BNP, Jamaat backed reforms, then pushed loyalists into posts: Mahfuj Alam
The adviser spoke on a range of issues, including the government’s broadcasting policy, the journalists’ wage board, and proposals for greater autonomy for state-run BTV and Bangladesh Betar
Information Adviser Mahfuj Alam on Sunday alleged that the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and Jamaat-e-Islami moved quickly to place their loyalists in the administration following the formation of the interim government.
Speaking at a dialogue in Dhaka, he said the two parties had initially supported allowing the interim administration time for reforms, but their stance changed once appointments were secured in December.
"They began a campaign of non-cooperation," he said at the event titled Self-censorship and Managing Complaints in the Media: Political and Policy Perspectives, organised by the Centre for Governance Studies (CGS) at the CIRDAP auditorium with support from the UK Government and The Asia Foundation.
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The adviser spoke on a range of issues, including the government's broadcasting policy, the journalists' wage board, and proposals for greater autonomy for state-run BTV and Bangladesh Betar.
"In Bangladesh, everyone works for group interests, not national interests," he said. "There is little concern about what would produce good laws or sound policies."
Commenting on bureaucrats' approach, Alam added: "The bureaucrats are waiting for the next government. Everyone is waiting for the next government. That is the weakness of a transitional government."
He said speculation over whether student leaders serving as advisers would step down had slowed administrative activities. "For the past month there has been constant speculation that the student advisers would step down. As a result, their offices have stopped functioning, with work slowing down sharply."
Admitting that the expectations of the July uprising had not been met, Alam pointed to entrenched cooperation among the civil–military bureaucracy, the media, parts of civil society, and business groups.
"The media is still serving the interests of businesspersons," he observed, adding that "the media cannot be freed from fascist tendencies unless the civil–military bureaucracy itself was freed from fascism."
