Ershad rules out possibility of coup in Bangladesh

Bangladesh's army, which has grabbed the reins of power several times already, is unlikely to step in again this time despite the country's raging political unrest, its former military dictator says.   In an interview with AFP, retired general Hussain Mohammad Ershad said the army would not want to risk its lucrative and prestigious role as the largest provider of UN peacekeeping troops. Nevertheless, he warned that the impoverished nation was a young democracy -- East Pakistan, as it was then known, won independence just 35 years ago -- and its people had "lost faith and trust in politicians."

"We wanted to have a democracy, but unfortunately we have not achieved that so far," said Ershad, who grabbed power in a bloodless coup in 1982 and ruled the nation until 1990.

"Democracy is possible in this country. We are an emerging democratic country, a young democracy, and we have teething trouble," he said.

Crisis-wracked Bangladesh is currently under a state of emergency and tens of thousands of troops have been called out by the president to restore order after months of political violence.

Elections were scheduled for January 22, but these were cancelled following a boycott by the main opposition Awami League and allies -- including Ershad's Jatiya Party -- who accuse the outgoing Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) of trying to rig the polls.

Ershad -- a dapper septuagenarian famed for his snappy navy blazers and suave silk cravats -- remains an influential figure and a possible kingmaker.

The photos of his meetings with prominent but dead 20th century figures -- Deng Xiaoping, Rajiv Gandhi, Francois Mitterrand and Ronald Reagan -- highlight his survival skills.

Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein also features on one of the faded photographs on his office walls. "He was a good friend. I was sad, the way he was hanged," Ershad said of him.

The former coup leader asserted that the army was "not going to do anything outside the constitution" -- but believed the political crisis had threatened to push the country "toward civil war".

"Our force has been deployed in many countries in peacekeeping forces, so if the army takes over, then this role will be in question. So the army taking over and martial law, no, I do not think that will happen," he said.

The army is seen as having directed recent events in Bangladesh from behind the scenes after the United Nations threatened the country with the loss of the army's "blue helmet" peacekeeping duties if one-sided elections went ahead.

The state of emergency, he said, had been widely welcomed by a population tired of the explosive rivalry between Khaleda Zia's BNP and the Awami League of her arch-rival, Sheikh Hasina.

"Everybody in this country welcomes this. They have lost faith and trust in politicians.

"Each considers the other side as the enemy," he said of the two top women. "This is a problem because... they have to talk to each other, sit down and find a solution, but this will never happen."

Asked if the caretaker government, which is tasked with organising new polls, would now launch a drive to clean up politics, he said: "I think that they are going to do that.

"The people will be so happy if the government takes action against these people. People who cannot account for their money should not be allowed to take part in the elections," said Ershad, himself the target of corruption allegations.

"We need to have proper voter lists, proper ID cards -- fair elections without muscle and money. Within one year it could be done," he said, predicting political limbo for most of 2007.

Ershad, aged 76 but kept on his toes by a five-year-old son, is also seen as a potential future president if the Awami League alliance wins the rescheduled polls.

Although he said the largely ceremonial position was "not important" for him, he added that the post would signal his political rehabilitation. "I want to vindicate my position," he said.

Ershad walked free from court last Wednesday after a judge ruled that he should not serve a two-year sentence for a graft conviction.

The ruling also means Ershad can contest forthcoming elections, although he remains bitter over charges he said were orchestrated by rivals in the BNP.

But the one-time dictator said he was not about to be pushed out of Bangladeshi politics just yet.

"Basically I am fit. At least fitter than a woman."

--AFP