–MIR MOSHARREF HOSSAIN PAKBIR–

Through some extraordinary events, a new interim government, led by Nobel laureate and a global icon Dr. Mohammad Yunus was formed in Bangladesh on August 8. The interim government was formed after a mass movement toppled the Sheikh Hasina-led Awami League government, which was in power for consecutively more than 15 years. The interim government is one of a kind due to its characteristics as along with eminent personalities, two coordinators of the students’ protests were also included as advisors. Such drastic change in the characteristics of the government of Bangladesh is raising a lot of hope for changes though it requires the people and all relevant stakeholders to support the new government to deliver on their promises.

The enormous task of uniting Bangladesh awaits Dr. Yunus as he takes the helm of a bitterly divided country in the aftermath of a deadly protest movement that ousted the Awami League government. The 84-year-old globally-acclaimed economist and social reformer took the oath to become the head of the interim government following the forced exit of longtime Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina amid widespread anger. The interim government consists of mostly apolitical personalities, including prominent academicians, former bureaucrats, lawyers, retired military personnel and student leaders who led the weeks-long protests against the previous regime.

Dr. Yunus was nominated to the position by the protesting students and endorsed by army chief Waker-uz-Zaman. He took an oath to uphold, support and protect the constitution. Dr. Yunus is one of the country’s most prominent figures due to his contribution to lifting millions of Bangladeshis out of poverty through his microfinancing initiative that won him the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006. His appointment has installed a sense of renewed optimism among the Bangladeshi people.

Bangladesh is country full of diversity while it is intensely fragmented over political affiliations. After the restoration of democracy in 1991, the people have lost its trust on the country’s judiciary, law enforcement and the overall system over the years. Hence, it will be a great challenge for the interim government to restore that trust among the people by reforming the system.

After taking oath, Dr. Yunus has been right on point till now in all his speeches and actions. He expressed his commitment to unite the nation and protect its democracy as well as secularity. During the last decade, Bangladesh has been criticized a lot for not ensuring freedom of expression as well as violation of human rights. Moreover, huge inequality was created in the society due to immense corruption in the system, which outsmarted the development of the period. The inflation and failure of the banking system created immense challenge for the nation’s economy as well. To bring the country back on track, Dr. Yunus sought the support of his fellow countrymen and rightly told that, without that support, he cannot bring the changes as he expressed his commitment to extend the benefits of the freedom to every home around the country.

As it was rightly pointed out by Dr. Yunus, the first challenge for the interim government is to restore law and order. Brigadier General (retd.) M Sakhawat Hossain was given the charge of the home ministry and he needs to utilize his vast experience to restore the rule of law very soon. An absence of law enforcement officials on the streets have seen people set up night patrols to protect their neighborhoods and the property of vulnerable minorities. Moreover, the students are now controlling the traffic on roads in the absence of traffic police. Many organizations are yet to open their offices due to the threatful law and order situation.

But this situation cannot go on for long as that will create hurdles against restoring the country’s system. Hence, the interim government needs to put extreme focus to restore law and order at earliest. While the interim government needs to ensure justice for all the killings during the students’ protests by the law enforcers, they must also ensure justice for the killings of all the police. By doing so, the police must be given assurance to return to their duty with their due dignity and needs to remain out of any political influence.

Moreover, while serving in the election commission, Brigadier General (retd.) M Sakhawat Hossain suggested some changes, which he could not implement then. As at one point, the interim government will hold general election, it is a great opportunity for him to drive those changes to make our electoral process more effective and transparent. Different political parties, especially those who were in the opposition for the last 15 years, are demanding quick election within 3-6 months. Though that is the obligation of the interim government according to the constitution, they will require more time to reform the system and hence, they need to take their decisions for the prolonged term as per the provisions of the constitution so that no controversy arises and the political parties cannot create any chaos.

Another grave challenge for the interim government is to bring the economy back on track. All businesses must be provided full security to run their businesses freely and transparently. Prominent economist Dr. Salehuddin Ahmed is in-charge of finance and planning ministries now. He needs to reform the banking system totally, which got devastated in the past few years under government’s influence. An honest banking system as well as securities market needs to be established. For that, structural reform of the regulatory authorities is a must. Moreover, Md. Touhid Hossain, in-charge of foreign ministry and Dr. Salehuddin Ahmed need to work in coordination to comfort our foreign development partners to encourage investment in Bangladesh as well as to ensure regional stability so that businesses can prosper.

Additionally, our taxation system needs to be reformed and all sorts of taxes need to be aligned with social security so that the citizens get motivated to pay taxes. Any corruption or harassment must be eliminated as the government is run by the tax money basically. So, the system must grant proper honor to every single taxpayer of the country. A global campaign is also required to ensure flow of remittance in the country and we hope, the charismatic global acknowledgement of Dr. Yunus will be helpful for Bangladesh to bring in more foreign investment as well as to ensure that we receive proper time to pay our debts. Most importantly, the interim government must control inflation and make the price of commodity products affordable to make the lives of the people easier. Otherwise, the inequality in the society cannot be eliminated.

Right now, we are seeing a threatening environment which is compelling different officials to resign. We must realize that, we cannot bring all changes overnight and changing all key people will not be a solution. Rather, we need to establish a system that will compel everyone to perform their duties honestly. Otherwise, those, who will sit on the chairs now, will not be able to perform their duties properly as they will always be in fear of what will happen if the government changes again.

The interim government needs to change the political structure also within a quick time. There should be nothing lower than a thana committee of political parties at different constituencies. Ward, unit and union committees should be eliminated as these create chances for extortion, corruption and violence to a great extent. The political parties must be compelled to practice democracy in the party. The interim government must also remain alert to control the uprising of any fundamentalist forces in the upcoming months.

As the interim government includes the youth representatives, we are hoping to see some positive changes in the area of education, sports and digital connectivity. We need to create a society which enables positive mental growth of the youth. They must prioritize establishment of a society free of terrorism, drugs, eve-teasing and corruption. If these social reforms are not conducted, then the future generation of the country will not be able to initiate further development of the country.

Chief Advisor Dr. Yunus and his advisors have many promises to keep. We, from our respective positions, need to strengthen the hands of the new interim government as well as need to allocate them some time to bring the positive changes. They must also remain committed to the people and their needs. We believe they will truly protect democracy, human rights, freedom of expression and rule of law while ensuring country’s economic, social and technological development. We hope Dr. Yunus-led interim government will deliver on their promises for the welfare of this proud nation.