Ban on Awami League divides BD voters

Express Tribune

24-05-2025

The banning of fugitive ex-leader Sheikh Hasina's party offers a sliver of justice for Bangladeshis demanding she face trial for crimes against humanity but also raises concerns about the inclusivity of elections.
"The government has taken the right decision," said Jahangir Alam, whose 19-year-old son was killed during the mass uprising that forced Hasina into exile in August 2024, ending the 15 years of iron-fisted control by her once all-powerful Awami League party.
"Because of her, the Awami League is now ruined," Alam said, demanding Hasina return from India to comply with the arrest warrant on charges related to the crackdown that killed at least 1,400 protesters.
"Who gave Sheikh Hasina the authority to kill my son?" said Alam, the father of Ibrahim Hossain Zahid, accusing 77-year-old Hasina of being a "mass murderer".
"People used to hang Mujib's photo over their heads," he said. "Because of Sheikh Hasina's wrongdoing, that photo is now under our feet."
Political fortunes rise and fall quickly in Bangladesh. Hasina's government was blamed for extensive human rights abuses and protesters demanded that the interim government led by Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus take action.
The South Asian nation of some 170 million people last held elections in January 2024, when Hasina won a fourth term in the absence of genuine opposition parties.
Yunus promises that inclusive elections will be held by June 2026 at the latest.
Among those demanding the Awami League ban was the National Citizen's Party made up of many of the students who spearheaded last year's uprising.
Others were supporters of the Hefazat-e-Islam group and Jamaat-e-Islami, the largest Islamist political party.
Jamaat-e-Islami was banned during Hasina's time in power and several of its leaders were tried and hanged. Unsurprisingly, its members were vocal supporters of the ban.
The government banned the Awami League on May 12 after protests outside Yunus's home, pending the trial of Hasina.
"The oppressed have begun becoming oppressors," said Latif Siddiqui, a veteran Awami League member and former minister, adding that the party was wider than Hasina alone.
"She is not the whole Awami League," he said. "Many loved the party."
Human Rights Watch issued stinging criticism on Thursday, warning that "imposing a ban on any speech or activity deemed supportive of a political party is an excessive restriction on fundamental freedoms that mirrors the previous government's abusive clampdown".
However, political analyst Farhad Mazhar, an ideological guru for many student protesters, said the ban was required.
"The democratic space may shrink, but the Awami League has shown no remorse," Mazhar said.