Unelected In, Unelected Out

My German is rusty, but I think the saying goes something like this: So ist das Leben. Manchmal ist man in, manchmal ist man aus. Such is life. Sometimes one is in, sometimes one is out.

In an act of utter insensitivity, former Law and Information Advisor to the Bangladesh military government Barrister Mainul Hosein has denied me the opportunity to feature him in my upcoming post on the one year anniversary of the military coup in Bangladesh. The good Barrister, the erstwhile chief water carrier and slapstick comedian of this military regime, has suddenly and without regard to our feelings resigned today. He has driven many adoring fans to tears including Dristipat, who have resorted to Air Supply to ease the grief.

Along with the good Barrister, two other gaffe-prone Advisors also took leave of their unelected and unconstitutional positions. Geeteara Safiya Chowdhury, who lacked the common touch, decided to vacate her Advisor position long after her lease had expired. Tapan Chowdhury, who preferred that the common masses eat cake rather than rice, will now have plenty of time to ponder the interplay between irresponsible government statements and their impact on the lives of the commoners.

Another advisor, retired Major General Matiur Rahman, also resigned today. No one is really sure why.

A few weeks ago, another unelected steward of the nation, Ayub Quadri, resigned as Advisor after overseeing the theft and destruction of two priceless national treasures that had hitherto survived over 1500 years.

The buzz in Bangladesh is that the military has lined up five new advisors to take the place of the five that have been shoved out. It is good to see that they are rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic. There is also buzz that Bangladesh may be headed toward a "national unity government" – a tried-and-true formulation that is a pact between "civil society" and the military to horde power and guarantee that the people are denied their right to choose their own leaders and thus control the fate of their own nation.

Whatever happens, today the world at large has lost the comedy stylings of Barrister Mainul Hosein.