Dokument #1211562
IRB – Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (Autor)
Bangladesh has two parties called the
Workers' Parties in addition to the Krishak Sramik Party (Peasant
and Worker's Party) and the Krishak Sramik Awami League (Peasant
and Worker's League) (Political Parties of the World 1988,
42-43; Political Parties of Asia and the Pacific 1985, 76;
Political Handbook of the World 1994-1995 1995, 70).
The Worker's Party, led by President Abul
Bashar and General Secretary `Lashed Khan Menon, is a
Marxist-Leninist group that seeks a "people's democratic revolution
to achieve socialism" (Political Parties of the World
1988, 42). This party supports land reform, the decentralization of
administration, state ownership of the industrial sector, and a
foreign policy based on ties with socialist countries (ibid.).
An offshoot of Menon and Bashar's Worker's
Party, the Worker's Party led by Nazrul Islam, supports a
Marxist-Leninist ideology and seeks to reunify "the international
communist movement" (ibid.,43.). In May 1986, three candidates from
the Nazrul party were elected to Parliament (ibid.). The Krishak
Sramik Party (KSP) was founded in 1914 and is "the oldest party
within the region now known as Bangladesh" (Political Parties
of Asia and the Pacific 1985, 76). The KSP "supports
parliamentary democracy, non-aligned foreign policy and socialism"
and has a membership of 125,000 (Europe 1995, 496).
The Krishak Sramik Awami League (Baksal)
was launched in 1975 by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman as a new political
party, although it "was for all purposes the old Awami League under
a new name" (ibid., 53). The party is a pro-Soviet group which has
worked with the Bangladesh Communist Party (Political Handbook
of the World 1994-1995 1995, 70). The president of the KSP and
BAKSAL is A.S.M. Sulaiman and the general secretary is Mohammad
Emdad Hossain (ibid.).
The following information on the Chattra
Moitri was obtained during a 3 July 1996 telephone interview with a
representative of the High Commission of Bangladesh. Chattra Moitri
means student friendship in Bangla. The Chattra Moitri is a
university student alliance that has no special affiliation to any
political party. It provides university students with a forum for
constructive debate on various social issues.
For further information on the leftist
parties of Bangladesh and the history of the parties mentioned in
this Response to Information Request, please consult the attached
documents.
This Response was prepared after
researching publicly accessible information currently available to
the DlRB within time constraints. This Response is not, and does
not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular
claim to refugee status or asylum.
References
The Europa World Year Book
1995. 1995. 36th ed. Vol. 1. London: Europa Publications.
High Commission of Bangladesh, Ottawa. 3
June 1996. Telephone interview with representative.
Political Handbook of the World:
1994-1995. 1995. Edited by Arthur S. Banks. Binghamton, NY:
CSA Publications.
Political Parties of Asia and the
Pacific. 1985. Edited by Haruhiro Fukui et al. Westport, Corn:
Greenwood Press.
Political Parties of the World.
1988. 3rd ed. Edited by Alan J. Day et al, Chicago, 111: St James
Press.
Attachments
Bangladesh: A Country Study. 1989.
Edited by James Heitzman and Robert L. Worden. Washington, DC:
Secretary of the Army, pp. 180-181,
Political Parties of Asia and the
Pacific. 1985. Edited by Haruhiro Fukui et at. Westport, Conn:
Greenwood Press, p. 76.
Political Parties of the World. 1988.
3rd ed. Edited by Alan J. Day et al. Chicago, Ill: St James Press,
pp. 42-43.