SALEEM SAMAD
The nation waits patiently. Aspirant political parties are growing impatient, and citizens are frustrated with Nobel laureate Dr Muhammad Yunus’s first 100 days as Chief Advisor of the Interim Government.
The Monsoon Revolution was a student uprising that abolished the quota for government civil service jobs for siblings of liberation war veterans of the bloody independence of 1971.
Yunus told the French news agency AFP that elections would follow after multiple reforms. He reiterates that reforms are needed before the country can elect a government following the ouster of autocratic ruler Sheikh Hasina.
The speed of reforms ‘will decide how quick the election will be,’ the Nobel Peace Prize winner and inventor of banking the poor said in an interview on the sidelines of the COP29 climate talks in Azerbaijan. He insisted that he would steer the country towards a democratic vote.
Dr. Muhammad Yunus emphasizes the need for constitutional reforms and a democratic vote to stabilize Bangladesh after Sheikh Hasina’s ouster.
‘That’s a promise that we made, that as soon as we are ready, we’ll have the elections, and the elected people can take over, run the country,’ he said.
He said the country needed to quickly agree on possible constitutional reforms and the shape of the government, parliament, and election rules.
The country has struggled with instability, admitted Dr Yunus since the ouster of Hasina, whose rule witnessed appalling human rights abuses, including the mass detention, extrajudicial killings, and enforced disappearances of her political opponents. Such incidents are presently absent.
A series of street riots by ‘non-paid’ garment workers, battery-driven auto-rickshaw drivers agitated to ply in the capital city Dhaka, and clashes among students of neighboring colleges for days.
Presently, the widespread agitation in the country has occurred after the arrest of a former ISKON priest Chinmoy Krishna Das Prabhu on charges of sedition filed by a member of the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP).
The radicalized Muslims and students demanded ISKON, a Hindu spiritual international organization to be banned and punish the Sadus (priest) for nefarious activities, which has been deemed as anti-state.
Rising sectarian tensions in Bangladesh have led to violent clashes, particularly targeting Hindu communities and ISKON establishments.
However, the High Court has overturned the petition to ban ISKON but did not mention the safety and security of the Hindus in Bangladesh, which has a population of 13.1 million (2022 census) and makes up about 7.95 percent of the total population of 165.16 million.
Angered with the administration for not taking action against ISKON, the radicalized Muslims, with no affiliation to any Islamic parties or Islamist outfit attacked scores of Hindu temples, especially ISKON establishments in the country in the last few days.
Indian media lambast Bangladesh
Indian administration, ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), along with flocks of Indian media have come down heavily on Yunus government that he has not done enough to provide security to the Hindus and scale down sectarian violence after Hasina fled to India.
After a brief bout between Delhi and Dhaka over India playing with the Hindu card, the Indian media and BJP have called to ban exports to Bangladesh, which they argue would weaken Bangladesh’s economy and would submit to Indian hegemony in the region.
Mohiuddin Ahmad, political historian and researcher interprets such provocation as declaring war against Bangladesh, which they helped to become independent 53 years ago.
Delhi has ceased issuance of tourist visas for an indefinite period, since the collapse of Hasina’s regime on 5 August. India has cited the absence of security at the visa centres in the country. No announcement has been made about when the visa centers will resume.
For the past three months, only one Indian Visa Application Center in Bangladesh has been processing a limited number of visas for students and urgent medical purposes.
However, Bangladesh has not halted visa centers in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata Guwahati, Agartala and other cities for Indian nationals visiting the country.
After a call from Yunus, Bangladesh missions abroad have been advised to issue visas to visiting journalists on the fast track. Several leading Indian media outlets have visited the country, sans bureaucratic red-tapism.
Meanwhile, the official Facebook page of the Chief Adviser’s Office has debunked scores of fake news and disinformation churned by the Indian media and social media enthusiasts.
Mahfuz Anam, editor of an independent newspaper The Daily Star writes: The Indian media’s coverage appears to be driven by concern solely for Hindus of Bangladesh, rather than the people of Bangladesh [who were shot and killed by police and Awami League’s armed vigilantes]. Will that foster a healthy relationship between our two countries? I repeat that India should not see the recent events through the lens of Sheikh Hasina but through the lens of democracy, he remarked.
Yunus said it’s only three months after the revolution. “We are hoping that we can sort it out and have a peaceful law and order,” he added.
At an international conference in Dhaka, Muhammad Yunus said “We witnessed a historic political changeover just 100 days ago. Future Bangladesh will be based on justice, human rights, and freedom of speech.”
Managing sky-high reforms
Marking the interim government’s 100th day in office, the International Crisis Group (ICG) published a report titled “A new era in Bangladesh? The first hundred days of reform’. The think tank highlighted corruption, irregularities, politicization of administration and judiciary, and destruction of the electoral system by the fallen Awami League regime. This is the second one of the report’s two parts.
The Brussels-based think tank ICG noted that it will not be an easy task for the interim government to implement the reform plans. Against the backdrop, it presented a set of recommendations regarding the situation in Bangladesh.
A key challenge for the interim government will be to manage sky-high public expectations. Given the constraints on Dr Yunus and his allies – including their lack of governing experience, the pent-up grievances in Bangladeshi society and the country’s fractious politics – it will most likely be impossible for them to deliver entirely on their ambitious agenda.
To achieve this goal, the government will need to amend laws and the constitution; reform the election commission and electoral system; and make changes within the police and bureaucracy, given the centrality of these institutions to holding free and fair elections.
The judicial system of Bangladesh has never been entirely safe from political interference. Under Hasina, the meddling assumed alarming proportions as her administration used the courts to cudgel her political opponents.
The bureaucracy is not just politicized, though; it is also highly inefficient. The quota system has deprived it of many good recruits, while both large-scale and petty corruption, already commonplace, got worse under Hasina, writes the ICG.
As an interim government figure put it, “If we don’t repair our institutions, there won’t be free and fair elections or a smooth transition, so what will be the point of all this?”
As usual, echoing the concern of the citizenry, the International Crisis Group advised that the Interim Government’s first priority should be to restore law and order.
Trump towards Bangladesh
The fear psychosis in the minds of Bangladesh people regarding the comeback of Donald Trump, as President of the United States of America has been scratching their heads.
Jon Danilowicz, a former American diplomat based in Bangladesh in a post on his verified Twitter (X) @JonFDanilowicz writes: America First and Bangladesh First are compatible. Both nations will benefit from the historic opportunity post-Hasina to create a new Bangladesh that embraces freedom, unleashes the potential of its citizens, and leverages a diaspora that wants the best for both.
He further argues that the ‘anti-Trump’ rhetoric against Bangladesh’s Interim Government is part of a disinformation effort being orchestrated by the supporters of the country’s ousted dictator.
She is a long-time anti-American kleptocrat, whose government was responsible for killing thousands of people during her 15 years in office. The people of Bangladesh want reforms leading to elections that will make their country great again.
He also warns not to fall for the Hindutva propaganda. What is most disingenuous about the intense Hindutva lobbying effort in Bangladesh is that it is not really about protecting minorities.
The goal of this effort is to rehabilitate Awami League and Sheikh Hasina for their return to power. Why do they (India) want Hasina back? The answer is simple. They don’t trust the Bangladeshi people to choose their leaders and instead want to install a government that advances India’s interests.
Danilowicz concludes that the criticism of the Hindutva lobby is to brand anyone who supports the Interim Government and fought against Hasina’s regime, as an Islamist.
First published in the Stratheia Policy Journal, Islamabad, Pakistan on 2 December 2024
Saleem Samad is an award-winning independent journalist based in Bangladesh. A media rights defender with the Reporters Without Borders (@RSF_inter). Recipient of Ashoka Fellowship and Hellman-Hammett Award. He could be reached at saleemsamad@hotmail.com; Twitter (X): @saleemsamad
No comments:
Post a Comment