e_Paper, Wednesday, September 6, 2017

SECOND EDITION 

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 2017 | Bhadra 22, 1424, Zil-Hajj 14, 1438 | Regd No DA 6238, Vol 5, No 118 | 24 pages | Price: Tk10 

MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU 

The Rohingya saga continues › 2 

AL’s polls prep 

stalled by floods, 

Rohingya influx, 

16th Amendment 

verdict › 3 

Mirpur militants hold out 

for nearly 24 hours › 5 

Warner, Handscomb take 

Australia to driving seat › 24 

40 die at 

Barisal hospital 

as most medics 

enjoy Eid › 8

2 

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 2017 

DT 

News 

UNHCR: 123,000 Rohingya 

refugees have fled Myanmar 

• Tribune Desk 

CRISIS 

A massive influx of Rohingya refugees 

fleeing recent violence in 

Myanmar has pushed aid services 

in Bangladesh to the brink, with 

established camps already beyond 

capacity, aid workers said Tuesday. 

The UN refugee agency said a 

total of 123,000 refugees have fled 

western Myanmar since August 25. 

“The numbers are very worrying. 

They are going up very quickly,” 

said UNHCR spokeswoman 

Vivian Tan. 

The agency was pleading for 

assistance, saying it needed more 

land to be made available so it 

could set up new camps to accommodate 

refugees who were arriving 

hungry, traumatised and in need of 

medical assistance, reports the Associated 

Press. 

“Most have walked for days 

from their villages – hiding in jungles, 

crossing mountains and rivers 

with what they could salvage from 

their homes,” the agency said in a 

statement. 

“An unknown number could still 

be stranded at the border,” it said. 

Many told stories of their homes 

being set aflame and Myanmar soldiers 

firing indiscriminately around 

their villages in Rakhine state. 

In the border town of Kutupalong, 

an elderly woman bleeding 

profusely from where her lower 

right leg had been blown off in 

an explosion was bundled into a 

rickshaw to be taken to a hospital. 

Wailing family members said she 

had been wounded in a land mine 

blast. Her left leg and parts of her 

hands also appeared seriously 

wounded. 

Tens of thousands of new refugees 

have been taken in at established 

camps that have been housing 

Rohingya since the 1990s, but 

those camps have reached “breaking 

point,” the UN refugee agency 

said. Thousands of others were now 

sheltering under emergency tents, 

in makeshift camps or out in the 

open wherever they found space. 

Aid agencies said there was an 

urgent need for emergency shelters 

and medical aid as more refuges 

continue to arrive. 

The UNHCR’s new refugee estimate 

Tuesday was the result of 

aid workers conducting new, more 

accurate counts that revised Monday’s 

estimate up from 87,000, Tan 

said. 

Rohingya Muslims have long 

faced discrimination in majority-Buddhist 

Myanmar. 

They began streaming into 

Bangladesh after August 25, when 

Rohingya insurgents attacked Myanmar 

police posts, prompting security 

forces to respond with days 

of “clearance operations” they said 

were aimed at rooting out insurgents 

from villages. 

Both Myanmar security officials 

and Rohingya insurgents accuse 

each other of committing atrocities 

in the last week. 

‘Put pressure on Myanmar to take back Rohingyas’ 


CRISIS 

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has 

urged the international community 

to put pressure on Myanmar 

to take back their nationals from 

Bangladesh. 

During a courtesy call with new 

Indonesian Ambassador Rina Prihtyasmiarsi 

Soemarno, Hasina said 

Bangladesh was hosting a large 

number of Rohingyas only on humanitarian 

grounds, reports BSS. 

“Hosting a huge number of Myanmar 

nationals is a big burden 

for Bangladesh,” Prime Minister’s 

Press Secretary Ihsanul Karim 

quoted her as saying. 

“Our policy is very clear and we 

will not allow anybody to use our 

land for carrying subversive activities 

in the neighbouring countries,” 

the prime minister said. 

The Indonesian ambassador 

Tens of thousands of new refugees have been taken in at established camps that have been housing Rohingya since the 1990s, 

but those camps have reached ‘breaking point’ 

MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU 

New Indonesian Ambassador Rina Prihtyasmiarsi Soemarno pays a courtesy call 

on Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina 

FOCUS BANGLA 

praised Bangladesh for providing 

shelter to Rohingyas fleeing persecution 

in Myanmar on humanitarian 

grounds. 

“Bangladesh is taking right steps 

in this regard,” Soemarno said. 

Hasina and Soemarno discussed 

socio-economic cooperation between 

the two countries. 

Soemarno said the economic 

cooperation between the two nations 

had been on the rise in recent 

years. “We want to be a development 

partner for a long time,” she 

said, emphasising on introduction 

of direct air-link between the two 

countries. 

The Indonesian ambassador 

showed her country’s interest in 

setting up LNG-based power plant 

in Bangladesh and said it could 

produce 1,600 megawatts of electricity. 

She also expressed her country’s 

interest in setting up pharmaceutical 

industries in Bangladesh on 

joint venture. 

Since the establishment of diplomatic 

ties between Bangladesh 

and Indonesia in May 1972, both 

countries have been enjoying 

friendly relationship and cooperation. 

• 

Indonesia ready to 

find ways to ease 

Bangladesh’s 

burden 

• Syed Zainul Abedin 

CRISIS 

Indonesia expressed its readiness 

to support Bangladesh in ending 

the ongoing humanitarian crisis in 

Rakhine State. 

Indonesia’s Foreign Minister 

Retno Marsudi made the statement 

in a press briefing on Tuesday after 

wrapping up her official visit to 

Bangladesh. 

Marsudi said: “This humanitarian 

crisis shall be ended. I repeat, this 

humanitarian crisis shall be ended. 

And Indonesia is ready to help Bangladesh 

to conclude this situation.” 

During her visit Marsudi made 

a courtesy call on Prime Minister 

Sheikh Hasina and held a meeting 

with her counterpart Foreign Minister 

AH Mahmood Ali. 

During the meeting with prime 

minister, the Indonesian foreign 

minister discussed at least three 

issues regarding the ongoing situation 

in Myanmar. 

Indonesia sympathized with 

Bangladesh because of the burden 

it faced as a result of the “clearance 

operation” in the Rakhine State. 

The country also conveyed its 

readiness to support and ease the 

burden of the government of Bangladesh. 

“We will continue to discuss 

what sort of support Indonesia 

could provide,” said the Indonesian 

foreign minister. 

We discussed, in depth, the 

challenges and the ongoing situation 

that Bangladesh is facing. 

Retno Marsudi arrived in Dhaka 

on Tuesday (September 05) on a 

brief visit to discuss bilateral issues 

including the Rohingya issue. 

Bangladesh Foreign Ministry 

secretary (bilateral) Kamrul Ahsan 

and officials of the Indonesia 

Embassy in Dhaka welcomed her 

at Shahjalal International Airport 

around 12:10pm. 

Earlier in December last year, 

the Indonesian minister visited 

Rohingya camps in Cox’s Bazar and 

discussed with Bangladesh authorities 

a lasting solution to the Rohingya 

crisis. 

Earlier, Marsudi submitted a proposal 

to Myanmar named “Formula 

4+1” for Rakhine State to restore 

peace and allowing immediate access 

to humanitarian assistance there. 

The four elements consist of i) 

Restoring stability and security; ii) 

Maximum restraint and non-violence; 

iii) Protection to all persons 

in the Rakhine State, regardless of 

race and religion; and iv) The importance 

of immediate access to 

humanitarian assistance. 

Marsudi had a meeting with Myanmar 

State Counselor Aung San 

Suu Kyi in Myanmar’s capital on 

Monday and placed the proposal. •

News 

WEDNESDAY, 

AL’s election prep stalled by floods, 

Rohingya influx, 16th Amendment verdict 

• Fazlur Rahman Raju 

POLITICS 

With the 11th parliamentary election 

just over a year away, the ruling 

party’s election preparations 

have stalled in the face of the ongoing 

monsoon flood, Rohingya refugee 

influx and the Supreme Court 

verdict that scrapped the 16th 

Amendment of the constitution. 

Party insiders said the Awami 

League activists had geared up to 

launch their campaign for the election, 

but it did not progress much 

due to these issues that put the 

election on the backburner for the 

central leaders. 

Speaking to the Dhaka Tribune, 

several senior leaders of the party 

said back in May, Awami League 

President and Prime Minister 

Sheikh Hasina directed everyone 

to focus on the election campaign, 

saying from now on, ensuring people’s 

confidence in the party was 

top priority. 

She also warned that anyone 

who failed to establish a connection 

with the voters of their constituencies 

would not get the ticket 

to the polls. 

Following her instruction, the 

party activists, especially at the 

grass-roots level, started campaigning 

for the election and organised 

different programmes to 

reach out to the voters. 

However, before the campaign 

could really take off, it came to a 

screeching halt when the Appellate 

Division of the Supreme Court 

scrapped the 16th Constitutional 

Amendment, taking away parliament’s 

power to impeach higher 

court judges. 

In the July 3 verdict, Chief Justice 

Surendra Kumar Sinha, who 

led the Appellate Division bench, 

took the government to task over 

several issues, including corruption 

and lack of good governance. 

Speaking on condition of anonymity, 

some senior Awami 

League leaders said the party’s 

high command was upset that 

the chief justice had criticised the 

government. The party and its affiliate 

organisations staged demonstrations 

around country, saying 

the chief justice had undermined 

Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s 

leadership during the Liberation 

War. 

While strongly condemning the 

chief justice’s observations, the 

central leaders also became focused 

on finding ways to resolve 

this issue – which included discussions 

with the chief justice – as 

well as building public and civil society’s 

opinion against the verdict, 

especially when BNP was openly 

praising it. 

Because of this situation, the 

activists running the election campaign 

lost the guidance of the central 

leaders, and it came to a halt. 

While the debate over the 16th 

Amendment was still a hot topic, 

monsoon floods struck the country, 

particularly the northern and 

northeastern regions, inundating 

at least 20 districts. 

The flood washed away homes 

and livestock, damaged crop fields 

and displaced hundreds of thousands 

of people. According to the 

Directorate General of Health Services, 

at least 198 people died and 

around 6.9 million people were 

affected during the floods between 

July 16 and August 29. 

In such circumstances, providing 

aid and medical help in the 

flood-affected areas became a priority 

for the ruling party, pushing 

the election further into the back 

seat, the senior leaders said. 

The latest crisis that the government 

is facing is the influx of Rohingya 

refugees into the country. 

Around 123,000 Rohingya fled 

to Bangladesh since violence 

erupted again in Myanmar in late 

August. The renewed bloodshed in 

Myanmar’s northwestern Rakhine 

state was triggered by an attack on 

August 25 on dozens of police posts 

and an army base by Rohingya insurgents. 

The ensuing clashes and 

a military counter-offensive have 

killed at least 400 people. 

The latest bout of Rohingya influx 

has become a massive cause 

for concern for the ruling party. 

During a meeting of the central 

committee secretaries on August 

29, the party leaders agreed that 

providing shelter to the increasing 

number of fleeing Rohingya was 

putting Bangladesh in a difficult 

situation, the senior leaders said. 

Speaking at an event in Dhaka 

yesterday, Awami League General 

Secretary and Road Transport and 

Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader 

said the government had been 

dealing with the Rohingya crisis 

on humanitarian grounds, but it is 

become increasingly difficult for 

Bangladesh to support the refugees. 

“Now the government’s policy 

will be protesting strongly against 

the ‘Rohingya clear out’ by Myanmar. 

Diplomatic steps are being 

taken at different international forums, 

including the United Nations 

and the Human Rights Watch,” he 

added. 

He further said the government 

was also looking into the possibility 

that the Rohingya crisis might be 

some sort of conspiracy against the 

Awami League and Bangladesh. 

In a situation so dire, it is entirely 

difficult for the central leaders 

of the party to focus on anything 

else, including the election campaign, 

said a presidium member 

of the Awami League, requesting 

anonymity. 

The top leaders are now engaged 

in finding a sustainable and 

diplomatic solution to this crisis, 

he added. 

A silver lining? 

Speaking to the Dhaka Tribune, 

several district-level leaders of the 

ruling party said while the election 

campaign was halted by the 

floods, it did bring an opportunity 

PHOTO: COLLECTED FROM FACEBOOK 

for them to help the flood-affected 

voters to survive the calamity as 

well as bring relief to them. 

“The flood has been devastating, 

destroying everything in the 

northern part of the country,” said 

Mahfuzur Rahman Benju, former 

president of Bangladesh Chhatra 

League’s Rajshahi University unit 

and an aspirant for the party ticket 

from Chapainawabganj 3 constituency. 

“We could not continue our election 

campaign, but we were able to 

reach the local people through relief 

distribution programmes, communicating 

with them in the process,” 

he told the Dhaka Tribune. 

In some places relief distribution 

programme turned into public 

meetings, claimed local sources of 

the party. 

Awami League Joint General 

Secretary Abdur Rahman said 

leaders and activists of the Awami 

League stood beside the flood victims. 

“Every leader and activist of 

the party engaged themselves in 

relief distribution programmes in 

flood-affected areas. No other political 

party had ever done it before,” 

he added. 

Awami League Organising Secretary 

Khalid Mahmud Chowdhury 

said the party had faced many obstacles 

since its inception and had 

successfully overcome them. 

“Awami League is never afraid 

to face any hurdle. Our leaders 

and activists are always devoted to 

work for the betterment of Bangladesh. 

We will be able to tackle the 

floods and the Rohingya crisis as 

well,” he said. • 

3 

SEPTEMBER 6, 2017 

DT 

Myanmar 

denies flying 

helicopters over 

Bangladesh, 

declares military 

zone in Rakhine 


CURRENTS AFFAIRS 

The Myanmar government has 

denied reports of flying helicopters 

over Bangladesh. In addition, the 

government has also declared 

Rakhine state as a military 

operations zone. 

The State Counsellor’s office 

told Eleven Minutes, a leading 

Myanmar news outlet, that 

the army repeatedly checked 

the instruments onboard its 

helicopters to supports its claim 

to have not intruded into 

Bangladesh. 

Zaw Htay, director general of the 

Office of the State Counsellor, said: 

“Myanmar’s military helicopters 

have not been found flying 

over Bangladeshi air territory, 

according to several analyses of our 

helicopters’ transport maps and 

GPS data. The Tatmadaw (official 

name of the Myanmar armed forces) 

checked, re-checked and counterchecked 

the GPS data of flights of 

MI-17 transport helicopters. The 

Tatmadaw officially told the State 

Counsellor’s office, but they have 

not told the Ministry of Foreign 

Affairs yet. They will inform the 

relevant ministries. 

“The Tatmadaw helicopters 

flew only over Myanmar territory 

while distributing supplies and 

conducting emergency rescue 

measures during terrorist attacks 

in Maungdaw. The helicopters are 

not meant for fighting battles”, 

Zaw Htay said. 

On August 27, 28 and September 

1, several Myanmar helicopters 

were detected in Bangladesh 

airspace. The government strongly 

protested the intrusion. 

The militarised township 

The whole township of Maungdaw 

in the Rakhine was officially 

declared a military operations 

zone effective from August 25. 

The information was revealed 

to The Irrawaddy on Monday. 

Senior-General Min Aung Hlaing 

demanded the official recognition 

of the region from the government, 

and was subsequently 

The declaration will subsequently 

facilitate the Myanmar 

army’s mobilisation and tactics in 

the area. The army will be able to 

pursue “effective clearance operations” 

as per Frontier Myanmar. 

Although the army is operating 

several other townships, it remains 

to be confirmed if they too are 

military operational zones. •

4 


DT 

News 

Modi heads to Myanmar as Rohingya refugee crisis worsens 

• Reuters, New Delhi 

WORLD 

Indian Prime Minister Narendra 

Modi will discuss rising violence in 

Myanmar’s western Rakhine state 

during a visit that begins on Tuesday, 

and push for greater progress 

on long-running Indian infrastructure 

projects, officials said. 

India seeks to boost economic 

ties with resource-rich Myanmar, 

with which it shares a 1,600km border, 

to counter Chinese influence 

and step up connectivity with a 

country it considers its gateway to 

Southeast Asia. 

Two-way trade has grown to 

around $2.2bn as India courted Myanmar 

following the gradual end 

of military rule, but Indian-funded 

projects have moved slowly. 

Modi’s promises to “Act East” 

and cement ties with India’s eastern 

neighbour have slipped even as China 

has strengthened its influence. 

His first bilateral visit comes 

amid a spike in violence in Rakhine, 

after a military counter-offensive 

against insurgents killed at 

least 400 people and triggered the 

exodus of nearly 123,000 villagers 

to Bangladesh since August 25, according 

to UNHCR. 

The violence could hit development 

of a transport corridor that 

begins in Rakhine, with the Indian-built 

port of Sittwe and includes 

road links to India’s remote northeast, 

analysts said. 

Tridivesh Singh Maini, a New 

Delhi-based expert on ties with 

Myanmar, said:“You need to play 

it very smartly. You need to make it 

clear that Rakhine violence has regional 

implications...but India will 

not get into saying, ‘This is how you 

should resolve it.’” 

Last month, India said it wanted 

to deport 40,000 Rohingya refugees. 

Modi arrives from China late on 

Tuesday in the capital Naypyidaw 

to meet President Htin Kyaw on a 

three-day visit. 

New Delhi believes the best way 

to reduce tension in Rakhine is 

through development efforts, such 

as the Kaladan transport project 

there, said Indian foreign ministry 

official Sripriya Ranganathan. 

“We are very confident that once 

that complete corridor is functional, 

there will be a positive impact on 

the situation in the state,” she told 

reporters. 

Modi will meet Myanmar leader 

Aung San Suu Kyi. Talks will be 

held on trilateral highway project 

connecting India’s northeast with 

Myanmar and Thailand. • 

DU Senate members 

shocked over interim 

VC’s appointment 

• DU Correspondent 

CURRENT AFFAIRS 

The members of Dhaka University 

Senate have expressed 

shock over the appointment 

of Pro-Vice-Chancellor Prof 

Md Akhtaruzzaman as the interim 

vice-chancellor (VC) of 

the university. 

In a statement issued yesterday, 

the senate members 

criticised the appointment 

saying Prof AAMS Arefin Siddique 

was still the VC of the 

university. 

The statement was signed 

by 33 senators, all of whom 

are members of Pro-Awami 

League Blue Panel of teachers 

in the university. 

The senate members 

pointed out in the statement 

that the Supreme Court on 

August 3 allowed Arefin 

Siddique to continue his 

duties as the VC until the 

disposal of a High Court 

ruling issued in response to a 

writ petition challenging the 

legality of the three-member 

VC panel formed by the Senate 

on July 29. 

When the Supreme Court 

has given a decision on this 

matter, appointing Akhtaruzzaman 

as the interim VC is 

embarrassing for the university, 

the apex court and the 

government, especially when 

the writ is not resolved yet, 

the statement continued. 

The senate members further 

said this decision was in 

clear violation of the Dhaka 

University Order, 1973, drafted 

by Father of the Nation 

Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, and 

a deliberate attack on the autonomy 

of the university. 

They hoped the authorities 

concerned would adhere to 

the order and uphold the 

dignity of this prestigious 

institution. • 

Bangladeshi hurt in 

Malaysia nightclub attack 


WORLD 

A Bangladeshi man working 

at a nightclub in Malaysia was 

injured in a cocktail blast on 

Monday. The Sun Daily reported 

that Sujon, a 30-year-old 

working at the DK Club in Kota 

Damansara, was about to enter 

the club premises when the attack 

happened. 

Around 4pm, two men 

drove up to the club in a black 

Audi car and threw two Molotov 

cocktails at the building. 

One of the cocktails exploded 

near Sujon and his co-workers 

and burned his head and 

hands. The other cocktail did 

not go off. Witnesses gave 

chase but the attackers drove 

off, reports the The Star Malaysia. 

Sujon was taken to a local 

hospital for treatment. 

Initially, the attack was 

suspected as an act of terrorism, 

but police investigation 

said it was related to extortion 

by local gangs. Police will pursue 

leads after going through 

CCTV footage. •

News 5 


DT 

Mirpur militants hold out for 

nearly 24 hours 

• Arifur Rahman Rabbi 

MILITANCY 

Rapid Action Battalion cordoned 

off a militant hideout in Mirpur’s 

Darus Salam area in Dhaka for 

nearly 24 hours with a suspected 

member of a new faction of Jama’atul 

Mujahideen Bangladesh 

(JMB) holed up inside the building 

with large amount of explosives. 

After daylong communication 

over phone with the militant, identified 

as Abdullah, RAB spokesperson 

Mufti Mahmud Khan yesterday 

evening said that Abdullah 

had agreed to surrender between 

7:30pm and 8pm along with his 

two wives and as many children 

and two associates. 

However, around 9:47pm, the 

militants had exploded five bombs, 

three of them deafening, catching 

the security forces by surprise. 

Those were followed by exchange 

of gunfire between the militants 

and RAB personnel. 

As gunbattle continued, smoke 

was seen billowing from the building, 

according to this correspondent 

who was present at the scene. 

Around 10:40pm, Mufti told 

reporters that four RAB members 

had received minor injuries from 

the splinters. “But we don’t know 

the condition of the militants yet.” 

“After these blasts, we’ll follow 

protocol to resolve the situation. 

We’ll also coordinate with the Fire 

Service to take care of the fire originated 

from the bombs.” 

Until 11pm Tuesday, when this 

report was filed, the militants did 

not surrender. 

RAB also did not make any final 

statement regarding the late night 

development. However, onlookers 

speculated that the militants holed 

up inside may have died in the late 

explosions. 

Earlier in the day, Abdullah’s sister, 

who had surrendered at noon, 

and the six-storey building’s owner 

Habibullah Bahar Azad were taken 

into RAB custody and being interrogated, 

sources said. 

Prior to that, RAB Director 

General Benazir Ahmed had told 

reporters about Abdullah and six 

others being holed up on the fourth 

floor of the building named “Komol 

Prova” on Bordhon Bari Road 

at Darus Salam. 

A total of 65 residents of 23 flats 

in the building, about only 250 yards 

The holed up militants, instead of surrendering, set off powerful explosives around 9:47pm Tuesday night 

far from the Darus Salam police station, 

were evacuated in the early 

hours, after RAB laid a siege on it 

around 1:30am Tuesday, he said. 

“When contacted, Abdullah told 

us that he had over 50 improvised explosive 

devices (IEDs) with him. He 

has been living in this area for a long 

time while working as an electrician 

who also sold pigeons on the side.” 

Mufti Mahmud Khan said: “We 

came to know about this den from 

two other militants arrested in Tangail 

on Monday. 

“We maintained constant communication 

with Abdullah as we 

are tried to convince them to surrender. 

They did throw several 

bombs at us from the fourth floor 

after we cordoned off the building. 

Later in the evening, Abullah 

agreed to surrender.” 

Members of law enforcement 

agencies had taken position on all 

the streets near the building since 

the early hours. But they were not 

alert when the militants exploded 

more bombs a little before 10pm. 

Gulshan Ara, who lives on the 

third floor, told reporters: “We heard 

the first explosion around 1:30am. 

RAB officials evacuated us around 

6am. I never had any interaction with 

the people living on the fourth floor.” 

According to RAB, Abdullah, 

who locals said had beard and long 

hair, used to work at an electrical 

store making and repairing Instant 

Power Supply (IPS) units. He also 

owned a shop at Darus Salam few 

years back, but had to shut it down 

after facing losses. 

Since then, he made and repaired 

IPS at his home, while 

trading in pigeons on the side. Abdullah, 

his two wives and two children, 

have been living in that home 

since 2003, said RAB. 

Sources said the man, who hails 

from Chuadanga, had gotten involved 

with the Islamist militants 

in 2005. 

Tangail arrests 

On Monday, RAB arrested two other 

JMB militants Nurul Huda alias 

RAJIB DHAR 

Masum, 30, and Mazharul Islam 

alias Khokon, 27, from their home 

at Elenga in Tangail’s Kalihati 

upazila with several firearms and a 

large quantity of Jihadi books. 

The two brothers had planned 

to carry out attacks using explosive-carrying 

drones. They had 

also initially targeted some places 

for their attacks, according to RAB. 

Before Eid-ul-Azha, the two 

had met other JMB members at 

Abdullah’s home to prepare for 

the attacks. According to their 

statements given to RAB, a large 

amount of explosives was stored 

at Abdullah’s home at Darus Salam. 

Khokon, a former electrical and 

electronics engineering student at 

Eastern University, is the alleged 

mastermind behind their drone attack 

plan and Masum was his helping 

hand. 

However, RAB said, both of 

them used to post pro-militancy 

speeches in social networking sites 

like Facebook and try to recruit 

members for the JMB. • 

Trump orders 

end to young 

immigration 

programme 

• Reuters, Washington, DC 

WORLD 

US President Donald Trump on 

Tuesday scrapped a programme 

that protects from deportation 

almost 800,000 young men and 

women who were brought into the 

United States illegally as children, 

ordering a phased-out dismantling 

that gives a gridlocked Congress six 

months to decide the immigrants’ 

fate. 

Trump’s action, announced by 

US Attorney General Jeff Sessions, 

rescinds a programme called Deferred 

Action for Childhood Arrivals 

(Daca). The administration 

presented the move as necessary 

to show respect for the country’s 

immigration laws, and said nobody 

covered by the programme would 

be affected before March 5. 

The programme, created by former 

President Barack Obama, is 

supported by Democrats and many 

business leaders, and hundreds of 

people protested outside the White 

House over Tuesday’s announcement. 

Democrats and civil liberties 

advocates blasted Trump. 

“To have a lawful system of immigration 

that serves the national 

interest, we cannot admit everyone 

who would like to come here. 

It’s just that simple. That would 

be an open-border policy and the 

American people have rightly rejected 

that,” Sessions said. 

In a statement issued by the 

White House, Trump said: “I do 

not favor punishing children, most 

of whom are now adults, for the actions 

of their parents. But we must 

also recognise that we are nation of 

opportunity because we are a nation 

of laws.” 

Trump’s order, deferring the actual 

end of the programme, effectively 

kicks responsibility for the 

fate of the Dreamers to his fellow 

Republicans who control Congress. 

Daca recipients whose work 

permits expire will be considered 

to be in the country and eligible for 

deportation, but will be a low priority 

for immigration enforcement, 

administration officials said. 

Trump made a crackdown on 

illegal immigrants a centerpiece 

of his 2016 election campaign and 

his administration has stepped 

up immigration arrests. But business 

leaders say ending the Daca 

programme would hit economic 

growth and tax revenue. • 

TEMPERATURE FORECAST FOR TODAY 

CHANGE IN 

TEMPERATURE LIKELY 


Dhaka 34 27 Chittagong 32 27 Rajshahi 34 26 Rangpur 33 26 Khulna 33 26 Barisal 33 27 Sylhet 32 25 

DHAKA 

TODAY 

TOMORROW 

SUN SETS 6:12PM 

SUN RISES 5:42AM 

YESTERDAY’S HIGH AND LOW 

36.6ºC 

24.2ºC 

Jessore 

Rangamati 

Source: Accuweather/UNB 

PRAYER 

TIMES 

Cox’s Bazar 31 26 

Fajr: 5:10am | Zohr: 1:15pm 

Asr: 4:45pm | Magrib: 6:25pm 

Esha: 8:15pm 

Source: Islamic Foundation

6 


DT 

News 

Escaping Myanmar’s 

killing fields 

• Jacob Judah 

CRISIS 

Plumes of smoke billow into the monsoon 

grey skies. Small groups trickle slowly out of 

the heavily forested hills that roll back deep 

into Myanmar. 

The Myanmar Army’s ferocious campaign 

against Rakhine state’s Rohingya 

population shows little sign of abating, as 

streams of refugees continued to flood into 

Bangladesh on Monday. 

“We are the survivors,” said Anwara Begun, 

44, as she tightly gripped the wrist of 

her wincing child. “The military came to the 

village and told us to leave; so we fled,” she 

recalled. 

‘They burned down the houses’ 

Expressionless, Anwara’s story is similar to 

those of the some 73,000 other Rohingya 

that the UN estimates have flooded Bangladesh 

since the August 25. These Rohingya 

refugees speak of villages razed and indiscriminate 

killings by the Myanmar security 

forces. 

On Monday afternoon, the Dhaka Tribune, 

from Hill Point near Kanjur, counted 

some eleven plumes of smoke on the Myanmar 

side of the Naf river. 

“They are burning the villages,” said one 

man as he watched hundreds of Rohingya 

crisscross through the paddy fields. Thousands 

are reported to be still moving towards 

Bangladesh, or hiding in the dense 

jungle in anticipation of the situation improving. 

Rakhine militias and the military 

are burning the villages so that the Rohingya 

are unable to return. 

The Dhaka Tribune has seen footage sent 

from within Myanmar on Monday that goes 

to show villages that had been razed to the 

ground. “They are slaughtering us,” said 

Hamida, 30. “They told them to lie down 

and then shot them in the back.” As Hamida, 

from Buthidaung township, recalled events 

from August 27, her voice broke slightly: 

“My children work at a tea stall. We fled 

so quickly that I didn’t have time to find 

them.” Hamid’s sons, who are 10 and 13, are 

missing. 

Fifteen metres up the road, a throng of 

two hundred people are ordered by Border 

Guard Bangladesh (BGB) soldiers blowing 

their whistles and waving their sticks. 

Suddenly, there is a rush, as the soldiers 

open the back of a blue truck that has pulled 

up. When asked for an estimate of the 

number of Rohingya in Kanjur, an officer 

responded: “No I can’t. I’m not allowed.” 

The bearded man, whose eyes darted 

wearily across the crowd, said: “We are 

sending them to Unchiprong. There’s a new 

camp.” 

There is no way of knowing how many 

people have arrived in Kanjur since August 

25. Villagers have said that there has been a 

consistent stream of new arrivals over the 

past ten days. 

Their homes are overflowing with Rohingya, 

who have taken refuge on the courtyards 

of their hosts. A tiered tension hangs 

over muddy paths that lead down to farmers’ 

fields. 

Three hundred metres east of Kanjur, 

a dozen men and women sit by the side of 

road. They have just crossed into Bangladesh, 

and have come from Boli Bazar and 

Dompai, both in Maungdaw. 

“We were chased by Rakhine militias 

after which we hid in the jungle,” said one. 

Many, with dust laden faces, carried nothing 

but the clothes on their backs. 

The electric green of the monsoon lashed 

paddy fields of Bangladesh seem a far cry 

from what once again, are the killing fields 

of Myanmar. • 

Thousands of Rohingya civilians, suffering greatly, have fled the violence across the border into Bangladesh 

Senior Turkish minister to visit Dhaka 

today to discuss Rohingya crisis 



Turkey’s Finance Minister 

Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu will visit 

Bangladesh on September 6 

to discuss the Rohingya crisis 

and how to find a save haven 

for them. 

In the wake of the persecution 

of the Rohingyas, 

which has led thousands 

to flee to Bangladesh, Mevlüt 

Çavuşoğlu will discuss 

the Rohingya issue with his 

Bangladeshi counterpart 

Abul Hassan Mahmud Ali, reports 

Milli Gazette. 

Earlier, Mevlüt spoke to 

Abul over the phone on September 

4 to come up with a 

solution to end the ongoing 

tragedy of the Rohingyas. 

The Turkish minister also discussed 

their offer to provide 

European Commission: 

Refrain from violence 

against civilians 



The European Commission’s 

commissioner for Humanitarian 

Aid and Crisis Management 

has called on all sides 

involved in the Myanmar 

conflict to de-escalate tensions 

and fully observe international 

human rights laws. 

Commissioner Christos 

Stylianides has also called on 

them to particularly refrain 

from any violence against 

civilians. 

Stylianides made the 

statement on the humanitarian 

situation in Myanmar in a 

press release issued on Tuesday 

from Brussels, Belgium. 

Thousands of Rohingya 

civilians have fled the violence 

across the border into 

Bangladesh. 

“We greatly appreciate 

the hospitality extended by 

the Government and people 

of Bangladesh for many 

decades. The assistance and 

protection of the Bangladeshi 

authorities accorded to 

these new refugees is crucial 

until the situation in Rakhine 

State has stabilised and they 

can safely return,” he said. 

“They must not be turned 

back or deported,” he added. 

Commissioner Stylianides 

further reiterated the European 

Union’s commitment toward 

supporting every effort 

in returning aid delivery to 

Rakhine state and to working 

tirelessly with all stakeholders 

to achieve this. 

“Unrestricted humanitarian 

access, including for aid 

workers, is critical to reaching 

350,000 vulnerable people 

in Rakhine State,” he said 

in the statement. 

“They must be allowed to 

do their job to try to prevent 

the further deterioration of an 

already serious humanitarian 

situation,” he further said. • 

financial assistance to Bangladesh 

in this regard. The two 

ministers talked about recent 

developments with regards to 

the Rohingyas. 

The phone call was part 

of Turkey’s week-long diplomatic 

efforts launched 

by Turkish President Recep 

Tayyip Erdoğan. Recently, 

Erdoğan held phone conversations 

with over 20 world 

leaders in this regard. • 

Mediterranean 

ship sails to 

Myanmar 

to rescue 

Rohingyas 



An organisation which has 

rescued over 40,000 people 

from the Mediterranean is 

going to move to Asia to help 

the Rohingyas. 

The ship is expected to 

take about three weeks to 

reach the Bay of Bengal, reports 

BBC. 

The Migrant Offshore Aid 

Station (MOAS) is moving 

from Malta – where it has 

been saving migrants since 

2014 – to Myanmar. 

The organisation officials 

said: “[The boat] will deliver 

much-needed humanitarian 

assistance and aid to the 

Rohingya people, and will 

work to provide a platform 

for transparency, advocacy 

and accountability in the 

region.” • 

MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU

News 

WEDNESDAY, 

Why China did not fight India 

at Doklam trijunction 

• Ashis Biswas 

NEWS ANALYSIS 

As China and India scaled down 

their prolonged confrontation 

at the Doklam trijunction in the 

Himalaya in July, world capitals 

reacted with much relief and some 

surprise. There had been serious 

anxieties over open threats from 

China of an imminent armed offensive 

against Indian troops. 

Analysts based in Delhi and Kolkata 

outlined several reasons why 

both sides avoided an armed conflict 

that could easily have become 

a long slugfest, in turn leading to 

a military stalemate which would 

not have benefited either side. 

First, they gave the diplomatic 

backdrop: with the long awaited 

BRICS summit in Xiamen city in 

China from 3 September, neither 

country wanted to risk a conflict 

at the wrong time. It would have 

raised serious questions about the 

credibility of the BRICS grouping, 

not to mention jeopardising the 

future of several impressive infrastructure 

projects which were 

about to be finalised. 

Bank loans have been lined up 

for seven of these projects already 

and while three are to be implemented 

in India, the importance of 

these projects to China cannot be 

overstated. The country is desperate 

to find suitable outlets abroad 

for its surplus cement and steel 

production as a means to kickstart 

its stalled domestic economy. 

In the process of China and India 

actively maintaining the peace, a 

positive message has been sent to the 

world, especially to the US and EU. It 

proved that a non-Western power 

bloc like BRICS can settle its internal 

differences and safeguard the broad 

objective of creating an alternate and 

effective world economic order. 

It also follows that the strategic 

importance of the Doklam truce will 

be felt in other parts of Asia and Africa, 

too. By reacting with restraint, 

both countries have showed a high 

level of maturity in handling an incredibly 

sensitive dispute. 

Military fallout assured 

Secondly, the India-based analysts 

highlighted the possible military 

fallout of an armed conflict at 

Doklam. Unlike in 1962, the Indian 

troops at Doklam are controlling 

the higher ground, which puts the 

Chinese at a strategic disadvantage. 

Any major onslaught against the 

entrenched Indian positions by the 

Chinese would have been very expensive 

in terms of the inevitable 

losses to manpower and weapons. 

With neither side about to use 

nuclear options, the border war 

would have been fought with 

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping shake hands before the welcoming banquet for the 

BRICS Summit, in Xiamen, China on September 4, 2017 

REUTERS 

conventional weapons. A Kolkata-based 

analyst said that the Chinese 

would have found it hard to 

make much progress, despite their 

known superiority in numbers and 

logistical preparations. 

“India, too, is well prepared and 

its troops are keener than ever to 

wipe out the shame of 1962,” the analyst 

said. “While some work remains 

to be done, the Indian Government 

has carried out an impressive linkage 

of border roads and strengthening 

of old air strips, and has moved 

more men and heavy equipment 

into the cantonments. The Indian 

army would not have been a pushover 

for China as in 1962.” 

Defence strategists feel China’s 

brief incursions into the Ladakh area 

last month were a reminder to India 

that if there was war at Doklam, 

other parts of India would also be at 

risk from aggression. However, the 

logic cut both ways as in some areas, 

India had the potential strength 

to worry the Chinese by carrying out 

similar diversionary tactics. 

“It is not as though the Chinese 

do not know of our preparedness,” 

one observer said from Delhi. 

“Months ago, a Chinese diplomat 

admitted to me that any war with 

India at the international border 

or elsewhere would involve heavy 

costs and losses for China, even if it 

wins in the end.” 

Worried over the minatory Chinese 

rhetoric, Delhi had kept the 

US and the EU in the loop about all 

border developments in the event of 

a shooting war starting between the 

two Asian giants. And while Indian 

authorities deeply appreciated the 

open expression of support from the 

US and Japan on the Doklam issue, 

behind the scenes its policymakers 

were exploring ways to damage Chinese 

interests in other spheres. 

And this leads to the third and 

equally important reason why China 

did not pull the trigger: finance. 

India, too, is well prepared and its troops 

are keener than ever to wipe out the 

shame of 1962 

Trade war 

As latest stats show, Chinese exports 

to India are about five times 

more than Indian exports to China. 

However, a sectoral analysis of Chinese 

exports demonstrates that the 

large trade gap between the two 

countries is primarily a result of 

Chinese exports to India in the IT 

and telecommunications sectors. 

As the Doklam deadlock continued, 

Delhi was actively considering 

the imposition of sanctions in 

some areas of bilateral trade in a 

bid to reduce the expanding trade 

gap to manageable levels. Delhi 

had asked Beijing many times to 

introduce certain bilateral arrangements 

so that India could increase 

its exports, without much effect. 

Delhi-based sources say the possibility 

of India imposing restrictions 

on imports from China, especially 

in the IT and related sectors, 

had worried their trade circles. Any 

such move by India would have 

reduced the comfortable trade 

advantage China enjoys by about 

40%, according some estimates. 

In recent years, the Chinese 

economy has been mainly driven 

by its massive exports. The current 

worldwide slowdown and falling 

demand has slowed these, leaving 

China’s thriving manufacturing 

sector with fewer orders. With its 

export earnings shrinking, China 

did not want to risk any further loss 

of business with India. 

This combination of factors – 

the possibility of a deadlock at the 

international border without any 

immediate outcome, the threat to 

the stability of China-dominated 

BRICS, and the possibility of China 

losing a chunk of the large Indian 

market – may have led to both 

countries pulling back from the 

brink of a major conflict at Doklam. 

But the story may not end there. 

Some Indian observers feel that 

China could reassess its stance now 

that the BRICS summit has ended, 

resuming its hostile posturing at 

the International border and returning 

to its road building projects 

after a break. 

Even so, India has already won 

honour by not blinking to the pressures 

and threats of its stronger 

neighbour in the north, and by not 

letting down Bhutan - its weaker 

ally in the east - in the process. 

As one former diplomat put it: 

“Through its mature handling of 

a very delicate and threatening 

situation at its border and by not 

flinching, India will certainly enjoy 

an enhanced prestige and respect 

not just in South Asia, but in the 

world as a whole.” • 

7 

SEPTEMBER 6, 2017 

Modi, Xi agree 

Doklam-like 

row must not 

recur 


WORLD 

DT 

Indian Prime Minister Narendra 

Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping 

had a “healthy” and “fruitful” 

bilateral meeting on Tuesday and 

agreed to avoid another Doklamlike 

border row when their armies 

had a dragging face-off. 

This was the first one-on-one 

meeting between Modi and Xi after 

the over two-month-long stand-off 

between the two armies at Doklam 

in the Sikkim section of the border. 

In the over one hour meeting after 

the conclusion of the 9th BRICS 

Summit, both leaders discussed the 

need to maintain peace and tranquillity 

on their border. 

“Met President Xi Jinping. We 

held fruitful talks on bilateral relations 

between India and China,” 

Modi tweeted later. 

On his part, Xi said “healthy and 

stable relations” between China 

and India were in line with the fundamental 

interests of their people. 

“China is willing to work with 

India on the basis of the Five Principles 

of Peaceful Coexistence to 

improve political mutual trust, 

promote mutually beneficial cooperation 

and push Sino-Indian ties 

along a right track,” he told Modi. 

In his opening remarks at the 

meeting, Modi congratulated Xi 

for the “very successful” execution 

of the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, 

China, South Africa) Summit. 

Xi also told Modi that “healthy 

and stable bilateral ties (were) in 

line with fundamental interests of 

the two nations”. 

Indian External Affairs Ministry 

Secretary S Jaishankar described 

the Xi-Modi meet as “forward-looking” 

and “constructive”. 

Jaishankar said both the leaders 

agreed that “more efforts should 

be made to really enhance and 

strengthen the mutual level of 

trust between the two sides. 

The stand-off between Indian 

and Chinese troops began in June 

at Doklam, an area disputed by 

Bhutan and China. India said the 

Chinese decision to build a road in 

the area impacted New Delhi’s strategic 

interests. 

Indian troops entered the area 

and stopped the Chinese road 

work, angering Beijing. The border 

row seriously affected Sino-Indian 

relations until the two 

countries settled the issue by recalling 

their troops from Doklam 

last month. 

Jaishankar said: “Both of us 

(India and China) know what happened. 

So, this was no backward 

looking conversation, this was forward 

looking conversation.” •

8 


DT 

News 

VISA, MasterCard, Amex 

take away Tk37cr from 

Bangladesh in 4 years 


ECONOMY 

Bangladesh must establish its own 

payment scheme for local credit 

and debit card transactions to prevent 

the outflow of money to global 

payment services, finance sector 

insiders have said. 

International payment services 

like VISA, MasterCard and American 

Express (Amex) earned about 

Tk37 crore in charges for credit 

card transactions from Bangladesh 

between 2013 and 2016, as the 

country does not have a national 

payment scheme. 

It is estimated that they will 

earn an additional Tk12.92 crore by 

the end of 2017. 

These charges are not taken 

from the card users directly; rather 

they are paid by merchants who 

use point of sale (POS) machines to 

receive payments from customers. 

“Bangladesh needs an electronic 

payment service of its own to 

help us stop the outward movement 

of a huge amount of revenue 

from the country,” said Khaliqdad 

Khan, a certified smart card industry 

professional (CSCIP) and adviser 

of South Korea-based smart card 

producing firm, Kona I. 

“Introducing a national payment 

scheme – similar to RuPay of India, 

SAMA of Saudi Arabia and Elo of Brazil 

– can help to reduce the outward 

flow of revenues to a great extent.” 

There are currently around 

1,080,000 active credit cards in 

Bangladesh, while the number of 

active debit cards is 10,570,000, 

according to sources at Bangladesh 

Bank. 

International payment services 

charge 0.3% of the purchase 

amount for each credit transaction 

on POS machines, and 0.1% for 

each debit transaction. 

For online transactions via 

e-commerce platforms, the charges 

are even higher: 0.7% for credit 

cards and 0.3% for debit cards. 

“Besides counting charges for 

each financial transaction, payments 

have to be made to get 

VISA, MasterCard and Amex certifications, 

as well as their annual 

renewal charges,” added Khaliqdad 

Khan. 

The central bank has taken an 

initiative to launch a national payment 

scheme in the future. Sources 

said a policy would be formulated 

to create a “base platform” to that 

end. 

SM Rezaul Karim, deputy general 

manager of the Payment Systems 

Department in Bangladesh Bank, 

said chip-based specification will 

be required for the implementation 

of this initiative. 

“Coordination among the banks 

will be required to run this. It will 

enable us to complete transactions 

using our own channel,” he said. 

“However, even when there is 

a national payment scheme in 

place, VISA, MasterCard and Amex 

services will still be needed for 

international transactions.” 

Ashish Chakraborty, chief 

operating officer of payment 

gateway system SSL Wireless, 

said Bangladesh is still not ready 

to take up a national payment 

scheme. 

“The near universal acceptance 

of (plastic) cards is yet to be 

achieved so it is not implementable 

straightaway. It will take 5 to 

10 years to have a system like that 

properly implemented and used,” 

he said. • 

This article was first published on 

banglatribune.com 

40 die at Barisal 

hospital as most 

medics enjoy Eid 

• Anisur Rahman Swapan, 

Barisal 

NATION 

At least 40 patients died at Sher-e- 

Bangla Medical College in Barisal 

due to a lack of proper treatment 

over the Eid holiday as most physicians, 

including the interns, went 

on leave. 

Sources said at least 224 patients 

were forced to leave the hospital 

during the three-day break which 

started on Friday, while 24 people 

alone had died on Saturday, the 

main day of the festival. 

Before the Eid vacation, the hospital 

authorities had announced they 

would continue to provide “uninterrupted 

treatment”. 

However, of the 10 doctors who 

were supposed to be on duty at the 

emergency ward during the holiday, 

only three could be seen working. 

The hospital currently employs 

130 physicians, of whom 95 are 

Muslim. Only 10 Muslim doctors 

went on Eid leave with most of 

the others being absent from work 

without giving any prior notice. 

In addition, there are 170 interns 

including 25 non-Muslims. 

Of them, at least 30 live in Barisal 

town, but even then only half of 

the interns turned up to work during 

Eid. 

Most of the 451 Muslim nurses 

from the 735 total also took leave 

over the same period. 

Dr SM Sirajul Islam, director of 

the hospital, denied there was a 

manpower crisis during Eid. 

“The patients did not have to 

suffer much as we catered to them 

well. I myself monitored the activities 

of doctors, nurses and other 

employees,” he said. 

Dr Sirajul admitted to a shortage 

of fourth class employees but described 

the registering of 24 deaths 

on Eid day alone as “quite normal”. 

“Those who died were either in 

a critical state or underweight newborns,” 

he said. 

The 1,000-bed hospital has 

already been reeling from the 

shortage of fourth class employees 

- especially ayas, cleaners and 

sweepers - and this deepened during 

the Eid holidays. • 

Hajj pilgrims to start returning today 

• Ishtiaq Husain 


Biman Bangladesh Airlines will 

start transporting Hajj pilgrims 

back from Jeddah, Kingdom of 

Saudi Arabia (KSA), today. 

The first of the 139 flights carrying 

Hajj pilgrims will land at Hazrat 

Shahjalal International Airport at 

6:10pm, followed by four flights today, 

and will continue till October 5. 

An additional 30 flights have 

been arranged by Biman. Biman 

was supposed to transport 63,599 

pilgrims, but this year the number 

increased to a total of 64,873 pilgrims 

who travelled from Dhaka to 

Jeddah. 

Biman in a press release said 

the baggage allowance for economy 

class passengers is 46kg, while 

business class passengers are allowed 

56kgs. Individual suitcases 

must not exceed 23kgs in economy 

class and 28kgs in business class. 

The maximum weight of cabin 

bags has been set at 7kg. 

Biman incurred a 

loss of Tk44 crore 

in revenue for these 

24 cancelled flights 

The press release also said passengers 

are not allowed to carry their 

own Zamzam water. Biman will 

provide each pilgrim with 5 litres of 

Zamzam water which will be handed 

to them after they land at Dhaka 

airport. 

The national carrier operated a 

COLLECTED 

total of 187 dedicated Hajj flights 

this year, with 24 of them eventually 

cancelled because of a lack 

of passengers. This was caused 

by people buying airplane tickets 

without obtaining the necessary 

visa for their travel. 

Biman incurred a loss of Tk44 

crore in revenue for these 24 cancelled 

flights. 

Biman rescheduled regular 

flights and reduced frequent flights 

on routes such as Dhaka-London, 

Dhaka-Muscat, Dhaka-Dubai, Dhaka-Abu 

Dhabi, Dhaka-Kuala Lumpur, 

and cancelled all of Dhaka-Doha 

flights till August 26 to make 

sure there was enough available 

aircrafts to service the Hajj pilgrims. 

The last dedicated Hajj flight of 

Biman left Dhaka on August 28 carrying 

418 pilgrims to Jeddah. •

News 

9 


DT 

BNP leader’s body found 

in Pirojpur’s Tushkhali 

Secondary School 

• Arif Mostafa, Pirojpur 

CRIME 

Police have recovered the 

body of BNP Secretary Md 

Habibur Rahman Talukder, 

50, at Tushkhali Secondary 

School in Tushkhali union, 

last night. Habibur Rahman 

was the BNP secretary of 

Dhanishafa union, ward 

no 4 in Mathbaria upazila, 

Pirojpur. 

The Mathbaria union BNP 

President KM Humayun Kabir 

confirmed that Md Habibur 

Rahman Talukder had 

been missing since Sunday 

afternoon. 

Maleka Begum, wife of 

the deceased Habibur Rahman, 

said: “My husband was 

called away from in front 

of the mosque of Tushkhali 

Secondary School by a 

group of people, under the 

leadership Awami League 

(AL) General Secretary of 

Dhanishafa Union, Ward no 

4, Idris Talukder, to an unknown 

location.” 

“I later filed a general 

diary in Mathbaria police 

station Monday afternoon, 

after my husband’s disappearance,” 

she said. 

Habibur Rahman’s family 

searched and found his 

body in Tushkhali Secondary 

School at night, next to 

a toilet. 

Maleka also said that the 

conflict began when Habibur 

Rahman refused to work for 

the Awami League-backed 

candidate during the last union 

council election. 

Tensions also exacerbated 

when Hafizur Rahman, 

Habibur Rahman Talukder’s 

son developed a dispute 

with Saiful, the son of AL 

leader Idris Talukder’s brother, 

during a game of football. 

Mathbaria police station 

Officer-in-Charge (OC) KM 

Tariqul said that the body 

has been sent to Pirojpur 

morgue for autopsy. He said 

Habibur Rahman had rope 

marks on his neck, with his 

face completely bashed in. 

It is thought that the 

killers might have hit his 

(Habibur Rahman) head 

hard against the floor, or a 

hard wall, killing him in the 

process. •

10 


DT 

News 

New Rohingya refugees face 

extortion looking for shelter 

• Abdul Aziz, Cox’s Bazar 

CRISIS 

Moyamoya: A disease well fought in Bangladesh 

• Nawaz Farhin 

HEALTH 

In Japanese, the word “Moyamoya” 

means “puff of smoke,” but the disease 

it represents is a rare and progressive 

cerebrovascular disorder 

caused by blocked arteries at the 

base of the cranium. The meaning 

also describes the look of the tangle 

of tiny vessels formed to compensate 

for the blockage. 

Although Moyamoya is not very 

well known in Bangladesh, there 

are quite a number of patients who 

have been treated successfully at 

the National Institute of Neurosciences 

and Hospital (NINSH) in 

Dhaka’s Agargaon. 

Until now, 30 patients have undergone 

bypass surgeries in NINSH 

while only one of them has died. 

The first known Moyamoya 

patient in Bangladesh was diagnosed 

at Bangabandhu Sheikh 

Mujib Medical University hospital 

in 2012, according to a case report 

published in the Journal of Bangladesh 

College of Physicians and 

Surgeons that year. 

However, NINSH had its first patient 

in 2014 when seven-year-old 

Mohona Aktar from Kushtia was 

brought in. 

In the initial stage, the child was 

frequently suffering from sudden 

A group of Rohingya refugees living 

in Bangladesh are extorting the 

newly arrived refugees by providing 

them accommodation in seven 

new makeshift camps in different 

areas of Cox’s Bazar and Bandarban 

that they have set up with the 

locals’ help. 

These vested quarters, along 

with the so-called landowners, 

have been charging heavy sums for 

building small shanties occupying 

the forest lands. 

The new shelters have been 

built in Balukhali Dhalar Mukh, 

Taznirmarchhara, Shafiullah Kata 

and Hakimpara areas in Ukhiya, 

Hoai Kang and Noikhyang area in 

Teknaf, and in Naikhongchhari. 

More than 100,000 newly arrived 

Rohingya, who fled to Bangladesh 

following the latest military 

crackdown in Myanmar’s Rakhine 

state, have already occupied 450 

acres of forest lands in a bid to set 

up residence. 

Thousands of refugees are 

thronging towards these new shelters 

as the existing camps are already 

overcrowded. 

Farid Miah, 45, one of the refugees 

who came from Myanmar’s 

Maungdaw province, told the Dhaka 

Tribune that he was charged Tk2,000 

to get the permission to build a small 

hut with bamboo and polythene. 

Ali Kabir, divisional forest officer 

at Cox’s Bazar south zone, 

told the Dhaka Tribune that some 

muscular weakness, one of the 

first symptoms of the disease. She 

used to feel better after resting for 

a while, her family said. But two 

weeks later, she suffered temporary 

paralysis on one side of her body. 

Her family had taken her to several 

state-run hospitals in Kushtia, 

one of which later referred her to 

NINSH where she underwent brain 

surgery twice in the next two years. 

The second patient with 

Moyamoya disease who came in at 

NINSH one year later was another 

child named Jannatul Ferdousi Nupur, 

9, from Bogra. 

Her father Jahidur Rahman told 

the Dhaka Tribune: “Three years 

ago, one day, Nupur had fallen 

on the school grounds after having 

a seizure and couldn’t speak. 

Since then, this started happening 

to her from time to time. She was 

also having constant severe headaches.” 

Nupur was also treated initially 

at different local hospitals, doctors 

at one of which had told her parents 

about Moyamoya’s possibility. 

They also referred them to NINSH. 

Jahidur said: “Doctors had said 

Nupur will have to undergo brain 

surgery. In the last two years, doctors 

operated on her head twice. 

Nupur is better now and has also 

resumed school.” 

Dr Sudipto Kumar Mukherjee, 

local syndicates have been building 

slums for the Rohingya in the 

name of shelters. 

“We have been conducting drives 

to evict such newly-built slums. The 

existing camps have already acquired 

more than 600 acres of forest 

land. So, the latest occupation has 

become a matter of serious concern 

for the administration,” the forest 

department official said. 

the assistant professor at NINSH’s 

Department of Pediatric Neurosurgery, 

told the Dhaka Tribune: 

“In Nupur’s case, the disease was 

hereditary. We found out later that 

her mother had Moyamoya too. 

The symptoms and how 

The rare idiopathic vaso-occlusive 

disease is characterised by progressive 

irreversible occlusion, or 

blockage, of main blood vessels 

to the brain as they enter into the 

skull. 

Apart from muscular weakness, 

in children the first symptoms 

include stroke, or recurrent transient 

ischemic attacks (commonly 

referred to as “mini-strokes”), or 

paralysis affecting one side of the 

body, or seizures, according to National 

Institute of Neurological Disorders 

and Stroke (NINDS) at Maryland 

in the US. 

It says adults can also experience 

these symptoms, but more 

often suffer a hemorrhagic stroke 

due to bleeding into the brain from 

the abnormal vessels. 

NINDS says about one in 10 individuals 

with Moyamoya has a close 

relative who is also affected; in 

these cases researchers think that 

this disease is the result of inherited 

genetic abnormalities. 

In the rural areas in Bangladesh, 

villagers try to treat such problems 

Ukhiya Upazila Nirbahi Officer 

Md Mainuddin said no more camps 

or shelters would be allowed to be 

set up in the upazila. 

“The new Rohingya will be rehabilitated 

to the existing camps in Kutupalong 

and Balukhali,” he added. 

Some 123,000 Rohingya have 

fled to Bangladesh since the latest 

eruption of violence in Myanmar’s 

Rakhine state in late August. • 

Mahmud Hossain Opu 

through superstitions. Even local 

doctors, who have not heard of 

Moyamoya disease, feel confused 

under the circumstances, experts 

said. 

Tackling Moyamoya 

Three years ago, the Dhaka hospital 

was unable to treat Moyamoya patients 

let alone conduct surgeries. 

The hospital then sent Dr Sudipto 

Kumar Mukherjee to South Korea 

for higher studies on the disease 

with the sole aim to treat 

Moyamoya patients here. 

The government, in an admirable 

initiative, is also bearing all 

costs of the surgeries that are happening 

at NINSH every now and 

then. People from Bangladesh used 

to go to India and spend at least 

Tk30 lakhs on such operations and 

treatment three years ago. 

According to NINDS of the US, 

there are several types of surgeries 

that can restore blood flow to the 

brain by opening narrowed vessels 

or by bypassing blocked arteries. 

Without the surgery, most 

Moyamoya patients will experience 

mental decline and multiple 

strokes because of the progressive 

narrowing of arteries. Without 

treatment, this disease can be 

fatal as the result of intracerebral 

haemorrhage (bleeding within the 

brain). • 

Rohingya 

crisis: Yunus 

wants UNSC 

intervention 



Nobel laureate Dr Muhammad 

Yunus has urged the United Nations 

Security Council (UNSC) to 

intervene to end the crisis in Myanmar’s 

Rakhine State. 

The Grameen Bank founder and 

social entrepreneur sent an open 

letter to the UNSC president and its 

members, warning that the situation 

for the Rohingya was “deteriorating 

very fast”. 

According to a press release issued 

by the Yunus Centre in Dhaka 

and reported by UNB on Tuesday, 

Dr Yunus called for the immediate 

intervention of the security council 

to solve the crisis. 

“The human tragedy and crimes 

against humanity have taken a 

dangerous turn in the Arakan region 

of Myanmar. I call on UNSC to 

intervene immediately by using all 

available means,” Dr Yunus wrote. 

“I request you to take immediate 

action for cessation of indiscriminate 

military attacks on innocent civilians 

that is forcing them to leave 

their homes and flee the country to 

turn into stateless people.” 

Dr Yunus said complete villages 

had been burned, women raped, 

many civilians arbitrarily arrested 

and children killed in the military 

crackdown which has followed Rohingya 

attacks on police and army 

bases in Rakhine on August 25. 

“Unless constructive efforts to 

build a lasting peace is taken, the 

situation will get worse, which 

in turn may pose serious security 

threat to the neighbouring countries,” 

Dr Yunus wrote. 

He called for a “bold change in 

approach” from the UN and the 

international community towards 

the Myanmar government of fellow 

Nobel laureate, Aung San Suu Kyi. 

“The government of Myanmar 

needs to be told that international 

support and finance was conditional 

on a major change in policy 

towards the Rohingya,” Dr Yunus 

wrote in his letter. 

“The world is waiting to see 

that the UNSC has played its role 

in bringing an end to a humanitarian 

crisis and building peace in the 

region.” •

Multinationals to pass decision on 

offloading shares to parent companies 

News 11 


DT 

• Asif Showkat Kallol 

BUSINESS 

The Ministry of Industries (MOI) has 

asked multinational companies, including 

Unilever Bangladesh Ltd, to 

place proposals to their parent firms to 

offload their shares, an inside source 

has confirmed. 

The decision was taken at a meeting 

with representatives of multinational 

companies presided over by MOI Senior 

Secretary, Md Mosharraf Hossain 

Bhuiyan. 

In addition to Unilever Bangladesh, 

Sanofi Bangladesh Ltd and Novartis 

Pharma Ltd were also present. 

The source said the ministry will inform 

all the stakeholders and arrange 

a high-level meeting for offloading the 

shares, if the Financial Institutions Division 

takes an initiative regarding the 

move. 

In the meeting, the representative 

of Unilever Bangladesh Ltd said the 

ministry’s proposal cannot be fulfilled 

unless Unilever’s parent company in 

the United Kingdom allows it. 

“The proposal needs to be approved 

by the parent company’s board,” he 

said. “We will give a written statement 

to the ministry after our managing director 

gives his consent.” 

The representative said Unilever 

Bangladesh does not need extra funds 

from the stock market due to its nature 

operation in Bangladesh, and that it is 

also not possible to offload its shares 

in the stock market because there is 

a shortage of existing paid-up capital. 

The Novartis Pharma Limited representative 

expressed his company’s 

interest in offloading their shares but 

also said they do not have enough 

paid-up capital. After issuing two 

right shares, Novartis’ paid-up capital 

stands at Tk11.75 crore. 

“However, Novartis will place the 

proposal to offload shares as per the 

ministry instructions,” the representative 

said. 

The representative from the Bangladesh 

arm of Sanofi, a French multinational 

pharmaceutical company, 

said the Bangladesh government holds 

a total of 45% of their shares. 

“We have no choice. We have to 

place the proposal in our next board 

meeting with the parent office,” he said. 

No representative from Karnaphuli 

Fertiliser Limited, a company owned 

by a Japanese firm, attended the meeting 

so its decision was not discussed. 

Earlier, Finance Minister AMA Muhith 

said at a meeting that the government 

was considering the possibility 

of offloading 10% of its shares in Unilever 

Bangladesh Limited. 

“The government owns a 39.25% 

share of Unilever, but Unilever is not 

interested in offloading it in the local 

stock market,” he said. 

“Multinational companies, like 

Unilever, are also not interested to 

increase their share in the market, although 

they are making huge profits 

here.” • 

US President Donald Trump 

Trump family and 

associates to be in 

Russia probe crosshairs 


WORLD 

REUTERS 

A web of US President Donald 

Trump’s family and associates 

will be back in the crosshairs 

of congressional committees 

investigating whether his campaign 

colluded with Russia, as 

well as of the high-wattage legal 

team assembled by special 

counsel Robert Mueller, reports 

the Associated Press. 

As Congress returns from a 

summer recess, some of the attention 

will be focused squarely 

on the president’s eldest son, 

Donald Trump Jr, who will 

meet privately in the coming 

weeks with staffers on the Senate 

judiciary and intelligence 

committees. A meeting Trump 

Jr convened with a Russian lawyer 

and others in the midst of 

the campaign has already been 

the subject of testimony before 

a grand jury that Mueller is using 

as part of his investigation. 

The expected crush of 

interviews, subpoenas and 

testimony this fall underscores 

both the broad scope 

of the Russia probes and the 

certainty that they will shadow 

Trump’s presidency for 

months or even years. Even 

if Trump and his associates 

are ultimately cleared, some 

White House advisers worry 

about the president’s anger 

over the investigations and 

the likelihood that he will 

continue to weigh in publicly 

in ways that only further distract 

from his agenda. 

The president’s own legal 

exposure remains uncertain. 

He’s denied coordinating with 

Russia during the election or 

having any nefarious financial 

ties to Moscow. 

But Trump’s legal team, anticipating 

Mueller’s interest in 

probing Trump’s firing of FBI 

Director James Comey, is developing 

arguments to protect 

him against any obstruction 

of justice allegations, including 

constitutional defences 

and a contention that his actions 

crossed no legal lines. 

Family and associates 

The simultaneous investigations 

by Mueller and three congressional 

committees have 

drawn in some of Washington’s 

legal heavy hitters. Mueller’s 

16-lawyer team is comprised 

of seasoned prosecutors 

with significant experience 

fighting fraudsters, mobsters 

and terrorists and with building 

cases against high-level 

targets by eliciting cooperation 

from more peripheral subjects. 

And more than a dozen Washington 

law firms have lawyers 

representing players in the investigation. 

The coming months may 

put a new focus on lesser-known 

players in Trump’s 

orbit, including Michael Cohen, 

his long-time lawyer. Cohen 

acknowledged last month 

that the Trump Organisation 

pursued a Trump Tower project 

in Moscow and that he had 

reached out to the press secretary 

for President Vladimir 

Putin. Another associate who 

could appear before Congress 

this fall is informal adviser 

Roger Stone, as well as Felix 

Sater, a Russia-born associate 

Cohen says he worked with 

on the Trump Tower deal. The 

project was later abandoned. 

Familiar names will also 

continue to face scrutiny, 

particularly former campaign 

chairman Paul Manafort and 

ousted White House national 

security adviser Michael 

Flynn. Manafort already has 

spoken privately to Senate intelligence 

committee staffers, 

and though other committees 

are also interested in hearing 

from him. •

DT 

12 


Editorial 

TODAY 

A dictator by any 

other name 

In a true democracy, institutions 

operate as politically neutral entities. 

They serve people, and not a political 

leader or party 

PAGE 13 

Is there a right kind 

of feminism? 

Let’s create a more diverse tribe where 

all kinds of women and men raise each 

other up, instead of pulling them down 

Brexit becomes 

more complex 

Write to Dhaka Tribune 

FR Tower, 8/C Panthapath, 

Shukrabad, Dhaka-1207 

Send us your Op-Ed articles: 

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The views expressed in opinion 

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official view of Dhaka Tribune 

or its publisher. 

PAGE 14 

Brexit is likely to create a 10 billion euro 

hole in the EU’s annual revenue 

Be heard 

PAGE 15 

A blatant act of 

defiance 

There is no doubt that Myanmar’s systematic killing 

of the Rohingya minority is ethnic cleansing on a 

scale not seen in recent times. 

But the country has reached a new low by not 

allowing various non-governmental organisations from 

providing aid to the desperate civilians in the conflict-ridden 

northern Rakhine State. 

At least 16 major NGOs including Oxfam and Save the 

Children have been denied access to the conflict zone by 

the Myanmar government, impeding their work in bringing 

much-needed vital supplies such as food, water, and 

medication to those suffering. 

By denying the Rohingya outside aid, Myanmar makes 

it clear it would like to see the group isolated, and starved 

to death. 

This is merely the latest in a long line of horrifying moves 

on part of the Myanmar government that deserves the 

loudest condemnation. 

Staff from UNHCR, UNFPA, and UNICEF were unable to 

conduct any of their fieldwork in the conflict zone, while the 

UN’s World Food Program had to suspend their relief work 

in other parts of the state mid-distribution. 

We must ask: Why is Myanmar doing this? 

The Myanmar army is carrying out its killings unabated, 

with next to no intervention from the international 

community. Denying the Rohingya this much-needed aid is 

tantamount to rubbing salt on a wound that has been left 

festering for far too long. 

If this blatant act of defiance does not jolt the 

international community into finally taking action, then 

what will? 

A deep sickness 

It is hard to deny that rape in Bangladesh has become an 

epidemic. 

The recent gang rape and eventual murder of 

27-year-old Rupa is a dark reminder of the sickness that 

permeates within our society. 

This was in an inter-district bus, a space where each 

and every individual in the country should feel safe and 

protected, be they man, woman, or child. 

Unfortunately, it seems, this no longer the case when it 

comes to our country. 

The case of Rupa is one amongst many such cases which 

have plagued the nation’s consciousness over the last few 

months. 

Rape has become commonplace -- and this only speaks 

of the cases which are reported by the victims, or of the 

perpetrators who get caught. 

The harsh reality is that there are countless such cases of 

rape and abuse in our country, as thousands if not millions 

of women silently suffer at the hands of these criminals. 

What has become evident, however, is that the reason 

this continues is because there are not enough laws and 

regulations when it comes to rape, and the ones that do 

exist are backward and regressive. 

And when these rapes are reported, the judiciary 

trudges along, giving the perpetrators ample time to flee 

justice. 

Bangladesh needs to do a better job of protecting 

its women. The culture of rape that exists is a sickening 

reminder of how far we have yet to progress as a nation. 

If we need to start treating rape cases with much more 

seriousness, and in specialised courts, then that is what we 

must do. If we require speedy trials for rape, then that it 

how it must be. 

But a solution is imperative. Too long has this disease 

flown through the bloodstream of our nation. Too long have 

rapists escaped the clutches of the law. 

We need to stop this. Once and for all. 

REUTERS

Opinion 13 

A dictator by any other name 

Leaders like Mugabe and Biya make a mockery of democracy 

DT 


What explains the longevity of the likes of Robert Mugabe? 

• Ziauddin Choudhury 

There are currently eight 

heads of governments 

in the world, all of them 

in Africa except two 

(Cambodia and Kazakhstan), who 

have been ruling their countries 

for more than 30 years. 

One, Paul Biya of Cameroon, 

has been in power for over 42 

years. They rule countries which 

are officially democracies and, 

believe it or not, they do have 

periodic elections. 

What explains the longevity 

of these dictators who rule in the 

garb of democracy? Are they really 

darlings of their people? Are they 

sustained by manipulation of their 

constitutions, corruption of the 

institutions, or both? 

Unfortunately there is no 

single answer to their longevity, 

as each leader has his unique 

characteristics and approach to 

manage his survival. One thing 

common among them is their 

desire to retain power at all costs. 

All of these pseudo-democratic 

countries hold elections for the 

highest office (as well as their 

so-called legislatures). These 

elections are officially contested 

by opponents of the ruling party, 

but they are routinely trounced 

by the party of the president in 

power. 

In Cameroon, for example, 

People’s Democratic Movement 

(CPDM) was the only legal 

REUTERS 

political party until December 

1990. Numerous regional 

political groups have since 

formed. But Biya and his party 

have maintained control of the 

presidency and the National 

Assembly in national elections, by 

manipulating elections. 

In Equatorial Guinea, President 

Obiang was elected to a seven-year 

term as president in 1982 (after 

securing power in 1979 through a 

coup); he was the only candidate. 

He was re-elected in 1989, again as 

the only candidate. 

In subsequent elections, he 

allowed other parties to nominally 

contest the elections. Nonetheless, 

he would be elected president 

term after term (each for seven 

years) with votes nearing a 100% 

for him. 

Zimbabwe’s legendary 

President Mugabe (prime minister 

from 1979 to 1987, president since 

1987) ensured his iron grip over 

his country through constitutional 

amendments that combined the 

roles of head of state, head of 

government, and commander of 

armed forces in one. 

His party ZANU-PF ensured 

his election each time through 

voter intimidation and rampant 

corruption that Mugabe himself 

spawned. 

Champions of the masses 

In all of these countries, including 

those not cited in the examples, 

the rulers rule and exercise total 

control through the political 

parties they spawned, and 

legislators who overwhelmingly 

belong to the government party. 

The rulers create a vast network 

of mutually supportive institutions 

that range from the army through 

police, government bureaucracy, 

and often the judiciary. Yet, the 

irony is that a majority of the 

leaders in these countries came 

to power on the shoulders of the 

people who once welcomed them 

as liberators and champion of the 

masses. 

Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe 

was an anti-colonist political 

activist who first fought for 

independence of his country (then 

Rhodesia), and later against the 

white minority regime of Ian Smith 

who had declared independence 

of Rhodesia unilaterally and 

had formed a white-dominated 

government. 

Mugabe was able to end white 

minority government of Ian 

Smith after years of struggle, 

much of which was through 

leading guerilla warfare against 

In a true democracy, 

institutions operate 

as politically neutral 

entities. They serve 

people, and not a 

political leader or 

party 

the regime. In 1979, Mugabe was 

elected as prime minister with 

huge popular support when the 

government of Ian Smith, under 

pressure from neighbouring South 

Africa, agreed to the participation 

of Mugabe’s party to participate in 

the elections. 

His party ZANU-PF became 

the people’s party. But the story 

of Rhodesia (which he renamed 

Zimbabwe) would soon be 

different from then on. 

In a few years, Mugabe would 

use his huge popularity to change 

the constitution of the country to 

converge three different offices, 

prime minister, president, and 

commander-in-chief of the army 

into one, and assume those 

powers. 

His party would soon be the 

only major political power in the 

country. He and his supporters 

would hound out any opposition 

to him or to his government 

through intimidation, abuse of 

power, and bribery. 

Following the creation of 

a unitary state in 1972, Paul 

Biya became prime minister of 

Cameroon in June 1975. In 1979, a 

law designated the prime minister 

as the president’s constitutional 

successor. 

The president that time (Ahidjo) 

unexpectedly announced his 

resignation in November 1982, and 

Biya succeeded him as president 

of Cameroon. Since then, he has 

remained president after winning 

several seven-year terms after 

forcing an obliging legislature to 

remove term limits for presidency. 

He is in his 42nd year as president. 

One leader to rule them all 

We can go on and on to analyse the 

causes of longevity in each of the 

cases of the long lasting heads of 

states/governments existing in the 

world today, but the conclusion 

would be somewhat similar. 

Each has used their rise to 

power on shoulders of popularity 

and each had succeeded to 

manipulate both people and their 

constitution to have an iron grip 

over their rule. 

Some may have begun their 

career through a military coup, 

and later legitimised their 

ascendancy to power through 

“managed” elections. 

But others used their name 

and fame either as liberators of 

their countries or over-throwers of 

unpopular regimes to perpetuate 

their rules by manipulating the 

constitution. 

A common theme running 

through these long-lasting regimes 

is emphasis on their need to lead 

their country in its fight against 

perceived “enemies” of the 

country, domestic and foreign. 

They also portray themselves 

as emancipators of their people 

from poverty, and as leaders of 

economic progress. 

The parties they formed 

became their cheerleaders and 

poster bearers of these images. 

The leaders also ensured that their 

parliaments are packed with such 

loyal supporters. 

Gradually, they also packed 

other institutions of the country 

with acolytes of the leader. When 

all institutions are populated by 

loyalists to the regime, common 

citizens have no recourse but 

to accept dispensations from 

the office holders of the regime, 

whether elected or unelected. 

Elections in these regimes 

become farcical, as a system 

corrupted by greed and power only 

lead to further perpetuation of the 

regime, because the elections are 

not free and unfettered. 

Using democracy to absolute 

power is not an unknown 

phenomenon. History is replete 

with such examples. What is 

often forgotten, however, is that 

a leader’s personal desire to hold 

a permanent grip on power also 

leads to undesirable or unforeseen 

consequences. 

History is full of such sad 

consequences. The Paul Biyas or 

Mugabes of the world may have 

longevities even they may not 

have thought of, the likes of them 

came to horrific ends in their 

own continent. Democracy may 

be abused for a short period, but 

a people cannot be abused ad 

infinitum. 

In our country, we restored 

democracy after two decades 

of struggle. We have had five 

elections since 1990, a few of 

which, notably the last, could 

have been managed in a more 

transparent manner. 

But at least we are not 

abrogating people’s right to 

choose. We still have officially 

a multi-party system, and we 

have hopes that the system 

will be allowed to operate in an 

unfettered manner in the next 

election. 

What we do not know however 

is the extent to which opponents 

will be allowed to exercise their 

right to mobilise people to their 

cause. 

What we do not know is the 

extent of freedom our institutions 

such as election commission, 

police force, and bureaucracy will 

have to operate and exercise their 

roles in the elections. 

In a true democracy, these 

institutions operate as politically 

neutral entities. They serve 

people, and not a political leader 

or party. 

There is a hairline difference 

between the quasi-democracies 

of the world and other true 

democracies. This difference 

comes from the will and desire 

of the leaders who lead their 

countries. 

A democracy can be bent only 

if the leaders are bent. We hope we 

can avoid this. • 

Ziauddin Choudhury has worked in the 

higher civil service of Bangladesh early 

in his career, and later for the World 

Bank in the US.

14 


DT 

Opinion 

Is there a right kind of feminism? 

One type of feminist isn’t necessarily better than another 

• Syeda Samara Mortada 

Recently, I had a 

conversation with a 

friend who saw a standup 

performance of a 

woman on Youtube, talking about 

her will to dress as she pleases 

(and not being able to) and how 

Bollywood feeds on to the image 

of woman being either a vamp 

or a Goddess, never anything in 

between. 

According to my friend, 

compared to other more important 

issues like rape and child abuse, 

this was no significant matter, and 

thus, not worthy of a discussion, 

or her time. 

I tried to explain to her that 

perhaps the invisible link, the 

thread between a woman’s choice 

(or lack thereof), and a society that 

reeks of male-domination, a nd its 

stale effects was lost on her. Her 

version of feminism, or so she 

thought, was a more justified one 

than my credulous stance. 

Flash-forward this particular 

talk, I have spoken to many other 

people (mostly women) who are 

of the opinion that a woman’s 

right to wear what she wishes 

to, or go where she pleases, or 

express herself sexually, are not 

as important predicaments in 

women’s rights discourse, as are 

violence against women on one 

hand, and the rights to education, 

forward certain ideologies over 

others certainly defies the purpose 

of feminism itself. 

Undoubtedly, feminism has 

space for different fights, different 

rights, and for multiple dialogues 

to co-exist without one faltering 

in criticism? Incidentally, I was 

part of a show even more recently 

that staged a production on gender 

stereotypes, challenges, and 

prejudices that a woman faces on a 

day-to-day basis. 

A writer/blogger who belongs 

to the latter group (the pragmatic 

ones) wrote an opinion piece 

about the production, on a very 

urban-elitist platform I should 

add, stressing that the stage 

show captured issues primarily 

faced by “urban middle class and 

upper middle class women only,” 

drawing on concerns that are not 

akin to patriarchy and subjugation, 

as faced by the major chunk of 

women in Bangladesh. 

She went on to criticise the way 

the organisers mixed up Bangla 

and English while speaking, how 

younger people at the venue were 

smoking and drinking coffee, 

how the performers were in 

Western-wear; she even went on 

to question how the organisation 

could afford such an expensive 

venue in Gulshan. Blasphemy! 

I find it absurd when I am 

questioned about telling my own 

story, or of those like mine. Isn’t 

Let’s create a more diverse tribe where all 

kinds of women and men raise each other up, 

instead of pulling them down 

Feminism is a lot of things 

BIGSTOCK 

health care, financial decisionmaking, 

on the other. 

Again, the feeling seems to 

be rooted to the fact that those 

speaking about the former list 

of issues are not the right kind 

of feminists, as opposed to the 

latter group, who sometimes 

term themselves as “pragmatic 

feminists,” denoting feminists 

who are sensible beyond measure, 

and those who call out what only 

needs to be “called out,” and can 

be fixed. 

This makes me wonder: Is there 

then a hegemony existing amongst 

the feminists themselves? Of 

course, one is aware of the 

different ideologies when it comes 

to feminism -- Marxist, liberal, 

radical, etc, but trying to push 

it obvious to know yourself best, 

to talk about your own personal 

misgivings, or accomplishments? 

How can I speak of experiences I 

have never had? 

I also take this personally, 

because I am often called names, 

and I face biases particularly 

because of the way I talk, my social 

circle, my home, my “foreign 

degree,” as if that’s something to 

feel guilty about, something I have 

not earned. 

I feel like I am constantly 

having to explain myself -- explain 

why I or my parents could afford 

to go to/send me to grad school 

abroad, why I eat at expensive 

eateries, the likes; and because 

I do all that, and then speak 

about women’s rights (that too 

in English), like my version 

of feminism is susceptible to 

perpetual suspicion. 

As if, the battle against Third 

World and First World feminists 

was not enough (in which case 

to the issue aroused because the 

struggles and accomplishments 

of both groups were dissimilar in 

nature, and hence a different set 

of voices needed to be heard, as 

opposed to white feminists telling 

the stories of feminists of colour), 

as if taking away a woman’s voice, 

her agency, her power to speak 

and breathe for herself was not 

enough, now we speak of different 

versions of feminism, amidst 

our own clad, our own class, and 

region and women. 

Perhaps there would be some 

fragment of method in this 

madness, had there been a level of 

equality that had been achieved in 

society, except there is none even 

amongst the “privileged” classes, 

and there is still a long way to go. 

Who, then, is to say that one 

struggle defeats the other, or that 

the tussles of urban women are 

less than those of rural women, 

simply because the former has a 

roof over her head, food to fill her 

tummy with, and technology in 

her hand? 

Call me a dreamer, but I dream 

of a society where women (and 

some day men too), irrespective 

of their class, socio-economic 

background, religious belief, 

and education can support one 

another and each other’s causes. 

I hope all feminists, pragmatic 

or otherwise, can simply refer to 

themselves as feminists, who truly 

believe in equality, irrespective of 

our personal differences. 

Let’s be less rigid when defining 

feminists -- let’s create a more 

diverse tribe where all kinds of 

women and men raise each other 

up, instead of pulling them down, 

be it a Beyonce or a Chimamanda 

Ngozi Adichie, a woman who likes 

pink, one that listens to rap songs, 

a woman who adorns the hijab, or 

a man who is the ruler of a nation. 

Let’s be our own kinds of 

feminists. • 

Syeda Samara Mortada is the 

Coordinator of Bonhishikha, and an 

advocate of equal rights.

Opinion 15 

Brexit becomes more complex 

The time left to strike a deal is limited 

DT 


P O S T 

BREAKFAST 

• Muhammad Zamir 

Despite the charm 

offensive initiated by the 

recent visit to Europe by 

British Prince William 

and Princess Kate, reports have 

indicated that Michel Barnier, a 

former French foreign minister, 

after his talks with his British 

counterpart David Davis, has 

reflected that the two sides were 

still at odds over Britain’s divorce 

bill. 

This includes the rights of 

European citizens living in Britain, 

and whether Britain would 

acknowledge jurisdiction of EU’s 

top court with regards to the rights 

of the 3 million European citizens 

living in Britain. 

It was hoped that the meeting 

scheduled for August 28 would 

The British Home Office, for 

its part, also knows that if its 

acclaimed goal of reciprocity of 

treatment is to be achieved, British 

citizens resident in the EU cannot 

lay claim to more rights under EU 

law than EU citizens who stay on 

in Britain enjoy under British law. 

2. Ireland 

This question has arisen within 

Phase I of the sequence of the 

Article 50 negotiations concerning 

the EU’s new frontier with 

Northern Ireland. The ultimate 

solution with regard to this 

intractable question will require a 

political solution if the UK chooses 

to stay in the EU customs union. A 

flexible interpretation of Article 50 

could then enable the emergence 

of a provisional solution. 

3. Finance 

This issue has difficult 

connotations. On May 24, 

the commission published its 

proposals for the criteria to 

determine what it calls a “single 

The clock is ticking 

REUTERS 

Brexit is likely to create a 10 billion euro hole in 

the EU’s annual revenue 

focus specifically on removing 

existing differences, and that a 

“solution” might be found on 

the basis of “flexibility from both 

sides.” This does not appear to 

have happened. 

The EU is stressing on quick 

removal of differences by October 

2018, so that the European and 

British parliaments can approve 

the deal in time for Brexit day, 

which is scheduled for March 29, 

2019. 

It is in this context that 

one needs to understand the 

nuances that are being taken into 

consideration within this exercise. 

The salient points are as follows. 

1. Citizens 

References in this regard need 

to be understood within the 

context of Article 50, and is now 

in the hands of the lawyers. The 

EU appears to be aware of the 

apparent contradiction between, 

on the one hand, wanting to treat 

the UK like a third country, and on 

the other, insisting on permanent, 

continued direct jurisdiction of the 

European Court of Justice (ECJ). 

They are realising that extraterritorial 

jurisdiction of the ECJ 

cannot simply be presumed. 

financial settlement.” 

However, as yet there has been 

no official response from London. 

Without a bankable promise 

from the UK on the budget, the 

European Council will have 

difficulty in judging whether 

“sufficient progress” is being made 

on Phase I to allow it to trigger 

Phase II. 

It also needs to be remembered 

at this point that unless Phase II 

starts, there will be no political 

discussions on defining the 

framework for the future 

relationship between the UK and 

the EU. 

Consequently, without 

agreement on Britain’s final 

landing zone, clearly defined and 

mapped out, it will be impossible 

to proceed towards a negotiation 

of the transitional arrangements. 

Therein lies the rub, because the 

transition period can only be 

designed once it has been decided 

how long the UK will continue 

to honour its current budgetary 

obligations under the EU’s multiannual 

financial framework. 

The importance of this exercise 

arises from the fact that Brexit is 

likely to create a 10 billion euro 

hole in the EU’s annual revenue. 

4. Transition 

The lack of a concrete decision 

on the transition arrangements is 

likely to seriously impact business 

in Britain, whose opportunities for 

investment are already declining. 

In any case, the longer it takes 

to put the transitional apparatus 

in place, the less valuable the 

transition period will become. 

Economists have indicated that 

investors will not hang around the 

City of London waiting for clarity 

and purpose to emerge from 

Whitehall. 

A British response will also 

be required with regard to 

the proposal of the European 

Commission made on June 28 that 

a Joint Committee be set up to 

manage the actual Brexit process. 

This envisages a joint transition 

authority that will ensure suitable 

execution of various facets of the 

Article 50 secession treaty; adjust 

the secession treaty to reflect 

the evolution of EU law; ensure 

an agreed process aiming to find 

a settlement to political and 

technical disputes before they get 

to litigation and also “perform any 

other task conferred on it by the 

Withdrawal Agreement.” 

Only close coordination 

between London and Brussels will 

avoid any possible legal vacuum in 

this respect. 

5. The court 

British Prime Minister Theresa 

May in all likelihood will need to 

prepare herself and her coalition to 

agree to make a major concession 

on the future role of the ECJ. 

This will be insisted upon, 

because as long as any transitional 

period lasts, the ECJ will retain 

its current powers to ensure 

that relevant EU law is applied 

appropriately in the UK. As a 

result, they will have to accept the 

legal obligations that flow from 

those rights. 

At this time, the British 

government and its parliament 

appears to be recovering slowly 

from the double hangover of the 

2016 referendum and the 2017 

general election. This is affecting 

its ability in being able to agree on 

strategic decisions. 

Nevertheless, the EU 27 also 

needs to have patience with regard 

to potential joint initiatives. They 

also need to reflect on the future, 

not just of the smaller European 

Union, but of the wider Europe 

after the forthcoming German 

elections in September. 

I shall conclude with Fabian 

Zuleeg. He has pointed out: 

“Back in Britain, the turmoil is 

obvious, with different members 

of government taking diverging 

views, suggesting, at times, 

that a soft Brexit or a transition 

arrangement might be possible, 

even if it means concessions on 

the role of the European Court of 

Justice (ECJ), the exit payment, 

the rights of EU citizens and even 

(temporarily) continued freedom 

of movement of EU citizens. 

Adding to this is a chorus 

of voices outside government 

demanding that the UK reconsider 

its position, following the 

indecisive general election.” 

As former permanent 

representative of Bangladesh to 

the European Union, I feel that 

Zuleeg has correctly warned that 

“the assumption that the EU27 are 

willing to accept any deal to avoid 

Brexit is misguided. 

“Not only are there red lines 

that they will not cross, but the 

clock is ticking as well. The time 

left to strike a deal is limited. 

“Otherwise the UK will end up 

with no deal at all. 

“The reason that the EU27 are 

willing to accept this negative 

outcome is that greater goods are 

at stake: The unity of the EU27, 

the integrity of the single market, 

and the future of European 

integration.” 

Brexit has become more 

complex, but a constructive 

approach on both sides, based 

on reason, will create a better 

framework for the rest of the 

world, particularly developing 

countries like Bangladesh which 

rely on both parties for support 

in their quest for socio-economic 

development.• 

Muhammad Zamir, a former 

Ambassador and Chief Information 

Commissioner of the Information 

Commission, is an analyst specialised in 

foreign affairs, right to information, and 

good governance. He can be reached at 

muhammadzamir0@gmail.com.

16 


DT 

Downtime 

CROSSWORD 

ACROSS 

1 Punctuation mark (5) 

4 Daybreak (4) 

7 Choler (3) 

8 Headwear (3) 

9 Ranks (5) 

12 Yield (4) 

13 Perfume (7) 

15 Female deer (3) 

16 Secret agent (3) 

18 Wildebeest (3) 

19 Male sheep (3) 

21 Begins again (7) 

24 Drug-yielding plant (4) 

26 Draw forth (5) 

27 Period of time (3) 

28 Metal (3) 

29 Look narrowly (4) 

30 Search (5) 

DOWN 

1 Quote (4) 

2 Prayer (6) 

3 Liquor dregs (4) 

4 Fish (4) 

5 Monkey (3) 

6 Very poor (5) 

10 Colour (3) 

11 Sleep noisily (5) 

14 Stop (5) 

17 Abstract (6) 

18 Hold firmly (5) 

20 Wet, soft earth (3) 

21 Bring up (4) 

22 Silent (4) 

23 Transmitted (4) 

25 Lyric poem (3) 

CODE-CRACKER 

How to solve: Each number in our 

CODE-CRACKER grid represents a 

different letter of the alphabet. For 

example, today 12 represents W so fill W 

every time the figure 12 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 

UPCOMING 

BLOCKBUSTER CINEMAS 

(Sept 6) 

STUDY IN CANADA & USA OPEN DAY 

When 2-5pm 

Where The Professional Network Ltd, House 1, Road 4, Old 

DOHS, Dhaka 

What Meet Dylan Hoemsen of Navitas to help get admissions 

abroad. 

September 7 

Jatra Biroti Live Performances 

When 9-11pm 

Where Jatra Biroti, 60 Kemal Ataturk Avenue, Banani, Dhaka 

What Live performance by Aklima Fakirani – a devout 

follower of Lalon Fakir. 

EXHIBITION 

TURKEY BANGLA CALLIGRAPHY EXHIBITION 

2017 

When 10am-1pm 

Where Baitul Mukarram National Mosque, National Mosque 

Baitul Mukarram, Dhaka 

What Calligraphers from both Turkey and Bangladesh will 

participate in the competition. 

Transformers-The Last Knight (3D): 

12pm, 1:50pm, 4:50pm, 7:20pm 

Spider-Man Homecoming (3D): 

1:45pm, 4:30pm, 7:20pm 

The Mummy (3D): 2:35pm, 5pm 

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

7:25pm 

Shona Bondhu (2D): 4:30pm 

Baywatch (2D): 2pm 

Despicable Me 3 (3D): 11:40am, 

3pm, 5:05pm 

The Glass Castle (2D): 11:40am, 

7:45pm 

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

5pm, 7:50pm 

Annabelle: Creation (2D): 11:30am, 

5:20pm, 7:30pm, 7:50pm 

An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to 

Power (2D): 11:50pm 

September 9 

The Armeen Musa Band Live At Ajo Idea Space 

When 4-7pm 

Where Ajo Idea Space, House 14/ A Road 2, Sector 13, Uttara, 

Dhaka 

What The last acoustic set of the AM band’s poems and 

songs, before they take a break to go into the studio. 

5 steps for college apps 

Applying to college can be 

daunting, but taking a step by 

step approach will allow you to 

succeed. This month, a lot of 

students are planning to apply for 

college next year, so here are a 

few pointers to help them out. 

Specific college admissions 

requirements vary from college 

to college (always check with 

the ones you are applying to), 

but luckily the basics are largely 

the same. Make sure you take 

care of all the details the college 

application requires. 

Fill out the application 

As part of the admissions process, 

you’ll be required to fill out some 

basic application paperwork, 

which will include personal 

information about yourself and 

your high school career, like 

extracurricular activities you 

participated in. 

Write the admissions essay 

You will also have to write an 

admissions essay when applying 

to college. Usually the school will 

provide a number of prompts 

for you to choose from. In some 

cases, you may be able to choose 

your own topic. Be sure to 

proofread your college admissions 

essay carefully. 

Gather supplemental 

materials 

Some colleges require college 

recommendation letters. These 

usually come from teachers who 

are familiar with your work. 

Some students may also get 

recommendations from coaches, 

community service organisers, or 

other adults who can attest to the 

student’s skills and work ethic. 

Receive your acceptance 

letter 

Even if you’ve started getting 

acceptance letters, the process 

of applying to college is not 

complete. Once you are done 

deciding which university you 

would like to attend, you’ll have 

to let the school know that you 

have decided to accept its offer of 

admission. 

After this, there will be even 

more paperwork to sort out, like 

filling out housing forms and 

signing up for campus meal plans. 

The school should send you all 

the information and paperwork 

you need. 

Tips: Just for International 

Students 

Admissions requirements for 

international students applying 

to college will include some 

extra challenges. From taking 

the TOEFL or other standardized 

English language test, to 

obtaining a visa, international 

students should be sure to find 

out what additional requirements 

they need to fulfill. •

DT 

18 

Sports 


Bangladesh’s Mehedi Hasan Miraz is caught short of the crease during day two of their second Test against Australia in Chittagong yesterday 

Nasir rues falling 100-150 runs short 

• Ali Shahriyar Bappa 

from Chittagong 

Tigers batsman Nasir Hossain admitted 

that Bangladesh fell 100-150 

runs short in their first innings of 

the second and final Test match as 

Australia displayed a good batting 

performance on day two at Zahur 

Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium yesterday. 

Bangladesh missed two chances 

to dismiss opener David Warner 

as the Australia vice-captain 

again played a crucial knock and 

anchored his side to a first-innings 

lead. 

“I think we fell short by 100-150 

runs, looking at the wicket. We 

should have scored at least 400- 

450 as our first innings total. We 

would have had a better day had 

those been taken. They would have 

been three down. The catch at forward 

short leg was a 50-50 chance 

and these are tough ones. And in 

the second chance, the ball kept 

low for the stumping. So it was 

difficult too,” Nasir told the media 

after the day’s play. 

Australia’s Nathan Lyon bowls en route to registering his second best ever bowling 

figure in a Test innings 

MD MANIK 

MD MANIK 

Australia are in the driving seat 

after day two as they are only 80 

behind Bangladesh’s first innings 

total of 305. 

But Nasir admitted things could 

soon turn around for them within 

one or two hours of a good performance 

today and hoped Bangladesh 

will bounce back on day 

three. 

“We are still ahead by 80. It 

is hard to predict things in cricket. 

But I think we are slightly on 

the backfoot. A lot can however, 

change in an hour in a Test match. I 

believe our bowlers did well. Warner 

doesn’t bat slowly but he did 

that [yesterday]. Only thing was 

that we didn’t take wickets. The 

match can change any time. We are 

not thinking about the result at this 

stage,” explained Nasir. 

Bangladesh were bowling a legstump 

line constantly and Nasir 

said the Tigers tried to take advantage 

of the rough areas on the pitch 

as there was not much turn available. 

“There was a lot of help for 

the bowlers in the Mirpur Test. 

But there isn’t enough bounce 

here for the bowlers. The ball 

isn’t turning, especially those on 

the stumps. It is turning off the 

rough,” he said. 

“We were both attacking and defensive 

[yesterday]. Shakib bowled 

much on the offside to Warner, 

which is hard for him. [Steve] Smith 

swept two fours though he doesn’t 

sweep. Deliveries on stumps were 

not turning much. We wanted to 

block Smith and Warner who are 

free scoring. We were trying to 

force them to make mistakes,” he 

concluded. • 

2ND TEST, DAY 2 

BANGLADESH 1ST INNINGS OVERNIGHT 

253/6 IN 90 OVERS R B 

Mushfiq b Lyon 68 166 

Nasir c Wade b Agar 45 97 

Miraz run out (Warner) 11 45 

Taijul c Smith b Lyon 9 12 

Mustafizur not out 0 2 

Extras (b 5) 5 

Total (113.2 Overs, all out) 305 

Bowling 

Cummins 22-5-46-0, Lyon 36.2-7-94-7, 

O’Keefe 23-0-79-0, Agar 23-9-52-2, Maxwell 

4-0-13-0, Cartwright 5-1-16-0 

Fall Of Wickets 

7-265 (Mushfiq), 8-293 (Nasir), 9-296 

(Miraz), 10-305 (Taijul) 

AUSTRALIA 1ST INNINGS R B 

Renshaw c Mushfiq b Mustafizur 4 7 

Warner not out 88 170 

Smith b Taijul 58 94 

Handscomb not out 69 113 

Extras (b 4, lb 2) 6 

Total (64 Overs) 225/2 

Yet to bat 

Maxwell, Cartwright, Wade, Agar, Cummins, 

O’Keefe and Lyon 

Bowling 

Miraz 20-2-53-0, Mustafizur 10-0-45-1, 

Shakib 15-0-52-0, Taijul 15-1-50-1, Nasir 

1-0-4-0, Mominul 2-0-6-0, Sabbir 1-0-9-0 

Fall Of Wickets 

1-5 (Renshaw), 2-98 (Smith) 

Australia trail by 80 runs

Sports 

19 


DT 

PLAYS OF THE DAY 

Taijul rips through Smith defence 

Australia batted confidently despite 

losing opener Matt Ranshew early. Two 

of their best batsmen – vice captain 

David Warner and captain Steve Smith 

– were batting with composure and 

scoring runs quite easily. These two 

formed a 93-run partnership for the 

second wicket. There was not that much 

turn on the pitch and both Warner and 

Smith played the spinners with aplomb. 

In the process Smith picked up his 21st 

Test fifty and was looking towards a big 

hundred. Bangladesh brought Taijul Islam 

to the attack in the 29th over for the 

first time in the innings and he took the 

all important wicket of Smith straightaway. 

It was an arm ball from Taijul. Smith 

tried a forward defensive shot but there 

was a big gap between his pad and bat 

and the ball sneaked through to hit the 

middle stump. That was a big wicket for 

the Tigers. 

Warner’s dropped chances 

Warner continued his brilliant run of 

form in the Chittagong Test match after 

his heroics in the Dhaka Test last week. 

He was the anchor of Australia’s batting 

as the visiting side finished the second 

day with a strong reply of 225 for two. 

Warner was unbeaten on 88 but he did 

give two chances in his innings, which 

were both missed, proving to be costly 

for Bangladesh. The first chance came 

in the last ball of the 39th over when 

Taijul was bowling. It was tossed up, 

on a length and outside off, spun and 

bounced sharply towards Warner. He 

tried to defend only to manage an edge. 

But eventually Mominul Haque missed 

it at short leg. Warner was batting on 

52 then. The second chance came in 

the 57th over off Mehedi Hasan Miraz’s 

bowling. Warner danced down the track 

and missed it as the ball kept low. Wicket-keeper 

Mushfiqur Rahim failed to grab 

the ball and Warner survived again. The 

left-hander is on the verge of a hundred 

and these two costly errors may pave the 

way for the Tigers to be regretful. 

Ali Shahriyar Bappa from Chittagong 

Australia’s Peter Handscomb drives on way to his unbeaten half century 

Lehmann praises gutsy Warner, Handscomb 

• Ali Shahriyar Bappa from 

Chittagong 

Australia cricket team coach Darren 

Lehmann praised the two unbeaten 

batsmen David Warner and 

Peter Handscomb for their unbeaten 

third-wicket partnership 

in hot and humid conditions and 

admitted that they need to start 

fresh today to build on their good 

work from yesterday. 

“It was a really gutsy performance, 

obviously it’s pretty hot 

out there, we saw that [yesterday] 

and you have to work really hard 

for your runs. So to get through 

and the way they played was excellent. 

They’re in the ice baths 

now and we’ll leave them with the 

medical team to get them right 

for [today]. Very special day and 

hopefully [today] they can kick 

on. We’ve played well [yesterday] 

but [today] is another day,” Lehman 

told the media at the postday 

press conference. 

The wicket was a bit different 

compared to the Dhaka Test as 

there is not much turn and bounce 

but Lehmann believes the ball will 

turn as the game goes on, just like 

typical sub-continent tracks. 

“From the first Test, a totally 

different wicket, but that’s not our 

choice. That’s what Bangladesh 

want to do, they’re well within 

their right. I thought it would turn 

more, no doubt. Obviously (they) 

beat us on a pretty big turner in 

the first Test but it’s played pretty 

well so far. I think it’ll break 

up and still turn as the game goes 

on. It’s like more of a traditional 

sub-continent wicket,” the bald 

headed coach explained. 

Off-spinner Nathan Lyon bowled 

superbly throughout the innings 

and picked up seven wickets. 

The coach is pleased with Lyon’s 

consistency, particularly in 

the sub-continent, and congratulated 

him for overtaking Jason Gillespie 

as one of Australia’s highest 

MD MANIK 

wicket-takers in Test. 

“It was fantastic (Lyon’s bowling). 

Obviously he’s just getting 

better and better in these conditions. 

Changing his variations and 

growing and growing as a bowler. 

Overtaking Jason Gillespie is a pretty 

mean feat for a finger-spinner. 

He’s really growing as a leader in 

our pack, if you like, in these conditions. 

He’s made subtle changes 

- I think he said ‘bowl ugly’ - and 

that’s what he’s been prepared to 

(do). Fifty runs down and he put 

the ball in good areas more often 

than not so I’ve been really pleased 

with his consistency and the way 

he’s changed,” said Lehmann. • 

Committee formed to investigate Australia bus incident 

• Tribune Report 

The BCB in a statement yesterday 

said it is treating the Australia 

cricket team bus incident with the 

utmost of seriousness. 

The board also informed that a 

high-power committee has been 

formed by the concerned security 

agencies to investigate and find the 

facts on the incident. The Aussies 

had suffered a scare while travelling 

back to their hotel from Zahur 

Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in 

Chittagong after the first day’s play 

of the second and final Test match 

on Monday against Bangladesh. 

As per reports, a small pebble 

is said to have been thrown at the 

window of the Australia team bus, 

causing minor damage. 

No Australian player or any of 

the support staff were injured in 

the incident. The BCB has been in 

constant communication with the 

Australian management and as 

added assurance, security measures 

have been enhanced on the 

travelling route of the teams. 

According to the BCB, Australia 

have “expressed their satisfaction and 

comfort with the security operation 

in place and appreciated the response 

from the BCB and the local authorities 

following Monday’s incident.” 

It is understood that the BCB 

had taken added measures immediately 

after learning of the incident 

on Monday. 

The security convoy to the 

field from hotel in Chittagong was 

beefed up for both the teams. 

Meanwhile, Chittagong Metropolitan 

Police has formed a 

three-member committee to probe 

into the allegations of stone pelting 

on the Australian team bus. 

The committee is headed by 

the CMP’s Deputy Commissioner 

(west) Faruqul Haque. 

Faruqul told the Dhaka Tribune 

that they were asked to submit 

the investigation report within the 

shortest possible time. 

“Allegations were raised that the 

bus carrying Australia were pelted 

with stone at Baro Quarter area under 

the city’s Double-Mooring police 

station on Monday night. The Australia 

team were on their way back 

to the hotel. The window pane of 

the bus was found to have scratch. 

We are hopeful of submitting the investigation 

report within the stipulated 

time,” said the police high-up, 

adding that they have ensured foolproof 

security for the visiting side. 

On the other hand, Cricket Australia 

security manager Sean Carroll 

expressed satisfaction with the 

security provided so far. 

“Team security personnel are 

currently in discussion with local 

authorities while they investigate 

the cause, which is believed to 

have come from a small rock or 

stone. Bangladesh authorities are 

taking the incident seriously and 

security has been increased on the 

route,” said Carroll to an Australia-based 

cricket website. 

Regarding the issue, Australia 

coach Darren Lehmann said, “We’ve 

been well-informed. Startled when 

it happened obviously but security’s 

been unbelievable while we’ve been 

here. Both security teams - ours and 

Bangladesh’s - have been fantastic. 

They talk us through these things 

and we leave it to the security side 

of things for that.” 

The BCB was in a similar situation 

during the 2011 World Cup 

hosted jointly by Bangladesh, India 

and Sri Lanka. Bus carrying the West 

Indies players was stoned on its way 

back to the team hotel in Dhaka. 

There were no injuries and both 

Bangladesh and the Windies squads 

had safely reached the hotel. •

20 


DT 

Sports 

Roger Federer of Switzerland returns during his US Open fourth round match against Philipp Kohlschreiber of Germany at Flushing Meadows on Monday 

Federer and Nadal move within sight of 

landmark meeting 

• Reuters, New York 

Roger Federer crushed Germany’s 

Philipp Kohlschreiber 6-4 6-2 7-5 to 

ease into the quarter-finals of the 

U.S. Open and remain on a collision 

course for a semi-final showdown 

with Rafa Nadal. 

The elegant Swiss maestro and 

the muscular Spaniard have played 

for titles on French Open clay, 

Wimbledon’s manicured lawns and 

in Australian heat and while no trophy 

would be on the line, a New 

York meeting would still have the 

Big Apple buzzing. 

One of sport’s great rivalries, 

Federer and Nadal have clashed 

37 times over the years but never 

stood across from each other on 

Flushing Meadows’ hardcourts. 

Standing between Federer and 

a semi-final berth is towering Argentine 

Juan Martin del Potro, who 

beat the former world number one 

in the 2009 final to lift his only 

grand slam title. 

Nadal kept up his end of the bargain 

with a straight sets win over 

Ukraine’s Alexandr Dolgopolov 

Messi deal signed by agent, 

claims Bartomeu 

• AFP, Barcelona 

Barcelona’s under-fire president 

Josep Maria Bartomeu launched 

a counter-attack on his critics 

yesterday by insisting a four-year 

contract extension for Lionel Messi 

has been signed by the player’s 

agent and father, Jorge Horacio 

Messi. 

Barca announced an agreement 

with the five-time World Player of 

the Year in July, but Messi himself 

is yet to put pen to paper amid rumours 

he is unhappy with the running 

of the club. 

Messi’s current deal expires in 

2018 meaning he could leave Barca 

for free next summer. 

“It is all agreed and signed,” said 

Bartomeu in an interview with Barca-based 

daily Sport. 

“There are three contracts: 

one with Messi’s foundation, that 

is signed by the president of the 

foundation and the player’s brother; 

a contract with Leo Messi’s 

image rights, that his father and 

administrator of his company have 

signed; and the work contract that 

Leo’s father has signed.” 

When pressed on the delay in 

Messi signing the deal, Bartomeu 

claimed both the player and club’s 

hectic start to the season was to 

blame and that it would be resolved 

within a month. 

“There are no problems. All that 

is left is the protocol of the signature. 

We are calm,” he added. 

earlier on Monday. He will need to 

get past 19-year-old Russian Andrey 

Rublev. 

After two marathon five-setters 

to open his U.S. Open account, 

Federer sprinted past veteran 

Spaniard Feliciano Lopez in just 77 

minutes in the third round and dismissed 

Kohlschreiber in one hour, 

49 minutes without facing a break 

point. 

Unbeaten by the German in 11 

matches prior to Monday’s clash, 

Federer started quietly and was 

content to feel out his opponent 

Bartomeu and his board have 

received fierce criticism for their 

handling of the recently closed 

transfer window as Paris Saint-Germain 

enticed Neymar away from 

the Catalan giants for a world record 

222m euros ($263.7m). 

A vote of no confidence motion 

has been launched by former Barca 

presidential candidate Agusti 

Benedito that could oust Bartomeu 

if it receives enough support from 

the club’s members in the coming 

weeks. 

However, Bartomeu described 

the loss of the Brazilian as an “opportunity” 

for Barca to build their 

team around the midfield rather 

than a superstar front three of Neymar, 

Messi and Luis Suarez. • 

REUTERS 

but it was not long until he turned 

up the pressure and broke his opponent 

with a thundering forehand 

before wrapping up the first set. 

With the match on serve at 2-1, 

razor sharp Federer tore through 

six successive games to take the 

second set and go 1-0 up in the 

third. 

With Kohlschreiber on the 

ropes, the 36-year-old Swiss 

seemed to ease up but he took the 

decisive break at 6-5 before closing 

out the match with a classic forehand 

winner. • 

Del Potro 

thanks crowd 

for epic win 

• Reuters, New York 

Juan Martin Del Potro produced a 

stunning comeback to reach the 

U.S. Open quarter-finals on Monday, 

a feat he believes was impossible 

without the backing of a partisan 

crowd. 

The Argentine, who lifted the 

trophy in New York in 2009, has 

been a Flushing Meadows favourite 

and needed all the support he 

could get against Austrian sixth 

seed Dominic Thiem. 

“I’m getting good energy from 

the crowd in every match,” he had 

said before his 1-6 2-6 6-1 7-6 (1) 6-4 

win on Grandstand court. 

The 24th-seed, whose career 

has been plagued by multiple injuries, 

said he was about to retire 

when he drew some energy from 

the crowd as Thiem was cruising to 

victory. 

“I was thinking to retire in the 

middle of the second set because 

I couldn’t breathe, I couldn’t move 

well,” said Del Potro, who called 

the doctor twice during the opening 

set. 

“Dominic was dominating the 

match so easy.” 

Del Potro started to play better, 

and a break early in the third set 

gave him the extra confidence he 

needed to believe in his chances. 

“Then when we started the third 

set, I broke his serve very quickly, 

and then I won the set in 20 minutes,” 

he recalled. 

“Then it was another story. I 

started to see the crowd. I took all 

the energy from the fans. That’s 

what I did and in the end, I just 

kept fighting. I didn’t give up any 

point from the third until the fifth 

set.” • 

McLaren's driver Fernando Alonso of Spain and Real Madrid's president Florentino 

Perez pose after Alonso was named Real Madrid honorary member in a ceremony 

at Santiago Bernabeu Stadium in Madrid, Spain, on Monday 

REUTERS

Sports 

21 


DT 

Germany thrash Norway, England survive Slovakia scare 

• AFP, Paris 

Germany fired six past Norway 

while England fought back after 

an early scare to beat Slovakia in 

European World Cup qualifying on 

Monday. 

Timo Werner scored a double in 

Germany’s 6-0 rout of the Norwegians 

in Stuttgart to leave Joachim 

Loew’s world champions with a 

perfect eight out of eight record 

atop Group C. 

The Northern Irish guaranteed 

themselves at least a place in the 

play-offs thanks to Jonny Evans’ 

second international goal eight 

years after his first and his West 

Bromwich Albion teammate Chris 

Brunt’s 41st minute freekick. 

At Wembley, England were 

stunned when Stanislav Lobotka 

gave Slovakia a third-minute lead after 

a costly error by Marcus Rashford. 

But the 19-year-old atoned in 

style when setting up the equaliser 

for Eric Dier and then netting a 

DAY’S WATCH 

CRICKET 

STAR SPORTS SELECT 1 

9:50PM 

Australia Tour Of Bangladesh 

2nd Test, Day 2 

SONY TEN 3 

5:00PM 

India Tour Of Sri Lanka 

Only T20I 

TENNIS 

STAR SPORTS SELECT 1 

10:00PM 

US Open 2017 

BCB HP team reach England 

for eight one-day matches 

• Tribune Report 

A sixteen-member BCB High Performance 

team reached England yesterday 

for their two-week long tour. 

Led by Nazmul Hossain Shanto, 

the BCB HP side will play eight 

one-day matches against different 

county clubs’ 2nd XI sides. 

Besides Shanto, the side includes 

five Bangladesh cricketers 

in the shape of pacers Abu Haider 

and Subashish Roy, middle-order 

batsman Mosaddek Hossain, 

all-rounder Tanbir Hayder and 

leg-spinner Jubair Hossain. 

The tourist will begin their tour 

facing Nottingham in back to back 

matches on Thursday and Friday 

respectively at Lady Bay Cricket 

Ground in West Bridgford. 

Following a day’s rest, the 

Bangladesh cricketers will take on 

Northants, Lancashire and Warwickshire 

on Sunday, Monday and 

Tuesday respectively. 

England’s Marcus Rashford in action during their Fifa World Cup 2018 Qualifications match against Slovakia in London, Britain 

on Monday 

REUTERS 

FIXTURE 

v Nottingham, Sept 7 

v Nottingham, Sept 8 

v Northants, Sept 10 

v Lancashire, Sept 11 

v Warwickshire, Sept 12 

v Worcestershire, Sept 14 

v Warwickshire, Sept 15 

v MCC Young Cricketers, Sept 17 

In their last three matches, BCB 

HP team will take on Worcestershire, 

Warwickshire and Marylebone 

Young Cricketers on September 

14, 15 and 17 respectively. 

Squad: Nazmul Hossain Shanto 

(C), Zakir Hasan (WK), Mosaddek 

Hossain, Shadman Islam, Tanbir 

Hayder (VC), Irfan Sukkur, Yasir 

Ali, Saifuddin, Al Amin, Mehedi 

Hasan, Jubair Hossain, Abu 

Haider, Ebadat Hossain, Imran 

Ali, Syed Khalid and Subashish 

Roy • 

sumptuous 20-yard winner in the 

second half. 

Victory sent England five points 

clear of Slovakia in Group F - Gareth 

Southgate’s side need only 

two points from their last two 

games against Slovenia and Lithuania 

to seal qualification. 

Scotland kept alive their hopes 

of a play-off place with a 2-0 home 

win over Malta, the goals coming 

from Christophe Berra and Celtic 

striker Leigh Griffiths. 

Gordan Strachan’s team are alive 

and kicking on the road to Russia in 

fourth place, on 14 points. 

Elsewhere, Poland held on to 

the Group E summit, beating Kazakhstan 

3-0, with Denmark going 

second on the strength of a 4-1 win 

in Armenia. • 

Werner earns top billing as 

Germany striker 

Germany's Timo Werner (2L) heads the ball during their World Cup Qualifications 

match against Norway in Stuttgart on Monday 

AFP 

• Reuters, Berlin 

Germany striker Timo Werner’s 

enviable scoring record after only 

eight internationals has earned 

him a starting spot in attack with 

fellow forward Mario Gomez bowing 

to the talented 21-year-old less 

than a year before the World Cup. 

Werner burst onto the international 

scene in the past year 

and has so far netted six times for 

RESULTS 

GROUP C 

Azerbaijan 5-1 San Marino 

Ismailov 20, 57, Abdullayev 25, Palazzi 73 

Cevoli 71-og., Sadygov 81 

Northern Ireland 2-0 

Evans 28, Brunt 41 

Czech Republic 

Germany 6-0 Norway 

Ozil 10, Draxler 17, Werner 21, 40, 

Goretzka 50, Gomez 79 

GROUP E 

Armenia 1-4 Denmark 

Koryan 6 Delaney 16, 82, 90+3, 

Eriksen 29 

Poland 3-0 Kazakhstan 

Milik 11, Glik 74, Lewandowski 86-P 

Montenegro 1-0 Romania 

Jovetic 75 

GROUP F 

England 2-1 Slovakia 

Dier 37, Rashford 59 Lobotka 3 

Slovenia 4-0 Lithuania 

Ilicic 25-P, 61-P, 

Verbic 82, Birsa 90 

Scotland 2-0 Malta 

Berra 9, Griffiths 49 

Germany, including three at the 

Confederations Cup this summer, 

where he was joint top scorer. 

The RB Leipzig forward, whose 

speed and versatility up front has 

given Germany far more options, 

has muscled his way into the team 

and his two goals in their 6-0 rout 

of Norway on Monday further 

tightened his hold on the spot. 

“He will dominate the attack for 

Germany for the next 10 years,” the 

32-year-old Gomez, who has himself 

scored a highly respectable 31 

goals in 71 matches, told reporters 

after also getting onto the scoresheet 

against Norway. 

“It is likely he will do the same in 

Europe if he continues like that. He 

is level-headed and does a fantastic 

job. We need someone like Timo in 

such a form if we want to be world 

champions.” The Germans have won 

all their eight matches so far, scoring 

35 goals and conceding just two. • 

Diego Simeone extends Atletico deal to 2020 

• AFP, Madrid 

Diego Simeone committed his future to Atletico 

Madrid by agreeing a two-year contract extension 

to remain as coach of the Spanish giants until 

2020, Atletico announced yesterday. 

“The renewal of Diego Pablo Simeone is now 

a reality,” Atletico said in a statement. “Our 

coach has signed a new contract that ties him to 

Atletico Madrid for two more seasons, until June 

30, 2020.” 

Simeone, 47, has enjoyed huge success since 

taking over an Atletico side in the doldrums back 

in 2011. 

The Argentine has led Atletico to one of 

the most successful eras in the club’s history, 

including a first La Liga title in 18 years in the 

2013/14 season. 

Atletico have also reached two Champions 

League finals under Simeone’s tutelage, but 

lost out in heartbreaking fashion on both 

occasions to cross city rivals Real Madrid in 

2014 and 2016. 

On top of La Liga, Simeone has also won the 

Europa League (2012), Uefa Super Cup (2012), 

Copa del Rey (2013) and Spanish Super Cup 

(2014) since returning to coach the team he had 

two spells with as a player. •

22 


DT 

Showtime 

The prince of Bangladeshi Film – Salman Shah 

19 September 1971– 6 September 1996 

• Rumpa Farzana 

Shahriar Chowdhury Emon, known by his stage name Salman Shah, 

was the most popular hero in the 1990s. His fans were obsessed 

with the actor’s appearance, and his roles had a great impact on 

them. As Salman Shah was an icon to millions of youth, even after 

21 years of his sudden death, his fans still cannot forget him. Here 

are some facts about the actor: 

Salman Shah commenced 

his acting journey with 

a television drama titled 

Akash Choa in 1985. Later, he 

appeared in another television 

venture, Saikote Sarosh in 

which his character’s name 

was Rabbi. Salman Shah also 

ventured in the first episode 

of another popular drama 

serial Pathor Shomoy. 

Even after 21 years of his 

death, the mystery remains 

unsolved. One of his in 

laws, Rabeya Sultana Ruby, 

alleged that her brother 

was part of the ‘plot’ and 

murdered Salman at the 

behest of her Chinese 

husband and the family of 

Samira Haq, the actor’s wife 

in a viral video message 

Salman Shah was a 

trend setter. His fashion 

materials, starting from 

his scarf to his bracelet 

became a trend among 

the young generation 

back then. 

After his sudden death, 

almost 22 to 23 girls 

committed suicide for 

Salman. One of his friends, 

Nazrul, became mentally 

unstable and he was seen 

several times near FDC, 

looking for Salman. 

Salman’s maternal grand 

father played in the first 

film of East Pakistan, Mukh 

O Mukhosh. As the family 

was quite culture oriented, 

Salman got all the support 

for his acting endeavours 

whenever he asked for. 

Salman was known as 

a singer in his friend 

circle. He completed his 

certificate course from 

Chayanaut in Bangla folk 

song. He also sang songs 

for his film Prem Juddho. 

In four years of 

Salman’s career, 

he acted in 27 films 

while 14 of those 

were with actress 

Shabnoor, and were 

big hits. • 

Salman also appeared 

in the popular TV show 

Ittyadi. Hanif Sanket 

introduced him as a model 

in the song where Salman 

played a drug addict, 

whose life ended in an 

unfortunate way. 

Two new comers were also 

introduced along with Salman 

through this film – Moushumi 

and singer Agun. Agun became 

the iconic on screen voice of 

Salman and the duo produced 

many hit numbers together. But 

Salman was not seen much with 

Moushumi after then. He acted 

with Moushumi in feature films 

Denmohor and Antore Antore 

after their debut film. 

In 1993, Shah got his break-through 

in the film Keyamot Theke Keyamot, 

directed by Sohanur Rahman 

Sohan. Sohan got the copyright 

for two films – Sanam Bewafa and 

Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak, which 

released in 1988. Sohan was looking 

for the ideal match for the role, but 

could not find any. Then Khashnur 

Alamgir, mother of Ankhi Alamgir 

proposed Salman Shah’s name. 

Salman was known as Emon back in 

those days. Sohan took his audition 

and finally cast him in the film. 

Obama, Serena recreate Beyonce 

look for birthday 

• Showtime Desk 

Former First Lady Michelle Obama, 

Serena Williams, Kelly Rowland and 

other famous friends of Beyonce 

recreated the singer’s “Formation” 

look marking her birthday, Monday. 

The celebrities took photographs 

donning the pigtail braids, black hat, 

and the statement necklace from 

the “Formation” music video which 

were posted on Beyonce’s website on 

Monday. 

Because of images highlighted in 

the music video, the song has faced 

controversy from police groups 

which featured Beyonce standing on 

a sinking police cruiser in the intro. 

The music video also depicted a wall 

that reads, “stop shooting us,” and 

puts on show a child dancing in front 

of police officers who are wearing riot 

gear. 

However, the former First Lady’s 

decision to recreate Beyonce’s look 

from the “Formation” music video is 

sure to raise some eyebrows. 

Meanwhile, Beyonce’s husband 

led the crowd during the Made in 

America music festival on Sunday, by 

singing a birthday song to his wife on 

Sunday. The crowd captured a video 

of Jay-Z on the stage and posted it 

on social media, which also shows 

Beyonce smiling from the audience, 

and dancing along. 

Born and raised in Houston, 

Beyonce turned 36 on September 4.•

Showtime 

23 


DT 

Release date 

announced for 

Farooki’s ‘Doob’ 


After a long turbulent journey, the 

much anticipated Bangladesh- 

India joint production film Doob 

(No Bed of Roses) is finally all set to 

hit the theaters. 

The film will see a wide 

release on October 27 both 

in Bangladesh and India. At 

the same, the film may also 

see release in Australia and 

Singapore, depending on the 

talk with the Australian and 

Singapore distributors that is 

currently taking place. More 

countries might be included later. 

Meanwhile, the producers have 

also decided to go for a limited 

release on September 15, which 

would make the film qualiafied 

for submission under the foreign 

language category at the Academy 

Awards. 

Jointly produced by Jaaz 

Multimedia and Eskay movies, 

co-produced by Irrfan Khan, 

and directed by Mostofa Sarwar 

Farooki, the film has already 

garnered rave reviews from top 

film magazines including Variety, 

The Hollywood Reporter, and 

Screen daily. 

Variety wrote, “Directed with 

an assured and graceful touch 

that evokes the elegiac tone 

of a requiem, Mostofa Sarwar 

Farooki proves he’s a singular 

voice in Bangladeshi cinema.” It 

also heavily praised Irrfan Khan’s 

performance as well as special 

mentioning Nusrat Imrose Tisha. 

The Hollywood Reporter 

called the film “Thoroughly 

modern. A sobering, engrossing 

separation drama.” Screen Daily 

described it as a “sensitive and 

nuanced film” with a heavy 

praise for its “arresting visuals, 

universally strong cast, and 

evocative music.” 

The film has already bagged 

an independent jury award at the 

39th Moscow International Film 

Festival besides being nominated 

for the Golden Goblet Awards 

in Shanghai International Film 

Festival. 

Prior to the release, it’s going 

to start its second lent of festival 

journey, the details of which will 

be revealed soon. 

To make the release a special 

one, internationally acclaimed star 

Irrfan Khan is coming Dhaka to 

join the premiere. A big contest is 

being planned to give the general 

audience an opportunity to watch 

the film with Irrfan Khan, Nusrat 

Imrose Tisha, Parno Mittra and 

the director himself. In addition, 

the winners of the contest will 

be allowed to take photos with 

the stars in front of a souvenir 

backdrop.• 

Special show on Firoza Begum’s 

famous family 

Tyrion’s punk days 

Photos: Getty Images 


Firoza Begum’s legendary status 

as the preeminent Nazrul Sangeet 

artist can be the subject of many 

television programs, as it has 

been. But the late singer’s family 

is also full of talented people 

who are established names 

in their own fields, the most 

known being her sons Shafin 

and Hamin Ahmed, who have 

since long engraved their names 

permanently in the history of 

Bangladeshi music. NTV took the 

initiative as part of Eid program 

to bring together the family 

members of the late singer in a 

special show. 

Brainchild of the Head of 

Programme of NTV Mostafa 

Kamal Sayed and titled Galpo 

Shudhu Galpo Noy, the program 

is set to feature the story of this 

extraordinary family for the first 

time. 

Producer for the program 

Jahangir Chowdhury said, 

“We had planned to telecast a 

programme like this when Firoza 

Begum was alive. But it did not 

happen for practical reasons. But 

now we are finally doing it.” 

Other than Hamin and 

Shafin Ahmed, Firoza Begum’s 

siblings and their children will be 

featured in the program. 

“The programme has 

portrayed how Firoza Begum’s 

next generation is directly or 

indirectly engaged with music,” 

said Shusmita Anis, Firoza 

Begum’s nephew and a wellknown 

singer. 

“We have engaged in a friendly 

conversation with our cousin 

Shafin Ahmed, Hamin and Rubaba 

Doula in the program. We have 

discussed music and performed as 

well,” she further added. Shusmita 

said she liked the program and 

called it “unique.” 

Senior members of the family 

have also been featured. The 

programme is anchored by 

popular Nazrul Sangeet artist 

Sadia Afrin Mallik. It will be 

broadcast on September 7 and 8 

at 9 pm, the 6th and 7th days of 

Eid-ul-Adha.• 


The cast members 

of American 

fantasy television 

drama Game of 

Thrones have 

pretty interesting 

expertises in their 

CVs. Jerome Flynn, who 

plays Bronn, pulled off 

three number one singles during 

his career with old pop duo called 

Robson & Jerome; Rory McCann, 

who plays The Hound, was the 

star of a porridge advert; and Paul 

Kaye, who plays Thoros of Myr, 

appeared as a trolling celebrity 

interviewer called Dennis Pennis. 

The actor, who plays Tyrion 

Lannister aka the Imp – one of 

the author’s finest creations and 

the most popular character from 

the fantasy television series, was 

the front-man of a punk/rap/funk 

band called 

Whizzy in the 

early 90s. 

Recently, 

NME has 

released 

some 

pictures 

of the actor 

playing with the 

band. However, it’s 

unfortunate for his fans 

that there is no video footage of 

this. The band played punk/rap/ 

funk music and sounded a bit like 

Red Hot Chilli Peppers. 

Talking about his Whizzy days, 

Peter Dinklage reportedly told, “I 

was pretty angry back then.” 

Peter Dinklage, who received 

the Primetime Emmy and the 

Golden Globe Award for his 

portrayal of a member of House 

Lannister, also played the cornet, 

besides singing in the band.•

24 


DT 

ESCAPING MYANMAR’S 

KILLING FIELDS › 6 

Back Page 

NASIR RUES FALLING 

100-150 RUNS SHORT › 18 

THE PRINCE OF BANGLADESHI 

FILM – SALMAN SHAH › 23 

Study: Established 

story that humans 

came from Africa 

may be wrong 


FEATURE 

Australia’s Dave Warner caresses one towards the deep point region during day two of their second Test against Bangladesh in Chittagong yesterday 

Warner, Handscomb take Australia 

to driving seat 

• Ali Shahriyar Bappa from 

Chittagong 

Australia put in a commanding batting 

display on day two and posted 

225 runs losing only two wickets in 

reply to Bangladesh’s first innings 

total of 305 during their second and 

final Test match at Zahur Ahmed 

Chowdhury Stadium yesterday. 

Australia vice captain David 

Warner was unbeaten on 88 while 

middle-order batsman Peter Handscomb 

was not out on 69 as Australia 

batted out 64 overs on day 

two, closing in towards Bangladesh’s 

tally. 

Bangladesh made an early 

breakthrough in the second over 

as wicket-keeper Mushfiqur Rahim 

took a sensational catch diving full 

length to his right to remove Australia 

opener Matt Renshaw (four) 

in the third ball. 

But Australia skipper Steve 

Smith, promoted to No 3, built a 

solid partnership with Warner and 

formed a confident second-wicket 

partnership scoring with relative 

ease. 

Smith duly picked up his 21st fifty 

in Test in the 26th over. 

Bangladesh took the crucial 

wicket of Smith when left-arm 

spinner Taijul Islam castled Smith’s 

defence and clean him up in the 

first ball of the 29th over. 

But since then, Warner and 

Handscomb formed an unbeaten 

127-run partnership for the third 

wicket, building a solid platform 

for the rest of the batting line up to 

take a handy first-innings lead. 

The wicket was not turning 

much compared to the Dhaka Test 

but the ball often kept low. 

But Australia batsmen batted 

with guts and tackled Bangladesh’s 

spin attack very well. 

The visiting side also handled 

the challenging hot and humid 

conditions in the port city. 

Warner gave two chances during 

his 88-run innings but Bangladesh 

did not capitalise on them. 

The first chance came when he 

was on 52 but short leg fielder Mominul 

Haque dropped the catch. 

And the second chance came 

when he was on 73, when Mushfiq 

failed to grab a low delivery of 

Mehedi Hasan Miraz, missing a 

stumping opportunity. 

Earlier, Bangladesh started day 

two on 253 for six and managed to 

score 52 more before losing all of 

their wickets. 

Mushfiq was first the batsman 

who got out as the in-form spinner 

MD MANIK 

Nathan Lyon bowled him for 68. 

The next man to be dismissed 

was Nasir Hossain (45) when he 

tried to cut a wide delivery from 

left-arm spinner Ashton Agar. 

Wicket-keeper Matthew Wade 

took a sharp catch and Australia 

quickly wrapped up the tail, restricting 

Bangladesh to 305. 

Lyon took seven wickets for the 

Aussies while Agar took two. 

The other wicket was a run out 

created by Warner courtesy a direct 

throw to catch Miraz (11) short of 

the crease. 

So Bangladesh need to break the 

Warner-Handscomb stand on day 

three as early as possible as Australia 

are only 80 behind. 

On the other hand, Australia will 

look to carry the momentum and 

take a good first-innings lead as they 

also have a long batting line-up. • 

It is widely believed that humans 

originated in Africa millions of years 

ago, but it might be entirely re-written, 

according to a new study. 

The study claims to have found 

a footprint in Crete that could 

change the narrative of early human 

evolution, suggesting that our 

ancestors were in modern Europe 

far earlier than we thought, the Independent 

reports. 

The accepted story of the human 

lineage has been largely set since 

researchers found fossils of our early 

ancestors in South and East Africa 

in the middle of the 20th century. 

Later, discoveries appeared 

to suggest that those that followed 

remained isolated in Africa for millions 

of years before finally moving 

out and into Europe and Asia. 

However, the new discovery of 

a footprint that appears to have belonged 

to a human that trod down 

in Crete 5.7 million years ago challenges 

that story. 

“This discovery challenges the 

established narrative of early human 

evolution head-on and is likely 

to generate a lot of debate,” said 

Prof Per Ahlberg, one of the study 

researchers. “Whether the human 

origins research community will 

accept fossil footprints as conclusive 

evidence of the presence of 

hominins in the Miocene of Crete 

remains to be seen.” 

The study looked at the characteristics 

of the footprint, in particular 

examining its toes. It found that the 

footprint did not have claws, walked 

on two feet and had inner toes that 

went out further than its outer ones. 

All of that led them to conclude 

that the foot appeared to belong to 

our early human ancestors. 

At the time the footprint was 

made, the Sahara Desert did not 

exist and lush, savannah-like environments 

went all the way from 

North Africa to the eastern Mediterranean, 

and Crete had not yet 

detached from the Greek mainland. 

All of that makes it easier 

to see how those early hominins 

made their way to the island. 

But the journey might have run 

into problems. Mark Maslin from 

University College London told The 

Times that the absence of evidence 

for later humans could suggest that 

it “may not have ended well”. • 

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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