People are increasingly wondering why the government of Bangladesh is ramping up its persecution of Professor Muhammad Yunus, one of its most prominent and accomplished citizens. One plausible answer is that the government is trying to distract voters and the international community from looking too closely at the state of the nation.
Take two aspects: the economy and human rights. Don’t take our word for the fact that the country is in a sorry state.
The Atlantic Council has just published an article titled “Bangladesh’s Economic Crisis: How Did We Get Here?” It concludes with the following words: “Two consecutive fraudulent national elections, held in 2014 and 2018, have created a de facto one party system with no checks and balances. As international lenders such as the IMF negotiate more loans for the current government, donors should understand that throwing more money at Dhaka will not bring an end to the crisis.
“A bailout will only act as a bandaid. It may stop the bleeding for the moment, but there is no guarantee that it will magically solve the crisis without reforming an economic system tied deeply to the regime’s self-interested political vision.”
Turning to the matter of human rights, a good resource is “Bangladesh: Events of 2021” by Human Rights Watch that is available in English and Bengali. It begins, “The ruling Awami League government made clear in 2021 it has no intention of addressing a pattern of grave abuses, including extrajudicial killings, torture, and enforced disappearances by its security forces. Authorities cracked down on critics, journalists, and even children who criticized the government or dared to question its response to the Covid-19 pandemic.”
Instead of looking for scapegoats and trying to distract, the government should focus on getting its own house in order.