Political culture: Bangladesh lags behind
Tuesday, 25 August 2009
Emdadul Haque
PRIME Minister Sheikh Hasina, who is also the president of ruling Awami League recently called upon the party leaders and activists to dedicate themselves to the service of the people remaining above all greed, inducement and political vengeance. She was speaking at the opening session of her party's 18th central council last month.
The new AL general secretary and Local Government and Rural Development (LGRD) Minister Syed Ashraful Islam told newsmen after party council: "We don't want to go back to previous politics. We don't want to see corruption, extortion, murder and anarchy in society in the name of politics… we need political support from all parties to bring about a social change."
Praising rival BNP leaders for attending AL council, Syed Ashraf said a time would come when AL leaders would address the BNP council and the BNP leaders would address the AL council.
He also said: "Political consensus is essential to bring about the desired social change. We failed to agree on different national issues such as the trial of war criminals. There should be national consensus for the welfare of the nation. I hope the platform of national consensus will get stronger in the coming days".
But how? The ruling party AL took no initiative to create a political or national consensus on vital issuers. Rather, the government removed the portrait of Ziaur Rahman from the Bangabandhu Stadium. Was it necessary at all to do that?
May be the previous government of BNP should not put the portrait of Zia there as that is the Bangabandhu stadium. But the AL did the worst by destroying the picture.
If over-enthusiastic junior leaders of the party did it, the senior leaders should have intervened to refrain them because it would affect the relations between the two major political parties.
The AL government also changed the name of the park 'Zia Uddyan' when it was in power in 1996. What was the wrong with that name? As Zia was laid to rest at the Chandrima Uddyan the name of that park can be Zia Uddyan.
The culture of changing names should stop forever to improve AL-BNP relations and help build sound political culture in the country.
The culture of the losing party not congratulating the winners, should go.
The national parliamentary elections held this year was the fairest one in Bangladesh.
Though landslide victory of AL raises eyebrows of some people, there should not be any doubt about its fairness as people cast their votes unhesitatingly in a free and independent manner.
The irregularities in voting centres were negligible.
Supporters of BNP took a U-turn due to massive campaign against alleged corruption by some leaders including Khaleda Zia's elder son Tareq Zia. Countrymen did not expect any wrongdoing by Tareq as his father's honesty and patriotism were highly appreciated by all. Price-hike of essentials also displeased the voters.
Many villagers, who used to vote BNP in our constituency, this year voted for AL. My eldest brother, a senior college teacher and a blind supporter of BNP, cast his vote for AL. This was a reason why BNP was defeated in the election.
The leaders try to hide their misdeeds saying that the caretaker government manipulated the election results which is not true at all.
In 2001, the army personnel beat the AL activists mercilessly in a number of constituencies. This year such incidents were noticed nowhere.
However, corruption allegations brought against Khaleda's younger son Coco also did not favour the BNP. Questions have, therefore, been raised on real or perceived grounds by the BNP supporters about such charges, on the eve of the election being purported to a deliberately influence the polling by the caretaker government.
The caretaker government without any logical grounds, indicted some leaders of both AL and BNP to banish politicians. Coming to power, AL has started to withdraw the cases against its own leaders. But there is no move to withdraw the cases against BNP leaders.
A major problem of politics is that the government leaders do not mean what they say.
They give high sounding directives in front of the media, which sound praiseworthy, but they are seldom implemented. Hasina advised party leaders to keep away from political vengeance.
Ashraf called for building a strong platform of national consensus in the coming days. The AL government has taken no move to change the political culture. There are hollow words.
Former student leader Shahajada Mohiuddin has served a legal notice on Khaleda Zia to end the confusion over her date of birth. KM Nazibullah, lawyer of Shahajada Mohiuddin, a former vice-president of Bangladesh Chhatra League in the notice said according to matriculation certificate, the date of birth of Khaleda is September 5, 1946.
But, the Press Information Department (PID) of the government in the life sketch of Khaleda after becoming the Prime Minister in 1991 mentioned that she was born on August 19, 1946.
According to the voter list, her date of birth is August 15, 1946, the notice said adding that the nation is totally confused with different dates of her date of birth.
As a two-time former prime minister, the nation must know her actual date of birth, as her new date of birth coincides with the day of murder of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, said the lawyer.
"It is presumed that Khaleda Zia celebrates August 15 as her birth day in a bid to undermine the solemnity of the day and encourage the killers of Bangabandhu and anti-liberation forces," the notice observed.
The petitioner demanded to know the actual date of her birth. Otherwise, he said, he would go for legal steps to free the nation from confusion.
The superior court of the country must take the issue seriously as there is no such evidence in any country where a former premier changed her date of birth three times and the last one seems to be intentional as the lawyer presumed that Khaleda fixed August 15 as her birth day to undermine the National Mourning Day.
The countrymen expect that AL and BNP would act logically for the welfare of the nation and to build a sound political culture in the country.
The writer can be reached at emdadulhaque28@yahoo.com
PRIME Minister Sheikh Hasina, who is also the president of ruling Awami League recently called upon the party leaders and activists to dedicate themselves to the service of the people remaining above all greed, inducement and political vengeance. She was speaking at the opening session of her party's 18th central council last month.
The new AL general secretary and Local Government and Rural Development (LGRD) Minister Syed Ashraful Islam told newsmen after party council: "We don't want to go back to previous politics. We don't want to see corruption, extortion, murder and anarchy in society in the name of politics… we need political support from all parties to bring about a social change."
Praising rival BNP leaders for attending AL council, Syed Ashraf said a time would come when AL leaders would address the BNP council and the BNP leaders would address the AL council.
He also said: "Political consensus is essential to bring about the desired social change. We failed to agree on different national issues such as the trial of war criminals. There should be national consensus for the welfare of the nation. I hope the platform of national consensus will get stronger in the coming days".
But how? The ruling party AL took no initiative to create a political or national consensus on vital issuers. Rather, the government removed the portrait of Ziaur Rahman from the Bangabandhu Stadium. Was it necessary at all to do that?
May be the previous government of BNP should not put the portrait of Zia there as that is the Bangabandhu stadium. But the AL did the worst by destroying the picture.
If over-enthusiastic junior leaders of the party did it, the senior leaders should have intervened to refrain them because it would affect the relations between the two major political parties.
The AL government also changed the name of the park 'Zia Uddyan' when it was in power in 1996. What was the wrong with that name? As Zia was laid to rest at the Chandrima Uddyan the name of that park can be Zia Uddyan.
The culture of changing names should stop forever to improve AL-BNP relations and help build sound political culture in the country.
The culture of the losing party not congratulating the winners, should go.
The national parliamentary elections held this year was the fairest one in Bangladesh.
Though landslide victory of AL raises eyebrows of some people, there should not be any doubt about its fairness as people cast their votes unhesitatingly in a free and independent manner.
The irregularities in voting centres were negligible.
Supporters of BNP took a U-turn due to massive campaign against alleged corruption by some leaders including Khaleda Zia's elder son Tareq Zia. Countrymen did not expect any wrongdoing by Tareq as his father's honesty and patriotism were highly appreciated by all. Price-hike of essentials also displeased the voters.
Many villagers, who used to vote BNP in our constituency, this year voted for AL. My eldest brother, a senior college teacher and a blind supporter of BNP, cast his vote for AL. This was a reason why BNP was defeated in the election.
The leaders try to hide their misdeeds saying that the caretaker government manipulated the election results which is not true at all.
In 2001, the army personnel beat the AL activists mercilessly in a number of constituencies. This year such incidents were noticed nowhere.
However, corruption allegations brought against Khaleda's younger son Coco also did not favour the BNP. Questions have, therefore, been raised on real or perceived grounds by the BNP supporters about such charges, on the eve of the election being purported to a deliberately influence the polling by the caretaker government.
The caretaker government without any logical grounds, indicted some leaders of both AL and BNP to banish politicians. Coming to power, AL has started to withdraw the cases against its own leaders. But there is no move to withdraw the cases against BNP leaders.
A major problem of politics is that the government leaders do not mean what they say.
They give high sounding directives in front of the media, which sound praiseworthy, but they are seldom implemented. Hasina advised party leaders to keep away from political vengeance.
Ashraf called for building a strong platform of national consensus in the coming days. The AL government has taken no move to change the political culture. There are hollow words.
Former student leader Shahajada Mohiuddin has served a legal notice on Khaleda Zia to end the confusion over her date of birth. KM Nazibullah, lawyer of Shahajada Mohiuddin, a former vice-president of Bangladesh Chhatra League in the notice said according to matriculation certificate, the date of birth of Khaleda is September 5, 1946.
But, the Press Information Department (PID) of the government in the life sketch of Khaleda after becoming the Prime Minister in 1991 mentioned that she was born on August 19, 1946.
According to the voter list, her date of birth is August 15, 1946, the notice said adding that the nation is totally confused with different dates of her date of birth.
As a two-time former prime minister, the nation must know her actual date of birth, as her new date of birth coincides with the day of murder of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, said the lawyer.
"It is presumed that Khaleda Zia celebrates August 15 as her birth day in a bid to undermine the solemnity of the day and encourage the killers of Bangabandhu and anti-liberation forces," the notice observed.
The petitioner demanded to know the actual date of her birth. Otherwise, he said, he would go for legal steps to free the nation from confusion.
The superior court of the country must take the issue seriously as there is no such evidence in any country where a former premier changed her date of birth three times and the last one seems to be intentional as the lawyer presumed that Khaleda fixed August 15 as her birth day to undermine the National Mourning Day.
The countrymen expect that AL and BNP would act logically for the welfare of the nation and to build a sound political culture in the country.
The writer can be reached at emdadulhaque28@yahoo.com