Bangladesh parties adrift after arrest
By Tom Felix Joehnk in New Delhi
Published: May 19 2008
Bangladesh's government on Sunday arrested Motiur Rahman Nizami, the leader of Jamaat-e-Islami, leaving the three largest political parties rudderless ahead of parliamentary polls due in December.
Metropolitan Magistrate Waliul Islam on Monday denied bail to Mr Nizami and sent him to Dhaka Central Jail pending his corruption trial, his lawyer Moshiur Alam told reporters outside the court, according to an AP report.
The arrest is the most high-profile since the military-backed government jailed the feuding leaders of the two big political parties, the former prime ministers Khaleda Zia of the Bangladesh Nationalist party and Sheikh Hasina Wajed of the Awami League, last year.
Mr Nizami, industry minister in a BNP-led coalition government until October 2006, has been charged with Khaleda Zia and 13 others with corruption in the awarding of a container contract. He denies the allegations.
The head of the Jamaat-e-Islami, whose party opposed the birth of Bangladesh in 1971, is a controversial figure in Bangladeshi politics. Mr Nizami's political opponents accuse him of having led a group called Al Badr, which executed and tortured those fighting against Pakistan in the country's war of independence. The political parties want the government to set up an international war crimes tribunal.
But for now, the government's anti-corruption drive appears to take precedence. Since the army forced the president to declare a state of emergency and appoint a government of technocrats to do their bidding in January 2007, some 50 politicians and businessmen have been convicted and sentenced for various prison terms.
According to the powerful Anti-Corruption Commission, hundreds of cases are in the courts or being investigated.
Bangladesh topped international corruption rankings between 2000 and 2005, before the political system collapsed at the end of 2006.
The authorities on Sunday also arrested two powerful ex-ministers of the BNP, including Abdul Mannan Bhuiyan, the party's former general secretary. Mr Bhuiyan has led an anti-Khaleda Zia faction of the BNP since Mrs Zia expelled him from the party following her arrest in September 2007.
With two heads of political dynasties and the head of Bangladesh's largest Islamic parties in jail, the fear is that parliamentary elections will be postponed amid threats by the parties to boycott them unless the government release their still popular leaders. This week, the AL demanded that the government release Sheikh Hasina before it holds a "dialogue" with the political parties starting May 22. Before his arrest shortly before midnight on Sunday, Mr Nizami had called for the release of the two prime ministers.
Meanwhile, the military-backed government has indicated that it wants to hold elections with the state of emergency in place. Despite the draconian emergency laws, it has been struggling to contain growing unrest amid a severe food crisis in recent weeks.
An exploratory EU election observer mission, due to arrive in Dhaka on June 15, will assess whether the EU will send a full-scale election monitoring mission in December. The EU's decision would largely depend on the progress the government is making on lifting the state of emergency, says Charles Whiteley, the head of the European Commission's political section in Dhaka.
__._,_.___
[Disclaimer: ALOCHONA Management is not liable for information contained in this message. The author takes full responsibility.]
To unsubscribe/subscribe, send request to alochona-owner@egroups.com
Your email settings: Individual Email|Traditional
Change settings via the Web (Yahoo! ID required)
Change settings via email: Switch delivery to Daily Digest | Switch to Fully Featured
Visit Your Group | Yahoo! Groups Terms of Use | Unsubscribe
Change settings via the Web (Yahoo! ID required)
Change settings via email: Switch delivery to Daily Digest | Switch to Fully Featured
Visit Your Group | Yahoo! Groups Terms of Use | Unsubscribe
__,_._,___