The Debate We Should Be Having

A debate is raging around Bangladesh – between real people and on the internet. Opinions are firmly-held, tempers get frayed quickly, and name-calling is always a possibility. And a lot depends on its outcome.

It’s not the debate that was started by Tarique Rahman about a week or so ago, about who is the first president of Bangladesh.

 

The Road Back to Sanity

I was driving back from Florida last week. While passing through the gorgeous plantation-style homes and palm trees in my route, it suddenly came to me what Khaleda Zia should have actually said on the 29th. Instead of attacking the people of an entire district, which is unfair, since they do not bear collective responsibility for the action of certain individuals. She should have lamented, “Gopalganj is too small to be its own country, and too large to be a mental asylum.”*

But Gonobhaban, I think, is just the right size to be a mental asylum. And the current occupant of Gonobhaban is now spreading her own brand of insanity to the rest of Bangladesh.

 

What are (Were) we thinking? Are ( Were) we out of our minds?

I was visiting Bangladesh when pilkhana massacre happened. As the events were unfolding on the morning of February 25 2009, I was returning to Dhaka from Chittagong. As I returned to Dhaka that afternoon the general narrative dominating our media and civil society discourse puzzled me. I wrote the following post during late afternoon of February 25 2009. I lost the post as the blog website hosting the post went offline-
Today, after the trial verdict of the massacre came out, a friend discovered the post for me from a web archive-
The narrative of public mind, our media and educated class as I described that afternoon is a fascinating reminder of the fickleness of our collective thinking process –
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The prequel to the doomsday – or the impossibility of it

The last installment of this analysis tried to explain government’s suicidal fixation on undermining Professor Muhammad Yunus. One possible explanation, as alluded to in that piece- was precision pre-planning for a future where Muhammad Yunus could have been the only formidable stature standing while the whole opposition spectrum is decimated – jailed – removed.

Today lets discuss the prequel or to be frank – impossibility of this government planned prequel to the resistance scenario where the opposition gets decimated. It is clear the state is waiting for advances from the opposition – they want the opposition to start it first. They want opposition to call some hartal – annoy people – anger the chattering class belonging to the civil society – then come down hard on the opposition – the way the state came down hard and gagged the post Ilias ali abduction protests. If the top leadership goes behind the bar, Khaleda Zia remains virtually in house arrest incommunicado and the rest of mid level leadership remain on the run – the ground organization of BNP will come to a standstill — this is the assumption of the planners of Hasina war room. May be in the last moment – just after the election schedule is announced – to show some fake sincerity to hold an inclusive election – Khaleda Zia, along with some other senior leaders, will be released. But the mid-level organizers will be kept at a bay to ensure a BNP boycott of the election. Any possible hartal agitation movement will be dealt with harshest state repression. And once an election is somehow conducted with domesticated opposition and some fake break away BNP participating and  as soon as the 3rd Hasina Government  takes oath – full brunt of the state repression will be unleashed upon whatever is remaining of BNP. Khaleda Zia along with her top lieutenants will face harsh or long term sentences. Per PM Hasina’s game plan – vision 2021 will be halfway on its goal.

 

However the above mentioned scenario still remains within the confines of wishful thinking and planning. History tells us again and again – whatever precision planning one may do, whatever full proof the plans may be – eventually, surprise and unplanned factors dictate the flows, the turns and the curves of the history. Another factor that also cannot be ignored by any avid observer of history – is that whatever powerful one may be – without ground based following and a sizable portion of the population backing the regime – no one can stay afloat with absolute power too long. Nature – sometimes presenting as collective public opinion, sometimes presenting as suppressed public demands – finds its way to correct major anomalies against the nature- again an overwhelming public opinion.

 

The state, led by Hasina and her cronies e.g. political advisers, army, RAB and police chiefs, GOCs of strategic military divisions, DMP and other commissioners, bureaucrats – may design the perfect plan of a brutal bloody suppression of the opposition. They may find the confidence and comfort about their success in their successful dress rehearsals of suppressing the opposition movement after Ilias Ali abduction or Hezazate Islam sit in.

 

The problem is that what the planners of Mrs. Hasina fail to see is that the state power has a shelf life. It decays with time. The vigor this state had shown during Ilias Ali agitation or even during hefazate Islami sit in, is no longer there with the state machinery. In the elected autocratic democracies like Bangladesh – the state power and the opposition strength is mutually complimentary. The stronger the state is, the weaker is the opposition. The weaker the state gets – the more invigorated the opposition gets. Even if the high command orders a brutal crackdown of the opposition, it will be unlikely that all ground level enforcers of the state will comply to high command orders with full complicity. Every single police officer, every single district level administrator will think twice before executing any drastic suppression. Because like the rest of the nation they will also be skeptical about PM Hasina Government’s plans to hang on to a second term by force. They will be very careful in trying not alienating the future ruling party. The state may have foreseen and preempted this problem by heavily recruiting hardcore ruling party zealots from a certain part of the country- but these zealots will be too little too weak to negate the skepticism and inaction of self-serving skeptic members of the  administration.

At the same time the opposition force Hasina’s state machinery will face on the streets will be much stronger than before.  Possibility of an upcoming election will drive constituency based resistance to state suppression. Potential candidates of each constituency as well as their ward level followers will try their best to show their support and organizational capacity in launching a resistance. The incentives were not as high two years ago, the hope of an end to the oppression and hopes of paybacks were not as near.

 

Then comes the other surprise factors. The strongest Prime Minister in history of Bangladesh could not contain a young newbie grassroots leader of her party during Gazipur city corporation elections.  Even when our PM’s clout and stature was at the peak we saw Ivy-Shamim Osman, Afsar Uddin- Simin Hossain Rimi type organizational chaos. At the end of her tenure, how she would expect to contain all the deprived leaders of the party? Esp. how she would dissuade the local leaders  who know it very well that if they again remain within the list of the deprived, if they have to pave the way for the other leader to become the MP or Upazilla Chairman, their political career is practically over.

This factor will weigh heavily in suppressing the opposition. May be the opposition BNP activists will see unexpected allies among the ruling party deprived factions.

 

Then other shocking surprises like 1/11, August 15 is always there in the horizon.

The facts above suggest it very clearly that if the government has any plan to oppress the opposition and hold a one party election, although it will not be impossible, it will not be walking on a cake. If we go back to the Terminator movie analogy – precision planning by the strongest super computer Skynet system and all the full proof pre-emptive acts to protect the planned future failed to human resilience and surprises.  Prime Minister Hasina, with all organs of the state behind her with solid subservience, may have found herself invincible during last four and half years. But her invincibility will be seriously tested by a skeptic administration, a chaotic feuding organization she leads and a n invigorated opposition.

 

[ In the third and final installment of the analysis, we’ll discuss the best exit plan of PM Hasina and about the 3rd Hasina Government if PM Hasina somehow succeeds in hanging on to power]

 

Muhammad Yunus and the terminator

Professor Muhammad Yunus is a man with formidable international name recognition, domestic popularity and civil society –donor acceptance. So he definitely is a rival to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at least in terms of clout and recognition. Is this the reason behind Mrs. Hasina and her Government’s self-immolating attempts to harass and undermine Professor Yunus? Is jealousy is the only factor behind the fact the whole state craft of Bangladesh spend months after months, whole cabinet spends two hours in special meeting and octogenarian Finance Minister makes it his magnum opus to somehow device a way for the state to remove Mr. Yunus from his high held position?  It is true that when the state wants to remove a little potato like Ram Rahim Jodu Modhu – they simply can put them behind the bars for indefinite period, disappear them forcefully, kill them in RAB cross fire. The higher clout figure they go after – the more difficult it gets. Vanishing Chowdhury Alam, a unit organizer of central Dhaka BNP was much easier for the state than removing Ilias Ali, a nationally recognized leader. As such, Professor Muhammad Yunus is way much big a figure for the state to simply remove from the horizon. State of Bangladesh can stage an event to remove Muhammad Yunus – but the consequence will be too much to handle. The mind of statecraft is not that clouded yet with jealousy not to be able to think of that.

 

৬ আগস্ট ১৯৭৫

৬ আগস্ট ১৯৭৫

তখন চট্টগ্রাম মেডিকেল কলেজের অধ্যক্ষ ছিলেন অধ্যাপক জোহা
ন্যায় নিষ্ঠাবান এবং অত্যন্ত কঠোর এই চিকিত্সক শিক্ষক বিনা কারণে পরীক্ষা পেছানো ক্লাস ফাকি দেয়া ইত্যাদি কঠোর হাতে দমন করতে চেষ্টা করলেন
কিছু ছাত্র ও ছাত্র নেতা ব্যাপারটা সহজ ভাবে নিল না
এদের মধ্যে কেউ কেউ পরকিল্পনা করলো অধ্যাপক জোহা কে হত্যা করার
৬ ই আগস্ট রাত – গ্রীষ্মকাল – দেশের মানুষ জানালা খুলেই ঘুমায় –
অধ্যাপক জোহার শয়ন কক্ষ লক্ষ্য করে খোলা জানালা দিয়ে শক্তিশালী গ্রেনেড ছোড়া হল
আততায়ীর কক্ষ নির্ধারণ ভুল ছিল – তারা যে কক্ষটি অধ্যাপক জোহার কক্ষ মনে করে ছিল সে রুমে এক বিছানায় ঘুমাত অধ্যাপক জোহার ১৫-১৬ বছর বয়েসী দুই কন্যা – মিলি আর টুসি – দুবোনের শরীর ই ছিন্ন ভিন্ন হয়ে গিয়েছিল বোমার আঘাতে – তাত্ক্ষণিক মৃত্যু —

ওই হত্যা কান্ডের কখনো বিচার হয় নি – অধ্যক্ষের বাসভবন এর দারোয়ান এবং ক্যাম্পাসের প্রত্যক্ষদর্শীদের বিবরণীতে যাদের কথা উঠে এসেছিল তাদের মধ্যে ছিলেন তত্কালীন মেডিকেল কলেজ মুজিব বাদী ছাত্রলীগের সভাপতির নাম – উনি গ্রেফতার হয়েছিলেন এবং বহিস্কার হয়েছিলেন সাময়িক ভাবে – পরে সাক্ষীর প্রমানের অভাবে বিচার আর চলে নি
এই ভদ্রলোক বর্তমানে বাংলাদেশ সরকারের একজন পুর্ণমন্ত্রী

 

Mahfuz Anam: On Sons

Mahfuz Anam’s recent editorial, The Sons are Coming, makes for interesting reading. I advise readers to then go back and read a pair of his columns from 2007: How could BNP come to this stage?, written after the arrest of Tarique Rahman on March 9, 2007, and The mandate that Khaleda Zia Wasted, that ran on September 4, 2007, the day after Khaleda Zia was arrested.

Browsing through Daily Star in 2007 is like watching a super-sad movie: you know how all this is going to end, but you cannot help but be touched by the optimism in the middle. An article on the National Coordination Committee, written by the breathless Julfiqar Ali Manik (as a part of his competition with Zafar Sobhan to see who could make grander pronouncements about the all-encompassing success of the CTG), nicely illustrates the point. It would have “ultra-crime bust forces” and a “mighty committee.” It would “be at the helm of all major hunts for corruption and criminal suspects.” It “will not rest on filing of cases but follow those up till the disposal by keeping constant contacts and communications with relevant authorities.” In fact, short of wearing leotards and flying through the sky, it would virtually have no other limitations.

Newt Gingrich apparently shut down the US government because Bill Clinton did not invite him to the presidential cabin while taking a trip in Air Force One. Did Mahfuz Anam support a coup because he was “teased” (Mr. Anam’s words, not mine) by TR?

 

The Krishna Option

We are at, possibly, the last lull before the next storm hits Bangladesh. Ramadan will let BNP and AL figure out where they stand and what they want to do next. The months after Eid are likely to be as action-packed and eventful as the stretch between February and May.

One worry I have heard for a long time is that AL won’t allow elections at all. I do not believe this will come to pass. Awami League will certainly tilt the playing field their way as much as possible, but ultimately, I think they will call elections. There is a significant section of AL that believes that BNP will come to any election, under any terms, because the party has seen that it is hopeless at street agitations.

So, the question becomes, under what circumstances should BNP agree to participate in the election?

Here, as in much else, the Mahabharat has a point to make.

Before an epic war, two leaders from the two opposing sides go to see Lord Krishna. He is sleeping, so one sits at his head and the other at his feet. Once he awakens, they both ask for his support. Krishna offers them a choice: they can either choose his vast armies, including the elite corp called Narayani Sena, or himself, in a noncombatant role. The two captains made their choices and both departed feeling that they had gotten the better of the other side.

BNP should make the following offer to Awami League and Hasina, either:

i. They will abide by the terms of the 15th Amendment, and go to election with the current EC, with all the current MPs and ministers still remaining in office, only if Sheikh Hasina steps down and lets someone else, potentially President Abdul Hamid or Speaker Shirin Sharmin Chowdhury, act as interim head of government, or

ii. Hasina can stay as PM, but Parliament has to be disbanded, with all MPs and ministers resigning, and an interim group of ten advisors, as non-partisan as possible, to act as the cabinet similar to the past caretaker governments. Hasina could be the caretaker chief.

And then sit back and let Hasina mull the choices, and the consequences of each.

 

In Praise of M. Sanjeeb Hossain

On the 37th occasion of murder of the four National leaders, M. Sanjeeb Hossain has an op-ed in bdnews24. Who is M. Sanjeeb Hossain? Mr. Hossain’s bio is here. It should be further mentioned that he is the son of Prof. Anwar Hossain of Dhaka University, and thus, nephew of the late hero and Sector Commander Col. Abu Taher.

First, what is the point of this op-ed? From the concluding paragraph:

The more this unity is strengthened, the greater the chances that Bangladesh will move ahead in a positive direction. The Awami League must learn from it’s mistakes from the era of 1972-’75 just as the ‘left’ should comprehend how its immediate shift to an oppositional position after Liberation was a premature step. We need to know our true foes – the defeated anti-liberation forces of 1971, which are still lurking around waiting for an opportunity to strike back. Also, we need to identify our true friends. We can not afford to distance ourselves from each other like we did in 1972 and in the years that followed. The unity of democratic and progressive forces infused with muktijuddher chetona was successful in 1971 and there is no doubt it shall be successful again if it takes lessons from the errors of the past.

So, in his own words, he is concerned about strengthening the alliance between JSD (the party championed by his uncle that he will head one day). That part is perfectly understandable; it is by dint of this alliance that JSD now has Members of Parliament and even, miracle of miracles, cabinet ministers. The second part is more subtle, and thus, interesting. “We need to identify our true friends”- so, to warn Caesar of enemies lurking both externally and internally, so to speak.

I very much enjoyed reading this op-ed. Because of his personal background and family history, Mr. Hossain is more pro-Awami League than actual Awami League leaders. Yet, because of the admittedly complex agenda he inherits, he cannot write the usual anti-Zia diatribe portraying Bangladesh between 1972 and 1975 as the land of milk and honey that all went horribly wrong on August 1975. He does the best with the hand he is dealt.

 

When you call a politician a grassroots politician?

You call a politician grassroots politician when…

 

 

 

 

 

…in response to the abduction of their dear leader, mass people from his roots grab whatever weapon they have at their disposal and proceed to faceoff with the overwhelming forces the state.

 

Maisha’s Day out and our exuberant police

Those who have watched the movie ” Baby’s Day Out”, must recollect the similarities and dissimilarities of the storyline of the movie and recent sensational abduction of the infant named Maisha.

In ‘Baby’s Day Out’ movie, three criminals abduct the baby of a rich man with the hope of Ransom. But the naughty baby, almost same age that of Maisha, gives the three kidnappers, not used to taking care of a baby, a run for their money. Maisha was snatched away when five robbers robbed her house in Khilgaon, Dhaka.

We don’t know what transpired between Maisha and her kidnappers since she was snatched away from her mother’s lap, but we can easily assume that the robber/ kidnappers did not have much luck with baby Maisha either. It probably was the longest night for the kidnappers, no sooner the morning day light came out and the kidnappers found a suitable spot to drop the baby off, Maisha was out in the streets waiting for someone to pick her up. The robber/ kidnappers had to be ingenious in finding a way to send a message with Maisha. Giving a piece of paper at Maisha’s hand was out of question. Maisha will either eat it or throw it away. Baby’s don’t carry bag or don’t have pockets. So the robbers came up with the excellent (!) idea of buying a white T shirt for Maisha, write the message on the T shirt and put the T shirt on her!

 

Today’s Sound Bite

Dhaka University Law profesor Asif Nazrul on the Forced Disappearance of opposition leader Ilias Ali

Bangladesh National Human Rights Commissioner on the forced disappearance of Ilias Ali

Dr Asif Nazrul on Forced Disappearance

PM Sheikh Hasina on forced disappearance of Ilias Ali

 

Alien Invasion on Bangladesh

Over the last few years mysterious things started happening in Bangladesh. In the absence of any earthly explanatin of those incidents, there has been serious concerns among informed people of Bangladesh that Bangladesh is at the recieving end of an alien invasion.

The description of the following events will prove, beyond an iota of doubt in anybody’s mind that , a barrage of attack have been unleashed on the people of Bangladesh.

It first started with alien kidnapping. First notable victim of such kidnap is an elected official of Dhaka city local government Mr. Chowdhury Alam. Since he went missing from Dhaka city nearly two years ago, he has never been seen again.

A closer look revealed that during this time period, Mr Alam was not the only one being kidnapped by alien. Many young men, opposition activists, stuents from Sylhet and other areas went missing. All but one of those kidnapped by the aliens never came back. The only lucky one who could come back alive, sans all the memory of the time of confinemnet, was the son of a fiery religious figure Mr. Fazlul Haque Amini. It was not clear why the aliens let Mr Hasnath, son of Maolana Amini let lose. However, this event may make a strong case in support of the theory that aliens worship the same God and they had some soft corner for the pastor Mr Amini.

Very soon, along with Kidnappings, killings started to take place. This time another local government level leader of Dhaka city from the opposite political spectrum got killed very msteriously. The aliens were so intrusive and invasive that they could easily penetrate inside the SUV of a powerful ruling party MP inside the compound of Bangladesh’s national parliament building amd kill one Mr Ibrahim in point blank range.

Not only known faces lik Ibrahim or Chowdhury Alam were being killed/ kidnapped in high profile places, mysterious killing started being noticed in all remote corners of Bangladesh like the Bay near Borguna, Joydevpur, Bhanga region of Faridpur district, Dhaleshwaree River near Munshiganj district, Ashulia/ Kuril, Pabna etc.

However one of the daing action of the alien commando forces were that of Sanaullah babu killing. Sanaullah Babu was another elected local government leader in a northern district called Natore. In this event the aliens showed their T – 1000 the nanomorph like ability to take other peoples’ shapes. During this event, which was widely recorded by multiple cameras, the aliens took the shape and look of many ruling party members of that district. Specifically the lead killer took the shape of a popular local Awami league leader Zakir.

Similarly got killed another local government leader, again this time from the opposite political base, Mr. Lokman Hossain.

The aliens did not stop in killing political activists, local government leaders only. An extremely powerful couple, both are senior TV personalities and TV journalists, were stabbed to death inside their apartment. The government could not give any earthly explanation of their gruesome murder– making it the highest profile case of the series of mindless alien assasinations taking place in Bnagladesh.

Within a very short interval, the aliens, without any reason, abducted a diplomat of Saudi Arabia stationed in Dhaka, Bangladesh and killed him in a highly professional manner. This specific killing heralds a new front of attack unleashed by the aliens. The clever war planners of the alien empire knew it very well that killing of a Saudi diplomat in Bangladesh may seriously weaken the position of Bangladeshi migrant labors in Saudi Arabia and harm Bangladesh economically.

The latest incident involving the invading alien force in Bangladesh resembles robbery of Fort Knox. This time the aliens looted a big chunk of money from within the car heading to the home of a powerful minister of Bangladesh. And this brazen loot took place within the highly fortified compound of a paramilitary force of Bangladesh. This specific operation suggests growing confidence of the aliens in hitting anyone, any place anytime in Bnagladesh.

 

Abul Kalam Azad and Two Memories

It’s either 2005 or 2006. I am sitting at a family member’s home in Virginia, enjoying the new experience of watching Bangladeshi channels in the US. While surfing channels, the visage of a bearded man, holding forth on some lecture, flashes on the screen.

For the first and last time in my life, I hear the sound of teeth being gnashed.

I turn and ask my family member the reason for his extreme reaction. He tells me his story- of how, as a youth, he had run, futilely, after a Pakistani Army jeep which was driving away with his father. The place was Faridpur. The year 1971. And the man who had guided the Pakistani Army to his home was Bacchu Razakar, now Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, the man with the orange beard.

 

March 12 Rally, and Afsan Chowdhury’s Bias

March 12 saw over a hundred thousand people gather to listen to Khaleda Zia speak. They came, despite the fact that all long-distance transportation to Dhaka, including buses, trains, and ferries, had been stopped the last three days, that police was indulging in mass arrests of anyone even suspected of going to the rally, and that on the day of the rally, AL workers armed with weapons were stationed at various points of the city to “discourage” people from attending the rally.

But you wouldn’t know any of that from reading Afsan Chowdhury’s latest. In fact, his piece is a perfect illustration of the iron-clad rules governing BD journalism. All criticism of AL is generic and vague: “AL came out looking like a bunch of scared rabbits”, “the AL who now stands out looking inept”, “But what the AL also did in its failed attempt to contain the crowds from swelling was use its cadres”, “AL had a bad case of nerves”, “AL decided to add to it by making direct broadcasts impossible”, “the party came out looking so novice like, out of depth and touch, hardly the kind of maturity that can handle a political crisis.”

You see, AL is a party governed by a series of inter-changeable drones, and all members have the exact same contribution to policy-making, so it makes no sense to mention the prime minister, or any of her advisers, or members of her cabinet. The party is governed by a hive-mind. Everyone is equally culpable: no need to mention anyone by name.

By contrast, the criticism of BNP is sharp and personal: “Khaleda where her political imagination is limited by her lack of understanding of what people want”, “she however left out was significant which is any reference to the War Crimes Trial”, “It was a very convenient but unpleasant silence on the part of Khaleda Zia”, “Khaleda has declared a number of new programmes including a hartal. So we are back to the hot and heavy season.”

Simple: BNP bad, Khaleda Zia worse.

Finally, this may come as a shock to Chowdhury, but there is no law “that forbids any criticism” of the war crimes trial. There is, however, Section 39 of the Constitution of Bangladesh, which is titled “Freedom of thought and conscience, and of speech.”  It protects the right of all Bangladeshis to express themselves as citizens of a free and democratic country. Perhaps he should glance at it.

 

What happens in Hathazari, stays in Hathazari?

Mull over this: if a temple is ransacked in the forest, but no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?

As per bdnews, several temples and shops were burned. This ransacking went on for two days. Bdnews says:

The leaders of the Hindu minority there blamed the ‘indifference’ of the administration for the situation.

The problem is, the facts suggest otherwise. The local level administration tried to hold some meetings and head off any trouble before things got out of hand. Then Anisul Islam Mahmud, the local MP stepped in. Now, he isn’t just your typical Jatiyo Party MP who has trouble even doing something innocuous as taking over a local hospital. Mahmud, along with Ziauddin Bablu, is Sheikh Hasina’s enforcer in Jatiyo Party, and is tasked with making sure that JP Chief H. M. Ershad stays in line. As such, Mahmud has, at all times, the ear of the Prime Minister. When he was not successful (by some accounts, he was chased by local people and had to be rescued by police), Afsarul Amin showed up. Afsarul Amin is the senior representative from Chittagong in this current cabinet, and was probably the best person for the job since former mayor Mohiuddin Chowdhury refused to get involved in this matter. Amin, too, failed to get things under control. It took the deployment of a heavy contingent of police and RAB to finally bring the situation under control.

And then, poof. The matter disappeared from our media. No follow-up reports to investigative articles. No allocation of the blame.

Or rather, some allocation of the blame. Four days after the incident, Nurul Islam, another MP from Chittagong and the leader of one of the three factions currently active in Chittagong AL, said this:

চট্টগ্রামে হিজবুত তাহরির, জেএমবি নিয়ে আমি দীর্ঘদিন চিৎকার করছি। শেষ পর্যন্ত তারা হাটহাজারীতে ঘটনা ঘটিয়েই ফেলল। ঘটনার বর্ণনা আমি দিতে চাই না। তবে চট্টগ্রাম-৮ আসনে সন্ধ্যা ৬টা থেকে রাত ১টা পর্যন্ত মন্দিরে মন্দিরে ঘুরে ঘুরে আমি পাহারা দিয়েছি।

I have been complaining for a long time about Hijbut Tahrir and the JMB. At last, they succeeded in causing the incident at Hathazari. I don’t want to go into the details of the incident, but I personally went from temple to temple between 6 pm and 1 am to guard everyone

The column was, ironically, titled “যার কাজ তাকেই করতে হবে”. Islam is silent on whether he thinks it is now his job to patrol the city at night to ensure law and order. Islam’s allegation that HiT and JMB are behind the attacks are also problematic. Both groups are banned in Bangladesh; people routinely get arrested for just owning literature that espouses their cause. That they would go on a violent rampage for two days, and be met with negotiation and discussion from the highest levels of the government, is fantasy, pure and simple.

Then day after, Abdul Mannan, the former Vice Chancellor of Chittagong University, who is now the designated pro-AL voice in Prothom Alo, wrote this:

একবাক্যে সবাই স্বীকার করেছে যারা এই দুদিন এমন একটি শান্তিপূর্ণ এলাকায় ধর্মীয় অনুভূতিকে উসকানি দিয়ে পরিস্থিতি ঘোলাটে করতে চেয়েছিল তাদের উদ্দেশ্য কী ছিল? ইসলামী ছাত্রশিবির চট্টগ্রাম বিশ্ববিদ্যালয়ের ঘটনাকে কেন্দ্র করে নন্দীরহাটের ঘটনার সূত্রপাতের দিন চট্টগ্রাম শহরে আধবেলা হরতালের নামে বেশ অনেকগুলো গাড়ি ভাঙচুর করেছে। তারা কোনো কোনো এলাকায় যুদ্ধাপরাধীদের দায়ে তাদের অভিযুক্ত নেতাদের মুক্তি দাবি করেছে। সবকিছু একসঙ্গে করলে সহজে এই উপসংহারে আসা যাবে যে এসব কোনো অপকর্মই হঠাৎ ঘটে যাওয়া কোনো বিষয় ছিল না। সবকিছুর পেছনে সুপরিকল্পিত প্রস্তুতি ছিল এবং উদ্দেশ্য একটাই, যুদ্ধাপরাধীদের বিচার বানচাল করা।

Everyone fully admits to being curious about the motive of those who instigated this incident in a previously peaceful area. Islami Chatra Shibir destroyed several vehicles on the day this incident started, which coincided with a hartal they had called. In some areas, they have demanded the release of their leaders who are now standing trial for war crimes. If all the dots are connected, we can easily come to the conclusion that this was not a solitary incident. There was a singular and well-planned motive, and that was to foil the trial of the war criminals

ICS, Jamaat’s student body, is currently under a state of siege, much like its parent organization. Awami League has consistently chosen to use overwhelming force anytime Jamaat or Shibir was bringing out even peaceful protests. Again, to suggest that the government would passively stand by and allow Shibir to take control of a key Chittagong suburb for two days and stand by passively is to show a reckless disregard to the ground reality of Bangladesh.

To sum up, we have what is, by all accounts, a communal riot, that the government did its best to nip in the bud. Its conduct afterwards, however, seems to have been less than honorable. That our media has gone completely silent on this story, while printing the self-serving allegations of Awami League politicians and intellectuals, is a stain on the entire industry. That the said politicians and intellectuals pin the blame on different groups only makes this matter more ridiculous. And as for the Awami League government, it would do well to remember one of the eternal truths of politics: it’s always the cover-up, not the crime itself, that gets you.

 

বেডরুম পাহারা দেওয়া সম্ভব নয়: হাসিনা

Thirty-seven years ago, the bedroom of another residence in Dhanmondi also became flooded with blood. It congealed, and streamed down the stairs, and seeped into our collective nightmare. Possibly, it affected Sheikh Hasina more than any other person in the world. It is against that background that this comment is utterly inexplicable.

Our public figures say things, and we talk amongst ourselves and debate and argue and fight over them. But sometimes, there arises a comment that is so extreme in its heartlessness, so callow in its apathy, that there is nothing to say. We can only watch, and endure. And hope that some honorable person is shielding little Megh very caringly from the outside world.

 

What a Difference

“The glorious role that the armed forces played in the reconstitution of the caretaker government saved the country from a one-sided Jan 22 election, full of clashes and confrontations. We thank them for this. Now the nation expects arrests of those who plundered people’s wealth in corruption, and recovery of the lost wealth.”

Abdul Jalil, Awami League General Secretary, January 14, 2007

“Everyone suffers when democracy is under attack. We (political parties) may have different points of view. But everyone will have to be united when the issue is democracy.Whoever they are, they will be identified, they will be brought to justice and they will be handed the maximum punishment.”

Syed Ashraful Islam, Awami League General Secretary, January 19, 2012

 

New Tribunals for Bangladesh’s ICT: Some Suggestions

The Government of Bangladesh has suggested that it is going to form at least another bench to expedite the trial of the men accused of committing crimes against humanity. There are certain things that the government can do to avoid much of the controversy that is dogging the current tribunal.

1. Have at least two judges with district court experience: In the current tribunal, Justice Fazle Kabir was a district court judge before being elevated to the High Court. Zaheer Ahmed is also a retired district court judge. District courts are the trial courts of Bangladesh’s legal system, and the judges who rise up through that system have a far greater experience regarding the minutiae of handling a trial, like evidentiary and exculpatory issues. The transcripts of the direct and cross-examination of prosecution witnesses in the trial of Delwar Hossain Saydee has made this abundantly clear. Justices Zaheer and Kabir have been extremely active in deciding whether to sustain or overrule the objections by the prosecution and the defense teams, while the chairman, Justice Nizamul Huq has mostly been a silent spectator. The new tribunal should also have at least two judges with experience at the district court level, and unlike this the current tribunal, one of these two should be made the chairman of the tribunal.
2. Have at least two judges with at least five years of appellate experience: Justice Fazle Kabir was appointed by the BNP government in 2003. So, he had seven years of experience in the High Court under his belt before being appointed to the war-crimes trial. Justice Nizamul Huq, on the other hand, was appointed in 2001, not confirmed in 2003 (along with Shamshuddin Chowdhury Manik, what a wise decision that was), and then again reappointed in 2009. This means that he had only heard appellate cases for 3 years (2001-2003, 2009-2010) before being appointed to the Tribunal, and even that with a six-year gap in between. For the new tribunal, the government would do well to appoint judges with at least five years of uninterrupted appellate experience.
3. Avoid controversial judges: At first glance, this may seem to be an extremely subjective measure, but the government would be wise to do all it can to appoint people who are as uncontroversial as possible. Justice Fazle Kabir is controversial because he was the other judge with then-Justice Khairul Huq when he handed down his Fifth Amendment verdict and started our court on its festival of constitution-shredding. However, that is a matter of completely different magnitude from Justice Nizamul Huq, who took part in a mock-prosecution of these same men as a private citizen, and whose presence has irreversibly tainted the whole proceedings. For the new tribunals, Awami League should avoid individuals with direct participation with the 1992 mock trials, as well as those judges who were reappointed in 2009, and some of whom have been elevated to the Appellate Division.

If Awami League really wants to finish all the trial proceedings within the 2012 calendar year, then it has no choice but to constitute new tribunals. However, the absence of interlocutory appeals makes this process quite challenging, since different tribunals could potentially rule differently on the same issues, and the prosecution would be able to take advantage of forum-shopping. While the road ahead is certainly challenging for the government, if it chooses the members of the new tribunal with some foresight (which was very much missing was constituting the current tribunal), it may make its mission slightly easier.

 

(____) minds think alike

ব্লগ এখন অনেকটা পর্নোগ্রাফিতে পরিণত হয়েছে: Syed Ashraful Islam

“On the Internet 50 percent is porn material. Why should we refer to the Internet?”: Vladimir Putin