Speakers have demanded an extensive constitutional amendment at a dialogue titled “Challenges and Actions for the Interim Government” organized by the CPD.
They said to uphold the objectives and achievements of the movement in Bangladesh, it is necessary to address the culture of impunity that has persisted for the past 15 years, alongside reforms in the constitution and laws for economic development.
The event was moderated by CPD Executive Director Dr Fahmida Khatun.
A minute's silence was observed in memory of the victims of the quota reform protest at the beginning of the event.
Dr Fahmida Khatun discussed how the interim government should structure its administration for short-term, medium-term, and long-term progress.
She said: “Deprived people from different sections of society joined the student movement. Now there should be a separate platform for student citizens to implement the main demand of the movement. Otherwise, the situation may become the same as before if another political party comes to power. Therefore, a platform has to be created for the students involved in the movement to maintain balance."
Badiul Alam Majumdar, secretary of Shushashoner Jonno Nagorik (Shujan), said: “An unprecedented incident triggered the students' protest, which is considered the second liberation of Bangladesh. However, this did not happen overnight; it was achieved with the cooperation of many.”
He further said: “So this interim government has to succeed, there is no alternative. Many reforms, such as the constitution and laws, need to be reformed. To do this, a civic consensus needs to be made so that even if this government can not fully implement it, the next government can continue without interruption. The culture of impunity must change.
“The first task of this government's first three months will be to fix the law and order situation. Its infrastructure needs to be reformed. Although law and order is a state force, in the past, it became a force of oppression as a partisan force. As a result, this law enforcement agency's entire structure collapsed after the former prime minister fled.”
“We now hear that many of them are reportedly in custody at the cantonment. It is necessary to publish the list of those in custody because we need to know who they are. If they have been arrested, they must be brought to court. The names of those in custody should be disclosed to ensure they cannot flee the country,” he added.
He said: “Crimes against humanity have occurred, and they need to be adjudicated. Over 700 people have been killed and thousands injured. These killings necessitate trials for criminal and crimes against humanity offences. Economic crimes must also be judged.
“Substantial amounts of money have been laundered from the country and must be prosecuted. Accurate and impartial investigations are necessary, and the guilty must be appropriately punished. To do this, the partisan forces need to be reformed into governmental forces, ensuring they serve the interests of no specific group.”
Questioning the appointment process of the Chief Justice, Badiul Alam Majumdar said the new chief justice could have been brought into the Supreme Court Division first and then appointed.
During this time, Nushrat Tabassum, protest coordinator, said: "Please do not create party cadre forces. We need a system that prevents the formation of any party cadre forces, those that become more powerful than the administration."
She also said all types of law enforcement, including the Navy, Air Force, and Army, need reforms, especially the intelligence agencies.
"When we were detained and taken away, we saw how corrupt the intelligence agencies were. We have learned about the ‘Aynaghor’. We need to find out how many such Aynaghors there are and who operated them.
“To stop corruption, partisan influence must be eliminated. Otherwise, it is not possible to reform any state infrastructure. The interim government is urged to activate systems and arrangements that prevent future governments from overturning these actions and include rules for accountability to the nation," she said.
Former finance secretary Muslim Chowdhury said: "We are discussing operational matters, but no one is discussing the Constitution. Nothing that has happened since August 5 has been in accordance with the constitution. Therefore, those involved in the movement need to work on whether we will follow the Constitution or work for its reform.
“It is not possible to amend the current constitution. It needs to be rewritten, and we must consider whether the constitution even exists."
Advising on constitutional reform, local government expert Dr Tofail Ahmed said that a commission will undertake the constitutional reform, and the subsequent government will approve it to avoid the repetition of the same incidents.
During this time, Mustafizur Rahman, a special fellow at the Center for Policy Dialogue (CPD), said: "A roadmap was created in 1990 through a political consensus. However, it was later destroyed, and aspirations were not fulfilled. The aspirations created by this student-led mass movement and the mentioned reform activities must establish a participatory democratic system."
"It is necessary for us to come together with the young generation to work on this. The government can not solve all problems; thus, efforts must ensure that the solutions persist and are not driven again. For this to happen, the presence of the students who initiated this uprising is essential."
Technology expert Fahim Masroor said: “In 2017, government officers and employees' salaries were doubled in one step, creating disparities among private workers and causing economic inequalities. The government sector had their salaries increased, but the private sector lacked the capacity to match this, leading to discomfort.
“This led to demands for reform of the quota system and sparked the students' movement. To eliminate this disparity, if necessary, the salaries of government employees should be reduced to equalize them with the private sector. During this time, he also advised on reforms in the banking system.”
Regarding the security of power supply, he said: “The current situation requires enhancing power security in Bangladesh because India meets 25% of our power demand. However, Adani's recent policy change and its announcement of power supply to its own country is a significant alert for us. We need to think about this issue now.”
