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TO THE EDITOR
Ban hartal
It is said that a country gets the kind of leadership it deserves. Are we as a nation so dumb that we are rewarded (?) with two major parties that shun parliament and resort to hartal when in opposition and when in power, lecture the opposition to shun hartal and join parliament to make it effective? Do these two parties think that the electorate cannot see through their duplicity? The time of reckoning will come.
To Mr. (or Ms) SAM who tried to do the impossible (defend hartal) (Hartal: the flip side, DS, Feb. 25), I have a simple question, "As a result of the recent hartals, has the price of essentials come
down or has law and order improved or any of the other issues espoused by the AL has seen a positive change?" The answer is a big NO. Hartal simply punishes the common people, it has virtually no effect on the running of the government. One cannot claim to be championing the cause of the people by preventing them from going about their daily business or burning vehicles. Another of your correspondents tried to justify hartal by stating that loan defaulters also cause huge loss to the economy, so why blame hartal alone? Are we to judge our politicians (can't call them leaders) by the moral standard of
the loan sharks who essentially belong to the gutter?
Bangladesh has shown innovative skill in enacting and implementing the caretaker government concept. I believe it is within the capability of our constitutional experts to enact an enforceable law banning hartal by political parties while preserving the right of trade bodies to do so (the latter, for example, petroleum dealers simply refuse to provide their service to register their grievances, but do not force people or vehicles off the roads). Dr. Kamal Hossain is still around to lend his expertise. If the BNP will take the initiative to do this, they will at
least bind their hands from future destructive role. The electorate will, I believe, thankfully remember that when it matters.
Ni
Gulshan, Dhaka
Du teachers' strike
The protest is spontaneous, angry and widespread. The despicable and heinous attack on Humayun Azad -- a professor of Dhaka University-- has puzzled the university community. They are awaking to the reality of insecurity that the country is steeped in. So there are the angry processions, meetings, rallies, black badges, symbolic painting on roads and so many things.
Now what we feel about the announcement of DU Teachers' Union (suspension of academic activities until the trial and punishment of the guilty) in addition to the resignation of the ministers, is that the general students have to bear the brunt of it all. Does it sound selfish? Don't call me insensitive or selfish; better call me cynical.
The teachers are not affected the way we are when classes are not held. I hope the teachers will realise the truth and resume taking classes in the interest of all concerned.
Mohammad Nazmul Huq
MBA programme, IBA, Dhaka
University
***
I want to express my views on the strike called by the teachers of Dhaka University . While I appreciate the noble cause, I fail to understand the mode of protest.
As a student of DU, I am shocked and deeply disturbed by the attack on noted writer and teacher Dr. Humayun Azad. An attack on him is, in reality, an assault on the very culture of learning and intellectual community of the country.
Yet, putting a stop to the normal proceedings and classes of the premier educational institute is in no way a facilitat-
ing step either. As it is, session jams, political rivalry and unrest are taking a toll on the academic quality and calendar. A teachers' strike cannot help improve the situation. Externalities are hampering the normal functioning of DU and we can ill-afford to allow internal failures like this.
I, on behalf of my classmates, urge our respected teachers to consider the gravity of the situation and call the strike off. Let such deprivation prevail no further.
Adnan
Institute of Business Administration, University ofDhaka
Opposition leader
I really wonder how can the leader of the opposition (claiming always to be on our side) threaten the government to "think twice before attacking lawbreakers" and say they "will have their turn".
The known problems of our country (corruption, violence, price spiral, repression of all kinds etc.)need not be mentioned . But Sheikh Hasina's claim of peace and economic stability during her rule is a hoax and sounds ludicrous. Neither the Awami League nor the BNP could give us that solace of eradication of those menaces under the yoke of which we are born to suffer.
A F Rahman
Dhaka