Dipu Moni, foreign diplomats and self-esteem
FOREIGN Minister Dipu Moni makes a point. It is one that all journalists, especially those with a fascination for foreign diplomats based in Bangladesh, ought to take note of. No, there is nothing wrong, at least not much, with the diplomats. But there appears to be something grossly not right with a section of our journalists, who seem to have come upon the truth (and have held on to it firmly) that it is all right to seek foreigners' opinions on our domestic political circumstances.
Perhaps this conviction, if you can call it that, on the part of these media men, stems from a feeling that since it is governments abroad which sustain us through their aid and their advice, it is only natural that their representatives here will have a right to comment on Bangladesh's internal politics. Well, that feeling is wrong. It is not right that whenever a western diplomat emerges from a meeting with one of our political or administrative luminaries, he should be asked for his point of view on what we should be doing about changing our fate.
Obviously, of course, the unique nature of our politics does give foreign governments a handle to deal with us, sometimes even to browbeat us into submission. And you can be sure that behind all those closed-door meetings between an ambassador and some of our ministers, not much of cheering note is there. That happens to be because of the dynamics of global realities. Remember globalisation? Since that term came in (and some of us have accepted it rather happily), the world's poorer nations have not had a happy time. But let us not dwell on that now. There will be time later.
The point here, for us in the media, is that some of us tend to think that our poverty has pushed our self-esteem into a corner. Or that the poor are not entitled to self-esteem. That is plain wrong, but who will explain to these journalists (and they are all young people out to make an impression by any means) that there are certain norms you need to observe when peppering an individual, any individual, with questions? Where it is a matter of eliciting diplomats' opinions on our politics, there are and there have been many who have lost little opportunity to offer us their advice, often in a patent spirit of condescension. That is depressing, but then you remember that there are certain other diplomats (include here the present British high commissioner to Dhaka) who have properly and diligently stayed clear of making any comment on our political situation beyond what is acceptable in diplomatese. And you feel a trifle happy.
So, as we have said already, Dipu Moni has a point, a pretty good one. But what do we do when often it is our own politicians who give themselves and the country a bad name when they seem to be falling over one another in their bid to be seen in the company of a foreign diplomat? There have been western ambassadors here who have on various occasions invited some of our leading political figures to breakfast. And the result? All those politicians, early in the morning, have trooped down to those diplomatic residences to partake of the food there, indeed to be able to have an opportunity to proffer those diplomats their points of political views.
Now, the question here is simple: these political figures who seem to find nothing wrong in accepting the invitation to that breakfast have been ministers or are ministerial material. Why is it that they do not realise the blow they are giving their self-esteem through accepting that invitation? Besides, if a foreign ambassador wishes to share breakfast with local politicians, it ought to be for the latter to ask the former to come over to their homes for tea and biscuits and not the other way round. Ah, but who will make this point to these good men eager to have their views, or so they think, reach some important ears in distant spots like Washington or Ottawa?
Of course Dipu Moni is right. And, equally, there are others who are right as well about the way our ministers and other public figures should be dealing with not just foreign diplomats but with visiting foreign dignitaries. An entire question of protocol comes into the equation in such circumstances. A Bangladesh head of government visiting a western capital should make it a point not to feel thrilled meeting a deputy secretary of defence.
At the other end of the picture, an assistant secretary of state flying down from Washington to Dhaka should not expect to be granted an audience with Bangladesh's prime minister. There is the foreign secretary and there is the minister of state for foreign affairs (someone should take the spot left vacant at the Foreign Office when Hasan Mahmud was shifted to environment recently) to talk to him, protocol-wise.
We could go on with this discussion for hours. But we will not. Let us just say that we are deeply worried about our collective self-esteem. May we have it restored in our lives? Please?
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