Dhaka's bloody August

Once again, Dhaka was struck by Bloody August on Saturday the 21st at 5:22 pm. A grenade charge was carried out on the AL gathering on this ill-fated day in order to eliminate the eldest daughter of the father of the nation and to wipe out the entire leadership of the AL. Sheikh Hasina, the leader of the opposition, survived the carnage, however, the perpetrators managed to kill 19 valiant sons and daughters of the land, including a front line AL leader Ivy Rahman, while injuring a further 300 demonstrators and bystanders. Like it or not, these incidents have turned us into one of the most terror-abounding and uncivilised states on earth. It is, however, surprising that the BNP-alliance government has been in constant denial of the existence of terrorists in the country and has continuously played the blame-game during the last three years. Extraordinarily, instead of capturing the terrorists, the government, which has a two-thirds majority in the parliament, has been blaming the victims for such incidents! Why?

One does not have to be an FBI or Scotland Yard agent to understand the pattern and reasons for attacking the AL gatherings in recent months. But, the government remains indifferent, defiant, and unapologetic. It is now clear that since the PM is not in control, she has been making baseless claims of terrorist activities all over the nation. None of her claims so far found a shred of evidence. By repeatedly playing the blame card she seems unaware that it has been tarnishing the credibility and image of the nation at home and abroad and in turn giving grounds to the terrorists. No one takes notice when her cabinet colleagues speak nonsense. However, the nation certainly takes notice when it hears baseless stories from the horse's mouth. For example, the DS categorically pointed out on September 4 that "PM's finger pointing is injudicious in relation to her accusation at the main opposition party, for having carried out the 21 August 21 grenade attack on the Awamy League rally."

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Immediately after the general election in 2001, the present author observed that "Looking at history, in early 1930s Hitler had a landslide, and more closer to home, a few years back Nawaz Sharif of Pakistan had a landslide over Benazir's PPP. History tells us how these landslides transformed into nightmares for those nations. In this term (2001-06), how the BNP-alliance performs with a landslide is anybody's guess. A landslide victory of a political party or alliance makes the democratic process weak. In this process opposition becomes irrelevant. With a weak opposition, the incumbent becomes authoritarian or even complacent in running the government. In the last 10 years, landslide or otherwise, Bangladesh has seen almost no role for the opposition except forcing the nation frequently to a complete halt (hartals). Until the opposition gets its proper say and due share in the affairs of the nation, democracy is likely to remain illusive in the years to come". It appears that after almost four years of the last election, the above predictions have come true.

With our "home-grown" democracy it is unequivocal that the "prime minister" is the "government" and the "government" is the "prime minister." I am sure the readers would agree that what is being carried out in the name of democracy over the last fourteen years was not what was agreed upon by our leaders when President Ershad was thrown out of office by people power in 1990. Instead, from both sides of politics, the nation was expecting liberal democracy to thrive, no shedding of blood, and above all, peace and security. Our politicians not only failed to keep their promises, but have made a U-turn in their actions. Consequently, in recent years the nation has been branded as a dysfunctional state at home and abroad. It is sad, very sad, indeed.

There is no doubt in our mind that the terrorists and their allies who executed the latest bloodbath in Dhaka have been using, to their advantage, the deteriorating relations between the two major parties, AL and BNP. Unfortunately, the incumbent has been ignoring this truth for a long time and has even ridiculed the opposition leader in the parliament with regard to a threat on her life. The government not only ignored the opposition's call, but also reduced the opposition leader's security contingent. What does it mean? The government does not care what happens to the leader of the largest party of the nation.

Under the present circumstances, if the government genuinely regrets the attack on the opposition and wants cooperation from the opposition leader, it needs to repair first the irreversible damage already done to the relationship. For damage control, the PM and her cabinet should come forward with open hands and minds. To this end, the first thing that comes to mind is that the Law Minister, Barrister Moudud Ahmed, should allow a smooth passage of the Bangabandhu murder case verdict, the first legal pronouncement of the bloody August of 1975. Is he prepared to do this? I do not think so, because such a miracle generally does not happen in Bangladesh. However, until this is done, the opposition is likely to keep fighting for the justice that has been denied to the nation for the last three decades.

Dr Moazzem Hossain works at Griffith University, Brisbane, Australia.