Name? Sheikh Hasina
Westphalian identity? Bangladeshi
Age? 73
Why is she in the news? According to an Al Jazeera investigation, Hasina’s government bought Israeli-made surveillance equipment that can be used to monitor the mobile phones of hundreds of people simultaneously by behaving as a cell tower so that when phones connect to it, their communications can be intercepted.
Why do we care? Well for starters, Bangladesh does not recognize Israel as an independent state. For a country that technically limits trade and prohibits citizens from travelling to Israel; effectively having no diplomatic relations with the Middle Eastern nation, Hasina is sure invested in its economic development…
Why should you care? If you care about privacy rights, then you care about the Bangladeshi government (and thus, the military) gaining the ability to spy on citizens. If you care about an independent Palestinian state (as Hasina’s government claims), then you care that the fourth-largest Muslim population is seemingly backing Israel. Ultimately though, this does not impact you personally so on our How much should you care scale, this scores a 4/10.
Who else cares? Mohammad Shtayyeh, Prime Minister of Palestine. With this deal, Shtayyeh has seemingly lost another ally in his nation’s fight for their own state. After the UAE, Bahrein, Sudan and Morocco entered into diplomatic relations with Israel, Palestine’s allies are choosing national interests over Palestine’s right to their own state… Unfortunately for Palestinians, friendship apparently can be bought, if you have enough equipment that is.
Any further comments? Prime Minister Hasina and her close relationship with a powerful Bangladeshi family (of which the head of the military belongs) provides an interesting comparison to Aung San Suu Kyi’s own complex relationship with state forces. Both women have been placed on house arrest, both had attempts made on their lives, and both ultimately, in some capacity, worked alongside their respective military in order to keep the nation running.
