Imagine for a second that an extremist far-right party from the World War II era resurrects itself in today’s Germany. As the current government fights to minimise the damage to society and the courts try to keep the party out of elections, the US steps in. The US embassy lends an ear to the extremist party and pressurises the German government to engage in talks with them so that matters can be resolved, and free and fair elections are held in the country.
Unimaginable? Well, swap Germany with Bangladesh and the World War II-era party with Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, and that is precisely what the US seems to be doing in India’s neighbourhood today.
If reports in the Bangladeshi media are to be believed, Matthew Beh, the first political secretary at the US embassy, met Jamaat leader Syed Abdullah Muhammad Taher on 16 October.
The alleged meeting not only raised the hackles of the Sheikh Hasina-led Awami League government but also those of many civil society and rights groups in Bangladesh.
The Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, formerly known as Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan, once opposed the very formation of Bangladesh and several of its leaders were found guilty of murder, rape, and genocide during the 1971 Liberation War. In its current avatar, the Jamaat openly advocates for Sharia law in Bangladesh and has been accused of targeting the country’s minorities.
So, the comparison with the extremist German party is not far-fetched.
On 19 November, the Bangladeshi Supreme Court dismissed an appeal by Jamaat seeking to overturn a 2013 ruling that barred it from participating in elections for violating the constitutional provision of secularism. So, Jamaat can’t participate in the 7 January national polls in Bangladesh.
Meanwhile, the US seems to be on a track of its own. Its diplomats have been holding talks with the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and the State Department has announced that it will put visa restrictions on those who try to undermine “free and fair” elections in Bangladesh.
An exasperated Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has come out and said that the US wants a regime change in Bangladesh. When the premier of a country makes such a statement in public just before elections, it does raise questions about the game plan of the US in Bangladesh.
Does the US want an Arab Spring in India’s neighbourhood?
Also Read: US must get over its ‘Captain America’ complex in Bangladesh. Dhaka doesn’t need meddling
Streets will decide
A little more than a decade ago, much of the Arab world was rocked by street protests that evolved into violent armed uprisings against the powers that be.
The fire was ignited in Tunisia due to widespread rage over large-scale corruption and an economic crisis, with the flames spreading quickly to Libya, Egypt, Yemen, Syria, and Bahrain. Such was the impact of the protests that governments fell like packs of cards. Between 2011 and 2012, leaders such as Tunisia’s Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, Libya’s Muammar Gaddafi, Egypt’s Hosni Mubarak, and Yemen’s Ali Abdullah Saleh were all ousted.
A defining feature of the movement was a slogan that echoed through the streets of several Arab countries: “The people want to bring down the regime”.
Now, a similar slogan is reverberating through the streets of Dhaka. While the Awami League set about finalising its list of candidates for the country’s 300 parliamentary constituencies, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and Jamaat were out clamouring for Hasina to step down with the common slogan: “The streets will decide the fate of Bangladesh.”
The protests have raged for over a month and taken a bloody turn. As arson, deaths, and attacks on journalists continue, the Awami League and the BNP blame each other for the violence.
Is this then the beginning of an ‘Arab Spring’ in Bangladesh? And is the American embassy’s sustained pressure on the country’s government to hold talks with opposition parties, coupled with the threat of visa restrictions, speeding up that process?
News reports from across Bangladesh suggests that the answer is no.
Also Read: Bangladeshi Muslims are building a 300-yr-old Kali temple. Now they want Modi’s help
Ballot box mandate
Yes, there is anti-incumbency against the Sheikh Hasina government. After 15 years in power, there is bound to be discontent with the ruling dispensation.
In Hasina’s case, there are serious concerns about corruption, suppression of dissent, and excesses by paramilitary forces. There’s fear of the country gradually becoming a one-party state. But the current street protests in Bangladesh are mostly by the rank and file of the BNP and Jamaat. Things have not come to such a pass yet where common citizens, irrespective of political affiliations, have hit the streets in righteous rage.
For all the criticism against the Hasina government, two positives stand out: the fast-tracking of infrastructure development and a far better record of keeping religious fundamentalists at bay than the country’s previous dispensations.
Bangladeshi academic Sharin Shajahan Naomi, currently a postdoctoral fellow at KREA University in Andhra Pradesh, asserts that as an independent woman she felt the most secure during the Hasina regime.
“Being a woman from Bangladesh, I find it deeply disappointing that the US, which projects itself as a vanguard of liberal values, is siding with those who attack my freedom,” she says. “Their interference in Bangladesh elections is resulting in huge psychological support to fundamentalist forces. Does America want mandatory burqa and hijab for Bangladeshi women?”
Naomi points out that the US is not happy with Hasina engaging with China, a view that Dhaka-based political journalist Sahidul Hasan Khokon echoes.
“Nothing else explains America’s sustained pressure on the Hasina government during election time. It is as if they are compelled to see Hasina fall, just like the opposition parties. Hasina is her own person, she will never become a puppet,” says Khokon.
But the US has to wait another day to see an Arab Spring in this part of the world. Despite protests on the streets, Bangladesh is gearing up for the polls on 7 January, when the ballot box will do the talking.
Deep Halder is a writer and journalist. He tweets @deepscribble. Views are personal.
(Edited by Asavari Singh)