Unheard Voices

As Dhaka’s military-backed interim government gets on with its anti-corruption agenda amid cautious cheers from the public, Bangladeshis at home and abroad are arguing over what kind of government system can both be functional and deliver for the long-beleaguered people. With civil-society leaders moving towards a more hands-on political approach at the same time as politicians are being thrown in jail for alleged corruption, Bangladesh seems to be going through its biggest round of political shifts since the restoration of democracy in 1990.

Full Analysis in Himal

Following was sent by Farhad Mahmud, former MD of Ekushey TV. I believe this case deserves special attention not only as it speaks volume on how we compromise on consistency in having rule of law when it suits us but also how there is a bit of perverse satisfaction on condemning a woman for her alleged “moral torpitude”.

I would like to bring to your attention, an Auditi Sen Gupta, who was on the national dailies briefly a week or so back. There were many distasteful remarks about her; ‘Mamun’s concubine’ by one newspaper, ‘anti-social element’ by another. Some newspapers were also prone to overt dramatization of the events leading to her arrest without charges. It almost seemed like that in the midst of all the serious happenings people required a dose of light-hearted comic relief at her expense. The general impression was “serves her right for daring to violate our middle-class morality”.

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Humayun Ahmed once had a TV serial where a parrot was taught to say thui rajakar. These days, secular arguments that invoke 1971 feel like that — pretty to look at, easy to ignore. http://thedailystar.net/2007/02/26/d702261501123.htm

As the initial euphoria over the arrested political leaders dies down, concerns are now seriously beginning to crepe in whether due process is being followed to prosecute these people. While some of you may actually be happy in seeing some of these leaders in jail, if you dig down a little deeper, you will want to ask if due process is being followed to convict these people on accurate charges. The problem with not following due process is two folds. Not only there is a chance an innocent being taken away, the danger is that for not following due process, all of the real goons will have to be released eventually with the government cases falling on the way side. On my first writing after the arrests happened, I asked the question why Mr. Mohiuddin Alamgir was arrested as we know the government of BNP left no stone unturned to try him to prosecute without success.

Whether it is a balancing act or whether it is a rogue element in the government, we don’t know but when we read about the chilling account of the predicament of his family, it starks us a sharp reminder of what absolute power can do to an administration. [If any of you get a chance, see the movie "The Last King of Scotland" to truly understand how absolute power can corrupt absolutely.] Similarly you have got to ask now where is people like Giasuddin Mamun. He has been captured by the government for about a month now but till this date he has not been produced to the court or have been given a chance to defend himself. If the truth is on their side, why do the government have to resort to such untransparent and extra-judicial means? This not only violates his rights but more importantly it sets a dangerous precedence and sets up a chance that Mamun will be not be properly prosecuted for lack of following due process for the real and accurate charges of corruptions against him. Read on this bone chilling account from Dr. Jalal Alamgir regarding his father that came to us yesterday. I found it particularly troubling that if Mr. Mohiuddin Alamgir is truly innoncent, there is a dangerous chance that he will be a casualty of the war with no chance to defend himself in the court of law. Journos, who are reading this blog, I think it is about time we ask these serious questions. Again, please argue on the issue and no personal attacks please.

A personal account from Dr. Jalal Alamgir

Many of you have asked about Abba recently, so here is an update. It’s a bit long because I want to give all the details, so please bear with me. I’ll try to be level-headed, sticking to the facts as I know them. Consider it a view from the other side of what’s going on in Bangladesh.

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I can think of many good young writers from this blog — Amer, Sufibaba, Anthony, lazourous, So, Zeeshan, fz, Moin et al … roll up your sleeves and put your thoughts down in writing. How do you think they will verify the age?

Like every year The Daily Star will bring out a special supplement on our Independence Day, the 26th of March 2007. The theme of the supplement is: “State of our politics: Views of the young generation.”
The Daily Star invites young professionals between the age of 25 and 40 to contribute on the above theme from the point of view of its impact on our economy, administration, rule of law, work ethics, personal behaviour, professional excellence, etc.
The articles must draw reference to the current political crisis and ways of overcoming it. The length of the articles should not be more than 1,000 words and addressed to: editor@thedailystar.net.
Last date of submission March 10, 2007

Sunday, February 11: Joint forces arrest S.M. Nuruzzaman, ex-commissioner of the Phulbari town municipality and a leader of the Phulbari chapter of the national committee resisting the Phulbari coal mining project. Nuruzzaman was instrumental in organising the anti-mining protests at Phulbari last year that led to BDR firing that killed six people.
He was arrested by joint forces personnel and severely beaten up in the Phulbari market-place (in full public view) and then thrown in jail, with instructions to the local constabulary to hold him on whatever charges they could think of. It was only following protests and reporting of the incident in the media that he was released the next day.

So how should we understand this shocking incident? Yet another example of the caretaker government over-stepping its brief and taking action that is both high-handed and unconscionable? This is exactly the problem with the current situation of unaccountability, right?

Not so fast. This kind of action is indeed a problem, but not for the reason that most think it is. It is not simply a case of the caretaker government acting in an authoritarian and unaccountable manner. The danger, I am afraid, is far more fundamental than that.

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Dear Citizen,
I am writing to you again. First, let me express my salam to you. I could never imagine that I would get such massive response from the letter I wrote to you on February 11, 2007.

ACCEPT MY SINCERE THANKS AND GRATITUDE
You have encouraged my entry into politics with such logic and emotions that I could not help being astonished. I again felt the infinite blessings of Allah on me. From your replies, I have come to realise that how deep into your hearts you have let me in and you have put me in a position of great trust.

You have come forward and advised me with the desire to create a new politics for a new Bangladesh. A handful of young volunteers have been struggling to keep up with the incessant flow of mails, emails, fax and sms that you have sent to me after reading my letter in the newspapers. Your letters are continuing to flood in. The replies ranged from the people in remote villages of Bangladesh to the enthusiastic expatriates. I have received many valuable advices through your letters. I thank you from the depth of my heart. I express my gratitude to you. I also thank those who have asked me not to join politics out of their love for me. To them, I only have to say that only Allah can give us respect. If one wants respect, that person should earn it himself or herself. I want to go ahead with what I think is my duty. Overall, the message that you have clearly articulated to me, is that people from all walks of life want to go forward with me with a wish to bring widespread changes. I have no way to disappoint them.

I AM JOINING POLITICS WITH YOUR ADVICE
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The story so far…

[Riot Police Chase Demonstrators/ bdnews24.com]
1. 2006 was both annus horribilis and a Dickensian “best of times” for Bangladesh. On the one hand, a year of continuous street battles between gov’t (BNP: Bangladesh Nationalist Party) and opposition (AL: Awami League), all centered on the coming January national elections. On the other hand, euphoria over Yunus’ Nobel victory (the only thing that got people more thrilled was BD’s 1st World Cup cricket victory vs Pakistan).

[Army Jeep Patrols Dhanmondi/Qamruzzaman/ bdnews24.com]
2. After a year of crippling violence, strikes, chess games and war of words, a State Of Emergency (SOE) brought in a new interim (”Caretaker”) government. The key force behind the was the army and international powers. US, UK and Canadian Embassies had already refused to certify the Jan elections. A final blow came when both UN and EU suspended election observation. A few hours later, army+navy+air chief met with interim President Iajuddin, after which he stepped down as head of Caretaker/Interim Government. In the TV speech, he was contrite and (in 180 u-turn) accepted blame for escalating election controversy. Army role was made easier by Iajuddin calling military out to “maintain law and order”. As with other old men over last 30 years, Iajuddin thought he would “use” the army and other players to his own agenda. Guess again. (more…)

Bangladesh: At the mercy of climate change — Justin Huggler in the Independent (UK)

The trees in the Sundarbans have suddenly started dying. And not just that: they have started dying in a way nobody has seen before, from the top down. Nobody is sure what the cause is, but the country’s leading scientists think the trees are dying because, in recent years, the water has turned from fresh to salty. The Sundarbans is a massive mangrove swamp, and the sea has begun encroaching. What we are seeing may be one of the first casualties of rising sea levels caused by global warming.

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Not having the time to go through the merits of this piece, just putting this up for you to dissect.

Shada ke Shada Balun by Shaikh Hasina

Instead of the usual mad rush of AL-vs-BNP @ Shaheed Minar on ekushe february @ midnight, this year the crowd+sequence was a little different. (more…)

Discuss any currrent or relevant matters that you think should be discussed. No fixed topic. If you are haveing trouble posting comments, take a look at this or write to blog at drishtipat.org

Is Yunus’ party heading to be another hero/cult worshipping party like AL and BNP?

Unfortunately, he has already made a mis-step by proposing that his party’s local committees be called Yunus Samarthak Goshthi, which just seems to be creating another personality cult around himself. The reliance on his own personality is intensified by his lack of a personal ideological stance on religion or otherwise. He should resolve both of these shortcomings quickly if he wants to continue to build public support.

Discuss here in the Phiriey Ano Bangladesh (formerly known as Take Back Bangladesh) blog

Here is the elite list of the band of brothers.

Surprising omission: Tareq Rahman

Dhaka, Feb 18 (bdnews24.com) — The Anticorruption Commission Sunday published a list of 50 people, mostly politicians, who face allegations of corruption.

ACC asked them to submit wealth statements in 72 hours from notification.

The corruption watchdog made the move under an amended Emergency Powers Act.

The listed people are:
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