Photo : Messenger
The fall of General Ershad, the founder and Chairman of JP and other political governments of the past were hastened by the support of government servants, who, defying the service rules and regulations, took the street.
But surprisingly, this time no government servant came out and took the street in support of the QBCA. What are the plausible causes that barred them supporting a just cause? One of the major reasons is, perhaps, the political alignment with the regime that helped them making huge illegal acquisition, which made them extremely materialistic than true idealistic. However, a very poor segment of these organs is not surely the supportive to the tyrant. But their voice was not heard, their presence was not felt and they were almost diluted in the majority and they could make hardly any difference either.
But the movement gained impetus with participation of common people, including the military retirees. This is a great movement of the modern time and a lesson learnt for the autocrats and the tyrants that no degree of oppression or suppression can stop a just cause from its attainment, which are undertaken by the students/ youths and supported by the general mass.
The interim government shall make necessary reforms so that under no circumstance government employees support any particular regime rather should remain truly neutral as the servants of the republic.
Over the years, the political environment of the country has been polluted deliberately. The nation has experienced a very difficult time of over one and half a decade, an era of political terror within the framework of a political democracy. Induced by a heinous political ambition, the regime established a single- party monopoly, annihilating the oppositions and politicising all organs of the government from the grass root to the apex.
In that, illegal arresting and detaining political leaders, activists and people of difference of opinion, abducting, deportation, torturing and killings seemed to have known no bound. This has created a Frankensteins monster: a tyrant of the feudal kings, destroyed by the QBCA participated by mass people on 5 August, 2024.
Local government tiers at the grass root, e.g. the union and the upazila, the word members, UP Chairman and Upazila Chairman, nearly all are from the ruling party. In the districts and cities, the zila parishad, city corporations and municipalities, virtually all office bearers are from the same ruling party. At the national level, party-nominated MPs and the so-called independent MPs, all are designed to be elected from the same ruling regime, leaving no scope for the oppositions to be a part of the parliament and/ or government. The nominal opposition in the parliament, which popularly termed as domestic opposition, was a doll of the regime to give the parliament and the government a democratic label.
While the regime has succeeded in making a political environment free from opposition and apparently achieved a clear run, the general people did evaluate the autocrats thoroughly and overthrew the tyrant at an opportunity offered by the QBCA. Politics essentially needs decimalisation.
Partys student wing, youth wing, armed cadres and the mercenaries (helmet bahini) of the regime have dislodged all opposing student groups from the educational institutions, like Dhaka University and established a reign of political terror countrywide by forceful occupation all hostels, controlling all civil works, procurement, employment, and taking ransom from within campus, surroundings and nationwide.
No political program and/ or procession of the opposition could be organized as the regime used these bandits openly to suppress the opposition in presence and support of national police.
The nation has witnessed various forms of governance, including military rule, the 1/11 government, and the AL-BNP political government. Unfortunately, there has been little qualitative improvement in politics across successive regimes. Instead, all parties have contributed to the criminalization of politics to maintain power and suppress opposition.
This has led to the politicization of government institutions, constitutional bodies and a denial of citizens' rights, such as voting, freedom of speech, and right to assembly. The 15-year period of uninterrupted rule by the last regime, which was eventually overthrown with the support of the QBCA and the public, saw extreme levels of political autocracy.
Today, students and citizens are determined not to allow a return of such tyranny in any form. They are calling for fundamental changes in politics and democracy, advocating for a complete overhaul and timely reforms of the political parties and state machinery.
Under the dynamic leadership of Nobel Laureate Prof. Dr. Youns, the interim government is expected to undertake and complete these significant tasks. To succeed, the interim government should receive comprehensive popular support, irrespective of political affiliations.
However, as all reforms need ratification by the national parliament, the political parties must support the interim governments initiatives in this regard.Reforms of the followingsare essential to prevent never return of the autocracy before holding the general election:
Reforming the Constitution and the Parliament are incorporating necessary amendments and provisions to deter one- party monopoly or hegemony.
Reforming the Judiciary involving lower court, supreme court and supreme judicial council independent of political affiliation and dominance of Executive and Legislative branches. Reforming constitutional bodies like Election Commission and Anti-corruption Commission. Let reform all other government machineries to permeate non- partisan administration.
Establishing a non- partition National Council to meet national crises and exigencies under the provision of the Constitution. We should install national unity for creating a national consensus and no division or partition over national issues and interests.
The writer is a retired Brigadier General at Bangladesh Army.
Messenger/Disha
