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Beware of the original sin

Rubayat Khan
TWO days into a grand win for the Grand Alliance, Sheikh Hasina has made moves that have consolidated their sweeping victory. First was her better-than-ever performance at the first press conference, where she unequivocally made a promise even beyond her own election manifesto, that of offering the deputy speaker and some standing committee chairperson posts to the opposition party. She promised to count the opposition not by its numbers
but by the importance of its role in any democratic system.
While these should be easy for any party leader to say after winning a five-sixths majority in parliament, we should welcome it as something unprecedented in the recent history of Bangladesh, one exclusively of crude power struggle and petty partisan bickering.
Second was her mention of the trial of war criminals in the press conference (albeit forced) and in today's meeting with the UN envoys (completely voluntary). This is likely to win her a lot of praise and confi-
dence from all quarters that were involved with the social mobilisation for this cause, including the educated and culturally active middleclas^andtheyou^h.. _. . . .
Third was her earnest call to party activists and supporters to show restraint in proportion with the grandiosity of their victory. She asked them to show respect to the faith that had been heaped on them on December 29. There have still been scattered incidents reported from various places about AL cadres torturing and ousting BNP ones, but the degree has been fairly limited.
Also, given the fact that it is human instinct to avenge the injustice and oppression inflicted over one for a substantial period of time, it takes serious control over party members to stop this natural tendency to retaliate. It is unclear whether AL has ever enjoyed that degree of control. Nevertheless, her message, as well as the party leadership's goodwill, helped avoid this unfortunate but periodic phenomenon to a considerable extent.
If the first three days, even before being sworn into office, are any indication, AL has possibly learnt some lessons frqm the ..pqst.. In stark contrast,. QNP apparently has not, with its allegations of vote rigging even when all national/international media and observers vouched otherwise. All this is likely to increase the popularity of, and along with it expectations from, AL.
AL has a myriad of challenges at the national level as soon as it takes office, including price of essentials, corruption, etc., which are being talked about again and again. What I want to speak of has to do more with its inner evils.
First of all, AL must keep in control the siblings and children and other relatives of the 260 plus MPs that will now be belonging to the party in power. Sheikh Hasina herself has to make sure not to overlook any atrocity committed by any parliamentarian's relatives. It is widespread terrorism and hooliganism that cost AL the election of 2001 so direly. If
they don't learn from their mistake, they can rest assured of the same fate in 2013.
AL also has to make sure not to lose touch w^th reality. Having the paranoia that Hasina has regarding the past --which leads her to claim sweepingly that her 5-year term starting in 1996 was a "golden age" - is dangerous.
It means that when things start going wrong and criticisms start to flare, the Hasina government is prone to becoming defensive. In the past, AL has instituted Baksal as well as dreadful laws like Public Safety Act and Special Powers Act to curtail the freedom of media and citizens. It has to be careful not to tread even the sidewalk of that road this time.
It has to leam to take heat and keep the thermometer plugged in where it really matters — into the masses. Awami League has to engage in discussion with nonpartisan social activists, and listen to what the media (which has to remain free) says about their rule and misrule.
And finally, it has to learn to acknowl-
edge its mistakes, say sorry, and correct them at the first opportunity. And in order to do all this, Hasina has to surround herself not with sycophants }yho will npt only say what she wants to hear, but rather with bold and honest politicians who would speak the truth however harsh it may be.
But at the end of it all, there is hope. AL has produced a manifesto which, with all its limitations, is the most attractive charter to be produced by any major political party in the past 17 years of democracy. Also, this time before the elections, we have had an unprecedented amount of discussion regarding electoral promises from the major parties.
All of this creates a never-before-found opportunity. We — the civic and youth organisations - have the option now of keeping these goals in focus constantly throughout the next five years, and keeping the government accountable to its mandate.
Rubayat Khan is a founder member of Jagoree, a nonpartisan youth platform for political and policy analysis, activism, and advocacy.
***First of all, AL must keep in control the siblings and children and other relatives of the 260 plus MPs that will now be belonging to the party in power. Sheikh Hasina herself has to make sure not to overlook any atrocity committed by any parliamentarian's relatives. It is widespread terrorism and hooliganism that cost AL the election of 2001 so direly.****