The interim government appears to be on the back-foot. Bombarded as they have been by an overnight barrage of demands and ultimatums, they also have an unenviable basket of under-the-carpet issues to contend with.
There’s a growing impatience with an apparent lack of speed with which matters are progressing. Post-revolution or whatever term is described for the fall of the previous government, there will be a state of flux.
It doesn’t help that the law enforcing agencies are in a comatose state making it all the more difficult to take on market syndicates. Governance is not the forte of the well meaning government, a task made all the more difficult by an administration that was so blatantly politicized so as to not to want or be able to face the intricacies of a reform based stream. Removing the entire top tier and most of the second echelon of public servants comes with the risk of lack of experience and efficiency.
The alarming bit is the growing silence of the students that spearheaded the July uprising. Their demands for reform in all sectors is hitting the wall as it was destined to. Most reforms are interconnected and the government has initially picked up six sectors that in turn are being questioned as well they might be.
The big ticket items are the electoral process and the constitution. Opinions are differing but increasingly the need for a two layer governance form is emerging -- one for the daily running of the state, the other the more philosophical venture of reform.
Incredibly, the major political parties have a daytime nyctalopia view of self reform. None within BNP, Jatiya Party, or even Jamaat e Islami are saying anything about reforming their parties and policies so as to be truly democratic and people-centric. All they’re concerned about is elections with tweaks to the process and even the Constitution.
Even Awami League is choosing not to venture from a situation of stagnancy beyond running a negative campaign based mostly on exacerbation of issues that it created to begin with. For a party that has a major vote bank, it’s bewildering that they do not have the wherewithal to face realities based on their popularity with voters.
Essentially politicians and parties have failed the people. No matter how far back one goes in history political leaders and their goons have made merry with corruption and misdeeds. Everytime a government was replaced a list of misdeeds was revealed, action promised, and then very little done. It was akin to the innumerable inquiry commissions set up to probe accidents, fires, misdeeds that never published reports.
Where we stand now is that Awami League is responsible for all the mess the interim government has inherited. It’s a long time ago, but following the 2008 elections we were given to understand that it was BNP, in power then, responsible. Lots of juicy news about their corruption and no real steps taken. Prior to that was the Jatiya Party regime with late HM Ershad having a flurry of cases lodged against him and never tried during his lifetime. Perhaps an all party commission should get involved to call a spade a spade -- but that’s wishful thinking. It’s doubtful if these parties have the strength of character or the patriotism required to do so.
In some cases the doubling back of statements by advisers and top officials, before they became such, isn’t helping. The Bangladesh Bank governor had said he didn’t approve of bailing out troubled banks but has since made an exception along with a rise in interest rates.
Big and small businesses did well for themselves in toeing the previous government’s agenda. In return they were empowered with a stranglehold on the economy. One has been the continued exploitation of the consumers in essential goods.
Difficult decisions aren’t always popular, but have to be made. Such decisions must also weigh the consequences with back-up plans in place. For now the students are silent. If they remain so, their achievements might falter as has happened repeatedly in our history.
Mahmudur Rahman is a writer, columnist, broadcaster, and communications specialist.
