Democracy, governance and security
Mustaqim Kazi is appreciative of the ideas a book throws up
The book under review Democracy, Governance and Security Reform: Bangladesh Context is in fact a compilation of papers presented at a workshop organized recently by Bangladesh Institute of International and Strategic Studies (BIISS) in collaboration with the Asia Pacific Center for Security Studies (APCSS), Honolulu, Hawaii. At the workshop five keynote papers were presented by five notable persons, viz., Begum Asma Siddiqua, ATM Amin, Abul Haseeb Khan, Mizanur Rahman Shelley and Mohd Aminul Karim. Besides these papers, the book also contains the address of President Iajuddin Ahmed, and important speeches of Colonel Abul Basher Imamuzzaman, Lieutenant General (retd) Ed. Smith, Ms Geeta Pasi, Mufleh R Osmany at the inaugural and concluding sessions. Highlights from the speeches of the main discussants on the keynote papers pointing out the merits and demerits of the papers are also included in the book. In Bangladesh, the very constitutional provision for a mid-term, non-partisan caretaker government suggests that something was wrong with the normal functioning of democracy in which an independent election commission holds general election even when an elected party is in power. But in Bangladesh a party or parties could never earn the trust of other parties because the opposing parties know for sure that the party or parties in power will manipulate the election in their favour. This mistrust among the parties has made Bangladesh politics confrontational rather than cooperative. Hence we have had weak parliaments of boycott and walkout, hartals and work stoppages. We never had a fruitful debating parliament participated in by the treasury and the opposition for a meaningful democracy. The leaders of one party know for sure that the leaders of the other party are corrupt. At least this system of government suggests that things are so. Then what is the solution to the problem, how to hold a neutral election? The answer surely is the caretaker government. And even though this system can be trusted to organise a fairly neutral election, it can never be a permanent solution to Bangladesh democracy. If it goes on, it will be remain a stigma for the nation rather than as a blessing. And why not? After holding three general elections for the third time, the caretaker government failed to hold a fourth time. The two major contenders in the election, the Awami League and the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, drew daggers against each other over, among others, the formation of the caretaker government with President Prof Iajuddin Ahmed, a BNP nominee, as its chief adviser. Mutual distrust reached such an extreme that it gave rise to a crisis of the magnitude of one/eleven when the nation was pushed to a virtual civil war. This crisis triggered the formation of a new caretaker government of a different nature, that has been ruling the country for about two years, rather than its usual time limit of three months, as the constitution stipulates. Well, this time the military did not come to handle affairs of state directly and openly. But such a negative political development has indeed created the scope for direct military rule of the kind this nation has witnessed in the past. Weaknesses on the part of political leaders have legitimized past military governments. The nation's political leaders may not agree, but it is true that their inability to guide the nation as well as their corrupt nature are mostly responsible for the sorry state of affairs in the political, social and economic domain. If these politicians have failed to learn lessons even after such a period of humiliation, when they were thrown behind bars by Dr Fakhruddin's caretaker government on corruption charges, the nation may yet face harder times ahead. However, it has to be mentioned here that on the conceptual or ideological side, the nation probably does not have a short supply. What it lacks most is the power of transforming those concepts and ideas into reality. The people here know that for a vibrant functional democracy, leaders should be people-oriented. The political leaders also profess to serve the people selflessly. But in practice they prove themselves to be lamentable failures. The people here know that actions of the leaders should be transparent and they have to be accountable to the state and people for their actions. The people here know that for an effective democracy, three things, viz. good governance, rule of law and freedom of press are essential. But in actuality it is seen that the powerful in society take the law in their own hands for their own selfish gain and gag the press, completely oblivious of the national interest. Their mindless corruption has made the country heavily dependent on foreign donors' money, creating a huge gap between the rich and the poor inside the nation. Hopefully, the drive of Dr. Fakhruddin Ahmed's caretaker government against the corrupt politicians and businessmen and some of the major institutional reforms including the separation of the judiciary from the executive as well as preparation of the voter list and national ID cards with photos are some of the achievements which will go a long way for establishing a corruption-free democratic society in Bangladesh. The nation now needs the necessary political will to continue the drive and make the institutional reforms meaningful through practising participatory and accountable politics. Ultimately, the future of democracy in Bangladesh lies in the hands of its politicians. The nation is truly in need of skilled and visionary political leaders who can transform these ideas into reality. Coming back to the book, the five papers viz. "Democracy and Rule of Law" by Begum Asma Siddiqua, "Civil and Military relationship: Bangladesh Perspective" by A T M Amin, "Emergence of NGOs, Civil Society and Democracy in Bangladesh" by Abul Haseeb Khan, "Role of Governance in Combating Corruption" by Mizanur Rahman Shelley and "Role of Security Forces in a Democracy" by Mohd Aminul Karim point out problems and suggest ways for establishing lasting democracy in Bangladesh. The articles are enlightening and intellectually stimulating. The idea that these papers, along with the speeches of the guests and views of the discussants of the workshop could be compiled into a book is notable.
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