82-year-old lawyer appears as the face of opposition in Bangladesh

A former octogenarian comrade of Bangladesh's prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, in the struggle for the independence of the country, is now the face of an opposition in battle seeking to end the his reign of more than ten years tainted more and more accusations of authoritarianism.

In a general election scheduled for next month, the Awami League, in power of Hasina, will fight to retain its power against a new alliance led by Kamal Hossain, an Oxford-trained international lawyer who drafted the constitution of the country and that Hasina grew up calling himself "kaka" or "uncle".

The 82-year-old lawyer said his decision to forge an alliance with Bangladesh's main opposition party, the Nationalist Party (BNP), was crucial for the country's restoration. democracy in the country.

Hasina, daughter of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, hero of Bangladesh independence, is the oldest ruler of her brief history. It began a second consecutive term in power in 2014, after a boycotted election by the BNP and rejected by international observers, with more than half of the seats unchallenged.

"What has happened in the last five years is unprecedented," said Hossain. Reuters in an interview. "We have never had a government without an election for five years."

Hasina and BNP chief Khaleda Zia share a long and bitter rivalry and have exercised power alternately for most of the past 28 years. But the BNP is in disarray since Khaleda 's incarceration for corruption, which she denies at the beginning of the year.

BNP's participation in the December 30 elections was unclear until last month, when it announced the formation of a new alliance, the Jatiya Oikya Front or National Front. unit, led by Hossain, who runs a group called Gano Forum or People's Forum.

Hossain walks with a stick and says that he is not trying to become prime Minister is too old

But some members of the coalition, he said, compare him privately to Mahathir Mohamad , the Malaysian prime minister who took power at 92 earlier this year, after defeating a predecessor mired in corruption charges. "Maybe his health is better than mine," jokes Hossain.

"Not a Rebel"

Hossain was born to a physician father under British rule in present-day Kolkata of eastern India. It was before the division in India and Pakistan, from which Bangladesh was carved as a result of a war in 1971.

He was imprisoned alongside Hasina's father and l & rsquo; Then served as prime minister of the country's law.

After leaving the Awami League in the early 1990s to form the Rival People's Forum, he held various positions at the United Nations.

However, siding with the BNP makes him a goal for Hasina. The BNP has ties to the banned Islamist party Jamaat-e-Islami, which has opposed the independence of Pakistan and several of whose members have been sentenced to death for war crimes.

A few days after the announcement of the new coalition, Hasina declared that Hossain had "joined the killers".

"Yes, the BNP has done a lot of things that I never appreciate," said Hossain. "They have injected a degree of communalism into politics, which is very unfortunate."

But he said the coalition would be secular and had nothing to do with groups such as Jamaat-e-Islami.

Characteristics needed for the uglier side of Bangladeshi politics.

"He's not a rebel leader, he's a clbadic constitutional lawyer," said Shahdeen Malik, a Supreme Court lawyer and professional knowledge. "Intuitively, he would do things in the rules and in our policy, this could be a disadvantage – that is for me his main weakness."

"One-Person State"

Analysts predict a strong anti-presidential sentiment during the election.

In addition to detaining dozens of opposition members under the fictitious leader of the BNP, the Hasina government also attacks critics such as the famous photographer Shahidul Alam, arrested for commenting on his About. social media. Hossain's daughter, Sara, is a well-known lawyer who helped bail Alam last week.

Hasina introduced laws that, according to human rights groups, would give him the power to sue dissidents and gag the media.

planned effort "to create" not even a one-party state, but a one-person state. "

" The real danger of an authoritarian government like this is, God forbid, s & d He survives the next elections, many of us will not be able to stay in the country, "said Hossain, referring to his fears of government targeting critics.

The League Awami denied attempts to restrict the freedom of expression or freedom of the media against legitimate members of the BNP

The previous elections were marred by violence, ballot-boxing and intimidation voters, and Hossain said the alliance planned to have several "observers" in the voting booths and to look for international observers. [19659004] But the day before A loss will not completely detract from his optimism.

"Ido not think that a bad election will last long, "Hossain said. "I believe that those who aspire to autocracy do not realize how much democratic engagement is in the blood of our people."

(With the exception of the title, this story was not published by NDTV staff and was published from a syndicated feed.)