Editorial
CA's interview with BBC
His attempt to clarify issues welcome
In a first ever question-answer session with any media since he took over as chief adviser to caretaker government Dr. Fakhruddin Ahmed elaborated to BBC Bangla Service on his government's position on wide-ranging national issues on Friday. Before we make our comments on his observations, however, we are somewhat constrained to ask why our leaders choose to speak to foreign media in the first place when they have important messages to deliver to the people. Most government leaders around the world would have preferred to give such an important and exhaustive interview to the local media with some international media representatives being present. Somehow our government leaders -- we had expected the CA to break the pattern -- had shown a proclivity towards speaking to the foreign media when the public hungered for listening to important leaders first hand and the local media would go all out to cater to such a pressing need. We saw the practice before and we are seeing it again. This we feel is not a very complimentary attitude to the local media, and it is time to change it.
Now coming to the chief adviser's answers to BBC questions, one finds a candid and sincere effort on his part to clarify various points that have cropped up into the eighth month of the interim government's rule. He didn't parry questions, rather faced them with circumspection and candidness.
He has dismissed the notion of dual government by asserting that army is assisting the civil government and that he didn't see any reflection of political role on the army's activities in curbing corruption, improving law and order and distributing flood relief.
He has admitted to some denial of fundamental rights in an emergency but dubbed it as a temporary measure for 'greater good of the country.' About having a national security council, he has adduced to its existence in neighbouring countries, which is to say, he has not ruled it out.
However, if the question of duality of power has crossed the public mind it has been due to the way the caretaker government (CTG) has functioned. We saw the CTG's total silence in matters dealing with Sheikh Hasina and Begum Khaleda Zia. On the whole, the CTG was usually found keeping mum on all political party matters.
If in the future the duality of power notion is to be removed then the CTG must lead from the front and be not seen to be reactive to some core issues that agitate the public mind.
In this vein, the performance of some of the advisers remains far from satisfactory in public perception. Some have been overbearing and garrulous some others proved to be confidence eroding by their near total absence from the public view. Most people don't have any idea what many of the advisers are doing.
Let there be no mistaking that we are fully with caretaker government as far as ensuring election by end-2008, if not before, goes. But there are areas even in regard to attaining this goal where progress is not satisfactory.
On the rising prices, blaming international market situation will only be partially credible what we need is getting our act together in striking a balance between demand and supply.
Finally, we welcome the chief adviser's recent trend to speak out in public. This has already had its good impact. We urge him to continue to do so.
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