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INSIGHT

Can Political Hostilities be Transcended?

by Kabir U Ahmad
***The party in power and the party in opposition have to perform their roles in the Parliament constructively respecting some universally accepted norms and legislate for improving the lot of the people***
THE prevailing political tension between the government and the main opposition party seems to be degenerating into open confrontations. Last Tuesday’s events in Chittagong with five deaths and dozens of injuries to human beings as well as damages to private cars and other properUes following the BNP meeting provide a clear example of such street confrontations. Further, the statements Issued by the government and the opposition on the roles played by government and opposition activists in that meeting and the opposition's call for hartal on the day the government signs the proposed peace treaty with PCJSS (Parbattya Chattagram Jana Sanghati Samlty) indicates the hardening of attitudes of the two sides. All these are forebodings of a winter of street battles in the country with potentials of deaths and destnic-tlons of all kinds. The replay of the scenario of 1994-96 is Just beginning to unfold. What happens to the economy and the polity then?
Effects on the Economy and the Polity
One doesn't have to labour hard to imagine the consequences of political chaos on the economy. Overall, anarch) will prevail on the streets and highways as well as in the ports, the number of working days will shrink. producUon ol goods and services in Industries will decline, the rate of trading and commercial activlUes will slow down, the volume of exports and imports will be reduced. traders and industrialists will have to bear the costs of lost working days which might lead to closing down of some of the marginally profitable indus-
tries, the implementation ol Svernment projects will slow wn leading to low disburse meats of donors' committed aid. private entrepreneurs will either delay their investment decisions or withdraw their Investments totally to seek a better investment environment elsewhere, unemployment will Increase and GDP growth will slow down, may be with some lags.
Without pointing any finger to anybody, one is sad to see that the economy is being held as a hostage to the whims, obstinacy and stubbornness of the politicians. The latter characteristics .are not at all qualities of any rational mind; rather, these are signs of arrogance stemming from some sense of meaningless pride. It is unfortunate to see that the politicians seem to think that they have the right of owner ship of political power like the Stuart Kings of 14th- 16th century Scotland and England. All raliticians should realise how
Istory has assessed such rulers and kings
However, the effects on the polity of such regular periodic cycle of political violence Is a definite weakening of the system to the extent that It may destroy itself eventually It may sound like a strong state ment. But let some arguments be put forward in favour of this statement.
In the first place, people or the ordinary voters will lose faith in the democratic system altogether if such violence recurs regularly in the Intervals of every two-three years Loss of faith In the constructive role of politics and respect for the politicians is the greatest danger to the link between the ruler
and the ruled. Anything, like warlordlsm or anarchy In various areas of the country can develop. Further, since they observe that politicians, once voted to power, are interested only in holding on to power at all costs without fulfilling their pre-electoral pledges which marginalises them, then their pledges will have no value to them. Such behaviour undermines the entire political system.
In the second place, the parliamentarians are the law makers of the country and have to behave as such. The party In power and the party In opposition have to perform their roles in the Parliament constructively respecting some universally accepted norms and legislate for improving the lot of the people. They have to demonstrale humility, accountability and sense of responsibility to other parliamentarians as well as to the voters and cannot behave like some people with swords in their hands or with goons under their command. They have to realise that they are simply some competitors for the governmental power to represent the Interests of the people but certainly not enemies of each other Voters do not expect these
parliamentarians to be violent either In the Parliament or out of the Parliament.
Finally, there is a parliamentary decency both in lan guage and behaviour Similarly, there Is no room for unparliamentary language and Indecent behaviour in or outside the Parliament. Further, t lie re is no room for prolonged boycott of parliament since such a boycott goes against the members' duty of representing their voters Interests in the Parliament. To fulfil all these obligations and responsibilities. the party in power has to create an atmosphere of mutual trust and the party in opposition has the responsibility to critically evaluate what the government is doing for the sake of their voters’ Interests.
Any deviation from these basic norms of behaviour and responsibilities can make the Parliament as well as the politics as a whole Ineffectual, and hence redundant to the people. Who can blame the people then If they look for other alternatives to meet their own political and economic needs? Fratricidal forces may then develop in the society which can give birth to much more difficult problems.
Howto Transcend Such
Political Hostilities?
If politicians are so myopic that they do not. or do not want to. understand the long-term implications of their wrong, deviant, unparliamentary and extra-parliamentary behaviours, then the society has to go through upheavals and untold sufferings. Such behaviours of Pakistani politicians during the first quarter of the century of Its existence shows what happens to the society which they were supposed to serve and not "master over. Bengalis must not forget this lesson. In Bangladesh, there is now a need for making the politicians aware of such dire consequences of their present pattern of behaviour on the future of politics and economics of the country. All well-meaning patriotic people in any walk of lite should raise their voices against such extra-parliamentary behaviour of politicians. Whether this approach works or not. there is a need for changing laws to control the behaviour of politicians.
Laws should be passed making: (I) prolonged parliamentary boycott. (H) use of unparliamentary language and behaviour Inside or outside the
Parliament, (lii) hartal, (tv) stopping the operations of ports, railways and other major means of national transports. (v) strikes in government offices, educational institutions and hospitals and (vi) forcible closure of businesses and industries in support of hartals illegal. The administration should be'decentrallsed both horizontally and vertically by passing laws making: (i) the Election Commission. (11) Public Accounts and Audit Department; (ill) Bureau of Anti-Corruption. (ivj Bangladesh Bank, (v) Judiciary and (vl) Radio and Television totally autonomous.
Laws also should be enacted making the local governments (wfth tax-sharing and taxing authority schemes) autonomous. But all these bodies should be made accountable to the appropriate Parliamentary Select Committees at regular Intervals. Like in India, laws should also be made (1) requiring the political parties to hold elections every year or every two years to elect their office bearers and (ii) requiring the submissions of sources of party funds every year. These will ensure intra-party democracy of the political parties as well as public disclosures of the sources of party funds. Altogether. these measures will go a long way in establishing the roots of democracy In this country.