Bangladesh in 2004

Bangladesh in 2004

Area: 147,570 sq km (56,977 sq mi) Population (2004 est.): 135,255,000 Capital: Dhaka Chief of state: President Iajuddin Ahmed Head of government: Prime Minister Khaleda Zia

Tumult and violence characterized politics in Bangladesh again in 2004, with the division and mutual mistrust between the ruling Bangladesh Nationalist Party and the main opposition Awami League deepening. The Awami League stunned the nation by announcing that the government would have to step down by April 30, 2004, and that all was set for a new regime to take over on that date. The government launched a massive arrest of opposition supporters, but the deadline passed without a stir. Much more serious was a terrorist attack on an Awami League rally on August 21. At least 13 grenades were exploded, killing 21 people and seriously injuring more than 200, though the main target, Awami League leader Sheikh Hasina, escaped. The opposition was quick to blame the attacks on the government, which in return blamed the Awami League itself. International police joined the local investigators, but by year’s end the identity of the attackers and the motive for the massacre were still unknown. Earlier, on May 7, Ahsanullah Master, an Awami League deputy, had been shot dead at a party conference in Tongi, and a second deputy, Momtajuddin Ahmed, was assassinated on June 7 in Natore. The British high commissioner in Dhaka had survived a grenade attack in Sylhet on May 21. In all these cases the attackers’ identities and motives remained shrouded in mystery.

The political situation took on an even more sinister edge with the emergence in April of a Taliban-like anticommunist Islamist group named Jagrata Muslim Janata Bangladesh, in the northwest of the country. This group, led by Azizur Rahman, called “Bangla Bhai,” was reportedly responsible for a wave of vigilante-style terrorism and the execution of some 15 persons whom it had deemed “outlaws.” The group’s organization and goals were murky, but there were (unproven) allegations of links to the government, and an official investigation found no evidence that such a group existed.

Parliament was also affected by the deep divide between the government and the opposition. The Awami League boycotted Parliament for most of the year, and parliamentary committees could not function because of the absence of the opposition. A new political party, Bikalpa Dhara Bangladesh, was formed during the year by former president A.Q.M. Badruddoza Chowdhury. Chowdhury’s son and another legislator deserted the Bangladesh Nationalist Party and joined the Bikalpa Dhara.

Bangladesh’s economy was clouted by five months of devastating floods that caused an estimated $2.1 billion in damages to agriculture and infrastructure. Damages were minimal, however, from the December 26 Indian Ocean tsunami. It was expected that GDP would be about 5%, down half a percentage point. During the first quarter of the fiscal year (July–September), revenue collection was 8.3% short of the target. Monetary growth showed an upward trend. Inflation inched up on price increases for essential items and upward adjustments of energy prices. In August the annual average inflation increased to 5.9% year-on-year. The upward trend in exports continued with year-on-year exports rising by 26.4% in July–August. The IMF released a $74 million installment for its Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility.

by: Inam Ahmed