Political enmity beyond borders

While her party men were staging demonstrations against Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's visit in London, BNP chief Khaleda Zia in Dhaka on Monday invited Hasina to an iftar party she will host in honour of the country's political leaders.

As per announcements made earlier, leaders and supporters of BNP's UK unit staged protests wherever Hasina went during her visit to London since Friday.

Tying strips of black cloth around their heads, they took to the streets and chanted slogans against Hasina, the ruling Awami League chief. On Monday, they went as far as giving chase to the leaders and supporters AL's UK chapter.

Their agitation programmes, of course, were not for honouring Hasina. They rather demonstrated a lack of respect for their country's prime minister. Their agitation also makes a mockery of the iftar invitation Khaleda sent to Hasina.

What the BNP men have done in London is a reflection on the pervasive confrontational culture in Bangladesh's politics, which has gradually morphed into enmity between the two rivals crossing geographical boundaries.

This domestic hostility, when transplanted on foreign soil, has in no way brightened the image of the BNP men of UK chapter, let alone the country's image.

The AL men in London are no angels either. They also are guilty of the same odious tricks abroad.

Take the example of Khaleda Zia's visit to London in May 2011. While her party men went to the Heathrow airport there to receive her, AL men gathered at the place to stage a demonstration against her. Under the banner of AL's UK unit, they carried black flags and placards with various slogans against Khaleda and the BNP.

At one stage, the leaders and supporters of AL scuffled with BNP supporters in front of the Heathrow International Airport. The police then detained two BNP men on charge of creating chaos there. 

There are many more incidents of such clashes between AL and BNP men in the UK and the USA. Take some incidents in recent years.

On Sept 20, 2010 activists of the AL and the BNP clashed at JFK airport in New York when Hasina had gone to the USA to attend the United Nations General Assembly.

Several hundred activists of AL and its front organisations in the USA thronged at the airport to welcome her. But BNP men too gathered there to protest Hasina's arrival.

After the clash an officer of New York Police termed it "shameful."

A clash between AL and BNP supporters on July 16, 2010 forced the organisers to hastily cancel a conference on "Human rights, democracy and role of political parties in Bangladesh" at the prestigious London School of Economics.

In 2015, AL and BNP men engaged in scuffles over placing floral wreaths at the Shaheed Minar on the Independence Day at Altab Park in East London. 

They also engaged in clash at the same place in December 2014 as they enforced programmes to counter each other over some derogatory remarks against Bangabandhu made by BNP senior vice-president Tarique Rahman. At least five people were injured in the clash.

Even the parties' internal conflicts do not go unnoticed. For example, AL supporters in the USA clashed among themselves at a function marking Bangladesh's Victory Day.

Each of those incidents was unfortunate and shameful that undoubtedly tarnished the country's image. Such incidents have taken place for years now in different countries.

Both the AL and the BNP must bear the responsibility of tarnishing the country's image by planting their enmity abroad through their foreign wings.

And they are maintaining their foreign wings flouting the electoral law.

In efforts to prevent the battling political parties from taking their hostility to foreign lands, the Election Commission, led by ATM Shamsul Huda, had brought some changes in the laws in 2008 on the registration of political parties.

According to the law, a party willing to get registered with the EC can not have any provision in its charter for establishment or operation of any office, branch or committee outside the territory of Bangladesh.

At that time, the AL and the BNP were compelled to amend their constitutions to repeal the provision dealing in details with maintaining the parties' foreign units and their status. They deleted the provisions for the sake of securing registration, which was a precondition for contesting the parliamentary election.

But later, they changed their stances. Both have later introduced new provisions in their respective charters allowing party supporters living abroad to form units of the party in the countries they live in.

For violation of this provision, registration of a political party may be cancelled. But the EC remains silent about it, allowing the parties a free rein in operating their units in many countries including the UK and the USA.

Maintaining the foreign branches provides huge benefits to the high commands of both the parties.

Whenever they visit any country, leaders and supporters there host the party's central leaders. They also lobby with the central leaders to get posts in the local committees abroad. Allegations of money for posts in the committees are common. These unholy practices explain to some extent the parties' interests in maintaining their foreign branches.

It is difficult to find any major political party in any other country in the world that has wings in foreign countries.

But it is possible for Bangladesh's political parties – the AL and the BNP – as everything is possible for them in a vitriolic culture wherein partisan interests prevail over the country's interest.