[chottala.com] Changing Government Policy

 

Changing Govt. Policy :

By: Dilawar Hossain, Washington DC

Did you know Bangladesh is one of the most corrupt countries in the world, while happening to be one of the largest Muslim Countries?  On top of, our head of state constantly experiences innumerable challenges ranging from: violent Islamist groups to food and energy crises, poor infrastructure and a failing to improve human conditions.  These are obstacles which many developing countries must overcome in order to stimulate growth and progress.  When these problems are compounded by government produced actions like police brutality and crossfire killings, Bangladesh takes a big step backwards in its quest for political stability, economic freedom and all other socio-economic elements forming a peaceful society.

Having said that, do you think Bangladesh Government should continue managing the country, give up its power, or try something different?

I believe the best recourse for the Government is to bring down and ax all her advisors, dissolve cabinet, and engage with MPs to find something interesting for building sustainable civil society and Human Conditions Development as her next few years Governance.

Who is going the run the ministry?

Germany's win over Argentina proved more than just a mere victory.  Germany's victory displayed the power of management and teamwork over the power of individual talent, glitz and glamour.  Similarly, we should not appoint over qualified ministers who make empty promises.  Instead, our head of state must appoint administrators who can coach our government into working as a team: implementing policies, managing civil servants, and consistently meeting goals while applying government agenda.  Public administrators are critically important because they set job descriptions and assist in the transparent operation of public and development affairs. 

Lethal Force:  There is no doubt that lethal force is counter productive.  It may deter political outcomes, but definitely leads to civil unrest.

The Prime Minister who is the head of Bangladesh Government must turn the idea of changing the political culture into reality.  I believe its time for Bangladesh Prime Minister and her political parties invest time for establishing a sustainable political process.  The new political process would encompass a culture of transparency in the government for accountability aimed at restraining corruption.

Since December, the Prime minister and her Government has taken steps forward in curtailing Islamic extremism by cracking down on radical groups and emphasizing the democratic principles of the country's founding fathers.  I am positive that the PM is experiencing many constraints from other nations; and yet Washington remain firm in its commitment to Bangladesh – encouraging democratic trends and steady development of the country's economy.

Time and time again, we've seen martial law, witnessing our Army carrying out government affairs, while implementing corruption cleansing strategies.  Most Bangladeshis initially supported the Army's action as the only option to save the country from political disaster and a potential bloodbath.  In retrospect, the army appears to have failed - simply because they wanted to do so much in so little time with so little bureaucratic support.

Finally, the Army's political proposition started to question the validity of democracy and the legitimacy of popular sovereignty. 

Trust and Challenges:

The current GOB is inundated with trouble and innumerable challenges.  These challenges are well documented: Corruption, energy crisis, uncontrollable population boom, dangerously congested traffic, the infamous BDR Mutiny, and radical extremism.  Also contributing with abundance satellite television channels that preach more dogmatic forms of religion and the large number of Bangladeshi migrant workers returning home from Gulf States where they acquired different values.  Islamists have injected themselves into this environment of greater religious conservatism, adding components of activism and intolerance.

It is important for the GOB to act rationally, intelligently, not falling into the traps set by interest groups.  The recent looming question is to why the Government ordered a Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) attack inside the house of Mirza Abbas, a former mayor of Dhaka,  while use excessive force to men, woman and children including his family members?  For which neutral mind condemn such an excessive force. It is also a question when Government already swaps with trouble challenges and questioning excessive force on Mirza Abbas,   why again open another trouble front   arresting Jamatee leaders subsequent to the crisis of Mirza Abbas's house raid?

It seems clear Governments decision, falling in trap designed by special interests group. From which, we started seeing the world wide documented media coverage condemning this barbaric act on opposition crackdown. Local and international human rights organizations expressing concern about excessive force and 'crossfire' deaths or extra judicial killings in Bangladesh. We started to notice US State Department Human Rights Report on Bangladesh, talking about law enforcement officials were responsible for 154 deaths, 129 of which were attributed to 'crossfire', representing a 3 percent increase from the previous year.

The report went on saying that RAB accounted for 38 crossfire killings; members of the police were responsible for 63; combined security units consisting of the RAB and police were responsible for 25; while the army committed only three crossfire killings.

We trust Prime Minister and her party loyal ThinkTank considers abundaning lethal force and start to work on damage control and call for an independent commission on Mirza Abbas house raid and allow judicial system to act independently. At the same time, PM to go out with her localized MPs and consider restoring a sustainable civil society and human conditions development towards building trusts between the people and  parties for a prosperous Bangladesh in few years.

 

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