Bangladesh foreign policy: Directionless and subservient
Shamsher M. Chowdhury, Bir Bikram
FOREIGN policy has been an integral element of all nation states since
their very emergence centuries ago. Only its manifestation and
execution have varied from one state to the other and with changing
times, depending on their goals. What, however, has not changed is its
declared objective of protecting one's national self-interest, both
perceived and real. The same is, or ought to have been, the case with
Bangladesh.
During the early years of our independence, the foreign policy of the
new state was driven by external pressures to demonstrate gratitude to
the forces that had directly, or indirectly, supported our Liberation
War. As a result, we had an Indo-Soviet centric foreign policy. This
severely restricted the manoeuvrability of the country's foreign
policy and left us out of the equation with emerging and important
global players like China and Saudi Arabia, a status that largely
remained unchanged till the political changes of August 1975.
Geo-political realities
It was only in the mid- seventies that Bangladesh was able to create
an independent foreign policy that reflected our geo-political
realities, our true economic goals and the aspirations of the vast
majority of the country's population. It was aimed at protecting our
national self interest by being more inclusive. Bangladesh regained
its sense of dignity and earned the respect of the global community,
our economic challenges not withstanding. This found reflection in the
depth and dimension of our ties with the Muslim world and the form and
content of our relations with China, without seriously compromising
our thrust on regional diplomacy and our growing economic and trade
ties with the West.
In the Muslim world, the image of Bangladesh was one of a moderator.
This was reflected in her role in addressing the issues that most
afflicted the member countries of the Organization of Islamic
Countries (OIC). Our leading role in the Al Quds Committee dealing
with the all important Palestinian question and the efforts to end the
fratricidal Iran-Iraq war earned special respect and praise for
Bangladesh at home and abroad.
SAARC is a reality
The election of Bangladesh to the UN Security Council in 1978,
defeating a power house like Japan, was the ultimate manifestation of
the success of that pragmatic, and yet dynamic, nature of the foreign
policy of Bangladesh as guided by President Ziaur Rahman. More
importantly, the success of our foreign policy made the nation proud
as Bangladesh was able to stand with its head high in the comity of
nations. In short, Bangladesh had arrived.
On the regional front, President Zia's concept of institutionalised
regional economic cooperation in the highly divided and distrust
ridden South Asia was not just bold, it was as much visionary. While
it may have had its expected share of initial misgivings and had
caught bigger regional players off guard, none could in the end resist
it. SAARC is now a South Asian reality.
The collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of the cold war had very
little impact on the foreign policy of Bangladesh because our ties
with the countries of East Europe had been largely marginalised since
the mid- seventies.
Those were the glorious days of our foreign policy. It had a ring of
pride and dignity around it and a Bangladeshi diplomat felt proud to
represent this nascent state.
'Look East' policy
The 'Look East' policy adopted in 2001 added a new dimension to the
country's foreign policy. Under this dispensation, Bangladesh's
relations with the countries of South East Asia gave our foreign
relations a strategic depth that went beyond South Asia.
I thought it was relevant to highlight here the golden days of the
foreign policy of Bangladesh to put the prevailing situation in its
proper perspective. Today, things are in reverse. What the average
Bangladeshi has been witnessing since the coming to office of the
incumbent government is a subservient foreign policy that does nothing
to protect our national interest. On the contrary, its sole aim is to
appease. What is worse, the whole approach lacks any transparency.
That this was going to be the case was first signalled following the
visit of the Bangladesh Prime Minister to New Delhi in January 2010.
The contents of the fifty-point joint declaration issued following
that visit raised more questions than it answered; even more so
because the public in Bangladesh remained in the dark of what was
actually agreed upon.
Importantly, what was in the script had very little relations to
issues that are of grave importance to Bangladesh, especially, on the
sharing of the waters of the common rivers. Being a riverine and
irrigation- dependent country, this particular issue has assumed
critical importance in Bangladesh following our harrowing experience
with the present government's handling of the Farakka Barrage Project
in India from the very beginning and its debilitating impact on the
ecology and economy of Bangladesh. Much is being made by the
government on the thirty-year Ganges Water Treaty signed in 1996; but
the present government does not feel it necessary to argue that the
damage already done is irreversible and hence there has to be a sense
of urgency in reaching mutually acceptable accords on the other rivers
before large chunks of Bangladesh dries up.
Weak-kneed policy
The outcome of the visit of the Indian Prime Minister to Dhaka in
September this year and what has been happening since then has made
the degree and extent of this government's weak-kneed foreign policy
all the more glaring. The sixty plus point joint declaration of
September 7th is the perfect case in point. As subsequent events have
shown, the follow up has been lopsidedly weighed against the interest
of Bangladesh. Much hype was created prior to the visit on reaching
an agreement, and that too an interim one, on sharing of the waters of
the Teesta river.
What happened in the end is now history. It now seems to have entered
the realm of uncertainty and periodic government assurances to the
contrary are increasingly looking ridiculous. Similarly,
disappointments are rife among the residents of the enclaves and
protests and hunger strikes there have continued unabated as they feel
cheated and deceived. But does the government care? It is too busy
facilitating the uninterrupted passage of Indian goods through
Bangladesh and without collecting any fees in return. So much was said
that the revenue emanating from granting transit to Indian goods would
not only mitigate our gaping trade imbalance with our giant neighbour,
it would also turn Bangladesh into a Singapore. The reality is there
for all to see.
Public umbrage in Bangladesh has been boiling over the sustained
killings of Bangladeshis along the border by Indian border guards over
the years, made worse by this government's inaction on this issue. The
government was content with denials coming from the Indian side on
this, notwithstanding all the evidence that this was actually
happening, that people, including young children, were being routinely
killed.
It was not until the graphic image of a dead Felani, a 15-year old
Bangladeshi girl, hanging from the barbed wire fence that our
government woke up to the reality of the situation. But it was already
too little too late for Felani, and others like her who have been
victims of a failed foreign policy. What a shame!
Holding brief
Mutual benefit and mutual respect are among the fundamentals on which
foreign policies are built. Today we have neither. What is even more
demeaning for us as a nation is the sight of senior government
officials, including and especially relevant Ministers and the
all-powerful Advisers, conducting themselves in a manner as if their
sole task is to hold the brief for the other side, that they have no
responsibility to protect the interests of the people of Bangladesh.
It is indeed hard to imagine that the pride, dignity and interests of
a people who did not hesitate to sacrifice their lives for a language
and a country they could call their own are being bargained off with
such impunity, all for the sake of appeasing a powerful neighbour. But
that is exactly what is happening today. The title of a recent book by
a Bangladeshi residing in the United States, critical of the
prevailing situation, "You can be sold yourself, but do not sell my
Country" captures the true depth of the anger and frustration of the
people of this country today.
This is not what we bargained for.
… … …
Indomitable courage of Enayetullah Khan
As I put pen to paper to write this piece for the special issue
commemorating the forty-seventh anniversary of the weekly HOLIDAY, I
recall with fond memory and respect its Founder- Editor Enayetullah
Khan, or Mintu bhai, as he was popularly called. Known for his
indomitable courage in the face of adversity even from his early days
as a journalist, Enayetullah's launching of the weekly Holiday in the
mid-sixties met a much felt need for an English language weekly that
reflected the growing unease with Ayub Khan's military-controlled
'basic democracy', that was neither basic nor democratic.
Enayetullah Khan reached the height of journalistic brilliance when,
just a fortnight before the then Pakistani military junta launched its
mindless carnage on the unarmed innocent civilians of erstwhile East
Pakistanis in March 1971, he cautioned Sheikh Mujibur Rahman of the
impending danger and challenged him to choose between power and glory
("They are not finished with you yet, Bengal", Holiday issue of 14th
March, 1971). In the end Sheikh Mujib got both but proved incapable to
hold onto either for long. Again, shortly after the Independence of
Bangladesh, Enayetullah Khan earned the wrath of the powers that be
when he challenged the country's leadership to seek national
reconciliation and let not history be our burden ("Sixty-five million
collaborators?" Holiday issue of 6th February, 1972).
On the forty-seventh anniversary of the founding of the Holiday, I
once again remember Enayetullah Khan with reverence due to an
irreplaceable journalist.
Shamsher M Chowdhury is a former Foreign Secretary and Ambassador.
http://www.weeklyholiday.net/Homepage/Pages/UserHome.aspx?ID=16&date=0#Tid=1242
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