Perspectives
Towards a greater purpose
Baggage from the past needs to be jettisoned.
AMID rumours and speculations for sometime past, Sheikh Hasina, the AL chief has been freed at long last after almost one year of incarceration following her indictment in an extortion case, the proceedings of which are still going on. Yet, what had been the mechanism that led to her unconditional but temporary release is not quite understood by this scribe, who has, however, felt immensely relieved at the thaw in the dialogue the government undertook recently to reach a broad understanding with the political stakeholders with regard to the ensuing election and the shape of things beyond it. The caretaker government's commitment, among other things, to ensure a credible election with the participation of all political parties bumped into a roadblock when the country's two major political parties refused to join either the dialogue or an election unless their top leaders were unconditionally released from their detention. It means an undoing of the government's scheme of things and priorities, which it understandably wants to avoid at this critical juncture when things are worsening with every passing day. The spiraling prices of essentials as well as the food crisis in the country have been exacerbated by similar increases in the prices of food and energy in the international market. As a bleak outlook persists in the country's economic sector, the interim government obviously wants to avoid a brush with the country's political forces and is waiting to transfer power to the next government. As a result, the caretaker government seems to have retreated from its rigid position held earlier so as to let the dialogue, and eventually the election also, to go unhindered, as also wanted by the international community, particularly the donor countries. This consideration, on the part of the authority, could have led to a change of heart in the higher echelon of policy makers. The medical board's recommendation for Hasina's treatment abroad came handy in this regard, for issuing an executive order for her release. Renewed cooperation between the government and the AL is already in the offing, as was witnessed in the latter's symbolic participation in the dialogue at Sudha Sadan and Sheikh Hasina's tele-talk with the chief adviser. All said and done, kudos to the team that produced the positive development through deft handling of the issue, and also cheers to the AL for its forward looking stance and for being able to evocate a sense of deja vu surrounding the whole episode. A lackadaisical BNP, torn by its intra-party rancour and wrangling, would be well advised to follow suit if, of course, a similar government gesture is also extended to it -- although the party deserves only comeuppance, not clemency. The nation has long been at war with itself, and it's high time to bury the hatchet. We would love to believe that a star-studded government like the present one is endowed with insight, enabling it to see where the nation bleeds and how to heal it. The time is, indeed, overdue to shift our focus to where our people are vulnerable, instead of squabbling among ourselves. The quicker we can settle down, the more expeditiously we can turn to our starving millions, whom hunger and poverty stare in the face. This is no time either for political experimentation or for getting bogged down in fresh controversies. Rather, it's time for moving ahead by jettisoning the baggage of the past.
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