& çâÌæÚUæð´ ·¤è ¥ôÚU Îð¹Ùæ ÁæÚUè ÚU¹ð´ ¥ÍæüÌ ¥ÂÙð ÜÿØ ÂÚU ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´Ð ãæÚU Ù ×æÙð´, €UØô´ç·¤ ·¤æ× ·¤ÚUÙð âð ¥æÂ·¤ô ©gðàØ ·¤è Âýæç# ãôÌè ãñ ¥õÚU ÁèßÙ ·¤æ ¹æÜèÂÙ ÎêÚU ãôÌæ ãñÐ ÖÜð ãè ÁèßÙ ×ð´ ç·¤ÌÙè Öè ·¤çÆÙæ§ü €UØô´ Ù ¥æ°, çÁ™ææâæ ¥õÚU ©ˆâæã ÕÙæ° ÚU¹ð´Ð ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´, ÜÿØ ã×ðàææ ¥æÂ·Ô¤ Âæâ ãôÌð ãñ´ çÁ‹ãð´ ÂæÙð ·Ô¤ çÜ° ÂýØæâ ¥æÂ ·¤Öè Öè àæéM¤ ·¤ÚU â·¤Ìð ãñ´Ð

OPINION

Curb Lawlessness
Free-for-all lawlessness is a frightening syndrome of near-Incurablc ailments to any fledgling democracy. The implications of such a scenario marks a major psychosis of the society in totality. That is exactly what has happened of late to socio-cultural and political fronts in Bangladesh where democracy is often mentioned to be still in infancy. Regrettably. the euphemistic phrase nascent democracy’ docs not give us solace at all as we increasingly become aware of our jiosftion as lagging far behind the contemporary civilisation. The present volatile circumstances thwart all our pious wishes and expectations.
At the very heartland of Bangladesh, we frequently come across a bagful of reports of robberies, snatching, hijacking. kidnapping: in many cases, murders accompany the felony. The rate of these sorts of criminalities Is increasing day by day. The most frustrating part of the story Is the role of the law-enforcing agencies. Not only they shy away from resisting criminals and thugs; allegedly, often they show them safe exit. Often they pounce upon the people '♦ho are powerless, illiterate, underprivileged and, often, don't spare the lettered persons. Such reverse role of the police has been strikingly brought to anybody's guess by the recent attack on the Journalists at the peaccful-and-tranquil Press Club. The violent activities perpetrated against the unprepared and unarmed journalists and the subsequent claims by the high-ranking government officials as regards the heroism of the law enforcement bodies In the Parliament, point to the very malignant spread of decay in the police administration and the bankruptcy of the Ministry
of Home Affairs. Recently, photographs appeared in the newspapers exposing the police as guarding armed youths reportedly of self-styled Jubo Command on the day they called for a hartal.
Beyond any doubt, the administration has failed miserably to add positive elements to the entirely-vitiated sociopolitical milieu. In the back-drop of rapidly spreading poisoning. the high claims about law and order by the top ranking government officials, throw us into Infinite shame.
Again the government owned electronic media prove to be blind, deaf and dumb. They constantly fail to incite the governmental and nongovernmental agencies to adopt adequate measures against the culprits. The eternal slavery these media have been subjected to. has been barring them from taking the trails of factual truths.
We have a very little expectation to get any positive response from the politicians. The grim picture thus obtained forces us to ponder for possible remedies:
Firstly, we feel that the much discussed and much talked about overhauling of the police administration should be done without missing time. It Is true that the redemption of the law-enforcing agencies can not be engineered unless and until the corrupt officials are retrenched en masse. The eligible candidates from the vast youth force can be recruited. After a rigorous training they can be selected as the law-cnforcetnent officials. Of course, this will entail some extra expenditure but this will have the administration from falling perennially into the devil-works of corruption.
Secondly, the existing laws of the country should be
amended to save innocent people from becoming easy prey to the arbitrations and highhandedness of the law enforcing agencies who often, actively or inactively, tend to support the culprits. The overriding doubts and suspicions regarding the viability and efficacy of the Judiciary system in the country should be removed. using sophisticated expertise, if necessary, borrowed from foreign lands.
Thirdly, public forums must be formed to fight against institutionalised tyranny like harassment by the police.
Fourthly and more importantly, the Journalists should be asked to carry forth investigative journalism most vigorously and most unhlnderedly. Any interference by the high-ranking officials to block the smooth functioning of journalism should be penalized. The system should be such to bring anybody, irrespective of position, to book. Only a free press can point out the remedy to. the ills of the administration through bringing out crosssections of views and opinions.
Inevitably, one must seek these avenues if one In the administration has a genuine willingness to Improve the situation. It has to be admitted that it becomes a veritable mine-field when the press is under threat of becoming silenced. the goons appear to be protected by the police and laws, the executive power riding over the judiciary is enhanced. Actually, this will tend to turn over to autocracy. It will be a disaster both for the infant democracy and the ruling elite if the tilt to lawlessness is allowed to go on unchallenged.
Mosharraf Hossain Hrishikesh Das Road.
Dhaka