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Lingering angst at year end

Mahfuzur Rahman
TWO wars ago 1 thought die year that had just ended was an extraordinary war and said so on these pages. I still think 2007 was out of the ordinary. With devastating floods, a cyclone that mangled the south of the country, and a military-backed caretaker gowmment. the year will remain in public memory for some time. The cat cartoon controversy of the year was something 1 shall not soon forget.
The year 2009 will go down in the history of the country as truly out of the ordinary-Crime and a punishment will endure as high points of the year. The crime was committed at the start of the year, the punishment was a court verdict on a crime committed more than three decades ago.
In February, mutineers at the Bangladesh Rifles Headquarters massacred army officers in an unconscionable act of violence. In November, the highest court of the country upheld the death sentence handed down much earlier to army officers who killed the founding father of the nation along with most of his family. The people of the country
had waited long years for the verdict. Now justice has beer) done.
Most of all, however, it is a change in Lite political landscape of the country that makes die year truly extraordinary'. The general election of late December 2008 swept an ?\wami league-led government to power. The magnitude of the victory surprised not only the country but the victors as well. More significant was the great potential for change that Awami League's victory opened up. Hopes and expectations rose. Ideas dial once fired the great political movement for self-determination and ultimately led to the creation of Bangladesh, suddenly appeared to get a new lease of life.
By most accounts the election that brought the new government to power was free and fair. Fair elections are no synonym for democracy, but the elections of December appeared to restore in some degree the people's confidence in the democratic process. People with a secular bend of mind - count me in - rejoiced. Optimism about thecoun try surged.
Yet, at year-end, much of that optimism seems to have dissipated, replaced by lin-
gering anxiety. There is a great deal to be anxious about. Admittedly, the evidence is anecdotal. But when did the anecdotal nature of evidence prevent generalisations being made by political commentators?
And I am not thinking just about traffic jams in Dhaka. To be sure, the rapid deterioration of traffic conditions in the capital city is a cause for great concern. It is being said with increasing frequency that Dhaka will soon be unlivable. Depending on how you look at it. traffic-clogged streets of the city seem to portray our society at large: stuck. But theanxiety goes farbeyond.
Ihere is the economy that is only muddling along; shortage of power is crippling economic activity and multiplying human misery; pollution and global warming pose huge and complex problems; corruption is rampant; "Islamic" militancy remains a threat to the secular foundations of the state.
But did not the election provide a huge mandate to the new government to tackle these problems and did it not provide a stable political framework within which they could be tackled? On the mandate there is little doubt. The Awami league-led government did make election pledges that were spelt out in considerable detail. Those reflected the government's vision for the future of the country. The electorate appeared to like them and said yea. Nobody expected the government to solve the prob -lerns of the country in a matter of months. But tlie pledge was expected be redeemed.
Far less clear is tire matter of a stable political framework With a huge majority in Parliament, the stability of the government
should not normally be in doubt. But a certain degree of consensus among the major political groups is essential for a stable political framework within which a democratic government can function. And that has not happened in the last twelve months. That promises to be die enduring worry for the foreseeable future.
The opposition, led by the BNP turned to the politics of spite almost from flic morning after the vote. It found its first expression in the opposition boycott of Parliament.The reason for the boycott advanced by tire BNP was flimsy: that the opposition had been given too few seats on the front benches of parliament.
In fact, tire number front seats allocated to it was proportionally more than that given to the Awami League when it was in opposition and the BNP was in power. Weeks of haggling produced no result. The boycott continued. So did the sad tradition of political parties making parliament dysfunctional unless they were in power.
The boycott of Parliament was accompanied by allegations tliat die Awami league-led government came to power through an election whose results were supposed to have been "fixed." It actually sounds better in Bengali — patano. By all accounts,the election was the fairest on record. But apparendy, to the BNR the test of fairness of the election was whether it resulted in a victory for the party. Since it did not, it must have been unfair. It has never been clear, though, whose hand it was that fixed the election results.
Soon the party's attack on the govern-
ment turned increasingly venomous. To the allegation that the election was fixed was added another prong we have long been familiar with. The Awami government, it is being ever more frequently alleged, has come to power only to do the bidding of a foreign country. It does not take great inteUi -gence to figure out die foreign country in question.
Hardly had die new government been installed than the Tipaimukh dam issue arose. The proposed dam in India, across Bangladesh's north -eastern border, can have serious adverse consequences for the lower riparian country and its construction must be preceded by detailed study in which die two countries should collaborate.
But to the BNP it is a fait accompli, and die Awami League-led government is not protesting. Here is proof enough, cries the BNR that the present government has come to power only to serve die interest of its Indian masters. The party's Secretary General, Khandker Del war Hossain, never tires of leading the chorus.
What else is die government that came to power with overwhelming electoral mandate, and is led by a party that was at the forefront of its independence movement, doing to undermine the very country it has pledged to serve? To Mr. Hossain, the list is long. But I believe he outperformed himself when he recendy suggested that die present government was mining the garments industry of the country to serve the interests of a particular foreign country.
In tarring the present government with the pro-India brush, the opposition is ably
supported by a phalanx of individual analysts. At a recent round table discussion on the prime minister's forthcoming visit to India one stalwart said dial the talks must not result in something harmful for Bangladesh. So much for confidence in an elected prime minister standing up for her own country*
Such politics of spite does matter for the government and the country. One should not underestimate the power of propa ganda. Lies and misinformation can be a potent poison to undermine the government through changing people's attitudes and erodingdieir trust in thegovernment.
The year 2009 started with promises of a break with the past. The BNP's boycott of Parliament and its increasingly strident attack on the government have demonstrated that the past is very much with us. It would also be quite easy to point to critical areas of governance where it rather looks like business as usual. It would be equally easy to call attention to mindsets -- of not just politicians -- that have plagued us as a nation in the past and still do.
The BNP is protesting against the alleged attempt by the Awami league-led government to blot out the name of its founding leader. Sounds familiar? Reminds you of the systematic blotting out of the name of the founding father of the nation during BNP rule?l thought I heard a glorious bang at the start of the year; I have a feeling it is ending with the proverbial whimper. Mahfuzur Rahman is a former United Natans Economist.