VZCZCXRO2846
OO RUEHBI RUEHCI RUEHDBU RUEHLH RUEHNEH RUEHPW
DE RUEHKA #0762/01 2150712
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
O 030712Z AUG 09
FM AMEMBASSY DHAKA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 9258
INFO RUCNCLS/ALL SOUTH AND CENTRAL ASIA COLLECTIVE
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON 2154
RHHMUNA/USCINCPAC HONOLULU HI
RHHJJPI/PACOM IDHS HONOLULU HI

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 DHAKA 000762 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR SCA/INSB AND SCA/FO 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/02/2019 
TAGS: PGOV PREL PINR PINS KDEM EAID BG
SUBJECT: PRIME MINISTER SIDELINES OLD GUARD AND 
CONSOLIDATES POWER FOLLOWING PARTY COUNCIL MEETING 
 
Classified By: Deputy Chief of Mission Nicholas J. Dean.  Reasons 1.4 ( 
b) and (d) 
 
SUMMARY 
======== 
 
¶1. (C)  When General Secretary Syed Ashraful Islam unveiled 
the new AL Central Committee July 30 it became apparent that 
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was no longer willing to 
"forgive, but not forget" those who betrayed her during the 
two-year Caretaker Government.  Four senior party leaders 
were dropped from the Awami League Presidium, while a number 
of mid-level officials also lost their positions in the 
Central Committee. The following day, Hasina appointed six 
new members to her Cabinet and reshuffled the portfolios of 
four existing Ministers.  Her appointments, both to the new 
Central Committee and the Cabinet, continued the trend of 
elevating relative unknowns which she began with the original 
Ministerial appointments in January.  Hasina declared that 
the new appointments pointed to the future of the party and 
the government and said the new Ministers had been chosen to 
implement her government's agenda.  Most observers agreed 
that Hasina had succeeded in further consolidating her grip 
on the party, perhaps at the expense of the government's 
efficiency. 
 
Awami League Council Puts Its Faith in Hasina 
============================================= 
 
¶2. (C)  The Representation of the People's Ordinance of 2008, 
subsequently ratified by Bangladesh's Parliament with minor 
changes during its first sitting, required Bangladesh's 
political parties to amend their constitutions as a condition 
for registration by the Election Commission.  The RPO further 
required the political parties to hold Council Meetings 
within 180 days to ratify the amendments.  After first 
signaling that it would seek an extension, the ruling Awami 
League instead hastily organized a Council Meeting on July 
24, the first such meeting in seven years.  In addition to 
ratifying the amendments to its party constitution, the 
Councilors were charged with electing a party President, 
General Secretary, and Central Committee. 
 
Reformist Wins Out for AL General Secretary 
=========================================== 
 
¶3. (C)  While it was no surprise that Prime Minister Sheikh 
Hasina would be re-elected AL President, there were several 
contenders for the post of General Secretary going into the 
party conclave.  In a victory for true reformers, former 
Joint General Secretary Syed Ashraful Islam was elevated to 
the General Secretary post, replacing veteran party leader 
Abdul Jalil who resigned days ahead of the Council Meeting. 
Ashraf's main rival, fellow Joint General Secretary Obaidul 
Kader, was subsequently elevated to the Awami League's 
Presidium.  Ashraf's father, Awami League Vice President Syed 
Nazrul Islam, was killed in Dhaka Central Jail in November 
1975 along with three other senior AL leaders.  During the 
CTG period, Ashraf served as Acting General Secretary while 
Jalil and Kader were imprisoned on corruption charges. 
 
Democratic Centralism Trumps Party Constitution 
============================================= == 
 
¶3. (C)  According to the AL constitution, Councilors were 
charged with electing 47 of the 73 members of the party 
executive committee, leaving the President the responsibility 
of choosing 26 others in consultation with the Presidium 
within 21 days of the party Council Meeting.  Instead, at 
this year's party conclave Councilors gave the Party 
President and General Secretary the responsibility for 
filling all the slots.  This decision provoked some grumbling 
from party members and criticism from the media, who 
questioned why the ruling party had ignored one of the 
central tenets of its newly approved constitution. 
 
New AL Central Committee Sidelines Old Guard "Reformers" 
============================================= =========== 
 
¶4. (C)  For almost a week after the Council Meeting, Dhaka's 
political elite speculated about the fate of party 
"reformers" who had conspired with the Army during the 
Caretaker Government period to sideline Hasina.  Most 
speculation centered on the fate of veteran Parliamentarians 
Abdur Razzak, Amir Hossain Amu, Tofail Ahmed, and Suranjit 
Sen Gupta--collectively knows as the R.A.T.S.  Others seen as 
vulnerable included party organizing secretaries Saber 
 
DHAKA 00000762  002 OF 003 
 
 
Hossain Chowdhury and his six colleagues.  Most observers 
expected Hasina to make examples of at least some reformers, 
but few believed she would take on all of them at once.  In 
particular, Razzak and Sen Gupta appeared to many to be safe, 
given their long-standing ties to India.  As the days passed 
following the Council Meeting, one Minister told us that 
"only God and Sheikh Hasina" knew what would happen. 
 
Decapitating the Disloyal 
========================= 
 
¶5. (C)  Hasina decided to send a clear message regarding the 
price to be paid for disloyalty, removing all four "RATS" 
from the Presidium and dumping all seven previous Organizing 
Secretaries.  The four senior leaders were relegated to the 
ceremonial party Advisory Committee.  In their places, Hasina 
elevated Ministers Razi Uddin Ahmed Razu, Abdul Latif 
Siddique, and Sahara Khatun, as well as Kader and Satish 
Chandra Roy to the Presidium.  Hasina filled two of three 
Joint General Secretary positions, nominating Foreign 
Minister Dr. Dipu Moni and Mahbub al Alam Hanif as Ashraf's 
deputies.  Of the new Organizing Secretaries, only State 
Minister Jahangir Kabir Nanak was well known prior to his 
elevation.  Hanif's main qualification seemed to be his 
family relationship to one of Hasina's cousins, whose father 
was also killed along with Sheikh Mujibur Rahman on August 
15, 1975. 
 
Cabinet Reshuffle Again Rewards Loyalty Over Experience 
============================================= ========== 
 
¶6. (C)  For weeks the media has speculated about an impending 
Cabinet reshuffle.  From her first Cabinet Meeting in 
January, Hasina had warned Ministers they would be judged 
based on their performance and could lose their jobs if they 
failed to perform.  Many speculated that Hasina would be 
forced to admit senior party leaders from the AL and its 
coalition partners into the Cabinet as part of a reshuffle. 
Some thought that Hasina would offer Cabinet positions to the 
RATS in order to preempt any attempts to cause problems 
within the party after losing their seats in the Presidium. 
The need for a reshuffle became more pressing once State 
Minister for Home Affairs Tanjim Ahmed Sohel Taj resigned 
from the Cabinet, leaving a key vacancy to be filled. 
 
Unknows Elevated, Portfolios Reshuffled 
======================================= 
 
¶7. (C)  Hasina again defied conventional wisdom July 31 with 
the appointment of six relative unknowns to the Council of 
Ministers.  The new Cabinet Members included Members of 
Parliamen Shahjahan Khan, Promod Mankin, Mujibur Rahman 
Fakir, Mahbubur Rahman, Enamul Haque and Shirin Sharmin 
Chowdhury.  At the same time, Hasina reshuffled the portfolio 
of four existing Ministers, leaving the following lineup: 
 
Newly Appointed: 
 
Shipping:         Minister Shahjahan Khan 
Energy and Power:             State Minister Brig (ret) 
Enamul Haq 
Cultural Affairs:       State Minister Promod Mankin 
Health and Family Welfare:          State Minister Mujibur 
Rahman Fakir 
Water Resources:        State Minister Mahbubur Rahman 
Women and Children's Affairs: State Minister Shirin Sharmin 
Chowdhury 
 
Reassigned: 
 
Primary and Mass Education:   Minister Afsarul Amin (from 
Shipping) 
Home Affairs:           State Minister Shamsul Haque Tuku 
(from Energy) 
Environment:            State Minister Dr. Hasan Mahmud (from 
Foreign Affairs) 
Land:       State Minister Mustafizur Rahman Fizar (from 
Environment) 
 
Cabinet Expanded 
================ 
 
¶8. (C)  With the new inductions, Hasina's Cabinet grew to 
include 24 Ministers and 18 State Ministers.  In addition, 
she has appointed seven Advisers with Ministerial rank, 
including recently appointed Foreign Affairs Adviser Dr. 
Gowher Rizvi.  The Cabinet included two Buddhists, one Hindu, 
 
DHAKA 00000762  003 OF 003 
 
 
and with the addition of Promod Mankin, one Christian.  The 
appointment of Shirin Sharmin Chowdhury increased the number 
of female Cabinet members to six.  While larger than her 
Cabinet during the 1996 - 2001 period, Hasina has not reached 
the level set by the previous BNP-led government, which 
included a record 60 members in the Council of Ministers.  Of 
note, despite the warnings to Cabinet Members that they would 
be judged based on their performance, Hasina chose not to 
drop any Ministers as part of the reshuffle. 
 
Comment 
======= 
 
¶9. (C)  With the formation of the new party Central Committee 
and the expansion of the Cabinet, Hasina has underscored the 
premium she places on loyalty.  While some party stalwarts 
dropped from the Central Committee and excluded from the 
Cabinet were guilty of actively conspiring against Hasina, 
others were apparently dropped for not being sufficiently 
loyal--sins of omission rather than commission.  Even some of 
Hasina's closest allies fear the AL leader may have gone too 
far by dropping so many senior leaders in one blow.  By 
promoting so many new leaders, most of whom have little or no 
executive experience, Hasina is taking a significant risk. 
At the same time, Hasina has sent the message (intentional or 
not) that more than ever, all power is concentrated in her 
hands. In our view, the biggest risk Hasina runs by 
surrounding herself with loyalists is that nobody will be 
able or willing to speak up when she is about to make a 
mistake.  On the plus side, Hasina has clearly indicated her 
choices for future leadership of the party.  Meanwhile, all 
eyes will turn to the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party 
as it begins the process leading towards its Party Council 
later this year.  Many are asking whether BNP Chairperson 
Khaleda Zia will follow Hasina's lead and banish the 
reformists in her party's midst. 
MORIARTY