Drishtipat Blog

From Rahnuma Ahmed’s analysis of Lalon Statue controversy & larger “great game”.
[Image: LalBlog]

1. ‘No decision is taken without the army chief’s consent, that’s why we informed him,’ said Maulana Noor Hossain Noorani. According to reports, highup intelligence agency officials (DGFI, NSI) had mediated contacts between the ruling party and the KN. He had met the DGFI chief in Dhaka cantonment thrice, Noorani had thus boasted to Satkhira reporters in 2005
2. Twenty-two months later…with their respective parties in shambles, thousands of party workers in prison, constitutional rights suspended due to the state of emergency, economy in tatters, police crack-downs on protests of garments workers, jute mill workers, women’s organisations and activists, on human chains against increasing prices of essentials, the only two forces to have remained unscathed are the Jamaat-e-Islami, and Muslim clerics, Islamic parties and madrasa students
3. The US government’s role in not only contributing to the situation, but in constituting the conditions that have given rise to extremes, of being the extreme, is disregarded by many Bangladesh scholars
4. Pakistan, America’s strong military ally, is now “on the edge” of ruin. Pakistani political analysts repeatedly warn Bangladeshis that they see similar political patterns at work here: minusing political leaders, militarisation, milbus, National Security Council etc etc. Are we being set on America’s flight path to greater power by this unconstitutional, unrepresentative government, one which is more accountable to western forces, than to us?

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H. RES. 1402: Supporting a transition to democracy through free, fair, credible, peaceful, and transparent elections in Bangladesh, was passed by the U.S. House of Representatives on September 23, 2008, with 41 co-sponsors. During the past 3 sessions of Congress, resolutions have focused on human rights in Bangladesh in the context of individual cases. Resolution 1402 is the first time in recent past that the House of Representatives is expressing its view on overarching issues of governance, human rights, and democracy in Bangladesh.

As the US expands its war on terror, its venomous civilisational crusade of establishing democracies in the Middle East, one notices how Bangladesh has gradually been re-fashioned as a ‘moderately’ Muslim country, in an area considered to be ‘vital to US interests’. Jamaat-e-Islami, in the words of Richard Boucher, US assistant secretary of state for South and Central Asian affairs, is a ‘democratic party’. James F Moriarty, US ambassador to Bangladesh, in his congressional testimony (February 6, 2008), said US interest in Bangladesh revolved around the latter denying space to ‘terrorism’ (mind you, Islamic, not US, not state-sponsored). Moriarty’s ideas echo Maulana Matiur Rahman Nizami’s. In an interview given last year, Nizami said, Jamaat was important to keep Bangladesh free of militancy and terrorism (Probe, June 27-July 3, 2007). (more…)

Money Shot Quotes from Condi Rice:
1. “Bangladesh a strong partner of the United States in fighting terrorism”
2. “We…are committed to further strengthening this partnership”

Translation for those who don’t speak war-on-terrorese:
1. US money pouring into RAB, Army, Joint Forces, Biometric Databases (where do you think voter ID card data going)
2. Even more high jinks as we become another “coalition of willing” (remember what happened to last one)
3. National Security Council now a slam dunk– “desh ke bachate”, etc

Prediction
1. HuJi bomb blasts on cue, conveniently timed for right before NSC legislation about to pass

The $ Million Question
Any link to Patricia Butenis private visit to Dhaka this week from Iraq? Nahh, don’t be so cynical. I am sure she really came back to pick up her “pet dogs” as she claimed. Ooer, that don’t sound right… (more…)

It is perhaps an understatement to say that 2007 has been the most eventful year for Bangladesh since at least 1975. Even in such a year, rising food prices stand out as a problem that, if left unresolved, could derail all political calculations and spell disaster for the country in 2008. In this post, I point to a global cause behind rising food prices that needs co-ordinated attention of activists and policymakers.

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VIDEO: Protest Press Conference
VIDEO: Protest Press Conference 2

Protesters battle police as trucks secretly carry artifacts to the airport en route to Musee Guimet, France.

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“National security” should mean security for the people. Not just the people who make above 20,000 TK./month. Not just select religious groups. Not just select professional groups. Not just a certain gender. Not just a certain race. But all the people within this Bangladeshi nation of ours. Any less inclusive form of security really cannot be called “national” in its scope.

Unfortunately too often our view of “national security” is myopic, if not outright tragic in its wrongheadedness. And when I say “our”, I mean less the bureaucrats and security-establishment people entrusted to safe-guard our security. I refer to us, the general people. I’m not absolving the government agencies of all blame, but until we as a people change our attitude towards these matters and indeed make an effort to learn more about them and tolerate dissenting views, there will be no fundamental change. Military personnel, secretaries and ministers do not spring out of a vaccuum. They are products of our intolerant, class-conscious society: our sisters, brothers, fathers, mothers and children.

To give you a few examples of what constitutes wrong-headedness, let’s examine four cases.
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This is a somewhat dated issue, but I recently came across this wonderfully well document example by Abul Kalam Azad of how the WTO can work for developing countries like Bangladesh.

The Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) is a by-product of the WTO’s Uruguay Round that many developing countries felt was something that they had little use for. The utility of this treaty however was fully realized by none other than our own Miles, when Anu Malik (aka the Captain Morgan of Bollywood’s music industry) tried to swipe “Phiriye Dao Amar Prem” for the Bollywood film Murder. Although it took them a while to work through the due process, Miles was eventually able to get some copyright-style justice:

“As compensation for the ‘injury’ caused to the business interests of the petitioners, 50 million rupees were demanded from Anu Malik, Mahesh Bhat, Saregama India Ltd and RPG Global Music; in addition, ‘total reimbursement’ for the expenditure incurred in filing the case also was demanded. A court order was also sought for appointing a receiver or special officer to seize the entire lot of soundtrack software from Saregama’s Dum Dum studio. Besides this, the band’s lawyers demanded that the respondents ‘should be directed to disclose upon oath details of cassettes and CDs distributed by them to various vendors and retails’.” - (Rock ‘n Roll in Bangladesh: Protecting Intellectual Property Rights in Music, Abul Kalam Azad)

This just goes to show that when properly informed, countries like ours really can make the most of otherwise obtuse treaties.

Keep Me Honest has reproduced a Wall Street Journal article on Bangladesh which is definitely worth a read.

While we have all heard about the to-and-fro movements of Western diplomats (in all fairness, only Beauty Apa and Anwar Chacha!), we have heard very little of the statement issued publicly by the Resident Coordinator of UNDP, Renata Lok Dessallien, the highest-ranking UN official in Bangladesh:

“In a formal statement released in Dhaka, the most senior U.N. official in Bangladesh, Renata Lok Dessallien, cautioned that the scheduled election “would not be considered credible or legitimate.” Because of this, her statement warned, there may be “implications” for the Bangladesh army’s future participation in U.N. peacekeeping should the election be allowed to take place.”

There’s quite a bit to be said about the information in this one paragraph alone.

Read more here.

Everything the US has touched (to “fix”), they have made worse….now it’s our turn…US security delegation comprising a congressman and military veterans has asked President Bush to give Bangladesh “high priority” as a strategic partner in US foreign and national security policies against the backdrop of its exposure to Islamist extremism. (more…)

The heavyweight senators, notably mostly democrates, from the US have weighed in. Likes of Hillary, Kennedy and Kerry has “respectfully urged” Mr. Fakhruddin to
1. deliver a clear road map for election
2. lift the state of emergency

Here is the Senators’ letter.

I do share their concern. However, the debate about when to ask for foreign lobbying is an interesting one to pursue. How much is too much when domestic stakeholders deem it has no other recourse but to go to international powers to pressure the government? Also historically, it has been seen that the government give little value to opposition from inside unless pressed from external forces. Given recent examples of botched exile attempts of the two leaders (resulting in a trip by a special envoy to DC) and the arrest and release of journalist Tasneem Khalil which have been attributed to intense international pressure, it begs the question if that is the only recourse left when there is complete disregard of fundamental human rights and free speech.

Mahmud Farooque chimes in with his thoughts in a separate thread.

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As part of an effort to take blogging to a wider audience, a few of the writers at Unheard Voices have formed a writers’ collective. The first effort by Jyoti was published last week and this week Collective’s Tazreena presents a fascinating account of Mr. Faruq Sobhan’s q & a event in DC last week. There are some intriguing questions to ponder on.

Read here

Update: Within hours after posting the news on boro chacha, the following happened.

Dhaka, April 25 (bdnews24.com) – The military-backed government Wednesday lifted the ban on Sheikh Hasina’s homecoming and said there were no restrictions on Khaleda Zia’s movement.

In a statement, the home ministry said the ban on Hasina’s return was temporary and the authorities have decided to lift it because of “views from the media and other quarters“.

In another statement, the ministry said the government had never put pressure on Khaleda to leave the country.

Analysis

Daily Press Briefing
Sean McCormack, Spokesman
Washington, DC
April 24, 2007

QUESTION: Sean, two questions on Bangladesh, please. The [Caretaker
Government] in Bangladesh has cancelled elections and also is trying to
establish dictatorship just similar to in Pakistan by General Musharraf. And
a Vice Prime Minister is under house arrest in Bangladesh, second one fled
to London and she has not been allowed and she has been told you cannot
return to Bangladesh. What’s the Secretary feel now as their human rights
and dictatorships and also democracy that we’re talking about around the
globe?
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