Yunus under Fire

A PLAN FOR A “humanitarian corridor” from Bangladesh to the Rakhine state in Myanmar announced last weekend by foreign adviser to the interim government Touhid Hossain proved shortlived. Army chief Waker-Uz-Zaman’s minced no words in saying that the Bangladesh army will never be involved in any activity that is harmful to sovereignty. “Nor will anyone be allowed to do so,” Zaman said.

The warning had its effect. National Security Adviser Khalilur Rahman hastened to “clarify” that the UN has merely asked if aid could be delivered near the border with Myanmar from where it would be further transported by its partners. “We said we can consider,” Rahman said. This is certainly a far cry from a corridor from Chattogram to the war-torn region report­edly under the control of the Arakan Army.

Having dismissed the corridor proposal, Zaman asked Muhammad Yunus, who heads the interim government, to hold fresh elections by the year-end. Yunus would be well advised, the army chief said, not to interfere in military affairs and make sure the army is kept in the loop on all matters. While the corridor idea did not age well, the fallout is likely to be signif­icant for many stakeholders.

For one, Zaman has reiter­ated who calls the shots and rudely reminded Yunus of the limits of his authority, which clearly do not extend to negotiating arrangements with the UN. The view in Ban­gladesh that the corridor is part of an “American” agenda may be speculative given the Trump administration is un­likely to have any inclination to weigh in on the Rohingya issue. There is a possibility that the project might be seen as a bid to undercut China, but this too is far from clear.

The murky situation in Bangladesh is ripe for all man­ner of rumours and conspira­cies. Zaman’s prod on elections is an indicator that Yunus should not consider his perch to be more than “interim”— the prefix attached to the government he heads. Zaman seems to feel an election will allow the army to step back from the frontline role it has played since the overthrow of the Sheikh Hasina govern­ment and her flight to India.

The dressing down Yunus received is not a bad thing from India’s point of view. Unmindful of his unelected status and the need for caution in international affairs, Yunus had taken to offering lectures on connectivity of India’s Northeast, and has been cosying up to China. He might have understood that New Delhi is in no hurry to accord him any legitimacy and will continue to host Hasina. The UN-inspired proposal could reflect a temptation to play to the international gallery and might be traced to Yunus’ links to the global NGO circuit.

The corridor was opposed by the Bangladesh National­ist Party (BNP) that fancies its prospects in an election and has been prepared to suffer the Yunus dispensation only because it replaced arch-rival Hasina. The erstwhile ruling party Awami League is seen too in disarray after Hasina’s hasty departure from Dhaka. Elections, whenever they are held, are unlikely to be very satisfactory considering the Awami League’s diminution, the fear factor dogging Hindu and Buddhist minorities and a general air of uncertainty.

Yet, the installation of an elected government will pro­vide more stability than an interim set-up prone to pres­sures from radical students and religious extremists. BNP has been allies with the pro- Pakistan Jamaat-e-Islami and Hindus have been targeted on previous occasions when it won. But in a situation where no choice is attractive, it might be the better outcome.

In the meanwhile, Yunus has been served a painful reminder as to whom he owes his current limelight to. Speculation that he might quit has died down. There is no future in being a failed interim administrator.

BangladeshMuhammad YunusMyanmarRakhineWaker-Uz-Zaman