The political storm that had brewed final one year in election-certain Bangladesh turned into as soon as over by February. The political say in February turned into as soon as the most peaceable in fresh years. No noticeable political avenue protests had been considered all the device thru your entire month, the duration following the parliamentary election, which turned into as soon as uncommon in many ways. Everybody gave the impression to earn “approved” the outcomes of the controversial election held on 7 January amid an unparalleled level of diplomatic tussle between countries both supporting or opposing the Sheikh Hasina administration, which had organised the polls.
The fresh parliament and executive, fashioned directly after the election, started conducting their enterprise within the same old system. Of us that had been strongly opposing and voicing concerns over the one-sided, one-celebration-dominated election, organised by the Hasina executive, grew to turn out to be mute inside weeks after the polls. The reactions of the US, the UK, and diverse Western countries remained shrimp to issuing statements directly after the election, questioning the equity of the task.
The largest diplomatic pattern in February turned into as soon as US President Joe Biden’s letter to Top Minister Hasina and the next gallop to of a US delegation to Bangladesh, paving the methodology for resetting put up-election bilateral relatives between Dhaka and Washington. The gallop to clearly exhibited a policy shift from the Biden administration.
The US refrained from taking any “punitive measures” in step with its fresh visa and labour insurance policies, which had perceived to be most critical hurdles for the Sheikh Hasina executive sooner than the parliamentary polls. The US had announced that it might well in all probability perhaps well rob motion against members to blame for undermining democratic elections and labour rights. The Biden administration had over and over acknowledged that the visa policy announced in Might maybe perhaps perhaps also honest final one year would make certain a free and comely democratic election in Bangladesh.
Both insurance policies had boosted the morale of the opposition camp and mounted stress on the Hasina executive sooner than the polls. The opposition parties remained firm of their query for a non-partisan election-time executive and within the slay boycotted the polls.
After the election, urgent questions arose referring to how the outcomes and the electoral task would be considered by the arena team and what impact, if any, they’d earn on Bangladesh’s external relationships, in particular with the US. These questions received significance because of the the sequence of events main as a lot as polling day and the low voter turnout.
Then again, the US administration failed to form an upper give up the geopolitics that had developed around the Bangladesh election. Its competitors, China and Russia, overtly criticised the US for “interfering” in Bangladesh’s inside affairs and prolonged particular increase to the Hasina executive. India failed to be aware suit with China and Russia, as a substitute clarifying its assign by stating that the “other folks of Bangladesh” would resolve about their election. Then again, it turned into as soon as broadly understood in Bangladesh that India had prolonged its wholehearted increase to Sheikh Hasina to organise the election and retain energy.
Thus, China, India, Russia, and loads assorted countries from the Global South failed to hesitate to congratulate Hasina for winning the election. Their increase bolstered Hasina’s assign, serving to her weather the stress from the West sooner than the election. This increase also contributed to the US changing its stance and initiating a reset in diplomatic relatives between Washington and Dhaka.
Though the US concluded that the elections had been now not free and comely almost a month after the polls, US President Biden wrote a letter to Top Minister Sheikh Hasina expressing a willingness to work collectively.
In the letter, which turned into as soon as published on the US Embassy’s online page on 6 February, Biden wrote, “As we embark on the next chapter of the U.S.-Bangladesh partnership, I are looking out to narrate the dependable desire of my Administration to proceed our work collectively on regional and global security, financial pattern, native weather commerce and energy, global health, humanitarian increase, in particular for Rohingya refugees, and more. We’ve got a lengthy and winning historical previous of working collectively to resolve issues, and our sturdy other folks-to-other folks ties are the inspiration of this relationship. The US is dedicated to supporting Bangladesh’s audacious financial targets and partnering with Bangladesh on our shared vision for a free and originate Indo-Pacific.”
No longer as a lot as three weeks later, a US delegation visited Dhaka from 24–26 February. The delegation turned into as soon as led by President Biden’s Special Assistant and National Security Council’s Senior Director Rear Admiral Eileen Laubacher. It also incorporated USAID Assistant Administrator Michael Schiffer and Inform Department Deputy Assistant Secretary for South and Central Asia Afreen Akhter.
They held conferences with the Top Minister’s Deepest Industry and Funding Adviser, Salman F Rahman, Foreign Minister Hasan Mahmud, Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen, opposition BNP leaders Fakhrul Islam Alamgir and Amir Khashru Mahmud Chowdhury, labour leaders, and members of civil society.
Both the Bangladesh executive and the US delegation emphasised the earn to beef up bilateral diplomatic relatives. The gallop to by the US delegation to Dhaka and Biden’s letter to Top Minister Hasina expressing a willingness to work collectively clearly demonstrated a shift in US policy.
In accordance with foreign policy analysts, geopolitical factors played a task in this fresh means. With US foreign-policy consideration an increasing number of fascinated about instability within the Middle East, Washington sought to chop diplomatic challenges in other places. Furthermore, the battle in neighbouring Myanmar had intensified, and Bangladesh, which hosted a total bunch of hundreds of Rohingya refugees, sought to repatriate them. Washington aimed to guarantee that it had ample diplomatic condominium to earn interplay with Dhaka on these soft issues.
Analysts in Dhaka, nonetheless, believed that while Washington supposed to reach its multidimensional relationship with Dhaka, it might well in all probability perhaps well now not bury its concerns over democracy, labour rights, right governance, civic condominium, and media freedom. It could perhaps perhaps well, nonetheless, lend a hand a decrease profile on these issues.
Recent executive a ‘blessing’ for BNP senior leaders?
The formation of the fresh executive, led by Sheikh Hasina, who led the ruling Awami League to victory within the one-sided election, perceived to be a “blessing” for senior BNP leaders reminiscent of Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir and Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury.
Detained on the slay of October, they’d been struggling to fabricate bail and scurry out of jail. Then again, with the election over and the fresh executive initiating its hotfoot, Fakhrul and Amir Khasru bought bail within the total cases filed against them in connection with the avenue violence of October. They had been launched from jail in mid-February.
Many assorted BNP leaders had been also detained by legislation enforcement agencies and imprisoned to cease them from launching avenue agitation against the 7 January election, held below the Sheikh Hasina executive in assign of a non-partisan caretaker executive, as demanded by the BNP and loads of assorted opposition parties. These parties boycotted the polls and deliberate to intensify avenue protests to resist the election. Then again, a clampdown turned into as soon as imposed on them by legislation enforcement.
After the election, the BNP and opposition parties that had boycotted the polls remained almost mute all the device thru February.
Nobel Laureate Yunus now a sufferer?
Nobel Laureate Prof Muhammad Yunus, along with three assorted prime officials of Grameen Telecom, turned into as soon as sentenced to 6 months’ imprisonment in a labour legislation violation case on 1 January, six days sooner than the parliamentary election, no subject world concerns voiced by dozens of Nobel laureates and world leaders over the “judicial harassment” against him.
Following the election, the fresh Hasina executive intensified its actions against Prof Yunus. On 12 February, the executive-sprint Grameen Monetary institution seized eight establishments—Grameen Telecom, Grameen Kalyan, Grameen Fisheries and Farm animals Basis, Grameen Agriculture Basis, Grameen Shamogree, Grameen Fund, Grameen Shakti, and Grameen Communique—from Prof Yunus. Dr Yunus alleged that Grameen Monetary institution had usurped these eight establishments, which he had established the expend of earnings from his enterprise.
Then again, Grameen Monetary institution’s chairman, AKM Saiful Majid, acknowledged that these establishments inside Grameen Telecom Bhaban had been taken over legally, striking forward that Nobel Laureate Dr Muhammad Yunus had no ownership or shares in these establishments.
In an interview with DW Bangla, Nobel Laureate Prof Muhammad Yunus talked about that he and his colleagues had been residing in apprehension because of the the “illegal” takeover of places of work on the Grameen Telecom Bhaban by a team of outsiders. “We’re in a complicated say,” Prof Yunus talked about. “The disaster is deepening.”
“Any other folks stormed our places of work and declared that they’d earn them. What more or less query is that?” Yunus questioned. “We went to the police, and they also talked about that they might perhaps well now not attain the relaxation about it. They customarily did nothing, so where will we gallop?” he added.
When requested why Top Minister Sheikh Hasina gave the impression to dislike him, Prof Yunus talked about: “She thinks I am the worst thug, a prison, a usurper and a bribe-taker. She appropriate says the relaxation she desires, perhaps as a result of she has a extraordinarily defective idea of me.”
Yunus faced higher than 100 assorted prices connected to labour legislation violations and alleged corruption. He is anticipated to undergo further dependable challenges within the coming days.
The prosecution and alleged harassment of Dr Yunus earn despatched a particular message to others in Bangladesh that Top Minister Sheikh Hasina’s administration would now not hesitate to crush critics questioning her leadership. Freedom of the clicking, already below critical stress, has faced further constraints following the fresh election. Amidst high inflation, companies and long-established other folks are struggling to defend afloat, and they also appear to care tiny about their political rights, reminiscent of vote casting rights.
Thus, Bangladesh had entered a brand fresh long-established it has never skilled sooner than.
