Prospect not bright for consensus talks

The parliamentary special committee's move to forge a political consensus on constitutional amendments might not see the light of day as BNP is unlikely to sit with the committee and discuss possible changes to the country's charter.
Contacted by The Daily Star yesterday, some senior BNP leaders said they have serious reservations about the process of amending the constitution, and they are against sitting with the special committee.
"The special committee is illegal. So, there is no question of sitting with it," MK Anwar, a BNP national standing committee member, said questioning the procedure the committee is using.
He, however, said it is his personal opinion and the party will decide on receipt of invitation from the special committee for the talks.
Meanwhile, the special committee at a meeting with the premier yesterday decided to hold the talks on April 24, 25 and 26, two members of the committee told The Daily Star after the meeting.
They said the committee will allocate one day only for BNP-led opposition parties. Opposition Leader Khaleda Zia will be invited to join the talks along with three or four of her alliance's leaders.
The talks will kick off with a discussion with constitutional experts and eminent
jurists on April 24. The committee will allocate one day to sit with senior leaders of other political parties representing the current parliament, the committee members said.
"BNP has strong reservation about the way the government wants to amend the constitution. The government will have to ensure that the process is acceptable to all in order to ensure BNP's participation in it," BNP National Standing Committee Member Lt Gen (retd) Mahbubur Rahman said.
BNP's Standing Committee Member Nazrul Islam Khan, however, said "We don't know anything about such a move to hold dialogue. We will decide the next course of action after knowing the matter."
BNP did not nominate any of its MPs to the special committee when it was formed in July last year, questioning its legality.
Senior leaders of the party have been blasting the government for what they claimed was misleading the people in the name of amending the constitution.
The decision for holding the dialogue was taken on Tuesday when the parliamentary special committee on constitutional amendments met Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina for the first time.
Eminent citizens, however, appreciated the special committee's decision for holding the talks.
Welcoming the talks, eminent jurist Dr Kamal Hossain said, "First we have to see who will be invited and which experts, what will be the terms of reference, what time will be given and what will be discussed."
He suggested holding view-exchanging meetings with all stakeholders at district levels across the country, and listening to the people's voice.
Since it is a national dialogue, it has to be held in a transparent way with participation of all, he said.
When his attention was drawn to BNP's position, he said everybody should join to make the dialogue meaningful.
"The dialogue should be held in several sessions instead of one particular session," former adviser to a caretaker government Akbar Ali Khan said welcoming the talks.
He said the special committee should not only hold discussions before finalising its recommendations, it should also publish the final recommendations allowing the people to give opinions again, if any. The dialogue should also be arranged outside the capital, he added.
Welcoming the initiative, eminent jurist Shahdeen Malik said all the political parties should be invited to this dialogue.
He, however, observed that the dialogue will be more meaningful only if the committee prepares a draft of the proposed amendments first and circulates it for comments.
Akbar Ali Khan said the committee will have to show utmost sincerity about the dialogue so that it does not become just a ritual.
Talking to The Daily Star yesterday a special committee member said the committee members at the Tuesday's meeting with the premier proposed to convene a parliament session in the middle of May to amend the constitution.
Asked how a political consensus is possible if the main opposition BNP does not join the talks, the committee member said people will judge the opposition's role in this regard, and they will lose out.
On condition of anonymity, a BNP standing committee member told The Daily Star that they discussed on several occasions the prospect of an understanding with the government if the latter comes with a proposal in this regard.
"If the ruling party wants our cooperation to amend the constitution, the BNP will demand that the government constitutionally recognises Ziaur Rahman as the proclaimer of independence," the leader said.
But, he said, the ruling Awami League will never accept such a proposal and therefore possibility of a consensus is very slim. BNP may join the talks if it is given an assurance that some of its demands will be met, he added.
Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami and Bangladesh Jatiya Party, two other components of BNP-led alliance, will follow BNP in this regard as they did in the past regarding any parliamentary affairs.
Jamaat's Acting Secretary General ATM Azharul Islam said the special committee was not formed in accordance with the law. So they will not join the dialogue.
Joining such a dialogue is out of the question since it is a one-party committee with no participation of other parties, he added.