Patriotism is when the love of your own people comes first; nationalism, when hate for people other than your own comes first
-- Charles de Gaulle
The Daily Star observed its silver jubilee on February 5. The honourable President Abdul Hamid, certain distinguished guests, local journalists, and many members of the Dhaka-based civil society had been invited on this occasion to reflect on the newspaper’s 25-year journey.
Immediately before the celebrations, The Daily Star editor Mahfuz Anam, in a TV talk show, confessed to making the mistake of publishing a report maligning the current PM under the military-backed regime of 2007. The media was shocked by the revelation. Before any grand occasion, generally, people avoid courting controversy, let alone create one. The editor did the opposite, and showed his courage via electronic media to reveal the details about an incident that occurred many years ago.
Indeed, it was a rather emotionally-charged moment as it seemed that he was sharing his recollection about the story with colleagues.
Nevertheless, he regretted the decision and said it that was the biggest mistake he had ever made. Mahfuz Anam insists that he was not alone in this, other editors also followed suit, except New Age editor Nurul Kabir.
Look at the ferocity of the reactions from the supporters of the ruling party, Anam’s patriotism has now come into question. Of course, this is a free country -- politicians and their supporters would try to score points at any given opportunity against opponents, but there are some exceptions.
Having said that, all sons of the world have the right to ask questions when they learn, from the horse’s mouth, that his mother had been maligned with false claims in the past. In the case of a prime minister, indeed, it is urgent for a son to demand truth behind all of these claims.
Sajib Wazed did not go to the court to find out the truth, he posted a status on his Facebook profile and asked the government to take action against Mahfuz Anam.
Until now, Minister Nasim called upon Anam to step down while Minister Inu was more conciliatory. In the parliament, some coalition members have condemned the editor and have also asked the government to take action against the man.
Outside the walls of the parliament, things are rather chaotic. So far, more than 66 (and counting) court cases have been filed against Anam and he had been asked for compensation for the hundreds and thousands of crores lost on behalf of the PM.
Most of these cases were filed by the student wing of the AL. And that’s where I start to get puzzled.
Do the Chhatra Leaguers not know the president’s and prime minister’s value cannot be measured in terms of money?
For the sake of argument, if a court awards compensation for crores of taka sought, it is highly unlikely that the PM would accept it since money cannot undo the damage done. Contrarily, the safe bet for the complainants is to seek an apology from Mr Anam, if found guilty.
One may say Mahfuz Anam has already confessed to what he had done all those years ago. Making a confession publicly is indeed an apology.
Well, if I understood correctly, Mr Anam’s confession was towards his action only, he never sent an apology to the PM who was the centre of this crisis.
The plaintiffs -- the Chhatra League -- may ask who am I to speculate. Indeed, that is a good question, since I am not one of them … anymore. I would, however, insist that what has been coming out in the media about this group of students over the years is certainly insulting, at least to the people who were once a part of this organisation as student.
What is evident is that the current generation of Chhatra League is quite different than that of the generation that was during the period of our liberation.
To make this clear, one needs to bring true history into the debate, from post-1975 era: After the killing spree of 1975, General Zia finally took power as president by means of an Ayub-style yes/no votes.
Immediately after assuming power, everyone knew what the agenda was of a military ruler. General Zia had said, “money is not a problem. I will make politics difficult for the politicians.”
Indeed, he proved to be true to his words.
After Zia’s assassination, President Ershad was committed to fulfilling his master’s agenda. Presidents Zia and Ershad ruled for 15 years in total and many politicians and student leaders from the right, the left, and the centre sold themselves out, and were offered pristine positions by both Zia and Ershad.
It would be unfair to blame the politicians and the student leaders only -- the civil society, the police, and even university teachers had been bought one after another, with only a few exceptions.
Corruption-wise, we’ve “won” the top honours several times, since President Ershad took over and it was possible since “money was not a problem” -- and still is not a problem -- whether it concerns the government, the opposition, or members of the civil society.
Things are getting better in Ershad’s campaign, since he realised, at last, that time was up and that he should pass the baton. But that is a topic for another day.
Whatever time remains for the former general (hope he hits 100 or beyond) since he is one of the longest serving players in the game of politics -- he should start putting together his memoirs from the day he put his feet on this soil, from the point of view of a returning soldier in enemy land.
Well, many would not support the idea for obvous reasons. This may also risk opening a Pandora’s Box. Either way, Ershad’s memoirs is likely to be a best-seller.
