Wrong moves at a wrong time

The Awami League (AL) is under mounting pressure from national and international forces to hold fresh elections in the country.
The Prime Minister said recently: 'Big powers' are conspiring against her government but 'the country is advancing by countering such plots'.  The Minister of State for Foreign Affairs said in parliament not long ago that foreign governments had withdrawn their objections on January 05 elections and were working with the government. One cannot help noticing the obvious contradiction in the two statements.
Ministers and AL party leaders have been dismissing and ridiculing the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) as a party of 'nincompoops' (stupid persons) to underline that they are firmly saddled in power until 2019. The Prime Minister's admission that big quarters are hatching plots and the never-ending chorus of ridicule of the BNP's call for movement nevertheless suggest that the Awami League is unsure about its hold on power. Its leaders are aware, their statements to the contrary notwithstanding, that the January 05 elections have tied around the neck of the government a major problem on the issue of legitimacy.
The contradictions in the statements of the PM and her colleagues on international pressure and the party's overkill with the BNP-bashing strategy are not the only issues that suggest a lack of comfort and confidence within the Awami League.  Its unsure state of mind is also borne out by its actions. Two actions are particularly relevant that indicate paranoia in the AL leadership with both the BNP threat of a movement and international pressure for fresh elections. One is the announcement of the National Broadcast Policy (BP) and the other is the move to give parliament the power to impeach judges of higher courts.
To take the last issue first, namely, empowering parliament to impeach the Supreme Court judges, the ruling party has stated that its intention is to reinstate the power that was given to parliament by the 1972 Constitution. The AL has further said that the decision would restore the sovereignty of parliament and as the people elect the legislature, the decision would also restore the sovereignty of the people. The AL has overlooked issues that are going to haunt it. First, the power of parliament to impeach the judges was taken away by the 4th or the BAKSAL amendment that was the decision of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
The timing of the move has also been palpably wrong. With 154 of the 300 members of parliament declared elected without a single vote cast and less than 10 per cent voting for the rest of the members -146 to be exact - the present parliament's credibility is in serious doubt. No one will accept that with such dark clouds hanging over it, this parliament deserves the right to impeach the judges.
The ministers and the AL leaders did not leave the public in any doubt about the intent the National Broadcasting Policy. The Prime Minister herself created serious doubts in the minds of the people about the government's intention because she repeatedly expressed her wrath at a section of the media for misleading the people about the government. She directed her anger particularly at the TV Talk Shows where criticisms about the government have been the severest.
The timing of the policy has been as wrong as has been its intentions. The country has been without a broadcasting policy. Therefore, there is no question that one is required.  It is also true that the media itself wanted such a policy.
Nevertheless, the contents of the policy, even by a casual reading, will reveal that the policy will empower the government to stop not just any criticism of the government but also any intentions. It will give the government the carte blanche to put a rope around the neck of the media organisations such as newspapers, TV stations, news agencies, etc. and make them dance to its tune in any manner it wants. The Prime Minister's good name has been compromised in the midst of wide public criticisms of the policy because it has been announced within days of her severest attack on the media and the Talk Shows.
The government's desire to take control of the Talk Shows has been visible even before the broadcasting policy was announced. The critics of the government have generally been reined in. Pro-government participants have been pitched against the few who are still around to criticise the government. However, their defence of the government ends up damaging the government's causes even further.
A government that is confident about its hold on power and has no doubts about its legitimacy would never come out with such a policy or move to quieten the judges. The broadcasting policy and the move to empower parliament to impeach the judges therefore suggest that the government is in deep trouble on legitimacy.
The writer is a retired                             career Ambassador. [email protected]