[30SEP] Bangladesh Update HEADLINES
- Excerpts: Fakhruddin's pledge remains under the scrutiny of the world ; Another claim that the chief adviser has made to the world, that his government has ensured the independence of the judiciary, is also misleading. True that his government has taken some final measures to this effect, but the Emergency Powers Rule has snatched away the right of the judges to grant bail in cases that were bailable under the general laws, etc. This is not the way to ensure independence of the judiciary. We would also like to point out that Fakhruddin's claim that his government is a successful example of civil-military cooperation in crisis prevention is problematic. While good civil-military relations are indeed desirable, the phrase implies a genuine relationship where the military remains under the command of and is subservient to the elected government of the day. Such is not the case in our country at present, as it reels under an unelected government which was brought about and is sustained by the military. In fact, we are apprehensive, and have warned of this in the past, that the current interim regime is increasingly at risk of pitting the military and the people against each other – a proposition which is entirely undesirable for a nation state to function effectively. In this regard, we only hope that other nations striving for democratic growth of their states would not try to `replicate' our model. However, we are happy that the chief adviser has made the whole world know that he is pledge-bound to restore democratic process in Bangladesh. We just remind him that all eyes, nationally and internationally, will be on his efforts to turn the pledge into reality.....MORE
- Excerpts: Fakhruddin goes global: a non-leader in charge of a non-government; By presenting a truncated as well as negative narrative of democratic struggle in our country, the chief adviser has wittingly or unwittingly presented a totally distorted view about Bangladesh as a pariah state where democracy failed to work ; In his 15-minute address to the UNGA session the chief adviser did not mention anything about the legacy of democracy in the country. There was not even a word about the glorious democratic struggles of the people in the pre-independence and post-independence days or about the victory of people's struggles against the military dictatorships and quasi-military rules in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. But he made an unqualified denunciation of the post-'90 political governments: 'While Bangladesh has held three elections in the past two decades, our democracy has been brutally undermined by ruinous corruption.' He also stated, 'The fabric of our democracy had been torn apart by years of catastrophic corruption.' Thus by presenting a truncated as well as negative narrative of democratic struggle in our country, the chief adviser has wittingly or unwittingly presented a totally distorted view about Bangladesh as a pariah state where democracy failed to work. A metamorphosis that has not taken place: The problem with Fakhruddin seems to be that he has remained, essentially, what he had been all through his active life: a career bureaucrat. But he has desperately tried to metamorphose himself into a paramount leader of the eighth largest country of the world ever since he accidentally became the chief adviser on January 12.....MORE
- Excerpts: Rescuing military image in Bangladesh; Bangladeshis may seek comfort in what General Moeen recently said about the army's willingness to return to their barracks when the government asks them to do so. Will that cease Army's undue and invisible role in politics? It's very unlikely to happen in Bangladesh under the given condition. Suddenly an increasing drum beats on Army's retreat puzzle the political observers about the undercurrent of these statements. May be the recent geo-political developments are holding the untold answer. Burma is burning. The whole world is looking at the volatile situations in Burma. Bangladesh government is under increasing international scrutiny about its political reforms, election, and human rights issues. That is why, Bangladesh Army is validly redefining its role to escape international scrutiny which will be critically tested in the coming days. The hope for sustainable democracy will go away if invisible hands continue to dictate political developments in Bangladesh.....MORE
- Excerpts: Bangladesh Chief Advisor Addresses The UN General Assembly; At another event at Columbia University, Fakhruddin Ahmed also gave a speech and took a limited number of questions. An attendee described some of the Q&A session:
arrest of cartoonist Arifur Rahman (asked by Dr. Austin); imprisonment and harassment of university teachers, students and others and Bangladeshi refugees in India . In his response although Dr Fakhruddin maintained that his government is "respectful" (?) of the freedom of press, he clearly avoided the issue of cartoonist Arifur Rahman's arrest. But the question regarding imprisonment and persecution of university teachers, asked by a young South Asian student, shattered the image which Dr. Fakhruddin created of his government through his sugar-coated speech. It was interesting to notice, how Dr. Fakhruddin's face turned grumpy as the question was asked. And his answer to this particular question was old rhetoric: that it was initially a "minor" incident that was magnified later through some anti-government agents in order to destabilize the country. There was nothing minor about the protests in August. Tens of thousands of people marched and the government response was swift and brutal. It appears that Dr. Fakhruddin Ahmed came to America to sell the military regime to the world. We were looking for someone to represent the people of Bangladesh at this year's UN General Assembly; instead we got an apologist for the military government.....MORE - Excerpts:Dr. Fakhruddin's Speech at Columbia and the "Paradox" of Bangladesh; One very interesting aspect of Dr. Fakhruddin's speech was his repeated utterance "democracy is a necessary but not sufficient condition for good governance." (May be, General Moyeen has requested him to make it a point every where he goes to!) "Our democratically elected governments during the past 15 years failed to promote good governance and to protect citizens' rights. We must accept that while democracy may take various forms and manifestations, its ultimate objective is always the same—the rule of law by the will of people. Democracy must put in place checks and balances against abuses of power and corruption," said Dr. Fakhruddin during his speech. While many of us may agree with Dr. Fakhruddin's statement about the failure and corruption (moral and fiscal) of country's mainstream politicians, it's quite dubious in my opinion that not even once did he mention that about the military's repeated record of capture and abuse of power in Bangladesh by bypassing country's constitution. After all, Bangladesh's age is 35+ years, not 15 years. As for the underlined portion (Note: I did it to make my point. –J.A.) of his remarks, we only wish Mr Chief Adviser's "various forms and manifestations" of democracy would not remind us of General Ayub's "Basic Democracy."....MORE
- Excerpts: Balance of power sought to fight graft; Chief of General Staff of Bangladesh Army Major General Sinha Ibne Jamali yesterday emphasised putting an end to centralisation of power in one hand and establish balance of power to fight corruption effectively. He said the present government has broken the "myth" that bigwigs can get away with corruption. "One of the great successes of the present government is that it has established the notion among the people that nobody is above the law," Jamali said at a discussion styled "Anti-corruption Drive: Recent Learning and Future Concerns" organised by Neeti Gobeshona Kendra at the Jatiya Press Club. "Some people thought they were above the law although they committed corruption and we have broken this myth," Jamali told reporters after the discussion meeting.....MORE
Links Only: - Bangladesh High Court grants bail to ex-PM Khaleda Zia in graft case
- Extended offer whitens Tk 3,215 crore
- Corruption to be made costly, says Fakhruddin
- Bangladesh seeks overseas help to recover siphoned off money
- Dhaka sceptical of recovering funds stashed abroad
- Absence of Khaleda, Hasina won't harm democracy
- US To Provide $181 Million In Grant To Bangladesh
- Bangladesh tycoon sentenced to five years for tax evasion
- Bangladesh on US watch list
- Two Pakistani firms in media piracy get Dhaka in trouble
- Indian customs halts cement consignment
- Delwar predicts united AL-BNP movement to free Khaleda, Hasina
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