Corruption during the Emergency: How deep was it?

Published in The Daily Independent, August 3, 2009

Serious allegations are coming out from the relevant Parliamentary Committees on corruption of former Advisers of the Caretaker Government (CG). The committee investigating the LGED Ministry that Transparency International, Bangladesh and the CG publicly identified as the most corrupt Government. Ministry concluded that under the CG, corruption in the LGED Ministry was more than in 39 previous years. Charges are by no means proof of corruption and hence these must now be substantiated through the legal process. Those who brought the charges must now ensure that the law is set in motion.

There are serious moral issues involved in these charges. During the emergency, the CG identified corruption as the most important impediment to Bangladesh's future. They made full use of the media to sensitise the public in favour of their assumption that the country's politics, civil administration and business were responsible for such widespread corruption. Political leaders, businessmen and civil bureaucrats were arrested, including two former Prime Ministers, without respect for the law and human rights, and were humiliated. The CG, however, failed to prove the allegations in the overwhelming majority of the cases they filed in the court.
The ACC under the CG acted like an institution possessed. The Chairman, a military bureaucrat appointed to the post with the rank of a Minister by an unelected government toured the country, holding meetings at district headquarters, in pursuit of banishing corruption from Bangladesh. He vowed that the ACC would change the character of the people for zero tolerance against corruption. The ACC held regular press briefings to announce corruption charges against individuals that private TV channels and newspapers made public. The ACC did not for a moment care or consider a fundamental fact of the law that a person is innocent till proven guilty in a court. From their body language at these press briefings left few in doubt that they were pronouncing judgement. The ACC in fact acted in these briefings as the prosecution, judge and jury.

In the beginning however the people supported the ACC silently because they also believed there was widespread corruption under the elected governments and the corrupt needed to be punished. They were very soon disappointed to see the Commission make a mess of tackling corruption by placing itself above the law. In catching both "big and small fish" of corruption, it went after far too many than it could handle. Its other mistakes were, first, it showed a very subjective interest to incarcerate politicians in the end appearing distinctly vindictive. Second, it also showed a distinct dislike for businessmen and civil bureaucrats and assumed the military to be above corruption. Finally, it made the corruption agenda a political instrument aimed at breaking the major parties to create a "king's party." The civil leaders of the CG and their military backers complimented the ACC's over-enthusiasm instead of cautioning it for its extra-legal activities. It took no note of gross human rights violations by the ACC and allowed it to do pretty much what it wanted. The CG also allowed the military intelligence to do behind the scene what the ACC did publicly in the name of tackling corruption. In fact, behind the scene, the military intelligence acted like a government unto itself and a lot of corruption and human rights violations during the emergency are directly linked to them.

There was no doubt that the ACC Chairman was well meaning in his jihad against corruption. That notwithstanding, it was surprising that he failed to realise that the task of banishing corruption was not the task of the ACC; its task was simply to catch corrupt people and prepare cases against them for the courts to handle. Likewise, the task of changing character of the people was surely not one that the people of Bangladesh would entrust to a military bureaucrat. The CG allowed the ACC to catch the "big and small" fish of corruption in scant respect to the law and human rights without lifting a finger.

Two instances, involving an Ambassador and a former Minister, highlighted how eerie the activities of the ACC and the military intelligence had become after it had created so much hope among the public in the initial period of the emergency rule. The Ambassador was sentenced to a five years' prison sentence while still in station representing the country! The charges against him were all audit objections, like changing of residence, etcetera that should have been dealt with by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and settled against the Ambassador's pension and other benefits that were held by the government. While the Ambassador pursued his case in the High Court and received a stay order, the ACC pressured the lower court to sentence him for five years, a decision for which the lower court was held for contempt by the High Court! In openly pursuing the case against this Ambassador, the ACC boasted before the media that all Ambassadors while in station abroad would be similarly treated. It was utterly surprising that the Foreign Ministry at that time did not protest that insane statement nor defended the Ambassador who was sentenced anyway. It is not that Ambassadors are above the law but for sake of the country, action of corruption against them while in their stations can be taken publicly only by a government that is not in its senses. The Minister was physically tortured by the military intelligence to sign on dotted lines about corruption in his Ministry. His wife and daughter were also incarcerated to break the Minister's will for securing the confession.

The military leaders of the CG promised that thousands of crores of Taka would be recovered from the corrupt that would be used to build hospitals and in other social services. In fact, a substantial amount of money was recovered but none of it went for those hospitals and other social services that were promised. Huge sums must therefore be in some pockets instead of lying in the government exchequer.

The Chief Adviser surprisingly watched the ACC and military intelligence trash the law and human rights without raising a finger. Instead he and his Advisers and the military leaders came before the public continuously deriding corruption in every segment of the society except the military. It is therefore unacceptable that corruption charges should be brought against Advisers of the CG and the CG itself. Additionally, there is also the need for an answer as to where the thousands of crores arm-twisted by the army intelligence during the emergency, went. The present ACC should pursue these allegations with extreme seriousness but outside the media. The Commission could also consider amnesty to people who were arm-twisted and tortured for money to recover the thousands of crores that were paid but were not deposited in the government exchequer. Although unrelated to the corruption issue, the government should also inquire into the constitutional violations by the CG because these violations allowed the CG to carry out its extra-legal activities by setting the law aside for which grave charges are now being brought against it.

There were a good number of people who were incarcerated by the CG who were genuinely corrupt. In the name of political victimisation, they should not all be allowed to escape; nor should such cases be handled on political lines. The ACC has a difficult task but the Prime Minister has assured it independence. It should now pursue the corruption allegations against the CG, its Advisers and the intelligence people following the same yardstick they had set for politicians, businessmen and civil bureaucrats during the emergency that no one is above the law.