The guns of Bretton Woods

Joseph Kony is the leader of Uganda's Lord's Resistance Army and is the person responsible for creating the 100,000 strong army of enslaved child soldiers, many of whose parents Kony killed to force the children work for him. Along with top al-Qaeda leaders and Mexican drug lords, Kony remains in the list of world's top ten most wanted fugitives for the last several years. The list of crimes of committed allegedly by Joseph Kony is long: genocide, sex-slavery, massive scale child abduction, massive internal human displacement.

The man who was dispatched by the global community, International Criminal Court to be more specific, to investigate Joseph Kony's crimes against humanity and prosecute him was Argentine Luis Moreno Ocampo. Before his assignment of leading the prosecution of Joseph Kony, Luis Ocampo was instrumental in prosecuting the notorious military junta in Argentina. After Joseph Kony, Mr. Ocampo prosecuted Sudan's Omar al Bashir and issued an arrest warrant for his involvement in Darfur atrocities.

And after dealing with the monstrous Joseph Kony, murderous Generals of Argentina and radical Mullahs of Sudan — Ocampo finally seems fit to investigate the Awami League government of Bangladesh for alleged corruption conspiracy in the proposed World Bank funded Padma bridge project!

The fact, that the person who investigated and prosecuted Joseph Kony or Omar al Bashir is now assigned to investigate corruption in Bangladesh, does bother every person of Bangladeshi origin. Irrespective of affiliation with Bangladeshi political dichotomy, this comparison does not have any reason to make any Bangladeshi feel elated. Rather it is saddening and immensely troubling. Inside the country and inside the Diaspora, we may all have the AL-BNP political tribalistic divisions, but outside the borders of this extremely narrow space, in the vast wide world, we are identified as the people of Bangladesh. Even the moment we approach the barbed wires of Indo-Bangla border, our identity becomes one — Bangladeshis, people of Bangladesh. When the world learns that Luis Ocampo is going to investigate corruption in Bangladesh, they will read it as investigating Bangladesh, not Awami League, not PM Hasina or her cabinet. If we want to, we may see this as a collective shame for the country as a whole. The simple notion — that the person who led the investigation and prosecution of Joseph Kony and his Lord's Resistance Army is now dispatched to Bangladesh — does put us down as a nation. While as a nation we feel humiliated by the actions of World Bank, we all know it very well that all these are our own calling.

A few days ago, our government went to the United Nations and used the United Nations General Assembly speech time to demand reform of the Bretton Woods Institutions. World Bank and IMF are collectively called the Bretton Woods Institutions. Our prime minister also urged reform in decision making, leadership selection process of World Bank. Earlier, apparently in response to World Bank's principled stand regarding corruption intent in Padma bridge project, our government complained of corruption in World Bank. We don't know what steps World Bank has taken to address PM Hasina's demands, but it is clear now that they are sending their big anti corruption guns to find and fix the irregularities and corruption in the Padma bridge project which is slated to be built with World Bank low interest loan. We definitely don't believe that the Guns of Bretton Woods are coming in response to PM Hasina's oratory firebomb against the Bretton Woods Institutions.

Luis Moreno Ocampo will be accompanied by two other extremely high profile figures in corruption investigation. Richard Alderman is a former director of the UK Serious Fraud Office, a very powerful and high level government crime investigation unit of UK. The other member, Timothy Tong, is also a commissioner level official of Hong Kong's all powerful Independent Commission Against Corruption. This specific agency is considered as one of the best anti corruption agencies in the world.

It is very clear that World Bank took the Padma bridge affair and rhetoric of local politicians very seriously. Otherwise to many, the formation of such a highly powerful investigation group merely for intent of (also can be told as conspiracy of) corruption, may seem to be an overreach.

Now it will be up to our Anti Corruption Commission to rise to the occasion and show these foreign visitors that ours' is really an independent Anti Corruption Commission. A full proof, no bars left behind corruption probe by Bangladesh's anti corruption commission will be the most appropriate remedy to the national shame this World Bank probe has brought upon us.

But if ACC keeps on thinking that their principle job is to give 'clean and honest' certificate to our corrupt politicians and officials in the government and lodge anti corruption cases against opposition leaders at the behest of the government, they will do a great injustice to the nation as well as to themselves. First, by doing so, although they might please (or fool depending on the person) some people in Bangladesh, they themselves will be exposed naked in front of these seasoned international corruption investigators. But by showing resolve to honestly investigate and prosecute corruption charges in the Padma bridge project, our Anti Corruption Commission will help the nation come up with the best response to the suspicious attitude of World Bank and put some respect and honour back for the nation. Secondly, it seems World Bank wants to fund the Padma bridge project but this trio of investigators will keep a close watch against any possible corruption. In that case at least for the sake of Padma bridge, the Anti Corruption Commission will have to forge a great working relationship with this team.

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Rumi Ahmed, a blogger and political analyst, writes from USA.