PM Hasina wants BNP in JS - But is she serious about her call?

Published in The Daily Independent, July 14, 2009

In her speech in the concluding segment of the budget session, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said something extremely significant for our troubled politics. She urged the opposition to join the Parliament to fight together the conspiracy she believes is being hatched against parliamentary democracy by extra-constitutional forces. She asked the BNP to play a positive role in the House by giving their opinion on various national issues and added that her government would accept their criticism both in the House and outside to strengthen democracy and resist conspiracy by extra constitutional forces at any cost.

The Prime Minister's encouraging words towards the BNP were delivered during her reaction to a report of the Transparency International, Bangladesh in which the TIB was critical about the quorum crisis and misuse of public money in Parliament. The Prime Minister had special words about the TI Chairman about whom she said that his weakness for unconstitutional government is well known as in the past, he served as a Minister in the unelected government of late President Ziaur Rahman.

The Prime Minister's strong words about the TIB were somewhat surprising, as this organisation has been carrying on such activities for quite some time now. Thanks to the TIB's work for its parent organisation Transparency International, we were placed four times in a row, once under the AL and three times under the BNP, as the most corrupt nation on Earth. The TI Report on corruption in Bangladesh was based primarily on reports in newspapers and the media that are often exaggerated. There were many who did not like an organisation of Bangladesh assisting a foreign organisation to give Bangladesh such a bad name, particularly where the reasons that sustain corruption among public servants in Bangladesh, namely unbelievably poor pay would breed the same level of corruption in any government. The TI report on corruption in Bangladesh did our image irreparable damage while serving no purpose at all in tackling corruption.

During the emergency, the role of TIB Chairman was controversial as he appeared in too many TV channels regularly to project the emergency rule as good for the country. He was also seen on TV and in newspaper pictures/reports as a special guest in the ceremony arranged for the release of a book written by the army chief who is now being accused by both sides of the political divide for a variety of serious misdeeds, including violating the constitution and aiding and abetting corruption.
Nevertheless, it has been very encouraging to see that TIB has pushed the PM to a position where she has seen the necessity of extending a hand to the opposition for the sake of democracy and parliamentary sovereignty in Bangladesh. Politically, this statement is the first positive one we have seen in our politics since the emergency ended with the December 29th elections. Sadly, this statement apart, politics in the country is not conducive enough to encourage the BNP to accept the Prime Minister's offer. There is a lot that would need to be done by the Awami League to bring the BNP to the parliament to tackle jointly the conspiracy against parliamentary democracy.

The ball is now in the Prime Minister's court. She should follow up on her offer to the BNP to join the Parliament by relenting on the stalemate over the issue of seating. She should look at her absolute majority and not at what the BNP did the last time to give the latter the extra seats they want. That will take the wind out of the sail of the BNP's negative stance for joining the Parliament. Former Speaker Jamiruddin Sircar's case is becoming a new issue to encourage the opposition to stay away from Parliament. The Parliamentary Committee has found evidence of misuse of funds. The recommendation to scrap the former Speaker of his seat for such allegation is however not within the jurisdiction of the Committee according to the Constitution. Article 66 of the Constitution that specifies the qualifications and disqualifications of a Member of Parliament does not provide for removal of the former Speaker on grounds recommended by the Committee. The Prime Minister must help find a way to deal with it in a way that does not place the treasury and the opposition on a fighting course that will only provide the opposition with further excuse to make the Parliament more dysfunctional.

The Prime Minister has also urged the BNP to play its role outside the parliament as a responsible opposition to criticise the government to make parliamentary democracy stronger. To make this offer meaningful, the Prime Minister must rein in her Ministers and political leaders in the Awami League against provoking the BNP as a habit. Motia Chowdhury's recent allegation that the BNP leader Moudud Ahmed is illegally occupying his residence of last 27 years is a case in point. If the latter is indeed illegally occupying the residence that Moudud has rejected vehemently, the issue is a matter of the law and not one that would fall within the jurisdiction of the Agriculture Minister's responsibilities. This sort of statement will only vitiate the political climate and make the Prime Minister's offer towards the BNP meaningless. Some of the other Ministers are regularly appearing before the media to blame the BNP and Jamaat for conspiracies against the government and in some cases, against Bangladesh. It is time that they follow the Prime Minister and seek support of the BNP to fight the conspiracy against parliamentary democracy.

During the emergency, the caretaker government pursued the AL and the BNP with vigour and vindictiveness; incarcerating both Sheikh Hasina and Khaleda Zia. Harsh treatment, in many instances violating human rights, was meted out to the senior leaders of both the parties. The present government has reviewed these cases and has recommended quashing a large number of these cases on the ground that these were politically motivated. Unfortunately, all the cases recommended for quashing are those of the AL leaders. This is surely a move that will create the differences between the two parties to strengthen their history of conflict and lack of trust. This move is also unfair and will not help achieve the cooperation that the PM now seeks for the sake of parliamentary democracy. She should now instruct the Home and Law Ministries to deal with the issue in a non-partisan manner.

Very recently, the Cabinet in principle has approved a draft law entitled "Father of the Nation's Family Members' Security Act 2009." According to the Agriculture Minister, the Prime Minister and her sister would be allocated houses under the law when enacted. While it is true that the sisters are extremely vulnerable from a security point of view and there is little to argue on the security recommended for them, the issue of allocating houses for them raises a few eyebrows because the government has decided to withdraw the house allotted to the BNP leader Khaleda Zia. If the government indeed allocates houses to the sisters, then it should withdraw the move to withdraw the house allocated to Khaleda Zia. Such a step will help create the conditions for bringing the BNP back to the Parliament without which parliamentary democracy will just not work, even if the conspiracy that the Prime Minister apprehends is not there.

In some of her recent political statements, the Prime Minister has given the nation the sense that she perceives correctly the direction in which the government should move for the sake of Bangladesh. The offer to the opposition to come to Parliament to fight the conspiracy against parliamentary democracy is a manifestation of this perception. She now needs to act positively on creating the conditions that would encourage the opposition to take up her offer.

Bangladesh's glorious war of independence was fought for establishment of democracy that cannot be achieved without the government and the opposition cooperating on a common agenda of development. It is not just for establishment of democracy; cooperation between the two is what is holding Bangladesh back from becoming a middle income country. It is also the best guarantee against extra-constitutional interference in our politics.

December 29th Election - A Watershed for Bangladesh

US Ambassador Moriarty, in a submission before the International Commisison for Religious Freedom in Washington, said that the next elections in Bangladesh will be a watershed. It could launch Bangladesh as “a model of a relatively prosperous Muslim majority country” or it could return to the “winner-take-all obstructionist politics of previous years”. He said the stakes of USA in the 29th December elections are enormous.

There is a great deal in Ambassador Moriarty's submission that both the mainstream parties of Bangladesh should focus on for the future of the country. In a part of his submission, the Ambassador said that Bangladesh's Islamic fundamentalism is largely home grown and that they have no known links to international terrorist groups, particularly, the dangerous Al Qaeda. He nevertheless warned that if the next elections lead to a breakdown in law and order, Bangladesh could become a breeding ground for terrorists and groups wishing to operate in South and Southeast Asia.

Bangladesh is now at such a point in its history where, given the right politics and political leadership, it could become a success story within a very short time with support of its development partners led by the USA. It had such a chance not too long ago but squandered that largely as a result of the failure of politics. In 2001, the BNP had come to power right after 9/11 when USA and her allies were seeking a Muslim country to show the world that Islam is not a religion of the terrorists; that a Muslim country can have a liberal democracy. Bangladesh was ideally placed to be that nation, given its history of communal harmony where Islam, under the influence of the Sufis, had influenced its people to a degree of communal tolerance that made it stand out among the nations of South Asia. Bangladesh lost that chance because of BNP's indulgence with the Islamist forces in the country. The rise of forces such as JMB and terrorists such as Bangla Bhai that the BNP Government tolerated till it was too late damaged Bangladesh's liberal traditions to such an extent that in 2005 on a visit to New Delhi, Condolizza Rice referred to Bangladesh “as the next Afghanistan”. The AL, on its part, went abroad with that indulgence, labeling the BNP as Taliban Government. Thus Bangladesh's rightful pride as the most tolerant part of South Asia was sacrificed at the altar of politics.

The election of Barak Obama as the next President of the United States could give Bangladesh a second chance to regain its position as a Muslim majority country with a working liberal democracy if it tries really hard. It is very important that Bangladesh does so. The President-elect has put into place a foreign affairs team that suggests very clearly that he intends to send a very strong message to the rest of the world that his administration would try and regain the confidence that was lost as a consequence of President Bush's foreign policy initiatives such as the right of pre-emptive strikes and “you are either with us or against us” attitude. The new administration is clearly set to make a paradigm shift in fighting the war on terrorism where it will encourage Muslim countries such as Bangladesh to contain the rise of Islamic terrorism in their countries by projecting Islam as a religion of peace.

To be on the right side of the new US administration, the two mainstream parties must first show that they are serious about establishing democracy by participating in the elections and then accepting its verdict. The Caretaker Government must also play its part by taking an impartial role so that neither the AL nor the BNP would have any reason to accuse it of interference. Once power is transferred, the government and the opposition must cooperate for the sake of the country, make parliament functional and withdraw totally from street agitation and 'hartals'. They could begin such cooperation with a bipartisan approach on the agenda of economic development and foreign affairs.

The issue of handling the Islamist forces in Bangladesh is important for two reasons. First, it is fundamental to establishing Bangladesh's undoubted liberal traditions as a Muslim majority country in order to increase and consolidate US stakes in Bangladesh, as hinted by Ambassador Moriarty. Second, as Islamic terrorists are cornered in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan, they would be attracted to Bangladesh in case politics here is ruled by conflict and agitation, with a government and opposition as loggerheads as they had been before 1/11. Unless Bangladesh wakes up to this prospect immediately, Rice's prediction about the country becoming the next Afghanistan could as well be prophetic.

Senator Obama's election is a historical phenomenon. There is hope everywhere that he would bring back sunshine to the troubled world after eight harsh winters under President Bush. Among so many positives that President-elect Obama has brought into politics, the one that is absolutely crucial for Bangladesh to take lesson from is the hand of friendship he has extended to his critics in the spirit of another American legend, President Abraham Lincoln who gave critical cabinet posts to his former critics and enemies by putting interest of his country first. Bangladesh is at a cross roads like US was under President Lincoln and now under President-elect Obama. Bangladesh's future would be assured if the BNP and the AL follows the example of Barak Obama in dealing with political opposition by putting the country foremost.

Bangladesh's Islamic basis must not be taken lightly. In fact it is the Islamic basis that gives the country hope that it could be as Ambassador Moriarty has predicted - a model of a relatively prosperous Muslim majority state for its Islamic basis has been influenced by liberal traditions of Sufism. Ignoring this Islamic basis or showing insensitivity towards it would help the cause of the Islamic fundamentalists. If the AL wins the elections, it should be careful that in dealing with Islamic fundamentalism, Islam is respected. If BNP wins, its task should be not to repeat the mistakes it made by the indulgence it gave to the Islamic forces while in power the last time. Both parties should take heed that US and Bangladesh can have a meaningful partnership if they help in moving Bangladesh “towards development, democracy and denial of space to terrorism” to quote from Ambassador Moriarty's submission.

The writer is a former Ambassador to Japan and Director, Centre for Foreign Affairs Studies.