Bangladesh Urged to Hold Elections by December 2008
By Jane Clark
March 24, 2008

As reported by Reuters, tensions have mounted recently in Bangladesh as the March 26 anniversary of its independence approaches.  Citizens are calling for the release of detained leaders, who were arrested when the interim government held an anti-corruption drive in 2007.  Followers of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina have threatened to hold demonstrations if she is not released by March 26th with all corruption charges dropped.  Hasina and Begum Khaleda Zia, also a former prime minister, are both considered potential contenders in future elections.

According to the Washington Post, the interim government in Bangladesh is asking foreign officials not to interfere in their internal affairs; the country’s heavy reliance on foreign aid has often forced it to be more susceptible to external pressures.  International groups have been in Bangladesh lately to investigate the human rights and criminal justice situation, and the United States has been pressuring Bangladesh to hold free and fair elections by the end of the year. The State Department issued the following statement:

The United States urges the Bangladesh government to uphold its commitment to hold free, fair, and transparent elections by December 2008, as reaffirmed in the joint statement issued on March 18, 2008, by Dr. Fakhruddin Ahmed, Chief Advisor of the Caretaker Government of Bangladesh, and Prime Minister Gordon Brown of the United Kingdom. While the government's progress on updating the voter list and combating corruption is encouraging, we urge the government to move forward on its dialogue with political parties and to remove restrictions on freedoms of assembly and the press. Political parties must be able to participate fully in a democratic process.

BBC News writes thatBangladesh suffers from a volatile political situation, partially due to becoming an independent country only in 1971 and later being under military rule for fifteen years.  Democracy was restored in 1990, but political tension between the Awami League and the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) has resulted in frequent politically motivated violence.  Hasina, who leads the Awami League, and Khaleda, who leads the BNP, both served terms as prime ministers between 1991 and 2006 and have a hostile relationship because of personal disputes.  Currently, both are detained and the interim government has taken steps to block their future participation in politics.  The interim government has been in power since January 2007 and has promised to make steps to clean up corruption before the next elections.  However, the country has been under an indefinite state of emergency since then, and the government has banned all political activity and street protests.  Despite strong military support, the interim government has remained independent from military influence and has pledged to hold elections by the end of 2008.

Links:

Reuters: Politics Heats Up Ahead of Bangladesh Anniversary

Washington Post: Bangladesh Asks Diplomats to Avoid Internal Issues

State Department: Bangladesh- Paving the Way for Parliamentary Elections

BBC News: Country Profile - Bangladesh

For more information on Bangladesh:

State Department: Background Note - Bangladesh

Economist: Country Brief - Bangladesh

CIA World Factbook: Bangladesh

World Bank: Bangladesh     

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