[Ockey]

When the BNP came to power this time, I along with many were filled with hope of a govt. that will finally bring some sense of normalcy to the country. With the recent military drive and then the indemnity handed to them, the idea of having a govt. that can be held accountable for its action seems like a distant dream now. The sad thing is when I talk to friends and family in Bangladesh they all seem to have become immune to the corruption and injustice in the country. They have seen it for so long that they feel helpless to speak out anymore. Now they just shut up and move on with life. I wonder how the Bangladesh govt. today is any different from the dictators of the past and present. Their stand is: we will try to improve the country the way we think is right and if you are victem of our "greater goal" then tough luck!

The way cricket or any other sporting institution is run in the country is a joke. It's like one big mafia...the godfather's wishes must be carried out at all costs.

And Pundit, with all due respect, countries that advocate reform in Bangladesh may have been slavedrivers or segregationists a 100, 50 or even 20 years ago but that doesn't make their arguments any less valid. England may have supported Apartheid in the past but, like most western nations, the country has gone through some drastic reforms in the last 50 years. The concerns that were mentioned in the Cricinfo article have been echoed in the Bangladeshi media for some time. The only difference now is that news of it is starting to leak to the rest of the world. I would rather have outside influences bring some changes to the country than suffer under the illusion that one day all Bangladeshis will rise up against the corruption and injustice.

As far as Zimbabwe is concerned, just because atrocities were committed against the blacks in 1981 by mercenaries and a racist govt., it does not give the Robert Mugabe, the president and head of a "democratic" government to carry out systematic land grabbing, rape, torture and murder of white farmers, whose ancestors have been in Zimbabwe for decades and most of whom had nothing to do with conflicts with blacks. If the world is turn a blind eye and say it's ok for tit for tat killings to go on then where does it all end?!


[Edited on 13-1-2003 by Ockey]