By The Numbers
Debating national Security Council
THE issue of formation of the National Security Council (NSC) has come to be a subject of public debate as the law adviser of the caretaker government (CTG) announced on March 20 the government's plan to form it. The NSC is to make decisions on security matters, "not only regarding law and order but also about other national crises like disasters and food security issues."
The law adviser said that the home ministry was asked to prepare the draft of the proposed NSC, and that its framework and jurisdiction have not yet been finalised. Headed by the president, the proposed NSC will have representatives from all stakeholder groups involved in state affairs including the prime minister, leader of the opposition in parliament and the three service chiefs.
A high-level government meeting, chaired by the chief adviser of the CTG, approved in principle the proposal for formation of the NSC for making recommendations to deal with any national security issues like law and order, disaster management and food security.
The CTG had also made a move to reconstitute the high-powered NSC to make it effective, in order to strengthen its crackdown on bigwig corrupt politicians and to ensure national security. But it could not proceed as the response from the public was missing.
The NSC is not a new concept in Bangladesh. An NSC was formed in 1985 during the regime of military autocrat H M Ershad, with some of his senior ministers and chiefs of the three services. But the NSC died a natural death soon as it failed to operate. After the fall of Ershad, BNP came to power in 1991 and formed an NSC in 1992, headed by the then Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia. Regrettably, it did not hold a single meeting during the tenure of the BNP government.
The Awami League government also formed a 24-member NSC on May 4, 1997, led by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, for taking decisions on national security and defense matters. The NSC was given the power of taking decisions or of directing the authorities concerned to take action and to make recommendations to the cabinet, if necessary.
The ministers of finance, foreign affairs, home, law, commerce, planning and information, the chiefs of the three services, principal secretary to the prime minister, cabinet secretary, principal staff officer of the armed forces division, directors general of SGFI, NSI and BDR, and the inspector general of police were other members of the NSC. But that NSC also did not have a single meeting.
The NSC exists in many countries including USA, Russia, Turkey, China, Iran, Indonesia, Pakistan and India. The NSC is the main forum for the US president for considering national security and foreign policy issues with his national security advisors and cabinet members. The vice-president, secretaries of state, defense and treasury, and assistant to the president for national security affairs are its regular members.
The NSC in Russia is a consultative body headed by the president. The important ministers and the heads of agencies for coordinating national security affairs are its members. The central military commission performs as the NSC in China, which is headed by the president.
The NSC formed, in 1961 is an advisory council in Turkey. It is headed by the president and the chief of the armed forces and key ministers are its members. The NSC in Iran was formed in 1979. Headed by the president, it is an apex body to oversee all national security matters in the country.
India formed its NSC in 1998 in the wake of the Kargil war, when the Vajpayee government had decided to go into a full-fledged war against Pakistan. The three-tiered NSC of India is comprised of the Strategic Policy Group, the National Security Advisory Board and the Secretariat. Besides the members of the National Security Advisory Board, the ministers of defense, home, external affairs and finance are the members of the NSC.
The case of Pakistan is a bit different from others in forming a NSC. It fought as many as three wars with India but did not go for forming a NSC. Though all the state power was concentrated in his hands, General Pervez Musharraf formed a 13-member NSC in 2004 to serve as a consultative body for the president on the matters of national security, defense and crisis management.
The NSC headed by the president, has the prime minister, the speaker and the leader of the opposition in the National Assembly, chief ministers of the provinces and the chiefs of the armed forces as its members.
The army chief has reasoned recently: "If India and Pakistan could form NSC, then why not in Bangladesh?" One tends to agree with him. We are really under compelling necessity of forming such an apex body like NSC to formulate policies on national security, to facilitate serious deliberation in crisis management, and to frustrate any grave lapse among the government functionaries.
But the people must not be kept in the dark about the rationale for formation of such a body, and the main features of it must be brought to the public domain. The political leaders are likely to be the last persons to accept it, as they apprehend the political government will be dictated by the NSC if it is formed without their active participation.
The speakers at a roundtable on March 29 expressed different opinions on the size and nature of functioning of the proposed NSC. A threadbare discussion with political leaders is required for deciding whether the NSC should have a consultative role or an executive role, as there is an apprehension that the military may like to have a dominant role in the NSC.
A commentary in The Daily Star by its editor Mahfuz Anam on March 12 raised a very pertinent question on formation of the NSC. It says: "Bluntly put, whatever thinking has gone behind the NSC idea has been behind closed doors. Nothing has been shared with the public, and that is where our biggest objection lies. Why a matter of such importance has been worked at in such a hidden manner?"
The CTG bears huge responsibility for formation of NSC, as there is no parliament for debating on it. Therefore, it should be debated among the politicians, constitutional experts and civil society members, especially those who are well informed about its implications. Widespread consultation among stakeholders is also a must to make the NSC acceptable to the next elected government.
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