Bangladesh

Mark Lazarowicz Excerpts

Thursday 16th January 2014 Commons Chamber

[Rushanara Ali (Bethnal Green and Bow) (Lab)]

I congratulate the hon. Member for St Albans (Mrs Main) and my hon. Friend the Member for Rochdale (Simon Danczuk) on securing this important debate through the Backbench Business Committee at such a critical point for Bangladesh and its future.

I offer my deepest condolences to the families of those who have lost their lives in the terrible clashes over recent months and in the run-up to the election. According to Human Rights Watch, some 300 people have lost their lives since last February in the political violence in Bangladesh. The people of Bangladesh and those who have family connections with it live in fear and with a sense of perpetual frustration at the situation in their country. The hon. Member for St Albans highlighted extremely well the history of the turbulence that the country has suffered since its birth.

The House was critical in supporting Bangladesh’s independence, and many senior Members of all parties played a critical role in its fight for independence, liberal values, secular principles and freedoms. It is a great source of sadness that we are here today debating a situation that could not be more different from the ideals of the founding fathers of my country of birth, which I am proud to say I am originally from. I am proud of the fact that Members throughout the House have championed the cause of the people of Bangladesh, regardless of the political situation or which party is in power.

I commend the members of the all-party group on Bangladesh who joined me and the hon. Member for St Albans, who chairs it, on the delegation last September. We went with the intention of encouraging the parties to work together to move towards free and fair elections and to focus on the challenges facing Bangladesh, whether the recent garment industry accidents and the challenges of labour standards and human rights, or the major challenge of climate change. Bangladesh is the most vulnerable country to climate change, which will lead to some 20 million to 30 million climate refugees in the coming decades. People also face grinding poverty, despite the achievements that have been made on reaching some of the millennium development goals, tackling poverty and promoting girls’ education.

There have been some examples of success, but also political unrest and governance challenges, and the major political parties have failed to find a way of moving towards and achieving free and fair elections. They must focus on the challenges facing one of the most populous countries with a majority Muslim population, not to mention the important minority communities of Hindus, Buddhists, Christians and many others that make up the country and built the nation based on values that we can all share. The leaders of Bangladesh should focus on all the challenges that I have mentioned.

[Mark Lazarowicz (Edinburgh North and Leith) (Lab/Co-op)]

My hon. Friend is making a heartfelt speech. Those of us who count ourselves as friends of Bangladesh are concerned about what is happening for many reasons. She has mentioned development issues, but is not another tragedy that the progress that Bangladesh has made in recent years in economic and other fields is in danger of being totally undermined by what is happening at the moment? It will do great damage to Bangladesh’s standing in the world in the field of trade and the economy. Is that not yet another reason why the situation should be resolved as soon as possible?

[Rushanara Ali]

I could not agree more with my hon. Friend, who has a long-term interest in countries such as Bangladesh, not least because of his interest in climate change but also because of his interest in the economic development challenges that he rightly mentions. Britain is one of the top investors in Bangladesh, and we have major multinationals that operate there. The current violence stands to put that investment at risk, as the all-party delegation found when we visited recently.

As has been highlighted today, the lack of stability and the lack of focus on investment and on achieving the conditions needed for trade will undermine economic and social development in Bangladesh. It is scandalous and unforgiveable that those in positions of power, of whichever political party, cannot put their differences behind them and focus on the interests, both economic and social, of the country and its people. All political leaders in Bangladesh must face up to that responsibility. That is not about us wringing our hands. Everyone understands that the history of Bangladesh is marred by bloodshed and sacrifice across the political spectrum. The point is that that cycle of violence must stop. Too many lives have been lost and too much is at stake, not only for Bangladesh, but for all of Asia and the international community, for the reasons I have mentioned.