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Bangladesh Charts an Obstacle-Strewn Course
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11511 |
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Section : |
CURRENT ISSUES
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| Issue
Date : |
10 / 1986 |
1,660 Words |
| Author
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Rouful Hassan
Rouful Hassan is senior staff correspondent for the Bangladesh
Observer, the largest privately owned English-language daily
in Bangladesh. He also works for the BBC in Bangladesh. |
Much water has flowed down the river Buriganga past Dhaka, the capital, since parliamentary elections were held in Bangladesh last May. After a third parliamentary session (which met for 13 barren days this past July) adjourned indefinitely, it became clear that very little was comprehensible regarding the political situation in Bangladesh. The lack of orderliness, to put it bluntly, due to the political instability and insecurity that reigned prior to the elections, still preoccupies and torments all parties concerned - those in power, the opposition, and the ordinary man in the street. The constant question is: "What is next?"
For the government the next political step appears to be well charted and carefully molded. Presidential elections are scheduled for October. President Hossain Mohammad Ershad, a lieutenant general and a former army chief of staff, is the natural and only choice for the ruling Jatiya Party. No one, including the opposition parties, expects Ershad to lose. In fact, he must win the election to avoid - when civilian and constitutional rule returns in the future - legal battles concerning actions he took while the country was under martial law.
The opposition, which is not very hopeful about what success can be expected from its anti-Ershad movement, will do what it can to keep Ershad from easily reaching his political goal. Most of the political parties, including the Awami League (which held power between 1972 and August 1975), are already stirring up trouble and created an embarrassing scene for Ershad when they boycotted the first session of parliament. Only a small fraction of the 124 opposition members of Parliament have participated in its regular business, contributing to a loss of credibility for the
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