The week in Bangladesh began dramatically when a fire broke out on the seventeenth floor of Dhaka's Bashundhara City complex on Friday afternoon, killing seven and injuring fifty. The complex itself was severely damaged, with the top six floors completely gutted by the fire. Bashundhara City, which opened its doors in 2004, cost over $100 million when it was built and daily attracts over 25,000 shoppers. The devastation of this Dhaka landmark, which is the largest of its kind in Bangladesh and the twelfth largest in the world, has brought fire safety in Dhaka under fresh scrutiny.
The Dhaka fire brigade proved woefully under equipped for the task of fighting the blaze, and one fireman was killed in the eight hour battle to bring it under control. A key problem was that the fire brigade's aerial ladder could only reach the thirteenth floor of the twenty-one-storey building. The fire fighters also proved unable to control the crowds that quickly swelled around the building to view the ongoing drama. In the end, the army had to be called in to restore order to the streets and facilitate the rescue effort.
It was not just the fire brigade that proved ill-prepared however. Other failings that have become apparent in the wake of the blaze include those of the building's own defences. The lack of water in the building's reservoir rendered the internal system of hydrants utterly useless. The general failure of fire-fighting equipment within the complex also points to the lack of regular fire drills.
In response to the disaster, a three-person committee was established to investigate its causes. Chaired by joint secretary (police) of the Home Ministry Abdul Hanif, the committee had identified by Thursday the precise point of origin but the fire's cause has still not been disclosed. There is speculation that an electrical fault was to blame. The committee is due to present its report on Saturday.
"Militants" behind Bangladesh Rifles mutiny
Speculation continued this week regarding the forces behind the bloody mutiny of the Bangladesh Rifles that broke out on 25 February. Commerce Minister Lt Col (retd) Faruk Khan told reporters at a seminar held at the Bangladesh Institute of Engineering that "militants" were responsible for the carnage which left at least 74 people dead. Aside from referring to "extremists", the minister, who is leading the inquiry into the incident, did not elucidate further.
In an additional move, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has instructed Bangladesh's intelligence services to be vigilant against the threat posed by militant groups. Speaking at a regular cabinet meeting, the prime minister directed Bangladesh's five intelligence agencies to act with greater synergy in countering threats to the country. Citing the lack of interagency co-operation as a major cause of intelligence failures surrounding such events as the multiple bomb attacks that struck the country on 17 August last year, Sheikh Hasina urged law enforcement agencies to be on guard against the threat posed by "militant outfits" and for citizens to co-operate fully with police to this end.
These militants are understood to include Islamists sympathetic to the hardline religious party Jamaat-i-Islami, perpetrators of war crimes during the 1971 Liberation War, and other elements hostile to the goals of Sheikh Hasina's Awami League Grand Alliance which swept to power last December. Speculation in some quarters goes as far to suggest that these extremists groups may have ties to Pakistan's secretive intelligence agency, the ISI.
Ex-prime minister's son faces indictment
On Tuesday, the son of former prime minister and current head of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) Begum Khaleda Zia was indicted by the Independent Anti-Corruption Commission (IACC) on money-laundering charges. Arafat "Koko" Rahman is accused of receiving bribes amounting to millions of dollars from AG Siemens and China Harbour Engineering Company.
The bribes are primarily associated with the China Harbour project to construct a new terminal at Chittagong port. This indictment follows a legal action filed by the US Department of Justice seeking forfeiture of three million dollars in connection with the same alleged conspiracy. The bribes, paid in US dollars, were moved through US financial institutions before finally being deposited in the Singaporean accounts.
Foreign Minister intervenes in Malaysian visa row
On Wednesday, Foreign Minister Dipu Moni said that that she will urge the Malaysian government to reinstate the right to work of 55,000 Bangladeshi expatriate workers. Citing economic hardships inflicted by the global financial crisis, the Malaysian government cancelled the workers' visas on 10 March, deciding also to bar Bangladeshi workers from entering the country after that date. The Foreign Minister is due to visit Malaysia on 26 March.
There are currently still 348 Bangladeshis stranded at Kuala Lumpar International Airport. Having arrived in Malaysia on 8 and 9 March, the workers were either forbidden from entering the country by Malaysian immigration or were simply not picked up by their employers. Malaysia employs over 450,000 Bangladeshi expatriates, with only Saudi Arabia hosting a higher number. Remittances from expatriate workers play a vital role in the Bangladeshi economy, amounting to $8 billion in 2008.