Editorial
Tac freezing on its tracks?
Commission has produced little as it is
THE High Court judgement declaring the formation and operation of the Truth and Accountability Commission illegal raises a number of questions about the caretaker government's drive against corruption. When Tac was formed, it was given out that because of the heavy load of cases being dealt with by the Anti-Corruption Commission, the Truth and Accountability Commission would be pitching in with help. And that would be by way of having people accused of graft confess to their crimes before the body, return their ill-gotten gains to the state and thus be eligible for pardon. At the time when the Tac idea was floated, misgivings were expressed about both its raison d'etre and its aims. It was pointed out that the commission was far removed from the concept that had gone into the making of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in post-apartheid South Africa because the latter involved unifying a racially and politically fractured nation. No such reality was at work in Bangladesh.
As for the aims of Tac, critics of the idea have long argued about the legality as well as morality behind the formation and working of the body. As some eminent legal experts have pointed out, Tac may have been seen as a body that ran parallel to the judiciary and was therefore in violation of constitutional provisions relating to the working of the higher judiciary. The general perception is that having Tac in place meant essentially two sets of laws at work, one that the courts could apply and another the new body had taken upon itself to operate. Whereas the Anti-Corruption Commission was engaged in identifying corrupt elements and trying to bring them to book, Tac seemed to be letting the corrupt off the hook once they had confessed to their sordid past.
We realise that there might be an appeal by the government before the Supreme Court on the HC judgement. Tac's fate rests on how the appeal turns out. It is to be noted, though, that in the months since Tac came into being, not many of those suspected of corruption have applied to it for leniency or forgiveness. And the few who have are individuals whose levels of corruption certainly do not match the heights reached by others. Such a reality perhaps had to do with the fact that those who confessed would be barred from participating in elections for several years. In effect, therefore, Tac was able only to touch a fringe of the corruption picture, if at all.
The fact that the HC has declared illegal all decisions made by Tac in these few months is a pointer to the legal complexities now confronting the anti-corruption campaign.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel.
Comments