Information and Broadcasting Adviser Md Nahid Islam stated today that political parties want the reform initiatives to be controlled by them, and they are working to portray the interim government as a failure.
“Political parties are prioritizing elections over reforms and want to keep control over the reform process. As a result, they are trying to depict the interim government as ineffective,” he said.
Nahid Islam made these comments while responding to a question about reforms and the upcoming national election from Former Chilean Minister of Social Development Giorgio Jackson. The discussion took place during a meeting with a delegation from the British Global Partners Governance (GPG) at the ministry, according to a press release.
He highlighted that Bangladesh’s interim government came to power through a mass uprising, which he described as an unprecedented event. “This is a unique situation. I don’t know of any other country where something similar has happened. We are doing our best to work in this scenario,” he added.
When former Scottish Parliament member Lord Jeremy Purvis asked about the challenges faced by the interim government, Nahid Islam identified maintaining law and order, resolving economic issues, achieving reform consensus with political parties, and improving global communication as the primary challenges.
In response to a question from Matt Charter of the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office regarding the support the interim government needs, Nahid Islam said, “Your expertise and advice on post-coup democratic processes and genocide trials are vital for us.”
He further noted that various forms of international propaganda are being spread. “Many people are misinterpreting the people’s uprising. They don’t understand how such a major dictator was overthrown so quickly. This has led to both internal and external conspiracies. Additionally, there’s propaganda about minority repression, and some are denying that this was a democratic movement,” he said.
Nahid Islam emphasized that Bangladesh has been facing a long-standing human rights crisis. “People were deprived of their voting rights, and thousands of individuals were forcibly disappeared. The nation was suffocating under these conditions. Protecting human rights is one of the interim government’s primary objectives,” he stated.
The GPG delegation assured the interim government of their full support.
