Good advice, but...
Barrister Rafiqul Haque articulated perfectly what every sensible person has in mind. He urged the two belligerent leaders of our political arena to come to senses (he should have said that in Bangla). He urged Khaleda Zia and Hasina Wazed to sit together, if needed, at his place, and come to terms for the sake of the country, for the people, for themselves and for their beloved party (read group of cadres). We wholeheartedly support Barrister Rafiq's clarion call.
We firmly believe that anything and everything can be solved through discussion if and only if the persons involved have the intention to reach a solution. People of Bangladesh always want their leaders to be united on national issues and work together for the benefit of the nation. This is the modest expectation of our people. Khaleda Zia was prime minister twice and Hasina Wazed once. Were their senses sensitive enough to understand what the people of this country expected of them? Okay, forget about Khaleda's first term when she had little understanding of economic, social and administrative problems of the country.
The BNP paid quite dearly for their obduracy and had to exit from power ignominiously. Hasina Wazed became prime minister with a rosary bead in her hand. Hasina had the privilege of getting support from the majority of our intelligentsia. But her beloved cadres spoilt the party. The BNP returned with overwhelming support of the people. But, instead of learning from the mistakes of previous ten years, the BNP dived into pillaging the country in every possible way. The inevitability of 1/11 or something like it could not be avoided, whatever argument we have. After twenty months of the push and pull strategy of the caretaker government here is one more--probably the last--chance for our political parties to show respect and work towards development of the country. Their first step should be to provide cooperation to the CTG to hold a peaceful, free, fair and acceptable election. Secondly, they should be introspective to find out their deficiencies which resulted in 1/11. Someone should have given some books on developing leadership qualities to the two party chiefs while they were confined to lavish sub-jails. If they had the opportunity to read such books they could at least understand that only shouting from the podium does not make a real statesperson. One needs something more to hone one's character to reach a certain level and realise the inherent potential.
So whatever good piece of advice Barrister Rafique or any distinguished person may put forward would not reach the intended ears. We fervently hope Khaleda Zia will be able to open her eyes and read the writings on the wall and Hasina will be able to hear the silent wailings of people oppressed by her party members. But, will they?
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