prime minister
PM mourns her teacher Dr Rafiqul Islam’s death
Expressing deep shock at the death of her teacher National Professor Rafiqul Islam, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Tuesday said the professor will ever remain alive as a shining star in Bangla literature and research.
In a condolence message, Sheikh Hasina said the history Dr Rafiqul Islam had written as an eyewitness following his active participation in the Language Movement and the great Liberation War are invaluable resources for Bengali literature.
Ekushey Padak and Swadhinata Padak winning writer and eminent Nazrul researcher Prof Rafiqul Islam, 87, passed away at Evercare Hospital in the capital on Tuesday.
Also read: National Professor Rafiqul Islam dies at 87
Prof Rafiqul Islam was also the chairman of Bangla Academy and president of the National Implementation Committee to celebrate the Birth Centenary Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
Hasina said he had an outstanding contribution to Nazrul research. “The literary work of this eminent writer and researcher will always inspire the Bengali nation with the spirit of Liberation War and patriotism. He will remain alive as a shining star in Bengali literature and research,” said the Prime Minister.
Also read: PM mourns death of AL leader Abdur Rahman
“With his death, I’ve lost my teacher, mentor and guardian. My beloved teacher’s encouragement and motivation on various nationally important issues gave me courage and strength to move forward,” she said.
The Prime Minister prayed for the salvation of the departed soul and expressed deep sympathy to bereaved family members.
Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen also expressed deep shock at the death of National Prof Dr Rafiqul Islam.
In a separate condolence message, Dr Momen said the country has lost a great teacher and guardian following the death of Prof Rafiqul Islam.
The Foreign Minister prayed for the departed soul and conveyed deep sympathy to the bereaved family members.
Growing violence in Rohingya camps can spread beyond borders, PM warns ASEM summit
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Friday urged the international community to give proper attention to the Rohingya issue as growing violence and crimes in the Rohingya camps can soon spread beyond borders. “The security situation in the Cox’s Bazar camps is getting complicated. The growing violence and crimes can soon spread beyond our borders,” she said.
READ: Bangladesh’s Golden Jubilee of Independence: PM seeks general discussion in Parliament
The prime minister made the statement in a video message played in the two-day13th Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) Summit that concluded in Cambodia on Friday. She also cautioned the world community saying that a provisional response to the crisis will serve little purpose. “A critical test of our multilateral cooperation will be to find a lasting and peaceful solution for Myanmar’s forcibly displaced people – the Rohingyas,” she said. In this connection she mentioned that Bangladesh offered temporary shelter to the Rohingyas and stabilized the situation. “We continue to amplify the demand for their safe and dignified return to Myanmar. I urge the international community to give proper attention to the concerns we are raising,” she said. Sheikh Hasina said that the COVID-19 pandemic has put a heavy pressure on the health systems and economies across the world. “It has compelled us to divert our development resources for emergency treatments and vaccines,” she said. In this regard, she said that the government adopted a strategy to save both lives and livelihoods, and announced 28 stimulus packages worth USD 5.4 billion to offset the impacts of the pandemic. “Our priority now is to preserve our hard-earned development gains in reducing poverty and hunger, saving mothers and children, promoting literacy and education, and ensuring safe and healthy living,” she said.
READ: Bangladesh Army should be People’s Army: PM
Ensure democracy and good governance eradicating corruption: Opposition MPs
Opposition MPs on Thursday urged the government to ensure democracy and good governance eradicating corruption and irregularities in order to implement the spirit of the country’s independence.
But the treasury bench MPs mainly highlighted the development of Bangladesh during the Awami League rule, particularly under the leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
Both opposition and ruling party MPs participated in a two-day special discussion that concluded on Thursday in Parliament, marking the Golden Jubilee of Bangladesh’s Independence.
Leader of the House and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Wednesday placed a proposal for holding a general discussion in Parliament under section 47 of the Rules of Procedure to mark the 50 years of the country’s independence.
The proposal was adopted unanimously by voice vote on Thursday after the general discussion. Fifty-nine MPs from across the board joined the discussion and spoke for 10 hours and 45 minutes.
President Abdul Hamid on Wednesday delivered a commemorative speech, marking the Golden Jubilee of independence.
Joining the discussion, Jatiya Party Secretary General Mujbul Haque said there is no doubt what the country has achieved, but corruption and irregularities need to be eradicated to materialize Bangabandhu’s dreams.
"Bangabandhu had said corruption must be eradicated. But that was not done. In order to implement Bangabandhu's philosophy, corruption must be stopped,” he said.
“Plundering of banks, default loans and money laundering were not Bangabandhu's dreams. We’ll have to stop all these ugly things,” said the JP MP.
Read: Opposition MPs slam mismanagement, politics in health sector
Another JP lawmaker, Anisul Islam Mahmud, said all the achievements would be shattered if the institutions of the country are not strengthened.
“Though 50 years have elapsed since independence, our institutions have not been strengthened enough. So, we’ve to do that. Otherwise, all the achievements will go in vain,” he said.
He said there is no denial that Bangladesh has witnessed significant development. “Since election is the main principle of democracy, I urge the Prime Minister to strengthen the EC.”
Workers Party President Rashed Khan Menon said social disparity continues to expand in the country even though Bangladesh has attained massive development.
“The disparity has widened and turned acute. Bangladesh is seeing unprecedented development under the leadership of Sheikh Hasina as there has been marked progress in all economic indexes…but the assets and wealth of the country have got concentrated in the hands of a few,” he said.
Expressing dismay over the participation of businessmen in politics, Menon said, "We’ve noticed today that a military-civil bureaucracy-rich group has developed centering the ruling power.”
Noting that Bangabandhu had brought the bureaucracy under public representatives, Menon said now the public representatives are under the bureaucracy.
“We’ve to take the development and democracy forward simultaneously, and resist all sorts of communal activities,” he said.
Agriculture Minister Dr Muhammad Abdur Razzaque said Bangladesh has now become as the role model for development in the last 50 years of independence, proving all the speculations of international groups wrong.
Read: Opposition MPs call Health Minister “shameless” over health sector “failures”
He said many international personalities had predicted that Bangladesh might not survive as an independent country and even if it survives it would have to depend on foreign aid. “But Bangladesh is now a role model proving their predictions wrong,” he said.
The Agriculture Minister urged all to get united to implement the ideology of Bangabandhu.
AL MP Shajahan Khan said the ideology of Bangabandhu and the spirit of Liberation War are the only values for people to take the country forward.
He urged the people of Bangladesh to fight all the conspiracies against the country. “We all would have to be united under the leadership of Sheikh Hasina.”
BNP MP Rumeen Farhana said Bangladesh was liberated as an independent country with a motto of establishing democracy.
“But in the last one decade, limited democracy has been introduced in Bangladesh,” she said.
Rumin said, the “more development, less democracy” culture is going on in Bangladesh now just like Ayub's (Pakistani autocratic ruler) “basic democracy”.
BNP MP Harunur Rashid slammed the government saying that corruption is everywhere, especially in the health and education sectors.
He said there is no democracy and the rule of law in Bangladesh.
Sweden's first female prime minister quits hours later
Hours after being tapped as Sweden’s first female prime minister, Magdalena Andersson resigned Wednesday after suffering a budget defeat in parliament and her coalition partner the Greens left the two-party minority government.
The government’s own budget proposal was rejected in favor of one presented by the opposition that includes the right-wing populist Sweden Democrats. Sweden’s third-largest party is rooted in a neo-Nazi movement. The vote was 154-143 in favor of the opposition’s budget proposal.
Andersson, leader of the Social Democratic party, decided it was best to step down from the post more than seven hours after she made history by becoming the first woman to lead the country.
”For me, it is about respect, but I also do not want to lead a government where there may be grounds to question its legitimacy,” Andersson told a news conference.
Read: Sweden's parliament approves first female prime minister
Andersson, who was finance minister before briefly becoming prime minister, informed parliamentary Speaker Andreas Norlen that she is still interested in leading a Social Democratic one-party government.
Norlen, the speaker of Sweden’s 349-seat parliament, said he will contact Sweden’s eight party leaders ”to discuss the situation.” On Thursday, he will announce the road ahead.
Andersson said that “a coalition government should resign if a party chooses to leave the government. Despite the fact that the parliamentary situation is unchanged, it needs to be tried again."
Even though the Green Party pulled its support for her government, it said it is prepared to stand behind Andersson in a new vote to tap a prime minister.
But the Greens said it was in the best interests of the party to pull support for her after the budget defeat in parliament.
“We have a united party behind us saying we can not sit in government that implements a policy (the Sweden Democrats) negotiated. We must look our voters in the eye and feel pride,” said Marta Stenevi, Green Party spokesperson as the party chose to resign from the government.
The other Green Party spokesperson Per Bolund said “that is something we deeply regret.”
Earlier in the day, Andersson said she could “govern the country with the opposition’s budget.”
The approved budget was based on the government’s own proposal but of the 74 billion kronor ($8.2 billion) that the government wanted to spend on reforms, just over 20 billion kronor ($2.2 billion) will be redistributed next year, Swedish broadcaster SVT said. The approved budget aims at reducing taxes, increased salaries for police officers and more money to different sectors of Sweden’s judiciary system.
Read: Kathy Hochul becomes New York’s first female governor
Andersson's appointment as prime minister had marked a milestone for Sweden, viewed for decades as one of Europe’s most progressive countries when it comes to gender relations, but which had yet to have a woman in the top political post.
Andersson had been tapped to replace Stefan Lofven as party leader and prime minister, roles he relinquished earlier this year.
Earlier in the day, 117 lawmakers voted yes to Andersson, 174 rejected her appointment while 57 abstained and one lawmaker was absent.
Under the Swedish Constitution, prime ministers can be named and govern as long as a parliamentary majority — a minimum of 175 lawmakers — is not against them.
Sweden’s next general election is scheduled for Sept. 11.
UK MoS calls on PM, finds common ground on issues
The United Kingdom has expressed its keenness to work on alternative energy with Bangladesh.
UK Minister of State for South Asia, the United Nations and the Commonwealth Lord Tariq Ahmad of Wimbledon expressed the desire when he called on Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at her official residence Ganobhaban.
Prime Minister’s Press Secretary Ihsanul Karim briefed the reporters after the call-on.
He said that during the meeting both also discussed various issues like climate, British-Bangladesh trade and the Rohingya issue.
Emphasizing on green energy, the UK state minister said that the region has a great potential of green energy as Nepal and Bhutan have hydroelectricity.
He also said hydroelectricity can be distributed through establishing a regional grid.
“We are working on it,” the Prime Minister replied.
As Tariq Ahmad stressed the need for solar energy, Sheikh Hasina said that Bangladesh has so far given 6.5 million solar connections.
About the Rohingya issue, Ahmad said that they want the Rohingyas to return to their homeland in Myanmar from Bangladesh.
He mentioned that he met many Rohingya refugees in Cox’s Bazar and said they highly lauded Bangladesh’s Prime Minister and the present government.
The UK minister said that Rohingyas blamed their men for causing trouble in their camps, quoting them as saying he added: “No Bangladeshi is responsible for causing trouble in the camps."
Sheikh Hasina told the UK minister that some Rohingyas have been shifted to Bhasan Char.
The Prime Minister said that her government has taken measures to give them jobs, proper education and training to make them skilled as they will not be considered a burden when they are sent back to their homeland.
READ: Bangladesh assumes IORA chairmanship; eyes inclusive development
She called upon the international agencies to work for the Rohingyas upon taking them back to Myanmar.
Prime Minister’s Principal Secretary Dr Ahmad Kaikaus and the British High Commissioner to Bangladesh Robert Chatterton Dickson, were present.
READ: Fuel prices hiked in line with global market: PM
Dr Zafrullah seeks steps from PM for Khaleda’s bail
Gonoshasthaya Kendra's founder Dr Zafrullah Chowdhury on Sunday made a humanitarian call to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to take steps for ensuring bail to ailing BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia.
In a statement, he said, “As a physician, I make a humanitarian request to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wazed and the government to take steps to give bail to ailing Begum Khaleda Zia."
Stating that Khaleda has long been suffering from various complicated diseases, Zafrullah said her health condition has deteriorated from all sides.
“Her diabetes is completely out of control while hemoglobin level in her blood has also dropped significantly. She has been suffering for many years from arthritis, dental and eye problems. The creatinine level of her kidneys has crossed the borderline,” he said.
Zafrullah, also a freedom fighter, said Khaleda has to remain now under intensive treatment as some parameters in her body are abnormal. “She’s very weak physically. She has already been infected with coronavirus.”
READ: Dr Zafrullah describes how Bangladesh can go for low-cost vaccine production
The noted doctors said it is not a good sign that Khaleda has been frequently getting admitted to the hospital for treatment.
In this situation, he said Khaleda now needs to move freely in the open air and take treatment as per her wish.
“Her crucial need is bail from the Prime Minister and the government considering her physical condition, age and political and social position,” Zafrullah observed.
Khaleda has been undergoing treatment in the Coronary Care Unit (CCU) of Evercare Hospital in the capital.
On Saturday, she was readmitted to the hospital for follow-up treatment, nearly a week after she was discharged from it.
It is for the third time that the 76-year-old BNP chief was admitted to the hospital this year for various health complications.
READ: Bring Zaima back home to revive BNP: Dr Zafrullah
The BNP chief's physicians said she has been suffering from rheumatoid arthritis, diabetes, ophthalmological and dental complications.
Her family applied to the government twice in May and August this year seeking permission to take her abroad for better treatment, but the government turned it down saying there is no scope for a convicted person to avail of such a scope.
Amid the coronavirus outbreak, the government freed Khaleda Zia from jail for six months through an executive order suspending her sentences on March 25 last year.
On September 19, the government for the fourth time extended the suspension of her jail term with conditions that she will not leave the country and stay at her Gulshan home.
Hasina slams Tarique for conspiring against Bangladesh
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Saturday said fugitive convict Tarique Rahman keeps hatching conspiracies against Bangladesh from a foreign land.
“As a fugitive, Tarique Zia lives outside Bangladesh but doesn’t stop conspiring inside the country. His conspiracies are going on. But we’ve been taking the country forward facing all the plots,” she said while addressing a civic reception here.
The Bangladeshi community living in France accorded the reception to the Prime Minister.
It is now proven correct that BNP high-ups were directly involved in the August-21 grenade attacks, said Hasina mentioning the subsequent remarks and activities of the BNP leaders after the attack.
Read: Rohingya repatriation: PM seeks strong steps from world leaders
Tarique Zia is also convicted in the August 21 grenade attack case, she said.
PM returns home Sunday ending 2-week foreign tour
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will return home on Sunday morning, wrapping up her two-week visit to the United Kingdoms and France.
She left the French capital, Paris, by a VVIP flight of Biman Bangladesh Airlines at 4:20pm (local time) on Saturday. Bangladesh Ambassador to France Khandaker Mohammad Talha saw her off at De Gaulle International Airport in Paris.
She was given static guard of honour by 21 guards while walking through the red carpet before boarding on the plane.
The flight is scheduled to land at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport at 10:00am on Sunday.
Read: PM hands over 1st UNESCO-Bangabandhu prize to MoTIV of Uganda
On October 31, the Prime Minister left Dhaka for Scotland on the foreign visit to attend the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) at Glasgow in Scotland, and Bangladesh Investment Summit 2021 in London and handover the first ‘Unesco-Bangladesh Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman International Prize for the Creative Economy’ in Paris.
During the tour, Hasina had meetings with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, French President Emmanuel Macron, French Prime Minister Jean Castex, French Prime Minister Jean Castex, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and other heads of state or government.
Besides, she had meetings with UK's Prince Charles, First Minister of Scotland Nicola Sturgeon, Commonwealth Secretary General Particia Scotland, Bill Gates, as well as other important dignitaries from different organisations and business bodies.
The Prime Minister left Scotland for London on November 03 and then went to Paris on November 09.
Read: Rohingya repatriation: PM seeks strong steps from world leaders
In London, the Prime Minister inaugurated the “Bangladesh Investment Summit 2021: Building Sustainable Growth Partnerships” and Roadshow on November 4.
During her stay in Paris, she also attended the inaugural session of the 75th Founding anniversary of Unesco and the Paris Peace Forum.
Hasina joined three civic receptions accorded to her by the Bangladeshi community living in Scotland, London and Paris.
France showers immense honour on PM Hasina
France has shown ‘exceptional honour’ to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina during her ongoing visit to the country, according to Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen.
Describing the visit as ‘historic’, he said the French side expressed their keenness to strengthen bilateral relations and take them to a new height.
“No head of state or government of Bangladesh has ever received such honour as the Prime Minister witnessed here during this visit,” he said while talking to reporters here.
Read: South-South cooperation: Hasina for setting up ‘Knowledge Centre’ in Bangladesh
Highlighting different arrangements organised in honour of the Prime Minister during this state visit, Dr Momen said the French President and Prime Minister as well as others have given her a warm reception with great enthusiasm.
He said France has rolled out the red carpet on her arrival at the airport and the Elysee Palace. She also received a Guard of Honour at the Presidential palace.
The Foreign Minister said the Heads of State and Government of different countries attending the UNESCO Conference highly appreciated the development of Bangladesh achieved under the leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
Read: Hasina urges UNESCO to declare online and remote learning as public good
Mentioning that new dimensions in the bilateral relations between Bangladesh and France has been explored through this visit of the Prime Minister, Bangladesh Ambassador to France Khandker Mohammad Talha said the world is now thinking about Bangladesh and that is why they have extended cooperation.
Unite for common good: Hasina to global leaders
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Friday urged the world leaders to seize the moment to forge a strong partnership for the common good of global humanity as the world is now moving towards recovery from the pandemic fallouts.
“May I entreat that as the world is now moving on the way to recovery from the pandemic, let’s seize the moment to forge a strong partnership for the common good of our global humanity,” she said.
Sheikh Hasina said this while speaking at a programme here at the UNESCO headquarters marking the 75th Anniversary of UNESCO with its Director-General Audrey Azoulay in the chair.
She said the 75th anniversary is a unique moment to celebrate the achievements while it is also an important occasion to introspect and revisit the organization’s activities for the next 25 years leading to its centenary.
“The pandemic menace has taken lives, and changed our lives. It has also taught us to survive through innovative acts and speed,” she said.
Read: South-South cooperation: Hasina for setting up ‘Knowledge Centre’ in Bangladesh
The Prime Minister put forward a four-point proposal before the global community.
Raising the proposals, she said, “First, the pandemic has severely disrupted the education system. For recovery, there’s a need for a global plan to prioritise learning by investing in digital tools and services, access to internet, digital content, and capacity building of teachers,” she said.
Secondly, Hasina said, public-private partnership must be forged for creating a technology-assisted meaningful learning environment.
In her third point, the PM said, Covid-19 vaccines must be considered as a global public good. We must ensure its access to all, especially students and educators worldwide,” she said.
In the 4th proposal, she said the benefit of science and scientific research must be harnessed for the welfare of peoples, with technology transfer at the core.
The PM mentioned that Bangladesh’s commitment to the principles of UNESCO is reflected by its early membership in 1972. “We consider this organization as one of the most effective platforms for promoting global peace and collective prosperity,” she said.
Guided by the peace-centric foreign policy of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, she said Bangladesh always remains at the forefront of global peace initiatives. “Our participation in UN peacekeeping as the top contributor is one such case,” she added.
As a proponent of a culture of peace, Bangladesh has been disseminating the message of peace through instilling tolerance and respect, Hasina said.
Read: Hasina urges UNESCO to declare online and remote learning as public good
“To do this, we’ve chosen education, science, culture and communications as effective tools. Our investment is particularly enormous in education with targeted interventions like stipends, gender-sensitive approach, school-feeding programmes and ICT education,” she said.
Hasina mentioned that some 400 million free textbooks are distributed among around 42 million students in the beginning of school years.
The PM said the Digital Bangladesh vision has been preparing, through ICT based learning, the future generations for the 4th Industrial Revolution.
“We’ve launched ICT in our Education Master Plan under which about 83,000 schools were provided with ICT devices, and 3,26,936 teachers trained,” she said.