‘The tradition of Baul song must not be made questionable’- PM



Senior Correspondent, Barta24.com
Prime Minister and Leader of the House Sheikh Hasina, Photo: Collected

Prime Minister and Leader of the House Sheikh Hasina, Photo: Collected

  • Font increase
  • Font Decrease

From JS Bhavan: Prime Minister and Leader of the House Sheikh Hasina said songs of the Bauls bear no relation to the arrest of a Baul singer.

“If the persons who sing (Baul song) are involved in any crime, then the law will take its own course. There is no relation of songs with it,” she said while replying to a supplementary question raised by Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal (JSD) lawmaker Hasanul Haque Inu in the House on Wednesday(Jan.22) afternoon.

The Prime Minister’s comment came when the JSD lawmaker raised the supplementary on the arrest of baul singer Shariat Sarkar, who was accused of hurting the religious sentiment.

Sheikh Hasina said “Baul Song” has been included as a world heritage due to initiatives of the Awami League government.

“I would like to tell the honorable lawmaker that there is no fault in Baul Song,” she said.

“Will the lawmaker give such a guarantee that all who sings Baul songs are above crimes. Don’t they commit any offence?” she said.

Sheikh Hasina said the person who was arrested was certainly involved in any crime or any offence was committed.

Sheikh Hasina said: “We’ll have to remain careful so that they don’t do such work and also make them aware in this connection.”

The Prime Minister said the military rulers grabbed power by violating constitution after the assassination of Bangabandhu in 1975.

“Coups took place one after another at that time and in fact there was no democratic trend there,” she said.

“Whenever the military dictators grab power they first announce in radio or television that I became the president (of the country) from today,” she said.

The Premier added: “Becoming the president they first start cleanliness drive and work of the “sweepers” first. I’ve always seen it.”

Sheikh Hasina said in her life she witnessed the rules of four military dictators — Ayub Khan, Yahya Khan, General Zia and General Ershad — who first cleaned roads and walls.

“Among them, somebody first attended the office by bicycle saying that he is maintaining austerity. Later it was seen that he moved by the most expensive car,” she said.

The Leader of the House said some of the dictators wore t-shirt. “But it was seen later that suits and came from Paris.The military dictators do such dramas,” she said.

“Not only cutting hair, they also did many such works … we’ve seen many works in our life … they do it to strengthen the foundation of the power and make them acceptable to the people,” she said.

“But their initiatives don’t last long … Those go on for not more than six months and then, their face changes,” she said.

The Leader of the House said: “We’ll see if anybody commits work like cutting hair (of the Baul singers) and we’ll take action against those involved in the crime.”

She asserted that cutting hair of anybody or making obstruction to singing unnecessarily is not acceptable at all.

Sheikh Hasina said the Awami League government developed the place of the Baul singers in Kushtia to save the heritage of Baul Song “though we faced obstruction at the beginning to do this work.”

   

‘Bangladeshi Americans are working to strengthen the relationship between the two countries’



News Desk, Barta24.com
Photo: Barta24.com

Photo: Barta24.com

  • Font increase
  • Font Decrease

The US Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs, Ambassador Donald Lu, has highly appreciated the contributions of the Bangladeshi Americans to building the foundations of bilateral relations between the two nations.

Ambassador Lu was addressing as the Guest of Honour a reception hosted by Bangladesh Embassy in Washington DC on Tuesday evening on the occasion of the celebration of the Independence and National Day of Bangladesh.


Bangladesh Ambassador to the United States Mr. Muhammad Imran delivered the welcome address at the function held at Bangabandhu Auditorium of the Mission.

US Assistant Secretary of State Donald Lu said there are huge number of Bangladeshi Americans in the United States and it’s their strength and tremendous hard work that builds the foundation of the excellent relations between the two countries.


“We are so proud of the work of the Bangladeshi Americans what they do to support the relations between our two great nations,” he said.

In this connection, Mr. Donald Lu referred to Bangladeshi-American entrepreneurs who have excelled in different fields with their unique and innovative ideas.

The US Assistant Secretary of State concluded his remarks by saying, “Happy Birthday Bangladesh and Joy Bangla”.


In his welcome remarks, Bangladesh Ambassador Muhammad Imran extended heartfelt greetings to all Bangladeshi people living at home at abroad on the occasion of the great Independence and National Day.

He also paid deep homage to Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and three million martyrs who sacrificed their life for the cause of independence.

Ambassador Imran said Bangladesh attaches high importance to its long-standing partnership with the United States. Ever since the establishment our two countries’ relations, there prevailed excellent understanding and collaboration with the United States playing a positive role in Bangladesh’s development journey.

Caption

He mentioned that Bangladesh also shares with the United States a common vision for a free and open Indo-Pacific region with shared prosperity for all. We sincerely believe that two countries will be able to strengthen and advance the relationship further and explore new areas of cooperation, Ambassador Imran said.

He said Bangladesh looks forward to the support and cooperation from all its friends to realize the dream of our Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman to transform Bangladesh into “Sonar Bangla” (Golden Bengal), a hunger-and poverty-free prosperous Bangladesh.

Later, the US Assistant Secretary of State and the Bangladesh Ambassador jointly cut a cake in the presence of the guests. Earlier, the reception began with the playing of the national anthems of Bangladesh and the United States. It was followed by a screening of a documentary on the Liberation War and development of Bangladesh.

Ambassador Rebecca Gonzales, Director, Office of Foreign Missions, US State Department, Ambassadors and diplomats of different countries, senior officials of the State Department, and representatives from the US Government, USAID, USTR, NDI, IRI and other organizations were present at the function.

The event was also attended by Ambassador Mr. Muhammad Ziauddin, Ambassador at Large of the Prime Minister of Bangladesh and former Bangladesh Ambassador to the USA, Dr. Ahmed Kaikaus, ex-Alternate Executive Director of World Bank Group and Principal Secretary to Hon’ble Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Mr. Saddam Selim, a Bangladeshi American elected a State Senator from Virginia and Dr. Siddiqur Rahman, the President of the US chapter of Bangladesh Awami League and the members of the Bangladeshi diaspora.

To celebrate the great Independence and National Day, the Bangladesh Embassy arranged daylong programs that included hoisting of the National Flag, placing a floral wreath at the bust of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, screening of a documentary and holding a discussion session and a special prayer.

The day’s programs began in the morning with ceremonially hoisting of the National Flag by Ambassador Muhammad Imran on the Chancery premises. Officials and employees of the Mission were present on the occasion.

Later, the Ambassador placed a floral wreath at the bust of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in the presence of the officials of the Embassy.

The messages issued on the occasion by the Hon'ble President, Hon'ble Prime Minister, and the Foreign Minister were read out by Minister (Consular) Mohammad Habibur Rahman, Minister (Press) AZM Sajjad Hossain and Counsellor and Head of Chancery Ms Shamima Yeasmin Smrite.

Later, a discussion session highlighting the significance of the Independence and National Day was held at the Bangabandhu Auditorium. Counsellor and Head of Chancery of Bangladesh Embassy Shamima Yeasmin Smrite and First Secretary (Passport and Visa Wing) Muhammad Abdul Hye Milton conducted the two parts of the programs.

;

MV Abdullah, pirates bringing food from the shore



Staff Correspondent, Barta24.com, Chattogram
Photo: Collected

Photo: Collected

  • Font increase
  • Font Decrease

Food is running low on Bangladeshi ships held hostage by pirates off the coast of Somalia. For this reason, after two weeks of hostage taking, the bandits started bringing food to the ship named MV Abdullah from shore. The news was confirmed on Wednesday (March 27) by Bangladesh Merchant Marine Officers Association, the organization of the ship's owners and sailors.

The sailors had 25 days of food when the pirates took the ship hostage on March 12. 16 days of hostage-taking have already passed. At this time, along with the sailors, the pirates also shared the ship's food.

Bangladesh Merchant Marine Officers Association is maintaining communication with the ship's sailors. Captain Anam Chowdhury, president of the organization, said that bandits bring food for their own benefit. They have received news that Tehari food was also brought in the MV Abdullah ship.

Earlier in 2010, the hijacked MV Jahan Mani was also supplied by pirates after it ran out of food. After about 100 days, the ship with the sailors was freed. Mohammad Idris, a sailor on that ship, said that after taking hostages, the frozen food was spoiled because the ship's refrigerator was closed at one stage. At the end of the hostage-taking, when the food ran out, the bandits used to supply food from the shore.

Normally, a day's worth of food is kept aboard the ship for a little longer than the days it will take to reach the destination. The hostage Bangladeshi ship was captured by pirates in the Indian Ocean en route from Mozambique to the United Arab Emirates. This journey took 15 days. As such, the ship did not have much food for the day.

Mizanul Islam, media adviser of Kabir Group, the owner of the ship, said that the hostage sailors are healthy. There is nothing to worry about if the sailors are running out of food on board because bandits are bringing food to the ship from the shore.

Owners said negotiations with the pirates are continuing to bring back the hostage Bangladeshi ship and sailors. The owners hope to reach an agreement with the bandits soon.

When asked about this, Mizanul Islam said, "We are working to quickly negotiate with the bandits and bring the sailors back safely."

According to the concerned sources, the ship is now anchored one and a half nautical miles from Jefal coast of Gadhavjiran district by the pirates. A warship was deployed by the European Union Navy on March 21 near the ship.

BBC Somalia reported that Somalia's Puntland police are conducting an operation to cut off communication from the hostage ship to the ground.

At first, the pirates kept the sailors in a cell as the pressure increased from both the water and the land side. However, after confirming that the Bangladeshi owner of the ship is not in favor of any military operation, that is, the warship of the European Union will not carry out any operation, now the pirates are allowing the sailors to stay in the cabin.

A leader of the seamen's organization said that it depends on the bandits when the reconciliation will happen because if they persist in their demands, it will delay reaching a compromise. However, considering the current situation, there may be a quick compromise. 

;

Release of 10 abductees in Teknaf for a ransom of about Tk. 2 lakh



Staff Correspondent, Barta24.com, Cox’s Bazar
ছবি: বার্তা২৪.কম

ছবি: বার্তা২৪.কম

  • Font increase
  • Font Decrease

The abductors released 10 teenagers and young men who were abducted while going to work in the morning in Teknaf on Wednesday (March 27) night in exchange for a ransom of Tk. 1,90,000. Relatives said that they had returned home while they were kidnapped from Hoaikung and Roikhong hill in Teknaf.

The abductees are Junaid (12) and Mohammad Noor (10) two sons of Belal from Karachi Para area of Hoikung Union in Teknaf, Shakil (15) son of Ledur from the same area, Farid Alam (35) son of Shahar Ali, Aktar (25) son of Nurul Islam. Ismail Prakash Sonaya (24) son of Nazir Hossain and Sayed Hossain Babul (26) son of Ali Akbar of Hoaikung Raiokhong area, Fazal Quader (40) son of Kala Mia. The names of the remaining 2 have not been found.

They were released on the hill west of Rohingya Camp No. 22, Huaikong Range, Teknaf at 11pm on Wednesday. From there the family members went and rescued them. At present, those 10 people have been taken to the Waikong police outpost.

Ledu Mia, the father of Shakil who returned, said that the kidnappers returned the boy with a ransom of 20 thousand taka at 11 pm. Borrowing money from people in times of trouble, I rescued my son from the hand of the abductor. All 10 people who were with the son returned with ransom.

Sheikh Kabir, village police of Hoikyong Kanjor Para area, said that 10 teenagers and young men went to work in the hills in the morning. The kidnappers abducted them and took them to the mountains. Later, the abductors left 10 people in the west of Rohingya Camp No. 22 Raiokhong with a ransom of Tk. 1 lakh and 90 thousand. Family members went and rescued them later.

On March 26 and 27, these 10 teenagers and young men were abducted while grazing cows and working in the forest at Hoikyong Raiokhong Badibanya Hill in Teknaf.

;

300 Bangladeshi Umrah pilgrims stranded in Cairo due to mismanagement of Egypt Air



Special Correspondent, Barta24.com, Dhaka
Photo: Collected

Photo: Collected

  • Font increase
  • Font Decrease

More than 300 Bangladeshi Umrah pilgrims are stranded at Egypt's Cairo airport. They are all passengers of Egypt Air. These passengers were kept at the airport for 8 hours on Wednesday due to a technical error.

Egypt Air passenger Nazrul Islam told Barta24.com that he left Makkah and arrived at Jeddah Airport after the evening of March 26. After traveling for two and a half hours from Jeddah airport, they landed at Cairo airport at 5 am. It was a two-hour transit. Accordingly, the flight is scheduled to leave at 7 am. But the plane has not left for almost 8 hours.

When asked why the plane is not taking off, Egypt Air said that the flight is delayed due to a mechanical fault. They were then informed that the flight would depart at 11am local time in Egypt. That time has also passed. Later it was informed that the flight will leave at 12 noon. As of writing this report at 4pm Bangladesh time, the flight had not left.

Nazrul Islam said, Egypt Air is harassing people by doing business with Umrah Hajj passengers. Elderly people are stuck in airports for hours. But they are not shown the least sympathy. It takes 7 hours to reach Dhaka from Cairo. Egypt Air has adopted a new strategy to catch Umrah Hajj passengers. Passengers are being diverted from Jeddah to Cairo and brought back to Dhaka. Ordinary passengers have suffered a lot by purchasing Egypt Air tickets without realizing that they got tickets at a slightly lower cost.

;