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Government and politics

A.B.M.S. Zahur
SOME of us may not like too much government or too many politicians,..buLwe cannot do without government at all. Government does not exist for its own sake, but to help us achieve what we want from life. It does this in the following ways:
• Ensuring the security of the country by defending it against those who might attack it from without, and against those who might try to topple the government from within by violence or treachery.
• Maintaining order by preventing members of the community from harming one another or disturbing the peace.
• Providing justice through the law courts.
• Providing public works and essential services.
• Helping the poor, sick and
• Social welfare.
• Economic policy.
• Conservation and development. The ancient Greeks divided government into three forms -- monarchy, oligarchy and democracy. Each of these forms of government, where it * overrides* the rights, or ignores the good, of the governed, could turn into a tyranny. In modern times we see tyranny in the form of dictator-
All forms of government have one thing in common — they have authority. In democracy, this authority is based on the consent of the people, who can change the government by a majority vote in free elections. Democracy is possible only where the minority of citizens is willing to accept the rule of the majority, and the majority is prepared to respect the rights of the minority. These conditions, however, do not exist in many countries today.
A government makes laws, carries them put, and decides if they have been broken in particular cases. These functions are called legislative, executive and
judicial. The law-making body is the parliament, the executive is the government, and the system of law is called the judiciary.
I\vo other principles are basic . to democracy — those of equality and liberty. By equality we mean each human being has an equal right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Reformers were more successful in achieving legal equality than political equality. More recently, many have become concerned with economic equality.
Just as equality does not mean that all men are exactly alike, liberty does not mean that man can do exactly as he pleases. The freedom of an individual must always be limited to the extent that it does not interfere with the freedom and welfare of others. Just law and good governance, by restraining people from doing wrong, ensure their freedom to do what they believe to be right.
The right to vote is worth little unless a citizen is free to listen to,
and talk about, facts and ideas, and read and write about them in books, journals and newspapers, and attend meetings and join organisations. Freedom of speech, freedom of the press and freedom of association within the law are cherished political liberties.
Protection of the benefits of good government follows that each of us owes a debt and duty to the cohirnunity that the 'government represents. This is the responsibility of the citizens. It means more than obeying the law and paying our taxes, more even than exercising the democratic right to vote. It means using our liberties wisely and well, defending them when need be, respecting the rights of our fellowmen, and seeking the good of all above selfish and sectional interests.
Bangladesh is a democratic country. Despite maiming, particularly by Ziaur Rahman and Hussain Mohammad Ershad, its constitution has not totally lost its democratic spirit. The preamble of the constitution states: "It shall be the fundamental aim of the state to realise through the democratic process a socialist society free from exploitation, in which the rule of law, fundamental human rights and freedom, and
equity and justice -- political, economic and social -- will be secured for all citizen." A majority of our people can change the government by majority vote in a free election because, in this form of government, authority is based on the consent of the people.
In short, the following factors appear to be critical for the lack of success in attaining the objectives of our constitution during the last 36 years:
• Too much preoccupation of the government with rehabilitation and reconstruction work relating to the war damaged economy (1972-75);
• Military coups, counter-coups, and military dictatorships (1975-90);
• Inexperience and lack of proper political background of heads of governments and their advisers, who were more attentive to their political careers and less interested in the political, economic and social development of the people (1990-2006);
• Thriving corruption during the last 36 years; and
• Failure to make the judiciary free from the executive.
The present CTG came into existence when the country was at the
verge of becoming a "failed" state. It has certainly done some wonderful work (commended both inside and outside the country), like making the judiciary independent, reorganising and strengthening the Election Commission, establishing the Regulatory Reforms Commission, turning the dysfunc-tional Anti- Cor r upt ion Commission into a powerful and effective Commission, etfc.'
We believe that CTG will offer us a free, fair and credible election by the end of the year. However, we are not sure what may happen if emergency is lifted completely. Can our people be free to listen to, and talk about, facts and ideas in journals and newspapers, and attend meetings to make voting a worthy exercise? If the voting is successful, other problems may arise.
How will the reformatory measures of the CTG be treated by the next elected government? Should proceedings against the war criminals start now? Should the power of the president be enhanced and the prime minister's reduced to bring balance? These are the questions to be looked into carefully to enable the next government to settle them.
A B. M. S. Zahur is a former joint secretary
***Democracy is possible only where the minority of citizens is willing to accept the rule of the majority, and the majority is prepared to respect the rights of the minority. These conditions, however, do not exist in many countries today.***