Dear Chief Advisor:
In your first national address on August 25 of this year, you proclaimed, “The revolutionary students and masses have entrusted me with a great responsibility at a critical juncture of the nation. They aspire to build a new Bangladesh. In the struggle to turn this profound aspiration of the new generation into reality, I have joined them as a fellow comrade in the struggle.”
Your tone and talk to the Daily Star on November 11, 2024, a few months after the first national address, changed substantially when Mahfuz Anam asked: “You've said you would act according to the people's verdict.” In this historic moment when the entire nation looks up to your government for a better day, you say: “If all political parties decide today that reforms are not necessary and want elections, then who am I to carry out these reforms?”
You are who the people say you are: A reformer, a builder of a new Bangladesh. An election is not the people's first and foremost priority. If an election is given today without adequate reform, the people will not have a better future. They will vote the way they voted before, not to choose a better option but to choose a less dysfunctional and less corrupt one. That is not an option before the nation; that is an imposition.
Through the nationwide movement in July, the people gave you the verdict to build a “new Bangladesh.” In that struggle, 1600 people or more sacrificed their lives, and 26,000 received injuries in little over a month to achieve the national dream.
It would be best if you did not undermine the national aspiration. Bangladesh has suffered much during the last 53 years since independence: Many times, they struggled, and many times, they faced setbacks because the people in power betrayed them.
It is long overdue for this nation to find the path to freedom and self-rule.
Such a demand for an election comes only from politicians, not the suffering people who want to see a new system before an election is held to restore their trust and confidence.
Undoubtedly, the youth leadership represents the collective will of the people. They ousted the Hasina regime and appointed you for the nation-building responsibility.
Extraordinary difficult situations require extraordinary measures. This is indeed a difficult time. The institutions are dismantled, and the system is rotten to the core, with an entrenched and pervasive culture of rampant corruption, abuse of power, and endless impunity among the state apparatus.
A democratic culture has never developed in Bangladesh since independence, as all the political parties that came to power each contributed to the dysfunctional rule that went from bad to worse; finally, the Sheikh Hasina regime, taking it to a fascist level, completed the job of destroying the system.
The country is standing on a cliff of free fall if not rescued by reform and a better system that can gradually help clean up the old mindset and modus operandi. That is the only way for us to go forward; that is the only way the past will stop repeating itself so a better future evolves.
People from all walks of life joined the July movement instantaneously from every corner of Bangladesh when they saw the courage and determination of the young people to take bullets from a point-blank range from the ruthless police mercenaries of the fascist government, and they did not back off.
That kind of resolve and sacrifice come from our youth, which speaks volumes. They are the ones who can energize and revitalize with their fresh thoughts and fresh agenda to lead our nation ahead soon. They should be helped financially and otherwise and facilitated to become part and parcel of our political landscape.
The BNP has ruled Bangladesh three times before 2009. In 2001, they came to power with a two-thirds majority, an enormous power to make the changes that were badly needed to establish a functioning democracy. They failed the nation and went for maintaining the status quo so that their vested interest would be served.
Rampant corruption, the abuse of power, and dysfunctional rule made the way for 1/11 to take place, opening the gate for the AL to come to power with a two-thirds majority again.
Therefore, there is no scope for hesitation or self-doubt. You cannot absolve this historic responsibility by throwing the ball in the politicians’ court. History and this nation will blame you for the failure.
Understandably, enormous pressures come from vested interests at home and abroad. However, that is part of your job. If you succeed in this mission, the nation will succeed. You must not underestimate that fact.
Your interview with the Business Standard on November 18 differed from what you said a few days earlier, on November 11, to the Daily Star.
"Reforms are the long-term lifeblood of the nation. Reforms will give the nation, especially our youth, an opportunity to create a new world. Do not deprive the nation."
That statement reflects the aspiration of the people. Then, stand behind that aspiration.
Bangladesh desperately needs a multiparty system and cohesive politics to help sustain a functioning democracy and withstand vicious outside geopolitical pressures. An inclusive and consensus-building mechanism is the only alternative. The young generation's leadership is a positive force we desperately need today.
You further asserted in that interview, “We are only facilitators, not rulers.”
A facilitator is never a comrade in the struggle to rebuild a country from a state of devastation. Your government was not assigned to rule the country for long; your government was created to serve a higher purpose: Primarily to help establish a new system and mindset so that a new Bangladesh could emerge from that paradigm shift.
The nation needs a reformer at this critical time. This kind of opportunity seldom arises for a nation to make a radical move possible.
Bangladesh is going through a “primordial period” after turmoil, akin to a liberation war, civil war, or a massive insurgency that ousts the old, degraded system to establish people’s rule. This is a convoluted period when the people reject old rules and ways and want a change for a new beginning.
Such a change is extremely difficult, if not impossible, at any other time, especially by a political party in power. If the past is any reference, a political party's inherent conflicts of interest often stand in the way of the changes that fix a system to benefit the nation.
That is precisely why your non-political transitory government must perform this extraordinary operation for the nation in this hour of need. Self-doubt and timidity are unacceptable, as you have the people's seal of approval.
The young are a positive force. Even in the opposition, their presence will pressure the government and old political parties to get their derailed people to walk straight. Yes, there is a distinct possibility that some young leaders will be distracted and derailed as time progresses.
That is all the more reason why you must make substantial systemic changes, including drafting a new constitution based on sound principles such as a proportional representation (PR) electoral system, term limits, the nomination of a candidate should come from the constituency and not from the party, and the freedom of a representative (MP), term limits, election under a non-political caretaker government, etc -- all these features that are essential, in my view, to sustain a functioning democracy.
The system should ensure periodic elections for peaceful change of hands in power, proper checks and balances, proper separation and limitation of powers, and a decentralized federal system essential for compelling a government to remain transparent, accountable, and efficient in managing the country, all part and parcel of good governance.
A sound system and an effective rule of law will convince many future leaders and young politicians to abide by the law and reach their potential in a system rather than subverting it and going off track, ultimately creating a lose-lose scenario. Our present situation should help them understand the true causes and consequences that history is a testament to that pattern.
These fundamental changes and the establishment of a permanent framework of the republic, making it part of the basic structure of the constitution, are essential and correct steps.
However, they lack the experience and proper grooming to join the political arena. Your government and civil society should actively participate in that vital project to prepare them to acquire the leadership skills to lead Bangladesh in the near future.
Yes, a referendum will be cumbersome. However, in this rare moment in the nation's history, we need to take responsibility for legitimizing the changes and making them part of our permanent governance structure before an election is held to hand over power.
To achieve that, we must arrange for a referendum to validate the draft proposal of the Constitution. If the past is any reference, any other way may lead to trouble and derailment, which we have all witnessed for decades.
If what the nation needs is a bulldozing operation in this critical hour, so be a bulldozer. But exercise wisdom in decisions that need to be destroyed and eliminated, those that need to be rehabilitated and reclaimed, and those that need to be built and reinforced to be sustainable.
To reach the goals, you need the help of positive forces, especially the vast number of youth activists and would-be politicians. They changed the nation during the July uprising, and the changed country created an indomitable national aspiration.
The young generation between 16 and 34 will soon make up almost half of the population. It would not be wise to marginalize and undermine such potential. They are our hope and our future.
Ruby Amatulla is Executive Director of Muslims for Peace, Justice and Progressive and Women for Good Governance.
