Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying

Today, October 4th 2007, over 5000 bloggers from around the world stand together in solidarity with the brave people of Burma. This blog stands with them.

"When I despair, I remember that all through history the way of truth and love has always won. There have been tyrants and murderers and for a time they seem invincible, but in the end, they always fall - think of it, always." - Mahatma Gandhi

"Within a system which denies the existence of basic human rights, fear tends to be the order of the day. Fear of imprisonment, fear of torture, fear of death, fear of losing friends, family, property or means of livelihood, fear of poverty, fear of isolation, fear of failure. A most insidious form of fear is that which masquerades as common sense or even wisdom, condemning as foolish, reckless, insignificant or futile the small, daily acts of courage which help to preserve man’s self-respect and inherent human dignity. It is not easy for a people conditioned by fear under the iron rule of the principle that might is right to free themselves from the enervating miasma of fear. Yet even under the most crushing state machinery courage rises up again and again, for fear is not the natural state of civilized man." - Aung San Suu Kyi

On September 22 Buddhist monks marched to the house in Rangoon where Aung San Suu Kyi is kept under house arrest by Burma’s ruthless military regime. Burma’s legitimate prime minister stepped out to the gate of her house, and with tears in her eyes, prayed with her people. In the days since that moment of prayer the peaceful protests of the Burmese people have been crushed by brutal force. Monks have been killed and disappeared, people have been dragged out of their homes in the middle of the night, and Burmese by the thousands have been thrown into makeshift jails all around the country. Fear rules Burma today.

However, no matter how many of its own citizens the military kills to try to hold on to power, it will never be able to erase the indelible image of a frail and beautiful woman standing with hands clasped in prayer amidst saffron-clad monks.

There is power in that image that the Burmese military cannot buy with the billions it spends on weapons each year. The junta fears her and the people she represents. In their fear they have fled the capital and built a fortress in the jungle for themselves where they hide.

The news reports say that the Saffron Revolution has been crushed. Not so. There are not enough bullets in this world to deny a people their freedom. The Burmese have struggled long for their freedom and they have suffered much. Often they have struggled and suffered alone while the world neglected them. Today that is changing. The world has finally focused its gaze upon the inhumanity being visited upon the brave people of Burma.

Let us today stand with the Burmese people. Let us stand with the Burmese people in the days to follow. Let us stand with them in their courageous march to freedom.

Free Burma!

Join the growing list of international bloggers in a day of support for the brave people of Burma. Sign up here and just post one banner post on October 4, 2007 with the words "Free Burma!".

[Cross posted at E-Bangladesh, Taylor Marsh, Daily Kos and Never In Our Names]

Bangladesh has its own illegal immigration problem. The country plays host to approximately 200,000 refugees from the bordering country of Burma. The refugees belong to the Rohingya minority, a persecuted Muslim population who are being methodically ethnically cleansed by Burma’s ruling military junta. They live in Bangladesh under desperate conditions, battling for scarce jobs and resources in the already desperately poor south eastern region of Bangladesh. It is just one of the silent tragedies of the forgotten people of Burma.

Burma, or Myanmar as the ruling military junta would like to be called, is one of the most brutally repressed countries in the world. It has been under military rule since 1962. An impoverished country of 50 million people, Burma boasts an army of over 400,000 active personnel. It’s yearly military budget stands at an estimated 7 billion dollars and is greater than Pakistan, Iran and North Korea. Burma has the 12th largest standing military in the world and spends an astounding 19% of its annual gross domestic product on the military. While the junta leaders live in luxury the rest of the population lives on less than $1 a day. Burma is the most corrupt nation on Earth.

The Burmese military is at war with its own people. It is so fearful of its own people that it has moved the capital of the country. In 2005 the military junta built a new capital, Naypyidaw, about 320 kilometers north of the former capital, and Burma’s largest city, of Rangoon. Naypyidaw is secretive and under tight seal. Cell phone networks do not work there and the civil servants are housed in military built apartments while the junta live in luxury villas. Pictures of Naypyidaw are hard to come by.

On September 6th the military junta in Burma declared that General Maung Aye, second in command in Burma, was postponing his upcoming visit to Bangladesh where he was expected to expand on the new found common ground with the military rulers of Bangladesh. This was the first signal from the junta that they were anticipating the August protests over high fuel prices to get significantly worse. Ten days later, on September 16, thousands of revered Burmese monks joined the protesters on the streets of Buma’s cities. The monks led the protesters to the doorstep of Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi’s home, where she has been held under house arrest and solitary isolation on and off for nearly 2 decades. The legitimate prime minister of Burma, and the embodiment of hope for the Burmese people, came out briefly to pray with the monks and the protesters. It was the first time the Burmese people saw her in four years.

However, as always hope was short-lived for the brave people of Burma. Aung San Suu Kyi was whisked away to a notorious prison in the Burmese interior and the Burmese military began the slaughter. In 1988, after similar protests, the military slaughtered 3000 citizens. This time the military claims to have only killed 10 people. The actual numbers are likely to be much higher. In 1988 the military junta claimed that only a handful of protesters were killed.

Today the Burmese people are cut off from the rest of the world. The internet, the lifeline connecting the Burmese people to the world, has been severed by the junta. The streets of Rangoon have been cleared of protesters and the blood has been cleaned from the pavements - protesters have been "disappeared" and the monks have been locked away in their monasteries. Into this surreal quiet arrived Ibrahim Gambari, the UN special envoy for Burma. In a "surprise" move the junta allowed Mr. Gambari to visit with Aung San Suu Kyi for about an hour.

This is familiar ground for Mr. Gambari. Last year he visited Burma twice and was similarly allowed to meet the Nobel laureate. On his return from his first trip in May 2006 Mr. Gambari penned an op-ed in the International Herald Tribune entitled "A crack in the Burmese door":

For a number of years now, the military leaders of Myanmar, formerly called Burma, have seemed impervious to international calls for democratic reform. A special UN envoy for Myanmar, Rezali Ismail, was prohibited for more than two years from even stepping foot in the country.

Last month, something seemed to change. Myanmar’s locked door popped open a small crack.

…

It is premature after one brief mission to come to any conclusions about the extent and depth of Myanmar’s current opening. Sustained engagement may be the only way to arrive at a fuller assessment of the prospects for democratization, development and reconciliation.

It will, of course, be up to the Security Council to decide on a course of action. Myanmar is hardly alone as a country for which the international community, in trying to influence the course of events, finds itself debating the relative merits of diplomacy versus pressure,or a combination of both.

Though some may be tempted to lose patience with the diplomatic track, I believe we have no option but to persist.

Nothing changed. The world moved on and the Burmese people were left to contend with their oppressors on their own.

Unlike previous visits this time Mr. Gambari has been unable to meet with the leaders of the military junta, including Senior General Than Shwe. This may be significant. There are already unconfirmed but credible reports that some generals, including Than Shwe, have sent their families abroad. It may signal a coup within the junta or fear within the junta that the protests may lead to the regime’s collapse. However, in a country where the military controls everything the prospects of freedom for the Burmese people are dim. If freedom comes it is likely to come at the cost of significant Burmese blood.

Burma’s two main backers, India and China, continue to feed its oversized military in order to squeeze a few extra dollars from the already impoverished Burmese people. While China and India continue to back the junta, there is little hope of a bright future for the Burmese people. While the sight of saffron-clad monks has captivated the world’s attention for this week, if the junta’s crackdown is successful the world will forget and move on once again.

Mr. Gambari will likely go home empty handed, save a token visit with Aung San Suu Kyi. The endless UN visits will continue as the junta appeases the foreigners by returning to the status quo. Mr. Bush will cynically thump his chest about military oppression in Burma while he offers full support to the military regime next door. China and India will continue to profit from the subjugation of the Burmese people.

Nonetheless, we who care about the brave Burmese people will not forget their plight. Even as the world moves on.

 [Sign the MoveOn.org petition to add your name to supporters of the brave Burmese people.]

It has been a brutal night in Burma. Yesterday the Burmese military killed nine of its own citizens. Overnight the military attacked monks in their monasteries - many have been beaten and carried away. Aung San Suu Kyi, the embodiment of hope in Burma, has not been seen since the crackdown began.

There are reports coming out of Thailand that the family of General Than  Shwe, the leader of the military junta, has left Burma for Thailand. If the reports are true, then Than Shwe may consider his situation in Burma to be precarious. He may be overthrown by another military man or the regime may itself be in danger. However, in the past, the Burmese military has not hesitated to suppress protests by killing thousands. Dangerous days lay ahead for the Burmese people. Democracy in Burma is being earned today with the blood of brave monks and citizens.

Bangladesh’s neighbor Burma, long forgotten by the world, wakes today to another day of protest, danger, and hope.

After the army deployed across the country yesterday and moved Aung San Suu Kyi from her home to a notorious prison, the crackdown on pro-democracy protesters has begun in Burma:

Burmese police have used batons to beat back protesters including monks at the Rangoon pagoda used as a rallying-point for marchers, eyewitnesses say.

They baton-charged a crowd of civilians and monks outside the Shwedagon Pagoda as demonstrators readied for a ninth day of protest marches.

Police and troops have been ringing Buddhist monasteries in the city.

Analysts fear a repeat of the violence in 1988, when troops opened fire on unarmed protestors, killing thousands.

The military regime in Burma is a ruthless entity well capable of firing on its own citizens. Dark days may lay ahead for the Burmese people. I salute their bravery and pray for their safety.

[Cross posted at E-Bangladesh and Daily Kos]

"I have sworn upon the altar of God, eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man." - Thomas Jefferson

Earlier this week CSB, the only private 24-hour news channel in Bangladesh, was shut down without notice by the military government, allegedly for having filed a "forged" document last year in its application for frequency allocation. This shutdown came on the heels of warnings from the military government that the news channel stop showing "any provocative news, documentaries, talk shows and discussions against the government." The warnings came after television news in Bangladesh showed footage of nationwide anti-government protests. The action against CSB, condemned by Reporters Without Borders, and the intimidation and beatings of other journalists, students, and professors are part of a larger effort by the military government of Bangladesh to suppress dissent.

Ever since it dismantled democracy in Bangladesh earlier this year, intimidation and threats by the military regime have not been limited to within the borders of Bangladesh. Last week an article in the Bengali language newspaper Ittefaq, owned by the military government’s Information Advisor Mainul Hosein, reported that Bangladeshi intelligence agents had been dispatched to the United States to collect information on pro-democracy protesters. The article declared:

It has been learned that a list is being prepared of those who are protesting the arrest and demanding the release of those arrested in Bangladesh for corruption, nepotism and massive looting with abuse of state power. In addition effective measures have been taken to identify the source of funds, the financiers and patrons of these protest events. Three officials from a special law enforcement agency of Bangladesh have already arrived in New York on a special mission. These intelligence agents are contacting professional, political and community leaders and are collecting from various sources the names-addresses as well as the immigration status of the organizers of these protests. According to a reliable source in the Bangladesh embassy in Washington, it will not be at all difficult for the intelligence agents to track a handful of expatriate Bangladeshis. Full details of these protesters will be sent to airports and respective police stations in Bangladesh. The same source also informs us that naturalized American citizens will also not be spared as their photo along with video footage will be sent to special law enforcement agencies in Bangladesh. In addition, those expatriates who under the banner of news agencies, and without any basis and with ill motive, write in our local newspapers inflammatory and negative stories that damage the image of our country will also be tracked. [translation based on Rumi Ahmed] 

A similar report appeared in Jonomot, a weekly Bengali language newspaper published in London, England. The report in Jonomot claimed that a similar intelligence team had been dispatched to the United Kingdom to collect information on protesters there.

The report in a major Bangladeshi newspaper, Ittefaq, has already had a chilling effect amongst Bangladeshi expatriates and expatriate bloggers. However, this report is only the latest attempt at intimidation of bloggers and pro-democracy protesters of Bangladeshi origin. Last month, I co-authored an op-ed that examined the increasing relevance of expatriate Bangladeshis. It appeared in the leading Bangladeshi English language newspaper Daily Star. Three days later another op-ed appeared in the same newspaper that accused the same expatriates of "defaming" Bangladesh from the "immunity" of foreign safe havens and urged the Bangladesh government to put an end to these protests:

The most prominent exports from Bangladesh are readymade garments and workers. They contribute to the economy and are appreciated as the key force behind the engine of growth for the country. Less know is a third export from Bangladesh, its politics. This export costs the country its image in the international community and can be a source of embarrassment both for the government as well as other Bangladeshi migrants abroad.

Taking advantage of their immunity in the secure environment of faraway lands, Bangladeshi expatriates have become more active than the political activists within the country. They are holding demonstrations, lobbying leaders of various countries, demanding release of those arrested in Bangladesh, and even threatening to stop the flow of remittance to the country if their demands are not met. They have been successful in extracting statements of support from some second-string American, Australian, and British politicians and officials in support of their demands.

…

The majority of expatriate Bangladeshis are looking forward to the prohibition of these self-seeking politicians who exploit Bangladesh and harm its image for their selfish interest. If they really want to contribute to Bangladesh, they should return to the country and work under the same conditions as other leaders do. It is unlikely that these people will leave their life of comfort in foreign countries and suffer the hardship of politics in a developing country. Therefore, it will be good to see the government succeed in putting a stop to this undesirable trend. Every migrant carries Bangladesh in their heart, but this does not give them a right to defame the motherland and embarrass fellow Bangladeshi migrants.

Indeed Bangladeshi expatriate lobbying may have contributed to a letter being sent by 15 prominent and bipartisan US senators, including Hillary Clinton and Richard Lugar, to the military government in Bangladesh urging it to lift the state of emergency in Bangladesh and restore democracy. In a show of Orwellian chutzpah another newspaper owned by the military regime’s Information Advisor declared that the letter from the US senators was a hoax.

Earlier in the year, other bloggers and I were threatened for taking part in an international campaign to protest the Bangladesh military’s detention and torture of journalist Tasneem Khalil.

The latest report in the Ittefaq serves to further intimidate those in the West who are protesting the Bangladesh military government’s suppression of fundamental rights. If the report is correct and Bangladesh has indeed dispatched intelligence agents to the United States to spy on Bangladeshi nationals and US citizens of Bangladeshi origin, it is almost certainly a violation of US laws. The United States government should take immediate steps to protect the rights of its citizens against foreign government spying.

It seems that what the Bangladesh military government fears is freedom of expression. It beats students because they protest. It beats and tortures reporters for reporting on those protests. It shuts down television stations for showing footage of protests. It intimidates and threatens newspaper editors in Bangladesh. It detains and tortures university protesters. It locks up over 250,000 of its own citizens without charge. It carries out a political purge under the guise of an "anti-corruption" drive. While it suspends all fundamental rights, it declares that its goal is to return Bangladesh to democracy by the end of 2008.

Protest and dissent are fundamental to the health of a democracy. It is again Orwellian to suggest that this military regime aims to bring democracy to Bangladesh while it actively works to suppress the very pillars that prop up a democratic culture. As it snuffs out dissent and fundamental rights, it uses fear tactics on those who speak out against these acts of suppression. The military regime would be well advised to understand that it is not the reporting of human rights that is the crime; it is the violation of human rights that is the crime. It is the violation of human rights that defame the image of Bangladesh, not the reporting of them.

It is cowardice to try to silence those who protest against human rights violations. It shows the weakness of the regime. When the Bangladesh military beat unarmed students and reporters, they beat them because the students and reporters exposed the weakness of the regime.

I will not be silenced. I am just one blogger, but there are many like me. While I sit under the comfort, and yes the protection, of the United States Constitution, there are many who are today taking enormous risks from within Bangladesh reporting to the world about the human rights violations taking place there. I will not be silent and allow the military government in Bangladesh to snuff out those voices from within Bangladesh. As I’ve written before, silence is complicity.

A generation ago, Robert Kennedy spoke for those who had no voice. He said:

It is from numberless diverse acts of courage and belief that human history is shaped. Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope, and crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring those ripples build a current which can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance.

One hundred and fifty million people today are living under the gun in Bangladesh. I will not remain silent and watch the world turn away.

 TASNEEM KHALIL HAS BEEN RELEASED (5/11/2007 1:39pm)

From Asif at Drishtipat:

Update 9:11:33 pm BDT
Tasneem is meeting with Mahfuz Anam in his office alone. Staffers in office say he looks physically ok, but badly shaken up. He is being taken home to his wife by DS staff after the meeting with MA.

Update 8:11:15 pm BDT
Tasneem Khalil released by joint forces. 24 hours after being picked up.

Update 7:10:15 pm BDT
Senior Daily Star office are huddled in office, including Mahfuz Anam. MA has released a statement. Excerpts: ” “I contacted the authorities concerned and was informed that him being questioned was not due to his journalistic work and had nothing to do with his functions at The Daily Star….In fact, it was because of the contents of his personal blog and some SMSs he had sent recently….Following my discussions with the authorities and because of the caretaker government’s commitment to the policy of freedom of the media, it was agreed that he would be released tonight.” Full statement is not online on DS website yet.

THANK YOU EVERYONE FOR YOUR OVERWHELMING RESPONSE. I’ll post more as I know more.

[Courtesy bdnews24.com] Below is the Press Release from Daily Star editor and publisher Mahfuz Anam that was sent out after negotiations with the military to secure Tasneem’s release (click image for larger version):

Update 5/11/2007 7:14pm): Amnesty International and Committee to Protect Journalists have sent out alerts for Tasneem Khalil. The BBC has also reported on his case.

Update (5/11/2007 11:02am): The military has apparently promised to release Tasneem by 11:30am EST (9:30pm Bangladesh time).  I’ll update as soon as I hear anything. Nothing is certain until he is released - the situation is quite fluid. Follow Drishtipat for up-to-the-minute information.

Tasneem Khalil, an editor at the Bangladesh’s leading English language daily, The Daily Star, has been taken away from his home by the military in Bangladesh. He was taken away just a few hours ago in the middle of the night. His whereabouts are currently unknown and his life is most certainly in danger.

Apparently Mr. Khalil’s crime is that he did his job. He spoke truthfully about the current situation in Bangladesh. He was interviewed by Nora Boustany of the Washington Post last month - that interview may have cost him his freedom and now possibly his life.

I have been speaking out over the last month about the military takedown of the democratic system in Bangladesh. One by one the fundamental rights of Bangladeshis have been taken away. But, Bangladeshis have recently started to fight back against the military. The press, the people and the courts have begun speaking out. The military now aims to silence them. Their thuggery is now plain to see.

Do not let Tasneem Khalil be "disappeared" into darkness. He is one of the brightest lights in Bangladeshi journalism and today, this minute, his life is in danger. Other reporters in Bangladesh are currently living in fear.

I urge anyone reading this post to come to the rescue of a man who has in times of need spoken out for freedom. Only sustained pressure and international news coverage will stay the brutal hand of the Bangladesh military.

UPDATE (5/10/2007 7:13 pm):

Human Rights Watch has just released the following statement demanding immediate release of Tasneem Khalil:

Bangladesh: Release Journalist and Rights Activist

Army Arrests Tasneem Khalil of Human Rights Watch

(London, May 11, 2007) – Bangladesh’s military-backed care-taker government should immediately release Tasneem Khalil, an investigative journalist and part-time Human Rights Watch consultant, who was detained by security forces late last night, Human Rights Watch said today.

Khalil, 26, is a journalist for the Dhaka-based Daily Star newspaper who conducts research for Human Rights Watch. According to his wife, four men in plainclothes who identified themselves as from the “joint task force”came to the door after midnight on May 11 in Dhaka, demanding to take Khalil away. They said they were placing Khalil “under arrest” and taking him to the Sangsad Bhavan army camp, outside the parliament building in Dhaka.  
 
“We are extremely concerned about Tasneem Khalil’s safety,” said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “He has been a prominent voice in Bangladesh for human rights and the rule of law, and has been threatened because of that.”  
 
The men did not offer a warrant or any charges, Khalil’s wife said. Using threatening language, they searched the house and confiscated Khalil’s passport, two computers, documents, and two mobile phones.  
 
“It is an emergency; we can arrest anyone,” one of the men said. Another asked if Khalil suffered from any particular physical ailments. They drove Khalil off in a Pajero jeep.  
 
Khalil is a noted investigative journalist who has published several controversial exposes of official corruption and abuse, particularly by security forces. He assisted Human Rights Watch in research for a 2006 report about torture and extrajudicial killings by Bangladesh security forces.  
 
According to Bangladeshi human rights groups, the army has detained tens of thousands of people since a state of emergency was declared on January 11, 2007. A number of those detained are picked up in the middle of the night, as Khalil was, and then tortured.  
 
In Bangladesh, security forces have long been implicated in torture and extrajudicial killings. The killings have been attributed to members of the army, the police, and the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), an elite anti-crime and anti-terrorism force. The Human Rights Watch report Khalil worked on, “Judge, Jury, and Executioner: Torture and Extrajudicial Killings by Bangladesh’s Elite Security Force,” focused on abuses by the RAB.  
 
Killings in custody remain a persistent problem in Bangladesh. To date, no military personnel are known to have been held criminally responsible for any of the deaths.  
 
Khalil was called in for questioning by military intelligence last week, apparently as part of the military’s campaign to intimidate independent journalists ahead of May 10, 2007, when the army’s three-month legal mandate for ruling under a state of emergency came to an end.  
 
“The Bangladeshi military should be on notice that its actions are being closely watched by the outside world,” Adams said. “Any harm to Tasneem Khalil will seriously undermine the army’s claims to legitimacy and upholding the rule of law.”

 Update 2 (5/10/2007 11:18pm):

CNN Wire is currently carrying the following story of Tasneem Khalil’s arrest:

Bangladeshi journalist arrested

(CNN) — A Bangladeshi journalist was arrested and taken from his home Friday and is believed to be held by the army for unknown reasons, according to his wife.

Tasneem Khalil, who also works part-time for Human Rights Watch and as a stringer for several news organizations, including CNN, writes for the Dhaka-based Daily Star.

Khalil’s wife telephoned CNN to say that men from an army intelligence unit arrested him early Friday.

In a statement, Khalil’s wife said he was arrested by four men in plainclothes who said they were from "the joint task force." They refused to tell Khalil on what charges he was being arrested and cautioned him to be quiet "if you don’t want anything else to happen," she said.

She said the men searched the house, taking Khalil’s passport and cell phones, two desktop computers and "all the documents, notepads, piles of paper, CDs and everything. They took it all away."

The men allegedly took Khalil to the Sangsad Bhavan army camp, outside the parliament building in Dhaka. (Posted 7:33 p.m.)

Update (5/11/2007 1:50am):

According to CNN, CNN and Human Rights Watch are in contact with the Bangladeshi government trying to get information about Tasneem:

The Bangladeshi army has detained thousands of people since declaring a state of emergency on January 11, Human Rights Watch said. Many of them have been tortured, the group said.

"We are extremely concerned about Tasneem Khalil’s safety," said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch. "He has been a prominent voice in Bangladesh for human rights and the rule of law and has been threatened because of that."

Late last year, Khalil worked on an HRW report about the elite Bangladeshi security forces and its alleged participation in torture and extrajudicial killings, said HRW press director Emma Daly.

CNN and HRW have been in contact with Bangladesh’s Special Envoy to the United States, Farook Sobhan, and other officials in attempts to find information about Khalil. Sobhan told CNN it was the first he’d heard about Khalil’s arrest and promised to make inquiries.

Update (5/11/2007 7:30am):

Tasneem is alive. He has been allowed to speak briefly on the telephone with his wife. The Associate Press is now covering his story. Scroll down for previous updates.

[Via Drishtipat]

The military government in Bangladesh has given up trying to exile two former prime ministers due to pressure from within the country and from the international community.

There is breaking news from bdnews24.com and the Daily Star from Bangladesh:

Dhaka, April 25 (bdnews24.com) – The military-backed government Wednesday lifted the ban on Sheikh Hasina’s homecoming and said there were no restrictions on Khaleda Zia’s movement.

In a statement, the home ministry said the ban on Hasina’s return was temporary and the authorities have decided to lift it because of "views from the media and other quarters".

In another statement, the ministry said the government had never put pressure on Khaleda to leave the country.

This comes on the heels of the Bangladeshi press and courts showing some backbone and on the heels of this exchange at the State Department Press Briefing yesterday:

QUESTION: Sean, two questions on Bangladesh, please. The (inaudible) in Bangladesh has cancelled elections and also is trying to establish dictatorship just similar to in Pakistan by General Musharraf. And a Vice Prime Minister is under house arrest in Bangladesh, second one fled to London and she has not been allowed and she has been told you cannot return to Bangladesh. What’s the Secretary feel now as their human rights and dictatorships and also democracy that we’re talking about around the globe?

MR. MCCORMACK: Well, the situation in Bangladesh is one that we’re watching quite closely. There is a caretaker government in place and we have urged that caretaker government to move as expeditiously as possible to elections so the Bangladeshis can exercise their right to vote and choose who is going to lead them in the future and hopefully be able to put these past incidents behind them. It is a case where if not handled properly and if the caretaker government doesn’t take the right decisions, then this — there is a real possibility that this can threaten Bangladeshi democracy and nobody wants to see that.

QUESTION: (Inaudible.)

QUESTION: I’m sorry.

MR. MCCORMACK: No, that’s it.

QUESTION: Anybody from the U.S. Government in touch with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in London?

MR. MCCORMACK: I know our embassy has been in close contact with them and several months ago, Nick Burns talked to them.

The Daily Press Briefing is currently featured in the State Department web site under the title "Daily Press Briefing: Bangladeshi Democracy at Risk?"

How do you spell P-R-E-S-S-U-R-E"?

There is reason for optimism today for Bangladesh and the future of democracy there.

Update (4/25/2007 5:30 pm):

• BBC News and the International Herald Tribune report on the military government’s U-turn.
• Sheikh Hasina was just interviewed [interview starts at 19:50 minutes into the audio] by the BBC World Service Newshour radio program. In the interview Hasina sounds exhausted but thanks the Bangladeshi and foreign press, Bangladeshis at home and abroad, foreign leaders for putting pressure on the military government. IBN live has more.
• The Daily Star has more on the pressure put upon the military government.
• The Daily Star also has the following editorial (a bold act from a newspaper that only last week was all but cowed):

The ban on Sheikh Hasina’s entry into the country and the apparent fetters on Khaleda Zia’s movements have been withdrawn.

We welcome this change in the direction of the government’s policy; for it is the fundamental right of the two leaders to live in their own country. Exile holds no answer to the political problems facing us. On the contrary, it can exacerbate them.

We have been observing with concern over the last several days government being enmeshed in a nontransparent, shortsighted, confusing, and boomerang of a policy exercise pertaining to consigning of the two political leaders — Sheikh Hasina and Begum Khaleda Zia — to exile. A chronology of events will prove our point.

Closely on the heels of two advisers to the government denying that any force was being applied on the two ladies to leave the country when Sheikh Hasina set off from the USA to return to Bangladesh earlier than scheduled to face extortion and murder charges levelled against her she was requested by an adviser to stay back for a few more days. Then a press note was issued by the government debarring her entry into Bangladesh and instructing the airlines not to carry her home. She was in effect not given a boarding pass to travel to Dhaka by British Airways. Then in a tell-tale sequence a warrant of arrest was issued by the metropolitan magistrate a few hours before the BA flight from London. Once it came to be known she was not flying home the warrant was withdrawn for six months to carry out further investigation. It was injudicious and farcical, making a mockery of the legal system.

As for Begum Khaleda Zia the government faced a ruling by the High Court in a Habeas Corpus writ to produce her in court by April 27 to prove that she is not confined to her home.

Bangladesh’s image abroad took a drubbing in the way the two ladies have been handled. Credibility of the government has also taken a tumble on the issue.

With the change of policy a great amount of uncertainty would have ended. We think now the government should move full speed ahead about preparation for election. We think the only durable solution to our problems can come through transfer of power to an elected government, but one that comes through a genuinely free and fair election. Let us now concentrate fully on that.

The military in Bangladesh has suffered a setback in its systematic plan to dismantle democracy in what was the world’s 5th most populous democracy. There have been a number of fast breaking developments in the last 48 hours. Early yesterday the military was poised to forcibly send one former prime minister, Khaleda Zia, into exile while preventing another former prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, from returning to Bangladesh. Over the weekend the military had also secured an arrest warrant against Sheikh Hasina on "murder charges". Simultaneously the military accused Hasina of being a "fugitive" while banning her from returning to the country.

But the military may have overreached. The drama over the weekend unfolded on three continents.

The first crack in the military’s plan occurred when the Bangladesh High Court responded to a Habeas Corpus petition filed on behalf of Khaleda Zia protesting the military government’s action restricting her to her house without charge. The High Court has ordered the military government to explain in writing within five days why the court should not order the government to produce Khaleda Zia in court to prove that she is not under house arrest. This apparent challenge to the military rulers by the Bangladeshi judiciary effectively postponed Zia’s forcible removal from Bangladesh. To make matters worse for the military, while a chartered plane hired to fly Zia out of the country and into exile in Saudi Arabia waited on the tarmac at the international airport in Dhaka, the Saudi Arabian government refused to grant Khaleda Zia a visa unless she was brought to the Saudi embassy in Dhaka and affirmed that she was leaving Bangladesh on her own free will. Sensing the shifting winds, Khaleda Zia is now refusing to leave Bangladesh and be exiled.

Meanwhile in London, Sheikh Hasina was denied passage on a British Airways flight back to Bangladesh on orders of the Bangladesh military. The drama at Heathrow finally resulted in widespread press coverage in the western media and around the world. Following the lead of the Bangladesh High Court, a lower court in Bangladesh suspended the warrant against Hasina citing lack of evidence and an incomplete investigation.

In London the British Foreign Secretary, Margaret Beckett, raised the issue of the banning of Sheikh Hasina with the Bangladesh military government’s foreign affairs advisor. US Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns was reportedly a little more blunt with the Bangladesh Ambassador to the United States. He said, "The interim government in Bangladesh has become occupied with unnecessary issues although its prime business is holding a free and fair election…It is unacceptable to the international community."

Suddenly, with mounting international and domestic pressure, the military finds itself back on its heels. Today the Bangladesh Election Commission, now led in part by a retired military officer, unexpectedly struck a conciliatory tone. Speaking for the Commission, Brig Gen (retd) M Sakhawat  declared that the ban on politics may be lifted on May 8th.

Two government advisors, who earlier had been quite vocal about their zest for "fixing" Bangladesh with army muscle, have suddenly gone silent:

Two influential advisers of the interim government, Barrister Mainul Hosein and MA Matin, yesterday did not speak to the media about politics, unlike they usually do.

They declined to say anything about the prevailing political situation despite repeated requests from the journalists. Earlier on a number of occasions the two had talked about different political issues including reforms of the parties and the role of the past governments.

Reporters waited for Communications Adviser MA Matin for several hours on the corridor to the shipping ministry conference room yesterday. But when they got hold of him, he refused to talk about the fate of Awami League (AL) President Sheikh Hasina and BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia or about the other political developments.

He, however, briefed them about a meeting on various development projects in the shipping sector.

Meanwhile, Law Adviser Mainul Hosein met a scrum of newspaper and TV reporters as he came out of a meeting at the information ministry.

"We are a non-political caretaker government and so I should say nothing about politics," he said when the newsmen wanted to know the latest about the probability of Khaleda going into exile and the arrest warrant against Hasina.

"I don’t know," he replied curtly when asked if the government had requested the British Airways not to carry Hasina home.

As to whether Khaleda Zia would be produced before the court, the law adviser said, "The court will decide on the matter."

"The political situation is difficult and I do not have answers of all the questions," he observed when a journalist wanted to know how come the government seeks Interpol’s help to get back crime suspects or convicts from abroad while on the other hand, bars another accused from returning to the country.

The two men, who had only recently spoke with such disdain about the politicians, are now more concerned with their own uncertain futures.

Fourteen leading intellectuals of Bangladesh have signed a statement calling the military’s purge of the political parties and the plan to exile the two main political leaders "shortsighted and injudicious". The press in Bangladesh, which had been under threat of banning from the military, have suddenly found their voice again. They are now openly defying the military’s orders to not report on Sheikh Hasina’s views. They are also suddenly writing articles critical of the military government. The leading English newspaper of Bangladesh, The Daily Star, having relocated to new servers, is now freely reporting on the events in Bangladesh.

Overnight the supposed "popularity" of the military regime seems to have collapsed.

Still these are dangerous times. As the Economist pointed out last week, the military has no exit strategy in Bangladesh. If the military does go back to the barracks, the general who had taken the reigns of power, General Moeen U Ahmed, is likely to lose his job and perhaps his freedom. The fear of prosecution might force the generals in charge to shed the thin veneer of "civilian rule" and impose full-bore martial law on Bangladesh. There is no easy way back to civilian rule if the current army rulers were to lose control. The situation is ripe for another coup in Bangladesh.

Bangladesh is now at a crossroads. The courts, the press, and leading voices in Bangladesh have begun to challenge the military. They will need international support and protection to avoid a possible crushing blow from the military. There are still one hundred and fifty thousand people behind bars and held without charge or bail. Human rights abuses are common. Torture and mysterious death in army custody is still the norm. The move to exile the political leaders may have finally exposed the army to international scrutiny; however, that has not yet translated into what should be the goal of all defenders of freedom and democracy - that is, the right of the people to live in freedom and without fear of persecution. That goal remains still elusive. The army is still not back to the barracks.

The democratic spirit in Bangladesh is strong. May it survive this assault upon it.

Late Updates:

BDNews24 reports that a petition has been filed with the High Court challenging the ban on Sheikh Hasina:

A writ petition was filed with the High Court (HC) Tuesday challenging the validity of the government press note that barred former prime minister Sheikh Hasina from returning home. The petition asked the government to remove hurdles from her return path. The petition moved by Hasina’s lawyers said stopping her from returning to her country was unconstitutional. The hearing was set for Sunday. Justice Abu Nayeem Md Mominur Rahman and Justice Zubayer Rahman Chowdhury notified Hasina’s lawyers that the hearing of the petition will be held Sunday.

International Herald Tribune reports that Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Qatar have refused to accept Khaleda Zia into forced exile:

Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Qatar have refused to allow Bangladesh’s former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia into their countries, complicating a plan by Bangladesh’s government to exile her, news reports said Tuesday.

The New Age and the News Today newspapers reported that the Saudi embassy in Dhaka has refused to grant her a visa because the embassy was not convinced that Zia was leaving the country of her own volition.

The embassy did not accept Zia’s signature in the visa application form, saying it does not prove that she wants to go to the kingdom, the News Today said.

Saudi embassy and Bangladeshi officials could not be immediately reached for comment.

The government also tried to convince Kuwait and Qatar to take Zia but those attempts also have failed, the News Today report said.

An op-ed in The Guardian comments on the military regime:

Bangladesh is rapidly moving from being the world’s fifth largest democratic state, to the world’s largest state of total uncertainty. Since January 11, when the military stepped in to avert certain chaos and cancelled January’s scheduled but highly contentious general election, imposing a caretaker government under a state of emergency, the caretaker government, whilst initially very popular here, is beginning to look less military-backed and more military-run.

…

But in spite of the highly extra-constitutional nature of the caretaker government, the 150,000 people estimated to have been detained, the 60 or so people who have died in military custody, the suspension of fundamental rights, the abandonment of due process and the gagging of the media from making any serious criticism, it is the erasure of all signs of democracy that is beginning to cause alarm amongst Bangladesh’s civil society.

The honeymoon is over. To suspend the political process and attempt to lock out or away political leaders without currently offering any alternative is dangerous. Elections are hoped for by the end of 2008 but there is no set timeline and Lieutenant General Moeen Ahmed, who led the coup and is being seen as de facto leader of the country, has stated that he doesn’t want Bangladesh to revert to an elective democracy that might lead to the same problems as before. Increasingly it is feared that any election will be designed to achieve a pre-set goals.

…

Yet, currently the electoral commission isn’t even allowed to communicate with parties; they have operationally ceased to exist. The longer true politics is banned and the democratic past is denied, the greater the opportunity for Islamic extremists, who are already prospering in rural areas, to take advantage of the vacuum. This is the worst-case scenario for western governments who currently have maintained "satisfaction" with the caretaker regime.

With all politics banned until it will suit the style desired by the military, one wonders when Bangladesh’s civil society might have the courage to publicly speak out of turn. This year marks the 30th anniversary of Charter 77, and although the situation in Dhaka today is radically different to Prague in the 70s, the actions of the Chartists, which they maintained was not organised political opposition and therefore legitimate, offers an interesting precedent.

Something must be done to arrest the attempted "normalisation" of a highly abnormal environment. The Chartists were able to ostensibly highlight their government’s denial of the Helsinki Accords, but this caretaker regime hasn’t committed to anything other than elections when they feel the time is right. Nearly 150 million people have no power, no means, let alone right of protest, and currently no political alternative to go back to, no matter how much maligned. If Bangladesh, a country that’s history is characterised by fighting for freedom, slips back under military dictatorship yet again, then it will be more than its own people made to feel morally bankrupt.

[Cross posted from the Daily Kos. I sent the following letter to Senator Kennedy last night. I sent similar letters to Senators John Warner and Jim Webb, and Congressman Frank Wolf of Virginia.]

Dear Senator Kennedy,

A few months ago I wrote a diary on the Daily Kos thanking you for coming to the aid of the Bangladeshi people in our time of need more than three decades ago. I ask you today to lend the people of Bangladesh your voice once again. Though the danger last time was greater, the threat remains the same. Once again the people of Bangladesh find themselves at the mercy of the military. In 1971 the struggle was to create a secular democracy in a Muslim majority country where Bengalis, regardless of their religion, could live without fear of persecution. Having created that democracy, the struggle today is to defend that democracy, with all its flaws, against the grip of unaccountable military leaders.

Bangladesh has been under a state of emergency since January 11, 2007. Since then the military has taken control under the guise of a civilian technocratic “interim government”. Fundamental rights have been suspended, 150,000 people have been put behind bars without charge or bail, freedom of expression and press has ended, political activity has been banned, and criticism of the military government has been declared illegal. The military man in charge, General Moeen U Ahmed, has declared that Bangladesh does not need “elective democracy” – instead he suggests a new form of “democracy” based in part on Islam. The military is systematically dismantling remnants of democracy under the guise of an “anti-corruption” drive. Just over this weekend, the military has tried to forcibly send one former prime minister, and leader of one main political party, into exile while preventing another former prime minister, and leader of the other main political party, from reentering the country from England.

According to news reports, the United States Ambassador to Bangladesh, Patricia Butenis, has offered encouragement to the new military government to carry on their political purge. There has been no protest from the State Department over the dismantling of the world’s 5th largest democracy and one of the few, if not the only, examples of democracy in the Islamic world.

Bangladesh was founded on secular principles and Bangladeshis have always resisted religion based politics. However, as the New York Times pointed out in its editorial last weekend, military governments in the Islamic world tend to give power to Islamists. This has been the case in Pakistan. It was also the case in Bangladesh the last time the military wrestled power in the coup of 1975 – then the country was briefly declared to be the “Islamic Republic of Bangladesh”. That time it took the people of Bangladesh 16 years to send the military back to the barracks.

Bangladesh has not been a perfect democracy. The last government was accused of rampant corruption. Nonetheless, Bangladesh has proven that it is capable of holding its democratically elected leaders to account at the ballot box and in the courts of law. This time should have been no different. The military, however, saw their opportunity to move in to “fix” the problems of Bangladesh. In doing so, they have further corrupted the system and have set Bangladesh back once again.

Yet, it is not too late to send the military back to the barracks. The United States wields enormous influence in Bangladesh, both political and economic. I urge the United States Congress to stand with the people of Bangladesh in defending the democratic experiment there. A democratic Bangladesh surely is in the national security interest of the United States. I humbly request your help to give voice to Bangladesh’s democratic traditions because the people of Bangladesh are currently unable to voice their concern.

There are many other crises in the world. I understand that the crisis in Bangladesh is one amongst many, and certainly not the most pressing to the United States. I hope you will find the time to read this appeal for help. I was extremely humbled when you not only read, but replied to, my previous diary on Daily Kos. I hold out the hope that you will get a chance to also read this appeal. I am also forwarding a copy of this appeal directly to your office via email.

Sincerely,

Mash

Resources:
The New York Times Editorial from last weekend
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/15/opinion/15sun2.html?ex=1177387200&en=ec71cc288bf4a63f&ei=5070

The Economist article on the political purge in Bangladesh
http://www.economist.com/agenda/displaystory.cfm?story_id=9027087

My post on the military takeover
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2007/4/15/16911/5514

The BBC news report on the barring of the former prime minister
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6581651.stm

My previous Daily Kos diary on Senator Kennedy
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2007/1/10/01830/5686