Take steps to include necessary recommendations in 'July Charter'

Heads of five reform commissions, formed in the second phase, have urged the Chief Advisor to take steps to incorporate their recommendations in the proposed July Charter for the sake of necessary reforms.

In a joint letter that was sent to the Chief Advisor's office on Sunday, they also expressed the hope that Chief Advisor Professor Muhammad Yunus would take appropriate and timely measures to this effect.

The commission heads termed the dialogues that the National Consensus Commission had held with political parties on the recommendations of the six thematic commissions formed in the first phase as 'timely and important'.

They mentioned that the reform activities as per the recommendations of the commissions formed in the second phase were equally important for the institutionalisation of democracy and the formation of a new Bangladesh.

They, however, suggested that despite having time constraints, the interim government should take at least two effective steps now to ensure political parties' commitments to implementing essential reforms.

Firstly, it is important to select reforms that are feasible to implement now and start their implementation process, said the press release.

Secondly, commitments can be secured from political parties so that the elected government will continue such reforms.

The commission heads also said if the July Charter does not include reforms on media, women, labour, healthcare and local government and, then political parties will have the opportunity to cancel or ignore those in the future, which would create a negative impact on public sentiment.

A significant number of workers, women and journalists lost their lives in the July mass uprising, the letter said, adding that if the hopes and dreams that were born from their sacrifice are ignored, it can lead to widespread disappointments and resentments.

The commission heads also expressed their sincere gratitude to the Chief Advisor for entrusting them with the responsibility of formulating recommendations on five specific issues.

Signatories to the letter were Labor Reform Commission chief Syed Sultan Uddin Ahmed, Women's Affairs Reform Commission chief Shirin Parvin Haque, Local Government Reform Commission chief Tofail Ahmed, Health Sector Reform Commission chief National Professor AK Azad Khan, and Media Reform Commission chief Kamal Ahmed.