Zia Chowdhury/Dhaka
Bangladesh’s interim administration first blamed “provocative remarks” made from hiding by ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina for protesters demolishing a museum to her father – only to later say it was concerned about vandalism and would “strongly resist” it.
Between the two statements that stopped short of condemning the destruction of the historic site – the first was issued Thursday and the second in the wee hours of Friday (local time) – looting, vandalism, a diplomatic condemnation from India, and the trading of blame filled up a day of frenzied activity.
Defacement and theft continued at a private residence of Hasina’s, which was set ablaze a day earlier along with the memorial museum to her late father, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the country’s once-venerated founding leader. Mujib, as he was called, was assassinated with most of his family members at his residence, No. 32 Dhanmondi Road in Dhaka, which became the memorial.
Many on social media at home and abroad criticized the demolition and some also said the interim administration in Bangladesh led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus had dropped the ball.
New York-based Human Rights Watch said that “while anger against the former Hasina was justified, “lawlessness is not.”
Relations with New Delhi went further downhill, as the Bangladesh foreign minister lodged a “strong protest” with the Indian government for allowing Hasina to commit the “hostile act” from the neighboring country to which she fled in August.
Then India decided to condemn the demolition of the Sheikh Mujibur Memorial Museum, saying “the act of vandalism should be strongly condemned.”
Yunus has already told India once, in September, that Hasina must “keep quiet” while in India.
And separately, India’s deputy foreign minister told the parliament that India had not responded to Bangladesh’s request to India to extradite Hasina for what he called “offenses allegedly committed before she came to India.”
In Bangladesh on Thursday, some quarters blamed the interim administration.
Other groups said Hasina and the interim government were both at fault.
But the day began with a statement from Chief Adviser Yunus’ press wing squarely blaming Hasina for comments during a planned online speech via Facebook. Students Against Discrimination, the group that led the July-August movement to oust her, had warned Hasina against delivering the speech on the day that marked the six-month anniversary of her ouster as PM.
She did anyway.
“The government said the incident was unintended and unexpected, while the vandalism at Dhanmondi-32 was the outburst of public anger created due to Sheikh Hasina’s provocative statements against the July uprising from India where she is staying to avoid arrest,” said the statement from the Bangladesh interim government.
Hasina fled the country on Aug. 5 after what had started as a students’ protest became a nationwide uprising, when police turned their guns on protesters.
As the demonstrations spread nationwide, the police continued shooting, with supporters and members of Hasina’s Awami League party joining the fray and inciting clashes.
Altogether more than 1,400 people were killed in the July-August movement, with almost all international human rights groups blaming Hasina for the carnage.
The press wing noted that the memorial, which had been vandalized and a part of which was set fire to before Aug. 5, had not been attacked in six months, and it was on Wednesday because Hasina had made “irrelevant, vulgar and hateful remarks on the deaths of the martyrs” of July-August.
However, Human Rights Watch said that Bangladesh, “should not spiral once again into deadly abuses.”
“Bangladeshis, anxious to see justice done, should support a United Nations-backed mechanism that can help secure a democratic future instead of succumbing to a cycle of violence and revenge.’’
The chief of a small party who had once been thrown in jail by Hasina said she and the government were responsible for the vandalism and the demolition.
Mahmudur Rahman Manna, president of Nagorik Oikya, said the government should have taken preventive measures because it was public knowledge that a procession was heading towards the memorial.
“The government and the law enforcing agencies have played a very irresponsible role in this incident,” Manna told BenarNews.
But Hasina also provoked the destruction, he said.
“What necessity did she have to make such statements?” he said.
One student group not affiliated to any party alleged that the interim government had a hand in the vandalism, because a member of the Students Against Discrimination is a member of administration head Yunus’ Council of Advisers.
Three members of the group are advisers.
One of them, Mahmud Sajib Bhuyia, had written on Facebook early Wednesday, more than 10 hours before protesters gathered at the memorial, “Let the celebration begin.”
This cryptic comment was being interpreted as an intention to celebrate a planned demolition.
However, one adviser to Yunus said, “Stop!”
“Calm down. Let the government work. Justice and reforms will happen,” Mahfuj Alam, who Yunus had called the “mastermind” of the July-August protest, said on Facebook.
“Now is the time for constructive politics, the time to show a better alternative. … This country shouldn’t go the way the enemies want … Don’t let the trauma that Hasina gave you cast a shadow over you.”
By late Thursday or early Friday in Bangladesh, the interim government issued another statement the tenor of which appeared to be damage control.
“The interim Government is observing with deep concern that some individuals and groups are trying to vandalize and set fire to various institutions and establishments across the country,” it said.
“If any attempt is made to destabilize the country through any kind of provocative activities, the law enforcement agencies will immediately take strict action against the responsible individuals and groups and bring the culprits to justice,” it said.
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