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Opinion

Where is the end of it all?

SHAHED AHMED
The PM could easily have visited the residence of the opposition leader the night of the incident rather than waiting for a decision from the meeting of the cabinet ministry the following morning. If done so, we would not be living in a suffocated atmosphere now. Time is not yet up for the government. Still a good gesture or series of actions can bring the country back to its normalcy. Otherwise, an unhealthy situation awaits us.****
A news item titled: Injured AL leaders off to India: Harassment at ZIA alleged on the back page of The Daily Star on August 31 yet again harks back to the unsavoury attitude of the ruling party men. The chief Whip of AL alleged that his party colleagues (among whom there were some senior presidium members as well as MPs) were asked to produce some "irrelevant documents" besides the usual referral papers from the clinics or hospitals. The immigration officers' hustling with the lawmakers resulted in the flight being delayed for three hours, and the accompanying photo showed the ailing patients keeping their fullbandaged legs raised up on tea tables, obviously not a scene to enjoy or get enjoyment from. This sort of inhuman and unthinkable sight is well precedented in our political culture. But is it acceptable when you put into consideration today's scenario of one of the worst political mayhems in the history of Bangladesh, lurking behind?
It has been nearly ten days since
the gruesome incident took place, attempting the assassination of the leader of the opposition and former PM. The government with plenty of ministers, yet lacking the most important portfolio of Home Minister, though late, have understood the insufficiency of local police as well as unacceptability of itself running the investigation, and urged Interpol for assistance. With courtesy to media, the Interpol foreign officials are starting to make their presence felt with a view to helping out the series of bomb blast impasses, more particularly the latest one.
20 people died leaving hundreds injured in the bomb blast incident before the AL office premises in
Dhaka on August 21. There have been a series of condemnations from people of all walks of life and strata as well as status, from the US president to the Jamat leader(s). And following the daily bulletins in different news channels, people were aware that the splinter-hit injured needed to be attended at the foreign clinics especially in India or Singapore, as suggested by local doctors. There should be absolutely no reason as to why the law makers and the senior presidium members of the hugely-suffering political party with severe injuries (some of whom might never recover fully) should be interrogated at the airport by the immigration officers for hours and would be asked for
"irrelevant documents" even though the passengers' wards or political senior colleagues made prior arrangement with the airport authority. It does indicate that the ruling party, though the country is in dire straits, still sticks to its typical despotic attitudes, contributing to further deterioration of the already aggravated political atmosphere as well as giving rise to some interesting points.
It proved obvious from the blast incident in Sylhet that Mayor Kamran was the prime target and that what he had been saying for the last couple of months that he had been receiving life-threats, was true. Sheikh Hasina received threats on numerous occasions at
home and abroad. However, the government considered the threat on the leader of the opposition comic stuff and moreover did not learn from the latest incident in Sylhet. That is why the carnage of August 21 took place against Sheikh Hasina and her party men and women. If the government and its detective agencies put into use the simplest of the commonsense, they would have figured out that the attack on Sheikh Hasina was on the cards.
We thought the government would learn from its mistakes, but unfortunately it was not the case. There is widespread criticism of the status (let alone the findings) of the investigations on recent bomb-
blasts in Sylhet and the biggest ever arms-haul issues. I believe the government think tanks should feel that it is high time for them to practice the utmost serenity as well as restraint and not to give rise to further issues like the airport incident or colliding protest day with opposition's hartal day, etc. Otherwise it would create more anarchy and unrest in the country. Also the leadership sometimes needs to bank on its own decision making capabilities and charisma.
The PM could easily have visited the residence of the opposition leader the night of the incident rather than waiting for a decision from the meeting of the cabinet ministry the following morning. If done so, we would not be living in a suffocated atmosphere now. Time is not yet up for the government. Still a good gesture or series of actions can bring the country back to its normalcy. Otherwise, an unhealthy situation awaits us.
Shahed Ahmed is a Lecturer, Department of English, Shahjalal University of Science & Technology, Sylhet.