Regaining space for dissent in Bangladesh

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http://atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/SOU-01-100714.html



Regaining space for dissent in Bangladesh
By Esam Sohail
Jul 10, '14

Over the course of this summer, the ruling regime in Bangladesh has taken several direct shots at the last remaining vestiges of independent institutions.

The prime minister and her law minister have cautioned the higher judiciary for being "too active" and the government-appointed Anti-Corruption Commission has threatened to shut down Transparency International's Bangladesh branch for coming out with surveys that show the glaring corruption at every level of governance.

The government has pushed a law to deny foreign donations to independent social research organizations that do not get their research programs pre-approved by the Prime Minister's Office. And as late as this month, university lecturers were arrested and held incommunicado for "disparaging" the prime minister's long-deceased father in the course of classroom instruction. The government has also drafted a new law that allows its junior level bureaucrats to shut down newspapers without showing any cause.

In short, Bangladesh's one-party regime is methodically going about squelching any individual or institution that may sing out of sync with the official hymnbook, which paints a picture of a glorious, prosperous, crime-free, corruption-free country ruled by an elected parliament presided over by a humble prime minister hailing from the nation's premier family. The truth is starkly different and evident to most observers, hence the one-party regime's desperation to stamp out any dissenting, discordant voices.