The Constitution is the beacon of legitimacy of the Judiciary. If the judiciary fails, no reform will survive, experts said. They say, for the sake of the country, Bangladesh should choose the ‘right path’ in geopolitical restructuring and come out of the protected shell of Least Developed Country (LDC) status.
The speakers said these things at the opening ceremony of the seminar titled ‘Bay of Bengal Conversation, Bangladesh’ at a five-star hotel in the capital on Saturday. Organized by Center for Governance Studies (CGS).
Chief Justice Syed Refat Ahmed was the chief guest at the seminar chaired by CGS President and Conference Chair Zillur Rahman. The special guest was the chairman of the Center for Policy Dialogue (CPD). Rehman Sobhan, Foreign Affairs Adviser. Tauhid Hossain, Editor of The Daily Star Mahfuz Anam and CPD Special Fellow Debapriya Bhattacharya and others. The main theme of this conference, held for the fourth time with thinkers, politicians, diplomats and media personalities of different countries, is ‘competition, destruction, reconstruction’.
Chief Justice Syed Refat Ahmed said, if the judiciary fails, the state and democracy fail, no reform will last. So as Bangladesh walks the path of a new political future, he stressed on the judiciary to be settled on principles.
Refat Ahmed said, ‘July revolution did not talk about canceling the constitution. Rather, it has tried to purify the engagement with the Constitution by re-establishing the mindset of transparency, accountability and responsiveness in public life.’
The Chief Justice also said that the July Revolution forced Bangladesh to reconsider the grammar of its constitutional life. It reminded every organ of the state that the rule of law is not a bureaucratic convention or an inherited rhetoric. Rather, the rule of law is a moral reading of the constitutional system, based on fairness, reason and popular consent. It points to it through rights, through limitations, through the status it confers on the governed.
Eminent economist Rehman Sobhan said the country should leave the protected shell of LDC status. He criticized the attempt to hold on to the market for US-made garments and to retain the LDC status for a while longer to gain market advantage in the European Union as outdated thinking.
Rehman Sobhan said, the export of Bangladesh to the US market is like 8 billion or 8 billion dollars. But that market is becoming increasingly uncertain due to political reasons; This uncertainty is not for economic reasons.
Commenting on the change in the balance of power in the world system, Rehman Sobhan said that once the whole world was under the rule of the West, the center of power is gradually moving towards the East. In this situation, Bangladesh has to rearrange its position. Bangladesh should go for markets where capital is most readily available and where there is potential for long-term growth.
Overall, the United States has the world’s top GDP, but China has come out on top; Referring to India’s rapid progress, Rehman Sobhan said, China is currently the main trading partner of southern countries. China provides a large share of global capital. Many countries are entering the Chinese market and using Chinese capital to advance. But Bangladesh has not been able to properly utilize the two big markets close to it. Those two markets are India and China.
Bangladesh will play the role of a responsible sovereign state by choosing the ‘right path’ in geopolitical restructuring, Foreign Affairs Advisor Md. Tauhid Hossain said, many states are eager to choose sides during reconstruction, but we should choose the ‘right path’ first.
The foreign adviser also said that Bangladesh will participate confidently in the changing international system and will give top priority to national interests and regional stability.
Mahfuz Anam, editor of The Daily Star, said about social media, the more hateful comments, the more disinformation, the more lies, the more inflammatory writings against anyone — the more clicks, the more income. It is true that social media has democratized the flow of information. Now everyone can have their opinions, but the downside is that they are mostly not fact-based, knowledge-based, and rational.
Mahfuz Anam added that global stability is very important for small countries like Bangladesh, especially in the economic field. Knowledge, skills, experience are the most valuable assets of Bangladesh as a developing country. We cannot compete with the world in money or military power; Our only competitive edge is knowledge and skills.
Speaking on the occasion, Debapriya Bhattacharya said, the three groups — politicians, businessmen and bureaucrats — have benefited from the narrative of development that has been created in the last one and a half decades. The control of various important sectors including banks, electricity went into their hands. These groups are avoiding competition. As a result, not only nepotistic capitalism was created in the country, but also the establishment of theft system.
