Who
Is Calling The Shots
In Bangladesh?
By Taj Hashmi
03 April, 2007
Countercurrents.org
Having
tasted the bitter elixir of “democracy”, “socialism”,
“secularism”, the omni-present nationalisms of the “Bangali”
[Bengali] and “Bangladeshi” variants and doses of Islamism
through civil and military goblets, the hoi polloi is sometimes bitter
and intoxicated and at times bewildered and desperate for a change.
Hoping against hope, they
also reposed faith in the two successive matriarchs, Khaleda and Hasina,
who inherited the mantle of power not by merit but by family connections.
As both of them proved to be the custodians of absolutely corrupt and
inefficient regimes turning Bangladesh into the most corrupt country,
the masses released a sigh of relief at the onset of the State of Emergency
on January 11th, 2007.
Apparently, the Emergency
has signaled the end of Khaleda-Hasina autocracy and has given the country
a breathing space and some semblance of law and order. The people are
sick and tired of endless violence, strikes and blockade, rioting and
public lynching of political opponents on the street in the name of
“restoring democracy” through “free and fair”
elections. The average people welcomed the Emergency as the Care-Taker
regime under Iajuddin Ahmed had taken one controversial step after another.
They seem to be happy with the present Care-Taker-cum-Emergency government
and optimistic about the outcome of its anti-graft / anti-corruption
measures.
One is, however, not sure
what form of government will be coming in the wake of the Emergency.
As the Emergency cannot be an end in itself, making “politics
difficult for politicians” is not going to salvage the country
either. It is high time that the present regime start calling a spade
a spade by identifying itself not only as an interim government to hold
free and fair elections but also as the one determined to establish
the rule of law and a corruption-free society in Bangladesh.
Most importantly, with the
abrupt replacement of an unelected albeit constitutional Care-Taker
government by the State of Emergency, which constitutionally cannot
last for an indefinite period, one is not sure if Bangladesh is experimenting
with the most bizarre and unique form of government in the world. It
is a combination of the Care-Taker system under the State of Emergency
with a titular President dictated by a seemingly powerful Chief Adviser,
who again seems to be under the shadow of the military. One wonders,
as if the equally bizarre Care-Taker system was not bad enough to single
out Bangladesh as a dysfunctional democracy under the pretence of running
a Westminster type government. One, however, cannot blame this government
for the messy situation created by the previous regimes, which ultimately
brought it to power.
From his pompous flamboyance
and self-affirmation (and despite his denial), the army chief General
Moeen Uddin Ahmed has confirmed that he is actually calling the shots
as the real power behind the Government. One may look at the following
self-explanatory public assertion by the General:
"In the 36 years since
independence, politicians have not given us anything good. They have
even failed to give due recognition to the national leaders. Think about
it, we haven't even given recognition to the father of the nation ….
After the proclamation of the state of emergency, I told the inspector
general of police that I don't want to see anybody doing any harm or
torch a single garment factory. Have a look, because of this single
instruction, nobody dared to do anything destructive even after two
months" [Daily Star, March 28, 2007].
In view of the above, one
may surmise that in a civilian setup only the home minister or home
secretary, not generals, may instruct the police chief to do certain
things. Blaming politicians’ divisive policies and their not “recognizing
the father of the nation” are highly sensitive issues. Had the
General been not an integral part of the interim government, he would
not have touched on these important national issues. Consequently we
may assume that the Time magazine is totally wrong in portraying the
Chief Adviser as the new “boss” of Bangladesh.
So far so good. Bangladesh
is having another round of un-elected but popular government, full of
lofty ideas and promises. I am one of those who prefer good governance
by honest and efficient autocrats to bad governance by dishonest and
inefficient elected representatives.
Almost all the post-colonial
states in the wake of World War II came into being with the admirable
promise of establishing democracy, liberty, equality and fraternity;
national dignity, respect for human rights and the freedom from hunger
and poverty being some of the other lofty ideals. Some of the over-enthusiastic
nationalist leaders even promised “people’s democracy”.
Hence the corroborative expression “people’s republic”
became the prefix of some of these post-colonial states, including Bangladesh.
Our experience tells us that
as democracy remained elusive so were social justice and the freedom
from hunger throughout the post-colonial world – from Ghana to
Kenya, Algeria to Egypt and Pakistan to the Philippines.
The case of Bangladesh is
only comparable with some of the worst managed “people’s
republics” in the Third World. Blessed with fertile land, resourceful,
and with better land-man ratio than Japan’s and South Korea’s,
Bangladesh has remained poor, corrupt, economically stagnant, culturally
backward and politically unsettled. The country has been experimenting
with quasi-dynastic oligarchic democracy, civil and military dictatorship,
“socialism” and “market economy”. Meanwhile
people have remained restive, disillusioned and optimistic at the same
time.
Consequently what is worrisome
is not the nature of the present regime in Bangladesh but the prevalent
lack of transparency and any sense of direction for both the rulers
and the ruled. One does not know when this State of Emergency is going
to be withdrawn and what will be its replacement. An elected government
with honest and efficient leaders is on the platter. However, one is
not sure how the corrupt and inefficient politicians will be ever barred
from contesting elections while the government has so far succeeded
in arresting only a handful of them. And again it has so far failed
to prove anything substantial against those who are said to have embezzled
and smuggled out billions from public coffer.
It is really pathetic that
those who have robbed billions are facing the flimsy charges of extorting
a few million takas from some local businessmen, holding an unlicensed
gun, possessing foreign currency worth less than $5,000 at home, or
stealing some relief goods. There is no explanations as to why men like
General Ershad and their cohorts can publicly assert their innocence
while one does not need rocket science technology to incriminate these
criminals, whose number is most definitely in thousands not in scores
or dozens.
One is puzzled as to why
the promoters-cum-protectors of corruption and nepotism should be allowed
to leave the country to live in exile in Saudi Arabia or elsewhere.
The Government should pay heed to the smoking guns to book the criminal
politicians, bureaucrats and businessmen. It should try them through
special tribunals in accordance with the existing law or new regulations.
As rights imply duty, the Government should suspend all fundamental
rights for a few years to eliminate corruption, once for all, by taking
drastic measures, including dispensing capital punishment, life term
and expropriation of property.
The Government’s reliance
on the traditional judiciary and police administration, as it is doing
now, will further benefit the rich and powerful criminals, who know
how to manipulate and buy “justice”. Meanwhile the Government
should make at least a fivefold increase in the pay scale of the judges,
police, taxation and customs officials. Salary hike along with provisions
for stringent punishment for dishonest government servants a la Singapore,
Malaysia and South Korea would establish the rule of law, eliminate
corruption and generate national wealth.
Since this interim government
has the whole-hearted support of the overwhelming majority, it should
not waste time preparing voters’ identity cards as elections are
not going to bring any fundamental changes unless thugs and swindlers
are permanently denied any role in the arena of politics. Instead of
further dividing the polity by “recognizing the father of the
nation”, which is a highly contentious issue; the government should
only try to create a permanent base for an honest and efficient government
in the long run. The Government should also impose a ban on all religion-oriented
political parties and disqualify politicians having no known source
of income from taking part any role in politics.
Meanwhile, whoever is running
the show should take some positive steps to take the people into confidence
to contain and crush corruption with a view to getting good governance
in the future. Avoiding divisive statements and policies, and not orchestrating
farcical trials of mega thieves and criminals on flimsy charges should
be the next steps towards good governance, growth and development.
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