The Centre for Monitoring Election Violence (CMEV) yesterday said the organization did not support the proposed amendments to the 18th amendment of the constitution stating that the electoral process would be severely affected.
CMEV National Coordinator, D. M. Dissanayake said that if the appointment of the heads of the seven commissions is done by the President through the 18th amendment the independence of the commissions may be lost. “It is vital to have an independent Election Commission in order to ensure that there will be free and fair elections. If we don’t have one then there is no certainty that elections will be held properly,” he said. Read more »
Her Excellency Sheikh Hasina,
Hon. Prime Minister
Prime Minister’s Office
Old Sangsad Bhaban
Tejgaon, Dhaka-1215
The People’s Republic of Bangladesh
27th August 2010
Madam,
SAHR appeals to Release the Garment Leaders
Ms. Kalpona Akter and Mr. Babul Ahkter
South Asians for Human Rights (SAHR) would like to urge the Government for a proper investigation to the cases filed on the charges that Ms. Kalpona Akter and Mr. Babul Ahkter provoked the street protests that occurred in early August,2010.
On 14 August Ms. Kalpona Akter and Mr. Babul Ahkter, the leaders of the Bangladesh Center for Worker Solidarity (BCWS), were arrested at 2:00 am by twenty armed policemen. BCWS is a prominent organisation working on worker rights. It conducts worker rights training and legal and public advocacy to improve labour practices. Kalpona Akter, the Executive Director, is a former child labourer herself. Babul Ahkter is the Executive Director of the Bangladesh Garments and Industrial Workers Federation. The leaders were arrested on unsubstantiated charges of fomenting worker unrest. At 20 cents per hour, Bangladesh has by far the lowest wages of any major apparel producing country. Also, more arrest warrants have been issued against hundreds of workers and several labour rights leaders in the recent past. Read more »
We the members of social movements, civil society organizations, labour unions, peasant movements, other working people’s organizations and women’s groups have gathered here in Delhi from 20th April to 23rd April, 2010 as part of the process of Peoples SAARC to forge a vision for a People’s Union of South Asia. This year’s Peoples’ SAARC is a culmination of a process of more than a decade. It reaffirms the South Asian Peoples commitment to creating a better South Asia free from all forms of discrimination, exclusion and domination. It also calls for the peoples of all SAARC countries to struggle against militarism and jingoism. It calls for equal respect among all countries irrespective of size, and power.
All our countries are suffering the economic travails of neo-liberal economic policies. Poverty and exclusion have increased and the already marginalized , particularly women and the girl child have suffered more. It is time that we develop new paradigms of peaceful equitable, and sustainable paths of development that truly reflect the economic potential of our countries and meet the need of our peoples. SAARC countries must ensure the rights of all workers, especially women and Dalit workers in accordance with international standards including ILO conventions, international covenants and national constitutions .Fisher peoples’ rights to fish in territorial waters be recognized and legally protected through proper mechanisms. Innocent fisherfolk incarcerated for wandering into neighbouring, sometimes disputed, territorial waters be immediately released and the presence of deep sea trawlers and foreign vessels should be banned as these are depleting fish stock and pursuing an unsustainable path apart from severely diminishing the catch of the ordinary fisherfolk. Read more »
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