Editorial
A peaceful protest
The government should respond positively
We thank Begum Zia for choosing a non-violent means to ventilate her party's stand. That a peaceful civic protest can carry the intended message more loudly than any other form of political agitation has been proven by the BNP's hunger protest.
Given the inevitable violence that programmes such as hartal and mass procession or rallies degenerate into either due to the belligerent behaviour of the opposition or the extreme coercive attitude of the law enforcing agencies, this was indeed a thoughtful alternative, when even an innocuous human chain inevitably leads to traffic snarl and throws up other forms of impediments for the public.
That said, the underlying purpose of the hunger strike should not be lost on those the message was intended for -- the government. The three basic issues for which the protest was organised were disappearance of Ilias Ali, release of detained party leaders and restoration of the caretaker system. And the last was again forcefully articulated by the BNP chairperson, among other rhetorical statements, asking the government to propose talks on the caretaker system in writing.
We feel there are all the reasons for the government to react positively to the demands of the opposition regarding the caretaker system. The government cannot be oblivious to the fact that the public is in fact hoping fervently for the impasse to be resolved through dialogue, and is perhaps bracing for the worst if that does not eventuate. And the major reason for the standoff being the issue of how the next election would be held, it is that concern which the government must address immediately.
There is no alternative to dialogue and the general opinion is that the next election, to be participatory and universally acceptable, must be held under a neutral dispensation, call it what you will. And it is our understanding too that the government is not altogether disinclined towards such an idea. Thus we fail to under why this reluctance to engage in talks? And for this the lead must come from the government.
Without sounding alarmist we must caution that the road the present impasse might lead the country to is not one that we look forward to.
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