Editorial
Goodbye talks?
Insincerity prevails over good sense
WHILE the skeptics never gave a chance to talks between Sheikh Hasina and Khaleda Zia, we, being inveterate optimists, had nevertheless held hopes, however slight, that the two would ultimately sit across the table.
The tele-talks, though disappointing, had held out an opportunity for a dialogue between the two, with neither party rejecting the idea outright. However, since the talks, and after the contents of the conversation were made public, it seemed that the leaders were playing to the gallery standing more on protocol rather than addressing the immediate concern of the people. Regrettably, both sides stuck to their stated positions, which were a recipe for failure.
Earlier Mirza Fakhrul had said that talks could take place but only on caretaker system. And yesterday, Syed Ashraf said that talks could take place on the condition that hartal was withdrawn. The BNP has not responded positively, and the 60-hour hartal is on. The obvious conclusion is that the prospect of dialogue, if ever there was one, is dead. This is in spite of the FBCCI initiatives about secretary- general level talks.
We have been saying all along that dialogue is the only option to save the people from violent political confrontation, and only the day before yesterday the finance minister had also said there could be dangerous consequences if there was no dialogue. It is not as if the leaders are not aware of the consequences if the fundamental issue underlying the discord was not amicably resolved. It seems to us that neither party was sincere in its approach, and may not even have wanted the talks to take place at all.
Unfortunately, it seems that the doomsayers have won. And good sense has been overcome by insincerity.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel.
Comments