Thirty-three years later

This poor situation has been reflected once again through expressions of concern about Bangladesh in the European Parliament. This time the Government cannot blame the former Prime Minister for fomenting the comments. She was nowhere near Brussels.

This European institution, not only expressed concern over law and order in Bangladesh but also observed that police are unable to respond to criminal situations appropriately. It is understood that EU Commissioner Chris Patten also indicated that the human rights situation had weakened in our country. In this context, he also suggested an existing nexus between the police, criminals and certain politicians. References were also made to the growing disquiet in the Chittagong Hill Tracts, the lack of progress on separation of the judiciary from the executive and the failure to establish independent monitoring institutions like the Anti-Corruption Commission, the National Human Rights Commission and the Ombudsman.

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These are unfortunate charges. We have already been identified as the most corrupt country (according to the debatable corruption perception index) by Transparency International. Fresh aspersions from the European Parliament will not do our nation any credit. This will only reiterate that we are probably not trying enough.

I am writing this column with anguish in my heart. On any given day, one can open any Bangladeshi daily newspaper and discover several reports which reflect negative aspects of our character. As we traverse the thirty-third year of our liberation, one wonders whether we have moved forward or regressed as a civilized society.

Recently, we read about 27 alleged robbers having been lynched (beaten to death) in Noakhali chars. How can this happen in this day and age? There are indications that some of those killed were snatched away from police custody and then beaten to death. There is no excuse for this. The police are there for maintaining law and order and to assist the judicial process. We must all remember that implementation of legal measures and meting out of punishment can only be taken up by law and order agencies. We should not also overlook the fact that all are innocent till proven guilty. The District Administration has tried to explain away these killings by saying that the local people knew about their criminal activities. If that is so, the obligation for the Administration was even more. They should have pre-emptively and jointly taken such offenders into custody with the help of the police. Subsequently, the correct judicial process should have been undertaken. They have failed in their responsibilities. The image of Bangladesh has been tarnished.

Every morning, newspapers are replete with despatches of wives being burnt or disabled because the wife's family has been unable to meet dowry demands by the husband or his family. There are also reports of acid attacks on teenage girls and rapes of young women followed by murder.

This unsavoury brew also includes reports of deaths of political functionaries (due to inter-party rivalry), stories about businessmen being kidnapped, extortion followed by grisly killings, cheating in examinations, death in custody and land grabbing by powerful groups who have the support, direct or indirect, of politicians and law and order agencies.

Why should this happen? Is it because we have failed to create a proper process of governance or are we just losing our basic moral values? How is it that we can continue to have several rounds of government headed by women and yet be unable to ensure safety for women both within their households and in the streets? Many might take issue with me and say that different measures have been adopted to control such violence against women. True. However, the proof of the pudding lies in its eating.

In most areas of our lives, we seem to be guided today by false values and misplaced priorities. It is probably the malicious after-effects of cultural globalisation and erosion of morality that has affected our sensitivities. A case in point was the great ostentation with which Iftar parties were held again this year. It is indeed a national shame that thirty-three years after independence, we still find women clutching babies on street corners, begging for food and young children selling flowers and sweets instead of being in school. Who are we trying to fool? I am sure Allah would consider it more to His liking if we had less of these ostentatious Iftar parties and more charitable feeding schemes in our small towns and villages.

Time has come for us to do some serious thinking. How can any sane person spend Taka ten million on a car (whose latent abilities of performance and speed can never be properly enjoyed in the crowded streets of Dhaka) and not save half of that amount and donate it for purchasing four good kidney dialysis machines for a hospital? Are we really forgetting that a car is after all just a functional machine? It is good for our elite to put on first world pretensions, but they should not forget examples of first world habits like charity and equality of opportunity. It is a question of values.

However, I have great faith in our people. They have always, at every critical juncture made the right decision. We are a country which has a moderate blend in the psyche of its citizens. We have managed to survive against many odds. We are generally honest and hard-working. We are also God-fearing. We have a lot of resilience in our character. We enjoy music and art. We have many good things going our way.

There is no reason why we cannot overcome our flaws and succeed. We need to understand that each one of us in our own way is a patriot and a nationalist. Thank God, we have freedom of the press. We need to build on this.

What is needed is restoration of credibility of governance. It has to be understood that this is a poor country which deserves better from the people's representatives and its officials. It is they who have to show the way for others to follow. I do not like giving examples. However, one cannot but point to the way some of the politicians and officials live in developed countries and suggest that our representatives in the government adopt similar simple lifestyles. This will then encourage others. This will also reduce violation of law and order and substantially decrease nepotism and corruption.

Another welcome step to ensure better governance would be to restore confidence among the bureaucracy by removing political bias. Within the country, politicisation has generated its own dynamics with regard to appointments, promotion and also extension of service through contract. This factor has not spared even the judiciary. This is indeed unfortunate. Such an approach is only creating servility and destroying all chances of merit being recognised unless it is juxtaposed with the right political flavour of the year. This has already led to a sorry state in the maintenance of law and order. This slide can be stopped by reaffirming the rule of law and regulations and reducing the potential of 'suparish' by political godfathers.

An ocean of blood was shed to achieve our independence. Many lives have been lost since then to ensure a democratic process within our governance. We should not permit our collective sacrifice to go in vain.

Muhammad Zamir is a former Secretary and Ambassador.