Som flere gange før er det politisk ustabile – men demokratiske – Bangladesh ramt af en tilsyneladende uendelig strejkebølge – men landet står midt i cyklon-sæsonen og hvad kan der ikke ske? – samtidig går det ud over udviklingsbistanden til den fattige og folkerige nation.
DHAKA, 22 April 2013 (IRIN): Ongoing political instability in Bangladesh is undermining disaster preparedness efforts, experts warn. And it affects development aid, too.
From January to April 2013, opposition parties have enforced 18 nationwide strikes throughout Bangladesh, with even more enforced at the regional and district level, according to security analysts.
“Due to consecutive strikes (i rap), our collective ability as a humanitarian community to meet, plan, implement or monitor development has become limited,” Gerson Brandao, humanitarian affairs adviser to the office of the UN resident coordinator in Bangladesh, told IRIN.
He noted that field visits have been postponed, which limits humanitarian groups’ ability support to local partners.
Strikers’ demands include: the release of jailed opposition leaders; the cancellation of a state-appointed International Crimes Tribunal investigating war crimes by collaborators (landssvigere) during the 1971 war of independence; and the reinstatement of a care-taker government system (forretningsministerium) to run the country’s next national poll, scheduled for 2014.
When a strike is called, there is typically a total shut down of civilian vehicles on the road. And if any vehicles are seen on the street, opposition activist vandalize (ødelægger) or set fire to them.
“I am worried that in the event of a major disaster – as it is likely, given we are in the middle of the cyclone season – the capacity of development partners to complement the assistance provided by the government to disaster-affected people will be to some extent reduced,” Brandao said.
According to the Asian Disaster Preparedness Center, Bangladesh is ranked one of the most disaster-prone (udsatte) countries in the world, with cyclones striking coastal regions almost every year.
More than two-thirds of the country’s 64 districts are prone to natural disasters, including cyclones, floods, landslides, tornadoes and drought.
Development work interrupted
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