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.