DU teacher, 10 others held as militancy suspects
Source: New Age
September 19, 2008
The police arrested 11 members of Hizbut Tahreer, including three university teachers, in the Rajshahi city Thursday on suspicion of militancy and allegation of attempts to breach emergency rules.
They also seized leaflets, banners and posters of the Islamist outfit along with a microbus and mobile handsets from them. Professor Dr Sayeed Golam Mowla of the management department of Dhaka University, Ahmed Zamal, a chemistry teacher of South East University in Dhaka and Mamun Ansari, a teacher of the Northern University were among the arrested.
‘We arrested the members of Hizbut Tahreer suspecting militancy’, Akramul Hossain, assistant commissioner of city Special Branch of police told reporters. Other arrested persons are Masud Kawsar, Omar Faruk, Moniruzzaman Masud, Saddam Hossain, Akhter Hossain, Jahidul Islam and Mojammel Haque — all students — and microbus driver Jahangir Alam.
Plain-clothes policemen arrested them as they were about to hold a press conference at City Press Club at Sonadighi Mor in the city Thursday morning. They first captured Jahidul Islam and Mojammel Haque, two students of the Rajshahi University of Engineering and Technology, in front of the City Press Club at about 12:30 pm.
The rest nine arrests were made within few minutes at the same venue and all of them were brought to the Boalia Model Police Station for interrogation. ‘We produced all of them before the court’, Humayun Kabir, assistant commissioner of Boalia told New Age.
They were charged with distribution of political and anti-government leaflets under the emergency, the police said. The leaflets urged the people to take oath in the month of Ramadan to overthrow the present government and establish Khilafat— the authority of Allah on earth, the police said.
Hizbut Tahreer members were found distributing such leaflets propagating the same opinion among the people in front of Saheb Bazar Bara Masjid after Tarabih prayers at night, sources said.
Our DU correspondent reports, student activists loyal to Hizbut Tahreer brought out a procession in the Dhaka University campus Thursday denouncing the arrest of their central leader Dr Sayeed Golam Mowla, a professor of management at the university.
They, under the banner of Bangladesh Chhatra Mukti, demonstrated in front of the vice chancellor’s office demanding immediate release of Professor Mowla. Later, activists of some left-leaning student organisations and Awami League-backed Bangladesh Chhatra League also brought out a procession urging the students in general to resist the fundamentalist forces including Chhatra Mukti. They vowed not to allow any kind of fundamentalist students’ platform in Dhaka University campus.
Showing posts with label Police. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Police. Show all posts
Friday, September 19, 2008
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Old trick in new package
Old trick in new package
Source: New Age Editorial
August 19, 2008
The military-controlled interim government’s decision to set up a special police intelligence unit to monitor and report on the activities of the political parties is, we believe, its latest attempt at political engineering although the incumbents have claimed that it is aimed at helping the law-enforcement agencies to maintain public order. The decision indicates that the current regime is still busy trying to find ways to harass political parties and activists, undermine the political process, and redraw the political landscape to suit itself. We also agree with several high-profile politicians from different parties who have suggested that this decision pushes us further towards a ‘police state’.
The national security and intelligence agencies of our country have long been used by elected as well as unelected governments to monitor and report on political activities of rival camps, with a view to unduly clinging to power. At a time when our country needed to have moved away from such practices for the sake of democratic growth, the setting up of a Political Intelligence Operation will now formalise the spying on the politicians by the government’s law-enforcement and intelligence agencies. This is not only absolutely unacceptable but is deeply troubling as well.
Since the current regime’s assumption of power in January of last year, it has seemingly tried to redraw the political landscape through overt and covert attempts at political engineering. For example, there have been repeated attempts by this regime at implementing the ‘minus-two’ plan of politically neutralising Awami League president Sheikh Hasina and Bangladesh Nationalist Party chairperson Khaleda Zia in addition to the apparent efforts to fracture the Awami League and the BNP and to promote alternative leadership within these parties. Even the Election Commission got in on the act late last year when it recognised a splinter faction of the BNP as the party’s mainstream faction and invited it for formal dialogue. Moreover, we have witnessed, with growing disillusionment, the government’s much-hyped anti-corruption campaign be reduced to a mere political tool. We have also heard loud murmurs by those close to the regime about plans for a National Security Council, which, in our opinion, would do nothing more than formalise a role for the country’s armed forces in the running of the state. All these actions, we feel, have complicated the political process and made our democratic quest more difficult.
Against this backdrop, we cannot but be wary of the government’s decision to set up a separate intelligence unit to spy on political leaders and activities, that too only a few months prior to the promised general elections to the ninth parliament. The decision, as already hinted by the politicians, will further complicate the situation. Our recommendations to this regime, therefore, are that it should abandon plans for a Political Intelligence Operation, lift the state of emergency, allow full political activity that is within the bounds of the law, and devote its energy to creating grounds for credible and participatory general elections to be held.
Source: New Age Editorial
August 19, 2008
The military-controlled interim government’s decision to set up a special police intelligence unit to monitor and report on the activities of the political parties is, we believe, its latest attempt at political engineering although the incumbents have claimed that it is aimed at helping the law-enforcement agencies to maintain public order. The decision indicates that the current regime is still busy trying to find ways to harass political parties and activists, undermine the political process, and redraw the political landscape to suit itself. We also agree with several high-profile politicians from different parties who have suggested that this decision pushes us further towards a ‘police state’.
The national security and intelligence agencies of our country have long been used by elected as well as unelected governments to monitor and report on political activities of rival camps, with a view to unduly clinging to power. At a time when our country needed to have moved away from such practices for the sake of democratic growth, the setting up of a Political Intelligence Operation will now formalise the spying on the politicians by the government’s law-enforcement and intelligence agencies. This is not only absolutely unacceptable but is deeply troubling as well.
Since the current regime’s assumption of power in January of last year, it has seemingly tried to redraw the political landscape through overt and covert attempts at political engineering. For example, there have been repeated attempts by this regime at implementing the ‘minus-two’ plan of politically neutralising Awami League president Sheikh Hasina and Bangladesh Nationalist Party chairperson Khaleda Zia in addition to the apparent efforts to fracture the Awami League and the BNP and to promote alternative leadership within these parties. Even the Election Commission got in on the act late last year when it recognised a splinter faction of the BNP as the party’s mainstream faction and invited it for formal dialogue. Moreover, we have witnessed, with growing disillusionment, the government’s much-hyped anti-corruption campaign be reduced to a mere political tool. We have also heard loud murmurs by those close to the regime about plans for a National Security Council, which, in our opinion, would do nothing more than formalise a role for the country’s armed forces in the running of the state. All these actions, we feel, have complicated the political process and made our democratic quest more difficult.
Against this backdrop, we cannot but be wary of the government’s decision to set up a separate intelligence unit to spy on political leaders and activities, that too only a few months prior to the promised general elections to the ninth parliament. The decision, as already hinted by the politicians, will further complicate the situation. Our recommendations to this regime, therefore, are that it should abandon plans for a Political Intelligence Operation, lift the state of emergency, allow full political activity that is within the bounds of the law, and devote its energy to creating grounds for credible and participatory general elections to be held.
New DMP branch to police political parties
New DMP branch to police political parties
AL, BNP deem it a move to harass leaders, activists
Source: Daily Star
August 18, 2008
Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) has launched a new intelligence wing recently to gather information in advance about the activities of different political parties and their front organisations.
Two major political parties--the Awami League (AL) and BNP--said the new intelligence wing has been set up to harass political party leaders and activists.
DMP Commissioner Naim Ahmed, however, said the objective of the Political Intelligence Office (PIO) is not to harass anyone; it is rather to collect information about any incident quickly so that the police can take preventive measures before it escalates into something bigger which may become difficult to handle.
Police sources said after collecting information the PIO will inform the deputy commissioners' offices of the area concerned about the matter.
The PIO will be given the responsibility of collecting details of leaders and activists of different political parties and their front organisations and make a database with the collected data. The PIO will also prepare analytical reports on important political matters.
It has already started gathering information on political agitations, student unrests and violence in garment factories in coordination with Special Branch (SB) of Police in Dhaka.
The PIO has been set up with a specialised team of officials from the Detective Branch (DB) of Police. Deputy Commissioner of South Zone DB Awlad Hossain will supervise the team led by an assistant commissioner of DB.
DB sources said DMP Commissioner Naim Ahmed in an order dated August 12 set up the PIO. Initially, five officials led by an assistant commissioner are working to figure out the PIO's modus operandi.
"The PIO has been set up so that we can get information on any kind of political and other agitations as those initiate and before those spread," DB Deputy Commissioner Awalad Hossain told The Daily Star.
He said, "If we can get any information in advance, we will be able to take preventive measures before the small incident escalates into something big."
DMP Commissioner Naim Ahmed told BBC Bangla Service yesterday that he has set up the PIO under Dhaka Metropolitan Police Rules, 2006.
REACTION
Major political parties, meantime, termed the move illogical and anti-democratic.
Awami League presidium member Motia Chowdhury said it is a ploy to control politics even further and turn the country into a police state.
She said when the government cannot maintain law and order and give people security, it wants to let loose the police on the political parties.
Terming the move illogical, BNP chairperson's adviser Brig Gen (retd) ASM Hannan Shah said the police department should open a new wing to improve the deteriorating law and order instead of snooping on political parties.
"No civilised society has such practices. It is immoral of the present caretaker government. All including the civil society should protest it," he told The Daily Star.
Jatiya Party (JP) acting chairman barrister Anisul Islam Mahmud said no political party would welcome the move.
"It won't be right to engage the police in gathering intelligence on political parties when there is a normal process of collecting information for maintaining law and order," he said.
"Covert surveillance by the police on political parties and political activities is against democratic principles and practices," said Workers' Party President Rahsed Khan Menon.
"I see no reason to launch it," he said.
Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal (JSD) President Hasanul Haque Inu said the government should instead increase the competence and manpower of traditional intelligence agencies.
"The intention to spy on political parties is bad," Inu said.
AL, BNP deem it a move to harass leaders, activists
Source: Daily Star
August 18, 2008
Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) has launched a new intelligence wing recently to gather information in advance about the activities of different political parties and their front organisations.
Two major political parties--the Awami League (AL) and BNP--said the new intelligence wing has been set up to harass political party leaders and activists.
DMP Commissioner Naim Ahmed, however, said the objective of the Political Intelligence Office (PIO) is not to harass anyone; it is rather to collect information about any incident quickly so that the police can take preventive measures before it escalates into something bigger which may become difficult to handle.
Police sources said after collecting information the PIO will inform the deputy commissioners' offices of the area concerned about the matter.
The PIO will be given the responsibility of collecting details of leaders and activists of different political parties and their front organisations and make a database with the collected data. The PIO will also prepare analytical reports on important political matters.
It has already started gathering information on political agitations, student unrests and violence in garment factories in coordination with Special Branch (SB) of Police in Dhaka.
The PIO has been set up with a specialised team of officials from the Detective Branch (DB) of Police. Deputy Commissioner of South Zone DB Awlad Hossain will supervise the team led by an assistant commissioner of DB.
DB sources said DMP Commissioner Naim Ahmed in an order dated August 12 set up the PIO. Initially, five officials led by an assistant commissioner are working to figure out the PIO's modus operandi.
"The PIO has been set up so that we can get information on any kind of political and other agitations as those initiate and before those spread," DB Deputy Commissioner Awalad Hossain told The Daily Star.
He said, "If we can get any information in advance, we will be able to take preventive measures before the small incident escalates into something big."
DMP Commissioner Naim Ahmed told BBC Bangla Service yesterday that he has set up the PIO under Dhaka Metropolitan Police Rules, 2006.
REACTION
Major political parties, meantime, termed the move illogical and anti-democratic.
Awami League presidium member Motia Chowdhury said it is a ploy to control politics even further and turn the country into a police state.
She said when the government cannot maintain law and order and give people security, it wants to let loose the police on the political parties.
Terming the move illogical, BNP chairperson's adviser Brig Gen (retd) ASM Hannan Shah said the police department should open a new wing to improve the deteriorating law and order instead of snooping on political parties.
"No civilised society has such practices. It is immoral of the present caretaker government. All including the civil society should protest it," he told The Daily Star.
Jatiya Party (JP) acting chairman barrister Anisul Islam Mahmud said no political party would welcome the move.
"It won't be right to engage the police in gathering intelligence on political parties when there is a normal process of collecting information for maintaining law and order," he said.
"Covert surveillance by the police on political parties and political activities is against democratic principles and practices," said Workers' Party President Rahsed Khan Menon.
"I see no reason to launch it," he said.
Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal (JSD) President Hasanul Haque Inu said the government should instead increase the competence and manpower of traditional intelligence agencies.
"The intention to spy on political parties is bad," Inu said.
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Bangladesh: End Wave of Killings by Elite Forces
Bangladesh: End Wave of Killings by Elite Forces
Donors Should Not Fund Rapid Action Battalion
Source: Human Rights Watch
(New York, August 11, 2008) – The military-backed interim government should take prompt action to end a wave of unlawful killings by Bangladesh’s elite crime-fighting force, Human Rights Watch said today. Since June 1, 2008, officials from the elite Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) and the police have killed at least 50 individuals under suspect circumstances.
“Despite overwhelming evidence of RAB and police responsibility for unlawful killings, the interim Bangladeshi government seems unwilling to address the problem,” said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “Instead, Bangladesh’s security forces continue to get away with murder.”
After strong national and international criticism of the Rapid Action Battalion for its poor human rights record, RAB killings decreased in 2007 and early 2008. However, this trend has been abruptly broken in recent months and the number of killings has surged, Human Rights Watch said.
For example, around 7 p.m. on July 15, RAB officers in Dhaka arrested Moshiul Alam Sentu, an activist in the student wing of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party. When Sentu’s mother contacted a RAB officer shortly afterwards, he assured her that her son would not be mistreated. Around 4 a.m. the following day, eyewitnesses observed RAB officers dumping Sentu’s body in a paddy field in Barisal city, south of Dhaka. The body had two bullet wounds in the chest and another in the leg. Sentu’s neck was severely bruised and possibly broken, as was his left hand, indicating possible torture. The RAB later stated that it took Sentu to Barisal to recover a cache of hidden arms and that he was killed in crossfire as the RAB team was attacked by his associates.
“The officials responsible for killing Moshiul Alam Sentu and others should be prosecuted and punished to the full extent of the law,” said Adams. “Unless those officers involved are held to account, regardless of rank, the RAB will continue to torture and murder.”
Established in 2004, the RAB immediately became known for its involvement in what the authorities often refer to as “crossfire killings.” Over the past four years, RAB members have killed more than 540 people. Research by Human Rights Watch and others has shown that many of these “crossfire killings” are in fact poorly disguised extrajudicial executions, often preceded by torture.
Tragically, the Bangladeshi police have copied the actions of the RAB, killing several hundred people over the past few years. Since a state of emergency was declared on January 11, 2007, the RAB and the police have often operated together.
On July 26, the mother of Dr. Mizanur Rahman Tutul, the head of the outlawed Purbo Banglar Communist Party (Red Flag faction), informed the media that RAB officers had arrested her son in Dhaka. She urged the government to save her son from “crossfire.” According to the police, Tutul was killed in a shootout between his criminal group and the police on July 27, the day after his mother talked to the press.
The interim government, in power for 19 months, has stated its commitment to establishing a “healthy and stable democratic system” based on the rule of law, but Human Rights Watch said its failure to address impunity is undermining its own reform efforts.
“The rule of law can’t become a reality in Bangladesh unless the very forces tasked with upholding the law are also bound by it,” Adams said.
While the RAB’s human rights record has been so poor that the United States and United Kingdom had refused to work with them officially as partners in counterterror operations, some international agencies and foreign governments have recently initiated or are now considering cooperation with the force. According to reports in Bangladesh’s Daily Star and New Age newspapers, a delegation of US officials from the departments of state, defense and justice visited Bangladesh in mid-July and met with the RAB to explore possibilities for future cooperation. Among other things, the RAB reportedly proposed that the US provide them with equipment and counterterrorism training.
Human Rights Watch urged governments not to work with or provide support to the RAB until it ends its pattern and practice of human rights abuses and holds responsible officials accountable. For a foreign government to provide assistance to the RAB at this point in time would be to condone the RAB’s record of human rights abuses and would raise serious questions about the donor’s commitment to improving human rights in Bangladesh, Human Rights Watch said.
As a state party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and several other human rights treaties, Bangladesh is obliged to thoroughly and promptly investigate serious violations of human rights, prosecute the perpetrators, and in accordance with international fair trial standards punish them if their guilt is established. As far as Human Rights Watch is aware, no RAB officers have ever been held criminally responsible for taking the life of another person or for torture.
Donors Should Not Fund Rapid Action Battalion
Source: Human Rights Watch
(New York, August 11, 2008) – The military-backed interim government should take prompt action to end a wave of unlawful killings by Bangladesh’s elite crime-fighting force, Human Rights Watch said today. Since June 1, 2008, officials from the elite Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) and the police have killed at least 50 individuals under suspect circumstances.
“Despite overwhelming evidence of RAB and police responsibility for unlawful killings, the interim Bangladeshi government seems unwilling to address the problem,” said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “Instead, Bangladesh’s security forces continue to get away with murder.”
After strong national and international criticism of the Rapid Action Battalion for its poor human rights record, RAB killings decreased in 2007 and early 2008. However, this trend has been abruptly broken in recent months and the number of killings has surged, Human Rights Watch said.
For example, around 7 p.m. on July 15, RAB officers in Dhaka arrested Moshiul Alam Sentu, an activist in the student wing of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party. When Sentu’s mother contacted a RAB officer shortly afterwards, he assured her that her son would not be mistreated. Around 4 a.m. the following day, eyewitnesses observed RAB officers dumping Sentu’s body in a paddy field in Barisal city, south of Dhaka. The body had two bullet wounds in the chest and another in the leg. Sentu’s neck was severely bruised and possibly broken, as was his left hand, indicating possible torture. The RAB later stated that it took Sentu to Barisal to recover a cache of hidden arms and that he was killed in crossfire as the RAB team was attacked by his associates.
“The officials responsible for killing Moshiul Alam Sentu and others should be prosecuted and punished to the full extent of the law,” said Adams. “Unless those officers involved are held to account, regardless of rank, the RAB will continue to torture and murder.”
Established in 2004, the RAB immediately became known for its involvement in what the authorities often refer to as “crossfire killings.” Over the past four years, RAB members have killed more than 540 people. Research by Human Rights Watch and others has shown that many of these “crossfire killings” are in fact poorly disguised extrajudicial executions, often preceded by torture.
Tragically, the Bangladeshi police have copied the actions of the RAB, killing several hundred people over the past few years. Since a state of emergency was declared on January 11, 2007, the RAB and the police have often operated together.
On July 26, the mother of Dr. Mizanur Rahman Tutul, the head of the outlawed Purbo Banglar Communist Party (Red Flag faction), informed the media that RAB officers had arrested her son in Dhaka. She urged the government to save her son from “crossfire.” According to the police, Tutul was killed in a shootout between his criminal group and the police on July 27, the day after his mother talked to the press.
The interim government, in power for 19 months, has stated its commitment to establishing a “healthy and stable democratic system” based on the rule of law, but Human Rights Watch said its failure to address impunity is undermining its own reform efforts.
“The rule of law can’t become a reality in Bangladesh unless the very forces tasked with upholding the law are also bound by it,” Adams said.
While the RAB’s human rights record has been so poor that the United States and United Kingdom had refused to work with them officially as partners in counterterror operations, some international agencies and foreign governments have recently initiated or are now considering cooperation with the force. According to reports in Bangladesh’s Daily Star and New Age newspapers, a delegation of US officials from the departments of state, defense and justice visited Bangladesh in mid-July and met with the RAB to explore possibilities for future cooperation. Among other things, the RAB reportedly proposed that the US provide them with equipment and counterterrorism training.
Human Rights Watch urged governments not to work with or provide support to the RAB until it ends its pattern and practice of human rights abuses and holds responsible officials accountable. For a foreign government to provide assistance to the RAB at this point in time would be to condone the RAB’s record of human rights abuses and would raise serious questions about the donor’s commitment to improving human rights in Bangladesh, Human Rights Watch said.
As a state party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and several other human rights treaties, Bangladesh is obliged to thoroughly and promptly investigate serious violations of human rights, prosecute the perpetrators, and in accordance with international fair trial standards punish them if their guilt is established. As far as Human Rights Watch is aware, no RAB officers have ever been held criminally responsible for taking the life of another person or for torture.
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Amnesty International Report 2008: Bangladesh
The state of Human Rights in Bangladesh has deteriorated over 2007 under the military government. Amnesty International Report 2008 provides a quick glimpses of the human rights breaches in Bangladesh which is a must read for human rights activists. Earlier, the US State Department's Human Rights report claimed that human rights records worsened in Bangladesh.
Human rights were severely restricted under a state of emergency imposed in the wake of widespread political violence. Hundreds of thousands of people were reportedly arrested on suspicion of criminal activity or breaches of emergency rules. Torture continued to be widespread. Law enforcement agencies were implicated in the deaths of more than 100 people in custody, but no one was held to account for the deaths. At least six men were executed.
Background
Following weeks of violent clashes between the supporters of the main political parties, a state of emergency was declared on 11 January. Elections scheduled for 22 January were postponed until 2008. President Iajuddin Ahmed appointed a new caretaker government headed by Fakhruddin Ahmed as Chief Adviser and supported by the army, and the army was deployed with the police to maintain law and order.
The new government embarked on an anti-corruption programme, and took steps towards judicial and electoral reform, but the pace of reforms was disappointingly slow. There were also widespread concerns both about the role of the army in the country’s political life and about economic problems, including a sharp rise in the cost of food and other essential goods.
The government announced that it had initiated the creation of a National Human Rights Commission (NHRC). The authorities were urged by Amnesty International to ensure that the NHRC’s mandate, independence and resources would enable it to be an effective mechanism for strengthening human rights protection.
More than 60,000 slum dwellers were forcibly evicted when the government demolished slums in Dhaka, and also in Chittagong and Khulna. They were given no alternative accommodation or compensation.
Cyclone Sidr which hit south-western areas in mid-November caused severe devastation to over a million people’s homes and livelihoods and killed more than 3,000 people.
State of emergency restrictions
Emergency rules restricted freedom of association and assembly, withdrew some constitutional safeguards against arbitrary arrest and gave far-reaching powers of arrest to law enforcement agencies. The ban on political meetings was partially lifted in September to allow political parties to prepare for dialogue with the Election Commission on electoral reforms. Members of parties supported by the authorities were allowed to meet with no restrictions throughout the year.
Fair trial safeguards were weakened by the use of Special Courts which imposed tight restrictions on defendants’ access to lawyers, and by the denial of bail to defendants charged under emergency regulations.
Police and security forces – torture and deaths in custody
The security forces, including army and paramilitary units deployed under emergency rule with the police, committed human rights violations with impunity, including torture and other ill-treatment and alleged extrajudicial executions. The police force was inadequately trained and equipped and lacked effective accountability and oversight mechanisms. Army personnel accused of human rights violations remained almost entirely outside the purview of civilian judicial accountability mechanisms.
Rang Lai Mro, a community leader in the Chittagong Hill Tracts, was arrested on 23 February and allegedly tortured by army personnel. He required hospital treatment for his injuries. He was charged with possession of arms and reportedly sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment. In October he was reportedly taken back into police custody, beaten again, and once more needed hospital treatment. There was no reported investigation into the torture allegations.
Sahebullah was reportedly detained on 16 May by Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) personnel and tortured in the office of the director of the Rajshahi Medical College Hospital. Both his legs were reportedly broken. He was arrested after demanding that a doctor attend to his wife, who had not been treated for 12 hours. She died the next day.
Law enforcement agencies were implicated in the deaths of more than 100 people in custody. No action was apparently taken to bring those responsible to justice.
Khabirul Islam Dulal, from Char Fashion Municipality in Bohla district, was arrested by navy personnel on 20 February. He was reportedly beaten, thrown in a pond with his hands tied with rope, and beaten again. He died that evening.
Garo indigenous leader Cholesh Richil died on 18 May while in the custody of Joint Forces (army and police) personnel. There were strong indications that he died under torture. Three other members of the Garo community – Tohin Hadima, Piren Simsung and Protap Jambila – were arrested at the same time and reportedly tortured. The government set up a judicial inquiry into Cholesh Richil’s death, but there was no news about it by the year’s end.
Arbitrary detention
According to media reports, officials stated that over 440,000 people were arrested on various grounds during the year. Many detainees were detained arbitrarily, initially held under emergency rules, then served with a detention order under the 1974 Special Powers Act (SPA). Some were then charged with politically motivated criminal offences.
Some people held under emergency rules were accused of “extortion” or other criminal activity. Detainees included over 160 politicians from the main political parties, as well as some wealthy business people. A number of detainees held without trial under emergency regulations or the SPA were reportedly tortured or ill-treated.
Shahidul Islam, a human rights activist, was charged with murder on the basis of a “confession” by another detainee, Badrul, in February. This charge blocked the release of Shahidul Islam when his detention order under the SPA expired in late February. Badrul retracted his original statement in court, saying he had been forced to make it by police. However, the charge against Shahidul Islam was not dropped and he was reportedly tortured in detention before being released on bail in late August.
Following clashes in August between law enforcement agencies and students in Dhaka and Rajshahi demanding an end to the state of emergency, 10 university lecturers from Dhaka and Rajshahi universities were detained. They were prisoners of conscience. Dozens of students were also arrested, accused of involvement in clashes. The six Rajshahi University lecturers were released in December but the four Dhaka University lecturers remained in detention.
Freedom of expression
Although wide-ranging emergency restrictions on the news media were not strictly enforced, their continued existence intensified self-censorship by journalists and editors. Journalists were threatened with arrest if they criticized intelligence agencies or the army.
Arifur Rahman, a cartoonist, was arrested on 17 September over a cartoon that used the name of the prophet Muhammad, following threats by Islamist groups. He was charged with “hurting religious sentiments” and was a prisoner of conscience. A 30-day detention order was issued against him under the SPA and extended for a further three months.
Human rights defenders
As in previous years, human rights defenders were subjected to arbitrary detention and torture. Lawyers were allegedly threatened with arrest on corruption charges if they took up high-profile cases.
Prisoner of conscience Tasneem Khalil, a journalist who worked with the Daily Star newspaper, CNN and Human Rights Watch, was detained on 11 May and reportedly tortured because he had supplied information on human rights violations.
Prisoner of conscience Jahangir Alam Akash, journalist and local head of two human rights organizations, was arrested on 24 October by RAB agents in the north-western city of Rajshahi. He was reportedly given electric shocks, was beaten on the soles of his feet with a stick, and was hung from the ceiling with his hands tied. He was transferred to the Rajshahi Jail hospital with multiple injuries. His detention followed his television news report in May about the shooting of an unarmed man by RAB agents. He was charged with extortion, a charge widely believed to be false and politically motivated, and held in detention for over a month before being released on bail.
Justice system
The government took steps to implement the Supreme Court’s 1999 ruling requiring separation of the judiciary from the executive, including amendments to relevant laws. On 1 November the new system came into effect. However, reports indicated that executive magistrates would retain some judicial powers.
Past human rights abuses
Demands gathered momentum during the year for the investigation of war crimes, crimes against humanity and other serious violations of human rights and humanitarian law committed in 1971. However, as in the past, no action was taken by the government to implement the 1973 International Crimes (Tribunals) Act and no official commission was ever established to provide a comprehensive account of the events of 1971, to determine responsibilities and to make recommendations for reparation for the victims.
Violence against women
Violence against women continued to be reported, including beatings, acid attacks and dowry deaths.
In Kushtia district, in the month of June alone, police and hospital records reportedly revealed that at least 19 women committed suicide and 65 more attempted suicide because of violence by their husbands or family members.
Death penalty
At least 90 men and three women were sentenced to death, and at least six men were executed.
Human rights were severely restricted under a state of emergency imposed in the wake of widespread political violence. Hundreds of thousands of people were reportedly arrested on suspicion of criminal activity or breaches of emergency rules. Torture continued to be widespread. Law enforcement agencies were implicated in the deaths of more than 100 people in custody, but no one was held to account for the deaths. At least six men were executed.
Background
Following weeks of violent clashes between the supporters of the main political parties, a state of emergency was declared on 11 January. Elections scheduled for 22 January were postponed until 2008. President Iajuddin Ahmed appointed a new caretaker government headed by Fakhruddin Ahmed as Chief Adviser and supported by the army, and the army was deployed with the police to maintain law and order.
The new government embarked on an anti-corruption programme, and took steps towards judicial and electoral reform, but the pace of reforms was disappointingly slow. There were also widespread concerns both about the role of the army in the country’s political life and about economic problems, including a sharp rise in the cost of food and other essential goods.
The government announced that it had initiated the creation of a National Human Rights Commission (NHRC). The authorities were urged by Amnesty International to ensure that the NHRC’s mandate, independence and resources would enable it to be an effective mechanism for strengthening human rights protection.
More than 60,000 slum dwellers were forcibly evicted when the government demolished slums in Dhaka, and also in Chittagong and Khulna. They were given no alternative accommodation or compensation.
Cyclone Sidr which hit south-western areas in mid-November caused severe devastation to over a million people’s homes and livelihoods and killed more than 3,000 people.
State of emergency restrictions
Emergency rules restricted freedom of association and assembly, withdrew some constitutional safeguards against arbitrary arrest and gave far-reaching powers of arrest to law enforcement agencies. The ban on political meetings was partially lifted in September to allow political parties to prepare for dialogue with the Election Commission on electoral reforms. Members of parties supported by the authorities were allowed to meet with no restrictions throughout the year.
Fair trial safeguards were weakened by the use of Special Courts which imposed tight restrictions on defendants’ access to lawyers, and by the denial of bail to defendants charged under emergency regulations.
Police and security forces – torture and deaths in custody
The security forces, including army and paramilitary units deployed under emergency rule with the police, committed human rights violations with impunity, including torture and other ill-treatment and alleged extrajudicial executions. The police force was inadequately trained and equipped and lacked effective accountability and oversight mechanisms. Army personnel accused of human rights violations remained almost entirely outside the purview of civilian judicial accountability mechanisms.
Rang Lai Mro, a community leader in the Chittagong Hill Tracts, was arrested on 23 February and allegedly tortured by army personnel. He required hospital treatment for his injuries. He was charged with possession of arms and reportedly sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment. In October he was reportedly taken back into police custody, beaten again, and once more needed hospital treatment. There was no reported investigation into the torture allegations.
Sahebullah was reportedly detained on 16 May by Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) personnel and tortured in the office of the director of the Rajshahi Medical College Hospital. Both his legs were reportedly broken. He was arrested after demanding that a doctor attend to his wife, who had not been treated for 12 hours. She died the next day.
Law enforcement agencies were implicated in the deaths of more than 100 people in custody. No action was apparently taken to bring those responsible to justice.
Khabirul Islam Dulal, from Char Fashion Municipality in Bohla district, was arrested by navy personnel on 20 February. He was reportedly beaten, thrown in a pond with his hands tied with rope, and beaten again. He died that evening.
Garo indigenous leader Cholesh Richil died on 18 May while in the custody of Joint Forces (army and police) personnel. There were strong indications that he died under torture. Three other members of the Garo community – Tohin Hadima, Piren Simsung and Protap Jambila – were arrested at the same time and reportedly tortured. The government set up a judicial inquiry into Cholesh Richil’s death, but there was no news about it by the year’s end.
Arbitrary detention
According to media reports, officials stated that over 440,000 people were arrested on various grounds during the year. Many detainees were detained arbitrarily, initially held under emergency rules, then served with a detention order under the 1974 Special Powers Act (SPA). Some were then charged with politically motivated criminal offences.
Some people held under emergency rules were accused of “extortion” or other criminal activity. Detainees included over 160 politicians from the main political parties, as well as some wealthy business people. A number of detainees held without trial under emergency regulations or the SPA were reportedly tortured or ill-treated.
Shahidul Islam, a human rights activist, was charged with murder on the basis of a “confession” by another detainee, Badrul, in February. This charge blocked the release of Shahidul Islam when his detention order under the SPA expired in late February. Badrul retracted his original statement in court, saying he had been forced to make it by police. However, the charge against Shahidul Islam was not dropped and he was reportedly tortured in detention before being released on bail in late August.
Following clashes in August between law enforcement agencies and students in Dhaka and Rajshahi demanding an end to the state of emergency, 10 university lecturers from Dhaka and Rajshahi universities were detained. They were prisoners of conscience. Dozens of students were also arrested, accused of involvement in clashes. The six Rajshahi University lecturers were released in December but the four Dhaka University lecturers remained in detention.
Freedom of expression
Although wide-ranging emergency restrictions on the news media were not strictly enforced, their continued existence intensified self-censorship by journalists and editors. Journalists were threatened with arrest if they criticized intelligence agencies or the army.
Arifur Rahman, a cartoonist, was arrested on 17 September over a cartoon that used the name of the prophet Muhammad, following threats by Islamist groups. He was charged with “hurting religious sentiments” and was a prisoner of conscience. A 30-day detention order was issued against him under the SPA and extended for a further three months.
Human rights defenders
As in previous years, human rights defenders were subjected to arbitrary detention and torture. Lawyers were allegedly threatened with arrest on corruption charges if they took up high-profile cases.
Prisoner of conscience Tasneem Khalil, a journalist who worked with the Daily Star newspaper, CNN and Human Rights Watch, was detained on 11 May and reportedly tortured because he had supplied information on human rights violations.
Prisoner of conscience Jahangir Alam Akash, journalist and local head of two human rights organizations, was arrested on 24 October by RAB agents in the north-western city of Rajshahi. He was reportedly given electric shocks, was beaten on the soles of his feet with a stick, and was hung from the ceiling with his hands tied. He was transferred to the Rajshahi Jail hospital with multiple injuries. His detention followed his television news report in May about the shooting of an unarmed man by RAB agents. He was charged with extortion, a charge widely believed to be false and politically motivated, and held in detention for over a month before being released on bail.
Justice system
The government took steps to implement the Supreme Court’s 1999 ruling requiring separation of the judiciary from the executive, including amendments to relevant laws. On 1 November the new system came into effect. However, reports indicated that executive magistrates would retain some judicial powers.
Past human rights abuses
Demands gathered momentum during the year for the investigation of war crimes, crimes against humanity and other serious violations of human rights and humanitarian law committed in 1971. However, as in the past, no action was taken by the government to implement the 1973 International Crimes (Tribunals) Act and no official commission was ever established to provide a comprehensive account of the events of 1971, to determine responsibilities and to make recommendations for reparation for the victims.
Violence against women
Violence against women continued to be reported, including beatings, acid attacks and dowry deaths.
In Kushtia district, in the month of June alone, police and hospital records reportedly revealed that at least 19 women committed suicide and 65 more attempted suicide because of violence by their husbands or family members.
Death penalty
At least 90 men and three women were sentenced to death, and at least six men were executed.
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Bangladeshi workers held in Kuwait
Bangladeshi workers held in Kuwait
Staff Correspondent
Daily Star
July 29, 2008
Kuwaiti Police yesterday arrested some Bangladeshi workers after they went on a rampage while protesting low wages, poor working conditions and other exploitations over the last couple of days.
According to the Arab Times, about 2,000 Bangladeshi workers, employed by Al-Jawhara Company for Stevedoring and Cleaning in Hassawi in Kuwait, destroyed six vehicles and injured five camp officials on Sunday.
The protesting workers also attacked the company office in Jleeb Al-Shyoukh on Saturday evening.
Police finally brought the situation under control, clubbing the demonstrating workers, reported AFP.
Shahriar Kader Siddiky, labour counsellor of Bangladesh Embassy in Kuwait told The Daily Star yesterday, "I have received reports that special forces of Kuwaiti police have made some arrests. "
He was not able to say how many had been arrested.
Thousands of cleaning workers employed by some 15 to 20 companies and assigned jobs under various government projects in Kuwait have been protesting for the last few days. The protests turned violent Sunday with a few groups of workers turning violent.
Siddiky said, "Officials of Kuwait's labour ministry have agreed to most of the demands by the workers, including fixing the minimum wage at 40 Kuwait Dinars (KD) per month. Some workers are now demanding that the company owners give this in writing," Siddiky said.
It has been reported lately that the ministry would send inspectors to labour camps to take stock of workers' living conditions and address their grievances.
Meanwhile Foreign Adviser Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury yesterday met with the Kuwaiti envoy to Dhaka Abdullatif Ali Al-Mawash and discussed the issue of the protesting Bangladeshi workers.
Iftekhar later told the press that Bangladesh and Kuwait are friendly countries and should be able to address issues of mutual interest amicably.
The workers have been complaining against poor wages, poor working conditions, overtime without pay, lack of sick leave and vacations, etc. The workers also claim that employers force workers to pay extra for health and residency -- costs they say should be borne by the companies.
According to the Arab Times, workers reportedly damaged furniture, computers, printers and other office equipment. Jleeb Al-Shyoukh is home to thousands of Bangladeshi cleaners, who live in squalid camps and most get paid as low as KD 18 a month (1 dinar = Tk 258).
A worker told the Arab Times that anger among the workers has been simmering for a long a time now. The workers had earlier warned the five supervisors working against their interests.
The scuffle occurred when some workers confronted the supervisors as to why certain deductions were being made from their already low wages. The supervisors reportedly threatened the cleaners.
Another worker said that they had taken their problems and demands to the company but it had all fallen on deaf ears.
“We know it is wrong to take the law in our hands but our situation is worsening by the day,” he said.
Al-Jawhara company's operations manager K John said that the government is partly to be blamed for the low wage situation, Arab Times reported.
“The workers demand health insurance, which is KD 50 per person, while it is only KD 10 for domestic maids. This makes it difficult for companies to provide it," John said.
“The municipality itself pays around KD 23 per cleaner, and the government can't expect us to pay more than that. Our workers receive anywhere between KD 20 and KD 70.”
John said that work tender is another complication where small players make abysmally low quotes to win the tenders which messes up the quality of this sector, which also complicates the situation.
Other Bangladeshi workers employed in Kuwait have also been in the news recently for protesting low wages and poor working conditions.
Staff Correspondent
Daily Star
July 29, 2008
Kuwaiti Police yesterday arrested some Bangladeshi workers after they went on a rampage while protesting low wages, poor working conditions and other exploitations over the last couple of days.
According to the Arab Times, about 2,000 Bangladeshi workers, employed by Al-Jawhara Company for Stevedoring and Cleaning in Hassawi in Kuwait, destroyed six vehicles and injured five camp officials on Sunday.
The protesting workers also attacked the company office in Jleeb Al-Shyoukh on Saturday evening.
Police finally brought the situation under control, clubbing the demonstrating workers, reported AFP.
Shahriar Kader Siddiky, labour counsellor of Bangladesh Embassy in Kuwait told The Daily Star yesterday, "I have received reports that special forces of Kuwaiti police have made some arrests. "
He was not able to say how many had been arrested.
Thousands of cleaning workers employed by some 15 to 20 companies and assigned jobs under various government projects in Kuwait have been protesting for the last few days. The protests turned violent Sunday with a few groups of workers turning violent.
Siddiky said, "Officials of Kuwait's labour ministry have agreed to most of the demands by the workers, including fixing the minimum wage at 40 Kuwait Dinars (KD) per month. Some workers are now demanding that the company owners give this in writing," Siddiky said.
It has been reported lately that the ministry would send inspectors to labour camps to take stock of workers' living conditions and address their grievances.
Meanwhile Foreign Adviser Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury yesterday met with the Kuwaiti envoy to Dhaka Abdullatif Ali Al-Mawash and discussed the issue of the protesting Bangladeshi workers.
Iftekhar later told the press that Bangladesh and Kuwait are friendly countries and should be able to address issues of mutual interest amicably.
The workers have been complaining against poor wages, poor working conditions, overtime without pay, lack of sick leave and vacations, etc. The workers also claim that employers force workers to pay extra for health and residency -- costs they say should be borne by the companies.
According to the Arab Times, workers reportedly damaged furniture, computers, printers and other office equipment. Jleeb Al-Shyoukh is home to thousands of Bangladeshi cleaners, who live in squalid camps and most get paid as low as KD 18 a month (1 dinar = Tk 258).
A worker told the Arab Times that anger among the workers has been simmering for a long a time now. The workers had earlier warned the five supervisors working against their interests.
The scuffle occurred when some workers confronted the supervisors as to why certain deductions were being made from their already low wages. The supervisors reportedly threatened the cleaners.
Another worker said that they had taken their problems and demands to the company but it had all fallen on deaf ears.
“We know it is wrong to take the law in our hands but our situation is worsening by the day,” he said.
Al-Jawhara company's operations manager K John said that the government is partly to be blamed for the low wage situation, Arab Times reported.
“The workers demand health insurance, which is KD 50 per person, while it is only KD 10 for domestic maids. This makes it difficult for companies to provide it," John said.
“The municipality itself pays around KD 23 per cleaner, and the government can't expect us to pay more than that. Our workers receive anywhere between KD 20 and KD 70.”
John said that work tender is another complication where small players make abysmally low quotes to win the tenders which messes up the quality of this sector, which also complicates the situation.
Other Bangladeshi workers employed in Kuwait have also been in the news recently for protesting low wages and poor working conditions.
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Caution against death in police-rab custody
Home ministry cautions lawmen against custodial death
Source: New Age
Date: January 30, 2008
The home affairs ministry on Tuesday cautioned law enforcement agencies against death in custody. Senior officials of law enforcement agencies such as the police and the Rapid Action Battalion were instructed to ensure that such incidents do not take place further, an official source said.
The directive was given at a meeting chaired by the home affairs adviser, MA Matin. The home secretary, inspector general of police, Rapid Action Battalion director general and senior officials of the agencies concerned attended the meeting. This was the first meeting of the adviser with the heads and senior officials of the law enforcement agencies after assuming the office of the home affairs ministry on January 16.
Matin, a retired army official who also heads the national coordination committee against corruption and serious crimes, issued 30-point instructions for the lawmen to go by in keeping order to hold free and fair national elections by the end of 2008. He directed the police to send to the home ministry as soon as possible the cases that could warrant speedy trial.
The adviser asked police officials to build better relations with people. He stressed the need for positive behavioural changes in policemen. One hundred and eighty-four were reportedly killed extra-judicially by the law enforcement agencies in 2007, according to a report released by human rights coalition Odhikar. The report said 130 had been killed in the ‘crossfire.’
Of them, 94 were killed by the Rapid Action Battalion, 64 by the police, 3 jointly by the battalion and the police, 7 each by the ‘joint forces’ and the army, 3 by the navy, 1 each by the jail police, coast guards, forest guards, Bangladesh Rifles and 2 by the officers of the Department of Narcotics Control. The number of extra-judicial killings in 2007 was lower than what it was in the preceding year.
The meeting asked the police and intelligence agencies to closely monitor labour unrest in readymade garments factories to keep the situation under control. It also asked the police to set up one-stop service centres at strategic points in cities to check harassment of girls and women.
Matin asked the law enforcers to conduct proper investigation into the cases related to acid throwing as the meeting observed the accused in most cases are released because of weak inquiry and lack of evidence. He also directed the traffic wing of the police to ensure that the vehicles having fake licences or without fitness clearances do not run on the city roads.
Source: New Age
Date: January 30, 2008
The home affairs ministry on Tuesday cautioned law enforcement agencies against death in custody. Senior officials of law enforcement agencies such as the police and the Rapid Action Battalion were instructed to ensure that such incidents do not take place further, an official source said.
The directive was given at a meeting chaired by the home affairs adviser, MA Matin. The home secretary, inspector general of police, Rapid Action Battalion director general and senior officials of the agencies concerned attended the meeting. This was the first meeting of the adviser with the heads and senior officials of the law enforcement agencies after assuming the office of the home affairs ministry on January 16.
Matin, a retired army official who also heads the national coordination committee against corruption and serious crimes, issued 30-point instructions for the lawmen to go by in keeping order to hold free and fair national elections by the end of 2008. He directed the police to send to the home ministry as soon as possible the cases that could warrant speedy trial.
The adviser asked police officials to build better relations with people. He stressed the need for positive behavioural changes in policemen. One hundred and eighty-four were reportedly killed extra-judicially by the law enforcement agencies in 2007, according to a report released by human rights coalition Odhikar. The report said 130 had been killed in the ‘crossfire.’
Of them, 94 were killed by the Rapid Action Battalion, 64 by the police, 3 jointly by the battalion and the police, 7 each by the ‘joint forces’ and the army, 3 by the navy, 1 each by the jail police, coast guards, forest guards, Bangladesh Rifles and 2 by the officers of the Department of Narcotics Control. The number of extra-judicial killings in 2007 was lower than what it was in the preceding year.
The meeting asked the police and intelligence agencies to closely monitor labour unrest in readymade garments factories to keep the situation under control. It also asked the police to set up one-stop service centres at strategic points in cities to check harassment of girls and women.
Matin asked the law enforcers to conduct proper investigation into the cases related to acid throwing as the meeting observed the accused in most cases are released because of weak inquiry and lack of evidence. He also directed the traffic wing of the police to ensure that the vehicles having fake licences or without fitness clearances do not run on the city roads.
Sunday, January 6, 2008
AHRC Statement on Bangladesh Police
BANGLADESH: End misuse of authority upon the police and by the police
Source: Asian Human Rights Commission
Date: January 3, 2008
On 31 December 2007 an online news agency -- BD News24.com -- of Bangladesh published a report with the title ‘DMP commissioner blames failure of police on political pressure’. The report said unwarranted influence and pressure from outside, jeopardised the freedom of the police administration. The report further said that the main cause of harassment by police is the decades-old irregularity and absence of rules for which the police is not responsible. The report stated that these observations were made by Mr. Naim Ahmed, Commissioner of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP). The Commissioner made the above remarks in his speech in a workshop organised on police reforms.
The workshop and training programme, which aimed at motivating the police to be people-friendly, started on Monday 31 December 2007. About 2,000 DMP officers ranging from superintendent to constable attended the workshop. In his speech, the Commissioner also remarked that the police failed to discharge their responsibility properly due to the pressure from politicians and sometimes even from within the department. In the keynote address, the officer also observed that one of the main causes of public harassment by the police is due to the appointment of inefficient persons as police officers. The Commissioner further admitted that professional inefficiency and lack of knowledge within the police department made things worse and that the police sometimes arrest people without reason, and they intimidate innocent persons with arrest and abuse of law, particularly Section 54 of the Code of Criminal Procedure 1898 and the DMP Ordinance 1976.
While appreciating the confessions of the ‘top cop’ as a first sign of correction of errors, the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is of the opinion that public confession alone will not improve the situation of policing in Bangladesh. Jurists, bureaucrats, policymakers and human rights defenders must sit together with a view to discuss these real problems of policing in the country.
A number of questions emerge from the admissions made by the DMP Commissioner: Who are those involved in recruiting the inefficient and unqualified candidates to the service? What procedure is available to adjudicate the quality of recruitment as well as to monitor the process of recruitment in the police department? Who is responsible for overburdening the department with such unqualified persons? Subsequent to the recruitment, are there any credible and continuous training programmes to enable the officers develop their skill and to increase their efficiency? Are there any independent and credible mechanisms for taking disciplinary actions against erring officers? Are there any available mechanisms for monitoring their performance and making the police accountable?
If the answer to all these questions is an emphatic ‘no’, then lamenting about the problems alone will not help. These questions are not exclusively limited to the police force, but equally applicable to all law enforcement agencies in the country. As of now in Bangladesh, a uniformed officer is often conceived as an expendable pawn by those in authority and power and a burden and menace to the common man.
Yet another grievance heard quite often within the police force is about unwarranted pressure from outside, meaning the politicians of the country. This is often viewed as a cancer affecting the autonomy of the force. Everyone in Bangladesh is aware that political influence tarnishes the image of the police and also hinders their work. Whatever professionalism is left within the force is thrown out of the window the moment an external element like a politician throws his or her weight upon the force. Such interferences are not limited to some high profile cases, but are expected even for petty disputes which would not even qualify for a police action in other jurisdictions. As of today, the police force in Bangladesh does not know how to deal with this unwarranted interference, but rather enjoys it as an additional means for corruption. The morality of the Bangladesh police is probably the lowest in the region.
The problem is in the mindset of the police force and the policy makers. While the police force consents to exploitation by the authorities, particularly the politicians, the politicians conceive the state police as tool for exerting undue pressure. In this process the police resort to violence against the people like torture or extrajudicial execution.
Currently, there is a programme sponsored by the UNDP to reform the police force in Bangladesh. The Ministry of Home Affairs, for better of worse, is now proposing a bill to address the problems in policing in Bangladesh. The AHRC is of the opinion that now that there is a window of opportunity, all concerned persons in Bangladesh must make use of the occasion to discuss and debate about the decades-long problems in policing in the country. Such an opportunity does not come very often. This discourse should engage the UNDP in understanding the convictions of the ordinary people about their police.
Model police stations and standard best practices are only good on paper. To improve the situation of policing in Bangladesh, the primary requisite is to find ways to improve the confidence of the ordinary persons concerning their police. At the end of the day, the Bangladeshi police are for the Bangladeshis. There is no way out but discarding practices of abuse of power, and replacing them with trustworthy professionalism in the service of citizens.
Source: Asian Human Rights Commission
Date: January 3, 2008
On 31 December 2007 an online news agency -- BD News24.com -- of Bangladesh published a report with the title ‘DMP commissioner blames failure of police on political pressure’. The report said unwarranted influence and pressure from outside, jeopardised the freedom of the police administration. The report further said that the main cause of harassment by police is the decades-old irregularity and absence of rules for which the police is not responsible. The report stated that these observations were made by Mr. Naim Ahmed, Commissioner of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP). The Commissioner made the above remarks in his speech in a workshop organised on police reforms.
The workshop and training programme, which aimed at motivating the police to be people-friendly, started on Monday 31 December 2007. About 2,000 DMP officers ranging from superintendent to constable attended the workshop. In his speech, the Commissioner also remarked that the police failed to discharge their responsibility properly due to the pressure from politicians and sometimes even from within the department. In the keynote address, the officer also observed that one of the main causes of public harassment by the police is due to the appointment of inefficient persons as police officers. The Commissioner further admitted that professional inefficiency and lack of knowledge within the police department made things worse and that the police sometimes arrest people without reason, and they intimidate innocent persons with arrest and abuse of law, particularly Section 54 of the Code of Criminal Procedure 1898 and the DMP Ordinance 1976.
While appreciating the confessions of the ‘top cop’ as a first sign of correction of errors, the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is of the opinion that public confession alone will not improve the situation of policing in Bangladesh. Jurists, bureaucrats, policymakers and human rights defenders must sit together with a view to discuss these real problems of policing in the country.
A number of questions emerge from the admissions made by the DMP Commissioner: Who are those involved in recruiting the inefficient and unqualified candidates to the service? What procedure is available to adjudicate the quality of recruitment as well as to monitor the process of recruitment in the police department? Who is responsible for overburdening the department with such unqualified persons? Subsequent to the recruitment, are there any credible and continuous training programmes to enable the officers develop their skill and to increase their efficiency? Are there any independent and credible mechanisms for taking disciplinary actions against erring officers? Are there any available mechanisms for monitoring their performance and making the police accountable?
If the answer to all these questions is an emphatic ‘no’, then lamenting about the problems alone will not help. These questions are not exclusively limited to the police force, but equally applicable to all law enforcement agencies in the country. As of now in Bangladesh, a uniformed officer is often conceived as an expendable pawn by those in authority and power and a burden and menace to the common man.
Yet another grievance heard quite often within the police force is about unwarranted pressure from outside, meaning the politicians of the country. This is often viewed as a cancer affecting the autonomy of the force. Everyone in Bangladesh is aware that political influence tarnishes the image of the police and also hinders their work. Whatever professionalism is left within the force is thrown out of the window the moment an external element like a politician throws his or her weight upon the force. Such interferences are not limited to some high profile cases, but are expected even for petty disputes which would not even qualify for a police action in other jurisdictions. As of today, the police force in Bangladesh does not know how to deal with this unwarranted interference, but rather enjoys it as an additional means for corruption. The morality of the Bangladesh police is probably the lowest in the region.
The problem is in the mindset of the police force and the policy makers. While the police force consents to exploitation by the authorities, particularly the politicians, the politicians conceive the state police as tool for exerting undue pressure. In this process the police resort to violence against the people like torture or extrajudicial execution.
Currently, there is a programme sponsored by the UNDP to reform the police force in Bangladesh. The Ministry of Home Affairs, for better of worse, is now proposing a bill to address the problems in policing in Bangladesh. The AHRC is of the opinion that now that there is a window of opportunity, all concerned persons in Bangladesh must make use of the occasion to discuss and debate about the decades-long problems in policing in the country. Such an opportunity does not come very often. This discourse should engage the UNDP in understanding the convictions of the ordinary people about their police.
Model police stations and standard best practices are only good on paper. To improve the situation of policing in Bangladesh, the primary requisite is to find ways to improve the confidence of the ordinary persons concerning their police. At the end of the day, the Bangladeshi police are for the Bangladeshis. There is no way out but discarding practices of abuse of power, and replacing them with trustworthy professionalism in the service of citizens.
Sunday, October 21, 2007
Action Plan Proposed at London
Source: Mukto Mona Yahoo Group
PRESS STATEMENT
6 points Action Plan urged upon Caretaker Govt at a seminar at House of Commons. Call for immediate release of political prisoners and fair trials for those detained.
A six points action plan was endorsed by at a seminar held yesterday evening at the British House of Commons organised by Liberation. Liberation has operated for over 50 years dedicated to campaigning against human rights abuse worldwide and against injustice and repression in developing countries. The seminar was chaired by the Chair of Liberation, British Labour Member of Parliament, Jeremy Corbyn. Over 50 people attended this seminar, which included representatives of the UK Awami League, UK Bangladesh Nationalist Party, local community representatives and local Councillors. The main Panel speakers were Baroness Pola Uddin, member of the Upper House of Lords and a representative from Amnesty International. Contributions from the floor included representatives from both the Awami League and the Bangladesh Nationalist Party. At the conclusion of the seminar, the meeting endorsed unanimously a six point action plan. Urging the military backed Caretaker government to:
Immediate lifting of the state of emergency;
Withdrawal on ban on outdoor politics, noting the decision of the Caretaker government of the artial lifting of ban on indoor politics;
Immediate release of all political prisoners, including senior leaders of all major political parties such as Sheikh Hasina & Mrs.Zia;
Fair trial with proper independent legal advice for those detained under special emergency rules. The meeting urged the Caretaker government to give detainees access to independent Lawyers; Holding the parliamentary elections by February 2008 latest;
Sending an All Party Parliamentary delegation to Bangladesh before the end of the year to assess the political situation and investigate complaints of human rights abuse.
Opening the seminar, the Chair, Jeremy Corbyn,MP expressed concerns on the recent deterioration of political situation in Bangladesh, particularly the student unrests and protests against military rule. He was concerned about the large numbers of people taken into custody and the temporary imposition of curfew. While welcoming the announcement by the Caretaker government on the road map to democracy with a pledge to hold elections by the end of December 2008, he reminded the audience of the concerns expressed by the Commonwealth Secretary General, Don McKinnon that Bangladesh’s caretaker government “is playing with
fire by delaying elections until the end of next year.” He agreed with the Commonwealth Secretary General that the CG administration was pushing the constitutional issue to an absolute extreme by overstaying its term of office beyond three months. Mr.Corbyn was also expressed concerned about the detention of 200,000 people since the state of emergency came into effect and the detention of 20,000 of the administration’s political opponents.
Baroness Pola Uddin stated that she has had discussions with the Caretaker administration’s representatives and had raised concerns about the alleged human rights abuses but urged patience and for the community not to be carried away through emotional sentiments. The CG had implemented a series of popular reforming measures, which had widespread public support, particularly rooting out corruption and corrupt practices. She will urge the British Government to send an All Party delegation to Bangladesh to review the situation and also a delegation through the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association.
A representative from Amnesty International informed the seminar that AI had voiced concerns to the Caretaker government that since it took office, more than 200,000 of its opponents had been taken into detention and majority are being tried under the Special Powers act 1974, which allows them to prosecute them through Special Tribunals. Amnesty was also concerned about grave violation of human rights as the judicial system does not have the independence to over rule and was also concerned about detention orders for long periods, as the Government can detain people arbitrarily.
Ex-diplomat, Mr.Waliur Rahman also addressed the seminar briefly and was happy to note that both main parties were talking the same language. He outlined the grave political situation that existed in the country before the State of emergency was imposed and the commitment by the Caretaker government to hand over power to a democratically elected government before the end of December 2008. The Election Commission had been strengthened and a voters ID list with photos was being prepared. A number of other reform measures were being implemented. He has gave a vivid pictures on the attack of religious minorities after October 2001 election.
Representatives of both the Awami League and the Bangladesh Nationalist Party deplored the conduct of the Caretaker government in harassing and intimidating its senior leaders and criticised the heavy handed approach in arresting its senior leaders – both ex-Prime Ministers. Charges levied against them but not proved had been fabricated to ensure that they were barred from contesting the next elections. The administration had tried unsuccessfully to send both the leaders into exile against their will, and this was confirmed most recently by the Law and Information spokesperson for the administration. The meeting urged MP’s to put pressure upon the British government to urge the Caretaker administration to exercise restraint and to treat them with dignity.
Some participants urged British MP’s to have the British High Commissioner recalled, particularly as his term of office had expired following his adverse comments expressed publicly after the student protests and riots in August.
Maggie Bowden, General Secretary of Liberation promised to campaign for the restoration of democracy in Bangladesh and on the violation of human rights against ordinary citizens based on the six points Action Plan unanimously endorsed. Liberation will hold another public conference in November nearer the time of the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting and will lobby British MP’s, MEP’s and Members of the House of Lords to raise these concerns in Parliament.
PRESS STATEMENT
6 points Action Plan urged upon Caretaker Govt at a seminar at House of Commons. Call for immediate release of political prisoners and fair trials for those detained.
A six points action plan was endorsed by at a seminar held yesterday evening at the British House of Commons organised by Liberation. Liberation has operated for over 50 years dedicated to campaigning against human rights abuse worldwide and against injustice and repression in developing countries. The seminar was chaired by the Chair of Liberation, British Labour Member of Parliament, Jeremy Corbyn. Over 50 people attended this seminar, which included representatives of the UK Awami League, UK Bangladesh Nationalist Party, local community representatives and local Councillors. The main Panel speakers were Baroness Pola Uddin, member of the Upper House of Lords and a representative from Amnesty International. Contributions from the floor included representatives from both the Awami League and the Bangladesh Nationalist Party. At the conclusion of the seminar, the meeting endorsed unanimously a six point action plan. Urging the military backed Caretaker government to:
Immediate lifting of the state of emergency;
Withdrawal on ban on outdoor politics, noting the decision of the Caretaker government of the artial lifting of ban on indoor politics;
Immediate release of all political prisoners, including senior leaders of all major political parties such as Sheikh Hasina & Mrs.Zia;
Fair trial with proper independent legal advice for those detained under special emergency rules. The meeting urged the Caretaker government to give detainees access to independent Lawyers; Holding the parliamentary elections by February 2008 latest;
Sending an All Party Parliamentary delegation to Bangladesh before the end of the year to assess the political situation and investigate complaints of human rights abuse.
Opening the seminar, the Chair, Jeremy Corbyn,MP expressed concerns on the recent deterioration of political situation in Bangladesh, particularly the student unrests and protests against military rule. He was concerned about the large numbers of people taken into custody and the temporary imposition of curfew. While welcoming the announcement by the Caretaker government on the road map to democracy with a pledge to hold elections by the end of December 2008, he reminded the audience of the concerns expressed by the Commonwealth Secretary General, Don McKinnon that Bangladesh’s caretaker government “is playing with
fire by delaying elections until the end of next year.” He agreed with the Commonwealth Secretary General that the CG administration was pushing the constitutional issue to an absolute extreme by overstaying its term of office beyond three months. Mr.Corbyn was also expressed concerned about the detention of 200,000 people since the state of emergency came into effect and the detention of 20,000 of the administration’s political opponents.
Baroness Pola Uddin stated that she has had discussions with the Caretaker administration’s representatives and had raised concerns about the alleged human rights abuses but urged patience and for the community not to be carried away through emotional sentiments. The CG had implemented a series of popular reforming measures, which had widespread public support, particularly rooting out corruption and corrupt practices. She will urge the British Government to send an All Party delegation to Bangladesh to review the situation and also a delegation through the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association.
A representative from Amnesty International informed the seminar that AI had voiced concerns to the Caretaker government that since it took office, more than 200,000 of its opponents had been taken into detention and majority are being tried under the Special Powers act 1974, which allows them to prosecute them through Special Tribunals. Amnesty was also concerned about grave violation of human rights as the judicial system does not have the independence to over rule and was also concerned about detention orders for long periods, as the Government can detain people arbitrarily.
Ex-diplomat, Mr.Waliur Rahman also addressed the seminar briefly and was happy to note that both main parties were talking the same language. He outlined the grave political situation that existed in the country before the State of emergency was imposed and the commitment by the Caretaker government to hand over power to a democratically elected government before the end of December 2008. The Election Commission had been strengthened and a voters ID list with photos was being prepared. A number of other reform measures were being implemented. He has gave a vivid pictures on the attack of religious minorities after October 2001 election.
Representatives of both the Awami League and the Bangladesh Nationalist Party deplored the conduct of the Caretaker government in harassing and intimidating its senior leaders and criticised the heavy handed approach in arresting its senior leaders – both ex-Prime Ministers. Charges levied against them but not proved had been fabricated to ensure that they were barred from contesting the next elections. The administration had tried unsuccessfully to send both the leaders into exile against their will, and this was confirmed most recently by the Law and Information spokesperson for the administration. The meeting urged MP’s to put pressure upon the British government to urge the Caretaker administration to exercise restraint and to treat them with dignity.
Some participants urged British MP’s to have the British High Commissioner recalled, particularly as his term of office had expired following his adverse comments expressed publicly after the student protests and riots in August.
Maggie Bowden, General Secretary of Liberation promised to campaign for the restoration of democracy in Bangladesh and on the violation of human rights against ordinary citizens based on the six points Action Plan unanimously endorsed. Liberation will hold another public conference in November nearer the time of the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting and will lobby British MP’s, MEP’s and Members of the House of Lords to raise these concerns in Parliament.
Thursday, October 11, 2007
Dressing Democracy in Uniform
Dressing Democracy in Uniform
By J. Sri Raman
Source: truthout
Wednesday 10 October 2007
Crusaders for "democracy" may be fervent, but are not fanatical. They, in fact, strongly favor considerable dilution of democracy in three clearly defined cases. The quality of democracy, they concede, must be strained when either "terrorism" or "insurgency" has to be countered. South Asia supplies three current and conspicuous examples.
Pakistan provides the first and the best-known example. "Terrorism" cannot but heavily temper the spirit and substance of democracy that Washington can help to restore here. As "democracy" unfolds in this country according to the script written and periodically revised in Washington, everyone knows of the definite limits to which the exercise can proceed.
To go by the script, a great advance in the process has been made with the election of General Pervez Musharraf as president for a second term. True, even a not wildly anti-imperialist Washington Post has been constrained to editorially call the event "Pakistan's Tainted Election." True, he was elected by a legislature without opposition, by provincial assemblies formed under his personal supervision four years after he grabbed power in a military coup. But, the trusted anti-"terror" ally of George W. Bush had to be kept in power, regardless of the rhetoric of people who saw an acute dichotomy between democracy and army uniform.
The script, of course, does not stop here. What is planned, according to pundits, is the enthronement of a "troika" (as the Washington Post calls it). The collective rule by Musharraf (sans uniform but still sure to look "dashing and debonair" according to an admiring official), former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto (set to return home on October 18 and to power in a subsequent general election), and army chief-in-waiting Ashfaq Pervez Kiyani may not, of course, be contradiction-free. The military-civilian mishmash, however, is the anti-"terror" need of the hour.
For New Delhi, the newfound strategic partner of Washington, "insurgency" is the imperative that overrides impractical considerations of democracy in such cases. India's capital has hardly stifled a heavy sigh of relief over Musharraf's re-election.
Sections of political opinion and media, which have worked for a Washington-New Delhi-Islamabad troika against "terrorism," could not but welcome the turn of events. This found an editorial echo in a major Indian daily, the Indian Express, which recalled "the political capital" that New Delhi had invested in Musharraf and referred to the "considerable progress" made over the problem of insurgency-hit Kashmir. Many others, too, harbor the hope for a solution to the vexed problem behind the backs of the State's people through secret parleys conducted in Australia and other places conveniently away from the subcontinent.
"Terrorism" and "insurgency" again have brought the US and India together in the cause of truncated democracy in Bangladesh. Here, too, the declared objective of the army-backed and Washington-supported caretaker regime is to monitor the restoration of democracy meticulously to ensure that neither of the two most popular political parties returns to power through recklessly free elections.
William B. Milam, former US ambassador to Bangladesh and Pakistan, in his frequent newspaper articles, leaves no doubt about Washington's idea of a true democracy in Bangladesh: one minus both the famous "Begums" - former Prime Ministers Sheikh Hasina Wajed and Khaleda Zia - but under military control and, if possible, with a share in the power for parties and personalities close enough to the West and the World Bank.
As eloquent as Milam's words is the silence emanating from India's Ministry of External Affairs about Bangladesh. While Washington's avowed motive in pushing a military-civilian solution here is to save a populous Islamic state from jihadi "terrorism," India's excuse is once again the imperative to counter "insurgency." Mandarins of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's government and the media briefed by them make no secret of their belief that a military-controlled Bangladesh will help India counter insurgents in the country's north-east operating out of bases across the border.
The counterinsurgency argument is cited again in defense of India's policy of turning a deaf ear to all-round pleas for a pro-democracy role in relation to Burma. Washington may not talk much of "terrorism" in this context, but the large and lucrative investments of multinational corporations of the West and its allies in the country under a cruel junta's jackboots have brought the Bush administration to a position closely proximate to India's.
Washington has issued well-publicized calls for a pro-democracy role by Burma's neighbors, especially India. But, there are more than faint indications that a totally military-free democracy is not what the Bush administration seeks in Burma, at least in the foreseeable future. Prestigious US journal Foreign Affairs, often perceived as reflecting or influencing opinion in Washington, outlines a possible Burma solution, to be attempted under American leadership in its issue for November-December 2007. The article by Michael Green and Derek Mitchell says: "One way to proceed would be for Washington to lead the five key parties - ASEAN, China, India, Japan and the United States - in developing a coordinated international initiative and putting forth a public statement of the principles that underlie their vision for a stable and secure Burma."
The article adds: "The five partners should develop a road map with concrete goalposts that lays out both the benefits that the SPDC (State Peace and Development Council, the Orwellian name the junta has given itself) would enjoy if it pursued true political reform and national reconciliation and the costs it would suffer if it continued to be intransigent."
Significantly, the article says: "One purpose of such a road map would be to reassure the SPDC of regional support for Burma's territorial integrity and security and demonstrate the five parties' commitment to provide, under the appropriate conditions, the assistance necessary to ensure a better future for the country. This would be an important guarantee given the Burmese military's traditional paranoia."
Meanwhile, there are other indications that a military-civilian halfway house will be the destination in the "roadmap" instead of full democracy for Burma. According to some knowledgeable sources, popular pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi is to be given a part akin to Benazir Bhutto's in the unfolding plot. Burmese dictator Than Shwe has reportedly agreed to talk to her if she drops support for anti-Burma sanctions and she is said to have reacted positively. If the initiative succeeds, it may mean an end to her house arrest, but not yet the Burmese people's liberation.
A freelance journalist and a peace activist in India, J. Sri Raman is the author of Flashpoint" (Common Courage Press, USA). He is a regular contributor to Truthout.
By J. Sri Raman
Source: truthout
Wednesday 10 October 2007
Crusaders for "democracy" may be fervent, but are not fanatical. They, in fact, strongly favor considerable dilution of democracy in three clearly defined cases. The quality of democracy, they concede, must be strained when either "terrorism" or "insurgency" has to be countered. South Asia supplies three current and conspicuous examples.
Pakistan provides the first and the best-known example. "Terrorism" cannot but heavily temper the spirit and substance of democracy that Washington can help to restore here. As "democracy" unfolds in this country according to the script written and periodically revised in Washington, everyone knows of the definite limits to which the exercise can proceed.
To go by the script, a great advance in the process has been made with the election of General Pervez Musharraf as president for a second term. True, even a not wildly anti-imperialist Washington Post has been constrained to editorially call the event "Pakistan's Tainted Election." True, he was elected by a legislature without opposition, by provincial assemblies formed under his personal supervision four years after he grabbed power in a military coup. But, the trusted anti-"terror" ally of George W. Bush had to be kept in power, regardless of the rhetoric of people who saw an acute dichotomy between democracy and army uniform.
The script, of course, does not stop here. What is planned, according to pundits, is the enthronement of a "troika" (as the Washington Post calls it). The collective rule by Musharraf (sans uniform but still sure to look "dashing and debonair" according to an admiring official), former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto (set to return home on October 18 and to power in a subsequent general election), and army chief-in-waiting Ashfaq Pervez Kiyani may not, of course, be contradiction-free. The military-civilian mishmash, however, is the anti-"terror" need of the hour.
For New Delhi, the newfound strategic partner of Washington, "insurgency" is the imperative that overrides impractical considerations of democracy in such cases. India's capital has hardly stifled a heavy sigh of relief over Musharraf's re-election.
Sections of political opinion and media, which have worked for a Washington-New Delhi-Islamabad troika against "terrorism," could not but welcome the turn of events. This found an editorial echo in a major Indian daily, the Indian Express, which recalled "the political capital" that New Delhi had invested in Musharraf and referred to the "considerable progress" made over the problem of insurgency-hit Kashmir. Many others, too, harbor the hope for a solution to the vexed problem behind the backs of the State's people through secret parleys conducted in Australia and other places conveniently away from the subcontinent.
"Terrorism" and "insurgency" again have brought the US and India together in the cause of truncated democracy in Bangladesh. Here, too, the declared objective of the army-backed and Washington-supported caretaker regime is to monitor the restoration of democracy meticulously to ensure that neither of the two most popular political parties returns to power through recklessly free elections.
William B. Milam, former US ambassador to Bangladesh and Pakistan, in his frequent newspaper articles, leaves no doubt about Washington's idea of a true democracy in Bangladesh: one minus both the famous "Begums" - former Prime Ministers Sheikh Hasina Wajed and Khaleda Zia - but under military control and, if possible, with a share in the power for parties and personalities close enough to the West and the World Bank.
As eloquent as Milam's words is the silence emanating from India's Ministry of External Affairs about Bangladesh. While Washington's avowed motive in pushing a military-civilian solution here is to save a populous Islamic state from jihadi "terrorism," India's excuse is once again the imperative to counter "insurgency." Mandarins of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's government and the media briefed by them make no secret of their belief that a military-controlled Bangladesh will help India counter insurgents in the country's north-east operating out of bases across the border.
The counterinsurgency argument is cited again in defense of India's policy of turning a deaf ear to all-round pleas for a pro-democracy role in relation to Burma. Washington may not talk much of "terrorism" in this context, but the large and lucrative investments of multinational corporations of the West and its allies in the country under a cruel junta's jackboots have brought the Bush administration to a position closely proximate to India's.
Washington has issued well-publicized calls for a pro-democracy role by Burma's neighbors, especially India. But, there are more than faint indications that a totally military-free democracy is not what the Bush administration seeks in Burma, at least in the foreseeable future. Prestigious US journal Foreign Affairs, often perceived as reflecting or influencing opinion in Washington, outlines a possible Burma solution, to be attempted under American leadership in its issue for November-December 2007. The article by Michael Green and Derek Mitchell says: "One way to proceed would be for Washington to lead the five key parties - ASEAN, China, India, Japan and the United States - in developing a coordinated international initiative and putting forth a public statement of the principles that underlie their vision for a stable and secure Burma."
The article adds: "The five partners should develop a road map with concrete goalposts that lays out both the benefits that the SPDC (State Peace and Development Council, the Orwellian name the junta has given itself) would enjoy if it pursued true political reform and national reconciliation and the costs it would suffer if it continued to be intransigent."
Significantly, the article says: "One purpose of such a road map would be to reassure the SPDC of regional support for Burma's territorial integrity and security and demonstrate the five parties' commitment to provide, under the appropriate conditions, the assistance necessary to ensure a better future for the country. This would be an important guarantee given the Burmese military's traditional paranoia."
Meanwhile, there are other indications that a military-civilian halfway house will be the destination in the "roadmap" instead of full democracy for Burma. According to some knowledgeable sources, popular pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi is to be given a part akin to Benazir Bhutto's in the unfolding plot. Burmese dictator Than Shwe has reportedly agreed to talk to her if she drops support for anti-Burma sanctions and she is said to have reacted positively. If the initiative succeeds, it may mean an end to her house arrest, but not yet the Burmese people's liberation.
A freelance journalist and a peace activist in India, J. Sri Raman is the author of Flashpoint" (Common Courage Press, USA). He is a regular contributor to Truthout.
Tuesday, October 9, 2007
Political skunks are back!
It appears that Bangladesh has already exhausted all the democratic steps as it's turning the wheel to make democracy redundant. After floating the concept of "Truth Commission" to provide a perfect rehab for the corrupt businessmen, it’s now proposing “Unity Government” to bid farewell to democracy and party politics. The army backed Caretaker government is trying to boost hand picked political transformation in Bangladesh through institutionalizing a “Unity Government”. Army has already found its foot soldiers like Badruddoza Chowdhury, Kamal Hossain and General Ersahd to float and advance the concept of unity government. The question remains unanswered why do we need unity government? Who has authorized them to float unity government instead of a democratically elected one? Is this the beginning of the departure from traditional democracy? Is it a new form of democratic sandwich for Bangladesh that was proposed some time ago?
Vandalizing the very concept of democracy in the name national unity is contrary to democratic rules, values and practices. It will only allow politicians to make deals and serve their petty political interests that has already plunged this country into political turmoil. It is no different from the military juntas of Burma, Thailand or Pakistan. The people of Bangladesh sacrificed so many lives for democracy over time that they deserve no less than a perfect democracy. If the army-backed Caretaker government were really committed to democracy and election, it would not have brought back the political villains to recreate another autocratic government in the name of unity or national consensus. Haven’t we seen the military dictators Zia and Ershad’s “Yes” and “No” referendums for grabbing political power? Condemn and stop these political skunks who betrayed with people’s free will for autocratic rulers in the past. They have come back once again to fool the people. Read B Chowdhury calls for govt of national consensus for 10 years:
President of Bikalpa Dhara Bangladesh (BDB) Prof AQM Badruddoza Chowdhury yesterday called for a “government of national consensus” for next ten years comprising all democratic and patriotic political parties that believe in common development programmes.
"In order to bring peace and prosperity in our country and to prevent hartal, demonstrations, damage of public property and bloodshed in the post-election period, we need a government of national consensus for at least ten years," Badruddoza Chowdhury said at an iftar party at city's Sheraton Hotel.
The former president arranged the iftar party in honour of leaders of political parties and civil society and diplomats.
Political party leaders including Awami League (AL) acting President Zillur Rahman, Jatiya Party (JP) chairman HM Ershad, Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal (JSD) President Hasanul Haq Inu, and BNP leader Lt Gen Mir Shawkat Ali appreciated his proposal of bringing unity among the political parties.
In his speech, B Chowdhury urged the political parties to end politics of hatred, retaliation, violence, killings and lies and also refrain from attacking processions or meetings.
He also called upon them not to spread hatred against national leaders of the past or present for political gain.
"Politicians will finally form government and rule the country. Politics cannot run without politicians and political parties," he also said. He hoped that the present caretaker government will hand over power to an elected government by 2008. B Chowdhury urged the government to allow holding council meetings as well as public meetings and organising political parties.
AL acting president Zillur Rahman told the journalists that it's a good proposal. Unity among the political parties is essential for the nation, he added. HM Ershad in his reaction said division between the political parties should come to an end.
He said unity among the political parties is necessary for the country's economic and social development. When asked about the “government of national consensus,” he said “It's a new idea. We need to discuss it within our party."
UNDP Resident Coordinator Renata Lok Dessallien, former adviser to the caretaker government Rokia Afzal Rahman, AL leaders Abdul Hamid and Tofail Ahmed, Jatiya Party acting Chairman Anisul Islam Mahmud, BNP leader Zahiruddin Swapan, Workers Party President Rashed Khan Menon, Krishak Sramik Janata League Chief Kader Siddiqui, Secretary General of Bikalpa Dhara Bangladesh Maj (retd) MA Mannan and editors of different national dailies attended the iftar party.
Friday, October 5, 2007
Bangladesh is at the crossroads
Bangladesh is at the crossroads
Maloy Krishna Dhar
October 4, 2007
Source: Sify News
Political developments during last two years have brought into sharp focus the deep ideological chasm between the forces headed by the pro-liberation combine led by Sheikh Hasina and the post-Mujib political usurpers headed by Begum Zia.
Bangladesh was born out of the aspirations of the Bengali speaking people to achieve political, economic, and cultural freedom from the overwhelming alien ethnic forces represented by Punjabi dominated political, bureaucratic and military hegemony. The movements also aimed at restoration of the unique secular tradition of the Bengali speaking people-on either side of the political fence.
Violent changes imposed on the people of Bangladesh by the conspiratorial forces of Pakistan and the US -- represented by the ISI and the CIA-- and the fundamentalist Jamait-e-Islami had tried to virtually negate the achievements of the liberation war.
Mujib’s death and ultimate capture of power by Zia-ur-Rahman marked the stark dividing line between the forces of liberation, establishment of secular democratic forces represented by the Awami League and the pro-Pakistan, pro-Islamist non-secular forces represented by the BNP. The BNP was not only a political face of the military regime; it emerged as the umbrella for all non-secular Islamist forces.
This was proved beyond doubt when Zia-ur-Rahman allowed the Jamait chief to return to Bangladesh and reopen the fundamentalist shop. Zia’s open collaboration with the CIA and the ISI resulted in recruitment of over 15, 000 Bangladeshis and Rohingyas for undergoing training in ISI, Al Qaeda and Afghan mujahideen camps and fighting against the USSR. Nearly 2000 Bangla jihadis were deputed to Bosnia, Chechnya and other theatres of jihad directly or indirectly sponsored by the US, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Al Qaeda.
After the conclusion of the Afghan jihad, some 8000 odd jihadis returned to Bangladesh and opened new jihadi outfits to Islamicise Bangladesh and remove the last vestiges of the secular identity of the Bangladeshi people. Since then, the Jamait and the jihadi forces have not looked back.
Bangladesh remains sharply divided along this broad contour of pro-liberation, democratic secular forces and the forces supporting and promoting the fundamentalists and jihadi ideologies. Their political battlefront remained ideologically fortified and the country was critically divided into two seemingly irreconcilable camps-secular and communal.
This sharp incompatibility and suspicion coupled with sudden inflation in jihadist terrorist activities made it impossible for the Awami League to walk into an election fray under the corrupt and vitiated dispensation put in place by the Begum Zia government.
The impasse resulted in the installation of a non-political caretaker government. Dr. Fakhruddin Ahmed took the oath of office as Chief Adviser of the Caretaker Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh on January 12.
Dr. Ahmed’s recent statements in the US encouraged hopes that his military backed regime was keen to hold elections in 2008 and hand over power to an elected government. General Moeen U Ahmed (recruited in 1975) has also made appropriate noises promising early election.
Bangladesh army’s “We are the Elite” attitude was borrowed by General Zia and the feeling runs through rank and file that the Armed Forces reserve the final say in all matters of national life. General Moeen has played, so far, a discrete and controlled role in guiding Bangladesh to a stable future. He has not behaved like Musharraf or Suharto.
However, unlike Pakistan, the Bangladesh Army has not emerged as the permanent political soul of the country. Pakistan cannot be run by any political government without support, guidance, interference and blessing of the ISI and the Army. In Bangladesh the elected governments were allowed by the Army to run the country, in a good, bad and worse manner till they messed up the whole act and trampled upon the mandate of the people by indulging in cosmic-sized corrupt practices. Public money was blatantly siphoned to private pockets.
The present phase of purging, including incarceration of Sheikh Hasina and Begum Zia is a part of an operation meant to cleanse that. That corruption cannot be rooted out by military interference alone has been proved in countries like Indonesia, Egypt, Turkey and even in Pakistan. Political, societal and moral ethos of a people cannot be rectified by military or any other coercive forces. The people themselves have to understand that the national wealth is meant for the all the people of the country and not for the political or military elite who manage to grab the government.
But before we point fingers, we must understand that India is also not free from this disease. India did not require military rule or controlled governments to tackle this continuous battle. The democratic process, constitutional remedies, higher judiciary and the spreading education and consciousness of the voters are bringing about gradual changes.
It might take another hundred years for India to overcome the feudal and imperial societal and moral ethos, but it is a step in the right direction. Perhaps Bangladesh can learn this major lesson from India.
The caretaker government in Dhaka recently declared that “indoor political activities” would be allowed and political parties can resume their exercises to refine and redefine their political approaches. In certain quarters in both Awami League and BNP there are open demands for change of leadership. Rebellious activities have divided the BNP into three distinct groups. Begum Zia is no more the undisputed leader of the BNP and the fundamentalist and Islamist forces supporting her are gravitating to Jamait-e-Islami and other Islamic parties like Jatiya Oikya Jote. The core democratic forces in the BNP are in favour of changing leadership.
The Awami League is also going through similar convulsions. “Hasina alone” slogan and magic is not able to work as undissolvable glue. Factional leaders are trying to grab leadership of the party. However, the basic problem of the Awami League and secular, democratic and pro-Mujib forces is that they do not have any viable all-Bangla leadership beyond Sheihk Hasina. She is still the Mujib-face of the liberation and “Amar Sonar Bangla” forces. The fourteen party front, therefore, has to willy-nilly, accept Hasina as the front-face of their struggle. The tertiary movements like Bikalpa Dhara can only thrive under the umbrella of the Awami League and strengthen the left of the centre movement to gradually introduce the socialist and communist political and economic agenda. By itself the Bikalpa Dhara is a minuscule force.
Nebular revival of political activities is as inevitable as growth of bacterial colonies even under harshest environment.
However, the general people of Bangladesh, the economic hub-masters and even a section of the intellectuals have welcomed the military backed non-political interim government. People are generally happy that scores of corrupt tycoons are being brought under the scanner of law and peace has been temporarily restored. The jihadists like HUJI have been banned. Some JMB leaders have been sentenced to death and activities of this Al Qaeda backed jihadi outfit have been restrained.
But the calm on the jihadi front is unnatural. Below the surface a new jihadi organisation Jadid Al Qaeda has announced its emergence. The HUJI remains very active. Its volunteers are affiliated to Islamic Chhatra Shibir and Jamait. The HUJI is a branch of Al Qaeda. It operates in India as Al Qaeda and Lashkar franchisee.
About 20 other militant organisations are quietly spreading their tentacles into the remote villages. Their writ cannot be challenged by the weakened political forces. The police forces including the notorious Rapid Action Battalion or RAB are mysteriously inactive on this front. During last two years about 1000 new madrassa have come up and clandestine arms induction through Rohingya territory and by sea routes has increased. Though Al Haramein, the Saudi NGO has been banned, about twenty other NGOs are pouring in funds to the ultra-jihadists. Normal Bangladeshis expect the military backed government to restrain their activities.
The military backed regime has cracked down on corrupt politicians, bureaucrats and business tycoons. Two major political parties are being screened to identify black wealth. Even Hasina and Begum Zia have been charged for corrupt practices. The regime has suppressed the students and the university teachers in recent months. However, observers opine that the interim regime and the army have not touched the Jamait-e-Islami at all. None of its leaders have been booked under corruption charges. How can the Jamait leaders be exonerated from corruption charges in a country where corruption is as holy as the lessons of the Hadith? This is sending out a wrong message to the people that the mainstream political forces are corrupt and religious parties like the Jamait are full of fakirs and dervishes. Such lavish indulgence is being interpreted as collusion between the army, bureaucracy and members of the interim government and the Jamait led forces. The secular forces are alarmed by this suspected “conspiracy of silence” between the army and the Jamait. The military leaders may like to come out clean on this issue.
The Jamait leaders are allowed to move freely and propagate their political views. the mainstream political forces allege that under alleged patronage of the army and the interim regime the Jamait is emerging as the dominant political umbrella. Other minor religious parties are gravitating towards the Jamait. Political observers feel that if the present trend is allowed to continue the Jamait may emerge as the strongest political umbrella. They fear that the top army leadership and the members of the interim government have not analysed this complicated aspect of Bangladesh’s political future. Would they like to create a Pakistan like political ambience by conceding the political arena completely to the religious parties?
These fears are haunting the people of Bangladesh. They also wonder about the silence and apathy of the US and European Union over this situation. China, they allege, is happy with the emergence of the Jamait and India, as usual, is a silent spectator. On October 2, the Awami League led fourteen party front demanded in a resolution that the Jamait should also be brought under scrutiny and subjected to restrictions imposed on other political parties. This appears to be a healthy development. Such demands and grassroots level activities indicate that containing the communal forces and assures the minority and the secular forces that the spirit of Mujibur Rahman is still alive and the core secular values of the Bengali peoples have not been destroyed by political vicissitudes.
In fact, the secular forces hope that a section of the Army, intelligence services and the bureaucracy would help them in preserving the flaming wicks of liberation and wholesome integrity of the peoples of Bangladesh. The Bangladesh army, especially General Moeen is a product of Mukti Juddha (Freedom War). Besides the political forces he and his successors are also responsible for preserving the values of sacrifices of millions of Bengalis and the martyrdom of Sheikh Mujib.
____________________________________________
The author is available at maloy_d@hotmail.com.
Maloy Krishna Dhar
October 4, 2007
Source: Sify News
Political developments during last two years have brought into sharp focus the deep ideological chasm between the forces headed by the pro-liberation combine led by Sheikh Hasina and the post-Mujib political usurpers headed by Begum Zia.
Bangladesh was born out of the aspirations of the Bengali speaking people to achieve political, economic, and cultural freedom from the overwhelming alien ethnic forces represented by Punjabi dominated political, bureaucratic and military hegemony. The movements also aimed at restoration of the unique secular tradition of the Bengali speaking people-on either side of the political fence.
Violent changes imposed on the people of Bangladesh by the conspiratorial forces of Pakistan and the US -- represented by the ISI and the CIA-- and the fundamentalist Jamait-e-Islami had tried to virtually negate the achievements of the liberation war.
Mujib’s death and ultimate capture of power by Zia-ur-Rahman marked the stark dividing line between the forces of liberation, establishment of secular democratic forces represented by the Awami League and the pro-Pakistan, pro-Islamist non-secular forces represented by the BNP. The BNP was not only a political face of the military regime; it emerged as the umbrella for all non-secular Islamist forces.
This was proved beyond doubt when Zia-ur-Rahman allowed the Jamait chief to return to Bangladesh and reopen the fundamentalist shop. Zia’s open collaboration with the CIA and the ISI resulted in recruitment of over 15, 000 Bangladeshis and Rohingyas for undergoing training in ISI, Al Qaeda and Afghan mujahideen camps and fighting against the USSR. Nearly 2000 Bangla jihadis were deputed to Bosnia, Chechnya and other theatres of jihad directly or indirectly sponsored by the US, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Al Qaeda.
After the conclusion of the Afghan jihad, some 8000 odd jihadis returned to Bangladesh and opened new jihadi outfits to Islamicise Bangladesh and remove the last vestiges of the secular identity of the Bangladeshi people. Since then, the Jamait and the jihadi forces have not looked back.
Bangladesh remains sharply divided along this broad contour of pro-liberation, democratic secular forces and the forces supporting and promoting the fundamentalists and jihadi ideologies. Their political battlefront remained ideologically fortified and the country was critically divided into two seemingly irreconcilable camps-secular and communal.
This sharp incompatibility and suspicion coupled with sudden inflation in jihadist terrorist activities made it impossible for the Awami League to walk into an election fray under the corrupt and vitiated dispensation put in place by the Begum Zia government.
The impasse resulted in the installation of a non-political caretaker government. Dr. Fakhruddin Ahmed took the oath of office as Chief Adviser of the Caretaker Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh on January 12.
Dr. Ahmed’s recent statements in the US encouraged hopes that his military backed regime was keen to hold elections in 2008 and hand over power to an elected government. General Moeen U Ahmed (recruited in 1975) has also made appropriate noises promising early election.
Bangladesh army’s “We are the Elite” attitude was borrowed by General Zia and the feeling runs through rank and file that the Armed Forces reserve the final say in all matters of national life. General Moeen has played, so far, a discrete and controlled role in guiding Bangladesh to a stable future. He has not behaved like Musharraf or Suharto.
However, unlike Pakistan, the Bangladesh Army has not emerged as the permanent political soul of the country. Pakistan cannot be run by any political government without support, guidance, interference and blessing of the ISI and the Army. In Bangladesh the elected governments were allowed by the Army to run the country, in a good, bad and worse manner till they messed up the whole act and trampled upon the mandate of the people by indulging in cosmic-sized corrupt practices. Public money was blatantly siphoned to private pockets.
The present phase of purging, including incarceration of Sheikh Hasina and Begum Zia is a part of an operation meant to cleanse that. That corruption cannot be rooted out by military interference alone has been proved in countries like Indonesia, Egypt, Turkey and even in Pakistan. Political, societal and moral ethos of a people cannot be rectified by military or any other coercive forces. The people themselves have to understand that the national wealth is meant for the all the people of the country and not for the political or military elite who manage to grab the government.
But before we point fingers, we must understand that India is also not free from this disease. India did not require military rule or controlled governments to tackle this continuous battle. The democratic process, constitutional remedies, higher judiciary and the spreading education and consciousness of the voters are bringing about gradual changes.
It might take another hundred years for India to overcome the feudal and imperial societal and moral ethos, but it is a step in the right direction. Perhaps Bangladesh can learn this major lesson from India.
The caretaker government in Dhaka recently declared that “indoor political activities” would be allowed and political parties can resume their exercises to refine and redefine their political approaches. In certain quarters in both Awami League and BNP there are open demands for change of leadership. Rebellious activities have divided the BNP into three distinct groups. Begum Zia is no more the undisputed leader of the BNP and the fundamentalist and Islamist forces supporting her are gravitating to Jamait-e-Islami and other Islamic parties like Jatiya Oikya Jote. The core democratic forces in the BNP are in favour of changing leadership.
The Awami League is also going through similar convulsions. “Hasina alone” slogan and magic is not able to work as undissolvable glue. Factional leaders are trying to grab leadership of the party. However, the basic problem of the Awami League and secular, democratic and pro-Mujib forces is that they do not have any viable all-Bangla leadership beyond Sheihk Hasina. She is still the Mujib-face of the liberation and “Amar Sonar Bangla” forces. The fourteen party front, therefore, has to willy-nilly, accept Hasina as the front-face of their struggle. The tertiary movements like Bikalpa Dhara can only thrive under the umbrella of the Awami League and strengthen the left of the centre movement to gradually introduce the socialist and communist political and economic agenda. By itself the Bikalpa Dhara is a minuscule force.
Nebular revival of political activities is as inevitable as growth of bacterial colonies even under harshest environment.
However, the general people of Bangladesh, the economic hub-masters and even a section of the intellectuals have welcomed the military backed non-political interim government. People are generally happy that scores of corrupt tycoons are being brought under the scanner of law and peace has been temporarily restored. The jihadists like HUJI have been banned. Some JMB leaders have been sentenced to death and activities of this Al Qaeda backed jihadi outfit have been restrained.
But the calm on the jihadi front is unnatural. Below the surface a new jihadi organisation Jadid Al Qaeda has announced its emergence. The HUJI remains very active. Its volunteers are affiliated to Islamic Chhatra Shibir and Jamait. The HUJI is a branch of Al Qaeda. It operates in India as Al Qaeda and Lashkar franchisee.
About 20 other militant organisations are quietly spreading their tentacles into the remote villages. Their writ cannot be challenged by the weakened political forces. The police forces including the notorious Rapid Action Battalion or RAB are mysteriously inactive on this front. During last two years about 1000 new madrassa have come up and clandestine arms induction through Rohingya territory and by sea routes has increased. Though Al Haramein, the Saudi NGO has been banned, about twenty other NGOs are pouring in funds to the ultra-jihadists. Normal Bangladeshis expect the military backed government to restrain their activities.
The military backed regime has cracked down on corrupt politicians, bureaucrats and business tycoons. Two major political parties are being screened to identify black wealth. Even Hasina and Begum Zia have been charged for corrupt practices. The regime has suppressed the students and the university teachers in recent months. However, observers opine that the interim regime and the army have not touched the Jamait-e-Islami at all. None of its leaders have been booked under corruption charges. How can the Jamait leaders be exonerated from corruption charges in a country where corruption is as holy as the lessons of the Hadith? This is sending out a wrong message to the people that the mainstream political forces are corrupt and religious parties like the Jamait are full of fakirs and dervishes. Such lavish indulgence is being interpreted as collusion between the army, bureaucracy and members of the interim government and the Jamait led forces. The secular forces are alarmed by this suspected “conspiracy of silence” between the army and the Jamait. The military leaders may like to come out clean on this issue.
The Jamait leaders are allowed to move freely and propagate their political views. the mainstream political forces allege that under alleged patronage of the army and the interim regime the Jamait is emerging as the dominant political umbrella. Other minor religious parties are gravitating towards the Jamait. Political observers feel that if the present trend is allowed to continue the Jamait may emerge as the strongest political umbrella. They fear that the top army leadership and the members of the interim government have not analysed this complicated aspect of Bangladesh’s political future. Would they like to create a Pakistan like political ambience by conceding the political arena completely to the religious parties?
These fears are haunting the people of Bangladesh. They also wonder about the silence and apathy of the US and European Union over this situation. China, they allege, is happy with the emergence of the Jamait and India, as usual, is a silent spectator. On October 2, the Awami League led fourteen party front demanded in a resolution that the Jamait should also be brought under scrutiny and subjected to restrictions imposed on other political parties. This appears to be a healthy development. Such demands and grassroots level activities indicate that containing the communal forces and assures the minority and the secular forces that the spirit of Mujibur Rahman is still alive and the core secular values of the Bengali peoples have not been destroyed by political vicissitudes.
In fact, the secular forces hope that a section of the Army, intelligence services and the bureaucracy would help them in preserving the flaming wicks of liberation and wholesome integrity of the peoples of Bangladesh. The Bangladesh army, especially General Moeen is a product of Mukti Juddha (Freedom War). Besides the political forces he and his successors are also responsible for preserving the values of sacrifices of millions of Bengalis and the martyrdom of Sheikh Mujib.
____________________________________________
The author is available at maloy_d@hotmail.com.
Tuesday, October 2, 2007
Reality redefined
Reality redefined
Source: New Age Editorial
October 2, 2007
While one would have liked to give the chief adviser the benefit of the doubt and feel reassured by his statement, made this time to the global community, that his government had an ‘unswerving commitment to democracy and to the protection of human rights,’ the distorted and misleading version of the past and the present situation in Bangladesh that he provided to the world suggests that he himself is either unaware of what is going on in this country or is unwilling to provide a true picture of the ground reality in this country to the world outside, writes Shameran Abed
THE chief adviser to the military-driven interim government, Fakhruddin Ahmed, has recently returned from a trip to the United States where he gave a series of talks in New York in addition to addressing a near-empty United Nations General Assembly and attending a reception hosted by the US president, George W Bush. The chief adviser also spoke at a reception given in his honour by a section of the Bangladeshi community of New York. Wherever he went, Fakhruddin stuck to the same message that his government does not have any ambition to remain in power for longer than is necessary and that credible and acceptable elections to the ninth parliament will be held by the end of next year, come hell or high water.
That the chief adviser is aware of the fact that there is growing suspicion and wariness about the real motives of his government and its backers, both nationally and internationally, is evident from the fact that he felt it necessary, time and again, to reiterate that his government is not here to stay but that it was working with elections, with the return to a democratic dispensation in mind. While addressing the Bangladeshi community, the chief adviser claimed that he himself was not in favour of the extended stay of an unelected government and that his interim government was working to bring in an elected government as soon as is practicable.
While one would have liked to give the chief adviser the benefit of the doubt and feel reassured by his statement, made this time to the global community, that his government had an ‘unswerving commitment to democracy and to the protection of human rights,’ the distorted and misleading version of the past and the present situation in Bangladesh that he provided to the world suggests that he himself is either unaware of what is going on in this country or is unwilling to provide a true picture of the ground reality in this country to the world outside.
The chief adviser told the United Nations of the ‘ruinous corruption’ in our country that has undermined our democracy in the last two decades. He spoke of the ‘winner-takes-all’ electoral system that made corruption both the ‘means to and end of winning an election.’ This is all true, of course. But can Bangladesh’s democratic failure be blamed on the ‘ruinous corruption’ of the last decade and a half alone? Are the politicians who have been in charge of our destiny since the return to democratic governance in the early 1990s alone responsible for our political and governance failures? What the chief adviser chose not to mention is that the democratic institutions in our country have been systematically weakened since our independence by the unelected and undemocratic military and quasi-military governments of the past, and that the people of this country have time and again, pre- and post-independence, organised themselves for heroic struggles to rid the country of autocratic regimes. Few countries in the world can boast the legacy of struggle that Bangladesh can for the right to self-determination, democracy and human dignity.
Having painted a convenient picture of the state of affairs in Bangladesh leading to the military intervention on January 11 and the coming to power of his administration the following day, the chief adviser then provided a highly misleading picture of the situation in Bangladesh at present. He referred to the constitution to make a case for the constitutionality and hence, the legitimacy of his government by explaining to the UN that ‘the non-party caretaker administration acts as a bridge between successive political governments’ and that his administration’s ‘task, first and foremost, is to ensure a free and fair election.’ He also said the ‘task of conducting a free and fair election is the responsibility of the Election Commission.’ Since the chief adviser had decided to hide behind our constitution, perhaps he should also have also mentioned to the UN that our constitution stipulates that the Election Commission must hold parliamentary elections within 90 days of the dissolution of parliament and that the caretaker government, which is meant to be in power for those 90 days, is allowed by the constitution only to run the day-to-day affairs of the state and not take any policy decisions of the government. Both the Election Commission and his interim government are, therefore, carrying on in gross violation of the constitution that he referred to.
The chief adviser also said his government has ‘already overhauled the Election Commission, guaranteeing its independence and giving it a broader mandate. The Election Commission, on its own accord, has announced a timeline for holding the next parliamentary election by the end of 2008.’ Once again, we find that the chief adviser has been less than honest to the international community. While his government may have reconstituted the Election Commission in February, it is yet to separate the commission’s secretariat from the office of the chief executive, much less make it independent. Not only does the commission not have financial or administrative autonomy, that it is still dictated to by the interim government rather than dictating to it as per our constitution is evident from the fact that its repeated demands since April for a relaxing of restrictions on politics was snubbed by the government till September. Also, regardless of what the chief adviser might claim, few believe that the electoral ‘roadmap’ announced by the Election Commission was done on its own accord. The idea of having a ‘roadmap’, some say, was initiated by a foreign non-governmental organisation to prop up this government and to appease an increasingly restless donor community, and that the preparation of the roadmap was highly influenced by this interim government.
The chief adviser has claimed that his government has ‘initiated necessary steps to fully separate the executive and judicial branches of the government.’ That may indeed be the case, but in introducing the draconian Emergency Power Rules that have turned normally bailable offences non-bailable by taking the power to grant bail away from the judges, in constituting special courts that appear to be summarily sentencing the ‘corrupt’ to years in jail on flimsy evidence that are at times extracted from people under duress, in turning jurisprudence on its head by making people effectively guilty until proven innocent, rather than innocent until proven guilty, the government of Fakhruddin Ahmed has done great harm to the judiciary. What good will the independence of the judiciary do, when it finally does come, if the hands of the judges are tied behind their backs by the emergency rules that have also taken away the fundamental rights of the citizens?
Also, while it is indeed heartening that the chief adviser understands that ‘political parties are among the core constituents of democracy’ – one would not guess that his government feels much utility in having a political establishment in the country at all – the chief adviser has again been less than honest in suggesting that ‘in response to the demands of the people, the main political parties have themselves initiated various reforms.’ The people want the political parties to become more internally democratic for sure, but not a single political party has yet initiated a process of reform in response to those demands.
First of all, the political parties, up until a few days before Fakhruddin flew to the United States, were under lockdown with all political activity banned. Second, those within the major parties who have been pushing the ‘reform’ agenda during the lockdown in complete disregard of the government ban have done so at the egging on of the powers that be and in fear of the wind of the anti-corruption drive sweeping them along with it. It is no secret that the Fakhruddin government and its backers have been actively seeking political alternatives to the leadership of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party chairperson Khaleda Zia and the Awami League president Sheikh Hasina. The ‘reform’ agenda within the parties, thus far promoted by the opportunist stooges of this government, has concentrated solely on achieving this objective, not on the real democratisation of the parties.
The chief adviser has also spoken of the need for a National Human Rights Commission, saying his government has taken the decision to establish one, which would indeed be a step in the right direction. However, just as constituting an independent Anti-Corruption Commission was the ultimate paradox for the BNP-led alliance government which is considered to be the most corrupt in our country’s history, so might the constitution of a human rights commission be for this government, which continues to circumvent due process and against which there are widespread allegations of torture and human rights violations of those taken into custody. If the Fakhruddin government could first ensure that the minimum human rights and dignities of those who have been taken into custody during his tenure are ensured, and bring to justice those responsible for those violations in the last almost nine months, perhaps his promise of establishing a human rights commission could be considered a genuine intention rather than an eyewash for the international community and the people of this country alike.
Fakhruddin told the United Nations that his government ‘is fully committed to ensuring that our reform initiatives are comprehensive and irreversible.’ Does this chief adviser not realise that his government is doing everything possible, especially by circumventing the due process, to ensure that none of its reform measures will be sustainable in the long-run?
Most distressingly, the chief adviser told the General Assembly that ‘Bangladesh represents an effective model of civil-military cooperation in crisis prevention. Our experience in crisis management could be relevant for many crisis-torn, nascent democracies.’ That Bangladesh’s political establishment has failed to deliver governance to the extent that the people, at least at the beginning, welcomed an unelected regime that was brought about by the military should be nothing but a cause of shame and embarrassment for our country. An effective model of civil-military cooperation, even in crisis management, can only be found in true democracies, where the military works in harmony with the civil administration but remains at all times subservient to an elected political government. The existence of an unelected, undemocratic and unconstitutional government that is sustained by the military through the proclamation of an emergency that suspends the people’s fundamental rights to speak, gather and protest does not ‘represent an effective model of civil-military cooperation.’
Fakhruddin Ahmed, through his long and distinguished career as a bureaucrat, has gained a reputation of being a man of honesty and integrity. Unfortunately, his speech to the United Nations General Assembly does nothing to uphold that reputation. The country’s president, Iajuddin Ahmed, did irreparable harm to his own reputation and legacy during the short time that he headed a caretaker government. Does Fakhruddin Ahmed wish to take a similar route by concocting his own brand of omissions and half-truths?
Source: New Age Editorial
October 2, 2007
While one would have liked to give the chief adviser the benefit of the doubt and feel reassured by his statement, made this time to the global community, that his government had an ‘unswerving commitment to democracy and to the protection of human rights,’ the distorted and misleading version of the past and the present situation in Bangladesh that he provided to the world suggests that he himself is either unaware of what is going on in this country or is unwilling to provide a true picture of the ground reality in this country to the world outside, writes Shameran Abed
THE chief adviser to the military-driven interim government, Fakhruddin Ahmed, has recently returned from a trip to the United States where he gave a series of talks in New York in addition to addressing a near-empty United Nations General Assembly and attending a reception hosted by the US president, George W Bush. The chief adviser also spoke at a reception given in his honour by a section of the Bangladeshi community of New York. Wherever he went, Fakhruddin stuck to the same message that his government does not have any ambition to remain in power for longer than is necessary and that credible and acceptable elections to the ninth parliament will be held by the end of next year, come hell or high water.
That the chief adviser is aware of the fact that there is growing suspicion and wariness about the real motives of his government and its backers, both nationally and internationally, is evident from the fact that he felt it necessary, time and again, to reiterate that his government is not here to stay but that it was working with elections, with the return to a democratic dispensation in mind. While addressing the Bangladeshi community, the chief adviser claimed that he himself was not in favour of the extended stay of an unelected government and that his interim government was working to bring in an elected government as soon as is practicable.
While one would have liked to give the chief adviser the benefit of the doubt and feel reassured by his statement, made this time to the global community, that his government had an ‘unswerving commitment to democracy and to the protection of human rights,’ the distorted and misleading version of the past and the present situation in Bangladesh that he provided to the world suggests that he himself is either unaware of what is going on in this country or is unwilling to provide a true picture of the ground reality in this country to the world outside.
The chief adviser told the United Nations of the ‘ruinous corruption’ in our country that has undermined our democracy in the last two decades. He spoke of the ‘winner-takes-all’ electoral system that made corruption both the ‘means to and end of winning an election.’ This is all true, of course. But can Bangladesh’s democratic failure be blamed on the ‘ruinous corruption’ of the last decade and a half alone? Are the politicians who have been in charge of our destiny since the return to democratic governance in the early 1990s alone responsible for our political and governance failures? What the chief adviser chose not to mention is that the democratic institutions in our country have been systematically weakened since our independence by the unelected and undemocratic military and quasi-military governments of the past, and that the people of this country have time and again, pre- and post-independence, organised themselves for heroic struggles to rid the country of autocratic regimes. Few countries in the world can boast the legacy of struggle that Bangladesh can for the right to self-determination, democracy and human dignity.
Having painted a convenient picture of the state of affairs in Bangladesh leading to the military intervention on January 11 and the coming to power of his administration the following day, the chief adviser then provided a highly misleading picture of the situation in Bangladesh at present. He referred to the constitution to make a case for the constitutionality and hence, the legitimacy of his government by explaining to the UN that ‘the non-party caretaker administration acts as a bridge between successive political governments’ and that his administration’s ‘task, first and foremost, is to ensure a free and fair election.’ He also said the ‘task of conducting a free and fair election is the responsibility of the Election Commission.’ Since the chief adviser had decided to hide behind our constitution, perhaps he should also have also mentioned to the UN that our constitution stipulates that the Election Commission must hold parliamentary elections within 90 days of the dissolution of parliament and that the caretaker government, which is meant to be in power for those 90 days, is allowed by the constitution only to run the day-to-day affairs of the state and not take any policy decisions of the government. Both the Election Commission and his interim government are, therefore, carrying on in gross violation of the constitution that he referred to.
The chief adviser also said his government has ‘already overhauled the Election Commission, guaranteeing its independence and giving it a broader mandate. The Election Commission, on its own accord, has announced a timeline for holding the next parliamentary election by the end of 2008.’ Once again, we find that the chief adviser has been less than honest to the international community. While his government may have reconstituted the Election Commission in February, it is yet to separate the commission’s secretariat from the office of the chief executive, much less make it independent. Not only does the commission not have financial or administrative autonomy, that it is still dictated to by the interim government rather than dictating to it as per our constitution is evident from the fact that its repeated demands since April for a relaxing of restrictions on politics was snubbed by the government till September. Also, regardless of what the chief adviser might claim, few believe that the electoral ‘roadmap’ announced by the Election Commission was done on its own accord. The idea of having a ‘roadmap’, some say, was initiated by a foreign non-governmental organisation to prop up this government and to appease an increasingly restless donor community, and that the preparation of the roadmap was highly influenced by this interim government.
The chief adviser has claimed that his government has ‘initiated necessary steps to fully separate the executive and judicial branches of the government.’ That may indeed be the case, but in introducing the draconian Emergency Power Rules that have turned normally bailable offences non-bailable by taking the power to grant bail away from the judges, in constituting special courts that appear to be summarily sentencing the ‘corrupt’ to years in jail on flimsy evidence that are at times extracted from people under duress, in turning jurisprudence on its head by making people effectively guilty until proven innocent, rather than innocent until proven guilty, the government of Fakhruddin Ahmed has done great harm to the judiciary. What good will the independence of the judiciary do, when it finally does come, if the hands of the judges are tied behind their backs by the emergency rules that have also taken away the fundamental rights of the citizens?
Also, while it is indeed heartening that the chief adviser understands that ‘political parties are among the core constituents of democracy’ – one would not guess that his government feels much utility in having a political establishment in the country at all – the chief adviser has again been less than honest in suggesting that ‘in response to the demands of the people, the main political parties have themselves initiated various reforms.’ The people want the political parties to become more internally democratic for sure, but not a single political party has yet initiated a process of reform in response to those demands.
First of all, the political parties, up until a few days before Fakhruddin flew to the United States, were under lockdown with all political activity banned. Second, those within the major parties who have been pushing the ‘reform’ agenda during the lockdown in complete disregard of the government ban have done so at the egging on of the powers that be and in fear of the wind of the anti-corruption drive sweeping them along with it. It is no secret that the Fakhruddin government and its backers have been actively seeking political alternatives to the leadership of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party chairperson Khaleda Zia and the Awami League president Sheikh Hasina. The ‘reform’ agenda within the parties, thus far promoted by the opportunist stooges of this government, has concentrated solely on achieving this objective, not on the real democratisation of the parties.
The chief adviser has also spoken of the need for a National Human Rights Commission, saying his government has taken the decision to establish one, which would indeed be a step in the right direction. However, just as constituting an independent Anti-Corruption Commission was the ultimate paradox for the BNP-led alliance government which is considered to be the most corrupt in our country’s history, so might the constitution of a human rights commission be for this government, which continues to circumvent due process and against which there are widespread allegations of torture and human rights violations of those taken into custody. If the Fakhruddin government could first ensure that the minimum human rights and dignities of those who have been taken into custody during his tenure are ensured, and bring to justice those responsible for those violations in the last almost nine months, perhaps his promise of establishing a human rights commission could be considered a genuine intention rather than an eyewash for the international community and the people of this country alike.
Fakhruddin told the United Nations that his government ‘is fully committed to ensuring that our reform initiatives are comprehensive and irreversible.’ Does this chief adviser not realise that his government is doing everything possible, especially by circumventing the due process, to ensure that none of its reform measures will be sustainable in the long-run?
Most distressingly, the chief adviser told the General Assembly that ‘Bangladesh represents an effective model of civil-military cooperation in crisis prevention. Our experience in crisis management could be relevant for many crisis-torn, nascent democracies.’ That Bangladesh’s political establishment has failed to deliver governance to the extent that the people, at least at the beginning, welcomed an unelected regime that was brought about by the military should be nothing but a cause of shame and embarrassment for our country. An effective model of civil-military cooperation, even in crisis management, can only be found in true democracies, where the military works in harmony with the civil administration but remains at all times subservient to an elected political government. The existence of an unelected, undemocratic and unconstitutional government that is sustained by the military through the proclamation of an emergency that suspends the people’s fundamental rights to speak, gather and protest does not ‘represent an effective model of civil-military cooperation.’
Fakhruddin Ahmed, through his long and distinguished career as a bureaucrat, has gained a reputation of being a man of honesty and integrity. Unfortunately, his speech to the United Nations General Assembly does nothing to uphold that reputation. The country’s president, Iajuddin Ahmed, did irreparable harm to his own reputation and legacy during the short time that he headed a caretaker government. Does Fakhruddin Ahmed wish to take a similar route by concocting his own brand of omissions and half-truths?
Sunday, September 30, 2007
Analysis of 3B Military, (Burma, Bangladesh and Bangkok)
Analysis of 3B Military, (Burma, Bangladesh and Bangkok)
Aug 24th, 2007 by Dr San Oo Aung
Courtesy: Burma Digest
It is quite fascinating to read Dr. Aung's comparative analysis of three military regimes in Burma, Bangladesh and Bangkok (Thailand). Few months ago the Washington Post had published a story about the rise of military regimes in Asian countries under the headline of Across Asia, the Generals Strike Back. As Generals are coming back into the national pictures, thy don't guarantee the ultimate return to democracy. Of course, the worst example is Burma. Sadly, the rise of military regimes in Asian countries is a major setback as democracy is becoming a distant dream for their citizens. Interestingly, Burma, Bangladesh and Thailand are dominated under military repressions very uniquely as they have caused disaster and human suffering. Just remember the atrocities and brutalities by the Bangladesh Police and Army during the student-police clash last month. Are 3B militaries striking back as democracy is failing? Or, they're finding pretexts in democratic failures? Blaming politicians and institutions is strategically beneficial to justify a civil-military government in the years to come. Will the Army redefine democracy with "more decisive say" in the coming days?
Aug 24th, 2007 by Dr San Oo Aung
Courtesy: Burma Digest
It is quite fascinating to read Dr. Aung's comparative analysis of three military regimes in Burma, Bangladesh and Bangkok (Thailand). Few months ago the Washington Post had published a story about the rise of military regimes in Asian countries under the headline of Across Asia, the Generals Strike Back. As Generals are coming back into the national pictures, thy don't guarantee the ultimate return to democracy. Of course, the worst example is Burma. Sadly, the rise of military regimes in Asian countries is a major setback as democracy is becoming a distant dream for their citizens. Interestingly, Burma, Bangladesh and Thailand are dominated under military repressions very uniquely as they have caused disaster and human suffering. Just remember the atrocities and brutalities by the Bangladesh Police and Army during the student-police clash last month. Are 3B militaries striking back as democracy is failing? Or, they're finding pretexts in democratic failures? Blaming politicians and institutions is strategically beneficial to justify a civil-military government in the years to come. Will the Army redefine democracy with "more decisive say" in the coming days?
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
Why politics matters, and always
Why politics matters, and always . . .
Syed Badrul Ahsan
Source: Daily Star, Editorial
September 26, 2007
Being a politician and being in politics are not quite the same. The first refers to one who has made a vocation of politics. The second draws attention to one who has found his way into the political field without first having been baptised in it. A politician is an individual who has walked all across the country, known the pulse of the nation, and, having known it, spoken up in defence of all its aspirations. And one who strays into politics, or decides that he should be in it, is a person who may have pursued a profession all his adult life, and then, having gone into superannuation, decided that a foray into politics was not quite a bad idea.
When, therefore, you speak of politics in Bangladesh today, you are quite liable to be asked for some answers to questions that arise in your soul. And those questions will rear their heads because of the battering that politics has lately been getting in this country. It is the politician today who is at the receiving end of it all. The politician, it is being argued with a fairly good degree of regularity but with not much of persuasion, has been responsible for all the ailments the national body politic has been suffering from over the years. Bad administration, a politicisation of the institutions of state, et al, are all failings, the responsibility for which has been laid, consistently, at the door of the politician.
But look around you, around the entire canvas that has spread itself over the last two decades, perhaps even more. And you will perhaps stumble on the truth that it is not the politician who needs to be censured for everything that has gone wrong in the lives of the Bengalis. A somewhat slight degree of introspection will be revealing of the thought that everything of significance, every act of noble note that has been observed in Bangladesh has come from the politician. It was the political class that inaugurated the drive for nationalism in the 1960s, with results that have done all of us proud. Whatever radicalism (and radicals are often necessary when vested interests threaten to get the better of us) has come into the Bengali soul has been a direct offshoot of the struggle for self-determination that our politicians put up in the Pakistan era.
You might now suggest that it was the politicians who made a mess of things after 1971. You would be wrong to do that. Indeed, it would be highly unethical on your part to infer that everything that has gone awry has been a consequence of politicians doing a bad job. Ask yourself this question: in all these years since December 1971, what stretch of time, in government, has actually been dominated by politicians? The government of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman lasted a bare three and a half years. That led by Sheikh Hasina was in office for five. And then there are the two stretches of government under Begum Khaleda Zia. The difficulty with the Khaleda Zia administration, especially the most recent manifestation of it, was that it comprised too many retired bureaucrats, quite a few former military officers, and a bevy of businessmen to be strictly regarded as government by politicians.
You note all the corruption that defined the government between October 2001 and October 2006. You note, too, the level of involvement in it of those who came from no recognisable political background and yet were not averse to making capital out of politics, simply because they found themselves, improbably for you and me and all the rest of us, in the political tent. It is the predominance of these people, all fundamentally non-political individuals trying to pass themselves off as politicians, that has given politics a bad name. Let us not be fooled here. Politics has remained the noble calling it has historically been, in this country and elsewhere. It is only the outsiders who have intruded into it that have left politics on shaky ground.
At this point in time, there is a huge need to segregate politicians from the pretenders in politics. Include in the latter group the retired government secretaries and former military officers and affluent businessmen who have found themselves in the happy position of being lawmakers and cabinet ministers. It might sound like a cliché, but it is a truth to be narrated again nevertheless: in Bangladesh, as in other countries where politics has by and large been a target of persecution or has been a fugitive, the bureaucracy has played an inordinately large role in undermining the cause of politics.
The elitism that you spot today in what passes for politics is what you naturally get out of a system that leaves politicians out in the cold wilderness and allows everyone else to come into the warmth of the fireplace. It is a bad tradition that has come down to us from Ayubian times. Remember the likes of Altaf Gauhar and Roedad Khan? Again, in the Zia years, it was politics that was humiliated when the nation's first military ruler went forth to accommodate, in his own parochial interest, the very elements that once vocally and violently opposed the emergence of this Bengali republic. He said he would make politics difficult, and he did. That was anti-politics at work.
The Ershad dictatorship simply carried such anti-politics to newer, more reprehensible extremes. Shady businessmen found friends in the corridors of power, indenting went into the hands of a new class of people who quickly earned notoriety as the nouveau riche, civil servants became part of the general's poetry circle, and long-time politicians were yanked away from their parties, became renegades, and were eventually destroyed.
Politics has been on the retreat. A brief revival of politics, and politicians, left the sky looking charmed in the later part of the 1990s. But that was all. In the BNP-Jamaat coalition government, it was non-politicians in the form and shape of businessmen who took charge. To a lesser degree, former civil servants and entrepreneurs (and among them were many who traditionally had little to share with the party) found their way into the Awami League too, disappointing tens of thousands of its workers at the grassroots level. And in the weeks and months before the eventually aborted January 22 elections this year, politics looked about to be reduced to a farce through the "nomination business" resorted to by the major parties.
Today, it is plain, politics is in a straitjacket. It should not have been. And it ought not to be in the weeks and months ahead. For the incontrovertible truth remains that the future of this country, of any country, is what the political classes, with all their sense of idealism, make of it. Detect the corrupt among them, by all means. They all are in huge requirement of comeuppance. But do not miss the woods for the trees. Do not begin thinking that a few bad eggs can spoil the whole, wonderful and passion-driven vocation that has at decisive turning points in the history of Bangladesh given its people a reputation to be proud of.
It was politics that forced Ayub Khan out and sent Yahya Khan and his Pakistan packing. It took politics for us to reclaim the country from the Ershad coterie. It was, again, a forceful demonstration of well-meaning politics that compelled the Iajuddin caretaker team into abdication. The goal was a reassertion of people power. The goal remains as potent and as poignant as it was back then, or at any earlier point in time.
___________________________________________
Syed Badrul Ahsan is Editor, Current Affairs, The Daily Star.
Syed Badrul Ahsan
Source: Daily Star, Editorial
September 26, 2007
Being a politician and being in politics are not quite the same. The first refers to one who has made a vocation of politics. The second draws attention to one who has found his way into the political field without first having been baptised in it. A politician is an individual who has walked all across the country, known the pulse of the nation, and, having known it, spoken up in defence of all its aspirations. And one who strays into politics, or decides that he should be in it, is a person who may have pursued a profession all his adult life, and then, having gone into superannuation, decided that a foray into politics was not quite a bad idea.
When, therefore, you speak of politics in Bangladesh today, you are quite liable to be asked for some answers to questions that arise in your soul. And those questions will rear their heads because of the battering that politics has lately been getting in this country. It is the politician today who is at the receiving end of it all. The politician, it is being argued with a fairly good degree of regularity but with not much of persuasion, has been responsible for all the ailments the national body politic has been suffering from over the years. Bad administration, a politicisation of the institutions of state, et al, are all failings, the responsibility for which has been laid, consistently, at the door of the politician.
But look around you, around the entire canvas that has spread itself over the last two decades, perhaps even more. And you will perhaps stumble on the truth that it is not the politician who needs to be censured for everything that has gone wrong in the lives of the Bengalis. A somewhat slight degree of introspection will be revealing of the thought that everything of significance, every act of noble note that has been observed in Bangladesh has come from the politician. It was the political class that inaugurated the drive for nationalism in the 1960s, with results that have done all of us proud. Whatever radicalism (and radicals are often necessary when vested interests threaten to get the better of us) has come into the Bengali soul has been a direct offshoot of the struggle for self-determination that our politicians put up in the Pakistan era.
You might now suggest that it was the politicians who made a mess of things after 1971. You would be wrong to do that. Indeed, it would be highly unethical on your part to infer that everything that has gone awry has been a consequence of politicians doing a bad job. Ask yourself this question: in all these years since December 1971, what stretch of time, in government, has actually been dominated by politicians? The government of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman lasted a bare three and a half years. That led by Sheikh Hasina was in office for five. And then there are the two stretches of government under Begum Khaleda Zia. The difficulty with the Khaleda Zia administration, especially the most recent manifestation of it, was that it comprised too many retired bureaucrats, quite a few former military officers, and a bevy of businessmen to be strictly regarded as government by politicians.
You note all the corruption that defined the government between October 2001 and October 2006. You note, too, the level of involvement in it of those who came from no recognisable political background and yet were not averse to making capital out of politics, simply because they found themselves, improbably for you and me and all the rest of us, in the political tent. It is the predominance of these people, all fundamentally non-political individuals trying to pass themselves off as politicians, that has given politics a bad name. Let us not be fooled here. Politics has remained the noble calling it has historically been, in this country and elsewhere. It is only the outsiders who have intruded into it that have left politics on shaky ground.
At this point in time, there is a huge need to segregate politicians from the pretenders in politics. Include in the latter group the retired government secretaries and former military officers and affluent businessmen who have found themselves in the happy position of being lawmakers and cabinet ministers. It might sound like a cliché, but it is a truth to be narrated again nevertheless: in Bangladesh, as in other countries where politics has by and large been a target of persecution or has been a fugitive, the bureaucracy has played an inordinately large role in undermining the cause of politics.
The elitism that you spot today in what passes for politics is what you naturally get out of a system that leaves politicians out in the cold wilderness and allows everyone else to come into the warmth of the fireplace. It is a bad tradition that has come down to us from Ayubian times. Remember the likes of Altaf Gauhar and Roedad Khan? Again, in the Zia years, it was politics that was humiliated when the nation's first military ruler went forth to accommodate, in his own parochial interest, the very elements that once vocally and violently opposed the emergence of this Bengali republic. He said he would make politics difficult, and he did. That was anti-politics at work.
The Ershad dictatorship simply carried such anti-politics to newer, more reprehensible extremes. Shady businessmen found friends in the corridors of power, indenting went into the hands of a new class of people who quickly earned notoriety as the nouveau riche, civil servants became part of the general's poetry circle, and long-time politicians were yanked away from their parties, became renegades, and were eventually destroyed.
Politics has been on the retreat. A brief revival of politics, and politicians, left the sky looking charmed in the later part of the 1990s. But that was all. In the BNP-Jamaat coalition government, it was non-politicians in the form and shape of businessmen who took charge. To a lesser degree, former civil servants and entrepreneurs (and among them were many who traditionally had little to share with the party) found their way into the Awami League too, disappointing tens of thousands of its workers at the grassroots level. And in the weeks and months before the eventually aborted January 22 elections this year, politics looked about to be reduced to a farce through the "nomination business" resorted to by the major parties.
Today, it is plain, politics is in a straitjacket. It should not have been. And it ought not to be in the weeks and months ahead. For the incontrovertible truth remains that the future of this country, of any country, is what the political classes, with all their sense of idealism, make of it. Detect the corrupt among them, by all means. They all are in huge requirement of comeuppance. But do not miss the woods for the trees. Do not begin thinking that a few bad eggs can spoil the whole, wonderful and passion-driven vocation that has at decisive turning points in the history of Bangladesh given its people a reputation to be proud of.
It was politics that forced Ayub Khan out and sent Yahya Khan and his Pakistan packing. It took politics for us to reclaim the country from the Ershad coterie. It was, again, a forceful demonstration of well-meaning politics that compelled the Iajuddin caretaker team into abdication. The goal was a reassertion of people power. The goal remains as potent and as poignant as it was back then, or at any earlier point in time.
___________________________________________
Syed Badrul Ahsan is Editor, Current Affairs, The Daily Star.
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Democracy in retreat around the world
Democracy is failing around the globe. This new report from the Freedom House is reflecting the depressing trend where people are loosing hope for democracy in their respective country. Bangladesh is no exception in this frustrating global trend. The Financial Times reporter Daniel Dombey has phrased the Army backed Caretaker Government's take over as a "military coup" in Bangladesh. The "Caretaker government concept" is not understood in the western democracies where an unelected government symbolizes an illegitimate authority irrespective of their popular support. Read this report published in MSNBC:
Democracy in retreat around the world
By Daniel Dombey in Washington
Financial Times
September 24, 2007
Democracy in retreat around the world
By Daniel Dombey in Washington
Financial Times
September 24, 2007
Democracy and good governance are on the retreat in a number of countries around the world, a wide-ranging report says on Tuesday.
The report, compiled by Freedom House, a US government-supported campaigning organisation, concludes that human rights and governance have worsened in Russia and Iran, arguing that corruption in Iran has intensified in spite of the campaign promises of President Mahmoud Ahmadi-Nejad.
It also indicates that states across the world are attempting to follow the model of China and Russia by seeking to modernise parts of their economy while keeping a central grip on power.
Among the countries that have achieved economic success while maintaining or intensifying what the report identifies as political repression are Libya, Tunisia and Algeria. It adds that Egypt has been both economically unsuccessful and politically repressive and that democratic developments have been stopped in their tracks by coups in Thailand and Bangladesh.
The survey of 30 countries comes as President George W. Bush prepares to address the United Nations on his "freedom agenda" for the world on Tuesday.
On taking office for the second time, Mr Bush pledged that America would seek to end "tyranny in our world", and he prides himself on being a "dissident president".
The White House says that "interrelated aspects of human freedom" will be at the heart of the president's efforts during his time at the UN – whether the issue is Darfur, governance in Africa more generally, or the Middle East peace process.
But in an introductory essay to its survey, Freedom House highlights what it calls "the durability of a 21st century authoritarian capitalist model" pioneered by China.
It argues that Russia has followed a similar path of exploiting economic growth to minimise pressure for political reform and claims that Russia "has come to resemble the autocratic regimes of central Asia more than the consolidated democracies of eastern Europe".
For the past two years "Russia could no longer be considered a democracy at all according to most metrics", and is less democratic today than it was in 2005.
It highlights the high threshold for parties to be elected to the Russian parliament, opacity in the award of broadcasting licences, corruption, the rareness of jury trials and uneven enforcement of property rights.
"Civil society has been a clear target of the Russian government over the past two years," Freedom House says.
On Iran, the report says that corruption has increased – as highlighted by cut-rate privatisations for favoured buyers and a failure to deposit billions of dollars in oil revenues in the national treasury on schedule.
It adds that restrictions on freedom of expression have worsened since Mr Ahmadi-Nejad was elected president in 2005.
"Journalists, particularly younger and less well-known ones, have little protection from arbitrary arrest and detention," it says, adding that academics and non-governmental organisations with foreign contacts have increasingly been accused of breaking the law by committing "political offences".
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