Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying

"Give me a place to stand and a lever long enough and I will move the world" - Archimedes, 220 BC

On November 10, 1987 a young Bangladeshi man named Nur Hossain was shot and killed by the forces of Bangladesh’s part-time poet and full time dictator General Hossain Mohammad Ershad. On that day Nur Hossain had joined thousands of other Bangladeshis in protesting the dictator’s rule. The protesters demanded a return to democracy. Nur Hossain stood out amongst the protesters. He had the Bengali words "Sairachar nipat jak" painted in bright white letters on his bare chest, and the words "Ganatantra mukti pak" painted on his back. "Down with autocracy" on his chest; "Let there be democracy" on his back. He died for those demands and became a martyr for the democracy movement in Bangladesh.

Today, two decades after his death, we remember and honor him.

The dictator Ershad did not fall that day. Instead he talked tough:

President H. M. Ershad, declaring he would no longer tolerate anti-Government riots, vowed today that arsonists and looters would be shot on sight.

‘’So far I have not used any of my weapons,'’ President Ershad told foreign reporters in an interview after four days of sporadic unrest in this capital and other cities. ‘’I can be tough. Everyone in this country is asking me to be really tough. We are not going to tolerate any more of this nonsense.'’

But Nur Hossain’s death had galvanized the people of Bangladesh. The long march to democracy had begun.

A little over five years before Nur Hossain was murdered, General Ershad seized power in a coup in Bangladesh and declared he would "end corruption in public life.":

The nation’s new military ruler announced today that special courts would be set up to punish all guilty of corruption, with the power to impose heavy prison terms or even the death penalty.

Lieut. Gen. Hussain Mohammed Ershad, the army chief of staff, who seized power Wednesday to ‘’end corruption in public life,'’ issued martial-law regulations that said those facing prosecution could include former presidents, former Government ministers and members of the defense and police forces.

…

The regulations announced by the general as part of his drive to root out what he called the ‘’cancer'’ of official corruption said the courts would punish those found guilty of engaging in criminal misconduct.

The general said Wednesday that strikes, political meetings and processions would be banned, and today it was announced that the ban would apply to the parade that had been scheduled for tomorrow to mark the 11th anniversary of the independence of Bangladesh, the former East Pakistan.

General Ershad launched his "anti-corruption" drive and banned political activity so that he could remove the "cancer" of public corruption. Ershad promised to restore democracy within two years. He also declared that he had the support of the United States:

The army general who Wednesday imposed martial law in Bangladesh said tonight that he hoped democracy could be restored within two years and that political activity might be permitted again in six months.

This country’s new chief martial law administrator, Lieut. Gen. H.M. Ershad, said also that the United States had changed its stand since Wednesday, when the State Department said it regretted the coup. ‘’They changed their attitude later on,'’ General Ershad said without elaborating.

At a news conference tonight for foreign reporters he again said the coup had been in response to insufferable political corruption, bickering, lawlessness and ‘’confusion in the minds of the people.'’

He said the mostly Western aid donors that have helped keep Bangladesh afloat since the famine of the mid-1970’s ‘’will understand the situation'’ and continue the aid.

The General was right about the United States.

The General survived in power a little over three years after Nur Hossain’s death. At the end of November 1990, as the pro-democracy movement flared all around him, General Ershad’s forces once again fired upon pro-democracy demonstrators. This time they killed 50 Bangladeshi citizens. To retain his grip on power, the dictator again declared a state of emergency. But to no avail. Less then one week later the dictator was forced to resign.

About three months later, in February of 1991, the people of Bangladesh went to the polls to elect their next prime minister in a free and fair democratic election. General Ershad, the man on whose orders Nur Hossain was murdered, was charged and convicted of corruption and other related crimes and sent to prison.

Now, two decades after Nur Hossain paid with his life for a democracy he envisioned, Bangladesh is once again under a General’s grip. The story is the same. The new General, Moeen U Ahmed, is also fighting "corruption". The new administration in Washington supports him. Meanwhile the democracy that Nur Hossain earned with his blood lies beneath the boot of another usurper.

Sairachar nipat jak! Ganatantra mukti pak!

[Image inspired by and post via ShadaKalo]

Bangladesh’s military ruler, General Moeen U Ahmed, has dropped out of sight since returning to Bangladesh on October 28th. However, today the Harvard Crimson once again reported on him. This time the Crimson wrote about Senator Kennedy’s letter to the Bangladeshi military government protesting the detention of leading academics:

Sen. Edward M. Kennedy ’54-’56 protested the arrests of 12 Bangladeshi academics in a letter to the nation’s government last Friday, just days after the chief of Bangladesh’s military spoke at Harvard and drew criticism for his regime’s crackdown on academic freedom.

Gen. Moeen U Ahmed, who participated in a Kennedy School of Government executive education course in 2002, has sent troops to quell protests and arrest professors at Rajshahi University and at the country’s flagship institution, the University of Dhaka. A military-backed provisional government has led Bangladesh since January 2007.

“I’m writing to express my deep concern about twelve prominent intellectuals from Dhaka and Rajshahi University who have been detained without charges,” Kennedy wrote in the letter, which was addressed to Bangladesh’s ambassador to the United States.

“I’m especially troubled by accusations that they have been tortured,” Kennedy added. “Holding these twelve men without charge for political reasons is a major assault on the integrity and independence of the academic community of your nation and calls into question your government’s commitment to human rights and the law.”

Moeen spoke at the Kennedy School—an institution named after the senator’s older brother—in a two-day session last week.

[Click to read the rest of the article]

It is safe to say that General Moeen’s recent trip to Harvard did not result in positive propaganda value for the military government. Instead it has focused attention at Harvard and in the United States Senate on the human rights abuses of the military government.

Today the Harvard Crimson, the student daily newspaper of Harvard University, published an article on General Moeen U Ahmed’s visit to Harvard last week:

The chief of the Bangladeshi military, who took part in a two-day session at the Kennedy School of Government last week, has come under fire from scholars who claim that his armed forces have been responsible for a crackdown on academic freedom at the nation’s universities.

Gen. Moeen U Ahmed, who also participated in a Kennedy School executive education course in 2002, is being criticized for crackdowns at Bangladesh’s Rajshahi University and its flagship institution, the University of Dhaka.

The crackdowns have included the arrests of at least four academics at Dhaka and eight at Rajshahi, with allegations that they have been tortured, according to The Daily Star, the largest English-language newspaper in Bangladesh.

Emran Qureshi, a fellow at the Law School’s Labor and Worklife Program, criticized the Kennedy School for closing Moeen’s visit to the public and the press.

“He should be allowed to speak, but it should have been public so that critics of their policy could have aired their thoughts,” Qureshi said in a phone interview yesterday. “It is incredibly ironic that at the very moment he speaks at Harvard University, he is presiding over an unprecedented crackdown on Bangladeshi academic institutions. It boggles the mind.”

[Click to read the rest of the article]

While the Harvard Crimson discusses General Moeen today, I and others are wondering where in the world is General Moeen, especially in light of yesterday’s dramatic events in Bangladesh.

[Cross posted at E-Bangladesh]

This morning I received an email from Dr. David King. Dr. King is a lecturer in Public Policy at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government. As ShadaKalo reported in his excellent post last night, General Moeen U Ahmed attended Dr. King’s class on Election Reform on Monday. The class consisted of 9 of Dr. King’s students.

I followed up with Dr. King and had a conversation spanning several emails with him.

Dr. King confirmed that General Moeen was not invited by the Kennedy School of Government. General Moeen had instead been invited by Harvard University. That invitation was later cancelled, for reasons unknown to Dr. King. Dr. King had asked to "borrow" General Moeen to appear in his class before his invitation to Harvard was cancelled. Dr. King told me via email:

"I don’t know how the original invitation was made, but I understand that General Moeen _was_ invited to speak at a public forum at Harvard. Not the Kennedy School — but up in the "yard." General Moeen accepted, and I asked folks here if I could borrow him for my Election Reform class. Then, for reasons I don’t know and haven’t been told, the event at which General Moeen was going to appear was cancelled. Those kinds of things happen a lot around here — for various reasons — especially when talks involve bringing folks together from various countries or universities. I was worried, when the public event was cancelled, that General Moeen might not be able to visit my Election Reform class — and I’m glad he was able to make it yesterday."

According to Dr. King, General Moeen was accompanied to his class by his personal assistant "who took notes during the class and signaled to us when it was time for the General to leave." Dr. King described Monday’s class to me as follows:

"We went around the room, introducing ourselves, then began the PowerPoint presentation. General Moeen was very engaged throughout — and discussed almost every one of our recommendations. My students come from many countries, including Gambia, Chile, Brazil, Lebanon, Greece, Thailand, and the U.S. So our conversation had a highly "comparative" element to it. The students are, for the most part, "mid-career" degree students — mostly in their 30s and 40s. The group was collegial, but challenged General Moeen throughout the hour — as one would expect in a research seminar. General Moeen did come prepared with a talk, but the class tended to focus on the recommendations my students presented."

Dr. King’s class jointly presented a Power Point presentation entitled "Election Reform for a Sustainable Democracy in Bangladesh". The presentation laid out steps the military government should take to restore democracy, including:

• holding elections before October 2008
• lifting the state of emergency
• adhering to electoral rules used in previous elections
• deferring other electoral reform to a future elected government
• releasing comprehensive information on all persons arrested
• ending press censorship and repealing or amending repressive press decrees
• ensuring transparency in granting licenses to media companies
• abiding by article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

General Moeen did not make a presentation. Instead the students engaged him in discussion. Dr. King said that there was "give-and-take of a very fruitful exchange" between the students and the General. Dr. King declined to give further details of the class room conversation between the students and General Moeen, except acknowledging to me that issues of human rights and the suppression of fundamental rights were discussed.

Dr. King also informed me that he was invited to the lunch earlier this afternoon between General Moeen and Bangladeshi students at the Kennedy School of Government. I understand that the lunch meeting included Sheikh Hasina’s son Sajeeb Wazed Joy who is a student at KSG.

There have also been persistent rumors on the Internet that Dr. David King was going to consult on election reform for Bangladesh. Dr. King emphatically denied those rumors. He wrote to me:

"I’m not consulting for anyone from Bangladesh. Nobody has asked, and the first I read about it was on blogs just yesterday. News to me."

So, General Moeen finally did make it to Harvard. But he was not there at the invitation of the Kennedy School of Government., as has been widely and inaccurately reported in the Bangladeshi press. His earlier invitation to Harvard University had been cancelled. Instead, he attended Dr. David King’s Election Reform class.

UPDATE

Dr. David King sent me the following clarification after reading this post:

"The only clarification I’d make is that the issue of an "invitation" is hard to pin down. We invite people to come speak here all the time, but for all intents and purposes, there is no centralized place called "Harvard" that handles invitations. We have a patchwork quilt of institutes and centers here. I think it’s wonderful that someone at Harvard began all this by asking General Moeen to speak at a conference. Once that invitation was extended, I was eager to bring General Moeen into my seminar, of course. In that respect, he was invited into my seminar, and he was invited to present a talk at the lunch today, and he was invited to meet with several other Harvard faculty individually. I hope that the dialogue General Moeen has had at Harvard benefits the restoration of democracy in Bangladesh."

I share the hope in Dr. King’s last sentence above.

—————————————–

More coverage of General Moeen’s visit to Boston at ShadaKalo:

• General Moeen’s Mysterious Harvard Seminar with Joy
• A Quick Email Inverview with Dr. David King
• "I am very pleased to meet you"

[Cross posted at E-Bangladesh]

Since my post two days ago regarding General Moeen U Ahmed’s tenure as chairman of Trust Bank, General Moeen has responded to the concerns raised by me and others in the Bangladeshi blogosphere by giving a series of interviews to various television, radio and print journalists.

Today General Moeen’s response has been covered by every major Bangladeshi newspaper. General Moeen’s denial and the many interviews he has given surprised me. The blanket coverage in Bangladeshi papers was also surprising. I am sure Bangladeshi readers are confused since this may be the first time they are hearing about the Trust Bank issue since no papers have ever covered it. They must be wondering what General Moeen is responding to.

 

 General Moeen's BBC Bangla Interview [1:46m]: Play Now | Download

In his interviews, General Moeen denied taking out a loan of approximately 1 crore taka. Instead he said that the loan amount was much less and the Internet reports about his loan were "false" and meant to "malign" him. BDNews24 reports:

General Moeen U Ahmed Saturday brushed aside the allegations of taking Tk 1 crore in loans from a bank and said it was all designed to "malign" him.

The army chief, visiting the US, said: "It’s not true that I borrowed Tk 1 crore from Trust Bank. It’s not true either that I paid back Tk 60 lakh."

The interview was aired on BBC Radio (Bangla).

According to the allegations what BBC said was spread by the internet, Moeen borrowed about Tk 1 crore in loans from Trust Bank in 2005 and repaid more than Tk 60 lakh until the end of 2006.

"It’s totally false. I have borrowed only as much as permitted for an army officer in line with Trust Bank rules. I didn’t borrow even one taka more than permitted."

Moeen said he borrowed only Tk 35 lakh, which includes Tk 25 lakh in house loans.

"It’s all documented. Anyone can see that. Anybody can contact me. I am paying back the loans with the money I get from house rents," he told BBC by phone.

"It (allegation) was all designed to malign me."

The New Nation quotes General Moeen as follows:

General Moeen said, "I have the documents whatever I have said. Anyone can see these documents at any time. So, I took a loan of Tk 99 lakh and repaid Tk 66 lakh in the following year is absolutely a blatant lie.

"It is a propaganda against me which is being carried out intentionally. This propaganda is being carried out against me with an ulterior motive to destroy my image and undermine me before the members of the public. And, this propaganda has been carried out when I have come to the United Nations, and when the expatriates living in the United Kingdom and the United States have been extending warm welcome to me. Perhaps, someone could not tolerate this affection and love of expatriate Bangladeshis toward me and has resorted to making false, fabricated and baseless propaganda against me. But, I have nothing to say against such propaganda and spreading of lies. However, if somebody wants to know about the income and expenditure statement of mine or Trust Bank loan I will welcome him," he said.

The Army Chief said he had always been trying to remain transparent to his conscience. "So, I don’t want to make any comment on such propaganda through Internet. There is no problem if anyone wants to know about my account officially or privately," he said.

However, the prospectus filed on May 17, 2007 by Trust Bank to the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission clearly notes that General Moeen had an outstanding loan amount of Tk. 9,969,215 at the end of 2005 and an outstanding loan amount of Tk. 3,315,323 at the end of 2006. The following chart appears on page 20 of the prospectus [click image to enlarge]:

According to Trust Bank’s prospectus, the loan amounts to General Moeen specified on page 20 are "per audited accounts for the years ended on 31 Dec 2005 and 2006."

In his various interviews General Moeen went on to describe how he has been repaying the loan. However, my earlier post did not deal with the issue of how General Moeen has been repaying his loan. My post dealt with three issues that appear to run afoul of Bangladesh Bank regulations for banks. These issues are:

• General Moeen and his brother, Iqbal U Ahmed, are both on the board of directors of Trust Bank. This appears to violate Bangladesh Bank regulations that state "not more than one member of a family will become director of a bank. For this purpose family members shall include spouse, parents, children, brothers and sisters of the director and other persons dependent on him/her."
• General Moeen points out that his brother was already the Managing Director of the Bank when General Moeen became Chairman of Trust Bank. However, in November 2006, while General Moeen was Chairman, his brother was reappointed Managing Director of Trust Bank. This appears to violate the Bangladesh Bank regulations which state that the above "restriction shall apply to appointment/reappointment of the directors".
• General Moeen had an outstanding loan amount from Trust Bank well in excess of the Tk. 500 it appears he is allowed to borrow as a member of the board of directors according to Bangladesh Bank regulations. The regulations restrict lending to directors of a bank. The regulations state: "the total amount of the loan facilities extendable to a Director or to his relatives should not exceed 50% of the paid-up value of the shares of that bank held in Director’s own name." General Moeen owns 10 shares of Trust Bank worth Tk. 1000 before the IPO, as specified on page 23 of Trust Bank’s prospectus.

It was refreshing to see General Moeen address the concerns about his tenure as Chairman of Trust Bank. However, his response has raised a discrepancy between the amount of loan he states he took out and the loan amount stated in Trust Bank’s own official filing with the Bangladesh government. General Moeen also did not address the Bangladesh Bank regulations and whether his tenure ran afoul of them. I hope that General Moeen or Trust Bank will clarify the discrepancy between what General Moeen has stated and what is in the Trust Bank prospectus, as well as the issues raised by the Bangladesh Bank regulations.

This is no small matter. Many individuals in Bangladesh have been thrown in jail by General Moeen’s government because what they stated from memory on their "wealth statements" did not match their bank records.

[Cross posted at E-Bangladesh]

The head of Bangladesh’s military government, General Moeen U Ahmed, is coming to America. He is accompanied by the Air force chief Air Marshal S M Ziaur Rahman and by the other man instrumental in the January coup, Lt. General Masududdin Chowdhury. Last week Bangladesh’s Navy chief was also visiting the United States. It seems like the entire ruling junta is coming to America.

General Moeen, for his part, will be visiting Harvard University on October 21st. I am told that the General wanted to speak at the Kennedy School of Government (KSG) but wanted to restrict questions. Harvard refused. So, instead, the General will be speaking to a class rather than in a KSG sponsored public event.

On his way to America General Moeen stopped over in London, where he also had a chat with Britain’s Chief of the General Staff. In London, he once again dismissed persistent rumors that he wants to become President of Bangladesh. He also spoke out strongly in defense of the military’s "anti-corruption" drive:

In reply to a question, the army chief said those arrested and jailed were "corrupt". Throwing a challenge, he posed a question: "Can anyone find any honest person among those arrested and jailed?"

Indeed this "anti-corruption" drive has resulted in the jailing of most of Bangladesh’s top political leaders. Some notable convictions of politicians were 13 years imprisonment for incorrectly stating one’s net worth in the so-called "wealth statements" and 5 years imprisonment for having 21 bottles of alcohol in one’s home. In addition, two former Prime ministers, and leaders of the two leading political parties, are being held without bail on corruption charges.

General Moeen’s army has gotten tough on the politicians "in the nation’s forward march." The age of honestocracy is upon Bangladesh.

So it comes as a surprise to learn that General Moeen and his brother Iqbal U Ahmed are Chairman of the board of directors and Managing Director, respectively, of the same bank in Bangladesh - The Trust Bank. Ltd. The Trust Bank recently IPOed and its stock skyrocketed on its first day of trading on the Dhaka Stock Exchange, setting a new record for volume traded in a single day. Before the IPO, the owner of Trust Bank was the Army Welfare Trust. As such, the army chief, General Moeen, was appointed the Chairman of the board of directors. However, having two members of the same family on the same board of directors apparently violates the Bangladesh Bank regulations governing the constitution of the board of directors of a bank:

1. Constitution of the Board of Directors:-

a) The board of directors of the bank-companies shall be constituted of maximum 13 (thirteen) directors. However, the directors of the banks, where the number of directors is more than this number, shall be allowed to complete their present tenure of office.

b) This restriction shall apply to appointment/reappointment of the directors against retirement or filling casual vacancy subject to section 15 Ka Ka of the Bank Companies Act, 1991. -Not more than one member of a family will become director of a bank. For this purpose family members shall include spouse, parents, children, brothers and sisters of the director and other persons dependent on him/her. [Emphasis added]

One of the responsibilities of the Chairman and the board of directors is to appoint the Managing Director of the bank. Having family members on the same board of directors can lead to conflict of interest and nepotism. In November 2006 General Moeen was the Chairman of the board of directors when his brother was reappointed Managing Director of Trust Bank.

Not only are General Moeen and his brother, Iqbal, on Trust Bank’s board of directors, they are also borrowers of large sums of money from the bank. According to a prospectus filed by Trust Bank before its IPO, General Moeen had a loan with an outstanding balance of Tk. 9,969,215 at the end of 2005. By the end of 2006, the outstanding amount had been reduced to Tk. 3,315,323. His brother, the Managing Director, had an outstanding loan balance of Tk. 1,775,242 at the end of June 2006. At the end of 2005 General Moeen’s loan amount was by far the largest loan given to any director or senior executive of Trust Bank.

Bangladesh Bank regulations restrict lending to directors of banks. The regulations state:

1. Any loan facility or guarantee or security provided to a Director of a bank or to his relatives must be sanctioned by the Board of Directors of the bank and approved in the general meeting and has to be specifically mentioned in the Balance sheet of the bank. However the total amount of the loan facilities extendable to a Director or to his relatives should not exceed 50% of the paid-up value of the shares of that bank held in Director’s own name. [Emphasis added by me.]

The ownership of Trust Bank, before the IPO, consisted of 7,000,000 shares, with 6,999,920 shares held by Army Welfare Trust. Of the remaining shares, General Moeen owned 10 shares. His brother, Iqbal, owned no shares. Each share was valued at Tk. 100. Therefore General Moeen owned Tk. 1000 worth of shares. According to Bangladesh Bank regulations he was entitled, with the approval of the board of directors, to get a loan for an amount up to Tk. 500. In other words, at the end of 2005 General Moeen had a loan Tk. 9,968,715 in excess of the amount allowed by the law.

The reason the Bangladesh Bank regulations are in place is to guard against abuse of power by directors of private banks - that is to say, to prevent corruption.

It appears, from looking at the available public information on Trust Bank and its loans to its directors, that the loan to General Moeen exceeds that which is allowable by the law. In an environment where the Bangladesh military has been jailing politicians for failing to accurately recount from memory their net worth, it is extremely important that the man in charge of the military clear up any confusion arising from his tenure as the Chairman of Trust Bank.

[Click image above to enlarge]

[Cross posted at E-Bangladesh]

During last week’s mass protests in Bangladesh a demonstrator, possibly a student, lunged toward a Bangladesh army man with his feet raised in anger. The army man was running in fear to escape the fury all around him. A photographer from the Daily Star newspaper captured the moment in a dramatic photograph that has stripped bare the iron fist of the Bangladesh military. The man flying through the air is Bangladesh’s "Tank Man". Just like "Tank Man" today his whereabouts are unknown. The Bangladesh military hunts him.

The BBC has labeled the image the "photo the Bangladesh military cannot stand." To the army the image represents humiliation. So the army struck back in revenge. Students were pulled out of apartments and beaten publicly, journalists were detained and beaten mercilessly, and five prominent university professors were detained and tortured.

Today two of the professors, Dr. M. Anwar Hossain and Dr. Harun-ur-Rashid, were brought back to court to extend their interrogation (torture) period by another four days. Under the military’s watchful eye, the judge ordered them returned to custody for further interrogation. In court the two professors protested of torture, which the judge refused to enter into the record:

The two teachers of Dhaka University, detained in the wake of last week’s violent student protests, told a court on Thursday that they were taken to an unknown place after being picked up, kept there blindfolded and tortured and urged the court not sent them back to the ‘dark room’.

…

‘We were taken to an unknown place blindfolded, where we were tortured both mentally and physically by the law enforcers,’ Professor Harun-or-Rashid, dean of social sciences of Dhaka University, told the court.

‘The torture we have suffered is beyond description,’ he said adding that he could neither sleep nor take food in the four days on remand

…

Narrating the torture they allegedly faced on remand, Professor Anwar Hossain, dean of bio-sciences, told the court, ‘We were not at fault, but we have been torture mentally and physically in a dark room—the place where I was taken once before in 1976.’

‘We have also seen others arrested in connection with the university incidents being tortured there.’

He said, ‘We appeal to you [court] not to send us back to the dark room…It will be injustice if we are forced to go there again.’

Tonight they are back in the grip of the Bangladesh army.

Outside court today, the Bangladesh army got what it wanted from the two professors. They both apologized to the army.

Dr. Hossain said:

"It’s an unwarranted incident. Today’s military is not the same as the Pakistani army in 1971. I’m sorry about the attitude shown to the army. Our army has a glorious history. They are symbols of sovereignty, security and unity. We understand it very easily that how they would feel and what their reactions would be if somebody attacks the army in uniform. We also feel dishonoured seeing the insult meted out to an army man in uniform. The attacks on the army meant attacks on the sovereignty of the country. I am deeply sorry for the attacks that made the army feel dishonoured and dented their self-respect. As the general secretary of DUTA and as a guardian of students, I apologise to all, from a respectable soldier to the army chief. There is no shame in seeking forgiveness. It brings glory. I think what I am saying will console the army in their grievances and sadness." [Emphasis added.]

Dr. Rashid added:

"The attacks on the army in uniform are really unfortunate. I seek forgiveness from all in the army—from the army chief to the soldier on behalf of students." [Emphasis added.]

Torture made the professors "apologize" and seek "forgiveness". Torture exposed the Bangladesh military strongman, General Moeen U Ahmed, as a vindictive vengeful man, afraid of the unarmed citizens of Bangladesh.

To dispel any notion that the beatings and the torture being doled out by the Bangladesh military is anything but revenge, Mainul Hosein, the Information and Law Advisor of the Bangladesh military government told the BBC:

"You have seen how they kicked a uniformed man belonging to the armed forces, how they burnt the effigy of the army chief General Moeen U Ahmed. Its Ok as long as they criticize or burn the effigy of us, the civil leadership; but with what plan do they kick a uniformed man or burn the effigy of the army chief? I believe this is a very dangerous plan.” [translation based on Rumi Ahmed]

It is all about the picture.

One hundred and fifty million people are now living under the force of arms. The Bangladesh military has created a climate of fear. It is now ruling by intimidation and by thuggery. Yet it has exposed itself to be fearful and weak. It fears the common man in sandals. It fears the boot - the same boot it uses to torture the citizens of Bangladesh. In all its might, it has managed to beat an "apology" out of two unarmed old men. That is weakness.

Remember the picture.

Overnight the new military rulers of Bangladesh took decisive steps to consolidate their hold on power. On the heels of charging the former Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina, with murder, the military declared today that she will not be allowed into the country.

In a official press note barring Hasina from returning to Bangladesh from the United States, the megalomaniacs who have taken over what was the world’s fifth largest democracy announced:

Some reliable sources have informed the government that Awami League President Sheikh Hasina, now on a personal visit to the United States, might return to the country on April 23, 2007. It should be mentioned here that in the recent past, the law and order had been disrupted while national security and the economic climate had been jeopardized in a period of anarchy brought on by non-stop and irresponsible agitation and disorderly acts of Awami League and other political parties under her leadership. Inevitably, it all led to declaration of the state of emergency.

Besides, she has made provocative and malicious statements against the present caretaker government and law enforcement agencies at different meetings and in national and international media while staying overseas.

Under the circumstances, if Sheikh Hasina returns, she might seek to make provocative remarks like she did before, and create further hatred and confusion among the people. This might deteriorate the country’s law and order, disturb the prevailing stability and threaten public safety and economy. Also to be noted, Sheikh Hasina herself is concerned about her security and has pleaded with the government through her party for special security arrangements. For the above-mentioned reasons, the government has decided to take some cautionary steps regarding her return. However, those measures are temporary.

Immigration at air and land ports, different airlines and the other authorities concerned have been informed to that end. The foreign, civil aviation and tourism ministries, civil aviation authority and the inspector general of police too have been requested to take necessary steps.

The military also ordered the press in Bangladesh not to report on any comments made by the former Prime Minister:

The government through its Press Information Department and other agencies has instructed all newspapers not to carry any comment of Sheikh Hasina. An SMS received from an army major said: "You are requested not to telecast/print any views/comments of Sheikh Hasina from today till further order." It may be mentioned that Hasina’s comment on the government’s ban on her return was aired by BBC Bangla Service which has been heard by the radio’s audiences in Bangladesh.

Earlier in the week the military arrested the son of the immediate past Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Khaleda Zia, on charges of graft. The very next day they released him after extracting a promise from Mrs. Zia that she would leave the country with her sons for exile in Saudi Arabia.

This latest thuggery comes after the arrest of over 150,000 people in an "anti-corruption" drive since last January. All those arrested are being held without bail and without due process under emergency powers the military government has granted itself.

Sheikh Hasina has vowed to return to Bangladesh in spite of the orders barring her entry. It remains to be seen if she will be successful.

The military strongman who has taken control of Bangladesh, Lt. General Moeen U Ahmed, is systematically purging the two most popular political parties in Bangladesh. Together these two parties enjoy overwhelming support in Bangladesh and have both held power after close elections during the past 16 years of democratic rule in Bangladesh.

The Economist weighed in earlier this week on the purge taking place in Bangladesh:

In the latest dramatic twist to the political crisis in Bangladesh, authorities have charged Sheikh Hasina Wajed, a former prime minister, with murder and have also severely restricted the movements of her arch-rival, Khaleda Zia. The moves come amid an intensifying campaign by the military-backed interim government to sideline the country’s two main political parties and their leaders. Although such efforts, combined as they are with a massive crackdown on corruption, seem likely to prove popular initially, the self-styled "caretaker" administration also appears to be entrenching itself to a degree that suggests it has designs on more permanent power. The probability of a return to outright military rule—rather than the stealth version arguably in effect already—is therefore increasing. Simultaneously, the chances of democracy being restored any time soon are declining.

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As with all cases in which military or military-backed governments suspend democracy for the supposed good of a country, the latest purge of the political class raises all-too-evident concerns about what happens next. There is little doubt that corruption is prevalent in Bangladesh, and that rivalry between the AL and the BNP has not served the public interest. However, the implicit argument behind the current state of emergency—namely that corruption needs to be reduced before elections can be held—is flawed in that the intractability of the problem provides the interim government with a ready-made excuse to defer the restoration of democracy indefinitely. Also, there is no guarantee that the caretaker leaders and their allies will be any less corrupt than those they have replaced.

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The prospect of a period of extended emergency rule raises all manner of concerns, however. If reports that the authorities have arrested more than 150,000 corruption suspects are accurate, then it is fair to worry whether human rights violations are not likely to occur on a large scale. Any delay in holding elections would also be unpopular with the public, which no doubt had its fill of authoritarian rule in the 1970s and 1980s. The government recently said it would try to hold elections by the end of 2008, but this timetable looks ambitious: the reforms needed to allow elections to go ahead are likely to take at least 12 months to complete, after which monsoonal weather may prevent polling taking place until the following year.

A further concern is that the current crackdown is likely, at some stage, to lead to a backlash against the interim government as some of those who have been detained—many of whom are politically influential—are released. This may take the shape simply of efforts to reverse the policies of the current administration, but there is also a strong chance that it could result in an increase in violence. Despite the interim administration’s claims that its objectives are honourable, the draconian measures it has taken in the name of improving stability could, like those of most such regimes, have just the opposite effect.

By trying to exile the leaders of the two biggest political parties in Bangladesh, General Moeen, who just today gave himself a promotion [link is in Bengali] for his fine work, has very clearly shown his hand. The stated goal of the military takeover was to cleanse the country of corruption. Now they have abandoned all such pretenses of a corruption drive in favor of open bullying of the political parties and the crushing of Bangladeshi democracy. There can now be no doubt that this is a takedown by force of one of the few shining examples of secular democracy in a Muslim majority country. The Bangladesh military, along with their Islamist allies, have orchestrated a coup d’etat with the tacit support of the United States government.

Before the military takeover, in a speech at Dhaka University on December 17 2006, the U.S. Ambassador to Bangladesh, Patricia Butenis, publicly cautioned against a military takeover:

Any extra-constitutional arrangement imposed on the people of Bangladesh, such as military intervention, would not address the basic weaknesses afflicting the current political process, would likely lead to great turmoil and disappointment, and should be stoutly resisted by all defenders of democracy.

Well, I have taken up her call to "all defenders of democracy" to "stoutly resist" this military takeover. As I respond to her call, I look back to see silence from Mr. Bush and contradiction from Ambassador Butenis. Yesterday, the Bangladeshi newspaper The Daily Star reported the following:

US Ambassador Patricia Butenis has appreciated Chief Adviser Fakhruddin Ahmed’s address to the nation, particularly for mentioning a timeframe for holding the general election, and said the US government is satisfied with the caretaker government’s performance.

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She said the US government is observing the caretaker government’s activities positively.

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Appreciating a number of pragmatic initiatives and actions, the US envoy said the caretaker government has attained a lot of achievements in a short time and is enjoying tremendous popular support.

Citing a survey carried out by the US Coast Guard, Butenis said the Chittagong seaport is now working properly as clockwise which is laudable.

Now, there is little doubt that the military government has put the press in Bangladesh on a short leash. So, it is possible that the Ambassador may have been misrepresented in the article. However, in the absence of any corrections from the U.S. Embassy in Dhaka or the State Department, its reasonable to assume that the Ambassador’s views have been fairly reported. The deafening silence from Washington as an Islamic country of 150 million people has its democracy gutted by the military, combined with words of encouragement from the Ambassador, can only help to embolden the Generals in Bangladesh.

So this is Mr. Bush’s freedom agenda. When a lone "journalist" named Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury was arrested in Bangladesh, then under civilian rule, on charges of sedition and then released on bail, free to publish to his heart’s content, the neocons persuaded the United States government to pressure the Bangladeshi government to drop all charges against the man and cancel his upcoming trial. Bangladesh was threatened with aid cut-off if it did not buckle to American pressure. The United States House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed a resolution demanding that Bangladesh drop all charges against this man. The State Department highlighted this man’s cause. All because he was being given full due process by the democratically elected government of Bangladesh.

However, when the current military dictators arrest 150,000 people and lock them up without trial, force one former Prime Minister into exile, threaten to bar another from entering the country, engage in wholesale torture and killings, suspend all fundamental rights and due process, trample on the secular democracy that was Bangladesh, the United States State Department does not comment at all, the White House ignores the collapse of democracy, the U.S. Ambassador encourages the thuggery, and the United States Congress couldn’t be bothered by the whole episode.

No wonder the laughter is deafening when the United States preaches democracy to the Muslim and Third Worlds.