Now is time to form National Security Council: Mahbub
Saturday, 14 July 2007
A BNP (Bangladesh Nationalist Party) leader, Mahbubur Rahman, Friday said now is the time to set up a national security council, reports bdnews24.com.
"An initiative to form such a body will be a timely effort", Mahbub said, adding political parties including the BNP also advocated formation of the council.
Since the country is currently under a state of emergency and no elected government is in office, a security council could help in dealing with many big issues, he said.
The member of the policymaking BNP standing committee believed such a council can help resolve national crises.
Mahbub, a former army chief, supported the recent call of Army Chief Moeen U Ahmed that a national security council should be in place to safeguard the country's interest.
The retired general aired his views in a telephone interview with the news agency.
"Such a council is nothing new. During the Ershad regime in 1982, a national security council had been formed".
"It did exist during political governments too. But it remained ineffective for years. The size of the committee was also huge. There was no meeting of the council for years."
Mahbub said such a council would act just as an advisory body.
Asked if a council will be another government within the government, he said, "no".
"This council will only advise the government on the state security. The head of the state will head the body", he said.
He said the country's geo-political situation is very important in terms of its security.
"The security issue should not be taken so lightly. We have both plain and maritime borders. We must seriously take the matter of saving economic resources of the Bay of Bengal into account."
"India and Myanmar have already made their position clear to the United Nations (UN) on their maritime boundary."
"But we have failed to claim ours yet. We must make our position clear before the UN by 2010", he said.
Other issues such as food, power and energy security are also vital for the country, he said.
New threats, including rise of Islamist militancy, are also serious matters of concern, he said.
He feared a further rise of Islamist militancy despite hanging of some top militants.
"The root of militancy is still there. They are still doing their activities secretly. It can be a very serious threat to the country's security", he added.
"Also the security council can give advice on tackling any big natural disaster in the country."
Referring to the example of such councils in India, Pakistan, China, Thailand, Sri Lanka, the United States, the United Kingdom and Turkey, the BNP leader said they are contributing a lot to the nations' security matters.
In China, he said, the council is called Central Military Commission, and it is so strong that it can take any important decision.
About the size of the council, he said it does not need to have too many members.
Ministers of defence, finance, foreign affairs and home should be the members of the council along with the chiefs of three forces.
The head of the government will lead the council, he said.
To keep the council free of any narrow political intimidation, he proposed to include the Leader of the Opposition in the council.
"An initiative to form such a body will be a timely effort", Mahbub said, adding political parties including the BNP also advocated formation of the council.
Since the country is currently under a state of emergency and no elected government is in office, a security council could help in dealing with many big issues, he said.
The member of the policymaking BNP standing committee believed such a council can help resolve national crises.
Mahbub, a former army chief, supported the recent call of Army Chief Moeen U Ahmed that a national security council should be in place to safeguard the country's interest.
The retired general aired his views in a telephone interview with the news agency.
"Such a council is nothing new. During the Ershad regime in 1982, a national security council had been formed".
"It did exist during political governments too. But it remained ineffective for years. The size of the committee was also huge. There was no meeting of the council for years."
Mahbub said such a council would act just as an advisory body.
Asked if a council will be another government within the government, he said, "no".
"This council will only advise the government on the state security. The head of the state will head the body", he said.
He said the country's geo-political situation is very important in terms of its security.
"The security issue should not be taken so lightly. We have both plain and maritime borders. We must seriously take the matter of saving economic resources of the Bay of Bengal into account."
"India and Myanmar have already made their position clear to the United Nations (UN) on their maritime boundary."
"But we have failed to claim ours yet. We must make our position clear before the UN by 2010", he said.
Other issues such as food, power and energy security are also vital for the country, he said.
New threats, including rise of Islamist militancy, are also serious matters of concern, he said.
He feared a further rise of Islamist militancy despite hanging of some top militants.
"The root of militancy is still there. They are still doing their activities secretly. It can be a very serious threat to the country's security", he added.
"Also the security council can give advice on tackling any big natural disaster in the country."
Referring to the example of such councils in India, Pakistan, China, Thailand, Sri Lanka, the United States, the United Kingdom and Turkey, the BNP leader said they are contributing a lot to the nations' security matters.
In China, he said, the council is called Central Military Commission, and it is so strong that it can take any important decision.
About the size of the council, he said it does not need to have too many members.
Ministers of defence, finance, foreign affairs and home should be the members of the council along with the chiefs of three forces.
The head of the government will lead the council, he said.
To keep the council free of any narrow political intimidation, he proposed to include the Leader of the Opposition in the council.