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AWAMI LEAGUE COUNCIL SESSION

Look to the Future, Not the Past

The Third View

by Mahfuz Anam
A very Important Awami Z\ League leader and a confidant of the party ■ but,replying to my question concerning the Importance of the council session beginning tomorrow said. It holds the possibility of our meteoric- riac, if we are able to take the will suffer further erosion tn popularity and public eon# dence." When I posed the same question to Shxlkh Haalna. her. was a matter of fact reply saying that it was like any other council sewakon. which by itaeif ia a very Important event tn the life of the organisation. She did not nilas the chance to make a at the BNP which she said, so far never held a party council session if her perception is really that of a matter-of-fact event, then She will have to tally misjudged the importance of the occasion and aa such run the risk of missing an his toric occasion to give a new ftlhp to her party, which it so tsadty needs. Whether Sheikh Hahina was deliberately underplaying the importance of the council session publicly, or whether she reflected her real feelings about it the event, of the com ing few days will show.
However, for the keen observers of the political scene, it Is a testing time for the Awaml League. The council session which will be hekd in Dhaka from 19 to 20 Scp«em ber will test the capacity of this 43 year old party to adjust Itself to the changing ttmes and needs. Whether or not It will be the party that will seek support on the basis of wh_at it did tn the past, rather than for what it stands for now. It will be a testing time for the AL to prove to the people that Ms it capable of introspection, soul-searching and self-criticism; and that It is still able of bring new thinking into politics. It will be an occasion to take up new policies to regain popu larity for the party which hod a magnetic attraction for the young and the old. for the rich and the poor, during the fifties, sixties and early seventies
The events of the next few days will prove for the pu blic as to whether the democracy that the party preaches outside with vehemence, Is also prac Used Inside with vigour. It is a time that will test the party's ability cither to open itself up to diversity of views within the broad politics of the party; or to continue to function In the highly centralised manner that has. unfortunately, become the hallmark of all leading political parties of the day.
The most critical test before the AL is whether or not it will be able to emerge as a party with a vision of the future — one that gives us practical programmes for poverty alleviation. for eradicating illiteracy, for increasing industrial output, for moving towards self-reliant and sustainable development. etc. The bottom line being, will Awami League be able to emerge from its psychological dependence on the past and come out with a brave new programme for the future. Its dependence on the past Is understandable for the simple reason that it has much more of it than its archriival the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) Awami League feels that no party can match its performance in the past and as such the more it talks about It the more support it will muster.
Unfortunately, It has not worked that way. In fact, probably. the reverse It the case. In the game of invoking the past, the BNP has shown itself to be more adept and so far nothing much can be said about Al's
gain from dwelling on It. Times have changed and so have the needs of modern day politics. No party stands to gain much out of playing poll tics solely on Us past glory Such politics does positive harm to a nation that needs so desperately to move forward
From what we have read so far in the press, and what I could gather from my discus slons with party leaders, the focus of the council session has been not so much on new policy directions for the future, but more on matters dealing with Constitutional amend ments and with the election of the new party general secretary (GS) As for the changes In the Constitution, two points are of Interest First, each Pre sidium member will be given charge of a specific area, like education, finance. Industry, commerce, etc. Though the name Is not being used, what we see here Is the formation of what, in the western partta menlary democracies. Is known as shadow cabinet This paper had, on several oc castons. suggested the forma tion of a shadow cabinet, which we think will enharv < AL's technical capability tn formulating action oriented proposals It will introduce more professionalism In the party and help to make Ils role as the biggest opposition party, more constructive.
The second Constitutional change deals with the forma tlon of advisory councils at var lous tiers of the party, going from the top downwards to the district level The advisory councils will haw no organise tional clout In the decision making process, except for providing alternative expert advice on various political, economic and social questions I suspect this to be AL's mow to counter the Impact of the formation of the Democratic Forum. The AL, especially Ils leader, did not take very kindly to the birth of the Forum. It was widely thought to be a mow to split the party. So to counter whatever attraction the AL's supporters from the elite and Intellectual classes may have for the Forum, the AL as a party is now providing a way for these supporters not willing to become members' a chance to play a more partici patory role in the party.
It is the election to the party's second most important post, that of the general secretary IGS), that ail attention is now focussed* Hidden fas-the question as td who will be the next GS of the party, is the question of the 'process' in which the ck-ctlon to that position is to take place. Connected with the process' of election, is the critical question of how Awami Ix-aguc will be governed as a party — under a very highly-centralised leadership where loyalty is more Important than efficiency and effectiveness. Or under a process where powerful posts are earned through contribution to the party; where aspirants for all posts, especially the top ones, are elected. The way In which the party elections will be conducted will speak volumes on how open and democratic the party will become in the coming days.
According to the party Constitution. it Is the 2.500 odd councillors, representating all the district committees and other tiers of the party that elect the president and the general secretary and the secret a ria I numbers of the party Traditionally, this election has been managed so that a con sensus panel Is usually given to the council, which rubber stamps it. In the last council session In 1987. Sheikh Hasina s personal choice won the day owr what was widely reckoned to be the popular choice — Tofacl Ahmed, Ihe
organising secretary. In a sense llaslna Is back to square oru — after five years she faces the same choice — cither Io accept Tofacl, again rumoured to be the popular choice of the glass root party cadres or to bulldoze her own candidate. As a reply to my question Sheikh Hasina sold,"You people only talk about those who are pub licly known and who al tends dinners and parties and gives you peopk- a tot of Umc. But for others who spend most of Ihe time lor the party and who has no lime to hob nob with journalists nobody talks about rfuch people.'' The hint as to her choice for the post of GS — in fact much more than that — was clear.
The Al. chief can lake Raz zak as the next GS But the popular former party general secretary suffers from the stigma of having abandoned the party once. His election
will also provide additional fodder for ALs opponents to say that the party is now under the control of a BKSALlte — an accusation that AL can well do without. As for the option to retain Sajeda Chowdhury, the incumbent, in the present position. It is really no option. It will mean business as usual' for Awami League. Something which Is not likely to do much for the revival and future growth of the party. With all due respects for the veteran politician, she really has not proven to be a very successful party GS during her tenure
two much under her Chiefs shadow to serve as an effective ■rejuvenator for the party. Therefore Sheikh Hasina's choice really comes down to cwo — the not so well known, and more damaglngly, not wery popular among party cadres, but hard working and extremely loyal Mr Amir Hos-•ain Amu; and of course the well thought of. both Inside and outside the party, the popular and articulate Mr. To-Cael Ahmed.
Hasinas mistake was to have become a party to the ri walry between the various aspl rants to the post of the general secretary She. both as the party chief, and especially as the daughter of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujlbur Rahman, should have remained distant from it all Now, quite unnecessarily. one candidate s vic bory will took like hers, and anothers, as her defeat. She whouId have remained above all Ulis
For good or for the worse
Hastna is truly in the driving seat of the AL It to good be “T* ? fr"”
leadership crisis and rivalries that have been known to tear opposition parties apart. It to not so good because Hasina s leadership record leaves far too many party workers won dering where she will take them.
As some one in full con troi of her party. Hasina needs to prove that she has grown and that she is capable and willing to work as a team leader. Her recent encounter with Benazir should provide some insight as to how the Pakistani leader herself has changed and how, through flexibility -nd forging new al liances, she to once more be coming a serious contender for the country's leadership.
For the sake of strengthening our democratic process and for the sake of institution allsing parliamentary democracy in this poverty stricken and problem plagued country of ours, we hope all our poHti cal parties, especially the major ones like the AL and BNP, become forward looking, flexible and democratic In its workings. Let the AL take the lead In this.