Mahmudur Rahman

There was a time not long ago when multilateral institutions like IMF and World Bank used to insist on good governance as a prerequisite for providing financial assistance to developing countries. This emphasis on democracy, transparency, human rights and rule of law started to fade in the western world with the advent of the neocon doctrine of ‘war against terror’ and ‘right to preemptive strike’ at the beginning of the 21^st century. Instead of good governance criterion, ‘with us or against us’ in the fight against the perceived enemy within the Islamic world became the determining factor to provide economic assistance by the West-dominated Bretton Woods institutions. The rise of Sheikh Hasina in Bangladesh coincided with the above-vitiated geopolitical environment in the world.

During the first couple of decades in this century, blatant ‘Islamophobia’ guided the geopolitical strategy in the western capitals. Their politicians, intellectuals, and media worked together to create a narrative of a clash of civilizations to scare the general population. Islamophobia was monetized into votes in Europe and America. President Trump made Muslims targets of criticism throughout his first presidential campaign. In Europe, shameful public insult of Prophet Mohammad (Peace be upon him) and the burning of the Holy Quran received patronization from the political establishment. Under this environment of extreme hatred, Washington policymakers in the Bush administration decided to embrace India as the strategic ally of the West in South Asia to fight against the so-called ‘Islamic terror’ and to counter the rise of China, although same India had been an important ally of the Soviet Union during the entire ‘Cold War’ period. It is not a surprise to many political analysts that, nearly two decades later, India would show its hidden sympathy for Russia in the Russia-Ukraine war. The sullen US could only helplessly, grumble its displeasure at India’s volte-face. Buoyed by the newfound support from Washington, India started to flex its muscle in the region and a democratic Bangladesh became the first victim of the Indo-US partnership. India took complete control of its Eastern neighbor through the imposition of a puppet and repressive government led by Sheikh Hasina, a known agent of Delhi, as the US naively applauded. Bangladesh lost its sovereignty and the people, their freedom.

While Sheikh Hasina remained faithful to India, she also courted China with tacit approval from New Delhi, to finance so-called mega-projects that provided her with a huge fund to bribe the deep state in Bangladesh. With this money, she bought the loyalty of the police, bureaucracy, judiciary, and the army. In the process, the United States gradually lost its influence in the strategically important, Muslim-majority South Asian state.

Yesterday’s attack on the US ambassador Peter Hass by the Awami League thugs is not a new instance of insult of the most powerful nation in the 21^st century by the ruling coterie in Dhaka. In 2018, armed cadres of Awami League attacked a convoy of cars carrying the then US ambassador to Bangladesh, Marcia Bernicat. She and the embassy security team were unharmed but two cars belonging to her convoy were damaged in the pre-planned attack. At that instance, the Indian government and its powerful lobby at Washington worked in tandem to convince the US government about the necessity of the fascist ruler in Bangladesh in order to keep a leash on the Muslim population. In spite of the violent attack on the US ambassador, the Trump administration returned to ‘business as usual’ in no time. Prides of the ambassador and the United States were sacrificed to appease India and its Dhaka agent. Trump-Modi camaraderie is well-known in the international media. President Trump visited India in February 2020 while Hindu extremists killed and burned minority Muslims in a communal frenzy in the capital New Delhi. The US President did not utter a single word against the mayhem during his visit. After all, Muslim blood is of the least importance in a world dominated by Islamophobia.

Post-9/11, Washington policy in South Asia has emboldened Sheikh Hasina, an ardent worshipper of Hindu culture, to plunder national wealth and let loose a reign of terror to bring ordinary Muslim citizens under complete submission. While the US sanction of 2021 was too little too late, the absence of even such token punishment against the perpetrators of violent human rights abuse in 2022 has encouraged Sheikh Hasina once again, to unleash her death squad against opposition political parties and human rights activists. After the second attack on the US ambassador by the Awami league terrorists, we hope, Washington would now appreciate the extreme danger that all dissenting voices in Bangladesh face in their everyday life and empathize with them irrespective of their political, cultural, and religious views. However, we are not sure whether the current US administration actually recognizes the folly of the policies that the successive US administration have followed in South Asia since the destruction of the twin tower in the multiple terrorist attacks.

We understand that a senior-level IMF official is currently visiting Bangladesh to secure a political commitment from the fascist ruler regarding fiscal reforms before placing the bail-out package for the approval of the board in Washington. According to our understanding, this is a comical and futile effort. Sheikh Hasina and her gang of swindlers have remorselessly bled the economy for more than a decade. The entire banking sector is now on the verge of collapse. The ruling family has amassed wealth beyond comprehension at home and abroad at the cost of the nation. They have mortgaged the future of Bangladesh. Any commitment coming from the worst dictator the country has ever seen is valued less than used tissue paper. It will be mere lip service. We insist that the people of Bangladesh should not be held liable for any multilateral or bilateral loan given to the kleptocrat government. I expect that the future Bangladesh government, democratically elected by the people, would review all international treaties and agreements signed during the tenure of the present illegal regime.

Under the above circumstances, we would request IMF to keep on hold all proposed bail-out packages until a new government is formed through a free, fair, and inclusive election that needs to be held under a neutral, non-party government. We will hold IMF or any other multilateral institutions or any country that would finance the present Dhaka regime as accomplices of the fascist ruler. Before concluding the editorial, let me remind the readers of some of the quotes of Sheikh Hasina that show her demonic character:

1. Drown Professor Yunus and Khaleda Zia in the river Padma. (On the occasion of the inauguration of Padma Bridge)
2. Kill ten if they kill one of us. (Message to the party workers to commit mass murder)
3. Kill them, I will give immunity. (Encouraging the police to commit massacre)
4. Break the bones of those who try to attack us. (Exhorting the party workers to commit violence)
5. Burn anybody who tries to burn state property. (Exhorting the party workers to commit violence)
6. I will see how much oil they have and extract all of it. (Threat to the journalists for asking questions)

International Community should take note of the violent character of Sheikh Hasina and try her as a terrorist. The time has come to internationally declare Awami League as a terrorist organization.

Editor: Amar Desh