Desk Report,
Consensus Commission calls for compromise
National Consensus Commission Vice-Chairman Professor Ali Riaz has called on political parties to make some concessions and come to a common ground.
Consensus Commission calls for compromise
Ali Riaz made this call at the beginning of the second round of 12th-day talks with political parties at the Foreign Service Academy in the capital on Sunday.
The Consensus Commission has started this series of dialogues with the parties with the aim of building a national consensus to resolve the political crisis.
30 political parties including BNP, Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, Islami Andolan, NCP, and Mass Solidarity Movement participated in today’s discussion. Ali Riaz said, “We do not consider your statements unimportant; rather, we consider them very important. But we have to come to a common ground somewhere or the other. The alternative to this could be a unilateral decision; where everything will be centralized in the hands of one person. That will not be good for democracy.”
Also pointing to the presidential appointment process, Professor Riaz said, “Currently, the Prime Minister makes the final decision on the appointment of the president. As a result, the head of state is being appointed based on the consent of only two people. It is like a Roman model; where one person’s decision is everything.’
Ali Riaz further said, ‘We cannot discuss with the idea that we will have 100 percent of our position on all issues. We have told you that we have to make some concessions and come to a common position by making a flexible position. Otherwise, the discussion becomes meaningless. Everyone is talking from their own position, saying it all day, all year. So what is the meaning of dialogue?’ The dialogue, moderated by Monir Haider, Special Assistant to the Chief Advisor, was also attended by Consensus Commission members Safar Raj Hossain, Justice Emdadul Haque, Badiul Alam Majumder, Iftekharuzzaman and Mohammad Ayub Mia.
