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Chinese envoy: Will expedite Rohingya repatriation efforts through talks

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Chinese Ambassador to Bangladesh Li Jiming on Thursday said his country was trying to expedite the Rohingya repatriation efforts through holding talks with Bangladesh and Myanmar.

China always remains beside Bangladesh when it faces any problem, said Ambassador Li while attending a function at Cox’s Bazar Sadar Hospital.

Ambassador Li noted that China had been playing a role of “mediator” between Bangladesh and Myanmar during the past five years since the latest crisis happened in Rakhine State of Myanmar and had been working with relevant stakeholders, including UNHCR, to facilitate the early repatriation of the displaced people.

The Chinese envoy said throughout the Covid-19 pandemic China had stood beside Bangladesh with necessary assistance and it would continue to do so for developing the country’s medical sector.

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He said Cox’s Bazar was a significant location across the globe, so its Sadar hospital also bore great importance.

Ambassador Li handed over medical equipment – bio-chemistry analyzers, dental chairs, light cure machines and centrifuge machines – to 250-bed district Sadar hospital in Cox’s Bazar as a gift.

Cox’s Bazar Medical College Dean Professor Dr Anupam Barua accepted the equipment on behalf of the hospital.

Lawmaker of Cox’s Bazar-3 Shaimum Sarwar Kamal MP and Deputy Commissioner of Cox’s Bazar District Md Mamunur Rashid, Refugee Relief and Repatriation Commissioner Shar Rezwan Hayat also attended and addressed the ceremony.

Ambassador Li first extended his sincerest wishes for the upcoming holy Eid-ul-Fitr and said that the Bangladesh government and people, though with its own limited resources, had generously hosted more than a million displaced people from Myanmar.

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“This has imposed a heavy medical burden on the local health resources. Today, the Embassy of China in Bangladesh donated a bunch of badly-needed medical equipment as a good will of the Chinese government and people,” he said.

All the medical equipment is state-of-the-art and of superior quality, which will come a long way to strengthen the capacity of Sadar hospital, said the ambassador.

In future, he said, China will continue supporting local health facilities with more new initiatives.

Lawmaker Kamal has said that China is one of the most important development partners of Bangladesh, and the Cox’s Bazar District expects more cooperation from China in various fields including the health sector in future.

Rohingya camps visit

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Earlier on Wednesday, ambassador Li went into the settlement camps in Cox’s Bazar and had in-depth exchanges with the displaced people from Myanmar. 

Ambassador Li visited 10 households of the displaced people in camps, and tried to learn about their living conditions and major concerns, according to the Chinese Embassy in Dhaka.

He said China had been making efforts to improve the conditions in the camps and it would continue serving as a bridge of communication between Bangladesh and Myanmar, and playing a positive role in facilitating early repatriation.

Ambassador Li also visited two repatriation centers and one learning center in the camp area.

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Politics

Foreign powers like US behind my ouster: Indian media quotes Hasina

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In what is being called in Indian media to be her first statement since resigning and fleeing the country on August 5, former prime minister Sheikh Hasina has accused foreign powers like the US of playing a hand in her ouster.

Indian news outlet The Print in an article today said it had seen the message conveyed to Hasina’s Awami League supporters. India’s Economic Times also carried an article about the message, which The Daily Frontline has not been able to independently verify.

“I could have remained in power if I had left St Martin and the Bay of Bengal to America,” she said in the message.

According to The Print, the Hasina government saw strained relations with the US for many years. Ahead of January’s elections this year, she said “a white man” had offered her a smooth return to power in exchange for an airbase.

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Hasina also warned the new interim government not to be “used” by such foreign powers.

Led by Nobel Laureate Muhammad Yunus, the new interim government was sworn in on Thursday night, three days after Hasina’s ouster.

“I resigned so that I did not have to see the procession of dead bodies. They wanted to come to power over your [students’] bodies, I did not allow it. I came with power,” read Hasina’s statement.

“Maybe if I was in the country today, more lives would have been lost, more wealth would have been destroyed,” she added.

She is also expected to address the media while in India next week, The Print article said.

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Sheikh Hasina resigned as prime minister and fled Bangladesh on August 5, when a student-led protest culminated in a mass uprising against her Awami League government.

More than 400 people were killed in the preceding three weeks, a majority of them in police firing and firing by Awami League activists.

The US is Bangladesh’s largest foreign direct investor.

In her message to supporters and party cadres, she vowed to return to the country, though accepting her defeat.

“I will return soon inshAllah. The defeat is mine but the victory is [that of] the people of Bangladesh,” she stated.

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“I removed myself, I came with your victory, you were my strength, you did not want me, I myself then left, resigned. My workers who are there, no one will lose morale. Awami League has stood up again and again,” she added, according to The Print.

The former prime minister also accused people of distorting her words.

“I want to repeat to my young students, I never called you Razakars … My words have been distorted. A group has taken advantage of your danger,” she said in the message.

The term “Razakar” is considered to be derogatory in Bangladesh as it refers to ‘volunteers’ who collaborated with the Pakistan Army during Bangladesh’s 1971 war for independence.

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Regulator orders freeze on bank accounts of Hasan Mahmud, family members

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The Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit has ordered banks to freeze all accounts of former foreign minister Hasan Mahmud and his family members.

A senior official of the anti-money laundering agency confirmed it.

The BFIU asked the banks to block all types of withdrawals through the individual or business accounts of Hasan Mahmud, his wife Nuran Fatema, and their daughter Nafisa Jumyina Mahmud.

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Police can’t be used as killers, henchmen anymore: Sakhawat

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Home Affairs Adviser Brigadier General (Retired) M Sakhawat Hussain today said members of the police force cannot be used as killers or henchmen anymore.

“Police has been given lethal weapons. I was surprised to see 7.62 (firearms) at police’s hand. They were given those weapons 15 to 20 years back … Police should not be given these weapons,” the adviser said.

He was talking to media at the Central Police Hospital in Dhaka after visiting police members who suffered injuries in clashes during the recent mass protests.

The adviser condemned both the killings of general public by shooting and murders of police during the protests.

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“I am telling politicians that it will be difficult to do politics now. You can’t use police like killers and henchmen anymore,” he added.

“I will insist that police will run under the police commission. Orders from anyone will be given to the police commission, and they [the commission] will decide what to do,” he said.

“Every day, incidents of robbery are going on as there are no police on the streets. Police are demoralised,” he added.

“Unjust things have happened … I will try to severely punish those who ordered [killing of people by shooting] either at home or abroad,” he said.

“The politics of Bangladesh is the politics of sycophants. Such flattery is created that people are dying and they say nothing happened,” he added

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He asked police members not to apply excessive force.

“Our society can’t run without police,” he said.

The adviser said what the army is currently doing was not their job. But they are still doing it. They were even attacked in Gopalganj.

“A state cannot run like this. Politics of a state cannot go on like this. Bangabandhu has of course contributed, but thousands of people fought and 30 lakh people were killed to liberate the country. The state is not anyone’s personal property,” he said.

“I saw what happened in the country through BBC. But our media said nothing had happened. If media had played an objective role, police would not face this situation. Shame on you.

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“A country is submerged when the media does not speak the truth,” he said.

He threatened to shut down media outlets if they are biased towards any one entity.

Regarding the 11-point demand of police members, the adviser said, “They did not want the sky and the moon. Their demands will be met, [but] it may take time to meet some of the demands.”

He urged people to cooperate with police to bring the situation to normal.

Over 400 people including some policemen were killed and several thousand others were injured after in the monthlong protests that eventually forced Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to resign and flee the country on August 5.

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