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Dialogue and the road to democracy

M. Shoeb Chowdhury
FTER a bloody struggle that lasted for nine months Bangladesh became free in December, 1971. The language movement of 1952 and the mass upsurge in 1969 are important historical events that preceded the independence of the country. In the years immediately after independence there was instability, misrule and widespread corruption that retarded economic development. Democracy suffered a series of setbacks. Highly respected national leaders like Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and President Ziaur Rahman were assassinated, and military interventions brought disaster to Bangladesh. Military rule (direct and indirect) came to an end with the popular civil uprising towards the end of 1990. A government of professionals and technocrats ushered in a new era of democracy with the election of 1991.
The window of democracy was thrown open in 1991, but democracy remained vulnerable as the quality of leadership that assumed control of the government was well below the mark. The foundations of democracy remain weak because the leaders of the various political and socio-cultural movements remain excluded from positions of power. Their contribution was never properly evaluated by those who exercise authority in the country. Nepotism and parochialism became rampant, and young and promising leadership got detached from the policy making and development process.
More than 75% voters are aged below 45 years. But, this group, representing overwhelming majority of the population, remains insufficiently represented in the Parliament. As a result, modernisation and technological development have not taken place. The whole country sank into an abyss of corruption; fundamentalism and terrorism, leading the country towards instability. Many of the young people got derailed due to lack of foresighted political direction. Employment generation is a major failure in governance, which has driven many to crime and corruption.
The cradles in which leaders used to take birth are empty, especially student union election in the universities and colleges have not been held in a long time, which has resulted in shortage and crisis of leadership. Democracy became hostage at the hands of aged political leaders, most of whom took politics as a profession. They use indiscriminately violent and negative means of protest like strikes and "gheraos" (blockade), disrupting economic activities. Our peace loving people have been waiting for a long time to get rid of this situation, but they have not got that due to lack of proper leadership.
More than forty years have passed since the birth of our country. During this period one question has continued to haunt us: "Have we got the leadership we desired?" The quality of leadership in our country falls far short of 21“ century standards. There is a lack of agreement in the nomenclature of our nationality (Bengali or Bangladeshi).Our substandard politicians have driven the country towards a socio-economic disaster by involving our people in irrelevant disputes. We do not know how long they will go on pursuing meaningless objectives.
The government's relations with internationally renowned personalities of Bangladesh like Nobel Laureate Professor
Muhammad Yunus and Sir Fazle Hasan Abed have turned bitter. It is generally believed globally that Professor Muhammad Yunus is the pioneer of microcredit programmes and is accepted internationally an anti-poverty icon who has brought honour to Bangladesh.
Similarly, the activities of Brae under the leadership of Sir Fazle Hasan Abed in the implementation of programmes in rural Bangladesh (particularly in the education and health sectors) are appreciated all over the world. Brae is considered to be the world's biggest NGO. Both Yunus and Abed have raised the prestige of Bangladesh on the international stage. It is expected they may bring more honour to our country.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's special treatment to Yunus and Abed is perfectiy understandable. That the politicians of Bangladesh should be angry because of the honour shown to Yunus and Abed by Hillary Clinton is totally incomprehensible. We feel ashamed of the irresponsible and abusive remarks made by people from certain political quarters in Bangladesh, regarding both Hillary Clinton and Messrs Yunus and Abed.
I liked Hillary's remarks about Bangladesh and its young generation. Her wonderful presentation should inspire Bangladeshi youths to achieve their dream of success. She also put emphasis on dialogue and negotiations to solve the political crisis. She highlighted the geographical importance of Bangladesh and its moderate Muslim culture image will help in strengthening democracy.
Regarding the political unrest in Bangladesh, envoys of the European Union also expressed their opinion and their message is very much alarming for the economy of Bangladesh. They also put pressure on political parties to sit together for dialogue. In this situation, we can recall the quote of Nobel Peace Prize winner Dalai Lama: "War seems to be part of the history of humanity. As we look at the situation of our planet in the past, countries, regions and even villages were economically independent of one another. Under those circumstances, the destruction of our enemy might have been a victory for us. There was a relevance to violence and war. However, today we are so interdependent that the concept of war has become outdated. When we face problems or disagreements today, we have to arrive at solutions through dialogue. Dialogue is the only appropriate method."
The sound advice given by Hillary Clinton after consultations with Professor Yunus and Sir Fazle Hasan Abed should be taken seriously by the government. As suggested by her, the government and the opposition should sit down to resolve all political disputes (including election under neutral, non-party government) amicably through constructive dialogues. In this regard the initiative should come from the government.
Finally, Bangladesh needs honest and effective leadership, not only in politics but also in business, education, media and administration, to resolve conflicts, alleviate poverty, empower women and the disadvantaged, and ensure good governance. When we can ensure this, we will have what Abraham Lincoln called "government of the people, by the people, for the people."
The writer is an Entrepreneur and General Secretary, International Institute of Business Analysis (IIBA), Bangladesh. E-mail:msc4u@live.com