DHAKA, Bangladesh: As Bangladesh approaches its general elections on January 7, 2024, opposition leader Abdul Moyeen Khan, formerly in the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), reveals a government crackdown forcing him into hiding before nominations closed.
The BNP, opting out of the elections, contends that 10 million party workers are on the run following the arrests of nearly 25,000 individuals after the anti-government protests on October 28. Police and government agents intensify efforts to locate BNP leaders, creating an atmosphere of fear, surpassing conditions witnessed during the 2018 elections.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her Awami League portray the BNP as disruptors seeking to sabotage the elections. Human rights groups, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch (HRW), warn that the crackdown aims to suppress the opposition. HRW’s November report cites 10,000 arrests of BNP activists, with casualties and injuries in the thousands due to violence.
Opposition leaders describe police raids, nighttime searches, and detentions of family members as part of the intensified crackdown. The opposition’s estimates of arrests clash with police statements, with law enforcement asserting that arrests are confined to those involved in violence. The crackdown unfolds amid leadership disarray in the opposition, with ailing party president Khaleda Zia avoiding active politics and key leaders, including Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, in jail.
Approximately 100 women members of the BNP have been arrested, leading to traumatic separations from their families. The crackdown has drawn condemnation from the United States, which has curbed visas for individuals believed to undermine elections. Bangladesh’s economic challenges, including the need for an IMF bailout, add complexity to the political landscape.
As Bangladesh grapples with this political unrest, the government’s mass arrests of opposition figures just before the elections raise concerns about the potential impact on democratic processes. The situation unfolds in the backdrop of economic struggles and a notable shift in the government’s approach to dissent, prompting critical observations from political analysts and human rights observers.
