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[Music]

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I

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welcome to Sputnik orbiting the world

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with me George Galloway and me gri

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Bangladesh one of the world's most

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populous democracies continues to be

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populous but has gotten a whole lot less

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Democratic last year's general election

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in the country was boycotted by

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virtually everyone except the ruling

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party fewer than 10% of the population

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voted the reason for it being the

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unprecedented decision by the prime

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minister to refused to hand over power

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to a neutral caretaker government in the

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runup to the polls thus helping ensure a

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free and fair election since then

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Bangladesh has cascaded from one violent

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crisis to the next political murders are

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proliferating kidnappings and

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disappearances too a personal friend of

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mine A Member of Parliament ilas Ali is

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one of those disappeared kidnapped at

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gunpoint and never seen or heard of

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again but it's not just personal in my

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case the absolute Mutual antipathy of

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the two ladies at the top on the one

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hand the Prime Minister Shay Hina

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daughter of the slain founder of the

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state Sheik mujib Rahman and on the

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other hand the leader of the opposition

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beum khadia Widow of Sheik mujib

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successor it's a given and will never

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cease but though tireless efforts are

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made in Bangladesh to criminalize the

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politicians who just left office it has

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been rare for either side to threaten

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the lives of the respective leaders

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until this week as we speak the leader

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of the opposition has been locked up in

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her office literally padlocked in and

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surrounded by thousands of armed

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Troopers more than that she's been

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sprayed with gas and pepper spray and is

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reportedly finding breathing difficult

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democracy may be being murdered in

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Bangladesh but if the opposition leader

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is murdered to a nation of 160 million

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people will become literally

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uncontrollable

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joining us now to make sense of it all

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is hon kobir special advisor to Mr TK

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Rahman senior Vice chairman of the

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Bangladesh nationalist party thanks for

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joining us hon bring us up to date

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what's exactly happening in the country

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right now well uh thank you George and

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gri for inviting me here this afternoon

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George uh Bangladesh is a country close

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to your interests and uh particularly in

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your role uh as a former member Member

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of Parliament

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IES represented the largest Bangladeshi

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community in the UK Europe you know

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outside of Bangladesh anywhere in the

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world

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um what uh stems the discussion here is

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that on 5th of January

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2014 we had a fical parliamentary

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election in Bangladesh where

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153 parliamentary seats a parliamentary

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majority uh were elected without a

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single

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citizen being El you know casting their

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vote which is UN opposed 153 MPS un

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oppos yes because of the boycot out of a

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potential 90 million electorate you know

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hardly a single citizen eligible citizen

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who are entitled to exercise their

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Democratic franchise did not vote in

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this election this is Shake's regime

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today is an illegitimate government

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which is not owned by the people it had

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it only has a questionable perhaps a

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questionable 10% of you know eligible

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voters who voted in that election um 153

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seats you know a parliamentary majority

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without a single you know without

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without uh you know the eligible

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electorate having there say prior to the

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5th January 2014 elections the fal

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elections the the partisan elections

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that the people of this country of

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Bangladesh overwhelmingly rejected

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because you know neither it reflected

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their will and expression International

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Democratic the international Democratic

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Community cond those elections in terms

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of participation it did not deflect the

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will of expression of the people of

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Bangladesh shikina promised that she was

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averting a constitutional crisis by

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holding those elections but in fact what

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she did at the time she brought about a

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constitutional crisis so you had the

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tenure of the last Parliament extending

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to over nearly a month and a half after

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the fical elections of 5th January

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2014 the Parliamentary legislature in

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Bangladesh has 300 seats uh you ended up

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with 600 parliamentarians you handed up

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almost with 100 member cabinet so you

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had two cabinets basically the cabinet

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that existed uh January and po January

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so in fact it her one-sided election

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when the international democratic

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committee was saying you know you need

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to hold a part you know an election that

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is participatory that is inclusive wide

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public opinion in the country all print

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and broadcast broadcast media run

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polling public polling showed that

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almost over 95% of the people wanted a

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neutral ker government to administer the

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elections because they don't believe a

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which had always been done before before

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and it was part of the Constitution and

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she you know went ahead with the

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one-sided election also from missing a

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dialogue that you know I need to have a

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constitutional crisis and immediately

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I'll resume dialogue but it's almost

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been it's been a year now she has not

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resume dialogue she doesn't have the

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Mandate of the people to govern the

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country and she cannot be given any

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chance to go on like this you know

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illegitimately a new constitutional

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crisis has uh become uh apparent the

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leader of the opposition no less a

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former prime minister of the state is

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now padlocked inside her party office

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uh more than that she's being sprayed

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with gas and pepper spray her life could

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be in danger the consequences of that uh

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couldn't be more grave really could they

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you know you said a new constitutional

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crisis has uh come about now

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constitution in Bangladesh has gone out

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the window you know due to uh the

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autocratic nature of shik Hina and her

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illegitimate government you know she has

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enacted and amended the Constitution to

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um enact legislative measures that the

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constitution of Bangladesh can never be

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changed again even after her period you

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know ends it is absolutely ludicrous and

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fical and absurd you know could you have

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that here in Westminster could you have

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it in any par we don't have ation yes

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you don't have a written Constitution

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maybe that's a better idea so what

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what's going to happen you know um she

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fears any leader who who have you know

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she fears beam Zia because of her

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Democratic credibility her you know in

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terms of her attachment to the people of

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Bangladesh remember even during the

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period of uh 2006 when uh at the back

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end when we had uh the interim military

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back Administration coming beum Zia

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didn't leave the country shik Casina did

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um so she is much more engraved among

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the people of Bangladesh she fears her

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democratic acceptability and her

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credibility and out of that fear she is

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you know trying to Bar uh or isolate

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beam Zia from the people of Bangladesh

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but that will is she is she able to

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communicate with the people from the

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office she is she's she's giving

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statements regularly uh in terms of uh

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so you know statements are uh being

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issued um by her office she's issu

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issuing them directly similarly Mr Tark

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Rahman senior Vice chairman of the

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Bangladesh nationalist party uh last

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week uh last Sunday in fact called upon

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the people of Bangladesh his speech was

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aired from London live by a private TV

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channel aushia TV ETV um subsequently

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following his speech after the TV

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channel aired it and it received popular

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Democratic response he called out for

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the PE for the people to uh engage in a

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democratic Uprising to this government

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so after receiving popular response now

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the government has shut down that

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channel arrested uh Mr Salam of ETV who

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is the chairman of ETV on fabricated

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pornography charges so you can see the

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uh the fical nature of this government

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she's digging herself uh deeper and

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deeper into this hole uh if David

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Cameron padlocked Ed miliband into the

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labor party headquarters and spray them

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with gas he would be enhancing the

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popularity of miliband uh manyfold the

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same is almost certainly Happening Here

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in Bangladesh so what's Sheik hina's way

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out of this I think what Sheik Hina has

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done is she is opening up a Ken of worms

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you know the analogy the English analogy

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of oping up a k k of worms to sort of

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duck one bad decision one bad action one

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bad policy she's opening up another uh

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she's committing another bad

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um and you know she's running out