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Asian Center for Democratic Governance >> Strengthening Democratic Governance
A Report by the Asian Center for Democratic Governance 17 - 18 March 2002 Dhaka, Bangladesh |
Concluding SessionA.S.H.K. Sadique The problem in Bangladesh is long years of nondemocratic rule, which has led to conflict and a breakdown of communication between parties-because of mistrust, because they speak different political languages, and because of the basic attitude toward politics For sustainable democracy, consensus is needed on basic issues, which we are unable to reach today. Why we cannot reach consensus is an issue for discussion in Bangladesh. Corruption is an attitude of mind; it is not necessarily need-based, that is, created by the need to survive. We talk of financial corruption, but that is only one aspect of corruption. There is also lack of competence, and cynicism. A decision may be totally transparent, but corruption cannot be stopped unless environment and social attitude is changed. The situation of women in public life and politics is not so bad as has been described. In Bangladesh, most of our women politicians, except our two leaders, have come through the ranks from student and labor politics up to national level. However, we must primarily tackle the social and economic obstacles: Are women able or allowed to enter into public life by their families and by society? If they can overcome this, then they do pretty well. We had a woman minister of agriculture and food in our cabinet, who started from student politics. One of the women who contested the elections and won this year was a rare local leader; she won locally by her own merit. But of course there are not enough women, so they need a helping hand, at both the local and the national levels. There has been a lot of discussion about the non-functioning of democracy in the region. In Bangladesh, we have a long way to go. But there is a basic will among the people and a basic understanding among civil society that we must get back to democracy and democracy must function. Therefore, I am not that pessimistic. Something I would like to suggest, however, is to involve more politicians in discussions of this kind, from all levels of government; and conduct more workshops with senior and mid-level politicians as well as those from grassroots politics. By more sharing and working in this way, we can all benefit greatly throughout the region. FAROOQ SOBHAN In some ways our conference has been something of an experiment. It is the first time we've attempted something like this in Dhaka. Three things emerged: our common commitment to strengthening democracy and governance; a recognition that holding elections is not enough, what happens in between is as important; and civil society's increasingly crucial role in all of our countries. It is clear that we in South Asia have a common experience to share, and in sharing we have many lessons to learn. In particular, the critical need for peaceful compromise and coexistence between political parties, for the building and strengthening of institutions, and not least for women's direct involvement in the development of our countries. We have seen that where they have been involved, there have been great success stories. We welcome future initiatives of the Asian Center within our region. It is something that requires us to all join hands and continue as we have done here. And while we may not have discovered all the answers, we have at least acknowledged and examined some of the critical problems of our region today. |
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