Asia Times: Bangladesh: No, prime minister : Car Rental Reservations


	October 11, 2001	atimes.com

India/Pakistan

Bangladesh: No, prime minister
By Tabibul Islam

DHAKA - The new Bangladeshi premier promises to work toward peace and modernization, but she may have a rough time meeting these goals as the main opposition party threatens to launch an agitation campaign, while there are also fears of a stronger fundamentalist sector emerging in the country.

Khaleda Zia is the new prime minister following the results of October 1 national elections that saw a landslide victory of the four-party alliance led by her Bangladesh National Party (BNP).

She has asked all political parties to join the fight against terrorism and corruption and to work as one for a new Bangladesh. But the Awami League, which was in power from 1996 until it turned over the government to a caretaker administration on July 15, has threatened a countrywide non-cooperation movement if the Election Commission does not cancel the poll results and announce a fresh election.

Many Bangladeshis are concerned over the consequences of the league's moves, saying they will only impede the new government's efforts to work quickly on the country's problems, which include a moribund economy, worsening unemployment and rising crime rates. Bangladesh is also quoted by some international rights agencies as being the most corrupt country in the world.

Other people, however, are more concerned about the winning alliance itself - especially that the Jamaat-e-Islami is part of it. Apart from the BNP and the Jamaat-e-Islami, the alliance groups together the Islamic Unity group and a faction of the Jatiya party.

According to some political analysts the BNP's alliance with the Jamaat-e-Islami will encourage fundamentalist forces to work with more vigour to turn Bangladesh into a pure Islamic state. They say that this has become all the more possible now that a sizeable section of the population strongly harbors the conviction that socialism has failed to deliver the goods to the people and that capitalism is also bound to go the same way.

Analysts also say that the principle of secularism, which the Awami League had been trying to foster, seems to be losing its appeal in both the urban and rural areas. They point out that after enduring decades of poverty and increasing lawlessness, increasing numbers of Bangladeshis now believe that only the religion of Islam can bring about the "emancipation of mankind" and establish real justice.

Political experts further note that many educated youths in Bangladesh also see Islam as the only way in which the hopes and aspirations of all sectors of society in all levels can be fulfilled. About 83 percent of the country's 131 million people are Muslims, while some 16 percent are Hindus.

In the past, analysts had not really considered the Jamaat-e-Islami as much of a political force since it kept a low profile after the 1971 liberation of Bangladesh (then known as East Pakistan) from its union with West Pakistan. Jamaat-e-Islami had opposed the breakaway from the union and had actively worked with West Pakistan to prevent it.

Since then, however, Jamaat-e-Islami has been able to establish good rapport with the masses and now holds 16 seats - up from three -- in parliament. Analysts say it is not unforeseeable to have Islamic forces, headed by the Jamaat-e-Islami, emerge as an alternative to both the BNP and the Awami League, which have taken turns in holding the reigns of power in Bangladesh.

A leader of the left-leaning Workers Party said that by entering into alliance with the BNP, the Jamaat-e-Islami has made its position more acceptable to the people. The group "will not make any haste to achieve its goal to make Bangladesh a theocratic state", said the leader, who asked not to be named. "They have already prepared their blueprint in this respect and accordingly they will try to mobilize the support of the people in general: students and members of different professional groups step by step."

Many ordinary citizens, though, say they voted for the alliance not because of a desire for Islam to have a bigger influence in the way the country is run, but more as a rejection of terrorism and corruption. The BNP singled out "terrorism" - which in Bangladesh includes the harassment of businessmen by authorities and gangs, as well as the rampant usurpation of government and private property by influential individuals - as the main issue against the Awami League.

Dhaka University professor Sirajul Islam says that the Awami League can blame its defeat at the polls on its failure to curb the "deterioration of law and order, its arrogance, harassment of the common man, corruption in the police department and intolerant attitude towards public opinion".

Meanwhile, business leaders have been vocal in trying to discourage the Awami League to push through with its plans for a nationwide agitation campaign and a boycott of parliament. Says one businessman, "People now want peace and political stability. Anyone disturbing peace would be rejected by the people."

Businessmen say that with the gloomy economic situation in the United States and Europe, the impoverished country can expect only more dismal times ahead. The last thing the country needs, they say, is more political instability, which can drag the local economy into a deeper quagmire.

As it is, Bangladesh's overall export growth, particularly that from the ready-made garment sector, which accounts for more than 70 percent of the total export earnings, is already showing signs of a slowdown. Economists say that the new government will have to move fast to correct the trend.

A World Bank report has also advised, "The new government will have to exercise fiscal constraints by cutting public spending and reordering priorities. It will need to address the crisis of the state-owned enterprises losses on an urgent basis. This will be the most desirable way to face the threat to the country's external balances arising from the mounting fiscal pressure."

(Inter Press Service)