Editorial
CA's interview
Government must fulfill its agenda
Chief Adviser Fakhruddin Ahmed has told the BBC emphatically that it is his government and not the nation's military which runs the country. One does not disagree with him here. Though many facts indicate things to the contrary, yet we will not pick any argument with him on this score. But we do feel it necessary to let the administration know that the degree of public support it enjoyed earlier has lately been weakening. That is one reason why the government must get its act together. The Chief Adviser has made clear his commitment to holding general elections before the end of the year 2008, a move that we have welcomed already. We will note here that already much time has been lost regarding the drawing up of concrete election plans. Without further loss of time, the government must briskly move into taking the necessary steps in this regard. The long delay in arriving at a decision on a voters list must now be replaced by quick action. A positive move has come from the army through its stated intention of assisting the process of a preparation of a voters list. Indeed, the interaction between an army team and Election Commission officials a few days ago on the issue is a good indication of how things might be speeded up in the electoral arena. Overall, the emerging picture is one of the country's moving cautiously towards a restoration of the democratic process. But, in a very real sense, for politics to get moving again, it is imperative that the reforms the government has set for itself actually get under way. It is now time for practical steps to be taken toward their fulfillment. Those steps are quite a few. As a beginning, the government must initiate, without much ado, a dialogue with the political parties in acknowledgement of the fact that they are the major stakeholders in any reform programme. Such a dialogue presupposes, however, a lifting of the ban imposed on indoor politics at the earliest. We have noted that the ban has quite prevented the Election Commission from establishing any link with the parties. Even if the ban cannot be lifted now, the government must find a way of reaching out to the political class. As for the authorities linking up with the parties, there is a crucial matter the administration must clarify in the larger national interest. It is basically the public perception, backed as it is by an observation of the reality, that restrictions have been thrown around the movements of Begum Khaleda Zia and Sheikh Hasina. The sooner the authorities satisfy public curiosity here, the better off will they be in their mission of cleansing politics of its many ailments.
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