Arif Syed
Published in the Forum (August 2008 )
SINCE 1/11, and shortly prior to that, there had been attempts to launch a third political platform beyond the Awami League and BNP/Jamaat coalition in Bangladesh politics. Long before the end of the BNP government’s five-year tenure, there were murmurs about a “third force” taking over as people could predict the upcoming impasse.
What did people mean when they talked about the third force at that time? Was it: (a) an army coup (like Thailand), (b) a national coalition government heavily backed by civil/international society, or (c) an Iranian-style Islamic revolution?
As it turned out, a hybrid of (a) and (b) happened, with promises of a massive cleanup of corruption and holding of a free and fair election. (I don’t know why it’s always called “free and fair” — free election should mean a fair one — but I guess reality of power struggle is not that simple for us average citizens to understand.) (more…)
