In an article titled ‘How Not to Describe the Awami League’ , published in this paper, British journalist David Bergman rightly underscores the importance of accuracy in labeling a political party—particularly when such labels carry potential legal consequences. Those familiar with Bergman’s work over the years know that he has consistently taken on politically sensitive and controversial subjects, often at significant personal and professional cost. His courage and commitment to journalistic integrity deserve recognition. Bergman is correct in asserting that “while serious criticisms of the Awami League are both valid and necessary, they must be proportionate and grounded in fact.” His analysis focuses primarily on the legal validity and appropriateness of labeling the Awami League as “fascist” or “Nazi.” He argues that comparing the party to the Nazi regime trivialises the scale of Nazi atrocities and misrepresents the complexities of Bangladeshi politics. Indeed, any historical comp...

The images that surfaced on online news portals, including this newspaper and social media, showing helmet wearing activists of Chhatra League attacking protesters, including girls, with various deadly weapons and sticks to break student demonstrations at several universities are deeply depressing, outrageous, and deplorable. These demonstrators were demanding reforms to the quota system in civil service recruitment, which was scrapped in 2018 following a similar protest but restored following a judicial ruling. This ruling shocked many young people. The government's appeal against the ruling suggests it also wants a change in the outcome. The latest wave of violence against the protesters follows a public pronouncement by the ruling party's general secretary, Obaidul Quader, that Chhatra League would teach a lesson to those who allegedly undermined the spirit of the war of independence. This allegation centers around distortions, selective quotations, miscommunications, and a ...

The life of Barun Kumar Ghosh, a supporter of the Awami League, met a tragic end on January 9 near his residence in Hamdo Ghoshpara, Jhenaidah. The assailants attacked the 35-year-old, dragging him to a location outside a local shop, where they amputated one of his legs. Despite being rushed to Jhenaidah Sadar Hospital by locals, doctors pronounced him dead. Barun was identified as a supporter of Tahjeeb Alam Siddiqui, the official nominee of the Awami League for the Jhenaidah-2 parliamentary seat. Barun’s killing has been cited in discussions on electoral violence against minorities. Reports of violence against minorities during and after the boycott-ridden controversial election have raised questions about the ruling party, Awami League’s claimed commitment to  protecting the minorities. A seminar organised by Arpita Sampatti Pratyarpan Ain Bastobayon Jatiyo Nagorik Samonway Cell on February 2, it was said that at least 13 incidents of torture and attacks on minorities - all elec...

  Our worst apprehension, which we so desperately wanted to escape, has tragically become reality with an avoidable loss of lives - of a policeman and an opposition activist. With the government’s change of heart in allowing the opposition BNP to hold its grand rally in front of its party office in Nayapaltan, Dhaka, we thought the tension that had risen due to the ruling party’s vow to keep hold on the city streets would be eased. Despite reports of several obstructive measures being put in place to restrict a huge flow of opposition supporters entering Dhaka, there was little chances, until midday, that the protest would become violent.  Observers were rather worried over how the stand-off between police and Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh activists over the latter’s vow to hold an unauthorised grand rally at Shapla Chattar turn out. Instead of any trouble, Jamaat was allowed to have its rally, just a few hundred metres away from their planned spot in Motijheel. It was so content...

On November 2, 2022, as the world observes the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists for the ninth year, it's only proper to remind our readers a sad but glaring fact about how Bangladesh is doing in this regard. Just two days before, a Dhaka court,  for the 93rd time , granted the Rapid Action Battalion's (Rab) request for more time to complete their investigation into the killings of journalist couple Sagar-Runi. Though no one should ever foretell any judicial action, in this case, people's presumption that the investigating official would certainly hit a century in seeking time extensions should be forgiven. It is also the 10th anniversary of the UN Plan of Action on the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity. Ironically, more than 10 years have passed since those ghastly double murders took place on February 11, 2012. It's not just the murders of Sagar Sarowar and Meherun Runi that remain unsolved; according to the Unesco Observat...

Since mid-August, hardly a day has passed when newspapers have not published a photograph or  story depicting attacks by the members of the ruling Awami League on the members of its arch rival, the BNP. These attacks have intensified following quite a few ministers’ assertion that their party would not leave the streets for the opposition to occupy. It follows BNP’s serial agitation programmes across Bangladesh protesting price hikes, the ongoing energy crisis and alleged corruption. The statements by ministers were clearly taken by the ruling party members as a signal for resisting any attempts by the opposition parties to organise protests against the government. Though the BNP is the prime target of such denial of public space, parties like the Communist Party of Bangladesh (CPB) and Gono Odhikar Parishad, too, have not been spared.    With exceptions, particularly if attacked by police, most of the recent reports suggest that the BNP has made no serious attempts ...

It seems that some of us are quite intrigued by the results of the Union Parishad (UP) elections that show official nominees of the ruling party, Awami League, having lost in a big way. According to Prothom Alo, AL nominees’ percentage of losing the electoral battle gradually went up from 24 per cent in the first phase to 49 per cent in the fourth phase. Many critics of the government see it as a sign of serious erosion of popular support to the ruling party.  The fact, however, remains that most of the winners are so-called rebels of the AL and these elections were not a direct contest with AL’s main rival, the Bangladesh nationalist party (BNP), as the latter boycotted these elections. The Information Minister, Hasan Mahmud is right to point out the rebels' win is also AL’s win. However, his assertion that the Awami League is the only alternative to the Awami League is quite a different and much more serious issue. It raises a whole range of critical questions, including whether ...

V ideo footage and reports have been emerging daily on both traditional and social media exposing how violent and intimidating our elections have become. It has been going on throughout the country and in all the phases of local government elections—mostly union parishads (UPs) but in a few municipalities too. Death counts from these acts of violence are between 39 and 50, depending on official and unofficial statistics. The Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Khan Mohammad Nurul Huda, however, said "the elections were not violent and there were only a few incidents of violence", whereas his fellow Commissioner Mahbub Talukder termed it as "bloodstained".  A closer scrutiny of the facts shows that during the first two phases of UP elections, at least 200 chairmen were elected uncontested, which is suggestive of intimidation by candidates favoured by local administration in order to force likely contenders to quit the race. Such administrative favours, though unlawful ...