There won’t be political stability if we backtrack on reforms issue: Rizwana Hasan
Political stability will not come to the country if we backtrack from the issue of reforms, Syeda Rizwana Hasan, adviser to the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change said on Friday.
She further said that there must be a consensus on the reforms. It would not be correct to consider anyone as an opponent in this regard.
Syeda Rizwana Hasan said this while participating in a session of national dialogue on “Unity in Which Way”, at the Krishibid Institution Bangladesh (KIB) auditorium in the capital on Friday.
Friday was the first day of the two-day dialogue on unity, reforms and elections. The dialogue has been organised by the Forum for Bangladesh Studies (FBS).
Speaking at the dialogue, Rizwana Hasan said, “We have to remember that if we try to change the politics that has been moulded, if we talk about breaking inequality, this journey will never be easy. We have to tread a very difficult path. For that, we have to keep patience.”
She further stated that the traditional issues cannot be broken in a day. Besides, the responsibility for change does not fall on the government alone, rather everyone has to take part in it. The role of political leaders is very important there.
The environment, forest and climate change affairs adviser insisted that initiating reforms on paper will not be enough, those must be practiced so that people benefit.
Rizwana Hasan said that she could not assume even on 3 or 4 August that the autocratic rule of Sheikh Hasina would come to an end.
She also mentioned that the interim government formed through the revolution was not worried about the mandate.
She insisted that there will be no political stability in the country if they backtrack from the issue of reforms this time. At the same time, achieving political stability would be tough if the people’s opinions are not reflected in the reform initiatives.
Adviser Syeda Rizwana Hasan expressed it is not that change in leadership will change everything as long as no change is made in the mindset.
The interim government adviser pointed out that introducing accountability in application of power and people’s participation in the process were never done here.
According to her, what needs to be clarified is that even if someone acknowledges the necessity of reforms, there needs to be some changes in the mindset about where the reforms are required and who to implement those.
If the mindset is not changed or if those are not practiced, even the best law of the world cannot bring any change, she remarked.
Rizwana Hasan further said, “We have to build consensus on some reforms. For this, we have to let up on some cases, if necessary. There won’t be sudden changes but none but the youths can bring changes.”
She maintained that change is a process; composing laws only will not change anything, the process needs to be active. Youth and experience - both need to play their roles in the process. There has to be consensus on reforms issues. No one should consider anyone as his opponent in this regard.