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BANGLADESH REVISITED

A Confident Khaleda Governs a Nation on Edge

BETWEEN THE LINES

Kuldip Nayar writes from New Delhi
ANGLADESH may not have come along but Ha prime minister Begum Klmfeda Zia has She reflects confidence which her country does not possess and her collected attitude Is in sharp contrast to the uneasiness that prevails there
But both have not stopped looking for scapegoats for thetr failure. In the eyes of Khafeda the opposition Is responsible for the nation s problems For the Bangladesh people. It Is the confrontation among poht leal parties which eclipsed democracy In 1978 and might do tt again
Bangladesh Is polarised Those who fou#u for the lib eratton of thetr country in 1971 are pitted against those who did not. the secularists against the bigoted and the democrats against the authon tartans Because of their con filet. there is strain, tension and violence in the air
Has Ina puts the responsible Ry on the shoulders of the armed cadre of the ruling Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) She told me that the cadre "has the blessings of Begum Khaleda Zia." Her party's stalwart. Kamal Hussain, a former foreign minister, says that "fundamentalist*. India haters, anti-liberation elements and pro-Paklstan forces got together to silence the democratic forces "
A hit list of 44 people, described as “the enemies of Bangladesh", has been reportedly prepared by the Jamaat Shlbtr and Juba Command, the two fundamentalist organise tions On the list, widely circulated in Dhaka are leading liberals and secularists. A Khulna communist leader, who was on the list, was assassinated tn
July Hashed Klian Menon who has been shot at. Is also on the list because he has spoken against "politics from the pul pit of religion
Surprisingly Khaleda had no clue of the hit Hat "This Is the first time I am hearing about It." she said in reply to my query She. however, rationalised that the law and order situation was "a legacy" of the regime by General H M Ershad her predecessor now
Armed gangs are. however nothing new In the Bangladesh history They have been there from the days of the East Ben gal Independence struggle against West Pakistan Now they have been absorbed by the political parUes which finance them and use them as mus clemen against the opponents Students are particularly In the forefront tn the guise of the youth wing of parties Many universities are In the midst of armed clashes and hostels are being used both as a shelter and as an arsenal
The common man did not expect miracles in the economic field and he continues to show an inexhaustible patience In the face of rising prices, lessening Incomes and mounting unemployment But he expected at feast peace with the advent of an elected government The Incidence of violence has Jolted that hope He feels Insecure
The police, which is the custodian of law and order, is demoralised because of polttl cal interference Also, years of martial law administration lias made It effete With the best of positions In the force having gone to the military personnel, there are not many heights to scale even if the police shows the initiative
The one and-a half year regime of Khaleda does not indicate that the Importance of the armed forces has gone No doubt, she has transferred some top brass from key post tions they occupied for long, she has also retired half a
dozen of them when they reached the age of Miperannua tion But five of her cabinet ministers are from among the retired lieutenant generals. Her kitchen cabinet has a few more And she continues to live In the cantonment In the house where her late husband. Ziaur Rahman, stayed as the chief of the army staff
True, the armed forces are not so visible as in Pakistan and they would find it tough to return to power because the people In Bangladesh have the reputation of coming Into the streets to defend a cause They did so recently to make the government arrest Golam Azam, who had an unseemly record before the liberation and who managed to be the Jamaat s chief without being a Bangladeshi But if democracy does not deliver the goods, the military can be a possibility
When I discussed the scenario with Khaleda she brushed me aside, saving No no." I cited tier the example of Zulfikar All Bhutto who. after restoring democracy in Pak Istan. was bundled out by the military She did not react My Impresaion Is that she has not applied her mind to such an •eventuality Were she to do so. she would find the opposition leaders — Haslna told me so —
responding positively and dis cussing with her the ways for giving an Institutional shape to democracy
During her visit to Pakistan she met many retired colleagues of her husband She told me that the Pakistan leaders wanted to have "special re latlons" with Bangladesh She did not elaborate However, her foreign minister. Mustaflzur Rahman said "We propose to leave some Joint ventures with Pakistan "
On Kashmir Khaleda took an equidistant position "We want India and Pakistan to settle the problem between themselves she said Even when asked pointedly If she had any pcrtieular solution in mind sire did not go beyond saying "It was for you to de clde " Her foreign minister however, said "if both of you were to agree to our Ifrid o(-fices. I would take the first flight out of Dhaka
The case of "stranded Pak Istanis" or " Blharls" In Bangladesh had become a ae-rtous Irritant between Dhaka and Islamabad. Khaleda would have found an Intransigent op position if she had returned without a solution The people are generally satisfied over the agreement, under which Pak istan will haul 3 000 families to its Punjab area by end of De cember. The total number of such families is around 40.000 The process may take a decade. Neither the people nor the political parties seem agitated over the inordinate delay in the transfer of IMharts
Khaleda was unrelenting on the Bangladeshi migrants In India She would not admit any Infiltration across the border "We have no national of ours in your country and therefore the questton of taking anyone boc k does not arise." she said When I said the number might be between 10 and 15 million she said "the problem is yours " Asked if Prime Minister Naraslmha Rao brought up the matter when she met him In Delhi in May she said no Her foreign minister went to the extent of saying: They are your voters. For whatever poll ileal reasons you admitted them tn. you have to accept them now us your citizens."
Equally vehement wus Khaleda in denying Ilie Bangladesh government » tn
vohrement in offering shelter to the ULFA underground leaders Even when presented •rith photos — Assam chief minister Saikiashad given them to me — showing the ULFA leaders against fangliar Dhaka landscapes she kept saying: "We are not interested in such things"
But she was visibly shaken and retaliated by attacking India for arming the Chakma tribesmen In the Chittagong Hill Tracts "Who else can give them the type of sophisticated areapons they wield?", she asked Her foreign minister admitted that thetr bonier was porous and ft was quite possl bfe that some people" might have crossed into Bangladesh without the government's knowledge
Water may really spoil the India Bangladesh relationship If the agreement, which guv erned the distribution of the Ganga water from 1977 to 1988 wert to be revived. Dhaka would feel satisfied It has not prepared any altema five proposal to augment wa ter. as suggested by New Delhi this May Khafeda Mill talks about building reservoirs at the upper regtons of Nepal, a pro , posal which India had found Inadequate nearly 15 years ago
One thing which I noticed after my last visit nvo and a half years ago is that the Indian bogey does not sell as well as It used to be The transfer of Tin Highs has had an effect. The people do not discuss the transfer probably because they had taken It for granted Had the agreement been not ef fected the anti-lndlan opinion would have been loud and clear. The two countries are yet to settle to a firm, friendly relationship