Among military chiefs in the Indian subcontinent, Bangladesh Army chief Waker-Uz-Zaman must have the most unenviable job right now. While his Pakistan counterpart Asim Munir has been elevated to Field Marshal after a military confrontation with India, General Waker-Uz-Zaman risks losing his job. Or worse. His one big mistake? Saying that the national election be held by December this year so that Bangladesh can return to being an electoral democracy.
General versus Yunus
On 22 May, The Daily Star, Bangladesh’s highest-selling English newspaper, reported that Chief of Army Staff General Waker-Uz-Zaman said the national election should be held by December this year, “according to three sources with direct knowledge of his remarks made at a high-level gathering in Dhaka cantonment”.
“Bangladesh needs political stability. This is only possible through an elected government, not by unelected decision-makers,” one source quoted the army chief as saying in an Officers’ Address.
This was not the first time the General had spoken about the national election. The Daily Star report mentioned an event marking the National Martyred Army Day at Raowa Club on 25 February this year, where the General was quoted as saying—“Every time I spoke with Dr Yunus, I completely agreed with him that there should be a free, fair, and inclusive election and that the election should be held within December or close to that.”
Soon after, reports that Muhammad Yunus, caretaker to the interim government in Bangladesh, was mulling resignation came out.
“He (Yunus) said he is thinking about it (resignation). He feels that the situation is such that he cannot work,” Nahid Islam, student-led National Citizen Party chief, said on the night of 22 May, after a meeting with Yunus.
Two days later, on 24 May, it was clarified that Yunus would remain as the head of Bangladesh’s interim government by an adviser in his cabinet.
Former High Commissioner of India to Bangladesh Veena Sikri claimed that the speculation about Yunus resigning was “complete drama” to distract from the Bangladesh Army chief’s statement on elections. “He had no intention of resigning at all, and in fact, he never said himself that he would resign,” the former High Commissioner said in an interview.
But this “complete drama” generated hate towards Yunus’s perceived detractors, the main target being General Waker-Uz-Zaman. Students, radicals, and some of Bangladesh’s most popular and influential YouTubers openly attacked the army chief.
Bangladeshi journalist Sahidul Hasan Khokon told ThePrint that both the student-led, newly formed political party National Citizen Party and the Islamist political outfit Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami have been busy channelising mob rage against General Waker. “The local media is not reporting this, but the mob is ready. If need be, there will be violent street protests against the Army, like there were during the July revolution against Hasina when the mob turned against the police and killed many policemen,” Hasan said.
Hasan added that Jamaat had got a free rein ever since Yunus took over and the new student’s party will need more time to organise itself. Hence, December polls, as suggested by General Waker, would suit neither of them.
Meanwhile, some of Bangladesh’s most influential YouTubers, such as Elias Hossain and Pinaki Bhattacharya, have been busy drumming up support for Yunus and channelising hate against General Waker. In a video that has now gone viral, Hossain said that even if General Waker prays five times a day, it will be in vain as he became a kafir the day Hasina made him the Army chief.
There have been speculations about “foreign hands” that are firmly in support of Yunus during his hour of need. Foreign affairs commentator and Bangladesh specialist Ayanjit Sen told ThePrint that Yunus has support not only from within but outside the country as well. “Apart from the strong presence and regular interference of the ISI in dictating Bangladesh’s foreign and internal policy decisions, the role of China cannot be ruled out. Remember, China was the first country Yunus visited after taking oath as caretaker, and there has been a surge of Chinese business setups inside Bangladesh now,” Sen said, adding China wouldn’t want to deal with a new Bangladeshi premier since Yunus has been working in their interest.
Also read: Muhammad Yunus wants women’s rights in Bangladesh. First rein in Islamic radicals
The Hasina stain
With so many pressure groups working for Yunus and against him, these are difficult days for General Waker-Uz-Zaman. In January this year, there were reports of a pro-Islamist senior officer in the Bangladesh army, Lieutenant General Mohammad Faizur Rahman, plotting a coup. Though it hasn’t taken place yet, General Waker has had to fend off criticism ever since the fall of the Sheikh Hasina government on 5 August last year. The main reason for that is General Waker is related to Hasina.
The four-star general is a distant relative—his mother-in-law Sarhanaz, was a first cousin of Hasina’s father, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. General Waker-uz-Zaman’s father-in-law, General Mustafizur Rahman, served as the 9th Army chief of Bangladesh from December 1997 to December 2000 during Hasina’s first tenure as Prime Minister.
His family ties with Hasina have made General Waker a target of hate campaigns. Bangladeshi political columnist SM Faiyaz Hossain told ThePrint that when the Army chief starts sounding more democratic than a Nobel Peace Prize winner, you know Bangladesh’s political theatre has become a stage for satire. “The country will do well to hear what General Waker has to say. But who is listening!” he said.
Deep Halder is an author and a contributing editor at ThePrint. He tweets @deepscribble. Views are personal.
(Edited by Theres Sudeep)