For better Indo-Bangladesh relations

By HUMAIUN KOBIR

As Sheikh Hasina's regime holds on to power with a highly flawed mandate and struggles to overcome its democratic legitimacy at home and abroad, it continues to enjoy the confidence of India, the world's largest democracy. This paradox in Indo-Bangladesh relations is now starting to be questioned both in Bangladesh and beyond. 

India was on the right side of the debate in Bangladesh when it sided with the people of Bangladesh during our liberation war in 1971. 

Forty years on, the people of Bangladesh are starting to question whether the Government of India is distancing itself from the people of Bangladesh by advocating and supporting a government in Bangladesh that no longer believes in the values of democracy, human rights and freedom of its own people - very contradictory to what the government of India believes and what it wants for its own people.

The 2014 visit of then foreign secretary Sujata Singh prior to the farcical national elections was a clear intervention in Bangladesh's internal affairs attempting to influence in legitimising the Sheikh Hasina government's partisan election process which denied the people of Bangladesh their right to democratic franchise.

India's external affairs minister during that period, Salman Khurshid, confirms this policy position in his memoir The Other Side of the Mountain by stating that India had no option but to opt for the Awami League on the basis of its national interest.

BLIND TO VIABLE OPTIONS

Analysts in Indo-Bangladesh relations must try and unravel some of the events prior to the highly-flawed elections that may have influenced India's position to side with the Awami League. 

In my opinion, India has looked back to move forward to define the current trend in Indo- Bangla relations. It has heavily relied on the historical connection between the Congress and Awami League, between the families of Indira Gandhi and Sheikh Mujib and the partisan narrative of issues and interests of the Awami League over the last two decades or so to reach its decision to support Sheikh Hasina's defective mandate. 

On the other hand, there was not enough engagement from opposition political parties in Bangladesh that developed an emotional narrative that it's impossible for India to move away from the Awami League. Although there were clear security reasons for former prime minister Begum Khaleda Zia in cancelling her meeting with India's President Pranab Mukherjee, it might have been a risk worth taking at the time to harness relations between the peoples of Bangladesh and India. 

After all it was not Pranab Mukherjee, it was the President of India, and the Sheikh Hasina government's motive at the time was to create as many obstacles for this meeting not to take place.

The cancellation of such a high level meeting left a psychological mark on both sides and impacted relations between India and the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and created an ideal opportunity for the Awami League to take advantage of presenting itself as the best placed strategic partner for India. The Awami League propelled its propaganda against the BNP by projecting ludicrous claims that it's a pro-Pakistan party, even though late President Ziaur Rahman, the proclaimer of Bangladesh's independence, founded the BNP. 

The BNP is widely and popularly known as a party of freedom fighters rather than simply freedom supporters from the liberation war of 1971.

DEALING WITH INSURGENTS

Both India and Bangladesh are alleged to have used their own territories to encourage insurgents to agitate each other. 

India, it has been claimed by Bangladeshi authorities in the past, is said to have supported insurgent elements in the Chittagong Hill Tracts whilst Bangladesh has been accused of supporting insurgents in the North Eastern states of India. 

As politicians from both the countries would know, sometimes security personnel in both our respective countries have rightly professional minds and at times could advocate a position quite distinct from the political government of the day. Security, of course, is crucial and the distinguished jobs security personnel do are essential to both countries' national interests.

A COLLABORATIVE EFFORT

However, collaboration with political stakeholders can only strengthen a much-needed inclusive approach to dealing with security interests. There may have been reasons to agitate each other in the past by turning a blind eye to one's territory being used as part of a different era of politics.

Moreover, I firmly believe no political leader or party with legitimacy both in India and Bangladesh would even for a single second think of going back to such destructive measures in this day and age which will be nothing other than self-defeating. Political leaders in Bangladesh and India today are more concerned with jobs, economic development, sustainable security and the technological advancement of their peoples and societies.

BETTING ON A SAFE HORSE

India may have thought that the Awami League might be its safest bet in ensuring its national interest and thus supported Sheikh Hasina's faulty mandate following the farcical 2014 national elections despite the international democratic community overwhelmingly concluding these elections were neither free nor fair nor inclusive nor participatory. 

The position taken by India started to isolate it in Bangladesh's polity as it was perceived to have failed to take a moral position in giving the people of Bangladesh a right to express their will and desire. Thus, in the eyes of many Bangladeshis, it was palpably a contradiction and a change of India's position from when it fought in solidarity with the people of Bangladesh for the country's independence in 1971.

A POSITIVE RELATIONSHIP?

Indo-Bangladesh relations are described at present by authorities in both countries to be at their best and highest point. 

However, it comes at a cost for the government of India's image. The Land Boundary Agreement was a landmark in our relations and the Narendra Modi government deserves praise for settling the matter very early on in its tenure along with other political parties in India. 

However, India's dependence on an undemocratic government in Bangladesh to look after security matters is more delicate and sensitive. The Sheikh Hasina government may have committed to intelligence sharing, agreed to permit transit into Northeastern states, and curtailed insurgency into India which may have met India's national interest.

TURNING A BLIND EYE

On the other hand, India in return is being viewed by Bangladeshis as turning a blind eye to the crimes Sheikh Hasina's Awami League presides over within the country. 

Enforced disappearances and killing of opposition political leaders, widespread corruption, politicisation of the administration and judiciary, and a partisan election commission, fabricated cases and trials against senior opposition leaders, Ramphal power plant project contribute to an emerging perception amongst the large section of Bangladesh's citizens that India is becoming an opportunistic benefactor of Bangladesh's democratic deficit. 

Especially when India has global ambitions to enter multilateral institutions to enhance its position on the world stage and expand its political and economic capability for the good, it can start to do this by addressing the values of democracy and human rights close to home. 

In other words, it can do so within its own neighbourhood, starting with Bangladesh. 

Indo-Bangladesh relations are currently very much dominated by security. It would be difficult for both countries to develop people to people relations on the basis of security alone. 

A HEALTHY EXCHANGE

Security comprises trust and suspicion as key elements that determine its policy formulation and delivery. In a region where there is a significant shift in population trends and young people are becoming the dominant feature it would be foolish for political stakeholders in India and Bangladesh to disengage.

Both Bangladesh and India must extend cooperation to exchange ideas, develop economic partnership, ensure mutual peace and security and make a clean break from outdated chauvinistic politics. 

According to the UNFPA (2014) State of the World Population Report, India has one of the world's highest numbers of 10 to 24 year olds, i.e. approximately 356 million; and Bangladesh has around 48 million. Therefore, together the Indo-Bangladesh population accounts for one of the largest youth populations in the world. This significant factor will be difficult for politicians in either country to ignore or avoid. Only a forward-looking agenda can attract such a significant section of the population in both the nations.

LOOKING TOWARDS THE BNP

The BNP has been forward looking since its inception in 1978. Its 19-point charter is a guiding principle in steering forward-looking policies. Successive past BNP governments have taken vast steps to reform the country's economy, emancipate women, encourage the growth of the private sector and encourage regional economic union. 

A lot of the strong social indicators, particularly in reference to more participation of women in education and business, are success stories coming out of far-sighted policy implementation of the previous BNP governments of 1991 and 2001. 

Unfortunately, stakeholders in India have listened to a highly defective narrative from the Awami League for far too long.

It's about time India opened up its engagement across political spectrum in Bangladesh. The BNP also must seize this opportunity to engage with stakeholders in India to dispel some of the propaganda myth recited by the Awami League for many years. 

Stable and sustainable Indo-Bangladesh relations can only stem from democratic values, peace, collective prosperity, and strengthening of people to people relationship. On the other hand, to bypass these principles would prevent both countries from understanding each other. Political parties will come and go but the peoples of Bangladesh and India will have to carry on.

India needs to give access to political and civil society stakeholders across the spectrum in Bangladesh, and not just the Awami League.

-    The writer is BNP's International Affairs Secretary and Adviser to the party's Senior Vice Chairman. This commentary was originally published on CatchNews. 

রামপাল ঘিরে আরেক আশঙ্কা

হারুন উর রশীদ স্বপন / ডয়চে ভেলে
স্থানীয় এক সাংবাদিক সরেজমিনে পরিদর্শন শেষে ডয়চে ভেলেকে জানান, ওই এলকায়, বিশেষ করে পশুর নদীর তীরে এখন অনেক শিল্প প্রতিষ্ঠানের সাইনবোর্ড দেখা যায়৷ দু'একটি প্রতিষ্ঠান নির্মান কাজও শেষ করেছে৷ আরো অনেকেই শিল্প কারাখানা করার জন্য প্লট কিনছেন৷

খুলনা উন্নয়ন কর্তৃপক্ষা ২০১১ থেকে ২০৩১ সাল পর্যন্ত যে উন্নয়ন পরিকল্পনা করেছে তাতে সুন্দরবনের আশপাশের ১০ কি.মি. এলাকাকে কৃষি জমি হিসেবে দেখিয়েছে৷ আর সুন্দরবন সংলগ্ন ১৮ কি.মি. এলাকা বাফার জোন৷ এখানে কোনো শিল্প কারখানা নির্মানের আইনগত সুযোগ নেই৷তারপরও তা কেউ মানছেনা৷

জানা গেছে বিদ্যুৎ কেন্দ্র স্থাপনের সুবিধা নিতে সুন্দরবনের আশপাশে এরই মধ্যে  ৩০০ শিল্পগোষ্ঠী, ব্যবসাপ্রতিষ্ঠান ও ব্যক্তি আশপাশের গ্রামগুলোয় প্রায় ১০ হাজার একর জমি কিনেছেন৷ আর এর মালিক প্রভাবশালী, বিশেষ করে রাজনৈতিক প্রভাবশালী ব্যক্তিরা৷ তারা পরিবেশের ছাড়পত্রও নিয়েছে বলে সংবাদমাধ্যমে খবর প্রকাশিত হয়েছে৷

ছাড়পত্র পাওয়া প্রতিষ্ঠানগুলোর মধ্যে ৫০টি চালকল, ১৯টি করাতকল, সিমেন্ট কারখানা ৯টি, খাদ্য প্রক্রিয়াজাতকরন প্রতিষ্ঠান ১৩টি, ৬টি অটো মিল, ৪টি লবণ-পানি বিশুদ্ধকরণ প্রকল্প, দু'টি জাহাজ নির্মান প্রকল্প ও অন্যান্য ৩৮ টি প্রকল্প রয়েছে৷

পরিবেশ অধিদপ্তর সুন্দরবনের ১০ কি.মি. এলাকায় এরইমধ্যে ১৫০টি শিল্প প্রতিষ্ঠান এবং প্রকল্পকে অবস্থানগত ছাড়পত্র দিয়েছে, যদিও সুন্দরবনের চারপাশের ১০ কি. মি.  এলাকা ‘প্রতিবেশগত সংকটাপন্ন এলাকা'৷

২০১০ সালে সুন্দরবন এলাকার পশুর নদীকে অন্তর্ভুক্ত করে নদী ও খালের বেশ কিছু জলাভূমি জলজ প্রাণী সংরক্ষণের স্বার্থে ‘বন্য প্রাণী অভয়ারণ্য' ঘোষণা করে৷ তেলবাহী ট্যাংকার ও মালবাহী কার্গো চলাচল অভয়ারণ্যের প্রাণিকুলের জন্য বিপজ্জনক হওয়ায় প্রধানমন্ত্রী তখন সুন্দরবনের ভেতর দিয়ে নৌপথ নিষিদ্ধ করার নির্দেশ দেন৷

বাগেরহাটের স্থানীয় সাংবাদিক আবুল হাসান ডয়চে ভেলেকে জানান,‘‘অনেকেই মনে করছেন রামপালে বিদ্যুৎকেন্দ্র স্থাপন হলে শিল্পে সুবিধা পাওয়া যাবে৷ এ কারণে বড় বড় শিল্পগ্রুপ সুন্দরবন এবং রামপালের আশপাশে শিল্প কারাখানা স্থাপনের জন্য প্লট কিনেছে৷ আর জমির দাম বেশি দেওয়ায় স্থানীয়রা জমি বিক্রি করতে বেশ আগ্রহী৷''

তিনি জানান, ‘‘সুন্দরবনের পশুর নদীর তীরে এখন সাইনবোর্ডের হাট বসেছে৷ বিভিন্ন শিল্প গ্রুপের প্রস্তাবিত শিল্প কারাখানার সাইনবোর্ড৷ কেউ দেয়াল তুলে জায়গা ঘিরে ফেলেছেন, আবার কেউবা নির্মান কাজ শেষ করেছেন৷ স্থানীয় প্রশাসন কথা বলছেনা৷ তারা শুধু বলছে বড় বড় শিল্প গ্রুপ নিশ্চয়ই প্রয়োজনীয় অনুমতি ছাড়া কাজ করছেনা৷''

এদিকে সুন্দরবনের এক চতুর্থাংশ এলাকা দখল হয়ে গেছে৷ রামাপাল বিদ্যুৎ কেন্দ্র চালু হলে প্রতিদিন ১২ হাজার টন কয়লা লাগবে৷ আরো অনেক শিল্প কারখানার কারণে সুন্দরবন সংলগ্ন নদীতে জাহাজ চলাচল অনেক বেড়ে যাবে, যা সুন্দরবনের প্রাণ ও পরিবেশ বৈচিত্রকে চরম হুমকির মুখে ফেলবে বলে বাংলাদেশ পরিবেশ আন্দোলনের মুখপাত্র ইকবাল হাবিব মনে করেন৷ ডয়চে ভেলেকে তিনি বলেন, ‘‘আমাদের কাছেও তথ্য আছে যে রামপাল বিদ্যুৎ কেন্দ্রের সুবিধা নিতে ওই এলাকায় এখন জমি কিনে শিল্প কারখানা স্থাপনের প্রতিযোগিতা শুরু হয়েছে৷ এটা সুন্দরবনকে আরো বেশি ক্ষতিগ্রস্ত করবে৷ ওই সব শিল্প কারখানার বর্জ্য নতুন আরেক সঙ্কটের সৃষ্টি করবে৷ আমরা ভাবতে পারিনা যে তারা কিভাবে পরিবেশের ছাড়পত্র পায়, কিভাবে শিল্প স্থাপনের অনুমতি পায়৷''

তবে এ ব্যাপারে শিল্প ও পরিবেশ মন্ত্রনালয়ের কোনো বক্তব্য জানা যায়নি৷ আর সুন্দরবনের বিভাগীয় বন কর্মকর্তা সাইদুল ইসলাম ডয়চে ভেলেকে বলেন, ‘‘বনের বাইরে কী হলো সেটা দেখার এখতিয়ার আমাদের নাই৷ এটা পরিবেশ মন্ত্রনালয়ের কাজ৷ তারাই সুন্দরবনের আশপাশের ১০-১৪ কি.মি এলাকাকে ক্রিটিক্যাল এলাকা হিসেবে চিহ্নিত করেছে৷''

তারপরও বনের রক্ষনাবেক্ষনের স্বার্থে  কোনো অভিযোগ দিয়েছেন কিনা জানতে চাইলে তিনি বলেন, ‘‘এটা আমাদের এখতিয়ারের বাইরে৷''

প্রসঙ্গত, রামপাল বিদ্যুৎ প্রকল্পের জন্য বাগেরহাটের রামপালে ১৮৩৪ একর জমি অধিগ্রহণ করে তা বালু দিয়ে এরইমধ্যে ভরাট করা হয়েছে৷ এই প্রকল্পটি   বাংলাদেশের পৃথিবী বিখ্যাত ম্যানগ্রোভ বন সুন্দরবনের মাত্র ৯ থেকে ১৩ কিলোমিটারের মধ্যে৷ তবে সরকার দাবি করছে, সুন্দরবনের বাফারজোনের ১৪ কিলোমিটার দূরে৷

এই বিদ্যুৎ কেন্দ্রটি স্থাপনের জন্য বাংলাদেশের বিদ্যুৎ উন্নয়ন বোর্ড (পিডিবি)-র সঙ্গে ভারতের ন্যাশনাল থারমাল পাওয়ার কর্পোরেশন (এনটিপিসি)-এর সঙ্গে  দু'টি চুক্তি সই হয়েছে৷ আর এই বিদ্যুৎ উদপাদনে ব্যবহার করা হবে কয়লা৷ রামপাল বিদ্যুৎ প্রকল্প একটি কয়লাভিত্তিক বিদ্যুৎ কেন্দ্র৷ এই কয়লা ভারত থেকে আমাদানি করা হবে বলে জানা গেছে৷ প্রকল্পে অর্থের যোগান দেবে ভারতের এক্সিম ব্যাংক৷ এই বিদ্যুৎকেন্দ্র থেকে ১৩২০ মেগাওয়াট বিদ্যুৎ পাওয়া যাবে৷ এর ব্যয় ধরা হয়েছে ৫৪০ কোটি ৭৮ লাখ টাকা৷

এই বিদ্যুৎ কেন্দ্রের দুটি ইউনিটের প্রথম ইউনিট উৎপাদনে আসবে ২০১৮ সালের ডিসেম্বরের মধ্যে৷ ভারত এবং বাংলাদেশ প্রকল্পটিতে ৩০ ভাগ অর্থ বিনিয়োগ করবে৷ বাকি ৭০ ভাগ অর্থ ঋণ নেওয়া হবে৷ ভারত-বাংলাদেশ ফ্রেন্ডশিপ কোম্পানি বিদ্যুৎকেন্দ্রটি নির্মাণ করবে৷

Report of the joint World Heritage Centre/IUCN Reactive Monitoring mission to the Sundarbans World Heritage site (Bangladesh), 22-28 March 2016

 [Report released Oct.18]

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The reactive monitoring mission was undertaken from 22 to 28 March 2016 following World Heritage Committee Decision 39 COM 7B.8. The objective of the mission was to follow up on the concerns raised by the World Heritage Committee and assess the current state of conservation of the property.

The mission visited the eastern parts of the property and met with key representatives and staff from relevant government institutions at both local and national level. The mission visited the site where the Rampal power plant is being constructed and met with representatives from the Bangladesh India Friendship Power Company Ltd (BIFPCL). The mission also visited locations of several of the most recent ship accidents and met with staff from the Center for Environmental and Geographic Information Services (CEGIS) and the Mongla Port Authority. Issues pertaining to the conservation of the property and its Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) were discussed and raised with representatives from a number of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and scientists both during and after the mission. The mission also consulted a wide range of scientific articles published in international peer reviewed journals relevant to the core conservation issues for the property and its surrounding mangrove forest upon which it is dependent for its integrity and survival.

The mission concludes that the Sundarbans World Heritage property continues to support the OUV for which it was inscribed. The property is iconic as part of the world’s largest mangrove system and home to an important population of the Royal Bengal Tiger among other species. Ecological monitoring information being patchy, there is no clear indication with regards to the level of threat for species such as the Royal Bengal Tiger. There are some indications that illegal wildlife trade of this and other important species is increasing. The property appears to be in overall good condition but is currently undergoing changes due to high salinity and is damaged in its south eastern section from Cyclone Sidr that hit the coast of Bangladesh in 2007.

The mission affirms the threats to the OUV of the property raised in previous World Heritage Committee decisions. It concludes that the majority of concerns raised in Decision 39 COM 7B.8 are yet to be adequately addressed and minimal progress has been made to deal with these threats. The mission also identified additional threats to the OUV of the property that are of considerable concern and have not been previously raised by the World Heritage Committee. The most important of these relate to drastically reduced freshwater flows and the lack of integrated management of the property.

Based on the many consultations the mission team conducted during and after the visit, the mission concludes that the following three threats are of serious concern and require urgent, immediate attention:

First, the freshwater flow into the Sundarbans has been drastically reduced following the construction of the Farakka Barrage and increased water extraction, which is resulting in substantial increases in siltation and salinity that are threatening the overall balance of the ecosystem, its functioning and regeneration. Salt tolerant mangrove species are expanding and gradually displacing other species, while higher salinity is stimulating an increase in barren areas. In the absence of a comprehensive, multilateral and integrated freshwater inflow management plan it is unlikely the property’s OUV can be maintained in the long term.

Second, the mission team identified four core potential threats related to the prospective construction and operation of the 1320 MW Maitree Super Thermal Power Plant (Rampal power plant), the current site of which is located 65 km from the closest boundary of the World Heritage property. These include pollution from coal ash by air, pollution from wastewater and waste ash, increased shipping and dredging and the cumulative impact of industrial and related development infrastructure. The mission considers that air and water pollution have a high likelihood to irreversibly damage the OUV of the World Heritage property. The possible threats arising from the power plant on the OUV of the property are not addressed adequately in the EIA in line with IUCN’s World Heritage Advice Note on Environmental Assessment, and the plant itself is not applying the best available technology or the highest international standards for preventing damage commensurate with its location in the near vicinity of a globally unique World Heritage property.

Third, the property is lacking a clear and comprehensive assessment of the overall combined effects expected to arise from increasing coastal developments and associated activities, a number of which are already in preparation. Increased port capacity and other coastal developments are expected to result in increased shipping and dredging but avoidance and/or mitigation of their effects are not planned for or managed in an integrated manner. Several recent ship accidents illustrate the difficulties and the need for a concerted and coordinated maritime traffic management and rapid response to mitigate and prevent impacts. Considering the OUV of the property is already undergoing impacts and changes and the area’s vulnerability to the effects of climate change, the lack of an integrated management system to protect the OUV of the property is of considerable concern.

In addition to these key threats, the mission also concludes that the long-term effects from recent ship accidents could not be ruled out. Furthermore, enhanced support to monitor and control resource extraction, including poaching of high value wildlife species, would benefit the overall state of conservation of the property. There is a clear need for increased and secured resources for the management of the property, including surveillance and monitoring of resource extraction activities. The mission recommends the State Party to provide greater support and urgent attention to address this issue. The mission also considers that the overall pressure in the property and its surrounding areas should be kept to a minimum in view of increasing the ecosystem’s resilience in the face of climate change, the effects of which the area is highly vulnerable to. Given the concern of the mission team in regards to potential impacts on the property, clarification is urgently needed on the current status of the Orion power plant, which is reportedly being planned adjacent to the Rampal power plant, as well as a proposed nuclear power plant in the vicinity of the Sundarbans, as they will all contribute towards the cumulative impact on the property and its overall integrity.

Finally, while the mission concludes that the property does not currently meet the requirements for inscription on the List of World Heritage in Danger, it notes that immediate implementation of the mission recommendations related to the freshwater flows, the Rampal power plant (and other similar developments in the vicinity of the property) and integrated management are imperative to prevent the OUV of the property from becoming irreversibly damaged. The mission recommends that the State Party report, as requested in Decision 39 COM 7B.8 to be submitted to the World Heritage Centre by 1 December 2016, clearly outlines the measures and steps the State Party is taking toward implementing the below recommendations. Should any of the most threatening developments proceed, the mission concludes that the World Heritage Committee should consider immediate listing of the property in the List of World Heritage in Danger at its 41st session in 2017.

The mission considers that the State Party should take urgent measures to immediately implement the following recommendations to prevent further erosion of the OUV and address important threats to the property:

R1. Considering the impact to the OUV of the property, the structural changes to the ecosystem and its functioning, resulting from higher salinity, in particular in the southern areas of the SRF where the World Heritage property is located, and the continued lack of sufficient provision to secure adequate freshwater flows into the area, it is recommended that as a matter of utmost urgency and without delay:

a) The Ganges water sharing Treaty between India and Bangladesh is fully implemented in a coordinated effort by the States Parties of Bangladesh and India to ensure adequate freshwater inflow;

b) A comprehensive, multilateral and integrated freshwater inflow management plan is designed and implemented, accompanied by the necessary monitoring to measure salinity and water quality, including groundwater, throughout the property. Future planning and management decisions should be informed by these monitoring results.

R2. In relation to the Rampal power plant, considering the high likelihood for: (i) contamination of the property and the surrounding Sundarbans forest from air and water pollution arising from both its location, in a wind risk zone, and its anticipated methods to minimise impacts; (ii) the substantial increase in shipping and dredging required in the immediate vicinity of the property for the plant’s construction and operation; (iii) the additional removal of freshwater from an already increasingly saline environment that is starting to alter the functioning of the ecosystem; (iv) an EIA that does not address the effects on the OUV of the property nor provide convincing evidence that effects on the Sundarbans will be mitigated; and (v) the intrinsic connectivity between the property and the Sundarbans forest, it is recommended that the Rampal power plant project is cancelled and relocated to a more suitable location where it would not impact negatively on the Sundarbans Reserved Forest and the property.

R3. The mission recommends that the State Party halts all development of the site of the Orion Power Plant in Khulna, and any similar proposed development, until an independent, comprehensive and scientifically sound EIA has been conducted and provided to the World Heritage Centre and IUCN for their review and evaluation. If impacts on the OUV of the property or its immediate surroundings cannot be addressed in a scientifically sound manner, it is recommended that the projects be cancelled and relocated to more suitable locations.

R10. Considering the multiple activities outside the property that are impacting on its OUV, it is recommended that the State Party puts in place a system that allows management of the property in a more integrated manner. Such a system should ensure:

a) Sufficient freshwater flows into the property to maintain its ecosystem health, balance and functioning;

b) Decisions for further economic development and associated activities such as shipping and dredging are not taken in isolation but are subject to a Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) for the property and its surrounding areas upon which it is dependent;

c) The economic and industrial carrying capacity of the areas surrounding and in close proximity to the property are defined in a transparent and scientifically sound manner and these limits reflected in decision making;

d) Sufficient financial and human resources are made available to provide for the long-term management and patrolling of the area and resource extraction including control of illegal activities such as poaching of wildlife and non-compliance with existing regulations.

The mission considers that the following recommendations to further improve the conservation of the property and strengthen its management should be implemented as soon as possible:

R4. Considering the potential threats to the property from increased shipping and required dredging, the planned expansion and increase in use of the Mongla Port requires urgent clarification. It is recommended that the State Party halt all expansion activities until an independent, comprehensive and scientifically sound EIA that specifically considers the impacts on the OUV of the property has been conducted and provided to the World Heritage Centre and IUCN for their review and evaluation.

R5. Enforce the permanent closure of the Shela River to all vessel traffic, national and international, and apply speed limits and effective control measures for night and poor weather conditions for vessels navigating along the Pashur River.

R6. Develop an effective action plan and emergency response facility in consultation with all relevant stakeholders to react to any future shipping incidents in a timely and coordinated manner, and consistent with the recommendations made in the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) oil spill assessment report.

R7. Develop, finalise and submit for review by the World Heritage Centre and IUCN, a detailed assessment of potential impacts of current and planned dredging and associated activities on the OUV and integrity of the property.

R8. Enhance and strengthen human and financial resources, capacity and inter-agency cooperation, including between local and national authorities, and law enforcement to adequately address wildlife trade, transportation, and sale, including actions and budget to facilitate increased staffing, patrolling and effective engagement with local communities to garner their support for the continued protection of the property and its OUV against poaching.

R9. Taking into account that climate change is a global problem requiring a concerted global solution, it is strongly recommended that, at the level of the property, the State Party reduce other threats in the property and its surrounding area to secure maximum resilience of the property in the face of climate change impacts. Ecological monitoring for the property should include indicators that measure climate change impacts in view of identifying both short-term and long-term effects on the OUV of the property and the ways and means to effectively address them and the capacity of management staff to plan for impacts from climate change should be further developed.

In a state of denial

Sharbari Zohra Ahmed / Scroll.In
It’s been over three months since my friend Ishrat Ahkond was murdered in a restaurant in Dhaka, Bangladesh. She was hacked to death by militants who claimed allegiance to ISIS. They stormed the upscale eatery, Holey Artisan Bakery in an exclusive part of town and proceeded to murder 20 people.

In its aftermath both the government and many Bangladeshis claimed that this attack came out of nowhere because the nation has a liberal tradition, which is not susceptible to the scourge of Islamic radicalism like other hapless nations such as Syria or Pakistan. This denial and indolent arrogance actually make Bangladesh more vulnerable to radical Islam.

Yet, the nation’s constitution, as it stands now after various politically expedient amendments, has diluted the pledge to secularism in the original 1972 version. It is a testament to the government hedging its bets to pacify both Islamists and secularists. It states that Islam is the national religion, but grants equal status to all religions. State functions are routinely opened with an Islamic prayer, the irony lost or ignored.

Attacks such as the one on July 1, 2016, could not happen in a vacuum. The warning signs were there in the form of the brutal hacking deaths of secular bloggers as well as lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender bloggers Xulhaz Mannan and Tanay Majumdar. The day after the Holey Artisan attack, a Hindu priest was hacked to death while he was sweeping his temple steps. After a first flush of outrage at the initial blogger murders, there was a sort of whimpering lament. There has been no mass outrage at the murders of Hindu minorities. Steps to hunt down the killers were not forceful enough. There was no government statement that Bangladesh would not tolerate its secularism being undermined by Al Quaeda and ISIS, who have been rapaciously prowling the region for fresh recruits for years.

For an aggressive conservatism to take root, it has to gain momentum stealthily over decades. A friend remarked to me that they saw more and more women donning hijab or the niquaab. “It sort of sneaks up on you,” she said. Now it is here, this beast of religious extremism. And it is here to stay unless Bangladesh stops the tiresome refrain that these young men who carried out this brutality are “home grown” terrorists, and thus, not puppets of ISIS. Because to admit that ISIS has slithered into the homes and hearts of promising young men is to admit that we are not infallible, and that we are in danger of losing our claim to secularity.

'Misrepresenting' Bangladesh
A few months back I was criticised for “misrepresenting” Bangladesh where a terrorist attack of this scale could take place. For one heady season I was on the writing team of the hit TV series “Quantico” starring the inimitable Priyanka Chopra, making me the first woman of Bangladeshi origin to write for American network television. On episode five, Priyanka’s character Alex Parrish is accused of consorting with a man who bombed a Bangladeshi nightclub. The torrent of self-righteous indignation aimed at the show and me in particular for that one line was incredible. It started with a blog post on a self-described progressive site that accused the writers of not fact checking – Bangladesh had no nightclubs, it was claimed.

The post shared on social media sparked heated, bruised discussions and quickly turned into outrage about American/Western arrogance and propaganda aimed at painting all brown folk with the same terrorist brush. “How dare the writers say we have nightclubs?” “Plus, we are secular – no one would bomb our nightclubs if we had them, which we don’t.” “You’re confusing us with Indonesia.”

Bangladesh most assuredly has nightclubs. I’ve been in them. There is one in nearly every foreign-owned hotel, frequented by some of the commentators who were outraged by this one line. These spaces are closed off to common people – the unwashed masses, as they are derisively called – so that upper crust Bangladeshis and expats can cavort in privacy and feel they are living in a secular country.

When my name was mentioned I made the rookie mistake of trying to engage. Some of the comments were hostile and personal. It was somehow my failing as one of Bangladeshi origin that I let this outrageous line slip through. When I contacted one of the blog founders, he had my name removed, which I appreciated.

This is not some personal beef I have with a few left wing pseudo liberals (who mostly hail from the privileged class). This is about the denial that Bangladesh is somehow immune to terrorism. What makes Bangladesh so special that it has magical deflector shields against radical Islam?

I too was misguided at first. After the attack, I was interviewed by the BBC, where I asserted that Bangladesh was solidly secular, that we were Bengali first, Muslim second. I was mistaken. The brutal truth is that Bangladesh is in the battle of its life to maintain its secular tradition. We can insist on calling the terrorists home grown, we can expend useless energy being outraged by how Hollywood and the West depict us onfictional shows, we can ignore that our next door neighbour’s 16 year old son has been missing for nine months, or that our once bubbly, outspoken cousin is suddenly refusing to meet our eyes and shows up to family events in hijab, or that we ourselves are terrified of expressing anything that could make us a target for murder.

We can point to the US and Western imperialism as the progenitors of radical Islam. This may be true but it doesn’t change the dangerous reality we face, that the cult of ISIS has arrived in Bangladesh, and made its presence known in the most horrific way, and will continue to do so. To fight it, the nation has to admit it exists – it has to admit it is struggling with its identity. What are we, a theocracy pretending to be secular or a secular nation at its core, fighting to maintain it? Either way, this identity crisis has exposed Bangladesh’s underbelly, making it fair game for the likes of ISIS.

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are mine alone, and not those of the Disney Corporation or of the show.

Tiger in the night

Oct 15th 2016 | DHAKA | THE ECONOMIST

THE last time a Chinese president visited Bangladesh, back in 1986, things were rather different. For one thing, he did not carry $40 billion in his pocket. This is the sum that government sources say Xi Jinping, China’s current leader, is bringing for a day-long stopover on October 14th, on his way to a summit of big developing countries in the Indian resort of Goa. Admittedly, the windfall will come in the form of loans for some 21 infrastructure projects including elevated expressways, railroads, bridges and power plants. But it is welcome all the same. 

Bangladesh, too, has changed a lot in 30 years. Even if its 160m people remain mostly poor, the country can no longer be dismissed as “the armpit of India”. Its GDP is growing by 7% a year, as fast as China’s, and by some social indicators it has overtaken its giant neighbour India. With a booming garment industry that now ranks second only to China’s in exports, plus some 10m diligent overseas workers sending money home, Bangladesh has enjoyed current-account surpluses for all but one of the past ten years.

BNP Chairperson and ex-PM Begum Zia meets with the Chinese president Xi Jinping at Dhaka’s Le Meridien Hotel Oct 14 evening.

It helps that Bangladesh has other suitors just now. Japan recently gazumped China’s offer to build a new seaport, with a $6.7 billion project that includes a liquefied-natural-gas terminal and four coal-fired power plants. In July Russia promised $11.4 billion in loans towards a pair of nuclear reactors. Earlier this year India, which is already supplying Bangladesh with power from its grid, agreed to finance another big coal-fired power plant to the tune of $1.5 billion. Multilateral institutions such as the Asian Development Bank and World Bank have also upped their aid.

This is not to say that Sheikh Hasina, the prime minister, will be deaf to China’s overtures. Despite its recent rude health, Bangladesh’s economy still needs all the help it can get. As even the briefest exposure to Dhaka’s cacophonous parade of tinkling cycle rickshaws, tooting three-wheelers and honking SUVs reveals, this is a country of bottlenecks.

Traffic relief for the capital city’s 17m people—who, the UN predicts, will number 27m by 2030—will not come soon. There are no plans at present for any mass-transit system, and the first of three phases of a cross-city expressway is not due to open until 2018.

By the same token, some 13m Bangladeshi households currently go without electricity. Even with all the added power from aid-funded plants, the country may still face future energy shortages. A recent report from the ADB suggests it will need to triple generating capacity by 2030 to meet expected demand, and warns that it must not only build new plants but replace ageing ones.

Yet perhaps the biggest bottlenecks are not physical but political. Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League party has been in power since 2009, and faces a weakened opposition in the run-up to general elections scheduled for 2019. This does not mean it is popular, however. Most of the opposition boycotted the last national polls in 2014, which took place amid widespread violence and resulted in what is virtually a one-party parliament. While international attention has focused on a string of gory killings by Islamist radicals, culminating in the attack on a posh restaurant in Dhaka in July that left 20 mostly foreign patrons dead, what worries Bangladeshis more is what many perceive as a broader collapse of the rule of law.

Despite considerable turbulence since breaking from Pakistan following a bloody war in 1971, Bangladesh has a tradition of respect for dissent. This has eroded in recent years as the Awami League, which itself had been a victim of previous purges, has turned on its rivals with a vengeance. “The media are controlled, the judiciary is controlled, and the police are even more enthusiastic than their masters,” says Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, the secretary-general of the Bangladesh National Party, the largest opposition group. Aside from extra-judicial killings and disappearances targeting Islamists and other dissidents, the ruling party has instigated a crippling barrage of lawsuits—some 37,000 against the BNP alone. “I spend four days a week attending court hearings, and two hours stuck in traffic for every one,” grumbles Mr Alamgir.

Perhaps, like previous generations of Asian tigers, Bangladesh will endure a spell of autocracy before its politics become more democratic. But in the meantime, as the head of one Dhaka NGO says with a shake of the head, the country is walking a tightrope: “It is a dangerous thing when people have no vehicle to express their unhappiness.”

Due Process and Bangladesh

BY DAVID BERGMAN / THE WIRE
The government’s apparent success in recent months in killing and detaining many alleged Islamic militants increasingly comes at the cost of the rule of law and due process.

On August 8, a Bangladesh news website published an article claiming that two militants – Tamim Ahmed Chowdhury, allegedly ISIS’s Bangladesh coordinator, and sacked army major Syed Ziaul Haq, said to be behind a series of targeted killings – were both in state custody.

This claim, which according to the article was based on conversations with ‘senior law enforcement officers’, was officially denied.

Three weeks later on August 27, the police stated that Chowdhury had been killed, along with two other militants,following a raid on a suspected militant hideout in Narayanganj where he was living.

This was without doubt a significant counter terrorism development.

Chowdhury was supposed to have been the alleged mastermind of the July 1 attack on the Holey Artisan Bakery where ISIS inspired militants had killed 20 guests.

The militant attack on the restaurant, which came in the wake of over 25 targeted killings of ‘atheist’ bloggers, LGBT activists and religious minority community priests, galvanised the government to take concerted action to end the Islamic militancy, which it had previously blamed on the opposition parties.

In the reporting that followed Chowdhury’s death, Purboposhchimbd’s article (removed from its website in late September) was ignored.

Yet, if the article was true, it would have meant that Chowdhury had been kept secretly in state detention before being killed, in a scenario rather different from the story told by the police.

A question of credibility

In Bangladesh, severe caution must be taken before giving credibility to a news report based on anonymous law enforcement or intelligence officers, particularly in the context of reporting on militancy.

People within these state agencies often use the media to spin particular narratives and provide false information to reporters. Some journalists and papers in Bangladesh – knowingly or unknowingly – play along.

However, there are reasons why this particular story may well be more reliable than many others.

First, it had the byline of one of Purboposhchimbd’s crime correspondents, Mustafizur Rahman Sumon. In Bangladesh, whilst not all ‘exclusive’ stories lacking bylines are false, most fake stories have no bylines.

Second, the reporter stands firmly by the claim in the article. “I stand by the story,” Sumon told me. “It was based on interviews with multiple sources from different intelligence and law enforcement agencies,” he said.

Third, on August 6, another pro-government newspaper Ittefaq – this time with no byline – published an article titled, ‘Are Zia and Tamim arrested?’ claiming that the men were in state custody. It read: “Are the masterminds Tamim and Zia in the country? Well, police say that they are. From different places we have information that the law enforcement authorities undertook an operation on July 12 at Niketon in Gulshan where Major Zia was arrested, but no one has confirmed it so far.”

Fourth, two crime reporters working at different media outlets also confirmed that their law enforcement contacts had told them in mid-August that Chowdhury was in detention. “I had read Mustafiz’s article and so had checked with my law enforcement sources,” one of these reporters said speaking on the condition of anonymity. “He confirmed to me that both Chowdhury and Zia had been detained”.

And finally, secret detentions are not uncommon in Bangladesh – with many ending in deaths. This year alone, 15 families allege that a relative was picked up by law enforcement authorities, secretly detained and killed whilst in state custody, while a further 19 families claim that their family members remain disappeared. Moreover, international attention has recently focused on two Holey Bakery guests who were held secretly for a month before being ‘shown arrested’ and the sons of three senior opposition figures remain in secret detention since being picked up in August.

In this context, is not difficult to imagine that Chowdhury and Haq could well have been picked up and kept in custody, unknown to the public and the courts.

There, however, remains some uncertainty. Unlike in most disappearance cases, no person had reported that the men were picked up by law enforcement authorities.

The lack of such a report should not be surprising. Whilst in most cases of disappearances, there are witnesses who saw the person being picked up by law enforcement officials and a family who is able to report it, the situation is different when it involves militants who have already separated themselves from their families and are living secretive lives, perhaps only communicating and living with other like-minded individuals.

In such situations – as would have been with the case of Chowdhury and Haq – there are no witnesses who can say that these particular men were picked up and no family to report the incident.

An eye-witness to detention

The two men are, however, not the only alleged militants who are said to have been secretly detained.

Nurul Islam Marjan has been missing from his family home for around seven months and is alleged by the police to have been another mastermind of the Holey Bakery attack.

At a police press conference on August 12, the head of the counter terrorism unit claimed that Marjan took the Holey Bakery attackers to the Gulshan area on the night of the attack and received the photographs taken by the militants that night.

The police say that they are still trying to arrest him.

However, Sweden-based journalist Tasneem Khalil, who specialises in counter-terrorism in Bangladesh, says that he has heard from two sources – “one a highly placed leader of the Awami League, and another, a mid-level law enforcement officer” – that Marjan has been detained and kept in the “counter terrorism unit custody”.

More significantly, another person with direct access to the detective branch office of the police – which is where the counter terrorism unit is based – has told this correspondent that he had seen Marjan in a cell in one of the buildings.

Marjan was “handcuffed, on the floor and looked as though he had been tortured,” this man said, who wished to keep his anonymity fearing repercussions. “I recognized the man to be Marjan because I had seen his picture in the newspaper.”

This sighting, which took place after the police press conference, corresponded with a period when a number of newspapers published detailed information about Marjan and his role in the Holey Bakery attack. Perhaps this is no coincidence; where else might the police have obtained this detailed information other than from the man himself?

A further five?

Khalil also raises questions about five alleged Ansarullah Bangla Team operatives who the police say were involved in a number of killings of so-called atheist bloggers and publishers.

On May 18, the Dhaka Metropolitan Police released pictures of six men – ‘Sharif’, ‘Selim’, ‘Sifat’, ‘Shihab’, ‘Raju’ and ‘Sazzad’ – and announced an award totaling BDT 1.8 million for information leading to their capture.

A month later, on June 15, the police said that they had arrested Shihab in Dhaka for his alleged involvement in the attack on publisher Ahmedul Rashid Tutul in October 2015.

On June 19, the police claimed that Sharif (real name Mukul Rana), who was alleged to have assisted in the murder in February 2015 of American-Bangladeshi writer Avijit Roy, was killed when shot as he tried to escape on a motorcycle during the course of a police raid.

And the police then said that on August 23 they arrested Moinul Hasan Shamim (also known as Sifat), and Abdus Sabur (Raju) on September 4, both of whom are said to be responsible for the murder of publisher Faisal Arefin Dipan.  Police claim that they are still hunting for Selim and Sazzad.

However, according to Khalil, five of the men were picked up by law enforcement authorities much earlier in the year.

Khalil says that in late May a message was posted concerning these six men on Dawahilallah, an Al-Qaida in the Indian Subcontinent affiliated online forum, which stated that, “These brothers have been missing from earlier, the Taghut [evil] forces picked them up from their homes over a period of time. These brothers have been missing for a long time. And the Taghut force is now staging a fabricated drama.”

Khalil then sought to corroborate this information with his contacts in Bangladesh. “My sources inside the government confirmed that they were indeed in secret detention at a Task Force Intelligence facility near Uttara since February,” he said.

His information dovetails with the claim made by the family of Sharif, who the police say was killed in the gunfight on June 19.

His family says that Sharif was already on that date in state custody, since he had been picked up on February 23 by officers from the detective branch of the police.

The story was first reported on February 24 by the Bangladesh Protidin (referring to Sharif as Hadi, one of his other aliases), just  days after the alleged pick up, and subsequently reported in many newspapers after he was killed..

Does due process matter?

Since July 1, the police say that they have killed 33 militant operatives in various operations and gunfights (including 11 militants killed today, Saturday).

Many people in Bangladesh will remain unconcerned about how these killings took place or in general how the state deals with militant suspects.

The string of targeted killings that started in February 2015 and the Holey attack in July this year has been so shocking to many, that they would give the state a blank check as long as it stopped the Islamist militancy. Ignoring due process requirements speeds up the process of halting the militant attacks – and creates fear amongst militants or those willing to be recruited, they say.

There are however reasons to be very concerned.

To start with, alleged secret detentions and unlawful killings are wrong in principle. Doing so is against the law, they are serious crimes and they tend to blur the distinction between militants and state law enforcement officers. Since it is wrong for militants to unlawfully hold hostage and kill citizens, it is equally wrong for state employees to do so – even when they think the people are serious criminals.

If state employees/law enforcement officers think that detained men should be detained or executed, then they should let the court make that decision on the basis of evidence. Law enforcement officers – whether with or without political sanction – should not make the decision themselves, which would have the effect of reducing themselves down to the moral level of militants.

“We have forgotten law. We have stamped out law by taking high-handed measures,” said senior Bangladesh lawyer Shahdeen Malik, one of the few people in Bangladesh still willing to speak critically about the government’s counter terrorism measures.

“No circumstance can be taken as an excuse to take away people’s fundamental rights … Applying our short-sighted thinking, we are throwing the constitution into the dustbin.”

In addition to this, using unorthodox and illegal methods could well backfire – creating obstacles in defeating the militancy.

This is because the known use of these unlawful methods can scare citizens from approaching the police with information about militants, worried about how the law enforcement authorities will respond – particularly if the matter relates to a relative or friend.

And whilst such unorthodox methods might have the effect of deterring some from taking part in militancy, they also risk providing to the militants a further sense of injustice and more rationales for what they are doing, which can be used by them and their supporters to recruit and continue their militancy.

‘এই বিল বাকস্বাধীনতা রোধ করার সামিল'

সমীর কুমার দে / dw.com

নতুন বিলে কোনো বেসরকারি সংস্থা বা ব্যক্তি সংবিধান ও সাংবিধানিক প্রতিষ্ঠান সম্পর্কে বিদ্বেষমূলক অথবা অশালীন বক্তব্য দিলে বা রাষ্ট্রবিরোধী কর্মকাণ্ড করলে, তা অপরাধ হিসেবে গণ্য হবে৷ এমনকি এনজিও-টির নিবন্ধন বাতিলও হতে পারে৷

‘‘এই বিল পাসের ফলে বিশ্ববাসীর কাছে দেশ সম্পর্কে একটা খারাপ বার্তা গেল৷'' ডয়চে ভেলের কাছে এমন মন্তব্য করেছেন সুশাসনের জন্য নাগরিক বা সুজন-এর সাধারণ সম্পাদক বদিউল আলম মজুমদার৷ তিনি বলেন, ‘‘সংবিধানে কিছু মৌলিক অধিকারের কথা বলা আছে, যা আইন দিয়ে রোহিত করা যাবে না৷ তার মধ্যে বাকস্বাধীনতা একটি৷ এই বিল পাস বাকস্বাধীনতা রোধ করার সামিল৷ এখন থেকে বিশ্ববাসী জানবে, বাংলাদেশে বাকস্বাধীনতা বলে কিছু নেই৷''

গত বুধবার সংসদে বৈদেশিক অনুদান (স্বেচ্ছাসেবামূলক কার্যক্রম) রেগুলেশন বিল, ২০১৬ পাস হয়৷ প্রধানমন্ত্রীর কার্যালয়ের দায়িত্বপ্রাপ্ত মন্ত্রী মতিয়া চৌধুরী সংসদে বিলটি পাসের জন্য উত্থাপন করলে, তা কণ্ঠভোটে পাস হয়ে যায়৷

এর আগে, গত বছরের ১লা সেপ্টেম্বর জাতীয় সংসদে বিলটি উত্থাপন করেন মতিয়া চৌধুরী৷ এর কয়েকদিন পর টিআইবি-র ‘পার্লামেন্ট ওয়াচ' প্রতিবেদন প্রকাশ অনুষ্ঠানে প্রতিষ্ঠানটির নির্বাহী পরিচালক ইফতেখারুজ্জামান সংসদকে ‘পুতুলনাচের নাট্যশালা' বলে মন্তব্য করেন৷ বলা বাহুল্য, এই মন্তব্যকে ঘিরে সংসদে সমালোচনার ঝড় ওঠে৷ এক পর্যায়ে আইন মন্ত্রণালয়-সম্পর্কিত সংসদীয় কমিটি টিআইবি-কে ক্ষমা চাওয়ার আহ্বান জানায়৷ ঐ মন্তব্যের পর সংসদীয় কমিটি বিলে সাংবিধানিক প্রতিষ্ঠান সম্পর্কে ‘কটাক্ষমূলক মন্তব্য ও অপরাধ'-সম্পর্কিত এই বিধান যুক্ত করার সিদ্ধান্ত নেয়৷

বিলটি পাসের পর ইফতেখারুজ্জামান ডয়চে ভেলেকে বলেন, ‘‘সরকারের তরফ থেকে আমাদের বলা হয়েছিল, চূড়ান্তভাবে উপস্থাপনের আগে আমাদের সঙ্গে আলোচনা করা হবে৷ কিন্তু কিছুই করা হয়নি৷ আর বিদ্বেষমূলক বা অশালীন বক্তব্য কোনটা, তার কোনো ব্যাখ্যা নেই৷ কারও কাছে যেটা সমালোচনা, সেটা অন্য কারও কাছে অশালীন মন্তব্য বলে মনে হতে পারে৷ তাই এই আইনের যাতে কোনো অপপ্রয়োগ না হয় সেদিকে সরকারের খেয়াল রাখা উচিত৷''

জানা যায়, সামরিক শাসনামলের আইন বাংলায় ও যুগোপযোগী করতে উচ্চ আদালতের রায়ের আলোকে আইনটির খসড়া তৈরি হয়৷ এ প্রসঙ্গে ফেডারেশন অফ এনজিওস ইন বাংলাদেশের (এফএনবি) পরিচালক তাজুল ইসলাম সাংবাদিকদের বলেন, ‘‘বেসরকারি সংস্থাগুলো সরকারের সম্পূরক হিসেবে, কোনো কোনো ক্ষেত্র সরকারের অংশীদার হিসেবে কাজ করে৷ সেখানে সংবিধান ও সাংবিধানিক প্রতিষ্ঠান সম্পর্কে বিদ্বেষমূলক বা অশালীন বক্তব্য দেওয়া বা রাষ্ট্রবিরোধী কর্মকাণ্ড করার প্রশ্নই আসে না৷ তাই এ সম্পর্কে নতুন করে মন্তব্য করারও কিছু নেই৷''

গতকাল সংসদে পাস হওয়া এই বিলে আরও বলা হয়, সন্ত্রাসবিরোধী আইনের অধীনে নিষিদ্ধঘোষিত বা তালিকাভুক্ত ব্যক্তি বা প্রতিষ্ঠান বৈদেশিক অনুদান গ্রহণ করতে পারবে না৷ বিদেশ থেকে পাওয়া অনুদান যে কোনো তফসিলি ব্যাংকের মাধ্যমে গ্রহণ করতে হবে৷ কোনো প্রতিষ্ঠান নারী, শিশু, মাদক ও অস্ত্র পাচারের সঙ্গে সংশ্লিষ্ট থাকলে, তা অপরাধ হিসেবে গণ্য হবে৷ এক্ষেত্রে এনজিও-টির নিবন্ধনও বাতিল করা হতে পারে৷

এনজিও-তে বিদেশি উপদেষ্টা নিয়োগের ক্ষেত্রেও স্বরাষ্ট্র মন্ত্রণালয়ের নিরাপত্তা ছাড় নিতে হবে৷ এছাড়া বিদেশি অনুদান একটি নির্দিষ্ট ব্যাংক হিসাবে (মাদার অ্যাকাউন্ট) থাকতে হবে৷ ব্যয়ের হিসাব অডিট করার পর এনজিও-বিষয়ক ব্যুরোর মহাপরিচালকের কাছে দিতে হবে৷ এনজিও-বিষয়ক ব্যুরো এ সব বেসরকারি উন্নয়ন সংস্থার কার্যক্রম পরিদর্শন, পর্যবেক্ষণ ও মূল্যায়ন করবে৷

Eradicating critical voices

Geneva-Paris, October 6, 2016. Yesterday, the Parliament of Bangladesh adopted the highly controversial and internationally criticised Foreign Donations (Voluntary Activities) Regulation Bill 2016. This bill, which will further repress critical human rights work in Bangladesh, should be immediately revoked, the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders (an OMCT-FIDH partnership) said today.

On October 5, 2016, the Parliament of Bangladesh passed the Foreign Donations (Voluntary Activities) Regulation Bill 2016. Once the Bill is transformed into a law with assents by the President, it will repeal the Foreign Donation (Voluntary Activity) Regulation Ordinance 1978 and the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Ordinance, 1982, and create greater limitations to the work of civil society in Bangladesh.

“The absurdity is that freedom of expression is a constitutional right in Bangladesh. Yet it is a right that is no longer afforded to those who question the institutions that govern the country. The Bill, besides being manifestly anti-democratic, leaves no doubt that the intention is to shut down any existing human rights work and critical voices in the country. This is a sad day for Bangladesh, as silence is the end of democracy and the beginning of insecurity”, said OMCT Secretary General Gerald Staberock.

The Bill states that the NGO Affairs Bureau (NGOAB), which is under the direct supervision of the Prime Minister’s Office, will have the authority to cancel or withhold the legal registration of a non-governmental organisation (NGO) or ban its activities for having "engaged in anti-State activities", "financing extremism and terror activities", or for "making derogatory comments about the Constitution and constitutional institutions” of Bangladesh, including the Offices of the President, the Prime Minister, the Parliament, or the Supreme Court.

According to the Bill, NGOs seeking to receive or use foreign funds must register with the NGOAB, submit reports regularly and seek prior approval from the NGOAB for all planned activities before receiving such grants. The Bill also empowers the NGOAB to inspect, monitor and assess NGO activities at the NGOAB's discretion, and NGOs will need approval and security clearance to hire foreign specialists and advisers.

“This Bill imposes disproportionate restrictions on freedoms of expression and association in Bangladesh, in violation of international human rights standards. Therefore, it represents a real threat to the legitimate activities of independent NGOs”, said FIDH President Dimitris Christopoulos.

In November 2015, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Rights to Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and of Association, Mr. Maina Kiai, urged the Bangladeshi Parliament not to adopt the Bill, stressing that “registered and unregistered NGOs should be able to operate and function freely without prior authorization or other undue impediments”.

The Observatory calls on the Bangladeshi authorities to repeal the current Bill and to refrain from passing it into law, as well as to conform in all circumstances with the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders as well as human rights instruments ratified by Bangladesh.

The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders (the Observatory) was created in 1997 by the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) and FIDH. The objective of this programme is to intervene to prevent or remedy situations of repression against human rights defenders. OMCT and FIDH are both members of ProtectDefenders.eu, the European Union Human Rights Defenders Mechanism implemented by international civil society.