Two weeks after assuming office, the interim head of government. Muhammad Yunus delivered his first address to the nation on Sunday evening. Through his speech, many questions about the position and purpose of the interim government have been clarified.
Muhammad Yunus in his speech stated the goal of building a liberal, democratic, non-discriminatory and non-communal Bangladesh. We have seen that the desire to build a society of equality and human dignity, which was created through the sacrifice of millions of martyrs, was thwarted by the divisive policies of the political parties. The student uprising has created the possibility of building a truly inclusive Bangladesh. To ensure that this dream is not lost, the chief adviser urged everyone to forget their differences and cooperate with the government to build the country.
In his speech, Muhammad Yunus highlighted the reforms in various sectors including judiciary, police, administration, election commission, economy, education, health to overcome the crisis. Randhre talked about various steps to free the country from corruption, misrule, injustice, injustice and oppression. He talked about the formation of Bank Commission and Police Commission.
We welcome these initiatives of the interim government on the issue of reforms. However, the way the state institutions have collapsed due to corruption, misrule and partisanship, this task of reform is not very easy. The reform initiative of the interim government therefore requires the generous support and cooperation of the people and the political forces. We hope they will get that support.
More than 7,500 people were killed and thousands were injured in the anti-discrimination student movement and mass uprising. It is an important responsibility of the interim government to ensure that the families of the victims get justice and that the injured get proper treatment. The prime minister’s speech called for a transparent investigation into the use of force and casualties in the July-August uprising. The government must ensure that the UN Human Rights Commission can properly complete its investigation.
In the undemocratic manner in which the previous government has run the country, it is normal for there to be deprivation among people of different classes and professions. Some of them are protesting by blocking the Secretariat, the residence of the Chief Adviser and the road and making their demands. There are also incidents of entering into various institutions and forcing individuals to resign, creating pressure to file cases and attacking the accused in court. The Chief Adviser appealed to all of them to be patient. We believe that the people should be patient on all sides and the government should be given the necessary time to end discrimination and deprivation.
Regarding the tenure of the interim government and the election, the chief adviser said in his speech, when the election is a political decision, the countrymen have to decide when they will leave us. We feel that it is the duty of all concerned parties to give reasonable time and cooperate with the interim government to reform the state institutions including the Election Commission and reach a political settlement on the issues of democracy, suffrage, elections, peaceful transfer of power.
We think that the public desire created by the student uprising is not only a change of government; Rather, it has brought forward the desire of a new Bangladesh, which can present Bangladesh as a liberal, democratic, prosperous, inclusive country in the World Assembly. It is our hope that the interim government will have support from all quarters to ensure that the reforms necessary to move to such a place are made.
