GM Quader should apologise to the nation

A group of protestors under the banner of common students-laborer-citizens clashed with Jatiyo Party activists near the party headquarters in the capital on October 20th. The protestors, backed by prominent student movement co-ordinators, had intended to portray the Jatiyo Party as an abettor of the Sheikh Hasina regime. At one point, the headquarters was set on fire, although it is still unclear as to who was responsible for the incident. Whereas, as a law-abiding citizen, I ask for a fair investigation and that the perpetrators be brought to justice, it is important that we acknowledge why the Jatiyo Party is commonly subject to bashes by the masses, as the B-team of the fallen Awami League.

Role during July-August

The country has gone through a revolution, and not one human chain on part of the party was visible. Their student-wing had not drafted a single press release in support of the collective will of the students throughout Bangladesh, let alone participating in the movement. Other than a mere statement from the party chairman GM Quader, it seemed as though they turned a blind eye to mass killings.

Even if it is true that some of their leaders in Rangpur were active participants since the killing of Abu Sayed, a party with such massive organisational strength – with offices and student-wings all over the country – ought to have done much more to demand any credit whatsoever. 

Anti-discrimination student movement versus Jatiyo Party

During Quader’s recent visit to his constituency in Rangpur, the party leaders and activists made remarks on the two most active student coordinators as "tokai" (garbage collectors). They declared that the co-ordinators be banned from entering Rangpur, following social media posts from the co-ordinators that urged the interim government not to engage in dialogues with the Jatiyo Party on state reform. Such triggers over the days strengthened protests against the party.

The identity crisis

The Jatiyo Party, since the revolution, has made concerted efforts to rehabilitate itself by convincing the nation of two of their positions – their role during the movement, and their former role as not of domestic opposition. 

Their minimal involvement in July went unnoticed because, as the third largest political force in Bangladesh, the party leaders were still in the parliament, and, as mentioned above, a clear command from Quader to participate in the resistance against the wrong never came. Moreover, his explanation of how he spoke in favour of the students in the parliament has no material weight, because the parliament in recent years had almost no legitimacy in the eyes of the common people. 

Hence, unsurprisingly, even after the headquarters incident, the Jatiyo Party at the moment is struggling to create a narrative – if they go hard against the students, they risk being penalised as abettors, while their laughable explanations of being voices of the commoners over the years are being perceived as blatant lies.

Legitimising Sheikh Hasina’s rule

During the last election, the Jatiyo Party chairman was highly criticised for turning around his statement on non-participation. Had the Jatiyo Party not participated, the Awami League could have been well-branded as an autocrat. But truth be told, Jatiyo Party's high command (against the grassroots’ will) had acted selfishly, as has become a habit of the party. It went along to win only 11 constituencies (through an arrangement) where Awami League candidates refrained from running. 

In the 2018 general election, upon a coalition, the Jatiyo Party received 26 seats, all of which were uncontested by the Awami League.

In 2014, when BNP and its allies had boycotted the election, the Jatiyo Party participated on their own and won 33 seats. The Awami League, the only other national party taking part, hadn’t run any candidates in any of those seats. 

In 2008, the Jatiyo Party went into coalition with the Awami League. They placed 49 candidates out of 300 and only won the 29 seats that were not contested by the Awami League candidates. Notably, Jatiyo Party candidates had lost their deposits in the remaining 20 seats.

In light of the above, Quader’s constant explanations of how he was threatened and forcefully made to join the polls and come to terms with the oppressive regime are nothing but a cry in the wilderness. A politician of the stature to become a party chairman is expected to have enough courage, boldness, and principles not to bend to pressure. 

Loyalty to Delhi

India has always vouched for the Awami League, which was believed to be friendlier to minorities and a party that promoted secularism, as opposed to their most prominent opponent, Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), which has been in a long-lasting coalition with far-right parties.

Hence, in the past years, it was understandably in India's interest for Bangladesh to have an opposition party in place with a solid outlook that would seem legitimate and acceptable in the absence of BNP and others. Therefore, since 2014, the Jatiyo Party has undoubtedly been India's patsy of choice for general elections.

For instance, Quader was extremely reserved in sharing any information on his visit to Delhi, right before the last general election. He said, “I can't say who I talked to or what I discussed,” where he came off as fearful in terms of spilling anything to the masses, which was not appreciated. His line in private to his own party members wasn’t much different. 

In addition to being branded as Awami League’s pet, the Jatiyo Party's allegiance towards the neighbouring country and the longing to serve them is not only upsetting but is being considered by many, a threat to national interests in the current political context.

Where is the accountability?

Shaking hands with the ruling party had always put the Jatiyo Party in the best of situations, starting from the oddity of having ministers in the cabinet as the parliamentary opposition, to being the convenient and home-grown opposition, which the government befriended and provided for. Hence, alongside the overwhelming reactions of ridicule online, the party is under scrutiny amidst genuine hatred from the people of Bangladesh – all because Quader wished to avail the luxuries, facilities and protocol of the equivalent of a minister as the official leader of the opposition. 

It is high time that Quader apologises for his shameless greed, for aiding in establishing Awami League as a legitimate government, for failing to lead a party with minimum morals, for hindering the democratic rights of the people, for tearing apart the norms and functions of the parliament, and for not being able to do anything worthwhile for the students who ousted a government without any help from his so-called opposition party. 

Since the interim government is intent on persisting with the deeply flawed International Crimes Tribunal Act 1973, there is every possibility of him being prosecuted under. His party had a moral obligation to not only strongly condemn the brutality meted out to the student-citizen protesters in July-August, but also engage with and participate in the resistance. Therefore, Quader can be directly held responsible as per Section 2(h) of the aforementioned Act, which explains how the failure to prevent the commission of crimes against humanity, is a punishable offence.

So, any attack on his headquarters, though saddening, is not unexpected. The least that can be expected from Jatiyo Party is an apology to its grassroots members and the citizens of Bangladesh, and for the leaders who benefited disproportionately from the Awami League’s largesse and destroyed their party in the process, to be held accountable.●

Saquib Rahman is a political analyst, editor of Progress Magazine and senior lecturer in the department of law at North South University.