Jamaat's 3-day hartal
THE 3-day hartal called by Jamaat, which will, in essence, put the country on a six-day hiatus, is totally unacceptable. The party must respect the verdict given by the International War Crimes Tribunal and follow due process of the law. If it disagrees with the death sentence, it can appeal against the verdict, as it has done in all previous cases, instead of imposing hartals and causing immeasurable sufferings to common people.
The party iscurrently, on one hand, partaking in the trial process under the existing laws, and on the other, questioning the legitimacy of the Tribunal and undertaking violent activities to obstruct the process of justice. As a political party, Jamaat cannot disregard and systematically disrespect the existing laws and justice system of the country.
The 72-hour hartal, which is suffixed and prefixed by a weekend and a public holiday on Tuesday, will no doubt cause major inconvenience to people, impacting industrial production, supply chains and educational activities. In particular, the hartal disrupts the lives of 2.09 million students who are scheduled to take the Junior School Certificate (JSC) and Junior Dakhil Certificate (JDC) exams from November 2.
Jamaat's hartal highlights, once again, that the party is unwilling to accept responsibility for the atrocities committed in 1971 and show any repentance. Instead, the party, which has a history of violence, has consistently chosen to create panic in people's minds through unjustified hartals and aggression. It is high time that Jamaat takes responsibility for its past and present brutal actions.
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