Bangladesh' Democratic Failure - Take It In Stride

Published in www.bangladesh-web.com on Tuesday, April 24, 2007.

The breathtaking events in Bangladesh over the last few months has brought the country at crossroads. The future of the country depends solely on the intentions of those in power and those supporting it. This government has accomplished in a very short time what our past elected governments refused to engage in. Separation of the judiciary, strengthening the anti corruption bureau, freeing Chittagong port from congestion, reforming the electoral system, depoliticising the police and administration, all of these acts have received praise from the everyone.

The country was in awe when top politicians from major political parties were arrested one after another for alleged involvement in corruption. Islamic militants behind bombings and killings have been hanged and god fathers behind these militants are now being pursued. Our government led by highly educated technocrats and backed by the military is possibly the most honest, determined, well intentioned administration Bangladesh has ever had. This is at the backdrop of the suspension of democracy which the two major political parties and their leading ladies are solely to be blamed for.

The country needed such an iron willed interim administration to clean up the house. The battle of the Begums that characterised Bangladesh's democracy was dysfunctional and detrimental to the country's economy and political life. However, the civil society in Bangladesh must remain vigilant against any ambitions the Bangladesh military may secretly harbour. The recent comments from the army general Moeen U Ahmed about his idea of the future of Bangladesh's politics give cause for concern. Much has been written already about why his words about Bangladesh not having an elective democracy in the future were unwelcome.

The military is no doubt behind the designs of exiling the two Dames of Bangladesh. This is where the current government runs the risk of losing the plot and the widespread support the it has enjoyed from the country. These two ladies are probably just as much of criminals as they are being alleged to be. However, they are citizens of Bangladesh and they have the right to be in the country and leave and enter as they wish (unless imprisoned). Their "Nagorik Odhikar" or "Citizen's Rights" are being withdrawn otherwise.

The military is showing disturbing signs of ambition by forcing the government to prevent Sheikh Hasina from returning from abroad and blackmailing Khaleda Zia to leave the country. The two ladies can be and must be tried in Bangladesh and put in jail in the country should charges against them prove to be true. But they have a right to be in the country at any time and never be forced to be outside against their will. As I write this article, Sheikh Hasina is trapped in London on the way back from the US since British Airways will not issue her a boarding pass to Dhaka at the insistence of the Bangladeshi government. This tantamount to a diplomatic embarrassment for the country not least because members of the British House of Commons whom Hasina met with have termed the latest developments a violation of her human rights.

Bowing to US pressure, the government has finally issued a timetable for the next general elections. Given the fact that Bangladesh is going to have National ID cards for every citizen to be used during the elections and at other times, the end of 2008 for the upcoming votes is not an unreasonable request.

A lot can be achieved during this time including further house cleaning. The national airline Biman can be shut down to prevent a national embarrassment from festering, major decisions like Tata's investment can be made without political considerations for the future. TNT, Bangladesh Railway and any other government owned enterprise can be offloaded to private and public limited entities that know how to run them more efficiently. The government can continue amending the legal system so that future politicians and businessmen will never feel immune from prosecution. The ban on organised student politics, the autonomy of Bangladesh government run TV and radio channels, and recent electoral laws for those who plan on running for office can ensure a healthier democratic future for the country.

Or Bangladesh could slide into a Pakistan style administration. Bangladesh's Army General eerily sounded like Ayub Khan (former President of Pakistan) and Perves Musharraf (current President by decree) who had unabashed political greed masked with servitude towards the country. I hope and pray that Bangladesh's civil society (of which the the rest of the world knows little about and which the country can be proud of) will never let that happen. Bangladeshis have no appetite for Pakistani politics. The year 1971 when Bangladesh separated from Pakistan was no historical accident.

It is important that the foreign media don't draw premature conclusions. The New York Times has been particularly scathing of the current Bangladeshi government. Their naive assessment included the fact that the absence of democracy in a Muslim majority country like Bangladesh would give fertile grounds for Islamic militants. The Economist has not shied away from drawing parallels between Pakistan and Bangladesh. We don't need to remind NYT that the interim administration hanged the known Islamic militants without delay and is going after god fathers as I mentioned earlier.

This government is the best thing we could have had for house cleaning. But that is where the role of this government must end. Bangladesh's experiment with democracy has been a failure. But one must take that failure in stride and never give in to propensities for authoritarian regimes and worst still religion ( a.k.a Islam) based rules of governance.