Unheard Voices

The Usual Suspects
by Naeem Mohaiemen
Published in The Daily Star, May 19, 2008

“They let us cook rice-daal for them, let us raise their children, trust us with the keys to house-home-jewelry. And then they turn around and vote for people who call us terrorists and want to cut us into pieces and bury us inside the ground.”
– Bangladeshi taxi driver in Delhi (author interview, 2005)

BOMB blast in Jaipur. Round up the usual suspects. Calling Abdul, Rahman, Rahim, Karim, Salim. All you “illegal” Bangladeshi immigrants within our borders. Report to the newest detention centers. It’s not who you say you are, it’s what we say you are.

Bangladesh has emerged as the all-purpose “Nondo Ghosh” (joto dosh) for Indian intelligence agencies. Attack on train station? Defused bombs? Bicycle bombs? Bag bombs? It must be the ultra-efficient, tentacle-spreading spectre of “terrorist organisations based in Bangladesh.”

Within days, we are told that the “modus operandi” of the Jaipur blasts is similar to the Uttar Pradesh court blasts (November 2007), Hyderabad Mecca Masjid blasts (May 2007) and Malegaon blast (2006). Every bomb blast is similar to the one before. They are all connected, except when they aren’t. Working on these leads, police are raiding Bangladeshi localities at Galta Gate, Baghrana, Ramganj, Subhash Chowk, and Bhatta Basti in Jaipur. Very convenient.

I remember the old days of Indian media hysteria about “Pakistani” militants. Bullet riddled bodies (the dead don’t talk) and Pakistani passports (always in their pockets!). But Pakistan has become more complex, with its role in the US axis of the willing. Plus, the public wants new, fresh faces.

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My feeling is that Rezwan bhai has hit the nail on the head. He has hinted at a link between democracy and disaster response/management in the case of Cyclone Nargis. Democracies thrive in open societies with free flow of information. A person’s right to know and people’s right to speak are fundamental to democracies. While some have tried to portray this flow of information and the different media through which they flow as “wastes of time”/ “distractions” that keep people from going about their daily lives, that is a fundamental misunderstanding of the entire situation. (more…)

Burma emergency

A very angry post from Dhaka Shohor that makes some poignant points.

—-

Yeats should have sailed to Bangladesh.

For in Bangladesh, the old in one another’s arms dance on the bloodied corpses of the young.

I speak not only of “cowardly liberals” such as our twin editors, who seem to have sacrificed a man each to save their own political hides. Whereas they should have been leaders, voices of experience and bulwarks of strength who sheltered the more adventurous of their flock – Mohammad Arifur Rahman and Tasneem Khalil – they have instead proven themselves to be sell-outs and sycophants through not just their “sacrifices” but also their silence.

No, I come not to speak only of these so-called progressive voices of a decrepit generation with suitably unoriginal, decrepit ideas. I speak also of other older, more honourable men. Men who vow to keep us safe, where “us” equals every person who inhabits our green land. Men who send our finest and bravest to battle. Men who have taken on young men and women to fight for their land and are responsible for their safety.

After a generation of INDOCTRINATING our young army personnel against India as opposed to TRAINING THEM TO THINK about countering India’s influence meaningfully, I see the most honourable of men travel to Delhi. The Bangladeshi media reports sycophantically on it. The Indian media talks about “joint exercises” aimed at eradicating the Indian North-East of “rebels” and “terrorists”.

Now unlike Mr. Farhad Mazhar, whose write-up on the topic I appreciated highly and urge everyone to read for its section on the Bay of Bengal gas blocks issue, I am not about to make emotional appeals that go like, “Our army is doing India’s bidding!”. Joint exercises are not doing anyone’s “bidding” and, if our army is to become/remain well-trained and have a global outlook instead of the parochial one that pervades it, such exercises are positive. I will not make such emotional appeals.

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After a resounding no to military governence in the Thai election, now the Pakistani voters have spoken and the message could not be clearer. People have decided that they had enough of the Musharraf experiment. The writing is clear for anyone taking notes. However, this election had an added bonus. Pakistani voters have also routed the Islamic hardliners in this election. Ending with a note from a friend:

a defeat for the militarists and islamists anywhere is a victory for secular democracy everywhere. congratulations, pakistan. now my (perhaps rather naive!) heart wants the same thing for Bangladesh.

Benazir Bhutto was assassinated today. As the details are still sketchy, this event is surely to have a tremendous impact in Pakistan and also South Asia in general. It will make countries rethink their strategies about various countries in South Asia including Bangladesh. The khichuri that has been created in Pakistani politics is a stark reminder of what unintended consequences may happen when artificial solutions to local problems are forced upon. Benazir was shot and then a suicide bomber blasted a bomb — almost reminiscient of August 21st, 2004 when Bangladeshi opposition leader Shaikh Hasina’s assasination was attempted when a bomb blast was followed by targetted shooting. We don’t want another Pakistan in Bangladesh.

Anyone championing military rule in Bangladesh should recognize that there is not a single example in the world of a country that has fared better in a military rule. Burma is a prime example of how a country with immense potential was ruined thanks to a few greedy generals

CHRONOLOGY-45 years of resistance and repression in Myanmar
Wed Sep 26, 2007 6:22am EDT
Sept 26 (Reuters) - Myanmar soldiers and police have cracked down hard on the biggest protests against military rule in 20 years, sealing off the Shwedagon Pagoda, firing tear gas and arresting up to 200 monks on Wednesday.

Here is a timeline of the military’s efforts to control the former Burma since it seized power in a coup 45 years ago.

* March 1962: Army commander General Ne Win seizes power, ousting three-time Prime Minister U Nu.

* March 1988: A fight between students and locals in a Yangon tea shop escalates into demonstrations in which dozens of students are killed by riot police and troops.
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The BBC Urdu service’s Masud Alam says a contempt for the law has always permeated throughout Pakistan’s ruling class. Does this have any truth for our Bangladeshi ruling class?

Link

Senior government functionaries in Pakistan are fond of complaining, in private, that the nation they are serving is averse to following the dictates of law.

That if something does not work in this country it is because the common man does not follow the system.

Lack of education, lack of discipline and lack of respect for the law are just some of the misdemeanours on the part of a populace that hampers the pace of progress.

A section of Pakistanis - the so-called educated and those living abroad - also subscribe to this preposterous notion.

But in truth, things could not be more different.

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Chotobelae ekta kotha chilo: Jotho Dosh/Nondo Ghosh. Nondo Ghosh is basically the poor sod that gets blamed every time something goes wrong (no, it’s not a communal reference)!

Bangladesh has emerged as the all-purpose bogey-bear/Nondo Ghosh for Indian intel. Attack on Parliament? Attack on train station? Defused Bombs? Attack on Hyderabad? It must be the ultra-efficient, tentacle-spreading specter known as “terrorist organizations based in Bangladesh” (more…)

-By Shahpar Selim

“This daybreak, pockmarked-
this morning, night-bitten.
Surely it is not the morning we’d longed for
in whose eager quest all comrades
had set out, hoping that somewhere
in the wilderness of the - sky
would appear the ultimate destination of stars.
Somewhere the wave of the slow night will meet the shore
and somewhere will anchor the boat of the heart’s grief. . ”

– faiz ahmed faiz, freedom’s dawn, 1947

For the past few weeks, London has been in the middle of the “India Now” festival and the BBC TV channel has been showing programmes about India and Pakistan, to celebrate the 60th year of our independence. There are special features about Indian food, Pakistani politics, and even Shahrukh Khan had his new movie premiere in London as part of this mela of all things Indian and Pakistani — the two great nations that were born on the stroke of midnight, as the clock hands joined to salute the two countries together for a split second before they went their separate ways to search for their own destinies.

But on this great day when we celebrate the free identity of the subcontinent…whither art thou, Bangladesh? Didn’t we also get independence from the British?

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By Husain Haqqani, Special to Gulf News

Since the day he joined the Pakistan Military Academy (PMA) as a cadet, General Pervez Musharraf is used to taking orders from his superiors and giving orders to those below him.

Based on his lifelong career as a soldier, he considers the people of Pakistan his troops and civilian politicians who joined the “king’s party” formed after Musharraf’s 1999 military coup as junior and non-commissioned officers.

Those protesting against him are seen by Musharraf as the enemy. The general is now beginning to voice the worry that his “subordinate officers” are failing to motivate “the troops” sufficiently. He is afraid that the failings of his officers’ corps will cause him to lose the most important battle of his life.

The training of a military officer prepares him for waging war not for effecting compromises or conducting politics. Former Pakistan army chief General Musa Khan used to say that he was trained to “locate the enemy and liquidate the enemy”.

He found this training useless when dragged into politics as governor of West Pakistan during the late 1960s.

Musharraf recently complained that the more than 1,000 elected officials of the ruling coalition are doing little to defend their benefactor.

His complaint reflected the surprise Ayub Khan had expressed when members of his Convention Muslim League disappeared soon after the popular agitation against his rule began in 1968.

Both Ayub Khan and Musharraf never grew into politicians and could not see that those who join the “king’s party” for perks and privileges are risk-averse individuals in search of benefits.

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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.

Even a straightforward reading of the numbers leaves a bitter taste. Military-linked commerce is responsible for some 4% of GDP. Its total commercial assets are worth some $4 billion. If the value of real-estate is included then the figure, according to Siddiqa, exceeds $20 billion. Out of 100 commercial projects run by army, navy and air-force conglomerates, only nine are listed on the stock exchange: the others do not need to report to any statutory or other public authority. Requests to come before parliamentary committees tend to be ignored, or referred to the ministry of defence or army headquarters, which between them act as a kind of apex body for many of the conglomerates.

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