Bangladesh Workers’ Party

Dear comrades, I will try to complete my report in 15 minutes. At the last conference, I gave some information about our country, our history, facts on social life, etc. I do not want to repeat these. Bangladesh is one of the poorest countries of the world. Per capita income amounts to only 210 US-Dollars per annum. Only 8% of the gross domestic product come from industry. In the last one and a half decades, a new industrial sector developed, i.e. the garment industry. There are 1,3 million workers in the garment industry. The material is brought from the foreign countries.

Our present government, as the previous one, gave in to the pressure by the banks and the IMF which now dictate our politics and economic policy. This is the cause of the misery of our people. The present government has divided the entire country into 23 blocks which were rented out to the western oil enterprises, especially to US-enterprises, for the exploitation and production of natural gas. This is done under conditions that are very disadvantageous for the interests of our country. This is an example of how imperialism exploits our country and our natural resources together with its local agents. We are an agricultural country with semi-feudal relations. More than 60% of the rural population is landless. At the same time, there are no possibilities to get jobs in the countryside. Furthermore, there is a process of deindustrialization because of the policy of the programs of structural adjustment imposed upon us by the IMF and the World Bank. That, in short, to the economic situation in our country.

Now to the political situation in our country. There are two major bourgeois political parties determining the political situation. That is the system of so-called parliamentary democracy which was introduced in 1990 when the military dictatorship was overthrown. But this system, in fact, does not function properly. The bourgeois parties of the opposition adopt the general tactics of conducting a series of nationwide general strikes, boycott of elections, resignation in block from parliament, terroristic tactics, etc. This is not normal for a bourgeois-parliamentary system. This has led to a serious crisis of bourgeois democracy in our country. Both parties are pro-USA and there is no difference between them in their economic policy, whereas one is pro-India and another is anti-India. This led to political instability and tensions in our country. People are disillusioned about both parties and are searching an alternative. The Left could be this desired alternative, but, unfortunately, it remains a weak force. Our party and a number of so-called left-wing parties founded a left democratic front together which stands up for the direct and immediate interests of the people. Our party has some pockets among the peasantry. The peasant movement has reached a certain level. Our party is the strongest force among the industrial workers but we lost in strength because a strong process of deindustrialization has taken place. Industries are being shut down as a result of the policy of the free market in connection with the conditions imposed by the World Trade Organization. We had only one seat in the last parliament, but lost it in the parliamentary elections in 1996. We have about 100 city councils. We ran for elections there. We obtained two chairmanships among these 100 city councils. Because of the serious economic crisis, that is closely connected to a serious political crisis, it is necessary that the left forces become stronger. Our people have a tradition of struggle against class oppression, foreign rule and autocratic governments, but we can also see that every victory which the masses gain is struck back by the bourgeois leadership. That is because they have a high fighting spirit, but a low ideological-political level. The petty-bourgeois mode of thinking was partly dominant. That is our experience.

Before I finish, I would like to say two things about two dangers. In the first place, there is a rise of Muslim-fundamentalist forces which are also supported by a part of the administration. Both bourgeois parties form alliances with the fundamentalists whenever it suits them. Secondly, there are a number of NGO’s working among the workers and the poor people in the countryside. They maintain that they are especially helping poor people. In reality, they are only serving imperialist interests by making the poor people to become dependent on them. These NGO’s try to bribe the militant forces of the working-class and the peasant movement with their money. There are organizations sponsored by the CIA as, for example, the AFLI, which has incredible financial resources. They address especially the female garment workers. It is not possible to develop the left or the working-class movement or the trade union and peasant movement without exposing and fighting these NGO’s.