Editorial
Is Ashraf playing to the gallery?
Yet, the opposition needn't be so dismissive
Awami League General Secretary Syed Ashraful Islam's public utterance on Sunday about talks going on with opposition politicians at some level has left political and intellectual circles wondering whether there was some substance to his words or they were the usual playing to the gallery.
We would like to welcome his words, "we are ready to discuss" with the opposition on the polls time government.
But publicly saying that contacts are being made or talks are held 'secretly' is apt to give rise to misgivings in the public mind and is a sure way of scuttling whatever possibility there is for such talks. More importantly, if it is not being held, as BNP has clarified, it is bound to create suspicion in the political opponent's mind, as has been articulated by Khaleda Zia.
It is our view that Syed Ashraf has been rather flippant in his actions, which has given rise to questions about his sincerity and seriousness. When the whole nation is eagerly waiting for some breakthrough in the cloudy horizon of our politics, such flippancy is disappointing.
Opposition leader Khaleda Zia's initial denial of Ashraf's claim that talks have been going on with the opposition is understandable. At the same time, her position that any backstage contact or engagement is conspiratorial is naive.
In any working democracy around the world, it is a common practice with politicians to engage in behind the scenes parleys to settle political disputes.
On the whole, while we consider Ashraf's remarks as non-serious, we must also say that the opposition leader's dismissive remarks about Ashraf's words are misplaced at best and unhelpful at worst.
In the end, against the prevailing background of a stalemate over any talks on the form of government during election, we would like to see in the latest developments a fresh prospect for initiating a discussion. And the opposition would do well to take hold of this opportunity.
At the same time, we would also like to stress that the government and the ruling party must understand that no election will be acceptable to the opposition with they being in power. So while preparing for serious talks, AL must be ready to accept an arrangement where the crucial post of the PM during election must be a negotiated one and cannot be imposed. The opposition must also be open to all ideas, and not put pre-conditions to the talks, if at all held.
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