Bangladesh
Politics of hate
MORE than two years after the army aborted a dismal interregnum and released from jail the leaders of the countrys two rival political dynasties, the politics of hate and attrition grind away in Bangladesh. The thanks go mainly to the personal vendetta of the prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, one of the two leaders, against the other, Khaleda Zia.
On November 13th Mrs Zia was evicted from her home of nearly 30 years in Dhakas cantonment area. The move triggered a hartal, a protest strike called by Mrs Zias opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP). Violence broke out between her supporters and those of Sheikh Hasinas Awami League (AL). The countrys third political force, the army, has backed the High Courts eviction order. Shrewdly, Sheikh Hasina has allocated the vast plot surrounding Mrs Zias home for housing for the families of 57 military officers killed in a mutiny early last year, soon after the AL swept to power.
The eviction is part of the Leagues mission to break the BNPs back. It is obsessed with airbrushing from history the legacy of the political dynasty founded by Mrs Zias late husband, General Ziaur Rahman, hero of Bangladeshs war of independence against West Pakistan in 1971.
In February the government renamed Dhakas Zia International Airport after a respected Sufi saint. It has decided to reprint the 1972 constitution to reflect a landmark Supreme Court ruling in July which, among other things, declared null and void the rule of various military governments, including General Zias, following the assassination in 1975 of Bangladeshs founding father, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. (Sheikh Mujib, as he is usually known, happens to be the father of Sheikh Hasina.) In October a court issued an arrest warrant for Mrs Zias younger son in a money-laundering case. Four corruption cases stand against Mrs Zia, while 13 cases against Sheikh Hasina, filed during the army interregnum, have been withdrawn.
Yet the BNP was in a shambles even before the recent onslaught. The party has just 30 seats in a 300-strong parliament, which it boycotts. It is split: Mrs Zia can count only on the support of a minority of BNP leaders. Meanwhile, the leaders of the BNPs main ally, Jamaat-e-Islami, Bangladeshs largest Islamic party, have all been jailed. They stand accused of alleged atrocities during the countrys war of secession, and face possible execution. The alliance has hurt the BNPs reputation, particularly internationally, says Moudud Ahmed, a former prime minister and Mrs Zias lawyer. Yet the BNP needs Jamaat-e-Islamis electoral support.
Mrs Zias only hope is that people will get fed up with rising prices, power shortages and the open encouragement by Sheikh Hasinas government of the kind of predatory capitalism not seen since, well, Mrs Zias rule in 2001-06. The governments high approval ratings are on the slide. At some point, Mrs Zia appears to calculate, mass adulation will attach to her eldest son and heir apparent, Tarique Rahman, now in British exile. Yet Mr Rahman, who left army custody with a snapped spinal cord in 2008, is the symbol of Mrs Zias kleptocratic rule. He is loathed even among the BNPs leaders.
Meanwhile, Sheikh Hasinas vendetta has the support of the Indian government, with whom Bangladeshs relations are much improved. The end to Mrs Zias political dynasty has become almost a tenet of national security for India, which sees her family meddling in Indias domestic affairs. This month Mr Rahmans right-hand man told investigators that the Pakistan embassy in Dhaka and the United Liberation Front of Asom, a militant group fighting for an independent homeland for ethnic Assamese in Indias north-east, paid the BNP (for which, read Mr Rahman) and Bangladeshi spooks some $10m for the secret transshipment to Indian insurgents of ten truckloads of arms.
Western governments also oppose Mr Rahmans return. They supported the thinly veiled army coup in January 2007, which prevented the BNP from stealing an election. The coup also brought in a crackdown on fringe groupings of Islamic extremists courted by the former BNP government. Continuing the crackdown is a centrepiece of AL policy.
Despite the governments sliding ratings, popular support for Sheikh Hasinas clan dwarfs that for Mrs Zias. And with such a tailwind, it is extraordinary how the League remains stuck in a divisive politics based on personal grievances that go back nearly four decades. Time, you might think, to get on with governing.
Bangladesh: Politics of hate | The Economist
Politics of hate
MORE than two years after the army aborted a dismal interregnum and released from jail the leaders of the countrys two rival political dynasties, the politics of hate and attrition grind away in Bangladesh. The thanks go mainly to the personal vendetta of the prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, one of the two leaders, against the other, Khaleda Zia.
On November 13th Mrs Zia was evicted from her home of nearly 30 years in Dhakas cantonment area. The move triggered a hartal, a protest strike called by Mrs Zias opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP). Violence broke out between her supporters and those of Sheikh Hasinas Awami League (AL). The countrys third political force, the army, has backed the High Courts eviction order. Shrewdly, Sheikh Hasina has allocated the vast plot surrounding Mrs Zias home for housing for the families of 57 military officers killed in a mutiny early last year, soon after the AL swept to power.
The eviction is part of the Leagues mission to break the BNPs back. It is obsessed with airbrushing from history the legacy of the political dynasty founded by Mrs Zias late husband, General Ziaur Rahman, hero of Bangladeshs war of independence against West Pakistan in 1971.
In February the government renamed Dhakas Zia International Airport after a respected Sufi saint. It has decided to reprint the 1972 constitution to reflect a landmark Supreme Court ruling in July which, among other things, declared null and void the rule of various military governments, including General Zias, following the assassination in 1975 of Bangladeshs founding father, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. (Sheikh Mujib, as he is usually known, happens to be the father of Sheikh Hasina.) In October a court issued an arrest warrant for Mrs Zias younger son in a money-laundering case. Four corruption cases stand against Mrs Zia, while 13 cases against Sheikh Hasina, filed during the army interregnum, have been withdrawn.
Yet the BNP was in a shambles even before the recent onslaught. The party has just 30 seats in a 300-strong parliament, which it boycotts. It is split: Mrs Zia can count only on the support of a minority of BNP leaders. Meanwhile, the leaders of the BNPs main ally, Jamaat-e-Islami, Bangladeshs largest Islamic party, have all been jailed. They stand accused of alleged atrocities during the countrys war of secession, and face possible execution. The alliance has hurt the BNPs reputation, particularly internationally, says Moudud Ahmed, a former prime minister and Mrs Zias lawyer. Yet the BNP needs Jamaat-e-Islamis electoral support.
Mrs Zias only hope is that people will get fed up with rising prices, power shortages and the open encouragement by Sheikh Hasinas government of the kind of predatory capitalism not seen since, well, Mrs Zias rule in 2001-06. The governments high approval ratings are on the slide. At some point, Mrs Zia appears to calculate, mass adulation will attach to her eldest son and heir apparent, Tarique Rahman, now in British exile. Yet Mr Rahman, who left army custody with a snapped spinal cord in 2008, is the symbol of Mrs Zias kleptocratic rule. He is loathed even among the BNPs leaders.
Meanwhile, Sheikh Hasinas vendetta has the support of the Indian government, with whom Bangladeshs relations are much improved. The end to Mrs Zias political dynasty has become almost a tenet of national security for India, which sees her family meddling in Indias domestic affairs. This month Mr Rahmans right-hand man told investigators that the Pakistan embassy in Dhaka and the United Liberation Front of Asom, a militant group fighting for an independent homeland for ethnic Assamese in Indias north-east, paid the BNP (for which, read Mr Rahman) and Bangladeshi spooks some $10m for the secret transshipment to Indian insurgents of ten truckloads of arms.
Western governments also oppose Mr Rahmans return. They supported the thinly veiled army coup in January 2007, which prevented the BNP from stealing an election. The coup also brought in a crackdown on fringe groupings of Islamic extremists courted by the former BNP government. Continuing the crackdown is a centrepiece of AL policy.
Despite the governments sliding ratings, popular support for Sheikh Hasinas clan dwarfs that for Mrs Zias. And with such a tailwind, it is extraordinary how the League remains stuck in a divisive politics based on personal grievances that go back nearly four decades. Time, you might think, to get on with governing.
Bangladesh: Politics of hate | The Economist
