Editorial
BNP reform proposals
Signs of change welcome
The 15-point proposal made public by the BNP reformists contains some forward-looking proposals. If it is for bringing more democratisation and dynamism within the party we welcome it. We welcome the move also because it demonstrates the awareness among many in the BNP leadership belonging to its upper echelons that considerable damage was done to democracy in Bangladesh due to the way the party was run. However, we cannot but notice a focus in the whole exercise that is leader-specific; to be exact the focus is on the chairman of the party. We feel that in the fitness of things the other leaders in the party hierarchy, in particular the secretary general, should also have been brought into consideration when issues like democratisation and collective decision-making are concerned. However, what the public is more interested in is the substance rather than personalities. We should remember also that no proposal is worth the effort if it cannot infuse dynamism in the party and cannot guarantee its implementation and durability. The proposal regarding disclosure of wealth needs rethinking too. Why should such disclosures be made to the party only? It should be made public too through the media. It stands to reason that the public must also know about the financial status of those aspiring MPs and other office bearers of a big political party who are seeking their vote or support. Keeping the information restricted within the party could mean having leverage on a minister, or MP or an office bearer. If the party has worked in the manner that it has done so far it has been due to no small degree to the inability of the leadership to impress on the chairperson to go by the norms of democracy. They should share the blame too. We are concerned by the fact that around the BNP secretary general during his press conference were some who appeared to be ingratiating when in fact it were they who had been for the past five years a party to the chairperson's autocratic conduct. Thus, while the secretary general has decided to probe the reasons of the party's debacle, who will constitute the probe body is very important. The chairperson is now advocating the role of the party's Council in taking the final decision on any reform proposal. For all we know, she had very little use for it in the last more than a decade. We have seen the expression of intent by the BNP reformists. We would like to see the overture taken to its logical conclusion -- a comprehensive reform of the BNP.
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