There have been some dramatic developments in South Asia since our last blog post three weeks ago about progress towards a revitalized Bangladesh 2.0. In addition, some important milestones have largely escaped the media’s attention.
Armed conflict between India and Pakistan has been the biggest story by far. Fortunately, in part due to active and effective diplomacy by the United States, a cease-fire has been achieved and appears to be holding. Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus issued an important statement applauding the ceasefire and the diplomatic efforts that led to it. His statement was widely covered in the media and helped further calm a volatile situation.
The other major development was the Interim Government’s decision to temporarily ban the activities of the Awami League while the International Crimes Tribunal completes its trial of the party and its leaders. This led the country’s Electoral Commission to suspend the party’s registration. While there have been no credible public opinion polls on this matter, our impression at Friends of Bangladesh is that the majority of Bangladeshis support this decision.
However, respected commentators such as David Bergman have deplored it, while retired diplomat Jon Danilowicz came to the conclusion that it was the lesser of evils (in other words, the best decision among several unpalatable options). The government’s press secretary issued a forceful response to Bergman’s critique.
Clearly, there are people of goodwill who judge this matter differently. Perhaps nearly everyone can agree that there would be better options if the Awami League had distanced itself from the brutality and corruption of Sheikh Hasina and her cronies (a point made effectively in this post by Danilowicz). Even Bergman sees the matter as quite complex, as this thoughtful article about the risk of banning the Awami League articulates effectively. In it, he describes the case for banning the party, writing, “Sheikh Hasina, the former Awami League prime minister still its figurehead and leader, continues to agitate from abroad, including apparently threatening killings. In addition social media accounts linked to the party persist in publishing disinformation, both about the events in July/August 2024 and contemporary Bangladesh. This posture—defiant, unreformed, unrepentant and possibly seeking to destabilize the country—bolsters the case for suspending the party’s operations.”
Bergman further notes that “…no senior party figure has accepted any wrongdoing on the part of the party or government. The party remains under the control of its former leadership, which has rejected the UN’s findings and shown no intention of reform.” Still, he does not support the ban and explains why at the end of the article: “If moral culpability were the sole criterion, the case for banning the Awami League would be overwhelming. But democratic governance demands a broader perspective—one that weighs the impact on political pluralism, civil rights, and long-term national stability. On those grounds, the risks posed by the ban outweigh any potential justifications.”
In the meantime, Kerry Kennedy, the president of RFK Human Rights, paid a visit to Bangladesh. She deplored the abuses of the prior regime as she met with civil society leaders and toured the notorious AynaGhar torture chambers (now dismantled). She also met with Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus and called him her “friend” and “hero.” It is encouraging that she responded to the Interim Government’s call to journalists and human rights organizations around the world to visit Bangladesh and to impartially investigate the performance of the administration and the nation since August 8, 2024.
Away from the spotlight, progress has been made on many other fronts. For example, the Danish shipping and logistics giant Maersk has agreed to invest $800 million in developing the port of Chittagong to help Bangladesh become more of a manufacturing hub. Furthermore, there has been additional progress related to Bangladesh buying clean hydroelectric power from Nepal.
Meanwhile, the extremely popular vlogger and human rights activist Pinaki Bhattacharya has launched a new English YouTube series that started with a reflection on Chief Adviser Yunus’ achievements. He calls Yunus a “reluctant leader” who did not seek power but who stepped up to do what he could when he was called by the nation to serve it in a crisis atmosphere.
Pinaki’s wildly popular Bengali language video messages (he now has 3.45 million subscribers) helped draw attention to the misdeeds of the former regime and build the movement within Bangladesh to topple it. He and other popular exiles active on YouTube deserve much credit for the success of the people’s uprising in July/August 2024.
