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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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