Editorial
Hartals punishing citizens
Step back before the brink
BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia has exhorted her party leaders and workers to be prepared for a longer movement against the government. The BNP's ire has to do with the prime minister's taking a stand recently against a continuation of the caretaker system following a Supreme Court judgement on the matter. Sheikh Hasina has since softened her stance by publicly asking the BNP to make its own position known in the Jatiyo Sangsad. Her unambiguous statement that nothing one-sided will be done should have been taken advantage of by the BNP. Unfortunately, by opting for yet another hartal and implying that there will be more, the opposition has only contributed to a muddying of the waters.
We have always emphasised the primacy of Parliament in our politics. Because we have, we believe the BNP should be taking a hard look at the situation and return to the JS in order for the nation to hear it out on its position on the caretaker system. The JS is the only place, by virtue of its being an elected body, where the opposition can test the government's sincerity on a negotiated approach to the caretaker issue. Let the BNP come back to the House, present its arguments and in the process build up public opinion in its favour. What the opposition can gain through a lively presence in the House is something it cannot quite do through agitation on the streets. We note here Begum Zia's thinking on the need for a movement along the lines of the 1990s' struggle against autocracy. The analogy is wrong. It ignores present-day realities. By harking back to the 1990s, the BNP is only creating a myth around itself that is as unreal as it is fatuous.
Hartals cannot be supported or condoned, for reasons only too obvious. They punish citizens by impeding them in their normal pursuits; they damage an already frail economy, beset as it is by so many negative factors.
The opposition has opted for far too aggressive a course than finds a resonance with realities on the ground. If Begum Zia does not step back from here, the nation can only see the possibility of spiralling confrontation and violence. So, we urge BNP Chief to step back before the brink is reached.
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