When the minister's eyes are in the basket of money

What would you do if someone offers a basket of money to you? This question has been circulating in my head throughout the week. I asked the question to different people. At first I asked my wife. Without any thought, she directly said, 'I will never take it'. I asked a successful businessman. He sipped his cup of tea and smiled softly. He said, ‘No one in the world will give a basket of money without a reason. If someone brings a basket of money, you must understand that he has a big intention behind this. I will try to understand his intentions first and then I will just return the offer.' A relative from my village calls me occasionally. He called me one afternoon when the question of this basket of money was swirling in my head. Before I asked how he was doing, I asked him the question. He said, ‘No for god’s sake’. I will not sell the land. Those who buy lands in my village carry such money bags.' A political leader is like a friend. We often chat with him about the political situation of the country. I asked him the same question. He bit his tongue and said, ‘Brother! This time there will be no nomination trade. The nomination will be given by the leader herself. Even a truckload of money will not work this time.' I was annoyed and also surprised. I asked what is the relationship between money and nomination? This time he grinned at me and said, ‘You write so much but still don’t understand this. Why would someone give money without trying to get nomination?’ I asked a rickshaw puller. He was just terrified. ‘What are you saying sir? Police will tie me up and take away, he said.’ I asked a minister. It was as if he had seen a ghost. He said, ‘Brother don't dare to say these things. Even the walls have ears’. None of the people I talked to are willing to take money. There is no doubt in their minds that there is a trap of self-interest behind the basket of money. Everyone answered immediately without thinking. Then why our foreign minister is thinking so much? Why did the minister's eyes go to the money basket excluding everything? The incident happened on Saturday. The Security Conference was being held in Munich, Germany that day. The panel discussion on Saturday night at the three-day conference focused on "major changes in the Indo-Pacific regional system and security." Felinen Keuk, Asia-Pacific Senior at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, conducted the event. The panel discussion was attended by US Senator Ginny Shahin, Chairperson of the Subcommittee on Europe and Regional Security Cooperation, Indian Foreign Minister Subramaniam Jayashankar, Australian Foreign Minister Maurice Payne and Japanese Foreign Minister Hayashi Yoshimakha. On the occasion, Foreign Minister of Bangladesh Dr. AK Abdul Momen addressed the panel. He said, ‘Bangladesh is doing well economically. The hopes and aspirations of the people of the country have increased. They want better lives and better facilities and infrastructure. But Bangladesh does not have enough money and technology.’ Thanking Japan and India for their cooperation and loans in infrastructure development, the Foreign Minister said, ‘We need more funding from our development partners. But unfortunately they bring a lot of complications and it becomes very difficult for us to accept it.’ China has come forward with a basket of money as an alternative, he said. They have come up with aggressive and affordable proposals. Now the issue is what we will do.

The late US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger once made a valuable statement on diplomacy. ‘A word from a diplomat is like a firearm, so every word has to be pronounced realizing the purpose and the underlying meaning’ he said. Our foreign minister, however, does not believe in Henry Kissinger's doctrine. He openly says everything and anything. He has introduced his own style instead of the language-terminology of diplomacy. He once said, "Bangladesh-India relations are like husband and wife." After hearing Dr. Momen's statement, some members of the ruling party hid their faces in shame. There was a lot of trolling about this on social media for some time. When the United States did not invite Bangladesh to the Democracy Conference, our Foreign Minister said it was a guile of US. Then he gave a strange explanation of not being invited to the democracy conference. He said that only the countries with relatively weak democracies have been invited to the conference. The foreign minister of a country is the chief diplomat of that country. The value of his every word is immeasurable. But our foreign minister has made his words worthless. According to Kissinger, if a word from a diplomat is like a firearm, then the statement of our foreign minister is like a destructive missile. Not once, but repeatedly he has been throwing missiles. Is it bringing any benefit to the country?

China is now the world's economic superpower. Behind this power, his political intentions are often revealed lately. Chinese investment in different countries is now a global reality. This is not new information about the basket of money that China is carrying around. The contribution of China to the irresistible progress of Bangladesh is also visible. But the question is, how much will we take and when do we stop taking these Chinese aggressive and affordable offer? Do I happily take and spend as much as I want just because I have it in front of me? Or adopt a sustainable development policy? Father of the Nation Bangabandhu has inserted the basic features of our diplomacy in one sentence- ‘Friendship with all, enmity with none.’ Whenever there is an exception to this, Bangladesh has gone astray. Bangladesh did not benefit from Zia's 'anti-India' policy for cheap political gain. On the contrary, under the guise of anti-India sentiments, fanatical, fundamentalist terrorist groups have been planted in this country. Following Zia's path, Ershad also could not bring good news for the people of Bangladesh. Wrong foreign policy during the rule of Begum Zia made Bangladesh a failed state in the world. In the rise of militancy and terrorism, the people of Bangladesh were put in the list of suspicion and from that place Sheikh Hasina rescued Bangladesh. In the last 13 years, Bangladesh has got a special place of honor in the world. Bangladeshi passport holders are no longer seen with different eyes. Bangladesh has maintained good relations with China and India at the same time. Despite good relations with the West, Bangladesh is also vocal about the Palestine issue. Bangladesh has emerged as a new advertisement of humanity in the world by sheltering about 1 million Rohingyas. But in the last two years, Bangladesh's diplomacy seems to have gone astray. We seem to be distracted. And that is why there is question of greed about Foreign Minister's basket of money. The foreign minister is a wise man. He must know that this greed for money can sometimes lead to terrible economic catastrophe for a country. Sam Parker and Gabriel Shefton, two researchers at Harvard University, wrote that, "Over the past decade, China has lent hundreds of billions of dollars to countries that cannot afford to repay them." The study said that, "China has been able to influence countries that have borrowed heavily from China." Let's talk about Sri Lanka for example. The Sri Lankan government has been forced to lease the port of Hambantota to China for 99 years due to its inability to repay the loan. Sri Lanka is now almost bankrupt. Bangladesh has lent to Sri Lanka from the reserve. The Maldives is also in the throes of China's money basket. In 2017, Djibouti's debt burden reached close to 10 percent of its gross domestic product (GDP). As a result, the government agreed to set up a Chinese naval base in the country after failing to repay the loan. There are many such examples. Therefore, it is time to think about how beneficial the pro-China aggression is for our development strategy. When China comes forward with a sack of money, it is obvious that there is China's interest is behind it. It is the job of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to monitor and review whether those interests if they conflict with our interests. Bangladesh needs development. But not against the interest of the country. Bangladesh needs infrastructure. But it is not in exchange for self-respect. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has always given priority to the interests of the country. Before the 2001 election, the United States offered to sell gas to Sheikh Hasina. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina expressed this information in multiple speeches. Sheikh Hasina also said, "I could not win the election because I did not agree to sell gas." She may have suffered temporarily but in the long run she has been brilliant. The Prime Minister who puts the interests of the country above all, how can her Foreign Minister ask such a question in an international forum? In response to the question of the Foreign Minister of Bangladesh, the remarks of the Foreign Minister of India Jayashankar are prudent, intelligent and realistic. “Which country will take investment from whom should be considered in the interest of the country” he said. In the end, In the end, the decision has to be made knowing what the receiving country is getting. I do not know whether Dr. Momen's money basket was disillusioned with the philosophical advice of the Indian Foreign Minister. Or he believes in materialistic Charbak philosophy. Charbak philosophy says, ‘Rinang kritba ghrtang pibet, yabat jibet sukhang jibet’. That means ‘eat ghee even if you have to borrow, live happily as long as you live’. But if we look around, we can see that the consequences of debt can be devastating for both the individual and the state. The burden of a person's debt is borne by his heirs. The burden of the state debt has to be borne by the people, generation after generation. We need development, progress, infrastructure development etc. But we must be careful not to fall into debt. As in Pakistan. Pakistan's Imran Khan government has set a new record for borrowing in 2020-21. Pakistan now has a debt burden of 85.6 billion. In one fiscal year (2020-21), the Imran Khan government borrowed 15.32 billion. In 2018, the dollar was 123 rupees against the Pakistani currency, in December it became 177 rupees. Pakistan, almost bankrupt in the economy, is now desperate to make friends with Bangladesh. There is a lot of arrangements by Imran Khan to make us forget the wounds of '71. We must also remember that our next generation will not go bankrupt in fulfilling the colorful dream of development. The idea of ​​building a palace on loan was never in the state vision of the father of the nation. Bangabandhu wanted to build a self-reliant, self-respecting golden Bengal. The Father of the Nation said, “It would be wrong for anyone if they try to buy us. It would be wrong, if anyone wants to create chaos in our country in the name of help. We are exploited people. We have given up a lot. We have given a lot of blood. We will give more if needed. But we do not seek help from anyone by selling self-respect.” That is why the statement of the Foreign Minister of Bangladesh in Munich is in conflict with the state thinking of the father of the nation. It is against the spirit of the liberation war to think that the hopes and aspirations of the people have increased and therefore we have to jump into the fray without any knowledge for the sake of money. Rather, we will develop our resources, increase production in all fields, increase exports, improve with that- That is the spirit of freedom. For example, someone’s income is increasing. His dream is to build a luxurious house, ride in an expensive car, and educate his children abroad. What will he do for this? Will he increase his earnings by working harder, saving money or will he take a loan? The answer to this question is as important for an individual as it is for the state. A person has his own principle and norm. But if he gives up his principles and ideals for his own luxury or better life, then he has no dignity. Similarly, a state also stands on some basic principles and norms. If he abandons the ideals and principles, then there is nothing is left. 

Author: Executive Director, Poriprekkhit.

Email: poriprekkhit@yahoo.com

Source: Bangladesh Pratidin