Greetings to new elected Bangladeshi Prime Minister...

DHAKA (Reuters) – Sheikh Hasina, the winner of Bangladesh's parliamentary election last month, was sworn in as the country's prime minister on Tuesday, ending two years of rule by an army-backed interim government.
It will be her second time in the office.
President Iajuddin Ahmed administered the oath of office to Hasina, 61, and her new ministers at a ceremony at the presidential palace, attended by political leaders, high civil and military officials, diplomats and other dignitaries.
Hasina's Awami League and its allies won more than two-thirds of parliament's 300 seats in the December 29 election, with just 31 going to her bitter rival Begum Khaleda Zia's Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and its Islamist ally Jamaat-e-Islami.
Hasina and Khaleda had alternated in power for 15 years ending in 2006, with Khaleda winning two five-year terms and Hasina one.
The period was marked by frequent street protests, strikes and violence as whichever party was in opposition resorted to confrontational politics. The interim government took over amidst violence in January 2007, canceling an election due that month.
Since her victory Hasina has said she hopes for cooperation from all quarters, including the opposition.
Many Bangladeshis as well as foreign friends of the country hope her government will be stable enough to bring foreign investment and aid, and tackle the many serious problems facing the impoverished country of more than 140 million people.
Khaleda sent a team of her BNP's newly elected legislators to attend Hasina's swearing in, although they themselves have not yet taken their oath from the speaker of parliament.
They will do so in a couple of days, BNP officials said on Tuesday.
Hasina picked her ministers from all parties in her electoral "grand alliance" and will announce their portfolios later on Tuesday or on Wednesday, officials said.
In the Bangladesh system ministers can be named and sworn in ahead of the announcement of their specific portfolios. Only two of Hasina's are familiar faces, while the rest are newcomers, in line with her commitment for change, party workers say.
(Reporting by Anis Ahmed; Editing by Jerry Norton)


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6 - 01 - 2009


One of the most accredited interpretations offered to explain the launching of missiles by Hamas and the disproportionate Israeli reaction is that both in Israel and Palestine a general election is shortly to be held. While the holding of Palestinian elections is always, like the distribution of water, food, medicines and fuel, highly uncertain, the mandate of the President in office of the Palestinian National Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, expires on 9 January. Looming over the Palestinians is the risk of a resumption of the civil war between Al Fatah and Hamas, and an electoral competition could avert the resumption of hostilities.
Daniele Archibugi is Professor of Innovation, Governance and Public Policy at the University of London, Birkbeck College and is the author of The Global Commonwealth of Citizens. Toward Cosmopolitan Democracy (Princeton University Press)
What is instead certain is the date of the Israeli election: it will be held on 10 February 2009 and in view of the fragmented political system in the country it would seem that no single party will succeed in winning enough votes to govern the country by itself. Two of the three candidates are playing key roles in today’s conflict: the Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, leader of the Kadima Party, and the Defence Minister Ehud Barak, leader of the Labour Party. The third candidate, the Likud leader, Benjamin Netanyahu, currently in opposition, was leading in the polls before hostilities began, perhaps because he is considered a hawk in general and because he resigned as Foreign Minister when Israel began its withdrawal from Gaza in 2005 more specifically. And it is precisely the attempt by Livni and Barak to regain votes and to hinder Netanyahu’s progress that explains the savageness of the Israeli reaction. According to a handful of opinion polls held at the end of December, a significant number of voters are changing their mind.
We are all democratic and bless the moment in which people express their will, particularly when a crisis looms. Vox populi vox dei: elections serve the purpose of confirming old leaders who have proved themselves capable of governing properly or else of voting them out of office in the hope that the newly elected will do better than the old ones. And, more importantly, elections are a form of political agonising which is based on non-violence. However, these conventional predictions of democratic theory are not valid in Israel and in Palestine. This leads to the paradox that the imminent elections are likely to bring war and violence. Why?
When politics gives way to proclamations
As far as the Palestinian people is concerned, years and years of hardship, the lack of any hope of having a future worth living, have reinforced a leadership - that of Hamas - capable of pronouncing high-sounding slogans but quite uninterested in offering a political solution to the conflict with Israel. Never before in contemporary politics has there been such a clear-cut disproportion between the declared objectives and political reality. Hamas denies the right of the State of Israel to exist but completely lacks any credible military deterrent power. How is it, then that the Palestinian people, when allowed to express themselves by voting, as in the last legislative election held in 25 January 2006, actually gave Hamas the relative majority? While more realistic political forces such as Al Fatah have succeeded in wresting only paltry concessions from Israel in dozens of half-baked negotiations, the people have consigned themselves into the hands of the political force that speaks with the loudest voice.
To speak loudly, indeed, and achieve no results. It is sufficient to read Hamas’ decision not to renew the six-monthly truce with Israel brokered by Egypt and which expired on 18 December. For ten days Hamas added to its rhetoric the launching of some sixty or so Kassam rockets. From the military standpoint this missile has proved ineffective, causing the death of one Israeli citizen before the beginning of the reprisals on 27 December and a few after that date. From the political point of view, Hamas has handed on a plate to the Israeli government a perfect excuse for a new and wholly disproportionate reprisal .
Apart from any ethical consideration, Hamas has acted irresponsibly as it triggered an escalation it is unable to maintain. However, this launching of rockets must not be judged by the yardstick of foreign policy, but by that of the internal micro-politics of the lacerated Palestinian political community. Hamas is fully aware that by forcing Israel into responding militarily it will gain increased consensus not only in the Gaza Strip but also in the West Bank and among the population of the Palestinian diaspora. It thus sets itself up as the victim of the conflict, shows that nothing good can come out of negotiations and discredits the negotiations engaged in by the Palestinian National Authority. At the same time, the yet to be sworn-in President elect of the United States will have a much harder task to mediate an agreement. The harsher the Israeli reaction, the more politically victorious Hamas will appear on the domestic front, obtaining a consensus that it can cash in on also when free elections among the Palestinians are held.
The priority of domestic politics
However, the cynical unscrupulousness of Hamas alone would not be enough to bring about a crisis of these proportions. It takes two to have a fight. What interest could Israel thus have had to respond to a salvo of rockets with a crushing aerial bombardment condemned by the whole world? Why did it not realize that by so doing it would simply be strengthening the position of the worst Palestinian factions? Everyone knows what Hamas’ intentions are, beginning with the sophisticated political experts in the Israeli government. Apart from the moral considerations regarding the killing of hundreds of civilians, the Israeli government did not realize that this reprisal has made its own population even more insecure, exposing it to the risk of a new season of suicide attacks? Also in this case, the Israeli response has very little to do with foreign policy. It has instead a lot to do with the 10 February election, in which each leader will have to prove he or she is the toughest against their enemies. The effect is that, instead of having a moderating effect on each other, they have been incited to prove to their electors that they would each be capable of destroying the external threat. And, according to recent opinion polls, it seems that a significant number of Israelis have changed their intentions and are now willing to support again the political parties of Tzipi Livni and Ehud Barak.
Peace and democracy
Over the past twenty years, international political observers have discussed at length the theory of peace among democracies. According to this hypothesis it is highly unlikely that two democratic countries will wage war on each other. The conclusion is that a democratic regime acts as a kind of vaccine against war, at least when waged against other equally democratic regimes. Even though Israelis and Palestinians have quite different political regimes (a consolidated democratic system in the first case, an uncertain representative system in the second, also as a result of the absence of an actual state), this would seem to be a case that disproves the theory: the approach of the elections increases the likelihood of violence.
But if those in power can so easily manipulate public opinion and, instead of being punished by the voters, are actually rewarded, it raises some doubts as to the truth of vox populi vox dei. What is the remedy? Many courageous proposals have been put forward in forty years of conflict, by both Israelis and Palestinians. These proposals have all been ignored by the leaders and, at least in the case of Israel, by leaders elected by the people.
A film as a message of peace
In these days we need to pay extra attention to the few wise words that emerge from the belligerents. One of them comes from a recent Israeli film, Waltz with Bashir. As observed by the New York Times, this is a cartoon and a documentary, a film of political propaganda and a study of memory. It is of course based on a true story, that of the director Ali Folman, a young Israel soldier who took part in the occupation of Lebanon in 1982 where he received his baptism of fire. Having lost his memory, Folman searches for his vanished recollections by interviewing his old comrades in arms a quarter of a century later.
Although the images consist of cartoon figures, the soundtrack makes use of the real voices of those who witnessed this war and this unique combination would be enough to justify giving a film genre such a contradictory name – a “cartoon–documentary”. However the film is above all a historical and political document as this is one of the first times that an Israeli artist engages in introspection, not to reconstruct the Holocaust tragedies, but one of the many conflicts with its Arab neighbours. The episode which triggers his trauma is the fact that Israeli soldiers stood by idly, and possibly were complicit, while about three thousand Palestinians were murdered by the Lebanese falangist militants in the refugee camps of Sabra and Shatila. A trauma, in other words, that stems from not being victims but being the assassins’ accomplices. The film enjoyed success at Cannes, London, New York and above all in Israel. The audience was able to appreciate an important message, that of grief linked not only to the violence suffered but also the violence perpetrated.
Today the Israeli army is ready to invade the Gaza strip again. Once again, young soldiers are sent to kill and, if expectations based on the relative military strength of the two sides are confirmed, occasionally also to be killed. They will first of all destroy lives and hopes of peoples living in one of the most deprived areas of the world. But they will also come back to their homes with the trauma of having committed carnage. How is it that as many as 80 per cent of Israelis approve the actions of their government? It will take much more than a film to explain it. Any sensible witness in any other part of the world would seriously doubt that vox populi vox dei.
(Source:Open Democracy)


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, January 06, 2009
Today's headlines:
• All the news fit to print. (And a page 1 advert)
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• Private TV station attacked in Sri Lanka: police
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• Netherlands: Radio Netherlands Worldwide partnership with NRC Handelsblad
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• Fewer reporters died in 2008; Iraq still deadliest
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• US: Online video viewing jumps 34 percent
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• Wikipedia campaign surpasses USD 6 million goal
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All the news fit to print. (And a page 1 advert)
Loyal readers of the New York Times were left spluttering into their coffee cups Monday morning when their beloved paper was encroached upon by a controversial innovation: front-page advertising.� The decision to strip a display advert for CBS television across all six columns at the bottom of the front page is the latest move by the paper to find ways out of the financial crisis. The move brings it into line with other US papers which have succumbed to commercial imperatives and broken with the tradition of editorial-only front pages. The Wall Street Journal started taking page one adverts in July 2006. But the argument that it is falling in line will not assuage traditional readers, who have long looked to the front page of the New York Times as a bastion of editorial standards in an increasingly commercial world. While the page, with its multiple stories turning to inside sections, is often criticised for poor design, it is equally often held up as a model of editorial excellence. In a statement, the paper said it would only place adverts on the lower half of the page - 'below the fold' in print parlance. The New York Times's motto, 'All the news that's fit to print', continues to appear on the front page. (The Guardian)
Private TV station attacked in Sri Lanka: police
Attackers torched a private TV station in Sri Lanka Tuesday after it was labelled 'unpatriotic' for its coverage of the war against Tamil rebels, police and media activists said. The studios and control room of the Maharaja TV network just outside Colombo were smashed and set alight in a pre-dawn attack, police said. Media rights activists said the station had been accused by sections of the state media of 'unpatriotic' coverage and criticised for reporting a suicide bombing in Colombo on Friday, the day troops took the rebel political capital of Kilinochchi. Media rights activist Poddala Jayantha said the attack followed hate speech spread by a section of the state media. An MTV spokesman said men in a van without number plates had carried out the attack, which came two days after the station was hit with a petrol bomb. There were no casualties, but the station was severely damaged. Journalists, newspapers and even newspaper delivery boys in Sri Lanka have come under attack as part of the bitter ethnic war between Tamil Tiger rebels and Sri Lankan security forces. Several journalists - some Tamils and others from the majority Sinhalese community - have been killed, but no one has been held responsible despite government promises to investigate.� (AFP)
Netherlands: Radio Netherlands Worldwide partnership with NRC Handelsblad
Radio Netherlands Worldwide has launched a partnership with the international website of the Dutch national daily, NRC Handelsblad. Under the arrangement, the two sites exchange Dutch-related news and current affairs articles via RSS feeds. In addition, they'll publish a selection of background stories and commentary articles on their respective home pages. The collaboration aims to widen the journalistic output on both sites, which cater for a non-Dutch-speaking audience. NRC Handelsblad's international collaboration includes partnerships with key European media organisations, including Der Spiegel in Germany. Radio Netherlands Worldwide exchanges content with Expatica.com, reaching expats inside the Netherlands as well as abroad. RNW's partnership with NRC Handelsblad starts with a three-month trial period, after which a decision will be made on its final make-up.(Radio Netherlands)
Fewer reporters died in 2008; Iraq still deadliest
The Committee to Protect Journalists says Iraq remains the most lethal place for working media members despite a two-thirds decline in deaths there in 2008. The New York-based private group said Monday that 11 journalists were killed there last year compared with 32 in each of the two years before that. All 11 were locals working for Iraqi news outlets. Worldwide there were 41 work-related journalist deaths in 2008, a sharp drop from 65 killed the year before. The committee says journalists credit Iraq's lower death toll to 'improvement in security conditions.'� (AP)
US: Online video viewing jumps 34 percent
Americans appear to be getting more comfortable watching videos online - and Google is the clear winner. Internet users in the U.S. watched 12.7 billion online videos in November, an increase of 34 percent versus a year ago, according to numbers released Monday by market researcher ComScore.� Thanks to YouTube, Google Sites retained the crown as the top U.S. video property with nearly 5.1 billion videos viewed - or about 40 percent of all videos viewed online - with the video-sharing site accounting for more than 98 percent of Google's traffic. Fox Interactive Media was a distant second with 439 million videos watched (or 3.5 percent), followed by Viacom Digital with 325 million videos watched (2.6 percent). The data also showed that 77 percent of all U.S. Internet users had viewed online videos in 2008, and that the average online video viewer watched 273 minutes of video.(CNET News)
Wikipedia campaign surpasses USD 6 million goal
The Wikimedia Foundation has achieved its goal of raising over USD 6m to sustain Wikipedia. As of Jan. 2, the campaign had generated just over USD 6.2m from 125,000 donors from around the world. The San Francisco-based company said funds will be used to maintain and grow the Foundation's technical infrastructure, which includes managing global traffic for Wikipedia. A personal appeal from founder Jimmy Wales, published on the Wikimedia Foundation's website on Dec. 23, 2008, resulted in a surge of more than 50,000 contributions in eight days, totaling USD 2m and closing the gap towards the revenue goal. (Media Post)
EJC announces Blogging Competition 2009
The European Journalism Centre (EJC) is launching The European Blogging Competition 2009, on the theme of TH!NK ABOUT IT.
The focus of the competition is the European Parliament Elections 2009. EJC wants to offer a platform for journalism students, aspiring journalists and bloggers to express their views on European topics as well as to report and cover the elections.
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EJC invites interested bloggers to visit www.thinkaboutit.eu information site to learn more and sign up.
Registered participants get a free trip to Brussels to the TH!NK ABOUT IT. kick-off event 25.-27.1.2009. At the end of the Competition, June 2009, participants receive a work certificate for doing journalistic work for a European online publication (January-June 2009). Best blog posts are awarded with nice prizes.
Please contact info@thinkaboutit.eu, if you have questions about the Competition, or want to recommend an accomplished blogger to take part in the event.
Conferences & Seminars
The European Journalism Centre is organising a series of information briefings for journalists on various EU policy areas in 2008:
• Common Foreign and Security Policy
• Economical and Financial Policy
• EU External Co-operation in Action
• European Neighbourhood Policy
For more information and to apply online, please visit http://www.ejcseminars.eu

(Source:EJC)