When a shining Bangladesh makes them feel outshined

The outgoing US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo identified Bangladesh as a place where "al-Qaeda cells have carried out attacks", saying the risk of such attacks in the future runs high. He has served President Donald Trump and both of them are hearing the valedictory bell rung by the people of their country who voted Joe Biden to power in the election on Nov 3 last year. Even before the election, Trump had declared that he won't accept the result if it wasn't in his favour. All the legal battles he waged to prove that the election was stolen from him went neither here nor there. A few days ago, when Congress members converged on the US Capitol to formalise Biden's victory, Trump instigated his violent supporters to storm the area, creating chaos that left five people, including a law enforcer, dead. The US has surely averted any disaster of a mega-scale on that day, but Trump had to face impeachment in the House of Representatives on Jan 13 for instigating the riot, which garnered support not just from the Democratic party but 10 members of his party as well.

When a president can instigate an attack on a meeting in the parliament of his own country, his secretary of state should not dive his nose into the issues concerned with another country. But, the United States poses as the guardian of the world. What they say about the developing or underdeveloped countries is eulogised by many people even if that statement is geared towards casting slur or making false claims on another nation. Take a look back at the aftermath of the 1917 Liberation War of Bangladesh when Henry Kissinger dubbed Bangladesh as a bottomless basket, a derogatory remark which was also hailed by people in this country. Now the likes of Pompeo who see the presence of a deadly terrorist group such as al-Qaeda in Bangladesh were fathered by the US's notorious detective agency CIA. They patronised Osama Bin Laden with funds and weapons but dumped off their high command once the purpose was well-served.

Pompeo or Trump was in the twilight of their tenure, but the tone they set will still be chimed in by their followers in the Biden administration. In a throwback to 2013, we observe that the BNP and the Jamaat-e-Islami disrupted citizens' lives in an undisrupted way, calling strikes and barricades in a row and hurling petrol bombs to burn people day in and day out. Then Dan Mozena was the US ambassador to Dhaka. Barack Obama was at the helm of the Washington regime and Biden his vice-president. It was in the air that Mozena treated different quarters in Dhaka to dinner or tea at his residence, treating them to the idea that the BNP and the Jamaat were all set to rise to power. He even flew to India, where the Manmohan Singh government was in power, to lobby for those parties. That was the talk of the town at that period. But, the BNP and the Jamaat were the parties directly patronising Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh or JMB, headed by Shaykh Abdur Rahman and Bangla Bhai, and other extremist groups. Infuriated by that undue intervention, then foreign minister Dipu Moni said, "If any diplomat has any concern over Bangladesh, they must talk to us. It is the norm, talking outside does not come under their norms."

Can't we expect that Biden will not tread the same old path after taking over as the president on Wednesday? Rarely do you see someone summoning up the courage to speak up like that against the US, the world's top military and economic power. Sheikh Hasina displayed that courage as she did on the issue of Padma Bridge. The World Bank lately addressed its mistake, stating that it shouldn't have backtracked on its plan to fund the project.

Pompeo's remarks on Bangladesh cannot be dismissed as that of a drunk in delirium. That information must have been shuttled to him from their embassy in Dhaka. There is a quarter in our country that proclaims themselves as "civil society members" or "human rights champions". They don't shy away from running their organisations on the funds from foreign countries and leaving no stone unturned to execute their agenda. Had any group launched the same attack on the parliament of Bangladesh during a session as in Capitol Hill, the US would have by now propagated it as if the world had turned upside down. The same level of reaction emerged from them following the terrorist attack on Gulshan's Holey Artisan bakery on Jul 1, 2016. The government vanquished those terrorists and carried out operations in a row across the country to weaken the base of their followers. These extremist organisations wear the religious tag to mask their dark activities. The government is working untiringly to sever their connection with people. A few days ago, I happened to witness such an initiative, hailed by the Dhaka office of USAID. Some speakers said that the US maintains the double standard of supporting terrorist and anti-terrorist activities simultaneously, which must end. Biden must take that into account.

Pompeo's comments cannot be taken as a minor issue. During the coronavirus pandemic, Bangladesh kept its economy as dynamic as possible. With the first COVID-19 case identified in Bangladesh in March 2020, a quarter started forecasting that tens of millions of people will be affected and people will die in their hundreds and thousands. Patients will not even receive treatment. A handful of people and organisations have resorted to corruption and irregularities since the inception of this epidemic. Despite the government's crackdown on them, a quarter lashed out at Bangladesh the way Kissinger termed Bangladesh as a bottomless basket. Many foreigners staying in this country were recommended that they leave the territory to avoid getting infected. International affairs expert Dr Imtiaz Ahmed said, "It's surprising that the number of people affected with or killed by the virus is higher in foreign countries than in Bangladesh. Still, many people feel like flying off the country to stay safe." Many foreigners have flown away from the country following the Holy Artisan attack as well. Pompeo cast a slur on Bangladesh at such a time when the country's economic progress on global indices made headlines. When there is apprehension that India's GDP growth may plummet to -10%, when Pakistan is borrowing 1.5 billion dollars from China to pay off the loan it owes to Saudi Arab, Bangladesh is done with setting the 41st and final span of the Tk 300 billion self-funded Padma Bridge construction project, one of the largest and most complicated of its kinds in the entire planet. The country is getting past India and Pakistan in GDP growth. Is this news too good to be digested by Pompeo? His remarks may have serious negative consequences. Foreign buyers may think twice before placing their orders to Bangladesh if there is the risk of terrorist attacks. Our tourist sector is rising again. If that propaganda is churned around, even people inside the country will fear travelling to tourist destinations such as Chattogram and Kuakata.

When the coronavirus spell was gaining momentum, the time for Boro rice yield was around. There were rumours that the paddy will rot in the field. There will be no one to collect the grain. Storms in the northern and mid regions will take a toll on the yield of Aman rice. There will not be an abundance of winter vegetables either. All those forecasts went nowhere.

In the first week of April, BBC's Akbar Hossain raised a question in his report casting doubt over the survival of Bangladesh's garment industry, which contributes more than 80 percent to the country's total exports.

"No consumer will buy shirts and trousers now. They are more focused on increasing their expenditure on food and medicine due to the pandemic," BGMEA President Rubana Huq said to BBC.

Every day newspapers published her comment: "Export orders worth billions of dollars have been cancelled and many are getting cancelled."

But Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina turned the tide around by announcing the timely incentive package worth Tk 1.2 trillion. Our export and import didn't fall flat on the face. Our foreign reserve didn't turn void. The apprehension that hundreds of thousands of workers would be sent back to the country didn't meet reality either. At the beginning of the pandemic, there were some corruption and irregularities centring relief. There were mismanagement and corruption in the health sector as well since the rumour went fast that each of 160 to 170 million people will be affected. But, owing to the tough stance of the leaders at the helm, no one, not even the ones belonging to the ruling party, was spared. Isn't it proving that Pompeo and his fan base in our country feel outshined when Bangladesh shines?

In the Ramayana, Sita had to pass through a giant fire as a test of her chastity. Bangladesh is also taking the acid tests given by local and international quarters over and over again. They are too unwilling to observe Bangladesh in a poised and prosperous condition. When no other rumour is putting a dent in the country's progress, they have one last resort, which is spreading fear about the coronavirus vaccine that they say won't be available on time, will be too pricey even if available, and may not be effective. But, this lies will land nowhere either.