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| Beleaguered Bangladesh's beleaguered begums | | |
BL KAK
Bangladesh is beleaguered. Also beleaguered are two begums--Sheikh Hasina and Khalida Zia. If South Asia analysts are noting the uncanny similarities between political developments in Bangladesh and its erstwhile western wing, Pakistan, it is no surprise. Like Pakistan, where former Prime Ministers, Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif, fell afoul of the military, Bangladesh's only two grass-roots political leaders have been relentlessly targeted since the Army-backed takeover by the caretaker administration began its so-called clean up.
Former Prime Minister, Khalida Zia, under virtual house arrest, has seen two sons detained, with the younger released ahead of her own reported departure into self-exile after a “deal” with the administration. Khalida Zia's Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), seen as corrupt, was virtually run by her older son Tareque whose business interests grew exponentially as did his clout. He, as well as a number of senior ministers and officials, remain behind bars.
Khalida Zia's arch rival, the rabble-rousing Shaikh Hasina, has been charged too-- with murder. The Bangladesh government has now barred her from returning home from the United States, effectively sending her into exile as well, though Hasina claims her conscience is clear. So far, Bangladesh's emergency government, which has followed through on its aim to rid the country of corruption and graft as a pre-condition to holding parliamentary elections, has the people's vote.
Yet there is barely a murmur from this highly politicised nation over the announcement that elections could be postponed to 2008 or even the spate of arrests. But for the administration to continue to enjoy the people's trust it must show clear proof of wrongdoing. If a parallel must be made, they need only look to Pakistan where the wheel seems to have come full circle, and where Benazir Bhutto has reportedly signed off on a deal with the military to let her return home after nearly 10 years abroad.
If anything, the political scene in Bangladesh is getting curiouser and curiouser …a la the Alice in the Wonderland style. So, we have Khaleda Zia running for cover, and another Premier sent in exile, with the military’s top brass laughing from the sidelines! It is destination Saudi Arabia for Khaleda where she will be in the good company, of course at a distance, of another former Prime Minister, Pakistan’s Nawaz Sharif, who, though, is hoping to fly back to his country soon. Like Pakistan, Bangladesh is not new to the ways of the military.
The name of the game in Bangladesh is ‘cleansing the politics’. Hope, however, is that it will not be through the barrel of the gun. The mood, anyway, is being whipped up. An anti-corruption campaign is currently under way, orchestrated by the military-backed interim government. Apparently, the strings of the campaign are being pulled by the military itself. Khaleda, it is reported, might be leaving the country, and leaving the field open for the new power-wielders, “in return for leniency for her two sons” who are currently facing corruption charges. She may or may not have skeletons in her cupboard. After all, she was at the helm till October last. Power corrupts. But, why this obsession to keep the two senior leaders out of the country? Why not keep them in, and allow the cases, if any, to run their course?
Chances are that the political process in Bangladesh will remain suspended for an indefinite period; meaning, obviously, that the current dispensation will have enough excuses to delay the elections, and keep people’s power at bay. Blaming the politicians for all the ills of Bangladesh is one way of looking at things. Is the military dictatorship a better option? Pakistan’s experience in the past does not give any re-assurance in this respect. The least that can be hoped for from the present dispensation is transparency in its dealings; as against the current wave of publicity stunts, aimed apparently at trashing the political leaderships of the past and the present, and scoring points.
Bangladesh seems to be going down Pakistan's road, to some extent at least with regard to its internal politics. An army-backed unelected government is in place right now. It declared a state of emergency in January, cancelled planned elections and then went on a national accountability drive. If this sounds familiar to most Pakistanis, it is, because pretty much the same formula has been tried here as well -- and not just once but several times. Pakistan has three major political leaders including two former Prime Ministers currently in exile and Bangladesh may be well on its way to partly replicating that as well.
The decision to block Sheikh Hasina's return comes on the heels of a similar one, albeit initially with her consent, to send Khaleda Zia in exile in Saudi Arabia. Begum Zia reportedly agreed to this arrangement after her eldest son was arrested on corruption charges. A younger son was also detained overnight but released once it became apparent that she had agreed to the demand -- however, it later transpired that she too may fight this decision which she says is being arbitrarily imposed on her.
The justification for these somewhat extreme steps taken by the government of Bangladesh is that both politicians in the past have by their actions tended to polarise the country, often plunging it into days of turmoil with incessant calls for nationwide strikes. This, the government says, has not only damaged law and order, it has also held back Bangladesh's economy from realising its true potential because of the disruption caused by the strikes and the ensuing violence. While there may well be some truth to this assessment, one is not sure whether the solution lies in exiling both the ladies.
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