 17th Annual General Meeting 

(AGM) of the DBCCI was held on 

Thursday, said a press release. 

Outgoing president Md Anwar 

Shawkat Afser chaired the meeting 

and handed over the charges to the 

new committee. Earlier, Faruque 

served BGMEA as the elected director 

for two consecutive tenures 2001-2002, 

2003-2004 and vice-president for two 

consecutive terms from 2009-2010, 

2011-2012 and as senior vice-president 

from 22nd September 2015 till date. 

Hassan Mahamood Chowdhury, 

managing director of Chowdhury 

Associates and Rizwan-Ur Rahman, 

managing director of ETBL Holding 

Limited, were elected as vice-presidents 

respectively. 

Its new directors are Abdul Mumit, 

Kazi Aftabur Rahman, Shams 

Mahmud, Md Shahjahan Saju, 

Kamrul Hassan Bachchu and Dr 

Ahmed Robin Ispahani, read the 

statement. •

News 

9 


DT 

Narsingdi house cordoned off 

We are not militants, say people inside 

• Tarek Mahmud and 

Asaduzzaman Ripon, 

Narsingdi 

MILITANCY 

Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) has 

cordoned off a suspected militant 

hideout in Narsingdi’s Gabtoli area. 

However, those inside the building 

claimed that they were not militants 

when contacted by the Dhaka 

Tribune. 

“We have surrounded an under-construction 

building from 

Saturday afternoon on suspicion 

that a few militants are holed up in 

the ground floor of the two-storey 

building,” RAB 11 Commanding Officer 

Lt Col Kamrul Hasan said. 

Later, RAB-11 Assistant Director 

Senior Assistant Superintendent of 

Police Alek Uddin told the Dhaka 

Tribune: "Five to six militants may 

be inside the residence. We have 

asked them to surrender, but there 

has been no response from inside 

the building." 

"We could not confirm the existence 

of any woman or child in 

the residence," he also said; adding 

that RAB and local police have cordoned 

off the residence and surrounded 

areas since 4pm. 

The decision to start an operation 

inside the den will be taken 

soon, after RAB high-ups from 

Dhaka reach the spot. 

Azar alleged that 

those inside were 

madrasa students, 

not militants 

Azar Bin Mahfuz, who claims to be 

the brother-in-law of one of those 

in the building, spoke to reporters 

after rushing to the scene upon 

hearing news of the raid. 

He alleged that those inside 

were madrasa students, not militants, 

and provided the contact 

number of his brother-in-law 

Masudur Rahman. 

When contacted, Masudur told 

the Dhaka Tribune that he was in 

the building with four others. They 

are: Salahuddin, Moshiur Rahman, 

Mojibur Rahman and Abu Zafar. 

Masudur claimed that none of 

them were militants and that four 

of them had gone to the building 

to receive private tuition from Abu 

Zafar. 

He added that the doors and 

windows of the building were unlocked, 

but law enforcement officials 

were not allowing them to 

leave. He also denied having been 

asked to surrender by the officials. 

The house is owned by Mainuddin, 

a Bangladeshi expatriate in Libya. 

His family had lived there before 

the death of his wife a year ago. 

The building has been empty 

since then. 

“One Salauddin rented the 

ground floor flat by introducing 

himself as a madrasa student one 

month ago. Five more people 

were seen residing with him in the 

house,” said Nurul Islam, owner of 

a neighbouring shop. • 

Fired FBI chief Comey to 

testify publicly in Congress 

• AFP, Washington, DC 

WORLD 

James Comey, the former FBI 

chief fired by President Donald 

Trump, has agreed to publicly 

testify about Russian interference 

in the US elections, 

as fresh allegations increased 

pressure on the American 

leader. 

In an Oval Office meeting 

with senior Russian officials 

last week, Trump called 

Comey a “nut job” and said 

firing the intelligence chief 

had relieved “great pressure” 

on him, The New York Times 

reported. 

The exchange supports 

claims that Trump sacked 

Comey over the bureau’s 

probe into possible collusion 

between the real estate mogul’s 

campaign and Moscow. 

The Washington Post 

meanwhile said the FBI has 

identified an unnamed senior 

White House official as a “significant 

person of interest” in 

its sprawling probe of Russian 

meddling in the 2016 presidential 

election. 

The reports came just as 

Trump flew to Saudi Arabia to 

kick off his first foreign trip as 

US leader – highlighting how 

the controversy over his team’s 

alleged links to Moscow is dogging 

his fledgling presidency. 

Comey will testify in open 

session of the Senate Intelligence 

Committee at some 

point after the Memorial Day 

holiday, May 29, though a date 

has not yet been set. 

The ex-FBI chief has not 

spoken publicly since his surprise 

firing last week. 

The White House has been 

thrown into turmoil by a succession 

of stunning allegations 

against the president this week, 

including that he may have 

obstructed justice by asking 

Comey to drop an investigation 

into one of his top advisors. 

REUTERS 

Moscow ties under microscope 

The latest report from the Post, 

citing unnamed sources familiar 

with the investigation, 

undercuts Trump’s insistence 

that his campaign had nothing 

to do with the Kremlin. 

Trump’s national security 

advisor Michael Flynn was 

forced to resign for misleading 

Vice President Mike Pence 

about a phone call with the 

Russian ambassador. 

The president’s son-in-law 

Jared Kushner is among those 

whose contacts with the Russian 

government have come 

under scrutiny. 

“I just fired the head of the 

FBI. He was crazy, a real nut 

job,” Trump told Russian Foreign 

Minister Sergei Lavrov last 

week, according to the Times, 

citing notes taken at the meeting 

and read to the paper by a 

US official. 

“I faced great pressure because 

of Russia. That’s taken 

o ff .” 

That flies in the face of the 

White House’s public insistence 

that Comey’s dismissal 

was not linked to his ongoing 

investigation. 

White House spokesman 

Sean Spicer did not dispute the 

Times’s account. 

Intercepted Russian communications 

suggest that Russian 

officials felt that they had 

built up such a strong relationship 

with Flynn that they could 

use him to influence Trump 

and his inner circle, CNN reported. 

It cited current and former 

administration officials as saying 

US intelligence officials 

were so concerned about the 

conversations between Flynn 

and the Russians that they 

would limit how much sensitive 

information they shared 

with him. •

10 


DT 

News 

Maduro to Trump: Get your dirty hands off Venezuela 

• Reuters, Caracas 

WORLD 

Venezuela’s leftist government let 

rip against US President Donald 

Trump on Friday, blasting a fresh 

round of US sanctions and his 

strong condemnation of the South 

American country as relations again 

sour between the ideological foes. 

“Enough meddling ... Go home, 

Donald Trump. Get out of Venezuela,” 

Venezuela President Maduro 

thundered in a speech carried on 

live TV. “Get your dirty hands out 

of here.” 

The Trump administration imposed 

sanctions on the chief judge 

and seven other members of Venezuela’s 

Supreme Court on Thursday 

as punishment for annulling 

the opposition-led Congress in a 

series of rulings this year. 

The new sanctions package was 

aimed at stepping up pressure on 

Maduro and his loyalists following 

Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro speaks, during a meeting with supporters 

at Miraflores Palace in Caracas, Venezuela May 19, 2017 

REUTERS 

a crackdown on street protests and 

efforts to consolidate his rule of 

the South American oil-producing 

country. 

At the White House on Thursday, 

Trump expressed dismay at 

how once-booming Venezuela was 

now mired in poverty, saying “it’s 

been unbelievably poorly run” and 

calling the humanitarian situation 

“a disgrace to humanity.” 

Maduro had initially urged the 

world to give Trump a chance after 

he was elected in November but his 

government unleashed its strongest 

condemnation to date of the 

President Trump’s 

aggressions against 

the Venezuelan 

people, its 

government and 

its institutions have 

surpassed all limits 

Don’t use the word 

raped, says Hefazat 

Tells women to stop free-mixing and 

men to lower their gaze 

• FM Mizanur Rahaman, 

Chittagong 

NATION 

Hefazat-e-Islam, the radical 

Islamist group, on Saturday 

urged the media not to use 

the word “raped” to describe a 

raped woman and instead call 

them “victim” or “tortured”. 

Reacting to the recent incident 

of the rape of two university 

students at Hotel Raintree 

in the capital, the radical organisation’s 

secretary general 

Allama Junayed Babunagri 

and organising secretary Azizul 

Haque Islamabadi jointly 

issued the statement. 

Signed by Mowlana Azizul 

Haque Islamabadi, the press 

statement said they demanded 

exemplary punishment 

of the accused in the Banani 

rape case and urged the government 

to ensure justice for 

the two raped university girls 

while the leaders also expressed 

their sympathy with, 

and condolence to the victims. 

In the statement, they 

also urged the journalists and 

media not to use the word 

“raped” to describe the victim 

and instead call them “victim” 

Republican president. 

“President Trump’s aggressions 

against the Venezuelan people, its 

government and its institutions 

have surpassed all limits,” said a 

government statement that accused 

Washington of seeking to 

destabilize Venezuela and foment 

foreign intervention. 

The statement also accused 

Washington of financing the Venezuelan 

opposition while ignoring 

problems at home like income inequality 

and rights violations. 

“The extreme positions of a government 

just starting off only confirmed 

the discriminatory, racist, 

xenophobic, and genocidal nature 

of US elites against humanity and 

its own people, which has now been 

heightened by this new administration 

which asserts white Anglo-Saxon 

supremacy,” the statement said. 

Among those hit with sanctions 

was Maikel Moreno, a Maduro 

ally who became president of the 

32-judge Supreme Court in February. 

All of those targeted will have US assets 

frozen and be denied travel to 

the United States, while American 

citizens will be barred from doing 

business with them, officials said. 

A senior US official warned of 

further action against “bad actors” 

if there are no changes in Venezuela. 

But sanctions so far have 

stopped short of hitting the country’s 

oil sector, which is a major US 

oil supplier. • 

or “tortured”. The Hefazat 

leader also said rapists must 

be punished, while it will be 

an injustice to a woman if she 

is termed as “raped”. 

Both the words “rapist” 

and “raped” carry a negative 

connation in society and the 

leaders opposed the use of 

“raped” in a bid to protect the 

“woman’s future and honour”, 

said the statement. 

The statement further added 

that the heinous incident 

of rape in a posh area like Gulshan 

and Banani is a symptom 

of the moral degradation of 

society. Rape, torture and repression 

of woman has been 

increasing day by day due to 

the culture of impunity in the 

country. 

The two leaders also asked 

the male youth to keep their 

gaze lowered and to fear the 

Almighty, while they asked 

the woman to stop “free-mixing” 

and to wear hijab while 

staying outside. The Hefazat 

leaders said this will help 

woman to stay safe and secure. 

The Hefazat leader also said 

rape, homosexual relations 

and unlawful sexual relations 

have increased, which indicates 

that the observance of 

Quran and Sunna is falling. •

Sharif told to resign in 7 days 

• Agencies 

WORLD 

Nawaz Sharif 

The Lahore High Court Bar 

Association (LHCBA) and the 

Supreme Court Bar Association 

(SCBA) have threatened 

to launched a countrywide 

movement calling for the 

resignation of Prime Minister 

Nawaz Sharif if the premier 

does not step down in seven 

days. 

Both bar associations are 

of the view that in light of 

the Supreme Court’s ruling 

on the Panama Papers case, 

the prime minister should 

no longer hold the position 

and should therefore resign, 

a joint notification issued by 

the two bar associations said. 

The notification from the 

two bodies came soon after 

SCBA and LHCBA members 

clashed with lawyers supporting 

the ruling Pakistan 

Muslim League - Nawaz 

(PML-N) government at the 

all Pakistan lawyers’ representatives 

convention on 

Saturday. 

The convention was called 

to reiterate the lawyers’ demand 

for Prime Minister 

Nawaz Sharif’s resignation in 

wake of the Panama case verdict 

and also discuss the role 

of the bar associations in this 

regard. 

Saturday’s clash between 

the two sides began as members 

from the PML-N’s Lawyers 

Wing tried to prevent 

members of the SCBA and 

LHCBA from reaching the 

convention stage and starting 

its proceedings. 

As the clash went on, pro- 

PML-N lawyers took SCBA 

president Rasheed A. Rizvi to 

a library on the premises and 

locked him in. Rizvi was later 

freed when the locks were 

broken by SCBA members. 

Speaking to media representatives 

after he was taken 

out of the library, Rizvi, who 

was accompanied by Secretary 

SCBA Aftab Bajwa and 

LHCBA President Zulfiqar 

Chaudhry, asserted that the 

convention would be held 

under any circumstances. • 

IFAD Autos to buy equity stake 

of Gulf Oil Bangladesh 

News 11 


REUTERS 

Settlers announce counter 

programs in Khagrachhari 


NATION 

Three Bangali settler groups in Khagrachhari 

called the political counter programmes 

in the district, created panic among locals. 

Sources said Parbatya Bangali Chhatra 

Parishad (Lokman-Mazid Panel) called an 

anti-militant mass gathering in district 

town yesterday where Parbatya Bangali 

Chhatra Parishad (Main-Masum Panel) also 

DT 

called a hartal and Parbatya Chattagram Somo-Odhikar 

Andolon announced a blockade 

across the district on the same day. 

However, law enforcement agencies restricted 

all the gatherings. Md Rashedul Islam, 

deputy commissioner of Khagrachari, 

said: “We did not give them permissions as 

several factions announced plans to hold programme 

in the same places and time.” 

Leaders of Parbatya Bangali Chhatra Parishad 

alleged their gathering was foiled by all 

the other parties announcing programmes 

at the same time. • 

• Tribune Report 

BUSINESS 

IFAD Autos Limited, a leading 

assembler and seller of 

vehicles, has recently signed 

an agreement with Gulf Oil 

Bangladesh Limited (GOBL) 

on buying 49% of its equity 

stakes at a cost of USD1.685 

million. 

The company made the 

announcement by a price 

sensitive information (PSI) 

statement on Thursday after 

the end of trading hours. 

GOBL, the subsidiary company 

of Gulf Oil International 

Limited (UK), is engaged in 

importing and selling lubricants, 

greases and car care 

products in Bangladesh. 

Purchase of the new company 

will diversify the revenue 

stream of IFAD Autos, 

which currently deals with 

only assembling and selling of 

vehicles and spare parts, said 

an equity research analyst. 

IFAD Autos will finance 

the investment with its own 

fund and the management 

expects the investment to 

contribute a profit of approximately 

Tk4.36cr next year, 

said the statement. 

According to the Dhaka 

Stock Exchange website, 

IFAD Autos currently has 

15.5 crore shares outstanding, 

suggesting the expected 

profit next year from the 

investment in GOBL will be 

Tk0.28 per share. 

On April 30, IFAD Autos 

reported earnings per share 

of Tk2.01 during the first nine 

months (ending in March 

2017) of its operation in Fiscal 

Year 2017. 

Stock price of IFAD Autos 

closed at Tk137.4 on Thursday 

after registering a gain of 

6.5% over the last week. 

The stock was the mostly 

traded in Dhaka Stock Exchange 

last week contributing 

3% to the total turnover. • 

Govt branding PCJSS’s struggle as 

terrorism: Santu Larma 

• Ziaul Haque, Rangamati 

NATION 

Parbatya Chattagram Jana 

Samhati Samiti (PCJSS) 

President Jyotirindra 

Bodhipriyo Larma, aka Santu 

Larma, has alleged that the 

government and the army 

are branding their struggle 

to realise their demands as 

terrorism. 

“Jana Samhati Samiti is 

still fighting to realise their 

demands. But the government 

of Sheikh Hasina and 

the army in the hill tracts region 

are trying to demolish 

the struggle by branding it as 

terrorism,” he said. 

The PCJSS chief was addressing 

the 28th founding 

anniversary of Pahari Chhatra 

Parishad (PCP) at Khudra 

Nrigostir Cultural Institute 

yesterday. 

Jyotirindra Bodhipriyo 

Larma, also the chairman of 

the Chittagong Hill Tracts Regional 

Council, alleged that 

the present government was 

backing up those who are opposing 

the hard-earned CHT 

Peace Accord. •

DT 

12 

Editorial 


TODAY 

Culture war, who 

is it good for? 

Agreeing to disagree peacefully is the key 

to diversity and freedom 

PAGE 13 

We are moving 

forward 

Life expectancy at birth in Bangladesh 

today stands at 72 years, expected years 

of schooling at 10.2 years, adult literacy 

rate at 61.5 and gross national income 

(GNI) per capita at $3,341 

PAGE 14 

BIGSTOCK 

When a child is wrongfully accused 

Is Tony Blair back? 

Tony Blair’s Britain is gone. It has been 

swallowed whole by the 2008 Global 

Financial Crisis 

PAGE 15 

Be heard 

Write to Dhaka Tribune 

FR Tower, 8/C Panthapath, 

Shukrabad, Dhaka-1207 

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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. 

Many of the children being held in juvenile detention centres 

in the country are guilty of nothing other than being at the 

wrong place at the wrong time. 

These minors are being treated as criminals, when they 

are, in fact, the victims. 

What is most inexcusable is that children are often hauled off to 

these detention centres without knowledge of their parents. 

It is of utmost importance that we reach out and help children who 

have been wrongfully accused of crimes. 

At any rate, a child should never be locked up without knowledge of 

their adult guardian. 

It goes without saying that it is a terrible thing for a parent to think 

their child may have died or been abducted when they are actually in 

custody. 

To this end, some pro bono lawyers like Samir Afza and Roksana Reza 

deserve kudos for doing some good work towards tracking down the 

families of these detained children and preparing their case arguments. 

Ultimately, it is a failure of the system to give these children a fair 

chance, and a good education. 

Many of them are victims of circumstance, and get caught up in 

activities without full knowledge of what they are being used for. 

Poor children are the most neglected and most vulnerable group of 

people, and, clearly, we are failing to protect them. 

The rights of children locked up in detention must never be 

forgotten, and proper investigations must be done to determine guilt. 

In the longer term, the issue of poverty, which is the root cause of 

this problem, must be addressed. 

Ultimately, it is a failure 

of the system to give 

these children a fair 

chance, and a good 

education

Opinion 13 

DT 


Culture war, 

who is it 

good for? 

Absolutely no one 

• Asif Baul 

For those about to rock, we 

salute your patience. 

It can’t be much fun for 

heavy metal fans in Dhaka 

if concerts they look forward to 

keep getting cancelled at the last 

minute. 

The recent detention of two 

Brazilian bands as their sold out 

event was nixed for unexplained 

“security concerns” is not the first 

time authorities have seemingly 

conspired against metal-heads. 

Racism, the pursuit of bribery, 

rabid Argentina fans in customs -- 

they all appear amid a motley crew 

of internet theories about how 

and why airport staff detained the 

innocent band members. 

That the Home Ministry had 

the wit to confirm all necessary 

security and tax clearances 

had been properly obtained 

by organisers and nobody was 

formally arrested only makes the 

After all, even in the heyday 

of Aurora, Donnington, and San 

Dimas -- when it was the single 

best-selling genre around the 

world -- heavy metal was still 

mostly an acquired taste. 

Thankfully, for the Brazilians, 

their detention was only a 

temporary inconvenience. 

Private lives 

Just imagine, however, what it 

must be like for gay people in 

Bangladesh. 

Discriminatory laws literally 

make them outlaws. 

Every day. 

Even though when it comes to 

the private lives of other adults, 

“live and let live” and “looking 

the other way” come naturally 

to most people, homosexuals 

in Bangladesh are still prey to 

prejudice and arbitrary arrests. No 

surprise so many live in the closet. 

The coverage of RAB’s 

detention of dozens of people 

Unjust laws need to be removed urgently 

BIGSTOCK 

Agreeing to disagree peacefully is the key to 

diversity and freedom 

episode more of a disgrace. 

Anyone with experience of 

Dhaka airport will sympathise 

with the band’s statement 

that they were victims “of a 

great misunderstanding and 

experienced more than 10 

hours of pure prejudice and 

misinformation.” 

Inevitably, there was an 

eruption of outrage across social 

media. 

Quite right too. Bangladeshis 

are no strangers to metal, or 

musicians from overseas. 

Sadly, the only apologies 

proffered to the bands seem to 

have come from embarrassed local 

fans. 

But, at least, metal fans are of 

a type to revel in outlaw status 

anyway, despite the great Venn 

diagram of rock ’n’ roll pointing to 

a crossover or three. 

at “a homosexual party” in 

Keraniganj amplifies fears aroused 

by last year’s brutal murder of 

Xulhaz Mannan, editor of the gay 

magazine Roopbaan, 

Official statements may now 

refer more to possession of drugs 

and complaints from locals, but no 

big drug dealer was discovered in 

the raid. 

More to the point, if RAB’s 

spokesperson says: “They usually 

get together once every two 

months,” then, as responses go, it 

was hardly Usain Bolt was it? 

No, what looks like harassment 

of people primarily because of 

their sexual orientation is just that. 

And probably politically motivated 

to boot. 

RAB has far too many violent 

criminals to catch to be interested 

in turning into the sex police. 

Including finding Xulhaz’s 

murderers for a start. But instead, 

these arrests do the exact 

opposite. 

They send a message that the 

state would rather portray itself 

as standing on the side of the 

prejudiced rather than working 

to protect citizens by fighting 

homophobia and catching brutal 

killers. 

Wow, that got serious quickly. 

Get back to the music. 

Fact: Heavy metal only appeals 

to a minority of people. Not that 

there’s anything wrong with that. 

It is, of course, ludicrous 

and unfair that airport officials 

harassed some Brazilian musicians 

and elite law enforcers are tracking 

and crashing homosexual parties. 

A waste of time and common 

sense all round. 

A nagging undercurrent 

Having a party or putting on a 

concert is not a crime. 

Just as no means no, rape is 

wrong, blaming the victim even 

more so, what matters about any 

rape case, it ought to be selfevident 

civil servants should not 

be interfering with people’s private 

lives or acting as self-appointed 

guardians of the public’s musical 

tastes. 

Basic principles, simple enough 

to be instinctively understood by 

all. 

But a nagging undercurrent 

remains. Religious fanatics of 

the type who actually do want to 

fight against the right to party are 

at large (and to varying extents 

always have been). 

Pandering to the prejudices of 

such types is sometimes perceived 

to be politically popular. 

That’s why it is sometimes 

allowed to happen with impunity. 

And each time authorities 

mistreat, ignore or connive in 

attacks on minorities of any type 

-- or in the case of women, the 

majority -- and get away with it -- a 

precedent is set for extremists to 

demand even more the next time 

round. 

And the next. 

The means are murky but the 

direction this path can lead to is 

not a happy one. 

Regardless of class, disability, 

gender, ethnic heritage, 

nationality, religion, sexual 

orientation, how much you earn, 

what you own, and where and how 

you live -- nothing good can come 

of compromise with forces of hate. 

Guardians of morality 

Abuses of power by the greedy, 

ignorant, and sanctimonious are 

bad enough. 

Throw in hypocrisy and 

politicians posturing as guardians 

of morality and they become 

gateway drugs which only end up 

strengthening religious extremists 

that want to exert control over the 

lives of others. 

Unjust laws which enable law 

enforcers to harass or persecute 

minorities need to be removed 

from the statute books urgently. 

Otherwise, they will be used and 

misused again and again. 

Cultural divides and differing 

tastes are an inevitable part of 

life. Beware of letting inevitable 

debates about culture -- which 

changes and adapts all the time 

-- turn prejudice into conflict and 

division. Wars demand winners. 

And losers. 

Agreeing to disagree peacefully 

is the key to diversity and 

freedom. Without freedom, all in 

society lose the game. Only fools 

and fanatics want everybody to be 

and think the same way. • 

Asif Baul is an occasional compere and 

stand-up comedian.

14 


DT 

Opinion 

We are moving forward 

Bangladesh has managed to adjust to, and, in many ways, perform remarkably well in spite of, 

changing economic dynamics 

P O S T 

BREAKFAST 

• Muhammad Zamir 

In March, Misuhiro Furusawa, 

the deputy managing director 

of the International Monetary 

Fund (IMF) discussed the 

issue of global growth’s evolving 

patterns through 2016 to 2017, 

the existing challenges which 

needed to be overcome and also 

the geopolitical factors that were 

relevant for Bangladesh. 

He identified that global 

economic activity is expected to 

accelerate in 2017 and 2018 and 

recognised that the Bangladesh 

economy had undergone a major 

transformation in the recent past. 

He acknowledged the 

industrial sector in general and 

the expanding garments industry 

for helping reduce poverty and 

raising the employment of women, 

citing that poverty has not only 

been nearly halved over the last 

two decades but that inequality 

had also remained low and stable, 

defying the regional trend. 

It was also agreed that 

indicators suggested that good 

progress had been achieved in the 

recent past in financial inclusion 

and in enhancing the access and 

usage of financial services. In his 

opinion, these elements meant 

higher foreign exchange reserves, 

lower public debt as a share 

of GDP, and lower underlying 

inflation. 

Phe proposals 

He, however, also identified some 

major challenges that needed 

to be addressed by the relevant 

authorities. 

He pointed out (a) the need 

to increase private investment 

and also to significantly enhance 

public investment in order to 

maintain competitiveness and 

(b) pursuing capital market 

development to provide “new 

vehicles to channel savings toward 

long-term investments.” 

Boosting FDI and implementing 

the VAT law were proposed as 

means for achieving these goals. 

Consistent with his 

conservative approach it was 

reiterated that “policies to remove 

red tape and simplify the trade 

regime should be put in place.” 

This needed to be done on a 

priority basis along with structural 

reforms, strengthening institutions 

and capacity development. 

It was also underlined that 

sustaining strong medium-term 

growth will require “a stable 

security situation to avoid adverse 

effects on market confidence.” 

One has to admit that this 

was a constructive appraisal 

that would work even better if 

we can continue strengthening 

institutional and human capacity. 

This was followed by the 

IMF assessment in April that 

Bangladesh is likely to achieve 

6.9% GDP growth in 2016-17 

financial year (FY 17). It may be 

recalled that the World Bank has 

also recently projected a 6.8% GDP 

growth for Bangladesh in 2017, 

a slight fall from 7.1% achieved 

during last fiscal year. The Asian 

Development Bank in the first 

week of April also projected that 

there would be a 6.9% growth in 

our GDP. 

In response, Finance Minister 

Muhith has however stated with 

optimism that there would be 7.4% 

growth during Financial Year 2018 

(2017-18). 

At this juncture it will be 

essential to note that reports 

published at the end of the first 

week of April have indicated that 

exports in general have grown 

by 3.97% to $25.94 billion in the 

first nine months of the current 

financial year. 

It was $24.95bn in the same 

period during the last fiscal year. 

During this period of the current 

FY, March was pivotal. 

Exports during this month rose 

by 9.83% to $3.10bn as compared 

to the corresponding month 

during 2016. It would however 

be important to note here that 

overall export receipts from woven 

garments registered a marginal 

growth of 0.18% while knitwear 

managed to grow by 4.85% during 

the nine months under review. 

The president of the BGMEA has 

attributed this marginal growth to 

a decline in global demand and in 

apparel prices. 

It has also been indicated 

that Bangladesh is losing 

its competitiveness in the 

international market due to 

The Bangladesh economy went through a major transformation in the recent past 

Life expectancy at birth in Bangladesh today stands at 72 years, 

expected years of schooling at 10.2 years, adult literacy rate at 61.5 and 

gross national income (GNI) per capita at $3,341 

devaluation of the Euro against 

the US dollar and the continuing 

strength of the Bangladesh Taka 

as compared to currencies of our 

competitors. 

Promising avenues 

There has however been a 

promising scenario in both the 

leather and jute sector. Leather 

and leather product exports have 

increased by 8.41% to $922.96 

million during the current nine 

month period of FY2016-17 as 

compared to $851.33m during the 

same period of last fiscal year. 

Similarly, jute and jute goods 

fetched $731.02 m in the first nine 

months of this fiscal year. This was 

a welcome increase of 13.94% over 

the corresponding period of last 

fiscal. 

This was particularly good 

news given the fact that jute 

exporters have faced difficulty in 

India with threats of anti-dumping 

regulations being put in place with 

regard to import of this item from 

Bangladesh. 

Exporters involved in jute trade 

in Bangladesh have also faced 

severe difficulty because of the ongoing 

war in Yemen and recurring 

instability in Egypt and Sudan. 

However while these aspects 

reflect a degree of positivity 

within the economic equation, it 

is also pertinent to point out that 

Bangladesh’s merchandise trade 

deficit with the rest of the world, 

according to the Bangladesh 

Bank, has reached $6.08bn 

during the first eight months of 

the current fiscal- 2016-17. This is 

an increase by $1.90bn in terms 

of trade deficit as compared to 

FY2015-16 for the same period. 

It has been pointed out that 

this rise in the deficit has resulted 

largely due to higher import 

payments by 10.15% -- mostly 

related to capital machinery. 

One supposes that 

improvement in the quality of 

our products and the need for 

diversification in our exports have 

partially caused this paradigm. 

Glass half empty 

This evolving matrix has been 

the source of introspection and 

discussion among economists in 

our country. Some have described 

the scenario as the glass being 

half-empty. Others have called it 

half-full. 

Those terming it as half-full 

have also drawn the attention 

of others to the different MOUs 

signed during the recent visit of 

Chinese President XI Jinping to 

Bangladesh in October, 2016 and 

the visit of Prime Minister Sheikh 

Hasina to New Delhi in the first 

BIGSTOCK 

half of April. 

Those with a positive approach 

are pointing out the enhanced 

possibilities of Foreign Direct 

Investment in our infrastructure 

and the consequent benefits 

related to growth in employment 

and economic and trade related 

opportunities. 

In the meantime, on April 19, it 

has also been revealed that FDI in 

the country has risen by 4.40% in 

the last calendar year. 

No analysis of the evolving 

dynamics in the economic 

front can however be complete 

without referring to the human 

development index. Bangladesh 

has fallen in the “medium human 

development” category for the 

13th consecutive year in the 2016 

Human Development Report by 

UNDP. 

Our social indicators depict 

that we are doing better in health, 

education, and life-expectancy 

at birth -- and that our per capita 

income is moving upwards 

steadily. 

Life expectancy at birth in 

Bangladesh today stands at 72 

years, expected years of schooling 

at 10.2 years, adult literacy rate at 

61.5, and gross national income 

(GNI) per capita at $3,341. Not bad 

at all. 

We are moving forward. There 

can be no doubt about that. • 

Muhammad Zamir, a former 

Ambassador and Chief Information 

Commissioner of the Information 

Commission, is an analyst specialized in 

foreign affairs, right to information and 

good governance, can be reached at 

muhammadzamir0@gmail.com.

Is Tony Blair back? 

In Theresa May’s Britain, many will cheer the return of Blair 

Opinion 15 

DT 


Will Blair give false hope to centrists? 

• Azeem Ibrahim 

Since Blair’s intervention in 

the ongoing Brexit debate 

in the interview in the 

Mirror on May 1, many 

in the liberal centre of British 

politics have been hailing his 

announced return as some kind 

of providential deliverance from 

the craziness of Britain’s current 

political landscape. 

There is no doubt that Tony 

Blair wants to return to the 

political spotlight. He says so 

himself, and some observers 

have traced a pretty credible 

analysis of the PR campaign being 

waged to rehabilitate his public 

image. We can observe intent 

and commitment. But this is no 

guarantee of success. 

Tony Blair is still hailed by his 

fans as one of the most successful 

politicians of his generation. 

And that is a fact that cannot be 

denied, whether you are a fan of 

his record in government or not. 

That record of success is what 

drives the hopes of the liberal 

centre-left that he can do it again. 

That he will make a success of this 

comeback, just as he has made a 

success of the Labour party in the 

90s. 

What is missing from the 

analysis is the extent to which 

politicians, and the success they 

enjoy is a product not just of their 

own force of personality or of 

their policies, but in fact, mostly a 

product of the times. 

In other words, Tony Blair is about 

as likely to succeed in his political 

comeback as Margaret Thatcher 

would have been if she had 

attempted a political comeback in 

2001. 

Which is to say, not very. 

Though it is not difficult to 

understand why he would appeal 

to a large part of the electorate 

considering the state of politics 

at the moment in the UK and the 

Labour Party in particular. 

Cool Britannia 

It is easy to be nostalgic about the 

lost glories of “Cool Britannia,” 

much as we loved to deride its 

kitsch even back then. In the late 

90s and early 2000s, Britain was 

a self-confident, assertive, and 

successful country. 

And Tony Blair was a leader 

that perfectly embodied the spirit 

of that age. 

Just as many of Britain’s earlier 

leaders embodied the spirit of 

their ages: Margaret Thatcher, 

Harold Wilson, Harold Macmillan, 

Clement Atlee, Winston Churchill, 

and so on. Tony Blair will be 

remembered in that succession of 

memorable leaders who perfectly 

represented the Britain of their 

times. 

But Tony Blair’s Britain is gone 

It has been swallowed whole 

by the 2008 Global Financial 

Crisis. Today’s Britain is petty, 

meagre, fearful, inward looking, 

and with uncharacteristically 

illiberal leanings. Today’s Britain 

is not looking at how to build a 

better future for all of us, but it is 

looking at who to blame for our 

society’s failings. Today’s Britain 

has a greater affinity to Nigel 

Farage’s political persona: Small, 

insular, gobby, and driven by 

Tony Blair’s Britain is gone. It has been swallowed whole by the 2008 

Global Financial Crisis 

unarticulated, uncomprehending 

rage, than it has with the hopeful, 

confident, and assured stride that 

it used to cut in the heyday of 

Tony Blair’s premiership. 

And Blair’s revived interest 

in front-line politics is not going 

to change that. All it will do, is 

exactly all that it has done so far: 

Give false hope to the demoralised 

liberal centrists who still yearn for 

the glory days of “Cool Britannia.” 

The rest of the country has 

moved on. We may lament the 

direction in which it has moved 

on. Where it is now is indeed 

lamentable. But just as Tony Blair, 

Peter Mandelson, and the rest of 

REUTERS 

the old Blairite cadre chide the 

Corbyn wing of the Labour party 

for living in the 70s, so they are 

guilty of living in the 90s. 

And neither will deliver any 

success to the progressive cause 

in Britain while they are stuck in 

their own anachronisms. 

This is why Theresa May is 

dominating the political field as 

she is at the moment. 

May is a better embodiment 

of the spirit of our time than 

any other political leader we 

have on the national stage: That 

schizophrenic mixture of quiet, 

reserved, old-school, elegant 

British pragmatism of her ordinary 

character, and the shrill, impotent, 

defiant, jingoistic, reactionary 

rage at our collective inability to 

pull ourselves out of the current 

national malaise. 

Theresa May dances perfectly 

to the tune of modern Britain. 

Tony Blair’s return, on the other 

hand, is just as likely to cheer up 

the audience. • 

Azeem Ibrahim is Senior Fellow at 

the Centre for Global Policy and Adj 

Research Professor at the Strategic 

Studies Institute, US Army War College. 

He tweets @AzeemIbrahim. This article 

first appeared on Al Arabiya News.

16 


DT 

Downtime 

CROSSWORD 

ACROSS 

1 Very poor person (6) 

4 Jump on one leg (3) 

7 Oily fruit (5) 

8 Black birds (6) 

11 Early freshness (3) 

12 Part of the eye (4) 

13 At all times (4) 

15 Precipitous (5) 

16 Inn (5) 

20 Domestic animals (4) 

23 Fondness (4) 

24 Corded fabric (3) 

25 Followed orders (6) 

26 Perfect (5) 

27 Resting place (3) 

28 Tempt (6) 

DOWN 

1 European capital (5) 

2 Gift (7) 

3 Flower (4) 

4 Conceal (4) 

5 Above (4) 

6 Church seat (3) 

9 Craft (3) 

10 Contend in rivalry (3) 

14 Intense in force (7) 

17 Plaything (3) 

18 First woman (3) 

19 Shelf-like surface (5) 

20 Yield (4) 

21 Copied (4) 

22 Part of a shoe (4) 

24 Curved bone (3) 

CODE-CRACKER 

How to solve: Each number in our 

CODE-CRACKER grid represents a 

different letter of the alphabet. For 

example, today 17 represents N so fill N 

every time the figure 17 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 


DT 

EVENTS AROUND TOWN TODAY 

EDUCATION 

MOVIE 

SCREENING 

STAR CINEPLEX 

Where Bashundhara City, Dhaka 

What Movie showtime (May 21) 

MEET UNIVERSITY OF TASMANIA- AUSTRALIA 

When 2-6pm 

Where Executive Trade International, Concord Royal Court 

(3rd floor), House 40, Road: 27(old) 16(new), Dhanmondi 

What Free spot assessment and information session by the 

University of Tasmania, Australia. 

QUESTION AND ANSWER SESSION ON RESEARCH 

When 12-1pm 

Where Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Curzon Hall, 

University of Dhaka, Dhaka 

What Open seminar and Q/A session on research 

methodology. The event will be conducted by Dr Md Atiqur 

Rahman Ahad, associate professor, EEE, Dhaka University 

and Dr Sakhawat Hussain, assistant professor, EEE, Dhaka 

University 

WORKSHOP 

King Arthur: Legend of the Sword 

(3D): 11:00am, 1:45pm, 4:20pm, 

7:00pm 

Smurfs: The Lost Village (3D): 

11:30am, 1:30pm 

Fast & Furious 8 (3D): 10:50am, 

1:40pm, 4:30pm, 7:20pm 

Beauty and the Beast (3D): 3:50pm, 

6:50pm 

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2 (3D): 

10:50am, 1:40pm, 4:30pm, 7:20pm 

Dhat Teri Ki (2D): 1:50pm, 7:10pm 

Bhubon Majhi (2D): 11:10am, 

4:50pm 

Alien: Covenant (2D): 11:20am, 

2:00pm, 4:40pm, 7:30pm 

BLOCKBUSTER CINEMAS 

Where Jamuna Future Park, Dhaka 

What Movie showtime (May 21) 

Rings (2D): 2:50pm, 5:05pm 

PRE IPL SCREENING MUSICAL SHOW 

When 7-8pm 

Where Cuppa Coffee Lounge, Gulshan 2 Circle, Dhaka 

What Live Music performance by Sargam and game 

screening. 

AMERICAN CENTER CINEMA 

When 3-5pm 

Where The American Center, Plot No -1, Progati Sharani, 

J-Block, Baridhara, Dhaka 

What Screening a movie on women and technology titled 

“Hidden Figures”, followed by discussion. 

MATCHDAY GET-TOGETHER | CHELSEA VS 

SUNDERLAND 

When 7:30-10:30pm 

Where Kabooz, 741, Satmosjid Road, 9/A Dhanmondi, Dhaka 

What Live screening of a Premier League match. Entry fee 

Tk300. 

CAREER 

GATEWAY TO SUCCESS: INTRODUCTION TO 

EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE 

When 5-7:30pm 

Where EMK Center, Midas Center Building, House 5, Road 16 

(old 27), Dhanmondi, Dhaka 

What Workshop to help the participants understand what 

Emotional Intelligence is along with its importance. For 

more information go to facebook.com/MindMechanics. 

Bangladesh/ 

Tumi Robe Nirobe (2D): 1pm, 3pm, 

5pm, 7pm 

The Shack (2D): 12:10pm, 7:25pm 

Power Rangers (2D): 11:40am, 

2:15pm 

Fast and Furious 8 (3D): 11:40am, 

2:20pm, 5pm, 7:40pm 

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2 (3D): 

5pm, 7:45pm 

Alien: Covenant (2D): 11:45am, 

2:25pm, 5:05pm, 7:40pm 

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DT 

18 

Sports 


Bowlers get Mashrafe 

seal of approval 

• AFP, Dublin 

Mashrafe bin Mortaza was a satisfied 

captain after Bangladesh 

swept aside Ireland to win their 

first match in the one-day international 

Tri-Series. 

A much-improved bowling 

performance, after Mortaza 

won the toss, put the Tigers in 

control and they knocked off 

the 182 runs required for victory 

inside 28 overs, for the loss of 

just two wickets, with Soumya 

Sarkar finishing 87 not out from 

68 balls with 11 fours and two 

sixes. 

“We didn’t take early wickets 

in the last match but this time 

the bowlers did a really good 

job and that’s something we are 

looking for all the time,” said 

Mashrafe. 

“Winning the toss was crucial 

as there was some moisture 

and both fast bowlers used it 

well.” 

Mustafizur Rahman took the 

wicket of the dangerous Paul 

Stirling with his third ball, and 

although Rubel Hossain did 

not take a wicket his pace and 

movement consistently troubled 

the Ireland batsmen. 

The introduction of Mosaddek 

Hossain accounted for Ireland 

captain William Porterfield 

and when Shakib al Hasan also 

struck in his second over, Ireland 

were 61 for three in the 

15th over. 

Ed Joyce, playing his first 

match of the series, and Niall 

O’Brien, who scored a century 

against New Zealand in their 

previous match, led a recovery 

of sorts. 

However, Mustafizur returned 

to have Niall caught at 

third man, inches inside the 

boundary, and when Joyce followed 

in the next over, the first 

international wicket for debutant 

slow left armer Sanjamul 

Islam, Ireland were back in 

trouble at 126 for five. 

Mustafizur added the wickets 

of Kevin O’Brien and Gary 

Wilson to finish an impressive 

nine overs with four for 23. 

“Early wickets always put 

pressure on a team but Tamim 

Iqbal and Soumya batted really 

well and scored at seven an 

over for the first 10 overs which 

was important for us,” added 

Mashrafe. 

The partnership was ended 

Former England captain and Chelsea footballer John Terry was presented 

with a special WWE belt by veteran wrestler Triple H. Here, Terry poses 

with the belt at Stamford Bridge 

INTERNET 

at 95 but another stand of 76 

between Soumya and Sabbir 

Rahman (34 off 35 balls), also at 

seven runs an over, eased Bangladesh 

towards the finishing 

line and gives Mashrafe hope 

that they can be more competitive 

in the final game against 

New Zealand on Wednesday. 

“We’re looking forward to 

it, we had a chance in the last 

match but didn’t go through 

with it, but if we play as well as 

we did today there is a chance to 

win the game,” he added. 

The next match in the series 

is today with Ireland’s final 

game against New Zealand and 

Joyce is looking for a big finish 

from the host. 

“New Zealand had a very 

good win against Bangladesh,” 

said Joyce. 

“But if we bat the way we 

have done in the last three 

games without giving silly 

wickets away like we did [Friday] 

we can put up a decent 

total, and then the bowlers are 

capable of putting up a good 

performance like they did in the 

first two games. 

“But they weren’t so good 

[Friday].” • 

Sylhet franchise set to 

return to BPL T20 


The upcoming edition of the BPL 

T20 is all set to become an eightteam 

affair as Sylhet franchise are 

likely to return after missing the 

2016 season. 

We are in discussion 

of having Sylhet as 

the third venue for 

the tournament this 

year 

Member of the BPL governing 

council, Sheikh Sohel in a press 

conference yesterday said the Sylhet 

franchise are set to come back 

in the tournament under the patronisation 

of Bangladesh Finance 

Minister Abul Maal Abdul Muhith. 

However, the name of the company 

that will have the franchise right 

of the BPL outfit Sylhet was not revealed. 

“We did not sell Sylhet franchise 

last season because we were waiting 

for a good company to come up for 

the franchise. The Finance Minister 

showed interest to patronise this 

team now and I believe it is a very 

good option for us. I hope the team 

will run smoothly and professionally 

under his (Abul Maal Abdul Muhith) 

leadership,” Sohel told the media. 

The BCB had cut off the agreement 

with the previous owner of 

Sylhet franchise, Alif Group, who 

failed to clear the team fee to cricket’s 

governing body in the country 

and make payments to the players 

in the 2015 season of the money-spinning 

tournament. 

Meanwhile, Sylhet is likely to 

emerge as the third venue in the 

impending edition of the tournament, 

alongside Dhaka and Chittagong. 

The next BPL is likely to be 

held in December this year. 

“We are in discussion of having 

Sylhet as the third venue for the 

tournament this year. If everything 

falls into place, the Sylhet Divisional 

Stadium will be part of the tournament,” 

Sohel informed. • 

U-19 preliminary 

squad named for 

tournament in 

India 


The BCB yesterday announced a 24-member 

preliminary Bangladesh U-19 squad. 

With 12 batsmen, two wicket-keepers, four 

spinners and six pacers, the squad will undergo 

a month-long training camp at the 

BCB National Cricket Academy. The camp 

will be held from May 21-June 23 in order to 

prepare the young cricketers for a proposed 

multi-nation U-19 tournament, likely to be 

hosted by India. The cricketers have been 

asked to report at the BCB NCA today. 

SQUAD 

Saif Hasan, Sojib Hossain, Pinak Ghosh, 

Naim Sheikh, Mohammad Jalal Uddin, 

Afif Hossain, Tawhid Ridoy, Aminul Islam 

Biplob, Rayan Rafsan Rahman, Shamim 

Hossain Patwary, Habibur Rahman 

Maruf, Mohammad Rakib, Mahidul Islam 

Bhuiyan Ankon, Shakil Hossain, Monir 

Hossain, Saidul Islam Pramanik, Nayeem 

Hasan, Shakhawat Hossain, Qazi Onik 

Islam, Yeasin Arafat, Mukidul Islam, Mohammad 

Abdul Halim, Hasan Mahmud 

and Robiul Haque •

Sports 

19 


DT 

DPL, ROUND 11 

DOLESHWAR 247/6 in 47.1 overs 

(Marshall 83, Shahriar 69) beat 

ABAHANI 246/7 (Afif 94, Sunny 2/34) 

by four wickets 

RUPGANJ 277/5 in 49.2 overs (Dar 99, 

Mahmudul 70) beat PARTEX 272/9 

(Saxena 91, Rasel 4/38) by five wickets 

VICTORIA 234/9 (Uttam 49, Bisla 

3/39) lost to BROTHERS 235 in 49.1 

overs (Bisla 78, Monir 5/38) by one run 

POINTS TABLE 

Teams Mat Won Lost Pts 

Gazi 10 9 1 18 

Abahani 11 8 3 16 

Doleshwar 11 8 3 16 

Prime 10 7 3 14 

Jamal 10 6 4 12 

Mohammedan 10 6 4 12 

Rupganj 11 6 5 12 

Brothers 11 5 6 10 

Kalabagan 10 3 7 6 

Khelaghar 10 3 7 6 

Partex 11 1 10 2 

Victoria 11 1 10 2 

FIXTURES 

TODAY’S MATCHES 

Kalabagan v Khelaghar, BKSP 4 

Mohammedan v Jamal, BKSP 3 

Prime v Gazi, Fatullah Rupganj’s Syed Rasel bowls during their DPL game against Partex in Fatullah yesterday MD MANIK 

Sensational Brothers edge Victoria 


Brothers Union picked up a sensational 

one-run win over Victoria 

Sporting Club to end their season 

with five wins in the Dhaka Premier 

Division Cricket League 2016- 

17 season yesterday. 

Prime Doleshwar Sporting Club 

defeated holder Abahani Limited 

by four wickets as both the sides 

qualified for the six-team Super 

League phase. Abahani finished 

the first phase of the tournament 

with 16 points, same as Doleshwar. 

In the third game of the day, 

Legends of Rupganj registered a 

five-wicket victory against Partex 

Sporting Club but the former are 

currently out of a Super League 

spot. 

Meanwhile in the final round of 

matches today, Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi 

Club and Mohammedan 

Sporting Club Limited will battle it 

out for a place in the Super League 

when they lock horns with each 

other at the BKSP ground 3. Both 

Sheikh Jamal and Mohammedan 

have six wins under their belt, like 

Rupganj. 

The game between Kalabagan 

Krira Chakra and Khelaghar Samaj 

Kalyan Samity at the BKSP ground 

4 will also be a decider. Kalabagan 

and Khelaghar both have three 

wins so far and the losing side today 

will join Victoria and Partex as 

the third side to be relegated. 

In the third game of the day, table-topper 

Gazi Group Cricketers 

will take on Prime Bank Cricket 

Club with both sides already assured 

of their place in the Super 

League. 

Brothers v Victoria, BKSP 4 

Brothers’ left-arm spinner Nihaduzzaman 

successfully defended 

nine runs in the last over. Chasing 

236, Victoria were on track with decent 

contributions from the batsmen 

and required nine runs from 

the final over with three wickets in 

hand. However, the 18-year old Nihad 

conceded only seven. With 49, 

Victoria opening batsman Uttam 

Sarkar topped the innings while 

Manvinder Bisla picked up three 

wickets for Brothers. 

Earlier, riding on Bisla’s 87-ball 

78, Brothers posted 235 on the 

board in 49.1 overs. Indian cricketer 

Bisla struck three boundaries 

and as many over boundaries. Victoria 

left-arm spinner Monir Hossain 

bagged five wickets conceding 

38 in 10 overs. 

Abahani v Doleshwar, BKSP 3 

National discard Marshall Ayub’s 

83 off 94 guided Doleshwar to a 

relatively straightforward win over 

the Sky Blues. 

Earlier, riding on middle-order 

batsman Afif Hossain’s 94, Abahani 

posted 246 losing seven wickets in 

50 overs. Afif hammered 10 fours 

and three sixes. Doleshwar leftarm 

spinner Arafat Sunny maintained 

his run as the highest wicket-taker 

of the tournament, taking 

two wickets in the game to increase 

his tally to 28 in 11 matches. 

Later, Doleshwar lost six wickets 

before reaching their destination 

in 47.1 overs. Marshall scored 

his fourth half century this season 

while left-handed batsman Shahriar 

Nafees added 69 off 78 deliveries 

with three boundaries and as many 

sixers. Abahani pacer Abu Jahed 

notched three wickets. 

Rupganj v Partex, Fatullah 

Pakistan’s Raza Ali Dar scored 

99 while middle-order batsman 

Mahmudul Hasan struck 70 before 

getting retired hurt as Rupganj beat 

Partex. In pursuit of 273, Rupganj 

reached their target with four balls 

to spare. Raza missed his century 

by a run as Partex opening bowler 

Mamun Hossain cleaned him up. 

Mamun picked up two wickets. 

Earlier, opener Jatin Saxena’s 91 

off just 50 balls and Sajjad Hossain’s 

50 saw Partex score 272 losing nine 

wickets in 50 overs. Saxena in his 

blazing innings struck 11 boundaries 

and five over boundaries. Veteran 

pacer Syed Rasel bagged four 

wickets while Mosharraf Hossain 

picked up three for Rupganj. •

20 


DT 

Sports 

Bayern’s Philipp Lahm and president Uli Hoeness (CR) during a presentation before their Bundesliga match against Freiburg in Munich yesterday 

Zidane: La Liga title Madrid’s to lose 

• AFP, Madrid 

Real Madrid have all they can ask 

for with just one La Liga game of the 

season to go and that is the destiny 

of the title in their own hands, coach 

Zinedine Zidane said yesterday. 

Madrid lead Barcelona by three 

points at the top of the table and 

just need to avoid defeat at Malaga 

today to be assured of a first La Liga 

title in five years. 

Barca need to beat Eibar at home 

Bundesliga 

signs up first 

woman referee 

• Reuters, Berlin 

A 38-year-old police officer will 

become the first woman to referee 

a top-flight football match in Germany 

next season after being promoted 

to the Bundesliga. Bibiana 

Steinhaus has been a German FA 

referee since 1999 and taken charge 

of 80 second division matches. She 

also officiated during the 2011 and 

2015 women’s World Cups and the 

2012 London Olympics, and will 

referee the women’s Champions 

League final in Cardiff on June 1. • 

to have any chance of leapfrogging 

their fierce rival. 

“It is in our hands which is important 

for us,” said Zidane. 

“There is just one game to go 

and we have worked very hard to 

get to where we want to be. 

“We deserve to be in the position 

we are just now.” 

Zidane is unusually expected to 

name the same side that started a 

4-1 win at Celta Vigo on Wednesday. 

However, a vital part of Madrid’s 

Premier League top four race reaches climax 

• AFP, London 

Arsene Wenger will be praying for 

an unexpected slip from Liverpool 

or Manchester City as Arsenal try 

to salvage their traumatic Premier 

League campaign by snatching a 

Champions League berth in today’s 

season finale. 

Rocked by Arsenal’s failure to 

live up to his expectations and battered 

by mounting criticism from 

furious fans, Wenger has been under 

fire like never before in his 21- 

year reign - and the lowest moment 

of all is likely to come at the Emirates 

Stadium this weekend. 

As if finishing below arch rival 

Tottenham Hotspur for the first 

time in 22 years wasn’t bad enough, 

Wenger’s bid to lead Arsenal into 

the Champions League for a 20th 

successive season is in grave danger 

heading into their last league 

game against Everton. 

With the title race settled in 

LA LIGA FIXTURES 

Atletico Madrid v Athletic Bilbao 

Valencia v Villarreal 

Celta Vigo v Real Sociedad 

Barcelona v Eibar 

Malaga v Real Madrid 

success this season has been the 

depth of their squad as Zidane has 

managed to keep many of his most 

important players fresh by rotating 

heavily throughout the season. 

REUTERS 

And he hailed the contribution 

of every player in his squad. 

“Watching what they do on the 

pitch, this squad is spectacular. 

“They are all very good. That 

has been the key, that they are all 

important. 

“Those that have played less 

have been at the same level as 

those that have played the most 

and, in a 60-game season that is 

very difficult physically, that has 

been important.” • 

EPL FIXTURES 

Arsenal v Everton 

Burnley v West Ham 

Chelsea v Sunderland 

Hull v Tottenham 

Leicester v Bournemouth 

Liverpool v Middlesbrough 

Man United v Crystal Palace 

Southampton v Stoke 

Swansea v West Brom 

Watford v Man City 

Chelsea’s favour, Tottenham guaranteed 

to finish second and the 

three relegation places filled by 

Sunderland, Middlesbrough and 

Hull City, it is the battle for the lucrative 

remaining two places in Europe’s 

elite club competition that 

will command the attention today. 

Despite winning six of their last 

seven games, Arsenal are in fifth 

place, one point behind fourth 

placed Liverpool and three adrift of 

third placed City. 

If Liverpool beat relegated Middlesbrough 

at Anfield and City 

avoid defeat at struggling Watford, 

then, even if Arsenal win, Wenger’s 

side will be consigned to the indignity 

of Thursday nights in the unglamourous 

Europa League next 

term. 

Having refused to confirm if he 

will accept Arsenal’s offer of a new 

contract, Wenger this week said his 

will be settled when he meets the 

club’s powerbrokers after the Gunners’ 

FA Cup final date with Chelsea 

on May 27. 

Reports suggest Wenger is planning 

to stay and if that is the case 

the 67-year-old could do with 

boosting his plunging approval ratings 

by somehow gate-crashing the 

Champions League party. 

Asked on Friday if the Everton 

clash will be his last game in charge 

of Arsenal at the Emirates, he gave 

a sarcastic response. 

Camp Nou 

hurrah not 

goodbye for 

Enrique 

• AFP, Barcelona 

Luis Enrique promised to return 

to the Camp Nou as a fan next season 

as he prepares to take charge 

of Barcelona for the final time at 

home today against Eibar. 

Barca need to win and hope Real 

Madrid lose at Malaga to claim a 

third straight title under Enrique, 

who announced back in March he 

would not continue as coach for 

next season. 

However, he claimed to have 

been “privileged” to have been in 

the role for three seasons. 

“It will be a special night for me 

as it is the last league match as Barca 

coach,” Enrique said yesterday. 

“When I accepted the job I knew 

it would be short-lived, no matter 

how much time I was here. 

“Barca’s history is full of moments 

like this. People come and 

go. I am very proud to have formed 

part of that history. I am a privileged 

one and next season I will be 

at the Camp Nou for many games 

as a fan.” • 

“Of the season...yes,” he said. “I 

think what is the most important 

for us is to win the football game 

we play [today]. 

“After that, what happens to me 

is less important. I’m here to serve 

the club and the best way to do that 

is to win the next game.” 

Meanwhile, a fourth successive 

City victory will see them hold on 

to third place and go straight into 

next season’s Champions League, 

while a draw would also be enough 

to ensure a top four finish. 

However, City could still miss 

out altogether if they lose, Liverpool 

defeat Middlesbrough and 

Arsenal improve their goal difference 

by at least five in the process 

of beating Everton. 

Calling for one last push after 

an underwhelming first season in 

charge, City boss Pep Guardiola said: 

“We still have 95, 96 minutes to fight 

to do one thing that’s so important 

for the club and the future. •

De Kock leads 

South Africa to 

opening win 

• AFP, Hove 

Quinton de Kock scored 104 as 

South Africa swept past Sussex by 

66 runs in the opening one-day 

match of their England tour on Friday. 

In a match reduced to 32 overs 

because of rain, De Kock scored 104 

off 78 balls while Wayne Parnell 

and JP Duminy struck half-centuries 

as South Africa ran up a formidable 

289 for four. 

Sussex were never in the chase 

after losing openers Chris Nash, the 

captain, and Luke Wells for ducks 

in the first over bowled by seamer 

Kagiso Rabada. 

De Kock, 24, who missed the 

Indian Premier League after suffering 

a finger injury in New Zealand 

in March, retired after striking five 

fours and seven sixes. 

He and Parnell put on 121 for the 

first wicket before Parnell hit 61 off 

42 deliveries with seven fours and 

three sixes. Duminy scored 68 off 

46 balls, hitting successive sixes off 

spinner Danny Briggs. • 

DAY’S WATCH 

FOOTBALL 

TEN 1 

Spanish La Liga 

9:00PM 

Atletico Madrid v Athletic Bilbao 

12:00AM 

Barcelona v Eibar 

TEN 2 

12:00AM 

Spanish La Liga 

Malaga v Real Madrid 

STAR SPORTS HD 1 

8:00PM 

English Premier League 

Liverpool v Middlesbrough 


8:00PM 


Arsenal v Everton 


8:00PM 


Hull City v Tottenham 

STAR SPORTS SELECT HD 1 

8:00PM 


Chelsea v Sunderland 

STAR SPORTS SELECT HD 2 

8:00PM 


Everton v Watford 

CRICKET 

SONY SIX 

8:30PM 

Indian Premier League 

Final: Pune v Mumbai 

NBA 

TEN 1 

6:30AM 

NBA Playoffs 2017 

Boston v Cleveland 

Sports 

South Africa's Quinton de Kock in action against Sussex during their warm-up match in Sussex on Friday 

Icardi in, Aguero out for Argentina 

• AFP, Buenos Aires 

Lionel Messi will spearhead Argentina’s 

attack against arch-rival 

Brazil next month but there was no 

place in the squad for Manchester 

City striker Sergio Aguero. Inter Milan 

forward Mauro Icardi replaces 

Aguero in a squad believed to have 

been chosen by Jorge Sampaoli, the 

Sevilla coach who is poised to take 

over Argentina in a bid to rescue 

their World Cup hopes. 

Playmaker Manuel Lanzini, who 

has enjoyed a good season for West 

Ham in the Premier League, gets 

his first international call-up. 

Before they get back to the business 

of qualifying for Russia 2018 

in August, Messi and Argentina 

play Brazil in a June 9 friendly in 

Melbourne in what is likely to be 

Sampaoli’s first game in charge 

of his country. Four days later Argentina 

travel to Singapore for a 

friendly against the city-state. 

ARGENTINA SQUAD: 

Goalkeepers: Nahuel Guzman (Tigres/MEX), 

Sergio Romero (Manchester 

United/ENG), Geronimo 

Rulli (Real Sociedad/ESP) 

Defenders: Emanuel Mammana 

(Lyon/FRA), Nicolas Otamendi 

REUTERS 

(Manchester City/ENG), Gabriel 

Mercado (Sevilla/ESP), Javier 

Mascherano (Barcelona/ESP) 

Midfielders: Lucas Biglia (Lazio/ 

ITA), Ever Banega (Inter Milan/ 

ITA), Angel di Maria (PSG/FRA), 

Eduardo Salvio (Benfica/POR), 

Guido Rodriguez (Tijuana/MEX), 

Leandro Paredes (AS Roma/ITA), 

Manuel Lanzini (West Ham United/ 

ENG) 

Attackers: Joaquin Correa (Sevilla/ESP), 

Lionel Messi (Barca/ 

ESP), Gonzalo Higuaín and Paulo 

Dybala (both Juventus/ITA), Alejandro 

Gomez (Atalanta/ITA), Mauro 

Icardi (Inter/ITA) • 

Thiem ends Nadal claycourt streak 

• AFP, Rome 

Austria’s Dominic Thiem sent Rafael 

Nadal crashing out of the Rome 

Masters on Friday with a 6-4, 6-3 

quarter-final victory, ending the 

Spaniard’s 17-match winning run. 

Nadal, a former seven-time 

champion in the Italian capital, 

had dominated Thiem to win the 

Madrid Masters final last week. 

But the 30-year-old, seeded 

fourth in Rome and building up for 

an assault on a 10th French Open 

title, was outplayed throughout a 

thrilling encounter on centre court. 

Thiem, the eighth seed, will 

now meet the winner of the quarter-final 

clash between four-time 

winner Novak Djokovic, seeded 

second, and unseeded Argentinian 

Juan Martin del Potro. 

That tie was suspended for the 

night after torrential rain swept the 

city. Four-time Djokovic was leading 

6-1, 1-2 when play was halted. 

Nadal, meanwhile, said he intends 

to have a free weekend before 

ramping up his preparations 

for Roland Garros from tomorrow. 

“[Yesterday] I’ll be in Mallorca 

fishing or playing golf, or another 

thing. I’m going to rest a little bit, I 

think I deserve it,” said Nadal. 

“Then from [tomorrow] and 

Tuesday I will start to prepare for 

Roland Garros. It’s an important 

event for me. If you do things well, 

you have more chances in Roland 

Garros. I hope to play my best tennis 

in Roland Garros.” 

Nadal, given a first round bye, 

played only three games of his second 

round match with Nicolas Almagro 

before his unseeded compatriot 

retired injured on Wednesday. 

The 30-year-old made amends 

for his comparative lack of playing 

time with a 6-3, 6-4 win over American 

Jack Sock on Thursday. 

But from the outset against Thiem, 

who had also lost to the Spanish 

star in Barcelona, Nadal looked 

in trouble. The Austrian’s serve, 

precision and movement were near 

flawless and soon had Nadal hitting 

shots wide of the mark. 

As the centre court crowd steadily 

got behind the 23-year-old upstart, 

Nadal’s confidence waned. • 

21 


Xavi’s Al Sadd 

win Qatar’s 

Emir Cup 

• AFP, Doha 

DT 

A dramatic last minute winner 

gave Al Sadd, skippered by Barcelona 

legend Xavi Hernandez, victory 

in the Emir Cup final on Friday, 

Qatar’s biggest domestic cup competition. 

The match was played in the 

newly refurbished Khalifa International 

Stadium, the first 2022 World 

Cup venue to be completed. 

Among those watching on in 

the 40,000-seater air-conditioned 

stadium was Fifa president Gianni 

Infantino. Xavi provided the assist 

for Jugurtha Hamroun to fire home 

the winner in injury time, to cap a 

2-1 victory for Al Sadd against rival 

Al Rayyan, coached by another 

former Barcelona great, Michael 

Laudrup. 

Al Rayyan had taken the lead 

early in the second half when skipper 

Rodrigo Tabata scored in the 

49th minute. But just seven minutes 

later, Al Sadd’s Hassan Al-Haydous 

scored from the spot to equalise 

and set up the thrilling finale. • 

5TH SOUTH ASIAN 

BASKETBALL 

Bangladesh 

start with win 


Bangladesh made a winning start 

in the 5th South Asian Basketball 

Championship as they defeated Nepal 

by 76-66 points in their opening 

match in Maldives on Friday. 

Mithun Kumar Biswas was adjudged 

player of the match. Bangladesh 

basketball team earlier left 

Dhaka for Maldives on Wednesday. 

In the day’s other match, India beat 

host Maldives by 84-42 points. • 

Dominic Thiem of Austria returns 

against Rafael Nadal of Spain during 

their quarter-final at the Italian Open 

on Friday in Rome 

AFP

22 


DT 

Showtime 

Stars turned Journos on-screen 

• Showtime Desk 

Media and journalists are two of 

the most essential catalysts, which 

uplifted, created and recreated 

the Bollywood culture from time 

to time. In Exchange, Bollywood 

stars share a long standing history 

of strange affection and animosity 

with the media. 

However, playing a journalist 

is deemed a cool thing in the 

contemporary Bollywood. Here’s 

a glance at some Bollywood 

actresses who have portrayed the 

role of journalists on screen. 

Shah Rukh Khan and Juhi Chawla 

in Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani 

Shah Rukh and Juhi played 

rival reporters, who worked for 

two competing channels. This 

patriotic comedy-drama was 

actually produced by their joint 

venture: production company 

Dreamz Unlimited, which later 

got transformed into Red Chillies 

Entertainment. 

Mani Ratnam’s Dil Se, SRK 

played a programme executive for 

All India Radio, who meets and has 

a fateful romance with Monisha 

Koirala’s character Moina, who 

turned out to be a terrorist. In the 

film, he meets her while on a news 

assignment to cover 50 years of 

India’s independence. 

journalistic ethics as well as the 

relationship between humanity 

and the stories we tell. 

Ali Zafar in Tere Bin Laden 

Ali Zafar played a reporter, who 

works for a local T.V channel in 

Karachi, in Tere Bin Laden. The 

film is a hilarious satire about a 

small-time journalist trying to 

make it big by hook or crook, but 

mostly by crook. 

Rani Mukerji in No one killed 

Jessica 

The film created a stir because 

it was based on one of the most 

high-profile murder cases in India 

- the Jessica Lal murder case. 

Rani Mukerji played the role of 

journalist Meera Gaity, and won a 

Dadasaheb Phalke Academy Award 

for her outstanding performance. 

3 was all about the darker side of 

the profession. But, she was far 

more relatable and inspiring as the 

aspiring writer and freshly-minted 

journalist Aisha in Wake Up Sid. 

Naseeruddin Shah and Ravi 

Baswani in Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro 

Naseeruddin Shah and 

Ravi Baswani’s portrayal of 

photojournalists was satire 

gold. In their bid to expose the 

rich, famous, and corrupt, they 

go through the most bizarre 

sequences, the most famous one 

of them being the Mahabharata 

scene, which will have you rolling 

on the floor for days. 

Soha Ali Khan in Mumbai Meri 

Jaan 

Set against the backdrop of the 

2006 Mumbai train bombings, 

Mumbai Meri Jaan saw Soha Ali 

Khan play a successful reporter, 

who loses her fiancé in the 

bombings. A part of the film 

explored what happens when 

a journalist’s personal life gets 

exploited for mere TRPs. 

Preity Zinta in Lakshya 

Preity Zinta will always be 

remembered for playing the role of 

a war correspondent in the 2004 

coming of age drama Lakshya. 

Her character was famously based 

on noted journalist Barkha Dutt, 

who rose to prominence after her 

extensive coverage of the 1999 

Kargil conflict. 

Kareena Kapoor Khan in 

Satyagraha 

Kareena played a political 

journalist in Prakash Jha’s 2013 

film Satyagraha. During the 

filming, Kareena even took a 

cheeky dig at a reporter. The 

reporter had asked Kareena about 

her experience of working on the 

film, when Kareena had retorted 

that this way she would get to ask 

everyone annoying questions. 

Aditi Rao Hydari in Rockstar 

This one was perhaps a blink 

and you miss role, but Aditi Rao 

played an entertainment journalist 

in Imtiaz Ali’s Rockstar. She was 

everything that entertainment 

journalists are often stereotyped 

to be! 

John Abraham and Arshad Warsi 

in Kabul Express 

John and Arshad got to play T.V 

journalists in the Kabir Khan 

drama Kabul Express. In the film, 

they are sent to create a report 

on life in Afghanistan post the 

US invasion of the country in 

September 2001 and there they got 

to witness the destruction of the 

once grand city that lay in ruins. 

Sonakshi Sinha in You’re Killing 

Me 

Sonakshi Sinha is the latest to don 

the character of a journalist in 

B-town. She plays the eponymous 

character in the film adaptation 

of Karachi, You’re Killing Me!. The 

film is mostly about questioning 

Konkona Sen Sharma in Page 3 

and Wake Up Sid 

Konkona’s journalist avatar in Page 

Anil Kapoor in Nayak 

Who can forget Anil Kapoor’s 

Nayak? His journalistic ethics 

were so bold that he became the 

goddamn Chief Minister for a 

day, who gets a chance at ending 

corruption! 

Nargis Fakhri in Madras Café 

Nargis Fakhri played a British war 

correspondent in the Shoojit Sircar 

political thriller Madras Café. The 

film was based on the backdrop of 

the Sri Lankan Civil War, and her 

character was partially inspired 

by renowned war journalist Anita 

Pratap.•

Showtime 

23 


DT 

Runa Laila 

to be celebrated in USA 


Famed Bangladeshi singer, 

Runa Laila, who earned 

a plentiful national and 

international credits for her 

contributions in music, is 

all set to be revered once 

again and this time the 

acknowledgement comes 

straight from the United States 

of America. 

Organised by the USAbased 

Barinu Institute for 

Economic Development, 

the program is titled as 

“Inspiring Women Creativity 

and Entrepreneurship in the 

Global Ecosystem” and is 

going be held on May 25, in 

New York. The program is 

going to celebrate the singer’s 

vital contribution to the 

music of Bangladesh, India, 

and the world through the 

award, under the category 

of ‘Distinguished Celebrity 

Legend Award’, confirmed the 

organisers. 

The event will be held amid 

great festivities at the Trump 

World Tower, in New York. 

Aside from being an awardee, 

organisers of the event have 

sent Runa Laila an e-mail 

requesting her attendance as a 

special guest at the occasion. 

“I’ve been invited as a 

special guest at the program. 

They will recognise me as a 

model of music and women 

development. I am so happy 

and proud about this,” said the 

legendary artist. 

“It’s a matter of pleasure 

for me that I am representing 

Bangladesh in there. I hope 

I will have a safe return after 

having a fruitful participation 

in the event,” she added. 

Born on November 17, 1952, 

Runa Laila is widely regarded 

as one of the most popular 

singers in South Asia, and 

started her career in Pakistan 

film industry in the late 1960s. 

Inspired by famous Pakistani 

playback singer Ahmed 

Rushdi, her playback singing 

in films – “Jadur Banshi,” 

“Accident,” “Ontore Ontore,” 

“Tumi Ashbe Bole,” “Devdas,” 

and “Priya Tumi Shukhi Hou” 

- earned her six Bangladesh 

National Film Awards for Best 

Female Playback Singer.• 

Teatulia: global tea brand of 

Kazi & Kazi Tea at Cannes 


Teatulia, the global tea brand 

of Kazi & Kazi Tea, has been 

featured at the 70 th edition of 

Cannes Film Festival as the first 

tea brand from Bangladesh. 

Starting from May 17 this year 

and set to end on May 28, the 

prestigious film festival, which is 

popularly known as the European 

Oscars, returns to the French 

Riviera for more glamour, eclectic 

line-ups, star-studded parties 

and of course, a showcase of the 

best upcoming films. 

It is an annual invitation-only 

film festival held in Cannes, 

which previews new films from 

a variety of genres from around 

the world. It was founded in 

1946 and is held at the Palais des 

Festivals et des Congres. 

Teatulia is sponsoring the 

Cannes Celebrity Suite, as 

well as hosting two tea-tasting 

events - in collaboration with 

Zephyr:Media PR at the Five 

Seas Hotel. As with every year, 

leading actors, filmmakers, 

film critics and journalists from 

Hollywood and beyond will be 

participating at Cannes this year. 

Teatulia, named after Tetulia 

in northern Bangladesh, is the 

international brand name of Kazi 

& Kazi Tea. The organic teas are 

grown in a single USDA, Fairtrade 

certified organic garden, and at 

over 3,000 acres. The Teatulia 

tea garden is one of the largest 

organic tea gardens in the world. 

Kazi & Kazi Tea expressed 

their delight to represent the 

finest quality organic tea from 

Bangladesh at an international 

event of such caliber and 

prestige.• 

Tom Hardy to star 

Spider Man spin-off 


Tom Hardy has been confirmed to 

star in Sony’s long-awaited Spider- 

Man spin-off Venom. 

The Oscar nominee for The 

Revenant will give life to one of 

the most notorious antagonists 

of the franchise, Venom, which 

was previously brought to life in 

Spider-Man 3 by Topher Grace. 

The film will be directed by 

the Zombieland famed Ruben 

Fleischer whose most recent 

credits includes episodes of the 

Drew Barrymore comedy Santa 

Clarita Diet. 

Hardy plays Eddie Brock, a 

freelance photographer who 

becomes infected by an alien 

lifeform that needs a host in order 

to survive. Scott Rosenberg and 

Jeff Pinkner have jointly penned 

the film’s screenplay. 

On Friday, to announce the 

news, Sony released a picture of 

Hardy in a Venom T-shirt. 

The Mad Max: Fury Road star’s 

role as Venom would mean that 

Tom will have played antagonist for 

both Marvel and DC, having played 

the role of Bane in 2012’s The Dark 

Knight Rises. Tom Hardy was last 

seen in the TV series Taboo and 

will next feature in this summer’s 

World War II drama Dunkirk. •

24 


DT 

Back Page 

KAMLA BHASIN INTERVIEW SOUMYA: BOWLERS COPING GET WITH MASHRAFE 

ON PATRIARCHY › 3 WEATHER SEAL OUR OF MAIN APPROVAL PRIORITY › 18 › 19 

RUNA LAILA TO BE 

CELEBRATED IN USA › 23 

Iran’s Rouhani sweeps to second term 

• AFP, Tehran 

WORLD 

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani 

won a resounding re-election victory 

on Saturday as voters overwhelmingly 

backed his efforts to 

reach out to the world and rebuild 

the struggling economy. 

Rouhani, a 68-year-old moderate 

cleric who spearheaded a 2015 

nuclear deal with world powers, 

took 23.5 million votes, 57%, compared 

to 15.8 million, 38.3%, for 

hardline challenger Ebrahim Raisi. 

But Iran’s efforts to open up to 

the world face a stark challenge 

from US President Donald Trump, 

who has threatened to tear up the 

nuclear deal and is currently visiting 

its bitter regional rival Saudi 

Arabia. 

Iranians nonetheless flocked to 

the polls, with turnout hitting 73%. 

Election organisers were forced 

to extend polling by several hours 

on Friday, as they struggled to 

adapt to a population explosion 

that has added 20 million names 

to the voting rolls in the past two 

decades. 

Raisi, 56, had positioned himself 

as a defender of the poor and 

called for a much tougher line with 

the West. 

But his revolutionary rhetoric 

and efforts to win over working 

class voters with promises of increased 

handouts gained limited 

traction. 

Russian President Vladimir Putin, 

a staunch ally of Iran in the Syrian 

conflict on the side of the Damascus 

regime, was among the first 

leaders to congratulate Rouhani. 

MP: Only Pakistan-bound journos should be monitored 

• Shohel Mamun and Syed 

Zainul Abedin 

POLICY 

The parliamentary standing committee 

directive to monitor to 

Bangladeshi journalists while travelling 

abroad was actually intended 

only for journalists travelling 

to Pakistan on the invitation of the 

Pakistan government. 

Mehjabeen Khaled, member of 

the parliamentary standing committee 

on foreign affairs, admitted 

that she had raised the issue of 

Hassan Rouhani 

Russian President Vladimir Putin, a staunch ally 

of Iran in the Syrian conflict on the side of the 

Damascus regime, was among the first leaders 

to congratulate Rouhani 

The Kremlin said Putin sent a 

telegram confirming “his readiness 

to continue active joint work... in 

line with maintaining stability and 

security in the Middle East and the 

world as a whole.” 

EU foreign policy chief Federica 

monitoring journalists at the committee 

meeting after finding out 

some journalists who take part in 

this tour make statements that undermine 

Bangladesh. 

“I felt we should find out if there 

was a conspiracy going on against 

the government,” she told Dhaka 

Tribune. 

She added that the recommendations 

of the standing committee 

were wrongly interpreted by the 

foreign ministry to mean all Bangladeshi 

journalists travelling abroad. 

The Pakistan government usually 

hosts three official trips to Pakistan 

every year, where mostly 

Mogherini also tweeted her congratulations 

and vowed to work 

for greater “engagement, regional 

peace... (and the) expectations of 

people in Iran.” 

Both Russia and the EU are eager 

to safeguard the 2015 deal which 

journalists, as well as some civil 

society members, are invited to 

visit top officials of the Pakistan 

government, prominent Pakistani 

media organisations, as well as 

tourist sites. 

A journalist who made the trip 

in March this year, on condition of 

anonymity, claimed the Pakistani 

embassy in Dhaka had asked the 

Pakistan-bound travel party to say 

in public that a ‘genocide’ had not 

taken place in 1971. The embassy 

officials however backtracked once 

members of travel party reacted 

strongly to the suggestion. 

Earlier, the foreign ministry 

REUTERS 

they signed alongside the United 

States, easing sanctions on Iran in 

exchange for curbs to its nuclear 

programme. 

‘Gives the system confidence’ 

Although Rouhani has been deeply 

entrenched in Iran’s security establishment 

since the early days of 

the revolution, he has emerged as 

the standard-bearer for reformists 

after their movement was decimated 

in the wake of mass protests in 

2009. 

International affairs researcher 

backed away from its directive to 

foreign missions to monitor journalists 

travelling abroad, saying it was 

“not appropriately coordinated.” 

The ministry admitted that the 

foreign missions, who would have 

to monitor activities of Bangladeshi 

journalists and report back 

to Dhaka, had no mechanism for 

surveillance. 

Although Foreign Minister AH 

Mahmood Ali on Thursday said 

he was not aware of any such directive, 

he added that journalists 

should support it “since it intends 

to uphold our national interest.” 

“It is our duty to watch over 

Hassan Rouhani 

Iran's President 

re-elected 

President since 2013 

Moderate cleric 

Paved the way for the 2015 

nuclear deal that ended 

some sanctions in exchange 

for curbs to Iran’s nuclear 

programme 

Had framed the election 

as a choice between civil 

liberties and “extremism” 

Foad Izadi, of Tehran University, 

said Rouhani may now have the 

leverage to push for more freedoms, 

including the release of opposition 

leaders under house arrest 

for their part in the 2009 protests. 

Although Rouhani brought inflation 

down from around 40% 

when he took office in 2013, prices 

are still rising at nine percent a 

year. 

Oil sales have rebounded since 

the nuclear deal took effect in 

January last year, but growth in 

the rest of the economy has been 

limited, leaving unemployment at 

12.5% overall, and at almost 30% 

among young people. 

Nonetheless, Rouhani’s expansion 

of healthcare and support for 

agricultural producers were seen as 

boosting his support even in more 

conservative rural areas. • 

everyone who travels abroad but 

that does not mean that we are 

bringing them under any control 

mechanism,” the minister added. 

The parliamentary standing 

committee on the Foreign Ministry 

on Wednesday expressed concern 

over the spread of wrong information 

about Bangladesh due to the 

negative activities of the journalists 

travelling abroad. 

The standing committee said 

journalists should be monitored 

so that the missions can report to 

Dhaka if their activities are found 

to be against the interest of the 

country. • 

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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