Being a Bangladeshi living abroad I have been following fall of democracy caused by an emergence of alternate source of power and governance in Bangladesh. Like most others I have been relying on media and media solely have been serving our worries keeping us informed. But to my surprise I found my self worrying more and left horrified; I couldn’t help noticing the recent tabloid culture in leading Bangladeshi newspapers. In academia, definition of fair and unbiased journalism clearly mentions that a bias-free newspaper should at all times maintain a particular level of quality/class, where publications consist of proven facts and/or findings from some qualitative investigations. But journalism based on mare “talk of town” or quotations from few jealousy-driven individuals, reflects nothing but practice of poor yellow journalism. It resembles characteristics of western paparazzi instead.
As a close associate of Harris Chowdhury, former political secretary to the Honourable Prime Minister, who has also been a valiant freedom fighter; I have known him from close distance throughout his political career. From being ex-president of “Jubodol” in early 80’s, to joint secretary general of BNP chairman in late 90’s I have been following his career as a political secretary to the Prime Minister. Our leading newspapers have recently presented few well-investigated and hence well- confirmed corruption facts and figures from a number of former ministers and lawmakers; such as luxurious cottage, plot allotment and theft of government land; which I think is indeed praiseworthy. However, as long as Harris Chowdhury’s corruption records are concerned, I have not yet found one real proof consisting of numbers and/or similarly obvious. The so called facts such as “Harris Chowdhury is a partner of the JH consortium in KL twin tower” and many more, published in the newspapers are rather bogus. I took the initiative myself to query about this JH consortium and not to my surprise was confirmed by the KL twin tower officials that there is nothing under such name exists at all! Hence the so called hot cake Ajker-Kagoj tried selling, is made-bitter by rumours and spoofs by few envious individuals.
While Ajker Kagoj talks about Mr. Chowdhury’s recent relationship with secretary general Mannan Bhuiyan and party chairman Khaleda Zia; I took the liberty to consult few senior party officials including Mannan Bhuiyan himself and reviewed a number of previously published media reports. The reality appears to be that as soon as the former government handed its power to the caretaker government Mr. Chowdhury took a few days off due to the fact that he has been physically unwell as Mr. Chowdhury still suffers from the usual side affects caused by Chemotherapy he had to undergo to treat his Non-Hotchkins Lymphoma cancer. During that short leave period, Mr. Chowdhury refrained from attending few party meetings while maintaining regular contact with the party leaders. He was again back in the picture in no time while his name was proposed as a nominee to compete for BNP from Sylhet-5 with regards to the long due election of 2007. Sylhet-5, at the same time, was highly desired by Jamaat – E – Islam. So far the reality has been that, followed by a constructive negotiation, BNP agreed to let Jamaat contestant to run for election from Sylhet-5. Mr. Chowdhury happily agreed to that despite his huge popularity in the area. Only prioritising interest of BNP in order to maintain BNP-Jamaat alliance, Mr. Chowdhury decided to take back his nomination form. Mr. Chowdhury’s attempt has been highly appreciated by party secretary general Mannan Bhuiyan and party chairman Begum Zia herself. Thus questioning Mr. Chowdhury’s relation with BNP party leaders seems to be a gross pre-conceived attempt to publicly humiliate the former political secretary.
It remains obvious why the Daily Ajker Kagoj came up with a lengthy report today, mentioning neither one individuals name associated with this particular investigation, nor one obvious finding to prove him, as mentioned, king of all corrupts. This vague and as believed, deliberate misleading and victimising article is published right on time while BNP raised voice strongly against the interview of ex- PS to the Prime Minister AHM Nurul Islam published in Daily Prothom-Alo on 19th February. Although I don’t know how ethical it has been of Mr. Islam is to step away from his oath as a government official not to disclose sensitive official matters; I do admire Prothom-Alo’s bold attempt to publish the interview on front page. Yet it could have been more creditable to publish such articles followed by interviews of victimized officials during the reign of BNP government.
This part is worth mentioning that Mr. Islam vaguely held Harris Chowdhury solely responsible for working in the interests of former Prime Minister and her son which appears to be slightly ambiguous; he further goes on and mentions some rumours about Mr. Chowdhury’s under-desk income through lobbying in his office. Yet Mr. Islam calling attention unto those rumours leaves us in the dilemma about Mr Chowdhury being on top of the so called corrupt persons list. This further leaves room to question Mr Islam’s role while holding the ex- personal secretary post to the Prime Minister; the point being how this so called severe corruption practice from the political secretary to the PM have gone unnoticed by Mr. Islam, and even if he did take note of such activities, what steps had he taken in this regard?
Now heading back to “annoyed-yet-reluctant” reactions of BNP lawmakers followed by the published interview; it is fairly strange and indisposed of them to provide neither a witness, nor any evidence contradicting any of Mr. Islam’s remarks. They have merely attempted a rather weak gesture demonstrating their aggravation by faxing a protesting letter to the Prothom-Alo office and thereby washing their hands off the issue as a whole. I appreciate Daily Star’s columnist Rakib Hasnet Suman’s brave effort on drawing readers’ attention on corruption allegations against Khaleda Zia and her son Tareque Rahman getting stronger day by day. This should act as an eye opener to all who believed in the Ajker Kagoj reporter’s vague attempt to move the spotlight to Harris Chowdhury.
My understanding from all these is, that Mr. Chowdhury simply remains the victimized defense mechanism of the real corrupt party chief and her son; as obviously he is of no use to the system which exploited him and his named acquaintances beforehand. So must we think he should surrender and spill few more beans? Or, shouldn’t media step back to its mandatory role and reveal reality? We understand media to be the voice of people, not a mare weapon of conspiracy. It is a shame when we Bangladeshis are fighting corruption in every segment; our media still continues misleading us lacking accountability within itself, proceeding in a tabloid manner. Media is to be used to serve broader purposes rather than practicing yellow journalism and promote propaganda dedicated to serve interest of a group or individual. This questions the basic definition of media. As a proud citizen of the nation which is on the verge a revolutionary era of constructive reform in every sector, I would like to draw everyone’s attention to this and make a say to end this tabloid culture.
Dr. J Smith
Saturday 9 June 2007
Evidence mounts of Bangladesh mass torture
By South Asia correspondent of ABC news Peter Lloyd
http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200706/s1945599.htm
An ABC investigation has uncovered evidence linking Bangladesh's military-backed Government with mass arrests, illegal detention, torture and at least 100 murders since January. The horrific revelations come as Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer prepares to unveil a one-third increase in foreign aid to Bangladesh.
Since January, soldiers have been calling the shots in Bangladesh, one of the world's youngest and poorest countries. Troops took to the streets after democracy was suspended and the military imposed draconian emergency rule.
Media restrictions are now tight and openly filming soldiers is banned. The Army said it took control to clean up a culture of corruption in politics and it has rounded up dozens of prominent people, but the ABC has discovered evidence of something far more sinister behind the scenes.
Human rights groups contend that the military has arrested as many as 200,000 people since the crackdown began. There is no way to fully account for their whereabouts but the belief is that most of them are still in military custody.
Some have emerged with shocking accounts of abuse, torture and murder. Soldiers picked up Protap Jambil on the way home from a wedding. He says he was beaten for more than four hours.
"They tied my two hands and feet and eight or nine of them caned me," he said.
"I was in tremendous pain - I couldn't move, I couldn't walk, I needed four people to carry me."
Mr Jambil says he was forced to lie while up to eight soldiers took turns beating him with bamboo rods.
"I kept praying to God and his son, Jesus. I thought that I would die," he said.
He was not alone. His brother-in-law was also arrested and tortured, but he did not survive.
"At first they tied both of his hands and feet, then they tortured the soles of his feet and all over his body," Mr Jambil said.
"They unzipped his pants and attached pliers to his penis and to all of his fingers and toes.
"They put candle wax on the wounds and then they put hot water mixed with dried chilli and salt and poured it all over his body and through his nose and ears."
Attempts by human rights groups to document abuse cases have been met with threats and intimidation, but some refuse to be silenced.
Human rights group Odhikar says the security forces have killed at least 100 people since January at a rate of almost one per day.
Spokesman Farhad Mazhar says those who do emerge from military custody tell a disturbingly similar story.
"People have been picked up without any kind of evidence and then they've been tortured," he said. "People complain that their nails have been taken out. They've been tortured very badly."
Interrogation centres
Military-run interrogation centres operate all over the country. Some, such as Fatullah stadium on the outskirts of Dhaka, are brazenly open. A year ago, Australia played a Test match against Bangladesh there. Today, it is military occupied.
One witness, who was too fearful to appear on camera for the ABC, described how he heard torture victims screaming in agony during a local cricket match.
Later in the same day, a senior Army officer boasted openly that suspects were far more talkative after they had been given electric shocks, beaten and subjected to water torture.
The head of the Bangladesh armed forces and the man behind emergency rule, General Mooen Ahmed, refused to grant an interview to the ABC, so we turned up unannounced.
General Ahmed says action has already been taken on the allegations of human rights abuses.
"Nobody is above the law in this country, so if anybody makes a mistake, he will be taken to task," he said.
The general denies soldiers are torturing suspects and rejects claims there have been at least 100 cases of murder by armed forces since he took power.
Govt hand-picked
To provide cover from allegations that he carried out a coup, General Ahmed hand-picked a civilian caretaker Government to run Bangladesh.
"It is absolutely a civilian Government, supported by the middle classes - the soldiers, the police," he said.
Army-approved Foreign Minister Iftikhar Chowdhury says the military only plays a role given to it by the Government.
"It's not a dirty work," he said. "The Army is taking certain actions in terms of the anti-corruption drive, which has full support of the community."
Mr Chowdhury says the arrests of as many as 200,000 people have taken place under due process.
"The arrests are made under some allegations of breach of law," he said.
"Due process begins with the effecting of the arrest when those arrested are brought before magistrates, as is always the case here."
The United Nations sees it differently. It recently accused the Bangladesh armed forces of using murder as a means of law enforcement.
But Mr Chowdhury says Bangladesh has done better than most countries of the world in these respects.
"I can tell you this and we're proud of our record," he said. "In human rights, Bangladesh is better than many, many, many, countries."
'Aust interference'
Bangladesh was on a knife edge in January. As political rivalries were being played out in violent street clashes, western diplomats were shuttling around the capital trying to mediate.
Just before the Army hit the streets, the British and American ambassadors each held private meetings with the military chief. Some suspect General Moeen was given a green light to take over.
Influential newspaper editor Nurul Kabir says a clique of western diplomats known as the Tuesday Club interfered in his country's internal affairs.
The club is an informal caucus of the big donor nations that meets every week. Its core members are ambassadors from the US, Britain, Japan, Canada, the European Union and Australia.
"An ambassador isn't supposed to do all these things," he said. "I don't believe that my ambassador in Washington can even think of entering into the headquarters to discuss politics."
Mr Kabir says the Tuesday Club not only courted military intervention but campaigned for civilian politicians to accept it back in January. However, none of the diplomats will agree to talk about it.
"As a citizen, I feel embarrassed and I'm sure that people of the countries that they have sent here would have been embarrassed too to see how their high commissioners and ambassadors in Dhaka are meddling themselves in politics," Mr Kabir said.
Aid defended
Australia's High Commissioner, Douglas Foskett, refused to be interviewed for this story but he remains an open backer of the Government, despite the military's behaviour.
"We are happy that all is looking positive for the future," Mr Foskett said in a press release.
"Such is Australia's apparent faith in the current state of affairs in Bangladesh, the Federal Government is preparing to increase foreign aid from $43 million to around $57 million, a 33 per cent increase."
Foreign Minister Alexander Downer has defended Australia's aid program after the human rights allegations were aired on ABC TV. Mr Downer says the aid does not go to the Bangladeshi Government.
"No matter what the political behaviour of the political elites might be - and in this case they have a caretaker Government which says it's reformist, which promises to restore democracy and we await that happening - I think it's so wrong to take necessary assistance from the poorest people in society," he said.
"We shouldn't ever consider doing that. If I'm criticised for helping the poor, I don't mind that.
"There are 60 million people living in Bangladesh in abject poverty and I think we're doing the right thing to help those people and I would think most Australians would agree with me."
The parliamentary secretary for Foreign Affairs, Greg Hunt, says Australia's aid to Bangladesh was increased in line with its status as one of the poorest countries in the world.
Mr Hunt has pointed out that Australian aid does not go directly to the Bangladeshi regime but to reputable organisations like UNICEF and the World Food Program.
'Common interests'
Mr Chowdhury is set to visit Canberra to collect the aid cheque. It is unclear what, if any, conditions are attached.
When asked if Australia's High Commissioner raised any human rights concerns with him, Mr Chowdury had this to say:
"Douglas Foskett has been a tremendous ambassador. He's a very good High Commissioner. We have always talked about common interests," he said.
"There is sometimes a fine line between interest and interference. Ambassadors understand this very well.
"This country is - we would like to be as we say we are - in charge of our own destiny, in the driver's seat of our programs, plans. Australians understand and appreciate that very much."
General Moeen insists democracy will return to Bangladesh with fresh elections by the end of next year but he recently raised eyebrows by promoting himself to Full General. Many wonder how long civilians will remain in the picture.
Generals in Bangladesh have a notorious history of thirsting for absolute power.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)