Saturday | 5 October 2024 | Reg No- 06
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Saturday | 5 October 2024 | Epaper

West comes with new idea ahead of election

Published : Sunday, 20 August, 2023 at 12:00 AM  Count : 927
Nizam Ahmed
According to a section of political analysts, it is evident that some foreign powers are eager to have a subservient government in Bangladesh through the upcoming national election to implement their agenda of achieving global and regional political supremacy.

As the government of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina did not budge to accept their proposals and back their agenda over the past years, they have ultimately resolved to remove her and her government by hook or by crook.

As the patriotic armed forces recently parried a western proposal to help bring a change in the administrations ahead of the next national election due in January next, they have mooted a new idea to remove Bangladesh incumbent government through a so called fair and credible election.

It may be recalled that in January 2007, Bangladesh army backed formation an interim government to hold a fair election, after the then incumbent government prepared to hold elections with more than 12 million fake voters.

But this time Bangladesh armed forces see nothing illegal in the administration and the election process as the government has unprecedentedly made the Election Commission (EC) a fully independent entity.

According to the new idea mooted by the relevant western powers, the authority of the incumbent government and the EC will be belittled over the election process in the name of fair election.
Accordingly they are trying to set up an international body probably with the title of International Election Commission (IEC) for dictating, monitoring and announcing the Bangladesh election results.

The body is likely to be announced by the western powers few weeks ahead of the election and will create huge pressure on the Bangladesh government to accept the IEC and handover the election process to it.

Symptoms and hints of implementation of this idea have already been floated as an open secret in international politics. However, an Asian power has been supporting Bangladesh against the western conspiracy. A close regional ally has also been supporting Bangladesh, but seems less vocal against its western ally as they have common interest in maintaining supremacy in Asia pacific region.

Smelling the western conspiracy Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on August 16 alleged that western countries want to remove her from power through intrigue in the upcoming election of the country to use the Bay of Bengal against their adversaries.

"They want to create a (unstable) situation in this country on different pleas of election, democracy and different other names so that they can use the Indian Ocean and the Bay of Bengal. The purpose of some of them is to attack different countries in this region and destroy the countries," she said, without mentioning the name of any country.

Obaidul Quader, General Secretary of the ruling Awami League and Minister of Road Transport and Bridges of the government on Friday, August 18 said Sheikh Hasina is afraid of none. But, he indirectly said, though true she should not tell it publicly lest people get discouraged.

He said ahead of elections Ministers and high officials of the some Western Countries have been arriving regularly as Bangladesh election nears. "They come, even without formal invitations, to advise us on holding fair election, respect human rights. We also honour them when they came uncalled for." Other leaders on August 18 said at a meeting of the Awami League - led 14-party meeting that Bangladesh will not move with the prescriptions of the others.

In a new development US human rights organisations on August 17, have called for framing new policies, along with imposing more sanctions, for ensuring free and fair elections in Bangladesh. They said political violence remains high in Bangladesh, competing political rallies result in clashes, and the opposition's demonstrations often face crackdowns.

The call was made at a briefing hosted by Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission, a bipartisan body of the US House of Representatives, on the human rights situation in Bangladesh. Panelists from the Asian Human Rights Commission, Robert F Kennedy Human Rights, Human Rights Watch, US Institute of Peace, and International Republican Institute participated in it.

In 2021, the US imposed sanctions against RAB (Rapid Action Battalion) and some of its top officials for human rights violations, and in May this year, it announced a visa policy restricting visas for those involved in vote rigging.

"The US must not lift the existing sanctions and must consider additional sanctions against other security forces, such as, the Detective Branch and Directorate General of Forces Intelligence," said Kristi Ueda of the Robert F Kennedy Human Rights.

However, according to a pre-schedule, the 9th Bangladesh-US Security Dialogue is likely to be held in Dhaka in October aiming to strengthen security cooperation between the two countries.

The dialogue seems to be especially significant as the US is seeking to implement its Indo-Pacific Strategy with the active support and participation of Bangladesh, before the latter's upcoming national election.

In December 2021, US Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken laid out his government's Indo-Pacific Strategy, America's vision for a free, open, connected, prosperous, resilient, and secure Indo-Pacific region in which all countries are empowered to adapt to the 21st century's challenges and seize its many opportunities.

South Korea, Japan, the Philippines, Thailand, Australia and New Zealand are treaty allies of the US and strategy with those countries is tied to those mutual defense treaties. US is now trying to involve Bangladesh and other countries of the region in the Indo-Pacific Strategy, which emanated from the Quad (Quadrilateral Security Dialogue) formed to counter Chinese maritime claims.

US, Japan, India and Australia are the members of Quad, initiated in 2007 and reinvigorated in 2021.

US has been reportedly pressurizing Bangladesh to join Quad formally, but Bangladesh has been unwilling, so far to join the quasi defence bloc. According to Australia Quad is not a military alliance but a diplomatic relationship that has come together post the Tsunami, which has shaped a vision for the Indo-Pacific region.

However, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has been struggling to cruise forward her country's foreign policy based on "friendship towards all, malice towards none," aimed at achieving the goal of graduating Bangladesh from least developed country status in 2026, and to a developed country in 2041.

As the international pressures on the incumbent government seem to intensify the opponents, who languished on the streets for 15 years at stretch are upbeat, hoping better days in future.

Political analysts expect that the political scenario in Bangladesh will change frequently ahead of the upcoming election as the incumbent government has vowed to tackle every challenges poised to come.

The writer is Business Editor, The Daily Observer


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