Photo the Bangladesh army cannot stand: BBC

[Alien]

Just saw one of the rare BBC article on BD. It showed this classic picture, had to post it here.




Photo the Bangladesh army cannot stand
If a single image can sum up the thorny mess into which Bangladesh has once again stumbled, then this perhaps is it. A sandaled demonstrator in mid-air kick and a hatless army officer in terrified retreat.
In the background, bystanders hurry away. Out of shot, a military vehicle burns and the security forces are in danger of losing control to the angry mob.
The photo gives a momentary glimpse of just how bad things got during three days of violent protest that rocked cities across Bangladesh last week.
But the picture is significant for another reason. As we found out on the first night of the curfew imposed to contain the trouble it was an image that deeply upset the Bangladeshi rank and file.
Its publication was seen as a humiliation, every bit as great as if that flying sandaled foot had been aimed at the behind of the army chief himself.
Shortly after the curfew came into effect on Wednesday night, the BBC team was out filming.
No one was sure whether the media would be allowed to move freely.
Dhaka's streets, normally a round-the-clock festival of noise, were deserted.
Road blocks and checkpoints were being manned by the paramilitaries and the army was on patrol.

'Wrong message'
Sure enough our presence was soon noticed.
Two army jeeps pulled up sharply and a young officer jumped out. We were ordered to drop the camera as he radioed back to his base.

After a tense stand-off the message was relayed that we could continue filming "as long as we didn't give the wrong message to the country".
But in true Bangladeshi style the officer and I were soon the best of friends.
In the middle of a deserted city I was invited to sit on the kerb with him, while his troops waited restlessly in their trucks.
He offered me a smoke and then, with his arm round me, he told me of his time training in the UK, of his sense of duty and his love of his country.
He told me of the dark forces at work behind the rioting.
And most of all he told me how he hated that photo, and how irresponsible it had been of the newspaper to publish it.
We shook hands and parted on good terms. But then I have a white face and an international press card.

It's impossible to know whether it was this same officer and the same troops, but on that same evening a group of Bangladeshi journalists were left in little doubt about what the army thought about the role of the media.
Masud Parvez was one of a group of reporters from a national internet news service standing outside their office.
Two army jeeps pulled up and the reporters identified themselves as local newsmen.
"So what," came the reply.
Masud was given a prolonged beating on the steps of his office. He has an injury to his hand where he tried to fend off a rifle butt.
Some soldiers hit him with hockey sticks that they'd been carrying for exactly this kind of occasion.

Deepening rift
"I told them we were journalists from bdnews24.com. But despite giving our identity they started hitting us," he told me.


"It was a terrible experience. I can't make you understand how scared I was at the time."
Masud is just one of a number of reporters and cameramen beaten by the security forces over the period of the curfew.
The Bangladesh Federal Union of Journalists puts the number at 30 or more.
Of course none of this can be blamed on a single image. But the photograph, and the reaction to it, gives a wider sense of a deepening rift between the military-backed authorities and civil society.
The army top brass has blamed what it calls evil forces and political opportunists for prolonging last week's rioting.
Five senior university professors, all distinguished academics, have been picked up by the army and detained.
One of them, Professor Anwar Hossain, is general secretary of the Dhaka University Teachers' Association.
His son, Sanjeeb, was at home when the army called in the early hours of the morning.
"It takes on a very sinister tone," he tells me.
"The teachers of Dhaka University are considered the heart and soul of this nation.
"It's a very unfortunate situation when teachers are being interrogated and actually taken away in the middle of the night."
An unknown number of students are also in custody. We visited one address, very close to where the photograph was taken, shortly after an army raid.
A dozen or so students had been arrested, and we saw clear evidence that a number of people had been interrogated and harshly beaten.
'Retribution and arrests'
This government came to power in January with the backing of the military on a wave of popular support vowing to reform politics and stamp out corruption.
But its reputation has been tarnished. A slum demolition programme, an attempt to exile two former prime ministers and its inability to contain the spiralling cost of food have all added to a growing sense of frustration.
Many newspapers have taken the view that the violence last week was a genuine expression of anger and frustration, rather than the work of shadowy forces of evil.
"Instead of retribution and arrests we suggest that dialogue be opened between teachers and students on the one hand and the caretaker government on the other," read one newspaper editorial this week.
Meanwhile, military intelligence units appear to be using media images to find and arrest those involved in the violence.
As for the photo that so upset the army, luckily for him at least, the protester doing the kicking is difficult to identify.
But they are looking for him.
Both the editor who published the image, and the photographer who took it, have been visited and questioned by the army.

Source: BBC >>

[cricket_pagol]

Link to the same pic - but better quality
This would have been a classic picture if the whole country was pissed off with the army... but they are not!

Some more pics of the protest

[Alien]

Originally Posted by cricket_pagol
Link to the same pic - but better quality
This would have been a classic picture if the whole country was pissed off with the army... but they are not!

Some more pics of the protest

Thats what BBC makes it sound like. A police state with no freedom like Burma.

Shalara should go to hell.

[Hatebreed]

I hope they find the guy in the picture, give him a lathi and publish the photo on BBC.

[Puck]

i read on another thread within that the army is using torture techniques in interrogations. i also read about a businessman being dragged from his flat and beaten up by an army guy who lived in the same flat. i wonder if these are isolated incidencts.

[Shehwar]

Originally Posted by Hatebreed
I hope they find the guy in the picture, give him a lathi and publish the photo on BBC.

Couldn't agree more! Spot on!

[Pundit]

Yes, there was a very similar article in the Economist, written by some Bandhapadhya or similar out of New Delhi. This freak-o- paints a picture of current Bangladesh much like that of the Burmese Junta's exploits in the 80's.

I could not believe it when I saw a quote that made it into the CNN report of the Indian attacks. These mongrels cannot manage their own security and then take advantage of mike time by using words like terror and Bangladesh in the same sentence.

Those of you who are laughing that you have finally seen my true color...dare you show your face, and I will strip you of your dhuti.

[cricket_pagol]

Originally Posted by Pundit
Yes, there was a very similar article in the Economist, written by some Bandhapadhya or similar out of New Delhi. This freak-o- paints a picture of current Bangladesh much like that of the Burmese Junta's exploits in the 80's.

I could not believe it when I saw a quote that made it into the CNN report of the Indian attacks. These mongrels cannot manage their own security and then take advantage of mike time by using words like terror and Bangladesh in the same sentence.

Those of you who are laughing that you have finally seen my true color...dare you show your face, and I will strip you of your dhuti.

The scale of damage that these analysis and propaganda can contribute is unimaginable. I came across this blog in dristipath (someone provided the link in the comments section)... here is a quote from the blog

"Of the militant groups in Bangladesh, it is the network and infrastructure of the Bangladesh unit of the Harkat-ul Jihad al-Islami (HuJI) (Movement of Islamic Holy War) that is growing the fastest," according to Asia Times: "With insurgents from India, Myanmar and Thailand and jihadis from Afghanistan, Indonesia and the Philippines all flocking to Bangladesh for refuge and training, the country is fast acquiring an image of being a haven for terrorist groups."

they are using a link from 2004 article and using it draw whatever conclusions they want to draw.

[Puck]

are there any valid sources that would prove these articles baseless once and for all?

[ammark]

Originally Posted by Puck
are there any valid sources that would prove these articles baseless once and for all?

On the contrary, who or what are sources in the articles, that would prove them fully credible?

It doesnt help that the government of bangladesh, and its security apparatus' have a very confrontational Public Relations stance with foreign journalists. Instead of engendering confidence to these people so as to build trust, our intelligence agencies follow around foreign press and intimidate them, rather than accomodating them to. A little trust goes a long way.

In the case of this BBC report, I think its fine. There's nothing incorrect in what he said. He portrayed both sides of the story. Yes, some people view this photograph as a great icon of valour and standing up against authority, on the other hand... yes it is very provocative, insulting and thus irresponsible.

About the beating up of bdnews24 journalists... it has been documented already by Bangladeshi journalists before. So why blame BBC? Just because more people around the world read the same news through a foreign outlet, and not a local one?

[Puck]

as an outsider, i am afraid i rely on the newsagencies. i don't really like al-jazeera at all so the bbc world service is pretty much my only source of news other than what i hear through this forum.

[Tehsin]

As you said, these mongrels cannot manage their own country YET every chance they get they jump on the negative news on BD and SPICE IT UP. For people who rely solely on Indian/foreign media as their news source (ie, never lived in BD), the only vision they'd have is the one drawn by the propaganda machine there. Heck, people over here picture Indians as ugly, smelly, and everything you expect from a third world country. However, not all of India is ugly, smelly, and third world, they have some of the worlds richest folks, amazing history, great food, etc. Let's just hope that people have enough common sense and can get over their narrow mindedness (and bitter religious/regional hate) to see thru people like BANdhapadhya. He is coming from a place of hate and no matter how good we do, his version of it will always stink. Personally I could have cared less about some hateful journalist but when s/he writes about my country, I have a problem with that.


The BBC article was much mellow. Yes, some people were mistreated and the guilty party should (in some cases HAVE BEEN) be reprimanded. However, my folks from back home love the fact that the army have made life miserable for all the rat politicians/goons. The only problem is, it's taking them a much longer time to arrange the election and hand it over to the people. Obviously, there are some concern/'energy' around that issue.

Originally Posted by Pundit
Yes, there was a very similar article in the Economist, written by some Bandhapadhya or similar out of New Delhi. This freak-o- paints a picture of current Bangladesh much like that of the Burmese Junta's exploits in the 80's.

I could not believe it when I saw a quote that made it into the CNN report of the Indian attacks. These mongrels cannot manage their own security and then take advantage of mike time by using words like terror and Bangladesh in the same sentence.

Those of you who are laughing that you have finally seen my true color...dare you show your face, and I will strip you of your dhuti.

[shujan]

I support CTG. CTG has balls. We need balls up there. Enough cat fight allready. Its balls time!!

[PoorFan]

Originally Posted by Puck
as an outsider, i am afraid i rely on the newsagencies. i don't really like al-jazeera at all so the bbc world service is pretty much my only source of news other than what i hear through this forum.

Here is the link of all BD news paper including English ( scroll down a bit ) in case if you cant read Bangla. Hope it will help you a bit to know Bangladesh from inside view.

http://www.bdgold.com/banglanews/

[shaad]

Puck,

Is there a particular reason for your disliking al-Jazeera? I find it a welcome counterweight to (here in the States) the biases of Fox, MS-NBC, and CNN.

[imtiaz82]

I am sick and tired of BBC's negative propaganda against Bangladesh. 90% of the articles depict Bangladesh in a negative light, whether it's the flood, the political condition or any other matter.

There are so many great things going on in terms of development in the apparel sector, booming telecoomunication sector to major infrastructure development. Why not some news on those!

[Alien]

Originally Posted by shaad
Puck,

Is there a particular reason for your disliking al-Jazeera? I find it a welcome counterweight to (here in the States) the biases of Fox, MS-NBC, and CNN.

It has its share of bias.

[Alien]

Originally Posted by imtiaz82
There are so many great things going on in terms of development in the apparel sector, booming telecoomunication sector to major infrastructure development. Why not some news on those!

Bro, BBC makes its living by reporting distress around the world. News about development of apparel sector in Bangladesh will put everyone around the globe to sleep.

[Sohel]

As usual, Shaad is spot on.

My late step-father, MR. Enayetullah Khan (RIP), an eminent and passionate journalist once told me that it is impossible to be human and "objective", hence a good journalist should be "fair". I find Al-Jazeera a hell of a lot fairer than the post 9/11 BBC or CNN. The less said about their complicity in the Iraq fiasco the better. Someone had to bag the cat, that's certain. But under false pretenses, and without an exit plan while the original culprit is allowed to re-group? The West and its staunchest allies in the region, the reactionary police states of Saudi Arabia and Egypt, also the primary finaciers and ideologues of global Islamo-fascism have nothing to say about any of that.

The non-eurocentric perspective of Al-Jazeera is obviously not for the eurocentric. It's more complex than just the matter of decolonizing one's own mind. Then again, Mike, my WASP ex brother-in-law watches nothing else anymore. He's a decorated veteran of the Afghan as well as the Iraq fiasco, as is my little brother, also a retired officer of the USMC.

Assess for yourselves, here's the link:http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exer...BBE2A36665.htm

[Puck]

Originally Posted by shaad
Puck,

Is there a particular reason for your disliking al-Jazeera? I find it a welcome counterweight to (here in the States) the biases of Fox, MS-NBC, and CNN.

hello shaad,

fox news and cnn are the ones i have listened to at length by virtue of the first generation of ntl cable television in the mid nineties. i found them both to be totally biased to the core of american right wing christian politics. although it must be said that fox is the worst of the lot.

i find the bbc to be largely unbiased, although saying that, the jewish intellectuals always accuse the bbc of arab-leaning tendencies. the latter is true to an extent but one is aware of the cultural and historical context of that region, it is easy to see where the bias is coming from.

as for al-jazeera, it is similar to fox and cnn but leaning to the other extreme. so i prefer the bbc which i see as something of a middle ground.

however, saying all that, if the right money was offered i wouldn't think twice about working as an analyst for either of these news organisations! when words put bread on the table, one can't be fussy

[Puck]

Originally Posted by Alien
Bro, BBC makes its living by reporting distress around the world. News about development of apparel sector in Bangladesh will put everyone around the globe to sleep.

you might have missed the hour long bbc 4 programme about a syleti bangladeshi and her cousin going through arranged marriage in bangladesh. it was really interesting. bbc 4 has had a number of programmed focused on the culture of the indian subcontinent lately. i loved the series on indian railways.

at home i have the radio on when writing and it is tuned to the bbc world service. there are numerous programmes that charts the culture, language and life in all parts of the developing world. the bbc in particular has a very culturally diverse language service and the bangla language service does as good a job as anyone in purveying the culture.

i must also mention here that compared to fox, cnn and al-jazeera the bbc is just not a news organisation or one that is owned by a private company. it is a public owned corporation. the programme making shows much diversity and for anyone to sugest that the bbc showed any american bias after 9/11 or the iraq fisco, had forgotten that the bbc was at the forefront of protest against the war. its director was sacked for daring to suggest that the dodgy dossier compiled by tony blair and his cronies were a fabrication. within britain and in american intellectual circles the bbc is known for the sympathetic leaning on the palestinian issue. much has been written on the right wing and jewish press about this. if you were to read the bbc forums as well as the comments on news articles you'd see how many zionists and right wingers are constantly attacking every single news item!

[Dream theater]

It is absolutely unnecessary to state that Western Media is biased and columnists have their own agenda. If anyone is aware of the western Media's coverage prior to the Iraq war knows what is going on.

In BBC they have this feature called have your say. BBC allowed "apamor JonoSadharon" to post after the recent violence. I have seen people comparing the current military backed CTG as Pakistani army of 1971. Most of those posters are from our neighboring country. As you can see, BBC allows this kind of false statements in their edited discussion.

I stopped watching BBC, CNN, MSNBC after 2004. Al Jazeera and others gives the world an alternative point of view, a different way of looking at contemporary issues which biased Western Media hates and hence all these propaganda against Al Jazeera. Even there was this movement here in USA to stop Al Jazeera from broadcasting in USA.

[shaad]

Re: al-Jazeera

Originally Posted by Alien
It has its share of bias.

I never said it didn't. But, given that stories about the Middle East are generally presented in the Western media with a particularly orientalist bias, it is good to have a media source that doesn't partake in, at least, this particular case of bias. And it provides more than a glimpse of a non-Western perspective which even the BBC (which I find reasonably fair) finds hard to do. [Puck, I'd say the sacking of the BBC director was one of the many small steps by which the independence of the BBC is gradually being eroded. We have seen a version of that process here in the US, with the PBS now being a shadow of its former self.]

Note, for instance, the current run-up to war with Iran that most of the US media are swallowing and regurgitating without any critical analysis. Note that this was the similar sort of parroting of government lines that we saw (yes, even by the NY Times) during the run-up to war with Iraq.

Mind you, al-Jazeera isn't particularly pro-Iran (given that it's based in a Sunni nation). But at least their coverage, even about Iran, isn't as inconsistent as what I see in the US press (e.g. US claims that the Shiite Iranians are arming al-Qaeda in Mesopotamia when the latter consider Shiites to be heretics). I do hear reports, though, that al-Jazeera is coming under considerable pressure to tone down their reporting.

On a related note, if you guys (Sohel, Puck, etc.) don't visit it already, I'd recommend Juan Cole's blog Informed Comment. Juan is a professor of Modern Middle East and South Asian History at the University of Michigan, and he has thoughtful and interesting analyses and interpretations of news from the Middle East daily, almost always drawn from primary sources.

[Zobair]

Name me an army, or a national defense force of any country worth its name, that would stand for this sort of "humiliation". Don't you think the USMC would have wanted to know the fellow that could have potentially crippled for life one of their own? People in Iraq have been hunted down and killed for less it would seem.

[akabir77]