The Problem with Bangladesh ICT: A Snapshot

Sakti Saha, the son of a 1971 martyr, gave witness in the trial of Ali Ahsan Mohammed Mojaheed yesterday. By all accounts, it was a heartbreaking moment, as Saha broke down while describing his father’s death. Several newspapers headlined and highlighted this incident.

But what got lost was what Saha did not say. And the fact that is not noticed today will make any teeth-gnashing and sloganeering the day Mojaheed’s sentence comes out quite moot.

 

The Crime and the messenger

An interesting news came out of Afghanistan today. A senior judge was covertly tape recorded while asking for bribe and proposing to marry a woman whose divorce case he was handling. The fallout of the news — whole world in focused on the judge, starting from Afghan president to the Anti corruption guru– every one promised to take action. And no one questioned how illegal it was to secretly tape record a senior sitting judge while he talks about his case.

 

Connectivity and Communalism

When I was a student in Bangladesh, my world was my campus, my TSC, evening tea stall adda, night-time hostel adda. I used to see the world around be by collective actions emotions among this surrounding. And in between the campus days, it was our rock er adda, evening cha-dalpuri adda, post dinner household family adda. These were the tools for to understand the vibe of the people around.

 

ICT Controversy and my take on tapped conversations

Source: Al Jazeera

I have already been recommended to read at least three blogs about the recent hacked Skype conversations between International Crimes Tribunal Chairman Justice Nizamul Hoque and a Belgium based Bangladeshi expatriate lawyer Ahmed Ziauddin. All three have the same content, same tone, same desperation. Damage control. Attempts to make people believe that the Skype discussion between the judge and the expatriate lawyer is nothing unusual, in good faith and is perfectly valid.

The folks who wrote those blogs or who shared/ recommended those blogs definitely has one thing to share. They all want the defendants to be executed by hanging. For them the guilt of defendants are foregone conclusion, the trial is just a formality to showcase to the west and it is unimaginable for them that the defendants can be found Not guilty.

But my take on the leaked material, which I heard in youtube and read in Bangla Daily Amar desh is very different from the above spins.

 

No Justice for Bishyajit Das

“Those who want to “help” (!) the country, they have some small addiction to hunting. To sate their hunger, it is the Bishyajits who have to be the hunted deer.”

Ruling Awami League party activists chop an innocent man to death. They suspected that he was an opposition activist supporting the nationwide blockade. Recently, Home Minister has urged party activists to take over law enforcement and resist opposition activities.

 

December 5 and state of Bangali nationalism

December 5 — does it sound any significant? Is it a special day? Ask 10,000 people in the streets of Dhaka — I bet you will hardly find one who will be able to recall any event to make December 5 special in the history of Bangladesh. Bangladesh has a very vibrant TV channel culture– all owned by private businesses. Those TV’s will make a mountain out of a molehill on every single significant and insignificant occasion. Yet they will not speak a line to remind the country of an event that took place on December 5.

 

It's insanely insane down here

Source: bdnews24.com

The second term Sheikh Hasina Government has taken the country to a low of unbelievable proportion. Injustice, anarchy, suppression, hypocrisy — all have attained a level beyond the most skeptic’s wildest nightmarish imagination. Be it judiciary, be it defense forces, be it police forces, be it medical profession — all the government jobs are grabbed by political cadres and goons of the ruling party.

Let’s talk about assistant judge Javed Imam. This man was caught with a huge supply of illicit drugs when he was transporting those from a border district to capital city Dhaka. Definitely he and his handlers thought his position of a judge will ensure his protection and immunity from police checks.