Reflections
Our mornings become reflective with the gift of the Daily Star. Such recent gifts included such items as those relating to people's euphoria over elections, activists' demands for rights and even cryptic comments on legalities of leadership. All these make one reflect on the trusting common voter.... the expectations of the activists ....and the logic of the cynics.
Activists' demand such as "Ensure Human Rights in 100 days " "Repeal Gender discrimination laws provision ", with judgmental predictions of "Bangladesh can hardly ensure rights!” are supposed to act as a pressure on the elected government to adhere to these oft repeated pleas, as the people have reasons to feel that a government voted to power with a popular mandate is expected to deliver justice and equity so long denied to the people of Bangladesh.
Views on elections also reflect cynical expressions that look at the process rather than the results. Prof Muzaffar wonders at the legality of the leadership of persons charged and convicted or bailed and awaiting judgement. This may also hold true of leaders convicted and released after serving their jail terms.
The SCBA lawyers have given assurances, with their claimed “legal expertise", that a person not convicted of crimes, but charged stands innocent until proved otherwise in a judicial process. “The presumption of innocence" also holds good for all those on parole or bail.
With special respect for Prof Muzaffar's courage and uprightness and his feeling for ethics of legality, one is sad to note that we live in a world where popularity overrides morality and jurisprudence.
We may wish to reflect on this with Ogden Nashian humour: “In the land of mules there are no rules”. Or in a compromising mood we may look at these legal queries, as not an uncommon quality of forgiveness in our world.
With reference to Zafar Sobhan's “Democracy 3.0 Straight Talk" in the Daily Star, he coaxes us to have "a little faith in Bangladeshi people" and asserts that "People do not want lousy candidates but if their choice is between lousy candidates and unelected govt they will take lousy candidates."
We agree with Sobhan's editorial forecast, "that perhaps this time around they will get what they deserve." That is indeed the evolutionary price we pay for a democratic system --- that, in full control of our voting rights, this time round "we deserve the leaders we elect."
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