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Challenges Facing Bangladesh
Political conflict in Bangladesh has led to
corruption, poverty and severe problems in the
educational system. The country is facing increasing
instability. A political power vacuum is being filled by
radical Islamists, posing a threat to the
secular-democratic system. But the situation is not
irredeemable. The article argues that Bangladeshis can
work with foreign powers to bring about much-needed
political reform.
By Adam E. Stahl
In
need of some stability
In
January 2007, the Bangladeshi High Court suspended
general elections due to allegations of a lack of
transparency and fairness within the voting system.
Concurrently, the country is under a national state of
emergency and civil unrest has spread across the country
with nearly 35,000 Bangladeshis arrested. [1] National
elections will not be held for at least 18 months
despite domestic and international calls for a specific
and speedy timetable. [2] The elections were to be a
continuation of the struggle over political power
between the Bangladesh National Party (BNP) and the
Awami League (AL), which threatens to rip apart the
fragile political system of one of the Muslim world’s
largest democracies. [3]
At
present, a caretaker government backed by the
Bangladeshi military heads the country, and has
initiated serious steps to crackdown on the endemic
corruption that continues to plague Bangladeshi
politics. [4] A variety of criminal charges have been
filed against the nation’s two leading political
figures, Sheik Hasina of the AL and Khaleda Zia of the
BNP. [5]
Bangladesh’s political instability stems from a number
of issues, including widespread corruption, weak
government institutions, illegal migration to and from
Bangladesh, radical Islamist terrorism, and an increase
in Islamist influence, which has successfully exploited
the political vacuum that the AL-BNP rivalry has allowed
to open. Here I will set out the challenges facing
Bangladesh, with emphasis placed on the growing
political vacuum, and subsequently show how Bangladesh’s
vital ally, the United States, can assist the
Bangladeshi government on its quest for stability.
Bangladesh’s roots
Since Bangladesh won its independence from West Pakistan
in 1971 after a bloody war of liberation, the AL and the
BNP have dominated the country’s politics. The AL, led
by Sheik Mujibar Rehman, was the first political party
officially to govern the new Republic of Bangladesh in
1973. [6] Under Sheik Mujibar, democratic rule quickly
turned authoritarian. On 25 March 1982 a military coup
occurred under the leadership of General Hussein
Muhammad Ershad. General Ershad suspended the
constitution and officially named Islam the state
religion. Thus political Islam entered into the
mainstream Bangladeshi political system.
Since 1990, Bangladesh has been a parliamentary
democracy with a separate judiciary and an active civil
society, yet it remains only a “partly free” country.
[7] Although a democracy, Bangladesh faces challenges
central to a successful working democratic system:
freedom of expression and political opposition. The
media is active but it is not “free”: journalists feel
threatened by political and religious opposition. [8]
With the rise of radical Islam in Bangladesh, these
democratic practices will become more difficult to
obtain, as radical Islamists equate the very idea of
democracy with heresy.
Border crossings
A
significant challenge to Bangladesh’s democratic
character is immigration. Bangladesh is one of the most
densely populated countries with a massive population of
approximately 150 million, of whom 85 percent are Sunni
Muslims. [9] It shares a 4,000 km border with India.
Illegal migration, from Bangladesh into India, has
strained relations between the two countries, adding to
Bangladesh’s pot of political difficulties, including
the construction of a highly disputed border fence. [10]
New Delhi claims illegal migration of “rebels” is the
reason for its decision to construct a fence along the
border, while Dhaka insists it violates a bilateral
defence treaty in a “no build” zone. [11]
Bangladesh shares its south-eastern border with Myanmar.
Comparatively, it is a small border, less than 200 km,
[12] yet it has served as a crossing point for massive
flows of illegal Muslim refugees. The migration of
Muslim refugees from Myanmar is significant as south
Bangladesh is increasingly viewed as a haven for radical
Islamist organisations. In an area with strong Islamist
influence, impoverished and uneducated refugees from
Myanmar are easy targets for radicalisation. The result
is growing support for radical Islamist groups and not
for the AL or the BNP.
Most immigration is flowing into the coastal cities of
Chittagong and Cox’s Bazaar, known sanctuaries for,
among others, the “student wing” of Jaamat i-Islami,
(JI). The JI is a radical Islamist party with 17 seats
in Parliament, serving as part of the BNP’s coalition.
[13] Though the BNP claims to have firm control over the
JI, the increase in radical Islamist recruits and
training camps, especially in the coastal area, shows
that neither party has complete control over Islamist
proliferation. In the south, where borders are porous,
the ramifications of growing radical Islamism are
considerable, potentially jeopardising
Bangladeshi-Indian trade relations.
Finally, to the south lies the Bay of Bengal, vital to
Bangladesh’s trade relations with India, Myanmar, and
other South Asian countries. It is also useful for
illicit narcotics and arms smuggling, routinely carried
out by pirates. [14] Further, Islamist groups have been
linked to criminal activity in the south, a combination
which presents a serious threat of maritime terrorism in
the Bay, economically threatening any country in the
region linked to the Bay.
Party politics
The Awami League
The Awami League is characterized as a centre-left,
secular-democratic political party, drawing support from
minorities such as Shiite Muslims and Bangladeshi
Hindus. Minority groups have long been targets of
radical Sunni Islamists, whom many believe are aided by
the JI and therefore protected by the BNP. One of the
AL’s most contentious attributes is its pro-India
stance, which dates prior to the establishment of the
Bangladeshi state. [15] The contempt between the parties
continues to grow and a détente between the two is only
a distant hope.
Adding to the AL’s hatred towards the BNP are the
numerous attacks on AL members, including the 2004
attack in which 13 grenades were thrown during an AL
rally where Sheik Hasina was present; over 20 were
killed and Hasina was left deaf in her right ear. [16]
Further, many AL-sympathizing journalists, academics,
and high-profile AL members have been assassinated. On
18 August 2005, Sheik Hasina stated that, “Jamaat e-Islami,
a conservative party within the BNP coalition, has been
supervising activities of various terrorist groups in
the country for a long time”. [17]
The AL has been linked to a number of murders, the
charges for which the police levelled at members of the
party, including Sheik Hasina, the leader of the AL;
Hasina also faces a lawsuit for alleged extortion
totalling $400,000 whilst in office. [18] The charges
filed against the former Prime Minister portray the
seriousness of the interim government’s plan for
fighting corruption at the governmental level. They also
represent how other agencies and institutions are
backing the interim leadership. The interim government’s
plan has effectively marginalised Sheik Hasina.
Belligerency and political rivalry, as well as alleged
corruption, are but a few examples of why the
Bangladeshi political system is so turbulent.
The Bangladesh National Party
General Ziaur Rahman (General Zia), a former officer in
the Pakistani Army, established the BNP in September
1978. Currently, Khaleda Zia, the General’s wife, leads
the party. The BNP is viewed as right of centre,
nationalistic, conservative and business-oriented. The
party takes an overtly hard line approach to India and
is openly pro-Pakistan. The BNP is known for its mixture
of traditional Bengali customs with Islam, though it has
remained secular, despite its coalition with Islamist
groups. The key difference between the AL and BNP is the
latter’s alliance with Islamist organisations, which
they rely on in order to stay in power.
One example of the BNP’s political allies is the JI. The
JI openly supports the Pakistani military and is alleged
to have been involved in massacres and targeted killings
of various intellectuals in Dhaka, as well as other acts
of terrorism. The JI also calls for the implementation
of Shari’a (Islamic Jurisprudence) and the
establishment of a theocratic system in Bangladesh. [19]
Due to Khaleda Zia’s alleged participation in a number
of criminal activities, reports abound that she may
leave Bangladesh and seek asylum in Saudi Arabia. [20]
As a result of the military-backed interim government’s
crackdown, Khaleda Zia, like Sheik Hasina, has been
politically marginalized.
Bangladeshi Islamist parties, specifically the JI and
the Islamic Oikye Jote (IOJ), have benefited
politically from an alliance with BNP. The JI are deeply
radical in their views and are suspect in many Islamist
terror attacks in Bangladesh, including the 2005 murder
of Awami League member and former Finance Minister, Shah
M.S. Kibria. [32] Moreover, the JI are suspected to have
links with armed radical Islamist groups, such as the
10,000-strong Jamaatul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB),
with its suspected 2000-man suicide standby brigade.
[33] In turn, both the JI and the JMB are believed
connected to the highly fanatical Jagrata Muslim
Janata-Bangladesh (JMJB). The JMJB is allegedly
funded by al-Qa’ida, [34] making possible an
international jihadist agenda.
Two challenges for two parties
The two great challenges to Bangladeshi democracy are
corruption and the education system. The AL and the BNP
have been recognised for economically stabilising
Bangladesh in the last decade through various
market-based economic reforms. [22] Despite the
political rivalry between the AL and the BNP, both
parties clearly want to see Bangladesh prosper. Still,
political instability and corruption are responsible for
the country remaining impoverished, with more than 60%
of Bangladeshis living below the poverty line. [23]
According to the World Bank, corruption is “among the
greatest obstacles to economic and social development”
as it “undermines development by distorting the rule of
law and weakening the institutional foundation on which
economic growth depends”. [24] In addition, Bangladesh
consistently ranks as one of the most corrupt countries;
its current rank, according to Transparency
International, is 156 out of 163. [25] The United
Nations Development Program Human Development Index
(UNDP) places Bangladesh at 137 out of 177.
[25]
The picture is more nuanced than these rankings suggest,
according to one International Crisis Group analysis on
Bangladesh: there are certain sectors of Bangladeshi
society which fare well in comparison to surrounding
countries. In Bangladesh, “Women are much better off
than in Pakistan…conditions have been improving” and
there is a powerfully active “NGO sector in all areas of
social development”. [26] Nevertheless, endemic
corruption has kept the country from progressing
socio-economically, adding to the political instability.
With a visible increase in Islamist education,
Bangladesh’s secular educational system is another
challenge for both parties. There have been improvements
in the educational system, such as greater gender
balance and increased government spending, though
expenditure may not have reached the appropriate level.
There are reports that the government spends
approximately $45 per student whereas certain
madrassas (Islamic religious schools) are spending
$75 per student. [27]
Of
the students who participate in primary school only 76%
complete the necessary requirements and it takes
students an average of 6.6 years to do so. [28] Further,
teaching methods are outdated and schools are generally
dilapidated, adding to the difficulties in learning.
Concomitantly, there has been considerable growth of
madrassas, mostly funded by wealthy Gulf States and
Saudi Arabian charities, which aim to spread their
Wahabbist ideology. [29] Recent figures claim more than
60,000 madrassas operate in the country with the
majority (independent madrassas) not registered
with the government.
The independent madrassas threaten Bangladesh’s
secular society as radical Islamist groups, such as the
JI, dictate the curriculum in these schools. These
Islamic schools offer free education, often with free
food and shelter: precisely the socio-economic services
that the government is unable to provide and a crucial
area that Islamists are able to exploit. [30]
The significance of this is that the JI, and other
Islamist groups, are enjoying an increase in the number
of new students, whom they will educate according to
their Islamist radical ideologies. A 1998 study of the
number of students enrolled in madrassas totalled
2,123,000, approximately 10% of Bangladeshi students.
[31] Presently, the number of students attending
Bangladeshi madrassas is not known, though there
is evidence of mass recruitment in recent years.
Hopeful, still
The Republic of Bangladesh is currently in deep
political crisis. The AL and BNP leaders are under
investigation for murder and corruption; radical
Islamists are making strong political headway; porous
borders remain a threat to security; the country is
currently under the control of a military-backed
government; and national elections have been suspended
for at least 18 months. Despite these crises, there
remains ample reason for optimism.
Bangladeshis have long appreciated their democratic
system and culture of secularism. Bangladesh remains a
quasi-free state with electorate-level involvement in
politics and there is no indication that the majority of
Bangladeshis are shifting away from democratic rule.
Bangladesh remains one of the poorest countries in the
world yet there have been significant improvements: the
country is making “good progress” towards the UN
Millennium Development Goals and has made “extraordinary
progress” in human and economic development. Between
1997 and 2000 its GDP grew on average five percent a
year. [35]
The main areas of concern are corruption, education and
poverty, all of which are being exploited by Islamist
groups. These issues can be countered by a successful
resolution between the AL and the BNP. In order for a
resolution to materialize, the AL and BNP must find
common ground. Facing the current militant Islamist
threat to Bangladesh is one area in which the two
parties share an interest. More common ground for the
two parties is improvement in the educational system.
Greater numbers of students are finding better education
amongst radical Islamists and as a result the country
may soon find its democratic character at greater risk
than it already is. [36]
The interim government is not the only body capable of
pressuring the AL and BNP to take this reforming line.
Bangladesh remains an important US ally in the ‘war on
terror’ and America continues to show its commitment to
Bangladeshi democracy with financial aid: USAID has
provided Bangladesh with over $5bn since the early
1970s. Further, the US has assisted Bangladesh in
poverty, education, political reform, and has helped to
rebuild the country following natural disasters. Though
not ideal, the US may find it necessary to use the
threat of cutting financial aid in order to press for
speedy and concrete reforms.
As
a country with democratic character, Bangladesh cannot
remain under a military-backed interim government for
long. The interim government and the US must exert their
influence to assist in reforms. Though a solution to
Bangladesh’s ills will not be witnessed by a single
improvement in one area, an AL-BNP agreement would
represent the first step towards overall progress.
Should this come to fruition, Bangladesh’s fragile
democracy will find itself on a stable path moving
towards greater national development.
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