Most Read

"See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil"

13 February 2005, 18:00 PM
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
By Jameel Musa New York, US
13 February 2005, 18:00 PM
In defending Ms. Eliza Griswold's anti-Bangladesh article in The New York Times Magazine (January 23), Dr. Shabbir A. Bashar (DS, February 2) falls prey to some of the same exaggerations, half truths and deceptions himself. To devalue the credentials of Khaleda Zia and Sheikh Hasina, Dr. Bashar points out that "the main reason these two ladies find themselves at the top of the political ladder are Bangladesh's obsession with family names." Very true, yet, hardly unique in the world. The main reason Mr. George W. Bush, a self-described "black sheep of the family," finds himself as America's Chief Executive and the world's "monarch," is also the family name! In fact, when former alcoholic George W. Bush, who never had a serious job until he was in his forties, ran for the governorship of Texas in 1994, many Texans voted for him thinking that they were voting for the former President, George Herbert Walker Bush!

Bangla Bhai and his bunch of religious zealots are a nuisance in the Rajshahi area of Bangladesh. But, they are not going to be able to form a Taliban-like government in Bangladesh. They are no serious threat to Bangladesh; certainly not to the world. On the other hand, with the support of the Evangelical Christians, America has a fundamentalist Christian President, George W. Bush. Polls show that even the pro-American British public thinks that President Bush is a threat to the world! So far, President Bush has attacked two Muslim countries that did not attack America (Afghanistan and Iraq), killed, according to British estimates, over 100,000 Iraqi civilians and is planning on attacking two more Muslim countries (Syria and Iran). Yet, Ms. Eliza Griswold and Dr. Bashar think that Bangla Bhai and his goons are a real threat to the world!

While attempting to score debating points over your columnist Dr. Fakhruddin Ahmed for his article, "The New York Times Slanders Bangladesh Again!" (DS, January 31), Dr. Bashar ends up endorsing the prejudicial anti-Bangladesh views of Ms. Eliza Griswold.

Google News LinkFor all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel.

This is unfortunate, because Dr. Shabbir A. Bashar is respectable, articulate and an excellent writer. He should be using his enormous talent to promote the interests of Bangladesh abroad, rather than undermining them.