Prof. Mahfuz Chowdhury

The fact has remained that Bangladesh failed to uphold true democratic values even after forty years of existence. Sadly, the democratic process was halted by the very leader who had led the country to independence. Soon after freedom, his unilateral decision to establish a personal army and impose a one-party autocratic rule created a great setback for Bangladesh democracy. His heavy handed rule eventually cost him his life, and also brought fifteen years of successive military reign.

The election of 1990 was supposed to have paved the way to a democratic process. Instead, it has given rise to a different kind of authoritarian rule by establishing a dual family dynastic reign. At the center of it all now sit two politically inept ladies, Sheikh Hasina Wajed and Begum Khaleda Zia, who have inherited the leadership of the two dominating political parties in the country. They show no respect for democratic process and tolerate no dissension within their party, and government when in power.

The option people get in the election that follows is to choose one or the other party, thereby putting one or the other lady in power. While in power, these ladies often treat the country as if it were their family property; they rule autocratically, tolerate corruption, ignore or even sanction human rights abuse, and most importantly, promote and implement their personal agendas with little regard to general welfare. The existing system is best described as democratic authoritarianism since regular election only leads to an autocratic rule.

The ladies have their own army of die-hard supporters. Most are core supporters, while others came from different political spectrum, left, right or center, driven by their personal ambition. At times there is a race to join the winning party even by those who claim to be the champion of democratic rights. Their apparent goal for joining is simply to gain personal benefits. Incredibly, the country’s ex-President also came to line up behind the leader who sacked him from the highest office.

In addition to the unscrupulous politicians, the so-called intellectuals of the country are lending support to the present autocratic system in Bangladesh. To be fair, the country’s intellectuals would fall into three categories – two of which are advantageously aligned with the two parties who support and defend their policies. Of the third group, most prefer to keep quiet for fear of imminent reprisals, while a few who remain vocal fail to make much difference.

If a country’s progress is somehow attributed to its intellectuals or political thinkers, the blame for any failure should be shared by them as well. The corrupt politicians are indeed responsible for the failure to establish a functioning democratic system in Bangladesh. Yet, the intellectuals couldn’t escape their responsibilities for failing to properly resist, educate or warn the people on the impact of autocratic family dynastic rule. Those who continue to believe that something good might come out of the present scandalous system are clearly being dishonest to them and the nation.

Under Bangladesh’s unitary system of government all important decisions are made at the center. It would be impracticable to run a country of 160 million people with such a centralized system. For the smooth functioning of government and the fostering of economic growth, power decentralization into several provinces is well overdue. But neither of the country’s governing ladies is willing to decentralize the country’s administration for fear of losing their absolute authority.

The world is currently on a change mode where the younger generation is taking charge and using the internet to their advantage. Whoever thought that an unemployed college student in Tunisia could ignite the “Arab Spring” by sacrificing his own life? Once powerful autocratic rulers in the Middle East have fallen like houses of cards; even developed countries are feeling the pinch from the “Occupy Wall Street” movement. Could Bangladesh be too far behind?

The people are the source of power, and given the opportunity Bangladeshi people seem quite ready to exercise their power. In a recently held municipal election, people have shown their disdain for the current system by electing a courageous lady as their mayor who didn’t get a party endorsement. But, to hide their infamy, both political parties rushed to quickly embrace the winner – immediately before or after the election.

For better or worse, change is bound to come to Bangladesh. The obvious question is – what kind of change will that be, or at what price?

The options for the country are quite clear – either democratize and decentralize, or plunge into anarchy. Time is running out. As reported by the country’s news media, the level of dangerous violence, mysterious killings, political assaults and slayings that the country is now experiencing point to already a serious lawlessness situation. The escalation of such violence both within and outside of each party is constantly being fueled and encouraged by hostile acts of both parties where democracy has no footing.

Bangladesh has a great potential to forge ahead economically with minimal foreign help only if it had a functioning democracy in place. The two feuding leadership families, which control the country’s politics and governance, are engaged in promoting their personal agendas with no regard to national interests. They lack the integrity and conviction to politically do the right thing, or right the wrong. The current system is fundamentally flawed and must therefore be changed for the good of the country.

Bangladesh would plunge into an anarchical state like Afghanistan, Pakistan or Somalia unless the destructive policies of the two dominant parties are effectively reversed and true democratic reforms are put into place. It’s imperative that the key supporters of the present autocratic system realize this ominous fact and take appropriate action to save the country from the imminent gloom. Otherwise, the consequence would be dreadful from which no one in the country would escape unharmed. As the seventh largest country in population, the world order would also be enormously affected by such an outcome.

   Sohel Ajani
From the day, the Ottoman Empire collapsed after the World War I, things are not so good in the Middle East region. Creation of countries based on tribes & families was general rule for British.

Things never stopped over here. Immediately after the end of World War II, creation of Zionist state (Israel) on the Arab soil of Palestine was the biggest crime the west has ever done. As a result, millions migrated from their mother land, scores killed including kids, women & elders.

This was followed by the era of Cold war for the supremacy over the world. Soviet Russia’s invasion on most of the Muslim region and American plan to defeat its archrival through various evil strategies includes creation of Taliban & several terrorist organizations across the globe. Although, things were seems to be haphazard, but the situation was in control of The USA.

Coincidently, President Jimmy Carter visited Iran in 1978 and called Iran as “an island of stability” in his speech. It seems that the title was not liked much by the masses of Iran. Late in the year and early 1979 the deposed Shah of Iran flew into exile on his private jet, while the Ayatollah Khomeini returned from expatriation to lead the country. Suddenly, the Island of Stability changed to ‘Axis of Evil‘ for The USA.

After this, series of incidents followed in the Middle East region which aimed to destabilize the newly created government of Islamic Republic by Ayatollah Khomeini. The imposition of 8 years Iran ? Iraq war in which super powers of the world openly supported the Saddam Hussein Regime followed by extreme round of sanctions on Islamic Republic purely aims at weakening of the Islamic regime.

The war is on between The US & The Islamic Republic from the day one of the Islamic Revolution and US is making every effort to dismantle the regime through any means, legal or illegal. Hence they supported the terrorist organization, Mujahedin-e-Khalq (MKO) (Although its black listed in US, but they supported it), invaded Iraq & Afghanistan to surround Islamic Republic, played the game of regime change in Pakistan from civilian to military and again back to civilian leaded by American puppets.

Currently, they are making scenario of Nuclear weapons to attack Iran. The question over here now is; will US attack Iran?

Let us analyze the scenario in Middle East in case The US attacks Iran. We first have to find the friends and foes of Iran in that region. The first and foremost open enemy of Iran is the Zionist regime of Israel while on the other hand open friends are the Lebanese resistance movement of Hezbollah, Palestinian resistance movement of Hamas and regime of Bashar Al-Assad of Syria. The friendship of Assad and Iran is majorly based on invasion of Israel on Golan Heights. In any case of attack on Iran, any of these three groups will attack Israel which is close ally of The US in Middle East.

Hence the first step of The US administration right now is to overthrow all these groups / governments and impose puppet regimes in these places. For Syria, there is full-fledge movement against Assad. The recent sanction from the Arab League against Syria is clear indication of pro-American stand. After Assad, US might plan to impose extremist regime which is Anti-Iran / Anti-Shia in nature in Syria. The current inclination of protestors shows the sign of Anti-Shia move. Similarly, Israel might attack Gaza to remove Hamas through any excuse. They have to design some other strategy to wipe out existence of Hezbollah, which is not in view currently.

Before elimination of these three forces surrounding Israel, US will not be in a position to plan regime change in Iran.

   Sohel Ajani
It all started in 1979, when Ayatollah Khomeini returned from Paris to Tehran after the exile of US backed Reza Shah and declared Iran as Islamic Republic after the huge public referendum. The then puppet ruler of Iran, Reza Shah, was an open puppet of US and has allowed the US embassy to perform without any restrictions in the nation. After the exile of Shah, revolutionary youths of the country invaded the US embassy, also known as ‘Den of Spies‘.

The tense ties between the Islamic Republic and The US are still bitter and constantly kept world on toes. After the Islamic Revolution in Iran, the US & its allies are constantly trying to topple the Iranian regime through any means. Initially they exerted the physical pressure in the form of attach from Saddam Hussein Regime from Iraq. They support the evil regime of Saddam Hussein openly and provided it with sophisticated weapons to harm the newly formed independent republic.

Eight years war crumpled the Iranian economy where debts were on rise and falling value of currency. With all this, the economic sanction imposed by the US government played spoil sport for the already crunching economy. However, the nation resisted and shown its real strength behind its leader, Ayatollah Khomeini.

Soon after the end of 8 years Iran — Iraq war; in 1989 nation lost its founder strong man, Ayatollah Khomeini. This served as major setback to the Iranian nation and the west started believing that the end of regime is close. These calamities turned as blessings for the striving nation in the form of leader Ayatollah Khamenei.

Iranian Revolution 1979 Fall of a Shah 1 of 10 — BBC Documentary

[ Part 2 ] [ Part 3 ] [ Part 4 ] [ Part 5 ] [ Part 6 ] [ Part 7 ] [ Part 8 ] [ Part 9 ] [ Part 10 ]

From 1989 onwards, Iranian nation has not seen backwards under the guidance of leader Khamenei. Following reports shows the growth of Iranian nation:

Iran showing fastest scientific growth of any country: Canadian report

Iran ranks first in scientific growth

The stunned West is constantly trying to downgrade the development cycle of Islamic Republic through economic sanctions, media war, spreading Iranophobia, etc. However it seems the psychological warfare is giving no positive results to west.

In recent developments, Israel is constantly warning Iran about its peaceful nuclear activities which Tehran says are meant for generating electricity and treatment of cancer patients; however Israel and West claims that it’s intended towards generation of nuclear war heads.

The latest report from IAEA (Nuclear watchdog of UN) says that there is something fishy going on in Iran in regards to nuclear development. Iran slammed this report saying its influenced by west. However, following this report, west has imposed another round of sanctions followed by other European and Asian countries like Japan.

This is one side of the scenario, however the conditions on the side of Iran is very happening. The Arab uprisings in Middle East have toppled many of the western puppet regimes like Tunisia, Egypt & Libya. And some other puppet regimes are still trying to control the uprisings in their countries; such as Bahrain & Yemen. In such scenario, other Arab monarchies can’t go directly in favor of west inviting the public uproar.

With all this, the ongoing financial crisis in Europe is acting like a trend breaker in the Western policy. The “Occupy Movement” in the US, which is actually a people’s movement, is unexpected by anyone and is a major shock for the US administration. We have seen it in the recent media pictures & videos, how the police and state are trying to control the ongoing high profile people’s uprising in western countries.

This is not the end. The actual dent in US & European economy is very visible. The natural awareness spread through the tools which the west has developed has made people much aware about the actual crises at the core of Capitalist system. Today, everyone knows the intentions of US & UK behind the attack of Iraq & Libya. This has also hampered the position of west and turned the sentiments of common people away from them.

Israel, the western puppet in the region, is constantly raising the voice over attack on Iran with the help of US. However, after the capture of drone in eastern Iranian province, Israel has to change its stand. Now we can see this kind of news in media:

Israel says Iran attack not imminent

Not to miss, the capture of drone by Iranian military holds a major importance in this psychological warfare. Till today, US drone technology considered as very sophisticated & holds very important position in the military field. Iranians not only captured the drone unaffected but also proved their superiority by capturing the most sophisticated US weapon till now. Best thing in this operation was the use of electronic waves to make the drone land.

President Obama asked the Iranians to return the captured drone and that also without any apology; this has created uproar in the social media where the Iranian supporters utilized this opportunity to make fun of the US administration.

West also knows that the war with Iran is not a war with any arrogant regime or war with a dictator like Saddam or Gaddafi, however, it’s a war of Ideology. The US can kill people, invade country and install the puppet regime, however they can’t replace the powerful stronger with the weaker one.

The US & the West is trying its level best to shake the foundations of Islamic Republic by economic sanctions, psychological pressure of attack from Israel, installing missile shield in Turkey, by removing Iranian supporters like regime of Assad from Syria, attacking Hamas & Hezbollah, etc. However Iranians are replying by their simple actions.

They can change the puppet regime, however changing the concept and deep rooted ideology of martyrdom & sacrifice is not possible for west.

History of U.S. Intervention in Iran — 1953 Until Present

   By: Gwada Ogot
A poem by Gwada Ogot

The political landlord has built,
Hovels and shacks- slums,
Upon our petrified minds,
So he extorts rental taxes;

Landlord sets rules for squatters -to abide by,
In his squalid people’s party estate;
Cheap rents with high costs,
The return -political lip service;

No, the party is not built upon the land,
Because the land does not vote;
Neither does it have a family of voters,
To be liberated into the Promised Land;

Landlord says,
Vote for me and you shall get clean water,
Eehh! Our dirty water is a political dam;
Vote for me and you shall get medicine,
Ohh! Our ailments are political germs;
Vote for me and your children will get education,
Aahh! Our illiteracy is a political blindfold;

Squatters are the party -the party is squatters,
The party is the hope -landlord the Pope,
Squatters are landlords’ people -a voter colony;
Landlord the party – party the landlord;

Defaulters are evicted traitors,
Delete their names from the roster of life,
Enter them into the black book of doom,
Safely tuck away for judgment in a big metal vault-
At party headquarters in the distant city;

Yes -punish traitors to the party cause,
Bludgeon known quislings blind to the ethnic mirage,
Rapture soulless mercenaries on enemy mission,
Cripple irredeemable philistines spoiling things for landlord,
Ostracize them; condemn them; string them;

The landlord he says,
I speak for the squatter – he cannot speak for himself,
I speak for poor tenants -they long lost their rights to poverty,
Paucity is a wrong crime anyway;
I speak for illiterate citizens – muted by uncomprehending ignorance,
Oh! And their children too- those malleable miscreants,
I speak for them too;

Vote for the party- voice of the voiceless,
Pay up now or else you pay up now,
Vote yes! Vote no! Vote green! Vote red!
Power to the people- Landlords people!

In this first installment of three pieces, the reader will encounter just a couple of points. The first is an overview that presents a way of looking at the tenth September eleventh since 2001. The second both follows up on the ‘pitch-for-democracy’ which appears in the Preface and introduces the inquiries that Part Two will examine tomorrow.

PREFACE–Laying a Groundwork for Comprehension

Seven billion cousins share the Earth with each other, in aggregate a human race that has the knowledge, resources, and talents to fashion a peaceful, creative, sustainable existence on definitely the coolest planet for mammals within several light years in any direction. This happy outcome, lasting creativity and peace, does not seem like a safe bet, however, as the tenth anniversary of the inception of the present period approaches amid memorialization and appeals to patriotism that make not the slightest attempt to comprehend either what happened a decade ago, or whyvicious, suicidal madness unfolded as it did on a brilliant September day in 2001.

Such a lack of rigorous assessment–lightweight farces like the 9/11 Commission notwithstanding–an inability or unwillingness to ponder cause and effect, action and reaction, culpability and responsibility, portends a repetition, only on a much wider scale and with much more catastrophic impacts, of the brutal spectacle–the collapse of a pair of buildings that might easily symbolize modern civilization–that seemingly everyone recalls but very few are willing to analyze. In fact, a reasonable observer, who is willing to investigate and dissect this matter, could frankly posit that a (banking and industrial and royal families who have exercised effective hegemony since at least the days of Mssr. Bonaparte. Standing in for any sort of transformative reflection, at the behest of this ruling class, is the overwhelming plethora of breast-beating, woe-is-me, vengeful, blaming, facile nonsense that fills the World Wide Web to bursting and even rivals the volume of solicitations in advertiser-driven media.

Suspicious citizens, of whom many more than a tiny few exist, are prone merely to grit their teeth and shrug at such thoughts. “What can I do?” they respond, grimly determined to continue trying to make ends meet and hope for the best.

In the alternative, a small number of activists make cases for an accounting about the almost unbelievable phenomenon: two huge jets that succeed in flying into and knocking down two even more gargantuan skyscrapers. Along with Joseph Conrad, who based his novel The Secret Agent on an actual instance of British/German cooperation in an agent provocateur’s ‘terrorist’ act in London, these ‘doubting Thomases’ suspect that rulers are fully capable of murder and deception in the service of their continued reign. Thus, this cohort contends that aconspiracy underlay the events of ten year’s back.

On the other hand, a more substantial but still-small contingent contend, whether anyone can prove that purportedly friendly criminal masterminds orchestrated this mayhem, that simple opportunism can also account for the response of elites to this situation. After all, everything that they had wanted for a quarter century or more–a strengthened ‘national-security state, with untrammeled access to anyone’s communication or other private matters; a free hand to assassinate, or to go to war against, ‘evil-doers’(never mind that many of these are current or former contract agents and employees); automatic increases in spending on death-technologies, all in the name of ‘defense’ and ‘anti-terrorism,’ when they and their fellow rulers are the only competent promulgators of war and organized horror; and so on and so forth, ad nauseum–suddenly became not just politically plausible but sociopolitically irresistible. ‘How convenient!’

Whatever the case may be, though, in regard to the actualities of a few hours of hideous tragedy ten years ago, these stances–both ‘It’s a conspiracy,’ and ‘our rulers are opportunistic thugs’–cannot of themselves facilitate much progress away from the political results of the planes and the buildings that fell that day. In fact, the only plausible source of that sort of transformation–from imperial plutocracy and its attendant carnage to something akin to a negotiated manifestation of social justice and social peace–is an activated democratic upsurge that replaces the powers that be. In other words, the U.S. and the rest of the world have no choice, if we want human life to have a decent prospect of survival, but to become the democracies that we have often bragged that we already are.

While such a prospect clearly appears at best fantastical at this juncture–the legions of folk who are conscientious and principled and synchronized are nowhere on the horizon, except for perhaps in parts of India, Russia, Germany, Cuba, Venezuela, etc.–no other pathway is available that does not end in humanity’s likely decimation, or even elimination from the planet that we inhabit together, like a group of fractious children who have lethal toys with which to slaughter each other. Every other route, save an empowered majority-rule, leads to dead ends and evisceration.

One rule of politics is to seek only what is possible. Therefore, to pursue such a long-odds pathway, praying that a series of ‘get-a-clue’ moments will lead folks to stand up and take matters into their collective hands, seems to violate this maxim.

An equally important rule, however, is to recognize that necessity establishes the boundaries of possibility. If only one method holds the slightest promise of fruition, then all thinking, agitation, and action must emphasize that approach, presuming the premise that matters will coalesce so as to make further steps down a democratic ‘yellow-brick-road’ tenable.

Without a grassroots resurgence, a coming to pass of people power on a global scale, humanity’s wreckage is practically a guaranteed development: thus, necessity dictates that such leadership from below occur, or we will richly deserve the horrors that are already in the pipeline, headed our way. We have all the tools either to destroy or sustain this sacred orb that we occupy: our individual consciousnesses, and consciences, and our willingness to undertake collective negotiation and responsibility, will determine whether, on the one hand, a lovely future is plausible for our progeny, or, on the other hand, a wasteland is the inheritance that we leave to them.

INTRODUCTION–Joining Knowledge to Mass Participation

While no simple program or process will make popular democracy “as easy as one, two, three,” a three step-engagement tango is discernible that permits any citizen to think, creatively, analytically, and actively, about having a positive impact on the present pass that we face, of mayhem and misery at every turn. Though merely a skeletal outline, a precis of a brief for how to proceed, this description nonetheless proffers an initial ground from which to embark in the direction of participatory practice.

The three steps are pretty simple to state, albeit much more difficult to carry out. First, all citizens ought to ask what in the world is going onand find a way to begin to answer that question with satisfactory accuracy, insight, and acuity. Second, each of the plus or minus five billion adult stakeholders alive now, should seek to puzzle out an explanation as to why things are transpiring as they are, explicating the current status of things with analysis and deduction that matches the known reality and relates the various pieces of the puzzle. Third, as might characterize a family whose members give a damn about each other, this aggregation of scattered and disorganized citizen-owners of the Earth will have to begin to turn to each other, asking, “Given where things are, and why, what can we do together to alter the ecocidal course that lies ahead?”

Truly, Earth’s people are like passengers on a ferry, which, as many of the travelers surmise, is headed toward a gigantic waterfall, the attempt to navigate which will certainly destroy most of the folks on the boat. If together we ticket-holders cannot avert our ferry’s course, to a different channel or across the stream to the opposite bank, then the boat, from which few or none of us will have the option to exit and survive, will arrive at its catastrophic destination.

These thoughts seem particularly apt as the tenth anniversary of the present period of empire Is upon us. The crashing conflagration of that September morning, seemingly at once yesterday and part of some immeasurably distant past, crushed under the weight of a billion pounds of falling steel and concrete the hopes and dreams of all the years.

The infernos that victimized 2973 Americans on 9/11/2001 have yielded wars of attrition that, in sum, have killed easily as many as a million cousins. And the scope and pace of this fiercely vengeful slaughter show little signs of slowing. Even if this disproportion does not fairly quickly elicit a massive acceleration of the murderous chaos, something for which so many of us wait with bated breath–not, like our former President, in anticipation of a long expected apocalypse, but in trepidation and mortal terror of the point of no return for our species–in such a climate of righteous recrimination, no possibility will ever emerge for us to address any of the other half-dozen crises–including the climate crisis–that could drastically shorten or even eliminate the viability of Earth as our collective home.

What has been corporate media’s response to this frightening series of cataclysms? Have more than a tiny fraction of people sought to learn about and understand what has come to pass? Professor Douglas Kellner is one who has addressed the propaganda nexus that predominates now. His assessment that manipulation through a focus on the ‘spectacular,’ in service to preordained policy and ideological goals, meshes seamlessly with commercial media’s main output, both over the past ten years and for this anniversary.

Princeton’s philosophy professor, Harry Frankfurt has also spoken to this overall tendency toward falsity in service of deflection or hidden agendas. In 2005, he wrote a delightfully brief and artful capsulization of the intellectual swamp that continues to predominate contemporary dialog.

“One of the salient features of our culture is that there is so much bullshit. Everyone knows this. Each of us contributes his share. But we tend to take the situation for granted. Most people are rather confident of their ability to recognize bullshit and avoid being taken in by it. So the phenomenon has not aroused much deliberate concern or attracted much sustained inquiry.”

So saying, “what in the world is going on?” While any attempt to answer such a query must either seem a religious undertaking or the work of one deranged, delusional, over his head, I intend to paint a picture that presents a portrait of the current moment that is neither primarily ‘spiritual’ nor utterly cracked.

To do this, I ask that readers think about three important dates: September 15, 1945; September 11, 1973; and September 11, 2001. I might have chosen other interludes, either to add to or replace these three. However, a rich tapestry is possible to weave from these three exemplars of Septembers past.