THE Bangladesh Awami League, once an authoritarian political power, has been on many counts can be termed as no less than an anti-state organisation. Their regime was characterised by judicial murder, mass corruption, sexual violence, and the misuse of state forces against the people. Their crimes did not stop after the Awami League government was deposed through a mass uprising in July-August 2024. They continue to cause unrest instead of accepting the people鈥檚 will. It is in this context the demand to strip them of all political legitimacy and bring them to trial as the criminal organisation is growing stronger.
The Awami League, under the fascist rule of Sheikh Hasina, has, on many occasions, taken many policy decisions that compromised the sovereign interest of Bangladesh. Her regime followed a foreign policy that was subservient towards Indian interests 鈥� compromising national security, economic independence, and even the dignity of the people of Bangladesh. Many political analysts said the Awami League regime had turned Bangladesh into a mere client state of India. From unfair trade deals that choked the local industries to one-sided energy agreements draining Bangladesh鈥檚 economy, every big decision under her rule served the interests of India at the expense of her people. The power sector deal with the Adani Group in India essentially forced Bangladesh to buy expensive power from an Indian billionaire while closing down local plants to plunge the nation into economic slavery. At the same time, India was continuing to steal Bangladesh鈥檚 water resources: drought in the northern farmers鈥� land as the River Teesta and Padma are dying. There are strong allegations that Sheikh Hasina鈥檚 government had also opened the doors to Indian intelligence agencies, including RAW. Hasina government鈥檚 failure to reject the plan for the Tipaimukh Dam project, which threatens to devastate Bangladesh鈥檚 ecosystem, proved that she prioritised Indian interests over her own nation鈥檚 survival. Therefore, her reign was not only corrupt and repressive but also a threat to the very independence of Bangladesh, which had turned a proud nation into an Indian-controlled vassal state.
The Awami League government institutionalised corruption on an unprecedented scale during its time in office. It is estimated that $16 billion was syphoned out of Bangladesh annually under its rule, and the country鈥檚 debt rose to $156 billion due to profligate financial mismanagement. Additionally, almost Tk 1 lakh crore was looted in the name of capacity charges for the 鈥榪uick rental power鈥� projects that never came into operation, with a handful of elite businessmen related to the ruling party.
The true face of the Awami League was seen in its bloodiest form during the July mass uprising, wherein instead of democratically responding to the demands of the people, it ordered security forces to open fire on the protesters, killing over a thousand civilians. Enforced disappearances, extrajudicial killings, and state-sponsored terror were their weapons to silence opposition. Bangladesh鈥檚 history books will remember the bodies of students lying dead on the streets, murdered for demanding democracy. Under the Awami League regime, the Rapid Action Battalion and police became mere personal henchmen. Opposition members, journalists, and activists were being abducted, tortured, and, in many cases, extrajudicially murdered. The Awami League party members, particularly activists of its student and youth wing, Bangladesh Chhatra League and Juba League, acted as extra-legal forces, attacking peaceful demonstrations and raping women with impunity.
The July uprising was the people鈥檚 last stand against the tyranny of Sheikh Hasina, and her reaction was nothing less than genocidal. Over 1,000 innocent civilians were massacred, thousands arrested or disappeared, and unarmed protesters were gunned down in cold blood 鈥� all to silence the rightful demands of the people.
Now the party is deposed, the Awami League is still pursuing its desperate and destructive agenda. Instead of confessing to the brutal suppression, they are crying foul over the foreign conspiracies and trying to remove the voices of millions of Bangladeshis that rose against their autocracy. The corrupt member of the ousted Awami League government, who had managed to flee the country on or immediately before August 5, 2024, is spreading rumours about the current political situation in Bangladesh with the intention to destabilise it. Worst of all, BAL loyalists openly threaten revenge, hinting at underground resistance and insurgency, proving beyond doubt that the Awami League has lost its commitment to democracy. It has emerged as a dangerous power-hungry cult. In what follows, public sentiment that it is no longer enough to simply remove the Awami League from state power is understandable. Whether their status as a political party should be revoked on grounds that it is inciting violence is a justified political question, particularly when there are legal ways to do it. As per the Political Party Registration Act 2008, any party found indulging in anti-national activities can have its registration cancelled. The Election Commission is authorised to ban the Awami League permanently, on account of which they could never tamper with the political system again. The Anti-Terrorism Act of 2009 defines terrorism as 鈥榓ny act that causes severe public disorder or threatens national security.鈥�
The mass killings, suppression of the opposition, and use of armed thugs linked with the Chhatra League and Jubo League fall within the definition of terrorism, hence can be prosecuted legally under anti-terrorism laws. The judicial murders, enforced disappearances, and widespread corruption under the Awami League regime must also be prosecuted under the current criminal law. If the current laws are found to be inadequate in deactivating the Awami League鈥檚 continued campaign against Bangladesh, then the government should enact new legislation modelled after international anti-terror laws to hold them accountable for their crimes against the nation.
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Ibnul Hasan is a law graduate from the University of Asia Pacific.
