Political Affairs Podcast #109 – Happy Labor Day 2009
It's September 7th, 2009. On this episode, we celebrate Labor Day by playing a portion of our recent interview with Labor historian and activist Rosemary Feurer, author of the groundbreaking book Radical Unionism in the Midwest, 1900-1950.
An Open Letter: We Condemn International Oil Companies in Bangladesh and State Violence against Bangladeshi Activists
On September 2, 2009, the members of a nationwide alliance in Bangladesh—the National Committee to Protect Oil, Gas, Mineral Resources, Power, and Ports—were brutalized by the state police in Dhaka. More than fifty members were injured. The national committee was conducting a peaceful demonstration and march as part of an announced program to protest the Bangladesh government’s offshore gas and oil exploration deals with international oil companies. Such anti-people deals, according to the protesters, would enable those companies to explore, extract, and eventually own the country’s gas resources without the people’s consent. Indeed, those deals reveal how the ruling classes in Bangladesh operate in close class cahoots with corporations and imperialism.
The immediate reason for the protest in question was the Bangladesh government’s recent decision to award gas and oil exploration rights in the Bay of Bengal to international oil companies. The national committee announced the program in protest against the government’s decision to award three blocks to two international oil companies—the US-based company called ConocoPhillips and the UK-based company Tullow Oil plc—with a provision allowing them to export up to 80 per cent of gas. The protesters feared such a move would threaten the energy security of Bangladesh, and, by extension, the very sovereignty of the country. In fact, the National Committee to Protect Oil, Gas, Mineral Resources, Power, and Ports has long argued that the government’s drive for plundering its own people’s resources comes at a high price, and lacks forethought about how these resources might benefit the people of Bangladesh instead of multinational companies.
As the protesters were marching peacefully in Dhaka, the police charged on them, threw many of them to the ground, while brutally beating them with batons and kicking them with heavy boots. Over fifty protesters were injured, and a number of them even suffered serious injuries. Certain key members of the committee were clearly targeted. Among the seriously injured was the member-secretary of the National Committee—Professor Anu Muhammad. His legs were badly fractured by police batons. Anu Muhammad is not only chair of the Department of Economics at Jahangirnagar University and the leading political economist in Bangladesh—whose work has proven immensely influential among the youth—but he is also internationally known for his committed political activism for democracy and justice, and against capitalism, imperialism, racism, patriarchy, and many other forms and forces of oppression—local and global. We see the brutal attack on Anu Muhammad and his co-activists as an attack on democracy and progressive politics. Others injured included Saiful Haque, the general secretary of Biplobi Communist Party in Bangladesh and Biplob Mondol, the Chhatra Front leader, along with such activists as Mushrefa Mishu, Jannatul Marium Tania, Montu Biswas, Srikant Samaddar, Gazi Shafiullah and Sumi Akhtar.
As teachers, students, writers, artists, and activists—who also consider ourselves citizens of the world believing in peace, justice, and democracy—we declare the following:
a) We condemn the police brutality against the members of the National Committee to Protect Oil, Gas, Mineral Resources, Power, and Ports in Bangladesh.
b) We condemn the international oil companies involved in exploiting the natural resources of Bangladesh. We think they should back out of any deals they have or wish to have with Bangladesh.
c) We demand that the Bangladesh government ensure the most appropriate and effective medical treatment of all who were wrongfully injured by the police.
d) We demand that the action plan and demands of the National Committee to Protect Oil, Gas, Mineral Resources, Power, and Ports be taken seriously rather than silenced through any form of brutality.
We express our deep solidarity with the people of Bangladesh who are struggling to protect their own national and natural resources from foreign companies. And we support the Bangladeshi people’s right to self-determination under any circumstances.
Sincerely,
Concerned Teachers, Students, Writers, Artists, and Activists Around the World:
1. Dr. Azfar Hussain, Convener of the International Campaign against Oil Companies in Bangladesh, and Visiting Professor of Liberal Studies/Interdisciplinary Studies, Grand Valley State University, Allendale, Michigan, USA
2. Rumana Hashem, Researcher and Lecturer, University of East London, UK
3. Melissa Hussain, DeVry University, Allendale, Michigan, USA
4. Nurul Kabir, editor, (daily) New Age, Dhaka, Bangladesh
5. Dr. Joel Wendland, Editor, Political Affairs Magazine, Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA
6. Dr. E. San Juan, Jr., writer and activist, Philippines Cultural Center, Connecticut, USA
7. Dr. Bertell Ollman, Professor, Department of Politics, New York University, USA
8. Dr. Vijay Prasad, the George and Martha Kellner Chair of South Asian History and Director of International Studies at Trinity College, Connecticut, US
9. Dr Gopal Balakrishnan, Associate Professor, History of Consciousness, University of California, Santa Cruz, USA, and member, Editorial Board, New Left Review
10. Dr. Michael Lupro, North Carolina A&T, Greensboro North Carolina, USA
11. Aimee Nolte, Pomona, California, USA
12. Robin Witt, California State University Northridge, Los Angeles, California, USA
25. Arup Rahee, poet and singer, Dhaka, Bangladesh
26. Nusrat S Chowdhury, Dept. of Anthropology, University of Chicago, Illinois, USA
27. Fatina Sarwar, Lecturer, English Department, Bangladesh University of Business and Technolgy (BUBT), Dhaka, Bangladesh
28. Rehnuma Sazzad, Nottingham Trent University, UK
29. Dr. Matthew Mace Barbee, Defiance College, Defiance, OH, USA
30. Dr. José Anazagasty Rodríguez, University of Puerto Rico, Mayaguez, Puerto Rico
31. William J. Emerson III, Siena Heights University, Detroit, USA
32. Maheen Sultan, Dhanmondi, Dhaka, Bangladesh
33. Anna Keenan, Youth Climate Advocate, Gordon Park, Australia
34. Dipankar Chakrabarti, Editor, Aneek, Kolkata, India
35. Chowdhury Golam Kibria (Jibon), Associate Professor and Ex-Chairman, Department of Business Administration, Jahangirnagar University, Savar, Dhaka, Bangladesh
36. Elizabeth Siler, Washington State University, Pullman, Washington, USA
37. Dr. Lamia Karim, Associate Professor of Anthropology, University of Oregon-Eugene, USA
