Jalal Alamgir
Pulished in the Daily Star on 11 July 2009.
BANGLADESH’S democratic deficit looms large at the local level. Elected union and upazila councils have little power against top-down political and fiscal decisions. In its election manifesto, Awami League wisely promised to empower local-level decision-making. But unwisely, party MPs have moved away from empowering local communities either financially or politically.
Naeem Mohaiemen and Jyoti Rahman
Published in the Daily Star on 10 July 2009.
THE Law Minister Shafiq Ahmed presented the International Crimes (Tribunals) (Amendment) Act 2009 in parliament this week, with the Speaker urging quick passage before the end of the current parliamentary session. The 2009 act presents some amendments to the original 1973 act to make it “contemporary” (jugupojogi), “fair and neutral,” and “globally acceptable.”
Newspaper reports suggest amendments have been made to: provision to try individuals and groups of individuals; provision for appeal; and English being the official language of the trial along with Bangla.
While we applaud the steps to amend the act, we are, nonetheless, concerned that the amendments were not rigorous enough. In a rush to pass the amendments, insufficient attention has been given to major developments in last three decades in international law, especially as per International Criminal Court (ICC), International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), and International Criminal Tribunal for former Yugoslavia (ICTY).
Categories: 1971
Jyoti Rahman
Published in the Forum on 6 July 2009.
This piece gives a macroeconomic analysis of the Budget.
Categories: Economy
Syeed Ahamed
Published in the Forum on 6 July 2009.
This piece gives an overall view of this year’s budget.
Categories: Economy
