The key characteristic of fascism is the complete annihilation or extermination of a particular community, ethnic group, or ideological group.
For example, Hitler in Germany attempted to exterminate the Jewish community entirely. The Nazi forces under Hitler executed thousands of Jews by suffocating them in gas chambers. The second characteristic of fascism is that they implement this extermination program in the most ruthless and brutal manner. The extermination involves extreme cruelty and savagery to make the experience of death as painful and agonizing as possible.
I see these fascist characteristics in Dr. Yunus. He is doing whatever is necessary to fulfill his vengeance.
His primary target seems to be the leaders, activists, and, if necessary, the supporters of the Awami League. His actions indicate that he is moving forward with such a plan. Over the past six months, numerous police officers have been murdered, countless mob killings have taken place, many people have been lynched and hanged, and many have been beaten to death. Dr. Yunus has not taken any action against these killings; instead, he has condoned them as an expression of public outrage. His actions in this regard continue. Vandalism of establishments and the destruction of homes are happening with government support.
Dr. Yunus’s government is a blend of fascism and terrorism.
Recently, his government launched a brutal operation called “Operation Devil Hunt.” This is essentially a cleansing operation. No government can label a group of people as “devils.” The name itself reflects the characteristics of fascism. No government can claim they are out hunting devils. A party’s leaders, activists, or supporters cannot be labeled as devils. The rule of law dictates that if someone commits a crime, they should be prosecuted, but calling an entire group devils and hunting them down before any trial is highly illegal.
Analyzing certain characteristics, it seems Dr. Yunus is the biggest fascist.
The army was deployed with magistracy power, but they did not play a very effective role. Their presence was mostly symbolic and half-hearted. Under these circumstances, regardless of whether operations like “Operation Devil Hunt” or any other name are launched, nothing significant will happen. They will conduct a few eye-wash arrests to show some action, but nothing substantial will come of it. We have seen “Operation Clean Heart” before. At that time, the army chief was Hasan Mashhud Chowdhury. During “Operation Clean Heart,” many terrorists were killed in crossfire because terrorism had significantly increased in Bangladesh during the BNP regime. The crossfire culture in Bangladesh originated from that operation.
Nothing significant will happen in “Operation Devil Hunt” either because the army does not want to get involved in political issues. They do not want any confrontation with the public. They also have a fear: if the army is involved in mass killings, the United Nations may withdraw Bangladesh’s troops from peacekeeping missions. Therefore, they will limit their actions to some arrests but will not do anything truly effective—certainly not like “Operation Clean Heart.” A combing operation might take place, but it will only expose a few minor culprits—nothing more.
The operation is being conducted as a joint effort because of student organizers. In Gazipur, students were beaten and humiliated, which hurt their prestige. To save face and take revenge, this operation has been launched. However, nothing significant will come of it.
The army will not take any action that risks getting reprimanded by the United Nations. There is already controversy over the killing of a Jubo Dal leader. The army will carry out some superficial arrests. It will be nothing like “Operation Clean Heart.”
If they intended to do anything effective, they would have done so using their magistracy power. But where is the action? Nothing significant has happened. So why would “Operation Devil Hunt” be any different? If they were going to act, they would have done so already, wouldn’t they?
What happened, Awami League opponents? Feeling disappointed?
Scarborough, Canada
