In recent times the illegal transfer and flow of small arms and light weapons and their accumulation as well as proliferation poses a real threat to our national security. Bangladesh is considered a transit point for trafficking the illegal arms. Its open-ended import and export laws, along with its extensive coastline and shared borders with many conflict-ridden areas, make it an ideal transshipment point for weaponry for this reason  Bangladesh experiences a tremendous amount of illegal smuggling of arms, explosives and ammunition. No doubt that South Asian region has now turned into a large illegal arms trading centre due to the conflict between India and Pakistan, as well as internal violence in Sri Lanka, Kashmir, Nepal, and Myanmar. Civilians are the largest category of gun owners in the South Asian region, accounting for far more weapons than the military, police and insurgents. Geographical location, poor border management failing to tackle different criminal syndicates and separatist groups have turned Bangladesh as one of the main transit routes for arms trafficking in South Asia.
It was not long before when the tools for criminal activities or other purposes were limited to indigenous weapons such as the dagger, and an air gun. Today, the varieties of arms available in Bangladesh are astounding. Although compared to other South Asian countries, the volume of sophisticated light weapons available in Bangladesh is still low, it will not take long before Bangladesh becomes a potential market for high-tech light weapons, as its air, sea and land routes are increasingly being used for such transshipment.
Bangladesh’s south and south-east regions, especially Chittagong, Khagrachhari, Bandarban, Sandwip, Haluaghat and emerging char islands are often used for transportation of illegal small arms, and it encourages the use of illegal small arms and violence across the country. Militants and insurgent outfits of neighboring countries have chosen the country’s south and south-eastern region as a transit route for arms smuggling business because Bangladesh government and its law enforcers are yet to be aware about these illegal business. The illegal arms in Bangladesh derive from a number of sources. Many were left over from the war of independence in 1971. Arms continue to be stolen from government stockpiles and from police stations. Some corrupt officials in our country even rent out their weapons. For this reason the crime rate and the number of firearms in Bangladesh have increased over the years. In Bangladesh, as indeed in the rest of the region, there is a symbiotic relationship between politics and small arms. Small arms have become the arbiter of differences and settling of political scores. Armed militant groups of various shades have easy access to these weapons. The arms race between mainstream political parties also provides a safe ground for the criminal activities. The party who has the biggest arsenal has the most power, and poor governance along with an ineffective police force do nothing to prevent the proliferation of weapons.
The poor governance has much to answer for the increased violence of our society and the endemic societal degradation. When a government fails to ensure fair play, when lack of empowerment stifles human growth, when needs and demands of various elements are overlooked, pockets of discontent begin to appear. They seek to redress the imbalance, perceived or real, by use of force, and weapons acts as an efficacious supplement. Media reports indicate that many people raise questions about arms suppliers in Bangladesh. But very few examine the demand side of the problem.
The social impact of the proliferation and misuse of small arms and explosives has always been undermined in this country. Factors like “self interest”, “power”, and “money” led relevant authorities to be blind and ignorant of the problem, while “fear” and “harassment” crippled the civil society. The combination of the two led to the unchallenged rise of armed cadres and their anti-social activities in Bangladesh. The easy availability of arms and the protection provided by “godfathers”, coupled with domestic economic factors (low per capita income, high unemployment rates, illiteracy, poverty, staggering economic growth, and overpopulation) are pushing more and more youths into the world of crime and terrorism. Children as young as 13 years of age are now the new breed of criminals in the country, according to a latest report.
As a result of all this insecurity Bangladesh has gradually become a “weaponised” society. People fear sudden outbreaks of armed violence and live in constant fear for their lives. Feelings of insecurity are increased by the perception that law enforcement agencies are unwilling to address communities’ concerns. The most non-violent persons in the country today also feel the need of possessing a weapon for themselves and their family’s security. Firearms are perceived to play a significant role in elections. Local criminal syndicates often assist candidates, while armed cadres manipulate the democratic process. Small arms are also prominent in student political violence. Business and investment suffer from extortion, gun-running, rent-seeking and tender-related crime. As a result, prices of essential goods have risen, relative poverty has increased, investment has dwindled and businesses are failing.
Small arms pose an acute threat to women and children, exacerbating their already vulnerable situation. While rape has become increasingly common, corruption and the prospect of abuser retaliation have prevented women from seeking justice. Firearms and explosives are a significant threat to the long and short term integrity of development. Armed violence, for example, has impeded progress towards the Millennium Development Goals. The availability of small arms and their use in the political process has led to the rapid development of a culture of violence.
One must take into consideration the larger picture: the global business of small arms and light weapons is one that is very profitable for the producing country as well as the intermediaries, which is why the scale and volume of arms production continues to increase every year in spite of the devastating effects of these arms. The interest groups are numerous starting from the manufacturing companies, the lobbyists in the government, the agents, the dealer, transnational organizations, insurgents, organized criminals, etc. It is almost impossible to identify and take action against those who are involved in the transactions. Even the intelligentsia plays a vital role in the transfer of arms to non-state actors of other countries.
Under these circumstances, we think that a greater awareness of the harmful impact of illegal arms on the social life needs to be monitored. This situation cannot continue. There has to be an awakening and an adoption of a “human security” perspective that focuses on the human costs of the widespread availability of small arms.
Thus, it is imperative to take all kinds of measures–having the potentials for success–to mop up the unauthorized firearms and smash the sources and supply routes through which these are smuggled into the country. Government should ensure the enhancement of border security and develop the capacity of law enforcement agencies to address SALW and IED proliferation; introduce practical measures to reduce violence in elections, such as introducing a code of conduct for political parties and launching a public awareness-raising campaign; and link human security to poverty reduction and socio-economic development.

Bangladesh is witnessing a booming industry yet not so favored by the government. It is an Industry which can add value addition to the economy twice the size of RMG within five years. It is the Shipping industry of Bangladesh which has grabbed orders from developed EU countries due to its quality products and yet cheap labor costs and some other comparative advantages. With some very promising factors there are some trivial problems which can be solved with some auspicious government policy especially a proactive tax policy and some infrastructural development.

Evolution of the Industry
The history of shipbuilding in Bangladesh has a long tradition. It began with wooden-bodied traveler boat having two decks. Back to the early days of Arab businessmen arriving in this area we can trace back the ship building and even ship export from Bengal. Today we are all set to forget that Bangladesh was the centre of building ocean-going vessels in Asia between 15th and 17th century. In the early 19th century, the shipyards of Chittagong built many commercial ships up to 1,000 tons and also British navy vessels which participated in the battle of Trafalgar in 1805. Steel-body construction of multi-deck passenger carriers started in the eighties.
With the ship-breaking industry boom in Chittagong, availability of steel plates boosted the inland ship-building in the early nineties and various shipyards started to emerge in this sector. As of today, about two thousand locally-built cargo vessels of varying sizes — from 500 DWT to 2000 DWT — are now operating.
Khulna Shipyard was made in 1954 in the then East Pakistan. Engineering equipment, pumps for irrigation, freight vessels for fertilizer and seed, oil tankers and rail crossing barges were built in this shipyard. Six thousand and fifty new ships were built in this shipyard. In the mid 80′s after an accident a decision was taken to transfer this yard to the Ministry of Defense. Management of this shipyard was given to Bangladesh Navy in October, 1999. Then it became alive again.

The Modern Export Era
However, while the inland ship building was at its emerging stage, Bangladesh got its first contact of international ship building in 1979. Japanese ship building giant, Mitsui Engineering and Ship Building Industry developed the first and the largest joint venture shipyard with High Speed Ship Building and Engineering Co. Ltd. at Fatullah.
For the first time, High-speed with their Japanese partners was able to build vessels according to international classification for meeting national requirement. To mention a few achievements, this yard constructed five deep-sea fishing trawlers and participated in an international tender floated by the FAO (Food and Agricultural Organization, UN) to build eight grain carriers. It built the first barge-mounted power plant for RPC (Rural Power Company), several oil tankers, fast moving patrol boat for Navy and troops carrier for the Bangladesh Army.
However, an international slump in shipping was observed with many international ship-owners getting forced out of business as the new rules proved too costly for them. Many vessels were sold out for scrapping and with the growing demand for steel in China; suddenly global shipping found themselves having more vessels scrapped than they would need to replace with new building under new regulations. The international shipping entered a new era and the freight market jumped four-fold since the slump ending in the year 2001. The Europeans and the Americans could not compete with their Asian counterparts. As a result, all yards in China, Korea, Taiwan, Singapore and Japan are booked for apparently next ten years buildings super-ships, and the owners could not find yards to build the smaller vessels i.e., up to 6000 DWT. Even Vietnam, which is relatively new in ship building, is no longer interested to build small ships weighing up to 25,000 dead weight tones. Most of the giants in this industry want to build bigger vessels because it is relatively cheaper and requires fewer people adding. Their reluctance has made India and Indonesia the new destinations for small shipbuilding.
Ultimately the owners were forced to focus their concentration to Bangladesh. Testing orders were placed, only a few yards could draw the attention of the prospective builders like Ananda Shipyard, Western Marine grabbing international orders for approximately 22 vessels of various types but of smaller capacity because of lack of infrastructural capability and depth of water limiting the sizes of these vessels to a maximum of 4500 DWT. Highspeed Shipyard, though late, is negotiating several offers from abroad. The 22 vessels mentioned above would be worth US 300 million and would require five years to build. Disappointed owners are going back from Bangladesh as there is no further capacity to accommodate their requirement. So it turns out that Bangladesh definitely has an undersupply of Ships at the current world cost-pricing rate. This trend or the ship-building boom is expected to continue for at least next fifteen years, may be for a longer period, in case of Bangladesh because of its cheap labor. The opportunity that is now knocking must not be lost due to lack of priority or understanding of the prospects.
Due to the shipbuilding boom worldwide for the last decade or so, Bangladesh shipyards such as ASSL and WMS benefitted in terms of new ship orders from overseas and also expanding their building capacity. The low-tech oriented ships such as bulk carrier can be built competitively with low labor costs which is a big advantage in Bangladesh. In this view, the shipbuilding is an attractive industry for developing countries that can easily enter in the world market. By building such low-tech ships one after another, the skills of workers and technologies are accumulated and improved, and then, high-tech ships can be built. Japan and Korea followed this strategy and now China is following the same strategy. Bangladesh is receiving orders for bulk carriers from some European countries including Denmark, Germany and Norway.
If the government allows couple of more shipyards along the river Karnaphuli near the Chittagong port area, many international companies might be willing to set up joint venture shipyards so that larger vessels could be built and exported. This sector, is unequivocally capital intensive, but economists predict that it could produce net value addition twice that of readymade garment (RMG) industries in five years’ time. This sector, by international standard, is still at a vulnerable stage. It will stand firm if it gets the same facilities as given to the RMG sector. The net benefit will be of much higher yield in comparison to that of RMG. It will be possible if and only if we can take prompt actions.
At this stage, some shipyards are capable of manufacturing ocean-going vessels. It is felt that if the incentives provided to garment industries are extended to shipbuilding, it will help attract a large amount of foreign investment. A number of deep draft ports are needed for ship-building in suitable locations.
Experts said the country has become a new destination for companies seeking construction of small ocean-going vessels as traditional shipbuilding nations such as South Korea and China now focus on building large ships.
Three large shipbuilding companies in Bangladesh have received ‘export offer’ of about Taka 2,000 crore within a very short span of time. The new shipbuilding efforts and the entry into the global market, it is expected, will open new avenues for earning foreign exchange through export of ships besides creating wider scope of expansion of the industry and employment. Bangladesh’s shipyards have acquired a lot of experience in the field of shipbuilding as most of the motor launches and cargo vessels plying within the country have been built at local shipyards. The cost of shipbuilding is ‘highly competitive’ compared to other foreign shipyards.
The local shipbuilders require urgently proper attention of the government so that whatever assistance they need is provided for rapid expansion of the industry for greater interest of the country. One of the shipbuilders the other day expressed the confidence of building even war ships of any category at the local shipyards with all the precision required internationally for the defense services.
Ship building industry in Bangladesh is set to emerge as new export leader after two ship builders said they have already grabbed order worth over $250 million in 2007.
Meghnaghat-based Ananda Shipyards said it signed agreements worth around $180 million while Chittagong-based Western Marine put its total orders to more than $70 million.
“It’s a huge leap forward for us. If the trend continues, ship building in Bangladesh will be the second largest exporter after garments in 2015,” chairman of Ananda Shipbuilders Abdullahel Bari said.
“If we can grab one per cent of the global order for small ships, the amount will be worth $4.0 billion. The global market for small ships is now about $400 billion,” said Shakhawat Hossain, managing director of Western Marine.

SWOT Analysis
Bangladesh has some critical problems in this sector.  Bangladeshi ship building sector is lucky to have the Department of Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering (NAME) of BUET.  However, there are no valuable experimental facilities which can be effectively used in qualitative education and good research. An agreement of Academic Exchange and Cooperation between the two institutions was made in order to encourage faculty/student exchanges and joint research activities.
The shipbuilding industry needs heavy infrastructural equipments and well trained workers for design and manufacturing. In addition, this industry needs backward and forward linkage industries, steel and electricity industries, social infrastructure and logistics, and financing support. The most important factor is the strong governmental support and dedication. Various favorable policies by government should be in action such as subsidy, R&D and educational investments.
Bangladesh has some weaknesses in several areas which are necessary to address in order to upgrade the existing level of its shipbuilding industry. Among them, design and engineering technologies, and modern technologies such as automation and welder, and backward/forward linkage industries can be introduced by engaging proper foreign joint venture partners.
The role of CEO is very important in a modern competitive company, in particular, global company such as shipbuilding sector. There are many CEO’s, CTO’s and well experienced directors, scientists and technicians who retired from developed countries  ship yards. They can be hired as advisor of Bangladesh ship yards.
The education of well qualified naval architects in Universities is one of the most important factors. In order to do so, the experimental equipment such as towing tank, cavitations tunnel, structural and fatigue test facilities, welding test facilities and CAD/CAM lab etc are essential. This kind of test facilities can be also used as high quality research activities for Professors and MSc/PhD graduate students whose innovations can be used by shipyards in their commercial production.
In addition, Bangladesh government should establish a scholarship system that supports excellent students to study in advanced countries in shipbuilding technologies.  With compared to the facilities given for the RMG in the initial stages it is nothing. Moreover a developing country like Bangladesh has nothing to loose from a bonded investment for students in this regard.
Another important one is to open a maritime related national research institute such as MOERI (Maritime and Ocean Engineering Research Institute) in Korea or NMRI (National Maritime Research Institute) in Japan. This kind of national research institute is necessary not only to develop new technologies for shipyards but also to give jobs for many higher degree holders who cannot be absorbed 100% in shipyards. If this cannot be accomplished soon, at least some urgent necessary test facilities should be constructed in BUET and many professors can be involved in doing tests and research.

Important aspects
Bangladesh has some advantages for shipbuilding industry such as low labor cost, prosperous history, English spoken people and advantageous geographical location etc. However, there are also some weaknesses and challenges. These include the shortage of gas and power supply and the traffic jam. Most of all the government incentive and attention to this sector is yet to be noticed. An auspicious tax policy from the NBR like that is now operating for the RMG sector can make this sector a viable and promising sector for Bangladesh. And within five years this sector can emerge as the largest export sector for Bangladesh. The challenges could be overcome by appropriate responses that should be initiated by Government with the focus of building small to medium size ships up to 30,000 tons. According to the estimates of some economists ship building in Bangladesh will be the second largest exporter after garments in 2015.
This sector needs immediate attention from the government because the opportunity this sector is facing is a very exclusive one. The Government tax policy has to be positive by allowing tax exemption. But the first thing to do is to allow new shipyards along Karnaphuli river. There are great possibilities for shipbuilding sector in an auspicious policy environment. The emerging shipbuilding industry will strengthen the export diversification and upgrade Bangladesh from semi-mono-export country to multi-export country. And it is unambiguous that Shipping industry is much more sustainable than that of RMG in the long run.

Rain is indeed one of the most important factors for the permanence of life on earth. It is a prerequisite for the continuation of activity in a region. Rain, which carries great importance for all living things, including human beings, is mentioned in various verses of the Qur’an, where substantial information is given about the formation of rain, its proportion and effects. This information, which never could have been known by the people of the time, shows us that the Qur’an is the word of God.
Now, let us examine the information given in the Qur’an about rain.
The Proportion of Rain
In the eleventh verse of Surat az-Zukhruf, rain is defined as water sent down in “due measure”. The verse is as follows: He sends down (from time to time) water from the sky in due measure, and we raise to life therewith a land that is dead. Even so will you be raised (from the dead). (Surat az-Zukhruf, 11)
This “measure” mentioned in the verse has to do with a couple of characteristics of rain. First of all, the amount of rain that falls on the earth is always the same. It is estimated, that in one second, 16 million tones of water evaporate from the earth. This number is equal to the amount of water that drops on the earth in one second. This means that water continuously circulates in a balanced cycle according to a “measure”.
Another measure related with rain is about its falling speed. The minimum altitude of rain clouds is 1,200 meters. When dropped from this height, an object having the same weight and size as a rain drop, would continuously accelerate and fall on the ground with a speed of 558 km/h. Certainly, any object that hits the ground with that speed would cause great damage. If rain happened to fall in the same way, all harvested lands would be destroyed, residential areas, houses, and cars would be damaged, and people would not be able to walk around without taking extra precautions. What is more, these calculations are made just for clouds at a height of 1,200 meters; there are also rain clouds at altitudes of 10,000 meters. A rain drop falling from such a height could normally reach a very destructive speed.
But this is not how it works; no matter from what height they fall, the average speed of rain drops is only 8-10 km/h when they reach the ground. The reason for this is the special form they take. This special form increases the friction effect of the atmosphere and prevents acceleration when the rain drops reach a certain speed “limit”. (Today parachutes are designed by using this technique.)
This is not all about the “measures” of rain. For instance, in the atmospheric layers where it starts to rain, the temperature may fall as low as 400 C below zero. Despite this, rain drops never turn into ice particles. (This would certainly mean a fatal threat to the living things on the earth.) The reason is that the water in the atmosphere is pure water. As is well-known, pure water hardly freezes even at very low temperatures.

The Formation of Rain
How rain forms remained a great mystery for people for a long time. Only after weather radar was invented, was it possible to discover the stages by which rain is formed.
The formation of rain takes place in three stages. First, the “raw material” of rain rises up into the air. Later clouds are formed. Finally, rain drops appear.
These stages are clearly defined in the Qur’an centuries ago where precise information is given about the formation of rain:It is God Who sends the Winds, and they raise the Clouds: then does He spread them in the sky as He wills, and break them into fragments, until you see rain-drops issue from the midst thereof: then when He has made them reach such of his servants as He wills, behold, they do rejoice! (Surat ar-Room, 48)
Now, let us look at the three stages mentioned in the verse;

1st Stage: “It is God Who sends the winds…”
Countless air bubbles formed by the foaming in the oceans continuously burst and cause water particles to be ejected towards the sky. These particles, which are rich in salt, are then carried away by winds and move upwards in the atmosphere. These particles, which are called aerosols, form clouds by collecting around themselves the water vapor, which again ascends from the seas, as tiny drops by a mechanism called “water trap”

2nd Stage: ” …and they raise the Clouds: then does He spread them in the sky as He wills, and break them into fragments…”
The clouds form from the water vapor that condenses around the salt crystals or the dust particles in the air. Because the water drops in these are very small (with a diameter between 0.01 and 0.02 mm), the clouds are suspended in the air and they spread in the sky. Thus the sky is covered with clouds.

3rd Stage: “…until you see rain-drops issue from the midst thereof.”
Water particles that surround salt crystals and dust particles thicken and form rain drops. So, the drops, which become heavier than air, depart from the clouds, and start to fall on the ground as rain.
Every stage in the formation of rain is told in the verses of the Qur’an. Furthermore, these stages are explained in the right sequence. Just as with many other natural phenomena in the world, it is again the Qur’an that provides the most correct explanation about this phenomenon as well, and more, that has announced these facts to people centuries before they were discovered by science

Life Given to a Dead Land
In the Qur’an, many verses call our attention to a particular function of rain, which is “giving life to a dead land”:We send down pure water from the sky. That with it We may give life to a dead land, and slake the thirst of many beings We have created, beasts as well as humans. (Surat al-Furqan, 48- 49)
In addition to furnishing the earth with water, which is an inevitable need of living beings, rain also has a fertilization effect.
Rain drops that reach the clouds after being evaporated from the seas, contain certain substances “that will give life” to a dead land. These “life-giving” drops are called “surface tension drops”. Surface tension drops form on the top level of the sea surface which is called the “micro layer” by biologists. In this layer, which is thinner than one tenth of a millimeter, there are many organic leftovers caused by the pollution of microscopic algae and zooplankton. Some of these leftovers select and collect within themselves some elements which are very rare in sea water, such as phosphorus, magnesium, potassium and some heavy metals like copper, zinc, cobalt and lead. These “fertilizer”-laden drops are lifted up into the sky by the winds and after a while they drop on the ground inside the rain drops. Seeds and plants on the earth find numerous metallic salts and elements essential for their growth here in these rain drops. This event is revealed in another verse of the Qur’an:And We send down from the sky rain laden with blessing, and We produce therewith gardens and grain for harvests. (Surah Qaf, 9)
Salts that fall with rain are small examples of certain elements (calcium, magnesium, potassium, etc.) used for increasing fertility. The heavy metals found in these types of aerosols are other elements that increase fertility in the development and production of plants.
A barren land can be furnished with all the essential elements for plants in a 100-year period just with these fertilizers dropped with the rain. Forests also develop and are fed with the help of these sea-based aerosols. In this way, 150 million tons of fertilizer falls on the total land surface every year. If there were no natural fertilization like this, there would be very little vegetation on the earth, and the ecological balance would be impaired.
What is more interesting is that this truth, which could only be discovered by modern science, was revealed by God in the Qur’an centuries ago.

(This is a syndicated article and it is written for global audience)

A.D.: The initials A.D. (when with year numbers) is an abbreviation for the Latin Anno Domini, which translated means the Year of Our Lord, referring to years after the birth of Jesus Christ.
Archaeology: Archaeology is defined as the science of discovering how societies in the past thought, felt and acted, organized their way of life and interacted with others and their environment, and in meeting their needs politically, economically and spiritually by re-discovering and interpreting the material remains of their civilizations.
Area: Area is jargon for the smallest contained digging space in the shape of a square usually about 5m x 5m. Archaeologists will often refer to their Area as a ‘square’.
Artefact: Any object made, modified, or used by humans: an arrowhead, a hammer stone, a scraper, or a basket are all artifacts. “Features” are non-portable human-made things. A fire-pit, an earth oven, a post hole, rock art or a housepit, are all examples of prehistoric features. Bottles, cans, the flag Betsy Ross made, or a guitar are examples of historic artifacts.
B.C or B.C.E.: The initials B.C. stand for Before Christ. Some cultures and academics choose to use B.C.E. meaning Before the Common Era.
Baulk: A one meter unexcavated walkway between Areas.
C.E.: The initials C.E. (when with year numbers) is an abbreviation for Common Era and is jargon used to substitute the letters A.D. by cultures who do not accept Jesus Christ.
Cuneiform: A style of wedge-shaped writing common in the Middle East which pre-dated letters by 1500 years. Writing was scribed into soft clay using a specially shaped tool.
Descriptive Evidence: In archaeology terms, this is a written report about the contents of each excavated layer.
Feature: Feature is jargon for any material remains that cannot be removed from a site such as pits, house floors, fire hearths, or large stone altars.
Field: A group of adjoining excavation Areas.
Hieroglyphic: An ancient Egyptian system of writing, a full lexicon usually taught by the priests, using symbols and pictures to convey ideas and language.
Identification: Everything found at the archaeology site is given a special identification number. No two items have the same number. Each number corresponds to the Field, Area and item number. A letter followed by a number then a decimal point and three more numbers. e.g. Artefact No. B4.006 would be the sixth item found at Area 4 in Field B.
In Situ: In its original place.
Layers (locus): Layers is jargon for the sequence of different levels in the Area being excavated. They are sequentially numbered with the highest level being number one.
Midden: A rubbish heap or pit containing quantities of organic remains.
Prehistoric: The term prehistoric simply means before a society has written records. The term “prehistoric” has been misused and often has been stereotyped into an image of the brutal “cave man.” In archaeological terms, it simply means before any written records. All humans share a “prehistory.” Some Indians dislike the term “prehistoric” because they have oral traditions that extend into the past.
Potsherds: The definition of potsherds is broken pieces of ceramic or pottery artefacts including storage and cooking vessels, building material such as adobe brick and occasionally tools and furniture. They are common to nearly every digging site.
Shards: Shards are broken fragments of glass artefacts including perfume jars, jugs and serving or storage vessels. It was very common throughout the Roman period.
Site: Site is archaeology jargon that is contained within the perimeter of all of the Fields at an archaeology excavation.
Spatial Evidence: Plans and pictures of the physical dimensions of each layer.
Stratigraphy: The archaeology definition of spatial evidence is the cultural remains and natural deposits form layers over time. Stratigraphic excavation is the digging out of an Area by completely clearing each strata layer before going any deeper.
Tel: A tel is a conglomerate of rocks, soils and ancient building materials which, over many years have formed a mound.
Translating: The process of rendering the sense of another language. Changing one language into another.

Interview with Vyacheslav Matuzov, one of the leading Russian experts in Middle East affairs, and former councilor, head of group for bilateral Arab-Israeli negotiations, Soviet Embassy in Washington, DC.

In his interview with Kudashkina Ekaterina he says that   all the events that we are watching today in the Middle East are closely connected with the strategic line, strategic policy of the United States of America and of the NATO organization. He also says, Why do I consider so? Because it is a plan for re-changing, re-branding the Middle East at the origin of the world, it is known long time ago, days of George W Bush, when neoconservative forces in the United States articulated very clearly the goals of the whole globe, the policy that was very strongly criticized by Francis Fukuyama in his very well known article in Russia, it is “The neoconservative moment”. So he thinks that these events that we are watching today in the Middle East, all this revolutionary process in the Middle East is closely connected with the strategic goals of the United States’ policy.
What are these goals?
Goals are its dominating, dominating under the flag, under the slogan of fighting for democracy, fighting for people’s rights, then change it not as origin of the will of the people of this population of this region, but it is based as a company, as a political technology company, as some advertising of American foreign policy goals. It was changed in 2005 absolutely clearly and they established a special organization with very good financing, with very good political and informational color that it is called “Business for diplomatic action”. The main goal of this public organization, far from the White House, far from all official political organizations of the United States, they articulated very clearly all these goals: changing all Arab regimes.
Why? The Arab regimes are different, perhaps if we look at Egypt, that would seem to have been an American friendly regime, why do they need to change that?
The reason is absolutely clear, that this regime, even Hosni Mubarak’s regime, even King Abdullah II in Jordan – they are very close allies of the United States, but that doesn’t mean that they didn’t have their own stance towards American goals of domination in the Middle East, it is a geopolitical strategy, it is not a local, regional strategy, and the regional strategy is under the geopolitical goals of the American policy, because somebody considers how many dollars the Americans lost in this war, how many dollars Russia won while giving up prices for oil in the Middle East, it is not an economic approach, it is a geopolitical approach, and geopolitical goals of the United States are counted for tens of years, of decades, not today. I think this corresponds to the real situation that is developing in the Middle East, I can confess that this goal of changing corrupt and non-efficient regimes corresponds with the desire of these people, that is the main problem because people are very enthusiastic about these changes, and the United States policy is clearly on the streets of Amman, Damascus, Bahrain, Libya, maybe, and many other Arab countries, and Egypt of course. But I think these people on the streets do not understand that the real policy of the United States is not to satisfy their needs, their desires, their aspirations; the goal of the United States is to dominate, ruin the old regimes to construct a new big Middle East, and these new frontiers of the Middle East states will be on the ruins of the states existing today in the Middle East, this is the real danger, real danger.
Mr. Matuzov, but who are the so to say sherpas of the US policy in the region? I think that the image of the United States in the Arab streets has been rather unfavorable during the past years, so who are those who conduct the US policy in those countries, inside those countries?
That is the question, because the US understood very clearly in previous decades that its image in the world – not only in the Arab world, in the Islamic world, but also in Europe, in all other regions of the world – was going down dramatically and that is why they changed these goals of the American foreign policy against fighting terrorism, Islamic terrorism, proclamation that Islam is the main enemy of the United States in the world after ruining the world communism. All the slogans went on, and now they have a real new approach on foreign policy. They understand that when they put as a background of their foreign steps on the foreign arena that struggle not against but for democracy and people’s rights, they will win; now I think they are trying to change their image in the Islamic world, in the Arab streets, when they are positioning themselves in their roles of fighters against corruption for democracy, for political rights. I think it reveals the real goals to undermine all these regimes and to bring into power in these countries those who are very reliable from the American point of view; I think it is a dangerous trend, I think it didn’t give any positive results even for the American society because ruining old regimes does not mean they are capable of creating new more progressive, more politically motivated regimes that can be accepted by the people, by the streets in Arab cities; I think one of the goals is to put the Arab Islamic world into a chaotic situation, but a chaotic situation controlled from the distance, by the United States, American military centers.
Do you remember there has been a map published by one of the American military analyst by the name of Peters?
Ah yes, of course, Ralph Peters, it is a cartographic experiment, source of a big scandal, from the Turkish government even, because he brought these materials as study materials for NATO military college in Rome, where the Turkish officers were trained, and there was a big scandal between the United States and the Turkish government, and I think that’s why they had problems, I watched Peter’s interview one month ago on Fox TV after the Egyptian revolution, and he said that he was considering the Egyptian events spreading to all over the world, and he was very proud of all these revolutions in the Arab world and considered it would spread to Central Asia and to Russia too. So I cannot say that neoconservative forces in the United States, and Pops news is one of the TV channels that reflect neoconservative views, and Ralph Peters is one of the hot heads of the neocons in the United States. I think that their goals all have the global substance, not regional only, a regional goal is permanent, it is only for today, for tomorrow there are other countries, the whole world, dominating on the global scene – that is the main target of the United States’ foreign policy according to the neoconservative thinking.
But if we look at Mr. Obama’s steps in regards to the Islamic world they would seem a bit inconsistent, because if you remember he started with his famous speech in Egypt in Cairo University, and then all of a sudden his administration is now engaged in a series of wars against Islam.
You are absolutely right, Ekaterina, because I can say that I see a collision between this policy that has produced all these revolutions in the Arab world and stand of the US government and Mr. Obama as  President of the United States. I respect greatly the position of Mr. Obama as President of the United States when he was in Cairo University proclaiming the American position toward the world, toward the Islamic world. I am Russian, I was satisfied with the American approach to solve its relations with the Islamic world. You know, Russia has its own problems in the Caucasus, and it solves its own problems with the Islamic movements in some areas, but I think that Barack Obama chose the right way out of solving all these issues, and now I can conclude that his declarations contradicts with the real position of those forces who are dominating in the inside American apparatus, in American Pentagon, security organizations, intelligence organizations, and informational field. I think that Business for diplomatic actions revealed to the world how these contradictions between American administration and big American business that is dominating in the neoconservative forces are acting in the world and affecting the world policy.
Getting back to Business for democracy, there is a whole list of international corporations, not even American corporations, which means that business forces there are rather global than American, so but what can be their interest? Do I get it right that it is a global war on Islam that we are witnessing now?
I do not think that it is a war against Islam, on the contrary, some Islamic forces, especially terrorist forces are closely connected with the undercover activity of some forces in the United States, we know very well the origin of Bin Laden, how he appeared on the political scene, what money was paid to sustain him. I think it is a chaotic situation in the Arab world, and it corresponds to the other main issue – the Middle East settlement. I will remind you maybe that the Quartet activity for solving Palestinian-Israeli problem, for pushing ahead the negotiations between Mahmud Abbas and Netanyahu was stopped by the American side, because the meeting of the quartet was appointed for March 25, it was prolonged for April, and nobody knows when it will be concluded, once again. The reason for that is obvious: Israel is benefiting from all these revolutions in one thing: the Arab side will be out of these revolutions very weak, and non-supportive for any efforts for the Middle East settlement, and Israel has the historic chance to take the whole western bank of Jordan for itself, and establish a Palestinian state instead of Jordan Hashemite kingdom, because this idea is floating in the air, and they are trying to materialize it, and the main goal behind all this revolt against the kingdom is not political rights of the population, but political goals of some hot heads to establish in this country a new Palestinian state instead of the Jordanian Hashemite kingdom.
Mr. Matuzov, but then there is another point which causes certain concern, certain alarm even, which is the role of NATO and some of its members, France for instance, because we have been discussing the situation in Arab countries but now there is another so to say leader-ousting operation which is going on in the Ivory Coast, and which involves the UN forces and French military.
That is right, they are not respecting the United Nations Security Council resolutions on the Ivory Coast, because they do not permit – these resolutions – the French government to intervene militarily in the Ivory Coast, and this is absolutely clear, and the same thing we have in Libya, but now the African Union’s intervention into the Libyan affair, I think, it is a very progressive step to stop NATO aggression in Libya, because NATO aggression in Libya is also all resolutions, both resolutions on Libya – 1970 and 1973 – against these resolutions they are supplying revolutionary forces or opposition with weapon or with military equipment and striking, and even their target is the life of Muammar Gaddafi. I am not a supporter of Muammar Gaddafi, but I am a supporter of the respect of the international law and resolutions of the Security Council of the United Nations.
But we have already seen the answer, the reaction coming from the so-called Libyan opposition based in London, and they are telling us they are going to look into the proposals of the African Union, but their ultimate goal is to oust Mr. Gaddafi and they are prepared to discuss the resolution and the road map rather of the African Union only if Mr. Gaddafi steps down. It seems that we are entering another deadlock.
Yes, I think that Muammar Gaddafi is ready to step down because he agreed with this, and one of his sons proclaimed very clearly that his father is ready to but he wants to negotiate, to discuss the issue to whom he will transfer his power in Libya, because transfer is a new Paul Bremer from the United States’ department who would be ready I think to head once again one of the Arab states, I do not think it is the right way. I think that for the United States and for the African Union it is to respect the internal process of Libya and give a chance for a political solution by Libyan political forces not imposing their will to Libyan people. I do not like these slogans when they proclaim: Get out, Hosni Mubarak!, Get out, Bashar Assad!, Get out, Muammar Gaddafi! Who is giving these words? It is the leadership of the United States. What kind of business they have in common with the peoples of these countries? Let these people solve their issue by themselves, not through foreign intervention, not through intervention in their internal affairs; I think that if people are given a chance to find a political solution it will be the right way. I see that the African Union is playing a very progressive role, a very positive role in this field; I think that they will be successful, and the whole world community should support not the NATO position but the African Union’s position.
So my final question: what is your forecast?
I think that the military operation will be ended, I think that after the intervention of the African Union it will be stopped, and as we do not know the details of the offers to Gaddafi, but if he agrees, I think he would step down and new democratic elections will be held in Libya. I think it will be achieved by political means but not military. I am very much bothered with the situation in the Gulf area, a very sensitive area even for the European economy, it is Saudi Arabia, because Bahrain and Yemen, revolts in these two Arab countries are closely connected with the situation on the Saudi soil. I think that Saudi Arabia is under the target of all this wave of Arab revolutions as they say arranged by informational polittechnology, by business for diplomatic action, a nongovernmental organization of the United States, supported by principle, main, big American business.

The world has seen a new culture of youths and new media in speaking against old issues in new ways. This is unprecedented. It has broken the fear of impossibility in society, in country we used to listen. In a moment of this world, when time-space differentiation is no longer relevant, this new paradigm in history of world has brought enormous possibilities to destroy all evils and establish all goods. Youths of Bangladesh despite all limitations are also going forward. Our discussion will be directed towards seeing how this new trend of new media and youth partnership has possibility to bring hope and joy for our world in general, our nation in particular.
The Buzzword of New Media
Today, the internet has become a way of life. None can ignore its inevitability. For its broad coverage and its provision of access to millions of users around the world, the idea of new media online has evolved to become a venue of the most notable modern communities. Now, geographical boundaries are no longer important and not setbacks to prevent people from interaction for what they are looking for.
If we go to trace the history of communication prior to this idea of this new medium, it is important to have a look at the past. When we say new, then, it ought to precede some old variants of medium. What are they?
Philologists say that, three types of communication media exist. Just as only three transportation media exist, only three communications media exist: first, Interpersonal, second, mass medium and third, new media.
As with transportation media, two of the first communication media are ancient and arose independent of technology. But the third medium is relatively new and its use is totally dependent upon technology: This aboriginal medium arose in basic animal communications, predating both humans and technology. Human technology later extended its speed and reach. Interpersonal conversation is the basic form of this medium. The vehicles that human technology later built for it include the postal letter, telephone call, and electronic mail.

Just as the transportation media of land or water have some unique characteristics, so does this Interpersonal Medium of communications. It notably has two hallmarks:
Each participant has equal and reciprocal control of the content conveyed;
And the content can be individualized to each participant’s unique needs and interests.
However, those hallmark advantages come with equal disadvantages: the equal control and also the individualization of content degrade into cacophony as the number of participants increases beyond two (for example, try simultaneously holding different conversations with more than one person). For those reasons, this Interpersonal medium characteristically is used for communications between only two people. And why many academics who study communications media term it the ‘one-to-one’ medium.
The Mass Medium is the second communications medium. Most people mistake the Mass Medium as a product of technology and don’t realize how old it really is. Like the Interpersonal Medium, the Mass Medium predates technology. Technology has merely extended its speed and its reach to global dimensions. Some vehicles in the Mass Medium are edicts, oratory, sermons, scriptures, plays, books, newspapers, billboards, magazines, cinema, radio, television, bulletin boards, and webcasting.
Communications in the Mass Medium generally go from a one person (for examples, a leader, a king, a publisher, or a broadcaster) to many people (the audience, readership, listenership, and viewership). This also is why many academics who study communications media term it the ‘one-to-many’ medium. The hallmark characteristics of the Mass Medium are:
That the same content goes to all recipients.
And that the one who sends it has absolute control over that content.
The corresponding disadvantages of the Mass Medium are:
That its content cannot be individualized to each recipient’s unique needs and interests and that the recipients have no real control over that content.
Like the Interpersonal Medium, the Mass Medium isn’t necessarily dependent upon technology. For example, an actor or speaker can perform without any technology.
New Media.Just like using the sky as transportation medium, for most of human history the possibility of any third communications medium existing had been inconceivable. Anyone needing to communicate had to choose between the mutually incompatible characteristics of the Interpersonal and the Mass media.
But, just like how several technologies converged nearly a century ago to make the sky a transportation medium, the evolution of several ostensibly unrelated technologies converged during the past century to create a third and entirely new communications medium.
Among those convergent technologies were:
n    The invention of digital communications during the late 1940s;
n    The invention of the Transport Control/Internet Protocol ((TCP/IP) in the late 1960s;
n    ARPANET’s creation of the Internet during the early 1970s;
n    The invention of the personal computer in the late 1970s
And to lesser degrees of the importance:
l    The invention of the HyperText Transport Protocol (HTTP) in the late 1980s;
l    The opening of the Internet to the public in 1992;
l    The invention of the Mosaic browser software in that same year.
These and other technological innovations converged to create a new communications medium that has characteristics inconceivable even a decade ago.
The hallmark characteristics of this New Medium are:
That individualized messages can simultaneously be delivered to an infinite number of people.
And that each of the people involved shares reciprocal control over that content.
In other words, the New Medium has the advantages of both the Interpersonal and the Mass media, but without their complementary disadvantages.
No longer must anyone who wants to individually communicate a unique message to each recipient have to be restricted to communicating with only one person at a time.
No longer must anyone who wants at once to communicate message to a mass of people be unable to individualize totally the content of that message for each recipient.
Note that the New Medium for communications, like the transportation medium of the sky, is entirely dependent upon technology, unlike the two preceding communications media. Like humans flying with technology, this form of communications can’t be done with technology.
The new media have become operative through social networking sites. The social networking sites are known as web pages that facilitate for friendly and active interaction among members. Most social networks are internet based and aim to provide various and interesting means on how users can interact. Such features may include instant messaging, video calling, chat, file sharing, discussion groups, voice chats, emails, blogging and so on. If you are currently a user of Myspace, Facebook, twitter or Friendster, you know exactly how social network sites work.
It has become important because, it has changed the traditional idea of how communication can be made. You have access to information within millisecond. Local ideas have become global ideas by virtue of social networking sites. People are engaged in continuous interaction. They are sharing their individual, social, economic and even political life with other friends. It is not a matter to find a friend you left in your childhood, these media gives you this opportunity to meet your old friends newly through the network. Some even launch grand meeting or what are commonly called nowadays as eyeballs.
Currently, it is estimated that there are thousands of social networking sites that are operating globally. There are social networking sites for almost any type of human interests or activities. For example, online users who want to connect or get in touch with former classmates in primary or secondary school have Classmates.com, which incidentally is also one of the pioneers in these online sites. General meeting of friends are facilitated by Friendster.com, Facebook and MySpace.
It would be interesting to note which social networking sites have the most number of members. Currently, MySpace is leading the line with an unparalleled 200 million users or members worldwide. At far second place is blogging Website Windows Live Species. Trailing further far from the leading two are Classmates.com and Xanga. Other leaders based on traffic and membership volume rankings include Orkut, twitter, Linkedin, Friendster, Facebook, Bebo and Tagged.com.
The most important thing is not to discuss the advent of new media .Our  attempt is to see how new media brings a qualitative change in our thinking, how it brings improvement in individual, social, national level and how it comes with the challenges that we need address.
New media in Bangladesh
The emergence of this new media is not an old phenomenon in Bangladesh. The access of internet at the end of 90s though spread slowly, the resurgence of new media across the country takes a very few years to penetrate in fact. Bangladesh has a government sponsored program for digitalization. It aims to increase people’s access to ICT and bring change in science and technological sector in the country. Though there is slow pace of government in creating situation for digitalization, in public level, at least, it has a domino effect. There is seen an upsurge of paving the way for digitalization. There is a tendency, apparent in very sector, to bring technological changes. People of every age are rushing to orient themselves with technological world. As one starts using internet, there occurs orientation to social sites like facebook, twitter and others. Once you have a facebook profile and has friendship with cutting age people, you can easily get access to them, while, even in recent past, it was inconceivable.
Among many other new media sites, according to facebook statistics, socialbakers, total facebook user are 671 739 520. In Bangladesh, As of April 23 2011, the total facebook users is 1 467 740. In the world, the position of Bangladesh is 59th in terms of facebook use when compared to all countries of the world.
Male people are clearly ahead in using facebook than female ones.74% male use facebook and only 26% female choose to use facebook. Youths aged from 18-24 are highest in using facebook (49%). According one estimate, every one among five Bangladeshi internet users has a facebook account.
One important aspect that that deserves attention is that, majority users of new media, especially facebook, is the youth segments. Bangladesh has a rising youth segment which many believe that has already played a crucial changing role in the last national poll. The concept of digitalization sold by the present government is primarily attracted the young people in Bangladesh. This is a matter of hope that, young people in Bangladesh are getting aware of what happening in the country and coming forward to bring positive changes. Young people foster the zeal and idealism. Their basic characteristic is that, they have a very innocent feeling to change whatever bad is seen in the society. They feel free and willing to do whatever they want and they possess the real power to break the status quo and bring the change. Here comes the issue of present world scenario, where there is seen an upsurge of young people to bring change in their respective society. In this regard, new media has become a catalyst for them.
Youths and New Media in the 21st Century
Throughout the 20th century, the buzzword civil society frequently evaporated across the world where there was movement for establishing a free society. This trend had got a strong basis due to cold war rivalry between communism and capitalism, between USA and USSR. The United States, where needed, applied the idea of promoting civil society in opposition to existing regime. These groups advocated a more open state’s economic, social and political policy and therefore managed to bring communism on the verge of demise. In east Europe, such a trend was much vigorous. In Romania, Poland and Hungary, western backed non-governmental organizations-NGOs who justified their existence as civil society played a biggest role in wiping our communist system from those countries.
So, it is the idea of civil society that initiated and demise of USSR in east Europe and established the idea of western advocated democracy and capitalism. The government of those countries lost their power and became the satellite of foreign countries. It is often claimed that, such idea of civil society was promoted and funded by the west. Thus one can argue that, this idea has been instrumentalized to serve foreign policy interest of some countries while weakening the power of states and destroying the internal cohesion of some developing countries in the name of democratization and liberalization. It is empowering dissident citizens vis-a-vis states.
Many argue that, in the 21st century, the old trend has not changed. Rather, an apparently new but in reality, old idea has been advanced to serve state foreign policy interests. In history, the youth upsurge is seen on and off. It is having old wine in new bottle. There is seen increasing trend to say this rise of youth as new paradigm to bring change in the world. Though the trend is old, it has a paradigmic relevance. The reason is that, the medium of communicating the idea and voices has changed. In the 21st century the emergence of new media can be called a new paradigm which, so to say, complemented the protesting fashion of young people. It is unlike the old idea of civil society where mass medium and telephone communication had been used to convey the message across the countries.
Accordingly, the rise of youths in the Middle East in particular and across the world in general is not a new phenomenon and has a paradigmic implication. Now the idea of any change is focused upon advancing progressive and modernist inputs in the state and changing of regime in particular countries. Regime change is justified in the name of promoting democracy, equality and justice in the society. With that reference, youth upsurge in Middle East has a direct relevance to this new paradigm. Before the first world war, in the time of breakup of gigantic Ottoman Empire, a group of young Turks emerged or  was promoted from outside in the Middle East. This group was seeking reformation in the administration system of the empire. They stood against the absolute monarchy of Ottoman Sultan and protested for constitutional arrangement. They were called progressive, modernist and opposed to the status quo. The movement built a rich tradition of dissent that shaped the intellectual, political and cultural life of the late Ottoman period generally transcendent to the decline and dissolution periods. Many modern Turkish citizens glorify the Young Turks as a group that initiated the process of liberalization in what is now known as modern Turkey.

Youths’ Rise in Middle East and Role of New Media
The youths rose, the ottoman fell. Today the youth rise, an idea of new Middle East is increasing its relevance. Many said that, young Turks were used to destroy the foundation of Ottoman Empire. And also, there is argument that, youths in Middle East are being led from outside. However, the story of this new media based youth upsurge has spontaneous expression which spread within short span of time in entire Middle East. This time you would see a joyous and live spark in the face of the youths there. A single and unique voice resonates across the Middle East. This voice does not stop there, rather it spreads everywhere in the world.
Read this story: ‘‘Mohamed Bouazizi was a 26-year-old Tunisian with no opportunity to go to college.  Like millions of angry and desperate Tunisians, he faced the unpleasant combination of poor employment prospects and food inflation. Moreover, the Tunisian government was seen as corrupt and authoritarian.
He used to sell fruits and vegetables on the street and from door to door. Every day, he would take his wooden cart to the supermarket and load it with fruits and vegetables. Then he would walk it more than two kilometers to the local souk. On December 17, 2011, he was bullied by local police officers. A policewoman confronted him on the way to market. She returned to take his scales from him, but Bouazizi refused to hand them over. They swore at each other, the policewoman slapped him and, with the help of her colleagues, forced him to the ground. The officers took away his produce and his scale. Publically humiliated, Bouazizi tried to seek recourse. He went to the local municipality building and demanded to a meeting with an official, but he was told it would not be possible and that the official was in a meeting. With no official willing to hear his grievances, the young man brought paint fuel, returned to the street outside the building, and set himself on fire. Mohamed’s mother said, her son’s suicide was motivated not by poverty but because he had been humiliated! It got to him deep inside, it hurt his pride’’.
Perhaps, a young man can do this thing easily. Bouazizi in fact at the cost of his life burnt the thrones of oppressive rulers of the Middle East. The fire he put on his body spread to all unjust, luxurious, power seeking greedy rulers in the region. This young man hurt the hearts of other young generation of Tunisia. After his suicide attempt, unrest broke out in Sidi Bouzid. The police cracked down on the protestors, which only fueled the movement. They revolted; the ruler fled the country at last. The story doesn’t stop there. In Egypt, young people got together in Tahrir Square and staged uprising against Mubarak’s 30-year reign and finally became successful in ousting Mubarak and making a revolution. After Tunisia and Egyptian revolution, the story continues in Yemen, Libya, Syria Algeria, Bahrain and so on. Very few know where the end of it is.
But what was the magic chord that led these people to rise? How this upsurge spread so rapidly? However, it is hard to imagine that new media is part of the answer. Facebook and twitter revolution has become a buzzword of the day. The educated youth in Egypt found their voice on Twitter and using it to support a revolution.
However, this twitter revolution in Egypt is not the first of its kind the social media has played a crucial role to protest government in the Middle East. In June 2009, following allegations of fraud in the Iranian presidential election, protesters used Twitter as a rallying tool and method of communication with the outside world after the government blocked several other modes of communication. In Tunisia, a boy, named Ali, spent at least 18 hours a day in front of his computer running a Facebook page that has become one of the primary sources of information on the protests. Ali led SBZ News, a team of 15 cyber savvy activists who have been collecting dispatches, photos, and video from sources throughout the country, posting it on Facebook, and sending updates over Twitter. He expressed his emotion this way: Yes, I’m worried,” he says. “But I’m ready to sacrifice. Not just to get rid of Ben Ali. But also to feel free—and to say what I believe.
“We Are All Khaled Said”
Khaled Said, a small businessman in the historic Egyptian city of Alexandria, was dragged from an Internet café by police and beaten to death in the street. But according to human-rights groups, the attack was retaliation for the decision to post a video of cops divvying up drugs from a bust on his personal blog. The murder clearly struck a nerve. Egyptian activists have waged a longstanding campaign against police brutality and torture, mostly outside the mainstream, and many were surprised by how quickly the news spread among regular folk. Shortly after the murder, a Facebook page appeared under the name “We Are All Khaled Said.” Run by an obsessively anonymous administrator, it started with posts about Said’s case. But the page quickly spiraled into an all-out campaign against police brutality and rights abuses in Egypt—becoming a clearinghouse for information, posting often-graphic photo and video, and publishing the names of allegedly abusive cops. Within days, the page began sounding the call for a large-scale demonstration in Cairo against the Mubarak regime. As of may 2, the 114,181 people liked this page on facebook. A popular uprising that began on 25 January 2011 ended with the fall of Mubarak regime on 11 the February 2011.
Thus a revolutionary upsurge of young people of Middle East with the use of new media changed the socio-economic-political scenario of Middle East. The rulers are changing their attitude and giving more emphasis on social welfare, employment of youths. In the Middle East 63% population are under 29 years old and majority of the youths are unemployed. It is doubtful if there will come fortune for the people of the region. It is sure that, a long lasting change in the Middle East is inevitable.
New Media and Threats for Our Youths:
It is definitely recognizable that, everything has a good side and simultaneously a negative side. With money, some have wine and some milk. There is one argument that, any matter or object or issue exists as it is. It is its users who make it bad or good. More specifically, bad or good depends on its use. New media too, which has become a great choice of the young people of this generation poses some challenges that need to be nationally addressed.
Firstly, usually, social networking sites provide a profile to its users which requires to put important information about the users. Providing information about a person can be a cause of endangering privacy of that person. There is consistent report that, misuse of facebook and twitters is increasing. Fake ID is used for gathering information about different girls and boys.
Secondly, sometimes, people upload obscene and vulgar objects that create uncomfortable situation for others. Misuse is seen in the form of indecent comments, caricature and photographing. There is increasing tendency that, father and son both use facebook and each other is friend. We expect face book to be used as tools of communication and networking of people of healthy minds so that we can make it more social and cultural avenue where people of every class can learn new ideas, views, perspectives, build new relationship, disseminate information. Our collective effort to make our country developed and prosperous based on the use of new media will give better outcome from which we all will be benefited.
However, to prevent misuse of face book banning is not a solution. In the last May 2010 the government of Bangladesh took a decision to ban facebook. In one week, however, it also withdrew its decision. Experts said it an imprudent decision. The apparent reason was portrayal of cartoons of the political leaders of the country. Since the experts in bureaucracy could not solve it in a technical way, the whole site was wiped out. It was similar to cutting the whole tree when problem lies only in one branch. In the present case, the whole head has been cut off because of the disturbance of headache. The decision was an unfortunate and unwelcome one, resented and protested by the IT experts and IT-conscious students of the country. Such kind of decision, in fact, was not at all expected of the government that is committed to establishing a Digital Bangladesh. With the defacing move, the government starkly contradicted itself!
We need to develop mechanism so that we can advertise and popularize the good and practical use of facebook among the youths. With a deep emphasis on improving connection with outside world and developing our knowledge base the government can make campaign to make better use of new media.
New Media and Youths as Catalyst for Change in Bangladesh
In this century there is seen some developments that none could imagine living in the 20th century.  New media is such a one. It neutralizes the time and space barriers. If you have intention, passion and vision, you can do that. New media is catalyst while youths are drivers of the time.
Keeping pace with outside world Bangladeshi youths are also coming forward to respond this emerging trend of new media and youths’ partnership to raise strong voice to oppression, suppression, corruption and all traditional barriers to development. In our childhood, we used to listen the story of young people being scolded and condemned for their negligence to social and national issues. May be, lack of education did not create necessary avenue for youths to respond to social and national issues. However, there is also reverse history. Go back to past, see that youths deserve the credit for our national achievements.
Time has changed. In the national poll, youths played a crucial role in sorting out and wiping out corrupt and inefficient leaders to be elected. They are for any positive change, a change that they see as bringing good, developed and happy Bangladesh. It has been reported that, a staggering 98% of youths in Dhaka University believe that they should be involved in social work. On the other side of the coin, 74% of them are not interested in politics. It indicates that, the day of all illiteracy, underdevelopment, fraud, corruption and mastano-cracy is ending.

The world is changing. There is competition more than ever before in history. It is very unfortunate that, Bangladesh is not that much progressive keeping pace with the outside world. Our problem is our politics and bad politicians. Youths can raise voice against all tyranny, injustice, backwardness, corruption of the ruling class of the country. To protect democracy and strengthen the practice of it, youths from all social strata should engage themselves and work effectively. Young people have a responsibility to prepare them for future Bangladesh and remain firm and resilient against all setbacks in that regard. It is a matter of happiness that, there is a rising portion of people in Bangladesh are youths who can bring a better future for Bangladesh and found the basis of prosperous and developed nation. On the other hand, youths are also target of enemies of the country. If youths are demolished morally, educationally, the nation will be demoralized and weak. In this regard, moral education has no alternative; the pain of absence of which we already started to feel. Therefore, the government and youths themselves have a great need to equip them with moral, social, religious, scientific and day to day world knowledge so that they go in a position to lead the nation efficiently.

Conquering the lands held by Byzantium and Persia
“Khosrow will die and there will be no Khosrow after him. Caesar will die and there will be no Caesar after him, but you will distribute their treasures in the way of Allah.”
Kisra was the word used for the ancient Persian kings, and Qaysar was the designation of the Byzantine emperor. When our Prophet (sws) announced this good news, the Muslims were not in a position, as regards their military strength and economic and political organization, to achieve such a major victory. Besides, at that time, Persia and Byzantium were the region’s strongest states. However, during Umar’s (ca) caliphate, Byzantine was defeated and no other Kisra emerged.
Before the death of Heraclius, the Caesar of the time, in 641, his treasury passed into Muslims’ hands as the Muslim armies began to conquer Byzantium’s major centers during the reigns of the four rightly guided caliphs. For example, under Abu Bakr (ra), Jordan, Palestine, Damascus, Jerusalem, Syria, Egypt, and other lands were taken.
In 1453, the Ottoman sultan Fatih Sultan Mehmet (Mehmed the Conqueror) conquered Constantinople and, following Byzantium’s fall, the title of Qaysar was no longer used. Thus, the Prophet’s (sws) predictions turned out to be true.

Our Prophet’s (sws) announcement of Kisra’s death
Throughout his life, our Prophet (sws) called rulers and administrators to Islam by sending messengers and letters to them. Historical sources tell us that some of them heeded the call immediately and that others refused to do so and allied themselves with his enemies. Our Prophet (sws) invited Perviz ibn Hurmuz, the kisra at that time, by sending Abdullah ibn Hudhayfah to him as a messenger. But Ibn Hurmuz refused to embrace Islam and, in fact, displayed hostility toward the Muslims. He even went so far as to send two messengers to tell the Muslims to submit to him.
Our Prophet (sws) first invited these two messengers to accept Islam. Then he left them, saying that he would inform them of his decision the next day.  At that time, he told the messengers what Allah had revealed to him: “Allah will send many tribulations to Khosrow by means of his son Shireveyh, who will kill him in such-and-such a month, on such-and-such a night, at such-and-such an hour.”  He also told them: “Tell Khosrow that my religion and my empire will reach far beyond his kingdom. And tell him: “Enter Islam, and I will confirm you in what you have and appoint you king over the people of Yemen.”
The ambassadors then returned to Yemen and described what had happened. Badhan was impressed and said: “We will see what happens next. If what he said is true, then he is the Prophet whom Allah has sent.”  He then turned to his men and asked what they thought of our Prophet (sws). The ambassadors, who had been greatly impressed by him, said: “We never saw a ruler more majestic, more fearless, and less guarded than him. He walked humbly among the people.”
Badhan waited for a while to see if our Prophet’s (sws) words about the kisra had come true. After some time had passed, he announced that he was certain that our Prophet (sws) had been sent by Allah. According to the hadiths and other historical documents, shortly Badhan received a letter written by Shivereyh: “I killed Khosrow. When this letter reaches you, take the people’s oath of allegiance in my name. Regarding what Khosrow wrote to you, wait and do nothing until there is a new command from me.”
When Badhan and his men worked it out, they realized that the Prophet (sws) had told the truth. He believed after this great miracle and accepted Islam. He was followed by the Yemeni Abna. Badhan became the first governor appointed by the Prophet (sws) and the first Persian governor to be a Muslim.

(This is a syndicated article)

[Steve Jobs is a name of an American technological icon of this century. His IT innovations made life of the people of this planet much easier. This man with no formal college education has left his mark on no less than five industries: personal computers with Apple II and Macintosh, music with iPod and iTunes, phone with iPhone, and animation with Pixar. Steve Jobs once said that, “Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower.” Many say that, for his unique innovative capacity, he will be remembered throughout millennium.
Perspective brings its readers a great and wonderful commencement speech delivered by this great man to the Stanford University Graduates in 2005. We believe that, knowing about great minds of this world will open the door of new great minds to be born!]

Transcript of Commencement Speech
I am honored to be with you today at your commencement from one of the finest universities in the world. I never graduated from college. Truth be told, this is the closest I’ve ever gotten to a college graduation. Today I want to tell you three stories from my life. That’s it. No big deal. Just three stories.
The first story is about connecting the dots.
I dropped out of Reed College after the first 6 months, but then stayed around as a drop-in for another 18 months or so before I really quit. So why did I drop out?
It started before I was born. My biological mother was a young, unwed college graduate student, and she decided to put me up for adoption. She felt very strongly that I should be adopted by college graduates, so everything was all set for me to be adopted at birth by a lawyer and his wife. Except that when I popped out they decided at the last minute that they really wanted a girl. So my parents, who were on a waiting list, got a call in the middle of the night asking: “We have an unexpected baby boy; do you want him?” They said: “Of course.” My biological mother later found out that my mother had never graduated from college and that my father had never graduated from high school. She refused to sign the final adoption papers. She only relented a few months later when my parents promised that I would someday go to college.
And 17 years later I did go to college. But I naively chose a college that was almost as expensive as Stanford, and all of my working-class parents’ savings were being spent on my college tuition. After six months, I couldn’t see the value in it. I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life and no idea how college was going to help me figure it out. And here I was spending all of the money my parents had saved their entire life. So I decided to drop out and trust that it would all work out OK. It was pretty scary at the time, but looking back it was one of the best decisions I ever made. The minute I dropped out I could stop taking the required classes that didn’t interest me, and begin dropping in on the ones that looked interesting.
It wasn’t all romantic. I didn’t have a dorm room, so I slept on the floor in friends’ rooms, I returned coke bottles for the 5c deposits to buy food with, and I would walk the 7 miles across town every Sunday night to get one good meal a week at the Hare Krishna temple. I loved it. And much of what I stumbled into by following my curiosity and intuition turned out to be priceless later on. Let me give you one example:
Reed College at that time offered perhaps the best calligraphy instruction in the country. Throughout the campus every poster, every label on every drawer, was beautifully hand calligraphed. Because I had dropped out and didn’t have to take the normal classes, I decided to take a calligraphy class to learn how to do this. I learned about serif and san serif typefaces, about varying the amount of space between different letter combinations, about what makes great typography great. It was beautiful, historical, artistically subtle in a way that science can’t capture, and I found it fascinating.
None of this had even a hope of any practical application in my life. But ten years later, when we were designing the first Macintosh computer, it all came back to me. And we designed it all into the Mac. It was the first computer with beautiful typography. If I had never dropped in on that single course in college, the Mac would have never had multiple typefaces or proportionally spaced fonts. And since Windows just copied the Mac, it’s likely that no personal computer would have them. If I had never dropped out, I would have never dropped in on this calligraphy class, and personal computers might not have the wonderful typography that they do. Of course it was impossible to connect the dots looking forward when I was in college. But it was very, very clear looking backwards ten years later.
Again, you can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something — your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life.

My second story is about love and loss.
I was lucky — I found what I loved to do early in life. Woz and I started Apple in my parents garage when I was 20. We worked hard, and in 10 years Apple had grown from just the two of us in a garage into a $2 billion company with over 4000 employees. We had just released our finest creation — the Macintosh — a year earlier, and I had just turned 30. And then I got fired. How can you get fired from a company you started? Well, as Apple grew we hired someone who I thought was very talented to run the company with me, and for the first year or so things went well. But then our visions of the future began to diverge and eventually we had a falling out. When we did, our Board of Directors sided with him. So at 30 I was out. And very publicly out. What had been the focus of my entire adult life was gone, and it was devastating.
I really didn’t know what to do for a few months. I felt that I had let the previous generation of entrepreneurs down – that I had dropped the baton as it was being passed to me. I met with David Packard and Bob Noyce and tried to apologize for screwing up so badly. I was a very public failure, and I even thought about running away from the valley. But something slowly began to dawn on me — I still loved what I did. The turn of events at Apple had not changed that one bit. I had been rejected, but I was still in love. And so I decided to start over.
I didn’t see it then, but it turned out that getting fired from Apple was the best thing that could have ever happened to me. The heaviness of being successful was replaced by the lightness of being a beginner again, less sure about everything. It freed me to enter one of the most creative periods of my life.
During the next five years, I started a company named NeXT, another company named Pixar, and fell in love with an amazing woman who would become my wife. Pixar went on to create the world’s first computer animated feature film, Toy Story, and is now the most successful animation studio in the world. In a remarkable turn of events, Apple bought NeXT, I returned to Apple, and the technology we developed at NeXT is at the heart of Apple’s current renaissance. And Laurene and I have a wonderful family together.I’m pretty sure none of this would have happened if I hadn’t been fired from Apple. It was awful tasting medicine, but I guess the patient needed it. Sometimes life hits you in the head with a brick. Don’t lose faith. I’m convinced that the only thing that kept me going was that I loved what I did. You’ve got to find what you love. And that is as true for your work as it is for your lovers. Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on. So keep looking until you find it. Don’t settle.

My third story is about death.
When I was 17, I read a quote that went something like: “If you live each day as if it was your last, someday you’ll most certainly be right.” It made an impression on me, and since then, for the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: “If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?” And whenever the answer has been “No” for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something.
Remembering that I’ll be dead soon is the most important tool I’ve ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything — all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure – these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.
About a year ago I was diagnosed with cancer. I had a scan at 7:30 in the morning, and it clearly showed a tumor on my pancreas. I didn’t even know what a pancreas was. The doctors told me this was almost certainly a type of cancer that is incurable, and that I should expect to live no longer than three to six months. My doctor advised me to go home and get my affairs in order, which is doctor’s code for prepare to die. It means to try to tell your kids everything you thought you’d have the next 10 years to tell them in just a few months. It means to make sure everything is buttoned up so that it will be as easy as possible for your family. It means to say your goodbyes.
I lived with that diagnosis all day. Later that evening I had a biopsy, where they stuck an endoscope down my throat, through my stomach and into my intestines, put a needle into my pancreas and got a few cells from the tumor. I was sedated, but my wife, who was there, told me that when they viewed the cells under a microscope the doctors started crying because it turned out to be a very rare form of pancreatic cancer that is curable with surgery. I had the surgery and I’m fine now.
This was the closest I’ve been to facing death, and I hope it’s the closest I get for a few more decades. Having lived through it, I can now say this to you with a bit more certainty than when death was a useful but purely intellectual concept:
No one wants to die. Even people who want to go to heaven don’t want to die to get there. And yet death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it. And that is as it should be, because Death is very likely the single best invention of Life. It is Life’s change agent. It clears out the old to make way for the new. Right now the new is you, but someday not too long from now, you will gradually become the old and be cleared away. Sorry to be so dramatic, but it is quite true.
Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.
When I was young, there was an amazing publication called The Whole Earth Catalog, which was one of the bibles of my generation. It was created by a fellow named Stewart Brand not far from here in Menlo Park, and he brought it to life with his poetic touch. This was in the late 1960′s, before personal computers and desktop publishing, so it was all made with typewriters, scissors, and polaroid cameras. It was sort of like Google in paperback form, 35 years before Google came along: it was idealistic, and overflowing with neat tools and great notions.
Stewart and his team put out several issues of The Whole Earth Catalog, and then when it had run its course, they put out a final issue. It was the mid-1970s, and I was your age. On the back cover of their final issue was a photograph of an early morning country road, the kind you might find yourself hitchhiking on if you were so adventurous. Beneath it were the words: “Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish.” It was their farewell message as they signed off. Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish. And I have always wished that for myself. And now, as you graduate to begin anew, I wish that for you.
Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish.
Thank you all very much.

(Source: http://news.stanford.edu/)

In our childhood we were often scolded by our elderly to respect the gifted and venerated people in our society. In our textbook, we read that, where there is no respect for the genius and gifted people, there is no reason to believe the genius to be born. Time has changed. So did our society. Now the past values that were taught in the school are no more relevant. There is a debate that we Bangladeshis are homo-culturicus or homo-politicus. Beyond that debate, it can be argued that, we have become outright homo-politicus. We do politics in everything, from home to Rome. Doctor Yunus is our national pride, a man who brought honor to our nation. There is considerable debate regarding the way his founded Grameen Bank operates and conducts loans to the poor. Here the issue of probity of the bank is irrelevant. The issue is Doctor Yunus. What happened to him might be surely what many said ‘a personal vendetta’.

Our nation has a long glorious past history to have pride, there is no doubt. But everything we achieved as a nation is all about us, not others. Doctor Yunus, for the first time, has brought global recognition for Bangladesh that ‘it can do’. We gave to the world new idea in an age where great ideas matter. In this competitive world, nations are counted based on their performance to the world. Doctor Yunus did that. But we politicized his achievements, did a great injustice to him.

Attorney General Mahbubey Alam showed excuse as cause to the government decision and opposed the writ petition by Doctor Yunus, saying that Grameen Bank was established as per Grameen Bank Ordinance 1983, and according to its Section-36, the retirement age of its officials is 60. This provision is applicable to Muhammad Yunus as well, he argued. The attorney general said Yunus is now 70 years old, and as per section 36 of Grameen Bank Ordinance 1983, he cannot hold this office. The president of Bangladesh is 82 years old. He is the president of Bangladesh while Yunus is only the managing director of Grameen bank.

There is a saying that, the reasons behind such treatment to Yunus s traces back to 1/11 when Yunus earnestly supported ‘minus two formula’. Many observers say Yunus attracted the ire of Awami League and other political parties when he made a failed attempt to float a political party during the military-backed caretaker government, at a time when political leaders were being arrested wholesale and put in jail. Many think Awami League still holds Yunus as a potential political rival. The Bangladesh government denied claims of a political vendetta, but what is beyond doubt is the ferocity, and at times personal nature of the attacks.

In her statements which set the ball rolling against Yunus, Hasina said, “I think there must be an extensive probe into the matter, to find out if there was any unauthorized fund transfer by him [Yunus]. She said it is time to know what has been going on in the name of poverty alleviation, and improving the fate of the poor. “What happened in the Grameen Bank was just a trick, and this was done to evade tax, nothing else. Bangladesh sometimes sets examples in different fields. You can think of this also as an example. Nobody can hide the truth for long; truth will definitely come out,” Hasina went on. She said microfinanciers nurse poverty to make quick money, which is a bad luck of the poor people. She said the government has a 25 percent stake in Grameen, but it seems that this bank is solely owned by one person.

Whatever might have been the reasons for the castigation of the father of microcredit, it is for sure that Bangladesh’s image abroad will be deeply dented through this action of disgraceful removal of Yunus. After all, Yunus not only brought a Nobel Prize for Bangladesh, but also received almost all the most known prestigious recognitions, including the US Presidential Medal of Freedom, the King Abdul Aziz Medal, and the Ramon Magsaysay Award. And he was given the rare honor of delivering a lecture at the joint meeting of the members of Lok Sabha, and Rajya Sabha in the Indian parliament in 2009. The House of Representatives of the US government unanimously passed a bill in 2010 to award Yunus the Congressional Gold Medal. Several universities around the world set up microfinance departments, and Yunus Centres.

Keeping tune with prime minister’s position, her party men also started public debate across the country and even beyond. Public has been made flabbergasted by a letter written by the prime minister’s son, Shajib Wajed Joy, not so much because of the letter per se whose tone does little credit to the writer and even less to the government he represents, but because the substance of the letter, written by someone claiming to be an advisor to the PM and reflecting the government’s position, grossly contradicts the position of the government on Grameen and Yunus. For example, the finance minister’s statement on the issue made to the diplomats last week that eulogized the role of GB and the leadership Prof. Yunus. Which of the two statements should we take to be the government’s position? Even attorney general of the country dared to say publicly that, Yunus did not deserve Nobel Prize. Nobel Prize should go to Prime minister Sheikh Hasina and Shantu Larma for their contribution in peace building in Chittagong Hill Tracks. Any conscientious man will understand that, such cheap comments can be only made as part of political flattery and therefore opportunity.

One thing we have to keep in mind that, Yunus is no longer a mere Bangladeshi personality. He is a Nobel laureate with whom the western countries including the United States have a prestige issue. Once he is blamed and underestimated, the entire Nobel Prize and western appreciation will be under question. His concept has been welcome and appreciated by the west. In Washington, Sen. John Kerry, Massachusetts Democrat, who is chairman of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, expressed concern over efforts to remove Mr. Yunus and said the international community would watch the situation closely. He said that he hoped both sides could reach a compromise that maintains Grameen Bank’s autonomy and that Mr. Yunus‘ “lifelong work to reduce poverty and empower women through microloans has deservedly received worldwide attention and respect.”

But the way the government tried to disgrace Yunus, stunned many — both at home and abroad. The international community soon rallied behind the man who many consider as the capitalists’ new hero. Former Irish president Mary Robinson who launched a platform, Friends of Grameen, said there is a campaign of politically orchestrated attacks on the Nobel laureate. The US and UK governments also made it clear to the Bangladesh government that they do not want to see the Nobel Peace Prize winner disgraced.

According to reports in the Bangladeshi press, the issue of the government’s treatment of Mr Yunus has led America to threaten to suspend all high-level diplomatic contact. Robert Blake, the visiting U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs, on March 22 cautioned that if the Yunus issue remains unresolved, it will impact bilateral relations between Bangladesh and the United States. Responding to questions whether the U.S. position on Yunus was tantamount to interference in the internal affairs of Bangladesh, Blake said Yunus was a recipient of the American Presidential Medal of Freedom and a Congressional Gold Medal, and is widely respected in the United States, with a positive reputation among many congressmen, members of the Bangladesh Congressional Caucus, President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Earlier, six influential U.S. lawmakers — Sens. Richard Durbin, Sherrod Brown, Michael Bennet, John Boozman, Michael Enzi and Rep. Rush Holt–sent a letter on March 21 asking Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to treat the Nobel laureate with dignity and respect.

In a concurring statement, Rep. Thaddeus G. McCotter said they “are troubled by what appears to have been a months-long effort on the part of the Bangladeshi government to discredit Professor Yunus and remove him as Managing Director while increasing government influence at Grameen Bank.” McCotter warned that this crisis “would severely and adversely affect the cordial relations between Bangladesh and the United States.” The “Friends of Grameen,” an international group whose founder members also include former Irish president Mary Robinson, and former Costa Rica president Óscar Arias, also a Nobel peace prize winner, believe that the “continued attacks against the Grameen Bank and Yunus have been carried out for political reasons.

The government should understand the diplomatic language of foreign officials and diplomats. Traditional blame of interference in internal affairs is no longer a valid argument as government and political parties of Bangladesh frequently go to the foreign embassies to convince them for political manipulation. Besides, in any national disaster, the government goes to the foreign donors for assistance. So, it is not unreasonable that they have a stake in what we do within ourselves that affect the policies of donor countries. It is very much appreciable if government takes initiative to make a rapprochement with Doctor Yunus and reach a mutually agreed solution other than showing obstinacy on what had already been done.

]]> http://www.perspectivebd.com/doctor-yunus-issue-a-political-blunder/feed/ 0 http://www.perspectivebd.com/operation-odyssey-dawn-another-imperial-outstretch/ http://www.perspectivebd.com/operation-odyssey-dawn-another-imperial-outstretch/#comments Mon, 18 Apr 2011 13:27:13 +0000 admin http://www.perspectivebd.com/?p=302 M Rahman

Military action in Libya follows weeks of intensive, international diplomatic pressure on Gadhafi to cease the violence and pull back from rebel-held cities. On 19 March 2011 a multi-state coalition began a military intervention in Libya to implement United Nations Security Council Resolution 1973, which was taken in response to events during the 2011 Libyan uprising. The first major attack of “Odyssey Dawn” came as 112 Tomahawk cruise missiles struck surface-to-air missiles, early warning sites, and key communication modes. It’s the first step in enforcing a no-fly zone. The official names for the interventions by the coalition members are Operation Odyssey Dawn for the United States, Opération Harmattan by France; Operation Ellamy by the United Kingdom; and Operation Mobile for the Canadian participation. As many as 25 U.S., Canadian and Italian vessels, including the USS Mount Whitney command vessel, led the attack. U.S. forces launched Tomahawk cruise missiles and deployed equipment to jam Libyan radar and radios while aircraft from the U.K. and France were in the air over Libya. Targets included four Libyan airfields near Tripoli and air-defense sites in the east.

The UN Security Council voted on March 17 to ground Qaddafi’s air force and to grant military authority to the U.S. and its allies to protect civilians and population centers threatened by his forces. The Security Council approved Resolution 1973 (2011), allowing for a no-fly zone, amongst other measures, by a vote of ten in favor, zero against, and five abstentions. Resolution 1973 bans all flights in Libyan airspace in order to protect civilians and authorizes member states to take all necessary measures to protect civilians and civilian populated areas under threat of attack in the Libyan Arab Jamhariya, including Benghazi, while excluding an occupation force. The initial idea of no-fly zone was proposed by UK Prime Minister David Cameron aiming to prevent Gaddafi from airlifting mercenaries and using his military aeroplanes and armoured helicopters against civilians. Italy supported the idea of a no-fly zone if it was backed by the UN. Though US has been skeptical of this option, warning the US Congress that a no-fly zone would have to begin with an attack on Libya’s air defenses, however it has changed its position and joined the initial supporters of the UN no-fly resolution, Britain, France and Lebanon, to urge for a stronger resolution even. This proposal was rejected by Russia and China. EU delegated its position by asking NATO to take possible actions. Accordingly, NATO decided to step up surveillance missions to twenty-four hours a day. Besides, the foreign ministers of the Arab League also agreed to ask the United Nations to impose a no-fly zone over Libya. That brought a joint NATO/Arab-enforced fly-zone closer to establishment.

Since the beginning of the intervention, the initial coalition of Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Italy, Norway, Qatar, Spain, UK and US has expanded to 16 states, with newer states mostly enforcing the no-fly zone and naval blockade. The effort was initially largely led by France and the United Kingdom, with command shared with the United States. NATO took control of the arms embargo on 23 March, named Operation Unified Protector. An attempt to unify the military command of the air campaign first failed over objections by the French, German, and Turkish governments. Therefore, NATO agreed to take control of the no-fly zone, while command of targeting ground units remains with coalition forces. Allied forces include US firing guided missiles from USS Barry and USS Stout, providing amphibious warships, and command-and-control ship USS Mount Whitney; France carrying out mission with at least 12 warplanes including Mirage fighters and Rafale jets; deploying aircraft carrier, warships; UK providing Typhoon and Tornado jet fighters, surveillance planes, HMS Westminster and HMS Cumberland, submarines; Italy supporting Nato base at Naples understood to be central hub; other Mediterranean bases made available and Canada providing six F-18 fighter jets and 140 personnel.

Leaders of the coalition countries were quick to speak about the decision to attack Libyan targets. “What we are doing in necessary, it is legal, and it is right,” said British Prime Minister David Cameron. “I am deeply aware of the risks of any military action, no matter what limits we place on it,” President Obama said from Brazil, the first stop in his Latin America trip. “But we cannot stand idly by when a tyrant tells his people that there will be no mercy, and his forces step up their assaults on cities like Benghazi and Misurata, where innocent men and women face brutality and death at the hands of their own government,” he said. President Obama stated that the U.S. and its allies launched strikes on Libya to keep Muammar Gaddafi from continuing his attacks on civilians in defiance of international demands. He stressed that ‘the way that the U.S. took leadership and managed this process ensures international legitimacy, and ensures that our partners, members of the international coalition, are bearing the burden of following through on the mission’. Therefore, while any “Obama doctrine” regarding the use of US military force has yet to be declared, one seems to be emerging. Obama’s actions in this case have been deliberate, indicating a clear hesitance to be out front in yet another war in a Muslim country.  He seemed to be listening closely to Defense Secretary Robert Gates and uniformed military leaders warning of what they saw as great difficulties in implementing a no-fly zone in Libya. Only when some Arab nations, plus major European powers, were ready to take on Muammar Qaddafi militarily did Obama indicate the same.

American, European, Canadian, and Arab leaders met in Paris to discuss the details of their operation to protect civilians from attacks by Gaddafi’s forces. Following the meeting in Paris, Obama took part in a secure conference call from Brasilia that included Defense Secretary Robert Gates, Clinton and Admiral Michael Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, to discuss the outcome of the Paris meeting, according to Ben Rhodes, the president’s deputy national security adviser. In his statement, Obama reiterated that no U.S. ground forces would be used in Libya and said that U.S. was engaged in “limited” military action to support an international effort in which other nations will take a leading role.

Col Gaddafi, on other side, has vowed retaliation and said he would open arms depots to the people to defend Libya. Cruise missiles hit air-defence sites in the capital, Tripoli, and Misrata. Libyan state TV said 48 people had been killed and 150 wounded in the attacks. “Civilian and military targets in the air and sea will be liable to serious danger in the Mediterranean,” he said. “Arms depots are now open and the masses are being equipped with all sorts of weapons in defence of Libya’s independence, unity and honour,” the Libyan leader warned. He called the attacks “a colonialist crusade of aggression. This can lead to open a new crusade war.”

As was the case in Tunisia and Egypt, the Americans and Europeans can only look on helplessly while the situation drifts out of control. They had hoped to arrive at a deal with Gaddafi, opening up this oil rich nation to foreign investors. Libya has the largest proven oil reserves in Africa, though it accounts for less than 2 percent of global production, according to Bloomberg estimates. Crude oil for April delivery slipped 9 cents to $101.07 a barrel this week on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Futures are up about 23 percent from a year ago, partly on concern that the turmoil that has spread across the Middle East and North Africa will engulf major oil-producing states.

Some people, on the Left, claim that Gaddafi is a “socialist” or an “anti-imperialist” of some sort. As a matter of fact, Gaddafi has abandoned any pretence at fighting imperialism, made deals with the US, the UK and other imperialist powers and opened up the country to the oil multinationals. The rapprochement between Libya and imperialism was stepped up in 2003-4, starting with the recognition of responsibility for the Lockerbie bombing. The British released the Libyan man accused of the bombing, to the outrage of the Americans, but the British got lucrative deals with Tripoli. As the Romans used to say, money does not smell. Reactionary politicians like Tony Blair and Berlusconi wooed Gaddafi. For his part the “anti-imperialist” Gaddafi carried out privatizations and encouraged foreign companies to open up shops in Benghazi and Tripoli. As recently as last November ‘The Economist’ published a glowing report about Libya, which it compared with Dubai. Now all these dreams are in ruins.

It was precisely these policies which destroyed the elements of a welfare state which existed previously, created a massive gulf between the obscene wealth of the Gaddafi clique and the poverty of the masses and mass unemployment developed. Any progressive features the regime might have had in the past were eliminated. This is the root cause of the present uprising. Big foreign oil companies like BP and Repsol have had to suspend operations in Libya. Half of Libya’s oil production has been shut down. The consequences for the world economy may be dramatic. Oil prices are already soaring. Benchmark Brent futures have reached $110 a barrel. The unrest in the Arab world may yet be the undoing of the weak economic recovery, adding a further twist to the global crisis of capitalism.

However, international reaction including the responses from governments have generally been split between strong opposition, both from allies of longtime Libyan leader Muammar al-Gaddafi and from governments that generally oppose international military action; conditional support; and strong support, mostly from Western nations and established critics of Gaddafi.