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 fter
Indonesia, Bangladesh is the second-largest Muslim democracy. As
a democratic people in the Islamic world, the Bangladeshis show
that Islam, democracy, and moderation can coexist. It would be foolish
for the Bush administration to overlook this nation as it negotiates
new relationships with countries willing to raise civilization over
terror. We need more than one staunch ally among Muslim countries
that is also a stable and functioning democracy. The democratic
government in Bangladesh is a great place to start.
The problem
is that Bangladesh's economy limps along, desperately needing fair
access to U.S. markets. Despite $2.19 million in exports to the
U.S. last year in one of its major industries, ready-made garments,
1,100 out of Bangladesh's 3,000 garment factories have folded, and
over 200,000 workers, mostly women, have been laid off. This present
crisis — according to Ambassador Farooq Sobhan, president of
the Bangladesh Enterprise Institute — arose in large part because
the U.S. gave 72 countries in Africa and the Caribbean a 20 to 22
percent price advantage over Bangladesh by allowing them duty-free
access to the U.S. market. Imagine, then, the ripple effect on the
country's transport, banking, and insurance industries, as well
as the erosion of progress in education and health care. The Bush
administration has now asked Congress to pass legislation allowing
reduced tariffs for Pakistan — but has refused such a benefit
for Bangladesh. If this tariff policy has thus weakened the country's
industries, why suppose that its political institutions will not
follow? Democratic institutions cannot survive such fragile economic
realities on a prayer.
And this democratic
regime is too good to let fall. The last free and fair elections,
on October 1, 2001, stood as a sign opposing fanatical regimes and
boasted a 75 percent voter turnout. That 52 percent of those voters
were women is a very tangible rejection of the influence of the
mullahs in that country's rural areas. Their three democratic elections
over the last eleven years further testify to the strength of their
free press and governmental bodies. How can anyone miss the connection
between the democratic institutions and the respect for human beings
found in this country?
But this democracy
needs the support of the strongest democracy in the world. In addition
to its fragile economy, Bangladesh suffers from the deep animosity
between its two major political parties. If democratic institutions
in Bangladesh lose their capacity to support the free expression
of conflicting opinions, the doors could open for fanaticism and
terror. September 11 clearly expressed the power of fanatical voices
to confuse the opinion of a public bereft of economic well being.
While Bangladesh still has reasonable grounds to believe that democratic
countries everywhere can expect U.S. support, the Bush administration
should not let them down. We will win this war as much with confidence
as with ordnance.
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