Dan Mozena

It is no secret that Bangladesh, long ago, captured and continues to hold my heart. As I commented on that sad day a decade ago when I departed Dhaka at the end of my ambassadorship, “I am leaving Bangladesh, but my heart is staying behind,” so it remains.

Those who know my enduring affection for Bangladesh sometimes ask, “What is so special about Bangladesh?” This question has a simple answer: the people—the wonderful people of Bangladesh—are the reason that the country is so special for me. During my tenure as US ambassador to Bangladesh, I visited all 64 districts, and everywhere I travelled I saw Bangladeshi men and women—farmers, village women, teachers, medical workers, street vendors, shopkeepers, businesspeople, ready-made-garment workers—all working hard and creatively to build a peaceful, secure, prosperous, healthy and, aspirationally, democratic Bangladesh, a far-cry from the “international basket case” that a US diplomat envisioned in 1971 for the then newly-independent nation.

Last July and August, the magic and wonder of the Bangladeshi people were on full display as the nation threw off the cloak of authoritarianism and oppression that had suffocated the people. This revolution was led by students who seek a new Bangladesh that enables citizens to participate freely and safely in building better futures for themselves, their families and their communities. Is this too much to expect? I don’t think so, and neither do the students, so they persist in their pursuit of the new Bangladesh. Sadly, some made the ultimate sacrifice to this end during the July-August uprising.

This is not the first time in Bangladesh’s history that the people declared “enough” and threw off oppression. Those earlier endeavours to emancipate the people did not end well, as forces of oppression re-emerged and again subjected the people to tyranny.

I believe this time it could be different. The students realise that toppling the previous regime is not an end, but only a step to the larger goal of building the new Bangladesh. History shows that revolutionaries, upon achieving their immediate goal of toppling the existing power structure, often then turn upon each other in a battle for power, until one leader emerges on top and other would-be leaders are vanquished or worse. The students, to their great credit, have learned from Bangladesh’s history and have chosen a different path. Instead of wrestling among themselves for power, they joined together and reached out to Bangladesh’s most distinguished luminary, Professor Muhammad Yunus, to provide leadership to their enterprise.

Professor Yunus is an inspired choice. He has no personal political agenda; he does not seek power for himself; and he has nothing more to prove—he is already a Nobel laureate. I believe he seeks simply to help his beloved Bangladesh find its way through these challenging times. The revolution is an historic opportunity to realise the long-elusive dream of a free, democratic Bangladesh, a dream that has tragically been crushed repeatedly in Bangladesh’s short but turbulent history. The path ahead is treacherous. As Bangladesh struggles to recraft itself, some want Bangladesh to fail in its pursuit of democracy; extremists and others see opportunities for advancing their own agendas. Others, filled with rage and anger, lash out to exact retribution from those perceived as implementing or benefitting from the atrocities perpetrated by the previous government.

These negative forces are destabilising. They deepen hate and divide people at a time when Bangladeshis must stand united to create a durable democracy that brings peace and prosperity to all citizens. To that end, there is only one game in town: the interim government under the leadership of Professor Yunus. I hope all Bangladeshis will stand behind this transitional government by helping the government see what it has done right in launching Bangladesh on a democratic trajectory, where it has made mistakes, and where it must do better. Standing together, the people and the transitional government can get it right in laying the foundation for the new Bangladesh.

Most critical now is for the interim government to sustain citizens’ hope that this time, Bangladesh will triumph in building democracy. This is a tough challenge as the interim government must deliver on many fronts, including i) ensuring safety and security for all citizens; ii) providing quality education, health care and other basics of life; iii) undertaking an effective campaign against corruption; iv) fostering an economy that provides jobs and improves standards of living; v) holding accountable members of the previous government who committed the most egregious acts against the people; vi) rehabilitating people connected to the previous government implicated in lesser acts against the people perhaps by establishing a truth and reconciliation process, along the lines of the South African model. Such a process could enable these individuals to publicly acknowledge their past transgressions, ask for forgiveness from victims, and commit themselves to Bangladesh’s emerging democracy. Finally, the electoral process can be reformed so Bangladeshis can effectively voice their political views, either by creating new political parties or by the erstwhile opposition parties recreating themselves by implementing internal democratic processes that enable party members to freely choose their party’s leaders.

I appreciate the gravity and severity of these challenges. Nonetheless, I am confident the people of Bangladesh, in partnership with the interim government, will prevail in addressing these challenges, thus setting the stage for electoral reforms that enable citizens to freely participate in the democratic process.

Is this simply wishful thinking on the part of someone who loves Bangladesh? I think not. Bangladeshis know that this is a critical juncture in their nation’s history. Bangladeshis have seen their dream of a democratic Bangladesh crushed too many times. Bangladeshis will not accept the return of autocracy; they will accept nothing less than democracy.

(Dan Mozena is former US ambassador to Bangladesh. The views expressed in this article are the author’s own)