DHAKA, 5 September 2007 — The arrest of former prime minister and Bangladesh Nationalist Party’s (BNP) chief Khaleda Zia evoked mixed response on the streets of the country yesterday.
While some Bangladeshis were shocked, others praised the government for cracking down on the corrupt political. How ever some were skeptical about the country’s future and stability.
Khaleda, a two times former premier, was arrested along with her younger son Arafat Rahman on Monday and remanded in custody on charges of graft linked to the awarding of a multi-million-dollar government contract. Her rival Hasina Wajed, another former premier, was jailed in July.
In the space of a year the poor South Asian nation of more than 140 million people has seen widespread political violence, the takeover of power by a military-backed interim government, and now the arrest of a second ex-premier.
“It is shocking ... but worth praise for the army-led caretaker government,” said Abdul Baset, a Dhaka resident.
“The balance has been drawn,” he said, referring to the earlier arrest of Hasina. The women are the respective leaders of Bangladesh’s top political parties. Another Dhaka dweller had similar thoughts, saying the move made things equal for the two leaders’ followers.
“It looked pretty odd while Hasina was in (jail) and Khaleda out, although they both were suspected of doing similar misdeeds,” he said.
The women have been accused of various forms of graft and corruption, charges they deny and say are politically motivated.
Hasina submitted a wealth statement to the Anti-Corruption Commission yesterday, an official said, claiming properties worth the equivalent of nearly $450,000.
She faces charges of extorting more than $1 million from two businessmen during her 1996-2001 term in power.
Bangladesh has been under a state of emergency since the interim government took charge in January after deadly political violence linked to the two women’s parties.
The new government, headed by former central bank chief Fakhruddin Ahmed, banned political activities and canceled an election planned for that month, while promising a free and fair one for late next year, probably in December.
Critics say both leaders have run their parties with an iron fist, and promoted family dynasties while in power.
“But Khaleda’s empire seemed to crumble more completely than Hasina’s,” said taxi driver Abdul Karim.
The BNP officials said yesterday the party has been wracked by a major split coinciding with the arrest of its leader.
Many political analysts believe the country would be better off with new leaders. Others fear a power vacuum if Khaleda and Hasina have no role to play when democracy is restored.
If convicted, Hasina and Khaleda are likely to be barred from contesting in next polls, along with more than 170 other political stalwarts netted in a countrywide corruption hunt. Army-led security forces picked up Khaleda and her younger son Arafat Rahman at her Dhaka home on Monday for alleged graft.
The two women rotated as prime ministers over the last 15 years, and did not talk to each other for over a decade. Now they are both in special jails on the sprawling, lush green compound of Dhaka’s parliament building.
“So close but yet so far,” a prison official told reporters after Khaleda was taken there on Monday, following a failed attempt to get bail. “They now live just 60 meters apart.” Khaleda and Hasina have first-class prisoner status, with access to state-run television and four daily newspapers.
