A second independence

medico: You have been through weeks of protests. Please tell us once again what actually happened.

NGWF: As one can read about in many places, it was all ignited by a student protest against a quota system for the award of jobs in the public sector. This quota system was launched after Bangladesh gained independence from Pakistan in 1971. 30 per cent of jobs were reserved for liberation fighters. With other regional, ethnic and gender quotas, this led to a situation in which almost two-thirds of jobs in the public sector were not freely awarded. 50 years after liberation, however, it is no longer the freedom fighters themselves, but now their grandchildren who are benefitting from this privilege. The ruling Awami Party, the successor organisation to the independence movement, had already abolished the quota itself for two categories of public jobs in 2018. In June of this year, it was to be reintroduced due to a decision handed down by the Bangladesh Supreme Court. The students organised a protest against this. Initially, everything remained relatively under control until the government drastically escalated the situation with its actions on 15 July. Border guard units were deployed against the protests, and they opened fire with live ammunition. Within a matter of a few weeks, at least 450 people had been shot dead; we estimate that at least 560 people were killed. 22,000 were injured by bullets and over ten thousand were arrested.

And then the demonstrations turned into mass protests against the government?

GK: Yes. The mistreatment and violent clampdown on the protests was broadcast on national television. That was the straw that broke the camel's back. No civilian government in Bangladesh or South Asia had ever caused so many deaths in just one week. This outraged and mobilised the population. Factory workers, bus drivers, schoolchildren - everyone took to the streets. The Awami government had encouraged its own student organisation to violently crush the protests on the streets and "have them resolved", as they put it. The government completely misjudged the mood in the country and reacted with arrogance and conceit. That is what brought them down.

Where does the dissatisfaction that has broken out stem from?

NGWF: At the beginning of the protests, the government took the stance that they were being fomented by Islamist groups or the BNP (Bengal National Party), the largest opposition party. This has always served as their explanation for popular discontent because they do not recognise or take the people's own voice at face value. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wajed ruled this country for the last 15 years, much of the time displaying the very same attitude. 75 years since it was founded, the former Awami Liberation Movement had completely lost touch with the people.

GK: In Bangladesh's collective memory, the party stood for democracy, national identity and secularism. Over its long period in power, however, a system of corruption, nepotism and irresponsibility developed. In recent years, for example, police and courts simply brushed aside or failed to pursue charges or complaints against Awami politicians. Furthermore, Sheikh Hasina Wajed established and expanded a rigid and highly repressive clamp-down regime. The protests never actually set out to topple the government. One could say that the government only fell because of how it reacted. We are witnessing the logical consequences of the party's steady drift away from its ideals. People here have been talking about a democracy that they were robbed of and, conversely, independence from the autocracy of recent years now that they have achieved a second independence through the removal of the government.

In the local media, Sheikh Hasina Wajed's years in power tend to be portrayed as a time of stability and prosperity.

NGWF: That's true to a certain extent. The textile industry has become one of the most competitive in the world and GDP has grown by over 5 per cent annually. Which is quite an achievement for a country like Bangladesh. But Bangladesh is also among the ten countries with the worst labour conditions in the world according to the ITUC Global Rights Index. No labour rights apply in the free trade zones, where hundreds of thousands of textile workers toil. But workers often cannot even exercise rights that are formally valid under the ILO (International Labour Organization), such as the right to organise. Then there was the coronavirus crisis. The Covid-19 pandemic meant that thousands of orders from major fashion labels, including from Europe, were not honoured and remained unpaid. Tens of thousands of workers were made redundant and left with nothing. The country has still not really recovered from the economic slump. Unemployment currently stands at around 20 per cent.

GK: At the same time, inflation is rampant. The cost of living for electricity, food and petrol has skyrocketed and become unaffordable. And criticism of this could already be heard from the opposition during the 2019 elections. They even boycotted the elections in 2024. The economic recession, high costs and the fact that there is no hope for change have fermented into an explosive mix manifesting itself in basic discontent. The quota system and the injustice inherent in the (albeit symbolic) hope of social advancement has become a catalyst. Almost half of the country's population is under 30 years old. For them, this is a pressing issue and their immediate future is at stake.

It is also said that the protests were directed against the Hindu minority and that Islamist groups are gaining more and more influence. How do you assess the situation?

GK: We can't confirm that. But it also has to do with how you look at the conflict. The Hindu minority (around 10 per cent in Bangladesh, medico) is traditionally very close to the Awami Party politically due to its secular orientation. This was even  the case over the last few years of this autocratic regime, which increasingly aligned with India, seeking close ties with it. In the course of the protests, facilities, property and offices of the Awami Party and supporters of the government were attacked, which is why Hindus were also often among the targets. Hindu nationalist media in India in particular are fuelling fears of an Islamist takeover in Bangladesh. Fortunately, the Indian government has so far shown great restraint in the current crisis.

NGWF: We can only agree with this assessment. Islamist groups have attempted to take advantage of the uncertainty and chaotic situation of the last few weeks, but we have not seen any significant influence or fundamentalisation. On the contrary, the students in particular have taken a very clear stance, defending Hindu temples and institutions.

GK: There are also many decentralised neighbourhood networks and activities to protect facilities and institutions and to prevent such forms of violence or assaults.

Now that the first storm has subsided: Who is pursuing what plans at present? Who wants what?

GK: At the moment, people here are not talking about political parties or programmes, but about restoring stability to the reality that is their lives and their income. It is also interesting that the students have clearly rejected a strong role for the military. So far, they have stuck to this position.

NGWF: There are essentially two parties in Bangladesh: the Awami League and the BNP. The BNP is an opposition party and belongs to the more right-wing, conservative camp. It also has links to Jamaat-e-Islami, the largest Islamist party. At the same time, many left-wing forces (both historically and at present) have been associated with the Awami Party and, following the protests, have not sufficiently taken a stance towards its policies, thereby discrediting themselves for the time being. Protesters, students and disgruntled workers do not find themselves among this constellation at present, however.

And what is going to happen now? What are the prospects as you see things?

GK: The situation has largely calmed down. Traffic is running again, the current President Mohammed Shahabbudin is holding talks with the textile owners and the factories have resumed operations. People can earn money again and are no longer on the streets. A provisional government under Grameen Bank founder Mohammed Yunus (who received the medico Peace Nobel Prize for his microcredit programme to combat poverty) has been set up with the task of organising the process of new elections. Yunus enjoys widespread trust among the population and the protesters. We are also in contact with some representatives of the provisional government and have confidence in the role they will be playing. The first signs of tension are also surfacing, however. The protesters are calling for a longer transition phase of one to two years because - let's not fool ourselves - the deeply entrenched and solidified structures of recent years have not simply been swept away by the protests. Especially when it comes to corruption. The BNP, on the other hand, would prefer to hold new elections immediately because, as the largest opposition party, it hopes to benefit greatly from the anger that has erupted.

NGWF: As trade unionists, we can't yet really assess what the new government will mean for us. In the past, Mohammed Yunus has not exactly been known for his advocacy of labour rights and trade unions, but rather for his neoliberal positions. Nonetheless, after the last 15 years of autocracy, anything is better than the old one. What is happening now is an opportunity and we are facing an open-ended, unclear situation. What the protesters have definitely shown is that they can bring down a government. So any government that comes in is aware that it will be under the scrutiny of the population to a certain extent. That is a major step forward.

The interview was conducted by Karin Zennig, Andreas Wulf and Dorna Darabi.