STRATEGICALLY SPEAKING

STRATEGICALLY SPEAKING

Who killed democracy in Bangladesh?

The recent by-polls represent the state of democracy in our country fairly accurately.

US SANCTIONS / A ‘tonic’ for our security forces?

It is unfortunate that security agencies have been used in a manner that has generated more fear in people’s mind than confidence and faith in them.

Please spare us your ‘khela’

We do not know what exactly the Awami League general secretary means when he warns the BNP and advises his cadres to gird for khela on December 10.

Next Election: A Replay of Old Politics?

It is apparent, from what has transpired in the last fortnight, that any attempt to exercise political rights, and to seek space, will be curbed by force.

What have we done with our strategic assets?

Strategic assets are those that demand attention from the highest levels of the state.

Democracy means more than the ability to vote

Unfortunately, winning an election has become the synonym for achieving power.

Another ring in the shackle to gag the media

Is not the media already under duress, and its function heavily encumbered by the Digital Security Act (DSA), without needing a new law which is now on the anvil of the Bangladesh Press Council (BPC)?

Our skewed legal system

Time and again, it has been proven that, when it comes to justice in Bangladesh, some are more equal than others.

Why election 2023 needs to be different from the last two

An acceptable election depends on the Election Commission's ability to display its grit and resolve, exercise its writ, remain neutral, and be prompt to address complaints and proactive in detecting violations.

Rohingya refugees: Are we paying for our hospitality?

As if a million Rohingya refugees are not enough, we have to now face the prospect of Rohingyas sneaking in through the borders from India into Bangladesh.

Are some people always trying to ‘oust’ the government?

Earlier this month, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina made a remark that assumes significance given the rueful undertone that her statement conveyed.

The slur of sanctions

The word is one of the most pejorative terms in the English dictionary; it is the most reviled term, too, as well as an oft-used mechanism handy to the West to twist the tails of those it dislikes.

How fares the opposition in Bangladesh?

The prime minister had made a very profound and significant remark at the beginning of this month on the state of the opposition in the country.

A skewed world order

The international system changes with the passage of time—strategic, political and economic compulsions act as the causative factors.

Lessons we can learn from the Russian invasion of Ukraine

The invasion of Ukraine, which Russia chooses to euphemistically call “special operations,” has produced several lessons for us, as much as it has, once again, exposed various negative facets of the existing world order, the fault lines in international relationship, and the skewed international system hogged by the rich and the powerful.

If you sow the wind, you will reap the whirlwind

That is a biblical truth which no man can sunder from reality. The havoc being wreaked in Ukraine is the consequence of the wind that the West has sown since the end of the Cold War.

Handling of the Second Wave: Can someone in the administration please explain their decisions?

It is not easy to rationalise some of the recent actions of the government related to the realm of governance, in other words, related to us the people. For now, let us address the second wave of the pandemic and the government’s actions or reactions to deal with it.

Je suis Palestinian

Governments in the Western world were galvanised by the “Je suis Charlie” (“I am Charlie”) slogan after the shooting at the office of the ill-famous sleazy French magazine in Paris in 2015 by Muslim extremists, which ended in twelve of its staff members being killed.

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