Who is to blame for the killings?

We are at the end of year 2013, but can we look forward with hope to the year 2014? No, because people who are in power and are responsible for the welfare of the country have taken a dangerous path; they are talking of democracy, when actually they are strangling it.

In the December 27, 2013 issue of The Daily Star, Sheikh Hasina's speech at a public rally in Faridpur was published. At one point she said, "We believe in justice. The opposition leader will be charged with giving orders for killing and burning people to death."

But as a matter of fact, we did not hear Khaleda Zia openly giving order to kill and burn people, but with deep regret we still remember when an activist of Awami League was killed at Baddarhat in Chittagong in the previous tenure of Sheikh Hasina, she openly said, “Ekti lasher bodoley doshti lash chai. Amader kortnira ki shari, churi porey boshey achhey?" What an order from a prime minister!

We urge the government to shun the path of hostility, not to use law enforcing agents for holding the farcical election which people will never accept, and prove that Awami League truly believes in democracy and will do everything to uphold it.

Nur Jahan

Chittagong

Cruel joke with people's voting right

Our honourable Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina often takes great pride in her so-called restoration of the voting right of the common people through the 15 th amendment to the constitution. Now when we see that about 50 million voters out of a total of 91.9 million have been deprived of their voting rights and that as many as 154 candidates have been elected uncontested in the upcoming 10th JS polls, apparently as a consequence of the incumbent PM's unilateral decision of abolishing the CFG provisions through the controversial constitutional amendment in question, her assertion of restoring people's voting right sounds like a cruel joke to us.

Asaduzzaman (Jewel) University of Rajshahi

Politics killing poultry sector

The poultry owners recently staged a different type of protest by distributing chicks free among people to attract attention of the people in politics of the fact that the poultry industry is on the verge of collapse due to the present political impasse. They urged the political parties to resolve their problems immediately through reaching a consensus and save the country's poultry industry which is providing employment and meeting people's food and nutritional demands.

Professor M Zahidul Haque

Dean, Faculty of Agriculture

Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University

Dhaka

Comments on news report, "Khaleda hits the roof," published on December 30, 2013

Nnworx

It is encouraging to see a former prime minister of Bangladesh standing up for what matters to Bangladeshis. Bangladesh is not for sale.

S.M. Iftekhar Ahmed

Her frustration is totally understandable. This kind of behaviour from the government could actually benefit them.

Imagologue

Poverty is better than slavery and dishonour. Bangladeshis know it more than anyone else in the world. They know the taste of slavery from 224 years of foreign rule. All concerned Bangladeshis should be wary of wolves in sheep's clothing.

Tonmoy Ahmed

She said publicly that they will start a new type of government, that they will not only change the institutions' names but also the names of zilla and upazila. All this was in her mind which she expressed yesterday.

*****

"Hasina then and now" (December 30, 2013)

Disqus

This is not democracy. It's about duping the people. The leaders of the nation constantly and unashamedly speak utter lies, regardless of what party they belong to. People are not stupid anymore. But they continue to be powerless as they will just be killed off, by politicians and their cronies, with total impunity, if they speak out. There is no justice...

Nds

Is it not expected when opportunism constitutes the dominant principle of politics? It is always claimed that politics is an art of compromise. What does it actually mean? Compromise for what purpose? Definitely for achieving self-interest. Hasina is simply following that classical system. What is wrong with it?

Imagologue

What the concerned citizens are saying is not in the constitution! It's set in stone this time around.