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Sunday, July 28, 2024

Why does Prof Yunus demand a mid-term election in Bangladesh?

SALEEM SAMAD 

In a bombshell opinion, the country’s lone Nobel laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus has reached out to world leaders, including the Indian government to restore democracy in Bangladesh.

In an exclusive interview with India’s prestigious daily, The Hindu, Yunus suggested that Bangladesh should hold a mid-term election within a ‘short time’ to overcome the crisis by restoring democracy with a public mandate. Democracy laid down all solutions.

Prof Yunus, inventor of social business and pioneer in micro-credit for the poor, appealed for the international community, particularly India, to reach out to Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to call for calm. India and Bangladesh are historical friends and should urge to restrain from committing crimes against the people, he remarked.

Dr Yunus condemns the killing of students and the common public as an ‘invading force’ from another country. We see police firing innocent students raising their hands and shooting at close range because they have the power to shoot to kill. That’s what we see, he said.

Regarding the recent student protest in Dhaka, the economist condemned the killing of students and innocent people by the police, paramilitary and army.

“The issue is democracy, the rule of law, human rights, and the role of the judiciary. People have the right to express their views and the Government has no right to kill them for their views,”

Angered by the law enforcement exercise of excessive force to quell the student protest, he said, “Demonstrators were not out there to kill anybody. Their demand may be unpleasant to the government, but that doesn’t allow the government to shoot them to kill.”

The Noble Laureate appealed to the world leaders to observe the random killing in Bangladesh. He urged all members of South Asian countries to investigate the recent incidents in Dhaka as neighbouring countries.

Dr Yunus is hopeful that global leaders can use their informal relationships and informal channels to restrain our leaders and make them aware of the serious departure from the norm of democracy.

Without dubbing Bangladesh as governed by an autocratic regime, he questioned the legitimacy of the government of Sheikh Hasina, which held three sham elections sans the opposition to participate in the elections – which lacks the credibility of inclusive elections.

Yunus, literally rubbed salt into the wound, for reaching out to global leaders to ensure calm in Bangladesh has irked the government.

The government in a loud voice said Yunus’ rhetoric at the time of “ferocity of the crisis” this month has been deemed as an “anti-state” statement.

“Of course, the election is the ultimate solution to all political problems. When something doesn’t work, you go back to the people to seek their instructions.

They are the ultimate owners of the country. Make sure it is a genuine election, not an election of a magician,” Prof Yunus spoke to Suhasini Haidar, Diplomatic Affairs Editor of The Hindu from the French capital, where he was attending as a special guest at the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics.

“Whether you’re freshly elected or you’re not elected, or you are abusing your position without the consent of the people, does not matter in a democracy. You are a government responsible for protecting people, not killing people. You cannot just pick up somebody because he belongs to the opposition party, so he is liable to be arrested,” he retorted.

Yunus did not hesitate to ask, why the army is tackling students. Pointing his finger at Hasina, he said that democracy can’t flourish with a magician.

“Why do you have to bring in an army to tackle the student demonstration? Now you say, there are some enemies inside. Who are those enemies? Identify them and deal with them, not by killing students,” added Dr Yunus.

Yunus, despised by Hasina, mentioned that the people in Bangladesh have committed themselves to democracy and to stay with democracy.

If democracy fails, Dr Yunus believes that the politicians should go back to the people again to get the mandate of the people, credibility of the people, the government doesn’t have any credibility left at this moment.

Hasina won a fourth consecutive term amid controversies after the main opposition party and allies boycotted the election in January this year. Her tenure will go down with Guinness World Records for becoming the longest-serving woman prime minister in the world.

In the latest “block raid”, over 9,000 people were arrested including leaders of the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and Islamist party Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI) for allegedly spearheading recent street violence, vandalism and arson of government properties, including two pride mega-projects and several government buildings.

BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir alleged that the arrested leaders, members and supporters of the opposition are being tortured and maimed before being brought to court and are being tortured again after obtaining remand orders.

The challenger of Hasina also urged the government to “Get the people’s mandate, freely and fairly. That’s it. Democracy cures problems by getting people’s instructions because the state belongs to the people, not to some people in the government.”

In the interview with eminent Indian journalist Suhasini Haidar, the economist claimed that Bangladesh authorities have been suppressing the locals with bullets alike foreign forces evading from another country.

“I cannot bear to see it, I can’t see millions of Bangladeshis living in terror. Democracy puts people’s lives as the highest priority. Democracy is about protecting people, all people, irrespective of religion, political opinion, or any other differences of opinion. If a citizen is about to kill another person, the state’s first responsibility is to protect the person under attack,” he said criticising the incumbent regime in Dhaka.

Meanwhile, fourteen missions in Dhaka, the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, Canada, Switzerland, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Australia and the European Union (EU) in a joint letter to Foreign Minister Hasan Mahmud, urged the protection of human rights and fair trials for those arrested in the wake of last week’s violent clashes.

On the other hand, India and China have stated that this is an internal affair of Bangladesh.

First published in Northeast News portal, Guwahati, India, 28 July 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


Friday, July 26, 2024

Will Hasina save Bangladesh from anarchy?


SALEEM SAMAD

Never before in the history of Bangladesh (since 1972), in any student uprising, anti-government movement or people’s revolt so much blood has been spilt in street violence.

The panic-stricken government of Sheikh Hasina, the longest-serving woman prime minister of Bangladesh in the world suddenly imposed shoot-on-sight orders during curfew hours, the blanket blackout of internet and mobilised army to quell the rioters on 18 July evening. Rumours of declaring an Emergency Rule were also heard.

Hasina, who won a fourth consecutive term after January elections that were apparently not free or fair, had previously imposed and then withdrawn the quota.

Educational institutions have been closed indefinitely. Broadband internet has been partially opened after a week. There is no deadline for when mobile internet will be restored. Several messaging apps, including Facebook, WhatsApp, TikTok, YouTube and many international news media remain blocked.

The students at Dhaka University and four other universities in the outskirts of Dhaka, Rajshahi and Sylhet since 1 July began their protest for reforms of job quota in government jobs.

Earlier a judgement of the High Court challenged the government’s decision to cancel all categories of job quota sparked the students to take to the streets.

On 21 July, the Supreme Court, hearing an appeal from the government, ruled to reduce the quota in government jobs, allocating 5 per cent for descendants of independence war veterans and 2 per cent for other categories of third-gender (Hijra) and physically challenged persons.

Possibly the political historian will be able to explain whether anywhere in the world, such a huge price the people had to pay for a higher court verdict.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina squarely blamed the anarchy on the shoulders of the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and Islamist party Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI).

BNP has not only boycotted the January 2024 election but also announced to resist the electioneering. JeI did not have any say, as Bangladesh Supreme Court upheld the High Court’s verdict scraping its legitimacy in participating in any elections.

“Bangladesh has been troubled for a long time due to unfettered security force abuses against anyone who opposes the Sheikh Hasina government, and we are witnessing that same playbook again, this time to attack unarmed student protesters,” said Meenakshi Ganguly, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch.

The government instead of mentioning the death tolls, is more concentrated in describing the anarchy, mayhem, vandalism and arson of state properties listed as Key Points Installations (KPIs). Like the two stations of the newly built Metro Rail, the elevated expressway was pride mega project of Hasina.

The Shetu Bhaban, which houses the Bangladesh Bridge Authority, the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) head office, state-run Bangladesh Television (BTV) and several other government buildings also took the full brunt of the severity of the frenzied mob.

Hasina asked the members of the public and law enforcement agencies to hunt for the perpetrators who have destroyed her pride projects. Her call will surely encourage a witch-hunt of alleged suspects to settle individual scores against their rivals.

Nearly a thousand students, journalists, passersby, and bystanders were wounded. Scores of children who were not in the street protest were killed or critically wounded. Harrowing tales of children are appearing on the front page of leading newspapers in Bangladesh.

More than 200 people, including students and innocent, were shot and killed.

According to the independent newspaper Prothom Alo, 5,000 people were arrested and slammed in hundreds of cases of arson, terrorism and attack on law enforcement officers. The majority of the detained persons are innocent.’

Independent media rights researcher and journalist Pullack Ghatack said at least four journalists were shot and killed by police during the clashes.

While 187 journalists in print media, news portals and television were mercilessly assaulted by police, student protesters and rioters. Once the full fact-finding is concluded the number of wounded journalists from all over the country would climb to 300, Ghatack said.

A huge number of casualties was the result of excessive force by law enforcement officers and troops with lethal weapons. The riot police violated the rules of engagement with the agitating public.

Firearms are not an appropriate tool for the policing of assemblies; they must only be used when strictly necessary to confront an imminent threat of death or serious injury, says Amnesty International.

There was a severe absence of crowd control engagement by the police, anti-crime force Rapid Action Battalion, paramilitary Border Guards Bangladesh (BGB) and armed paramilitary auxiliary force Ansar Battalion confronted the defiant students and violent protesters.

The situation went out of the hands of the law enforcement officers when the “Helmet Bahini”, a ‘gladiator’ wing recruited from the Chattra (student) League and Juba (youth) League of the ruling Awami League went berserk.

The ‘Helmet Bahini’ wearing motorbike helmets and armed with metal bars, batons, hockey sticks, unauthorised firearms, mostly handguns, shotguns, and crude home-made bombs were mobilised in scores of hotspots in the capital Dhaka, port city Chattogram (former Chittagong) clashed with students and protesters.

Amnesty International claims video and photographic analysis confirm police unlawfully used lethal and less-lethal weapons against protesters.

Amnesty International and its Crisis Evidence Lab have verified videos and photographic evidence of three incidents of unlawful use of lethal and less lethal weapons by law enforcement agencies while policing the protests.

Amnesty International urges the Government of Bangladesh and its agencies to respect the right to protest, end this violent crackdown and immediately lift all communications restrictions.

An independent and impartial investigation into all human rights violations committed by security forces, including the high death toll of protesters, must be urgently conducted.

Amnesty urged that “An independent and impartial investigation into all human rights violations committed by security forces, including the high death toll of protesters must urgently be conducted and all those found responsible must be held fully accountable. Victims of unlawful police use of force, including those who have been injured and family members of those who have been killed, must also receive full reparations from the state.”

Meanwhile, the United Nations Human Rights chief Volker Türk on the student protests called on the Bangladesh government to urgently disclose full details about the crackdown on protests amid growing accounts of horrific violence.

Türk also urged the government to ensure all law enforcement operations abide by international human rights norms and standards, according to a press release published on the UN Human Rights Office of The High Commissioner’s website.

An Awami League intellectual and a popular talkshow star Shubash Singha Roy confidently said this anarchy has proved that Bangladesh needs Sheikh Hasina and has once again proved that she can handle crisis efficiently.

“Now is the time for influential governments to press Sheikh Hasina to stop her forces from brutalising students and other protesters,” said Meenakshi Ganguly, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch.

First published in the International Affairs Review, New Delhi, India on 26 July 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


Thursday, July 25, 2024

Bangladesh curfew and internet blackout were an overkill


SALEEM SAMAD

The helms of affairs of government and security agencies during the rage of countrywide student protests in the last seven days, in panic, overreacted. The advisers who are small ‘g’ gods of lesser version hurriedly advised the authorities to clamp down with an indefinite curfew and blackout of the internet to contain the student’s protest, which local rioters joined.

PROTEST TURNS BLOODY

There is no denying that excessive force by law enforcement agencies in streets battling the protesters has shot and killed more than 200 in five days, according to an independent newspaper Prothom Alo. The situation remains calm in all the hotspots.

Another thousand were wounded and maimed. They are groaning and moaning in pain, agony, trauma and aftershock lying in hospital beds. Nearly 700 innocent passersby caught in between the conflict inflicted wounds on their eyes from shotgun pellets randomly fired by riot police. Eye surgeons operated upon 278 with pellet wounds.

HELMET BAHINI

The hundreds of dead and wounded took a direct hit from riot police backed by “Helmet Bahini” a hooliganism wing of Chattra League and Juba League of ruling Awami League battling student protesters.

The ‘Helmet Bahini’ was the second line of defence, besides the police to protect the Awami League leaders to counter the agitators. The armed hooligans after the face-off with the protesters had their anger ventilated and made them run for their lives from the campus dormitories in different universities.

Scores of ruling party students and youth members also known as “Golden Boys” had to publicly admit they had resigned from Chattra League in allegiance with the legitimate student protests. The posts on Facebook went viral on social media.

CRACKDOWN

In a crackdown, police arrested and detained nearly 1500 suspects. Among them are shopkeepers, delivery boys, returning home from work, and of course bystanders. Police in their dragnet have hardly been able to arrest the looters, rioters, and hooliganism.

Well, the police arrested scores of leaders from the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and Islamist party Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI) blaming them for instigating the riots in a bid to topple the government.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has squarely blamed BNP and JeI for vandalism and arson causing havoc on government Key Points Installations (KPIs), including two stations of Metro Rail, a pride of Hasina’s mega project. The Shetu Bhaban, houses the Bangladesh Bridge Authority, Bangladesh Road Transport Authority building and several other government buildings.

The government claims that the widespread destruction was pre-planned by the opposition and terrorists, which had planned to destabilise the government—a valid argument for a curfew and shutdown of the internet to foil the plan.

Dr Asif Nazrul, a law professor at Dhaka University in an OpEd urged the government to provide at least one evidence of opposition and Islamist conspiracy, which was foiled.

TIMELINE

The student protests which began on 1 July marched from the Dhaka University campus. The following days the students blocked the Shahbag Square, where historic protests were held and the government accepted the demands in the past.

The apex court on 4 July did not support the High Court verdict that invalidated the 2018 circular on cancellation of quota.

From 5 July, the protest spread to other university campuses and blocked roads and highways in their call for reforms of quota for government jobs.

Soon the road blockade was joined by private universities and also colleges of the country.

On 10 July, the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court imposed a status quo on quota for four weeks. Demand to reform quota system for government recruitments under all grades.

Awami League general secretary Obaidul Quader said the quota protesters are flexing muscle against the highest court of the country, which is unwarranted and illegal.

He made a stern warning if the protesters do not stand down, the Chattra League is prepared to face the agitators. While the Home boss Asaduzzaman Kamal said the protesters are ‘crossing their limits’.

Soon the ‘Helmet Bahini’ brutally attacked the student protesters in the Dhaka University campus with batons, metal bars, hockey sticks, and firearms.

COMPLETE BLOCKADE

In the following day, the students in protest of attacks on their comrades called for a nationwide road blockade, and boycott of classes and class exams in all universities. Tens of thousands of students poured into street intersections in all major cities and towns. The country came to a standstill, despite police obstruction in different places.

The movement by the new generation of students in our public and private universities for the reform of quotas was to ensure equal opportunities for all in our society and to obtain representation in government service.

Barrister Sara Hossain, a human rights lawyer in an OpEd “Bring those who ordered the excessive use of force to account” in an independent newspaper the Daily Star writes regarding the death of students and youths, “This has to be brought to account through a process that is independent, impartial, and effective. We need to see not only those who shot directly at the protesters and others but also those who ordered the firing to be brought to account.”

POLICE BRUTALITY

The blood spilt in the streets has itself turned into violence against the citizens of the country. Coupled with thousands of wounded reported in media has caused irksome among tens of thousands of ‘mango people’.

For the first time, Bangladesh witnessed that sound grenade and tear gas shells were charged from hovering helicopters. The flying machines are owned by the anti-crime force Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) and the police.

RIGHTS GROUP

Prime Minister Hasina, who won a fourth consecutive term after January elections that were not free or fair, had previously imposed and then withdrawn the quota. She has called for dialogue and promised an inquiry into the July 15 deaths. Educational institutions have been closed indefinitely, according to a statement issued by New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW).

On July 21, the Supreme Court, hearing an appeal from the government, ruled to reduce the quota in government jobs, allocating 5 per cent for descendants of independence war veterans and 2 per cent for other categories, reads the HRW statement.

“Bangladesh has been troubled for a long time due to unfettered security force abuses against anyone who opposes the Sheikh Hasina government, and we are witnessing that same playbook again, this time to attack unarmed student protesters,” said Meenakshi Ganguly, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “Now is the time for influential governments to press Sheikh Hasina to stop her forces from brutalizing students and other protesters.”

PARLEYS

Hasina earlier had parleys with business leaders at her official residence Gono Bhaban. The worried business leaders urged the government to withdraw the curfew to enable the opening of the industries. They also urged the authorities to restore the internet as soon as possible.

On Wednesday, Hasina held a courtesy dialogue with the pro-government editors and senior journalists under the banner of Editors Guild.

She had no remorse for the dead students and others’ blood spilt from police brutalities.

TRAGEDY

Shafkat Samir (11), a fifth-grade student, was closing a window of his home to stay safe from the rampant firing of tear gas shells during massive clashes at Kafrul in the city’s Mirpur area on Friday afternoon. In the blink of an eye, a bullet pierced his head, entering through his eye and killing him instantly.

Later the harassment and legal threats by law enforcement officers, Samir’s father Sakibur followed their advice and signed a form stating that “I have no complaints over the incident, and I don’t want to file a case. After taking my son’s body, I will go to bury it.”. The form also says “I followed the police’s suggestion and convinced Sakibur to sign a letter stating that he had no complaints and would not file a case.”

First published in Northeast News, Guwahati, India on 25 July 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: @saleemsamad