Law minister's comments
Shabbir A. Bashar, PhD. San Francisco Bay Area, California, USA
I am dismayed by the reaction and the comments of the law minister, Mr. Moudud Ahmed, in the aftermath of the killing of former finance minister SAMS Kibria in yet another grenade attack. With reference to the report of the Justice Joynul Commission on the August 21 grenade attack on the Awami League rally, Mr. Ahmed is quoted as saying, "I believe that whenever an inquiry commission is formed, its report should be made public". Yet when pressed on whether that report would be made public, he replied, "It depends on the government". Am I the only fool who finds such musing of a veteran politician, a former prime minister himself, and an incumbent senior cabinet member of the present government, at best devoid of sincerity if not completely ridiculous? While refuting the allegation that a faction within the ruling alliance was involved in the most recent grenade attacks, the law minister pointed out that successive Bangladesh governments including the previous one led by the Awami League, have been "clueless" and have failed to unearth the conspiracy of "those trying to undermine the nation as a fundamentalist and failed state". Isn't it ironic that in this instance, his own clueless and inconsistent remarks do very little to project an image of a "responsible government"? Furthermore, isn't this also the government that has failed to take any remedial or preventive measures against the same failures of the previous regime? While commenting on the investigative efforts behind the killing of SAMS Kibria, Mr. Morshed Khan, the foreign minister, quite rightly expressed the sentiments of the nation by saying, "We make this commitment out of our obligation to the electorate, and the actions of the government of a sovereign state are based on this principle, not on statements made by foreign diplomats." Rather than pointing fingers at anybody and everybody (minus alas any specifics!) regarding an incident which falls under the jurisdiction of someone else's (home) ministry, Mr. Ahmed could instead focus himself on reminding the electorate what exactly the law ministry is doing about separating the judiciary. If I am not mistaken, the government has asked for no fewer than 19 extensions from the Supreme Court regarding this matter, and its resolution in the near future remains uncertain. In order for a country to prosper, its citizens must feel that the state is there to lend them the full support of a strong legal system thus guaranteeing them natural rights in all spheres of life, be that politics, business, academia or otherwise. If public perception of the judiciary is low, the nation will be naturally undermined without the need for a mythical "conspiracy"- and sadly that is the stark reality in today's Bangladesh. This trend can only be reversed by working towards a law enforcement that upholds justice and a judiciary that is concerned only with implementing the law rather than policy dictated to it. And for that to happen, the judiciary must be independent from the executive and legislative branches of government. Separation of the judiciary is not only a major election pledge of the BNP but is also mandated by the Constitution of Bangladesh: Part II, "Fundamental Principles of State Policy", Article 22 quite unambiguously proclaims, "The State shall ensure the separation of the judiciary from the executive organs of the State". However, I wish -- given that the law minister is also a legal and constitutional expert -- that he would concentrate more on strengthening the legal fabric of the country which is badly needed now more than ever, instead of bringing his own credibility into question.
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