Looking back in the mirror- the year in review

Ziauddin Choudhury

For too many years in the existence of our country we looked back into the year and said that we were
glad it was behind us. Perhaps not this year. Because, most of our past years we have gone through
political turmoil, terrorism, or havocs either natural or manmade. For a large part of our history we
have been tackling political vicissitudes of different kinds starting with demise of democracy followed by
uniformed men foisting upon us their versions of politics. We would then see our masses rise in
upheaval against oligarchical governments and bring back democracy. But even those changes did not
bring about any substantial improvement in our national politics. We would continue to see partisan
politics ride over nation and country’s interests, rivalry for power replace respect for democracy, and
finally see demise of decency in national politics.

Only three years ago about this time the country had done through one of the most destructive stages
of politics. Good sense and moral values gave way to wanton display of muscle power, streets became
battle scenes between government and opposition parties, and common man became hostage to the
ongoing fights between these two opposing elements. The intransigence shown on both sides amazed
the average citizen as it seemed nothing mattered to the political contestants except power and how
either to cling to it or snatch it away. While businesses were ruined by week after week of lockdown of
the country by ceaseless strikes, and roads and railways stopped operating due to blockades, there
seemed to be no interest among the political adversaries to bring a voice of reason to all the madness. It
appeared that the whole country was headed to a precipice of no return.

Yet, the country survived those ordeals just it had survived natural disasters of flood, hurricane, and
drought. It survived that period of manmade disaster and political catastrophe. This is no thanks to the
sanity of our politics (which sounds like an oxymoron), but for the resilience of our people who have the
absorptive capacity for such disruptions and the ability to bounce back after a disaster. It is partly
people’s unwillingness to submit to political blackmails (strikes, blockades, etc.), and partly the sheer
need to carry on with their livelihood that led the country back to normalcy. But it is also the general
change in people’s attitude to help themselves without waiting for government that also brought the
country back to track. People were not willing to be victims of political shenanigans and hooliganism.
They learnt enough from the political anarchy and street fights of the last decade that they have nothing
to gain from these fights.

Unfortunately, however, in last few years we not only had to go through political turmoil, we had to go
through periods of terror that were unleashed in the country by religious zealots and acolytes of a
dreadful ideology that struck fear inside and outside the country. A series of killings that were initially
attributed by our government to political opposition despite evidences of the presence of a growing
militancy in the country led to a most harrowing case of terrorism in a posh urban center. These
incidents put the country in the list of terror prone countries of the world putting political turmoil in the
back burner.
When we look back at the year that we have just passed, we have to review it from the above
perspectives. This year we did not have any significant political agitation, or any serious threat to
existing order. Most importantly we did not have any recurrence of terrorism that had characterized the
country the previous year, not to speak of anything similar to what had happened in Europe. This, in
other words, had been a placid year but for the large scale influx of Rohingya refugees. But that is
another subject which Bangladesh has to deal with unlike another natural disaster because it involves a
foreign population and a foreign country.

As we look back into the year that has passed there are three things over which we need to ponder.
First, is the absence of political agitation good for the country or it is a warning of more ominous thing to
come? Second, does the absence of any incidence of terrorism signify that we have successfully
eradicated religious militancy from the country? Third, can we really solve the Rohingya refugee
problem in the coming year with Myanmar and the Rohingyas will return voluntarily?

A main ingredient of democracy is the right of every citizen to participate in the governance of the
country. Opposition is fundamental to democracy. The nature of an opposition party is to dispute a
government’s policy, and propagate to people its views. A political agitation happens when the
opposition tries to propagate its views to people in defiance of the government. Absence of such
agitation indicates two things; either the opposition is too weak to organize or the opposition has been
stifled by the government. Both are harmful in a country that wants to establish democracy.

Our law enforcing agencies may have done a marvelous job in preventing incidents of terrorism; but the
fact there has been none last year should not be a cause of complacence. Looking at the world incidents
of militancy and terrorism, there are enough reasons to believe that Bangladesh will not remain immune
from such incidents in the future. There are people and organizations in Bangladesh that are active to
proselytize their cause and ideology. They can and will surface with the slightest slack in law
enforcement and political indulgence. We need to be alert.

Third is the Rohingya resettlement issue. With nearly a million refugees in our already over populated
country, we can ill afford to sustain them for an indefinite period. But then the Rohingyas are not just
another bunch or refugees like the Syrians in Turkey or Europe. They are ethnically Bengalis, and
although they have been in Myanmar for several generations, the Myanmar government and people do
not like to accept them as their own. This creates not only a problem for the Rohingyas but also for
Bangladesh as their return to Myanmar cannot be possible unless they are recognized as citizens of
Myanmar. Their return to Myanmar even to designated enclaves will not give them the safety and
security of other Myanmar citizens. There may be agreement between the two countries for the return
of the Rohingyas, but this will not be voluntary unless Myanmar gives them recognition as citizens.

As we step into a new year all we can hope that we are not led into complacency by the things that did
not happen or that we had a relatively good year. For the next decade to be a success we need to build
on the positives that have happened and give our people what they deserve, which are good
governance, rule of law, and safety and security of life and property.