War for democracy: For the people or on the people?
In Bangladesh, a successful movement for restoration of democracy took place in December 1990 when the dictatorial regime of H.M. Ershad was forced to quit. Another movement took place in April 1996 when the government instituted under the leadership of Khaleda Zia after the farcical election of February 15, 1996 had to resign. In both of these cases, the successes were not without cost; people had to lay down their lives. However, in both cases, the unfortunate victims were the political activists of the opposing parties who fell victim to the excesses of the law enforcing authorities.
The new spell of brutal practice was introduced by the BNP-led alliance in their movement to restore Caretaker Government (CTG) and to derail the election scheduled for January 5, 2104. Innocent people were burned or killed by petrol bombs when they were just carrying out their day-to-day activities. The heart-wrenching picture of the father sitting beside his 14 year old burnt son Monir, who had come the capital to buy clothes for his new school year, still brings tears to the eyes of millions.
When a political party makes a political mistake or blunder, it has to pay the political price. The BNP alliance is waging a movement for restoration of the CTG, but people can recollect how the evil designs of BNP itself wrecked the essence of CTG. The AL, on the other hand, removed the system from the constitution, however undesirable, through constitutional means.
However, the ruling alliance at that time came halfway by proposing an all-party government to conduct the last general election. As opposed to the dark situation prevailing the during Hawa Bahban-dictated Iajuddin government, the proposal was quite reassuring in many ways, the foremost of which was that excepting the premiership, there was a strong likelihood that the main opposition could have bargained for a few important ministerial portfolios -- including the much-desired home ministry -- that could have been a strong deterrent for any potential fixing of the election results.
A former president whose party Bikalpa Dhara Bangladesh has been agitating with the BNP on several issues against the government has thrown his weight behind the idea of a general election organised under Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. However, the BNP chief intransigently refused to withdraw hartal, or to sit for a dialogue on the composition of an all-party government, as requested by the PM in her historic telephone call on October 28, 2103.
In the current phase of the movement, the BNP-alliance is fighting not only for restoration of CTG, but also to compel the government to go for a midterm election. But, probably, due to better than expected performance of the government -- especially in economic front and the foreign policy arena -- in the last one year, it would be a hard nut to crack. The government is also buoyed by the results of several polls conducted before the imposition of current spell of blockade that showed the approval rating of the government is as high as 72% in terms of performance while only 35% want a midterm election.
According to a statistics, more than 370 vehicles were torched across the country, 900 were injured and death toll rose to 32 since the BNP-led alliance announced the countrywide blockade on January 5. “There was crying, groaning, yelling and the smell of burnt flesh at the overcrowded burn unit of Dhaka Medical College Hospital where 51 burnt victims are being treated”, reported a newsman. “Whom should I blame for my fate,” said the wife of Abul Hossain in tears while standing amid a few hundred people at the burn unit. “He wanted to feed us. Now he is fighting for his own life,” she said.
Nur Alam received 48% burns, the worst of the lot. Nur's relative Mintu Mian said: “Who enforce hartals and blockades and for what purpose? We, the common people, have no benefit from hartals or blockades. We need to go out of our homes and live our lives.” The conscience of any human soul would be shaken if one heard the wailing of the blind mother when her lone child, 18 year old Sohag, a bus helper, was burnt alive in Barisal. These are only glimpses of the havoc that has been brought down on the people by the BNP-led alliance in the name of restoring democracy.
“Unrest puts poor in tight spot,” a caption in DS portrays the plight of poor Jotsna Das. “They [political parties] are fighting for power and we are paying the price … these hartals and blockades bring us nothing but misery and suffering.”
The business sector has been the worst hit. In fact, not only of the business sector but the sentiment of common masses was echoed by American Chamber President, Aftab Ul Islam, in his interview in Prothom Alo, in which he said: “Confidence of the people in politics has gone. There is no meaning of democracy to the people. People want peace, comfort. So people will take to the street for the uprising. I don't know any other way to get respite from this situation.”
In fact, people from every walk of life, at home and abroad, are disenchanted with the government's failure to contain the situation and, in particular, in preventing indiscriminate burning of people, depriving them from earning their daily bread and curbing even their freedom of movement, the most fundamental element of democracy and human right. The BNP-led alliance's war for democracy has turned out to be not for the people but on the people.
The writer is the Convenor of the Canadian Committee for Human Rights and Democracy in Bangladesh.
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