Bangladesh celebrates 50 years of independence this year, 2021, and also 50 years of diplomacy. The history of diplomacy reaches far back. Before the expedition to Troy, an emissary was sent there to negotiate Helen’s return and punishment for Paris. Kautilya’s Arthashatra also talks of sending envoys to various kingdoms. He had shared his maxim with the emperor Chandragupta Maurya, “Your neighbour is your natural enemy and the neighbour’s neighbour is your friend.”
In short, the objective of any country’s diplomacy is to protect its own interests. These interests can be political, economic or security-related. What sort of diplomacy this will be and with what aim it will proceed, all depends much on the surrounding circumstances. A country’s diplomacy is influenced by its geographical and geopolitical position, its economic and military strength, human resources and so on. This is all, to a great extent, relative.
Bangladesh has been reduced to a relatively small state, surrounded by India on three sides and the great China on the other. Even our neighbour Myanmar may have one third of our population, but is five times larger in area. Bangladesh’s diplomacy has had to proceed with all these factors in mind. Friendship to all and malice towards none has been the fundamental policy given by our constitution. But the real world does not proceed on such simple lines.
Broadly speaking, I would like to categorise Bangladesh’s diplomacy into seven phases. These divisions are based on the reality of various times, aims, objectives, benefits, limitations, etc. Much of this I have witnessed by virtue of my career, the rest is analysis of various information.
Phase 1: Liberation War 1971, Mujibnagar government
Bangladesh’s first government took oath on 10 April 1971 in Mujibnagar and began functioning on 17 April in Kolkata. The first significant incident in Bangladesh’s first diplomatic phase took place the very next day, on 18 April. On that day, Pakistan’s deputy high commissioner in Kolkata, M Hossain Ali, along with all the Bengali officers and employees of the mission, declared their allegiance to Bangladesh’s provisional government. Though it did not receive official recognition, this was perceived as Bangladesh’s first diplomatic mission. Then many Bengali diplomats working in Pakistan embassies around the world, began to declare their allegiance to the Bangladesh government. Justice Abu Sayeed Chowdhury, in London at the time, was appointed as chief overseas representative.
During the Liberation War, the main aim of diplomacy was to mobilise support for Bangladesh by letting the world know about the genocide, to gain international humanitarian aid for the Bangladeshi refugees in India, and to keep close contact with countries sympathetic towards Bangladesh. As a result of these efforts, other than in a few countries and governments, huge public support for Bangladesh was won all around the world.
Like many other countries in the NAM bloc, Bangladesh sided with the Soviet Union in the worldwide polarisation caused by the Cold War. This stance changed radically with the assassination of Bangabandhu on 15 August 1975. The discomfort with the US was significantly assuaged
However, for various reasons, these activities couldn’t be coordinated properly. The most significant reason behind this was the existing conflicts within the Mujibnagar government in exile. In league with the Indian intelligence, a faction of young leadership ignored prime minister Tajuddin Ahmad’s authority. On the other hand, Tajuddin Ahmad, the Indians and others, did not trust the foreign minister of the government-in-exile, Khondaker Mostaq Ahmad. All this led to an absence of the command and control required for such tasks.
Phase 2: Post Liberation was period, 1972-75
The first challenge faced by the newly independent Bangladesh was to earn the international community’ recognition as a sovereign state. All countries of the world recognised Bangladesh, except China, Saudi Arabia and a few others. Bangladesh also won huge sympathy and support for rebuilding the war-torn communication system and the economy. So within a short time, the road and railway communications were operating and the economy began to pick up.
Another important factor at the time was to send back the Indian troops who were in Bangladesh at the time. In response to Bangabandhu’s adroit handling of the matter, Indian prime minister Indira Gandhi agreed to withdraw the troops and within three months the Indian army troops returned back home.
Another farsighted step by Bangabandhu was, with Kuwait’s diplomacy and at the invitation of Pakistan, to attend the OIC summit in Lahore. This was without consent of India and Indira Gandhi was not too happy about it. But this made things easier between the Muslim world and the newly independent Bangladesh, which had broken away from Pakistan. This removed any obstacle to becoming a member of the United Nations and in September 1974 Bangladesh won full UN membership.
Of course, there were failures too at the time. The emergence of Bangladesh amounted to a defeat for the US. The US administration was displeased with a trade agreement between Bangladesh and Cuba.
Another diplomatic failure at the time was Bangladesh’s inability to get adequate international assistance to tackle the famine of 1974 which led to widespread deaths. The glory Bangladesh has won in the international arena by its sacrifices in the Liberation War and its ultimate victory, were lost to a great extent because of the country’s domestic strife and lack of good governance.
After emerging as an independent state, Bangladesh joined the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM). And like many other countries in the NAM bloc, Bangladesh sided with the Soviet Union in the worldwide polarisation caused by the Cold War. This stance changed radically with the assassination of Bangabandhu on 15 August 1975. The discomfort with the US was significantly assuaged. On the other hand, Indira Gandhi was displeased with this change and relations with India deteriorated.
The new government under Khondaker Mostaq Ahmad, formed by means of the coup and the killing, did not last long. After around three months of unrest, coups and counter coups, a more or less stable government was established in November. This government, through a court ruling, has been declared as unconstitutional. However, given the global realities at the time, the government did not face any legitimacy problems with the outside world. In the sixties, seventies and the eighties, there had been around 140 successful military coups around the world and the world powers simply took these as internal matters of the concerned countries.
That is why the government at the time had no problem in carrying out normal diplomatic activities. And relations with India normalised to a great extend too, after the 1977 fall of the Indira Gandhi government. A provisional agreement was even signed at the time between the two countries, regarding sharing Ganges river waters at the Farakka barrage.
In 1979 Bangladesh defeated Japan in winning non-permanent members of the UN Security Council. And considerable employment was generated for Bangladesh’s migrant workers in the Middle East, particularly in Saudi Arabia.
Phase 4: Ershad’s rule, 1982-90
After Ziaur Rahman was assassinated in 1981, the civil government became considerably weak and in March 1982 the army chief HM Ershad took over power through a bloodless coup. During the 9 years of his rule, Ershad failed to give a plausible reply as to why this coup took place. His credibility within the country rendered his position in the international arena, weak.
The major task of the diplomats at the time was to establish legitimacy of the Ershad government. Because of the government’s policies of compromise with India and the countries of the West, they were unable to take a firm stance in the interests of the country.
The dismal rankings in the indices of good governance, human rights, freedom of speech, corruption, rule of law and more, has not made the diplomats’ task easy. They have faced all sorts of embarrassments in the international arena when trying to laud and defend the 2014 and 2018 elections which were riddled with questions and controversy
Meanwhile, foreign assistance totalled 7 per cent of the GDP. As a result of this dependence, the conditions enforced by the donor countries crossed all limits. The Ganges water treaty was signed without the guarantee clause, simply to appease India.
Phase 5: A tough test for democracy, 1991-2006
This was the time when Bangladesh proved the prediction of Kissinger and his successors to be wrong, and shook off the ‘basket case’ ignominy. The military autocratic government was toppled through a mass movement and an elected government came to the helm, enhancing Bangladesh’s image in the international arena. Continued economic development and advancements in the social sector took Bangladesh up to fresh heights.
Diplomatic activities were stepped up alongside external trade and migration. Bangladesh played an active role in international organisations too and won various elections in that sphere. Bangladesh became the first or second highest provider of peacekeepers in the UN peacekeeping mission. Their professionalism and committed service won high honour for the country.
After Awami League came to power in 1996, the Ganges water sharing issue, which had been hanging in limbo for long, was taken up and a 30-year treaty was signed with India. A peace deal was signed with the Indian-backed rebel groups which were active in the Chittagong Hill Tracts.
All these successes were overshadowed by domestic political conflict and clashes. By approaching foreign quarters for intervention, the country’s image was tarnished and the efficacy of Bangladesh’s diplomats was considerably curbed.
Phase 6: Caretaker period, 2007-08
The most abnormal or strangest government in the 50 years of Bangladesh, was in power for two years. This was referred to as the military-backed civil caretaker government. Those who were apparently running the government, actually had no power. Those who wielded the power, were more or less invisible. Due to the political violence that had prevailed immediately before this caretaker government, initially the people breathed a sigh of relief. But in no time, those pulling the strings of power began to impose all sorts of unjustified and illogical decisions on the visible government. It became a tough task, indeed, to carry out diplomatic activities at the time.
The UN representative in Dhaka and the ambassadors of a few powerful countries were the ‘midwives’ of this government and its plans of action as well as its end. They sidestepped the visible government and kept in direct and close communication with the actual centre of power. If the foreign ministry at times flexed its authority to an extent, the very next moment it gave in and softened its stance to keep the balance. It was a complete hotchpotch. Finally, under a reorganised election commission, a fair election was held and in the beginning of 2009, this government stepped down.
Phase 7: The present, from 2009 till date
It was a relief for the country in general and for the diplomats too, when this elected government took over responsibility. The international community welcomed it and diplomatic activities saw a fresh spurt of enthusiasm. Relations with India reached a new height. The top leadership of the two countries grew close. At the same time, close economic ties with China created a balance. The long-pending land boundary agreement with India came into effect and the enclaves were exchanged. The Indian insurgent groups in Bangladesh were driven out and some of their important leaders were handed over to India.
Cooperation in the power and communications sectors stepped up between the two countries. India was given transit facilities through Bangladesh to its northeastern states. And very recently the Maitri Bridge (Friendship Bridge) over Feni river was opened as another instance of this bond.
During this time, Bangladesh’s diplomacy has seen considerable setbacks and problems alongside the successes. Firstly, despite good relations at a high level, India has not visibly reciprocated the many positive steps taken by Bangladesh. Indian border guards have not stopped the border killings, the water sharing issue has not been resolved. On top of that, certain unsavoury comments by top Indian politicians have provoked the anger of Bangladesh’s people. Assam’s national register of citizens and India’s amended citizenship act has given rise to further concern.
Meanwhile, the dismal rankings in the indices of good governance, human rights, freedom of speech, corruption, rule of law and more, has not made the diplomats’ task easy. They have faced all sorts of embarrassments in the international arena when trying to laud and defend the 2014 and 2018 elections which were riddled with questions and controversy. And finally the influx of Rohingyas into Bangladesh and their stay here have given rise of long-standing concern and worry. Bangladesh’s diplomats have daunting challenges ahead in the years to come.
Touhid Hossain is former foreign secretary of Bangladesh.
*This column appeared in the print and online editions of Prothom Alo and has been rewritten for the English edition by Ayesha Kabir