BanglaBhoot
RETIRED TTA
- Joined
- Apr 8, 2007
- Messages
- 8,839
- Reaction score
- 5
- Country
- Location
The News International – December 2, 2013
The Awami League of Bangladesh is nearing its completion of second stint in power. The fag end of the current term, however, has brought Bangladesh to a virtual turmoil. Sporadic violence and daily clashes between law enforcement agencies and protesters of the opposition parties have become a norm in Bangladesh.
The government has lost writ elsewhere in the country but the capital city Dhaka where large concentration of LEAs continue to quell political opposition. Various international and local human rights organisations have raised their concerns on excessive use of state power against protesters who demand setting up of a caretaker government to oversee the parliamentary elections. The constitutional amendments made by Hasina Wajid after coming to power had deleted Islam as the state religion and abolished the requirement of caretaker government to oversee and ensure free and fair elections. The opposition parties are demanding reversal of the amendments and that elections must be held under a caretaker government.
In a mid-year poll for five-city corporations this year, candidates of the Awami League (AL) were comprehensively out-voted by the people, raising the spectre of regime change in Bangladesh in upcoming parliamentary elections. The defeat of the AL clearly revealed a massive downturn in its popularity when the general elections are around the corner.
Analysts attributed rampant corruption, endemic factionalism, high-profile corruption cases, financial scams, campus violence, deteriorating law and order situation, suffocation of media and weak party leadership to the defeat. The World Bank had also committed 1.2 billion dollars for construction of a bridge over Padma River. It was after the bank got hold of credible evidence corroborated by a variety of resources that pointed to high level corruption conspiracy among government officials that it refused to provide funds. There was, however, no impact of the World Bank refusal to fund the project and the government continued its miss-rule and to mint money.
When Sheikh Hasina Wajid’s Awami League came into power, the Indians termed her assumption of office as the best news then. The Awami League’s benefactors in India are now worried over rapid decline of the party’s popularity in Bangladesh. Indian Intelligence agency, in a 2012 report submitted to the government of India, has forecast a massive defeat for the Awami League in 2014 elections.
The report considered continuity of the AL rule in Bangladesh as being in the best interest of India and categorically recommended that India must involve itself directly to ensure that the AL retains power for at least another term.
As a first step to prolong the AL in power, 100 personnel of armed cadre of Awami League were trained for six months at Dehradun that houses India’s military academy in India. The team code-named ‘Crusader 100’ went to India at the end of September 2009 and returned mid-June 2010 after training. The fact that the country is passing through its most volatile period after its independence in 1971 speaks of the AL’s incompetence and flawed policies. The political turmoil and social disorder today haunts the socio-political milieu of Bangladesh. Lack of political acumen, poor governance and political dictatorship of AL leader Hasina Wajid has formed a coterie of associates to deal with the opposition parties with a heavy hand. The people of Bangladesh have for long reeled under the autocratic rule of Hasina Wajid led Awami League. However, they have politically matured overtime to understand the AL’s election gimmicks and remain convinced that the AL will never endeavor to improve their poverty ridden socio-economic conditions.
The Indian intelligence has already declared the volatile situation in Bangladesh as dangerous and has advised the Indian hierarchy either to ensure Hasina Wajid’s re-election as Prime Minister through direct intervention or play wait and see game as Bangladesh Nationalist Party lead by Begum Khaleda Zia will most likely sweep the upcoming polls. Realising the inevitable, the AL, on the advice of ‘RAW’, has started to malign BNP by linking it directly with Pakistani Inter-Services Intelligence. India’s BJP also takes the same route whenever the country enters in election period.
In another onslaught on the BNP, the state controlled print media also has started linking Tarique Rehman, son of opposition leader Khaleda Zia, with ISI for maintaining contacts and acquisition of financial support from the agency. This allegation is nothing but a bid to undermine spiraling support of Bangladeshis for the Bangladesh National Party.
The propaganda by India’s major political party BJP against the ISI and Pakistan and Awami League of Bangladesh has become too obvious to get digested by matured voters of Bangladesh. Bangladeshis are fed up with the AL’s poor governance during the last five years that has literary brought them to the present day chaos. The media is also not serving the cause of their country by falsely dragging the ISI into Bangladesh political affairs. As far as Pakistan is concerned, it has always respected the sovereignty of Bangladesh and supported it at all regional and international forums. By making Pakistan and its intelligence agencies an election issue, the AL cannot reverse its political decline in Bangladesh as its defeat in the upcoming elections is looming large.
Violence forebears BD elections - thenews.com.pk
The Awami League of Bangladesh is nearing its completion of second stint in power. The fag end of the current term, however, has brought Bangladesh to a virtual turmoil. Sporadic violence and daily clashes between law enforcement agencies and protesters of the opposition parties have become a norm in Bangladesh.
The government has lost writ elsewhere in the country but the capital city Dhaka where large concentration of LEAs continue to quell political opposition. Various international and local human rights organisations have raised their concerns on excessive use of state power against protesters who demand setting up of a caretaker government to oversee the parliamentary elections. The constitutional amendments made by Hasina Wajid after coming to power had deleted Islam as the state religion and abolished the requirement of caretaker government to oversee and ensure free and fair elections. The opposition parties are demanding reversal of the amendments and that elections must be held under a caretaker government.
In a mid-year poll for five-city corporations this year, candidates of the Awami League (AL) were comprehensively out-voted by the people, raising the spectre of regime change in Bangladesh in upcoming parliamentary elections. The defeat of the AL clearly revealed a massive downturn in its popularity when the general elections are around the corner.
Analysts attributed rampant corruption, endemic factionalism, high-profile corruption cases, financial scams, campus violence, deteriorating law and order situation, suffocation of media and weak party leadership to the defeat. The World Bank had also committed 1.2 billion dollars for construction of a bridge over Padma River. It was after the bank got hold of credible evidence corroborated by a variety of resources that pointed to high level corruption conspiracy among government officials that it refused to provide funds. There was, however, no impact of the World Bank refusal to fund the project and the government continued its miss-rule and to mint money.
When Sheikh Hasina Wajid’s Awami League came into power, the Indians termed her assumption of office as the best news then. The Awami League’s benefactors in India are now worried over rapid decline of the party’s popularity in Bangladesh. Indian Intelligence agency, in a 2012 report submitted to the government of India, has forecast a massive defeat for the Awami League in 2014 elections.
The report considered continuity of the AL rule in Bangladesh as being in the best interest of India and categorically recommended that India must involve itself directly to ensure that the AL retains power for at least another term.
As a first step to prolong the AL in power, 100 personnel of armed cadre of Awami League were trained for six months at Dehradun that houses India’s military academy in India. The team code-named ‘Crusader 100’ went to India at the end of September 2009 and returned mid-June 2010 after training. The fact that the country is passing through its most volatile period after its independence in 1971 speaks of the AL’s incompetence and flawed policies. The political turmoil and social disorder today haunts the socio-political milieu of Bangladesh. Lack of political acumen, poor governance and political dictatorship of AL leader Hasina Wajid has formed a coterie of associates to deal with the opposition parties with a heavy hand. The people of Bangladesh have for long reeled under the autocratic rule of Hasina Wajid led Awami League. However, they have politically matured overtime to understand the AL’s election gimmicks and remain convinced that the AL will never endeavor to improve their poverty ridden socio-economic conditions.
The Indian intelligence has already declared the volatile situation in Bangladesh as dangerous and has advised the Indian hierarchy either to ensure Hasina Wajid’s re-election as Prime Minister through direct intervention or play wait and see game as Bangladesh Nationalist Party lead by Begum Khaleda Zia will most likely sweep the upcoming polls. Realising the inevitable, the AL, on the advice of ‘RAW’, has started to malign BNP by linking it directly with Pakistani Inter-Services Intelligence. India’s BJP also takes the same route whenever the country enters in election period.
In another onslaught on the BNP, the state controlled print media also has started linking Tarique Rehman, son of opposition leader Khaleda Zia, with ISI for maintaining contacts and acquisition of financial support from the agency. This allegation is nothing but a bid to undermine spiraling support of Bangladeshis for the Bangladesh National Party.
The propaganda by India’s major political party BJP against the ISI and Pakistan and Awami League of Bangladesh has become too obvious to get digested by matured voters of Bangladesh. Bangladeshis are fed up with the AL’s poor governance during the last five years that has literary brought them to the present day chaos. The media is also not serving the cause of their country by falsely dragging the ISI into Bangladesh political affairs. As far as Pakistan is concerned, it has always respected the sovereignty of Bangladesh and supported it at all regional and international forums. By making Pakistan and its intelligence agencies an election issue, the AL cannot reverse its political decline in Bangladesh as its defeat in the upcoming elections is looming large.
Violence forebears BD elections - thenews.com.pk
