MORE THAN SIX months after the Sheikh Hasina government fell, the political cauldron of Bangladesh continues to be volatile. It is now on the cusp of more churnings with fresh national elections, by all indica- tions, set for this year-end.
Two important developments took place recently. The army chief, Lt Gen Waker-uz-Zaman, gave an unusually blunt speech cautioning political stakeholders against rising violence and killings. And, the lead- ers of the students movement that ousted Hasina last August launched a new political party, the Jatiya Na- garik Party (National Citizen Party), on February 28.
Over the last few months, Bangla- desh has seen a significant surge in violence, rioting and criminal activ- ity. The demolition of the residence of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in Dhaka by radical youth, and attacks on women's football games and Sufi shrines have raised concern over an inclusive and mod- erate Bangladesh in the future. The situation reached such extremes by February that security forces had to launch an offensive called Opera- tion Devil Hunt. In less than three weeks, more than 9,000 people were arrested.
In this backdrop, Lt Gen Zaman's speech contained a stern warning and held a mirror to the people of Bangladesh as to how toxic politics is pushing the country towards an abyss. It set the stage for the run up to elections. The speech has impor- tant takeaways with potential impli- cations for the future of the country's politics. This was Zaman's first public utterance amid the political turmoil.
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