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PLEASURE IS ALL MINE

Untamed, Hasina had her say
SHEIKH Hasina born to political adversity and growing up through a hostile environment appears to have an uncanny ability to brave and tackle tough encounters.
Remember, how against the advice of most of her colleagues, she had walked into
the jaw of enraged army personnel in cantonment raring to vent out their anger to the newly inducted PM in the backdrop of BDR massacre of army officers on deputation at Peelkhana. Her risk-taking paid off in terms of calming the frayed nerves.
Last week, in an entirely different setting though, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina came again into her elements in Stephen Sackur's Hardtalk with her over BBC.
Before coming to the quality and merit of her replies to Sackur's searching questions, a word for Sheikh Hasina’s newsworthiness in the Western media will be in order. Hasina is making news more because of controversies she has created rather than her achievements. Though her scorecard in certain areas is "impressive" that is obscured by her largely selfcomplicated politics.
In the last week of May, the widely read weekly Economist placed Sheikh Hasina under its Leader column taking and giving a world view of how political leadership in Bangladesh is made up of and where it is faltering. It patronisingly suggested that India persuade Hasina to step back from what it saw as a ruinous course, thereby overstepping its journalistic remit.
Then comes the encounter with Sackur. Usually, when pushed to a corner by Sackur's torrential reeling of unpalatable facts and figures, most interviewees would curtly say: "Let me finish ..." to get a reprieve to make their points. Sheikh Hasina’s way of wriggling out of a shoehorn situation was repeatedly interjecting -- "Listen, listen ...." She thus got herself a leeway to hammer home her line of thinking.
But her frequent "nos" and denials meant she was
On balance, Sheikh Hasina held her ground and had her say, and to many she performed well in articulating her points of view in a foreign language with interesting turns of phrases. Now it has hit overseas chords that the old leaders should pass the baton on to a new genre of youthfid, vigorous and creative leadership in touch with the rest of the world.
psyched up to defend her position at any cost. Political jostling with local audience is one thing but addressing an overseas audience is another; in her first major encounter she has come through reasonably well, even exceeding some people's expectations.
On corruption and human rights violation, Sheikh Hasina traced these back to former regimes and said she could not improve the situation overnight. Historically, she may be correct, but on her track record on these issues, she being in charge for three and a half years on a massive electoral mandate, she had no convincing answer.
On the pointers to "souring relations" with World
Bank and Professor Yunus, Sheikh Hasina was rather amusingly witty in trying to make the best out of a bad situation. She put counter-question to Sackur asking why did it occur to him that she had termed Professor Yunus "bloodsucker of the poor" when she had not specifically named him? But the next moment she refers to Grameen taking 30-45% interest on its loans thereby betraying her actual feeling in an unguarded moment. This is a factual inaccuracy by a wide margin as has been clarified by Grameen Bank after her BBC interview.
On the World Bank issue she tried to circumvent Sackur's insistence that her government publish World Bank letters since it couldn’t do it as a matter of WB-client relationship ethic by basically parrying it. Since the resident World Bank chief iterated that Bangladesh government is free to publish WB letters, the onus is on the government to make the whole thing public. Naming does not mean shaming or culpability if actual corruption has not taken place.
The retaliatory theme on Professor Yunus was somewhat watered down by Sheikh Hasina maintaining that Professor Yunus tried to float a political platform when she was in custody. Then she quipped to Sackur in so many words, "have you thought about" why he failed to form a political party? The ire, however, comes through but in a sugarcoated fashion!
Sheikh Hasina may have sounded convincing to overseas audience when she claimed had there been corruption how could the AL government have made so much economic progress? Also, her comments on progress in social and economic sectors and way the country is bracing up to climate change might have gone down well with her audience.
On balance, Sheikh Hasina held her ground and had her say, and to many she performed well in articulating her points of view in a foreign language with interesting turns of phrases.
Now it has hit overseas chords that the old leaders should pass the baton on to a new genre of youthful, vigorous and creative leadership in touch with the rest of the world.
The writer is Associate Editor, The Daily Star.
E-mail: husain.imam@thedailystar.net