Bangladesh

Jim Fitzpatrick Excerpts

Thursday 16th January 2014 Commons Chamber

[Richard Fuller (Bedford) (Con)]

I thank the hon. Member for Rochdale (Simon Danczuk) for his initiative in enabling Members to comment on the situation in Bangladesh. I also echo others in thanking the chair of the all-party group on Bangladesh, my hon. Friend the Member for St Albans (Mrs Main), who has earned the trust and the gratitude of Members through her exceptional leadership of a group that has covered a number of important issues during the past few years.

I listened with particular interest to the hon. Member for Bethnal Green and Bow (Rushanara Ali), who spoke with great expertise about this topic, as she does about many others, and I shall begin my speech where she began hers. The impact of the terrible situation in Bangladesh can be measured by the disruption, violence and deaths that affect the lives of ordinary Bengalis in Bangladesh, and also by the natural sympathies and empathies that British Bengalis feel in relation to not just their family members and people from their villages, but the future of their country, given the direction that it has taken under the current political leadership of the Government and Opposition parties.

Effective democracies require good governance, and good governance requires not just the letter but the spirit of the constitution to be followed. Constitutions are not dry documents on which the ink settled many years ago; they are living documents, and they are given life by the people and partisans who take on public life in democracies to achieve a better outcome for their constituents and their countries. If politicians are to operate effectively, a discourse must take place between the leaders of political parties. Beyond the clash of personalities and the partisanship of party labels, there must be a fundamental understanding of the operation of politics to which both political parties acquiesce, and that requires compromise. It is clear that such a situation has not existed in Bangladesh in the recent past.

As many Members have observed, the present situation in Bangladesh cannot be viewed in isolation from the sequence of events that led to it. What appeared to many members of the all-party group over the past few years to be a drift away from democracy now appears to be an active pursuit of one-party or one-coalition rule. Let me list the steps that have been taken that I believe point to there being an active strategy, rather than an unconnected series of events.

Many Members have rightly observed that we should look at the actions of both political parties and should not take sides. That is fair, but only up to a point. I believe that a particular responsibility lies with the governing party of the day. As I list these steps, I think it will become clear, in the case of each of them, that there were decisions to be made, that those decisions were made by the governing party and that, as a result, that governing party is accountable for them. I hope that the Minister will convey to us some of his thoughts about the actions that he would like the current Government of Bangladesh to have undertaken in each instance.

Let me begin by describing the actions of the Rapid Action Battalion. Like many organisations, it was organised with good intentions—the purpose was to crack down on crime—but, in effect, it is an extra-judicial squad that goes around randomly arresting people and potentially involving itself in wide-ranging corruption. It has a habit of killing ordinary civilians in what Human Rights Watch has euphemistically called “crossfire”. By 2010, more than 600 people had been reported to have been killed by the Rapid Action Battalion in such “crossfire” incidents. Its action has continued, and the Awami League-led Government have shown no ability whatsoever to bring it under control.

Imagine, Madam Deputy Speaker, an extra-judicial killing squad roaming around the countryside in Epping Forest or other parts of our United Kingdom, and the Government of the day not taking any action as a result. I think that serious questions would be asked in the House and that the whole of our free society would require the Government to take action, but that has not happened in Bangladesh.

[Jim Fitzpatrick (Poplar and Limehouse) (Lab)]

Perhaps the hon. Gentleman will confirm that serious questions have been raised for years about the integrity of the Rapid Action Battalion and the way in which it has operated. That has happened under both Governments, which makes it doubly depressing that the force seems still to be operating with total impunity.

[Richard Fuller]

I entirely agree with the hon. Gentleman. When issues persist under this Government, he rightly asks the Government questions in the House about how they are dealing with them—that is the right thing to do. Responsibility now lies with the Government in Bangladesh, who are allowing that force to continue its extra-judicial killing.

--- Later in debate ---

[Jim Fitzpatrick (Poplar and Limehouse) (Lab)]

It is a pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Bedford (Richard Fuller), who is an active member of the all-party group and demonstrates his deep knowledge of the issues we are discussing. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Rochdale (Simon Danczuk) on his initiative in securing this debate from the Backbench Business Committee and welcome the support from the chair of the all-party group, the hon. Member for St Albans (Mrs Main). I also commend her on the way in which she framed this debate in her excellent opening contribution which was balanced, constructive and informed, and demonstrates why she is our leader as chair of the group. We are very grateful for the work she puts into making it as active and involved as it is.

What we are hearing is shared despair at the situation in Bangladesh. I am a vice-chair of the all-party group and I have visited the country on five occasions. I have some 15,000-plus constituents in Poplar and Limehouse whose family are from Bangladesh. Some of them support the Awami League and others support the Bangladesh Nationalist party, and I suspect there are even some who support Jamaat.

My wife is a trustee of the Sreepur village orphanage in Bangladesh and I am a patron. It has being going for 25 years this year and looks after 1,000 destitute mums and kids in Bangladesh. We in Britain are proud of it because it was founded by a British Airways stewardess, Pat Kerr, and promoted by the BBC and British Airways. I also did a two-week stint in Dhaka in Bangladesh in 2008 with my wife on Voluntary Service Overseas. As an aside, I add that my most memorable headline was secured during that visit when, as part of our activities with the non-governmental organisation to which we were attached, we visited Bangladesh’s largest legal brothel, with 1,800 prostitutes, to look at the sexual health advice and the anti-HIV/AIDS activity it was promoting. The headline in the Dhaka Daily Star the next morning was “British Aviation Minister visits brothel.” That was not the most encouraging information No. 10 received that September, but I still managed to front the Labour Government’s initiative on additional aviation capacity in the south-east, which fortunately the Davies commission now seems to be agreeing with. I have strong connections with Bangladesh, therefore.

The international reaction from Washington, Beijing, Brussels and the UN has been consistent, as it has been in the Chamber today. All are calling for calm, for dialogue and for a fresh approach.

Many Members have pointed out that Bangladesh is a young democracy, that it is one of the poorest countries in the world, and that it suffers greatly from climate change, but it also has strong international support, and it has made dynamic economic progress in its young history and demonstrated great generosity and spirit. That is what makes recent events doubly disappointing, especially after the 2008 election, which had a turnout of nearly 90% and was declared to have been free and fair.

Subsequent problems have arisen over the war crimes tribunal, the international caretaker electoral arrangements, the use of the death penalty—the hon. Member for Bedford mentioned the adjustments to that—the use of punishments, the unprovoked violence from political extremists and the concerns about overreaction. These have all conspired to exacerbate the problems facing Bangladesh.

Given the progress made since the 1971 war of independence, the country’s political leaders have serious questions to answer. Both the main political parties have demonstrated immaturity and petulance. The Awami League and the BNP have both boycotted Parliament after election defeats, but both came to their senses. The representation by the hon. Member for St Albans of the history of the problems of the Governments and the different systems involved was a fair one. She demonstrated the open support in this House and across Britain for the Bangladeshi political parties to get together to resolve their difficulties. The challenge for Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and the Awami League is how to reach out to Begum Khaleda Zia and the BNP and rebuild confidence. Without stabilisation, Bangladesh’s world standing could be reduced, which would harm its economy. No one wants to see that outcome.

Yesterday, I and other colleagues met minority groups based in the UK. They were citizens demonstrating in Parliament square to raise their concerns about the violent attacks on Sikhs, Hindus, Christians and others in Bangladesh, which occur regularly at election time. Those attacks must be condemned. Jamaat supporters have been accused of orchestrating a lot of them, but whatever their source, they must be stopped. Both the main parties need to do more to protect the minority communities and to condemn all political, ethnic, religious or cultural violence.

[Rehman Chishti]

The hon. Gentleman mentions Jamaat. He must have seen the recent statement that Jamaat will not be able to contest any elections in future. If that is the case, might it not result in further violence in Bangladesh? We have only to look at what has happened elsewhere with the Muslim Brotherhood; if Jamaat goes underground, there is more likelihood of violence, and that needs to be addressed.

[Jim Fitzpatrick]

That is a genuine concern. The right balance must be struck in regard to political freedom and the free expression of ideas through democracy, argument and reasoning, and the possible defeat of those ideas at the ballot box. Jamaat has not been prohibited in Bangladesh, although it has been accused of being a terrorist organisation. One would oppose the ambition of some in Bangladesh to create an Islamist republic, but I understand that it is something that some people want. However, they form a tiny minority. In the last election, I think Jamaat got less than 4% of the popular vote. That demonstrates Bangladesh’s great support for its democracy and its secularism.

I do not think that the political parties in Bangladesh need to be frightened or provoked by Jamaat, or stampeded by it. Arguments can be made that will beat it through the electoral process. The BNP has been in alliance with it, and many commentators are calling on that party to dissociate itself from Jamaat in order to create more political space. I understand that, historically, the Awami League had an alliance with Jamaat. These days, however, Jamaat is putting forward a much clearer political point of view, and the main parties should all dissociate themselves from it and let it stand on its own two feet.

[John Hemming]

I endorse what the hon. Gentleman and my hon. Friend the Member for Bedford (Richard Fuller) have said so far. Does the hon. Gentleman agree that, in order to build trust and ensure that there are fresh elections, the institution of a caretaker Government will be necessary?

[Jim Fitzpatrick]

I believe that the calls for new elections are premature at this point. Holding elections immediately would only play into the hands of those who have tried to sabotage the recent ones. The international community has a job to do in stabilising relations within Bangladesh, in giving support to the BNP and the Awami League, and in creating a climate in which elections can take place. I cannot see the Awami League staying in power for a full five-year term; that would be against the spirit of what has happened so far, and against the spirit of what has been said in the Chamber today. It will be very difficult to get to a situation in which elections can take place, however.

[Richard Fuller]

I want to make it clear that it is important for new elections to be held in the near future. The last election did not confer legitimacy. Does the hon. Gentleman believe that it would be okay to go on for two or three years before having a new election, or should one be held within months, as happened in 1996?

[Jim Fitzpatrick]

The timing of a new election is difficult. I do not think it should be five years hence; it should be held within weeks or months, but I think it will take a bit longer than that. A certain political climate has existed in Bangladesh for several months now, as the all-party group’s visit in September confirmed, and it would not be in Bangladesh’s best interests to call an election now. However, I understand the ambition—and I support the call—for free and fair elections to give greater validity to whoever is in power.

The recent election has produced nothing but losers. The Awami League has lost some of its moral authority, the BNP clearly lost the election, and Bangladesh has lost some of its international reputation because of its damaged democracy. However, online reports yesterday from The Daily Star in Bangladesh seem to offer some hope. The reports of consensus talks and co-operation between the Awami League and the BNP are encouraging, but there is a long way to go.

In conclusion, I too want to ask the Minister what contact the Prime Minister and the Foreign Secretary have had with their Bangladeshi counterparts. What message are we sending to Dhaka and to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina? Everyone, including the British Government, our high commissioner in Dhaka and the Bangladeshi high commissioner here, wants to see peace and a healthy, secular democracy thriving in Bangladesh. Getting there will be very challenging, however, and I look forward to hearing the Minister’s response to the debate.