Visa officials are suppose to be the first representative to any country. They work as a bridge to any countries relationship. They need to be courteous, respectful and sensitive to the culture of the host country. But in the case of Bangladesh and South Asia we see the opposite. It is alleged that some of the Visa officials of America in Bangladesh are the most disrespectful bunch of people in the continent. They are clearly misrepresenting the people of America and giving a false impression to the public as a whole. What is surprising that, this is going on for a long time without any complain or judgement. I hope the State Department of the United States of America will take a hard look at these visa officials, their credentials and train them properly. Below are some of the horror stories that we hear from prospective applicants, who wanted to travel to America on different occasions. I am sure the same happens in other South Asian countries as well.

1. They scream at the visa applicants.

2. They have total disrespect to the applicants and insensitive to their culture.

3. They act on whimps.

4. They reject visa’s without any rational and a valid reason. In one occasion they rejected one applicant for not being travelled to other countries.

5. Make the applicants wait 3 to 4 hours out in the bench.

6. The facilities of the visa center in Dhaka lacks good air condition.

7. Resort to unnecessary searches.

8. Embarass the applicants by asking unnecessary private questions which does not have any merit.

Bangladesh has acquired an orbit from the International Telecommunications Union for it’s very own satellite, to be established as Bangladesh’s own with in 5-6 years times http://www.theindependent-bd.com/details.php?nid=80308. Not only these, the country is taking other development decisions that will revolutionize the IT and telecommunications sector in Bangladesh. I believe if the government can maintain this pace then Bangladesh is poised for a remarkable development and lots of job possibilities. Below are some of the latest developments that are planned:
1. Bangladesh Telegraph and Telephone Board (BTTB) has also agreed to a proposal of Bangladesh Better Business Forum (BBBF) to drastically cut Internet bandwidth cost in line with the charges in the neighbouring countries within the next two months.
2. Awarding of Internet telephony licences to Internet service providers (ISPs) within next six months.
3. Setting up small scale software technology parks at economic zones within six-nine months.
4. Setting up a 17-acre ICT village in Mohakhali within six months.
5. Set up a second submarine cable for more bandwidth and back up.
6. Establishing a central e-governance centre for effective implementation of e-commerce/digital business.
7. Allow credit card transaction for e-commerce and setting up an electronic payment gateway system.
8. Tax holidays by five years to software and IT enabled services.
9. Reducing the VAT and service charge for internet access to 4.5 percent from existing 15 percent.
10. Set aside atleast 2 percent of ADP (Annual Development Budget) for ICT for every ministries and departments.
11. Asign more frequencies for Mobil companies.

Yes, this is the question I would like to ask all politically conscious people other than BNP-Jamaat-e-Islami and AL hard core sympathizers whose patience seems to be wearing thin these days with the care taker government over the issues of emergency rule and holding of general election. Chief Adviser Dr. Fakhruddin Ahmed has categorically declared more than once that parliamentary election will be held in the country by the end of this year and state of emergency would be lifted before election. A former bureaucrat and a man of integrity, Mr. Fakhruddin will not stay in office even a day longer than needed which means holding a credible election and laying a solid foundation for a meaningful and genuine democratic governance system in this country.  

A lot of ground work has been done and is in the process of being done to facilitate holding a fair and credible election leading up to ushering of a truly genuine democratic dispensation which our people have been in search of since our independence in 1971. You cannot have a fair election without a genuine and authentic voter list with photographs which for the first time is now being prepared. You cannot expect to have a democratically functional parliament and an elected government accountable to the people, some thing we have not had so far unless suitable ground rules are in place to ensure that educated people with impeccable credentials for public service, integrity and commitment to serve the nation can participate in parliamentary election and other nation building activities unhindered and that those who have misgoverned this country in the past and have wrongfully accumulated vast wealth and property for themselves, their family members and their cronies by abusing their power and authority and in flagrant violation of their solemn oath of office are suitably punished for their wrong doings and debarred from taking part in future elections. 

The process of accountability of our tainted leaders, recovery of state wealth and property stolen by these people and freeing politics from the stranglehold of black money, muscle power and manipulation is a gigantic task which this government has taken up in right earnest. Let us allow this government to finish this task. This is absolutely essential if we as a nation are to move forward and not to go back to witness a repeat of the sham democracy of the Jatiyatabadi-Jamaat and the Awami rule. It is not difficult to understand who are at odds with this government, who have suddenly become very vocal as protagonists of human rights and rule by an elected government and who want emergency to be lifted now and general election held without further delay. 

Obviously these are the same tainted politicians and their cronies who had been in and out of the government during the last sixteen years of our experiment with parliamentary democracy and who are incidentally now in and out of jail with the stigma of massive corruption charges haunting them day in and day out. They know as even a moron does that it is the emergency power rules which give this government sustenance and power in so far as the concerned government agencies have succeeded in putting behind bars some political big wigs and high profile criminals who considered themselves above law till the other day and forcing many of them to confess their guilt and cough out a portion of their huge haul of ill gotten money and which alone can swiftly and justly try and punish them and consign them to the dust bin history as political garbage. They also know full well that it is the state of emergency which has given this government the whip hand not only to rein in the political thugs but also to democratize state institutions which were thoroughly politicized and rendered ineffective by the past political governments. Hence all the clamoring and shouting for lifting of emergency. 

Imagine the situation that we have been through before this government came to power. The care taker government of President Iajuddin Ahmed with the BNP- Jamaat leadership breathing down its neck would not dare deviate from the election road map scripted by BNP and was bent on holding the scheduled 22 January election, while AL was flexing its muscle to thwart the election. Had the scheduled election been held with the army remaining docile and performing their duties as ordered by the government, there would have been a blood bath and wanton destruction of public and private property across the country. But our two major political parties were the least concerned about what would have happened to this country and its people. Their leaders were only focused on how to climb back to power so that they could continue amassing wealth and property by plundering the state exchequer and destroying the democratic institutions. 

That the patriotic armed forces decided to stand by the people and put their foot down to nullify all political machinations to destroy peace and harmony by lending support to the President to restore peace and order through emergency and to reconstitute the care taker government headed by Dr. Fakhruddin Ahmed is the measure of the strength, efficiency and patriotism of the leadership of our armed forces. Extra ordinary situation like the one we had been on the verge of in January 2007 did certainly call for extra ordinary measure like declaration of emergency to deal with the situation. Nothing short of it could save this country from spilling of blood of innocent people and from total anarchy. And nothing short of it can help us achieve what we want to –punish those who have plundered our state wealth and property in the name of democracy and development and build solid infrastructures for genuine democracy and welfare of the people through meaningful democratic reforms. 

Without emergency this care taker government could not have achieved what it has so far. The separation of the Judiciary from the Executive, the reconstitution of the politicized democratic institutions, the revamping of the bureaucracy and the police, the proposed legislations for creation of Supreme Judicial Commission for appointment of Supreme Court judges free from political influence and freeing the Election Commission Secretariat from the Prime Minister’s Office, proposal under consideration for creation of a National Constitutional Commission for appointment to all constitutional posts free from government control, recovery of over ten billion of ill gotten money in Bangladesh currency from corrupt politicians and their business associates,  recovery of another four billion money in Bangladesh currency from corrupt Titas Gas staff now under process, hauling up of high profile political leaders including AL chief Sheikh Hasina and BNP chief Khaleda Zia on corruption and criminal charges and bringing them to justice, facing the onslaught of repeated floods followed by the Sidre cyclone and providing relief and rehabilitation to millions of affected people are no mean achievements of this government. 

In vindication of emergency let me ask one simple question. Could our people ever know that a lady Prime Minister of this country presided over an administration laced with corruption so pervasive that our country was declared number one corrupt country in the world for consecutive four years while she  pretended not to be knowing that her home minister, the person closest to her and her son was so corrupt that he even let off a murder in exchange for a hefty bribe running into an astronomical amount in Bangladesh currency which he has now returned to the government exchequer if there had been no emergency rule in the country?  

We have been witnessing how powerful some of these political leaders are at least in terms of money as writ petitions one after another are filed for them and a long line of prominent lawyers including lawyer from distant United States of America appear for them challenging their detention, the venue of the trial, the law under which they have been prosecuted, the authority of the court trying them, the language of the notice by appropriate authority asking for submission of wealth statement, the authority of the official who signed the notice etc. I wonder if an ordinary citizen having committed a crime can have this luxury of writ petitions and delaying trial.           

Let us bear with this care taker government and the emergency power which sustains the government in its anti corruption drive and its pro democracy reforms initiatives a few months more so that the government can finish the job on its hands. It will be a travesty of truth and justice if we allow those who pillaged and plundered our state wealth and property masquerading as our political leaders and social elites to go unpunished and give them a new lease of life to rule again this time with vengeance. 

(Brigadier General Shamsuddin Ahmed, the writer, is a valiant freedom fighter and former Military Secretary to the President of Bangladesh)    

1/11 was like a 9/11 to the people of Bangladesh. On this day, the people of Bangladesh revolted against the corrupt politicians and the army installed a Caretaker Government that had widespread support among the populace. I have to say, this is the first time in the history of Bangladesh, that any government garnered that kind of support. Even 15 months after their install, they are still thriving with one or two dents. Their changes in the overall structure of the government specially Independent Election Commission, Free Anti Corruption Commission, separation of judiciary from the administration, reform in the police department, electoral law, Public Service Commission, Employment Bureau and numerous other changes are well received and praised. In the last 15 months the country saw the largest out flow of employments oversease and inflow of remittance. The country received the largest Aid after almost a decade. All these were possible with few western educated professionals who are pro-active, action oriented, technocrates and very focused. We have to congratulate them for their well deserved work and also hope like everone else http://globalpolitician.com/24497-bangladesh, we can not afford to let Bangladesh rule again by some crooks, cuprits and corrupt politicians. The country deserves much better.

It is definitely an welcome news to sign a Free Trade Agreement with Malaysia. Being the only Muslim country with rapid technological advancement, stable economy and free market tactics, Malaysia is in a position to help Bangladesh achieve the right kind of development that it deserves. Over the years Malaysia proved to be a stable partner for a lot of other foreign countries and it will be specially profitable for Bangladesh to gather Malaysian knowledge in Trade. In this matter I have to say, if possible try to do the same for Japan as well.

The bilateral trade between Bangladesh and Malaysia stands around 500 million dollars and could easily go to 2-3 billion dollars with the right attitude and mind in a couple of years. Malaysia has invested almost 1 billion dollars in Bangladesh and it is one of the biggest investor in the country and exerts no influence on the politics of Bangladesh unlike other countries of the world. Every year Malaysia employs around 1 lakh Bangladeshis and currently has almost 3 lakh Bangladeshi people employed there legally and Illegally. The recent interest to build the four lane Dhaka, Chittagong highway is another example of its brotherly relation with Bangladesh. Malaysia is also keen to share the right kind of technology with Bangladesh like shipbuilding, palm oil generation and so on.

Considering all those possibilities, we should not wait a long time to sign in a trade pact with Malaysia. I am sure it will help Bangladesh gather the right kind of attention, trade, technology and respect that it deserves. Some of the European countries are also considering signing a free trade pact with Malaysia. If that happens, it will open up another great venue for marketing Bangladeshi products.

Bangladesh has a population of close to 140 million who’s fortune is debated by only few leaders of their country. The country had been run by the families of fallen heroes of its liberation war who by no means has any intention to let it go. It is stated through the media that these so called leaders of BNP and Awami League are basically the real bottleneck for its future well beings . Most of these leaders are corrupt and run the country like their family.

No other country in the world is run in such a manner that is happening in Bangladesh. Considering the outcome of the recent trials and revelations, these so called corrupt politicians has swindled money that is beyond anybody’s imagination. It is estimated that an astounding amount of almost $600 to a couple of Billion dollars has been transferred out of the country by this politicians, not to mention the lots of opportunities that has been lost due to their ineptness & petty crimes.

Considering these scenarios it is frightening to even think that these politicians can one day come back and try to run the country. It will be a real mess if these so called politicians are back in the helm again and try to regain their earlier status.

Although Bangladesh has lots of potential competent person’s like Prof. Yunus, Dr. Bodruddoza Chowdhury and Dr. Kamal Hossain, it will be a real battle to find someone who can regain the trust of the people of Bangladesh. After all the corrupt politicians will not in any way let these people ascend to the throne, that they have left abruptly. They will find everyway to tarnish their image and pushback these person’s which they have already done in case of Prof. Yunus. The world is watching about what happens in Bangladesh but it will be upto the people of Bangladesh and the Army, to find the real  leaders among themselves and put him or her forward.