BNP has made a mistake! BNP has missed the election train! Khaleda Zia must repent now! I keep hearing version of this argument from various quarters, including individuals in whom I have a great deal of faith and who judgment I regard as sound.
What would have happened if BNP would have participated, and hypothetically, won the election? Would Sheikh Hasina have handed over power to Khaleda Zia and meekly left Gono Bhaban? “I can tell you that Sheikh Hasina will not hand over power. It can only happen over our dead bodies.” Was Mr. Wazed speaking only in the context of coups, or was it a general statement, encompassing all foreseeable future possibilities? Bangladesh is the country of double standards. That the horrific and murderous attacks on our Hindu communities happened while Awami League is in power, following an Awami League “victory”, with Sheikh Hasina herself handling the Home Ministry, is still somehow all evidence of BNP-JI’s diabolical nature. If the hypothetical victory had actually happened, we would immediately have seen an outcry, and a plausible excuse not to hand over power to BNP.
In the double standard version of Bangladesh’s history, the 2001 atrocities happened, and then this year’s post-election attacks happened. Nothing happened in the middle: no Ramu, no Satkhira, no Hathajari. Just like Bangladesh was enjoying a blissful, golden period of electoral democracy when a group of majors suddenly went mad and killed Sheikh Mujib, and then bad things, like martial law, started to happen. If BNP had agreed to participate in this election, without any changes to the government, the Election Commission, the Rules of Business, and so forth, let alone what the result of the elections were, a new chapter would have been added to this strange history of Bangladesh: in which elections cannot be held under BNP, but can be held under Awami League. Where 1996 exists, but 1973 is forgotten.
Woulda, coulda, shoulda… all that is in the past now. And of course, I may be completely wrong. What happens now? Well, there is some discussion about stability and why growth is more important than democracy – Mamun Rashid explicated the phenomenon extremely well here. The problem with this line of wishful thinking, of course, is that this isn’t 2009 when AL can start over again. This is 2014, and AL, and Sheikh Hasina in particular, has been working with great vigor to dismantle as many bits of the broad coalition that brought her to power in 2008, as possible. She could survive the BDR massacre in 2009, but she can’t handle an event of comparable magnitude in 2014. In short, she is no Narendra Modi, to be able to offer development if Bangladeshis give up on democracy. And this fact will only become more clear when the actual Narendra Modi, or a proxy, takes over in India in a couple of months.
In lieu of a governing mandate, Sheikh Hasina will attempt to govern in her usual fashion: by lumbering from crisis to crisis. The first one of her new regime is already here. When I read the allegation (first in a blog, subsequently published in Inqilab), that Indian armed forces members were alleged to have helped murder and otherwise put down opposition activists in different places such as Satkhira, I did not believe it. In fact, I believe that with news reports like these, the people who believe it will believe far worse, and people who don’t believe it (hopefully the vast majority) will just shrug and move on. However, if the blog had gone further and said that after a curt conversation in a flashing red phone, Manmohan Singh picked up an AK 47, parachuted into Bangladesh, and like Yoda in Revenge of the Sith, single-handedly fought the evil-doers, they should still be within their right as the citizens of a “democracy.” Or are the quotation marks beginning to overwhelm the word between them?
As far as I know, three people have so far been arrested for publishing this article, which is three more people than the number arrested for the attacks in Jessore. Are these heinous attacks really less important than a single newspaper story? And to those in the non-AL camp who believe this for a second, grow up! I realize that this preserves a useful fiction regarding the infallible nature of Bangladesh Army, but delusions can only take you so far.
Bangladeshis, members of the armed forces or not, are very much capable of behaving with complete callousness and lack of morals towards fellow Bangladeshis. Just like there was no need for the Board of Directors for BCCI to parachute down to Dhaka and overpower our BCB directors so that they would not be able to contemptuously reject the horrible plan now being championed by India. No foreigners needed. Whether this government lasts for five days or months or years, it will be because of Bangladeshis, not anyone else.
January 26, 2014 at 10:27 am
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Whether this government lasts for five days or months or years, it will be because of Bangladeshis, not anyone else.
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Agreed.
BNP is not all Bangladeshis, neither is Awami League. Khaleda Zia/TZ represents approximately ‘1/3+ -‘ of Bangladeshis. It is through a working democratic process BNP got power in past to represent the nation and has always acted within the line of democracy when comes to election. No one can ever, and I repeat, no one can ever be satisfied towards a continuing government, and especially in Bangladesh’s case, there will always exist a bitter and strong opposition. That is very good for democracy. Khaleda Zia as a leader has respected this even when BNP had absolute majority. Today it is a fact that She (BNP) through her leadership did not deviated from this. She (BNP) knows Bangladesh is not all BNP. That is where Awami L differs. Awami L had died once after 1975 due to their atrocities from 1972 -1975 era, but Ziaur Rahman with his pragmatism knowing how a democracy should work acted in a way with hope that cyclic election need to take place for an working nation with various parties. Surely he also eliminated lot of his own enemy by killing those who wanted to kill him, and eventually got killed in the same realm of game. Awami had not learn lessons that it doesn’t represents entire Bangladesh and through the sick leadership of Hasina who lives and sleeps by foaming her mouth of Khaleda…khaleda, AGAIN embarked on an era of a non-functioning process which will bring mayhem and bloodshed.
That is where BNP did right, by not going to Election. BNP knows that there will never be a fair election, and there will never be a fair mandate to find out whether public wants BNP in power, or not. It is through a fair election BNP only would have known whether their last 5 years homework has worked, or not. It is absolutely silly when people, who themselves neither can present a proper analysis, nor educate themselves to see an event from a national point of view. No election took place in January 5. January 5 was a day of a clear confirmation what Awami has become, as non –Awami entity are saying for last many years, and that is, Awami is being controlled by a powerful criminal gang who will use killing and intimidation if propaganda doesn’t work. Per their own analysis Awami realized that propaganda did not work well with an assurance to be back in power, equally realized they will get public wrath once out of power similar to post 75 eras. Not having a caretaker election is the only last chance to buy some more time, else they would be dead on January 6.
End of Awami has begun on Jan 5.
February 1, 2014 at 10:05 pm
can you please give an example of how the country would be better today under BNP rule? one that doesn’t involve arms smuggling, war criminal ministers, minority ethnic cleansing etc.
perhaps the country needs convincing.
February 3, 2014 at 7:04 pm
If BNP would run the country better or not, shouldn’t that left for people’s mandate? Why democratic nor is so difficult for Awami class to follow. You can not justify illegitimate autocracy just speculating unknown. That Awami League deception template does not work.
February 3, 2014 at 4:56 pm
Daud:
Right there, right there & right there Awami word thug: “can you please….BNP ….better”, as if these were already proven…………….just because you say so it is all facts…………if you use the same analogy whatever said against Awami must be a LIE, and whatever said against BNP must be a true………and despite all these AWAMI facts and truths, none, and none can be run via a supreme court for an honest deliberation of any of these cases against anybody without DESTROYING the supreme court and a constant threat to life and intimidation to opposition. These self-delusional righteous Awami were so sure of their righteousness, that they cannot, and repeat, can even dare to run a fair election under caretaker government, the very government all BANGBLADESHIS agreed to eliminate ANY CONFUSION of who they wants in power periodically. These sort of extreme AWAMI bias even doesn’t require an answer.
Daud:
You are so right of all accusation against BNP, please be honest and explain why there hasn’t an election under caretaker government. Seriously, SCREW BNP, and for that matter HELL with any party. Why CAN NOT there be a fair election under a caretaker government to eliminate any doubt that any party had anything to do with election, and the verdict was given by the CITIZENS of Bangladesh. Any political party that comes to power via this process is the ONLY way to prove what public believes what any party is saying, or not. Otherwise there will never be peace. You are seriously mixing up political accusation which is however disgusting, is understood, verses criminal cases. The second, any political parties manipulate judicial system to HANG a person, ALL legitimacy of that party, or individuals who run these kangaroo court is COMPELETLY lost.
Where is that fair chance, where is that fair opportunity, where is the BASIC respect to others opinion in a democratic process. Where is the basic civil right of a fair trial by a judicial system of ANY accusation? Where is it? Awami thugs have burned it, destroyed it, and January 5th was the last day for Awami thugs.
Before you put any word of any more accusation, let people have the RIGHT of A FAIR ELECTION and it is only, and only, and only, legitimate process to come to power, and all answers can be provided through a thorough JUDICAIL process.
Like I said, screw any parties, why don’t you have some responses on a fair election?
February 4, 2014 at 7:50 pm
Look at the timing of Khaleda Zia’s news conference and building a case against her. A month from now Awami thugs will completely in tune believing she is guilty, and many months later will believe a death sentence justifies. Person like Daud, will post “why should we listen to a criminal of an arms dealer”. They will completely forget it was a fabrication created by Awami to strong arm her. Simply check all Awami daily_lies providing ‘news’ incriminating her indirectly. Then they will accuse her directly. Then they will start on jailing her, and then a death sentence will be passed. How fast it moves depends on how much agitation she builds. I am not putting any new theory; these are thousand years old practices of criminals. Criminals doesn’t have a way back; they can only go forward till someone else ends it. Till their end, they let many suffer.
It is a bit refreshing to see the 19 parties still have some sense of what power means, and what is not the way to get power. Smoke screen will soon go away and criminal gang members within arm, police, and rab forces will come to public. Will of people have not changed. Bad days for Hasina and Awami criminal gang, and before they are brought to justice they will hurt lots of people. More they hurt quicker their fall is. BANGLADESH has stated that an ELECTION WILL TAKE PLACE (regardless what Awami criminals and their daily lie media says), Hasina and her criminal gang simply cannot stop it. They killed many innocent.
February 6, 2014 at 7:22 pm
Yeah, we should be lectured on practising democracy and letting people exercise their right of free political will by those who bomb schools and throw acid on those violating their hartal (aka hold country to ransom by unleashing tendon-cutting terrorists and acid throwing 40 year old “chhatra” leaders)
If I am terrified to leave my house because my hard earned car is going to be destroyed or my life and limb damaged because you want to prove your strength (rather than what is a hartal from our colonial independence days – a voluntary stay at home) then BNP-Jamaat has committed as equally bad if not worse crims as Awami election at any cost by preventing people from voting.
And now that Khaleda and her 19 mega party alliance will take part in the upazila elections, isn’t it tantamount to recongizing the government and making the whole “caretaker chara election-e jabo na” argument null and void, in which case WHAT WAS THE POINT OF ALL THE LIVES LOST BECAUSE OF BNP JAMAAT TERROR in the name of andolan while Madam was living a life of luxury in her compound and top “leaders” hiding God knows where?
February 8, 2014 at 11:48 am
Like you said it is an ‘Awami Election’, and similarly I can say all your saying is nothing but ‘Awami Accusation’, ‘Awami Justice’, ‘Awami Media’, ‘Awami Judges’, ‘Awami political propaganda’ and finally ‘Awami Justice’. Would you dare to take it to the people to see whether your accusation, or my accusation holds water, under a caretaker government? So what is now, ‘no more election under care taker’ government?. If election is not under Awami, then it can not be a fare election—is your summary point.
February 20, 2014 at 8:29 pm
Since you are unable to tolerate at least 40% of the country, why even get into foreigners? Seems you have a problem with your fellow countrymen. Oh I forgot you are a “nationalist” with the widest umbrella possible to embrace all, my mistake.