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Managers and massacres

Abdul Bayes
***It is not surprising that people would blame the government for the blasts. If a government is hailed for good things, then why should it not be hated for bad things? If it takes credit for the construction of a bridge, why should it not be discredited for the destruction of human lives? Leaving aside people's perceptions on the villains behind the August 21 massacre, we think, the government should have immediately taken steps to protect itself from the so-called "pernicious" propaganda.***
IVY Rahman -- also known as the "lady with the lamp" in a society shrouded with darkness -- has been laid to eternal rest. Thousands of mourners paraded the streets to the point of cemetery at Banani with the coffin on shoulders. It was then raining in torrents as if Nature herself was shocked at her death and shedding tears. It may be mentioned here that Ivy Rahman was one of the victims of the grenade operations of August 21 believably perpetrated with a view to wiping out the opposition leader, Sheikh Hasina, and her party pillars and activists. Twenty people are reported to have been killed and hundreds are suffering in hospital beds.
It was, in one sense, an attempted "massacre" of a kind that Bangladesh witnessed on August 15, 1975. It was again a continuation of the process to eliminate the remaining family of the great Sheikh -- the father of the nation. Unfortunately, the successive governments did very little to protect this family. The last Awami League government initiated national security system for the family. The current government, however, rejected the rules and softened Sheikh Hasina's security fences. Very recently, she received death threats on telephone while she was in Turkey. The government brushed aside the allegation and, rather, mocked the leader of the opposition's concerns. On the heels of such naivety and negligence, the massacre took place with security for the leaders reaching a perilous point.
The Prime Minister, however, wanted to see the leader of the opposition. For reasons quite known, the attempt failed. We are not going to argue for or against such a move. Rather, allow us to submit some of the duties on the part of the government that the nation expected most immediately after the massacre. First, such havoc could only happen when the whole system of security in the society fails. Needless to mention, it was the failures of the top organs of the government e.g. police, intelligence, administration, etc. We were surprised to see that none of the top brass was sacked for having failed and for tarnishing the image of the government. We are confident that even in a more underdeveloped society than ours, such negligence of duties on the part of the government organs would have invited exemplary punishment. But we are far from that. Is it because digging earthworms would show up the snakes?
Second, immediately after the incident, the government should have taken it as a signal of the grievous state of law and order situation in the country. Paripassu, it was then rational to immediately revive the security system for the Sheikh family. The Gandhi family in India enjoys state protection and special security system. The ardent opponent of the Congress, BJP, maintained that while in power. Thus, both from the point of precedence and perilous state of security, the leader of the opposition should have been given due protection.
Third, the government should have set up an International Enquiry Commission to probe into the August 21 massacre. The government, instead, chose the traditional line of proceeding with enquiry by setting up a one-man commission headed by a current Justice. This attitude shows two things: (a) the government treated the incident as similar to those that occurred earlier, and (b) the concerns expressed by the head of the state and as well as by the government this time are nothing serious, almost as if shedding crocodile tears. Setting up a one-man commission means, as past records tend to show, the report would never see the light of day, or, allegedly, would be influenced by the government. There is another point in the air. In today's Bangladesh, unfortunately, appointment of judges is said to be politicised, some of them even alleged to be corrupt. Therefore, when the credibility of the judges has been reduced to suspicion, an incident of August 21 type demanded something more serious, and insightful for eking out the truth from the turmoil. A government that denounces such heinous operations and claims to be noparty to the occurrence should have embraced an international commission to open, not wash, eyes.
Fourth, the government should have allowed the people to ventillate their grievances through marches and processions. Instead, we noticed how brutely the police have been used to beat the marchers on the streets. Especially, the women activists have to live with the worst wounds and woes following attacks on their freedom of expression. This is very unfortunate in a country where the PM herself is a lady. And finally, it is not surprising that people would blame the government for the blasts. If a government is hailed for good things, then why should it not be hated for bad things?
If it takes credit for the construction of a bridge, why should it not be discredited for the destruction of human lives? Leaving aside people's perceptions on the villains behind the August 21 massacre, we think, the government should have immediately taken the steps that we suggested above to protect itself from the so-called "pernicious" propaganda.
Take the blame of the blasts or not, there seems to be little doubt that Bangladesh is gradually drifting towards the brink of ruin. Gradually it has been assuming a situation where economic and non-economic freedoms are at a stake. Is it gradually becoming a "haven" for anti-liberation forces and a "hell" for those fought and fighting for it? Is it the country we dreamt of and our martyrs sacrificed their lives for?
We think the time has come for waging a war against the forces of evil. Rising above narrow partisan politics, all progressive parties need to be on their feet to fight. This is our motherland and we cannot afford to witness this kind of mayhems. Only pro-liberation forces can protect this country from marooning in massacres.
Professor Abdul Bayes is a Professor of Economics at Jahangirnagar University.