At this moment, according to sources from Bangladesh, the immediate past prime minister of Bangladesh, Khaleda Zia, is being forcibly expelled from Bangladesh by the military. News reports from Bangladesh suggest that reporters are amassed at the international airport in Dhaka awaiting the former prime minister. Sources from Bangladesh tell me that three cars with tinted windows have arrived at the airport carrying the former prime minister, her youngest son, and two daughters-in-law. They are to be forcibly deported to Saudi Arabia. This is the latest sign that the army in Bangladesh is systematically dismantling democracy and the major political parties in the country. Still, there is radio silence from Washington and words of encouragement to the army from the American Embassy in Bangladesh.
Khaleda Zia is poised to leave Bangladesh after the army blackmailed her by arresting her youngest son. Another former prime minister and leader of the other major political party in Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina, is being prevented from entering Bangladesh. She is currently in London and trying to enter Bangladesh. Already British Airways has refused to fly her to Bangladesh after the Bangladesh army told all airlines that they would not be allowed to land in Bangladesh if she were on board.
Meanwhile protests have broken out in a number of cities in Bangladesh as the economic and political situation continues to deteriorate. News reports, currently under the watchful eyes of the military, indicate a major clash has taken place between the armed forces and jute mill workers who took to the streets demanding back pay.
The future of Bangladesh hangs in the balance this weekend. Will Bangladesh, which was the world’s fifth largest democracy and one of the world’s most populous Muslim majority nations, be able to repel the onslaught of the military on its democratic system and its constitution? The military, until now, has been able to consolidate its grip on power, under the guise of fighting "corruption", with the tacit support of the United States and the United Kingdom. Will the US and the UK continue to back the military as it openly destroys an important Muslim democracy, one that only recently the United States highlighted as a model for democracy in Muslim countries?
There are signs of movement, at least in the United Kingdom. Former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has met with Lord Avebury, the Vice Chair of Parliamentary Human Rights group at the House of Lords in the UK. He expressed concern about the ongoing human rights violations in Bangladesh and the plan to exile the political leadership of the country. The British High Commission in Bangladesh has sought clarification from the Bangladesh government regarding the exile attempts. No such clarification has been sought by the Bush Administration.
In the event Sheikh Hasina attempts to return by air to Bangladesh, the Bangladesh military reportedly has drafted the following plan of action:
Phase 1
Two BAF F-7BG AC will escort out the aircraft from the BD airspace to further south towards the Bay of Bengal.
Phase 2
If the Phase 1 fails,the DAC air traffic control will not give clearance to the aircraft carrying Hasina to land and following Phase 1.
But it is important that the aircraft does not land at the first place. The whole action can be performed legally under all international laws and charters.
It is allowed under international law to deny entry to any aircraft to one’s airspace. Iran has recently denied entry of an aircraft carrying Iraqi PM. US homeland security regularly excercise this option to prevent people from coming to the US who it believes to threaten us national security.
The Bangladesh army is carrying out its plan to dismantle democracy in Bangladesh with brutal precision: fundamental rights have been suspended; 150,000 people have been arrested and many are being tortured; political activity has been banned; freedom of the press has been taken away; and, the political leadership is being exiled.
Democracy in Bangladesh is dying. It is time for the United States to either stand with democracy or stand with dictators. If there is any hope of sending the army in Bangladesh back to the barracks peacefully, it is the United States who must exert some pressure. The United States holds enormous sway over Bangladesh, both economic and political. Without such pressure it will be left up to the people of Bangladesh to fight the men with the guns. The Bangladeshi people have in the past and will continue to fight for their right to live in a free and democratic country. They have succeeded twice before in dislodging military dictators. The first time it was at a cost of 3 million lives, the second time it took 16 years. This time the people of Bangladesh could use a helping hand from the beacon of freedom and democracy in the world, the United States.
I read that news headline a few hours ago, but I had no idea it was this bad. I can’t believe the mainstream media has not spent a single second of their newscasts on this story. Is the Bush administration complicit in this? I’m wondering if that is the case. :-?x(
ok, seriously, don’t make this into something it obviously isn’t mash.
mainstream media, let’s say bbc, is on top of development, the hasina warrant thing was front page top storey before it went to south asia top story and now south asia right side storey.
the fact the women has been allowed to go at all is soemthing she should thank God for.
this was a very bad person, and the past government a very bad government.
between the 2 parties, democracy was dismantled long before ershad came around. what the army is superficially doing is cleaning up. i say superficially.
this may or may not be a genuine shake up, but people are for now happy to see the most corrupt in jail, and superficially clean up of illegal businesses retailiers and buildings demolished.
it is WIDELY known/believed that the u.s. isss behind the current gov., so “a helping hand from the beacon of freedom and democracy in the world, the United States” is already underway.
mash, um, do you seriously believe what you are writing? are you actually talking to anyone here?
i was just wondering..
dude, I’ll answer your last comment/question first. You say:
I think I have been quite clear in my posts that, to that extent that I can demonstrate it, the United States has given this military government tacit support. So, no, I’m not smoking anything. Please refer back to almost every post where I’ve made that point.
Yes, I am in touch with people in Bangladesh. None of them want to talk on the record because they are not feeling particularly free or safe right now. Yes, I DO BELIEVE what I write, otherwise I would not subject you or others to them :d
There is a lot that can be done here to shed light on this issue. Namely, members of Congress can be made aware of this crisi. There are many in Congress who have stepped up in the past and intervened on these kinds of matters. And it has made a difference. So while it may be easy to view the “United States government” as monolithic, it is not. It does respond to stimuli, that is public opinion, on such matters. My hope is to spur awareness and action in the US Congress in defence of democracy in Bangladesh. I think it can make a significant difference.
You may not share my opinion of the United States, but I DO BELIEVE it is a beacon for freedom and democracy IS SPITE of the Bush Administration’s recent dealings. If I did not believe that, I would not CHOOSE to live here. The US is not the world’s “do-gooder” – it has done horrible things in its perceived self-interest. I am under no illusions. But on balance it nonetheless remains a force for good.
Dude, now to respond to your other point. The US public does not read the BBC website on a regular basis. Robbie is right about the lack of mainstream interest here. As for the BEEB, their coverage has been spotty at best. Their most recent article says that Hasina “fled to London” after the military took over. That is factually incorrect, as you well know. Given that she came to the US and not England, you would think the BBC would have gotten their facts correct on that one – so yea there coverage has been spotty. Do a search for Bangladesh and see how many stories you come up with; there are more stories on cricket than this.
You say:
Explain how she is a “very bad person”. Personal opinion and wild charges do not substitute for fact when banning someone from a country that the country just a few days ago accused of murder! You would think they would want to “try” her for the crime they allege she committed. Why ban her? If that makes sense to you, then I submit you are not thinking clearly.
Gutting the political parties may feel good to “civil society”, but it is harmful to Bangladesh if the goal is to have democracy. Unless of course you think that only the army is capable of being politicians. If so, then I rest my case.
oops, when i said women, i didn’t mean hasina, i meant the other one, who it is still yet unknown whether she has left or not, black tinted cars rushing in thru zia vip aside.
latest i heard is a chartered plane is arriving from ksa to take her to her rumoured palatial new home.
as i mentioned somewhere else at some pt on your blog, having lived thru various coups in various countries, 2 being here, the on the ground situation is very different from what people outside the country think it is.
no one wanting to know whats going on in the world cannot seriously rely on US msm. the beebs ain’t perfect, but they gets it mostly right.
hasina infact went on “holiday” to US see her children, and grandchild. heck, everyone knows she is a good granny.
=)
About Khaleda Zia, I am still awaiting any ACTUAL charges of corruption against her. If you read my blog regularly, you know I am no fan of her political party (BNP), so consider that when you read this comment.
The military govt has charged her eldest son, Tarique, with corruption. Tarique is widely considered to be corrupt by most everyone. But, here’s the thing, I want proof and a trial to make sure the guilty are convicted properly. Instead this government is blackmailing Khaleda Zia by arresting her younger son and forcing her to go abroad to save her youngest son. If they had anything against him, why did they arrest him one night and let him go the next morning? On what charges? Why are they cutting a deal with Khaleda to let Tarique go? If Tarique is guilty of stealing from the Bangladeshi people, the people have an overriding interest in bringing him to justice. Letting him go to exile to Saudi Arabia is an insult to the people of Bangladesh and only encourages further corruption.
Any trial this govt hold will also be a farce. They have banned any criticism of them. They have suspended fundamental rights. One of those rights is the right to defend yourself in a court of law by calling withnesses without fear of retribution. That cannot happen under a miltiary regime. So, how on earth will they fight “corruption”? Do we just TRUST them when they say this person is guilty and this person is not? I think not. The military genral (Moeen), by his megalomania, has ensured that the corrupt cannot be held accountable. His friends will win, his enemies will lose. To that point, it is interesting to collate who IS NOT behind bars. That list includes Jamaa-e-Islami leaders, people like Lufozzaman Babar (widely “known” to be corrupt), some government advisors themselves including Mainul Hussain, the justice and law advisor (if that’s not a sick joke, I dont know what is). I could run down the long and sordid list of those who are deemed “not corrupt”. They include the Islamists, the military, and the military’s sycophants.
Its a joke.
There’s a reason rule of law is important.
Ha ha ha. “Beacon of freedom and democracy.”
Thanks for the biggest laugh of the day, old bean.
“A force for good”. How do you measure the “good”, eh? Is half a million dead in Iraq enough? Or do you need some more proof?
darklight, feel free to read my numorous posts on the Iraq War to understand where I stand.
This country is just as much home to Edward Kennedy as it is to George W. Bush. I will not indulge in wholesale “America bashing” no matter how strongly I disagree with Bush administration policy.
hi
i am currently writing a report on this topic and was wondering if any of you know of any books, or scholarly websites for me to browse on this topic. Im trying to figure out if the military of bangladesh is actually doing good than bad or vice versa… It seems as though most o fyou have a good inkling as to what is happening. more so than the avergae person. It is however, vry difficult to find concrete information, especially when this whole situation is unravelling before us at this very moment..
Thanks for your time!!