BANGLADESH

The demonstrating journalists believe the first and foremost task of the new Home Minister should be to bring the killers of their colleagues Sagar Sarowar and Meherun Runi to justice.

Several platforms of protesting journalists voiced the demand from Sunday's rally in front of the ATN Bangla office at Karwan Bazar.

Former President of Bangladesh Federal Journalists Union Manjurul Ahsan Bulbul said the "first assignment" of new home and information ministers should be to nab the killers of the journalist couple.

Maasranga TV's News Editor Sagar and ATN Bangla's senior reporter Runi were found murdered at their rented West Rajabazar apartment on Feb 11.

They also demanded detention of ATN Bangla chairman Mahfuzur Rahman for his derogatory comments made during a talk show in London over the personal lives of the slain couple.

Mahfuz had claimed that the journalist couple was "victim of extra-marital affairs".

The journalists had demanded Mahfuz's detention at a programme and journalists of ATN Bangla and members of the protesting platforms scuffled over the issue later.

The platforms threw out several ATN Bangla newsmen following the incident. Several months later, Mahfuz moved the court for an order to ban Sunday's scheduled agitation.

On Sep 11, the journalists' platforms demanded withdrawal of the case and unconditional apology from Mahfuz. They had also announced a siege to the ATN Bangla office.

Mohiuddin Khan Alamgir has replaced Shahara Khatun as the new Home Minister during the fourth Cabinet reshuffle.

Enemy of Media

Bulbul urged the new home and information ministers to find out those trying to take advantage by waging a media war".

President of a faction of BFUJ Iqbal Sobhan Chowdhury said the journalists were demonstrating to safeguard democracy and added that Mahfuzur Rahman was one of those few who had "betrayed the movement".

He went on to brand the ATN chief is an "enemy of the media" and said Mahfuzur will be dragged out of ATN Bangla and ATN News.

The journalist leader said they will announce programmes from the Sep 26 rally against those who had betrayed the demonstrating journalists and participated in programmes and talk shows on the two channels.

One of the former presidents of the National Press Club and also Secretary General of a BFUJ faction Shawkat Mahmud said, indicating the ATN Bangla chief, killers of Sagar and Runi were probably at Karwan Bazar.

"Though we are not certain about the killers' identities, we have heard them talk," he said referring to Mahfuz's remarks during a London talk show.

"The murderers have said that Sagar and Runi were victim of an extra-marital affair and that booze parties took place at their house," he added.

Addressing the ATN chief, Dhaka Reporters Unity President Shakhawat Hossain Badhsah said Mahfuz will have to end the controversy which he had created.

The demonstration which commenced at 11:15am ended at 2pm.

The journalist leaders had given authorities until Sep 25 to nab the killers and warned of tougher agitations from its pre-announced Sep 26 rally in front of the National Press Club.

Parliament on Tuesday passed an amendment halving the time for appealing a war crimes tribunal verdict to one month.

State Minister for Law Quamrul Islam moved a bill on the International Crimes (Tribunals) (Second Amendment) Act 1973.

The Treasury MPs earlier rejected through voice vote the proposals to test public opinion on the amendment, send it to a committee for scrutiny and make further changes.

Independent MP Fazlul Azim voiced against the amendment saying, "You waited 40 years for this and now you can't wait 60 days?"

The amendment, which is to expedite the war crimes trials, says that copies of judgement would be provided to the prosecution and the defence on the day it is delivered.

The amendment also says that such a copy of the judgement would be treated as a certified copy.

The original Act of 1973 only allowed a person convicted' to appeal to the Appellate Division against such conviction within 60 days. But the amendment included provisions for the prosecution to appeal a tribunal verdict in the same manner.

The first amendment of 2009 had also brought changes to Section 21 of the law allowing for both the prosecution and the defence to appeal the tribunal's verdict.

On June 12, Parliament passed an amendment to the law allowing transfer of cases from one tribunal to another.

The bill was tabled on Sep 11 after a Sep 3 approval by the Cabinet and sent to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on the Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs for a report in three days.

The two war crimes tribunals are currently handling 11 cases together. Of the eight people indicted so far, six are Jamaat-e-Islami leaders including its former chief and guru, Ghulam Azam, current chief Motiur Rahman Nizami, the party's number two Secretary General Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mujaheed, and assistant secretaries general Mohammad Kamaruzzaman and Abdul Quader Molla. Jamaat executive council member Delwar Hossain Sayedee's case is the most advanced where the defence has already begun its case.

Jamaat stalwart and financier Mir Quasem Ali and another assistant secretary general ATM Azharul Islam are behind bars while war crimes investigation against them continues.

BNP MP Salauddin Quader Chowdhury and former BNP MP and minister Abdul Alim are also facing war crimes trials.

Parliament on Tuesday passed a law providing for nominal registration fees for transfer of properties by the people of different religions to their kin.

'Registration (Amendment) Bill-2012', tabled by State Minister for Law Quamrul Islam on behalf of Law Minister Shafique Ahmed, was passed by voice vote.

Once the law is enforced, people of the Hindu, Buddhist and Christian communities can give their properties to their close relations at nominal registration fees as Muslims do.

The bill was initiated to amend the Registration Act-1908.

Qamrul said Muslims can transfer their immovable properties to their close relations at nominal fees. People of the Hindu, Buddhist and Christian communities have been demanding similar provisions for them too.

The Cabinet on May 21 approved the bill.

The remaining six judges of the Supreme Court bench that declared the 13th constitutional amendment illegal signed the full verdict on Sunday night, almost a year and a half after the historic judgment rescinded the caretaker government provision.

The full copy of the verdict, reached by a majority decision, was signed around 10pm following a series of meetings among the judges throughout the day.

Former Chief Justice ABM Khairul Haque and Supreme Court Registrar AKM Shamsul Islam confirmed bdnews24.com about the signing of the full verdict.

Justice Haque had signed the 342-page judgement in the Supreme Court on Thursday.

He was the top judge who headed the seven-strong bench that delivered the verdict on May 10, 2011. Justices Mahmud Hossain, Sinha and Mozammel Hossain agreed with him. Justices Wahab Miah and Sultana differed while Justice Iman Ali left the matter for Parliament to decide.

The judgement declared illegal the 15-year-old constitutional provision that mandated an elected government to transfer power to an unelected non-partisan caretaker administration to oversee a new parliamentary election on completion of its term.

In its short verdict, the apex court also observed that the rescinded system may be practised for another two parliamentary terms.

On June 30 last year, the Awami League-led Grand Alliance finally abolished the caretaker government system allowing general elections under elected partisan governments.

The court also asked Parliament to amend the Constitution to make sure that former Chief Justices or any other Supreme Court judges are not chosen as head of caretaker governments in case the system is kept for another two parliamentary elections.

This is the first time a verdict has been written in mixed languages – Bengali and English. Usually the court writes verdict in English. Justice Khairul Haque wrote the main part of the verdict in Bengali. Justice Ali wrote 150 pages of the verdict.

The main opposition BNP has been opposing the constitutional amendment claiming that the government partly implemented the verdict, but overlooked the other part on two elections under the caretakers.

The opposition insists that no election will be allowed under any partisan government. Though the caretaker government was introduced first in 1996, the elections taken place in 1990 were held under an interim government.

The BNP was forced by Awami League to introduce the caretaker government system through constitutional amendment for the first time. But the system came under scrutiny as the last military-backed caretaker government, which had a three-month mandate to hold elections, managed to linger on power for two years since 2007.

The High Court announced the caretaker government system legal after several people including Advocate M Salim Ullah challenged the 13th Amendment in 2004. They challenged the decision at the Appellate Division, drawing out the order.

he biggest ally in Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's government pulled out of the ruling coalition on Tuesday, escalating a political firestorm over big-ticket reform measures launched last week to revive India's flagging economy.

Mamata Banerjee, the chief minister of West Bengal, had demanded the government reverse its decision to raise diesel prices and open the supermarket sector to investment from foreign chains such as Wal-Mart Stores.

Her withdrawal and that of her 19 MPs in Lok Sabha is unlikely to destabilise the government in the short term as Singh's Congress party can count on other parties for support.

But it might embolden Banerjee and other parties to intensify ongoing protests against unpopular economic policies that the government sees as crucial to reining in a bloated fiscal deficit and improving investor sentiment.

"The government has lost their credentials. If they cannot keep their friendship with us, they cannot keep it with anyone," Banerjee told reporters after a meeting of her Trinamool Congress party (TMC) in Kolkata.

Banerjee has also withdrawn half a dozen ministers in the government, the most high profile being the railways ministry portfolio. They will submit their resignations on Friday, she said.

BACKLASH

A popular backlash against retail liberalisation forced the government into an embarrassing climbdown on the reform last year. Singh revived the measure on Friday, although opponents of the policy have vowed to reverse it once again.

But the Congress party appears confident of surviving the opposition against the reforms and has held firm against calls for the measures to be rolled back.

Several party and government officials have told Reuters that Congress leader Sonia Gandhi had assessed the risks of losing coalition allies over the measures and concluded the government was safe.

Banerjee came to power in West Bengal in 2011, ending more than three decades of Communist rule in the state. Colloquially known as "Didi", or "elder sister", Banerjee's supporters hail her as a champion of India's poor and dispossessed.

But her politics are a thorn in the side of the government. Her protests had been instrumental in blocking a slew of economic measures, from retail reform to allowing foreign direct investment into India's aviation and insurance sectors.

"We waited enough time," Banerjee said. "They have to withdraw FDI in retail if they want us to stay, they have reverse their decisions on LPG subsidy and diesel hike."