Formalin in the nation’s body politic

Replying with equal gusto, BNP’s acting secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam said last week that it was not BNP but the Awami League government and its establishments are living an extended life through formalin.

Formalin has a relation with rots and subsequent melt down of the object—be it fish, fruits and now apparently a new phenomenon in politics. In fact there is a visible signs of rot in the country’s body politics in all fronts, critics suggest. Such a rot is also equally working in the BNP on many counts. The only difference is that they are having different problems undermining the foundation of their own political institutions.

The country has already turned into a ‘valley of death’ under the repressive governance of the ruling Awami League and not a single day now passes out without the breaking of news of sensational murders, abductions and slaughter of political leaders and workers, not to speak about other crimes.

What appears a ghastly fact is that the ruling party leaders and workers are being killed now in intra-party rivalries to control local politics, toll collection, grabbing public and private properties and public tender businesses. They began with the abductions and killings of the opposition elements but now fighting themselves seemingly destroying  the ruling party’s foundation.

The killing of Narayonganj city panel mayor Nazrul Islam along with six other came as the biggest sensation on April 27. He was a district Awami League leader but his alleged killer Nur Hossain was another local AL leader enjoying protection of some top local and central party stalwarts.

The leakage of mobile phone conversations between Shamim Osman MP with Nur Hussain clearly showed how he helped the escape of the notorious killer while police was reportedly hunting him with red alert all over. A senior RAB officer was also allegedly involved in ensuring his safe exit across the border.

Moreover the confessional statement of Major Arif, a RAB officer showed how the forces worked on hire and carried out the gruesome killing and later dumped the bodies in the river.

No sooner had the dust of N’ganj seven murders settled, another high profile political murder took place at Feni in which Akramul Haque Akran, chairman of the Fulgazi Upazila of the district was shot and burned in his own jeep in broad daylight in Feni town.

He was a powerful local Awami League leader and his killing was orchestrated by another local group led by Nizam Hazari MP, media reported. It further said a local police officer was present in the meeting the previous night in which the decision to eliminate him next morning was taken. Moreover, a police patrol closer to the spot did not come to his help, his driver told media.

Interestingly, the police arrested BNP leader Dinar Chowdhury for the murder while AL leaders and workers are openly blaming one another for the killing and police have so far arrested over a dozen Awami Leaders for taking part in the killing.  Feni police transferred most of its officers last week as it was done after the seven murders in N’ganj. It looked a kind of face saving without punishing them for their direct or indirect role in the killings from behind the scene.

The outgoing German ambassador Albrecht Conze at a farewell meeting with Speaker Dr Shirin Sharmin Chowdhury last week evaluated the present situation saying the government appears to have lost control on many fronts. He laid emphasis on holding a free and fair election to restore democratic governance in the country.

But this anarchy as the ambassador has pointed out has become pervasive at all level throughout the country. And most surprisingly, the Prime Minister herself warned people while speaking on the Jatiya Sangsad floor last week not to attempt to do harm to Shamim Osman, her party MP from N’ gonj who is a dreaded godfather having hand in many crimes in the city. In yet another salvo, she said by dying Zia had escaped; otherwise he would have been tried for the killing of Sheikh Mujib. These are words to spread volatility in politics.

The rot in some other fronts showed government failure to hold public examinations without leakage of question papers – the latest being the HSC questions. A candidate said out of ten papers, question of maths second paper was not leaked while the question papers of almost all other subjects were available in the internet.

Some people reportedly sent SMS looking for buyers of questions opening an informal market for trade in leaked questions. Those responsible are said to have been identified as party men, yet the minister is saying the allegations are rumors. The government also held primary teachers enlistment examinations last week with similar leaked questions. Despite such leakage, examinations were held earlier at Nilphamari. Police had arrested 25 alleged culprits but local AL leaders secured the release of 19 claiming them innocent.

Students and academics held a protest meeting last week at central Shaheed Minar wondering if qualified people were deprived of the recruitment and good students lose to the bad ones, the society is bound to collapse.

In fact such results are already at work. Internee doctors are denying treatment to patients at public hospitals almost regularly engaging in fights and behaving like party cadres. Reportedly they had also passed out as doctors claiming favours as party cadres from their respective colleges.

In the business fronts, news reports on Wednesday quoting BBS figures said that at least one million workers have lost jobs in the past six months while small industries lost 2.29 percent productivity and big and medium industries loss stood at 1.49 percent.

 Allegations run high that the government has distorted the GDP growth rate in the outgoing fiscal as it showed it on the high side over the past several years to show better economic performance. But the sharp down trend was visible even with distorted growth figure released by BBS.

Facing severe criticism from all fronts, the government has resorted to continuously attacking the opposition as a policy. Even a minister last week said since Begum Zia during her previous two terms did not try the killers of late president Ziaur Rahman, it proved that she herself was involved in her husband’s killing.

Yet another minister said media will be barred from publishing news on BNP Vice President Tareque Rahman very soon as he his not worthy of being a leader. These are enough signs of deeper rots in the nation’s body politic and particularly the ruling party is using the formalin of lies to continue in power.

Meanwhile, the melting down of Jatiya Party is becoming more pronounced as it is neither useful to the government except its role to take part in the election nor to the nation as a viable opposition. A big chunk of the party has already merged with Awami League while another faction is negotiating with the BNP led opposition.

The biggest problem with BNP is that except Begum Zia, nobody is being visible as a big leader having a strong voice in absence of Tareque Rahman. The party under severe repression is turning fragile.

Moreover, it needs to portray its politics properly which is not clear to the new generation. Most of its leaders appear to be inactive as they keep out of street to give people the confidence to feel courageous. Even its students’ wing is not particularly active in absence of any distinctive ideals which may attract them to fight for a cause.

Source: Weekly Holiday