UPROOTED
The propensity in Bangladesh politics of upheaval has been to uproot political power bases. From the assassination of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and that of Ziaur Rahman, down to the exile of Tarique Rahman and then the eviction of Khaleda Zia from the cantonment, this trend continues…
by IRTIZA NASIM ALI
Begum Zia's eviction from her cantonment residence is likely to become another thorny turning point in the history of Bangladesh's politics. There never existed any working relationship between the two major opposing political rivals, Bangladesh Awami League and Bangladesh Nationalist Party. There was no talking terms between the two ladies heading their respective parties. The only event where they sat side by side or exchanged perfunctory pleasantries was on the Armed Forces Day on November 23 of each year. With this eviction that too will become, or has become, history, one can assume.
The latest move by the ruling Awami League (technically the Cantonment Board) to evict Begum Zia from the residence, given to her by the Cantonment Board after her husband and former President Ziaur Rahman's killing, and where she stayed as First Lady and three time Prime Minister, has dealt her a severe blow, both politically and emotionally. Already shattered by the treatment meted out to her two sons during the 1/11 rule, and by a disorganised political party and bad election results haunting her, she simply could not take this and in an uncharacteristic manner made a public display of her emotions. With limited options in hand for BNP, confrontational politics and hartals have made a comeback. The hope of a smooth-running of democracy is fast fading.
But why this move? Obviously, the publicity propagated about Begum Zia occupying a large piece of land and a big house -- a misuse of state property -- cannot be the issue. There is a deeper meaning and deeper implications than that.
Awami League has long referred to BNP as a party "born in Cantonment". Historically, late President Ziaur Rahman floated BNP as his political front while he was still staying in this house. The initial discussions and meetings were held here. Ziaur Rahman moved into this house when he was Deputy Chief of the Army Staff. After his death Begum Zia became party chief and continued staying in this house at Mainul Hossain Road. In its initial stage BNP was perceived as a party that drew its "strength" from the military. Begum Zia's background itself provided all necessary ingredients for a strong support base among the armed forces. Her first cabinet of 1991 had seven ministers from the army while Sheikh Hasina's 1996 cabinet had only two.
At a later stage, to counterbalance Begum Zia, Sheikh Hasina also started wooing retired army personnel and many joined her party. Surprisingly enough, both Sheikh Hasina's father Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and President Ziaur Rahman, were killed by some wayward officers of the army.
The move to evict Begum Zia from her cantonment residence is not a fresh one and it was in AL's agenda for quite some time. During Awami League's last stint in power in 1996, the then Foreign Minister Abdus Samad Azad brought the issue to the forefront though it remained confined mostly to media statements. At that time, fresh in power after twenty-one years and unsure of its footing in the army, Awami League choose not to meddle with this.
Awami League never felt at ease with Begum Zia's clout and influence within the forces. Moreover, the dominance of retired army officers in BNP and Begum Zia's physical presence inside the cantonment made AL to feel all the more uncomfortable.
However, it is to be seen whether Begum Zia's support base within the forces was a reality or a myth. Analysts feel that BNP's nationalistic politics gelled well with the outlook of the armed forces. Moreover, Zia's image played an important role in building a strong support base for her. But, with the passage of time and with officers from the post-Bangladesh period coming to the forefront, things gradually started changing. The army's exposure in the international arena as peacekeepers also contributed to this change of heart. The army became apolitical and more professional.
Tarique Zia's entry into active politics was also not viewed well. His association with the likes of Giasuddin Al Mamun did not go down well with the rank and file. Surprisingly, Tarique failed to make any inroads within the armed forces. Begum Zia also made no effort to bridge this gap. She left army matters to be handled by her brother Major (retd) Syed Iskander. With many qualities of his father absent in him, Tarique virtually became an outsider in the cantonment. All this created a chasm in the already waning support base. This became obvious in the treatment that was meted out to Tarique during 1/11. Forces outside also played a great role in creating the division.
Army was made to understand that it should maintain its area as a neutral zone. By accommodating a particular political leader, people may question its neutrality. It was also said that people in general perceive the army as a balancing factor and the cantonment cannot be a centre of politics. All this led to uprooting of Begum Zia from her cantonment residence. But the question remains whether she can be politically uprooted.
The impact
Begum Zia and her party were well aware of the move for her eviction but the timing put them off guard. The party was not prepared with any combat strategy and came up with a traditional hartal programme. The time chosen for hartal immediately before the Eid was criticised by many. The media in general did not extend any helping hand. However, the people were sympathetic towards Begum Zia in this regard and, despite its timing, the hartal was a success. Some recalled that during 1/11, Begum Zia had vehemently protested against the manner in which Hasina had been manhandled by the law-enforcers. Hasina seems to have forgotten this, given the manner in which Khaleda Zia was forcefully turned out of her home.
The eviction incident reintroduced politics of confrontation. And as the situation unfolds it seems there is no looking back. As it is, BNP was boycotting the parliament, but now it seems the party might gradually move towards resignation from the parliament. Begum Zia, though, remained silent when two anxious ambassadors met her separately to know her views on the matter.
On the other hand, the government is apparently not in a compromising mood. It would pursue the money laundering case of Koko, Begum Zia's younger son, and elder son Tarique would also not be left alone. The government may implicate him in the August 21 grenade attack on Sheikh Hasina or the "ten truck arms case".
All ingredients necessary for confrontation are on the plate. BNP might resign from the parliament around March next year. In that scenario, the government is likely to go for by-elections where, as things stands now, Ershad's Jatiya Party is likely to fill in the BNP gap and emerge as the opposition in parliament. Moreover, there is likely to be a split in BNP on the issue of resignation. So, as a whole, BNP would be facing troubled times ahead.
Any attempt to totally eliminate BNP from politics would have grave consequences on Bangladesh politics. This is likely to give rise to fundamental rightist forces. Anti-Awami League forces with nowhere to go will naturally join hands with the extreme rightists. The western world would not want this to happen and if BNP plays it cards well, it can make a comeback. So it's not all that grim for BNP. However, all will depend solely on Begum Zia. As it is, BNP repents for its decision to join the election under Fakhruddin-Moeenuddin. One hopes BNP would not make yet another mistake by resigning from the parliament. There may be plenty of provocation from within and outside the party in this regard. Historically, attempts to "uproot" never succeeded in Bangladesh. In most cases, things simply bounce back with time.
History of "uprooting"
The history of "uprooting" in Bangladesh is nothing new. Conspiracies to banish or uproot political leaders have always been an active ingredient of Bangladesh politics. The physical elimination of Bangabandhu in 1975 was not enough. The fear was there that his death might not be the end of him and so for total "uprooting", his body was not buried with the others in Dhaka. It was flown far to Tungipara, as if distance matters, and was buried there.
That was not the end. As he had stayed for so long at the house on Dhanmondi Road 32 where he held so many political meetings with the party leaders, and it was steeped in so much history, Road 32 became synonymous with Sheikh Mujib. Hence, again there was a move to eliminate the Road 32 fame and a project was taken up during Ershad's time to change the existing road numbers of Dhanmondi. Road 8 became Road 9, Road 27 became Road 16 but somehow road 32 could not be changed in the people's mind. It is still 32, or Batrish Number, as commonly referred to in Bengali.
When Zia was assassinated, his killers decided to dump his body from the high hills of Rangamati. But finally his grave was established at Sher-e-Bangla Nagar near Crescent Lake. This area was then rechristened Zia Uddyan and now has reverted to its old name Chandrima Uddyan. When Awami League came to power in 1996, the then Communication Minister Anwar Hossain Manju removed the pontoon bridge that connected Zia's Mazar with Manik Mia Avenue to hinder people from showing respect, an almost literal burning of bridges. Not only that, Awami League members of this parliament have gone as far as to claim that Zia's body isn't even in the grave.
This trend of uprooting continued when the Fakhruddin-Moeenuddin caretaker government tried to uproot both Sheikh Hasina and Begum Zia by forcing them to leave the country. This was not successful as Hasina's exile was short lived and Khaleda refused to budge from the country.
In the meantime, Tarique Rahman has emerged as an effective leader for BNP, reorganising the party from scratch. The caretaker government picked him up and he was physically tortured to the extent of serious physical harm. The Awami League government has shown no sign of relenting either, and this son of Ziaur Rahman has literally been uprooted and now lives in exile in London.
Changing names of prominent structures and institutions is another form of uprooting. For example, the main airport's name changed from ZIA (Zia International Airport) to Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport, yet another attempt at eliminating the presence of a past personality.
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