Govt approach to transition to democracy pragmatic: Adviser

---

WASHINGTON, Sept 20 (BSS): Commerce and Education Adviser Hossain Zillur Rahman today said the caretaker government has not shifted away from their goal of establishing a sustainable democracy through a free, fair and credible election before the end of 2008.
The government was only pursuing a pragmatic strategy keeping the goal intact, Zillur said while delivering a lecture on "Bangladesh: Transition to Democracy" at the prestigious Heritage Foundation in Washington DC.
At the same time, as a recourse to political transition, the authorities intensified the process of involving the people from all walks of life in the decision making and thereby ensuring good governance and accountability in public administration.
He, however, acknowledged that the government had to adjust their strategies with a view to facilitating the process of bridging the goals of political parties and the aspirations of the common people of Bangladesh.
The commerce and education adviser told the audience about the economic potential of Bangladesh as the country has been maintaining a healthy growth rate of over 6.0 per cent and narrated the reform initiatives undertaken by the government to tap into these economic opportunities.
During the question-answer session, Zillur said that by any measure today's Bangladesh was different from what it had been before 1/11.
Citing some examples of recent political incidents in Bangladesh, the commerce adviser said Bangladesh was not going back to the chaos that had led to promulgation of the state of emergency.
He also narrated government's ongoing initiatives for dialogue with the political parties and expressed the hope that a broader understanding could be reached so that the reform initiatives undertaken by the government could continue after the elections.
On a question on lifting emergency before the election, Hossain told the audience that the government was willing to relax the provisions of the emergency rule to the maximum extent in the interest of holding a free, fair and credible election.