Font size: 
The separation of the judiciary from the executive branch of government has been overdue for decades. Yet the judiciary, which includes the Magistrate's Courts and the Judge's Courts, remains subordinate to the military-controlled regime.
The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court gave a 12-point directive to the government on Dec. 2, 1999, asking it to ensure the independence of the judiciary followed by the establishment of a Judicial Service Commission and other institutions to ensure the proper functioning of the judiciary.
Both the two previous governments, under the Awami League and the Bangladesh National Party, wanted to maintain authority over the judiciary and prolonged the separation process. On one hand, in the name of changing existing laws and creating new legislation, they adopted a slow approach to avoid "contempt of court" charges against their governments. On the other, they put on a show to convince the people they were doing something on the issue.
Under the BNP regime, Parliament dillydallied on the issue, with many lawmakers hoping they would be part of the next government. However, their hopes were tarnished as a result of the anti-people political culture in the country.
Both the Awami League and BNP governments appointed and promoted judicial officials by their own choice, placing loyalty to the politicians ahead of all other qualifications for the jobs.
The military-controlled government has jumped into this sea with its own "reformation," beginning with certain institutions including the judiciary as soon as it came to power in January 2007. The new government finished the paperwork to declare "the judiciary is separate from the executive" within a week of taking office. It was another deceptive move on the part of the government to increase its acceptability and support from the common folks.
The new "separate" judiciary has been working in such an impressive manner that the prisons are now full of innocent people who have been arrested by the armed forces all over the country since the state of emergency went into effect. The country's prisons are overcrowded; the number of detainees has increased threefold under the current regime. Neither the lower nor the higher judiciary has brought any remedy to the poor victims.
Moreover, in an April 23 verdict by its Appellate Division, the Supreme Court closed the doors of the courts to everyone charged under the Emergency Powers Rules of 2007, thereby abdicating its own constitutional powers. This has emerged as the greatest success of the government, which has not only succeeded in keeping all arrested persons in the prisons, but also has grabbed absolute authority to abuse the emergency instruments in the upcoming months until the emergency is lifted completely.
Professionals, including lawyers, journalists and human rights defenders, are shocked by the verdict of the Supreme Court. All are wondering how long this judicial "loyalty" can be sustained, along with a system completely lacking in fair and ethical practices.
The Anti-Corruption Commission has charged only those persons targeted by the present government; it follows no fair policy to fight corruption. The ACC, led by former army chief Lt. Gen. Hassan Mashhud Chowdhury, who was appointed by this government, does not charge individuals who have gained a reputation for massive corruption while holding various public positions. He will not charge them as long as they actively support the present government's political agenda. Instead, in the name of fighting corruption, the armed forces have been involved in all sectors of the country as members of an "Anti-Corruption Task Force."
The Election Commission, a much talked-about institution in the last few years for its controversial actions, has welcomed some new members with civilian and military backgrounds and a similar agenda of "reformation" of the country's political and electoral processes. They have established their image as tools of the government, creating factions within political parties in order to smooth the political road of the present government.
One example illustrates the way this works: two factions of the BNP were treated very differently by the Election Commission during a recent dialogue with commission officials. The government filed charges against members of the pro-Khaleda Zia group -- supporters of the party's imprisoned leader and the government's target -- that followed party leaders to a meeting with commission officials last week. However, the pro-Saifur group, which is the creation of the government, was not charged when their hired supporters took to the streets on Monday. The whole nation accuses the commission for establishing a faction of the BNP. Once again, the government's "reformation" has been proved mere ridiculous propaganda.
Needless to say, no initiative toward any kind of reformation has yet been introduced in the bureaucracy other than replacing persons from one position or department to another. Moreover, the government has empowered its bureaucrats with exceptional authority. For example, the secretaries, who are the topmost bureaucrats, are authorized to decide and lead government policy in their ministries and departments, as their "advisers" lack expertise in their respective fields.
The much talked-about police reform has been limited to meetings, with no credible initiatives beyond rhetorical speeches.
The political situation, which is the key concern of the people, is heating up, as the parties are approaching the point where they may stir up a mass movement as a result of the arbitrary and repressive actions of the government. If the people, many of whom are facing famine, respond to the calls of the political parties, Bangladesh could soon be in a mess. The solution to the problem is very simple, however -- the removal of the military-controlled government and the lifting of the state of emergency.
--
(Rater Zonaki is the pseudonym of a human rights defender based in Hong Kong working at the Asian Human Rights Commission. He is a Bangladeshi national with a degree in literature from a university in Dhaka. He began his career as a journalist in 1990 and engaged in human rights activism at the grassroots level in his country for more than a decade. He also worked as an editor for publications on human rights and socio-cultural issues and contributed to other similar publications.)
