Kolkata: There is no possibility of a coup by the army in Bangladesh, Professor Mohammad Ali Arafat, who was a minister in former prime minister Sheikh Hasina’s cabinet, told ThePrint, calling it a “neutral” institution and saying that it was committed to a smooth democratic transition.
In an exclusive interview with ThePrint, first over the phone and then via email, the former Bangladesh MP and information minister said that the army “can facilitate the process of installing another government” through free, fair and inclusive elections.
“Under the Yunus government, a free and fair election is impossible because they have proven themselves to be very hostile against one of the largest stakeholders in the election, the Awami League,” said the 51-year-old, who is also a central leader of the Awami League and a spokesperson for the party.
Last month, a section of the media had reported that there was a possibility of a coup in Bangladesh, alleging that pro-Pakistan and pro-Jamaat-e-Islami Lt General Faizur Rahman (quarter master general), with the support of other generals, had moved to replace General Waqar-uz-Zaman as the army chief. However, he did not receive enough support.
Chief adviser in the interim government, Muhammad Yunus, dismissed reports, saying that it was a “festival of rumours” targeting his administration.
Bangladesh has been in political turmoil since last year, when massive anti-government protests led to the ouster of Hasina and the Awami League. After Yunus’s interim government took charge, he said that general election may be delayed until the end of 2025 or early 2026 because of the challenges in implementing democratic reform.
Arafat further told ThePrint that the interim government was “unelected” and “unconstitutional” and, therefore, according to the constitution, another neutral caretaker government would have to be installed under which the elections would take place.
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‘Yunus not a unifying figure’
Evaluating the performance of the interim government, Arafat told ThePrint that Yunus “took the challenges of Bangladesh’s political culture and put them on steroids”.
He said, “Rather than being a unifying figure, his eight months in power have divided Bangladeshi society more than ever before. Never has there ever been such a cultivation of hatred against specific groups with government sponsorship.”
The Awami League MP said the target is not just his party members but also minorities, the Liberation War of 1971, secular politics, and Bengali identity itself.
“While he promised greater human rights protection, under his watch, attacks on minorities, political opposition, and the press have all continued with impunity. His only success seems to be in changing the names of hundreds of bridges, streets, universities, and other establishments,” Arafat said.
Arafat told ThePrint that the last eight months under Yunus forced many of Hasina’s staunchest critics to reconsider their positions regarding her and “how transformative her one and a half decades of leadership have been for Bangladesh”.
“And that is why the unelected and illegal Yunus regime is using every trick in their book to ensure that Sheikh Hasina can be excluded from the politics,” he added.
‘No leadership change in Awami League’
Arafat said Sheikh Hasina remains the single most influential figure and politician in Bangladesh, despite the state-sponsored smear and libel campaign against her. “Her popularity has not lessened. Sheikh Hasina’s governance was marked by stability and unparalleled economic growth. Her firm policies were necessary to maintain law and order, fostering economic transformation.”
He said the fact that Hasina’s departure created space for the jihadists and emboldened them in Bangladesh proves she was Bangladesh’s strongest bulwark against Islamists and her leadership was essential in keeping them at bay.
The interim government has come under criticism for reports of attacks on minorities, particularly Hindus. Yunus has dismissed the reports as media propaganda.
The Awami League MP also dismissed rumours of a possible leadership change within the Awami League and said any such discussion is clearly external. “The party, its hundreds of thousands of leaders and activists, and millions of supporters in Bangladesh and elsewhere are all united behind the leadership of Sheikh Hasina,” he told ThePrint.
Arafat said it is inevitable that Bangladesh’s largest and oldest political party will return with greater vigour. “The Islamist forces, who control the Yunus government, would of course continue to cause problems. They have done this whenever they had the opportunity, and this is still the case now. These Islamist forces attempted to kill Sheikh Hasina several times to annihilate the Awami League from Bangladesh.”
Arafat said this time they have managed to get the party’s student wing, the Chhatra League, banned and made it very difficult for the party to carry out political programmes. “In the long run, it would be hard to keep us suppressed because of the party’s solid grassroots and support base,” he said.
Bangladesh Nationalist Party and the new students’ party
Some Dhaka watchers have suggested that the Awami League’s main opposition, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), has become the new Awami League and that opposition to Yunus is bringing the two parties together.
Arafat said it is good that the BNP has recently started to stand up for the values of the 1971 Liberation War. “However, let’s not forget that under Ziaur Rahman and Khaleda Zia, known war criminals and collaborators were not only rehabilitated but also installed in top cabinet and administrative positions.”
Arafat also said that, in a free, fair, and inclusive election overseen by a neutral and independent caretaker government, the new National Citizens Party (NCP) would struggle to win a single seat.
The NCP was set up by Bangladeshi students who led last year’s mass protests. The new leaders have insisted they would pursue the politics of national unity over division, transparency and good governance over corruption, and an independent foreign policy to build a “second republic”.
“Past experiences with similar ‘King’s Parties’ (backed by the ruling government) have shown that the NCP candidates would get their deposits forfeited as they are not even likely to win even 2 percent of the votes cast,” Arafat said.
“This is even more so given that their only clear policy position so far is that they hate Awami League. Other than that, even their top leaders have difficulties in articulating what this party stands for.”
(Edited by Sanya Mathur)
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