PM for united global efforts to combat money laundering,terrorism and militancy /Govt can’t destroy BNP: Khaleda /Japan's 1st legal assistance office

PM for united global efforts to combat money laundering,terrorism and militancy
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Dhaka: Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Tuesday has called for united global efforts to combat menaces like money laundering, terrorism and militancy.

Bangladesh looks forward to working closely with the APG and its member countries as well as other international organizations and their member countries for preventing money laundering, terrorism-financing and other financial crimes, she said.
The Prime Minister was addressing the opening session of Asia/Pacific Group (APG) Typology Workshop 2010 at the winter garden of Hotel Radisson in the city.

The Asia Pacific Group on Money Laundering (APG) arranged the workshop in collaboration with the government of Bangladesh as a part of the 13th Typologies Meeting of Asia/Pacific Group on Money Laundering on October 26-28.

Finance Minister AMA Muhith, Law Minister Barrister Shafique Ahmed and APG Principal Executive Officer David Shannon also spoke at the opening session, chaired by Bangladesh Bank Governor Dr Atiur Rahman.

According to an estimation of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), between 2 percent and 5 percent of global GDP per year is laundered annually as the proceeds of crime, the largest sources of which are illicit drug manufacturing and trafficking, arms and human trafficking, corruption, fraud, extortion, kidnapping, theft and environmental crimes.

Some 200 senior government officials from the countries of Asia/Pacific region are attending the meeting that will provide a platform for high-level discussion and co-operation in areas of anti-money laundering and counter-financing of terrorism and will review the techniques and trends or typologies of money laundering and terrorist financing.

Addressing the function as chief guest, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said it requires huge sums of money to operate militants’ activities.

“Therefore, it is imperative to stop terrorism-financing in order to contain their activities,” she said.

Hasina said: “Terrorism and militancy know no territorial borders. I always assert that terrorists have neither border nor race or creed.
Hence it is not possible for any country to combat this menace alone. It requires a united effort.”

Money laundering and terrorism-financing are multidimensional global problems that require global solutions, she observed.

The Prime Minister said Bangladesh have taken all out measures against money laundering and terrorism-financing by enacting the Money Laundering Prevention Act. “Bangladesh is the first amongst the South Asian countries in enacting anti-money laundering Act.”

In order to strengthen the existing anti-money laundering Act, she said the Parliament has passed the Money Laundering Prevention and Anti-Terrorism Act 2009.

“The government of Bangladesh is fully committed to implementing the relevant international conventions, particularly the recommendations of the global Financial Action Task Force (FATF) as well as the requirements of other relevant international agencies.”

Hasina said her government’s stance against terrorism, money laundering and other financial crimes is clear and very firm. “We are committed to encountering these challenges through integrated efforts.”

She mentioned that a high-powered National Committee on Anti-Money Laundering and Counter- Terrorism Financing headed by Finance Minister AMA Muhith has been constituted.

The Prime Minister said initiatives are also underway to recover billions of taka “amassed through corruption and laundered by influential leaders and adherents of BNP-Jamaat alliance.”

She said the government has instructed the law enforcing agencies to make all out efforts for combating terrorist activities and terrorism- financing.

“The government has already banned a number of organizations for their involvement in terrorist activities,” she said.

Hasina said that as in their previous tenure, the present government also launched all out drive against militancy and corruption.
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Govt can’t destroy BNP: Khaleda

BNP chairperson and leader of the opposition Khaleda Zia has said that the government will not be able to destroy the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), however is the degree of its repression. Addressing a programme, organized by Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal for giving financial support to seven families of Sirajganj train accident victims at her Gulshan office yesterday, she said the government had let loose reign of terror across the country.
BNP, she said, is not allowed to hold constitutional programmes anywhere in the country as the government has been imposing section-144 with the objective of eliminating the BNP.
The party cannot be destroyed as the people are with it and it also enjoys the blessings of the Almighty Allah. The more the government adopts the path of repression, the tougher will be the party’s movement against the government, she said.
She urged the people to unite to free the country from the grip of the gamblers. The government, she said, had failed to deliver the goods during the initial two years and it would not be given more time.
She blamed the government for killing people under the wheels of a running train in Sirajganj.
There is no good news in the media, she said adding the newspapers were full of reports of rapes, killings, plunders and attacks.
Referring to price hike of essentials, she said, the poor were finding it difficult to survive.
The prices of essentials, she said, had broken all previous records.
The government, she said, had no control on its student wing. It is continuing attacks not only on the male students but also conducting assault on female students and teachers.
Party secretary general Khondker Delwar Hossain, Nazrul Islam Khan, Amanullah Aman, Shahiduddin Chowdhury Anny, MP, Ms Shirin Sultana and Rumana Mahmud, MP, among others, who spoke on the occasion with JCD president Sultan Salauddin Tuku in the chair.
The recipients of the financial help were Abdul Baset, Abdul Latif, Thandu Sarker, Nurunnabi, Faruk Talukder, Mirza Suruzzman and Mirza Abbas Ali.
Source: Daily Independent

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Japan's 1st legal assistance office for foreigners to open in November
Tuesday 26th October, 07:27 AM JST
TOKYO —
A legal office in Tokyo will set up a new section specializing in providing legal assistance to foreign residents in Japan, focusing on individual needs of foreigners, the office said Monday.
The Tokyo Public Law Office will launch the section on Nov 1, in the first such attempt by a bar association in Japan to offer legal services for individual foreigners who have limited access to lawyers because of the language barrier, lack of information and cultural differences, it said.
Although there are many multinational law offices in Japan, they mainly cater to corporations and business clients, the office said, adding that lawyers in Japan also tend to hesitate to take the cases involving individual foreigners, as many cases require detailed knowledge of the immigration law and laws outside Japan.
The public law office was established in 2002 with assistance from the Tokyo Bar Association to conduct various pro-bono activities. It said the new section is in response to rising needs for legal assistance from more than 2 million foreign residents in Japan.
Although the new section will provide legal access to residents in Tokyo and around, it will work in close cooperation with the Lawyers Network for Foreigners, a nationwide network of lawyers handling foreign cases, to reach out to residents living outside of Tokyo as well, the office said.
The new section will offer a free legal consultation by about 30 lawyers next Sunday between 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. at its office in Tokyo’s Toshima Ward and via telephone in Japanese, English, Korean, French, Spanish and Chinese.
On-site consultation, which requires telephone reservation at 03-5979-2880, is also provided in Portuguese, Indonesian, Bengali, Thai, Tagalog and Burmese on Sunday.
Source:Japan’s Today