Bangladesh power vacuum exploited by opportunistic forces: Report

Dhaka, Oct 1 (IANS) Bangladesh has not witnessed a democratic transition, but a power vacuum which was swiftly seized by opportunistic forces, including emboldened Islamists and a complicit opposition, a report cited on Wednesday.

It added that the aftermath resembled a slow-moving civil war, marked by political violence, institutional collapse, and repression.

"This crisis is too deep to be resolved by elections alone. The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), eager for a shortcut to power, supported the ban on Awami League — despite AL holding over 30 per cent of the electorate. The Jatiya Party (JP) faces similar threats. Together, these three parties garnered 87 per cent of the vote in 2008. Their exclusion leaves a dangerous void," a report in ‘Northeast News’ detailed.

“Into this vacuum have stepped Islamist forces, primarily Jamaat-e-Islami and the newly formed National Citizen Party (NCP). Though lacking broad public support, they are administratively empowered,” it added.

According to the report the calculated power grab in Bangladesh has sparked a socio-political conflict unseen since independence. Without any major faction willing to back down, it said, further violence looms large, leaving peace and stability of the county hanging by a thread.

The report stressed that incidents of violence are rising sharply, with Dhaka-based human rights organisation Ain O Salish Kendra (AsK) documenting 441 rape cases between January and June 2025 — already surpassing the last year's total. The use of sexual violence, it said employed as a weapon of intimidation, echoed the tactics of 1971.

"River bodies, those unidentified innocents who have been killed and savagely dumped into rivers, now average 43 recoveries per month — a 20 per cent increase. As of May, 266 journalists faced criminal charges. ASK documented 196 attacks on media workers in just six months. In August alone, two journalists were killed, and an editor took his own life after being censored by Yunus' media team,” the report highlighted.

Minorities, particularly Hindus, the report said, are under siege with graphic videos of Hindu women being stripped and raped circulating online. It added that the Yunus administration blames the attack on the community’s long standing support for Awami League, while most complaints are never filed and rarely any investigation carried out.

The report emphasised that Sufi Muslims are also at risk with government authorities confirming at least 84 attacks on Sufi shrines and dargahs since July 2024.

"It is time that this slide into slow moving civil war is stemmed and the values that formed the core of Bangladesh are protected. If timely action is not taken, Bangladesh risks becoming an unstable, low income and radicalised society. A true recipe for disaster," the report noted.

--IANS

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