An army spokesman in Dhaka on Thursday Jan 19 attributed the foiled coup to some retired and serving Army officers with fanatical religious views, who, he said, were instigated by some non-resident Bangladeshis. Though he did not immediately identify these forces, it is common knowledge that Hizb-ut- Tahrir is deepening its roots in Bangladesh in recent years. There are in addition forces of pre-liberation days, who draw their sustenance from Islamabad, and are active to spread Talianization.
In short, the situation was getting ripened for besmirching the democratic system and foisting a fanatical order in what is essentially a liberal society despite its Islamic orientation. This is the second time that a section of army of Bangladesh has come under scrutiny, the first time being a ‘revolt’ in the army managed Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) shortly after the present Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina came to power in 2008.
President Mohammed Nasheed’s troubles in Maldives, are in a way a self-inflicted wound, as he could not manage the unrest that has been created over the past several months initially as a reaction to his belt tightening polices and later by the coming together of political opposition and Islamists each with their own short term agenda.
With some tact and calibrated response to events Nasheed can save himself and avert the island nation of 330,000 Sunni Muslims turning into a paradise of radical Islamists. The arrest on Jan 16 of Chief Judge Abdullah Mohammed of Maldives Criminal Court is an ill-advised move. He could become a rallying point for the opposition even if former president Mamoon Abdul Gayoom, whose loyalist the CJ is, prefers to remain in the shadows. The case against Judge Abdullah is that he had made derogatory remarks against women inside while hearing a case. The charge has been brought up by Hassan Saeed, Gayoom’s attorney general. There are certainly better ways to deal with a top judicial officer whatever be the gravity of the accusation against him.
President Nasheed’s complaint is that the increasing extremist rhetoric could lead to ‘stigmatisation, stereotyping and incitement to religious violence and hatred’. The government should devise measures to mobilise public against such elements. As a popularly elected President, Nasheed has not lost the goodwill of the people completely. He should cash in on his popular base instead of trying to please the radical Islamist campaigners hoping for a reprieve. At the same time, he and his advisors would do well to advice the police to deal with protestors with restraint.
