You said it, we heard you. First on the series from guest bloggers, reader tacit sends in the following, if you want to send yours, you can send it to blog @ drishtipat dot org for consideration.

One of the conspicuous features of this CTG has been the amount of passion it arouses in most of the politically active (either in thought or in action) Bangladeshis around the world. This is understandable, in that, the self-declared mandate of this government is to make a lasting change to the culture of governance and politicking in our beloved country.

I believe that part of the reason people have been so much at loggerheads over this government is that it is not well-understood. Even by the normally opaque operating procedures of Bangladeshi administrations, this one has been full of surprises. However, on reflection, that may not be all that surprising, because this current CTG is similar to a scripted performance, a play if you will, in which the first and second act were performed without any observers. The third act, the one comprising the actions of the current CTG, is the first in public viewing, understandably leading to the difficulties in comprehension.

To elaborate, the first part of the play consisted of the various key players of today’s CTG assuming their positions. Some of the highlights in the first act? Setting aside Dr. Moniruzzaman Miah, whom Begum Zia had finalized to her cabinet colleagues a day earlier, Dr. Iajuddin Ahmed was picked as the next President of Bangladesh. Disregarding a note of dissent, then Major General Moin U. Ahmed was promoted to Lt. Gen and made Chief or Army Staff. Maj. Gen. Masududdin Chowdhury was given control of the strategic 9th division, ignoring his medical condition.

The second act was the CTG headed by Dr. Iajuddin Ahmed. A police administration that had been throttling all opposition street protests quite efficiently until October 27th, suddenly ceded control of some of the most major highways of Dhaka to Awami League stormtroopers. Private TV channles were at hand to display the images of burning, fighting and dying around the world, and the news and electronic media suddenly became saturated with predictions that we were headed to an abyss of chaos and calamity, which was the joint responsibility of the two former PMs of our country, and they were putting us through all this suffering and torment by design just to win the election again. Against all this darkness, Doctor Yunus’s Noble Prize seemed to be a benediction of magnitude unimaginable under the present circumstances, and an indication of all that was possible, all that we could achieve for ourselves and our countrymen, only if things were better. A lasting image from the second act, Dr. Yunus, in front of the Shongshod Bhaban, during his civic reception, flanked by Abdul Mannan Bhuiyan and Sadeq Hossain Khoka. A potent sign of things to come.

And now, the third act that has been playing out under our eyes, and the eyes of the world. The current CTG, with its new Advisors, and its illustrious Chief Advisors. An unmuzzled Army command. And the promise of change in the air.

Given all that we know now, let us try to decide what the CTG has achieved so far. Not rhetorics, nor suspicions, but cold hard facts. By how much has the productivity of the Chittagong Port increased? How many industrial workers have been laid off so far? How many primary schools have been closed, and how many new opened? What is the status of the process of the separation of the executive and the judiciary: have judicial magistrates been appointed yet?

So far, we’ve seen people arguing about the CTG’s motives and methods. I think if we can clarify the actual actions of the CTG, we’ll be able to discuss this matter much more rationally.

Thus, I suggest:

If you believe this CTG is our way to weed out the corruption of the last fifteen years, please list all the things that they have done to achieve this. And include a newspaper link to verify your claim.

OR

If you suggest this CTG is just paving the way for a military dictatorship ala Pakistan, please list all the steps they have taken to achieve this. For the sake of compare and contrast, you could iterate the steps that the CTG has promised to implement, and what they’ve actually done.

And please stand by for the fouth act.