Unb, Dhaka
Chief Adviser (CA) Fakhruddin Ahmed has called upon the armed forces to discharge their election duties with hundred percent neutrality, honesty and transparency and extend all-out cooperation to the Election Commission for holding a free, fair and meaningful election.
“Remember, this responsibility is important. So, the armed forces will have to remain alert about their tradition, dignity, pride and people’s confidence,” the CA said while addressing the officers of the army, navy and air force at Senakunja of Dhaka Cantonment yesterday morning.
Army Chief Gen Moeen U Ahmed, Navy Chief Vice Admiral Sarwar Jahan Nizam, Air Force Chief Air Marshall SM Ziaur Rahman, PSO of the Armed Forces Division Lt Gen M Abdul Mubeen and high military officials were present at the meeting.
Mentioning the laudable role of the armed forces in holding free and fair elections, the CA expressed the hope that they will set an example again in the history of democracy’s forward march.
He said the entire nation, the mass media at home and abroad, election observers and “our friends in foreign countries are looking forward to the election and the country’s transition to democracy.”
He said the present government, soon after assuming office, has been carrying out efforts to hold a free, fair and acceptable election with the participation of all political parties to give democracy a strong footing. “The government is now at the threshold of such an election.”
The head of the caretaker government said the responsibility of the Election Commission is to hold the election, while the government’s responsibility is to extend all-out cooperation to the commission. “We are doing everything necessary to this end,” he said, adding: “There is no room for any deviation at this critical juncture of the nation.”
The CA said the armed forces have played various roles in fulfilling the people’s aspirations for a free, fair and acceptable election and for that objective the government has worked for most of the last two years.
The members of the armed forces, he said, have worked with firm determination for the sake of public interest and the success is beckoning today as the armed forces share a major credit for it.
Appreciating the various roles and activities of the armed forces during the interim period, the CA said the armed forces have earned the confidence and admiration of the countrymen. “I believe they will sustain this confidence in the future as well.”
He said the armed forces were engaged in aid of the civil administration for nearly two years following the promulgation of the state of emergency.
“They (armed forces) have provided effective cooperation to the civil administration to restore law and order in the country and extended all-out cooperation to the government in preventing corruption.”
With the cooperation of the armed forces, he said, a few hundred crores of taka have been recovered from those who amassed wealth illegally.
The CA also lauded the extraordinary role of the armed forces in preparing and completing the voter list with photos of over 81 million (8 crore 10 lakh) voters within only 11 months.
Flawless, correct voter list is a major ingredient for holding a free, fair and credible elections, he said, adding that many debates were earlier created over the voter list.
He also appreciated the contribution and role of the armed forces in various sectors and situations — during the super cyclone ‘Sidr’, two back-to-back floods, recent natural calamities in Myanmar, Pakistan and China, making Chittagong port dynamic, removing water logging at Bhabadaha in Jessore and so on.
The CA said each division, corps, and unit of the armed forces will have to be built up as modern, time befitting and capable of facing the challenges of the 21st century.
He hoped that all the initiatives and progarmmes taken so far would continue in the future for modernising the armed forces.
The CA recalled with respect the supreme sacrifices of the martyred members of the armed forces in the Liberation War in 1971.
Courtesy: thedailystar.net
