The statement of H.E. Dr. Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury, the Hon'ble Adviser for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Expatriate's Welfare and Overseas Employment at Bridging the Gap Between Civil and Military through LanguageVenue: CIRDAP Auditorium on 17 February 2008 at 1430 hrs.

Chair, Mr. Masud A. Khan,
Ambassador Waliur Rahman,
Air Commodore Mahmud Hussain,
Mr. Abul Hasan Chowdhury,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

As salamu Alaikum and good afternoon to all.

I am honoured and pleased to be invited here today to speak to a timely and contemporaneous topic.

I would like to first underscore the importance of the role and appropriate use of communication for any nation in its stride ahead. For an accountable and functioning democracy policy makers and leaders must have thorough understanding of the aspirations of its people. Bureaucracy, civil and military taken together as well as the civil society and a free media should also evolve mechanisms not only to respond to the needs of the people, which they are meant to serve, but also develop a culture of understanding one another.

In developing countries like Bangladesh, one must realize, that the need for the analysis of the existing gap is inspired by several factors including changing security environment, evolving development imperatives, recurrent natural disasters and other emergencies and perpetuating misgovernance. This is characterized by conscious debates over the posited "civil-military culture gap," and how changes in policy should be implemented to address that gap. This must be accomplished in a world where the threats are often diffused, where conflict is inherently unpredictable, and where our capability to defend and promote our national interests may be restricted by political, diplomatic, informational and economic constraints.

The peacetime military has a larger ratio of support jobs to uniquely military combat-related tasks. The culture gap is considered the inevitable result of the divergent natures of a war machine and a free society. Civilians cannot trust the advice or reports of a military whose values differed so markedly from their own. It is more of an ongoing management challenge than a crisis for any state.

Civil-military gap analysis was articulated profoundly by Huntington and Janowitz. Samuel P. Huntington suggested that civilians move towards the military culture partly because effective control depended on a certain amount of mutual understanding. Morris Janowitz insisted that the military's first duty was to society, and if society changed and altered its strategic goals, the military must adapt to them. The moderate "fusionists" thought that the military should be better trained to integrate political elements into its strategic advice. Many added that civilian officials ought to be more familiar with or supportive of military culture, and more expert in military technical matters to enable them to make informed policy decisions.

Today in Bangladesh, our military leadership is increasingly becoming more conscious to develop its outreach to build better communication bridges in the area of their operations. That's why it is so important to secure the support and endorsement of the people on whose behalf they are working. Their role in providing relief and succour, as well as support to rehabilitation during post floods and post Sidr periods has been most positively perceived. So has been their contribution in the maintenance of infrastructures to facilitate development as also the support to boost food production. We are well aware of the role of our peacekeepers in various conflict zones. They have built very successful bridges crossing even the language and culture barriers in countries as far as Sierra Leone. The evolving multidimensional aspects of peace keeping which includes functions related to humanitarian interventions, arranging elections, consolidating democracy and institution building are constantly challenging today's peace keepers and I am proud to say that our military are adapting to these changes. While they are adjusting their language and communication internationally it is also important to keep in mind the local perspective.

There are many practical ways to achieve better communication amongst different state organs and other stake-holders. While Military officers can be trained with more civilian values and in less authoritarian mode - to be effective in true nation building, civilian officers and other civil society actors can also be provided exposure to certain aspects of the military, which will ensure better cooperation. Military leaders must fully understand the nation's strategic vision and strategy formulation process, as well as appreciate the environment and the cultures in which they must operate. The NDC runs courses for senior military and civil officers, where senior members of the civil society are invited to speak on important issues. I think this is an excellent model to promote better understanding. Interactive seminars by think tanks can also bring military and civilian stakeholders closer to each other. After all, the goal before us is shared one - to take the nation forward along the path of peace, progress and prosperity.