The bloody mutiny has shaken Sheikh Hasina, democracy and the region. She now has to deal with Islamist forces, hardline officers and political opponents, says Fariha Karim in Tehelka:
Theories have emerged from sections of the Indian press that shipping magnate Salauddin Qadeer Chowdhury, alleged to be close to Begum Khaleda Zia’s Bangladesh Nationalist Party and Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence, was involved. Growing counter-claims have also been made, primarily by Pakistan, of the role of India’s intelligence agency, the Research and Analysis Wing. While experts agree that affixing blame is still premature, they are also unanimous about the involvement of a bigger player than just the BDR.
According to Major Muniruzzaman, who heads the Bangladesh Institute of Peace and Security: “What happened is in the interests of anyone who wants to weaken Bangladesh to the level of a failing state. Anyone looking at border capacity would be hitting the BDR, as would anyone who wants to settle scores with the armed forces or the BDR. But there is a complete lack of information. We can’t jump to any conclusions without an investigation.”
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From The Economist:
Parliament in Dhaka was this week restored to its intended use; parliamentarians, sadly, returned to their old abuses. A makeshift prison for much of the two years, ending in December 2008, that Bangladesh was ruled by an army-backed interim government, the parliament complex housed the leaders of the two big political parties: Sheikh Hasina of the Awami League (AL) and Khaleda Zia of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP).
On January 25th, however, a month after the league won a general election by a landslide, parliament reconvened for the first time. True to old form, the opposition BNP walked out in protest. The reason was bizarre: it claimed that the president, Iajuddin Ahmed-whom the BNP had picked in late 2006 as the head of a caretaker government to oversee (and rig) an election due in January 2007-had violated the constitution by failing to hold the vote on time. Three days later, it walked out again, miffed at seating arrangements.
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The visit of the Bangladesh army chief followed by the flagging of the Maitree Express is cause for optimism on both sides of the border, reports Jyoti Malhotra in Mint
If wishes were horses, India and Bangladesh could easily ride off into the sunset together.
So, when Bangladesh army chief Gen. Moeen U. Ahmed arrived in Delhi in late February, the first army chief from that country to visit India, army chief Gen. Deepak Kapoor gifted him with two stallions and four mares, handpicked from the army’s Remount Veterinary Corps. The six horses cost Rs3.6 crore (Rs1 crore each for the stallions and Rs40 lakh for each mare), but Indian officials are emphatic about the fact that its money well spent. “The fact that this Bangladesh army chief is a muktijoddha (freedom fighter) indicates that he is well disposed to India,’’ said a senior Indian government official, who did not wish to be identified.
[Pic: The Maitree Express on its maiden Kolkata-Dhaka run on April 13. Madhu Kapparath/Mint]
