Govt’s talk with parties a must to end crisis

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Dialogues between political parties and the government are an imperative to resolve the present political crisis in the country and to pave the way towards holding a free, fair and credible election, said speakers at a roundtable yesterday.

Former advisers to caretaker governments, the military secretary to the president, leaders of Awami League (AL) and BNP, and civil society leaders were among the speakers.

They said failures of the present caretaker government will jeopardize the countries future.

The speakers also urged the government to dispel all doubts in the public mind about the next election.

Criticising the government for its lack of dynamism in running the country, they said it has failed in some aspects of running the country.

The Daily Prothom-Alo arranged the discussion titled ‘Election, Democracy and Future Bangladesh’ in its office at Karwan Bazar of the capital.

Moderated by Prothom Alo Editor Matiur Rahman, the meeting was addressed by former advisers to caretaker governments Dr Akbar Ali Khan, Sultana Kamal, Dr Wahiduddin Mahmud and M Hafizuddin Khan, Military Secretary to the President Maj Gen Aminul Karim, Prof Muzaffer Ahmad, AL Acting General Secretary Syed Ashraful Islam, BNP standing committee appointed Acting Secretary General Maj (retd) Hafizuddin Ahmed, former attorney general AF Hasan Arif, President of the International Chamber of Commerce Bangladesh Mahbubur Rahman, and Chairperson of the Department of Politics and Government at Illinois State University Dr Ali Riaz.

Akbar Ali Khan said policy makers of the government do not take into consideration the suggestions made by civil society leaders.

“There is no reflection of what we say in government activities,” the former adviser to a caretaker government said.

“There was an emergency political situation in the country, when this caretaker government took power,” he said adding that currently an ‘emergency economic situation’ is prevailing in the country.

He stressed the need for holding the election and restoration of democracy for tackling the economic predicament the country is in.

“There was no food crisis in the last 16 to 17 years, like the one we are facing now,” he said adding that elected governments were much more careful about food, fertilizer and agriculture.

“The country is now at a risk and it will be better for the country if the power is handed over to an elected government as soon as possible,” observed the former bureaucrat, who is also an eminent economist.

He stressed that good governance is impossible without democracy.

About dialogues between the government and political parties, the former adviser said an agenda is imperative for the dialogues, on the basis of which it will go forward.

The dialogues will not bring any positive result if there is any authoritarian list of topics, added Akbar Ali Khan.

He however declined to comment on formation of a national security council, saying, “I don’t know about the basis of forming a national security council, and it would not be fair on my part to comment on it without knowing its legal basis.”

Maj Gen Aminul Karim said the current political culture of the country is of a low quality and the military gets the opportunity in this situation to exercise power, but ultimately the country must return to democracy.

Survival of the present caretaker government must be ensured, as it is the last resort for the people of this country right now, said the military secretary to the president adding that the people cannot afford to let this government fail.

Saying that the country is at a crossroads right now, the major general warned that it might veer off to ’some other destination’ if the present government fails.

“The political parties must also come forward positively for dialogues with the government,” he added.

Criticising some advisers to the caretaker government, Maj Gen Aminul Karim said, “They don’t even go to villages and don’t visit the grassroots.”

He suggested the government to appoint consultants for smooth running of the administration.

The military secretary to the president hoped that the much awaited upcoming election will be held on schedule and the armed forces will go back to the barracks.

He however favoured formation of a national security council for solving national crises.

1/11 might not have occurred if the country had a national security council at the time, said Aminul Karim.

He urged the political parties not to ‘invent new issues’ to confront the government with.

Dr Wahiduddin Mahmud, a noted economist, said, “In the past, elected governments turned into autocratic ones, devaluing state organisations.”

He said the system of democracy is the most durable system for resolving all disputes while military intervention is a temporary solution.

He said a ‘citizens charter’ could be formed, like the one in 1991, taking opinions from all political parties, on the basis of which elected governments would work and be accountable as well.

He urged the government not to veer off the declared ‘election roadmap’, saying, “The government must dispel all public doubts regarding holding of the election.”

He said there is no alternative to dialogues between the government and political parties for moving forward in accordance with the declared electoral roadmap of the government as well as for pushing forward the government’s present initiatives.

M Hafizuddin Khan said, “There is a public perception that the government is not in the driving seat anymore.”

“It seems that the government does not have enough savvy to face the present crisis,” said the former adviser to a caretaker government, adding that the present caretaker government also seems less cognizant of public sufferings.

The present caretaker government failed to fulfil the public expectation, he added.

“There is a lack of confidence in the public mind about the caretaker government right now,” said the former bureaucrat adding that it is however difficult to run a country with 10 advisers.

He also urged the government to dispel any public confusion regarding holding of the much delayed election.

About formation of a national security council he said there is no need to form such a council.

“We don’t have any external threat and therefore we don’t need any national security council for internal management,” said M Hafizuddin Khan.

“It’s absurd that a national security council would resolve the political problems and other crises,” he quipped.

He said only an election will not bring democracy to the country, the political culture also need to change for that to happen.

He also urged to amend the constitution to remove some of the weaknesses in it.

Prof Muzaffer Ahmad said, “Reforms in political parties alone are not enough, political leaders have to change their attitudes as well.”

He said the culture of having a ‘democracy of only raising hands in the parliament’, and of ‘one day democracy of the election day’ must be changed.

Sultana Kamal said there are many questions in the public mind about the role the army intends to play in the future.

The country is passing through a difficult time, said the former adviser to a caretaker government.

She also urged the government to hold dialogues with political parties for tackling the present crisis.

AL Acting General Secretary Syed Ashraful Islam said, “Dialogues with political parties has become a national demand now.”

He said the present government must succeed for the sake of the country’s future.

“Till now they [the caretaker government] have been the last hope and we want their success,” added Ashraful.

He criticised heavily the activities of Law Adviser Mainul Hosein and Food Adviser Tapan Chowdhury, demanding their immediate removal from the council of advisers.

The AL leader also criticised President Iajuddin Ahmed for his role during the short lived tenure of the immediate past caretaker government and demanded his removal too.

He said there are conspiracies being hatched by saboteurs within the government to make it fail.

“Conspiracies are going on to destroy the electoral roadmap of the government,” the AL acting general secretary said.

Maj (retd) Hafizuddin Ahmed of BNP said it is not possible to resolve the manifold problems of the country without an election.

He said the country has democracy only on papers, not in real life.

He also stressed the need for dialogues between the government and political parties before the upcoming election.

AF Hasan Arif said there is no alternative to holding the election to restore democracy, as the fate of the country depends on them.

Ali Riaz in his speech said there is a lack of dynamism in the government’s style of running the country. It has failed in some cases, which need to be remedied, he added.

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