BUYERS’ delegations from clothing giants H&M and Gap cancelled their tour to Bangladesh, news reports said. Many fear that the killing of two foreigners in Bangladesh is the work of Islamic State’s (IS) outfits and their presence here is a big threat to Western nationals. So many foreign firms are also withdrawing their people from big power projects demanding proper safety. We believe that the security threats to the nation is in fact pouring in from insecure national politics in the hands of the ruling party’s authoritarianism over the opposition parties. Unity of the nation is all the more important now to face security threats — be it from inside or outside the country. Blaming the opposition for the killing of the foreigners without proof is not the right way to handle the situation; working together is the way to overcome the threats. So when foreign buyers are about to turn their face, it must open the eyes of the government to switch to healthy politics to save the nation and its economy and business. H&M and Gap are two big buyers of garment from Bangladesh but many others have also suspended business trips at peak time to place winter orders before Christmas. It is no doubt worrying the apparel makers who fear a slow down in exports; which showed only 0.86 percent growth during the first quarter of the new fiscal as reported in a national daily, is an ominous sign of business setback to come. H&M spokesperson said they are in close dialogue with other brands regarding the situation while Marks & Spencer officials have been quoted as saying the firm had stopped travel to Bangladesh for seven days. Travel has since resumed but their vigil on the situation continues. The UK based Tesco has not stopped business travel but asked employees to be very careful in their movement. Apparel covers around 80 percent of Bangladesh exports employing over 4 million workers, mostly female, and any setback to the industry will wreck havoc to the economy. But the two killings which have destroyed foreigners’ confidence have not only panicked many to reassess safety of their diplomats and aid workers, their business firms are also in difficulty to cope with the situation. Buyers are now asking exporters to visit their headquarters to take orders while watching the security situation in the ground. There is a growing apprehension that buyers may switch to third countries and the cost of doing business may rise in Bangladesh forcing exporters to lose competitiveness. There is no doubt that the government now is doing its best to restore foreigners’ confidence by deploying security forces at all level. But its repeated denial of the presence of the IS terrorists in the country is failing to remove confusion in the foreigners’ mind as it played the issues earlier otherwise. But what must be understood is that keeping the nation divided, fighting security threats and restoring foreigners’ confidence may remain highly difficult.
