Political Drift
The end of the Eid holiday season appears to be ushering in a new period of confrontation. The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and its allies in the opposition camp have chalked out a programme of action including boycott of the president's speech to parliament on Jan 25, abstention from JS business advisory committee meetings and a hartal on Jan 26. On the other hand, the ruling Awami League seems to be adopting a no-action policy, with no attempt to open a dialogue with the opposition. With both sides thus refusing to address each other's concerns, the political situation is drifting towards a point of no return.
The opposition is at pains to link their action programme with the four-point demand they floated earlier this month, but this lacks credibility because the 30-day "deadline" to meet these demands does not expire until Feb 3. Similarly, boycott of the president's JS speech makes little sense. The BNP says the president will only deliver the government's speech and not his own, but this can hardly be a "grievance". In any parliamentary democracy, the head of state delivers the government's speech to parliament and nobody else's. The opposition's decision to boycott meetings of the business advisory committee is plainly self-defeating, since this will only deprive the BNP of an opportunity to place subjects of its own choice on the agenda.
The government also appears to be doing its worst to vitiate the political atmosphere. True, it cannot address three of the opposition's four demands since they relate directly to the Election Commission (EC). However, it is vital that the government addresses the fourth point, which relates to opposition concerns over police actions against its leaders and workers. Lack of a dialogue has already given rise to mistrust between the two sides, and a wall now separates them. As the party in power, the AL carries a greater responsibility to ensure political stability in the country. Therefore, the onus to open a meaningful dialogue rests heavily on the government's shoulders.
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