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The pro-government teachers’ alliance on Saturday threatened that they would launch tougher movement against the government, if their 6-point demands are not met by June 7.
   Professor M Shariful Islam, president of the BNP-backed Teachers-Employees United Alliance, told a press conference at the Dhaka Reporters’ Unity that they would announce the programme from a representatives’ rally to be held in Dhaka on June 9.
   The demands include a 10 per cent increase in the government’s share of non-government teachers and employees’ salaries, increase in house rents, and implementation of the recommendations of the UNESCO-ILO clauses relating to the teachers.
   Leaders of the alliance, the largest organisation of the non-government teachers and employees of high schools, colleges, and madrassahs, have also reiterated their demand for immediate resignation of the education minister, M Osman Farruk, for what they said ‘anti-teachers activities of Osman’.
   Besides, the leaders blamed Osman for the appointment of what they claimed a disqualified teacher, Selim Bhuiyan, as the member-secretary of the Non-Government Teachers and Employees Retirement Benefit Board.
   According to an education ministry circular issued on May 9, Selim has been made the member-secretary of the board for a three-year term.
   About five lakh teachers and employees are working with about 30,000 non-government educational institutions across the country.

Bhumi Odhikar Dibas Jatiya Udjapan Parishad, a land rights forum, on Saturday demanded that the government should reclaim its 50 lakh acres of khas land and distribute among the genuine landless farmers and marginal people.
   The parishad at a press conference organised at a city hotel to mark Land Rights Day also demanded that a separate land commission should be formed immediately to protect the rights of the plain land indigenous people.
   It has been observing the day on June 10 for the last few years with the demand for declaring June 10 as National Land Rights Day by the government.
   The parishad member-secretary, M Abdul Kader, also executive director of a non-governmental organisation SAMATA, Tajul Islam, director of the Federation of NGOs in Bangladesh, Abul Hossain, president of Bangladesh Grameen and Nagar Daridra Federation, and BG Murthy, president of Bangladesh Dalits (lower caste Hindus) Human Rights, were present at the conference.
   Kader said, ‘We think that June 10 should be recognised by the state as national land rights day as the day has a historical significance.’ On this day in 1985, the landless people of Ghughudah bil under Santhia upazila in Pabna established their rights on khas land through sacrificing the life of several landless men, he said.
   Zakir Hossain, a member of the parishad, in a written statement demanded that the government should establish rights of landless farmers, women, fishermen and indigenous people on khas land, water bodies, and char and forest areas. He also demanded distribution of khas land among the real landless people.
   The parliamentary standing committee on the land ministry at a meeting disclosed that there are about 50 lakh acres of khas land across the country, Tajul said.
   Four NGOs — BRAC, SAMATA, ALRD and Nijera Kori — are now carrying out a study on how much of khas land is distributed among landless people and how much of it is captured by illegal grabbers. After completion, the report would be presented to the government, he said.
   The survey is being conducted at six upazilas in the six divisions. The upazilas are Goalanda in Rajbari, Dumuria in Khulna, Chatmohor in Pabna, Hizla in Barisal, Sadar in Noakhali, and Companiganj in Sylhet.

Today, the first Sunday of June, is the World Cancer Survivors’ Day. The country will observe the day with enthusiasm as the day is observed across the globe every year.
   Different organisations including the Ahsania Mission Cancer Hospital, Bangladesh Cancer Society, National Cancer Research Institute, Directorate of Health Services, Nurses Directorate, Bangladesh Scouts, Girls Guides, Bangladesh Red Crescent Society, Gonoshastha Kendra, Rotary Club, Lions Club, Bangladesh Cancer Foundation, Diganta Memorial Foundation and the Ashik Foundation will jointly hold programmes to observe the day.
   The programmes include staging a procession, distribution of leaflets on cancer awareness and holding a discussion meet to share experience of the cancer survivors.
   At 8:00am the procession will be started today from Scouts Bhaban at Kakrail and will end at Shahbagh. At 9:00am a discussion meeting on cancer survivors will be held at the Shaheed Dr. Milon auditorium of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University.

Nari Unnyan Shakti, a national organisation for women development, on Saturday organised a workshop in Dhaka for the prosecutors, victims of rape, informants and the witnesses.
   After the workshop the lawyers participated in the mock trial session which was organised to train the victims of rape and sexual abuse on how to produce testimony in the court. A total of 26 advocates, 20 victims, witnesses and complainants participated in the session.
   Executive director of NUS Afroja Parvin facilitated the workshop. Executive director of Forum for Culture and Human Development Prof SM Razzak, Advocate Afroja Farzana, Adv. Shabuddin Miah, Barrister HM Saifur Rahman spoke on the occasion.
   NUS has been working to support the victims of sexual abuses and domestic violence with the financial assistance of SARIQ, AED, USAID, India.

The existing intra-party feuds along with many more aspirants to most constituencies can lead to another debacle for the Awami League in the next general elections, said grassroots level leaders of the main opposition party on Saturday.
   The local leaders at a views exchange meeting with the party chief, Sheikh Hasina, also observed that the longstanding conflicts among the local leaders, and lack of communication between the central and grassroots leaders would pave the way for the defeat in the next elections, if the problems remained unsolved, meeting sources said.
   The presidents and general secretaries of the district, upazila, and municipality units of Manikganj, Munshiganj, and Narayanganj made the observations at a closed-door meeting held at the party chief’s Dhanmondi office.
   Hasina, also leader of the opposition in parliament, assured them of forming inquiry committees to deal with the problems. She asked the local leaders to put an end to internal feuds at different places and intensify the ongoing anti-government movement.
   She also urged the grassroots level leaders to initiate ground works for the next elections alongside the ongoing movement with tackling the internal feuds.
   Hasina started consulting with the grassroots level leaders to know about their complaints and suggestions to strengthen the party ahead of the elections. The leaders of Tangail, Gazipur, and Narsingdi are scheduled to meet her today.
   In the consultation meeting, Hasina from the field level leaders received a list of the probable candidates with reasons ‘why they are fit for contesting the next polls from their respective constituencies’.
   The local leaders also returned a party questionnaire filled up with the answers to Hasina. The questionnaire, earlier supplied to them, included queries with regard to the party position at the local levels and views about the possible candidates in their areas.
   She wanted to know about the exact organisational, law and order, and political situation in their areas. Hasina had been listening to their opinions and problems for more than six hours without any interval. She gave advices to the grassroots leaders after hearing their conditions and problems.
   Party sources said the party chief took the move for views exchange meetings to select candidates from among hundreds of aspirants for the next general elections, scheduled for January 2007.
   A leader of Manikganj told New Age said that field level leaders suggested initiating election campaigns immediately. Leaders of Narayanganj urged Hasina to make it clear whether the party has any plan to give nomination to Shamim Osman, a former AL lawmaker of Narayanganj with having godfather’s image, who is now outside of the country.
   But, Hasina did not make it clear, saying, ‘In fact, media portrayed Shamim Osman as godfather terrorist,’ meeting sources said.
   Before the meeting, Hasina alleged that the BNP-Jamaat alliance has been pursuing an evil design for spending a plenty of black money, and sponsoring terrorism, targeting 100 seats where her party is in strong position. She feared that the ruling parties are conspiring to kill the would-be opposition candidates with road accidents.
   ‘The four-party alliance government is now adopting different tactics to rig the coming polls as they know they cannot win the election, if held in a free and fair way.’
   The former prime minister also urged the grassroots level leaders to make the June 11 ‘Dhaka siege’ programme successful.
   Awami League general secretary Abdul Jalil MP and other central leaders of the party were present in the meeting.

Several hundred villagers blocked the Khulna-Satkhira Highway at the Dumuria upazila headquarters in Khulna for about one and half hours on Saturday following the death of a government official and his wife in a road accident.
   The deceased were identified as Rahmat Ali, 50, upazila assistant agriculture officer, and his wife, Rumia Khatun, 45, a senior staff nurse of Dumuria Upazila Health Complex. They came from Noapara under Tala upazila in Satkhira.
   The police said the two were run over by a Khulna-bound bus near the hospital crossing where they were waiting for a bus to go to Khulna. The bus driver and helpers managed to flee the spot soon after the accident, they said.
   Later the agitated villagers vandalised the bus and blocked the road at the place demanding arrest of the bus driver. They vandalised glasses of another bus and three tempos. There was a long tailback on the road following the accident, causing sufferings to a good number of passengers. Later the villagers withdrew the blockade programme after the police assured them of taking legal action against the driver.

The Sangbadik-Sramik Oikyo Parishad will observe a three-hour work abstention in all newspapers and news agencies from 11:00am today in protest against attacks on journalists in Kushtia.
   The Parishad will hold a rally on the premises of the Jatiya Press Club here.
   All journalists, press workers and employees have been requested to attend the rally, a press release said.