Beleaguered President Hussain Mohammad Ershad of Bangladesh probably feels a bit like Brutus did before the battle of Philippi. But where Brutus was tormented only by Caesar's ghost, Ershad finds himself being stalked by two ghosts of the country's bloody past: Sheikh Hasina Wazed, daughter of Bangladesh's assassinated founder Sheikh Mujibur Rehman, and Begum Khaleda Zia, widow of the slain General Ziaur Rehman, Ershad's predecessor. Sinking their mutual animosity and political differences, the two women have come together to mount Ershad's most serious challenge in his five years as ruler of turbulent Bangladesh. Their declared goal: Ershad's resignation. And in a violent pursuit of that objective, thousands of their supporters took to the streets last fortnight paralysing normal life in Dhaka and other major towns through interminable hartals.Ershad's initial crackdown on the violent protests and large-scale arrests failed to have the desired effect. What followed were bomb blasts and street clashes in which opposition workers battled with the police and members of Ershad's ruling Jatiya Party. In desperation, Ershad declared a state of Emergency and clamped curfew in the major towns. The official toll of this violence was over a dozen dead, hundreds injured and nearly two thousand arrested; the unofficial tally was nearly twice that. Among the first to be arrested were Hasina, who heads the country's major opposition party - the Awami League - and Khaleda, head of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP). President Hussain Mohammad Ershad faces one of the worst crises of his careerBefore her arrest, Hasina declared she was seeking Ershad's resignation because "there is no genuine democracy and freedom of the press in this country. The judiciary is not independent. Elections are rigged. The Parliament is not allowed to play its role.""Our fight is against Ershad's martial democracy and against ambitious generals and hired politicians who have been ruling the country through guns," she added. The Opposition pledged to bring in five million people to "lay siege to Dhaka". But Ershad blunted the proposed siege. The Government suspended all modes of transport and prevented the protesters from entering the city. But the continuing hartals, which the Opposition sustained for weeks before the Emergency was imposed, seemed to indicate that there was a fair measure of support for the "oust Ershad" move.The authorities reacted predictably. Bangladesh newspapers were asked not to publicise the demonstrations and Dhaka effectively barred visits by foreign journalists by sitting on visa requests. The police underlined its warning to the press by arresting the Dhaka-based BBC correspondent Ataus Samad, who had reported that there was no activity in a market visited by Ershad. "That's hardly earth-shaking stuff but that was the only specific complaint received about Samad's reporting," said Mark Tully, the BBC's South Asia bureau chief. And, not unexpectedly, a protest was also lodged against Doordarshan for showing scenes of rioting in Dhaka in its news bulletins.Amidst this turmoil, India became a chosen target of attack. For the past few months, the local press - led by the dailies Inquilab and Ittefaq, both owned by ministers in Ershad's Cabinet - had stoked the anti-India hysteria till it reached a fever pitch. Among the stories headlined by most newspapers was one saying India had opened the floodgates at the Farakka barrage to inundate Bangladesh with flood waters. As a result, employees at the Indian High Commission have learnt to expect trouble at the slightest provocation. "We are almost always a target whenever trouble erupts in Dhaka," said a high commission employee.Police uses force to stifle anti-government riots in DhakaDuring the current disturbances too, demonstrators lobbed a crude bomb at the Indian High Commission and stoned Indian Airlines' offices.The Bangladesh Ministry of External Affairs expressed its regrets to the Indian High Commissioner Tedrajit Singh Chadha in Dhaka. But the very next day, the ministry denied reports of the bombing, saying that it was only a cracker. "Do crackers have nails in them?" countered Chadha.To further distract attention from the domestic strife, the Bangladesh Government protested that the Indian frigate INS Nilgiri had dropped anchor in Bangla waters near Chittagong. India clarified that the frigate had stopped after developing engine trouble more than 20 miles off the Bangladesh coastline. But the incident was played up to focus attention on India's so-called "unfriendly designs".Diplomatic observers view the India-baiting as part of a political game-plan by elements in the Ershad Government to discredit the Awami League. The Ershad regime considers the pro-India Awami League to be its principal adversary and when India is portrayed as an interfering hegemonistic bully, part of the opprobrium rubs off on to the Awami League. This is probably why the main India-baiters - Cabinet minister Maulana Mannan and Jatiya Party Secretary-General Shah Moazzem Hussain - have the freedom to attack India at will. "We are concerned about the anti-India tirade and false allegations that are repeatedly levelled, like the one about water from the Farakka barrage to flood Bangladesh," Indian High Commissioner Chadha told India Today. And, South Block officials say that the matter was raised at the highest level during the SAARC summit at Kathmandu, but to little effect.Sheikh Hasina Wazed being detained by law enforcersThough the hartals and street demonstrations had disrupted normal life, the crunch came when the volatile student population, which had earlier remained aloof, joined the protests. This forced Ershad to close down Dhaka's two universities. But the army, Ershad's main constituency, has so far refused to get involved."As long as the army does not turn against him, he is ok. It is not easy to topple him," said a seasoned politician. Moreover, there is little likelihood of a change in the power structure, in which the army holds all the trump cards. "If there has to be a change, it will be another general replacing Ershad. That would leave the two Begums pretty much where they are - in the Opposition if they are lucky, and in jail if they are not," remarked a senior diplomat.As things stand now, the army is not unhappy with the President. In fact. Ershad rushed a bill through Parliament, giving armymen a say in the running of district councils, which got him into trouble with the Opposition. "He is a good tactician and has managed the army well," observed an intelligence official. "That is why there have been no coup attempts against him for five years." Still, if the Emergency restrictions fail to cap the unrest, thereby creating the impression that Ershad has lost his mandate, then some other general could conceivably step in.To break the impasse, Ershad offered to open negotiations with Hasina and Khaleda but both turned down the request, saying they would not compromise on their basic position - that Ershad first resign. Beyond this, there is lack of agreement even between Hasina and Khaleda. Khaleda, who boycotted the last parliamentary election insists on fresh elections. But Hasina, whose Awami League is the main opposition party in Parliament, would rather avoid fresh elections as that could mean losing some of the seats she now controls to Khaleda's BNP.Police stops Khaleda Zia from leading a students' march.From New Delhi's point of view, the most worrisome development was the launching of the Freedom Party by former colonels Faruq Rahman and Abdur Rashid who led the August 15 coup 12 years ago in which President Mujibur Rahman and most members of his family were killed. Back in the limelight, the two colonels unleashed a tirade against the Awami League, confirming the suspicion that they may have been propped up by Ershad as a counterweight to his main opposition.President Ershad had once dismissed the Khaleda-Hasina coalition with the remark: "Zero plus zero equals zero." But as the stand-off between Ershad and the opposition alliance continues, it becomes a moot question whether the President's mathematical equation is true or the two "zeros" could become a deadly double-zero licence for the Opposition to make his political existence a highly precarious one.Published By: AtMigration Published On: Dec 15, 1987 00:00 IST--- ENDS ---
