Banner Advertiser

Monday, April 7, 2008

[mukto-mona] Article in the Financial Express

Dear Members,
 
An article in The Financial Express
 
Thanks for your time
 
 
Regards,
 
Ripan Kumar Biswas
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
 
 
    Home Page     Dhaka, Tuesday April 8 2008  
     
     
  Bangladeshi political parties, politicians and MPs need to reach consensus on issues
 

Ripan Kumar Biswas

ALTHOUGH Bangladesh started its political journey with parliamentary system right after independence, it was abandoned and replaced by one party system early in 1975. In late 1990, autocratic rule was ultimately defeated by a popular uprising and a general election was held on February 27, 1991. A truly representative Jatiya Sangsad (JS), thus, came into being. To fulfill the long cherished democratic polity, the JS amended the constitution. Parliamentary system of government was restored following the 12th amendment to the Constitution,.

That was the first and last time the country experienced a remarkable positive unity among the lawmakers and politicians in Bangladesh. Though parliamentary elections were hotly contested, parliament did not function as an effective institution to ensure accountability. Regardless of which party was in power, the main opposition party boycotted most of the parliamentary sessions, in this or that pretext.

But the lawmakers from different political parties are now united in defense of material gains like those to "NAM" flats, while they could not reach consensus on national issues during the last 15 years. A number of lawmakers of Awami League, BNP and Jatiya Party of the eighth parliament came together to resist a government move to get the NAM Bhaban flats allocated to them vacated.

The present military-backed interim government directed the housing and public works ministry to initiate steps to cancel allotments of NAM flats to former lawmakers. The former lawmakers described the government move as not legal.

Very few can figure out who is right, the government or the ex-lawmakers. The people are not, of course, against any decision that was passed by parliament. But everyone has a question, why the lawmakers or politicians didn't show their unity in order to be able to continue with the system of a representative government, so that an unelected one could not remain in charge for so long. According to Bangladesh's unique electoral system, a caretaker government is entrusted to oversee the national parliamentary elections, which should under the related constitutional provisions, held within ninety days of dissolution of a parliament under the business-as usual scenario.

The 2006-2007 Bangladeshi political crisis began after the term of BNP ended in October 2006 as the then opposition AL and its allies questioned the immediate past Chief Justice's neutrality and accused him of "being biased towards BNP". None of them was guided by national interest. They lacked the patience to find a way out. The result was political riots and non-holding of the general elections that were scheduled to be held on January 22, 2007. The state of emergency followed on January 11, 2007.

The Nobel laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus, came up with sweeping charges against the country's politicians. Politicians are not, of course, above criticism. But 'caustic' remarks cost Prof Yunus dearly. After all, all the governments in Bangladesh helped and backed Prof Yunus since the late 1970s.

At that time, Abdul Jalil and Mannan Bhuiyan, representing the two rival political parties, the AL and BNP, tried in vain to find out a common ground. A number of political leaders are now behind bars under corruption charges. A number of them have already been sentenced.

On October 1, 2001, Awami League (AL) leaders responded to their election defeat by announcing a boycott of parliament. They declared that the AL MPs would neither take oath nor attend parliament. When Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), was in the opposition, it too took a similar option.

If these lawmakers or politicians could reach a consensus the people wouldn't have to suffer the denial of freedom of movement, freedom of assembly, freedom of association, freedom of thought and conscience, freedom of speech, or freedom of profession and occupation. There is no parliament in the country for more than one and a half years.

Bangladesh is now experiencing high inflation rate. According to the Untied Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) reports, Bangladesh's inflation in 2007 stood at 7.2 per cent, which, by now, exceeded 10 per cent, making the market volatile. One of the major factors for this high inflation rate is political and market uncertainty.

Lawmakers of different political parties in India always speak in one voice when they talk about the Kashmir issue. The Bangladeshi lawmakers don't have any common ground to react positively on issues concerning the people, the state, or foreign affairs.

Of course, members of parliament are entitled to appropriate accommodations, perks, and benefits. But as they represent the people, they should look after the interests of the people.

Based in New York, the writer can be reached at ripan.biswas@yahoo.com

  
     
     
  
     
 
  Home | About Us | Contact Us | Editor's Panel | Web Mail | Feedback  
  
Today's Total Visit  2600
  

You rock. That's why Blockbuster's offering you one month of Blockbuster Total Access, No Cost. __._,_.___

*****************************************
Sign the Petition : Release the Arrested University Teachers Immediately : An Appeal to the Caretaker Government of Bangladesh

http://www.mukto-mona.com/human_rights/university_teachers_arrest.htm

*****************************************
Daily Star publishes an interview with Mukto-Mona
http://www.mukto-mona.com/news/daily_star/daily_star_MM.pdf

*****************************************

MM site is blocked in Islamic countries such as UAE. Members of those theocratic states, kindly use any proxy (such as http://proxy.org/) to access mukto-mona.

*****************************************
Mukto-Mona Celebrates 5th Anniversary
http://www.mukto-mona.com/Special_Event_/5_yrs_anniv/index.htm

*****************************************
Mukto-Mona Celebrates Earth Day:
http://www.mukto-mona.com/Special_Event_/Earth_day2006/index.htm

*****************************************
Kansat Uprising : A Special Page from Mukto-Mona 
http://www.mukto-mona.com/human_rights/kansat2006/members/


*****************************************
MM Project : Grand assembly of local freedom fighters at Raumari
http://www.mukto-mona.com/project/Roumari/freedom_fighters_union300306.htm

*****************************************
German Bangla Radio Interviews Mukto-Mona Members:
http://www.mukto-mona.com/Special_Event_/Darwin_day/german_radio/


Mukto-Mona Celebrates Darwin Day:

http://www.mukto-mona.com/Special_Event_/Darwin_day/index.htm

*****************************************

Some FAQ's about Mukto-Mona:

http://www.mukto-mona.com/new_site/mukto-mona/faq_mm.htm

****************************************************

VISIT MUKTO-MONA WEB-SITE : http://www.mukto-mona.com/

****************************************************

"I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it".
               -Beatrice Hall [pseudonym: S.G. Tallentyre], 190



Your email settings: Individual Email|Traditional
Change settings via the Web (Yahoo! ID required)
Change settings via email: Switch delivery to Daily Digest | Switch to Fully Featured
Visit Your Group | Yahoo! Groups Terms of Use | Unsubscribe

__,_._,___