Bangladesh has been named one of the ten countries prone to a "war" in 2014 in an article published by renowned magazine Foreign Policy.
The article, titled “Next Year’s Wars,” highlights Bangladesh’s current political crisis regarding the upcoming elections, and the number of lives lost due to political violence that has engulfed the country in the past few months.
The article was published on December 30, 2013.
It reads: “The opposition Bangladesh National Party (BNP) has said it will boycott the elections, accusing the ruling Awami League (AL) of authoritarian rule and plans to rig the polls. A boycott would deepen the crisis and lead to more deadly violence. Merely postponing polls – as some have suggested -- without a roadmap for how to hold credible elections in the future is also not the solution. There is deep animosity between the heads of the AL and BNP, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Khaleda Zia, who have been swapping power since 1991. A phone call between them in October 2013 – reportedly their first conversation in over a decade -- quickly deteriorated into barbs about each other's mental health.”
It also discusses the polarisation of the country due to last year’s war crimes trials that have convicted various leaders for committing war crimes in 1971, concluding: “The only way out is via credible elections and a stable, responsive government. For that, Sheikh Hasina and Khaleda Zia must overcome their mutual loathing and negotiate an inclusive roadmap. The risks are manifold. Since 1971, the military has attempted some 30 coups, about a fifth of them successful. In two, prime ministers were assassinated, including Sheikh Hasina's father, Mujibur Rahman. Today, the military remains a risk. Finally, the potential radicalisation of Rohingya refugees, human rights concerns, and Bangladesh's complicated economic trajectory all make for an explosive mix.”
The other countries on the list are Central African Republic, Honduras, Libya, North Caucasus, Central Asia, Iraq, the Sahel, Sudan, and Syria/Lebanon. The latter five on the list have spilled over from the previous year’s list of Top 10 countries of “conflict to watch in 2013.”
