10-30-2006, 01:46 AM
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>Gathering storm </b>
The Pioneer Edit Desk
Begum Zia faces turbulent times
There is never a silly season in Bangladesh, a small country with big obsessions. The Government of Begum Khaleda Zia, till a few days ago confident of sailing through next January's hustings with the help of a pliant caretaker Government, has suddenly run into rough weather. On the eve of the 90-day "neutral rule" that precedes each election, all its calculations have gone awry. The first blow has come in the form of 102 senior leaders, including Ministers and MPs, walking out of Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) to join a new outfit headed by Begum Zia's friend-turned-foe Badruddoza Choudhury. As if this were not bad enough for the embattled regime, Awami League chief Sheikh Hasina Wajed has announced a 1996-type poll boycott if former Chief Justice KM Hasan is sworn in as head of the caretaker Government whose mandate under the Constitution is to conduct a free and fair election. Now Justice Hasan has been dropped, although apparently not because of Sheikh Hasina's objection, but owing to "sudden illness". There is only one truth behind all these developments: Politics in Bangladesh is saturated with so much corruption, nepotism and gangsterism that political parties are collapsing under the collective burden of these vices. Sheikh Hasina may appear to straddle the moral high ground at the moment, but Bangladeshis are as familiar with her brand of misgovernance as they are with Begum Zia's poor performance. The only thing to be conceded in Sheikh Hasina's favour this time is that her famous 2001 charge that the BNP had won the election using unfair means has been somewhat vindicated five years later. Begum Zia's considerable hold over the educated elite has given her the advantage of influencing the administration regardless of whether she is in power or not. She appointed Justice Hasan as Chief Justice knowing he would prove useful during the coming election. Bangladeshi law says only the last incumbent as Chief Justice can head a caretaker Government. From the moment she promoted Justice Hasan, her objective was clear to most, if not all, Bangladeshis. This blunder has destroyed her last vestige of credibility.
The Awami League, which never accepted its defeat in the 2001 election, has had a stormy period in the opposition, surviving top level assassinations and suffering many murders. It commands the international community's sympathy as it is seen battling for democracy and fighting Islamic fundamentalism whose evil shadow now dogs Bangladeshi society and politics, thanks to Begum Zia's alliance with the Jamaat-e-Islami and her Government's distinct bias against that country's secular culture and traditions. With last week's developments, the wicket will only get stickier for Begum Zia and she could well find her party - and its dubious allies - being swept aside by a resurgent Awami League. Provided, people get to vote in January.
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The Pioneer Edit Desk
Begum Zia faces turbulent times
There is never a silly season in Bangladesh, a small country with big obsessions. The Government of Begum Khaleda Zia, till a few days ago confident of sailing through next January's hustings with the help of a pliant caretaker Government, has suddenly run into rough weather. On the eve of the 90-day "neutral rule" that precedes each election, all its calculations have gone awry. The first blow has come in the form of 102 senior leaders, including Ministers and MPs, walking out of Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) to join a new outfit headed by Begum Zia's friend-turned-foe Badruddoza Choudhury. As if this were not bad enough for the embattled regime, Awami League chief Sheikh Hasina Wajed has announced a 1996-type poll boycott if former Chief Justice KM Hasan is sworn in as head of the caretaker Government whose mandate under the Constitution is to conduct a free and fair election. Now Justice Hasan has been dropped, although apparently not because of Sheikh Hasina's objection, but owing to "sudden illness". There is only one truth behind all these developments: Politics in Bangladesh is saturated with so much corruption, nepotism and gangsterism that political parties are collapsing under the collective burden of these vices. Sheikh Hasina may appear to straddle the moral high ground at the moment, but Bangladeshis are as familiar with her brand of misgovernance as they are with Begum Zia's poor performance. The only thing to be conceded in Sheikh Hasina's favour this time is that her famous 2001 charge that the BNP had won the election using unfair means has been somewhat vindicated five years later. Begum Zia's considerable hold over the educated elite has given her the advantage of influencing the administration regardless of whether she is in power or not. She appointed Justice Hasan as Chief Justice knowing he would prove useful during the coming election. Bangladeshi law says only the last incumbent as Chief Justice can head a caretaker Government. From the moment she promoted Justice Hasan, her objective was clear to most, if not all, Bangladeshis. This blunder has destroyed her last vestige of credibility.
The Awami League, which never accepted its defeat in the 2001 election, has had a stormy period in the opposition, surviving top level assassinations and suffering many murders. It commands the international community's sympathy as it is seen battling for democracy and fighting Islamic fundamentalism whose evil shadow now dogs Bangladeshi society and politics, thanks to Begum Zia's alliance with the Jamaat-e-Islami and her Government's distinct bias against that country's secular culture and traditions. With last week's developments, the wicket will only get stickier for Begum Zia and she could well find her party - and its dubious allies - being swept aside by a resurgent Awami League. Provided, people get to vote in January.
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