Muhammad Yunus: Savar tragedy, garments industry and Bangladesh

Photo: AFP

THE Savar tragedy is a symbol of our failure as a nation. The crack in Rana Plaza that caused the collapse of the building has only shown us that if we don’t face up to the cracks in our state systems, we as a nation will get lost in the debris of the collapse.

Today, the souls of those who lost their lives in Rana Plaza are watching our actions and listening to what we say. The last breath of those souls surrounds us.

Did we learn anything at all from this terrible massacre? Or will we have completed our duty by merely expressing our deep sympathy?

What should we do?
* Do everything to prevent such an incident from repeating in the future.

* What to do for those who have lost lives, their limbs or their livelihoods?

* What do we need to do to not only save our garments industry but make it stronger?

The collapse of the nine-storey building in Savar was not merely a collapse. It is just a precursor to the imminent collapse of all our state institutions. If we look closely at the collapse of the Savar building, we can read the symptoms of collapse of our state institutions. We will have to find ways to fix the institutions to protect them from complete collapse.

Citizens’ action group
I will discuss how we might be able to not just save, but also strengthen our garments industry.

Questions have been raised about the future of the garments industry. A very large foreign buyer has decided to pull out of Bangladesh because of the dangers in the garments industry here. Others may follow. If this happens, it will severely damage our social and economic future. This industry has not only increased our national income, but has also brought immense change in our society by transforming the lives of women in the country.

We cannot allow this industry to be destroyed. Rather, we have to be united as a nation to strengthen it.

The government, the leaders of the garments industry, the NGOs, and the civil society have to come forward in unity to do so.

We have to give complete reassurance to the foreign buyers that they will never again face this kind of situation, and that we are all united to take steps in order to achieve that, and will firmly carry out this commitment in the future.

Each of these actors (government, owners, civil society etc.) will work jointly and also work independently within their own spheres. Civil society will have to undertake programmes in its own way. Civil society can try to bring hope and trust in the minds of the foreign buyers on behalf of the country. They can immediately send jointly signed letters to the chairmen of the foreign companies as well as to the CEOs of those companies. The message will be to highlight the social and economic importance of the garments industry in Bangladesh, and to thank them for the role they have played in the empowerment of women and in bringing widespread transformation in Bangladesh.

It will inform them that the civil society is ready to work together with the government, as well as separately, to solve the problems being faced by the industry. It will let them know about the types of programmes that are being considered, express interest in meeting with the companies to discuss about these programmes, and let them know about the formation, structure and work of a citizens’ action group for “protecting garment workers and garment industry” (or something similar) that could take quick decisions etc. in support of these.

Another letter will go to the foreign organisations, international NGOs, and consulting firms that are already working to improve the quality of the garment industries in the third world, including on the issue of workers’ rights, monitoring and screening, and so on. This letter will let them know that the citizens’ action group would like to work and cooperate with them to improve the conditions of the workers. The letter will express the group’s interest in meeting and remaining connected with them.

We must also write letters to various government agencies in the countries of the foreign buyers to inform them that the citizens’ action group is determined to bring widespread change in the garments industry in Bangladesh.

Within the country, letters to the government, garments owners, BGMEA, BKMEA, labour organisations, NGOs, buying houses, and other affiliated organisations should be written and meeting arrangements should be made with them to elaborate the working procedures with them.

AFP

My two proposals regarding workers
I have from time to time given recommendations to foreign buyers about how to tackle the problems faced by the garments industry in Bangladesh. Under the present circumstances I find it all the more important that I raise this issue again, particularly because of the castigation by Pope Francis that buyers are treating the garment workers like slave labourers with $40 wage per month.

My first proposal is as follows:
(a) A minimum wage law for the labour already exists in our country. If any company pays a salary below that minimum wage, that will be illegal.

My proposal is that the foreign buyers will jointly fix a minimum international wage level. For example, if the minimum wage is now 25 cents per hour in Bangladesh, then they will standardise minimum wage for garment industry as 50 cents per hour. No buyer will give any salary below this rate, and no industry/owner will fix salary below this limit. It would be an integral part of compliance.

Of course, we have to be prepared for a negative market reaction to this. As a result of this, some will argue that Bangladesh may overnight lose the competitiveness it had gained for being a country offering “the cheapest labour.” In order to retain its competitiveness, Bangladesh will have to increase its attractiveness in other ways. For example, increasing labour productivity, increasing specialised labour skills, regaining the trust of buying companies, giving assurance that no unfavourable situations will be created in future, ensuring the complete welfare of the workers, and so on. Until we are able to ensure this international minimum wage, we will not be able to pull out the workers from the grievous category of “slave labour” as mentioned by the Pope.

We have to gain support for the international minimum wage through discussions with politicians, business leaders, citizens, church groups, and media leaders in the countries of the foreign buyers. In the past, I had tried to convince the buyers, but have not yet succeeded. Now after the Savar tragedy, and in light of the castigation from the Pope, the issue has gained a new dimension. I want to mobilise my international and Bangladeshi friends to make my efforts stronger and more persistent this time.

We have to get the international business houses to understand that while the garment workers are physically working in Bangladesh, they are actually contributing their labour for their (international business houses) businesses. They are stakeholders of their businesses. Their business depends on the labour here. Mere physical separation should not be a ground for them to look away from the well-beings of this labour. That is the main message from the Pope. I hope the buying companies get the point.

It is not necessary for all the companies to agree on the minimum international wage at the same point in time. If some of the leading companies come forward on this issue, I think the process will start. Others will soon accept it.

(b) I have made my second proposal many times before, but it did not get any attention. There is now an opportunity for me to propose it again. This time I see a good chance for its adoption because of its relevance to the current situation.

Bangladesh garment factory produces and sells a piece of garment for five dollars, which is attractively packed and shipped to the New York port. This five dollars not only includes the production, packaging, shipment, profit and management but also indirectly covers the share that goes to the cotton-producing farmers, yarn mills for producing the yarn, cost of dyeing, and weaving as input cost.

When an American customer buys this item from a shop for $35, he feels happy he got a good bargain. The point to note is that everyone who was involved in the production collectively received $5. Another $30 was added within the US for reaching the product to the final consumer. I keep drawing attention to the fact that with just a little effort only we can achieve a huge impact in the lives of those so-called “slave labours.” My proposal relates to the little effort. I ask whether a consumer in a shopping mall would feel upset if he is asked to pay $35.50 instead of $35 for the item of clothing. My answer is: No, he will not even notice the little change. If we could create a “Grameen (or Brac) Garment Workers Welfare Trust” in Bangladesh with that additional $0.50, then we could resolve most of the problems faced by the workers — their physical safety, social safety, individual safety, work environment, pensions, healthcare, housing, their children’s health, education, childcare, retirement, old age, travel could all be taken care of through this Trust.

What do we need to do for this?
The international buying company will pay 10% of the amount that it has agreed to pay the garments factory owner (based on their negotiated price for the garments produced) against a particular order to the Trust. This money will be managed solely for the welfare of the workers in that particular factory.

There will be separate sub-funds in the Trust for each and every factory so that the workers in each factory benefit on the basis of their own production, if the buyers place this 10%.

Bangladesh now annually exports garments worth $18 billion. If all the garment buyers accept this proposal, then $1.8 billion would be received by the Trust each year. This would mean that an amount of $500 would be deposited in the Trust for each of the 3.6 million workers. If this amount of fund can be collected, the situation of the workers can be vastly improved. All we have to do is to sell the item of clothing for $35.50 instead of $35. A small, unnoticeable addition to the price can do wonders.

Of course, international buyers may argue that that extra 50 cents charged in the final price will reduce the demand for the product and that their profit would shrink. My answer to that will be that we will offer them an arrangement whereby their sales will go up, instead of down. We would give them a good marketing tool to make this product more attractive to the buyers by making the consumers feel they are getting more for this extra 50 cents. We would put a special tag on each piece of clothing to make them “special.” The tag would say: “From the happy workers of Bangladesh, with pleasure.” Workers’ well-being is managed by Grameen or Brac or any other internationally reputed organisation. There would be a beautiful logo that would go with it. This would immediately convey the message that the dress has been made with a lot of warmth and happiness by the factory workers in Bangladesh.

When consumers will see that a well known and trusted institution has taken responsibility to ensure both the present and the future of the workers who produce their garments, they won’t mind paying 50 cents extra. The retailers may say in their advertising that these products are made by well protected, well supported workers. Consumers would be proud to support the product and the company, rather than feel guilty about wearing a product made by “slave labour” under harsh working conditions. A consumer will be able to know from the company’s website and annual report what benefits the dress she wears are currently bringing to the workers, and what benefits their children are receiving.

Both the national and the international businesses should feel as though the workers are a part of their family. The days of slave labour have to come to an end. It is better to start the process now, before more ugly incidents occur.

I do not expect that all companies will immediately implement my proposal. I hope that a few would come forward to experiment with the proposal. Their country’s governments, the agencies, organisations who work to protect labour rights, citizens’ groups, church groups, media, will step forward to support it. This issue will attract attention more urgently now in light of the mass death in Savar, as well as for the Pope’s comments on the treatment of the poor labour in garment industry in Bangladesh.

I believe that for buying companies leaving Bangladesh is definitely not a solution. It would be as unfortunate for Bangladesh as it would be for the foreign buyers. There can be no sense of relief for them in leaving a country which has been highly benefited through their business, a country which could have gained continuing rapid and visible economic and social progress because of them, a country that would always remain grateful to them for their business.

Rather, if the Bangladesh government and citizens come forward to work together to remove all the difficulties being faced by the foreign buyers, and work shoulder to shoulder with them, it would bring joy for creating a new kind of business that takes pride in achieving something which is far beyond only business success — something which leads to a bright new future for a country.

I believe that they would rather like to remain in Bangladesh, face the challenges and take pride in creating a new society and a new economy. Not only will Disney, which left the country because of the recent problems, come back when they see big changes taking place because of the collective efforts of the government and the citizens, but more companies will also be interested to invest here.

Changes are taking place in the world of business. Even if they are tiny changes, they are coming nonetheless. We can accelerate that change. A citizen action group can prepare the ground for that.

Savar related programmes
The citizens’ action group can create a data-base of all those who lost their lives in Savar, lost their limbs or have had their livelihoods affected, and work to regularly update it. The primary work of this has already been initiated by Grameen with the help of other organisations. The citizens’ action group can take the responsibility to coordinate this work.

Many programmes have been announced and a lot of funds have been pledged for those who have been affected, and this is still ongoing. The citizens’ action group can provide advice on these programmes on how to best implement them. It can monitor the programmes and inform the relevant authorities accordingly. They can keep contact with the victims on an individual basis, and help them solve their problems by establishing links between them and the appropriate agencies.

The problems that are being faced by the victims of Savar range from the immediate to the long-term. The citizens’ action group should be ready to keep the people of the country engaged with the rehabilitation of the victims, and come up with effective measures to tackle the problems of different kinds (health, income, education etc.) and of different durations, faced by these victims.

When will we come to our senses?
Savar has created a huge wound and deep pain in the minds of the people of country. I pray that this deep pain compels us towards resolving the core of the problems in our national life. Savar is the creation of our dysfunctional politics. When we watched more than 600 helpless deaths, the loss of limbs of hundreds on our TV screen throughout the country, it made us aware of where our dysfunctional politics has led us to.

After all this, will we just keep on watching as it keeps happening again and again?

When will we come to our senses?

The writer is founder of Grameen Bank and Nobel Laureate.

News Link: Savar tragedy, garments industry and Bangladesh

How Many Peoples Have Actually Died During Islamist Outbreak in Dhaka?

1. Dhaka evicts protest leader as death toll hits 32

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  Bangladeshi police escort Hefajat-e-Islam movement veteran leader Allama Shah Ahmad Shafi (C) from a madrassa in Dhaka on Monday. (AFP)

Bangladeshi police broke up a protest by tens of thousands of religious hard-liners and shut down an Islamist television station yesterday after 32 people died in some of the fiercest street violence for decades.

Hundreds more people were reported injured in running battles as riot police broke up the rally near a key commercial district in a pre-dawn raid.

Dozens of demonstrators were also arrested, while the leader of the protests was put on a plane to the second city Chittagong.

Hundreds of bankers, insurance officials and stock market traders had to sleep in their offices as the sound of gunfire echoed around the Motijheel Commercial Area through much of the night.

Shops and vehicles were set alight while the roads were littered with rocks that protesters had thrown at police, witnesses said.

Police said they used sound grenades, water cannon, tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse at least 70,000 Islamists who were camped at Motijheel as part of a push for a new blasphemy law.

“We were forced to act after they unlawfully continued their gathering at Motijheel. They attacked us with bricks, stones, rods and bamboo sticks,” Dhaka police spokesman Masudur Rahman said.

The protesters dispersed early Monday, he added.

Mozammel Haq, a police inspector at Dhaka Medical College Hospital, told AFP that 11 bodies were brought to the clinic, including a policeman who had been hacked in the head with machetes.

A total of 21 other people were killed in the protests, according to an AFP toll compiled through police and medical officials.

This included eight people killed in the Kanchpur district on the southeastern outskirts of Dhaka, said the sources.

At least two people were known to have been killed in the southern coastal district of Bagerhat where police exchanged gunfire with several thousand Islamists, police spokesman Shah Alam said.

A pro-Islamist television channel, which broadcast live footage of the raid on Motijheel was meanwhile forced off the air in a dawn raid.

Diganta Television’s chief reporter M. Kamruzzaman said around 25 plain-clothed policemen and an official from the broadcast commission had entered their studios without warning.

The violence erupted Sunday afternoon after police tried to disperse tens of thousands of Islamists who had blocked major highways in Dhaka.

The protests had been instigated by Allama Shah Ahmad Shafi, the leader of Hefajat-e-Islam who is said to be around 90 years old.

Police managed to persuade Shafi on Monday to leave his madrassa in Dhaka, escorting him to the airport from where he was to be flown to Chittagong.

In a sign of their desire to avoid inflaming tensions, police insisted he had not been arrested but was leaving of his own volition.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has ruled out a new blasphemy law, insisting she will not cave into the demands of hard-liners who have been infuriated by bloggers whom they accuse of insulting the Prophet Muhammad.

Chanting “One point, One demand: Atheists must be hanged,” activists from Hefajat-e-Islam marched along at least six highways on Sunday, effectively cutting Dhaka off from the rest of the country.

Police said the number of protesters reached around 200,000 people at one point although the numbers had dwindled by the early hours.

Social media networks were inundated with photos of bloodied Islamists lying on the streets after the crackdown.

The main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party, which had given its backing to Hefajat’s Dhaka blockade, on Monday accused the government of “killing hundreds of people and concealing the bodies” but gave no proof.

Fearing further violence, Dhaka police Monday banned all protests as well as the carrying of firearms until midnight.

Bangladesh, an officially secular country with a 90 percent Muslim population, has seen a surge in violence between Islamists and government forces since the start of the year, when a court began handing down war crimes verdicts related to the 1971 independence conflict.

Three leading Islamists have so far been convicted for their role in mass killings during the conflict, which saw what was then East Pakistan break from the regime in Islamabad.

The overall death toll in violence between religious hard-liners and the police since January now stands at around 150.

New Dhaka evicts protest leader as death toll hits 32

2. Bangladesh rallies leave at least 20 people dead

Police have banned all rallies in Bangladesh's capital for the rest of the day after at least 20 people died in clashes between police and large numbers of Islamic hardliners demanding that the government enact an anti-blasphemy law, officials said.

A police official said 13 people, including two police officers and a paramilitary soldier, were killed in clashes in Kanchpur just outside Dhaka. He said seven others died in Motijheel, a commercial area of the capital.

The protesters blocked roads with burning tyres and logs during more than five hours of clashes. They also attacked a police station and set fire to at least 30 vehicles, including police trucks, Ekattar TV reported.

The United News of Bangladesh reported that the violence erupted after security forces fired tear gas and rubber bullets at protesters in the central commercial district.

Dhaka Metropolitan Police said in a statement that all rallies and protests had been banned in the city until midnight for fear of more clashes.

The Islamic activists have been holding protests to demand that the government implement an anti-blasphemy law. The government of the Muslim-majority nation has rejected the demand, insisting that Bangladesh is governed by secular law.

On Sunday, police fired rubber bullets to disperse stone-throwing activists who were among thousands who rallied around Dhaka. Officials said at least one person died and 45 others were injured.

The ruling Awami League and an opposition alliance had both planned rallies later in response to Sunday's violence but postponed their plans.

Bangladesh, an impoverished nation of 160 million people, has a history of political violence.

The opposition has sponsored a series of recent general strikes demanding that the next general election due in early 2014 be supervised by a neutral caretaker administration.

News Link: Bangladesh rallies leave at least 20 people dead

3. Bangladesh Protests Calling For Stricter Islamic Laws Leave 15 Dead And 50 Injured

UPDATE: According to Reuters, two policemen and a member of a paramilitary force were among those killed in Sunday's clashes.

Clashes in the capital of Bangladesh have left at least 15 people dead and more than 50 injured after Islamic protesters fought running battles with police. Violence broke out in Dhaka on Sunday with officers forced to use stun grenades to break up a rally by the group Hefazat-e Islam. The clashes have continued into Monday across the city.

According to police, more than 200,000 protesters marched the city centre to demand the government take a more Islamic stance on domestic policy. Many of the protesters had come into Dhaka from rural villages, making their way to the city's largest mosque. However, the gathering quickly turned into a riot as shops and cars were set alight, governments building were attacked and police officers were targeted. Clashes outside the mosque saw police react to stone throwing with tear gas and rubber bullets fired from armoured vehicles.

According to the AFP, the protesters were heard chanting: "One point, one demand, atheists must be hanged." Sky News reported a protester, saying: "This government does not have faith in Allah. This is an atheist government; we will not allow them to live in Bangladesh. Muslims are brothers, we must protect Islam."

Violence erupts on the streets of Dhaka on Sunday

Hefazat-e Islam has long-campaigned for stricter Islamic laws in Bangladesh, even though those in power maintain the country is a secular democracy. The Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina recently dismissed calls for a new blasphemy law. The protesters offered a 13-point list of demands, including a pledge to Allah in the constitution, the end to gender mixing in society and mandatory Islamic education.

The police have banned any further rallies in Dhaka to prevent a repeat of the violence. Having regained control of much of the city, including the business district of Motijheel, which saw some of the fiercest clashes, police are now looking for protesters to arrest.

A police spokesman told the AFP: "We were forced to act after they unlawfully continued the gathering at Motijheel. They attacked us with bricks, stones, rods and bamboo sticks."

Bangladesh is still reeling from a recent garment factory collapse that saw more than 600 workers killed. The search for bodies in the rubble continues, with the death toll expected to finish much higher.

News Link: Bangladesh Protests Calling For Stricter Islamic Laws Leave 15 Dead And 50 Injured

4. Dozens die as violence rages in Bangladesh

Bangladeshi police escort HIfazat-e-Islam movement veteran leader Allama Shah Ahmad Shafi (center) from a madrasa in Dhaka, Monday. — AFP

DHAKA — Bangladeshi police broke up a protest by tens of thousands of religious hardliners and shut down an Islamist television station Monday after 36 people died in some of the fiercest street violence for decades.

Hundreds more people were reported injured in running battles as riot police broke up the rally near a key commercial district in a pre-dawn raid.
Dozens of demonstrators were also arrested, while the leader of the protests was put on a plane to the second city Chittagong.
Hundreds of bankers, insurance officials and stock market traders had to sleep in their offices as the sound of gunfire echoed around the Motijheel Commercial Area through much of the night.
Shops and vehicles were set alight while the roads were littered with rocks that protestors had thrown at police, witnesses said.
Police said they used sound grenades, water cannon, tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse at least 70,000 Islamists who were camped at Motijheel as part of a push for a new blasphemy law.
“We were forced to act after they unlawfully continued their gathering at Motijheel. They attacked us with bricks, stones, rods and bamboo sticks,” Dhaka police spokesman Masudur Rahman told AFP.
The protesters dispersed early Monday, he added.
Mozammel Haq, a police inspector at Dhaka Medical College Hospital, told AFP that 11 bodies were brought to the clinic, including a policeman who had been hacked in the head with machetes.
A total of 21 other people were killed in the protests, according to an AFP toll compiled through police and medical officials.
This included eight people killed in the Kanchpur district on the southeastern outskirts of Dhaka, said the sources.
At least two people were known to have been killed in the southern coastal district of Bagerhat where police exchanged gunfire with several thousand Islamists, police spokesman Shah Alam told AFP.
A pro-Islamist television channel which broadcast live footage of the raid on Motijheel was meanwhile forced off the air in a dawn raid.
Diganta Television’s chief reporter M. Kamruzzaman said around 25 plain-clothed policemen and an official from the broadcast commission had entered their studios without warning.
The violence erupted Sunday afternoon after police tried to disperse tens of thousands of Islamists who had blocked major highways in Dhaka.
The protests had been instigated by Allama Shah Ahmad Shafi, the leader of Hifazat-e-Islam who is said to be around 90 years old.
Police managed to persuade Shafi on Monday to leave his madrasa in Dhaka, escorting him to the airport from where he was to be flown to Chittagong.
In a sign of their desire to avoid inflaming tensions, police insisted he had not been arrested but was leaving of his own volition.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has ruled out a new blasphemy law, insisting she will not cave into the demands of hardliners who have been infuriated by bloggers whom they accuse of insulting the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him).
Chanting “One point, One demand: Atheists must be hanged”, activists from HIfaZat-e-Islam marched along at least six highways on Sunday, effectively cutting Dhaka off from the rest of the country.

Police said the number of protesters reached around 200,000 people at one point although the numbers had dwindled by the early hours. — AFP

News Link: Dozens die as violence rages in Bangladesh

5. 28 dead as Bangladesh Islamists demand blasphemy law

At least 28 people have died in street battles between Bangladeshi police and tens of thousands of Islamists, officials said Monday, deepening the divide between the secular government and religious hardliners. In some of the fiercest violence to rock the capital since independence four decades ago,

hundreds more people were reported to have been injured as riot police broke up a mass rally near a key commercial district.

Hundreds of bankers, insurance officials and stock traders had to sleep in their offices as the sound of gunfire echoed around the Motijheel Commercial Area through much of the night.

Witnesses said shops were torched while trees had been torn down and thousands of rocks littered the ground.

Police told AFP they now had the situation under control in the city centre but further violence had broken out in other parts of Dhaka. The main Islamist group behind the protests said the death toll was much higher.

Police said they used sound grenades, water cannon, tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse at least 70,000 Islamists who were camped at Motijheel as part of a push for a new blasphemy law.

"We were forced to act after they unlawfully continued their gathering at Motijheel. They attacked us with bricks, stones, rods and bamboo sticks," Dhaka police spokesman Masudur Rahman told AFP.

The protesters dispersed early Monday, he added.

Mozammel Haq, a police inspector at Dhaka Medical College Hospital, told AFP that 11 bodies were brought to the clinic. One victim was a policeman who had been hacked in the head by protesters with machetes, Haq said.

Eleven other bodies were taken to three other clinics. Hospital officials said hundreds of people were injured.

There was also deadly violence at Kanchpur on the southeastern outskirts of the capital. More than 5,000 Islamists clashed with police and border guards, prompting security forces to respond with live rounds, local police chief Abdul Matin told AFP.

At least six people were killed there including three policemen and a border guard, police official Rezaul Karim told AFP. "They were beaten to death," he said.

The violence erupted Sunday afternoon after tens of thousands of Islamists demanding a new blasphemy law blocked highways and fought running battles with police.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has ruled out a new law, insisting she will not cave into the demands of hardliners who have been infuriated by bloggers whom they accuse of insulting the Prophet Mohammed.

Chanting "Allahu Akbar!" ("God is greatest!") and "One point, One demand: Atheists must be hanged", activists from the hardline Hefajat-e-Islam marched along at least six highways, blocking traffic between Dhaka and other cities.

Police said the number of protesters reached around 200,000 people at one point although the numbers had dwindled by the early hours.

Maolana Muin Uddin Ruhi, a spokesman for Hefajat-e-Islam, said the death toll from the violence across Dhaka was much higher than that given by police but gave no exact figure.

"Police shot live rounds indiscriminately at our unarmed protesters. Thousands of people were also injured," he told AFP.

Fearing further violence, Dhaka police Monday banned all protests, marches and mass gatherings as well as the carrying of firearms until midnight.

Bangladesh, an officially secular country with a 90% Muslim population, has seen a surge in violence between Islamists and government forces since the start of the year when a court began handing down war crimes verdicts related to the 1971 independence conflict.

Three leading Islamists have so far been convicted for their role in mass killings during the conflict, which saw what was then East Pakistan break from the regime in Islamabad.

The overall death toll in violence between religious hardliners and the police since January now stands at more than 140.

News Link: 28 dead as Bangladesh Islamists demand blasphemy law

 6. Violence in Bangladesh as Islamists demand stricter blasphemy law

Bangladeshi activists from Hefatjat-e-Islam, a newly formed group, set a police jeep on fire during a protest in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Sunday, May 5, 2013. Police in Bangladesh's capital fired rubber bullets to disperse stone-throwing Islamic activists Sunday during a protest to demand that the government enact an anti-blasphemy law. Photo - AP/PTI

Dhaka: Violence gripped the Bangladeshi capital on Sunday as thousands of Islamists chanting 'Allahu Akbar' and demanding a tougher blasphemy law enforced a road blockade and clashed with police leaving at least one person dead and scores injured. Witnesses said the Purana Paltan area at the heart of the capital and downtown Dhaka saw the worst violence where activists using brickbats, stones and crude bombs clashed with riot police who retaliated with hundreds of rubber bullets and tear gas canisters. "One transport worker was declared dead after being caught in the crossfire at Gulistan area (and) several dozens of Hefazat activists and ordinary pedestrians are being treated for injuries," a doctor at the main state-run Dhaka Medical College Hospital said. Police said several of their men were wounded as the activists of the newly-floated Hefazat-e-Islam attacked them prompting them to retaliate with the help of armoured personnel carriers. The Islamists marched down at least six highways and took position at the entry points of the city, stopping road transport and cutting off Dhaka's road links with rest of the country while raising slogans of 'Allah-u-Akbar!' (God is the greatest!) and "One point, One demand: Atheists must be hanged". Hefazat-e-Islam or 'Protectorate of Islam' enforced their 'Dhaka siege' programme to mount pressure on the moderate Awami League-led government to implement their 13-point demand including the enactment of a blasphemy law to punish those who insult Islam and the Prophet. The group earlier planned to lay a peaceful siege allowing vehicle movement inside the city but later decided to stage a rally at Motijheel area when police granted them permission on condition that they would not turn violent. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in a press conference on Friday urged the radical group to call off the their planned demonstration saying laws already existed to punish blasphemers and being a pious Muslim herself she would not allow Islam or the Prophet to be insulted by anyone. She also agreed to introduce tougher provisions in the existing laws to punish blasphemers but urged the radicals to be considerate about the country's moderate culture and heritage saying these did not conflict with Islamic teachings. News Link: Violence in Bangladesh as Islamists demand stricter blasphemy law

7. 11; not 3,000

Trashing the claim of 800 to 3,000 casualties, Dhaka Metropolitan Police yesterday said 11 people, including a policeman, died during Hefajat’s rampage and the law enforcers’ operation to flush them out of Motijheel between Sunday and early Monday.
The DMP’s statement comes on the heels of a propaganda campaign on different platforms, especially social networking websites like Facebook, that law enforcers killed up to 3,000 Hefajat men during the operation.
“Where did they get that so many people were killed there?” DMP Commissioner Benazir Ahmed asked, referring to the propaganda campaigners.
A vested quarter had been spreading the rumour, he said at a press briefing at the DMP Media Centre in the capital.
If so many people had died during the day-long clashes and the operation, their parents, siblings or relatives would have come looking for them, he said.
“But none has come unlike the case of Rana Plaza collapse in Savar.”
Visiting 13 hospitals in the capital, The Daily Star gathered that bodies of 13 people, including a policeman’s, were taken to Dhaka Medical College Hospital and Sir Salimullah Medical College Hospital between Sunday and early Monday.
The DMP chief also dismissed the rumour that the law enforcers who took part in the drive fell ill.
Justifying the operation, Benazir said the DMP had intelligence that Hefajat men would attack the secretariat, Bangladesh Bank, other banks and shopping centres if they could stay put at Motijheel till morning.
“They had plans to loot the banks.”
He said a decision was made to use only non-lethal weapons to avoid casualty. And eventually, the law enforcers were able to limit the casualty to a small number.
Before carrying out the operation, the law enforcers urged the demonstrators over loudspeakers to leave Shapla Chattar around 1:00am on Monday.
As they paid no heed to the call, the law enforcers launched the operation from the directions of Notre Dame College and Dainik Bangla intersection, keeping the roads on the east and south side open to allow them to leave the area.
“During the 10-minute drive, we used non-lethal weapons and logistics — water cannons, and sound, gas and smoke grenades, and rubber bullets.”
The operation was carried out in the dead of the night so that commuters or pedestrians come to no harm, he said.
“Extra caution was taken considering that many orphan madrasa students were taken to the rally.”
Police found four bodies wrapped in cloths near the stage of Hefajat rally, three at different points of the rally venue, three more of pedestrians and one of a policeman on Sunday and early Monday, he said.
On rumours that they hid bodies, he said, “Two TV channels aired the drive live. Many reporters were there. City residents from rooftop watched it and took photos with their cell phones.”
“How was it possible to hide bodies?” he questioned.
Asked why they allowed Hefajat to hold rally in the heart of the capital, he said they gave the permission out of respect to Islamic clerics, despite having intelligence that Hefajat men could create mayhem and stay there beyond the time granted.
“They are madrasa teachers and students. People respect them. They promised us many times that they would leave the capital by 5:00pm after offering prayers.”
BNP REJECTS DMP STATEMENT
Criticising DMP commissioner’s statement, BNP spokesperson Shamsuzzaman Dudu said people did not subscribe to the DMP’s version.
He also demanded a government statement on the issue immediately.
“Is it a statement of the police or someone else has imposed it on them?” he asked.
BGB BINS CLAIMS
Maj Gen Aziz Ahmed, chief of Border Guard Bangladesh, refuted the claims that hundreds or even thousands of bodies were taken to the Pilkhana BGB headquarters.
“Had even a single body been brought inside, the whole Pilkhana would have been sealed off.”
He said such claims were made to tarnish the image of the disciplined force.
THE DAILY STAR FINDINGS
Visiting 13 hospitals where bodies and injured Hefajat men were taken, The Daily Star learnt that 12 bodies were sent to the DMCH and one to Sir Salimullah Medical College morgue.
Bodies kept at the DMCH included that of a policeman, a shop employee and a bus helper. The rest were of Hefajat activists’.
In the meantime, Baraka General Hospital Ltd in capital’s Rajarbagh claimed it received six bodies but declined to give any details.
Islami Bank Central Hospital at Kakrail claimed three bodies were brought to the hospital but it couldn’t substantiate the claim.

News Link: 11; not 3,000

China Hopes to Find Vast Stores of Natural Gas Trapped in Shale Rock

Reuters - A natural gas appraisal well of Sinopec is seen behind a treatment pond of drilling waste in Langzhong county, Sichuan province in this March 2011 photo.

BEIJING — In a remote corner of Sichuan with lush, terraced hillsides, oil exploration teams have been scaling cliffs to lay seismic charges and struggling to move heavy equipment along winding mountain roads.

That is where China hopes to find vast stores of natural gas trapped in shale rock. The U.S. Energy Information Administration has estimated that China’s technically recoverable shale gas resources could be 50 percent bigger than those in the United States, where shale has transformed the energy sector.

Published on April 30, 2013, 8:18 p.m.

That has sparked hopes that unlocking those resources could help meet China’s relentlessly growing energy demand and ease its reliance on heavily polluting coal-fired power plants.

But progress on China’s shale frontier has been slow. About 60 shale exploration wells have been drilled over the past two years, according to the consulting firm IHS CERA, about as many as are drilled in North Dakota every 10 days. And there has been no Chinese shale production.

China’s shale gas deposits may be large, but they are remote, and in most places, there is not enough water to provide for the hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, technique used to create cracks that unlock gas trapped in the rock.

‘Above-the-ground factors’

More important, oil experts say, burrowing through China’s regulatory layers is no small feat. In the United States, independent oil companies bought mineral rights owned by private individuals, then pushed ahead with drilling and production. In China, lumbering state companies dominate the landscape, and mineral rights are owned by the state — although which state bureaucracy is in charge of regulation has been a matter of dispute.

“It’s not about the resource,” said an executive from one international oil company that has considered investing here, speaking on the condition of anonymity to preserve relationships with the Chinese government. “It’s about the above-the-ground factors.” An executive from another international oil company, also speaking on the condition of anonymity, called the Chinese National Energy Administration’s goal of producing 230 billion cubic feet of shale gas a year by 2015 and 3.5 trillion cubic feet a year by 2020 “absolute fantasy.”

“There's a lot of fantasy right now about the speed at which shale in China will scale. Almost none of the factors that allowed for ready expansion of shale in the U.S. are present in China — except, perhaps, the geology,” David Victor, director of the University of California at San Diego’s international law and regulation program, said in an e-mail. “It is the ‘above ground’ factors that matter often much more than geological factors below ground.”

China has never been a major natural gas producer or consumer. Natural gas provides just 4 percent of China’s total energy, compared with more than 25 percent in the United States according to the Energy Information Administration.

Much of that gas is supplied to major cities such as Beijing, where it helps ease pollution by burning more cleanly than coal. With rapid urbanization expected to last another decade or more, demand for natural gas is heading higher.

“With accelerating urbanization, per capita energy demand will skyrocket in line with rising income,” Han Wenke and Yang Yufeng of China’s Energy Research Institute wrote in a recent paper. “The energy consumption mix for living will shift from low-end or primary energy (such as firewood in rural areas) to high quality energy (such as pipeline natural gas in cities).”

Bigger role for natural gas

China’s 12th five-year plan aims to boost natural gas to 8 percent of national energy use by 2015.

To get there, China plans a jump in imports as well as tapping domestic supplies of shale gas and coal-bed methane. It already imports liquefied natural gas from exporters such as Qatar, often paying steep prices linked to international oil prices. More LNG is on the way as projects in Australia and Southeast Asia expand. Less likely: imports from Russia. China has haggled with Moscow for years about possible gas pipelines from Russia. On a recent visit to Washington, Russia’s energy minister reported that the two countries were $2 to $3 per thousand cubic feet apart on prices.

Gas imports covered 5 percent of domestic needs in 2007; they account for 30 percent now, according to Zhou Xizhou, director of the consulting firm IHS CERA (China). Domestic production doubled during that time but didn’t keep pace with soaring demand.

China’s national oil companies have looked to the United States to learn the shale business. Sinopec paid $1 billion for properties owned by Chesapeake Energy. Earlier, CNOOC paid billions for a one-third interest in Chesapeake acreage. The Oklahoma-based firm was the leading U.S. shale gas company — until heavy debt and low gas prices battered its fortunes. In January, another Chinese company, Sinochem, spent $1.7 billion to buy a stake in a Texas shale field owned by Pioneer Natural Resources.

Those investments didn’t buy technology transfer, and Chinese companies still need U.S. know-how, despite a U.S.-China Shale Gas Resource Initiative in which the U.S. government tries to promote shale development in China, focusing on resource assessment and technology exchange.

Regulatory spat

Persuading global oil and gas companies to partner or invest here is a challenge that illustrates some of the difficulties of doing business in modern China — and the uncertainties inherent in the oil and gas business.

A spat between two Chinese government bureaucracies muddled lines of authority. The National Development and Reform Commission, an arm of the powerful State Council, oversees oil and gas and other major economic issues. But the Ministry of Land and Resources oversees mineral resources and has claimed jurisdiction, arguing that shale is a mineral.

Royal Dutch Shell, the only company with a production-sharing agreement, signed its deal with PetroChina, an arm of the state-owned China National Petroleum Corp., in March 2012, and it is drilling its third well now, industry sources said. Dozens more will be needed to assess the area’s production potential.

Chevron, meanwhile, is operating in an advisory capacity while Sinopec’s people do the drilling and data collection. Both companies have successful production-sharing deals in Sichuan for what is known as tight gas, also difficult to extract.

Other companies are waiting until the regulatory line of authority is clarified.

For now, the Ministry of Land and Resources has the lead role. It has held two lease sales. The first round went to the two national oil companies, CNPC and Sinopec. In the second, however, not one of the winning bidders has any experience in the risky oil and gas exploration business. They included five electric utilities, five mining firms, an energy trading company and a city gas distributor. Only one of the companies is private.

Foreign companies, which were not allowed to participate, must now cut deals with these Chinese firms if they want access.

Pipeline infrastructure could present a bottleneck, too. The United States is crisscrossed with pipelines. In Pennsylvania, Texas and Louisiana, new shale gas production goes into a network developed over decades. China’s network is far less extensive.

That creates a chicken-and-egg problem, said one international oil executive. The Chinese pipeline company doesn’t want to build a new pipeline without knowing whether there will be enough gas to justify it. The oil and gas exploration company can’t know that without drilling pilot wells, and before doing that, it wants a pipeline.

If companies move ahead, constructing drilling pads is also going to mean moving people, and many Chinese communities have been speaking out more than they did when hundreds of thousands were displaced by the Three Gorges dam project. “The habits of the past, when you could just bulldoze a village, are over,” said one oil executive.

Natural obstacles

Then there are natural obstacles, including the question of whether China’s shale is as rich as initial estimates, which were based on very little data. The organic material left behind millions of years ago has to have been subjected to the right amount of heat and pressure to be turned into methane. If the rock is too soft, hydraulic fracturing might not work so well.

U.S. shale deposits are mostly marine deposits. Five of China’s seven shale basins are lacustrine, derived from lakes. Marine deposits are usually better sources of oil and gas, but there’s no hard and fast rule.

The Sichuan Basin, a marine basin, is believed to hold about a third of China’s shale gas resources, but extensive geological folding and fault lines could make it complex. Other gas reserves in the area have been high in hydrogen sulfide, a poisonous and explosive gas. A 2003 CNPC explosion linked to sulfur dioxide killed more than 240 people.

The Tarim Basin in Xinjiang is believed to be slightly bigger. But it has nowhere near adequate water supplies for fracking.

“Most of China’s areas are facing water challenges, either shortages or pollution,” said Ma Jun, director of Beijing’s Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs. “We don’t want this issue to be further exacerbated.” The Tarim River, he notes, used to drain into a large inland lake, which dried up completely in the 1960s. Large parts of the river, also used to irrigate cotton fields, have run dry too.

Despite the obstacles, most oil experts and industry executives believe China will eventually tap its shale gas resources, even if it takes longer than planned.

“There is every reason for the government to develop more shale resources,” said Zhou, of IHS CERA. But, he added, “the more we look at it, the more unique we realize North America is.”

News Link: China struggles to tap its shale gas