There is a proverb in Bangla, which loosely translates into,
“If you have two Bengali's you will have three political parties”. This is kind
of evidenced by the existence of over 100 political parties. Most of these are
small, fringe parties formed mostly by a small coterie of like-minded
intellectuals or politicians who usually have broken away from larger
groupings.
The current party in power is the Bangladesh Awami League,
which initially saw it’s birth as a socialistic organization but now has
transformed into a center-left political stream.
The current opposition party is the Jamaat-e-Islami, a party
that continually calls for and increased role for Islam in public life. Many
suspect that if ever elected to power, this party would advocate for Sharia Law
to be enforced, as is in Iran. Bangladesh would then officially be known as an
Islamic State.
When we
arrived we were immediately introduced to the concept of “Hartals”.
“There is a singular lack of tolerance in the political
system where the major opposition parties are often at violent loggerheads.
While Bangladesh is a parliamentary democracy with reasonably free and fair
elections, opposition to government policies is often displayed through violent
demonstrations and enforced strikes (hartals). This is irrespective of
which party is in power. In recent years the major opposition parties have
boycotted parliamentary sessions.” www.virtualbalgladesh.com
These “strikes” or Hartals have been happening on and off
ever since we arrived. Usually one, but sometimes more days per week we find
ourselves with classes cancelled and unable to venture into the heart of the
city for fear of violent protests. Classes are cancelled simply due to fairness
and for the safety of our students. Depending on where they have to travel
from, they could be subject to roadblocks, or have to travel though volatile
areas. Due to this, we have a “classes off” policy. You can only guess how
difficult that can be when we are scrambling for time as it is to complete the
course material for the term.
These Hartals are called by the opposition party-
Jamaat-e-Islami. The purpose is to focus attention on the political scene in
Bangladesh, to create disruption in the normal work week, and to hopefully gain
followers.
This was all par for the course except for 2 things.
First, there is an election this year, which always means a
steep rise in the number of hartals as the opposition ramps up. Articles from the beginning of January are
already predicting the political landscape. One of the chief accusations
against the current party in power, is that they are holding the coming general
election under it’s own management. Corrupt basically describes the country as
a whole, so you don’t have to make many leaps to guess that having an election
under your own rules basically means one thing- that you have control over it
and the outcome.
A BNP (Bangladesh
Nationalistic Party) spokesperson was quoted as saying,
“During
the last four years of its administration, Awami League has robbed the country
of everything, except the water of the Bay of Bengal. Now, it's conspiring to
cling to power by holding the next general poll under its own management. If it
sticks to its plan, the government will be flooded in the face of intensive
mass movements in the new year”.
Other
rumors circulate that the Jamaat-e-Islmai Party will forfeit the next election
altogether claiming corruption.
Secondly and more
interestingly have been the happenings since February 5th. Dhaka’s Shahbagh square has been the site of
mass protests- more like vigils that have yet to disseminate since the 5th.
On this date, Abdul
Quader Mollah was sentenced by the International War Crimes Tribunal to life in
prison after being proved guilty for actively participating in 1971 Liberation
War atrocities in Bangladesh.
But to many in Bangladesh, that felt like a slap in the face.
They want the death sentence for Mollah as well as all those who have and
should be tried under the War Crimes Tribunal. This may sounds like a violent
request, and when you see the signs they hold- signs with nooses and disturbing
images, you’d think so. But if you stopped there you’d miss the whole point. It
is known full well that if the Jamatt-e-Islami party were to obtain power, he
would be released from prison. They’re asking for death because it’s the only
way in their eyes that justice will be served.
We’ve truly only observed the
happenings from a distance aside from a few sightings of small protests,
rally’s and marches in the streets. But the happenings right now are historic.
Some are calling it Bangladesh’s “Fourth Awakening”. The Liberation war in 1971
was not that long ago. Most young people we’ve met have close relative that
fought and died in the war. The stores are fresh. The 3 million Bangladeshis
that were slaughtered are the furthest thing from a distant memory.
On February 15th, a local student, blogger and
activist was brutally murdered just outside his home. He was killed for speaking
out against the perceived injustice and against the corruption that cripples
this country. One of the remarkable things about what is now being called the
“Shahbagh Movement” is that this group is made up of just these sorts of
people. Students, youth, bloggers, facebookers, women, mothers, children. It’s
breaking stereotypes and barriers. The presence of women is powerful in that
during the Liberation War, rape was finally brought forth publically as a war
tactic to be acknowledged and fought. More than 400,000 women were raped and
murdered during this horrific war. They march and speak out against what
happened only 42 years ago.
The Jamaat party, who sides with Mollah, has ramped up it’s
defense which has escalated the violence. Their protests are not peaceful and
each day unfolds more stories of untimely deaths. The current party in power is
using the Shahbagh movement as a pawn as well when the Prime Minster was seen
front page of the paper, comforting the mothers of the Blogger/Activist that
was murdered.
It’s all very messy really. Shahbagh has sworn to keep its
vigil until the court changes its verdict for Mollah.
Tomorrow is another Hartal called for by Jamaat-e-Islami,
but many are saying to ignore it because of the current political environment. Our
university again, has to take the stance of safety first for the students. But,
can’t have the image of really being open or closed because it sends a message
that we’re taking sides which thas never been the intent. So, tomorrow, the
University will appear open, but there will be no classes offered. Good
compromise we thing- what else can you do?
As these next few months unfold, there’s no telling what
might happen. If the political unrest gets too great, then Marshal Law will be
put in place, which we’ve heard is actually a delight- finally no Hartals and
childish political games! Just peace.
These are just our musings and most definitely not to be
taken for complete accuracy. If you’re curious, there are heaps of articles and
papers to be found.
Please don’t worry about our safety. Uttara is situated well
to the north of the city center where most of the demonstrations are
happening. We’ll keep our heads up and
make sure that we steer clear of any big gatherings. And of course we’ll keep you
posted if anything changes.
Interesting stuff hey?
Additions*
The Daily Star Newspaper this morning for February, 18th
“ In a major development parliament has passed an amendment
empowering the war crimes tribunals to hold trial of any organization for
committing crimes against humanity during the Liberation War. The amendment, a
key demand of campaigners for the war crimes trials and the Shahbagh
protesters…”
See more here
This basically means that now the entire Jamaat-e-Islami
party is free to be tired by the war tribunal for crimes in the Liberation war.
We’ll close with this…
and fill you in as details unfold.
Bye!!! R&H
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