AND THEN THERE WERE NONE

 

 

The military backed interim government in Bangladesh (with former Central Bank head Fakhruddin Ahmed at the helm) seems to be in awe of Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf and the means adopted by him to trample democracy under the jackboots of the junta headed by him. The Bangladesh government has decided to send two of its most charismatic leaders in exile. Former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has been barred from entering the country on her return from the US, and, though she is at present in London, she is defiant in wanting to touch home base. The government, not wanting to be seen as partisan, has asked another former Prime Minister, Begum Khaleda Zia, the leader of Bangladesh Nationalist Party, to go in exile to Saudi Arabia. She is pliant and the sole pre-condition is that her son, under arrest on corruption charges, be allowed to proceed with her.

It is an open secret that the government is anything but independent and is considered to be a puppet government, with the junta in total control of all the organs of the government. According to Rajiv Mata, an international affairs expert at the Institute of Defence Studies and Analyses, New Delhi, told TSI, “The ostensible aim of the government is to revamp the decrepit political structure of Bangladesh and introduce a new brand of democracy in one the poorest countries of the world.”    

We have witnessed this charade being played in neighbouring Pakistan with promises of restoring democracy.

These cosmetic moves in Bangladesh are not expected to yield anything positive. It’s only a matter of time before a new breed of politicians and generals, steeped in corruption, shall mushroom to further loot the wretched in Bangladesh.