Arson targeting buses, trucks and trains is taking place centering BNP-led opposition parties hartal and blockade. On the other hand, the law enforcement agencies are arresting opposition leaders-activists en masse in name of thwarting the ongoing movement. Both the acts are worrisome.
Despite instigation from the ruling party, movement of BNP and like-minded parties were completely peaceful before 28 October. The biggest question now is why BNP’s rally on 28 October could not end peacefully. The course of politics might have been different had BNP ended its rally peacefully that day.
To our surprise, we saw BNP’s central and grassroots leaders-activists including the party secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir were rounded up following the foiled rally on 28 October in charges of violence. They were sued in cases related to arson and violence. In these case, the number of unnamed accused is manifold than the number of named accused. Even police detained the relatives in some cases for failing to arrest the accused persons. The tally of fresh arrested leaders-activists of BNP, and number of BNP men punished in old cases are being published in newspaper every day.
The opposition parties are also calling hartal and blockades one after another, protesting the mass arrests. Blockades are considered as democratic rights in our country and always used by those who are in opposition parties. As observing hartals and blockades is a democratic right, not observing is also a choice. Arson or destruction of state or private properties in the name of hartal and blockade cannot continue.
Opposition leaders claimed their disassociation with arson in vehicles and the ruling party activists commit this sabotage to put blame on the opposition men. Their claim cannot be wholly true given the news and pictures already published in newspapers. Secondly, it is a question as to how long BNP and like-minded parties will continue their hartal and blockade programme. The presence of party activists required to make such programmes a success is almost nonexistent. Enforcing series of hartal-blockade through virtual press briefings are unlikely to yield any result.
BNP and like-minded parties should consider alternative programmes since ineffective programmes not only fail to realise any demand but also bound to diminish a party’s public support. The opposition parties’ programmes before 28 October were successful as these had public support. But that support could not be carried in hartal and blockade. So the BNP and like-minded parties should reevaluate its programmes. There should be alternative to political programmes that hinder people’s normal lives or stop economic activities.
On the other hand, the government also has to stop en masse arrest of opposition leaders-activists. Otherwise it would be tough to hold even a one-sided election, let alone a participatory one.