People's Democracy

CP Bangladesh Warns Against US Interference

IN a press statement issued from Dhaka on November 12, the Communist Party of Bangladesh (CPB) expressed its serious concern over the recent visit of US assistant secretary of state for South and Central Asia, Richard Boucher. Through the statement, the CPB said that aimed at carrying out a specific political agenda, Boucher’s visit to Bangladesh was not only unwanted but also a part of imperialist designs. They said the visit was a shameless interference in the internal affairs of the country’s politics and a violation of country’s sovereignty and national dignity. The CPB leaders pointed out how Boucher, other US officials and the US ambassador in Dhaka were continuously talking about the appearance of a so-called ‘third force’ in the country’s politics, meaning army intervention in some form or other. They are also continuously and directly inferring in the country’s politics to carry out their agenda, backing the BNP-Jamaat-e-Islami alliance in the name of peace but not speaking even a word in favour of the necessary concrete measures for ensuring free and fair elections. The CPB leaders reminded that it was the US imperialism that strongly supported the massacre carried out by the Pakistan army in 1971 and later the military autocrats in Bangladesh. The people of the country also know the US role favouring the Jamaat extremists and the local and foreign exploiters. All this is a part of the plan of imperialist exploitation and the USA’s military strategic interest in this region, posing a serious threat to the sovereignty and national security of Bangladesh. 

The CPB said the recent activities of Boucher and other US officials in Bangladesh clearly indicated the US imperialist design for permanent dominance in this region. The party urged the people to resist this imperialist conspiracy against Bangladesh. It said Bangladesh emerged as a sovereign nation through a liberation war and would never bow to imperialism. It also asked the Awami League, the 14-party alliance and other democratic forces to beware of the imperialist conspiracy and not fall into the deadly trap of US imperialism. 

Earlier, on November 10, the CPB gave an ultimatum to the chief advisor of the interim caretaker government for immediate reconstitution of Election Commission and state administration. It said the main task of the caretaker government is to conduct free and fair elections within 3 months and hand power over to the new elected government. For this, it is necessary to remove partisanship from the Election Commission and the administration that have been packed with yes-men by the BNP-Jamaat government that ceased to exist on October 27. The CPB warned of a strong movement countrywide if the caretaker government failed to take necessary steps in this matter.

The CPB issued this warning from a public meeting at Muktangon in Dhaka. Presided over by party president Manzurul Ahsan Khan, the meeting was also addressed by the general secretary Mujahidul Islam Salim and other central leaders of the party and leaders of various mass organisations. They accused President Yajuddin Ahmed of violating the constitution and breach of his oath. His recent steps proved that he is just implementing the blueprint of a farcical election, prepared by the BNP-Jamaat government. The caretaker government is also trying to make use the army to fulfil the hidden agenda of the BNP-Jamaat coalition. The CPB leaders said the experience since the Pakistan days is that military intervention in politics is never beneficial for the country; rather it creates a new and deeper crisis and destruction. They said that to disrupt the democratic and constitutional process of the country, which has been achieved through a blood-soaked anti-military struggle, would be tantamount to playing with fire. Demanding that elections must be kept free from the clutches of money and muscle power, CPB leaders said this could be brought about by implementing the 53 points demands charter outlining the comprehensive electoral reforms, as proposed by the party. CPB leaders also said the ongoing anarchy in the country is an ugly manifestation of the bankruptcy of ‘plunderous capitalism’ and ‘pro-imperialist bourgeois politics.’ They said only a Left and Democratic alternative would be able to free the country from this deep rooted crisis, and urged upon all the Left and progressive forces to start a united struggle for the immediate political tasks.