National charter a document of political unity: Prof Riaz

Vice Chair of the National Consensus Commission (NCC) Prof Ali Riaz today (14 September) urged political parties to protect and continue their unity and cooperation to reach a conclusion over the implementation of the National July Charter, saying that fascist forces and their allies are still trying to thwart the state reform process.

"Still, some things remain undone. We'll definitely be able to reach a final conclusion in the coming months by continuing and protecting the trend of cooperation among the political parties, which was created in the past," he said.

Prof Riaz made the remarks while delivering his introductory speech at the talks between the NCC and political parties on the implementation of the National Charter, held at the Foreign Service Academy in the capital.

Chief Adviser and also NCC chair Prof Muhammad Yunus was present in the talks that started in the afternoon.

The NCC expects political parties to uphold the spirit of unity, he said, adding, "We must protect, continue and move forward this unity to take forward the achievement we've gained (in the last two rounds of dialogues and the current talks). We think it would be identified as a milestone in terms of the change in the political culture of Bangladesh." 

The NCC vice chair said the national charter is an outcome of collective efforts. "It is a document of unity among the politicians of Bangladesh. This charter is a continuation of the unity that defeated fascism and fascist forces. We'll have to march forward keeping up this continuation."

Focusing on their reform commitment, Prof Riaz said the transformation towards democracy means to build an accountable state where the human dignity of the citizen remains protected and social justice is ensured.

"We all are committed to establish such a state. We'll have to implement it. The national charter is a guideline for this commitment and the way for implementing it," he said.

Prof Riaz warned that the defeated fascist forces and their allies still want the reform efforts to fail. "They repeatedly tried (to thwart this endeavour) and they still want this process to be a failed venture. But our liability to the blood that brought us here is to make this process successful," he said.

The NCC has so far held three rounds of dialogue with political parties — from 20 March to 19 May, from 2 June to 30 July, and now the third round on the implementation of the charter.

Prof Riaz also thanked political leaders for maintaining tolerance toward dissenting opinions and showing respect toward one another during the talks.