Dhaka, Dec 3 : Bangladesh interim government’s Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus on Wednesday lauded the contribution of the armed forces and asked it play a historic role in conducting the upcoming elections scheduled in February.
Yunus made the remarks while addressing a graduation ceremony at the National Defence College at Mirpur Cantonment, state-run BSS reported.
Yunus lauded the armed forces and their enduring contributions “to our national security, development and national building activities” adding, “your commitment to safeguarding our nation has been exemplary”.
“Make it (the elections) a festive occasion for all voters and the nation will remember with pride they really had a historical occasion to turn this country around,” Yunus said.
His comments come amid political uncertainty in the country as three-time former prime minister Khaleda Zia remains in a critical condition and deposed premier Sheikh Hasina’s now disbanded Awami League is disqualified from the election.
Several political analysts said the scenario paved a way for the far-right forces to emerge in the political landscape with intensified strength.
“Bangladesh saw the rise of far-right forces during last year’s July Uprising and the upcoming election could be a demonstration of their escalated growth,” political analyst and former ambassador Mahfuzur Rahmn said.
International relations professor of Dhaka University Imtiaz Ahmed, however, said “state-complicity” was a major factor for the rise of any force — “be it right-wing or left-leaning”.
“But any state-managed election will backfire as we saw in the past,” he said, adding that it would be a big question how far the party or alliance that would succeed the Yunus-government could deliver.
Ahmed, however, ruled out speculations if the election would be held as planned saying the burden could be unbearable for the current administration to prolong its tenure particularly considering the state of the economy and lack of foreign investment.
The violent student-led street protest called the ‘July Uprising’ toppled Hasin’s government on August 5, 2024.
Three days later, Nobel Laureate Yunus flew from Paris at the call of the protesting students to assume the charge of the interim government as its chief adviser.
Yunus’s interim government disbanded the Awami League under the country’s tough anti-terrorism law under an executive order disqualifying it from contesting the elections.
A special tribunal last month handed Hasina the death penalty for allegedly committing crimes against humanity after her trial in absentia.
Zia’s Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) emerged as the frontrunner in the country in Awami League’s absence with its once ally Jamaat-e-Islami being its main rival forming an alliance with other Islamist groups.
According to analysts, the Yunus government’s relations with the army remained “sour” since it assumed power last year.
The government deployed the army on policing duty since it assumed power but Army Chief General Waker-uz-Zaman earlier said the military was not trained for such tasks and their prolonged absence inside barracks would affect their professional skills. (PTI)
