It is time to fully use our potential

Today, thirty-five years later, I feel that time has come for all of us to assess the state of our nation, whose sovereignty was achieved through great sacrifice. Let us, through self-introspection, identify our areas of under-achievement, our true potential and what measures need to be undertaken towards a successful pro-active future.

Three and a half decades might nor be too long in the history of a nation. Yet, it is also not such a short span of time.

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We had pledged for ourselves after our tumultuous birth, a political and socio-economic matrix which we had hoped would create the necessary environment for our progress. The preamble of our Constitution, adopted on 4 November 1972, asserted certain high ideals and fundamental principles. It was hoped that these would guide us towards 'economic and social justice.'

We had also, in no uncertain terms, pledged the realisation of a society "free from exploitation -- a society in which the rule of law, fundamental human rights and freedom, equality and justice, political, economic and social, will be secured" for all our citizens.

I am celebrating the values associated with Victory Day, but I am also troubled as to whether we are moving towards the goal so enshrined in our Constitution. This has become especially pertinent as, being victorious is one thing, but consolidating our achievement through meaningful expression is another.

We have to remember that we have to be seen as being successful in all the significant areas related to the governance of Bangladesh as a State. This will include important factors like -- intensification of the democratic process, eradication of economic disparity and poverty, removal of corruption, observance of human rights and providing of equal opportunities.

I do not consider such aspirations being based on my naivete. They stem out of my conviction that we are a nation whose citizens are capable of achieving high thresholds. This is also based on past experience where through unity, we were able to overcome repression, genocide and injustice.

This month of December has given us several achievements to rejoice. The foremost among them has been the international recognition of Professor M. Yunus's philosophy regarding micro-credit financing. To this was added the feather of whitewashing Zimbabwe in cricket.

The other important measure was the publication of the wide-ranging report prepared by civil society with regard to possible reforms both in the electoral process and also in electoral governance. The Nagorik Forum deserve thanks for their broad-based recommendations prepared on the basis of 54 dialogues at the grassroots level held in 15 District Headquarters of Bangladesh. The Centre for Policy Dialogue patiently distilled the essence of the different discussions and prepared the Nagorik vision of how Bangladesh needs to move forward till 2021. They have identified some critical issues and pointed out how reforms in these areas can propel us forward and help us to achieve our full potential.

Unlike some armchair pundits in Bangladesh I am not pessimistic about out future. I will agree here with Professor Rahman Sobhan that areas of light punctuate the darkness around us.

I believe that the most difficult decision is to accept one's faults and shortcomings. However once these are recognised, we can move forward quickly and effectively. We can do so by facing up to them and removing them from the scene. This, in a manner of speaking is the first step towards eventual removal of poverty from our midst and the creation of stability and sustainable development. This is consistent with what Professor Yunus observed during his Nobel Prize acceptance speech delivered at Oslo, Norway. It must be understood in this context that lack of good governance and corruption leads to frustration, animosity, tension and anger which are all threats to peace for everyone within the country and also for others living around Bangladesh.

A careful assessment of our national performance clearly demonstrates that there is room for improvement and reform within the political system electoral laws, electoral codes of conduct and administrative governance. Such reforms have become vital so that we can graduate out of being a Least Developed Country to a Middle Income Country. There is no reason why we cannot be so.

The only way to do this is to take a comprehensive institutional approach. It will require consensus within different political parties and also within each party.

Our vibrant print media and our electronic media have been performing very well in sensitising and raising awareness about facets of governance that need attention. They are fulfilling an important task by doing so. Their role in this regard needs to be encouraged rather than criticised. Contrary to the views expressed by the leadership of the BNP Alliance, they are the true conscience keepers.

Quite often we have stimulating discussions on television where participants mention about erosion of values and entry of different factors that are tarnishing the electoral process. I am referring to this because we are presently passing through a phase that is supposed to result in a free and fair election acceptable to all. Such free ranging discussions are important. They enable us to discover our latent potential. It also facilitates the democratic approach where after discussion: both parties cannot only express their opinions but also, if necessary agree to disagree.

We must be able to grow respect for the opinion of others and also practice the principle of bipartisanship. This will require a feeling of esteem for the political party or parties in Opposition within the Parliament. It has to be appreciated in this context that the Leader of the Opposition is as important as the Leader of the House, for after all, the Leader of the Opposition may be the Leader of the House-in-waiting.

It would also follow from this that the Opposition would be given a fair share of time so that their opinions can be heard and understood both within the Parliament as well as in the Parliamentary Committees. Unfortunately, we have not witnessed this trend in the past Parliament. This in turn resulted in the absence of a large number of Members of Parliament from the Jatiyo Sanghsad and instability in the streets. This need not have happened. Forming a Government should not mean the total capture of State power and the denial of a participatory process that is the sine qua non of democratic polity.

We need an accountable and capable Administration so that we can carry out the projects essential for economic development and the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals. This will however not be possible unless we stop partisanship among civil servants. Politicisation breeds nepotism and affects efficiency and meritocracy. This aspect is particularly important because no other developing country is probably attempting such wide-ranging diverse avenues of development with such limited resources.

I now turn to certain other important areas where we need urgent attention -- an independent judiciary and an independent Election Commission, a functioning, financially autonomous Anti-Corruption Commission, a strong local government system, improvement in the free flow of information, further empowerment of women and the safeguarding of the interests of the minority groups amongst us. This process can be best assured through the separation of the judiciary from the executive, establishment of the long delayed national Human Rights Commission and the appointment of an Ombudsman. It would also be most useful for Bangladesh to sign and ratify the Anti-Corruption Convention of the United Nations.

It is indeed regrettable that all our political leaders talk about equity and equal opportunity and yet have refrained from implementing these basic and fundamental steps. The next elected government must address these issues with all seriousness.

We have today, most unnecessarily, slid down the path of political turmoil. Political parties, as well as all of us, have to be the engines of democracy. To this will be added our entrepreneurial spirit. Only these factors can help us to materialise the dream that so many of our martyrs saw during 1971.

Muhammad Zamir is a former Secretary and Ambassador who can be reached at mzamir @ dhaka.net.