[29SEP] Bangladesh Update - Excerpts: Love thy neighbour… Don't love thy neighbour; As for Bangladesh, in whose birth India played midwife, it finds it easier to deal with Pakistan, a country that Bangladesh itself blames for the deaths of three million Bangladeshi freedom fighters in 1971. Thirty-five years later, India has been unable to function with the Awami League, and the ruling Bangladesh National Party (BNP). The BNP beats India with every stick it can find. Thanks to India's hard bargaining over simple border demarcation and water sharing treaties, this is good politics in Bangladesh. India alienated large sections of Bangla opinion by its handling of as sensitive an issue as the sharing of water. The Farakka Barrage, on the Ganga, completed in 1974, gave India control of much of the water flowing into Bangladesh. During the years the water-sharing treaty was being negotiated, Bangladesh had little choice but to accept the water released to it, which it considered too little during the dry season and too much during the monsoons. While this was a shared problem, India's arbitrariness created enormous ill will among the 40 million farmers in Bangladesh whose livelihood depended on water flows. The water-sharing treaty was signed in 1996, but the bitterness is still being tapped by the BNP......MORE
- Excerpts: See you, ladies; It is not the armed forces only that have been supportive of the government's decision. The civil society and large number of opinion-makers seemed happy with what the government is doing. Most of them believe that both Zia and Hasina are to be equally blamed for the ills in the Bangladeshi society today. Both have been responsible for weakening democratic institutions and perpetuating cronyism during their respective tenures in power in Dhaka. Though India and other international players are demanding an early return to democracy, no time-frame has been sought for holding elections in Bangladesh. The general belief is that the caretaker government will not quit in a hurry as long as both Zia and Hasina are waiting to come back to the political centre-stage......MORE
- Excerpts: Democracy is not an event, it is a process; Our experience in re-instilling confidence in the government has a wider relevance to the international community. The problems that we are facing today are not unique to Bangladesh. After all, in the developing world democracy does not necessarily ensure good governance. Many countries face similar problems of political violence, mis-governance and corruption. This is particularly true for post-conflict and transition societies, where the politics of mistrust is pervasive. We feel that a greater understanding of our challenges, and more importantly, of our efforts to re-build political and social institutions can serve as benchmarks for others facing similar situations. For example, Bangladesh represents an effective model of civil-military cooperation in crisis prevention. Our experience in crisis management could be relevant for many crisis-torn, nascent democracies.......MORE
- Excerpts: Crisis in Bangladesh, situation report; The BNP's five-year tenure expired on October 27, and the chief adviser to the non-party caretaker administration was supposed to take over on the next day. But the process was delayed by the political stand-off which sparked off uncontrolled violence. In the meantime, Justice Hasan, who was ready to take over on that day, showed his hesitation for the first time in the evening of October 29. After the refusal of Justice Hasan to take over, President Iajuddin Ahmed invited secretaries of the BNP and AL, Abdul Mannan Bhuiyan and Abdul Jalil, to the Bangabhaban for talks. Political rivals fought running battles in several city points shutting Dhaka from the outside world on October 29. The highways remained deserted as no inter-district vehicles entered or left the city. People spent a day in fear and panic with most dwellers remaining indoors and shopkeepers keeping their shutters down. Eeriness and anxiety reigned all day long. The activists of the joint Opposition led by the Awami League took to the streets, started fires in markets, set vehicles ablaze and clashed with the BNP and Jamaat activists as well as with the law. The Awami League activists came out on the road in small processions in the early morning, occupied the entire Gulistan and areas of Bangabandhu Avenue and pelted stones, started fire with tyres, looted shop furniture and exploded bombs to create panic......MORE
- Excerpts: Mashhud on Economist censor; Expressing solidarity with the spirit of the right to information law, Mashhud said, "Many have spoken about the military budget of Bangladesh. I was personally involved with the matter. Ethically, the information regarding the budget should be disclosed. Nothing would be found if the budget was laid open to the public as 90 percent of the budget is spent on salary and allowances." Transparency International, Bangladesh co-organized the seminar with five other non-governmental organizations, including Ain O Shalish Kendro at the LGED Auditorium. Former caretaker government adviser Sultana Kamal, speaking as special guest at the seminar, said, "The notion that information may hamper state security is not acceptable. The security of state means the security of people. When the security of the state runs counter to people's security, there is an ulterior motive."......MORE
- Excerpts: Small states and how they worry about security; Some of those steadfastly-held views are worth a mention because they reflect certain truisms contained in the concept of security in modern times: that it "is the domain of both the civil and military men", that "it is achieved through a well-articulated policy determined at the highest level of government", that it "is a very broad term encompassing political, economic, social, military and environmental aspects", and that the "spectrum covering both human and traditional security has to be strengthened in order for Bangladesh to survive as a self-respecting nation". There are others, some open to question, like his contention that "South Asia may witness more nuclear-related parleys, explosions and threat to unclear (sic, should be nuclear) war", or that Bangladesh is a geopivotal state, or vague and/or ambiguous, like his advocacy of the acceleration of economic reforms through trade liberalisation, however keeping in mind 'the India factor', and some may appear baffling, rushed, or, at times, self-contradictory. To take a case in point: "one may argue that standing military is a luxury for a poor nation like Bangladesh" is followed immediately by, "A standing armed force, apart from its being considered a symbol of sovereignty and national pride and dignity, also contributes in peacekeeping at the national, regional and global level." A transition sentence or two would do wonders in making clear exactly what the author is driving at......MORE
- Excerpts: 'Bangladesh civil-military relations in crisis sets an example'; Civil-military cooperation in Bangladesh is an effective model for crises management which can be emulated by other "crisis-torn nascent democracies", head of the caretaker government has said. "Bangladesh represents an effective model of civil-military cooperation in crisis prevention ," Fakhruddin Ahmed was quoted as saying at the UNGA session in New York by the state-run BSS today. "Our experience in crisis management could be relevant for many crisis-torn nascent democracies." His comments at the UN forum came a day after army chief General Moeen U Ahmed said his troops were working to help the interim government in emergency-ruled Bangladesh and they would go back to barracks the moment the government asked them to do so. "We have been tasked with some specific duties, we'll go back the moment the government asks," said Ahmed, who earlier repeatedly ruled out possibilities of army takeover or military rule.The military is currently working with police and other law enforcement agencies in combating crime, investigating corruption against high-profile graft suspects under a massive anti-graft campaign and helping the election commission in preparing the voter list.......MORE
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