LESSONS FROM HISTORY

by F R Chowdhury

 

The political unrest in the country is almost going out of hand. It is not possible to count the exact number of people so far killed. Lot of them died because of political violence when lots of other people died in the hands of law enforcement agencies. They are extra judicial killing referred to as killed in cross-fire or fire-fights or exchange of fire. These deaths are never investigated and those responsible are never brought to justice. These are happening because the Prime Minister publicly said that she would take the responsibility of all actions taken to suppress the movement. It is like giving open licence for killing. It is a good time for people to take all sorts of revenge and settle the scores. In short there is no rule of law. All these are happening because one person is bent up on to perpetuate her rule to eventually lead to one-party and one-family rule.

We shall talk more on the present political crisis in Bangladesh but before that we shall make a brief analysis of recent history where other dictators tried similar things. Adolf Hitler not only destroyed himself but turned whole of Germany into ashes. In Uganda, President Idi Amin oppressed his people and plundered all the wealth. He was finally removed in disgrace and then died in Saudi Arabia. In Iraq we saw the fate of Saddam Hussein who had unleashed a reign of terror on his own people for nearly 25 years. He used to win every election with over 99% votes. Finally he was removed from power and hanged. We saw what happened to Colonel Gaddafi of Libya. He did lot of good things for his country but he could not tolerate any resent/ dissent. He was removed in a peoples’ uprising, killed and finally buried in an unmarked grave. We witnessed the down-fall of corrupt President Zainal Abdin of Tunisia. Finally we saw the departure of President Hosne Mubarak of Egypt who is now languishing in pison. We are still witnessing how shameless President Bashar is, clinging to power, even though his country is being destroyed to total ruins. Such is the love and lust for power. In Zimbabwe, 90 years old Robert Mugabe still remains the president. Perhaps his cronies are worried as to what will happen to them if Mugabe is gone. They are blindly behind him because their survival depends on his remaining in power.

Popular movement can never be silenced by barrels of guns. Back in 1971, there was a popular movement in East Pakistan demanding the restoration of democracy and hand-over of power to those elected by the people. President General Yahiya Khan ordered his troops for a military crack-down to suppress the movement. His troops were given open licence to shoot and kill. They killed in thousands and send thousands more running across the border. The President and his generals were convinced that it was all over. Some people in Karachi and Lahore brought out victory rallies that Pakistan was saved by the timely action of the President. But the whole world knows what happened later. It divided Pakistan and gave birth to a new state named Bangladesh.

The people of Bangladesh gave lot of blood. Even in the absence of Sheikh Mujib (he was under arrest in Pakistan) they continued their war of liberation until Bangladesh became an independent country. On 10th of January, 1972 Sheikh Mujib returned to Bangladesh to become its President. However, Sheikh Mujib was not very happy as he found that in parliamentary system prime minister was the focal point of power. So he vacated the post of president to become prime minister. Sheikh wanted all the powers for himself but at the same time he could not accept anyone else in a position higher than his own. The solution was to change the constitution from parliamentary system to presidential system. He did that and became the first head of the state as well as head of the government. Surprisingly he became an executive president without any election. His misrule was soon marked with the worst famine (1973-74) in the history of Bangladesh. Sheikh never accepted any resent/ dissent or opposing views. He banned all political parties and created BAKSAL to make Bangladesh one-party state. He was the head of the state and the government and, also the head of the only political party. He also created the Rakshi Bahini and terrorised the people the same way Yahiya had done. His forces made sure that only state controlled newspapers were published. There was no freedom of expression and human rights. Sheikh thought everything was under control and now he could rule the country the way he wanted. He was badly mistaken. Sheikh Mujib was killed in August, 1975 and his dream of ruling the country through BAKSAL came to an abrupt end.

For the benefit of the readers I would like to quote from what one of our army officers (Ashraf Al Deen) saw during his UN peace-keeping operation in Africa. Sierra Leon was a country rich with fertile land and mineral resources. It gained independence from Britain in 1961. Under multi party democratic system Mr. Milton Morgai (freedom fighter and regarded as the father of the nation) became the first elected prime minister. He was very liberal and popular leader leading the nation to a gradual path of prosperity. Sierra Leon could prosper a lot but unfortunately in 1967 it elected Saika Stevens as its new prime minister. Soon after winning the election he revealed his true character as he started getting all powers to himself. In 1971 he changed the constitution to become its executive president. All the riches were plundered by his misrule and by 1991 the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) declared war against him. The misrule followed by the civil war destroyed the very promising and potential future of the country.

From the pieces of history narrated above we have seen the ultimate fate of all power hungry autocratic dictators. It is unfortunate people do not learn lessons. It hurts me when I see Sheikh Hasina, the prime minister of Bangladesh refused all initiative for dialogue and discussion. She thinks she will find military solution of political crisis by crushing all opposition. She is mistaken. It will fail and she will pay dearly. Martyrs’ bloods never go in vain. It is a fight for survival of democracy and it cannot fail.

Sheikh Hasina engaged herself in a two front war. She took every possible unfair means to consolidate her power. She also engaged all resources to restore the image of her father as the founder father of Bangladesh. Sheikh Mujib could do nothing wrong. Mujib was credited with every achievement in the history of Bangladesh. It is interesting to note that during two of our greatest achievements – the language movement of 1952 and liberation war of 1971, Sheikh Muhib was in jail. However, Hasina went to High Court to get a ruling that it was Sheikh Mujib who declared the independence of Bangladesh. The court ruling further stated that any person who tried to identify any one else with the declaration of independence would be considered to have committed a crime and punished accordingly. The state controlled and regulated media have been publicising stories of imaginary developments. It is a family legacy – as if Bangladesh was established by her father and then again all the development works were undertaken during her period. To establish this, all the roads, bridges, institutions and establishments are being named after family members. Attempts are being made to educate children about the achievements made by the family so that in years to come people would know nothing about Tajuddin, Osmani or Zia.

Sheikh Hasina also changed constitution to remove the provision for holding elections under non-party care-taker government so that her party (BAL) can manipulate and win all elections. The civil service and police have been largely brought under the party control. The judiciary is also far from impartial. Recruitment in administration and judiciary are confined to party loyalist. Elected persons in the local government have been replaced by appointed administrators. Opposition political leaders have been arrested in thousands with thousands of false and imaginary charges/ cases against them. People live in terror and afraid of speaking to each other. When I try to talk to anyone over telephone in Bangladesh about the current political situation they would prefer to disconnect the phone than to talk.

I recollect an interview of Sheikh Hasina with BBC soon after she became the chairperson of BAL. She said, “I do not like politics yet, I have accepted to become the party leader because I have to take revenge of the killing of my family members”. The process of revenge is still going on even after hanging all but one of those involved. It now appears that BDR mutiny was the outcome of the conspiracy hatched by a number of BAL leaders. 57 of our brilliant army officers were murdered. Those who raised question about deliberate delay in action were retired from the service. Another Brigadier (recipient of the Sword of Honour) was dismissed from service because he happened to be the son of an opposition political leader. The army has also become a part of national politics. The pride of profession is gone. Selected killings are still continuing. Ilyas Ali disappeared without any trace. Journalists Sagar-Runi had to give their lives perhaps because they knew too much about the corrupt government. Now Salahuddin is also missing. Law enforcement agencies have been licensed to eliminate anyone who dares to express any dissent. We do not visit Bangladesh because we write truth about Bangladesh from abroad. We still keep people informed. The nation cannot be silenced. The bloods will not go in vain.

The United Nations, United States, United Kingdom and EU have requested for political dialogue. Hasina refused. Even the prime minister of India, her closest ally refused to visit the country now. In international politics and diplomacy she has been isolated. Her revenge still continues. She does not take any lesson from history. She wants to crush and diminish every opposition. She insists all glories belong to her family. She does not realise that her fall is getting closer and once that happens there would be nobody around her. All cronies will disappear.

London, 15-March-2015.                                                   <fazlu.chowdhury@btinternet.com>

3 COMMENTS

  1. Thank you, Capt F R Chowdhury for your bold article and fearlessly publishing it. Hasina’s days may not be numbered but she has already destroyed the country. May God help the poor country!

  2. What else do you expect from Mujib’s daughter, Mr Chowdhury? Like father Like daughter! This woman is going to destroy Bangladesh.

  3. Destroying a country & it’s infrastructure is one thing but personally attacking the opposition leaders and harassing them is a new low set by this ruling government. Personal Vendatta & self proclamation is the only agenda here. Government is too busy to discredit the oppositions and also workng very hard to name anything & everything after Late Sheikh Mujib.

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