Finding feet:: New Age Xtra

This article was originally published in New Age Xtra on December 10, 2010

Finding feet

Following the dawn to dusk general strike on November 30, speculation is rife that the main opposition party in the country, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party’s (BNP), is gearing to initiate anti-government movements across the country. Syed Tashfin Chowdhury finds out whether BNP, struggling with internal issues and under pressure from the government in power, has the ability to overcome the hurdles   

Following the dawn to dusk general strike on November 30, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party’s (BNP) will, as an opposition party that can still press forth their demands, seems to have strengthened, as senior party leaders went on to call the strike a ‘success’ despite alleged ‘fascist, undemocratic’ attempts by the ruling party who used law enforcement agency personnel to arrest around 3,000 BNP activists, including leaders, from the night of November 26 till November 30.

The party general secretary Khandaker Delwar Hossain, while speaking to the press at the party headquarters a few hours before the strike ended, also claimed that over 2,000 activists and leaders of BNP and its allies were injured through clashes with police and ruling party activists, as they tried to bring out rallies and processions to uphold the hartal (strike), during these five days. Delwar went on to assure the next agitation programme after discussion with party and ally leaders.

The recent incidents signify a change in attitude of the leading opposition party in the country, following the eviction of its party chairperson, Khaleda Zia, from her cantonment house on November 12, who had until recently, had either been inactive or unable to make an impact in the political arena. BNP earlier called for a general strike on November 14, the second strike ever since the present government came to power.

The two hartals have now raised speculation that BNP is trying to gear up an anti-government movement that may pave their way to the seat of government through the next parliamentary elections. However, the party that was handed their largest electoral defeat in December 2008 face a number of major hurdles, including intimidation from the government in power, a weak organisation left in rubbles through intervention of the military-backed interim government as well as retirement, passing away and expulsion of senior party leaders, as well as ghosts from the past – allegations of widespread corruption and the rise in militancy.

Furthermore, some experts feel that BNP’s electoral alliance with Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, a fruitful association during the 2001 general elections, has pushed the politics of the party to the far right, and has dissuaded much of the centre right intelligentsia to associate with it. BNP’s visible from the parliament, starting off with the seat row, has also come under heavy criticism.

The party has, however, also gained some strength in the past two years including the victory in the Chittagong Mayoral elections of a BNP-backed candidate and the success in holding the party council after 16 years, despite odds between party leaders. Meanwhile, two years into the tenure of the AL-led Grand Alliance, the fact that the government has failed to address the power-gas-water crises, curb the hike in prices of essentials, increase economic advancement etc, is also working in their favour.

Whether BNP will be able to overcome the odds and establish itself as a credible opposition over the next few years, with the organisation to participate in the tenth national parliamentary elections, now remains to be seen.

Haunting memories of past term

According to most analysts, the most significant point that worked against BNP in favour of Banglaedesh Awami League (AL) was the public concern regarding arbitrary corruption, rise in militancy, hike in the price of general items and other issues during the ninth national parliamentary elections 2008.

During the five year-long term of the BNP-led four party alliance from 2001-2006, the party office at Banani, named Hawa Bhaban, had allegedly turned into the informal centre of power, lead by the present senior vice-chairman of the party Tarique Rahman, son of the former prime minister and party leader, and then joint secretary general of the party. Tarique and his close friends such as Giasuddin Al Mamun, allegedly used BNP’s position to amass illegal wealth by awarding government tenders in exchange of huge sums of money, charging commission from investments coming into Bangladesh, receiving money during recruitment of civil servants among other means, according to media reports at the time.

The rise in militancy including the prowess of Jamaatul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB), Jagrata Muslim Janata Bangladesh (JMJB) and others also took place during the term of the BNP-led government. The August 21 attack on the AL rally during the BNP term was allegedly orchestrated by the Harkatul Jihad Bangladesh, one of the many militant organisations to raise their heads during the term.

The pit for the masses was the sky-rocketing rise in the prices of essentials around the end of the term. Many political experts have also blamed BNP for not being able to handle the political situation in 2006, prior to ninth general elections, leading to the emergence of the military-backed interim government soon after.

These, combined with other flaws made by the BNP led four-party alliance government, have left behind bitter memories in the minds of many voters; a serious factor that can still revoke considerable public support away from the party.

Moreover, some people feel that there has never been an apology on the part of the BNP-led four party alliance for taking responsibility, at least in part, for the political crisis the nation was thrust into, leading to the 1/11, though during her speech at the Paltan Maidan on December 27, 2008, Khaleda Zia was quoted as saying ‘let’s forget whatever happened in the past.’

While talking about its past mistakes, senior joint secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir plays it down by saying, ‘many mistakes occur when you are in power. The communication with the party’s grassroots had reduced as it did with the people, when BNP was in power. The publicity of the BNP’s politics was not properly carried out.’

Victory in Chittagong Mayoral elections

Like the ruling party, even the BNP possibly did not anticipate that Monjur Alam, their candidate for the Chittagong mayoral elections, would win against the three-time mayor and AL candidate, ABM Mohiuddin Chowdhury. The elections that took place on June 17 this year saw Chowdhury defeated by a margin of 95,528 votes.

Many analysts have seen the victory of Alam as a sign of waning confidence in the government in power, of the people due to its failures in delivering on the promises mentioned in the AL election manifesto.

Furthermore, what has gone unnoticed is the fact that, like the Chittagong mayoral elections, pro-government candidates of professional bodies like the Supreme Court Bar Association, the Dhaka Bar Association, the Dhaka University Teachers’ Association, etc were also defeated.

The trend has left the AL-led grand alliance, who took power two years back following a massive mandate that gave them three-fourths majority in the parliament, in considerable worry, aptly reflected in their dillydallying over announcing the date for the Dhaka City Corporation polls.

Hierarchal disarray

Internal conflicts began to plague BNP ever since AQM Badruddoza Chowdhury, the then-secretary general of BNP and the fifteenth president of Bangladesh, resigned from his position abruptly in 2001. After quitting the party, Badruddoza initiated his own political party called Bikalpa Dhara the same year. Following the temporary abolition of Bikalpa Dhara in October 2006, Badruddoza along with Col Oli Ahmed and 24 other BNP leaders, who quit BNP back then, formed the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP).

BNP’s conflicts took a serious turn following 1/11 when the BNP chairperson and most of the senior leaders including senior vice-chairman Tarique Rahman and others were arrested by the military-backed caretaker government on various charges. The party broke into two factions: one led by party chief-backed secretary general Khandaker Delwar Hossain and the other, which sought reforms, led by former finance minister the late Saifur Rahman.

Even after the ninth national parliamentary elections, the structure of the party is still in a mess as some of the experienced leaders have passed away while others have been sidelined because of their questionable roles during the tenure of the interim government. According to media reports, there is also serious conflict between leaders, divided along the lines of their roles during the interim government as well as squabbles over positions in the party.

Meanwhile, Tarique Rahman, who was made senior vice-chairman during the fifth national council, has been in London since his release on bail on September 3, 2008, effectively out of active politics.

Standing committee member of BNP Salahuddin Quader Chowdhury feels that through the recent incidents the tenacity of the BNP leaders has been tested. ‘The past two years has helped us understand the stance BNP leaders can take in moments of crises,’ he tells Xtra.

‘There will also be a major shake-up as BNP is preparing to create events now,’ says Salahuddin Quader. He informs that the Dhaka Mahanagar Committee will be formed by next week, while the Chhatra Dal committee will be formed by January 1. ‘The Jubo Dal committee will also be formed very soon,’ he says.

Fifth National Council

Despite serious internal conflicts and general criticism of the absence of democracy inside political parties in Bangladesh, BNP held its Fifth National Council at the Bangabandhu International Convention Centre on December 8, 2009 following deadlines set by the Election Commission. The fourth national council of the party was held 16 years earlier.
Amidst, local and foreign observers, politicians and the media, many considered the initiative being largely successful. The council ensured attendance from party leaders from all regional levels in the country. The councillors approved a number of amendment proposals to the party’s constitution including creation of a number of posts in the national executive committee of the party like senior vice-chairman and expansion of the party’s national standing committee.
Decisions were taken at the council that each of the organisational units will have a certain number of advisers. Also, a new provision was incorporated in the constitution under which the standing committee members will have the authority to join the executive committee meetings. New posts were also created for the party’s 251-man executive committee.
Following the council, Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir was appointed senior joint secretary general while new faces were picked for the posts of joint secretary generals.
While the council undoubtedly did bring together a sense of unity amongst the leaders and activists of the party, it received some criticism for electing Tarique Rahman as Senior Vice-Chairman of the party and empowering re-elected party chairperson Khaleda Zia to pick the office bearers for the National Executive Committee and Standing Committee.
Alliance with Jamaat
A major deterrent in BNP’s popularity was initiated through BNP’s strategic alliance with Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh in 1999. The alliance helped BNP with a majority at the parliament following the eighth national parliamentary elections with BNP winning 193 seats while Awami League got only 62 seats. Jamaat won 18 seats during the elections.
However, due to the rise in militancy from 2001 till 2006 and the then-government’s inability to tackle this, at least initially, most critics linked their alliance with Jamaat as being responsible.
Following the growing demand for the trial of war criminals, the ruling party has time and again blamed BNP for announcing programmes to foil the war crime trial proceedings and shield the war criminals as top Jamaat leaders are alleged to be. The alliance with Jamaat has also created rifts between senior party leaders as many daily newspapers opined in the past.
However, BNP has no plans to break the alliance anytime soon. ‘The coalition between BNP and Jamaat is predicated upon an electoral alliance. This alliance serves different interests at different times. We still have the alliance and we may continue to have it in the future,’ says Fakhrul.

New recruitment and membership renewal
After renewing her membership in August 2009, Khaleda Zia launched a drive to recruit new members for the party. The party aimed at recruiting around 50 lakh members prior to the fifth national council in December, 2009.
However, till September of this year, the party was able to recruit only 40,000 fresh members against their target of fifty lakh.
Party in-fighting, mismanagement and lack of coordination among the local units are reasons for this failure, according to leaders of different units. ‘It is a continued process. The local leaders have fallen victim to the government’s oppression and in many units they have concentrated on anti-government programmes,’ said Abdullah Al Noman, party vice-chairman to New Age, while admitting the failure in achieving the recruitment target.
Pressure from government
As a number of cases alleging corruption and others are still awaiting verdict in the courts against senior BNP leaders, the chairperson and her two sons, BNP seems to be in a constant pressure from the government.
It has been seen over the past two years that exactly when the BNP protests a government move or plans an agitation programme, progress on the hearings of these cases begins to roll. The situation usually leads to BNP toning down their protests and moves.
Besides existing cases, there are always chances that new cases can be filed against BNP leaders, leading to their arrests once again, according to senior party leaders.
However, ever since Khaleda Zia was evicted from her cantonment house on November 12, the BNP seems to have taken their movement a notch upwards. ‘All this while, the government has been creating events and the BNP has been responding to these events. Now, BNP will create the events. The latest general strike was the start to this,’ says Salahuddin Quader Chowdhury to Xtra.
The eviction of Khaleda Zia and cases against party leaders and activists were two of the 12 demands behind the general strike of November 30.
Oppression of BNP activists
According to information gathered by Odhikar, the human rights promoting non-government organisation, a total of 24 persons have been killed and 770 injured in political violence in October 2010. The November 2010 report of the same organisations cites the death of 19 people and the injury of around 1,380 in incidents of political violence. The most talked about of these incidents was the killing of upazila chairman and BNP leader Sanaullah Noor Babu in Natore.
BNP standing committee member Goyeshwar Chandra Roy tells Xtra, ‘the ruling party is also engaging law enforcing agencies to file false charges against BNP activists and leaders. While in the cases, charges are filed against few named individuals, a long list of 200 to 250 unknown activists are also mentioned. This gives the police a leeway to raid the homes of activists and leaders even in rural areas and arrest them on false charges.’
He points out that these activities prove that the conspiracy hatched during January 11, 2007 to ‘wipe BNP off the face of Bangladesh’ is still on and is being carried out by the government. ‘However, such oppression will actually help BNP to unite better,’ he says.
‘All this is actually helping BNP gain popularity,’ says Barrister Moudud Ahmed, standing committee member of BNP, to Xtra. ‘If a free and frank election is held now, I am certain that the BNP led four-party alliance will win by a considerable margin,’ he adds.
Boycotting the parliament sessions
There has been severe criticism of the opposition’s move to boycott the parliament since June 2, 2009, accusing the government of not allowing it to raise or discuss national issues.
Six sessions of the ninth parliament, formed through the December 29, 2008 general elections, have taken place till date and the opposition members attended the house only for 46 out of 1,698 working days.
While the initial argument over the front row never found favour among observers, the charter of demands around January, 2010 that the BNP wanted the government to meet included demands for parliamentary discussions on issues like price hike of essentials, deteriorating law and order situation, campus violence and the Asian highway.
The BNP parliamentary party also wanted the government to withdraw ‘false and fabricated’ cases against Khaleda, her two sons and other BNP leaders while also urging the speaker to expunge the treasury bench's ‘indecent remarks’ about late president Ziaur Rahman.
The ruling party itself seemed indifferent to the whole situation initially thus failing to ensure a functional parliament, one of the five priorities in its election manifesto. However, BNP has also faced the brunt of the criticism.
‘What is the need for the opposition to join the parliament when the court is passing the laws?’ asks Goyeshwar when asked about the opposition’s boycott of the parliament. He further adds, ‘AL and Jatiya Party has the majority of the seats in the parliament to which the number of our seats are rather negligible. They can very easily pass the laws without our nods.’
While citing the PM Sheikh Hasina’s comments on December 5 at the press conference after completing her 12 day-long three-nation tour where she told BNP ‘please do not cause sufferings to people through your destructive activities. Do not destroy people’s property,’ Goyeshwar says, ‘her comments and the comments of their party leaders regarding BNP and our leaders show that they are not tolerant to our participation in the parliament.’
Ruling party failures
The strongest point aiding the BNP in the race against AL at the moment is the failure of the ruling party at meeting the promises it made in its election manifesto especially the ‘five priority issues’.
Besides the parliamentary issues, there has been no advancement in the power-gas-water crises, curbing the hike in prices of essentials, increasing economic advancement leading to more investments and others.
‘The law and order situation has actually deteriorated while the human resource exports to foreign countries are also waning,’ says Goyeshwar to Xtra. ‘Investments are decreasing leading to a worse economy while no new gas blocks have been explored, which is essential for production in industries,’ he adds.

Some of the demands placed by BNP during the recent hartal included anti-national agreements, tender manipulation, gas-electricity-water crisis, land grabbing, extortion and terrorism by ruling party activists. The other issues mentioned were the politicisation of administration, police and judiciary, repression on political opponents and the persistent increase in the price of essentials, all of which have found resonance in the sentiments of ordinary citizens.

Going forward

During the ninth parliamentary elections, BNP won only 29 seats, while its coalition partners Jamaat won two seats and the Bangladesh Jatiya Party got only one seat. While BNP has often alleged that elections had been rigged, the former prime minister has nonetheless admitted that ‘BNP might have lost the elections.’

‘Instead of issues like Khaleda Zia’s house, the opposition should try to focus at making the government solve national problems which are faced by rural and urban people alike,’ says Shams Ahmed, a private service-holder to Xtra, stressing that the BNP can actually regain its lost popularity if it presses forth through programmes with such demands.

Dr Akbar Ali Khan, former chairman of Regulatory Reforms Commission and a former advisor to the caretaker government, when asked about BNP’s political programmes of late and the government’s strong-arm tactics to contain it, says that national politics is gradually moving toward ‘confrontation’.

‘For a democratic system to prevail, a liberal and pluralist system of politics is required,’ he adds.