The New Nation - Internet Edition

We have all respects for foreign friends as our development partners and we seek strong friendship with them. But we should be careful about those who want to poke their nose into our domestic politics. At the same time we should understand the limitations of the foreign advisers even if their honesty of purpose is not questioned. Because we should take the responsibility to take correct decisions based on the objective situations obtaining in the country, with confidence and faith in our own judgment.

Many people believe that complexities and deadlock over the election scheduled to be held in early 2007 would not have been created had the foreign friends been less active. At that time too foreign diplomats held many indoor meetings with leaders of political parties. Why then, holding of the elections was not possible even after that?

If one looks back one would find that special envoy of the United Nations Craig Jenness who visited Bangladesh on the 1st of December 2006 did observe that political differences had made credible elections uncertain. The Election Commission should command the confidence of all parties. The UN envoy conveyed the world body's concern over the political conflict and the atmosphere for fair and credible election to political leaders, business people, representatives of the civil society and the Army Chief of Staff. He had also expressed deep shock over the violence on the street. Subsequently holding of unilateral elections with support of the armed forces was opposed.

Nobody would deny the fact that a dangerous situation was prevailing in the country at that time. All concerned believe that the country was heading towards a civil war.

Emergency was clamped. The constitutional process would have been obstructed had the caretaker government not been reconstituted with active support of the armed forces. The new government was given two years to make democracy sustainable. The new advisers reconstituted the Anti-Corruption Commission, and anti-corruption drive was launched under the leadership of the commission and the joint forces. The drive was so extensive that political leaders and owners of big businesses were nor spared.

The whole nation had support for political reforms. The political parties could not but accept the rationale of such reforms. Those who opined that reforms were not possible without taking all on board faced criticism, and such a line of thought was considered sign of weakness. What happened subsequently has not been clear to many. There was no talk of forming new party or creating divisions in parties. Reformists were becoming active in different parties. They are now facing adverse situations.

The people of the country are democracy-oriented. We firmly believe that the nation would not fail in its duty to fulfil their aspirations by consolidating democracy. Political leaders and workers must take correct lessons from their political mistakes and should welcome the new beginning of the journey to democracy. This has been the most earnest expectation. Though The Economist of London has commented that the people of Bangladesh are yet to know whether the political leaders have changed their mindset following the intervention by the armed forces.