Editorial
We welcome PM's gesture
Hartal should have been withdrawn
The public expectation that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina would make a telephone call to Opposition Leader Khaleda Zia was finally met last evening. We welcome the PM's gesture because we believe it is quite a breakthrough for the nation. It is our hope that out of this gesture, despite the odds that remain, the country will move toward a peaceful and credible resolution of the present political crisis.
That the PM has invited the BNP chairperson to dinner on 28 October is a happening that will surely be appreciated by the nation. We would have been happier had the BNP chairperson accepted the PM's offer of talks and dinner in the spirit in which it was made. The press briefing of the BNP following the telephone conversation has shown clearly that the party remains rigid on its stance. Though the BNP chief has accepted the PM's invitation, she has made it known that she is ready to meet her on 29 October, once the 60-hour hartal called by the 18-party alliance comes to an end.
We remind ourselves that at the alliance rally on Friday, Khaleda Zia had specifically warned the government that the hartal programme would get under way if no specific offer of talks came from the ruling party. The offer has come, but the BNP has gone back on its undertaking. We strongly condemn this attitude. The hartal should have been withdrawn in the larger interest of the country or at least shortened. That would have allowed citizens to breathe a little easier and go about their normal activities. Given our political culture, however, we are not surprised that the opposition has remained stubborn on the hartal issue. At what cost, one might ask?
Despite everything, though, we believe a door has been opened through the PM's call and nothing should be done to scuttle the possibility of a settlement. Both the ruling party and the opposition should from here on restrain themselves and prevent their leaders from making inflammatory speeches that could widen the chasm.
The nation waits for its politicians to find a way out of the woods.
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