An Interview And Power Of Pacifism

Passive resistance and power of pacifism
Make strong Bangladesh and end jingoism.

A Bangladeshi daily recently took an interview of head of Arakan Army,a group fighting for independence in Rakhine State of Myanmar. Key takeaways of that interview are: Arakan Army signed a ceasefire agreement with Tatmadaw,it maintains a 30000-strong army, it recognizes Rohingyas as “Muslims of Rakhine State”,it wants to play role in resolving the Rohingya crisis and awaits Bangladesh response,situation in Rakhine State is not conducive for Rohingya repatriation,its parallel administration in Rakhine State employs local Muslims, armed Muslim cadre of Arakan Army recently defected and joined ARSA, and Bangladesh does not like its activity in Bangladeshi side and it honors Bangladesh’s stance¹.

The interview was published at a time when UN rapporteur on human rights situation in Myanmar in a press conference claimed that UN has information on ARSA activities inside the Rohingya camps of Bangladesh². Prior to that a Rohingya leader was shot dead by assailants believed to be ARSA cadres. Slain leader Muhibullah played crucial role in mobilizing Rohingyas to raise their demand for trying Myanmar Army for the brutality against Rohingya.

Despite the relative calm in the Rakhine State due to the ceasefire agreement,clashes erupted in neighboring Chin State and other parts of Myanmar.

Bangladesh so far did the right thing to keep itself aloof from the internal turbulence of Myanmar. However, in the past, Bangladeshi authority detained several separatists from CHT and ceased and destroyed many poppy and cannabis fields whose ownership remained mystery though publicly it was claimed that those were operated by separatist groups of both the countries. CHT has a heavy presence of armed forces personnel.

Invasion of methamphetamine at ease also questions willingness of its security establishment to contain the problem. The problem is so grave that killing of a retired Army officer by a Police officer almost created rift between the govt and the Army. And extrajudicial killing of a counselor in Cox's Bazaar resulted in imposition of sanction against key personnel of RAB and Police.

Despite being a suspect, Tatmadaw did far more better job in nabbing drug kingpins. Tatmadaw cooperated with international press to unearth the drug operations inside its territory. Such effort helped international authority to arrest a drug lord in Europe,known as “El Chapo of Asia”³.Meanwhile, Bangladesh authority always throws cold water to any such initiative and even put up hurdles in doing report by international press. Even it remained silent to Tatmadaw’s accusations of infiltrating drug-making ingredients inside Myanmar. Tatmadaw was just echoing an UNODC report that shared some chilling findings on drug trade in this region. According to UNODC report, size of methamphetamine market in Bangladesh is $5.5 billion⁴. Without endorsement of security establishment, such trade cannot continue unabated. In addition, such illicit trade is key to sustain insurgent groups and cadre-based political parties which are aplenty in this part of the world.

Many army-backed group in the past found involved in accumulating wealth abroad and investment in troubled region of Bangladesh. Sikder Group created a storm in the tea cup by purchasing land from Sena Kalyan Sangstha in Bandarban,few kilometers away from Myanmar border, in a bid to set up a five-star hotel. Indigenous Mro people protested the purchase arguing the land belonged to them and it threatened their livelihood⁵. The group has investments in Thailand and Caribbean Islands⁶. Earlier, Singapore authority froze an account of $1 billion belonged to an individual from Bangladesh⁷. News report of local daily revealed that it belongs to a Bangladeshi politician who was hanged by Bangladesh for war crimes. He was advisor of parliamentary affairs to former Prime Minister and his family owns QC shipping line and private container depot among other ventures. It was unknown how Salahuddin Quader Chowdhury amassed such wealth abroad. List goes on. A Bangladeshi businessman enters the list of billionaires of Singapore⁸. He is brother of a ruling party politician who also headed parliamentary committee on defense. The Summit Group like Quader Chowdhury also operates a cargo container service (riverine), an inland container depot and an LNG terminal.

Despite being a democratic county (non-functioning),we have institutions that have no accountability to people.Such lacking in turn help fostering criminal activities and groups.

Tatmadaw fares well in contrast to our ones.From one of earlier posts,sharing my views on Tatmadaw:

Unlike other regional armies, Tatmadaw has some unique features. It is an organization that was not modeled after the outgoing colonial master's army and that does not hinge on its former colonial master to train its personnel as some of its neighbors do. Home-grown and oriental orientation to training and grooming of future military leaders have its pros and cons. Often in our region we see regional armies have officers whose views and convictions are moulded by the country of origin of their trainers. At various stages, they developed some kind of split loyalty and embarked upon misadventures that froze constitution and took away freedom of expression for several years. This derailment of democracy, often happens through bloody events, crippled institutions that are quintessential to flourish democracy⁹.

Following an impasse in the repatriation process and a World Bank policy framework on refugee management inside Bangladesh, a former Foreign Secretary wrote the following in his column:

They have to fight their own struggles and others can only assist them. No sign is there among them. Are they waiting for angels to send them back to their homeland? No such thing happened to ethnic groups who had been displaced for many reasons.

Following the assumption of power by Myanmar military, NLD and other small parties formed a coalition government. Many ethnic guerrilla groups joined them. But no one recognizes it, even Bangladesh does not recognize it. Bangladesh should not recognize it. But no recognition does not bar one to have contact with such government. Indirect contact could be set up and an understanding should be reached in a bid to resolve the Rohingya crisis. … this government pledged to resolve the Rohingya crisis, no matter how fragile that pledge is,Rohingyas should step forward. Not that every Rohingya will play an armed role,but could play the role of close confident.For the sake of long term interest,Bangladesh needs to play a role to make a close contact between Rohingya and NLD-led coalition government. Small investment could yield better harvest. Nothing guarantees resolving the crisis,but useless it is to miss the chances,be it big or small.¹⁰

Last year in August 15,I penned a piece titled “What’s In A Name?“. Sharing parts of it again:

I think Bangladesh should abstain from entertaining any armed misadventure to put an end to Rohingya crisis. It will not only harm image of Bangladesh,but will also engender our relationship with our neighbors. Pitfalls lie in such ideas could unsettle and undo any short term gains.Look at Pakistan. Despite being one of the victims of terrorism, its built-in image makes it a less trustworthy partner in international community.Its democratic institutions are in tatters as domestic and foreign policies were decided by others ignoring people’s representatives and the Parliament.

Bangladesh should not tread on that path as such steps may hurt our image and may ostracize us in international community. Moreover,we inked a bilateral deal with Myanmar regarding repatriation of the Rohingyas. Any misadventure may put on hold that process and cost us losing the Myanmar Army that has been in charge of running the country for the last six decades and may do so for the next six decades or so. They are the only powerful institution in that country and has considerable leverages on the country and people. Myanmar as a country is a delicate case in the region. China,Thailand and India all house thousands of ethnic Myanmar groups. But never support directly any armed struggles against the Tatmadaw. And the countries maintain good relations and help it militarily¹¹.

From the interview of Arakan Army chief, it has become clear the Rakhine State is not safe for Rohingya repatriation. Frustrations of Bangladeshi policymakers over the issue also worry ordinary citizens as it may lead to choosing a wrong step.

The prolonged nature of the Rohingya crisis makes donor agencies’ suggestion for access to education, setting up business, land purchase and access to credit more tenable. The measures will make them less vulnerable to the lures of evil quarters, will empower them and thereby will reduce the risks coming from the camp-dwelling Rohingyas.

Without any mainstream education and livelihood opportunities, there is a risk that they may fall victims of regimented groups by subscribing to non-mainstream education. It will make the Rohingya management much more difficult. No matter which sides of the border the Rohingyas reside in, educated Rohingyas will be true asset for both the countries.

I think the best way to mitigate the Rohingya crisis is to reach out all levels of civilian and military leadership in Myanmar and allow them to reap the benefits of Bangladesh economy¹¹.

At the end of the day, image of brand Bangladesh matters us a lot than anything else. Pacifism, standing for the just cause,respecting international laws,territorial integrity of others and passive resistance not only help maintaining high moral ground but also make strong brand Bangladesh. Housing millions of stateless people does not weaken Bangladesh. Rather it strengthens its image and influence.

Notes And References:

1 “Amra Rohingyader Nagarik Odhikar Shikar Kori(We Recognize Rohingyas' Right To Citizenship)”,Ashfaq Roni,Shafiqul Alam and Altaf Parvez,Daily Prothom Alo,January, 02,2022

2 “UN Rights Envoy Calls For Global Efforts To Cut Fund Flow For Myanmar Military Junta”,bdnews24.com,December 19,2021 Link here

3 “Tse Che Lop: Alleged Asian Drug Lord Arrested In Amsterdam”,BBC,January 24,2021,Link here

4 “UNODC Report And Meth Market Of Bangladesh “,Rezaul Hoque, https://hoquestake.blogspot.com ,July 25,2019 Link here

5 “Mro People Protest ‘Hill-Land Grabbing' For 5-Star Hotel,Tourist Spot “,Daily Star,November 09,2020,Link here

6 “Las Vegas Soho Boro Boro Shohore Sikdar Group Er Bipul Sompod(Sikder Group Perks Wealth In Las Vegas And Other Cities)”,Daily Prothom Alo,June 09,2020,Link here

7 “Singapore Aat Hajar Koti Taka'r Malik Me?(Who Is The Owner Of $1 Billion In Singapore?) ”,Bangladesh Protidin,November 28,2020,Link here

8 “Summit’s Aziz 34th Richest In Singapore:Forbes",Daily Star,August 16,2018,Link here

9 “Don’t Discard Tatmadaw”,Rezaul Hoque,https://hoquestake.blogspot.com,November 24,2019Link here

10 “Rohingyader Jatigoto Shodhoner Pokkhe Bishwa Bank?(World Bank For Ethnic Cleansing Of The Rohingyas?)”,Towhid Hossain,Daily Prothom Alo,August 12,2021.

11“What’s In A Name?”,Rezaul Hoque,https://hoquestake.blogspot.com,August 15,2021,Link here

The Untouchables

Black money lies idle in foreign bank.
Among the launderers are leaders in high rank.
No accountability in institutions feeds the anarchy.
Progress made so far is in jeopardy.

A Bangladeshi daily recently divulged that Anti Corruption Commission had found $1 billion worth of money deposited in a Singaporean bank. The account had no nominee. It belonged to a Bangladeshi citizen. The report claimed the owner of the account was a Bangladeshi politician who was hanged for war crimes he had committed in 1971. His wife and children abstained from claiming the money, following their lawyer's advice to avoid any legal repercussions.

The incident once again laid bare gravity of corruption and money laundering taking place in Bangladesh. When it comes to plunder people's money, both the ruling party and the opposition are found on the same boat.

Earlier Singaporean media and Panama Papers revealed that brother of a ruling party politician and owner of a Bangladeshi corporate group was included in the list of Singapore billionaires. Despite the zero controversy involved in amassing the money, political connection and how the wealth was amassed provided enough air to run the rumor mill wild.

Hanged opposition politician was parliamentary advisor to then PM. In addition, he had run his own business affairs. His family members also head several business conglomerates in the country. Similarly, brother of the Bangladeshi billionaire in Singapore once headed the parliamentary committee for defense and held important portfolios.

Revelation of their documented and undocumented wealth in the media while they are holding important positions exposes impunity and less regard to public perception enjoyed by some public figures. In a civilized country, such revelation will lead to fall of government or resignation of concerned person.

Only recently government bodies displayed great concern and effort to detect and recover such clandestine wealth. Earlier such bodies were reluctant to make a move in this regard. The institutions established to detect and provide regular info about such wealth failed to live up to their utility. I came across an investigative report, carried by an online news outlet based in a foreign country, couple of months ago. It revealed that brother of the chief of a powerful institution, who received president's mercy for killing a person, was seen in a gathering with a notable politician of an off-shore heaven country in South East Asia. I previously ignored the report considering it as a political propaganda. But the recent news report evoked the photograph of that investigative story and underscored the nexus between such institution and corruption taking place at political corridor.

Earlier a report about a businessman who mediated arms purchase caused consternation in local press. He amassed huge fortune in Swiss banks and even appeared before Anti Corruption hearing.

Lack of accountability of these institutions perpetuates corruption and propels capital flight from the country towards off-shore heavens. The lack of accountability also let the vested quarter take unfair advantage of these institutions.

Meanwhile, inaction of these institutions also help seeding distrust and fear into the minds of the people. This hopelessness, in turn, contributes to capital flight and human trafficking. So one is feeding the another.

When disciples of rigid ideologies challenged existing laws, customs, traditions defying laws on the streets, it would not be naive to surmise this kind of statement. Specially when some of them found safe sanctuaries in many off-shore heaven countries. Even the architect of rapprochement between disciples of rigid ideologies and government breathed his last at a specialized hospital in Singapore this year. It is indeed interesting to see that the mastermind did not feel confident to take treatment in a country that is evolving under his mediation.

Let's just set aside the high profile political money transfer. Literally, businessmen, politicians, bureaucrats regularly launder money abroad. No one would raise concern if Bangladesh were a prosperous and welfare country. And inequality reached such a worrying level.

Advertisement of an international LED television manufacturer struck me. It pleaded the consumers to purchase LED TV set at a set price before the limited stock got finished as the manufacturing plant in Malaysia was shut down because of COVID-19. 170 million consumers' LED TV manufacturing plant was built in Malaysia! Sometimes I wonder how Bangladesh has become peripheral colony of off-shore heavens with the assistance of local powerful institutions. From cooking oil to port fees , this trace of hidden colonialism can be found.

In Bangladesh, we see sales executive of local commercial banks solicit people to bank with them and to have a credit/ debit card of their banks. Sometimes I have this weird feeling that perpetrators of corrupt acts, rioters, hatred preachers, disciples of rigid ideologies work just like sales executives of off-shore heavens to get new clients for them.

We are paying a high price for lack of accountability in key institutions. Bangladesh has been turned into a lawless jungle, a dumping ground of obsolete ideology, a transit route for drugs, a safe sanctuary for human traffickers, home of nouveau super rich and a paradise for money launderers.

Fortune lying idle in foreign banks is a stark reminder that establishing accountability in key institutions could stem the generation and laundering of such wealth.