More violence feared as Bangladesh teeters on the brink of a political crisis
Dhaka (AsiaNews) - A country "on the verge of
a serious political crisis" that threatens to bring "fresh social
instability and violence". This
is how many analysts describe Bangladesh, as the nation draws ever closer to
the general election. Blame
for the current situation is being laid at the door of Sheikh Hasina, the current
prime minister, leader of the Awami League and Muibur daughter of Sheikh
Rahman, father of the country and leader of the independence of Bangladesh in
1971.
In
view of the upcoming elections, scheduled for the end of 2013 and beginning of
2014, Hasina has stated she will not restore the caretaker government. It
is an interim government - whose members do not belong to any party and are not
in the running for the vote - which is given a 90 day mandate to organize
elections. In
2011, however, the Prime Minister decided to abolish this body, with the 15th
Amendment to the Constitution.
For
some, however, the situation is too tense to go to a vote without a
non-partisan government that can ensure transparency and fairness. Moreover,
what is happening recalls the events of 2007/2008, when a
state of emergency was imposed and power given to an interim government
backed by the army. In
fact, for nearly two years, Bangladesh remained
in deadlock, in which civil and political rights were suspended.
The
signs are all there: for months petty crime has increased, as well as
vandalism. The
verdicts of international
war tribunals have further fuelled the climate of tension created by the Awami
League to "give justice" to the victims of the liberation war (1971),
in fact it is seen as a tool to decimate the leadership of the Islamic party
(Jamaat -e-Islam). In
turn Islamists have taken advantage of the lack of transparency of these trials
to launch numerous hartal (strikes), which have all degenerated into riots and
violence.
Faced
with this situation, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP, leading opposition party)
would like the Awami take a step back and restore the caretaker government. Otherwise,
ago Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, BNP spokesman warned two days, "there
will be no election, because no opposition will take part." Other
minority parties have announced they will not participate in the vote if the
situation were to remain as is. Hasina's mandate expires next October.
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20/01/2004
02/07/2020 09:59
