Bangladesh in 2009

Bangladesh in 2009

Area: 147,570 sq km (56,977 sq mi)
Population (2009 est.): 156,051,000
Capital: Dhaka
Chief of state: Presidents Iajuddin Ahmed and, from February 12, Zillur Rahman
Head of government: Chief Adviser Fakhruddin Ahmed and, from January 6, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wazed

A new government came into power in Bangladesh as the year 2009 began. The election that had taken place on Dec. 29, 2008, was important for many reasons. First, it marked the end of the two-year rule of an unelected military-backed interim government; the parliament had been suspended during this time, and many political leaders were jailed on charges ranging from graft to the illegal possession of liquor. More significant, however, was the fact that the election witnessed the overwhelming defeat of the pro-Islamist right-wing alliance that had ruled for five years prior to the interim government. Emerging victorious at the polls was instead Sheikh Hasina Wazed’s secular centre-left Awami League, which claimed 230 of the 299 contested parliamentary seats. Prior to the election, a number of detained politicians were released on bail, and charges against many of them—including Hasina—were eventually dropped. Hasina took office as prime minister on January 6.

Perhaps even more jolting to the country than the election was a deadly mutiny on February 25–26 by border guards in the Bangladesh Rifles, a paramilitary security force. During the insurrection at least 74 persons, including 57 senior military officers, were killed by the guards, who reportedly had been upset over their pay and living conditions. The mutiny ended after the government offered the mutineers an amnesty deal, though Hasina later rescinded amnesty for those directly responsible for the killings. The government seemed to be teetering on the edge of collapse in the wake of the mutiny as the army accused it of having failed to protect the lives of military personnel. Though the army wanted the suspects in the killings to be tried under military law, the government decided to create a special civil tribunal to handle the prosecutions.

The year also saw a sudden increase in extrajudicial killings carried out by police and the Rapid Action Battalion, the country’s elite anticrime and antiterrorism force. In the first nine months of the year, 97 such killings took place, which prompted criticism of the battalion by human rights organizations. In April the government announced plans to investigate and prosecute persons for war crimes committed during Bangladesh’s 1971 liberation struggle. Bringing war criminals to trial was a popular campaign pledge made by the Awami League, but the move was strongly opposed by the country’s pro-Islamist parties, several of which had allegedly collaborated with Pakistani forces in 1971.

On the economic front, imports declined by 20% and exports by about 3% in July–August compared with the same period a year earlier. Despite these drops, the country fared relatively well during the global recession, with GDP growth estimated at 5.9% for 2009, down only slightly from its 2008 rate of 6.2%. Agricultural output growth reached 4.6%, and the ready-made-garment sector remained strong, with export growth of more than 20% during the first half of the year.

Inam Ahmed