“Where else could we go?” BY ASADUZZAMAN RIPON “Bangladesh faces a worrisome political situation. On January 5th the government held a deeply flawed election in which one of the two major political parties did not participate. As a result, over half of the 300 members of parliament were elected unopposed, and most of the rest faced only token opposition. The election did not credibly express the will of the Bangladeshi people. This could have serious ramifications for stability in Bangladesh and the region.” The above observation was made by the US assistant secretary Nisha Biswal which none from democratic world or from Bangladesh denied this fact but only ruling party escapes the reality. Though once immediate after election of January 5, Prime Minister Hasina and her colleagues hinted for an exclusive election. After failing to reach for a solution centering national election under mediation of UN secretary general Ban Ki Moon’s special representative Oscar Farnandez Taranco, leaders from government side engaged in dialogue with BNP leaders possibly said to allow January 5 election and assured for an exclusive election within shortest possible time. BNP’s secretary general at least in few occasions reminded government leaders about their promise and lamented for shifting from the promise. Now many ministers echoed the voice of Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed who said the door of the dialogue with the BNP and likeminded parties is always open to hold next general election before January 29 of 2019. “There is no scope of holding midterm election in Bangladesh. The next general election should be held under the defending government,” he said. The government would not accept the demand of caretaker government, he said. The boycott of the major opposition party and its allies of the January 5 election have created a delicate situation. The election outcome falls short of reassuring the global community that Bangladesh is firmly on its way to a free and stable society. A look back at the country’s past offers a few clues to the uncertainty that clouds the Bangladesh. Khaleda Zia, the chief of Bangladesh Nationalist Party, is quite eloquent of re-launching anti-government movement after Eid ul Fitr to press her rival Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina for holding fresh national elections under a neutral authority. Khaleda Zia has been telling that the incumbent government is clinging to power ‘shamelessly’ and calling on all irrespective of opinions to free the country from its misrule. She cautioned that the BNP led alliance would be compelled to topple the government through movement if it did not reach a consensus for holding a credible election. Recently she went to Bogra and Joypurhat, the stronghold of BNP, on an organizational tour. At a public rally in Joypurhat she warned the government that her party would go for serious action programmes like shutdown or even a ‘non-cooperation movement’ after Eid-ul-Fitr if the government did not reach consensus on fresh elections. ‘Quit power and hold elections immediately under a neutral government … We will be compelled to announce all kinds of protest programmes – shutdown, blockade and even non-cooperation – after the Eid ul Fitr if you [government] do not reach consensus on holding elections’, Khaleda Zia warned. She at that time told the rally: ‘I am representing the people. I may not be a member of parliament but I am the true leader of the people. Ninety-five per cent people boycotted the January 5 elections in response to my call.’ Khaleda Zia mentioned that the international community does not recognise this government as a legal government and they are now asking the Awami League to hold dialogue with them. She reminded the Prime Minister: ‘It has been a long time. Five months have passed… it is enough… now do not kill time. Stop murder and abduction. Step down after putting in place a non-party government to hold fresh elections.’ In a scathing remark Khaleda said ‘You had been out of power for 21 years. This time, you will need to stay out of power for 42 years if you do not respond to the call.’ The ruling Awami League, however, is not responding to opposition’s repeated demand. There are many speculations about opposition’s movement after Eid.She urged all political parties and people to join BNP’s movement to restore voting rights through participatory and fair elections. We would wage a systematic movement to realize our rights,’ she said. The BNP chief also said ‘We want a consensus to advance the country and we want to work together with all disregarding different ideologies.’ In a separate development Marcia Stephens Bloom Bernicat, US ambassador–designate to Bangladesh, has said the parliamentary elections of January 5 were ‘undeniably flawed’ and stressed that major political parties urgently needed to engage in constructive dialogue leading to a more representative government. ‘…The United States remains concerned about recent trends in democracy and human rights in Bangladesh,’ she said in a statement before the senate foreign relations committee in Washington on July 17. Marcia who will replace Dan Mozena, said, ‘The strong US-Bangladesh relationship allows us to discuss our differences, when they occur, in a spirit of candour and openness…’ The ruling party leadership was unhappy at Marcia’s statement before the foreign relations committee that approved her nomination given by President Barak Obama as ambassador to Bangladesh. Marcia also expressed grave concern about attacks on religious and ethnic minorities, political violence, and extrajudicial killings allegedly committed by security forces. She pledged to the senate committee to work hard to support efforts to promote accountability and strengthen human rights and democracy in Bangladesh. She also spoke on US position on war crimes trial, Grameen Bank and labour issue in the apparel sector. ‘I will, if confirmed, passionately advocate policies that enshrine peaceful democratic values, including respect for human rights and diversity, room for civil society to flourish, space for the free and peaceful discussion of political differences unmarred by violence, and adherence to the rule of law by an independent judiciary.’ Marcia, who previously served as US ambassador to Senegal and Guinea-Bissau in 2008-2011, termed Bangladesh a strategically important country for the United States. She told the senate committee that she was appointed as ambassador to Bangladesh at a crucial time for Dhaka-Washington bilateral relationship. Bangladesh was strategically situated between a growing India and a newly opening Burma, and was well-positioned to play a key role in linking South and Southeast Asia. Marcia did of course mention that Bangladesh had been a development success story over the past two decades and a half. The United States has been proud to assist Bangladesh in achieving these successes. In a similar note outgoing European Union ambassador William Hanna stressed political dialogue between major parties to end confrontation and violence to make way for a long-term stability. ‘Dialogue is as necessary as ever. Confrontation and violence are never the way forward,’ he said at the DCAB talk over an iftar at Hotel Ruposhi Bangla. Hanna, who witnessed ups and downs in domestic politics during his three and half years tenure here, said few voters were able to exercise their democratic right to elect a new government through January 5 elections. Later, he said the conduct of some local elections was questioned with allegations of fraud and rigging. When sought his opinion about restoration of calm after the elections, the ambassador said, ‘You can succeed it in short-term but we look for long-term stability in Bangladesh.’ In Bangladesh, he emphatically said it is possible to resolve the ongoing problems through dialogue. All political parties need to get together and sit for dialogue on essential matters. Hanna stressed that EU support for democracy and human rights is not one sided. It is part of the contractual relationships in international law between the EU and Bangladesh. Ali Riaz, Professor and Chair of the Department of Politics and Government at the Illinois State University, USA, in an article on the “Crisis of Democracy in Bangladesh” has said that the political crisis as prevailing in Bangladesh after the one-sided January 5 elections to stage a return to power of the incumbents with a more naked authoritarian agenda is in fact encouraging Islamic extremists for a covert come-back to Bangladesh. Ambassador William B. Milam, now a senior scholar at the Woodrow Wilson International Center in Washington, USA, came to a different conclusion. Milam wrote in The Express Tribune of 8 April, 2014 issue as follows: “The Awami League (AL) government appears to have chosen to ignore popular will and to be planning to stay in office without an election until 2019. Signs of this include the government doing its best to marginalise the main opposition by continuing to arrest its leaders, denying space for any political opponent to protest peacefully (media supporters of the opposition are being silenced or threatened). Pro-regime intellectuals are calling for a ‘democratic dictatorship’ (an oxymoron that we have heard before from authoritarian regimes around the world), human rights abuses are increasing (especially enforced disappearances and extrajudicial murder), and AL party leaders are thumping their chest over wins in the later rounds of local elections despite their overt ballot stuffing. By 2019, at the rate these things are proceeding, there will not be much of the regular opposition left to run against a powerful AL-controlled government. Nor will a civil society third force, the much-talked about and hoped-for panacea of the liberal secular centre-right, develop in such an atmosphere. And if threatened, the AL might proceed to the next logical step, i.e. a one-party state to eliminate any possibility of an opposition. Interestingly enough, the AL came to power (and was supported by Congress led government of India) on its platform of ridding the country of extremism. To avoid such situation, the United States, the EU even leaders of the civil society in Bangladesh urged the leaders of the major parties to have dialogue immediately to find a way forward as soon as possible to free, fair and credible elections that reflect the will of the Bangladeshi people. The former premier Khaleda Zia said: “There’s no alternative to an election with the participation of all under a non-party government that will reflect the will of people. Otherwise, it’s not possible to restore peace and stability in the country. So, we ask the government to take an initiative in this regard.” She claimed that the government has snatched the democratic rights of people through the ‘lopsided farcical’ the election. “This has proved that free, fair, neutral and credible elections can’t be held under a partisan government… it has also proved that the current Election Commission is totally worthless, incompetent, failed and subservient to the government.” The BNP chief said the January-5 ‘flawed’ polls have proved that the BNP-led 18-party’s demand for the caretaker government to oversee the parliamentary elections was justified. Khaleda Zia said the government will not be able to cling to power using force and muscle power, no matter what efforts they make. The BNP chief, however, promised the nation that they will not follow or repeat the misdeeds of the Awami League if they are voted to power. The next movements which BNP aims to force Hasina government to have her concede to a caretaker-supervised early election. But if the ruling party continues to demote the opposition, deny it the space for peaceful protest, and disrespect the need for a political roadmap for moving forward, it will encourage danger for democracy. Former US ambassador William B Milam, who wrote in his article on ‘The land of lost content’’ ‘’ I hear that some of those Bangladeshis who oppose the AL government are asking already: “Where else could we go?”
Posted on: Fri, 22 Aug 2014 13:35:04 +0000
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