Ershad took over power by removing a democratically elected BNP president, Abdus Sattar, after which he went on to shelter war criminals as well as the killers of the Father of the Nation, gifted Bangladesh with a state religion, implemented Ayub Khan-style basic democracy that was nothing but mere eye-wash, and wrote poetry. All this catalyzed the twin processes of criminalization and Islamisation in politics. Then came the mass democratic movement of the ‘90s and Ershad was jailed. It’s easy to assume that he passed his days and nights like Mughal emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar by staring at the red bricks. The subsequent 15-year democratic spin ended with the installment of a military supported 1/11 caretaker government in 2007. Khaleda Zia and Shaikh Hasina were in turn relocated to those same red brick premises.

Khaleda Zia was incarcerated for her desire to rule over Bangladesh till her death. She came to power in 1991, and as a means to an end followed in the footsteps of her arch-enemy Ershad by tolerating political criminalization and promoting the killers of Mujibur Rahman. People’s choice ousted her 5 years later but as luck would have it, Shaikh Hasina too failed to hold her party godfathers on a tight leash and had to relinquish power after five years.

BNP won the 2001 polls with a brute majority, and we assumed Khaleda Zia must have learnt from her mistakes. We were again disappointed. This time round her son Tareq Rehman, like Sanjay Gandhi, started a parallel government from his whirl castle. Tareq’s sycophants launched percentage terrorism while simultaneously courting and facilitating the Talibanisation of Bangladesh, and prepared ground for election engineering. Tareq could not play the Nero’s flute as times would not permit him to go that far, so he took to cricket to ridicule an opposition protest. But it had the same effect: Dhaka started burning like Rome. Sadly, Khaleda Zia’s affections for her son turned out to be blinder than that of Indra Gandhi.

Having said that, it’s lamentable the kind of physical abuse Tareq Rehman had to face during the 1/11 administration. Such penance cannot be expected in a modern state. One can simply hope Tareq has realized that no power is absolute. He could have avoided being the target of such harassment had his involvement in politics been fair enough to win the hearts of an apolitical majority. Then there would have been no reason for the masses and the military to support 1/11. If leaders consider relying on political institutions a long winded wait and try to take fate into their own hands, nature inevitably steps in to put things back on course, sometimes rectifying a wrong with another wrong.

One might add that it’s still quite early to judge if lessons have been learnt, but a time-tested maxim does arise: without respect for democracy and people’s will, political ground can overnight turn into ashes.

And what did Shaikh Hasina learn during her confinement within the red bricks of soul? She displayed courage by getting rid of a few party godfathers and power abusers who had made her ’96 government unpopular. She, however, has not been able to stop her party cadres from changing the names of institutions in the BNP fashion, nor restrain their attempts to paint the face of Bangladesh with the colors of Awami League.

Politicians of questionable ethics and pseudo media-intellectuals talk about 1/11 as if they had no contribution to the rise of that undemocratic setup. Such political businessmen and opportunist intellectuals would do better if they learnt to earn their bread and butter just like the hardworking people they claim to represent.

Had there been no Hawa Bhaban (Tareq’s whirl castle), had the BNP not tried to install a favorable caretaker government to engineer elections, had there been an impartial election commission with a fair voters’ list and had the civil bureaucracy not been lego-ised to support election fraud, the political scene today would been much friendlier.

The current Awami League-led grand alliance will have to show conformity with democratic institutions and will have to rely on people’s will alone. It will have to realize that voters are neither supporters of Awami League not of BNP. Voters are only clients of democracy, willing to give mandate to the party that delivers. Neither they nor anyone else wants to see the shadows of 1/11 haunting the collective fate of peace-loving nation.

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Maskawaith Ahsan is a broadcaster, journalist, author, blogger and the editor of  The-Editor.net.

Awami League national council, the foundation and the democratic tradition of this over-half-century old political institution of Bangalees, will be convened within days. The lightning speed of council preparation has generated enormous euphoria and optimism in one hand; on the other hand a thin cloud of skepticism is also visibly adrift in the sky.

AL was born in an undemocratic country with democracy as it’s lifeline. Therefore, relentless struggle for democracy is the euphemism of the fight for existence of AL. When the leaders of AL become the brutal targets of assassins, democracy also disappears from this landscape. From the cradle till today, nine years in power and half century on the street – the history of AL can be phrased as ‘defiance for survival’. Imprisonment, torture, assassination, conspiracy, money and lure to power could never alienate AL from people and democracy. Street has always been the address and public as identity of AL. Ceaseless struggle and sacrifice – these are the source of it’s strength.

Without going far back in time let us bring 9/11 into context, still afresh in our memory, the most well orchestrated challenge that our democracy has ever weathered so far. Reasonably AL became the focal point of all wrath of the 9/11 sponsors. The stakeholders’ consortium of 9/11 skillfully manipulated the inherent weakness of our anemic democracy and democratic institutions to grab the state power. Rampant corruption commissioned by then democratic government and the hostility among democratic partners were real, that agonizing public could bear no more. When corrupt business, social and political elites were put on the dock, public were cheering in breathless excitement. Then the ruling power started herding democratic political leaders on the same dock accusing them equally corrupt and criminal. Public cheer suddenly came to a jaw-dropping silence. Overwhelming public support for reform and accountability of politicians and political parties soon turn into fierce opposition to machination of the power-center to kill democracy. Steadfast public with crystal clear political perception averted a national disaster with minimum damage and helped the nation move forward rapidly on the path of democracy.

The genie of 9/11 has been bottled up by the public, but not the public aspirations that were loud and clear during those days when our politics was on trial. First and foremost is to establish democracy in every layer of party structure. Silencing Abdul Jalil, indiscriminately bracketing non-conformists with 9/11 reformists, treating party leaders, unjust victims of 9/11 as ‘untouchables’ – all these manifestations contradict democracy within and if symptom persists, it is suicidal for democracy. Party office bearers should not hold government portfolio. Party book keeping must be transparent and visible as well to the public. Sprinting to the convention, in no way, should be the excuse of cutting corners and accommodating lapses.

Initial spectacle in forming digital cabinet soon turned into lackluster stunt. Fusion of old and new blood could not give essential modern facelift of the cabinet. Government flagship Home Ministry under the leadership of an old guard with a western-styled immature apprentice already made a fatal nosedive. Two impressive political street fighters are grappling with the Foreign Ministry with their no diplomatic skill and vocabulary. Media and internet are charging public minds with expectations of spectacles at the convention, never seen before. Single handed cherry picking may risk serious errors and irreversible damages. The galaxy of advisers should be kept in the Milky Way far from unnecessary meddling into party affairs.

Democracy mirrors many minds. Many paths converge to democracy. This idyllic scenario does not exist in our politics. The angle of deflection between two major forces is one hundred and eighty degree which is the only life threatening disease of our democracy. How this virus that tries to eat up marrow of our history and breaths poison on our democracy – public distinctly know that. If democracy thrives, these political villains will be swallowed up by time. Please do not waste your party time in vilifying these termites of democracy.

In the context of our political history, AL convention always turns out to be a milestone. It truly defines path of our democracy. A collective leadership, harvested from the grass root, embedded with modern vision, extraordinary talent and pedestrian political experience will add further inertia to this government to move forward with digital pace. With the nation, let us look forward to this festival of democracy and hope.
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Manirul Islam is a freelancer , writes from Toronto, Canada.

Awami League President Sheikh Hasina is delivering speech in an election meeting at Paltan ground today afternoon. Hundreds of thousands of Awami League supporters came to see her in this meeting. AL President Sheikh Hasina will address public meetings at Comilla and Feni on Saturday en route to Chittagong.

by: Amdadul Huq, DRIK News
Dhaka, Bangladesh. December 26 2008