Chicago roadway named after Zia rekindles Bangladesh political feud

Ziaur Rahman

When the Chicago City Council decided to add former Bangladeshi President Ziaur Rahman’s name to join the long list of 1,500 other honorary roadways aldermen have approved for 50 years, it had little idea that it was bringing in a long-standing South Asian political feud to play out on the Far North Side.

While 49th Ward Alderman Joe Moore backed the street naming on behalf of a group of residents including one who donated $1,000 to his campaign fund, he thought he was engaging in the kind of retail politics that's a Chicago alderman's stock in trade, reports Chicago Tribune.

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But as he planned a September sign-unveiling ceremony, Moore said he got a call from Mayor Rahm Emanuel's office. The US State Department had been contacted by the Bangladeshi ambassador to the United States, who objected to the honor.

Ambassador Mohammad Ziauddin said Rahman is unfit for the honorary street sign, citing what he said was complicity in the 1975 assassination of Bangladeshi President Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and members of his family during a coup, and his subsequent treatment of political opponents while running the country until his own assassination in 1982 in the small, densely populated country bordered by eastern India, Myanmar and the Bay of Bengal.

Today, Bangladesh's prime minister is Sheikh Hasina. She's the daughter of Sheikh Mujib, the assassinated president. And it is Bangladesh's official governmental position to oppose the Chicago recognition for Ziaur Rahman, Ziauddin said.

"We believe the United States has a very strong record on the rule of law, human rights and good governance," Ziauddin said. "(Ziaur) Rahman ruled Bangladesh as a tyrant and an oppressor, and this honor stands in opposition to those values."

Moore, though, went ahead and put up the signs on the 6600 and 6800 blocks of North Clark despite the State Department request.

The alderman, known for bringing up international issues at the City Council, said he did some research and found there's a long history of alleged wrongdoing on both sides of the political divide in Bangladesh.

Moore's decision to press forward landed the city in court.

A group of Bangladeshi citizens sued, seeking to have the Ziaur Rahman sign pulled down on the grounds he does not deserve the honor. Their lawyer, Al-Haroon Husain, dismissed Moore's argument that he's equalizing the Bangladeshi political calculus on Chicago streets.

"You should consider the merits of the individual, whether that person deserves to be honored in this way," Husain said. "It shouldn't be a question based on political party."

On Tuesday, a judge ruled in the city's favor and dismissed the lawsuit, but Husain said his clients are considering refiling it.

Meanwhile, the Bangladeshi Embassy has sent letters to cities across the U.S. to try to enlighten mayors about Ziaur Rahman so he doesn't receive additional recognition of the kind he's getting in Chicago, Ziauddin said.