Editorial
Enough of power-play
Dialogue is the only way forward
In the last few days this newspaper has been highly critical of the manner in which the BNP's 'Dhaka Cholo' programme was handled by the AL. Today we would like to focus on the substance of the speech of the leader of the opposition at the 12 March rally, particularly on her ultimatum to the government. Begum Zia has given three months to the government to announce the restoration of the caretaker system, otherwise she will launch a movement to dislodge it.
BNP should know that there are no instances in our recent history of ultimatums causing the overthrow of a duly elected government before its term. And we feel that whatever political programmes the BNP undertakes it cannot dislodge the AL from power before the end of its mandated term. It has not happened when the BNP was in power between 2001 and 2006. And it is not about to happen now. And nobody believing in constitutional government can support it. This paper will be opposed to such an attempt.
However, while we feel the BNP's demand for a neutral mechanism to oversee the next general election is justified, we wonder whether the 29 March hartal call by the BNP under the current circumstances is at all justified giving the untold sufferings the people have been subjected to in the four days leading up to the 12 March BNP rally. The party has made its point clearly in spite of the government efforts to put all kinds of hurdles and we are certain the government too has taken note of that.
We emphasise that hartal is not an option and in fact one would have thought that the BNP would have built on the sympathy and the negative impact of the government's actions than to opt for a programme that will only add to the public woes and which will in all likelihood invite public ire.
To the government we urge the release of all those arrested en masse, and further make a clean breast of the folly they have committed in mishandling the issue and an unqualified admission of the great inconvenience it had caused the public to assuage their sentiments.
But most importantly, both parties should realise, having displayed their power, that there is no alternative to dialogue. And the sooner they involve each other in the process, the better will it be for us.
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