Is Joy the future of AL with Hasina in exile?

It was none other than Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s deposed son, Sajeeb Wazed Joy, who became the self-proclaimed ‘face of the Awami League’ as well as the sole spokesman of the party which is the apparent continuation of the Mujib dynasty after his mother.

Since his mother Hasina resigned, fled the country and took refuge in India on August 5 in the wake of an unprecedented student uprising, Joy has spoken out on behalf of Hasina and the party in interviews with dozens of foreign media, including many Indian news outlets.

Finally, he was the only spokesman to express his “happiness” over the army chief’s indication in an interview with Reuters that parliamentary elections should be held within the next 18 months, and said: “I am glad that we can at least now have the expected timetable “

The role of AL in reforms?

Shortly after the interview with the army chief was published, Joy in an interview with Reuters demanded a role for the Awami League in the reforms initiated by the interim government led by Muhammad Yunus and in the next elections.

But his wishes may turn out to be just that. The advisory council of the interim government on September 5, which marks one month of Hasina’s removal from power, decided that “the fascist Awami League will not have any opportunity to conduct political activities until the process is concluded.”

Joy, who has already courted controversy on various occasions for his contradictory remarks, made the demand at a time when the AL is currently at an existential juncture as it faces the possibility of being banned from the club for the first time in its history.

Charges of crimes against humanity

The party was accused of committing crimes against humanity and genocide during the July-August movement that overthrew Hasina, ending her more than 15 years of authoritarian rule.

Preparations are underway to formally accuse the party. The Ministry of Law has prepared a draft amendment to the Act on the International Crimes Tribunal, aimed at introducing a provision enabling the exclusion of a political party for a period of up to 10 years for committing crimes against humanity and genocide.

All indications are that AL will be prosecuted along with Hasina and many other leaders of her party under the ICT Act on the same charge.

If found guilty, the AL could be banned for the first time since it was founded in 1949. The courts will decide on the period of the ban, whether it will be ten years, the maximum penalty or a shorter term.

However, any of its leaders, if found guilty, will be banned from participating in elections for life, in accordance with the provisions of the electoral law introduced before the 2008 elections in response to popular demand to ban war criminals from elections.

In an interview with Reuters on September 24, Hasina’s son, Sajib Wazed Joy, who now lives in the United States, also warned that “real reforms and polls are impossible without the oldest political party AL.”

He made the request after the interim government said on Wednesday it would hold talks with political parties after receiving recommendations from six reform panels it had established.

“Once a consensus on reforms is reached and the voter list is prepared, the voting date will be announced,” the chief adviser’s office said.

Joy therefore demands that AL and other political parties be invited to the talks.

In an interview with Reuters, Joy demanded a role for the Awami League in the reforms initiated by the interim government led by Muhammad Yunus and in the next elections

Does AL matter anymore?

However, his warning that “real reforms and polls are impossible without AL” has little impact in the current political climate.

The head of the electoral system reform commission has already stated that elections without AL will not be considered unacceptable.

Staying in the US, more than 12,000 kilometers from Bangladesh, Joy may not be feeling the current political pulse.

Hasina, who has led the AL with an iron fist for over four decades, is currently in exile in India for an uncertain period. Some of its party leaders and ministers were arrested. Many others have either disappeared from public view or have reportedly fled the country.

Her authoritarian rule destroyed all political, social and economic institutions in the country, thus establishing a kleptocratic regime over which she exercised royal authority. Her rule is described as “fascist”. Hasina even destroyed the party that brought her to power. However, her son Joy is now demanding a role for the AL in reforming institutions such as parliament, the judiciary and the electoral system, which have been brutally destroyed under Hasina’s rule since 2009, invalidating all previous reform measures.

In the changed political dynamics, the AL is not considered as one of the key elements in building a new Bangladesh through reforms. The party that excluded all other parties, positioning itself as the sole guardian of Bangladesh, was excluded.

In the political vacuum left by Hasina and the exclusion of her party, Jamaat has emerged as a key challenger to BNP, the party that is AL’s main rival. Politics in the coming days will witness many extraordinary events shaping and transforming post Hasina Bangladesh.

Is AL a ban coming?

It is a historical irony that the AL, which was once an expression of Bengali nationalism and played a key role in the liberation war five decades ago, now faces a ban on charges of crimes against humanity and genocide against Hasina’s misrule and her attempts to stay in power through massacres men, women and children.

It is ironic that the Hasina-led party government, which conducted the trial of top Jamaat-e-Islami leaders on charges of committing crimes against humanity during the country’s liberation war, will be tried in court on the same charge.

Interestingly, the original ICT Act was enacted in 1973 by the government led by her father Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman to conduct the trial of 1971 war criminals under a special constitutional provision.

The First Amendment to the Constitution of the same year gave his government broad power to try war criminals by enacting any law regardless of its inconsistency with any part of the Constitution.

Hasina’s government amended the ICT Act twice – once in 2009 and again in 2013 – to speed up trials and ensure punishment for war criminals.

After her removal from power, the interim government began amending the law to introduce a provision prohibiting a political party from operating for a period of up to 10 years on charges of committing crimes against humanity and genocide.

Joy wears the mantle of party savior

In such a situation, Joy, 53, appears to have taken on the mantle of a savior avatar for both AL and her mother’s legacy.

Four days after his mother’s expulsion, Joy in an interview with NDTV on August 10 claimed that “I have become the face of the Awami League by default.”

His claim raised a question. What made him the face of AL now? He is just one of millions of party members. He also does not hold any position in the party. His second identity is that he is the son and advisor of fallen Prime Minister Hasina.

Was it because other leaders disappeared from public view that he had to become the face of the AL?

Hasina and her son Joy share a similarity in the sense that each of them claims ownership of AL as family property.

In his last interview, his statement that “right now I want to ensure the safety of the people of my party” reflects his “self” and he too considers the AL to be a family property.

However, he is not as fortunate as his mother Hasina, who returned home, ending her life in exile for over six years after the fall of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s regime in 1975.

The AL, which was split into two after the fall of Mujib’s regime, saw Hasina as a symbol of factional unity. She was welcomed home in May 1981 by party leaders who then unanimously appointed her as party leader for survival. Under her leadership, the party united and returned to power in 1996, after a long break of 21 years. However, her fourth consecutive term as Prime Minister from 2009 ended ingloriously as she was forced into exile again and made her return uncertain.

This is a different Bangladesh

Today’s Bangladesh is different from 1981, when she returned. So her son’s return as “crown prince” to Bangladesh to lead her party remains uncertain as he has also been accused of financial corruption and abuse of power, according to media reports.

About two decades ago, Hasina decided to christen her son Joy as her party’s crown prince with the intention of continuing the dynasty, as on December 22, 2004, in Dhaka, Joy was received with a rousing reception upon his arrival from the US.

Family members, relatives and hundreds of party leaders and workers gathered at the Zia International Airport (ZIA) to welcome Joy. Hundreds of leaders and workers of AL-affiliated organizations such as Chhatra League, Jubo League, Mohila Awami League and Sramik League queued up from the airport to Hasina Sudha Sadan’s residence in Dhanmondi, holding colorful banners and garlands to welcome the mother-son duo.

Jubilant AL men were seen shouting welcome slogans and showering petals to Joy and his wife Christine as they returned home from the airport in a Pajero jeep. They waved to cheering party workers and enthusiastic people on both sides of the road.

The colorfully decorated neighboring streets of Sudha Sadan took on a festive look as music, dancing and welcome slogans continued till the afternoon.

However, her attempt failed and after a few months Joy returned to the US.

Joy was back in the spotlight ahead of the unilateral 2014 parliamentary elections.

On July 23, 2013, at an Iftar party organized by Jubo League on Bangabandhu Avenue, Joy stated, “I have information that the Awami League will return to power.”

His comments sparked criticism, forcing AL leaders to provide explanations to protect him from criticism. At a press conference, AL leaders explained that Joy meant that the party would win if its inactive members became active again.

I try to stay relevant

Joy returns again after her mother is removed in 2024.

He was the mother’s main source of information about the details of her leaving the country, as Hasina has not made public appearances since her ouster.

He told BBC World Service’s Newshour on August 5 that his mother had been considering resigning since the previous day and had left the country for her own safety at the insistence of her family.

He claimed that his mother had not resigned as prime minister, so he was still the rightful head of government.

However, before the request was made, Bangladesh Army Chief Waker Uz Zaman confirmed earlier in the day that Sheikh Hasina had resigned and left the country.

Five days after his mother left Bangladesh, Joy spoke to Reuters and said: “My mother never officially resigned. She didn’t have time.” He added that this meant the formation of an interim government could be “challenged in court.”

In some interviews after his mother’s removal, Joy initially stated that his family’s future in politics was over. But later he changed his mind.

“I never had any political ambitions and settled in the USA. However, the events in Bangladesh over the past few days show that there is a leadership vacuum. I had to step in for the good of the party and now I am in charge,” Joy told Times of India on August 9.

The next day, in an interview with another Indian news outlet NDTV, Joy said he would consider returning to Bangladesh and leading the AL.

But there is no indication that his party men here in Dhaka are making any preparations to welcome his return!

However, as of now, Joy has not returned to Bangladesh.