United States most unhappy over Hasina victory

It was not surprising to read a Reuters report this morning, quoting the US State Department that the weekend's elections in Bangladesh were not free and fair, adding Washington was concerned by reports of vote irregularities and condemned violence that took place.

According to the same report, Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina swept to a fourth straight term in power, with her party winning almost 75% of the seats in Sunday's general election.

Please allow me to say that United States is the unhappiest country on the victory of Sheikh Hasina. It tested its muscles but emerged unsuccessful.

One may wonder why the United States is against Hasina. First and the most important, the US just does not like those rulers who enjoy support of its people. The other reason was stable economy of Bangladesh. It may be said without mincing words that the US wanted to topple Hasina was to destabilize Bangladesh.

To the utter disappointment of United States, Hasina continue to enjoy support of India, China and Russia.

It is worth laughing to read, "The United States remains concerned by the arrests of thousands of political opposition members and by reports of irregularities on elections day," a US State Department spokesperson said on Monday.

It is the same United States which has multiple times used its veto power to derail ceasefire efforts in Gaza.

It is worth noting that the United States has been extending all sort of support to Israel which has killed more than 22,000 people mostly women and children in Gaza.

 

Bangladesh: Opposition Fears Sanctions

Politicians, economists and analysts on Saturday said that the ruling Awami League (AL) will be responsible mainly if any Western sanctions or restrictions are imposed on Bangladesh as the government remains largely indifferent to their repeated calls for upholding democracy and human rights.

On Friday, making an oblique reference to the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said that the party is plotting to create a famine situation in February–March with the support of some foreign countries.

Earlier, in a recent statement AL General Secretary, Obaidul Qauder said that the BNP is relentlessly conspiring to have sanctions imposed against the people of the country with false and fabricated information.

Former President of Communist Party of Bangladesh Mujahiul Islam Selim told New Age that the AL government has no wish for holding inclusive and credible elections and it will be responsible if any sanctions are imposed for undermining the democratic electoral process and violating human rights as well.

The ruling AL and all other political parties and the people as well know that no free, fair and credible general elections can be held under a partisan government, said Selim.

Moreover, the AL also knows that they will invariably lose if a free, fair and credible general election is held, said the senior politician.

For this they became eager to hold a false and farcical general election, Selim added.

The government could still hold an inclusive general election by following the special constitutional clause and convening parliamentary sessions to pass the bill of caretaker government, he said.

Referring to the Prime Minister’s complaint that Bangladesh may face a famine after the general election, Selim said that such a comment can be a foreboding sign for the country and the wrong policies of the government would be responsible for that.

BNP standing committee member Abdul Moyeen Khan said, “If this were to be true that the BNP is responsible for the Western sanctions imposed on certain Bangladeshis who are undermining a free and fair election process then this would pre-suppose that BNP is running the decision making process of the Western Governments ! The absurdity of such Awami allegations is obvious to everyone and doesn’t deserve any consideration whatsoever.”

“The fact of the matter is, the forthcoming elections have already been rendered into a sham election by way of publicly horse trading the parliament seats not only between their partners but also with their domesticated opposition aspirants well before the actual election has even taken place. Such an election caricature cannot be acceptable to any democracy loving people whether inside or outside the country,” he observed.

Former cabinet secretary Ali Imam Majumder told New Age that if any sanctions are imposed on Bangladesh from the Western countries, alongside economic impact it would be shameful for the nation.

Former diplomat Humayun Kabir said that accusing the opposition for possible sanctions is nothing but a political rhetoric.

 The European Union and United States are major markets for Bangladesh’s garment sector. If any sanctions are to be imposed on this sector, it will be dangerous for Bangladesh.

Economists said that the country’s foreign exchange reserve and import payments would be badly affected, if any kinds of economic sanctions are imposed on the country in such a struggling economic situation.

Former World Bank Dhaka office chief economist Zahid Hussain said that any kinds of sanctions or trade penalties would create impact on the country as the economy has already been struggling due to shortage of dollars.

‘If any sanctions affect the country’s export-oriented industries, mainly the readymade garment industry, it would create an adverse impact on the country’s foreign exchange reserve and employment as well,’ he added.

Asked about the risk of famine by March 3 and whether the government has taken adequate measures to tackle such a crisis, he said that the government has to disseminate what kind of measures it has taken to overcome the situation.

Dhaka University economics professor MM Akash said that any kind of economic sanctions or penalties would create dollar shortages to lead to a crisis in the imported goods.

The chance of famine is little if the government takes adequate early measures as the country’s agricultural sector is quite strong. The poor people will not be affected much. But, the middle and higher income groups will suffer the brunt of crisis as they would not be able to use imported goods due to dollar shortages.

On September 22, the US Department of State said that they had started imposing visa restrictions on individuals involved in undermining the democratic election process in Bangladesh.

Under this policy, the US said that it would be able to restrict the issuance of visas for any Bangladeshi individuals believed to be responsible for, or complicit in, undermining the democratic election process in Bangladesh.

 

Understanding India’s Bangladesh policy

Historically, Sheikh Mujeeb and his daughter Sheikh Hasina have enjoyed the support of the successive Indian governments. In the forthcoming general elections it is difficult to infer if India still supports Hasina.  

Indian External Affairs Minister Dr Subramaniam Jaisankhar’s recent address in New Delhi to celebrate the ninth anniversary of the Bharatiya Janata Party has created conflicting reactions in the Awami League and the Bangladesh Nationalist Party.

Dr Jaisankhar iterated in his address in New Delhi what prime minister Narendra Modi signed in the joint declaration namely India’s commitment not to interfere in Bangladesh’s forthcoming general elections.

These developments could also be the game-changer for holding Bangladesh’s next general elections freely and fairly and dealing with the existential threat that a flawed national election would pose for the country.

The statement has disappointed the Awami League, making many of its followers apprehensive. Bangladesh’s foreign minister Dr AKA Momen openly sought New Delhi’s help for a fourth consecutive term for the Awami League on an official visit to New Delhi in 2022. His plea was widely reported in the Indian and Bangladesh media.

Bangladesh’s opposition parties led by the BNP have been in the political wilderness since the Awami League came to power in January 2009. They have been oppressed, incarcerated and subjected to enforced disappearances and other forms of oppression.

The US-west-UN and international rights organizations have accused the Awami League in recent times of the violations that are protected by UN charters with Bangladesh on the cusp of its next general elections.

India had stood steadfastly behind the Awami League till Dr Jaisankhar’s recent statements. It provided seminal support to the Awami League to become and remain the dominant power in Bangladesh. While New Delhi remained silent, the US-led west became vocal against the Awami League up until the Indian prime minister’s Washington visit.

Two instances underline India’s prime role in placing the Awami League in its present position of dominance.

India’s former president Pranab Mukherjee’s soft corner for the Awami League and Sheikh Hasina were open secrets in Bangladesh, thanks to his prolific writings. He wrote that he had assured General Moeen U Ahmed not to worry about his safety and future after his military rule had ended when the latter met him in February 2008 in New Delhi.

Many now believe that the former Indian president won the general over on the side of the Awami League. The Awami League won the December 2008 elections by a landslide. Its victory was expected but not the margin. General Moeen U Ahmed supervised the general elections.

The other instance of India’s interference in Bangladesh’s domestic politics was the infamous visit of the Indian foreign secretary Sujata Singh to Dhaka before Bangladesh’s 2014 general election. She arm-twisted President HM Ershad, many say blackmailed, to participate in the 2014 elections. India’s interference allowed the Awami League to hold the 2014 elections that the BNP-led opposition boycotted.

India’s interference helped the Awami League to also abort the BNP-Jamaat’s movement for the restoration of the caretaker government system that it had forced the BNP to adopt in the constitution as the 13h amendment in 1991–96 with Jamaat and Jatiya Party as allies.

Sheikh Hasina claimed while leading the 1991–96 movement that the caretaker government system was the panacea for changing government peacefully in an emerging democracy. She wanted the caretaker government system to be in the constitution ‘forever.’

India’s interference also legitimized the 15th amendment under which the Awami League held the 2014 elections. The BNP’s effort to establish the amendment as the Awami League’s constitutional mechanism for its BAKSAL vision failed because India led the Awami League’s claim that the BNP and Jamaat were supporters of Islamic terrorism and Islamic fundamentalism that the US-led West accepted wholeheartedly. The result of the 2014 elections was a shame not just to Bangladesh but also to all those who supported it. There was no election to 154 of the 300 seats.

Bangladesh’s present crisis is similar but more dangerous than that it faced leading to the 2014 elections with important changes down the road. One perceptible change has been in India’s role in the 2018 elections. New Delhi stayed away from it despite repeated appeals by the Awami League for help. The Awami League even claimed in making its desperate appeals to New Delhi, leading to the 2018 elections that many hundreds and thousands of its supporters would be killed if it lost power.

The Awami League still won in 2018 elections. It had, meanwhile politicized the civil bureaucracy, the law enforcement agencies and the Election Commissioner in its favour in such a manner that they ensured ballot boxes managed votes to be stuffed in its favour the midnight before the election.

The 2018 elections earned the ‘midnight elections’ nickname. The BNP flagged the futility of participating in a general election under the 15th amendment but was forced to take part in it because it would have, otherwise, lost its registration for abstaining from two consecutive general elections. It was no wonder, therefore, that the Awami League won 293 of the 300 seats in the 2018 elections.

Dramatic changes have occurred in the international order since Bangladesh’s 2018 election. Islamic terrorism and Islamic fundamentalism that had made the US-west-UN allow the Awami League to do anything to remain in power leading to the 2014 and the 2018 elections are now out of the radar.

These powers have now come together for democracy, human rights and a free and fair general election in Bangladesh at a time when it is clear that the country cannot withstand another election similar to the 2014 and 2018 elections. It is now also clear that there cannot be any election in Bangladesh under the 15th Amendment without pushing the country towards an existential crisis.

India which was an ally of the US-West in Bangladesh’s controversial 2014 and 2018 elections, nevertheless, had remained silent about the dramatic changes. It kept Bangladesh across its political divide, waiting, aware that its role would be very crucial.

Most Bangladeshis were not inclined to believe that the US-west-UN would not be able to force a peaceful change of government in Bangladesh without India. A great many believed that New Delhi and Washington would, in the end, back a fourth term for the Awami League.

India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent visit to Washington answered Bangladesh’s waiting, almost. Narendra Modi did not speak for the Awami League as its supporters expected. He agreed instead through paragraph 36 of the 58-paragraph joint declaration of the summit to support ‘freedom, democracy, human rights, inclusion, pluralism, and equal opportunities for all citizens.’

Thus, by interpretation, he dittoed the recent initiatives of the United States in Bangladesh for democracy and human rights, particularly for holding Bangladesh’s next general election in a manner where every voter would be able to vote freely, fairly and without fear.

 

Awami League accused of hiding its misdeeds and repressive acts

Turning down the allegation of hiring any lobbyist in the USA, BNP on Thursday categorically said it is Awami League that spent huge public money by appointing lobbyists abroad to hush up its misdeeds and repressive acts.

Addressing a press conference, BNP Standing Committee Member, Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain demanded a transparent investigation to dig out how much money of taxpayers have been spent on lobbying firms by the ruling party and its sources.

BNP Standing Committee arranged the press conference at BNP Chairperson’s Gulshan office to give the party’s formal reaction to the government’s allegation of recruiting lobbyists abroad to campaign against Bangladesh.

Mosharraf said State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md Shahriar Alam claimed that they did never appoint any lobbyist but engaged a company purely on the media front in 2015, but the evidence doesn’t support it.

On behalf of US Chapter Awami League, he said Sajeeb Wazed Joy hired Alcalde & Fay lobbyist firm in the United States on November 29, 2004 with effect from January 1, 2005.

As a signatory to the contract, the BNP leader said he (Joy) paid US$1.250 million, US$30,000 each month, to the lobbyist firm in between 2005 and 2007.

“This is a bad luck of people that this illegal repressive regime has been spending the money of oppressed people on lobbyist firms to cover up the crimes it has committed by resorting to brutal repression, killing, enforced disappearance and snatching human and democratic rights,” he said.

Mosharraf said it is necessary to present a report before people on how much money the public have been spent in the name of engaging lobbyists.

The BNP leader also presented some documents on Sajeeb Wazed Joy’s agreement with two US firms Alcade & Fay and Friedlander.

He said Joy has been working with another lobbyist firm, BGR, on a regular basis for many years. “Friedlander, another lobbyist firm, was hired in September last year for a fee of US$40,000 for a month to arrange a high-level meeting and exchange visits between the two countries. “If you go to dig worms in this regard, bigger snakes will come out.”

Earlier, State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md Shahriar Alam alleged that BNP spent at least US$ 3.75 million on lobbyists to campaign against Bangladesh, and he shared relevant documents with the media which are also available in the public domain.

He also claimed that the Awami League government never appointed any lobbyist in its last three tenures but engaged a company purely on the media front in 2015 to help the world know Bangladesh based on facts and counter-propaganda against the country and its people.

 

Bangladesh pays huge amount to the US lobby firms

According to a report, Bangladesh’s Awami League government has paid a total of over US$2.3 million to a US firm to lobby the United States government and elected representatives in the last eight years.

The reports show that every year since 2015, the Bangladesh government paid the lobbying firm BGR Government Affairs — previously known as Barbour Griffith & Rogers — about US$320,000. However, in 2021, the government hired two more lobbying firms on short term contracts for a total of US$75,000 — increasing the total lobbying spend to US$395,000.

Earlier, following the US government’s imposition of financial sanctions on the Rapid Action Battalion and on those army and police officers who have led it in recent years, Awami League parliamentarians have called on the government to hire a lobbying firm in the United States — apparently unaware that the Bangladesh government already hired three such firms last year.

This lobbying information is known as US law requires organizations or individuals, which lobby the US government on behalf of foreign entities, to provide financial and other disclosures on a quarterly basis.

The exact amount of money the Bangladesh government has paid is not known, since under the law the lobbying firm is only required to approximate the amount that it has spent on lobbying on behalf of a foreign client to the nearest US$10,000.

BGR’s lobbying started on July 01, 2014 — six months after the national election that was boycotted by opposition parties. In that year the government spent only US$160,000.

During the eight year period, filed reports show that BGR Government Affairs lobbied the Senate, the House of Representatives, the US Trade Representative and the National Security Council on behalf of the Bangladesh government. BGR’s website says that it is a bipartisan firm that “specializes in providing strategic advice, advocacy, and communications strategies for a wide range of clients, including governments…”

Little is known on exactly the issues on which the firm has lobbied, with the firm only stating that it concerned “Bilateral US-Bangladesh relations.” However, disclosures show that part of their role was to respond to articles critical of the government as well as to distribute press releases and messages promoting positive news about Bangladesh.

The reports show that three particular staff members of the lobbying firm have lobbied on behalf of the Bangladesh government: Walker Roberts and Maya Seiden, both co-head of the firm’s International Practice division, and Mark Tavlarides, a member of the team.

The reports say that, on behalf of the Bangladesh government, Roberts has met the Deputy Chief of Staff of the House International Relations Committee and the Special Assistant to the President.

Seiden is said to have lobbied the Special Assistant to the Cabinet Secretary at the White House; the Advisor to the Chief of Staff at the Energy Department; the Special Assistant to the Secretary of Energy; the Senior Advisor at the office of the Deputy Secretary of State; and, the Chief of Staff of the Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources.

The most recent disclosure by the lobbying firm was on October 20, 2021. However, the disclosed documents show that the business relationship between the Bangladesh government and BGR will continue until at least March 2022. 

A new contract was signed on August 09, 2021 by Shahidul Islam, the Bangladeshi Ambassador to the United States, committing the government to continue paying the lobby firm £25,000 a month. “BGR will provide strategic public relations and government affairs counsel for the Government of Bangladesh,” the contract reads.

Netra news reported that in 2021 Bangladesh Government hired two other lobbying firms on short term contracts.

One was the Friedlander Consulting Group who was hired between September 05 2021 and October 05 2021 to “arrange meetings and exchanges between the top leaders of United States and Bangladesh”. The company was paid US$40,000.

Another was Conewago Consulting LLC who was hired for one month from July 26, 2021 by the Bangladesh government. The submitted documents state that the “foreign principal” was the government of Bangladesh but that it was agreed through the Bangladesh Enterprise Institute (BEI). The contract, involving a payment of $35,000, was signed by Salman Rahman, Chairman of BEI, who is also a member of parliament and the Prime Minister’s private sector adviser.

Salman Rahman told Netra News that “BEI requested Conewago Consulting to promote enhancement of trade and investment between the United States and Bangladesh to members of Congress.”