On Sunday, speaking at a conference on South Asian connectivity, the Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh hit backat critics of India's ongoing hydroelectric project at Tipaimukh. Saying that there was no international law which could stop the controversial dam project, Pinak Ranjan Chakravarty criticised "so called water experts" who were "attempting to poison the minds of the friendly people of Bangladesh towards India." The Tipaimukh dam is currently under construction on the Barak river in India's north eastern state of Manipur.
The meeting was attended by Bangladesh's Foreign Minister, Dipu Moni. The Indian High Commissioner went on to note that, because the Bangladesh-India Joint Rivers Commission had recognised the existence of a storage dam on the river Barak at meetings held in 1972 and 1978, the idea that India had not consulted Bangladesh about Tipaimukh was "a really thorough lie and totally false."
The US Ambassador James F. Moriarty has urgedBangladesh to engage India in a constructive dialogue to resolve the dispute over the dam. Speaking at a meeting on US President Obama's South Asian policy, he also ruled out the possibility of the United States acting as a mediator in such a process. Environmentalists in Bangladesh fearthat the Tipaimukh project could have a catastrophic effect on the country. The Barak provides 7 to 8 percent of all of Bangladesh's water. It flows from Manipur into the Greater Sylhet region in Bangladesh's Northeast, where it feeds a number of other rivers, including the Meghna, which is the largest river in the country. It is argued that, at the very least, the Tipaimukh dam will lead to the drying up of water bodies in Sylhet that millions of people rely upon for their livelihoods. At worst, it could lead to the death of all common rivers in Bangladesh's northeast, including the Surma and the Kushiara. The long term environmental and climactic effect can only be guessed at.
War Trials process gains momentum as 119 cases filed
On Wednesday, Bangladesh law minister Shafique Ahmed announcedto Parliament that 119 cases had been filed against alleged war criminals. Seventy people had been arrested in connection with these cases, of which 57 have been granted bail, with the rest currently being held in prison. The most high-profile target is Matiur Rahman Nizami, who is currently Amir (chief) of Jamaat-i-Islami, a prominent opposition party and the only religious party to hold seats in Parliament.
On Thursday, US Ambassador to Bangladesh James F. Moriarty commented on the trials, saying that they should not be politicised and should be carried out according to international standards. Although Bangladesh has sought the aid of the UN's top experts in designing the trials, the extent to which they avoid becoming politicised is unclear, with both Jamaat-i-Islami and key members of the main opposition BNP vociferous in its opposition to holding them.
The trials will theoretically hold to account those Bangladeshis who collaborated with the West Pakistani armed forces in the 1971 Liberation War that gave birth to Bangladesh. Although casualty figures are subject to controversy, it is not disputed that hundreds of thousands of Bengali civilians died in the war and that, in prosecuting "Operation Searchlight," the West Pakistanis perpetrated acts of rape, murder and other war crimes and were assisted in these acts by Bengalis. At the time of the 1971 war, Jamaat took the stance that unification with West Pakistan should be preserved, in opposition to the Awami League's Bengali Nationalist platform.
BNP still in chaos as factionalism disrupts Barishal convening committee
In Barishal, the newly formed local convening committee of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) was prevented from holding its first meeting as clashes with a rival BNP faction led to violence. The meeting was due to be held at the house of the committee's convenor, Mahmud Golam Salek but a rival group, led by former city BNP general secretary Asaduzzaman Khasru, arrived at the meeting unannounced and assaulted the participants. Salek thus cancelled the meeting.
This incident comes just weeks after 20 BNP activists were injuredas violence broke out between two competing factions outside the BNP district office in Pabna. One of the activists injured was Major (ret'd) KS Mahmud, joint convenor of the new Pabna convening committee. Major Mahmud was hospitalised following the violence.
The catalyst for the violence was the decision by the BNP to dissolve71 of its 75 district level committees and to convene new committees. This was largely in response to grass roots pressure following the crushing defeat suffered by the party in the national elections held in December 2008.
The process began with interviews conducted with grassroots leaders which were then submitted to BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia. Having gone over reports for two weeks, the party's Central Committee made the decision that only root and branch reform could rescue its electoral fortunes. But the recent chaos resulting from these moves makes it clear that this will not necessarily be an easy process.