Yearbook 2006
Bangladesh A wave of blast attacks that in the fall of
2005 had claimed at least 28 deaths and injured hundreds had
its legal aftermath. Seven leaders and another 21 members of
the extremist group Jamaat-ul-Mujahidin were sentenced to
death. In another intervention against Islamic extremism,
the Islami Bank was convicted of fines for money laundering
and for pouring money into suspected terrorists.
According to
CountryAAH, there was concern in the important textile industry.
Dozens of factories were burned down and hundreds were
vandalized by workers demanding higher wages and better
working conditions. The textile industry alone accounts for
close to 80% of Bangladesh's export earnings and employs 40%
of the country's industrial workers. The industry has done
brilliant business since the international textile quotas
were abolished but is notorious for inhumane conditions for
its employees. The head of the international export zone
outside Dhaka, where most of the factories are located, was
dismissed as a scapegoat for the unrest.
Political life was also characterized by unrest. As
before in Bangladesh, political agitation, in the absence of
formal debate, was conducted on the streets. During the
countdown to the general elections in January 2007, a broad
opposition alliance, led by the Awami League, conducted a
long series of strikes and demonstrations for the demand for
a new electoral commission and revised electoral votes. The
opposition received support for its criticism of the
undemocratic conditions for the electoral process of Western
thinkers such as the International Crisis Group and the
National Democratic Institute.
Constitutionally, the government resigned under Prime
Minister Khaleda Zia in October to allow a neutral interim
government to rule the country for the last three months
before the election. President Iajuddin Ahmed himself took
responsibility for the interim government since the Awami
League refused to approve the man who had first been
appointed. Following strikes and transport blockades, which
repeatedly hit the country for several days, the electoral
commission chairman also resigned. The actions were blown
off by promises that the lengths of votes, which were
suspected to contain at least 12 million false names, would
be revised and other election arrangements reviewed. The
army was deployed throughout the country to knock down any
new protests.
One joyous subject for the country was that economist
Muhammad Yunus and his creation, the micro-lending Grameen
Bank, were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
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