Save democracy, save Bangladesh

Mohammad Zainal Abedin, writes from  NY
The ongoing happenings in Bangladesh worry the peace-loving people around the world. None gets logic why a controversially elected government that claims to believe in democracy could be so cruel and remain in power defying the outcry of the international community, not to speak of the poor Bangladeshis.
History never experienced such despotic and cruel rule in any democratic country. The ruling party, which brands itself as the champion of democracy acts as tyrant and autocrat. It is now known to all that the government at the instigation of a neighbour blows the reign of terror over the liberal moderate democratic Bangladeshi people. To restore democracy the BNP-led 20 party alliance has imposed peaceful blockade when their democratic rights were totally denied by the government. To foil the current peaceful blockade and brand the 20-party leaders and supporters as terrorists intelligence agencies from home and abroad and pro-government beneficiaries launch attack with petrol bomb and arson on trucks and other vehicles. None of the attackers was ever arrested on spot, though the law enforcing agencies are deployed everywhere.
Such attacks even occurred in presence of police, as the attackers belong to government camp. Well after the occurrences BNP and Jammat leaders and activists are arrested on various charges which are fake and false. In many cases BNP and Jammat leaders and activists are lifted from their houses or streets and later killed by police.
Government ministers, including commerce minister Tofail Ahemd, openly declared to suppress the democratic movement in the same way that India crushed the pro-Moist Naxalites or Naxals. They even asked the police to shoot at sight the opposition activists. One of them even declared to kill the opposition supporters of neighborhoods without trial.
Entire media, judiciary, administration, law enforcing agencies are controlled by the government and they carryout whatever orders its leaders give. Under such situation a reign of terror now sweeps over Bangladesh. Oppositions political parties are denied minimum democratic rights. All the 68 prisons of Bangladesh are overcrowded. There is no single opposition leader, activist or supporter who is not an accused of more than one fake and politically motivated case.
At the prescription of a neigbour, all these atrocities are directed to compel the opposition activists to take up arms so that the opposition activists could be termed and branded as terrorists and extremists to pave way to crush the patriotic forces who are liberal and believe in real sovereign democratic Bangladesh.
Some elements in the neighbourhood want that Bangladesh should lead to a civil war, so that aid can be sought by the ruling non-elected government. Once a foreign army can enter Bangladesh it will never leave and a day will come when independence of the country will be at stake.
The Bangladesh community living at overseas places feel that the UN, the US and other Western powers should to look into the matter and save Bangladesh by persuading the government to hold a free and fair election under an impartial authority. International communities have no room to silently observe the silent massacre in Bangladesh and should take immediate steps to stop it for the sake of humanity and democracy. They should jointly ask others to withdraw their support from the despotic rulers. Without external support, the government will not be able to stay in power even for a day. If they fail to play their role, a nation that came into being to exist will be perished due to outside intrigues and the imprudence of its loyal allies who love power more than their country.
(Opinions expressed in this write-up are his own and do not necessarily reflect those of this paper. The contributor is a journalist & researcher based in NY. Email: noa@agni.com)