Unhealthy loyalties:: New Age Xtra

This article was originally published in New Age Xtra on October 1, 2010

Unhealthy loyalties

Syed Tashfin Chowdhury writes why the recent incidents in Pabna surrounding BCL activists and Juba League activists and the DC’s office sends wrong signals for the future

Besides tainting the reputation of the ruling party yet again, the heinous attacks by Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL) and Bangladesh Juba League activists, student and youth organisations ideologically linked to the Bangladesh Awami League, at two examination centres of Pabna on September 17, may leave a bitter taste in the minds of thousands of government service holders in rural and urban areas across the country.

As was reported, around a week later in some leading newspapers, more than 70 Juba League and BCL activists attacked two examination centres during an ongoing recruitment test for class-III employees at the deputy commissioner’s office.

The information was revealed by the government officials who were on duty at the two centres on that day, during a meeting between the officials and police personnel, faculties from reputed local institutions and other government officials, along with journalists, on September 23 at the Deputy Commissioner’s (DC) office.  

Alleging question leak, the activists assaulted a number of government officers, including two additional deputy commissioners, a female magistrate, Pabna sadar upazila nirbahi officer and damaged four vehicles, along with assaulting the examinees at the centres.

‘What they did that day can only be seen in films. They chased and harassed the officials in broad daylight. They smashed the glasses of the government vehicles with belts. We have come to work, not to get beaten up,’ said Ishrat Jahan, the female magistrate, before breaking down in tears.

The Additional Deputy Commissioner Bijoy Bhushan Pal, Deputy Commissioner AFM Monjur Kadir and others also shared similar accounts of the incident. Following the incident, the DC office had filed two cases against hundreds of miscreants, from whom they could name only 32, for halting recruitment test of government employees. Five activists were arrested following the meeting.

Instead of being ashamed of the deeds done by their immediate leaders and contemporaries, the BCL and Juba League activists brought out processions at Pabna chanting slogans against the DC, following the DC office meeting.

However, countrywide adverse reaction to the incident led 21 BCL and Juba League activists to surrender themselves to authorities on September 26. A Pabna court on the day after denying bail, sent all 21 leaders and activists to jail.

Even while this was happening, the AL’s Pabna municipality and sadar units and its associate organisations staged a sit-in for one hour from 12:00pm on the day in front of the district AL office. A protest rally, led by Taslim Hasan Suman flanked by other leaders of the district AL, demanded the withdrawal of the Pabna deputy commissioner.

 However, Prime minister’s adviser on administration and establishment HT Imam, directly denied any involvement of AL with BCL and Juba League activists in the incident on the evening of September 27. Both Imam and state minister for home Shamsul Haq Tuku arrived in Pabna late afternoon on the day and had a closed door meeting with around 100 district officials for over two and a half hours.

Around the evening, Imam and Tuku answered the questions of media correspondents.

Imam said, ‘Juba League and BCL are not the associate organisations of the Awami League’ to which Tuku added, ‘we have taken action against Awami League activists pending investigation into the allegations of their involvement in the September 17 incidents.’

Imam claimed the officers attending the meeting informed that the situation had been highly exaggerated by the media. When pointed to the photographs of assaulted weeping officials, Imam said, ‘such photos can be cooked up.’

He further claimed there was neither tension nor the administration was suffering from lack of insecurity. ‘The administration is facing no problem now. Everything is all right,’ he assured.

Asked if the trouble was triggered because of the pressure on the administration to recruitment ruling party activists, the PM’s adviser said, ‘There can be tadbir. But we want to see that no anti-liberation elements, war criminals or those linked with terrorists and communalists are recruited in government jobs.’

When asked whether DC Kadir will be withdrawn, as was demanded by AL and BCL activists the previous day in Pabna, Imam was quoted in major dailies as saying: ‘government officials do not stay in one area for their entire life. They will be transferred. However, they will not be transferred on anybody or party’s demands. We will decide on this after discussing the situation with district AL leaders and other concerned officials.’

Already, the Pabna sadar upazila nirbahi officer Abdul Alim has been transferred to Monpura of Bhola on September 27 following an order from the establishment ministry.

Senior vice-president of Pabna district Awami League M Saidul Huq Chunnu said to the media on September 27 that the party men surrendered following directions from the central committee. ‘Now things will become easier if there’s any decision on the DC.’

It needs to be mentioned that tensions have prevailed in Pabna for a while due to an existing conflict between the deputy commissioner AFM Manjur Qadir and local MP Ghulam Faruk Khandaker Prince.

It seems that the ruling party is more inclined towards appeasing their own party activists than to tend to the wounds of government officials. In a bid to do this, they are doing all that is necessary to wrap up the whole incident.

And this is not the only recent incident where BCL and Juba League men flexed their muscles over government officials.

A leading Bengali daily reported on September 21 how Juba League and BCL activists had vandalised the civil surgeon’s office and the vehicles of the civil surgeon and the additional deputy commissioner of Panchargarh on September 19. They also looted the answer scripts and mark sheets of the examination that was taken earlier for the recruitment in 15 positions of the district health department. The Panchagarh Juba League and BCL activists were agitated as the final results did not contain the names of their candidates.

Environment and forest affairs secretary of the Dhunat unit Awami League and the chairman of local union council, Shamsul Bari filed a general diary at the Dhunat police station in Bogra against Juba League activist Minto, younger brother of the local Awami League lawmaker Habibur Rahman, and the upazila Juba League organising secretary, Saidur Rahman, for threatening to kill him for being witness to an abduction case filed against the two and four others on September 23.

Bari was witness to the deeds of a group of Juba League activists, including Minto and Saidur, who had held the Rampura Primary School headmaster Abdul Hamid hostage and demanded a ransom of Tk 50,000 for his release on September 22, according to the Dhunat police. Hamid, rescued later by local Awami League leaders, also filed a general diary in the police station against the six Juba League activists.

The series of incidents portray the lawlessness of BCL and Juba League activists and the insecure state of government officials all over Bangladesh. Government officials are the backbone of any government administration, who dedicate their efforts, skills and knowledge in order to contribute to the overall smooth operation at varying levels of governance. Despite moderate rewards and remunerations, as is the case of their contemporaries with equal or lesser degrees and skills in the private sector, these professionals provide their services mostly in exchange of the respect that comes with the job.

However, when this vital aspect of their profession is at stake, government officials are left with very few choices. Their frustration and anger becomes justified when they are roughed up and harassed by activists and leaders, who are being able to exert authority only because their party is in power.

The government should wake up from its slumber and realise that things can get way out of hand if such incidents occur further in the future. Besides losing faith in the eyes of public opinion in terms of their ability to run the government, such incidents can instil a sense of dejection in the minds of government service holders that may just culminate into something worse in the long run. The government should realise that when voted power, it is also their duty to ensure the smooth functioning of the various organs of the state, and protect the employees who ensure that.