Wed 22 Aug 2007
The violence is continuing for the 3rd day running and Rajshahi has turned into a battlefield. But the big question is what are they protesters protesting about when all of the demands have been met.
I have no independent verification of this but alarmingly shadakalo blog is reporting the following
- The 3 service chiefs met with US and UK embassy officials and UN officials for an all-nighter. The martial-law question came up, and was put on hold for the time being but that option is not off the table.
- Unrest spreading to other universities
- Education adviser’s house in Dhanmondi has been attacked by a procession.
I saw the news footage of people breaking private cars and buses. It doesn’t look like it is done by general students any more. After the apology, the withdrawal of the camp, neither I am sure what the protesters are protesting now. I want to echo eishob and jyoti in saying a premature end to CTG will bring grave danger for our country. The first two days of protest was an eye-opener for powers that may be, but now continuing past the first two days without genuine grivences will not only lose the public appeal but also put our country in a collision course that we are not prepared to handle. As we know from history that its always a vested quarter who reaps the benefit of such aimless revolt, unrest and destruction.
Update:
After having speaking to more people, I feel I should correct this post by saying that a newer element to this protest is that it spread like wildfire across the country which we haven’t seen even in the heady days of anti-government movement of november last year. So what’s the difference? Downplaying it as simply as political hackjob would be a mistake. We have often talked about here the labour unrest, the disconnect of the government with the real people, the inflation– add this to the years of neglect of public interest by previous governments, such massive unrest was predicted but it wasn’t seen to be coming this quickly. We will have a further post today on how the CTG blew it by losing its moral authority in governing the country. The nervousness in Barrister Mainul Hossain’s face yesterday was palpable. If the government goes down, he and people like him will bear the major responsibilities. Very sad and disappointing day for Bangladesh.
August 22nd, 2007 at 7:45 am
Well said, but too late.
August 22nd, 2007 at 8:12 am
Take a look at picture # 5 in this sequence:
http://thedailystar.net/story.php?nid=1121
A friend pointed to the picture this morning, as we looked through the morning papers (all awash with images of violence) and said:
“This picture will cost lives”
August 22nd, 2007 at 8:16 am
Completely agreed with you regarding the fact that this CTG’s downfall will lead to a worse outcome.
The genie unfortunately seems to be out of the bottle. A protest that started with one thing snowballs into protests about everything else. I don’t believe in “irrational” human beings, so I’ll refrain from comments about “hujugey, overemotional, nagging Bangalis”. Our countrymen (and women) have loads to feel frustrated about: from spiralling inflation to delayed government response to floods to lost jobs to government - sorry - banks, BANKS “blackmailing” people about their hard earned money. This is the result of frustration. I’m not condoning property damage, but I do understand the frustration that leads to it.
My hope is that the electorate that showed such impeccable judgement in the last 15 years will not support/indulge in long-term violence that leads only to more chaos. But if this government does not let the electorate speak, breathe and live their lives, that too might come to pass.
August 22nd, 2007 at 8:24 am
Do elaborate Dhaka Bashi, why will that picture cost lives?
Let us not forget that in the 36 year history of Bangladesh, we have not had a Tiannamen style crackdown by the armed forces on civilians. The restraint and professionalism of the army has played a big role in that.
August 22nd, 2007 at 8:24 am
Here are some historic scenarios that worry me:
1.In 1968, looking at images of West Pakistani students grabbing and manhandling army officers in Rawalpindi, and East Pakistani students storming the barricades, Tariq Ali predicted that the global socialist revolution would now sweep Pakistan. Ali failed to predict that Sheikh Mujib, who was a representative of the newly rising Bengali Muslim middle class, would take over that movement. All the way up to March 7 1971, there was a gap between the radicalism of the student leaders (including the 4 khalifa) and Mujib– but Mujib came out on top because the radicals were unable to capitalize on a movement they created and provided footsoldiers for. This tension of course burst into the open after 1971 as JSD came about to fight AL.
2.In 1988-1990, many of the radical student leaders were openly scornful of Hasina/Khaleda, because they were seen as soft and willing to compromise. But when the student movement gathered explosive force, they needed to take on AL/BNP top leadership to gather legitimacy. They had no internal leadership of their own.
If this student movement spreads from campus to campus, there are few scenarios:
1. The movement wins, springs Hasina out of jail– Hasina Khaleda sweep back to power.
2. Movement wins, CTG topples, and then faction fights begin– far worse than before, and now with the trump card of “army ashbe kinthu” already played.
3. Martial Law.
August 22nd, 2007 at 8:25 am
Just heard from a source inside the army that chiefs of all three services are having a meeting inside Army HQ right now.
August 22nd, 2007 at 8:27 am
I think the thread is somehow readable to the write-up of Asif Bhai.
http://www.e-bangladesh.org/2007/08/21/learning-things-the-hard-way/
….. As unfortunately as it may sound, this government has decided that they want to learn things the hard way. So be it. The sky looks much clearer now as youths who dragged all the governments down across the world have once again stood up, to regain their long lost freedom……
August 22nd, 2007 at 8:31 am
There is a chance of declaring curfew from 6 PM today. Advisors meeting is to start from 2:30 PM today.
Students-police clash leave a man dead, 2 dozen people injured in RU
Rajshahi, Aug 22 (UNB) - Rajshahi University campus virtually turned into a battlefield Wednesday as students and police fought pitched battles, leaving an unidentified rickshaw- puller dead and around two dozen people injured.
Campus residence of Vice Chancellor Prof. Altaf Hossain and a police box in the campus were also set on fire during the melee.
Traffic on the Dhaka-Rajshahi highway, situated beside the university campus, came to a halt as the agitating students put up barricades on the way and closed the university main gate with burning tires.
“Scores of teargas shells rained down on the campus in a bid to disperse the unruly students who were pelting policemen with brickbats,” says a spot report of the razing violence.
A motorcycle was set ablaze during the clashes that started at about 9am when police intercepted students who brought out a procession in protest against the Monday’s incident on the Dhaka University campus.
Thousands of people from nearby areas in the city thronged around the strolling RU campus and looked on as the clash amid chase and counter-chase continued till filing this report at about 11:30am.
At one stage of melee, students set the campus residence of Vice Chancellor Altaf Hossain and a police box in campus on fire at noon.
Fire fighters rushed to the spot and extinguished the blaze.
At 12:30 pm, police fired rubber bullets on the students near RU medical centre that left an unknown rickshaw-puller dead on the spot.
END
August 22nd, 2007 at 8:47 am
Two of my friends are telling me that the TV news mentioned explicitly that small shop owners/ footpath peddlers joined in the riots. For me, that’s a direct response to CTG policies. Once again, not condoning violence, just trying to understand the line of cause and effect here.
August 22nd, 2007 at 9:00 am
AsifY Bhai
I got few points of the present scenario:
1. Police does not like army presence. So the police are creating trouble to trap the army.This is because police are in problem to do their business due to presence of army.
2. General people was waiting to get a scope to show their anger against CTG. They have got it and are using the scope.
Thats all.
August 22nd, 2007 at 9:07 am
60 students injured as police-students fight pitched battle at Jagannath University
DU student injured in police firing in front of F Rahman Hall
1 killed, 50 injured in police-students clash at RU
City streets become void as violence spills out on 3rd day
College, univarsity students protest in capital, burn vehicles in Old Dhaka
Indefinite student strike begins at CU
Over 6 students injured in cop-students clash in Nilkhet
CA calls emergency cabinet meeting
Violence erupts at Govt Azizul Haque College, Bogra
August 22nd, 2007 at 9:10 am
Those who clapped and cheered from the sidelines when the students went around breaking and burning public property are about to learn that although military-imposed order is a bad thing, anarchy, violence and chaos are even worse.
The author mentions that “vested quarters” will reap the benefits from this round of jalao-porao. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out exactly who is gaining most from it. It’s the established political parties - AL and BNP - and I’ll bet my bottom paisa that they are actively stoking the flames. (And no, don’t ask me for a link either - I’m following the KISS principle). Having seen their heads chopped off in the last 8 months, the only way they can cause trouble now is at the street level. Some of their rump - their student bodies, worker bodies, loafer-mastan-goonda-cadre-and-chadabaj bodies - all of this motley crew must have been waiting for exactly such a moment. Whether the students have gone home or not, these malcontents are going to pick up the torch, the logi and the boitha. And smash and burn and smash some more to shake up the CTG.
The system is winner-takes-all. As the last 10 years of democracy proved, the financial rewards of getting into power far outweighs any blood and money expended in getting there. These parties Awami League and BNP will therefore stop at nothing in order to oust the CTG and to restore the former status quo as soon as possible. If that means turning our country into a burning South Asian version of Sierra Leone, I am certain they would be happy to go through with that as well.
August 22nd, 2007 at 9:14 am
Firing by BDR near Nilkhet. One student is bullet hit.
August 22nd, 2007 at 9:24 am
They are protesting about their frustrating life. There is no movement. This is merely some ppl vandalizing at their will. Looking at the live pictures in the past it just seemd that a hard working “feri-wala” or a “tokai” is just frustrated to see the well-off raoming in their lavish cars which they can only dream of.
As NTV showed footage of people “beating” a car that was already on fire, my (imaginary)three year old asked “Baba, Why are the beating the car thats already burning? Are they trying to hurt it?”….I didn’t know the answer.
This is no movement against CTG or army. It is just some people venting out their hate towards the class that they hate by burning cars and vandalizing property, and getting the opportunity to have some “fun” in the process costing the lives of some of their own. I might be totally wrong though…
August 22nd, 2007 at 9:35 am
Couple of questions.
1. Protests against Shamsunnahar Hall incident or the JU rapist issue didn’t turn into nationwide protests. Similarly for Kansat and Shonir Akhda. Why has this case taken a nation-wide scale?
This is not a rhetorical question. Unless this question is debated and answered properly, the regime will take the nation down with it.
It is tempting to think that the political parties are behind it. But considering the fact that only 18 people bothered to march outside Surjya Sen Hall when Hasina was arrested, do we really think that AL has gathered that much power all of a sudden (BNP thugs are either in jail or with Mannan Bhuiyan by all accounts)?
2. Whether by imposing a curfew or by a backdoor deal with some politicians, this crisis will be managed. But what will happen then? And what we, as responsible citizens, should do?
Meanwhile, those writing from Dhaka, you are doing all NRBs a great service. Thanks.
August 22nd, 2007 at 9:36 am
Here is a story on Government Hand Out.
Government to take stern actions against anarchic acts; appeals all to maintain peace
Dhaka, Aug 22 (UNB)- The government today appealed to all concerned to maintain peace and discipline in public life and refrain from disorderly acts, damaging property and disrupting public life.
“If this unlawful act continues, the government will be compelled to take stern action against the perpetrators for bringing back normalcy and protecting life and property of the citizens,” an official handout said.
It said in accordance with the demand of Dhaka University students, the army camp at the campus playground has already been withdrawn and initiative has been taken to form a judicial inquiry committee headed by a retired High Court judge to investigate the untoward incidents.
Actions will be taken as well against those responsible on the basis of the army inquiry committee report.
Despite these measures, the handout said, a section of people is engaged in causing damage to public and private property in Dhaka and some other places of the country.
“It has been observed that non-students are taking part in these rowdy and anarchic acts. These cannot be allowed to continue,” it cautioned.
August 22nd, 2007 at 9:50 am
I agree with Zubaer above, it was only a matter of time that it would come to this. The old order is in a mortal do or die fight. CTG has been too slow to vacate and close down the campuses. Now wait for curfew, shoot on sight and eventual full martial law. The hand has been forced.
The idea is never let the enemy organize and give them a fort to fight from, which are todays campuses for our beloved goons. Flush them out and return fire if fired upon and move as swiftly as possible, before further damage is done. Use all resources and assets to bring desired results.
August 22nd, 2007 at 9:58 am
Jyoti
You spoke of my mind. I am very surprised at the direction this student movement is going. I didn’t expect that and I wrote it yesterday.
One potential cause, it apparently may be grassroots frustration with
1. Food price hike.
2. continued load shedding.
3. Army excesses at local ( Upazilla/Zilla) level. I heard from government doctors posted at Thana health complex who first thing in the morning has to sign the attendence sheet at the makeshift office of a captain in charge of that Upazilla.
Importantly, three groups of people usually do the bulk of street agitation. Students, hardcore political activists and marginalized people like street hawker/Tokai/slum dwellers.
The second two group had reason to be agrieved. Students were in favor of the CTG, if I believe what middle class columnists/civil society members write in newspapers and blogs. is the army beating enough to change their perception so drastically?
August 22nd, 2007 at 10:00 am
Tanim #14
Your three year old’s observation is very incisive. It is our disconnect with the people that do not allow us to see the obvious and we are forever looking for conspiracies behind spontaneous uprisings.
Farhad
August 22nd, 2007 at 10:02 am
I updated the post. I think it was premature of me to be dismissive like this. Jyoti’s questions are pertinent. There are deep rooted social ills and Bangladesh was sitting on a volcano. The recent actions and the CTG policies just triggered it. S*** has hit the fan and it is very very disappointing that these people shot themselves in the foot. Now in order to govern brut force will be unleashed and it will get from bad to worse. May be not now but very soon unless there is a dramatic turnaround. The government now needs some major facelifts and PR campaign and major turnaround on the how they are governing. THey would also do well to shed people like Mainul and Matin who have done terrible disservice to the government to make them lose their moral authority. But I think it will impossible to get the moral authority back unless there is a major turnaround in their actions and the people who are representing them.
August 22nd, 2007 at 10:07 am
Stock market has taken steep drop in response to news of continuing protests and rumors that curfew will be declared.
August 22nd, 2007 at 10:13 am
Protests against Shamsunnahar Hall incident or the JU rapist issue didn’t turn into nationwide protests. Similarly for Kansat and Shonir Akhda. Why has this case taken a nation-wide scale?
Simple, because the victims of both Shamsunnahar and JU were women or the abject poor. Here we are dealing with the snow-ball effect of the hurt pride of a bunch of middle-class, testerone-fueled, all-male hooligans. Since when have this demographic ever shown themselves to be socially conscious enough to riot on behalf of women except when their own narrow interests have been curtailed. All this because of the territorial nature of DU students (”Get off our campus”). For shame.
The tragedy of the situation is that this shows the bankruptcy of ideas of our upper-middle class flabby-liberal armchair-bombadiers who were initially behind these hooligans because they regarded them as the front-line for their own anti-CTG sentiments.
August 22nd, 2007 at 10:15 am
If you really think about it with the current crisis, who are the worst affected if the current crisis continues. Its the middle class, the rich and the elites. The rest of the 80 -90 percent country already are living in living hell. What do they have to lose. Tanim’s comment here is spot on. In our previous posts, we often highlighted stories about the bubblezone and the disconnect of the ruling elites with the have nots and how there were two parallel services for two classes of citizen in the country, we tried to explore what happened in kansat. It was all aimed towards bridging the divide.
I hope this crisis can be controlled and we start conversations on these deep rooted social malaise. The elites would now need to think long and hard whether they can just go on with their daily lives ignoring the majority of the country like they have been doing.
August 22nd, 2007 at 10:17 am
There was a popular buzzword lately, ” Do you want to go back to pre 1/11 Bangladesh/”. I just saw special news from NTV/ATN. It felt like we just went back to pre-1/11 Bangladesh.
August 22nd, 2007 at 10:19 am
I fail to fathom what might happen if CTG has to go tomorrow. Though limited or guided, corruption bursting may stop and all who become gardener or librarian in prison or awaiting to be like, may get released. May be Hasina and Khaleda would come out as triumphant boasting of their innocence (?). Dhanmondi and Palton get abuss with so called democratic movements, this time egos and weapons are more unethical. Same students may chant jubilantly as their actions has earned their leader’s freedom.
With growing frustration and absent of any apparent leadership can’t think where we are heading.
August 22nd, 2007 at 10:32 am
Carfew declared from 8pm today, not sure how long it’s going to go…
August 22nd, 2007 at 10:46 am
I think it is worth noting that it is incongruous to be so “alarmed” at the “uncivilized” behavior of the citizenry when the same commenters showed very little concern at the heavy handed rule of the gun and force by this military government, from suspending fundamental rights to torture to intimidation. In recent days Mainul and General Moeen have blamed everybody but themselves for the growing credit crunch in Bangladesh, the price hikes, the flood situation. This exposed not only their attitude but their flawed policies.
Just last week I spoke with a dear murubbi friend of mine in Dhaka who barely makes ends meet on a good day. The food price hikes have hit him and his wife hard. He was desperate and was going to move back to his village to live with his daughter and his rickshawallah son-in-law. For a man in his mid 60s, to now live on his son-in-law, was a great embarrassment and humiliation to him. He was cursing the “CTG” for spending time playing with the “politicians” while ordinary people were going under.
His frustration was genuine and not connected to a political party or to the incident that sparked the DU protests. I think we are seeing now is frustrations like his coming to a boil.
There are always two sides to autocratic and authoritarian rule. There is the ruthless imposition of order and claimed “popularity” and on the other side there is the potential for widespread civil unrest. The military will either collapse or it will crack down - the latter always seems to happen before the former. As Asif S suggests a collapse can lead to many undesirable consequences. That is why a smooth exit strategy was paramount - but the more desperate and overbearing this government became (and it was becoming more so everyday) the less the chances that the exit would be graceful.
I always feared this would get bloody - and we now be there. Citizens will hold their rulers to account - one way or another. Accountable governments can at least be voted out of office in an orderly transition, but as experience shows in Bangladesh and Pakistan (with the remarkable exception of Ershad), most unaccountable rulers do not fare well.
Very sad time for Bangladesh.
August 22nd, 2007 at 10:55 am
A people deserve the leadership it gets. Perhaps Bangladesh was not ready for a change and AL/BNP is what is best suited for a country like Bangladesh. The CTG has really goofed up, what took them so long to put up a few power stations and import some food, very slow and very inept, while it was busy with juvenile demolition drive. And now its goofing up in crowd control. After many long years I saw some glimmers of hope, but I guess I was wrong.
What amazes me is what is going through these students’ mind, do they know what they are doing. Welcome to next Somalia or Afghanistan minus the Islamic factor, who knows in the middle of anarchy and hunger people will start moving towards Islam more like it happened everywhere else. I hear Afghanistan was quite secular and moderate in the 70’s.
August 22nd, 2007 at 10:59 am
Curfew to start from 8 PM today, for an indefinte period. All universities closed down.
Full take-over likley before 26th Aug or 6th Sept.
August 22nd, 2007 at 11:02 am
The Bangla blogs Sachalayatan and Somewherein are carrying lots of ground level coverage from BD, although their bias is towards mindless burning and destruction.
http://www.sachalayatan.com/next
http://www.somewhereinblog.net
#19
I don’t doubt that it was spontaneous to begin with and that angry hawkers and slum-dwellers are in there taking part in the maramari as well. I’m asking who benefits from the chaos. AL benefits from the chaos, BNP benefits from it too, and if you think that their grassroots workers (those who weren’t arrested) are sitting at home at this moment, you are mistaken. They’ll be the ones urging on every fire lit and every rock thrown. As for Tarek Zia in his jail cell, he is wearing a grin a mile wide. I suspect Sk Hasina’s grin is only a little shorter.
#20
Dramatic turnaround, major facelifts and PR campaign are all very unlikely to occur. Things are set to get from bad to worse. Protest of this type in Bangladesh is like toothpaste. Getting it out is easy, putting it back in is impossible. It rumbles on, flares up dramatically sometimes, police shoot, tokais die, and sooner or later something gives. The CTG either plays seriously hardball from here on, or they might as well roll over and die. There is no middle path.
#22
There is a good reason why DU students feel territorial, even exceptional, about themselves. 1952, 1969, 1971, 1991 - you name any turning point in our history, they were in the frontlines. Even if the culture has been debased since, there is the memory of that former glory. The best explanation of that special DU feeling was given by Prokritipremik in this Sachal thread - it’s worth reading:
http://www.sachalayatan.com/next/shohailmc/8137
#23
Do you really believe the elites are the ones ‘worst affected’??? The rich have amassed enough money in the bank to keep them going in style for another decade, CTG or no CTG. They also have passports to bail them out in the event of any crisis. The poor OTOH are homeless from the floods and starving from the food prices. There is no record in all of history of the Bengali elite suddenly taking an interest in the welfare of the chhotolok people. You know how some people like to point out the iniquities of the Hindu caste system. Ours is a society full of castes too. The Bhodrolok is the Brahmin, the Rickshawallah is the Untouchable/Osprissho, and never the twain shall meet.
#27
“Accountable governments can at least be voted out of office in an orderly transition” - in the experience of Bangladesh, both adjectives in this sentence have been shown to be invalid. You’re probably talking about the States.
August 22nd, 2007 at 11:27 am
Asif (S) Do you really feel it is aimless revolution? I don’t want to claim but I feel this was the actual picture of the people. Basically I was watching Brig Ibrahim on Channel
I yesterday. This vocal bright Freedom fighter also told that one excuse was enough.
I felt people were looking for the protest and It has been generated from root level. Other wise how Can this small issue to be very big?
Basically This incident indicates the importance of freedom of press. Actually Bangladesh Press behaved like ostrich . Every time they have given an idea that This Govt has huge public support. Is it the symbol of Public support? while our great CTG took all of the political leaders behind the Ber by generalizing on the name of corruption without Caring Due process. Jute mills are closed down, a miserable unsuccess on disaster recovery. Still we have seen some of our elite class and editors are speaking about the story of prince and princess on TV.
As a result Controversial people like Mainul , Matin, Tapan got chance to flexing their muscles.
Basically If someone hides the truth and spreading the false information end of the day he will dig his own graveyard. One Funny thing I watched in the TV yesterday that our generals are appealing Students as ” BROTHERS.”
But In last 8 months our opportunist Business men, Political leaders are flattering army like any thing.
They were giving so many adjectives.
I am surprised how these students are become so desperate they are moving without caring their life while they don’t have any leader ship.
My opinion is that
1) As early as possible state of emergency should be lifted
2) Reshuffle the adviser council. Simply remove people like Mainul and all.
I feel right now there are two solutions
August 22nd, 2007 at 11:28 am
It looks like I have some telepathic link with CTG, most of my predictions coming true one after another, only if they could follow what I would wish them to.
The first law of hungry people, feed them plenty to fill up the stomach and then think about other things. For the hungry, every day is a battle to survive, if the leaders cannot understand it or feel for it and are not swift enough to help the hungry mens battle, then they have already lost the race. Because in his struggle for survival the hungry man is the smartest of all, he has no margin for error, and he knows with his gut who is trying to help and who is not. Talk less and act fast, silently behind the scenes. If I were in their shoes, I would start skipping meals till everyone gets decent meals.
August 22nd, 2007 at 11:32 am
Re. Post 23, I was thinking the same thing about the Bubble Boys post. I had feared that the day would come when we had our own French Revolution of sorts. Maybe this is it. Who knows?
Whether this is politically motivated violence or the anger of the seething downtrodden who have finally reached the end of their tether (as opposed to having picked this issue over others to protest), it seems that all of us need to rethink our lives and attitudes towards one another. I’m not exactly optimistic about the extent to which this will happen because as Zubaer pointed out in Post 33, the elites don’t have much of a track record in looking out for the welfare of others. And as I had mentioned in the Bubble Boys post, when the violence erupts, no one will stop to ask who’s who before venting any fury. It is in our own interests to show more interest in one another’s lives.
August 22nd, 2007 at 11:50 am
I would ask a simple question in midst of the height of anxiety engulfing the country now, “How many of the Advisors of the present CTG submitted their wealth statements to ACC as was urged on by its Chief ?”
An apparently silly and irrelevant question at this time, but it does bring into focus how the current regime is fast losing its ‘authority to rule’.
People are protesting the abject double standard displayed by most authoritian rule. Compound that with the total disregard towards their daily lives, as manifest by the numerous public statements by some of the current Advisors, what you have is a powder keg waiting to be put to fire.
On top of it, while they looked down on ‘politics’ and its dirty consequences, they did not hesitate to play with it themselves, not realizing they were playing with fire.
It’s not the military, but their civilian counterparts, who could have done a whole lot better. They took on more than they can chew and it’s coming back to bite them.
Farhad
August 22nd, 2007 at 11:51 am
Mobile networks have been shut down from 6PM to 9PM. Wide scale raids by security forces feared.
August 22nd, 2007 at 11:51 am
Curfew declared, we told all staff in office to leave immediately. With traffic chaos, it will take some 2-3 hours to get home. Senior management lives nearer to office, they will stay until late.
On the streets people are rushing home. Walking, ricksha, car. Everything.
There was not a smile on a single face.
August 22nd, 2007 at 1:46 pm
Who are the losers in this crisis? Urban middle, lower middle and working classes. People with fixed incomes. People who don’t get paid if they don’t work. These are the same people who benefited from the last 16 years of economic growth. These are the same people who regularly voted for AL and BNP. And I’m yet to be shown any evidence - any scientific survey or credible study - that the parties lost their support among these people.
Who is the biggest possible winner? Jamaat. I’ve argued before that the threat of Jamaat in our electoral politics is often overrated. But here we are not talking about electoral politics. Suppose there is a military takeover. What happens then? This student uprising has no organised leadership. How long will it continue? WHat will replace it? Who has the organisational ability to mobilise foot soldiers now that AL and BNP have been gutted? Who has the funding (thanks to Saudi petro dollar, they didn’t need to steal as much when in government, so it’s harder to frame them on corruption charges)? One doesn’t have to be a conspiracy theorist to think that Jamaat has a lot to gain.
August 22nd, 2007 at 1:46 pm
From Phantom
CSB news reader had a telephone discussion with Barrister Moinul Hussain who informed that the guly situation that continued for till third day and engulfed the whole country-specially University areas and in Gazipur the school students too- the entire scenerio is being looked upon as being encouraged by Politicians who were not happy over the replacement of this group of CTG and his team of Advisers backed by the Army.
Politics is a dirty game as its all about power and power corrupts — the present interim Goverment got wide support from Citizen at home and abroad and even from International Donor countries only because they would remain neutral,uncorrupted and that they would create an honest and congenial environment for a free and fair elections. Thier reorganization of the ACC, EC and steps to curb corruption received wide acclamation and they should have remained concentrated on this and possible early elections– Elections date fxied for late 2008 was a wrong decision because opponents get much time to reorganize- remember I mentioned that Politcs is a game– and in any game you dont give the opponent the lapse time-same is true in WAR-the opponents take advantage of the lapse time and reorganize to fight back– the first step to fight back was to cause the Price spiral and is causing difficulties for the people in power and Citizen and the second step was taken from the student’s protest and demonstration that have escalated nation wide and they are also joined in by the hawkers and business enterprizes that were ousted from their marketing areas.
Politicians now have a scope to condemn the handling of the incident at the University Fottball ground from where the sparks of unrest began and has spread nationwide . The curfew given by the Authorities in hope to bring situation in control is being looked upon suspiciously by the politicians,students,teachers and Citizens predicting that there would be a number of arrests.
I have said earlier that students also have a right to protest and demonstrate– but no right to burn private cars and public property- so they are at fault when they come out on the streets with Lathi-including the girl students too-thats pitiful more so to see them being beaten and clothes torn- in return for attacking the Police and destroying property.
Lets hope that following the Curfew the present interim Goverment would analyse the situation carefully and go for a full discussion with Students,teachers and politicians for a proper solution- not just arrest and charge them. Lets pray that CTG and Army Chief would have the wisdom to do so.
August 22nd, 2007 at 2:21 pm
#37 (Jyoti), I think you’ve hit the nail. It’s not the rich or the bigwigs in jail who are suffering the most. It’s those with fixed income and those with variable income but at the lowest rungs. CTG’s misguided economic policies have hit them hard. Of course they have been waiting for a trigger, and this is the trigger.
Asif S., Thanks for correcting the post. Movements like this, however random, are seldom just one group acting/reacting, esp. when it has spread. It’s got deeper roots.
The army folks running the country are not learning from their past mistakes, and resorting to more repression. This is textbook formula. And it is only going to make the situation worse. You have police, BDR, and army — all fighting with people.
Tempting the impulsive army folks to declare martial law will only accelerate their demise. But that’s the trap they’re likely to fall in.
The other option is to start changing policy. CTG’s mandate is not to change Bangladeshi economic, social policy wholesale, it is to hold elections. CTG (just like Yunus) underestimated the power, intelligence, and loyalties of ordinary folk - they know that this CTG is constitutionally dubious, they know its legitimacy is hanging by a thread - if you doubt me, ask them. They have an opportunity now and they’re taking it to vent. IMHO, they deserved it after 7 months of silence and dictatorship.
August 22nd, 2007 at 2:26 pm
One thing some people are saying is that these revolting groups are being politically manipulated. I don’t think so.
This began as a fuss and snowballed into a bigger revolt - it would not have unless there was pent-up grievances against CTG across political groupings. It’s the lower income classes resisting the elitist policies pursued by CTG.
The major parties are very divided about the issue. They’re also uncertain about the future. In revolts like this, political parties seldom have direct control, and more so in the current situation where they are seriously divided. Right now no big/rational politician will risk supporting or opposing this movement; they’ll first wait and see where it is headed.
August 22nd, 2007 at 2:40 pm
Jalal,
That’s a good point. After the intial bout of logi-boitha violence, AL was very careful in not letting its andolon get out of hand. You’re right, no big politico will say anything until the dust settles.
August 22nd, 2007 at 2:51 pm
It became clear by mid afternoon that motijheel office people were more interested in watching the news on the telly and worrying about getting home, than doing any work. Why are there so many TVs in the workplace in BD?
Transport was hard to come by, and drivers reluctant to move. A basic lesson on the road network of dhaka was required to get one cng to take the blindingly obvious alternative route, which was refreshingly vehicle free. Everybody is calculating how to minimise their losses, and a paralysis seems to be spreading.
Arrive home and the curfew is declared, so we leave to do some shopping. Lots of neighbours are heading out of the area for the time being. I don’t blame them, nutters here have mo brakes, no limits and possibly no ethics. They can do anything, and some of you jolly chaps will coo at the ‘people power’ on display and indulge ourselves with self pleasuring rationalisation of whats wrong.
It has been a while since we heard from these kind of nutters, but they had not spontaneously seen the light, they are waiting to pounce, perhaps they arent as well fed as they used to be. Since some of them have pounced this would be a good opportunity for some keen detective work.
Satmasjid road is an interesting site. trees uprooted (what did they do wrong?), damage to roads, road dividers and the broken windows…
I guess the private uni students must have joined in the ‘fun’. eg the windows of united international uni were fine (or strong?!?) and stamford only got hit once. however, shops and malls had incurred lakhs of damage in the short stretch that i saw. perhaps there was also some extortion going on. The rampagers got ‘good height’ on their rock volleys but have wayward aims.
deep inside rayerbazar stange things were afoot. Strange to me because this isnt normal to me. Some were being ‘entrepreneurial’, making off with various bits of detritus to sell. Others were being brutes, kicking rickshawwallas irately. One dude, my dude of the day, was really showing his quality in the din. He had a kefaya on his head and was calmy sorting out a triple rickshaw tangle on a narrow lane. The majority were puzzled observers seeking high vantagepoints to make sense of things and to be safe.
Meanwhile the madrassa kids were playing cricket in the eidghah, and some others were taking advantage of the clear roads to play street cricket. The new rules/discipline that folks had been settling into seemed not to matter, so the riksha really came into its element. I hope the pilot made it back to agargao in time for the curfew.
Malevolent students and their networks can easily dominate or consist of small shop keepers and peddlers. It is very easy to get caught up in events when the blood gets pumping. Responsible people should stand with the students and forces and try to calm things down.
This group has lost its paymasters recently and so wont be able to sustain this level of nuttyness for long, unless they are supplied with fresh dosh. Allah help us all if one student fires one bullet(Nauzubillah). If that does happen, im sure some useful eeejjut, most likely an alleged human rightist will have a field day.
Last night a DU law student conveyed what he was hearing, that there was unity between various factions in the movement. Thats what he heard, but i suspect there is marketting involved. Agreeing that he was unsure of what was going on in the bigger picture, he said ‘ i am a small person here, they wont listen to what I say, you guys are on the outside, we are too surrounded by this situation to know whats really going on, you advise us’.
Apparently the Eden college girls were involved in the procession today, and the duta teachers. I can guess why, they are a strategic asset to draw more guys and softy sympathy but that duta head who was on tv last night deserved a good sacking. I hope and pray that such a character has nothing to do with my family’s education. There he was trying to sound like mujib, exploiting the airspace and bringing no clarity whatsoever to the situation. His organisation will benefit from its proximity to the students, and they are itching for a fight with the govt.
This is a loss, loss, loss situation for all but the most twisted of interests. The govt and the society needs to figure out what to do with the ‘University Problem’, we must prioritise it higher. Newmarket had bugger all custom today, police finding it difficult to distinguish legitimate workers from dhaka college students. Many a worker was saved by a colleague vouching for him.
Without an system where integrity and beniyomi are rewarded or punished accordingly we will never grow out of this adolescent habit.
The media, has shown its virtue(or lack of) during this entire episode. Unaccountable as ever, exploitative as ever … who thrive on conflict either way it goes, winding up all the actors and ensuring that we go nowhere.
I hope that some guidelines and disciplinary bodies are set in motion by this unhappy chain of events that started from an ‘oi you gerroff my mate’ scenario.
I also hope that the bloggers learn something from this, if just not to jump onto every bandwagon every single time at the first spark of ‘breaking’ ‘news’. After all, what bangladeshi would want to be a liability to the nations security?
August 22nd, 2007 at 8:56 pm
I see that enemy’s of people are trying to color mindless mob violence as people’s revolt and trying to distance the political party’s involvement, that would be a big embarassment for them. Clandestine planning and execution would be very hard to uncover, but there is no need for that kind of accusation. 30 years of cadre training and recruitment from educational institutions that hopelessly politicized both students and teachers is enough for these people to know that their masters are in trouble along with their planned future and they have got to fight for the return of the staus quo. Whoever is supporting these people are definitely part of this group trying to legitimize their actions. Well we know your kind and what you have been doing all along, but we kept silent and watched your actions for decades.
The misguided actions of CTG such as removal or hawkers, bosti, not bringing price of food under control and not improving electricity situation, everything that affects daily life of people, only contributed to this situation.
What CTG needs to do is take firm actions, arrest all known perpetrators that participated in property damage and give them exemplary punishments. Where are our champion of human rights now to fight for the victims of these mindless and meaningless violence. At the same time, they need to wake up and really concentrate on things that affect people’s daily lives. Firmness, swiftness, efficiency and competence is needed at this hour. The silent majority waits to see you succeed and bring normalcy back. The hungry people need to go to work to earn their next meal. They are not so fortunate like our revolutionary and fiery university students.
Finally mixing of politics and students has to stop, we are not being ruled by the British or West Pakistanis anymore, using students to build up a cadre bahini (army) must be stopped once and for all. Politics should be banned in all educational institutions and any person breaking this law should be promptly expelled.
August 22nd, 2007 at 9:55 pm
Khilji, how do you define “enemy’s of people”? Your belated concern for human rights is bewildering and somehwhat amusing. I thought you berated me and others earlier for bringing up such “western” concepts as “human rights”.
Do you have any proof that the political parties instigated these protests? All indications are that the trigger was some arrogant military men and some extremely heavy handed police action. But what it has exposed is underlying discontent in the citizenry that has festered over the last seven months due to draconian policies and out of control price hikes.
August 22nd, 2007 at 10:35 pm
festered over the last 35 years due to ______.
August 23rd, 2007 at 12:01 am
Mash, I don’t claim to be perfect, but my concerns for fellow human beings are not belated. And yes, the “human rights” concept I berate is the stick that the west try’s to use to beat all underdeveloped countries with, where the west itself has no moral authority to do so, only it has the power of mass media and other ways to propagate its propaganda and brain-wash some not so bright slavish so called intellectuals who cannot see the whole picture.
For me the right of largest number to survive, to have decent three meals a day and to have a future takes precedence to the right of a select few. The enemy’s of the people are those that have robbed our masses of a future in the past and continue to conspire to do so now, for their own personal interest, or out of sheer ignorance.
I have said above that there is no proof if political parties are involved, only thorough investigations may uncover something, but why do we need a proof, we know how well students and teachers are active members of AL/BNP and what the cadres have done in the past. That is why I propose to ban student politics, do you have any objection to this? Politics has no place in the campus to poison naive and pliable minds who need to concentrate solely on studies and sports and nothing else.
The arrogant military men did wrong and after proper inquiry they should be punished if found guilty, but the subsequent mob violence targeted at general public and their property only reminds us of the past how the public was kept as Zimmi under AL/BNP and their goons. Its possible that some misguided public also took part in the “fun”, but nothing indicates that this was a general revolt of the people as so many here are trying to portray. I will call it a revolt when all the University are shut down and then the public comes out in the street with a clear demand to remove the CTG or other any other specific demand.
Your and others attempt to try to color it as a revolt would be unwise as that would be trying to incite further unrest which is not conducive to national security and sovereignty, which is tied with the current and future well being of our 150 million.
August 23rd, 2007 at 2:05 am
khilji, I am a little taken aback by this statement from you:
Why would it be unwise for me or others (including print and television media in and outside of Bangladesh) to look at the situation and see that the protests have spread well outside the universities? Why would that be “not conducive to national security and sovereignty”?
You also say:
This isnt a TV show and you are not Spock. Please study fascism, Stalinism and what the North Koreans call “juche”. You will find concurring views and real-world examples of the above policy in effect.
Please note that the rights of the masses begins by ensuring the rights of the individual. When people get into real trouble is when they start to view the “masses” as being something distinct from being a collection of individuals. When you start to sacrifice individual rights for the “national good” you end up with a society where no one has rights.
August 23rd, 2007 at 3:22 am
TO KHILJI 46#
“Your and others attempt to try to color it as a revolt would be unwise as that would be trying to incite further unrest which is not conducive to national security and sovereignty, which is tied with the current and future well being of our 150 million.”
Ans: Some of you have changed the definition of national security and had made it light like any thing. Basically while you don’t have single logic , You simply go on personal attack. Basically I asked Asif some
days back about those funny Comments from you guys where some guys told Moududi is greater than BangaBondu and Mahatma. He answered me beautifully that such comments are the desperate attempt to seek attention and end of the they themselves are looking funny in front of people for such comments.
one Guy has written today in E-BD that Tasneem has got 15 million USD.Now You are accusing Mash for National Security.
Please speak some thing productive instead of such old record
August 23rd, 2007 at 5:58 am
Mash, I have no need to quarrel with you and I am sure you have no such need. If I have hurt your feeling somehow, I am sorry. Please accept my apologies.
It is just that sometimes I try hard to explain myself and I get frustrated when the communication does not work well, I think we all suffer from this kind of problem at times.
Please note, I am in no way affiliated with the CTG or related to anyone who is running the show, I am just a concerned NRB, putting my views here in the blog.
What I meant by unwise is that some people on the ground in Bangladesh can read this blog and get the wrong idea which can translate into action on the street and that would be a disservice to our country in this delicate situation, so we have to be careful before we pass off judgments. The latest incident of student unrest has become world news and I have read many reports as local reporters are claiming that in addition to a student protest, this has also become a public protest against CTG policy. I do not support many of the CTG actions although I think they have good intention, as you already know, but to make this kind of sweeping judgment without hard evidence is irresponsible, for journalists reporting or for any of us blogging and posting here in this forum, just based on some tokai and a few shopkeepers alleged participation. This has been a student unrest and if it has been anything more or less, we will have to wait and see. As responsible individuals since we do not want to fan the flames even without knowing it, lets exercise restraint with our words as the DP_Blogger has suggested in another thread.
As an LDC the quality of our human resources and their professionalism is a problem and the armed forces, though they are disciplined, it is natural that a feeling of power may get to some of their head in these unusual times. People do not like arrogance, so maybe this is a good lesson for them not to overstep boundary of civility while imparting their duties.
About juche and similar concepts, you have pointed out the extremes, but there are successful positive examples such as Singapore and Malaysia, where development policies worked and now people have a much higher income in well developed economies, ensuring much more human rights for everyone involved. I am not for torture, physical harm and death, and I am all for the rights of minority, vulnerable and the downtrodden, but to secure national interest sometimes free expressions of individuals with questionable integrity and loyalty to the nation has to be controlled (using due process), if they are engaged in activities damaging to the nation. Hopefully this makes it clear.
August 23rd, 2007 at 6:04 am
#48 Journey2infinitive:
Thanks for your attempt to belittle me. I will not dignify your post with a response. If you have a question, ask, I will answer it.
August 23rd, 2007 at 2:29 pm
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