No more corruption
Sharmin Rashid Nice, Department of English, Lalmatia Girls College, Dhaka
The recent arrests of a good number of politicians and businessmen by the joint forces point to an intensification of the drive against corruption launched by the caretaker government. There is a broad sense of relief that such action has been taken. In the last five years and perhaps even more, the degree of venality that the political classes have indulged in has left the country in a shattered state. The situation should not have come to such a pass, given that we thought we had a working democracy defining life and its priorities for us. The record of the last five years has proved, though that even elected governments can turn autocratic and worse, corrupt.It is now corruption that the country would like to see handled firmly. Those who have been taken into custody, we trust, will be given a fair hearing. That is the demand of justice. However, the most important point here is that a speedy process of filing of charges and consequent trial should be initiated, and all through a transparent system, in order to convince the nation that those who have indulged in corruption will not in future be in a position to play havoc with the country. It will be our expectation that the caretaker government will go after not only corrupt politicians and businessmen but will also net all those government employees who have vitiated the administration through partisan activities. We understand that the authorities plan action against the bureaucrats who recently were caught meeting secretly. Such action will send out the necessary message that in the times ahead no one, no matter how highly he or she may be placed, can go beyond the law. Corruption and criminality cannot be encouraged any more. While measures must be taken to tackle corruption, care must be there to ensure that the corrupt are not able to come out free through the legal loopholes. At the same time, it is hugely important that due process of law be applied in handling those who may be taken into custody. This will entail not only a regard for the process but will also allow justice to be done without any questions being raised by any quarters. There is one other point the government ought to bear in mind, which is that arrests need to be made on the basis of specific allegations. And once that is done, specific charges against the detained individuals must be filed before the cases are taken up in court. Let there be no mistake. Even as we expect the caretaker administration to prepare the country for the next general election, we believe it must carry on with the job of cleansing the political process through to the end. We would like to think that under the present dispensation, the needed reforms of politics and society will be done. No more corruption!
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