Quicknote: Hartal, landlessness, and rape cast a shadow in CHT

No significant moment is ever enjoyed without a number of problems occurring. Luckily, the problems are usually solvable, if the responsible party acts in a just, efficient, and timely way. These problems become an opportunity; an opportunity to prove that the radical change is just what needs to be done. Bangla Nation believes that the Bangladeshi government must seize the initiative in dealing with these problems before they escalate. The US and UK should continue to monitor this ongoing situation and be ready to step into to promote enclosure and land reform in the CHT once the withdrawal process is complete and the security situation normalized.

Prime Minister Hasina found herself in this position today. Earlier a woman, presumably Bengali, from Islampur village was found raped and murdered in a neighboring indigenous village, Modonmohanpara, in Panchhari sub-district, Khagrachhari. In response the Bengali settler organization Samo Odhikar Andolan and its student front Parbatya Bangalee Chhatra Parishad called for a dawn-to-dusk hartal (general strike) in the sub-district (Daily Star).

Bangla Nation believes that PM Hasina should immediately condemn this violent act, for not only does it disturb the peace in a restive region, but is an abominable crime against women. While the hartal will probably go forward, since the Bengali settlers have been threatening one for a month now, the security must ensure that this passes peacefully and without incident. Most importantly, if Bengali settlers attempt to avenge Nasima's death they must be arrested without delay. Finally, while protecting the indigenous community from the possible excesses of the Bengali settlers, they must also fully and impartially investigate Nasima's death.

Yesterday, the High Court rejected two petitions attempting to prevent the continued withdrawal of the Army brigade and camps from the CHT (New Nation).

Thus, the Awami League government has earned a green light to continue upholding the 1997 Peace Treaty despite the reservations from Bengali settlers. The police forces must continue to provide impartial security to both groups of residents. The government, as well as the U.S. and UK, should work together in solving ongoing landlessness among the adhivasi community (Daily Star) and promoting a sense of shared identity between the settlers and the adhivasis.

Such projects could be as simple as providing teams of surveyors to help speed along land surveys or logistical and communications support to the government in the shape of vehicles and laptop computers. NGOs should also take steps in promoting community development and conflict resolution by promoting a shared sense of responsibility for the security and development of the region.

Quicknote: A glimmer of hope...

Awami League President and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina may be sitting at a mental cross-roads today. Likely, she is torn between two desires. The first is the desire for continued power and personal glory. The second is the desire to ensure the continued development of Bangladesh and the political party. The two are not necessarily intertwined.

Approaching her 62nd birthday and the recent passing of her husband, may he rest peacefully, may have caused her to think a bit more about the future of the Awami League without her. Any venerable leader knows when to start passing the reins of power, even if it is a slow transition.

Ten days ago, Bangla Nation discussed the Awami League's and Bangladesh Nationalist Party's sidelining of their "reformists" (see...).

Now it seems, that Sheikh Hasina is now thinking about assigning some function to the advisory council to which she banished the "reformists." The New Nation has noted that she wants to better utilize the experience and expertise of senior leadership in the interests of the country and the party. Such a turn is not unwelcome.

Sheikh Hasina will remain the President for the foreseeable future, but it is wise to engage the "reformists." For the most obvious reason, they must be engaged to keep them loyal, as the New Nation notes they are busy in their constituencies, no doubt entrenching themselves, possibly independently of the Awami League apparatus. The other reason is to engage them in a meaningful way is to incorporate their ideas and views - to progress the party and, if they continue to hold the people's trust, the country.

One wonders what Khaleda Zia, BNP Chairperson, will make of this. Her party conference will probably be held in the November-December time frame. Just far enough away to watch and judge the success of the Awami League's experiment.

Quicknote: High Treason?

If a group of politicians provided shelter for violent militants with a stated goal of subverting the state and replacing the government - would that constitute treason? What if, over the course of a police investigation, the police encountered "limitations" due to the political party in power?

Bangla Nation believes that these individuals should be tried and, hopefully, convicted regardless of their familial ties or contributions to the country, government, or religion. Moreover, the associated political and non-political organizations should also be investigated as thoroughly as possible; in this instance, Dhaka must catch and try the kingpins rather than the cronies. Finally, if a political party is found to be complicit in these activities it should be shunned, banned, and struck from the history of Bangladesh.

The Islamist militant network in Bangladesh continues to coalesce thanks to additional information obtained from detained Lashkar-e-Taiyeba leaders, Obaidullah and Mohammad Mansur Ali.

In the latest revelation, the two have revealed that a number of local level and "prominent" national level leaders may have been sheltering LT cadres per "secret deals" with the group. Additionally, a former Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) official noted that at least seven political patrons were known between 2001 and 2006. However, he noted cryptically that "limitations" imposed from the ruling BNP-Jamaat-e-Islami alliance at the time hindered the investigation.

In addition to exploring the involvement of certain politicians with LT, RAB is also intending on investigating the political patrons of the Jamaat-ul Mujahideen Bangladesh to discern whether any of them also have ties with LT or Harakat-ul Jihad Bangladesh (Daily Star).

Quicknote: Unequal Development

There is a large body of geographic literature that describes the "primate city" concept, it is a city that is disproportinately large compared to other cities in the country. There has also been much discussion on the core-periphery concept where a region's resources are concentrated in a narrow area, often at the expense of the "periphery." The "primate city" and the "core" can go hand-in-hand, as the central government concentrates its resources in a few, usually urban, areas. For our purposes here, this almost always results in unequal development.

NGOs usually seek to address this imbalanace, focusing their efforts in the periphery - bringing development to those who were unable to take advantage of the government's programs. It would appear that there is also a peripherial-periphery. An area where not even the NGOs can reach.

Far to the south, in Cox's Bazar division, on the border with Burma/Myanmar lies Teknaf upazila. There some 45,000 children receive no education due to a complete lack of school facilities, whether government- or NGO-administered, in 77 of 143 villages. As a result the children, who should be in school, are working. While in one instance the local union council set up a school for the children it was forced to close due to a lack of funds (Daily Star).

This situation could easily fall prey to the "scare resource" argument. However, a re-prioritzation of resource away from the "core" (Dhaka) or the "core-periphery" (Chittagong) could help stem the rural to urban migration which cripples urban areas in "Less Developed Countries."

In a sense, the government attempts to alleviate the sufferings of the "primate city's" inhabitants by diverting more resources to the city. This comes at the expense of "peripheral" programs. Residents in these areas enjoy even less benefits and state patronage than before. The result is obvious, rural citizens migrate to the urban area in search of oppurtunity.

However, this is not to say that Dhaka should become dilapidated in return for a "rural paradise." A balance must be found to keep Dhaka growing at a manageable, meaning economically, socially, and demographically sustainable pace, while at the same time improving education, healthcare, and occupational opportunities in the periphery (both core-periphery and periphery-periphery).

NGOs should also be flexible enough to repriorize their efforts to take into account their own success. By enabling local staff to take over the NGOs operations in the area, NGOs will not only be freeing up their own staff to expand operations, the local community removes their dependence on NGO assistance.

Quicknote: CHT Pullout Begins

The Army began its pullout from the Chittagong Hill Tracts with two temporary camps being dismantled and their troops redeployed. Whether the camps are temporary or permanent is largely irrelevant. The important item is that the Bangladesh Army is being returned to barracks, its presence is being replaced by national law enforcement officers and border patrol units. And of course, the Awami League government is honoring the 1997 Peace Treaty.

The Bengali settler organization Samo Odhikar Andolan and its student wing, the previously mentioned Parbattya Bangalee Chhatra Parishad, reiterated their opposition to the pullout and vowed hartals and blockades (Daily Star). The settler organization must learn that such a violent protest will only hinder the CHT in the long-run, economically and socially. If there is to be lasting peace in the CHT, Bengali settlers and Adhivasi groups must set aside their differences and work together.

For his part, Jyotirindra Bodhipriya Larma (Santu Larma) president of the Bangladesh Forum for Indigenous People, demanded a time frame for the removal of the remaining security camps and noted that "land-grabbing" of Adhivasi's land has not ceased (Daily Star). A time frame though politically delicate, could prove useful for the government. Like US President Barak Obama's Iraq timetable, the CHT timetable does not need to be quick, nor ridged and could be subject to the security situation in the Hill Tracts. The establishment of a timeline would also demonstrate the Awami League's dedication to transparency.

As was previously mentioned, the rights of the Adhivasi communities must be protected. Land-grabbing, the seizing of Adhivasi land by individuals without compensation, needs to cease. The land that has been grabbed should be returned or compensated. Finally, land demarcation commissions should be setup and surveys implemented. On this point, Bangla Nation and the SOA/PBCP are in agreement.

The land, upon which the two dismantled camps were built, has been given back to their original owners. However, they are prohibited from building structures on them until 2011 according to the terms of the rental agreement with the Army. This was a good move, if the Army needs to return and re-build a security camp there will not be bad blood with the original owners. The government has committed to withdrawing 35 camps total and a brigade. About 10 camps will be withdrawn from Khagrachhari, 9 from Rangamati, and an unspecified number from Bandarban - however, the numbers from Khagrachhari and Rangamati were not final (Daily Star).

Addendum: On Wednesday, the Chittagong Hill Tracts Land Commission announced that it would launch a land survey next month (Daily Star).

Quicknote: Guns vs. Cash

The Communist Party of India (Marxist, CPM) has caught on to one reason why the Naxalites have been able to gain repeated footholds in the southwest of West Bengal. Lack of economic development.

Earlier this week the CPM announced that it would be expanding the annual budgets of the three Naxalite affected districts of West Midnapur, Puruliya, and Bankura. The plan is to raise the budget from Rs. 22 crore to Rs. 235 crore, with increases in social programs as primary education, healthcare and irrigation (The Telegraph).

One hopes that the government will also attempt to tackle the issue of local corruption, lack of efficient governance, and poor integration of the hinterlands into the Kolkata hub. Additional distribution of monies from the central government to the provincial government, further increasing rural spending would also be welcome.

Alternatively, the provincial and central governments could also take a lesson from Pakistan. Arm the locals and unleash them against the Naxalites (Huffington Post).

Quicknote: Sidelining Reform, "Revolutionary" Elites Persist... for now

There is a notion, useful to the discussion of a country's early political history, that goes: the "revolutionary" leaders who led a country to independence are often themselves subject to a revolution. To put it simply, the revolutionary leaders are cast out.

It is not time for Bangladesh to undergo such a transition, though it seems to be coming. Late last week, the ruling Awami League held a national council the outcome of which saw five "reformists" dropped (New Nation). "Reformist" members of the BNP are still with the party, though they are concerned with their political futures considering what happened to their political adversaries (New Nation). At any rate, the BNP-reformers still have time to mull their position and decide a course of action, since the BNP national council probably won't occur before December 2009 (New Nation).

Friendly MPs from smaller parties have "exchanged pleasantries" with the recently sidelined Awami MPs and there are murmurs, regarding both groups, of floating new political parties. For their part, the reformers themselves have wisely not spoken directly on the subject as it is still much to early to discuss the establishment of two completely new political parties.

How does one best differentiate from two personality-driven political parties? That is fairly easy, discuss issues of concern and crush the culture of corruption and nepotism. The "reformers" are labelled as such because they were not adverse to the so-called "minus-two formula." This idea sought to remove both former Prime Ministers Sheikh Hasina and Khaleda Zia from politics altogether, and for a time (while they were both under house arrest on charges of corruption) it almost came to pass.

However, Bangladesh's return to parlimentary democracy is still too recent. When politics revert back to "normal:" the Opposition calling frequent hartals and refusing to take part in the Jatiya Sangsad, rampant killings of each other's supporters, and the co-opting of the groups like the Sarbaharas and militant Islamists - then perhaps the Bangladeshi electorate will decide that "enough is enough." For at this time, the old political parties will demonstrate that they really didn't learn anything from their two years exile from Parliament.

And at that point, the familial history of both venerable begums will not save their political careers.