EDITORIAL — Bangladesh at a crossroads

The latest news out of Bangladesh is that its long-time prime minister, Sheikh Hasina Wazed, 76, left the country last Monday following massive protests that left 109 people dead.

Unrest had been erupting regularly since early July, protesters called for the removal of Wazed who has been in power since 2009 and accused of rigging subsequent elections to make sure she remained on top.

As of this writing, Bangladeshis have asked 2006 Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus lead a caretaker government, but the military, which turned on Wazed and finally caused her to leave, already declared that the army will form an interim government for now.

"The country has suffered a lot, the economy has been hit, many people have been killed --it is time to stop the violence," said Army chief General Waker-Uz-Zaman.

While Wazed’s removal can be said of as a good thing, many are eyeing this takeover by the military with caution.

Right now Bangladesh is at a crossroads and there are two ways it can go; one is the way of democracy with the country establishing a duly-elected government voted for by the people, the other is becoming a military dictatorship like a few other countries around the world.

While there is yet no strong indication that the latter will happen, we certainly hope this will not be the case.

It’s worth mentioning that military governments aren’t necessarily a bad thing. After all, there are countries that have been taken care of temporarily by a military government while the civilian authorities sorted things out following political upheaval. We can look at the example of Thailand, which was ruled by a military junta from May 2014 until July 2019.

But, of course, this has not always been the case, especially after military authorities developed a taste for political power.

A democracy rising from an impoverished nation that has been beset by turmoil would serve as a sterling example to other poorly-led nations that action can make positive changes. On the other hand, the establishment of another military dictatorship will further weaken democracy worldwide, and might even encourage rogue militaries to stage their own takeovers from legitimate governments.