Sooner an elected govt comes to power, the better: Lt. Gen. (Retd.) Mahfuzur Rahman

Osmani Centre for Peace and Security Studies chairman Lieutenant General (Retd.) Md Mahfuzur Rahman has remarked that an unelected government can easily become pliable under both internal and external pressure.

In his view, the sooner an elected government comes to power, the better.

"An unelected government is more likely to yield easily to both domestic and international pressure," said Mahfuzur Rahman.

He made these remarks on Saturday during a roundtable discussion titled ‘the path to political consensus for the election’, held at the Prothom Alo office in Karwan Bazar, Dhaka, in the afternoon.

Referring to the country's security challenges, Md Mahfuzur Rahman said: "At present, Bangladesh is facing several traditional and non-traditional security concerns, particularly along our southeastern border. In such a situation, there is a need for clear policy direction regarding national security. However, it becomes difficult for a caretaker or interim government to provide such policy guidance."

Referring to the past one and a half decades, the former army officer said: "During this time, the military has been politicised. As a result, such a politicised army cannot function effectively as a combat force."

He added, "We want to move away from that state. The army also wants to return to its fundamental responsibility—defending and ensuring the security of the country."

Stressing the need for the military to return to the barracks for “basic training” and combat preparedness, Mahfuzur Rahman said: "Through this training, the military prepares itself to face both traditional and non-traditional security threats. It also sends a message—that the army is ready for any national emergency. That is why a return to the barracks may happen soon, and that would be appropriate.

If the military remains deployed outside for too long, issues of discipline can start to emerge."

Referring to Bangladesh’s contributions to UN peacekeeping missions, Md Mahfuzur Rahman said: “For several years now, Bangladesh’s armed forces have been among the top contributors of troops to United Nations peacekeeping missions. When we go there, our primary role is to assist in conflict resolution in the host country, to help ensure democracy, to observe elections, and to support the transfer of power to a democratic government through elections.”

He added: “Now the question arises — my own country doesn’t have proper democracy. We haven’t had credible elections for the past 15 to 17 years. Yet, I am going to monitor elections in other countries. There is a contradiction here — a question of legitimacy — and that needs to be considered.”

On the need for reform in the national security sector, the former army officer said: “There is a need for reform in the security sector. This has been discussed for a long time. If reforms are not implemented, there is a risk that the security forces may revert to their previous state. In developing countries, political parties often want to keep the security forces under control and use them for political purposes — as has been the case over the past 15 years. This tendency may continue in the future as well.”

Highlighting the positive side of reform, he said: “Reform is extremely important for the democracy of a developing country. Therefore, we should take advantage of the positive potential that reform offers.”

The roundtable discussion began with an introductory speech by Matiur Rahman, editor of Prothom Alo. The session was moderated by Sajjad Sharif, executive editor of Prothom Alo.

Salahuddin Ahmed, Standing Committee Member, BNP, Matiur Rahman Akand, Central Committee Member, Jamaat-e-Islami, Zunayed Saki, Chief Coordinator, Ganosamhati Andolan, Akhtar Hossain, Member Secretary, National Citizen Party (NCP), Hossain Zillur Rahman, Chairperson, BRAC, Debapriya Bhattacharya, Distinguished Fellow, CPD, AK Azad, Managing Director & CEO, Ha-Meem Group, Badiul Alam Majumdar, Member, National Consensus Commission, Lt. Gen. (Retd.) Md Mahfuzur Rahman, Chairman, Osmani Centre for Peace and Security, Mahfuz Anam, Editor, The Daily Star and Professor Samina Luthfa, University of Dhaka, among others, were present.