A must-read post by Asif Saleh at Drishtipat blog about the proposed NSC. The most thought-provoking segment of the piece -
Someone please ask the good old pol-sci professor to give us an example of another country where in stead of the police force, a security council is needed to ensure internal security. Secondly, since when a security council is used to decide on food and energy issues? With lots of deals on coal and energy involving a lot of cash coming up, this should raise the red flags on any one’s mind, if it hasn’t yet.
My quick-fire two cents on the issue:
1. I would have thought that the SOE government would have tried harder to distinguish itself as often as it could from HM Ershad’s playbook.
2. The cost of a new government setting its own agenda a number of important issues will increase drastically. This is a good or bad thing - based on one’s perspective.
3. The ability of the SOE government to continue to set the agenda of any new government on a number of issues will increase drastically. This is a good or bad thing - based on one’s perspective.
4. The SOE government sees quite clearly where the waters are most dangerous. (See Leela’s last post on food riots.) The energy policy stuff being tied in with national security (though NOT internal security( I do not see as necessarily being strange (though the issue Asif bhai raises is worth keeping in mind.) BUT tying in food with internal security suggests how acute the SOE government sees the current food crisis as being…
5. But on the other hand, the NSC has talked about pretty openly for a while (too lazy to link to anything right now). This makes the SOE’s government near-neglect of the food price situation last fall/winter all the more puzzling.
6. I continue to hope that with regard to food prices and such like, they’re reading a little bit more Hayek, liberally seasoned with Keynes, and a little bit (well, ok, much much) less Marx. I doubt it…
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April 4, 2008 at 12:34 pm
bitterboy
If you don’t have dreams, if don’t have new ideas and if you don’t have strong imaginative power nothing better and radical can be expected of you. If there is no country in the world where NSC has been working instead of police doesn’t mean we can’t be innovative. We should try our own model innovative customized democracy. We can or should have NSC or something like that I as propose a other name NGC [national guardian council for the STATE of the art administrative system in Bangladesh.
I’m not in favor of Care-taker government as it’s agaisnt the spirit of democracy. I’m in favor of National Guardian Council[NGC] instead of National Security Council. And that council must not have any executive power in day-to-day functioning of government, what will be in the domain of elected democratic government of people. But they will have the role in extra-ordinary situation likes pre-1/11 states, or any national security and sovereignty issues likes declaring war or extremely important global issues like whether to support or not to support like the Bush-war etc.
The NGC members will be comprised of 15-21 members, automatically selected by dint of their positions in the different services and professions. It will be headed by chief justice, chiefs of three forces, Dhaka university VC, Khatib of national mosque, president of minority religious groups or assoications, leader of business groups, cabinet secretary, home-secretary, president of associations of lawyers, doctors, engineers, agriculturists, journalists etc.
There is no need for care-taker government. Instead there will be strong independent election commission. In extreme extra-ordinary situation NGC can recommend the president to dissolve ministry or parliament. They can also take over the power temporarily for fresh-election and restitute democoratic parliamentary government if once elected government has to be dissolved in extreme politial dead-lock. And that decision must to uninamious and endorsed by 90% members of NGC. They will also have yearly meeting and review of the government’s job and can send sepecific recommendations, [not any mandate for governement to implement].
They can serve as the role of reserve/shadow emergent government if political government and opposition fail to discharge their solemn duties as deemed by their electorates. That will cut fine balance between position and opposition and also a strong deterent for elected government to turn to elected-dictatorialship.
Thanks.
April 5, 2008 at 6:38 am
Lutfor Rahman
There should be some outline of the method of selecting the NGC members. Without a system, nothing good can be expected. Let us take the example of taking a token number while people go for paying bills or so. First people take one token number which automatically place the guy on serial number. So the rule is set. There are some set rules in the constitution for forming the CAG. But there are two problems in forming the CAG, namely they are not selected from the people’s representatives and the post of chief justice can be manipulated. Otherwise the thoughts of CAG is fine. Regarding NGC, it can be established for over viewing the activities of the day to day business of the electected govt. whether they are doing anything wrong or intending to do anything against the national interest. Resolving any dead log between the ruling and the opposition parties in the parliament and so on. Bringing Govt. servants in the process of NGC is not a good idea. It will make the servants of the State hyper active. This will establish once pronounced philosophy of Gen. Ershad, Govt. servants must have roll in politics. Other wise the idea of NGC is fine. More discussion can take place in this regard.