Staff Reporter:
Almost every political party has direct or indirect ties with the United States, and therefore has refrained from denouncing its global imperialism, said political thinker Farhad Mazhar at an event on Friday.
Many politicians voice opposition to Indian hegemonic policies, but stays silent on the issue of US imperialism, he said at the event organised by the “July Uprising protection platform” at the National Press Club.
The session focused on the civil society’s potential role in addressing the countrywide scarcity of natural gas, power and drinking water.
The July-August 2024 uprising should have led to real change in the country’s state apparatus. However, unfortunately, the old system remains, keeping the country’s political and administrative class “dangerously subservient” to geopolitical powers like the US, Farhad Mazhar said.
When asked about Jamaat-e-Islami’s reported ties with the current US administration, Farhad Mazhar said the Islamist party certainly appears to have come to an understanding with White House.
The tie-up is reflected in Jamaat’s unwillingness to criticise Washington’s plan for sending an “international stabilization force” to war-torn Gaza.
However, the Bangladeshi people are against sending the country’s troops to Gaza under a US-Israeli framework.
Therefore, any potential proposal from a political party to enlist Bangladeshi army personnel with the US-proposed “stabilization force” would drive a wedge between the general people and the army, Farhad Mazhar said, terming the rift “dangerous.”
He urged all concerned to avoid creating divisions between the army and people.
There is nothing called “international law” and US President Donald Trump’s actions bear evidence to this fact. In this dangerous backdrop, political thinkers and responsible people are forced to ponder seriously over the well-being of the country’s mass population.
“[Personally] I do not want to engage in war with anyone. Rather want to survive with my people with the bare minimum.”
He also criticised holding general elections without ousting the “network of looters.” The present energy and power crisis is not a natural calamity but rather a product of the looting culture, he said.
