Photo : Messenger
If we look at the reasons for the fall of the Hasina government, we will see the face of public desire. The first flaw of Hasina's government is that she was elected during the first period of her reign, from 2009 to 5 August 2024. The three elections in the following three terms were marred by irregularities. That's why people know that her government is an unelected government. In a republic like ours, the people can only claim ownership of the state through elections. If someone takes that away from them, the people have no choice but to overthrow the usurping government!
Hasina's usurper government made two statements to establish its legitimacy. It interpreted the 1971 war of liberation as being the work of a single party. This explanation is a half-truth, which is worse than a lie. The second statement is that of development. If we judge what the people have gained from this development, we see that they have gained nothing. The disparity in the distribution of income has not diminished, but increased.
Needless to say, Sheikh Hasina may have fled for her life, but she has done the greatest damage to the image of the Awami League and Bangabandhu. It is true that the country has seen many spectacular developments. But people have not accepted Hasina's talk of development. To criticise the economists a little in this respect. Disappointment and regret grew among the country's inhabitants, as they proved that their development criteria were wrong. More importantly, deprivation has increased. You only have to look at the unemployment rate to see this. You could say that the anti-discrimination movement began with unemployment.
Students succeed not because they have miraculous qualities, but because of their courage and vision. The Hasina government also understood the power of students. So it didn't hesitate to shoot them in the chest. Such shootings have drawn people into the movement in countries all over the world. There is only one lesson we learn from history, and that is that nobody learns from history. Before the elections, each political party must commit, through a pledge or manifesto, to respecting all the fundamental reforms that the interim government will implement. This commitment will be akin to a legal mandate. All the powers of the Constitution should be vested in the legislative power elected by the people.
The current constitution places the legislative branch in the fifth division. The executive department is placed in the fourth division. In this way, our Constitution has become executive-centric. At the beginning of the American Constitution, we find Congress, or the legislative branch, then the executive branch and finally the judicial branch. The legislative branch (Senate and House of Representatives) is more important than the presidential branch. We have not established the importance of the legislative branch here. First of all, the authority of the legislative power must be created. To achieve this, the members of the legislature must be genuinely elected. If a member commits a serious offence, provision must be made for the dismissal of judges, just as there are rules for dismissal.
Of the three branches of government, the legislative branch must come first. Thus, the leader of the majority party in the legislature will be the Prime Minister. The appointment of members of the judiciary or judges is not valid without the approval of the legislature. In the United States, no one can be appointed to the Supreme Court without the approval of Congress. Capitalism is most developed in the United States. We are not their equals and this is not the time to imitate them. But like a shadow, we are in fact following them in every case. Why shouldn't we?
Many people think it would be better to have a bicameral parliament rather than a single parliament. Many people think it would be better to balance the powers of the President and the Prime Minister. Many people think it would be better to divide the country into eight or nine provinces. None of these reforms is fundamental. They need to be applied to the wound. In fact, elections should be like elections. Citizens' rights must remain inviolable. Those who file false applications must be punished. Many people think that Bangladesh is a weak state and that it is not possible to protect its independence. I would say that if it is possible for us to make the country independent, it is not impossible to protect it. I also think it will be possible. We are in a hole, it's true. The monarchical tendency is there, it appears in hereditary form. Although no one claims to be establishing a monarchy in the mouth, that's exactly what they're doing in action. Sheikh Hasina has in fact established a monarchy. That is Sheikh Hasina's real crime. It will take many days, many years, to undo the damage Sheikh Hasina has done in one term. The current interim government is faced with a dilemma. It still does not know whether it will reform before or after the elections. We would say that it should trust the people. Without the support of the people, without the help of a large part of the army, the loss of life and bloodshed during the last student and popular movement would have been much greater.
In this situation, to save the country from anarchy and degradation, the interim government should clearly state how long it will take to reform. It is probably not advisable to undertake reforms that do not fall within its remit. For example, in the area of foreign relations. A popular mandate will be needed to decide whether or not Bangladesh joins the US-led quadrilateral military alliance. Moving away from the principle of non-alignment would be tantamount to terrible suicide in the case of a small country like Bangladesh.
This youth awakening is challenging traditional political parties and thinking in the country. They are breaking down all the old parties and doctrines and putting forward new political proposals. These young people are capable of overturning populism and authoritarianism. As state repression against them intensifies, they become more and more powerful. As a result, the fearless and uncompromising personalities of these young people are spreading around the world. The power structure directly linked to corruption, kleptocracy, has been used in almost every case by previous governments, particularly over the last sixteen years. But those discussing it today in Bangladesh have not paid attention. There is a power structure at the top of a political arrangement where those who support the system have to enjoy such "privileges" and everyone else has benefited. It wasn't just senior civil servants and law enforcement officials who suffered. What was important was to make it clear that these corruptions were gaining ground for the regime in power. But no one ever talks about it in the Queen of Fear.
We have to be careful not to describe the corruption of an individual in such a way as to give the impression that it has occurred without the knowledge of those in power and that it has no link with the overall system of governance; on the contrary, those in power are taking action against it. This is what those in power want because such an idea would legitimise kleptocracy. Remember that kleptocracy does not produce one or two corrupt people; in kleptocratic systems, the number of corrupt people is innumerable; if the system is not changed, this number will continue to increase.
The big question facing the nation is whether or not the autocratic system will be restored. How will this question be resolved? To implement the wishes of the people, the constitution must be rewritten. The will of the people is expressed through mass uprisings. Their desire is to free the country from dictatorship and establish a democratic system. To implement this will of the people, the constitution must be rewritten. For it is in this constitution that the power of individualist autocracy resides. Minor reforms to the constitution cannot prevent this personal tyranny. Once the Constitution was amended, the President was given enormous powers. Another amendment gave this power to the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister can hold four types of power simultaneously as leader of the party, leader of the parliamentary party and leader of parliament. This enormous power is unaccountable. This process has paved the way for an individualistic dictatorship. To prevent this process, the constitution should be rewritten on the basis of the 1971 Declaration of Independence. The positive points of the existing constitution can be rewritten to meet the people's desire for a mass uprising. There is now an opportunity to rebuild the state. This opportunity must be used. To do this, the current interim government should not be given a deadline.
However, whether they do the job of reconstruction properly or not, it must be observed. Because they were not elected, they have been tasked with fulfilling the wish of this coup by means of a mass uprising. It is also very important to ensure that citizens' rights are protected as part of the restructuring of the state and to create an environment in which the judiciary can operate independently. It is not reasonable that a government elected with only 32% of the popular vote should have the power to change the constitution. To stop this process, a bicameral parliament with seats allocated according to social class, could include these issues. The parliament's term of office could be extended to four years and bicameral elections could be held periodically every two years. It is necessary to put an end to the system of seats reserved for women and to introduce a system of direct election of women on the basis of seats. However, whatever type of restructuring and rewriting process is undertaken, it is very important to ensure the participation of political parties and the population at all levels. Democracy' is an ongoing process. Its advantage is that mistakes can be corrected, enriched and reinforced.
The writer is a Geneva-based private banking compliance security expert, columnist and poet.
Messenger/Fameema
