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Hossain Mohammad Ershad
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Hussain Muhammad Ershad ( Hussein Muhammad Ershad) born (February 1, 1930) is a Bangladeshi politician who previously served as Chief of Army Staff of Bangladesh Army and later as Chief Martial Law Administrator 1982 -1986. His rise to the Presidency was in the exact same manner of his predecessor Major General Ziaur Rahman; H M Ershad being elected President of Bangladesh 1986 - 1991.
He is a United Nations Laureate and won the parliamentary elections three times after being toppled from the presidency.
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Hussain Muhammad Ershad ( Hussein Muhammad Ershad) born (February 1, 1930) is a Bangladeshi politician who previously served as Chief of Army Staff of Bangladesh Army and later as Chief Martial Law Administrator 1982 -1986. His rise to the Presidency was in the exact same manner of his predecessor Major General Ziaur Rahman; H M Ershad being elected President of Bangladesh 1986 - 1991.
He is a United Nations Laureate and won the parliamentary elections three times after being toppled from the presidency. Although commonly termed as an autocratic military dictator his popularity remained; even when in prison awaiting trial, Ershad won the Parliamentary Elections from five different constituencies twice - in the elections of 1991 & 1996. In 2009 he formed a "Grand Alliance" against the Bangladesh Nationalist Party's (BNP) Four-Party Alliance and became the first Bangladeshi politician to apologize publicly for all wrong doings of the past and asked for forgiveness. The Grand Alliance (Mohajote) won the elections in December 2008 and HM Ershad became Member of Parliament once again.
Despite of all the ethical dilemma and corruption surrounding him, Hussain Muhammad Ershad did manage to leave behind a legacy of developments in infrastructure, socio-economic growth and brought stability to Bangladesh's Armed Forces. The former Chief of Army Staff & President, Lieutenant General Hussain Muhammad Ershad is currently a Member of Parliament & Chairman of Jatiya Party - the second largest party in Bangladesh's Coalition Government known as Grand Alliance (Mohajote) as of January 2009.
Early life and military career
Hussain Muhammad Ershad was born in Rangpur in 1930. He graduated from the University of Dhaka in 1950 and was commissioned into the Pakistan Army in 1952. Between 1960 and 1962, he was an adjutant in the East Bengal regimental depot in Chittagong. He also completed advanced courses from the prestigious Command and Staff College in Quetta in 1966. After serving with a brigade in Sialkot, he was given command of the 3rd East Bengal Regiment in 1969 and the 7th East Bengal Regiment in 1971. During the Bangladesh Liberation War, he was interned along with other Bengali officers stationed in West Pakistan as a Prisoner of War at the outbreak of the 1971 Liberation War and repatriated to Bangladesh in 1973 in accordance with the Simla Agreement between India's Indira Gandhi and Pakistan's Zulfiquar Ali Bhutto. He arrived back to his homeland - the new state of Bangladesh in 1973, and was appointed Adjutant General of the Bangladesh Army by Prime Minister Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. After attending advanced military courses in India, Ershad was appointed Deputy chief of army Staff in 1975 by Major General Ziaur Rahman when he became the chief martial law administrator (CMLA) following Justice Sayem's elevation to the presidency on November 19, 1976.
Ershad remained loyal to Ziaur Rahman, Major General Zia had been appointed Army Chief by President Khondaker Mostaq Ahmad after the assassination of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the country's founding leader, on 15 August, 1975 as the country headed towarrds communism banning multiparty rule by Sk Mujibur Rahman. Although Major General Zia was overthrown in a counter-coup on November 3, he was restored to power in a coup led by Col. Abu Taher on November 7. When Ziaur Rahman assumed the presidency after legalizing military coups and the revival of the multiparty system through the Fifth Amendment of the Bangladesh Constitution he appointed HM Ershad as the new Chief of Army Staff, promoting him to the rank of Lieutenant General. Viewed as a professional soldier with no political aspiration because of his imprisonment during the Independence War in former West Pakistan and having a talent for Bengali speech writing, he soon became the closest politico-military counselor of Major General Ziaur Rahman.
Presidency
After the assassination of Ziaur Rahman on 30 May 1981, Ershad remained loyal to the government and ordered the army to suppress the coup attempt of Zia's associates led by Major General Abul Monjur. It is widely speculated that Monjur was used as a scapegoat and Ershad himself was behind the liquidation of President Zia; although never proven and no cases were filed against the him even when Zia's widow was in power in 1991-196 and again in 2001-2006. Ershad however maintained loyalty to the new president Abdus Sattar, who led the Bangladesh Nationalist Party to victory in elections in 1982. HM Ershad even alloted a house to Mrs. Khaleda Zia & her two sons in Dhaka Cantonment where Ziaur Rahman's family still resides.
However the BNP] government was not doing well and pressure increased from high-ranking army commanders for the military to take over the reins of state. Ershad came to powerin a bloodless coup on 24 March, 1982 and proclaimed himself Chief Martial Law Administrator (CMLA), President Sattar replaced. He took over as president on 11 December, 1983 by replacing A. F. M. Ahsanuddin Chowdhury. Ershad played a key role during the SAARC Summit in 1985, which was the first summit held in Dhaka, uniting all member states of South-East Asian States. Significant achievement was that be brought leaders of arch rivals - India and Pakistan, Rajiv Gandhi and Benazir Bhutto respectively.
As president, Ershad included amendments into the constitution of Bangladesh which declared Islam the state religion, abandoning state secularism. To improve rural administration, Ershad introduced the Upazila and Zila Parishad system and held the 'first democratic elections for these village councils' in 1985. In an election held in 1986, Ershad was nominated by the Jatiya party, which had been created by him and his supporters. One of the major political parties BNP founded by his predecessor CMLA & later elected President Major General Ziaur Rahman led by his widow Khaleda Zia boycotted the elections; however the other major party Awami League led by Sheikh Hasina participated in Bangladeshi general election, 1986. The Jatiya Party led by HM Ershad won the elctions winning majority in the Jatiyo Sangshad. In 1987 Bangladesh’s Land Ministry launched the 'Land Reforms Action Program', an initiative to distribute khas – unoccupied state-owned land – to landless families. A novel element of the land reform was the establishment by the Ministry of Land.
Ershad's regime is often seen as the longest autocratic rule in Bangladesh. Although there were two general elections, they were widely criticized by the opposition parties - BNP boycotted the election on 1986 but that election gained legitimacy as the other major opposition party Awami League founded by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and Jamaat-e-Islami which was resurrected by President Ziaur Rahman also participated the elections.
However both BNP and Awami League boycotted the elections of 1988. There were some reports of violence, human rights abuse and corruption during his tenure, which, however, still is a common practice by any government in power in Bangladesh and simply multiplied. It should be noted that Transparency International branded Bangladesh as the most corrupt country in the world for the first time during the tenure of Awami League (1996 to 2001) and never went off the number one spot till the fall of BNP (2001 to 2006).
UN award
During his presidency, Ershad received two awards from the United Nations:
1. UN Population Award in 10th 1987
2. UN Environment Award in 1988
Accomplishments
During Ershad's rule, the construction of the Jamuna Bridge connecting the country's north and south together, was started. The Jamuna Multipurpose Bridge Authority (JMBA) was set up by an ordinance promulgated by the President on July 3, 1985 to implement the project. For mobilisation of domestic resources, another ordinance was promulgated by which a Jamuna Bridge surcharge and levy were introduced. A total of Tk 5.08 billion was mobilised in the process till its abolition.
H M Ershad stabilized the Bangladesh Armed Forces which was facing a series of Coups and counter Coups ever since its emergence as a nation in 1971. The South Asian Multidisciplinary Academic Journal documents the Bangladesh Army's history regarding this. The Bangladesh Armed Forces did not attempt any coups since Ershad's takeover in 1982 to 1996. The Awami League in alliance with Jatiya Party won Bangladeshi general election, June 1996.
During Ershad's tenure as President of Bangladesh elected in 1986, the Bangladesh Army started its participation in the United Nations Peacekeeping Operations in 1988 for the very first time. The particiaption of Bangladesh Armed Forces in United Nations Peacekeeping Operations initiated by Ershad turned out to be one of the highest source of foreign currency earners today.
He was the first leader in history to sign a death sentence for throwing acid on women. In the early eighties he himself signed the death sentence of three people who had thrown acid at girls refusing their advances and ordered their public hanging. This led to a dramatic lowering of throwing acid on girls. He also issued death sentence ruling for any one who would mutilate children for begging. In Bangladesh he was the one who passed a law that if a child is found crippled on the road he has to be taken to police custody and then from their to a hospital and appropriate institution. Any one who voluntarily cripples a child or any one is given a death sentence. This also led to a dramatic decline in crippling children begging in Bangladesh.
He also had a long term ruling on health care with issuing free Tuberculosis and leprosy drugs for the patients in all the health complexes. He stopped human transportation on the Bangladesh Borders. He launched a wide spread campaign against use of Illicit drugs and opening of drug rehabillation centres in Bangladesh. He also made drug traffickers be given a shoot on sight order and led to lowering of drug use in Bangladesh.
Downfall
A wide umbrella of political parties united against Ershad. Zia's widow Khaleda Zia now led the BNP, which allied itself with the Awami League, led by Mujib's daughter Sheikh Hasina; Awami League stopped its support to Ershad and resigned from the Parliament in 1987. The leftist parties and groups remained keen to keep other parties on the track towards the ousting of Ershad's regime. The Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh and other parties also joined the opposition ranks. The strikes and protests called by the opposition groups paralysed the state and its economy. Under pressure, Ershad dissolved the parliament on 7 December 1987 but the fresh elections were again boycotted by the opposition. An intensifying opposition campaign launched by the students ultimately forced Ershad to step down on 6 December 1990. The West, that backed him for almost a decade, no longer supported the Non-Socialist President after the fall of USSR
He handed over power to Justice Shahabuddin Ahmed to form an acceptable neutral Caretaker Government; this was a move that was made for the very first time in the country's history and was not in the constitution at the time. Shahabuddin immediately placed Ershad under arrest. However this act by Shahabuddin was declared illegal by the country's Supreme Court later on . Lt General Nuruddin Khan unlike his predecessor Lt Gen Atiqur Rahman did not back the President. In 1996 the newly elected Government of Awami League selected Shahabuddin as the President and Lt General Nuruddin Khan became the Energy Minister, only to be dismissed for gross mismanagement .
Although anti-Ershad sentiment was strong, H M Ershad contested the election from jail and still won all 5 different constituencies he contested from in 1991. The new government led by the BNP's Khaleda Zia instituted a number of corruption charges. Ershad was convicted in two charges till date, while all others were dismissed and thrown out of court.
In the 1991 and 1996 elections, Ershad again won from five different constituencies from jail twice. In 1996 he provided his support to the Awami League and formed a government of consensus although his party sat on the opposition side of the parliament.
He was released from jail on 9 January 1997 by the government but only after unconditional support was provided to [Awami League by the former President.
Arrest, charges and conviction
Arrest
On Sunday, 1 March 1998, the Supreme Court of Bangladesh ruled that President Hussain Muhammad Ershad's original arrest in 1990 by the Caretaker Government led by Justice Shahabuddin Ahmed was illegal. Shahabuddin Ahmed who was selected President by Awami League in 1996 had stayed away from the media to comment on his illegal and unconstitutional action back in December 1990 as declared by the country's apex court. The ruling paved the way for the former President H M Ershad to sue for wrongful arrest if he chose to do so. However he was convicted on a separate charge, three years later and eleven years after his original arrest; when his relationship with the ruling Awami League deteriorated.
Charges and convictions
H M Ershad has been convicteded and served time for only one case that has been upheld by the Supreme Court of the nation - Janata Tower Case. When his relations with the ruling Awami League subsequently deteriorated as the he joined hands with the other main opposition BNP of Khaleda Zia. This the only conviction that has been upheld by the country's Supreme Court till date (December 16,2008) .
There are still a few other pending cases against him but most has been thrown out of the court or cleared him of any wrong doing. The most famous case that the BNP Government at the time falsely implicated him by was a gold smuggling case. This was later thrown out by a Dhaka Court
Personal life
Hussain Mohammad Ershad is married to Raushan Ershad, they have a daughter, Mahajabin Ershad and a son, Shad Ershad. For several years, Ershad was also simultaneously married to his second wife Bidisha Ershad (While polygamy is forbidden in Bangladesh, a Muslim man can marry a second time with written permission from the first wife, under the Muslim Family Law Ordinance, 1961 ). He also has a son Eric Ershad from that marriage. Raushan Ershad never publicly condoned or acknowledged her acceptance of the marraige. However she briefly broke away and formed her own faction of Jatiya Party, three years after the announcement of the second marraige of Ershad but reunited shortly.
A woman named Mary Mumtaz filed for divorce from Ershad in USA. However, as per USA constitution and provision for Immunity from Prosecution for Head of State of a Friendly Nation the proceedings did not follow. This rumour of third marraige stays unconfirmed as the matter was never persued by anyone.
His eldest son Shad Ershad ran into legal complications when he tried to help a psychologically disturbed girl who ran away from home. The girl's step father filed a missing peron's report, however the government pressured to pursue the case when it was discovered he was with the former president's son to discredit him.. The case was halted by the High Court of Bangladesh and the prosecutors never challenged the court order in Supreme Court.
Ershad has been linked by the media on different extra-marital affairs, which were on tabloids and newspapers in the country soon after his downfall which continued till 2006. His alleged affair with Zeenat Mosharraf, a member of Parliament almost removed him from the Chairmanship.
His marriage with Bidisha ended in a bitter divorce and sedition charges brought by the then BNP Government against Bidisha. H M Ershad divorced her for allegedly hiding her first marriage which still was not annulled at the time of their marriage.
His wife and former first lady of Bangladesh Mrs. Raushan Ershad "(never divorced as a Muslim is allowed to marry upto four times)" was also elected as a Member of Parliament thrice in the elctions of 1991, 1996 and 2001. She contested the elections of 2008 from Ershad's Jatiya Party again but lost her seat in a controversial seat sharing deal against the party's ally Awami League.
Later political career
Hussain Muhammad Ershad, is the only high profile politician to be convicted of corruption and serve a prison sentence. Legal complexities tend to prolong the investigation and settlement of the corruption cases against senior politicians in Bangladesh."We really don't know what will be the fate of these cases," lawyer Shahdeen Malik told the BBC.
Ershad lost his membership in parliament owing to his conviction on charges of corruption when his relations with the ruling Awami League subsequently deteriorated. He switched his support to his one-time political adversary and main opposition leader, Khaleda Zia forming an anti-government coalition. Thus the questionable court verdict followed.
Both Khaleda Zia of BNP and Sheikh Hasina of Awami League allied together to oust HM Ershad. Ironically both of these two top parties also allied with him and his Jatiya Party in time of their need to suit their purpose.
On June 30, 2007 Ershad stepped down temporarily from the post of Party Chairman, indicating an end to his political career. It is speculated that he stepped down under pressure as the Caretaker Government started a series of prosecution and arrest for corruption and criminal charges against political leaders of Awami League and BNP including Sheikh Hasina Khaleda Zia and her infamous son Tareq Rahman among others.
Return
On 8 April 2008, Ershad took charge of his Jatiya Party once again Back in 2006 he protested against the controversial Election Commissioner (CEC) MA Aziz Decesion's process on holding polls. He later joined the street movement along with Awami League.
On 19 November 2008 Jatiya Party] & Awami League agreed to contest the elections jointly under the Caretaker Governemnt to be held on 29 December 2008. Out of the 300 Constituencies in the Parliament, Ershad's Jatiya Party contest from 49 (later 42 as Awami League did not pull back its candidates from few seats as agreed earlier) seats and Awami League and members of a leftist wing Fourteen Party Coalition from the rest 250 seats. Thus the Grand Alliance (Mohajote in Bangla) emerged in Bangladesh.
Ershad contested the Bangladesh Parliamentary Election 2008 from three constituencies. According to Bangladesh electoral laws, a person is allowed to contest from three places, but can retain only one seat and two are to have by-elections after formation of government. These constituencies included his birth place Rangpur (Rangpur-3 and Kurigram-2), and Dhaka-17, the capital's diplomatic zone, where he resides.
See also
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