[Music]
I
welcome to Sputnik orbiting the world
with me George Galloway and me gri
Bangladesh one of the world's most
populous democracies continues to be
populous but has gotten a whole lot less
Democratic last year's general election
in the country was boycotted by
virtually everyone except the ruling
party fewer than 10% of the population
voted the reason for it being the
unprecedented decision by the prime
minister to refused to hand over power
to a neutral caretaker government in the
runup to the polls thus helping ensure a
free and fair election since then
Bangladesh has cascaded from one violent
crisis to the next political murders are
proliferating kidnappings and
disappearances too a personal friend of
mine A Member of Parliament ilas Ali is
one of those disappeared kidnapped at
gunpoint and never seen or heard of
again but it's not just personal in my
case the absolute Mutual antipathy of
the two ladies at the top on the one
hand the Prime Minister Shay Hina
daughter of the slain founder of the
state Sheik mujib Rahman and on the
other hand the leader of the opposition
beum khadia Widow of Sheik mujib
successor it's a given and will never
cease but though tireless efforts are
made in Bangladesh to criminalize the
politicians who just left office it has
been rare for either side to threaten
the lives of the respective leaders
until this week as we speak the leader
of the opposition has been locked up in
her office literally padlocked in and
surrounded by thousands of armed
Troopers more than that she's been
sprayed with gas and pepper spray and is
reportedly finding breathing difficult
democracy may be being murdered in
Bangladesh but if the opposition leader
is murdered to a nation of 160 million
people will become literally
uncontrollable
joining us now to make sense of it all
is hon kobir special advisor to Mr TK
Rahman senior Vice chairman of the
Bangladesh nationalist party thanks for
joining us hon bring us up to date
what's exactly happening in the country
right now well uh thank you George and
gri for inviting me here this afternoon
George uh Bangladesh is a country close
to your interests and uh particularly in
your role uh as a former member Member
of Parliament
IES represented the largest Bangladeshi
community in the UK Europe you know
outside of Bangladesh anywhere in the
world
um what uh stems the discussion here is
that on 5th of January
2014 we had a fical parliamentary
election in Bangladesh where
153 parliamentary seats a parliamentary
majority uh were elected without a
single
citizen being El you know casting their
vote which is UN opposed 153 MPS un
oppos yes because of the boycot out of a
potential 90 million electorate you know
hardly a single citizen eligible citizen
who are entitled to exercise their
Democratic franchise did not vote in
this election this is Shake's regime
today is an illegitimate government
which is not owned by the people it had
it only has a questionable perhaps a
questionable 10% of you know eligible
voters who voted in that election um 153
seats you know a parliamentary majority
without a single you know without
without uh you know the eligible
electorate having there say prior to the
5th January 2014 elections the fal
elections the the partisan elections
that the people of this country of
Bangladesh overwhelmingly rejected
because you know neither it reflected
their will and expression International
Democratic the international Democratic
Community cond those elections in terms
of participation it did not deflect the
will of expression of the people of
Bangladesh shikina promised that she was
averting a constitutional crisis by
holding those elections but in fact what
she did at the time she brought about a
constitutional crisis so you had the
tenure of the last Parliament extending
to over nearly a month and a half after
the fical elections of 5th January
2014 the Parliamentary legislature in
Bangladesh has 300 seats uh you ended up
with 600 parliamentarians you handed up
almost with 100 member cabinet so you
had two cabinets basically the cabinet
that existed uh January and po January
so in fact it her one-sided election
when the international democratic
committee was saying you know you need
to hold a part you know an election that
is participatory that is inclusive wide
public opinion in the country all print
and broadcast broadcast media run
polling public polling showed that
almost over 95% of the people wanted a
neutral ker government to administer the
elections because they don't believe a
which had always been done before before
and it was part of the Constitution and
she you know went ahead with the
one-sided election also from missing a
dialogue that you know I need to have a
constitutional crisis and immediately
I'll resume dialogue but it's almost
been it's been a year now she has not
resume dialogue she doesn't have the
Mandate of the people to govern the
country and she cannot be given any
chance to go on like this you know
illegitimately a new constitutional
crisis has uh become uh apparent the
leader of the opposition no less a
former prime minister of the state is
now padlocked inside her party office
uh more than that she's being sprayed
with gas and pepper spray her life could
be in danger the consequences of that uh
couldn't be more grave really could they
you know you said a new constitutional
crisis has uh come about now
constitution in Bangladesh has gone out
the window you know due to uh the
autocratic nature of shik Hina and her
illegitimate government you know she has
enacted and amended the Constitution to
um enact legislative measures that the
constitution of Bangladesh can never be
changed again even after her period you
know ends it is absolutely ludicrous and
fical and absurd you know could you have
that here in Westminster could you have
it in any par we don't have ation yes
you don't have a written Constitution
maybe that's a better idea so what
what's going to happen you know um she
fears any leader who who have you know
she fears beam Zia because of her
Democratic credibility her you know in
terms of her attachment to the people of
Bangladesh remember even during the
period of uh 2006 when uh at the back
end when we had uh the interim military
back Administration coming beum Zia
didn't leave the country shik Casina did
um so she is much more engraved among
the people of Bangladesh she fears her
democratic acceptability and her
credibility and out of that fear she is
you know trying to Bar uh or isolate
beam Zia from the people of Bangladesh
but that will is she is she able to
communicate with the people from the
office she is she's she's giving
statements regularly uh in terms of uh
so you know statements are uh being
issued um by her office she's issu
issuing them directly similarly Mr Tark
Rahman senior Vice chairman of the
Bangladesh nationalist party uh last
week uh last Sunday in fact called upon
the people of Bangladesh his speech was
aired from London live by a private TV
channel aushia TV ETV um subsequently
following his speech after the TV
channel aired it and it received popular
Democratic response he called out for
the PE for the people to uh engage in a
democratic Uprising to this government
so after receiving popular response now
the government has shut down that
channel arrested uh Mr Salam of ETV who
is the chairman of ETV on fabricated
pornography charges so you can see the
uh the fical nature of this government
she's digging herself uh deeper and
deeper into this hole uh if David
Cameron padlocked Ed miliband into the
labor party headquarters and spray them
with gas he would be enhancing the
popularity of miliband uh manyfold the
same is almost certainly Happening Here
in Bangladesh so what's Sheik hina's way
out of this I think what Sheik Hina has
done is she is opening up a Ken of worms
you know the analogy the English analogy
of oping up a k k of worms to sort of
duck one bad decision one bad action one
bad policy she's opening up another uh
she's committing another bad
um and you know she's running out