[Reader-list] Army Renegades, Golfing Retreats, & Bangladesh Embassies

[Shambhu Rahmat]

Two absolutely essential articles by Rumi Ahmed, who dissects how
global Bangladesh diplomatic missions have become dumping grounds
and/or cushy rewards for the Bangladesh Army....

Key quotes:
"Australia is another vital mission and another hot spot of
Bangladeshi immigrants as well as regional and trade collaborations.
But traditionally this mission has been used as all paid, golfing
retirement retreat of our military Generals. The outpost in Canberra
has seen the golfing skills of Generals Shafiullah, Latif, Mannaf,
Moinul, Harun Ur Rashid etc and now Bangladesh is paying an all paid
three years golfing tour for Lt General Z Alam."

"[Since 1971] 40-60% top diplomat jobs went to persons who are not
career diplomats. Since independence, the most wanted foreign mission
jobs went to military discards. And discards include murderers of
national leaders, coup mongering outlaws in the military."

"Even foreign missions have turned into dumping ground black sheeps in
Bangladesh armed forces. A strong rumor goes around that an officer
was sent to a foreign mission top diplomat job after internal inquiry
found him guilty of raping a tribal girl."

"Bangladesh foreign service attracts the brightest young men and women
of Bangladesh. They spend their lifetime, painstakingly climbing up
the foreign service ladders...Their dream is to someday become an
ambassador in a attractive places like Canada, Australia, UK etc. But
almost all the time their dream is shattered by a renegade army
general or a fortune seeking managing editor or NGO man who somehow
manages to grab the grand slam."

Read on...

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Ambassador Story II: Ghost King's three boons
by Rumi Ahmed

In Satyajit Ray movie Gupi Gayen Bagha Bayen the ghost king (   ভুতের
রাজা ) gave three " বর" (Boon) to Gupi and Bahga. With these three
boons Gupi and Bagha conquered the kingdom and his two daughters and
did a lot of good things. Although the Ghost king only had three boons
to give away, he ghost kings that has been running our Ghost kingdom
apparently has a never ending stash of boons. And their boons usually
are in one single form, i.e. ambassadorship to foreign kingdoms.

Three recent ambassador posting reminded me of the ghost king.  Some
of these postings definitely raise concern about their appropriateness
and justification. Dr Debapriya Bhattacharya was given the most vital
post of the permanent rep at Geneva UN mission. This very important
diplomatic job usually went to brightest of the foreign service
officials. And this job needs diplomatic depth, experience and
insight. And for sure this is definitely not a job where you need
expertise in conspiracy. Dr Bhattacharya's activities of last five
years are laudable. But with change of government, his sudden silence,
sudden collapse of his good candidate movement, his sudden blindness
on what is going on in the election commission made people wonder
about the real intentions of his last five years activities. Now his
reward job tend to clear up many confusions.

Then comes two other top missions in Canada and Australia. This
government has decided to award one Syed Fahim Munaem as ambassador to
Canada. First it's worth mention that with increasing number of
Bangladeshi migrants in Canada and as a country with huge potential
for a labor/manpower market as well as an importer of our RMG
products, the Ottawa mission needed an experienced and dynamic
diplomat. This Syed Fahim Munaem was a disaster as CA's press
secretary.  I can't believe his abject failure is a reason for his
reward. So there must be something else that won him the boon. And it
does not need too much wisdom to guess that his managing skill as
managing editor of the Daily Star helped pave 1/11 and the benefactors
of 1/11 owe someone some payback.

Australia is another vital mission and another hot spot of Bangladeshi
immigrants as well as regional and trade collaborations. But
traditionally this mission has been used as all paid, golfing
retirement retreat of our military Generals. The outpost in Canberra
has seen the golfing skills of Generals Shafiullah, Latif, Mannaf,
Moinul, Harun Ur Rashid etc and now Bangladesh is paying an all paid
three years golfing tour for Lt General Z Alam. Nobody knows what
splendid thing Lt Gen Z Alam did for the nation so that a foreign
secretary need to be bypassed for this job.

We need to remember that Bangladesh foreign service attracts the
brightest young men and women of Bangladesh. They spend their
lifetime, painstakingly climbing up the foreign service ladders. They
spend a nomad life sometimes in Senegal, sometimes in Philippines and
intermittently in Bangladesh. Their dream is to someday become an
ambassador in a attractive places like Canada, Australia, UK etc. But
almost all the time their dream is shattered by a renegade army
general or a fortune seeking managing editor or NGO man who somehow
manages to grab the grand slam.

It has been learnt that in par with Pakistan tradition, Bangladesh
Foreign Service also had an understanding of allocating 30% of
diplomat jobs to non cadre persons, meant for political postings.
However since independence the 30% cutoff probably was never
maintained as at any moment 40-60% top diplomat jobs went to persons
who are not career diplomats. Since independence, the most wanted
foreign mission jobs went to military discards. And discards include
murderers of national leaders, coup mongering outlaws in the military.
This tradition continued till to date. Our dear general Moeen U Ahmed
became army chief bypassing 4 seniors generals. So all four had to go
into retirement and they had to become ambassadors to 4 vital
Bangladesh missions. Some senior officers are not liked by the army
chief, again go open up some more top diplomat posts in foreign
missions. Even foreign missions have turned into dumping ground
blacksheeps in Bangladesh armed forces. A strong rumor goes around
that an officer was sent to a foreign mission top diplomat job after
internal inquiry found him guilty of raping a tribal girl.

As this government is a non political neutral caretaker government, it
was expected that they will avoid snatching top foreign mission posts
away from foreign service officers. However, looks like this
government is in a competition with all other political government to
distribute these jobs to their near and dear ones. Otherwise how would
you explain these three new postings in Canada, Australi, UN-Geneva?
How do they deserve these jobs of tremedous value? And what is the
fault of foreign service official who worked all his life from mission
to mission with the hope of becoming an ambassador to those countries
one day. What hope they will left with?

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Ambassador story 1: Yasmin Morshed to represent Bangla Desh
by Rumi Ahmed

When in 1952 the students of Dhaka university took to streets in
demand of announcing Bengali as the state language, defied rule 144
and was fired upon, the leader of pakistan was Khawaja Nazimuddin of
Dhaka Nabab Bari. And clearly his ordered the police shooting that
killed Rafiq, Jabbar, Shafiur, Salam, Barkat and 9 year old Ohiullah.
Khawaja Nazimuddin took over the governorship of Pakistan after the
sudden death of Mr M A Zinnah and became the prime minister after
assasination of Liakat Ali Khan. Even after the killing of 21 st
february when there was strong pressure/emotion both from the east and
the west side of the country to announce Bangla as the state language,
Khawaja Nazimuddin refused to yield to any pressure to recognize
Bangla. And he did not let it happen as long as he was the prime
minister. Later Mohammad Ali Bogra of Bogra Nabab Bari, after becaming
prime minister, did take the steps to recognize Bangla as the state
language.

Although Khawaja Nazimuddin and his family failed to stop Bangla from
getting the official recognition, they themselves never accepted
Bangla as a respectable language. Down the generations his family kept
on speaking urdu at home and getting education in a non bengali format
i.e. either English or Urdu.

Yasmin Zakiuddin ( later turned Morshed) had to go to Pakistan for her
education in sohi Urdu as there was no good " Non-Bangla" education
outfit in pre and post independence Bangladesh. So, on returning home,
she built Dhaka Scholastica school to help the coming generations of
Khawaja Nazimuddin keep shunning Bangla. This school will, rather
following a school curriculum tailored to the culture, history and
sensitivity of Bangladesh, will impose a European curriculum. Although
scholastica maintains a tag line of "equal fluency in Bangla" to
silence the skeptics like me, the ultimate goal was to send Bangla
back to where Nazimuddin thought it belongs, the language of the
uncultured, dirt poor peasants and subjects.

And what Nazimuddin could not do with bullets and tear gas, her
great-grand daughter did it superbly fifty years later. Only in 25
years, The counter 'Ekushey' revolution of language movement that she
started, saw grand success. Thanks to Yasmin Morshed's English Medium
revolution, we now have a generation of Kids who would rather converse
in English among themselves. And Bangla has been relegated to where is
belongs, the education medium of the poor, low class kids.

Yasmin Morshed has just been apointed Bangladesh's high commissioner
to Pakistan. I don't know what she did to uplift the nation or to
promote the science, economy or culture of Bangladesh to deserve such
a rewarding assignment. But I know that urdu loving Ms Yasmin Morshed
will have a soothing life in Pakistan among her kins.

And this is how the revolution that started on 21st february 1952,
ends, three generations later, in a big defeat.


Reader comments are here:

http://rumiahmed.wordpress.com/2007/11/26/ambassador-story-ii-ghost-kings-three-boons

http://rumiahmed.wordpress.com/2007/11/24/ambassador-story-1-yasmin-morshed-to-represent-bangla-desh/