Ban urges ‘redoubled’ safety measures amid increasing violence against teachers

 Ban Ki-moon today condemned the recent spate of fatal attacks on teachers in Pakistan, while voicing great concern about the growing trend of violence against educators around the world.

“Violence against teachers undermines confidence in education systems, traumatizes students, and discourages parents from sending children to school,” said a statementissued by Mr. Ban’s spokesperson.

“Attacks on women teachers are particularly heinous because they disproportionately affect the girl students for whom they serve as role models,” it added.

Mr. Ban’s condemnation comes on the heels of the killing of Shahnaz Nazli, a 41-year-old teacher murdered by unknown gunmen on a motorbike in the town of Shahkas, in the Khyber Agency of Pakistan’s Federally Administered Tribal Areas. According to media reports, no group has so far claimed responsibility for the attack.

Ms. Nazli’s death follows the killing of five teachers in January near the town of Swabi in the volatile Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, located in the north of the country near the Afghan border.

In his statement, Mr. Ban called for schools to be respected as “safe and secure learning spaces” and urged local and national authorities the world over “to redouble their efforts to provide security in this area” and ensure that perpetrators of violence against teachers are brought to justice.

“The international community must work together to prevent violations of the right to education,” the statement concluded.

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Myanmar authorities must do more to stop spread of violence – UN independent expert

An independent United Nations human rights expert today called on the Government of Myanmar to take urgent steps to tackle the prejudice and discrimination fuelling violence and destruction between Muslim and Buddhist communities.

“The Government must take immediate action to stop the violence from spreading to other parts of the country and undermining the reform process,” said the UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in Myanmar, Tomás Ojea Quintana.

He added that those responsible for acts of violence and destruction against religious and ethnic minorities must be held to account.

“Tackling discrimination is fundamental to establishing the rule of law, and impunity for acts of violence and discrimination must no longer be tolerated,” Mr. Quintana said. “The military and police must now be held to account for human rights violations committed against ethnic and religious minorities.”

Fighting last week between communities in the central region of Mandalay displaced 12,000 people and left an unconfirmed number of people dead. A curfew and state of emergency has been imposed in four townships in Mandalay region, as a result. There are reports of violence spreading to Bago and Yangon.

Senior UN officials, including the Secretary-General’s Special Adviser for Myanmar, Vijay Nambiar, have repeatedly urged leaders from different communities to work together to diffuse tensions.

In June and October last year, inter-communal violence in Rakhine state in north-west Myanmar left 120,000 internally displaced and, according to Government figures, nearly 200 dead.

Noting that warning signs have existed since June, Mr. Quintana said “the Government has simply not done enough to address the spread of discrimination and prejudice against Muslim communities across the country” or to tackle the “organized and coordinated mobs” that are inciting hatred and violently attacking Muslim communities.

The Special Rapporteur acknowledged the President’s televised address to the nation earlier today for compassion, tolerance, understanding, and empathy amongst people of all faiths in Myanmar.

He called on other institutions such as Parliament, the Supreme Court and the National Human Rights Commission to play their role in protecting constitutionally guaranteed rights, including freedom of religion, as well as the need to include civil society and political parties to tackle prejudice and discrimination.

Independent experts, or special rapporteurs, are appointed by the Geneva-based UN Human Rights Council to examine and report back, in an unpaid capacity, on specific human rights themes.

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Cambodia: UN-backed genocide court rules Nuon Chea fit for trial

The trial chamber of the United Nations-backed court in Cambodia that is trying those accused of genocide and crimes against humanity today ruled that Nuon Chea, also knows as “Brother Number Two” to Khmer Rouge leader Pol Pot, is fit for trial.

Mr. Noun is before the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC), a mixed court set up under a 2003 agreement signed by the UN and the Government, on charges of genocide and crimes against humanity committed during the Khmer Rouge regime in the late 1970s.

“Notwithstanding the advanced age and frailty of the accused, Nuon Chea, and the accused's precarious physical health, the recent report and testimony of the court-appointed medical experts clearly indicate that the accused remains capable of meaningful participation in his own defence,” the president of the court, Nil Nonn, said through an English translator.

Mr. Noun waived his right to be present in court on grounds of health reasons. He is reportedly 86-years-old and suffers from heart disease, among other ailments.

Earlier this month, former foreign minister Ieng Sary, died of heart failure. His widow and former social minister, Ieng Thirith, was found unfit to stand trial last September owing to medical reasons and the Court granted her a provisional release

Nearly two million people are thought to have died during the Khmer Rouge regime between 1975 and 1979.

Out of five Khmer Rouge leaders indicted by the ECCC in 2007, the court has so far completed just one case, sentencing former prison chief Kaing Guek Eav, whose alias is 'Duch', to life in jail.

In addition, witness hearings in Case 002/01 against Mr. Nuon and Khieu Samphan will resume on 8 April, the Court announced.

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Bangladesh: UN human rights experts appeal for end to violence linked to court decisions

A group of United Nations independent human rights experts today called for an immediate stop to violence in Bangladesh and a return to peaceful demonstrations following reported large-scale protests since early February.

The demonstrations are largely linked to the decisions of the Bangladeshi International Crimes Tribunal, which was established in 2010 to try people accused of committing atrocities, including genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity, in the South Asian nation, including during the country's 1971 independence war.

Clashes in recent weeks between security forces and activists have reportedly killed at least 88 people and injured hundreds of others.

 “I call upon the authorities in Bangladesh to ensure prompt, impartial and effective investigations of all killings committed irrespective of whether they were committed by a State or a non-State actor,” said the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial executions, Christof Heyns.

According to a news release from the UN human rights office (OHCHR), there have also been “worrying reports on attacks against members of the Hindu community, their homes and places of worship, as well as against journalists.”

The Special Rapporteur on freedom of expression, Frank La Rue, warned against such attacks on journalists and other media workers.

“The ongoing violence has threatened the safety of journalists in the country and led to the killing of at least one blogger, and injury of a large number of media workers. Twelve websites have also been shut down by the Bangladeshi authorities,” he noted, calling of all parties to refrain from inciting violence.

With regard to reported attacks on members of the Hindu community and their places of worship, the Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion, Heiner Bielefeldt, emphasised that “the Government must ensure that the rights and freedoms of this community are protected in conformity with international human rights law.”

Together with the Special Rapporteur on adequate housing, Raquel Rolnik, he expressed particular alarm at the destruction of Hindu temples and homes in the context of the current violence in Bangladesh, which left tens of families homeless.

“The attacks against the Hindu community are of serious concern, due to the fact that it constitutes a minority group in Bangladesh which has been at risk of violence at various times of the country's history,” added the Independent Expert on minority issues, Rita Izsák.

“States must protect the existence and the national or ethnic, cultural, religious and linguistic identity of minorities within their respective territories,” she said.

Meanwhile, the Special Rapporteur on the promotion of truth and justice, Pablo de Greiff, added his voice, saying that “governments should strive to achieve justice for victims of past human rights violations and restore trust in the rule of law including through criminal prosecutions.”

In February, the Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers, Gabriela Knaul, and the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial executions, Christof Heyns, expressed concern at the aspects of non-compliance with fair trial and due process reported during the proceedings before the Bangladesh International Crimes Tribunal, including the pronouncement of death sentences.

At issue was the sentencing of Abdul Kalam Azad, following a trial conducted in absentia that did not provide for all the guarantees of a fair trial and due process, according to OHCHR. Then on 5 February, the Tribunal sentenced Abdul Kader Molla to life imprisonment.

Ms. Knaul and Mr. Heyns stressed that international law requires compliance with the most stringent fair trial and due process guarantees in such proceedings, and called upon the authorities in Bangladesh to ensure these are upheld.

Independent experts, or special rapporteurs, are appointed by the Geneva-based UN Human Rights Council to examine and report back, in an unpaid capacity, on specific human rights themes.

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Five killed in clashes

Brick chips litter the road between Chapainawabganj and Sona Masjid Land Port and trees and electric poles are felled to block it after BNP-Jamaat men went on the rampage there yesterday. Photo: Star

At least five people were killed and 50 others, including eight policemen, were injured during clashes between opposition activists and law enforcers in Chapainawabganj and Sirajganj yesterday over arresting Jamaat men.
Protesting the deaths of three people in “police firing” at Shibganj of the district, BNP-led 18-party opposition alliance has called a daylong shutdown in Chapainawabganj tomorrow.
The clash at Shibganj began when a police team went to Gopalnagar village around 3:00am to arrest Jamaat activists in connection with the torching of Kansat Palli Bidyut sub-station on February 28, police sources claimed.Our Chapainawabganj correspondent reports: activists of Jamaat-e-Islami and Islami Chhatra Shibir set off a few firecrackers when the police team reached the village.
Sources said the crackers were used to notify people of the arrival of police. Several hundred people from nearby villages then surrounded the law enforcers and started throwing brick chips at them, witnesses said.
On information, additional police force, and Rab and Border Guard Bangladesh personnel went to the spot around 4:00am and retaliated with fire. They fired several bullets to relieve the pinned down police team, witnesses said.

They also tried to destroy a culvert. Photo: Star

After the law enforcers left the scene, locals found Waliullah, 18, and Rabiul Islam, 25, lying dead on the spot. Injured Matiur Rahman, 45, succumbed to his injuries later.
Villagers claimed that Waliullah and Matiur were Jamaat adherents while Rabiul was of BNP.
At least 20 others, including four policemen, also sustained injuries in the clash. Police arrested 21 people from the spot, said Sub-Inspector Abdur Razzak of Shibganj Police Station.
At around 10:30am, the violence spread to the district town.

They dug up an unpaved road in Shyampur so that police cannot reach troubled areas. Photo: Star

Jamaat men and pro-Jamaat student body Islami Chhatra Shibir activists vandalised several roadside shops in the town and tried to block the road between Chapainawabganj and Sona Masjid Land Port with electric poles and logs.
They brought out processions at Swarupnagar, Shibtala and Mohananda Bridge Toll Plaza areas and exploded several homemade bombs.
They fought pitched battles with law enforcers, who fired several bullets but brought the situation under control later.
No casualties were reported there.
BNP district unit president Shahjahan Mia, also coordinator of the 18-party alliance of the district, at a press briefing yesterday called hartal in the district for Sunday.
District Superintendent of Police Bashir Ahmed refused to make any comments on the matter.
In Sirajganj, the clash erupted after Belkuchi police arrested Jamaat leader Habibur Rahman at Modhupur village around 9:00am in connection with torching the Belkuchi Upazila Awami League office on March 3.
Officer-in-Charge Samsul Haque of Belkuchi Police Station said police arrested Habibur and took him to the police station without any trouble, reports our Pabna correspondent.
As the news of Habibur’s arrest spread, Jamaat-Shibir men started attacking shops and homes of ruling Awami League adherents.
Samsul said, “When police went to the village again, unruly Jamaat men spread a rumour that police were attacking innocent villagers and asked them to gather on Kalyanpur High School ground.
“The Jamaat-Shibir men then surrounded us and started firing on us,” the officer-in-charge claimed.
Four policemen were injured.
Police tried to disperse them with teargas but they would not leave. Police then resorted to firing shotgun shells. At least 70 shells were fired, including 47 rubber bullets.
Police recovered two bodies from the spot and sent them to Pabna Medical College Hospital morgue for autopsies.
The deceased were identified as BNP activist Faridul, 19, and Shibir activist Yunus, 18.
During the hour-long clash at least 30 people were injured, including Sirajganj district correspondent of Bangladesh Television Gazi Shahadat Hossain Firozi. He was admitted to Sirajganj General Hospital.
A reporter of MyTV was also injured during the clash.

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Experts concerned about violent protests in Bangladesh

A group of UN independent human rights experts is appealing for an end to violence and a return to peaceful demonstrations in Bangladesh following more than a month of large-scale protests across the country. 

The protests are related to the trials and verdicts of a tribunal for atrocities committed during the 1971 war of independence.

In a statement on Friday, the experts say nearly 90 people have died and hundreds more injured in clashes between security forces and various groups, as well as between the groups.

They add that there have also been reports of attacks against the minority Hindu community and journalists.

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Universe is older than previously thought

Closer scrutiny of radiation left over from the creation of the universe shows the Big Bang took place about 13.8 billion years ago, 100 million years earlier than previous estimates, scientists said on Thursday.

The findings are among the first results from analysis of data collected by the European Space Agency's Planck spacecraft, which is providing the most detailed look to date at the remnant microwave radiation that permeates the universe.

This relic radiation was first detected in 1964 and later mapped by two NASA spacecraft - COBE, launched in 1989, and WMAP, which followed two years later. With even greater sensitivity, Planck has picked out details of tiny temperature variations in the so-called cosmic microwave background.

The fluctuations, which differ by only about 100-millionths of a degree, correspond to slightly more dense regions of space, places that later gave rise to the stars and galaxies that fill the universe.

"It's as if we've gone from a standard television to a high-definition television. New and important details have become crystal clear," Paul Hertz, NASA's director of astrophysics, told reporters on a conference call.

Overall, the new data fits well with existing models of how the universe evolved, but it presents some new puzzles as well.

"The variations from place to place in the map that Planck has made tell us new things about what happened just 10 nano-nano-nano-nano seconds after the Big Bang when the universe expanded by 100 trillion, trillion times," said Charles Lawrence, Planck project scientist with NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif.

"We can see the subtle effects of gravitational pulls from literally everything in the universe."

Compared to the previous best measurements, the universe is a little older and, surprisingly, is expanding a little more slowly than currently accepted standards.

Plank's data also shows that ordinary matter - the stuff that makes up stars, galaxies, planets and everything visible - accounts for a relatively tiny 4.9 percent of the universe.

Dark matter, which does not interact with light but can be detected by its gravitational pull, comprises 26.8 percent of the universe, nearly one-fifth more than previous estimates.

The rest of the universe is dark energy, a mysterious and recently discovered force that defies gravity and is responsible for speeding up the universe's rate of expansion. New results from Planck show dark energy accounting for 69 percent of the universe, slightly less than previously estimated.

The research is the fruit of Planck's first 15 months on orbit. Additional information, including details of how the universe's early light was polarized, are expected next year.

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What is Google doing?

A few years ago, web thinker Jeff Jarvis published an homage to the world’s most successful Web search and advertising company titled “What Would Google Do?” These days, the question seems to be, “What is Google doing?”

oogle won us over with a revolutionary approach to Web search that made its predecessors seem archaic. It quickly toppled Yahoo as the coolest company on the planet based solely on its efficient and fast way of finding everyone else’s content. Now, though, Google is something entirely different.

What is Google doing? I’m not sure. There may well be a great, bumper-sticker answer. But Google’s actions are too chaotic to come up with a grand, unified theory. It’s toying with apps, mobile software, mobile hardware, mobile phones – and, oh yeah, still dabbles in Web services it decides with zero discussion to terminate with extreme prejudice. It’s one thing to be pulled in all directions as a dance partner, it’s another to have it happen on some carnival ride.

Search has turned out to be only Google’s opening gambit. It still owns just under 70 percent of search market share, and because of that reach about 40 percent of online advertising. For some companies that would be enough, this one, near-perfect service. But Google had bigger ambitions than merely imposing order on the Internet’s chaos.

We got a hint of Google’s plans in 2006, when it paid $1.65 billion – what was its largest acquisition to date – for YouTube. It also gave us Gmail and Google Docs, which dramatically changed users’ attachment to the cloud and boosted their own productivity. A bunch of honest tries, like Wave & Buzz, followed – early misfires in collaboration and social networking. But for all of Google’s innovation and experimentation, it started to feel like Lucy and the football. Rather than keeping what resonated, Google seemed to abruptly end services we had found useful, and had even come to depend on. It shuttered Google Health, a service that maintained all your medical information, and Google 411, a voice-activated directory service.

Part of the problem is our own unhealthy addiction to “free” software. Who doesn’t want a free service like Google Docs? But another issue is that Google has been not so much using the crowd as abusing it. It goes public with too many things and, even worse, gives up on some that worked, could have worked and did exactly what Google presumably wanted: cultivating dedicated users who grew to depend on them.

And that is where cultivating and banking goodwill come in. The trick when you’re disrupting yourself is to bring everyone who loves you along for the new ride without making it seem like you’re a shadow of your former self – even if you are. Facebook managed it, reversing course from the most exclusive network in the world to the least. Apple did it, moving from the “something for everyone” model before Steve Jobs came back from exile to “Think Different.”

The last straw for many was Google’s surprise decision last week to kill Reader, the seven-year-old RSS service that brought RSS into the mainstream. James Fallows makes the case for becoming wary of Google’s very reliability. How, he asks, can you allow yourself to possibly trust Google when the company is so cavalier?

After Reader’s demise, many people noted the danger of ever relying on a company’s free offerings. When a company is charging money for a product … – as Evernote does for all above its most basic service, and same for Dropbox and SugarSync – you understand its incentive for sticking with that product. The company itself might fail, but as long as it’s in business it’s unlikely just to get bored and walk away, as Google has from so many experiments.

Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me 39 times, shame on me. (My Reuters colleague Jack Shafer also has thoughts on Reader.)

So what is Google up to? Is it a forward-thinking company that embraces its customers as partners or uses them as focus groups it later ignores?

In recent years, Google has started doing things that aren’t very Google. It flopped in an attempt to market a mobile phone – the Nexus One – but then purchased Motorola Mobility for $12.5 billion. Why? It has nothing to show for it except shedding more than 5,000 employees. If it intends to mount an NFC takeover with a slew of iPhone-killing, Google Wallet-empowered Motorola Phones, then Google is better at keeping secrets than Apple.

It has partnered with a number of hardware manufacturers to kick-start the netbook business with their bespoke Chrome operating system. (I positively reviewed both the low-end and high-end models.) But the Chromebooks are selling worse that Microsoft Surface hybrids (which I didn’t like) – and that’s saying something. Project Glass, Google’s entry into Minority Report eyeware, gets lots of attention – and frankly seems very cool – but as a mainstream consumer device it seems eons away at best.

When did Google become a hardware company? I missed that memo.

Change is scary, but necessary. But explaining the changes that are going to come is a necessary part of doing responsible, do-no-evil business. Google has never been particularly good about customer relations – seriously, did you buy a Nexus One? What it also isn’t good at is bringing us – the users – along. Without projecting a clear idea of what it is really up to – and what’s in it for us in the long run – the company risks the onset of Google Fatigue, especially when there are good or better alternatives to almost everything Google does.

Google’s best move would be to define itself, bringing order to its chaos. There’s a perfect opportunity right around the corner: Google I/O, the company’s annual developer’s conference, in mid-May. I’m saving the date to my Google Calendar right now.

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Swiss "healer" infects 16 with HIV

A Berne court found the man guilty of causing bodily harm and spreading the virus which can cause Aids, court secretary Rene Graf told Reuters. He did not give any further details.

Prosecutors had sought a sentence of 15 years in jail, according to media reports.

"The accused and nobody else is responsible for infecting the 16 people," Swiss news agency SDA quoted court president Urs Herren as saying, adding the man's motive could have been to seek attention, exact revenge, or prove his omnipotence.

The 54-year-old from the Swiss capital Berne had consistently denied the charges, blaming the victims for contracting HIV through unprotected sex and intravenous drug use, Swiss media reported.

They did not reveal the man's identity or nationality, in accordance with rules on Swiss criminal proceedings.

The case came to the attention of the authorities after an HIV-positive patient told a hospital he suspected his infection was linked to acupuncture treatments he received from the man.

The majority of the infected individuals were students of a music school run by the man, who also had an acupuncture practice. Some of the victims told the court he stabbed them with a needle from behind during treatment, SDA reported.

Police stormed the man's home a week ago after he stopped coming to the trial. The man, who was free on bail, had barricaded himself inside and was armed with a knife, issuing threats to police, according to media reports.

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First English book for new Pope

"On Heaven and Earth: Pope Francis on Faith, Family and the Church in the 21st Century," which was first published in Spanish in 2010, will be released in the United States and Canada on May 7, Image Books said.

The new pope, formerly Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio of Argentina, co-wrote the book with Rabbi Abraham Skorka, rector of the Latin American Rabbinical Seminary in Buenos Aires, as a series of conversations.

Their exchanges cover topics such as God, atheism, abortion, the Holocaust, same-sex marriage, fundamentalism and globalization among other topics, the publisher said.

The book is billed as offering Francis' views on his efforts to strengthen relations between faiths.

Francis, who took his name after Saint Francis of Assisi, was elected the leader of the world's 1.2 billion Roman Catholics on March 13.

He has received high marks from U.S. Catholics and the American public, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Tuesday, but many respondents said they knew little about him.

Francis has published 11 books in his native Spanish.

The Spanish-language version of the book, entitled "Sobre el Cielo y la Terra," will also be published by Vintage Espanol in the United States and Canada.

Image Books and Vintage Espanol are imprints of Random House Inc, which is owned by Germany's Bertelsmann.

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Chinese cyber attack on S Korea

This week's cyber-attack on South Korean broadcasters and banks may not have originated in China after all as the IP address has been traced to one of the victim banks, the communications regulator said on Friday.

But it couldn't rule anything out, it added.

Hackers on Wednesday brought down the networks of three broadcasters and two banks, initially seen as the work of North Korea using its vast army of "cyber-warriors" to cripple computer servers.

Officials in Seoul originally said they had traced the breach to a server in China, a country that has been used by North Korean hackers in the past.

North Korea has threatened to attack both South Korea and the United States after it was hit with further U.N. sanctions for its nuclear test in February.

But the Korea Communications Commission said closer investigation into the attack on NongHyup Bank showed the IP address was a virtual IP address used within the bank for internal purposes.

The IP address by coincidence matched an address registered in China, it said.

The regulator said it could not rule anything out. There were signs the malicious code used came through an overseas route and a single entity was likely responsible for the attack on all six targets.

Wednesday's attack hit the network servers of television broadcasters YTN, MBC and KBS, Shinhan Bank and NongHyup. South Korea's military raised its alert levels in response.

About 32,000 computers were hit, according to the South's state-run Korea Internet Security Agency, adding it would take up to five days to fully restore functions.

It took the banks hours to restore banking services. Damage to the servers of the TV networks was believed to be more severe, although broadcasts were not affected.

North Korea has in the past targeted South Korea's conservative newspapers, banks and government institutions.

The biggest hacking effort attributed to Pyongyang was a 10-day denial of service attack in 2011 that antivirus firm McAfee, part of Intel Corp, dubbed "Ten Days of Rain". It said that attack was a bid to probe the South's computer defenses in the event of a real conflict.

South Korean authorities said Woori Bank was also attacked on Wednesday but was not infected.

North Korea last week complained that its own websites had been hacked, blaming the United States.

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Love for Zillur drives many to Bangabhaban

Some came at Bangabhaban wearing lungi, while some barefoot. People ranging from seven-year-old boys to 70-year-old men, rickshaw pullers to footpath shopkeepers to millionaire businessmen -- all flocked to Bangabhaban to pay their last respects to the veteran politician.

Also visiting the President’s house were the Prime Minister, Leader of the Opposition and foreign diplomats, apart from a host of other dignitaries.

Zillur breathed his last at the Mount Elizabeth Hospital in Singapore on Wednesday afternoon after fighting for life for 11 days. He was a close associate and family friend of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu, and one of the organisers of the country's Liberation War.

A special flight of Biman Bangladesh Airlines carrying the President’s mortal remains landed at the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport at 12pm. Later, acting President Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina placed wreaths on the coffin of the President kept on a dais at the airport.

Guarded by a motorcade, a car wrapped in the national flag and decorated with red and white flowers carried the coffin to Bangabhaban from the airport around 1pm.

The motorcade travelled through Airport Road, Mohakhali, Bijoy Sarani, Farmgate, Banglamotor, Minto Road, Matsha Bhaban, High Court, Abdul Gani Road and Bangabandhu Stadium to reach Bangabhaban at 1:04pm.

People stood on both sides of the road to get a quick glimpse of their beloved leader. Many were seen carrying placards with mourning messages and waving black flags.

At Bangabhaban, Zillur’s body was placed on an elevated stage at the northern side of the presidential palace and a smart group of armed forces personnel gave him a military salute. The coffin was wrapped in a national flag.

Acting President Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina again laid wreaths on the President’s coffin there.

Later, the coffin was brought to the Darbar Hall of the presidential palace where BNP Chairperson and Opposition Leader Khaleda Zia, Chief Justice Muzammel Hossain, former President HM Ershad, Cabinet members, politicians, freedom fighters, diplomats and various government and army officials paid their homage to the President by laying wreaths on his coffin.

The main entrance of Bangabhaban was opened for all around 2pm.

Since there was no tight security restrictions, people from all walks of life standing in a long queue paid their homage to the late versatile leader.

Many of them brought flowers in hands while many others appeared with either wreaths or mourning banners with gloomy faces.

Though people get opportunity to meet the President at Bangabhaban on the occasion of major religious festivals, opening the presidential palace for all is a rare incident. Many became emotional on getting a quick glimpse of their beloved leader.

Javed Ali, a rickshaw puller, told bdnews24.com, “It’s a great achievement in my life that I have paid respect to the President. It’s doubtful whether I would have got a chance to enter the Bangabhaban ever. May Allah grant him a high place in the heaven.”

An employee of the Bangabhaban, Jasim Uddin said, “I have seen very few people with such a great personality in my life. He used ask us about our lives.”

Nurul Islam who is a small cloth trader said, “It’ll remain as a memorable moment in my life that I got the chance to have a glimpse of a great man...for the last time.”

After laying wreath, along with the party chief, on the coffin of the President, BNP spokesman and Acting Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir told reporters, “Our Chairperson has paid her respects. She said that an experienced and prominent politician has passed away. This vacuum in the country’s political arena cannot be filled easily.”

Jatiya Party Chairman HM Ershad said, “The nation has lost its true guardian with the demise of President Zillur Rahman.”

President of the Communist Party of Bangladesh Mujahidul Islam Salim said, “I’m deeply shocked. A big vacuum has been created by his demise.”

Referring to his personal relations with Zillur Rahman, US Ambassador to Bangladesh Dan W Mozena said, “The demise of the most elderly politician is an irreparable loss to the country. I’ve also lost a guardian.”

Abdus Sobhan, a retired government official, who came to pay his respects to the late President, said, “I seek salvation for the departed soul and pray to the Almighty Allah so that He blesses him with heaven (eternal peace).”

Leaders and activists of different social, cultural and professional organisations also attended the mourning ceremony holding banners.

The President’s mortal remains was taken to the Combined Military Hospital (CMH) mortuary after 5pm for overnight stay.

His first namaz-e-janaza (funeral prayer) will be held in Asmat Ali College ground in his birthplace Bhairab upazila of Kishoreganj district at 9am on Friday. The locals will pay their tribute to the veteran politician there.

Then the body would be brought to the National Eidgah ground for the second janaza at 2:30pm after the Juma prayers.

The third janaza will be held at the South Plaza of the parliament complex at 3:30pm the same day from where it would be taken to his private residence, Ivy Tower, at Gulshan for a while ahead of his burial at the Banani graveyard.

Zillur will be laid to eternal rest beside the grave of his wife Ivy Rahman in the Banani graveyard at 5pm.

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'He was needed now, more than ever'

The country has lost a guardian, but words cannot describe what I and Rehana have lost,” said the Prime Minister on Thursday as she stood next to the coffin of President Zillur Rahman.

The President passed away while receiving treatment in Singapore on Wednesday. A Biman Bangladesh Airlines flight carrying his body arrived in Dhaka at 12pm.

A car draped in the national flag and decorated with red and white flowers carried his coffin from the airport to the Bangabhaban in a motorcade at 1:04pm.

The Prime Minister said, “He passed away right when his leadership was needed the most.”

“He was capable of handling any situation with ease. He had held on to his responsibilities through so many ups and downs.”

Zillur Rahman had been Acting President of the Awami League during the difficult time when Sheikh Hasina was imprisoned for eleven months during the state of emergency in 2007.

Rahman who was General Secretary of the party during the time of Bangbandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was also chosen to be post under Hasina’s leadership.

The Prime Minister, her sister Sheikh Rehana, Agriculture Minister Matia Chowdhury and MP Baby Maudud were seated a little away from the place where people from all walks of life were paying their last respects to the President.

Hasina told reoprters, “I am not in the mental state to say anything today.”

She sought prayers for the President saying, “Everyone, please pray for him from wherever you may be. May Allah grant him a most deserved place in heaven, this is my prayer.”

Hasina also spoke about her close ties with Rahman’s family following her return to Bangladesh in 1981, after the brutal assassination of her father and founder of the nation Bangabandu on Aug 15, 1975.

“We used to call Ivy Rahman, Ivy Chachi (auntie). She used to look after us during good times and bad.”

She mentioned Rahman’s loyalty and dedication to the party saying, “He led the party during the harshest of times and saved democracy. We want this democracy to continue and thrive.”

The Prime Minister mentioned how he continued with his responsibilities to the party, even after losing his wife and fellow politician Ivy Rahman to the fatal grenade attack on an Awami League rally on Aug 21, 2004.

“He was submerged in his loss but still managed to successfully play his role as Acting President of the Awami League after I was arrested by the caretaker government in 2007 after being implicated in a false”, the Prime Minister continued.

Hasina gave the late President all the credit for involving all political parties in rebuilding the Election Commission. “He was acceptable to all even though we elected him as President. He was an elder to all of us.”

“I used to go to him for all kinds of political advice and decisions. I don’t even have that anymore”, said the Prime minister as her voice grew heavy with the last words.

Zillur Rahman was born on Mar 9, 1929 in Bhairab.

He took office as the 19th President of Bangladesh on Feb 12, 2009 after being elected uncontested.

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