Political developments
Shahed Nasrullah, On e-mail
Recent events in Bangladesh have turned me into a begrudging pessimist with respect to establishment of a democratic civil society providing basic economic security and dignity to the country's poor. I am referring to the effort by the government to muzzle the right to free speech and freedom of association. As I noted in a previous letter to you, such actions will only strengthen the hands of the extremists and undemocratic forces and lead Bangladesh down an abyss. In the failed attempt to exile Sheikh Hasina and Khaleda Zia, I observe a parallel with the actions taken by the present Pakistani military ruler, Pervez Musharraf, in forcing into exile Nawaz Sharif and Benazir Bhutto. I vividly remember when the Pakistani dictator, Ayub Khan, first came to power, his primary focus was on rooting out corruption and we all know how it all ended corruption, nepotism and arbitrary rule became the basis of his dictatorship.
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