Democracy: Made in Bangladesh
The news speaks for itself. After reading the following, read the piece by Zafar as well. Our cautious optimism may still turn into despair based on some trends lately and what Zafar says in his piece.
Full text of the speech (courtesy bdnews24)
Bangladesh to have own brand of democracy, Army chief
Mon Apr 2, 2007 2:56 PM IST
DHAKA (Reuters) - Bangladesh’s army chief Moeen U Ahmed said on Monday the military-backed interim government would build a new brand of democracy to overcome the country’s chronic poor governance.
“We do not want to go back to an ‘elective democracy’ where corruption becomes all pervasive, governance suffers in terms of insecurity and violation of rights, and where political criminalisation threatens the very survival and integrity of the state,” Lt-Gen. Moeen said.
“My contention is that had corruption not been a persistent factor, the full economic potential of Bangladesh could have been realised at a much faster rate,” he told a regional conference of the International Political Science Association in Dhaka.
Bangladesh President Iajuddin Ahmed inaugurated the one-day conference.
“Had poor governance not been a conspicuous phenomenon in our democratic politics, the per capita income would not have stagnated to its current level of $482 but reached a more respectable $920 with every possibility of breaking the $1,000 barrier in the coming years,” Moeen said.
“I reckon Bangladesh will have to construct its own brand of democracy recognising its social, historical and cultural conditions with religion being one of several components of its national identity,” he said.
Bangladesh, now being ruled by an interim government headed by former central bank chief Fakhruddin Ahmed and strongly backed by the military, has been under a state of emergency since Jan. 11.
Because the emergency rules ban all political activities in the country, an election planned for Jan. 22 was also postponed, following weeks of political violence that killed 45 people and injured hundreds.
Fakhruddin has said no new election will be held until politics and government are rid of widespread corruption.
Security forces have detained more than 160 key political figures, including Tareque Rahman, son of former prime minister Begum Khaleda Zia, for extortion and misuse of power.
They all are likely to be tried by quick trial courts.
Khaleda, chief of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, ended her five-year term as premier in October.
She and her bitter rival Sheikh Hasina of the Awami League, also a former prime minister, are likely to face off in the next election again.
Gen. Moeen did not elaborate on the new brand of democracy. But he appeared to be sending a message to the political parties that there would be no election before political corruption is eliminated, or drastically curbed.
Last week, he said politicians had failed to give the country anything good in its 36 years after independence, while they indulged in endless corruption and misuse of power.