Habib Siddiqui

Here is an interesting piece on Sunita Paul from Suchinta's convenor that has appeared in the Daily Star: http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/news-details.php?nid=86171 Have not we suspected all along that she is really fake? I personally did not know of the existence of her second 'white' picture. Like criminals she is leaving her trails of crime everywhere.

Last year, the Muslim Almanac included my article - Seeking Knowledge: our national imperative. In the link above you will find a good review of the subject by Shaheen Nazar of the Arab News.

Mr. Zoglul Husain raised some important points on the matter of Indo-Bangladesh relationship and Peel Khana massacre. Here below is my response: I was in Bangladesh (B'desh) when the event took place, with all the TV centers zeroing in on the event with 24 hours reporting. A couple of days earlier, I met with some important dignitaries within the government of Bangladesh discussing expatriate issues. After the event, I discussed with some of my junior friends within the defense forces. My observation is: (1) there was a long-standing line of grievances against the Army officers from the BDR jawans. Some of these included dal-bhat program - where they accused DG Shakil and some top brass of making ill-gotten money, and even transfering the same to overseas. There was apparently an incident in the airport during military rule when boxes of money were seized at the Dhaka airport, reportedly belonging to army officers, including Moeen U. Chy. Other complaints included: promotion, deplo...

Over the last two months, scores of articles have appeared, some with the notion that the ruling Awami League had caused the BDR massacre in Peel Khana HQ, Dhaka, Bangladesh. I have serious doubt on that thesis. Many believe that the Indian RAW had a hand in that massacre. I entertain doubts there, too. The Indian government trusts Prime Minister Hasina more than Khaleda (ex-PM), and it would be foolish of it to see a trouble brooding in Bangladesh during her premiership that could destabilize the government. This does not mean that Indian government or the RAW does not have any ulterior intention or motive about Bangladesh to get most out of her misery. They do. Barrister Munshi has done a good job with his book on the subject. But we need to be too careful when we analyze things objectively. We simply cannot hypothesize things that are too irrational. Thus, I have problem believing that India is for occupation of a country of the size of Bangladesh. That would be suicidal for India, ...

http://unheardvoice.net/blog/2009/04/26/wazed-and-ciovacco-a-missed-opportunity/ The analysis above in the blog - Unheard Voices - is a thorough point by point analysis of the original HIR article by Wazed and Ciovacco. Since the publication of the article by Joy, much has been made about the value of the HIR as a journal. I am inclined to believe that if Joy was not the son of Awami League Leader, and also claiming to be her adviser, I doubt he would have seen this article accepted in the journal. Nor should we forget that it it is not an academic journal, and does not have a credible peer review board on articles. No wonder, as the Drishtipat author in the above blog has cited, there are many inconsistencies, not just with missing citation of sources of information - credible references but even with wrong English, composition, etc. The journal with the Harvard name (although nothing to do with the Ivy League school - Harvard University) nonetheless has been able to attract articles ...

The subject of minorities is a very touchy one in any country, especially in nation-states where a national heritage or culture or identity (often dictated by the majority population) defines the characteristic of the state. Such modern concepts of states get complicated if there are other minorities that live in the state, each claiming to be a separate “nation” by virtue of its religion, language, culture, etc. Bangladesh, as we all know, has about 12% minorities, including approx. 10% Hindus, the remainders being Buddhists, Christians, agnostics, atheists and animists. Most of the latter groups live in the high hills, e.g., Jayintia, Garo Hills and Chittagong Hill Tract districts. Historically the Bengal delta was husbanded by people who resorted to wet cultivation while the people in the hills, who mostly were outside tax collection from ruling authorities, resorted to dry cultivation for their staple food. In the olden days of the Mughal rulers the authority of the state sometimes...

Part 1: The subject of racism is a very touchy one for both its current and former practitioners. It was thus expected that some western countries with nasty past records of racism would boycott the UN racism conference in Geneva, scheduled for April 20, 2009. A couple of days before the event, the USA announced that it would sit out the Geneva forum. Australia, New Zealand, Italy, Germany, Poland and the Netherlands soon followed suit. Through their boycotting the session they have sent a blatant message endorsing racism. President Dr. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran was the first government official to take the floor. As soon as he started reciting the Muslim prayer of invocation to begin his speech two pro-Israel Jewish saboteurs, dressed in clown costumes, tossed soft red objects. One may recall that for years before the collapse of the Apartheid regime of South Africa, Israel has been its best ally. Thus, such a rowdy behavior from Zionist hoodlums trying to disrupt the conference was...

Ref: http://www.thebangladeshtoday.com/viewpoints.htm#view-01 It is refreshing to read Jonathan Power's positive piece about the Muslim world. It was good to be reminded that in spite of all the problems facing the Muslim world today, at least in one area, murder, we have an enviable position with the lowest rate. Power's observation and concerns for his daughter are right. In many major American cities it is unsafe to walk alone in the down-town areas after sunset. In my city of Philadelphia, e.g., on the average at least one person is killed every day, mostly by gunshots. Some cities have worse rate. Mugging is also common during broad daylight in cities like Los Angeles. In cities like NY and Miami, once you have parked your car, you may not find it upon return, unless secured through Club or some other electronic or metallic security device. Girls face the threat of getting raped while strolling or jogging alone in a park. Obviously, this does not mean that people feel too ...

The subject of an old report by the International Committee of Red Cross and a newly released memo from the Department of Justice has recently become a hot political topic across America. These reports showed how the Bush-Cheney Administration had authorized brutal torture techniques over the last several years. Former Assistant Attorney General Jay Bybee was the primary author of "legal" memos purporting to justify torture. He served from 2001 to 2003 in the U.S. Department of Justice's Office of Legal Counsel. Bybee's signature is on the August 1, 2002 memo that justified and authorized acts of torture by the CIA. Bybee’s memo claims to justify depriving an American citizen of the right to a trial, claiming the power to imprison him without charge on the grounds that he was already guilty. He essentially made the illegal techniques as supposedly "legal". Bybee is now serving as a judge on the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco. Many conc...

Ref: http://www.probenewsmagazine.com/index.php?index=2&contentId=5074 I must say that the Probe report, despite some small flaws, is a good analysis on political, civic and military leadership in today’s Bangladesh. The retired Commandant from the NDC, Aminul Karim, Ph.D., PSC, NDC, was a Lt. General and not Major General when he was asked to retire. [I deplore many such decisions of the current government, which effectively has gotten rid of some highly talented and honest individuals who still had years to serve our nation efficiently. Professional jealousy runs so nasty in many government departments that even when an officer is honest, non-partisan, or at least not pro-previous administration, he/she could be perceived as a liability to the new administration. I am told that the former Secretary Mr. H.T. Imam and (retd.) Maj. Gen. Tareq Siddiqui are behind many such orders of reassignment and retirement today.] Crime and Corruption: It goes without saying that like most under-...

Ref: http://www.americanchronicle..com/articles/view/98680 Sunita Paul claims that AL sympathizers are very disturbed about her write-ups on the Peel Khana massacre, asking her to refrain from writing. She even discloses two such letters from two sympathizers, although we truly don’t know if these were not cooked-up letters to deceive her readers, something that is quite habitual with her. After all, she has not answered my question as to how did she come to learn of what was discussed between Joy and Sohel Taj. Her first-hand narrative of what the two individuals had discussed in their meeting is simply too unbelievable for any rational intelligent being to take her seriously. Of pressing interest to us is her claim that on April 14 she received a letter from an ex-ambassador of Bangladesh. In this one, unlike the two previous notes, she does not share the name of the individual writer. Given her history of lies, deception, deceit and rumor-mongering, how seriously can we take her on ...

Ref: http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/view/98368 I am really intrigued by statements of Sunita Paul regarding Bangladesh. It is not difficult to assume that if Joy had a meeting with Taj the matter happened closed-door, away from any eaves-dropper, much less the presence of someone like Sunita. However, the way Sunita writes it gives the impression that she has had the first hand info on such private conversations between the two gentlemen of the Awami League. That is too much for anyone to swallow who cares about knowing facts and not mere rumors. I wonder if she is not copycatting Judith Miller in yellow journalism! E.g., just read her statement below to draw your own conclusions: What was the agenda of discussion of Joy with junior minister Sohel Taj? The discussion was mostly on fixing strategies of international media campaign centering the BDR massacre. Sohel has provided most of the information to Sajib Wajed Joy, which he received from Abdul Kahar Akhand, the inves...

Ref: http://www.newsfrombangladesh.net/view.php?hidRecord=257944 Rimon Chowdhury's accusations follow a typical formula. He is irate about my questioning of Sunita Paul's true identity that is shrouded in mystery and deceit. He now discovers Awami-Baksali link. How wonderful! Should I likewise brand him as a blind supporter of the BNP? As to his accusation of political bias, let me state that I am not linked with any political party – neither here in the USA nor there in Bangladesh. Unlike her newly found Madonna, my writing on political and international affairs have appeared in print media (and the Internet) since 1981. Those are sufficient to belie his unfound allegation. As an invited speaker, I have spoken in many school, college and university campuses. He can also inquire about those speeches made since 1978 to verify if there is any truth to his accusations. To reiterate, far from being a partisan to any political party or ideology, in the last 31 years of my residence...

Can you imagine that all on a sudden you could become a landless person that has been robbed of his family inheritance or property where you had lived for almost half a century? Not only have your parents bought the property legally with all the right legal documents and had the R.S., P.S. and B.S. records listed accordingly in their names, they have been paying all the taxes, revenues and utility bills ever since. It must be your worst nightmare to find that with no notice served against you from either the magistrate or the police, you found your premises attacked by more than a hundred miscreants while the police either won’t come to your rescue or are actually helping the land-grabbing criminals, and your old parents are evicted from their homes. Do these sound fictitious or mythic drawn from the Middle Ages when the only law was – “might is right”? No, if you are living in Bangladesh what I just described is a distinct probability. My own family became victims of such a land-grabb...

In his write-up Dr. Bashar (News From Bangladesh, April 10, 2009: http://www.newsfrombangladesh.net/view.php?hidRecord=257270) has raised some very important issues. I shall comment on a few of these: 1. While independent judiciary is much desirable for most nation states, and has worked very effectively in countries with long traditions of democracy and the rule of law, I have serious doubt about its transparency and effectiveness in a crime- and corruption-infested country like Bangladesh. I am reminded by many independent observers of our judicial system that in Bangladesh some judges and magistrates can be bought like whores where many lawyers work as pimps. It is an open secret that even some judges in the High Court nowadays are much given to taking bribes. As to the lower courts, the problem is widespread. If these accusations are true who in the right mind would like to see the emergence of an independent judiciary? In my family's 4-year battle against a powerful land-grabb...