Bangladesh has limited time to choose between anarchy and democracy

Muhammad Yunus is at best a useful idiot for Jamaat-e-Islami and other war criminals; at worst, he is also a pawn for the Chinese. Either way, he today betrays Bangladesh, its traditional secularism, and its minority population Time is running out for Bangladeshis to choose on their own; whether in Islamabad, Beijing, or New Delhi, the choice may soon be made for them. The Muslim Brotherhood rule ended after just a year not simply because Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, commander-in-chief of the Egyptian Armed Forces, ousted President and Muslim Brotherhood affiliate Mohamed Morsi but because the millions of young people who forced Mubarak’s ouster returned to the streets when they recognised that Morsi had played them for fools. Ten days later, he told Britain’s Guardian newspaper, “I don’t want to have the power or the government in my hand; I am not interested in personal power.” When he returned to Iran less than three months later, it was a different story; he quickly consolidated power, imprisoned or drove many minorities out of the country, imposed an Islamic Republic, and ruled for the next decade as its supreme leader. The question now is whether young Bangladeshis and civil society leaders who wanted democracy will instead settle for the terror and dictatorship that Jamaat-e-Islami seeks to impose with the backing, financing, and logistical support of Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence agency.