None spared the Constitution!
Saturday, 14 May 2011
The party in power today maintains that the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and its allies or others who ruled the country from mid-1975 to 1990, were responsible for the fifth, seventh and eighth amendments described by them as nefarious for governing the country unconstitutionally and for damaging the spirit of the Constitution.
But in all fairness, to put records straight; the ones who ruled the country since its coming into existence until mid-1975, too were not also free from attacking the basic character of the Constitution. For example, the Fourth Amendment amounted to an end of democracy. It paved the way for abolition of multi-party politics. It introduced a presidential form of government, and rule by one-party only. It forced the elected members of the first parliament to join the only national party within a time specified by the president to save their memberships. Earlier, the second amendment introduced a system for declaring emergency by the president leading to suspension of fundamental rights. This was utilsed by the then president to declare a state of emergency, which was lifted after long five years in November 1979. Thus, the people had not even their basic rights respected during the period. Therefore, the critics cannot maintain that the period before 1975 was more democratic and constitutional compared to the post-1975 period. Ironically, it was through a martial law proclamation that multi-party politics was reestablished. Although the highest court recently declared the Fifth Amendment containing mainly martial law regulations before and during the rule of two former presidents with their army background, as not having legal basis, the declaration also stated that the restoration of the multi-party system and the abolition of the one party state, were legally valid steps. Thus none can say that all truths are on one side only. Before going for constitutional amendments, all should search their souls and finally recognise that amending the Constitution from now on ought not to be prompted by partisan political interests, but motivated by a genuine well arrived consensus on the issues likely to positively benefit the nation on a lasting basis. Mainuddin Ahmed Wari, Dhaka
But in all fairness, to put records straight; the ones who ruled the country since its coming into existence until mid-1975, too were not also free from attacking the basic character of the Constitution. For example, the Fourth Amendment amounted to an end of democracy. It paved the way for abolition of multi-party politics. It introduced a presidential form of government, and rule by one-party only. It forced the elected members of the first parliament to join the only national party within a time specified by the president to save their memberships. Earlier, the second amendment introduced a system for declaring emergency by the president leading to suspension of fundamental rights. This was utilsed by the then president to declare a state of emergency, which was lifted after long five years in November 1979. Thus, the people had not even their basic rights respected during the period. Therefore, the critics cannot maintain that the period before 1975 was more democratic and constitutional compared to the post-1975 period. Ironically, it was through a martial law proclamation that multi-party politics was reestablished. Although the highest court recently declared the Fifth Amendment containing mainly martial law regulations before and during the rule of two former presidents with their army background, as not having legal basis, the declaration also stated that the restoration of the multi-party system and the abolition of the one party state, were legally valid steps. Thus none can say that all truths are on one side only. Before going for constitutional amendments, all should search their souls and finally recognise that amending the Constitution from now on ought not to be prompted by partisan political interests, but motivated by a genuine well arrived consensus on the issues likely to positively benefit the nation on a lasting basis. Mainuddin Ahmed Wari, Dhaka