22/01/2005
01. Experts alarmed by extremist tilt in BangladeshAdd to Clippings KOLKATA: Those with any concern for democracy should be alarmed by the condition in Bangladesh. For the country which once fought famously to preserve its language is fast turning into a hub of fundamentalist, Islamic groups in South Asia. India has a major role to play in helping democratic institutions flourish in Bangladesh. This was the clear message from authors and academics from the beleaguered state at a seminar in Kolkata on Saturday. The conference on "Civil society, human rights and minorities in Bangladesh" was organised by Campaign Against Atrocities on Minorities in Bangladesh in association with Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council. According to noted Bangladeshi author Salam Azad, there is an effort at Talibanizing Bangladesh. "Given Bangladesh's social organisation, it would be easy to do so. A close associate of Osama bin Laden had recently been to Cox's Bazar, where there are hundreds of fundamentalist camps." Azad clearly stated that the democratic sections in the Bangladeshi society which safeguarded Bengali nationalism were now in peril and fundamentalist organisations were emerging as a major political force. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/msid-998738,curpg-2.cms 20/01/2005 02. Bangladesh now has 31 Islamic militant groups: rights group: Kolkata, Jan 20 : A Bangladeshi human rights group today claimed that 31 Islamic militant outfits were operating in the country now, targetting non-Muslims and seeking to establish a "greater Islamic nation" including parts of some adjacent Indian states. "As per our findings, 31 Islamic militant groups are now operating in Bangladesh. They are mainly targetting non-Muslim people. They also want to set up a greater Islamic nation with parts of some adjacent states of India," Rosalyn Costa, who heads the rights group 'Hotline Bangladesh', said here. Costa was speaking at a press conference to announce a two-day international conference on 'Civil Society, Human Rights and Minorities in Bangladesh' being organised Campaign Against Atrocities on Minorities in Bangladesh (CAAMB) and the Bangladesh Hindu-Buddhist-Christian Unity Council (BHBCUC) from January 22. The conference is to be addressed, among others, by controversial Bangladeshi writer Taslima Nasreen. Describing Bangladesh as a 'cocoon of terrorism and violence,' she said that over the past three years, a large number of ammunition, including grenades, had been smuggled into the country and 'freely' used against minorities. "A section of Islamic seminaries known as qaumi madrasas have become the breeding ground of Islamic terrorism. They are intolerant of democratic and progressive views," Costa said, adding that the murder of liberal Bangladeshi litterateur Humayun Azad and the attack on writer-film maker Shahriyar Kabir were cases to be noted. PTI Blaming the politically conscious sections in Kolkata and Bengal of being blind to the threat posed by fundamentalists in Bangladesh, Azad said that in a fortnight after the October 2001 election in Bangladesh, 1.5 million Hindus had fled to Bengal and Tripura. Awami League and Bangladesh Nationalist Party should not be treated in the same footing because minorities had been more secure under Awami League rule, he said. A u t h o r Taslima Nasrin likened the atrocities on religious minorities in Bangladesh to the genocide in Gujarat. She read out three of her poems, condemning rapes of Hindu women in Bangladesh, attacks on Muslims in Gujarat and seeking religious tolerance. Dwikhondito in Kolkata. Former vice-chancellor of Calcutta University, Santosh Bhattacharya and writer Shib Narayan Roy advocated a proper policy on India's intervention in helping democratic institutions flourish in Bangladesh. Former Asiatic Society president Amalendu Dey said that the secular fabric in India would be in danger if illegal migration from Bangladesh continued. http://news.newkerala.com/india-news/?action=fullnews&id=62869 __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Mail - now with 250MB free storage. Learn more. http://info.mail.yahoo.com/mail_250 ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Take a look at donorschoose.org, an excellent charitable web site for anyone who cares about public education! http://us.click.yahoo.com/_OLuKD/8WnJAA/cUmLAA/TySplB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? Head on over to our discussion list, [EMAIL PROTECTED] -------------------------- Brooks Isoldi, editor [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.intellnet.org Post message: [email protected] Subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** FAIR USE NOTICE. This message contains copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. OSINT, as a part of The Intelligence Network, is making it available without profit to OSINT YahooGroups members who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information in their efforts to advance the understanding of intelligence and law enforcement organizations, their activities, methods, techniques, human rights, civil liberties, social justice and other intelligence related issues, for non-profit research and educational purposes only. We believe that this constitutes a 'fair use' of the copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Law. If you wish to use this copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use,' you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/osint/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
