Why be the fall guy?

Anyway, however, if democracy is lost -- though I am still optimistic of a welcome twist in the sequence of events initiated either by Mr Hasan or the Honourable President -- the questions raised previously will no doubt be the most frequently asked ones no matter how microscopic they currently look to the outgoing BNP coalition.

As things stand now, the whole blame might well be placed on one man no matter how unconstitutional it might sound. Constitution is indeed a sacred entity, but the entity of the country itself is, however, preferable to the Constitution.

Without any prejudice to Mr KM Hasan, it is my firm conviction that he should not have felt embarrassed then, that is, during the Bangabandhu murder trial. He should have meted out justice instead. Had he not felt embarrassed then, few, perhaps, could have dared to ask him to feel embarrassed now. Judges are the guardians of law and are thus supposed to be neutral in every contingency.

Yes, there is a provision for feeling embarrassed. But, that is, perhaps, suitable only for the tentative ones, not definitely for those who are committed to remaining dedicated to their professional ethics, come what may. There are many instances of good judgment and sacrifices on the parts of many people for the sake of justice at the cost of their near and dear ones. Despite having known full about the reservations of AL-led opposition parties regarding his past political career, Mr Hasan visited the shrines along with BNP leaders which just fanned the fire of opposition suspicion and emboldened the sceptics.

I wonder what answer Mr. Hasan has regarding this. I am, however, certain about this fact, that it is little possible for a caretaker regime to calm political unrest. If anybody is with the misconception that political unrest can be set at rest by law enforcement agencies under the present circumstances, he must be living in fool's paradise.

That, perhaps, could have been possible if there were mass support behind such a regime. Mind you, AL got 40% popular votes in the 2001 general elections and last five years of little electricity and exorbitant price spiral have created many anti- 4 party alliance supporters, if not pro-AL ones.

Yes, the situation might change dramatically once BNP coalition is out of power. The incumbency disadvantage might start taking its toll. Admittedly, people want peace. It is also true that current public sympathy is hardly with the BNP coalition for its failure to provide basic necessities and for being engulfed in unprecedented corruption, against which a good number of its old guard have very recently formed a new political party, namely Liberal Democratic Party.

AL-led parties and BNP have vowed to fight each other on the street. The countrymen have every reason to be apprehensive. If the face off turns into open conflict and clashes, the situation might go out of control of law enforcement agencies. But, what will happen to the wretched masses of the country? Are they destined to undergo trepidation throughout their lives? We are the most corrupt nation thanks to our rulers. We are the happiest nation on account of our minimal wants.

Professor Yunus has elevated our status in the world by winning the Nobel Peace Prize. Thus, we just don't want to be the most unfortunate nation as well on account of our errant political leadership -- irrespective of party affiliation -- and supposedly responsible and respected personalities like judges.

It is apprehended by different quarters that caretaker regime led by KM Hasan might find things really unmanageable. It thus poses a real problem for him. Under such circumstances, it is really difficult to predict that the Hasan regime will be able to conduct the next general elections and if -- as threatened -- the AL-led opposition parties boycott that election, that would turn into a veritable farce.

Meanwhile, if any third force takes over, the outcome would hardly be welcome for Mr Hasan as he will be regarded as the villain of the piece. The bottom line is that it is now or never for Mr. Hasan. He can easily go down in history by expressing embarrassment in taking the post of chief advisor. Hopefully, good sense would prevail in time and national interest would take precedence over self-interest. Moreover, there is no point in being the villain of the piece or "fall guy" for no creditable gain.

Kazi SM Khasrul Alam Quddusi is Assistant Professor, Department of Public Administration, University of Chittagong.