Editorial
Politics of retaliation and violence must cease
Tolerance is the need of the day
For several days now we have witnessed unprecedented violence leading to a number of deaths all over the country. These commenced with the AL chief calling upon her workers to concentrate in Dhaka with staves and sticks in support of its demand regarding the caretaker chief. The counter calls soon after, by Tariq Rahman, resulted in street agitations, joined by rowdy elements from amongst the public. Call for an eye for an eye by Col (Retd) Oli Ahmed, a senior leader of the newly formed LDP, and the most recent statement made at a public meeting by none other than the former prime minister and BNP chairperson, calling for retaliation against her opponents, are matters of worry for us. These bode very badly for our politics and put a big question mark on our character as a nation of forbearing and tolerant people. Many lives have been lost in the most brutal way not seen in this country in many years. It has also dealt a serious blow to our economy, not to speak of the unprecedented sufferings it has caused the public. It has also considerably damaged our image all over the world. Needless to say, we are deeply saddened and concerned by this acute level of political violence. We earnestly appeal to all the political parties to shun the path of violence once for all. Violence begets violence. Have we not had enough of killings in the nationwide programme of political agitation that reached the level of anarchy? It is of utmost importance for the political parties to exercise good sense and restraint. Politically we may continue to argue as to who did what to whom, but let us not forget that time is running out. It should be remembered that the country does not belong to the political parties alone. The real owners of the country are the people. We simply cannot afford repetition of the ugly incidents that we witnessed recently all over the country. Surely we do not wish to leave behind a legacy for our future generation for which they will have nothing but remorse for us.
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