Bangladesh The Dictator Is Gone!

Soldier, politician and poet, Hussain Mohammad Ershad is a man who has taken pride in his sense of balance. For almost nine years he managed to maintain his footing in the notoriously slippery ground of Bangladesh politics. Last week, however, the President ran out of ground to stand on. Resigning in a dramatic late-night announcement, he touched off jubilant dancing in the streets by people who viewed his humiliation as poetic justice.

"Ershad is gone, Ershad is gone! Burn his throne!" screamed a flag-waving crowd in Dhaka as firecrackers exploded across the capital. "Catch the thief! Don't let him go!" chanted...