A functioning parliament, an independent judiciary, reasonable law and order, and a free media are things that people can’t accuse Pakistan and Bangladesh of having.
However embarrassing it may sound to patriots, India has it more than us. Although we were all produced by the colonial regime, Pakistan and Bangladesh seem to have become the least politically developed part of South Asia.
Nepal and Sri Lanka have also both had wars and insurrections. It’s only India that remains unscathed and is now courted by the entire world.
Eighty-six people have died in Turkey recently, torn by a bomb blast at a pro-Kurdish rally. The incident is a terrifying reality and the grimness touches us all.
The problems that plague Turkey have continued for years and most likely will go on. It is a diverse country which is not fond of diversity. One party or another has always tried to impose its will on another.
The Kurds have suffered a great deal in the last century split amongst countries, ideologies and factions. But it’s not the Kurds who burn alone. The entirety of Turkey does.
Turkey is in a way a country of limited tolerance.
When the followers of Ataturk were in power, they insisted on forcing their ideas upon others by using the army. The army guarded Ataturk’s values on how Turkey had to be secular (or what they understood to be so) at all costs.
The repression that the opponents of the regime suffered at the hands of the then-government is enormous, but was justified in the name of national security and national ideals.
Ataturkism was the buzzword and it was believed that anyone who criticised the government was its enemy.
Yet it still had one weapon in hand, and that prevented disintegration. This was the electoral system that brought to power a party that was Islamic, though of a somewhat liberal variety — not fond of secularism.
They are the most popular party now and though the army has tried to mount a coup or two against it, the electoral system is still intact though very flawed.
But the pressures are mounting and the location of the country, neighbour to the most unstable part of the world, makes the task even more difficult.
Yet Turkey has a chance of surviving and although the party in power now is very committed to the rule of Islam, it remains loyal to the constitution too and to open elections.
Although part of NATO, Turkey has not been swept away by Western military priorities either.
Pakistan and Turkey along with Iran was once part of a regional grouping called RCD (Region for Co-operative Development), but none of the countries are what could be called stable democracies.
It was a dream and an aspiration that has not worked out, and so we have Iran with a non-participatory theology at the top, and Pakistan with a state where armed militancy continues to thrive, both politically and economically.
Be let’s face it, India has done better largely because it continued to have confidence in its constitutional ruling. Both Pakistan and Bangladesh have let the situation reach a point where political parties and social forces are not apologetic about intolerance.
But nobody thinks a price is being paid by ignoring it till it hits people in the face.
In Bangladesh, two matters are very disturbing and are signatures of intolerance.
One, is the killing of foreigners.
And two, the use of security agencies to stop advertisements to two newspapers, Daily Star and Prothom Alo.
It is being reported that Bangladesh is paying a price for foreigner-killing and that may well be counted in the reduction of national income.
Specifically, ready-made garments — an entirely foreign-buyer driven industry — is showing impact by media reports.
While it does seem that the initial responses are typically knee-jerk overreactions, if the anxious atmosphere continues, other producer countries will take advantage of it.
Now that the PM herself identified the group responsible done on the basis of intelligence reports, arresting them should have been an easy job.
But almost ten days later, it remains a mystery and no directly linked arrest has been made which in fact is worse than the killings actually. It doesn’t look good for the government’s image.
One doesn’t know where law and order ends and politics begins.
The pressure put on advertisers to withdraw from the two newspapers considered anti-present government, is already causing damage and the branding of Bangladesh as a tolerant Muslim nation will not be enhanced by such an act.
It has already become known and so Bangladesh is again experiencing an image loss.
Shouldn’t one ask how it wishes to be seen by the world? Bangladesh may think that if it can get away with extra-judicial killing, they can get away with the rest, but that is where the concern is.
Nobody ever gets away and the best way to promote safety of locals and foreigners is to promote tolerance and rule of law.
Finally, the law enforcement agencies have been so involved in political management that their crime-controlling skills seem to have weakened.
That is why a return to normal life where the police can do their duty without fear is as important as media working without fear as well.
Afsan Chowdhury is a bdnews24.com columnist.
Source: bdnews24
