INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Sheikh Hasina Wazed has brought the best of times and the worst of times to Bangladesh
Human Rights Watch warned in November that opposition leaders and supporters were being jailed, and even killed, ahead of the general
It was a hollow victory as just four in 10 voters turned out
Democracy lost out at the beginning of the year when 80 nations are scheduled to go to the polls
The election was neither free nor fair, as London and Washington pointed out
become an electoral democracy
Its manufacturing and textile sectors have flourished, while it has better life expectancy and female employment than its larger neighbour
Yet this success has come despite its politics
movement that gave birth to the nation
Khaleda Zia, the BNP leader and former prime minister, is ailing and under house arrest
turn, worryingly, may have gone beyond traditional political rivalries and into the realm of civil society, which many experts see as the
engaged with the acute issues of poverty, hunger and jobs
The country is home to the largest NGO in the world, BRAC, with a global footprint and an annual income of more than $1bn.Alarm bells rang
However the 83-year-old, credited with lifting millions out of poverty with his microfinance bank, Grameen, has been a marked man ever since
There must be mutual respect between government and opposition, so that the latter can hold the former to account without taking to the
Both must realise their country will suffer if it continues in the direction it is going
Better surely for both to start reaching out
The government must lift its climate of fear and the opposition re-engage constructively
This article first appeared/also appeared in theguardian.com
