Editorial
Political dialogue
Ministers must stop making out of turn comments
AT a time when the only serious public concern is how to defuse the stifling environment generated by the prevailing political atmosphere, and the resultant uncertainty which demands the two major parties to come to the discussion table, it is irksome to see some in authority making out of turn comments and putting conditions for talks while no genuine effort for a dialogue is in sight. This only adds to public frustration.
We are sorry to see the absence of a genuine and sincere effort by the government to address the current mess which, if not attended immediately and with extreme seriousness, might mutate into a crisis situation. Under these circumstances, the country should be spared statements that aggravate the situation, such as the sate minister for law's offer to the opposition for talks, on condition that these are held without the Jamaat. We find this very cynical and counterproductive.
When the top ranking leaders of the BNP are in jail on apparently spurious charges, who is there left in the BNP to represent it in any inter-party dialogue?
We reiterate our oft-stated position that the government cannot make a short shrift of the prevailing volatile situation. There is no other alternative to dialogue, and it is for the government to create conditions for the talks. To start with, no one but the spokesman of the government and the party should make statements but should not go beyond the remit specified by the government. Apart from that, we want an end to exchanges of invectives and disrespectful and demeaning comments about one another.
There is too much at stake that needs the collaborative effort of the two major parties to protect, and neither rigidity nor coercion will help create the ground for initiating that effort.
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