Asian Angle | Bangladesh needs ‘structural’ change, but how will it get there?
As Bangladesh heads into elections next year, it must tread the challenge of political transition with more care and thoughtfulness
The brutality of an autocratic regime which tolerated little dissent gravely undermined its legitimacy. Its relentless kleptocracy exposed a capacity for private greed and theft that had no limits, turning it into a criminal state. The surrender of a proud nation’s sovereignty to a giant neighbour for its guarantee of an illicit political status quo ultimately proved untenable.
The historical predicament of Bangladesh stemmed from the frailties of the leaders who came to rule the country. The political system had become too corrosive to permit a democratic and accountable form of governance. The judiciary had lost its independence; the functions of government were reduced to fiat by sycophancy; and a powerful-take-all system rendered course correction impossible without systemic change. The need for “structural” change that can protect the best interests of a nation even if the rulers cannot be trusted is easily appreciated. The crucial question, however, is how does one get there?
Convening a Constituent Assembly where the voices of ordinary citizens could be heard to shape a future structure of democratic governance could have provided a logical path. Instead, a series of elite Reform Commissions, a set of bourgeois vanguard chosen without transparency, working in back rooms, became the vehicles for proposing the systemic changes deemed necessary for Bangladesh.
The previous regime had desecrated judicial independence and used the judiciary to accomplish its political objectives. The present government has not necessarily acted differently. Criminal cases lodged against political opponents of the previous regime – whether legitimate or fabricated – should have been resolved through appropriate due process. Instead, the old charges were vacated with the same predetermined expediency with which they were originally imposed.
Such disregard for due judicial process was amplified by Home Affairs Adviser Lieutenant General (retired) Jahangir Chowdhury when he instructed police on December 16 to arrest members of the previously ruling party (which has been essentially banned) “immediately on sight, without checking whether cases are filed against them”.
