Arrests and obstacles not conducive to polls

Tensions Mounted prior to Jatiya Oikya Front’s Sylhet rally, but it finally took place on Wednesday without any untoward incident. Ruling Bangladesh Awami League organised a leaflet distribution drive at the same venue just before the rally. That also had ended without any disruption of peace. The law enforcement agencies had been hesitant in granting permission initially apprehending trouble, but later gave the permission in the face of demands and criticism from various sectors.

Unpleasant incidents are hardly likely to occur if political parties are allowed to hold rallies in a secure and balanced political environment. On the other hand, not allowing the opposition to hold rallies can lead to a chaotic situation as we have seen in the past. Peaceful rallies are a constitutional right. The law enforcement cannot bar any citizen from this right without justified reasons.

However, while allowing the opposition to hold rallies in certain instances, the government has at the same time been arresting people in large numbers in Sylhet and other parts of the country. According to The Daily Star, police arrested 250 leaders and activists of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, including an adviser to the BNP chairperson in two days before and after the rally. A Sylhet unit BNP leader said 68 BNP men were detained and sent to jail on Tuesday night.

A Sylhet Metropolitan Police official claimed the BNP men were detained for interrogation. This is not convincing. It cannot be simply assumed that the opposition leaders and activists were conspiring sabotage on the night before the rally. The arrests have been made to create panic in the opposition camp. The concerned authorities should think twice about the impact panic would create on the environment before the national elections.

The police also arrested the opposition men in Chattogram and Satkhira. In Chattogram, 14 BNP men were arrested on charges of attempted sabotage while protesting the arrest of BNP leader Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury. At a juncture when the Jatiya Oikya Front coalition is set to hold a rally in Chattogram, it is ridiculous to allege they would be conspiring to disrupt the peace. Earlier, several BNP leaders were arrested while returning from a protest rally in Chattogram. In Satkhira, 65 BNP and Jamaat men were arrested but the allegations against them are not clear.

It is interesting that the number of ‘gayebi maamla’ or fictitious cases and arrests in those cases is on the rise as the national elections draw near. There are news reports of such cases being filed against people who are not even in the country or who have been dead for quite some time. Such arrests and allegations will simply serve to ignite the political environment.

As part of their political campaign, ruling party leaders have been highlighting the development work done by the government over the past 10 years. They have all the right to do so, but then, so does the opposition have the right to go to the people with their campaign.

The precondition for any election is a fair and peaceful environment but the activities of the government do not reflect this. Though the Oikya Front convened a rally in Chattogram, police held up permission. The government should display a level-headed stance by giving permission to hold rally in Chattogram like that of in Sylhet.

*While rewriting the editorial in English, originally published in Prothom Alo print edition, we came to know that the Chattogram Metropolitan Police has given Jatiya Oikya Front permission to hold the rally in front of the BNP office in the port city.