Police,
Rohingyas clash in Ukhiya
Over
a hundred Rohingya refugees and law enforcers were injured in a violent
clash at Kutupalong camp in Ukhiya upazila. Sourcms said the trouble
erupted when police and ansars went to the camp to rescue a police officer,
detained by some Rohingyas during his visit to the camp earlier in the
morning. Camp-in-charge Mohammad Nurul Alam Chowdhury along with police
officer Mohammad Wahid visited the camp to inspect its latest condition
aftmr the Eid vacation.
Police said the
two noticed that over 100 refugees were holding a meeting on a hilltop
against their repatriation to Myanmar. They requested them to refrain
from holding such meetings, which is illegal as per law of the land.
The irate refugees then held police officer Mohammad Wahid and beat
him. The camp-in-charge somehow managed to escape. On information, police
and ansars from nearby barracks rushed to |he spot to rescue the police
officer. They arrested nine Rohingya refugees including their leader
Ishaque Master.
When
the news of arrest of Rohingyas spread, a horde of frenzied refugees
attacked the nearby police and ansar barracks. On information, police
reinforcements from Ukhiya Police Station joined in the fight. At one
stage, the detained cop managed to flee. At least 85 refugees and 15
police and ansars were injured in the clash that continued for two hours.
The two sides traded around 300 rounds of bullets. UNB,
November 19.
EC
plans no move to renorm polls laws
The Election Commission (EC) has no plan to initiate a move
to amend electoral laws in a bid to curb influence of black money and
muscle power on the upcoming parliamentary polls. "We are not thinking
about any reform programmes. The new chief election commissioner will
be appointed in May next year, he might initiate such a move,"
said Election Commissioner M Munsef Ali. The EC itself however termed
the existing electoral laws insufficient for holding fair elections
and feels to reform them, a demand made by the mains|ream opposition
political parties to ensure that the next general elections are held
free and fair.
The possibility
of a move by the present EC to reform the electoral laws, however, is
slim, as the government itself has no such plan at the moment. Such
a move is likely to be taken by the next EC which will be composed in
May 2005 after expiry of the tenure of incumbent chief election commissioner
(CEC), sources at the EC said.
The
five-year tenure of CEC MA Syed and Election Commissioner Safiur Rahman,
who were appointed by the former Awami League government, expires in
May and June next year. The Daily
star, November 19.
Judicial
Service formed
The
government issued a gazette notification on the Bangladesh Judicial
Service heralding its formation in a crucial step towards separating
the judiciary from the executive. Law Minister Moudud Ahmed recently
said the separation of the judiciary in line with a 12-point directive
of the Supreme Court will be complete by December, but it is likely
to take much longer as the government has not taken a number of steps.
The Office of Attorney General has already sought four more months to
fully implement the directivms, a plea the Supreme Court turned down
and set November 29 to hoar the matter. Of the 12-point court directives,
the government is yet to finalise three sets of rules and amend the
Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC).
The gazette notification
now places about 800 judicial officers, including dis|rict judges, additional
district judges, joint district judges, district and sessions judges
and assistan| judges, under the new judicial service in accordance with
the court directives. Until now, their appointments were placed under
the Public Service Commission (PSC). However, the Judicial Service will
not function right away, as the government will have to put in place
relevant rules and regulations to make it effective.
The
Judicial Service Commission will begin the process of appointment of
judges in the lower judiciary by placing advertisements in newspapers.
The commission already recommended appointment of 50 assistant judges
who were selected jy the PSC throuoh the 22nd Bangladesh Civil Service
examinations. About 200 vacancies are there in the lower judiciary.
The remaining three sets of rules and the amendment to |he CrPC are
still at draft stage, law ministry sources said. The three rules are
the Bangladesh Judicial Service (Constitution, Recruitment, Suspension,
Dismissal and Removal) Rules, the Bangladesh Judicial Service (Posting,
Promotion, Leave, Control, Discipline and other Service Conditions)
Rules, and the Bangladesh Judicial Service (Pay Commission) Rules. The
Daily Star, November 12
