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Editorial

Excesses during hartal

Home ministry should explain assault on Mirza Abbas' residence
29 June 2010, 18:00 PM
EDITORIAL
WE are outraged at the appalling behaviour demonstrated by the police and members of the Rapid Action Battalion inside the residence of BNP politician and former minister Mirza Abbas during Sunday's hartal. The graphic images of the brutality the forces resorted to leaves us all in a state of disbelief, for the fundamental reason that such behaviour is not what one expects in a democratic society. The police and RAB men, without any qualms, simply marched into the house, stormed into its various rooms (including bedrooms) and indiscriminately beat up everyone they found there. Among those who could not escape the truncheons were Mirza Abbas' elderly mother, his wife and other female members of the family. It was clearly brutality totally uncalled for. Such lawlessness at this level, when a leading member of a significant political party and his family face the wrath of the state for inexplicable reasons, is unprecedented in the sense that nothing like it has ever been observed earlier in this country. One wonders what prompted the police and RAB to enter the residence in the first place. Their explanation, of course, is that they were pelted with stones and missiles and the like from inside the house. Even if we assume that that is how things happened, we cannot accept the thought that the security forces will simply invade the privacy of a home and with scant respect for its inhabitants beat up everyone on sight. Those officers who gave the orders for the assault and those who complied with them are thus guilty of committing a gross act against democracy and against decency and moral scruples. It is clear that in their zeal to strike at the opposition, the police and RAB went overboard and ended up embarrassing not only themselves but also the government they served. On what authority did they indulge in such despicable behaviour? We also find requesting and taking on remand, senior BNP leaders including Shamsher Mobin Chowdhury on alleged charges of obstructing police from discharging duties and vandalising vehicles as an avoidable excess committed anyway. There are quite a few serious questions the government needs to answer about the incident. One may point out here that even loyalists of the ruling party have been shocked by the attack on the Abbas residence, which makes the questions even more relevant. Was it government policy to have the security forces act the way they did? The authorities owe the general public an answer. Moreover, questions also arise when a minister says that the police were tolerant in their action. Such a statement is as amazing as it is disturbing. We strongly believe that the home minister should have immediately come forth with an explanation for the police action and, in the proper democratic spirit, should have taken responsibility for their misbehaviour on herself. The action by the police and RAB at Mirza Abbas' residence has caused scratches on the image of the government as has the assault by the police and Chhatra League elements on BNP lawmaker Shahiduddin Chowdhury Annee. The administration owes an explanation to the people. It cannot pretend that the police and RAB were only doing their job. That is the least it can do to repair the damage done.

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