Begum Zia's reform signals

BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia's readiness to drop the bad elements from her party and go for a dialogue with Awami League president Sheikh Hasina are steps which we welcome. Such moves will help inaugurate a fresh new democratic spirit in the country, one that we as citizens have for years been advocating. In fact, it has always been the desire of the people of Bangladesh that a productive and genuine democratic order be set in motion as a precondition for the overall development of the country. Within such a programme of democratic reawakening must be included a democratisation of the inner party working process, the right of independent thinking within the parties, indeed the right of party leaders and workers to voice dissent over issues they cannot morally agree with. In other words, for democracy to work, it is for the parties to ensure that freedom of thought characterises their own functioning.
The nation's expectations from the political parties, particularly the major ones, are really very simple and uncomplicated. They basically centre around the need for the political classes to ensure that Parliament functions independently and thereby reassures the country that it is the centre of all political and administrative action. This can be done through giving space to the opposition, for pluralism demands the presence of a strong opposition that will play its due role. Additionally, democracy underscores a vibrant working of the political party system as well as a constant upholding of the rights and interests of citizens. In this context, it must be made clear that the nation will certainly not accept a return to the mass arrests and the deaths from 'crossfires' that became a hallmark of the last political government, some aspects of which continue even today. Democracy implies a strong sense of tolerance for the views of the other side. Indeed, it was such a spirit that worked back in the days of the anti-Ershad movement in the early 1990s, when the major parties and alliances united around a common charter of aspirations, popularly known as the 19-point agreement involving the 15-party alliance, the seven-party combine and the Jamaat. The agreement envisaged a restoration of parliamentary democracy through ensuring rule of law and the fundamental rights of the people. The unfortunate failure of the politicians to work on it and in fact negate it has brought us to this sorry pass today. Eighteen years on, though, we suggest that the old charter be revived, with the necessary changes attuned to present-day requirements, in the greater interest of the nation.
A new culture of political accommodation, based on the principles of tolerance and cooperation, is called for. We are happy at Begum Zia's attitude. And we hope that there will be similar echoes, on a bigger scale, from the Awami League. The last nineteen months will, we hope, have been a learning experience for the politicians. The lessons learnt ought to be put to constructive use.