I wish to introduce myself as a dedicated medical professional with Lab experience in Biochemistry, love to do humanitarian work to help people who are in pain.
I am incredibly proud of my Zarah Mahzareen Lasker, youth climate activist and dedicated student whose passion for protecting our planet has already reached the globalstage, represented island communities at the COP28 and also in humanitarian service as volunteers(SAYN)
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𝐏𝐑𝐄𝐄𝐓𝐈 𝐔𝐑𝐀𝐍𝐆'𝐒 𝐏𝐄𝐑𝐏𝐄𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐓𝐎𝐑 𝐑𝐄𝐇𝐀𝐁𝐈𝐋𝐈𝐓𝐀𝐓𝐄𝐃 𝐁𝐘 𝐀𝐊 𝐀𝐙𝐀𝐃
Amidst the breakneck news cycle, let’s not forget about Preeti Urang, the 11-year-old girl from the impoverished tea garden worker family who fell to her death from the eighth-story flat of Syed Ashfaqul Haque, the former executive editor of The Daily Star. She is yet to get justice for her cruel and untimely death and her perpetrator Ashfaqul is being rehabilitated to the world of journalism by AK Azad, the owner of Bangla daily Samakal and Channel 24.
Mr Azad is doing this inconceivable rehabilitation most possibly at the request of Mr Mahfuz Anam, whom he considers his “boro bhai”. We don’t have to wonder why Mr Anam would do that: he is still heartbroken that he was forced to bid farewell to his almost surrogate son before he could hand over the reins. This prospective appointment is just a way to ease Ashfaqul into The Daily Star in a few years.
I’d urge Mr Azad not to be such a disgusting enabler. You’re already on slippery slopes with your excessive fawning of the autocratic Sheikh Hasina and you will simply be falling face down on the ground with your rehabilitation of a child abuser — who, by the way, manufactured consent for the Awami League regime over the years at The Daily Star. Do you think your foreign buyers would continue doing business with you once they find out that you employ a child abuser in a consequential position in your empire? It surely goes against their corporate policy.
I also hope Mr Aneek R Haque, the assistant attorney general, doesn’t let this case die. I would also urge the interim government to revisit this matter because without ensuring justice for this poor girl, there can never be a discrimination-free Bangladesh. Ashfaqul was very much part of the Awami League machinery — he had Hasina’s devoted foot soldier Khurshid Alam Khan, who was the lawyer for the Anti-Corruption Commission, representing him, for crying out loud. Earlier in March, this Khurshid Alam Khan had sought legal action against former US ambassador Peter Haas for speaking up against the unfair treatment that was being meted out to Muhammad Yunus then. One has to wonder why the ACC lawyer would represent a child abuser and ensure he got out of jail.
I’m also wondering if Ashfaqul’s return to journalism — he will be given top posts in both Samakal and Channel 24 — is part of the Awami League’s grand plan to manufacture consent for its comeback. After all, his service to the Awami League was invaluable. We all know about The Daily Star’s biased journalism and Ashfaqul was the one who orchestrated all those garbage reports. In return, he thought he was the cock of the walk and could literally get away with murder. Remember, that was the second incident in six months in Ashfaqul’s home.
The previous girl, the seven-year-old Ferdousi Begum, survived the fall but is disabled for life. And why did the seven-year-old jump off the eighth storey? To escape sexual abuse. Not only was her case quashed by The Daily Star machinery on the tacit instructions of Mr Anam, but the girl was given hardly any compensation for her lifetime problems. Preeti, too, was a sex slave at Mr Haque’s home for all intents and purposes. She was paid barely anything for her service as a house help. If it was anyone else, he would have been done and dusted. But not Ashfaqul. The Daily Star journalists descended upon Mohammadpur police station and pressured the OC to not file the FIR properly so that Ashfaqul could get away with a slap on the wrist. It was a show of The Daily Star’s might in society versus a family from the most underprivileged background.
This is a David and Goliath situation — let’s make sure David wins here to restore our faith in justice and humanity.
Journalist and Human rights advocate @FriedrichPieter requested the UN Special Rapporteur on minority issues to conduct a country visit to India. In his speech in the @UN he mentioned,
"India's religious minorities face an existential crisis under Modi's regime, which is guided by a Hindu nationalist ideology that targets Christians, Muslims, Sikhs, and others."
Absolutely thrilled to see such an inspiring initiative taking shape! Every great journey begins with a bold first step, and you've set the tone wonderfully.
Wishing you all the success in building this platform #bangladesh#GeopolSouthAsia
https://t.co/cXrxEZXat5
Today, the Bangladesh Embassy in Kolkata was attacked by extremist Hindu terrorists. We strongly condemn this incident. Dear @ihcdhaka, if you do not bring these terrorists to justice, you will encourage such incidents to happen in Bangladesh too.
Significant parts of the Indian media, along with pro-"hindutva" and Awami League social media accounts have launched an extraordinary powerful disinformation campaign seeking to claim that the Hindu community is under threat, subject to "genocide" etc, and that islamists have taken control of Bangladesh.
It seems that they are making these false claims as a way to try and destabilise the new interim government and to reduce the international support that it has. Awami League/Hindutva groups are not interested in a peaceful Bangladesh in which the Hindu community is safe and comfortable. It is in their interests to instigate conflict between the majority muslim and minority Hindu communities.
The most recent incident involving disinformation concerns the killing of a muslim lawyer, Saiful Islam on Tuesday, apparently at the hands of supporters of the followers of Chinmoy Krishna Das Brahmachari, a former leader of ISKON, the International Society for Krishna Consciousness.
Chinmoy was arrested earlier in the week on sedition charges, and the killing took place when supporters of Chinmoy were protesting his continued detention and refusal to give bail.
The apparent beating to death of a muslim lawyer by supporters of the Hindu religious leader clearly goes against the Awami League/Hindutva script so they have had to find a way of turning the whole narrative around through creating a false story in which the killing was somehow a communal attack against Hindus.
They have done this by claiming, that Saiful Islam was in fact the lawyer for Chinmoy, and he was beaten to death by muslim groups because of that.
This is totally inaccurate as the Power of Attorney document (below) shows that is was another lawyer who represented Chinmoy.
But Bangladesh authorities also must take responsibility for its poor decision to arrest Chinmoy on sedition charges since whatever he may have said or done about the Bangladesh flag it did not justify criminal action, and it was clearly going to inflame communal tensions, as well as provide an opportunity for inflammatory criticism from Indian media and Awami League/Hindutva social media accounts.
Communal discrimination exists, and has always existed, in Bangladesh (in particular against the Hindu minority), just as it does in India (against Muslims).
Immediately after the fall of the Hasina government, following the hundreds of killings by its law enforcement authorities in the three weeks before 5 August 2024, there certainly were some recriminatory attacks against the Hindu minority - though it was far less than claimed by Hindutva/AL social media accounts/Indian media and new interim government quickly condemned them and has done everything it can to prevent any more taking place.
And since the fall of Awami League, whilst it is correct that there has been a resurgence of conservative muslim groups in the political arena and they are having a greater influence, it is not true in any way that these groups have control of the Bangladesh interim government. It is a ridiculous assertion, but one continually made by the AL/Hindutva media/activists.
Dr. Arafat should be reinstated in his position, should he wish to return, and receive appropriate compensation for the damages he has endured. The administration did wrong with Dr. Arafat should be under trial.
https://t.co/HX0RUqfExt