A number of people have asked me for the full script of my speech at the European Parliament. I apologise for the delay in blogging this but here it is now. The title of my speech was ‘Concerns about a free and fair election in Bangladesh’. Please note that the views expressed in this speech reflect those of the Awami League and not the Labour Party!

Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen, Honourable Chair, MEPs and friends of Bangladesh. My name is Tulip Siddiq and I am the Awami League spokesperson. However, my speech today which is regarding fair and free elections in Bangladesh will outline concerns that not only members of the Awami League have, but concerns that are shared by all the political parties in Bangladesh and indeed ordinary citizens who simply want democracy restored in Bangladesh by electing a government of their choice.

As you are probably aware, the Caretaker Government came to power in January 2007 and promised to make provisions for a free and fair election without delay. They promised to reconstruct the disputed Election Commission, ensure independence of the judiciary, create a new voters’ list and ultimately pave the way for a democratic election. And it is worth noting that the time allowed by the constitution for a non-party Caretaker Government to stay in power and organise an election is 6 months.

Ladies and Gentlemen, it has been 18 months since the army-backed regime came into power and they have completely fallen behind on their road map to election. In fact, I am reluctant to even call is a road map because it is more like a road sign.

Whenever the regime is questioned about it’s work, they hold up their trump card which is the voters’ list and undeniably there has been progress made on the voters’ list but the voters’ list is not the only factor in an election. In fact the perfect voters’ list will prove to be meaningless if the other factors do not work.

Now, the Caretaker Government and the Military Chief have repeatedly reinforced that elections will take place in December 2008. It took the people of Bangladesh 9 months to fight the War of Independence and establish themselves as a nation yet it is taking this regime 2 years to conduct a parliamentary election. However, even after 2 years, will these elections really take place? My fears generate from a number of factors-

Firstly, it is no secret that there has been an overriding military presence in this regime. And rather than withdrawing from government, the military seem to be looking at ways to institutionalise its presence in the government and administration of the country. Already a number of important posts in the administration are occupied by military personnel and army men are being bought into key position in the Anti-Corruption Commission, the Election Commission and even the Bangladesh Cricket Board!

In 76 administrative districts of Bangladesh, the civilian District Administrative Head is assisted by a military team, headed by a Colonel. The Thana Nirbahi officer, TNO, head of a smaller administrative unit in every district, is assisted by an army major and his unit.

There is also the idea of forming a National Security Council which reinforces this concern.

Secondly the over enthusiasm of the Caretaker Government in sequencing local government elections before parliamentary indicates that the military is interested in creating a new and alternative power base at the local level. As history indicates, similar to all the military regimes of the past, the army may try and create support at grassroots level and use this is a platform to create a new political party backed by them to be formed at a later date.

However, let’s say that elections do take place in December 2008. How fair, free and credible will these elections be?

I will begin by talking about the State of Emergency. Since January 2007 and until 15th May 2008, political activities were banned in the country and even now, only limited political activities can take place. The Chief Advisor in his most recent address to the nation said that the State of Emergency would not be lifted before the elections but may be relaxed. This does not create a level playing field for credible elections.

The State of Emergency creates an absence of basic rights and liberties which is not acceptable environment and it is important to remember that an Election is not merely a technical event taking place on a particular day but rather a part of a political process that involves political parties reaching out to the people and putting forward their agendas and at the same time going through their own internal processes in determining candidate selection etc. This is simply not possible in an environment which does not permit basic freedoms and rights.

I would also like to highlight the sheer number of people who have been locked up under the State of Emergency. A recent article in the Daily Star newspaper estimated that the regime arrested 18, 000 people after the parties decided not to join talks.

I quote from the Human Rights Watch Report Bangladesh: End Mass Arrests, Release Detainees where Brad Adams, Asia Director said “The timing and targets of the arrests are a dead giveaway they are politically motivated,” He further said “It’s obvious that they are paying the price for the political parties’ refusal to accept the government’s conditions to participate in the elections.”

The next issue I would like to bring up is the Emergency Power Rules Ordinance 2007 which is obviously being used to de-bar politicians. The Emergency Power Rules denies the arrestees right to bail, right to appeal and makes them ineligible to participate in any elections if convicted by even the lowest Court and even before the whole judicial process has been exhausted. The appeals process has been changed so that a first conviction in a lower court is sufficient and will stop one from participating in an election. Therefore, in effect, this eliminates probable candidates of the major political parties for the next Parliamentary Elections.

I am now going to quote the U.S Department of State Human Rights Report. Although this is a little bit long, I feel it is necessary to read it all out to emphasise my point-

U.S Dept of State Human Rights Report

e. Denial of Fair Public Trial

The law provides for an independent judiciary; however, in practice, a longstanding temporary provision of the constitution placed the executive in charge of the lower courts, judicial appointments and compensation for judicial officials. The caretaker government implemented legislation developed by the previous government separating the judiciary from the executive.

The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court frequently overturned politically charged decisions by the High Court Division of the Supreme Court if those rulings went against the government. For example, the Appellate Division overturned several decisions granting bail to high-level corruption suspects, including former prime ministers Sheikh Hasina and Khaleda Zia. On several occasions when the Appellate Division upheld the High Court ruling to release a high-profile detainee, such as in the case of senior AL adviser Kazi Zafarrullah, the person was re-arrested immediately upon release on a new set of charges. Corruption, judicial inefficiency, lack of resources, and a large case backlog remained serious problems.

The court system has two levels: the lower courts and the Supreme Court. Both hear civil and criminal cases. After the separation of the judiciary from the executive, the government appointed judicial magistrates to replace the executive magistrates who used to preside over the lower courts. The Supreme Court is divided into two divisions, the High Court and the Appellate Division. The High Court Division hears original cases mostly dealing with constitutional issues and reviews cases from the lower courts. The Appellate Division hears appeals of judgments, decrees, orders, or sentences of the High Court. Rulings of the Appellate Division are binding on all other courts.

The EPR authorized the government to create special, speedy, anticorruption courts to adjudicate cases prosecuted by the Anti-corruption Commission. Sentences from these tribunals could also be appealed to the High Court.

75% of all people convicted under the Emergency Power Rules in the lower courts are politicians and no main person accused has been acquitted in any of these courts. Just to recap because I really want to emphasize this point – the Emergency Power Rules have been used to secure convictions in special courts to debar politicians, they have been amended to deny the full appeals process and to detain people without charge or bail.

I am also worried about how free and the independent the Election Commission are in reality. The fact that Election Commission have opted for Local Government elections prior to national elections for the sole reason that this is what the Caretaker Government wants is a clear instance of the Election Commission still being subordinate and subservient to the regime. If the Election Commission is not free, can they deliver a credible and fair election?

In conclusion, the judiciary and the Anti- Corruption Commission have become tools of political repression which is very ominous for the long term. The State of Emergency is being used to intimidate the public and the Emergency Power Rules 2007 are being used to exclude politicians. There is an undeniable infiltration of the military in all areas of life.

Lastly, the fact is that this present de facto government lacks any kind of Constitutional or legal authorisation for most of the activities they have so far undertaken and they will need a compliant parliament to ratify their actions. They need to avoid any legal proceedings that might be brought against them for blatantly violating the Constitutional and legal provisions, they in most likelihood would want to ensure that they would have considerable control over the next Parliament. Since they have alienated most major parties through their activities in the last year and a half, they will probably try to manipulate the outcome of the election to suit their needs. This will of course compromise the integrity of the elections.