Stop this butchery At least for childrens sake if for nothing else — Mahfuz Anam It is the photograph of two and a half years old Safir that we find so unbearable. I have recently visited Hiroshima Museum of the atomic bomb victims. There are heart-rending pictures of the devastation where I have seen photographs of child victims of the carnage. Those who survived were burnt by the fire that ensued. Safir all bundled up in white bandage and suffering the agonising pain of a fire burn, looks so frighteningly similar. I know the situations are not comparable in any sense and my comparison could be exaggerated, yet the thought did occur to me. It cannot be denied that for the child victim the world is just as painful and full of anguish as it was for the children who were burnt by the atomic fire. Just as the Japanese children never understood what it was that fell from the sky that destroyed their world, so also Safir has no way of understanding why a burning object entered through the window of the bus he was travelling in and destroyed his world. We pray that he survives and returns to his playful life full of joy, happiness and love, but it cannot be overlooked that he fell victim to a brutal politics that made no distinction between an innocent child of two and a half years and whosoever the bomb throwers thought their political opponents were. This brings us to a very important question that BNP must answer. In any conflict, however brutal, there are designated “enemies” who are targeted by their opponents. In the present case who are BNP-Jamaats target? Could the random people travelling in city buses be their “enemies”? Could the innocent victims in the burn unit of the DMCH be their target? We hope not. Even in their most perverted logic they couldnt have come to such a conclusion. Then who are their targets, why are petrol bombs being thrown at random travellers? There are many reasons also to criticise the government for. The internment of Khaleda Zia, random arrest of BNP high ups, piling up of unfounded cases against opposition members, arbitrary arrest of citizens, restrictions on movements of ordinary people, general curtailment of civil liberties, restrictions on TV talk shows, creating atmosphere of intimidation of the media and many other direct and indirect threats to freedom of speech are serious matters of our concern. We have written about those and will continue to criticise the government for those. But where are the words to condemn what the BNP-Jamaat combine is doing in the name of “movement”? So far 28 people have died, more than 800 have been injured and hundreds of vehicles destroyed. Seventeen of the 28 dead had no link with any political parties. As we reported Wednesday “ … from two and a half year old Safir to octogenarian Abu Taher, from school teacher Altaf Hossain to priest Alok Chakrovarty, from house wife Rahima Begum to truck helper Sohag Biswas, none was spared”. They all died from oppositions random lethal attacks. Can there be any justification for these deaths? Khaleda Zia in her latest address to the press said she and her party do not take any responsibility for the above deaths. She blamed the government instead. Can just a simple passing of the responsibility exonerate her from these atrocities? Without any proof, we cannot agree also with the PM when she holds the BNP chief criminally liable for these crimes. But there is no way that Khaleda Zia can avoid the moral responsibility for what is happening. There is enough in the newspaper reports and TV footage to prove that BNP and Jamaat activists have been involved in the mayhem and these deaths would not have occurred if there was no call for aborodh and hartal. The bomb-making JCD man whose hands got blown off and who died yesterday proves our point. After two weeks there is sufficient reason for the BNP to reassess the situation. Their activities so far have had a very negative impact on the public mind. Our reports from districts confirm that people are increasingly getting fed up with the disruption of their daily lives. Their economic loss continues to mount and increasingly they are blaming the opposition for it. Though initially there were sympathies for the oppositions cause, especially when Khaleda Zia was kept confined to her office. However, the deaths and destruction of the last fifteen days or so have had a serious change of position in the public mind. What BNP is doing is morally wrong and politically suicidal. It is only increasing the public sufferings and isolating them from the people. If BNP unthinkingly continues to follow this path of death and destruction, their alienation from the people will increase further. The former PM must understand that whatever may be the justification for her movement, killing people, throwing petrol bombs at running buses, setting fire to stationary vehicles with people inside those cannot and will not gain her support. If for nothing else, at least for the sake of two and a half years old Safir and thousand other Safirs, please put a stop to this killing and burning. thedailystar.net/frontpage/stop-this-butchery-61308
Posted on: Fri, 23 Jan 2015 03:50:05 +0000
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