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Political crisis: Statesmanship & wisdom required

S.M. Rashed Ahmed
PROF Yunus unequivocally spoke on the need for a peaceful election under a non-party, neutral government to defuse the looming political crisis. This is what we expect from our Nobel Laureate; to speak out loud and clear in the larger national interest. This is not the first time he has done so; one may recall that he along with Sir Fazle Abed spoke on the need for election under the Caretaker Government (CG) system following their meeting with former US secretary of state Hillary Clinton in Dhaka, so I do not understand the hue and cry raised in some quarters about Yunus' statement.
Mahfiiz Anam, with his characteristic candour, sent a powerful message to the PM and the leader of the majority party to display statesmanship and rise to the occasion to resolve the crisis. Ambassador Mozena has been a persistent advocate of the need to find a political resolution to the conflict through dialogue involving all the parties. The Chinese ambassador, EC and others have also stressed on the urgency for dialogue to end the crisis. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon made lengthy phone calls to the PM and the leader of the opposition in the wake of the deepening political crisis after the PM's inflexible stance on hold-ing of the national election under the present government. This, predictably, has been rejected outright by BNP and its allies.
To refresh our traditionally weak memory it may be recalled that the provision of the CG for holding general elections was incorporated through a constitutional amendment in response to the protracted political battles waged by the AL and its allies in the streets. The country had to pay a heavy price to get the CG system, which was termed by the AL as a model for others to follow, incorporated in the constitution.
There was alleged abuse of CG system during the last military-backed interim government, but what was required was to remove the loopholes in the system and not to throw away the baby with the bath water. This was what the Special Committee on Constitutional Amendment constituted by the parliament sought to do through the consensus recommendation for retaining the CG system for holding at least the next two general elections.
The PM turned down the recommendations of the Committee and decided to scrap the CG system, thereby precipitating one of the worst political crises in our history. Regrettably, none of the veteran AL leaders in the parliament, who were strongly in favour of the CG system, even put their note of dissent when the CG was scrapped. This underlines one of the fundamental flaws of our democracy and political culture.
Historical experience of the evolution of democracies shows that the collective wisdom of the people eventually prevails to sustain democracy and democratic ideals; it is Rouseau's General Will over the will of a brute majority.
Now is the time to right the wrong. As ordinary mortals we are all prone to making mistakes; the difference is that a wrong decision by a political leader entrusted to lead the nation, but refuses to make amends, could have unpredictable consequences for the nation.
We sincerely hope that the PM and the party in power will act with wisdom and statesmanship, rising above all narrow partisan considerations, and invite the leader of the opposition and the it's allies for a dialogue paving the way for a negotiated political resolution of the crisis. This is the demand of time and history.
The tragic developments in Muslim majority countries Egypt, Syria, Tunisia, Libya, Mali, etc have raised concerns of our friends and development partners of the possibility of Bangladesh sliding into an unpredictable cycle of violence, anarchy and uncertainty unless there is a peaceful resolution of the political deadlock through dialogue, paving the way for holding of a free, fair a credible national election.
Bangladesh is a model of a Muslim majority democratic society in transi-
tion, a multi-religious and multi-cultural tolerant state where there is no room for extremism, militancy and terrorism unless there is a total failure of governance. Instability and conflicts are exploited by extremists and by those who are opposed to open societies for their sinister agenda. Islam, other religions and democracy can beautifully coexist on the bedrock of our rich Bangladeshi culture of humanism, of compassion and love for art, music, poetry and aesthetic aspects of life.
There are formidable challenges awaiting the next government. They include, among others, a rethinking on current polity to ensure a functional democracy and development for transition from a least developed economy to a developed one. To achieve this we will need a clean and stable government with zero tolerance for corruption; rule of law, a strong economy, and purposeful diplomacy to maximise huge potential of our relations with India, China, USA, EU, OIC, ASEAN, Japan, Russia among others. We need a professional defense force to tackle manmade and natural disasters, ensure our security and to backup our diplomacy. We have to begin anew.
The writer is a former UN Regional Administrator, Kosovo. E-mail: rashed_ahmed2001@yahoo.com