On 5th August, Sheikh Hasina resigned from the post of Prime Minister of Bangladesh and fled to London with the help of the Bangladesh Army. The Army has taken over the country and promised that elections will happen soon in the country. Hasina-led Bangladeshi government fell following weeks of unrest caused by student protests demanding the end of the quota for generations of freedom fighters.
Despite the quota being abolished by the Supreme Court of Bangladesh, the protests did not end as the students who were protesting laid more demands. The protests turned violent with the government deploying forces to curb the protests. Hundreds of protesters died leading to more violence and dissent towards the government. As the government has fallen in the neighbouring country, the role of foreign forces in toppling Hasina’s government has become a topic of discussion as well as concern. One of the organisations whose name has popped up repeatedly is the US Agency for International Development (USAID).
What is USAID?
The US Agency for International Development (USAID) is the principal U.S. agency. According to the USAID website, “The President’s Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 Budget Request for the State Department and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is $63.1 billion for foreign assistance and diplomatic engagement, which includes $32 billion in foreign assistance for USAID fully- and partially-managed accounts, $3 billion (10 per cent) above the FY 2023 Adjusted Enacted level… The FY 2024 President’s Budget also requests both mandatory and discretionary resources to out-compete China, strengthen the U.S. role in the Indo-Pacific, and advance American prosperity globally through new investments to respond to these unprecedented and extraordinary times”.
The main objective of USAID is clearly, to further US interests abroad and regime change has been one of the interests of the US. The USAID website says about their mission, “On behalf of the American people, we promote and demonstrate democratic values abroad, and advance a free, peaceful, and prosperous world. In support of America’s foreign policy, the U.S. Agency for International Development leads the U.S. Government’s international development and disaster assistance through partnerships and investments that save lives, reduce poverty, strengthen democratic governance, and help people emerge from humanitarian crises and progress beyond assistance”.
One knows what it truly means when a US agency says that they want to promote “democracy” in foreign countries. In fact, on its website, USAID also says, “We aspire to lead international and US Government efforts to advance the economic, political, social, and environmental well-being of the world’s most vulnerable people”.
Known examples of USAID’s interference in foreign countries and attempts to regime change
The regime changes in Nicaragua
According to a research report published by the Council of Hemispheric Affairs, USAID interference led to the 2018 uprising in Nicaragua. An extraordinary leaked document revealed the US government’s plan to interfere with the internal affairs in Nicaragua before and after the 2021 presidential election.
The 14-page extract of a much longer document outlined a contract of USAID to create “the environment for Nicaragua’s transition to democracy.” William Grigsby from Radio La Primerisima revealed the plan in the document that described how USAID worked with various NGOs, think tanks, media organisations and human rights bodies to support opposition to the Ortega government.
To support and justify the interference by the US body, the document misrepresented historical events such as claims that the Sandinista party manipulated the elections even though the Organization of American States (OAS) acknowledged there were only minor irregularities. Furthermore, it also rewrote the 2018 uprising narrative ignoring the fact that the opposition indulged in violence and economic disruption.
The US has a long history of interventions in Nicaragua dating back to 1856. The existence of such documents that revealed the plan of the US’s intervention was not surprising. Notably, Ben Waddell’s article in Global Americans points out that “US support has helped play a role in nurturing the current uprisings,” highlighting the role of US-funded groups in fostering opposition.
The regime change efforts blended with humanitarian aid in Venezuela
USAID has a long history of meddling with Venezuela’s internal affairs as well. According to a 2019 report in People’s World, USAID aligned closely with the National Endowment of Democracy in “Transition Initiatives” to promote the foreign policy goals of the US. The organisation has been an integral part of US efforts to organise humanitarian aid convoys to Venezuela which aligned with the political agenda of the US administration and then-interim president Guaido.
USAID’s Venezuela program supports civil society and democratic governance, echoing the principles of the UN Human Rights Convention. Wikileaks revealed a five-point strategy by the U.S. embassy in Caracas to undermine Chávez. USAID and NED funded opposition groups extensively and the former’s operations often blended humanitarian aid with political motives. The State Department’s Bureau of Energy Resources also works to reduce Latin American reliance on Venezuelan energy.
Bangladesh, BRAC, USAID and Gates Foundation – How everything is interwoven and worrisome
It has to be noted that Building Resources Across Communities (BRAC), an international development organisation founded by Sir Fasle Hasan Abed in Bangladesh is heavily funded by USAID and the Gates Foundation. Interestingly, BRAC University, which stemmed from BRAC (the organisation), has been the centre point of the protests in Bangladesh.
BRAC has received funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and USAID that tuned into millions. For example, BRAC received USD 1.5 million from the Gates Foundation to build preparedness and emergency response capacity. Furthermore, BRAC has teamed up with USAID in projects like the Bangladesh America Maitree Project, which aims to enhance the capacity of local NGOs through funding and training.
Not to forget, there are allegations that USAID is in front of the CIA, the foreign intelligence organisation of the US government. Especially during the Cold War and in more recent geopolitical conflicts, USAID’s name has popped up. To support this link, the Cuban Twitter Program can be cited as one of the examples. USAID has been implicated in covert operations aimed at regime change such as the secret Twitter network in Cuba. The program involved creating a social media platform to foster dissent among the people of Cuba with covert funding and operations resembling classic CIA tactics. Though the design of the network looked benign in the beginning, it eventually disseminated politically charged messages to mobilise opposition. In case of Bangladesh, similar tactics that resemble CIA operations could have been used to mobilise students and opposition parties in the protests but to reveal exact links, it will take time as the country is still under distress.
Now coming to the US’s involvement in Bangladeshi politics, it is to be noted that just before the recent General Elections in Bangladesh, Washington sanctioned members of Sheikh Hasina’s party and promoted a government involving BNP and Jamaat. It aligned with broader discussions about US foreign policy strategies aimed at fostering governments favourable to its interests.
Hasina hinted at foreign interference
In June this year, Sheikh Hasina made a shocking claim that a plot is being hatched to carve out “a Christian state like East Timor,” from parts of Bangladesh and Myanmar and that she will not let it happen. She claimed that a “white man” who visited with her before the Bangladesh elections in January of this year assured her that there would be “no problems” if she permitted them to establish an airbase on Bangladeshi soil.
Last year, the US also extended support to the Islamist Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and its Jihadist ally Jamaat-e-Islami during its protests against the PM Hasina-led government. The US and other Western countries expected the Awami League government to step down and hand over power to a caretaker regime, and release all jailed BNP and Jamaat leaders to ensure ‘free and fair’ elections. However, India and China, despite their disputes, backed Sheikh Hasina in dealing with US pressure resulting in her return to power for the fifth time.
Since there have been reports of the United States attempting to meddle in the elections in Bangladesh by imposing sanctions on Bangladesh’s Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) and some officials alongside placing visa restrictions on Bangladeshi officials, it is being speculated that the airbase offer was made by the US.
In November 2023, OpIndia reported that there were clear signs of foreign interference in Bangladesh’s internal affairs. With just two months away from the elections, the United States government, its agencies and the embedded media were called out for orchestrating a ‘regime change operation’ in Bangladesh.
Attempts were made to distort the public perception of incumbent Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and present her as an ‘autocratic leader.’ The Joe Biden-led-US government was accused of election interference under the pretext of ‘saving democracy’ and conducting ‘free and fair elections’ in the Islamic Republic.
