Bangladesh: Regime's Cruel Exercise of Power

By MAKSUD RANA
Posted 20.07.10
maksudrana@rocketmail.com

Bangladesh Government's onslaught of fascist actions against opposition parties and media that grossly violate justice, human rights and democratic norms, which unless intervened and abetted may lead this poor nation to a civil war.

As part of this digital BAKSALi fascist government's political repression, the Ameer, Secretary General and Nayeb e Ameer of Bangladesh Jamaat Islami (BJI), the largest democratic Islamic party,  were arrested Tuesday 29th of June for a frivolously fabricated alleged charge of hurting the religious sentiments of Muslims. This is nothing more than merely crocodile tears of an ultra-secularist government who does not have slightest sympathy to religious sentiment but takes all advantage thereof for political profiteering. Although the alleged statement for which they have been arrested were made by another party-man, they have been more than equally implicated on the basis of the government's might is right policy.

The alleged statement in the form of a comparison that, the challenges and suppressions that is currently being faced by Islamic Organisations and its leaders are no different from the injustices and suppressions faced by the Prophet (s), should not by any means construed to agitate religious sentiment.

Nevertheless the ultra-secularist government, which is utterly hostile to Islamic political activities, created a big issue out of this for its political gain. Following these leaders' arrest the police have started a massive arrest of the Party activists in every corner of the country. There are evidences of massive random attack by the pro-government activists on the activists and establishments of the BJI throughout the country.

The Bangladesh Government desperately trying to reinstate the 1972 Constitution - which had adopted 4 principles of which some were totally alien to the people of Bangladesh namely, Secularism, Socialism under which all religious parties and religious institution were banned. Even any congregation discussing religion was strictly forbidden. The ruling party (AL) established a perpetual one-party autocratic regime in 1972 by virtue of the first Constitution that was modelled on communism that considers religion as opium. The 1972 Constitution made the then President Sheikh Mujibur Rahman (who is the father of the current Prime Minister) a life-long President; blocked multi-party democracy; banned Islamic political parties, association and societies; and closed all Islamic institutions. Since the current regime considers popular democratic
Islamic parties forming part of the opposition as the main challenge to its rule, the government is determined to completely crush and ban Islamic politics.

Pursuant to the Supreme Court's recent judgment that allows the government to go back to the 1972 Constitution by annulling the fifth amendment which ensured multi-party democracy, all government ministers, including the law Minister, who was a hardcore communist student leader, have avowed to ban Islamic politics.

The current government has accelerated Bangladesh's descent to authoritarianism, oppression of religious elements: dismantling freedoms, violating human rights and removing mechanisms of scrutiny.

The international community must act now before Bangladesh, a hitherto moderate and freedom loving country containing 10% of the world's Muslim population becomes a police state and widespread anarchy and regional destabilisation is provoked. Bangladesh is at a crossroad. The country has a high population density, a large global Diaspora and is, therefore, a demographic time bomb. The rule of law and basic freedoms are needed to safeguard its pluralism and its progress to a viable, democratic and progressive country.

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