I normally agree with U bro, but U can't put BAL fagots with other political parties in the same basket. NO matter how U want to compare, no other party can measure up to the corruption, anti-state dalali, political killings, nepotism, destruction of all major institutes incl. the army, state sponsored terrorism done these BAL malauns. Didn't they say that this moin-fakir gov was a fruit of their struggle? Without this moin-fakir gov these malauns would not have been in power. Just look at the ways these malauns came to power historically. Not even once via normal democratic process. In 96 they came via the jonotar moncho drama, that destroyed BD bureaucracy and this time their march to power started with the 28oct, 2006 massacre that bought this moin-fakir gov to power. No matter how U look at it, none of those events were normal.
How can U even give them the credit of saving BD. Indian dalali was started by these moin-fakir gov in the first place.
I will respond to a couple of people and their points including Aazidane, but first Luffy.
1. In terms of violence and criminality the Awami League far far outstrips the much more moderate BNP.
The Awami Leagues "student wings" are actually mafia-terror wings.
Ironically they even fight with each other and if it wasn't for the existence of the Hasina-Mujib family then the Awami League would collapse in to different warring (and equally violent) factions as was the case before
they asked her to become their leader a few decades ago.
2. The Awami League (AL) does seem to be involved in the massacre of army officers in Pilkhana, but in the long run they will suffer the consequences of this.
3. However the Awami League was essentially threatening to destroy Bangladesh and even hinting of partitioning the country, besieging Dhaka and destroying all life in the country until the army stepped in.
The CTG (it wasn't an army takeover or army government as such but a civilian technocratic government which was supported by the army) was more of an American move rather than an Awami one. The CTG was serious about minus 2 and even tried for a short time to facilitate a Yunus party, but the timid and naive Yunus became scared of the dirty world of politics and quickly exited
4. The army and the CTG did save the country and Bangladeshis were disgusted by the billions that Tariq Zia stole (I have a friend who absolutely hates the Awami League and would celebrate the day that Hasina would experience a certain "fate") but he himself has said of how his relatives in Dhaka had to personally pay bribe money to Tariq. Dhaka is not that big, and anyone major in Bangladesh eventually knows everyone else so the whole Bangladeshi elite knew Tariq was a crook, a scumbag and a bast**d.
In the light of this wholesale looting of Bangladesh, plunder of the country for half a decade by the BNP that the CTG and the public were angry with them. Were they to be angry with the opposition Awami League who did nothing (as they were out of power)?
5. The CTG ran the country efficiently and was a very useful demonstration of how Bangladesh can be run properly given the right governance, and even to this day many people refer back to the CTG period when many sectors were more smoothly. You do not have to be a big mouth show off who openly boasts of working for the "secret" services of Bangladesh (e.g. DGFI) and constantly trying to impress people with your supposed "contacts" to be able to evaluate the CTG. They ruled a whole nation and what they did impacted the whole nation so 160 million Bangladeshis experienced their rule and can say in general it was more efficient and less violent.
6. The problem with the CTG and Moin was that they did not realize minus 2 and the US sabotaged minus 2 and worked for Hasina to come back.
Given that the BNP had engaged in wholesale looting of the country, this was the logical thing to do. Many here on this forum are very partisan and inherently anti-India (and to an extent anti-Hindu) and would thus oppose the Awami League no matter what. However for the vast majority of pragmatists (like myself) the BNP was a no-no.
The BNP and especially the criminal, Tariq, were taught a lesson. The US worked to put Hasina back in power, but this time Hasina had to be more responsible than in her previous tenure in office, which she has proven to be. Fundamentally apart from the petty politics of "Mujib/Zia is better" not much changes in BD.
1. Defence: BD is aligned with China, gets arms from China and is anti-India.
2. Exports: Garments industry.
3. Hard currency: Mainly from remittance primarily the Gulf
4. Indian policy: Even the "pro-Indian" Awami League will not give India transit.
The US and others know this and in addition to the ruling party, there are industrialists, army officers, civil society, NGOS, foreign states all of whom restrict the power of the government to do what they want.
The US, often maligned, respects Bangladesh and the Bangladeshi people and wishes to see it follow the path of Indonesia which since proper parliamentary democracy has experienced massive economic growth and is sometimes even cited as a country which should be added to BRIC (BRIIC if you include Indonesia).
*7. Jamat has done nothing impressive here. One does not have to be a genius or great party to be able to organize street violence and destabilization. Where Jamat (Pakistani-wannabes) and the BNP fail is that they fail to provide a satisfactory ideology for non-fundamentalist, non-Pakistanophile Bangladeshis who are not secular but Muslim but are proud of being Bangladeshi. The fundamentalist ideology of Jamat and their extreme Pakistanophilia turns moderate Bangladeshis off who ultimately think the Awami League is a lesser evil.
Ultimately Jamat and Jamatis instead of gloating over causing street violence and mayhem, as well as the BNP need to work on producing quality books, publications on the pre-71 history and culture of Muslim Bengal, as a key part of the Indo-Awami programme is to strip Bangladeshis of all consciousness of their pre-71 or pre-47 Muslim Bengali identity and instead to keep a 71-centric or 71-obsessed mentality which is secular anti-Pakistan and pro-India.
This 71-mania and distancing from Islam and traditional Muslim Bengali culture and adoption of pro-Hindu secularism is seen by some as merely a prelude to further secularization, Hindophilia and ultimately Bengalis viewing themselves as culturally a sub-category of Indians. Look at Zabaniya type pro-Indians who even question the feasibility of an independent Bangladesh.
Sorry for the long post, but it was important to say some things.