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There is an international conspiracy going on against Bangladesh.
   The recent report of NYT might have a severe injurious impact on the image of Bangladesh. The report says that the next Islamic revolution is going to take place in Bangladesh. Recently a Kerala-based Indian website has also declared that Bangladesh is soon going to be a ‘Talebanised country’! How mean!
   Whoever is behind this conspiracy, whether he/she is inside/outside our country should soon be outed. We should bear in mind that throne lovers like Alawi are everywhere.
   The terrorist Bangla Bhai should be brought under justice soon. Otherwise it will be a problem for us. An author says in his book that we are ‘hujuge jati’. It will be a problem for us if Ram-sham-jodu-modhu, I mean common people, open their own websites and start declaring themselves as ‘Islamic revolutionists’ like those of Iraq or Afghanistan. We’ve recently seen e-mail threatening drama in which many mails were shown to be fake and were sent just to make news and harass people. We should be careful. After all, who does not want international fame?
   Cantara Wali Ruhi
   Dhaka

Recently there was a news item that government has decided to hand over Dockyard and Engineering Works (DEW) Narayanganj to Bangladesh Navy. It may be mentioned for information that Khulna Shipyard Ltd. (KSY) was also handed over to the navy a few years back. It is not known whether these two dockyards will be used for naval purposes only or they will be run commercially. The size of the navy does not justify having three dockyards, one already in Chittagong Naval Base, for the maintenance of the fleet as such. it is believed that these two erstwhile Bangladesh Steel and Engineering Corporation (BSEC) units will be utilized commercially. So from a semi government organisation (autonomous body) these two units have become virtually pure government organisations. As such the purpose of privatisation is not being achieved in these two cases.
   Rather it has thrown up an uneven competition to private dockyards which are limping for survival. In plain words, the government should not engage in commercial business. These two units are more than fifty years old. Machinery and other facilities must be upgraded for shipbuilding purposes. If these two units are used for repair of government vessels, including the navy ones, it is just transferring government money from one pocket to another. It may be mentioned that the top management of these two organisations are navy personnel drawing their salaries and perk from the naval budget.
   If we hypothetically conclude that due to huge investment requirement and scarcity of technical know how, these two organisations have to be run privately, then there is another option and a better one. They can be owned and commercially run by a navy welfare organisation similar to the Sena Kalyan Sangstha (SKS) which is purely a private organisation except for the top of the Board of Trustees, headed as it is by the Chief of Army Staff (ex-officio). This arrangement will put these two organisations on an even platform with that of private dockyards/shipyards. To encourage the shipbuilding industry and to have this prospective sector flourish, the government should also think of privatising Chittagong Dry Dock without further delay. It may be mentioned that dockyards and shipyards are a labour intensive industry where Bangladesh has an edge over, say, Korea and Malaysia. Given an investment friendly policy and patronisation by the government, this sector, having a bright future, deserves serious attention.
   Commodore AMA Alam (Retd)
   New DOHS, Dhaka

Both India and Burma (Myanmar) are our close door neighbors and we want to have closer relations with both of them. India did a lot for us during the liberation war in 1971. We don’t think that helping Bangladesh and ‘breaking’ Pakistan was only a strategic issue for India, rather we think at least the Bengalis of West Bengal showed intimate brotherly attitude towards us during that crisis.
   We have some bordering territory with Myanmar and a common river (Naaf) in between the two countries). Many Arakans, perhaps, failing to understand the Burmese authority fled the country and have been living in Bangladesh for several years.
   Myanmar has excess gas reserve and India is willing to buy some portion. Very good neighborly attitude! We need not seek business purpose even if that is very much there. We also may need some gas from Myanmar several years or decades later. So constructing a gas pipeline through Bangladesh now for India and later accessible for Bangladesh also is very welcome, indeed!
   Bangladesh has scarcity of electric power. Nepal and Bhutan-the two neighbors can generate that more using hydropower. We can buy the excess electricity from Nepal and Bhutan if India lets her land and the electric wire system to receive that energy.
   Isn’t India willing to let that through a strip of hardly over 100 kilometers? Why I see our energy Minister speaking angrily after meeting his Indian counter-part? What’s wrong with our Minister or their one?
   In case of any dispute among two persons or organization or state, usually the elder or the bigger one is held responsible for obvious reasons. India is much larger and a mighty state in the area. Sometimes I hear Indians using the term ‘Bharatborsha’ (Indian subcontinent) for India alone, that was used earlier for the combined Bangladesh-India-Pakistan. That is when India poses to be bigger than its actual stature!
   So I request the Indian prime minister to see sincerely where the wrong lies and do something substantial.
   M A S Molla
   BAAS, Dhaka.

What has happened to the so-called vanguard of the Muslim causes Osama bin Laden? Did he not hear anything about the Tsunami tragedy, from the caves of Afghanistan and Pakistan? Maybe he is ashamed that his jihad tablet will not work there or suicide bombing will not be able to stop these disasters. He must have noticed that most of the relief has come from his hated infidels only. He may be contemplating to send a video message to the Al Jazeera TV calling the victims not to take help from the infidels rather seek help from the heavens. His blind followers must understand that Osama does not have anything to deliver rather than death and destruction.
   Akbar Hussain
   Toronto, Canada

I have been going through the war of words between Khandaker R Zaman and Bilayet Hossain with interest. I don’t want to counter any of the allegations and logic of the latter. I just want to urge Bilayet Hossain (Oklahoma, USA ) who lives in the ‘saner world’ to come back home, stay here for some six months like other common people and then use all his logic and ‘sane aptitude’ to diminish the good job done by RAB.
   Saif
   Dhaka