AL cadres on the rampage

THE AL cadres in their so-called effort to thwart a political programme of the opposition were seen to be indulging in violence, particularly in the capital. We found the ruling party cadres force the gates of the Supreme Court and attack the lawyers supporting the opposition. It was a disgraceful spectacle, made even more so when the police did nothing to prevent the storming of the premise of the highest judiciary or save the several women lawyers from the wrath of the AL cadres.
In fact the entire city was virtually in the grip of the AL cadres who were armed with sticks and staves moving freely under the nose of the police. And we wonder whether the belligerence displayed by them had not a little to do with the call by the state minister for law for them to come on the streets to thwart BNP's march for democracy, armed with sticks.
It is surprising too to see the ruling party cadres made to act as auxiliary of the law enforcing agencies. Reportedly, they were deployed on eight entry points into the capital, to prevent, according to one AL leader, even a fly from entering Dhaka city. And when party cadres are directed to maintain law and order it is a recipe for violence.
The line between AL cadres and the police force, which is a legally constituted body of the state, got blurred. The police is obliged to be evenhanded in its functioning but were found wanting on this score.